PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
SUPPORTING STRYKER … Williams County Port Authority board members, from left, Cheryl Andres, Dave Newcomer, and Ashley Epling discuss a letter of support for Stryker in regard to the Residential Economic Development District grant funding at its regular meeting on Monday, May 18.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Port Authority met in a regular session on Monday, May 18. Board members present were Dave Newcomer, Joe Kimble, Tyson Stuckey, Sean Rupp, Ashley Epling, Cheryl Andres, and Tyler Sailer, with Bill Martin and Dawn Fitzcharles absent. Rachel Walz communicated via conference call.
Following approval of the April 27, 2026, meeting minutes and April 30, 2026, financial statements, the Port Authority approved a letter of support for the Village of Stryker for the Residential Economic Development District program.
Epling told board members the Residential Economic Development District (REDD) is a grant program that was rolled out by the Ohio Department of Development last year for residential economic development district based on industrial projects.
She said that Stryker had qualified based on an expansion that North Star had back in 2020 and has been helping the village in which they hired a vision group to help with the process.
In December 2025, the village had applied for the first round and despite seeking a $1.5 million grant, they were not approved. She noted that Antwerp was awarded the grant.
Epling added the village has applied for grant funding again, for which applications opened last Friday (May 15), and is looking to submit an application by this Friday (May 22).
To make this happen, Epling has been obtaining letters of support from Ohio Art Company, Spangler Candy Company, the Williams County Commissioners, and Williams Economic Development Corporation (WEDCO).
She also had reached out to regional elected people, but unfortunately, they couldn’t provide a letter of support for a competitive process.
The grant will enable the village to help fund a subdivision resulting in 100 housing units that they have already engineered.
Should the grant be approved, it will fund infrastructure on 36 acres already owned by the village. The project involves three phases, with engineering estimates for the cost of each phase.
“Part of this application is they’re looking for density, so they want the engineered subdivision to meet those density requirements,” said Epling.
“The other nice thing is the village going through this process to apply for this and also have them ready for other developers that can look at it and have other information.”
The board also approved the sale of a house located at 404 Clear Fork in Pioneer. The house, which was closed on May 12, was sold to a woman from Florida at a cost of $185,000.
Another property at 228 Beech Street in Bryan is scheduled to close on May 30 at a cost of $185,000.
There are two showings scheduled for a duplex at 312 Curtis Street in Stryker. Another duplex located on Depot Street in Stryker is scheduled to be sold on May 30.
Walz, via a conference call, updated several active building projects that include four duplexes and four single-family housing units in Edgerton, Bryan, and Montpelier.
Newcomer asked Walz if the Port Authority might still have time to start a couple of building projects before the end of the year so they can try to achieve their goal of 10-plus units a year.
Possible property lots on which the Port Authority could potentially build include Myers Street in Bryan, another one on U.S. Route 6 across from Phil’s One Stop in Edgerton, and a quarter-acre lot in Pioneer.
Walz said the property in Pioneer already has village utilities and water. “I think if we have the contractors that are available, I think we should do that,” said Walz.
The board then entered an executive session for the purpose of considering the purchase of real property. No action was taken.
The next meeting will be on Monday, June 22 at 1 p.m.
