By 1808Delaware
Sunbury City Council’s first September meeting ranged from a countywide transit proposal and the city’s inaugural marathon to DORA approval, park construction and continued public review of data centers. The most far-reaching discussion Wednesday night involved a 0.2% sales and use tax that Delaware County Transit will place before voters on November 3.
A five-year transit expansion
Delaware County Transit Executive Director Andy Volenik told council the agency is proposing seven service expansions over five years if voters approve the measure. The proposal would expand Sunbury’s FLEX microtransit zone and hours, introduce microtransit in Powell, Liberty Township and Orange Township, move countywide demand-response service from advance scheduling to same-day availability, and eventually create commuter express connections to Columbus. Delaware’s FLEX service would expand to seven days a week. Saturday service would be introduced in new areas. The agency would also purchase six to 10 vehicles annually and pursue grants for expanded facilities.
The tax would add 2 cents to a taxable $10 purchase, 20 cents to a $100 purchase and $2 to a $1,000 purchase. It would not apply to purchases already exempt from Ohio sales tax and would continue without a fixed expiration date. Delaware County Transit receives no ongoing local tax revenue, relying on grants, fares, contracts and partnerships. The agency has posted details of the proposal online.
Volenik said the system now has 80 employees, including 50 drivers, nearly 40 vehicles and a $6.8 million operating budget.
Delaware County Transit recorded 200,478 passenger trips in 2025, a 174% increase from 2021, and projects approximately 225,000 this year. Volenik said the agency has set ridership records in each of the past five years. In Sunbury, 60% of local FLEX trips are work-related, he said, even though service currently operates only from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Friday. The fare is $2, or $1 for seniors, young riders and passengers with disabilities. Riders gave the service an average rating of 4.9 out of five. Volenik said 64% of FLEX trips are now scheduled through the app.
“When we heard more, they meant it,” Volenik said of the demand recorded during the agency’s strategic-planning process.
Hundreds of runners headed to Sunbury
The council meeting also brought an update on the first Sunbury Marathon, set for Saturday, September 12. Organizer John Pratt said registrations were approaching the original goal of 500 participants. Nearly 40% were from Delaware County, while runners from Delaware, Knox and Licking counties together accounted for almost half the field. Approximately 20 states were represented.
About 100 entrants were expected in the full marathon. Other distances include a 20-mile race, half-marathon, 10K and one-mile run or walk.
The certified course begins in Sunbury and travels to just beyond Centerburg, using city streets and portions of the Ohio to Erie Trail. The flat, out-and-back route is a 2027 Boston Marathon qualifier, held two days before Boston registration opens. Pratt said Delaware County EMS and area fire departments will help cover the course. He also highlighted Sunbury runner Zach Craft, who has qualified for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials and assisted with planning.
New zoning fees move forward
Council began the evening with a public hearing on changes to the city’s zoning rules and fee system. Development Services Director Sean Staneart said Sunbury requires zoning certificates for some projects but does not charge corresponding fees, even though staff time is needed to review them. The proposal would place those costs on applicants rather than the city’s general taxpayers. The revisions would also add review requirements for certain improvements that currently require neither a permit nor fee. Staneart used a backyard shed as an example, explaining that staff could verify compliance with setback requirements before construction.
Fees now written into the codified ordinances would move to a separate schedule. Council would retain control but could amend the schedule by resolution, reducing the lag between approval and publication of updated fees online. No one spoke for or against the amendments. Ordinances 2026.25 and 2026.26 received first readings without a vote.
Accessibility and data-center concerns
During public comment, a resident thanked the city for holding special meetings on data centers but said its website made it difficult to find meetings and basic zoning information, including whether chickens are permitted at a residence. She also raised accessibility concerns. During Sizzle & Sounds, she said, vehicles and barricades blocked curb ramps needed by people crossing the street. She encouraged downtown businesses with entrance steps to consider adding ramps.
