The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
STATE OF CITY AIRS RECREATION PLANS
City manager also highlights need for new housing with changing demographics
Smart growth and summer fun could be considered some themes of this year’s Mentor State of the City address.
As usual, City Manager Ken Filipiak delivered a chock-full message, presented Feb. 25 at Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce’s business meeting at Paradigm center.
Along with reports on the past year’s achievements, he provided highlights of plans for 2020.
They include Patriot Week, a new four-day event June 30 through July 4 complete with performances fireworks, a veterans picnic and the showing of the movie “Midway,”at the Mentor Civic Amphitheater.
In addition, there are plans for a 4,800-square-foot yearround pavilion at Springbrook Gardens Park for programming and rentals. It will include a warming kitchen, interior and exterior restrooms, a large multipurpose area and a wood-burning fireplace.
Other park plans involve Civic Center Pool restoration, a new slide at Morton pool and a $250,000 walking trail at Presidents Park.
Filipiak also announced the Mentor Rocks summer concert series lineup, with tributes ranging from Michael Jackson and Guns ‘N Roses to Jason Aldean and Bruno Mars.
The Amp is scheduled to host 50 total events this year, including ‘90s-born alt-rock band Cracker June 13 and another to-be-announced “national” act.
“Our goal every year is to provide our guests a fun and diverse musical experience throughout the summer,” Filipiak said. “There is something on our schedule that should appeal to everyone. We review hundreds of submissions and search across the nation for the best performing artists available.”
The address took a serious tone when Filipiak discussed demographic changes and how they may affect the city in the future. He emphasized the point by contrasting U.S. Census data during the last 40 years.
“The Mentor of 1980 continues in 2020 to be a city on the move — full of optimism and leading Lake County into a bright future,” he said. “But perhaps the starkest difference between the Mentor of 1980 and today is the age of our population base.”
The median age of Mentor residents rose from 28.7 in 1980 to 47.8 in 2018, he said.
He noted the possible impact on the workforce and that half the jobs in the city’s core economy are being filled from outside the community. He said housing appealing to the younger generation as well as empty-nesters is a must.
There is potential for more diverse housing options on the Bolton property, should voters approve rezoning the land on March 17, and the proposed redevelopment of Sears.
To date, the unemployment rate remains low, income taxes are up and the business sector robust, he said.
“We can’t exactly know what the Mentor of 2040 might look like, but I am certain that if we adapt with the same success as we have these last many decades, without fear, we will keep the state of our city strong,” he concluded.