Mayor announces Kleckner Park adaptive field construction, over $1 million in committed grants and community events

Mayor Rocco Yergan delivered the city update at the Sept. 24 council meeting, announcing start dates, funding and community programs.

"I'm excited to announce that construction begins on a new adaptive sports field at Kleckner Park beginning next week," Mayor Rocco Yergan told council. He thanked the Cowherkin Foundation for its partnership and said the city has received more than $1,000,000 in committed grant funds toward the field.

The mayor also listed current job openings (including an engineering technician position with an Oct. 4 application deadline and a civil service exam on Oct. 6), seasonal laborer postings, and said free COVID test kits are available at the Central Administration Building during regular business hours (provided by Summit County Health). He announced upcoming events including the Vision Green steering-committee meeting to review the draft comprehensive plan, Twisted Wilder Fest on Sept. 28 at Southgate Park, several runs and races in October, and city trick-or-treat night on Oct. 26.

Yergan noted that Battalion Chief Josh Compton deployed with Ohio Task Force 1 to Orlando ahead of forecasted Hurricane Helene, and that the city is reimbursed for FEMA-related deployment costs. He encouraged residents to participate in public meetings on the draft comprehensive plan and listed community engagement opportunities for local businesses on workforce development.

The mayor’s announcements were procedural and informational; no formal votes were taken on the items he described. Council members thanked the mayor and noted community participation, including student council representatives in the audience.