Recreation comes back full-fledged in Willoughby Hills this year
Mayor Andy Gardner of Willoughby Hills is of the opinion that his city had a fantastic 2022 as a result of highlights in the areas of personnel and safety, technology, business, finance, and recreation.
He stated, "We added a police captain, Greg Leonbruno." Excellently, he has assisted Chief Matthew Naegele with administrative duties as well. As a result of a number of retirements from the police department, three officers have been hired to replace them, and we hope to hire more.
In addition, the city hired a number of part-time firefighters, a new city prosecutor, a new clerk of court, and a new communication supervisor to replace Gloria Majeski, the former executive assistant to the mayor who left this year.
Gardner stated, "It's so difficult to find someone who did everything Gloria did, but the most important part of what Gloria did was communicate with residents and the newsletter." We created that by taking the majority of the work.
The city wants to hire more people to work in the fire and police departments.
Body cameras for all police officers were the most significant technological improvement the city implemented. Now, officers review incidents on a regular basis and learn how to improve their performance.
The body cams not only shield the city from potential liability but also assist the city with any potential issues that may arise following an arrest or other encounter.
According to Gardner, "We also added a new program to help the building department and speed signs, which are different from speed cameras in that we have a group of four signs that register how fast someone is going and are strategically moved around the city during the good weather months." Those contribute to the community's safety.
He went on to say, "We added a lot of new cameras to our security cameras for City Hall and our community centre campus, keeping our property and people safer." We have agreed to start a program for speed cameras, which will probably start in the first quarter of next year and include photo enforcement.
According to Gardner, Willoughby Hills is in a good financial position.
He stated, "We're anticipating to have a surplus." We don't know how much until the beginning of next year, but we expect it to be a good amount. We issued new bonds in the spring, which I believe was our biggest financial accomplishment this year.
He continued, "That's financing the purchase of our new fire engine, which we expect to have next summer, as well as the new salt storage facility." That is finished and will receive its first shipment in the coming weeks.
The city has experienced delays in receiving several replacement vehicles, making supply chain issues an ongoing challenge.
According to Gardner, the veterinary rehabilitation centre, which opened in the last few months and is a beautiful addition to the city, is business development.
He mentioned, "They're doing some really cutting-edge things there." Sheetz is working on getting the permits they need to open at the northwest corner of Chardon Road and Bishop."
In addition, the city has worked to restore recreation after the pandemic. This year's successful activities included Rock N Roll Day, a Halloween party, craft shows, a photo contest, and a nature walk.
Gardner stated, "Trivia night is absolutely fantastic." We began the program with a dozen teams and a half. We now have eleven or twelve teams."
Gardner stated, "I'd be remiss if I don't mention pickleball, a huge hit in the city." I was able to play with my neighbours and some of my family. Every time I went up there to check it out on the weekends, the courts were very crowded. In the summer, we had people up there almost every evening, so it was a real success that had been coming for a long time."
The city wants to make pickleball more popular in the coming year by hosting a tournament and offering lessons to new players.
