Is Troy's Latest Planning Effort Just for Show?

Vol. III, No. 38 - The City Administration is moving ahead with improvements to the Troy Aquatic Park, even though the Master Park and Recreation Plan is nowhere near finished

If there’s one thing that reliably frustrates residents, it’s when city government bends its own rules for its own benefit. The hard part is spotting it as it happens, not after the fact.

Just over a month ago, little league families packed Council Chambers. They argued the city’s new Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which is being created right now, should finally prioritize baseball. Kids have played in a floodplain for decades—and the city has the resources and the ability to fix it.

Council responded by sending the issue to their Community Partnerships Committee, which met on June 9. City staff explained the planning process was just getting started. Public input had barely begun: input from a few informational tables at the Strawberry Jam, and an online survey with just over 300 responses, were not enough information to forge ahead. The administration insisted it was too soon to prioritize anything—not baseball, not anything else. Too many unknowns, too many costs. The message was: wait your turn.

But here’s what everyone misses: While the city tells residents and council members to hold off on priorities, it’s already moving full speed ahead on its own. The Troy Aquatic Park (TAP)—rarely mentioned in public forums—was front and center at the Strawberry Jam. One of three public input boards focused entirely on TAP. The online survey included a detailed set of questions about improvements at the aquatic park.

The pattern is clear. No matter what residents or council members say, the administration has already decided: The Troy Aquatic Park comes first.

Tonight, the Parks and Recreation Committee will be asked to recommend spending $220,000 on consultants to plan improvements for the aquatic park. Pause for a second. Did we skip a step? The same administration that told the committee it was too early to prioritize anything is now asking for a big bucks to pay for another consultant for the TAP.

Yes, the aquatic park is over twenty years old and may need work, and to be fair, maybe the “improvements” aren’t being covered by the Master Park and Recreation Plan. If that’s the case, the city administration needs to do a better job of outlining exactly what improvements are being discussed; these three paragraph staff reports leave little information for council members (and residents) to make an informed decision.

Regardless, when residents show up to talk about parks, they talk about baseball, skateboarding, pickleball, youth football—not the aquatic park. Maybe there’s a silent majority clamoring for pool upgrades, but if so, they’re very quiet. For a city that has shown a desire to want public input, the methods used to go after these TAP improvements are leaving a lot to be desired.

Give the information provided, the administration should heed its own advice: let the planning process play out. Find out what residents actually want. Build priorities from there. To fast-track its own pet project while telling everyone else to wait is, frankly, insulting—to both residents and council members.

There’s another reason to be wary. This administration has a habit of bundling projects together. A few years ago, a modest property tax increase for baseball fields morphed into a grab bag of improvements, including a golf course clubhouse and senior center upgrades. When voters rejected the tax, the city wasted no time to rebuild the golf clubhouse anyway. That move broke public trust—trust the city still hasn’t regained.

The Parks and Recreation Committee should reject the $220,000 consultant TAP request and wait for the $80,000 Master Plan to finish. The city already has critical projects—like the Adams Street Roundabout and zoning code and subdivision regulation updates—lagging behind. Adding more work to a growing backlog doesn’t help anyone.

In the end, the real issue isn’t about pools or baseball fields. It’s about whether the city listens to its residents—or just pretends to.

City Wants YOUR Input on Park Improvements (Well, at least we think they do)

Now is the time for Troy residents to get involved and advocate for the changes that will truly benefit the community. Your input will help ensure that the city’s limited resources are invested where they are needed most, creating parks and recreation facilities that reflect the real priorities of Troy’s families and youth. Those wanting to participate in the survey can go to: www.troyohio.gov/parkplanning/

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