Xenia extends water service to Central State through May 18

“We want to offer them that extension as compassion...and give us an opportunity to sit down with Central State and work out a few more details in our agreement,” said council president Wes Smith.

The Dayton Daily News has reached out to Central State for comment.

The move came just five days before the campus’ water would have been shut off, as their temporary water service agreement was set to expire at the end of March.

The city and university have discussed the prospect of annexing the university - which would give the university a cheaper water rate in exchange for expanding the city’s tax base, among other things - for more than a decade. However, things came to a head in recent months as the city clamped down on delinquent utility payments.

The two parties have engaged in a flurry of negotiations in the last few weeks, but a key sticking point in the conversation, according to the city, is what will happen to the university’s aging water infrastructure, including an aging campus pump station, old water mains and water tower — and perhaps more notably, who is going to pay to repair or replace it, something the city says they cannot and will not do.

Central State provided its most recent version of the agreement to the city on Tuesday, and city officials say they are closer to working on a solution.

“The major issue the parties must overcome is maintenance and ownership of University utility infrastructure,” the city said in a Tuesday statement. “As these assets are property of the State of Ohio and in need of substantial reinvestment, the City has no intention of accepting responsibility for this infrastructure. The City continues dialogue with University leadership and remains committed to finding a mutually beneficial solution.”

“The City of Xenia is committed to working toward a long-term service delivery solution for Central State University,” the city statement reads. “Any such solution must both ensure cost effective services to CSU while also adding value for Xenia residents and not creating a liability for them.”