July 8, 2023

Hi Everyone,
I hope you all had a great 4^th of July weekend. Citizen turn out at our city 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.

City Administrator Recruitment
Friday, July 7, 2023, our city held a special workshop at city hall with Ken Parker, and two of his colleagues, Tom Palmer and George Forbes, all Senior Advisors from ICMA, International City/County Management Association. Mr. Parker and his associates are assisting our city with the recruitment of a City Administrator. Citizens and the commission were invited to attend but not as participants, only observers.

The senior advisors reviewed the applications (I think there was twelve or fourteen submitted) and broke them down into three categories, (1) qualified and recommended (2) qualified (3) not recommended. The three advisors debated amongst themselves in front of the public to reach a consensus.

Mr. Parker and his associates will submit a report to the city commission by July 17, 2023. This report will include a pared down list of applicants, those in the “qualified and recommended” category. At that point, Mr. Parker, his associates and the ICMA will have completed a valuable service to our city. We should all be grateful that this excellent recruitment tool is available to city governments in need of assistance. I would remind everyone that executive recruiting services are extremely expensive and the ICMA’s services were provided free-of-charge.

The next steps will be for the commission to review the recommended applications, conduct preliminary interviews, further pare down the applicant pool, and recommend candidates for background checks. Once this process is complete it will be up to the commission to conduct final interviews and make a selection.

Nancy Cummings Park
The agenda pack for Monday’s meeting contains a $59,999.00 quote for playground equipment earmarked for Nancy Cummings park. That price includes delivery and installation. A funding source for this project was not indicated in the agenda pack so I’m not sure if the city has secured grant money for the purchase. If the money for this equipment is from taxpayer funds, then I believe that 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.

To build something that provides a long-term benefit to the community, proper drainage is fundamental. When repeated flooding prohibits families from enjoying the benefits the park was intended to provide, the obvious choice is to fix it. A castle built on sand, Matthew 7:24-26.

The city commission has recently allocated more than $30,000 to conduct repairs to the restrooms at the park, and included provisions for paint and materials that can better withstand flooding. Addressing the fundamental reality of drainage will not only negate the necessity of specialized coatings and materials in the restrooms, but benefit all citizens who live in the area. Solving the flooding problem at Nancy Cummings Park will require reestablishing drainage flow. That means either replacing the existing pipes that are failing, or creating an open ditch which could be an amenity for the park with walkover pathways or the like.

Currently our parks drainage system looks like this.

Settling on a solution within the park will not in itself solve the drainage situation. The park is merely a symptom of a much larger problem. Our city’s drainage ditches are in disrepair and our citizens have suffered because of it. Last year’s hurricanes made that clear and this year’s storms are coming. The ditches throughout the city are all interconnected and a blockage or disconnect anywhere throughout the system affects those upstream. The citizens on Nancy Street can attest to this.

Drainage Pipes are collapsed and blocked by debris.

The number of disconnects in this system alone, stretching from Maytown Osteen Road through the Nancy and Wyatt Street neighborhood, across Cypress and through the Nancy Cummings Park is breathtaking. Clearing these blockages would be an enormous undertaking. After completion, there would still be three sections that require remediation:  the pipes under Wood Avenue, the blockages between there and Hickory Avenue, and the stretch between Hickory and North Putnam Grove Road.

South End of Drainage Pipes At the Park.

That’s where the real challenge begins because the stretch from south Putnam on down to Turnbull Creek is through a couple of miles of dense overgrowth. Not to mention that most of it is not within city limits.

There is no easy fix, but our city can overcome this challenge by having meaningful priorities that benefit all citizens on a basic level. Keep in mind that the ditch system I just described is one of many that service our city.

There is No Fence on its Northern Boundary of the Park.

