Looking back and ahead: Progress, recovery and growth define Wooster’s year

Asked what the best part of 2025 was for him where Wooster was concerned, Bob Reynolds said the emergence of WayGo, the city’s new transportation system. The mayor then quickly changed his mind, as his sentimental side kicked in.

Reynolds instead pointed to the story of Police Chief Matt Fisher, who nearly lost his life last winter before making a courageous comeback from a brain aneurysm to return to his post half a year later.

“As much as I am proud of WayGo, the high point of 2025 had to be Chief Fisher’s return to duty,” the mayor said. “Immediately following the incident last February, the idea of him returning to work was not on anyone’s radar. At that point he was literally fighting for his life. His recovery is a testament to his determination as well as the work of a lot of people that helped him at every step of the way.”

Very cool story, indeed. Then again, so is implementing a new transportation system in a town that did not have one. WayGo emerged in August, giving citizens and visitors a fixed-route bus loop as well as on-demand rides to get them around town as needed.

“We built it from scratch,” Reynolds said. “Before, there was nothing, at least at the city level. We were not in that business at all. There was a time when the county system closed up. There was none. We were able to build this from scratch with the federal government matching dollars and now have it up and running. We’ve had nothing but compliments, other than the area we cover.”

Reynolds said that final consideration was bound to be a bit of a limitation, at least at first, as things were implemented. Eventually, he said, WayGo will expand its coverage, possibly even to a county-wide system. For now, though, it’s a major upgrade.

Going back a year to when Reynolds and the rest of the city government were looking toward 2025, housing was a major focus, and the Christmas Run pool was a minor one. Now housing is less of an issue, though still on a lot of minds, and the pool is still on the drawing board.

The Christmas Run pool was supposed to have been dealt with last year, but bids to get it up and running all came in over budgeted amounts, so Reynolds said things were tweaked a bit.

This year, with advertisements getting out earlier so contractors could approach the pool at the beginning of their schedules instead of the end, bids did come in under the city’s budget threshold, so the pool will be taken care of. The only downside is the pool will have to remain closed for one more season.

From a housing standpoint, a lot of attention was paid to the annexation of 240 acres of the Graham Farm on the west side of town. Just as important, though, were residential zoning code revisions made with the goal of more investments being made in the city’s existing neighborhoods.

“I think from the standpoint of how many additional units are you going to add with that, the answer is not that many probably. In terms of adding to our housing stock, it’s not going to move that number,” Reynolds said. “What it does is it incentivizes developers or property owners at the low level, at the bottom of the price range. Sometimes, commercial landlords will get those properties and put the minimum into them. Now it will make more sense when you have a property that’s marginal, you can knock it down and build something new and more affordable.

"You’re not going to see results overnight, but in 10 years we’re going to be able to look back and say that really made a difference in some of our neighborhoods that needed some TLC.”

Also, always on people’s minds are the roundabouts that have been popping up more and more. The “peanut” roundabout in the area of Oldman, Burbank and Winkler roads is on schedule, with its location adjusted to lessen impact on affected landowners and adjacent soccer fields. The start of construction is still more than a year away.

The expansion of the Wooster Community Hospital emergency wing is underway, as is the Wayne County Justice Center expansion. Jarret Industries has started construction on its warehouse facility, and Seaman Corp. started its addition.

With an eye on 2026, Wooster has $14 million in infrastructure projects planned and budgeted. These include the rebuild of Gasche Street between Wayne Avenue and Winter Street, $6 million in water and sewer line improvements, $1.5 million in street paving, and the pool project.

Improvements to the Cleveland Road corridor in the area of Wooster Community Hospital also are on the menu, with $3.7 million in federal grants earmarked for construction that would take place in 2028, according to the mayor’s most recent quarterly newsletter address.

The Wooster City Schools Board of Education will make a decision soon that may change the use of Cornerstone Elementary and possibly result in the construction of a new building somewhere on the Wooster High School campus.

A new school would result in an increase in traffic through the Oldman-Winkler-Burbank intersection and would increase the possibility the city would be involved in repurposing the Cornerstone property.

“In terms of goals for 2026 and beyond, I would hope to see Wooster continue to grow in a strategic and intentional manner,” Reynolds wrote in the newsletter. “This means that we will not be looking to grow just for the sake of growth but, instead, to grow in a manner that is sustainable and that will improve the lives of our residents in both the short-term and the long-term.”

Last, the coming Chick-fil-A and Texas Roadhouse are on schedule and should arrive in 2026. Those craving dinner rolls with honey butter and chicken sandwiches served with a smile will soon have their dreams come true.