AUDITOR OF BUTLER COUNTY, OHIO
Cinergy Building
HEP-CSTCC

Middletown City Council Meeting
1-08-2013

RESOLUTION NO. R2013-01

A RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH THE HUD SECTION 108 LOAN FUND AND TO

MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO APPROPRIATIONS FOR CURRENT EXPENSES AND

OTHER EXPENDITURES OF THE CITY OF MIDDLETOWN, COUNTIES OF BUTLER

AND WARREN, STATE OF OHIO, FOR THE PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2013

AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. (HUD SECTION 108 LOAN FUND)

|
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of

Middletown, Butler/Warren Counties, Ohio that:

Section 1

There is hereby established the HUD Section 108 Loan Fund.

Section 2

The following sums are hereby appropriated from the HUD Section 108 Loan Fund of the

City to accounts of the City for the purposes herein described as follows:

FROM: Unappropriated HUD Section 108 Loan Fund (Fund #261) $1,000,000.00

TOTAL HUD SECTION 108 LOAN FUND $1,000,000.00

TO: Accounts of 990 (261.990.52480) $1,000,000.00

Section 3

The Director of Finance is hereby authorized to draw warrants on the City Treasurer for

payments from any of the foregoing appropriations upon receiving proper certificates and

vouchers therefore, approved by the Board of Officers authorized by law to approve the

same, or an ordinance or resolution of the City Council to make expenditures provided

that no warrants shall be drawn or paid for salaries or wages except to persons employed

by authority of and in accordance with law or ordinance.

Section 4

All legislation inconsistent herewith is hereby repealed.

Section 5

This resolution is declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate

preservation of the public health, safety and general welfare, to wit: to permit the

immediate appropriation of the loan funds upon receipt from HUD so they can be

disbursed to Higher Education Partners as soon as possible shall take effect and be in

force from and after its adoption.

_____________________________

Lawrence P. Mulligan, Jr., Mayor

Adopted: _January 8, 2013___

Attest: ____________________

Clerk of City Council

H:/law/leg/2013 Leg/r Creation and Approp HUD Section 108 Fund.doc

Journal News
Posted: 12:00 a.m. Sunday, April 6, 2014

College expansion seen as job,

economic driver

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer
    MIDDLETOWN — The arrival of Cincinnati State’s branch campus in

Middletown has helped to cement the redevelopment of the city’s downtown

core and is helping to revive it’s economy. 

Michael Chikeleze, who has been the campus’s only director since it opened

nearly two years ago, said the future is very bright in Middletown as Cincinnati

State continues to build partnerships with the local business, industrial and

 heath care communities, the city and county and area school districts.

    “We’re excited to be in Butler County,” he said. “To meet the demands of the

area, we’re adding more academic courses and programs, do workforce

development and are looking to keep the cooperative education component

focused.”

    He said the Middletown campus, which is Cincinnati State’s second-largest

venue of its four campuses, is also working to align its academic program to

where the jobs are.

“Our goal is to attract and keep students in the region as part of an educated

workforce with the job skills that are in demand,” Chikeleze said.

    He said students can take the path toward a technical, two-year associate’s

degree to get the skills needed to enter the workforce or take academic

courses to transfer to a college or university with a four-year program. In

addition, he said the programs at Cincinnati State are complimentary to those

offered at Miami University Middletown.

    Cincinnati State Middletown offers 13 associate degree programs, five

certificate programs and online courses, he said.

    Chikeleze said about 200 students were originally projected to enroll at the

Middletown campus in fall 2012.

In nearly two years, the number has jumped to more than 600 students whose

average is age is 30.

    “We’ve far exceeded our original enrollment projections,” he said.

“Sustaining growth will be the challenge as well as managing change and

keeping up with growth.”

    The college, which is Butler County’s first community college, currently

operates out of the former Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. building at 1 N.

Main St. that is still owned by the city. Chikeleze said there are 25 full-time

employees at the Middletown branch with another 40 to 50 adjunct faculty who

teach a variety of courses.

    “We’re a full-service campus with classes, tutoring, financial aid, IT

(information technology), police and academic advising,” Chikeleze said.

