Public Comment

Why the adverb RUSH should be taken off the title of the Ortiz Rush Playground in Cleveland, Ohio. The traffic on W.74th Madison Ave. is or was speeding beyond the Capacity of the people. The playground neighborhood can stop being mistaken to be the issues of the Russian Country Lifestyle. The playground is in the American Country of the city of Cleveland Ohio. and should not be mistaken to be Russia. Thank you for Honoring the request to take the adverb RUSH in the Playground. Council 15.

We’re suppose to have a dumpster June 17 at west 30th street from 10:00 to 3:00. I loaded my truck to disposed of some debries but no dumpster was available. It’d been nice if we’re told is it was canceled.

The Library is the place where learning begins out side of grade school, high school and traditional college. Our libraries also serve communities from our youth to our elderly offering programs that provide meals during the summer when child hunger is at its highest. The library also provides 211 and belifare safe spaces for homeless teens. The libraries are all publicly accessible and all services are free of cost and are all welcome to come and learn, research, study and become better men and women and future scholars. As we all know, the library security team works hard in the efforts to maintain the safety and order within these spaces. The officers as well as the leadership team are challenged day to day with the same issues that are faced by any other local enforcement team working within our city. Though non commissioned and unarmed they do a remarkable job dealing with maintaining the libraries patron code of conduct as well as working together with men and women of our Cleveland division of Police. The Officers in the library are all state certified security professionals who are also training in CIT response. They assist in handling mental health, vagrancy and low level crime in which they rely on the response of Cleveland police. With the lack of applicants and the low numbers police in Cleveland these library officers are task with responding to calls for service at the branches. The library has 26 branches spread from east to west and cannot run lights and sirens as police officers do. Imagine being able to increase you security forces within your Cleveland public library. Commissioned officers are privileged to a lot more trainings and service techniques that provide a broader scope into dealing with citizens in our city. If the library would have its own officers commissioned the time response to serious matters has now been decreased. This would allow our Cleveland police forces to focused more on streets without being overwhelmed to respond to our libraries. This means the library can handle 70% of its calls for service without taking forces from our streets where the violence has increased significantly. Commissioning the library security staff to me is an awesome idea that will contribute to the relief and sense of security of the community. Knowing where you can go and feel safe is an important factor these days. Also having officers who can meet a threat of deadly force or domestic terrorism is a key element in providing a safe environment for our scholars and those who are the future of our city state and country.

In our neighborhood Carnegie Ave Nw kiss’s in 12 walk the streets after 1:00am ring doorbells and going through yards s all summer every summer! So tired of it,

Why should Council make the library guards not carry Weapons/ Vapes/ Pepper Spray on person - in the library. People fear for their life at the library because of Weapons/ Vapes/ Pepper Spray from Security Guards/Auxiliary., It is a unspoken fear implied from the Security Guards/ Auxiliary that the library is not a safe learning environment for the library members and the security guards are armed and dangerous., ready to Spray./ Injure./ Vaporize. The Library is a environment for learning, the library members should not have to fear Killing/Vaporization/Spray &/or injury because of the Security Guard'/ Auxiliary' Weapons/Vapes/ Pepper Spray. The final thought is a request for the library Security Guards / Auxiliary to stop carrying Weapons/Pepper spray on person in the library. The library members are not allowed to carry weapons, and the Security Guards / Auxiliary should not be allowed to scare the library members away because of Weapons/Vapes/Pepper Spray. The security guards not being allowed to carry weapons/Pepper Spray can create less injuries/ Less Homicides/Less Murders. Thanking the city to make the Library environment a murder less/less Homicidal / injure less environment by way of Weapons, Vapes/Pepper Spray not being allowed in the Library. Council 15.

The area of Chatfield Ave from W150th to Rocky River Drive is being used as a racetrack for sadistic narcissistic morons who fail to realize that it's a neighborhood where people live. Please put stop signs, a roundabout or other traffic calming measure at Chatfield and Greenhill and until then. Please post a police officer with a radar gun to stop this racing down a residential street at all hours of the day and night! The city would make significant revenue from speeding tickets on this one street alone if the police bothered to spend any time here. I understand the safety risk involved in high-speed chases on freeways but it's likely those same offenders speeding on the freeways causing unsafe conditions for all drivers, who are racing around the city streets, so come catch them here and put a stop to this!

Many councilpersons including the Council President (my councilman) continually attack the administration for walk on pieces of legislation that are introduced and passes the same day in Council, however that is EXACTLY what you are doing today with your self serving piece of campaign finance legislation. The process is unacceptable, I do not support it, and the community does not support this hypocritical behavior of this council.

