City Council - Regular Meeting

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Death charge In my submarine Navigating the seven seas Smoking the coral reef In with the death charge Step in charge Step in charge

Chef, Chef, Chef, Chef

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Please stand for the playing of the National Anthem.

¶¶ Would you lead us in the pledge?

Council is grateful to have Pastor Ray Vernon of the CO Church to lead us in prayer. Pastor, welcome to Council. We're excited to have you and excited about the growing ministry in Columbus.

Thank you, Council, for having us and thank you. to Council President and everyone that's watching. Let us pray. And earnest, eternal, and gracious God, we thank you for the gift of this day, for the gift of this city, and every person you have entrusted with the sacred responsibility of leadership. Your word teaches us that righteousness exists and exalts the nation. So today we pray not merely for a successful leadership, but for righteous leadership. Give these men and women wisdom beyond information and discernment, beyond data, courage, beyond convenience and compassion, beyond their capacity, Jesus. We remind us that behind every ordinance is a neighborhood, behind every appropriation is a family, behind every A statistic is a story. And we pray that you lead us and guide us to truly make a difference in this council. We bless our mayor. We ask that you bless our council, our first responders, our educators, our business leaders, faith communities, families, and every citizen who calls Columbus home. Protect those who are vulnerable. Protect those who are the least of these. We ask that you allow us and help us to make a difference as you instructed us to do in Matthew 25. We give you this day. We ask that you bless this meeting. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Thank you so much, Pastor. Please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso de Padilla, de Ock, Howard Gorns, Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin. Any person who takes any action to obstruct or interfere with the conduct of tonight's meeting may be charged with disturbing a lawful meeting pursuant to Columbus City Code 2317.12. Any person who enters those areas of city council chambers reserved for city officials or invited guests may be charged with criminal trespass pursuant to Columbus City Code 2311.21. Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Can I get a motion to move to the reading of the journal? Clerk, please call the roll.

Are there any additions or corrections to the journal? Hearing none, the journal is approved.

This week's communications received by the City Clerk's Office are listed on the agenda and will be published in the City Bulletin. Are there any other communications to be read and to the record?

Yes. A letter received from the Board of Elections reads, On behalf of the Franklin County Board of Elections, I hereby certify that the Board has examined the petition for initiated charter amendment received by our office from you on July 20, 2026. Total number of raw signatures examined, 23,211. valid signatures, 15,945 percentage of valid signatures relative to total signatures, 68.6%, 125,329 voters participated in the 2025 general municipal election in the city of Columbus. 10% of that number is 12,533. Please let me know if you have any, if I may be of further assistance, sincerely, Jeff Mackey, manager of petitions and campaign finance for the Franklin County board of elections.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any additions or corrections to the agenda? Hearing none, the agenda is approved. Before we go around the dais, I want to take a moment and ask for a moment of silence. Our community lost a giant last week in the passing of Senator I. Ray Miller. Senator Miller paved the way for a lot of us African Americans who have served, but really on behalf of the entire state. He was a giant in the Senate and certainly a giant in our community, and we are better because of his life and his legacy. Council was honored to recognize him earlier this year at our Poindexter Award Ceremony. And like we always say, it's better to give folks their flowers while they are here. And so I hope that we were able to share his story and share our appreciation and gratitude for his life and legacy. And we have a moment of silence for Senator Miller. Thank you. I'll go around the dial, starting with my colleague, Council Member Bankston.

Thank you, Council President. Just a couple of announcements. This evening, first I want to thank all of our residents, organization partners, and volunteers for the successful completion of the idea collection phase of the Our Voice, Our Choice budget. We received a total of 682 idea submissions by midnight last Friday, which has blown past all of the early estimates we had. on the engagement via this process. Starting today, we are now in the most critical phase of this entire process. That is the proposal development phase. And we still need some volunteers for the budget delegates and budget facilitators role. As you all know, that this is really about the people's budget and working with our community and residents. And so this more critical phase, we still need those resident voices to help shape and guide what those final projects will look like. just as a quick reminder budget delegates will work with city staff and experts to evaluate community ideas check the feasibility, and transform raw suggestions into fully cost proposals ready for a ballot that will be on later this year for residents to vote on. Budget facilitators will mediate these discussions to help keep them inclusive, fair, and focused. So if you are interested in getting involved, you can apply at common.oneproject.org slash Columbus or email us at participatorybudgeting at columbus.gov to confirm your interest or with any questions you may have and on next steps. Again, I want to thank all the residents who have participated. Really looking forward to the next phase of this once historic participatory budgeting process for our city. Next is Sickle Cell Awareness Month. Again, we are going into September and we're kicking off Sickle Cell Awareness Month here in Columbus. We will be lighting City Hall Red today. There is not a program, so just make sure that no one sticks around. But if you want to stick around and see the building lit red, it will be lit red in honor of all of our Sickle Cell warriors. But I'm encouraging folks through this month, please, please, please, where you can, to give blood and save a life. So this Thursday, on September 3rd, the City of Columbus is partnering with the American Red Cross for our Sickle Cell Awareness Month kickoff blood drive at the Fran Ryan Center from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Again, this is not your typical blood drive. We will have a live DJ, a mocktail bar, free health screenings, and a chance to connect with local health organizations doing this work every single day. One donation, again, just one hour of your time, it can save up to three lives. So you can sign up to donate at redcross.org slash donate. There's a sponsor code that will be there, and just type in the word Columbus, and that blood drive will come up for you. And if you can't make it out Thursday, again, find some time this month. to try and to give blood. It is the one thing that we can do as humans. I say it all the time when it comes to our blood supply, we are the supply chain. And then lastly, on Tuesday, September 15th, I'm holding a hearing to discuss adjusting the city's wage threshold for its tax incentive offerings. The city's wage threshold policy sets the minimum wage for jobs directly produced from a tax incentive. Any residents seeking to submit testimony should forward it to Jonathan Brown in my office at JB Brown at Columbus.gov by 10 a.m. on the day of the hearing and with the subject line wage threshold hearing. All persons wishing to speak during the hearing in person must also email Jonathan in my office as well, JB Brown at Columbus.gov by 10 a.m. on the day of the hearing. Each speaker will be limited to remarks lasting no longer than three minutes and of course the meeting will be live streamed on the city's YouTube and Facebook pages. And that's all I have this evening, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Rosa de Padilla.