City Manager Daryl Hennessy acknowledged that the August 27 data-center meeting had not appeared on the calendar displayed on the city website’s front page. It had been posted in the agendas and minutes section and announced elsewhere, but he said future meetings would also appear on the calendar. The next special data-center meeting is planned for October 22 at Big Walnut High School, with noise and other issues on the agenda.
The city has prepared responses to earlier questions and a 24-page summary of testimony presented to an Ohio legislative committee studying data centers. Officials have also asked the Ohio Water Reuse Association for more information about PFAS chemicals. Materials are being added to Sunbury’s data-center page.
Health officials report fewer overdose deaths
Tracy Whittaker of the Delaware Public Health District said 11 county residents died from accidental overdoses in 2025, down from 19 in 2024. Fentanyl remained the leading substance involved. The annual report also recorded 214 emergency-department visits for suspected overdoses and the distribution of 906 naloxone kits. Naloxone is available at no cost through the district, by mail and at community locations including a vending machine in the Delaware County Jail lobby.
The district will offer screenings and flu vaccinations at the Delaware County Fair beginning September 20. A walk and free fall-risk assessments are planned for Senior Day on September 22, with a county trail forum October 1 and a drive-through flu clinic at Big Walnut Middle School.
Transportation and access to care were among the leading priorities identified in the county’s latest community health assessment, along with chronic disease and affordable housing.
Streets, parks and development
Reconstruction of South Vernon Street is expected to begin within weeks, covering the roadway from East Granville Street south to the end of the public street. Materials will also begin arriving for Phase 2A of the Little Walnut Creek interceptor project. At J.R. Smith Park, concrete has been poured for the splash pad, with additional vertical construction expected soon. Officials are also considering benches and other park features.
Council committees continued discussing rules for electric bicycles and motorized scooters. The current direction would allow e-bikes on multiuse trails, although questions remain about scooters on low-speed streets without sidewalks and the safe use of e-bikes on park paths where children may be present. The legislation remains tabled.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recently recommended approval of a rezoning covering approximately 80 acres south of Tanger Outlets and Champion Apartments. The request would retain planned-commercial zoning while bringing the site into closer alignment with the city’s master plan. It is expected to reach council in October. A proposed dental office near Kintner Parkway and Stone Creek Way also received an informal review.
DORA approved and public safety reviewed
Hennessy announced that the Ohio Department of Commerce had approved Sunbury’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, commonly known as a DORA. The city and Sunbury/Big Walnut Area Chamber of Commerce hoped to activate it during the weekend, after installing boundary signs and distributing branded cups. A blackout was expected during Monday’s Labor Day event. Hennessy also addressed Sunbury’s three automated license-plate-reading cameras. He said access is limited to credentialed law-enforcement personnel and all searches are logged. A review found the cameras had been used for legitimate purposes such as locating missing people, stolen vehicles and vehicles connected to crimes. Earlier city material said data are not stored beyond 30 days.
The manager thanked Sunbury police and the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office for their response to an August 24 swatting report at Big Walnut High School. Although the threat was a hoax, officers remained at district buildings through the rest of the day.
Memorial and reservoir agreements approved
Council unanimously approved an agreement with the Delaware County Veterans Service Commission for a new memorial at Sunbury Cemetery. The commission will reimburse the city for up to $100,000 toward an eight-foot black-granite tablet with bronze military insignias and landscaping. Future additions could include flagpoles, benches, walkways and lighting.
Council also approved assessment certificates tied to sanitary-sewer improvements, allowing collection on specified parcels to begin in 2027, and renewed the city’s fisheries-management agreement with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for four years.
A separate resolution authorizing up to $64,000 for an American Structurepoint study of the Columbus Street corridor received its second reading. The work would include data gathering, conceptual development, public engagement and a final council presentation.
Sunbury City Council is scheduled to meet again Wednesday, September 16, at 7:30 PM in Town Hall.
