WCOG meets in the heat at Big Met

This report contains member observations and selected highlights of the June 9 meeting of the Westshore Council of Governments. It is not an official statement by the League of Women Voters, nor does it represent the official minutes of the meeting.

Another disclaimer: This meeting was held in the room off the pro shop/snack bar at Big Met Golf Course. Due to the heat and everyone speaking quietly and rapidly, this observer was unable to hear much of what was being said.

Present: Mayors Cooney, Fairview Park, presiding; Koomar, Bay Village; George, Lakewood; Bobst, Rocky River: Kennedy, North Olmsted.

Meeting was called to order at 2:06 p.m.

Cleveland Metroparks: Brian Zimmerman, CEO of Cleveland Metroparks spoke first, filling mayors in on numerous current, recently completed, or about to be started, projects; mainly those affecting West Side communities. He is particularly excited about ongoing building of bike trails connecting the parks with Lake Erie, and connecting the West Side with the East Side of the Cleveland area.

The Metroparks system is 104 years old, and has a strong strategic plan that will be rolled out in 8-9 months. There will probably be a fund-raising campaign to go with it. This year, there is a problem filling jobs, so many normal activities such as litter collection will not be as prompt or thorough as usual. In past years, they would have 9,000 job applicants for the summer, but this year they had none.

Zimmerman expressed appreciation for the partnerships between the cities and the Metroparks. For the mayors’ parts, Mayor Bobst expressed appreciation for the Metroparks staff’s expertise and their willingness to answer questions.

COMMISSION REPORTS

RTA – Koomar: System redesign is coming out this week. RTA is ordering equipment, including replacement Rapid cars.

NOACA – Bobst: There is a lot of chatter about the Long Range Plan, which is 172 pages long. Bobst recommended reading it online but not printing the whole thing out. Some of the projects have already been approved; she did not specify which.

Land Bank – George: There has been a modular home tour of new units along the lakefront. Some meetings with residents concerning lakeside access have been taking place, but the city has not been notified. They do not know who called the meetings – possibly the Planning Commission – but the city should be involved. This situation needs to be investigated. The city is excited about the process, and they do need to have one-on-one conversations with property owners to facilitate the process. They need an inventory of plans. The County provides funding for implementation.

Mayors and Managers Assn. – George: Fairview Park will have to close its pool due to a roof leak. It will reopen in a year. Lakewood also needs to modernize its pool – it was built in the ‘60s and is just a big rectangle. They want to put in splash pads, etc. 

New Business: There will be no WCOG meetings in July or August, unless something that needs a vote comes up.

LWV observer Judith Weiss

LWVGC-Rocky River Chapter Chair. Retired librarian, writer, volunteer. Rocky River resident for 12 years.

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Volume 13, Issue 13, Posted 10:29 AM, 07.06.2021