PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
DOING THE WORK … Members of the Swanton Village Council complete their slate of business during their regular meeting Monday night. Pictured are, from left, Councilman David Pilliod, Councilman John Schmidt, Councilman Deacon Dzierzawski, Village Administrator Shannon Shulters, Mayor Neil Toeppe, Councilwoman Dianne Westhoven, Councilwoman Pat Pilliod, and Councilman Noah Kreuz.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Swanton Village Council members held a wide-ranging discussion on the future of the village and their related efforts during the first meeting of the newly reformed committee of the whole.
Chief among council members’ efforts during the meeting was setting priorities for what they will address in regular council business during the remainder of the year.
Based on their conversations, village residents can expect to see new action, legislation, or at least discussion of e-bikes, sidewalks, deteriorating infrastructure, overall village spending, and township fire contracts in upcoming meetings.
Council members also expressed interest in revisiting regulation of food trucks, as well as continual reporting on the recovery effort following the village offices fire.
Several items were proposed as standing agenda items to be discussed at every meeting of the committee, including overall village financials, department budgets, infrastructure projects and problems, and upcoming legislation to be brought forward during regular council meetings.
Council members also shared their interest in having the heads of each of the village’s departments provide regular reports to the committee in person, whether that be on a rotating, biannual, or quarterly basis.
The committee’s meeting was held immediately prior to the full council meeting, a format which will continue at the first council meeting of each month.
FINANCIAL UPDATES
Council members approved a series of appropriations brought forth by Village Administrator Shannon Shulters in her efforts to manage the village finances following the recent departure of former fiscal officer Holden Benfield.
According to Shulters, Benfield managed expenses by making appropriations to move money from departments’ general funds to their operating funds as they reported expenses or the need for them to him directly.
In order to make operations simpler and to put the responsibility for managing their departments’ funds back on department heads, Shulters asked for votes on moving the entirety of budgeted funds into the appropriate operating funds.
Council members first retroactively approved a series of transfers Shulters had to make to cover departmental expenses that needed to be paid prior to the meeting, including $15,000 for the Water Resource Recovery Facility, $60,000 for the police department, and $10,000 for the water department, as well as $205,187.62 to cover the fire department’s new ladder truck and $756,669.74 to cover police department payroll.
They then approved transfers of the remaining budgeted funding for the WRRF, parks and recreation, fire department, police department, and EMS.
Prior to the meeting, Mayor Neil Toeppe said the village has received two applications for the fiscal officer position, with one not being a good fit and the other scheduled for a preliminary interview later in the week.
He said they may wait for any additional applications to come in before scheduling a final interview for the remaining applicant before a hiring decision is made.
After an executive session at the end of the regular council meeting, council members voted to give Shulters a $3,000 performance bonus for her efforts in completing financial work in the absence of a fiscal officer.
CAT PROGRAM UPDATE
Council members Deacon Dzierzawski and Dianne Westhoven gave an update on the village’s new trap/neuter/release cat management program and the efforts of the cat committee.
According to Westhoven, eight cats have been trapped so far, with all of the cats rehomed.
They clarified for public awareness that the live traps are monitored in person and taken immediately when cats are trapped, not set up and checked at a later time.
Toeppe stated that while residents may trap cats themselves, those cats cannot be submitted to the program, with the residents responsible for management, transport, and all related costs. The program only covers those cats trapped by the contracted service.
He also shared that, while the village drew negative scrutiny nationwide and from an organization in Ireland for its previous stance on the cats, they were now receiving positive attention for the new program.
He gave Dzierzawski a packet they recently received from Alley Cat Allies in Bethesda, Maryland, and read a statement of support they included.
Toeppe also stated that the mayor of Tiffin recently reached out to him for tips on ways to manage stray cats in the city.
VILLAGE OFFICES FIRE
Shulters reported progress on obtaining final estimates on the fire damage at the village offices, as well as the pursuit of reimbursement from the village’s insurance policy, is at a near standstill, sitting stagnant after seven weeks.
She said roughly half of the building has been torn down to the studs.
During the committee of the whole meeting, Police Chief John Trejo shared his thoughts on the future housing for his department, the headquarters for which was a total loss in the fire.
Trejo said that of the roughly 5,000-square-foot building, the police department had just over 1,000 to work with, an amount deemed insufficient for the department by the then-chief at the time the building was constructed, according to Trejo.
