0016:30 p.m. I'd like to call to order the Charter Township of Oxford Board of Trustees special meeting Tuesday, May 20th, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. If you'd all please rise and pay respects to the flag. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. No, noting please. Noted. There is a quorum. Thank you. I'd like to make a motion to approve the agenda with the following amendments. the deletion of items 7 B I and 7 C. I'll second that. 7 B 7 B I Oh, James Summers and C 7 C. Okay, I have a motion by Treasure Ferrari, a second by Trustee Charles. There are any questions? Hearing none. All those in favor
002signify by saying I. I. Opposed? Hearing none. Item five, public comment on items not on the agenda. Members of the public, now's your time to come up and speak. You have three minutes to talk. Thank you. Hello everyone. My name is Roman Gaski and I'm a lifelong resident of Oxford Township. I'm very excited for I don't know if we're going to call it a debate or a game show or what, but I'm very excited for this for this selection process. I'm here just because I wanted to tell everyone that I'm considering running for state representative as a Republican. And our campaign is about serving everyone, not just a small group of people. So, we would love to hear from the board as well as any members of the public. And I'd like to commend everyone
003watching this as well as everyone who showed up today for their civic engagement. So please don't hesitate to come up to me or reach out to our office if you have any questions. And again, my name is Roman Gaski and I'm considering running for state representative as a Republican. Thank you. Thank you, Roman. Any other members of the public like to speak on a topic that's not on the agenda? Seeing none, uh, board of trustees comments. I'll start with Trusty Wagner. No comments at this time. Treasure Ferrari, no comment. Uh, Trustee Charles, nothing. And clerk right? No comment at this time. Thank you. I have one comment. Uh, last night, Orian Township uh, denied the Indianwood Lake Electric Motor uh, no wake amendment. um petitioned by a few residents. Um it didn't work out well
004in their favor. So there is no further action of this board that we'll have to take and attorney Ellis has notified the DNR that no action is required to be taken anymore. All right, on to this item seven, unfinished business. 7A, trustee candidates interviews and appointment. Uh board members, there are only five and we took item uh number six off. I just received an email from the number six candidate and he was stating his withdrawal. So the five candidates, uh this is our second time we've done a interview by candidate for a position open as a trustee. And how we'd like to do this is we'll just go down the list. Uh, candidate number one would come up to the mic. We'll start with I'll start it and run to the end. We'll ask our
005questions and then um ask the next candidate to come up. In all fairness, what we asked the candidates to do was the four candidates that are not upspeing go out and take a seat outside the door. While this is a public meeting, you can stay. We ask that you give privacy to the candidate that we're interviewing. Um, give them a few minutes to allow them to be not under pressure and talk and worry about what everybody else is going to say. So, um, if there are no further questions, what I'd like to do is have 7 I, Miss Emily C. Bush. Uh, I would ask the other four candidates if they'd like, please, uh, we put some chairs out there, enjoy the museum artifacts, and we'll get call you in as soon as we're done
006with I'm going to call her Emily. Hello, Emily. How are you? Hello, board. How are you doing, Mr. Curtis? Mr. Wonderful. I'll call you Ms. Bush then. All right. Mr. Curtis. Right. Mr. Is your mic on? I don't know. Can you hear? It's on. The lights on. Okay, I can hear. All right. Um, Emily or Ms. Bush, we have You can call me Emily, Jack. Thank you. Um, we um are going to ask some questions and kind of put a scorecard together so that we can deliberate and find out the best candidate for Oxford. And what I'm going to do is just go down the row. Uh, we'll ask you the questions. If Trusty Charles asked a question, I'm not going to ask it if it's duplicate. So, I'll start with Trusty Charles. Do you
007have a list of questions or I have a couple and would you like them directed to you or to the candidate? Why don't we direct them right to the candidate? That way, we make it perfectly. It's out of order, but yeah, it's a little better when we So, what are your what are your thoughts about the future direction of Oxford? Um, I think that we are um at a critical time right now. We're seeing a lot of growth in Oxford. Um, and while I believe that growth is a good thing, I think it needs to be measured and thoughtful and meaningful. Um, I think uh with my son just graduating uh last um last week with the class of 2025, I think we're also at uh a crossroads of figuring out um what we're going
008to make of the district, the school district. Um how the direction of the school district goes will ultimately impact the growth of our um township and village. So, um I think we're at a critical time where we need to make um very good decisions again thoughtfully and meaningfully um about how we continue to grow and bring families into Oxford. Do you want me to you want to do an all share questions or go and come back? Go ahead and answer ask all your questions. Sure. Trusty Charles, I'll be briefer than normal. Um what committee boards, organizations are you or have you been active in in Oxford organizations? Oxford organizations. Um I think um as far as an actual elected position or any no any anything could be volunteer could be whatever but I mean Oxford
009organizations something about our overall community. I have I'm trying to think. I don't think I've been anything more than a concerned citizen showing up for our community with regard to um the events of November 30th, 2021 and how that has impacted um not just the kids that were there, the administration um uh the entire town, neighboring towns, but um I've been doing community organizing since the shooting um and have been working closely with parents and educators. Um have not been a part of any formal sort of board. Um it's the good oldfashioned grassroots organizing that um I kind of cut my teeth literally um two weeks after the shooting um showing up to my first school board meeting. Um and since then, as far as bigger things other than Oxford, I'm the current North Oakland
010lead for Mom's Demand Action in Every Town for Gun Safety. Um, as many of you might know, I've continued to show up for um my community and other communities and trying to um run for an elected or um public service position. So, um that's another way I think that I've shown up for my community. Um but other than that, nothing truly formal, just a community participant engaged. That's more than a lot of people. I'm well said. Clerk Ray. Yeah. Hi, Emily. Hello, Mr. How would you envision your role if you're appointed as a trustee to the township board? Um, I by nature am a collaborator and a coalition builder. Um, so I believe a role of a trustee is someone who collaborates and listens. Um, is incredibly thorough when they receive a packet of information
011that's to be addressed at a public meeting. Um, I plan to read thoroughly if chosen. Um, every packet that's presented to understand the issues. Um I understand that as a township trustee um I would be a fiduciary and have fiduciary responsibility for the township and um for the village and making sure that everything is responsible, everything is transparent. Um so and a representative of the community in general. Um it's an honor to serve um I'm sure as all of you believe and to represent everybody in this community and I would um take that honor very seriously as a res now of almost 20 years come this August. Okay. Thank you. That's it. I'll add more, but I'll let somebody else ask. Oh, you can go ahead and ask your questions. Back. Well, I'm just trying
