Upcoming Events -January 2014

TMACOG General Assembly

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at the Holiday Inn French Quarter, Perrysburg

Contact: Tony Reams, 419.241.9155 ext. 179

TMACOG Tech: Ohio Sunshine Law

Friday, April 4, 2014. Location TBD

Contact: Peggy Ricard, 419.241.9155 ext. 105

Transportation Summit

Friday, April 11, 2014. The Pinnacle, 1772 Indian Wood Circle, Maumee

Contact: Christine Drennen, 419.241.9155 ext. 119

TMACOG Tech: Proactive Planning & Design for Disabled and Aging Populations

Friday, May 9, 2014. Location TBD

Contact: Tony Reams, 419.241.9155 ext. 179

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

Specialized Transportation Funds Awarded

Agencies that serve elderly and disabled people can apply for Specialized Transportation funds that pay for 80 percent of the cost of a passenger van or other transportation-related materials. ODOT has announced awards for the current round of applications. This year the program will fund 48 vehicles in 34 counties. In Lucas County the Anne Grady Center was awarded two passenger vans and the South Toledo Senior Center (the Margaret Hunt Senior Center, Inc.) will receive one. In Wood County, the Wood County Children’s Services Association also will get a van. TMACOG receives and scores applications for Lucas and Wood counties.  

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

Public Involvement Policy – Comments Requested

TMACOG has updated and revised its agency-wide public involvement policy and is inviting public review and comment. The draft policy is posted on the TMACOG website. The policy describes how TMACOG ensures public input, shows maps of environmental justice areas and low-income areas in the TMACOG planning region, and includes links to relevant federal regulations. The public comment period will last until Monday, November 3. Interested people are invited to review the document and send any comments to getinvolved@tmacog.org.

Regular evaluation and revision of the public involvement policy is one way that TMACOG ensures that the entire community is reflected in regional plans. TMACOG is committed to engaging active and representative public involvement from the entire region. Ongoing and meaningful public involvement in TMACOG planning activities ensures that projects and policies reflect local goals and needs. 

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

Governor Approves Region’s 208 Plan

Ohio Governor John Kasich has certified TMACOG's “208 Plan,” the Areawide Water Quality Management Plan, and it is officially part of the state of Ohio Statewide Water Quality Management Plan.  Certification is important because the Ohio Director of the EPA must deny permits that conflict with the 208 Plan. The plan that Governor Kasich has approved was certified by the TMACOG Board of Directors in July 2013. It includes significant amendments needed by Port Clinton and Ottawa County to accommodate development.  In July 2014, TMACOG completed and submitted another update to Ohio EPA. That version is pending with Ohio EPA.

 The 208 Plan is reviewed and updated as needed to ensure that sewerage plans in Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, and Wood counties in Ohio and Bedford, Erie, and Whiteford townships of Monroe County, Michigan continue to meet the standards of the Clean Water Act and adapt to community needs.

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

Acting Vice President of Transportation

David Gedeon, AICP, has been appointed Acting Vice President of Transportation at TMACOG following the departure of Warren Henry to the City of Toledo. Gedeon has been with TMACOG for 16 years. 

He started as a watershed planner in the Environmental Planning department in 1998. He has also led the Growth Strategies department, and was the Director of Commuter Services. He has been managing the Transportation Improvement Program (the TIP) for the last few years while handling Census data analysis and serving as staff liaison to the Air Quality Committee.

Annual TIP Report - see funding details

Click here to see a spreadsheet detailing transit projects that were awarded federal funding in Lucas and Wood counties in fiscal year 2014 (July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014). Click here to see a spreadsheet detailing all roadway (excluding transit) projects that had federal authorizations for funding in fiscal year 2014. This includes authorizations for new projects and funding obligation increases for projects that were authorized in a previous fiscal year.