Mayor’s Corner by Mayor Michael Wheeler

It is with sadness that we say goodbye to former Mayor Don Larsen who passed away on April 10. Elected in 1995, Don served through December 31, 2003, and did many great things as mayor. We can thank Don for the best senior center in Summit County, as well as for merging the township and village police departments to create our first-rate police department. Don was also a wealth of knowledge for me, offering advice and counsel over the last four years. Don will be missed.

I would like to thank our excellent dispatcher, Nicholas Sanders, who has been an outstanding employee and a great person with whom to work. Nick resigned in April to take a full-time position elsewhere. We wish him well. I welcome Kim Ciroli as our newest, full-time dispatcher. Kim was promoted from part-time to full-time to replace Nick. I also welcome Scott Grenig, as our newest, part-time fire medic in the Richfield Fire Department.

A resident noticed that a few people on her street were loading their recycling bins too full, so when emptied, some of the refuse left the truck and landed in the street. I took a trip around some streets and noticed the same thing happening. We have spoken to Rumpke, and they have asked their drivers to be more careful. We should help them by not overloading our recycling bins. An additional suggestion would be to use biodegradable bags in your trashcans. They are easy to use and easy to tie shut when full. This will keep trash from escaping and landing in the street.

 Through April 17, looking only at the general fund, 30% of the revenues have been collected and 29.1% of the budget was expended. The expected rates of income and spending through mid-April should be approximately 37.5% each.

If you have question, concerns or comments, please contact me, or my executive assistant, at 330-659-9201, ext. 234, or email me at mwheeler@richfieldvillageohio.org. ∞