City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay. I'd like to call this Cleveland Heights  City Council meeting to order at 7:36 on Monday,   April 20th, 2026. Acting Clerk Larson, would you  please call the role? Happy to do so. President   Cuda Cohen here. Stone here. Cobb here. Huda here.  Larson here. Posh here. Dit foy here. All right.   Nobody's absent. U. We have no amendments to the  agenda. We have no minutes to approve. We do.   We have a Cleveland Heights High School student  here. Yay. Come on up. So, um, when you come up,   I I don't know your name, so you can say your name  um in that microphone and you can adjust it. and   we're really glad you're here because we always  want to know what's going on in the schools. And   um also when you tell us your name, what tell  us what year you're in at school as well. Okay. Okay. Good evening, mayor and city council members.  My name is Bailey Evans and I am a ninth   grader at Cleveland Heights High School. As  a member of the superintendent student cadre,   I am here to give a brief report about  what's happening at high. I am honored to   be here. Thank you for this opportunity. First,  I would like to tell you all about our athletic   teams. Athletics wrapped up a successful winter  season. Indoor track. The indoor track team had   an impressive showing at the state meet. 4x 200  boys second place. Aiden Sirius Maris and Diani   4x400 boys sixth place Aiden Sirius Harrison and  Maris 400 meter boys sixth place Aiden West 3200  

meter girls seventh place Cassie Thompson  girls wrestling the girls wrestling had two   representatives at the state tournament with both  placing with both placing Tamaya Buouie placed   sixth and Chelsea Gibson placed eighth in their  respective weight classes. Boys basketball. Boys   basketball won a district final over St. Ignatius  and advanced to the regional semifinals. This is   their second district final in four years. Heights  athletics looks forward to a busy spring season.   Um, here are a few important meet events  happening at High Thai. On March 6th, the   No Hate Tour visited Heights Thai High for a BMX  style assembly where students saw award-winning   BMX bikers performed tricks while learning about  import the importance of kindness and positivity.   Almost 40 10th through 12th grade students  enrolled in the lessons of the Holocaust   course traveled to Washington DC before spring  recess to visit the US National Holocaust Museum,   African-American Museum, the Arlington National  Cemetery, and tour various major monuments.   The trip allowed students to connect up close  with the artifacts and ev evidence they have   learned about as they study the Holocaust and  other genocides. Upcoming events in April. OST   testing has been has started being administered  in April starting with ELA 2 test on April 9th   and 10. In preparation for the OST testing,  Heights held a pep rally to encourage students  

to do their best on their upcoming test and  remind them reminded them of effective test   strategies through various games and activities.  High Thai National Honor Society also held study   sessions after school in the cafeteria before  the OST test to help their peers feel prepared.   The opening night of the Creative Heights  District Art Show took place on April 14th at   the Lee Road Library from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The  annual showcase featured students artwork from   all seven elementary schools, both middle schools,  and multiple art classes at High Thai. The show is   free and open to the community who can enjoy the  artistic talent of CHUA students through May 8th.   The High Tie Drama Club held Williams  Shakespeare's As You Like It on April 16th   and 17th at 7:00 p.m. and on April 18th at 1:30  and 7:00 p.m. in the Heights High main auditorium.   The IMD will conclude the year with their  spring concerts on April 30th and May 1st   at 700 p.m. in the High Thai main auditorium. The  Thursday concert will feature performances by the   concert band and orchestra Philarmonic strings and  symphonic band. The Friday the Friday concert will   feature the high tie symphon symphony strings and  symphonic winds. Both co concerts have no cost for   admission. Thank you so much for your time. Thank  you so much. Bailey and uh Bailey, I want you to  

have a great summer. And is your sister Taylor?  Yes. Oh my goodness. You Taylor was my uh intern   maybe three years ago. What how what year is she  in in college? She's a junior. Junior. Yes. So,   it would have been three years ago. We'll tell  her Mr. Cuda says hello. I got you. Okay. Thank   you. Thank you. All right. Thank you. All right.  Next, um we have a presentation from Legal Aid   and Catholic Charities. Sorry, I don't have names  here, but you can say your names as when you come   up. And we're really glad you're here. Hi. Oh, I  just didn't see. I did great. Yes. Okay. Hi. Yeah,   sure I can. Um, yeah. Hi, good evening everyone.  Um, so I'm Lisa Powinsky. I'm an immigration   attorney with Legal Aid of Cleveland. Um, and I'm  Corey Lee Drazza. I'm also an immigration attorney   with the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. Um, so  thanks for having us back. And this information   will be duplicative for a few people, but  hello for the new people. You know, please   let us know if anyone has any questions. Um but  we just want to talk about the um the work that   we do in general at legal aid but um with some  additional information from the last time about   um the immigration specific legal services that  we provide. Um so the first slide we have a few   slides but we will blow through them. Um I  promise no is the opposite. Sorry. There you   go. Um so I'll just read this quickly. We did  spend we updated our mission statement. So we   I want to read it to give it um the recognition  that it deserves. Um, legal aid's mission is to   secure justice, equity, and access to opportunity  for and with people who have low incomes through   passionate legal representation and advocacy for  systemic change. Um, so we do that in a variety   of different ways. Um, with the our immigration  representation, we usually help people directly   like one-on-one, but that's not the case with all  of our we do a lot of different work and that's   not the case in all of our practice groups. Um but  we also try to advocate to make as it says in our  

