City develops, collaborates in 2019

Mayor reflects on the successes of the year, looks forward to 2020

In 2019, Willoughby continued to work on projects and collaborations to improve the city, and Mayor Robert Fiala is hopeful that momentum will continue in 2020.

Fiala said it was a good year for economic development in the city with the improved storefront renovation program upgrading properties in the Lakefront District, nearly completing the Weston building at Lost Nation Airport and getting a new tenant mix downtown.

“The accomplishments I think are most noteworthy have to do with collaborations with other cities and entities,” Fiala said.

He referenced securing funding for the Vine Street Corridor project alongside the cities of Willowick and Eastlake.

In March, the cities were awarded $120,000 from Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Association.

Fialia said in 2019 they were able to finish vetting and selecting a consulting team and in 2020 they hope to start the planning process.

He said the Chagrin River Corridor and Lakefront Trail Connection Plan will also be a result of western Lake County cities and organizations working together to provide more public access to the Chagrin River and Lake Erie.

“We’re seeking funding for the planning of it right now,” Fiala said.

“That initiative includes 23 partners and the goal is to provide connectivity between our lakefront all the way through the Chagrin River.”

In Willoughby’s part of the project, Fiala said the city is pushing hard on two fronts: building an amphitheater by the riverfront near Todd Field and transforming the vacant parking lot to the north of Todd Field into a mixed-use development.

“From our perspective, the mixed-use development will have to have two things that are important to the city: additional and better parking, and also accessibility from the low grounds of Todd Field to Downtown Willoughby,” he said.

Currently, the city is soliciting requests from developers for the project and hopes to choose a developer by the end of January, according to the mayor.

While Fiala is excited to see the opportunities that the changes will bring to the city, he is still cautious of economic headwinds that may lie ahead.

“Our expenses are rising at a faster rate than our revenues are, so we have to keep an eye on that,” he said.

Fiala said his first step to combat this is belt-tightening and ensuring city expenses are being managed well and keeping an eye on how things improve from there.

Despite potential challenges,

“Our expenses are rising at a faster rate than our revenues are, so we have to keep an eye on that.” — Mayor Robert Fiala

Fiala is looking forward to continuing to maintain the standards the people of Willoughby expect from their city.

“We just have to make sure that we keep all the other services everybody expects functioning as they have been over the years,” he said.