While Other Cities Lay Off Police Officers, Lakewood Increased Police Force by 15%

While other cities facing financial difficulties have been laying off police officers, the City of Lakewood is on pace to increase the number of police officers on the streets by over 15%. This is all part of a law enforcement initiative begun in 2008, which includes the establishment of neighborhood police offices in each of the city’s four wards.

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the opening of the final of these four Neighborhood Police Offices throughout Lakewood on Monday, May 4, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. The new Ward 1 office is located at 17415 Detroit Avenue. This is the completion of another element of a city-wide community policing initiative which includes more park patrols, bike patrols, foot patrols, and involvement with neighborhood block clubs. Present at the opening will be Police Chief Tim Malley, Mayor Ed FitzGerald, members of the Lakewood Police Department, as well as residents active in neighborhood block clubs.

Lakewood Fitness Challenge to Begin May 6th

Mayor FitzGerald has a lofty goal for Lakewood—to become the healthiest city in Ohio. The Live Well Lakewood Wellness Challenge is a step (literally!) in that direction.

Live Well Lakewood is a volunteer organization whose mission is to promote healthy, active living in Lakewood. With the support of the city, Live Well Lakewood is offering a program to help Lakewood get healthier. This free program is made possible through the sponsorship of Discount Drug Mart, Lakewood City Schools, Lakewood Hospital, Lakewood Recreation Department and Medical Mutual of Ohio.

The Wellness Challenge involves teams of four encouraging each other to practice healthy eating, to get moving, and to explore Lakewood on foot or bicycle. Participants can sign up with three friends or make new friends by joining a team. Every week between May 6 and July 8, there will be a meeting at Lakewood City Hall where participants will get tips on healthy eating from the OSU Extension Service, a sampler of wellness programs from a variety of Lakewood providers and free giveaways including a t-shirt.

The first session which will take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 between 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM will include a free wellness evaluation comprised of a blood pressure reading, glucose and cholesterol screening, strength and flexibility measurement and height, weight and waist/hip ratio. The remaining sessions will take place on Wednesday, May 13, Tuesdays, May 19 & 26 and Wednesdays, June 3, 10, 17, 24, July 1 and July 8 from
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at Lakewood City Hall.

The last session on July 8 will include a re-evaluation so participants will be able to assess their progress on the path to maximum wellness. Those who complete the challenge will be recognized at the Lakewood Alive & Well Street Walk on July 18th. Prizes will be awarded to the male, female, and team who make the most progress toward better health.

The Wellness Challenge is open to anyone 12 and up who lives or works in Lakewood.

Participants may sign up in person at the Lakewood Home Improvement Expo at Harding Middle School on April 25 or at the Lakewood Hospital Ambulance Chase at Lakewood Park on May 3rd. Participants may also e-mail info@livewelllakewood.org or call (216) 529-7695. When you call or e-mail, please indicate what time between 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM you would like your evaluation appointment to begin on May 6th.

Build a better body—and mind—and have fun doing it! Teams Unite May 6, 2009. Be There!

Keep Lakewood Beautiful - Spring Cleanup April 25th

Join Lakewood residents to clean up litter, rake old leaves and generally spruce up every street, parking lot and park in Lakewood:

Saturday, April 25, 2009
9:00 til noon

All you have to do is:

1) Decide where you want to cleanup.

2) Register online at KeepLakewoodBeautiful@gmail.com. Leave your name, address and phone number and indicate where you would like to clean up. You can recruit a group and register as a group. If you need ideas call Bonnie Sikes at 226-7364.

3) Pick up FREE trash and lawnbags at Green Smart Gifts at 14534 Detroit Avenue starting Monday 4/13. Bags will also be available at the Lakewood Park Women’s pavilion at 9:00am on the day of the cleanup.

4) Go out and clean up your area on Saturday 4/25/09.

Interested in an Arts District?

