The Council of the City of Oakwood, State of Ohio, met in a work session at 6:00 p.m. in the conference room of the City of Oakwood, 30 Park Avenue, Oakwood, Ohio 45419. Council then met in a special session at 7:00 p.m. and a regular session at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers of the City of Oakwood.
The meeting was streamed live from the Oakwood city website and telecast live on Cable Access Channel 6.
The Mayor, Mr. William Duncan, presided, and the Clerk, Ms. Lori Stacel, recorded. Mayor Duncan asked all present to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Upon call of the roll, the following members of Council responded to their names:
Officers of the City present were the following:
Mrs. Katie Smiddy, City Manager
Mr. Robert F. Jacques, City Attorney
Ms. Lori Stacel, Clerk of Council
The following visitors registered:
Phill Dysard, Palmer Energy
Peggy Finke
Brian Barr, Oakwood Register
Mrs. Jackson advised Council she had read the meeting minutes of the June 2, 2025, regular session, work session and executive session, and the June 16, 2025 work session. Mrs. Jackson reported that she found the minutes to be correct and complete. Therefore, it was moved by Mrs. Jackson and seconded by Mrs. Turben that the minutes of the sessions of Council aforementioned be approved as written and the reading thereof at this session be dispensed with. Upon a viva voce vote on the question of the motion, same passed unanimously, and it was so ordered.
STATUS REPORTS – NONE
VISITORS – There were no visitors wishing to address Council.
LEGISLATION
A copy of the resolution, having been placed on the desks of each member of Council prior to introduction, was read by title.
Mrs. Turben explained that this is a resolution to join the natural gas supply aggregation program that will be launched later this year by the Miami Valley Communications Council (“MVCC”).
With the move to deregulate public utilities in the early 2000s, which was intended to promote competition and lower costs, there have been two ways for utility customers to obtain electric or natural gas supply. The default is to pay the “standard choice offer” rate charged by the utility company that delivers electricity and natural gas in their area, which for us is AES for electricity and CenterPoint for natural gas. The alternative is to sign up with a third-party supplier, which can be done on an individual basis or via a governmental aggregation program. These programs allow cities to negotiate competitive rates with third-party suppliers who provide electricity or natural gas to retail utility customers. In 2003, Oakwood voters authorized the city to participate in utility aggregation if a suitable program became available.