In Gail’s role as mayor, she has had many accomplishments so far. She says one of her biggest accomplishments is the award winning ¾ mile multipurpose waterfront trail from Sims Park going east, which took a lot of time, planning and effort. It provided erosion control and provided a new sense of pride and enthusiasm about Euclid, opening public access to Lake Erie and capitalizing on one of the biggest assets of Euclid, the waterfront. It spurred economic development, a sense of pride in the community, and it’s adding to the vibrancy of the community.
Speaking of economic development, Gail says when she became mayor, the Euclid Square Mall was demolished and replaced by the Amazon Fulfillment Center, which has become Euclid’s second largest employer providing jobs for the community and a tax base for the city. She has seen new businesses come in, Lincoln Electric has expanded twice since she’s been mayor, adding the welding technology training center, and expanding to be the factory of the future. Eaton has expanded, BWXT has expanded, and Hose Master LLC has expanded. Euclid has attracted lots of new small businesses and retail establishments.
Gail believes her partnership with economic agencies, plus a proactive approach and business friendly atmosphere has helped Euclid grow its business base since she’s been mayor. She says she’s worked hard at strengthening Euclid’s police and fire departments. Forty-nine new officers were hired and two K-9s’ were added, which provided new training opportunities. Policies were updated, and the police force were provided all the tools to do their job, one tool was getting new body cameras, another was getting new dash cameras, and enforcing positive policing in the community to develop the trust for the police force.
There have been so many investments in Euclid, notably adding all new schools with a $130million dollar investment there, all new community learning centers with a new early learning center (pre-school/kindergarten), and a new education option center, all that have come into effect since Gail has been mayor. Euclid Hospital has invested $2 million dollars in projects responding to the needs of the community. Churches have added new space as well. Gail has seen investments in a lot of new areas, naming that East 222nd Street has been redone. There have been 8 new buildings in the community re-invigorated since she’s been mayor. Euclid Avenue has been redone and East 185th is being redone. Gail is very proud of what she’s been able to accomplish so far.
The old Bluestone Business Park on East 260th Street that was originally torn down, now has 6 buildings with a plan to build one more. All modern-industrial for Euclid, which has added jobs, and added a tax base for the city in Gail’s time as mayor. There was $170 million dollars invested in the wastewater treatment plant, meeting the safe water standards, which she won an award for that effort.
From a financial standpoint, when she started as mayor, the city had $3 million dollars in cash reserves. Last year, the city ended with $12 million dollars, meaning that each of the 7 years she’s been mayor the city has added to their cash balance. She feels she has accomplished something in every area of the community of Euclid. Housing values have gone up (with more people obtaining improvement permits) in 11 years, and Euclid has added to their population.
Gail says the strengths of Euclid are the beach clubs and the neighborhood associations. She has worked hard to make sure residents know one another, and when the residents have those associations, she tries to replicate that in other parts of the city. According to the mayor, if people know their neighbors, it makes people happier. People help others with yard work, and the city often has people who look out for the elderly in their neighborhoods.
As far as moving the city forward if she is re-elected, Gail says she is going to continue what they’ve done. She feels her approach to what she’s done so far is an asset to Euclid and she’s going to continue to focus on the assets, build on the strengths, and continue to work on all the partnerships she’s developed, and find more ways to improve things and make things better. A specific goal she has is to finish the waterfront projects, and work with the county to expand it.
She also has wants to continue to make housing a priority and continue to be proactive with inspections, keeping the housing market in a good place. She says there are some options for new housing opportunities, one on East 185th on the old Chevy site, and one on the Lakeshore across from the waterfront area.
Gail also wants to expand the business base in Euclid, notably Weston on Tungsten, the old GE plant will be demolished, and a new building will be there, and continue to assist new businesses. She has made strides in expanding small businesses like the retail strips, looking at where empty storefronts are and trying to spruce them up and attract new tenants, she says that’s a priority.
The biggest thing she is excited about is a recreation and wellness center that she is working on getting started by the skatepark, which will provide recreation programs for kids of all ages and getting kids to do things in a positive way. The mayor is working with the city council in partnership to get things done for the betterment of the community.
Currently there are close to 500 city workers, if the lifeguards are counted according to Gail, where she is, in essence, the boss of all those employees.
The mayor says she loves working with people in the community to get positive results. She knows Euclid has challenges, but she looks at them as opportunities. She says she wants everybody to feel welcome, engaged and a part of the city. She sees the diversity of Euclid as a positive thing and should be protected. She believes that the city of Euclid has changed the way city government has operated in a lot of different ways, like using technology where they can, and focusing on what is best for the residents.
Gail is proud of the way the city hall is modernized, and she likes the fact that those in city hall work as a team. She says she has improved the city’s outreach to the residents with community engagement and involvement. Gail proudly says in her family, there are 4 generations of Euclid residents. The mayor is married to Kevin Gail, and has three children, Connor, Daniel and Emily.
She tries to reach out to the community and be accessible wherever she is and goes. She wants to do what she can to make Euclid better. She says it’s an honor to serve Euclid. She says Euclid is her life.