Fostoria council OKs search for unclaimed funds

Fostoria City Council on Wednesday night approved a resolution allowing Director of Finance Steve Dandurand or a designee to identify possible unclaimed funds belonging to the city and being held by the Ohio Department of Commerce and to take all necessary steps to reclaim the money. The resolution notes that the Department of Commerce operates an Unclaimed Funds Division that works to reunite unclaimed funds with their owners and the city of Fostoria holds public money in trust for the public. Council also approved amendments to language in ordinances regarding alleys in the third and fourth wards and approved "then and now" certificates for prior purchases from American Electric Power for about $4,679 and Custom Sign and Design for $5,500. Mayor Don Mennel expressed his appreciation for the public's passage of a five-year 1% income-tax renewal levy. He also appointed Assistant City Prosecutor Barbara Dibble to the Seneca County Regional Planning Commission and city council member Bob Podach to the Seneca County Board of Health. During the public portion of the meeting, Fostoria resident Rebecca Kimble asked council to name an alley near her home after her late daughter, Abreann Kimble, who died at age 30 in 2022 after having been given a drug and overdosing. Council President Brian Shaver referred the matter to council's law and ordinance committee for discussion.