On August 10th, the City will host an Open House event for the new David E. Anderson Senior Center. This much-anticipated facility will become the new home for our over 1500 members. Please stop by to take a tour, become a member or learn about all of the programs offered. The Center will open for our members on Monday, August 12th. The ribbon cutting will take place on September 14th.

Union Village is a collaboration between the City of Willoughby, the Willoughby-Eastlake School District, and the Lake County YMCA. This will represent the largest construction project in Willoughby’s history, and one of the most unique collaborations in the State of Ohio. In 2014, Superintendent Steve Thompson and Lake County YMCA Executive Director Dick Bennett began a conversation about combining and sharing resources. Given Willoughby South High School and the West End Y are neighbors, these leaders believed a partnership would increase services of both institutions. Shortly after this, Mayor David Anderson suggested it would be an excellent opportunity to build our long-anticipated senior center. Before the 2015 school district bond issue, the City, School District, and YMCA conceived a joint-use facility now called Union Village. The name truly represents the philosophy behind this project: a union of three entities to provide better services while reducing operational costs. It is also a nod to the former Union High School located in Wes Point Park.

Union Village includes an expansion and renovation of Willoughby South High School, the relocation of Willoughby Middle School to the current high school and the demolition of the existing Willoughby Middle School. The YMCA is investing in a new state-of-the-art facility and will relocate from its current building at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Shankland. Finally, the City is constructing a new senior center and will relocate from the current building on Brown Avenue.

The real story, however, is the value these separate but connected projects bring to our community. For the City, we will have a single-story facility with flexible and expandable spaces for programming. We also gain better parking and a more functional layout. Our proximity to the YMCA will offer more programming opportunities, and the new South High School field house will provide a larger gym as well as a walking track. We are also looking forward to a renewed relationship with our neighbors, Breckenridge Village, and their new Executive Director Dean Palombaro. The new YMCA facility will offer more program opportunities with an emphasis on family programming. Their building includes a warm water therapy pool, and the Y will manage the 8-lane competitive pool constructed by the school district. The pools are adjacent to each other, and they serve as an outstanding example of how the YMCA’s expertise in pool management can provide a direct benefit to the schools. The expanded Willoughby South High School/Middle School will offer more opportunities for student-centered learning and an opportunity for cross-generational learning experiences with its proximity to the Senior Center.

We look forward to seeing the community at Union Village soon!

 

Lake Erie’s water levels are at historic levels. In fact, the lake’s water level has raised 6″ since May 1st of this year, and we have already broken the historic highest water level of 1986.  This is 30″ above the average sea level of the lake.  May had the highest average monthly water level increase since 1918. Similar, but not as extreme high-water levels occurred in 1973-1974 and 1997-1998 when water levels receded until 2007. Historic patterns indicate we will continue to see elevated lake levels this spring and summer. Lake water level should begin to drop after this year.

Residents along our north shore and the city have been experiencing significant erosion damage due to these extreme conditions. In fact, the entire lakefront of Ohio has similar issues. Marinas with their docks underwater and lower lakefront areas experiencing flooding in many cities along the lakefront. In Lake County, Eastlake, Mentor, Fairport Harbor, and Perry Village are experiencing significant issues with lakefront erosion.

Over the past months, we have been investigating possible erosion control measures and funding for these.

We met with Paul Palgyi, Executive Director of Lake Metroparks, who offered to provide technical assistance in lakefront planning to help with temporary and short-term erosion control measures including landscape design. We also met with Peter Zahirsky of the Lake County Port Authority and Director of Coastal Management to review any funding sources for erosion control. Peter indicated that there are no funds specifically dedicated to lakefront erosion measures. However, he did state that if we combine erosion control improvements with lakefront master plan improvements, funding may be available. He referenced the work Euclid is doing as an example. Recently, Councilman Woodin joined the administration in a visit to Euclid to meet with Mayor Holzheimer Gail and her staff to better understand the scope, schedule, and funding of their project at Sims Park. We also participated in a meeting with mayors, managers, and state elected officials sponsored by the Lake County Port Authority, representatives from Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the law firm Bricker and Eckler, experts in Lakefront Special Improvement Districts. From this meeting, we learned:

• The ODNR, Office of Coastal Management is issuing Temporary Shore Structure Permits to allow homeowners to act faster than the standard permit process that can take three months or longer.
• The Technical Assistance phone number for ODNR is (419) 626-7980. Their website is http://coastal.ohiodnr.gov/.
• There is no financing assistance for landowners using the Temporary Shore Structure Permits.
• The temporary permits can be issued in 1 – 2 weeks and are good for two years.
• There are Coastal Assistance Planning Grants, for planning only, from ODNR. Willowick, Eastlake, and Willoughby are jointly pursuing these.
• Homeowners have the option to create a SID to help finance erosion control measures. Municipalities sponsor the SID, and it may contain both public and private properties, and the properties do not need to be contiguous.
• The SID would allow homeowners to amortize the cost of erosion control improvements over 30 years.

