|
||||||||
| PROJECT HAPPEN REVIEWED, REVISED, REBORN | ||||||||
Mayor Don Plusquellic announced this afternoon that the internal review of Project Happen, the housing code enforcement program of the City of Akron, has been completed. The program was temporarily suspended after two Akron police officers were shot and wounded by an elderly man last month. The officers were in the process of evicting the man from his home that was scheduled for demolition. Mayor Plusquellic said today, "Considering that two of our officers were fired upon and wounded, we felt it appropriate that we go through this evaluation process to further minimize the possibility of these kinds of dangerous situations in the future." The mayor added, "We also will keep the name Project Happen. It has been widely recognized as a program that improved the quality of our neighborhoods. To change the name might have given citizens the impression that we were not satisfied with the program." As a result of the review, Project Happen will undergo some changes. Rob Remmel, who spearheaded most of the program's enforcement, will be given increased responsibility that will include more supervisory duties. Mayor Plusquellic believes Remmel's vast experience in Akron neighborhoods will bring greater effectiveness to overall code enforcement, housing inspections, and to the rental registration program. The program will also now have better coordination with Akron's 16 community-based police officers who are currently working in the neighborhoods. Another change will be the additional notification property owners will receive in the form of posted notices on the properties in question. Project Happen is a program of the Akron Health Department and its housing division. It was created in March of 1993 to help eradicate drug houses and other properties that were considered a danger to the community.
END |
||||||||
