By JANET ROMAKER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Article published Thursday, February 1, 2007
Financial aspects examined for proposal for Sylvania, township
Results from an independent study on a possible merger of Sylvania Township and the city of Sylvania will be presented to the community during a public meeting next week.
Conducted by the University of Toledo's Urban Affairs Center, the feasibility study examined the financial impacts of a merger, said Pat Nowak, executive director of the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce. She is serving as a spokesman for the feasibility study effort.
The Sylvania Area Community Improvement Corp., with assistance from contributing organizations and local individuals, formed a committee last year to continue to study the pros and cons of merging the city and township. The study was done as a continuation of the consolidation of services study that the SCIC conducted in 2005.
As part of the new feasibility study, the community group commissioned the University of Toledo Urban Affairs Center to examine the financial impacts of a merger between the city and township, Ms. Nowak said.
The SCIC was "very specific about the charge" and gave the Urban Affairs Center a specific job - explore the financial impacts of a merger, she said.
Information from the feasibility study will be presented during the public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Sylvania Senior Center, 7140 Sylvania Ave. During the session, a 30-minute presentation will be made by representatives from the Urban Affairs Center. That will be followed by a question-and-answer period. An executive summary of the findings will be distributed that evening.
A copy of the report from the feasibility study is scheduled to be posted online by noon Wednesday on the Sylvania Area Community Improvement Corp.'s Web site, www.sylvaniacic.org.
A follow-up public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. March 1 at the senior center to discuss the feasibility study further. The meeting will include a brief presentation about the results of the study; an explanation of the steps in a merger process, and a question-and-answer period.
Private donations paid the $16,162 cost to have the study done, said Frank Kozak, former president of the SCIC.
Mr. Kozak, chairman of the feasiblity study committee, said his team worked for "many, many months," and that he was pleased with both the process and the interaction with the Urban Affairs Center.
"I am looking forward to providing the community with a potentially very important document for the future of the community," he said.