012to share the wealth. Okay. Yeah. Um, let's see. You know, Oxford Township has several committees. If you're not aware of those, if you're selected as the trustee, you'll be appointed to some of these committees. Is there an issue if you attend committee meetings during the day 8 to 4 with your time? Would it be an issue as of right now? No. No issues. I would be able to So you'd be available for those? Okay. And then uh we mentioned boxwood township's growth. What if there's any changes that you propose? What would those be? Oppose. No. What would you propose? Oh, what would I propose? Yeah, propose. Um, as far as infrastructure in general, as far as uh how we're doing with our developments and that uh type of nature in the township, you you'd be
013a trustee on the board. I mean, would you have uh different ideas of how we're progressing as a township? My biggest idea would be to listen to the people that live here and to take into consideration um the things that they believe are important. Um I will be honest in saying that um with my activities over the last three years um especially in the last two years um it has taken me away from truly being plugged in um to everything that has transpired other than the single hauler trash um issue. Um but um I know that from a greater perspective um in general not in Oxford, but as a state, as a country, um we're at a time now where I think, um collaboration and coalition building and people listening to everyone to understand that
014we have more in common probably than what a lot of people think we um do is incredibly important, which um is another reason why I think that it's incredibly important that um somebody like me continue to show up uh despite maybe my leanings might be a little different than um the community, but uh our views also matter and I do think that um having a balanced perspective is incredibly important, especially now. All right, so um my last question, Supervisor Curtis, um how will your professional and personal life obligations affect your ability to allocate the time necessary to be an effective trustee? Oh, I would actually look forward to spending plenty of time, as much time as needed, and probably more so dedicated. I'm a huge learner. Um, I'll be 53 the end of this month,
015and I feel like some days I'm aging backwards because I'm a sponge for information. Um, so I would be more than happy to um pour everything I have into being a trustee of the board and and contributing to the forward movement of Oxford Township in the village. Thank you. Okay. Trustee Wagner. Oh, okay. What What do you see as the most important responsibilities of trust? Gosh. Um I've already stated that one of the biggest responsibilities is participating with transparency and understanding the fiduciary responsibilities of a trustee. Um also um understanding um having lived here almost 20 years that growth continues to march north. Um so again making sure that we accept progress meaningfully um and completely understanding all of the systems and infrastructure within the township. Um so I think it's multiple responsibilities. Um but
016I would say probably being transparent and showing up is probably the most important thing. Okay. So, you mentioned transparency. What does transparency in a local government mean to you? Well, um, everybody's transparent and that you show up. It's broadcast. There's conversation that happens. Um, posting all of the agendas, making sure that everybody thoroughly reads the agenda, making sure that everyone thoroughly understands what's on the agenda, everything that's in the agenda packet. Um I think that making sure that there's a full understanding of what each decision actually how that decision impacts everybody in the area and um not just certain populations. So transparency means being collaborative um communicating um accepting questions even when they're difficult um communicating with the community. I think that this board does a very good job of transparency and posting everything um
017from what I have witnessed myself. Um so that's what that means to me. I don't think it means if I'm out in public and someone approaches me at Meyer um standing there and having a halfhour conversation when there are things that could be addressed um during a board meeting that that's transparency. But um just making sure that there's open lines of communication and that everybody is discussing and that there is collaboration. I think collaboration is the key along with transparency. Okay. Can you give an example of a difficult decision you've had and how you approached it? I knew this question was going to come up. Probably the most difficult decision is keeping my kid here in Oxford and continuing to send him to the high school and trusting that he was going to be safe
018every day and that this district is going to keep my kids safe. Um, so that was a very difficult decision, but ultimately, as I'm sure Mr. Ferrari can attest um keeping your child with the people that most closely understand the experience that they went through and how it has shaped them was more important than pulling him and taking him to a different district. So that was a difficult decision, but I know it was the right one because he graduated Thursday and he graduated with honors and still doesn't know what he wants to do even though he's 18 as evidenced by our um meeting this morning with an OC counselor. But that's okay. Um, but that was probably one of the hardest decisions was to stay and keep him here despite what happened. So, how did
019you actually approach that? What do you mean? What was your thought process in making that decision? Knowing full well that if I were to yank him and take him to another school district, it probably would have been even more traumatic for him. He needed his friends. They needed each other. And I think that that is one of the things that was discussed during commencement last Thursday. That's probably one of the most positive things that came out of it was the camaraderie and what they built with each other and that they'll never forget and they'll honor that. Um, and that's what drove that decision. Okay. One final question. Yes, sir. At the at the end of your appointment, are you interested in running for the position in the next election? Say that again. So, are you
020interested in running for the position in the next election once your appointment ends. Oh, absolutely. Um, is this was this a four-year? This term this is a two-year term going out. Okay. Um, I probably I'm sorry. Yes, it'll be a two-year term voted on in 2028 election, correct? 2026. I'm sorry. Okay, I'm going to slow down again. It's okay. Ask me to get the wrong township. Yeah, I was reading your article. So, yes, I would. Absolutely. And one last thing I wanted to say too is um and I don't know what other questions are coming, but one of the things I've learned and my experience over the last three years running for all these things um is that everything is intersectional. Everything is related to everything else. And um making sure that we're responsible in
021one area leads to responsibility in another area. And I know that keeping things and making sure that things move forward in a very meaningful measured way will impact all of us. And um I'm fortunate to have lived in Oxford for almost 20 years. And um I want to see us continue to grow and um continue to be a community that's welcoming for all. Thank you. Uh Treasure Ferrari. Hi Emily. Hello Joe. Emily and my kid both went to school together. They both know each other. One question because everybody else pretty much asked my other questions. If there's a difficult decision on the board, there's six of us that strongly feel a certain way. We feel it should be decision X. But you're in your heart you feel the community should be decisionwide and how would
022you approach that in terms of voting your your uh your decision on the matter? Well, you go with the majority, right? And it um my goal if I were to be chosen for this trustee position um might be to provide a different perspective. And sometimes that doesn't always mean that you win. It just means that you provide a different perspective. Maybe if I get somebody to think about something differently like one time or 10 times, but if you provide a different perspective and it encourages discussion and collaboration and it might make you think about something differently that you couldn't have thought of previously, then to me that's still coalition building and collaboration and I think that it encourages even more from there. So would you have the courage to vote against the majority? If it's
