Message from Mayor Cyril Kleem

Grants are essential to providing a wide range of services to Berea residents.

We have been very fortunate to have applied for and been approved for many grants, big and small, over the years.

The grants can come from federal, state or county offices or from private organizations. Berea Kiwanis gave the City $30,000 for the treehouse project. Early in the pandemic, Berea Rotary gave the Berea Fire Department $30,000 for a high-tech, UV disinfection unit to sanitize vehicles. The Berea Elks recently presented a check for $5,000 for a StoryWalk at the library.

On a larger scale, the Mucklo Playground and renovations to Coe Lake were made possible by a $875,000 grant from Cuyahoga County Council in 2018. The funds were a portion of casino tax revenues the county collects.

Millions of dollars in grant money have paid for road projects. The Barberry, Woodlawn, Maple and Fourth road reconstruction project now under way is being partially paid for by a $2.456 million grant and $493,000 no-interest loan from the Ohio Public Works Commission. South Rocky River Drive is being repaved with $150,000 in Community Development Block Grant and $50,000 in Supplemental grant funds. Woodmere and Lynn also were resurfaced with Community Development Block Grant funds.

A new water storage tank at the Berea Water Plant will be paid for with American Rescue Plan funds of nearly $1 million.

Most recently, the City was awarded $590,000 in additional American Rescue Plan funds for upgrades to our parks.

So whether it’s $60,000 for a new jitney for the Berea Community Outreach Office so we can safely transport seniors and those with disabilities or $618,000 from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District to address flooding issues, the City is constantly eying ways to find outside sources to improve our community.

The City administration is blessed with several excellent grant writers, who add that chore to their regular duties. Their success leads to an infusion of funds for essential projects, like major road and water line repairs, and for quality of life projects, such as Coe Lake.

In most cases, these are your tax dollars coming home. These grants enhance our community and also enable your City of Berea operating budget to concentrate on buying new police cruisers and backhoes for the Service Department, on plowing snow and raking leaves and on filling pot holes. 

It’s the little things and the big things that together make this City an excellent place to live and work.