By Matt Clevenger
TROY — Members of the Troy City Council heard a statement from Ben Sutherly of the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance (THPA) during their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, April 3, thanking the city for recent actions regarding the Tavern Building on West Main Street.
“I would like to thank the city of Troy for taking action last Friday to bring an end to the mess at 112-118 W. Main St. by filing the amended complaint,” Sutherly said. “The incident that occurred last Wednesday morning was an affront to our city and our citizens, and it must be dealt with severely and decisively.”
“I commend you for your amended complaint against 112-116 W. Main St. and Mr. Kimmel; I commend you for asking the court to require the repair of the property and bring it up to code, and I commend you for taking steps to finally get the sidewalk re-opened after more than three years,” he said. “We urge you, if you are granted permission by the court, to take action to make repairs to the building and asses those costs to 112-116 W. Main St. and Mr. Kimmel, and I hope that the city will work to recoup the $24,000 in façade grant money awarded for Mr. Kimmel’s other downtown properties.”
“I’m grateful that THPA and other property owners were finally granted access to 112-118 W. Main St., and we look forward to the actual condition of this building becoming public knowledge soon,” Sutherly said. “We believe that this very historic building with its unique and powerful story can have a very promising future, and contribute a great deal to our downtown if it is in the right hands.”
In other business, council members also held a public hearing for zoning changes related to the Troy Storage Inns of America development located at 1271 Brukner Drive. Following the public hearing, council members heard the second reading of an ordinance approving the development’s general plan and changing zoning for the property from M-2 light industrial to a planned development industrial.
A third reading for the ordinance will be held at council’s next regularly scheduled meeting.
Council members also heard the second reading of a resolution to authorize a contract with Flock Group Inc. for automatic license plate readers. A third reading of that resolution will also be held during council’s next regularly scheduled meeting.
Council members also heard comments from council member Todd Severt, thanking those who attended a recent Meet the At-Large Council Members event at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center.
“I’d like to thank the individuals who came to the Meet the At-Large Council Members on Saturday, March 25, at the Hayner,” Severt said. “We had some engaging discussion.”
“We had a long discussion about the processes of council there,” he said. “We will continue to do them approximately quarterly, and I would strongly recommend if you have an interest in how council works or you have any issues with the city, keep your eyes and ears open and attend. We appreciate the opportunity.”
Council members also heard an update from Director of Public Service and Safety Patrick Titterington on damage caused by at least one tornado that occurred north of Troy on Saturday, April 1.
“The high winds got close enough to the northern part of Troy that it did cause some debris,” Titterington said. “It was isolated; it was not city-wide.”
“We had contemplated doing a special brush clean-up,” he said. “We will get on social media and probably do a press release.”
“We have the annual spring clean-up starting next Monday, April 10, through April 14,” he said. “That does allow for additional trash and also brush that can be picked-up. We are asking people to just pile it on the regular day of trash; just pile the brush out there and we will get that as part of that service.”
