TROY — Members of the Troy City Council have moved to postpone voting on changes to the city’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) application, including expansion of the permanent DORA area and the addition of a county-owned parking lot to the temporary DORA areas used during special events.
Council members were scheduled to vote on an ordinance to amend the DORA during their regularly scheduled meeting held on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Following a recommendation from the council’s committee of the whole, council members decided to postpone the current ordinance indefinitely, so that new legislation can be submitted on Feb. 6.
“The committee considered the application, the presentation made at the committee meeting, the comments of those in attendance, requests from First United Methodist Church and the board of Miami County Commissioners to make further adjustments to the proposed new permanent and temporary boundaries, and the comments of council members,” City Council President William Lutz said.
As requested by First United Methodist Church, new expanded permanent boundaries proposed for the downtown area will exclude the sidewalk on the south side of Franklin Street between South Market Street and South Cherry Street. The new application will also expand the temporary DORA areas that can be activated during special events to include the Miami County Parking lot located on the west side of Cherry Street.
In other business, council members also voted to approve a resolution consenting to a planned Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) project to resurface parts of state Route 55 inside the city limits in 2023. The work will be completed by ODOT, at no cost to the city.
Council members also heard an update from council member Bill Twiss regarding the council’s Safety and Health Committee’s recent meeting on Jan. 9 to discuss urban beekeeping in residential areas.
“We heard a report from staff and comments from a number of citizens,” Twiss said. “We are not prepared to make a recommendation at this time. We’ve asked staff to provide further review.”
“We discussed what was needed to provide the committee with some additional information, “Twiss said. “At that time, we will schedule another meeting to discuss further.”
Council members also voted to approve the nomination of Howard Wingert to serve on the city’s Enterprise Zone Tax Incentive Review Council, filling a position left vacant after the departure of current review council member Matthew Post.
Council members also recognized Troy resident Branton Hoblit, winner of the Rumpke “Look Who’s Recycling” quarterly reward program for the fourth quarter of 2022. Troy Mayor Robin Oda presented Hoblit with two gift bags and a gift card as prizes, on behalf of Rumpke.