Arts and Culture is clearly visible all over the City of Lakewood. From the designs created by Virginia Marti students to the dramatic productions at the Beck to the artists’ studios at the Lake Erie Building at Templar Park... art is a way of life in Lakewood.

The Planning Commission Sub Committee on Arts and Culture is holding community meetings to discuss the idea. The first was at the Beck Center in early April. The next is at the Winchester Tavern and Music Hall, 12112 Madison Avenue on April 23rd at 6:30pm.

Tom Schorgl is hosting the community meetings. Tom is President of Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC). He's worked with Cleveland City Council to develop a Live/Work ordinance that enable the creation of downtown spaces in which artists can reside as well as maintain their work studios; provided program development counsel for Cuyahoga County Department of Development to implement its Arts & Culture as Economic Development (ACE) grants; and created CPAC’s Artist as Entrepreneur Institute to provide business training to artists. He's an arts guy, and he's going to help the group answer three primary questions:
• What do artists need and want to make Lakewood the place they live and work?
• What are Arts and Culture Districts?
• How do would we benefit from them?

Hope to see you there.

Boost for the Beck Center

Today Mayor FitzGerald announced $100,000 in support of the Beck Center. Not only is the Beck an esteemed cultural arts institution, it's been estimated that $10 million dollars is added to the local economy from the Beck Center’s activities every year.

Approximately $55,000 of the assistance will come from the city's share of federal stimulus funds for energy efficiency. This commitment will enable much needed facility upgrades and reduce operating costs. The investment will have multi-year benefit to the non-profit’s operations. Another $45,000 will come from loans that the Mayor and City Council plan to renegotiate with the Beck.

On March 31st, the Beck Center for the Arts announced that they needed of $150,000 to continue operations. Response from Lakewood (and the nation!) has been huge, raising more than $50,000 in less than a week. In addition to donations, registrations for classes and ticket sales have gone up as well. Their Board plans to raise a ton of money to get the Beck's financial footing stronger for long term stability. (So don't stop giving, going to classes and seeing shows!)

In the mean time, local organizations are stepping up to help too. For example, the Designer Consignor is giving 50 percent of its proceeds to the center during April. Also, the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce will promote a Businesses Back the Beck Day on Wednesday, April 22.

Balanced Budget Update

It has been a few months since the last City of Lakewood Balanced Budget Update, but I wanted to wait until the 1st Quarter of 2009 was under our belt before reporting out.

Have a look at the Monthly Financial Report here.

It reflects the revised budget numbers passed by Council on April 6th, and expenditures to date with the year-to-date expenditure versus budget benchmark of 25%.

The most notable item in the revised budget is a $600,000 increase in the reserve balance account, bringing the City's budgeted General Fund reserves to $850,000. The target balance goal is $4.4 million, so there still is a ways to go.

As shown on page 5 of the document, overall General Fund expenditures are 2% below budget as of today's date, but it is still early in the year, and the automated refuse collections change over has not yet begun, but will, beginning in May. This will be the true test of keeping the City's budgeted expenditures on track for the year.

The City's greatest challenge (as well as everyone else's these days) and the biggest unknown because of economic conditions, are revenues. Finance Director Jenn Pae sends a pretty good email to folks interested in that stuff. To get on the distribution list, or to get a copy of the last one, email her at Jennifer.Pae AT lakewoodoh.net

Holiday Schedule Changes for City Services

City Hall will be closed Friday, April 10th to observe Good Friday.

So, the folks who collect our refuse and recycling are going to hustle to get five days of collection squeezed into just four days. If your normal collection day is Monday, nothing changes. But, if your normal collection day is Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, then we might get there a day early, so get that stuff out of the house just in case. And if your normal collection day is Friday, well, get it ready for Thursday collection.

Don't forget that refuse and recycling should not be placed on the curb or tree lawn until after 6:00 p.m. on the night before your collection day and should be available for collection by 6:30 a.m. on the collection day. Call Refuse and Recycling at (216) 252-4322 if you have any questions or need special accommodations.