MINUTES

The Council of the city of Oakwood, Ohio, met in a work session on Monday, August 20, 2018 in the conference room of the Oakwood Municipal Building, 30 Park Avenue. The Mayor of the city, William Duncan, presided.

Council members in attendance were Mayor William Duncan, Vice Mayor Steve Byington, Councilmember Rob Stephens, Councilmember Anne Hilton and Councilmember Chris Epley. Staff in attendance were City Manager Norbert Klopsch and City Attorney Rob Jacques.

Mayor Duncan called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. and began by discussing the Oakwood Historical Society (OHS) property database. OHS President Leigh Turben joined the meeting for this discussion. Mr. Klopsch explained that staff has worked with OHS over the past three months to assist in early stage planning for establishing a property database. This included providing a digital file of all Oakwood properties. Mrs. Turben described the project, including an overview of the mission of the Historical Society and its approach to raising awareness on the importance of historical preservation. She then described the “Digital Archive for Property Preservation” project and explained that the goal is to provide information about property age, architecture, and other historical information for every property in Oakwood. The ultimate purpose is to develop a digital system where the information can be easily stored and readily accessed. A prototype is under development for properties on Dixon Avenue. The project will also include an outreach program where OHS representatives will seek additional historical information about the properties and past owners.

At 5:34 p.m., Mrs. Turben departed the meeting. Mayor Duncan thanked her for her leadership of the Oakwood Historical Society and for all the hard work on this digital archive project. Mayor Duncan then continued the work session with a discussion on the following agenda items:

• COUNCIL COMMITTEES
  • Planning & Zoning, Vice Mayor Byington
    • Short-term Rental Regulations: Mr. Klopsch and Mr. Jacques discussed possible methods for regulating the use of residential properties for short-term rentals. At present, very few communities have such regulations, but short-term rental usage is increasing. City staff will continue to monitor this residential use and will consider proposing regulations in the future if circumstances warrant.
    • Persons with Disabilities Code: Mr. Jacques explained that he is in discussions with representatives from the Miami Valley Fair Housing office relating to establishing a code to address persons with disabilities.
    • 413 Dellwood Property Maintenance Matter: Mr. Klopsch provided an update on the status of clean-up at 413 Dellwood Avenue. The property owner has until 5 p.m. this Wednesday to completely clean and sanitize the property. If the work is not completed, the City will have the work done by a contractor and will assess the cost to the property owner.
  • Public Properties, Mr. Epley
    • Shafor Park Tennis Facility: Mr. Klopsch provided a brief update on the construction project. The current ribbon cutting/grand opening is scheduled for Monday, September 17.
    • Wright Library Renovations: Mr. Klopsch noted that he and Mayor Duncan were present at the recent ribbon cutting to celebrate building renovations.