Weekly Update to City Council
from the City Manager
May 2, 2010
Census Takers Start Knocking May 1
Starting May 1, residents who have not returned their census form will be visited by a Census Bureau employee to collect the information in person. This process will take place until the end of July 2010.
$400,000 Brownfield Grant Received!
Thanks to Mike Robinette and Denise Hamet in our Economic Development Department, the City of Middletown is one of three communities in the tri-county area awarded funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency. As a part of the City’s re-development strategy the grant will provide for property assessment to identify future projects.
Cumulatively, Middletown has received $6.5 million in state and federal Brownfield program funding. Combine that with the $2.6 M received by the Butler County Port Authority for the hospital project and that’s 9.1M in our community for Brownfield funding. Already in the works is the City’s next Brownfield project: the remediation and demolition of the former STM paper mill located along the Great Miami River. The city received $1.6M in funding for this project last year.
Midwest Service/Vail Rubber Progress
Work is progressing on the Midwest Service/Vail Rubber demolition and remediation project. Demolition is finished and the company is working with Keep Middletown Beautiful to develop an attractive landscaping plan for their new front lawn. They hope to have the area seeded by Mid-May.
Business Retention Visits
Thanks to our ED team and business leader volunteers, we continue to have great success with our business retention visits. I met with the retention group last week and received feedback from their visits. The visits are well received by the business community. Feedback ranged from being pleasantly surprised that the city had interest in existing businesses to frustration with city staff in the development area – lack of business friendly attitude, to a lack of affordable professional office space to a need to showcase the city’s many assets.
We continue to work on our development process to ensure that we are business friendly, while at the same time, enforcing the codes and laws of the city. Further, we are examining ways in which we can increase the positive image of the city.
NAACP Community Service Award to City Department Head
Doug Adkins, our Community Revitalization Director, was presented with the Community Service Award at the 25th annual Middletown Unit NAACP Louie F. Cox Scholarship Fundraiser Banquet on Saturday, April 24th. Mr. Adkins was chosen for the award for his work with the Drug Market Intervention and for neighborhood revitalization efforts including the demolition of blighted housing and enforcement of the City’s property maintenance standards. Congratulations Doug…keep up the good work!
New Format Proposal for Men’s City Golf Tournament
Time to freshen the format! In 2009, a committee was formed with representation from Wildwood Country Club, Browns Run Country Club, Shaker Run Golf Course and Dave Tieman, the Weatherwax Golf Pro, to review the Middletown men's city golf championship. In 1995, the championship hosted approximately 175 golfers. Currently, the tournament hosts only about 75 golfers annually. Time and the recession have taken their toll on golf in general and this committee was formed with the hope to revive and update interest and participation in the annual tournament.
Weatherwax Golf Course has held the City tournament since 1972. A format change occurred in 1992 whereby there was one weekday of play each at Wildwood Country Club and Browns Run Country Club with two weekend days of play at Weatherwax. During that period, MAGA (Middletown Area Golf Association) ran the annual event. In 1995, Weatherwax Golf Course took all 4 days of the tournament back and since 1995 the event has been hosted and operated by Weatherwax Golf Course. Hosting the tournament each year costs the City an additional $1200 in clubhouse and administrative staff expenses and Golf Maintenance spends an additional $1000 preparing the course for the annual tournament. The positive media coverage and advertisement/exposure of hosting the tournament has been reduced over the years.
Under the proposed new format, competitors will play one day of golf at each of the four participating golf courses, Brown’s Run Country Club, Wildwood Country Club, Shaker Run Golf Course, and Weatherwax Golf Course. The particular club to be played on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will rotate each year. To prepare for the tournament, Golfers may play practice rounds at the private clubs at reduced rates. It is hoped that the variety of courses will further test the golfers’ abilities and that the format change and the ability to play at the private clubs will draw new attention and participation to the tournament.
The Golf Commission met in April and has recommended the new format changes. We have also been contacted by several groups expressing interest in booking golf outings during that now open time span.
In short, the tournament will take on an exciting new look and Weatherwax will not only reduce costs due to event preparation and staffing, but will increase revenue on the additional three days of business.
Middletown Community Foundation grants funds to Pioneer Cemetery
Thanks to the MCF for a grant to the Pioneer Cemetery in the amount of $15,000 for repairs to the historic vault. This grant is contingent on obtaining the balance of funding for the project and construction beginning by November 2011.
I’d like to extend sincere thanks to the Middletown Community Foundation for their partnership and continued support for the projects to sustain our city’s heritage and to promote a better community for all to enjoy.
Upcoming Events
May 3 Park Board meeting – Conference Room 2C 5:30 p.m.
May 4 City Council meeting – Council Chambers (Lower Level) 5:30 p.m.
May 5 Airport Commission meeting 1707 Runway 2nd floor 5:00 p.m.
May 5 Zoning and Appeals - Council Chambers (LL) 5:30 p.m.
May 6 Civil Service Commission – Conference Room 2B 8:00 a.m.
May 6 Chamber Luncheon – Middletown Area Senior Center (3907 Central Avenue)
11:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. State Senator Cary Cates - Speaker
May 10 Police Memorial Service, 11:00 a.m., Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum
May 11 Joint City-Middletown School Board meeting- Council Chambers (LL) 6:00p.m.
May 12 Police Advisory Board meeting – Police Training Room (LL) 6:00 p.m.
May 12 Planning Commission – Council Chambers (LL) 6:30 p.m.
May 13 Police Memorial Dinner – Eagles Lodge @ 1330 First Avenue 6:00 p.m.
May 18 MPHA meeting – Council Chambers (Lower Level) 5:30 p.m.
May 18 City Council meeting – Council Chambers 6:30 p.m.
May 19 Broad Street Bash – Governor’s Square – 5:00 p.m. Band 6:00 p.m.
May 21 BC Legislative Breakfast meeting – 7:15 – 9:00 a.m. Ronald Reagan Lodge @ VOA Park
May 24 Chamber Golf Open – Brown’s Run CC 12:30 p.m. Shot Gun Start
Links for additional information:
City Manager’s Weekly Update: www.cityofmiddletown.org
Middletown Community Calendar: http://www.calendarwiz.com/middletowncalendar (copy and paste in your web browser)
Pothole Patrol: www.cityofmiddletown.org or call 727-3691 (Option 2)
Have a great week! Judy
