Council Meeting Highlights

Mar 28, 2022

Cleveland (March 28, 2022) – City Council held its regular Monday meeting tonight, both in person in Council Chambers and through live streaming. The next council meeting is April 4.

Here are highlights:

Upgrades for Cleveland’s Police Helicopters: Council approved legislation authorizing the city to spend federal emergency funds to refurbish the city’s two police helicopters. The cost is $2.8 million. The work includes total upgrades of the two 21-year-old helicopters, including new engines, transmissions, rotors and more.

The funding comes from American Rescue Plan Act funding that Council had previously approved last year, $26 million, for various public safety equipment and supplies for police, fire, EMS, and animal control.

Police officials told council that refurbishing the two helicopters is less expensive than buying new ones. The price of a new helicopter is $3.4 million. Ord. No. 312-2022

Hopkins Rental Car Renegotiations:  Council extended rental car company leases twice during the pandemic at the request of the Department of Port Control. Council approved the department to solicit new proposals from the various car rental companies that operate at Cleveland’s airports. The car rental companies are  a “high generating source of non-airline revenue, approximately $12 million per annum pre pandemic” for the airport.

All the leases end January 31, 2023 and the port is expected to offer terms of five years with one five year option to renew. Hopkins Airport master plan is underway and airport officials have recommended that rental car companies be included in the new airport design.

In 1998, car rental was moved offsite of Hopkins International Airport and onto city owned property on Maplewood Drive. Shuttle service  departs from the Baggage Claim 24/7 to the car rental area, which takes  7-8 minutes. Ord. No.  246-2022

Introductions:

Police Jurisdiction Expansion: Council introduced legislation that would allow the Case Western Reserve University and University Circle police forces to expand their territorial jurisdiction within the City of Cleveland and outside the property of the university and east of University Circle.

The aim is to increase public safety presence in the vicinity. For CWRU it would include Little Italy and a portion of the police Fifth District from East 105th Street to East 120th Street between Wade Park Avenue and Ashbury Avenue. And for UCI police it would expand to East 123rd Street and Edge Hill Road in Cleveland.

The legislation has been referred to council’s Safety Committee. Ord. No. 210 and 211-2022