Thank you, Council President. Hola, buenas noches, mi gente. September, happy, almost September, which marks one of the most wonderful times of the year, and that is Latino Heritage Month, kicking off on September 15th. Unfortunately, I will not be here for our September 14th council meeting, but I wanted to make sure that you all had on your calendars that September 17th, right here at City Hall at 6 p.m., we will be doing an illumination ceremony and also honoring in our community we call Padrinos and Madrinas. That is longtime community leaders that have been setting forth an example and leading the Latino community. And so this year we're honored to induct four new Madrinas and Padrinos into the family. So please join us on September 17th. If you are not already following us, please look for Latino Heritage CBUS. Again, that's Latino Heritage CBUS on Instagram. And I do believe on Facebook, but I will double check that. And then you can follow us and see all the happenings also on our council pages. We will also be having more announcements about all the good things happening throughout the month. But the best way to celebrate is for you to go out and go to your favorite Latino-owned business, local Latino-owned business between September 15th and October 15th. You should go. Year-round. I'm getting to it. I'm getting to it. You should go year-round, but especially during Latino Heritage Month. And that's all for me, Council President. Gracias.

Thank you. Council Member Dayakar.

Thank you, Council President. I have a couple of announcements this evening. This year, City Council and the National Veterans Memorial Museum are partnering on a September 11th event called commemorating the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. But this event is a reimagining of how we honor that particular solemn day. Instead of being simply a day of remembrance about what happened 25 years ago, we are working with the 911day.org organization and making this a day of service. So on that day, we have over 300 volunteers joining us and we will be packing 113,000 meals for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. And we are also doing activation of events in the two weeks before and the two weeks after to give people an opportunity to do an act of service. We have events also for kids at our community centers. And we also just encourage anyone to perform an act of service at that time to commemorate that day. Second of all, tomorrow night I'm hosting a zone-in gallery for area commissions in District 2. So if you are an area commissioner in District 2 or you like to attend their meetings, please join us in the gallery. Stop by any time between 5 and 7 p.m. And there will be people there who can answer questions about the zone-in updates. And lastly... I would also like to take a moment to recognize the fatal crash that occurred over the weekend on Roberts Road. My condolences are with the family of Aiden Elswick, the 19-year-old who was taken from this world late Friday night as a result of a deadly car crash along Roberts Road. Aiden had his whole life ahead of him, and many will mourn his loss. I cannot shake the feeling that if the community's concerns about unsafe driving conditions on Roberts Road had been addressed, perhaps Aiden would still be with us today. Aiden's tragic crash is not the first on this section of road, and it won't be the last until the necessary action is taken to prevent these needless tragedies. I will continue to work with the community to address their concerns, and I call on the Columbus Department of Public Service to do the same. We cannot wait until another life is lost before we act. That is all for me this evening, Council President.

Thank you.

President Tim.

Thank you, Council President. Just two quick announcements. As my colleague mentioned, we are in zone-in season around City Hall right now, and today is number six of the 60-day public comment period for the second phase of zone-in. We had the first public hearing this past week, and we'll be holding our second. on september 16th here in a couple weeks we're still working to finalize the location for that hearing but we'll provide an update from my office as soon as possible folks are interested in learning more about our efforts to modernize our zoning code please visit columbus.gov slash zoning update there you're able to provide feedback individually both on the zoning districts but also on the map so you can see what has been proposed within your neighborhood This is a significantly larger phase and phase two than compared to where we were at a couple years ago with over 40% of the city slated for an update. So lots of council members can be hosting events, as my colleague just mentioned, at the zoning gallery here downtown, but we'll be having a number of public hearings. across the city in order to make sure that folks have an opportunity to give feedback on this proposal. My other announcement is this Friday here at noon in Council Chambers we'll be hosting our annual Labor Day celebration. So as workers across Columbus have recently organized their workplaces in recent years, a new wave of collective action has formed among many workers in our city. Please join us for an inspiring conversation with local workers. We'll share why they chose to organize, what the process was like, the challenges they overcame, the impact on unionizing had on their workplace and their community. If folks are interested, please join us here at noon on Friday. Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, President. Council Member Green.

