Violent crime is down, work at the East Broad Street and Hamilton Road intersection will finish next month, and water main replacement work on several city steets will continue into next spring, Whitehall officials told residents at the first of eight scheduled town hall meetings.
Between 45 and 50 people gathered Oct. 6 at the Whitehall Senior Center to hear updates from Whitehall Mayor Michael Bivens, Police Chief Mike Crispen, Public Service Director Casey Rowlands, and other city leaders on the city’s budget, economic development, public safety, and the newly formed Whitehall Department of Neighborhoods.
Whitehall City Council voted 5-2 to approve creating the Department of Neighborhoods on Sept. 24. The idea to create the new department came from Bivens, according to a news release announcing the creation of the department.
Speaking with attendees, Bivens said that the town halls are a way for residents to have direct contact with city leadership so they can voice their complaints, questions, and praises.
“We want to continue giving you the best version of this city that we can possibly give,” said Bivens.
Whitehall police chief touts drop in violent crime, crashes
Overall violent crime has declined from the previous year, according to a presentation by Crispen.
According to data reported by police, violent crime is down nearly 11% from 2024. Whitehall police made 1,202 felony arrests, and recovered 329 illegal guns, according to police data. Police also made 441 felony drug arrests during this same time period.
Whitehall is also seeing an overall decline in vehicle crashes, Crispen told the audience. To date, the city has seen a decrease of nearly 40% in crashes from the previous year. Crispen credited the decrease to stricter enforcement along problem streets where residents complained of people speeding.
“We heard your complaints,” Crispen told the crowd. Whitehall police also arrested 280 people on suspicion of drunk driving over the past year — an increase from around 122 for the previous year.
Crispen said the department currently has 45 officers on staff, and will be bringing in three more officers once they graduate from training on Oct. 10.
Public service department gives updates on roadway, traffic projects
Casey Rowlands, director of the public service department, shared updates on the lane widening of East Broad Street and Hamilton Road. The project is being handled by the Ohio Department of Transportation, said Rowlands, and is scheduled to be completed by mid-November.
In addition to widening the lanes for that intersection, ODOT will also be adding dedicated turn lanes and medians, according to Rowlands and a project overview from the city.
The Whitehall Public Service Department is also continuing its water main replacement project along East Main Street, Yearling Road, Virginia Circle, Rickenbacker Avenue, and Hamilton Terrace. Around 32,000 linear feet of water main will be replaced, according to a project overview on the city’s website. It’s scheduled to be finished by spring 2026, Rowlands said.
Meanwhile, the public service department will continue the reconstruction of 7,200 linear feet of Siegman Avenue from Yearling to Beechwood roads and Kumler Drive from Yearling to Westphal Avenue. In addition to the reconstruction, the public service department will also be replacing curbs on those streets and making storm inlet repairs, according to the project overview.
When will there be more town halls?
Whitehall city officials will host eight more town halls in the different wards of the city for the next several weeks. The next one will be Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. at the New Life Church at 441 Yearling Road. The locations for the rest of the town halls are still to be determined.
Here are the dates for the rest of the town halls, all of which will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.:
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Violent crime in Whitehall down, work at major intersection to end next month, residents told
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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