I have a love/hate relationship with this intersection. I love it because I use it all the time to get to the library, or the River Walk Trail. Hate it because it’s a poster child for lousy street design. The streets come together at odd angles, the lines of sight are poor, and the intersection itself is unnecessarily large. It’s a massive amount of asphalt, and there’s only one place for a person to cross.

Back in June of 2023 I did a deep dive, recorded a bunch of videos of drivers ignoring the stop sign, and put together some ideas about how it could be made safer. In October of that year I followed up with some additional thoughts after a two-vehicle collision.

Quick Hits

• Jason Fischer is CFPD’s 2024 Officer of the Year
• Council authorized the administration to put the Evergreen Cemetery Expansion project out to bid
• At the request of some downwind neighbors, the village will continue working to improve odor control at the Wastewater Treatment Plant
• Council approved all event applications from the Jaycees and United Methodist Church

Carriage Stone Sidewalks

After more than twenty years (!) of off-and-on discussions Carriage Stone sidewalks are one step closer to becoming reality. Council passed a Resolution of Necessity by a vote of 6 - 0 (one council member was absent). Although I was an early proponent of this project the decision to vote in favor of it was not an easy one. The majority of the cost of construction (estimated to be around $10,000 each) will be borne by the neighboring property owners, and support for the project was not unanimous. Earlier this year an anonymous survey was sent to all 35 of those who will be assessed. The survey consisted of a single question: are you in favor of or opposed to building a sidewalk?

Housekeeping

Anne Wombwell de Coningh was reelected chair, and the December meeting minutes were approved.

Park Event Applications

A year’s worth of Jaycees event applications were recommended to council, including the Easter Egg Hunt, Blossom Time, Trucks by the Falls, Oktubafest, Holiday Display, Lighting of the Greens, and Deck the Falls.

Erinn Grube was elected chairperson, followed by a presentation on the Evergreen Hill Cemetery Stream Daylighting and Gravesite Expansion projects.

Appointments to Boards & Commissions

Council confirmed the Mayor’s appointments to various boards and commissions. Most terms are for three years, except the Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning & Zoning Commission which are four years. The complete list of members can be viewed at the Unofficial Codified Ordinances of Chagrin Falls Ohio: Committees, Boards, and Commissions.

Evergreen Cemetery

Due to limited availability, Council voted to extend the moratorium on pre-sales of full size graves for the remainder of 2025. Graves will be sold in cases of immediate need. Plans to expand the cemetery and provide additional inventory are in the works.

We’ll elect a chairperson, continue our review of the Downtown Traffic and Safety Study (PDF), and consider making permanent the 3-way stop at the intersection of East Orange, North, and Mill Streets.

More Infrastructure Improvements Coming

The village has been awarded $3,500,000 for water and wastewater infrastructure as part of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, which was signed into law by President Biden on January 4, 2024. This money will go a long way towards repairing and replacing the remaining sections of our century-plus old stormwater and sanitary sewer infrastructure.

Legislation

We passed almost everything on the legislative agenda with some discussion and minor revisions.

Council unanimously elected members to the following positions:

• Angela DeBernardo as Council President
• Nancy Rogoff as President Pro Tempore
• Nancy Rogoff as representative to the Planning & Zoning Commission
• Andrew Rockey as representative to the Board of Zoning Appeals

President DeBernardo made the following appointments:

Administration & Finance Committee