Subheader
TIFFIN, OHIO – January 20, 2022 – Today, the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership released the 2022 Dream Big Tiffin! Report officially capping off the six-month long community development process. Overseen by the Tiffin Community Development Committee (TCDC), Dream Big Tiffin! is a community sourced and driven process to help guide project development in Tiffin.
Kymberlee Wood was excited to make the announcement, saying, “Kuebler Shoes has an amazing history and provides outstanding shoes and service to the community. We are honored to continue that tradition.”
(The first quote: David will come up with the draft quote. It often appears in the second, but also sometimes in the third paragraph.)
Obringer agreed: “I am so happy to see Klinton and Kymberlee take over as the new owners of Kuebler Shoes and to keep our tradition of quality shoes and service alive. I wanted to retire, but I cared deeply about the business continuing. The Clearinghouse gave me the opportunity to connect with a lot of potential investors and helped make this a reality.”
(This quote is unusual in that we have two businesses/businesspeople involved. Usually, we only do one quote.)
This report is the culmination of a long and involved process to solicit, review, and categorize project proposals and ideas from Tiffin residents and stakeholders. The second Dream Big Tiffin! initiative was announced on August 30, 2021 and opened for submissions later that week September 3. Over the course of six weeks, the community generated seven new project proposals and sixteen new ideas. Additionally, the projects and ideas from the 2021 cycle carried over resulting in fourteen total project proposals and 44 total ideas.
Following the end of the submission period, the general public was asked to weigh in on what projects they felt were important. Using this community insight, two TCDC committees, Health and Human Services and Quality of Life, to assessed each project to determine their rank (Priority, Recommended, and Reviewed). Nine projects were ranked as a priority, two as recommended, and three as reviewed. Below are the priority projects and a short description of what they entail.
- Bunky Bike Tree: $5,000 sculpture of a tree made from recycled bicycle parts to honor the life and legacy of Mark “Bunky” Roehrig.
- Court Street Alley Improvement Project: a $407,000 project that seeks to transform Court Street into a destination space like Cherry Alley including lighting, seating, and other amenities.
- South River Road Trail Improvements: $200,000 for the development and beautification of a recently vacated street area as a portion of trail along the Sandusky River, increasing safety.
- Holiday Lighting: $31,000 to produce and hang 61 branded snowflakes on the South Washington Street light poles to make downtown brighter, prevent vandalism, and increase visibility of community branding.
- Downtown Parking Lot Improvements Design: $101,342 to repave and restripe the eight downtown public-use parking lots and the installation of additional high-quality lighting, landscaping, signage, and other amenities.
- Community Gardens: $2,732.86 to build and support a model garden in the heart of Tiffin to serve community members who struggle financially to obtain a balanced, healthy diet, and who may lack the knowledge needed to grow their own food.
- Cycling Without Age: a $70,000 program to provide free bicycle rides for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities to improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
- Tiffin Community Kitchen: $2.7 million community kitchen space where people can connect around local food, service, cooking, eating, and growing.
- Transformational Life Center: $100,000 to develop a comprehensive center that will provide housing, clothing, food, and services for those in need.
Tiffin Mayor Aaron Montz commented, “We’re happy to welcome Klinton and Kymberlee as the new owners of this great local business, and I encourage everyone to support them. I’m also glad to see the Clearinghouse continuing to see success in helping foster entrepreneurship.”
(This is the political quote, either from the Mayor or the President of the County Commission. Again, David will come up with this.)
About Dream Big Tiffin!
Starting in 2020, Dream Big Tiffin! is the process used by the Tiffin Community Develop Committee in partnership with TSEP to generate community development project proposals and ideas. Dream Big Tiffin! was created to ensure that residents and stakeholders had a clear and straight-forward avenue to make their needs, wants, and opinions known in the development process.
About the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership
Started in 1983 as the Seneca Industrial and Economic Development Corp. (SIEDC), the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership is a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to driving positive economic, downtown, and community development in Tiffin and Seneca County, Ohio, which consistently ranks among the top communities nationally for economic development. Learn more about the great things going on in Tiffin and Seneca County at www.tiffinseneca.org.
