Oxford City Council approved several resolutions at Tuesday’s biweekly meeting, including two proclamations to promote and celebrate Ageism Awareness Day on Oct. 9 and Caroline Scott Harrison Day on Oct. 1. 

The former works to prevent negative ageism and create a community of respect and gratitude to Oxford’s older adult population, and the latter celebrates Oxford’s very own first lady (married to Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States) and honors her contributions during her time at the White House.

The council also voted to enter into an agreement with Oxford Township to provide fire and emergency medical services (EMS) to the township. The current agreement between the city and the township is set to expire Dec. 31 this year. 

The former agreement had the township contributing $158,000; however, due to the current financial deficit that the fire and EMS services are facing, the city and the township agreed to raise that number to $200,000 for the new contract. The new contract will become active on Jan. 1, 2025 and last until Dec. 31, 2028.

As the city staff continues to work on regulating short-term rental homes in Oxford, Sam Perry, community development director, recommended to council to place a moratorium on the development of any new short-term rentals in Oxford, which is not to extend past April 1, 2025. 

The original moratorium was voted on and approved at the March 5 meeting, and during that time city staff added a new requirement for short-term rentals to be a primary residence only. The new moratorium, proposed by council, would allow city staff to examine other properties within the Mile Square to be considered for regulation. Any existing approved short-term rentals would be allowed to continue to operate during the moratorium.

– Olivia Patel