Council approves grant-backed roundabout at Lake Cascades and Western Avenue after debate

Findlay City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance authorizing city staff to apply for OPWC grant funds and to proceed with design and construction of a roundabout at the Lake Cascades/Western Avenue intersection. City Engineer Jeremy told council the project is estimated roughly at $1.4 million across storm, sanitary, water and capital accounts, with approximately $435,000 in OPWC funds expected to help pay for it. "We went through the traffic analysis and the roundabout helps keep traffic flowing without the need for a signal," he said, adding that the roundabout will change drivers' sight-line interactions and is designed to reduce conflict points. Council debate centered on whether a signal could be reinstalled instead and how OPWC dollars should be prioritized. Councilmember Miss Frishee expressed concern that OPWC funds could be better used elsewhere and noted she did not see the intersection as clearly meeting signal-warrant criteria. Councilmember Wilpzer (Waltzer) and others said they experience the intersection as hazardous and supported the roundabout as the best engineering fix. Council suspended its rules to consider the ordinance and adopted it after roll-call voting. The ordinance directs staff to prepare grant applications and to enter the contracts necessary for construction; final design and cost-sharing among capital accounts were described as still subject to refinement. The administration said the project will be coordinated with resurfacing and other capital road work to avoid scheduling conflicts; staff estimated the earliest construction would be in the 2026 construction season. Council did not adopt a final construction contract Tuesday but approved the ordinance to proceed with grant applications and local matching commitments.