Whatever Floats Your Boat...

Posted by dave in Go Green on April 30, 2008 | No Comments

There’s been a lot of well deserved attention for our wonderful river asset in Kent but our region is actually blessed with abundant water resources beyond the mighty Cuyahoga. One resident naturalist told me that Portage County has more wetlands than any other county in the state. I can’t confirm that statistic but traveling around the county and seeing how many bodies of water we have, both large and small, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true. For all my complaints of snowy winters in northeast Ohio I have to admit that it keeps our ponds, lakes and tributaries flowing nicely once everything thaws — and all that water serves as habitat for wildlife and plant-life that make for a really rich eco-system for all of us to enjoy. How we enjoy it is up for discussion right now as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is updating their strategic plan for Ohio boating and they’re holding a public forum in Rootstown on May May 6 to talk about it.

Whether your interaction with water is passive like photography or shoreline meditation, or active like water-skiing or swimming, our water resources are a key ingredient to the terrific quality of life opportunities we have in Kent so the Ohio boating plan is important. ODNR has scheduled ten meetings across the state so that Ohio boaters can voice their concerns.

Each meeting will consist of a brief history of the development of Watercraft’s Strategic Plan, audience polling, and an open forum for attendees to provide comments.

The northeast Ohio meeting is set for May 6th, from 7 to 9 pm at the Neoucom Conference Center, 4209 State Route 44, Rootstown, Ohio.

(West Branch State Park Beach and Lake)

Here’s the executive summary from the Ohio Boating Strategic Plan:

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Watercraft is a customer-centered state agency that provides information and resources to Ohioans who want to participate in the boating experience. Boating provides an opportunity to spend recreational time with friends and family or to have personal time alone on the water. The boating experience removes participants from the distractions of hectic, everyday life.

Recreational boating in Ohio enriches people’s lives.

The ODNR Division of Watercraft is interested in promoting boating as Ohioans’ choice for recreation as well as ensuring that such opportunities are safe and enjoyable. The goal of our strategic planning process is to determine what our boating customers’ highest priority needs are and to determine how we can improve the programs and services we offer.

This strategic plan presents a common vision that enables the Division of Watercraft to provide programs and services that benefit Ohio’s boaters. It provides the framework for agency decision-making, budgeting, and program evaluation.

This plan was produced in a concerted effort with participation from Ohio’s boaters and is a follow-up to The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Watercraft Strategic Plan for the Twenty-First Century published in July of 1999. Input we received from the boating public, the Waterways Safety Council, employees of the Department, and various organizations was utilized to identify the issues contained in this strategic plan.

The Division is funded by a portion of the state motor fuel tax (currently seven-eighths of one percent), boating registrations and titling fees, fines, a grant from the U.S. Coast Guard Boat Safety Account, and other federal grants — all coming out of the pocket, in one way or another, of Ohio’s recreational boaters.

“Wise use” is part of the Division’s mission and responsible management of our fiscal resources is essential to fulfilling that mission, so identified issues were prioritized based on wise use of boater funds.

As requested by the boaters, the majority of the Division efforts, funding, and resources will be dedicated to implement these first four strategic issues:

• Develop new and maintain and upgrade existing boating access and facilities to enhance boating opportunities.

• Develop and implement a plan for waterways management to improve boater experiences.

• Increase and enhance boating education opportunities.

• Provide consistent, coordinated, and increased boating law enforcement/safety
services.

The remaining issues will have teams assigned to address the objectives and strategies. However, the ability to fully fund and implement these strategies is based on available resources.

• Enhance revenue sources for the Division of Watercraft to fulfill service expectations of our customers.

• Improve and enhance the watercraft registration process.

• Get boating information to the people who need it.

• Improve water quality on boating waterways.

• Improve public boating areas through strategic dredging and/or debris removal.

• Research and enact uniform watercraft laws that promote safe and enjoyable recreational boating.

• Improve waterway markings for recreational boating.

The purpose of this plan is to create a viable strategy for the Division of Watercraft that will enable the agency to address issues important to the boating public. The Division is looking for innovative ways to enhance the recreational boating experience.

