City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. We're going to call the meeting for Akron City Council to order at this time. Our clerk will read the roll.

Bolden. Aye. Boyes. Aye. Connor. Aye. Davis. Aye. Garrett. Present. Greer.

Aye.

Hannah.

Aye.

Kamer? Aye. Lombardo?

Aye.

McKittrick?

Aye.

Omobian? Aye. Somerville? Aye. Wilson?

Aye.

All members are present.

For those who voluntarily wish to do so, would you please stand at this time as we're led in prayer by our Chief of Staff for Akron City Council, Dr. Joan Williams. Immediately following our prayer, I'm going to ask if Councilman Garrett will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Let us all borrow our hearts. Gracious and sovereign God, we come to you tonight in the shadow of 250 years, grateful for the freedom this nation has known and mindful that freedom has never come without cost, without struggle, without those who paid a price we could never fully repay. As we stand at this milestone, we ask you to give us eyes to see clearly where we are as a nation right now, the tension, the division, the weariness so many are carrying. Lord, we lift up every leader in this room tonight, Council President Somerville, every member of this council, our mayor, and every person entrusted over this city with influence. Give them wisdom, Father. Not the wisdom of the world, but the wisdom that comes from above, that is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits. Grant them, we pray, the mind of Christ, that as they grapple with hard decisions, they would set aside personal ambition and selfish agenda, and seek instead the good of this community above anything that they might privately want or prefer. Help them to remember that you have called leaders to do it in every generation, to defend the cause of the weak, to maintain the rights of the poor and the oppressed, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly. Keep them humble, Lord. Keep them tender towards the people they serve. Let this council never lose sight of the fact that behind every ordinance and every budget line are real families, real neighbors, and real lives. We come tonight too with heavy hearts for those in our community who are buried with grief this weekend. Families who lost loved ones to violence even as the rest of the nation celebrated. Comfort them, Lord, in every way, in only way you can. Wrap your loving arms around every mother, every father, every child who is grieving right now in Akron. We ask for your hand of protection on our safety forces, our police, our firefighters, our first responders who walk into danger so the rest of us shouldn't have to. Bring them home safely to their families tonight and every night and help them to keep the priority of getting us home safely to our families tonight and every night in front of them. Lord, make us, this city, this council, this community, a people who seek justice, who pursue peace even when it's costly, who choose what is right over what is easy or popular. Let fairness and integrity mark every decision made in this room tonight. We ask all of this in the name of the one who is the true source of wisdom and peace. And all God's people said amen.

The minutes from our previously held meeting have been provided. Are there any additions or corrections?

Motion to approve.

Is there a second? All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it.

The motion to approve the minutes passes 13 to zero. Okay.

We're now going to move to our public comment period. I'm going to ask all those individuals who signed up to participate if you'll please stand at this time so that you may be sworn in by our clerk.

Could you please raise your right hand? Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you give will be the truth? If so, please say I do. I do. Thank you.

Thank you. Just going to ask when you hear your name, if you'll please approach the podium. And just as a reminder, you will have three minutes to speak to this body. And we're going to begin with Mr. Polis. You can stop right there. You're number one on the list.

What up? Hey, how y'all doing? I guess I said it all right then. Last week, I looked up and I saw the mayor and friend and you guys are voting on House Bill 249. Number one, I have nothing against the LGBT community. I really don't care nothing about what you feel about who you are or whatever. That's nothing. The issue I have with this is once House Bill 249 was passed, the first thing they did was start invoking their constitutional rights behind that to protect that bill, which means they first said their First Amendment rights was their freedom of speech. This is where the problem arises as well when we get to Mr. Garrity and police reform. When we speak about police reform, we're not just talking about the head strikes. What about the education of the police department that they stood up and took an oath to uphold the Constitution? So that means they should protect our First Amendment rights of our freedom of speech. They should protect our Fourth Amendment rights, which I think protects search and seizure. These are the things you need to pay attention to. I think our Fifth Amendment rights protects our due process. So that means if you be arrested, you're supposed to go see a judge immediately. See, this is not just about we want body cams and all that, because if the people know their rights and we start enforcing them, which means the police will really have a problem now, because they have to uphold that. The Supreme Court is the law of the land, am I not right? That is the law of the land. So anything that the Supreme Court has ruled on is what stands. I just don't see the fairness in this. I don't see the fairness when certain groups speak out that they back the constitutional rights, even the FOP. The instant they said something went wrong, the first thing they did, they had a post that was two miles long speaking about the 14th Amendment and the 13th Amendment and the 12th Amendment and all that. But then when it comes down to us and we got to file lawsuits in order for our rights to be protected. And it's only costing us. It doesn't cost nobody else. So I just thought I'd come by and let y'all know something about that. You know, I think we need to pay attention to your rights. Learn y'all's rights. And we'll probably have a real problem. Because now there will be an extreme amount of lawsuits. Y'all have a nice day.