Thank you so much, Council President. So today, August 31st, before we get to the month of September celebrations, today, August 31st, is International Overdose Awareness Day. And so I wanted to take a minute tonight just to hold some space, not just, of course, for the people in our community, the many people in our community that we have lost to accidental drug overdose, but also for their families and their loved ones that are living with those losses every day across our community. and also to honor and recognize all the many workers across our community, the folks, you know, Columbus Public Health has a talented team, but there's so many organizations that are doing the hard work and the heart work every day to help support our neighbors and our friends and our loved ones that are living with substance use disorder here across Columbus. Overdose is absolutely preventable, and recovery is absolutely possible. Every person living in our community that is living with a substance use disorder deserves to have the opportunity to survive long enough so that they can find recovery. And that means meeting people where they're at with compassion instead of judgment and treatment, making sure that it's ready and accessible when they are ready to access it. as well as harm reduction, including doing things like carrying naloxone, which you can literally pick up at any pharmacy, anytime, or so many places across our community for free, the life-saving drug that reverses the effect of an opiate overdose. And so tonight I just want to say, on a day like today, that I hope that we can honor the people who we've lost and whose lives have been impacted by accidental drug overdose, by refusing to give up on the many people that are still here that need our support today, and by continuing to build a city where every life is treated as a life that's worth saving. So that's all for me tonight, Council President. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Remy. Council Member Ross.

Thank you, Council President. Just one announcement today. As many of you are aware, Team Rubicon ascended here in the city of Columbus just days after the storm and have been here since helping families to remove debris and any other flood damage that they could assist with. And so we are so grateful to Team Rubicon. They have decided to extend their stay for one week, so they will be here for all of this week. However, they are no longer accepting requests for support. in an effort to ensure that they get through all of the outstanding requests from families in this neighborhood. So if you have needs and you think that you need some support in getting connected to those needs, we are offering our council community engagement team, Catherine Cole. Her email address is khcole, that's c-u-l-l at columbus.gov. please feel free to reach out. There are still some limited resources in the community that we might be able to connect you with. So once again, big thanks to Team Rubicon for all of your support and your weeks of service to the residents of the city of Columbus. They are staying for one week, but the public-facing number to call has ended. And so if you need support, feel free to reach out to council offices, to the engagement team, and we wish everyone a safe and smooth recovery.

Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Weitsch. Thank you, sir. Are there any requests by members of council for the removal of an ordinance or resolution from the consent action portion of the agenda? Hearing none, may we now have a motion to waive the reading of Title 30 legislation by the clerk. Clerk, please call the roll.

Okay. Bankston, Barrosa, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Dornsgreen, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Thank you. The clerk now reading to the record of the ordinance of numbers of 30 legislation on tonight's agenda for first reading. Oh, I apologize. We have one speaker on the first reading portion of the agenda. That is Kathy Cohen Becker via WebEx speaking on or against ordinance 1091. Kathy.

Yeah. Can you hear me?

You have three minutes, and if you represent any organization, welcome to council.

Great, thank you. My name's Kathy Kallenbecker. I'm board president of Save Ohio Parks, a statewide nonprofit of Ohio residents concerned about protecting our public lands. And I'm testifying on ordinance 1091-2026, which is about putting basically a gas pipeline through Olentangy Park and Kinney Park Nature Preserve and basically i'm not testifying for or against i just have a whole lot of questions about this spent quite a bit of time on it yesterday um so the legislation text says that it involves replacing an existing gas line with five point with 20 inch dynamic well actually this is um the project page for columbia gas it says a 20 inch diameter and 12 inch diameter pipeline but the legislation says one inch so i was confused by that um it's also a case at the ohio power siting board uh which um is scheduling these here these um you know for right now figuring out what's going on with the land for the pipeline Nothing explains the purpose of it, if it's commercial, industrial, or residential. If it's a replacement, why does it need to be replaced? Why does an easement need to be added? Also, it doesn't indicate the pressure of the pipeline. uh but the uh power siding board application says pressure could go as high as 720 which is quite high like your car tires that are about 35 by comparison um so i guess i'm but the columbia gas says that they would not go above 190 but they could raise it if they needed to so i'm wondering under what circumstances would they raise that pressure Would that have to be approved by the Ohio Power Siding Board? Because this pipeline goes through very residential areas where 720 would be quite dangerous. Also, questions about the location. The legislation says Graceland Boulevard, but a supplemental document shows Rathborn Avenue, which is a few blocks south. And the Columbia Gas map shows both locations. And then there's another location shown in the National Pipeline Mapping System along Fenway. So I'm really unclear as to where exactly this would be. And then finally, the environmental impacts. So the legislation says that the easement would be five feet wide, but the supplemental document says 50 feet. So I'm not sure where it is there. And that makes a big difference if it's 50 feet across a nature preserve. If that's on the surface, then that would have to take out a lot of trees. And that's what I really like not to see happen here is these are mature trees. And then finally, how it would be built. Would Columbia Gas drill the pipeline underground, which is what they'd have to do to get it under the Olatunji River? Would they do that through the park or would they use open cut installation where basically it's just a big hole in the ground and that would entail removing a lot of trees? So those are some of the many questions I have about this project and would hope to get some answers and hope you all would have answers to those questions before taking a vote.

