Say that again.

Is Pat here tonight?

Where's she at the end of the day?

Chris, you doing the roads, you bringing up roads.

You bringing up roads.

Okay.

Griffin.

Here.

Bishop.

Conwell.

Davis.

Gray.

Harsh.

House Jones.

Hudson.

Jones.

Casey.

Polensic.

Santana.

Shaw.

Slife.

Starr.

You have a core, Mr.

President.

Thank you.

Uh, I'll make the following statement.

This meeting of Cleveland City Council is a lawful meeting.

Under section six oh five.04 of the codified ordinances.

No person with purpose to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting shall do any act which obstructs or interferes with the due conduct of such meeting.

Members of the public are invited to speak only under the rules set by this council.

Disruptions, including but not limited to speaking out of turn and making loud noises and loud utterances are in violation of the rules and interfere with the due conduct of this lawful meeting.

Such disruptions may constitute a misdemeanor and a violation of section six.

Hold on for a second.

It's been a long day.

Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

A pledge of allegiance to the United States.

For which it stands.

One nation.

Underground.

Individual with liberty.

Justice for all.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

All right.

Uh we're going to move to public comment.

And uh I'd ask all the council members to turn around and acknowledge the speakers, and I'd ask all of the speakers to uh make sure that you adhere to your time.

Miss Stigers.

Could you come up here?

Please hold for one second.

Okay.

All right.

Uh first we have Matthew Sarasinski from Ward 2 to talk about public safety.

Uh, he's not representing anyone and not being paid by anyone.

Matthew, you have the floor.

Thanks for having me.

I appreciate it.

I got some beefs, I got some problems.

I'm from Slavic village.

And we know how Slavic villages.

First of all, I want to commend, which last week I did briefly with Brenda Nelson, who is, I think, a phenomenal, phenomenal employee.

Okay, also Mr.

Lucky, and also congrats to uh Councilman Palencick.

It seems like he's the only one I see on TV fighting for this his community.

And I'd like to see more people, more council people fighting for their community.

Now let's start with the basics.

Okay, I'm here for public safety, but I ain't I don't have enough time.

I got two hundred uh two minutes and twenty seconds left, uh, counting, okay.

Non-emergency number.

I call the non-emergency number, and I get nothing but disarray and disrespectfulness from your dispatchers.

Not all of them, but some of them.

Okay, we're gonna all complaints, complaints.

Yes, that's what it is.

I worked as a Cleveland police dispatcher.

I heard 140 of them a night.

Okay.

That's that's what this business is.

Public service, okay?

You're a public servant.

Law enforcement, okay, it's called enforcing the law.

That's what policemen are supposed to do.

Okay, Mr.

Mayor, with all due respect, you really have to start bearing down on these departments, especially the police department.

We had five years already, and the constant complaint that I hear is that well, we don't have enough help.

Well, that's not necessarily the case.

The case is management.

I don't think these officers are managing well.

I think a lot of them maybe should get out of the car when they go on an assignment.

I think if I wave them down, that means you should stop.

And I shouldn't see police officers going through stop line stop signs.

Okay.

There needs to be a little bit more respect towards the people, and I've had officers and at my house for many times, okay, and phenomenal.

I'm not gonna mention their names because I didn't ask permission, but they were phenomenal, and there's some that are not so phenomenal.

We need to start training better.

I'm tired of seeing garbage everywhere.

I'm I'm tired of seeing trucks come down my street.

Tow trucks, I've complained about this for a year, for a year about these tow trucks coming up and down my street, okay?

And it was good for a while, and now they're coming back again.

Go to the basics.

Let's stick to the basics, okay?

It's called being a public servant.

Miss Brenda Nelson, she should be the model.

If you want to know how to be a public servant, ask Brenda Nelson and Mrs.

Uh Twin's office, because she is phenomenal.

And Mr.

Lucky, he'll bend over backwards for you and do anything he can to get anything done.

And that's what we need more of.

And Mr.

Mayor, you need to start talking to these people, please.

I worked for the department four times, the city of Cleveland.

My grandfather was a time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we have Terry Wong from Ward 8 to talk about the conspiracy against the public's interest.

Terry is not representing anyone and not being paid by anyone.

Conspiracy is a word that gets used often in politics, but is rarely specifically defined.

What we are seeing in Cleveland is a particular type of conspiracy, a conspiracy against the public interest.

By this I mean a situation which those entrusted with public authority, such as the mayor or city council, coordinate formally or informally to use public resources and public institutions not to serve the people, but to preserve their own power, protect allied nonprofit and business interests, and prevent meaningful accountability.

One of the biggest threats to such a system is independent external oversight.

That is why Mayor Bibb, Council President Blaine Griffin, and Law Director Mark Griffin have moved prematurely to end the federal consent decree.

And once the consent decree disappears, rest assured that the next step will be to weaken or dismantle the community police commission, the body that actually has the potential to transform the policing system and therefore threatens the business class that controls our politicians.

Nothing illustrates the denigration and degeneration of the current policing system more, clearly than the city's own payroll numbers.

Last year, two Cleveland patrol officers earned more than 250,000, largely through overtime.

In total, the police department spent 27 million dollars on overtime in a single year, roughly equivalent to what it was was spent on the consent decree over seven and a half years.

Yet the solution we are given is to spend more taxpayer money to hire more officers.

But hire them to do what?

Not to investigate fraud, not to recover stolen cars, not to address many of the crimes that affect Clevelanders every day.

Because our police department does not even maintain dedicated fraud or auto recovery units.

And this pattern of financial mismanagement extends far beyond policing.

Just a few blocks from here, a massive sinkhole has opened downtown, nearly swallowing a car.

In Cleveland, sinkholes like corruption rarely occur naturally.

They happen when leaking pipes weaken the soil until the street collapses.

