SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO—The following offices and agencies have offered updated guidance as to how the public should expect to interact in the coming days and weeks. Guidance is subject to change. Some county offices have temporarily suspended public access. Information for cities, villages and townships offices has also been included.
Building Standards: Beginning Monday, March 16, 2020 at 12 p.m., Summit County Department of Building Standards will temporarily suspend public access at the 1030 E. Tallmadge Ave. location. The office will continue to accept permit requests, inspection requests, and plan submittals through www.BSAonline.com, mail or email. If you currently have access to BSAonline.com as a registered contractor, continue using this option for applying for permits and scheduling inspections. If you are applying for a permit, scheduling inspections or submitting plans, with no access to BS&A, please complete the proper forms located on our Building Standards website, www.buildingstandards.summitoh.net. You may mail the completed forms into our office, or email documents to submittals@summitoh.net. Payments can be made through the Official Payments website, https://www.officialpayments.com/, as we will only be taking Credit Card payments at this time.
Board of Elections: Per Governor DeWine, the state of Ohio is seeking to delay the March 17 election. Poll workers who were given election materials should expect to receive a phone call from a BOE staff member regarding drop off arrangements.
Job and Family Services: Beginning March 16 at 12 p.m., Summit County Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) will temporarily suspend public access at the 1180 S. Main St. and 1040 E. Tallmadge Ave. locations. The OhioMeansJobs Center Resource Room remains open. Documents and correspondence can be uploaded at www.summitdjfs.org, faxed to 866-351-8292, dropped in the exterior drop box at the S. Main location, or mailed to 1180 S Main St, Suite 102, Akron OH 44301-1256.
To apply for, renew or update cash, food, medical or child care assistance, call 1-844-640-6446 or apply online at www.Benefits.Ohio.gov. To report abuse, neglect or exploitation of seniors, please call 330-643-7217.
Community Development: As of March 16, Home Weatherization Program, Lead Remediation Program, HSTS (septic replacement program), and Minor Home Repair Program work has been rescheduled.
Sanitary Sewer Services: Beginning March 16 at 12 p.m., Sanitary Sewer Services will temporarily suspend public access. Residents can pay their sewer bill online at https://summitoh.firstbilling.com/ or use the drop box location at 1180 S. Main St in Akron. Only checks may be deposited in the drop box. In case of an emergency, staff can be reached 24 hours a day at 800-828-2087.
Animal Control: Beginning March 16 at 12 p.m., Animal Control will temporarily suspend public access. Volunteer services are suspended until further notice. Until public access has been restored, only law enforcement will be able to make drops off at Animal Control. Members of the public who wish to be reunited with their animal should call 330-643-2845 to schedule an appointment.
Clerk of Courts: Services will restricted starting Monday March 16 at noon in the interest of public health. E-Filing and online public record requests will continue as normal. The Clerk’s Courthouse lobby will close; the only exception to this closure is for the filing of protection orders. Processing of background checks is suspended until further notice. Pro se litigants are encouraged to utilize our electronic filing system or mail in their filings to our office at 205 S. High St., Akron, OH 44308. Title offices in Akron, Green, Fairlawn, and Northfield will close until further notice. Dealer title work can be submitted electronically or the title work can be dropped off at the Main Title office and picked up the following day. For the public, customers who have title processing needs, please call the Main Title office at 330-630-7200 to facilitate processing title by mail. Call 330-643-2212 for more information.
Engineer: Person-to-person interactions will be limited at the main administration building located at 538 East South Street in Akron and the public services administration office located at 601 East Crosier Street in Akron, and the Boston Mills Station located at 1928 Boston Mills Road in Boston Township. All non-essential meetings are cancelled. Citizens, contractors, and developers are asked to conduct their business with the County Engineer’s Office through phone (330-643-2860), fax (330-762-7829), and email (general information email: info@summitengineer.net) where possible. A drop off area will be established in the lobby of the main administration building at 538 East South Street for any consultants, contractors or developers needing to hand deliver plans and permits to the office. Road maintenance crews and construction and bridge inspectors will continue to operate as normal, keeping County roads and bridges safe for motorists. More information is available at http://www.summitengineer.net/.
Fiscal: Beginning March 16 at 12 p.m., public access is suspended at the main branch at 175 S. Main St. in downtown Akron, and two satellite locations at 1030 E. Tallmadge Ave., Akron and 1180 S. Main St., Suite 250, Akron. The public may access Fiscal Office services by phone at 330-643-2632 or 330-643-2759, email at summittreas@summitoh.net, or online at http://FiscalOffice.summitoh.net.
Sheriff: If the public has questions for the Sheriff’s Office, they should call the non-emergency dispatch number at 330-643-2181. A number of services at the jail have been suspended or altered, including contact visits. Please call for more information.
