Judge Sees Moving Courthouse out of Kent as Impractical

A proposal to move the Kent courthouse outside city limits is one that, logistically, doesn't make sense to Portage County Municipal Court Judge Kevin Poland.

Poland, the county's administrative judge, sits on the Kent bench, where three of the county's largest communities send their court cases.

The Kent court has jurisdiction for the cities of Kent and Aurora, and it also handles cases for and Brimfield Township.

Kent, with a population of 28,904 — 17 percent of the county's total residents — is the county's largest city, followed by Streetsboro and then Aurora with 15,548. Brimfield, as the largest township or village in Portage County, is the county's fastest-growing community and has more than 10,000 residents.

Poland said he doesn't think it makes sense to locate the courthouse anywhere other than one of the communities it handles cases for.

“Given the population growth in Brimfield and Aurora, and the fact the city of Kent is the largest city and the fact that the population of the university has grown, in my opinion it’s logical to have the court where it is presently located,” Poland said.

"But, that jurisdiction, as far as the cases that are reporting to any particular court, can always be changed,” he said. 

Of the larger community agencies, in 2010 the racked up the most court cases in the county with 1,467, according to the clerk of courts office. Only the Portage County Sheriff's Office came close to that with 1,084. The Ravenna Police Department had 795 total cases, followed by the Streetsboro Police Department with 490 court cases in 2010.

"Brimfield is very active," Poland said. "They issue a lot of citations in Brimfield."

Still, he doesn't fault requiring the county's second court be located in Kent.

“This is a large expenditure," he said. "We have an obligation to make sure the monies are spent wisely. I have no problem with that concept. And I also realize Ms. Marsilio has only been an elected official for a few months now, and I have no problem with her asking questions. That’s her job. However, we have reviewed a very large number of sites."

Marsilio has proposed eliminating any stipulation on the courthouse location. She has said the county owns property outside the city that could be used to save money building the facility.

The size of the current site has been shown to lack adequate parking or enough space for the building footprint without building several stories high — an added expense.

Poland said several other sites the county has considered have either lacked enough room for parking, had too high a price tag or came with exorbitant costs associated with infrastructure and other issues.

The exception, Poland said, is the now-vacant lot behind Jimmy John's owned by ASW Properties on East Main Street, which has enough on-site parking and room for the building footprint. However, Poland said he's not advocating for the site.

“At this point in time, unless we can come up with a better, different site, that does seem to be the most appropriate right now,” he said.

County and city officials are expected to hold several meetings in the next two weeks to discuss the issue, including a public forum set for Monday at 6 p.m. at the Maplewood Career Center in Ravenna.