The City of St. Marys is currently working on a couple of projects aiming to improve the city.
St. Marys City Council held their regular meeting tonight discussing the incorporation of the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, DORA, within the city. Last year, the St. Marys Area Resource Team, SMART, brought the idea to the city of implementing DORA within the downtown region following a stagnant period. After consulting with the City of Wapakoneta, SMART launched a DORA with five downtown establishments in August 2021, and the community has seen the impact.
"We just had a First Friday in July, and it was Christmas in July. And I don't know how many people we had down here because I am not a good crowd estimator, but it was thousands that we had down here walking around enjoying what we had downtown," says Laura Yelton, Founding Member, St. Marys Area Resource Team.
Additionally on the agenda, City Council discussed an ordinance which allows for the issuance of a twelve million dollar bond that will allow the construction of a new municipal building at 101 West Spring Street in St. Marys, an adjacent parking lot, and a new park across the street near Skip Baughman Stadium. 10.5 million dollars will go toward the new building, 500,000 dollars toward the parking lot, and the remaining 1 million dollars for furniture and fixtures. The construction of this new facility will allow St. Marys to be ready for the future.
"It's a revitalization of our downtown with the St. Marys Theater being brought back to life. Coupled with the new municipal building in our downtown, we hope to stimulate growth and business in our downtown, and people would have the faith if the city willing to invest in the downtown, maybe more businesses would come down here," says Patrick McGowan, Mayor, St. Marys.
Construction is expected to finish between Fall of 2023 and Summer of 2024.
