April 6, 2024
Hi Everyone,
I hope you all are doing well. Your turnout at our commission meetings has been amazing, thank you all for supporting your community. Participation is essential to the health and well-being of our city and it’s having an impact.
Some City History
The Village Improvement Association (VIA) was formed in 1906 by trustees F.W. Hatch and H.J. Maugruder. In that same year, F.W. Hatch donated land located at 146 U.S. Highway #1, and the iconic octagonal building known as the VIA Hall was built on that site.
In 1917 Joan Howes donated a property located at 126 East Halifax to the Village Improvement Association (VIA). This property is where the building currently resides. The land was deeded to the “the people” and was never to be sold.
From 1917 until 2002, the Village Improvement Association (VIA) was solely responsible for the maintenance of the building and the grounds. In 1993, Dr. K.T. Chung visited Oak Hill and was enamored with the city, and the building. He donated $5000 to clean up the grounds surrounding the hall. To raise money for maintenance of the building and grounds, the Village Improvement Association (VIA) held various fundraising events. One popular way to donate was where the Association offered to place a customized brick that was embossed with the donor’s name into a walkway outside of the hall.
Between 1994 and 2002 Dr. Chung donated another $25,000 to landscape the park and build a gazebo. Sadly, despite all the efforts of its volunteers and members, the Village Improvement Association (VIA) was unable to maintain the historic hall in manner that properly reflected its value to the community.
In 2002, the Village Improvement Association (VIA) quit-claimed the park property and the VIA hall to the city of Oak Hill with the provision that “this property is to remain in perpetual public use. It is to never be sold or traded.” Click here to see the deed. It was at this point that the Village Improvement Association (VIA) was disbanded, and the city formed the Oak Hill Events Committee which it populated with members from the defunct Village Improvement Association (VIA).
In the fall of 2004, The City of Oak Hill was hit by three consecutive hurricanes. Like many homes and businesses in our city, the VIA Hall Structure and park were severely damaged. The foundation was undermined, and the roof was damaged. Fortunately, funding for these repairs was garnered through FEMA. From 2005 thru 2009, the city showed very little enthusiasm for maintenance and repair of the building, so it was not used.
Dr. Chung returned to Oak Hill in 2006 and donated another $22,000 earmarked for playground equipment, a swing, and the construction of a 10-station fitness trail around the park. The children’s playground was removed some time later to make room for additional parking at the facility. Dr. Chung also pledged $35,000 to make repairs to the VIA hall; his donations totaled $57,051. The Oak Hill Events Committee concluded that the best way to get the VIA Hall and associated park back to a usable condition was to apply to the county for an ECHO grant.
With the property and building having been quit-claimed to the city, and the Village Improvement Association (VIA) being dissolved, it was determined that the best way to proceed with this project was to have a 501-C3 not-for-profit organization formed. In 2007, Oak Hill city attorney Scott Simpson did all the necessary paperwork and chose the name Oak Hill Community Trust (OHCT).
The newly formed 501-C3, and the city would jointly apply for the grant. This arrangement allows for the value of the land to be used as matching funds and facilitates a provision in the grant that the land only be used for the purpose stated in the grant for forty years. The City of Oak Hill holds the deed to the property and would be the ones agreeing to the encumbrance.
The total amount of the grant and matching funds was $223,340. The value of the VIA hall was determined to be $8,800 and the playground equipment was valued at $46,301. The lease value of the land was estimated to be $388,463.
It looks Like with Dr. Chung’s donation of $35,000 and the city’s $25,000, a $10,000 donation from the newly formed Oak Hill Community Trust (OHCT) and a $4,000 donation from Architect Sid Corhern, the group was able to come up with $74,000. This along with the land value was sufficient to meet the matching funds requirement and the grant was awarded.
In 2008 the restoration of the VIA Hall was completed.
In 2010 the Oak Hill Community Trust Purchased the 10-acre school property on Ridge Road.
October 7, 2022, VIA Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
How did things go off-the-rail?
Back in the summer of 2023, during a couple of city commission meetings, complaints were made regarding who had authority over the VIA Hall, the museum contained within the hall, and the grounds surrounding the hall (Chung Park). The complaints seemed to be directed at the Oak Hill Community Trust, (OHCT) and questioned their authority oversee the operational needs of the VIA hall. At the August 14, 2023 City Commissioner’s meeting, Oak Hill Community Trust (OHCT) Treasurer, Melissa Jones, addressed the concerns, pointing out that section 1.3 of the grant agreement gave the community trust operation control, and the City of Oak Hill would be responsible for the upkeep of the structure and grounds. Click here to review the minutes from that meeting. The Oak Hill Community Trust and the Historic Preservation Board agreed to work together in the best interest of the city.
On August 16, 2023 Mayor Gibson sent a letter to Dana Greatrex urging that The Oak Hill Community Trust (OHCT) and the Historic Preservation Board work together to fulfill the requirements of the ECHO grant. Click here to read this letter. Click here to read comments regarding this matter made by Mayor Gibson at the August 28, 2023 City Commission meeting. Click here to review minutes from the September 11, 2023 commission meeting, during which Historic Preservation Board Chairperson Tanya Petracca reported to the commission that the Historic preservation board had met with the Oak Hill Community Trust to “come up with a plan to work together.”