Well, thank you, Ms. Kathy Cohen-Becker. I appreciate your list of questions. They're extensive, and I want to make sure that we get not just you, but to your point, council gets answers to the questions that you were posed. I do want to kick it over to Deputy Director Regan Parks to say any initial and then ask that we have the contact information for Ms. Kathy, that there's some direct follow-up so that we can know that these questions were engaged.

Yes, thank you, President. So as far as our priority from a recreation and park perspective, we are here for the protecting of the preserve as well as the Olentangy River and also the surrounding park property area while minimizing the impact of this project as much as possible. Now we have been working with Columbia Gas to identify the least impactful option. Now rather than disturbing the surface or even the cutting, or the cutting and opening up the trenches through a preserve, the pipeline would be installed underground. using horizontal boring beneath and the nature preserve in the Olentangy River. Now, other options would have made some major impacts of the trees, the wetlands, and the recreational fields that are surrounding there. Now, another thing to that is that simply denying that easement, it didn't necessarily would have stopped the project because Columbia Gas has other avenues available to obtain the easement. So by working with them, the recreation and parks, we have been able to say how we want it to work, and we've also done what is required for the underground approach. That is better to protect the preserves overall.

Thank you, Director. I appreciate that response.

Madam Chair, would you help just facilitate any follow-up?

This is, again, on first reading, so hopefully within the week we can just engage, Kathy. Thank you.

Yes, and since we're not having a meeting next week, this would not come before us for a vote until the 14th. So, yes, we will. And another organization also had very specific, more scientific questions. So, Kathy, we will get back to you and also to those other people who inquired.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Director. And thank you, Kathy.

Thank you.

All right. Will the clerk now read into the record the ordinance numbers of third aid legislation tonight for first reading? Yes.

In Finance and Governance, we have Ordinances 1747, 1883, and 2289-2026. Economic Development and Small and Minority Business Committee, Ordinances 2318 and 2321-2026. Public Service and Transportation Committee, Ordinance 2367-2026. Neighborhoods, Recreation, and Parks Committee, Ordinances 2317. 1091-2026, 2114-2026, 2202-2026, and 2322-2026. Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee Ordinance 2003-2026, Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee Ordinances 2296, 2297, 2298, and 2299-2026. Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee Ordinances 2149, 2256, 2277, and 2320-2026. Rules and Policy Committee Ordinances 2349, 2455, and 2265-2026.

Thank you. Madam Clerk, we already heard our first reading. Speaker, so the following ordinance appear on our agenda as consent. Will the clerk now read those into the record?

Yes.

Resolutions of expression 192X, 195X, 189X, 186X, and 185X-2026. Finance and Governance Committee Ordinances 2193, 2245, 2258, 2275, 2283, and 2352-2026. Economic Development and Small and Minority Business Committee, ordinances 2226, 2228, 2229, 2230, and 2278-2026. Public Service and Transportation Committee, ordinances 2024, 2088, 2094, 2107, 2118, 2234, and 2175-2026. Neighborhoods, Recreation, and Parks Committee, resolution 166X-2026. ordinances 2203, 2205, 2215, 2216, and 2405-2026. Workforce Education and Labor Committee ordinances 2069, 2070, and 2079-2026. Health, Human Services, and Equity Committee ordinances 2236 and 2397-2026. Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee ordinances 2086, 2210, 2249 and 2263-2026, Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee, Ordinances 2218, 2294, and 2414-2026, Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee, Ordinances 1305, 2061, 2067, 2074, 2103, 2109, 2122, 2148, 2158, 2179, 2186, 2187, 2188, and 2227-2026. Under rules and policy, we have appointments A140, A141, A146, A147, A148, A151, A152, A153, A154, A155, A156, A157, A158, A159, A160, A161, A162, A163, A164, A-165, A-166, A-167, A-168, A-169, A-170, A-171, A-172, A-173, A-174, A-175, A-176, A-177, A-178, A-179, A-180, A-181, A-182, and A-183-2026.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any questions or comments on the consent portion of the agenda? Hearing none, may I have a motion of approving these items designated consent by voice? Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Bankston.

Yes, with the exception of appointment 0151-2026, from which I abstain.

Barrosa-Depardieu. Yes. Day-Icower. Yes. Dorrance. Yes. Green. Yes. Ramey. Yes. Ross. Yes. Weiss. Yes. President Hardin.

Yes, the consent portion of the agenda carries with the noted exceptions. We'll now proceed with the second reading of 30-day postponed and emergency legislation. The first committee to come before council is the Finance and Governance Committee, chaired by Council Member Banks. And Council Member Ford is yours.