Thank you so much for sharing. Thank you. Tug?

I'm Tuck Massa. I'm a staple in this community as far as recovery and mental health goes. My problem is I see the mayor didn't make it. I invited him several posts.

Every time I see the city of Akron mayor's office, I've invited him to come here.

I'm also going to invite whoever's in charge of our roads. Let's go for a ride. I want the contractors to come along for the ride. because the little Band-Aids on top of Band-Aids on top of Band-Aids got my car in the shop. I'm not gonna say anything about my strut that I just had to replace on the same side that I have to replace my new wheel bearing that's getting put on. My cost after, you know, the roads are just terrible. I'm glad that you guys are working on South Street now that I made a video about it. It's about time, it's only been two years I was waiting for a bus to go in there and then come down here with my attorney and file a lawsuit because it's just unsafe. Our roads are unsafe. There's not one person in here that can tell me that there are any really nice roads in Akron. I would love for any of you to go for a ride with me. I'll ride with you. Tell me you guys are happy about the job because if I did my job like that, I wouldn't have a job. Why are we paying for stuff that's not getting done right? You're throwing a coal patch on a hole like this and not smoothing it over, which makes a ramp. That's what messed up my wheel bearing and my strut. Now tell me why I'm supposed to be responsible for the road, the gas, at $5 a gallon it was just. And then now I got to repair my vehicle on top of it and then pay for the road to get fixed again. But it's not fixed. Resurfacing is not working. You guys are using garbage material over top of garbage material. You need to fix the infrastructure. Dig down. Go down West Market coming towards Highland Square. Them curbs are this big. Some are like this. And then you can see places where the junk is just missing. Tell me this is safe. Tell me this is right. Why are we paying for this? If I did my job like that, I wouldn't have a job. Neither would you. So stop it. Fix it. I'll bring down my receipt. Someone's paying for my car. Because I'll come down here every week. I promise that. Do something about it. Seems like the citizens are doing more than the damn government on a lot of issues. Fix it.

So thank you for sharing and bringing that to our attention. John Nelson.

I'm here on behalf of the Church of God and Christ at 200 Cole Avenue. They're having a problem with crime in the neighborhood, and they can't have their meetings outside without some gunfire or something going on like that. And we want to know what city council and the police department is going to do. We need an increase in police presence in our neighborhood. And the pastor's name is Charles Bronson. Elder Charles Bronson. Telephone number is 858-9085. We would like to have some attention to our neighborhood. Thank you.

Thank you. And Mr. Nelson, I'll be happy to talk with you after about that too. I sure will. Autumn Riddle.

Good evening, Council. June 27th was the four-year death anniversary for Jayla Walker. As we know, Akron Police officers that were not named, but we'll go ahead and name them. Matthew Ritzinger, Corey Seegers, Joseph Philemon, Dylan Carmony, Joshua Goetz, Jude Bishop, Justin Trawick, and Katie Sweeney. Well, what happens to these officers after they get away with murder? On June 24th, it was a slap in the city's face again. You guys, or I'm sorry, the police department gave Dylan Carminey and Matt Rissinger both a promotion to a sergeant. So they can just get away with murder and get a promotion. It doesn't matter. You get away with sexual assault, get paid leave for a year. Dylan Carmony, not only was he one of the eight involved with killing Jalen Walker, he was on the scene when Jasmere Tucker was murdered, and he was also on the scene of the most recent Ellett shooting. Dylan Carmony, and this is who we decided to go ahead and give a promotion to. We have Simcox. He's on paid leave until 2027 for sexual assault. We have Davon Fields. After being on paid leave for almost two years, he's on paid leave again for sexual assault. The Akron Police Department is hiring. So if you want to get away with murder, you want to get away with sexual assault, you want to get away with stealing money from all the businesses, I suggest you go ahead and apply because you're going to get away with it. I don't know. I'm tired of seeing this happen over and over. I have so much respect for Mike Miller, but he was in that picture with the photo op, you know, and you guys know who killed Jalen Walker. We're not stupid. And just to know that you can get away with any crime as a police officer and get promoted, I mean, that just says a lot about who you guys are. And I went to all those meetings where they swore all these new cadets would be different, blah, blah, blah. But then we wake up, and three days before the anniversary of the death date, they decide to go ahead and promote two of those murderers. Doesn't look like any of this division is ever gonna be solved. And again, the FOP, he's not any help at all either. So justice for Jalen Walker, justice for Jasmeer Tucker. And again, those are the eight murderers that I named. So be careful if you get pulled over by them.

