Okay, I'd like to call this Cleveland Heights City Council meeting to order at 7:36 on Monday, April 20th, 2026.

Acting Clerk Larson, would you please call the role?

Happy to do so, President KUDA.

Cohen here, Stone, Cobb, CUDA, Larson here, Posh, Duit Foy.

Here.

All right.

Nobody's absent.

We have no amendments to the agenda.

We have no minutes to approve.

We do we have a Cleveland Heights High School student here.

Yay.

Come on up.

So when you come up, I I don't know your name, so you can say your name in that microphone and you can adjust it.

And we're really glad you're here because we always want to know what's going on in the schools.

And also when you tell us your name, what tell us what year you're in at school as well.

Okay.

Okay.

Good evening, mayor and city council members.

My name is Bailey Evans, and I am a ninth grader at Cleveland Heights High School.

As a member of the superintendent student cadre, I am here to give a brief report about what's happening at Heights High.

I am honored to be here.

Thank you for this opportunity.

First, I would like to tell you all about our athletic teams.

Athletics wrapped up a successful winter season.

Indoor track.

The indoor track team had an impressive showing at the state meet.

Four by 200 boys, second place, Aiden, Sirius, Marquise, and Diani.

Four by 400 boys, 6th place, Aiden Sirius, Harrison, and Marquise.

400 meter boys, six sixth place, Aiden West.

3200 meter girls, seventh place, Cassie Thompson.

Girls wrestling.

The girls' wrestling had two representatives at the state tournament with both placing with both placing.

Tamaya Bowie placed 6th and Chelsea Gibson placed 8th in their respective weight classes.

Boys basketball.

Boys basketball won a district final over St.

Ignatius and advanced to the regional semifinals.

This is their second district final in four years.

Heights Athletics looks forward to a busy spring season.

Here are a few important meet events happening at High Time.

On March 6th, the No Hate Tour visited Heights High for a BMX style assembly where students saw award-winning BMX bikers perform tricks while learning about important the importance of kindness and positivity.

Almost 410th through 12th grade students enrolled in the lessons of the Holocaust course traveled to Washington, D.C.

before spring recess to visit the U.S.

National Holocaust Museum, African American Museum, the Arlington National Cemetery, and tour various major monuments.

The trip allowed students to connect up close with the artifacts and evidence they have learned about as they study the Holocaust and other genocides.

Upcoming events in April.

OST testing has been has started being administered in April, starting with ELA 2 tests on April 9th and 10th.

In preparation for the OST testing, Heights held a pep rally to encourage students to do their best on their upcoming test and remind them, reminded them of effective test strategies through various games and activities.

Heights High National Honor Society also held study sessions after school in the cafeteria before the OST test to help their peers feel prepared.

The opening night of the Creative Heights District Art Show took place on April 14th at the Leero Library from 6 to 8 p.m.

The annual showcase featured students' artwork from all seven elementary schools, both middle schools, and multiple art classes at Heights High.

The show is free and open to the community who can enjoy the artistic talent of CHUA students through May 8th.

The High Tide Drama Club will held Williams Shakespeare's As You Like It on April 16th and 17th at 7 p.m.

And on April 18th at 130 and 7 p.m.

in the high tie main auditorium.

The IMD will conclude the year with their spring concerts on April 30th and May 1st at 7 p.m.

in the high time main auditorium.

The Thursday concert will feature performances by the concert band and orchestra.

Philharmonic strings and symphonic ban.

The Friday the Friday concert will feature the high tie symphony strings and symphonic wins.

Both concerts have no cost for admission.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you so much, Bailey.

And Bailey.

I want you to have a great summer.

And is your sister Taylor?

Yes.

Oh my goodness.

Well, Taylor was my uh intern maybe three years ago.

What how what year is she in in college?

She's a junior.

Junior, yeah.

So it would have been three years ago.

We'll tell her Mr.

Kuda says hello.

I got you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

All right.

Next, um, we have a presentation from legal aid and Catholic charities.

Sorry, I don't have names here, but you can say your names as you when you come up.

And we're really glad you're here.

Hi.

Oh, I just didn't see.

I did great.

Okay.

Yeah.

Sure, I can.

Um, good evening, everyone.

Um, so I'm Lisa Polowinski.

I'm an immigration attorney with Legal Aid of Cleveland.

Um, and I'm Cory Lee Drazda.

I'm also an immigration attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.

Um, so thanks for having us back.

And this information will be duplicative for a few people, but um, hello for the new people.

You know, please let us know if anyone has any questions.

Um, but we just want to talk about the um the work that we do in general, legal aid, but um with some additional information from the last time about um the immigration specific legal services that we provide.

Um so the first slide, we have a few slides, but we will blow through them.

Um I promise.

No, this is the opposite.

Sorry.

There you go.

Um, so I'll just read this quickly.

Um we did spend, we updated our mission statement.

So we I want to read it to give it um the recognition that it deserves.

Um legal aid's mission is to secure justice, equity, and access to opportunity for and with people who have low incomes through passionate legal representation and advocacy for systemic change.

Um so we do that in a variety of different ways.

