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Longtime councilman helped city grow
(by Sali McSherry - December 14, 2011)
Longtime councilman helped city grow
By SALI McSHERRY
In 28 years on Pepper Pike City Council, Clevis Svetlik has seen a community grow from a almost rural community that had a volunteer fire department and contracted with vendors for most city services.
He realized early on during his time on council that many services, such as snowplowing and picking up rubbish, could be done in-house and cost less money, he said.
Mr. Svetlik, 73, began his service even before he won a seat on council. In the late 1970s, he was passionate, along with other community activists, in stopping a developer from rezoning a tree farm into office buildings in Pepper Pike. The issue, which was placed on the ballot, failed after he and the group put on a successful campaign that appealed to residents.
One of the biggest changes he has seen is that Pepper Pike is no longer a destination city. People who worked downtown chose Pepper Pike for their home so they could have houses on spacious lots while still having a full range of municipal services. Now communities to the east have grown and Pepper Pike has become a through community to those driving to those places, he said.
A 47-year resident of the city, Mr. Svetlik got his feet wet in public service as president of his neighborhood association and then as a member of the city's planning and zoning commission. Last month, he was not re-elected to council.
Mr. Svetlik, who led a comprehensive study on emergency dispatch services for the city to review, said he was proud of the thorough job the committee had done. Council has been considering options beyond retaining dispatch services in-house.
The last couple of years have been very difficult, he said. "The issue goes back to money. The city has been able to be efficient and effective on a small income tax. In the past 12 years, the city was rated in the top 10 in Greater Cleveland and twice No. 1 by a local magazine, Mr. Svetlik said.
A big part of the city's success is due to the loyal and extremely effective department directors, he said. The worst time he had as a councilman was instituting the 25 percent decrease in pay for city employees, which was a combination of pay reduction and furloughs. While the pay was restored, he said, it was a tough time. He said he felt he had an obligation to the employees and it was their job, as council members, to make it good and honor their service.
Mayor Bruce H. Akers said, "Cleve has been a very dedicated and conscientious councilman He has served Pepper Pike well and he will be missed."
Mr. Svetlik's passion for music resulted in the formation of the Pepper Pike Community Band, composed of talented musicians including retired members of the Cleveland Orchestra, music professionals and teachers, including his wife, Bonnie, who plays the flute. The band plays in the summer at the community park. He also was a board member and secretary for Cleveland Symphonic Winds.
An engineer, he was vice president of J&H Marsh & McLennan from 1978 through 2004. With a bachelor's degree from John Carroll University and a master's of business administration from Baldwin-Wallace College, he also was a member of Delta Mu National Honor Society.
Actively involved in the community, Mr. Svetlik was on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Cleveland and the Greater Cleveland Safety Council and was a member of the Lander Circle Kiwanis Club.
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