Kent City Council – Reporting Public Policy

University Expansion: Issues and Updates

December 3, 2014 Hilary Crisan 0 Comments city council, City of Kent, Esplanade expansion, Kent City Council, kent state university, Kent State University

Kent State University is a campus with an ever-growing student body, in a city that acknowledges its college community and does what it can to create an easy, safe environment for the college community. One of these creations is the expansion of the University Esplanade into downtown Kent. The Esplanade expansion will complete several tasks, such as creating a safe walking space for students to reach downtown and create a connection between campus and city. But there have been more than a few bumps along the way. THE WILLOW STREET PROJECT Discussions about permanently shutting down Willow Street in order to stop traffic from crossing the Esplanade expansion into downtown

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Kent’s storm water fund running low

December 3, 2014 Patrick Williams 0 Comments Capital Improvement Plan, David Coffee, EPA, james bowling, Kent, Kent City Council, Ohio EPA, Portage County, Portage County Department of Health, Portage County Health Department, Portage County Storm Water District, Ravenna, storm water, storm water management, Streetsboro

In a warning to Kent City Council on October 15, city budget and finance director David Coffee explained the need for the city to reallocate or raise more money for its storm water fund. The fund, which pays to allow the city to assess and maintain the city’s storm water, will be able to pay for storm water capital improvement projects, or storm water projects built by contractors, through 2015, but most likely not for the years following, Coffee said during the council’s annual Capital Improvement Plan update. “The Capital Improvement Plan is essentially a five-year rolling plan,” Coffee said. “Obviously the year that is most significant is the

Ebola Hits Home

October 17, 2014 Jacqueline DeMate 0 Comments Amber Vinson, Ebola, Kent, kent city council, Kent City Council, kent state

The Kent City Council diverged from their normal schedule Wednesday night to address growing concerns in the community after learning that the second nurse to become infected with the ebola virus spent the weekend in Tallmadge with her parents who are Kent State employees. Kent Health Commissioner Jeff Niestadt opened the meeting with a timeline of where Amber Vinson went during the weekend she spent with her mother and step-father Debra and Kelvin Berry. Neistadt presented a timeline of what Vinson did after her parents picked her up from Cleveland Hopkins Airport including a trip to Coming Attractions Bridal Salon in preparation for her wedding. Niestadt also brought in Dr.

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Public Health Officials Speak at Kent City Council

October 17, 2014 Bob Vickers 0 Comments Ebola, Health, Kent, Kent City Council, Kent Health Department, Kent State University, Portage County Department of Health

The Wednesday, October 13 Kent City Council meeting started with Ebola talk. Portage County Health Commissioner, Jeff Neistadt, Director of Kent State University Center for Public Health Preparedness, Dr. Christopher Woolverton, and Medical Director at City of Kent, Dr. Kirk Stiffler, all spoke at the beginning of the meeting. They addressed what information they knew so far, what exactly Ebola is and does, how it can be spread, and any inaccurate rumors that had been floating around. Anchor Intro: The news of Ebola patient, Amber Vinson, staying in Tallmadge took over social media Wednesday. Even City Council got caught up in the story and had public health experts give and

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Kent City Council addresses Ebola before council meeting

October 16, 2014October 17, 2014 Alyssa Flynn 0 Comments City of Kent, city of kent health department, Community, Ebola, Kent City Council, Kent Health Department, Ohio, Ohio ebola, Portage County

Kent City Council met Wednesday night to suspend and adopt a multitude of ordinances from the community development, finance, health and safety and streets side and utilities committees, but before council addressed the agenda, Kent City Health Commissioner Jeff Niestadt reported on the status of Ebola in Ohio. Amber Joy Vinson, a nurse who tended to Thomas Eric Duncan, who died of Ebola on Oct. 8, had been visiting Tallmadge family members in Tallmadge and was there for the majority of her stay. “They spent the evening in Tallmadge, not going any where,” Niestadt said. He also said the she did not go to the Kent State football game, but did go

