Fulton County Ohio Media

At the Monday, August 8^th, Village Council meeting, Council members voted unanimously to approve the First Reading of an ordinance to amend Chapter 33 of the Swanton Village Code pertaining to other departments, boards and commissions by establishing an Economic Development Commission (EDC).  This legislation had been advocated by Mayor Neil Toeppe during his first two years in office but was consistently rejected and voted down by the previous Council.  Mr. Toeppe maintained, as his reasoning for the EDC, was to increase the local tax base by attracting businesses as opposed to increasing taxes on the residents or scale back local services such as police, fire and infrastructure.  “The cost of government will only go up,” he said.

As partially stated in the ordinance, this new Commission would provide input from all aspects of the Swanton business community and be representative of the business community and residents of the Village of Swanton.  The members would provide a sounding board, researching and analyzing issues affecting economic development in the Village.

The duties of the EDC shall include:

 – Make recommendations on matters relating the improvement of sound economic growth and business development in the Village,

– Examine opportunities for fostering an attractive climate for businesses within the Village with respect to both existing and potential new business establishments.

– Recommend additional steps and measures to promote economic growth by retaining businesses and attracting new commerce and industry.

– Cooperate with Village elected officials and staff to realize appropriate goals and objectives relating to sound business practices and better employment opportunities.

Membership. The mayor shall appoint three (3) members of the Commission.  The mayor shall be ex-officio a voting member of this commission, The Commission shall consist of up to 5 members.  Each member shall be appointed for a three (3) year term, except for the initial members whose terms shall be staggered at one (1) year intervals. The 3 persons appointed to the Commission shall be persons whose business, occupational or professional activities are carried on in a substantial degree within the Village or have an interest in the economic success of the Village of Swanton.  Additional members may be appointed by the mayor in an ad hoc basis depending on the various needs of the EDC. These members’ terms shall be limited to specific needs of the EDC. The mayor may appoint a member of council for a one (1) year term. Council members may not serve consecutive terms.  The members of the Commission shall serve without compensation.

Prior to the vote, Mike Jay, Director of Strategic Networks for the Regional Growth Partnership of Northwest Ohio, addressed the Council and emphasized how critical the legislation was to Swanton.  He explained to the members how companies will use site consultants when looking to expand or establish themselves in a new area.  Often these consultants will investigate a community without its knowledge and having an EDC in place lets them know that community would be willing to cooperate in an effort to acquire new businesses.

Also speaking before Council was Swanton resident John Schmidt.  Mr. Schmidt had circulated a petition to have the creation of an EDC put on the ballot to let the voters decide after the previous Council would not agree to it.  He related the reaction he received from fellow residents when he asked that they sign the petition.

“I had the opportunity to meet a lot of different people from many demographics,” said Mr. Schmidt.  “Everyone wanted to sign the petition for the creation of an Economic Development Commission.  And every one of them had their own specific reason.  Primarily, it was service.  The cost of service keeps rising, but nobody’s coming into the Village to share in the costs of these increases.  And why is that?”  Mr. Schmidt also said many of the residents he spoke to wanted to know why they always had to bear the brunt of the cost increases and that there was a lot of anger expressed toward the Council that was seated at the time.

There will be two more readings of the ordinance, one each at the next two regularly scheduled Council meetings, August 22^nd and September 12^th.  If both are approved the legislation will take effect 30 days from then.

Pictured: Mike Jay, Director of Strategic Networks for the Regional Growth Partnership of Northwest Ohio,

It has recently come to my attention there is a relatively new publication called Black Swamp Football that provides in depth coverage of 53 high school football programs from Northwest Ohio. This includes all NWOAL teams and features an analysis of their offense, defense, special teams and their chances for success in the league. Below is a list of locations where the magazine may be purchased. You can also go to blackswampfootball.com for more information.

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The Swanton Bulldogs opened their home golf schedule by hosting the Bulldog Invitational on Monday, 8/8/22, at Swanton’s Valleywood Golf Club and finished third overall out of nine teams.  The Bulldog golfers, led by senior Ryan O’Shea’s round of 78, fired a 324 to place behind the champion Anthony Wayne Generals’ score of 309 and the runner-up Ottawa Hills Green Bears’ score of 312.

Rounding out the rest of the field were the Otsego Knights (361), the Emmanuel Christian Warriors (398), the Delta Panthers (453), the Evergreen Vikings (457), the Springfield Blue Devils (506) and the Northwood Rangers (DNF).  Medalist Honors went to Avery Watson of Anthony Wayne who shot a three under par 70. 

