OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Cleveland Heights City Council Special Meeting – June 26, 2026

City Council MeetingsFriday, June 26, 2026
BodyCleveland Heights, Ohio
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateFriday, June 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Welcome to the special uh city council meeting, Cleveland Heights City Council meeting.

0:15

It is Friday June 26th at 1133.

0:19

Addie, would you please call the roll?

0:21

Cobb.

0:23

Larson here.

0:25

Posh.

0:25

Here.

0:26

Cohen.

0:28

Here.

0:28

Cuda.

0:30

Here.

0:30

Stone.

0:32

Here.

0:32

DeWit Foy.

0:34

And I know he is joining.

0:36

He's just having some technical difficulties.

0:39

All right.

0:39

So we're here just for legislative purposes today.

0:44

Um, and uh there are several pieces of legislation.

0:48

Um, Addie, would you please read the first two that are for adoption this morning?

0:54

I have resolution number one two nine-2026 on first reading.

0:58

A resolution approving the mayor's appointment of Christina Halstead as director of human resources, commencing upon her confirmation and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

1:10

So moved.

1:11

Second.

1:12

All right.

1:13

Any discussion?

1:15

Please.

1:16

I would like to say that I'm after the interview that we did with Christina and the mayor was there as well.

1:23

Um she will be a great addition to our staff, and I'm looking forward to having an HR director.

1:32

That's all I'm saying.

1:33

All right.

1:34

Thank you.

1:35

Councilman Posh.

1:36

I I just want to echo what Council uh woman Larson mentioned.

1:40

Uh I mean, the interview was fantastic, and I felt very, very comfortable with your choice.

1:46

Um it seems like you found a really great one.

1:50

A lot of people that you know submitted.

1:52

Uh but this one seems like it's great.

1:54

And I love the fact she's moving up to um northeastern Ohio.

1:59

So I'm thrilled.

2:00

Thanks for bringing such a good candidate to us.

2:04

All right.

2:04

Who else would like to speak?

2:07

I don't have to see.

2:08

Anyone online?

2:09

I'm sorry, Zoom, I mean.

2:11

Go ahead.

2:11

Uh Councilwoman McConn.

2:13

Yes, I'm similarly very excited to have her join the staff.

2:19

I think this has been a priority not just for the administration, but for council as well, to ensure we have accountability and we have uh well-running staff with uh improved culture at our city.

2:34

So I'm I'm very excited about this, and I I think this is the start of some really wonderful um wonderful process and a lot of progress on this front.

2:43

So thank you so much to the mayor and the administration for getting us such a great candidate.

2:47

Thank you, Councilwoman.

2:49

Any other remarks?

2:51

I'll just say um this I think this is a giant step forward for our city.

2:57

Uh the amendment that uh passed in the charter last November, these are the kind of things where council really does help make a difference in adding this department and now having the administration uh follow through on uh the hire is great.

3:13

I uh know that uh Ms.

3:17

Halstead has a lot of challenges ahead of her, you know, starting up a new department and um getting acclimated to an a new city because she is moving here from Columbus, and I'm confident she'll come to love Cleveland Heights as much as we do.

3:33

And with that, uh we'll uh vote.

3:37

Uh all in favor?

3:38

Aye.

3:39

Aye any opposed?

3:41

Aye.

3:41

All right, thank you.

3:42

That motion passes.

3:44

Next, I have ordinance number one three zero-2026 on first reading.

3:49

An ordinance authorizing a contract with act actors equity association to provide for the employment of its members in Kane Park Productions and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

4:04

All right.

4:05

So moved.

4:06

We have a second and a second.

4:08

Any discussion?

4:10

Yes, please.

4:11

Oh, question, Mayor Petrus.

4:14

Um, is there a global amount of funding that the actors equity you expect to pay out for this summer for this season?

4:25

Um there are any guidelines on how much people can be compensated, that sort of thing.

4:36

Um I'm sorry, can you speak into a microphone?

4:38

Any microphone.

4:39

Sorry, Chris.

4:41

He's young yet.

4:44

Yeah, they uh thank you.

4:45

My uh I believe it is right now just the one production um that's gonna cover this part of the theater season, and it is if memory serves three different members uh at the rates that were set forth in the terms letter.

5:04

And so I don't know the exact amount that was budgeted, but the amount would have been budgeted at the uh during the last appropriation cycle.

5:13

From Kane Park.

5:14

Yeah.

5:15

All right.

5:15

Thank you.

5:18

Yeah, understood.

5:19

I just think you know, even though this was part of the budget, it's just always good to include that amount because I didn't see it in the um in the legislation itself.

5:28

Now, what is the advantage?

5:30

I mean, anybody could answer this that would know.

5:33

What's the advantage to using acrobatics?

5:37

So sorry.

5:38

I can I can answer this as an equity actor's equity member.

5:42

Well, I didn't finish the question yet, but sorry.

5:46

Yeah, I uh uh just so I have the question out.

5:49

Uh if anybody's listening, they just want them to know at least what the question is.

5:54

Um the uh actor's equity as opposed to just doing hiring, you know, for freelance and so forth.

