As mandated by Governor Mike DeWine and Dr. Amy Acton of the Ohio Department of Health, we have closed our campus to visitors.   For all emergencies, please dial 911. 

A Message From Mayor Daniel Fritz

Hello Residents,

I hope this newsletter finds you healthy and doing well. We continue to navigate the COVID protocols as set forth by the State of Ohio and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. Please monitor our Village website and Facebook page for updates regarding any changes that affect your services. As you are aware, Cuyahoga County now requires facial coverings while inside of any commercial occupancy and when outside and unable to maintain social distancing. As you can imagine, the enforcement issues surrounding this requirement are significant. Our friends at Chagrin Valley Dispatch have created an electronic form that can be filled out if you wish to file a complaint related to a violation of this order. A link to this form can be found in the "News and Events" section of our Village website and on the Village’s Facebook page. Once filled out, this form will be sent to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. Please do not call 911 for any witnessed violation. An exception would be for a witnessed altercation or stepped up argument that could lead to violence. For these instances 911 would be an appropriate option. In the end, my hope is that all residents take this requirement very seriously and adhere to the mandate. As one who works in emergency services I can attest that your police officers and firefighters are taking this issue very seriously. Our County is experiencing a significant increase in positive cases. This increase is NOT directly related to more testing. In a few short weeks we have gone from a 3.4% positive rate to over 8% (as of 7/21/2020). I personally know 2 individuals who have tested positive in the past week. Remember that the Ohio Department of Health and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health remain the best options for your day to day updates. Social media memes, forwarded viral emails and sound bites from 24/7 news channels sometimes fail to paint an accurate picture. As your Mayor, I remain vigilant on ensuring your safety and staying up to date on all State and County protocols.

Throughout these trying times we have seen signs of hope and a strong sense of community spirit. This past month we completed our honorary tree planting effort located at the main entrance to Forest Ridge Preserve. Representatives from many of our neighborhoods took part in this planting effort conceived by resident Tom Shaper. The beautiful trees and flowering bushes will now take root and grow to represent the perseverance and strength of our amazing community. You can see pictures of this wonderful event in another section of this newsletter. Complimenting this effort was a recent construction project led by Eagle Scout candidate Joey Fletcher and his friends in Troop 309 out of the Garfield Memorial Church. Joey led a work crew in the construction of a firewood storage shed to be used at our future pavilion to be located in Forest Ridge Preserve. See our Facebook page for pictures of their wonderful work. Rounding out this community spirit are the long hours our docents at the Garfield Cabin donate each weekend so that residents and non-residents can tour the birth site of our nation’s 20^th President.

While our year to date numbers are down significantly, I’m confident that our immediate action and conservative financial planning has postured us in a position that will allow our numbers to bounce back as we move forward. Our goal remains to avoid using any reserve funds and to realize improved numbers as early as this Fall. Be assured we are monitoring the financial situation on a daily basis and are making changes when required.  

I hope that you enjoy the rest of this summer. I know it has been difficult. Understand that we are working very hard to ensure the integrity of our Village and its wonderful services. That goal can only take place with the support of outstanding employees and an engaged community that reminds me every day of just how special it is to call myself a resident of Moreland Hills.