Building
Ongoing EXCELLENCE
MAKING STRONGSVILLE THE IDEAL PLACE FOR OUR RESIDENTS to live has always been our goal, and we have worked hard to make this community a successful model of a thriving city while maintaining a smalltown culture.
We have focused on developing first-class safety forces and making a strong investment in infrastructure to keep our city safe and strong. More than 53% of our operating budget goes to our police and fire departments, and more than 19% to street maintenance. We have made more than $150 million in infrastructure improvements — to roads, intersections and sewers — since 2004, and secured more than $80 million in outside funding for those projects.
Strongsville remains one of only 15 cities in the state — and one of only 200 in the nation — to have earned the Aaa rating from Moody’s Investor Service, exemplifying our excellent
financial stewardship. Our business parks are thriving like never before, boasting a 98% occupancy rate. We are poised to start construction on a new fire station that will improve EMS response times for many residents.
The result of our success is evident in the increase in property value in our city. Total assessed property value jumped 33% from 2013 to 2024, and we all know that strong property values mean strong schools.
This summer, we will join our residents in welcoming wonderful new recreational amenities in the heart of the city as part of our Strongsville Town Center Walkability and Enhancement Project. Families will enjoy new playground and water features, a beautiful pavilion, courts for pickleball and other games, and the opportunity for outdoor concerts and many events.
We’re proud of our city’s ongoing excellence, and we are working to continue that excellence far into the future.
Sincerely,
Thomas P. Perciak, Mayor
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Making CONNECTIONS
Leadership Breakfasts help bridge the gap between students and local business leaders. By Kellie Innes
Agroup of 12 local business professionals and a team of middle-schoolers walk into a room and sit down for breakfast together. What might sound like the beginning of an old-school joke is actually the set-up for a successful Leadership Breakfast at Strongsville City School District that seeks to connect students with the local business community.
“It’s a good opportunity for our students to see and connect with different adults that they might not normally have a chance to interact with,” says Dan Foust, communications coordinator for the district. “It’s a great way to see various skills and see how important those skills are when they eventually graduate.”
Beforehand, the students get to pick their top three options with whom they would like to speak. At the event, they rotate tables to make sure students talk to as many of their choices as possible.
“We bring in a great variety of people to show students that there are a lot of
opportunities out there,” Foust says. “It’s just a matter of them finding their passion and turning their passion into a career.”
Though the Leadership Breakfast started only two years ago, it has grown into a popular event that complements various other initiatives that prepare students for life after high school. From a speaker series that
“It’s so important for students to see and hear how there are so many different pathways and ways for them to think about their future.”
— DAN FOUST, communications coordinator, Strongsville City School District
matches student strengths with potential careers to a career exploration program that ushers a group of juniors and seniors through coursework and internship opportunities, the Strongsville City School District is very intentional with getting students to think about their futures.
“It’s so important for students to see and hear how there are so many different pathways and ways for them to think about their future,” Foust says.
These programs also work to highlight the concept of the Model Mustang, or five skills that the school district develops in its students from preschool to 12th grade: innovative, resilient, collaborative, global and empowered.
“We want students to understand and see that they aren’t going to stop developing these skills once they graduate,” Foust says. “I think the more we involve our business community and the stronger we continue to build these connections helps us as a district.”
COMING TOGE THER
Strongsville’s events help strengthen community bonds.
By Leslie Basalla-McCafferty
Once upon a time, conversations across the back fence were the hallmark of neighborly interaction. Today, though, when even FaceTime happens on a smartphone screen, connecting with the community around us can be difficult. Luckily, Strongsville offers a plethora of annual civic celebrations that bring the back fence back within reach, forging bonds between neighbors and fostering a sense of community closeness.
