Hello Residents,

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but those color changes in the trees? That means Winter will be here before we know it. That’s not all bad as there is so much our Village can offer during the snowy season. A cross-country ski visit in the Metroparks or perhaps snowshoeing in Forest Ridge Preserve (my favorite) are a few suggestions to pencil in. However, we aren’t quite there yet. At Village Hall, we have begun the long and detailed process of ensuring we are able to serve our residents when it comes to snow and ice removal. Over the last several months we have been searching for a qualified mechanic to fill a much-needed vacancy. I am happy to report that we have hired mechanic Jason Boers. Jason is experienced in the maintenance and repair of everything from small gas-powered tools to our large recycling and garbage trucks. As for the aforementioned small gas-powered tools, note that we are transitioning to battery powered and will continue to do so. So, while it may be a bit early to mention the snow, it is not too early to prepare our fleet of plow trucks so that they are ready when the white stuff covers our hills.

If you haven’t registered for our October 8^th “Head For The Hills” event please consider doing so. Our Parks Commission works so very hard to ensure that this race and hike run smoothly, and that money is raised that comes right back to our park system! See another area in this newsletter for more information. And a special thanks to our Police, Service, Administration employees and volunteers who assist to make this event a success.

Improvements continue to take place at the President James A. Garfield Birth Site and next year we hope to budget for two new staircases in the woods, which will greatly improve access to this important and historical area.

We appreciate the patience when it comes to the new construction project on Chagrin Boulevard. As you probably know, the roadway is being taken down to the base and replaced entirely. Traffic will be maintained eastbound only for the duration of this project. The project started on September 12^th and has a completion date of November 12^th. We are hoping for less than 60 days. The good news is that, as of right now, we are coming in at 500k below the estimated cost we budgeted for.

Thanks to everyone who assisted with our recent Greening the Hills event. It was another successful event and that only happens when members of Council, Administration, Commissions and volunteers step up to assist. Of special interest were members of the Green Commission who wore tee shirts reminding us that only “Pee, Poop and Paper” should be flushed so that we don’t further damage our wastewater infrastructure. The message on all the tee shirts was meant to be tongue-in-cheek but please adhere to this advice and avoid costly damage to our lift stations. Our next Greening the Hills event will take place on May 20, 2023.

We now have a new cell phone charging station located on Village campus. During power outages any resident can drive up to our Service Department (sign details charging station area), enter the vestibule which is open 24/7, enter a code and utilize one of 10 bays in the machine that will charge a cell phone (iPhone or Android). Simply return, enter the code you created and the door pops back open with your newly charged phone. This area is on a generator. Thanks to NOPEC for this very generous donation!

Lastly, our “More in the Hills” events are coming to an end for this season. Please email Sherri at villagehall@morelandhills.com if you have suggestions for different dates and times (as opposed to Thursday evenings) or suggestions for new events next year.