My New Favorite Word: Resiliency...

It’s funny how perspectives change as your view of the world changes. 

Sometimes it’s you that’s changing –  you get married, have kids, grow old — all those are life changers that influence your perspective on things.  Other times the world changes around us and causes us to see things differently. Lately, the economy has done a lot of changing, mostly not for good, and out of necessity that’s forced us to look at things differently. 

I’ve always tended to describe the City organization with phrases like innovative, engaged, action-oriented, goal-directed, and any number of other adjectives that implied progress towards fulfilling the Kent community’s aspirations.   These words are all still true but as I’ve made done my speech-making tour at some of the local civic organizations I’ve noticed that I am tending to favor a slightly different set of words.  Words like resilient, dependable, and resourceful are coming up much more frequently than they used to.  I think it’s a sign of the times and an economy that has pushed us off center and into a less certain financial landscape.   

It turns out that resilience is indeed my new favorite word, and its the word I’m most proud of when it comes to describing Kent City employees and all the work they find ways to do under the duress of resource cuts. 

I find a strong resonance for what I see happening within the City organization with the way that Wikipedia defines resilience — “Resilience” is the positive capacity of people to cope with stress and adversity. This coping may result in the individual “bouncing back” to a previous state of normal functioning, or using the experience of exposure to adversity to produce a “steeling effect” and function better than expected.

With all the positive things happening in Kent you’d think we’d be feeling pretty good about where we’re at financially — and by comparison with many of our neighboring cities, we are estatic — but that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods.  In the last 25 years, there’s only been 3 years when City income taxes (which is the basis of all the good work that City employees are able to do) has decreased in size — those years were 2008, 2009 and 2010.  Ouch. 

However, I am optimistic (based on numbers not just hope alone) that 2011 is off to a much better start and we should see a reversal of this troubling trend.  Plus, all the construction going on around town has definitely given us a nice shot in the arm in temporary income tax revenues which should help us bridge over and into the next period of economic growth that we expect to follow from the new jobs being created in the downtown revitalization project and all the ancilliary job growth that should spur.

That’s our plan and we’re sticking to it, but unfortunately we got a curveball from the State of Ohio.  The biennial State budget is cutting about $750,000 of our revenues.  That’s an unexpected and ill-timed hit that has definitely taken the steam out of whatever gains we’ve been able to achieve through the plan that I desribed above.  But to quote myself, we’re resilient, and we’re committed to finding a way through these times and come out the other side stronger than ever as a community. 

Here’s an excerpt from a letter I wrote that accompanies the submission of our comprehensive annual financial report for 2010 that gives you a sense of how our financial strategies worked in 2010.

FACTORS AFFECTING FINANCIAL CONDITION

The information presented in the financial statements is best understood when it is considered from the broader perspective of the specific economic environment within which the City of Kent operates.

Local Economy

Despite continued strain in the region’s economy, the City of Kent was able to maintain favorable reserve balances and sustain City services at existing levels without any new or increased taxes or fees in 2010.   The City’s aggressive cost cutting over the last 5 years, combined with the revenue stabilization provided by Kent State University, enabled the City to continue to hold the line on its budget in 2010 and weather the financial storm better than most of the neighboring communities in Northeast Ohio.    

Kent State University is the City’s largest employer, accounting for 40.8% of total municipal income tax revenues.  Consequently, the City’s financial condition is heavily influenced by the financial performance of the University. As a public institution of higher education Kent State tends to not experience dramatic revenue swings, which buffers the City’s tax base from the more volatile highs and lows of private business cycles. 

2010 marked Kent State University’s Centennial year and with it came the highest recorded enrollment in the university’s 100-year history, securing Kent State’s position as the second largest public university in Ohio.  Kent State reported an 11.6% increase in enrollment for Spring 2010 and a 7.56 percent increase in enrollment for the Fall 2010. These enrollment figures include record levels of international students (up 25%) and graduate school enrollment. Kent State’s research funding reached record highs in 2010 ($26.8 million) and the University also reported record-breaking fundraising results (securing $39.9 million).  The University’s net assets increased 7.4% in 2010 and are trending upwards. 

