This afternoon I received a call from Dan Smith, Kent’s Economic Director, on his way back from the State hearing where our Clean Ohio grant application for $1.34 million was up for consideration.   Of course the cell phone connection cut off just as Dan was about to tell me the results of the grant review.  

Seriously, it was like a scene from a bad sit com.  I kept trying to call him back, text him, anything to find out what happened.  Nothing for about 20 minutes — at which time I was ready to fire him, but fortunately for both of us, he finally called me back with great news – our grant request was fully funded at $1.34 million.

This was an extremely important grant because it knocks down the first domino in a series that we’re hoping leads to many new business and new jobs in Kent. 

Here’s the domino chain: 

- By getting the grant, we can now proceed to work with the property owner on the final soil clean up at the old RB&W site on Mogadore Road.   

- The grant funds bring enough new capital to the deal to allow the environmental work to be done so that the site can be transferred to the City for redevelopment. 

- The City can then work with a business prospect that has some interest in the location.

- We hope to then package the new business prospect as an anchor tenant in our application for additional State Economic Development Funds which would help us finance phase 1 of the Great Atlantic and Western Business Park.

- The Business Park would serve as a business innovation and incubation center to help emerging technology companies — particularly those companies that spin out of the research from Kent State Univeristy – get a jump start on commercialization of their new products.

- As new businesses graduate out of the early incubation phases of the Business Park we hope to expand the Business Park into a linear advanced materials industrial production hub that extends through the old Kent railroad corridor heading south all the way out to Brimfield creating new clusters of technology based businesses.        

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Receiving $1.34 million is always a great thing but getting $1.34 million to knock down the first domino that sets our industrial corridor strategy in motion is fantastic.  

Here’s a little more insight into the corridor development strategy (and how it builds off our downtown redevelopment efforts and Kent State University) that we’ve been working on for years now. 

Industrial Corridor Development
The industrial development corridor (also called the production corridor in the map below, green shading)  extends from downtown Kent and runs along the rail lines out to Interstate 76.  The City’s industrial development plans create a hub and spoke framework, with the Kent central business district and Kent State University serving as the hub, and business clusters extending outwards through the utility corridors to form the spines of industry activity. 

The City’s business development strategy is built on the premise that innovation and business growth enjoy a competitive advantage in places where the specialties of research, technology, commerce and culture are given opportunities to converge.  The goal is to create a shared physical environment where people will gather, ideas will cross-pollinate, and innovation becomes a way of life. 

Kent supplies that shared space in its vibrant downtown, on the Kent State University campus, in business incubators, and in the many recreational, cultural and social opportunities provided in the Kent community.  

The strategy aims to align city, university, and business assets in such a way that Kent, as a place, can be a catalyst for an economic revival that creates jobs, inspires new technologies, spawns entrepreneurship, and keeps Kent the kind of place people are proud to call home. Simply stated the strategy seeks to put Kent’s assets to work for the local, regional and state community.

The goal is to unlock the opportunities of Kent and jump start the region-wide rebuilding  process  for  sustainable  economic  growth  irrespective  of  the  highs  and  lows  off business cycles.  Kent’s investments are positioning Kent to be the flagship for the new economy where innovation, entrepreneurship, global reach and leading edge research technology are the drivers of economic success. 

Kent is seeking to affirm its role as a place that attracts and retains people and businesses who seek out the energy and culture unique to university locations; seeding the pipeline for emerging business opportunities that generate real growth in the local and regional economy.

The close proximity and connectivity of the industrial corridor to Kent’s downtown and Kent State University puts the Mogadore site in a position to be a catalyst for economic renewal, making this grant one of the most important domino’s we’ve tipped in a long time.

In the Plan, sustainability had broad shoulders holding up goals for environmental sustainability, social sustainability and even fiscal sustainability. 

With such a broad reach, sustainability initiatives can be tough to pin down.  The good news is the Bicentennial Plan recognized that challenge and came up with a to do list for each of the sustainability categories. 

