With barely a month to go, the Village of Swanton was faced with finding a new location for their widely popular Independence Day celebration when the American Fireworks Company rejected the previously approved location at Faith Lutheran Church. The Village Administration, working in conjunction with the Police, Fire and Maintenance Departments as well as local businesses, relocated the entire event to Memorial Park. What could have been a logistical nightmare turned out to be, like every year, a huge success. There was ample parking, a great viewing area and lots of food and drink offerings as thousands watched the bombs bursting in air.
Click on the link above to access photos from the celebration. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Here are some photos from today’s market event. If you have not been in downtown Swanton for a while you may notice a few subtle changes. By the time the next Downtown Market is held on August 6th, you will see several more. But you don’t need to wait until then to visit the shops on Main Street and witness the incredible transformation as it is taking place. Click on the link above to access or download all photos.
Following a lengthy closed-door Executive Session, the Swanton Village Council voted 5-1 to hire Shannon E. Shulters as the new Village Administrator at an annual salary of $65,000, replacing current Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle, whose resignation becomes effective July 5, 2022. Councilman Dave Pilliod made the motion for the hiring and voted to approve followed by yes votes from Council members Derek Kania, Patrick Messenger, Mikey Disbrow and Sam Disbrow. Councilwoman Dianne Westhoven cast the lone dissenting vote.
Ms. Shulters’ employment will begin on July 11, 2022 and will be subject to the standard background check, drug screening and six-month probationary period. To facilitate the transition, Council voted 6-0 to have Mayor Neil Toeppe and Finance Director Jason Vasko enter into negotiations with Ms. Hoelzle to remain employed by the Village on a part-time basis to work with Ms. Shulters.
Regarding the traffic lights at the intersection of Main and Church Streets, which have been malfunctioning for over a year now, it was reported in an earlier Council meeting that a safety assessment of that intersection determined there was not a need for traffic lights. Council solicited a quote for repairs or removal for the lights which came in at $6,000 to repair and $1,500 to remove.
Ms. Westhoven reminded Council the lights were originally installed when Swanton High School and later Swanton Junior High School were located in close proximity to that intersection resulting in heavy student foot traffic. That building, along with the foot traffic, has been gone for several years. Council voted 5-1 to remove the traffic lights and place stop signs on the east and west side of the intersection. Mr. Pilliod cast the lone dissenting vote. The Village’s maintenance crew will remove the lights to save the $1,500 expense. The traffic lights at the intersection of Main and Garfield Streets, which were also determined to be unnecessary, will remain in operation.
Council also voted unanimously to contract with Lammon Brothers Lawncare for the next three years to provide leaf collection at an annual cost of $26,800. Councilman Disbrow recommended the Village look into the feasibility of purchasing and maintaining a leaf collection unit in the future.
The State of Ohio recently passed House Bill 172 which allows any person authorized to possess consumer grade fireworks to discharge, ignite or explode fireworks on their property, or if permitted, on another person’s property on certain designated days of the year. The Bill also gives individual municipalities to opt out of the new law and disallow fireworks. The Village Council took no action to opt out and fireworks will be allowed on private property.
The next meeting will take place on July 18, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. preceeded by the Committee of the Whole at 6:00 p.m. in the Village Council Chambers at 219 Chestnut Street.
The Swanton Bulldogs dropped a double-header to the Findlay Trojans by scores of 12-8 and 23-7 on Thursday afternoon at the Junior Acme Summer High School baseball tournament played at Perrysburg High School. With the two losses, the Bulldogs end their season as Regional Runners-Up. The Trojans move on to the next round.
Click on the link above to access photos from the first game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
The Second Reading of Ordinance 22-09, Prohibiting the cultivation of marijuana; processing of medical marijuana; marijuana wholesalers; marijuana retailers; and “medical retail marijuana dispensaries” in the Village of Delta, Fulton County, Ohio, was approved by the Delta Village Council last night by a vote of 3-2.
Language in the ordinance referred to the legal right of the Village to prohibit marijuana-related activities despite it being legal in the State of Ohio and stated, “The Council for the Village of Delta has reviewed the pros and cons of allowing these activities and finds it would be in the best interest of the Village of Delta and its inhabitants to prohibit such activities.”
The one vote margin was the same as the approval margin on the First Reading of the ordinance. However, three weeks ago, when the Council vote was 3-3, Mayor Frank Wilton was obligated to cast the deciding vote. On this night, Councilman Chad Johnson, who had voted against the ban, was absent from the proceedings. The remaining Council members did not change their vote from the previous meeting with Lynn Frank, Mike Tanner and Art Thomas voting for the ban while Ashley Todd and Tony Dawson voted against.
