I would like to thank the residents who were able to attend our Annual State of the City Address that was held back in August. The event was held in the Council Chamber and was well attended with all City Council representatives and Department Heads present to answer any questions from our residents. Many thanks to Sunny Simon from Cuyahoga County Council, Judge Dominic Coletta, Senator Kent Smith – 21st Senate District, and our representative from NOEPC for joining us. Residents who were unable to attend can view the event by visiting our YouTube channel at 2023 State of the City Address.
After two cancellations due to weather, our final summer concert for Music at the Gazebo will not be rescheduled. We look forward to seeing Al Bucco and Michael George: The Summit next summer.
As our season changes from summer to fall, our 2023 projects are also coming to a close. Most recently, we have renovated and resurfaced all eight tennis courts at the Highland Heights Community Park. Our Park Trail project plans were finalized and have gone out to bid. Once bids are received, the trail work is expected to begin in October, with completion in late November or early December (weather permitting). The project will include new pedestrian crosswalk signalization at Kenbridge to the west side of Bishop with a new renovated cinder path. In addition, split rail fencing will be installed along the rear section of the trail that backs up to Hawthorne Drive.
In addition, Highland Heights City Council awarded the 2023 Asphalt Road Program to the Ronyak Paving Company. As part of the program, Kenbridge Drive and Ransome Road will receive new asphalt overlays. The roadway will have the existing asphalt surface course removed (milled) prior to the placement of the new asphalt overlay. The overall project is scheduled to begin on or around Thursday, October 5, 2023, and will last approximately 5 - 6 weeks (weather permitting). Residents in these areas will be receiving a letter from the city this week.
We are in the final homestretch with the completion of the Fire and Police Building Renovation Project. Our contractor is still on schedule with all modifications to the interior layout now completed. All interior surfaces have been painted, HVAC work is complete, and new lighting fixtures are currently being installed. Technology upgrades and the installation of flooring and carpet should be finished next week. The project completion date for the Police Department is scheduled for October 21st and October 27th for the Fire Department.
We are excited for you to see all of the improvements made to the Fire and Police Department Building. We will be hosting an Open House and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Friday, December 1, 2023, to showcase the renovation of this building. Full details will be shared in the near future on our city website, Facebook page, and my e-newsletter.
The Community Partnership on Aging will be hosting their Famous Fire Department Chili Cook-off on Friday, October 27th from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Highland Heights Community Center. This is a friendly competition between the Fire Departments of Highland Heights, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village, Richmond Heights, and South Euclid. Please consider supporting this event, as we compete for bragging rights.
The Fall edition of our city newsletter will be arriving in resident mailboxes around the second week of October. As we enter my favorite time of year, I hope to see you at some of the seasonal events the city has planned during the next few months.
Sincerely,
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Chuck Brunello, Jr.
Mayor/Safety Director
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More Information from City Hall Departments |
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From the Highland Heights Police Department |
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National Domestic Violence Awareness Month |
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National Domestic Violence Awareness Month is an annual designation observed in October. For many, home is a place of love, warmth, and comfort. It’s somewhere that you know you will be surrounded by care and support, and a nice little break from the busyness of the real world. But for millions of others, home is anything but a sanctuary. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are victims of physical violence by a partner every year.
Sometimes, people don’t know if they are really in an abusive relationship because they are used to their partner calling them crazy or making them feel like all the problems are their own fault. Here are a few ways to know if you’re in an abusive relationship that you need to get out of.
- Your partner has hit you, beat you, or strangled you in the past.
- Your partner is possessive. They check up on you constantly wondering where you are; they get mad at you for hanging out with certain people if you do not do what they say.
- Your partner is jealous. A small amount of jealousy is normal and healthy, however, if they accuse you of being unfaithful or isolate you from family or friends, that means the jealousy has gone too far.
- Your partner puts you down. They attack your intelligence, looks, mental health, or capabilities. They blame you for all of their violent outbursts and tell you nobody else will want you if you leave.
- Your partner threatens you or your family.
- Your partner physically and sexually abuses you. If they EVER push, shove, or hit you, or make you have sex with them when you don’t want to, they are abusing you (even if it doesn’t happen all the time).
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, please call HHPD at 440-442-1221 for help. If you are in danger, call 911.
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From the Highland Heights Fire Department |
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FIRE PREVENTION WEEK
October 8 - 14, 2023
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Did you know? Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of cooking fires and deaths.
What can you do? The good news is you can prevent most cooking fires and burns. Help keep your family safer with some simple but effective tips.
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From the Highland Heights Service Department |
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The Service Department will begin continuous curbside leaf collection on all streets beginning the week of October 9th. Collection will be house by house and street by street. Once a cycle of all streets has been completed (all streets have been collected), we will begin the cycle again.
Please place leaves on the tree lawn for collection, not in the street. Leaves placed in the street can be a hazard to motorists, can block drainage, and become wet and matted after a rain, which can significantly slow the collection process. Please do not mix in grass with the leaves. Grass should be prepared for trash collection or composted. Branches should be tied and bundled in four-foot lengths for trash collection or left loose and stacked separately away from leaf piles for collection by the service department.
The collection program will end the second week of December. The program end date is necessary to allow the Service Department time for equipment change over in preparation for snow removal operations.
Residents wishing to dispose of leaves beyond the cut off date may do so by composting their leaves or bagging them (40 pounds or less) for pick up by our rubbish contractor on their regular rubbish day.
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A message from Cuyahoga Soil & Water District |
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Monarch butterflies will soon be migrating south across our state. Many folks know that planting milkweeds for monarchs is important, and we of course encourage planting native milkweed species where you can. Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed so that their caterpillars have a ready food source when they emerge. Eating milkweed leaves makes the caterpillars toxic to birds, a stealthy defense strategy. But what do they need once that caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis, and ultimately an adult butterfly themselves? Adult monarch butterflies are not eating milkweed leaves, but instead they’re collecting nectar from a variety of native wildflowers. If you’d like to support the entire monarch lifecycle, you can plant a diversity of native wildflowers that includes some late blooming species to fuel them for migration.
Fall blooms for migration
Common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
Ironweed (Veronia fasciculata) Tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris)
White snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum) Blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
New England aster (Aster novae-angliae)
(Source: Cuyahoga Soil & Water District)
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From the Building Department |
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A reminder about placement of trash collection in our city as stated in the Codified Ordinances of the City of Highland Heights...
Ordinance 521.12
PLACING WASTE AND WASTE CONTAINERS FOR COLLECTION
(a) No owner, occupant or person in charge of any building or vacant parcel of real estate within the City shall place waste containers, waste or refuse in front of any residence within the City or on the tree lawn of any street, or shall knowingly permit waste containers, waste or refuse to be so placed, prior to 6:00 p.m. on the evening preceding the day scheduled for refuse collection, nor after 2:00 p.m. on any Friday, or before 8:00 p.m on any Sunday or holiday.
(b) Whoever violates this section shall for a first offense be guilty of a minor misdemeanor, and for second and subsequent offenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
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From the Recreation Department |
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City of Highland Heights 5827 Highland Road, Highland Heights, OH 44143 |
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