Reporting Public Policy

A Reporting Project of the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication

city council

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Streetsboro City Council Voted in Favor of Improving the Cities Fire Department

Sarah Limas 0 Comments , , , ,

Many improvements are coming to the city of Streetsboro after City Council approves multiple new purchases to better the city.  On November 9th, 2020, Streetsboro City Council started the meeting by amending an ordinance that approved a new fire prevention vehicle purchase and new turnout gear for the Streetsboro Fire Department.  “They turned in a 2009 Ford Fusion which is a little car, and they are getting a Ford Explorer which is more of an SUV,” Council Vice President Jon Hannan said. “This is so that when people are coming back from a fire or going out in their gear, they can fit into the front or the back of the car.”  According

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Council Ravenna 

Ravenna City Council meets to decide on new ordinances

Sara Crawford 0 Comments , ,

Ravenna City Council passed five ordinances unanimously at their Nov. 2 meeting, many of which pertaining to financial decisions for different aspects of the city. Ordinance No. 2020-122: An ordinance to accept, record, and appropriate the ODNR outdoor discovery grant for the new parks & recreation department archery program, and declaring an emergency.  Ordinance No. 2020-123: An ordinance to approve the purchase of cyber insurance from At-Bay Insurance Services, LLC for the sum of $7,292.00 and declaring an emergency. Ordinance No. 2020-124: An ordinance to authorize the mayor to accept the 3rd Federal Cares Act Coronavirus Relief Distribution of $409,402.09 and to appropriate the funds and declaring an emergency.  Ordinance

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Route 91 in Hudson nears construction date with City Council’s approval of several resolutions

Caitlyn Payette 0 Comments ,

Hudson City Council voted Tuesday night on several issues surrounding the construction on state Route 91 that went in favor of City Manager Jane Howington.  As a result of the council vote, Howington can now enter into contracts for the sale and purchase of real property and the acquisition of temporary easements for the State Route 91 North Turn Lane improvements project. The project comes from safety concerns. “When you have as many cars going up and down the road trying to go different directions it becomes a public safety matter. The roads need to widen or make a turn lane. Stow has 4 lanes and Twinsburg has 4 lanes,

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City of Kent Council Government Uncategorized 

New City Hall to consolidate management departments, bring ‘city campus’ feel to Kent

Nicholas Hunter 0 Comments , , , ,

In an effort to bring the bulk of city management under one roof, the City of Kent plans to construct a city hall in 2020. Gwen Rosenberg, councilwoman-at-large for Kent City Council, said having a designated city hall building will be a first for Kent. “There was a vision to have a sort of city campus, with a police department, fire department (and) city hall,” Rosenberg said. “The city hall as it was was kind of broken up into different spaces.” Consolidation of many of the city management departments will help round out this vision. The city hall will be constructed in place of the old police station on the

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City of Kent 

Kent residents and Council members agree: the leaves must leave

Collin Cunningham 0 Comments , , , ,

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

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Council Spring 2016 

Tree Removal subject of controversy at city council

Blythe Alspaugh 0 Comments , , , ,

Despite the list of ordinances Ravenna City Council had to vote on Monday evening, one citizen’s concern over tree removal dominated the conversation. John Plough, a former member of the Shade Tree Commission in Ravenna, spoke for an hour about his views on tree removal in the city, and requested a 60-day continuous in order to gather witnesses to attest to an appeal in order to prevent the removal of a tree standing at 401 Madison St. “I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve watched trees come down from the time I was a little kid,” Plough said. “You act like it’s no big deal that trees that are 75,

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Council Spring 2016 Uncategorized 

Kent City Council Approves “Storm Water Fee”

Jonathan Huntsman 0 Comments , , ,

Kent City Council had many topics of discussion during its most recent meeting on Wednesday, March 16. One important topic that was brought up during the meeting was the implementation of a “stormwater fee”, which would increase the rate of the city of Kent storm water utility by two dollars monthly. As TV2’s Jon Huntsman reports, Kent residents now will likely have to brace the big storm of paying more upfront for their water bills. Residents living in the city of Kent also get the chance to emphasize their main concerns at Kent’s Regular Council Meeting before council men and women go over their agenda. While the biggest part of

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Kent City Engineer explains floodplain map updates

Elizabeth Randolph 0 Comments , , , , , , ,

By Elizabeth Randolph and Raymond Allan Residents in the city of Kent have been concerned about the safety and value of their homes. Recent updates from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have shown an 18 percent increase in flood activity in the Forest Hills area. This was due to watersheds in Kent being expanded. FEMA notified the changes to the city of Kent as a means to be proactive. Many residents used the Nov. 18 Kent city council meeting in the floor of the Kent Fire Department to express their shock about being told about the updates of the map. Peter Paino, a resident of Kent living on Windmere Lane was

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Mary Mural-Sizemore from Porter's Taxi presents to Kent City Council
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City council considers Uber regulations

Emily Mills 0 Comments , ,

By Emily Mills and Allie Johnson Cities across the nation are unclear on how the ride-sharing service Uber should be regulated, but the city of Kent is working toward a determination. Kent City Council authorized city law director James Silver to draft a preliminary code regulating Uber and other Transportation Network Services (TNS) providers. The council is considering a separate code for Uber, which has been in Kent since 2014, because it believes there are differences between TNS providers and taxi companies, which in Kent includes Porter’s Taxi and 1 Fast Transport. &lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2456418/uber.pdf”&gt;UBER (PDF)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;<br /> &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2456418/uber.txt”&gt;UBER (Text)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The central difference is taxi companies

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Kent City Council talks of City Hall relocation, College Street purchases, JEDD with Brimfield

Aja Phillips 0 Comments , , , , , , , , , , ,

With the sale of Kent City Hall, the need to look for a temporary location was a main topic of the night at the Kent City Council meeting on March 4. After the approval of a $2.4 million sale of Kent City Hall to Cleveland real estate developer NewBrook Partners at the city council meeting on February 18, members of the Finance Committee created a list of 60 different variables used to rate sites to find the best fit for a temporary two-year location of City Hall. The list of variables included: cost, location, parking, timing, storage space and special considerations. One of the main issues within each category was

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