mission statement um systems to work better. So  like in an ideal world where we aren't needed at   all but until then we do exist and we do try  to help people directly um interact with the   immigration um legal system. Um and then we get  um funding from a variety of sources including the   um federal government and those um considerations  affect who we can serve and this is what this   slide is about an explanation. So first um we we  focus on providing civil legal services. Um we   don't do criminal work that's like for the public  defender's office. I'm sure people are um familiar   with that. Um our main because our legal services  are free. That's the last listed on this slide,   but probably the most important for our clients.  Um, we do not charge for any of our work or any of   our services. Um, and so the way that we make sure  that we help people who are most in need is people   have to u meet our income and asset eligibility,  which we'll talk more about on the next slide,   so we'll get there. Um, but we also focus  on ser um serving people who live in the   five northeastern counties that are listed here  on the slide. Ashtabula, Payneesville, Giaga,   Kayahaga, and Lorraine. Um, and then we can,  um, we have some rules or guidelines about,   um, legal statuses of people who we can help.  So, we can certainly help US citizens. That's   obvious. Um, we can also help people with green  cards and, um, a few other kinds of statuses,   but importantly in our work, um, Corey Lee will  talk much more about, um, we can help people who   are not US citizens. That's the whole point of our  work that we do. Um and we focus on usually people   who have been victims of crime and that is one  of the exceptions to um helping non-citizens that   of people were allowed to we can help under with  our funding restrictions. Thank you. And then um   this is um I mentioned the the income and asset uh  guidelines. Um this is for 2026 an example of the  

income for um people in different households.  So for for example a household of four,   if someone if that household um makes $33,000  or less in a year, they are eligible for our   services. So we try to focus on people who  are with within 150% of the federal poverty   guidelines and can go up with some exceptions.  Yeah, I was I was trying to I think we can we   can go up to 200% of the poverty guidelines. So  I feel like these charts are always confusing to   me because that's representing 100%. So we can  our it's above that but that gives an idea of   um the income that our clients um have. Um and so  then yeah to talk to focus more specifically on   our immigration legal services um just you know  like any all of our a variety of practice areas   um they are subject to the same eligibility um  guidelines. So Lisa obviously touched on that   the income um and assets um you know eligibility  guidelines um then then just some types of cases   that we can and cannot take um under our funding.  And then also we set our own um case acceptance   guideline priorities. We can't we wish that we  could but we can we we're obviously we cannot help   um as many people as apply for our services.  There is a huge um justice gap in in that way   as I'm sure everyone here um realizes. And so  in our immigration um legal services practice,   our we really focus on um securing safety um and  and stability for victims and survivors of crime.   Um whether they've been victims of crime here in  the United States um or victims of um violence and   crime in their home countries and they've come  to the United States um to seek protection from   that harm. So um those um under their priority  is safety. Those are a variety of immigration   statuses that we that's really kind of our focus  on what we help people apply for. Um and that is  

um includes representing people in immigration  court who are seeking those um types of um   protection but also um in other contexts as well  affirmatively with a with a different immigration   um agency. Um and then um we also um do a lot  of work in to educate our clients in the in the   community about their rights. And so um we go to  often um sort of trusted community partner sites   where our clients um feel comfortable, you know,  they're often our um non-citizen clients would um   often be fearful to go to just a a large event um  that's advertised. So, it's always um we find it's   best to go um to places where they trust and they  feel comfortable and um educate about their their   rights. Um and then um also just generally we can  share re we share resources with our community   partners um as well who maybe they don't need a  direct presentation from us but are in a position   to sort of share our resources. Um, next slide.  And then this slide um gives an idea of just kind   of the the variety of ways that we work to achieve  um our mission and um work with our clients. So,   you know, direct representation of course um but  we um we you know we we can't serve everyone who   applies for our services directly. So we um host  a lot of brief advice clinics in the community   um where someone can at least meet for you know  have a have a consultation essentially with an   attorney to get an idea and kind of hopefully  send that person on their way. Um we also   um help um people prepare certain components  of their cases themselves if we not be may not   be able to provide fuller representation. Um and  then you know the last three kind of already had  

mentioned that we um engage with um community  partners to sort of share information and   um resources. Um so yeah I think that and then  this is just information on how our um the the   process works, how to get in touch with us for  our uh to apply for our services. Um and this is   for everyone including people at Cleveland Heights  of course. Um the main ways are by phone and then   I think um at the subcommittee meeting we talked  about our online intake which is available on our   website obviously but in English and Spanish uh so  far. Can you talk a little bit about how busy you   are? I know some people say sometimes oh we tried  to get you know and they were really backed up   and so forth. So we're busy. I'll I'll start with  that and really can elaborate. Yeah, I mean, yeah,   we I just to give an example of that, like right  now, we are currently not even able to like accept   any new cases. Um, so we have we're open for um  like our inner office referrals. So, say a client   um has a housing issue and we're helping that  client with their housing issue and they also have   an immigration issue, we can help our our clients  with their immigration issue. We have a few other   um referral partnerships where we accept through  there, but we're just so at capacity currently   with our current like we all manage a very largeaa  case load and those cases have become increasingly   um complex and so yes, we are hoping to to to  reopen it soon, but yeah, we're we're very busy.   Yeah, I'm sorry to give some numbers. I said  we're busy. That's not helpful. Um that's just   how it feels. Um, like Corly said, we both um have  around 60 to 75 like clients that we help each one   of us. There's four of us um that are attorneys  that do that work. Um, but the issue that that   we've encountered in the past year or so um is  someone or um people's circumstances can change   um very rapidly and like get detained for example  and then that client requires a lot of focus and  

