Greening Greater Greenfield’s (G3) scope has grown, and its name has changed, too.
The mission of Greening Greater Greenfield, now known as Grow Greater Greenfield, to make the village “a better place to live, work, and do business” hasn’t altered with the name change, and the organization’s popular annual events – like Blues, Brews & Stews, Paddle on the Paint, and Oktoberfest – aren’t going anywhere. But moving forward, there will be an increased focus on “creating a more vibrant downtown,” member April Leaverton said at Wednesday’s Greenfield Village Council meeting.
It began as part of a grassroots effort, informally called Grow Greenfield, a couple of years ago and involves the revitalization of downtown Greenfield. Community members belonging to the group have been working with Heritage Ohio with a goal of making Greenfield a “Main Street” community.
The Heritage Ohio website says that the nationally recognized, “locally driven” Main Street program “works with communities across the state to revitalize their historic or traditional commercial areas.” The program “is designed to improve all aspects of the downtown or central business district … Building on downtown’s inherent assets — rich architecture, personal service, and traditional values and most of all, a sense of place — the Main Street approach has rekindled entrepreneurship, downtown cooperation and civic concern.”
According to its website, heritageohio.org, Heritage Ohio “fosters economic development and sustainability through preservation of historic buildings, revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts, and promotion of cultural tourism.”
G3 members Leaverton and Merleen VanDyke told council members that while Grow Greenfield started out independent of Greening Greater Greenfield, it was determined that the two merging would be a good thing, enabling everyone to “work collectively” toward the goal of making Greenfield a better place to be and a great place for people to come to.
VanDyke said the goals of 2018 include attracting people to downtown and getting Greenfield added to the National Register of Historic Places, with the next year hopefully bringing with it qualification of Greenfield as Main Street community.
“Our downtown matters,”Leaverton said. “It’s the heart of our town.”
Council Chair Phil Clyburn said “a much better Greenfield” will attract others to come, but it also “benefits us, our children, our grandchildren.”
There are a number of ways to contact the group: by email at [email protected], by mail at P.O. Box 5, Greenfield, OH 45123, through the website at g3greenfield.org, or through the group’s Facebook page at GrowGreaterGreenfield.
Greenfield City Manager Ron Coffey reported that a “massive shipment” is scheduled to pass through Greenfield on Jan. 24. He said the date has changed a couple times, but the village will be updated on the “progress of the shipment to ensure communication with the communities affected.”
Coffey said the 21-foot-tall shipment is scheduled to leave Manchester on January 22 and pass through Greenfield en route to Circleville. The shipment will be accompanied by state patrolmen and bucket trucks to help facilitate the passage of the large cargo.
The city manager also reported that he and Public Service Director Brian Smith recently met with Vectren and Miller Pipeline regarding the continued replacement of steel natural gas lines with high-density plastic. The pipeline replacement has been ongoing since 2009 and is occurring across the state.
Coffey said the next area of replacement will occur on the south side of the village and that notices will be posted at the homes that will be affected.
Included in Coffey’s report was the Greenfield Police Department report for December. Statistics included therein were: 72 arrests in December with 1094 total in 2017, 397 calls handled in December with a total of 5342 total in 2017, and 44 offenses investigated in December and a total of 411 in 2017.
Last year’s rainfall totals were also discussed, as 2017 seemed to be a wetter year than previous years. Coffey said that according to the totals recorded at the waste water treatment plant, 2017 saw more than 48 inches of rain, while previous years’ totals were 38.5 inches in 2016, 46 inches in 2015, 34.13 inches in 2014, and 37.4 inches in 2013.
The Greenfield Village Council meets in regular session the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers on the first floor of the City Building. The meetings are open to the public.
