Recent Releases | Kent 360

Winter Energy Costs

November 10, 2008 by dave

I can’t believe that I’m already watching white rain drops fall from the sky and accumulate on the roof of my car. Are you kidding me? Apparently not. So with thoughts of chestnuts roasting over an open fire, I thought it was a good time to share information that the City has received regarding the price of fuel (gas and electric) that we’ll be using to keep warm this winter.

This was a tough summer for gas at the pumps but the outlook for natural gas costs is better. As a NOPEC community, gas customers in Kent have a chance to buy gas in greater quantities and at discounted prices. Overall NOPEC has a good track for record beating retail gas prices by buying wholesale and it looks like they’ve been able to lock down very reasonable prices for this winter as well.

Here’s a note from our NOPEC representatives:

TO ALL DEO MEMBER NOPEC COMMUNITIES – October 27, 2008 GAS PURCHASES – DEO AREA

Dear NOPEC representative:

I am very pleased to announce to you that NOPEC has been able to purchase the cheapest gas we have purchased since we have been receiving gas from Dominion Retail. We have now extended our purchases in the Dominion East Ohio area from June 2009 through August 2009, at the rate of $9.59 mcf.

NOPEC is very excited about these rates because this puts our member communities in great shape through next summer. Also, the U.S. Department of Energy’s prediction is that natural gas prices during the winter in Ohio will be up 17% from last year. NOPEC’s price for this winter in the DEO area is up seven and one half percent (7.5%) from last year and our price next summer in the DEO area will be 15% less than this summer.

Gas update as of October 21, 2008 – DEO area

September, 2008 – $11.24/mcf
October and November, 2008 – $10.98/mcf
December, 2008-May, 2009 – $10.88/mcf
June, 2009 – August, 2009 – $9.59/mcf

If you’ve got baseboard heat in your home, electric bills seem to be a different story. NOPEC is fighting a rate hike from First Energy on their customers behalf (all 600,000 of them) and as you read the following memorandum it sounds like an uphill battle. It looks like as customers we’re already losing an agreed upon 5% price discount and on top of that First Energy is raising the rates.

Voice of the Voter Project

November 5, 2008 by dave

It’s campaign season and the news agencies are running on overtime publishing a lot of political noise. Frankly with all the noise it’s hard to hear what anyone is actually saying but apparently that’s besides the point. I guess it’s not what you say anymore it’s how well you say it that counts. Alas, I digress. The good folks up in Kent State’s award winning School of Journalism and Mass Communication are knee deep in these waters and they’re pleased to offer an alternative. Rather than settling for all the low hanging news with its pre-scripted and choreographed sound bytes, their offering the voice of the voter a chance to be heard. Certainly the national scene is the center of attention this Fall but local news still matters and Kent State is trying to deliver.

At their new web site http://et.kent.edu/vov/ the Kent State folks are giving a chance for voters to be weigh in on issues. I suspect the idea for this site germinated around the 2008 election but it has grown beyond those roots to include local stuff too. And I’d bet it will grow more too as their experience running it grows.

It seems like a very well done, modern way of capturing comments at the ground level and giving individual voices a chance to rise above the din. One of the founders, Barb Hippsman, sent me a short blurb about the site:

Dave,

This Voice of the Voters project is all about KENT, featuring voters from every ward in the city – and the surrounding township areas (listed as Ward 7, but we’ll change that!)

We are inputting items frequently and would appreciate any traction you could get for the site. Thanks Dave!

