By Noell Wolfgram Evans

The Stow City Council met on May 14 in council chambers. Present were Mario Fiocca, Ward 4 representative; John Baranek, vice president of council and Ward 3 representative; Kelly Coffey, Ward 2 representative; Kyle Herman, president of council and at-large representative; Kim Young, at-large representative; Cyle Feldman, pro tem and at-large representative; and Matt Riehl, Ward 1 representative. Also present were Sonya Mottram, clerk of council; Mike Jones, city engineer; Nicholas Wren, chief of staff; Zack Cowan, planning director; Mark Stone, fire chief; Jim McCleary, city engineer; and Bryan Snavely, police captain.

The scheduled 7 p.m. meeting, which started after a longer than planned set of committee meetings, began with a proclamation celebrating the retirement of Lt. Ted Bell. Riehl called Bell “our super cop,” as he shared a narrative of Bell’s career and some of his more notable achievements. After the proclamation was read and photos were taken, Bell said the experience was “overwhelming.”

“Father Time is here and he’s undefeated; now I’m here and I’m grateful,” Bell said.

The council then returned to its standard business with the approval of the previous meeting minutes, followed by a report from the mayor. Wren spoke for the mayor, who was attending a scholarship dinner. Wren said that interviews were continuing for the open parks and recreation director and the co-ordinator roles.

Herman then introduced two ordinances that had come from the executive meeting held earlier. 2026-109 would approve Ashley Stanton for the position of income tax assistant in the Finance Department, while Ordinance 226-110 proposed Charles Coren for the role of plan examiner in the Building Department. Council suspended the rules for both so that they could be voted on and approved during the meeting. The approval was unanimous.

The next item on the agenda was to consider resolutions and ordinances on the agenda. 2026-095 was up for a second reading. This would amend the density cap in the city. 

“As we went through the code rewrite process, it was intended to align with our comprehensive plan, which states ‘Stow will be a city with a lively, mixed-use downtown.’ Are these still our goals or should we look at a new comprehensive plan?” Herman said.

Coffey said she was not against the development plan specifically, but expressed broader concerns about how this change may affect other areas of the city. 

“I just want to make sure we are balancing what developers need with what we want for our vision,” Feldman said.

Feldman asked Cowan how to address resident concerns about potential “low-income” homes being built. Cowan said affordable housing is just one of four factors that are part of a mixed-use development equation. Young added that she felt that affordability and low-income were two very different things. Herman said it may be more appropriate to refer to it as workplace housing. 

Coffey added that she was also concerned about how this could affect schools. Herman said that he looks at this proposal long-term. 

“I hope we can collaborate on the direction we need to go,” he added.

Herman asked that the resolution be tabled until the July council meeting “in accordance with the public hearing.” Council approved this request unanimously. Also tabled, for the same reason, was 2026-096, which amends the planned development overlay standards.

2026-098 was then taken up as a first reading. Known as “Avery’s Law,” this would amend the city code for “nuisance dogs and other animals.” 2026-099, also at first reading, offered changes to the electronic bicycle laws. Council voted to suspend the rules for both ordinances and then approved them by unanimous consent.

A first reading was also held for 2026-100, which will set compensation for the mayor, law director and finance director. 2026-102, 2026-103 and 2026-104 would put city charter amendments before the voters. 

First readings were held for 2026-101, 2026-106 and 2026-107. These would allow for a zoning variance and for the mayor to enter into service contracts. The rules were suspended and these were approved unanimously and without comment.

Council then voted in the affirmative to approve the May 14 bills and to give the council president the authority to pay bills in May and June.

Baranek asked if the issue of solicitors in the city could be included in a future committee meeting. Discussion was had on the recent influx of licensed solicitors who were either unaware of the city's regulations or unwilling to follow them. It was suggested that if a resident has an issue with a door-to-door solicitation they should contact the non-emergency police number.

Herman invited everyone to attend the All-America City Rally on May 20 and the Memorial Day ceremony on May 25. He also asked council if they would like to march en masse at the July 4th Parade, where the Amp will be the Grand Marshall. It was also decided that he should get quotes to add additional cameras in council chambers.

The council then adjourned.