Get Your Passport Here...

One of the public services that the City Clerk for the City of Kent picked up on behalf of all our international travelers was providing passports.  That may not strike the casual observer as unique but passports are not a traditional city service — it turned out to be an opportunity that our City Clerk saw the need for and she has been filling ever since.

It may be a little thing but it’s an important little thing that helps us achieve all those cultural and economic benefits that I’ve blogged about this week related to Kent’s international scene.  International travel is a two-way street and she helps make sure that Kent residents and visitors have an easy way to safely get where they want to go and return home when they want.  Sounds small from the comforts of your lounge chair but when you’re 2,000 miles away from home it’s definitely not such a small thing.   

Last week the City Clerk sent around a notice that the US State Department was increasing passport fees.  She said that if you have a passport that needs to be renewed, the cost of renewal will increase by $35.00.  For first time applicants, the cost for an adult passport will be $135 and for those under 16, $105.  Currently, those fees are $100 and $85, respectively.  The US Dept. of State has not told us the exact date of these impending increase but she says that past experience tells her it is in the not-so-distant future.

Here’s the State Department notice:

Zoning Code Revisions Meeting: Sign Regulations (...

This is the latest meeting in a series of public meetings reviewing the City’s Zoning Code.  To view all the meeting materials click here.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

EMAIL MEETING NOTICE FROM GARY LOCKE, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Good Afternoon Everyone:

Attached are the materials for the next Joint Meeting to discuss the zoning code update. The meeting will be Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 7:30 PM. The Planning Commission has a meeting at 7:00 PM with one agenda item.

The topic for discussion will be the continued discussion of draft sign regulations. You may recall that we had reviewed a draft several months ago and there were a number of comments provided. I have prepared a new draft (known as the second revision) that incorporates a number of the comments. Attached to this email are the agenda for the meeting, the revised draft and a report from me which summarizes what has been revised, along with some commentary.

I hope to see you all on Tuesday evening assuming we are not snowed in!

Gary Locke, Community Development Director

Revised Code Section
CHAPTER 1165 SIGNAGE (VERSION 2)

Shoveling Sidewalks Update...

Now that we are firmly entrenched in winter’s grasp, I thought it might be a good time to take a pulse on what’s happening on our sidewalks.  My anecdotal  non-scientific windshield survey seemed to indicate that sidewalk shoveling compliance is better this year than it’s been in recent years — hopefully that’s a result of all the public outreach efforts and newspaper coverage of City Council’s lengthy deliberations this summer about how to make our sidewalks safer for pedestrians — especially our pedestrians with special needs that rely on sidewalks for most of their transportation.

I wish I had a camera because there’s been some great images of shovelers, including 5 year old kids using beach shovels to help mom shovel the front sidewalk on a section of Crain Avenue.   And I’d have to say that those 5 year olds made a difference because their front walk has been cleared all winter long.  It seems that the neighborhood sidewalks where we live are better this year but the sidewalks on the main drags in front of commercial establishments are still not so good. 

I guess the lack of sidewalk attention in front of commercial establishments is a testament to the fact that we are a car based drive-thru economy because the owners/managers have certainly not made it easy for any foot bound traveler to visit their establishment.   I suppose you could argue that in the spirit of a free market economy they can choose not to clear sidewalks until a savvy competitor starts to dent their market share but the troubling part is that in the meantime I see folks trying to walk past their business to get their destination struggling to stay safe. 

As evident by the 6 hours of time spent in City Council deliberating sidewalk shoveling, this is a many faceted issue which I am not trying to solve here but I did want to provide an update on a couple of the changes that Council approved this year.  The City’s Public Service Director, Gene Roberts, has been driving the streets during the course of this winter to monitor not only street conditions but also sidewalk conditions, with a particular emphasis on intersections and the snow that the City plows may have pushed into the pedestrian right of way.

As a result of the Council discussions held this summer related to snow removal from sidewalks, Gene has worked with the City snow plow crews to change their plowing tactics that previously left piles of snow pushed from the street in the intersections and crosswalks. That change in practice does seem to be working as the problem appears less prevalent this year despite some relatively significant snow fall over the last couple of weeks.

However, short of physically scooping and off-loading the snow to other locations we will likely always have some areas where the snow plows have contributed to creating pedestrian challenges and it’s in those areas that Council authorized the use of a contractor to come in behind the City crews and clean the intersections for safe pedestrian access.