Thank you Autumn for sharing. It's Gerald, yes, Gerald Gregory.

Good evening. It kind of hit me when that kid, with that little incident, it was an accident, but like he was just saying, you need help. Until our community, it's not a police fix, it's not a, City Council fix. It's a community fix. We gotta look out for our own children, know what they're doing, and stop it right then and there. Because the ones out there causing them problems, they are people. We should know. And just because they don't have our blood, they still blowing us. We gotta still father these kind of little kids. 14 years old carrying guns. I spoke with you about that program I was gonna put together. it would be efficient to put it together right now, you know what I'm saying, to learn who these kids are. They're not gonna stop carrying guns. So you think that you have a solution, saying that, oh, we're gonna take the guns away, they're gonna steal them and get another gun. So until you learn these kids, you might have to have the police to teach them how to use weapons. I mean, you gotta join in with them. You just can't make them criminals because they're gonna carry these guns and they're young, 12, 13 years old carrying guns. Come on, that's a lot. But in order for us to do something about this, it's gonna have to be the community. It's gonna have to be the mothers, the fathers, the sisters, the brothers. That's what it's gonna take. It's not gonna take somebody from the outside A bunch of police is controlling the area. They're not gonna tell on the kid. You see what I'm saying? So until the parents step up, there's nothing too much we could do about it. You see what I'm saying? So basically that program I said we need to put together with the police department, Officer Miller said it was a great idea. We need to get it going. I ain't got but three minutes, so I can't tell you. It'll take longer to explain. But you know what I talked about last year. We need that program going. Teach these kids how to operate these guns. They shooting and don't even know how to aim. You know what I'm saying? I mean, at least we need to know who they are, teach them how to use these guns, teach them what the responsibilities are to these guns. And I think it'll make a big change. But hopefully I get together with the police department because I can control my neighborhood myself. I've been there since 77. And ain't nothing happening on my street. It ain't going to happen. You know what I'm saying? And the whole neighborhood, no, I don't go for that. You know what I'm saying? But it's got to be more individuals stepping up, letting these people know who these perpetrators are. And it's all on us. You know what I'm saying? We can't. Reach out for help. We've got to help ourselves. See what I'm saying? Basically, that's where I'm at with it. And that program, I still can put it together and make a difference. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Gregory. Acacia Reynolds.

Good evening, President, Council Members. First, I want to say I stand in solidarity with my fellow Ohioans, both here in Akron and in Rittman, and denounce death and gun violence in all its forms. Whether it be against Officer Reese, the mother and daughter that lost their lives, or even the offender, life is too precious to be so wantonly destroyed. Now I am asking you to end Akron's partnership with flock safety and remove its network of automated license plate readers and cameras. This isn't simply about technology. It's about whether the people of Akron should have their daily movements recorded, stored, and made searchable every time they drive through our neighborhoods. We all want safe communities. But safety should never come at the expense of our fundamental right to privacy. These cameras don't just collect information about people suspected of crimes. They collect information about everyone. Parents taking children to school, people visiting doctors, attending religious services, participating in protests, or simply living their daily lives. Akron currently operates roughly 145 to 147 flock cameras at a recurring annual cost of $362,000. That's hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars every year for a surveillance system whose excuse me, whose advocates have not demonstrated a measurable reduction in overall crime in Akron. Instead of expanding mass surveillance, those funds could support officers, youth programs, violence prevention, mental health response, or other proven public safety investments. Flock Safety has repeatedly demonstrated that it is not deserving of the public's trust. The company has faced numerous documented incidents involving inaccurate information, denied or minimized problems, before later acknowledging them and its technology has been involved in cases where law enforcement officers have misused access to track people without legitimate public safety purposes. Even more alarming, reports have shown that weaknesses in flock security and improper access to license plate reader systems can put innocent people at risk. Cameras placed near parks, playgrounds, schools, and recreational areas create a possibility that someone with unauthorized access or someone who abuses legitimate access could identify when a woman regularly jogs alone. monitor when a parent's dropping off their children, or observe patterns showing when children are frequently at a neighborhood park. These are exactly the kind of patterns that stalkers and predators seek. And we're handing them a surveillance system that can be exploited. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you, Acacia, for sharing that with us. I apologize. I don't want to mispronounce your name. Is it Yee? Yes. OK, you can come to the podium.

