It looks like a game of musical chairs is being played on the Oxford Community Development Authority’s Board of Directors.
Two OCDA board members recently resigned and another became a non-voting member leading to the appointment of one new face and the creation of two vacancies.
Ron Franey, assistant superintendent of Oxford Schools, and Roger Knapp, co-owner of Red Knapp’s American Grill, recently resigned their seats on the Downtown Development Authority board.
In an Aug. 12 letter to the OCDA, Franey explained the reason for his resignation – “I find that my work on the new high school and renovation of the old high school at Oxford Area Community Schools takes up more time than I anticipated. Therefore, I relinquish my seat on the Oxford Community Development Authority at this time.”
Knapp cited no reason for his resignation in his Sept. 8 letter, but stated, “I enjoyed working with you and wish the best for the committee in the future.”
To fill Franey’s seat, the Oxford Village Council appointed Lisa Farlin, owner of the Metamora Canine Academy South located at 14 N. Washington St.
Farlin will be sworn in at the next OCDA meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Her term will expire in October 2007.
Farlin said the recent closing of her other Oxford business, Nature’s Den, gave her the extra time she needed to commit to the OCDA.
“I’ve been interested in (the OCDA) for about a year,” she said. “Now that I don’t have another business going, I have the time.”
Farlin possesses strong feelings about the community she’s preparing to serve.
“I felt like Oxford has been very good to us, Metamora Canine,” Farlin said. “I love it. I love being downtown. I love the downtown area. And I would love it if it was a thriving retail district.”
Rather than sit on the sidelines, Farlin said she decided it was time to get involved and help make that “thriving retail district” a reality.
“I can’t really complain unless I’m willing to put some effort into it,” she said. “So, I decided to put some effort into it.”
Farlin possesses a definite vision for the downtown.
“I would love to see the downtown become more of an area that would bring people down to walk and enjoy it,” she said. “A comfortable place to bring your family and enjoy a stroll or shopping or something other than just passing through. I would really love to see Oxford be a place that people would spend some time in. I think it has the potential. It certainly has the space available and the traffic coming through. I’d like to be part of getting those people to stop and enjoy it.”
Knapp’s seat has yet to be filled. Whoever is appointed will finish out the remainder of his term, which expires in August 2005.
A third seat opened up on the board when council Sept. 23 voted to amend the OCDA by-laws to make village Manager Mark Slown a non-voting (ex-officio) member.
Slown voluntarily gave up his status as a voting member with council’s approval at the Aug. 26 village meeting.
The OCDA’s by-laws had to be amended to accomodate the change because they mandate the village manager be a voting board member.
Slown previously explained that he gave up his vote “in order to get some fresh blood on the board” and “bring some new volunteers forward who are excited about the possibility of working with the OCDA.”
Whoever is appointed to Slown’s seat will serve a full four-year term.
Any resident interested in applying for the two vacant seats should contact Michelle Bishop, executive director of the OCDA, “as soon as possible.”
Bishop can be reached by phone at (248) 628-2543, via mail at 22 W. Burdick St., P.O. Box 94, Oxford, MI 48371 or through e-mail at ocda@villageofoxford.org.