The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 12

Pane C6, Friday, July 24, 1998 Tfie Beacon Journal www.Ohio.cvm Kent limits engineering work by consultants Engineering Department is in the red after spending $120,000 on outside inspectors, finance official says the city. In addition, some inspection duties will be taken on by members of the Service Department and other administrative support staff will be shuffled to offset the additional work required of the Engineering Department The new procedures will be in place until Nov. 1. Sometime this fall, the Engineering Department will prepare a presentation to the council about the way it runs things. The council will then decide whether any changes are needed.

"There continues to be a concern with the use of outside con get good quality construction on projects," interim City Engineer David Marquard said, adding that having inspectors looking after each project reduces the need for repairs later because the job is done right at the start. "Cutting back on certain parts of a project will eventually create some difficulties, but we're trying to make do with what we have," he said. Councilman-at-Large Dan Kam-buroff, who was especially critical of engineering's extensive use of inspectors, said paring the scale of inspections is necessary. "A city of this size and budget, I don't know if we can afford full-time inspectors on every job," he said. Kamburoff has witnessed the inspections up close as the Fair-child Avenue project has cut a swath in front of his farmer's market on that street.

Seeing inspectors watch the contractor put in two sections of pipe per day made Kamburoff question their presence. "Everyone in the department is going to have to bear down and do more in-house," he said. "At one time, we were very lax about inspections, but the pendulum has swung too far the other way." tractors," Steinbrecher said. Even with the reduced number of inspectors, the department will be in the red for the year, but it won't be as bad as it could have been, Rissland said. The Finance Department has yet to calculate how much will be saved by the administration-imposed cuts.

"We are probably going to have to ask council for more appropriations, but it won't be nearly as much as was first thought," she said. Brubaker is on vacation and unavailable for comment. "The inspectors have tried to consultants who inspected construction projects. In a memo to Brubaker dated July 10, Steinbrecher limited the number of outside consultants to three to inspect six projects throughout the city, including the $5 million Fairchild Avenue project upgrading a two-lane country road with curbs, storm sewers, sidewalks and a bike lane. The Stanton Middle School, River Bend East and Forest Lake subdivision inspections will be done by By Stephen Dyer Hmnm Journal slqff wnln KENT: The city's Engineering Department will have to make do with fewer site inspectors, at least until November.

City Manager Lewis Stein-brecher, acting on a request by the City Council, met with City Engineer Al Brubaker and Finance Director Barbara Rissland this month to address the nearly $120,000 already spent by the department this year on engineering Here's The Windup Proposed zoning laws stir debate 'Mi LmV; si 1 7 1 Avery Arnold, 3, working to perfect his pitching skills, gets ready to fire one to his dad, Tony Arnold. If the technique looks polished for a 3-year-old, there's a reason: Dad is the Akron Aeros' pitching coach, and these tosses were made along the sidelines at Canal Park yesterday. Despite his early baseball training, Avery says he wants to become an astronaut when he grows up. Some Twinsburg Twp. residents voice concern during public hearing By John Horton Hiwon Journal slnff writer Twinsburg Tom Arcoria isn't too pleased about his possible neighbors under new zoning guidelines proposed for the township.

The land next to his home along state Route 82 would change from residential to light industrial use under the proposed zoning regulations. Property across the street would go from a residential to a commercial designation. He has expressed his concerns multiple times to township officials. On Tuesday, Arcoria joined about 40 others at a public hearing on the proposed zoning laws. "I feel like I was blown off," Arcoria said.

"There are a lot of people who feel that way. We have concerns that aren't being addressed. I don't see the point of what they're doing." Consultant Maher Holozadah, hired by trustees in June 19 to rewrite the zoning code, says he developed a plan that serves the best interests of the township as a whole. Holozadah said complaints come from individuals looking at one piece of the code instead of the overall picture. "I looked to preserve community open space," said Holozadah, who lives in the city of Twinsburg.