To commemorate the university’s 2010 Centennial, Kent State commissioned a study to quantify the economic contribution of the University to the local economy.  The report noted that in total, the average annual contribution of Kent State and its alumni in Northeast Ohio is $1.9 billion. The region benefits from $292.4 million in added income each year due to the payroll of Kent State faculty and staff, and the university’s spending for supplies and services. Student off campus spending also contributes an additional $45.3 million to the greater Kent economy. 

 The University’s achievements in 2010 enabled Kent State to continue to fund faculty and staff raises.  These income increases helped to offset the recessionary effects evident in other sectors of the greater Kent economy.  Despite the University derived gains, income tax receipts (not including the Franklin and Brimfield JEDD agreements explained below) in 2010 came in below the prior year by 0.28%.  That is only the third time in 25 years that the City experienced a net loss in income tax and while the City’s single digit income tax drop is less precipitous than state and national declines, it remains a City concern and illustrates the depth of the troubles in the non-university sectors of the economy that have crippled some of Kent’s neighboring communities. 

While the City has not been immune to the broader economic downturn, it has witnessed some positive early indicators of an emerging economic recovery.  2010 marked yet another record year for Kent State income tax contributions and total City revenues began to rebound in the second half of 2010 following back to back years of decline to post a net increase of 4.6% for the last six months of the year.  Real income growth was lead by University-based sectors in 2010 but it was tempered by sluggishness in the traditional manufacturing and transportation sectors. 

Investments in Kent

In 2010 Kent State University began the largest capital re-investment program ($250 million) in the history of the University, completing renovations of Risman Plaza (Phase I), main campus library, Roe Green Performance Center, and select residence halls.  This level of investment will transform the campus and generate significant income taxes ($250,000 to $500,000/year) during the 2-3 year construction period.   

Elsewhere in the Kent community new construction values were trending in opposite directions in 2010. 
Single family residential construction hit record lows but interest in new multi-family properties were at all time highs with over 3,000 new units in the pipeline for construction over the next 1-3 years.  The proposed multi-family units will produce $50-$75 million in new investments with corresponding new construction related income taxes. 

Likewise, the commercial construction rebound that began in 2009 continued in 2010, accelerating Kent’s economic recovery. Over a dozen new businesses opened or expanded in Kent in 2010, including the ground breaking  for Phase III of the Downtown Phoenix Project ($10 million), grand opening of a new Sheetz store, Klaben Quick Lane Car Repair opening, the new Buzz Barber Shop, announcement of the new Record Courier headquarters to be built in Kent, Lucky Penny Farm and Creamery, Kent Yoga Center, Crooked River Canoe/Kayak Rental, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Montrose Mazda Auto Dealership and the Dancing Beta Sushi Restaurant. 

On the public side, the City continued to aggressively pursue Federal, State and Regional grant funds for infrastructure improvements with great success.   As a result, the City is repairing more bridges, streets and sidewalks than it has in decades.  Over the last 3 years the City was awarded (or was a partner in grant awards) amounting to over $40 million in stimulus/grant funds, which has enabled the City to leverage grant funds to City funds at an impressive 5:1 ratio. 

The Fairchild Avenue Bridge project construction was well underway by the end of 2010, with the new bridge superstructure constructed and the decking under construction.  The adjoining roadway approaches to the bridge had been realigned to match the location and elevation of the new bridge, and the hike and bike trail connections had been graded for paving in a later phase of the project.  The bulk of the remaining work relates to raising the adjacent railroad lines and building the new pedestrian/bike bridge.  The project remains on budget and on schedule for completion in 2012.

Investment was not limited to new construction in 2010; it also included the continued demolition of blighted and non-productive properties that will be replaced with new residential and commercial properties as appropriate.  For the residential properties, the City accessed Federal grant funds to take down three condemned structures and replace them affordable housing to help to stabilize distressed City neighborhoods.  The commercial properties were removed as part of the larger downtown revitalization effort and included City, University and privately funded site preparation efforts. 