023something that I believe there are seven of us and six of us think it should be X but in your heart you think it should be Y. When that vote comes down would you have the conviction and the courage to say no? Absolutely. That's it. That's it. Okay. Well, good. Four of my six were asked, so you're safe. Um, I read your letter of intent, but would you please tell this uh board why you'd like to be appointed as a trustee? I think I've touched on it several times. I care about this community. I keep showing up. Um, even though my views, my belief structure may be different than the majority, I continue to show up because I believe that um, all perspectives are relevant. Um, and I want to serve the community where I've
024raised my son, um, for 18 years. Um, everything is important here. The way we grow, the way that we maintain everything, our roads. Uh, I know that Polyand Trail is different, but it's all connected, as I mentioned, the way that we grow our businesses, the way that we grow our I know that there's a lot of growth happening or scheduled to happen um, northeast of town. Um, and so making sure that again it that it's welcoming, that we have all the resources and all of the infrastructure needed for a growing community. Um, and I'm invested. Again, I've now owned two homes in Oxford, one on West Street and now on Dennis. Um, and we need to make sure that this is a community where all voices are heard. Um, and so providing a different perspective
025and continuing to take care of our town and our community the way that it has been for so many years. I'd like to be a part of that. Okay. Um, final question. You know, would would you explain your knowledge of how the township government works right now? My knowledge of how the township government works again is that it's your responsibility as a township board to bring things that are put in front of you um to a vote to make sure that you're doing everything in a responsible manner, making sure that things are done appropriately with roads, our water infrastructure. Um, I know that the school district itself is funded separately, but making sure that everything around the school district is functioning well. Making sure that businesses small and large are um are grown um carefully
026and meaningfully. Um, ordinances, making sure that people are abiding by the rules. Um, whether you're a resident or a business, that's also part of the job of a township board. Um, so overall responsibility for the well-being of our residents, the most vulnerable, those that um maybe are seniors that need a little extra help, making sure that we're doing things mindfully when it comes to our first responders. That's also part of um what the the board does. Um, so doing everything in a responsible, meaningful, thoughtful way and then doing it together as a team, um, I know is the biggest part of what you all do and making sure that our community continues to move forward meaningfully and thoughtfully and measured um, in all of the different ways. So, and right now all politics is local
027and um it all starts locally and this is where people's voices are heard. People need to show up. People need to express if they're concerned about what their neighbor has done or I keep going back to the single trash hauler thing because it was such a big deal. But all of it matters and being part of a township board to hear the concerns of the residents and to take those concerns into consideration while knowing what the best thing may or may not be for our town. It's all important and again this is where everything starts right here locally and it's very very important. Okay. Thank you. Um that's my questions. They were answer or asked by the other trustees. Um, at this meeting all I do is run it. I have the same power as
028everybody sitting in front of you. And the only answer is a majority wins. So, um, that completes our questions. So, if you would, could you please send in Patty Doer? And Sure. Thank you very much. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you. You want one or more? Could you hand me a box, please? Yeah. Thank you. Yep. I guess two paper's cheap. I can get some more. So, the treasures are quick. Okay. Miss Patty Der, do you want me to state my name? No, that's fine. We know who we are. Um, I'm going to start this time by we're going to go from Trusty Wagner and move down to Trusty Charles. And uh we're just going to ask some questions. We're going to grade it up in a score so that we can
029determine the candidate and how they answer our questions. Sure. So, Trusty Wagner, go ahead. Sure. So, what what do you see as the most important responsibilities of the trustee? That would be um making sure Can we pull that mic down? I'm sorry. I know. Yeah. We have um a lot of issues. I get nervous. I'm sorry. Oh, fine. take time with um the building the traffic is a big issue around here. Okay. What about responsibilities as a trustee? Most important responsibilities of a trustee is um making sure we do the right thing for um people in the community. you sort of poked at a little bit, but what's your view of the township's, you know, current issues, challenges, or priorities? I think um the the traffic is a big issue right now. Can you give
030an example of a difficult decision you've had to make and how you approached it? Oh my goodness. I guess when I sat on the board, there was different issues that came about that you know we had to make decisions and what was your approach? So when it was a difficult decision, how do you approach it? Uh the best I can and do u make sure I um review and talk to the people. Okay. What does transparency in the local government mean to you? I'm sorry. I'm very nervous. I get I'm on the other side now. So, Yep. Yep. Let me ask you a different question. Are you are you interested in running for election once the uh the appointment expires? Yes, I am. Uh last time I um when I ran, I think I lost
031by seven votes and there was a certain person that you know that decided to run So, we had that the extra person. I don't want to say his name. Okay. Okay. That's all I have. Supervisor, thank you. Uh, Treasure Ferrari, just one question because the other folks ask the other ones I'm interested in. If there's a difficult decision that comes on in front of our board and six of us feel strongly one way, but you in your heart of hearts think that's not the best for the township, do you have the courage to go against the majority and vote your conscience and vote? Yes, I Yes, I would. Most definitely. Sorry, Supervisor Curtis. Okay. You know, I read your letter of intent. Uh, but would you please tell this board why you would like to
032be appointed as a trustee? I enjoyed it when I was a trustee and I was a trustee from 2012 to 2020. and I enjoyed um all the committees I was on and I'm still on the Oxford Addison Youth um assistance committee. I stayed on with them that I enjoyed tremendously. Okay. And I didn't mind helping out with the nos off and on still. Okay. Um, you answered most of these questions with that statement. Uh, you know, they're all answered. Okay. Thank you. Through these three things in your statements. Thank you. Thank you, Clark. Great. Hi, Patty. Hi. Um, you know, Oxford Township continues to grow. So, as a trustee, what's your position on the management of our future growth and how would you propose any changes, if any? Now, we um with the zoning map
033and making sure, you know, everything's mapped out properly and take care of it that way. Are you are you satisfied with how we're growing? I think so. Yes. Very satisfied. Okay. Thing is over on Drainer and Lier Road is the traffic right there. trying to get out. So, as um know that the township has a lot of committees. Yes, I do. And if you're selected as a as a trustee, you'd be uh on some committees. Would you have a problem doing any type of committee uh attendance during the day? Well, right now I'm sitting on the planning commission, so I sit on the ordinance review committee right now, which I know I would have to step down from that if I became a trustee. And I have no problem have being on the different committees.
