Residents press council on Hope Senior Village lockbox, parking and bus-route safety

Several residents raised multiple safety and access concerns related to Hope Senior Village and nearby streets during public comment at the Village of East Canton meeting.

One resident said the fire department and police did not know how to access a lockbox at Hope Senior Village and that responders had used crowbars to enter apartments. “The fire department has a lockbox and the police department has a lockbox...and nobody seems to know what that code is. And I have given it out how many times?” the resident said. Council and staff responded that the code has been added to dispatch records and that police will follow up.

Another resident, Mark Smith, who identified himself as living at Hope Senior Village, raised speeding concerns on Orchard and near the complex, citing radar readings of vehicles traveling at 37 mph in a 25 mph zone and a school bus clocked at 47 mph. Chief Derek Contos said officers can sit on private property with permission to monitor speeds and that enforcement depends on ordinances; he asked property owners to permit officers to position themselves where enforcement is needed.

Council members said they had reported bus-speed complaints to the school district previously and pledged to follow up again before the start of the school year. The chief said the village will meet with the school to discuss bus routing and driver behavior.

No new ordinance or enforcement change was adopted at the meeting; officials said they would take the reported lockbox-code and bus-speed complaints to dispatch and the school district for follow-up.