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Gross Builders begins development of new 55+ luxury community

In May of 2015, the plan for a senior development was proposed at the city’s Planning Commission meeting. Gross Builders proposed to build a development of four, four-story luxury apartment buildings and a clubhouse with an outdoor pool and fitness room. The development will offer 288 suites of one and two bedroom apartments for people, aged 55 and older. “The style of the buildings are taken from cues from the craftsman style, with natural materials and low, sloping roofs, said Rick Porter, In-house Architect for Gross Builders. The proposal came after the change in the city’s zoning w ....

May 26, 2017

Bilinovich named Police Chief, replacing retiring Elek

Ken Bilinovich has been named as the new North Royalton Chief of Police, replacing John Elek, who retired in March. He was sworn in on Thursday, May 11. “We’re very fortunate to have such a strong pool of candidates to replace Chief Elek,” said Mayor Bob Stefanik. “With Chief Bilinovich, our department won’t skip a beat.” “Of course, I’m happily surprised,” said Bilinovich, who promises to do his very best. He said he feels “lucky and blessed” to receive this promotion. Even before he started with the North Royalton Police Department, Bilinovich was no stranger to police ....

May 15, 2017

Community perception survey helps substance abuse prevention efforts

Participants can win one of three $250 Visa Gift Cards Three substance abuse prevention groups: CAPA (Community Awareness and Prevention Association), 25 & Alive, and PHNR (Partnership for a Healthy North Royalton) including the communities of Brecksville, Broadview Heights, Independence and North Royalton, have teamed up and are asking the public to become partners in prevention by participating in a Community Perception Survey. Participation in the survey is one way individuals can help in the battle against substance abuse. The survey will provide valuable ....

May 15, 2017

Chamber sponsored Mayor’s breakfast focuses on work place safety

About eighty people were the guests of Mayor Bob Stefanik for his bi-annual business breakfast. The meeting took place at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 4, at Carrie Cerino’s Ristorante. It was sponsored by the North Royalton Chamber of Commerce. Community Development Director Tom Jordan gave an update of the development that is happening throughout the city; such as, the Rt. 82 widening project, the Shops at South Market at Bennett’s corners, Traditions at Royalton Place at York and Rt. 82, and the renovation of the KFC and Arby’s on Royalton Road. He then noted that some of the projects ....

May 15, 2017

Students, teachers, administrators give thumbs up for passage of school bond issue

On May 2, voters approved Issue 11, a 30-year, 4.9 mill bond issue in the amount of $88,900,000. With the passage of the issue, the North Royalton School District will build one new elementary school to replace the three existing buildings, renovate a portion, demolish and build new a portion of the high school and renovate the middle school. According to the recent tally from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, voters passed the bond issue 59.3% to 40.7%, with 6,086 for the measure and 4,185 voting against. This was the sixth time the District had a bond issue on the ballot. In a letter ....

May 15, 2017

Combined water/sewer bill will arrive monthly

The City of North Royalton will be changing the way it bills its resident on sewer charges soon. Legislation was introduced at the May 2 City Council meeting that would shift the billing of the sewer bills from the city to the City of Cleveland, Division of Water. The city has been billing its residents since 2003, according to Mayor Bob Stefanik. The combined bill will be a monthly bill. With the new program, residents will be getting a monthly bill from the City of Cleveland Water that will include the water fee and the sewer fee. The measure has been discussed for over a year, said Stefani ....

May 15, 2017

NRFD crews respond to oil leak

On Monday, April 24, City Engineer Mark Schmitzer was sent out to the Whispering Meadows Development for soil and water inspection of a retention basin and creek that feeds into it. He noticed a sheen on the pond and followed the trail that came from the area oil well. He contacted the North Royalton Fire Department and reported the crude oil spill to the ground and in a pond near Apollo and Foxwood Drives to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Ohio EPA and Cutter Oil, who owns the Callas well. The North Royalton Fire Department responded immediately and the cleanup effort took pl ....

May 15, 2017

It’s orange barrel time – yearly road work planned

With spring upon us, it’s time to put away the snow equipment and attention turned to the maintenance and upkeep of the roads. The city is currently completing the planning stage of the 2017 road repaving program. Mayor Bob Stefanik and Service Director Nick Cinquepalmi have conducted their yearly review of the Pavement Management Ranking List, which includes viewing the streets first hand. The ranking list rates each street with a score from one to ten. Those with the most need score low. Most of the streets that rated up to four were previously addressed. After discussing proposed budget f ....

May 15, 2017

Chamber members see first-hand perils of texting and driving

Members of the North Royalton Chamber of Commerce met at Carrie Cerino’s Ristorante on Wednesday, April 19, for their monthly meeting. Amy Kuntz and Sherie Stafford, from the Partnership for a Healthy North Royalton, talked about the Heroin epidemic and their three-part presentation that deals with the issue. (See Heroin article) A presentation was given by Chamber Board Member Kevin Lynch, who also works for AT&T, one of the largest providers of cell phone service. Lynch noted that “with that comes responsibility.” He said that there are many who are not paying attention to what th ....

May 2, 2017

Turske Leads NR Softball, On and Off the Field

It didn’t take North Royalton Softball Dave Camp to describe what Hayley Turske means to this year’s team. “She’s our leader. She’s stepped in and is doing what our seniors did last year. Hayley has taken it upon herself to bring these young kids into the tradition that we are trying to start here.” It’s high praise for a senior who has led the Lady Bears in the circle for the past three years. “We’re doing a lot better than I expected. We lost so many seniors from last year’s team. We need to find that one game where we can put all of our potential together. When that ha ....

May 1, 2017