034But as far as the time time constraints, do you have any? Not at all. I was on committees before. I had no problems making the meetings. I think I'm all set. Super Curtis. Uh, Trusty Charles. Hi Patt. Hi Pat. I think you've answered a lot of these. I ask this question. Anyhow, what other boards and community activities have you been in that involve the entire Oxford community? Um, I sat on the election committee. Um, as I stated, Oxford and youth assistance, the noaz. Okay. And then kind of telling you what uh Mr. Wright uh asked earlier, what are your thoughts about the future direction of Oxford? Where would you like to see us go and where do you think moving forward and you know with making sure we abide by the zoning map? Okay. And
035what would you like that zoning map to what are your thoughts about what you mentioned earlier the traffic and things? How is that tying with the zoning map? I mean well that would be with the different um building that we would be putting up buildings. All set. Well, want to thank you, Patty. And I'm sorry, just I'm nervous. I don't talk. Patty, it's fine. Um, that completes our questions. We're trying to tally up the scoreier to Okay. make a nomination. So, I'm going to ask you to go out, step out, and send Allison Gorman in, please. Thank you. Sorry, I was singing out there, so I needed to get some water. Okay, I'm going to start. This time we've been going in different directions. Okay. Allison, I read your letter of intent, but would you
036please tell this board why you'd like to be appointed as a trustee? Absolutely. So, a little over two years ago, I moved to Oxford. And we moved out this way because I have a sister that has two small children that are autistic. they moved to Lake Oran and we wanted to be close to them. Uh, as a real estate broker, I have the opportunity to understand a lot more about areas and where to move and why to move there and Oxford was at the top of our list. We fell in love with the area. And soon after getting here, um, I decided that I missed a lot of the community that I was feeling in the area we lived prior, which was Clawson. So, I started reaching out to neighbors and um starting doing a
037garage sale locally just in our little neighborhood. And I also decided to do what I call the pause and share house, which is like a a little library, a little free library for all of pet supplies. Just trying to get to know the neighbors and to build some community. And as I was meeting everybody, people like Linda Moran and uh others in the area, they kept encouraging me to explore further. And um I saw that this position was available and thought that this would be a good way for me to give back um with the skills that I have. Okay. I heard something in that statement. You're a real estate broker. Are you going to be able to recluse yourself and uh state any conflict of interest because you're going to be dealing with people
038that are purchasing land and or selling the land andor developing land and if it's part of your deal, you'll have to recluse yourself from voting on that. Sure. So you're aware of all that. Correct. Absolutely. Yep. Okay. Understood. Uh what is the main responsibility of a trustee? Do you know it's the fiduciary health? Uh please explain how you're qualified to fulfill those duties. Sure. So I kind of view this position very similar to what I do with my fiduciary responsibilities for a client, right? So the township is the client would be working for the people, working for the best interests of the people and also making sure that the people's voices heard as well as listening to experts and understanding that there needs to be um a good match between what the experts are saying,
039what the community is looking for and coming together for that. Okay, this board meeting is a meeting in public for the board members. This board is not meeting for the public. So outside of here, you would be involved in the community. Absolutely. Thank you. Um, if selected, you would be appointed to several committees. Some will work uh require you to be present during the day, normal business hours, if you will. Are you flexible enough to uh attend some daytime meetings? Absolutely. So, I've owned the brokerage for four years and I've been a realtor for 10. So, I'm very well verssed in being able to situate all of my appointments around other pieces of business that are important to me, which this would be very important. I'm also on two boards right now that meet quarterly
040and I'm able to schedule them and put them into my planner and make sure that I'm there. They are there during the day too. And a lot of my clients I meet with in the evening time. So they're working during the day. That's my time to be doing what I need to back end back of the house as I say. And then I'm meeting with them in the evenings. So even something like this coming to a meeting would be no problem as long as I can schedule it. Not a big deal. Thank you. Um, I know the other trustees want to ask some questions, so I know they've asked them before, so I'm going to go to Clerk Wright. Thank you. Hi, Alison. Um, I think uh, Supervisor Curtis uh, hit on your uh, role
041as a trustee. Um, you don't have any issues with uh, attendance during the day. communicate you can flex your time. Absolutely. Be available. I also have an assistant that works with me. So if for some reason I was needed, she would be available to go in my absence, meaning to the appointments. So I could if I have an appointment that I need to be at, that's not a problem. Okay. All right. You know, Oxford Township's growing. Yes. Yes. And as a trustee, what's your position on the management of Oxford Township's growth? And that's residential, commercial, and industrial properties. And is there any changes you would propose for the direction that we're headed? Well, I think that it's just a a constant balancing act and making sure that we're staying with the integrity of where we
042are as a township and making sure that we keep everyone um not necessarily happy, but able to work together for the common good in the growth, but also maintaining the integrity of where we currently are. The charm, I should say. Oxford has charm. still has that small feel which was something that was very attractive to us and to a lot of people that I work with. And uh how would you be able to fit in your time as a trustee to be effective with any potential conflicts with your professional and personal life? Well, I think the biggest piece of this is time management for me and because I have run the business now for 10 years and and being the sole person, I have a lot of process and procedure in place. I'm not overly
043that the least of my concerns to be honest with you is the time management piece because I can make my own schedule and I do have the support of um people that work with me, people that work for me and also my husband. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Trusty Charles. Hi Alison. Hello. How long have you lived in Oxford? A little over two years. Um you mentioned some boards. What are some Oxford oriented community organizations that you've been active in? So, I would tell you that I haven't gotten into Oxford community um boards at this point in time. What I would tell you is that I've been to the women's club. I've been to a couple of their um events that they've had and um I haven't really found where I wanted
044to land with being a part of Oxford. Right now I'm on the Leadership Oakland board which in is inclusive of all of Oakland County and I sit on their board. So I I kind of see that as a part of what I'm doing here for Oxford. Um also um yeah, I would just say that I haven't found the the right spot for me to dig my heels in yet. What's your um hate to use the word vision, it's overused, but what's your vision for the future of Oxford? I see it as a place for new families to continue the legacy and to add into anything that could really benefit the community as far as bringing in new talent, new businesses, and just continuing to keep it alive. All set. Thank you. All right. How about
045Treasure Ferrari? Thank you, Super. Hi Alison, just one question for you because Mr. Wagner is gonna kind of ask some of them. I want to Sure. Uh if there's a board decision, let's say we're on the board, six of us feel passionate a certain way. Yeah. Uh would you have the courage and conviction to vote against the six of us if you felt it wasn't in the best interest of the community? Absolutely, without a doubt. And I would say that negotiating is something that I have to do for clients all of the time. Even when there are many people that are saying one way, if it's not in the fiduciary of my client and what's in their best interest, it's an absolute no. And I will do whatever I need to to provide that information
046and move it forward. So that is not a problem for me. Well, thank you. That's all I have. Thank you, Trustee Wagner. Hi, Hello. So first question. So what you sort of touched on this, but what do you see as the most important responsibilities of a trustee? Well, I would say first of all, show up, be available not just for the meetings but also in the community. So whatever these these different positions, I think they're specific, the election commission, the compensation and performance evaluation committee, the personnel committee, these would be the things that this position would be working on. Is that correct? Yes. Yeah. So, showing up for anything that's involving those positions, also being available for um questions, concerns, uh any community members might have and also showing up for all of the meetings
047and being available. Okay. So, as a real estate agent, so you you've seen what's going on in Oxford. So, what's what's your view of the township's current issues, its challenges, or priorities? Well, my view is that there's there's definitely some differences of opinions and there's people that are interested in growth and there are people that really are working to make sure that they keep everything exactly how it is. I think one of the biggest things that I see in small communities is finding that space where everybody can stay and be excited about the future instead of trying to hold their position. Okay. Can you give an example of a difficult decision you had to make and and how you approached it? Okay. Um a difficult decision in my business particularly is there any any example
