OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Lakewood City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting – January 26, 2026

Council Meetings — Monday, January 26, 2026
BodyLakewood, Ohio
SessionCouncil Meetings
DateMonday, January 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:45:38

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right, we will call committee of the whole order.

0:03

Sorry, just having a little technical issue up here.

0:06

So first I'll move to approve the minutes of the January 20th committee of the whole without the necessity of a reading.

0:14

Second.

0:14

Motion's been made and seconded.

0:16

Discussion.

0:17

Hearing none, all those in favor?

0:20

Aye.

0:20

And that motion passes.

0:21

Okay, so our two main items tonight are hearing from our bond council for our annual presentation about the debt load, and then we also have continuing conversation, the presentation from the administration about the city hall proposal.

0:39

So I'm assuming we're starting with bond council.

0:43

That's kind of where we were thinking, but I'll turn it over to Director Mahoney and team.

0:51

Okay.

0:56

All right.

0:57

Great.

1:00

Good evening, everyone.

1:01

Just by way of introduction, my name is Jeff Rink.

1:05

I'm a managing director with Key Bank Capital Markets.

1:09

And I had our public finance efforts here working with municipalities and school districts and other governmental entities.

1:18

And I'm joined today by bond counsel from Bricker, Catherine Swartz.

1:25

So for those that have heard from us in the past, wonderful to see all of you and for the newer uh council members, welcome, congratulations, and uh please is hopefully you'll see as we sort of get into our presentation.

1:39

Um we really want to be here as a resource uh for the administration and for you.

1:44

So we we think we've put together a presentation that we've dropped off at your uh at your spot up there, but as we go through it, uh invariably there's there's always questions as as we welcome and should be.

1:57

So um please interrupt us and you know we'll drill down into whatever uh questions you may have as we go along, if that's uh if that's acceptable.

2:07

Um so we're obviously here to talk about the city's plan of finance for 2026.

2:13

It consists, I know, of a number of um uh of legislative items uh around uh what's called a note issue, and then there is actually uh some bond legislation, and so we'll explain sort of why we have both and what they're looking to accomplish.

2:31

Um a big important topic that I can assure you we are um with your wonderful finance staff are constantly looking at and working on uh is sort of the the the capital and more so debt planning of the city.

2:47

So we'll talk a lot about that because I do I know we we do come here every year, and so you only see us once a year, and um in some instances we're saying some of the same things we've said in previous years, but there is um a lot of analysis that goes into this, right?

3:05

It's not uh in in on you know an unending supply of revenue that the city can just continue to borrow from, right?

3:13

And so um I I do say to you, we we do try to look at all that, and with the city administration and with the and with the finance department, make sure that we're sort of properly planned so that what uh the administration and council decide from a policy perspective and projects you may want to fund, that at the end of the day uh we can afford to do that, right?

3:35

Um one of the wonderful things about the city of Lakewood among many is your credit rating, right?

3:41

Your credit rating is a double A2, and we'll talk about that in terms of that is um on the upper echelon of municipalities across the country, uh and one uh in particular for Lakewood because of um a lot of the wonderful things that the community offers, and then also because of how the city is managed and run, and that is on the administrative side as well as council and how you also oversee sort of the budget and finance throughout the year.

4:09

So we'll get into all of that.

4:10

Um try to be mindful of time, but but again, encourage uh questions certainly as we we go along.

4:16

We we truly want to be a resource for uh uh for the city.

4:19

So my role at Key Bank is uh to sell the debt that the city ultimately uh makes a decision on issuing, and so we would sell that debt to uh institutional funds and other investors in the market, right?

4:35

That would purchase the city's debt.

4:37

Um and um Catherine, who will uh absolutely be part of this presentation.

4:42

I don't mean to monopolize it.

4:43

Um but as bond counsel, she drafts all of the legislative documents and all the documents that we need in order to sell uh uh the debt into the market and raise the funds um for for your projects.

4:55

So what we wanted to start out with, and and I know you have the books up there, so I apologize.

