Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Oregon held its latest council meeting on April 28, leading off with the passage of several ordinances for the acquisition of land for industrial development among other items.
Four ordinances for the acquisition of properties on Wynn Road and Corduroy Road were approved via emergency measure.
The property at 445 N. Wynn is slated to be purchased for $378,000, 505 N. Wynn will be acquired for $686,100 and 535 N. Wynn will be purchased for $697,750. Meanwhile, 4961 Corduroy Road was priced at $349,000.
The ordinances, which “authorize the mayor and finance director to enter into an agreement with the Oregon on the Bay Regional Economic Development Foundation to acquire land for industrial development, includes prices that are based on the appraised value of the home, plus 25 percent and moving expenses.
City administrator Joel Mazur made note of the properties at 505 and 535 N. Wynn Road, where the original price went up due to quotes for moving prices going up. He said 505 N. Wynn was originally $660,500, while 535 N. Wynn was originally $680,250.
Bark park grant
The next order of business was to pass an ordinance to authorize the acceptance of a grant from America 250 Ohio, which will help with Jake and Cooper’s Bark Park Heritage Tree Project.
The city was awarded the sum of $5,000, and those funds will be used to help plant trees at the bark park and make it more hospitable, as well as to create a memorial sign to commemorate the namesake of the park that will include a QR code for visitors to share their stories anonymously for the benefit of others.
The city partnered with Jake and Cooper’s Bark Park to create a place where people struggling with mental health issues can safely gather, share stories and attend free educational sessions.
The America 250 Ohio program, which is tasked with preparing the state for the 250th anniversary of the United States, provides community-focused grants aimed at helping local communities plant, organize and move forward a program or event that aligns with America 250 Ohio initiatives in two broad categories: storytelling and education.
These grants are further dedicated to funding programs and initiatives commemorating Ohio’s important contribution to American history.
Other ordinances passed
- An ordinance authorizing the purchase of a Direct-Link Bridge Series Crisis Response System, which will be used by the Oregon police division for the crisis negotiating and special response teams.
- An ordinance authorizing the city to enter into an agreement with Kleinfelder to provide professional surveying services for annual waterline replacement at the Starr Avenue addition in an amount not to exceed $35,000 plus easement description preparation in an amount not to exceed $1,500 per easement.
- An ordinance authorizing the city to enter into an agreement with Hickory Shores Condominium for the acquisition of a perpetual easement to construct, operate and maintain a multi-use trail and access drive for the Oregon Trail Bikeway, Phase 2 project.
Retirements and more
Jim Reindel, who has served as a volunteer firefighter for the past 28 years, will retire effective May 28.
Jeff Nissen, who has been a firefighter and paramedic in the city of 37 years, is retiring July 11.
Firefighter Tim Whited resigned effective April 21.
Firefighter Robert Tolles retired effective April 18.
The city’s executive assistant, Sandy Garverick, will also retire July 31 after 31 years of service. Her last day will be May 14.
“All of you have probably watched Sandy in action, and Sandy truly does live up to the deal of living her job here, and she does it so sincerely as well as naturally,” Oregon mayor Mike Seferian said. “I will certainly miss Sandy, and I’m sure the rest of you will, too.”
Mazur echoed those comments on Garverick, who has worked with four administrators and three mayors.
“It is a tough loss for us because as everybody knows as soon as you walk into the city building and walk into the administration side, it can sometimes turn into what we call Grand Central Station,” he said. “It gets really busy sometimes with all the meetings in the conference room and the general public coming in and out asking questions.
“(Sandy) handles things very well. She’s a rock. She’s been amazing the two and a half years I’ve been here. She will be sorely missed. But I’m more than happy for her. She deserves it.”
The city also re-appointed Kayley Wolfe as an office assistant at the rate of $13.75 per hour. She has previously worked as a seasonal employee in the law department and assisted in various departments in clerical work filling in for vacations and sickness.
Accident update, discussion
Assistant police chief Mark Mullins provided details of an accident at Corduroy and Wynn on April 27.
A motorhome was stopped at the intersection, and the driver – believing traffic was clear – proceeded through the intersection only to be T-boned by a passenger vehicle that “was going a little bit faster than the normal speed.”
The motorhome careened off and nearly went into a home. Several of those involved were taken to the hospital for treatments, including one who was considered to be an intermediate trauma patient.
“That is a high impact area,” Mullins said. “We’ve seen quite a few accidents there. In the 30 years that I’ve been here, there’s been three deaths that I know of from that intersection alone. One was a very personal friend of mine.
“In your consideration for roundabouts, I talk about this a lot. I don’t believe that accident would have been stopped from happening, but it certainly wouldn’t have been as severe as it was.”
In response, councilman Steven Salander asked about past efforts at that intersection, and Oregon’s public service director, Paul Roman, provided some insight.
The city put up lights and signs that say cross traffic does not stop, and accidents went down, but they still get speeders. There was even a fatality within the past few years.
“There used to be a flashing red for Wynn and a flashing yellow for Corduroy, but ODOT put out a statement that they started taking those down because they confuse drivers,” he said. “If you’re not from the area, you may think it’s a red, and they’re going to stop, but they’re not.”
Getting vehicles to stop initially isn’t so much an issue as people believing it’s safe to go, Roman said. He also said they came up with bigger signs.
“Like this accident, it’s the classic two-way crash (situation),” he said. “They do stop. A rumble strip wouldn’t have mattered here. They do stop, they just think they can go. It may be a judgment of speed, or they think they’re going to stop and that it’s a four-way.
“I don’t know how to get it in their head that the cross traffic does not stop other than a blinking sign. That’s the concern. Corduroy, just like Brown, is wide open, so when you’re driving Corduroy, people go at higher speeds because you’re comfortable.”
Once the city is able to sign the agreement for the Wynn Road safety studies, Roman said there will be committee meetings to gather everyone’s thoughts and let a professional traffic engineer be involved and weigh in on it.
“It doesn’t mean a four-way can’t work,” he said. “I want to legitimately look at everything. We need to bring in a professional traffic engineer and look at these intersections. It isn’t just assumed to be a roundabout. It’s a question of why not a four-way stop, why not a traffic light.
“We know the volume isn’t there for a traffic light. The four-way stops could be used, but it’s the question of will you create more accidents. That’s my concern. Everyone loves giving their opinion on Facebook, but no one is going to take the liability by making the change and having more crashes.
“They’re not going to speak up at that point. That’s what I worry about. I legitimately worry about things like that, and I don’t want to make a bad decision. We weigh all this. Over the last so many years, we’ve looked at different things, and that was my plea two weeks ago. I don’t know what else we can do at these intersections. That’s the problem.”
Upcoming safety meeting
A safety committee meeting is slated for Monday, May 5 at 5:30 p.m. to go over the City of Oregon hunting zone, the peddler’s and solicitors permits, the police K-9 update, Everbridge notification systems and the traffic safety coordinator.
Biggest Week in Birding
Councilwoman Beth Ackerman noted that the Biggest Week in Birding is soon approaching and encouraged everyone to not only participate but be aware of campers, birders and boaters, and to have your heads and eyes on a swivel and be looking for people stopping suddenly to see a crane in the field, for example.
“Please be patient,” she said. “They bring in a lot of revenue to our city.”