This is also a metaphor for what is happening in many neighborhoods where families still lack access to grocery stores.

As a solution, the city recently announced $25,000 grocery grants, which would barely pay for a single cooler.

Meanwhile, the city spent roughly 10 times that 250,000 installing flock surveillance cameras that nobody really wanted, but it was probably enough to start a city-backed grocery store with minimum guaranteed income.

History teaches us what happens in systems in cities like this.

Eventually the truth rises to the surface, eventually the conspiracy becomes visible, and eventually when the pressure becomes great enough, either the public revolts or the city begins to collapse under the weight of its own failures.

This is your choice as to what happens to the city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we have Heather Hall from South to talk about geopolitical situation.

Heather is from the Cleveland Liberation Center, not being paid by anyone.

Good evening, everyone.

So last time I came here, I brought forth a resolution condemning the bombing of Venezuela and the kidnapping of their president.

Since then, the federal government has retained that hostage, murdered civilians in Minneapolis, starved Cuba, threatened to invade multiple countries, and attacked Iran on the vote.

Every crisis that comes from our government comes with endless lies to make us question our own sanity and a trick us into supporting a war that nobody wants.

It's an insult to our intelligence, and we can see clearly that our government is under a fascist occupation.

A week into this latest war, working people in the city are already literally paying the price.

Gas prices have jumped an average of 60 cents in the city.

That's about $10 any time anyone goes and fills up their tank.

15 if you have a truck.

The taxpayer is being double charged.

We pay taxes, so zealots can go bomb Iran, and the cost is a second time when it comes back in gas prices.

But let's talk about what this war actually costs us as human beings.

A Cleveland public school teacher recently said in an interview, quote, it is absurd for me as a public school teacher that I'm struggling to get funding for books and Chromebooks.

I can wake up one morning and see we have spent millions of millions of dollars to bomb another country that does nothing for the working people here in Cleveland.

It does nothing to make our schools safer.

When the US struck Iran at first, a member of the Iranian community in Cleveland could not reach her family in Tehran for three days, and expressed shock and disbelief at what she saw on the news.

News that the United States had bombed a girls' school, killing over 150.

Meanwhile, our Secretary of War, you know, the one with multiple white supremacist tattoos, what's that guy's name?

Oh, yeah, Pete Heggseth.

He's saying he's gloating, saying that we're punching them while they're down, and that's the way it should be.

See, this is what I mean when I say that the federal government is compromised by fascists.

So to this council, I ask, take a stand against this fascist government.

Pass the resolution denouncing war and all intervention.

Tell your peers locally, and in Columbus and in Washington that Cleveland's tax dollars need to go to our schools, our roads, and our people.

Not to not kill children overseas.

I urge you to act.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we have James Lamb.

James Lamb is from Ward 7.

Uh James would like to talk about city finances.

He is not representing anyone and not being paid by no one.

Mr.

Lamb, you have the floor.

Good evening, good evening, y'all.

I'm here today for the first time this year.

It bothered me.

Because I look at a new report.

And I know by being here over 50 years.

There's something wrong.

And when I say something wrong, I'm talking about finances.

May I be it?

I'm going to tell you one thing.

I said this four and a half years ago to you.

I said it $58,000 with fun.

I would like to see you in the neighborhood.

There's not a there's not a neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland.

Did you drop $50,000 in at one time?

Not one.

Okay.

I've been down here since I was 17.

I ain't saying no one purchase $60,000 worth of drapes.

I ain't saying no one sit in a 2245 and 12 cent chair.

We got babies on the streets.

Star.

We got children that can't go to the fleet at night because they have nowhere to stay.

But we got folks to work in City Hall, sitting in 2200 chairs.

What you do?

You come here to rest or you come here to work.

Because resting it is what I call 2200 in a chair.

I ain't saying you not one time, not one time, since you've been in office twice.

Go out and service.

A community when an officer, a firefighter, or anyone else get hurt.

I watched the firefighter get hit on the road, picking up something on the side of the road.

You addressed it from your desk.

I've been here for the years.

I didn't think every mayor get out in the street.

I didn't say every mayor get out in the street.

I never thank you.

Never.

And I've been in every ward in the city of Cleveland.

Not one.

I ain't traveling.

Not one.

Council.

President.

I'm gonna tell it to you like this.

Number one.

Everything did he get.

He had to have your permission to sign off.

Because if you didn't sign off, if you didn't like it, you could have came to council, and two-thirds of you all could have stopped anything.

$118,000, and I ain't saying it dropped.

Thank you.

I ain't saying they dropped it in the next one.

That's time.

Thank you, sir.

Get busy.

Thank you, Mr.

Lamb.

Or I'm gonna recall somebody.

Thank you, sir.

Next up is Paige Zotowski.

Paige Zotowski is from Brunswick.

Paige is here to talk about anti-war comments amid growing war in Iran.

And she is representing about phase veterans against war, and she is not being paid by anyone.

Paige, you had the floor.

Um, good evening, council, and thank you.

Again, my name is Paige.

I'm a member of About Face Veterans Against the War.

Um, if you don't remember me, I was here a few weeks ago talking about the anti-war in Venezuela resolution, the anti-ICE resolution.

Um, and like my friend Heather said, in the growing weeks, we've seen the United States bomb Iran, they've bombed Nigeria, they've bombed Somalia, and at the expense of who?

Who is paying for all of this?

It's us, it's the tax dollars.

We have a war budget of 1.5 trillion dollars in this country, but we have people going unhoused, we have people starving, we have people dying because they can't afford health care.

And it's absolutely ridiculous to me that we are sending people who join the military because they can't have their needs met, because they can't get housing or health care education the normal way, and they join the military and they put their lives at risk in order to get their needs met.

And what do we do?

