Fulton County Ohio Media

Ryan Ripke is stepping down as the Head Girls’ Basketball Coach at Delta High School after 11 seasons.  “I want to thank the Delta administration, community, and parents for all their support.  In my opinion, I had the best coaching job at Delta because of the hard-working and selfless groups of young women that I had the privilege of coaching,” said Coach Ripke.  “So, I have to thank all those girls for buying in to our philosophy, and it is because of them, I coached for so long.  I also want to thank the assistants who supported me and helped us succeed: Larry Bruce, Kelsey Girlie, Jon Mignin, Nate Ruple and Ron Rouleau.”  

In his 11 seasons, the Delta Lady Panthers won 182 games, three NWOAL championships, eight Sectional titles and two District Championships.  Ripke coached six 1,000-point scorers, six different All-State players, five players who went on to play at the collegiate level as well as others who played college volleyball, soccer and softball.  “I was privileged to coach many talented basketball players,” he said.  “A few of them achieved great individual accomplishments, but there were many others who contributed just as much to our success but didn’t get the recognition as the others.  These 11 years were definitely a team effort and everything we did was ‘as one’.  Thank you.”

Pictured:  Coach Ripke cuts down the net just after claiming his second OHSAA DIII Girls District Championship with his final victory with the Delta Lady Panthers.   

Swanton Village Council President Craig Rose, opened the March 22^nd Council meeting by relating the first of several decisions made during the Committee of the Whole (CW) meeting held earlier in the evening, and informed all in attendance that the Village would be using Hennes Communications for public relations work when required.  Hennes Communications is a North American firm that is exclusively focused on crisis management and crisis communications and deals with a litany of issues including social media attacks.

“We would like to give Ms. Hoelzle (Administrator Rosanna) the approval to contract with them.  We’re only going to be using them for certain instances when we need it,” said Mr. Rose in the CW.  And, we only get billed as we use them.  This is not a contractual or monthly obligation.  We’re only giving her permission to use them and we also, as we discussed, have final approval on anything that is written or put out by this PR group.  So, we’d like her to move on with them.”

Dave Pilliod was the only Council member to voice an objection with the decision.  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.  Why do we need them?” he said.  “There’s going to be a lot of instances where we’re going to need them coming in the future here as well.  We’re going to need a professional group to respond,” said Mr. Rose explaining the decision.

“Why can’t we respond?” countered Mr. Pilliod.  “It’s because none of us are professional PR folks here.  That’s not what we do,” answered Mr. Rose.  “And when we get into a situation where we feel we have to have them, we want to have these people on board to do that.  We’ve already contacted them and we’ve discussed fees and all those good things.  And when we decide we have a situation which arises that we’ll need professional help they’re going to be the folks going to deal with.” “Who’s paying for this?” asked Mr. Pilliod.  “The Village is going to pay for it,” said Mr. Rose.

No current or potential future specific instances were identified that would make the employment of Hennes Communications necessary and no monetary amount for their services was discussed during the meeting.  However, a follow-up email was sent to Administrator Hoelzle asking what fee might the Village be charged for services.  “If/when a need arises, Hennes Communications will assist with communication material; they charge $400 per hour,” she wrote back.

Pictured:  Swanton Village Council President Craig Rose

During the Public Comments portion of the March 15^th Delta Village Council meeting, Delta resident Kyle Comers addressed the members, giving his opinion on his preferred direction of the Village and how it differed from the Council’s.  Mr. Comers was one of three candidates interviewed for the recent vacant Council seat that was eventually given to Art Thomas.  He explained he was there to better express his views on the future of Delta than he was able to do during the interview process.

“I just want to give a statement of my views of the path forward for the Village or how I would like to see the Village run.  I understand it’s different on how the Council sees it, said Mr. Comer.  “I just feel the purpose of municipal government, especially a small village like ours, is to provide very general services and public safety.  Actively pursuing a policy of population growth and trying to get people to come here, I just don’t see that as a requirement of small municipal government.  I look at villages like Fayette, Lyons and Metamora that manage to stay small and grow and aren’t doing what we’re doing.”

