Lakewood City Council Regular Meeting - July 3, 2025

The Lakewood City Council held its regular meeting on July 3, 2025, at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting covered a wide range of topics including the adoption of resolutions for federal housing grants, a heated debate over the proposed purchase of 1470 Warren Road for city expansion, recognition of a local church's 150th anniversary, and public comments on power outages, property taxes, and transportation. Key decisions included the approval of the FY25-FY29 Consolidated Plan and amendments to the FY25 HUD Action Plan.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes of the Regular Meeting of June 16, 2025, the Community Conversation of June 24, 2025, and the Community Conversation of July 2, 2025, all without discussion.
• Received and filed reports from the Housing, Planning, & Development Committee (June 23 meeting), the Animal Safety & Welfare Advisory Board (June 23 meeting), the Joint Committee of the Whole and Planning Commission (June 30 meeting), and the Committee of the Whole (July 7 meeting).
• Accepted the announcement of Julia Garleb's appointment to the Lakewood Animal Safety & Welfare Advisory Board.
• Received and filed reports from Councilmember Strebig on the Community Recreation and Education Commission (June 17) and the Youth Council (June 26).
• Received and filed the June 2025 Finance Department vendor report.
• Moved to defer Ordinance 21-2025 (authorizing fund transfers) to the Finance Committee.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Aaron Stever (Congressional representative for Rep. Chantel Brown) provided information on federal casework services, including assistance with VA, IRS, Social Security, and passport issues. He also highlighted the Congressional App Challenge, Service Academy nominations (limit of 10), and the Congressional Award program.
• Zach Zaccagnino expressed deep concern over rising property taxes, citing a reported $4.8 million increase in Lakewood's collections this year. He argued that many residents are struggling to afford groceries and taxes, leading to deferred home maintenance. He encouraged support for a statewide amendment to repeal property taxes and criticized the state legislature's focus on football stadium funding over constituent needs.
• Robbie Organ praised the city's new green paint at Hilliard and Madison and urged quick passage of the Complete Streets ordinance. He strongly rebutted a statement made in a prior meeting that active transportation is not practical for parents, sharing his personal experience of walking two miles as a child due to his father's inability to drive. He argued that Lakewood's density and transit make car-free travel feasible for many, and urged council to prioritize pedestrian and bike infrastructure.
• Alison Welch (1656 Orchard Grove) thanked council for responsiveness to the front yard garden issue. She noted that existing ordinances already permit non-turf plantings as long as sidewalks are clear and visibility is maintained. She advocated for incentivizing native plants and reducing pesticide use, emphasizing Lakewood's role as a critical stopover for migrating birds and insects. She opposed restrictive regulations.
• Carrie Ann McBride expressed frustration over frequent power outages, describing loss of food, compromised medications, and hardship for elderly, disabled, and low-income residents. She urged council to prioritize reliability over other projects like the Warren Road purchase. Council President Kepple and Mayor George responded by detailing their advocacy efforts, including meetings with FirstEnergy and PUCO, and a complaint filed with PUCO. Mayor George mentioned a scheduled meeting with the governor's office. Both emphasized the city's limited authority over utilities and urged residents to file complaints with PUCO.
• Aaron Moorhead requested the installation of convex mirrors at the end of narrow driveways, especially near schools, to improve visibility of pedestrians and cyclists. He noted many near-misses with children walking to school. Councilmember Bullock agreed to follow up on the suggestion.

Discussion Items

• Resolution 2025-33: Recognition of The Church of the Ascension's 150th Anniversary – Councilmember Marx introduced the resolution, praising the church's long history and inclusive mission. Reverend Vincent Black and board president Joe Scambalone spoke, highlighting community events like "Frankfurter Fridays." The resolution was adopted unanimously.
• Resolution 2025-28: FY25-FY29 Five-Year Consolidated Plan for HUD – Vice President Baker presented the resolution authorizing the Mayor to submit the plan approved by the Citizens Advisory Committee. Councilmember Bullock raised concerns about HUD's formula for calculating community needs given Lakewood's rising property values, suggesting council engage directly with HUD for more effective funding. The resolution was adopted unanimously after an amendment to strike pages 3–6.
• Report from Animal Safety & Welfare Advisory Board (TNR Program) – Councilmember Strebig reported that the public safety committee reviewed a draft ordinance on trap-neuter-return for community cats, recommended changes including training for caregivers and removal of penalties, and is awaiting a revised draft from the law department.
• Joint Meeting on Complete Streets (Ordinance 17-2025) – Councilmember Steiner reported on the June 30 joint meeting with Planning Commission, where all public speakers supported the advisory board. Amendments were made to include a public transit user and a school ex-official on the board. A substitute version with further changes is expected.
• Committee of the Whole Report: Ranked Choice Voting – Councilmember Steiner summarized a presentation by Justin Wells of Rank the Vote Ohio, who cited data that ranked choice voting increases representation for people of color by ~20% and voter turnout by 10 points. Public speakers from the League of Women Voters supported the initiative.
• Communication from Mayor George re: Purchase of 1470 Warren Road – Mayor George proposed purchasing the former Board of Education building for $1.5 million from the Land Acquisition Fund to address City Hall space constraints, particularly for the police department and court. She noted a September 5 deadline to secure the property. Council President Kepple and Councilmember Evans criticized the process as lacking transparency, insufficient data, and failure to provide other options for expansion on the existing City Hall site. Kepple detailed previous requests for objective studies, which were not met. Mayor George defended the process, stating the administration had offered multiple meetings to answer questions. The communication and accompanying Resolution 2025-34 and Ordinance 22-2025 were all referred to the Committee of the Whole.
• Resolution 2024-69A: Amendment to FY25 HUD Annual Action Plan – Director Byington explained that actual FY25 CDBG award ($1,889,338) and ESG award ($167,147) exceeded estimates, requiring an amendment to reflect final allocations. The contingency provisions distributed the $89,338 CDBG surplus proportionally among public services and allocated the balance to the Birdtown Madison Park Connector project. Councilmember Bullock expressed a preference that future surpluses be decided by council rather than staff. The resolution was adopted unanimously.

Key Outcomes

• Adopted Resolution 2025-33 (Church of Ascension recognition).
• Adopted Resolution 2025-28 (FY25-FY29 Consolidated Plan for HUD).（投票一致通过，未记录具体票数）
• Adopted Resolution 2024-69A (amended FY25 HUD Action Plan).
• Referred to Committee of the Whole: Communication from Mayor re 1470 Warren Road, Resolution 2025-34 (purchase agreement), and Ordinance 22-2025 (appropriations for $1.5M Land Acquisition Fund).（These items require further public deliberation.）
• Deferred Ordinance 21-2025 (fund transfers) to Finance Committee.
• Received and filed all committee reports, the June vendor report, and appointments.
• Directives: Council reiterated requests for detailed data on space expansion options; Mayor will continue advocacy with FirstEnergy and PUCO regarding power reliability; Council will follow up on convex mirror request for driveway safety.

Announcements

• Councilmember Evans announced a Ward 2 community conversation on July 22 at 6 PM at the Lakewood Public Library main branch.
• Public Works Director Gordon thanked staff for July 4th cleanup.
• Vice President Baker noted a public meeting on July 9 (Wednesday) at 6 PM in the City Auditorium regarding the 2025 water main project (Norton and Northland), covering water line replacement, lead line replacement, and street resurfacing.