Cleveland City Council Municipal Services and Properties Committee Deliberates Five Ordinances at Scheduled Committee Meeting

Feb 06, 2023

Cleveland, OH (February 6, 2023) - Cleveland City Council’s Municipal Services and Properties (MSP) Committee met on February 6, 2023, to review five ordinances. The meeting in its entirety can be viewed by clicking here. These ordinances respectively address granting authorization for the administration to enter into a purchase agreement for the location of the proposed police headquarters (# 54-2023) and entering into a contract with a non-profit organization for the management, operation, and improvement of the Highland Park Golf Course (#117-2023). 

The Committee viewed a presentation (viewable here) on Ordinance 54-2023 given by members of the Mayor’s administration and the developers for the proposed police headquarters site. Committee members posed questions about the cost of the proposed facility, the owners of the properties, and the developer's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the procurement and construction of the property. After more than an hour of deliberation, the Committee approved Ordinance 54-2023. It now heads to the Safety Committee for further consideration.

The Committee viewed a presentation (viewable here) from the Mayor’s administration on Ordinance 117-2023, which focuses on the Highland Park Golf Course. The administration seeks to partner with a newly created non-profit organization - the Highland Park Golf Foundation (HPGF) - to execute a 30-year qualified management agreement for the course. If the Ordinance is approved, the City will pay an annual management fee of $250,000 to HPGF for operations and management, with the expectation that the course could be self-sustaining by the fifth year of HPGF’s operation. HPGF plans to contract with Troon, which manages more than 700 golf courses around the world. Administrative officials shared during the committee that the City pays more than $700,000 annually (on average) for the maintenance and operation of the course. The City would pay up to $500,000 this year - in addition to the $250,000 management fee this year, should the ordinance be approved.

Questions posed by the Committee focused on the subjects of HPGF metrics, continued access to the course by Cleveland residents, capacity for HPGF to fundraise, annual costs to operate Highland Park, and the length of the Qualified Management Agreement.

The Committee requested additional information before moving Ordinance 117-2023 forward. 

The Committee also deliberated and approved Ordinances focused on allowing Cleveland Clinic to perform maintenance on the facility’s Neurological Institute Building (33-2023), giving consent to the Ohio Department of Transportation to repaint pier towers on the Lorain Avenue bridge (108-2023), and approving property insurance for FirstEnergy Stadium (109-2023). Ordinance 33-2023 heads to the Development, Planning, and Sustainability Committee for further deliberation, while Ordinances 108-2023 and 109-2023 head to the Finance, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. 

The MSP Committee consists of Chair Kevin L. Bishop (Ward 2), Vice Chair Richard A. Starr (Ward 5), Joseph T. Jones (Ward 1), Anthony T. Hairston (Ward 10), Danny Kelly (Ward 11), Rebecca Maurer (Ward 12), and Brian Kazy (Ward 16).

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