ASHLAND — On Tuesday, city officials were still basking in the afterglow of the weekend’s event that christened Ashland’s Foundation Plaza.
Jim Cutright, president of Ashland County Community Foundation, kept the glow going for a little longer when he presented council with the promised $125,000 check.
“We were very pleased to be able to collaborate with you and we look forward to many more projects in the future,” Cutright said, moments before handing the check to Larry Paxton, the city’s finance director.
The money, which also happened to secure naming rights for the plaza, was part of ACCF’s 25th anniversary in 2020, a celebratory season of grant making, said Courtney McNaull, ACCF’s communication director.
Foundation Plaza is located along Main Street in Ashland’s downtown. Nestled between Ohio Fire’s outdoor patio and Home Savings bank, the plaza features an iron archway bearing its name, ferns, artificial turf, metallic animals and a gazebo-like structure for live performance events.
“It’s in the center of our county, so it’s accessible to everyone in our county. And it’s where our seats of government sits, most of our nonprofit partners are headquartered there and it’s where 40% of our population lives. So we felt it was very fitting to make a significant contribution to that,” Cutright said.
Mayor Matt Miller said the city is grateful to ACCF — and he also thanked city council members.
“Even though a number of parties have been very generous in their gifts toward this project, it would not have happened if you and Mr. Valentine would not have seen the vision and voted to move forward with the project before the gifts were on their way,” he said.
Councilman Bob Valentine was absent Tuesday.
The plaza was meant to be Ashland’s marquee project “to show the community what we could do if we all work together in trying to transform this community.”
“And this is just the beginning,” he said.
Other projects in the works include the renovation of South and Luther streets, the creation of an urban meadow on Fourth Street and others.
Funding for the plaza was secured through ACCF, but the project was kickstarted by Matt and Melissa Wurster when the couple bought three adjacent buildings on Main Street, cleared a site and donated it to the city.
And former senate president Larry Obhof secured a $200,000 grant from the state’s capital budget.
Ashland Main Street, a nonprofit behind organizing events at the plaza, will sponsor two more concerts there this summer. Electric Circus will play July 10 and Tom’s Kitchen Table is set to perform Aug. 14. Both events run from 6 to 9 p.m.