We send them overseas and we tell them to bomb people, and then who's left to to pay the price for the bombing of Iran?

Are our service members again are paying the price for the bombing of Iran?

They're saying only six.

Uh, but non-Western news media is reporting about over a thousand uh service members being killed so far in the past week.

And that's a shame.

Because I was one of those service members.

I didn't join to hurt people, I joined because I needed my needs to be met.

And I don't want to see other people to have to go through that.

And when I look around Cleveland and when I'm organizing around Cleveland, I'm talking to Cleveland constituents, I'm seeing a whole lot of people with their needs not being met.

We have a city that's literally crumbling before our eyes.

We are closing schools.

What does this tell our children that we care about their their future?

We are telling them that who cares?

You you will graduate high school and then you will do what?

You won't get a job because AI is taking all of the jobs, and then you'll join the military and then you'll go to war.

Because the United States has been perpetually at war since its foundation.

So, like my friend Heather said earlier, I urge all of you to pass an anti-war resolution and to take a stand against the government that we're we're seeing today.

It's absolutely ridiculous that again we have a population starving, unhoused, not having their needs met.

We are closing schools, and then we're sending these children to go die.

Um, so I I really hope that the city of Cleveland takes a stand and and says that they they do not stand for this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we have Chairman Fahim uh from the Buckeye Woodheel community.

Uh the topic is public safety.

He represents new era Cleveland, he's not being paid by anyone as the Chairman Fahim here.

Chairman Fahim going once, Chairman Fahim going twice.

Okay, we don't see Chairman Fahim.

Next we have one C.

Calado Diaz from Ward 12.

Uh his topic is removing Mayor Bill from office.

Uh he's representing the accountable Cleveland era, and he's not being paid by anyone.

Mr.

Diaz, you had the floor.

Thank you, Consul President.

Um, last week I talked to you all about mayor spending, and he um and I was not beneficial to our city.

He was not here last week, so now that I get the chance to address him directly, um, today I want to go over some of the stuff that has been happening.

So this morning, I took the liberty um to call Cleveland Public Power since my electrical bill was a little higher than what it has been for months.

Um I call, I spent three hours on the phone, and when I was spending those three hours on the phone to ask about my bill, the person that I spoke with decided to go on a whole gaslighting situation, and then tell me that if I wanted to get a lower electrical bill, I used to sign up for heap.

I ask her, why would I sign up for heap when I don't qualify?

Because you know, out of the salary I make, they say that I make enough at 52,000 a year, but I'll let them have that.

Then I also want to talk about city services while going on that.

Last year I called 311 about a property down the street from my house that it has been um the cost of pest all over my street on West 126.

The reason uh that that's happening is because the property is abandoned.

I know the owner is a Clevelander, but the property has become a blight property in my neighborhood.

I also was told that they will take care of it.

It's been a year as of today, actually, since I make the call.

I call the clerk's office again this morning.

I was told then this morning I was told exactly why we would help you to remove one of our own once again.

I don't know who I'm speaking with on the phone because they refused to give me a name.

I called the office of the mayor.

I waited for 20 minutes before I got someone to tell me to call the board of elections because they didn't know the process.

I am asking council for the second time today, and I'm gonna keep coming every week for someone to help me to begin a recall process of the mayor of Cleveland.

The amount of spending in the city is ridiculous.

The grants and the money we're losing as a city is getting out of control.

This body knows how to do it, and I know one of you knows exactly how to do it.

If your consulate wants to give me a call, if you want to give me a call, it's easy to just contact me.

For the mayor, if you want to see why I'm doing this recall, you can contact me, or you can also go to www.clevelandera.com, which you love the Cleveland era, to see actually the reason why I started a recall because there's so much that you're doing, and there are so many great things that you have done, but the bad ones are literally outweighing the good ones.

And our city deserves better, our people deserve better, and the people that are coming to Cleveland deserve better.

Because myself, I am not a born Clevelander.

But when I came to the city, I came for change, and I seen change.

I think change through this body of work, I think change too many other city departments.

But from your office, if I get an appointment that is not maybe put in the calendar and then cancel, I will be lucky.

So please do better.

Transparency is necessary to continue a great administration, and I ask of you to please do better.

Thank you, sir.

Next we have Darnell Brewer, State Representative Darnell Brewer from Ward 4 to talk about the Cleveland Police Commission.

He is not representing.

Well, I guess he does represent somebody.

And uh and he's not being uh, well, I guess he is being paid by the state of Ohio.

So paid by the people welcome, uh, State Representative Brewer.

Thank you, thank you, President Council, to all the colleagues in the room, the mayor.

Um, thank you all for allowing me this opportunity to come speak.

It's very rare that I come down um to somebody else's house, but when it's on fire, sometimes we gotta you know sound the alarm.

And I'm just here to stand with some of my colleagues on city council, the community and some of the members I heard just to say, please reconsider getting out of the consent decree.

As a person who really was instrumental in working to craft the consent decree, you probably don't even know a lot of what I'm about to tell you.

Work with the investigators, listening to the stories, bringing them to meeting the investigators about what's going on, read the report about how the police handle some of the most people who look like me in the community.

I'm not here to bash the police, not here to say the police are not doing their job, but we know if we get out of that consent decree, what may happen.

Well, you don't have a vested interest in the way it was tailored.

We have a vested interest in having children and family members and parents and uncles and aunts and community members who will be impacted by what's going to happen if that consent decree is put to bed.

And so what we're just saying is, and I'm saying we, because I represent District 22 and I represent Southeast Side of Cleveland, is please reconsider.

Host some meetings, talk to the community, listen to what we got to listen to what we have to say.

You will hear the stories over and over again about what's going on.

Yes, you have a reign on some of it, but not all of it.

And I guarantee you if we get up out of it, it's gonna just go back to what it'd be the same.