To that end, Gene has developed a log that he uses to list areas that he feels require contractor attention, which he then forwards to the contractor to execute. Gene generates the list based on three primary factors:

1 – quantity of snow based on City roadway snow removal efforts
2 – proximity to Kent City Schools
3 – State Routes where the presence of pedestrians is most likely

City crews take care of the some sidewalks but here’s a snapshot of the list that Gene sent the contractor this week:

Mother Nature Strikes Again — City Parking B...

This morning (Tuesday, January 5) the City’s Public Service Director announced that a parking ban was officially in effect — which means if you live or work in Kent and you usually park on the street, you’ll need to make arrangements to park somewhere else until the parking ban is lifted.  We realize how inconvenient the parking ban can be, which is why it’s a measure of last resort in the battle of the big snow pile, but at this point Mother Nature has left us no choice.  If we can’t get cars off the street, we can’t plow effectively, and if we can’t plow, we can’t keep the streets safe.  The City Code is pretty clear on the issue and safe streets trumps inconvenient parking everytime so please comply (so that you don’t find your car towed) and we’ll do our best to keep up with the snowfall so that once it stops we can lift the parking restriction as soon as possible.  Thanks for your cooperation.

Here’s the Public Service Director’s Official Press Release:

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2010

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE FOR THE CITY OF KENT HAS  ANNOUNCED A SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN BEGINNING 9:00AM TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010.   

THE PARKING BAN IS BEING PUT INTO AFFECT TO ALLOW CITY CREWS TO CLEAR SNOW AND ICE FROM CITY STREETS DURING THE CURRENT STORM EVENT.  THIS PARKING BAN WILL REMAIN IN AFFECT FOLLOWING THE STORM TO ALLOW CITY CREWS TO CONTINUE SNOW REMOVAL EFFORTS. AN UPDATED NEWS RELEASE WILL BE ISSUED TO INFORM THE PUBLIC AS TO THE STATUS OF THIS PARKING BAN AND WHEN IT WILL BE LIFTED.

DURING A SNOW EMERGENCY, PARKING ON ALL CITY STREETS IS BANNED TO PROVIDE FOR SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL.  A SNOW EMERGENCY EXISTS DURING ANY 24‑HOUR PERIOD WHEN TWO OR MORE INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATES.

THIS WINTER SEASON, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE REMINDED TO CLEAR PUBLIC SIDEWALKS OF SNOW AND ICE ABUTTING THEIR PROPERTIES. 

City of Kent, Ohio
Eugene K. Roberts
Director of Public Service

Council Activity Summary for 2009...

For the past 2 years the City Manager’s Office has tracked the issues that City Council has deliberated upon in Committee and work-sessions to make sure that the staff and Council are focusing on those items that are most relevant to the achievement of the City’s strategic priorities.   With so many responsibilities potentially falling within the reach of the City’s mission the tracking framework offers a means for Council and the administration to continually test for mission creep and ensure that the majority of the City’s resources are staying focused on the primary goals of the community.   

In this way, the tracking framework serves as a tool to manage the direction of City affairs consistent with the strategic trajectory desired by the community. 

Download and view the full 4th quarter Council Activity Report. 

Here’s some of the snapshots for both the 4th quarter of 2009 and the year-end:

Sidewalk Shoveling and Plow Service In Kent...

After re-advertising and reaching out to possible snow shoveling and plow contractors that would be interested in being included on the City’s official list of winter service contractors, we’ve finally got a good start on a master list that I can share with the public.  The idea behind the list was to promote better sidewalk shoveling compliance by making sure residents had a list of service providers that could help them dig their way out and keep their sidewalks (and driveways) clear around their home.  The list is just a starting point — and as you can see in the explanatory memo from Gary Locke, Community Planning Director — it’s up to residents to negotiate terms and set a price. 

New Addition: 
Best Price Snow Removal
Adam c. Ailes
Kent Ohio 44240
330-541-3317
330-486-8076
Shovel and Salt Service
Bigailes@aol.com

Portage County Closes Brady Lake Road Bridge...

I got word this week that the Portage County Engineer’s Office is ready with their contractor to start the Brady Lake Road Bridge replacement which will close Brady Lake Road (over Breakneck Creek) effective January 4th, 2010.  If your commute into Kent uses Lake Street and Brady Lake Road it looks like you’ll need to find an alternative starting Monday, January 4th.

