Fulton County Ohio Media

Village Administrator Brad Peebles informed Council members at their April 4^th meeting that an updated cost estimation for replacement of the Delta Community Pool had risen to $5.1 million from an earlier $4.5 million estimate.  Mr. Peebles made a reference to this possibility during the Council’s final meeting of 2021.

“Unfortunately, the anticipated costs just continue to escalate.  In large part it’s just because of the economic conditions we are currently in.  Even if we wait, I don’t know if the costs are going to come down.  All indications are the costs are elevated and they’re going to remain elevated,” he cautioned last December.

Mr. Peebles related cost information he received in a phone conversation with the engineering firm of Peterman Associates.  “Their estimates have been updated based their conversations with a pool manufacturer.  Based upon the amenities that we had discussed with Peterman and the fact that we are retaining the competition component of the pool, the current estimate for the building and the bathhouse and a pool is 5.1 million dollars,” he explained.  “If we eliminate diving boards, if we eliminate the rock-climbing wall which was one of the amenities or features that we had tried to incorporate, we can also reduce the depth of the pool, we can reduce it to $4.5 million.”

Bond funding information for the pool project was also updated by Mr. Peebles.  “When we had talked before, we were looking at bonds rates, interest rates of 3% for a 20-year term.  Interest rates are going up.  In today’s market, interest rate on a 20-year bond is 4.5% and there is no guarantee it’s going to stay there,” he said.

From there the discussion turned to the legislation and ballot language which would need to be submitted to and approved by the Fulton County Board of Elections by August 3, 2022 to be considered by the voters of Delta for the November election.  According to Mr. Peebles, if the Village were to request a 20-year 4.5-million-dollar bond issue it would take 6.2 mils to support it.  He also said the new pool would require an additional 1.0 mil for operating expenses on top of the 1.25 mil already in existence for pool maintenance. 

The Village of Delta’s November 2022 ballot would include two pool funding issues totaling 7.2 mils which, according to Delta’s Financial Director Stephanie Mossing, would equate to approximately $265 per $100,000 of Village property value.  Currently, one mil in Delta generates approximately $56,000 in annual tax revenue.

Another source of funding, the creation of a Park District, was mentioned by Mr. Peebles.  “I do think the conversation with regards to a Park District needs to be had.  In looking at those same numbers, if we were to apply a Park District to the same geographical boundary as the Pike-Delta-York School system, that levy goes to 1.72 mils,” he explained. 

The Administrator went on to support his recommendation by informing the Council that less than 50% of all pool passes issued each year are to residents of the Village and numbers were similar for the use of the ball fields and other Community Park activities.  “I’m not saying they shouldn’t be entitled to it but, others are using the park and the Village residents are, ultimately, paying the majority of the bills,” he stated.

The Park District would be its own taxing entity and be managed by a coalition of representatives from the different areas of the PDY School District.

Pictured:  Delta Village Administrator Brad Peebles provides new pool details at December 2021 Council meeting.

After standing on the podium with an eighth-place finish in the Ohio Division III State Wrestling Tournament in Columbus this past March, Delta Panther senior Evan Perry has decided to continue his wrestling career and education this coming Fall at Lourdes University in Sylvania.  Competing in the 157-pound weight class, Evan helped the Panthers finish as runners-up in the NWOAL Tournament, Sectional Tournament Champions, District Tournament Runners-Up and fourth place in the State DIII Tournament.

Evan’s performance on the mat this year was made even more remarkable by the fact he was coming off a broken wrist sustained during the football season as the team’s starting linebacker.  “I’m very excited for him.  He’s worked his butt off,” said his father, Jacob Perry.  “He went into the season with high goals of getting down there to the state tournament, getting on the podium.  He was feeling some pain from the wrist but he went down there and had a great finish to the season.”

While at Lourdes, Evan will be majoring in something in the medical field although he has yet to choose a specific discipline.  In addition to its academics, he chose to attend Lourdes because it was close to home, he liked the atmosphere and he said it “just felt like the right place.”

Pictured:  Evan Perry signs with Lourdes University Gray Wolves. Delta Wrestling Coach Mark Nagel and father Jacob Perry on his right and mother Tammy Taylor and Lourdes Wrestling Coach Dock Kelly III on his left.

