By Matt Clevenger
TROY — Members of the Troy City Council approved an easement needed for the construction of an exterior staircase at the Mayflower Theater Building.
“The building known as the Mayflower Art Theater is being re-developed, and the owner wished to construct an exterior staircase from the North Cherry Street side of the building,” Council member Bobby Phillips said. “An easement is needed, as the staircase will encroach into the public right-of-way.”
Council members authorized an easement agreement for the staircase with Busted Brick Realty Group during their regularly scheduled meeting held on Monday, May 15. Phillips served as council president pro tem during the meeting.
In other business, council members also approved an ordinance of assessment for phase 14 of the city’s sidewalk improvement program.
“Phase 14 work has been completed for the area described in the detailed report,” Phillips said. “No objections were received from the recently published notice. The next step in the process is for council to enact an ordinance for assessment.”
The sidewalk improvement program was previously discussed during a meeting of the city’s Streets and Sidewalks Committee on Monday, May 8, 2023. Committee member Lynne Snee excused herself from the committee’s recommendation due to being a property owner within phase 14, Phillips said.
Council members also approved an ordinance rezoning property located at 15 S. Oxford St. from B-2, general business district, to OR-1, office-residential district, and heard the first reading of an ordinance to rezoning 58.093 acres of property located at 3054 W. State Route 55 from county zoning of A-2, general agriculture, to city zoning of R-5, single-family residence district.
A public hearing on the rezoning will be held on Monday, June 5.
Council members also approved two contracts with Jones and Henry Engineers Ltd. for design services for projects at the city water plant. Council members approved a contract not to exceed $226,430 for design of a chlorine gas conversion project, and a contract not to exceed $120,310 for design for a valve replacement project.
Council members also heard comments from Troy resident Deb Hogshead, who thanked candidates for responding to a recent survey by the organization Move to Amend Miami County during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“On behalf of Move to Amend Miami County, I want to thank candidates who took the time to respond to our survey ahead of the May 2 primary,” Hogshead said.
“Our survey asked candidates to state their position on corporate power in politics,” she said. “Of the 12 candidates surveyed, six responded. We published responses in the April 16 edition of Miami Valley Today, on our Facebook page and in a locally-managed Google Doc. Supporters have been listed on Move to Amend’s national website.”
“Not every responder agreed with our position that an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in particular the proposed We the People Amendment, is needed to reign in corporate power and campaign spending,” Hogshead said. “Those who disagreed with our position took time to provide thoughtful responses, and we thank you for those.”
“In the months ahead, our team will respond to concerns expressed by those who disagree with us,” she said. “We will continue to educate the public about the need for the We the People Amendment, and explain what the amendment will and will not do.”