6:02

Go ahead.

6:03

Uh just to say that actors equity is the um national and international union of actors and stage managers.

6:11

Um it is uh a mark of professionalism to uh be a member of the union.

6:17

Um it requires having been hired by a union house.

6:21

Um and uh it's uh um uh it also um it sets a sort of set of set of labor standards uh for the uh work rules and salaries for uh to recognize the professional and some of the employees.

6:36

That's not to say that non-equity uh actors are not wonderful actors, and they are, and we use them, you know, in in many productions, but uh it gives you access to a very large talent pool.

6:48

Well, thank you.

6:49

Um other comments, questions?

6:53

All right, all in favor?

6:55

I any opposed?

6:57

That motion passes.

6:59

And then we're gonna go on to uh first readings only I have resolution number one three one-2026 on first reading.

7:09

A resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a professional services agreement with DS Architecture LLC for engineering and design services for the Cumberland Pool Facility Modernization and Rehabilitation Project and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure.

7:24

Introduced by Mayor Petris.

7:27

Mr.

7:28

President.

7:28

Yes.

7:29

Would you like for me to provide some context to this piece of legislation, even though you're not voting today?

7:34

Yeah, I I would because you know this sets in motion, you know, a couple years worth of work here.

7:40

So I think it would be good to hear from you.

7:42

Thank you.

7:44

So we um put out an RFP for an owner's rep, as council knows.

7:49

We selected RFC consulting for that project.

7:53

And we also put out an RFP for a designer and engineer uh for the project.

7:59

And so we received 12 proposals.

8:02

We were very happy with that.

8:03

Each company had to put together a team because there are a lot of components to this.

8:08

So they needed cost estimators.

8:10

They needed surveyors and geotechnical engineers.

8:13

They need pool designers, civic, civic, I'm sorry, civil, mechanical, structural engineers, architects with historical preservation experience, um, engineers with environmental experience to deal with asbestos in the building, uh, community engagement team, landscape architects, the list goes on.

8:34

Those proposals roughly ranged from 700,000 to 2.3 million.

8:39

And there were some very good proposals and some very good teams.

8:44

Um we interviewed five of the 12, and we ultimately selected DS architects.

8:50

And DS architects uh put together a premier team for this project.

8:55

Uh they themselves are going to lead the historic uh preservation um and adaptive reuse of the bathhouse.

9:02

Osborne Engineering is one of the country's oldest engineering firms and happens to be located here in Cleveland.

9:10

Uh they are going to handle the civil mechanical structural geotechnical engineering.

9:17

Councilman Hunseker is the premier pool designer in the entire country.

9:22

They are going to handle the design of the pool itself.

9:26

SWA Group is a leading landscape architect.

9:30

They happen to design um uh uh public square downtown.

9:36

Um and Seventh Hill is an organization that we've worked with before and will be leading the community engagement.

9:42

So all of these services were initially proposed for $997,000.

9:48

And uh DS Architects was willing to reduce the price by nearly 10% to 913,000.

9:56

Um I feel that this is a very good value for uh the experience that all these groups bring to the table.

10:03

And again, the proposals range from roughly 700,000 to 2.3 million.

10:08

So we feel that this was you know a good um value for what we're getting.

10:13

In the bathhouse um renovation, that's so the design of that will be led by DS Architects.

10:20

Okay.

10:22

And I saw something about trying to preserve the historical nature and so forth.

10:26

Yes, so that's actually a requirement.

10:29

Uh so the Cumberland Task Force had an overview from the landmark commission about um about the federal government standards for historic preservation.

10:39

And so all the work that's going to be done in there to modernize the facility will be done according to those guidelines.

10:46

Any questions, comments?

10:49

Go ahead.

10:50

Uh Councilwoman Cohen.

10:52

And and I apologize if I missed something.

10:55

I know getting ready for this meeting, there was a lot of documentation and things sent to us at different times.

11:01

But did we get the full proposal or do we did we just get the memo from the mayor's office?

11:08

We uh the mayor's office emailed out the proposal.

11:11

So was that the attachment?

11:13

Uh yes, there was attachment or PDF uh with the full proposal and then the um negotiated uh discount.

11:21

Okay.

11:22

Well, we'll and we'll have time.

11:23

This is and for clarification, are we voting on this?

11:26

No, it's first reading only.

11:27

Yes, this is just first reading only, and happy to provide another over.

11:31

So you're asking if we're voting on it on July 6th.

11:34

I think so.

11:36

Yes.

11:36

Yes.

11:37

Okay.

11:38

So we have some a little bit of time to review everything.

11:40

Thank you.

11:41

So um this is one of two pieces of legislation for this component of the project.

11:47

Overall, there are four pieces of legislation.

11:50

One authorizing and directing the mayor to a contract with the owner's rep, one creating an appropriation for the owner's rep, one authorizing and directing us to enter into a contract with DS architects, and then a fourth creating an appropriation for that.

12:07

All right, very good.

12:10

Um, I'm sorry, go ahead, Councilman Posh.

12:16

So just going through this proposal, the main pool designers, Councilman Hunsinker, and they are I mean, I just want to echo what you said.