Um with the our immigration representation, we usually help people directly, like one-on-one, but that's not the case with all of our, we do a lot of different work, and that's not the case in all of our practice groups.

Um, but we also try to advocate to make, as it says in our mission statement, um, systems to work better.

So, like in an ideal world where we aren't needed at all.

But until then, we do exist and we do try to help people directly um interact with the immigration um legal system.

Um, and then we get um funding from a variety of sources, including the um federal government and those um considerations affect who we can serve, and this is what this slide is about an explanation.

So, first um we we focus on providing civil legal services, and we don't do criminal work that's like for the public defender's office.

I'm sure people are um familiar with that.

Um, our main because our legal services are free, that's the last listed on this slide, but probably the most important for our clients.

Um, we do not charge for any of our work or any of our services.

Um, and so the way that we make sure that we help people who are most in need is people have to uh meet our income and asset eligibility, which we'll talk more about on the next slide, so we'll get there.

Um, but we also focus on service um serving people who live in the five northeastern counties that are listed here on the slide Ashtabula, Paynesville, Giaga, Cuyahaga, and Lorraine.

Um, and then we can um we have some rules or guidelines about um legal statuses of people who we can help.

So we can certainly help US citizens, that's obvious.

Um we can also help people with green cards and um a few other kinds of statuses, but importantly, in our work, um, Corey Lee will talk much more about.

Um, we can help people who are not US citizens.

That's the whole point of our work that we do.

Um, and we focus on usually people who have been victims of crime, and that is one of the exceptions to um helping non-citizens that of people we're allowed to, we can help under with our funding restrictions.

Thank you.

And then um, this is um I mentioned the the income and asset uh guidelines.

Um, this is for 2026 an example of the income for um people in different households.

So for for example, a household of four, if someone, if that household um makes $33,000 or less in a year, they are eligible for our services.

So we try to focus on people who are within 150% of the federal poverty guidelines and can go up with some exceptions.

Yeah, I was trying to, I think we can we can go up to 200% of the poverty guidelines.

So I feel like these charts are always confusing to me because that's representing 100%.

So we can are it's above that, but that gives an idea of the income that our clients have.

And so then, yeah, to talk to focus more specifically on our immigration legal services.

Um just, you know, like any all of our variety of practice areas, um, they are subject to the same eligibility um guidelines.

So Lisa obviously touched on that, the income and assets um, you know, eligibility guidelines, um, then just some types of cases that we can and cannot take under our funding, and then also we set our own um case acceptance guideline priorities.

We can't, we wish that we could, but we can we we're obviously we cannot help um as many people as apply for our services.

There is a huge um justice gap, and in that way, as I'm sure everyone here um realizes.

And so in our immigration um legal services practice, are we really focus on um securing safety um and and stability for victims and survivors of crime, um, whether they've been victims of crime here in the United States or victims of um violence and crime in their home countries and they've come to the United States um to seek protection from that harm.

So those um under their priority is safety, those are a variety of immigration statuses that we that's really kind of our focus on what we help people apply for.

Um, and that is um includes representing people in immigration court who are seeking those um types of um protection, but also um in other contexts as well, affirmatively with a with a different immigration um agency.

Um, and then um we also um do a lot of work in to educate our clients in the co in the community about their rights, and so um we go to often um sort of trusted community partner sites where our clients um feel comfortable, you know, they're often our um non-citizen clients would um often be fearful to go to just so uh a large event um that's advertised, so it's always um we find it's best to go um to places where they trust and they feel comfortable and um educate about their their rights.

Um and then um also just generally we can share re we share resources with our community partners um as well who maybe they don't need a direct presentation from us but are in a position to sort of share our resources.

Um next slide.

And then this slide um gives an idea of just kind of the the variety of ways that we work to achieve um our mission and um work with our clients.

So you know, direct representation, of course, um, but we um we you know we we can't serve everyone who applies for our services directly.

So we um host a lot of brief advice clinics in the community um where someone can at least meet for you know have a have a consultation essentially with an attorney to get an idea and kind of hopefully send that person on their way.

Um we also um help um people prepare certain components of their cases themselves, if we not be may not be able to provide full representation.

Um, and then you know, the last three kind of already had mentioned that we um engage with um community partners to sort of share information and um resources.

Um yeah, I think that and then this is just information on how our um the the process works, how to get in touch with us for our uh to apply for our services.

Um and this is for everyone, including people at Cleveland Heights, of course.

Um the main ways are by phone, and then I think um at the subcommittee meeting we talked about our online intake, which is available on our website, obviously, but in English and Spanish uh for so far.

Can you talk a little bit about how busy you are?

I know some people say sometimes, oh, we tried to get, you know, and they were really backed up and so forth.

So we're busy.

I'll start with that and then Corey Lee can elaborate.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, we I would just to give an example of that, like right now we are currently not even able to like accept any new cases.

Um so we have we're open for um like our inner office referrals.

So say uh a client um has a housing issue, and we're helping that client with their housing issue, and they also have an immigration issue, we can help our our clients with their immigration issue.

