Toledo Board of Revision of Assessments Meeting – February 13, 2026
Toledo Board of Revision of Assessments Meeting – February 13, 2026
The Board of Revision of Assessments (BORA) held a public hearing on Friday, February 13, 2026, at 10:00 AM in Council Chambers at One Government Center. The sole agenda item was Resolution No. 532-25, declaring it necessary to provide for the rehabilitation of sidewalks and driveway approaches on various streets in the City of Toledo. The meeting included a presentation from Engineering Services, public testimony from property owners, and a unanimous vote to forward the resolution to City Council with a recommendation of approval.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Amy and Leonard Hendricks (6208 Applegate Drive): Expressed concern about four sidewalk panels, one of which appeared undamaged, and a tree they believed caused the issues. They wished to save the tree. Engineering Services clarified that tree-damaged panels would be covered by the city's tree fund, and the tree was not slated for removal. A field visit was offered to reassess.
- Mark Sisek (3209 Wendover Drive): Questioned the need for replacement, stating prior replacements had been done by the city. He requested a site visit to understand the ADA criteria. Engineering Services agreed to schedule a field evaluation.
- Nancy Rascala (805 Locust Street): Argued that seven sidewalk panels looked fine, some were new, and no safety issues existed. She highlighted other neighborhood problems like vacant houses. Engineering Services noted inspections were done in 2023 and offered a field meeting.
- Carolyn Craig Hancock (546 Ogden): Questioned why two panels previously replaced by the city for tree damage were now being assessed to her. She requested a site visit. Engineering Services explained that current city council policy assesses tree-damage repairs to property owners unless covered by the tree fund, and offered a re-evaluation.
- Mike Kuhar (representing Carolyn Core, 4511 294th Street and 2558 102nd Street): Requested a visit to verify that a driveway approach leading to a gravel street (not paved) and multiple panels damaged by walnut trees (removed) should be covered by the tree fund or grant program. He also noted the street condition issue. Engineering Services agreed to schedule a field visit.
- Arian Henderson (6113 Foxcroft): Questioned why six panels needed replacement when only one had a slight dip. She noted a discrepancy between the letter’s cost ($10.50/sq ft) and the city website ($7.90/sq ft). Engineering Services acknowledged the website might have outdated information and would update it. A field visit was offered.
- David Zobler (2602 Hundred Cycle Street): Sought clarification about pedestrian ramp expansions at the corner. Engineering Services explained that ramps would be brought to ADA standards at no cost to the homeowner. He requested a site visit in conjunction with neighbor Carolyn’s visit.
- Terrence Hewling Butte (2537 Ludington Drive): Argued he should not be responsible for damage assessed in 2023, as he purchased the home in September 2025. He questioned why homeowners must pay for sidewalks they don't own. The chair explained that assessments run with the property. He requested a re-evaluation for possible tree damage. Engineering Services agreed.
- Elizabeth Dunbar (1537 North Hereon Street and 21 Stickney Street): Claimed that heavy equipment from city demolition years ago damaged sidewalks, and the city never fixed them. She now faces assessment for those panels. Engineering Services said they would check with the demolition division. She also questioned why five panels with only cracks need replacement. A field visit was offered.
- Dean Thompson (632 Ogden): Requested a re-assessment of four panels and the approach, stating he had video evidence of no issues. Engineering Services agreed to a site visit.
Discussion Items
- Presentation by Christy Soncrant, Commissioner of Engineering Services: Described the 2026 sidewalk program as a continuation of the 2023 revamped program. Prior system was complaint-driven and inefficient; new program evaluates entire streets. The program includes tree-saving pilot methods. Total budget: $3.5 million, with $1.75 million assessed to property owners, $1.25 million for tree removal/planting (funded by city tree assessment), and $500,000 for city-owned sidewalk repairs (PED ramps and adjacent to city properties). Property owners are assessed for tree-damage repairs unless covered by the tree fund. The tree assessment is a citywide front-footage fee.
- Sidewalk Grant Program: Dr. Geneva Fisher from Housing and Community Development announced a sidewalk grant available until March 15, 2026. Eligibility based on income. Applications via the city website (toledo.oh.gov, search "sidewalk grant"). Turnaround time is a few days.
- Board Questions: The board asked about the timeline for re-inspections. Engineering Services indicated they would start calling residents that day to schedule appointments. The board also noted the need to allow time for grant applications.
