Aurora / Events / Local government / Ravenna / Shalersville / Streetsboro
County roundup: Aurora expands Geauga Lake property, plus news from Ravenna, Shalersville and Streetsboro
- Roger Gordon
Aurora
The City of Aurora purchased a bit more property to add to its park property at Geauga Lake.
“Our new park that we’re building has a small residential street right along its border called Fairview Avenue,” Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin said. “We have, during the last year, purchased some property on Fairview, and council recently approved the city buying three vacant lots on Fairview. The lot with the house won’t close until next year.”
This property will save the city money on building the utility infrastructure for the park because it will offer direct access from state Route 43 into the park for utilities.
There is a proposal before Aurora City Council that is for a conditional zoning certificate for a new medical use in an empty medical facility located at 700 Walden Pl. The use would be The Emily Program, which is a treatment and support organization for people struggling with eating disorders, for their families and loved ones. The proposal has not yet been approved.
There is a conditional zoning certificate that has come to city council from the planning commission for a new development in Hawthorn of Aurora at the southwest corner of state Route 43 and Aurora-Lake Road. The new development is called New Leaf Development, and it would include condominiums and single-family homes along with some retail businesses. The zoning certificate is pending.
Womer Benjamin’s administration proposed, and city council approved, a 30%, three-year income tax rebate for Rotek, a steel manufacturing company that is consolidating operations from its Kentucky plant to Aurora.
“Rotek is investing approximately $10 million in an expansion of its engineering and manufacturing facilities,” Womer Benjamin said. “The rebate is on new payroll, which is expected to be, at the end of three years, approximately $5 million. They expect to expand their Aurora workforce by 60.”
The City of Aurora received a very favorable quote for its annual Sun Life medical stock loss coverage, which city council approved. The cost will be $3.7 million.
The Friends of Aurora Memorial Library will have a book sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11. The library is located at 115 E. Pioneer Trl. The sale will be on the lower level. Cash or check only. For more information, call 330-562-6502 or visit facebook.com/friendsauroramemoriallibrary.
The Rotary Club of Aurora has breakfast meetings at 7:30 a.m. the first and third Wednesdays of the month and lunch meetings at noon the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at The Church in Aurora at 146 S. Chillicothe Rd. For more information, visit aurorarotaryclub.org or contact Gail McCullough at 330-717-7205.
The Aurora Trail Challenge tests people to walk six of the city’s trails that are specified in the challenge. It lasts through Oct. 31. Prizes will be awarded.
Said Womer Benjamin, “You get to know other parks that we have available in Aurora.”
To participate, contact Aurora Parks and Recreation at 330-562-4333 or holmanl@auroraoh.com.
The city’s second and final Shred Day of the year will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 25 at the Aurora Service Department at 158 W. Pioneer Trl. It’s for Aurora residents only.
Trick-or-Treat will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31.
There will be a trunk-or-treat from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at Trelleborg at 285 Lena Dr. in the industrial park. All industrial park businesses are welcome to join in. Decorate a car or truck and pass out treats to local kids. To register and for more information, contact Lisa at lisa@allaboutaurora.com or 330-562-3355.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting for Home Instead: In-Home Senior Care will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 at 9 E. Garfield Rd. #107. The ribbon cutting will be at 5 p.m. There will be raffles, prizes, refreshments and older adult resources. Plus, you can meet the team. RSVP at allaboutaurora.com under the “Events” tab or by contacting Jeffrey Gamad at 216-214-7761.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Sept. 19 for Vitalan Health, a private physicians office located at 33 N. Chillicothe Rd.
City of Ravenna
The Third Annual Ravenna Baseball Golf Outing will be Saturday, Oct. 11 at Olde Dutch Mill Golf Course at 2745 Grandview Rd. in Lake Milton. There will be a 9 a.m. shotgun start. The cost is $500 per four-person scramble, which includes 18 holes of golf with cart, pop, water, beer, lunch, door prizes, and Guido’s catered meal immediately following. Prizes will be awarded to the first-place men’s and women’s teams. For more information, contact Lee Lovejoy at 330-861-8663 or email ravennabaseballgolfouting@gmail.com.
A Ravenna Area Chamber of Commerce after-hours business networking event will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Portage Community Bank at 1311 E. Main St. The event will feature hors d’oeuvres, networking, and the chance to connect with the team and Chamber members. To register, call 330-296-3886 or email ryann@ravennaareachamber.com.
A multi-chamber fall hike will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 at Shaw Woods at 7075 Beery St. The event features a guided hike followed by refreshments sponsored by the Portage Park Discount Foundation. Participating chambers are Ravenna, Aurora, Streetsboro, Rootstown and Mantua-Shalersville.