5:00

You know, some of the some of the font is small.

5:02

But we always want to present and make sure you're aware, at least have a resource to go to to see uh the amount of uh of debt the city has and what is exactly that debt.

5:12

So starting on page what I believe five of the book, um there's the beginning of the city's debt profile, and the page that's on the screen right now is um or or it it is uh uh reflects sort of the the longest dated debt that the city has.

5:32

So the city has borrowed over the years and currently has their oldest debt as a bond issue back from 2016.

5:40

And so we'll come back and talk about that bond issue because it's eligible uh this year to be refinanced.

5:47

And so you can sort of think about that as the ability, like if you have the ability to take advantage of lower mortgage rates on your house.

5:55

We likely will have an opportunity later this year to take advantage of lower uh interest rates and refinance this issue so that the net, the net uh cost, or really in this case the net savings accrues to the city's benefit.

6:10

So we'll talk about that because that is why you have bond legislation uh as part of this overall financial plan for this year.

6:18

Um and it reflects sort of your oldest uh bond issue, which goes back to 2016.

6:24

Um if we skip ahead to page seven, sorry, just the the page before this.

6:29

I just want to point out one other thing.

6:32

On page seven, in the farm most uh column, we total up all of the city's annual debt service per year.

6:40

So this is all of the city's debt and what debt service is due every single year until if there was no more borrowings, then this would be it, right?

6:50

And the and and it would take you out to 2049.

6:53

And as you can see, it's descending, which is normal, right?

6:57

Because your older your older debt will uh eventually come off the books.

7:01

And so I just want to point out a couple quick things because you know, we're here always talking about every year the city's financial plan, right?

7:10

And and the city's financial plan is usually rightfully so, projects that have to get funded, and therefore we have to borrow against those projects.

7:17

So the key thing is how do we pay for those, right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability███████████████████████████████████████39%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████████████████████31%
Procedural████████8%
Public Safety████████8%
Budget Equity Analysis███████7%
Public Engagement████4%
Historic Preservation█1%
Community Engagement█1%
Affordable Housing█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Lakewood City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting – January 26, 2026

The Lakewood City Council Committee of the Whole met on January 26, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Auditorium to hear two major presentations: an annual bond council update on the city’s debt and proposed 2026 bond anticipation notes (BANS), and a detailed proposal from the administration and Liberty Development to relocate administrative functions to 1470 Warren Road and convert the current City Hall into a combined police and court justice center. The meeting, which was livestreamed and open to the public, included extensive discussion but no formal votes on the substantive proposals.

Approval of Minutes

  • The minutes of the January 20, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting were approved unanimously without a reading.

Bond Council Presentation – 2026 Financing Plan

  • Finance Director Renee Mahoney and bond counsel Jeff Rink (KeyBank Capital Markets) and Catherine Swartz (Bricker Graydon Wyatt LLP) presented the city’s 2026 debt plan.
  • 2026 Bond Anticipation Notes (BANS): A total of up to $59,740,000 in notes is proposed, comprising $32,695,000 to “roll over” outstanding notes from prior years (2024–2025 projects) and $27,045,000 in new money for capital projects.
  • New money breakdown (per ordinances 06-2026 through 11-2026):
    • $4,900,000 for street improvements (Bunts Road, Lake Road, Clifton Road, etc.)
    • $18,300,000 for facility improvements (including $16.5 million for City Hall renovations and Winterhurst Ice Arena)
    • $850,000 for water improvements
    • $500,000 for sidewalk improvements
    • $125,000 for traffic signalization
    • $2,370,000 for sewer improvements
  • Refunding bonds: Two ordinances propose issuing up to $32,695,000 in bonds to retire the 2026 BANS and up to $15,845,000 to refund the city’s 2016A bonds, with projected interest savings of $55,000–$60,000 per year over the remaining 10-year life of the 2016A bonds. The refunding would occur in September 2026 if market conditions are favorable.
  • Debt capacity: The city’s Aa2 credit rating and declining overall debt service (from $9.1M in 2025 to ~$8.6M in 2026) provide ample capacity. City staff noted that dedicated property tax millage and water/sewer revenues support the debt, and a 10-mill limitation analysis indicates the city would have approximately $61 million in additional legal debt capacity after the proposed borrowings.
  • Council members asked clarifying questions about debt service trends, overlapping millage, the interplay of income tax pledges, and the impact of potential state property tax reform. No action was taken; the presentation was for information.

