Toledo City Council Meeting – April 21, 2026: Multiple Ordinances and Program Approvals
Toledo City Council Meeting – April 21, 2026
The Toledo City Council met on April 21, 2026, to consider a wide range of items including technology contracts, insurance renewals, economic development programs, event funding, and annual dues. All items were approved, with several receiving extensive discussion and support.
Consent Calendar / Routine Approvals
- Department of Public Utilities: Authorized a contract with a fire alarm company for repair and maintenance at the water reclamation facility. (Approved, SCP)
- Department of Human Resources: Authorized a one-year agreement with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield for stop loss insurance at approximately $1.3 million per year. (Approved, SCP)
- Department of Development – CRA Tax Exemption: Approved a 12-year CRA real property tax exemption for a $1.5 million renovation of 5744 Southwick Boulevard into 14 housing units. (Approved, SCP)
- Department of Transportation: Authorized the purchase of one tandem axle plow truck for $375,000 via cooperative purchasing. (Approved, SEP)
- Department of Law: Approved cyber insurance renewal with Coalition Insurance for $109,813, a rate decrease from the prior year. (Approved, SEP)
- Fire and Rescue Operations – Vehicles: Authorized $1.25 million for fire vehicle purchases, including ambulance remounts and new ambulances. (Approved, SEP)
- Fire and Rescue Operations – Station Improvements: Authorized $250,000 for fire station improvements, including roof replacement at the fire shop, HVAC upgrades, and mold remediation. (Approved, SEP)
- Zoning: Approved four zoning items: zone changes at 2500 Collingwood Blvd, 4019 Rowan Oak Rd, 2855–2857 Lagrange St, and a special use permit for a water tower at 0 S. Detroit Ave. (Approved)
- Resolutions: Recognized Toledo Design Collective on its 25th anniversary and Ashley Westgate for her service as a legislative intern. (Approved)
- Appointment: Appointed John R. Sally Jr. to the Electrical Board of Control for a term expiring January 20, 2029. (Approved)
- New Ordinances: Introduced an ordinance amending Toledo Municipal Code to address biometric data collection (Section 557). (First reading)
- Council President Items: Approved reappointments to the Board of Honor (Barbara Floyd and Ramona Collins) and a $15,000 grant agreement with the University of Toledo’s Jack Ford Urban Affairs Center for an intern. (Approved)
Discussion Items
Property Readiness Evaluation Program (Vibrancy Initiative)
Brandon Sellhorst, Chief Growth Officer, presented item three to establish a new program providing up to $80,000 in reimbursable grants for pre-development assessments (environmental, geotechnical, feasibility studies) on vacant or underutilized properties. The program is intended to replace a lost federal brownfield assessment grant. Council members discussed the program’s scope, prioritization, match requirement (50-50), and measurement of success.
- Councilmember Driscoll expressed concern that the program might divert funds from the core Vibrancy Initiative and produce only “papers on a desk,” but he acknowledged the need and suggested future funding should be separate. He advocated for state-level lobbying for pre-development funds.
- Councilmember Martinez strongly supported the program, noting that pre-development money is the hardest to obtain. He asked for prioritization of environmental assessments over market studies and suggested working with banks to honor city-funded studies for longer periods.
- Councilmember Morris asked about the loss of the federal brownfield grant and how the city would prioritize projects (e.g., job creation vs. neighborhood redevelopment). She also cited specific examples like the Royal Hotel and a former gas station.
- Councilmember Gaddis requested program guidelines and metrics for success, and emphasized the need for a strategic focus on LMI census tracts and NERSA neighborhoods. She also asked about communication with district council members on selected projects.
Mr. Sellhorst responded that the program will be rolling, with underwriting to ensure studies are catalytic, and that success will be measured by redevelopment outcomes. The program was approved by consent (SCP).
Party in the Park 2026 Concert Series
Rachel Hart (Chief of Communications) and Cheryl Hardy (CEO of Hardy Communications) presented item five, requesting $50,000 to support 19 free Friday night concerts (up from 13 in 2025) between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Total event budget is nearly $700,000, with funding from the city ($50,000), Lucas County ($100,000), Connect Toledo ($100,000), DTID ($150,000), and Destination Toledo ($100,000), plus private sponsorships. Last year’s series drew over 50,000 attendees and generated $1.15 million in direct economic impact, with 80% of attendees visiting a bar or restaurant. The 2026 schedule includes 45+ local bands, two new events, and seven coordinated activation events with other downtown stakeholders.
- Councilmember Martinez expressed strong support, noting the positive impact on downtown bars and restaurants, and asked about ROI for other events like Jazz Fest. He encouraged more cross-promotion and use of the Huntington Center.
- Councilmember Gaddis praised the treatment of artists and asked for detailed economic impact data, including cell phone tracking. She also inquired about activating both sides of the river, which Ms. Hardy confirmed for June 12 (Riverwalk celebration) and other dates.
