Meeting Observed: Kent City Council

Date of Meeting: 8/3/2022

Format: Virtual

Meeting Summary:

Committee of the Whole:

Proposed Draft of the New Civic Engagement Coordinator Position (Part-time)
The job description wasn't available digitally. It may have been at the meeting itself. The new position is designed to make the city more accessible. There was a lot of discussion about the job description. Sidoti said there were 18 essential functions and he suggested prioritizing 5 or 6. Shaffer Bish Agreed. She also suggested shifting the wording on the necessary education. Two members of the community spoke. Christie Anderson who represents KIFA said she hopes there will be community input on the priorities of the position and community member Rene Ruchotzke asked if a Bachelor's degree is required.

Town and Gown Update. KSU rep. Dr. Dana Lawless-Andric said KSU expected 4200 incoming students on campus and a decline in the number of international students.

The university has planned several events for mid to late August: Kent State Welcome Week Kent State Connect, and Haymarket on campus. "Downtown Dollars" can be used at restaurants in Kent. KSU will also be celebrating: "One of the best college/city towns" and the university received the only Paul Simon International Awards.

New City Hall Construction Project Update. Among the high points: Better Signage; building walls but there is a shortage of concrete -- only one pour per week. More materials are available but still a shortage of labor

Changes in Lateral Transfers for Civil Service. This is designed to help with the retention and recruitment of experienced personnel. Stow and Hudson already have it. Increases pool of candidates for city positions improves the ability to get more experienced candidates. Moved to approve the recommendation (e.g. Kent getting involved in these lateral transfers for Civil Services. Approved unanimously

Community Development Committee:
New TREX request for Board and Bevy (new business) Board game lounge. serve all dietary needs. We will open Thursday to Sunday initially. Motion to approve -- unanimously supported

Health and Public Safety:

• Proposed Renewal of Health Dept. Lease at Parta -- unanimously approved
• School Resource Officer Contract Renewal -- unanimously approved
• Fireworks Law -- it was noisy in Kent around July 4 this year, largely because people didn't know all the rules in the new law. Lots of discussions about it, especially because fireworks could be used to commemorate other holidays. Shaffer Bish moved to opt out of the Fireworks Law but in a close vote, it failed.

Streets, Sidewalks, and Utilities:

• Fairchild Tower Repair -- Waive of Competitive Bidding Request. After much discussion about the problems associated with this job (e.g. asbestos removal, etc., staff member Bowling said that with competitive bidding that job could be 3 to 6 mos or even longer. That ended the discussion and the motion to waive the competitive bidding was approved.
• Kent Skates -- Road closures of Erie Street. Council approves closing of Erie Street for this year and subsequent years.

Finance Committee

• Community University Education Purchasing Regional Council of Governments Agreement, which brings about lower prices because of the regional purchasing of universities and governments. Co-vid represented a problem for the agreement. But the Council approved unanimously the continuation of the agreement
• Retention Bonus for Employees Grant. Good news for police officers and dispatchers. They will get a retention bonus of 10 percent over this year and next (5 percent per year). The Council passed the motion to accept the $376.771.20 grant.
• Body Armor Grant -- Last grant under the Ohio Law Enforcement Body Armor Program. The motion passed unanimously.
• Certification of Liens to the County for Outstanding Payment. Motion passed unanimously
• Budget Appropriation -- passed unanimously.

Which members of the board/council were present:  Jack Amrhein, Ward 2; John Kuhar, Ward 4; Heidi Shaffer Bish, Ward 5; Tracy Wallach, Ward 6; Gwen Rosenberg, At Large; Mr. Roger Sidoti, At Large; and Robin Turner, Ward 3.Absent was Garret Ferrara, Ward 1; Michael DeLeone, At Large. Reasons not announced.

Was there a public notice of the meeting that included the time and place of meeting: Yes

Was an agenda of the meeting or handouts available to visitors: Yes

Are minutes from previous meetings posted/available: Yes

https://www.kentohio.org/737/Agendas-and-Minutes

Observer: Kathleen Endres