We have a few other um referral partnerships where we accept through there, but we're just so at capacity currently with our current like we all manage a very large caseload, and those cases have become increasingly um complex.

And so, yes, we are hoping to to to reopen it soon, but yeah, we're we're very busy.

Yeah, I'm sorry to give some numbers.

I said we're busy, that's not helpful.

Um that's just how it feels.

Um, like Corley said, we both um have around 60 to 75 like clients that we help each one of us.

There's four of us um that are attorneys that do that work.

Um, but the issue that that we've encountered in the past year or so um is someone or um people's circumstances can change um very rapidly and like get detained, for example, and then that client requires a lot of focus and time like immediately.

Um, but then we also still have our clients with their ongoing needs, so it's been difficult to balance that.

Um, and we've had some staffing changes, but yeah, we're we want to respond to the needs of the community, so that's always our goal.

Are you able to go out to the detention centers that are not local to see a client?

Great question.

Um, thank you for bringing that up.

So um the if we go back to the um our service area, there's a um detention or the Jaga County jail has a contract with ICE, and that's in our service area, and we do accept cases.

Um, or we do help people who are detained in the Jaga County.

Yeah.

Questions?

Mayor?

Okay.

Thank you both so much.

Really appreciate that.

Really appreciate you waiting too.

Um to proclamations and honors.

Sorry, yeah, yes.

Oh, oh, I'm sorry.

I do not have a PowerPoint.

I'm with Catholic charities.

I my name is Alison Brown.

I um the associate director of immigration legal services for migration and refugee services within the diocese of Cleveland, but we also serve Youngstown, which addresses one of your questions because one of the largest detention facilities is out in Youngstown.

So uh where do I begin?

So we serve eight counties in the this diocese.

We also go out to Youngstown.

Um, similar to what was just shared with legal.

We do primarily the same work, honestly.

I've been doing immigration law for 30 years, but I've only been with Catholic charities for about one year.

Um we do not charge fees for certain types of cases.

We charge very low fees for some.

We primarily focus on many of the same cases as legal aid just discussed.

We talk all the time.

We do civil.

What?

All civil.

All immigration.

We only do immigration.

Okay.

We have a special program for kids in particular, either unaccompanied or our new project, which is sadly growing more rapidly than I would like.

Our children ending up in foster care because their parents are either removed or detained.

Um we also have shift shifted recently to focusing a lot on the needs of refugees because Catholic charities historically resettled refugees.

And now due to some policy issues that I won't get into the weeds with you guys on, but it's become very important for refugees to uh get their green cards, apply for citizenship.

So we're trying to help them as much as we can.

Um I only found out I was doing this on Friday, so I'm not nearly as prepared as them.

Uh really that's our focus is this same population of legal aid, uh victims of domestic violence, children, victims of crime.

We do go to court quite a bit, mainly for asylum seekers, which is becoming very, very challenging lately.

So it's taken a lot more time and resources than it used to.

So we too have a backlog.

We are hoping to reopen taking new cases soon.

Um right now we're doing the same thing, brief advice clinics, so people at least have the correct information.

Because the other thing we're trying to combat right now is there's a lot of uh what I call immigration scams out there, like people that will tell uh clients that if you pay them $10,000, they'll get you everything you want, which is not true and tends to get them in more trouble than anything.

So that's can you on the record just say what you're how people can get in touch with you?

Because I know you have the cards, but I want people that are listening.

So our intake line is 216, 939-3769.

Okay.

Do you want me to hand these in?

And what are the hours that you can call that?

Nine to five, Monday through Friday.

Okay.

We are about to do some clinics out in the Paynesville Youngstown area, which I know is not here, but just so people know.

Oh, sorry.

In Cleveland Heights.

Okay, I would literally have to run a report.

Sorry, I'm still a newbie.

Just wondering if you have active clients in Cleveland Heights.

I would assume so, but I we I don't tend to run reports by like zip codes, I would have to look.

But so one thing we are very interested in doing is uh more brief advice clinics to help people get to uh know what their situation is, what their options are in certain localities.

So if you all have a locality that might want to host something like that, I'd be happy to talk to somebody.

We've been doing them in Akron, we're about to do them in Paintville.

We can do it here too.

Yeah, I'll just say similarly.

We we do have clients that look, but I think, yeah, I don't we don't know like off the top of it.

I can think of think of some off the top of my head.

But if yeah, if anyone needs like those numbers, or we could be happy to uh do that.

Thank you.

Any other questions from me?

Well, thank you both.

Um I mean, all three of you very much, and uh mayor and councilwoman cohn for making this happen.

Really appreciate that.

Um, we're gonna move on to proclamations and honors.

Um, Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

This evening we have a proclamation of recognition and excellence for the Lutheran least, I'm sorry, Lutheran East High School basketball team.

And they are about to join us.

Yeah, we're listening.

What'd you do, coach?

Text them.

It's like come on, guys, get out of here.

Hello.

Good.

Oh, great.

All right.

Congratulations.

Would you like to begin by introducing yourselves?

Sure, absolutely microphone.

Well, sure everybody.

Absolutely.

Okay.

Hi, everybody.

I'm Anthony Jones.