12:24

They are the premier pool designer in the United States.

12:28

I mean, many college universities, I mean, my my my kids are swimmers and divers, and yeah, when you go into one of their pools, it is noticeably different.

12:38

It is impressive.

12:39

And when you start going through this proposal and you see, I assume their AI generated images of our bathhouse with just you know, certainly not finished products, but just ideas of what Cumberland could look like.

12:56

Um while maintaining the historical integrity of the building, while maintaining the lap lanes, uh this is just really incredible.

13:05

And if I could, Councilman Hunsaker has designed many, many, many pools across the country.

13:11

And one of the most important things that they bring to the table is their experience with the Ohio Department of Health.

13:17

A number of years ago, there was someone who had their hair caught in a pump of a pool in Ohio.

13:25

And that led to stricter standards being passed.

13:29

And so compared to other states, it's very challenging getting permits uh for a new pool in Ohio.

13:37

And so Councilman Hunsaker is currently working on a number of pools across Ohio, and they have very good relationships with the Department of Health.

13:46

So they can hit the ground running.

13:49

They are on a first name basis with many of the people in that office.

13:53

And so that I think will really reduce risk for this project, having that existing relationship.

14:00

Madam Vice President.

14:01

Um will we see included in the professional um services agreement, the timelines for the scope of this project for the design?

14:12

So our goal has always been for construction to start in August of 2027 and for the updated facility to open June of 2028.

14:23

So everyone who submitted a proposal for uh to be the owner's rep or designer slash engineer was aware of that.

14:31

And um both of these groups, the owner's rep and designer slash engineer, um, are aware of that timeline and feel confident that we can fulfill it.

14:40

Thank you.

14:42

All right.

14:43

Any other questions or comments?

14:45

All right, uh, Annie, go ahead.

15:00

I have ordinance number 132-2026 on first reading, an ordinance to amend certain subparagraphs of ordinance number 241-2025 and subsequent amending ordinances relating to appropriations and other expenditures of the city of Cleveland Heights, Ohio for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2026, and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

15:12

Let me just interject here.

15:14

Do we have an exhibit for this?

15:16

It should be in.

15:18

Is it not in there?

15:20

No, not in the apologies.

15:21

I do have one.

15:22

It's for the design firm, so I will add it.

15:25

Thank you.

15:27

Next, I have resolution number one three three-2026 on first reading.

15:32

A resolution appointing an assessment equalization board to hear objections relative to the estimated assessments for a portion of the expense of street lighting within the city of Cleveland Heights, and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

15:47

And I have resolution number 134-2026 on first reading.

15:51

A resolution appointing an assessment equalization board to hear objections relative to the estimated assessments for a portion of the expense of improvement of streets and parkways, including grading, draining, curbing, paving, repaving, repairing, sweeping, or cleaning thereof, removing snow therefrom, and planting, maintaining, and removing shade trees thereon within the city of Cleveland Heights, and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

16:18

Question?

16:18

Yes, go ahead, please.

16:20

Um, we are doing this as a just in case, correct?

16:23

In case there are issues where people file an objection.

16:27

Correct.

16:28

Particularly taking into account the recess period.

16:31

And if we were to try to wait until we find out if there are any objections filed and then reconvene council, this uh makes that easier and smoother.

16:40

Sure.

16:42

All right.

16:44

Uh second readings.

16:45

President.

16:46

Go ahead.

16:47

Mr.

16:47

President.

16:48

Oh, I'm sorry.

16:48

Yes.

16:49

Sorry.

16:50

Yeah.

16:50

Just could we have either the law department or the mayor give us some more information on like is this statutorily required?

16:59

Is this a city initiative?

17:02

And then who is this gonna be an application process or is that just give us a little bit more context on this so we can figure out if we need more information before we vote.

17:14

Sure.

17:14

Um, so we can, and I think the idea is that these would be voted on on the sixth as well.

17:20

So we can provide some additional information, but it is required by statute uh under Chapter 727, which is the statute that or the chapter that governs uh assessments, special assessments, and in this particular case, because the assessments involved are citywide, the members need to be um folks who are not residents of the city, but are residents of Cuyahoga County.

17:43

And so to typically historically what Cleveland Heights has done and what other communities do for this type of assessment is to turn to their finance director and have them lean on some of their finance director friends in the county um to be uh you know members if uh the need arises.

18:02

So that that would be our expectation.

18:04

Um this is is this this might be the only board where we don't have uh residents sitting on it?

18:10

That's very interesting.

18:11

Thank you.

18:12

I appreciate that.

18:13

Uh no residents, right.

18:15

There are some that you may have a non-resident, but yeah, this is unusual.

18:19

All right, thanks for that question.

18:21

And before you do second readings, Eddie, I I would just say to all of council, we have this meeting on July 6th, and we'll have some of this legislation on it.

18:31

Uh and then you know, we'll have legislation that we're seeing for the first time.

18:37

If if council, and I'm not recommending this, I'm just saying I would not frown on anybody saying on July 6th, hey, I I'm not ready.

18:48

We could do it on July 13th.