Barb Hipsman, associate professor, news sequence Kent State, School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Here’s an example of the kinds of video clips you can find on the site: Local Interview

Kentnewsnet.com

Kent’s Farmer’s Market Final 2 Weekends

October 17, 2008 by dave

I took Monday off this week so that I could spend an afternoon rocking and rolling through the hills of Mohican State Park on my mountain bike, and as usual mama nature did not disappoint. With fall colors popping, sun rays slicing through the tree tops, and near perfect trail conditions I thought I had died and gone to heaven. What a ride. And what a ride it’s been for the Kent Farmers Market this year (how’s that for a segue). The Kent Market has doubled in size this year and by adding free music they’ve officially affirmed their status as the eco-friendly, buy local, eat healthy party for Portage County’s harvest on Saturday mornings in downtown Kent (where else would you find a party on Saturday morning?) With the produce season wrapping up I wanted to be sure to remind everyone to take time either this weekend (Oct 18) or next weekend (Oct 25) to stock their shelves before old man winter comes knocking.

All concerts are free and open to the community. According to market manager Fritz Seefeldt, “The public response to having live music at the farmers’ market has been overwhelmingly positive. The wide diversity of local musical talent has allowed me to schedule a rich mixture of performances throughout the season adding a festive flavor to the open-air market. We plan to continue the “Music @ the Market” series next year and are already scheduling performers for the 2009 season.”

The final event for the season will feature a performance by Mr. Jon Mosey on October 25th. Local musicians interested in performing at the market for next season should contact Fritz Seefeldt at kentmarket@neo.rr.com.

Haymaker Farmers’ Market runs every Saturday through Halloween weekend, October 25, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 pm and is located along Franklin Avenue between College and Summit Streets.

Here’s an update on the continued evolution of the Kent Farmers Market from the volunteers that pull it all together each week.

Market friends,
This summer has been so much fun at the farmers’ market. We have almost doubled in size in the past year and community interest has never been stronger. We have become a real asset to Kent’s downtown during an otherwise quiet time of the week.

Local merchants have expressed strong enthusiasm for our market and are discussing innovative ways for more direct involvement between us. We will be experiencing the fruits of these discussions next season and should be seeing mutually beneficial results.

Everyone I have spoken to downtown has seen an increase in their business during market hours on Saturdays with some of their customers still carrying their produce laden bags from Haymaker! Our city manager, Dave Ruller has been very supportive with several mentions on his Kent 360 blog as well as a short film segment filmed for Kent’s Youtube page. The market is listed on the Main Street Kent website and we are hoping for even more direct cooperation with Mary’s organization next year.

Other improvements that we will be working on this winter will be adding benches along Franklin Avenue in front of the market. Funding as usual is a stumbling block, so I am hoping for city or private sponsorship that will allow the market to share in the cost and still have enough operating revenue left to pay our start up costs for next season. The benches are not necessarily that expensive , but we still operate on a shoe string with very little left for additional expenses.

The other issue as most of you know is the condition of our north Pufferbelly lot. Many of the potholes could easily hide a Volkswagen and could be potentially dangerous for pedestrians. Jo Anne and I don’t have a truck so we can’t haul gravel. Technically the lot belongs to the railroad, so we will need to find a gravel company to drop 10 tons in that lot. If anyone knows of someone in the business, please let me know.

Jo Anne and I never dreamed 16 years ago that we would still be putting up signs and setting up the market every Saturday morning, but the pleasure we share with our community each market more than offsets the labor we put into it.

This coming week at Haymaker we will be enjoying a performance by Ms. Andrea Bussinger. I am attaching the press release below. The final week of the season Mr. Jon Mosey will be wrapping up our Music @ the Market series.

All the best to everyone,
Fritz Seefeldt.

The OTHER Middlebury Road Bridge

October 3, 2008 by dave

The Portage County Engineer has advised us that he’s ready to fix the County’s bridge over the Cuyahoga River on Middlebury Road which means the bridge/road will be closed from October 20th 2008 until the planned re-opening in April 2009. I’m sure people can recall the infamous railroad owned bridge just down the street that was closed for an extended period as the City ended up having to take the railroad to court to get it fixed. The good news is that there’s no dispute on the repair of the County bridge. The County knows what needs to be done and they’re ready to do it so the only time involved will be actual repair work. Here’s more information on the upcoming County bridge project here in Kent.

