Council supports student athletes
Akron City Council
By Stephanie Kandel
Today, April 6, is National Student-Athlete Day, and Akron City Council at its April 3 meeting approved a resolution celebrating outstanding student-athletes and their contributions to their school or community.
Councilman Dan Horrigan (D-Ward 1) requested the resolution, saying it came about after a discussion with an athletic director at a private high school, and he hopes to incorporate all city schools in future years.
The resolution was approved unanimously by the 11 council members present and received the added support of being offered by “mayor and council as a whole.”
According to the resolution, National Student-Athlete Day has been celebrated annually on April 6 since 1987 and is co-sponsored by Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society, the National Consortium for Academics and Sports, NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Also at the meeting, council determined to proceed with improvements to Parkgate Avenue and surrounding streets, despite receiving nearly 20 letters of objection from residents.
Meeting March 30, the Assessment Equalization Board heard and denied all objections, ruling that the improvement project should move forward, said Councilman Bob Keith (D-Ward 8), who is chairman of council’s Public Service Committee as well as the council representative of the ward in which the area is situated.
The project is estimated to cost $974,000, and residents will be assessed for about 21 percent of the cost of repairs.
According to Ken Kostura of the city’s engineering department, residents who live on the streets not requiring paving will be assessed roughly $2,000, while those who live on streets that will be paved will be assessed about $3,400.
Residents will receive a bill when the work is completed and have the option of either paying in full or paying through their taxes over the course of 10 years, he said.
Council also authorized a contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation for the improvement of East Market Street between Summit Street and state Route 8. Construction for that project is expected to cost about $1.6 million.
In other business, council denied three requests for conditional-use permits. The requests, all of which were made in 2003 or 2004 and are in Ward 3, include:
• a request to retain a three-unit apartment house at 256 Crosby Street, in a location zoned for a two-unit dwelling;
• a request to establish a children’s shelter at 1520 Superior Ave.; and
• a request to permit the construction of a home workshop and material storage addition at 1002-1004 Biruta St.
All of the proposed uses would have been incompatible with surrounding uses, according to Planning Committee Chairman John Conti (D-at large).
The next Akron City Council meeting is scheduled for April 10 at 7 p.m. in City Council chambers on the third floor of the municipal building, 166 S. High St. in downtown Akron. Committee meetings are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. that afternoon, also in council chambers.
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