"The complaints I heard were about individual open space." Trustees yesterday voted to sever ties with Holozadah, saying he has supplied his input. The township paid more than $10,000 for his services. "We've got all the pieces and parts now," Trustee Chairman Tom Schmidt said. "Now it's up to the trustees and zoning commis Ruling State attorney general to oppose any appeal Continued from Page Cl quest a court order allowing him to remain in business during the appeals process. Rita E.

Raimer, agent-in-charge of the Akron District for the Ohio Department of Public Safety's Liquor and Food Stamp Enforcement Unit, said she has asked the Ohio attorney general's office to oppose a request for a stay order "because lives are at stake (if the bar remains open)." During last week's hearing, a Teeter Totter bartender testified that he knew Claar was an alcoholic and that she had been drinking when he served her vodka and orange juice about 9 p.m. The bartender, Jerame Mote, also testified that he didn't serve Northampton Township. Several years after the township merged with the city in 1986, a park including a basketball court, tennis courts, paths and community garden was created on the land. In the early 1990s, Swain sold another 60-some acres to the city for $310,000, or about $5,100 an acre considerably less than she could have received had she sold the land to a developer, Pierson said. The first phage of the park expansion, with an estimated cost of $600,000, would be funded in part with $156,740 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and $126,000 donated by a developer to meet city recreation requirements.

The city also will begin study sion to deal with this. We have all the information we need." The plan currently is before the township's Zoning Commission. Complaints Tuesday centered on two issues the lack of more residential property with 4-acre lot minimums and zoning changes along Route 82. Schmidt said residents and. township officials made it obvious when the plan was first introduced that there were objections.

He said revisions requested by trustees and Summit County planners did not take into account any of those concerns. Schmidt said residential land previously zoned for 4- or IVi-acre lots was reduced to a 1-acre minimum. Rezoning the land along Route 82 to commercial and light industrial threatens wetland areas and infringes on nearby homes, Schmidt added. "The message residents sent was that they want larger lots and that they want to preserve the rural atmosphere," said Schmidt, who attended Tuesday's hearing. Holozadah, however, said there's logic to the plan.

He said much of the township remains zoned for 4-acre lot mini-mums. However, he said, more options are needed. More land with 4-acre minimums would be "a total waste of an unreplenishable resource" and could not be defended in court, he said. Zoning changes along Route 82 reflect the need to attract more businesses and diversify land uses, he said. The state route and nearby interstate access make it attractive for such use, and railroad tracks running nearby make the property undesirable for residential use.

Holozadah, a traffic engineer at the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, also said the proposed zoning seeks to preserve open space. Claar any more alcohol because she appeared drunk after finishing that drink. Mote also testified that he took Claar's car keys and had her go to an upstairs apartment so she could sleep it off. Mote, who testified that Claar regularly would consume 10 drinks during an evening in the Teeter Totter, said she did not appear intoxicated when he served her that drink. Several witnesses testified that Claar could consume multiple drinks without showing any effects from the alcohol, and then suddenly appear to be intoxicated.

While some said Claar hadn't been drinking at the Teeter Totter earlier in the evening, one customer said he saw her drinking there before 9 p.m. when Mote took over bartending duties. At the conclusion of Aronson's testimony last week in Columbus, Commissioner Eddie Edwards, a Portsmouth attorney, said, "You've got an admitted alcoholic and you're pouring the drinks to her and it cost somebody their life." i mmm iira.mup immm 1 1 'V'" ROBIN W1TEK, Beacon Journal photos since 1992 to find a new home to display historical artifacts from the former township. A 19th-century, one-room schoolhouse that was moved to Swain's property had served as the society's museum until it was destroyed by a tornado that year. Historical society members saved whatever they could after the storm.