I'm the school's athletic director.

Hi, everybody, I'm Sam Liggs.

I'm the head boys basketball coach.

Oh, I'm Davion Snowden, and uh play for the team.

I'm Devonta Pergus.

I'm Bryce Irby.

I'm John Sanders.

I'm Dylan Ziegler.

Ojo Davis.

Chris Hugh.

Tyron Harrison.

ADN Lip Fort.

Randall Black.

Will Felder assistant coach.

Ty Gator, assistant coach.

Nice.

So again, this is a proclamation of recognition and excellence for the Lutheran East High School basketball team.

Whereas head coach Sam Liggins has demonstrated unwavering leadership, commitment, and excellence over the past eight years, guiding his team with integrity, discipline, and relentless pursuit of success.

And whereas, under Coach Liggins' leadership, the team has achieved an extraordinary record of accomplishment, securing nine consecutive regional championships and 11 consecutive district championships, establishing a legacy of sustained excellence and a competitive dominance.

And whereas the dedication, talent, and hard work of the student athletes have brought distinction and pride to their program and community.

And whereas individual players have earned outstanding honors for their performance during the season, including Division 5 Northeast Player of the Year, Dylan Ziggler, Division 5 Northeast First Team, Dylan Ziggler, Chris Hill, Devontae Perkins, Division 5 Northeast Second Team, Ty Harrison, and Division 5 Northeast third team, Bryce Irby.

Whereas Bryce Erby, a freshman, has demonstrated exceptional skill and promise early in his athletic career, earning well-deserved recognition among the players' top players.

Now, therefore, let it be proclaimed that we proudly recognize and celebrate head coach Sam Liggins and the entire team for their remarkable achievements, dedication, and representation of excellence, both on and off the court.

Be it further proclaimed that this team's achievements serve as inspiration to future generations, exemplifying the values of teamwork, perseverance, and sportsmanship.

And witness, therefore, this proclamation is hereby issued in honor of their continued success and outstanding contributions.

Here, here, would you like for the group to smash a little more separation here, General?

Alumni get in.

Right here.

Hold it, hold it.

All right.

So wait, before you go, before you go, who's the captain of the team?

All right, Chris Hill.

Can you can you give Chris the microphone?

Chris, tell us how how did you do it?

Just well, hard work and just coming in every day and working hard with six players.

Was there ever any doubt?

No doubt, no doubt.

No doubt.

No, but you got you guys knew it was gonna before the season starts.

You know, we knew it's gonna happen.

So what what do you call?

Okay, so I've heard of three, Pete.

What do you call four?

Okay, let's have it.

You don't have a name for that?

I mean that's a great congratulations, guys.

Thank you guys.

Absolutely.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Is there anyone else we'd like to say?

I just want to say thank we want to hear from you.

Thank you guys for having us and uh really um acknowledging this team over the last four years.

This has been very special, and we truly appreciate it.

Thank you.

You are more than welcome to stay, or you can head home.

How are you guys?

Congratulations.

All right.

That's fantastic.

That's uh across the street neighbors.

Who knew, right?

All right, mayor, you're up for uh communications from the mayor.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I'd like to first take a moment to recognize the heartbreaking loss of a student in our community who passed away uh during their athletics practice the other day.

Um we extend our deepest condolences to their family, and I ask that folks join me in a moment of silence.

Thank you.

I'd like to take a few moments to talk about our roads.

Um, we just are not putting enough money into our roads.

And so I'd like to again thank City Council for more than doubling our resurfacing budget for this year from 2.4 million to 5.1 million.

Regarding potholes, I don't need to tell people that it's a serious problem.

We typically have one crew out filling potholes.

Uh we are able to work with the team, and we now have two teams that are out there working full time.

Um, we're happy to add weekend shifts, but the reality is that there aren't many asphalt plants open on the weekend because there usually isn't much demand on Saturdays and Sundays.

So we wondered if we could hire an outside contractor.

We reached out to local 860, which is the union that represents our public works employees, and I'm grateful that they were willing to work with us to find a balanced solution to get the job done.

So beginning on Wednesday, we are going to have a unionized contractor join us.

So we're going to have three crews working full-time for the foreseeable future on filling our potholes.

So I'd like to thank our public works director, Colette Clink Scale, our street supervisor John Becker, and union leadership Joe Gorino and Gary Stewart for coming together and again helping to find a balanced solution so that we can try to address the work that's out there.

Um I'd like to also uh remind folks that there is a screening of Greenprint, a documentary about Cleveland Heights at the Noble Library tomorrow at 6.30 p.m.

at the Noble Library.

And also um in honor of Arbor Day at 9 30 a.m.

on Friday at Cumberland Park.

We are going to have a ceremony.

Um may have noticed that there are some new chairs in the room.

Um we have more chairs on their way.

We wanted to get some samples and make sure that we chose one that was comfortable uh for the audience chairs, and so we've ordered those, and those are on their way as well.

So thank you, Mr.

President.

You're very welcome.

Um we'll move on to uh the city administrators' reports.

Mr.

Michael Reese.

Okay, thank you, President CUDA, Vice President Larson, and Council members.