- Councilmember Morris asked about integrating conventions and suggested a “passport” app to encourage exploration of small businesses. She also asked about future funding to reduce the city’s contribution.
- Councilmember Driscoll supported the program and suggested offloading event permitting to a third party to speed approvals. Ms. Hardy noted that discussions are underway with Metro Parks to centralize downtown permitting.
- President Williams asked for a budget breakdown via referral and inquired about beer vendor lines, noting long wait times last year. Ms. Hardy said bartenders and POS systems have been doubled, and a new logistics expert expects to reduce service time to 20 seconds per customer.
The item was approved (SEP).
Ohio Mayors Alliance and U.S. Conference of Mayors Dues
Austin Mack (Mayor’s Office) and Carrie McCarthy (Executive Director of Ohio Mayors Alliance) presented items six and seven, requesting annual dues for the Ohio Mayors Alliance and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The Ohio Mayors Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of the 30 largest Ohio cities advocating for fiscal health, home rule, and transportation funding. Ms. McCarthy highlighted recent wins: increased gas tax revenues for cities, $250 million in federal pass-through grants for public safety, and ongoing efforts to prevent unfunded pension mandates (which would cost Toledo $4.5 million annually).
- Councilmember Gaddis asked for tangible benefits to constituents, and Ms. McCarthy cited the transportation funding and grant programs. Both items were approved (SEP).
Key Outcomes
- Approvals: All items on the agenda were approved, including the consent calendar, discussion items, and new business.
- Referrals: Councilmember Driscoll requested a referral on mowing expectations for boulevards, specifically the Anthony Wayne Trail, and he walked on an eight-month redo of the historic demolition moratorium, citing the recent TPS school closures and the need to protect structures like Harvard Elementary School.
- Future Actions: The property readiness program will begin after council approval; the Party in the Park series will run from May to September 2026; the city will continue to advocate for pre-development funding at the state level; and the activation committee will explore permitting reforms.
Meeting Transcript
$200,000 contract with JAVS. Javs is our audio visual vendor for the equipment inside the courtrooms that that uh create a permanent record of the proceedings. Uh if you might remember last year, Jeff and I were here. Uh I are uh to do the first three courtrooms. These are the next set of three courtrooms we're gonna do. The equipment is quite antiquated and old and breaks down with some consistency. Uh so we just come to uh seek an authorization to do the next set of three courtrooms, and we're requesting SAP. I would like to acknowledge Councilman Sarantu. There's Councilman Hobbes. All right. Councilman Hobbes, your recommendation. Thank you for your presentation. I read it. Thank you, NS SCP. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Item one is from the Department of Public Utilities. Uh good afternoon, Andy McClure, uh Commissioner Plan Operations from Department of Public Utilities. Uh item one is authorized or uh legislation uh looking for authorization to contract with a fire alarm uh company that specializes in the fire alarm repair at the water reclamation facility. Uh it's very complicated system and we do need uh to have them it be inspected from time to time and some seasonal and work done on it annually to make keep it in good functional order for the uh safety, health, and welfare of the employees and the equipment at the water reclamation facility. Um take any questions you have, and we would request SCP, please. President Williams, can you push the slide, please? Oh it's very helpful because we get to see the point. So I like that, and it that's not even it. Yeah, yes, it is. Thank you. Councilmember Gaddis. Thank you. Um is this for repair or maintenance or both? Like is there a part that's broken that we don't know about? There uh yeah, right now there is part that is broken, and they aren't doing a fire watch at the moment, so they need to get someone in to make that repair, but then it'll be further inspection. Okay, and then what's the timeline? Um this is going to be um it'll be an annual contract up to I believe it's three years. Okay, and the expenditures per year. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Uh Council Member Martinez, your recommendation? SCP. Thank you. Item two will be from the Department of Human Resources. Uh good afternoon, Mike Najelski, the director of the Department of Human Resources with me is uh Vicky Coleman, the uh deputy director, and also uh Jeff Riley from our health care consultant. Um item two is uh requesting authorization to enter an agreement with um Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield for the provision of stop loss insurance for our health care uh plan and also asking to waive competitive bidding under the total municipal code chapter 187. So our current contract with um stop loss or with Anthem, which is our current provider of this service, expires on June 4th. And um as is typical in the industry, the uh we can only typically these these contracts only last a year. So we're coming back to council this year for another uh another contract. What uh what Jeff and his team did over at Highland was we did an informal bid process um just to see what the market uh showed, and um as you'll see from the slide, only two companies uh besides Anthem responded, Berkshire Hathaway and Pan American. Uh both of them are frankly aren't um viable alternatives, just uh based upon the huge increase in cost as well as potentially additional liability. Um and so based upon that um we're asking for um for an approval to uh have a new one-year contract with um Anthem for um for the year for uh 26 into next uh 27.
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