Council Meeting Highlights

Apr 15, 2024

Cleveland (April 15, 2024) - City Council held its regular meeting tonight, both in person in Council Chambers and live streamed. Council's next meeting will be Monday, April 22nd. Here are today’s highlights:

New EV Charging Stations: Council approved selling a vacant parcel of land for $8,400 located on the east side of W. 130th Street between Interstate 71 and Brooklawn Avenue. The buyer owns a gas station and convenience store adjacent to the north of the City land and plans to expand its business to include six electronic vehicle (“EV”) charging stations. The buyer, besides the EV charging stations, will make other improvements, including landscaping, fencing and signage. Ord. No. 111-2024

Community Engagement Fund for Police: Council approved legislation, initially sponsored by Councilman Brian Kazy, to establish a $50,000 fund for the use by the Division of Police to reimburse officers for certain expenditures incurred in the performance of their duties supporting community engagement. The $50,000 is to be distributed evenly between each of the five police districts. Ord. No. 262-2024

North Marginal Road Connector: Council approved the city spending $130,000 and partnering with Cuyahoga County and Cleveland Metroparks for the construction of an off-road paved segment known as the North Marginal Rd Connector project. The project will construct a 2.7 mile multipurpose path along the north side of the roadway within the existing City right-of-way for North Marginal Road. The total estimated cost is nearly $13.3 million. The remainder of the funding sources are: $6,536,655 Federal Funding (NOACA); $5 million from the Metroparks (Mandel Foundation grant); and $1,618,375 from Cuyahoga County. Ord. No. 227-2024

Right to Counsel: Cleveland City Council continues to support an initiative they established several years ago to give families facing eviction free legal services. The results have been overwhelmingly positive. Council approved providing United Way of Greater Cleveland, as the lead partner organization, $750,000 to continue the program to provide access to legal services in eviction proceedings. Ord. No. 340-2024

Pedestrian Plaza Possibilities on W. 29th: Council approved accepting a $100,000 grant from the Project for Public Spaces to conduct a West 29th Street Open Street Program that may ultimately create one or more pedestrian plaza(s) in area(s) along West 29th Street north of Clinton Avenue and South of Detroit Avenue. The West 29th Street Open Street Program could result in designs and installations of one or more pedestrian plazas. Local residents, property owners, tenants and other stakeholders will be engaged in the study, selection, design, programming, and installation of the pedestrian plaza(s) in the area(s) selected along West 29th Street. Ord. No. 341-2024

University Circle Special Improvement District: Council approved the creation of a new special improvement district in the City by University Circle Inc. University Circle Inc. is responsible for a 1-square-mile area that includes Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, Severance Hall and the Cleveland Museum of Art, and wants to raise funding in assessments to bolster its safety and security services. Ohio City, Gordon Square and the downtown neighborhoods have special improvement districts. Res. No. 321-2024

Billing for Emergency Services Partially Outsourced: Council approved the city to employ one or more professional consultants or vendors to provide emergency medical billing services, coding, reimbursement and compliance services for the Division of Assessments and Licenses. The administration-sponsored legislation said its purpose was for “supplementing the regularly employed staff of the several departments of the City of Cleveland.”

The selection and compensation of the vendor will be made by the Board of Control. The administration stressed that this legislation will help increase revenue for Emergency Medical Services billing. Ord. No. 75-2024