Committees

Much of the work done by the Ohio Association of Regional Council is completed by function based committees. Find information about each of our current committees below, including current leadership and initiatives and meeting calendar.

OARC Officers

The annually-elected officers of the Ohio Association of Regional Councils set the direction for the organization and develops the strategic plan. Through the work of the OARC Officers, the association maintains strong relationships with each of its members and facilitates the outcomes of each committee.

Jotika Shetty, President | Richland County Regional Planning Commission

Sandy Spang, President-elect | Lake Erie West

Chasity Schmelzenbach, 2nd Vice President and Policy Chair | Buckeye Hills Regional Council

William Murdock, Secretary/ Treasurer | Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

Executive Directors Committee

Chair: Jotika Shetty | Richland County Regional Planning Commission

The Executive Directors and Presidents of OARC member agencies meet to set the vision for OARC.

Current Initiatives: Strategic Planning

Meets: Quarterly

Time: 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Areawide Water Quality Committee

Chair: David Rutter | OKI

Representatives from the six Areawide Planning Agencies, along with interested representatives from other OARC Members, convene with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) staff. Subcommittee members promote the OARC vision; work collaboratively on contracted projects supported by both state and federal funds; and share ideas and experiences from their daily work to brainstorm future programs and policy positions.

Current Initiatives: 208 PLAN 101 (A Primer for Board Members, Elected Officials and other Decision-Makers), Regional Facility Planning Area (FPA) Map in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) platform.

Meets: Generally the 3rd Monday of the last month of each quarter

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Communications Committee

VACANT

The Communications and Marketing Directors of the member agencies meet to help promote the OARC vision from the Executive Directors committee, coordinate OARC sponsored events, and share ideas for daily work at their respective local agencies.

Current Initiatives: Ohio Conference on Freight

Meets: 1st Tuesday of the month quarterly starting in March.

Time: 3 p.m.

Finance Committee

Chair: Steve Armstrong | MORPC

The Finance Committee members meet to discuss finance, audit, and policy issues that affect member agencies.

Current Initiatives: Internal Audits, Health Plans

Meets: Biennial, May, October

Policy Committee

Chair: Chasity Schmelzenbach |Buckeye Hills Regional Council

The OARC Policy Committee is comprised of the Association’s Executive Directors, their designees, and various other staff. The purpose of the committee is to evaluate pending legislation, initiatives, or policy that impacts the operations of OARC’s members.

Current Initiatives: OARC Policy Agenda

Meets: 3rd Thursday every month via conference call.

Time: 3:00 p.m.

Rideshare & Air Quality Committee

Chair: Rajesh Nagisetty | TMACOG

The Rideshare and Air Quality Committee works as a collaborative of transportation and air quality professionals to discourage reliance on single occupancy vehicle trips in favor of more efficient modes of travel. The committee is responsible for ongoing administration of the Gohio Commute platform at the state level and also shares best practices for implementing each agency’s rideshare and air quality programs.

Current Initiatives: GOHIO Commute

Meets: 2/13/26, 6/12/2026, 10/16/2026

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Transportation Committee

Chair: Stephanie Gilbert | OVRDC

OARC’s Transportation Directors meet four times a year to discuss transportation issues affecting Ohio cities and parts of rural Ohio. Most of Ohio’s regional councils are federally mandated Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO’s) and state recognized Regional Transportation Planning Organizations (RTPO's) that bring local officials together to determine transportation priorities and how to allocate transportation dollars. Representatives from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) join members to discuss vital transportation issues affecting Ohioans across the state.

Current Initiatives: Analytical data for effective transportation planning; State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)

Meets: 4th Friday every other month starting in February.

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.