General

OXFORD RECREATION BOARD AGENDA: July 13, 2026 Oxford Municipal Building, Second Floor Conference Room, 15 South College Ave, Oxford, OH 45056 12:30 PM Roll Call Approval of Agenda 1. Approval of the Agenda for July 13, 2026, Oxford Recreation Board Meeting Approval of Minutes 1. Approval of the Minutes from June 8, 2026, Meeting of the Oxford Recreation Board Public Comment Old Business 1. Park Master Plan Progress Update 2. 2027 Capital Budget Request Update 3. Skate Park Design Concept New Business 1. Citywide Event Permitting Transition Report 1. Parks and Recreation Administrative Report 2. Recreation Board Member Administrative Reports Adjournment Page 1 of 7  MINUTES OXFORD RECREATION BOARD OXFORD MUNICIPAL BUILDING, SECOND FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, 15 SOUTH COLLEGE AVE. OXFORD, OH 45056 MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2026 AT 12:30 PM Roll Call Call to Order The Oxford Recreation Board was called to order by Mr. Smith on Monday, June 8th, 2026 at 12:30pm. Roll Call Members in attendance: Adam Biessel; Sarah Meaney; Roxanne Ornelas and Jacob Young Members absent were: Jake Richardson Staff members present were: Chad Smith and Deanna Barbour Approval of Agenda 1. Approval of the Agenda for June 8, 2026, Oxford Recreation Board Meeting Motion to Approve (Voice Vote) 1st Mr. Biessel 2nd Ms. Ornelas AYE # 4 NAY # 0 ABS # 0 Approval of Minutes 1. Approval of the Minutes from May 11, 2026, Meeting of the Oxford Recreation Board. Motion to Approve (Voice Vote) 1st Ms. Ornelas 2nd Mr. Young AYE # 4 NAY # 0 ABS # 0 Page 2 of 7 Public Comment No public comment Old Business 1. Park Master Plan Progress Update Mr. Smith advised consultant Will Younger from PROS was onsite last week to meet with himself and Dustin Vanwinkle. Mr. Vanwinkle has 10 years experience with the Parks and Recreation Department and Mr. Younger's purpose was to get boots on the ground and tour the properties and see what he's working with. He took lots of pics and lots of notes. Mr. Smith and Mr. Younger also walked the OATS trail and took more pics there. Mr. Smith stated lots of notes for park plans and acreage all putt in a document with the corresponding classification for all the parks. This way we can rate them based on usage. Demographics and trends analysis, shows users in the area and current trends. It's very interesting to see the usage in Oxford, because it's all over the place. Mr. Smith noted the company that created the survey that was mailed out to random addresses in the city, were contractually obligated to get 210 survey's and as of last week they've received 262 mail in surveys so far. Currently waiting til end of July for the mail in's and keeping the one online running until August. Mr. Smith stated he went to Oxford Copy Shop and made some signs with a QR code to make it easier for people to take the survey. Enjoy Oxford is also going to set up more signs uptown at the music festival and Mr. Smith set up some at the wine festival. Mr. Smith concluded with not much more to report, we're in that phase of collecting informaiton. Meeting weekly by phone with Mr. Younger and we're progressing along pretty well. Ms. Ornelas stated people are itching for the skate park. 2. Park Project Updates Mr. Smith advised the pickleball courts at the TRI were paved last week. The footers were put in and sleeves installed, and the concrete guys came in and finished up last Wednesday. Mr. Smith noted it looks great and has to cure for 3 weeks, adding that after that the color coding will come in and once that's done the nets will be set up. In the meantime, he's currently working with the fencing company to complete the fence work. On a side note, Mr. Smith stated there were a couple of people playing cricket on the newly paved surface. They've been asked to leave several times, by several people, but continue to come back. Maybe there is a need for a cricket pitch, possibly something to look at in the master plan. Mr. Biessel stated you don't need a dedicated place for cricket, something that can be placed between soccer fields works just fine. Mr. Young said it's the most popular sport in the world. Ms. Ornelas added that it's fascinating to watch. Mr. Smith said for now, this is where we're at with the paving. Mr. Smith said we anticipate a mid-July date or so to have all 6 courts open for play. Mr. Smith stated another project, in the traditional sense, is the event permitting process that is underway. This process is currently being handled by an uptown department and has continued to grow. It's grown so much we've decided to split the types of permitting into two Page 3 of 7  categories. One is for construction and the other is for events. Uptown will continue to handle the construction permits and Parks and Recreation will not handle the event permitting. Mr. Barbour is assisting with this transition on the back end to build the program. Looking for a August start date. Once this is done, it should make the public's life easier in registering for event permits, adding there is a lot to do in the meantime. 