The City, sustainability-minded volunteers, the University and Kent businesses have been quietly going about the work of achieving those initial goals (see the latest sustainability status report), adding new ones along the way as the first batch get accomplished. 

Sustainability is still probably most closely associated with environmental preservation, protection, and restoration — and one of the most effective environmental movers and shakers through the years has been the Kent Environmental Council. 

This 1970′s community organization may not be as young as it used to be but its membership is still as environmentally committed as ever with local projects big and small.  Education and sharing information remains one of their top priorities and they have announced the 2011 Kent Environmental Council Fall Forum, titled (appropriately) — “Kent Sustainability?” 

The Forum will be held Thursday, November 10, from 7-9pm at the United Church of Christ, 1400 E. Main St., Kent.

The featured speaker will be David Beach, from the Cleveland Natural History Museum and founder of EcoCity, Cleveland, reporter and author. He will address sustainability with a focus on Northeastern Ohio. His keynote address will be followed by the three aspects of sustainability. Melanie Knowles, Manager of Sustainability at KSU will address Environment. Robert Howard, retired hospital administrator will speak to the issue of Equity and Jack Crews, Kent Regional Business Alliance will address Economics.

For additional information go to http://www.kentenvironment.org/or contact Deb Butler, 330.678.0227.

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As a side note, I noticed that some sustainability minded students had recently completed some clean up work at the Mogadore Reservoir.  Being the young techies that they are, they produced a home grown video to show off the work they did. 

It’s great to see the next generation picking up where the list one left off and on this cloudy rainy day, the fall shots of the Reservoir are worth watching. 

Mogodore Reservoir Video

If you’re having an Aqua-what? moment, then you’re a perfect candidate for either of the information sessions being held on October 28th and October 29th here in Kent.  See for yourself. 

 
This is the kind of eco-cool stuff that is popping up all over Kent.  But it’s only cool if you take advantage of the opportunity, so sign up and join the movement. 

So how has it gone?  If you listen to the chatter around town, it’s been a great year.

It’s always hard to follow such a success, but by all accounts Kelly has honored the legacy that she was handed while still finding a way to start to make her mark and add her own touches.

In keeping with the growing interest in locally grown food Kelly has done a great job at giving market shoppers a lot of great local options.  One of my favorite new market pieces that Kelly added was a partnership with Kent State University to get food to people who need it most. 

On October 8, Haymaker Farmers Market had Kent State University Campus Kitchen on site. KSU student volunteers passed out information and accepted donations of either cash or food which was used to purchase produce at the market, and all food was brought back to the kitchen to prepare hot meals for clients of Kent Social Services.  That’s what local Farmer’s Markets are all about. 

There’s still a couple of more weeks of the market left in the 2011 season so check out the great things going on downtown at the Farmer’s Market. 

The musical entertainment in the remaining weeks includes the following:

October 15 Galgozy and Zeleny Duo eclectic folk guitar/vocals duo.
October 22 Noah Gfell and friends.
October 29 Ashley Brooke Toussant folk vocals and instrumental.

Given the precipitation, topography and geology of our region, water is one of our more abundant resources.  As a result, plenty of supply seems to have led to a sense of complacency, leaving people to think great water is much more common than it really is.   

I was reminded how untrue this can be when one of our senior staff asked for the morning off to meet with a contractor she hired to install a more advanced water filtering system for her well water outside of the Kent City limits.  After previously living in Kent and having such great tasting water, she was at her wits end over the sulfur odor and taste from her well water in the township.  She was practically begging for City water to be extended to her neighborhood.  Hopefully her new filter will help, but better yet, she needs to move back in to Kent! 

Just take a glance through the headlines from various regions of the U.S. and you’ll find plenty of stories of long-standing water wars.  The wild west was won not so much with Winchesters as it was with pipelines, dams and irrigation ditches.   That dirty water has left a bad taste in many cities that fight for their right to drink water. 

The value of our water quality and supply was evident when we were deep in discussions with a prospective food manufacturer earlier this year that had to have a water supply that met very specific requirements — all of which we met.   

