Village of Greenfield, OH

Is GPD’s jurisdiction expanding to cover all of Madison Township?

It is, at least for the next six months. Recently the Madison Township trustees voted to have a contract with the village for police protection. This is something the trustees have been in discussions with the village for the last few years relating to citizens not getting the protection as quickly as they need because the sheriff’s department is 20 minutes away, and even then the responding deputy might be coming from the other side of the county. More often than not, we end up covering anyway. For example, the areas of Oklahoma and Higginsville get our water and sewer, but they are not incorporated into the village, so technically they are in the jurisdiction of the sheriff’s department. While helping with that coverage is something that we have been doing, doing this by contract allows for the resources to be there for the added coverage. 

This is a 6-month contract and the trustees have plans to have this measure on the November ballot for the citizens of Madison Township to weigh in on whether or not they want that police protection from Greenfield. The ballot issue would raise about $300,000 which would provide for the additional police officers and additional equipment (fire arms, safety vests, tasers, etc). That would all be a part of that revenue. If over this 6-month people period the citizens of Madison Township don’t see the benefit, they will be able to vote accordingly in November. But, I will say this, not only is this a benefit for Madison Township, it is also a benefit for Greenfield citizens because it widens the coverage area which will help prevent drugs from coming into the community. By expanding the jurisdictional boundaries, this will have a regional impact. 

It’s different. It’s new. And there will be learning involved. But I’m excited about it because this is going to be a huge benefit to all of Madison Township. 

Do you have any updates on Greenfield’s part in the Appalachian Community Grant program?

Yes. We have a procured planner through the Appalachian Community Grant for revitalization of the downtown, creating a parks district, and maybe even a boutique hotel. We have created a steering committee and within that we are working with our procurement planner, which is OHM Advisors, and have also contracted with a parks developer. They are going to need input back from the public. One of the ways we are hoping to get that input is through surveys, so keep a look out for these on the village’s Facebook page and website. 

We are going to need as much public participation as possible so that we are getting a lot of information to inform the direction of the development. There will also be some public meetings held for input as well. 

With the parks district comes the development of the quarry, which could include ziplines, jumping platforms, swimming areas – kind of a place for outdoor adventure that is currently not being used at all but has the potential to benefit the community, its citizenry, and visitors. Look for a survey in the next couple weeks. It is so important that as many citizens as possible participate in the information gathering. The applications for these potential projects are due in the fall and the design portion comes before submission, so we have to move fairly quickly. 

To reach City Manager Todd Wilkin, email citymanager@greenfieldohio.net.