3. Recap of Action Items to be researched for 2027 Budget Mr. Smith stated we are sort of solidifying our action items to be researched for the upcoming 2027 budget. In doing so, it will prepare us best for the end of the master plan process. Would like to maybe do some surveying and official drawings. Mr. Biessel said any expense that can get the information out to the public is a justified expense. That's when people can get excited and help get them involved. Mr. Smith agreed and thinks it's a good first step. Ms. Ornelas added Assistant City Manager Jessica Green is amazing with grants, which will be helpful. Mr. Smith agreed, stating grants are going to be a huge part of the plan moving forward. New Business 1. Preparation for 2027 Capital Improvement Budget Mr. Smith stated he is currently working on the budget for 2027. Every department submits their proposed budget to the City Manager in August. we have a budget prep calendar. Mr. Smith noted when he looks at capital improvements, he looks at our current shelters, and every one of them could have a major overhaul. An example is the shelter at Leonard Howell park and getting that ada accessible. So the individual things we need to look into for capital improvements are plenty. However, he wanted to rely on the master plan, but the timing didn't match up. So he will stick with his items that were still needed and on his list to make improvements. Mr. Smith is also looking at the branding side of things when looking into improvements. Currently he will rely on the standard and create a brand. Branding is a big part of these improvements. Mr. Smith is thinking of doing a feasibility study just for Leonard Howell and the possibility of making a flushable restroom at that location. Mr. Biessel there's certainly plenty to do. Mr. Biessel talked about replacing the playground, and adding the basketball hoops and back boards at the Community Park are in need of replacement. Things that are going to stay but still need some improvements and that we can continue doing while we're working on the bigger plan. Mr. Smith said we can do incremental improvements, some paving of courts, netting, backstops etc. Ms. Meaney asked can that green toilet be a part of the community park playground? Mr. Smith he's looking into doing a feasibility study to do flush restrooms at park properties. He thinks doing the feasibility study in this year's capital will help us. Ms. Ornelas advised the housing advisory commission is not meeting until September, so the question is, will the Recreation Board continue to meet through the summer? Mr. Young stated, Page 4 of 7  it is recreation and it's busy in the summer. Mr. Smith asked the board to just let him know if they ever wanted a recess for the season. 2. New Skate Park Design Concept Update Mr. Smith advised he has stayed in touch with American Ramp Company and added they are a sourcewell government vendor, and they are also a design build firm. Currently, we are only under contract with them for a design. Then we have to see if we have to go out to bid or if we can go with them since they are a sourcewell company. They have a date on July 16, to meet with their representatives at the TRI from 5:30pm - 7:30pm. Mr. Smith did send out an email to the skate park advocates with the date they will be visiting. Mr.Smith said he's also going to have more advertising going out and this will be along the same lines as the master plan meeting . Mr. Smith said American Ramp knows we only have $225,000, they know we're only doing concrete, and they know the location being discussed is the site behind the TRI, infront of the old nursing home, close to the road, so it's not hidden and it's in plain site. Mr. Smith said they have a couple of different ideas about where the building will go. One is to keep it where it is now, use the same footprint and expand it and make it bigger. Another concept is to tear down the current building and build the new building where the current ballfield is now. That field is in honor of Les Agee and if we went that route we would do our due diligence to honor that . Mr. Young asked if we see a lot of games being played there. Mr. Smith said the younger kids cannot play on it because of the mound, but it is used by other leagues. Mr. Biessel noted we have many townships that use this and if we need to use another field somewhere, more of those fields need some tlc. There are some fields out there that just are not at the same level as the fields at the OCP. Mr. Young added it's like sandlot style. Mr. Biessel stated there seems to be some working relationship between the townships to work with this, adding that there are parks within the township and we need to look at it as not just the City of Oxford. Mr. Smith said he included the school district, not just the city limits of Oxford for the master plan. Mr. Smith said yes, it's 8000 year-long residents, but if you include the township, it's almost double that. Mr. Smith said what has risen to the top here lately is this new location. Mr. Smith said at one time they wanted to remove those big trees in front of the TRI, but Mr. Smith suggested keeping those old trees and making them more park-like for the new possible design. Mr. Biessel asked if you might have a turf field, and you had to go through an area to enter the park for use. Mr. Smith stated it would be interesting to see some of the designs. Mr. Smith noted he's excited to see what the American Ramp company comes up with as a design. The person that is coming to run the community meeting thinks he is very experienced at doing this, and they are excited to come meet people and talk about ideas. Then it would be nice to get this built over the winter and get us open in the spring. It may be smaller but we will have one. Mr. Young said there was so much distance in the old one, having all concrete may make it better for play. Report 1. Parks and