Troy City Council on first reading delayed final approval of an amendment to the downtown safety and streetscape renovation project that would add Prouty Plaza design work to the contract, and the council directed additional committee review.

The council received a minority report from Councilman Jeffrey H. Schilling raising procedural concerns and asking that the full council be given an opportunity to review final concept drawings before LJB Inc. is authorized to prepare construction drawings and cost estimates. "There were several requests to give Council an opportunity to review the final concept drawings before the drawings would be submitted to LJB Incorporated," Schilling said in the minority report submitted to the Streets and Sidewalks Committee.

The item before council would amend the professional services agreement with LJB Inc. of Miamisburg to add $165,493, producing a total design cost not to exceed $782,863. Council members discussed that the early February presentation by POD Designs was conceptual and that final drawings have not yet been completed. Director of Public Service and Safety staff said the amendment would authorize LJB to finalize designs and prepare bid-ready documents and estimates; the $165,493 figure is the consultants' estimated cost to complete final designs and specifications.

Councilwoman Susan Westfall described citizen concerns she had received about specific design elements, including a proposed water feature that she said "would function more like a splash pad" and added: "If we are going to invest tax dollars in a water feature, it should be placed where it can be used safely, such as in one of our city parks, not in the middle of a busy downtown area." Westfall also said some residents questioned an archway element and the scale of support columns and called for final renderings of surface materials and textures.

Jeffrey H. Schilling’s minority report said the February meeting was a conceptual presentation and that committee minutes and the memorandum should not be read as final approval. The minority report requested a second reading of the amendment and asked the council president to schedule a Committee of the Whole meeting so council members could review the final concept drawings together.

Councilman Samuel Pierce said the Streets and Sidewalks Advisory Committee will meet the following Monday to answer outstanding questions and that council members should forward additional questions to staff in advance so answers can be prepared. Pierce said the committee meeting would be advisory and that the amendment would still proceed to a second reading following the committee review.

No ordinance was adopted on the Prouty Plaza amendment during the meeting; the council recorded the item for a second reading and additional committee discussion.

Why this matters: The amendment would bind contractor design work and seed the process that produces construction documents and cost estimates. Council members and downtown stakeholders said they want final drawings available for review before design work proceeds to the construction-document stage.