And members said they need to be careful to avoid publicly revealing what the power projects are, fearing they may reveal potential base vulnerabilities.
In a 2022 letter to members of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), an attorney for AES Ohio said the electric utility had agreed to work with the Natural Resources Defense Council on projects “in neighborhoods surrounding Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that increase energy resiliency.”
The settlement with the PUCO was tied to AES Ohio’s plans to install residential smart meters, a plan the commission approved in 2021.
The utility’s attorney identified the Council of Governments as the recipient of those funds until specific ways to spend the money could be decided.
“The base is ready for that,” Dave Burrows, a Dayton Development Coalition executive and a member of the council, said Thursday. “But there’s a process they have to go through.”
Burrows said Thursday he has discussed several possible projects with base personnel, four of which were deemed eligible for the money.
“We have prepared for it,” said Vince King Jr., who oversees community partnerships for the base.
In February 2022, AES Ohio completed an agreement to provide a shareholder contribution of $250,000 to fund projects that increase energy resiliency at Wright-Patterson, an AES Ohio spokeswoman said. That money came from shareholders, not ratepayers, she said.
But council members are concerned that airing details of the projects might expose base vulnerabilities.
One idea raised Thursday in a Council of Governments meeting — discuss the expenditures in closed executive sessions, a portion of public meetings closed to citizens and the media to discuss sensitive topics, such as government land purchases, hiring and firing of employees and more.
“Dealing with the MIR (Military Installation Resiliency plan), we’ve already said that that’s sensitive information that can definitely jeopardize the safety of” Wright-Patterson, said Pete Landrum, Beavercreek city manager and council president.
In 2022, the council hired a consultant from Maryland to create a “Compatible Use Study” or “CUS” and a “Military Installation Resiliency” plan or ”MIR" to help communities surrounding the base make laws and guide development in ways compatible with Air Force missions.
The council itself was formed in 2020 as an alliance of several local governments — including Fairborn, Beavercreek, Dayton, Huber Heights and others — to work in concert with the base, protecting mutual interests. Wright-Patterson, with some 38,000 military and civilian employees, is the biggest single-site employer in the state of Ohio.
Members of the council discussed having a “standing” executive session as a regular part of meetings to discuss sensitive matters relevant to base security.
The Wright-Patterson council is considered a municipal government in Ohio. It can pass laws and spend money like other municipal governance bodies, such as city councils.
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