Year in Review: New police chief, city and schools projects among highlights
In 2022, the city of Bexley, Bexley City Schools, Columbus School for Girls and St. Charles Preparatory School undertook new developments as communities nationwide began to emerge from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Here’s a look back at several of the most significant ones:
Easing COVID-19 restrictions
The city lifted its universal mask mandate Feb. 28 and in March, City Council approved an ordinance to protect the rights of individuals to wear face coverings in public places.
The purpose of the ordinance is “to protect those that are most vulnerable if they choose to continue to wear a mask there,” said council member Sam Marcellino, who introduced the ordinance. “While I'm unaware of any instances here in Bexley, I’ve heard some nationwide instances of businesses that require people to remove their masks … so it's appropriate to allow patrons to continue to wear them if they so choose.”
Also in March, Bexley City Schools adopted a “masks optional” policy that the district has maintained throughout the 2022-23 school year.
CSG names new head of school
In January, CSG named Camille Seals as head of school. Seals began her tenure July 1, replacing outgoing Jennifer Ciccarelli, who left at the end of the 2021-22 school year to become head of school at Marlborough School, an all-girls academy in Los Angeles.
A Cleveland native, Seals previously served as assistant head of school at the Agnes Irwin School, an all-girls preparatory school in Rosemont, Pa.
St. Charles builds convocation center
St. Charles Preparatory School, 2010 E. Broad St., kicked off the 2022-23 school year with an Aug. 12 “beam signing” festival. The event gave students, parents and alumni the opportunity to sign beams that will be used to build the school’s new Frank E. Murphy Class of 1954 Convocation Center, which is currently under construction.
Cities join forces for Livingston Avenue plan
City Council voted 7-0 on June 28 to approve legislation adopting the Joint Livingston Avenue Plan, a collaboration with the city of Columbus. In the year leading up to the vote, the two cities held a series of public workshops to gather residents’ feedback about priorities; the plan is designed to improve pedestrian, bicycle and traffic safety in the E. Livingston Avenue corridor from Nelson Road on the west to James Road on the east.
The plan’s near-term aspects include narrowing the street by painting stripes to reduce the number of traffic lanes from four to three, with one 11-foot-wide moving lane in each direction and one 11-foot-wide turn lane in between.
The Joint Livingston Avenue Plan also includes several long-term aspects: when new buildings go up, moving curbs closer to the street, making wider tree lawns to further narrow the road and slow down traffic; creating multi-use paths on both sides of the street in residential areas; and making wider sidewalks in the commercial areas.
Bexley hires new police chief
The city of Bexley hired Gary Lewis as its new police chief to succeed Larry Rinehart, who retired in January 2022 after 14 years.
Lewis officially started Sept. 1.
City Council approved Lewis’ appointment in a 6-0 vote on Aug. 9. His contract runs through Aug. 31, 2025, at an annual base salary of $175,000. The chief’s duties include overseeing 30 sworn officers and managing police/community relations.
Lewis most recently served as the University of Louisville’s chief of police.
Bexley schools launch strategic plan
The district kicked off the effort to update its three-year strategic plan in October and has contracted with consulting firm Big Questions Institute to facilitate the project.
The district’s most recent strategic plan covered the years 2018-21.
The first phase of the new strategic planning process included public forums and meetings with students, faculty and staff. The second phase is scheduled to last from January through March 2023.
The final phase is scheduled from April through May 2023, with the final plan presented to the community before the end of May 2023.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Year in Review: New police chief, city and schools projects among highlights
