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Record of Proceedings

Toledo City Council Special Meeting: Reconsideration and Passage of Water Tower Ordinance, June 2, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, June 2, 2026
BodyToledo, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, June 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 7:12
Transcript — Verbatim
1:03

I call it an order this the special city council meeting of June 2nd, 2026.

1:08

Clerk, please call the roll.

1:10

Kramer, here.

1:13

Martinez?

1:14

McPherson?

1:15

Here.

1:15

Meldon?

1:16

Here.

1:17

Morris here.

1:18

Sarantu?

1:19

Here.

1:20

Williams.

1:21

Here.

1:22

Driscoll?

1:23

Here.

1:23

Gaddis?

1:24

Here.

1:25

Hobbs?

1:26

Here.

1:27

Jones here.

1:28

Colmines?

1:29

Here.

1:29

Eleven present.

1:31

All right.

1:45

Councilwoman McPherson.

1:48

Thank you, President Williams.

1:52

Yes, I would um like to reconsider um the vote that um was taken last week on ordinance two two five-26, the special use permit for the majority major utility water tower at nineteen ten north over road.

2:13

All right.

2:14

Uh I need to do a slow roll.

2:18

Kramer.

2:20

Yes.

2:20

Excuse me.

2:21

Oh, I'm sorry.

2:22

Can we clarify so that each council understands the slow roll and the yes and the no, please?

2:29

So in order to reconsider, we need a yes vote.

2:33

To not reconsider, we need a no vote.

2:35

So in order to reconsider ordinance number two five-26, we need uh a yes vote if you want to have it reconsidered, and a no vote if you don't want to have it reconsidered.

2:50

Thank you, President.

2:54

Kramer, yes.

2:56

McPherson?

2:57

Yes.

2:58

Meldon?

2:58

Yes.

2:59

Morris?

3:00

No.

3:01

Sarantu?

3:02

Yes.

3:03

Williams?

3:03

Yes.

3:04

Driscoll.

3:05

Yes.

3:06

Gaddis?

3:07

No.

3:08

Hobbs?

3:09

Yes.

3:09

Jones?

3:10

Yes.

3:11

Coal Mimes.

3:13

Yes.

3:18

Motion carried.

3:19

All right.

3:20

Uh clerk, please read ordinance two two five-twenty-six.

3:25

Ordinance two two two five-26 as granting a special use permit of major public utility water towers for a site located at 1910 Northover Road in the city of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, subject to certain conditions in declaring an emergency.

3:45

Thank you, President.

3:46

Um, and just for um FYI information as far as the reconsideration, there was um additional information that I um later found out, and many of you know I was off on sick leave and was not aware, and I did not do my due diligence in reading everything prior to uh the vote, my vote.

4:12

Um, most times you will understand that I support the constituents.

4:18

And when council woman morse stated that I was in full support because uh the constituents in her district were in disagreement of this going further and beyond and reading all that we had done um since I got on council with this starting in November of 2020 and going back and reading the additional things.

4:47

I then uh came to the really the realization that we need to, and not only that we need to, but we have to, according to the Ohio EPA, we have to be in accordance with that, and that could have actually cost the city a substantial amount of money daily because we had not done this.

5:11

So I just wanted to clarify on my stance how and why I voted the way I did and why I asked for the reconsideration.

5:21

Thank you, President.

5:22

Thank you.

5:23

Councilwoman Morris.

5:25

Thank you.

5:25

I will be brief.

5:27

Um I think I think everyone understands that um I am not in favor of this, and the reason why I'm not in favor of this, and I do not believe that the administration did its due diligence in looking for another location for this uh for these two not one but two water towers in this neighborhood.

5:46

Um I've had uh I have petitions, I I have uh people who have bought their homes uh and now um cannot sell their homes because of the property loss uh the property value loss.

6:00

So I just I want I I do want you to know that it's important when you have these major construction uh projects, they're gonna affect people.

6:10

I would ask everyone in this room, would you like to live with these in your backyard?

6:14

I don't think that you would.

6:15

And so I will never tire working uh fur f feverishly for my constituents.

6:22

So I will continue my um uh my no vote on this.

6:27

So thank you.

6:28

Thank you.

6:29

Emergency Kramer, yes.

6:35

Oh, I'm sorry, I I had a fast roll call.

6:38

Um Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris surround two Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Come's motion carried, pass it, Kramer, yes, McPherson, yes, Meldon, yes, Morris, no.

6:54

Sarantu, yes, Williams, yes, Driscoll, yes, Gaddis, no, Hobbs, yes, Jones, yes, comimes, yes.

7:06

Ordinance passed.

7:07

Thank you so much.

7:09

Uh seeing no further business, meeting is adjourned.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
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Summary of Proceedings

Toledo City Council Special Meeting: Reconsideration and Passage of Water Tower Ordinance, June 2, 2026

This special city council meeting was called to reconsider a prior vote on Ordinance 225-26, which grants a special use permit for a major utility water tower at 1910 Northover Road. After a roll call vote, the motion to reconsider passed, and the ordinance was subsequently approved on an emergency basis by a 9-2 vote.

Discussion Items

  • Reconsideration of Ordinance 225-26: Councilwoman McPherson moved to reconsider the vote taken the previous week on the special use permit for the water tower. She explained that she had been on sick leave and had not read all materials prior to her earlier vote, apologizing for not doing her due diligence. She noted that the Ohio EPA required compliance, and that failure to act could cost the city a substantial amount of money daily.
  • Councilwoman Morris's Opposition: Councilwoman Morris stated she was not in favor of the project because the administration had not looked for another location for two water towers in the neighborhood. She cited petitions from constituents who could not sell their homes due to property value loss. She emphasized that she would continue to work for her constituents and would maintain her no vote.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to Reconsider: The motion to reconsider Ordinance 225-26 passed on a slow roll call vote. Votes: Kramer (yes), McPherson (yes), Meldon (yes), Morris (no), Sarantu (yes), Williams (yes), Driscoll (yes), Gaddis (no), Hobbs (yes), Jones (yes), Colmines (yes). Motion carried.
  • Ordinance 225-26 Passed: After reconsideration, the ordinance granting the special use permit for the water tower at 1910 Northover Road was passed on an emergency basis. The final roll call vote was: Kramer (yes), McPherson (yes), Meldon (yes), Morris (no), Sarantu (yes), Williams (yes), Driscoll (yes), Gaddis (no), Hobbs (yes), Jones (yes), Colmines (yes). 9 yes, 2 no. Ordinance passed.

Meeting Transcript

I call it an order this the special city council meeting of June 2nd, 2026. Clerk, please call the roll. Kramer, here. Martinez? McPherson? Here. Meldon? Here. Morris here. Sarantu? Here. Williams. Here. Driscoll? Here. Gaddis? Here. Hobbs? Here. Jones here. Colmines? Here. Eleven present. All right. Councilwoman McPherson. Thank you, President Williams. Yes, I would um like to reconsider um the vote that um was taken last week on ordinance two two five-26, the special use permit for the majority major utility water tower at nineteen ten north over road. All right. Uh I need to do a slow roll. Kramer. Yes. Excuse me. Oh, I'm sorry. Can we clarify so that each council understands the slow roll and the yes and the no, please? So in order to reconsider, we need a yes vote. To not reconsider, we need a no vote. So in order to reconsider ordinance number two five-26, we need uh a yes vote if you want to have it reconsidered, and a no vote if you don't want to have it reconsidered. Thank you, President. Kramer, yes. McPherson? Yes. Meldon? Yes. Morris? No. Sarantu? Yes. Williams? Yes. Driscoll.

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