048you want to use. It's an old Okay. difficult decision and how you approached it. Sure. Absolutely. So, I have uh currently I was working with a single mother who had been pre-approved for a property. We went and looked at several of them. She decided that there was a specific property that she wanted to put an offer in on. And during the entire process, she kept getting um hung up on what was happening with her lender. There was a situation with her lender and all of the documents and information that he was collecting and what she was asking for, she felt very uncomfortable about. And so I had to come to the decision that she was not going to be moving forward with the house, that I was going to speak with the lender specifically about
049the situation. And I had to be able to discuss it with her with a lender. We were currently in um a position of an offer with a house. So, I had to also discuss it with that uh agent. And it just really wasn't a good fit for anybody. And being willing to just say, you know what, this isn't going to work for my client was absolutely the most important thing. What does transparency in local government mean to you? Being able to attend meetings, being able to approach people that are here in different positions to get information, being able to access the information online. Um, just knowing what's happening I guess what is your understanding of the role of the township government in relation to the county, state, and even federal and that it's a a
050micro of the larger and larger. So this is the position for this specific area. very similar to larger as it grows out, but very same as far as who's there and what they're going to be accomplishing. So, you're looking at a very specific area. It just gets larger as as it goes on. Okay. Final question is, so if you're appointed, you'll be appointed to a two-year term. Okay. And then you would you be planning or interested in running for the actual position at the next election which would be in two years potentially. You know I to be honest with you this isn't about politics for me at all or about running for any sort of political position. This is about serving in the community. So what was attractive to me was actually the fact that
051it wasn't about running. it was about an opportunity to show up and serve. So I guess um after the time period if I felt like I was a good fit for that then absolutely I feel like I would probably be interested in running but it was never to me about a political opportunity. Thank you. Right or wrong? It's all I have. Supervisor Curtis, I'm glad you asked that question and it was real well because we don't look at ourselves as politicians, right? This board is working for it's a government position working for the people, but we just have to be elected for our job interview, if you will. Right. Understood. And uh we are in a big learning curve here. So I learn something every day. Treasure Ferrari learns something every day. We all learn
052something every day. So once we learn all this stuff to apply it to the community, that's where I think Trusty Wagner was going with his question. Would you commit to running in two years or not? And it's only based on what you just said. It's a commitment to the community and learning. So thank you. Yeah. Sure. Absolutely. I think that if I can show up and do what you're asking of me, you know, I as my resume speaks, I don't have a lot of uh government experience, but what I do have is running multi-million dollar business experience. I have entrepreneurship experience and I have a servant leadership experience. So, I would be looking for that that training and mentorship, but also have no problem saying this doesn't align with said things, values or otherwise, and
053being able to um have one of those conversations as well. Thank you. Um Danielle, would uh we bring in James up a colola, please? And thank you, Alison, for your time. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening. Good evening. How are you? Good. How are you? Good. James, we're gonna run through the panel of questions. Sure. I'm going to start with Trusty Charles this time. Okay. When he's finished, we'll ask our questions. If he's already asked it, we're not going to ask it again. So Okay, perfect. Go ahead. Trusty Charles James, what do you turn the microphone on? What other community organizations, Oxford community organizations for the entire Oxford community, not just a single unit, but what other community organizations have you been actively involved with? Really the only one that I was was our own homeowners
054association which would have been the hometown village of of Waterstone. I spent uh 10 years as treasure and president of that organization from the beginning to the um from the beginning of that to um for about 10 years after that. And then um other the only other organizations the community would would have been the uh um I have an office in Lake Orian. So join more business related organizations in in Lake Orian but nothing in Oxford. How long have you lived in Oxford? 20 20 plus years. And what are your thoughts about the um direction of Oxford going forward? I like the I've always in I've always thought that the direction was going good from from the from the time that I moved in to to even as of today. I don't see any I
055see the biggest challenges for Oxford being maybe just how do we how do we continue to grow in the value proposition that we offer to the residents. Uh I look at us as as the challenge I see in front of us is is how do we get a bigger tax base in into do we stay residential? do we start to move more um I look at Oxford the biggest challenge relative to um our our businesses are just along M M24 for the most part as I look there's some along Gillespie and some other but we're mostly a residential community so how do we provide the right services with them and support them as a as a community and provide a good value proposition to them that's it Right. Yeah. Hi, James. Hi. Um, how do
056you envision your role if you're appointed as a trustee for Oxford Township? Um, being as as as a trustee, you've got a fiduciary responsibility. So, as as for us, it would be making sure that we're spending the people's money the right way. Um, making sure that, again, I'm very big on value propositions and some of the other organizations that we've been in. That's a lot of a big focus that we've been part of is providing a value proposition to the residents. So, how do we make them feel that they're paying their taxes and they're getting the value out of that or they're paying for services and they're getting the value out of that to them? So, I see my role is is helping to enhance that value proposition while also being good stewards for the
057community and and the properties that we have. Okay. Uh it appears you're very busy individual. Um if you're selected as a trustee, you'll be appointed to some of the committees. Sure. Do you have time to attend those committee meetings during the day? Sure. I'm self-employed. So, yes. So, I would have the ability to the flexibility is flexibility to do all of that. Yep. Okay. You you touched on Oxford's growth. Um was there any changes that you propose the direction we're headed as a trustee? No, I I I think that that looking if I look at at where Oxford is, I think that um the the downtown is good. I think that the way that we've you've developed the downtown and and with the restaurants and the bringing people in, I think is good. the the
058partnership with Lake Orian. I would want to make sure we I really look at as us and Lake Oran as two they're two separate communities, but we can really benefit out of partnering with each other. So maybe enhancing that partnership a little bit is and again not knowing where that partnership is as as today, but looking to see if can we can we enhance that partnership with them and again driving the value proposition to to our residents. Um I think I'm also supervisor Curtis. Okay, Treasure Ferrari. Hi Jamie. Hello. Question for you. A lot of folks have already asked it, but I'm going to ask one that I've asked all the candidates. There's a difficult decision that this board is facing. Let's say six of us feel strongly one way. Yeah. But you and your
059heart feel it's not the best for Oxford. Would you have the conviction to go against the majority and vote no? As long as Yes, I would. And I I have in previous organizations where where we've had those type of decisions, but I'm big on the process and as long as we've walked through the process, then I I could feel comfortable with wherever the outcome comes. But if we don't go through the process and it it's just kind of then I would have a hard time even supporting anything like that. But I would certainly be able to say no. So even if we went through the process, but at the end of the day you're like this isn't good for Oxford. Yes. I I I would I would I would probably vote no if I felt
060that it was if I felt that strongly about it and the process led me to that decision. Absolutely. You know, the six of us felt differently. Yeah. I I I we all have separate I mean again, you know, you look at it, it's still for the betterment of Oxford, right? And and again, you hope that that we've gone through the proper process. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. Trusty Wagner. Hi, James. Hello. So what is your understanding of the role of township government in relation to county, state, and federal? So obviously they're all layered and and you know funds are received flow downhill um to to that but our our responsibility is as to to the states is is the state or the county and the state we received some money from from them to to to
061uh um for our funding the state funding the county I know we work closely with the county to make sure that that the the overall county is as thriving as is I look at this as a cog into the county wheel as we go through and then that that's a cog into the state and that's cog into the federal. I I don't understand all of the all of necessarily the funding of how that works and what but I do know that that part of our budget the the township budget is relative to state funding. Okay. Can you give an example of a difficult decision you've had to make and how you approached them? Um, yeah, there's there's probably several. All of them all of them lead to some sort of a breakup, I guess, whether
062it's a breakup with my former partner, break up with uh uh a former spouse. Um, I I I approach it in a way where I look at the pros and cons and then realistically it comes back down to was I happy in the situation I was at and and and really I needed to um if there's too much negativity um and it's drawing my me down then then that's how I approached it was was how was I feeling internally about that Um, I've fired employees before and and that's never a good a good thing to do either. But again, I had to do that for the betterment of me and the rest of my my team. So again, I look at it for am I able to get addition by subtraction in in those cases.