The Monster Dash 5K and Kids Fun Run will be held Saturday, Oct. 18 at UH Portage Medical Center at 6847 N. Chestnut St. The Kids Fun Run will begin at 8:30 a.m., and the 5K Run/Walk will start at 9 a.m. Fifty percent of the proceeds will support Ravenna Raven Packs.
The City of Ravenna will have three Halloween celebrations Saturday, Oct. 25:
*Trunk-or-Treat – 10 a.m. to noon at Ravenna City Park at 165 Oakwood St.
*Halloween Walk – noon to 3 p.m. downtown. Features a family-friendly costume parade, merchant Trick-or-Treat, Halloween festivities and more. For more information and for vendor and sponsorship opportunities, call 330-296-3886, email ryann@ravennaareachamber.com or visit ravennaareachamber.com.
*Trick-or-Treat – 3 to 5 p.m.
Tavs, a restaurant and bar, recently opened at 106 E. Main St. where Tavern 1888 was located. A ribbon cutting could be in the near future.
Main Street Ravenna’s third annual “Mystery on Main Street” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18. Put on your detective cap, get out your spyglass and help find clues downtown. To register, click here: Mystery On Main Registration Form 2025.
The City of Ravenna picks up yard waste every other week in the supplied lawn bags. Tree branches and limbs no larger than four inches in diameter can be placed on the tree lawn for pick-up; do not place limbs or brush in a container of any kind. Bags will be provided through Oct. 17. Lawn bags must contain leaves or plant vegetation (flowers and grass clippings) only. Any other debris (sticks, rocks, gravel, dirt, trash, animal feces, etc.) will be rejected and not picked up. Bags and brush must be placed at the curb by the Sunday prior to your scheduled pick-up week. The remaining bag and brush pick-up weeks for 2025 are the following:
*Oct. 6, 20 – Wards 1 and 3
*Oct. 14, 27 – Wards 2 and 4
Bags and brush may be picked up at any time during the weeks indicated above.
The next Ravenna City Council meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14 at City Hall at 210 S. Park Way. The meeting will also be livestreamed via the Ravenna City Council YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsY-7L4lRGPDgMIelyLQgpw.
The next Ravenna City Council Committee of the Whole meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20 at City Hall. The meeting will also be livestreamed via the Ravenna City Council YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsY-7L4lRGPDgMIelyLQgpw.
Ravenna Township
Sunbeau Valley Farm at 3229 State Route 59 in Ravenna Township was recently purchased by the City of Ravenna’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“There were a number of people interested in buying the property,” City of Ravenna Mayor Frank Seman said, “but it’s part of the history here in Ravenna that we wanted to maintain.”
The township’s third annual Trunk-or-Treat will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29 in the parking lot of the Ravenna Township Campus at 6145 S. Spring St. There will be candy, refreshments and games. A grant from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council will fund this event. This is for Ravenna Township residents only.
A streetlight will be installed by FirstEnergy at the intersection of state Route 14 and Hayes Road in the next month.
Shalersville
A potluck dinner honoring the late Bob Corbett and celebrating his contributions to the Shalersville community was held Sept. 28 at Town Hall. There was a large turnout; Corbett’s relatives were in attendance and accepted awards on his behalf.
Two large hemlock trees at Riverside Cemetery will be removed. The contract was awarded to Weaver.
A resolution was passed to adopt the Solid Waste Management Plan for the Portage County Solid Waste Management District.
A resolution was passed to adopt the tax budget for the next succeeding fiscal year commencing Jan. 1.
A resolution was passed to adopt the Cybersecurity Policy.
The chip-and-seal has been completed on Elliman and Kieffer roads, funded by a road budget surplus.
The parking lots in Shalersville Park were striped, including designated handicapped parking spaces. Leashed dogs are now allowed on the walking trail only but not in the park. Owners are required to clean up after their pets. A sign will be installed noting the walking trail loop is one mile long.
The new metal roof was installed above the existing rubber flat roof at the bio-med school, matching the current structure. Gutter installation is scheduled for this week.
Streetsboro
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Oct. 1 for Home Genius Exteriors, a contractor supporter, which relocated its home offices from Twinsburg to 525 Frost Rd.
“This brought a lot of well-paying jobs here to Streetsboro,” Mayor Glenn Broska said.
Ground was broken Sept. 29 on a 140,000-square-foot addition to manufacturer LayerZero Power Systems at 10030 Philipp Pkwy.
Gebhardt, a material handling equipment supplier, is adding 140,000 square feet to its building at 10040 Aurora Hudson Rd.
Trick-or-Treat will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1.
Trunk-or-Treat will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16 at Streetsboro City Park at 8970 Kirby Ln.
Correction: This article has been updated with an accurate description of The Emily Program. It is not a weight-loss program.
Roger Gordon