The below is the message I sent to the current D2 council member on Wednesday, August 6th:

The Agenda for the August 7th City Council session was just revised to include a vote on moving Troy’s City Hall to the old Proctors Theater. For a plethora of reasons, which I will outline below, I am urging you to vote No. 

Firstly, the proper steps have not been completed to have a vote. The 3 public hearings, the approval by council to terminate the old lease, the information about the rent/terms/scope of the new lease and renovations, and many other steps are still pending. This vote is incredibly premature. 

Second, the mayor claimed she wants Troy to own their own city hall and that is the reason she is pushing so hard to move it. However, from everything that has been made available to the public, the city will still be renting from the LDC. And renting less square footage than the current location at that. 

Third, from the financials released thus far, this move will not be saving Troy any money. It will actually be costing taxpayers about $300,000 per year more than the current city hall for the next 10 years. And this was an admission from the mayor herself. This also doesn’t include potential fines and legal costs related to the likely illegal breaking of the current lease. 

Finally, while Troy does deserve to have a dedicated city hall in time, it is clear that the focus on this project is taking time, effort, and money away from more pressing city needs such as the Firefighter’s union contract, filling vacancies for the 50+ positions open at the city, and replacing the lead pipes that have had very slow progress. 

I again urge you to vote NO on this proposal; maybe not forever, but definitely for now. 

Best,

Shikole Struber

Very Concerned District 2 resident