Mar. 27—EDITOR'S NOTE — The Eastern Lake County Chamber of Commerce on March 16 hosted government officials from its communities to provide details on major projects for 2023 and cite accomplishments from 2022. This is one in a series of articles detailing the speeches that were given.

A mix of public and private investments are expected to bring Concord Township residents new fire stations, businesses, waterlines and more in the coming years.

Trustee Chairman Morgan McIntosh discussed these upcoming development projects during his address in which he also touched on projects in areas including business, health care, public safety, infrastructure, parks and housing.

He began by describing progress in the Concord-Painesville Joint Economic Development District. A new 70,000-square-foot headquarters for Newbury Township-based Steven Douglas Corporation will open in the summer and "bring 50 new high-paying jobs."

Township Administrator Andy Rose previously said that in addition to property taxes, the community will also receive revenue from the company and its employees since it is located in the JEDD.

Additionally, McIntosh reported that three new business are planned for the area of Capital Parkway and state Route 44. Groundbreaking will begin in the summer for a new Sheetz at the southwest corner of the intersection, while a new car wash and ice cream store are planned east of 44.

He also discussed plans from University Hospitals to invest $1.8 million in the TriPoint Medical Center. The funds will be used to build a Level 2 neonatal intensive care unit and move labor and delivery care from Lake West Medical Center in Willoughby to TriPoint, a move that UH said will take place on April 15.

"We're very excited about that and understand that there will also be other investments coming," McIntosh said.

He said the township's trustees have also worked over the past couple of years to invest in public safety, including the construction of a new Fire Station 1.

"We're going to get expanded working spaces, better living conditions and the thing we're most proud of is the decontamination facility, so when our firefighters come back from events, they're going to be able to clean their gear and be safer," McIntosh said.

The new fire station is expected to have a grand opening at the end of July. It will be located on Concord-Hambden Road (state Route 608), across from the existing Fire Station 1.

"We're very excited about that, because the facility that the firefighters will be leaving was commissioned in 1966, and when you have a growing community like Concord, you can tell that that is well beyond the need," McIntosh added.

The trustees also plan to upgrade the township's Fire Station 2, which is located at 10154 Prouty Road. He said that the station also dates from 1966 and "is in dire need of upgrade."

McIntosh noted that law enforcement has been another board priority.

"At the end of 2021, we increased the amount of deputies that the township funded for road patrol," he said.

Representatives from the Lake County Township Association have been in talks with the county commissioners and sheriff's office to fund law enforcement needs in the townships.

Officials have also invested in the township's infrastructure.

"With a growing community, we also have significant infrastructure demands and the ARPA funding, or American Rescue Plan, was also instrumental in helping us get some very needed projects done," McIntosh said.

One project is the addition of new sanitary sewer lines in the "Auburn Road district," which he said will connect to the Concord Community Center at 7671 Auburn Road.

"We've been fortunate enough to begin modernizing that over the last couple years," McIntosh explained. "So, it will help development of adjacent properties as far as being more viable for growth and economic development."

The township and county will also use ARPA funds to build additional waterlines, which will also allow for fire hydrants.

As for roads, McIntosh discussed plans from the Lake County Engineer's Office to resurface Prouty Road over the summer.

"That being a major thoroughfare through the township, we know it's going to be a little bit of a headache, but it's a road that gets a lot of travel and we know, in the end, short-term pain for some long-term gain," he said.

McIntosh also discussed Lake Metroparks projects in the community, noting that "about 15 percent of the land in Concord Township is the Metroparks."

The park district connected Concord Town Hall to the Greenway Corridor in 2022. It also has plans to build a new park, Cascade Falls Park, near a waterfall north of Girdled Road Reservation.

Other ongoing projects that he shared include the construction of six developments, which will ultimately result in 365 new houses.

He ended by discussing the Recreation Department's summer plans under recently-hired Recreation Director Sean Supler, including new children's programming as well as the return of the township's summer concert series in June and July. Community Days is planned for early August.