By Matt Clevenger
TROY — Members of the Troy City Council heard a presentation from Troy Main Street Executive Director Andrea Keller during their regularly scheduled meeting held on Monday, March 20, reviewing events and activities conducted last year and discussing the organization’s plans for 2023.
“I would like to thank city council for your continued support,” Keller said. “The city is a big funder of Troy Main Street. The remaining funds for Troy Main Street come from sponsorships from events, our business members, fundraisers that we host, grant funding, and through individual donors. We are really thankful to you all for your continued support.”
Highlights from 2022 included 12 First Friday events, as well as GOBA, the Donut Jam, the Chocolate Walk, Hometown Halloween, the Grand Illumination ceremony and the Fridays on Prouty concert series. Troy Main Street also worked with city to update design guidelines used by the planning commission, and started a new mural program that will be implemented this year.
“We’ve gotten a grant from the Ohio Arts Council that’s a matching grant, and we’re going to be partnering with the Troy Chamber of Commerce to make the first few murals happen,” Keller said.
Other projects planned for 2023 include increasing the number of storefront planters from 52 to 70, and the return of the Sculptures on the Square program.
“This year’s theme is “Wind and Water,” Keller said. “We have selected 25 sculptures that will be downtown this year.”
Troy Main Street also plans to expand the popular Downtown Clean-Up Day program, and is also working on a new logo that will be revealed this year.
“Our committee is working on creating a new logo for Troy Main Street,” Keller said. “We’re going to be doing a little bit of re-branding. We are looking at some new ideas, and we’ve got some great things in the works.”
Troy Main Street is also planning an inventory of the downtown for 2023. “We have a pretty good sense of what we have downtown on the first floor of the buildings,” Keller said, “but we’d like to have a complete inventory that has offices spaces and apartments, so we know what is on the second and third floors of buildings.”
During the presentation, Keller also announced that she will be leaving her position as director of Troy Main Street on March 31.
“I am leaving Troy Main Street,” Keller said. “I have about two weeks left.”
Troy Main street President Bryan Begg and Vice-President Eric Parris will fill-in until a new director is hired.
“In the meantime, if you need anything they can help you out,” Keller said.
In other business, council members also passed a special resolution in memoriam for former Troy Mayor Robert A. Fletcher, who passed away on Friday, March 17.
“Robert A. Fletcher was a longtime educator with the Troy City Schools Board of education, serving as a teacher, administrator and baseball coach from 1967 to 1981 and principal of Troy High School from 1981 to 1996, and retiring in 1996,” the resolution said.
Fletcher also served as a Troy City Council member from 1974 to 1977, President of City Council from 1978 to 1979 and in 1980, and Mayor of Troy from March 26, 1979 to December 31, 1979.
“We are very honored for this resolution,” Fletcher’s son Rich Fletcher said. “Dad loved Troy very much. He lived in Troy longer than any place he ever lived, and still called Troy home. He had great friendships here.”
“You have our deepest sympathy,” Council member William Rozell said. “We appreciate everything your father did.”
Council members also approved a resolution authorizing the park board president to execute a Consent to Field Naming document for Troy Memorial Stadium.
“The consent form would permit the stadium turf to be re-named Premier Health Field at Troy Memorial Stadium,” council member Jeffrey Whidden said. “Premier would provide a contribution to private fund raising efforts to maintain needed improvements to the stadium.”