Major Initiatives

Phases 1 and 2 of the Phoenix Project were completed and fully tenanted in downtown Kent by the end of 2009.  This popular project offers an eclectic mix of small, local retail and restaurants, and office space; including the first off campus University business enterprise, the Tannery, a professional marketing, advertising and media services company that is staffed by students.  Phase III, which includes the extension of Acorn Alley and the construction of another 50,000 square feet of office, retail and condominiums, began in late 2010 and is scheduled to be completed by Fall 2011. 

The success of the Phoenix Project reaffirmed the City and Kent State’s commitment to proceed with a mixed use redevelopment project that will include 56,000 square feet of new retail and restaurants, a 95 room hotel, a 15,000 square foot conference center, 75,000 square feet of office space, and 18 residential units strategically located at the edge of central business district and the expanded edge of the University campus in downtown Kent.  Two major corporate tenants, Davey Tree and Ametek Corporation, began lease negotiations in 2010 (finalized and signed in 2011) to occupy 60,000 square feet of office space and bring 100 to 150 professional jobs into downtown Kent in 2012 when the first phases of construction are expected to be complete.  During 2010 the City and University finalized land acquisition for the project, signed Development Agreements with the project partners, signed an Agreement with the Portage Area Regional Transit Agency (PARTA) for the new multi-modal facility, and completed the majority of the site demolition and mass grading.    

In 2010 the City continued to work with Franklin and Brimfield townships to recruit new businesses and expand business development opportunities within the JEDD boundaries. As a result of these partnerships, the City received $201,625 as its combined share of JEDD income taxes in 2010.

As part of the City’s neighborhood enrichment initiatives, the City and Kent State University agreed in 2010 to jointly fund a new Community-University Liaison position.  The purpose of the new position is to improve communications in the edge of campus neighborhoods and to facilitate new programs to improve the quality of life enjoyed by students and residents living in those neighborhoods. 

Long-term Financial Planning

During 2010, the City continued to update and implement the five-year capital improvement program that ensures the City’s ability to meet the infrastructure needs of the community in future years.  In addition to the capital plan, City Council continued to support strategic land acquisitions in 2010 that advanced critical economic development priorities.  City staff also continued to pursue efficiency and productivity improvements resulting in budget cuts and savings amounting to $400,000 in 2010. 

Cash Management Policies and Practices

The City’s investment policy is to manage and invest the public’s funds with regard to the following criteria:  Safety of principal is the foremost objective for the City. All investments are executed in a manner that seeks to ensure preservation of capital in the overall portfolio. Liquidity is the second objective, and the City’s investment portfolio maturities are structured in such a manner so as to meet all of its operating requirements that can be reasonably anticipated. Finally, the City’s investment portfolio is managed so as to achieve a competitive yield that is compatible with the risk and cash flow requirements of the portfolio. The Director of Budget and Finance is authorized by City Council to invest interim and active monies not in excess of $10 million.  Investments may be in certificates of deposit or repurchase agreements for a period not to exceed six months with an eligible institution designated as a depository in the State of Ohio.  While these are considered uncollateralized for financial reporting purposes, the institutions are required by state statute to maintain a collateral pool of assets whose carrying value exceeds their total public deposits by at least 5%.  Investments in excess of $10 million or beyond six months require the authorization of the City’s Treasury Investment Board.  The Treasury Investment Board is comprised of the City Manager, the Director of Budget and Finance and the Director of Law. The total interest earned during 2010 was $308,817.

Best Practices...

With City dollars tighter than ever, we’ve got to be smarter than ever in everything we do, especially when it comes to something as important as keeping people safe (which is a big part of what do). 

City revenue challenges have caused us to cut millions from our budgets over the last 5 years but we’ve held true to a core belief that those cuts can not be made at the expense of public safety.  That’s easier said than done, and that’s why working smarter is so important.

