Wilkinson gives state of city address

TIFFIN — Tiffin Mayor Lee Wilkinson recently gave a State of the City address at The Chandelier Event Center in Tiffin. The speech was the first of its kind in several years. Wilkinson recalled a story from when he was campaigning for the mayoral seat in 2023 about a little girl asking him what a mayor does. "That's a tough question," he said. "The mayor gets people to work together to make living in Tiffin better … That's what I try to remember." Wilkinson said he has worn many hats while serving his term, even becoming a trash collector when needed, but finds the most important thing he can do is show people he cares, both about the city and the Tiffin community. "People want to see that you care," he said. Infrastructure In recapping the past year, Wilkinson reported city Engineer Matt Watson had issued 147 building permits in 2024 for residences, garages, fences, signs and other projects, which had earned the city an investment of over $27 million. "Things are moving along in the city of Tiffin," Wilkinson said. Wilkinson later said that in 2025, Watson and his team will be working on annual street paving projects and the Court Street streetscape project that has been in discussion for months, as well as over a mile of sewer replacement that would mitigate sewer overflow events. He reported the sewer project had originally been estimated to cost over $82 million in 2015, but now 10 years later will cost the city $160 million. Wilkinson also discussed a plan for reforesting the area. The city received over $68,000 in grant funds to complete a tree inventory and master planting design. Initiatives Wilkinson reported over the last year the Metrich Drug Task Force has continued to work with the FBI and Ohio BCI to combat drug-related problems in and around Tiffin. For the second year in a row, the Tiffin police reported that the yearly crime rate has decreased. Tiffin Fire and Rescue responded to over 3,000 calls for service and billed nearly $780,000. Among the issues mentioned in the address was the countywide housing crisis. Wilkinson said he had recently attended a roundtable meeting with several other community leaders, including representatives from the Fostoria Economic Development Corporation, Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership and local realtor Bill Jones to discuss what could be done to alleviate the situation. "It was good to have all those different perspectives so we could take what we have learned, … so we could figure out how we can start solving all these different problems," he said. Representatives from around the county are also working together to provide housing through the Welcome Home Ohio grant program after the program awarded the county $2.75 million to build homes in the area. Also discussed was the new iceless skating rink in Oakley Park in Tiffin. "(The skate rink) was all a collaborative effort by local charities and organizations to make that happen," Wilkinson said. "It's amazing." Citizen of the Year Don Mitchell was announced as the 2024 Citizen of the Year for his service to the city and for mowing various lawns in Tiffin "without expecting anything in return," Wilkinson said. Mitchell said he moved to Tiffin in the 1950s from Kentucky and held many jobs before retiring. "I've led a real good life," he said. He said he tries to ride 20 miles a day on his bike, despite being almost 90 years old. "I'm just trying to help everyone," he said.