(PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
SUMMER CELEBRATION … Swanton Corn Festival Head Chairwoman Alyssa Walberg and her daughter smile after Walberg spoke to the Swanton Village Council about the festival and her involvement during the council’s meeting Monday evening.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Swanton Corn Festival Head Chairwoman Alyssa Walberg shared her passion for the festival and the Swanton community during Monday evening’s meeting of the Swanton Village Council.
Walberg appeared as part of ongoing updates for the council from leaders of community groups which started at the last council meeting with a presentation about the Swanton Lions Club.
“My journey with the Corn Festival started when I was a kid. My mother joined the Corn Festival committee when I was in the elementary school.”
“So I got to watch firsthand the passion and love that she and so many others poured into this event and into our town,” she said.
Now raising her own family in Swanton, Walberg wants to share the magic of the event and the community with her children.
“The Corn Festival is more than just an event; it’s a celebration of Swanton. It brings together family, friends, neighbors, and it gives our local businesses, churches, school groups, clubs, sports, and organizations a chance to shine, raise funds, and connect with the community.”
The 2025 Swanton Corn Festival is scheduled for Saturday, August 9, and will include staples like the parade, Party in the Park, class reunion, and car show, as well as a revamped 5k run and a brand-new color run among many other activities.
For more information on this year’s festival, including contact information for committee members, visit Swanton Corn Festival on Facebook.
TRAFFIC SIGNAL REPLACEMENT
Council members showed their support for replacing a malfunctioning traffic signal at the intersection of South Main Street and Garfield Avenue.
According to Village Administrator Shannon Shulters, there have long been issues with the signal, which has been repaired in the past.
After going out most recently, it has been set to a flashing yellow on South Main Street and flashing red for the cross street, where temporary stop signs have also been put up.
Shulters said a temporary fix which would not guarantee the continued functioning of the light would cost between $4,000 and $4,500, a basic replacement would cost about $7,000, replacement with loops like the signal at Airport Highway and Hallett Avenue would cost $10,000 or more, and replacement with sensors would cost more than $20,000, more still to replace and add cameras. The other option, she said, was whether to remove the signal entirely.
No option was yet chosen, but more than one council member spoke of the need to replace the signal rather than just kick the can down the road by repairing it temporarily.
Council member Dianne Westhoven said she had a problem with removing the signal entirely because of its proximity to a school.
“I remember when there was a child killed there, I was actually walking home from school with him,” Westhoven said, later adding they “definitely need to have something done with it before school starts.”
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Council members approved a $4,000 appropriation for the purchase of a fire hose for the Fire & Rescue Division’s new ladder truck. Fire Chief Cuyler Kepling said the purchase was originally appropriated for 2024, but was delayed by the vendor.
According to Kepling, the hose – which include at no extra cost the printing of the department’s name along its length – was pushed back multiple times, first weeks, then months. It was originally supposed to be delivered within six to eight weeks from the order last August.
He said the vendor then said that tariffs had pushed the cost up by 25 percent, and that the vendor would cover 80 percent of the increase with the village shouldering the remaining 20 percent.
Kepling refused and the vendor said they would cancel the order but then was unable to cancel the order and honored the original price.
In the gap and until the new hose is delivered, the truck is using a 30-year-old hose which, while it has passed all safety testing, must be replaced soon.
ROAD CLOSURES
Shulters reported Munson Road will be closed from Dodge Street to Airport Highway on June 30 for work there. The road will still be open to local traffic including trash pickup and mail delivery.
The closure of North Main Street in a span including the area between the railroad tracks and Zeiter Way for emergency repairs to a failing sewer main which is threatening to cause a sinkhole is also slated to begin June 30, with work expected to be completed on or before July 31.
OTHER BUSINESS
Police Chief John Trejo said he recently attended a training conference in Sandusky as part of his work with the Fulton County Special Response Team.
Trejo took courses in situational debriefings, barricaded subjects, and incident command, as well as becoming qualified as a breacher with his completion of a class on tactical breaching which included a flashbang certification along with training on making entry using shotguns and mechanical devices. He also reported Kepling is also now a member of the SRT as a certified paramedic.
Trejo said 10 cameras in Memorial Park will be replaced under warranty after developing condensation inside the lenses.
All officers will now have access on their phones to view the camera feeds, which are already streamed on screens inside the police station.
Shulters said she has reached out to the project manager of the property being developed as the new home for Wendy’s on the south side of Airport Highway due to progress there having halted, but she has not yet received a response.
Shulters said Matthew Camp has been offered the position of full-time water treatment plant operator, starting July 7.
The position was previously offered to another individual who withdrew his acceptance letter after accepting a position at a larger plant.
The council approved the hiring of part-time firefighter/EMT Cicely Sanchez at the hourly rate of $21.03. Sanchez worked for the Swanton Fire & Rescue Division two years ago, according to Kepling, and has now moved back to Swanton.
Following an executive session to discuss the matter, the council voted to increase the pay for Water Resource Recovery Facility Superintendent Joe Tillison to $75,000.
Shulters said she has received “numerous” inquiries about the former Rite Aid property and that the building is “hopefully on its way to being filled.”
The next regular meeting of the Swanton Village Council will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 23, at 219 Chestnut Street.