About Mayor Jerry N. Hruby

Jerry N. Hruby began serving his ninth, four-year term as Mayor of the City of Brecksville on January 2, 2020, and will be serving through January 1, 2024. He is also the City’s Safety Director and Acting Economic Development Director. Mayor Hruby began his career with the City of Brecksville in 1968 as a member of the Brecksville Police Department. He is a lifelong, 74 year Brecksville resident and has been married to his wife Patricia for 51 years. Their adult daughter, Anna, also resides in Brecksville. Mayor Hruby’s slogan in his first mayoral campaign exemplifies the government of Brecksville and has been adopted as the City’s slogan, “Building Our Future with Respect for Our Past." Brecksville, a historic Western Reserve community founded in 1811, has received many statewide and local awards. We have been honored as one of the safest cities and one of the best cities for families in the nation. The Mayor is a strong supporter of the community’s local historical association and has taken on the role of historian for the City government. He has worked toward the preservation of artifacts, photographs and documents that tell the history of our community and its governance. During Mayor Hruby’s tenure in office, he has provided the vision and oversight for many important projects. These include a new County Library branch, a new 48,000 sq. ft. Community Center which houses the Recreation Department and its programs and activities, and an expansion to the Community Center making it 98,000 sq. ft. with a Human Services wing, expanded fitness center and warm water therapy pool. In 2020, there was an expansion of the Jack A. Hruby Natatorium with an activity pool and a new outdoor aquatics center. The City also boasts Kids Quarters children’s playground, Municipal Lake, a City-owned satellite postal unit, the RTA Park n Ride/City Parking Lot, downtown renovation programs and parking, the acquisition of the 83-acre Blossom Hill property and 102-acre Cleveland Tree Farm, the addition of many playing fields at the Blossom facility including a lighted, full size, fenced artificial surface facility for soccer and lacrosse, upgraded renovation of the City Hall playing fields, renovation of the historic Old Town Hall, expansion of the Service Department and Fire Station, and the purchase and redevelopment of the former Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District bus garage compound on Stadium Drive. Currently, there is a partnership with the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Schools in the construction of a new elementary school and field house at Blossom Hill. The district will construct the school and the City the field house which will be shared by both the City and the school. The facilities are planned to open in 2022. The construction of a new service facility at Blossom Hill was completed in 2014 and the Stadium Drive material storage facility was constructed in the fall of 2012. In 2014-2015 the new Service Vehicle Storage and Horticulture facility was constructed as phase II of the Stadium Drive plan. Also in 2014 we began the design phase for a new police station that was constructed in 2018-2019. This new state of the art, 27,000 sq. ft. facility is also home to the Chagrin Valley Dispatch Center that is shared with the City of Independence, Broadview Heights, Seven Hills, Cuyahoga Heights, Valley View, Brooklyn Heights, Newburgh Heights, Metro Parks Police, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Brooklyn and Brecksville. In 2020 the dispatch center grew to ten agencies with the addition of the Metro Parks police department and the City of Brooklyn. And then to we grew 11 departments in 2021 with the addition of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office. Our new station has a 6 hour holding jail facility. Prisoners are then transferred to other full service jails in the region. The station also houses a 70 foot pistol/rifle firing range, “Safe Rooms” off the main lobby, evidence center and many other components for our staff and canine unit.