"It blew apart," said Powell, the group's president. "Debris was littered everywhere." Other possible plans for the park include a wading pool, outdoor ice skating, more parking, amphitheater, walking trails and plenty of open space, Pierson said. The entire project could take five to 10 years, depending on the availability of grants and other funding. Transmitter fails; radio station silent Cleveland's WRMR waiting for repair parts Bearm Journal slnff report A transmitter problem has knocked Cleveland radio station WRMR (850-AM) off the air. The adult pop standard or "nostalgia" station has been down since 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday. General Manager Chris Maduri couldn't say yesterday when the station would begin broadcasting again. "It could happen at any moment it could happen this afternoon," Maduri said. "I'm surprised it's taken this long." He said a combination of work to upgrade the transmitter from 10,000 to 50,000 watts and the storm that hit the area Tuesday put the station out of commission. Maduri said parts for the transmitter, located in North Royalton, are being flown in from St Louis and sources in Ohio.

Maduri and WRMR community relations director Rena Blumberg said the station's switchboard has been swamped by listeners. "We've been getting thousands of calls we took 55 calls in a few minutes," said Park Many say expansion is an asset to community Continued from Page CI ticularly in the former Northampton Township. There are no city-owned fields in that area. "We're getting more and more teams asking for fields," Pierson said. "There's a lot of demand on the fields." Keyser Park was established when a member of the Keyser family sold 15 acres at Bath and Northampton roads to the former Aeros Hispanic students are few at university Continued from Page Cl to Rico, Mauritius and Russia for about 20 minutes, answering questions about their experiences in Akron.

"We're having a good time here," Betances said in Spanish. "We miss our Latin food so we cook it ourselves." The players had to be coaxed into speaking in English for the benefit of students who did not speak Spanish. "The reason I asked to meet Hispanic players is because we wanted you to know there are other Hispanics around and you're not alone," Reiman said. There are not a lot of Hispanic people in Akron or at the university. Out of 23,538 students, only about 216 are Hispanic, Reiman said.

Like the ballplayers, that makes the students feel isolated. When Latin students first arrived here, they felt at a loss, partially because they missed their language and also because of simple cultural differences, Reiman said. Student Jahaira Ortiz, born in Vineland, N.J., but of Puerto Rican heritage, explained: In a Hispanic household, visitors are always offered food and urged to eat, and friends are always given keys to the house in case they need to stop by when no one's home. Students replicate that kind of openness with each other when they can, she said. ing the best use for a barn that was built by 'the Keyser family in the early 1900s.

With a little paint and minor repairs, it would be in good shape, Pierson said. Ward 8 Councilman George Potts, who represents the former Northampton Township area, called the park expansion an asset to the entire community, as well as a tribute to Swain's desire for historical preservation. "Carrie Swain was very interested in preserving the barn, because she watched her dad build it," Potts said. Future phases of the expansion could involve renovating the barn and possibly the Keysers' century home for the Northampton Historical Society. The group has been trying 1 Last night, the group received a tour of the stadium before the game, including a close-up look at the dugout, indoor batting cages and private suites.

"It was a good thing to do. Now they know we're here," said Gam-alier Sturgis, a sophomore originally from Puerto Rico who is studying mechanical engineering at UA. The get-together made ballplayer Betances feel "at home," he said. He and Scutaro stayed and talked a little longer than planned, and almost ran off for the game without the basket of fruit they were given. When asked if he would want to stay in touch with the students, Betances- said, "Claro que si!" of course.

it- fJt i r'JTJt KEN LOVEBeacon Journal Akron Aeros players Marcos Scutaro (left) and Junior Betances are surrounded by international students from the University of Akron during a Canal Park party held before last night's game. Ortiz is trying to organize a sorority for Hispanic women with the hope of enticing more to the school and increasing diversity on UA's campus. When Reiman joined HOLA, there were only eight students involved, and now there are three times as many. "I think whatever this club is offering is great, putting students together, letting students learn about other people's cultures," said Oumila Sibartie, an economics graduate student from Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, and a member of the International Students Club. "This is the best experience in my life." Sibartie, who had never been off her island home before coming to Akron, said last night's game would be her second.

The first was a game last summer, which she attended with the International Students Club. i i.