Neighborhood group says Toledo mayoral candidates should be prepared for forum
10/15/2013When Toledo mayoral candidates Mayor Mike Bell and Councilman D. Michael Collins take the stage tonight for the South Toledo Neighborhood Alliance forum there should be no reason for one of them to utter the words, "I'll have to look into it and get back to you."
That's because the candidates were supplied with a list of the nine questions that will be asked, or rather the pledges they will be asked to agree to.
One of the questions asks the candidate's position on the possibility of Toledo adopting an ordinance that passed in January in Youngstown that would require owners of abandoned and vacant property to post a $10,000 cash bond to make sure the property is maintained or demolished.
"All the other forums are asking about the budget and all the big things and we are very concerned with our neighborhood. We want to know that Mayor Bell and Mr. Collins are concerned with our neighborhood," said Molly Tomaszewski, a member of the Burroughs Neighborhood Organization executive board.
She said they added timelines to be able to hold the politicians' feet to the fire.
The forum, one of many organized by neighborhood and business groups for the two independent mayoral candidates, starts at 7 p.m. in Burroughs School, 2420 South Ave. The event is co-hosted by three groups representing the Burroughs, Highland Heights, and Arlington neighborhoods of South Toledo.
The group is also aiming at trying to stop what they believe is a strip club planned for a vacant building at the intersection of South and Airport Highway, and asks the candidates to make pledges regarding police attendance at their meetings, resurfacing of Airport Highway and South, erosion of Swan Creek's banks, and a feasibility study for a water splash park.
Contact Tom Troy at tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058 and on Twitter @TomFTroy.