The Bicentennial Obelisk Garden began in 2011 as part of the celebration and was completed in 2012, a lasting tribute to Brecksville’s first 200 years. Two, fifty-year time capsules were buried at this site and are to be opened in 2061. The Obelisk was dedicated and the time capsules buried on July 1, 2012. Construction of the walkway from City Hall to the Obelisk took place in 2021 and the first historical monument was put in place. The series of monuments along the walkway present interesting facts and benchmarks of the Township, Village, and City History. In the fall of 2013, a cooperative agreement between the school district and the City resulted in the restoration of the Highland Drive School baseball field. The area was regraded, new grass planted, new playing surface installed, fence replaced, dugouts and backstop all upgraded. The field was ready for play in the spring of 2014. We appreciate the cooperation of the school district which will share in its use with the City. Under the Mayor’s guidance, Brecksville won the 2003 “America in Bloom” award and was the 2003 national winner of the “Proven Winners Landscaped Areas Award.” The City’s Beautification Committee was created under the direction of Mayor Hruby and is an integral part of volunteerism that oversees the design of city plantings and beautification and decorations throughout the community. This is our 21st Tree City Year Award. In 2016 a Community Garden was constructed on Stadium Drive across from the Horticulture Building. The City’s Beautification Committee oversees this project. This garden has been a tremendous success and the gardeners in one of our 77 plots won First Place at the 2016 Cuyahoga County Fair for “Cucumbers.” Plots are again sold out with a waiting list for 2021. In 2021, the Community Garden was expanded which added enough spaces to eliminate our waiting list; at least temporarily. The Mayor established an award winning City-wide recycling program in 1988 through the fine work and dedication of our residents and Service Department staff. Service Worker Dennis L. Weber was instrumental in the creation of our recycling program. Our programs have expanded and added programs for older residents and those with special needs, and has enacted many other City improvements and additional City services such as leaf pick up, appliance pickup and receiving discarded electronics equipment.
The Mayor also serves on the City Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, Records Commission, and Investment Board, CIC, oversees Economic Development, the collection of income taxes and presides over the City’s Mayor’s Court that has two magistrales who hear all cases. In 2009, Mayor Hruby was honored by the Northeast Ohio Area Wide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) with the Walter F. Ehrnfelt, Jr. Award for outstanding regional contribution. The Mayor was highly honored to receive this award for many reasons. First, because it is named after former Strongsville Mayor Walter Ehrnfelt. Mayor Hruby and Mayor Ehrnfelt were very good friends and worked on many civic and political projects together. Mayor Hruby delivered the eulogy at Mayor Ehrnfelt’s funeral. Second, the award was presented to him by the late U.S. Senator George Voinovich, with whom Mayor Hruby had been a close associate for well over 30 years. Third, Mayor Hruby served for 10 years on the NOACA Board and was President of the Board as well as Chairman of the Transportation Improvement Plan and Chairman of the Environmental Committee. And last, it was an honor for the Mayor to receive this award in the presence of Anne Ehrnfelt, Mayor Ehrnfelt’s wife and a close friend of the Mayor. For these reasons, Mayor Hruby stated, “Of the many awards I have received throughout my career, this one is uniquely significant due to my relationship with Mayor Ehrnfelt, first and foremost, and secondly because of my close relationship with Senator Voinovich and my friends at NOACA.”
In his spare time, Mayor Hruby enjoys acting. He is a member of the Brecksville Theatre and winner of the Outstanding Actor Award for his portrayal of Miles Gloriosus in the play, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” He also portrayed the Governor of Texas in the popular musical “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” Daddy in “Daddy’s Dyin’, Who’s Got the Will?” a somewhat challenged monk in the dark farce “Incorruptible,” the Attorney in “Good Bye Charlie,” God, in “Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grill,” the Mayor in “Inherit the Wind,” and was cast singing a variety of songs and participating in a variety of segments of former Brecksville Little Theater productions as they celebrated the Bicentennial and their 70th Anniversary with an original play written by the late Ruth Wheaton to celebrate their 70th anniversary. He played the Captain in “Mr. Roberts” and was a cast member of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the radio stage version in which he read the voices of seven characters, including the infamous Mr. Potter. In 2014 he appeared in BLT's production of “Forbidden Broadway” where he sang and danced to a variety of songs that made up the Broadway spoof on its self. He also produced “Piece of my Heart.” When BLT kicked off its 75th Season, the Mayor was part of the ensemble performing in the production "Salute to 75, Words and Song." In 2016 he co-produced “Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Coat.” He was also a member of BLT’s Board of Trustees and was named to the original board of the Brecksville Theater, the new organization composed of the former Brecksville Little Theater and Theater on the Square. He served on the board throughout its organizational years.
The Mayor has written and directed the City’s Annual Children’s Christmas Play since 1986. He has been part of these programs in other ways since 1971, the year that his brother, former Mayor Jack A. Hruby, and Jack’s friend Larry Dailey began the annual Christmas play tradition. Mayor Jerry Hruby served along with former City Council President Larry Potla as advisors to the Brecksville 1811-2011 Bicentennial Committee. Mayor Hruby is an avid collector of Disney, sports memorabilia, political memorabilia and local historical artifacts.