New Parks added to Area Districts

In Wood County, a 61-acre property will open to the public Saturday, August 27. There will be a grand opening from 1 pm to 4 pm.  The Sawyer Quarry Nature Preserve is in Perrysburg Township, at 26940 Lime City Road. The Sawyer family donated the property to the park district through the Black Swamp Conservancy in 2013. There will be a shuttle service available from Perrysburg Township Hall.

In Lucas County, the Middlegrounds Metropark will have its grand opening Saturday, September 17 with family activities from noon to 5 p.m. and Rock the Middlegrounds from 5 p.m. to midnight. The evening festivities will feature live music with food, beer and wine available for purchase. Admission to the park is free all day. Middlegrounds Metropark, at 111 Ottawa Street, starts at the Anthony Wayne bridge and stretches 1.5 miles upriver, providing sweeping views of the Maumee River, downtown skyline and opposite shore. To get to the park, use the blue bridge at the foot of Washington Street, where Owens Corning headquarters is located. Then turn right onto Ottawa Street and follow it to the park entrance, just past the Anthony Wayne Bridge.

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

Risingsun's Village Council is a Little Different

In the village of Risingsun, there are two mayors and two city councils. Mayor Rick Whetsel works for the streets department; Mayor Paige Curlis enjoys bowling and Zumba. Whetsel has been mayor since 2001 and Curlis has been mayor since April, 2015. Whetsel drives to meetings and Curlis asks her mom, Alice Connor, for a ride because Paige Curlis is a 13-year-old student at Lakota Middle School. 

UT to host U.S. EPA meeting

The U.S. EPA Great Lakes Program Office has selected the University of Toledo to be the host of the 2015 Great Lakes Area of Concern Conference which will be held March 11-12 on the university’s main campus.

An area of concern (AOC) is a term used in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. It defines a location that has experienced environmental degradation and is a priority for restoration funding. The Maumee River is one of the 40 AOCs in Great Lakes states.

The U.S. EPA expects 300 or more federal, state, and local representatives will attend the conference. UT Professor Dr. Patrick Lawrence, chair of the department of Geography and Planning, said that the conference provides a “great opportunity for UT, the Toledo area, and the Maumee AOC to showcase our efforts and achievements.”

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

Welcome New Members

TMACOG is pleased to welcome the City of Monroe as a returning governmental member and Toledo Botanical Garden as a new non-governmental member.

The City of Monroe is also the county seat of Monroe County, Michigan. It has a population of nearly 23,000 and Monroe is located about 17 miles north of Toledo. Other TMACOG members in Monroe County include the townships of Erie and Whiteford, the Port of Monroe, and Monroe County Community College.

Toledo Botanical Garden is a free public garden that serves the region as a living museum and a center for horticulture and the arts. Toledo Botanical Garden is a public/private partnership between the Metroparks of the Toledo Area and the non-profit Toledo Botanical Garden Board, Inc. in collaboration with the City of Toledo. TMACOG has partnered with the garden in recent years on a large project to remove dams and improve water features on the grounds.

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

50-Year Anniversary for WSOS

Congratulations to TMACOG member WSOS Community Action which is celebrating 50 years of services in the TMACOG region.

In 1964, Seneca, Ottawa and Sandusky counties formed the SOS Community Action agency to

Welcome New Members

TMACOG welcomes two new members. Republic Services, Inc. provides trash and solid waste collection and also provides recycling and hazardous waste management services. Republic is a private company with offices in Erie, Michigan, and joins TMACOG as a non-governmental member.

The Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio also joined TMACOG as a non-governmental member. The AOA  has previously partnered with TMACOG Transportation committees on questions of public transit in the region. 

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

Regional Fire Service Consortium

Fire departments in Northwest Ohio are invited to join the Regional Fire Service Consortium at Owens Community College for a 12-month program of training classes. The partnership has been developed to address the professional fire service training requirements in Northwest Ohio in an affordable and timely manner. “Owens College is committed to the highest standards of public safety and is offering this training opportunity at its Center of Emergency Preparedness in accordance with NFPA standards,” said Dr. Brian Paskvan, executive director of Owens Community College’s Workforce and Community Services.