063Okay. Um, let's see. So what does transparency in local government mean to you? You don't hide anything. Every you you you leave it all out on the table. you let you let your residents know exactly what's going on. You're upfront and honest with them. You're not trying to be devious with them. Um transparency to me is is exactly that. You're being clear with with what they're asking. You don't try to to mislead them, misguide them. I understand that that at times it may be information not be may not be ready to to to be uh disseminated to them and but you can at least be honest with that and saying at this time I cannot provide you with that details but the minute I can I certainly will and then following up on that promise.
064So I I don't I don't see it as as something that that you hide behind. Okay. Are you interested in running for election for this position once the appointment term expires? Yes. No further questions. Supervisor Curtis. Okay. I want to expound on stand on Trusty Charles question. I What what activities or organizations are you involved in outside of Oxford or in state federal? Sure. So currently I I've I'm I'm uh immediate past chair of the Michigan Association of CPAs. Um I've spent 11 years on that board of directors including the last five years as on their executive committee went through secretary treasurer immediate or uh incoming chair chair and now past chair. Uh I sit on American Institute or the American Institute of CPAs or the ACP. I sit on their council which is their
065governing body. We just came back from a trip from Washington DC. Um again, as I told you, I was a board of directors of um our local association. I've sat on the finance committee for the for the AICPA for the last 11 years as well. Chaired it for for one year as as treasur of the association. We managed it compared to your budget, but we still managed, you know, $3 million investment and and u made budget recommendations to the um the bigger board. Um, I also have served on the uh uh Lake Oran Chamber of Commerce um and and served a couple years on their executive committee as well. Okay. You know, if I read your letter of intent, would you please uh tell this board why you really want to be appointed to this
066sure position of So, I I've g you know, I've had a couple people I've talked to and and they've said, "Why do you want to do that?" and and you know the biggest thing is is I have no issue that I there's not a driving issue that I'm looking to say we need to make change or do this or not. Um I just want to serve. I've always said I've always said that if I'm going to be part of something, I want to be part of something. So and meaning I want to be active. I don't want to be just a bystander. And I've spent the 11 the last 11 years serving my profession and that's going to come to an end. And so now I think it's the right time for me to shift
067my gears and give my passion to this community that I've been here for 20ome years. My, you know, unfortunately both my kids have moved out and and uh now is just the right time for me to give back to the community. Okay. And uh can you explain what your knowledge base is of uh how township government works? Um are you ready to learn? Oh, I'm I'm I I I'm not going to know 100%. I've I've you know, for for the most part, um the the the elected officials is the treasurer, supervisor, and clerk do the day-to-day operations and run the day-to-day operations with with the staff. Um the board of trustees are are really responsible for the overall governance and and fiduciary responsibility relative to spending of bills and approving of bills to be paid
068and and so forth. That's that's where the consent agenda comes on comes in um and makes decisions relative to ordinances and and but that's all done by the trustees through through the the various meetings and so forth. But then you know you supervisor and you treasurer and the clerk are really the ones that that execute on those those decisions made by the um the trustee board of trustees. Okay. Was it close? No questions. Um, that's pretty much mine. Anybody else have any further questions for Jamie? Seeing none, uh, I'm going to ask you to send in the last candidate. Danielle is going to walk out. Thank you. Thank you, Jamie. This is hard. Good evening, Paul. How are you? Good evening, members of the board of trustees. Thank you for having me this evening. Appreciate
069your your time today. Okay, what we're going to do is uh there's uh five of us up here tonight. We're gonna go down the line and ask you some questions. Hopefully, we won't ask them twice. So, we'll start off with uh Treasure Ferrari now. Sure. Hi, Paul. Hi. Question for you because others are going to ask the other ones I'd like to ask. If there's a decision coming in front of this township board and six of us feel passionately one way, but you don't think is the best decision for the community, would you have the courage to be able to go against the majority, vote now? Absolutely. Uh my integrity is is everything in the community, what I do, my line of business. If I'm convicted in what I feel, I will vote that way.
070I hope that what I bring to the table can at least influence and also percolate other ideas from the other members of the board of trustees, but I would certainly vote true to my being. Um, that's just who I am and who I always will be. Okay. Any others? Treasure F. All right. We'll go with clerk right. Yeah. Hi, Paul. Hi. Um, how do you envision your role if you're appointed as a trustee? Well, it's a very good question. I mean, at first, you know, I'm here to serve the community. I want to make an impact in the community. Um, I want to collaborate with the people um behind the wall here with all of you folks. Um, I want to make a difference. I want to bring this community together more and more. I
071think we need more unity. I think we need can do better for our residents. It's I know it's a it's a hard job. Um, one of the things that uh, and I've been here five years now. I got remarried. Um, you might know Patricia Shapiro for Love Inc. as my wife. Um, but I've been here five years now. I came from Bluefield Hills, community that was very desperate. Um, here, one of the things that I really enjoy and love is the hometown feel of Oxford Township. And I think preserving that is so important. Um, yes, you want to bring people in. You want to have growth growth at a reasonable pace, but you have to have the infrastructure for that. And I want to make sure that that the right decisions are being made, the
072right topics are coming to the to the forefront. Um, and for me, it's how can I best serve these people and and do the best for them. Um, I I love this town. I grew up in New York City. Um, where there obviously tremendous amount of people. I love being here today. Um, very uh, you know, like I said, hometown feel. people are very supportive um and and I've embraced this community and I I can't see going anywhere else in my lifetime. You mentioned infrastructure. Um if you're a trustee, what is your position on the management of the growth that we're facing and would you propose any changes to that? Well, you know, there are things that come to mind um specifically like as an example of pocket parks, you know, growing that infrastructure. I
073know they're small, but that enhances the community. Um, I think again I I go back to I I I my career or what I do today is help companies that are in trouble and help fix them. Um, sometimes I help companies that are growing too fast, make sure they have the infrastructure to grow. And I think it's important to look at all the different pieces of the pie to make sure there's a foundation there before you grow further up. Um, I think that trying to bring visitors in and bring new residents is great, but I think the preservation of what we have here is most important. And first and foremost is the safety and security of our residents is um the quality of life that this township brings the residents and maintaining what's very important
074to me and what I do is the culture of this township and I think that's what I would bring to try to perpetuate that culture. Now, if you if you're elected as the trustee, uh you'll be uh serving on some of the committees. Do you have the time during the day to attend some committee meetings because they're usually held during the day? Yes, sir. Uh currently, as an example, as a professional, I'm on the Oxford uh AI AIA Youth Addison um Wildcat Club. I mentor a student every Thursday. I make time in my schedule to do that. I have the flexibility to do that. I would have no problem to do that. This would be a priority for me. And that's why I'm here today because I do want to become active, do want to
