Toledo in London - LivCom Finals Daily Updates

And the Silver goes to Toledo!

2007-11-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

Mayor Finkbeiner graciously accepted a Silver Award and the Third Place, Most Livable Community Award for cities with a population between 200,001 and 750,000.

A morning walk

2007-11-26T17:21:00.000-08:00

Hyde Park was a favorite amoung Toledo delegates. Speakers Corner was a hoot, too.

A little relaxation

2007-11-26T17:19:00.000-08:00

Members of the Toledo delegation enjoyed a little down time following the presentation to the judges.

Presentation Photos

2007-11-26T17:13:00.001-08:00

Terry and Dena Barror were amoung a crowd of conference goers congratulating Tom, Sue, Amy and Mayor Finkbeiner following the presentation to the judges.

Presentation photos

2007-11-26T17:11:00.001-08:00

Sue Frederick hit it out of the park during her presentation!

Presentation photos

2007-11-26T17:09:00.001-08:00

A panel of three judges viewed the Toledo presentation.

Special Visitors

2007-11-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

Mark Savage and Dave Bixler, two native Toledoans currently living in London, joined us at LivCom to view our presentation. It was delightful to see friends from home!

Toledoans bring home Silver

2007-11-26T16:15:00.001-08:00

Toledoans are bringing home a Silver Certificate from the International Awards for Liveable Communities 2007 and a beautiful crystal Third Place Award for the population category of 200,001 - 725,000 population.

"We had judges tell us that our comprehensive presentation was very good," said Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner. "And our more experienced competitors applauded Toledo as doing quite well in its first appearance."

"We are very Proud Toledoans this evening," he added.

Both Malmo, Sweden, and Lyon, France, have been previous competition participants and past winners.

The Judges have allocated Grades A (highest) to E for each Community's entry. Here's Toledo's report card:
Enhancment of Landscape: B
Heritage Management: B
Environmentally Sensitive Practices: B
Community Sustainability: A
Healthy Lifestyles: B
Planning for the Future:B

The Toledo delegation will be returning to Toledo Express Airport Tuesday evening at 10:50 p.m.

Presentation was a hit

2007-11-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

Our presentation was outstanding!
Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, Tom Tomszak, Sue Fredericks with Powerpoint support by Amy Wood delivered an outstanding presentation to the LivCom judges and many audience members. The 40-minute multimedia presentation included nearly 10 minutes of video, with powerpoint supporting the live portion.

Leading the presentation was “Toledo, My Home” video produced by Hart and Associates. This provided a beautiful snapshot of Toledo with similar video introductions to each section of our presentation.

Enhancement of Landscape touted the city’s commitment to greenspaces. With over 11,000 acres of parkland in the area, northwest Ohioans can experience a variety of natural and built areas. Deep streams, forested areas, wetlands, tall grass prairies and floodplains showcase the diversity of the local landscape. Access to and enhancement of areas around the Maumee River has helped us reclaim one of the areas most significant natural resources. In addition to this network of public spaces, the city further enhances its commitment to the landscape with innovative programs like the Garden Partners Initiative and has created policy governing development with an emphasis on Low Impact Design. One key example noted is the city’s Rain Garden Initiative which is designed to improve storm water management.

The overview of Heritage Management spoke to the settlement and development of the region. As a significant transportation hub, Toledo was the natural home for a wide variety business and industry. Toledo takes pride in its industrial, architectural and cultural history. With an eye toward preserving the past, while planning for the future Toledo boasted the retention of Jeep as well as the significance of 17 Historic districts and architectural preservation efforts. Public art and the celebration of the area’s ethnic diversity rounded out this section.

To discuss Environmentally Sensitive Practices, Sue Frederick discussed Toledo’s journey from environmental indifference to developing environmentally sensitive practices focusing on land, air, energy and water. Brownfield remediation at both the Jeep Assembly Plant campus and the Marina District were showcased. Additionally, the city’s recycling effort and the use of recycled material was discussed.

TMACOG, TARTA and University of Toledo shared the stage when we shared our success meeting all federal air-quality standards.

The city’s own initiative to save energy in its buildings and through energy efficient traffic signals was touted celebrating the reduction of more than 5,000 tons of greenhouse gas per year. The Andersons Co.’s annual production of 55 million gallons of ethanol was noted along with two local outstanding solar technology companies – First Solar and Xunlight – as additional successes in conserving and developing cleaner fuel.

Of special note was the City of Toledo’s installation of a methane recovery system at the local landfill. Methane is piped to the city’s Water Reclamation plant to be converted into approximately 6 megawatts of electrical power per day. Over 25 years the city expects the project to save between $25 and $40 million in energy costs.

Water was the final component of the Environmentally Sensitive Practices discussion. The $450 million Waterways Initiative was discussed. The Long-Term Control Plan, the new wastewater treatment plant and the recent top five “best tasting drinking waters” in the US recognition was also reviewed.

The city’s efforts to Keep Jeep and the Board of Community Relations were showcased by Tom Tomsczak to demonstrate our efforts at Community Sustainability. As part of the city’s goal to become more environmentally sensitive, Toledo has adopted and amended community plans that support and encourage energy efficiency and green building design. We have adopted the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design principles as community policy and become a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. The new $100 million green and sustainable multi-purpose arena and convention center in the downtown area and the University of Toledo’s Applied Building and Construction Technologies Department were also highlighted as steps toward creating a more sustainable community.

