Submitted by Mayor Densmore, pdf version click here.

Search for Interim Village Administrator. Our legal counsel has put together a job description for the position as specified by the charter, and will discuss this further during his report tonight. I’ve asked for an executive session to review the resume of a potential appointment, and to share contact information with council members to reach out to the individual. My understanding is that we want to have a public confirmation hearing for council members to ask questions publicly of the appointee, and I would like to have that as a special session of council as soon as our council has had the opportunity to reach out to the potential appointment. I’ve put a number of things in place to onboard an appointment quickly once confirmed, including statements from department heads summarizing their duties and workday, contact information for the major projects the village is engaged in, a list of issues council has reported they’d like addressed, and I will of course also share all the notes I have from having served as the de facto administrator. 

Update on the Ramifications of the Data Security Breach. The decryption process has been completed. I signed off on a scope of work recommended by the attorneys handling the security breach, which details the “data mining” and outreach that will be conducted to make sure we contact and assist all those whose personal private information was compromised during the incident. The estimated cost for that scope of work has been provided, and our fiscal officer informs me that this will all be reimbursable by our insurance carrier. You’ll notice on the website that we have a link to help individuals navigate the process of getting help if they were affected by the breach. We’ve also been looking at contracting for additional IT support to make sure security vulnerabilities are covered in the future. Our attorneys have looked over the proposed contract and negotiated the recommended changes. I’m reviewing their fee schedule and scope of work– I believe under the new ORC regarding cyber security, these details are not subject to sunshine laws. I would like to share them with council members who are tech savvy enough to help me navigate a decision on signing the contract– so I’m asking any council member who would like to review the document to reach out to me. 

Deer Park Silverton Fire Protection Agreement. This may have already been covered in Chief Meador’s report, concerning the update of our contract for fire services. The contract has been reviewed by the attorneys of both parties. It will be submitted to council for review and to approve of action in our March meeting. The contract represents less than 5% increase, which our fiscal officer has indicated seems reasonable, and feels that council will probably be ok with it. Chief Meador reports that these increases are lower than the ones on their end, but feels it is a reasonable compromise. Our fiscal officer can give further background and detail, in terms of what the increased cost to the village means to our budget.

Wiehe Planning Project. Hamilton County Planning & Development is providing development planning services to the village for North Wiehe. I’ve attached a scope of work document to this report. Along with the village administrator and myself, there will be one council member and two residents that I will select to serve as a steering committee of the project. I’m hoping to select one resident from the planning commission, and one resident from community engagement to have seats on the steering committee, but am open to alternatively placing other residents in those seats. I’m asking any council members who are interested in the seat reserved for a council member to send me an email notifying me of your interest. 

Property Development Map. I finally got a Property map of Village and County owned properties that those interested in development can take a look at. The table of details for each property I’ve also made available. 

Losantiville Road Project Update. The most recent engineering update was last week, which reported that the following tasks still remained: removal of old signal equipment; completion of signal punchlist items; installation of flashing signs at Losantiville and Stover crosswalk; and pavement markings at the Stover crosswalk. They report that they wouldn’t be able to do the original plan of creating a raised crosswalk, stating that the cost would take them outside the amount approved by SORTA. They propose pushing this part of the project to a later time. They also reported that they have cost overruns running between 10 and 20k. These overages raise the contract amount but stay under the original SORTA project amount.

Update on Waste Contract. We need a 15 month extension on our waste services to bridge the time until we can join an ideal contract established by the Center for Local Government. So we are waiting on proposals, the response window we have is until March 5th. 

Google Government. I’ve researched over the years using Google Government as an alternative to some of our Golf Manor Microsoft accounts. My research has included interviews with our Golf Manor IT consultant and IT administrators that manage a Google Suite of services with K-12 schools and universities. I’ve also discussed it with village and city administrators across Ohio who have made the switch. My understanding is, if we’re interested in doing this, we would best be setting up a hybrid, where for instance, council and certain staff are using Google government accounts, for collaboration and documents, while certain village assets continue to use microsoft systems, such as the doorbell system, the digital sign out front of the building, and the security system– which all have control panels made for interaction with microsoft accounts. I spoke with one administrator who recently made the switch for his village, and provided Chrome OS tablets to all the council members. He reports that the transition was a significant savings. A decision on this is not imminent, I’d like the council to research and see if it is something they are open to, and return to the topic next month.

Parking in front of the building. I have directed that the police parking in the front of the building be switched up to allow easier access to the building by residents and guests. There are currently 6 parking spaces in front of the building. The middle four spaces will be opened up as temporary parking for visitors. The two remaining spots that bookend those will be used by the active duty patrol car, and by the social work representative provided by mobile crisis. 

The remaining police cars will park on the side of the building or in the back. So there will be changes in the signage that we’ll all see in the coming months, clarifying the new role of the parking spaces, as well as clearly communicating that handicap parking is available on the side of the building closest to the ADA entry. The board of elections have been notified of this so they can make the changes on their end needed ahead of the spring elections. All the spots in the front and sides of the building will be open on election day– we have a way of covering the signs to make their availability clear. I think this will be a very positive change for our residents and guests, and am grateful for the support that the department heads have given me in making these changes. 

Diversity Training for Council Members and Staff. We’ve done this in the past, for all council members and staff, but prior to the tenure of any of the current council members. So I’d like to do it again. Professor Hamilton of Miami University did our previous one, and everyone thought it was very informative and helpful. The training is really good at helping participants identify their own unconscious bias– judgments we make about others without realizing it, as well as how these judgments can affect our relationships with one another. Ideally the training will move us toward being a more effective team. So I’m reaching out to the Professor and hope to have more details and a proposed date for you guys by our next meeting.

Mayor’s tree program update. I have begun receiving applications for this year’s Mayor’s Tree Program. I hope to have the 2026 application updated and online by our next meeting. As a reminder the program goal is to increase the tree canopy of the Village from its current level of 30.5% to over 40% for climate resiliency, prioritizing the creation of shade along streets, sidewalks, and within community gathering areas. If more priority applicants exist than we have trees, a lottery will take place to discern who gets the trees. All residents are eligible for the program. 

Proclamation Honoring the Distinguished Service of Mrs Melanie Zadifoff of the Hebrew Day School. The proclamation recognizes and honors her decades of extraordinary service, her unwavering commitment to excellence in education, and the profound impact her service has had on the community. I’d like the council to affirm the proclamation.

This Mayor’s report is respectfully submitted to the residents of Golf Manor. Thank you for the honor of being your Mayor. 

Mayor Stefan C. Densmore 

Village of Golf Manor