time like immediately. Um, but then we also still  have our clients with their ongoing needs. So,   it's been difficult to balance that. Um, and we've  had some staffing changes, but yeah, we're we want   to respond to the needs of the community, so  that's always our goal. Are you able to go out   to the detention centers that are not local to  see a client? Great question. Um, thank you for   bringing that up. So, um the if we go back to the  um our service area, there's a um detention or   the Jiaga County Jail has a contract with ICE and  that's in our service area and we do accept cases   um or we do help people who are detained in  the Jaga County. Yeah. Questions mayor. Okay.   Thank you both so much. Really appreciate  that. Really appreciate you waiting, too.   Um, all right. On to proclamations and honors.  Sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. I I do not have a   PowerPoint. I'm with Catholic Charities. I My name  is Allison Brown. I um am the associate director   of immigration legal services for migration and  refugee services within the Dasis of Cleveland.   But we also serve Yugstown, which addresses one  of your questions because one of the largest   detention facilities is out in Youngstown. So,  uh, where do I begin? So, we serve eight counties   in the this dasis, we also go out to Youngstown.  Um, similar to what was just shared with legal,   we do primarily the same work. Honestly,  I've been doing immigration law for 30 years,   but I've only been with Catholic Charities for  about one year. Um, we do not charge fees for   certain types of cases. We charge very low fees  for some. We primarily focus on many of the same   cases as legal aid just discussed. We talk all  the time. We do all civil what? All civil. All  

immigration. We only do immigration. Okay. We  have a special program for kids in particular,   either unaccompanied or our new project, which  is sadly growing more rapidly than I would like,   are children ending up in foster care because  their parents are either removed or detained.   Um, we also have shift shifted recently to  focusing a lot on the needs of refugees because   Catholic Charities historically resettled refugees  and now due to some policy issues that I won't get   into the weeds with you guys on, but it's become  very important for refugees to uh get their green   cards, apply for citizenship. So, we're trying  to help them as much as we can. Um, what else?   I only found out I was doing this on Friday, so  I'm not nearly as prepared as them. Uh really   that's our focus is this same population of legal  aid, uh victims of domestic violence, children,   victims of crime. We do go to court quite a bit  mainly for asylum seekers, which is becoming very   very challenging lately. So it's taken a lot  more time and resources than it used to. So,   we too have a backlog. We are hoping to reopen  taking new cases soon. Um, right now we're doing   the same thing, brief advice clinics, so people  at least have the correct information because   the other thing we're trying to combat right now  is there's a lot of uh what I call immigration   scams out there, like people that will tell uh  clients that if you pay them $10,000, they'll   get you everything you want, which is not true and  tends to get them in more trouble than anything.   So that's Can can you on the record just say what  you how people can get in touch with you because I  

know you have the cards but I want people that are  listening. So our our intake line is 2169393769. Okay. Do you want me to hand these out? And  what are the hours that you can call that   number? 9 to5 Monday through Friday. Okay. We are  about to do some clinics out in the Paynesville,   Youngstown area, which I know is  not here, but just so people know. Oh, sorry. In Cleveland Heights. Okay. I would literally have to run a report.  Sorry. I'm still a newbie. Just wondering if you   have active clients in Cleveland Heights. I would  assume so, but I we I don't tend to run reports by   like zip codes. I would have to look. But so one  thing we are very interested in doing is uh more   brief advice clinics to help people get to uh know  what their situation is, what their options are in   certain localities. So if you all have a locality  that might want to host something like that,   I'd be happy to talk to somebody. We've been  doing them in Akran. We're about to do them in   Paysville. We can do it here too. Yeah. Just say  similarly, we we do have clients that live sites,   but I think yeah, I don't we don't know like  off the top of I can think of think of some   off the top of my head, but if Yeah, if anyone  needs like those numbers or we'd be happy to do   that. Thank you. Any other questions for me?  Well, thank you both uh I mean all three of   you very much and uh Mayor and Councilwoman Conn  for making this happen. Really appreciate that.  

Um, all right. We're going to move on  to proclamations and honors. Um, Mayor, Mr. President, this evening we have a proclamation  of recognition and excellence for the Lutheran   least, I'm sorry, Lutheran East High School  basketball team and they are about to join us. Yeah, we're listening. What'd you do, coach? Text him. It's  like, come on, guys. Let's get out here. Hello. Good. How are you? Oh, great. All right. Thank you for being here this evening.  Congratulations. Would you like to begin   by introducing yourselves? Sure. Absolutely.  Here's the microphone. Like pass it along.   Absolutely. Come on in. Hi everybody. I'm  Anthony Jones. I'm the school's athletic   director. Hi everybody. I'm Sam Ligs. I'm  the head boys basketball coach. I'm DaVon   Snowden and I play for the team. I'm  Devonte Perkins. I'm Bryce Irby. I'm   John Sanders. I'm Dylan Ziggler. Oo Davis.  Chris Hill. Tyrone Harrison. Aiden Lip for  

