Guest Editorial

Mayor sees building purchase as good opportunity for village

Editor’s note: Walbridge Village Council has been considering an ordinance to purchase a building and land parcel on Main Street for $190,000. Mayor Ed Kolanko issued the following statement prior to council’s vote on April 3 to table the ordinance.

Going on my 17th year of being involved either on village council or as mayor - I can share that voting yes on this issue is one of the best decisions council can make.
There have been comments on social media regarding the potential purchase of property at 417 Main St. Social media is not the best for obtaining facts or having discussions. In-person discussion is the best forum and I make myself available to all, including council, to discuss village matters.
While I hardly feel I have all the answers, I have learned a lot and have faithfully put the village first in my decision making or recommendations. This situation is no different. I have communicated with council on this opportunity, relevant facts, history, and I have complied with the requests of council to move this forward.
Real estate purchases are often about 'opportunity.' While we may not have every answer for the future of this entire property, there is enough information to support buying the 2.89 acres.
As an administration and body of council, we have discussed this opportunity and held three full readings of the ordinance. We did not push it through as an emergency and we’ve allowed the community to comment. We have been transparent and open.
The parking situation at Railway Park is unsafe. It’s too small for activities at the park, especially when busy. Normal width of a parking lot is approximately 60 feet. The current parking lot is 50 feet wide and only 42 feet near the pickleball/tennis courts. This is not sufficient for vehicles to safely turn around and not sufficient for emergency vehicles to safely maneuver. The lack of space creates visual deterrents leading to a safety concern. The current parking lot does not conform to current safety code and building standards.
Fortunately the church and bank don't object to people parking on their property, otherwise it would be a mess. But we cut the church lawn as consideration for usage. At any time, the church and bank could disallow non-customer parking in their lots. They do assume some liability with non-customer parking, and if they did prohibit parking it would put a huge strain on the parking situation at the park.
I have witnessed on multiple occasions children and adults walking between vehicles to access the park and other moving vehicles not able to see them. Thankfully no one has been hurt.
Look at our neighboring communities. Northwood recently invested in its community by demolishing the old Woodville Mall and investing in the new rec center and housing development.
Often, if nothing is done, nothing changes. While it is easy to say private business or money can purchase it - there comes a time that is wishful thinking. When have we seen private money invest in Walbridge? We have not recently. Walbridge, under my leadership, purchased the dilapidated building next to the 'old' library and demolished it. The property was then donated to the library, despite local opposition, to convert that property into a parking lot. The Wood County Library group then completed a $1 million expansion. As a village we have taken ownership of a couple residential properties in town, razed the structures and subsequently donated the parcels to Habitat for Humanity for new builds.
When property comes up for sale these decisions often require faster decision making. The village tried to eminent domain the Carroll’s property under the prior administration only to cost the village approximately $25,000 in expenses and in the end it did not acquire the property. When opportunity in real estate arises we may not be able to check off every aspect of the future but we have enough reasons to buy this parcel at this time.
Look at examples in the past in which the village did not purchase: Walbridge Elementary School building, Kazmaiers grocery store, Blanton’s building, and the Knights of Pythias building. They continue to sit and our community remains stagnant. The Impact Credit Union building and Kingsmen building sit empty as well. When we have acted good things have happened. When we have passed, stagnation has continued.
As for the Carroll's building's future use, the village could parcel it off and relist it (after a structural engineering review was conducted by the village the building continues to be in excellent condition). We could repurpose it as a community center. We could rent it out. I do not feel razing the building is in the best interest of the village. As for the expense of a parking lot, we could simply use the grassy area as parking for now, not repaving at this time. We could use stone as a base as other parks have done in Millbury. We have options. But we don't have options for additional parking at Railway Park if we don’t buy the parcel.
Our village budget operates with a slight surplus every year and shows our reserves have grown from $1.7 million when I took office in 2013 to $2.7 million today.
This purchase is affordable and if upgrades are needed, we can afford those too. We have been fiscally prudent and will continue to be. We also just received another grant for $120,000 of state money to help pave Walbridge Road, from Luckey Road to East Broadway. We have been successful in obtaining more than $1 million in grant money for work in the village over the last 10 years. We will still continue improving our infrastructure along with this purchase and will not discontinue road projects. The real estate purchase and infrastructure improvements can work together.
If we do not buy that building it will just sit there. No change will happen and regret will follow. I'm not a believer in government doing everything but there is a time when the government has to step in and make improvements for the community. This is one. While there are many reasons to support this investment into our community, safety of our residents and visitors is vitally important. I encourage a yes vote to purchase the parcel at 417 Main St.