In addition to O’Shea’s 78 which earned him a spot on the All-Invitational Team, other Bulldog golfers factoring in the team scoring were Lucas Bloom (80), Mazin Rukieh (81) and Adam Lemon (85).  Ethan Bonifas shot a 100 and Brady O’Shea had a 119.

Team total scores for the Panthers were Adam Mattin (100), Slade Young (106), Walter Hallet (109) and Logan Ringle (138).  Drew Smith shot a 139 and Ashton Alig had a 154.

Team total scores for the Vikings were Adam Schmidt (104), Caden Beier (114), Logan Peebles (114) and Ayden Gleckler (125).  Mike Laver shot a 125.

Click on the link above to access photos from the Invitational. Photos are inn the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of fultoncountymedia.com.

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The Delta Chamber of Commerce held their Dancing in the Street event in a new venue this year, the Delta Community Park. Traditionally held on the lot on the corner of Main and Madison Streets, the new location provided much more space for the food and drink set-ups and more room for people to mingle or sit and listen to music or even to dance. There was also for more parking and no need to block off any streets.

Click on the link above to access photos from the evening. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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Click on the link above to access free photos from the event. The next Swanton Downtown Market will take place on Saturday, September 3, 2022.

Following an executive session during the August 1^st Delta Village Council meeting, Council members unanimously (6-0) approved the sending of a letter to officials of Pike Township, York Township, Pike-Delta-York School District and the Fulton County Commissioners regarding the annexation of property for the Nova Steel & Tube manufacturing facility and the property’s initial tax obligations.  The letter read as follows:

Recently, 11 out of 12 property owners representing approximately 538 acres, signed a petition requesting to be annexed to the Village of Delta.

Village Council recognizes economic development for this community has new challenges which are important to the continued growth and development of our village, school district, townships and county.

Respecting the position of all public agencies, we understand that new and additional revenues are needed.  With the anticipated approval of the annexation petition being considered, Delta Village Council is prepared to alter its position regarding the expansion of the pre 1994 Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) to address these concerns.

The Village of Delta will amend its pre 1994 CRA one last time incorporating the Nova Steel & Tube property, understanding this commitment was made during their search for a location.  The Village will create a new CRA under the post 1994 status for the properties requesting to be annexed.  Currently, this reduces the percentage of abatement that can be approved solely by the Village from 100% to 50%.  The Village also plans to extend the term of abatements for the post 1994 program from the current 10 years to the maximum allowable 15 years.

Please know that the Delta Village Council sincerely looks forward to partnering with each of your agencies as we all work toward the betterment and mutual benefit of our region.

Should there be questions, please address them to Village Council in writing so they can be reviewed, understood and appropriately responded to.

The letter was signed by Mayor Frank Wilton and Council President Mike Tanner.

The Village of Delta recently sent out a survey questionnaire regarding the Delta Community Park asking for input on the pool (replace, fix or eliminate), sports fields (soccer, baseball and softball) and other various amenities (tennis/pickleball courts and others).  In response to the survey, Delta resident and former Pike-Delta-York Schools Superintendent, Jay LeFevre, sent an e-mail to members of the Village Council, Mayor Frank Wilton and Administrator Brad Peebles with concerns about the content of the survey and the park itself. Below are excerpts from Mr. LeFevre’s correspondence:

My main reason for reaching out is regarding the park survey.  I found the survey to be very minimal, narrow and limited in scope.  Half of the survey is about the pool, with no supporting data for the high costs of the two “options,” and with nothing at all about many other aspects of the park.  Other than the narrow pool “question,” the survey only asks about athletic fields and courts, with no mention of shelter houses, playground equipment, trees/beautification, etc.

Many trees have been removed, for good cause I am told (maintenance, structures, etc.), but I am concerned that it appears we only remove trees (in the park and in the village).  I am not aware of any efforts or plans to add trees where deemed appropriate for shade and/or other attempts to maintain and improve the “beautification” of the parks.  Do we have any long term “tree program” to help both with ease of park maintenance and the beauty of the park?  If not, perhaps we need to bring back the park committee, tree board, and other committees that used to facilitate these processes.

I worry that we are at risk of a lack of consistency and efficacy as council, mayor and administrators change over the years.  While more time consuming, committees certainly provide more in-depth research, better awareness for council members, and more thorough decision making. They are common to effective councils, school boards, and other governing bodies. 

Not mentioned in the survey, we also have shelter houses, play grounds, restrooms, concession stands, sidewalks/paths, rules (like no alcohol in the park), for which council should be seeking input.   A valid survey would include all aspects of the park and then is most helpful if followed up with a more focused survey based on the initial feedback. A well formulated survey does take extra effort, but it certainly provides better guidance that one with few questions and vague references. If council is genuinely working to create a long term, meaningful plan, I suggest seeking much more information and input that this limited survey will provide.