it. Randall Black. Will Felder assistant  coach. Ty Gator assistant coach. Nice. So again, this is a proclamation of recognition  and excellence for the Lutheran East High School   basketball team. Whereas head coach Sam Ligins has  demonstrated unwavering leadership, commitment,   and excellence over the past eight years,  guiding his team with integrity, discipline,   and a relentless pursuit of success. And  whereas under coach Ligan's leadership,   the team has achieved an extraordinary record  of accomplishment, securing nine consecutive   regional championships and 11 consecutive district  championships, establishing a legacy of sustained   excellence and a competitive dominance. And  whereas the dedication, talent, and hard work   of the student athletes have brought distinction  and pride to their program and community. And   whereas individual players have earned outstanding  honors for their performance during the season,   including division 5 northeast player of the  year Dylan Ziggler, division 5 northeast first   team Dylan Ziggler, Chris Hill, Devonte Perkins,  division 5 Northeast second team Ty Harrison,   and Division Five Northeast third team Bryce  Herby. Whereas Bryce Herby, a freshman,   has demonstrated exceptional skill and promise  early in his athletic career, earning welldeserved   recognition among the players top players. Now,  therefore, let it be proclaimed that we proudly   recognize and celebrate head coach Sam Ligins and  the entire team for their remarkable achievements,   dedication, and representation of excellence both  on and off the court. Beet further proclaimed that   this team's achievements serve as an inspiration  to future generations, exemplifying the values of  

teamwork, perseverance, and sportsmanship. And  witness, therefore, this proclamation is hereby   issued in honor of their continued success  and outstanding contributions. Here, here. Um, would you like for the group to  smash a little less separation here? Can alumni get in? Hold it. Hold it. All right. So, so wait before you go. Before  you go, who's the captain of the team? Chris   Hill. All right. Chris Hill. C can you  can you give Chris the microphone? Chris,   tell us how how did you do it? It just was hard  work and just coming in every day and working   hard with six players. Was there ever any doubt?  No doubt. No doubt. No doubt. Nobody. You You guys   knew it was going to before the season starts, you  know. Yeah, we knew it was going to happen. So,   what what do you call Okay, so I've heard a three  Pete. What do you call four? Repeat. Repeat. You   don't have a name for that. I mean, that's a  great habit. Congratulations, guys. Please. Absolutely. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Is there anyone else  who'd like to say anything? I just want to say   thank you guys for having us and uh really  um acknowledging this team over the last  

four years. This has been very special  and we truly appreciate it. Thank you. You are more than welcome to stay or  you could head home. If I were you guys. All right, that's fantastic. That's a  across the street neighbors. Who knew,   right? All right, mayor, you're up for uh  communications from the mayor. Thank you,   Mr. President. I'd like to first take a moment to  recognize the heartbreaking loss of a student in   our community who passed away uh during their  athletics practice the other day. Um we extend   our deepest condolences to their family and I  ask that folks join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. Like to take a few moments to talk  about our roads. um we just are not putting enough   money into our roads. And so I'd like to again  thank city council for more than doubling our   resurfacing budget for this year from 2.4 million  to 5.1 million. Regarding potholes, I don't need   to tell people that it's a serious problem. We  typically have one crew out filling potholes. Uh   we were able to work with the team and we now have  two teams that are out there working full-time.   Um, we're happy to add weekend shifts, but the  reality is that there aren't many asphalt plants  

open on the weekend because there usually isn't  much demand on Saturdays and Sundays. So, we   wondered if we could hire an outside contractor.  We reached out to local 860, which is the union   that represents our public works employees, and  I'm grateful that they were willing to work with   us to find a balance solution to get the job  done. So, um, beginning on Wednesday, we are   going to have a unionized contractor join us. So,  we're going to have three crews working full-time   for the foreseeable future on filling our pothole.  So, I'd like to thank our public works director,   Colette Clinkscale, our street supervisor,  John Becker, and union leadership Joe Gino,   and Gary Stewart for coming together and again  helping to find a balanced solution so that we   can try to address the work that's out there.  Um, I'd like to also uh remind folks that there   is a screening of Greenprint, a documentary um  about Cleveland Heights at the Noble Library   tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the Noble Library. And  also um in honor of Arbor Day at 9:30 a.m. on   Friday at Cumberland Park, we're going to have  a ceremony. Um finally, you may have noticed   that there are some new chairs in the room. Um  we have more chairs on their way. We wanted to   get some samples and make sure that we chose one  that was comfortable uh for the audience chairs   and so we've ordered those and those are on their  way as well. So, thank you Mr. President. You're   very welcome. Um now we'll move on to uh the  city administrators report, Mr. Michael Reese. Okay. Thank you, President Cuda, Vice  President Larson, and council members.   I have just four things I wanted to um report on  this evening. Uh actually the the first item is   from back in February, but you might find it  interesting that we we established a regular  

legislative meeting within the administration uh  to talk through legislation and raise questions   before items are submitted to the clerk of  council and the law department. And this   has been very helpful to us, a real good real good  tool, helpful for the mayor, the finance director,   and me and being proactive on legislation and  policy matters. That's number one. Number two,   uh we had a meeting last week, uh the mayor and  staff with Millennium Strategies to discuss how we   can maximize grant opportunities going forward. Uh  something we're very focused on. Uh number three,   as the mayor uh just talked about, um uh we  worked with the mayor and director Clinkcale   and her staff on efforts to secure a third  pothole crew starting on Wednesday. And finally,   uh uh number four, uh which will be the longest  part of my report, um uh we I coordinated with   public works and the planning and development  departments. um to move the Hillside Dairy   Demolition Project forward located at the Mayfield  Noble Intersection. Ever since I arrived 10 weeks   ago, I've heard from the mayor and council members  about the importance of moving forward with this   demolition. I just want to cover the timeline  for the project. And um these dates are all   tenative uh except uh the mayor will be reading  um into the record uh uh uh tonight on April   20th requesting permission to bid the project. Um  requesting permission from the council to bid the   project and that includes abatement, demolition,  and securing the site. Um after that the rest of   these dates are tenative but I want to give you  um these tenative dates um so you see what the  

