The skill and professionalism of Avon Lake’s highly trained Safety Forces were evident during an early morning structure fire on August 13th at Smuggler’s Cove on Electric Blvd. The incident involved an attached 6-bay garage and 12 residential units. Fire Chief Jeremy Betsa stated in a press release that “Upon arrival, firefighters were met with heavy fire conditions in the garage with extension to the residential units attached. An offensive attack strategy was utilized during the incident to prevent additional spread of the fire. An aggressive interior search was conducted to make sure that all occupants were evacuated from the residential units. The structure had significant damage to multiple floors of the residences, including smoke damage and water damage to the unburned areas.”

We are grateful to the fire departments of Avon, Sheffield Lake, Sheffield Village, Bay Village, North Ridgeville, Westlake, Rocky River, and Fairview Park, who provided mutual aid. Most importantly, there were no fatalities or injuries. This is a testimony to the cooperative approach of addressing safety matters. We thank our neighboring communities for their assistance.

The Public Health and Safety Committee of City Council invited Avon Lake City Schools Superintendent Bob Scott and members of the school staff to a recent committee meeting to discuss safety issues at all of the school buildings. School officials, along with School Resource Officer Brian Hurd, have spent a great deal of time looking for ways to maximize security to help make children and employees more secure. The city is committed to working with the schools to accomplish their goal.

We’ve received a number of calls from residents who are part of NOPEC about a large jump in the price of electricity causing rate spikes due to market forces. NOPEC is temporarily transitioning all its customers currently enrolled in the Standard Program Price electric program back to the utility default service, which will allow them to start getting the lower rates. This proactive step will be at no additional cost to customers. The “Avon Lake Matters” podcast features a discussion so you can learn more about this issue. Please visit AvonLake.org to listen to the podcast or view the videocast.

Gregory J. Zilka
Mayor, City of Avon Lake