We are proud to present A Strategic Plan for Ohio Boating. The Division of Watercraft is extremely grateful for the input we have received. Without assistance from our constituents and customers — namely Ohio’s boaters — it would have been impossible to complete this planning process. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Watercraft’s A Strategic Plan for Ohio Boating is a plan for all Ohio boaters, encompassing the diverse boating interests of all our customers who share our desire to make boating a safer and more enjoyable activity for themselves and future generations.

TAKE THE ODNR BOATING STRATEGY SURVEY

If you can’t make the meeting, you can still have input. You can start by taking the ODNR survey:

To Go Wireless or Not To Go Wireless, That Is The ...

Posted by dave in City Living, Taking Care of Business on April 29, 2008 | No Comments

From the point of view of a certified non-techie, wireless internet connectivity has had an interesting run in the public realm. For cities, there didn’t seem to be much incubation time and just as soon as the technology became available cities rushed to beat each other to announce that they were the next hot spot thanks to their nice cozy wireless blanket to snuggle up in. Kent too. We made calls, held meetings, and talked to the geek squads in preparation for jumping aboard that WiFi train. Yet, in just a matter of a couple of years the concept has seemed to have jumped off the top of the what’s hot list to the top of the what’s not list. With a trajectory that seems to resemble the flight of Icarus, the wax on the wings of all the promises of WiFi has melted a bit so I’m hoping that the recent announcements by Dublin Ohio and Gahanna Ohio to be the first cities in Ohio to pursue citywide WifFi suggest that maybe things are changing again.

In hindsight, WiFi was one of those easy to latch-onto kind of things that promised to save the economic plight of cities so it seemed to pick up a high buzz quotient very quickly. And where’s there’s buzz, there’s those looking to take advantage of it in order to be the most buzz-worthy place. Hence, cities like Philadelphia announced grand WiFi plans to much hoopla and press coverage. Now that the sky has fallen on their WiFi project I’m sure Philly is all buzzed-out and wonders how they ever became the poster child for over-promising and under-delivering.

As the dust has settled, it seems that WiFi is certainly convenient for the casual internet user — which makes it a perfect fit for cafe’s and lounges — but serious business folks say WiFi is too slow and too unstable to build a new business around. So until the promise of WiMax is realized in the US market, WiFi has become a great convenience but not an econmic driver which is why most cities have let the hot spots emerge in cafe’s and lounges on their own (it only costs about $50 to by a wireless router) rather than through a city-led initiative that typically runs in the millions of dollars to build.

That’s a pretty good description of the Kent WiFi experience too. We’ve got much of downtown covered through individual hot spots so when facing over a $1 million investment for the city to build a WiFi blanket we just couldn’t find a way to make that math work.

Which is why I was a bit surprised to see Dublin’s and Gahanna’s recent announcement that seems to buck the trend. The dollars to build it still seem high to me but maybe the times they are a chaging again?

Dublin, Gahanna going wireless

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 3:19 AM

By Jim Woods

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Dublin and Gahanna will be the first cities in Ohio to be covered entirely by a wireless Internet blanket.

The city councils in Dublin and Gahanna both unanimously approved contracts Monday with DHB Networks of Dublin to build wireless networks.

Each network could be finished by the first quarter of 2009, said Chris Harris, president of DHB Networks.

Wi-Fi, or wireless fidelity, relies on radio transmitters rather than cable or phone lines to connect computers to the Internet. The antennas and transmitters would be located along city streets.

Wireless networks have been built in other communities across the country, and some have suffered financial failure.

There is a difference, though, with the business model that DHB Networks has set up with Dublin and Gahanna, said Gregory Dunn, a lawyer who specializes in telecommunications and technology issues and who worked as a consultant for Gahanna.

In Philadelphia and San Francisco, companies attempted to build a wireless network that offered free service with the hope of recovering costs through advertising, Dunn said. The idea failed.

