Oakley Community Council Meeting
Date: August 4, 2015, 7 PM
Trustees Present: Chris Mucha, Kenny McNutt, Evan Nolan, Jason Wilcoxon, Chris Mengel, Lisa Williams, Dave Schaff, Mike Bonomo,
Trustees Not Present: Brian Ferry, Tim Langmeyer, Sean Fausto, Jon Bernier
MEETING MINUTES
General:
· Cincinnati Fire Department – Lt. Inman
o 171 runs in July with 3 fires. 140 EMS runs – 62 requiring advanced life support.
o This month’s focus is kitchen fires – one of the top reasons for home fires. Don’t walk away without turning the burners off. If you see a fire in an oven, keep the door closed, turn off if safe, and call 911. If trying to suppress a fire, you can use a lid or pan to cover the fire. Make sure you always have a way to escape.
· Welcome to the owners of Oakley Animal Hospital, RP McMurphy’s and Rooted Juice Bar.
· Cincinnati Recreation Commission
o The community center will be closed from Jan. to May 2016 while renovations are being done.
o The pool renovations started and are still scheduled to reopen in next summer (2016).
o The Oakley Gators is a free swim team through the CRC.
o Motion to donate $75 to the CRC for a party for staff members and lifeguards as appreciation for their hard work. Motion is seconded and approved.
· Oakley After Hours is scheduled for Friday, August 14 from 6 – 10pm.
o Volunteers are needed. Contact Dave Schaff if interested.
· 501c3 Status
o Application for the OCC to become a 501c3 was accepted. Any donations made after April 29 to Oakley After Hours is tax deductible.
· NSP/NBD Status
o Reimbursement for NSP and NBD funds will be submitted to the City.
o 2016 plans for NSP/NBD funds will be discussed at the August 20th working meeting.
· Treasurer’s Report
o Will be tabled for discussion until the August 20th meeting.
· Oakley Esplanade Flagpole
o Dave will have a report in the September meeting.
· Kroger at Oakley Station – Ed Begley, Store Manager (Ed.Begley@stores.kroger.com)
o Largest store in the area. Store amenities include selling apparel (which is new to Kroger in Cincinnati), an expanded bistro area, a combined Little Clinic & Pharmacy, a 5th/3rd Bank, and a beer growler station and internet shopping (at a later date).
o Grand opening is on Sept 10, and all are welcome.
o Ryan McNealy, a local artist, is designing a unique mural for the store depicting the history of Oakley.
· Rooted Juice Bar – Anne and Megan
o 100% vegan kitchen for take-out food and some table space that opened in July.
o Proposing a mural on the parking lot side of the building. Requires a hearing with the City. Will be applying for that hearing this week. Can agree to paint over if the business ever moves.
o Motion to submit a letter to the City to support Rooted’s sign request, pending modification of the sign to include parking directions. Motion seconded and approved.
· Environmental Community Organization – Gabrielle Russell
o Working to ensure affordable rates for all residents. Also proposing incentives for “green” initiatives. Trying to get minimum bill eliminated and have billing be done by usage instead. Proposing to eliminate water shutoffs. Working to improve MSD appeals process, especially for infrastructure billing issues. Trying to work with the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) to get these initiatives approved.
o Is working on a petition drive as a community effort to get MSD to look at opportunities to improve the infrastructure.
· Urban Planner & Oakley Resident – Christine Celsor
o Working on improved transit ideas for Metro to bring riders between the high-demand neighborhoods.
o Talking with all neighborhoods along the route to get support.
o Motion to provide a letter of support for the transit plan to Christine Celsor. Motion is seconded and approved.
· Oakley Station – Steve Dragon
o Bar Louie is planning to open approximately September 1; Pet Supplies Plus is opening in the beginning of October; Tile Shop opening at the end of November; Bear Paddle opening early spring of 2016.
o New Tenants: Ladles - a soup and sandwich concept – 1st shop outside of the Carolinas; Orange Fitness Theory – workout studio focused on oxygen consumption – 1st in this area
o Apartment expansion for 148 additional units: approved by City Council and working on final development plan. Planning to start construction by November.
o 2 new zoning items:
§ Office tenant located west of apartments will be an 80k ft2 office for Anthem Insurance. Bringing 500 employees relocating from the Walnut Hills facility. Pat Moore with Neyer Group explained the design concept. Plan to complete construction in Fall 2016.
· Motion to provide a letter of support to Vandecar for the final development plan for the Anthem office and garage. Motion is seconded and approved.
§ 2nd concept development: Hotel operator would like to do a 5 story hotel near the Anthem building. Need an amendment to the original development plan. Would also like an amendment to potentially build another parking structure in the future if a tenant demands it.
· Concerns raised about overdevelopment from the original plan.
· Resident raised a concern about increased traffic and congestion in Oakley.
· Motion to support the hotel development. Motion is seconded and approved. Chris Mucha opposed. Chris Mengel abstained.
· Motion to support the conceptual development plan of Oakley Station to include a new parking garage for a future tenant. Motion is seconded and approved. Chris Mucha and Evan Nolan oppose.
o Chris Mengal will contact DOTE to get an update on the traffic plan in Oakley Station.
o Chris Mengal and Evan Nolan (Zoning Committee) will work with Steve to get development information in advance to work on consensus building ahead of the monthly meetings.
· Tire Discounters Signage Request – Evan Nolan
o Signage for the new building will not face the residents.
o Main sign will be backlit, but turned off during non-business hours. Also proposing a brick monument sign, which is different from the current Ridge location. Adding a “Welcome to Oakley” sign for traffic coming off of I-71.
o Tire Discounters has already filed a variance application with the City.
o Motion to provide a letter of support for the Tire Discounters sign variance for the Oakley Station site. Motion is seconded and approved. Mike Bonomo abstains.
Committee Reports:
· Zoning – Chris Mengal: Waffle House is looking to buy the property at 3315 Duck Creek Rd. This will not be where the business will be built, but to establish sight lines and ingress or egress. The City is looking for feedback by August 13 if opposed. Chris Mengal will email the details to the OCC Trustees.
New Business:
· The next OCC working meeting will be Thursday, Aug 20th at the Oakley Pub and Grill basement starting at 8pm.
9:35 PM – Motion to adjourn meeting is seconded and approved. Meeting ends.
