Welcome to the Fall/Winter edition of our City Newsletter. We have many exciting things to highlight about our city in this issue, so please take a look inside! 2018 Paving – The City invested over $5 Million in infrastructure this year. Square/Alley Improvements - The improvements bring a new energy to the downtown and shows the commitment the city has for the area. Please enjoy it. Highland/Burbank to College of Wooster Multi-use Path – See back page to help us grow and connect our trail system with other county trails. New Park & Recreation area in the works – Clear Creek Park on Venture Blvd next to the Aspen Tennis Facility. Thanks to the Seaman family, this Park to open in 2019. Strong Business and Employment climate now – if you want a job, come to Wooster! Speaking of strong Businesses in our community, here are some that we know celebrated big anniversaries this year: 100 years – Akron Brass 90 years – White Jewelers 70 years – International Paper 45 years – RBB Systems (New to Wooster – Welcome!) 40 years – Certified Angus Beef Leaf Pick-up
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Congratulations & thanks for investing, growing and providing jobs in our community! Safety Services
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Community Center
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Infrastructure
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Calendar
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Recognizing the Holiday Season is upon us, and the winding down of the 2018 year, I want to say THANK YOU to you, our citizens, for creating the environment/community structure that is Wooster. We are unique as compared to so many other cities. I am often told by people new to our town how impressed they are with the excitement, drive, community spirit and get things done attitude found here. I smile and say, “that’s what makes us WOOSTER!”. ENJOY THE SEASON – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
For more information please visit: WWW.WOOSTEROH.COM
Leaf Pick Up OCTOBER 29TH – DECEMBER 12TH LEAF PICK UP HAS BEGUN! DID YOU KNOW? The City collects over 600 curb miles of leaves on average every fall. REMINDER: Weather is a BIG factor in leaf removal, your pickup day could be rain delayed.
Things to remember: Weather has a significant impact on the schedule and sometimes our equipment breaks down. We may run a day behind on our schedule, but rest assured we will be there. Rake your leaves to the tree lawn or roads edge, DO NOT rake your leaves into the roadway. Do not put sticks, branches, stones, trash or garden debris in the leaf pile. It damages our equipment. Move any vehicles from the street by 7:00 a.m. on your scheduled day. For the full schedule broken down by roadways, go to our website www.woosteroh.com or call our Public Properties Maintenance Division at 330263-5275.
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Wooster Safety Services POLICE The Wooster Police Department has seen quite a bit of restructuring this year. Victor Nedoma and Tony Lemmon were both promoted to Captain. Greg Kolek, Mike Shonk and Tom Webber have all been promoted to Sergeants. Melanie Rowland was promoted to Administrative Supervisor, Sabrina Jentes was promoted to Office Coordinator and Ashley Few was recently hired to run the Records Department. Wooster Police Officer Phil Coe (middle) along with Wooster Firefighter/Medic Scott Kiper and WCSO Deputy Brent Bernhart were honored by the Wooster Exchange Club as Officers of the year. Patroman Coe is our newest K-9 handler and among several other activities, he helped coordinate the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run for this region. We're extremely proud of Phil and Scott. Thanks to the Wooster Exchange Club for your support of our professions!
Chief Fisher celebrated 20 years of service with the WPD this summer.
Lex & Lucky – two of Wooster’s K-9 officers
Wooster Safety Services POLICE OPERATIONS WOOSTER POLICE – MAINTAINING A STRONG PRESENCE IN THE COMMUNITY Foot patrol, School Resource Officers, Hospital Resource Officers, Detectives, Community Relations, Community Impact Unit, officers are on the streets, in the schools, and undercover, our force does its best to respond to the needs of our community. OFFICER RETENTION Questions have been raised recently in regards to police department staffing. There are
Typical Industry Turnover = 14% * WPD Turnover = 2% 9% (1-3 per year) Including Retirements High Minimum Officer Standards: Associate/Bachelor Degree OR 2 years law enforcement experience Certified Peace Officer *Article
from the balancecareers.com
many factors to consider when determining staffing levels, not just population and square miles. Every year our Police Chief performs a workload analysis based on the actual number of calls, types of calls, the number of hours required, and more. Methods and technology constantly change and improve, affecting actual manpower need to meet service needs. Some points to consider: The Police force prides itself in quick, adequate and professional responses to all calls for service. Despite police records showing almost no increase in illegal activity downtown, the department will continue to have an increased presence in the area. Our officers are experienced with the average officer having over eight years of experience. Our current officer staffing puts us in line with cities of comparable size like Medina, Wadsworth, Ashland and Sidney The City is actively recruiting to fill the three vacant police officer openings. Once those positions have been filled we will be fully staffed and in line with the Police Departments manpower study. Street patrol officers will be at 32, the highest number in forty years, and 32% more than the actual 24 street patrol in 1975.
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Wooster Safety Services FIRE
Congratulations to both Chief Barry Saley and Assistant Chief Nate Murphy on their recent graduation from the Ohio Fire Executive Program. This is a three year program developed to improve leadership capabilities and required extensive research, writing articles and completing projects. Both are now certified Ohio Fire Executives. Chief Saley has also received his Ohio Fire Chief’s credential. The goal of this program is to ensure a strong degree of accountability and professionalism. The City is quite proud of the dedication and commitment these two individuals have made to their department, the city and the community.
Asst. Chief Murphy had his research article published in the OFCA magazine “IN COMMAND”
Community Center & Recreation IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!
