City Of Stow: January 2022 Mayor Letter

Press release from the City of Stow:

2022-01-03

Dear Residents,

As we leave 2021 behind us, I am eager to look ahead to future projects and initiatives planned for 2022. Over the next year, city leadership has planned to execute a number of projects. I, and my administration are looking forward to working with Stow City Council to achieve desired results. It is an exciting time in Stow!

Some of these initiatives include:

Parks & Recreation
Completion of the master plan project will take place in 2022. We are currently more than halfway through the process that will establish priorities for the future of the city’s parks, trails, recreation facilities, and programs and services. As part of the process, a statistically valid survey has been conducted by representatives from the project planning firm, PROS Consulting. The community-at-large will be invited to participate in the online survey this month. The voices of our residents are very important to us as we move forward with the master plan process. Everyone is encouraged to participate in filling it out. This will aid the City of Stow in taking a community-driven approach to making decisions that will enrich the future of our City and positively affect the quality of life we provide for our residents. Please take this opportunity to let your voice be heard!

The City is constantly reviewing and updating its park priorities in terms of safety, upkeep and beautification to ensure that parks are sustainable for years to come. The completion of the Parks & Recreation Master Plan will result in a roadmap for the future.

Improvements already scheduled for 2022 include:

• Upgrades to Safety Village, to include repairs and additions
• Improvements to the main large parking lot at Silver Springs Park, with the installation of outdoor lighting and paving of the entire lot
• Completion of the last phase of new siding installation at Silver Springs Lodge
• Upgrades to various playgrounds throughout the city, including new equipment at Sherwood Acres Park and Northport Park
• Replacement of restrooms at Adell Durbin Park, and the addition of a shelter

Stow City Center Project
Plans set in motion include construction for replacement of SKIP beginning in the second quarter of 2022.  Renderings of this project will be unveiled early this year. When rebuilt, the playground will be located in relatively the same location on the City Center site as it was in its original state. I am very enthused about the new playground and the renderings we have been reviewing. When our kids see the new Skip, I think they will be overjoyed!

Business Community
I, along with Nathan Leppo, Director of Planning and Development will continue to meet individually with local businesses in order to understand the issues and struggles that businesses may be facing, and to develop a plan for assisting business in overcoming obstacles. One of the biggest issues appears to be the availability of qualified workers. The City is part of an initiative in partnership with the Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce and the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District.  As such, the City is committed to assisting in closing these employment gaps.

Services and Amenities
We plan to continue to provide a high level of service to our residents through a variety of improvement projects:

Residential sidewalks – Continuation of the residential program initiated in 2021, with the goal of enhancing safety, walkability and connectivity for our residents. This project will continue over the course of the next several years in staged quadrants of the City and will include sidewalks that are in need of either removal or leveling and will be repaired at no cost to the property owner.

Sidewalks and bike trails – We are currently in the process of implementing a Connecting Communities grant. The main objective is to develop a strategy to create the missing connections between existing trails and sidewalks, and the people that use them. The resulting plan will provide direction for us to develop a citywide trail network that connects people to places in a vibrant and safe manner.

Road Improvements Project – We will once again be initiating a program that concentrates on residential roadways throughout the city.  Roads are selected for the project based on a rating system.   The project has a budget of $4.2 million for 2022, of which $1.3 million is a carryover from the 2021 program. The project should be completed by the end of 2022.

Input and communication with residents – In an effort to further improve communications, we will be launching a new website function in 2022 that has an integrated communication system, utilizing email, text message and phone communications to keep our residents informed on important events. Residents can sign up in one location for all communication avenues.

Safety Services
Regional Dispatch Services – In 2022, The City administration looks forward to joining the Summit County Dispatch Council of Government (COG) to work towards a regional consolidated joint effort to providing dispatch services.

The objective of joining the regional COG along with Summit County and several other local communities is to lower the cost of providing and maintaining dispatch services by providing a centralized location and combined staffing, equipment and facility. As technology improves and the investments that have to be made in technology, equipment, and personnel training increase, it gets more and more cost-prohibitive for communities to continue to provide dispatch services on their own. We are very committed to moving this forward because that’s the direction the voters gave us. And, we’ve put a lot of time and energy into researching this to make the right choice for our residents.

Budget and Finance
The City intends to maintain the financial stability through continued sound budgetary planning in 2022. Plans are to fund our expanding and comprehensive capital improvements program, continue with the city’s successful debt retirement program, and develop a sound strategic budget for the distribution of the federal monies provided under the ARPA program.

Mental Health Awareness and Initiatives – #YOUMATTER
Started in 2020, the #YOUMATTER initiative has been organized and implemented via a collaboration that includes the City, Stow-Munroe Falls City School District and several Summit County non-profit service agencies. The collaboration is comprised of community leaders, and other local and regional stakeholders whose vision is to raise awareness of the rising number of suicides in Stow and surrounding communities. Among other initiatives, the group has compiled a list of local and national resources available to residents, so that residents know that help is available and they may reach out if they are struggling, know someone else who is or if they just need someone to talk to. In 2022, the City plans to continue this important initiative. I am so proud of the work our team has done to support the #YouMatter initiative, and I truly believe this work will make a difference in our community. This collaboration will continue in 2022 with continued focus on education and awareness of important mental health and wellness topics.

I wish you all the very best for 2022. I pledge to continue my accessibility to our residents and businesses. Your ideas, input and feedback are so very beneficial in understanding the concerns of our community. I have the best interest of Stow at heart and I hope you do as well.

Sincerely,

John Pribonic
Mayor, City of Stow

This press release was produced by the City of Stow. The views expressed here are the author’s own.