Currently, the Nancy Cummings Park has no fence on its northern boundary. One of the reasons cited by our city staff for keeping the restrooms locked at the park is that drug paraphernalia, including needles, have been found in the facilities. The park has fencing on three of its four sides but not the side that would most easily be accessed unseen. The northern border to the park butts up to a wooden lot. Entrance to the park from the south side would require travel through a neighborhood and the additional scrutiny this represents. If safety is the goal, a well fenced facility that can be effectively closed down at night should be a priority.

If the city does not intend to address the drainage problem in the park, they should at least plan on fencing off the drainage ditch just west of the pumphouse. If the water is not flowing, then it is essentially acting as a retention pond in all but the most extreme flooding conditions.

Is this a Retention Pond?

This portion of the ditch is not flowing 99% of the time. The water is a stagnant, trash ridden breeding ground for mosquitos, snakes and other hazards. These represent a risk to the very children the park was built for. Retention ponds in public parks, unless designed to provide recreational utility should be enclosed to protect those enjoying the park and the city.

The next priority for our city should be to provide a level of service on par with the expectations of the public.  We should meet the standards normalized by other municipalities and complete repairs to the bathrooms at the park. Nobody finds that sitting in a port-o-john in 90+ degree weather represents a pleasant day at the park. Attendance would increase if the experience was better.

Once these basic things are addressed, the playground equipment should be upgraded either by replacing worn out parts or a complete overhaul. Citizen input should drive the decision making.

The ball field at the Nancy Cumming Park is a regulation size field. The city should seek donations or find a source of funding to light it.

No Lighting for Night Games.

At the last city meeting Oak Hill Sports Club director Don Anderson told the commission that the lack of lighting puts the baseball team at a disadvantage to other city teams because they start practice more than a month before our team. Our team can’t practice in the evenings until daylight savings time. This is not good if our community values the comradery and sportsmanship that competitive sports like baseball bring to us. If we can afford it, our city should do all it can to help our young citizens develop into healthy happy individuals that take pride in their community.
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The next Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting is, July 7, 2023 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. The agenda is 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

June 10, 2023
 
Hi Everyone,
Citizen turn out at our city meetings has been amazing, Thank you all for your support. Your participation is essential to the health of our city, and it’s having an impact.
 
What happened at the last meeting?
Our city awarded four No Bid contracts. Three went to contractors and one went to our city’s economic director. Right after I was elected in November of 2022, I was given a staff directory. The economic director is listed on the first page of the Oak Hill commission orientation book. Click here to see it. Our city has had an economic development director listed for years. Now the commission claims that our city needs the services and cannot get them without a contract, despite the claim from the director that he would continue to provide his services and did not ask for this contract.
 
Attorney Simpson cited ordinance Sec. 2-310. – Definitions. to support the city’s adoption of a contract to retain the city’s economic director. The ordinance states that: The term “services” shall not include professional services which are unique in their nature and not subject to competition. In the very recent past, our city used the competitive bidding process to select the auditor that does the annual audit for our city every year. Professional service? Our city uses an auditor selection committee to solicit and screen the bids.  Less than 3 years ago our city solicited bids to select the professional services of a city planner. I don’t know the record or qualifications of our economic director, but I do know that the competitive bidding process would provide the city with an expanded view of the options available and provide new pathways. If our economic development director is all he claims then he could easily survive the limited scrutiny the competitive bidding process presents. 

“where standardization is determined to be in the best interest of the city”

In the case of the other three contracts, how is standardization in the best interest of the city? Attorney Simpson cited Oak Hill ordinance Sec. 2-325. – Negotiated purchases regardless of cost. as a workaround to Oak Hill ordinance, Sec. 2-324. – Open market procedures. The commission and city administrator cited convenience as what’s in the best interest of the city. So, here’s what the commission is telling you, is why they’re giving no-bid contracts out in conflict with our city ordinances. It’s convenient, and soliciting bids is difficult and takes time. They also cite lack of staff as we search for a new administrator and assistant administrator.  The contracts are for land clearing, equipment maintenance, hauling services, tree removal services and street and sidewalk paving and maintenance. In order to buy into their argument, you would have to believe that suddenly, after all these years of obtaining widely available services, without a continuous, open ended contract, that has no pricing schedule or review timetable, is in the best interest of the city.