In Dublin and Gahanna, the city governments are considered the “anchor tenants” that will use the wireless networks covering their cities, Dunn said.

Dublin’s contract calls for a $1.13 million investment to expand the network to 24 square miles. In 2006, the suburb paid $440,000 to build a 4-square-mile area of wireless coverage around Rt. 161, said Dana McDaniel, director of economic development.

Gahanna is spending $1.35 million for a network to cover the city’s 11.42 square miles.

DHB Networks has invested $1 million in Dublin and would spend $1.5 million more. The company’s Gahanna investment would be $1.5 million to $2 million during the next 18 months, Harris said.

Residents in both communities would be able to subscribe for $24.95 per month.

Minneapolis is using a similar model in which US Internet built a network to cover the city’s 60 square miles. Minneapolis’ success helped convince Gahanna leaders, Councilman Tom Kneeland said.

In Dublin, the wireless network was used during the city’s Irish Festival to scan credit cards and tickets. McDaniel said the city envisions the police and fire departments would be able to use the network when the whole city is covered.

Gahanna is looking at using its network for water-meter reading and hooking up video cameras in the parks, Kneeland said.

New Albany considered joining Gahanna’s venture. But Village Administrator Joseph Stefanov said the village wouldn’t benefit enough to justify the cost.

River Revival...

Posted by dave in Go Green, Taking Care of Business on April 28, 2008 | No Comments

With Earth Day still in our rear view mirror, I thought it was a good time to share a story that combines river conservation and recreation with economic development since those are the cornerstones of the Kent community’s priorities. This is a story that reads a lot like Kent, where a once lost river was found again by people that cared enough to roll up their sleeves and get their feet wet. Thanks to decades of individual actions the cumulative results led to a river restoration and also spawned many unexpected benefits — including new corporate offices, university activites, and Olympic caliber rowing and kayak events that bring 50,000 people to town for an annual river festival. These are the kinds of hopes we have for the Kent Whitewater project as well but equally interesting is the way the river revival helped Oklahoma City see itself in a new way and re-brand its image to attract new businesses and residents.

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
April 22, 2008

Revival of a River Alters a City’s Course in Sports

By KATIE THOMAS

OKLAHOMA CITY — As the nation’s top kayakers and canoeists dipped their paddles in the Oklahoma River over the weekend while competing for a spot on the United States Olympic team, it was possible to imagine that a few city leaders had something else on their minds.

Like, take that, John Steinbeck.

Almost 70 years after Steinbeck popularized the plight of Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl refugees in “The Grapes of Wrath,” residents here still chafe at the city’s reputation as a barren place. As recently as a decade ago, the river was a scar through the city’s heart, at times a trickle of water in a ditch so overgrown it had to be mowed three times a year.

Civic leaders and politicians gambled millions that a rejuvenated river would attract investors to an economically struggling city known for its love of football and rodeo. But to the surprise of even those behind the effort, the river has spawned something else.

The city has become a mecca for elite water sports. Last fall, a crowd of 50,000 showed up for a rowing competition that drew Olympic athletes from Australia and the Czech Republic. Three local universities have begun varsity rowing programs, and a fourth is considering one.

“We completely did it by accident,” Mayor Mick Cornett said.

After a series of floods devastated the area in the 1920s, Oklahoma City and the United States Army Corps of Engineers sought to prevent future catastrophes by straightening, widening and redirecting a stretch of the North Canadian River away from the population center.

“They said, ‘That will never happen again,’ ” Cornett said. “And sure enough, they took all the water out of our river.”

Talk of bringing the river back persisted for decades, especially as civic leaders and planners searched for ways to turn the city around after the oil bust of the 1980s left the local economy reeling. In 1993, taxpayers narrowly approved a sales tax dedicated to an ambitious redevelopment, including the creation of a ballpark, an arena, a library and a trolley system. The tax also included money for the river.

In 1999, engineers began erecting a series of dams and locks that transformed the ditch into a bona fide waterway. Along with the Corps of Engineers, the city planted thousands of trees and added wetlands and walking trails along the banks.

