Mayor Duncan invited Mr. Klopsch to make opening comments and deliver the meeting presentation.
Mr. Klopsch began the meeting by discussing the following city projects:
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Five Points Intersection: The Five Points intersection will be discussed later in the meeting. A decision will not be made on the Five Points intersection design until a thorough analysis is completed, and until city leaders receive feedback from the citizens of Oakwood and the general public.
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Medic Vehicle: Captain Pruszynski will explain the need to purchase a new medic vehicle in 2024.
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Finances: Finance Director Cindy Stafford will speak in detail about our city finances. Overall, our finances are in good shape. That said, Mrs. Stafford will explain that we need to discuss rate increases in 2024 in our water and sanitary sewer utilities.
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LED Street Lights: The majority of the street lights throughout Oakwood are in the process of being upgraded to LED fixtures. The new lights have a different look than the previous High Pressure Sodium fixtures, but the upgrade was necessary because LED lights are the new standard for street lighting. About 500 fixtures are being replaced.
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Solar Panels: There are 49 residential solar power generating systems installed on Oakwood rooftops. Mr. Klopsch commented on a recent Dayton Daily News article about the city of Vandalia prohibiting the installation of solar panels that face the street. Oakwood does not have that prohibition.
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Fiber Optic Infrastructure: The fiber optic broadband market is close to reaching its saturation point. There have been four different companies requesting to put fiber in Oakwood over the past few years.
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CenterPoint Energy Project: The CenterPoint gas line replacement project that began in 2010 is scheduled to be completed this year. At the end of this year, all of the underground gas distribution pipes and home service lines in Oakwood will have been renewed.
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RTA Trolley System: The RTA trolley system in Oakwood dates back to the early 1900s and is now obsolete and RTA no longer uses it. It is likely that RTA will remove the overhead trolley infrastructure in the next few years.
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Oakwood RTA Bus: The Oakwood RTA bus will debut in the ‘That Day in May’ parade on Saturday, May 20. Following the parade, it will be displayed on Dellwood Avenue for citizens to view before it starts operating on normal transit routes.
Mr. Klopsch reported that the audit of the 2022 city finances was recently completed. No items were noted and an unqualified “Clean” opinion is expected. He thanked Finance Director Cindy Stafford and the finance department for their diligence.
He then invited Finance Director Cindy Stafford to present the following financial data:
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2022 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:
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Total 2022 spending for General City Services was $14.15 million. A review of city spending over the past 15 years shows tight cost controls. The increase in 2021 was for the construction of a new Recycling Facility and a storage building at the Public Works Center. The increase in 2022 was for Gardner Pool upgrades, engineering costs for the Far Hills Storm Sewer Reconstruction project and also inflation in general.
Mrs. Fodge asked if actual costs have been compared to projected inflation costs.