Save-the-Bridge volunteers ask Waterville council for grant process during ODOT pause

Save-the-Bridge volunteers told the Waterville City Council that the Ohio Department of Transportation has paused plans to demolish the Rose Taboof Bridge and urged the city to adopt a process to accept and hold grant funds while the group seeks restoration money.

At the meeting, citizen David Weber described the pause and said the funds ODOT planned to use for demolition come from gasoline and diesel taxes. “The money for the demo of the bridge is coming from gasoline and diesel taxes. So it's it's federal in origin,” Weber said. He and former council member Barbara Bruno said they are organizing a small citizens group to raise money and pursue grants to preserve part or all of the structure.

Weber told the council his research identified hundreds of foundations that support historic-preservation projects and said average awards he found were in the $5,000–$10,000 range. He said those awards, if secured and aggregated, could allow an initial renovation of the bridge’s first two arches to make it safer for kayakers and fishermen.

Weber asked council to provide a formal route for submitting grants through the city, or to allow the group to create a nonprofit to receive funds. “I would propose is that council come up with some resolution that they... we draft grants and submit it to the city to to John,” Weber said, referring to the finance director. He said the group also needs an earmarked account—an “enterprise fund” or similar—so any donated or grant funds can be held separately and returned to funders if preservation efforts fail.

Barbara Bruno, who said she is assisting the volunteer effort, urged the council and ODOT to keep lines of communication open. “Once that bridge is gone, it's gone,” Bruno said, adding her group intends to use the one-year reprieve to build a coalition of stakeholders and gather assessments and cost estimates.

Council members thanked the volunteers and asked procedural questions. Councilman Borowski asked whether funds dedicated by ODOT for demolition would remain available if the pause extended into the next fiscal year. Weber said he had been told ODOT can carry funds forward into the next fiscal year but that availability is not guaranteed because the department reevaluates priorities each year.

Mayor Duncannon and other council members acknowledged ODOT’s involvement. Council members and the mayor encouraged the volunteer committee to meet quickly and identify clear next steps; Weber said the committee intends to meet within the next 30 days to establish processes for applying for grants and for receiving and holding funds.

No formal council action on the bridge was taken at the meeting; the volunteers’ request was informational and the pause remains an ODOT decision.

The volunteers said they need more members and time to develop grant applications, and they are exploring forming a nonprofit as well as using the city to submit and accept grant awards depending on what council prefers.