next steps are. Uh ten April 23rd and April 30th  we would advertise. This is all on the assumption   of of council supporting this uh this effort. Um  May 7th we will open bids. Uh following May 7th,   we will provide an update to city council on  next steps. Um which may take additional council   action. Um we we think May/June um there'll be a  budget adjustment needed for project completion,   the amount to be determined, and I'm going  to come back to that in just a moment.   um the month of June um we would finalize  the contract and then June, July and August   uh the abatement, the demolition and securing the  site will occur. Uh we may be able to start the   abatement process as soon as June. Um but that can  take up to 3 weeks. So I think demolition is more   likely uh in July and per perhaps um that will  be rather quick but June, July, August abatement,   demolition and securing the site will uh occur.  Um regarding the need for a budget adjustment for   the hillside dairy project, I think three three  things are important to convey. One, it is a   priority to complete the demolition this summer.  Two, the grant writer from Millennium Strategies   came up with the project estimate um a few years  ago. Three, uh we recently engaged Kimley Horn,   an engineering f firm who is in the process  of completing their design work which will be   the basis of the bids and lead to the final cost  of the entire project. Um the last thing I just   want to comment on is uh this this was a joint  project between planning and development and  

um public works and I want to thank both of those  departments uh for moving this project forward.   I especially want to thank director clingscale  and assistant director Virginia Carter for their   efforts in moving this forward. So um be happy to  answer any questions and that's the conclusion of   my report. Do we have any hi mysteries? Thank  you very much. Thank you, Mr. President. Yes,   I apologize. I forgot to uh request permission  to bid project 2603, Hillside Dairy Public Works   Yard Improvements Project. Thank you. So moved.  Second. Any discussion? I would just like to say   I'm so happy to see this project moving forward  finally. I just there aren't enough words. So,   thank you. And similarly, I just want to thank the  this responsiveness because this has been on the   tentative agenda for a long time and when city  administrator ree started, he got right on this   and I want to thank Mayor Petrus for for moving  this forward. All right. Oh, yes. If I could add,   as I mentioned during committee of the whole, we  have been working hard to relocate the salt dome   as well as the other public works projects that  are back there. This remains a priority and we   look forward to moving forward. I hope we can  find that soon. All in favor? I. Any opposed?   All right, that motion passes. Uh we do we're  on to public comment but we don't have anything   for legislative items. So we'll read legislation  and then do public comment uh for non-legislative   items afterwards. Uh so um madame um clerk uh at  least for tonight. That's my hat right now. Yeah,   there you go. Um we'll do f uh two first readings  uh for consideration for adoption tonight.  

Thank you, President Cuda. Ordinance number  078-2026, first reading, an ordinance to approve   current replacement pages to the Cleveland Heights  codified ordinances and declaring necessity that   this legislation become immediately effective  as the emergency measure introduced by council   member Cobb. So moved. Second. All right. And  do we have uh any discussion? All in favor?   I. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next, we  have resolution number 079-2026, a resolution   authorizing participation in the ODOT cooperative  purchasing program for road salt for the 2026 2027   winter season and declaring the necessity that  this legislation become immediately effective as   an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petrus.  So moved. Second. All right. Any discussion? All   in favor? Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I just For those  who don't watch the committee of the whole, we did   have a discussion about how much salt should be  ordered since the order has to go in by May 1st.   And I just want to thank Director Clingscale and  Mayor Petrus for the the real thoughtful planning   that is going into next year given our experience  this year, price potential price increases,   and the overall plan for snow removal that you've  been working on for a number of months. So,   thank you very much. I'm I'm very optimistic  about next season and seeing how we can continue   to improve the processes. All right. Appreciate  that. Any other discussion? All in favor? I I. Any   opposed? That motion passes. Uh we're on the first  readings only now. Resolution number 081-2026,   a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an  agreement with American Builders and Applicators,   a certified lead abatement contractor for  the use of home investment partnership funds,  

community development block grant, CDBG funds, and  American Rescue Plan Act, ARPA funds in connection   with the Housing Rehabilitation Deferred Loan  Program at permanent parcel number 682-334-010 providing compensation Therefore, and  declaring the necessity of this legislation   become immediately effective as an emergency  measure introduced by Mayor Petus. Ordinance   number 082-2026, an ordinance authorizing the  mayor to enter into a lease agreement with   Maxbox bookstore, Inc. for the lease of 1807  Coventry Road and declaring the necessity that   this legislation become immediately effective as  an emergency measure introduced by Mayor Petrus.   Resolution number 083-2026, a resolution  determining that support of the 2026 Heights,   excuse me, Heights Music Hop is in furtherance of  a proper public purpose authorizing a contribution   of $7,500 to Future Heights, Inc. in support  of the 2026 Heights Music Hop and declaring   the necessity that this legislation become  immediately effective as an emergency measure   introduced by Council President Cuda. Resolution  number 084-2026, a resolution determining that   support of the 2026 Heights Tiger 5K and fund  run is in furtherance of a proper public purpose   authorizing a contribution of $2,500 to the  CHU school district PTA in support of the   2026 Heights Tiger 5K and fund run introduced by  Council Member Dwit Foy. All right. And now on   to second readings. There's two um we'll be voting  on those. Resolution number 074-2026, a resolution   authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement  with Farnum Equipment Company for the purchase   and installation of new ADA compliant bleachers  for the Forest Hill baseball complex in declaring  