First up in the Finance and Governance Committee for second read, we have Ordinance 2013-2026 to authorize the Directorate Department of Technology to enter into a contract with Columbus FiberNet. LLC for fiber optic cable maintenance services to waive the competitive bidding provisions of Chapter 329 of the Columbus City Codes to authorize expenditure of $90,653.27 from the Information Services Operating Fund. This ordinance authorizes a $90,000 contract with Columbus FiberNet LLC for maintenance of the city's fiber optic infrastructure within the CFN duct system. The city owns fiber optic cabling in various strand quantities throughout the city. The services in this contract are needed to regularly inspect and maintain these assets and provide fiber optic cable maintenance services in the event of unforeseen damage to the fiber network. Given the established relationship with the contractor and the expense to the city for these services, which are critical for providing continuous fiber optic maintenance, It is the city's best interest to utilize a bid waiver for this ordinance. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues?

Seeing none, I move for passage. Second. Second. Thanks, Tim.

Next, we have Ordinance 2104-2026 to authorize the Finance and Management Director to enter into a contract with Byers Minton and Associates LLC for a consulting services contract. related to state government relations to waive competitive bidding provisions of Columbus City Code Chapter 329 to authorize the expenditure of $60,000 from the general fund and to declare an emergency. As mentioned last week, this order authorizes a contract with Byers-Minton and Associates LLC. Byers-Minton serves as a consultant to the city and provides state of Ohio government relations. Scope of services provided to the city via the contract include, but are not limited to, development of a comprehensive and proactive public policy agenda for the state, that advances the interest of the city, formulating policy positions on individual legislative and executive agency proposals in consideration with the city, monitoring of all legislation and executive agency decisions, including the rule process that impact the city of Columbus, and scheduling regular virtual or in-person meetings with appropriate city personnel to provide updates and discussion and discuss strategy. I am going to move this discussion for this to be 30-day, but I also wanted to reiterate that within that 30-day time period as we go to execute this contract, that we will take a look at the scope to make sure that we finalize that and also come up with a schedule that engages council appropriately. Are there any questions or comments from our colleagues before I move? All right. First, I move to amend to 30-day. I'll start by voice. By voice.

Bankston.

Yes.

Barroso-Deputia. Yes. Dayakower. Yes. Dorrance. Yes. Green.

Yes.

Ramey. Yes. Ross. Yes. Weish. No. President Hardin.

Yes.

Amended. And now I move for passage by voice. Move as passage, sorry, move for passage as amended by voice. Second.

Secretary's call to roll by voice. Bankston.

Yes.

Barossa de Padilla. Yes. Dayakower. Yes. Dorrance. Yes. Green.

Yes.

Ramey. Yes. Ross? Yes. Weish? No. President Hardin? Yes.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 2169-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management on behalf of the Fleet Management Division to associate all general budget reservations resulting from this ordinance with and to establish purchase orders from previously established Universal Terp contracts for the purchase of automobiles and light-duty trucks, as well as associated up fitting for use by the Division of Fire and Division of Police with George Byers Sons Holding, Inc., Law and Order Technology, LLC, and Pair Public Safety Equipment, Inc., to authorize the appropriation and expenditure of $2 million or so much thereof as may be necessary from the General Funds Income Tax Set-Aside Sub-Fund and to declare an emergency. This ordinance establishes purchase orders for the purchase of automobiles and light-duty trucks, as well as associated upfitting for the Columbus Division of Fire and the City of Columbus Division of Police. These vehicles will be purchased as replacements for older, high mileage, high maintenance, and out-of-life cycle vehicles currently in service. The replacements will provide improved fuel efficiency and help reduce the city's maintenance expenses. An emergency designation is requested to avoid significant price increases coming from the manufacturers in the next few weeks. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you, Council President.

