Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Communication issues between local government officials have stood out recently regarding a rezoning request for a property that borders both Lake Township and Walbridge, the village of Walbridge’s recent decision to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the city of Northwood (instead of Lake Township) to provide third shift policing, and the potential retrogression of the local fire department’s PPC rating — which could increase home insurance rates for local residents.
“There's definitely a rift,” Lake Township trustee Melanie Bowen-Greenwald said. “I understand that, and I don't like it. I actually am a Walbridge girl. I grew up there. And (fellow trustee) Lorie (Davis) lives there now. We don't want a rift. We need to all work together, and that's the fact. We're not running around trying to dog the village either. That's not what we're doing. You'll notice we haven't said much, but we do want you to have both sides of the story.”
REZONING REQUEST
The major issue recently is the rezoning request by Thomas Kepler to change his residential property at 508 Union St. to M2 heavy industrial. The property is officially in Lake Township, but it sits directly adjacent to the village of Walbridge, thus affecting it in a large way should it be approved.
The paperwork for the request was officially filed to Lake Township’s zoning office on Feb. 23, and the office stamped it approved on Feb. 25. However, Walbridge mayor Ed Kolanko said he wasn’t made aware of the request until a citizen informed him on April 5, which was two days prior to the Wood County Planning Commission’s meeting on the topic.
Kolanko drafted a letter to the planning commission, which was read at the meeting, and three residents neighboring the potentially rezoned property were there to speak out against it, as was Kepler to speak on his own behalf.
The planning commission ultimately voted unanimously to reject the request. However, they aren’t the final decider.
More information on that meeting can be found here.
At the Lake Township trustees meeting on April 21, Bowen-Greenwald made clear that the trustees have to let the process play out without interference.
The application gets submitted. It goes to the planning commission. They make their recommendation. It then goes to the Lake Township zoning board, which was scheduled to host a public forum on the topic April 23. The five zoning board members will then make a decision, and that decision will then go to the trustees for a final vote within two weeks.
If approved, citizens can put a referendum on the ballot to oppose the decision, or if it’s rejected, the property owner can appeal the zoning decision to the court of common pleas.
Bowen-Greenwald said the individual trustees, as well as Lake Township’s administrator and police chief Mark Hummer, can form their own opinions and do their own research, but she made it clear that the trustees weren’t discussing anything as a group until that final trustees decision, which will likely take place in early May.
“If I hear that somebody wants to do something,” Bowen-Greenwald said, “I'm going to go into the zoning office, and I'm going to say, ‘Where's this at?’ And (the zoning inspector is) going to say, ‘It's right here.’ And then I'm going to say, ‘That’s zoned R1.’ And she’ll say, ‘You’ve got somebody looking at this. This is what they’re going to want to do.’ And I can go to my own zoning book. We all have a book, and I’ll look it up and say, ‘That would have to be changed to M2. Is that really the best use of that property?’ And then you look at it and you say, ‘Oh that’s a flood plain, that’s not good. Oh, there’s a creek that runs through there. We certainly don’t want to pollute a creek. You don’t want that.’ And the pond that’s there is a borrow pit from when they built the overpass. That’s a man-made structure, that’s not a natural structure.”
At the April 21 trustees meeting, Bowen-Greenwald said the township received a letter from the village of Walbridge discussing their recent decision as a group to oppose the rezoning on Union Street. She read the letter out loud for the record and said that although the village doesn’t have all their facts right, they aren’t able to discuss it or take any questions about the topic because of the rules of the process.
“If we don’t have our facts right, and it’s been in (The Press) how many times, then why wouldn’t Lake Township reach out to us?” Kolanko said. “And they still don’t.”
Bowen-Greenwald also said that the Wood County Planning Commission should have sent a letter to residents nearby to the proposed rezoned property prior to their meeting on April 7, and Lake Township’s zoning inspector should have sent letters out to those same people prior to the township’s meeting on April 23.
