Mike Kan - Solon City Council Representative Ward 4

09/04/2026

Always look forward to and enjoy the Rotary Club First Responders Dinner. Congratulations to Detective Linda Castro-Tulevski on winning Police Officer of the year. And congratulations to Firefighter Zach Ryan on winning Firefighter of the year. Both award recipients are extremely well-deserving. Thank you to all our safety force members for keeping us safe and to the Rotary for hosting this event to honor them.

08/19/2026

Happy first day of school to all Comets, Ducks, Rockets, and Panthers. Make it a great school year! Solon Schools

08/14/2026

Chair Zelwin invited a representative from MMTH, the main contractor for the community park modernization project, to give a progress update to the Safety Committee tonight. The representative took responsibility on MMTH’s behalf for the delays in the project while providing additional details about what caused the delays. He also assured the Committee and Administration that this phase of the project will be completed by October. His comments and the conversation begin around 12:32 if you’d like to watch.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

08/02/2026

It has come to my attention that this anonymous leaflet has been placed in some mailboxes in our ward. I’d like to clarify some potential misconceptions.

While both the proposed Charter amendments and 5151 SOM are matters of interest, they are not related to each other. These proposed Charter amendments relate to rezoning. 5151 SOM is already zoned for single family, and the potential landowner’s idea is to build single family houses.

The Charter Review Committee, which is constituted every 5 years by law, has proposed 5 Charter amendments to be placed on the ballot this November. Council votes on whether the amendments should be placed on the ballot; it does NOT vote to approve or reject the amendments themselves. That is up to the voters.

Four of these amendments have been voted on already by Council after 3 public hearings. Three amendments were approved for the ballot, one was rejected. One of the approved amendments was removal of the ward veto. Reasonable minds can differ on this issue. I believe there are good arguments both to keep and to eliminate the ward veto. And that’s why the question should go to the voters. You can watch my comments about this issue at the 6/1 and 7/20 Council meetings on the City’s YouTube page.

Another proposed amendment relates to residential to residential rezoning. This would allow Council to decide the procedure whereby a residential to residential rezoning request is granted. This has not been voted on yet because there was a modification to the proposed amendment at the last meeting.

I am not in support of putting this amendment on the ballot and intend on voting no. The amendment will likely take away popular referendum for these kind of rezoning requests. Voters have a right to decide directly on whether a proposed rezoning benefits them and the community. Residents are right to be concerned that this could too easily result in a residential zoning designation that is not in their interest. When combined with the ward veto amendment on the ballot, I believe this is asking for too much change, too soon.

Now, as mentioned, the property at 5151 SOM is already zoned single family. Any landowner can already legally build up to 30 one-acre houses on the site. No rezoning is required.

As I’ve stated many times, I am opposed to the development that has been proposed. And in the long time that the property has been for sale I have stood firmly with neighbors in opposing any large-scale development. As mentioned, this is pristine land. I have been closely involved both in this recent proposal and in previous proposals with all parties and potential parties. I am reluctant to share any updates in this space because I do not want to create any false hope or expectations. This is especially because the status is constantly changing. But if you’d like an update on where we are with the property, please contact me.

I am more than happy to listen to you personally or at a Council meeting about either the proposed Charter amendments or 5151 SOM. But please do not conflate the two separate issues.

TL;DR: The proposed Charter amendments and the proposed development of 5151 SOM are unrelated. I stand with neighbors in opposing any large-scale development at 5151 SOM.

07/31/2026

Some residents have recently asked me about the requirements of submitting permits or working through insurance claims following the hail storms. Below are two informational letters regarding roof replacement and siding replacement requirements.

These letters were prepared to help clarify the City’s zoning requirements for residents, contractors, and insurance carriers as property owners continue to navigate storm-related repairs. They explain when full roof replacement may be required, when siding replacement must match existing materials, and why partial repairs may not be permitted in certain circumstances under the City’s Zoning Code.