May I move to the Economic Development and Small Minority Business Committee? Thank you. In the Economic Development and Small Minority Business Committee, for second reading, we have Ordinance 2231-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to accept and execute a reimbursable grant in an amount up to $1 million from the State of Ohio, acting by and through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission to utilize the remaining funds from the original grant for the North Market Grand Atrium. to authorize Director of Department of Development to enter into a new cultural project cooperative use agreement with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, the North Market Development Authority, Inc., and the Columbus Franklin County Finance Authority, to authorize the Director of Department of Development to enter into a grant agreement with the North Market Development Authority, Inc., to reimburse them for costs of the North Market Grant Atrium incurred prior to the purchase order to authorize the transfer of appropriations and expenditures in an amount up to $1 million to the North Market Development Authority, Inc. In 2020, the then proposed North Market Tower project was awarded a $1 million capital grant from the state of Ohio to construct a proposed atrium. It was discovered after the notice of award that in order to receive those funds, the city needed to act as a pass-through entity for the dollars once the construction of the atrium was underway. This ordinance establishes a new agreement to apply the awarded funds to the construction of the grand atrium as a reimbursement. This ordinance has no impact, excuse me, on the city's general funds since these are, again, state dollars passing through. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you. And that's all I have in my.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The next committee to come before council is the Public Service Transportation Committee. That committee is chaired by Council Member Member Barroso de Padilla, Council Member, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President. Before I read the ordinances this evening, I just wanted to echo my condolences to the Ellswick family for the loss of Aiden. I think that in April, we met with the community along Roberts Road and they have been asking for some of the improvements along that road and you know part of or not part of the goal of Vision Zero is that we reach zero fatalities or serious injuries due to crashes and as we continue to work towards that goal I also implore I'm very excited about some of the projects and we'll talk about them in just a second that these ordinances will bring forward but the concerns of Roberts Road still weigh very heavy on me. And as we talk about some of the development that is coming along Roberts Road, continuing to put more cars on roads that are unsafe without rebuilding those roads for the safety of people and to counteract what we know is going to be human error is just irresponsible of all of us. And so I just, I know as we continue to talk to the department and as they continue their commitment towards Vision Zero, I just again implore that, you know, MYSELF AND VICE CHAIR DAYAKOWER CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH THAT WE REALLY DO NEED THE PUSH FROM THE DEPARTMENT. SO I KNOW DEPUTY DIRECTOR MCGINNIS HERE THIS EVENING AND THAT WE TALK TO THE DEPARTMENT EVERY WEDNESDAY AND THIS IS CERTAINLY ANOTHER TOPIC OF CONVERSATION THAT WE WILL HAVE BUT THAT YOU CAN ALSO PASS THAT ALONG. Thank you. So next, so first up, we have Ordinance 2165-2026 to authorize the city attorney to file complaints in order to immediately appropriate and accept the remaining fees, simple and lesser, real estate necessary to timely complete the Broad Street Phase 1 project and to authorize an expenditure of up to $32,910. So this is continued improvements to the section of Broad Street in District 9. This is the first phase of the East Broad Street Rehabilitation Project from I-270 to Outer Belt Street. There is a street called Outer Belt Street. It's kind of funky. It's reconstructing the corridor with new through lanes and turn lanes for safer traffic flow and to reduce crashes. The city must acquire a certain fee, simple title, and lesser real estate located in the vicinity of East Broad Street, east of I-270, in order for DPS to timely complete the project. The city's acquisition of the real estate will help make, improve, or repair certain portions of the public right away, while it will be open to the public without charge. I'm really excited about this, because if folks travel that section of Broad Street, then you know it is challenging, especially during those high rush hour hours, and so excited about what's to come. So I know it's going to be frustrating for a little bit when there's construction on that road. But the benefits of it afterwards, you just have to think about those. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Bankston, Barroso de Padilla, de Alcázar, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President Hardin.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 2226, 2026, no, sorry, 2266, 2026, to authorize the Director of Public Service to execute grant agreements with the Ohio Department of Transportation relative to the Highway Safety Improvement Program to accept and expend awarded grant funds and to issue refunds if necessary for approved projects. The Ohio Department of Transportation, or ODOT, is accepting applications to fund projects that address locations with a history of fatal or injury crashes where low-cost safety improvements have failed to solve the problem. The Highway Safety Improvement Program accepts formal safety applications twice a year and accepts abbreviated safety applications four times a year. These grants require a 10% local match. The Department of Public Service submitted an application seeking funds to construct safety improvements for the gender road at Abbey Trails Drive intersection, also in District 9. And I wanted to highlight this ordinance because this is just one of many that sometimes are on the consent portion of the agenda or first read of the agenda where it's highlighting where the department is making efforts to try to get those. Every construction project that we do literally requires millions and millions of dollars. And so that local match along with those dollars that we get either from the federal government or from flowing down from the state are really important. And so this is an area that's on the high injury network, and it's part of our Vision Zero work. And I wanted to highlight that because folks don't always see that. And so sometimes we do apply for grants that are going to address some of those fatal or some of those high injury network areas, but we don't always get them. So I just wanted to... show this as just an example because the folks especially along gender road when you're out further out from the city don't always feel like those issues are getting addressed and this is an effort for the department to do so. Deputy Director McGinnis, is there anything that you wanted to add about this particular project?

Thank you, Chair. Members of Council, President Hardin. The GitHub administration is consistently focused on Improving safety for residents and others who move around on our city transportation system along with the This ordinance that is up for consideration right now. There was also a earlier ordinance this evening But this gives us the opportunity to pursue a grant that's going to cover an estimated 28% of the project costs to make safety improvements and at the intersection of Gender Road and Abbey Trails Drive. This section of roadway, as you mentioned, is on the Vision Zero Columbus High Injury Network, comprised of the most dangerous of our roadways, where 52% of serious injuries and deaths occur on just 7% of our roads. So this grant will help fund a project that intends to construct a roundabout at Gender Road and Abbey Trails intersection to reduce crashes and improve safety and complete a shared use path connection to the Black Lake Trail that will address connectivity for walking and biking in southeast Columbus. When roundabouts replace traffic signals, the Federal Highway Administration has found a 48% reduction in crashes and nearly an 80% drop in serious injury and deadly crashes. This intersection was proposed for a roundabout in the city's Gender Road corridor study that involve community and stakeholder engagement. The Department of Public Service has continued further evaluation of sections of this corridor to identify and fund specific safety and connectivity improvements. This grant will leverage city dollars to advance the project. And we also intend to bring legislation later this year authorizing a larger regional analysis of the area to help identify additional projects as this area of Columbus is growing quickly. We're focused on providing infrastructure for safe travel by all modes.