the necessity that this legislation become  immediately effective as the emergency measure   introduced by Mayor Petrus. So moved. Second. All  right. Any discussion? All right. All in favor?   I. Any opposed? That motion passes. Resolution  number 075-2026, a resolution authorizing the   mayor to execute an agreement with KWK LLC doing  business as Deluxe Outdoor Services in order   to furnish the labor, materials, equipment, and  associated landscaping services necessary for the   2026 facilities landscape and gardening services  and declaring the necessity that this legislation   become immediately effective as an emergency  measure introduced by Mayor Petrus. So moved.   Second. All right. Any discussion? All in  favor? I. Any opposed? That motion passes.   We're on to the consent agenda, which  is quite lengthy. So, Mr. President,   I'd like to move to suspend the rules.  Do we need to do that now or Okay,   then. Let's do it now. All right. Uh, do we have  a second? Second. All right. Um, any discussion   on that? All in favor of suspending the rules? I  I Any opposed? All right. The rules are suspended. Resolution number 085-2026, a resolution  proclaiming May 26 to be Mary Dunar Bike Month,   City of Cleveland Heights, and declaring the  necessity that this legislation become immediately   effective as an emergency measure introduced  by all city council members and mayor Petrus.   Resolution number 086-2026, a resolution  recognizing May 3rd to May 9th, 2026 to be   professional municipal clerk's week and declaring  the necessity that this legislation become   immediately effective as an emergency measure  introduced by all city council members and mayor  

Petrus. Resolution number 087-2026 resolution  recognizing May 4th through 8th, 2026 as air   quality awareness week and declaring the necessity  that this legislation become immediately effective   as an emergency measure introduced by all city  council members and mayor Petrus. Resolution   number 088-2026, a resolution recognizing May 2026  as National AsianPacific American Heritage Month   and declaring the necessity that this legislation  become immediately effective as an emergency   measure introduced by all city council members  and Mayor Petrus. Resolution number 089-2026,   a resolution recognizing May 2026 to be mental  health awareness month and declaring a necessity   that this legislation become immediately effective  as an emergency measure introduced by all city   council members and mayor Petrus. Resolution  number 090-2026, a resolution proclaiming   May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Month and  declaring the necessity that this legislation   become immediately effective as an emergency  measure introduced by all city council members   and mayor Petrus. Resolution number 091-2026, a  resolution proclaiming May 2026 to be military   appreciation month in the city of Cleveland  Heights and declaring the necessity that this   legislation become immediately effective as  an emergency measure introduced by all city   council members and mayor Petrus. Resolution  number 092-2026, a resolution declaring May   2026 National Preservation Month and declaring the  necessity that this legislation become immediately   effective as an emergency measure introduced by  all city council members and Mayor Petrus. And   lastly, resolution number 093-2026, a resolution  recognizing April 28th, 2026 as National School   bus driver appreciation day and then declaring the  necessity of this legislation become immediately   effective as the emergency measure introduced by  all city council members and mayor Petrus. Well  

done. And you don't even have any water. I'm going  to need some though. Yeah. Interesting. All right.   So, do I have a motion on this? Uh, so second. All  right. Very good. Any discussion? All right. Um,   all in favor of all of these resolutions?  I I All right. Any opposed? All right. That   motion passes. Um, so now we're on to committee  reports. Who would like to go first? All right.   Vice President. Thank you. The next meeting  of the Municipal Services and Environmental   Sustainability Committee is Monday, May 11th  at 7 p.m. Climate Environmental Sustainability   Citizens Committee meets tomorrow, April 21st at 4  p.m. The Transportation Ability Committee meeting   will be scheduled shortly. It there I'm expecting  there will be one in in April. And then the city   is holding its annual Arbor Day tree planting as  Mayor Petrus announced on Friday, April 24th at   9:30 a.m. at Cumberland Park. Cleveland Heights  has partnered this year, and I'm happy to hear   this and see it, with the Heights Tree People and  CHU to celebrate the Arbor Day Foundation 50th   anniversary. So, thank you for partnering with  those people. That's it. All right. Uh, go ahead,   Councilwoman Cohen. Uh planning and development  committee meeting remains scheduled for April 28th   at 5:30 p.m. Um we will be discussing Landmark  uh potential changes to Landmark Commission's   uh codifying ordinance and we have a few other uh  agenda items and process. I did want to let the   public know we had initially planned for another  um planning and development committee meeting   specifically on ADUs for May 5th. Unfortunately,  we have to um we did not realize well we knew but   we didn't connect it that that's election day  and then we are still in the process of looking  