Good evening. My name is Chen Yi Ao. I'm an attorney at the Mandon Hall Law Group, and this is our investigator, George Johnson, and we are representing Highland Tavern. So we understand that there is a vote on the resolution to object to the renewal of the liquor license of Highland Tavern. So we are speaking on behalf of Highland Tavern. We want to emphasize that Highland Tavern was first informed of the city's intent to object to the renewal of the liquor permit last Thursday. And then the letter said that The city will intend to object to the renewal if the nuisance activity is not abated immediately. And then five days later, then there is an emergency vote on it. And Highland Tavern hasn't been given the time to respond, to address the misunderstanding. and to review the evidence. We actually made public record requests for any evidence regarding this allegation and we take this allegation seriously and we believe that there is no evidence to show that Highland Tavern has a higher crime rate or higher rate of 911 phone calls or issues compared to other bars in Highland Square and And then we don't understand why high-end diaphragm is being targeted. We also don't understand why there is such an emergency here. And then... We also like to request that the city of Akron to process the public record request as soon as possible so that Highland Tavern will be given the opportunity to review everything, to address anything that needs to be addressed. And in the interest of fairness, Highland Tavern should be given the chance to do so and the City Council should postpone voting on this resolution until the Council has enough time to review all evidence thoroughly and also give enough time for Highland Tavern to respond to address any concerns before the vote. And is George allowed to speak for a little bit? Okay, that's fine. But we do hope that the council will not vote on this resolution until there is enough evidence provided and enough time for Highland Tavern to consider everything. Thank you.

Thank you so much. And we do have a few individuals who are online with us. Oscar Williams, can you hear us?

I'm going to send you a prompt that's going to ask you to unmute on your screen.

OK, can you hear me?

I can. Oscar, can you turn on your camera for us? If you know how to do that. If not, it's okay.

Yeah. Can you hear me?

Yeah, we can hear you.

Okay.

And you can begin with your comments, okay?

Okay. Well, June 5th, I had some cardiac problems. And called the paramedics to come get me. And they did. And I was being transported to City Hospital. My complaint was that there was no air conditioning. And I just had a pacemaker put in and I was having problems. And I thought I was having a heart attack. That's why I called for the unit. They took care of me very well, but it was so hot in the back of that unit that I was sweating profusely. They were sweating profusely. And I was informed by the medics that not only that their air conditioning didn't work in the unit, but there were several other units that didn't have air conditioning. And it seems to be there's a maintenance problem. Because the city no longer uses a private ambulance to transport minor cases. You know, they have a code system. You know, code one, you drive yourself. It used to be code two, you go by private ambulance. The only way the fire department would transport you if it was a life-threatening situation or imminent childbirth. Now I figured this will cause a problem. And when I got to the hospital, it was another issue that kind of disturbed me. There were three or four units in the bay when we pulled up. And when we got inside, I was in the hallway for about an hour and 10 minutes. And the sad part about it, that unit was still there with me. They were out of service all that time. That's because there's a maintenance problem, and that needs to be fixed. All these units out of service causes delay in response. You know, I think when I was working there as a paramedic, I think we had a guaranteed response time between four to six minutes. If you have all these units out of service, that means units have to come from across town to take care of a heart patient on the other side of town. They need to maintenance the units. They need to establish another backup service to handle code two transports.

Thank you so much, Mr. Williams, for bringing that to our attention. Thank you.

Okay.

Is Jessica Williams online with us? Jessica, can you hear us?

it looks like she is unmuted now can you hear me now yes we can thank you and you can begin okay okay i just want to say hello to everyone um i'm from the highland tavern i'm the owner of it and i just want to say i am a big supporter in the community in every community i'm all for the safety i'm all for the kids program it shouldn't be by any bars um I do support the police. I do support fire. And we do everything we can to keep people inside of our business safe. I can't do much about the people on the street because I don't own the street. You know, the police need to be able to do their jobs. And if the police can enforce a curfew with these kids, You know, the problem isn't adults inside businesses. The problem is all these teenage kids with guns that don't know what they're doing. They're children. If the parents aren't being parents, why aren't the police being police? There is a curfew. And if you can't hold the children accountable, the parents need to be held accountable. We're one of the smallest bars in the square. YOU KNOW, SO EVEN IF WE HAVE 20 PEOPLE IN THERE, IT MIGHT LOOK PRETTY BUSY. WE'RE ALLOWED 64. BUT IT IS SMALL, SO IT MIGHT OFTEN LOOK LIKE MORE. WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF POLICE CALLS. WE DON'T BOTHER ANYBODY. WE'RE ALL FOR THE SAFETY OF EVERYBODY. WE'VE HAD THE FIRE MARSHALS SENT OUT MORE THAN ONCE. WE HAVE NO VIOLATIONS. head of fire marshals actually said that they did not have a reason to close us down. Our occupancy has been valid and it was on file with fire. So they don't know why they were there, but the request to shut us down came from higher up. There was nothing they could do about it. And then we had, we've had the health department in multiple times. for false calls. People are wasting government time to call in fake calls about businesses. Why aren't we putting the issue where it really is? If police can do their job and keep everybody safe, then everybody in their businesses can do their jobs and keep everybody inside safe. And it is a big problem, but it's none of the bar's faults. You know, we need safety everywhere, and that's going to take more than just a community action. It's going to take an everywhere action. And, you know, I think the mayor and Ward 1 council definitely need to step it up and actually come up with some real solutions and, you know, maybe let the police do their jobs. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Jessica, for sharing. That concludes our public comment period. We do want to thank all those who took the time to come out and to participate. Council, before you is the consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved.

