Message from Mayor Kapszukiewicz
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We appointed three talented individuals this week to serve in key positions. Senior Battalion Chief Brian Byrd will become the next fire chief; Amy Sackman Odum, of Lima, was hired as the director of neighborhoods and business development, and Anne Bennett, the former chief information officer for the Toledo Museum of Art, was appointed as Toledo’s new Chief Information Officer.
They bring myriad talents to the city, and our community will get to know them better in the coming weeks and months. They join a dynamic, diverse, and talented team that has been assembled to make sure Toledo is a successful city.
Chief Byrd has been a Toledo firefighter since 1988 and has served our city with distinction. I want to again thank Fire Chief Santiago for his leadership and dedication to Toledo.
I also want to commend our police and fire departments this week, both of which have operated with professionalism in the face of some extremely difficult situations. Police officers were exposed to Fentanyl while responding to an overdose call Wednesday. One of those officers was hospitalized in serious condition after the exposure. Thankfully, she and the officers will be fine, but this is another example that communities must do more and have more resources to fight the opioid epidemic that continues to plague our nation.
Finally this week,
we extend our condolences to the family and friends of Sergio Marchionne, and to all members of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles team. He was a great friend to Toledo and a larger-than-life car-maker who pushed the automobile industry to greater levels. He was a charismatic executive who led
Chrysler out of bankruptcy in 2009 and turned Fiat and Chrysler around before combining the companies as a profitable business. Chrysler has a longstanding relationship with the city of Toledo that Mr. Marchionne nurtured. He was innovative, bold, decisive, and an amazing man who never let the pressures of his job cloud his colorful personality and folksy charm. He will be missed by all of us in Toledo.
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Forty police cadets started the Toledo Police Academy Friday. It is the most diverse police class since the early 1980s.
More than 40 percent of the class is female –the highest percentage of female cadets in a single class in department history. Additionally, more than 30 percent of the class are people of color.
The cadets will undergo six months of challenging training on the path to graduation and distinction as Toledo Police officers.
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“While I am always happy to add new officers, I am especially pleased with our upcoming class as it is one of the most diverse, in gender and race, in decades,” Police Chief George Kral said.
“I have said publicly countless times that TPD needs to better represent the demographics of the city Toledo. As long as I am Chief of Police, we will work diligently to make your department more diverse, at both the patrol and command ranks."
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Department of Public Utilities
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Mayor Kapszukiewicz earlier this month called on the Ohio General Assembly, Gov. John Kasich, and state government to do more to address Lake Erie’s algae problems.
The mayor, during a news conference at the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant, said the newer technology installed at the plant can handle anything in the lake. He also unveiled
Toledo's new water quality dashboard
.
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A $500 million upgrade to the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant is in addition to about $500 million of improvements to the city’s Bay View Wastewater Treatment Plant. Together, they represent $1 billion in better water quality.
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The city has been performing needed maintenance on the levees protecting the city, including the one at Edgewater Park.
We are working to bring them into compliance with FEMA and United States Army Corps of Engineers. The areas that have settled and any holes in the levee need to be filled.
City employee Mike Snyder (pictured) removed topsoil this week at the Edgewater Park levee to put down clay. The work should be completed in two weeks.
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Shots for Tots n Teens
– Get your children vaccinated for the 2018-19 school year. Vaccination clinics are held throughout each month at various locations. Check out the schedules for locations and times at the
Shots 4 Tots ‘n Teen Schedule
.
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Ottawa Park Concert Series
The next FREE Ottawa Park Summer Concert is Saturday, July 28.
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Toledo Lucas County Public Library Brown Bag Summer Concert
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Join us downtown at the Main Library, north lawn, 12:15 - 1:15 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 1, for the final concert this summer -
Elixer (Beatles Tribute)
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Wednesdays with Wade
Wednesdays with Wade returns 4:30 - 6 p.m, Aug. 1 at the Point Place Branch Library.
The city of Toledo supports the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Joan Easler, ADA coordinator, at 419-245-1059 at least 72 hours before the start time.
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Vistula's North End Block Party
Vistula's North End Block Party will be 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday July 28 at
Salem Lutheran Church
, 1127 North Huron St. It will include activities, games, music, and food. Local organizations have the opportunity to set up resource/information tables at the event. More info
here.
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By The Numbers
(
year-to-date
)
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50,345
potholes filled
266
water main breaks repaired
872,112
feet of sanitary sewers cleaned
4.8 million
pounds of debris removed with street sweepers.
1,550
trees trimmed
1,380
illegal signs removed
5,467
vehicles towed
3,583
fire runs
30,937
EMS runs
5,934
building inspections completed
2,706
contractor licenses issued
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2018 Grass Mowing Update:
803 properties were mowed July 19-25 by 49 partners.
9,820 properties have been mowed since the start of the program this year.
There are 2,391 pending work orders awaiting completion and an additional 697 need to be assigned.
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Text Alerts
Sign up for Toledo text alerts
here
.
We are now using text alerts for road work, in addition to news like leaf collection and boil water advisories. The 2018 construction projects map can be viewed
here
.
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Childhood hunger is a serious problem. Within the 419 area code, 343,000 people - 140,000 households - are facing food insecurity. That is one in five families.
Tens of thousands of kids around the area rely on free or reduced meals served at schools during the academic year. So when the last school bell rings, many go without healthy meals.
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Mayor Kapszukiewicz visited Connecting Kids to Meals and Grace Community Center this week. Connecting Kids to Meals is one of the largest hunger-relief organizations in Northwest Ohio. This summer Connecting Kids to Meals has 135 partner sites and is serving about 7,000 hot, nutritious meals to kids daily.
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Toledo In The News
Marco's Pizza turns 40
In popular culture, the specter of midlife crisis often looms large at 40. But not for Marco’s Pizza. The chain, which turns 40 this year, is on the fast track to restaurant franchise superstardom.
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