Join in the holiday spirit by sitting down with your little ones and writing a letter to Santa Claus. Drop your letters in Santa’s Mailbox downtown on the square and they will be flown special delivery to the North Pole. Be sure to include a self addressed envelope with postage to make sure he knows where to send his reply!
COMMUNITY CENTER UPGRADES For the last two years, many improvements have been made to the interior of the Wooster Community Center, located at 241 S. Bever St. in downtown Wooster. Throughout the building, you’ll find improved lighting and new flooring. The latest room to receive a facelift was the Community Room which features a new projection system to accommodate groups, presentations and community meetings. We welcome you to visit the Community Center to check out our new look! For Community Room rental inquires, please call (330)263-5207.
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City Transportation IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY ACTION
INSERT REALLY AWESOME INFOGRAPHIC! COMING SOON! Community Action of Wayne and Medina Counties is the administrator of the Wooster Transportation Pass Program, subsidized by the City of Wooster and federal/state grant funding. To qualify for this program for transportation within the City limits of Wooster, an individual must be a resident of the City of Wooster and meet ONE of the following guidelines:
● total household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines ● age 62 or older ● veteran/active military status ● mental or physical disability or being confined to a wheelchair (if requiring an assist person)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.CAWM.ORG
Infrastructure Updates 2018 - 2019 Did you know the City maintains over 135 miles of roadways? Both our Engineering and Public Property Maintenance Divisions work to determine roadway conditions, new projects and maintenance schedules. 2018 was a bumper year for potholes. Our crews have completed 6000 pothole repairs so far. Over 7 miles of roadways were asphalted this year along with 1.5 miles of concrete repairs.
Besides potholes and roadway repairs our PPM Division handles street sweeping, leaf pickup, snow removal, signals and signage, parks & urban forestry and so much more. The city is proud to have such a dedicated crew.
What’s Next for 2019? Asphalt Resurfacing
Concrete Repair
Bever Street
Wayne Avenue
Cedar Lane
Beall Avenue
Cleveland Road
Brentwood Drive
Spink Street
Riffel Road
Locust Court
South Street
Walnut Street
Lemar Drive
Columbus Avenue
High Street
Sycamore Lane
Henry Street
Vanover Street
Woodcrest Drive
And More!
And More!
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Recognitions GREAT PEOPLE – GREAT PLACE TO LIVE The City of Wooster Utility Division was one of 32 utilities awarded the “Utility of the Future Today” recognition.
The Certificate of Recognition is for the work done at our Waste Water Recovery Facility (WRRF) for Energy Generation & Recovery. The WRRF plant currently produces enough electricity through it’s recovery program to service both the WRRF plant and the water plant. It’s an honor to be recognized for “innovative and forward-thinking practices that are providing sustainable, efficient, and valueadded services to their community”. A huge THANK YOU to the Friends of Wooster Memorial Park for all their hard work in creating the Kenwood ADA compliant trail; these newly constructed trails are adjacent to Wooster Memorial Park. The .6 mile paved trail has several outlooks and is ideal for all generations. Grant money was provided by the State of Ohio through their Recreational Trail Program with matching funds raised by the Friends of Wooster Memorial Park. Joel Montgomery, Director of Administration, recently earned the Credentialed Managers designation through International City/County Management Association. There are currently just over 1300 Credentialed Managers in the U.S.
Check it Out! DOWNTOWN The Northeast Quad is done and open! Come down and check out the new public areas including the two alleys that have been opened to be used exclusively for pedestrian usage. Rumor has it, the south alley is being used for many photo ops including homecomings, family photos and weddings. The new sidewalk along the updated courthouse contains tree/ plant wells to enhance the vision of creating greenspace.
The electric vehicle charger was the brain child of McClintock Electric who donated the materials and labor. The charger is being used on a daily basis and is a definite asset to the square.
Calendar of Events November 2018
City Council Meetings
Nov. 30th: Downtown Church Walking Tour - 5:00 p.m.
1st & 3rd Mondays of the month. Meetings start at 7:30pm at City Hall.
December 2018
Thru Dec. 10th: Santa’s Mailbox, on the Square Dec. 1st: Kiwanis Winter Wonderland , 10am, Wooster Community Center Dec. 1st: Wooster Chorus & Wooster Singers, 7:30 p.m., Gault Hall Dec. 8th - 9th: Nutcracker - various times, Wooster High School Dec. 9th: Hike at Memorial Park - 2:00 p.m. Hemlocks, Jewel of the Park Dec. 10th: Rotary Holiday Dinner - 4:00 p.m. Wooster High School *get tickets at the Wooster Community Center
Dec. 11th: Free Senior Luncheon, 11:15 a.m., Wooster Community Center Dec. 15th: Burning River Brass - 1:30 p.m. United Methodist Church Dec. 24th – 25th: Christmas Break – City offices closed
January 2019
Planning Commission Meetings 4th Wednesday of every month. Meetings start at 5:30pm at City Hall.
Traffic Commission Meetings 2nd Thursday of
Jan. 1st – New Years Day – City offices closed
every month Meetings start at 5:30pm at City Hall.
February 2019 Feb: 15th: Euchre Tournament, Community Center
For more information please visit: www.woosteroh.com/yourgovernment
For more information please visit: WWW.WOOSTEROH.COM
All Events Open to the Public Call 330-263-5242, for Updates and Cancellations