Monroe also saw the long-awaited opening of the Strawberry Fields medical marijuana dispensary and other medical facilities.
Here’s a look at some of the top stories in Monroe in 2019:
Kroger distribution center approved
Monroe City Council approved a tax abatement for a $55 million fully automated distribution center that will create 410 jobs with some council members questioning why such global corporation like Kroger was seeking the tax break. Vice Mayor Dan Clark and Councilman Todd Hickman opposed the proposal and said there have already been too many tax breaks awarded to warehouse projects in the city. Hickman said “billionaires don’t need tax breaks. We don’t need more warehouses. We need to expand the business base.”
Zoning issues addressed
Monroe may be the fastest growing city in the area, but some officials continue to be concerned that its growth in industrial and businesses is happening too fast. Council members raised those concerns in February about more warehouses sprouting up along high visibility areas of Interstate 75.
Monroe City Council overrode unanimous decisions by the city Planning Commission and rejected a pair of rezoning requests. The requests, which involved about 164 acres near Greentree and Union roads that is zoned as Business Park and 117 acres at Mason and Butler/Warren roads that is now zoned as general commercial, both sought light industrial zoning.
In both cases, the property owners changed the zoning to take advantage of opportunities that never came to fruition or was the result of the 2008 recession and downturn in the retail sector. At one point, Middletown Regional Hospital, now known as Atrium Medical Center, considered relocating to the Greentree Road site.
In April, council voted to reverse itself and grant the rezoning requests. Clark said he concluded that the issue “would result in a protracted and lengthy litigation” that would be expensive and not beneficial for the city. “I don’t believe we’d get the results we want,” he said.
New hotels opened or announced
Tru by Hilton Hotels held a groundbreaking just north of the corner of Ohio 63 and Senate Drive in September for a four-story hotel. The 47,070-square-foot hotel with 94 guest rooms, an indoor, heated swimming pool and a fitness center. About a month later, the nearby Miami Valley Gaming racino announced a $100 million expansion that will include a 194-room hotel, restaurant, garage and more gaming machines.
New police station
In January, Monroe City Council approved spending $1.9 million to purchase the former IGA grocery store and strip center at 601 S. Main St. It also approved a $49,000 contract for KZF Architects to provide design services for the new police facility. City officials said construction inside the building would begin in 2020 with new facility in operation by early 2021.
Longtime McDonald’s rebuilt, reopened
It disappeared in June for a few months, but a new McDonald’s restaurant has been built from the ground up on the former restaurant’s footprint on Garver Road, just off the Ohio 63/Interstate 75 interchange. The new 4,900-square-foot restaurant replaced the structure built in 1981 ad opened on Sept. 4.
Drive-by shootings concern residents
Monroe police meet with residents after two drive-by shootings in the Monroe Crossings neighborhood on April 1. However, no arrests have been made by police. According to police records, it was the third time there was a drive-by shooting in the city since 2014. Police met with residents to share information with residents.
Monroe boy saves great-grandmother
An 11-year-old Monroe boy was called “a hero” for quick actions after he realized his great-grandmother was showing early signs of a stroke. Nick Hutton, a sixth-grader at Monroe Elementary, called 911 on Nov. 7 when he noticed his great-grandmother, Barbara Earley, 84, had slurred speech and a drooping face.
New gas station/convenience store next to police station
In October, Monroe council approved the rezoning for a new gas station/convenience store next door to the new police station will be located in the 600 block of South Main Street. Despite some opposition from nearby residents, council changed an existing agreement for the site to allow a gas station on South Main Street.
Medical marijuana dispensary opens
The Strawberry Fields medical marijuana dispensary finally opened on Sept. 25 after several delays in getting final inspections from the state. The dispensary is one of 56 which received provisional licenses to operate. As for the delays in getting the certificate of operation from the state pharmacy board, Jimmy Gould, CEO of CannAscend LLC, said it took a long time but that the state of Ohio is building new infrastructure for this new industry.
Gould believes that there are other conditions that medical marijuana could help patients that have yet to be considered by the state. He also believes the medical marijuana industry will continue to go through some more growing pains before it really begins to thrive.
A tragic losses
Monroe saw two people die much too young as they both battled bone cancer.
Dominic Watkins, a 2018 Monroe High School graduate, died March 1 at Cincinnati Children’s Liberty Campus. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, three times since 2015. On Nov. 21, 2017 — his 18th birthday — his left leg was amputated to eliminate the chance of the cancer spreading to other organs.Cancer cut short his once promising athletic career where he starred in track, basketball and football.
Madison Smallwood, a seventh-grader, died in June after battling the disease, and her fight inspired the entire community. In May 2018, the Monroe community rallied to make her dream come true — to experience a high school graduation.
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