Kent residents and Council members agree: the leaves must leave

Words and Package by Collin Cunningham and Andrea Gump

Fall has arrived in Kent once again, and though we’ve yet to experience heavy snowfall, Kent resident Mary Kenneley feels as though the city’s roads are made unsafe by piles of dead leaves.

“I have witnessed snow plows going around mounded leaves on city streets when snow has fallen before leaves were able to be collected. Two-lane streets down to just one lane with leaves mounded on streets producing hazards with risk of accidents and clogged storm sewers,” reads a letter Kenneley brought to the City Council meeting that took place the evening of Wednesday, November 7. She printed out a copy for every council member.

Supporting Kenneley was Ward 2 Councilman Jack Amrhein, who also sees the leaves in the roadways and sewer grates as a notable problem, and wants to see Kenneley’s efforts succeed.

“It really makes it safer,” Amrhein says. “That’s our job as city council, to make sure that people are safe driving down our roads, walking on our sidewalks, riding their bikes on our roads. If you’re gong to sweep your leaves to keep your grass healthy, we also need to 

Kenneley’s goal, with her letter and presence at the meeting, was to enact an ordinance prohibiting the “placement, raking, blowing, or in any manner transfer(ing) leaves into any public street or roadway”. To that end, she was successful. When a vote was called about instating the change , only one “I” was raised in opposition.

The new policy that Kenneley is proposing wouldn’t make it so sweeping leaves into the street was a criminal offense, but rather a violation of public code. She says that Police Chief Michelle Lee agrees with her on this, which would be more of a modification to an already-existing rule than an entirely new one.

“We already have an ordinance that states that you can’t have any debris on the roads, but we are making it more specific because there are still people that rake their leaves into the streets,” Amrhein explains. “So, there is an ordinance, we’re just making it a little more specific.”

A former employee of Kent Police Department, Kenneley stood up and voiced her opinion multiple times throughout Wednesday’s meeting.  For each talking point on the agenda, she chimed in with either a thought or a question pertaining to the subject, whether it was the authorization of the city’s 2019 capital plan or a discussion about the city’s solid waste and recycling code.

West Main Street will also be paved in 2020. Kent City Council hopes this new plan will help prevent poor road conditions before they get worse in the area.

— ANDREA GUMP (@GumpAndrea) November 8, 2018

Kenneley’s clearly an active member of the community, as evidenced by her commitment to her cause. She’s been complaining to the Council about the leaves since 2014, and via her efforts was able to get the Council talking about her problem.

I’m at the Kent City Council meeting and they’re discussing the new roundabout at the intersection of Summit Street and Campus Center Drive. Since it opened earlier this year, the intersection has seen an 80% decrease in the total amount of accidents. pic.twitter.com/NZfFFZ0Te1

— michael lemonade (@cunningcollin) November 8, 2018