Hudson Council Honors Retiring Parks Leader, Pauses Data Center Applications

Hudson City Council returned from its summer recess Tuesday night with a packed agenda that included an emotional sendoff for a longtime employee, a proclamation for a beloved local foundation, a new six month pause on data center applications and a lengthy workshop discussion on housing density rules. All seven council members were present for the July 14 regular meeting and workshop at Town Hall. Council Honors Retiring Parks and Public Works Leader Council opened the meeting by unanimously passing Honorary Resolution 26-100, recognizing Eric Hutchinson for more than 35 years of service to the city. Hutchinson began as a seasonal high school worker on June 1, 1990, joined the city full time in 1996 and rose through the ranks to become Parks Maintenance Supervisor in 2000, Parks Superintendent in 2005 and Assistant Public Works Director in 2015. The resolution credited Hutchinson with overseeing development of Barlow Farm Park, Maple Grove Park and Veterans Way Park, along with skate parks, field lighting, snow removal operations, the Senior Snow Plow Program, City Hall renovations and trail improvements. Under his leadership, the Summit Disc Golf Association named Hudson Springs Park its home course. Council members and staff took turns thanking Hutchinson before the vote. City Manager Thomas Sheridan called him “one of the first department managers I met when I came here as city engineer” and said his even keeled attitude was the best he could ask for in a colleague. Hutchinson thanked council and said the thing he already misses most is his coworkers. Pegs Foundation Marks 25 Years in Hudson Council also read a proclamation recognizing the 25th anniversary of Pegs Foundation. The foundation is named for Margaret “Peg” Clark Morgan, who was born September 5, 1918, in Kent and graduated as valedictorian of Theodore Roosevelt High School before earning a business degree from Miami University. Morgan began working at Goodrich in Akron in 1939, where she met her husband, Burton D. Morgan. The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation was established in her honor in 2001 with a focus on improving the lives of people with serious mental illness. A gallery exhibit marking the anniversary remains on view through September 5. Several council members praised the foundation’s work, and Council President Michael Bird recalled his own decades working part time in the emergency department at Akron Children’s Hospital, where he said a Pegs Foundation donation of more than one million dollars helped create a pediatric mental health intake center roughly 20 years ago. A foundation representative accepted the proclamation and thanked council for the partnership. Resident Asks Council to Lower Speed Limit on Route 303 During public comment, a resident who lives along West Streetsboro Street asked council to lower the speed limit to 35 miles per hour along the corridor to the Boston Heights border, citing unsafe passing by motorcyclists and other drivers during rush hour. Two other residents used the comment period to raise separate ongoing concerns, one involving a past rezoning decision and another involving a property permit dispute with city staff. Council took no action on the comments Tuesday night. Council Catches Up on a Summer of Emergencies Several council members used their comment time to address a string of incidents that occurred during the council recess, including a natural gas explosion in Twinsburg Township, severe weather that disrupted the city’s July 3 fireworks celebration and a police pursuit that ended in Stow. Council Member Samantha D’Eramo asked City Manager Sheridan to review the city’s emergency notification tools, including Notify Me and Code Red. Council Member Amanda Weinstein suggested the city also consider a dedicated Facebook page for police and fire updates. Sheridan told council the city is working on better follow up communication after incidents, such as confirming when roads reopen or power is restored, and is exploring whether it can use money from the American Municipal Power group to build an outage map similar to one used by FirstEnergy. He said a full report on the summer’s communications and incidents will come to council in August. Council Member Kyle Brezovec gave an update on the fiber optic project pause that followed the Twinsburg Township explosion on June 25. He said city staff have been reviewing safety specifications for all directional drilling in the city and plan to bring new standards to council on August 11. He also explained that the city’s earlier decision to lower the speed limit on state Route 91 came through an urban district designation rather than a traditional speed study, since prior studies did not support a change. Council President Bird thanked the Fairways homeowners association for helping residents whose homes were damaged by the Twinsburg Township explosion find housing and repairs. Council M