The Kent Chamber of Commerce is rolling out the welcome wagon (in this case it looks more like a trolley) to welcome Kent State students back to town.  In the spirit of –  show them and they will come (and keep coming back) — the Chamber and Main Street Kent have partnered to arrange a special showing of Kent’s best downtown businesses.  The favorite places like the Franklin Square Deli and Rays are on the top of the list but this year they are joined by all the new businesses that have sprung up as a result of the Phoenix Project.  Acorn Alley’s official grand opening is just around the corner but many of the small shops are offering a sneak peak at what’s to come.  If you’re a student you don’t want to miss it (because it’s free food) but if you’re just a curious cat you should still swing through downtown to get a flavor of the new stores and feel like a kid again at the new Off The Wagon toy shop.   

Here’s the press release from the Chamber:

I’m not sure how much folks have heard about the discussion that is going on right now regarding the future of Plum Creek Park — particularly the status of the ponds.  Our City Engineer, Jim Bowling, has asked for Council time in September (8/2) to update City Council on the proposed Plum Creek Park improvements.  Jim was telling me that thanks to the availability of Federal Stimulus Funds we have an opportunity to eliminate the old dam infrastructure that took Plum Creek and turned it into Plum Creek ponds.  The geese and mosquitoes love the ponds but it turns out that the dam has lived its full service life and now it’s time for it to go and Jim has prepared a couple of alternative scenarios for what the future of Plum Creek could look like as it passes through the Park.  Here’s Jim’s summary information.

Working with the Parks Department, Jim has put together a concept Park Plan that he is recommending for Council’s consideration that will be possible only if the old dam is removed and the creek is allowed to be restored to its original free-flowing state. 

Click Here To View the Proposed Park Plan

We’re certainly not anti-big business but given the cumulative importance of small business development to Kent’s economic future we’re proud to be an advocate for the little guy whose story doesn’t always make the front page.  So here’s a salute to one of the newest members to our small business family in Kent — The Looking Glass Day Care facility just announced their plans to open up in the old Steinert Glass Blowing School by the end of this month.  And it’s great to see all the help they had from other Kent small businesses to get them off the ground and running — proving that individually the pieces may be small but the support network is large, engaged and growing.

From left are Ty Barksdale, Portage Community Bank; Dan Smith, Kent economic development director; Susan McGann, Ohio Small Business Development Center; Mayor John Fender; Jenny Adams, day care owner; Adams’ daughters Amanda and Emma; Joe Bodnar, Fuller Design Group; and Michael Wiles, Welcome Home Builders.

The Looking Glass Day Care held their groundbreaking on Friday, July 17.  The facility is located at 1393 Mogadore Road, the site of the former Steinert Glass Blowing School.  This new child care facility is currently being built, and will be operated, by Jenny Adams of Kent.  Joe Bodnar of Fuller Design Group is the Architect and the renovation work is being performed by Michael Wiles of Welcome Home Builders. Jenny has also been working with the KRBA/Small Business Development Center.

The headline Kent State Students In Action may conjure up images of weekend party celebrations but the reality is Kent State Students spend a lot more time making positive contributions to our community than the media images give them credit for.  In the 2008-09 academic year over 2,555 students volunteered in the community providing more than 29,104 hours of service.  Convert those hours to dollars and you’re looking at more than $589,372 worth of service given back to the community by Kent State students.  Volunteers tend to be a humble lot which probably explains the lack of great fanfare for their work but if you ask the thousands of people that have benefitted from their help you’ll see a deep appreciation.  That’s the recognition that really counts.   

In the spirit of pay it forward, Kent State University and the City of Kent jointly sponsored a service event last year entitled “100 Hours of Service” which focused on work around town for residents that needed some help but for whatever reason couldn’t provide it by themselves.  That’s where the students came in to lend a hand — or a bunch of hands in some cases.       

During the 100 Hours of Service Event 290 volunteers from the community and university participated in a variety of service projects in our local community.  Like most things in life, the work would not have been possible if it hadn’t been for special help from the University Inn, Shredd-It and Kent Office Supply, The Rock Cafe, Emilio Ferrara, City Antiques, UPS Store – Kent, Main Street Kent, and the Division of Enrollment Management and Students Affairs, Kent State University.

