Mayor’s Corner by Mayor Michael Wheeler
I congratulate Lt. Jason Purkey on his retirement effective May 31. Jason has over 31 years of service to the fire department. He started his career as a volunteer fire fighter. He was hired full-time in 2000 and rose to the rank of lieutenant in 2009. He was our fire inspector and helped with the implementation of our new inspection program.
Lt. Purkey also served as a SWAT medic with Summit County and oversaw all new construction and the installation of all the safety systems. I wish for Jason an enjoyable retirement. It has been a pleasure working with Lt. Purkey for the last few years.
We welcome Steven Morabito as a new part-time fire medic to our fire department.
The village is sponsoring one free concert in July and two in August. The first of which will be held on Sunday, July 21, at the new shelter on the Village Green, starring Cold Blue Steel. The second concert will be held on Saturday, August 3, starring Laredo and the third will be held on Sunday, August 18, starring Wishgarden. All three concerts start at 6 p.m. and conclude at 8 p.m.
The tennis and pickleball courts are well under way. We hope to be playing in early September.
The service department continues to respond to normal and emergent work activities. Please check the website for the branch chipping schedule for your neighborhood.
I hope everyone has a very safe, sane and fun 4th of July.
If you have questions, concerns or comments, please contact me, or my executive assistant, at 330-659-9201, ext. 234, or email me at mwheeler@richfieldvillageohio.org. ∞
Summer is here!! I wish everyone safe and fun travels.
Father’s Day is on Sunday, June 16. I encourage everyone to do something special with their father. Great memories are one of life’s treasures.
The Mayors One Million Step Challenge saw 21 teams aggregately travel over 22 million steps. This was great fun and exercise. We are hopeful that next year we will have many more teams.
We are currently taking applications for part-time positions in our zoning, service, fire and police departments and our dispatch center. The complete job descriptions and applications are available on our website.
The timber-frame shelter on the Green is complete and ready to go for the first summer concert of the year on June 8. If you haven’t already, I invite you to stop by to take a close look at the facility. It really is an amazing structure.
The new tennis and pickleball courts are under way and expected to be finished by September 19, 2024.
On May 31, FirstEnergy’s Ohio electric companies – Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating and Toledo Edison – filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to adjust the companies’ base distribution rates. These rates have not had an increase since 2007. It appears that the utility is asking for at least a 25% increase in the base distribution rates. If you have questions, concerns or comments, please contact me, or my executive assistant, at 330-659-9201, ext. 234, or email me at mwheeler@richfieldvillageohio.org.