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Oxford council adopts tree-list revisions, reallocates $1M ARPA funds to Habitat, approves housing tax-credit application and other measures
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Summary
At its April 24 meeting the Oxford City Council adopted multiple resolutions: it updated the city tree list, authorized a $1,000,000 ARPA subgrant amendment to direct funds to Habitat for Humanity, authorized an OHFA tax-credit application for $3.1 million for Clarence Place, approved a $53,071 vehicle purchase, and authorized explorations of a new Tri Community Center agreement; several ordinance housekeeping items were also advanced or adopted.
The Oxford City Council on April 24 approved a package of resolutions and housekeeping ordinances including changes to the city’s urban tree list, a reallocation of $1,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to Habitat for Humanity for infrastructure work, an application to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency for up to $3.1 million in single-family tax credits for the Clarence Place project, the purchase of a 2026 Chevrolet 2500 HD crew cab for fire/EMS use, and a city-led review of the Tri Community Center lease with Tallawanda Recreation Inc.
Miss Barber read the tree-list resolution, and Rita Murphy — citing the city’s climate-action goal to revise the list by 2025 — said students used the USDA Tree Atlas to select species that will better tolerate the city’s future climate and that the list applies only to public trees. “So this is for public trees,” Murphy said, emphasizing the change would not restrict what residents plant on private property.
On an ARPA subgrant, city staff explained Inclusive Housing Resources cannot meet the September deadline for its infrastructure work and recommended pivoting the $1,000,000 to Habitat for Humanity to complete the infrastructure by Sept. 30. As staff put it, “it just pivots the money to Habitat for Humanity for the full $1,000,000 for their infrastructure that does need to be complete by September 30.” Council approved the amendment and the mayor declared the resolution adopted.
Council also approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to apply for up to $3,100,000 in Ohio Housing Finance Agency single-family tax credits in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati for the Clarence Place project. Staff clarified that Habitat will manage the tax-credit sale and program administration but cannot apply directly, so a local government entity must submit the application.
A separate resolution authorized the city manager to enter into agreement with Tim Lally Chevrolet for purchase of a 2026 Chevrolet 2500 HD crew cab at a cost not to exceed $53,071. Staff said the purchase aligns with the 2026 capital improvement plan and uses a competitive dealer program to reduce cost; council voted to adopt the resolution.
The council also approved a resolution to explore a new agreement with Tallawanda Recreation Inc. on future ownership and management of the Tri Community Center and Tri Community Park; the tourism council representative said the existing five-year lease ends in 2026 and partners are willing to negotiate.
On ordinances, staff recommended repealing the obsolete chapter 181 of the codified ordinance related to municipal income tax — a cleanup tied to statewide changes in municipal income tax law — with a plan to bring adoption at the next meeting. The council adopted replacement codified-ordinance pages on second reading.
Most measures passed by voice vote after motions and seconds; where the minutes recorded movers the mayor announced motions as moved by Vice Mayor French and seconded by Councilor Snavely on multiple items. No roll-call vote tallies were recorded for most voice votes in the transcript.
Next steps noted at the meeting include processing the ARPA subgrant amendment with Butler County and moving forward with the OHFA application; staff and the Public Arts Commission were asked to follow up on the survey recommendations presented earlier in the meeting.
