Cleveland City Council Finance Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026: Key Ordinances on Flock Safety, IX Center, Data Centers, and City Hall ADA
Cleveland City Council Finance Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026
The Committee of Finance, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion convened on July 15, 2026, to consider a packed agenda including a controversial six-month extension of the Flock Safety automated license plate reader contract, a resolution to begin eminent domain for a new fire station, a moratorium on data centers, a settlement with Brook Park over the IX Center, and ADA improvements to City Hall. The meeting lasted several hours with extensive debate, especially on the Flock Safety and IX Center items.
Discussion Items
Bedrock Entertainment Amphitheater (Ordinance 662-2026)
- A proposal to add a 62,200-seat riverfront amphitheater (401 Stone's Levee) to an existing tax increment finance (TIF) district. The project is expected to create 60 new full-time equivalent jobs with $3.1 million annual payroll. The 30-year TIF value is estimated at just under $10 million, with $16 million in benefits to CMSD and a net increase of $18.3 million in city and CMSD revenues. The ordinance authorized the mayor to acquire and reconvey the property for the chain of title. The committee approved the measure.
Oracle Customer Care and Billing System (Ordinance 586-2026)
- The administration reported that negotiations with Oracle for a master service agreement failed over issues of indemnification, exclusivity, and data ownership. The amendment allows the city to enter into requirement contracts for individual services. Approved.
Net Metering and Interconnection (Ordinances 587-2026 & 588-2026)
- Amendments to codified ordinances to address billing and reliability issues from distributed energy resources. The goal is to continue supporting renewable generation while protecting other customers from cost shifts. Approved.
Other Public Utilities Items (Ordinances 596-2026, 598-2026, 599-2026, 600-2026, 601-2026, 602-2026, 612-2026, 621-2026, 625-2026)
- A series of routine contracts and amendments for utility locating services, Oracle hosting, laboratory equipment, LED street light management, water pump station construction, corrosion control, smart photocells, interconnection process definitions, and water main repair contracts. All approved.
Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (Ordinance 683-2026)
- This was the most debated item. The administration requested a one-year extension to the Flock Safety contract, which had expired June 29, 2026. The committee amended the ordinance to a six-month extension (through December 29, 2026) with strict guardrails: (1) Cleveland's data is removed from the national lookup system, (2) filters block searches for immigration status and reproductive health, (3) local fusion center access is to be cut off, (4) monthly audit reports to council, and (5) penalties for violations. The Cleveland Police Department presented data that 25 of 53 homicides this year involved ALPR technology. Public safety director stated the city has 3,400 cameras but only ~100 Flock cameras. Council members expressed concerns about data privacy, potential ICE access, and trust in the company. Several council members spoke against, citing a 3% crime reduction rate and fears of federal misuse. The committee voted to recommend passage (voice vote, with some no votes).
Fire Station 23 – Eminent Domain (Resolution 457-2026)
- A resolution of intent to appropriate property at 1002 Madison Avenue for a new fire station. The current station is inadequate with health hazards. The city has offered $1,025,000 (amended from $635,000) but the owner wants $1,730,000 based on a disputed appraisal. The administration is still negotiating. The committee approved the resolution, with the council president stating he will not move to the final appropriation step unless good-faith negotiations are documented.
Data Center Moratorium (Ordinance 556-2026)
- A three-month moratorium (with possible extension) on permitting principal-use standalone data centers, to allow the city to develop zoning regulations and understand impacts on utilities and neighborhoods. The amendment clarifies that the moratorium targets large-scale facilities, not server rooms. The committee approved.
IX Center/Brook Park Settlement (Ordinance 664-2026)
- A settlement to end decades-old tax-sharing agreements with Brook Park over 240 acres near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The city will pay Brook Park $650,000 per year for 33 years plus a $2 million upfront payment, removing Brook Park's perpetual tax sharing rights. The city will regain all property and income tax revenues from the IX Center and surrounding lands. The administration argued the current lease with the operator (IRG/ICP) is unfavorable and that the settlement allows for future development. Some council members expressed concerns about the loss of trade shows and the potential for backdoor deals. The committee approved (with council members Polensek and House Jones voting no).
City Hall ADA Improvements (Ordinance 666-2026)
- A $5.9 million project to create an ADA-accessible entrance on the west side of City Hall and move the Department of Parks and Recreation to Public Auditorium. The original scope included a lobby and coffee shop, but those were removed after council objections. The project is now focused solely on ADA compliance. Several council members supported it, citing the difficulty people with disabilities face entering City Hall. The committee approved.
IT Software Purchasing (Ordinance 651-2026)
- An amendment to the codified ordinance to require council approval for software contracts over $250,000 (previously exempted). For contracts under $250,000, the administration must provide notice before exercising renewals. The change was prompted by concerns that the administration was bypassing council on IT purchases like ShotSpotter and Flock. The committee approved.
Key Outcomes
- Ordinance 662-2026 (Amphitheater TIF): Approved.
