We have outstanding employees. Steve Alston, Steve Kunz and Shaun Huffman celebrated 30 years of service with our Public Works Department. Lieutenant Jeff Yount, Sr. celebrated 30 years of service with our Public Safety Department. Because we generally hire experienced employees from other jurisdictions, Lieutenant Yount's years of public safety service to Oakwood may never be surpassed.
Public Works employee, Chris North and former PSO and current dispatcher Leslie Zengel celebrated 35 years of service with the city.
And Director of Leisure Services, Carol Collins, celebrated 45 years of service to our fine city.
We are also blessed to have over 100 citizen volunteers who serve on our Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, Board of Health, Property Maintenance Board, Budget Review Committee, Beautification and other committees.
Oakwood Schools and Wright Memorial Library
Everyone knows Oakwood has great schools but did you know US News and World Report ranked Oakwood High School seventh best of the 736 Ohio public schools ranked.
The OHS Academic Decathlon team won the Division III National Championship for the eighth year in a row. They earned the highest team score ever in Division III history and finished second overall out of 73 competing teams.
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice! Well, Oakwood Junior High student Alex Zhang performed at Carnegie Hall last April as part of American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition. Congratulations Alex.
In 2019, Wright Memorial Public Library celebrated its 80th anniversary. Under the leadership of Director Kristi Hale, they received their second four-star rating from Library Journal's 2019 Star Libraries report. The index measures circulation, visits, program attendance and public internet use. Wright Library ranked in the top 1.5% of libraries under $4.9 million in expenditures. Their beautiful building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Neighborhoods
We have outstanding diversity in housing choices. Although most of our housing stock is over 70 years old, our homes and properties are better maintained than any other city around and our home values prove it. In 2019, 78% of Oakwood home sales were higher than the County appraised value.
New home construction continues on the remaining lots in Pointe Oakwood. The 84 unit luxury condominium project known as Element Oakwood is essentially complete and new residents began moving in last month. We are excited about these additional housing choices for our citizens.
Because Oakwood is essentially one large neighborhood, we take traffic enforcement very seriously. As a result of the 2017 Shroyer Road Diet project, speeds on this one mile stretch of roadway have dropped between 4 and 11 miles per hour. In 2016, we issued 236 speeding tickets on Shroyer Road. In 2018, we issued only 36 speeding tickets.
Financial Stewardship
The eight years of the Governor Kasich administration were difficult for counties, cities and villages as the State of Ohio broke its 75 year partnership between state and local governments.
Instead of us working together as partners, and recognizing the enormously important role that local government plays in providing services to the citizens of Ohio, the State chose to treat us as an expenditure to be reduced. I am happy to report that Governor DeWine recognizes the value of the partnership between state and local governments. His policies and tone have been a welcomed change for local governments.
Under the leadership of City Council, our outstanding city staff and the advice and counsel of our 35 member citizen Budget Review Committee, we met the challenges to our financial stability. We reduced expenses each year between 2009 and 2014. We had modest increases in spending in the last few years but those included major capital expenditures to redesign Shroyer Road, to replace our 65 year old tennis courts at the Oakwood Community Center, and to pay off our Ohio Police & Fire Pension liability.