Mr. Comers did admit he was unaware of the policies of those other local governments or what their respective visions were for their future, but he did say he was essentially counting on Delta to remain small when he moved there.  He also said that an increased tax base gained from an increased population would not be enough to maintain an already stressed infrastructure, especially when some of the population growth is fueled by tax abatements.

Also questioned by Mr. Comer was the Council’s perceived direction the citizens of Delta wanted to go versus his perceived belief of the direction Village residents want to be taken.  As an example, he brought up the plan for a municipal electric company the Council had placed on the ballot several years ago that was “soundly defeated” by the voters.  “I have a sense the people are not 100% on board with what’s going on,” said Mr. Comer and further stated that the Council had chosen someone, in Mr. Thomas, who they knew was on board with their agenda to fill the vacant seat just to protect their agenda.  There was no response to Mr. Comers other than to thank him for his comments.

In other news, Village Administrator Brad Peebles related some details of a recent Zoom meeting conducted with the District liaison from Senator Sherrod Brown’s office regarding the Biden Administration’s Recover America program.  The program includes funding for USDA projects which allows the Village to proceed again with applying for the Grant/Loan program to assist with the reconstruction of Fernwood Street from Wood Street to Taylor Street

Another benefit of President Biden’s program is the likelihood of a stimulus payment to the Village without stipulation.  The initial draft of payments based upon census population indicate Delta may receive as much as $610,000.  There was no established time frame for these payments and it was clear this could change before actually taking place.

Pictured:  Kyle Comers addresses Council on Delta’s future direction.

The Swanton Board of Education (BOE) held a relatively short meeting on March 17, 2021 before entering into an executive session.  In his Superintendent’s Report, Chris Lake commented on the efforts of the Fulton County Health Department in administering the COVID-19 Vaccination Program for the District.  “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fulton County Health Director Kim Cupp and her entire team at the health department for their efforts in getting our staff vaccinated a couple of weeks ago,” said Mr. Lake.   “The level of organization for the event was very impressive and everything ran like clockwork. Everyone who worked the clinic was incredibly professional and kind and took great care of all the Swanton employees who were there. I can’t thank them enough for putting on the event and for helping us to get one step closer to a return to normal.”  Swanton Schools have been in session since the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic school year.

Treasurer Joyce Kinsman presented a list of donations for a variety of funds to the District. The District received $10,000 from Swanton Athletic Boosters to Permanent Improvement Fund (003), $119.38 from Lifetouch to Recreation Program (013), $130.23 from Lifetouch to Swanton High School Principal’s Account (018/9330), $124.51 from Lifetouch to Swanton Middle School Principal’s Account (018/9391), $2,200 from Swanton Athletic Boosters to Athletic Fund (300/0000) and

$1,000 from Soaring Software Solutions to Baseball Team Fundraising Account (300/9511).

The BOE approved an agreement with Perry ProTech for sixty (60) month lease for multifunction printing units and the maintenance terms.  The agreement calls for 60 monthly payments of $1549.35 or a total of $92,961 over the length of the contract.

As part of his Middle School report, Principal Matt Smith said that Mr. Mike Remer, Career Class Instructor, has been working hard with our 7th grade students to get them to think about their future options. The students all give their “dream job” presentations. Students are asked to research the qualifications, education, salary, etc. It is great that the students are starting to think about those options at this point. Mr. Remer starts by giving them some aptitude tests and personality quizzes to get them started.

The Swanton High School Data Team has created a “homeroom period” immediately after 4th period for the purpose of assisting those students who have been affected by quarantine issues due to Covid. Students are able to meet with teachers to get extra help, and those who do not need this assistance are participating in SSR (silent sustained reading) which we believe will help in our goal of improving literacy at SHS. Teachers and students are also creating videos and other media content to help students navigate high school.

The next BOE meeting will take place on April 21, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. in the Central Board Office at 108 N. Main Street in Swanton.