I can stand here and count the many names, Tamir Rice, Timothy Melissa, so many people, you know, who have lost their lives at the hands of police officers, not because of what they did, but because maybe lack of training, lack of oversight, lack of what's going on.

So I'm just here to ask once again if you would reconsider not stepping out of the consent decree.

And I'm just gonna ask city council and the community who's listening to push back just a little bit.

And trust me, this is not against anybody in this room.

You know, I still love you guys no matter what happens, no matter which way it goes.

But as a public servant, as a father, as a son, as someone who experienced the hands of the police in the city.

Remember one time I was driving down the street.

I always wanted a uh uh a Dodge Charger.

I was driving down the street, clean police put me over.

He said, You have a Dodge Charger.

I said, Why'd you put me over?

He said it's raining.

I said it's raining.

He spit on a windshield wiper.

He said, Don't you have rain right there?

This happened to me.

So who would I hold accountable?

Who do I have to go to when this happened?

So once again, I'm just asking respectfully that city council people raise your voice, says it's raise your voice, and listen to the voice of the people.

Please reconsider.

Thank you.

Thank you, State Representative.

Next, we have uh Tinun Zhuan from Ward 11, and Tinun represents the Chinese parties, transnational repression, uh not representing anyone and not being paid by anyone.

Hello everyone.

I was here two weeks ago.

Uh I didn't finish it on the topic of Chinese communist parties, transnational repression.

Uh I'm continuing.

And uh the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, they spend uh billions of dollars every year for the propaganda.

So even in the United States, Chinese Americans who live here decades still are fed by the Chinese narratives daily.

What they hear is US is evil.

Democracy is chaos, and following women is uh dangerous.

And the communist party is great, and everything is wonderful in China, but it's not true.

The CCP also explores the Western media, use uh paid insights in major newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Washington Post, as well as uh through broadcast partnership and social media manipulation.

Many Chinese media audience received fundings, direction, prepaid packages, content directly from Beijing, the Smails Farang and other distance.

Even Sun Yin Performs, the US based company, dedicated to revive the true Chinese culture, and it's becoming uh primary target, and through 2024 until now.

Targets uh for Sun Yuan, hundreds of bomb threats and uh mass shooting stress to the theaters they perform in over 40 countries, including the theater at the Canada Center here in Washington DC in February 2025.

The CCP also weaponized our legal systems through lawfare.

In upstate New York, repeated environmental lawsuits were filed against the Sun Yuan Dragon Spring Campus.

They were dismissed multiple times, and in 2024, uh Federal Judge warned against uh further baseless lawsuits, bribery cases.

Thank you, sir.

Time thank you.

Okay, I will continue next time.

Thank you, sir.

Next we have Dolores Gray, Dolores Gray is from Ward 5.

Dolores Gray would like to talk about the Ward 5 asset mapping, community neighborhood residence involvement.

She is not representing anyone and not being paid by anyone.

Mrs.

Gray.

Good evening, everyone, council president, member of council, and city leadership.

My name is Lewis Gray, and I live and work in Ward Five.

Tonight I'm here.

I want to speak about on behalf of the residents who participated in the Ward 5 asset mapping and what it means for the future of our neighborhood development.

Over the past year, the residents, family, churches, block clubs, seniors, and community partners came together to identify the strength and needs of opportunity within Ward 5.

Our asset mapping shows three important things.

War 5 has powerful community assets.

We have strong institutions, deep community roots, active churches, resilience families, and residents who care deeply about their block and their neighborhood.

But two, but we also see long-standing gaps and neglect.

Resident identify aging housing, unsafe streets, lack of investment, port infrastructure, and slow response to basic neighborhood concerns.

Three, asset mapping is not just a report, it's a roadmap for development.

It tells us where to direct resources to residents, see real visible improvement in our everyday lives.

Now, this brings me to the one million connected, one million dollars connected to the warm sway redevelopment.

Resident was told that 10% of that, those dollars of 100,000 would go directly back into the neighborhood to support home repairs, and we have a war five residents.

That promise mattered.

Warfare residents stepped up, they supported the redevelopment, they attended the meetings, they participated in plannings, and they shared.

I'm a little nervous here, and they shared the voices through asset mapping.

As we expect the same commitment in return.

So tonight I'm asking Ward 5 council office and the city to help residents to understand.

We cannot set this asset mapping at sit on the shelf.

We cannot allow another eight years to pass without visible progress.

Ward by residents are ready.

We are engaged.

We are informed that we want to partner with our council office to build momentum.

But we need transparency, communication, and a plan that shows how the city would turn our SAT mapping into real opportunity.

So I'm absolutely asking tonight.

What are the steps?

How do we move forward for information for a community neighborhood?

How do we how do we assure the War FAT FET become the foundation, the real measurable change starting starting now?

Um here.

This is not just money, this is dignity.

This is neighborhood community, and this is how we keep long-term residents in our home.

So I'm addressing my council star.

You are residents, you are counsel in our in our ward.

Your council title belongs to the community.

The asset mapping belongs to the community.

You work for us, we don't work for you.

And when I when I voted for you to get the endorsement of the Democratic Party, the deal was that you support the asset mapping.

And we expect you to do that.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, please share communications.

From Mark E.

Wipke, Chief of Asset Management, Cleveland Housing Network Housing Partners.

Notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multiple funding programs for development known as South Collinwood SFLP Homes, comprised of approximately 40 new construction, single family homes, ward 9.

File number 311, 2026 from Michael Golden, Associate Development, Penrose LLC.

Notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as Lorraine Avenue Redevelopment Senior for 72 units at 4242 Lorraine Avenue Ward 7.

File number 312 2026 from Michael Golden Associate Developer Penrose LLC.

Notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as Lorraine Avenue Redevelopment Family for 62 units at 4242 Lorraine Avenue Ward 7.

