October 9, 2023
Hi Everyone,
Citizen turnout at our commission meetings has been amazing, thank you all for supporting our city. Your participation is essential to its health and well-being and it’s having an impact.
Fire Prevention Week
Fire prevention week is Sunday Oct 8, 2023 – Saturday Oct 14, 2023. At Monday’s Commission meeting, Volusia County Fire Lieutenant Chris Davis will give a presentation on fire prevention. His focus will be kitchen safety and response to grease and cooking oil related fires. Lt. Chris believes that appropriate action and good decision making during these highly stressful situations are critical to ensuring the safety of you and your family. Fire extinguishers, blankets, lids, what do you do, which one is right in this particular situation? Do I stay and try to fight the fire or do I evacuate my loved ones and call 911 for help? These are all tough questions that require judgement and training. When the time comes, they will have to be answered in an instant and pray to God you get it right. Our city is grateful for the opportunity to learn from our firefighting heroes.
Monday’s, meeting will include discussion from Oak Hill resident’s Chris VanGorder and his partner Tracy Cooper who were both severely burned in a grease fire back in February. Tracy received burns over 60% of her body. It’s a miracle that she’s still with us. Her spirit and courage are inspirational and we’re lucky to have the opportunity to gain the insight she has to share as a result of this life altering experience. I encourage you all to come to the meeting and hear this important conversation.
Our city’s goal is to develop a program that will make fire blankets available all households in Oak Hill who want them. Lieutenant Campbell, from Volusia County Fire Station 22 here in Oak Hill, examined the fire blankets our city purchased and found the quality to be adequate if they are used as instructed.
For further fire safety training, The Fire Department will be conducting a Home fire safety training seminar October 26, 2023 at Volusia County Fire Station #22. This two-hour program starts at 1:00 PM. Mark this one on your calendar.
Commitment to Cleaning Storm Water Control Ditches
At the final budget hearing held September 25, 2023 our city commission was faced with the decision to adopt a proposed millage rate that would raise the revenue the city collects from property tax by about $100,000. The alternative was to adopt the roll-back rate which would maintain the current revenue our city collects from property tax. During the meeting I suggested that we could eliminate $100,000 from the budget by reducing the budgeted amount we allocate for planning and engineering services.
The fee schedule our city recently adopted for developers, property owners seeking permits or annexation into the city, allows for planning and engineering services incurred by our city to be “passed through” to the applicant. Up until the adoption of this schedule, tax payer money was used to pay for these fees…good for developers, bad for taxpayers. What means the most to your family, the value you receive for your tax dollar or providing subsidies for development corporations? It’s important that elected officials understand the answer to that question. The city of Oak Hill has been paying these fees since at least 2008. Now that we are not, why are we still budgeting for it?
When I brought up this point during debate, Mayor Gibson made and impassionate plea that our city needs the additional funds generated by the preferred millage rate for projects. To view this entire exchange, click here. Among the projects cited by the mayor was clearing and improving the functionality of our city’s storm water management drainage ditch system. Storm water run-off and discharge into the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon eco system has been a concern of mine throughout my career as a fishing guide. Our city’s livelihood and well-being rely on the viability of this ecosystem and our citizen’s safety and security rely on the viability of our stormwater drainage system. Two systems in conflict? If you remember, last year right around election season a hurricane hit Florida which brought with it much flooding. The residents of Nancy Street can attest to this. Our drainage system failed and the results were devastating to many who live along these ditches.
My thought was that if I could get a “good faith” commitment from the commission to restore the ditches to a functional condition, that was money well spent. Click here for video. My proposal was that I would vote in favor of the preferred millage rate in exchange for that commitment. The commission agreed. Click here to view Mayor Gibson pledging on behalf of the commission to cleaning our stormwater control ditches. Note that Commissioner McGee adds “it should be a priority.”
I believe that citizens are best served well when their tax money use provides a tangible good. Public safety and protection of property are high in that list. We need to pay attention and follow up. Hold the commission to account and celebrate when it makes decisions that are in the best interest of those it serves.
Mayor Gibson Reads Our Newsletter.
Click here to read an email he sent to city Attorney Scott Simpson and his response.
Clear as mud, right? Speaking of conduit, Attorney Simpson, in his response, says “The Mayor asked that I share this email I sent him to all Commissioner, which I have done with this email.”
That’s how I got a copy.
Click here for another take on the issue.
Click here to read the most current rendition of Mayor Gibson’s newsletter. The mayor writes a newsletter, uses the U.S. Postal Service to send it to all citizens with the Oak Hill zip code, and posts it on the city’s website. Other than frequency, I’m not sure how his newsletter is any different from mine. He mails his newsletter directly to my address, I do not email my newsletter to any of the Oak Hill City Commissioners. If the mayor is reading this newsletter it’s because he seeks it out. Worried about “ethics?”
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Our City Commissioner’s meeting is Monday, October 9, 2023 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. Click here for the agenda pack.
Please come and let your voice be heard. Your presence and participation are how we hold our commission to account.
As always, it’s my pleasure to serve you, I appreciate your support. Please let me know what I can do to help. I’m here to represent you…
Joe Catigano
Oak Hill City Commissioner
Seat 3
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