Walton Hills Village Update for February
By Kevin Hurst, Mayor/Safety Director, Walton Hills Village

On February 1, 2012, the Egbert Road Project will begin with the water main replacement.    Through a competitive bidding process, the Village of Walton Hills has hired Fortuna Construction to perform this work.   

Generally water service will be maintained throughout the project, although sometime in the future a short outage (a few hours) will be experienced when the connections are made to the new water main.  Prior to making the connections to transfer the water services to the new main, a notice will be provided in advance of the anticipated outage to affected residents.  In general, through traffic and local access will be maintained during this construction period; however some delays should be expected.

You are urged to observe all traffic barricades, warning lights and flag personnel.  These control devices and personnel are there for your protection.  Above all, please caution children to keep a safe distance from all equipment and excavations.  Construction equipment is fascinating to children, but can be very dangerous even while not in operation.  Although this construction may be inconvenient, your patience and understanding is appreciated.  The work is anticipated to continue through May of 2012, weather permitting.

The entire cost of the water main replacement will be paid for by the Cleveland Water Department.  The second step, to be performed at a later date, will consist of pavement rehabilitation for the entire length of Egbert Road.  I am currently pursuing assistance from the County to offset the cost of this project, as we have just learned that Walton Hills may be eligible for 100% reimbursement. 

On January 17, 2012, the Cuyahoga County DUI Task Force held its annual Law Enforcement Awards Luncheon at the Marriott Cleveland East in Warrensville Hts.  The event was hosted by the Ohio Department of Public Safety and University Hospitals’ Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and was sponsored by Central Cadillac.  Recognition awards were presented to communities in the following categories:  Crash Reduction, Cuyahoga County Top Seat Belt Enforcement, Enforcement Productivity, Public Information & Education, Exemplary Service to Task Force, and Cuyahoga County Top OVI (Operating a Vehicle Impaired) Cop.  In the Top OVI Cop awards, two Walton Hills Police Officers received awards for their OVI enforcement arrests – Chief Kenn Thellmann and Officer John Paulin.  Each department had their officer with the highest OVI arrests honored by the Cuyahoga County Task Force and they received a certificate of recognition and a reflective traffic vest.  Walton Hills was the only department that received two awards in that category; both Chief Thellmann and Officer Paulin had the same number of arrests.  Chief Thellmann was the only Police Chief recognized at the luncheon for his impressive number of OVI arrests.  At the end of the luncheon, an equipment drawing was held, where many of the departments walked away with a lot of new equipment to help in their efforts to combat drunk drivers.  Walton Hills has been a member of the Cuyahoga County OVI Task Force for the past three years and has participated in OVI Checkpoints and many Saturation Patrols.

All grant funding is provided to area police departments by University Hospitals.  Rainbow serves as lead agency for the Cuyahoga County DUI Reduction Task Force and the Cuyahoga County Speed, Reckless, and Aggressive Driving Task Force, coalitions of 45 law enforcement agencies throughout the county that work together to make our roads safer by raising public awareness and aggressively enforcing Ohio’s laws.  Mayor Kevin Hurst, who supports the efforts of the Cuyahoga County DUI Task Force and Rainbow, accompanied Chief Thellmann and Officer Paulin to the awards ceremony.  Most of the 45 law enforcement agencies, including the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Cuyahoga County Sherriff’s Department and the Ohio Enforcement Bureau were on hand to honor the officer’s efforts.
If you have concerns about these or any other issues, please feel free to contact me by phone or email. 

Village Hall:    440.786.2963
Home:            440.232.5458
Cell:               440.221.7933
Email:             mayor@waltonhillsohio.gov