MEMORIAL DAY PARADE
Civic celebration season kicks off each year with Memorial Day — when a parade of patriotism meets a somber reminder of those who sacrificed their lives for our nation. Strongsville’s Memorial Day Parade and Celebration takes over Pearl Road with a procession of members of VFW Post 3345, safety forces, local politicians and the Strongsville High School Marching Mustangs band, but the festivities are flanked by commemorative ceremonies
at area cemeteries, as well as the main ceremony, immediately after the parade, which took place this year on Strongsville Commons.
As VFW Post 3345 Commander Tim Zvoncheck explains, “My motto at the VFW, as commander, is ‘empowering veterans while strengthening community,’ so my goal is not only to help our veterans and to help our community, but to help our community also understand what the VFW is all about.”
Zvoncheck says he was heartened by the strong attendance at the 2024 parade and is looking forward to next year’s event.
“It made me so happy for this parade, because the weather was questionable,” he says. “We could have had rain at any time — but there were so many families there with little kids, kids in strollers, and it was just wonderful to see that they’re teaching their children the importance of patriotism and what this day is all about.”
Memorial Day Parade VFW Post 3345
Kids Fest and Duck Race
The Rotary Club of Strongsville
Rib Burnoff
The Strongsville City Club
A Day at the Chalet Arts in Strongsville
Strongsville Homecoming Strongsville Chamber of Commerce
People should be aware, he says, that the VFW isn’t just a bar, but a charitable organization and community hub as well.
“I do believe we are the largest membership organization in the city of Strongsville,” he says.
Memorial Day Parade
KIDS FEST AND DUCK RACE
Volunteer civic, business and arts organizations are behind nearly all the festivals and events that help bring Strongsville together, and proceeds from those events often go toward other causes.
The Rotary Club of Strongsville, for example, presents the Kids Fest and Duck Race that takes place annually at the Chalet in Cleveland Metroparks Mill Stream Run Reservation. This year’s event
benefited Camp Cheerful, while past duck races have raised funds to restore the Metroparks’ Wintergreen and Albion cabins.
The Duck Race is kid-centered but offers enjoyment for all ages. The centerpiece sees a flotilla of rubber duckies racing along the East Branch of the Rocky River. Participants can sponsor an individual duck — or an entire fleet to cheer on — and the lucky-duck top five finishers are awarded cash prizes ranging from
$200 to $2,000. Pony rides, Touch-aTruck, food vendors, face-painting, crafts and inflatable obstacle courses round out the bill. Cleveland Metroparks naturalists are also on-hand to educate visitors about the surrounding flora and fauna. Admission is free.
Rotary Club President John Turnbull says the 2024 Duck Race, which took place on June 1, was one of the most successful yet.
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Pearl Road
Memorial Day Parade Quick Facts Free
Parade with Marching Mustangs band and commemorative ceremonies
“A record number of ducks were sponsored for the duck race,” he says. “We also closed the road in the Metroparks for the first time this year, which improved the safety and efficiency of the shuttle bus stops at the Chalet.”
A variety of community events keeps Strongsville lively, Turnbull says.
“Each of the events that we and the other community groups in the city put on have a slightly different focus,” he says.
“All provide that opportunity to get out and meet other members of the community, where the whole focus is to have fun.”
Kids
SNORING & SLEEP APNEA
How are they related?
A DAY AT THE CHALET
Another family-friendly event, which takes over the Chalet each year, is A Day at the Chalet, sponsored by Arts in Strongsville. The 2024 edition will take place on Sunday, Sept. 15. It’s an afternoon of hands-on art activities, allowing kids to explore their creativity, and features music and dance performances and more.
Sara Marxen, president of Arts in Strongsville, says A Day at the Chalet
Some people think snoring is just a nuisance, but it is the mildest form of sleep disordered breathing. It results from turbulent airflow causing the tissues of the nose and throat to vibrate while sleeping. Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs when the soft tissues of the airway collapse, resulting in complete or partial obstruction of the upper airway. It is characterized by repetitive episodes of shallow or paused breathing during sleep, despite the effort to breathe, and is usually associated with a reduction in blood oxygen saturation. These episodes are followed by brief awakenings that disturb sleep often leading to daytime sleepiness.
