Troy committee signals it will not assess downtown property owners for streetscape project

The Troy Streets to Safe Streets and Sidewalks Committee discussed the Downtown Safety Streetscapes Replacement Project on Feb. 23 and determined the committee does not support pursuing property assessments to pay for the work.

Chair Bob Phillips said the materials show the project scope and associated requests, but he does not favor assessing downtown property owners. "We do not have any assessments on this, which will negate having a necessity resolution," he said. Multiple council members agreed.

One council member raised concerns about project cost growth and cited several figures while urging the city to avoid assessments. That member described prior estimates as "5,000,000" then added plumbing had pushed estimates to "10" and later said, "I'm thinking we're probably closer to $1,213,000,000 dollars on this thing, or more." City staff pushed back on the high number and provided a corrected/latest figure: "our latest estimate is 11,000,000," and noted the specific difference mentioned by the council member was $242,000.

Members repeatedly expressed sympathy with downtown business owners, and Mrs. Westfall and others said the city can absorb the cost rather than levy assessments. A downtown renter, Beth Panherin, told the committee that sidewalk and utility work will make it harder for clients to access second- and third-floor businesses and thanked the committee for considering no assessments.

What’s next: The committee instructed staff to read the report into the record and said an authorization-to-bid item will come later. Staff will return with refined cost estimates and any required steps for project implementation.