By the time the corridor opened to the public in December 2004, the city and the federal government had spent a combined $54 million. State legislators renamed a seven-mile stretch the Oklahoma River, and private investors built a futuristic boathouse.

The city has since attracted an estimated $700 million in new development. A Dell office complex is on the riverfront, and a multimillion-dollar American Indian Cultural Center is under construction.

Renaming the river was the idea of Ray Ackerman, an advertising executive from Oklahoma City who said he cringed whenever he flew over the ditch on his way home. Ackerman argued that the name North Canadian River would confuse out-of-towners, but the change drew grumbles from many longtime residents who worried history was being erased.

People like Ackerman saw economic opportunity in the river. Mike Knopp’s view was more elemental — the newly filled waterway could now float a boat. Knopp, a rowing enthusiast, looked at one 2,000-meter stretch that was perfectly straight and realized the Army Corps of Engineers had unwittingly created an ideal location for a boat race.

“It’s very spectator-friendly,” he said. “And that is pretty unique, to have an urban venue like this.”

In 1998, Knopp invited Pat Downes, a consultant to the Oklahoma City Riverfront Redevelopment Authority, to a regatta on a nearby lake. It was a cold, rainy day, Downes recalled, but he saw an opportunity. “The sight of those long, graceful rowing shells on a body of water is truly a remarkable sight,” he said.

The river’s potential as a sporting site has become an integral part of city leaders’ dreams for the future. Of course, the city continues to pursue other sports projects. Last week, for example, N.B.A. owners approved the relocation of the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City. Still, little has captured the community’s imagination more than boating.

Knopp quit his job as a lawyer and became the rowing coach at Oklahoma City University, one of the three local universities that offer rowing as a varsity sport with athletic scholarships.

With the help of corporate donors like the locally based Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Knopp set about building a state-of-the-art boathouse. It filled almost immediately after opening in 2006.

Jim Abbott, the athletic director of Oklahoma City University, said he was skeptical when Knopp approached the institution.

“This is Oklahoma — we’re football, we’re rodeo,” he said. “So rowing five years ago was nowhere on the minds of the average Oklahoman.”

But he quickly saw the benefits. Since September 2003, when the team began, 70 athletes have enrolled at the university because of the rowing program.

“The four largest events in the history of our university are the four regattas that we’ve hosted,” Abbott said. Those events now draw the nation’s top rowing teams, including Harvard, and attendance has quintupled since the first regatta was held in 2004, Abbott said.

The sport’s popularity has grown so fast that the three university teams are planning to build boathouses along the river, and another university is considering erecting a fourth. There is even talk of constructing a white-water course near the new boathouses.

Kayakers at the weekend Olympic trials, which drew between 10,000 and 15,000 spectators, said they had heard about Oklahoma City through their friends in rowing. Aside from some concerns about the city’s ferocious winds, the athletes said they were pleased.

“I think they’ve definitely proven that they can provide a solid race course and event,” said Carrie Johnson, who earned a spot on the Olympic team in the 500-meter single kayak event on Friday.

Johnson was the only athlete over the weekend to be definitively selected for the United States team; the rest will be selected after races in Montreal and Szeged, Hungary.

“The actual boathouse is one of the best that I’ve seen,” she said.

The Oklahoma River has also won over Norman Bellingham, the chief operating officer of the United States Olympic Committee and a gold medalist in kayaking.

“I was a little bit in disbelief,” he said, recalling his initial reaction to rowing in Oklahoma City. “I had to come out and see it myself.”

Then, at the USA Rowing World Challenge held in Oklahoma City last October, Bellingham spotted a top competitor from New Zealand. He said he knew the site had been accepted.

Perhaps the best test, he said, was that he got few questions when he told people where the Olympic trials were being held. In the boating world, “it seems like a very natural, logical statement to make,” he said. “You don’t get that second look like, did I hear that correctly?”

Akron Canton Airport Investing $110 Million To Ser...

