Is the Sylvania Schhol Board, located in Sylvania Ohio, spending their Tax Dollars wisely?
Below is a recent email from Thomas Yodersent to me on the above subject. Tom has allowed me to blog about the email I received. Please take a few minutes to read this important information, and contact Tom as well as the members of the Sylvania School Board.
Below is Tom's email:
A quick update on the Sylvania School's attempt to put the new Central Elementary on Wolfinger Road.
On December 1, the Forest Lakes President, Gerry Stump and I both spoke at the meeting of the Sylvania School Board and voiced our opposition to the school board putting the new Central Elementary School on Wolfinger Road. I gave the reasons asset forth in my previous post. They are paying double for the property than what is it worth, there is no sewer, they are going to have to build a road through two (2) wetlands, they have the property at Timberstone to build the property and the property here has some serious problems with the same EPA wetlands that stopped the acquisition of the property on Crissey Road. I'm sure I irritated them when I told them I didn't trust any of them or their EPA environmental rater.
The next day I called the NW Ohio District Office of the EPA to find out about my records request under the Ohio Public Records Act.
(Ohio Revised Code 149.43) that was sent to them on November 18, 2009.
I talked to the EPA rater who told me that he and two (2) others had visited the site and issued their own report which was contrary to the School's EPA firm's report. Watterson EPA found seven (7) wetlands on the property. The Ohio EPA found eight (8). The big difference in the two (2) reports is the category 3 wetland on the east side of the property. Watterson opined that the wetland was confined to the east side of the property and was separated from the rest of the property by a farm lane that runs north and south. The Ohio EPA report states that the category 3 wetland extends all across the property by reason of the swale that runs across the front of the property from the east to the west This was precisely the point I made to the school board the night before! Rule 5.3 of the Ohio EPA rating manual states that if water flows between the wetlands at any time during the year, the wetlands are connected, period. As proof of their finding the Ohio EPA submitted aerial photographs showing the water running across the farm lane and through a culvert under the farm lane. Rule 5.3 is very clear and you can download it yourself from the Ohio EPA website. The wetland runs all across the property and not only affects the proposed site, but the property on Crissey Road and my property as well.
On December 4, I received the requested records from the Ohio EPA. In there were E-mails whereby the school is now requesting a meeting with State Senator Mark D. Wagoner, Jr. at the school and they want to show him the property afterwards. I immediately sent an E-mail to Senator Wagoner stating that in my obviously cynical view, the school wanted Senator Wagoner to try and put "pressure" on the Ohio EPA to change their findings and hold that the water does not flow across the farm lane despite the photos and the obvious water marks in the culvert. In not keeping anything from anyone, I sent a copy of the E-mail I sent to Mr. Wagoner to Dr. Reiger and to the three (3) Board Members of the Toledo MetroParks. The MetroPark has a interest in the EPA's findings as the water from the category 3 runs east and west and then north into a category 3 wetland on the property directly behind my house that I sold to the MetroPark in September. The representative from the MetroParks that I talked to said that the park would remain neutral, but obviously wants to retain the natural wetlands that exist in Secor Park. The new school would obviously disrupt the flow of water from the Crissey Road property into Secor Park.
Senator Wagoner's office called today and I spoke to his chief aide. He was very guarded in his comments, but stated that their office was not told the purpose of the requested meeting with the school, only that the school wanted to meet with the senator and a representative of the Ohio EPA. I told him that if there was such a meeting, I wanted to be present. I told him my theory about the school wanting to get Senator Wagoner to override the EPA's finding on the wetlands' issue. He indicated that I will be invited to the meeting and we agreed that it would be improper for the senator to try and persuade the EPA to change its report. That meeting will be the week of December 21, I suspect. I can assure you I will be there.
One of the things that disturbs me is that the elected school board members know very little of what is going on. One of the school board members called me and candidly told me that the school board was never told that the property that is really needed for the new school was appraised at $400,000.00. (The school board is buying the 1 acre that the Lesinski home sits upon for about $100,000.00 and is then planning on tearing it down!!!) The school member member told me that they knew there was an appraisal and that there was a recommendation to purchase the property for $800,000.00. They assumed the appraisal was for $800,000.00. The first time this board member learned the real appraised values was when I sent the E-mail to all of you and them several weeks ago. After learning of the EPA report and the wetland's issue, I E-mailed this board member to inquire if the board had been told about the negative EPA report on the land, The board member replied that the administration had not shared that information with the board also.
In the past week I have run into about 7 or 8 Forest Lakes residents who are asking the same thing. Why this location? Why contact a state senator about meeting with the Ohio EPA? A reading of Rule 5.3 shows that it is an open and shut case and the photos bear that out. I am not going to contact the school board members anymore as I don't think they want to hear what I have to say, plus I think they are still out of the loop as far as what is really going on with the site. If enough people contact them and ask the same questions I have posed, it might make them ask some tough questions of whoever is really calling the shots at the school. Their E-mail addresses can be obtained from the school's website. There is a new board member whose term starts after the first of the year. Her name is Julie Hoffman. I sent her the original post about the school. I have yet to hear from her.
Please forward this any other interested parties. As before, if there is anything in this post that is inaccurate or not truthful, please let me know and I will correct it immediately. If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. I can furnish you copies of the EPA report if you so desire.
I believe this is an important issue that will have a direct impact on the Sylvania School District and our Property Values in the Sylvania Ohio area. Please feel free to contact me at bertspangenthal@bex.net, or visit my web site at BertSellsToledo Homes.com. Your Toledo Area, Remax, Remax Preferred Associates Realtor.
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