The good news is that thanks to the internet there’s more information than ever before about the latest and greatest technology and techniques in crime prevention and response so we don’t have to spend so much money to learn what works;  instead we can learn for free from others who already paid for it.  That’s what best practices are all about. 

The trouble is, sometimes with so much out there, it’s like trying to get a drink from a fire hose. 

The challenge of data management is like riding the wave of a tsunami.  Do it right and it’s got major upsides, but it doesn’t take much to get overwhelmed and get lost at sea.   

Search engines can locate a lot of data but looking through 13,214 pages can be tough unless you’ve got endless hours and energy — both of which are in short supply these days as everyone’s carrying a heavier load and pulling double duty.   Fortunately, there are a growing number of web services (often affiliated with government associations) that do the looking for you and we use those sources a lot more than you might think.

We like to be on the leading edge of public services — not necessarily the bleeding edge — so we’re always scanning to see who’s come up with an innovation in our respective fields; we see how much it costs and we look at the results.  From there, we can decide if we want to pull the trigger and be an early adopter.

Admittedly, money to invest in something in new is not always readily available so our spirit of early adoption is often tempered by the practical realities of our City finances, but we’re a persistent bunch and we often find creative ways to be cheap early adopters. 

Here’s a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice announcing their new web-based service (crimesolutions.gov) for identifying and sharing best practices in crime prevention and response:

River Safety...

Last week City Council proclaimed Wednesday, June 15th as Police Officer Enymoser Day in the City in honor of his quick thinking and creative use of his K-9 dog leash to reel in a person that had fallen in the river and was being pulled under by the force of the current.  

Thankfully this story had a happy ending but it served as a reminder of how important it is to be prepared for the unexpected. Following that incident, the City staff met to develop a more detailed strategy for ensuring river safety that goes beyond issuing K-9 leashes to all our employees.  Here’s a look at what they’ve come up with:

Synopsis        

With the recent incidents involving river safety in Kent as well as other communities in the area, some members of city staff decided to meet to consider ways to improve water safety.  The nature of the concerns involve the safety of those people interested in recreation on the water (kayakers, etc.), as well as the increasing numbers of people who wish to swim or wade in the water.  Equally important are the concerns for those who are responsible for the safety and rescue of local water users.

This group will be considered an informal task force, since most of the issues should be handled quickly, and the group will then be dissolved.  Continuing responsibilities will then fall back to the respective city departments for maintaining the safety efforts.  We have developed some strategies to investigate and consider in order to address these concerns.

Results of the meeting:

• Consideration of how to gauge the water flow and safety conditions on the river, and make the public aware of these conditions.

Discussion in this area included possible methods of gauging river conditions based on known standards of depth and flow at Hiram and Old Portage.  Also discussed was the possibility of gauging and creating standards with equipment at the pump house near the dam. 

For the time being, the possibility of creating color-coded paint marking at a few sites within the river will be pursued.  The various depth colors will indicate the treacherous nature of the conditions at the time.  Over time, experienced users of the river will recognize whether the conditions are within the skills of the user.  Signs may be used to clarify and define the meaning of the colored coding for novices. 

Notification/signage advising of proper safety considerations in park areas that may commonly be used for swimming, etc.

Staff  brought some samples of signs that might be valuable in cautioning casual users of the river for swimming, wading, etc.  After discussion, it was decided that John Idone should follow up on this option since most of the areas where these activities take place are park properties.

• Formalizing and firming up the protocol for activation of the dive team in response to possible rescue situations.  This action will result in a clearer, more standardized protocol on activation of the team, with guidance on the definition of a when someone is regarded as a possible “victim,” requiring team activation. 
• Training and equipment for other first responders, especially the police.

Some rescue training has been conducted for the police, but there is very little equipment available when officers may be the first to respond to a potential drowning incident.  The ready availability of “throw bags” in several cruisers will be very valuable.  The addition of special personal flotation devices (PFD) is also critically essential for those who may be thrust into the situation of executing a rescue attempt.  This equipment will be investigated by Greg Urchek and Bill Lillich, and training updates, especially for new personnel, will be undertaken by the Fire Department.