Prior to the vote, Delta resident Jennifer Barnes addressed the Council, imploring them to adhere to the results of the advisory issue on the May 3rd election ballot. Ms. Barnes cited the 62.6% of Delta voters who were against having any type of marijuana-related facility within the Village limits as a clear validation of a marijuana ban approval.
A Third and Final Reading with a subsequent vote Council vote will be taken at the next regularly scheduled meeting on July 11, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall.
In other legislative news, the Council voted 5-0 to opt out of Ohio House Bill 172 which allows any person authorized to possess consumer grade fireworks to discharge, ignite or explode fireworks on their property, or if permitted, on another person’s property on certain designated days of the year.
The Council approved Emergency Ordinance 22-11, opting out of H.B.172 and reaffirming the ban on discharging, igniting or exploding fireworks in the Village of Delta. The ordinance further stated, “The Council for the Village of Delta has reviewed the pros and cons of allowing these activities and finds that it would be in the best interest of the Village and its inhabitants to opt out of H.B. 172 and continue to prohibit such activities.” The ordinance was passed as an emergency measure so it would be in effect prior to the July 4th holiday.
Pictured: Delta resident Jennifer Barnes addresses Council
The Swanton Lions Club held their Annual Installation Dinner on Friday evening at the Swanton Community Center and formally installed club officers for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The officers, who were elected during a meeting in April and were sworn in by Past District Governor Nick Schmunk, are as follows:
President–Travis Weigel, Vice President-Dr. Mark Jones, Second Vice President-Scot Lawson, Secretary-Holly Lawson, Treasurer-Bill O’Connell, Membership Chair-Jenny Salyers, Lion Tamer-Lloyd Cass, Tail Twister-Dr, Mark Jones
Many members of the club were recognized for their attendance and contributions to the Lions’ programs and events during the past year and outgoing President, Jeff Patch, was given a plaque in recognition of his outstanding leadership during his term. It was a peaceful transition of power.
The highlight of the evening came when long-time Lion member Scot Lawson was presented with the prestigious Melvin Jones Award by fellow members Dick Notestine and Penny Jones. This award is not given out very often and requires a large body of benevolent work to even be considered. The criteria for this award are below:
Exemplary service and dedication by a Lion to their club, their community and to Lions overall. Lions International recognizes outstanding individuals by bestowing on them an award that is named for its founder, Melvin Jones. This Fellowship Award is the highest form of recognition and embodies humanitarian ideas consistent with the nature and purpose of Lionism.
The Swanton Lions Club is looking forward to another great year of community service.
The Swanton Village Council met in a special meeting on June 6, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the hiring of six individuals for positions, three part-time and three full-time, in the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department (SFRD). The hiring recommendations came from Fire Chief Ed Dziengelewski in order to alleviate the excessive amount of overtime and shift shortages within the SFRD. The Council voted unanimously to approve all the recommendations.
The three part-time hirings, effective June 6, 2022, were Jayme Large at $15.00/Hour, Jillian Bozarth at $15.00/Hour and Nicholas Rohrs at $16.00/Hour. Each hiring is contingent on a successful completion of a drug screening and background check and will be subject to a six-month introductory period. All individuals agreed to work a minimum of 24 hours per month.
The three full-time hirings, effective June 12, 2022, were Ashley Terry at $15.60/Hour, Colin Fessenden at $15.60/Hour and Brian Groves at $17.00/Hour. Like their part-time colleagues, each hiring is contingent on a successful completion of a drug screening and background check and will be subject to a six-month introductory period. These individuals understand they must reimburse the Village for the expenses of the drug screening and background check if they leave within 24 months of their hiring date. Mr. Fessenden has also agreed to earn a State of Ohio Paramedic license no later than December 31, 2024.
This meeting was live-streamed on the Village’s Facebook page per the Village of Swanton’s new live-streaming policy. It will remain available to the public for viewing until June 6, 2023.
This past Sunday afternoon, just two days after the grand opening of the Heavy Wheelhouse Brewery in Oak Openings Metropark, a second on-site brewery, Oncore Brewing, held a soft opening for family members, friends, investors and several local business owners.
The owners are Keith Baker and Dale Black, both of whom have been home brewing for many years. Keith serves as the Head Brewer as well as the business’s contractor, having been in the construction and contracting industry since 1999. Dale provides a lot of financial backing in addition to his brewing experience.
