Ward 2

By Julia Adkins and Aja Phillips

 

 

 

Mercadies Cochran, of Ward 2, said that while she isn’t familiar with the city council members, one problem the community faces is parking.  “Parking is awful,” she said. She said she has a hard time finding parking spots, especially downtown.

 

 

 

 

Andreas Vitone has lived in Kent all his life.  He grew up knowing two city council men closely, Wayne Wilson and Roger Sidoti.  During Vitone’s free time, he likes to read the transcripts from city council meetings.  Vitone personally thinks that the city council does things for money, for example when McDonald’s asked to build another exit driveway onto School St.  Vitone said that the city hired safety personal to research whether or not this would be safe, as it is a street with an elementary school.  He said he remembers the report came back saying it was unsafe, however, McDonald’s proposed a large sum of money to city council to allow them to still build an exit driveway.  He also expressed concerns for pot holes and the lack of snow plows.  He mentioned that his parents lived on a dead end street and that he often cannot get to their driveway because the snow pile is left in front of their driveway.  He also suggested that there should be a place downtown where employees can park freely without spending the money they’re working for.

 

 

 

Paul Bradem, a Kent resident, feels strongly about the Kent City Council.  “The council is appropriate and they are doing their job,” he said.  “I am happy with where we are going.”  However, Bradem’s only concern is with parking, too.  He said that he would like to see parking increased, especially downtown as there are limited spaces there.

 

 

 

 

Tom Ingersoll, a Kent Resident and downtown business owner, only had one concern about the Kent’s community: Parking.  He said they just need more parking.  “I’ll even pay for parking, just get me parking,” he said.  He is pleased with the addition of parking meters by city council, mainly because of downtown employees taking the spots close to his restaurant.  He admitted that sometimes he takes a spot close by, too, even though he has a parking pass for parking deck.  He said with the new parking meters coming in, hopefully it will free up space for his customers to park.