Note to readers

The following item is a written record of the Akron City Council Ward 1 meeting from March 4, compiled by Akron Documenter Michelle DeShon. 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 

  • Ward 1 City Council Member Fran Wilson hosted a candid discussion with Akron Mayor Shammas Malik at their March community meeting, including a talk about Akron police use-of-force policy.
  • Wilson randomly selected questions from a bucket for the mayor to answer, leading to a conversation about policing, helping unhoused neighbors in Akron, AI data centers and other topics.
  • Wilson and Malik presented council with a resolution to oppose forced cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Akron, sharing an image of the Signal article.

Documenter follow-up questions

  • Have foreign-owned AI centers come into Akron? What does it mean for an AI center to be sanctioned by the Department of Justice?
  • What are some examples of actions that might come out of forming the Special Improvement District?

Akron mayor discusses police use-of-force policy

  • Wilson asked what residents might see in the next three to six months regarding the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) use-of-force study that is being completed.

    Malik said that a change is needed in Akron after a series of killings by police officers. Past PERF studies have resulted in actions such as the use of body cameras by the department, department restructuring and additional training for officers, he said.
  • “We’re talking about lives that have been lost. We’re talking about families that have been impacted, whether something is ruled a crime, whether something is ruled justified or not justified,” Malik said regarding recent cases of officer-involved killings.
  • He continued by saying that the law leaves a lot open to the judgment of the officer and the department reviews cases with officers and evaluates alternate ways instances could have been handled.  
  • Malik said the study will be completed in the next month or so and will provide recommendations to the administration and timeframes for those actions. He said the city will implement everything in the report, which will be available to the public on an online dashboard.
  • Wilson asked if anything will not make the final report between when city officials review it and a plan is created. Malik said he will share anything in the report that does not make it into the final plan.
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Akron mayor addresses housing, Columbus lobbyist 

  • Next, Wilson introduced Malik and asked a few questions before the audience’s questions. Wilson asked how things had changed since Malik served on council.
  • To summarize, Malik said council members are now paid $45,000 and receive benefits, and they tend to be more accessible to residents than in other administrations.
  • The City of Akron has a lobbyist in Columbus who advocates for funding and improvement projects in Akron, like $5 million in the last capital budget for Cascade Plaza, Malik said.
  • In discussing housing issues, Malik said Unify Akron will be doing some shared work around housing, and he will be presenting council with some code changes for housing in the spring. Unify Akron listening sessions will take place during the summer months, and the city and council will hopefully make legislative changes as a result.

Akron 2026 capital budget gets less federal funding 

  • Next, Malik and Wilson discussed the city’s capital budget, which included a decreased portion of federal funding to help homeless people in Akron. Malik said the city has historically only used federal dollars to help the unhoused community but now that is insufficient. Malik said the budget he presented to council a few days prior included another $250,000 to help the unhoused. Here are a few actions that he mentioned to help the unhoused:
    • Invest in existing shelter capacity.
    • Help churches and other organizations that want to start a shelter.
    • Long term: Invest in more transitional housing.
  • Wilson asked what the city is doing to help the local economy. Malik said many people living in poverty haven’t recovered from the 2008 recession and now inflation and other circumstances have impacted people.

Malik: Polymers can help rebuild Akron’s economy 

  • Malik said Akron’s history of being at the top in the rubber industry is why the administration is focused on sustainable polymers to rebuild the economy. Akron received $100 million in government funding and is a finalist to receive a $160 million grant for the polymer industry (he didn’t mention specifically how funding would be used).
  • “We have to have economic opportunity for people,” Malik said. 
  • Malik said there are more renters in Akron than homeowners. To help renters, the city is allocating $750,000 over three years (the program started in fall of 2025) to provide legal services for renters facing eviction.
Signal background

Universal pre-K will help Akron families, mayor says

  • Next, Malik said Akron is the last major city in Ohio without a universal pre-kindergarten initiative. This is an education issue and a workforce issue, Malik said. He cited a program that has had 70 staff turnovers in the last six months. The city is contributing $250,000 over two years, which has grown to more than $1 million in support from others, he said.

Q&A with Mayor Malik and residents

  • One person asked if any Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers are planned around Ward 1. (Editor’s note: Signal Akron’s Melanie Mohler recently looked at data centers in Summit County.) 
    • Malik said there is a Bitcoin mining center in the Goodyear Heights area “that is owned by a Chinese company and sanctioned by the Department of Justice,” but the city doesn’t know much about the company.
    • Malik expressed concern about data centers getting tax or financial incentives from the state, when there’s a lack of funding for education and pre-K.
    • He said the administration isn’t actively using AI in many cases, but has started using AI to field non-emergency calls. Malik said he considers himself an AI skeptic.
  • Next, an attendee asked why Malik’s budgets support reactive safety policies instead of proactive ones.
    • Malik said this is not true and said the city is committed to holding people who are perpetrating violence accountable, especially repeat offenders. He said the city partners with other teams to access an intelligence center that allows them to link evidence like bullet casings to other crimes.
    • Malik said the city is piloting a street team program where people who have committed violent crimes and served their time partner with law enforcement to intervene with people, especially young people, who are at risk of being involved in a crime.
    • “We’re talking about probably … a couple hundred people most at risk (of being involved in violent crimes and gun violence). We can do this. We can wrap our hands around this community and do this,” Malik said.

Malik: No city plans for curbside glass recycling

  • Another attendee asked if there is a plan to bring curbside glass recycling to Akron.
    • Malik said he is open to hearing how to make it work, but the city doesn’t have plans to do this.
  • Finally, somebody asked if anybody in city administration or law enforcement knows how many hate groups have chapters in Akron and what, if anything, is being done about that.
    • Malik said he doesn’t have a good response, but that we live in a world where there are acts of hatred, bigotry, terrorism and violence. He said one example was talking with various congregations about ICE activity and they’re also concerned about others showing up near ICE activity and perpetrating violence or using weapons.

Ward 1 notes 

  • Ward 1 City Council Member Fran Wilson shared some news and updates around Ward 1. They said that they and Malik presented council with a resolution to oppose forced cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Akron, sharing an image of the Signal article about the legislation.
  • Ward 1 residents and guests gathered at Balch Street Community Center Theatre to listen to Malik discuss a range of issues — police reform, violent crime, ICE activity, the unhoused community and more.
  • The meeting started at 6:08 p.m. as guests trickled into the community center theater. There were about 50 to 60 people in attendance. There were several large banners around the room with information about Ward 1, the role of City Council, etc.
  • When they asked if anyone was attending a ward meeting for the first time, several guests raised their hands.
  • Wilson opened the floor to attendees to share their community events. Here are a few that were mentioned:
  • Wilson said property owners in the district will pay into a collective fund for improvement projects such as safety patrols. Next steps for the district are to meet to create a budget and projects.

Wrap up and up next

  • The meeting ended around 7:28 p.m. Guests continued to talk with one another, Wilson and Malik after the meeting. 
  • The next Ward 1 meeting will be on April 1 at Balch Street Community Center Theatre from 6 to 7:30 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.