The City of Berea is in a unique position in Cuyahoga County: it is one of a few communities outside Cleveland with its own Water Department. That means every time it hires new water meter technicians, the new employees unlike their counterparts in other small cities must undergo special training in the installation and analysis of residential water meters.
“What’s more, the State requires the technicians to train in actual homes,” says Rebecca Corrigan, executive director of The Berea Community Development Corporation.
She found a solution with the Cuyahoga Land Bank, which happened to own two homes in Berea. “I thought to call the Land Bank because of its homes here, and it allowed us to use them for training,” Corrigan says. “It’s a very beneficial partnership for us.”