As Charles Dickens opened his famous novel, A Tale of Two Cities; “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. This most famous literary line poignantly depicts our Lakewood community these many years later.

Statistically, Lakewood’s population has steadily declined over the past thirty years. The remaining resident population has become, on average, less affluent versus the city’s most prosperous years. The tax base has been eroding as employers such as Lake Erie Screw have departed our community having been acquired by other companies or relocated to outlying suburban locations. Lakewood’s physical infrastructure (housing stock, streets, sewers, etc.) is old and requires more costly maintenance. Despite the diversity of housing types, the community is challenged to provide the right number and types of housing to meet today’s housing preferences.

Subsequently, residents have been absorbing a growing portion of the tax burden. Lakewood’s costs for delivering city services have outpaced city revenues for the past two years (2002-2003). Fortunately, surpluses fueled by the meteoric 1990s economy covered these shortfall periods. However, without benefit of a budget surplus entering 2004, the city financial health is of immediate concern with a review of tax rates and services the result. Budgets for future years look tenuous as select state and federal tax subsidies become smaller or outright disappear. For example, if Lakewood’s population were to fall under 50,000, certain block grants and subsidies available to the City could be lost.

However, despite these near crisis issues, opportunities abound for significant economic and community development in Lakewood going forward. Lakewood voters, despite being one of the most heavily taxed communities in Northeast Ohio, stepped forward and approved bond issues for the replacement and/or renovation of Lakewood Public Library and the Lakewood City Schools. The Lakewood YMCA has nearly achieved its capital campaign goal and has cleared the calendar to begin new construction in 2005. Rockport Square, on the city’s east side, has broken ground on a residential/retail development. In 2005 alone, “the dirt will be flying” on no less than 7 major sites that represent over $150 mm in construction expenditures. Prospects for additional economic spillover are significant as Lakewood construction workers gain needed employment and residents are spurred to upgrade their properties to keep pace with the neighboring projects.

Importantly, while these new projects will be a boost to economic and community development over the next few years, additional economic development is required for Lakewood to fully sustain its quality of life and for the community to be able to better control it’s future direction. Fortunately, our city is graced with many unique attributes (diversity and demographic profiles, proximity to other communities, Lake Erie and the MetroParks, our school and library system, etc.) that make our community an attractive place to live and work. However, as the competitive landscape for residents and businesses across communities is intense, we must ensure that our qualities are distinguishable and attractive, that we mitigate and surmount our challenges and we act as a united community in creating and implementing our vision.

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Clearly, the next few years are pivotal for Lakewood and its future. In order that the community is able to acquire the right type of redevelopment projects, an actionable plan must be put in place. To carry-out the plan, all stakeholders must work together. To insure follow-through and success, Lakewood’s citizenry must become acutely aware of the importance of economic development, be willing to embrace the change required, and personally engage in the city’s economic development pursuits. To this end, LakewoodAlive has been formed.

LakewoodAlive is an independent nonpartisan citizens group devoted to promoting economic development in Lakewood and enhancing how Lakewood is perceived inside and outside its borders. LakewoodAlive’s efforts benefit all Lakewood residents by stabilizing and building our tax base, attracting and retaining residents, and preserving and improving the unique quality of life our inner ring community offers.