Members of the Toledo City Council convened on Monday, Feb. 2, for their first regular meeting of the month, and among the agenda items discussed federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades at Kemp Olson Memorial Park.
Councilors also heard pitches from Toledo residents Joe Notch and Kyle Wheeler, both of whom applied to be appointed to a vacancy on the Toledo Planning Commission. Ultimately, the councilors chose Wheeler unanimously, with new Councilor Jillian Niles abstaining from voting.
This was only Niles’ second meeting after she was appointed to a Toledo City Council vacancy during the council’s Jan. 20 meeting last month. Niles filled the seat previously held by former Councilor Tawni Shepherd, who decided not to run for reelection last year.
Since no residents registered to run for the seat, it simply became vacant when the new year started.
Toledo Mayor Cherie Devore announced another vacancy on the council now exists as former Councilor Kathy Hill retired following the Jan. 20 meeting.
Per state law, the city has 90 days to choose Hill’s replacement following her last day in office, and whoever is appointed will serve out the remainder of Hill’s elected term.
“It’ll go through the duration of 2027,” Devore said.
For any Toledo residents interested in serving on the Toledo City Council and filling the position 4 vacancy, requirements to serve on the council include being 18 years or older, being a registered voter and having lived within Toledo city limits for at least one year.
Applications and letters of interest for the position can be filled out and submitted at Toledo City Hall, located at 130 N. Second St. in the South Lewis County community.
“We would like to get somebody in here who really wants to make a difference,” Devore added.
As for the ADA compliant upgrades at Kemp Olson Memorial Park — which centered around installing ADA compliant doors on the bathrooms near the park’s playground.
Three bids were submitted to do the work. The cheapest was $3,502 from Toledo-based Ouellette Construction, followed by $5,921.89 from Longview-based Wrangler Specialty Construction and $12,945 from Lacey-based Dorrobrook LLC.
Toledo City Clerk Treasurer Rachel Campbell stated city staff wanted to go with Wrangler Speciality Construction’s bid, and she added aside from city funds to pay for the project, around $2,200 in donations from the 2025 annual Esther Borte Memorial Walk in the Park were going to be used to help pay for the ADA upgrades.
Wrangler Speciality Construction’s bid was also favored as the construction company had also submitted a bid to put new wood mulch at the park’s playground. While the council unanimously approved accepting the ADA door bid, they tabled accepting any bids for the new playground mulch as they wanted more details as to the specific volume of mulch needed.
The next Toledo City Council meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16. For more information, including meeting agendas, visit the city’s website at https://www.toledowa.us/agendacenter.
