Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Seth Austin, who was recently approved as a new officer hire in the police department, was officially sworn in at the latest village council meeting in Walbridge on May 6.
Austin joins the police force at Step 1 pay, or $20.95 per hour. He was initially approved for hire at a special meeting on April 28.
Council members also issued a proclamation for National Police Week, which is May 11-17.
Walbridge mayor Ed Kolanko read the following proclamation and presented it to police chief Chris Mullins.
“This is the village of Walbridge proclamation for National Police Week 2026, which recognizes National Police Week 2026 and to honor the service and sacrifice of those law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty while protecting our communities and safeguarding our democracy.”
Committee reports
Buildings and lands committee chair Joel Mass provided an update following a recent meeting. He said that his committee discussed features of the latest quote they have for the village’s garbage service provider, Republic, and that they showed off the shelter house and the upgrades that have happened there.
“I could tell everybody was kind of surprised the first time they were in there about the progress that has been made in that building,” Mass said.
Kolanko said there is a meeting scheduled with Republic this week to get some questions answered.
Karen Baron, the chair of the parks and recreation committee, said she is working with village administrator Dave Shaffer on getting some planters ordered for the parks.
Ron Liwo, chair of the personnel and HR committee, discussed his committee’s latest meeting on April 22. Along with Liwo, council members Sue Hart-Douglas and Kristen Angelo met with police sergeant Dominic McCrum about current staffing levels in the police department, reviewing some applications. That helped lead to the hiring of Austin.
Kolanko said the police department is still actively recruiting officers.
Safety and criminal justice chair, Hart-Douglas, said this week’s block watch is postponed. She said she hopes residents pick up police appreciation week yard signs, similar to last year, from the administration office.
As part of the streets committee report, Kolanko had a few updates.
“The gas line relocation that was part of the Walbridge Road project has been completed,” he said. “We are in contact with the Wood County Engineer's Office to have them get moving on the culvert replacement, and at which point, when that's done, Bower’s (Asphalt) can come and pave the road. That is moving forward, and we're continuing to work with our Engineer, OHM, on the Allen Street and Holly Street project.”
Regular business
In old business, council passed a resolution approving a contract to furnish emergency management between Wood County and the village. It was approved following a third reading.
In new business, council approved via emergency order an ordinance authorizing the sale, disposal or transfer of some of the village’s surplus property.
“We have one of our old 2017 police vehicles that is sitting out back that hasn’t been moved in probably six months,” Kolanko said. “The engine's shot. We're not going to go spend $4,000 or $5,000 to fix it. We just bought two new vehicles. There really is no use for that vehicle at this point in time. We don't need it. It doesn't run. We're just going to scrap it when the guys approve it so get what we can out of it.
“(Additionally), we have some old filing cabinets, some old Sony cameras, microphones, miscellaneous audio equipment and also some miscellaneous office printers and things like that that we just need to get rid of. They're sitting in a closet. They haven't been used. They're not going to be used, but they are village equipment. For us to get rid of this stuff, we have to ask you guys to allow us to do so.”
Administrator’s report
Shaffer went over his latest village administrator’s report following that.
“We finished the crack ceiling on Main Street that got pushed a little bit longer than we wanted due to the weather, and therefore it pushed our brush pickup a little bit later as well, so we extended that to May 1 to finish that, and that is complete.
“We added a fresh layer of mulch to the playground at Railway Park. It looks really nice. I checked that out, and they did a nice job with that.
“We have started just this past Monday with our daily game setups (at Railway and Loop), getting the fields dragged, lining them, getting ready for games. And that'll be over the course of the summer. We took over that on Monday, and that's pretty much a daily thing for us. Tennis court repairs were completed, and they're ready for use.
“We are exploring what it would take to make the lights work at Loop Park on the ball fields, working with a contractor on that, seeing what that might take. And then, also, the lights for the basketball court and the tennis and pickleball courts, what that might take to make those work once again.
“Pool preparation is going very well. I'd like to say that we're ahead of schedule, but I'll say that we're on schedule to cover myself, but that's going very well. I'm very pleased with that.
“And lastly, mosquito spraying will begin tomorrow night around dusk. We'll be doing that every Thursday evening.
Kolanko added that there likely needs to be some dialogue this year about the pool liner, which he said is nearly 15 years old. That is the average use of length age for it, as well.
Mayor’s report
The mayor’s report was highlighted by two items.
The first was the approval of a motion for a $9,000 quote from Commercial Waterworks LLC to complete a concrete pad for the gazebo at Veterans Park.
“We have the gazebo at the maintenance shop,” Kolanko said. “The reason that it's still sitting there is because we needed to have some concrete work done. The old gazebo needs to be removed, the concrete needs to be taken out, concrete needs to be poured. Poles have got to be in the concrete. It's not as simple as just pouring some concrete. We've checked it out. Commercial Waterworks LLC is able to do the concrete, and it's for a concrete pad. With the way the engineering plans work, it's not like a simple one, it's a thick pad. And the reason you put rebar in there, the reason you put the bolts underneath, is to really make sure it doesn't shift, it doesn't move. This is a pretty sizable pad that this new gazebo needs to go onto.”
Hart-Douglas said it will be handicap accessible as well.
Kolanko added that he’s happy to have found a quote as the process to find someone to do the job has taken a while.
The second highlight was the approval of a motion to move police sergeant Dominic McCrum from Step 1 pay, which is $27 per hour, to Step 2, which is $28.08 per hour, effective immediately.
“Since we're shorthanded, he's been wearing many hats,” police chief Chris Mullins said. “He's been filling out reports and taking calls that are coming in. He's been a really good asset, and he's also training the new people that are coming through as I'm doing paperwork on the other side of it, and he's been a great asset. I wish we could have five of him, maybe 10 of him. I concur with (the mayor) that he needs to be elevated a little bit.”
Kolanko added the following: “It’s $1.08 an hour raise. It’s not a huge step up, but he deserves it. We need to think about retention of our good employees, and since we don't have a senior sergeant currently, he is a senior sergeant, and he will be the senior sergeant.”
