ROSSFORD – Activities with the parks and recreation committee took center stage during the Monday’s council, with a report from Toledo Helps Ukraine donation activities highlighted.

The recreation center partnered with Toledo Helps Ukraine to be a drop-off location for donations,. They successfully accomplished the goal of filling an entire 40 foot shipping container.

“There were blankets, sleeping, shoes and toiletries, as well as medical supplies, like bandages, gauze, contact solution, denture cream. You name it, people donated it,” Caroline Zuchowski-Eckel, council president, said. “It was only at the Rossford rec center for one week. It was supposed to be for two weeks, but they ran out of space.”

There was also a drop off location at the Boyk Law Office in Holland, which was used for sorting and packing.

Alona Matchenko, the Toledo Helps Ukraine founder, said 400 boxes, with an estimated value of $50,000, have so far been collected.

Four more drop-off locations are still collecting in Northwest Ohio, through this weekend, including Way Public Library and Woodland Elementary in Perrysburg and the University of Toledo Law Center. These will go to fill a second container shipping container.

The non-profit status of the organization has also been completed and they have partnered with the collection process with the Water for Ismael organization.

“The Toledo community was very generous. We were sorting all Sunday,” Matchenko said in a follow-up interview.

Questions for the organization can be sent to [email protected] and more information can be found on the organization’s Facebook page.

In other recreation business, no bids have had a response by the March 11 deadline for the Veterans Park Restroom/Concession Stand capital improvement project. The completion date was extended to Dec. 31.

The recreation center will once again be a polling location. The May 3 primary will utilize the gym in the recreation center, but the rest of the facility will remain open that day.

Riverfest will be taking place on Aug. 20.

In other business, council approved an ordinance on a first reading for the purchase of rock salt, under the Ohio Department of Transportation 2022 Winter Contract for up to 1,000 tons. In related legislation, a resolution was also approved for the purchase of 900 tons of rock salt from ODOT. The finance committee had approved the $50,000 appropriation of the initial purchase.

Council approved an amendment to the bank depository agreement ordinance to remove Fifth Third Bank and add Genoa Bank. Agreements with Huntington National Bank are unchanged.

Also approved was an ordinance advancing funds from the large Fund 370 TIF Crossroads TIF District to the small Crossroads TIF Fund 371 for the 2022 Principal and Interest payments until the money is able to be repaid to the larger fund.

The funds were created to assist with the economic development infrastructure and the the large fund has funds from the growth in evaluation of property from the base values when the TIF was established and is able to make the advance.

Councilman Larry Oberdorf Sr. was excused.