The Village of Walbridge has a new police chief. Don Egan, a veteran of the CSX Police Department who also served with the FBI Cleveland Joint Terrorism Task Force, was sworn in during the village council’s meeting Wednesday, taking command of a department the mayor says needs stability.
Egan was sworn in by Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman. He spent 37 years with the CSX Police Department, which protects more than 21,000 miles of railway and keeps an office at Walbridge Yard, just southwest of the village, and rose to supervisory special agent overseeing railroad police operations spanning Toledo, Detroit and Cleveland.
“I’m just looking forward to working in the community and just doing the best job I can for the citizens and taking on all the challenges that come with it,” Egan said. Mayor Ed Kolanko said Egan had been a candidate in his mind for about a year and a half. “When you have somebody that has 30-plus years’ experience that has a lot of respect within the departments as well as within the communities, I think he’s going to do a great job in kind of righting the ship,” Kolanko said.
The department has been working to rebuild community trust after an officer was terminated last year for allegedly responding to a call while intoxicated, an episode that drew public scrutiny in the village. Egan said his federal task force experience taught him to be flexible and not take things at face value. Also sworn in Wednesday was new full-time officer Sydney Felt, a University of Toledo criminal justice graduate.
Council also filled its own vacancy, appointing Sheila Tucker to the seat left open by the resignation of former Council President Thomas L. Urbina. Tucker won the roll-call vote with support from four council members, with one member backing the other finalist, Kathy Heldt. Her appointment took effect immediately, and she will be formally sworn in at council’s next regular meeting on Nov. 4, when council is also expected to elect a new council president.
In other business, Kolanko announced a $625,000 grant through the Lake Erie West Regional Council for Main Street improvements, part of a joint $1.2 million project with Lake Township, and a $571,000 grant for sidewalk improvements on Union Street. Leaf pickup has begun in the village, brush pickup is complete for the year, and restrooms at Loop and Railway parks will be winterized on Nov. 2.
Council unanimously approved rolling over two $500,000 certificates of deposit with State Bank, and Kolanko noted the municipal pool operated at a roughly $20,000 loss for the 2026 season, consistent with past years. Repaving and sewer work on Allen Street and Holly Drive is progressing, with crews using contingency funds to clear tree roots and blockages found in the 300 block of Elm Street.