The department currently has no safe interrogation room, he said, and has been forced to handcuff arrestees to a bench due to lack of a holding room.
Trejo said he has been working on a list of must-haves as well as a wish list for a potential new home for the department.
Council members recognized the limits of the village’s funding for such efforts, but also their support of Trejo’s efforts to improve the department’s situation.
Councilman John Schmidt said he did not want to make any compromises on funding for public safety, to include the police and fire departments.
Councilman David Pilliod pointed out the “paradox” of their situation, being both low on funds and facing projects that would only get more expensive over time.
“It’s never cheaper tomorrow,” Dzierzawski said of village projects in general.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Swanton Fire and Rescue Division Chief Cuyler Kepling reported his department responded to 115 calls for service in March, including 86 EMS incidents, five motor vehicle crashes, 14 fire calls, and 10 public assistance calls.
In the first quarter, the department responded to a total of 356 calls, including 265 EMS incidents, 18 crashes, 43 fire calls, and 30 public assistance calls.
Kepling said that marks a roughly 8 percent increase over the first quarter of 2025, though that is now trending down, with April looking to have just over half the average number of monthly calls.
Kepling said the department’s new station alert system, part of the fiscal year 2026 capital improvement plan, is up and running, with staff no longer dependent on their cellphones for communications and to receive call information from the county.
He said he has been holding meetings with all of the department’s vendors to review their relationships and services.
Most of the meetings went well, although he said they may be seeking replacements for some of the vendors.
Council members approved the hiring of part-time firefighter/EMT Karson May at an hourly rate of $21.68.
The hiring marks the first time the department has been at full staff in recent memory, with Toeppe pointing out that at one point it only had two paramedics and now has 12.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Trejo reported the police department handled 364 calls in March, including involvement in a pair of Fulton County Special Response Team call-outs.
During a March 17 SRT call, officers assisted in apprehending a barricaded subject just outside village limits.
After an hour and a half, officers were able to talk the individual out of the home before locating multiple loaded handguns, about 20 loaded magazines, several AR-15 rifles with about 50 loaded magazines, two loaded drum magazines, and an AK-47 rifle with about 1,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as body armor and a gas mask, all staged and ready for use.
Officers also assisted the Multi-Area Narcotics Unit along with the SRT on March 27, when they executed a search and arrest warrant in Wauseon that resulted in the seizure of more than 300 grams of methamphetamine, as well as psychedelic mushrooms and marijuana.
A Spring Drug Take-Back event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 25, to be conducted at the police bays located at the community center.
Council members approved the resignation of part-time officer Joseph Keil effective April 1.
OTHER BUSINESS
Council members passed on final reading a resolution approving the Community Reinvestment Area housing survey, refining the boundaries of the area and reducing it from its previous borders, which included the entire village.
Council members passed on final reading an ordinance tightening the restrictions on inoperable, unlicensed, or junk vehicles, limiting their storage to 15 days unless “stored in a completely enclosed, authorized and permitted building or garage,” with a possible penalty of a fourth-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $250 per day.
Council members approved on first reading an ordinance increasing the fee for seasonal leaf collection by 50 cents to $15.50 per property.
Shulters said the increase was an adjustment to cover the cost of brush pick-up service.
Council members approved on first reading an ordinance increasing the fee for street lighting by $1 to $33 per property.
Shulters said the increase was due to the increase in electric service costs to the village, noting that the fee had not been increased in at least four years.
Council members approved on first reading a resolution authorizing the zoning inspector to provide written approval to the Fulton County Regional Planning Commission for lot split requests after confirming the measure did not give the county the authority to deny any such splits.
Shulters reported she would be issuing a payment the following day to purchase the former Elks building downtown.
The village had previously sought to obtain the building by eminent domain due to a lack of progress in purchase efforts with the current owner.
The building has already suffered extensive damage due to a failure to be maintained, including a partial roof collapse.
As the structure is now being purchased outright without the use of eminent domain, the plan is to sell the property. Grant opportunities are currently being sought to cover demolition costs.
Shulters reported work will start on phase two of the Hallett Avenue project in June, with final completion by the end of August.
Road work will only result in a single-lane closure, while work on the bridge will require full closure of the overpass.
The next regular meeting of the Swanton Village Council will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 27, at Ritter Hall, 124 N. Main Street.