075become involved. Um I've been on boards before, both um professional and civic. I today I'm on some association boards for my uh profession, but um absolutely make the time. Um I'm the kind of person Jack might know, but others might know um outside of here that when I dive in, I dive in fully and you get 100% of me. I don't come in 25%. If I agree to do something, um I'm going to do it. Um getting a board seat is not just about occupying a space. You have to do something like my my wife who has a board. You know the board's expected to contribute to do things to show up and to you know not just occupy a space and come to a board meeting once. So for me it's a it's an
076honor that is bestowed upon you and you have to treat it that way and treat it seriously and and respect the position and I I would take it very seriously. So your your professional and personal life uh obligations would not affect your effectiveness as a trustee? No, sir. Right. All right. That's all. Supervisor Curtis. Okay. Trusty Wagner. Okay. Um what is your understanding of the role of the township government in relation to county, state, and federal? Well, I will I will Off the bat, I have a limited understanding of that. Um, I'm not a very political guy, but I I I imagine that the state of Michigan supports the counties and the counties support the townships and the cities. And obviously the alliance amongst all of them is very important um to get grant money
077for whatever projects are needed. And I think that um it's important to collaborate, right? If you don't collaborate, you know, groups don't work together, things don't happen. So while I may not have a exact uh understanding of the inner workings of the state, county, even federal and the the the uh municipality um structure, um I understand and one of the things that I built myself on is collaboration and and going to those centers of influence that can help you, but it's a two-way street. You have to help them, they have to help you. Doesn't it doesn't just flow one way. Okay. Can you give an example of difficult decision you've had to make and how you approached it. Sure. I'll actually give you two. A personal decision I had to make about seven years ago
078was get divorced knowing that it would put me on basically on the street um where I was living um really on SSID or whatever it's called because I didn't have the the money to do it with my ex-wife. Um, obviously that's a long personal story, but it was a very important decision to make because I put my kids first. Like I put my community first. I put my kids first and that's what I did. So that that was a hard decision to do. Uh, no doubt about it. Professionally, the hardest decision I had to make as I I also run companies that are in trouble as what they call chief restructuring officer. I've had to wind down several companies and one in particular had about 5,000 employees, all of which were going to go home
079basically the next day, shut the doors and that was their livelihood. But I knew we had to do it. The bank was pulling the plug to hiring a receiver, appointing a receiver and I had made the decision that we had to wind the company down um not on an orderly basis on a fire on a fire sail basically. And so, um, I did that and with the fiduciary responsibility knowing that 5,000 people over, you know, the next few weeks would go home to their families and they would not have a paycheck and that was their livelihood. These people, you know, were machinists and, you know, skilled trades or whatever. And, uh, that was a very tough decision to make because I take it very personally. Okay. What does transparency and local government mean to you?
080Well, transparency is everything to me. Uh, in the business I'm in today, it's all about communication. I'm a very transparent person. What you see is what you're going to get. I I think transparency is the same thing in the local government. I mean, transparency is right over there. I mean, showing your folks what's going on today. This is an open forum for the public to see, and the public and the residents deserve to see it. Um, there's nothing to hold back. There's nothing to hide. It's it's open book both ways. Um, I'm a big believer in transparency. Um, I I wouldn't live it any other way. And I think that whether it's a municipality or it's a professional board or a company, um, communication and transparency are the are the pillars that make things work.
081Okay. Are you interested in running for election once the appointment term expires? Yes. I I haven't given much thought to that, but uh I would definitely be interested in that. Um certainly I I look at this opportunity as not coming in for I think a year and a half or whatever. It would be coming in for a longer period of time so I can make an impact. So this is something that I would hopefully if given the opportunity like perhaps today I I would like to continue on and have a effect and and really help the this community continue to thrive and continue to grow. So definitely that would be something of interest for sure. Okay. So, I have Supervisor Curtis, uh, Trusty Charles. How are you? Good. How are you? Good, thanks. So, my
082question, well, same question. Um, you mentioned on a few boards and you mentioned Love, Inc. and then you mentioned Wildcat Club. What are some other organizations that are Oxford oriented that you've been associated with? Um well I again I would have to tell you having been a resident for five years there are no other organizations that I would say from a civic or municipal perspective that I'm involved in. Um I am involved in other organizations professionally that one that I'm president of and a few others um but don't pertain to Oxford specifically. Um but obviously I'm very involved through through Love Inc. with my wife, who some of you might know. Um, you know, very inconsistent in the neighborhood and and all that. Know a lot of people here. Um, having been here five years,
083I'd like to get to know more people. I'd like to, you know, go over to, you know, some a neighbor's house and become more involved. And I've done that with neighbors. So, um, really haven't had that opportunity, but I would like the opportunity to really, um, get to know the residents of this community better and and, you know, help us work together to help each other. Okay. You mentioned earlier that you'd like to have more unity. Where do you see disunityity? Uh, you know, I think that the country as a whole is is very um disunified, if that's a term. Uh, I think we have to bring ourselves together. Um, I think, you know, as I read the the Oxford leader and and I'm not picking on a particular issue, but you know, my knowledge
084of the unfortunate tragedy that happened at the high school several years ago and I know that there's there's different sides of of thought and people have different ideas. I don't have any ideas because, you know, I wasn't there and all that, but I think bringing people together at the end of the day, we're all residents. We're all people. We want a good community. We want safe community. pointing our fingers at each other doesn't doesn't help move the community further along doesn't benefit. It's it just seems to be more divisive and separate us and that's not good. Well, as supervisor Curtis mentioned this, we run as in a political label, but none of us make political decisions here. That's been pretty universal since I've been associated with this board. Um, down the road, what do you
085see Oxford looking like in the future? Well, yeah, I see and I hope to see that Oxford, again, I I go back to what I call this hometown community. Um, you know, I don't think that I would like to see an Oxford grow, to my knowledge, to like a Lake Orin level. I think that's a lot of residents. And I think that having, you know, the the size and and maybe a little larger is nice, but I think adding more amenities, adding a higher quality of life, I think those are nice things. Um, I don't think bigger is better. I come from Blueville Hills where bigger was definitely not better and came from New York City with bigger is definitely not better. I've been here uh I left New York when I was 18 and
086I have family but I don't I would I left because for a reason I didn't want to live in a big city. And so I think preservation of this hometown feel but growth, you know, at a reasonable pace. Um, all making sure that the residents that are here are taken care of is most important. Not to lose sight of what's what is most important, which is the protection, safety, the culture, the quality of life that people here want and we want to continue for them. Thank you. Well said. Okay, Paul, the main responsibility of a trustee is the township fiduciary uh health. Uh I hear you mentioned that your company or your job description is looking at companies that are in trouble. Having a lot of trouble. Yes, they're on fire. Are you going to