18:50

I mean, we do have that flexibility.

18:51

I would frown on anything beyond July 13th, just because we you know predetermined that as uh uh our vacation, but if um we needed to add to the committee of the whole a special meeting to do a second or third reading on some legislation that comes before us on July 6th, we do have that flexibility.

19:16

All right, second readings.

19:18

I have resolution number 127-2026 on second reading.

19:22

A resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a professional services agreement with RFC contracting LLC for owners representative services for the Cumberland Pool Facility Modernization and Rehabilitation Project and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

19:40

All right, do we have a motion?

19:41

So moved.

19:43

All right.

19:43

Second.

19:44

And we have two seconds.

19:45

Third.

19:46

Um discussion.

19:51

Oh, yes, please.

19:52

Thank you, Mr.

19:52

President.

19:53

So uh just to remind everyone, we put out an RFC for this, and we received a number of responses.

20:00

I think that it was six um seven.

20:02

We ultimately interviewed uh three, and we selected RFC contracting.

20:07

They have an outstanding record.

20:09

Shaker Heights Library hired them to lead the recent renovation that they had.

20:15

Wonderful feedback from them.

20:16

The city of Strongsville has repeatedly hired them, and the City of University Heights just hired them to lead uh the building of their new public safety facility.

20:26

This contract is for 132,000 over the life of the project.

20:31

And uh I believe that I mentioned this before, but this along with the design and engineering portion that we talked about earlier, we fully expect all of that to fit within the budget for this year.

20:42

So we will not be dipping into our savings for this.

20:46

Thank you, Mayor.

20:48

All right.

20:49

All in favor?

20:51

Aye.

20:51

Aye.

20:52

Any opposed?

20:53

That motion passes.

20:55

Next, I have resolution number one two eight-2026 on second reading.

21:00

A resolution appointing Helen Hertz, Linda Strieski, Corey Clark, India Birdsong Carey, and William Fidel as members of the municipal property development and disposition committee of the city of Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

21:11

Introduce Mayor Petris and all city council members.

21:14

So moved.

21:15

Second.

21:17

All right.

21:17

Any comments, questions?

21:19

I I would just say, you know, having worked with this team for over a year, they're really good people, and I'm glad they still have a role with the city, I think.

21:28

In this advisory role, they can be uh very helpful.

21:32

Uh anything else?

21:34

All in favor?

21:35

Aye.

21:36

Aye.

21:36

Any opposed?

21:37

All right, that motion passes.

21:40

Next, I have resolution number one two-one-2026 on second reading.

21:45

A resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a community cost share agreement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and declaring the necessity, this legislation should become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

21:58

So moved.

22:00

Second.

22:03

Uh, can I ask the law director?

22:05

This is repl a replacement piece of legislation, correct?

22:10

Or what was replaced in the third readings or the replacements.

22:19

Okay, thank you.

22:20

Just wanted to make sure.

22:23

All right.

22:23

Um all in favor?

22:25

Aye.

22:26

Aye.

22:26

Aye.

22:27

Aye.

22:27

Any opposed?

22:28

That motion passes.

22:30

Next, I have resolution number one two-2026 on second reading.

22:34

A resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with A and H equipment for the acquisition of a Pelican three-wheel mechanical street sweeper for the streets division of the Department of Public Works, and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petras.

22:49

So moved.

22:50

Second.

22:53

All right.

22:53

Any discussion?

22:56

All in favor?

22:58

Aye.

22:58

Aye.

22:59

Any opposed?

23:01

That motion passes.

23:02

Uh Eddie, third readings, please.

23:04

I have ordinance number one two zero-2026 on third reading.

23:08

An ordinance amending uh an ordinance to amend certain sub-paragraphs of ordinance number two forty-one-2025 and subsequent amending ordinances relating to appropriations and other expenditures of the City of Cleveland Heights, Ohio for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2026, and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure, introduced by Mayor Petris.

23:31

Yes.

23:32

Would like to remind our my council colleagues that this particular ordinance 120-2026 is the original ordinance that includes funding, the transfer that's required for budget adjustment for both the street sweeper that we just approved and the money, the 300,000 for the owner's rep legislation that we've just approved as well.

23:56

So this is funding those particular items, and I'm happy to support it.

24:02

All right.

24:02

First, we need a motion, though.

24:05

So moved.

24:06

Second.

24:06

Second.

24:07

Very good.

24:08

Any more discussion?

24:08

Go ahead, Mayor.

24:10

I'm sorry for forgetting that our finance director, Mr.

24:13

Joe Birdzinski is here.

24:14

And so if council happens to have any questions, he is more than happy to answer them.

24:19

All right.

24:22

Mr.

24:22

President.

24:23

Hold on one second.

24:24

Go ahead.

24:24

I I think the only thing that I think that needs to be said is that the owner's rep contract is much lower than what we're appropriating monies for.

24:34

But I mean, I think that gives us some wiggle room if there's additional work that the owner's rep needs to do, which I think is unknown at this point.

24:44

Um but I mean we'll see what happens.

24:47

But I don't expect you to be spending all that money.

24:50

Right.

