By Don Rush

If there’s one thing since July that Phil Castonia has heard over and over again, it’s this: “You have some mighty big shoes to fill.”

When folks in these parts say that to him, he smiles and replies, “I know. It’s tough to follow a guy like that.”

Since July 1, Castonia, 43, has been leading the Oxford Township Parks and Recreation Department. Prior to his hiring, that position had been filled for 27 years by Ron Davis. “Ron’s personality is big, it will carry the room. Like I told the staff, I’m not planning on making sweeping changes. I met with the staff and told them I’m not here to rock the boat. There are no problems to fix. When you start a new job, that is a dream come true. No fires to put out. The parks department is so well run, the staff has been here so long. I told the staff that I was here to support them and help them. They and Ron ‘built a beautiful house.’ We’re just adding another story to it. Take it up a notch and keep giving this community what they deserve. I have plenty of learning to do and I’m still getting my feet wet.”

While Castonia may be new to the position, he is not to the parks system or the community. Prior to being named Oxford’s new parks director, he worked 16 years with the Oakland County Parks and Recreation. Before that, he worked with Davis here in Oxford for three years. He and his wife Melissa have resided in Oxford for 11 years. Their four children, Emma, 14, Nate, 12, Joey, 10 and Will, 8 all attend Oxford Community Schools.

“It feels really good to be here,” Castonia said. “This is our community. It’s nice to be home. Being a part of the parks and recreation and what we do here, providing parks and open land and recreational opportunities for the community is nice. It’s what I did for the county, but doing it here is a whole different world – in a good way. The county was very good to me, but this is different. I just love the hometown feeling and atmosphere that Oxford has and that’s why we settled here. We’re not even looking to live anywhere else. We love everything about it here. The schools, the parks and the people.”

Just this last week Castonia received some good news. The Oxford Township Board of Trustees approved the park’s $1.6 million budget for 2023.

“We do not have any plans at this time to add programs,” he said. “We’ll do what makes sense for the community as time goes by. It’s been a long, tough couple of years around here, with COVID and then the shooting. We want to help the community get back to some normalcy. We are working on capitol improvements – that we’re doing in-house. For example, the restrooms by the softball fields will be renovated. We’ll freshen them up with new paint and fixtures. We owe it to the patrons who use it every day.”

Also, the parks are gearing up to construct a 40 foot by 100 foot open-air pavilion for the farmer’s market at Seymour Lake Township Park. Supply chain delays are keeping the construction behind schedule – hopefully it will be completed by December, he said. The building style will be similar to other buildings at the Seymour Lake Road park. The estimated cost of the building is $297,000, $100,000 of that will come from a grant from Oakland County.

Castonia said, as always the parks and recreation department will be open to new ideas from the community. “We’re open to hear ideas and concerns,” he said. “We’re not stagnate, we’re always looking to grow. We’ll try almost anything once. We’re not just bound by the physical boundaries of our four parks. We’re a part of the community and partner with different agencies for programs that make Oxford a better community.”