Summer will bring us outside to enjoy the weather, our homes, city parks and the many events planned in Willoughby. This month I thought I’d pass along a few reminders for the summer season.

Please note that we are requesting all pets be leashed on public properties. Also, remember to clean up after your pets. As we maintain our homes and yards, remember that all yard waste and grass clippings must stay on your property or can be removed by our refuse hauler, Waste Management. Grass clippings should be placed in lawn bags or containers provided by Waste Management. Please remember to sweep or blow your grass clippings away from sidewalks and streets. More information on Waste Management is below. Also, we have city ordinances that limit construction start times to 7:00 am on the weekdays and 8:30 am on the weekends.

For convenience, below is a list of the different service providers for Willoughby:

Waste Management: Our current trash removal contractor also picks up larger items such as furniture and appliances as well as grass clippings and yard waste. For any questions relating to trash pickup and recyclables, please call Waste Management at 1-866-797-9018. Also, more information on trash pickup can be found on the City’s website at https://willoughbyohio.com/service-department/refuse-collection/. Please remember that trash pick-up occurs one day later after Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

First Energy: Our electric and streetlight provider can be reached at 1-888-544-4877 and through the City website at https://willoughbyohio.com/service-department/. Please contact them for power outages as well as streetlight repairs. For streetlights, the pole number or the street address nearest the pole is required. Also, links to Ohio Dominion, NOPEC, AT&T, Spectrum and the Lake County Department of Utilities can be found on our website.

Lake County General Health District: The LCGHD can be reached at 440-350-2543 and their website is https://www.lcghd.org/. This organization provides many services for our residents, including restaurant kitchen inspections, reporting, and monitoring of infectious diseases in Lake County, animal bite reporting for rabies control, and mosquito spraying. Lake County’s birth and death records are archived at the LCGHD and they are actively involved in the opioid epidemic with Project Dawn (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone). This is a community-based overdose education and naloxone distribution program.

Finally, we ask that if you observe suspicious vehicles, people or activities, please report these to our Police Department at 440-953-4212. Our safety forces rely on resident involvement and we have a shared responsibility to look after our neighbors.

We wish everyone an enjoyable and safe summer!

 

 

The snow is finally gone, and May marks the beginning of the Spring-Summer seasons. This month we celebrate Memorial Day on May 27^th, an important holiday that commemorates the men and women who have given their lives while serving our country in the military. The first Memorial Day was celebrated in 1868 and was meant to honor those that died during the Civil War. I’ve always coupled this holiday with the observance of our country’s birthday on July 4^th.  Both are days meant to honor a country built on acceptance, tolerance and cooperation.

My family represents the true spectrum of current political thinking. Some are liberal and some are conservative. I’m sure this is the case with many other families. Our get-togethers are usually peaceful and uneventful, but occasionally, can become exciting when personal/political views are discussed. To date, we have not solved any social, economic or political challenges. However, the fact we can have open and frank discussions about issues is important. Also, the ability to consider alternate points of views is significant.

As we enter this year’s election season, and as the presidential campaign unfolds (two-plus years before that election), it is a great time to practice the art of listening, considering and understanding. This task is challenging at the Federal level, less so at the State level, but can be easily achieved here in our hometown. We are blessed to live in a community with residents of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and aspirations, as well as strong connections to family and friends.  We are also a city that cherishes relationships. This is the framework that fosters open dialogue. That is if we are willing to hear and understand.

With the warmer weather and the beginning of our summer events, it is a great time to reconnect with our neighbors and our community. It is the perfect season to talk and listen.

As we celebrate a country founded on acceptance, tolerance and cooperation, and the men and women who gave their lives protecting these foundations, hopefully, we can all work to practice the art of communication. Like my family, we will never agree on some things, but we can share a meal, enjoy each other’s company and be comfortable knowing our opinions may never align. More importantly, we can accept this as perfectly normal and acceptable.

Please remember our first summer event, the 2019 Rib Burnoff, is Saturday, May 18^th and Sunday, May 19^th. Also, our Memorial Day Parade will be on Monday, May 27^th in Downtown Willoughby, with a second ceremony at our Plains Road Cemetery in north Willoughby shortly thereafter.

Enjoy the Spring!

Mark and Terry are good citizens.

They are engaged, observant and care deeply for our City. They regularly attend Council meetings and, when they do, their comments are insightful and important. Noteworthy is their ability to communicate issues with civility, an uncommon practice today. Criticisms or suggestions are almost always followed by a compliment or nod of approval about other matters.

Recently one of them asked about my performance over the past year. Specifically, he inquired about how well I have been meeting the goals established in my campaign platform developed in the Fall of 2017. This platform was drafted, with the assistance of another good citizen, Bruce.

