Columbia Gas plans major gas-main replacement across Tiffin's east side

Columbia Gas of Ohio plans to replace aging natural gas mains across much of Tiffin’s east side this summer, a company representative told Tiffin City Council on Monday, June 1.

The update was one of two utility presentations at the meeting, where council also passed four ordinances, gave first readings to three others and scheduled a public hearing on next year’s tax budget.

Gas-main work coming to the east side

Katie Rosa, a public affairs specialist with Columbia Gas of Ohio, said the company’s Coe Street Accelerated Main Replacement Program will cover a large portion of the city’s eastern half. The program replaces older cast-iron and bare-steel pipe — some of it in the ground since the 1950s and 1960s, Rosa said — with plastic line the company expects to last more than 100 years.

Most of the project area will receive full mainline and service-line replacement along with meter relocation, Rosa said. Two areas, Rosa Street and Hedgegate Court, will see mainline upgrades only, with service-line replacements decided case by case.

Miller Pipeline will serve as the contractor, with crews carrying photo identification on themselves, their vehicles and their equipment, she said. Mainline work is completed first, followed by appointment-based service-line installations that typically run two to four hours. Because crews must enter the home to complete service-line work and relight gas appliances, someone 18 or older must be present for each appointment. Rosa said most homes will also need their meter relocated to comply with state and federal regulations adopted over the past five to 10 years.

Rosa said she did not yet have pre-construction dates and expected to share them after a scheduling call the following day. She estimated the project would begin around mid-July.

She also said the company’s ongoing Noble Street project is nearly finished. Mainline installation on Monroe between Noble and Hudson and on Erie between Noble and Water was wrapping up, she said, with the new mainline set to be energized at midweek and service-line installations on Noble and Webster to follow later in the week.

Bulk cleanup week set for June 15–19

Blake Austin, a municipal and public sector specialist for Rumpke, reminded council that the city’s annual bulk cleanup week runs June 15 through 19. He said residents are asked to limit set-outs to five items per household, plastic-wrap any upholstered furniture so crews can load it safely, and have Freon removed from refrigerators before disposal. Car batteries and other hazardous materials should not be placed at the curb, he said. Yard waste and tree limbs are not part of the cleanup and are handled as regular trash.

Austin also urged residents not to throw away lithium-ion batteries, or batteries of any kind, saying they can cause fires in collection trucks and at disposal facilities. He pointed residents to the Ottawa-Sandusky-Seneca Solid Waste District, which holds household hazardous-waste collection events. Registration and information are available at RecycleOSS.org or by phone at 419-334-7222.

Council action: easements, intern pay, budget

Council passed four ordinances unanimously, each on a 7-0 vote after suspending its three-reading rule.

Ordinance 2026-36, introduced by Councilmember John Hays, authorizes the mayor to enter into permanent stormwater easements with various property owners. Hays said the agreements provide for ongoing inspection, maintenance and repair tied to infrastructure improvements.

Ordinance 2026-39, also introduced by Hays, authorizes the mayor to accept an easement from Tiffin RA LLC for public use of sidewalks on Wentz Street. Hays said the company is awaiting permits before work begins, which he cited as the reason for immediate passage.

Ordinance 2026-40, introduced by Councilmember Kevin Roessner, amends the city pay ordinance to set pay for a law-office intern. Law Director Zach Fowler said his office plans to bring on a law-school student as an intern and that the part-time position is already covered in the budget. The measure was passed as an emergency.

Ordinance 2026-42, also introduced by Roessner, amends the 2026 budget to appropriate $10,769.95 to the street maintenance department and $50 to the police department. Finance Director Jill Lindhorst said the street maintenance figure reflects three insurance-claim checks the city received. Roessner thanked Tiffin Women in Action for the donation to the Tiffin Police Department.

Three ordinances received first readings without a vote: Ordinance 2026-37, a sanitary sewer easement with Trilogy Real Estate Tiffin LLC; Ordinance 2026-38, a sanitary and stormwater sewer easement with the Seneca Industrial and Economic Development Corporation; and Ordinance 2026-41, which would adopt a tax budget for fiscal year 2027 and direct the finance director to deliver it to the Seneca County Auditor.

Council President Bridget Boyle announced a public hearing on the fiscal year 2027 tax budget for 7 p.m. June 15, the date of the next regular council meeting.

Progress Parkway TIF and a new confidentiality law

In other business, Councilmember Kyle Daugherty, who chairs the Law and Community Planning Committee, said the committee did not need to meet on the mayor’s request for legislation regarding a tax increment financing arrangement for Progress Parkway because it had previously discussed the matter. He asked the law director to prepare the legislation. Tax increment financing, or TIF, redirects future property-tax revenue generated by a property’s increased value toward public infrastructure or development costs.

Fowler also told council about a recent change in state law affecting how the city handles economic-development records. He said an amendment to Ohio Revised Code Section 9.66 makes paperwork tied to economic-development assistance programs — such as Community Reinvestment Area applications and items going before the Tax Incentive Review Council — confidential rather than public record. The provision, enacted through House Bill 184 and effective March 20, 2026, classifies information submitted by applicants for economic-development assistance as not a public record under Ohio’s public records law. Fowler said the confidentiality applies while applications are being processed and that the handling differs once items formally come before council. He noted the Ohio Municipal League is holding a seminar on the change June 9.

Mayor’s town hall

Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Lee Wilkinson reminded residents of a town hall he is hosting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 4, at the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library, where he said he would take questions from the public.