Maumee’s policies on parking and camping will end up driving dollars from the city, walleye fishermen told the mayor and other city officials.
At Monday’s city council meeting, almost every seat in the audience was filled, many with men wearing camo, fishing coveralls, and baseball hats.
“Parking was shut down and camping was taken away from us,” said Perrysburg resident Greg Morlock, who has participated in the walleye run for 38 years. “If this is going to continue, we’re not going to spend one more dime in this town.”
He said the city will lose tourist money with its no-parking and no-camping decisions, which were amplified on social media last week.
“We bring millions of dollars into Maumee and Perrysburg,” Mr. Morlock said.
He said he knows fishermen from all over the country who usually stay in Maumee and have now altered their plans.
“They will not stay in this town no more,” he said.
Mayor Jim MacDonad said the parking restrictions amount to 16 spaces on two small blocks along the riverfront.
“Nothing else has been restricted, nothing else,” he said. “Obviously we’re not against fishing and we’re not trying to run people out of town.”
Camping is not allowed in Maumee, the mayor said. “The rec center has never been an area to camp in. It’s not zoned that.”
“Why?” a fisherman called out from the back of the council chamber.
“It’s never been zoned that,” Mayor MacDonald replied. “There’s no camping in the middle of Toledo, or Sylvania, or Perrysburg.”
Last week, Alan Lehenbauer, the city’s law director, told The Blade via email that “camping has never been permitted for events like the walleye run.”
Under the Ohio Administrative Code, he said, short-term camping is allowed for the Lucas County Fair and for vendors during The Blade’s annual Northwest Ohio Rib Off.
Patrick Burtch, Maumee’s city administrator, said Monday night that the parking restrictions have been in place for a few years. The temporary no-parking signs were placed last week after residents asked for them to be installed for the walleye season.
“Council didn’t make a decision on it,” Mr. Burtch said.
In an interview earlier Monday, Glenn Spioch, an avid fisherman who has lived in Maumee since 1997, said the fishermen want to get the council’s attention.
“I really don't think it’s going to change anything, but we want to be heard,” he said.
Mr. Spioch said he feels personally responsible for the camping situation. When he heard that Schroeder’s Farm in Perrysburg, where many of the walleye fishermen camped, was closing, he said he contacted the Lucas County Fairgrounds on Key Street, just down the street from his home on Holgate Avenue.
There were 100 available camping spots at the fairgrounds, which Mr. Spioch posted on five different Facebook pages.
He said he got a great deal: For six weeks of camping the cost would be $800 with electric and $500 without electric. The daily cost would have been $19.50 with electric.
Nine people paid for a full six weeks, and Mr. Spioch said he expected most fishermen would want the daily rate.
“Last Monday I get a phone call saying we have problems,” Mr. Spioch said.
Refunds are being issued, he said, adding that some are not full refunds because a third-party payment system was used.
Mayor MacDonald said during the council meeting that camping during the walleye run should have never been approved by the fair board.
“They don’t have the authority to do that. They overstepped their boundaries. It was against all zoning codes,” he said.
First Published March 18, 2025, 12:55 a.m.
