City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to Green City Council. Today is Tuesday, June 9th, 2026. I'd like to call this meeting to order. And would you please join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll call of council members.

Mr. Manger.

Here.

Mr. Brandenburg.

Here.

Mr. DeVitas. Here. Mr. Noble. Here. Mr. Neugebauer.

Yes. Here. Sorry.

Mr. Humphrey.

Here.

And Mr. Spate.

Here.

Okay, we are in council study sessions. We have two items. First is TMP 5381, approval of the May 26, 2026 council meeting minutes. Motion to approve. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Please call the roll.

Mr. Neugebauer.

Yes.

Mr. Maker.

Yes.

Mr. Brandenburg.

Yes.

Mr. DeVitas. Yes. Mr. Noble.

Yes.

Mr. Humphrey.

Yes.

And Mr. Spate.

Yes.

Okay, motion carries.

Next is TMP 5389, approval of the April 2026 electronic financial report subject to audit. Move to approve. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Please call the roll.

Mr. Humphrey.

Yes.

Mr. DeVitas.

Yes.

Mr. Maker.

Yes.

Mr. Brandenburg.

Yes.

Mr. Noble.

Yes.

Mr. Neugebauer. Yes. And Mr. Spate.

Yes.

Okay, motion carries.

Thank you, ma'am. Next is our public report. We do not have anybody signed in this evening. We'll move on to public hearing, none scheduled, and we'll go to the reading of correspondence.

Okay, we have the May 6th, 2026 Design Review Board Minutes, the June 3rd, 2026 Design Review Board Meeting Agenda, the May 2026 Planning Department Monthly Financial Summary, the Summit County Sheriff's May 2026 Activity Report, and the 2026 Charter Review Commission Recommendations Letter.

And that is all. Thank you, ma'am. And let's go to the new legislation for items on first reading, please.

We have 2026-R24 resolution authorizing a municipal economic development grant agreement with Hoover Cassion LLC and declaring emergency.

That would be referred to the Planning and Economic Development Committee.

We have 2026-R29, a resolution authorizing the mayor to apply for a grant under the fiscal year 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant, AFG, in the category of vehicle acquisition from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the purchase of a fire engine and declaring emergency.

That is referred to the Public Safety Committee.

Mr. President. Mr. DeVitas. We did discuss this item in public safety tonight due to the first reading passage request and the necessity to push this through if we would like to apply for this grant. The deadline is June 22nd and our next meeting is on the 23rd, hence why the first reading passage request has been brought to us. Basically, as the title says, this would be requesting the money to replace one of our fire engines in our fleet and specifically the engine at Station 2. This is a 2007 fire engine, and that puts it at... I'm sorry, 2009, which puts it at 17 years old. We like to... Hopefully get new engines within a 20-year period. There is a three-year backlog when you order a fire engine, so that's something for us to consider. That's why Chief is being proactive in bringing this forward. He wasn't able to give us an approximation of how likely we are to receive this grant. Being the age isn't very old, it may not be super likely, but Chief is adamant he will continue to apply if we don't receive it at this time. I think it's a very good thing to look for to offset a major cost. Basically, the AFG grant would be a 90-10 split, 90% grant funding and 10% city match up to $1 million. If the truck comes in over $1 million, then we would only be eligible to receive up to $900,000 from the grant fund. Um, that about sums it up. I think, uh, yeah, that's, that's pretty much it. So, um, that's just, just asking to put the grant in. If, uh, if we are awarded it, then there'll be legislation coming back asking for the, uh, appropriation of funds and we will be able to move forward. So, um, committee did concur that we should bring it to a vote tonight. So, Like to make a motion to bypass committee deliberations on 2026 R29.

Second. We have a motion and a second to bypass committee deliberations on 2026 R29. Any discussion? Please call the roll.

Mr. DeVitas.

Yes.

Mr. Humphrey.

Yes.

Mr. Mager.

Yes.

Mr. Brandenburg.

Yes.

Mr. Noble.

Yes.

Mr. Neugebauer. Yes. Mr. Spate. Yes. Motion carries.

Motion to bypass the three reading rule for 2026 R29. Second. Second.

We have a motion and a second to bypass the three reading rule in 2026 R-29. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Mr. DeVitas.