(Plain Press June 2024) So now the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) wants to reach deeper into homeowners’ pockets in the form of two tax increases, euphemistically called school “levies,” that hit average Cleveland residents especially hard because it’s clear that wealthy and privileged people are simply not paying their fair share to support our urban public schools. Why are we not talking about decades of lavish property tax abatements for fancy hotels, swank office buildings, billionaire-owned sports franchises and luxury condos and apartments that effectively strip urban public schools of desperately needed revenue increases? Why are we not talking about gargantuan nonprofit land holdings in Cleveland and massive nonprofit endowments delivering huge income streams that are exempt from property and other tax? LETTER Taxpayer provided subsidies and tax abatements for property development like luxury condos and fancy apartments are especially heinous, encouraging powerful, well-connected developers and their well-to-do clients to evade their share of support for urban public schools, while making a financial killing on their property investments. What do the billionaire-owned sports franchises pay in property tax? And what do the heavily subsidized hotels, office buildings and high-rises’ pay? And what about the massive non-profit industrial complex of hospitals and universities sitting on prime land here? Isn’t it time for them to step up along with other property owners and support our urban public schools? Meanwhile, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and the City of Cleveland engage in mind-numbing austerity talk with respect to the public schools as if it’s somehow a good thing, sounding like sadistic neoliberal business orthodoxy: cut the fat, tighten the belt, trim the deadwood; like this is an inherently healthy process. It’s anything but healthy. It’s deeply toxic. It’s deeply toxic because our kids are going to suffer as a result. As property owners, my wife and I have supported every school tax levy posed to us in the last 50 years, but now on a fixed income, the ever-increasing property valuations, driven up by tax-abated luxury developments and higher ensuing taxes, are getting harder and harder to manage. It’s especially hard because we know full-well that the lion’s share of the tax burden falls on average people, while phantom “trickle-down” tax advantages favor the wealthy, corporations and huge non-profit institutions that do not pay their fair share, while our politicians coddle them because they are big employers or campaign donors. When running for County Executive Chris Ronayne had suggested certain local nonprofits should step up and throw money into a pot to better support and improve community health, a great idea which should logically include support to urban public schools. The fact is our public-school funding mechanism is structurally inadequate, unfair, racist, and deeply corrupted. Isn’t it the right time to call that out publicly and do something about it? My wife and I will of course support the Cleveland school levy, as we always do, because children need a decent education. We will also call out the powerful and privileged who do not pay their fair share. We hope you will too. Because sunlight is said to be a very good disinfectant, especially for moral rot. Arthur Hargate Cleveland

WEAK ACCOUNTABILITY BY PUBLIC OFFICIAL IS A CENTRAL CAUSE OF POLICE CORRUPTION AND ABUSE OF POWER HERE IN CLEVELAND. THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CONCLUDED THAT THE C.P.D. DEMOSTRATED A PATTERN OF " UNEASONABLE AND UNNECESSARY USE OF FORCE". C.P.D. USED GUNS, TASERS. PEPPER SPRAY AND FISTS IN EXCESS. ONCE AGAIN CLEVELAND BLACK COMMUNITY HAS BEEN BETRAYED BY SO-CALLED BLACK LEADERS AND CLERGY BEHIND THE MAYOR ATTEMPT TO CIRCUMVENT POLICY OR RULE OF LAW. IT IS REPREHISIBLE THAT MAYOR BIBBS WOULD ATTEMPT TO EMPLOY SOMEONE AS CHIEF PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR WHO WAS CHARGE WITH A FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHT LAWSUIT FOR THE VIOLATION OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF (2) ELDERLY BLACK FOLKS. WE NEED TO HOLD LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR MISCONDUCT ALONG WITH ITS BLACK POLITICAL COLLABORATORS. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE,

I do NOT support our HUD and/or general funds being used to pay Townsend Tree Trimming to come and destroy the trees on lots so the CHN can build their crappy houses on. Every year, CHN builds 30 of these houses built out of matchbox sticks, and before the city sells them the lots for $200, the City of Cleveland spends TENS OF THOUSANDS of our dollars to Townsend Tree to clear the lots. Why should the city of Cleveland not only sell the lots at a loss of $200, but then also pay thousands to have the trees removed and trimmed? CHN should pay for that! It is unfair that we receive UNEQUAL treatment under the law. As neighbors we are not allowed to purchase land bank lots at market price, but you will sell them at a discount of only $200 to CHN AND you pay thousands to get rid of the trees. Residents should have first right of refusal or atleast equal treatment, which is required by the 14th amendment: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Section 2.