• Water safety demonstrations and distribution of safety materials for the public.

This type of presentation is often to demonstrate safe boating tactics, etc., but the focus of this effort is to attract average citizens in order to reinforce safe practices while being in and around the water.  Advanced safety practices will be highlighted in the next week, in hopes that some interest will be generated for presentation at the Heritage Festival.  Again, the highlight at the festival will be safety while wading, swimming, or lazing around the river.  Safety materials and publications will be in abundance.  This will be handled by Dave Moore, Dave Herpy and the Portage County Dive Team.

• River clean up efforts are considered akin to safety in that branches, tree, logs and other clutter can be removed.  It is best accomplished in late summer, and will probably be scheduled in August.  Dave Herpy feels that many of the Kent State group will be willing to volunteer in the clean up.  This will be managed by Gene Roberts and KSU’s Dave Herpy.

Street and Sidewalk Work Update...

1. Crain Avenue Resurfacing Project — The City’s contractor will be starting the resurfacing of Crain Avenue from North Willow Street to Elmwood Drive, which will consist of milling 3″ off of the existing asphalt pavement and resurfacing it with 3″ of surface course asphalt. Additional work will include medium depth pavement repairs and minor utility structural work. 

Normal traffic patterns will be maintained for most of the work but motorists should expect delays throughout the duration of the project. Crain Avenue may be closed to through traffic from North Willow Street to Elmwood Drive when the contractor places the rubberized asphalt surface course so that traffic does not damage the hot asphalt pavement. The closure to through traffic should be a one day event, weather permitting, and range from 4 to 6 hours. A discussion will be held with the contractor at the preconstruction meeting to see if the road closure can occur on a Saturday. This type of work is performed utilizing a “moving” construction zone. Vehicles utilizing any street that is being resurfaced can expect minor traffic delays since the traffic will be reduced to one lane where the work is being performed. Residents and businesses may have a temporary loss of access (up to ten minutes) to their drives as the construction work passes by their property. 

8. Annual Concrete Repair Program — The City is meeting with the contractor to begin our annual concrete repair program. The work will consist of removing and replacing existing concrete sidewalk, concrete drive apron, concrete curbing and upgrading concrete ramps to ADA standards at intersections. Traffic will be maintained on all streets during construction. Please note that there may be minor traffic delays on all affected streets throughout the project’s duration. The traffic delays usually last about 5 minutes but may vary depending upon the situation. It is anticipated that there will not be any road closures as a part of this project.

The following streets are a part of the 2011 Annual Concrete Repair Program:

Burr Oak Drive To Wilson Avenue North end of Street

Columbus Street From S. Depeyster St. To N. Willow Street

Crain Avenue From N. Willow Street To Elmwood Drive

East Oak Street From S. Water Street To Vine Street

Park Avenue From N. Mantua Street To Gougler Avenue

Valleyview Street From the Cul-de-Sac To Vine Street

East Williams St. From S. Water Street To Vine Street

West Williams St. From Franklin Avenue To S. Water Street

Kent Project Updates...

Last Thursday I was invited to be the guest speaker at the Lions Club to discuss the status of the many projects that the City has going on around Kent.  

I wrote up my speech the night before, but like most of my talks, I rarely follow my script and I ended up improvising for about 35 minutes.  I hate to see the time invested in writing the speech go to waste, so here it is as a blog post.  

Lions Club Speech
6/9/11

Right now in Kent we’re definitely living thru a period of be careful what you ask for – and I don’t necessarily mean listening to my speech this afternoon, although by the time I’m done that may apply as well. 

I’m referring to all the work we’ve got started all over town – with construction zones and detour signs to prove it. 

I have fond memories of my first tour of Kent led by Councilman Wayne Wilson and former Mayor John Fender, listening to their heckling of one another sprinkled in with their aspirations of all the things they hoped could happen in Kent. 