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The Swanton Bulldogs twice overcame two-run deficits then hung on to defeat the Pettisville Blackbirds 9-8. The road victory gave the Bulldogs an early season 2-0 record. Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

The Swanton Village Council recently voted unanimously to approve the Village’s Live Stream Policy, after it was reviewed and modified by their solicitor Ken Murphree, of the Heban, Murphree and Lewandowski Law Firm.  With that decision, the Council members are putting in place the most vital tool available designed to bring transparency and accountability to the Village of Swanton’s elected and appointed officials.

Soon, when the audio and visual recording equipment arrives and is installed, anyone with access to Facebook will have the opportunity to view the proceedings of the Swanton Village Council, Planning Commission, Tree Commission or any other special meeting or newly created commission.  These proceedings can be watched in real time or at the convenience of the viewer, on a computer, tablet or phone and will have a 12-month expiration date.

We have all heard over the years from people who just become aware of an action taken by local government comments such as “I hadn’t heard that” or “When did that happen?” or, my favorite, “Nobody told me”.  Even better, “Why didn’t somebody let me know?”  While I do not expect those comments to disappear, I would hope to hear them less and less as the citizenry becomes more knowledgeable of the information resources available today.  And there are a lot of them, well beyond actually attending a meeting in person.

I have to give a lot of credit to Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle who, in her five years on the job, has greatly improved and increased communication and access to information on what is going on in the Village with respect to how local government decisions are or will be impacting the lives of Swanton’s residents and business owners.  She created a quarterly newsletter called the Village Voice, upgraded the Village’s Facebook page, enhanced the Village’s website by adding more information and making it more user friendly and often alerts residents to important and/or sudden events through internet postings.  Ms. Hoelzle also consistently encourages anyone with questions to call the Village Offices at 419-826-9515 or email Village officials.

Other good sources of information include the local periodicals such as the Swanton Enterprise/Fulton County Expositor, the Toledo Blade and the Village Reporter.  Local Facebook pages are another information source but are not the most reliable and should be verified before believing what is posted.

I must also include my Blog/Website, fultoncountymedia.com, as a supplemental source of information.  The articles I write are based on facts as I know them.  The editorials I write are my opinions on the facts as I understand them and what impact I believe they have on our community.  But even with my blog, I encourage you to check further.

The point is this.  If anyone wants to be informed about what the Swanton’s political leaders are doing for their constituents and if the administration is managing the day-to-day operations of the Village in a fiscally responsible manner, it takes a very small amount of effort on the part of the individual.  When live streaming of the meetings begins, there will be virtually no reasonable excuse for anyone not to be informed of how they are being governed and how their tax dollars are being spent.  Then, more than ever, being uninformed will be a choice.

In order to be in compliance with the Ohio EPA’s overhauled 1991 Lead and Copper Rule, which went into effect in December of 2021, the Village of Swanton will be working on a project to complete eight tasks to meet the new requirements before October 16, 2024.  The goal of this project will be to provide the EPA with a map of where all potential lead water lines may be located within the Village.  The tasks are as follows:

1.  Develop an inventory of all service lines, including public-side and private-side materials and make it publicly available.
2. Verify as many service lines of unknown material as possible because unknown materials are classified as lead service lines (LSL) unless evidence proves otherwise.
3. If system has LSLs, prepare an LSL replacement plan.
4. Revise sampling protocols and communications for 5^th liter sampling if there are LSLs in the system.
5. Revise sampling pool location to align with the new sampling tiers.
6. Prepare a sampling plan and communications for lead testing in schools.
7. Review corrosion control treatment by evaluating 5^th liter LSL samples and re-optimize if needed.
8. Prepare public notifications and sample notifications and have them ready to meet quick response times.

The cost of this mapping project is estimated to be $43,000 which will be funded with a grant from the State of Ohio.  The actual mapping work will be done by an outside source.

According to Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle, the Village, which must comply with the new rule, has started the identifying process by eliminating homes built after the early 1980’s and referring to documents showing where other water lines would have been replaced during infrastructure projects.  Ms. Hoelzle places the approximate number of potential LSL taps within the Village limits at 750, some of which are suspect due to a lack of record keeping from decades ago.

