Mayor grades first-year of progress for city

After 14 months in office, Willoughby Mayor Bob Fiala released a report card grading his campaign goals for the city, based on their success, progress and areas needing improvement.

Divided into three principles — vision, experience and leadership — each goal for the city was given a grade for the past year. Based on the report, the mayor stated: “While we’ve accomplished much, we remain committed to improving these scores.”

“A” grades, deemed successes, included developing a citywide marketing plan, reinventing downtown as an arts and entertainment district, controlling expenses, giving residents a way to rate city performance and conducting an energy audit on all city buildings in order to determine areas for cost/energy savings.

Another “A” was the goal to “Create shared business space at affordable cost for startup businesses and work with the local business community to identify business persons who will serve as mentors to these entrepreneurs.”

Revitalization of the north

end of Willoughby (The Gateway District) was given a “B” grade, as well as improvements in access to Lake Erie and the Chagrin River.

“The north end of Willoughby, our Gateway District, is a vastly underutilized asset,” Fiala said. “Facing Lake Erie and with the intersection of Lost Nation and Lakeshore, opportunities exist to stimulate business growth and residential improvements.”

Some goals with a “C” grade were: assembling a team of business and community leaders to assess city operations and make recommendations, create a task force of law enforcement and city planners to identify areas affected by speeding, develop attractive walkways into downtown and look at the feasibility of a community paramedicine program.

“Currently there are many communities implementing these programs,” Fiala stated in his notes. “The State of Ohio has explored introducing legislation to allow paramedics to provide these services.”

The report also stated that the program could offer secondary healthcare support, such as wellness checks, follow-ups on daily medication-taking and blood pressure checks.

“D” grades, deemed areas for improvement, included developing a 10year strategic plan highlighting city objectives, programs and projects, establishing city performance metrics (with the mayor included) and holding monthly “mayor’s night out” meetings in different neighborhoods, where residents can ask questions and present concerns.

In his notes on the 10year strategic plan goal, Fiala stated: “All directors would be asked to develop a plan for their respective departments. The departmental plans should be the basis of the city’s overall strategic plan. It is important to solicit input from employees, residents and businesses. The plan must be a living document; it should be continually reviewed to assure completion of objectives, programs and projects.”

In a follow-up report, Fiala stated that next year will be the final year for planning Willoughby’s Civic Vision 2020, the city’s 10-year strategic plan.