When Troy native Jean Orendorff moved back home about 10 years ago, she did not like what she saw.

“I was horrified,” she said. “I thought, ‘What happened to our beautiful city?’ But in the 10 years I’ve been here, I’ve seen improvements.”

And there are more to come.

The City of Troy has a master plan in the works and wants the input of residents to perfect it. To that end, a public hearing was held Tuesday morning. At the hearing, Ashton Estes of the South Central Alabama Development Commission presented two Community Development Block Grant applications she is helping the city complete.

Mike Davis, superintendent of Troy Water and Sewer, said the public response to the projects was a positive one.

“Everybody was excited to hear we were going after more funds,” he said. “And if we get approved, that’s more money that citizens will not have to pay.”

He proposed water line improvements on North Three Notch, Orion, West Fairview, Adams and Boyd streets. Old lead-jointed pipes would be replaced, which would mean fewer leaks and more water pressure for the area. Davis said it would also improve road conditions.

“If you drive down North Three Notch and see all of those patches on the road, all of those are times we had to put fix a busted pipe,” he said.

The $450,000 CDBG application is a matching one. Troy would have to contribute $50,000.

Melissa Sanders, planning and zoning administrator for the City of Troy, said the downtown plan would be the city’s playbook and guide future projects for the downtown area.

The plan will focus on downtown but include some adjacent areas.

Orendorff and Gayle Foster attended Tuesday’s hearing and were impressed with what they saw.

“I like her (Sanders) and what she’s trying to do,” Orendorff said. “And I’m glad we’ve got some young people interested in preserving their heritage.”

Foster said Troy was getting better and better.

Including city officials, 13 people attended the hearing.

“It was really to show public support,” Sanders said. “And it appeared that everyone there was in support of the projects.”

The city will offer more opportunities for input throughout the planning process. Sanders said there would be more public meetings and possibly an online survey.