First health and safety supply box installed in front of Reily Community Center

Trustees approve data center moratorium, join neighboring townships

The first Community Health and Safety Supplies box has been installed in front of the Reily Township Community Center as a pilot effort for a program that looks similar to “Little Free Libraries” or “Blessing Boxes.”

The installation was completed in partnership by the Coalition for a Healthy Community, Regional Harm Reduction Collaborative (RHRC) and the Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Board (MHARS).  

Prior to the July 1 Reily Township Trustee meeting, members of the RHRC posed with the trustees in front of the new installation located to the left of the community center entrance, which has been filled with free doses of the opioid overdose-reversal treatment Narcan, first aid supplies, medication lock boxes, sunscreen and other supplies.

The pilot installation was approved by trustees during a meeting on Jan. 7 when the idea was pitched by representatives of the organizations.

The new installation resembles the Little Free Library box that stands just across the sidewalk from it, in that it sits atop a post outdoors with small, plexiglass doors and operates on an honor system.

The initial costs of installing the box, around $300, was paid for by all three partners through various grants and donors, and it will continue to be filled by the organizations at no cost to the township. If the program goes well, more boxes may be installed or items inside the box could be changed or added, depending on feedback, according to Tami Adams, a registered nurse with the RHRC.

There are response cards inside the box on which individuals may list what they took or needed and any suggestions. Adams said the organizations will also seek regular feedback from the trustees and other community representatives.

Adams said supplies may change based on the season. For example, there is currently a heat exposure kit inside the box including information about the various stages of heat exposure, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, as well as water, a disposable washcloth and an ice pack. She said there will be a similar version of the kit inside the box related to cold exposure this winter.

Adams said the box will be checked every Wednesday and refilled if necessary.

Amy Machechko, director for the Oxford area Coalition for a Healthy Community, said the organization has a work group called “Amplifying Community Voice,” wherein representatives of the various communities that make up the Talawanda School District come together to share strategies that will work for them.

Through the group, Macechko said they’ve realized in-person, timed events don’t always work for rural communities. She said this is where the idea for a supply box, available outdoors, 24/7 came from.

Macechko said, as the group collects data from the surveys in the box and observing how its being used, the work group will share amongst its members, and those community representatives can decide if the supply box could be a “good fit” for those areas.

As an outreach nurse and Butler County resident, Adams said she has seen firsthand the barriers rural residents face in accessing health and safety resources. She said Reily was selected as the pilot location for this project because of its “strong community engagement” and the leadership of its trustees.

“It’s a strategy, trying to get things out to folks,” Adams said of the supply box. “(The trustees) were willing to say, ‘Hey, we’ll try this,’ and we’ve already seen things taken from it.”

Cara Brown, director of addiction services at MHARS and a resident of Reily Township, said in an email to the Oxford Free Press, “Mental health and addiction affect individuals and families from all walks of life, and access to timely information and resources can be life changing.”

“This resource box reflects our collaborative commitment to ensuring every resident has access to support for their overall well-being,” Brown said.

Data center moratorium

In other business, Reily joined several of its surrounding townships when trustees voted to approve a moratorium, or temporary suspension, on any possible data center development within its limits.

Although there have not yet been any proposals to build a data center in Reily Township, members of the Reily zoning board were at the trustee meeting to ask for a 12-month pause on any governmental action, including the approval, establishment, construction or conversion of other structures or buildings into a data center, data mining operation or data processing center.

According to the resolution signed by the trustees, this moratorium would allow township officials to have “sufficient time to consider potential community impacts” of any of those developments and gather community input to update the Reily Township Land Use Plan and consider possible changes to the Reily Township Zoning Resolution.

Earlier this month, the Butler County Commissioners voted to impose a moratorium on building data centers within the limits of six townships over which the county has zoning control, including Hanover, Lemon, Madison, Milford, Oxford and Ross townships, after each of the townships’ trustees agreed to support one.

Although most of the townships asked for 12 months like Reily, commissioners voted for a pause of just six.

Community center improvements

Additionally, Reily trustees heard updates about improvements to the township community center at 6093 Reily Millville Road.

Funding for the project came from an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant from the Butler County Commissioners in 2024 for $150,000, according to Reily Fiscal Officer Ronald Tilford.

Since then, Tilford said updated tables and chairs were added to the community room, plastic barriers were added to the playground and the outdoor basketball court and front and side parking lots have been paved. 

Tilford said a new basketball hoop is also coming to the community center through the ARPA grant, with help from an additional grant from the McCullough-Hyde Foundation from 2024. He said the funding is also being used for new mulch and painting both the fence and three baseball diamonds.