Dear Stow Residents,
With the onset of the Fall season, we look forward to many exciting endeavors for our community; including fun events, programs, community services and other important initiatives. We look forward to winding down 2022 in a tradition centered and future focused way.
Residential Leaf Pick Up Program: This is always one of our most popular city services. As temperatures fall, so do the leaves! The program begins on October 31. For a full list of scheduled pick-up dates, districts, and guidelines, visit the following: Leaf Pick Up Program.
In this newsletter, you will find the dates for many other exciting events: our annual neighborhood trick or treat night, our third annual Haunted Hayride, the rescheduled date for our fireworks show (Fall Fireworks and Food Trucks), and our Halloween Decoration Tour; to name a few! For all events, visit our website events page, and follow our Fun in Stow Facebook page.
I am excited to share that we continue to invest in our community, making steady progress on improvements and initiatives such as roads, sidewalks, parks, facilities, and playgrounds. Many other projects aren’t necessarily visible, yet will improve the quality of our services to you, the citizen. Our employees are hard at work implementing these projects. Recent highlights include:
New Website: CivicPlus/CivicEngage, to launch October 11, 2022. Our website has seen increased traffic these last few years. We understand the community relies on our website for information that affects their daily lives. Features of the new site include a refreshed look, easier navigation, improved functionality, and great accessibility. Read more about it below.
New Emergency and Routine Notification System: CivicReady, to launch by end of 2022. Stay tuned for details on how to sign up for this service. You will have the ability to customize your notification preferences by topic, and by how you receive them – email, text, and/or Landline. Read more about this below.
New software system for Building and Planning Departments: OpenGov, estimated live date is the end of the year. This new software will allow for better access for residents, businesses, and the public to submit digital applications for building permits, conditional use permits, and variance requests, including automated fee calculation, and collections, as well as easy access to workflow updates to track their requests.
New software system for Law Department & City Council office: Granicus: Peak Agenda Management, GovService Essentials, both with estimated LIVE dates before year-end. Features an online transparent portal for public records requests and tracking, also an online portal for public access to council meeting minutes, agendas, and legislative documents.
New software system for Finance, Water, Purchasing, Payroll Departments: BS&A, estimated live date is March of 2024. Cloud-based modules for financial management, payroll, purchasing, and water billing, and which feature an online portal for those customers. This software will greatly improve internal processes, and also improve our communication, information, and reporting capabilities for all users – employees, vendors, and our water customers.
I pledge to continue my accessibility to our residents and businesses. Your ideas, input, and feedback are so very beneficial in understanding the concerns of our community. I have the best interest of Stow at heart and I hope you do as well.
Sincerely,
John Pribonic
Mayor, City of Stow