Yes.

Mr. Humphrey.

Yes.

Mr. Mager.

Yes.

Mr. Brandenburg.

Yes.

Mr. Noble.

Yes.

Mr. Neugebauer.

Yes.

Mr. Spate.

Yes.

Motion carries.

And I'd like to make a motion to adopt 2026 R29.

Second. We have a motion and a second to adopt 2026 R29. Any discussion? Please call the roll.

Mr. DeVitas.

Yes.

Mr. Humphrey.

Yes.

Mr. Maker.

Yes.

Mr. Brandenburg.

Yes.

Mr. Noble.

Yes.

Mr. Neugebauer.

Yes.

Mr. Spate.

Yes.

All right. 2026 R29 is adopted 7-0. Thank you. And last, for new legislation, we have 2026-15, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract with Regional Income Tax Agency, RETA, a regional council of governments organized pursuant to Chapter 167 of the Ohio Revised Code for the administration, collection, and enforcement of the municipal income tax of the City of Green, Ohio, and declaring an emergency.

That will be referred to the Finance Committee.

That is all I have.

Thank you, ma'am. All right, let's move on to our report of Council Committees. First committee to report this evening is Finance Chair by Mr. Humphrey.

Thank you, Mr. President. Finance did meet this evening. Myself, Mr. Neugebauer, and Mr. Spate were present. We had several items on second reading. The first was the second reading of 2026. R27 has amended a resolution modifying appropriations within certain funds in order to provide sufficient funding for and declaring an emergency. The memorandum total on this is $481,802. The largest item on that was a $375,000 item. It's not something that the city has to write a check for, but a property owner that owned a property subject to a TIF appealed the tax valuation issued by the county that tax evaluation, that appeal was granted by the Board of Tax Appeals. As a result of that, when the county wrote us a check for the amount that they owed us for the TIFs across the City of Green, $375,000 was withheld from that because the valuation on the property went down. And so we have to account for that in some way, and so it's accounted for through this resolution. There were other items that were covered. I'm not going to cover them here because of the lateness of the hour. And those who are interested can watch the committee meeting on that. The second item we had on second reading was 2026.11. This is ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds in a maximum aggregate principal amount of $1,500,000 for the purpose of retiring notes issued to pay the cost of phase one of the Southwood Drive Extension Project and declaring an emergency in 2025. $1.35 million of bond anticipation notes were issued by the City of Green. Now those will be refunded and an amount of $1.5 million that will cover the repayment of the bond anticipation notes along with the financing costs and all transaction costs associated with issuing these bonds and this relates to the phase one Southwood extension. Again, this is on second reading, so the committee will request time on that.

Time is granted.

The next item of legislation we had on second reading is 2026-12. This is an ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds and a maximum aggregate principal amount of $3,900,000 for the purposes of paying or reimbursing the city for cost of various street improvements and declaring an emergency This $3.9 million relates to the city's 20% of the Arlington-Bettler Road roundabout project. The federal government is paying 80%. The City of Green is paying 20%. This represents, for this portion of the project, the City of Green's 20% responsibility, plus it covers the contingencies and financing costs Along with that, the federal government will be paid through ODOT, but not out of these funds. Those will come separate from that and will not be coming through the City of Green as a conduit. Again, this is second reading, and the committee requests time. Time is granted. We had a second reading of 2026-13. This is an ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds in a maximum aggregate principal amount of $1,400,000 for the purposes of paying or reimbursing the city for costs of phase two of the Southwood Drive extension project and declaring an emergency. Of course, this relates to the overall project in the Arlington-Bettler corridor. We've talked about this over the last couple of meetings about the Southwood Drive extension. This simply issues bonds for that extension to take place. Again, this is on second reading in the committee request time. Time is granted. And then the final item we had in committee this evening was a second reading of 2026-14. This is an ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds in a maximum aggregate principal amount of $12,865,000 for the purpose of refunding all or a portion of the outstanding maturities of the city's general obligation bonds issued in 2016. and 2020 and declaring an emergency. So this piece of legislation is not taking on additional debt. We issued bonds in 2016 and 2020. When interest rates fluctuate, if the city can refinance those bonds, call them back, reissue bonds and get a better interest rate, Oftentimes, it does make sense to do that so that we decrease the overall cost to the citizens of the City of Green. We've been advised by Bond Council that we have some opportunities in that overall issuance from 2016 and 2020, and this simply gives the administration authority to be able to call bonds and and refinance those if we can find lower interest rates that are available in the marketplace. And so sometimes this makes sense in this situation. It gives at least the flexibility to the administration to be able to do that. Just to give an overview of all the legislation that we talked about tonight with all of the bonds, the new debt that is being taken on by the city amounts to $6,450,000. in bonds, but this particular piece of legislation will not add to the overall debt level to the city. Again, this is on second reading, and the committee would request time. Time is granted. We had no items of old or new business, and we adjourned many hours ago. I can't remember the time.