24:51

We do not expect to spend all of that.

24:53

There were some additional services that we learned that they offered.

25:00

So for example, Concord Township paid RFC construction to have someone on site every day.

25:04

And uh that was a service that was not in our proposal, but something that we could certainly consider.

25:10

And so during the contract negotiations, we would decide what we ultimately want, and we may have to come back to council.

25:18

But the original proposals that we received varied a lot.

25:22

Um some of them went up to 650,000.

25:24

And so we think that the 132 was very good value.

25:28

And if there is anything more that the director would like to say, he's welcome to come up.

25:33

Yeah, please go ahead.

25:35

I'm a bit confused because we have two pieces of legislation that we've already approved.

25:39

The 127 for the RFC contracting and 131 LLC.

25:44

Um both are for the same dollar amount, right?

25:52

So the 132.

25:55

Yeah, so if you can look at that for me, Mayor, I appreciate what's 132.

26:00

So 127 is authorizing and directing us to enter into a contract with RFC.

26:07

And then 120 is making the appropriation to pay for the contract.

26:12

Okay, 127 is directing us to enter into.

26:16

And then 131 requires funding in the US.

26:20

131 is requ uh directing us to enter into a contract with uh DS architecture.

26:30

Which requires funding as well, right?

26:32

Yes, and the funding for that would be appropriated in 132.

26:39

Okay.

26:40

All right.

26:42

Thank you.

26:43

All right.

26:44

Anything else as far as discussion goes?

26:47

Yes, councilwoman collin.

26:48

I just I'm I'm glad Director Brzezinski is there.

26:51

I want to thank the administration for dealing with our questions and um being okay with us going back and forth on this a bit on the street sweeper and the the contracts.

27:01

It was very much appreciated.

27:02

So thank you.

27:04

Thank you, councilwoman.

27:05

Any other questions or comments?

27:07

All right.

27:08

All in favor?

27:09

I any opposed that motion passes.

27:14

Next, I have ordinance number one two five-2026 on third reading, a resolution establishing a municipal property development and disposition committee and prescribing its composition, purpose, powers, duties, and procedures, and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris.

27:34

Do we have a motion?

27:36

All right.

27:36

Do we have a second?

27:38

Second.

27:39

All right.

27:40

Any discussion?

27:41

Uh I just want to note that clause two and clause six were the ones added to this legislation.

27:53

Mr.

27:53

President, if I might clause uh section two is uh was present, um, but uh was modified since the last version to reflect uh the appointment of two members directly by the mayor and three by council, and then to address um vacancy filling if if there were a vacancy and and and that the person who makes the appointment would fill the vacancy in uh in the event of a departure of one of those appointees.

28:22

And claw and section six is the language that was discussed briefly um on it was just Monday night, um having to do with uh notification to council and and sort of how that whole process plays out.

28:38

Uh but that has not changed further since since the one that was distributed Monday evening.

28:44

All right, very good.

28:45

Thank you for that clarification.

28:47

Uh is is there any discussion on this topic?

28:51

I is your hand up, Councilwoman Cullen.

28:54

No.

28:54

Oh, I'm sorry.

28:55

It's all good.

28:57

Um section six, I just want to make sure that this is not uh burdensome uh to the administration in any way.

29:09

Umly because um I know sometimes there are conversations that go on in the planning department where it's basically they're just gathering information.

29:24

So I I want to know where that line is on the notification.

29:28

Maybe uh maybe councilwoman cohen, you could explain that.

29:32

Yeah, so what we try to accomplish was that council notification is only required when the administration is going to be working with this advisory board on a specific piece of property.

29:45

So again, and presumably and the planning staff, you know, what we heard from planning staff was that they would be notifying council anyway.

29:56

So my expectation is that it wouldn't be burdensome, but that is with this administration.

30:00

So this is meant to future proof for administrations that may want to use this board as a workaround.

30:08

All right.

30:13

I continue to have a different perspective on this.

30:16

I certainly respect, you know, that each person uh may see it their own way.

30:20

In my view, requiring this notification before ideas are even fleshed out, I think is a little premature, and that it's better that if we are able to put together, you know, a proposal before uh notifying council.

30:36

Again, no property can be sold without city council's approval.

30:40

That has always been the case and will continue to be the case.

30:43

And after city council is presented with the legislation, it can certainly um uh send it to committees for additional consideration.

30:51

The staff, I think, have demonstrated their interest in and their their willingness to provide updates to council members and seek feedback.

30:59

Um I I think too, that we could certainly say, okay, six months from now, do we think that this is working for us?

31:06

Do we need to change this?

31:08

Um, but if you're asking for my opinion, my opinion continues to be that it's not necessary.

31:14

I think the councilwoman Collins' point was about the future, not so much now.

31:22

I just want to make sure that there's not an instance where uh something could happen in the department in the planning department where this would be an unnecessary and perhaps burdensome um and premature notification of council on any issues.

31:45

I mean, if it's not gonna blur the lines of separation of powers and not even that.

31:53

I shouldn't even go there, but just uh you know, operational considerations.

