Link Ahead with the City of Dublin, Ohio
Link Ahead with the City of Dublin, Ohio
Connecting Community, Financing the Future: Council’s Visionary Goals
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Big goals only matter if they bring people together to connect, grow and prosper. That’s our north star as Lindsay and Bruce sit down with Mayor Chris Amorose Groomes and Vice Mayor Cathy De Rosa to chart Dublin’s next moves: keep the community connected and competitive through investments in the places and systems that support daily life.
We share how new council members add fresh perspectives to four clear priorities that drive the year ahead. Think about bold recreation with the acquisition of the 240-plus-acre Sports Ohio campus. Think of a five-year, $375 million capital plan that upgrades roads, utilities, and technology while revitalizing Metro Center. We dig into why staying relevant isn’t about the next shiny thing; it's about disciplined investment that attracts jobs and supports the services residents value.
You’ll also hear updates on projects that change how we connect. Citywide fiber is nearing completion, unlocking faster work and learning at home. Regional light rail efforts move into phase two with an eye on a Dublin stop, while the future Signature Trail aims to link the city east to west with safer, wider active transport. And talk about a packed 2026 event calendar: America's 250th celebration, the 50th anniversary of the Memorial Tournament, new Jack Nicklaus–inspired public artwork and Christkindlmarkt coming to Riverside Crossing Park. It all comes together for a year designed to spark pride, joy and a stronger sense of belonging.
We close out this episode with a simple measure of success: a Dublin where people want to live, businesses want to invest, and neighbors want to connect. If that vision resonates with you, subscribe, share this episode with a friend and leave a review. Your feedback shapes what we build next in Dublin and talk about here on Link Ahead!
Hello and welcome to Link Ahead, the City of Dublin podcast. We are only on our second episode of this year, and it's already a really strong season, Bruce.
SPEAKER_03You are right about that, Lindsay, and today we are especially privileged to welcome not just the mayor, but the vice mayor to the podcast. Please join us in welcoming Mayor Chris Amrose Grooms and Vice Mayor Kathy DeRosa to Link Ahead.
SPEAKER_02Well, thank you. It is just a pleasure to be here. Looking forward to some warm conversation on this very cold day.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thanks so much. Thanks for having us. Absolutely, and it's welcome back. You both have been on Link Ahead before, and you are both friendly faces, familiar faces around Dublin and our community. And many residents will recognize this leadership pairing because the two of you previously served as mayor and vice mayor together from 2020 to 2022. And we just had our uh council organizational meeting on January 5th, and you were both once again elected by your peers to be mayor and vice mayor. So congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00How fast it goes, huh? And uh so let's just start with both of you. What motivates you to keep serving the city of Dublin?
SPEAKER_01You know, this will be the beginning of year nine in council, but long before that, like most residents of Dublin, I got involved with the schools and activities and a variety of things. And, you know, one of the things that just continues to impress me is just how energized and excited the residents are about this community and what it can be. And, you know, it it doesn't take a lot of that to keep you serving. And it that that works for me.
SPEAKER_02I would say for me, it's just I'm a little ahead of Kathy in this department. It's I'm starting year 11, but having served eight years on the planning commission prior to that, you know, it it's such a special place, and and everyone that comes here it's s seems to share that same sentiment. And I don't know how you don't give back to something that you love.
Fresh Voices On City Council
SPEAKER_03That's it. I mean, and we had the podcast with um the Abbey Theater, and we talked about we had uh parent involvement in that, and people just can't walk away. You get built up into it, and you just like, let's do this. So we're very happy to have you guys on here again. So let's talk about um a lot happened in that January meeting that we talked about. So we have two new council members. So Winnie Johnson representing Ward Two, and Greg Lamb and Ward Three. So we're very excited, and we're gonna reach out to them later to have them on the podcast. But you know, what what does it excite you about new people on council?
