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Record of Proceedings

Housing, Community Development & Public Health Committee Meeting - August 27, 2026

City Council — Thursday, August 27, 2026
BodyToledo, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, August 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 51:14

Original source
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1:56

Oh here.

2:00

Okay.

2:28

You want me to change it?

2:29

Here, I'll change it.

3:36

Right.

4:35

All right.

4:43

Should be in your folder, but I call to order the housing community development and public health policy committee for the day of Thursday, August twenty seventh, twenty twenty six.

5:00

I call to order the housing community development and public health policy committee for the day of Thursday, August 27th, 2026.

5:09

Clerk, please call the role.

5:11

Jones.

5:11

Here.

5:12

Gaddis.

5:14

Kramer here.

5:15

Martinez.

5:17

McPherson here.

5:19

Meldon.

5:20

Williams.

5:22

For a present.

5:24

Okay.

5:25

Today we are honored to have Dr.

5:27

Valerie Walston, who is the founder of SOAR, which stands for surviving obstacles and attaining rewards.

5:35

So she is here to talk about her endeavors, her activities, partnerships, about how she's giving to health, whether it's mental, physical, economic, all of that stuff.

5:46

Either way, it's all about well-being.

5:48

So I'm going to hand over the stage to Dr.

5:52

Walston to get us started.

5:54

Welcome.

6:01

Can you hear me okay?

6:02

Is that good?

6:02

Okay.

6:03

So when so I have, I thought I had five minutes, but I have like 25 minutes.

6:09

Is that right?

6:10

All right.

6:10

So I want to, so let me tell you what I'm going to do.

6:14

I'm gonna start by posing a couple questions to you, and I'd like you to answer them.

6:20

Secondly, I'm gonna walk through the PowerPoint presentation.

6:25

And then lastly, each of you have been given a folder.

6:28

Inside the folder, um, you have examples of what I'm doing out here in these Toledo streets.

6:34

That's my tagline.

6:36

And you also have uh paper copy of information regarding my annual women's conference.

6:44

So, any questions before I get started?

6:47

Okay, it is my hope that by the end of this presentation, you will know and understand how my work ties to helping the city of Toledo get healthier.

6:57

So, my questions to you.

7:00

What are you doing personally on the regular basis to protect your mental wellness?

7:07

And what are you doing to stay physically active?

7:10

What are you doing to protect your mental wellness?

7:14

And or what are you doing to maintain physical activity?

7:19

So you can answer one or the other.

7:21

Who would like to respond first?

7:25

All right.

7:26

Uh I try every day to give myself at least an hour to do activities that I enjoy just myself.

7:36

So if it's reading or playing a game on my phone or taking a walk with my child, those things, and then I have my Fitbit and I try to get 10,000 steps every single day.

7:47

Okay, so I'll fit it.

7:48

Reading things that you enjoy doing, right?

7:52

Thanks.

7:53

Anybody else want to answer?

7:57

All right, we're talking.

7:58

This is like 20 seconds, though.

8:00

I just want you guys to answer.

8:01

Anyone else want to answer?

8:03

I would say um definitely rest and trying to get more out in nature and taking my children out in nature as well.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Health█████████████████████████████████████████41%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████20%
Mental Health Awareness██████████████14%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Procedural███████7%
Community Engagement██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Housing, Community Development & Public Health Committee Meeting - August 27, 2026

The Housing, Community Development & Public Health Policy Committee of Toledo, Ohio, met on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 3:30 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting featured a presentation by Dr. Valerie Walston on her wellness initiatives and concluded with public comment regarding property damage caused by a city demolition crew.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Alexandria Martin and Rafael Rodriguez (178 Hausman Street, Toledo) spoke about significant damage to their home caused by the city’s demolition of an abandoned house next door. The roof of their porch dropped two feet, separated from the house causing water damage, and their fence was broken. They stated they have submitted all required bids to the city over three months ago but have received no response, despite the issue being covered by local news and going viral on social media. They expressed frustration that no one from the city has contacted them, and they noted that a construction crew member was quoted making a crude remark when the damage occurred. Ms. Martin is expecting a baby in about four weeks. Council members McPherson, Williams, and Gaddis apologized and pledged to personally follow up to expedite the repair process.

Discussion Items

  • Dr. Valerie Walston – SOAR Wellness Presentation: Dr. Walston, founder of SOAR (Surviving Obstacles and Attaining Rewards), presented her work promoting physical, mental, and financial wellness in Toledo. She described her personal journey, including reaching 340 pounds and experiencing trauma from a family suicide attempt at age eight. She outlined programs such as the annual women‘s symposium (October 18, 2026, at The Fire Pit on Airport, 2 PM), the 419 Community Wellness Series, a kinesthetic marathon (which she learned should be limited to one hour), a podcast (“Flight Path to Wellness”), and partnerships with NAMI, Boys & Girls Club, and others. She noted that last year’s conference had 176 women in attendance and that she comps approximately 40 tickets annually for those who cannot afford them. She requested sponsorship from the city to continue her work. Council members praised her efforts, and President Williams suggested forming a women’s council sponsorship. Councilwoman McPherson proposed exploring ways to bring Dr. Walston’s services to city employees.

Key Outcomes

  • Committee members expressed strong support for Dr. Walston’s initiatives and committed to exploring sponsorship and partnership opportunities at the city level.
  • President Williams and Councilwoman McPherson personally promised to contact administration immediately regarding the Martin/Rodriguez property damage claim and to ensure repairs are expedited.
  • Councilwoman Gaddis called for a future committee hearing to hold the administration accountable for communication failures and to review the demolition damage response process.
  • No formal votes were taken; the meeting adjourned after public comment.

Meeting Transcript

Oh here. Okay. You want me to change it? Here, I'll change it. Right. All right. Should be in your folder, but I call to order the housing community development and public health policy committee for the day of Thursday, August twenty seventh, twenty twenty six. I call to order the housing community development and public health policy committee for the day of Thursday, August 27th, 2026. Clerk, please call the role. Jones. Here. Gaddis. Kramer here. Martinez. McPherson here. Meldon. Williams. For a present. Okay. Today we are honored to have Dr. Valerie Walston, who is the founder of SOAR, which stands for surviving obstacles and attaining rewards. So she is here to talk about her endeavors, her activities, partnerships, about how she's giving to health, whether it's mental, physical, economic, all of that stuff. Either way, it's all about well-being. So I'm going to hand over the stage to Dr. Walston to get us started. Welcome. Can you hear me okay? Is that good? Okay. So when so I have, I thought I had five minutes, but I have like 25 minutes. Is that right? All right. So I want to, so let me tell you what I'm going to do. I'm gonna start by posing a couple questions to you, and I'd like you to answer them. Secondly, I'm gonna walk through the PowerPoint presentation. And then lastly, each of you have been given a folder. Inside the folder, um, you have examples of what I'm doing out here in these Toledo streets. That's my tagline. And you also have uh paper copy of information regarding my annual women's conference. So, any questions before I get started? Okay, it is my hope that by the end of this presentation, you will know and understand how my work ties to helping the city of Toledo get healthier. So, my questions to you. What are you doing personally on the regular basis to protect your mental wellness? And what are you doing to stay physically active? What are you doing to protect your mental wellness? And or what are you doing to maintain physical activity? So you can answer one or the other. Who would like to respond first? All right. Uh I try every day to give myself at least an hour to do activities that I enjoy just myself.

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