PERRYSBURG – The states of the City of Perrysburg, Perrysburg Township and Wood County were the topics as
three local dignitaries shed light on recent developments in their jurisdictions.
County Commissioner Tim Brown, Perrysburg Mayor Nelson Evans and Township Trustee President Gary Britten
shared their reports at the Perrysburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s January luncheon.
"The city’s got a good story to tell," said Evans. "2010 was a good year."
Last year, 63 new single family homes were built in the city at a value of over $14 million, and 140
multi-family units are being built. There are also plans for a new housing development in the
southwestern portion of the city.
Regarding safety issues, he said that the police department received 8.6 percent more calls over 2009,
and fire and EMS calls increased 9 percent.
The city is also in discussions with Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments and others in the
region regarding a regional water system, noting that those communities that purchase their water form
Toledo pay more when Toledo’s rates go up.
"This region, one of our greatest assets is the Great lakes," he said, explaining that they are
trying to prepare for when businesses decide to move back to the area and have water needs. He also
mentioned the plans for a new water tower to be built behind the public service building on Roachton
Road and an expanded water tower to be built in place of the current one at Fort Meigs Road.
Remarking on the city’s service department, he said that it recycled 1,320 tons of recyclables last year,
with 6,445 tons of waste taken to the Wood County Landfill.
The city’s NextEconomy initiative is also underway, he said. Areas for potential growth have been
identified, and the city is now reaching out to local businesses. Part of that initiative is a survey,
which was available at the event.
Evans also said that there are three potential business developments in the works in the city, and that
more information about those would be forthcoming as they move forward.
Britten said that the township’s budget for 2011 is approximately $12.4 million, a slight reduction from
2010. There are plans, he said, to tear down the old township hall and to either build an addition to
the current maintenance building or build a new free-standing structure for storage purposes. Township
offices may be renovated in 2012, he said.
Britten noted that the township inaugurated a nuisance abatement program to tear down unsafe structures
and to clean up unsightly properties. Two properties, he said, are slated to be taken down this week in
the Perrysburg Heights neighborhood as a part of that.
The township fire and EMS department had a total of 1,581 runs in 2010, the highest number ever for the
township, with more than 305 of those being for fires.
Township police received 11,108 calls last year, with 594 of those being adult arrests and 38 being
juvenile arrests.
On a personal note, Britten noted that last year his residence experienced $10,000 in damage due to
copper pipes being stolen. However, he said that within a week the police department had two men in
custody for the theft.
The Marine Patrol was also activated in 2010 at a cost of over $25,000, with $11,000 of that paid by a
grant. Among its activities, the patrol issued one citation and 72 warnings.
"All in all the township is in solid working order," he concluded.
Speaking on the state of the county, Brown noted that county sales tax revenues were up about $500,000 in
2010, on the heels of a roughly $1 million decline from the year before. However, investment income
decreased by about $600,000 in 2010; it had decreased about $1.2 million in 2009.
For 2011, the county’s budget is about $18,000 lower than what was appropriated in 2010. Some departments
were restructured, he said, noting that some employees at the county’s Woodhaven Health Care were
changed from full to part time, and business hours were altered at the Wood County Solid Waste District.

Noting that in 2009 Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed the county’s bond rating of Aa3, and that this
has been used as a marketing tool to bring in business, Brown said that over a two-year-period there has
been $350 million in private sector investment in the county, including expansions at First Solar in
Perrysburg Township and at Wood County Hospital.
Brown also mentioned the $175 million CSX intermodal facility in North Baltimore, and the company’s
additional spending of over $500 million to alter overpasses for roads and bridges to enable
double-stacked railroad cars.
The Board of Commissioners also decided to create a port authority in Wood County in 2010, he said, which
rolled into their already-existing economic development department, and did not create another office or
bureaucracy.
Explaining that 70 percent of the county is still zoned agricultural, Brown noted that in 2010, out of
the state’s 88 counties, Wood County placed first, second, and fourth, respectively, in the production
of wheat, soybeans and corn. Eighty-two percent of the ground in Wood County is in the top category for
growing crops.
Noting that Governor John Kasich sees the state as broken, with major problems to be fixed, Brown noted
that he sees such issues at the county level and would agree with the governor. There will be upcoming
debates in the state, he said, concerning public employee unions, and selling the Ohio turnpike which,
he remarked, is a bad idea.
With a projected state budget shortfall of $6-10 billion, he said to expect government funding to be cut
drastically in the first year of Kasich’s term. These cuts, he said, will affect everyone.
"We have to be prepared in government for any realm of possibilities," he said.