On the agenda: Trenton meeting — Data Center (Aug 3)

City of Trenton
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
August 3rd, 2026 - 6:30 p.m.

Floyd Croucher

Ray Nichols

Ryan Perry
Mayor
Austin Proffitt Ken Roark

Vice Mayor

Council Member

Council Member

Council Member

Marci Butts

Sharon Montgomery

Council Member

Council Member

CALL TO ORDER
PRAYER

1. TBD
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL
EXECUTIVE SESSION

1. CONFERENCE WITH AN ATTORNEY FOR THE PUBLIC BODY CONCERNING
DISPUTES INVOLVING THE PUBLIC BODY THAT ARE THE SUBJECT OF PENDING
OR IMMINENT COURT ACTION
LEGISLATION

1. AN ORDINANCE DETERMINING THAT THE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION OF A
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF
TRENTON, OHIO, DOES NOT CONTAIN THE NUMBER OF VALID SIGNATURES
REQUIRED BY SECTION 9.03 OF THE CHARTER, AND DECLARING AN
EMERGENCY. (First Reading, Suspend Rules)
2. AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR SUBMISSION OF THE PROPOSED
AMENDMENT ADDING ARTICLE IX, SECTION 9.06 TO THE ELECTORS AT A
SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 3, 2026. DIRECTING
CERTIFICATION TO THE BULER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. (First Reading, Suspend Rules)
REPORTS
AUDIENCE OF COUNCIL
ADJOURNMENT

ORDINANCE NO. 20-2026
AN ORDINANCE DETERMINING THAT THE PETITION FOR SUBMISSION OF A
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF TRENTON, OHIO,
DOES NOT CONTAIN THE NUMBER OF VALID SIGNATURES REQUIRED BY SECTION
9.03 OF THE CHARTER, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
WHEREAS, the City of Trenton, Ohio (the "City") is a charter municipal corporation possessing the
powers of local self-government conferred by Article XVIII, Sections 3 and 7 of the Ohio Constitution
and Section 1.02 of the Charter of the City of Trenton (the "Charter"); and
WHEREAS, Section 9.03 of the Charter provides that any section of the Charter may be amended as
provided in Article XVIII, Section 9 of the Ohio Constitution and states, as a separate local
requirement, that a petition-initiated amendment must be presented "by petition to the Council by ten
percent of the electors of the Municipality"; and
WHEREAS, on July 8, 2026, the Clerk of Council received, date-stamped, and secured the original
petition papers entitled "Petition for Submission of Proposed Amendment to Charter," proposing to
add Article IX, Section 9.06, "Prohibition of Construction of a Data Center," to the Charter (the
"Petition"), a true and accurate copy of which is attached as Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, the Petition was transmitted to the Butler County Board of Elections (the "Board of
Elections") for signature examination under R.C. 3501.11(K)(1), and on July 20, 2026, the Board of
Elections reported that 464 signatures had been submitted and that 336 signatures were valid signatures
of City electors; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Elections reported that 1,277 ballots were cast in the City at the November
4, 2025 general municipal election and that 8,197 persons were eligible registered electors of the City
for that election; and
WHEREAS, R.C. 3501.01(N) defines an "elector" or "qualified elector" as a person having the
qualifications provided by law to be entitled to vote, while R.C. 3501.01(O) separately defines a
"voter" as an elector who votes at an election; and Section 8.05 of the Charter directs that state election
law shall govern where the Charter is silent; and
WHEREAS, applying the ordinary meaning of "electors" in Section 9.03 to the fixed 8,197 eligible
electors at the November 4, 2025 general municipal election requires 820 valid signatures; the Petition
contains only 336 valid signatures and is deficient by 484 signatures; and
WHEREAS, Council's determination is limited exclusively to the number of signatures required by
Section 9.03 and does not rest upon the substance, constitutionality, enforceability, or policy of the
proposed amendment.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Trenton, County of Butler,
Ohio:
SECTION 1. The foregoing recitals are incorporated into this Ordinance as findings of Council. The
Petition is incorporated by reference and attached as Exhibit A. The Clerk shall
preserve the original Petition, the Board of Elections' signature report, and the
election-data correspondence as part of the official legislative record.
SECTION 2. Council determines that it is the municipal body charged in the first instance with
applying Section 9.03 of the Charter to the Petition. In making that determination,
Council exercises the City's local self-government and charter authority under Article
XVIII, Sections 3 and 7 of the Ohio Constitution and Sections 1.02, 8.05, and 9.03 of
the Charter.