Key Outcomes
- Motion and Vote: A motion was made to recommend approval of Resolution 532-25 to City Council. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously (3-0). Director Fosner, Commissioner Buckley, and Mr. Searing voted in favor.
- Referrals for Field Inspections: Engineering Services will contact the following property owners to schedule re-inspections: Amy and Leonard Hendricks, Mark Sisek, Nancy Rascala, Carolyn Craig Hancock, Mike Kuhar (for Carolyn Core), Arian Henderson, David Zobler, Terrence Hewling Butte, Elizabeth Dunbar, and Dean Thompson.
- Website Correction: Engineering Services will update the city website to reflect the correct cost per square foot for sidewalk repairs.
- Follow-up on Demolition Damage: Engineering Services will coordinate with the demolition division regarding Elizabeth Dunbar’s claim of city-caused damage.
Meeting Transcript
Well, good morning everyone. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Council Chambers for this the Friday, the 13th, February 13th, 2026 meeting of the City of Toledo Board of Revision of Assessments scheduled for this time and place. And there is a quorum to conduct business. There's one item on today's agenda. We usually have a variety of items dealing with a variety of topics, but today is what I like to refer to the annual city sidewalk program board meeting. It is resolution number 5325 declaring it necessary to provide for the rehabilitation of sidewalks and driveway approaches on various streets in the City of Toledo. What we do is we will hear from the City's uh engineering services department uh on the program and uh if you pay attention, hopefully some of your questions will be answered by listening to them. Um we have a QA between the board and those representatives of the engineering services department. After that, uh we have names on a sign-up sheet. We'll call those names and you can approach the podium, introduce yourself, indicate the address of the property uh you're talking about, and let us hear your concerns or questions uh in that regard. At the conclusion of the meeting, the board traditionally uh makes a motion to uh forward the matter on to City Council with uh various recommendations. It could be a recommendation to not proceed, a recommendation to proceed without any changes or possibly some changes. It's been my experience in all my years chairing this board that most of the time property owners can speak with the engineering services folks and resolve questions and resolve matters at that level. Um so I want you to please be receptive of that being a uh solution. But again, you have an opportunity to be heard by this board, and uh you'll be given that opportunity uh today before the meeting is over. Are there any other preliminary matters, Mr. Martinez? Not at this time. Also joined up here, by the way, is Roberto Martinez from the finance department, and he is the city's assessment officer and acts as the administrator to this board. Uh anything further from the board at this time. Hearing none, I'll ask the uh representatives of the city's utility uh engineering services department uh to make a presentation to everyone present. Good morning. Good morning and good morning, everyone. Um I'm Christy Soncrant, the Commissioner of Engineering Services. And this year's 2026 sidewalk program is actually a continuation of the program that we did in 2023. Um the city actually took a couple years off of the sidewalk program to kind of try to revamp our program. Um in the past, it was complaint-driven, so residents would call in issues with sidewalks, and then we would go out, check them and get a contractor to do the work, but it was always piecemealed throughout the city. So we the contractor was jumping from one place to another, which of course is less efficient and costs more money. So we decided to go back, look how the city's sidewalk program works, and come up with a more streamlined and hopefully better solution for our residents and the city of Toledo. So how our program currently works now is we are going when we go down an area, we take a look at all the sidewalks on that street. So instead of just somebody said something about this corner, we'll do that one and not look at any of the others. We check all the sidewalks on that whole street, and if there are any that need to be fixed, we add that to the program. Another thing that we've done is we've looked at outside the box thinking and trying to save the trees instead of just cutting down a tree because the tree has raised the sidewalk. We ran a pilot program to try to determine different ways to fix sidewalks so we can keep our trees. So we have implemented some of those in this program also. This year our program also is about 3.5 million is what this year's program is. And 1.75 million is assessed to the property owners. 1.25 is for the removal of city-owned trees for the construction. Also planting of new trees. That will be funded by the tree assessment. So property owners do not have to worry about those. And then the city also has $500,000 worth of sidewalks that we are fixing for PED ramps or sidewalks that are adjacent to city-owned properties that are being replaced. So I guess in general that's an overview of our program. So there's three funding sources for the entire program. City CIP, assessed sidewalk, which is assessed back to the tax bill of the property owner. And then the tree assessment, which is a separate city assessment that everyone in the city uh pays into based on their front footage. Yes. And that takes care of the whole citywide canopy, which this program interacts with that tree program. Yes, it does. Interfering with the condition of the sidewalk.
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