City Hall Space Proposal – Administration and Liberty Development

  • Mayor Meghan George and the administration presented the case for moving city administrative offices to 1470 Warren Road (the former Board of Education building), with Liberty Development as the developer. The plan includes renovating that historic building into a modern city hall (consolidating permit, finance, planning, and other departments) and then renovating the existing City Hall into a justice center for police and courts.
  • Key arguments from the administration:
    • Superior customer service: a central downtown location with easy transit access (RTA bus lines) and one-stop shopping for residents.
    • Equitable employee facilities: currently, police station has only 179 sq. ft. per staff member, far below regional peers (e.g., Bay Village 474 sq. ft., Euclid 236 sq. ft.).
    • Recruitment and retention: cramped, outdated facilities (not substantially touched since 1958) hurt the city’s ability to attract and keep talent, especially police officers.
    • Operational complexity: building a large addition onto the current City Hall (Option 2 or 3) while maintaining 24/7 operations (dispatch, jail, police) is riskier and more costly than a structured relocation.
    • Fiscal stewardship: the administration claimed the proposal is cost-effective and that the $16.5 million included in the 2026 BANS for facility improvements is sufficient to begin the project.
  • Liberty Development presentation (Tom Caluris, Drew Siley):
    • Liberty offered a transparent, open-book process: they would design and build the Warren Road renovation at-risk, certifying a final cost after design. The city would not have to buy the building until it is completed to the agreed specifications. They emphasized their track record with similar historic rehabilitations (e.g., 1456 Warren Road) and their status as a union contractor.
    • They indicated their proposal would likely be lower than the earlier $39.7 million estimate from WMF/PMC for Option 4, but no specific new cost figure was provided.
  • Council concerns and questions:
    • Vice President Baker and several council members expressed serious reservations about the process and lack of due diligence. Key issues:
      • No independent facilities assessment, appraisal, or Phase I/II environmental reports paid for by the city.
      • Concern that the city would be relying on Liberty’s proprietary information and that the city should maintain control over studies and contracts.
      • The proposed timeline (bond legislation needed by February 17, 2026) felt rushed, with insufficient detail on costs, design, and a development agreement.
      • Whether a public design-build bidding process would be more appropriate to protect taxpayer interests.
      • The immediate police space need could be addressed sooner by relocating basement staff to temporary space (e.g., annex or leased space) rather than waiting for the full Warren Road project.
    • Councilmember Hamilton Steiner questioned how the decision aligns with public priorities (housing affordability, snow removal, etc.) and asked for metrics on what “success” looks like.
    • Councilmember Bullock noted that options other than the Warren Road purchase (e.g., a smaller addition for police only) had not been fully explored.
  • The administration and Liberty committed to providing a detailed presentation on design, costs, and delivery model at the next Committee of the Whole meeting. Council members were encouraged to submit specific questions in advance.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken on any of the proposed ordinances or the City Hall plan.
  • The minutes of the January 20, 2026 meeting were approved.
  • Council will continue the City Hall discussion at the February 2, 2026 Committee of the Whole meeting (originally scheduled for City Hall space, now dedicated to further dialogue).
  • Council members are to send their questions on the City Hall proposal to the mayor’s office and planning department to help shape the February 2 presentation.
  • The bond legislation (ordinances 06-2026 through 14-2026) will be carried over for further discussion; a final vote is needed by February 17, 2026, to meet bond rating and sale deadlines.