Thank you. And that 7% is such a low percentage when you think about the whole city. And so I'm really excited to partner with the administration so that we can continue to tackle that 7%. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? And again, I want to make sure that folks know this is no promise. So this is just highlighting that we are putting the effort forward, along with, again, their administration, to move this forward to ensure that we can start to tackle those problematic roadways. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage. Second.

Dr. Favaro. Bankston. Barrosa. De Padilla. De Ock. Howard. Dorns. Green. Remy. Ross. Weiss. President. Hart. Second.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 2222-2026 to amend the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget to authorize the transfer of funds within the Streets and Highways Bond Fund to appropriate funds within the Federal Transportation Grants Fund and the OPWC Grants and Loans Fund to authorize the Director of Public Service to enter into contract with Shelley and Sands Incorporated for their arterial 161 I-71 to Cleveland Avenue Phase 2 project to authorize the expenditure of up to $23,868,642.76 from the Streets and Highways Bond Fund, O-W-C, O-P-W-C. Grants and Loans Fund and the Federal Transportation Grants Fund for the project and to repay any unused grant funds at the end of the grant period and to declare an emergency. This contract includes the construction of many roundabouts at four locations in District 1 on Tamarack Boulevard, Sharon Woods Boulevard, and Beechcroft Road north and south of 161 and raised medians from the service roads to the roundabouts. These improvements will include the addition of pedestrian and bike facilities, full replacement of traffic signals at the intersections of 161 with Tamarack Boulevard and Beechcroft Road, pavement widening and resurfacing, and improvements to storm, sewer, and lighting, and other work as may be necessary. The estimated notice to proceed date pending passage of this legislation is September 16, 2026. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Congratulations to the current district. Seeing none, I move for passage. Second.

Bankston, Barrosa de Padilla de Alcala, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, Weiss, President Hardin. Pass.

Thank you. Next is Ordinance 2268-2026 to amend the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget to appropriate funds received from NP Capital Management Corporation in connection to the Roadway, Polaris Parkway, Gemini Place to South Old State Road Project to authorize the Director of Public Service to enter into contract with WZ Construction Company for the project to authorize the expenditure of up to $3,904,562.36 from the Streets and Highways Non-Bond Fund for the project and to refund any unused construction, construction inspection and administration funds upon final approval acceptance of the work and to declare an emergency. This project, also in District 1. The contract includes the widening of northbound Polaris Parkway to three lanes from Gemini Place to approximately, this is very approximate, 1,000 feet south of South Old State Road and widening of southbound Polaris Parkway to three lanes from Antares Avenue to approximately 67 feet west of Antares Avenue. The project will also widen eastbound in Terrace Boulevard to four lanes, including a 210-foot right turn lane at the intersection of Polaris Parkway. Work includes full-depth pavement widening, resurfacing and widening areas, curb and gutter, sidewalk, drive reconstructions, new storm sewer, ditches and culverts, updated lighting, a new signal at the intersection of Polaris Parkway and Terrace Avenue, and other work as may be necessary. The estimated notice date to proceed pending passage of this legislation is September 15, 2026. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Yes.

Chair, not a question, but a comment. You know, I'm Just want to applaud the Guenther administration for really taking the time to focus on these improvements on the outskirts of the city. I sometimes feel when you are in these districts that the Guenther administration has forgotten about making those improvements. So it's good to see both District 9 and District 1 be represented in those investments today.

Thank you, Councilmember. Every neighborhood, we should be focused on every neighborhood, every part of the city. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you, ma'am. Move to page four.

Okay. In page four in Neighborhoods, Recreation, and Parks Committee, we have Ordinance 21-14-2026 to authorize and direct the Director of Neighborhoods to modify a non-for-profit service contract with Neighborhood Design Center to add funding to the existing contract in support of the 6-1 Beautiful Program to authorize expenditures for reasonable food and non-alcoholic beverage costs and to authorize an appropriation and expenditure from the neighborhood's initiatives sub-fund. So I'm proud to have started the 614 Beautiful program with the Neighborhood Design Center. These projects range from murals to pocket parks and help create new spaces for people to gather in Columbus. The 614 Beautiful program accomplishes this by funding projects such as landscape improvements, streetscapes, public right-of-way improvements, place-making signage, and public art. So over the past four years, we've awarded over 25 projects all over the city and nearly a million dollars in direct grant funds. Applications are going to open later this fall, so please be on the lookout at the Neighborhood Design Center website, council, my social media channels. I just want to give a shout out to the Department of Neighborhoods because this would not be possible without your partnership and the partnership with Neighborhood Design Center, especially Nick Plout and my aide, Jessica Casares, who have worked. This has been, if this was my baby in thought, this was certainly their baby in raising it. And so the Department of Neighborhoods has been such an amazing partner, and I just want to thank them for everything that they've done. I want to encourage folks that this is dollars that go directly to communities, $10,000 or more. You've probably seen these projects all over the city, but it's a low barrier for folks to come together and create beautiful spaces. I think we've done something at this point in almost every district, and if we haven't, call me out on that, and we will look and see and make sure that we have strong projects that go forward. So I'm very excited. Stay tuned. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Perfect. I move to first wave, second reading.

Bankston, Barossa, de Fadilla, de Alcoward, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President Hardin.

Now I request to move for passage.