    He said the college is working on a strategic plan and foresees an enrollment

of 2,000 to 3,000 in five years. In addition, Boston-based Higher Education

Partners provided the private funding to assist Cincinnati State to establish the

Middletown campus, with city and college officials, are already looking at

acquiring additional properties to handle the future campus growth.

    “We’re in growth mode,” he said. “Our future is good. Over time, we’ll be

better known in the Middletown area. The important thing is continue what we’re

doing and become a known option in the next 10 to 15 years.”

    Chikeleze said the Middletown branch is working on building awareness and

developing partnerships with various educational and nonprofit organizations.

    “We’re helping students and people change their lives,” he said. “We already

have a lot of successful stories in providing an opportunity for someone to go to

college.”

    City Manager Judy Gilleland said Middletown made a major investment in

developing the Cincinnati State branch campus.

    “Over the next year, the city will have recouped all of its investment or more,”

she said.

    Gilleland estimated that amount to be an additional $100,000 on top of the

$450,000 the city originally invested. However, she did not have an estimated

economic impact spin off from the campus but said it could be 10 to 20-fold

over the city’s initial investment.

    “Cincinnati State has three other downtown buildings to grow into and I

envision there will be more,” she said. “Cincinnati State will also compliment the

programs at Miami University Middletown.”

    Gilleland, who is retiring in about two months, said the campus is important to

the downtown community and is an important downtown anchor. One of her

original goals when she was hired as city manager several years ago was to

transform the downtown district into an arts, entertainment and education

district.

    “That is coming to fruition and I’m pleased with the development of downtown"

she said.

Gilleland said the project was a win-win for the city and Cincinnati State’s

administration and board of trustees.

    “They believed and embraced the city’s vision in redeveloping the downtown,” she

said. “It’s also helping to reinvigorate the entire community.”

    While he isn’t sure if anyone really knows the impact Cincinnati State will bring to

the region in the coming years, Rick Pearce said the college is working close with the

business community to address their workforce development needs.

    “Many companies in our area need a highly specialized workforce with special

skills, whether that be technical manufacturing or IT,” said Pearce, who is the president

and chief executive officer of The Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe

and Trenton. “The current educational system, by no fault of theirs, is just not fulfilling

those needs. The world is changing so rapidly.”

    Pearce said as new programs are developed and adopted into the curriculum at

Cincinnati State and employers begin to hire those skilled individuals, you will see

more students and facilities begin to see the benefits of those programs.

    “The obvious end result would be that we would have an influx of facilities move to

the area, due to the fact that the area has a skilled workforce,” Pearce said. “I see

Miami University and Cincinnati State complimenting each other with the services they

offer. Many students are anxious to obtain the necessary skills and join the workforce

quickly. What Cincinnati State has to offer could be perfect for them.”

    He said once those students are in the workplace for a number of years, they may

discover new interests that take them down another path.

    “Miami University will be there ready to assist them in reaching their next set of

goals,” Pearce said. “It’s going to be extremely beneficial to the area to have two

post-secondary institutions of learning serving the educational needs of the next

generation.”

    Some local school districts are already working to become affiliated with Cincinnati

State.

Last month, the Middletown Board of Education approved the opening of an

enrollment center for the college at Middletown High School.

    The Middletown board will be providing space at the high school for students to talk

with college admission representatives, discuss financial aid options as well as assist

seniors with dual enrollment courses or to sign up for classes at the downtown college.

    The Franklin Board of Education last month approved a memorandum of

understanding that would create a dual enrollment program with Cincinnati State, said

Superintendent Michael Sander.

    He said in addition to students being able to earn dual credits for high school and

college courses, Franklin teachers would be working with the college to develop a

syllabus that would be rigorous enough to meet Cincinnati State’s standards. Sander

said it would also create an opportunity for Franklin teachers to be approved to teach

at Cincinnati State.

    “I’m not sure how many teachers would be participating, but I think there will be a

fair number,” Sander said. “Our juniors and seniors like to be academically challenged.”

