Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Walbridge mayor Ed Kolanko addressed several questions from resident Jenny Hughes in regard to the potential memorandum of understanding with the city of Northwood for police patrolling at the village’s latest council meeting on Feb. 4.
“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.
“And probably the idea would be to have that entity patrol during the midnights, from maybe a 12 a.m. to a 7 a.m. timeframe. Why? Because statistically speaking, that is a slow time. They're all important times, so don't think that that's a less important time. They're all important, but we feel that that made more sense logistically and financially speaking.
“At this point in time, (police) Chief (Chris) Mullins and his staff are doing a great job. We're covered. We're not looking to use an outside agency. But also, if they would come and help us out for any period of time, I wanted to have a mechanism in place because it's not fair to ask anybody, whether it's Northwood or Lake Township, to do it for free.”
At the Feb. 4 meeting, council had a second reading for a contract that would pay $3,198.66 monthly to the city of Northwood to provide as-needed police services. A third reading is expected at the next meeting on Feb. 18.
Hughes asked why Lake Township isn’t the one the village is partnering with.
Kolanko said he spoke with Lake Township police chief and administrator Mark Hummer and decided Northwood is a better fit for multiple reasons.
“That price was between $4,000 and $4,500 a month, so a little bit higher,” he said. “When we look at the city of Northwood versus Lake Township, we also need to look at a lot of the comparisons that we align more with Northwood, believe it or not. We're in the township, so the default is we should use the township. Let's just say that both agencies are great agencies, which I think they are. They've got good staff. They've got good patrolmen. Not an issue.
“We have mayor's court. Northwood has mayor’s court. We share a judge. We share a prosecutor. We share a clerk of courts. If we would write a ticket, we write it under village code. Northwood writes theirs under city code. The township writes theirs under Ohio Revised Code. If somebody gets a ticket, they go to Perrysburg court. They don't go to mayor's court. We align more identically with the city of Northwood just by the way villages are run and the way that cities are run versus a township. So, there's a lot of similarities and synergies that exist between Walbridge and Northwood in terms of the police, and the cost is a little bit cheaper.”
Hughes thought that the monthly price tag seems high for a service that could potentially not even get used.
“That's a fair question, and I'm happy to have (a conversation). You know what? I love having the dialogue. I don't like reading it on Facebook because you can't really gauge things,” Kolanko said. “Because there's a lot of people, even in this room, that like to go and start typing things and hit send versus actually having a dialogue and conversation.
“When you look at the cost of an officer, the cost of an employee, you have to look at this. They're making $25 an hour, $26 an hour, so that costs the village $50,000 a year. We're in police and fire. That's an extra 20 percent of the employer contribution. All of a sudden, we have their medical, which we pay 100 percent medical.
“It's a fantastic medical plan that the village offers that nobody else does. We pay 100 percent of these guys' health. They don't pay a premium. I want you to be proud of that. I emphasize that because that's unique. But that $50,000 employee costs the village about $80,000. That's just the cost, and maybe a couple dollars more. So $3,200 times 12, we're looking at $36,000 a year versus that $80,000 expense, there is a cost savings.
“It may seem like a lot, but if we're not paying X, we're paying Y, there is a savings. Now, I would much prefer, as I think the majority of council would prefer, having a 24-7 department, and that's what we're striving for. But when you look at the black and white, the numbers, there is some differences that exist.”
Kolanko said his ultimate goal at the end of the day is to make sure that when someone in the village calls 911, that someone will respond, no matter what time of day or night.
“That’s what I want to make sure happens,” he said. “That’s what we need to provide you, and I need to provide it to my family, too. That's the important thing, and how to get there, and just make sure that those contingencies are covered is what we're trying to do.”
Hughes asked if the village and township is still going to be providing mutual aid.
“That’s going to continue the same way that it is now, whether it's Lake Township backing up, whether it's Northwood backing up, because that does happen, too, or whether it's Walbridge backing up Northwood or backing up Lake Township, that happens, too,” Kolanko said. “That's all still going to be consistent — so that mutual aid and backup is going to be something that doesn't go away. They do a good job.
“Separating politics, I think that the police departments do a great job doing their job. And unfortunately, politics kind of gets in the way of them doing their job sometimes. So does social media. But they work well together. And I see that not changing. It's just that if we get in a pinch, I want to make sure that we can rely on somebody to fill in that gap while they're finding a replacement to fill in that gap. And God willing, we don't need to.”
Committee reports
During the finance portion, Kolanko said that the village spent $2.29 million last year, coming in under its $2.42 million budget forecast. In terms of revenues, the village took in $2.31 million, higher than an anticipated $2.14 million.
“We got a lot done last year,” Kolanko said. “We got a new playground, a lot of fantastic additions to the village, and we did it under budget. Anytime I think we can spend less than we got to bring in, we're doing right by the taxpayer.”
In the parks and recreation portion, councilperson Karen Baron discussed her committee’s Jan. 28 meeting. Garage sale dates will be May 15-16 and Aug. 14-15, which were approved by council. There are also some tentative dates set for June, but those won’t be finalized until later once more is known about the St. Jerome Festival.
Baron also said the committee decided to set Halloween trick-or-treating hours from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The holiday falls on a Saturday this year.
“We talked about the pros and cons, about the hours,” Baron said. “We decided (on that time) for a couple different reasons. First of all, we thought it would be better to have it earlier in the day. You can see the kids' costumes. It's safer. I know people are probably going to lose their minds about it not being dark, but they were more pros than cons. Plus, it falling on a Saturday, there's going to be more events for families later in the day and also sporting events.”
Kolanko reminded everyone that the village has put out an ad looking for lifeguards for the pool this summer, as well as one for a police department position.
Old business
In the old business portion, council had the third readings and subsequent passing of three ordinances, highlighted by one allowing the village to enter into a consortium with Owens Community College to provide law enforcement and professional development training, as well as one adopting a cybersecurity program, which is required by the state.
In related news, council also had the second readings for four additional resolutions in relation to cybersecurity efforts.
Also in old business was the second reading of the Northwood-Walbridge police memorandum of understanding.
Other items
Kolanko made a motion, which was passed, to extend the probationary period for Jay Blazevich of the maintenance department for another 90 days.
Councilperson Sue Hart-Douglas made a motion to approve a previously discussed a police department take-home policy for patrol vehicles. It was subsequently passed.
“In the 16 years I've been on council, whenever we came up with a question about our police, the residents like having our village police,” Hart-Douglas said. “We don't show a whole lot of thank you sometimes, but the signs that we put out last year in May to say thank you was very good because I think we need to say thank you a little bit more.
“If a guy is working 7 to 3 and one guy is working 3 to 11 and one on 11 to 7, but they are there. They watch the school buses. They watch the kids. And sometimes they stop and interact with our residents and with our kids. I think it's really important.”
Chief Mullins thanked council for its passage.
“A lot of the threats that we're facing in today's times with active shooters, it's all about being ready at all times,” he said. “And if you're at home and it was on, you jump in the car, you go. It's a great benefit, and I really appreciate that.”
