Note to readers:
The following item is a written record of the Akron City Council Ward 5 meeting from Sept. 17, compiled by Akron Documenter Mike Klein. It is not a reported story.
Documenters are residents who are trained to observe and document local government meetings. Their notes are edited before publication for clarity and accuracy — unless quotation marks are used, all text is paraphrased.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalakron.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line.
Summary
- City officials and the Akron Tree Commission said that a tree planting program will begin in the Joy Park area of East Akron this fall. Small flowering trees will be planted on the strips of city-owned land — known as devil strips — on both sides of the streets. Residents will receive a letter in advance with details about the tree and a link to a map with more information.
- The East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation (EANDC) has teamed up with Ohio Edison and American Electric Power on a free electric partnership program. The program is intended to help residents who meet certain financial and citizenship requirements use less electricity.
- At-large City Council Member Linda Omobien talked about several things, including the demographic makeup of each of Akron’s 10 wards. At-large council members serve all city residents rather than a single ward.
- Attorney and family advocate Lisa Dean talked about family makeup and family law. She has also given this presentation at Ward 1 and Ward 3 meetings. She talked about how families are perceived and how those perceptions influence laws. The presentation also outlined services available to those who are dealing with family and childhood well-being concerns. (Editor’s note: Dean is a candidate on the Nov. 3 ballot for Summit County Domestic Relations Court. She is running against Katarina Cook. See more here.)
Documenter follow-up questions
- Will the traffic accidents and problems on 5th Avenue in Ward 5 be addressed by the city? If so, how?
- Will the owners of the house that a tree has fallen on in Ward 5 be held accountable for their $10,000 back-tax bill, and will they remove the tree?
- How many residents in Summit County take advantage of the electric partnership program?
Ward 5 meeting notes
The Sept. 17 Ward 5 meeting was held at the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp. (EANDC) building at 550 S. Arlington St. City Council Member Johnnie Hannah had a large room with tables arranged in a large “U” shape. A rotating office chair sat in the middle, and Hannah addressed the crowd of about 50 people from that chair.
Community members were asked to sign in, and pizza, salads, cookies, popcorn and water were available for everyone.
Hannah began the meeting at 6:09 p.m. by saying “hello” to everyone and explaining that the first part of the program would allow residents to raise concerns that Hannah could help to address.
Traffic and fallen trees concern residents
A community member reminded Hannah about a previous problem on 5th Avenue involving traffic accidents. Hannah noted he spoke to the man about the matter in person, and, after seeing the problem, he notified the traffic engineer. Hannah said that from that point, it was out of his hands, except for following up.
Another community member said that a tree had fallen on the house next to hers. The woman was concerned that if it wasn’t removed, it would eventually fall onto her house. She was concerned she would be forced to pay a deductible to have her insurance remove the tree and that could cause her rates to go up.
Hannah said he went and looked at the property, took pictures and showed them to the city. Officials told him there wasn’t anything they could do because it wasn’t city property. He then found out the house has three owners who owe $10,000 in back taxes. Hannah said he would follow up.
One community member took issue with Hannah about housing issues and talked over the council member at times. Hannah asked for respect in the ward meeting and told the person that he doesn’t want them to come to meetings if they cannot show respect. The community member left the meeting.
150 flowering trees to be planted in East Akron
Casey Shevlin, the director of sustainability and resiliency for the city; Matt Knull, city arborist; and Gabe Forté, a Tree Commission member, gave a presentation explaining upcoming tree plantings.
Shevlin and Forté’s presentation included the following information:
- The tree commission received a grant that the city will use to plant about 150 trees in the Joy Park census tract and in the census tract just north of it.
- The small flowering trees won’t grow more than 25 feet tall.
- The trees will be a mix of dogwoods, yellowwoods and redbuds, which won’t require much maintenance.
- A letter will be going out to homeowners giving more details about where the trees will be planted and which species of tree will be planted in that location. The letter will also have a link to an interactive map that homeowners can use to get more details about the plantings.
- The city offers a full range of services from pruning to removal of dead or diseased trees that are on city property. Homeowners are not responsible for the trees, nor will they incur any cost.
- The tree commission is striving to engage the community, and they will pay a stipend to some community members to come up with creative tree-related activities, campaigns or projects that celebrate trees in the neighborhood.
- The tree commission will also use some of the grant money to provide tree care tools for people to borrow to help maintain the trees in their yards.
- Akron has been actively planting trees since 1920 to provide shade, help air quality and reduce storm water runoff.
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Map of Akron tree canopy available online
- A smart tree inventory map will be available on the web in the coming months, and a TreeKeeper Canopy map is available now for those interested in finding out more about trees in Akron.
- If residents have a dead tree in the right-of-way, they can use the 311 app or call 330-375-2311 to report the problem.
- The city is also planting food forests in city parks. Food forests are areas where different types of edible and fruit-bearing plants and trees are planted. Akron has planted several of these, including one in October in Patterson Park.
- Akron residents who wish to have a fruit-bearing tree planted on their property can contact the tree commission, which uses Project ACORN, the Akron Community-Owned Reforestation Network, to provide and plant the tree free of charge.
A closer look at East Akron
What laws affect families and children?
Lisa Dean, an attorney who specializes in family law, gave the next presentation. Dean is currently traveling around the state presenting educational information about families and describing resources for communities for the legal protection of children and families.
