By Noell Wolfgram Evans

In attendance were Council Members Bob Post, Jim Iona, John Impellizzeri, John Hegnauer, Al Prince and Dina Edwards, as well as Council President Ross Widenor. Also attending were Police Chief Steve Dunton, Fire Chief Lee Chafin, Clerk of Council Misty Smith, Law Director Tom Kostoff, Public Works Director Jim Bowery and Finance Director Mia Swartz. Mayor Allen Mavrides did not attend as it was stated that he is on vacation.

The meeting was called to order by Widenor, who then asked Prince to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

The first order of business was the approval of the meeting minutes from the June 17 meeting. This action was inadvertently not done at the July 1 council meeting. Those June meeting minutes and the ones pertaining to the July 1 council meeting and July 1 standing committee meeting were all approved without comment.

Kostoff provided the law director’s report next. He stated that he has had two days of open office hours already this month and there are two additional days planned.

Widenor next presented the report of the council president. He attended the opening of the new County Board of Election office at 1050 E. Tallmadge Ave. in Akron. The ceremony was well attended, and he reminded the council to remind early voters of the new location. Iona added that “the new location is a bang-up job.”

The two upcoming Town Hall meetings were also discussed by Widenor. They will be held on July 22 at the public library. There will be two sessions at 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. A brief discussion was held on what expected attendance at the event will be, but Widenor noted that since it is not RSVP, there is no accurate way to know.

He ended his report by stating the next full council meeting will be held Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.

Impellizzeri next offered a brief report from the Finance Committee, and that was that the bank card reconciliation statement and all statements for June were in hand.

The Public Safety Committee was provided by Post. He stated the search was continuing for the drowning victim. There was a warning of an increase in tick bites but there have been no reported cases of West Nile Virus in the city. The committee commended the police department for their increase in patrols. The committee has also been working on education regarding the importance of not feeding wildlife.

The Parks report was given by Prince, who noted that bricks are still for sale and can be purchased at the upcoming Summer Fest, which will be on July 27. Fall Fest is still slated for Sept. 21. There was discussion of taking time at Summer Fest to celebrate a resident of 75 years who will be turning 98 near the time of the event. In addition to the public celebration, the family had reached out to Edwards for help in having 98 cards mailed in celebration. She asked council to consider participating.

During the public comment period, one resident rose to alert council that some of the dates in the agenda provided for the evening were wrong.

Following this, the council took up proposed legislation. Ordinance 2025-05 underwent a first reading, while Ordinance 2025-02 and Ordinance 2025-04 received second readings.

Ordinance 2025-03 was given a third reading. Following that, Prince moved to adopt the resolution and Impellizzeri seconded the motion. It was passed unanimously.

An amended version of Ordinance 2025-29 was also given a third reading. Following that, Prince moved to adopt the resolution and Impellizzeri seconded the motion. It too was passed unanimously.

In regard to new business, Widenor worked with council to set the date for a public hearing on the open ordinances. That will be Aug. 5 at 6:15 p.m.

Prince then announced that on July 14, he had tendered his resignation from council. He will be moving to Ward 2 and can no longer legally represent Ward 3. “I am truly, truly grateful for this opportunity,” he said.

His last day on council will be July 29, as that is when he expects to sign the papers moving to his new home. An interim councilmember will be appointed to complete the rest of the term, which expires on Dec. 31 of this year. Interested Ward 3 residents will be asked to submit a resume and to interview for the role. Dates are still being finalized, but Widenor hopes to vote on the new member in early August.

In regard to committee assignments, Prince was the liaison to the Parks Committee and Widenor was the alternate, so he will assume the primary role there. Kostoff will review assignments and name a new alternate.

The meeting was then adjourned.