Moment with the Mayor for January 20, 2018
Accomplishments in 2017
In continuation of the goals accomplished in 2017, in the area of public service, we were pleased to upgrade the City’s Cable and Internet system (CityLink) from analog to digital for our customers. The 20th anniversary of the business was celebrated with customer specials and the announcement of greater speed increases at no extra charge, with available speeds up to 150 mpbs. Improvements were made on the reliability of the electric system by installing two new larger power transformers. Another round of conversions of street lights to LED lights was completed, providing a higher quality of light along with decreased energy use and operational costs. And you may recall that some of our electric employees assisted with a mutual aid call to Florida, following Hurricane Irma. In engineering, the City managed the completion of over $1million of asphalt and concrete improvements through the 2017 Street Improvement Program. We assisted with the construction of the High Street widening project, where the contractor completed the widening of the west side, including the bridge and Great Oaks Trail. Grant monies were awarded for improvements to the Holmesbrook Creek culvert and the future SR 94/Seville Road roundabout. In building and planning, residential construction inspections totaling $22.9 million were completed and $21.4 in plans for commercial and industrial construction, including new and expanding companies, were overseen. In IT, the City’s website was completely redesigned, while security and offsite data storage were both increased. In parks, new Edison lights were installed downtown. What a difference they make! We also added full-time summer help for the downtown area to care for, and increase, the number of flowers on display. Within the street department, snow and ice procedures were improved with pretreating equipment and a new truck for the fleet. And waterline improvements to Lucas and Park Courts were completed in the water department. Finally, a testing process was updated from a manual to an electronic procedure in the wastewater plant. 2017 was quite a year, and I’m proud of all the City departments for working together and successfully accomplishing such an impressive list.
2018 Goals
The Treasurer’s office reports that they continue to maximize the annual return on the City’s investments, while the Auditor’s office will revise the capital asset policy and complete documentation of all finance policies and procedures. In Safety, the Medina County Railroad Safety Taskforce will be petitioned for funding railroad grade crossing improvements at Silvercrest Extension and L Street. We will also complete our contribution to ODOT’s installation of a traffic signal at the College Street ramp to SR-57. Integration of the police department’s records management system with Medina County Prosecutors Office will be initiated, and we will explore a body camera project and funding opportunities for our police department. Next steps toward a future Fire Station #1 will be taken, as well as the implementation of new solicitor and mobile vendor regulations. To be continued next week!