At (DSATS) we work to enhance sleep quality with various methods including improving sleep habits/sleep hygiene, positional therapies, oral exercises, aids to improve the nasal opening, laser treatment of the palate, and referral to other specialists when appropriate.
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If you would like to learn more about alternatives to CPAP to help with sleep apnea, contact us for more information.
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Kids Fest and Duck Race
The Chalet in Cleveland Metroparks Mill Stream Run Reservation
Fest and Duck Race Quick Facts Free Duck race, pony rides, food and more
has been occurring for 24 years and can draw up to 2,000 visitors.
“The event features something for everyone,” she says. “We invite local crafters to showcase their creative talents and meet new customers. We have a stage of nonstop entertainment, with bands, dancing and art performances for all ages to enjoy. Parents appreciate the free, family fun and get to watch their excited kids create colorful artwork.”
Marxen says this year’s event promises the wide range of entertainment that guests have come to expect, including cultural dancers, a juggler and more.
“We will kick off the event with a special appearance by the Strongsville High School Marching Mustangs,” she says.
Other entertainment includes performances by the Strongsville Mustang Express show choir and an Irish dance group.
Organizers are still finalizing craft activities. “Each year, we try to include new crafts and keep the favorites like sand art and suncatchers,” Marxen notes.
A Day at the Chalet
A portion of proceeds benefit scholarships for Strongsville high school seniors who plan to pursue careers in the arts.
A Day at the Chalet Quick Facts
RIB BURNOFF
Some of the city’s most beloved traditions focus firmly on food, fun and fireworks.
The Strongsville City Club Rib Burnoff is a prime example. Cooking for 38 years now, the Rib Burnoff attracts approximately 10,000 people when the weather cooperates, according to Strongsville City Club President Brian Jungeberg.
The Chalet in Cleveland Metroparks Mill Stream Run Reservation
“It’s become a little bit of an annual tradition for us,” he says. “We are able to raise a fair amount of money in order for us to do what we do, which is support civic projects [and] other nonprofits in the community.”
The Rib Burnoff runs for three days in mid-June on the Commons, with live music, a kids’ play area, Friday night fireworks and, of course, vendors slinging racks and racks of barbecue ribs, competing for People’s Choice (chosen by festival goers) and Culinary Guild (chosen by a group of judges) awards for Best Ribs and Best Sauce. Admission is $5 for adults and free for active military and kids 10 and under.
Jungeberg says the mix of attractions makes the Rib Burnoff unique.
“People enjoy the fact that they can come, enjoy some really good barbecue, and for five or six years now, the ability to have a nice, cold beer or a seltzer with their barbecue,” he says. “And, of course, have entertainment or the fireworks — the combination of everything makes it a really fun, desirable event.”
The event also features a Saturday afternoon cornhole tournament in partnership with Cleveland Cornhole.
Jungeberg adds that Strongsville’s festivals, including the Rib Burnoff, offer excellent entertainment close to home.
“They do a great job of bringing people into our city from other, surrounding communities, showcasing Strongsville as a whole, but also give a nice, community-centered event you can take your family
to,” he says. “It’s a fun night or a fun day out that’s close-by — they don’t have to go Downtown or somewhere else.”
Strongsville Commons
Rib Burnoff Quick Facts
$5 for adults and free for kids 10 and under and active military
Food, live music, kids’ play area and more
Rib Burnoff
Founded in 1978 our 150 members are employed in or retired from executive, managerial or professional occupations
Members create over 30 community events that support Strongsville, Northeast Ohio, and the world
Local high school seniors vie for over $20,000 of annual scholarships to continue their education
From toddlers to seniors, Rotarians work hard and have a lot of fun doing it
Find out more at strongsvillerotary.org
We’re
Members perform
8,000+ hours of service annually
Generous event sponsors, donors and members typically raise over $300,000
Event proceeds impact over 25 charities each year that support thousands of our neighbors in NE Ohio
Our Rotary Motto: Service above Self
strongsvillerotary.org
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HOMECOMING
Strongsville Homecoming marks the climax of summer festival season, with four days of carnival rides and games, fair food, music and fireworks.