Their faith and pride in the Kent community was genuine, and that, as much as anything else, is what attracted me to become a part of Kent.  I wanted to be a part of starting something.

Little did I know at the time just how much we’d get started.  Just try to drive around Kent without encountering a traffic detour or construction zone these days.  Good luck.    

I’m guessing that there’s a couple of you who have probably said at one time or another recently who’s the genius that has construction zone blocking just about every connector street in Kent – uh, that would be me. 

Actually it would be Jim Bowling our city engineer but I’m the one that inspired him to tear stuff up and get building so I’ll take the blame.  Mia Culpa. 

Of course I never dreamed that Jim would do his job quite so well but despite all the temporary inconveniences we’ve now got momentum on our side, and it’s a positive momentum pushing us forward rather than the rip tide of this last recession that tried to pull us into the undertow like so many of our neighboring cities. 

The funny thing about cities is that you’re either moving forward or falling behind – I’ve really never found a middle ground in the places I’ve worked. 

Investments tend to be contagious and we banked on that when we went to City Council and made a case that even in these tough economic times we needed to spend money and make critical strategic investments that we thought would begin to turn the fly wheel in the community’s favor. 

Don’t think for a minute that was an easy sell – it wasn’t.  City Council is respectfully tight fisted when it comes to spending City tax dollars and don’t be fooled by all the construction, it doesn’t mean that they’ve loosened the purse strings, they remain fiscally conservative but they see the opportunity in this economic crisis.    

We’ve been very diligent and deliberate about structuring deals that we could afford and that we felt over time would produce a return that justified the spending. 

We made a business case and Council bought into the strategy and felt the timing was right for the City to take a leadership role in pushing us towards an economic recovery, giving the staff the green light to pull a few triggers and see what we can get started.  The fruits of which you’re beginning to see right now. 

I think the part I’m most proud of is how we hired great people, pointed them in the direction we wanted to go, and then got out of their way – and now we’re seeing just how good our city employees are. 

Over the last couple of years we’ve leveraged close to $50 million in Federal & State grants.  For every $1 dollar we’ve been spending, we’ve pulled in $7 dollars of non-city money. 

A great example of that is the Crain / Fairchild Ave. Bridge project.  We are spending less money and getting 2 bridges with trail connections, and landscaping, with about four times the value in total of what we would have got under the original bridge replacement project.

So let’s catch up on some of these projects, like the Crain Avenue Bridge. 

Crain Avenue– Fairchild Avenue Bridge
New Bridge decking is planned to be poured this week (June 13 – 17) which means we’re on track to have the new bridge open and functional by September of this year.

Beaver Excavating is continuing to work on the last wall to be constructed along the ABC RR (upper tracks). The wall is necessary to raise the siding track that services Star of the West Mill.  The contractor is finishing the last retaining wall now so that in July we’ll be raising the rails of the upper tracks 4 feet for about ¾ mile from Main Street north to Crain Avenue.

Beaver Excavating has installed most of the underground utilities on Water Street and is currently constructing a series of retaining walls on the east side of the road in front of the residential housing.

The approaches to the new bridge on SR43 are done and the contractor should be finished with the approaches to the east side of the bridge by September. 

Once traffic is converted over to the new bridge, the old bridge will be torn down and rebuilt as a pedestrian bridge next year.  

The road detours will remain mostly what you see out there today for the remainder of this year.

Next year the contractor will go back and finalize the approaches to the new bridge on both sides.  

Downtown Redevelopment Projects

Demo
City – the City’s mixed use block is essentially done, we have some final work to do at the east end of the property but it looks like we should be able to finish up our work this month. 

KSU – Just removed the house and graded the property for the future hotel and conference center.

PARTA – demo bid opened this Monday, and we expect to see the old Commercial Press/Auto Parts building come down in July.   The site will include a lot of earth moving – some 27,000 cubic yards (equivalent of a football field 4’ deep) which will go on this Fall.  

