Message from Mayor Kapszukiewicz
We spent time reflecting this week on the first 100 days of my administration and I am proud to say we have accomplished a lot. We are not yet out of the woods financially but we have made real progress with budget belt-tightening that you will soon see translate into things like increased street repaving.
During
the first 100 days
, we passed a
balanced general fund budget, unanimously – the first unanimously-passed budget since 2013. That budget redirected an additional $3 million to roads and infrastructure.
To name a few more things, we restructured the Toledo Youth Commission; transformed the Board of Community Relations into the Human Relations Commission; transferred the Toledo Botanical Gardens to Metroparks Toledo; advanced resurfacing of the Anthony Wayne Trail by a year; launched a bike share program, started the “Not in My House” program; started a community discussion on public transportation and TARTA, and launched a community paramedicine pilot program.
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We welcomed 500 new jobs from outside Toledo to UpTown from Credit Adjustments Inc. and we watched Cleveland-Cliffs' groundbreaking on its new $700 million facility in East Toledo
It has been an aggressive 100 days and we have a plan to keep that momentum moving.
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We have tried to be as transparent and accessible as possible. That includes the monthly “Wednesdays with Wade” meetings, this email newsletter, and more.
Toledo has bright days ahead and I hope you will all work with me to make that happen.
I hope the thousands of people who had an amazing time downtown Thursday for the Mud Hens opening day will make downtown a destination year-round.
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Police
Toledo police promoted six officers this week during a ceremony in council chambers at One Government Center.
Police Chief George Kral promoted Lt. Kevin Braun, Sgt. Thomas Williams, Sgt. Kevan Toney, Officer Ben-Jiang Tsou, Officer Joseph Petro, and Officer Bruce Cook, Jr.
Lieutenant Braun was promoted to captain, Sergeant Williams was promoted to lieutenant, Sergeant Toney, the department’s public information officer, was promoted to lieutenant, Officer Tsou, was promoted to sergeant, Officer Petro was promoted to sergeant, and Officer Cook was promoted to sergeant.
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The Toledo Fire & Rescue Department honored the bravery and commitment of many firefighters, Toledo Police Officers, and five civilians members during its awards and recognition ceremony Tuesday at St. Clements Hall.
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Distinguished Unit Citation
Engine 17
- Lt. Scott Thornburg, Privates Timothy Vetter, David Mather, and Amber Ignatowski.
Engine 25
- Capt. Daniel Brown-Martinez, Privates Oliver T. Harris, Chad Mosher, Derrick Peterson, Sarah Rowe, and Benjamin Steiner.
Medic 18
- Privates Denis Bajard and Joshua Johnson
Life Squad 3
- Privates Keith Trevino and Rian Whitney
Life Squad 4
- Privates Jesse Garcia, Jr. and Adam Thal
Life Squad 5
- Privates Michael Romanowicz and Tyler Trease
Life Saving Award
Engine 21
- Lt. Jennifer Linnekugel, Privates Eddie Hartman, Benjamin Hicks, and Joseph Sullivan
Engine 3
- Privates Taryn Kirk and Joshua Althaus
Engine 9
- Private William Bruss
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Citation of Special Recognition:
Mataeo Roberts
Police Officer, Sergeant Ward Lemke
Police Officer Shaun Conklin
Police Officer Benjamin Cousino
Police Officer John Curtis
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Letter of Appreciation:
Mike McGurk
Jeff Patten
John Hoenig
Honor’e Hunter
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VM Systems
, 3125 Hill Avenue, a premier HVAC contractor in northwest Ohio, recently added 39 employees.
They credited their success to the extensive amount of work being completed in Toledo and to an innovative program in conjunction with Sheet Metal Workers Local 33 to establish a pre-apprentice program for new hires.
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Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission
The sustainability commission held a regional meeting this week at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in east Toledo. The city of Toledo presented a number of topics related to energy:
- The city has been working with Palmer Energy to secure the lowest rates for electricity and natural gas. Toledo consumes about 125 million kilowatt-hours annually. The Bay View Wastewater Treatment Plant consumes about one-third or 40 million kilowatt-hours and the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant consumes less than one-third or 30 million kilowatt-hours. The remaining city facilities consume about 55 million kilowatt-hours. The total cost of electricity is $7 to $8 million annually.
