Bobst: County gives $100K
for Old Detroit Streetscape improvements
By Kevin Kelley
Rocky River
Published April 28, 2010

Cuyahoga County has awarded the city a $100,000 grant to make streetscape improvements along Old Detroit Road.

Mayor Pam Bobst announced the grant during her annual state of the city address before a Rocky River Chamber of Commerce luncheon audience Thursday at Westwood Country Club.

The project involves redesigning the road between West 192nd Street and Old Lake Road. On-street parking will be placed on the north side of the street. Landscaping, including ornamental lampposts, seating and bike racks, will be installed as part of the project, to which the city will contribute $175,000. The goal is for the improvements to increase traffic safety and make the area more pedestrian-friendly for the residents and people who shop there.

“It will really create a gathering place for our community,” Bobst said of the project.

Rocky River has been aggressive in applying for federal, state and county grants, Bobst said, and has been successful in many instances. The Lake Road sewer, waterline and repavement project is receiving $2.4 million in federal dollars, $800,000 from the state and $100,000 from the county. The state also gave $4.4 million for work on sewers, waterlines and the repavement on Valley View Drive, the mayor said. The city also received zero-interest loans for numerous other sewer projects, she said.

Bobst reported that Rep. Dennis Kucinich recently submitted requests for grants to the House appropriations committee for two local projects — the $11 million Detroit Road Reconstruction and Economic Revitalization Project and the $7.7 million Westway/Hampton/Lakeview Sewer Rehabilitation Project.

In a 56-minute speech she jammed with information, Bobst said the city is in a relatively stable financial position given the region’s economic woes.

“Some of our concerns that we have are that the economic recovery will be slow,” Bobst said. “All of our departments are managing with less over the last couple of years. But we continue to review and reprioritize all of our expenditures.”

Rocky River Mayor Pam Bobst delivers her address at the Rocky River Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon audience Thursday. (West Life photo by Peter Comings)

City officials are also concerned that income tax revenue is down 5.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, Bobst reported.

Total revenue from all sources in 2009 was $26,866,366, down $162,000 from 2008, the mayor said. Total expenditures for 2009 — $23,343,792 — was also down, declining almost $400,000 from the year before, Bobst said. The annual surplus was $3,522,573, up more than $200,000 compared to 2008.

The city has frozen part-time wages, she said. The recreation department alone cut 11,000 part-time employee hours, she noted.

But Bobst wants to avoid layoffs among full-time employees. The city is “full-time position preservation mode,” the mayor said.

“If we’re eliminating full-time positions, that means we’re impacting services to our residents,” Bobst said. “And we don’t want that to happen.”

If residents do not notice any decline in city services, that means the city has been successful in doing more with less, Bobst said.

The city has cut operating expenses across all departments in the past year, Bobst said.

In the economic development department, Bobst said there was no news on the future of Rockport shopping center, but there may be some developments in the near future. She also reported that Home Depot at Westgate will soon hire 30 new associates and make improvements to the store.

“There has been considerable residential, commercial and institutional development and redevelopment, indicating that Rocky River continues to be a city worthy of significant investment,” Bobst said. “We have multiple, diverse revenue streams; we are highly effective in securing outside funding for critical projects, and our past practices and planning are serving us well.”

Foreclosures continue to be a concern, Bobst said. Ninety were filed in 2009, up from 45 just three years ago. However, 19 have been filed in the first quarter of 2010 — fewer than the first quarter of last year, the mayor reported.

“Compared to other communities, we don’t have a lot of foreclosures,” Bobst said. “There are communities with hundreds of foreclosures. They would love to report that there were only 90. But when that home is on your street in your neighborhood, and it starts to deteriorate, it can have a very negative impact. So we’re very conscientious about making sure those properties are very well maintained and they’re on our radar screen.”

On the Web:

• City of Rocky River
• Rocky River Chamber of Commerce