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New Franklin Council reviewing fee increases

7/26/2012 - South Side Leader
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By Maria Lindsay

NEW FRANKLIN — It will soon get a little more expensive to apply for a variance, rent the Franklin Park Civic Center and sell items door-to-door in New Franklin if Council approves requested fee increases.

Legislation was introduced at the July 18 Council meeting that would increase zoning variance permit fees from $200 to $300, conditional-use permit fees from $250 to $350 and establish a storm water evaluation fee of $40.

According to Mayor Al Bollas, the Zoning Department reviewed its current fees and compared them with what neighboring communities are charging.

“We want to bring our fees in line with what surrounding communities are asking,” said Bollas.

The new fees would go into effect immediately upon passage of the legislation.

Fee increases are also slated for the Franklin Park Civic Center. Also known as the Tudor House, the 85-year-old mansion is the site of community activities and rented for weddings, showers and other events.

City officials are proposing to increase user fees by $10 to $15 per hour for the various days.

“This is due to increased demand, which stems partly from now being able to serve alcohol on the premises,” said Bollas. “These fees will help make the facility more self-sustaining.”

Those fees would also become effective immediately on passage.

Another item that would see a fee increase is the transient vendor permit fee. Legislation introduced at the meeting would add a $25 fee for each individual transient vendor after a person pays the initial $100 registration fee for door-to-door sales in the city. The legislation also eliminates the current exemption of the $100 fee for residents.

Council did approve legislation to support the creation of the Summit County Land Reutilization Corp. and the county’s application for Moving Ohio Forward Grant Program funds, as well as the creation of a separate land bank program in the city and a transfer of $50,000 from the General Fund to the Police District Fund.

Other legislation under consideration for approval by Council includes:

 • a five-year agreement with the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office for the direct indictment program, at a cost of $4,000 per year;

• the vacation of a portion of Rawlins Avenue, with a public hearing set for Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 5611 Manchester Road; and

• a commitment of $7,500 in matching funds for the Moving Ohio Forward Grant Program, which would be used toward the demolition of abandoned, vacant and blighted residential property in the city.

In the public comment portion of the meeting, city officials discussed a resident’s problems with a neighbor who is burning trash such as old furniture and mattresses. City officials determined, with the help of Summit County Council member Bill Roemer (R-at large), who was at the meeting, that enforcement of Ohio’s open burning laws, which do not permit the burning of such trash items, is the responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Bollas reminded residents the city’s new trash service agreement offers customers free pick up of such items.

The next Council meeting will take place Aug. 1 beginning at 6 p.m. with committee meetings and at 7 p.m. for the regular meeting at City Hall.

New Franklin councilman working on postal identification

NEW FRANKLIN — New Franklin City Council member Gust Kalapodis (Ward 4) is on a mission to create an identity for the city in the eyes of the U.S. Postal Service.

Currently, New Franklin is identified through four postal codes that denote six communities, including: 44614 for Canal Fulton, 44203 for Barberton and Norton, 44319 for the Portage Lakes, and 44216 for Clinton.

The accepted U.S. Postal Service mailing action for residents in the city is to use one of the above communities, along with the corresponding ZIP code, according to Kalapodis. The practice is common in other communities, including Green, which has six identifying ZIP codes within its boundaries.

Kalapodis said he and others in the city have long used “New Franklin” instead of the official identifying community along with the appropriate ZIP code, and have always received their mail. That is, instead of using Canal Fulton, 44203, area residents have written New Franklin, 44203, according to Kalapodis.

Kalapodis said during a recent New Franklin Council meeting he made another test run using this practice and mailed three letters to himself using New Franklin as the identifying city, along with the ZIP code for his street address, from three different area post offices, including northern and central areas in Akron as well as Barberton.

“It worked,” he said. “I mailed the three separately and all three were received at my home in a timely manner.”

Kalapodis said he had hoped to get New Franklin its own ZIP code, but Postal Service officials ruled that out. So instead, he said he sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service in Cleveland asking that New Franklin officially be permitted to be used as the identifying city along with the existing ZIP code. He said he is awaiting a response.

“I am open to officially accepting the use of New Franklin on letters, along with the existing ZIP code in use,” he said. “We are a city now and we should get that designation.”

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