Maumee Mayor And City Council Members Sworn Into Office
BY NANCY GAGNET — MIRROR REPORTER
Maumee City Council kicked off its first meeting of the New Year on January 3 by swearing in Mayor Tim Wagener and council members Jenny Barlos and John Boellner.
Newly elected council member Dan Hazard was ill and unable to attend the meeting.
This is Wagener’s fourth mayoral term. He was first elected mayor in 1999 when he defeated Marilyn Mount Kocevar. In 2003 and 2007, he was re-elected in unopposed races.
In November, he defeated council member Tim Pauken to retain the mayor’s office.
Prior to his term as mayor, Wagener served on city council from 1991 to 1999.
Barlos, Boellner and Hazard ran unopposed for their seats on city council.
Barlos, who will celebrate 19 years of service on city council in June, was sworn to her sixth term.
Boellner and Hazard filled seats vacated by former council members Doug Brainard and Todd Zimmerman, who did not seek re-election.
Council also re-elected Rich Carr to continue serving as council president. It is Carr’s fifth term as council president and the third time he has been elected president by a unanimous vote of council.
“I look forward to working together with our two new council members. I truly believe we will maintain cooperation during the next two years,” Carr said.
Maumee council also approved 2012-13 committee assignments.
Newly Installed Express Check Makes Checking Out Library Items A Snap
BY NANCY GAGNET — MIRROR REPORTER
The Express Check at the Maumee Branch Library is so easy, even a 3-year-old can use it said Mary Chwialkowski, Maumee Branch Library manager.
“Kids love to check out books themselves,” Chwialkowski said as she watched Eric Donnell of Maumee pull a stool up to the counter so his 3-year-old daughter Brooklyn could reach the machine.
After being closed for three days, the Maumee Branch Library reopened on January 6 with a new Express Check.
“It’s a lot quicker actually,” said library patron Gloria Allen of Maumee, who checked out a number of items.
Previously, the Express Check was located on the main circulation desk.
“Patrons now have privacy when they check items out, and it’s convenient for them,” Chwialkowski said.
Patrons may also use the Express Check to pay fines, look at items on hold and renew items, explained clerical supervisor Connie Dixson.
“It helps us because our hours have been cut and we have less staff, and this makes it more simple for patrons,” she said.
According to Chwialkowski, each day librarians pull hundreds of requested items for library patrons.
“This allows them to spend time looking for materials for our patrons,” Chwialkowski said.
The new machines are also equipped with new printers, which are faster and clearer than the previous printers.
Buehrer Group Architecture and Engineering designed the Express Check.
“The new self-checkouts were designed to be more user-friendly and to expedite the checkout process for the library patrons,” said Joseph Snyder of the Buehrer Group.
The firm oversaw the construction process to ensure everything ran smoothly and finished on time, he said.
At the Maumee Branch, the project was completed a day earlier than originally planned, Chwialkowski added.
The library began installing Express Checks at branch locations in 2009. Today, Express Check is installed at all 18 branches and at Main Library. More than 80 percent of checkouts are done on the machines.
Following the model completed this summer in Central Court at Main Library in downtown Toledo, Library officials plan to separate Express Check from the customer service desk at all locations.
The Express Check will be installed at the Waterville Branch Library from January 9-13.
For more information, visit www.toledolibrary.org or call (419) 259-5360.
New Committee Formed To Evaluate Maumee City Directors
BY NANCY GAGNET — MIRROR REPORTER
A special committee will review an evaluation system that determines the salary and compensation for Maumee city directors.
At its January 3 meeting, Maumee City Council approved the formation of the new ad hoc committee, which will assist in the implementation and training of the new evaluation program.
Council president Richard Carr requested the action, which was unanimously approved by council.
Carr, along with Jenny Barlos, who chairs the finance committee, and Michael Coyle, who chairs the personnel committee, will also sit on the new committee.
According to Carr, the action was necessary because Maumee Mayor Tim Wagener, who is supposed to evaluate the directors, has a conflict of interest.
In a letter presented to council, Carr noted that city law director Sheilah McAdams had issued a written opinion opposing Wagener’s involvement in the process to evaluate directors because of an ongoing investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission.
“Due to the unusual circumstances we currently have, I am proposing the special executive committee to review directors,” Carr told council members.
The Ohio Ethics investigation was requested on April 5, 2011 following allegations that Wagener sought multiple loans from city finance director Linda Wilker.
The action followed an internal investigation report, which concluded that Wagener had violated the state ethics code and city charter by seeking such loans.
In addition, the report, which was submitted by attorney Michael Angelo, also stated that Wagener had requested a list of the names of employees who received lump sum payments when they retired from the city. The mayor, who sells insurance, purportedly asked for the names in order to sell those individuals annuities, Angelo said.
Wagener has denied wrongdoing, and prior to council’s vote on the matter last April, had self-reported the issue to the commission and requested an investigation into the allegations.
According to Carr, the new committee will assist in the process of reviewing compensation and setting goals for the directors.
“The new evaluation system isn’t designed to say if someone is performing good or bad; it’s more of a measuring stick that can be used to set goals so we know what we want to accomplish,” he said.
The new committee is subject to the same requirements as all other council committees, McAdams said.
“They should be handled as any other formal meeting in terms of being announced and open to the public. The minutes should also be reported out as with any other meeting,” she said.
The city also hired Tim Reed, an outside consultant, to update job descriptions of city personnel, which will be used as a training tool to assist in the evaluation process.
In other action at the meeting, council members:
• Approved the formation of an ad hoc fair housing advisory commission relative to the West Mews Improvement Project by the state of Ohio. The following individuals were appointed to the committee: Bruce Wholf, Jack Hiles, Anthony Brancatto, Heather Rose, Don Adamski, Brenda Clixby and Ty Szumigala.
• Approved an agreement with Creative Microsystems in the amount of $5,141 for financial software.
The next Maumee City Council meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, January 17. The committee of the whole meets at 7:00 p.m. and the regular meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.
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