Posted by dave in City Living, Recent Releases on April 24, 2008 | No Comments

OK, so maybe the Airport isn’t investing $110 million just to serve Kent better but given the close proximity of the Airport to Kent and all the travel business that walks through the gates of Akron Canton coming to or from Kent, there’s no doubt that the Airport’s expansion plans is good news for Kent. Gary Locke, Kent’s Community Development Director, serves on an Airport committee so he’s been following the Airport’s expansion plans and he sent me information about what all of us travelers can expect over the next 10 years.

Akron Canton Airport 10 Year Capital Expansion Plan

FROM GARY LOCKE, KENT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

“Kent residents and businesses are fortunate to have multiple alternatives available to them for air travel. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport of course is the largest of these airports. The Akron-Canton Regional Airport is a sometimes overlooked facility capable of providing many of the same services as the larger airport but with less crowds, less travel time and in some cases lower fares. City staff recently had the opportunity to learn more about a 10 year capital improvement plan being implemented by the Akron-Canton Regional Airport. This expansion is significant not only for the airport and the communities immediately adjacent to it, but also to the region, including Kent and Portage County.

Over the next 10 years (through 2018), the airport expects to invest over $110 million in its facilities. Some of this investment has already begun. One of the most significant upgrades is the extension of the main runway (5/23) by 600 feet to a total length of 8,200 feet. This extension will allow larger planes to take-off and land at the facility and will allow the airlines operating from the airport to expand their flight capabilities and potential destinations.

In addition to this improvement, the airport will also be installing new customs and border patrol facilities which will enable it to offer international flights, primarily to Mexico and Canada. Parking facilities will also be expanded as will ticketing areas and TSA security screening areas. There will also be concourse expansions that will provide more gates. The airport has recently completed $60 million in improvements which included new concourse areas and other improvements. The airport has taken significant actions to increase the number of travelers using the airport and ridership has increased significantly from 10 years ago. Currently approximately 90 flights take-off and land at the airport daily.

What most people do not realize, according to airport officials, is that the lower fares offered through the airport help keep the pricing of airfares at surrounding airports somewhat lower than they might be otherwise. The airport also provides a significant service to local businesses that rely on the air industry for travel or commerce. The proposed expansions to the airport will serve as an economic development enhancement to area communities, including Kent. These expansions will make the region and its cities more attractive to both residents as well as existing and future businesses. The airport’s ability to thrive and grow depends on people using it, so please consider the Akron-Canton Regional Airport when making your future air travel plans.”

See The Latest At The Multi-Modal Public Meeting T...

Posted by dave in City University Stuff, Go Green on April 23, 2008 | No Comments

The idea of looking at the possibility of a downtown multi-modal center continues to make progress and this Thursday, April 24th the public is invited to see some options that the architects came up with to see how the facility might fit in the downtown. The consultants have arranged to hold 2 public meetings on the 24th, the first from 12 to 2:30 at the Student Center at Kent State and the second from 4 to 7 pm in Council Chambers at City Hall. The goal is to get feedback on some different layouts for a possible facility in downtown Kent so please try to swing by and let them hear your thoughts.

Here’s a few sneak peeks at the materials to be presented Thursday night:

And last but not least here’s the meeting notice:

Two Thumbs Up for the Cuyahoga River Movie...

Posted by dave in City Living, Go Green, Recent Releases on April 23, 2008 | No Comments

All great epics depict the struggle of good versus evil, death and rebirth, in a plot line that stretches across generations — and the documentary movie The Return of the Cuyahoga — which premiered at Kent’s Who’s Your Mama film fest certainly qualifies as an epic. Since we consistently rank the Cuyahoga river as one of our greatest assets, it’s great to see the river story get told for a national audience. Everyone remembers the burning river images from decades ago, now we have a chance to show a new ending to that story. So get your popcorn and pull up a chair to watch the movie that will be airing 5 times on WVIZ/PBS between now and Sunday night. Read on to see the times and dates of the movie.

Watch a Trailer Clip from the movie.

