Many Thanks!
It is an honor and a privilege to be your city manager. Thank you for the opportunity this past year. Middletown is a wonderful city and I am so proud to be a part of the community. It has been a pleasure working with the talented group of department heads and employees. I am also appreciative of the open and respectful dialogue that I have enjoyed with the Mayor and Council members.
CAFR Award
We have received our 22nd consecutive CAFR Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting! Congratulations to Russ Carolus, Joyce O’Conner and the other members of the Finance Department for their work on this comprehensive report. This program is sponsored by the Government Finance Officers’ Association and is important to ensure that we are utilizing standard and comprehensive reporting procedures for financial details.
Light Up Middletown
We received the LUM final report from the organizers of the event. Interesting to see that over 13,000 vehicles visited the event this year, which translates to over 46,000 visitors who donated over $30,000 to the event. We are fortunate to have events like this in our community.
Charter Review Commission
It is time to begin the review of the City Charter as called for each 10 years. If there are going to be changes to the Charter, we will need them filed by mid-August with the Board of Elections. Council will need to appoint a citizen Charter Review Commission who will bring forward their recommendations to council for changes. We should make the appointments in the next month or so.
Downtown Activity
Our downtown was selected to be the study focus of Miami U’s studio class for urban planning; we are also applying for an intern to concentrate efforts on the downtown area. The Main Street Group (DART) will be resuming their work on Jan. 15 at 5:30 in the 4th floor conference room. In addition, our downtown is the subject of a Place Matters initiative, see below.
Place Matters
Middletown has been selected by the United Way and Place Matters to be the focus of a 3 part project. This is very exciting news! Several months ago, Place Matters staff interviewed city staff and the community members and made their selection based upon the fact that they saw many great things already happening in Middletown that could be built upon. They will focus on 3 areas of town: the Downtown area, Douglass Park neighborhood, and Amanda School neighborhood. Place Matters is a National initiative that focuses on Sustainable Urbanism.
Upcoming Events
January 5 Park Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Conference Room 2C
January 6 City Council Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers
January 7 Board of Zoning Appeals, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers
January 13 Board of Health Meeting, 7:30 a.m., Conference Room 2C
January 14 Planning Commission Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Council Chambers
January 19 Martin Luther King Day, City Building Closed
January 20 City Council Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers
Have a great week!
Judy
Judith A. Gilleland
City Manager
City of Middletown
One Donham Plaza
Middletown, Ohio 45042
(513) 425-7836