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10 Beachwood Buzz
n
October 2014
State of the Community
T
he Beachwood
Chamber of
Commerce held
its monthly luncheon
on Wednesday, August
20, at the Beachwood
High School,
where attendees
heard the "State of
the Community"
presentation.
The panel included May-
or Merle S. Gorden, Chief of
Police Keith Winebrenner, Law
Director Brian Reali, Econom-
ic Development Director Jim
Doutt and Superintendent Dr.
Richard Markwardt.
Mayor Gorden's remarks
focused on the strong financial
standing of the City, its past
accomplishments, current
projects, and "Vision for 2014
and Beyond."
Mayor Gorden was first to
present, with the following few
key highlights:
· Over the last four years,
Beachwood taxpayers have
saved $3.2 million as a result
of its litigation efforts vs.
Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer
District (NEORSD).
· The city has launched a free
mobile app.
· The expansion of Beach-
wood Place is expected to
generate 150 to 200 new jobs.
Beachwood Place is currently
the largest taxpayer supporting
our schools.
· The city is working on en-
hancing its safety services and
implementing a city-wide fiber
optic network.
· Efforts are underway to
improve and enhance the Com-
merce Park business district.
Construction of a connector
road to connect this district
with Chagrin Highlands is un-
der consideration.
· Enhanced city entrances
and sustainable energy solu-
tions are being evaluated.
· At the end of 2013, the
City's general fund surplus was
$9.9 million.
The city's new law director,
Brian Reali, and Beachwood's
newly appointed chief of
police, Keith Winebrenner,
each had an opportunity to
introduce themselves to the
community as part of Mayor
Gorden's presentation.
Jim Doutt, the City's cconom-
ic development director, then
spoke about the city's devel-
opment efforts. Since 2007,
despite the great recession,
Beachwood has seen over $900
million in new capital invest-
ments, bringing in nearly 3,400
new, full-time jobs.
Doutt stated, "Beachwood
stands out in northeastern Ohio
as a thriving commercial hub,
with nearly 3,000 businesses
and more than 100,000 people
visiting each day. Beachwood
has a well-earned reputation
as a great place to live, work
and do business. At Beachwood
City Hall, we set out each day to
reinforce that reputation."
Doutt also announced a
master planning process that
will be conducted in coop-
eration with the Cuyahoga
County Planning Commission,
saying, "We will soon embark
on an ambitious effort to craft
a five-year master plan that will
synthesize and summarize the
city's vision and broad goals;
conduct a community survey
to capture the viewpoints of
residents and businesses; and
review current market condi-
tions, demographics, transpor-
tation networks, tax base, etc."
Looking to the future, Doutt
said we will continue to be
progressive, aggressive and
proactive and to build upon
the strong foundation that is
already in place.
Following the city's presenta-
tion, Dr. Markwardt shared the
state of the district. He started
off by saying that our schools
are academically strong and
financially stable.
Within its healthy scholastic
and financial climate, Beach-
wood's students thrive, excel-
ling in the areas of academics,
the arts and athletics, all of
which have been represented in
state and national competitions
this past school year. An in-
creasing number of educational
opportunities are available to
Beachwood students, both in
and outside of the traditional
classroom. The Beachwood
community and its schools have
been recognized as one of the
top communities in the nation
for their support of the arts.
Beachwood Middle School
was recently re-designated a
National School to Watch, a
status it first achieved in 2008.
A rising number of Beachwood
High School students are en-
rolled in Advanced Placement
courses for which they can
receive college credit. In the
2013-2014 school year, high
school student enrollment in
Advanced Placement courses
rose by 48 percent.
Post-secondary enrollment
options at area colleges and
universities are being of-
fered. The University Hospi-
tals­Beachwood High School
Medical Academy is geared to
students with an interest in
medicine and the CSU­Beach-
wood High School Design and
Innovation Program for those
interested in engineering.
"A distinguishing character-
istic of Beachwood City Schools
is the district's attention to the
needs of the individual student ,"
Dr. Markwardt said. "Our district
is often referred to as a "family,"
a label that is earned. Nobody is
a mere number in Beachwood.
It is that personal attention to
individual needs that drives our
curriculum, our programs, our
instruction, and our extra-cur-
ricular opportunities. It is an at-
titudinal quality that few public
school districts can demonstrate
to the same degree."
In June 2014, Moody's Investors
Service re-confirmed Beachwood
Schools' AAA credit rating. Under
the direction of Beachwood
Schools treasurer Michele Mills,
the district refinanced the Build
America bonds, which were used
to pay for a portion of the high
school renovation process. This
refinancing saved Beachwood
taxpayers more than $2.3 million
dollars.
The residents of Beachwood
recognize that high quality
educational programs require
Pictured, sitting: Economic Development Director James Doutt,
Beachwood Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cindy Caldwell
and Police Chief Keith Winebrenner. Standing: Law Director Brian Re-
ali, Superintendent Dr. Richard Markwardt and Mayor Merle S. Gorden.