Grace 2.0 2024 Administrative Objectives
Elyria’s state of crisis is what inspired this 2024 Year One Plan. It is bold, carefully reasoned, and responds with the urgency that our circumstances require.
This Plan consists of three distinct areas.
- Actions within the purview of mayoral administrative authority
- Analysis that will require City Council support to implement
- Ballot initiatives in the form of taxation and changes to the City’s Charter that I will propose to appear on the 2024 General Election ballot and require voter approval.
Administrative Actions
Efficiency analysis in all City departments will always be in order. But nowhere is more fundamental waste and excessive spending in need of reform than in the Elyria Fire Department.
Early action will be to stop the excessive spending in the Fire Department from getting worse. This will include rescinding the order to purchase the $2 million ladder truck that all rational evidence shows to be a foolish acquisition for Elyria. Next will be to stop planning for additional fire stations. The City needs to make plans to provide fire service out of fewer fire stations, not more. And, accordingly, to operate with fewer firefighters and less equipment.
Downsizing the Fire Department will free up millions of dollars for the services and improvements that attract families and companies. It’s important to understand that cities with large fire departments like Elyria are in decline. Cities with smaller fire departments like Avon are thriving.
Initiate discussions with the Elyria Schools Superintendent to seek common initiatives.
Administrative Analysis
Feasibility, construction, and cost analysis to present to City Council for their input, funding, and grant application approval:
- 5G, High-Speed Internet municipal utility
- Airport Shuttle, Downtown Elyria Transportation Center to Hopkins; 30-minute loop, every half hour
- Downtown transit loop
- Neighborhood transit loops
- Boys and Girls Basketball Program
- East Falls area development
- West Falls access
- Two Falls Bridge rehab or replacement
- Two Falls Trail rebuild
- Cascade Park improvement discussions with LCMP including opening the north end to vehicular circulation
- Strategic land acquisition for economic development and neighborhood revitalization: Downtown, Cleveland Street, Middle Avenue 4th to 9th, Midway Mall area
- Abbe Road South rebuild
- Midway development with County Commissioners
- Young adult seasonal jobs program to work in parks, streets, and downtown
- “JFK Veterans Memorial Parkway” (Route 57), Elyria’s Next Park
- Update architectural design review program
Elyria’s New Economy Initiative support:
- Construction cost estimates to aid the community in determining priorities
- Facilitate, in the form of public meetings, community input to determine public and commercial facility priorities
- Downtown Special Improvement District (SID) analysis
- Downtown & City-wide transit loops, Lorain County Transportation Center as the hub, connecting LCCC, Midway, and major City Parks
Action on this scale and with this urgency is what is necessary to launch a new economic era and put Elyria on a path toward prosperity.