The village of Walbridge did share on April 22 a letter it received from Zachary Jenkins, who is the chairman of the Lake Township Zoning Commission, of the meeting on April 23. It stated Kepler’s request to rezone from residential to M2 heavy industrial, and it said when the public forum would be, but it didn’t give any details of the plans if rezoned. The letter, however, stated that the application could be reviewed at the Lake Township Offices by contacting the zoning officer, and it listed a phone number and email.
Another wrench in the situation is that Linda Rossler, who is Lake Township’s zoning inspector, submitted her notice of resignation, and her last day was slated for April 24.
“I don’t know if it’s odd, but I’m hopeful the process went the way it was supposed to, and I'm going to have to ask that question,” Bowen-Greenwald said. “But again, our zoning inspector is quitting, and I don't know what she's done and what she hasn't done. We've got to look at that and maybe make some changes in that department.”
With Rossler leaving, that also leaves Hummer as the township’s administrator, police chief, and zoning inspector.
Does Bowen-Greenwald have any issue with that in terms of potential checks and balance issues?
“No, because he does a good job,” she said. “I don’t want him to have that much work. That’s not my goal, but he does step in and help.”
Bowen-Greenwald said she hasn’t seen the planning commission’s review, but she heard they voted no. She said she knows sparks will fly at the April 23 meeting.
“As I said, though, we are not to be there,” she said. “We are supposed to stay away from it and let the process play out. That doesn’t mean I have or have not formed an opinion on this, but I can’t tell you what my opinion on this is because that would be wrong.”
The Press also learned through a source inside the Lake Township zoning office, that Hillabrand & Sons Construction handed the application in for Kepler, who has said that he plans on either selling or leasing the property if rezoned.
Hummer, when asked about that, said he doesn’t know who submitted the application and that the zoning inspector would have taken it. He did say it would be speculation on his part to say that Hillabrand could have a deal in place in that scenario.
“We have to look at the application on its face, the zoning commission does,” he said. “I'm not a decision maker.”
Despite that, Hummer did confirm that Greg Hillabrand reached out to him directly with questions about the property — but that Kepler hasn’t.
“I’ve never spoken to Tom Kepler, the property owner,” Hummer said. “Greg Hillabrand asked me about it. I advised him of what the process was - just like I advised you (when The Press asked). They advised me what their end goal was with the property. For the property to be used for this end goal, it would have to be this zoning classification. Somebody is trying to twist this like I’m giving advice. All I’m doing is reading a book to them.”
Hummer reiterated that the property owner has to be the one who applies.
“We have no idea who fills out the paperwork,” he said. “Greg Hillabrand couldn’t fill out an application for Thomas Kepler’s property and turn it in.”
Could Hillabrand fill out the paperwork and have Kepler sign it?
“He could, like an attorney could or a Martian could,” Hummer said. “Anyone could fill out the paperwork. How do we know who fills it out? But it has to be Thomas Kepler who is applying for it.”
After The Press spoke with Hummer about the potential Hillabrand connection on the afternoon of April 22, Kepler made a comment on a village of Walbridge Facebook post later that same night confirming that it was Hillabrand.
“it's Hildebrandt (sic) construction out of Millbury,” Kepler’s post said. “It's not a secret that I'm aware of. However Social Media is not the format for items like this to be discussed, that's what the advertised public meeting is for. Not sure if this is the official government post or just a citizen, but we are a society of laws and rules, that's why we bother with public meetings, council meetings and elections, which if you are the government is what you are supposed to support and promote, not flogging it out on Facebook. Looking forward to seeing you all at the meeting tomorrow.”
In the potential scenario where the property is approved for rezoning to M2 heavy industrial and Kepler sells or leases it (which is his stated intention) and Hillabrand & Sons — or anyone else — purchases it, the property becomes a Pandora’s Box situation in that the new owner could do anything within the M2 designation with the property without township approval. And that includes things like a data center.
“The secretive nature is not on our part, but those are certainly valid questions,” Hummer said. “And it’s no secret. I’ve talked to people in my office (who say), ‘We know it’s the Hillabrand’s (behind the application).’ I say, ‘Well, there you go.’ Those are the questions. That’s why we have hearings. That’s why there’s a process. That’s why nothing here is just rubber stamped as a zoning change.”