File number 313 2026 from Ashley Schweichhard, Senior Development Project Manager, the community builders, notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as Woodhill Center North for 82 units at 108 21 Woodland Avenue Ward 6.

File number 314 2026 from Ashley Sweikhart, Senior Development Project Manager, the community builders, notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as Woodhill Center South for 55 units at 109 23 Woodhill Woodhill Avenue Ward 6.

File number 315 2026 from Greg Barron, Managing Director of Vocal Volker Development.

Notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as Lorraine West for 65 residential units located on Lorraine Avenue Ward 7.

File number 316 2026 from Dr.

Gina Merritt, Principal, Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures.

Notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as MLK Plaza Phase 1A at 9300 Wade Park Avenue Ward 8.

File number 317 2026 from Kevin Brown, Director of Senior Housing Development, National Church Residences.

Notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as Coleman Avenue Coleman Court for 33 units at 2025 West 65th Street Ward 7.

File number 318 2026 from Jimmy McCoon, Vice President Development Wallach Communities.

Notice of intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as Ironwood Flats for 62 units at 3051 East 63rd Street Ward 3.

File number 318 2026 from Jimmy McCoon Vice President Development Wallach Communities Notice of Intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as Ironwood Flats for 62 units at 3051 East 63rd Street Ward 3 File number 3 19 2026 from Mayor Justin Bibb City of Cleveland Mayor's nomination for members of Gateway Economic Development Corporation received Bradford Davy Gatewood Economic Development Corporation appointment term expiration May 31st 2027 Bonnie Twin Benita GTWen Gateway Economic Development Corporation appointment term expiration May 31st 2027 received file number 320 2026 oath of office for Aaron Miller Tate Director of Department of Community Development City of Cleveland received file number 321 2026 from Council President Blaine A.

Griffin recommending approval of the appointment of Council Member Nikki uh Hudson Ward 11 to Lead Safe Advisory Board received file number 322 2026 from Council President Blaine A.

Griffin recommending approval of the appointment of Council Member Tanme Tenmai Shaw Ward 12 to Cleveland Foundation Neighborhood Safety Fund Advisory Board received file number 323 2026 from Council President Blaine Griffin recommending approval of the appointment of Brooke Saban to landmarks commission received file number 327 2026 from Carolyn Dawson COO for Mikos Foundation Notice of Intent to apply to Ohio Housing Finance Agency for multifamily funding programs for the development known as living at 55 for 63 units at 1401 East 55th Street Ward 8 File number I'm sorry Cleveland Ohio received from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control File number 324 2026 regarding a new license application at 4166 East 71st Street Ward 2 File number 325 2026 regarding a transfer of ownership application at 3951 St.

Clair Avenue Ward 8 File number 326 2026 regarding a transfer of ownership application at 4200 West 130th Street Ward 13 Thank you.

Are there any condolence resolutions?

Resolutions of condolence by councilmember Griffin for Ruben Kerry Harris Jr.

By Councilmember Conwell for Michael Jones by Councilmember Starr for Raymond Minor by Councilmember Starr for Kevin Hicks by Councilmember Starr for Elizabeth Chandler by Councilmember Starr for Dennis Williams by Councilmember Griffin for Margaret Laird Hamilton by Councilmember Griffin for Gloria Dean Peck by Count by all Council members for Ruby Moss, all Council members for Chief Magistrate Gregory F.

Clifford Esquire by Councilmember Griffin for Jason Lamont Sweeney by Councilmember Palencick for Mila Chapman by Councilmember Palencick for Armor Wilson.

Thank you.

We'll move to any other condolence resolutions.

And I do have one for the Reverend Hilton Smith.

Reverend Hilton Smith.

So noted.

And I believe is any opposition to all council members being added to that resolution.

So please, all council members, if you could be added to uh that resolution for Reverend Hilton Smith.

So noted.

Thank you.

Are there any other condolences?

Uh got two people that would like to make uh condolence resolutions.

Councilman Charles Slife.

Yes, please hold out a number for uh brother William G.

Lenning, OFM.

Thank you.

Duly noted, Councilman Starr.

Absolutely.

If we could do it with all the council members on it, be great.

Thank you.

All right, well, all council members rise for a moment of silence.

Thank you.

Are there any recognition resolutions?

Resolutions of congratulations by Councilmember Griffin for quality electrodynamics.

Resolutions of recognition by Councilman Count by Councilmember Conwell for Aisha Samad for Ramadan Iftar Honoree.

By Councilmember Conwell for Fadela Noor for Ramadan Iftar Honore.

By Councilman Conwell for Queen Fatima Chewy for Ramadan Iftar Honoree.

Resolutions of recognition by Councilman Count by Councilmember Conwell for Aisha Samad for Ramadan Iftar Honoree by Councilmember Conwell for Fadela Noor by for Ramadan Iftar Honore by Councilman Conwell for Queen Fatima Chewy for for Ramadan Iftar Honoree by Councilmember Conwill for President Far Farhana Wilson for Ramadan Iftar Honore by Councilmember Conwell for the sisterhood of Masjid Al-Wareith Dean for Ramadan Iftar Honore.

Resolutions of recognition by Councilmember Conwell for Sister Wahita Jabir Ramadan Iftar Honore by Councilmember Conwell for Fateen Husni Fateen Husney Adafor for Ramadan Iftar Honoree by Councilmember Conwell for Nadia A.

Moumin Ramadan Iftar Honore by Councilmember Griffin for East High School Class of 1966 Reunion Thank you.

We have a presentation by our colleague Councilman Christopher Harsh.

Can we open up the uh will and welcome the uh champs from Rhodes High School if they could please join us.

Thank you, sir.

Please applaud.

You're 2025, 2026, Senate League Champions.

Rhodes Rams.

