Referring to the August storm that brought many hundreds if not thousands of trees and limbs down all around the city, and as significant as the damage was, I’m very thankful that no one was severely injured. And as we all know, much of this crashing debris came down on power lines and interrupted electricity to residents and businesses throughout the city and Northeast Ohio.
Because of a tremendous effort by our Police, Fire and Public Works Department, within six hours of the storm delivering its wallop, every roadway that wasn’t affected by downed wires was cleared of any hazard. It was a true demonstration of cooperation and coordination by city staff that left their own powerless homes to make things as safe as possible for the traveling public in Kirtland.
In the weeks after the storm, the City of Kirtland Public Works Department did a great job assisting residents by removing debris from along the road edges. The city will perform an additional scheduled brush pickup in the fall – dates posted on the city website – www.kirtlandohio.com.
As September settles in, the 2024 road program will commence. The Forestdale and Woodhill area will see much needed pavement resurfacing, as will Shaw, Thorne, the remainder of the Parkwood neighborhood, and Monterey. While the areas of Bridlehurst, Regency (including Riverwood Way) and several other locations (as budget allows) will see repairs performed by contractors that will improve surface conditions in those neighborhoods.
As much road work (more than 10 miles repaved after this Fall) that has been completed over the last four years, it’s no secret there’s still much work to be done. In November, our voters will have an option to fund a long-term road funding solution. On the ballot, Kirtland residents will have an opportunity to increase the income tax by a maximum of one quarter of one percent that will be set aside to specifically finance future road repairs.
To correct any confusion, this option to fund our road repairs has no impact on property taxes. If voters choose to pass the Charter amendment, the additional income tax would cost a resident earning $100,000 an additional $250 per year. Funding our roads through the income tax also guarantees that non-residents living outside the city yet use our roads to come to work in Kirtland, contribute to this long-term road funding strategy.
The new money raised would not affect retirement income for our seniors and will expire in twenty years. Additionally, the ballot language specifically states that funding can be used for road related projects only. In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to discussions with our residents as to the merits of the funding.
Thank you – Mayor Potter