By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Small town government can be short on glamour, and steeped in talk of storm drains, street repairs and sewer systems.
Mayors and other officials from many of Wood County’s 26 municipalities recently made their preliminary pitches to get funding for projects that they cannot afford on their own.
Listening to their proposals were officials from the Wood County Planning Commission – which is the first of several steps to get Community Development Block Grants. Dave Steiner, director of the planning commission, said this year’s funding level for the county overall is still unknown.
The projects must serve areas with low to moderate income, or eliminate slum or blight conditions. And if communities are able to pitch in some matching dollars, they stand a better chance of getting funds. Bowling Green gets its own pot of CDBG money, but the other municipalities in Wood County compete for the county share.
Following is a list of some of the project requests made earlier this month:
Bradner: “We’re here to once again replace waterlines,” said Board of Public Affairs President Jim Smith. “All that we are replacing were put in by WPA,” meaning they are at least 80 years old.
“As they continue to age, we’re constantly dealing with breakages,” he said.
Village leaders would also like to put LED lighting in the town, plus update lighting in the village park.
Custar: Mayor Renee Hartman said street improvements are needed on Custar Road, especially where it is damaged by heavy truck traffic near the grain elevator.
“We are continuously filling the potholes,” Hartman said.
“Very, very poor” sidewalks along Custar Road also need fixing, she said.
Grand Rapids: Chad Hoffman, village administrator, said the town needs sanitary sewer work on the west side of the community, and sidewalk repairs throughout the village.
Village leaders also plan to ask that Ohio 65 be rerouted out of the town, Hoffman said. “Since ODOT won’t maintain and repair it. Something’s got to be done there.”
The wastewater treatment plant needs improvements, and new water regulations are looming.
“EPA is telling everyone they need a backup water source. I don’t know where they expect us to find it,” Hoffman said.
Haskins: Village Administrator Colby Carroll said funding is needed for the downtown area. “ODOT recrowned Route 64 to the point car doors are scraping the road,” he said.
The town also needs an alternate access for the Logan Meadows subdivision, and is interested in building a storm shelter for those residents of the community without basements.
North Baltimore: Village Administrator Allyson Murray said funding is needed for street reconstruction in the downtown area and throughout the town. The town needs to replace some waterlines and complete a loop for water stabilization. And funding would be helpful to aid the village in demolition of vacant and abandoned structures.
Northwood: City officials would like to improve the intersection at Wales and Tracy roads, come up with a redevelopment plan for the former Woodville Mall, and revitalize the Biltmore and Brighton Gardens subdivisions. In the more distant future, the city wants to widen Wales Road, remove the drainage ditch along the road, and realign Wales Road.
Pemberville: Mayor Gordon Bowman said the town was working on repairs to Water Street and College Avenue. The village needs help with making its street crossings handicapped accessible, since 88 percent of the 100 curb cuts don’t meet ADA requirements, the mayor said. He estimated fixing all the crossings would cost $224,000, but said the village would take “anything we could get” and set priorities.
Town officials would also like to loop dead-end waterlines on some streets, and replace the water tower in the next five to seven years, Bowman said.
Portage: Mayor Mark Wolford said repairs are needed to stop infiltration into the sewer systems. Main Street and West Walnut Street both need repaving, new curbs and storm drains.
“Pretty much our storm drainage system in town needs to be repaired, replaced or just put in,” Wolford said. Currently, rains cause problems. “It sits in our yards and goes in our septic tanks.”
The condition of streets in the village is poor, the mayor said. “None of the streets have been resurfaced in at least 25 years.”
The sidewalks are the same way. “The sidewalks we’ve got are sandstone – very old,” he said.
Also the ditch north of town needs dredged, and the park entrance needs to be upgraded. “It’s pretty beat up,” Wolford said.
Risingsun: Mayor Rick Whetsel said his community needs sidewalk repairs and ADA ramps along Main Street. The town has some matching funds, he said.
Walbridge: Village Administrator James Bishop said the town needs storm sewer repairs to prevent backups. The community center, which is located in an old church, needs a new roof and gutters. The building houses the village government, police, senior citizens and scouts – and is in “dire need,” he said.
Wayne: Mayor Craig Everett said a sanitary sewer upgrade is needed to keep sewage from backing up into homes. The town storm sewer is the “real culprit” and is a “depression era drainage system,” he said.
The community would also like to upgrade its village park with new equipment and improvements to take away excess water. The town is also in need of some road resurfacing, Everett said.
Habitat for Humanity: Approximately 2,000 families in Wood County live below the poverty line, Michael Smith said. Habitat has plans to build three homes in Bowling Green over the next three years, two homes in Weston, and one in Rossford.
The organization is also starting a home repair program, which will help families with everything from a roof repair to a “gut job,” Smith said. The group is also interested in starting an “adopt a block” program.
Northwestern Water and Sewer District: Ohio EPA has ordered sewers be installed in the Sugar Ridge area due to failing septic systems, Stephanie Keefer said. There are about 30 homes near the crossroads of Mercer and Sugar Ridge roads, that may need help affording the sewer system, which costs $1.4 million for the entire project.
Perrysburg Heights Community Association: The community center in the heights has provided educational intervention for children at risk for 25 years. “The building needs some upgrades,” said Paul Belazis. A new roof is estimated at $25,000 to $50,000, and parking lot improvements would cost about $100,000. Air conditioning and furnace repairs are also needed, he said.
Belazis said the center could serve more children if it were more welcoming by providing recreational opportunities and a covered pavilion. “There are so many that we can’t reach,” he said.
