Cuyahoga Falls City Council holds regular meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Council committee meetings are held on the first and third Mondays in order to allow councilmembers to publicly discuss pending legislation that will be voted on at regular meetings. The public is free to comment on pending legislation during the allowed time set aside as part of committee meetings.
Legislation scheduled for discussion:
Planning & Zoning:
B-22: An ordinance reallocating the use of the in-lieu-of dedication funds received as part of the Villages of Sycamore and the Woodland Villas subdivisions per subsection 1124.05 of the General Development Code. This legislation was presented to the committee by Planning Director Rob Kurtz who started with the history of the project that the developer had offered in place of his fees in lieu of, a barn that was on the property. After evaluating the structure and feasibility of restoration, the developer chose not to go that route and instead offered a hiking and biking trail to the north. Since council approved the project in 2019 no viable plan has been presented for a northbound hiking path; however, with the Merriman Valley-Schumacher Master Plan in place the city approached the developer about the Fee in Lieu of dedication of this development and another development that also had fees outstanding. It was decided to merge both outstanding accounts for a total of $183,542.19 and that money will go into a fund Akron is using to create a trail within the same development area. Cuyahoga Falls will contribute those funds to the current budget Akron has for its hiking and biking connectivity trails in the Merriman Valley-Schumacher area. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote Monday, April 14 before full council.
B-23: An ordinance accepting the planning commission’s recommendation for the vacation of a portion of Wyoga Lake Road right-of-way between Seasons Road and State Road. All part of the project the city is undertaking on State Road at Seasons Road is currently called the Triangle. This legislation was presented by Rob Kurtz, Planning Director. This measure was approved by the planning commission at its March 18 meeting. Once vacated the property (the road) will be returned to the original owners prior to the road existing. The Triangle project started in 2021 and traffic studies were held in July of that year with the consultants and traffic engineers. A public meeting was held at the Natatorium to go over their findings and residents and property owners were able to see preliminary plans for the project. This project is slated to begin this summer. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote Monday, April 14 before full council. If approved the vacation will also need county approval.
Finance & Appropriations:
B-24: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract or contracts for excavation, equipment and installation of a K9 corridor area at City Hall. This was presented by Police Department administrator Kim O’Laughlin and it started approximately one year ago. O’Laughlin gave a slide presentation that outlined the positive impact of a therapy dog on the community and the department as a whole . The animal will be provided free of charge by K9s for Warriors and all of the food, grooming and veterinary bills will all be paid with donations from the community. To learn more about the non-profit K9s for Warriors visit https://k9sforwarriors.org .On the city’s side a courtyard between the police department and utility billing will be used as an exercise and play area for the dog and it will have an entrance from the police department. It can also be used for our current K9’s within the department. To renovate the courtyard area and make it ADA compliant the budget is $128k. The dog is slated to arrive at the end of June or beginning of July.. O’Laughlin described the project as “Paws and people coming together for a better community.” The Summit County Juvenile Court and the Summit County Prosecutor’s office have both been using therapy dogs with very positive results to make victims feel at ease and just the calming effect a animal brings. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote Monday, April 14 before full council.
Public & Industrial Improvements:
B-25: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, according to law, for replacement of the 4” water mains in Brookpark Drive, from Northampton Road to Eleanora Drive, Eleanora Drive, from Brookpark Drive East to Brookpark Drive West, Hoffman Drive, from Eleanora Drive to Woodbrook Road, Woodbrook Road, and from Northampton Road to Hoffman Drive, with an 8” water main. This legislation was presented by City Engineer Tony Demasi. The project is a continuation of the waterline replacement being done in the area. The current infrastructure in the neighborhood has been in place since the 1960s. The project was budgeted at $2 million and the best and lowest bid was for $1,853,459. Work will begin in June of this year and finish in 2026. The committee voted to bring this out for a vote Monday, April 14 before full council.