Service work is a great example of putting your money (or sweat equity) where your mouth is.  Lots of people can talk a good game but when you get down to hammers and nails the number of volunteers gets pretty small pretty quick.  That’s what makes the KSU numbers all that much more impressive.  They’re were able to get close to 10% of their student body to volunteer in the community.  I can’t help but wonder if as a community we’re getting an equivalent 10% of our residents who live here 12 months a year to give back to their community.     

Here’s how Kent State promotes volunteerism to it’s student body that contains some great reminders for all of us:

If you know someone in our community that might need a helping hand, the Super Service Saturday program is full of hands looking for work. 

Looking for something to do on the weekends? Be a volunteer for Super-Service Saturdays! Twice a month, you will have the opportunity to spend a few hours on Saturday volunteering at agencies around the area. Activities range from building a house, sorting clothes at various clothing centers, or collecting food for the hungry. There are so many ways to help! Super-Service Saturdays offer opportunities for you to become more connected with the community, in addition to providing you with valuable skills to be taken with you beyond the doors of the University. Transportation is provided. 

To learn more about Super-Service Saturdays and to sign up, please contact Ann Gosky at 330-672-8004, agosky@kent.edu.

The following service dates scheduled for the 2009-2010 academic year:

Fall Semester:
9/12, 9/26, 10/10, 10/24, 11/7, 11/21, 12/5

I think most people would agree that how things look matters.  It’s in the application of this concept where people start to disagree.  On the one end of the spectrum are those folks that say nobody, including their government, should be able to tell them what to do with the look of their house or building.  It’s their property and the constitution assigns them property rights, end of story.  On the other hand, folks will also argue that they have a right to not have your bad looking property diminish the value of their property so the government needs to protect their property rights too, which usually takes the form of some level of architectural design standards.  This is a great example of choosing between 2 rights — which is what makes setting public policy so difficult.  There is no right or wrong answer, just the best expression of what the Kent community believes is best for Kent — which is what the Planning Department will be reviewing next Tuesday night, August 18 at 7:45 pm in the Council Chambers. 

Here’s an email update from the Planning Director:

Good Morning:

After a brief hiatus in July, we are due to continue our review of the Kent Zoning Code. The next session will be Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 7:45 PM. Please note the changed starting time which is due to the fact that the Planning Commission has two cases (both zoning text amendments) on its agenda and their meeting begins at 7 PM.

The next topic for discussion relates to Architectural Review Standards (ARS). For those who may not know this, the City currently has no specific architectural review standards in its zoning code. It does have an architectural advisory board which serves at the pleasure of the Planning Commission and does have input on some projects. Since this is a rather complex subject, I have broken the topic down into two parts. We will deal with the first of the two parts at the coming meeting. Our focus will be on determining how ARS would potentially fit into the current development review process. It seems prudent to have this discussion first and to get some direction on this before actually trying to define the standards themselves, since the manner in which the standards are applied may actually have some bearing on the content of the standards.

Attached you will find the agenda for the meeting, along with a copy of what had been drafted (the draft is not complete) for the Unified Development Code undertaking about 5 years ago, and also our staff report on this matter. I hope to see you all there. If there are any questions, please feel free to contact me.

To see the agenda and review the handouts prepared for the meeting, click here.

Mark your calendar for the 6th Annual Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social in Downtown Kent scheduled for this Saturday, August 8th from 1pm to 4 pm on the Home Savings Plaza.  Nothing says summer like ice cream so don’t miss out on the roll back prices (25 cents a scoop, FREE for Seniors!) and fun family activities planned for kids of all ages compliments of the DICE and Main Street organizations.  It’s a great chance to drop in on your favorite stores in downtown Kent and see all the new stores that will be opening in the next month on Main Street as the Phoenix Project wraps up phases 2 and 3. 

WHAT: Kent’s 6th Annual Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social

-Ice Cream at 25 cents a Scoop

-Free Ice Cream for Senior Citizens

-Musical Performances

-KidzArt Face Painting

-Kent Historical Society Open for Visits 11am-2pm.

