McKay leaving city council after two decades
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published Aug. 3, 2005

Dean McKay

City Council has another big change coming sooner than expected.

Popular Ward 4 Councilman Dean McKay, the senior member of council with nearly 23 years experience, announced at last night's council meeting he is leaving council at the end of August. McKay had not run for re-election and was scheduled to leave office at the end of the year. He did not have any opponents for his seat in the last eight years. Dennis Lambert and Larry Orlowski are the candidates on the November ballot to succeed McKay in the Ward 4 seat.

McKay said he's ready to retire from formal public service.

"It's time, I'm tired and I'm ready to spend more time with my family," McKay said. "I think its time to move on from the city."

In addition to his work on Council, McKay and his wife, Margaret, are involved in numerous church and other community organizations and charities. McKay said he will remain active in those community functions.

"I'll just be retiring from the council business," McKay said. "I do intend to be out fishing more and spending time with my grandchildren."

He said city government will be able to function well without him.

"We have good people in the city," McKay said. "I want to thank the current council and administration for their cooperation through the years. I really want to thank all the city officials and workers I've worked with through the years."

He said council will work through its recent changes.

"You'll see a series of changes sometimes through the years and then things will settle down," McKay said.

In addition to McKay's resignation, several other council positions have changed in the last few months. Former Council President Thomas O'Grady moved into the mayor's job when Norman T. Musial resigned in March. Councilwoman at-large Carolyn Kasler resigned when she moved from the city. And Duane Limpert in Ward 1 and John Dailey in Ward 2 both resigned to become safety and human resources director respectively for O'Grady's administration. And Ward 3 Councilman George Nashar did not seek re-election.

Referring to his seat, McKay endorsed Orlowski as his choice to succeed him.

"Larry's been active in the community and is very interested in what goes on in the city," McKay said. He also cited Orlowski's service on the planning commission as giving him good preparation for work on council.

"He'd be a good choice for the ward," McKay said.

He cited the residents of the ward as active in their own right.

"I'm very appreciative of the support they've given me through the years," McKay said. "We've had a lot of tough issues to deal with. They've always been there, too, when we need them in the city."

Thinking of incidents with heavy community involvement, he cited the fights surrounding the Wal-Mart going in on Brookpark Road as well as placing something on the nearby controversial Parcel E property, where a Target and office buildings are currently being built.

"We've had to fight make sure citizens rights are respected," McKay said. "Not everything has gone the way we wanted, but I've always tried to take care of people's rights in the ward. I felt it was important to listen to what people have to say."

McKay said he always tried to listen to what the residents of his ward and the entire city wanted.

"We have a strong retail community in North Olmsted and I'm very appreciative of that," McKay said. "But ultimately, the strength of a city lies in its residents. You have to respect the views of the citizens in a city, otherwise you're not going to have a very good community."

In addition to the work on the Wal-Mart, McKay said he's proud to have worked with former WestLife Editor and later North Olmsted city employee Mary Slama on obtaining a state grant for placing trash receptacles throughout the community.

"It was a good project that really helped make the city look better," McKay said. "It makes for a better appearance for the community."

An Air Force veteran, McKay said he will continue to support the armed services and the men and women serving in them.

"They provide a very important service for us," McKay said.

In North Olmsted itself, McKay said he hopes city officials will work on alleviating problems for residents.

"I'd like to see the city continue to work on reducing the debt and not having to borrow to pay for street projects and other work," McKay said. "We need to keep working on reducing that and other burdens for the community. People can only bear so much of a tax burden.

"I'd also like to get Springvale in better shape as well. It made money for many years as a private enterprise and I think it can be a big success for the city as well, if we can just get it into shape."

Overall, he said his immediate goal at the end of the month is pretty simple.

"I intend to be out on my boat fishing," McKay said.