Oxford City Council approves $246K water main replacement and trail expansion resolutions

The City Council of Oxford, Ohio, convened on April 15, 2025, to address several key agenda items, including resolutions and ordinances aimed at enhancing the city's infrastructure and trail systems.

The meeting commenced with the approval of the consent agenda, followed by a resolution to authorize the city manager to enter into an agreement with Elim's Excavating LLC for the replacement and upsizing of the High Street water main. The project, budgeted at $300,000, will cost $223,793.50, with a contingency bringing the total to $246,172.85. The council anticipates that the work will be completed before the fall semester at Miami University, although it will involve significant disruption to traffic along High Street for approximately four weeks.

Next, the council discussed a resolution to acquire a perpetual easement over certain parcels of real estate owned by Laura C. Osborne, trustee, to expand the Oxford area trail system. This project is part of a multimodal transportation initiative, supported by over $3 million in grant funding. The council noted a previous flaw in the legal documentation, which has since been corrected.

A similar resolution was adopted to acquire an easement from EVR Investments LLC for the same trail expansion project. Both resolutions were passed without public opposition.

The council then moved to ordinances, beginning with one to appropriate real property interests from Laura C. Osborne to facilitate the trail expansion. This ordinance was also declared an emergency, requiring six affirmative votes to pass. The council successfully adopted this ordinance, followed by another for the appropriation of interests from EBR Investments LLC, which also passed unanimously.

In closing, the council expressed gratitude for the swift passage of the trail-related legislation and briefly touched on updates regarding the excise tax on marijuana. The meeting concluded with no further announcements or communications.