Is there a second? All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it. The consent agenda passes 13 to 0. We'll now move to old business planning and economic development. Councilman Kamer. Thank you. Time will be granted. Public safety. Councilman McKittrick.

Continue time, please.

Thank you. Time will be granted. That concludes our old business. We'll now move into new legislation.

Item number one offered by Kamer, ordinance authorizing the sale of vacant city-owned property located on Roemig Road, parcel number 6859904 to Panem Communications LLC, doing business as airless tire systems, determining said property is not needed for public use and declaring an emergency. Councilman Kamer?

Yes, Senator Jindal.

This item will be placed on the consent agenda. Item number two offered by Kamer, ordinance authorizing the director of the Department of Planning and Urban Development to enter into a contract or contracts with nonprofit organizations for the provision of community development corporation support in order to carry out the intent and purpose of programs under the consolidated plan for the year 2026, authorizing payment therefore and declaring an emergency. Councilman Kamer. Consent agenda. This item will be placed on the consent agenda. Item number three offered by Kamer, ordinance authorizing the director of public service or his designee after publicly advertising for bids to enter into a contract or contracts with Backflow Solutions Incorporated to perform cross-connection control inspections at non-residential water users within the Akron water distribution system and declaring an emergency. Councilman Kamer.

Consent agenda.

This item will be placed on the consent agenda. Item number four offered by Kamer, ordinance authorizing the director of public service or his designee without the formality of publicly advertising for bids to enter into a contract or contracts with ADS Environmental Services LLC for the maintenance of flow monitoring and rain gauges and declaring an emergency. Councilman Kamer.

Consent agenda.

This item will be placed on the consent agenda. Item number five offered by Kamer, ordinance authorizing the director of public service or his designee after publicly advertising for bids to enter into a contract or contracts for the construction of improvements to the city of Akron water plant and declaring an emergency. Councilman Kamer.

Consent agenda.

This item will be placed on the consent agenda.

Item number six offered by Kamer, ordinance authorizing the mayor or his designee to file applications and enter into an agreement or agreements with the water supply revolving loan account with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and with the Ohio Water Development Authority for planning, design, and or construction of the lead service line replacement program 2027 and declaring an emergency. Councilman Kamer.

Cassandra Jenner.

This item will be placed on the consent agenda. Item number seven, offered by Kamer, ordinance authorizing the director of public service or his designee, without the formality of publicly advertising for bids, to enter into a contract or contracts with Premier Truck Sales and Rental Incorporated for the lease of two split body trucks and declaring an emergency. Councilman Kamer.

Thank you, Madam President. The committee's report is favorable and we're asking for a suspension of the rules.

Are there any objections to suspension of the rules? Seeing and hearing none, the rules have been suspended.

Thank you, Madam President. This legislation is for two trucks for sanitation that will work with our medical waiver program for the residents of Akron. And there will be a split body on these trucks so they can go and empty the trash and the recycle at the same time. with the same truck, and it's an 18-month lease period, and with that, we're asking for passage.

Thank you. The rules have been suspended, and the committee's report is favorable. All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed?

The ayes have it. This ordinance passes 13-0. Item number 8 offered by Wilson, resolution opposing and objecting to the renewal application of 808 West Market Street, Inc., 808 West Market Street, Akron, Ohio, 44303, for a Class D1, D2, D3, D3A, and D6 liquor permit 2455305 before the Division of Liquor Control and declaring an emergency. Councilman McKittrick.

The committee's report is favorable, and we are asking for suspension of the rules.

