Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Walbridge council members approved a new police chief on Dec. 17, highlighting the village’s final meeting of the 2025 calendar year.
Mayor Ed Kolanko recommended the hiring of Christopher Mullins, who rejoined the department as a part-time officer in August before being promoted to full-time in September. Prior to that, he previously served for several years as an officer in Walbridge, and he worked with the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office prior to that.
“Chris really showcased his care for the community, his care for the fellow officers, and his experience really kind of rose above, and I am very confident in my next point to recommend you guys to bring forward Chris Mullins as our next chief of police effective 1-1-2026.”
Mullins said that Walbridge is a great community that has a lot of new ideas.
“I'm excited, and I'm ready for it,” Mullins said. “It's a new day, and I've got a lot of work to do.”
Mullins is slated to take over Jan. 1. At that point, officers will report to him. Departing chief Ken Campbell, who previously announced his retirement in September, will stay about until tentatively Feb. 1.
During that overlap period, Kolanko said Campbell will still be working full-time and spending some time on the road, but also helping Mullins during this transition period, learning the ropes, kind of educating him on what he does in that transition period.
“I’m excited,” Kolanko said. “I think turning the page is sometimes sad and tough, but also it's exciting and invigorating at the same time. Chris is going to bring some new ideas. He's going to bring some new energy and really a community focus. We respect the job that Chief Campbell has done and appreciate everything he's contributed to the village. Retirement happens, and Chief Campbell has a great tenure in police work. But with Chief Mullins coming in, we're excited for what he can do and kind of bring some fresh ideas to us.”
In terms of that community focus, Mullins told The Press after his appointment that one of his priorities will be to bring more interaction in that aspect. In October, Kolanko said the new police chief’s job description would remain full-time but will require 50 percent road duties.
“The thing with it is sometimes when you're in a role like (Chief Campbell), you're inundated with paperwork, and you can't get out,” he said. “Then in the old days, it used to be where the chief took care of all of that, and then you never would see him out and about. I want to be out and about in the community as well. Then (I’d like to) also distribute the paperwork and train other people that are in that office with me, and empower them, as well. A lot of times the old school stuff was the chief did all the paperwork, the chief made all the decisions. You have to split it up in today's times. Because anything can happen to me, God forbid. And then nobody would know anything.”
In related news, Kolanko made a motion, which was subsequently approved, to hire Josh Woerner as a part-time police officer starting at $19.64 per hour, with a bump to $20.43 per hour in 2026, effective immediately.
Woerner had been in the background check process for a few months, and Kolanko said they took extra care, likely in lieu of the August firing of police officer Michael Ervin.
“We did take some time, and I know that Chris Mullins here has also kind of lended a hand to make sure that we were thorough,” Kolanko said. “We were very thorough. I appreciate your guys' help on this and your patience.”
Stone, Johnston complete terms
The other big picture news during the meeting was that council members said goodbye to Caryl Stone and LaDenna Johnston.
“It's been my pleasure for the past couple years being on council and trying to serve the community,” Stone said. “Rest assured, I will continue to serve the community the best I can through my means at Random Acts. You've not seen the last of me.”
Kolanko presented each of them with a gift and thanked them for their service to the village.
“Caryl's been here for three years, and Denna seven,” Kolanko said. “Everybody that I've experienced has their own individual benefits that they bring. And Caryl and Denna are no different in that respect. They're very unique people, and they have contributed in many ways. They have helped me support raising some grant money and getting road projects done. And really, ultimately, without support of council members, it's hard for me to get things accomplished in this village. They've been very supportive of what we've done, so I'm appreciative for both of them taking the time and the sacrifice and being part of council.”
Joel Mass and Kristen Angelo were elected to replace Stone and Johnston, while Sue Hart-Douglas and Ron Liwo were tabbed to continue on council. The two new members will be sworn in at the first council meeting of the new year on Jan. 7.
Resident concern
In a rare appearance from a village resident at a council meeting, Jerry McNutt of East Perry Street, discussed the alley near his house. He said it is an icy mess and hasn’t been plowed properly.
Both Kolanko and village administrator Todd Robson apologized and said they would take care of it.
Security camera update
Kolanko provided an update on the project to add security cameras at Railway and Loop parks.
“Our technology guy has got the cameras at Railway Park up and running,” he said. “There’s about eight different angles. We're able to kind of see what's going on at Railway Park right now. There is the ability that it does record. If we see activity, it will actually kind of alert, and it will kind of save that. If you go walking on the tennis court, the program will see activity movement. It will alert us as users to that movement, and it will save that. It allows us to hit a button and it will go back to that time, and we can see who's on the tennis court. It is recording.