-City Bank Antiques open for Antique Clock Tour. 11am-5pm.

WHEN: Saturday, August 8, 1-4pm

WHERE: Home Savings Plaza, Intersection of Main and Water Streets in
Downtown Kent

Music Performances at The Home Savings Plaza:

-1:00-1:30pm: The Giant Hand Made Organ of John Prtljaga

-1:45-2:30pm: Weninger and Simon, Pedal Steel Guitar and Folk Songs

-2:30-3:00pm: Barbershop Quartet Harmonies of The Clear Choice Quartet

-3:00-4:00pm: More Music…

ABOUT THE MUSIC:

Hand Made Organ of John Prtljaga
The Organ was started by John in 1990 and continues to be modified to play Old Time Dutch and German Folk Songs, Polkas, and Waltzes. It has 75 Keys and started out as a Wurlitzer 65 Organ. The Case is made of oak and now has the design of an old fashioned Dutch Street Organ. This will be the 3rd year John has made his appearance with this personally crafted instrument.

WENIGER AND SIMON:
Weniger and Simon have been playing to audiences around North East Ohio since 1985, with our unique blend of styles and sounds, we like to call “Eclectic Electric Folk-Age Music.” The majority of our music comes from the past twenty five years of pop and folk music, augmented by a substantial number of original compositions. Instrumentation includes guitars, keyboard, harmonicas, synthesizers, recorder and pedal steel. We have performed in some of the larger bookstores, such as Borders and Booksellers, at weddings and receptions, and on restaurant patios of Gamekeepers Tavern, The Timberfire, Chagtown Cafe, Fishers in Peninsula and The Old Whedon Grille in Hudson. We have also performed at The Mustard Seed in Fairlawn and in Solon, The Zephyr and the old Brady’s Cafe both located in Kent. Don’t forget the Riverfront Coffee Mill located in both downtown Cuyahoga Falls as well as the new location in Green.

John Weniger has been playing music in churches, restaurants, bands and bars for over 30 years, ten of which as the leader of the “The John Weniger Band”. His talent of composing music and lyric, as well as the clear warmth of his vocals, has only grown in popularity through the years.

Gerry Simon has been performing in bands in Ohio, California, the Virgin Islands, and Florida since 1968, ranging from jug, blues, country, folk, and rock and roll. His bands have shared billing with acts as diverse as Loretta Lynn and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, to Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Walsh, and The New Riders of the Purple Sage.

CLEAR CHOICE QUARTET:
Clear Choice is a barbershop Quartet singing throughout the Ohio area, based in Akron. Dan, Ray, Jim and Bill are all members of the Akron Derbytown Chorus and have over thirty years of singing experience between them.

Downtown Kent Historical Highlights:

CITY BANK ANTIQUES: http://www.citybankantiques.com/ 

In August 1995, Don and Karen Barrett opened City Bank Antiques in the original, 1911 City Bank Building in Kent, Ohio. Don is an expert in the repair of American pocket watches. It was inevitable that their hobby would someday develop into a business, which Karen, a former librarian, now manages. Their store offers a variety of antique clocks as diverse as cuckoo and school house regulators to grandfather clocks and pinwheel regulators. The Barretts are proud to be official Chelsea Clock dealers, the “timekeepers of the sea” and the last great American clock company.

In September 2005, Don and Karen showcased their expanded shop which now encompasses the entire original City Bank Building and occupies more than 1850 square feet of first floor retail space. When it comes to antique pocket watches, City Bank Antiques is one of the largest retailers in the state.

The Kent Historical Society: http://www.kentohiohistory.org 
The Role of the Kent Historical Society The role of our historical society in the community has grown over the years. We now bring educational programs to schools, businesses, and civic organizations, as well as collaborate with community groups on projects such as the preservation of our historic Pioneer Cemetery, the Main Street Kent revitalization program, and historic preservation projects in the community.

We are dedicated to documenting Kent history through artifacts, records, and documents from the people of our community, our living history.

Kent Historical Society Museum
234 S. Water Street, P.O. Box 663
Kent, Ohio, 44240
Phone: (330) 678-2712

Hours of Operation
Museum Hours:
Thursday, Friday: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.