for another day in May. So stay tuned. We'll be  sharing that um meeting information as soon as we   can nail down a new date and time. Thank you. Very  good. Councilman Posh, we'll be having a finance   committee meeting and public safety and health  committee meetings on Monday, May 27th. We're a   little unsure of the time frames because we tried  to we're trying to honor staff so they could do   those meetings earlier, but we do believe that  the um finance committee meeting will be at 5,   the public safety meeting will be at 6, and the  administrative services meeting will be at 7:00,   but that's still to be confirmed. Very good.  Councilwoman Stone, just want to say that   the upcoming uh housing and building committee  meeting will be held on uh Wednesday, excuse me,   on Monday uh May 11th uh to continue our  discussion on short-term rentals and our   housing and building code study. All right, that's  it. I don't have anything. Okay. All right. So,   we're going to move on to uh public comment for  non agenda items. Uh let me see. Um, you know,   I'm sorry to have to say this, but I have to talk  about civility because we had 28 people here,   I think, speaking the last time and it was good  for like 95% of the time and then we got to,   you know, one person who got up and said evidently  was somebody that the maybe some of the speakers   didn't want to hear and it got loud and I think  ridiculous in my view. Please, please, you know,   I I love that everybody comes up and I certainly  want to hear from people. I mean, we all do, but   um keep uh keep the civility in uh in mind. Uh  so, uh how many speakers? Four. Four. So, you  

get three minutes. Um say your name, the street  you live on. Go ahead, Madame Clerk. Gail Bramley. Thank you. Gail Bramley, Coventry Road  President Cuda, Vice President Larson,   Mayor, Council members. I'm here again to express  deep concern about the Shaker Lakes issues. And   I'm not alone. Um, more than 500 people signed  the petition to request a pause just in this last   week. And that is before we a number of us learned  through the uh sewer district board meeting that's   held mid day on Thursday that 2,000 trees will  now be cut down and it was pretty shocking. Uh   I couldn't find the minutes but the people who  were present were pretty shocked about this.   Um, I think what the public is hoping for is  some reasonable discussion about the facts,   short and long-term plans, the expenses, um,  and going forward how we can work together. Uh,   I also want to thank those of you who have met  with us. Uh, the dialogue is very important. Those   of you who we haven't been able to meet with, we  look forward to having a dialogue and hearing what   your perceptions are and how we can go forward  in a civil manner. Certainly. So, thank you. Jason Smith, Jason Smith, 3500 Nordway Road, Cedar Taylor  District. Um, dear council members, I am writing   to express my strong opposition to ordinance  752022, which is stated as a prohibition against   so-called conversion therapy. This ordinance  is not a protection of gay transgender youth,   but instead is actually an attack on the Christian  community and the powerful use of prayer to bring  

healing to hurting people seeking rescue from  oppressive physical and mental situations.   This ordinance criminal criminalizes the religious  care, counseling, and practice that is provided by   those in the Christian faith community. The points  of opposition are as follows. Conversion therapy,   as outlined on the Human Rights Campaign website,  is an effort or practice that targets LGBTQ youth   and seeks to change their sexual orientation.  This includes, as stated on the website,   religious prayer and other religious efforts  which attempts to change sexual orientation   that is deemed unchangeable, actually calling  prayer a dangerous activity for youth. Point two,   there is no conclusive or definitive evidence  that sexual orientation is ingrained at birth,   is genetically determined, and therefore can't  be changed. This is a lie and a deception. Point   three, there are testimonies that people do  and have changed their sexual orientation,   even reversing sex change surgeries. Point  four, conversion therapy, which includes   religious prayer, is deceptive, deceptively cited  as posing critical health risks to the LGBT youth,   including confusion, depression, suicidal  thoughts, high-risisk sexual behaviors,   and drug use, to name a few, when in fact there's  evidence that the LGBTQ lifestyle itself is   inherently associated with these critical health  risks. Point five, the US Supreme Court recently   sided with a Christian therapist challenge to the  conversion therapy ban in Colorado. Point six,   there's no evidence of so-called conversion  therapy having an impact on the LGBTQ youth   community in Cleveland Heights, which required  emergency legislation. In fact, Cleveland Heights   as a city is and has been a haven for the LGBTQ  community and is considered one of the most gay   affirming cities in the county. Point 7. This  legislation was sponsored by the previous mayor   who was removed from office for creating a toxic  environment and for improper behavior along with   a formal councilman who was not reelected by the  citizens of Cleveland Heights. Cleveland Heights  

is called a place where all are welcomed.  In order to move forward as a community,   this divisive legislation needs to be  rescended. And I encourage the council   to immediately take action and repeal that  ordinance. and I've given each of you a hard   copy and I will email you a um a digital copy  by Wednesday and over the next three weeks or so   um I'd like to sit down with each of you  personally and just hear your questions,   your comments and um dialogue about that  but to work through this process. Thank you. Finally, Edgar Mitchell. Well, definitely not least. Yeah, I'd like to say  good evening to director of law, the mayor. I'm   sorry. I'm sorry. I missed one person. So, we'll  take Edgar now. No, no, you're at the mic. Go   ahead. Okay. This is my mistake. Once again, good  evening to council, council president, and all the   council members, mayor, and all of us. I always  come in peace. So, I came to uh really I came to   uh I would be remiss last time I was up I forgot  to mention all the help I got from Cleveland   Heights Home Repair Resource Center. And I'd like  to, you know, thank Miss Olstrom for what she did   and also lose my mind as I get old, but Mr. Walker  too. they put in a lot of effort to help uh you   know me get the stuff done that's going on on Neil  View to have you know that all taken care of. So   I want to make sure I thank everyone for that and  council not leaving you out because without all of   you guys none of this would happen pretty much.  That's what I came to say. I I had came with a   broken heart, but the mayor spoke about it about  the young man that passed away this past week at   Heights because my grand my greatgrandson is in  class with him. My daughter is like a teacher's  

