Volusia Transform386 for example, was suggested as a potential source of funding. For more information click here to read my August 7, 2023 newsletter, or here to read my August 19, 2023 newsletter. As far as I know, out city has made no effort to secure any of these funds.
Veteran’s Day – I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Please take a moment to reflect upon the commitment and sacrifice our great servicemen and women made for this great country. 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.
Jerome Adams to be our city administrator. Now the contract negotiations will begin and if both parties can come to an amicable arrangement, we will have a new city administrator.
Jerome Adams to be our city administrator. Now the contract negotiations will begin and if both parties can come to an amicable arrangement, we will have a new city administrator.
Jerome Adams to be our city administrator. Now the contract negotiations will begin and if both parties can come to an amicable arrangement, we will have a new city administrator.
Jerome Adams to be our city administrator. Now the contract negotiations will begin and if both parties can come to an amicable arrangement, we will have a new city administrator.
September 3, 2023
Hi Everyone,
Just a quick note to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend. I hope you all can spend it with your family and enjoy the moment. Thank you all for supporting our city. Your participation is essential to its health and well-being and it’s having an impact.
City Administrator Recruitment
The City of Oak Hill is hosting a candidate meet-and-greet on Thursday September 7, 2023 at City Hall. The gathering will run from 5:30 through 7:30 P.M., click here to view a flyer the city published to advertise the event. Please come and participate in this very important decision. It’s is an excellent opportunity for citizens to meet the two finalists, Jerome Adams and John Barkley. Relay your impressions to the commissioners so they can consider your input when they vote. On Friday, September 8, 2023 the commissioners will conduct one-on-one interviews with the two candidates and finally a selection will be made.
Oak Hill Developer Fee Schedule
At Monday’s meeting the commissioners voted to adopt the fee schedule that was presented in the agenda pack for the August 28, 2023 commission meeting with a couple of changes. The commission voted to include language that will pass the costs associated with a development project on to the developer. Up until this vote on Monday, the taxpayers in Oak Hill were footing the bill for the costs associated with planning, engineering and legal review of a development plan. Something everyone should think about.
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According to the city website, the next Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting is scheduled for Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 2023 at city hall. As of now, there has been no agenda or agenda pack published so I’m guessing that this meeting was posted in error. If not, the time is 6:00 PM.
The Mayor has scheduled a “special” meeting for Tuesday September 5, 2023 at city hall, the time is 6:00 PM. Click here to see the agenda and agenda pack. Apparently, voting to pay city planners is so urgent that it requires that a special meeting be held outside of our regularly scheduled commissioner’s meeting. Must be a planning emergency or something…
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…
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
Please visit Newsletter archives.
August 19, 2023
Hi Everyone,
Citizen turn out 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.
Volusia County Transform386
On Thursday August 24, 2023, Volusia County is holding a public hearing for citizens to learn more about, and provide input on, the draft of their Transform386 action plan. According to the flyer, “this plan incorporates input from the Community Engagement Series meetings and the Unmet Needs Survey along with proposed projects to aid the community’s recovery from hurricane Ian and implement future disaster mitigation initiatives.” Click here to view the flyer. The meeting will be held from 5:30 till 7:30 p.m. at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center Council Chambers, 123 W. Indiana Ave. DeLand FL 32720. For those who cannot attend, you can watch the hearing live by clicking here to visit the Transform386 website. A link will be provided prior to the event.
It’s my hope that by participating in this process and demonstrating a need, The City of Oak Hill may qualify for assistance in the restoration of our flood control ditches and removal of hurricane debris. Currently, many of our city’s flood control ditches are not functional, or are operating at a reduced capacity. With all the rain we’ve had recently this should concern all citizens.
City Administrator Recruitment
On Monday August 21, 2023, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at city hall the commission will be conducting interviews with the six remaining candidates using Zoom. To view the resumes of the remaining candidates click here. The best I can tell from the information supplied, below is a list of candidates to be interviewed at Monday’s meeting. Clicking on the links attached to the names will conduct a very basic google search of the candidate.
