Summit County is prioritizing safety and emergency management through new technology, including a new consolidated dispatch center and expanded broadband infrastructure.
County Executive Ilene Shapiro shared more about county-wide safety initiatives and planned investments in other priorities in the annual State of the County address held at the John S. Knight Center in Downtown Akron Thursday.
She also announced she plans to seek a third term when she is up for reelection next year.
Shapiro touted the recent completion of the new Summit Emergency Communications Center.
The new consolidated dispatch center will help streamline emergency communications through state-of-the-art technology and computer systems, she said. Headquartered in Tallmadge, the $25 million center currently hosts dispatch operations for the Summit County Sheriff’s Office along with Tallmadge, Stow, Fairlawn, and Cuyahoga Falls - and other municipalities that are served by those cities. Other jurisdictions in the county are welcome to join, she said.
In the coming weeks, the center will handle 9-1-1 communications for 360,000 people in the county, Shapiro added.
“The SECC will save valuable time by eliminating the transfer of 9-1-1 calls between jurisdictions and the need to initiate separate mutual aid requests,” Shapiro said. “What does this mean for someone in an emergency? It means faster, more connected, and more precise services when they are needed the most.”
Though Akron’s dispatchers work independently of the center, they will use the space, Shapiro said.
Surveys consistently show that Summit County residents are most focused on safety in their communities, she said.
The county has also invested millions of dollars to improve conditions at courts and the jail, she said. One such improvement is holding virtual court proceedings.
“Today, we are holding remote proceedings, saving time and money, while increasing safety for our deputies, court staff, inmates, and all other parties involved,” Shapiro said. “These investments connected our courts and jail with high-speed fiber, eliminating the need to transport inmates to the courthouse every day—making the process safer and more cost effective.”
County-wide broadband expansion
Shapiro’s administration is also continuing to work on Summit Connects, a county-wide high-speed broadband network, she said. The first leg of the network runs from Akron to Tallmadge and serves the new SECC dispatch center, “giving this critical public safety operation access to our fast and secure network,” Shapiro said.
“It will also ensure that our local police, fire, and EMS teams will have access to reliable, high-speed connection. And when a new technology emerges, we will have the infrastructure to implement it in the field,” she added.
For now, Summit Connects is used for first-responders and county-wide emergency communication, but Shapiro said they hope to contract with a private company to bring it to residents. It could be two years before the general public has access to it, she added.
“I can’t give you a finite timeline because we are dependent on providers and getting the supply chain in place, and so on and so forth, but our hope is that it would take 18-24 months to get that fully built out and operational," she said.
Additionally, the county supported a $1.7 million effort to expand FairlawnGig, Fairlawn’s public broadband network, into neighboring Copley.
“FairlawnGig will now serve two areas of the community where there was both an opportunity and obligation to invest,” Shapiro said.
Forthcoming investments in the county’s older population - and first-time homebuyers, too
Shapiro added that the county is focusing on its aging population.
Shapiro pledged to soon introduce legislation to spend $8 million toward services that would support home repairs, food deliveries and digital services for older residents.
“Sometimes, it’s the little things that can become serious barriers to our older residents and their families: a missing step, a broken light, an outlet that doesn’t work,” Shapiro said. “These smaller fixes are often ineligible for our home repair programs but can make a world of a difference.”
Shapiro’s office, in partnership with Direction Home Akron Canton, will take requests from residents and point them to the proper program, she added.
The administration will also help local businesses and tourist destinations earn age-friendly accreditation, she said.
Shapiro also announced a new program that aims to support first-time homebuyers. Under the First-Home First-Loan initiative, the county will match down payments up to three times of what the homebuyer provides, she said.
Qualified residents can apply beginning Nov. 1.
"In a housing market that is increasingly competitive, we know how a little help can go a long way," Shapiro said. "If a family puts down $4,000, the County will match with $12,000 dollars in a deferred, no-interest loan. This program is targeted to our neighborhoods that are most in need."
County invests in health, addiction treatment
Shapiro thanked Donna Skoda, the head of Summit County Public Health, and praised the department’s work to help tamp down overdose deaths.
The administration and medical institutions in the county are becoming more focused on treating addiction like an illness, rather than a “moral failure,” Shapiro said.
“Thanks to these investments, today a resident can walk into an emergency department at Summa or Cleveland Clinic-Akron General and know that their addiction will be treated like the medical emergency it is.
Shaprio also called attention to a new technology that helps connect residents who may be struggling with addiction to treatment options and other services.
UniteUs allows users such as a medical professional or judge help refer someone to treatment or other services like health care or food insecurity resources.
“This one is a real game changer,” Shapiro said. “Think of Unite Us as a one stop hub for a person looking for treatment, for a judge looking for information on the person in front of her, or a physician looking for the best possible place to send her patient.”
The UniteUs platform was funded by the $104 million settlement the county received from a federal opioid trial settlement in 2017.
Environmental projects on the horizon
The county is also investing in sewer infrastructure improvements, Shapiro added.
Peninsula and Boston Township received a combined $17 million investment for sewer systems there, while the county is also bringing water services to Pensisula “so they no longer have to truck in water to their businesses every day,” Shapiro said.
Investments were also made in New Franklin for a sanitary collection system that will protect wildlife across the Portage Lakes, and in Copley Township for new sewer lines along Copley Road, she said.
They’ve committed $25 million to make improvements to a Water Reclamation Facility in Stow, she said.
“It may not be glamorous, folks, but sewer and water access are critical for growth,” Shapiro said, garnering applause from the attendees.
Shapiro also highlighted the $250,000 the county earmarked for the Gorge Dam removal project. The project aims to improve water quality.
Shapiro added that the county has joined Power a Clean Future, an organization that supports local governments in efforts to reduce carbon footprints. Summit is the sixth county in Ohio to join, Shapiro said.