31:59

Um I mean, do you see it as again not talking about the quality or the willingness of this administration to share information, but more about how this could potentially interfere with operational considerations.

32:19

My view is that this impairs the ability of the administration to negotiate.

32:24

Um I think that it's better that we have a chance to flesh out ideas before presenting that and then from there get feedback on you know whether this is headed in the right direction.

32:36

But if we have to provide notice before we ever even start, you know, putting together ideas, I think I think that that's premature notification.

32:45

Um this will be a public body, and so there will be an agenda and folks will be aware of what's going on.

32:52

But I think that it would be helpful if the administration had some grace in trying to pull together ideas before it receives feedback.

33:03

Um Council President.

33:05

Yeah, please go ahead.

33:06

Yeah.

33:06

I just I I just I guess I want to push back a little because this is only, and this was the discussion we had, you know, that I had over email with outside council for the administration.

33:17

And this is meant only when something is going to the advisory board that we are creating through this piece of legislation.

33:24

So this is not to require any sort of notice generally about the disposition of property.

33:31

It is when something is ready to be presented, this uh advisory board, council will be notified.

33:39

So I just, I mean, if the law director has a thought on that, but that's that's what the language says, and that's what it's meant to uh execute.

33:49

Yeah, go ahead.

33:50

And and before you answer, I just want to say uh councilwoman Collins, I appreciate where you're coming from because you know, some of us were really struggling with things like this in the past, but I do want to make sure that's why I'm asking these questions, that we have a proper balance here.

34:07

Go ahead.

34:07

So I I wanted to thank you, Mr.

34:09

President.

34:10

Wanted to make a quick point that the two sentences that are new in section six are somewhat different in purpose.

34:17

Uh the first one is to uh clarify the role of the committee itself, um, which is to say that uh the city is not required in every single case to go through the committee and so forth, and that this is an advisory body, which may be that which the administration may avail itself of before bringing something to council.

34:36

Um and on the second piece, um, and I hadn't thought about this before now, but thinking about the the burden question and the purpose of the notification um potentially you know being needed under some future administration.

34:51

Um I'm wondering if it would accomplish the uh the councilwoman's goal uh to include something that would say that the administration, the mayor or his designee shall endeavor to advise council of such intended action.

35:06

And the reason in particular that I'm giving that is which paragraph in the second sentence of the new language in section six.

35:13

Well, there's two paragraphs.

35:15

Oh, well, I'm sorry, there's one paragraph.

35:18

Got it, got it.

35:19

So just that that last sentence.

35:20

And the reason is not so much to water it down as to avoid an issue down the road where there's a question about whether this was complied with and whether that jeopardizes some property transfer that the city wants to go forward with, and somebody who's unhappy about it on the outside says, well, you didn't even comply with your own requirements.

35:41

Could you repeat what to change it to what?

35:43

It would what I'm thinking is you could add just that the mayor or designee shall endeavor to advise council if this language remains in, um, that that that language should still accomplish um, you know, the goal of pushing uh the administration to provide that notice, um, but leaves some grace to use that word again for the city to protect itself against an attack from the outside that some transfer was not properly processed.

36:11

Councilwoman Cullen, does that meet your objective?

36:15

I mean, I personally think that guts the whole purpose of having this in there to begin with.

36:20

I mean, it's meant to be a shall requirement, not uh if they so desire, which is I think what that change in language does.

36:30

My view continues to be that this was a good faith effort to keep engaged the people who currently serve on the board of the CIC.

36:38

I think that the administration has shown a good faith effort to keep council in the loop on projects.

36:45

And the reality is that that is not currently a requirement.

36:50

We could just wait until the point whenever we present legislation, and then if council wants to vote it down, it certainly could.

36:57

I have never asked council members, knowing what it was like on city council and how difficult it was to get information out of the administration.

37:05

I've never asked council members to even copy me on emails to staff members, which was a requirement previously.

37:13

And so I again reiterate that my belief is that this impairs our ability to negotiate, requiring that this be provided without us ever even having a chance to flesh out ideas.

37:28

We could alternatively just abandon this group entirely, just choose not to utilize it.

37:33

The purpose is to benefit from the experience that the members have.

37:37

Well, mayor I think.

37:41

I think everybody uh appreciates the fact that you're keeping the group together.

37:44

Go ahead.

37:45

Um councilman Posh.

37:47

You know, re regarding the shall or the softened language, uh, I don't have a position on that.

37:53

Um, so I'll yield to my council members to um decide.

37:58

But I think it's really I I think it needs to be said that this administration in no way is echoing anything that we saw in the last four years with the prior administration.

38:10

And I am very thankful for that.

38:12

I don't think that this legislation, I don't think I'm putting words in my council members' mouths here, but the shall requirement is not being put in there because if this administration, it is trying to protect uh a situation that we had to deal with in the prior administration and maybe future administrations, certainly not for what you're doing uh mayor, which we really really appreciate, keeping us informed in the loop.

38:40

You sat here with us, you understand how much of council can be in a disadvantage if we don't have accurate information.

38:46

And I appreciate that, and I think we all do.

38:51

Um council vice president Larson.

