EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series looking at what Northeast Ohio communities, school districts and organizations experienced in 2024 and what is facing them in 2025. North Perry Village government leaders continued taking steps this year to gain federal approval to start the Townline Park waterfront improvement project. “It seems we’re finally headed in the right direction to repair and improve our safe harbor, to ensure that boaters between Geneva and Fairport Harbor have a safe haven should the lake conditions change,” village Mayor Brian Titus said. Titus provided a summary of North Perry Village government’s top accomplishments of the past year and highest priorities for 2025. Village Council, at its Nov. 7 meeting, approved a resolution aimed at getting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review, and possibly approve, a plan aimed at solving sand migration problems at the community’s harbor and marina. Council authorized the village engineer to prepare bid packets for the extension of the eastern offshore breakwater in the Townline Park harbor. Extending the east breakwater is one component of a $1.7 million project that’s intended to reduce maintenance dredging in the harbor and improve the movement of sand to the shorelines of downdrift neighbors. Townline Park is located along the Lake Erie shoreline at the northern end of Townline Road. The park includes a harboiar and marina that were constructed in 2009. The resolution approved by council stemmed from a request by the Army Corps. That agency asked the village to include bid packets for both major elements of improving the harbor in the plans it submits. North Perry must obtain permits from the Army Corps and several other government agencies before the project can begin. Along with extending the eastern breakwater, plans call for closing a gap on the west end of the harbor that exists between an offshore breakwater and the western jetty near the boat launch ramp. In May 2023, council approved a $1.7 million budget for the harbor modifications. Other 2024 highlights for North Perry Village included: • Village Council  approved the construction of a cellphone tower in a northeastern part of the community that is notorious for having substandard cell service, Titus said. • Painesville Credit Union broke ground for a new branch office in the 5000 block of North Ridge Road. “We are pretty excited about seeing that project come together,” Titus said. • New regulations were established for audience members who want to make public comments during council meetings. “We updated our rules of council, hoping to improve the efficiency of our meetings while continuing to allow members of the community a chance to be heard,” Titus said. Council, during its Nov. 7 meeting, voted unanimously to expand an existing rule in a village ordinance regarding the sequence of events that take place at council meetings. This mandate is formally known as Rule 5 — Order of Business. In its revised form, the rule still lists the specific order of events and activities at council meetings, but also includes new regulations for public participation during these gatherings. One of those new mandates limits public comments at North Perry Village Council meetings to three minutes per person. The regulation, which appears on every council meeting agenda, states that the public must address comments and questions to the mayor and will be limited to three minutes. The mayor will decide whether he, a member of council or village staff will respond. However, that time limit somehow had never been added to Rule 5 — Order of Business. The omission led some audience members to complain that North Perry government was trying to enforce a regulation that didn’t appear in its existing ordinance on rules for council meetings. The amended version of Rule 5 further stipulates that each statement made during council meetings by a member of the public “shall be limited to three minutes duration unless extended by the mayor.” “This gives the mayor discretion to extend the time period for an individual’s public comment,” Village Solicitor James O’Leary said. For 2025, some of North Perry Village government’s top goals include: • Improving access to village-owned parks for people with disabilities, and providing more opportunities for everyone to enjoy access to Lake Erie, Titus said. • Continuing to foster good relations with the community’s largest employer, Vistra, which owns and operates the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. “We were graciously awarded a $10,000 donation from Vistra in 2024 to improve our police radios, and hope to continue to work hand in hand with them in the future,” Titus said. • Preparing the village Police Department and road crews for the upcoming Route 20 reconstruction project, which is expected to start this spring. • Planning to mark the 100th anniversary of North Perry being incorporated as a village. “We’ve set a (celebration) date of July 19, and have begun soliciting ideas from the community on potential events and activities,” Titus said.