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Franklin Township reaps benefits of proximity to Kent State University
Franklin Township in Portage County is situated on the western end of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, and includes rolling hills, a varied terrain and a number of lakes. There is Lake Rockwell, which is the main drinking water source for Akron, and seven natural kettle lakes; the largest is Lake Pippen. Others include Brady Lake, East Twin and West Twin lakes, Lake Royale, Lake Spelman, and Dollar Lake. Some are located in Twin Lakes, the unincorporated portion of the township.
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: October 3, 2013
When a community surrounds an institution like Kent State University, it’s a good bet the two share more than just a common boundary. In the case of Franklin Township in Portage County, the school has impacted the residential and business scenes.
“A large percentage of the population is affiliated with the university,” said trustee Mark Beckwith. “Right down the street from me there are two faculty members who teach at Kent State.
“Parts of the university are even located in the township,” said Beckwith. “We have a bike trail that runs from our area through the campus.”
Located in west-central Portage County, the land that makes up the township was originally part of the Connecticut Western Reserve and was purchased by Aaron Olmsted in 1798. The now primarily bedroom community has around 5,500 residents, including a number of students.
“The students definitely help increase business in certain parts of the township,” said Beckwith.
He said the Campus Pointe apartments went up in 2009 on Ashton Lane to accommodate the large number of students. The building has a fitness center, pool and other amenities.
“We’re told that they have 100 percent occupancy,” said Beckwith. “We have very few problems from Campus Pointe given the large student population.”
In addition to the influence of the university, the township and the city of Kent work closely together, with the majority of the children in Franklin attending school in the Kent City School District.
“The district was rated ‘excellent with distinction’ and it is a big source of pride for us,” Beckwith said.
In June 2006 the township and Kent entered into a joint economic development district agreement, sharing income tax revenue paid by employees and employers in the JEDD, which Beckwith said is located along Ohio State Route 59 from the western border of Kent to the eastern border of Ravenna Township.
“The agreement took effect in stages but as of 2012 it was fully active,” said Beckwith. “We receive 40 percent of the taxes and the city gets 60 percent.”
“The JEDD helps us avoid having our land annexed and the revenue helps offset some of the cuts in state money,” said longtime Trustee Keith Benjamin. “This year it has provided an additional $90,000 a quarter, which allows us to continue providing residents the services they expect like paved roads, bike paths, leaf pickup in the fall and monthly branch chipping.”
Centennial Research Park is located in the JEDD. Operated by Kent State University, the park contains the liquid crystal startup companies AlphaMicron and Crystal Diagnostics.
Franklin Township is the corporate headquarters for Schneller Inc., a global leader in hard surface decorative solutions for the transportation industry, especially the airlines. Schneller, along with the market research and analysis firm, Venture Data, are among the largest employers. Both are located in the JEDD.
The newest addition to the township is a Sheetz gas station on State Route 59, which Beckwith said is “packed no matter what time of the day or night.”
Acme Plaza is the main shopping area for those living in the township and Kent, said Beckwith. It contains an ACME Fresh Market, PC Surgeons Inc., Ming Cheng Restaurant, Famous Hair, The UPS Store, Laundry 101, a Subway, North Pointe Realty Inc. as well as other businesses.
The Memorial Animal Hospital on State Route 59 draws people from around the area, Beckwith said. “The owners are in the process of building a brand new state-of-the-art facility to replace the old one.”
Franklin does have a few farms such as Beckwith Orchards, which is owned by the trustee and his family.
There are a number of popular restaurants like the Tavern at Twin Lakes on State Route 43, The Fairways Restaurant and Banquet Hall on Overlook Road and The Rusty Nail on State Route 43.
The community is situated on the western end of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, and includes rolling hills, a varied terrain and a number of lakes. There is Lake Rockwell, which is the main drinking water source for Akron, and seven natural kettle lakes; the largest is Lake Pippen. Others include Brady Lake, East Twin and West Twin lakes, Lake Royale, Lake Spelman and Dollar Lake. Some are located in Twin Lakes, the unincorporated portion of the township.
There are two parks—Phillip’s Park, formerly known as the Franklin Township Park, has tennis courts, a full-sized soccer field and playground equipment. Chase Park on Rhodes Road offers over ten acres of open space and wooded areas along with playground equipment, a covered pavilion, fitness course and a nature trail.
The Portage Park District recently acquired Camp Spelman on Ferguson Road, which features about 40 acres of wetlands and woods, a 10-acre lake and two picnic pavilions.
“The area is still being developed,” said Beckwith.
In addition to the parks, the township has biking and walking paths. The Franklin Connector is the newest trail in Portage County, providing a new link into Summit County. There is also the Hudson-Judson Bike Trail, which Beckwith said runs to the Stow city line.
There are four golf courses in Franklin—The Fairways at Twin Lakes, Oak Knoll Golf Course, Raccoon Hill Golf Club and the Kent State University Golf Course.
Residents can play miniature golf at the Birdie Shack Putt-R-Golf on State Route 59.
While the township does not have a recreation center of its own, Beckwith said SPC CrossFit moved to Twin Lakes a few years ago and is used by many residents. In addition, Larry’s Riding Stables on Johnson Road offer lessons, summer ranch camps for children and other activities.
The historic Franklin Township Hall was built in 1837. It was used as an office for the Franklin Silk Company and when the business failed the trustees completed the building in 1840. They have used it ever since. James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, was nominated for joint senator representing Portage and Summit counties in the hall in 1859.
Beckwith said the northern portion of the township was hit hard during the recent downturn, with businesses like Hugo Sand and Gravel shutting the doors. “The former Twin Lakes Country Club also closed but has since been purchased by Ray and David Beck who are redeveloping it as a public recreational facility.”
He said layoffs and service cuts were avoided. “We have not done any new hiring and raises have not been given for several years,” Beckwith said.
“We’ve extended the life of our roads by adding a rejuvenator product that gives us more than a 7- to 10-year paving cycle.”
“The state cuts have made things hard,” said Benjamin. “Estate tax ended this year and while we could not count on it as a line item we always got something which we used to pay for some of the extras.
“We’ve had to be creative. We do our road paving in sections,” he said. “We have an oil well in Phillip’s Park and a cell tower on township property.” Benjamin said both of these now bring in money, along with other revenue sources like property taxes, JEDD money, grants, and gas and cigarettes taxes.
There were foreclosures, but some of the properties have been bought, said Benjamin. “We have one site next to Phillip’s Park that we plan to demolish.” He said the township has not received Moving Ohio Forward money to help with the cost.
The community relies on the Portage County Sheriff’s Department for police protection and the city of Kent covers fire and emergency medical services. “We made the choice to turn to Kent over 20 years ago and it has worked out well,” said Benjamin.
“Our last fire levy was about 15 years ago and it was a special levy.”
Last year, a new road garage and a salt barn were constructed on Ravenna Road.
In the future, officials said they would like to attract more businesses in the JEDD area. The bulk of the township has sewer and a large portion has water. “Most of the JEDD has sewer and water,” said Beckwith.
“We have taken surveys before and most people who have wells are satisfied with them so we don’t plan to add water,” said Beckwith.
“I think most people are happy with the way things are going but there is always room for improvement.”