Council Meeting Highlights

Mar 31, 2025

City Council held a regular meeting in person today in Council Chambers, which was also live-streamed. Council's next meeting is April 7th. Here are tonight’s highlights:

Greater Cleveland Food Bank Hurt by State and Federal Cuts - Poor Residents to Feel the Brunt: Council approved a resolution, sponsored by Council President Blaine A. Griffin and Councilman Mike Polensek and joined by all Council members, opposing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s cuts and proposed state budget cuts to food assistance programs impacting the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and urging the federal government and the Ohio legislature to restore those dollars to adequately fund critical nutrition programs for people and families in need.

The federal government cancelled 20 shipments from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) program to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank (GCFB) that were scheduled for delivery between April and July of this year. That means the federal government cancelled 553,000 pounds of food—valued at $1 million—leaving families in need without food assistance and putting additional strain on GCFB’s distribution efforts.

A few weeks ago the USDA informed food banks that the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program, which allows food banks to buy nutritious, locally grown food from small farmers, will end on June 30, 2025, resulting in the loss of nearly 1 million pounds of food for distribution by the GCFB —much of it fresh produce and healthy proteins that families rely on.

Together with the federal reductions, if dollars are not restored to Ohio’s Food and Agricultural Clearance programs in the state budget, GCFB anticipates a loss of 3.9 million pounds of food in 2025 and another 5.1 million pounds of food in 2026. Res. No. 457-2025

Portable Bathrooms Donated: Council authorized the city's acceptance of a donation from the Campus District located at 1717 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44114. They currently own three (3) Portland Loos that were purchased with County CARES Act funds. Project Summary: The loos are durable, single-unit public restroom structures. They are currently in storage, and the Department of Public Works will install them to serve our unhoused population and the general public. Cleveland currently has zero public restroom facilities (excluding restrooms in Metroparks). The structures are valued at $145,000 each, for a total donation valued at $437,283.75. The portable bathrooms, while given free, will cost the city to install them. Who will service them is in discussion, but the plan is to clean them three times a day every day but Sunday, when they will be cleaned twice. The first is being installed at Perk Park the others later at Canal Basin Park. Ord. No. 1062-2024

Rust Belt Riders Consolidating: Council authorized the city to enter into a ground lease with Rust Belt Riders Composting, LLC, for the use and occupancy of property located on East 79th Street to consolidate its composting facility operations and install a retail operation. The city owns the six-acre parcel. The lease is for 10 years with two ten-year renewal options. The amount of rent would be set at fair market value, as established by appraisal. The single location will house operations; composting; soil blending, packaging, distribution, and receiving; plus a retail space to sell RBR’s soil products. The projected project cost to operationalize the site is about $3.5 million. Ord. No. 40-2025

Introductions  

Legislation was introduced to authorize the city to enter into a contract with the Ohio Department of Health to perform environmental lead investigations of residences of Medicaid-eligible and non-Medicaid-eligible children and to enter into one or more contracts with various agencies, entities, or individuals to provide services necessary to implement this ordinance. Ord. No. 425-2025

Council introduced a resolution, sponsored by Council members Stephanie Howse-Jones and Brian Kazy, adopting the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights to declare the City of Cleveland’s commitment to providing access to parks and green spaces and a wide variety of quality outdoor opportunities for every Cleveland child. Res. No. 436-2025