Project Location:
Middlebury Rd Bridge over the Cuyahoga River

Project Schedule:
Construction Start Date October 20, 2008
Project Finish April 2009

The Middlebury Road Bridge over the Cuyahoga River is being reconstructed by Portage County due to age and severe deterioration.

The bridge was originally built in 1906 and rebuilt in 1954. The steel truss bridge is inspected annually and shows signs of section loss in the steel truss members, gusset plates and floor beams. Section loss means the steel member is thinner than was originally designed. This is due primarily to corrosion.

Middlebury Road will be CLOSED during construction.

Traffic will be detoured using SR 261, Cherry Street, Stow Street and SR 59. Construction of the project is anticipated to last 6 months with the road being opened in April, 2009. The new bridge will be on a modified alignment, which will allow for smoother curves in the roadway.

The new bridge will be a 3-span concrete I-beam bridge that will allow for the Portage Hike and Bike Trail through Kent to pass under the roadway for future connections to Tallmadge and Munroe Falls.

Project Status:
Construction of the new Middlebury Road Bridge over the Cuyahoga River will begin on October 20, 2008

Contact:
Mickey Marozzi, P.E.
Portage County Engineer
Phone: 330-296-6411
Email: mmarozzi@portageco.com

Horse Racing in Kent

September 16, 2008 by dave

Start pouring the mint juleps, the run for the roses is coming to Kent. Now before you break out in cold sweats, we’re not actually bringing the Kentucky Derby to Kent as part of our sports tourism efforts (although that would be a coup wouldn’t it) and as enticing as betting on the horses may be in some places it’s definitely not part of our economic revival plans here. No, this horse racing is complements of the folks at the Kent Area Chamber who have been busy planning opportunities for Kent businesses to network and grow, and as a big fan of Kent businesses growing, I figure the least I can do is to help promote their First Annual Night at the Races for Friday September 26 at the Rusty Nail Restaurant. So dig out your best Sunday hat and get out to support your Chamber. Trust me, these races are as much fun (and addicting) as the real thing.

KACC 1 Annual Night at the Races

Set For September 26^th !

KENT – The Kent Area Chamber of Commerce has announced that its first annual Night at the Races will be held from 7:00 to 11:00 pm, Friday, September 26 at the Rusty Nail Restaurant located at 7291 SR 43, Kent.

The ticket price is $20 per person which includes appetizers and beverages. The cost for individual horse ownership, which includes naming rights, is $20 per horse. If the horse is the winner of the race, the owner is paid $40. There is no limit to the number of horses participants may purchase.

There is a special being offered that includes one ticket entry and the purchase of a horse for $35. Included in the event race card is advertising options. Costs range from $25 (business card size), $50 (½ page) and $100 (full page). Program deadline is September 17^th.

Call the Chamber now to make reservations and/or to place an ad in the program, or you may have to jockey for a place at the finish line. For more information on the event or to place an ad, contact Lisa Wise at 330.673.9855, or Michelle Hartman at 330.678.3120.

Note: All races are for entertainment purposes only…but then why else would you be there. In addition to the rewards of owning a winning horse, there will be windows for placing straight bets, perfectas, a loser’s lottery and an auction of the horses to run in the final race will go on throughout the evening. Mr. Ed says “everyone with horse sense will be at the KACC Night at the Races, so giddy-up and buy your tickets now!”

Tickets are limited so call now!

Other Upcoming Chamber Events

Bowman Breakfast – The Fall 2008 Bowman Breakfast is coming up on Thursday, September 25th, 7:30 AM, at the Kent Student Center Ballroom. The speaker will be Dr. Robert G. Frank, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Kent State University. Cost to attend is $8, payable at the door. RSVP to the Chamber office by September 18.

KACC Scholarship Tailgate Party – Saturday, October 4, 10:30 AM until kickoff. Join the Chamber as we get ready to watch the KSU Golden Flashes take on the Akron U. Zips at noon, and help fund our Scholarship awards. Tickets are $30, and include the tailgate party and a ticket to the football game. Call the Chamber office to reserve your tickets.