SPEAKER_02Gosh, I think anytime you have an influx of a fresh perspective, you know, we the only perspective we can give is the summary of our own experiences. And so as we bring more people with different life's experiences in, you gain additional perspectives. And while we're certainly missing the council members that have departed, um, it's very welcome to have some new blood and some new perspectives in. And I think it challenges all of us to think differently, and that's always a good thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, I I can remember my first couple council meetings, and to say I I wasn't nervous would be a fib. You know, you're pretty nervous. But you remember how energized and excited you are, and you bring all this fresh energy. And I see that with our, you know, two new council folks, and they're gonna bring ice ideas, like Chris said, that you know, we just haven't thought about yet. And that's that that educates us, and that's exciting for us as well. So look forward to it.
SPEAKER_03I mean, and that's Dublin, that's continuity. You know, you weren't the first council members, and you won't be the last council members. So we have to keep that going.
Visionary Goals And Community Focus
SPEAKER_00Right. What else is exciting is you guys um passed your visionary goals at the January 5th meeting. And so let's talk about that. A couple of those are really about building a stronger community. That's one of the ties that bind some of these goals together. So tell us a little bit uh more about a couple of those goals.
SPEAKER_01I hope that residents have heard about our acquisition of Sports Ohio. I hope so. That's really exciting of 240 plus acres. I mean, I think council has heard repeatedly how important it is to have just outstanding recreation for our youth of all ages, really, and that we just haven't had enough. So, not since the Rec Center came online, but 30 some years ago, have we had an opportunity to really put forth a great uh recreational program. So this started last year. We have a lot of momentum. We've picked an operator to manage that for us, and so what you're gonna see this year is engagement with the residents and what they want to see it look like and what they want to see it be. And so we're excited about that, and we invite everybody to help us vision what a really superb sports and recreation facility looks like.
SPEAKER_02I would just say, you know, what what we saw in our first organizational meeting, what we saw in our first organizational meeting of the year was really the result of the retreat that we had at the end of last year. And so we come out of that treat retreat and we had essentially four visionary goals, or we like to think they're visionary. Some people may have a different opinion on that, but um our visionary goals for for what we want to see moving ahead, and they're not necessarily a one-year goal because many of them take multiple years uh to execute on. And so out of those four goals, they really fall into two sorts of categories. One of them is about community and keeping us uh together as we continue to move forward, and then the other is really about financing our future and how are we going to pay for the services and all of the events and all of the things that we pride ourselves on as a community. So, out of those four goals, we're there really two parts. And um, certainly one of those will be the Sports Ohio conversation moving forward.
SPEAKER_00Well, you mentioned the finance piece, uh, so let's dive into that a little bit more. Um, we're talking about the West Innovation District, we're talking about revitalizing Metro Center. Um, give us a little bit more about what you're looking for in terms of building up that financial future for our community.
Financing The Future And Capital Plan
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, one of the, as I was thinking about what we would talk about today, um I went and looked at our um capital plan. So in addition to doing visionary goals, of course, one of the responsibilities of your council is to put forth a budget. And we do a five-year capital plan. And this year we passed a five-year capital plan of about$375 million. That's a lot of that's a lot of investment for the future. I went back and looked about 15 years ago, that was um about$130 million. So think about what we have been able to do as a community. And so um what we have to do is make sure we continue to build investment so we can continue to build that capital plan. Um, and as Chris said, finance what that what that future is. And so um when we when we look at the projects that we have ahead, we have to be sure we have some great things like infrastructure and and rail and uh a lot of of major activities.
SPEAKER_02You know, when we talk about investing our future, one of the big uh visionary things that we're trying to execute on is revitalization of the Metro Center. And, you know, it's it's not because we just want new things, it's because we need to continue to invest in the future. Um, you know, recently in our home, we've we've lived in our home for a little more than 25 years and we refinished the hardwood floors, right? Which is a messy, laborious sort of thing to do. But it's necessary. It's necessary that we look back and we reinvest in ourselves and we make things, you know, you may change the color of the stain on the floor or whatever it is because you need to stay relevant. And the important thing about staying relevant is that we live in a very competitive world. And even in the business of municipality, it is a very competitive place. And the folks that also want to attract the businesses that we want to attract are trying to put their best foot forward to make the case of why us. And so we as we continue with that story of why us, we need to be on the forefront of that competitive environment. Um, we need to think about the future of work, and certainly AI is changing the way work will happen. And so it's not so much, and I hope that the community understands that it's not just that we want to do something big and sexy.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02We do. But the reason, the why behind the what is that we want to stay competitive. We want to stay in front of the market and we want to attract the best to the city of Dublin.
