Code amendments have been established to create an appropriate balance between meeting the desires of those residents wishing to cultivate natural areas/native gardens and those who prefer traditional landscaping within their neighborhoods and around the Oakwood community.

  • Public Services: Employee recruitment remains a challenge. It will continue to be critically important that the city attract and retain excellent staff in order to maintain the exceptional level of Oakwood public services.
  • Infrastructure Improvements: Like many older cities, much of Oakwood’s infrastructure is nearing 100 years old, and making improvements to the aging infrastructure remains a challenge. Mr. Klopsch shared a recent Dayton Daily News article reporting that the federal government is establishing a 10-year timeline for the replacement of water service pipes nationally. He reported that Oakwood’s annual water testing, required by the USEPA and Ohio EPA (OEPA), has not shown lead and copper content exceeding the EPA “Action Levels,” which are 15 parts per billion for lead and 1,300 parts per billion for copper. Regardless, the OEPA is now requiring that water system operators send letters to every property owner with known or suspected lead pipes and certain galvanized pipes by the middle of November. Mr. Klopsch explained the potential costs of replacing all of the water pipes and the resulting impact on water rates.

Mr. Kinsey asked if federal funds would be available to help pay for replacing the pipes.

Mr. Klopsch said that the cost nationally will be astronomical and that some federal funds may become available, but will likely be earmarked for areas with the greatest financial need.

Ms. O’Leary shared that areas with more lead pipes may qualify for priority funding.

Mr. Vaughn asked how Oakwood’s water testing compares to nearby cities.

Mr. Klopsch explained that the same OEPA test standards apply to all communities but he is unaware of other community test results. He also mentioned that the testing for PFAS chemicals in Oakwood water has not shown any detectable levels.

Mr. Jacques shared that the federal legislation adopted last week establishing the 10-year timeline is not very clear. The privately owned part of the water service line is from the curb stop water shut off valve to the house, which is pipe the city did not install, but the EPA says the city has control over it because it is part of the city’s water distribution system. He believes this is an arbitrary decision and litigation is likely questioning whether the EPA has authority to mandate the water pipe replacement.

  • 2024 FINANCIAL REPORT THROUGH SEPTEMBER: Finance Director Cindy Stafford presented the following financial data:
    • General City Services receipts through September are at 83.47% of budget, while disbursements and encumbrances are at 69.83% of budget. This is attributed to the timing of real estate and income tax receipts. As the two largest sources of revenue, graphs were displayed for Income Tax receipts and Property Tax receipts. Mrs. Stafford anticipates that disbursements and encumbrances will come very close to the budget by the end of the year.
    • Refuse Fund receipts through September are at 76.62% of budget and disbursements and encumbrances are at 77.30% of budget. Mrs. Stafford shared that she expects to end the year very close to budget. This is the second year where