Summit County Executive Russell M. Pry Encourages Citizens to Participate in an Online Survey, Consolidated Plan

Summit County Executive, Russell M. Pry, announced today that his Department of Community and Economic Development will begin developing their 2010 - 2014 Consolidated Plan by inviting the public to participate in an online survey. 

The Consolidated Plan is created every five years and assists the county in identifying and prioritizing programs that are funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The County of Summit receives approximately $1.4 million annually from HUD to provide housing, services and infrastructure needs for low and moderate-income citizens.  The funds are a combination of Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership Program dollars which are available to citizens living in Summit County, excluding the cities of Akron, Cuyahoga Falls and Barberton.

This is the first time the County of Summit has asked citizens to provide input into this critical, strategic planning process.  The electronic survey, Consolidated Plan Citizens Survey is available on the County website at www.co.summit.oh.us.  The link to the survey is on the main page.   Summit County citizens can, and are encouraged to, share their opinions on another survey, Consolidated Plan Community and Agency Survey, which is also located at www.co.summit.oh.us.

“With funding being so tight, we want to make sure we are using these dollars on programs that will truly make a difference in the lives of our citizens,” said Executive Russ Pry.   “Therefore, we are inviting and depending on their input”.

In addition to the online survey, the County of Summit will host two public meetings to gather additional input from citizens.  The meetings will be held on July 30, 2009 from 10:30am to 12:00 noon at Portage Lakes Branch Library, located at 4261 Manchester Road, Akron, Ohio 44319 and on August 5, 2009 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Twinsburg Public Library located at 10050 Ravenna Road, Twinsburg, Ohio 44087.

A successful Consolidated Plan provides a roadmap that indentifies community needs which, in turn, allows the County to spend federal dollars in the most efficient and responsible manner.  The completed Consolidate Plan will be presented to Summit County Council in October 2009 for their approval.