By Dean Vaglia
Leader Staff Writer
The Oxford Township Board of Trustees had its first meeting of 2022 on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Topics discussed included renewing contracts, upgrading sewer lines and filling committee vacancies.

Zoning ordinance first reading
The board voted to approve the first reading of zoning ordinance 67A.027-Section 3.8, moving it to a second reading. The ordinance sets the minimum width of the driveway segment perpendicular to a side-entry garage at 25 feet or 24 feet if the lot width is 80 feet or less. It also sets the minimum setback for private driveways at 4 feet from side property lines or 3 feet if the lot width is 90 feet or less.

Fire Department updates
Lindsay Young’s contract as the Oxford Fire Department’s finance manager was renewed. The contract is ongoing and several compensation changes were made to be in line with other township employees.
Chief Pete Scholz informed the board the department was working with Oakland County Homeland Security to determine the total cost of the Nov. 30 shooting and related activities. The data will be sent to Lansing to reimburse participating departments with federal funds, though some responding departments have declined to submit information, stating they were just there to help.

Transferring money
The board voted to move $744,195 from the Building Department fund balance into the General Fund. It was determined that general funds were used to cover costs that should have been covered by the building fund balances between 2013 and 2021. The transfer brings the funds to where they should be.

M-24 sewer line
Residents in the Brabb-Dewey subdivision want to move from septic systems to the township sewer system, but the lines servicing the area under M-24 are in failing condition. The board voted to allocate $300,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the $600,000 work, $25,000 of which is dedicated to a topographical survey of the construction area.

Sheriff agreements
The board approved the 2022-2024 contract with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office for its services in the township. The yearly costs are around $3 million with sight increases each year, totaling out to nearly $9.1 million over three years.
The board approved an additional school resource officer for Oxford High School. The additional officer was approved through an expedited process at the county level and approved by a county Board of Commissioners committee on Jan. 11 after a deputy was assigned to the position on Jan. 3.

Other business
The board certified the results of the Nov. 4, 2021 special election. 3,302 “no” votes outnumbered 1,533 “yes” votes, rejecting a $9.1 million Oxford Library capital improvement bond for the second year consecutive year. The election costs $38,000.

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Several board members were assigned to committees to fill in for William Dunn’s resignation. Township Supervisor Jack Curtis will serve on the North Oakland Transportation Authority board, trustee Jonathan Nold will serve on the ARPA funds committee, and Catherine Colvin — Dunn’s replacement for 2022 — will serve on the Cable Commission, the Village of Oxford Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the Planned Unit Development (PUD) committee. Curtis and Nold will hold their positions until Nov. 2024 while Colvin will until Nov. 2022.

Public comments
Jenny Prather, an Oxford Village resident asked the board to adopt the first week of February as National Gun Violence Survivors Week in the township. A resolution to do so in the village was removed from the Jan. 11 council meeting agenda for political concerns.
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Teri Stiles, newly appointed station manager and 22-year veteran of Oxford Community Television (OCTV), introduced herself to the board and presented ideas for equipment replacements and upgrades over the next three years.