Deals
City Agreements Done – City/KSU, City/Parta, City/Fairmount, City/Pizzuti, City/Ametek, City/Davey Tree

KSU Deals – are all done with the exception of the operating agreement between KSU and Pizzuti for the hotel and conference center.  Underway, likely to be done this month.

PARTA – deals are done, in the process of hiring their construction manager with start date later this summer.

**financing for each is well underway – I expect all financing to be in place this month. 

Construction
Site Plans – Approved last month

Construction Plans – being prepared as we speak, looking at footer/foundations to permits to be pulled late summer/early fall for all of the projects.  

Ron Burbick’s Acorn Alley Phase 2
– Underway, open late summer/early fall, announced his tenants

– Already designing his next building to the north and the plaza in the middle of the alley extension 

City Alley 4 Improvement Project
– underground utilities, brick pavers, pedestrian friendly

– underway, done by end of 2011 

City Surface Parking Lot (135 spaces)
– design underway

– 2012 construction 

Erie& Depeyster Street Redesign Work
– Parts included in PARTA project

– Parts included in the City Capital plan

– Civil design work underway should begin construction early 2012 with completion date in mid-summer tied to the opening of the new facilities 

Esplanade Extension
– KSU purchases reported in newspaper last week; University has all property they need to connect the esplanade to downtown, all purchased at appraised values.

– Engineering & Design of the esplanade currently underway

– Esplanade is 1/3 mile long, 2 parallel 12’ wide brick paver paths separated by a 10’ green space in between, green lawn area, brick arches, gateway, stone elements, benches, landscape, etc. 

SR 59 – Right of Way turned over to the ownership of the City, fence can come down and we will install new signal and pedestrian crossing at Erie and SR 59 in 2012. 

SR59 – Street lights and Haymaker Bridge Fencing – This work is done and resulted in upgraded fixtures (both function and aesthetic) – replaced rusted galvanized poles with black poles – more finished and attractive look.  Same with fencing, banner mounts on poles.

SR 59 Traffic Signal Replacement and Upgrade – Installation work is underway, mast arm replacements for all the span wire; includes overhead signs and signals; state of the art traffic signal communications, centralized computer, video detection and video feeds.  Conduit is installed, foundations being built from Middlebury to Horning plus Summit at 43, using fiber communications (includes some dark fiber for future use). 

Summit Street Improvement Project — $11 million, design underway, from Lincoln to Loop, committee meetings for design options, soon public meeting (likely in August); project is to improve Safety/Congestion/Access – and will also improve aesthetics by coordinating with KSU projects in this corridor, pull sidewalks back, install some medians, increased landscaping, etc.

KSU $250 million Capital Improvements – largest investment in history of University; including buildings and grounds.  Pending financing discussions with the State. 

Existing Infrastructure
As exciting as all the new stuff is, we’re also investing at all time highs in maintaining our existing public infrastructure.  We’re spending 40% more on street maintenance, up to $850,000 a year.  Not necessarily enough, but it’s a commitment that no street gets left behind in Kent.  

Odds & Ends
Fed Fuller Bridge — $970,000 Federal grant, 2012 design/review, 2013 build
Tannery Hike and Bike Trail Segment — design by end of year, construct in 2012. 
Also Hike and Bike from Esplanade to Tannery – probably in 2013.

Downtown Parking Information...

Parking is one of those good news, bad news stories. 

When things are going good, it means people are visiting and enjoying what downtown Kent has to offer, but unfortunately they tend to bring their cars to get them there — which means parking availability can become an issue.  On the flip side no people, means no cars and no parking problem – but that’s no good either. 

So we want a parking problem without actually having it be a problem, which is why the City and it’s partners at PARTA are adding over 500 new spots to downtown Kent to support all the new development that is already coming out of the ground. 

It’s been interesting to track the downtown development gant chart — as various project milestones came and went, parking appears as a solid task bar that has had our attention from the start and will continue long after everything else is done.  

