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Summer time is upon us and I hope everyone is having some good summer fun. The 19^th century American writer Henry James once said that the two most beautiful words in the English language are “summer afternoon.”

Indeed, sun drenched afternoons and cool magic nights, served with lemonade on front porches, are the stuff of summer.

City Council is on summer recess, though we have scheduled a special meeting in August to keep ahead of pressing matters, including major development projects. Our Glenville neighborhood will soon see a new apartment and retail complex. Our police department is moving its headquarters from the Justice Center into the former Plain Dealer building at East 18^th and Superior. And the city has begun replacing our 61,000 street lights with low-maintenance, energy-saving LED lights.

Meanwhile, aside from bricks and mortar, City Council is continuing to work towards a healthier Cleveland, supporting programs to reduce infant mortality rates in our city and lowering dangerous exposures of lead in our neighborhoods’ aging housing stock.

Also, we are addressing one of our major public health issues: gun violence.

Council has authorized the city to hire more police officers, firefighters and EMS medics and the recruiting for those positions is now underway. We are also working to build trust between our police and our citizens. Every resident is entitled to feel safe and secure in his or her home and neighborhood. And every citizen needs to have confidence in our police force.

Meanwhile, summertime means “schools out” and our kids need to stay busy because “kids can be kids.” To that end, Council has approved the spending of nearly $16 million for improvements to our city parks and recreation centers. The work includes new construction, rehabilitating and renovating.

It’s money well spent. It’s an investment in our youth. It’s an investment in our future.

So, the summer of ’18 is seeing our city moving forward. Council, with five new members this year, is dedicated to improving the quality of life for its citizens and to building a strong, progressive and vibrant Cleveland.
We have challenges. But, working together, the task of overcoming those challenges is a walk in the park.

See you in the park this summer.
 
Kevin Kelley