Akron needs to make its downtown a more livable place while also working to assist other areas of the city struggling to attract development, Mayor Shammas Malik told an Akron Roundtable audience Tuesday as his first month in office wound down.
Nearly 600 people filled the Goodyear Room at the John S. Knight Center for a Roundtable Signature Series luncheon conversation moderated by Andrew Meyer of Ideastream. Malik answered questions on a range of topics, including the search for a new police chief, the proposed sale of Summa Health to HATCo and whether a recently introduced update on if Akron’s logo would be sticking around.
On the subject of Summa, Malik said he shares some of Akron residents’ concerns about the nonprofit health system’s acquisition by a venture capital partnership, and he plans to raise those during a meeting Thursday with HATCo leader Dr. Marc Harrison.
Malik said he wants to learn more about HATCo’s long-term investment strategy in Summa and how current employees engaged in federal loan forgiveness programs will be taken care of should the sale move forward.