Pictured:  Swanton Local School District Superintendent Chris Lake

In a letter addressed to all Delta residents and business partners titled “Delta Village Council’s Commitment to a Discrimination Free Community,” Mayor Frank Wilton reaffirmed the Village’s promise to handle any and all racial discrimination behavior that falls within their jurisdiction in an appropriate manner.  The letter, which was read aloud by Mayor Wilton at the March 15^th Village Council meeting, stated: 

Over the past few months, you have likely heard the administration of the Village has been confronted with an issue directly related to racially motivated comments being made in public.  It is also clear that the community wants and deserves to know the elected and appointed leaders of Delta take this very seriously.

At the conclusion of an outside investigation, it was confirmed that employees of the Village were directly involved in the incident or aware and failed to address the situation.  As a result, one employee was terminated and two others disciplined for their inaction.  Since then, all employees have been scheduled to participate in discrimination and harassment training, with supervisory staff participating in additional classes focused on the handling of such situations.

We commit to our residents, business partners and individuals who work or visit in Delta, that this community will not accept this type of behavior from our employees or its leaders.  We ask each of you to assist us in promoting Delta’s motto as being truly “The Community of Opportunity”.

The letter was signed by Mayor Wilton and Mike Tanner, President of the Village Council.

At the March 15^th Delta Village Council meeting, Mayor Frank Wilton gave his “State of the Village” Address to the Council and others in attendance.  The Address read as follows:

As we look back on a very difficult 2020 and the unprecedented affects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must maintain a positive outlook, continuing our efforts as individuals and as a community to remain healthy.

With all the hardships and negative impacts our country and community has endured, there are still many positive aspects within the Village that we must be encouraged by and proud of.   In a time when our national economy is considered flat, Delta continues to recognize the benefits of new industrial and commercial growth.  This is evidenced by an increase in the 2020 income tax revenues, up two percent over 2019 totaling $1,161,719.  In comparison, our income tax revenue in 2015 was $939,372.

Long needed Village projects benefiting from these monies this year are the street resurfacing program with Wood Street being scheduled for new asphalt.  Another project for 2021 will be the change in traffic patterns on Monroe Street to address the growing concerns over the safety of drivers attempting to enter on to Main Street with limited visibility and increased traffic volumes.  Monroe Street will become one-way north bound between Main Street and Palmwood.  Taking advantage of the unused traffic lane, angled parking will be created along the west side of the street in this block adding 12 new spaces.  When incorporating the Village resurfacing projects with the ODOT project which entails resurfacing of Main Street the entire way through town that will include S. Madison Street to the bridge spanning Bad Creek, a significant portion of our surface infrastructure will be new by the end of the year.

In addition to streets, other projects include additional funds being made available for sidewalk improvements.  The Village administration plans to be proactive this year identifying and prioritizing unsafe walks, working with property owners to assist in the repair and replacement of these pedestrian pathways.  The administration will finalize the review and creation of a comprehensive asset management program identifying needed improvements and updates in water treatment and distribution systems.  When complete, this plan will provide a guide where investments should be focused to enhance the integrity of our water system.

The newest corporate partner adding career opportunities within the Village is Nova Steel & Tube LLC, a Montreal, Canada based firm who has purchased and annexed 67 acres of land to the Village, starting site improvements for the construction of a 400,000 square foot manufacturing complex.  When complete, 100 new jobs will be created.  Production at the facility is expected to begin in 2022.

The possibility of connecting the Wabash Cannonball Bike Trail safely into Downtown Delta has continued possibilities as Delta has been invited to submit a grant application to the Ohio Department of Transportation for funding specifically for projects such as this.  The project name has been identified as “Connect Delta”.  We are excited to be one of 81 communities in the state vying for a portion of the $11 million dollars targeted for such an endeavor.

Having been more than 10 years since water and sewer rates were last increased, Council has taken action to raise rates over the next five years with increases of two percent annually.  These increases are required to cover mounting costs of doing business and providing these utilities. 

Being thrust into the position of Mayor earlier this year, I am committed to unifying this community and our elected leadership.  We all should be very proud of what we have accomplished while being very optimistic about the future of Delta.  The remainder of 2021 will hopefully be one of healing while returning to the life we are all anxious to get back to.  Only best wishes for the year ahead.

Pictured:  Delta Mayor Frank Wilton reads the “State of the Village” Address to Council.

