2012 State of the City Address
City of Euclid
State of the City Address
February 6, 2012
By: Mayor Bill Cervenik
It is an honor to stand before you tonight to present the 2012 State of the City Address. As I look back over the past eight years that I have been your Mayor, I am encouraged by the progress and growth we have made and I am equally challenged by what we still need to accomplish. Yet, I can wholeheartedly say tonight, that I am as dedicated now as I was eight years ago to keepEuclida City we are proud to call home. With the Administration, City Council and most importantly the residents ofEuclidcontinuing to commit to work together toward that common goal, there are endless possibilities for our future.
As we all know, the State of Ohio, in order to balance their budget, reduced the city’s share of the local government and other funds in the aggregate of approximately $1,700,000. In addition, the Ohio Estate Tax is scheduled to be eliminated on January 1, 2013. The City of Euclid collected an average of $900,000 a year from this tax. These actions by the state were taken subsequent to the instituting of trash and street lighting fees in 2010 to our residents. This has made our job all the more difficult. I will speak in greater detail later on our economic development department, but along with their accomplishments, a slowly improving economy and a multi-faceted effort by our tax department to achieve strict compliance, our total income tax collections increased by approximately $1,200,000 which was $500,000 above our estimate. Other revenue sources, however, did not keep up with projections, such as estate taxes, jail revenues, and the cut in the commercial activities tax, but overall we ended the year very close to net projections.
With a variety of cost savings measures being put in place, including the consolidation of various departments in order to eliminate duplicate responsibilities, and with the slowly improving economy, coupled with a number of economic development projects on the horizon, we expect to present to Council a budget that protects the financial stability of the city.
In 2011, the City of Euclid made great progress in sustaining and growing the local economy. The Community Services and Economic Development Department assisted nearly twenty companies in locating or expanding their business in Euclid. These companies all made a commitment to our community, creating and sustaining local jobs. Approximately one hundred fifty jobs have or will be added to the city and over four hundred jobs were retained through these efforts. These companies come from diverse backgrounds, such as the industrial and manufacturing, healthcare, commercial and retail as well as public and non-profit organizations.
Companies such as Lincoln Electric and William Sopko and Sons took a giant leap forward in advancing our local green economy. Lincoln Electric erected a 2.5 megawatt wind turbine at their world headquarters on East 222nd Street. This turbine not only saves Lincoln energy costs, but also showcases their world-renowned welding expertise through their wind tower welding solutions campaign. With a different approach, William Sopko and Sons are working with the Great Lakes Energy Institute, Case Western Reserve University and other industry partners to install two smaller turbines on their property on Lakeland Boulevard. These turbines will be used to test local parts that could be commercialized in the future, creating jobs in the green economy.
Other manufacturing companies are also investing in our community. Companies such as Edmonds Elevator, Simmers Crane, TECT, and Mesocoat, all chose to either locate or expand in Euclid.
Mesocoat, a sister company of Euclid-based Powdermet is nearing completion on the expansion of their operations at their Rockwell Drive location. Mesocoat develops high-tech coatings for materials that are used in severe environments and will add thirty jobs associated with this expansion.
The healthcare industry continues to be a strong part of our local economy. Mount Saint Joseph Nursing Home made a major investment in their facility and property on Chardon Road this past year, constructing a new building and also making substantial improvements to their grounds. Braeview Care and Rehab Center also made significant improvements to their facility on Euclid Avenue investing over two million dollars. Additionally, Fresenius Health Care built a brand new dialysis facility which will open this spring on Euclid Avenue at Century Corners and of course Euclid Hospital continues to invest in its building and health services.
The city’s commercial and retail sector has also seen improvement over the past year. Small businesses such as Confident Tire, Cleveland Paint Company, Citi Trends, Happy’s Pizza and Azman Meats; all decided to locate in Euclid, filling vacant storefronts and moving our local economy forward.
Significant investment has been made to renovate some of our existing retail and commercial businesses. Companies such as Discount Drug Mart and Sims Buick/GMC made substantial investments in their Euclid properties this past year.
