Home improvement the focus of Bay Village town hall meeting

Bay Village residents listen as Mayor Debbie Sutherland discusses sewer rates at a March 2014 town hall meeting at the Dwyer Center. A similar meeting, this time focused on home improvements, will be held April 20. Photo by Tara Wendell

The city of Bay Village will host a home improvement workshop for residents Monday, April 20, 7 p.m. at the Dwyer Memorial Center, Mayor Debbie Sutherland announced during the March 30 City Council meeting. The workshop, which takes the place of a traditional town hall meeting, will inform residents about resources to improve their homes.

“What we want to do is connect residents with options in terms of low-interest loans and professional guidance on how they can improve their properties, which we hope and believe will result in higher values for resale and higher tax values for the city and the community at large,” Bay Village City Council President Paul Koomar said during the Council session.

The city’s chief building official, John Cheatham, and Cuyahoga County officials will discuss the permitting process. Representatives from the non-profit Cleveland Restoration Society will also be on hand to share information on the Heritage Home Program, which offers technical advice and loans to homeowners.

“The City pays an administrative fee for participation in the Heritage Home Loan Program, on behalf of the residents, for participation in the program and the providing of fixed-rate 10-year loans for residents,” said Koomar. “We want to get all of this information out to the residents.”

The format of the workshop is similar to the sewer meeting held last year, in which city leaders shared information on a topic of interest, provided City Council updates and answered questions from residents.

“What we have tried to do in these meetings is have a focus, whether it is our consulting engineer come in and talk about sewers, or talk about home improvement options,” Koomar said. “We are going to start walk-around home inspections again, something that during the downturn in the economy we had to suspend.”

All residents are invited to attend the meeting to learn about available resources and interact with their elected officials.