07/29/2026

While working on the Miles Road Waterline replacement project this morning the contractor dug up an abandoned gas line. This is an old line that went from the main line to a gas station that closed and was removed 34 years ago. The gas station was near the southeast corner of Miles Rd. and Brainard Rd. Early reports indicate that the contractor could not have known nor should have known that the gas line was there before they dug.

Out of extreme caution, the Illuminating Company has turned off power temporarily to avoid a hazard. Some homes have been affected in our ward. After safety protocols are thoroughly completed, the Illuminating Company will turn power back on. They are aiming to finish by this afternoon.

07/22/2026

These allegations against our Finance Director are serious. That’s what they are right now- allegations, not facts. But I stand with the Union in calling for a full and independent investigation of these allegations. Because these allegations involve a senior City official and concern matters of public trust, they should be reviewed by an independent, outside agency. An external review process protects all parties involved.

Our residents deserve to know what happened. Our firefighters serve this city heroically and selflessly, putting their lives and safety at risk every day for us. They have more than earned the right to be treated fairly and honestly. An outside investigation is needed to ascertain the truth and to see if any laws were broken.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

07/17/2026

𝘛𝘓;𝘋𝘙: 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘍𝘌 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Most of our ward has suffered through increased power outages this summer, and it is completely unacceptable. This afternoon I met with our new regional representative from FirstEnergy (FE), Chris Cicco, at Davis Bakery. I conveyed our anger and sought answers. He was receptive, gracious, and knowledgeable. We had a productive and insightful conversation which hopefully will translate into action.

We talked about many topics, including the reasons for each of the outages, what FE is currently doing, and what we can do. He showed me his database that included many data points for every address in our ward and the City. I also brought my own data to compare with his that constituents generously provided me. We obviously couldn’t look through every address. The sample we did look at showed substantial outages on 3/13, 3/31, 4/15, 7/3-7/4, and 7/13. For all but 3/31, each of these outages were caused by trees falling on transformers or main lines. All of these trees fell from or on private property where I saw the exact address.

He and I both made it clear that none of this excuses the excess outages at all. FE has a tree-trimming program but it operates in 3-year cycles. If you see a tree problem now, please report it to FE using the web address in the comments. FE will trim the problem tree if it is not on private property.

Moreover, FE is in the midst of a 3-year rate plan. It invests $83 million annually for tree trimming and vegetation management, and $800 million annually to upgrade equipment and improve facilities and technology to reduce outages.

I realize this is no consolation for us who are suffering through repeated outages this summer. According to Mr. Cicco, FE is aware of the problem countywide. And when I asked directly, he told me FE has incentive to improve the grid (mostly because of PUCO complaints, which have justifiably multiplied exponentially this summer).

Long-term, as I’ve stated since I started serving, the most reliable thing we can do to improve power is to bury all our electrical lines. As long as lines are outside, they will always be vulnerable to the elements. I realize this will be expensive. But after repeated outages that have threatened safety and spoiled food, amongst other negative effects, the question is can we afford not to bury our lines?

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐝𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?

1. Report any problem trees to FE for them to trim.

2. File a PUCO complaint.

3. If you experience an outage, make sure you report it, even if others have already reported it. FE will target restoration to the areas with the most reports. They will also target the area for improvement based on this data.

4. If you’re a constituent, and you have any questions or concerns about power, please reach out to me. I will convey your questions and concerns to FE. I can’t do everything but I’ll do everything I can.

07/14/2026

I have been made aware of another power outage currently affecting several neighborhoods in our ward. This summer has been particularly awful with outages, and it is utterly unacceptable.

I emailed our FirstEnergy City liaison expressing our frustration and asking for an in-person meeting to communicate the extent of our frustrations and get answers. I am awaiting a response. I will do everything in my power to hold FirstEnergy accountable for its lack in service.

In the meantime, please make sure you report the outage to FirstEnergy by texting “OUT” to 544487 (LIGHTS) or using the website below. You can also get updates by texting “STAT” to the same number, including estimated time of restoration, cause of outage, and crew status.

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07/04/2026

Happy 250th Birthday USA 🇺🇸! May the next 250 be even greater as we continually strive to form a more perfect union. Enjoy your Fourth! 🎉🎇🎆