“Who covers replacement costs,” asked Councilman Derek Kania in the event a private property is found to have an LSL.  “That’s a really great question,” responded Ms. Hoelzle.  “That’s going to be a conversation the Council is going to have to have.”  She added that an LSL that runs from the curb to the house is the responsibility of the property owner.  Ms. Hoelzle also said that the City of Toledo is using some public funding to replace their LSLs.

Later in the March 28^th Council meeting, an Emergency Resolution was approved to apply for the state grant to fully fund the Ohio EPA mandated mapping project.

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Great job by Ms. Dixon and the student cast and crew of Delta High School. Click on the link above to access photos from the show. 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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Another great musical put on by veteran director Julie Zedlitz, her staff and the enormous and talented student cast. Click on the link above to access just over 400 photos from the show. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On April 27, 2022, the Sixth District Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Fulton County for the first time since 2013.

The Ohio courts of appeals are established in the Ohio constitution and their primary function is to decide appeals from the common pleas, municipal, and county courts.   The state is divided into twelve appellate districts.  The Sixth District Court of Appeals has its courthouse in Toledo and decides appeals from all trial courts across Erie, Fulton, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams, and Wood counties.  All cases are heard and decided by a three-judge panel, comprised of judges who are elected to their position by voters within this same region.  There are five elected judges on the Sixth District Court of Appeals: Presiding Judge Myron Duhart and Judges Mark Pietrykowski, Thomas Osowik, Christine Mayle and Gene Zmuda.

The Sixth District Court of Appeals functions much like the Ohio or United States Supreme Court in that it determines whether the decision of the lower court should be affirmed or reversed, and its decisions become binding law, or precedent, for future cases within its eight-county territory.

The Sixth District Court of Appeals normally hears oral arguments at its courthouse in Toledo.  On April 27, 2022, the court will hold a special session of oral arguments in the renovated Fulton County courthouse. The following cases will be heard, beginning promptly at 10:00 a.m.:

Row v. Row

Case No. L-21-1231

State of Ohio v. Rafael Sepeda

Case No. L-21-1123

Henry County Bank v. Dudley

Case Nos. L-21-1192 & 1254

The three-judge panel for these cases will consist of Presiding Judge Myron Duhart and Judges Christine Mayle and Gene Zmuda.  

These arguments are open to the public.  Attendees are encouraged to arrive at the courthouse twenty minutes ahead of time.

Questions regarding the April 27^th session may be directed to Sixth District Court of Appeals Court Administrator Jason A. Hill.  Mr. Hill may be reached at (419) 213-4577.

M. Jason Vasko, recently hired as the Village’s new Finance Director, was introduced to last night to the Swanton Village Council at their regularly scheduled Council meeting.  His hiring fills the void left by Jennifer Harkey who resigned earlier this year to take a similar position with the City of Maumee.

Mr. Vasko was born and raised in Metamora and graduated from Evergreen High School. He studied Accounting and Business Management at Defiance College and has a Master’s in Business Administration from Lourdes University.

Jason resides in Archbold, Ohio with his wife and three sons, where he is the Scoutmaster for Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Troop 63. When not working, he enjoys spending his time camping or with his family.

Pictured:  Swanton’s new Finance Director, M. Jason Vasko

At the March meeting of the Swanton Board of Education (BOE), Superintendent Chris Lake introduced Eric Keller as the Bulldog’s new head football coach.  Coach Keller is an alum of Swanton High School and has an extensive high school coaching background in both football and track.  His football coaching resume includes 15 years as the head coach at Sylvania Northview and many years as an assistant at Northview, Rossford and, for the past two years, here at Swanton.  Mr. Keller recently retired after 36 years of teaching high school science but still occasionally teaches as a substitute.

“Two weeks ago,” was the response Coach Keller gave when asked when the next football would begin.  He has started weight training session for athletes not involved in baseball or track.  “They have to get used to my style and the way I run the weight room and they way I run the program,” said Keller.  “Once the Spring sports are over and the summer starts, I’m looking for that buy-in and to get the community and everyone on board.”

The Bulldog football program is looking to bounce back from several lean years, including a 0-10 record in 2021 but Coach Keller is enthusiastic and optimistic about the future.  “I’m really excited about our coaches.  Having done this so long and knowing myself, I’m really confident with what I’m doing and I think I’m pretty good working with kids,” he said.

Pictured: New Swanton Head Football Coach Eric Keller