I have just four things I wanted to um uh report on this evening.

Uh actually, the the first item is from back in February, but you might find it interesting that we we established a regular legislative meeting within the administration uh to talk through legislation and raise questions before items are submitted to the clerk of council in the law department.

And this has been very helpful to us, a real good, real good tool, helpful for the mayor, the finance director, and me, and being proactive on legislation and policy matters.

That's number one.

Number two, uh, we had a meeting last week.

Uh the mayor and staff with Millennium Strategies to discuss how we can maximize grant opportunities going forward.

Uh something we're very focused on.

Uh number three, as the mayor uh just talked about, um we worked with the mayor and director Clink Scale and her staff on efforts to secure a third pothole crew starting on Wednesday.

And finally, uh number four, uh, which will be the longest part of my report.

Um we core I coordinated with public works and the planning and development departments um to move the Hillside Dairy Demolition Project forward, located at the Mayfield Noble Intersection.

Ever since I arrived 10 weeks ago, I've heard from the mayor and council members about the importance of moving forward with this demolition.

I just want to cover the timeline for the project.

And um, these dates are all tentative uh except uh the mayor will be reading um into the record uh uh uh tonight on April 20th, requesting permission to bid the project, um, requesting permission from the council to bid the project, and that includes abatement, demolition, and securing the site.

Um after that, the rest of these dates are tentative, but I want to give you um these tentative dates so you see what the next steps are.

Uh April 23rd and April 30th, we would advertise.

This is all on the assumption of council supporting this uh this effort.

Um May 7th, we will open bids.

Uh following May 7th, we will provide an update to city council on next steps, um which may take additional council action.

Um we think May slash June, um there'll be a budget adjustment needed for project completion, the amount to be determined, and I'm gonna come back to that in just a moment.

Um the month of June, um we would finalize the contract, and then June, July, and August.

Uh the abatement, the demolition and securing the site will occur.

Uh we may be able to start the abatement process as soon as June.

Um, but that can take up to three weeks.

So I think demolition is more likely uh in July and perhaps um that will be rather quick, but June, July, August abatement, demolition and securing the site will uh occur.

Um regarding the need for a budget adjustment for the Hillside Dairy Project.

I think three things three things are important to convey.

One, it is a priority to complete the demolition this summer.

Two, the grant writer from Millennium Strategies came up with the project estimate um a few years ago.

Three, uh we recently engaged Kimley Horn, an engineering firm, who is in the process of completing their design work, which will be the basis of the bids and lead to the final cost of the entire project.

Um the last thing I just want to comment on is uh this was a joint project between planning and development and um public works, and I want to thank both of those departments uh for moving this project forward.

I especially want to thank Director Clingscale and Assistant Director Virginia Carter for their efforts in moving this forward.

So be happy to answer any questions, and that's the conclusion of my report.

Do we have any?

Mr.

Reese, thank you very much.

Thank you.

Mr.

President.

Yes, I apologize.

I forgot to uh request permission to bid Project 2603 Hillside Dairy Public Works Yard Improvements Project.

Thank you.

So moved.

Second.

Any discussion.

I would just like to say I'm so happy to see this project moving forward.

Finally, just there aren't enough words.

So thank you.

Similarly, I just want to thank the this responsiveness because this has been on the tentative agenda for a long time.

And when city administrator restarted, he got right on this.

And I want to thank Mayor Petris for moving this forward.

All right.

Oh, yes, and if I could add, as I mentioned during committee of the whole, we have been working hard to relocate the SALT Dome as well as the other public works projects that are back there.

This remains a priority, and we look forward to moving forward.

I hope we can find that soon.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

That motion passes.

We're on to public comment, but we don't have anything for legislative items.

So we'll read legislation and then do public comment uh for non-legislative items afterwards.

Uh so um, madam uh clerk, uh at least for tonight.

That's my hat right now.

Yeah, there you go.

Um, we'll do for uh two first readings uh for consideration for adoption tonight.

Thank you, President CUDA.

Ordinance number 078 2026, first reading, an ordinance to approve current replacement pages to the Cleveland Heights codified ordinances and declaring necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by councilmember Cobb.

So moved.

Second.

All right.

And do we have uh any discussion?

All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed?

That motion passes.

Next we have resolution number 079-2026, a resolution authorizing participation in the ODOT cooperative purchasing program for road salt for the 2026-2027 winter season, and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

So moved.

Second.

All right, any discussion?

All in favor?

Oh, yes, I'm sorry.

For those who don't watch the committee of the whole, we did have a discussion about how much salt should be ordered since the order has to go in by May 1st.

And I just want to thank Director Klingskale and Mayor Petris for the real thoughtful planning that is going into next year given our experience this year, price, potential price increases, and the overall plan for snow removal that you've been working on for a number of months.

So thank you very much.

I'm I'm very optimistic about next season and seeing how we can continue to improve the processes.

All right, appreciate that.

Any other discussion?

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

That motion passes.

Uh we're on the first readings only now.

