‘You all have failed;’ State senator, township board get into heated exchange during meeting

MIAMI TOWNSHIP — Ohio Sen. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) confronted Miami Township trustees Wednesday calling them “cowardly.”

Antani took the podium during public comment and told trustees that he wanted to address a resolution they passed at a previous meeting that alleges he “neglects his obligations” to represent them.

The resolution further states that Antani was failing to provide the township an opportunity to participate in the distribution of money through the One Time Strategic Community Investment Fund.

The fund set aside $700 million as an additional source of funding that communities and organizations could apply for to help with projects that might not qualify as part of the state’s traditional Capital Budget.

During the meeting, Antani told board members that he had not heard from the township since they submitted their projects in April.

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“You did not advocate for your projects at all,” he said.

He added that he felt the resolution was passed in a “cowardly fashion” and done in the “dark of the night”, claiming that council members did not make an effort to reach out to him before presenting the resolution.

“I feel you all have failed,” he said to board members.

Trustee Terry Posey responded to Antani’s claims.

“If you are going to come in here and make statements you are rewriting history at this point,” Posey said.

Posey claimed that Antani’s office did not communicate with the township about its intent to not accept their project requests.

“To say we didn’t communicate with you, you didn’t communicate with us,” he said.

After the heated exchange, Antani left the podium.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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