The name of the business, Oncore Brewing, is a tribute to Keith’s late father, Kenny, who was a drummer in local bands around the Rising Sun, Ohio area. Both Keith and Kenny shared a passion for music and beer. At the end of a gig, Kenny’s band would play an encore after he would announce, “One More N We’re Goin!” The “E” in encore is replaced by an “O” which represents the power button on the sound equipment used by the band members.
You can see more of the tribute reflected in the interior design and their outside marquee and with their beer tap handles, which are all drum sticks. The grand opening will take place sometime in July once they receive their occupancy permit. Oncore Brewing is located at 14249 Airport Highway in Swanton in a small strip mall just west of McDonalds that also includes Subway, Twisted Nutrition and Ko’s Garden restaurant.
Click on the link above to access photos from the soft opening.
After being unable to use first, the grounds at Swanton High School and later, the grounds at Faith Lutheran Church on County Road H, the Village of Swanton has settled on a third and firm location to celebrate the 2022 Independence Day, with their annual spectacular fireworks display. The event, considered one of the best in Northwest Ohio, will take place at Memorial Park with the launch area situated up on the hill in the parking lot close to the softball diamond.
For many years the fireworks were shot off on Swanton Schools property, however, some of the falling debris would land on the roof of the high schools, causing damage over time. This damage was partially responsible for the roof needing to be recently replaced at a cost of $375,000. To protect the new roof from further damage, school officials declined to host the event this year and going forward.
Faith Lutheran Church, with their new location and spacious property, offered to host the popular display. However, after the Village accepted their gracious offer, the church’s grounds plans, which included a pollinator prairie and garden, were implemented which changed the fireworks’ launch location. The American Fireworks Company reevaluated the new launch location and determined it did not meet the 350 feet distance from structures and advised the Village a to search for another site.
With little time to work with, the Swanton Village Administration along with the Fire Department and the Police Department began looking for a new site that would not only allow the fireworks to be shot off but also allow the public adequate parking and observation areas. Many area businesses surrounding the park area were contacted and agreed to allow the public to park on their private lots. Plan “C” is now in place for July 2, 2022 with the first launch scheduled to go off at dusk.
At tonight’s Village Council meeting, Mayor Neil Toeppe gave an update on the fireworks event. He stated he understood the school’s position on wanting to protect their facilities and he thanked the members of Faith Lutheran Church for stepping up to host the event even though, ultimately, it did not work out.
“I cannot speak highly enough about the work that’s been done by the Fire Chief, the Police Chief, Public Services, the folks in the office in trying to arrange everything in finding a location, working with American Fireworks, talking to the vendors to find a proper location for water and electric hookup,” said Mr. Toeppe. He also thanked Councilwoman Sam Disbrow for designing a map (below) showing parking and viewing locations in the Village. More information will soon be posted on the Village’s Facebook page and website.
Oak Openings Preserve, the largest of Toledo’s Metroparks, is widely known for its miles of exciting and challenging bike trails, beautiful lakes, lodges and shelter houses, walking trails, horse trails and of course, the Cannaley Tree House Village. After this weekend, you can now add the Heavy Wheelhouse (Beer) Brewery and Black Kite Coffee to its long list of activity and entertainment offerings.
As explained by Head Brewer and self-described “Risk Taker” Dave Alying, the “Heavy” in the name of the brewery was inspired by his attitude and mind-set when it came to taking the scary leap into a new business and career. “Our mantra is ‘Heavy into It’. Don’t go into something lightly. If you’re going to do it, go all the way,” said Mr. Alying, who has 15 years of experience brewing beer.
A public park may seem like an unusual place for a brewery, but, by all accounts, it is a welcome addition to the uniqueness that is Oak Openings. “This is a partnership between the Toledo Metroparks and Toledo Spirits,” said Mike Keedy, Director of Enterprise Development for the Metroparks. “I’m working with Heavy to develop this establishment. It is a collaboration between Heavy Brewing Company and Black Kite Coffee. There will be coffee service in the morning and the beer is brewed right on his site.”
The facility is located on the Beach Ridge Bike Trail which comes off State Route 64 or 3520 Waterville-Swanton Road, just south of Airport Highway. It is also conveniently located for guests staying in the Cannaley Tree House Village which sits a couple of hundred yards to the west, deeper in the woods.
Currently, the Heavy Wheelhouse is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. They can be contacted by phone at 419-662-9521.
Click on the link above to access photos of the new brewery.
Fulton County Ohio Media 