These last few weeks have been discouraging, as gun violence in Akron is growing and I feel absolutely helpless. My heart goes out to the victims, their families and those directly affected by these shootings, but we all are affected by these incidents. This is our city, and all of us on City Council, along with the Mayor’s Administration and Akron Police Deprtment are looking for ways to keep residents safe. None of us should feel unsafe while spending time with friends, playing sports, or enjoying a night out, but the current climate need to change. There’s more about this in the Public Safety Tab ,so take a look there.
With summer in full swing, I’m getting a lot of high grass complaints in Ward 8 neighborhoods. It’s even worse in other areas of the city and talking with my colleagues, we’re asking for your help. Anyone can report these to the city, either by dialing 311 or on the MyAkron311 app (available on the App Store or on google Play), and you can report anonymously too. While I try to drive the ward monthly, I don’t make every street so please do your part and help out. Same thing Housing, Parks, Street/Highway, Water/Sewer and other issues. I’m happy to help, but the more eyes we have on the road, the faster things get done.
There’s also a ton of things to do this summer and I hope you can get out and enjoy all that our city has to offer. Visit the Akron Zoo, see live music at Lock 3 & 4, catch a baseball game with the Rubber Ducks, bike or hike the Metro Parks and Towpath, revisit Stan Hywet, enjoy the Heinz Poll Dance Festival’s 52nd season kickoff at the Akron Art Museum on Thursday 6/18 and later in our parks. Don’t forget to bring friends and family to the Monday Night Concerts at Hardesty Park at 7:00pm.
Our June Ward meeting is on Wednesday, 6/17 and Ward 6 Councilman Brad McKitrick will be your host as I have another commitment that night. As always, APD Officer Aaron Browns starts us off, and we’ve got Matthew Turner with Ward 8’s HALO Foundation and closing out is Madhu Sharma, Executive Director of the International Institute how will talk about how they help Akron’s newest citizen settle in to our city. Hope yo can make it out on Wednesday evening from 6-7:30pm.