Here’s the dates you can watch or TIVO the movie on our local PBS affiliate:

Hi Dave,

This is a short pitch for the film, premiered at the “Who’s Your Mama” Film Fest, called “The Return of the Cuyahoga”, which will also have several showings on WVIZ this week. You may have seen Matt Fredmonsky’s article in the paper yesterday. I think it is really well done, and broadens the message of the continuing clean up beyond the banks of the Cuyahoga to a larger message for other rivers.

It is very positive and hopeful. In fact, one of the thoughts I had while seeing it was to send some copies to environmental agencies in India and China as a cautionary tale. Industrial processes need to be scrutinized for environmental and health sustainability everywhere, not just the U.S. We are exporting our pollution and importing our consumer goods. It’s an equation out of balance for all.

Anyway, I hope you will consider promoting it on your blog. It deserves as wide a local audience as possible, especially with the proposed water park. My Kent boosterism is a little sorry it did not stress more of Kent’s accomplishments, particularly with the compromise achieved on the dam removal, but that is just a minor quibble. It does have a little archival footage of Walt Adams from KEC’s days of cleaning up the river, from the era when some member of Council called the group “a bunch of commies”. It also lists KEC member Edith Chase in the credits. I was inspired by what a group in Parma is doing to bring attention to a Cuyahoga tributary in their area, which is along the lines of what KEC did in the seventies, when the activists were a bit younger! The task before us is to inspire the next generation of environmental leaders, when the issue is so much less obvious in the immediate area.

Cheers

And here’s a movie review by a local fan:

25 Years and Still Going Strong: The Franklin Squa...

Posted by dave in Recent Releases, Taking Care of Business on April 22, 2008 | No Comments

Time flies when you’re having fun and 25 years after opening their doors the Franklin Square Deli is celebrating it’s anniversary in their signature style — by giving back to their customers with great sales on sandwiches and special prizes. In the world of small business 25 years is an eternity and it’s a credit to Carl’s (the owner) business savvy and accumen. So this week stop in to see Carl, buy a sandwich, give him a pat on the back and raise a toast in his honor at Rays.

I’ve written about The Franklin Square Deli before (click to read) (click to read more) because it is truly one of my favorite downtown Kent success stories. Carl built his business the old fashioned way — by working really hard and taking care of his customers. Pretty simple formula but pretty hard to do for 25 years.

Don’t think 25 years is a long time? Let’s take a look at what was going on when he started in 1983:

Bjorn Borg retired after winning 5 consecutive Wimbledon Championships

Ronald Reagan was our President

Swatch introduces their first watches

The US embassy in Beruit is bombed, killing 241 people

The Nintendo game system goes on sale

Tom Brokaw is named news anchor for NBC

Vanessa Williams is crowned Miss America

The Baltimore Orioles win the World Series

The US invades Grenada

The first edition of Microsoft Word is introduced

Michael Jackon releases Thriller

Here’s this week’s 25 Year Specials at Franklin Square Deli:

Half Subs for $2.00
Whole Subs for $4.00
All 1/4 Pound Deli Sandwiches $4.00
All Bagel Sandwiches $3.00
Pita Sandwiches $3.00

Your City Council Hard At Work...

Posted by dave in Services News on April 21, 2008 | No Comments

One of the things I miss from the days when I was a Public Works Director was the sense of accomplishment I’d get from seeing the roads repaired, the bridges fixed or the new traffic signals installed. Actually seeing the end result of all your hard work made the trials and tribulations that it took to get there worthwhile. Plus, the citizens saw results — and in case they missed them we put up roadway signs that proudly declared Your Tax Dollars At Work. Results matter and just like anything else in life you have a right to expect results from your city government. I totally get that and we want to deliver. Results are fairly straightforward to see in Public Works but how do you measure the results of your City Council and City Administration? Here’s one way we’re working with City Council to do just that.

How do you measure leadership?

Pretty good question and judging from the abundance of leadership books on the best seller list it’s a question that many people are trying to answer.

From what I’ve seen leadership comes in many shapes and sizes but in city government it’s about fulfilling a promise to do the best for the community. To leave the city better than when you arrived. It’s about standing-up for what you believe, saying what needs to be said, and doing what must to be done because it’s the right thing to do.