The Community Services and Economic Development Department continued in planning efforts for Memorial Park, the City’s Waterfront District, Downtown, and most recently Euclid Avenue. These are vital parts of our community. Careful and thoughtful planning of improvements for these areas will be catalysts for growth and renewal. In fact, our community has already benefitted from these planning processes. Downtown Euclid has seen over $15 million dollars worth of investment since the planning process began for this vital area. The Euclid Waterfront Improvements Plan has already started. Work is in progress for public improvements to Sims Park including multi-purpose trails and the construction of a vastly improved fishing pier.
The Community Development Block Grant has continued to assist Euclidian’s for the past 38 years. The CDBG funds our weatherization/special projects division, senior programs, EDCOR, the storefront renovation program, municipal beautification program and our fair housing efforts. In 2011, the Community Services and Economic Department continued to administer the City’s HOME Grant in partnership with the county.
Last year HOME funds were used to assist 21 first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance. HOME funds were also used to being the rehab of four homes.
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program or NSP continued to make positive impacts in our neighborhoods. Our first allocation of NSP funds rehabbed eight and demolished 23 blighted homes by 2011. Our second allocation of NSP funds will allow for the demolition of 16 properties and have already provided six down payment assistance loans to first-time home buyers.
In 2011, the city sold 13 land bank properties to various neighboring property owners. Land Bank sales not only allow the purchasers of these properties to enjoy a larger property and a stronger and more stable property value, but they also reduce the burden of maintaining these properties by the city.
It is also important for our city to uphold the standards and expectations that our community expects out of our commercial areas. The city’s zoning enforcement office, in an effort to track accountability and efficiency, issued 228 violation notices, and of those, 172 complied voluntarily.
The CS&ED Department also administers the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. This grant has been used to reinstate the curbside recycling program. In this first year we were able to recycle 1,590 tons of material, and we expect that number to increase annually as more residents participate. This grant was also used to facilitate the installation of solar panels on the roofs of Euclid City Hall and the Euclid Public Library. This project is expected to save the city energy costs while at the same time making a statement that Euclid is a forward thinking, and an environmentally conscious community.
We must continue to rebuild our aging infrastructure and in 2011 we did our fair share. With assistance of state grants, two projects were completed; the East 248th Street and the East 190th through East 195th Street projects. Together, these two endeavors totaled more than $4.8 million dollars worth of improvements. In addition, the long anticipated resurfacing of Lakeshore Boulevard and the Lloyd Road improvements were completed, and with state and county assistance, represented an additional $3.1 million dollars of work. When adding these projects to our ongoing waterline improvement program, resurfacing efforts, ADA handicap ramp updates and our normal street maintenance programs, we have invested over $8.7 million dollars of infrastructure improvements to our city roadways, waterlines, sewers and neighborhoods. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority project in Downtown Euclid, along with various streetscape improvements, were also completed in 2011. And we certainly can’t forget the completion of the new soundwalls along Route 2. We work better and look better as a result of these investments.
The city operates its regional wastewater treatment system under a permit issued by the State of Ohio. Wastewater is treated before it can be discharged into Lake Erie, and it must meet limits set out by the United States EPA, the agency responsible for enforcement of the Clean Water Act, a federal law that has been in existence since 1972. With older treatment systems, including ours, storm events overwhelm the collection and treatment system and lead to untreated or partially treated waste being discharged into the lake.
Our city has been working on a number of projects to eliminate the sources of the untreated or partially treated wastes, but we have reached the point in our negotiations with the federal government where major changes in the collection system and treatment plant will be required. These improvements will be made over a 15 year period, with the goal that in a normal year, no untreated or partially treated wastewater is discharged into the lake. As you can imagine, projects of this magnitude are expensive. While we share our facility with other cities and they pay their proportionate share of the cost of improvements, we are still looking at rate increases over the next several years to pay the costs of the mandatory improvements. We will aggressively pursue grants and low interest loans to finance this work, making every effort to keep our rates well below those of other communities in our area.
I ask you to keep in mind our goal – to have a lake and streams that sustain life and allow for recreational use without fear of unwanted pollutants. We owe our children and grandchildren no less.
Euclid Senior Programs offers a variety of daily activities, discussion groups, and a daily nutritional balanced lunch program. During 2011, we served 47,137 meals in our dining room and to our homebound clients. We currently have over 400 senior memberships and hope to double that by the end of 2012. We had 283 new members join this past year.