Awesome. Thank you, Mr. Humphrey. Our next committee to report this evening is Environment and Parks, chaired by Mr. Neugebauer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

All members were present this evening. We had no items of legislation, no old or new business. We did talk a little bit about the tree planting in some of the neighborhoods that's been going on recently, and also the baseball tournament that was hosted by... I guess, what is it? GBSF. GBSF. They had 78 team tournament, which is their largest tournament that they've ever had over 14 fields in green. And I guess it was a big success, and thanks to the city staff for making that happen. We adjourned at 5.33.

Thank you, Mr. Neugebauer. Next committee to report is Public Safety, chaired by Mr. DeVitas.

Thank you, Mr. President. Myself, Mr. Humphrey, and Mr. Neugebauer were present for public safety tonight. We did have numerous items before the committee, the first of which was a license item. This is TMP 5383, Friendly Express 7, LTD, new C1 and C2 liquor license, 4053 South Main Street, Green, Ohio, 44319. As it states, this is a new liquor license for the potential Friendly Express business at the former Rite Aid location on the corner of 619 and Main Street. That company's project is currently in the design review board, had been tabled, so they're still dealing with the process of getting approval to go forward with their project. However, their liquor license application kind of moves forward And at a separate pace than that is not married to the, I guess the process, but we did have some discussion. Mr. Let us know that if, if they end up getting their license and the business does not go through within our city limits, then they would have to give that back to the state liberal control board or sell it back. And Mr. Mager provided some context in that regard as well. So basically, the whole point was we can make our motion whether we request or don't request a hearing regarding this liquor license at this establishment. despite whatever may be going on with their development. So the committee had no concerns, neither did council, and the sheriff's office had none to provide to us as this is a new license. So as the State Liquor Control Board actually issues the license, we have a ability as a council to request a hearing at the board if we so desire. Like I said, nobody had any concerns, so At this point, I'd like to make a motion to not request a hearing on TMP 5383. Second.

We have a motion and a second to not hold a hearing on TMP 5383. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Mr. DeVitas?

Yes.

Mr. Humphrey?

Yes.

Mr. Maker?

Yes.

Mr. Brandenburg?

Yes.

Mr. Noble?

Yes.

Mr. Neubauer?

Yes.

