It was a short meeting for members of the Toledo City Council, as they had already been inside their council chambers for an hour for a mid-year budget review workshop prior to their regular meeting on Monday, July 20.
However, the council did approve Ordinance 841, establishing a donation management chapter in Toledo’s municipal code. The new chapter, 1-19, created guidelines “for the city to solicit, accept, administer and decline donations, gives, sponsorships and in-kind contributions for municipal purposes,” according to the council’s meeting agenda.
“This is something that is definitely well-needed, as we do have a lot more donations that are being given to the city. It’s nice to have some clear guardrails on what we can and cannot accept, and how it can be used,” Toledo Mayor Cherie Devore said.
While this ordinance was approved, Toledo Clerk-Treasurer Rachel Campbell stated the separate council resolution establishing the donation management policy would need to be tabled as “the policy’s there, but I don’t have the physical resolution that goes with it.”
The resolution will be up for approval during the council’s next regular meeting, scheduled for Monday, Aug. 3.
During the meeting, Toledo Utilities Clerk Sarah Hazlett introduced local artist Emily Feigenbaum to the council.
The recent Toledo High School graduate just completed the new Wishing Wall mural inside the council’s chambers at Toledo City Hall.
The mural idea was pitched by Hazlett earlier this year as part of the city’s America250 celebration — a nationwide celebration of America’s 250th birthday. Now, when visiting city hall, Toledo residents will be able to put ideas they have for city beautification projects or improvements, and their “wishes” will be then placed on the mural.
The mural is a scene of the Cowlitz River with Mount St. Helens in the background. Wish tags are made to look like river stones, fish, driftwood pieces and paper boats.
“Miss Emily here volunteered to do the painting, and she did an amazing job,” Hazlett said. “It just got finished last week, so we wanted to recognize her and all of her hard work that she did.”
“Many hours,” Campbell added.
After the meeting, Feigenbaum told The Chronicle it took her approximately 85 hours to finish the mural.
While the mural is completed, Hazlett stated the city still plans to add trim around the border. Residents are welcome to visit Toledo City Hall during its regular business hours to fill out a wish tag for the mural, which will be laminated before being placed on the mural.
Feigenbaum’s Wishing Wall mural wasn’t the only art debuted at Monday’s meeting, as Greater Toledo Heritage and Horizons (GTHH) President Larry Davidson announced he released a new CD with music celebrating Toledo and the surrounding area’s history.
Titled “River Songs and Steamboat Tales,” Davidson wrote and performed all the songs on the country-folk music album.
“They are written with history in mind, the Toledo Steamboat and the Cowlitz River. In fact, there are place names and people’s names in the songs to represent historical characters from a period of about 1878 to 1890, when the Toledo was active on the Cowlitz River,” Davidson said.
He told the council he made about 100 copies of the CD, which have been donated to the GTHH to sell as a fundraiser.
Additionally, he and other GTHH members are preparing for the Steamboat Toledo’s upcoming 150th launch anniversary in 2028. The Steamboat Toledo was launched into the Cowlitz River in 1878 by Joseph Kellogg, a prominent steamboat captain and businessman from Portland, Oregon.
Leading up to 2028, the GTHH will be releasing special commemorative buttons each year, with 2026’s already released.
“We’re going to do a different button for 2027, and a different one for 2028, as souvenir buttons leading up to a celebration, yet to be planned,” said Davidson.
Buttons will cost $1.50 each, since it’s the 150th anniversary, and CDs are for sale for $15 each.
For those looking to get either a Steamboat Toledo 150th anniversary button or a copy of “River Songs and Steamboat Tales,” Davidson stated the GTHH will have a booth set up under the grandstands during the Southwest Washington Fair next month where both will be available.
He added the GTHH is looking for more volunteers or community partners interested in helping plan the Steamboat Toledo’s 150th anniversary celebration.
And, according to Davidson, the Schillinger family have been making headway on their proposal to build a “Welcome to Toledo” archway over state Route 505 coming into the city — an idea they proposed back in June as previously reported by The Chronicle.
Now that Toledo Cheese Days has passed, the GTHH will be able to help the Schillingers try to start engineering and planning.
“Sally (Schillinger Cole) did get a response from the Washington DOT (state Department of Transportation),” Davidson said. “It was very positive, but it requires a lot of work to get it done of course.”
The GTHH is a nonprofit looking to “strengthen the cultural, historical and long-term resilience of Toledo and the surrounding rural region,” according to its website.
For more information, visit https://greatertoledoheritageandhorizons.org/ or email the nonprofit at admin@gthh.org.