38:53

I would echo everything that counselor Posh just stated.

38:56

Question for you, Director Hannah.

38:59

I'm looking at the legislation that's on both places on the city calendar and on the council agenda and minutes meetings.

39:09

I I know I've seen section six today, because I was catching myself up.

39:14

I do not see section six on those locations on the website.

39:19

Does that pose a problem?

39:22

I'm not sure what you're saying.

39:25

Um you're saying that this version that's in front of you at this moment is not is not posted.

39:31

Yeah.

39:31

That's a question for the clerk.

39:33

I don't think that that um impairs the validity of the legislation.

39:37

Uh council moves forward with it.

39:40

So I was gonna ask you, Clerk Ballister.

39:45

Um, when we see our posted agenda in the city calendar, I do not see section six in this legislation.

39:55

I see for this for this agenda, yeah.

40:00

The new the new portion of section six to be clear is what you're talking about.

40:02

Yeah, the underlying portion, second paragraph.

40:04

Uh give me one moment.

40:06

Give me one moment because it should be.

40:09

And I'm I'm off of a packet that was posted on the website, and it's in my packet for today's meeting.

40:19

You broke up there for a moment, councilwoman.

40:22

Um it it is in your socket.

40:24

It is, it is in my yes, it is correct.

40:28

Okay.

40:35

Because I'm worried about my sanity clerk.

40:39

So section.

40:41

Well, the yeah, I think the civic clerk is different though.

40:44

That that was emailed to us, correct?

40:47

Okay, the civic clerk version.

40:49

Clarification, I'm sorry to bother everybody.

40:51

Sorry.

40:52

Mr.

40:53

President, if I if I might, I made this point previously, so I'm just throwing out there again as council considers what to do with this language.

40:59

Um, it doesn't necessarily accomplish exactly what um I think the proposed amendment was intended to accomplish, but um it is uh a fact that the meetings of this committee would all be public meetings with posted agendas in advance.

41:15

The question has come up well, you know uh how do those get to council?

41:20

I I would admit I don't know the answer to that question, but um they would not be meeting in secret, so anytime any issue went to them, it would uh it would be a matter of public recording and uh and uh council residents the this notification that this amend this is to accomplish could be in my mind satisfied by sending that agenda and the packet for this advisory board meeting to council prior to that meeting.

41:51

I mean that's why I I guess I really still respectfully disagree with the mayor on this, that this is a burdensome requirement.

41:58

Um but I think this is about just ensuring notification in some form or fashion.

42:04

Um so uh councilwoman collin, I I you know I think maybe try to bring this to a closure.

42:10

It it would it be good just to have that requirement put in the legislation that council is notified um before prior to all of the meetings of the agenda.

42:22

I mean, is that keep the honestly?

42:24

I think that that creates room for us to potentially drop the ball and not send an agenda, so it's probably easier just to keep the requirement in and to give you a blanket notification of all the properties that we're planning to talk about.

42:38

All right.

42:39

All right, any other discussion?

42:41

I think it's probably time to vote.

42:44

Um we're on 125.

42:49

Is that right, Addy?

42:50

You want to lose track?

42:50

That's correct.

42:52

All in favor.

42:55

Aye.

42:56

Any opposed?

42:56

Aye.

42:57

No.

42:59

Okay, we have one uh position.

43:01

Do a roll call.

43:02

All right, Cobb.

43:04

Aye.

43:06

Larson?

43:07

No.

43:08

Posh.

43:09

Yes.

43:12

Yes.

43:13

CUDA.

43:14

Aye.

43:15

Cohen.

43:18

Okay.

43:20

Oh, that's Stone.

43:22

Aye.

43:26

All right.

43:27

Um I don't think there's any other.

43:30

Let me I look at the end of my agenda here.

43:33

All right.

43:34

So I am going to adjourn this meeting at 1216.

43:38

Our next meeting is July 6th.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████████39%
Community Engagement████████████████████████24%
Personnel Matters███████████11%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████11%
Arts And Culture█████████9%
Budget Equity Analysis█████5%
Historic Preservation1%
Summary of Proceedings

Cleveland Heights City Council Special Meeting – June 26, 2026

The Cleveland Heights City Council held a special legislative meeting on Friday, June 26, 2026, at 11:33 AM, adjourning at 12:16 PM. The council adopted several resolutions and ordinances, including appointments, contracts, and appropriations, and held first readings on major capital projects. A significant debate occurred over the establishment of a municipal property development committee, particularly regarding notification requirements for council.

