Special Districts - 2015 Summer Caucus

Call to Order/Welcome/Introductions – Joseph Cappel, Director of Cargo Development with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and caucus facilitator, called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone present. Introductions were made by everyone present.

TMACOG members who were present included:

·         Joseph Cappel –  Director of Cargo Development, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority

·         Edward Hoeffel – Vice President, Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor

·         Cheryl Johnson – Board Chair, Wood County Port Authority

·         Paul LaMarre – Port Director, Port of Monroe

·         Tom Schoen – Board Member, Lucas Soil & Water Conservation District

·         Lyle Schulte – Board Trustee, Northwestern Water & Sewer District

·         David Wirt – Board Member, Wood County Port Authority

Non-caucus members who were present included:

·         Brad Borser – Government Relations Director, Eastman & Smith, Ltd.

TMACOG support staff that was present included:

·         Christine Connell – Transportation Public Administration Specialist

·         Marc VonDeylen – Transportation Technician

Generate Questions for the Forum with State Lawmakers – The Special Districts & Authorities Caucus focused mostly on the questions they wanted to ask lawmakers during their session. Below are the topics they focused on:

1.      How do you propose to raise state revenues without raising taxes? Have any creative or innovative ways been discussed to raise state revenues? (i.e. Ohio Turnpike Funding)

2.      We know that the Toledo area has a program to prevent sewage overflow into the lake/rivers, but what about other jurisdictions like Detroit, etc.? Should we look into what Akron is doing with their huge sewage project?

3.      Given the reputation damage done to the region due to the water crisis, how can we reposition ourselves to turn it around again?

4.      How can you as a representative of the state, better facilitate communication between governmental agencies during these times of crisis (water quality, recent flooding, etc)? How can we make the voice of all the affected jurisdictions be heard and engaged in the communication?

5.      What resources are available in terms of finances or manpower in these times of crisis (water quality, flooding)? What are the lessons learned from these crises? What caused these crises?

Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments | www.tmacog.org