ORDINANCE NO. 20-2026
SECTION 3. Council construes the phrase "ten percent of the electors of the Municipality" in
Section 9.03 according to its ordinary, person-based meaning and uses the fixed
number of persons eligible to vote at the last preceding general municipal election as
the relevant denominator. The Board of Elections reported 8,197 eligible electors at
the November 4, 2025 general municipal election; ten percent is 819.7, and because a
fraction of a signature cannot satisfy the requirement, 820 valid signatures are
required.
SECTION 4. The Board of Elections certified only 336 valid signatures on the Petition. Council
determines that the Petition is deficient by 484 valid signatures and is not a sufficient
petition under Section 9.03 of the Charter as construed in this Ordinance.
SECTION 5. Council does not decide whether the proposed amendment is constitutional,
preempted, sufficiently definite, enforceable, or lawful as applied to any person,
property, permit, approval, contract, public-utility facility, development, or project.
Council does not adopt, reject, endorse, oppose, or make findings on the merits of the
proposed data-center prohibition.
SECTION 6. The Clerk of Council shall promptly provide a certified copy of this Ordinance and
Exhibit A to the petitioning committee and the Board of Elections, shall identify the
signature deficiency determined by Council, and shall preserve the original Petition
without alteration in accordance with R.C. 3501.38 and applicable records-retention
requirements.
SECTION 7. All formal actions of this Council related to this Ordinance and all deliberations of
Council and of any of its committees that resulted in such formal action were in
meetings open to the public in compliance with all legal requirements, including
Section 121.22 of the Revised Code. delay would impair orderly election
administration and judicial review.
SECTION 8. That this Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure for the reason that
it provides for the immediate preservation of public health, safety, and general welfare
and for the reasons that it provides prompt notification to the petition committee and
promotes orderly election administration, and shall take effect immediately upon its
passage.
PASSED
AYES
ABSENT
First Reading
Second Reading

NAYS

ATTEST:
Stanislav Beresford /s/_________________________
CLERK OF COUNCIL

Ryan Perry /s/
Mayor
Rules Suspended
AYES
NAYS_____
ABSENT

ORDINANCE NO. 20-2026
CERTIFICATE
I, the undersigned Clerk of Council for the City of Trenton, Ohio, Ohio, hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 20-2026 is a true and correct copy as passed by the Council of the City
of Trenton, Ohio on the 3rd day of August, 2026 and that at least two-thirds of the elected members
voted in the affirmative on said motion.
__________________________________
Clerk of Council