Key points Dean shared include:
- Ten different types of families are defined by: the sexual orientation of the parents; whether they are married or not; whether they are remarried and combining families. Other types include: single parents; adoptive parents; families without children; extended families, including multi-generational households.
- Even though the divorce rate has dropped, Carey said the U.S. has the highest rate of children living in single-parent households.
- “As of 2021-2024 data, over 2.4 million children are being raised by grandparents or other relatives in the U.S,” Dean said. These grandfamilies are often the result of substance abuse, incarceration or death.
- “LGBTQ parents have similar rates of divorce, separation or widowed as straight cisgender women, with both groups having a higher rate than straight cisgender men,” she said.
Family arrangements can vary widely
- “Majorities of Americans find a variety of family arrangements acceptable, but the degree of acceptance varies,” Dean said. A husband and wife raising children together is the most accepted family structure, while a gay or lesbian couple raising children together without being married is the least accepted.
- It is important to ask, who does the child consider family? The courts take into consideration financial support, emotional support, health and welfare, moral guidance and spiritual guidance when deciding custody.
- Dean said that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.3 million children, 1 in 4, live without a biological, step or adoptive father in the home. This creates a situation where the children have a higher chance of being incarcerated, committing a crime, dropping out of high school and being obese. They are also more likely to be living in poverty, become pregnant as a teen, have behavioral problems, face abuse and neglect and turn to drugs to cope with these issues.
- Grandparents can get “Grandparent Guardianship,” which gives them temporary authority to take care of their grandchild. All rights are built around a family being intact in grandparent guardianship.
Ward 5 resident feedback sought for survey
Holly Calhoun from the EANDC spoke next about a couple of programs and a survey.
- They are conducting a community impact survey targeting residents in Ward 5. The survey helps collect data they use for grants. Participants can receive a $10 gift card.
- The EANDC has teamed up with Ohio Edison and American Electric Power on a free electric partnership program. The free program is intended to help residents who meet certain financial and citizenship requirements lower the electricity used in their homes by providing energy-efficient measures and education.
- Specifically, the program offers:
- Free LED lightbulbs.
- Free, brand-new refrigerators and/or freezers.
- Free, in-home energy audits.
- Free consumer education.
At-large City Council member explains her role
- Linda Omobien spoke next and explained that an at-large council member does not represent any particular ward, but, rather, the city as a whole.
- Omobien related some personal stories and then gave her observations about Akron and the demographics of each ward:
- The 1960 census reported Akron’s population at 290,000 residents.
- The 2020 census reported Akron’s population at about 190,000 residents.
- The job of the City Council is to look at the census numbers and use that demographic information to assign wards areas that have about 19,000 people in them.
Omobien breaks down each of Akron’s 10 wards for audience
- Omobien then described each ward (see the Akron ward map here) and its demographics to show how an at-large council member like herself has to understand all of the city’s residents and neighborhoods:
- Ward 1 – Predominantly white with Black and Asian residents
- Ward 2 – Extremely diverse with large Asian population
- Ward 3 – Strongest Black majority ward in Akron with significant housing needs.
- Ward 4 – Strong Black population with varied housing conditions.
- Ward 5 – Highly diverse and strong Black ward with mixed-income neighborhoods. Significant Asian and Hispanic populations as well.
- Ward 6 – The most heavily white ward in the city with strongest household economic positions in the city. A stable ward. A lot of older residents who are aging in place.
- Ward 7 – Moderately diverse, substantial Black population
- Ward 8 – Predominantly white with meaningful racial diversity. Highest voting ward and most affluent ward. Established residential neighborhoods.
- Ward 9 – Kenmore area — predominantly white but racially mixed with various income levels.
- Ward 10 – Moderately diverse, with a substantial Black population.
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Housing is a critical need, Omobien says
- Omobien said housing is one of the critical needs in the community.
- There are currently 532 units of housing being addressed by the city. This is new housing, rehabilitating facilities and just people who are staying in their own homes with assistance from the city.
- The city has a multitude of programs to help residents. Omobien gave the example of the lead-based paint program.
- Omobien asked how many people have the 311 app on their phone and then urged everyone to use the app or call 311 for any problems they may run into.
- Safety is the number one concern of the city.
- A member of the audience expressed concern over too many drive-thrus in the ward. Omobien said that when there are businesses being planned for in the community, residents can voice concerns to the commission that’s responsible for approving it.
- She also said that when residents hear of something coming into their community that they don’t want, they can start a petition and bring it down to council with their neighbors to show how many people are against it.
- Omobien said to call 330-375-2256, which is the City Council Clerk’s office, to ask when something you are concerned about will be on the agenda.
- The city has expanded one of its partnerships with $500,000 for after-school programming for children.
Resident concerned about lack of community center in Ward 5
- An audience member said they were concerned about Ward 5 lacking a community center in the area from Arlington to Brown and Lovers Lane and Johnson Street with indoor areas for children.
- She also said that getting to Joy Park requires crossing a major street. Omobien acknowledged her concern and said that with the recent agreement with Waste Management, Joy Park is going to create some type of commission or committee that will be responsible for planning and thinking about the $40,000 they will receive annually. So she asked everyone to think about those dollars coming into Ward 5 and how to spend them.
The meeting was then adjourned at 7:57 p.m.
