Interview with the City Manager
You’ve talked about paving getting done this year. What is the plan for that?
Last week we received bids for this year’s budgeted paving, and are hoping to have the paving contract completed by the end of May.
Right now the paving will include all of Summerfield and Oak streets as well as portions of Seventh Street, Tenth Street, and a place behind the city building.
Also, it looks like north Fifth Street will be able to receive paving once the current infrastructure project is complete. That job, which is replacing the storm sewer and adding curbs and gutters, has come in under budget on some of its scopes. The initial contract was for patching the portion of road that is being worked on, but as it is coming in under budget, it looks like that whole portion of road will likely be able to receive fresh pavement.
We are really pleased with the work that is happening on north Firth Street and believe it will really help with the flooding in that area. We are excited to get that infrastructure work done. This is our goal, to go through town and replace the aging and failing infrastructure as we are financially able. We’ve done that with Mill Street and have an infrastructure project planned for Fayette Street as well.
A plan for downtown has been discussed several times. How is that coming?
We continue to develop a plan as we work with Enterprise Community Partners for downtown revitalization. We also want to begin a Main Street program and are looking at partnering with G3 to find a director to head up that program. With the plan we want to create a facade improvement program that could be a catalyst for renovations throughout town.
Also, we have partnered with Small Nation, a group of small business owners in Bellefontaine, Ohio that together transformed Bellefontaine. We are going there in May to see their successes, then they are travelling here to help us create our successes.
It’s the time of year when the cemetery sees more visitors. Is there anything we ought to know regarding the cemetery?
Yes, the coming weeks will likely see much more activity at the cemetery with Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and Father’s Day all soon approaching. The mowing there has started and is looking great.
The village is asking that everyone remove old grave blankets and flowers and such to help keep the cemetery looking its best.
A list of the cemetery rules can be found on the village’s website at greenfieldohio.net. Mouse over “Links & More” then click on “Cemetery Records,” then the cemetery rules are on the left-hand side of that page.
Also, and though it has been awhile, the cemetery software that has been in the works for some time really is closer to going live, but we need some help to get us there. Records for the last century have not been maintained in the same way and that has led to confusion. Currently, a city worker is walking every gravestone and comparing it against records. It’s been a lot of work, and we need help identifying graves. If there is anyone in the community that may be able to help with grave identification, contact the village at 937-981-3500. Once the records are all able to be updated, the online portal will be available and anyone visiting the cemetery will be able to pinpoint grave locations from their phones.
If you have questions for the city manager, please email Todd Wilkin at the following address: citymanager@greenfieldohio.net
