Mentor-On-The-Lake Considers Relocating Overlook Due To Erosion Concerns

Mentor-on-the-Lake officials are considering moving an observation deck further inland to protect it from erosion. The area was closed off for safety concerns early this week.

Overlook Beach Park has lost most of its beachfront over the years, said Mentor-on-the-Lake Mayor David Eva. This year’s high water levels and lack of ice cover on Lake Erie are taking the situation to extreme levels as the area around an overlook deck erodes.

Service employees will assess the area when the weather improves, Eva said. That could be as early as this weekend or next week.

“We are going to look into possibly moving that away from the bluff that it’s on now,” Eva said.

Moving the deck – which has been a location for wedding ceremonies and community gatherings – further inland wouldn’t prevent further erosion, Eva said. The village is considering other options to protect the shoreline.

“We are working with the other Lake County cities, especially with our residents that have lakefront properties, to try to get a special improvement district formed,” Eva said. The move would allow property taxes to be spent on creating erosion solutions.

“None of us here want to see that eventually fall into the lake and then float down the lake,” Eva said. “That’s about the last thing we need to see or hear about.”