Incumbent Mayor Robin Oda faced a challenge for the position in the May primary election by fellow Republican William Lutz, who also was serving as president of Troy City Council. The at-times contentious race ended with a narrow 31-vote difference and a second four-year term for Oda. Lutz’s term as council president expired at year’s end.
Tavern building battle
The building at 112-118 W. Main St. just east of Troy’s Public Square was damaged in a January 2020 tornado that struck the city and its downtown. That began a dispute and then legal battle over its future, as demolition was begun, then halted by court order for the buildings constructed in 1840s and 1902.
Legal action was filed in both the Miami County courts and the 2nd District Court of Appeals, and the block of Main Street in front of the building closed in June. Word of mediation late in the year culminated in a filing late Dec. 22 announcing a settlement among parties and dismissal of all lawsuits.
The settlement included purchase of the structures by the Troy Historic Preservation Alliance, a nonprofit organization. That organization now has a tight timeline for making structural repairs required by county building inspectors. If repairs are not made by April 30, demolition is required by the agreement. The future use(s) of the building have not been determined.
Man guilty in fatal shooting of lifelong friend
Former Miami County resident Brian Mason was sentenced to eight years in prison in the March 26 fatal shooting of a lifelong friend when a firearm he was showing her discharged, striking her in the chest. Michelle Elliott, 57, died at her North Montgomery County Line Road home in Union Twp.
Mason, 58, covered her body with a blanket and left, driving around for nearly a day before reporting the shooting to police in Miamisburg. A jury convicted Mason of reckless homicide with a firearms specification and having a weapon while under a disability for a previous criminal conviction. Jurors were told Mason and Elliott had known each other since riding the same school bus in elementary school.
Mason described the shooting as a tragic accident. Prosecutors said Mason was legally prohibited from having a firearm following a felony conviction in 2013 for a drug related offense. Common Pleas Court Judge Jeannine Pratt said Mason showed recklessness and total disregard for life.
Credit: Miami County Jail
Credit: Miami County Jail
Tipp City Board of Education turmoil
2023 was another year of turmoil for the Tipp City Exempted Village Schools Board of Education. A citizens group that had filed for the legal removal of board members Anne Zakkour and Theresa Dunaway dropped that legal action earlier in the year, saying it wanted to community to focus on the election of new board members in the November election.
Board member Zakkour caused controversy in September when she offered a Nazi salute to board President Simon Patry during a testy verbal exchange. Patry resigned the same evening, for an unrelated reason. Zakkour and Dunaway’s terms ended at year’s end. Three new board members were selected by district residents in November.
School custodian indicted on rape allegations
Jerry North, 60, of West Milton, pleaded not guilty in Miami County Common Pleas Court to three felony counts of rape, two felony counts of gross sexual imposition and one felony count of intimidation of a witness or victim. He is accused of sexual misconduct with a child between 2018 and 2021 at Milton-Union Elementary School.
North was released on bail of $300,000 surety in May with a condition he participate in a GPS-monitored house arrest program. He remains on leave from the school district. A trial is scheduled in early 2024.
Credit: Miami County Jail
Credit: Miami County Jail
Tipp City looks at more coordinated development
Tipp City and its Community Improvement Corp. will work with Woodard Development on a development/redevelopment of the city’s uptown area. The CIC interviewed two companies after City Council decided earlier this year to place a priority on working toward the future of property from the Tipp Plaza shopping center to areas along Ohio 571 (West Main Street) west of Interstate 75.
The City Council in December approved a transfer of $50,000 to the CIC to be used to hire the Dayton firm. The council previously agreed to set aside $100,000 toward that effort. The proposed cost of the project first phase has been estimated at $150,000 with the firm’s fee of $125,000 plus up to $25,000 in incidentals.
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