Firestone Park residents want to save iconic and historic clock tower

Clock tower demolition among top concerns during Coffee with a Councilman

Prior to the Ward 7 meetings, City Council Member Donnie Kammer holds a quarterly “Coffee with the Councilman” informal meeting. Kammer explained that the purpose of these informal meetings is to hear residents’ concerns. 

Residents voiced their concerns about several issues during the informal meeting:

• Some residents said that it was not fair that city employees who are responsible for leaf pickup allegedly show preferential treatment for some people. Kammer recommended contacting the city and taking a picture or a video. 
• Residents were very concerned about the city’s plans to demolish Firestone Plant #1, especially the clock tower. Several people argued that the clock tower and building are part of the town’s culture and history, and that since other landmarks have been preserved, including the Goodyear clock tower, the Firestone tower should be preserved as well. One resident said, “We have known for years that this is a Goodyear town.”

Sidewalk closure upsets some residents

• Residents seemed to be upset about the closure of the sidewalk in front of 1431 S. Main St. Kammer explained that the closure was due to a safety concern about the structural integrity of the building. He also said that plans to demolish the building are held up in court because the owner had filed an appeal. Several residents wanted to know how long it would take, and Kammer said that he emailed the city’s legal department on Jan. 20. The response was that the matter was still in court. It was later clarified that Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Alison Breaux will decide the case. (Editor’s note: the building at 143 S. Main St. burned down on Feb. 3 — read more about it here.)
• There were discussions about businesses leaving the area, with some residents recalling bakeries and pizza shops that now have vacant storefronts. Kammer said he had a few conversations with business owners about opening in the neighborhood. He told a story about speaking with someone who wanted to open a car wash in the area. Kammer told the potential business owner to ask residents what they thought about it, because if the community did not support the idea, Kammer would also not be able to support it. He never heard back.

The January Ward 7 meeting began at 5:57 p.m. For more information on Ward 7, please click here. More information about Kammer is available here. 

Residents share concerns about Firestone clock tower

Summit County Council Member Jeff Wilhite spoke at the meeting about the city’s plans to demolish Firestone Plant #1. 

• He explained that a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Mayor Shammas Malik for the City of Akron and the State Historic Preservation Office specifically detailed that the clock tower needed to be saved. In addition, funds from the Ohio Department of Development to reimburse demolition costs will not be awarded unless a new memorandum is reached or the original terms are met.
• Wilhite said that he believes the site should be saved because it is part of the history and culture of the City of Akron. “Don’t erase our history. Don’t erase something unique,” he said.
• Wilhite also said that he has heard arguments that the clock tower will collapse if the building sections on either side are demolished, but said that doesn’t make sense to him.
• Wilhite encouraged everyone to speak up and let the city know the site is important to them.

Public meetings scheduled to hear concerns

• The city is holding four meetings to inform residents about the challenges of preserving the building and tower, including the costs of renovation. The meetings will be on Feb. 4, Feb. 5, Feb. 10 and Feb. 12. Kammer mentioned that the Feb. 12 meeting will be attended by architects who will talk about the structural issues and costs involved if the building is not demolished. 
• The city is still considering options, especially since it is now still negotiating with the State Historic Preservation Office. The city press release on the subject can be found here.
• This topic was previously addressed in the informal meeting that took place just before the Ward 7 meeting. Kammer stated multiple times that he believed council was misled about the situation with the demolition of Firestone Plant #1.

Following discussion about the Firestone plant and clock tower, Kammer provided a brief overview of his plans for the next several meetings. Steve Elliott from probate court, John Galonski, who is running for judge, and APS Superintendent Mary Outley will come to speak. Kammer also said that “Coffee with the Councilman” will be held monthly this year and will include two city employees each time.

Members of the public spoke on various issues

Kammer invited four individuals to speak at the meeting:

Nonprofit aims to help neighbors

1. Preston Cunningham — he and his wife are administrators for the Firestone Presbyterian Church building and own a day care center there. They are also starting a nonprofit called Fun Network (Firestone United Networking), which is committed to providing a place for the community to come together. Some planned projects include: 

• Music therapy
• Providing discounted items for Firestone Park residents
• Working on getting a therapist for children who may need those services
• Updating the outside signage and providing flyers for new events
• The daycare is a STEM center

Firestone Branch Library improvements

2. Sylvia Chris: manager of Firestone Park Branch Library. She said she began her career as a librarian and loved the Firestone Branch and the neighborhood so much that she moved there. She said that since she took the job of branch manager, the following improvements have been made:

• Incident reports have decreased by 30%, after the Firestone Branch previously had more incident reports (up to six per day) than any other library branch in the area.
• Firestone Branch is now a tax center — residents can call for appointments to get their tax returns filed.
• Summit County Job and Family Services comes to the library once a month to help people applying for benefits.
• There are plans to renovate Akron Public libraries, but Firestone Branch will be one of the last ones to be renovated. Chris is looking into whether there is a way to incorporate a mural of the Firestone Plant #1 clock tower in the library when the renovation happens.
• She encouraged residents to let her know if they see any inappropriate behavior in or around the library.

Upcoming events at Firestone Community Center

3. Penny Bomba: Supervisor at the Firestone Community Center since January 2016. 

Bomba  discussed the following upcoming events:

• Akron Parks Challenge: Meetings will be held for the entire community to workshop how the process will happen.
• Several programs at the community center, including Tiny Tots, are continuing, but the center is seeking additional individuals to help run them.
• Breakfast with the Bunny
• Maple Fest will be on March 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Summer camps
• For additional information, visit the Firestone Community Center page here.

Bomba also discussed how the addition of the splash pad has increased the number of visitors since it was added two summers ago.

More discussion about Firestone plant and clock tower

4. Suzie Graham Moore: Akron’s Director of Economic Development. The discussion focused on the demolition of the Firestone plant and clock tower and how the city’s history can be preserved while creating a thriving community for Firestone Park residents. 

• The building is a challenge because there are over a million square feet, and while the building was built to suit the needs of industrial businesses at the time, modern buildings for industrial use are now built differently.
• Other historic buildings in Akron were converted to residential use, but there are two deed restrictions preventing this at the Firestone Plant. The first is that the building cannot be used for residential purposes, schools or daycares due to concerns about chemicals. The second specifies that the building can only be used for business or industrial purposes.
• There are high costs related to maintaining the building.
• Preserving history is important, but so is using available space to build things such as parks that will benefit the neighborhood as a whole.

Kammer concluded the meeting by thanking everyone who had helped during the tree-lighting festival. He also thanked four residents for their assistance in helping him decorate the stadium for the holidays in recognition of the city’s bicentennial celebrations last year, and he gave them proclamations of thanks and gratitude. Kammer also mentioned a fundraiser that will be held March 3 at the Waterloo Restaurant from 5 to 7 p.m. for Kammer’s reelection campaign.

The meeting ended at 7:18 p.m.