Prosecutor: Residents with urgent and specific questions about their case and any subsequent hearings should email info@prosecutor.summitoh.net and include the following details: Name, Case #, Judge, Date of Next Hearing, Contact Information. More information is available at http://co.summitoh.net/prosecutor/.
Child Support Enforcement Agency: Public access have been suspended at the 175 S Main St office effective March 16 until further notice. Staff remain onsite at this time to ensure families receive the financial support they need. Correspondence with CSEA staff can be made phone by calling 330-643-2765 or through the Ohio Child Support Customer Service Portal by visiting http://jfs.ohio.gov/Ocs/CustServWebPortalWelcome2.stm. Parents and caretakers can send secure, case-specific messages to county case managers through the portal. For parents and caretakers who have hearings scheduled at CSEA, these hearings will be conducted by telephone through April 30, 2020. In order to participate in the hearing by telephone, clients should call 330.643.2765 or you can email us at summitcseadocs@jfs.ohio.gov. Beginning March 16, phone calls will be made to clients with hearings scheduled this week to inform them not to appear at CSEA, but to phone in for their hearings. While CSEA will temporarily suspend taking payments in person, there are several options available for parents to make timely child support payments, including online, by phone, by mail, by app or by MoneyGram. More information is available at http://co.summitoh.net/prosecutor/.
Common Pleas Court: All trials are suspended through March 27, with the exception of Stanley Ford. Inmates will not be transported from the Summit County Jail to the courthouse for fourteen days. All civil matters will be handled through telephone or video calls, and all mediation sessions will be suspended. People on probation who are scheduled to report should do so via telephone, and should expect to be contacted by the Summit County Adult Probation Department. More information is available at https://www.summitcpcourt.net/summit-county-common-pleas-court-general-division-outlines-plan-for-addressing-covid-19/.
Domestic Relations Court: Remember the Children on March 21 and Working Together Program on March 26 have been cancelled. The Court will conduct certain business such as Initial Pretrial Conferences, Settlement Conferences, Motions for Temporary Orders by telephone only. Special arrangements can be made for Uncontested Divorce and Dissolution. More information is available at https://drcourt.org/wp/covid19/.
Juvenile Court: The Court has decided to continue all non-essential, non-emergency hearings for the next four (4) weeks. The following hearings will go forward as emergency and/or mandatory hearings:
1. Detention hearings for youth that have been held in detention or at Safe Landing
2. Shelter Care Hearings
3. Dependency, Abuse & Neglect Adjudicatory and Dispositional Hearings
4. Requests for Juvenile Protection Orders
5. Any felony delinquency or violent misdemeanor hearing, upon the request of the Prosecutor, due to a risk to community safety
6. Any hearing, upon written request of any party, because an immediate hearing is necessary to protect the best interests of a child
7. Hearings during which a child will be returned to a parent
Some of these hearings may be conducted by telephone, if the parties so agree. In lieu of scheduled Review Hearings, the parties are asked to provide written updates to the Court. The preferred means of providing these reports is by a written report to be filed with the Clerk. The preferred method of filing is via mail to 650 Dan Street, Akron 44310 or fax to 330-643-2987. Trials and hearings other than those outlined above as mandatory and/or emergency hearings that are scheduled during the next four weeks will be continued by the Court. Updates will be provided on our website at www.juvenilecourt.summitoh.net. The public can also call their assigned Court worker or 330-643-2900 for information.
Probate Court: Consider utilizing the eFiling option which can be used for any filing. Many court appearances can be changed to telephone statuses. If you are set for a status, please contact the Court to change it to a phone status. More information is available at https://summitohioprobate.com/coronavirus-covid-19/.
Ninth District Court of Appeals: The Court will consider all cases on the briefs instead of hearing oral arguments. The Court will file orders in cases that are scheduled for oral argument alerting the parties that the cases will be considered by the Court on the briefs. If a party objects to the submission on briefs, the Court will either schedule telephonic oral argument or continue the case for oral argument at a later date. More information is available at http://www.ninth.courts.state.oh.us/Forms/Covid%20notice.pdf.
Akron Municipal Court: All traffic matters including trials and walk-in hours are continued for the remainder of March. The Court will contact the parties to reschedule. Instructions for paying parking tickets, etc. can be found at https://www.akronmunicipalcourt.org. All criminal proceedings (bench trials, suppression hearings, restitution hearings, etc.) will be continued. Each Court will contact the parties to reschedule. Inmates will not be transported from the Summit County Jail to our courthouse for the remainder of March. All matters will be conducted via video in the Arraignment courtroom. Those who received a felony summons should report to Court as usual. All civil cases will be conducted by telephone conference or continued. All new civil filings should be sent to the Clerk of Court via mail. All probationers who are scheduled to report during the month of March should contact their Probation Officer before reporting in-person. The Probation Department will implement telephone meetings instead of in-person meetings for the remainder of March with most probationers. All specialty court dockets are continued for the rest of March with the exception of Judge Jon Oldham’s Recovery Court and Judge Ron Cable’s (RISE) program. More information is available at https://www.akronmunicipalcourt.org/news/akron-municipal-court-outlines-plan-for-march-in-response-to-covid-19-threat/.