SPEAKER_00Well, and that's what's so interesting about Dublin is because it's not just about the big dreams. Our dreams don't get any smaller, but it is about maintaining what we have. And you said that might not sound sexy, but when it is your street or your shared use path or in your community, uh, you know, that's what matters to you. And one thing we're really excited about, you mentioned the um CIP, the Capital Improvements Program, is we now have a map, an interactive map on our website uh where you can go look at that five-year plan uh to see what kind of projects are slated for the next few years. So we're we're really excited to have that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and they're impressive. Sometimes they're above ground and sometimes they're underground. I mean, uh we're excited that I think it'll be in the next couple months that we'll complete the ultrafiber fiber to every single resident. You know, Chris mentioned the importance of you know the technology economy, whether that's AI or whatever you're working. Um, several years ago, many years ago, actually, the a council decided, you know, we've got to invest for that. We've got to be ready for that. And here we are, we're ready for that. We're we're finishing what is just an amazing project.
SPEAKER_03That seems so hard to believe that that is almost complete. I mean, I remember the buildup and the communication to the residents and say, hey, it's gonna be a little mess, but it's gonna be worth it.
SPEAKER_01And it was a little mess. Right. But um, it's gonna be worth it and continue to continue to invest in a I know infrastructure is is not necessarily the sexiest words, but that's what really underpins your really the role of government is to make us ready.
SPEAKER_00Well, absolutely, and that is about connecting the community and to pivot from that to some other ways that connect the community, talking about just different events. So I know we have a lot of different events coming up this year. Uh share what you are excited about.
Metro Center Revitalization And Competitiveness
SPEAKER_01I'm excited about the 250th anniversary of our country, of course. I think we all are, and I know the city's planning lots and lots of things uh around that. Our traditional events in the community are gonna have quite an extra flair this year, and we're looking forward to that. Um, one of the events that I think might have its first anniversary this year is the Chris Kindlemark, something that I've been personally excited about. And for listeners that aren't familiar with what that is, uh Kris Kindlemark is a traditional holiday market celebrated in Europe, and you could describe it as uh winter wonderland of great crafts and activities and great things to eat and drink, and of course, most importantly, connecting with community. So between the close of um the Irish festival and St. Patty's, it's kind of quite a quite a endeavor. And so this will be an opportunity to build uh community in the winter. So I'm looking forward to that. We've signed up a great operator to do that and look out for that. We'll need volunteers. So excited.
SPEAKER_00But I have to say you are not the only one. Um the community and the region are really going bananas over this. Anytime we post about it on social media or have a conversation, people couldn't be more excited, and so we're really glad to have that coming on board. Um, any events that you're looking forward to?
SPEAKER_02Certainly the 50th anniversary of the Memorial Tournament, I think, is going to be really special and uh looking forward to having really the eyes on the city, right? So each year, the eyes of the world come here. But I think this year is going to be extra special. Um, of course, we're gonna be dedicating a new piece of public art that week right there in Muirfield that is inspired by Jack Nicholas himself. And I'm hopeful that that that uh Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas will be able to uh attend that time and feel honored and celebrated as we unveil that piece of public art right there in the heart of uh Muirfield Village. So the 50th anniversary of that, I know a couple years back we celebrated 35 years of the Irish festival, but you know, it is so important that we focus on celebrating things together. Um it's no mistake that we are pushing these things out front, the 250th uh anniversary celebration birthday of the United States is because, like any family, like the City of Dublin is an is an extended group of family. And it's important that we come together and we celebrate significant milestones with one another. Whether it be your niece's or nephew's first birthday or your grandparents' hundredth birthday, right? You come together and you celebrate these events that are meaningful because they say something about who you are as a family. And so we hope to have a year of celebration that we come together as a family and we celebrate these things. Much like any other family, right? There's certain things you don't you don't talk about at the dinner table. Um But what you will do is you're gonna talk about how much you care about each other and how much you've been through together and the change that you've seen and the things that you're looking forward to in the coming 12 months.
