Note to readers:

The following item is a written record of the Ward 8 meeting from July 15 compiled by Akron Documenter Melanie Mohler. 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 of the July 15 Ward 8 meeting

  • Several businesses are opening a new location or moving into Ward 8, including South Point Tavern in the Northwest Akron neighborhood, Time Traveler Records and George’s Lounge in Merriman Valley.  
  • David Loar, one of the 65 delegates of the Unify Akron civic assembly on housing and a Ward 8 resident, spoke about the process and experience of being part of the civic assembly. He also spoke about the nine proposals the civic assembly approved and current legislation and policy proposals that are addressing these proposals, including a down payment assistance program offered by the city and decreasing the minimum lot size needed to build a house.
  • Klutch Cannabis has submitted a request for a pole sign at its new location at 1960 W. Market St. This is the third time the business has requested conditional-use permits; the first two were contested by Ward 8 residents. (Editor’s note: After setting the request aside for a week, Akron City Council passed the request for the pole sign.)

Documenter’s follow-up questions

  • What is the process for council members to submit items for consideration for the city’s operating/capital budget?

New businesses opening in Northwest Akron, Ward 8

  • Bolden mentioned some new businesses coming into Ward 8. South Point Tavern will be opening a new location at 32 Sand Run Road, the location of the former Pavona’s Pizza Joint, which burned down in a 2022 arson fire started by the owner. South Point has another location at 3333 Massillon Road in Green.
  • The bar specializes in whiskey and cocktails, but also serves wine and beer. Patrons are invited to bring in their own food. The listed hours are from 5-11 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
  • Time Traveler Records, currently located in Ward 1, will be moving to 1375 Merriman Road, unit D. 
  • George’s Lounge, a neighborhood bar currently operating in Canton, will be purchasing the former Empire Lounge.
  • Bolden mentioned city council’s recent resolution to oppose the renewal of Highland Tavern’s liquor license. He said the bar is in Ward 1’s Highland Square neighborhood, but still affects Ward 8 residents. He voted for the resolution because he believes a ward council person knows their ward best — Ward 1 Council Member Fran Wilson also voted for the resolution.
Akron firefighters battle a blaze at Pavona's Pizza Joint in Northwest Akron in Oct. 7, 2022. A co-owner of the restaurant pled guilty to arson. South Point Tavern, a whiskey bar, is planning to open at the site of the former pizza place at 32 Sand Run Road.
Akron firefighters battle a blaze at Pavona’s Pizza Joint in Northwest Akron in Oct. 7, 2022. A co-owner of the restaurant pleaded guilty to arson. South Point Tavern, a whiskey bar, is planning to open at the site of the former pizza place at 32 Sand Run Road. (Image courtesy of WKYC)

National Night Out event slated for Aug. 4

  • Akron Police Department Community Engagement team member Officer Aaron Brown presented the citywide and Ward 8 crime statistics for June, which were made available as handouts and online.
  • Brown said the National Night Out event is Aug. 4 this year. Officials scheduled the Ward 8 event at the Northwest Family Recreation Center.
  • The police academy currently has about 30 cadets who will finish their training at the end of August.
  • On July 4, there was an armed robbery at the Circle K at 1985 West Market St. Police have an image of the subject and are still trying to identify the suspect.
  • A resident who lives on Frank Boulevard said she has noticed a lot of speeding on her road and asked whom she should contact about this. Bolden can take a traffic calming request, he said. Brown said he can let his traffic commander know so that speed radar trailers could potentially be placed there.
  • Bolden said speeding is the biggest problem ward council members deal with, and Ward 8 especially because the ward has few sidewalks.
  • Omobien asked about calls to the police about vicious dogs. Brown said he was not aware of any recent calls in Ward 8, but he does not really handle those.
  • Brown said car break-ins have not been as prevalent in Ward 8 recently as compared to earlier in the summer, but other parts of the city are continuing to experience an uptick. Anyone can send Ring camera footage of suspicious activity to the police.
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Housing Civic Assembly delegate shares experience

  • David Loar, who was a delegate for Unify Akron’s housing civic assembly and is a Ward 8 resident, spoke about his experience in the civic assembly and the nine approved proposals.
  • He gave a brief history of the program and the selection process. 
  • Loar spoke highly of the experience and said he learned a lot about housing and the 64 other delegates. He said he gained respect from public servants and Akronites through the process.
  • Loar briefly explained the nine proposals the civic assembly approved.
  • Loar, Bolden, and Omobien all talked about the policies currently being worked on in the planning commission and City Council. Some examples include a down payment assistance program offered by the city and decreasing the minimum lot size needed to build a home.
  • A few residents mentioned the problem of out-of-state buyers and businesses purchasing homes in Akron, which makes it difficult for local people to purchase homes. Loar said the civic assembly reviewed a proposal to restrict out-of-state people or businesses, but it did not pass by the two-thirds vote needed. 
  • Loar said another civic assembly should be starting in the fall or winter. He was not sure which topic the civic assembly would tackle, but he encouraged everyone to apply to be part of the lottery system to become a delegate.
Signal background

Klutch Cannabis signage debated

  • Bolden said Klutch Cannabis came to City Council a third time on Monday for approval of a pole sign for its contested dispensary opening at 1960 W. Market St. (The most recent time was in December to change from building a new structure on the corner parking lot and instead moving into the existing building at 1960 W. Market St.)
  • Bolden said he asked Pete Nischt from Klutch Cannabis why the store would need signage, since he had initially said 80 percent of the store’s sales would be online orders. He said Nischt had changed the number to 55 percent of sales would come from online. Bolden said he is not happy the company has come to the planning commission and City Council three times now and have changed their requests.
  • He said Klutch pointed out that every other business nearby has a pole sign.

(Editor’s note: City Council approved the request for the pole sign on July 27.)

A closer look at Northwest Akron

White Pond development project, teen programming and data centers discussed

  • Bolden gave an update on another contested project, the White Pond retail and apartment development project in Wallhaven. He said it is in the second phase of building, and some of the apartments will be available to lease within the next month or so.
  • An attendee mentioned the topic of teen programming, which Bolden included in his newsletter. He came late and asked if any ideas were shared earlier in the meeting. Bolden said he has an idea, has brought it up to the mayor and is hoping to get funding for it. He said he would speak to the attendee after the meeting.
  • Another attendee mentioned Akron Public Schools and a few other organizations will offer a survey soon to gather feedback on what can be done for programming, etc.
  • Bolden said he will have a ward meeting next month, despite council being on recess. The meeting will be Aug. 19 and will talk about Hardesty Park and some judges will also speak. Hardesty Park may be possibly expanding with a public/private partnership.

The meeting ended at 7:37 p.m. 

Akron Documenters trains and pays residents to document local government meetings with notes and live-tweet threads. We then make those meeting summaries available as a new public record.