Come on down.

Come on down here.

Mr.

Mayor, you're invited.

Council president, you're invited.

Come on.

This way, guys, over here.

I'm gonna raise this because you're all tall, young men.

We don't need to keep this down.

Come on.

Well done, well done.

Welcome to City Hall.

Congratulations.

Great season.

Great season.

Well done.

Congrats.

Congratulations.

Congratulations.

Coach, good to see you.

Good to see you.

Congrats.

All right, I love it.

Coach Spencer brings the whole team, including our little one.

CMSD does a lot of things for our young folks.

But one of the greatest things that we teach is teamwork.

We teach our young folks that being part of a group, giving up selfishness and learning how to help your colleague is an important skill in life.

And teamwork is really what makes the dream work is what makes all of society possible.

Is those of us coming together, putting aside.

We can't all take the shot every single time, right?

You gotta pass.

And you gotta listen to Coach.

Right?

We need somebody at the top that's gonna help explain how this whole thing works.

And these life skills last us forever.

And they're one of the most important things that we can do as a school system is help young folks learn this.

I know we just got out of Black History Month, but this Frederick Douglass quote lives run free in my head.

He said it's easier to raise strong children than to fix broken men.

And coach is raising strong young men.

So thank you, Coach Spencer.

I'm gonna I'm gonna hand this over to you.

I'm gonna hand this over to you because uh this is all the uh the young men's scrolls, and I know you won't pronounce any names wrong.

So I'm gonna start off by saying that we have a scroll here for Coach Sean Spencer, head coach of the Rhodes Rams.

And Coach, would you like to then give out the rest of the scroll if you're repeating?

I'll hold him, you can read them.

Come on up here.

Come on up here.

You you read their names, and then I won't I won't do any embarrassing.

Uh Evan Drew Elwers, Evangel Everett.

Number zero.

All right.

Who you got?

Senior Delante Starks.

Uh Caden Hill's not with us tonight.

We'll get that to him later.

Our MVP and senior Jihavi Dai.

All right.

Junior, Darnell Jones.

Freshman who's not here, Bryce Arnold.

Sophomore, Tyron Corpony.

Not here.

Soft, excuse me, junior, Tristan Story.

Junior, Tyon Corpony.

Sophomore, All State in football as well.

Isaiah Dawson Copley.

Sophomore, Carleo Wallace.

Freshman, Demarion Demi.

Not here.

Senior Jeremiah Brown.

Freshman, Avion Goodrum.

He's not here.

Sophomore who was injured, Dejan Stewart.

Junior, who was also injured, uh, Austin Gordon.

Sure.

Top varsity assistant, Ray Sean Goins, Rose Alumni.

All right.

Rose Alumni.

Fantastic.

Assistant coach, Harold Chin.

Assistant Coach, who's also our lead security officer in the building.

He's not here with us tonight, Joe Nathan Dawson.

Our athletic director, Julian Jackson Ross.

Our manager, I want to shout her out.

She's not here tonight, but I went to school today to do all of the inventory for uniforms.

So we got about eight set of uniforms.

They were all washed, folded, and put away today and counted.

So shout out Darnisha Green.

I want to shout out another one of my assistant coaches, Tim Roberts, brought him out of retirement.

He's been nothing but a great help for us.

We have two small campuses on side of our school here.

So one of our principals is Miss Teresa Lockhart, principal.

And our other principal is uh Gretchen Blanchard, the athletic principal for the school.

Coach Spencer, thank you.

Congratulations.

This is your second win for the Senate League in how many years?

Uh four years.

You want a couple years ago, so we're gonna see you back again next year.

Absolutely.

The microphone is yours if you have any students that want to speak.

Real quick to all of my uh councilmen, I think it's uh Conwell, Brother Star back there, let you guys know we'll be back next year.

That's the first thing.

Okay.

Secondly, secondly, I'm joking.

Uh I want to thank Councilman Harsh, Mayor Bibb, uh Councilman uh President Council, uh, Blaine Griffin here.

Uh also Michelle Palmarance.

Anytime I've reached out to them, I've heard a lot of people complaining tonight.

Anytime I've reached out to them, they've always hit me back.

Richard Starr is hit me back.

Uh can't see her name right here.

Jones is the last name.

She's hit me back.

So I appreciate you all being able to reach out to you all, to reach you all, to touch you all, to talk with you all.

About our guys, man, we've done a really good job at Rose.

We have a number of kids playing all over the country.

I got a kid at Auburn to play that role.

So I got a kid at USC that play that Rose.

I got a kid at Kent State to play that Rose.

So we're doing great things in the city.

Give it up to these guys.

These guys are gonna be absolutely amazing.

Looking forward to continuing doing great things over at Rhodes High School.

Thank you.

All right, madam clerk, first reading emergency ordinances referred for administrative review and committee review.

I got it.

Ordinance 280 2026 by council members Casey and Griffin by departmental request, authorizing the director of public utilities to enter into one or more contracts with Bain T.

for software support and maintenance services for its payment processing system for the division of uh utilities fiscal control, department of public utilities for a period of two years.

Ordinance 281, 2026, by council members Bishop and Griffin by departmental request, authorizing director of parks and recreation to enter into one or more concession agreements for the operation of a first class food and beverage service at Cleveland City Hall Cafeteria for a period not to exceed two years with a one year option to renew, exercisable by the director of parks and recreation, ordinance two eighty-two, twenty twenty-six by council members Bishop and Griffin by departmental request, authorizing the director of parks and recreation to enter into one or more concession agreements for the operation of a first class food and catering service at City Hall Rotunda and for marketing and for marketing the rental of the rotunda for catered events for a period not to exceed two years with a one year option to renew, exercisable by the director of parks and recreation, ordinance two eighty three, twenty twenty six by councilmember Griffin, authorizing the clerk of council to enter into agreement with Miller Mosley Company.