Regarding the pool, the projected costs for a new pool or repair, the two “options” presented, seem exorbitant.  Both options seem high to me and without any supporting information.  And there is not mention of current millage and how it impacts these options.  I would like have a copy of the estimates for repairs with projected costs.  (I assume there are multiple estimates and would like to see what exactly the problem is and the associated costs.)  While I’ve never been a regular pool user, I am aware that many similar size and smaller towns have local pools and manage the costs, so I’m skeptical to be told we in Delta cannot manage the same.  I’m proud that we have a pool, and have always been glad to support it with tax dollars.  But I find it difficult to understand how we’ve managed for all these years, and suddenly we need 6.5 mills for twenty years.  I assume council, the mayor, or the administrator have “compared notes” with other villages and towns to see how they are functioning in regards to a community pool.  I would be interested to see that data.

And in the mindset of not just “complaining” but more-so about helping positively, I would be happy to join an informal group of community members to assist in this process if council found value in creating some sort of advisory committee. 

The mayor and council are there to fully represent the best interests of the community, and well-developed surveys, along with committees (council and citizen advisory) are critical in that process, as I see it.

To be clear, I appreciate the idea of the survey. I am not intending to overlook any efforts to improve the overall park and the village, and I realize things are getting done and you all are taking things on with the intent to better this community.  I genuinely appreciate the public service of members of council.  Perhaps some of my questions can be answered simply by meeting with the mayor?  I look forward getting copies of documents as requested above pertaining the pool, and to being better informed about the questions and concerns I’ve raised.

At the Monday , August 1^st, Council meeting, Mr. LeFevre, who was in attendance, was asked by Mayor Wilton if he would like to address the Council regarding his email.  Mr. LeFevre declined.  The Mayor then addressed the email and told Mr. LeFevre that a response was in progress.

“I just wanted to bring that up so you’re aware of it,” said Mr. Wilton.  “There are more questions than what was in the survey and we’re looking at several different things.  We don’t want to just throw it together.  You’re addressing some of the questions that we’re addressing also.  We will put together a committee and actually have a meeting in the future about the park and everything that goes on with that.  There is more coming out on that than what was in the survey.  We just wanted to get an idea on that.”

There was no further discussion on the email, but Mr. Peebles reported that the Village had received 108 responses from the 1,350 surveys delivered to the post office by the July 29^th deadline.  “We’ll start to tabulate those and Council will hopefully see a report as to the findings at the next meeting,” said the Administrator.

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Click on the link above to access almost 500 photos from the parade. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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These photos are from Friday night and can be accessed by clicking on the link above. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for free courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

At the July 18^th Village Council meeting, Council members approved the following personnel moves:

Offered employment to Brice Nemire with the Swanton Public Service Department, Public Works and Utilities Division, as a Public Works and Utilities Laborer at a rate of $18.00 per hour.  Mr. Nemire is subject to a 12-month introductory period and a continuation of his leave, should he have any remaining from his previous employment with the Village.

Offer employment to Dustin Makula with the Swanton Water Treatment Plant as a Water Treatment Plant Operator at a rate of $20.00 per hour, contingent upon the successful completion of a drug screening and background check.  Mr. Makula is subject to a 12-month introductory period and a proration of his leave.

Offered part-time employment to Wendy Waisner with the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department as a Paramedic and Firefighter at a rate of $17.00 per hour, contingent upon the successful completion of a drug screening, background check, and physical examination. Ms. Waisner is subject to a 6-month introductory period.

Offered part-time employment to Abigail Zunk with the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department as a Paramedic and Firefighter at a rate of $17.00 per hour, contingent upon the successful completion of a drug screening, background check, and physical examination.  Ms. Zunk is subject to a 6-month introductory period.

Offered part-time employment to Bruce Barnes with the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department as an EMT and Firefighter at a rate of $15.50 per hour, contingent upon the successful completion of a drug screening, background check, and physical examination.  Mr. Barnes is subject to a 6-month introductory period.

Accepted the reclassification of Nicholas Rohrs, from part-time to full-time member of the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department.  Mr. Rohrs will have prorated leave, but no change to his 6-month introductory period.

Accepted the resignation of Shawn Bowman, from the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department, effective July 22, 2022.

Offered employment to Claire Smith with the Swanton Village Administration as the Community Development Assistant at a rate of $15.70 per hour, contingent upon the successful completion of a drug screening and background check.  Ms. Smith is subject to a 12-month introductory period and a proration of her leave.