Are there any objections to suspension of the rules? Seeing and hearing none, the rules have been suspended.

I'd like to yield to council person Wilson, who's a sponsor.

Thank you, Chairman Kittrick. Madam President, we had a discussion today and I had a number of calls with council people to discuss the issue and the in-between. Appreciate your consideration and thank you for moving forward.

Are there any other comments? Just had a question. I know during our committee meeting, there really wasn't a whole lot of detail shared in terms of, you know, some of the issues that have gotten us to this point. I mean, do we have a number of how many times the police have been called out to the bar and what those incidents were? If we can get a little bit more detail, it would be helpful.

Madam President, of course. Over the last two years, there's been approximately 40 calls of service generated by the bar, which is high. That's going to put you in a pretty high category for other liquor premises here in Akron. Now, interestingly enough, almost half of those, 18 of those are fight calls, and approximately seven of those happened within the last two months. Of course, for approximately a month, things have been much lower intensity. Now, in addition to that, the tavern, just a couple months ago, was found to be operating with an adulterated certificate of occupancy. was supposed to say, let's say, 70, and somebody had basically taken a crayon and made it into 170. So that's why, for about four to six weeks, we were dealing with substantial, overwhelming, overcrowding issues at the property. So that's just a little bit of an insight. We've gotten various complaints related to overcrowding and other such issues related to the property. But I can certainly answer other questions. There are a few.

Thank you. We'll see if any other council members have questions. Councilman Garrett?

Thank you, Madam President. As it relates to the bar in question, it's sort of concerning for me that most of the complaints was about a fight. And if fights are taking place outside of the bar, I don't really feel like that bar is their business. I mean, when you take a look at some of the concerns... With a liquor permit, are you selling to minors? That's an issue to maybe investigate if you're... if you're watering down a liquor, if your sanitation is not together, but to really go and close a bar down for fights that's primarily outside of their establishment. I am hopeful that perhaps maybe we can take time and discuss this to find out just a little bit more. I mean, you had the business owner speak about it. You had the attorney come down and speak about it. I don't see why there's a real rush. Just having that conversation with the owner, maybe seeing if there's a way to work it out. There's multiple different bars in that area up there. Perhaps maybe take time, Madam President. Thank you. Ms. Moore, did you have a response to that?

Sure. Yeah, I can, Taylor. Yeah, we have certainly had, because of all the assets we've had in the field, we've certainly had issues with not only minors at the bar, minors trying to get into the bar. In fact, one of the minors caught trying to get into the bar was ultimately found to have a handgun with a significant barrel-fed magazine in its possession. In addition to that, we've had a lot of issues with the bar allowing or permitting people to leave the bar and engage in open container activity, which isn't permitted in the space.

Thank you. Council Member Mobian, did I see your hand?

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Councilman Wilson, but I thought I heard you say this afternoon that there were attempts made to meet with the bar owner to have a discussion, and something happened that that didn't happen. Am I correct in stating that?

Yeah, there's been a variety of opportunities to engage, lots of communications to try to connect. It is good to see people come to a council meeting, but we've had a lot of opportunities to connect, maybe even an exhaustive amount of opportunities before this came.

But they didn't happen. THE OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET AND TALK DID NOT OCCUR. IS THAT MY UNDERSTANDING?

NO.

THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS AT THIS TIME? COUNCILMAN HANNAH?

THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT. IF YOU RECALL, ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO ON SOUTH STREET IN ATLANTIC, WE HAD THE SAME SITUATION THERE. That bar was not closed right away. We had the same situation on South Street and that bar was not closed until there was a casualty there where a young man I shot a young lady and the lady died. I don't know if my colleagues remember that. But there was heathen there because I live right next to that bar. So I caught it every night. And that went on for about two years. And so my question is, Why wasn't that bar closed when that young man was shot there right outside that bar down the street? He was from, I think, Worcester, Ohio, somewhere out of the city. Why wasn't that bar closed then? Because it was right in the vicinity of the bar that you're trying to take away the liquor license. I want to agree with my colleague that I think we're rushing to judgment on that bar, and I'm asking that we take a little bit more time and give the owners time to clean up that area and to clean up the bar and maybe work with the city. Because I just feel that because they did not close up at 12 o'clock like the city requested, I think it's a little bit of punishment going on here. And so I just feel... that we need to take just a little bit more time and give the owners an opportunity to straighten that bar out. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilman. Councilwoman Omobian.

Can someone speak to the process that you have to go through to get to this point and what we're asking to have happen?