Membership in the Regional Fire Service Consortium allows agencies to send their firefighters to any of the monthly training sessions. Topics include:

·         Mass casualty/triage

·         Tanker truck fires

·         Search and rescue

·         Live-fire training

The cost of membership is based on department station size. An agency with one station becomes a member with an annual $500 fee and up to four people per class, those with two or three stations pay $1,000, eight people per class, and those with four or more stations pay $1,500, with 12 people per class. Classes are open to non-members for a fee on a space available basis at $100 per person/class.

Enrollment deadline is June 1. Payment deadline will reflect timing of departments to allow for budgets updates. For more information on the program and to review the complete list of training sessions, contact Deb Pratt or Mark Briggs at Owens Community College: 567-661-2411.  

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

MEMBER HIGHLIGHT: The Village of Weston

The Wood County village of Weston is just over one square mile and home to about 1,600 residents. The village is west of Bowling Green and south of Grand Rapids. Weston was a founding member of TMACOG in 1968 and recently renewed membership.

Village officials stay busy, working on park improvements, road repair, and economic development projects. This year, the village joined in with several other Wood County communities to apply to the Ohio Public Works Commission for road repair funding. 

MEMBER NEWS Ohio Lake Erie Commission

Paul Toth, president and CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, was recently selected by Ohio Governor John Kasich as one of four new appointees to serve on the Ohio Lake Erie Commission (OLEC).

“I’m very excited and grateful to begin serving on the Ohio Lake Erie Commission,” said Mr. Toth. “The goals of the OLEC and the goals of the Port Authority are in perfect alignment. Both value Lake Erie as an irreplaceable resource that provides environmental and economic benefits to northwest Ohio. The Port Authority has a history of implementing the best environmental practices by successfully cleaning up brownfield sites and implementing energy efficient projects throughout the region, and is dedicated to improving our community’s quality of life.”

Among other duties, the commission oversees the management of the Lake Erie Protection Fund. Commissioners coordinate state and local policies pertaining to Lake Erie water quality, pollution control, and resource protection. They make recommendations about policies for protection of the lake resources that are consistent with the Great Lakes water quality agreement.

MEMBER NEWS - Webinar about Water Infrastructure for Small Communities

Helping Small Communities Meet 

Their Water & Wastewater System Needs

Presented by Small Communities Environmental Infrastructure Group

Tuesday, December 3, noon – 1:30 p.m.

Small Communities Environmental Infrastructure Group (SCEIG) is a consortium of state and federal agencies, and independent organizations that provide loan/grant funding and technical assistance. Learn about funding options available to local governments for improvements to water and wastewater systems. There will be opportunities to ask questions during the webinar. 

Information on joining the live webinar will be sent to regional communities in a follow-up e-mail.  For more information, contact Joyce Gray, Ohio Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP) at 440.331.6804 or jrgray@wsos.org.  Ms. Gray can be reached after Monday, November 18. 

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

Welcome New Member

TMACOG welcomes CT Consultants as a new non-governmental member. CT Consultants is an engineering, architectural, and planning firm headquartered in Mentor with several offices including Akron, Columbus, North Canton, Youngstown, and Toledo. They work in transportation and environmental planning as well as urban revitalization and site development. Contact the northwest Ohio office at 1690 Woodlands Drive, Suite 200 in Maumee. Phone: 419.897.7922. Kent A. Bryan, P.E, is the regional manager of the firm’s Toledo office. 

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

Welcome New Member

TMACOG welcomes CT Consultants as a new non-governmental member. CT Consultants is an engineering, architectural, and planning firm headquartered in Mentor with several Ohio offices including Akron, Columbus, North Canton, Youngstown, and Toledo. They work in transportation and environmental planning as well as urban revitalization and site development. Contact the northwest Ohio office at 1690 Woodlands Drive, Suite 200 in Maumee. Phone: 419.897.7922. Kent A. Bryan, P.E, is the regional manager of the firm’s Toledo office. 

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

Member Highlight: Toledo Trucking Association

It’s been a busy time recently for members of the Toledo Trucking Association. They participated in the 2013 Ohio Conference on Freight in September, and September was Truck Safety Month with local members organizing outreach activities. Even without special events, things are always moving in the trucking industry. President of Toledo Trucking Association David Black said that increases in the amount of freight and changes in regulations mean that truckers are always working at full speed.

David Black described the regional trucking business as solid but in flux.

“The trucking industry in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan is robust. There are many small- to medium-sized companies with niche markets.”

There are firms that specialize in delivering food, and others that move only auto parts. He said that there is plenty of freight to be moved but lots of challenges to the industry, from cost of equipment, to training of personnel, to regulations.