“The key to the whole event is the great participation we have from our volunteers, who take time off work and time away from their families to show up and man all the booths and make sure everything runs smoothly,” says Tom Burichin, chairman of the Strongsville Chamber of Commerce’s Homecoming Committee.
Strongsville Homecoming 2024 was held July 24-27. The event is free to attend, with ride tickets, games and food available for purchase. Burichin says repeat attendees took a spin on some new rides this year but found plenty of favorite attractions, too.
“We kind of let that be a surprise as the event opens up,” he says. “We have good, quality food, lots of fun games and great entertainment.”
Because Homecoming is free, Burichin says he doesn’t know exactly how many people attend annually, but he estimates that “several thousand” show up each day, and for good reason.
“It gets people together and brings them out to a common area to see all their friends and neighbors, maybe people they don’t necessarily get to socialize with all summer long,” he says.
And that’s important for making a city more than a mere political entity.
“As communities grow and mature and people are busy, and we do so much on the internet and on computers, we lose that face-to-face value,” he says. “I think events like this are extremely important. It brings the community together. (It) lets people socialize, see each other and get out and enjoy the summer weather, the food and the festivities, and enjoy themselves.”
MORE TO CHECK OUT
Don’t miss these other events throughout the year:
• July Fourth Fireworks and Festival sponsored by the Strongsville Recreation Department
• Harvest Festival and Christmas in the Village hosted by the Strongsville Historical Society
• Winter Wonderland Lighting Celebration
• Strongfest and Chili Open organized by the Rotary Club of Strongsville
• Chalk Walk organized by Arts in Strongsville
• Summer Concerts featuring the Strongsville Community Band
• Performances by the Strongsville Community Theatre
• Read Around the World organized by the Strongsville Kiwanis Club
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The Salon & Spa of Venus
Economic OUTLOOK
BBy Kellie Innes
rent Painter considers his role as Strongsville’s economic development director to be similar to that of a matchmaker: He helps pair new businesses and projects with the proper sites and ensures a smooth transition toward success and future growth.
“A big part of the process is first identifying the city as a place where businesses want to relocate,” he says. “You need to have a strong community where people will not only want to live, but want to come and work.”
A large part of making Strongsville a warm and welcoming environment is offering great amenities. The city recently reimagined its Town Center to include walkable areas, nature trails, community pavilions and splash pads. This playspace model is a huge advantage for attracting workers and business owners, as well as retaining current residents.
“Our focus is on an overall comprehensive plan,” Painter shares. “How
are we providing the amenities that will make people want to work for our companies and in our community?”
In tandem with the Town Center development is a new luxury townhouse project: Camden Woods. Consisting of over 82 units along with a central clubhouse and plenty of green space, Camden Woods is a crucial development that offers a different housing option from the typical suburban single family homes that make up the majority of Strongsville’s residential areas.
“This is a really needed project that helps with economic development,” Painter says. “There are people out there who want that traditional home, but there are others who want different types of housing stock.”
With these recent projects and more, Strongsville is over 98% occupied in its four industrial parks, leaving very little vacancy and inventory. This is the tightest the city has ever
Camden Woods
Strongsville MAGAZINE
been on industrial space that Painter can recall.
“It’s a good problem to have, but it’s still something to work through,” he says. “It takes a lot of extra creativity to try to help solve.”
