We are grieving the loss on January 26, 2022, of our colleague and dear friend, Dennis Nichols.
We held Dennis in high regard, both for the person he was, and for his accomplishments on behalf of the people of Batavia.
I want to tell you more about who he was and what he did.
Dennis was one of us – he grew up on the outskirts of Clermont County. He studied at Case Western Reserve University and graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Cincinnati. He came of age when he served as an Army officer during the Viet Nam war, an experience that shaped him for life. Dennis understood the importance of focus, self-discipline, and working closely with others to get important things done.
He was a driven person with a quick mind. He was knowledgeable on a wide range of topics and sometimes surprised us with the breadth and depth of what he knew.
He was a principled person who thought deeply about his beliefs and was not bashful in expressing them. He could be forceful and impassioned – at other times calm or humorous – always with a twinkle in his eye. Dennis could be intense – he could be kind – he was a complex person and we appreciated that about him.
Dennis was a newspaper man at heart. In the 1970s, he succeeded his parents, Arnold, and Anita Nichols, as editor of the Mt. Washington Press and the Clermont Review. Dennis absorbed life’s realities throughout Clermont County and became a concise, articulate writer with a keen eye for doing the right thing. For him, journalism was an important experience in his quest to make the world a better place.
Beginning in the late 1990s, Dennis learned the ropes of government from Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox and saw how people could benefit from government at its finest. He also saw what happened when people let their personal interests eclipse doing the right thing. Working in local government became his new chosen path for making the world a better place.
In 2010, Dennis became the Village Administrator for Batavia. It was our good fortune to be the beneficiary of his broad knowledge and experiences, as well as his unstoppable drive to make Batavia a better place. He embraced challenges that had lingered for years and found practical solutions.
For example, Dennis expedited annexing properties adjacent to the Village. As a result, tax revenues doubled which brought much needed financial stability to the Village. I believe that Dennis prevented Batavia from descending into a fiscal mess like some surrounding villages did.
Dennis negotiated with Clermont County to merge our water and sewer services. As a result, Village residents will save nearly 50% on water and sewer bills. Also, we could close our antiquated facilities, which avoided spending more than $5 million to meet EPA regulations.
For years, our Main Street needed major renovation. Residents formed a non-profit, the Village Association of Batavia which raised money for this purpose. They produced The Taste of Clermont for many years. Their proceeds paid for the engineering plans, but it was Dennis who landed the $3 million in grants and no-interest loans that paid to transform Main Street. It was finished in 2014, just in time for the Batavia Bicentennial celebration, which he also managed.
Dennis also was the driving force for moving Village operations to the historic Batavia Armory. He was instrumental in negotiating the purchase of the building, then getting a state grant that would help refurbish it. It also was his idea to purchase and demolish the nearby building at the corner of Main and Second Streets, then create a small park with a village message board.
He did countless other things that made Batavia a better place. The list is long – renovating or demolishing dilapidated buildings; improving and enforcing ordinances; planting trees; improving sidewalks, sewers, and streets; plus, many other projects.
One of Dennis’ biggest victories was his work with Hal Homes, the developers of the 200-acre Streamside community near Bauer Road. He managed the negotiations, which worked out affordable ways to pay for the needed infrastructure. The result will be the first significant increase in the population of the Village of Batavia in many years. More people will bring more shops, restaurants, and services, which residents have been wanting for years.
Dennis wasn’t resting on his laurels. Up to the end, he had important projects in the pipeline. For example, he was exploring the idea of Batavia having its own lower cost energy company so that we could attract more businesses and bring more jobs to our area.
Those of us in the Village who worked closely with Dennis really respected, admired, and appreciated him. We know that he felt the same about us. This includes our Fiscal Officer, John Waite, our Maintenance Superintendent, Wayne Smith, and many others in the Police
Department, and the Village Council. In the days since his death, several Batavia residents have reached out to us with the same sentiments.
In my life, I have never worked with anyone quite like Dennis – he really held himself responsible for getting results – he was resourceful, respectful, and responsive.
Dennis Nichols worked capably and tirelessly for more than a decade and his work was not yet done. He struggled with significant health problems and knew that his time was running short. Despite this, he made sure his successor, Ken Geis, was in place and did all he could to get Ken off to a strong start. Dennis literally worked until the day before his final illness.
Dennis did this because he was determined to take Batavia from a struggling village to a better place – a more prosperous place with a higher quality of life for its residents.
I believe he died knowing that he had done what he set out to do.
Our grief is praise for the man he was, and our gratitude is for all that he accomplished on our behalf. We thanked him in life, and we thank him now again.
We extend our most sincere condolences to his family and friends.
May he rest in peace.