Overview:
Sept. 29 Ward 4 meeting covered by Documenters Jessica Rice and Etta Thompson. See the notes here.
Aiesha Motley has spent a year calling the city and FirstEnergy about the streetlights that are out on Greenwood Avenue in West Akron, where she lives. She and a neighbor from Sunset View Drive came to the Sept. 29 Ward 4 meeting with one question: When will the lights come back on?
Amy Hopkins, a local engagement specialist at FirstEnergy, spent most of the meeting at St. Sebastian Catholic Church answering questions about outages, tree trimming and streetlights.
When will Greenwood Avenue’s streetlights be fixed?
“What has happened is we’ve had some utility come in and cut into our streetlight lines,” Hopkins said. “It takes a second to actually find where the fault is, determine how much has to be replaced. I have my engineering department designing specifically Greenwood.”
FirstEnergy subsidiary Ohio Edison owns and maintains about 24,000 of the streetlights in Akron. The city owns an additional 2,000, mostly in the Great Streets neighborhoods.
Faults are a disruption in the flow of electricity to the electric lines feeding the streetlights. They can be caused by physical cuts from construction equipment, tree roots, aging infrastructure, stripped copper wires and squirrels, among other factors.
She said repairs should be done “by the first of the year, if not sooner. And I know that’s not the best answer that we want to hear, but it is the truth.”
Motley called the streetlight outages a safety issue. “We can’t see the children when they’re out playing,” she said, adding that her car had been vandalized. “It’s just not OK for us to not have streetlights.”
Why is one area losing power so often?
A resident from South Rose Boulevard said during the meeting that her block had six power outages in seven months, from March through September. Crews were responsive, she said, but they told her the equipment was aging and pointed to trees that had not been trimmed in years.
Hopkins said the substation and circuit serving the block were rebuilt in a 2021 upgrade, and that the recurring cause is trees off the utility right of way rather than equipment failure.
“We cut and trim trees that are in our utility right of way, every four years,” Hopkins said. She offered to pull a reliability report for each address so residents could see what caused their outages.
Residents pushed back. One said private tree services refuse to work near live lines and that FirstEnergy had told her a trim was years away.
Hopkins said residents can request a disconnect-reconnect so a private trimmer can work safely. At-large Akron City Council Member Mark Greer offered to follow up on behalf of the city for trees on vacant lots or other city property.
Is there a priority order for the repair work?
No. Hopkins said she would ask her line and engineering departments to rank Greenwood, Sunset View and Morley.
“I don’t know how to do that when everyone is important, every street, and I understand that,” she said. “We’re not moving at the pace that I am happy with and nor is the company, but we are moving in the right direction.”
Motley replied: “It’s been over a year” since her streetlights on Greenwood worked.
Is there a temporary solution for the streetlights that are out?
Unlikely. Hopkins said stringing overhead fixtures would not be possible on most poles. She said she would ask about alternatives.
What about rising electric costs?
A resident told the meeting her monthly electric bill jumped from about $130 to $250. Akron Utility Coordinator Joe Kunzler pointed residents to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which publishes Apples to Apples charts comparing supplier rates for Ohio Edison customers. He noted there is no penalty for leaving a contract and that customers fall back to the standard rate if a supplier fails.
How can I report an Akron streetlight outage?
Greer asked anyone with a dark street to sign a sheet for Ward 4 Council Member Jan Davis to escalate to the city. Kunzler said he marks poles with pink ribbon and passes the pole numbers to Ohio Edison. Residents can also file an informal complaint with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
Davis said she would give FirstEnergy time to respond before taking it to the city’s Public Service, Public Utilities, & Green committee.
Other ways to report a streetlight outage:
- Call the City of Akron’s 311 line by dialing 311 or calling 330-375-2311 Monday through Friday. Or, report the outage using the 311 online submission form at AkronOhio.gov/311
- Submit a request online via Akron CitySourced or through the mobile app.
- Call FirstEnergy / Ohio Edison, the utility provider for streetlights, at 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) and say “streetlight” after the automated greeting.
- Text “OUT” to 544487 (LIGHTS) if your mobile phone is the number associated with your FirstEnergy account.
- Go to the FirstEnergy website.
- Call Akron’s Kunzler at 330-212-2593, which is his preference for the reports.
What do I need to have ready when I report my streetlight issues?
- Description of the problem (e.g., light is completely off at night, stays on during the day, flickering or damaged pole/fixture).
- Your name and phone number.
- Exact address or location of the streetlight that’s out (nearest house number, business address or cross street).
- Utility pole number (usually stamped or tagged on the pole).
More from the Ward 4 meeting: money for small businesses and nonprofits
Greer, who leads development and engagement at the Development Finance Authority, said the agency lends to businesses that traditional banks turn down. Loans run from $10,000 to $500,000. The agency also offers one-on-one financial management coaching.
A resident asked whether nonprofits qualify. “Nonprofits as well, yeah,” Greer said, adding that a nonprofit needs to have been established for two years. He said much of the funding comes from the federal Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. According to its website, the fund is intended to make sure “all people and communities have access to the investment capital and financial services they need to prosper.” Their lending is tied to the Community Reinvestment Act through the Federal Reserve.
Trash burning is not legal in Akron
A resident asked whether burning trash is legal in Akron. Officer Aaron Brown of the Akron Police Department’s Community Engagement Team said it is not and told residents to call the non-emergency numbers (330-375-2181 or 330-375-2101) so the fire department can be dispatched.
Small fires and bonfires are allowed if the fuel is clean wood, with nothing stained, coated or synthetic.