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Kent City Council addresses Ebola, talks five-year capital plan

October 16, 2014 Mariam Makatsaria 0 Comments City Development, Community, Ebola, Ebola in Portage County, Economy, Kent, kent, kent city council, Kent City Council, Kent Police Station, west main street bridge

Kent City Council met Wednesday to discuss several ordinances on its agenda and address the Ebola scare in Portage County. The meeting began with a moment of prayer for those suffering from the virus globally. Health Commissioner Jeff Neistadt began by tracking the nurse’s steps during her visit to Akron, a process that described as “putting a puzzle together.” “At this point there is no reason to believe that she was in Portage County,” Neistadt said. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done here. The biggest thing that we need to consider now is the accuracy of information. There is misinformation.” To address the misinformation, Neistadt talked

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City Council Meeting – October 15

October 16, 2014 Candace Monacelli 0 Comments city council, City Development, Community, kent, Kent City Council, main street bridge, parking, Parking

Mayor Fiala held the City of Kent monthly city council meeting Wednesday evening, while TV2’s reporter Candace Monacelli looked into one issue further. The bridge is currently still closed while work began on the repairs over the summer. The repairs were said to take 75 days to complete but still continuing today. The Main Street bridge should open in the near future. Here below are live tweets from @CandaceMonacell during the City Council meeting. More details for all other issues can be found in the full City Council Meeting Agenda with the Main Street bridge issue at the bottom of the forth page in

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City council meeting starts off with Ebola briefing

October 16, 2014October 16, 2014 Patrick Williams 0 Comments Amber Vinson, dave ruller, Ebola, Jerry Fiala, Kent, kent, kent city council, Kent City Council, kent state

Upon hearing remarks from health officials about the developments in a local Ebola scare, Kent City Council voted Wednesday to purchase property and zone land to accommodate the construction of a new police station for the city. Kent health commissioner Jeff Neistadt and local doctors spoke about Ebola to a full room of people. Amber Vinson, who tested positive for Ebola Wednesday, spent the night in Tallmadge, which is about six miles southwest of Kent, Friday night, Neistadt said. Health officials are performing contact tracing to figure out who Vinson came into contact with, Neistadt said. “It’s a slow process because we have to do all the contact tracing from the individuals who she

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City Council Passes Ordinance to Purchase College Avenue Lots, Addresses Ebola

October 16, 2014November 20, 2014 Joanna Kamvouris 0 Comments Community, Kent City Council

Kent City Council met Wednesday evening to approve the purchase of properties on East College Avenue and address the Portage County Ebola scare. City Council approved 12 lots on East College Avenue for the location of the city’s new police station, scheduled to be completed by spring 2017. The council also amended the area of land needed for the building which will be bounded to the North by Haymaker Parkway and to the East by the Eastern lot lines at 233 and 234 E. College St. The council waited to settle with property owners of four of the 12 properties earlier this fall needed to build the city’s new police station.

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Kent City Council becomes informed on Ebola, passes ordinance to purchase properties on College Avenue

October 15, 2014October 16, 2014 Megan Brown 0 Comments city council, College Avenue, Community, Ebola, Kent, kent, Kent City Council, Kent Health Department, Parking, Portage County Health Department

Kent City Council held a meeting Oct. 15, which took more of an informational turn as the talk of Ebola made headlines in Northeast Ohio. Kent Mayor Jerry Fiala invited Jeff Neistadt, Kent Health Commissioner, to give the council and audience an overview of information about the latest Ebola issue related to Northeast Ohio. “This is kind of putting a puzzle together with various pieces,” Neistadt said. The infected individual, Amber Vinson, arrived in Cleveland’s Hopkins Airport Friday afternoon. Her mother and stepfather picked her up from the airport and returned to Tallmadge. Her parents did attend the Kent State football game on Saturday; she did not. “At this point,

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