What started me on this water thread was a recent suggestion from former Councilman Hawksley who suggested offering tap water filling stations  for festival or other downtown events that could be used to re-fill bottled water. 

The idea is to reuse those bottles rather than adding more plastic to the waste stream in the name of sustainability. 

I passed along the product to both Kent State University and Main Street Kent and we all have enough interest that we’re starting to look into how much the units cost.

I guess it’s the modern version of the old public drinking fountains. 

Interesting.

We were able to get to this point because the City partnered with KSU to obtain trail construction funding through AMATS last year, and with grant funds in hand, the design engineers have been hired and urban planners have been given the green light to roll up their sleeves with civil engineers to prepare the blueprints for the kinds of elements that we all think have to be included in the esplanade project to make it a one-of-a-kind public space that is more than a way to get from point A on campus, to point B in downtown Kent — it is arguably a destination in and of itself. 

As those plans take greater shape, I will share them but in the meantime I was encouraged to hear that coming off a great kick off year with the KSU Bike Share project, aka FlashFleet Program, Provost Bob Frank, and a small cadre of KSU helpers, are looking for ways to extend the bike share service off of campus and perhaps follow the esplanade’s yellow brick road into downtown Kent. 

The only thing better than more students in downtown Kent, is more students in downtown Kent without their cars, which is why I was excited to hear of KSU’s interest in offering more opportunities for two-wheeled student visitors to join their two footed counterparts in using the esplanade. 

While they work out those details, here’s a summary that the Provost’s Office shared describing the success of the FlashFleet program in 2010:

It turns out that one of Kent’s own, Davey Tree, is one of those corporate partners that is teaming up with Oprah, and Target, to promote literacy by renovating libraries across the country and planting 25,000 trees in honor of Oprah’s longtime support for reading campaigns. 

The trees offer something on multiple levels – one, they symbolically remind us that from small seeds grow mighty Oaks which is a metaphor for living and the heights that education and reading can take us; and two, there’s few places better to read, relax and play on a warm summer day than under the cover of a great tree. 

Davey Tree is probably the only tree company big enough to pull off a job of this size with service coverage nationawide (and global) but more importantly Davey’s tree care expertise will make sure that the trees thrive. 

On Monday’s show I caught a glimpse of Davey trucks and Davey employees digging in the dirt and planting a big Oak tree at one of libraries selected for this Oprah legacy project and I couldn’t help but feel hometown pride for this prominent longtime Kent based company.  

Davey Tree has posted more details on their participation in the Oprah legacy project on their web site and I’m happy to share it.  As the media picks up the project story line, people across the country will see by-lines from Kent Ohio and learn a little more about one of our best Kent ambassadors, Davey Tree. 

________________________________

The Davey Tree Expert Company
News Release

For Immediate Release                                                                           For additional information
May 24, 2011                                                                                              Sandra Reid
330/673-9515, extension 349 

Reading Takes Root

The Davey Tree Expert Company announces plans to bring more than 25,000 reading trees to communities across the country

Project announced on today’s episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show”

KENT, Ohio – Many people say their favorite place to read a book is under the cool shade of a tree canopy, whether it’s on their backyard patio, at the park or near a beach.

The Davey Tree Expert Company is honoring the 25-year legacy of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” by bringing that coveted experience to more communities across the country.  In a program it calls “Reading Takes Root,”  Davey will donate and plant 25 large oak trees on school grounds across the U.S. in conjunction with school library renovations carried out by Target and The Heart of America Foundation.  

The initial live oak tree planting took place on May 16th at the KIPP Believe School in New Orleans, with footage of that installation appearing as a surprise to Winfrey on one of her show’s penultimate episodes, airing today, Monday, May 23. Throughout the year, Davey will also plant 25,000 more trees in communities across the country.

These trees will not only provide clean air and water, heating and cooling benefits and enhance community and property values, but they will also provide the children of these schools with shaded play areas, chances to see science in action and quiet places to read. As these trees continue to grow in good health, they will give these children chances to foster healthy bodies and healthy minds by providing places to play and learn – all driving the growth of happier, healthier communities.