During debate amongst the commission the example of a fallen tree blocking the road was presented several times as evidence that our city needs these contracts to deal with this inevitability. None of these contracts contain a provision stating the obligation of the contractor to react to our city’s needs during an emergency. If our city is going to enter into a contract, why not include provisions that will actually benefit our city?  Attorney Simpson stated at the May 22, 2023 meeting that the adoption of these contracts would not adorn the contractor as the exclusive provider of services to the city. If I was the winner of one of these contracts and the city awarded a job of like service to a competitor, I would take exception to that and depending on the monetary value I might choose to seek a legal remedy to protect my interest. Is that in the best interest of our city?
 
So how is the adoption of these contracts in the best interest of the city? What specific advantage does it provide us? Essentially the only advantage it provides is to allow the administration to circumvent the purchasing procedure as specifically prohibited in Oak Hill ordinance Sec. 2-319. – Waiver of irregularities. “as long as the waiver would not adversely affect competitive bidding by placing a bidder in a position of advantage over other bidders or by otherwise undermining the intent of competitive bidding” and Sec. 2-322. – Same—City commission. “Awarding of contracts involving public constructions and improvements must be authorized by the city commission and must adhere to the formal bid and contract procedures contained in this article.
Click here to see how our city government and it’s commission handles the competitive bidding process required by Oak Hill ordinance, Sec. 2-324. – Open market procedures.
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The next Oak Hill City Commissioner’s meeting is, June 12, 2023 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. The agenda is available by clicking here. To the best of my knowledge no agenda pack was published to support decision making for this meeting.
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

At the April 10, 2023 city commissioner’s meeting, Evelyn Wood-Evans asked the commission for an accounting of funds her son had donated to the City of Oak Hill. A valid public records request. In her statement, Ms. Evans included that if the city could not provide a proper accounting, she thought the city should give the money back

At the April 10, 2023 city commissioner’s meeting, Evelyn Wood-Evans asked the commission for an accounting of funds her son had donated to the City of Oak Hill. A valid public records request. In her statement, Ms. Evans included that if the city could not provide a proper accounting, she thought the city should give the money back

At the April 10, 2023 city commissioner’s meeting, Evelyn Wood-Evans asked the commission for an accounting of funds her son had donated to the City of Oak Hill. A valid public records request. In her statement, Ms. Evans included that if the city could not provide a proper accounting, she thought the city should give the money back

State law does not provide a distinction between “a vote” and a “formal vote.” I guess the purpose of the first, apparently an “informal vote,” was to pole the commission to learn in advance how they would vote at the formal proceeding. This is inconsistent with state law and certainly not a reflection of the spirit or intent of our legislators when they adopted the sunshine law to regulate public meetings.

State law does not provide a distinction between “a vote” and a “formal vote.” I guess the purpose of the first, apparently an “informal vote,” was to pole the commission to learn in advance how they would vote at the formal proceeding. This is inconsistent with state law and certainly not a reflection of the spirit or intent of our legislators when they adopted the sunshine law to regulate public meetings.

The turnout and participation at the last commissioner’s meeting was amazing. Citizens challenged the commission with thoughtful ideas and meaningful debate. Thank you all…

I asked the vice mayor if he would clarify his remark and he replied “it’s clear enough for me.” Vice Mayor Lindlau chose to deliver a flippant response to a serious question. He’s all for our city doing business with a planner who misrepresented important facts while providing evidence to the commission.

I asked the vice mayor if he would clarify his remark and he replied “it’s clear enough for me.” Vice Mayor Lindlau chose to deliver a flippant response to a serious question. He’s all for our city doing business with a planner who misrepresented important facts while providing evidence to the commission.