Barberton Municipal Court: Courthouse access is restricted to employees and those who are essential to cases (plaintiffs, defendants, attorneys and witnesses). Anyone who is ill or at high risk should notify the court and avoid in-person proceedings. Traffic court defendants may request an automatic 21-day continuance of their arraignment by calling 330-861-7191. Requests for continuances of in-person scheduled matters may be mailed in or faxed to 330-848-6779. All jury trials are suspended at least through March 27 unless a person’s constitutional right to a speedy trial is in jeopardy. Defendants may request an initial video appearance via Skype, FaceTime, or Facebook Video by submitting their request to courts@cityofbarberton.com. The Clerk of Court’s Office will be closed on Saturdays; the public is encouraged to use online payment to cut down on in-person visits.
Stow Municipal Court: Jury trails for criminal and civil matters are suspended. Arraignments typically heard in one courtroom will be shared with the other five courtrooms to keep lines of defendants to 10 or less. The court plans to expand telephonic and video conferencing. Schedules will be coordinated with prosecutors, public defenders and defense attorneys “to minimize the volume of in-person hearings taking place at the courthouse for at least the next few weeks.” More information available at https://stowmunicourt.com/.
Akron Law Library: The Akron Law Library on the 4th floor of the Courthouse will be closing to the public on March 16 at 4:00 p.m. Staff will still be on-site to handle legal research requests by telephone (330-643-2804) or email (abarnhart@akronlawlib.org or Circulation@akronlawlib.org).
Developmental Disabilities Board: Effective Monday, March 16, Summit DD will implement a Remote Work period for staff such as Service and Support Administrators (SSAs), Referral and Support Specialists (RSSs), Developmental Specialists (DSs), Navigators and a number of other classifications in an effort to limit the number of people gathered at the Summit DD offices. More information is available at https://www.summitdd.org/coronavirus/.
Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board: Residents feeling overwhelmed or troubled by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak or any situation requiring emotional support should call 330-434-9144.
Children Services Board: The Child Abuse Prevention Month events and activities previously scheduled during the month of April are cancelled. Training events sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Regional Training Center are canceled through April 18th. Volunteer programs and ability to accept donations in our lobby have been suspended for a minimum of 30 days, including the Easter Basket Program. More information is available at https://www.summitkids.org/.
Veterans Service Commission: A series of new processes and procedures to help ensure the wellbeing of the community and staff are in place. Any scheduled public meetings in Freedom Hall have been cancelled until further notice. More information is available at https://www.vscsummitoh.us/covid-19-statement/.
Direction Home Akron Canton: There have been no significant changes to processes and procedures. All programs continue to provide services, and telephonic systems are being developed by the Ohio Departments of Aging and Medicaid to reduce face to face contacts.
United Way 2-1-1: Residents in need of food, shelter, utility assistance or other necessities should call 2-1-1 or visit http://www.211summit.org/. Support the community through the Akron Summit County COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund. Donate at http://bit.ly/2Qdze8s; 100 percent of donations will go toward crisis relief.
Coventry Township: All Township Administrative Offices will be CLOSED to “walk-in” traffic or “in person” meetings until further notice. Please correspond via telephone or email. Administration (Trustees/Fiscal): 330-644-0785, ext. 690 or bryant@coventrytownship.com. Zoning: 330-644-0785, ext. 695 or meyerhoff@coventrytownship.com. Road: 330-644-0785, ext. 680 or stouffer@coventrytownship.com. Fire: 330-644-3228 or ops@coventrytownship.com Dial 9-1-1 emergencies.
Lakemore Village: All Village Administrative Offices will be CLOSED to “walk-in” traffic until further notice. Please correspond via telephone or email. Administration /Fiscal / Zoning 330-733-6125 ext. 3 or tfast@lakemoreohio.org. Water/Sewer/Trash billing 330-733-6125 ext. 4 or billing@lakemoreohio.org. Public Service emergencies 330-573-6318. Fire firechief@lakemoreohio.org or call 330-733-6125 ext. 5. Police please call the dispatcher at 234-334-7651.
All Summit County offices are working closely with the Public Health Department in monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The continuity of services is subject to directives from the Governor and Summit County Public Health. For the most up-to-date information on the current status of the outbreak, please visit https://www.scph.org/covid-19 or https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/.