During 2011, we offered transportation services to 500 seniors with 5,080 trips to and from the center, to medical appointments and grocery shopping. We have 344 volunteers who assist the staff and provide involvement while engaging the seniors’ time and talents.
We offer Home Health Aide Services to 200 Euclid residents and will continue this service. All programs are for the benefit and encouragement to help promote healthy vibrant and independent lifestyles for the seniors in our community.
T.I.E. (Together in Euclid) is a collaborative effort which includes the City of Euclid, Euclid Public Library, Euclid YMCA, Euclid City Schools, and faith based organizations. T.I.E. was organized to identify and help establish affordable or no cost summer activity options for the youth of Euclid. Programs and activities at various locations throughout the city were outlined in a brochure sent out to all Euclid school aged children.
To better serve the community, our city website was expanded to offer "video on demand" of televised city meetings. This feature allows users to select and watch a meeting on their personal computer. Not only does this service better meet the needs of those who do not have Time Warner Cable or AT&T U-verse but, allows them to watch at their convenience. Another service provided on our website, the Egov online service request system, received 2,238 separate comments and/or requests for service or information in 2011. Each request was viewed and responded to by the appropriate department personnel.
In cooperation with K & D, we are now producing a new quarterly promotional brochure on various aspects of Euclid with regular features on dining, recreation, business development and special events. This publication is in addition to the Euclid Update newsletter which is published twice a year and mailed to all residents and businesses. The new city electronic reader board on Bliss Lane and Lakeshore has also provided us with an additional means to further inform and promote activities, events and offerings taking place in the city.
The Euclid Recreation Department has realized very impressive growth in the number of programs being offered and the number of residents participating. The Recreation Department offers close to 40 different programs for youth and adult residents. Our programs consistently are at full capacity or require a waiting list to accommodate the increase in registration. Although it is vital that we maintain a good revenue stream and be careful with expenditures, we have determined the best way to make this department function properly is to offer solid programming that not only provides residents with activity, but also helps in promoting community and addressing the needs of the whole child. This year we will see new programs such as water polo, track, youth sand volleyball, and the Healthier Euclid Initiative being offered.
The Recreation Department is committed to developing ways to impact youth in our community beyond the fields and courts, by requiring participants to meet academic and social standards for certain programs. We will continue to reinforce this philosophy so that our Recreation Department is one that continues to be a local and national standard that other municipalities can model themselves after. Euclid High School Principal Dr. Smialek has agreed to work with Mac Stephens and his staff to develop a speaker series to impact high school students in a positive way, by providing some of the mentors or influential role models that have helped to change kids in our city recreation programs.
I have been told time and time again by our residents and businesses that safety is their number one concern. Providing for the safety of our residents consumes more than 60% of our General Fund budget. I pledge to continue to work with our Safety Forces to keep them adequately staffed, trained and equipped. We will look for new ways to collaborate with other departments to help provide the services needed more economically and efficiently.
The Shore Cultural Centre is beginning to take shape as a contributing stakeholder in downtown Euclid. More arts and cultural activities are taking place, with many new and exciting programs planned for the future. Under the management of the Coral Company, this progress should continue. Success does not come without a price. Hundreds of thousands of dollars will need to be invested in the operations and infrastructure needs of the building, if we expect to reach the goals of the five year strategic plan.
The anticipation is growing as the Euclid City Schools are constructing four brand new, modern energy efficient elementary school buildings, scheduled to open this fall. Not only has the replacement of our aging schools been long overdue, but these new buildings will provide tremendous new academic opportunities for our students as they will have access to the newest technology available for learning.
As you can see, much has happened in 2011 and we expect even greater advancement this year on our lakefront, in development, and in our neighborhoods. I am also looking forward to partnering with the new Cuyahoga County government on ways to collaborate and to conduct business more regionally and effectively. As I stated at the beginning, I continue to possess the energy, vision and dedication to lead this community to its full potential. I respectfully ask for your assistance and understanding, as I will need all of your help to guarantee our success.
Thank You and God Bless.
Mayor Bill Cervenik
February 6, 2012