Displaying items by tag: Bob Hoch

At a council meeting on Thursday evening, the topic of what to do with Davenport Park in Ellet was discussed. The basketball courts at the park have been closed over the last month due to reported gunshots, obscene language, and marijuana.

Ward 6 councilman Bob Hoch provided the update on the Ray Horner Morning Show, and the update is the courts remain closed. Some residents want the courts permanently closed, while others feel the temporary closure is necessary. Some have made this an issue of race, to which Hoch has gone on record to deny.

Hoch says the park itself will remain open, but the basketball courts will be padlocked through the summer season, perhaps longer, until a formulated plan is in place. This marks the third time in the last 25 years these courts have been closed.

After some gunfire, the rims on the basketball courts are coming down at Davenport Park, and the future of the Ellet park is actively being addressed.

Ward 6 councilman Bob Hoch joined the Ray Horner Morning Show to discuss ongoing problems at the park and how the city will handle them. Hoch has heard numerous complaints from parents about the amount of littering, foul language, and drug use being used by park-goers. Hoch has heard from residents about a complete closure of the park.

These problems are not unique to just Davenport. Other parks in the Akron area have been the subject of scrutiny, and city council plans on addressing these next week.

A pick-up basketball game at Ellet's Davenport Park courts turned ugly, as fisticuffs and shoving led to gunfire. That was enough as far as Mayor Dan Horrigan was concerned; he ordered the nets taken down, the court gates chained and increased police patrols. Neighbors say the courts have been a problem for the Ellet area.

Horrigan released a statement saying ""I have heard the concerns of the Ellet community and am aware of the unsettling events at Davenport Park last night. I have temporarily shut down the basketball courts to alleviate community concerns while we gather additional feedback from residents. The future of the basketball courts at Davenport Park will be a community-driven decision. City parks are community assets that are designed to be enjoyed, accessible, and, above all, safe." 

Akron police say they've only had one report of a fight since March and a handful of other neighborhood complaints. Ellet Councilman Bob Hoch says he's wanted changes for at least two years, including not only the basketball courts but also other facilities used for football, baseball and softball. A Facebook video showing the original fight and then the sound of gunshots has since been taken down. 

Ohio's Attorney General Mike DeWine is considering filing criminal charges against Akron City Councilman Bob Hoch in connection to an ethics complaint filed back in 2015. 

The complaint references Hoch's voting on certain legislation that benefitted his two sons who are both Akron firefighters. It was filed by a former city administration that had been involved in a public dispute with Hoch regarding his outspokenness on issues that directly related to the city fire department. 

After an investigation by the Ohio Ethics Committee, the case has been turned over to the Attorney General's Office and a spokesperson says their prosecutors are involved. 

Hoch, who has been on the Akron City Council since 2012, denied that there was any conflict of interest on his part. 

Questions on whether Akron should keep and maintain Fulton Municipal Airport arising again in the wake of the worst air disaster in the history of Summit County.

Akron city council's Bob Hoch represents Ward 6, which covers much of the area around the airport and the Ellet neighborhood. He says he's thankful nobody on the ground was hurt or killed, and his thoughts and prayers went to those aboard the jet, but comments from residents is a fairly routine topic.

"When you live in Ellet, you see and hear air traffic day and night. It becomes commonplace to see and hear these small planes, jets, helicopters and blimps. Normally, you don't react, you don't pay a whole lot of attention to them," Hoch says.

Hoch noted the future of Fulton Airport came up during the most recent mayoral debates.

"All those points have to be scrutinized," Hoch said. "How much is that airport costing the city of Akron and the residents of Akron now, and is it a necessary piece in our community and do we need to keep it there?"

Mayor Jeff Fusco counters Fulton is "...an economic driver, if you will. There's corporate and recreational use and it's heavily looked at by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) on what we can and cannot do. It's regulated heavily by the federal government." He said the airport does "quite a bit" to keep the airport safe.

"there's airports like this all around the country," Fusco said, with operations handled by pilots.

The airport also serves as a refueling center for medical emergency helicopters.