    He said the district was moving slow on the memorandum of understanding rather

than rushing things through. Sander said the WarrenCounty Educational Service

Center would coordinating the program for the county’s school districts with

Cincinnati State.

Then how did HEP-CS sell a building located at 1 North Main St, Middletown, Ohio, that

they didn’t own ?   The deed was signed on April 23, 2014.

Cincinnati State Middletown timeline

September 2009: Local businessman and former city councilman Perry

Thatcher meets with Cincinnati State’s resident chef to cook at the Manchester

Inn. A deal to bring a Cincinnati State branch campus begins in earnest.

Oct. 26, 2010: Agreement announced at Cincinnati State board of trustees

meeting that the city of Middletown and the technical and community college

will negotiate for the city to buy and then sell downtown buildings for a potential

branch campus. College officials expressed interest in the CG&E building and

the Manchester Inn.

October 2011: The city purchased the former CG&E, Bank One, First National,

Masonic Temple buildings for $300,000.

Dec. 21, 2010: City Manager Judy Gilleland announced that Cincinnati State

officials are only consider using of the city-purchased buildings: the former

CG&E building.

June 28, 2011: An independent market study revealed that there was an

adequate base of students to proceed with a downtown Middletown campus.

Aug. 14, 2011: The goal to open in the fall of 2012 is announced.

April 5, 2012: Cincinnati State and Higher Education Partners finalized its

contract to bring the county’s first community college downtown Middletown. The

deal has Higher Education Partners funding the construction and conversion of

two buildings into a community college campus for the Clifton-based Cincinnati

State. The 20-year deal between the two has four five-year extension options.

April 13, 2012: City Manager Judy Gilleland signs off on selling the former

CG&E building for $202,000 and donating the former senior center to Higher

Education Partners. Both buildings will play a role in the future downtown

Middletown campus of Cincinnati State, though the CG&E building will be the

main school’s campus in the city.

April 17, 2012: Cincinnati State hires its first Middletown campus employee,

Monetta Pennington, to be the director of marketing and community outreach.

May 4, 2012: Interior demolition and construction begins at the Cincinnati State

Middletown campus at 1 N. Main St.

Aug. 9, 2012: Cincinnati State names Michael Chikeleze, an associate dean in

the college’s business technology division, the inaugural director of Cincinnati

State Middeltown.
April 23, 2014: HEP-CS sells CG&E building to Store Master Funding for

5.8 million dollars.

Posted: 4:54 p.m. Monday, May 5, 2014

Former Cinergy building sold for $5.8

million

Deal won’t impact operations at Cincinnati State

Middletown

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

    MIDDLETOWN — The sale of the former Cinergy building, where

Cincinnati State Middletown is located, will allow High Education Partners

to continue renovations and start remodeling the former Middletown

Area Senior Citizens Center, an official told the Journal-News today.

    Michael Perik, chief executive officer of Higher Education Partners

(HEP), said the building at 1 N. Main St. was recently sold for $5.8

million, or $5.6 million more than it was purchased for more than two

years ago. But he was quick to point out that HEP has spent $5.5 million

(??) renovating and purchasing equipment for Cincinnati State

Middletown.

    He said HEP also paid off a $1 million loan from HUD.

    Now with the money from the purchaser, Store Master Funding, which

is based in Scottsdale, Ariz., HEP can continue expanding in the

Middletown market, Perik said. He said HEP will begin renovating the

former senior citizens building, hopefully in time for next fall’s classes.

    Michael Chikeleze, director of Cincinnati State Middletown, said the

sale of the building will not impact the daily operations of the college.

    HEP purchased the building from the city for $202,000 in April 2012.

In October 2011, the city purchased the former CG&E, Bank One, First

National, and Masonic Temple buildings for $300,000.

    On April 5, 2012, Cincinnati State and Higher Education Partners

finalized a contract to bring the county’s first community college to

downtown Middletown. The deal had Higher Education Partners funding

the construction and conversion of two buildings into a community

college campus for the Clifton-based Cincinnati State. The 20-year deal

between the two had four five-year extension options.

    A week later, Middletown City Manager Judy Gilleland signed off on

selling the former CG&E building and donating the former senior center

to Higher Education Partners.