The rezoning application doesn’t say anything about a data center. The stated intention is, in short, to store clean fill material, including dirt, clean concrete, and clean asphalt.
“That's what the zoning change is for,” Hummer said. “That's what's on the application. Now, let's say they grant the application for that. And they come in there and say, 'You know what, we changed our minds. It's M2. We're going to build a data center.’ That could potentially change things.”
The applicant doesn’t have to say what a potential new owner would do with the property, however, if it is rezoned.
“Correct. That is true,” Hummer said. “If they change it to M2, you can put anything in there. It’s happening anywhere. It doesn’t have to be the township. It could happen to the village. This process shouldn’t be foreign to the village of Walbridge. They have the same thing. They have zoning, and people request zoning changes.”
Ultimately, Hummer said he doesn’t make the decisions.
“I make no decisions here. The trustees make the decisions,” he said. “I provide information. I do background checks. I look into things for them, and I do administrative functions. And part of my administrative function, when we have part-time zoning inspectors, is to attempt to deal with some zoning issues that I can deal with during the day-to-day so we can be responsive to our citizens.”
THIRD SHIFT POLICING
At its Feb. 18 village council meeting, following a third reading, Walbridge officials officially adopted a resolution to implement a memorandum of understanding between the village and the city of Northwood for third shift police dispatch services.
“The anticipation is that perhaps if we go down an officer, if somebody quits, somebody resigns, somebody gets hurt, whatever that situation can be, and we're down to three people, we're down to two people, we're down to whatever that number is, and we're really in a pinch, this would provide us a solution,” Kolanko said on Feb. 4.
That situation presented itself the weekend of Friday, April 17, where Kolanko activated the assistance outlined in the memorandum of understanding.
Hummer addressed the issue while going through a report at the latest trustees meeting on April 21.
“Social media is questioning whether or not Walbridge is running police overnight,” he said. “I don't believe they did over the weekend. I've not received any official word from Walbridge that they're utilizing Northwood police, but I talked to the (Wood County) sheriff (Mark Wasylyshyn) today, and he has not received any official word either, but he had noted that Walbridge did call him Friday night to say we don't have anybody out. So my concern was, and it’s fine whoever they use — apparently it’s going to be Northwood — but our folks need to know that No. 1 … there’s nobody there.
“The sheriff and I discussed it, and it will be noted on the MDTs if Northwood is covering for Walbridge so our officers see it in their mobile units that Northwood is taking calls — or whatever they’re doing there. I have not received anything officially. Neither has the sheriff. But there’s a lot of speculation going on out there. I heard earlier that half their department quit. I think they told you that on a crash scene that the department quit. I don’t know what’s going on, but we’ll do our best to help our neighbors in any way we can.”
Kolanko said he can’t really speak to any conversations that Hummer had with the sheriff because he is unaware of any, and he said the sheriff hasn’t reached out to him about any issues.
“If (Hummer) wants to help out his neighbors, he is more than welcome to reach out at any time,” Kolanko said. “He has my number, or the village’s. Secondly, thanks for his level of concern. The fact is, after some discipline enacted on one of our officers, he chose to resign, so we are currently short of staff.
“We have a few people that are potentially being brought forward. So, per the memorandum of understanding with Northwood, we have activated some assistance from the city of Northwood. And they are, as a good neighbor would, helping out accordingly. We hope to return to full staffing soon.”
PPC CLASSIFICATION
Back in October, The Press reported on the latest Public Protection Classification (PPC) survey, which was reported by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). It analyzes relevant data using a Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS), and it rated Lake Township with a 5, which was a retrogression from its previous 4 ranking.
A PPC rating, ranging from 1 to 10, is assigned with 10 being the worst. A high number could also mean higher home insurance rates for anyone in Lake Township, which would also include Walbridge and Millbury.
Kolanko, Rosebrock, and Millbury mayor Michael Timmons all received the initial letter about the rating on Sept. 26, which thanked them for their participation in the survey and provided details about appealing the new rating before it officially was put in place.