Resolution number 081-2026, a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with American builders and applicators, a certified lead abatement contractor for the use of home investment partnership funds, community development block grant, CDBG funds, and American Rescue Plan Act, ARPA funds in connection with the housing rehabilitation deferred loan program at permanent parcel number 682-34-010, providing compensation therefore and declaring the necessity of this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

Ordinance number 082-2026, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a lease agreement with Max Bax Bookstore Inc.

for the lease of 1807 Coventry Road and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

Resolution number 083-2026.

A resolution determining that support of the 2026 Heights Excuse me, Heights Music Hop is in furtherance of a proper public purpose authorizing a contribution of $7,500 to future Heights Inc.

in support of the 2026 Heights Music Hop and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Council President CUDA.

Resolution number 084-2026, a resolution determining that support of the 2026 Heights Tiger 5K and Fund Run is in furtherance of a proper public purpose authorizing a contribution of $2,500 to the CHUH school district PTA in support of the 2026 Heights Tiger 5K and Fund Run introduced by Councilmember DeWitt Foy.

All right, and now on to second readings.

There's two we'll be voting on those.

Resolution number 074-2026, a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Farnham Equipment Company for the purchase and installation of new ADA compliant bleachers for the Forest Hill Baseball Complex and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

So moved.

Second.

All right.

Any discussion?

All right.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

That motion passes.

Resolution number 075-2026.

A resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with KWK LLC, doing business as deluxe outdoor services in order to furnish the labor, materials, equipment, and associated landscaping services necessary for the 2026 facilities landscape and gardening services, and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

So moved.

Second.

All right.

Any discussion?

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

That motion passes.

We're under the consent agenda, which is quite lengthy.

So Mr.

President, I'd like to move to suspend the roles.

Do we need to do that now?

Or okay.

Then let's do it now.

All right.

Do we have a second?

Second.

All right.

Um discussion on that.

All in favor of suspending the rules?

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

The rules are suspended.

Resolution number 085-2026.

A resolution proclaiming May 26th to be Mary Dunbar Bike Month.

Okay.

City of Cleveland Heights.

And declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

Resolution number 086-2026.

A resolution recognizing May 3rd to May 9th, 2026 to be professional municipal clerks week, and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure, introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

Resolution number 087-2026.

Resolution recognizing May 4th through 8th, 2026 as air quality awareness week, and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure, introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

Resolution number 088-2026.

A resolution recognizing May 2026 as National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

Resolution number 089-2026.

A resolution recognizing May 2026 to be mental health awareness month, and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure, introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

Resolution number 090-2026.

A resolution proclaiming May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Month, and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

Resolution number 091-2026.

A resolution proclaiming May 2026 to be military appreciation month in the city of Cleveland Heights and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

Resolution number 092-2026.

Resolution declaring May 2026 National Preservation Month and declaring the necessity that this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

And lastly, resolution number 093-2026, a resolution recognizing April 28th, 2026 as National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day, and then declaring the necessity of this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by all city council members and Mayor Petris.

Well done.

And you don't even have any water.

I'm going to need some though.

All right.

So do I have a motion on this?

Uh second.

All right.

Very good.

Any discussion?

All right.

Um all in favor of all of these resolutions.

Aye.

All right.

Any opposed?

All right.

That motion passes.

So now we're on to committee reports.

Would like to go first.

All right.

Vice President.

Thank you.

The next meeting of the Municipal Services and Environmental Sustainability Committee is Monday, May 11th at 7 p.m.

Climate and Environmental Sustainability Citizens Committee meets tomorrow, April 21st at 4 p.m.

The Transportational Mobility Committee meeting will be scheduled shortly.

I'm expecting there will be one in April.

And then the city is holding its annual Arbor Day tree planning as Mayor Petrus announced on Friday, April 24th at 9 30 a.m.

at Cumberland Park.

Cleveland Heights has partnered this year, and I'm happy to hear this and see it with the Heights Tree People and CHUH to celebrate the Arbor Day Foundation's 50th anniversary.

So thank you for partnering with those people.

That's it.

All right.

Planning and development committee meeting remains scheduled for April 28th at 5 30 p.m.

Um we will be discussing landmark uh potential changes to landmark commission's uh codifying ordinance and we have a few other uh agenda items in process.

I did want to let the public know we had initially planned for another um planning and development committee meeting specifically on ADUs for May 5th.

Unfortunately, we have to um we did not realize, well, we knew, but we didn't connect it that that's election day, and then we are still in the process of looking for another day in May.

So stay tuned.

We'll be sharing that um meeting information as soon as we can nail down a new date and time.

Thank you.

Very good.

Councilman Posh.

We'll be having a finance committee meeting and public safety and health committee meetings on Monday, May 27th.

We're a little unsure of the time frames because we tried to we're trying to honor staff so they could do those meetings earlier.

But we do believe that the um finance committee meeting will be at five, the public safety meeting will be at six, and the administrative services meeting will be at seven, but that's still to be confirmed.

Very good.

Councilwoman Stone.

I just want to say that the upcoming uh housing and building committee meeting will be held on uh Wednesday, excuse me, on Monday, uh May 11th, uh, to continue our discussion on short-term rentals and our housing and building code study.