Here’s the detour map that the County Engineer’s Office sent us:  Detour Map

Water Work on SR 43...

The complete valve replacement will require a depressurization of the water main and depending on outage time and impacted area may require an additional boil alert, Jack will be making that call on Monday Dec. 28.

I’m sure we will get some questions about why so many water outages but this one is being done strictly as preventative maintenance and hopefully will have a minimum impact on customers resulting in better delivery of service as the bridge project continues.

Thanks

Gene

***NOTICE***

INTERRUPTION OF WATER SERVICE

DUE TO THE NEED FOR A WATER VALVE REPLACEMENT, IT IS NECESSARY TO SHUT OFF THE WATER SERVICE AFFECTING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

North Mantua Street

(Between Needham Avenue and Northern City Limits)

Standing Rock Avenue

River Bend Subdivision

 (all streets located in River Bend East and River Bend West)

                                                              AFFECTED AREA

WE ANTICIPATE THE SHUT OFF TO BEGIN AT APPROXIMATELY

2:00 A.M. on MONDAY, DECEMBER 28^TH, 2009 WITH SERVICE BEING RESTORED WITHIN APPROXIMATELY 6 to 8 HOURS.

PLEASE DRAW AND SAVE ANY WATER YOU MAY NEED FOR THIS SHORT WATER OUTAGE BEFORE 2:00AM IN THE MORNING.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND COOPERATION DURING THIS SCHEDULED WATER OUTAGE

WE WILL MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO RESTORE SERVICE AS PROMPTLY AS POSSIBLE.

                                                            THANK YOU,

                                                            EUGENE K. ROBERTS

                                                            DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE          

Zoning Review Session #9: Architectural Review Pr...

The City’s Planning Director, Gary Locke, has announced the next Zoning Code review session for tonight (December 15, 2009) at 7:30 pm in Council Chambers immediately following the Planning Commission meeting.  The topic is a continuation of the architectural review discussion with a greater emphasis on the process used to apply architectural standards.  Important stuff for how Kent looks as a community. 

If you haven’t had time to attend the Zoning review meetings we’ve maintained all of the information on the Kent360 site at this link:  City of Kent Zoning Code Review

Here’s Gary’s notice for tonight’s meeting:

Good afternoon everyone:

Attached are the agenda and materials for the next Joint Meeting devoted to the zoning code update.  Please note the date and that the starting time will be 7:30 PM.  The Planning Commission has one item for its regular agenda which will begin at 7 PM.

The topic for our discussion will continue to be the architectural review process.  Since our last meeting, I have met with some of the members of the committee and have had additional discussion and direction.  I believe that it was generally agreed to leave out the historic preservation review items (these will be saved for later discussion) and to create a separate chapter that was devoted to defining the overlay districts since ultimately there could be more than one.  We’ll go over this more at the meeting and see if we are getting close.  City Council did endorse the Downtown Design guidelines in November and those guidelines would be adopted by reference to work with the proposed review process.  The review mechanism is also back in the zoning code (not separate as discussed previously).

I have also met with some of the committee members to get their input on signage and it is my goal to have a revised draft reflecting their comments and those from previous meetings ready for review in January.

And here are the attachments for the meeting:

Amended Draft Zoning Code Chapter

Draft Overlay District

Staying Safe In Kent...

Whenever there is a news story about a serious crime in Kent, people worry.  We worry too but we also try to keep things in perspective and we rely on data to do that.  When you look at the snapshot of crime data in Kent over the last 4 years (from January thru October of each year) you can get a good idea of how safe we are this year versus the prior three years by the numbers rather than the stories that make it into the newspaper headlines.   

What got me thinking about all this was receiving Chief Peach’s October Police Statistics report.  The numbers for 2009 show total calls for service are running about the same as last year while total arrests are down (-8%).  Accident incidents are up 5% but serious crimes are down 10% from the same period in 2008. 

That got me wondering about the trends over the last 4 years so I plotted the data on 3 charts.  Our job is to protect against all crimes but serious crimes, e.g., assault, rape and homicide are the categories that really define what safety is all about in our community.   The good news is that incidents of serious crimes in 2009 are 20% below 2006 figures, 13% below 2007 and 10% below 2008.  7 out of 8 types of serious crimes in 2009 are below 2008 and 7 out of 8 are below 2006 numbers as well – so despite the few recent news stories, the City is justifiably safer than it’s been in the last 4 years.