ORDINANCE NO. 21-2026
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR SUBMISSION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT
ADDING ARTICLE IX, SECTION 9.06 TO THE ELECTORS AT A SPECIAL ELECTION
TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 3, 2026, DIRECTING CERTIFICATION TO THE BUTLER
COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
WHEREAS, the City of Trenton, Ohio (the "City") is a charter municipal corporation possessing the
powers of local self-government conferred by Article XVIII, Sections 3 and 7 of the Ohio Constitution
and Section 1.02 of the Charter of the City of Trenton (the "Charter"); and
WHEREAS, Section 9.03 of the Charter provides that any section of the Charter may be amended as
provided in Article XVIII, Section 9 of the Ohio Constitution and states, as a separate local
requirement, that a petition-initiated amendment must be presented "by petition to the Council by ten
percent of the electors of the Municipality"; and
WHEREAS, on July 8, 2026, the Clerk of Council received, date-stamped, and secured the original
petition papers entitled "Petition for Submission of Proposed Amendment to Charter," proposing to
add Article IX, Section 9.06, "Prohibition of Construction of a Data Center," to the Charter (the
"Petition"), a true and accurate copy of which is attached as Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, the Petition was transmitted to the Butler County Board of Elections (the "Board of
Elections") for signature examination under R.C. 3501.11(K)(1), and on July 20, 2026, the Board of
Elections reported that 464 signatures had been submitted and that 336 signatures were valid signatures
of City electors; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Elections reported that 1,277 ballots were cast in the City at the November
4, 2025 general municipal election and that 8,197 persons were eligible registered electors of the City
for that election; and
WHEREAS, under current Ohio precedent, the signature threshold for a proposed amendment to a
charter under Article XVIII, Section 9 of the Ohio Constitution is ten percent of the total vote cast at
the last preceding general municipal election, requiring only 128 valid signatures in this instance; and
WHEREAS, R.C. 3501.02(F) requires the question or issue to be certified to the Board of Elections
no later than 4:00 p.m. on August 5, 2026, and immediate effectiveness is necessary to satisfy that
deadline and to permit the Board of Elections and Secretary of State to complete ballot preparation
and review.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Trenton, County of Butler,
Ohio:
SECTION 1. The foregoing recitals are incorporated into this Ordinance as findings of Council. The
Petition is incorporated by reference and attached as Exhibit A. The Clerk shall
preserve the original Petition, the Board of Elections’ signature report, and the
election-data correspondence as part of the official legislative record.
SECTION 2. Solely for purposes of election submission and in compliance with the authorities
identified above, Council determines that the Petition is valid and sufficient as to the
number of signatures required by Article XVIII, Sections 9 and 14 of the Ohio
Constitution and Section 9.03 of the Charter. Based upon 1,277 ballots cast at the last
preceding general municipal election, only 128 valid signatures were required; the
Board of Elections certified 336 valid signatures.
SECTION 3. Council hereby provides for and orders submission of the proposed charter
amendment set forth in Section 4 and Exhibit A to the electors of the City at the general
election to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Council finds that November 3,
2026 is not less than sixty nor more than one hundred twenty days after passage of

ORDINANCE NO. 21-2026
this Ordinance, as required by Article XVIII, Sections 8 and 9 of the Ohio
Constitution.
SECTION 4. The Clerk of Council is authorized and directed to certify to the Board of Elections,
no later than 4:00 p.m. on August 5, 2026, a certified copy of this Ordinance, the
Petition attached as Exhibit A, and all other certificates, forms, and materials required
by the Board of Elections or the Secretary of State. The Clerk, City Manager, Law
Director, and other appropriate City officials are authorized to make non-substantive
corrections requested by election officials that do not alter the proposed amendment
or Council's findings.
SECTION 5. Council does not decide whether the proposed amendment is constitutional,
preempted, sufficiently definite, enforceable, or lawful as applied to any person,
property, permit, approval, contract, public-utility facility, development, or project.
Council does not adopt, reject, endorse, oppose, or make findings on the merits of the
proposed data-center prohibition.
SECTION 6. All formal actions of this Council related to this Ordinance and all deliberations of
Council and of any of its committees that resulted in such formal action were in
meetings open to the public in compliance with all legal requirements, including
Section 121.22 of the Revised Code. delay would impair orderly election
administration and judicial review.
SECTION 7. That this Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure for the reason that
it provides for the immediate preservation of public health, safety, and general welfare
and for the reason that R.C. 3501.02(F) requires certification of the proposed
amendment to the Board of Elections by 4:00 p.m. on August 5, 2026, and shall take
effect immediately upon its passage.

PASSED
AYES
ABSENT
First Reading
Second Reading

NAYS

ATTEST:
Stanislav Beresford /s/_________________________
CLERK OF COUNCIL

Ryan Perry /s/
Mayor
Rules Suspended
AYES
NAYS_____
ABSENT

ORDINANCE NO. 21-2026
CERTIFICATE
I, the undersigned Clerk of Council for the City of Trenton, Ohio, Ohio, hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 21-2026 is a true and correct copy as passed by the Council of the City
of Trenton, Ohio on the 3rd day of August, 2026 and that at least two-thirds of the elected members
voted in the affirmative on said motion.
__________________________________
Clerk of Council