Interview with the city manager

2022 todd wilkin mug



There’s a new festival that’s about to happen. Can you talk about that?

Yes, we have the Greenfield Music Festival that is coming up June 2-4. We are excited for this new group of volunteers who have dedicated their time to make sure that we have a festival in Greenfield. What we love about the event is that it’s a group of Greenfield volunteers that are striving to create an event that provides entertainment, food, and foot traffic to come in and experience Greenfield. Since it’s a music festival it might have a little different flavor than what we’ve seen in the past. 

One of the events that is happening during the festival on June 3 is the commemoration of the  Patterson family of the C.R. Patterson & Sons company with the dedication of a downtown mural and the naming of a roadway in the industrial park. This event begins at 10:30 a.m. near 414 Jefferson St. and will include three speakers: historian and 1962 McClain graduate George Ford, longtime sports writer and author Mark Rea, and ODOT Director and historian Dr. Jack Marchbanks. Each speaker will detail a different part of the Patterson history. There will also be memorabilia on display. 

While the mural is not complete, there is a post on the village’s Facebook page with a picture of what the mural is envisioned to be by artist Nancy Crawford of The Art Rookery. Fundraising is underway, but we are still about $11,000 short on funds to complete the mural. We will continue to have discussions with Grow Greater Greenfield and the Greenfield Foundation, as well as other partners, to help determine funding for the mural. 

If people want to donate to this important piece of Greenfield history, they can do so through Paypal athttps://paypal.me/artrookery?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US and be sure to note “Patterson Mural” in the memo line. Donations can also be dropped off at or mailed to The Art Rookery at 340 Jefferson St. Greenfield, Ohio 45123.

Another thing associated with the festival coming up is rides. It’s an issue the Greenfield Rotary Club had the last few years in planning the Greene Countrie Towne Festival and ride companies requiring a large sum of money as a guarantee before they would agree to be a part of the festival. This is also an issue the Greenfield Music Festival group has come up against, ride companies wanting a $25,000 guarantee, which is a massive commitment for a small festival with unknown attendance and revenue outcomes. I would like to hear where the public stands on this. Would people show up during the festival and pay for the ride tickets all weekend, which would eat away at that $25,000 guarantee and not leave the festival committee stuck?

People can find out more about what’s planned for the festival by going to greenfieldmusicfestival.org and to the group’s Facebook page.

We haven’t talked about the industrial park for awhile. Is there anything to share there?

Yes. Our industrial park was authenticated in 2018. In the state of Ohio, it is the 7th most viewed and submitted park, meaning our industrial park is up for consideration for businesses to locate here often. In our region, which is Ohio SE, we are the second-most viewed industrial park, second only to a park that’s right by a four-lane highway. Recently we met with an individual that’s looking to bring opportunity into our industrial park which could mean more jobs and building space that would serve as further attraction to our industrial park. 

Part of what businesses look for when locating to a new community are quality of life factors, like things to do and the vibrancy of a municipality. That is what we have been working on for five years, the quality of life, the destination tourism and providing opportunities for people to live and work, in an area of Ohio that is beautiful, has close access to two state parks, the bike and walking trail – all of this exists right here in our own back yard. High speed internet, which is improving even more with Horizon’s fiberoptic installation, is an attraction, too. Another attraction is workforce and we have been working on this diligently for the last couple years and now have the Workforce Leadership Council, whose work will change the workforce atmosphere which has the potential to not only attract new businesses, but help our current businesses that might be struggling with workforce. It’s important that everyone understands how much work and energy has been and continues to be put into this to make sure our existing business have a strong workforce pool.

You may reach City Manager Todd Wilkin at citymanager@greenfieldohio.net