aid that teaches him. So, I got it firsthand  when it happened. So, uh we just have to make   sure we appreciate what we have and the life that  we have because it's not guaranteed to any of us.   So, I won't preach a sermon, but thank you.  Have a good night. Thank you, Mr. Mitchell. No, Christopher Wood, I apologize. My name is Christopher Wood.  I live on Edge Hill Road.   The city's Blanch Avenue fact sheet says that  the privatelyowned vacant lots are paying   minimal taxes because they are inaccessible and  that Hebrew Academyy's lots are taxexempt. But   from 1996 to the year 2000, the value of one  of these lots increased yearly from 15,000 to   $20,000. Then in 2001, the value changed  abruptly to $1,000 and is still valued at   $1,000 today. What cataclysmic event occurred to  justify such a downward revision? Then in 2011,   Fees LLC purchased 34 of these  inaccessible lots for $2,155,000. What made them worth so much money then? Four  years later, Hebrew Academy showed that they   were worth even more, paying $4 million for 33  lots. In real estate, the sales price is generally   considered the best expression of true value.  In this case, these lots are now worth about  

$100,000 a piece a piece. But the county auditor  has maintained that $1,000 valuation. Why? During   the same period, the value of my house has  increased 120%. The city asserts that Hebrew   Academy does not pay taxes because is it is  a taxexempt entity. This is simply not true.   Ohio state law is clear on the issue of tax  exemptions. They are based on use and not on   ownership. Those lots have not been used for an  educational purpose since their purchase in 2015.   In fact, as Hebrew Academy well knows, those lots  are zoned single family only. Any other use would   require a zoning change. Accepting a tax exemption  under these circumstances is completely unethical,   as is the designation by the county auditor. The  city and the school board have been derelictked   in not going after the taxes that are owed  based on the actual value of these properties,   which by my calculation could be over a million  dollars. Hebrew Academy now plans to cash in on   the on the sale of expensive homes whose  owners won't pay their full taxes for 15   years. In a final indignity, the taxes on nearby  residents will increase because of the value of   the new homes. This is a project which will  benefit a few at the expense of the many. All right. Uh that's it, right? The last one.  Okay, very good. All right. Thank you to all   our speakers. Uh we do appreciate you showing  up and sharing your views with us. Uh we got   old business. Do we have old business? Do we  have any new business? Do we have any council  

member comments? Yes. Uh I'll tell you what. Let's  vice president goes first too often. So go ahead.   Just a quick one from me, but I wanted to thank  the uh mayor and the director of the parks and   recck department um for making progress on a  long-standing um request to provide additional   access to Dennis Field. Um the the turf at Dennis  Field uh will now be open for open turf hours on   weekdays from 3:00 to 5:00 and Sunday mornings  from 8 to 11:00. These are times that the field   is not typically in use for another purpose and  uh the director of parks and wreck was able to   make it available. Um anyone can come show up.  You don't have to make any reservation. There's   no fee. Just come show up, bring a ball, have  fun. Um so thanks for making that happen. It had   been a long-standing request of the community of  the parks and wreck um advisory board and I just   appreciate the action on that. All right. Thank  you, Councilman. Any other uh council member   comments, Vice President? Thank you. Sure. Rank  Choice Voting Ohio will be holding a town hall   at 700 p.m., excuse me, at 6 p.m. at the Lee Road  Library this Wednesday. Please consider attending   to if you've got any questions answered or you  just want to hear about ranked choice voting.   Then on April 29th, city council will be holding  a public hearing on ranked choice voting at 6 PM   here in council chambers. Council wants to hear  the thoughts of our residents on placing rank   choice voting on the November 2026 ballot. And  then one additional event on May 20th. There   will be a meeting of residents to be introduced  to the Culver's management that is building a  

Culver's restaurant on the property formerly known  as the Mayfield Theater in the Noble Triangle. The   meeting starts at 7:30 and will be held at the  community center. That's all. Thank you. Thank   you, Madam Vice President and temporary clerk. Um,  anybody else? All right, then we'll go on to the   council president's report. Um, we actually were  here for 5 hours yesterday in the little room. Um,   and I I don't know. Did we have fun? I mean, I I I  mean, I it was uh kind of a combination of fun and   and just, you know, really digging into hard work.  It was kind of a a workshop. We we talked about   um uh the role of council, you know, just to make  sure we're all on the same page with that. We   talked about um I'm going to put my glasses on.  We we we shared our personal visions with each   other. We actually had the mayor in and talked  about his agenda, like what we thought it was,   and then he kind of enhanced some of the things  we were talking about. And then we spent a good   deal of time discussing our individual legislative  goals for 2026 and beyond and kind of organized   them. I want to thank um Councilman Posh  uh who kind of designed this and pushed to   make sure that it happened and um our council  clerk Addie for you know bringing the food and   um taking good care of us and taking notes. Um,  when we got to council rules and procedures,   we didn't get as far as we hoped we would get. So,  we're going to reconvene on the 28th of this month   after the after the planning and development  meeting. And we're just kind of finish off.  

We had one more item which was uh kind of our  council rules, procedures, and practices. So,   we'll be doing that. I just want to tell  everybody here that I enjoy being with you. I   enjoy your company. I enjoy our discussions.  I enjoy making progress. Um, and mayor,   um, I enjoy our Tuesday gettogethers, which  is tomorrow morning. So, the vice council vice   president and I will see you at 10 o'clock in  the morning. This meeting is adjourned at 8:38.