All right.

That's it.

I don't have anything.

Okay.

All right.

So we're gonna move on to uh public comment for non-agenda items.

Uh let me see.

Um, you know, I'm sorry to have to say this, but I have to talk about civility because we had 28 people here, I think, speaking the last time, and it was good for like 95% of the time.

And then we got uh, you know, one person who got up and said, evidently was somebody that the maybe some of the speakers didn't want to hear, and it got loud and I think ridiculous in my view.

Please, please.

You know, I I love that everybody comes up, and I certainly want to hear from people.

I mean, we all do, but um keep uh keep the civility and uh in mind.

Uh so uh how many speakers?

Four.

Four.

So you get three minutes.

Um say your name, the street you live on.

Go ahead, madam clerk.

Gail Bromley.

Thank you.

Gail Bromley, Coventry Road, um President Kuda, Vice President Larson, Mayor, Council members.

I'm here again to express deep concern about the Shaker Lakes issues, and I'm not alone.

Um more than 500 people signed the petition to request a pause just in this last week.

And that is before we a number of us learned through the uh sewer district board meeting that's held mid day on Thursday that 2,000 trees will now be cut down.

And it was pretty shocking.

Uh I couldn't find the minutes, but the people who are present were pretty shocked about this.

Um, I think what the public is hoping for is some reasonable discussion about the facts, short and long-term plans, the expenses, um, and going forward, how we can work together.

Uh I also want to thank those of you who have met with us.

Uh the dialogue is very important.

Those of you who we haven't been able to meet with, we look forward to having a dialogue and hearing what your perceptions are and how we can go forward in a civil manner, certainly.

So thank you.

Yeah.

Jason Smith.

Uh Jason Smith, 350 Northway Road, Cedar Taylor District.

Um, dear council members, I am writing to express my strong opposition to ordinance 752022, which is stated as a prohibition against so-called conversion therapy.

This ordinance is not a protection of gay, transgender youth, but instead is actually an attack on the Christian community and the powerful use of prayer to bring healing to hurting people seeking rescue from oppressive physical and mental situations.

This ordinance criminal criminalizes the religious care counseling and practice that is provided by those in the Christian faith community.

The points of opposition are as follows.

Conversion therapy as outlined on the human rights campaign website is an effort or practice that targets LGBTQ youth and seeks to change their sexual orientation.

This includes, as stated on the website, religious prayer and other religious efforts which attempt to change sexual orientation that is deemed unchangeable, actually calling prayer a dangerous activity for youth.

Point two, there is no conclusive or definitive evidence that sexual orientation is ingrained at birth, is genetically determined and therefore can't be changed.

This is a lie and a deception.

Point three, there are testimonies that people do and have changed their sexual orientation, even reversing sex change surgeries.

Point four, conversion therapy, which includes religious prayer, is deceptive deceptively cited as posing critical health risks to the LGBT youth, including confusion, depression, suicidal thoughts, high-risk sexual behaviors, and drug use, to name a few, when in fact there's evidence that the LGBTQ lifestyle itself is inherently associated with these critical health risks.

There's no evidence of so-called conversion therapy having an impact on the LGBT BTQ youth community in Cleveland Heights, which required emergency legislation.

In fact, Cleveland Heights as a city is and has been a haven for the LGBTQ community and is considered one of the most gay affirming cities in the county.

Point seven, this legislation was sponsored by the previous mayor who was removed from office for creating a toxic environment and for improper behavior, along with a formal councilman who was not re-elected by the citizens of Cleveland Heights.

Cleveland Heights is called a place where all are welcome in order to move forward as a community.

This divisive legislation needs to be rescinded, and I encourage the council to immediately take action and repeal that ordinance.

And I've given each of you a hard copy, and I will email you a um a digital copy by Wednesday and over the next three weeks or so.

Um I'd like to sit down with each of you personally and just hear your questions, your comments, and um dialogue about that, but to work through this process.

Thank you.

Finally, Edgar Mitchell.

Well, definitely not least.

Yeah, I'd like to say good evening to director of law, the mayor.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, I missed one person, so we'll take Edgar now.

No, no.

You're at the mic.

Go ahead.

Okay.

It's my mistake.

Once again, good evening to the council, council president, and all of council members, mayor, and all of us.

I always come in peace.

So I came to uh really I came to uh I would be remiss last time I was up.

I forgot to mention all the help I got from Cleveland Heights Home Repair Resource Center.

And I like to, you know, thank Ms.

Ostrom for what she did and also uh lose my mind as I get old.

But Mr.

Walker, too.

They put in a lot of effort to help uh, you know, me get the stuff done that's going on on the Neal of Hue to have you know that all taken care of.

So I want to make sure I thank everyone for that counsel, not leaving you out because without all of you guys, none of this would happen.

Pretty much that's what I came to say.

I I had came with a broken heart, but the mayor spoke about it about the young man that passed away this past week at Heights because my grandmy great-grandson is in class with him.

My daughter is like a teacher's aide that teaches him.

So I got it firsthand when it happened.

So uh we just have to make sure we appreciate what we have and the life that we have because it's not guaranteed to any of us.

