Andy Gardner reflects on his time as mayor in Willoughby Hills

Dec. 25—EDITOR'S NOTE — This is one in a series looking at what Lake County communities and agencies experienced in 2023 and what is facing them in 2024.

For Andy Gardner, it has been an honor to have been the mayor of Willoughby Hills for the last four years.

Gardner did not seek re-election and Chris Hallum, having won the Nov. 7 general election, will begin his term Jan. 1.

"There's so many people to thank," Gardner said. "It does seem like a long time ago, but it was only two years ago that (the coronavirus) was still pretty present and that dominated the first two years I was mayor."

Gardner said the leadership has been invaluable in western Lake County — Willoughby Mayor Robert Fiala, Eastlake Mayor Dennis Morley, Kirtland Mayor Kevin Potter, former Willowick Mayor Richard Regovich and now Mayor Michael Vanni and Wickliffe Mayor Joe Sakacs.

"We talk quite a bit about local issues and meet frequently," he said.

Gardner also said the Lake County Health Department staff was also a phenomenal resource during his term which came at the height of the coronavirus.

"All the city employees work hard for our residents every day," he said. "It makes me incredibly proud to be the leader of such a dedicated group. I can't say enough about them. My department directors — it's been a true pleasure to work with them in moving the city forward. I viewed my job as supporting them, getting them the resources they need, helping them set direction for what the city needs and how to achieve it best."

Highlights during Gardner's term include the upgrade of the storage salt facility, putting body cams on police officers and the new software the city has in the building department.

"Repaving Route 6 — the first half was completed last year," Gardner said. "The second half is underway for next year. You can't do that without a great team. I'm grateful for them and all the residents who volunteer."

Gardner also credits his family.

"When you've got another full-time job and you're part-time mayor, it can be stressful," he said. "I wouldn't have been able to do it without having them back me up and supporting me."

The most exciting news 2023 brought forth to Willoughby Hills was the redevelopment of the plaza at the northwest corner of Chardon and Bishop Road.

"That started with the Sheetz gas station, which is getting close to being done," Gardner said. "The existing building is going to be four, national tenants — Five Below, Ross Dress for Less, Burlington and an auto parts store.

"The Marc's moved down to the other plaza at the beginning of my term and the other businesses that were in that plaza moved out a year or two ago," he added. "It's exciting that we're going to have four national retailers there."

Willoughby Hills and the Willoughby-Eastlake School District worked together this year to allow some additional property tax abatement, which council will soon look at through the community reinvestment act.

"The district passed approval for that, so we're able to give a little bit of an incentive so the owner can bring those retailers and that development to that corner," Gardner said.

He also said that Cleveland Veterinary Rehabilitation, which opened this year by Dr. Laura Surovi and Mike Sivo, has been a wonderful addition and has drawn regionally to the city.

"We partnered with the district to provide some incentive for them to build there, so I'm grateful for our school district partners," he said.

On the city's operation side, staffing was increased this year. Two new police officer positions were added, as well as a full-time communications supervisor, reconfigured from the former mayor's executive assistant position.

"We reconfigured the city website this year," Gardner said. "It's more user friendly, there's an alert on the landing page for current events and you can get straight to the newsletter, so just a huge upgrade there."

The city also converted the finance director position from part-time to full-time. They're also working to increase manning at the fire department from five to six firefighters per shift.

The city added new police and fire chief vehicles, a command vehicle for the fire department and a new plow truck, as well as a new lawn mower. Sidearms and tasers were also replaced for police officers this year to allow for more safety.

"It's still sometimes a challenge to get that extra part-time person in for every shift, but we're certainly trying to do that," Gardner said. "Equipment wise, we're staying with the capital plan we put in place a few years ago. The new fire engine and all the equipment that goes with it is due to arrive in mid January."

With many goals in place for 2024, Gardner said the future is bright for Willoughby Hills.

"One of my big things was trying to communicate better with residents," he said. "We'll be adding Instagram and other social media in the coming year and continuing to upgrade the website."

"The police department will be working hard as the photo enforcement program comes online," he added. "We expect it to be fully online by the end of the first quarter. When that goes on and we start operating the program, we want it to be right, so they're making sure everything is working well during the training and the start up phase."