“Davey is honored to celebrate ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ in this socially responsible initiative to plant reading trees for children in communities across the country,” says Karl Warnke, Davey’s chairman, president and CEO. “As these trees take root, we also hope the air will become cleaner, the cooling effects of shade will become broader, and the environmental and economic future of our nation’s communities will strengthen.”

For more information, go to www.davey.com/ReadingTakesRoot.

The Davey Tree Expert Company, with U.S. and Canadian operations in 45 states and five provinces, provides a variety of tree care, grounds maintenance and consulting services for the residential, commercial, utility and government markets. Founded in 1880, Davey is employee owned and has more than 7,000 employees who provide Proven Solutions for a Growing World. For more information, visit www.davey.com.

Kent wears its green on its sleeve — sometimes literally as we pull trash and debris out of the river weeds (we prefer to call that aquatic vegetation) — and this Friday and Saturday, May 13th and 14th, Kent’s most dedicated River fans will get a chance to celebrate the river Kent style. 

When you’ve been doing something for 21 years like Kent has with the River Day, you get pretty darn good at it — which means this year’s River Day promises to be a full day of river related festivities.  Here’s the details.

I still recall as a kid having a warm place in my heart for Arbor Day — heck ya, it mean’t getting out of class and digging in the dirt for an hour or so on a nice spring day, and being given a twig with a couple of roots dangling off the bottom to plant at home.  Sunshine, dirt, and presents – at 8 years old that’s priceless. 

I suppose those early recollections from my impressionable years shaped (or distorted?) my personality to the point where I still get warm fuzzy feelings for Arbor Day.  It’s actually one of the few remaining holidays that has not fallen victim to a hostile takeover by the greeting card companies and candy manufacturers. 

It’s really not all that different from what it was 30 years ago;  it’s kids digging in the dirt, planting a few twigs and celebrating trees.  Some things are too good to go out of style and honoring trees (or at least getting out of the classroom) is one of them.   

Of course, with Davey Tree founded and headquartered in Kent, Arbor Day has even more local significance.  The Davey family legacy in Kent is more than the company they founded, it’s also  a deep appreciation for caring for trees and everything green.   Davey’s leafprints can be found all over town and environmental stewardship runs deep in Kent’s DNA. 

For 25 consecutive years Kent has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA — a recognition that is bestowed on those cities that demonstrate (in dollars, staff time, and tree care commitment) a priority for sustainable urban forestry. 

The popularity of the green movement over the last decade has led many cities to jump on board the green train and now thousands of cities receive the Tree City designation every year — but Kent sticks to it’s tag line of being the original tree city, and shows it off  a bit each Arbor Day.

That’s why there was some quiet fist pumping going on when we were informed that the City’s Plum Creek Restoration project was selected by the Ohio Stormwater Association as an outstanding stormwater project and our staff (Cori Finney) will be accepting an award from the Association on the City’s behalf at the annual Ohio Stormwater Conference held in Columbus May 12-13.

The Plum Creek project was part of an ongoing effort to re-open waterways that through the years have been diverted and dammed in ways that might appear harmless enough but are actually slowly debilitating our creeks and streams by literally sucking the oxygen right out of them.   Oxygen matters, and while the old Plum Creek Ponds (isn’t that an oxymoron?) were actually reasonably attractive to look at, their swamp smell was a good indicator that trouble was lurking just below the surface. 

Standing water has a nasty habit of going a bit septic on those hot summer days, throw in piles of goose waste and you have a recipe for bad water quality — which is exactly what we set out to fix in this project.  By re-opening the culvert dam, we admittedly lost the pond-like look, but if you stood close enough to those ponds you knew looks could be deceiving and you headed up-wind as fast as your feet could take you.  But no more. 

Free at last, Plum Creek is actually back to what it started out as – a creek, a free flowing body of water — and soon enough the vegetation on the new creek banks will be back accompanied by the sounds of the bubbling brook.