- Ordinances 586-2026, 587-2026, 588-2026, 596-2026, 598-2026, 599-2026, 600-2026, 601-2026, 602-2026, 612-2026, 621-2026, 625-2026: All approved.
- Ordinance 683-2026 (Flock Safety): Approved as amended (6-month extension with guardrails).
- Resolution 457-2026 (Fire station eminent domain): Approved.
- Ordinance 556-2026 (Data center moratorium): Approved.
- Ordinance 664-2026 (IX Center/Brook Park): Approved, with no votes from Polensek and House Jones.
- Ordinance 666-2026 (City Hall ADA): Approved.
- Ordinance 651-2026 (IT software purchasing): Approved.
- All other ordinances and resolutions on the agenda were approved or recommended for passage by the full council.
Meeting Transcript
All right, this committee of finance diversity equity and inclusion is reconvening. We did have one other guest that's here for development. We're gonna go ahead and do that part. This is ordinance number six six two that's twenty twenty-six by council members Davis, Santana, and Griffin by departmental requests and emergency ordinance authorizing the mayor and the commissioner of purchases and supplies to acquire and reconvey properties presently owned by Starline Stone LLC and or its designee located at four oh one Stone's levy for the purpose of entering into the chain of title prior to adoption of tax increment finance financing legislation authorized under section fifty-seven oh nine dot four one of the revised code for the Bed Rock Rock Entertainment Amphitheater Project. Uh director and your guests. Uh good afternoon uh to the chair and to the committee. Um excited to present this project to you. Uh with me is Nora Romanoff from Bedrock Development. Uh her and her group are uh leading this uh organization or this development. Uh and with that, I will get into the slides about this chain of title. Uh so Starling Stone LLC is an affiliate of Bedrock. Um, and so they have acquired this property at four oh one Stones Levy, uh, which is on the east bank of the Cuyahoga River, just across West Third Street from the uh Peak Performance Center that has kind of been that first uh construction project as part of the activities uh Bedrock is doing to redevelop the uh riverfront. Um Cosm is also a project being led by this group, so a lot of activity being driven by Bedrock and the Rock Entertainment Group here in downtown Cleveland. Uh if you look at the current site conditions, um there's our are a couple existing structures. Um the easternmost warehouse has been demolished, um, but there are some sort of older industrial um buildings there. Uh it does have general industry zoning, um, and so this is really sort of if you think about uh the kind of whole riverfront development strategy that Bedrock brought to the city. This is like one parcel outside of what was originally thought of. And so that's why we're coming to you today for this chain of title. Uh basically just expands the geographic scope of the work they're doing down the riverfront. Um so this project, it's uh tremendously exciting. Uh, it'll be the construction of a new sixty two hundred seat uh riverfront amphitheater. Uh this is a uh rendering that was provided to the city planning commission back in April uh kind of gives you an idea of uh the seating, uh the stage, and the layout. Uh that kind of just describes those uh those things. Live Nation will uh operate this uh so from uh an economic perspective, hope to be drawing in regional visitors from outside of the city and county to this venue. Uh and this will create approximately sixty new FTE jobs on three point one million dollars in annual payroll for the city of Cleveland. Uh and so as the as this piece of kind of the larger TIFF goes, um, we estimate that the thirty-year value of this TIFF would be uh just under ten million dollars, uh and that the benefits uh to uh CMSD would be just over sixteen million dollars. Uh those jobs would be a boon to the uh income tax base of about seventy-seven thousand dollars a year, uh which leads to a net increase of uh eighteen point three million dollars uh in revenues to the city and CMSD over the course of the term. Uh in terms of the community benefits uh tied to this. So this is part of the larger development agreement that the city in Bad Rock uh previously agreed to and was legislated. Uh and with that came arguably the most robust community benefits agreement. Uh City of Cleveland has uh been a part of. And so this will fold into that agreement. Um with that, I'm happy to turn it over to uh Nora if she would like to add anything uh and answer any questions. Thank you. All right, please proceed. Sure, to uh to the chair and to the committee, good afternoon. Thank you for having me. Um to the note on site plan, maybe I'll just provide a little bit of um can site context. Um in this picture, we're looking at Stone's Levee and West Third Street in the flats. And so if you can picture the Lorraine Carnegie Bridge, this is just north of the Lorraine Carnegie Bridge and the lower portion of West Third and Stone's Levee, Stone's Levee turns into then the Eagle Bridge, or soon to be. Um, and that was a portion of the note. Thank you to Mr. Bruno for summarizing our project so nicely appreciated. Um I wanted to also mention that this project, along with our other um efforts down in this area, include um the reconstruction of Stones Levy and Central Avenue, which joins the reconstruction of our portion of West Third Street, and then the re-establishment of the Eagle Bridge, which is currently under construction right now, um, as well as all of the affiliated utilities. Okay. All right, thank you. Uh Councilwoman Santana, you uh moved this to committee at a whole. Yes, I did it, but through the chair, didn't we hear this in DPS? Sorry. Uh to the chair to the councilman.
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