Patrick Marsh, ICMA-CM 1050 Kensington Street, Port Charlotte Florida 33952
Jerome Adams, 901 Roseland Road, Sebatian Florida 32958
John C. Barkley, MPA, ICMA-CM, 181 Sparkling Brook Road, Ranson, West Virginia 25438
Katie Gatewood, Freeport, Florida 32439
Ryan Reckley, 1311 SW 9th Ave. Deerfield Beach Florida, 33441
Daniel Finz, 38021 Snickersville Tpke. Purcellville, VA 20132
Amye King, AICP, 507 Coral Trace Blvd, Edgewater Florida, 32132
Nancy Cumming’s Park – Follow-Up
Here’s some good news. At the August 14, City Commission Meeting, Mayor Gibson announced that the commission would be open to the idea of fencing the northern boundary of the park and fencing off the drainage ditch / retention pond. The Mayor also indicated that the restroom reconstruction project would be finishing up soon and upon completion, the bathrooms would be open to public during park hours.
Oak Hill Developer Fee Schedule
At the last city meeting our commission voted 4 to 1 to pay the planning company Kimley-Horn $22709.00 to conduct a final development plan review for the Oak Hill Town Center project near Bill’s Hill Road. The details of this are contained in work authorization number 14 and can be reviewed by clicking here. Our city is currently in the process of updating its schedule of fees charged to developers and others seeking permits. Currently, there’s a workshop scheduled for 5:30 p.m. August 28th at city hall. Be sure and mark this one on your calendar. Community input on this issue is critical and will help the commission gain a sense of the public’s expectations regarding this matter. Remember, the actions taken by the commission should reflect the values of the community.
Typically, a municipality would pass the costs associated with a development project on to the developer applying. Anything short of this is essentially the hardworking, taxpaying, citizens of our city subsidizing the developer. Reviewing a development plan / application shouldn’t cost the taxpayer a dime. Besides our citizens and the Indian River / Mosquito Lagoon, the undeveloped areas of Oak Hill are our most valuable assets. Our city should proudly charge as much as it can for these fees and use the revenue to improve the lives of those who live here. Higher fees won’t deter the developers. Please take the time to compare our city planner’s proposed fee schedule to those of some surrounding cities. To review the fee schedule currently posted by the City of Port Orange click here, here, and here. To review the fee schedule currently posted on the New Smyrna Beach website click here. To review the fee schedule currently posted on the city of Edgewater’s website click here.
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The next Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting is, August 21, 2023 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. As far as I know, the agenda and agenda pack for the meeting has not been published by the city.
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
Please visit Newsletter archives.
August 7, 2023
Hi Everyone,
Citizen turn out 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.
Click here to view and download the workshop agenda and supporting documents for the meeting. The workshop is scheduled for 10:00 AM Monday, August 7, 2023 at city hall.
These budget meetings decide how the city spends its money. Public input is essential to this process; our city should reflect the vision and values of its citizens. Please come to these very important meetings your insight can shape our city’s future.
Volusia County Government sponsored a series of meetings to gather citizen input on how to spend a $328.9 million Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds awarded from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). I’d like to give a shout-out to Evelyn Evans for sending us the information. Click here to view the news release. I was able to attend the meeting held Thursday, Aug. 3, at the Daytona Beach Regional Library, 105 Jackie Robinson Parkway. It would be a real godsend for our city if we could secure a portion of that money to fund cleaning out hurricane debris that is currently blocking our flood control ditches. The meeting was informative and I was able to gather contact information from some officials in attendance. We’ll see how this turns out.