At the most recent Swanton Village Council meeting, Finance Director Jennifer Harkey presented the 2021 Permanent Budget which included major changes made to the Village’s budgeting process to increase accuracy and transparency.  As explained in the 57-page report which can be found on the Village’s website, “The Permanent Budget is the culmination of the 2021 Capital Improvement Plan and Financial Forecast (CIP) approved by Council on October 15, 2020, the Temporary Budget approved by Council on November 23, 2020 and revisions as necessary.  In addition to the proposed current year budget, four years of historical data are provided The CIP provided current year and four years of forecasted financial data.”

Ms. Harkey thanked the Council for trusting in her to “move the Finance Office forward” in making the necessary changes.  “I mentioned when I presented the Temporary Budget that I had a grander vision of the budget and I’m excited about the progress I made beginning with the 2019 Budget,” she said.  “The new funds, the CIP, the historical data, the forecasting and then this year the graphs and charts and I’m excited to see it come together.   This is what the Village really needed.  With the budget and the CIP put together we know where we’ve been and where we are going, we can identify our shortfalls, our strengths, our weaknesses and this gives us the tools to analyze the data and make good decisions.”

The new numbers also show the financial impact of the pandemic in 2020 was much less than previously estimated.  “The Village will continue to monitor and, if necessary, revise revenues negatively affected by the pandemic,” said Ms. Harkey.  “Overall, the financial health of the Village is stable.  However, as discussed previously, it will be a challenge to maintain the level of services provided by Governmental Funds as costs continue to rise at a faster rate than revenues increase.”

Ms. Harkey received high praise from all members of Council as well as Mayor Neil Toeppe and Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle.  Mayor Toeppe asked to have recognition of her efforts entered into the minutes.

In New Business, Council extended the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which had expired on 12/21/20 to 3/31/21.  The FFCRA requires that employers provide paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave.  Currently, there are two Village employees on this leave.

Council approved the First Reading of Resolution 2021-XX, authorizing the Village Administrator to submit an application to participate in the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) State Capital Improvement and/or Local Transportation Improvement Program(s) and to enter into any agreement for Crestwood Road improvements.

In General Updates, water shut-offs, more than likely, will begin again on April 5, 2021.  Brush pick ups begin in early April.  A Public Hearing is set for April, 2021 to hear Valleywood Golf Club’s appeal to the Village’s storm water service charge.  Another Public Hearing is set for April 26, 2021, to hear Fortemeyer Greenhouse’s appeal on the same issue.

Collin Loeffler has been hired as a part-time Public Service Seasonal employee in the Public Service Division.  He will be paid an hourly rate of $12.00, up to 20 hours per week pending a clear employment drug screen and background check effective March 29 to November 5, 2021.

The next Council meeting will take place in the Swanton Village Council Chambers at 7:00 PM on Monday, March 22, 2021.  The Committee of the Whole will begin at 6:00 PM followed by the Public Service meeting at approximately 6:15 PM.

Pictured:  Finance Director Jennifer Harkey presents budget to Council

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The Swanton Village Council listened to a presentation given by Rudy Ruiz, the Executive Director of Resource Management Consultants (RCM), on Workshop, Training and Coaching for the Continuous Organizational Improvement of the Swanton Fire & Rescue Division (SFRD) during the March 8^th Council meeting.  Mr. Ruiz, who is also the Fire Chief of the City of Perrysburg, laid out several different options for improvement, following RCM evaluations, with a heavy focus on personnel development and improving internal problem solving through communication and training to better serve the Swanton community.

During a “discovery” meeting held with Mr. Ruiz, Mayor Neil Toeppe, Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle and Fire Chief Anthony Schaffer the week prior to the presentation, several areas were identified as needing attention.  “Those things are improved team communication, improved teamwork and collaboration, strengths and weaknesses of leaders, increased effectiveness of leaders, communication issues among co-workers, improve the ability to connect with a team, group or audience and also develop a succession plan,” said Chief Ruiz.

