As we near the end of 2018 it is a great time to reflect on the challenges and successes Willoughby encountered in the past months. Change always brings excitement and concern and with a new Mayor, four new councilpersons and four new directors the past year has witnessed the remarkable resilience of our City. The encouragement from our residents for the administration has been overwhelming and has helped the transition to be smooth and effective. Our new councilpersons have eagerly assumed their responsibilities with the support and guidance of the three veteran council members. In all, our city government has continued to function at the same level of excellence expected by our citizens for decades. Collectively we are looking forward to an exciting New Year.

In looking back at 2018 we’ve had an emphasis on “branding” our Historic Downtown as and Arts, Entertainment and Cultural District. The effort was advanced with the creation of the Willoughby Arts Collaborative. This group of volunteers has been working to establish our Downtown as a premier location to experience the arts with the goal to increase traffic for our merchants and continue the success of our bars and restaurants. We have had outstanding cooperation from the downtown stakeholders and we are looking forward to a great collaboration in 2019. The City is also strengthening our relationship with the Fine Arts Association and their wealth of talented students and teachers to provide additional emphasis on the arts. Finally, we are delighted to see the start of construction of Courthouse Square, the much-anticipated residential development adjacent to the Willoughby Municipal Court, and the sale of the former Memorial Junior High School which will be remodeled into office space. We expect these projects will add new life to our city center.

In North Willoughby we have invested in more amenities at Osborne Park and we have been adding banners and flowers to match the character of our downtown. A private developer has started construction on a manufacturing warehouse facility at Lost Nation Airport that will add more jobs for our city and help sustain the airport. Also, we are getting increased interest in new commercial construction along the Lost Nation Corridor and we will continue to solicit others to invest in convenience retail to support the new housing in this area.

Overall this has been another great year for Willoughby. While we have challenges ahead of us we are blessed with dedicated professionals at City Hall, Service, Police and Fire as well as intelligent and cooperative Council members committed to serving their constituents. It is wonderful time of the year to give thanks!

 

 

 

 

I may have confused a few residents with last month’s report. To clarify, the former Memorial Junior High School is the building sold to developers to be renovated as office space with adjacent townhomes and ranch-style duplexes. This is the property that recently housed the Indian Museum. The current Middle School on Ridge Road near the High School will be demolished after the High School additions and renovations are complete. The site will then become practice athletic fields.

Our road and road striping programs are complete with nearly $1 million dollars of improvements over the past summer. Our City Engineer and Service Director will soon begin their review of repairs for next year and, as always, this list is developed based on need and age of streets. We are also planning significant repairs to Erie Street next year in conjunction with Lake County’s water main replacement in Downtown. Finally, we have started the engineering associated with road and walk repairs on Erie Street adjacent to the railroad tracks by Sheraton Furniture, Brim and Spirits of Willoughby. As the schedule for these projects become more defined, we will alert our residents through our website.

Yard waste pickup has ended and leaf pickup will continue through the month of November and please remember to bring your leaves to the tree lawn, but not in the street. Our crews will be continuing pickup for as long as weather permits. The schedule for these activities as well as the schedules for all public meeting can be found on the City of Willoughby website. Agendas and minutes of all meetings can be found here as well.

As we enter the holiday season, please check our website and Facebook page for events. The Squash Hunger scavenger hunt is currently underway in downtown Willoughby through November 10^th. Next up is Shop Small Saturday on November 24^th. This is a great way to experience and support our local merchants, restaurants and bars.  Our “official” kickoff to the season begins with our Christmas Tree lighting on Thursday, November 29^th at 7:00 pm and throughout that weekend our Downtown Willoughby Merchants are planning an exciting series of events and shopping experiences that have been re-imagined for a family-friendly experience. We encourage you to experience the Downtown holiday lighting on Thursday, Holiday Stroll on Friday, Miracle on Erie Street 5K and Breakfast with Santa on Saturday.

Wishing everyone a great Fall season!

 

Summer 2018 has been great for Willoughby! On August 31^st we celebrated the groundbreaking for Phase I of the Courthouse Square Apartments. This project will eventually include 64 luxury apartments near our Downtown. On the same day, we sold the Willoughby Middle School property to a development team that will construct 6 new ranch-style duplexes and 7 new townhomes. The former Middle School will be renovated as office space and is fully leased. These projects will help grow both our income tax base as well as our property tax base. We are excited and pleased to see these projects underway.

November 2018 also brings the mid-term elections. This election includes four charter amendments for consideration. Every six years the Mayor and council appoint a Charter Review Commission to identify any changes, updates or corrections suggested for this document. A brief description of each amendment follows:

Issue 7

Proposed Charter Amendment – Shall Article III, Section 1 be amended to provide that the term for each member of Council shall commence on the first day of January following the council member’s election?   The January 1^st day was recommended by the Commission to ensure no time gap in the event of an elected Council member’s change or retirement.

Issue 8

Proposed Charter Amendment – Shall Article III, Section 5 be amended to provide for the Vice President of Council to have the authority to perform the duties of the President of Council in the absence of the President of Council?   This recommendation expressly formalizes the role of Vice President of Council.

Issue 9

Proposed Charter Amendment – Shall Article IV, Section 1 be amended to provide that the Mayor of the City of Willoughby upon election shall commence and assume office on the first day of January following the Mayor’s election?   This recommendation to a January 1^st date was recommended to close potential time gaps when there is an elected Mayor change and/or retirement from the office of Mayor.

Issue 10

Proposed Charter Amendment – Shall Article VI, Section 5 be amended to delete and eliminate in its entirety this Section 5 and its language reading “This article and all ordinances, rules, and regulations shall be liberally construed to give effect to the beneficial distribution of population, and the orderly development, improvement and general welfare of the City”?   The Commission believes this language to be confusing and subject to varying interpretations.  As such, the Commission recommends its removal.

Thank you to the Charter Review Commission for this excellent work. Members include Jim Ralston (Chairman), Greg Patt (Secretary), Steve Norris, Joe Farroni, Brian Lutz, Al DiFranco, Bruce Shade, Jeff Mackey, and Lawrence Gradwell.