We started with a thorough study of parking availability and usage today (which by the way, tends to only use about 40% of what’s available) and we studied carefully the other end of full build out of the new development.  Right now we’re filling in everything in between and we’re trying to as flexible as possible to adjust to the rather dramatic changes that are going on with construction impacting a lot of the best parking spaces. 

With that in mind, the City staff has been working with the downtown merchants to come up with a couple of changes to the current parking scheme to help the customers find the spots they need to support their favorite downtown establishments.  Here’s some of the information that is being sent around under the premise that the more we can keep people informed the less likelihood for frustrations to rise. 

Door To Door Solicitation...

The traveling brush salesman my be a thing of the past but I suspect you’ve noticed that there’s still plenty of doorbell ringers offering this or that.  We get asked a lot at City Hall whether these modern peddlers are legitimate and what role the City has in authorizing them to disturb your dinner — so I figured I’d offer a few insights into door to door solicitation in Kent.

Between cold calls, television ads, emails and internet pop-ups, its seem darn near impossible to escape the long arms of salesmenship.   And if all the modern sales methods don’t get you, there’s still the old stand-by of door-to-door solicitation.  You can’t even hide in your own home. 

That’s usually when we get pleas from residents who are at the end of their rope and are desparately seeking some relief from all the pitchmen and women that invade their lives.  Seemingly making a last stand, residents talk about the sanctity of their home and they look to the City to honor that with laws prohibiting door to door solicitation. 

We do have regulations that govern the peddlers but in a black and white regulatory world these regulations have a distinct grey hue to them.  The City’s regulations try to balance an individual’s right to earn a living with another person’s right to privacy which means they do a little of both and seem to make neither side particularly happy. 

The staff and City Council recently re-examined solicitation and vending regulations within the City limits, and we did make some progress on tightening them up, but probably not as far as many folks might like.

When facing tighter controls, the solicitor and vendor folks argue that adding further restrictions threatens to take away their only means of making a living, and they argue that these jobs are often filled by people that otherwise have a hard time finding work, which tends to give politicians that are committed to serving the needs of everyone in the community some pause for any significant change. 

The City does have an application, review and approval process for solicitors.  Here’s a link to the section of the City Code that regulates door-to-door peddling and if you read through that you’ll get a better idea of who needs a permit and who does not.

Peddler’s Regulations

Plus, I’ve provided links to the forms that the prospective vendors must fill out.

Peddling Application Form

Non Profit (Donations) Exemption Form

The bottom line is anyone selling a product door to door must have a permit from the City — anyone just asking for donations would only need to have their Exemption Form (no permit) with them.

For many reasons, peddling and solicitation remains hard to tightly regulate and we suspect that there are people going around without City approval. I would suggest that if something seems suspicious to a resident that they call the police while the peddler or solicitor is still in the area. The Police Department and Dispatch both get a copy of all exemption forms and permits issued and they can then investigate and enforce the ordinance if a violation has been made.

Unfortunately we typically hear about these concerns after the peddlers are long gone so we rarely get to stop the illegal vendors.  Sort of a modern version of ding dong ditch.

Police K9 Challenge...

I’ve always been impressed how the national, state and regional fire and police organizations have done a great job of incorporating competition as part of thier professional training. 

I’ve had a chance to watch firefighter competitions and they are intense – combining physical endurance and emergency response skills.  Try pulling 50′ of hose up 3 flights of stairs wearing full gear in 90 degree heat.   

This year, the region’s Police staff organized a K9 competition at Akron Lock 3 to give man’s best friend a taste of competition too.  K9 officers from around the Greater Akron area competed in three areas — attacking a suspect, agility, and an obstacle course.

Kent K-9 Officers Marty Gilliland and Jim Ennemoser represented Kent in proud fashion, landing their dogs on the podium and bringing home the hardware.  It turns out that Jim and Aiko finished second place in the obedience competition and Marty and Felo finished third place in the criminal apprehension event. 

As part of the event’s promotion, one officer led a demonstration in which his dog attacked Channel 3 reporter Eric Mansfield.  Here’s a video clip from that portion of the event.

Watch the Video