- Noell Wolfgram Evans. The bulk of Adkins’ time was spent in a discussion on the potential renewal of the township’s contract for Flock cameras. Adkins asked for a one-year renewal for the four cameras in the township.
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. Palmer then kicked off the community reports. The bulk of his report centered on a request for approval for two expenditures. The first was in the amount of $65,969 for the purchase of a power cot for the ambulance. The second was for $205,587 for a new chassis for that same ambulance.
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. Shaffer Bish had the only new business. A resident contacted her regarding a beer-pong table that has become what she called “a fixture” in her neighbor’s yard. Shaffer Bish asked council to take up the item as a potential code issue in a future committee meeting. All members voted yes to move this concern forward.
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. The Portage County Board of Commissioners let Meyer know that they were working with Congressman Dave Joyce to secure funds in the federal 2027 appropriation budget for the public water system rehabilitation project in the village.
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. Scott Rudlosky offered a proposal to add some disc golf holes at the township parks. He proposed a pilot program that could be started with a $500 grant he recently received specifically for disc golf.
- Julie Erickson. The featured program for the meeting was a walk-through of the Applied Engineering and Machining lab, which has been led by Mark Hamilton for the past 14 years.
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. “We’re in an interesting place in terms of enrollment,” Heflinger said. He said that the district doesn’t have room in Brimfield to grow, adding that “if kindergarten enrollment goes up, we will be scrambling.”
- Marissa Devantier. Palmer requested approval to transition two part-time firefighters to full-time status, effective April 1. While the fiscal officer noted that the midyear budget did not initially account for the additional salaries, approximately $500,000 in carryover funds made the hires feasible.
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. Coia shared an update on a $2 million neighborhood grant. The hope is that it will pay for about two-thirds of the hookups to the sewer lines in the allotted area. He also said he has been working on the township dinner, which will be held in August. Space has been reserved at the Elks and a caterer has been procured.
- Julie Erickson. Brett McCann provided a district report card update. In two years, 2022 and 2023, the district closed the gap of -9% to state average math scores.
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. Following the acceptance of the Jan. 12 meeting minutes, members of the public were invited to address the council. Ted Hurd spoke with great pride about the new City Hall, which he said “was always my dream to see.”
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. According to the banking statements shared, the village ended December with $173,273.10 in the bank and with $119,845.60 in investments with STAR Ohio.
- Margaret Lennox. Nick Cecil informed the council that there would be a cybersecurity meeting in order to go over updates made to comply with new Ohio law. Jones also went over an update to the civil service rules.
- Margaret Lennox. Hall presented the 2026 operating budget, which was approved by the council. Kent is not in a deficit and has been able to put several million dollars into a rainy day fund for emergencies. The 2026 operating budget was approved by council.
- Noell Wolfgram Evans. Calfee asked Smallfield for an update on the Flock system and if it has been “worth it.” Smallfield enthusiastically shared his positive opinion on the system and said that it has helped to solve about 100 crimes already.
Unanimous approval was also provided for entering into a service agreement with Southeast Local Schools for the services of an ELL tutor, the establishment of an Indoor Track and Field Club at the high school, and the purchase of a new van for the transportation of special education students.
After public comment concluded, Amrhein and council members honored Sue Nelson of Sue Nelson Designs for her contributions to Kent’s community. Nov. 19 was declared Sue Nelson Day to honor her retirement.
Errera was unanimously elected and immediately sworn in. Errera thanked those in attendance and quickly cast his first vote, which was an approval to move the board into executive session.