Walbridge council tackles several items at July meeting

Walbridge village council took care of several items in the agenda for its July 16 meeting, highlighted by the adoption of an ordinance for a stormwater fund.

Council had its third reading and subsequent adoption of the ordinance, which authorizes the creation of a stormwater utility fund. It will earmark money specifically for storm sewer repairs and maintenance. The fund, which will appear on water bills, will also assist with grant applications.

“It's money that we're generating to help for a specific need,” Walbridge mayor Ed Kolanko said in May after the first reading. “Whether that's our MS4 permit that we have to do annually, whether it's to repair catch basins, whether it's when (village administrator Todd) Robson and his maintenance crew are jetting lines on Martin … anything that's related to it will be used for it.”

Speed trailer results

Council went over the results from the speed trailer set up on Martendale from June 10 to July 9. There was a total of 4,038 vehicles logged heading south to Union with 85 percent of those vehicles averaging 24 miles per hour. Among vehicles heading north – the wrong direction – there was only two. The trailer has now been repositioned onto Union.

Safety update

Councilwoman Caryl Stone updated the group on safety items, highlighted by a recap of the summer storm preparedness informational session held July 8, where the Red Cross gave a presentation on how to keep your family safe during summer storms.

The meeting included information on what to pack in an emergency kit, local resources and alerts, storm safety for homes and vehicles, how you can help in your community, and setting up communication plans for families.  Stone said it was very informative and that it was filmed. She said plans are to upload it to the village’s YouTube channel.

Stone also spoke about combining all of their inspections - car seats, bikes, and golf carts - in one day at the pool. The idea is that if someone gets an inspection, they get a free entrance to the pool. They are working on scheduling something for August.

Stone is also working with Lake Township EMS, which has a bike helmet giveaway program. After the helmets come in, and as they drive around, if they see a kid without a helmet, they'll stop and offer them a helmet. If they see a kid with a helmet or a kid doing something that they consider very good, they are going to give them coupons from local businesses. They’re currently gathering businesses.

Loop Park grant

Kolanko said the village has applied for a NatureWorks grant for possibly installing new playground equipment at Loop Park, similar to the recent groundbreaking at Railway Park. The recipients of those grants don’t get announced until November, and Kolanko said he will update council once he hears a decision.

Sign lights

Although their old signs didn’t have lights, Kolanko said the village is working on adding lights to the new signs welcoming people to Walbridge.

Walbridge Road project update

There will be a delay in the Walbridge Road improvement project as there is an “old, antiquated” culvert that needs to be replaced. The Wood County Engineer’s Office has agreed to pay for all construction costs.

The only stipulation from the engineer’s office was that the municipalities would pay for the survey and for the engineering cost for that work to be done. With Walbridge and Lake Township working together on the overall project, the two groups agreed to split the cost of the survey and engineering at the same percentage allocation as the main project.

Patch work update

Village administrator Todd Robson said his crews have been doing some patchwork on Blair. On Allen Street, they’ve been cutting out some potholes and shoring them out, and he said they’re coming out pretty nice.

OPWC

Kolanko said that the village has executed contracts with the Ohio Public Works Commission for the 2026 Allen/Holly street improvements.

‘Housekeeping items’ passed

Council passed a resolution and an ordinance as emergencies that Kolanko said were both annual “housekeeping items.”

The resolution accepts the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and authorizes the necessary tax levies and certifies them to the county auditor.

“What the county does is that they request us to turn in to them once a year what we expect the next year revenues to be,” Kolanko said. “(Fiscal officer) Andy (Tepper) has put together a pretty encompassing sheet. We're expecting a slight increase into 2026. This is not biblical. It doesn't mean that we have to adhere to this. But the county wants an idea of what our revenue is going to look like in 2026. It's kind of a checks and balance thing. This is simply just allowing us to submit those numbers to Wood County.”

Council also passed an ordinance providing the assessment for street lighting purposes upon lots and lands in the village in 2026.

“If we ever look at our real estate bills, we see lighting (listed),” Kolanko said. “This is us as the village having to pass this ordinance. And we give that to the county, so it goes on to the residents’ real estate taxes. We are not forecasting a change in the amount. We're not seeing a reduction. We're not seeing an increase. We’re leaving the amount consistent as what it was for 2025.”

Police chief recommendations

Police chief Ken Campbell recommended accepting a quote from MPH Industries/Kustom Signals for a ProLaser LIDAR system in the amount of $2,347.06. The vast majority of that cost will be taken care of by the Rossford Eagles, a fraternal organization that donated $2,000. The council approved the recommendation to pay the remaining $347.06.

Another recommendation from Campbell that was approved included moving police officers Dominic McCrum and Daniel Bushey from step 2 ($22.17/hour) to step 3 ($24.60) effective immediately based on their performance.

“Both these officers came to us with quite a bit of past experience,” Campbell said. “They're not fresh out of the academy officers. They did not require a lot of extensive training. They came to us at a time when we were hurting pretty good. They both stepped up heavily right off the get go and helped us make sure shifts were covered.

“Both of them were here, along with the rest of the officers, all day for the St. Jerome's Fest. They have stepped up incredibly. They're both family men. These aren't single guys. These are people who have families and children, mortgages and cars and so forth.

“I understand that normally this would be something that would take a year to do, but again, these are not fresh out of the academy subjects. These are seasoned officers who have really shown their capabilities. They're out there every day. They're incredibly engaged with the community, both of them. They both like talking to people. They both like being involved in the things of the community.

“I would just like to show them a little something that we appreciate them coming here, and that we acknowledge that they are not fresh recruit officers that are taking time. These are guys that could step up and do what any five-or-ten-year officer has.” 

Final garage sale

The final community garage sale will take place Aug. 15-16.

Next meeting

Village council’s next meeting will be Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m.