Discussion Items

  • Resolution 129-2026 (Adopted): Approval of Mayor Petris's appointment of Christina Halstead as Director of Human Resources. Council members expressed strong support, noting her qualifications and the importance of the new HR department following the charter amendment passed last November. The resolution was passed unanimously.
  • Ordinance 130-2026 (Adopted): Authorization of a contract with Actors Equity Association for employment of its members in Kane Park Productions. Councilwoman Larson asked about the budgeted amount and the advantages of using equity actors. Mayor Petris explained the rates and professionalism benefits. The ordinance passed unanimously.
  • Resolution 131-2026 (First Reading): Authorization for a professional services agreement with DS Architecture LLC for engineering and design services for the Cumberland Pool Facility Modernization and Rehabilitation Project. Mayor Petris detailed the selection process: 12 proposals received, ranging from $700,000 to $2.3 million; DS Architecture selected with a reduced price of $913,000. The project timeline targets construction start in August 2027 and opening in June 2028. Councilwoman Cohen requested the full proposal for review before the second reading on July 6.
  • Ordinance 132-2026 (First Reading): Amendment to appropriations for fiscal year 2026, including funding for the design firm. The exhibit was not in the packet but was provided by the clerk.
  • Resolutions 133-2026 and 134-2026 (First Reading): Appointment of an Assessment Equalization Board to hear objections related to street lighting and street improvement assessments. Councilman Posh asked for context; the law director explained it is statutorily required under Chapter 727, and the board will consist of non-residents of Cleveland Heights (Cuyahoga County residents) appointed by the finance director.
  • Second Readings:
    • Resolution 127-2026 (Adopted): Professional services agreement with RFC Contracting LLC for owner's representative services for the Cumberland Pool project, at $132,000 over the project life. Mayor Petris noted the budget will not require dipping into savings.
    • Resolution 128-2026 (Adopted): Appointment of Helen Hertz, Linda Strieski, Corey Clark, India Birdsong Carey, and William Fidel to the Municipal Property Development and Disposition Committee. Councilman Posh praised the members.
    • Resolution 121-2026 (Adopted): Community cost share agreement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. Passed.
    • Resolution 122-2026 (Adopted): Acquisition of a Pelican three-wheel mechanical street sweeper from A and H Equipment. Passed.
  • Third Readings:
    • Ordinance 120-2026 (Adopted): Appropriation amendment to fund the street sweeper and the owner's rep contract. Discussion clarified that the $132,000 contract is lower than the appropriation, allowing for potential additional services. Passed.
    • Ordinance 125-2026 (Adopted, roll call 5-1): Establishment of a Municipal Property Development and Disposition Committee, with its composition, purpose, powers, duties, and procedures. A key debate centered on Section 6, which requires the mayor to notify council before referring a specific property to the committee. Mayor Petris argued this requirement impairs the administration's ability to negotiate and is premature before ideas are fleshed out. Councilwoman Cohen and Vice President Larson supported the notification as a safeguard for future administrations. Councilwoman Collins sought to avoid burdening operations. The law director suggested softening the language to "shall endeavor to advise," but Councilwoman Cohen opposed, stating it would gut the purpose. The original language was retained. The roll call vote: Cobb aye, Larson no, Posh aye, Cuda aye, Cohen aye, Stone aye.

Key Outcomes

  • Christina Halstead confirmed as Director of Human Resources (unanimous).
  • Contract with Actors Equity Association for Kane Park Productions approved (unanimous).
  • Owner's representative contract with RFC Contracting LLC for Cumberland Pool approved (unanimous).
  • Appointments to the Municipal Property Development and Disposition Committee approved (unanimous).
  • Community cost share agreement with NEORSD approved (unanimous).
  • Street sweeper acquisition approved (unanimous).
  • Appropriation amendments for Cumberland Pool owner's rep and street sweeper approved (unanimous).
  • Municipal Property Development and Disposition Committee established (vote 5-1, with Councilwoman Larson opposed).
  • First readings held for design contract (DS Architecture), appropriation amendments, and assessment equalization board appointments, with second readings scheduled for July 6, 2026. Council President noted flexibility to delay votes if needed.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the special uh city council meeting, Cleveland Heights City Council meeting. It is Friday June 26th at 1133. Addie, would you please call the roll? Cobb. Larson here. Posh. Here. Cohen. Here. Cuda. Here. Stone. Here. DeWit Foy. And I know he is joining. He's just having some technical difficulties. All right. So we're here just for legislative purposes today. Um, and uh there are several pieces of legislation. Um, Addie, would you please read the first two that are for adoption this morning? I have resolution number one two nine-2026 on first reading. A resolution approving the mayor's appointment of Christina Halstead as director of human resources, commencing upon her confirmation and declaring the necessity this legislation become immediately effective as an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petris. So moved. Second. All right. Any discussion? Please. I would like to say that I'm after the interview that we did with Christina and the mayor was there as well. Um she will be a great addition to our staff, and I'm looking forward to having an HR director. That's all I'm saying. All right. Thank you. Councilman Posh. I I just want to echo what Council uh woman Larson mentioned. Uh I mean, the interview was fantastic, and I felt very, very comfortable with your choice. Um it seems like you found a really great one. A lot of people that you know submitted. Uh but this one seems like it's great. And I love the fact she's moving up to um northeastern Ohio. So I'm thrilled. Thanks for bringing such a good candidate to us. All right. Who else would like to speak? I don't have to see. Anyone online? I'm sorry, Zoom, I mean. Go ahead. Uh Councilwoman McConn. Yes, I'm similarly very excited to have her join the staff. I think this has been a priority not just for the administration, but for council as well, to ensure we have accountability and we have uh well-running staff with uh improved culture at our city.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com