County commits $100K to $1.2M Willowick lakefront access project

Lake County's Board of Commissioners voted September 24, 2026, to put $100,000 from the county's Lakeshore Improvement Fund toward Willowick's roughly $1.2 million lakefront project at Lakefront Lodge. The first thing those dollars will buy is parking: about 50 spaces near the property's west end.

The vote followed a funding recommendation from the Lake Development Authority, Lake County's public economic-development and port authority, which oversees the Lakeshore Improvement Fund and recommends projects for county approval.

The call was made by board president Morris W. Beverage III, John T. Plecnik, and Morgan R. McIntosh, who joined the board in January 2026. The fund pays for capital projects within one mile of Lake Erie and draws on a designated portion of the county's hotel lodging tax — the bed tax, not property taxes — so the $100,000 comes from what guests pay at hotels across the county, including in Mentor and the Headlands.

What the money buys

The city of Willowick owns the Lakefront Lodge property, and Lake Metroparks operates and manages it under a recently renewed 20-year management agreement. The project has been about three years in the making, and limited parking has been holding back the property's ability to draw visitors.

Willowick Mayor Michael J. Vanni put the partnership plainly: "This project, as you know, is in partnership with Lake Metroparks at our Lakefront Lodge." The work, he said, "should expand access to the property and could bring more visitors to Willowick businesses."

In the plan's own description, the added parking is the step that would let Lake Metroparks carry out the rest: a shelter seating about 75 people with electrical hookups and lighting, flush restrooms, three covered swingsets, walking trails, deck improvements, an accessible paved trail to the road, and a community stage for Willowick's outdoor concerts, with a target around 2027.

The identified funding stacks up as $300,000 from Lake Metroparks, $200,000 in state money, $100,000 from Lake County stormwater funds, $100,000 from the Lakeshore Improvement Fund, and the city of Willowick covering the remaining costs.

Who's watching the buildout

Paul Palagyi, executive director of Lake Metroparks, described the demand he expects for the shelter: "If you want a June reservation on a weekend, you've got to be online at 8 a.m. ready to go because these are the Friday, Saturday, Sundays of the shelter that will fly off the shelves in the first 24 hours." Palagyi said he expects the shelter, once built, to rank among the park system's fastest-reserved rentals.

The amenity package is estimated at about $500,000, with officials hoping to finish by year-end 2026, weather permitting, and the amenities targeted toward 2027.

The test for whether "public access" becomes real is whether the roughly 50 new spaces actually get county residents down to the Lake Erie waterline — or whether the lot mostly feeds the reservable shelter and community stage. The first place to look is who fills the weekend shelter slots, and how they are used.