“It's going to be a little bit of a learning curve because it's pretty in-depth, but the fact is we have that. These cameras will be linked into that same system. That's in progress. The cameras at Loop Park are not done yet. That's next, when the weather gets a little bit better. But that system we now have is a live system that will allow us to, at any time, through an app or through our computer, go to that and look at those cameras 24-7.
Parks grant
Kolanko said the village was approved for a $2,750 grant for a bike rack and repair station at Railway Park through the Wood County Park District.
Administrator’s report
In the administrator’s report, Robson said the village has made a final leaf pickup and that the salt barn is nearly finished, with 15 of 18 sections now up.
He also mentioned a sewer issue in the area of 416 E. Union St. that is being worked on. Kolanko said that a sewer line has partially collapsed there, and it’s by a resident’s driveway, so it becomes a safety issue for the resident, too.
Thus, after getting several quotes, he made a recommendation to hire Hillabrand & Sons at a fee not to exceed $12,500 to repair it.
“We don't really want to delay getting that fixed, but they can do that as quick as Friday (Dec. 19),” Kolanko said. “We do want to move forward with getting that repaired. No, that's not money we had planned in the budget, so we'll have to cross that bridge after that. But we do want to get it done. I think safety-wise, it's not going to get any better.”
Robson said that it is an example of why a stormwater fee is important. That is something that was passed at the July 16 meeting, which specifically earmarks money for storm sewer maintenance and repairs. It involves a tax rate change, which will appear on water bills while also assisting with grant applications.
“Council has approved the formation of that,” Kolanko said. “There is still some legislation work we need to do to kind of get that updated in our code.”
“It highlights the unexpected nature of these things as well as the cost,” Kolanko said. “It's not cheap. Get the equipment out there, tear it apart, and it could be 10 feet. The camera can only get so far, so you really can't see past a certain point. It could be further. It could be anything else until you start digging.”
Robson said it’s an eight-inch sewer line, and the top of it is caved in. They’ll know more, though, once they start doing the work.
Ordinances
Council passed several key ordinances.
The first amends chapter 1183 of the Walbridge off-street parking and loading code, specifically sections involving paving, location of parking spaces, driveways, and parking lot requirements. It was tabled at the previous meeting, after a third reading, in order to clean up some old village code to make it more clear and concise.
That ordinance, in simpler terms, was created because village officials found that people have started to create a parking pad on their front lawns.
“They were parking on their lawn,” Kolanko said at the Nov. 5 council meeting. “The realization is that you go through our code, which is oftentimes kind of a grayish area, and apparently there was some gravel there from years ago. As long as they were allowed to put gravel back on that pad, they can park vehicles there. Now we have three vehicles parking on the front lawn, which in my opinion is not the look that we're going for as a village. I don't think that it helps property values. I don't think that it's kind of what it's intended to do.”
Another ordinance amends chapter 711 of the Walbridge peddlers and solicitors code, specifically nine sections.
“I appreciate you guys for passing that,” Kolanko said. “We’ve had some utility people that are going door to door, which our current code allowed them to do that, and people have expressed some concerns. They’ll call up here. They contact the police. And again, what this ordinance does is that it does not allow door-to-door solicitations anymore. When I told (the residents) that this was a pending ordinance on the agenda, they were very happy to hear that.”
A third ordinance authorizes the mayor to enter into a business property lease with Hallcon for the leased premises located at 30801 Drouillard Road.
A fourth ordinance amends chapter 509 of the Walbridge disorderly conduct and peace disturbance code, specifically section 509.08 involving loud noises. Essentially, loud noises being prohibited is being switched from only residential to “all districts within the village” with this ordinance.
A final ordinance authorizes the supplemental appropriation of various fund resources of the village of Walbridge for an amount up to $158,806.
“Basically, we need to move some money around to pay the Bowers (Asphalt) bill for the improvements made at the parking lot, for Blair Drive, and for Raymond and Breckman,” Kolanko said. “We had some money in the budget. We didn't have enough, but we were able to get some good work done.
“Then, (regarding) the $25,000 for the rail crossing, I have been successful in getting the lights done. We've got some painting done, but we're going to need $25,000 to pay the bills for that. That is money that will come back to the village of Walbridge, so keep that in mind. The Ohio Rail Commission has extended our ability to get the project done until June 30, 2026.”
