Note to readers:
The following item is a written record of the Ward 9 meeting from April 7, 2026, compiled by Akron Documenter Jessica Rice. 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:
- River Guardians Ohio talked about how the community can help with keeping Summit Lake free of trash and how the booms they set up along waterways work to collect trash.
- Judge Joy Malek Oldfield spoke about an upcoming event at the Summit County Courthouse that will help residents by providing free legal aid.
- Keep Akron Beautiful discussed an upcoming event in Ward 9 to plant trees and pick up trash.
- The proper way to recycle and discard trash was reviewed and a flyer with a list of rules was provided.
Documenter’s follow-up questions:
- The water main on Kenmore Boulevard keeps breaking, requiring repairs. When will the city do a full replacement?
NOTES:
The meeting was held at the Kenmore Community Center on Kenmore Boulevard and began at 6:31 p.m. It lasted approximately 70 minutes and featured various speakers who gave presentations. There was a microphone setup and the meeting was recorded. All speakers stood at the front of the room for their presentations. There was no printed agenda, and 31 people were in attendance.
Miller South, Pfeiffer building update
Ward 9 Akron City Council Member Tina Boyes opened the meeting by thanking everyone for their help with the Easter festivities. She then discussed the progress with the building of the new Miller South and Pfeiffer Elementary schools at the old Kenmore High School site and the groundbreaking that took place on March 19. She expressed gratitude to everyone who helped ensure that $18 million is available for the project. More information on the building project can be found online.
Water main continues to be a problem
A water main break occured the week of March 30 on Kenmore Boulevard. This has happened three times, and the city is aware that the line is in bad shape. Boyes said she spoke with the deputy service director about the issues and that they need legislation to allocate money for the repair. For now, repairs have been made, and the road is now open.
Several spring cleanup events planned
Better Kenmore Community Development Corp. did a spring cleanup on March 28 and gave the trash that was picked up to Tansy Recycling. Boyes encouraged everyone to visit and pick up something that has been made from recycled materials.
On April 25 at 8:30 a.m. there will be a Ward 9 Cleanup and Tree Planting event at Prentiss Park. They are looking for volunteers to help.
On May 30, there will be a Summit Lake Cleanup. More information about that can be found online.
River Guardians collected 10K pounds of trash in 2025
Boyes then introduced James Carnahan with River Guardians Ohio. The organization has about 20 booms in locations across three wards in the city. They collected more than 10,000 pounds of trash last year. Carnahan described the booms as large pieces of PVC piping filled with empty water bottles that collect trash floating in the waterways.
He said they have not created a volunteer program yet, but he encouraged everyone to keep the community clean of trash, especially the storm sewers, because anything that goes into the storm sewers ends up in our waterways.
🗓️ New events calendar! From block parties to concerts and kids’ activities, find fun around Akron and Summit County all year long. Dive into the calendar and start planning.
Recycling and trash collection rules reviewed
Boyes then spoke about trash collection and recycling and described the city’s rules. She also talked about a new application for 311 that she wants the community to use. More information can be found online.
Summit County Pro Bono Collaborative Clinic offers free help
Judge Joy Malek Oldfield discussed a pro bono legal aid clinic taking place at the Summit County Courthouse on May 1 at 9 a.m. (She said there will be people there to help with legal issues and hopes to have other organizations at the event. She did not have a list of those organizations available at this meeting, but more information, including how to apply for the clinic online, can be found here. She encouraged everyone to register for the event — the clinics are typically held once a month. For more information on other clinics held by Community Legal Aid, go here.
Keep Akron Beautiful plans Ward 9 cleanup
Emma Segedy from Keep Akron Beautiful described the focus of the organization and encouraged people to plant trees and greenery on their properties. She also talked about the Ward 9 Clean Up on April 25 at 8:30 a.m. and asked that people register at https://www.keepakronbeautiful.org/volunteer/.
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Cowbell 7K Run Club
Nick Korora discussed the Cowbell 7K Run on June 6 — he talked about how fun the activity is and encouraged everyone to participate.
Boyes finished the meeting with a few more announcements about the ribbon cutting ceremony at Summit Lake at 1 p.m. on May 16 for the North Shore Project. More information about the project can be found online.
The Kenmore Historical Society will be at the Kenmore Branch Library on the last Monday of every month at 6 p.m. More information on activities at the library can be found online.
She also said everyone should double check where their polling location is for voting and that if they have any police-related issues, speak with Officer Jeff Smith, who was in attendance. There will be no meeting next month because of Election Day.
The meeting ended at 7:42 p.m.
Notes to reader: 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.
