Lakewood City Council Regular Meeting - June 1, 2026
Lakewood City Council Regular Meeting - June 1, 2026
The regular meeting of the Lakewood City Council on June 1, 2026, covered board appointments, a resolution encouraging gender-neutral restrooms, reports from city officials, liquor permit applications, public comments, and an executive session for appointments. The meeting began at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of the regular meeting of May 18, 2026, were approved without objection.
- May 2026 Finance Department vendor report was received and filed.
- Liquor permit for Speed Trap Racing, LLC at 14718 Detroit Avenue was filed with no objection; council noted the business has gender-neutral restrooms.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ed Rand (Donald Avenue resident, lifelong Lakewood) urged Council to suspend the Flock surveillance contract, citing a May 21 article detailing over 16 immigration-based queries within 30 days on Cleveland's Flock cameras (5.4 queries per day). He noted many queries came from out-of-state agencies (Texas Department of Public Safety, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) involved in immigration enforcement. He highlighted Dayton, Ohio suspending its Flock contract after 7,000 immigration-related searches. He asked for immediate camera covering while contract suspension is deliberated.
- Emily Lindbergh (Lauderdale Avenue, 15-year resident) raised concerns about recurring parking violations (sidewalk, bike lane, visibility zone) that reduce safety for pedestrians and cyclists. She advocated for dedicated parking enforcement (rather than patrol officers), higher fines, better curb management, and consideration of bike-and-foot patrol enforcement.
Discussion Items
- Communication from President Kepple (Council Board & Commission Appointments): Kepple noted that Council has two appointments each to the Community Reinvestment Area Housing Council (CRAHC) and the Local Board of Tax Review. Despite high quality, application volume was low. She proposed filling positions with available applicants and strategizing for remaining vacancies. The communication was received and filed; the two associated resolutions (Items 2 and 3) were moved after public comment.
- Gender-Neutral Restrooms (Items 4 & 5): Councilmember Strebig presented a communication and Resolution 2026-34 to encourage businesses and public accommodations to convert single-user gender-specific restrooms to gender-neutral. Council spoke in favor: Kepple noted co-sponsorship and thanked the Youth Council; Bixenstine cited safety, inclusion, efficiency, and caregiver benefits; Evans thanked Strebig and Youth Council for advocacy. The resolution includes city assistance for signage. The Lakewood Youth Council chair Amelia Ormel Demer, member Cora Barcelona, and trans resident Sean spoke in strong support, noting personal experiences with harassment and inaccessibility. Resolution 2026-34 was adopted unanimously.
- LASWAB Report (Item 6): Councilmember Hamilton Steiner provided a report (unable to attend) from the May 20 meeting of the Lakewood Animal Safety & Welfare Advisory Board. Highlights: a successful pet food drive on May 9 collecting 1,960 pounds of food and $587 in cash donations, with support from H2O youth volunteers; discussion of bird-safe glass education for migratory bird protection; update from ACO Crumley on animal control, shelter numbers, and new website (with accessibility suggestions); and a positive Lakewood Observer article featuring the shelter. Report received and filed.
- Liquor Permits: QAJ Enterprise LLC at 14000 Detroit Avenue was deferred (no report yet). Speed Trap Racing LLC at 14718 Detroit Avenue was filed with no objection; council noted gender-neutral restrooms and the business's sophisticated machinery.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 2026-34 (Gender-neutral restrooms) adopted unanimously after public comment from the Lakewood Youth Council.
- Resolution 2026-32 (Community Reinvestment Area Housing Council appointments) was deferred without action following executive session.
- Resolution 2026-33 (Local Board of Tax Review appointments) was amended to insert the names John Seaman and Will Costello, then adopted as amended by emergency measure (affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of members).
- Executive session was held pursuant to ORC 1212G to consider the appointments, with all present members voting to enter.
- Public comments were taken on Flock surveillance and parking enforcement; no immediate action was taken but council noted ongoing work on both issues.
- Meeting adjourned without further business after resolution actions.
Meeting Transcript
All right, we will call to order the June 1st meeting of council. If you're able, please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. We'll now pause for a moment of silence. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Vice President Baker. Absent. Councilmember Bixenstein. Here. Councilmember Bullock. Here. Councilmember Evans. Here. President Keppel. Here. Councilmember Hamilton Steiner. Here. Councilmember Strebig. Here. Without objection, I'll excuse the absence of Vice President Baker. Reading and disposal of the minutes of the regular meeting of council held May 18, 2026. Move to approve without the necessity of a reading. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? Aye. And that motion passes. Item one communication from President Keppel regarding council board and commission appointments. Dear colleagues, the following two pieces of legislation are intended to make appointments to the city's community reinvestment area housing council and the local board of tax review. Like most of the city's boards and commissions, these bodies are comprised of a combination of appointments from both council and the mayor. In this case, council has two appointments to make to each of these bodies. Earlier this year, council and the administration put out a joint call for applicants for these vacancies. Though the quality of the applications was high, the volume of applications was low. At this time, I propose that council consider moving forward to fill these positions with the applicants on hand and then strategize ways to identify additional suitable candidates to fill the remaining positions. And I'll just add to this well, first I'll move to receive and file this communication. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. And then in discussion, I just want to add uh because tonight we have such an extremely short docket. Um thought would be to uh move these two items that follow this communication, the two resolutions to the end of our agenda after public comment and do a quick executive session to figure out um figure out our appointments so that these can move forward if folks are amenable to that. All right, I'm seeing a lot of nods, which for the record all right. So any further discussion on the motion to receive and file the communication. Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye, and that motion passes. Um yes. So without objection, let's move uh items two and three to after the public comment section. Item four, communication from Councilmember Streiebig regarding all gender residents. Councilmember Streiebig. Thank you. Dear colleagues, uh, thank you, President Keppel.
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