Ordinance 282 2026 by Council Members Bishop and Griffin by Departmental Request, authorizing the Director of Parks and Recreation to enter into one or more concession agreements for the operation of a first class food and catering service at City Hall Rotunda and for marketing and for marketing the rental of the rotunda for catered events for a period not to exceed two years with a one-year option to renew exercisable by the director of parks and recreation.

Ordinance 283 2026 by Councilmember Griffin authorizing the clerk of council to enter into agreement with Miller Mosley Company DBA Buckeye Peach Group for the professional services necessary to assist Cleveland City Council with automated phone calls and text messages to relay pre-recorded messages to Cleveland residents.

Ordinance 309 2026 by Council members Bishop Santana and Griffin by Departmental Request.

An emergency ordinance determining the method of making the public improvement of repairing, constructing, or installing roadways, bus pads, sidewalks, driveway aprons, curbs, brick streets, ADA compliant curb ramps, minor bridge repairs and appurtenances, and asphalt resurfacing and asphalt crack ceiling, authorizing director of capital projects to enter into one or more public improvement requirement contracts for the making of the improvement, authorizing director to apply for and accept any gifts or grants and authorizing any agreements for a period not to exceed two years.

Thank you.

First reading emergency ordinances to be passed.

Consenting and approving the issuance of a permit for the Hofburg House run on August 2nd, 2026, managed by Hermes Sports and Events.

Ordinance 278 2026 by Councilmember Davis consenting and approving the issuance of a permit for the annual four miles for water event on May 30th, 2026, managed by Palmer Event Solutions.

Ordinance 284 2026 by Councilmember Griffin authorizing the clerk of council to enter into an amendment to the subscription agreement with Lexus Nexus to increase the amount of agreement for Cleveland City Council.

Ordinance 287 2026 by Councilmember House Jones authorizing Director of Department of Public Safety to enter into agreement with Midtown Cleveland for the 2026 Cleveland Asian Expo through the use of Ward 8 Casino Revenue Funds.

Ordinance 288 2026 by Councilmember Casey authorizing the Director of Department of Community Development to enter into agreement with Bel Air Puritas Development Corporation for the annual safety series through the use of Ward 13 discretionary funds.

Read the motion to suspend the rules.

By Councilmember Santana that the rules be suspended and the legislation just read be placed on final passage, seconded by councilmember Hudson.

Carterow.

Griffin, Bishop Conwell, Davis, Gray, Harsh, House Jones, Hudson Jones, Casey, Polencick, Santana, Shaw, Slife, Star.

14 years.

Thank you, Carterola on Passage.

Griffin Bishop Conwell, Davis, Gray, Harsh, House Jones, Hudson Jones, Casey, Polencick, Santana, Shaw, Slife, Star.

14 years.

Thank you.

First reading ordinance referred for administrative review and committee review.

Ordinance 328-2026 by Councilmember Davis.

Changing the use area and height district of parcels of land north and south of Jefferson Avenue between West 6th and Thurman Street and establishing a zero-foot mapped set building setback.

First reading emergency resolutions to be adopted.

Resolution 279 2026 by Councilmember Hudson.

Withdrawing objection to a new C1 liquor permit to 6501 Denison Avenue and repealing resolution 243 2026 objecting to said permit.

Thank you.

Read the motion to suspend the rules.

By councilmember Santana, that the rules be suspended and the legislation just read be placed on final passage.

Seconded by Councilmember Hudson.

Carterow.

14 years.

Thank you.

Call to roll.

On adoption.

Griffin, Bishop Conwell, Davis, Gray, Harsh, House Jones, Hudson Jones, Casey Polencick, Santana, Shaw, Slife, Star.

14 YAs.

Thank you.

Second reading emergency ordinances to be read.

Ordinance 117 2026 as amended by Councilmember Griffin by Departmental Request to make appropriations and provide current expense for the daily operation of all municipal departments for the City of Cleveland for the fiscal year from January 1, 2026 until December 31st, 2026.

Thank you.

Second reading emergency ordinances to be passed.

Ordinance 29, 2026 as amended by Councilmember Griffin by Departmental Request, authorizing Director of Human Resources to employ one or more professional consultants to develop and implement a comprehensive management training program.

Ordinance 31 2026 as amended by Councilmember Griffin by Departmental Request.

Authorizing Director of Finance on behalf of the Office of Prevention Intervention and Opportunity to enter into one or more contracts with youth opportunities unlimited for the administration implementation and management of City of Cleveland Summer 2026 youth and young adult employment program and authorizing one or more contracts with public entities, individuals, or communities for purposes of implementing the program for a period of 18 months with two options to renew exercisable by the director of finance.

Ordinance 93 2026 by Council Members Slife and Griffin by Departmental Request.

Authorizing Director of Port Control to exercise the first option to renew a contract with downtown Cleveland Alliance to maintain, manage, secure, and promote city-owned properties at North Coast Harbor and to fulfill the common area maintenance agreement with the stakeholders of North Coast Harbor.

Ordinance 94 2026 by Council Members Slife and Griffin by departmental request.

Authorizing Director of Port Control to exercise the first option to renew a contract with Air Force One Inc.

to provide for the labor equipment and materials necessary to maintain repair test inspect or enhance heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems for the Department of Port Control.

Ordinance 180 2026 by Councilmember Griffin by Departmental Request to amend Section 127.43 of the codified ordinances relating to credit transfer and other payment processing services.

Ordinance 229 2026 by Council Members Conwell and Griffin by Departmental Request, authorizing Director of Public Health to enter into one or more contracts with the Urban League of Greater Cleveland for the purpose of providing facilitation coordination and implementation support for the racism as public health crisis coalition in order for the city to develop innovative solutions to address racial inequities and disparities that negatively impact public health systems, community outcomes, and over an overall quality of life for the Department of Public Health for a period of one year with a one-year option to renew, exercisable by the Director of Public Health.

