Kent City Council to put renewal levy on ballot, approves changes to housing code

Kent City Council did more on May 21 than approve changes to Heritage Park. City leaders also:

• Approved an amendment to the city’s property maintenance and housing code prohibiting the use of transportable items like tents or motor homes to be used as temporary housing on residential yards for an undefined “extended period of time.”
  
  The code now prohibits “any motor vehicle, tent, trailer, recreational vehicle, watercraft or other structure” not permanently fastened to the ground and designed to be transportable to be used for human shelter
  
  The amendment is rooted in complaints the Community Development Department received regarding someone living in a tent in the backyard of a residential property, Community Development Director Bridget Susel wrote in an April 28 letter to City Manager Dave Ruller.
  
  Tweaking another section of the code, council approved an amendment requiring all “openable windows” to have tightly fitted screens free of damage or openings.
  
• Submitted to the Portage County Board of Elections a proposal to put a 0.73-mill tax levy before Kent voters in the November general election. If approved, revenue would continue to provide funds to maintain and operate Fire Station 2 on the west side of town. 
  
  The levy bid is categorized as a renewal, having first been approved by Kent voters for five years on Nov. 3, 2020. Should voters approve the levy, it is expected to cost property owners $14 per $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value and generate $267,928 annually.

Collection would begin in 2026.

• Approved an agreement with Kent State University and Haymaker Farmers’ Market to install new public art on the eastern concrete slope underneath the Haymaker Parkway Bridge.

• Authorized Fire Chief Jamie Samels to apply for a Leary Firefighters Foundation grant for a new forcible entry training door and three different-sized training mannequins. If KFD receives the grant, it will not exceed $10,000. The doors enable firefighters to practice getting through locked entryways without having to break them down, Fire Lieutenant Craig Peeps told The Portager. The mannequins allow first responders to mimic finding people in rooms and getting them out safely.