The Toledo City Council held a formal meeting on February 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM in Council Chambers, with 11 members present and one absent (McPherson). The meeting featured opening poems and national anthem in observance of Black History Month, followed by unanimous approvals of resolutions and appointments, debate on a controversial parking lot lease, and passage of most ordinances. Council members also delivered remarks on Black History Month, snow removal, community events, and the Bayview retiree eviction dispute.
| Ordinance | Description | Vote | Result | |-----------|-------------|------|--------| | O-033-26 | Accept $8,083 state search & rescue water grant for Fire & Rescue | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) | | O-034-26 | Lease with Toledo Edison for Detwiler Park parking lot | Suspension failed 8-3 | First reading (reappears) | | O-035-26 | Environmental contractor for chemical cleanup, $30,000 | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) | | O-036-26 | Water bond fund reallocation for facility refurbishment, $211,002 | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) | | O-037-26 | AWWA membership dues, $25,000 annually | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) | | O-038-26 | HomeServe USA Corp. marketing agreement | Unanimous | First reading | | O-039-26 | WateReuse Association dues, $20,000 annually | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) | | O-040-26 | Procurement strategies contract, $99,000 | Unanimous | First reading | | O-041-26 | Amended contracts for tariff-related cost increases | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) | | O-042-26 | Bike rack installation cooperative agreement with Washington Local Schools | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) | | O-043-26 | Installation of eight street lights on Brockton Drive | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) | | O-044-26 | Vacation of alley in Heffner’s Addition, waiving fees | Unanimous | Passed (emergency) |
The meeting adjourned after councilmember remarks, with the next formal meeting to continue consideration of O-034-26 as a first reading.
I call to order the Toledo City Council meeting of February 3rd, 2026. Clerk, please call the roll. Get us here. Hobbs. Jones here. Come. Kramer here. Martinez. Present. McPherson. Meldon. Morris here. Surround you. Here. Williams. Here. Driscoll. Here. 11 present. Please welcome Sandra Rivers Gill for a reading of an original poem. Then after her, we'll have the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag and the singing of the national anthem by Kelly Wilson. Good afternoon. I'll be reading two ecphrastic poems. An ephrastic is generally taking a visual representation of artwork and translating the image into words. And the first poem I have on the screen is about Frederick Douglass. It's entitled Frederick Douglass's Smile. And he was photographed from 1841 through 1895. Frederick Douglass's smile. Not dazed by dawn's early light, your eyes be black American gothic. An image does not lie but shapes a life. An admirer of direct addresses. You aimed your lenses at the camera. No reframe perspectives. Standing in rooms of revolution, refusing to be silenced. Your voice is a vigilant flag, iconic and cool. No need to borrow Questlov's pick. Yo fro, already a thick fist. A salute to Tommy and John is an anthemed act before their time. All those snapshots rang out, news flash, and poetic justice. As you can see in the first photograph, that's Frederick Douglass up there. He never smiled on any photographs, and now you know why. Okay. So the second poem is actually another ephrastic poem. And it's based on the inspiration of Mildred and Richard Loving. And they were the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case back in 1968, Loving versus Virginia. And this is entitled, Who Dare Sing the Bars of Their Song. When old crows want to lean against the lyrics of a love song, new grooves turn revolutions. Note our signature keys. Across the vinyl of ebony bodies. What is blooming recounts the art of physics and love, performs a mic check.