Thank you.

Read the motion to suspend the rules.

By councilmember Santana that the rules be suspended and the legislation just read be placed on final passage.

Seconded by Councilmember Hudson.

Call to roll.

Griffin, Bishop, Conwell, Davis, Gray, Harsh, House Jones, Hudson Jones, Casey, Polencick, Santana, Shaw, Slife, Star.

14 Yes.

Call to roll on passage.

Griffin Bishop Conwell Davis Gray Harsh, House Jones, Hudson Jones, Casey, Polensic, Santana, Shaw, Slife, Starr.

14 Yes.

Thank you.

Are there any introductions?

Any introductions?

Any introductions?

Seeing no introductions, are there any announcements?

Any announcements?

Um just uh want to make sure that I give everybody the uh heads up.

Um we did have the second reading of the um budget ordinance or the appropriations budget ordinance.

Um, I will like to have a couple of the council members who had some concerns around a couple of the amendments to have a discussion with the mayor as well as uh Mr.

Culp on a um strategy moving forward because any of the other things that we did not cover in this budget, uh, we'll be looking at making any adjustments in June.

Um, there were a couple of things that um myself as well as um a couple of other council members really want to see priority um and I'm asking you to have a conversation with uh actually uh director Margolis as well as uh the mayor uh so that we could um look at a couple of those projects that we're gonna work with so that we could implement those, okay?

All right, thank you.

Any miscellaneous councilman Shaw miscellaneous you got it?

Yep, Council President.

Thank you.

Uh good evening, all I appreciate everyone's time being here.

I just wanted to um rise today um and say thank you to my colleagues and to the administration for the past two three-week crash course on how City Hall and the budget process works for your patients at the table through my questions as I learned um the ins and outs, and I have a million more questions, but I just wanted to um say I appreciated everyone's time and the patience that they exhibited at the table.

So thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Shaw, and thank you for being engaged as well as the rest of the body, really um making sure that we had a very vibrant discussion around budget.

Uh there any more miscellaneous scene or other miscellaneous, madam clerk.

Please excuse the absence.

Oh, councilman, sorry, councilman Starr had a miscellaneous.

No, um, just real brief.

I know you spoke about it um during the earlier points of this meeting, but is it only right that I rise and just pay homage and honor to legend that had the honor of blessing almost everybody that's been elected official when you talk about the good brother um Reverend Hilton Smith, and what I mean by that is when you talk about a bio, when you talk about a man that service this entire city for decades, when you talk about when he rose and started his career as a um an employee here in the city under the first African American mayor, um Carl Stokes, when he worked here, and then he went on over to Turner Construction, and he the reason why we have what you call the equal opera um office of equal opportunities, where he fought each and every day to make sure minority and women-owned business enterprise receive their fair share of contracts.

So when you talk about the investment, when you talk about CBAs, when you talk about making sure the city and other individuals do the right thing, that was something that was led by the legacy of Reverend Hilton Smith.

So it's only right that I rise and say we're gonna love and miss him.

Um just the late night or just a random calls, because if you know Hill Smith, he always got a positive thing to say, even when he got something to tell you that's a stern.

So him going to get it receiving his wings and not longer here with us.

I think it's only right that we work with the mayor administration and create an annual award in the honor of the legacy of Reverend Hilton Smith.

When what I mean by that it should be something under um the Reverend Hilton O.

Smith Minority and Women Business Opportunity Initiative, where we work to make sure we are increasing the participation for MBE, WBE, as well as expanding opportunity for growth in the city of Cleveland.

I think we need to line it up.

Um definitely talking to um Mayor Bibb.

I would definitely talk to him about this, and also with Director Tyson Mitchell, because it's only right when you talk about 22 billion dollars of contracts for minority and women, businesses, that's just called legacy, and we must pay homage to the one who did it, Brother Reverend Hilton O.

Smith.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Kevin Conwell.

And um, especially with the legal aid and uh Mary McIntyre.

With legal aid, and I mentioned it to you that um we will start a program that our seniors will be able to reach out to legal aid to do their wills, and that's very important.

A lot of times when our seniors go home, they're going home celebration, they have no wills, and with that, their home stay in probate, and it sit there until we ask building the housing to raise the property.

So, what I want us to do, Director, you and I and the head of legal aid meet together so that we can put systems in place so that we can help our seniors out with um with that, and it will help us out because in the long run, we have to tear and raise property down, and it costs us maybe 10 to 15,000 to raise the house down, and then it ends up with more blight in the community.

So we get that done.

Um, I met today with well, you youth opportunities unlimited also, the half a million that we put in there.

Well, I talked with Craig about um hiring at least that we take one-fifth of the money to hire artists, young artists in training, maybe around 14 to the age of 18 or 19 years old, so that they could go into Rainy Institute of Music or Julio De Vergos or Music School Settlement, and then that young kids will be able to teach art to other young children, and it will be their first paycheck of uh uh of arts.

And so what you're doing is the application of the knowledge, and then they're able to train people and they'll feel good getting their first check.

And Craig was right there, he was spot on.

It's gonna benefit some young people.

And the thing about arts, it teaches character, self-discipline, and it will give them a sense of pride with the young people.

So um I'm digging in that budget more and more that we're pushing.

So people are residents will get outcome measures.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Uh seeing no other miscellaneous, um, Madam Clerk, please excuse the absences.

By councilmember Santana, that the absence of councilmember Casey is hereby excused, seconded by council member Hudson.

Thank you.

Uh remember, there will there is no meeting next week.

The next meeting of Cleveland City Council will be on March the 23rd, 2026.

This committee is adjourned.