Political leadership aims to find the right answers for the community. It listens and acts with respect and humility at the risk of being wrong for the sake of doing right.

Leading cities is rarely about choosing between right and wrong; it’s about having to face two “rights” and pick one for the good of the whole. This is tough stuff that affects people’s lives and tests the character, values and beliefs of each political leader on every issue.

Sometimes leadership is about planning ahead for tomorrow but other times it’s about making the decisions that are needed to make things right today.

So how do we measure that?

One way that we’re experimenting with is tracking what the staff is bringing before Council and how Council is spending their time. The question we’re trying to answer is are we focused on what matters most to the future of Kent? Are we working on those things that the community has said are top priorities? And if so, are we succeeding?

Here’s some quick statistics for how Council spent their time in the first quarter of 2008:

So what do all the numbers mean? To understand that, you’ve got to have a sense for what the community has said is important to Kent’s future. Rather than asking you to re-read all the raw data and reports, we’ve gone back and tried to summarize the results in a framework that we think will help us make sure what we’re working on is consistent with what the community wants.

To View That Report, Click Here.

This is a new format for us but I’ve always believed that the things you measure are the things that get improved, and improvement leads to results — which at the end of the day is what leadership is all about.

Who’s Your Mama Back in Downtown Kent...

Posted by dave in City Living, Go Green, Recent Releases, Taking Care of Business on April 19, 2008 | No Comments

Where can you see brand new films, solar and wind displays, a building with a geothermal well built into it, stilt walking dancers, and an F-250 pick-up truck that runs on french fry grease from Ray’s Place? Where else but in downtown Kent. This weekend downtown Kent will be busy hosting the 2^nd annual Who’s Your Mama earth day festival. The event planners have done a great job setting up a full range of activities and I’ve attached the festival information so you don’t miss any of it.

Even though this is just year 2 for the festival, the event has grown leaps and bounds. There’s so much going on this year that we’re closing down Main Street between Depeyster and Water Street on Saturday to make room for all the earth-friendly vendors to set up and display their wares. It will be a veritable Earth-apalooza in downtown Kent.

Kent has a long tradition of looking out for mother earth so it’s really no surprise that this event has taken off the way it has. There’s still a lot of the original hippie clan communing here in Kent and this is just an updated version of flower power. Forget about having a chicken in every pot, Kents got a Whole Earth Catalogue in every mailbox. Kent was new age before new age meant something and we’re still new age in our old age.

Ok you get the drift, being earth friendly is part of the Kent DNA – which also makes it a significant theme in the Kent brand. The good news is being green is no longer just the good of our social conscience – its actually turning out to be good for business. So while you’re strolling Main Street this weekend be thinking about how we can build new businesses around our green streak.

When it comes to our future being green matters and so does jobs — our challenge is building a cluster of jobs that honor our green heritage and make Al Gore proud. They always say to lead with your strengths and eco-friendliness is one of our greatest strengths so I’m hoping to get some more ideas from walking around downtown Kent this weekend.

There’s too many activities for me to try to list here so just follow the link and you’ll see what I mean.

The 2nd Annual “Who’s Your Mama?” Earth Day Festival,
April 16 -April 20, 2008.

Coleman Professional Services 30 years and Still G...

Posted by dave in Recent Releases on April 15, 2008 | No Comments

Soon after my arrival in Kent I had a chance to participate in one of Coleman Services orientation seminars. Not only was I impressed with the information provided about the services they manage I was equally impressed with the organization itself. As a devotee of running the City like a business, I admired how well Coleman had integrated business practices into their organization performance. Not only do they talk the talk, they walk the walk. Don’t let the fact that they provide behavioral and rehabilitation programs fool you into thinking this is another run-of-the-mill social service agency. This is a company in the business of serving people’s needs with a solid financial model for paying their own way and diversifying their revenue base — which just grew by another $96,000 thanks to a grant from the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation.