Recreation Administrative Report Page 5 of 7 Grants and Improvements Mr. Smith shared at the last meeting for the estate capital budget for the house and senate. Communities turn in submittals for the greater good of the community, adding each agency and municipality submits 2-3 projects. Oxford submitted for curb and gutter etc. Mr. Smith submitted for turf field at ocp. The benefit to having a turf field is that field usage and play can be done year round on that field. It definitely can be year round and it opens up so much additional usage. It would be a game changer for us with a huge return on investment. Mr. Smith said this was his submittal for the turf field and how it will benefit the community. Mr. Smith noted at metro parks he did this, and decided to try it here. Mr. Smith said the draft budget has been released and that is the only item that Oxford received, however, it's only for $250,000 and not the one million asked for. Mr. Smith sent in questions asking if the project can be scaled down or changed to use those funds, or does he have to come up with the $750,000? Mr. Smith had another idea, which was to create a mini pitch. FC Cincinnati had a mini pitch, and if he takes the $250,000 then maybe he can partner with FC Cincinnati and do a mini pitch and they can help us brand it. Mr. Smith said another thought is to take that amount and see how much we can do with that amount, like a section or look at the Community Foundation and see about other grants and see what we can build putting these together. Mr. Biessel noted he still likes the idea of a mini pitch. Mr. Smith will report back once he hears, but will have to be ready to pivot if needed. Ms. Ornelas added for Mr. Smith to keep in mind, one thing to look at is the lights that can reduce the light pollution. Mr. Smith added here is the BCRTA update - they are running the buses to the community park several times a day. Mr. Smith noted they have been great to work with and thanked Mr. Young for setting the ground work on getting this route to the pool for the community. Mr. Smith noted we have the Back to School Bash in August and he asked if they were able to do a special route on that Sunday for the event and they said yes. Mr. Smith also asked if they can drive on July 2, and bring people in only by Brookville road and drop off at the aquatic center and turn around at the pool. Mr. Young said this will be great, since the parking has sold out the last couple of years. Mr. Smith advised Enjoy Oxford is partnering with us for Freedom Fest this year. Since July 2nd falls on the Thursday night of the music festival, the band scheduled to play that night will play at the park for the festival instead. More marketing coming on that event. The TRI is holding the liquor license, since they are a non-profit and LaRosas will help out with selling the tickets. Mr. Smith noted the Daughters of the American Revolution group will attend the event this year and have volunteered to read portions of the Declaration of Independence in-between songs. This will be a nice addition. Mr. Smith said he has a quick update on the TRI. We are reviewing the current lease agreement and future ownership and management of the TRI and TRI grounds. It is currently being reviewed by the TRI board and looking at what the future looks like since the current lease agreement is ending in December 2026. Ms. Meaney asked: Did the TRI predate the Parks and Rec? Mr. Smith said yes, the group of private citizens bought the land in 1967 and then later in the 70's the city partnered and Parks and Rec was born. Now we have the contract out there, and hopefully we will keep them as a partner in some form moving forward, such as in the naming of things Page 6 of 7  etc. Mr. Young said at the last joint meeting one of the TRI board members said he had the original land survey, so they are definitely invested. 2. Recreation Board Member Administrative Reports Ms. Meaney noted that as an Oxford citizen and a parent, she helped with the 6th grade social and wanted to say it went great. LaRosas did great and the aquatic center was beautiful. Mr. Young stated he has been contacted by 3 people regarding a maintenance liability issue on the OATS trail. Mr. Young stated that when built, there is a section where mud runs on that trail. Mr. Young said one guy said he fractured his tooth and clavicle and his daughter has a strain on her wrist when they had an accident due to the mud. This section is by melissa drive, and 732 past the bowling alley. The silt is running off that property and the last person happened last week with an injury. The area looks like it's settling and right during the spring, but it's definitely now that the dirt is there. Every time it rains there is a problem. Mr. Smith stated he will definitely relay this info to Mr. Green and take a look at it. Mr. Biessel said Miami has two overlapping construction projects happening right now. The chestnut fields facilities is putting down a turf field and how that becomes a continuous part of campus is likely to be a topic of conversation. Mr. Biessel also noted the area in front of millet hall will include a dog park and pickleball courts etc. that will focus on students, and they plan to be done when school starts. Also, a Miami M is being installed across from the bachelor hall, for photos and Instagram posts. Adjournment Motion to Adjourn - Mr. Smith adjourned the meeting at 1:32pm (Voice Vote) 1st Mr. Young 2nd Mr. Biessel AYE # 4 NAY # 0 ABS # 0 Page 7 of 7