Willowick council approves 20-year lease with Lake Metroparks to upgrade Lakefront Park
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Summary
Council voted to authorize a lease allowing Lake Metroparks to develop Lakefront Park — including a reservable timber shelter, flush restroom, new walking paths and about 77 new parking spaces — with Metroparks funding construction and assuming maintenance; council set a 30-day public comment window for final plan input.
Willowick City Council on Monday approved Resolution 2025-8 authorizing the mayor to enter a long-term lease with Lake Metroparks to develop and improve city-owned Lakefront Park.
The council vote authorizes the parks district to construct a reservable timber-frame picnic shelter, a flush restroom, a renovated concert deck at the lodge, paved walking-path improvements and other passive-recreation features on city land through 2045. The council also approved the city’s plan to construct a new paved parking area estimated at roughly 77 additional spaces to support the park improvements.
Why it matters: the lease moves a long-discussed waterfront plan into implementation, shifting construction and ongoing maintenance responsibilities for the new amenities to Lake Metroparks while keeping the park in public recreation use. Council members and residents debated shelter placement, parking capacity and public input before the vote.
Council President Morrison opened discussion by noting the partnership history with Metroparks and the opportunity the new parking will create to expand park access. Mayor (name not specified) told the council the project “will give our residents more opportunity to enjoy our lake,” and urged approval to move the project to bidding later this year. Paul, executive director for Lake Metroparks, described the planned shelter and restroom as standard designs the parks system has installed elsewhere: “This shelter will be very similar to many that we've put up in the last 7 or 8 years. It's an all timber frame … It'll be a reservable shelter,” he said, adding the shelter would have electricity and be popular for weekday and weekend use.
Key terms and responsibilities described in the meeting: Lake Metroparks will fund and build the shelter, restroom, walking paths, trail upgrades and stage improvements; the city will construct the paved parking area identified in the lease exhibits and retain title to the land. Council and Metroparks staff said the final construction scope may include minor changes, but the lease authorizes the general plan shown in the contract exhibits. The city’s early, rough cost estimate for the combined work (parking, shelter, paths, deck and flush restroom) is about $315,000; council members cautioned that figure is preliminary and subject to bids.
Council members pressed Metroparks and city staff on placement of the shelter (on the lakeside versus farther into the park) and on whether residents would see alternate renderings before construction. Several council members — including Farris and others — asked that the city post the plans to social media and display them at a public venue for one day to gather resident comments. Lake Metroparks staff said they could provide alternate mockups and would accept resident input; the city agreed to compile comments for Metroparks and return a consolidated response by mid-April.
The council also discussed ancillary items: the potential to site a future Gold Star family memorial where an earlier house once stood, and the possibility of adding an exit-only right-turn from the new parking lot onto Lakeshore Boulevard to improve traffic flow. City engineer Tim (last name not specified) described the parking layout in the contract as the city’s responsibility and said it was sized to address current parking constraints.
Votes at a glance: the resolution to lease Lakefront Park to Lake Metroparks (Resolution 2025-8) was approved on roll call. Several related and other routine items on the agenda were also voted on during the meeting (see the actions list below). The council agreed to post plans publicly and accept resident feedback for about 30 days; staff will compile comments for Metroparks.
Background: City officials said the city’s previous lease with Metroparks expired Dec. 31 of the prior year and that discussions with Metroparks about improvements have been ongoing for months. Park advocates and several council members framed the project as necessary investment in a heavily used but small waterfront venue that has limited parking and older infrastructure.
What happens next: If the lease and subsequent contract approvals remain in place, the city expects to advertise construction bids later in 2025 with a target to have parking constructed and Metroparks improvements underway by mid-2026. Metroparks offered to produce alternate site mockups and to respond to resident input collected by the city.
Ending: Council members who supported the lease cited the partnership and long-range benefits for residents and local businesses; opponents and some members asked for broader resident review of the renderings before final construction details are locked. The council’s approval moves the project from planning to procurement and sets a public-comment schedule before final design is submitted to Metroparks for construction.
