A Council Member Speaks Out

First-term Council Member Susan Westfall talks about a $20,000 lawyer and supporting the THPA

The Troy City Council meeting on April 1st was highlighted by comments made, not just by members of the public, but from council members themselves. Council members tend to stay silent during comment times, usually only discussing public events or congratulating certain groups or individuals on noteworthy accomplishments.

Monday was a notable exception.

Council’s comments were started by Council President Bill Rozell who went into great detail about the intricacies of the community being a statutory city and not a charter city. In a charter city, the city council or city commission, as the legislative branch, holds leverage over the city manager, or the head of the executive branch, as the city manager is directly accountable to the council or commission.

In the statutory form, the executive branch and the legislative branches are completely separate. In Troy, the city’s Top Bureaucrat, is responsible only to the Mayor and not the City Council. It is the Mayor’s responsibility in our form of government to ensure that the City’s Top Bureaucrat is meeting the needs and expectations of the community. This publication discussed some of the major differences between statutory and charter communities in this previous edition:

Perhaps, though, the most interesting comments of the night came from the council’s newest member, Susan Westfall. The at-large council member made the following comments:

“I did not have an opportunity to respond to comments by the community after the last City Council meeting. This statement is to clarify my position on the IOOF/Old Miami County Courthouse stabilization.

The Mayor and Director of Public Service and Safety hired a lawyer, at a cost of $20,000 to taxpayers, who released a statement of potential remedies for what was described as “Being in default of the agreement” from December 22, 2023. Because we have a Statutory form of government, the Mayor, and the Director of Public Service and Safety are permitted to do this. As a council member, I was not informed nor notified of this information prior to its release to the parties it was directed at. As a result, it has been brought to my attention that Troy City Council, as a whole, appears to be in favor of these actions.

I want to make it very clear that I do NOT support these actions by the City Administration. I believe the THPA has been very diligent in their efforts to raise the needed funds and move forward with the required stabilization of the IOOF/Old Miami County Courthouse building. This is evidenced by how much has been accomplished in a mere three months. When you consider that this building has been in disrepair for over ten years, I believe this community should be wholeheartedly supporting the completion of this work.

I am supporting and encouraging the THPA efforts because it means that our Main Street will be opened, and the local businesses will be easily accessed and a tax-paying tenant can be found for this building. There does not need to be a winner or a loser in this situation. We can all be winners. We can get on with being one of the most beautiful, charming and historic downtowns in this country; a place that people want to visit.

There is a new owner of the IOOF/Old Courthouse Building; the THPA. It was bought from a willing seller. The previous owners’ circumstances no longer apply. I encourage the city administration to stop being litigious. This current restoration/stabilization is the right thing for this community. It’s time to move on.

My hope is that the city administration allows the progress on this building to continue unhindered by more court battles that would only keep the street closed and prolong completion.”

It is clear that Mrs. Westfall is supportive of the historic preservationist’s efforts, as they are clearly the quickest way to get West Main Street back open to the public. Todd Severt, another at-large council member, has also made supportive comments for the stabilization effort, recognizing that it is the quickest way to get the street opened. His comments were made in response to a social media post by the Mayor.

April promises to be a very consequential month in the community, as the actions this month will have ramifications into the future. The stabilization of the IOOF/Old Miami County Courthouse is scheduled to be done by the end of the month, and the adjudication order should be lifted by the end of April as well. In public remarks last night, Ben Sutherly, speaking on behalf of the THPA stated that the project should be completed by the end of the month (barring any unforeseen obstacles) and that parts of the scaffolding could be removed as early as next week.

At this point, the best blessing our community can ask for is that those that are doing this important stabilization work are given the latitude and support to continue their efforts so that West Main Street can be opened as soon as possible.

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