Ward 6

Ward six consists of the northwestern side of the city of Kent. Located just outside of downtown and across the street from campus, ward six consists of a largely residential area with a few small businesses and chain restaurants along both Lake and East Main streets. The people we spoke to on our brief visit had a split decision on the appeal of downtown. Longtime residents saw its benefits of bettering the city of Kent and the downfalls of increase in taxes and lack of historical preservation. Outside of downtown, some residents were fearful of the safety of their neighborhood in the sense of walking around alone or their children being bullied on the bus system.

[rpavideo width=”300″]Ward6_OldWoman[/rpavideo]Betty Reedrum, 85 – 152 Lake St.

Betty Reedrum sat in her driveway on a chair while chewing on the edge of a small, wafer cookie. As a longtime resident of Kent, she has lived at 152 Lake St. for over 50 years. Betty has children, grandkids and great grandkids who all reside in Kent, but she believes the city has changed too much since she first moved to the college town. The downtown area has lost its appeal, and she fears walking around her neighborhood streets when the sun goes down.

[rpavideo width=”300″]Ward6_KentCycle[/rpavideo]Stefan Meyer, Kent Cycle Store Owner – 115 Lake St.

Although Stefan Myer has lived in Kent over a decade, his bicycle store, Kent Cycle, has only been open since March 2012. Meyer is originally from Akron, but attended Kent State and has lived in the area since then. He is a fan of the downtown expansion and believes it is for the good of the city. One thing Meyer would like to see the city of Kent do is arrange for better storage of bikes in the bike-friendly transportation town.

[rpavideo width=”300″]Ward6_Mother[/rpavideo]Charity Miller, 30 – 512 Lake St.

Charity Miller  was born and raised in Kent, and although she moved out of her childhood home on Lake Street, she did not go far when moving into Silver Meadows Apartments with her four children: a 13-year-old boy, 11-year old twin girls and a 6-year-old boy. Like any mother, Charity worries about the bus systems in Kent, and believes the older and younger children should be separated unlike how they are now. Charity enjoys the new downtown expansions, and feels safe when it comes to the patrolling of police officers.

Hutch Pet Shop – 103 Lake St.
The co-owner’s husband, Pat Flaningan, was not available to talk and she did not wish to do so.

Tree City Feed – 107 Lake St.
Owner Todd Weiss was not a fan of taxes, but did not wish to speak about it on camera.