Bay City Hall Celebrates 100 Years

Clerk of Council Joan Kemper with the original 1914 City of Bay Village wall plaque now mounted in Council chambers.

Clerk of Council Joan Kemper with the original 1914 City of Bay Village wall plaque now mounted in Council chambers.

The City of Bay Village commemorated the 100th Anniversary of Bay Village City Hall on Monday, Nov. 3.

Bay Village City Hall was erected in 1914 and City Council met there for the first time on November 3, 1914.

Over 100 guests, many former Council members and city employees, were on hand to attend the Commemoration Ceremony in the Council Chambers at 8 p.m.

Mayor Debbie Sutherland joined with Council President Paul Koomer in welcoming one and all. Cathy Burke Flament, author of ‘Retracing Footsteps Lakeside Cemetery, Bay Village,’ shared anecdotes from Bay Village history as a slide show of historic photos played from Bay’s past in Council chambers.

A gold dedication plaque marking the 100th anniversary of City Hall is now featured on the east wall of chambers. It carries the inscription:

“The Bay Village City Council wishes to acknowledge that 23 mayors, 26 Presidents of Council and 155 Council Members who have served as Bay Village elected public officials in the past 100 years,” reads the Council resolution.

The eastern portion of City Hall, which houses Council chambers, was erected in 1914 at a cost of $8000.

A highlight of the evening was an announcement from Eileen Vernon of The Bay Village Foundation that funds to replace the City Hall clock will be the Foundation’s project for 2015. The clock replacement would coincide with the 20th anniversary Foundation, founded by the late T. Richard Martin, long-time Council President. The Foundation’s first project was the building of Play in Bay.