Oakley Community Council Meeting
Date: February 3, 2015, 7 PM
Board Members Present: Mike Bonomo, Kenny McNutt, Evan Nolan, Sean Fausto, Dave Schaff, Tim Langmeyer, Jon Bernier, Jason Wilcoxon, Chris Mengel
Board Members Not Present: Chris Mucha, Brian Ferry
MEETING MINUTES
General:
· New room arrangement: clipboards available to replace the tables which were taken out. Nameplates were replaced to be uniform.
· Lisa Williams was elected to the open board position at the Jan 15th working meeting.
· Cincinnati Fire Department Report (James Jasper, CFD station 31):
o January #’s: 172 responses- majority are medical related. 8 fire related runs.
o Electrical safety: be careful with appliances to check for frayed/cracked cords, or anything loose. Only use extension cords on a temporary basis. Install receptacle covers on outlets in homes with small children. Don't overload circuits. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for new appliances. If a circuit keeps tripping, have an electrician check it out. Careful with lamp placements (lamps to close to a curtain, lamp with a bulb that's too strong). If you are a renter, your landlord is required to have a working fire alarm installed. Have a working co2 detector.
o T-shirt design is still being worked on.
· District 2 Police Report (Officer Al Brown):
o Oakley and Hyde Park have a large problem with thefts from autos. Residents need to ensure cars are being locked. CPD is working to get resources to identify hot spots and add plain clothes officers.
o Part 1 (more serious) crimes have increased: Burglary on Atlantic with a door kicked in; aggravated robbery w/ pedestrian robbed at gunpoint; aggravated robbery at 5/3 bank on Madison; rape report on 1/18
o Crime stats are available online w http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/police/crime-statistics/
o Oakley crime stats may look high due to Center of Cincinnati and Hyde Park Plaza crimes included.
o Question: How to get Citizens on Patrol restarted and refunded? Officer Brown will look into steps to restart.
o District 2 is willing to help with the flag pole installation.
· CRC Report (Ellen Brewster):
o Daddy Daughter dance Feb 15th is sold out.
o Summer day camp priority signup was last week - 66 kids already for 120 spaces. Open registration started yesterday. 11 week program.
o Aquatic center construction starts Aug 1 this year - pool will close 10 days early. Ceremony to drain the pool.
o Mike Bonomo and Dave Schaff are looking for volunteers to work on supporting the recreation facilities in Oakley. The pool was part of the master plan. There is momentum to renovate or rebuild the Rec Center as part of the master plan. OCC will wait for a permanent director to lobby to replace the rec center. It is the city’s smallest and most other centers have been renovated within the last 20 years.
o CRC has an independent board from city council who provides funding, but the commission needs to buy in.
· Flagpole Update (Dave Schaff)
o Oakley has 2 large poles via donation. The OCC would like to erect one on the esplanade, and would like police and fire help with installation and unveiling (target Memorial day). Other location to erect the pole is still tbd. Still many steps to be completed – permits, park board contact. Plan to install lighting so that the flag can stay up at night. A local cub scout pack would like to help.
· Recto Molded Products
o Property purchased at corner of Appleton/Robertson, formerly a roofing distributor. Begun primary work of new location: approx 9,000 sq feet. 2 buildings, new building will connect to current property. Exterior will be gray "split block" and metal. Building will be used as warehouse space; currently own building across the street which has clients. Building was originally a lumberyard.
o Going to the city in the next 2-3 weeks for the permitting process.
o No new employees to be added
o No parking has to be installed, but they are adding some parking
· Treasurer's Report (Mike Bonomo)
o 1 transaction in the general account to pay for OCC insurance, which is additional insurance that the city requires for us to get NSP/NBD funds. Membership check from last month was deposited today.
o Balance is approx $14,000
o $2400 in OAH account
o Oakley Pay Pal account approx $5400. Expenses from DD Dance not removed yet. Last year it was about $1500, and this year looks to be about the same.
o Treasurer’s report was approved unamimously.
o NSP/NBD amendments have to be made by next month. Will work with the Chamber to establish some beautification ideas before the deadline.
Committee Reports:
· Community Outreach: Brian is going to take over to clean up Oakley Events. Kroger carts rounded up from all over Oakley - trying to work with Kroger on that to be more proactive. Need to work with Buckingham about the construction debris near ridge and Cardiff. Streets are a mess.
· Communications: January meeting minutes approved at our mid-month meeting and posted online so that things are approved and publicized on a timelier basis.
· Membership: 11 new members. Looking for software solutions to solve membership; will be discussed on Feb 19. Looking for feedback about membership to help improve and increase overall members. Looking at doing a membership packet for new Oakley Residents
· Oakley After Hours: 2/12 OAH planning meeting; 3rd Thursdays at 6 pm in basement of OPG for a standing OAH meeting.
· Zoning: Two zoning issues.
o Sean and Chris attended public meeting re: Madison Rd where the avocado salon used to be. Variance on setback from the street due to a utility post with a transformer. No concerns from board for that. There is a 3 story building going in there - plans have just been filed. There are going to be concerns about parking - call is in to the city about the parking issue.
o Tire Discounter looking for a conditional use permit at corner of Marburg and Alamo. Vandercar did not present to the Community council - meeting is Weds 2/4 at 11 am. Emergency meeting 1/29 with Tire Discounters, Vandercarr, Board and some residents. Zoning issue to use that building for auto. We reported to the city that we had the meeting that the conditional permit was opposed by residents; the Board took no position on it. Belief that this is likely to get passed; the land needs to be developed and Tire Discounters is willing to build, but concerns about impact on residents. Follow up phone call with TD, if this goes through, we need to work to ensure good benefits for the residents. They are willing to be on board for that if it gets to that point. They also agreed to maintain. We also requested a "welcome to Oakley" sign on that property as part of that being a gateway to the neighborhood. Meeting is at centennial 2 at 11 am.
o Frustration from board members and the trustees about the lack of notification, and worries about the future of the plan development for Oakley Station.
· Traffic/Safety/Pedestrians: David Mann's chief of staff mentioned that the intersection at Isabella/Madison has become an issue at city hall.
· Hyde Park School Liaison: HPS was ranked as the highest elementary school in the state of Ohio for the Performance Index - out of 3,400 schools. The Principal won a distinguished "Cincinnatus" Award for outstanding educator in the city. Registration is ongoing for kindergarten next year.
New Business:
· Board meeting Feb 19th at OPG as a working meeting for stuff we discussed tonight
· MadTree is official drink of Oakley.
Speaker Cards:
· Laura: Vacant House for 8.5 years on 33rd ave. What to do about it? Property is attracting people who don't live there.
· Grace Christian Fellowship: Church in the community for about 2 years, retired from the city. Very community oriented, aimed at families and children, working with international ministries. They would like to help the OCC in any way. They also offer karate classes. Looking to put on events on Oakley Square. 2960 Madison road, across from 20th C. Theatre. www.gracechristianfellowship.com, also on facebook
Motion to adjourn meeting is seconded and approved. Meeting ends.
