Toledo board recommends vacating portion of Whitmer Drive, waives fees

The City of Toledo Board of Revision of Assessments voted 3-0 on July 24 to recommend that City Council vacate a portion of Whitmer Drive between West Alexis Road and Liceom and to waive the associated fees. The board approved Resolution No. 58-25 after hearing a presentation from city engineers and brief questions from board members.

Board members said the planned relocation will move the roadway to the west, shift on-site parking to the same side as Whitmer Elementary (so students would not need to cross the street) and maintain easements to allow access to utilities that currently run under the existing roadway. "What we're doing is we're just relocating this whole road further to the west to relieve some of the congestion," said Andy Sweeney, Engineering and Construction Management with the City of Toledo. He added that "students don't have to cross the road anymore to get to the school."

Sweeney told the board that the vacated portion will remain subject to easements for sanitary and storm lines, a water line running north–south and a large culvert identified as a main ditch, all of which will be preserved unless those utilities are later relocated. He said a previously vacated Edgar Street in the area contains utilities that need continued access and that the easement language will reflect that condition.

Board members asked whether the reconstruction timeline would be complete before the school year begins. Sweeney declined to confirm a completion date, noting the project engineer would have better knowledge. The board and staff discussed that Tim Grosjean would oversee the project and that certain utilities (identified in the discussion as Columbia Gas or an electric provider) were expected to coordinate early work to help meet schedule constraints.

An individual identified in the hearing as the applicant, Mr. Sellhorst, made brief remarks characterizing the work as a partnership. No members of the public appeared to object during the hearing.

Director Megan Robeson moved to approve the resolution with a waiver of fees; Commissioner Tom Buckley seconded. The board conducted a roll call and Director Paul Searing, representing the Director of Law and serving as chair for the meeting, announced the result: "The vote is 3 in favor, 0 opposed." The board's recommendation will be forwarded to Toledo City Council for final action.

Next steps: the matter will be placed on City Council's docket for consideration; the board did not set an implementation timeline and noted that utility relocations or other work could require additional procedures before the roadway is altered.