So I won't preach a sermon, but thank you.

Have a good night.

Thank you, Mr.

Mitchell.

Now, Christopher Wooden, I apologize.

My name is Christopher Wood.

I live on Edge Hill Road.

The city's Blanche Avenue fact sheet says that the privately owned vacant lots are paying minimal taxes because they are inaccessible.

And that Hebrew Academy's lots are tax exempt.

But from 1996 to the year 2000, the value of one of these lots increased yearly from 15,000 to 20,000.

Then in 2001, the value changed abruptly to 1,000 and is still valued at 1,000 today.

What cataclysmic event occurred to justify such a downward revision?

Then in 2011, FES LLC purchased 34 of these inaccessible lots for $2,155,000.

What made them worth so much money then?

Four years later, Hebrew Academy showed that they were worth even more, paying $4 million for 33 lots.

In real estate, the sales price is generally considered the best expression of true value.

In this case, these lots are now worth about 100,000 a piece.

But the county auditor has maintained that one $1,000 valuation.

Why?

During this same period, the value of my house has increased 120%.

The city asserts that Hebrew Academy does not pay taxes because it is it is a tax exempt entity.

This is simply not true.

Ohio state law is clear on the issue of tax exemptions.

They are based on use and not on ownership.

Those lots have not been used for an educational purpose since their purchase in 2015.

In fact, as Hebrew Academy well knows, those lots are zoned single family only.

Any other use would require a zoning change.

Accepting a tax exemption under these circumstances is completely unethical, as is the designation by the county auditor.

The city and the school board have been derelict in not going after the taxes that are owed based on the actual value of these properties, which by my calculation could be over a million dollars.

Hebrew Academy now plans to cash in on this on the sale of expensive homes whose owners won't pay their full taxes for 15 years.

In a final indignity, the taxes on nearby residents will increase because of the value of the new homes.

This is a project which will benefit a few at the expense of the many.

Okay, very good.

All right.

Thank you to all our speakers.

Uh we do appreciate you showing up and sharing your views with us.

Uh we got old business.

Do we have old business?

Do we have any new business?

Do we have any council member comments?

Yes.

Uh I'll tell you what.

Let's vice president goes first too often.

So go ahead.

Just a quick run from me, but I wanted to thank the uh mayor and the director of the Parks and Rec department for making progress on a long-standing request to provide additional access to Denison Field.

Um, the the turf at Denison Field uh will now be open for open turf hours on weekdays from three to five and Sunday mornings from eight to eleven.

These are times that the field is not typically in use for another purpose.

And uh the director of Parks and Rec was able to make it available.

Um show up, you don't have to make any reservation, there's no fee.

Just come show up, bring a ball.

Have fun.

Um so thanks for making that happen.

Uh it had been a longstanding request of the community of the Parks and Rec advisory board, and I just appreciate the action on that.

All right, thank you, Councilman.

Any other uh council member comments, Vice President?

Thank you.

Sure.

Ranked Choice Voting Ohio will be holding a town hall at 7 p.m.

Excuse me, at 6 p.m.

at the Lee Road Library this Wednesday.

Please consider attending to if you've got any questions answered or you just want to hear about ranked choice voting.

Then on April 29th, City Council will be holding a public hearing on ranked choice voting at 6 p.m.

here in council chambers.

Council wants to hear the thoughts of our residents on placing ranked choice voting on the November 2026 ballot.

And then one additional event on May 20th.

There will be a meeting of residents to be introduced to the culverse management that is building a culverse restaurant on the property formerly known as the Mayfield Theater in the Noble Triangle.

The meeting starts at 7:30 and will be held at the community center.

That's all.

Thank you, Minimist President and temporary clerk.

Anyone else?

Then we'll go on to the council president's report.

We actually were here for five hours yesterday in the little room.

And I think I don't know.

Did we have fun?

I mean, I I I mean I it was uh kind of a combination of fun and and just you know, really digging into hard work.

It was kind of a workshop.

We we talked about um uh the role of council, you know, just to make sure we're all on the same page with that.

We talked about um put my glasses on.

We we we shared our personal visions with each other.

We actually had the mayor in and talked about his agenda, like what we thought it was, and then he kind of enhanced some of the things we were talking about.

And then we spent a good deal of time discussing our individual legislative goals for 2026 and beyond and kind of organize them.

I want to thank um Councilman Posh, uh, who kind of designed this and pushed to make sure that it happened, and um our council clerk Addy for you know bringing the food and um taking good care of us and taking notes.

Um when we got to council rules and procedures, we didn't get as far as we hoped we would get.

So we're going to reconvene on the 28th of this month after the after the planning and development meeting.

And we're just kind of finished off.

We had one more item, which was uh kind of our council rules procedures and practices.

So we'll be doing that.

I just want to tell everybody here that I enjoy being with you.

I enjoy your company, I enjoy our discussions, I enjoy making progress.

Um and mayor, um I enjoy our Tuesday get togethers, which is tomorrow morning.

So the vice pres council vice president and I will see you at 10 o'clock in the morning.

This meeting is adjourned at 8 38.