Today is Feb. 27, 2025.

• Morning all! We’ve escaped winter’s freezer for the time being, and the first vestiges of the transition to spring are starting to appear with weather like today’s forecast: low clouds and breezy, a passing shower or two in the afternoon, with a high of 43 and a low of 28. As for March coming in like a lion or a lamb on Saturday, it looks like a mixed bag: cloudy and breezy, a morning shower in spots followed by a bit of ice in the afternoon, with the high reaching 44 and the low dropping to 19. Still better than what we’ve endured most of the winter so far.
  

• STOW PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE: Stow City Council will hold a public hearing at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 6 in Council Chambers of Stow City Hall, located at 3760 Darrow Rd., to discuss Ordinance 2025-064 for Miller’s Landing. Go to this page for details.
  

• VITALIA SENIOR RESIDENCES CRAFT SHOW: VITALIA Senior Residences at Stow’s Annual Craft Show will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 26. VITALIA is located at 4291 Allen Rd. in Stow. The public is invited to this event.
  

• KIWANIS CLUB TRIVIA NIGHT FUNDRAISER: The Kiwanis Club of Stow-Munroe Falls’ Trivia Night will take place Saturday, April 26 at Leona Farris Lodge, located at 5027 Stow Rd. in Silver Springs Park. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with trivia starting at 7:15 p.m. Cost is $40 per person, or $280 per table of eight (which is eight people for the price of seven). Event includes free beer, pizza, drinks and snacks (outside food and drinks are welcome) as well as a 50/50 drawing, silent auction and other games of chance. Proceeds fund service projects and scholarships. Call Tom at 330-730-6591 for more information.
  

• “Reader Spotlight” is a forum where you can send us your comments, concerns and suggestions on anything going on in our communities of Stow, Munroe Falls and Silver Lake. Send your email to [email protected], put “Reader Spotlight” in the subject line, and please include your name and town (recommended but not required for publication). We will publish comments as we receive them.
  

• If you just subscribed or missed something in an earlier newsletter, don’t fret: Subscribers have access to every edition of The Spotlight at www.stowmunroefalls.com. Check out back issues to catch up on everything that’s going on in our communities — you never know what you might have missed!

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Munroe Falls

Enhancing public safety: Work on Summit Connects fiber project moves into Munroe Falls

The Munroe Falls portion of the Summit Connects fiber project is officially underway. The beginning of construction in the city was announced in a joint Feb. 24 press release by Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro and Munroe Falls Mayor Allen Mavrides.

When complete, the project will link all 31 communities in Summit County to a public safety fiber network “to enhance the quality and security of public safety operations and other critical local government services,” according to the release.

Here’s a look at some of the project details:

• Summit County has provided a grant to the Development Finance Authority (DFA) to complete construction and installation of the 130-mile fiber ring around the county.

• Construction began in Stow, then moved to Silver Lake and Cuyahoga Falls and will continue clockwise around the county.

• All costs will be covered by Summit County, while the county and City of Fairlawn will be responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the fiber ring.

• Henkels & McCoy, headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, is the construction contractor for the project, while Quality Control Inspection Inc. of Garfield Heights is the construction manager/inspection services firm.

Additional information can be found at https://co.summitoh.net/SummitConnects. Questions should be directed to 234-525-9901 or [email protected].

Community

Home prices are still on the increase in our area. Where does your town rank?

If it seems like home values have skyrocketed in the last few years, it’s not your imagination. They have — a lot.

The latest housing numbers have been released by real estate marketplace company Zillow, and here’s what they look like for The Spotlight’s coverage area as 2025 gets underway (spoiler alert: we’re increasing faster than the national average):

• MUNROE FALLS: The city ranks 24th in the Akron metro area with a typical home value of $251,443 as of Jan. 1, 2025 — a 5.9% increase from Jan. 1, 2024, and a five-year price increase of 44.4%.

• STOW: Stow ranks 19th in the Akron metro area with a typical home value of $264,971 — a one-year price increase of 5.9% and a five-year price increase of 42.1%.

• SILVER LAKE: The village ranks 10th in the Akron metro area with a typical home value of $324,895 as of Jan. 1, 2025. That’s a one-year price increase of 4.7% and a five-year price increase of 38.3%.

Topping the list for typical home value in Summit County is Hudson at $496,894. The typical home value in the United States in January 2025 was $356,776, 2.6% higher than the year before. So home prices are still increasing in most places, but higher mortgage rates have slowed that growth.

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