Healthy Lifestyles also factored into the determination of LivAble Communities. The “Get Fit, Toledo!” campaign encourages Toledo residents to eat healthful foods and keep themselves physically fit and active. The addition of bike trails encourage not just physical activity, but also provide green transportation routes crossing the city. It is clear that community involvement and participation is essential to the success of the “Get Fit” initiative. The city has active partnerships with the American Heart Association and “Bike to Work” days, the yearly Susan Komen “Race for the Cure,” the first Toledo triathlon and the annual Punt, Pass and Kick contest.

Additionally, Toledo established a Commission on Minority Health to focus on improving health disparities among minority populations. The commission develops public awareness and community education campaigns and promotes best practices for improving the health of minority citizens in Toledo.

Toledo 20/20: Toledo By Choice is the comprehensive plan for Toledo’s future. This plan was the first of its kind adopted for the City of Toledo in half a century and was driven by a citizen participation process involving over 50 neighborhood meetings. Toledo 20/20 is tied together by a shared vision for the community and illustrates Toledo’s success Planning for the Future. This Master Plan presented 193 recommendations, organized by overall policy, land use, community design, marketplace, housing, recreation, environment and transportation.
EPIC and the Live Work Create Toledo program were highlighted for their efforts to respectively attract and retain young professionals and new artists to the area. The Toledo Pride! initiative was also showcased.

The presentation wrapped up with a charming video message from Toledo-native Jamie Farr and an invitation from Mayor Finkbeiner to come to Our Home.

Following the presentation, the panel of three judges quizzed the presenters on a variety of topics including pesticide management, tracking results of Get Fit Toledo, the management of yard waste, noise regulation and more. The questions were tough and language (word choices and accents) was a bit of a barrier, but at the end of the presentation, the 13 delegates from Toledo were certainly proud of the way our city was represented at this prestigious international conference.

Exchange of Civic Gifts

2007-11-24T05:23:00.000-08:00

Mayor Finkbeiner, Amy Wood, Tim Murphy and I made the formal presentation of gifts to the Lord Mayor of London Thursday night.

A little sightseeing too.

2007-11-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

But no trip would be complete without a little sightseeing. Several of us, Tim Murphy, Ann Murphy, Tom Tomszak, Amy Wood and I, decided to take in the Tower of London and sneak a peak at London Bridge during a break in the afternoon.

A night to remember

2007-11-24T05:02:00.000-08:00

Last evening’s reception at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office was beautiful – the historic surroundings, the camaraderie and the new friendships that were formed. The London Mayors Association, much like our own U.S. Council of Mayors, served as host for the event that offered us additional opportunities to share our collective experience as we “Think Globally, Act Locally” to reduce our impact on the environment. We met a variety of delegates from around the world and mayors from across London.

Mayor Finkbeiner was delighted with meeting Ducan Sandys, the great grandson of Walter Churchill. Mrs. Amy Finkbeiner was taken with the Lord Mayor of London in our second evening with her. Each of the 13 delegates from Toledo has certainly relished the opportunity to share more about Our Home and learn more about others’.

Everyone arrives safely; we know when we present

2007-11-23T11:08:00.000-08:00

We are presenting at 4 p.m. Saturday!

First, let me apologize for my tardiness in posting this installment. Jet lag and the full schedule of this conference made it difficult to spend much time on other items yesterday.

To catch up, the entire delegation (including luggage) made it without incident to London! Upon our arrival to the hotel, we were into business rather immediately with registration, technical meetings, briefings, media interviews and a wonderful reception in the Library Room at Central Hall, Westminster.

While at the reception, we had the opportunity to share an outstanding meal with conference delegates representing 27 countries from around the globe. We were quite honored to exchange civic gifts and present a beautiful piece of art glass crafted by local artist Homer Yarrito to the Lord Mayor of London. Additionally, the Teamsters and the University of Toledo sent items to present. (I will post photos later tonight). Following that presentation, we got to the business we were all looking forward to the most – Drawing for order of presentation.

The City of Toledo will be presenting at 4 p.m. (London time) on Saturday. Tune into the LivCom website and you may catch video of Toledo’s presentation. If I can learn what time it is broadcast, I will share here.

Today we rehearsed, continued with technical coordination, viewed presentations from countries in other categories and even fit in a little sightseeing. The Tower of London was amazing! But now, we are off to tonight’s event – a reception and dinner hosted by the London Mayor’s Association at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

One of the world's most Liveable Communities!

2007-11-15T04:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Toledo in London Blog.
I am Paulette Huber, a community volunteer and member of the previous Finkbeiner administration. This is my initial posting to share all of the latest about the City of Toledo’s efforts to be named the most Liveable Community in the World!
Nearly two months ago, we learned that Toledo was named as a finalist for the 2007 Liveable Communities Award. Since that time, a team of dedicated officials and volunteers have pulled together to compete for Gold in London.

Launched in 1996, this United Nations endorsed award focuses on six specific criteria regarding best management practices focusing on the environment and creation of liveable communities. Toledo has already been selected as one of seven of the most Liveable Communities with a population between 200,001 – 750,000. Other cities that have been named as finalists include Edogawa City, Japan; Lyon, France; Malmo, Sweden; Manukau, New Zealand; the Regional Municipality of Niagra, Canada; and Wenjiang, PR China.

Each of these cities has been invited to attend the 2007 Liveable Communities conference, the LivCom Awards, in Westminster, London from November 22 – 26. Our 40-minute multi-media presentation will provide a snapshot of Toledo and focus on the six judging criteria: Enhancement of the Landscape; Heritage Management; Environmentally-Sensitive Practices; Community Sustainability; Healthy Lifestyles; and Planning for the Future.

If you’d like to learn more about this awards program or view submissions from previous winners, visit LivCom Awards at www.livcomawards.com.

From now until December 1, please check back regularly to learn more about what the Toledo delegation is doing to prepare for the presentation, our trip and the conference in London.