Dec. 24—Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles examining what Northeast Ohio towns went through in 2022 and the challenges they will face in 2023.
Mentor-on-the- Mayor of Lake David Eva is optimistic about the city's future as it slowly begins to recover from the terrible years during the pandemic.
The mayor remarked, "It was good to get back to some semblance of 'normal' in 2022."
The ability to host the fifth annual Fall Festival in September after a two-year hiatus was one of 2022's highlights, according to Eva.
A development at the intersection of Andrews Road and Lakeshore Boulevard will also be permitted to proceed after a recent overlay district law approval by City Council. Throughout the year, this project and one at the site of the former St. Andrew's Church on Andrews Road were explored.
Eva also mentioned that successful business openings occurred in the previous year, with the launches of the CareNow Wellness Center and Pelican's Snoballs on Andrews Road in 2022.
The first Pelican's location in Ohio is Pelican's Snoballs.
The improvements on Andrews Road and at the intersection of Andrews Road and Lakeshore Boulevard sparked a lot of discussion, according to Eva. These projects are moving forward as a result of numerous discussions, Eva stated. "As elected officials, we all collaborated throughout the year to achieve these results."
The site of the former St. Andrew's Church will be transformed into a Dollar General store. Eva stated that, despite some resistance from locals, a "good outcome" would result from the building's architecture and the fact that at least 15% of the store's retail space would be devoted to selling fresh and/or freshly frozen food products.
The budget for 2023 would most likely resemble that of 2022, Eva said. Mentor-on-the-Lake has no significant purchases planned for 2023 at this time.
He added that the city wanted to staff the fire department full-time.
In 2023, both of the development projects that Eva had mentioned ought to be well under way. "I think that expanding both properties might result in more city projects. Since both sites are being developed, the city will benefit because they have been empty for some time. We'll keep looking for methods to cut costs and increase revenue."
Renewal levies for the fire department, police department, and roadways will be on the ballot for the November 2023 election in Mentor-on-the-Lake.