087charge us if you find something wrong in here or No, no, I'll help. I'll help for sure. That was a question. But, you know, I went back through this and most of my questions were answered. Um, I did want to make sure that uh you were available to work on committees throughout the day. It's not overbearing, but it does demand some time to work in the uh in the community in the township on committees. So, um absolutely. Okay. Um, all right. Well, we have score sheets that we're all going to tally up with our interviewees. We'd like to take a five minute break and have a little discussion here. Danielle, take Paul back out if we could. Can I say one last thing? I just want to thank you all for the opportunity to serve
088the community. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Board members, we will be still in open meeting. So, while we discuss without the candidates here, I just have to tell you we have some candidates tonight. I certainly wish we could run as trustees or treasures or clerks or supervisors. I'll even throw my hat in there. Um, this is a great opportunity for candidates. We've got some scores that are extremely high in my book. We've got I can't expound upon it enough. We have some great candidates. Treasure Ferrari. Yeah, I agree completely. It's very difficult. This is probably one of the duties I dislike the most. I hate it being in judgment of my fellow constituents. Me, that's up to my voters. They tell me who we work with. It's just very frustrating to be
089put in the spot and I understand why we are, but I just, you know, it's just very difficult and I'd like to get other people's takes on kind of how they felt about the candidates as well. Yes, Trusty Charles. Yeah, I not to be overly redundant, but I agree with both of you. It's very, very challenging. There's some good people here and um you know, I've been thinking about I was coming back last night from uh the Tawas. I thought about this entire drive home. It's very challenging and listening to these folks today makes it more challenging. Yes. Clerk, right? Do you have anything to say? Uh just pretty much echo the sentiment of the rest of the board. Uh it's unfortunate that there's only one seat that has to be voted on tonight because
090like you said, there's several these candidates have uh great qualities and a desire and a passion to serve Oxford Township as we do as trustees up here. But at the end of the day, we have to make a decision and and uh hopefully it's a good one. And it was encouraging to hear the candidates actually express interest in running during the midterm election. Absolutely. Trusty Wagner, I would definitely say I'm extremely impressed the quality of the candidates. Um, surprisingly, I would actually I'm actually a little bit surprised at the quality of the candidates here in Oxford. So, very impressed and it's going to be a very very difficult decision. Each of these candidates, you know, they all have their own different experiences that they would bring to the board. All of them, you know, valuable
091experiences, I think this can feed off as well. Okay. Well, um, invite him in. Danielle, if you would please. Come on, man. You can do it. Yeah, you can do it. You can do it. I hate this. We're all best friends now. Yeah, it's all Well, you know, this is you were going to rush in and say, "Well, you know, B, uh, candidates, please, as Treasurer Fry stated, this is one of the hardest things you have to do. First thing, we we we have more qualified candidates that presented themselves tonight. I feel if we ran an election today, we could run a slate. Um there there's so many good attributes about each one. We're wrestling up here as to what we want to score and what we want to call and what we want to
092do. We have to choose one. But the other four that aren't chosen, and this would be by vote, uh the other four that aren't chosen, I would beg you to consider running for this position in 2026. And there's a general election in 2028. The commitment to the community, that's why I do it. I don't do it for the money, that's for sure. But um it's it's a lot of commitment and um I I guess we're going to try to see and make a decision here. This is very difficult. I mean they got five very good candidates. So I'm going to just throw this out there. I move to appoint Paul Shapiro to the charter town for Oxford Board of Trustees serve as trustee for the term of office that expires upon the certification November 2026
093midterm election by the board of campusers. I second that. Okay. I have a motion by Treasurer Ferrari and a second by Trustee Charles. Are there any questions? Board members. Hearing none, roll call. Trusty Wagner, yes. Trusty Charles, yes. Treasure Ferrari, yes. Quick, right? Yes. And Supervisor Curtis, yes. Okay, candidates, I want to thank each and every one of you for um putting your time into the consideration of this position. Please, if you are that dedicated, 2026 is an opportunity to come forward and let the electors of the township choose you. Um, based on your interviews tonight, we have four candidates walking out of here that could be a good, strong board in 2028. So, I want to thank you for your time. I appreciate all you've done and we're going to move on with our
094meeting. I'll make a motion to appoint Paul Shapiro with terms ending 11 2028 to the compensation performance evaluation committee, election commission, personnel committee, the plan unit development committee, and on the zoning board of appeals. I'll second that. I have a motion by Treasurer Ferrari, a second by Trustee Charles. Are there any questions? Yes, clerk. Right. Yeah. the plan unit development committee. There's only three members and the supervisor is already serving on that. I forgot to take that off the master list. That's why I read it. Okay. On the master list. Yep. Okay. Additionally, if I may, Supervisor Curtis, um, Treasury stated 2028. The appointment expiration would be 2026. So, we vote this motion. Stop, please. I voted down. Roll call. Clerk right? No. Uh, Treasure Ferrari. No. Trusty Wagner. No. Trusty Charles. No. Supervisor Curtis.
095No. I'll make a motion to approve Paul Shapiro to serve uh the Crystal the 20th of 26. It's a November 2026 midterm election to 112026 on the following committees. Compensation and performance evaluation, election commission, personnel committee, and zoning board of appeals. I'll second that. I have a motion by Treasure Ferrari, a second by Trustee Charles. Any questions? Roll call. Clerk right? Yes. Trusty Charles? Yes. Trusty Wagner? Yes. Treasure Ferrari? Yes. And Supervisor Curtis? Yes. Uh board members. Item number eight. We have no new business. Item nine, public comment. At this time, we welcome the public to come up, make a comment on anything you'd like to talk about. You do have three minutes to do it. You're welcome to speak on any topic. Thank you, Roman. We're getting to know him. Yes. Hello again. I
096just wanted to congratulate Mr. Shapiro on an excellent interview. But seriously, all the candidates had um excellent interviews and the one thing that we all have in common here is that we do care about this community. And so that is what I would like to say. Thank you. Thank you. Any other members of the audience? No more? Seeing none, uh, number 10, board of trustee comments. We'll start with, uh, Trustee Charles. No comments. Clerk, right? Yeah. Just another thank you to the candidates that uh, chose to put their time and effort into trying to become a a trustee and uh, hopefully that door will become available again to you, which it will in uh, November 2026. So, thank you, Treasure Ferrari. Thanks again candidates for coming out. Really appreciate it. It's a tough decision. As
097we were talking before you guys came back, it's one of the things we most dislike about the job being in judgment of our fellow citizens. That being said, congratulations to Mr. Shapiro. Trusty Wagner, again, big thank you to the candidates and thank you for putting up with all of our our questions, etc. Again, thank you for spending your time to to be willing willing to support this committee. Thank you. Um, my comment again is thanks everybody. We have some great people in our community have stepped up to interview. I appreciate it. You have an opportunity on November 20th, 2026 to uh vive for the position that is being filled until then. Um, thank you again for coming out. With that, I look for a motion. I'll make a motion to adjurnn. I'll second that. I
098have a motion by Treasurer Ferrari, a second by Trustee Charles. Any comments hearing? None. Uh roll. No. Um all those in favor signify by stating I. Those opposed? Meeting adjourned.