Officers honored, presented 'Life Saving Award'

FOSTORIA—Members of the Fostoria Police Department were honored during the regular Fostoria City Council meeting on Tuesday evening. Chief Gabe Wedge presented the "Life Saving Award," to officers who were involved in diffusing what could have been a potentially harmful situation. "One of the biggest problems we're dealing with right now is the mental health crisis," said Wedge. "In August this year, we had a special situation where we received a call from a 911 transfer from Wood County about a young lady (who) had a gun and was threatening self-harm. "With that incident, for those of you that don't know, early on in the morning hours of Aug. 11, we got a call coming in about a young lady, we did not know where she was, (and) our dispatchers (and) Wood County's dispatchers did an amazing job helping get about (the) area where our guys needed to look," Wedge said, noting the woman ended up being found near ACE Hardware on North County Line Street. Wedge explained the officers on the scene were able to locate the woman, stay with her and have patience and knowledge of how to defuse the situation. The awards were presented to officers Sam Putnam, Brian Miller, Colin Taggart and Sgt. Kent Reinbolt Mayor of Fostoria Eric Keckler then presented Wedge with the same award, since he was part of diffusing the Aug. 11 situation. "There's not a day that goes by that I'm not proud of our safety forces," Keckler said. In other news, during the mayoral report, Keckler announced that the city has hired a new compliance officer, Jeff Huber, who is also a part-time fire inspector and will officially begin his new position on Oct. 1, taking the place of Jason Koomen. Keckler also made note of exciting changes occurring within the city parks. Portage Park and the Hancock Park district are looking to get some upgrades with funds provided by a grant the city is applying for. The application will be submitted to participate in the Wood and Hancock County Grant Park Program. The council then passed a resolution during the meeting, authorizing the mayor on behalf of the city to participate in the Wood and Hancock County Park Grant Programs. Keckler also announced the city has put in an application to the U.S. Forestry Service for a grant that would allow for the city to have its own Urban Forestry program, thanks to the city's beautification committee. "We did receive word last week that we received $1 million toward that, which will allow us to buy all the equipment we need to run our own forestry department, fund a certified arborist for five years, and also allow us to not only manage the forest but also put together a tree planting plan for the entire community, which then allows us to be eligible for other grants that come up," said Keckler. "842 communities put in applications, and 385 were funded," he added. "So, I'd say that is pretty impressive for a community our size to get $1 million." Finally, Keckler talked about some of the upcoming events that are being hosted throughout the rest of the month, including: Sept. 23 Rail Festival from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Fostoria City Schools Sept. 28 United Way Kickoff from 4-6 p.m. in downtown Fostoria Sept. 30 Gospel Concert from 4-8 p.m. at Foundation Park Next, the council moved on to pass a resolution approving the service agreement for the city's new Finance Director, Steven Dandurand, for the provision of services and responsibilities that come along with the position. Dandurand will serve his term on a three-year contract beginning Oct. 10, 2023, to Oct. 10, 2026. Dandurand is a Tiffin native and previously served as a board member at Hopewell-Loudon Schools. He has also served as a Loudon Township Fiscal Officer, from July 2014 through January 2016, and Chief Financial Officer for Fostoria Industries from September 1994 through May 2001. The board proceeded to pass an ordinance that amended the job description and salary of Dandurand's position. A resolution was then passed accepting the amounts and rates developed by the Budget Commission, and authorizing necessary tax levies, certifying them to the Seneca County Auditor. An ordinance to adopt and amend ordinance No. 2022-75 by appropriating from unappropriated funds in the General Fund, Ohio Ambulance Transportation Program Fund and the Water Fund was passed. Finally, an ordinance to establish the city of Fostoria's Office of Ohio Ambulance Transportation Program Fund was approved. The next Fostoria City Council meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 3 in the council chambers.