City Administrator Recruitment
Here are the resumes that Ken Parker and Senior Advisors from ICMA, International City/County Management Association consider to be qualified or qualified and recommended to serve as Oak Hill City Administrator. At the July 24, 2023 city meeting, the commission selected five candidates for further consideration. Mr. Parker was to reach out to them and arrange preliminary interviews. At the July 27th Volusia League of City Meeting, Mayor Gibson reached out to Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood asking if the department would be willing to do the background investigations on the remaining pool of candidates. The agenda for Monday’s meeting contains no references to the recruitment process so I assume no action will be taken at the meeting. While the process is slow, I believe we are moving closer to our goal.
Under “New Business,” the Agenda for Monday’s meeting contains 3 sealed bids for playground equipment earmarked for the Nancy V, Cummings Park. These bids will be opened at the meeting.
As discussed in the July 8th newsletter, “careful consideration should be given to prioritizing how money is spent developing this park into a safe and accessible asset for the residents of our community.” While playground equipment is a good amenity, currently the park lacks basic functionality. For instance, the park’s bathrooms have been undergoing reconstruction after flooding.
This work began on or about July 8, 2023; as far as I know the city has not been given a definitive end date for its completion.
All safety considerations should be addressed before inviting children to play at the park. Parents should expect that entrance and exit to the park be controlled and monitored. This can be accomplished by fencing the entire border. Our city should address the flooding that has plagued the park since its inception.
At the very least, as an interim measure, a fence should be erected around the drainage ditch that dead-ends adjacent to the pump house. The standing water in what was a ditch but is now essentially a retention pond, represents a real hazard to a curious child who wanders up to its edge. Good stewardship on behalf of our city government can prevent a tragedy; it’s money well spent. Once these basic safety issues are addressed, we should begin the process of planning how our park will be used, playground, ball field, walkways etc.
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The next Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting is, August 7, 2023 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. click here for the agenda and here for the agenda pack. There are four other documents that were added after the agenda pack was published. They are in support of our city staff’s wish for a new phone and fax system. Those documents can be viewed and downloaded by clicking here, here, here and here.
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
Citizen turn out 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. Not a whole lot happening to report but what is happening will have a profound influence on the future of Oak Hill.
City Administrator Recruitment
Here are the resumes that Ken Parker and Senior Advisors from ICMA, International City/County Management Association consider to be qualified or qualified and recommended to serve as Oak Hill City Administrator. At Monday’s City Commission meeting these candidates will be considered and the pool will be narrowed to those who will be interviewed and undergo background checks. Once completed the candidates will be further parsed or perhaps an offer may be extended to a preferred candidate. The role of a city’s administrator affects the everyday lives of its citizens, everything from flood control to trash pick-up. A wise choice here is critical. Please come to the meeting and participate, your input can help us make better decisions.
Nancy Cummings Park – Follow-Up
Last Monday, July 17, 2023, I made another visit to Nancy Cummings Park. During the two days prior, our city received typical Florida afternoon thunderstorms with periods of heavy rain. Look how high the water was as it ran over the end of the drainage ditch, around a bulkhead, and flooding the park’s well pumphouse as it traversed south across the park.
The water is intended to travel through pipes buried beneath the lawn.
Click Here to see how our drainage system handled the rainfall. Not only does this photo and video indicate the capacity for this system to mitigate storm water within the park itself, but also shows that this section is blocking the flow and stormwater is backing up as a result. This affects everything north of it and fails to serve the community as intended. This system serves the Nancy Street and Wyatt neighborhood where many homes were damaged from flooding during last year’s hurricane. Nine months ago, in November of 2022, the City Commission voted to approve a contract to replace the pipes.
Here’s an image, of what looks like homeless campers in the vacant lot just 100 feet north of the basketball court at Nancy Cummings Park was taken 7-22-23. This photograph emphasizes the need for the existing fence to encompass the entire park, by including the northern boundary. Without a complete fence the city cannot effectively control the opening and closing, or entrance and exit of the park. Both are essential to the safety of the public and preservation of Oak Hill City property including the restrooms.
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The next Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting is, July 24, 2023 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. The agenda and agenda packet are available by clicking here.
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