Early in March of 2024 the Oak Hill Community Trust (OHCT) sent out a flier via the U.S. Postal Service that described the mission of the Trust and was geared toward recruiting members from the community. Click here to view the flier. Apparently, the wording of a sentence in the flyer, “Today the VIA is called the OHCT because of the non-profit status. The motive and spirit remains the same.,” has somehow managed to be misconstrued. As outlined in the above timeline, this seemingly benign statement of fact has been turned into a full-on dumpster fire; as difficult as it may be to imagine, and despite the document being legible, there have been complaints that the statement says that “Today the VIA Hall is called the OHCT”.
The document simply does not say that, nor does it imply that. The simple truth of the matter is that the (VIA), Village Improvement Association, was a group of people, not a building. Injecting the word (hall) into a sentence that someone else wrote and then representing it as truth serves to undermine the charitable work volunteers in our community contribute in an effort to make Oak Hill a better place to live. It will certainly make someone think twice about volunteering their time.
On March 18, 2024 City Administrator Jerome Adams sent a letter to Ms. Greatrex asking for clarification. Mr. Adams asks, “I may be reading something wrong, but it is not saying the VIA Hall has been renamed to the Oak Hill Community Trust, correct?” Click here to view the entire email chain. Ms. Greatrex responds, “Of course not.” And goes on to explain the history of the VIA and the Community Trust to him. The next day Mr. Adams thanks Ms. Greatrex “for the clarification and information.”
One would think that this is where it ends, but on April 1, 2024, ironically April Fool’s Day, Mr. Adams reaches out to Ms. Greatrex again and states, “there seems to be some concern among the commission regarding the flyer and the phrase today the VIA is called the OHCT…” and asked if she could attend the April 8, 2024 commission meeting to “help in clearing up any confusion.” Ms. Greatrex declines.
Click here to read an email Mayor Gibson wrote to Ms. Greatrex in response to her email declining Mr. Adams’ invitation to attend the April 5, 2024 commission meeting. The Mayor makes several comments in his email that just don’t stand up to scrutiny. First, he says “Your comment that the city should remove the original sign causes serious questions.” After being badgered for more than a month, over something that never happened, Ms. Greatrex’s frustration is understandable. Her responses to these nonsensical queries have been both gracious and thorough. It is clear to anyone reading her email response that she does not wish to participate in this folly and wants to be left alone. The idea that the Mayor would try to make hay of her frustration is all telling.
Next the Mayor says, “As I remember, the Oak Hill Community Trust was formed, because of the charter school and it still owns the buildings and land the school sits on.” If you recall from the above timeline, the Oak Hill Community Trust was formed in 2007 by Oak Hill’s city attorney Scott Simpson. The purpose of forming the not-for-profit organization was to qualify the group citizens to apply for an ECHO grant to recondition the VIA hall. The Community Trust did not purchase the 10-acre school property until three years later. Hmmm? Keep in mind that in order to qualify for an ECHO grant the applicant must be a municipality or a not-for-profit organization. That means that the city of Oak Hill did not need the Oak Hill Community Trust to apply, but the Community Trust did need the city to apply. Again, that’s because the city held the deed to the land and building and had to agree to encumber the property as a condition of grant.
Among other questionable comments put forth by the mayor, this one is the most egregious. The Mayor asserts “There are many in the community that are upset with this misrepresentation of the facts by the Oak Hill Community Trust Board.” What facts are or were ever misrepresented by the Community Trust Board? The only misrepresentation going on here is the contents of the OHCT flier that clearly doesn’t say what the mayor and others say it does.
Additionally, the mayor states “I disagree with your position that this is for the good of the community. You have long been an advocate to preserve the history of Oak Hill, what has changed?” If you actually read Ms. Greatrex’s response to Mr. Adams email, what she writes is “I have spent decades of my life, as have 3 generations of my family before me, working FOR THE GOOD of this community, investing my best, and living here for 72 years.” A fair and reasonable person reading Ms. Greatrex’s email would conclude that she is proud of her and her family’s decades long service working for the good of the community, not some twisted interpretation. Again, in his narrative, the Mayor cites text that is simply not there.
Indeed, what has changed…
Indian Harbor Estates Road Repair
Earlier this week, D2 Paving began work smoothing out the dips in the road. Looks like this phase of the project may take a few days as they are going to great lengths to see to it that the roadways remain usable while the work is being completed. The work consists of grinding out the asphalt where the road dips, spreading hot tar over the ground out area, and refilling it with fresh asphalt. I know the residents of Indian Harbor Estates look forward to connecting to the municipal sewer system and the project’s completion.
Upcoming Events
Saints and Sinners Cemetery Cleanup.
The Oak Hill Saints and Sinner’s Cemetery Group will be holding its spring cleanup Saturday April 13, 2024. The cleanup starts at 9:00 AM. The email states that volunteers are welcome and encouraged to bring rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows and weed eaters. Also included in the email is a reminder to bring work gloves. If you have any questions, please call Spence Youman at (904) 517-0555 or Dru Ann Welch at (386) 689-4786.
Earth Day City Cleanup
Saturday, April 20, 2024, is slated to be our city’s Earth Day Cleanup. The city will have two dumpsters this year. One at Indian Harbor Estates and the other at Oak Hill City Hall. The dumpsters will be attended to by Oak Hill City Commissioners, The Mayor, and the City Administrator.
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Our City Commissioner’s meeting is Monday, April 8, 2024 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
