Tiffin strategic-plan team asks Seneca County for $25,000 to fund citywide planning

A presenter outlined a proposed citywide strategic planning process for Tiffin and asked the Seneca County Board of Commissioners to contribute $25,000 over two fiscal years to help fund the work.

The presenter reviewed prior planning efforts from 2010 and 2016 and said the new plan would study six target areas — downtown, Sixes Corners, university corridors, the Eastside neighborhood commercial area, State Route 53 corridor and the West Market Street district — with a two-phase scope: discovery and analysis, then implementation planning. The consultant team includes the Gossman Group and the DeSalvo Group, and the presenter said the overall city investment would total about $147,000 over two years. "My would ask of the county commissioners would be $25,000 over 2 fiscal years, to help contribute to be part of the planning process," the presenter said.

Commissioners discussed timing and made a motion to contribute the requested $25,000 conditioned on the City of Tiffin approving its portion and committing funds at an upcoming committee-of-the-whole meeting. The motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote. The presenter said the city council planned a committee-of-the-whole meeting in two weeks to review the proposal and that consultant outreach and community engagement would begin in the fall and run for about eight months.

The presentation emphasized leveraging prior work — including downtown redevelopment projects, trail improvements and university connections — so that the county’s contribution supports a countywide vision rather than a downtown-only plan. The presenter said the steering committee will refine study areas, identify catalytic projects and look for funding opportunities and implementation steps.