One solution is to turn inward and focus on helping the companies that already call Strongsville home. For example, a longer-term project that Painter and his team are working on is rezoning the area of SouthPark Mall to include more entertainment venues, hotels and medical facilities along with significantly less parking. He’s hoping the changes will allow the 30-year-old regional mall to evolve amidst a tumultuous time for indoor shopping plazas.
“SouthPark Mall is doing well, but we don’t want to be complacent and make assumptions,” he says. “We want to make sure we’re taking care of the companies that are already here and help them get in touch with the resources available that will help them grow.”
Just this small sampling of recent, current and upcoming projects in Strongsville exemplifies the city’s diverse economic landscape. Painter is conscious of not prioritizing one sector of business over another, making sure that Strongsville has a mix of retail, manufacturing, automotive and more. This not only helps with ensuring a consistently strong general revenue fund, but also opens the doors for a variety of potential new projects.
“Our best salespeople are the companies that are already here,” Painter says. “We’ve been able to build a strong reputation as a community.”
“You need to have a strong community where people will not only want to live, but want to come and work.”
— BRENT PAINTER, economic development director, City of Strongsville
DALE D. KOLESAR CO-OWNER
LEO W. OBLAK CO-OWNER
Faces of STRONGSVILLE
Get to know the Strongsville Emergency Food Bank’s Kelly Kling and Ursula Kaunas. By Kellie Innes
The hardest goodbyes are always to the things we love. For Kelly Kling, leaving the Strongsville Emergency Food Bank after six years as a volunteer and 16 years as coordinator is one of the hardest things she has had to do.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make,” she shares. “I love my volunteers; I love my clients — it’s like one big extended family.”
A lifelong resident of Strongsville, Kling grew up surrounded by hard workers who prioritized taking care of one another. This led to her volunteering at the Food Bank. Now, over two decades later, she’s ready to focus her care-taking efforts on her husband and two kids.
“The heart of taking care of others has always been in me,” she says. “But it’s time to put my family in front and take care of my own.”
Kling’s legacy will still be felt through the food bank’s expanded impact in the community. She has helped it grow to include more programs for its clients, including presents for children during the holidays as well as work with the schools and local police department.
“This community really comes together to show up and help out,” Kling says. “With a good community, amazing volunteers and [incoming coordinator] Ursula Kaunas, the food bank will be in good hands.”
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Kelly Kling
The word “retirement” is often associated with relaxation and leisure. When Ursula Kaunas retired after 25 years in government and 23 years from her position as senior IT project manager in Cuyahoga County’s Department of Information &
Technology, she did all those things but still found herself wanting more.
“I just got bored,” she laughs. “I came to the conclusion that rather than just retire, you retire to something.”
Enter: the Strongsville Emergency Food Bank, which presented Kaunas the perfect opportunity to stay busy and do something she loves: giving back to the community. She started as coordinator of the food bank on April 1, taking over from predecessor Kelly Kling.
No newcomer to volunteering, she’s helped out in her local homeowner’s association, served as a councilwoman for the city of Olmsted Falls and worked at the Beck Center for the Arts, where she’s found herself surrounded by like minds and hearts.
And, she’s discovered, the clients, volunteers and Strongsville community are all dedicated to making sure the food bank runs smoothly and with care.
“Everybody is kind, and everybody has compassion for our clients,” Kaunas
says. “I haven’t met anyone who’s associated with the food bank who doesn’t have that mindset.”
Looking forward, Kaunas is going to apply her project management skills to the food bank and make sure all of the dollars and donations are spent well. Whether it’s repricing some of the grocery goods (based on shopping for the best pricing) or working to renew impactful programs such as the backpacks for children in need, she’ll continuously evaluate to make sure the food bank remains a pillar of the community.
First up on her to-do list? Getting to know all the faces and names. With over 100 volunteers along with a multitude of clients, Kaunas is up for the challenge.
“It takes time, but it’s time and investment that I want to do, because everybody here is super important,” she says. “We get to know our clients very personally, and that is what makes people keep coming back.”
Ursula Kaunas
