Transit return eyed

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Jack Hoeflinger, chairman of the Go Perrysburg Committee, is seen signing letters of support in
his home in Perrysburg, Ohio. (Photo: Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune)

PERRYSBURG – The name may be different, but the aim’s the same.Go Perrysburg – formerly
Perrysburg 4 Transit – has changed its name and revamped its website, but organizers are continuing their
fight to bring public transportation back to Perrysburg."I tell you what, we’ve got a lot going on
right now," said Jack Hoeflinger, the campaign chairman for the non-partisan group. Hoeflinger assumed
the post after previous chairman Tom Mackin left to concentrate on his campaign for the judgeship of
Perrysburg Municipal Court.The group is working to garner support for a five-year, 0.8-mill transit levy
which would raise just under $460,000 per year to bring transportation – including call-a-ride, ADA
paratransit, and a limited commuter service – back to the city. According to Go Perrysburg, the new levy
would cost the owner of a $200,000 home about $4 per month.There are more than 30 people involved in the
group, which has divided into a number of committees and has been raising money for their printed
materials.A 1.45-mill transit levy failed on the November ballot last year, scotching a burgeoning
transportation system in the city. Confusion amongst residents about the service has been blamed as one
cause.However, Hoeflinger noted that the resolve of the group never wavered."To be honest with you, I
didn’t see anybody with their head hanging down, doom and gloom or anything. Sure, there was some
disappointment.""Rather than that," he continued, "we looked back at what can we do the
next time to go to do a better job? And a lot of that was to get the message out."Among Go Perrysburg’s
upcoming efforts will be a phone bank on Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. On March 23, volunteers will be going
door-to-door to spread the word.The group has also been moving on the policy end of the effort. Their slate
of recommendations for the transit service’s operations, if the levy is successful, was approved as a
starting point.Hoeflinger said one of the group’s major tasks is to ensure voters don’t balk at the thought
of a new tax on the ballot. He noted that, now, residents are no longer seeing a charge for TARTA service on
their property tax bills. TARTA left the city in September, but residents had been taxed for the service
since the 1970s."Now, if they look at the tax bills for the last month or two, or two months, they see
a big zero down there.""They’re going to see a new tax on the new levy. We want to make people
realize that they aren’t paying tax now for public transportation.""I think we feel pretty
positive about it," said Hoeflinger. "I think we’re sending the right message out."

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