Sure. That's an excellent question, Councilwoman Mobian. So the resolution before you, there's three different type of liquor permit applications. There's new permits, transfers, and there's renewals. All liquor permits have to renew once a year. It's done alphabetically throughout the state. So since we're at the end, here in Summit County, all of our permits, the renewal applications are due on October 1st. Because of that, the city, our objections are due by September 1st, all right? So the objections to liquor permit renewals require resolution, and the objection will become ripe come October 1st, right, when the renewal application is being processed by the state. Now, all that means, all that means is that the objection is in with the state and the state, the Division of Liquor Control will set a hearing. That hearing probably will not be until late 2026 or more likely early 2027. That first initial hearing on the local level, certainly the applicants and the permit holder will have an opportunity to present the case. The city will present its case to a to the division. Now this is not before a judge or a magistrate, it's before a hearing officer of the Division of Liquor Control. And ultimately, if the city is successful at the initial hearing, the applicant can appeal to the Liquor Control Commission in Columbus. So there is a couple of backstops in place. But really all this does, all this resolution does, is it sets in place that we are requesting an objection to the permit. Now that being said, I remind many of your colleagues of this as we've gone along the way, once the objection is in place, there's always an opportunity to work with the permit holders. And as many of you know, if we actually find a resolution between the parties, the objection can always be withdrawn. It's council's objection. And so if ultimately, you know, even up to the day of the hearing, if we choose to not go forward, we can always make that decision then. So there's a lot of flexibility in this, but the resolution today is important to just get the objection in place and then let the parties go forward from there.

I just want to make sure that people understand that the city has no authority to shut down any business like this. Is that correct?

That's correct. So yeah, that's a very good question. We are not the issuance of a liquor permit. It's done by the state of Ohio, the Division of Liquor Control. They're the ones that issue the permit. They're the ones ultimately that will determine whether or not the renewal is granted or if it's denied. And interestingly enough, the city's not the only party here. The Ohio investigative unit also can bring administrative cases and does. I should have included that earlier. There's been some various administrative violations that the Ohio Investigative Unit has noted with this particular permit premise. So independent of any of the action we take, the Ohio Investigative Unit can also take action against a permit premise as well.

Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other comments at this time? Kelsman Bolden.

Thank you, Madam President. As a ward councilman who's gone through something like this with a bar in my ward where there were repeated police calls, also at this bar that I'm talking about, there was also a murder there. And there were shots fired on a regular basis. But there were also police calls repeatedly to this bar. I objected to the liquor license and council supported me as the ward council person because I know my ward and I know when there's problems. I know the bars in my ward. I know the the areas that need help and need to object or just request a hearing. That's all we're doing is requesting a hearing. We're not closing down a bar. We didn't close down that bar in my ward. We objected the liquor license and the only reason it closed down was we found out that the liquor license was pulled by the owner of the liquor license and it took Three to six months after that, that we had that. We have time to work with these people, as I said. But I'm going to lean with the ward councilman here. As all of us know, as ward councilmembers, we have these issues in our ward. And we have this one tool to request. That's all we have. We have one tool to request a hearing. And that's all we're doing. And I support Councilperson Wilson.

Thank you, Councilman. Councilman Greer?

Thank you, Madam President. I just wanted to ask and confirm. One of the things that concerned me is when the attorney mentioned that the city reached out about five days prior and let them know of their intention to bring this resolution forward. They're concerned about that being enough time. So I'm just wondering if I'm certainly sensitive to the issues that have gone on and especially in the area, but I want to ensure that we are giving the business owners a good faith effort to rectify those issues.

Thank you, Councilman Greer. Councilman McKittrick?

I just want to play off of what Craig Morgan, our chief of safety has talked about that down the road, that it can be withdrawn. That precisely did happen in my ward. We went through the process, city council voted for the resolution and down the road, There was a resolution, and it was pulled. So it's available to be done, and it gave quite a bit of time for that particular bar to come forward and work with some things. And we're looking at the time period where this bar has the same availability and time if we're talking about the end of 26 beginning of 27. That's quite a bit of time. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman. I do just want to say I did have an opportunity to speak with the owner, and so there's definitely a willingness to have a conversation and to really find a solution. I think there has been some challenges between the business owner and the current ward councilperson. That's okay. That happens. That exists sometimes. That's why we have at-large members. So I think there is an opportunity to bring some others into that conversation to really see how we can find a solution to move forward. But again, it will be, you know, upon this body. So at this time, I do see Councilperson Wilson's hand.

