Sidewalks, road paving, parks, and tiny homes are some of the projects to be funded by capital budget
While the 2024 capital budget drew the most attention this week with a nearly $366 million price tag, several ordinances affecting Akron businesses were noted by Documenters Amore Hill and James Yu at Akron’s Feb. 12 City Council meetings.
Mayor Shammas Malik called the first budget of his new administration a “new investment in our water and sewer infrastructure, parks and green spaces, public safety institutions, service equipment, housing and neighborhoods and more,” according to WKYC-TV.
For a summary of the budget, read their report here. Or if you want to really dig into it, here’s the full 24-page budget.
Several items set to receive funding in the budget include:
- $9.5 million for the city’s resurfacing program. This includes paving 70 miles of roadway.
- $375,000 for the body-worn camera program, including 37 new cameras for the SWAT unit and Street Narcotics Uniform Detail.
- $500,000 for traffic-calming devices such as speed tables and electronic signs that show how fast a driver is going.
- $300,000 for Akron community centers to help with emergency repairs.
- $450,000 for various park projects, including a new splash pad at Elizabeth Park in Cascade Valley.
- $150,000 to study how tiny home construction can benefit unhoused community members.
- $75,000 to support a shower bus initiative sponsored by Akron-based non-profit Forever R Children in an effort to support homeless people.
Council approves laundromat and charter school relocation; extends time to consider multiple other business petitions
Council members voted unanimously to approve two ordinances that have been winding their way through council the past several weeks. They are:
- A laundromat at 147 N. Arlington St. in Middlebury. At recent public hearings, residents commented on the need for laundry facilities in the neighborhood. “We’re very excited about this laundromat coming into that area,” Ward 10 Council Member Sharon Connor said. “There are a lot of homes that, unfortunately, don’t have washers and dryers, so it will be a great asset for the neighborhood.”
- A charter school relocation in Cascade Valley. Towpath High School, run by Oakmont Education, will relocate a half mile from its current location to 375. W. North St. The school will refurbish an existing building at the intersection of West Market and West North streets, across from Akron Public Schools’ I Promise School.
Multiple other business petitions remain in process, with several scheduled for public hearings at a special council meeting Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. in council chambers. They include:
- East Akron: A gas station addition at 745 E. Archwood Ave.
- West Akron: A car sales lot at 1410 Vernon Odom Blvd.
- Kenmore: A four-unit apartment in a Single-Family Residence Use District at 197116th Street SW.
- Chapel Hill: A baseball and softball training facility at 1277 Home Ave.
More than a dozen other pieces of legislation continue to work through committee. These include establishment of a medical marijuana dispensary, a home daycare, a kennel and a rooming house.
Council, mayor oppose South Akron bar liquor license
Council unanimously approved a resolution “opposing and objecting to” a liquor license application for Absolut Lounge at 436 E. South St. in South Akron. The license is pending with the state Division of Liquor Control.
“The area that this particular bar is trying to open up has been plagued with violence and shootings,” Ward 5 Council Member Johnnie Hannah said. “The neighborhood has been terrorized with outsiders coming into these bars.”
After the vote, Council Member Linda F.R. Omobien said that the city has little authority over the licensing process. “That is why we go to the state, and they rarely listen to us,” she said, noting that the state has taken authority away from local governments in cases like this.
Hannah acknowledged the city can only go so far but said that they fought three years ago to shut down this bar. “If the neighborhood and residents … stick together, things would happen.”
Council Member Jeff Fusco added that, while the city’s “batting average” is low, there are “creative” options for trying to close an establishment. He said that public hearings are one method to hear these complaints, but there are other options as well.
Malik said his administration will follow up as the city goes forward with the process at the state level. “There are tools in the toolbox that we can look at as well,” he said.
