At its Dec. 3 meeting, Oxford City Council addressed the upcoming lull in the winter season due to Miami University’s J-Term, as well as passing two development resolutions. The first resolution approved improvements made to the Black Covered Bridge as part of the Oxford Area Trail System (OATS), and the second approved the installation of a new flushing point for the Seven-Mile Well.
The new flushing point will ensure that the water coming from the Seven-Mile Well Field is flushed before coming to Oxford. This new installment will save filtering costs, according to service director Michael Dreisbach, and will use the last of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
Council members also looked at the current development happening at 5234 Hester Road, and voted to terminate the city’s current contract due to an exceedment of costs in the plan.
Free parking uptown starting Dec. 16
As the holiday season approaches, city council members voted to lift all parking fees in the uptown parking areas starting at 9 a.m. Dec. 16 until 8 p.m. Jan. 11., which has become an annual act. The initial plan laid out by Police Chief John Jones had the free parking lasting until Jan. 1; however, Mayor William Snavely asked if it would be possible to extend the period an extra 10 days, because Miami students will not return to campus until later in January.
“Students won’t park uptown all day and take up those spots … and our uptown businesses could really use the business,” Snavely said.
Jones reminded council and audience members that although parking is free, the time limit on spots will still be enforced.
Repairs planned for the Black Covered Bridge
After years of wear and tear, Dreisbach and city staff have determined that some repairs to the Black Covered Bridge’s roof are necessary. In their initial plan for the project, city staff originally allotted $450,000; however, at the meeting Tuesday, Dreisbach presented a more affordable plan.
The Black Covered Bridge is located on the OATS trails off Morning Sun Road. The altered plan proposed by Dreisbach is set at a cost not to exceed $405,750.40.
“I’m very pleased the money came under [the original amount],” councilor David Prytherch said. “[The bridge] is such a valuable asset to our community … so it’s important that we have the resources to do this right.”
The new roof, which will be installed by Jagger Construction, will include synthetic shingles instead of wood, but will still resemble the original roof. Dreisbach said there will also be repairs made to the structure of the bridge, but the bulk of the work will be done to the roof.
Plans halted for the Cottage Community project
Assistant City Manager Jessica Greene addressed council members on the development of 5234 Hester Road and recommended that the city terminate its current ground lease with Community Development Professionals of Hamilton, which the city entered into in November 2021.
Greene said after the housing advisory commission meeting Nov. 7, it is her recommendation that the city take the project back to the planning stage, because the planned housing development would exceed their target cost for rent.
With the plan laid out by the current contractors, homes in the Cottage Community would be rented for between $804 to $922 a month, a price far greater than initially aimed for.
“I think the biggest thing with this is the cost,” council member Jason Bracken said. “You can get something similar in size and space in other places in town.”
Other council members agreed that with rent costs as high as $900, the community would no longer be targeting the homeless population or those in threat of being homeless. However, one council member was hesitant to start the project over completely.
“I’m hoping for something perfect but we might be giving up something good here,” Prytherch said. “Going back to the drawing board is risky … It’s unfortunate.”
The four other council members present at the meeting( council member Amber Franklin and vice-mayor Chantel Raghu were absent) disagreed with Prytherch’s position.
“Going forward with a bad proposal is not a viable option,” Snavely said.
Council members voted 4-1 to take the project back to the planning stage.
At the close of the meeting, council members reminded audience members to shop local during this holiday season, including purchasing a tree at the Oxford Lions Club tree lot in Uptown park, and promoted the upcoming holiday festival taking place this Friday and Saturday.
“Please consider our local businesses this holiday season and shop local,” Greene said.
Jones reminded audience members that the Oxford Police Department (OPD) will be doing free vacant house checks for any permanent or student residents leaving Oxford for the upcoming winter months. Registration for a house check can be found on the OPD website.
At its next meeting, council members will vote on an ordinance to approve the planning commission’s request to approve a conditional use permit for a new indoor entertainment facility, which will be located in a vacant building at South Locust Street. The indoor facility will include a putt-putt miniature golf course and skate room entertainment room.
Scott Webb, the architect on the project, addressed council following the reading of the ordinance, thanking it for their willingness to work with him and the planning commission on the project.
“We’re really excited about this … This is a homegrown project,” Webb said.
Council will meet again for their biweekly meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the Oxford Courthouse.