Thank you. Thank you, colleagues. You know, I know that this is a layered issue. And frankly, it's complex. And, you know, this is, you know, not everybody here lives in Ward 1 and knows what's been going on in the Highland Square. So I understand that there's, you know, maybe some confusion here. You know, we are requesting a hearing. There's been an overwhelming amount of information, attempts to connect, attempts to resolve issues, and we haven't been able to. And frankly, it's been months. And so, you know, I don't put this resolution lightly. I don't step into this body lightly or frequently. What is happening should not be happening. And we have to ensure that this neighborhood is able to be operating in a healthy and safe manner for patrons, for workers, for other business owners, for property owners. And I know there's a lot of questions here, but frankly, looking at the legislative record of council, the number of times that we have done liquor objections in the past have We've gone through things like this on the same exact timeline or even quicker sometimes with less oversight. These things play out in the hearing. The amount of information that is needed plays out in the hearing. And I would love to be able to resolve the many issues that we have between now and the hearing. And I would absolutely be willing to commit us withdrawing this objection if we are able to make that happen. But I'm not here doing this lightly, and I'm not asking you all to vote Yes, lightly. There are significant issues. We talked about them in committee. Mr. Morgan just laid out a variety of highly layered and sensitive and safety related issues. And I would ask that you trust a person who has been on the ground for the last several months in the ward that I represent, speaking with patrons, workers, and businesses, seeing everything with my own eyes, and putting this forward with a lot of soberness about what is happening and where we could go with this neighborhood if we don't take action on the clear problems that we have. So that is why I'm asking us to move forward, not without time, but with a vote tonight. And again, if anybody has more questions, we have a hearing ahead of us in several months. We have plenty of information and opportunities to be able to resolve issues in the meantime. But there is a timeline on setting a hearing and doing objection work. So I just respectfully wanted to put that forward. I appreciate the conversation. Thank you.

Thank you so much. So at this time, the committee's report is favorable. All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Roll call.

BOLDEN.

AYE.

BOYS. AYE. I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. CONNOR.

AYE.

DAVIS. AYE. GARRETT.

NAY.

GREER.

NAY.

HANNAH.

NAY.

KAMER.

AYE.

LOMBARDO.

AYE.

MCKITRICK.

AYE.

OMOBIAN. AYE. SOMERVILLE. NAY. WILSON. Wilson?

I think he's frozen.

Aye. Thank you. This resolution passes nine to four. Item number nine offered by Connor, ordinance authorizing the mayor or his designee, if awarded, to accept and expend the NatureWorks grant through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and declaring an emergency. Councilwoman Connor?

Are there any objections to suspension of the rules?

Seeing and hearing none, the rules have been suspended. Thank you very much. This ordinance allows us to apply and, if awarded, accept a grant from Nature Works through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to purchase ADA accessible playground equipment for Hardesty Park.

Thank you. The rules have been suspended and the committee's report is favorable. All in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? The ayes have it. This ordinance passes 13 to 0. That concludes our new legislation for this evening. We'll now move into our committee assignments. Rules. Councilman McKittrick. 2 p.m. Public Safety. Councilman McKittrick.

2.15.

Budget and Finance. Councilman Lombardo.

3 p.m.

Parks and Recreation. Councilwoman Conner. 2.5. Planning and Economic Development. Councilman Kamer. 1.0. Housing and Neighborhood Assistance, Councilman Bolden.

3.30.

Public Service, Councilman Kamer. 2.00 p.m. Health and Social Services, Councilwoman Davis.

2.30.

Is there anything else coming before council at this time, Councilwoman Boyes?

Thank you, Madam President. On Thursday at 1 p.m. at Prentice Park, I'll be with Keep African Beautiful, members of the administration, as well as Friends of Prentice Park, where we're launching the first ever Litter Letter Project. The Litter Letter Project was created in Louisiana and has been spreading nationwide. And Keep Akron Beautiful, as Joe's in Prentice Park for its first installation, is a public art installation using litter collected from throughout the city piled into chicken wire letters to make people think differently about what they do with their trash and how they think about their community. So I invite you all out. It'll be a great time. Hopefully it won't rain. 1 p.m. at 2043 East Avenue. Thanks.

Thank you so much for sharing. Is there anything else coming before council at this time? Before we do adjourn, I do want to acknowledge the comment from Oscar Williams, who is a retired... firemen and paramedic. And if we can get someone on the administrative side to let us know how many paramedic vehicles do not have air, it is really concerning, especially when you think about the last few days, how hot it has been. And so if we can get an update on that, that would be greatly appreciated. If there's nothing else coming before us, is there a motion for adjournment? No objections. Meeting adjourned.

This concludes the live broadcast of Akron City Council. Margo Somerville, President of Council, presiding.