Council Meeting Highlights

Jan 10, 2022

Cleveland (January 10, 2022) - City Council returned to its regular meeting schedule tonight. The legislative body was called to order by Council President Blaine Griffin who had recently been elected president by a vote of his council colleagues. The next council meeting will be held Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.

Council President Griffin tonight gaveled in the 17-member legislative body that includes five new members who were elected in November by voters in their wards.

Here are highlights from the meeting:

Introduced legislation authorizing the city to accept funding from the United States Treasury Department to continue the ongoing Emergency Rental Assistance program to eligible Cleveland residents. The city of Cleveland was awarded these funds through a reallocation by the U.S. Department of Treasury, which identifies excess funds not used by other states, local governments and other grantees and redistributes them.

Due to Covid-19, many families have fallen back on their monthly rents and utility bills and are in desperate need. The city’s share of the funds is estimated to be about $2.8 million.

The legislation also authorizes the city to enter in to contracts with various community development corporations to continue the program. Ord. No. 16-2022.

Introduced a resolution urging Cleveland-Marshall College of Law to change the name of the school because its names sake, John Marshall, was a slave owner.

Though Marshall opposed the slave trade, he nevertheless owned slaves most of his life. In the early 19th century, Marshall expressed reservations about large-scale emancipation of slaves, in part because he feared a large number of freed slaves would rise up in revolution.

Historians believe that Marshall owned hundreds of slaves on his several properties in various states, and bought and sold slaves throughout his life. The resolution was sponsored by Councilman Kevin Conwell. Res. No. 25-2022.

Introduced a resolution urging Mayor Bibb and the city’s newly established “Covid 19 Task Force” to require businesses to provide hand sanitizer for the public at their points of sale and gas stations provide hand sanitizer at their gas pumps.

On January 6, 2022, Mayor Bibb announced a new Covid-19 Task Force “to monitor pandemic trends, encourage residents to get vaccinated, and offer policy advice to help tamp down the spread of illness.”

Council’s resolution, sponsored by Councilman Kevin Conwell, notes that one of the better ways to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus is to sanitize hands after contact with items and objects in areas that have high concentrations of people.

The resolution says the task force should assess businesses and other areas where people congregate to ensure responsible protocols are being followed, including washing hands and using hand sanitizer. Res. No. 26-2022.a