Kent Receives Full Time IT Manager, JEDD Agreement with Rootstown at City Council Meeting
The City Council of Kent met in the basement of Kent’s Fire Station Wednesday to discuss a variety of topics. One of the first topics, mentioned by a local citizen, centered on how Kent could deal with the recent snow storms making side walks in-accessible. The citizen congratulated the city of Kent on keeping government maintained sidewalks clear (such as those in front of post offices, police stations, and fire stations, but noted businesses were not doing their share and clearing the sidewalks in front of their establishments. The meeting then turned to the topics slotted for that night’s discussion.
K
ent Government to Employ New IT Manager
The Kent City Council carried the motion February 17, 2016, for a full time IT manager to be hired during a council meeting. The IT manager would be put in charge of coordinating and maintaining technological systems within Kent’s city government. The IT manager will receive a salary somewhere between $68,000 and $82,000 a year, according to Linda Jordan, the Clerk of Council.
The meeting took place February 17, where the council discussed a number of suspended motions. During their regular meeting the council passed motions to designate the structure located at 315 Gougler Avenue, commonly known as the “L.N. Gross” building, to become a local historic property in the City of Kent. The move allows “for the potential preservation of historic buildings.”
The City Council Speaks on Parking Problems
The council also touched on the difficulties many residents of Kent have faced attempting to park. Councilman Ferrara noted he had received “thousands of emails about this” in regards to the unsolved parking problem at Adrian Drive. Adrian Drive is a small residential street near Stanton Middle School, and to the North West of Kent State University.
Kent Will Enter Into a JEDD Agreement with Rootstown
The city council went into detail on the plan to enact a JEDD agreement with Rootstown. A JEDD agreement, or a Joint Economic Development District, is an arrangement in the state of Ohio where one or more municipalities and a township can agree to work together to create or develop land for commercial or industrial reasons. This allows them to get some of the taxes in that area without having to outright annex it. Councilman Robin Turner read aloud the agreement.
Finally the last topic of the night, a massive acre purchase, went unopposed. A plot of land 7.0679 acres in size is now usable by the City of Kent’s Parks and Recreation Department. The City Manager Dave Ruller will enter into an agreement between Shirley and Joseph Betroski as well as the city of Kent. The land can be found at 745 Longcoy Avenue, Kent, Ohio and the city purchased the land for $170,000.
The meeting stayed brief and to the point. The mayor even ended the night without a Mayor’s Report saying “I guess I’ve kind of run out of steam.” The Council had nothing to say on Health and Safety, Land Use, or Streets, Sidewalks, and Utilities. There were no Special Committee Reports or Unfinished Business to discuss.
The meeting adjourned at roughly 7:50pm.