In spending time at Coleman Services I saw an organization that had taken steps to improve their market position, think strategically, and cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit. They have established cost and performance metrics to calculate rates of return and optimize return on investment through sound capitalization strategies. Their employees have been trained in quality techniques and critical thinking and they know how to manage cash flow, drive productivity and inspire innovation. Not exactly and your grandfather’s social service agency.

But while Coleman works like a business it still acts with the heart of non-profit, putting their client’s needs above making money. When faced with a choice, they remain true to their mission to serve first and make money second so that the special needs of individuals in our region are met.

In case you can’t tell by now, I’m a huge fan of Coleman Services. They represent the best of what Kent has to offer. Kent has always prided itself on being a community with a conscience which means they look out for the little guy who might get pushed aside somewhere else. There’s room in Kent for everyone which is why I refer to Kent as a City with a full 360 degrees of people living in it. To that end, Coleman makes it possible for Kent to live up to it’s promise of being a community for everyone, which is one reason I was delighted to read of their recent grant award.

COLEMAN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RECEIVES $96,000 GRANT FROM MARGARET CLARK MORGAN FOUNDATION FOR AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

KENT, Ohio (April 7, 2008) – Coleman Professional Services was recently awarded a $96,000 grant from the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation of Hudson, Ohio, in an initiative to implement a regional mental health awareness campaign.

Coleman, a regional behavioral health and rehabilitation organization headquartered in Kent, will lead a four county initiative directed at local colleges and universities to educate students on the facts and issues regarding behavioral health and mental illness. The initiative will develop a repeatable awareness model that can be implemented at numerous universities to encourage more students to openly discuss the common issues facing their campus communities relating to mental illness and to understand the resources available to help their friends and family recover.

Coleman will be contracting with the University of Akron’s Institute for Health and Social Policy to coordinate a series of ten focus groups to garner information from college students to measure levels of current attitudes and awareness of mental health issues. The Institute will also complete a program evaluation in the spring of 2008, after implementation, to determine the efficacy of the program.

Meghan Urbon of Coleman Profession Services will serve as the program coordinator to coordinate efforts with the county Mental Health and Recovery Boards in Portage, Stark, Summit and Trumbull Counties and a Curriculum Developer to construct an effective awareness campaign curriculum by utilizing data collected from the focus groups. The curriculum will then be implemented in at least four yet to be determined Ohio colleges and universities.

President of the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, Mr. Rick Kellar said, “We are grateful to have a collaborative partner like Coleman Professional Services to lead this important project. We look forward to an outcome of real behavioral change over time, rather than transparent ads that have no real or lasting impact.”

This comprehensive campaign initiative resulted from a group of preliminary planning group sessions for four months in 2007 comprised of four Mental Health and Recovery Boards, representatives from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and key members from the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation and Coleman Professional Services who met to discuss possible campaign ideas. Work on the newly funded initiative has begun this month and completion is anticipated in spring or summer of 2009.

Coleman Professional Services is a nationally recognized not-for-profit provider of behavioral health and rehabilitation programs that improve the lives of individuals, families and businesses in Northeast Ohio. The company relies on an enterprise business model to diversify its funding. Coleman’s foundation and three enterprise companies produce more than 40 percent of the company’s funding for its award-winning programs.

The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation’s mission is to improve mental health practices in Northeast Ohio through effective investment in progressive organizations and innovative initiatives that raises the standards of prevention, treatment and recovery.

For more information on Coleman Professional Services or the services it offers, visit Coleman Services.

Oh, and by the way, this year marks the 30th anniversary of Coleman. Here’s a short write-up that hit the newswire complements of Crains Business Magazine:

February 25, 2008
Coleman Professional Services began work in 1978 with 35 employees, an annual budget of less than $1 million and a mission to provide counseling services for residents of Portage County.

Today, Coleman provides behavioral health and rehabilitation programs that improve the lives of individuals, families and businesses in five Northeast Ohio counties. It employs 450 and has an annual budget of more than $20 million.

The CEO is Nelson W. Burns.