Greenfield Village Council members Carlos Ooten, Cory Taylor, Phil Clyburn, Mary Ellen McMurry, and Brenda Losey at the monthly council meeting.
John Hackley | The Times-Gazette
The Greenfield Village Council convened for a regularly scheduled meeting Monday, Oct. 22.
Greenfield Finance Director Gary Lewis said the village has a total of $4,110,904.65 in the bank.
“As much as it is near the end of October, it’s time to hone in on our budget for the year 2025,” said Lewis. “Ultimately, we will have a budget ready to present to council as a whole in December.”
City Manager Gary Silcott said the Phase 1 Sanitary Sewer system project will be going out for bid this month.
“Nine thousand feet of sewer will be replaced in different areas just off of Jefferson Street,” said Silcott. “Instead of spending millions of dollars to expand your sewer plant, we’re going to fix the problems in your iodine in the system, and we’ll gain capacity.”
The council presented the Greenfield Citizen of the Month Award to Pastor Marcus Tolle and Joseph Cunningham of Trinity Christian Union Church, and Pearl Mick was named Greenfield Village Employee of the Month.
The winners of the village Halloween Store Front Decorating Contest were Adelyn Rose for third place, Blackhat Tattoo for second place, and Seeley Portraits for first place.
The winners of the village Halloween Coloring Contest were Emberly Wilson in the 3 to 5-year-old category, Peyton Shoemaker in the 6 to 9-year-old category, and Addie (no last name submitted) in the 10 to 12-year-old category.
The Village Home Decorating Contest was won by Miranda Roush.
The council decided the fate of a property on South Washington Street that has been on the council’s agenda for some time.
“There were two different thoughts – one was to try to restore it, and the other was to go ahead and tear it down,” said councilmember Brenda Losey. Losey made a motion to have the building demolished.
“My comment is that if you look at the price to have the building demolished and the price to restore it, they are very comparable – almost within 10 percent of each other,” said councilmember Mary Ellen McMurry. “I think that we should look into options to rebuild or restore that building before we tear it down.”
“It offers a place for jobs and income and a living space,” said Council Chairman Phil Clyburn. “To tear it down could be up to $150,000 because it is a historical district and that wall must match the other buildings in the area. To save the building is about $90,000. I would say, let’s get the two bids and see what they are and go from there as opposed to voting to tear it down.”
The council voted three to two to have the building demolished. Councilmembers Brenda Losey, Carlos Ooten, and Cory Taylor voted in favor of the motion, and Clyburn and McMurry voted against the motion.
Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.