Meeting Transcript

All right, we will call committee of the whole order. Sorry, just having a little technical issue up here. So first I'll move to approve the minutes of the January 20th committee of the whole without the necessity of a reading. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. Discussion. Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye. And that motion passes. Okay, so our two main items tonight are hearing from our bond council for our annual presentation about the debt load, and then we also have continuing conversation, the presentation from the administration about the city hall proposal. So I'm assuming we're starting with bond council. That's kind of where we were thinking, but I'll turn it over to Director Mahoney and team. Okay. All right. Great. Good evening, everyone. Just by way of introduction, my name is Jeff Rink. I'm a managing director with Key Bank Capital Markets. And I had our public finance efforts here working with municipalities and school districts and other governmental entities. And I'm joined today by bond counsel from Bricker, Catherine Swartz. So for those that have heard from us in the past, wonderful to see all of you and for the newer uh council members, welcome, congratulations, and uh please is hopefully you'll see as we sort of get into our presentation. Um we really want to be here as a resource uh for the administration and for you. So we we think we've put together a presentation that we've dropped off at your uh at your spot up there, but as we go through it, uh invariably there's there's always questions as as we welcome and should be. So um please interrupt us and you know we'll drill down into whatever uh questions you may have as we go along, if that's uh if that's acceptable. Um so we're obviously here to talk about the city's plan of finance for 2026. It consists, I know, of a number of um uh of legislative items uh around uh what's called a note issue, and then there is actually uh some bond legislation, and so we'll explain sort of why we have both and what they're looking to accomplish. Um a big important topic that I can assure you we are um with your wonderful finance staff are constantly looking at and working on uh is sort of the the the capital and more so debt planning of the city. So we'll talk a lot about that because I do I know we we do come here every year, and so you only see us once a year, and um in some instances we're saying some of the same things we've said in previous years, but there is um a lot of analysis that goes into this, right? It's not uh in in on you know an unending supply of revenue that the city can just continue to borrow from, right? And so um I I do say to you, we we do try to look at all that, and with the city administration and with the and with the finance department, make sure that we're sort of properly planned so that what uh the administration and council decide from a policy perspective and projects you may want to fund, that at the end of the day uh we can afford to do that, right? Um one of the wonderful things about the city of Lakewood among many is your credit rating, right? Your credit rating is a double A2, and we'll talk about that in terms of that is um on the upper echelon of municipalities across the country, uh and one uh in particular for Lakewood because of um a lot of the wonderful things that the community offers, and then also because of how the city is managed and run, and that is on the administrative side as well as council and how you also oversee sort of the budget and finance throughout the year. So we'll get into all of that. Um try to be mindful of time, but but again, encourage uh questions certainly as we we go along. We we truly want to be a resource for uh uh for the city. So my role at Key Bank is uh to sell the debt that the city ultimately uh makes a decision on issuing, and so we would sell that debt to uh institutional funds and other investors in the market, right? That would purchase the city's debt. Um and um Catherine, who will uh absolutely be part of this presentation. I don't mean to monopolize it. Um but as bond counsel, she drafts all of the legislative documents and all the documents that we need in order to sell uh uh the debt into the market and raise the funds um for for your projects. So what we wanted to start out with, and and I know you have the books up there, so I apologize. You know, some of the some of the font is small. But we always want to present and make sure you're aware, at least have a resource to go to to see uh the amount of uh of debt the city has and what is exactly that debt. So starting on page what I believe five of the book, um there's the beginning of the city's debt profile, and the page that's on the screen right now is um or or it it is uh uh reflects sort of the the longest dated debt that the city has. So the city has borrowed over the years and currently has their oldest debt as a bond issue back from 2016. And so we'll come back and talk about that bond issue because it's eligible uh this year to be refinanced. And so you can sort of think about that as the ability, like if you have the ability to take advantage of lower mortgage rates on your house. We likely will have an opportunity later this year to take advantage of lower uh interest rates and refinance this issue so that the net, the net uh cost, or really in this case the net savings accrues to the city's benefit. So we'll talk about that because that is why you have bond legislation uh as part of this overall financial plan for this year. Um and it reflects sort of your oldest uh bond issue, which goes back to 2016.

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