Council Meeting Highlights

Dec 04, 2023

Cleveland (Dec. 4, 2023) - City Council held its regular meeting tonight, both in person in Council Chambers and live streamed. This is the last Council meeting of the year. Council meetings restart Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. Here are today’s highlights:

Construction Reform: Council President Blaine A. Griffin sponsored construction reform legislation, and council approved, allowing alternative construction delivery methods available to the City for public improvements and give developers more tools. Typically, the city had to do “design, bid, build.” The legislation allows for that as well as “design, build” and “construction manager” to determine the best and most cost effective method for a development and streamline the process. This reform, along with the Community Benefits ordinance passed in June, will maximize benefits to city neighborhoods and residents, and build capacity and meaningful opportunities for minority, female and small business contractors in development projects. Ord. No. 1256-2023

Warner & Swasey Building Reimagined: Council approved legislation to give a $1 million grant to MidTown Cleveland Inc. to  partially finance redevelopment of a portion of the Warner & Swasey building located at 5701 Carnegie Avenue into affordable senior and family housing. The funding is coming through revenue recovery funds from the American Rescue Plan Act the city received. Vacant since 1985, the five-story building was constructed over a six-year period from 1904 to 1910. It replaced the original Warner & Swasey building on the site built in the early 1880s. Warner & Swasey built telescopes and machine lathes in the new, as well as the old, building on Carnegie Avenue. And during WWII, the company built parts for planes, ships and tanks. In 2019, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Ord. No. 1294-2023

Making Homes Lead Safe: Council approved using $900,000 for grants with various entities to assist with ensuring homes are lead safe. The funding is from a portion of City’s Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. Legislation detailing use of funding for lead safe programs or services was first passed in 2022 and this was set aside until contractors could be acquired. Ord. No. 1286-2023

Judge Pianka Way: Council approved designating West Clinton Avenue from West 58th Street to West 65th Street with a secondary and honorary designation of “Judge Raymond L. Pianka Way.” A long-time Cleveland Housing Judge, Pianka implemented numerous innovative programs to obtain compliance with the City of Cleveland's building, housing, and health codes. These programs included requiring negligent landowners to pay neighbors for the blight their properties caused and imposing daily fines on landowners who didn't show up in his courtroom for housing code violations. He died in 2017. The designation is sponsored by Councilmember Jenny Spencer, and then all of Council joined as sponsors.  Ord. No. 1372-2023