Rosebrock said he never heard from Timmons, but Kolanko reached out to him in response. Kolanko’s issue was that he was never notified that any testing was going on and that the letter thanked him for participating in something that he didn’t participate in.
On Oct. 3 at 1:24 p.m., Rosebrock responded to Kolanko’s email with a copy of a letter regarding his questions on the ISO study.
Following that, Kolanko emailed Rosebrock on Dec. 18 at 12:16 p.m. asking if there are any updates to the score as previously discussed.
Kolanko didn’t receive a response to that email, as well as emails on Jan. 5 at 11:07 a.m. and Feb. 3 at 1:08 p.m. asking the same question.
Kolanko provided The Press with proof of each of those emails.
When asked about those emails, which included a listing of the email dates, Rosebrock said, “I don’t recall that.”
Rosebrock said Lake Township submitted its initial appeal to the score on Jan. 15.
He said one of the reasons for the retrogression was in terms of personnel response.
“You have to have so many pieces of apparatus on a fire, so we can also utilize auto aid with that,” Rosebrock said. “When the gentleman (from ISO) came, he was using one apparatus as two. We submitted our plan of action in there. That was on April 5. They sent back that they needed more information, so we sent them all of our structure fire responses.
“One of their concerns was one of the areas that we have, which is this district over here, you have to have a ladder truck on any buildings that are three stories or higher or require a gallon per minute flow of 3,000 gallons or more. At that time, the ladder truck was in Millbury. That technically wasn't in the district. We have since moved it to Walbridge. On the last structure fires that we had, we submitted all those reports — the CAD reports and everything, so they're good with that right now. That was two points I believe that we're going to get back hopefully for that.”
The other reason for retrogression was for training.
“When he came, they label things different than we did,” Rosebrock said. “So now that I know what they're wanting, we're documenting all of our training a different way. Our next set of information that we have to send to them is July 8.”
In fact, dating back to April 5 and through July 8, anything that comes in, Lake Township has to submit.
“We have a whole year that we have to do this,” Rosebrock said. “And then we'll submit all of our training documentation, any fires that we have. We'll submit all of those so they can see that we're having the apparatus that we need out there. And then I assume that after this, then it'll be whatever the next three months is, and then at the end of the year, they'll take all of the stuff that we sent them, and they'll make a determination of whether or not we can keep our four or if we'll move to a five.”
Rosebrock said he is pretty confident the score won’t rise.
“The guy that came (from ISO), he's no longer there,” he said. “And there was a lot of confusion on what he wanted. He asked for five different things. I gave them those five different things, and nothing really changed since the last time except that they moved the ladder truck, so I was confused on why it rose.
“Talking with them, we've been going back and forth. We've made some changes with our medic unit. They're all firefighters also, so they are going to count towards personnel. We just have to make sure that we have another ambulance coming, which we're working with other neighboring departments (such as) Oregon, Troy Township, stuff like that, where they can bring another ambulance and then that will suffice the EMS section, but we also will show that we have personnel that are coming.
“In the last couple fires, we had three engines and a ladder truck with staffing, plus what we had from our mutual aid department, so that helped us out quite a bit. Then just reporting those numbers to them, that, ‘Hey, we do have the personnel and the staffing and the apparatus coming if we need it.’”
Rosebrock said that in a worst-case scenario where the department gets rated a 5, that it’s still a good rating. He said 3 through 5 is still considered a reasonable number.
“Obviously, we want to stay at a four,” he said. “We were only at a four by 0.72 points. Anything little that would have changed would have bumped us down. We're just trying to maintain that four.”
Rosebrock said that there hasn’t been any collaboration with Walbridge or Millbury, and that Lake Township is “pretty much” handling everything.
Kolanko is confused by that.
“Then why are we included on the ISO letter and thanking us for our involvement?” Kolanko said. “Why was I given a certified letter?
“We’re striving for communication, especially when we get communication that indicates that we have been part of a process when obviously we have not. And then to say it’s only going to be discussed amongst Lake Township? We all pay into the service.”