Mr. Spate?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Thank you. We had an item on second reading. That was 2026 R26A. This is a resolution authorizing the City of Green to enter into a second amendment to the policing contract fiscal years 2024 through 2026 with the Summit County Sheriff to include flock safety cameras to enhance services within the City of Green and declaring an emergency. So as this title states, This would be amending the police contract for continuing the service of our flock cameras that we have in the city. The initial cost when we started this two years ago was $92,000. That also included the installation of the cameras. The ask on this contract is $82,000, so $41,000 per year of the service. Basically, these cameras are automated license plate readers, so they take pictures of the backside of your vehicle as you pass through an intersection or some point on a street. And with that, there's direct communication with the police department that compares it to databases. If one of these vehicles license plates is in one of those databases, whether it's Amber Alert, a stolen vehicle, or the like, basically it would flag and notify the police within a reasonable distance, I guess, within our Summit County Sheriff's Office. And... They can investigate that based on that. They can access these images and download them as data for investigations. They can also share this information with other entities that they choose to disclose it to. There was an extensive discussion. First, we had the Sheriff's Office come in and provide us what they feel like is the justified reason as to how beneficial this is to our community. We also had a representative from Flock Safety, and then we had some public comment as well as extensive amount of commentary from the committee and council with some potential issues regarding privacy data sharing and other things it was a almost a two-hour discussion so I could not summarize it all here with that being said there was definitely some concerns with the lack of cooperation we've had with the county in the past we are being asked to pay the service of these cameras within our city. And I have some significant reservations with how the contract is worded. I think that there needs to be a lot more restrictions in place so as there's no chance of abusing data, leaking it to other people or other malicious intent. Also just maintain the privacy of our citizens. With that being said, council now mr maker brought up some points as well as myself and any other council member who may be concerned we can let our law director know of any changes we might want the county to consider i for one would like to change the retention period as well as the ability that flock has to share data to whom it pleases basically is what the contract says They will assure us that that's not what happens, but I've provided some examples where it did happen in the past. So I think the general consensus was we hope to hear a response from the county that they will be willing to listen to the requests of our council. This contract's kind of out of our hands in that regard. We are only paying the bill. The sheriff's office in the county is the one who actually builds the contract with FLOC. So I'm hoping that they'll be amicable and work with us. And the sheriff's office, the deputies who was here today said that they would be doing their best to let the county know our concerns. So that's on second reading. And we hope to have some good news at our next meeting, which is on June 23rd. So at this time, I'd like to request time for 2026 R26A. Time is granted. Okay, thank you. We also had that item that was on first reading, the grant application for the fire engine that we just talked about, and that was approved, and we adjourned at 739, I believe it was.

Thank you, Mr. DeVitas. Our next Committee 2 report is Planning, Community, and Economic Development, chaired by Mr. Noble.

Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. DeVitas, Mr. Humphrey, and I were all present. We did meet. We had a number of items of legislation, the first of which... is 2026-08, an ordinance changing the zoning classification of approximately 31 acres of land located at the northeast corner of Greensburg Road in Winning Way from R1 single-family residential to PD plan development and accepting the amended conceptual site plan of the proposed Greensburg Meadow plan development. There was a public hearing held on this topic at the May 26th Council meeting and we've had a number of opportunities to just discuss it at length this development is for Approximately well 101 single-family detached lots And what we refer to most of us have referred to as the old horse farm adjacent to i-77 So with that at this time, I'm going to make a motion to adopt I 2026-08. Second. I have a motion and a second to adopt 2026-08. Is there any further discussion? Please call the roll.

That's kind of Justin's job.

I'm sorry. Old habits.

Thank you, Mr. Noble. We have a motion and a second to adopt 202608. Any discussion? I was just on a roll.

Love it, love it, love it.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Sure, okay. Mr. Noble.

Yeah, or no, no. No.

Okay, no.

Gotcha. He's just one.

Mr. DeVitas.

No.

Okay. Mr. Maker, yes. Mr. Brandenburg, yes. Mr. Neugebauer, yes. Mr. Humphrey, yes. And Mr. Spate, no. OK, 2026-08 is adopted 4 to 3.

Okay, the next item of legislation is on third reading. It is item 2026-09, an ordinance declaring a portion of improvements to a certain parcel of real property owned by SLW Development LLC doing business as Dunkin' Donuts via public purpose exempting 100% of the value of the improvements from your property taxation for 30 years. Okay, so this is again a TIF agreement for the Dunkin' Donuts that's currently under construction on Arlington Road. We have a number of commercial TIFs along this corridor. PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD STUFF. AND AGAIN, SINCE THIS IS ON THIRD READING, AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT 2026-09.

SECOND. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO ADOPT 2026-09. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? PLEASE CALL THE ROLL.

MR. NOBLE.

YES.

MR. DEVITAS. YES. MR. MAKER.

YES.

MR. BRANDENBURG.

YES.

MR. NEWJABOWER.

YES.

MR. HUMPHREY.

YES.

AND MR. SPAKES.

YES.

SORRY. 2026-09 IS ADOPTED 7-0.