He explained that his company offered “packages” of training modules that may or may not fit the specific issues within the SFRD but that they also customized packages to fit the specific needs of a department.  “We also offer grant writing opportunities,” Mr. Ruiz added.  “I have been a grant reviewer since 2006 and I know exactly what the grant reviewers are looking for.  Since I’ve been doing that, we have raised over 16 million dollars for area fire departments throughout the country.”  The only payment he asked for in return for writing the grant was that he would be awarded the contract if the grant was approved.  When asked how much of an estimated $11,000 grant he thought he would be successful in getting approved, Mr. Ruiz said, “I’ll get all of it,” and added it would take approximately three to four months for a decision.  Finance Director Jennifer Harkey then informed Council that the $11,000 cost had been placed into the budget even though the actual cost to taxpayers might be zero.

One concern voiced by Council member Mike Rochelle in doing an evaluation was not knowing how the SFRD would be structured in the future if it were to become part of a fire district with other area departments.  Mr. Ruiz said his company has experience with a very similar situation involving the Northwood and Rossford Fire Departments.

Typically, the amount of time required for the entire process is about one year, but Mr. Ruiz would hope to complete everything within six months.  He also said this would include department evaluations.  “It has to include an evaluation process,” said the Perrysburg Chief.  “It would have zero value for me to come in, do the job and leave without knowing how things are going to end up.  I have to consistently evaluate.”

The Council agreed to move forward with proposed legislation in the form of an Emergency Resolution with one stipulation.  With the possibility of the grant funding ranging from zero dollars to a fully funded $11,000, Mr. Rochelle recommended that the Resolution be amended to include verbiage that it would be re-evaluated if the funding was less than 100%.

Later in the meeting, the amended version of Emergency Resolution 2021-XX, authorizing the submission and support of an application to FEMA for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant was unanimously approved.

Pictured:  Rudy Ruiz, Executive Director of Resource Management Consultants, presents before Council.

During the Committee of the Whole portion of the March 8^th Swanton Village Council meeting, Council President Craig Rose recommended the authorizing Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle to look into hiring a communications company to help with public relations related to recent events and comments that have appeared on local television news reports and on Facebook postings.

“I like the idea of hiring a communications company to handle things we’re going to need to handle,” said Mr. Rose.  “We’re going to have this company come in and write our PR for us.  They’re going to respond to lies and misinformation that’s out there right now and they’re going to be our voice because it’s not appropriate for any of us to singularly respond to some of those juvenile (comments) left on platforms like Facebook and things like that. We’ve got an answer for that and that’s what we’re going to do instead of doing it ourselves.”

Mr. Rose then solicited a response from the other Council members.  Kathy Kreuz, Anthony Stuart and Diane Westhoven agreed it was the right step to take.  Councilman Dave Pilliod disagreed saying, “The less said the better.”  “Not any more,” responded Mr. Rose.  He then added that there would be more discussion on the issue in an executive session.

Councilwoman Westhoven asked Ms. Hoelzle if she thought it would be beneficial to pursue this course of action.  “There have obviously been some things going on in the news lately and I think it would help to have that,” said Ms. Hoelzle.  “We don’t know what is going to happen in the next couple of weeks here, especially with some of the things going on.  So, I can see the benefit of it.  I do see the benefit of having somebody help.”  She related a brief conversation she had with a company that specializes in that type of work and felt confident they were capable of helping but no other details were discussed.

“The biggest thing for me is that I think a lot of times there are things that are put in the media,” remarked Ms. Westhoven.  For example, some of the stuff that has just recently put on television and it always seems to be like some of the things on Facebook and there is a one-sided portrayal of what the facts are if there is anything factual in it.”  She went on to say that she believed it would be best if the Village employed a company that could provide guidance and help it navigate through the current situation.

Ms. Hoelzle was then tasked with reaching out to that same company for more information, including cost, to allow the Council to make a final decision.  The name of the company was not divulged nor were any of the incidents or events discussed in any detail such as names of individuals involved, Village departments involved or Village locations.

The Committee of the Whole also recommended utilizing a third party, such as Employer’s Association to assist with a review of the Village’s Human Resource (HR) Policy and Procedures.  This company has been used by the Village in the past for multiple trainings and HR related topics.

Pictured:  Council President Craig Rose