SPEAKER_03Well, it's funny you say that because you know we take massive amounts of photos of photos at all of these events. And I, you know, being with the city for 25 years that I've been here, I am never like stopped being amazed at how the joy we capture on people's faces, whether it's jumping on a bouncy thing at the Irish Festival, watching fireworks, like we we establish joy, and you're right, people want to be together for those things. Speaking of joy and passion projects, Mayor, you have um been a very big advocate for rail. So are there anything that you want to share with us today about rail?
Infrastructure And Citywide Fiber
SPEAKER_02You know, if you start to work on something that matters, it's gonna take time. So we first started as a city working on this in 2016. Um Dana McDaniel and I had gone out to the Nevada desert to visit Hyperloop. Uh and the Hyperloop was really the foreground for what would become passenger rail because we contributed to that study, and it is the same line that we're studying for rail. So that investment produced fruit because it kept us ahead of the study schedule. And so uh I was recently uh just a couple weeks ago, was out back in the Las Vegas desert, but at this time we visited Bright Line West, and we visited the organization that's building the passenger rail from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. And um we got to meet with Sarah Mont um Sarah um Waterson out there, who is the president of Bright Line West, gave us some phenomenal advice and some really valuable insight. So we are in uh phase two of a three-phase process. Of the FRA, the Federal Rail Administration, put out RFPs for this. We are in phase two of a three three-phase process. So we hope to hear feedback on where those stops would be. The Midwest Connect line is the one that runs through Dublin, and that runs from Chicago to Pittsburgh through Dublin, Columbus. Um we're really hopeful that we're gonna get positive feedback on that study and we will have success in sh in securing a stop here in the city of Dublin. But even if that doesn't happen, it will open up the door for us to have light rail and other forms of transportation throughout that corridor. So I'm I'm very excited. Uh we have great meetings coming up. I will be in Washington, D.C. the week after, the first week of February. Uh and we hope to meet with the uh Secretary of Transportation and continue those conversations.
A Year Of Events And Milestones
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, you know, Chris, I I'm excited about rail too, and I'm excited about all sorts of transportation. Uh folks that know me that know I'm out in my bike a lot. I'm not fast, but I'm there, and you'll see me on my little red bike. And um, I hope residents have heard about the signature trail, and I hope they had an opportunity during the engagement process to share. Um, just as exciting as that we get to go to Chicago, we're also investing that make make sure we can go east to west in this city and really build uh a bike walking path that's wider and connects all the other paths. So, you know, at all levels, large scale and and you might call that a smaller scale, but very much a human scale, we're we're investing and and that's gonna be fun. And you're gonna, you know, that's gonna take that's gonna take as many years, Chris, as I think that the real did. Well, the train might come through. That may have been sold a price tag on that. Yeah, the train might get there, but you know, if if it isn't, you know, if it was small, we probably wouldn't be all that interested. But I'm looking forward to that too. So it's just so many different things that are happening to, you know, invest in the future and bring us together as a community.
SPEAKER_00Wow, 2026 is a really big, exciting year. There's a lot going on. Um so let's try to boil this down with what are you most excited about this year?
SPEAKER_01Having been on council now a few years, I have to say sometimes when you think about how long it takes to do things, it it it can it it'll it'll make you sometimes frustrated. But the joy that I have going into 2026 and um frankly why I stood for re-election uh again this November is that as you heard, so many of things these things have really gotten lift and really gotten momentum. And I will tell you when you speak with residents, they'll say, you know, I've lived a lot of places, but wow, there is nothing like Dublin. And I mean, how can that not energize you to do all of these things that are that are coming forward? So I'm just joyous at the opportunity to continue to serve and to continue to advance some of these and looking forward to working with Chris and my uh all of my council colleagues.
