Water Education and Fun in Waterville

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

Contribute to a New Bike Map

TMACOG is developing a bicycle user map for Lucas and Wood counties and the southern three townships of Monroe County, Michigan. This map will use new crowd-sourcing technology that will help people plan their routes for travel by bicycle. The resulting map will help riders - from novices to very experienced cyclists - choose routes that are aligned with their level of skill. A version of the map will be printed in a travel-friendly size and it will be available online, too. TMACOG needs your input by May 31.

Help us understand your experiences riding on roadways in the TMACOG region. Whether you ride every day, or just occasionally, whether you ride to work or school, for exercise or for fun, TMACOG wants to hear from you! To provide your comments click this LINK. Begin by selecting “Proceed as Guest” and then follow the prompts to map as many routes as you like.

If you’d prefer to draw your routes and provide comments on a paper map instead, just drop into any area bicycle shop to get a paper copy. Or call 419.241.9155, ext. 119, or email Christine Connell to request a copy.

Cut and paste this link if you have trouble: 

http://tmacog.maps.arcgis.com/apps/CrowdsourceReporter/index.html?appid=6edafec686c943a2bdf192c9bb8e7ef5

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

It's Bike Month

"Active transportation" is transportation planner talk for biking, walking, rollerblading, or any form of locomotion that is self-powered. In May, we are celebrating the active and fun transportation available on a bicycle.

Northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan are flat which makes for easy cycling. There are more and more connected bike paths that are separated from roads, and more roads that include bike lanes. Bicycles can be an efficient commuting vehicle in our region. Try it this month. There are several opportunities to fix up your bike, to ride in a group, and to practice your road skills.

Clean Ohio Funds Awarded to Metroparks

The Metroparks of the Toledo Area is the single beneficiary of the most recent round of Clean Ohio grants to preserve open space in Lucas County. The Natural Resources Assistance Council (NRAC), which evaluates Clean Ohio applications, announced their recommendation April 13, 2017. NRAC will recommend that the Metroparks be granted $1,898,471 for “East Riverfront Restoration – Phase 1.” The entire restoration is envisioned as three phases. The Metroparks is providing a local match of $740,442.

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

Area Townships Eligible for Funding for Better Warning Signs

The 2017 Township Sign Grant application cycle is now open and will run through Friday, June 9th, 2017. For this year, the program has been provided an additional $1 million in funding, doubling the program’s available funding to $2 million. 

The Township Sign Grant Program provides funds to improve signs on roads where accidents are more common. Better signs can warn of sharp turns in the road, fixed objects (such as bridge abutments), bike path crossings, and hidden drives. 

The qualifying townships for 2017 in our region include:

· Benton (Ottawa)
· Cass (Hancock)
· Center (Wood)
· Clay (Ottawa)
· Clinton (Fulton)
· Danbury (Ottawa)
· Eden (Seneca)
· Freedom (Henry)
· Freedom (Wood)
· Harris (Ottawa)
· Liberty (Seneca)
· Loudon (Seneca)
· Middleton (Wood)
· Monclova (Lucas)
· Napoleon (Henry)
· Perrysburg (Wood)
· Plain (Wood)
· Portage (Wood)
· Ridgeville (Henry)
· Salem (Ottawa)
· Sandusky (Sandusky)
· Springfield (Lucas)
· Washington (Hancock)
· Washington (Henry)
· Washington (Sandusky)
· Washington (Wood)
· York (Fulton)
· York (Sandusky)

More information concerning the Township Sign Grant Program, including a link to the sign grant application, can be viewed on the program’s website at:

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Planning/LocalPrograms/Pages/Township_Safety_Sign_Grant_Program.aspx
Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments | www.tmacog.org

Ohio Stormwater Conference

Registration is now open for the 2017 Ohio Stormwater Conference. This year's event is May 10-12, at the Kalahari Resort and Conference Center in Sandusky. Visit the conference website by clicking here.

According to the conference website, this event will provide updates on environmental issues, new technologies, regulatory information and pollution prevention. 

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

What fellow members were talking about in their caucus sessions today

The TMACOG General Assembly was held today. Members met in caucus sessions before the business meeting. Here's what they talked about: 

Counties Caucus

Notes presented by Doris Herringshaw, Wood County Commissioner

• Heroin/opiates epidemic and its influence on law enforcement and impact on families.
• Insufficient funding for necessary infrastructure.
• Water quality and supply discussion recognizes that we have made progress as a region in designing a safe and fair system.
• County officials are anxious to see what’s in the new state budget particularly in the Medicaid sales tax issue.
• They discussed if counties of northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan should create an emergency plan for zero carbon energy.

City Caucus

Notes presented by Mike Beazley, Administrator for the City of Oregon

• Agreed that the water discussion was making progress.
• Discussed a law slipped into a bill that allows microcell towers to be erected in right of way with little warning to the community. Cities are looking at legal options.
• Like the counties, city representatives are worried about proposed changes to Medicaid which could cost millions.
• The struggle to provide adequate public services (streets, legal services, criminal justice) is  Recommended that elected officials start talking to gubernatorial candidates now because it will be too late to be effective after an election.

Village Caucus

Notes presented by Gordon Bowman, Mayor of Pemberville

• ·         Appreciated a presentation from TMACOG Vice President Kurt Erichsen on the regional water planning progress
• ·         Noted EPA water requirements that are difficult for villages to meet
• ·         Community policing is a big challenge: cost of training, getting enough coverage from officers, turnover among staff. Some village are having to change part-time to full-time to hold on to staff.
• ·         Heard from First Energy about the role of Davis Besse to the regional energy grid and tax consequences of closing that facility.

Township Caucus

Notes presented by Mark Hummer, Lake Township Administrator

·            Thanked TMACOG for providing a forum for discussion.

·            Is grateful that townships are heard in the water policy discussion.

·            Noted that townships have room for growth and need to be part of economic discussions.

·            Noted that noise ordinances, zoning compliance are difficult to enforce.

·            Identified firing ranges as a source of complaints.

·            Noted lack of funding for road repair.

Schools, Colleges & Universities

Notes presented by Anne Theis, Dean, Business, Information & Public Services at Owens Community College

• Community colleges and 4-year colleges are offering new programs in cyber security, agribusiness. Nursing continues to be strong
• BGSU and the Toledo Museum of Art have been discussing a summer program in technology aimed at young people who live within a mile of the museum
• The concept of coding boot camps was discussed as a strategy for training a lot of people quickly for jobs that are available now. Private partnership seems to make these successful.
• Universities said that it is hard to keep faculty in coding and technology because the jobs for people with those skills are very well paid.
• Community colleges are partnering with industry for non-credit training in pre-apprentice programs
• New high school graduation requirements in Ohio are a source of great concern. Many current juniors are not on line to graduate.
• Programs that give college credit to high schoolers don’t know how they are going to handle students who can’t graduate high school and move to college.

Special Districts

Notes presented by Joe Cappel, V.P., Business Development, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

• Special districts contribute to quality of life which keeps young people in the area
• ·There are investments paying off right now: Overland Industrial Park, new Metroparks including one in downtown Toledo, Bike sharing program, new libraries
• The regional water plan is the best solution
• Regional planning and discussion is vital to economic development, road planning.

Non-governmental Members

Notes presented by Dennis McMickens, President & CEO, Safety Council of Northwest Ohio

• Business are concerned with protecting their property and employees
• Caucus members discussed creating emergency action plans including plans to address domestic violence that moves into the workplace.
• Private industry is concerned about cyber security

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