The task of measuring performance against promises is valuable and the exercise helped me assess the relevance of my goals and how successful I’ve been in meeting them. My platform was built on three pillars: Vision, Experience and Leadership. Within each of these we identified an objective, a reason for the goal and notes about each. To evaluate my performance, I applied a grade to each of the suggestions based on the typical grading scale of A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 and F=0. I then tallied and averaged my grades for each of my 30 platform suggestions. In reviewing the past 14 months we have some great successes, but we still have work to accomplish. We have made great strides in re-imagining our Downtown, we have made improvements and increased investments on our north shore Gateway District, we have improved our community communications systems and we have kept watchful eyes on our budget. These were all accomplished with the support of our City Council and the efforts of our City Administrators. However, with these successes there are few things left to accomplish. One is the development of a 10-year strategic plan. Next year will be the final year of planning for our Civic Vision 2020 and it is the ideal time to initiate the planning of Civic Vision 2030. A second will be to establish a clear set of performance standards for City employees, including me. And finally, I will focus on more direct interaction with our community through council ward meetings, neighborhood get-togethers and civic organizations’ meetings.

If anyone is interested on how I scored myself, I posted the results of my report card on my www.fialaformayor.com website, where the platform resides. I would also be happy to forward this if you contact me via email at rfiala@willoughbyohio.com or at City Hall 440-953-4124.

If anyone is interested, my composite grade was a B.

During the past months, I’ve mentioned that last year was a “learning year”. The first order of business as a newly-minted Mayor was to understand the structure, policies, and procedures of our City. Equally important was becoming familiar with our departments and our staff as well as becoming fully acquainted with residents’ issues and concerns.

As we enter the new year, we are looking forward to growing our many outstanding events and adding a few more. We will also place additional emphasis on assisting the Downtown Willoughby Organization (DTWO) in order to support the growth o four merchants, restaurants and bars. For our Lakeshore District, we need to develop erosion control strategies for city-owned properties, For our residents living on the lakefront, we will continue to identify funding sources for erosion control measures by assisting in the creation of a Special Improvement District (SID). It would also be the appropriate time to evaluate land-use along our lakefront and begin to develop long-term plans for our shoreline.

Another important task for this year is to refresh our website to make it more user-friendly. This will include better navigation and more resident-requested features. The effort will take months, but we believe better and easier access to important information will make this effort worthwhile. Also, the expansion of our presence on social channels will be a priority in order

Finally, we will be evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of our many Boards, Commissions, and local organizations. I have been approached by many residents asking to become more involved in the city government and this is what makes Willoughby a great place to live, work and raise a family. Being a member of a Board or Commission is an excellent way to become an engaged citizen and we are always in need of community-minded citizens to fill positions within these groups. Specifically, those with planning, financial, business and development experience that will help foster thoughtful decision making. If anyone is interested in becoming a member of any of our Boards, Commissions or local organizations, please feel free to contact me via email at rfiala@willoughbyohio.com or at City Hall at 440.953.4124.

January is a time of New Year Resolutions, so here goes…

The first resolution for City Hall is to fully commit to our other resolutions. Too many of us start the New Year with great intentions to (fill in the blank) exercise more, eat healthier, sleep longer, save more only to quickly give up. Not that any of these are unimportant, we simply get distracted or overwhelmed by other daily obligations. It is a challenge for any of us to commit to and stick with our resolutions, it is a larger effort to keep an entire City focused on common goals and objectives. Understanding this, our New Year’s resolutions include:

• Re-imagining our Historic Downtown as an Arts, Entertainment and Cultural District. The first of its kind in three counties.
• Continuing our efforts in growing our Lakefront District a destination.
• Assisting our manufacturers in attracting a skilled and motivated workforce as well as helping promote the unique services and products they provide.
• Identifying underutilized commercial and manufacturing properties and creating strategies to make them more productive.
• Creating opportunities for new housing near our Historic Downtown.
• Working to create a balance in our merchants and restaurants in the Downtown mix in order to enhance day and evening activity.
• Providing access and activities along our riverfront.

These are ambitious objectives individually, an especially exciting challenge when considered collectively. The effort is more complex given the economic headwinds we face; stagnant revenues and increased expenses. Fortunately, the team assembled at City Hall is equal to the task and anxious to meet the challenge. We are committed to using each of our New Year’s resolutions to enhance the quality of life in our City and stimulate economic growth. This work will be challenging and we will face obstacles as we move forward, but with focus and a healthy work ethic, we expect progress. It will certainly require cooperation and collaboration from all stakeholders, but we are a City known for this.

For me personally, I resolve to exercise more, eat healthier, sleep longer, and save more. I know I will be successful through January, but I cannot guarantee how long after. I can promise our work for the City will be a year-long, intensive effort.

 

 

 

 

 

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.