SPEAKER_02I I would just add to that, you know, my mom always says the older you get, the faster they go. And you think you understand what that means, maybe when you're in your teens or your twenties or your thirties or even maybe even your forties. But the older you get, the more you realize that it is so true. And I I think the part of slowing down to plan for long-term future. Like there's there's a zero percent chance we're gonna be around when the signature trail gets finished, right? That that that's probably true, Chris. That is uh that is a 10, 15, maybe 20 year project. It it involves, you know, cycle bridges over 270. And you know, certainly we will begin construction of different phases. If you can remember the construction of the Emerald Connector, right? Emerald Parkway. And you know, that was a I think 14-phase project over many years. The the trails is going to be the same way. The the rail won't be that you know, trains can't go partway and stop. So, you know, that will be beginning to end out of the gate. But you've always you've heard the uh the wise man, it's a wise man who plants a tree in whose shade they will never sit, right? And or whose rail and they'll never ride. Thanks for that. I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you'll never pedal, really. That's what I mean.
SPEAKER_02Wow, she's in a roll. But at the end of the day, you know, somebody sat in the seats that we get to sit in and they thought big, and those things are just coming to fruition now. And shame on us if we're not sitting in these seats thinking about things and planting seeds for trees whose shade we're not going to sit in. Because really, that's the job of anybody that's leading anything, a community or otherwise, is to to go ahead and plant those seeds and have a vision and leave something for the next generation to work with. Because, you know what, if somebody didn't plant the seed of the Metro Center, which has been the economic driver of this community for how many years, we wouldn't have anything to revitalize. And that is a great opportunity for us. Like, what a what a great task is to revitalize this. And so, you know, what am I excited about? I'm excited about give establishing something that someone else is gonna be able to pick up the ball and further it. Down the field from whatever point I could get it to.
Rail Progress And Regional Mobility
SPEAKER_03So with all this going on, what does success for Dublin look like next two years, the next 10 years?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if we can make sure we remain the community that people say, wow, I want to live there, and businesses say, wow, I want to invest there. And young people say, Yeah, I want to live there. It's not, I'm I'm looking to stay here until I do the next thing. I'm I'm, you know, the forever Dublin. I'm I'm here. And if we can look at the projects and we say, are we making that possible? Are we investing so that folks can actually do that and have that dream? I that's what success looks like. So the big why is, you know, all the way back to the beginning. Are we connecting people and are we doing the right investments? And if we can look at that and say, we are, man, uh, that's pretty good.
SPEAKER_02I couldn't say it any better on the financial side of things. That that is extremely well articulated. I I would just balance that on the other side and say is we need to stay together. In an increasingly fractioned uh society, um, we need to care for each other and we need to understand that we are the sum of our life's experiences. And we for every single person, those life's experiences are different. And we need to try to stay together and honor one another and respect one another and do the most difficult thing that we do in the city of Dublin, which is institute a local democracy. And at the end of this two years, if we can say that we executed to the best of our abilities, and the only thing that we're perfect at is being human, imperfect humans, right? Like the only perfection we have is our in our imperfection as humans. But at the end of that time, if we can respect one another, if we can care for one another, and if we can have a healthy community financially, emotionally, relationally, going into the future, to me that's what success will look like.
SPEAKER_00All right, Dublin, we're in good hands. Thank you both so much for being here. Vice Mayor Kathy DeRosa, Mayor Chris Ambrose Grooms. What a pleasure to have you on Link Ahead. Thanks so much. Pleasure to be here.
SPEAKER_03And to our listeners, thank you as well for taking the time to connect with your city. Tune in next time as we continue to explore the many personalities and experiences that make Dublin a thriving place to live, work, and grow.