Next is on second reading, it is item 2026-R25, a resolution approving the final plat and performance bond for Stony Creek Estates phase five and declaring an emergency. This is for 27 R1 single family lots in Stony Creek, varying in size from between a third and a half of an acre and the associated performance bond of $844,590.53. Again, this is the last phase of this development, and this item is on second reading, so at this time I'm going to request time for 2026-R25. And time is granted. And finally, we have 2026-10, an ordinance to amend section 157.134, subsection five, subsection C, design and layout of chapter 157, planning and development code of the codified ordinance of the city of Greene. There's a public hearing scheduled for this item on July 28th, 2026 in these council chambers. And in light of our... The discussions we had that took a long time. We did not have a discussion on this at the committee meeting. So at this point, I'm going to ask for time for 2026-10. Time is granted. That concludes our items of legislation. There was no old or new business. That concludes my report.

Thank you, Mr. Noble. Next committee to report is Rules and Personnel, which I chair. Myself, Mr. Mager, and Mr. Brandenburg were all present. We did not have any items of legislation or business to discuss. Therefore, we did not meet. Next is Transportation, Connectivity, and Stormwater, chaired by Mr. Mager.

Thank you, Mr. President. All members were present. However, transportation connectivity stormwater had no items of legislation. However, we did have a discussion regarding the status of the Arlington Road project. I did make reference to the city newsletter that had a depiction of what that improvement on the corridor would look like. I don't believe it's a scale, but if you want to refer to that, take a look at the improvements on Arlington Road. And with that, we adjourned at 814.

Thank you, Mr. Mager. Final committee to report this evening is Intergovernmental and Utilities, chaired by Mr. Brandenburg.

Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. Noble, Mr. Mager, and I were all available to meet. No items of legislation, no items of old in your business. We did receive a brief update on the Summit Connects fiber project. That's a 130-mile fiber ring being built throughout Summit County for public safety purposes. The work is taking place this week. on Arlington, Massillon, and Steese Roads, so you may see some slight delays where the project is taking place. That was all we had, and we adjourn.

Thank you, Mr. Brandenburg. And let's move on to the mayor's report.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'm going to give you the abbreviated version tonight. We talked about the status of the Summit County Fiber. I want Council to know I met with Loomis representatives today to get the status of their work in our city and about a year and a half ago they started and have gone in a generally westerly direction. They have to date completed 62% of the city based on their footage of line that they need to lay. The areas that are about to be worked on next are the northwest, which would be Mr. Noble's ward, and the far southwest, which is Mr. Brandenburg's ward. The project is on slate to be completed in October. There is one little piece that they have to hang aerially at the intersection of Massillon and Greensburg because the right-of-way isn't accessible because of sidewalk. That's going to happen in December. Also, Mr. Pickett alluded to the status of the Arlington Road construction. We have a pre-construction meeting set for this Thursday. So the next time we get together, we ought to be able to have a little better idea of a timeline for Arlington Road. Upcoming summer events, the Central Park Splash Pad is now open, weather permitting, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free yoga in the park runs through early September, Wednesdays and Sundays at 9 a.m. at Central Park. We have recently rescheduled the first movie because of weather. Wicked for Good is now scheduled for June 23rd at 7 p.m. That is the movie at Central Park. This Friday, June 12th, is our first summer celebration concert presented by Sarah Otto Park featuring the opening act Chris Castle and Nuovo at 5.30 and the headliner shootouts at 7. Food trucks begin serving at 5. It's also adult track night, so bring your track shoes. Saturday, June 27th, is Green's annual Freedom Fest at Butler Park. From noon to 11 p.m., food, family, fun, inflatables, children's entertainment, live music, and, of course, fireworks. The only other thing I'm going to add tonight, after I crossed a bunch of stuff out, was I want to congratulate Dog Side Grill on their grand opening of their restaurant located at the former Ramp Restaurant. Check it out. They've refurbished the inside. It's one of the few places around with waterside dining, so I encourage people to visit that. Thank you, Mr. President.

That concludes my report. Awesome. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Any unfinished business come before council? Any new business? Can I get a motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn. Second. Motion and a second. Madam Clerk, please call the vote.

Mr. Neugebauer.

Yes.

Mr. DeVitas.

Yes.

Mr. Maker.

Yes.

Mr. Brandenburg. Yes. Mr. Noble. Yes. Mr. Humphrey. Yes. Mr. Spate. Yes. Motion carries.

We are adjourned.