- Toledo’s Water Reclamation Division has on-site generators. Its current generation rate is 3.3 cents per kilowatt-hour.
- The city's public utilities department uses energy-efficient LED lighting, efficient HVAC systems, and variable frequency drives that run high-horsepower rotating equipment at the Bay View Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant to reduce electricity consumption.
- Toledo Public Power, which was created years ago, acquired the electrical substation that provides electricity to Omni Source in north Toledo and signed a long-term contract to provide 6 to 8 megawatts of electricity to the company at a very competitive rate.
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The Public Utilities Department 2017 Annual Report is now available. It emphasizes Toledo's focus on safe water and includes links to several key websites, including the Toledo H2O water construction program for the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant and reducing water pollution through the Toledo Waterways Initiative.
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The Ohio State University Lucas-Wood County Extension
OSU Lucas-Wood County Extension planted assorted vegetables and herbs in the planters in front of One Government Center downtown. The goal is to have free, fresh produce for all to take.
Anyone is welcome to pick any of the vegetables and herbs. Use #youwillgrowbetterintoledo and post pictures on social media.
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2018 Toledo Sister Cities International Festival
The 2018 Toledo International Festival is
Saturday, April 14
, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. at the SeaGate Centre in downtown Toledo. Advanced tickets are $5 and general admission is $7 at the door.
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Toledo Youth Job Fair
The job fair is for ages 16-24. It is
Saturday, April 14,
10 am - 2 pm at the SeaGate Convention Centre, Hall A.
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Public meetings on the 2018 street repaving program.
The remaining meetings are:
- District 4, Monday, April 16, 6-7:30 p.m., Toledo Police Patrolman's Association, 1947 Franklin Ave.
- District 5, Monday, April 23, 6-7:30 p.m., Washington Branch Library, 5560 Harvest Lane.
- District 3, Thursday, April 26, 6-7:30 p.m., East Toledo Family Center, 1020 Varland Ave.
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We will honor the Rogers High School girls’ basketball state champions with a parade downtown,
Saturday, April 21, 11 a.m.
The parade will stage on Jefferson Street between Summit and Huron streets. It will proceed north on North St. Clair Street to Jackson Street. It will turn east on Jackson to Summit. It will turn south on Summit. The parade will conclude with a 30-minute rally in Promenade Park during which Mayor Kapszukiewicz will present the team with the key to the city.
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By The Numbers
(
year-to-date
)
34,104
potholes filled
212
water main breaks repaired
371,197
feet of sanitary sewers cleaned
798
illegal signs removed
1,050,833
pounds of debris removed with street sweepers.
2,953
building inspections completed
2,354
contractor licenses issued
587
new jobs
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Text Alerts
Sign up for Toledo text alerts
here
.
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If you haven't visited the Warehouse District, you are missing out!
The
Toledo
Warehouse District is a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood located south of downtown.
Fifth Third Field is a big part of that neighborhood.
Mud Hens
Opening Day
week is a great day to watch this video produced about the area.
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Mayor Kapszukiewicz was proud to present Susan G. Komen Northwest Ohio with a proclamation Friday to mark 25 years of doing great work in 23 counties to the tune of $17 million of programs, research, and support to end breast cancer.
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Susan Reams, a longtime local arts advocate and former chairwoman of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, successfully raised $300,000 to install programmable LED arrays on the Anthony Wayne Bridge. Ms. Reams spearheaded the original lighting project
for
the bridge nearly three decades ago.
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Mayor Kapszukiewicz
announced her success
, honored Ms. Reams with a proclamation, and presented a check to ODOT for the lighting project.
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Big thanks to the students from Toledo Christian School who volunteered this week at Toledo's Forest Cemetery on Mulberry Street for a “clean up day.”
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Toledo In The News
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz reflects on first 100 days in office
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has made a habit of measuring everything since he was sworn in as mayor at One Government Center on Jan. 2. He has an internal ticking clock tracking his progress toward making Toledo a safer, cleaner, more financially sound city before his time in office is up.
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