Plans for stabilization work at the IOOF Building, formerly known as the Tavern Building, were submitted to the Miami County Building Department on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Work is expected to start later this month, with the intent of meeting the April 30 deadline.
Matt Clevenger | Miami Valley Today
By Matt Clevenger
TROY — Members of the Troy City Council heard an update on the progress of repair work at the IOOF Building, formerly known as the Tavern Building, on West Main Street from Troy Historic Preservation Alliance (THPA) President Ben Sutherly, during their regularly scheduled meeting held on Monday, Feb. 5.
“We submitted our permitting plans last Tuesday, Jan. 30, that will outline the scope of the stabilization work that will be happening at the building in the spring,” Sutherly said. “We anticipate hearing back from the Miami County Building Department and the independent plans examiner by next Monday, Feb. 12, and anticipate that construction will begin soon afterward, later this month with the intent of meeting the April 30 deadline.”
The THPA is currently at 60% of raising its fundraising goal of $750,000, Sutherly said, and has received 100 private pledges and donations so far.
“We’re entering the final stages of fundraising here in February, and those wishing to donate can go to our website at www.thpatroy.org,” he said.
Sutherly also thanked the city of Troy and the Troy Human Relations Commission (HRC) for the creation of a new brochure highlighting African-American points of interest in the downtown.
“The old Miami County Courthouse is associated with the Randolph Freed People,” he said. “Their journey ended here in Miami County.”
“The old clerk’s ledger, in which nearly 400 of the Randolph Freed People registered, survives to this day, and is in the archives at Wright State University,” Sutherly said.
Through research, THPA members have calculated the exact location of the clerk’s office in the old courthouse, which is part of the IOOF Building on West Main Street.
“We determined conclusively that a large part of the clerk’s office does remain intact to this day,” Sutherly said. “It’s pretty powerful to stand in that spot and think about the Randolph Freed People being registered at that very spot, nearly 180 years ago now.”
In other business, council members also adopted a resolution authorizing a contract with the law firm of Jackson Lewis PC for collective bargaining services, and a resolution authorizing a partnership agreement with Miami County and the city of Piqua for participation in the Lead Safe Ohio Program. The city is eligible to receive $204,150 from the county’s allocation; funds are to be disbursed as a grant to qualified applicants for work identified by the program.
Council members also voted to adopt a resolution authorizing bidding for the replacement of dehumidifiers at Hobart Arena, at a cost not to exceed $450,000.
Council members adopted an ordinance authorizing the upcoming Night in the Stars event sponsored by Troy Main Street and planned for Sunday, April 7, and the Eclipse on the Square Troy Truck Yard event planned for Monday, April 8.
“The eclipse will occur the afternoon of April 8,” Council member Lynne Snee said. “Events are planned for Sunday, April 7, and Monday, April 8, with the public square closed from approximately noon on April 7 through approximately 6 p.m. on April 8.”
Troy Mayor Robin Oda presented the Rumpke “Look Who’s Recycling” award for the fourth quarter of 2023, and Director of Public Service and Safety Patrick Titterington announced that city offices will be closed on Monday, Feb. 19, in observation of Presidents’ Day. The council meeting normally held on Monday night will be moved to Tuesday, Feb. 20; refuse and recycling will be picked up as normal.
During the citizen comment portion of the meeting, Paula Emerick spoke in support of the We the People amendment. More information can be found online at www.movetoamend.org/motion.
“We are six weeks into the 2024 election,” Emerick said. “Soon we will be deluged with political ads produced by special-interest groups.”
“Lots of money will go into making them,” she said. “We don’t know the identity of the big donors or their true agenda. What we know, because we have seen it in the past, is that the big donors will have a louder voice over public policy than you and I, and our elected representatives are likely to be more accountable to those big donors than to us.”
Troy resident Brad Behringer announced an invitation for an upcoming workshop entitled Seven Crucial Prompts for Conversations About Racial Justice, which will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Randolph & McCulloch Freedom’s Struggle Complex in Piqua.
“I’d like to invite anyone who would like to go on this journey,” Behringer said. “It’s an inward look at ourselves, answering some questions about ourselves and our relationships with people of color.”