Thanks, Tim. Barbosa, de Padilla, de Alcower, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Perfect. That was a journey, but that's it for me tonight. Thank you.

Next committee to come before council is the Neighborhoods, Recreation, and Parks Committee. That committee is chaired by Councilman de Alcower. Councilman, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President. I just have one ordinance this evening, Ordinance 2197-2026, to authorize the Director of the Recreation and Parks Department, to enter into contract with Berglund Construction Company for the Marion Franklin Exterior Improvements Project to authorize the expenditure of $1,015,000 from the Recreation Parks Voted Bond Fund and to declare an emergency. The building envelope at Marion Franklin Community Center on the south side is deteriorating and allowing water infiltration causing damage to the building. This contract will improve aesthetics of the building and restore the envelope, improving the longevity of usage. The exterior improvements will include new storefront windows and brick tuck pointing. The project will also include sealing the exterior, replacing vertical windows on the roof, updating security cameras, and resurfacing the parking lot. Along with the improvements at Marion Franklin, this project will also replace the glass block entrance at Lazelle Woods. These older style glass block walls are difficult to maintain and individual broken blocks cannot be replaced. As a result, the entire wall requires replacement. Emergency action is requested in order to complete the work of securing the exterior building envelope before winter 26-27. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you, Council President. That's all I have in my committee this evening.

Chair, by Councilman Rooney, Councilman LaCour, short.

Thank you very much. Council President, tonight in Public Safety and Criminal Justice, I have five items for second reading. But before I begin, I'd like to take a moment to provide an update on automated license plate reader policies and flock cameras. I have to start with the community. Thank you to all of the residents who have reached out to me, my office, or this council with your thoughts and concerns on this technology. To me, the public discourse and civic engagement around this issue have reaffirmed the responsibilities that come with chairing this committee. Regardless of where any of us ultimately land on this issue, it is my commitment to the community and to my colleagues to responsibly steward this public conversation and ensure we have the information and options necessary to move forward. I believe some of my colleagues may wish to move away from this technology altogether. Some may wish to move away from the current vendor. Others may be open to the technology under the right circumstances and with the right safeguards. I'm not here tonight to speak on behalf of my colleagues where each of them stands. I do want the public to understand the options that are on the table, and it is my goal for council to take action in September. Last Friday, my vice chair council member Ross, and I met with the mayor's office director of public safety, Kate and chief Bryant to discuss additional safeguards and potential changes to city code governing the use of this technology. I believe the administration took seriously our position that stronger oversight is needed that same day. The administration announced additional safeguards intended to prevent misuse and better protect residents. Those policy changes are meaningful, but as I have said throughout this process, I believe certain protections should also be codified into law. And let me be clear, regardless of how we ultimately move forward with FLOC, I intend to introduce legislation establishing safeguards governing surveillance technology more broadly. Residents should not have to rely solely on administrative policies that can be changed in the future, where appropriate, These protections should have the force of law. I have shared potential code changes with my colleagues. Among the options we are considering are criminal penalties for the intentional misuse of this technology, clear restrictions on when, how, and with whom data may be shared, a requirement for public review and discussion when new surveillance technologies are being considered, limits on how long collected data may be retained, and additional accountability and oversight measures. There is still more work to do to fully understand the fiscal, operational, and legal consequences of these proposals, and I appreciate the work our Legislative Research Office has put into helping us evaluate them. I am one of nine, and I won't decide our direction alone, but I will ensure all options are outlined for my colleagues and that they have all the information they need to make their own decisions. I look forward to sharing more with the community in the coming weeks. Before, did you have something, Council Member Barroso-Depedia?

Yes, Chair. I just wanted to say, I wanted to say thank you to you, Vice Chair. I wanted to say thank you to Chief Bryant, to our Safety Director, to Chief Sims for coming together. While, you know, I still think that we, for me personally, being one of nine, there's a ways to go for me and there's still questions that I have about the technology, not about our, not about CPD, not about whatever, it's about how we use these technologies and I think as we move forward in talking about a very changing, about an ever changing environment, I think I just want to say thank you and thank you to you for moving these things forward to ensure that we heard what both our residents were saying, the different constituent groups that we all represent, and including that to make this technology safer so that we can come to a place where, yes, we can use it to solve crimes, but we can also use it to protect people. And so, again, while I'm not 100% there, I do want to acknowledge the work that has been done and just say thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember. So the first four items I have are withdrawals of liquor license objections. So before we take any action, I'd like to invite Sophie Yano, Assistant City Attorney with the City Attorney's Office, to briefly explain the reason for withdrawing these four liquor permit objections. So, Sophie, thank you for joining us, and the floor is yours.

Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Thank you for having me. I'm here briefly to talk about liquor permit objection withdrawals. I'll be back in a couple months to talk about more for this coming year. But tonight we're resolving a couple that our office has been working over the past couple months since these were made last December to find a good resolution. So three of them, we were able to work with the business owners to come to safer business operations. As many people know, we do objections to liquor permits to places that have chronic issues with violent crime, overdoses, and things like that. And 99% of the time we're able to come to good resolutions with business owners who would like to do the right thing and make their businesses safer, not only for themselves and their employees, but also the community members visiting and patronizing their establishments. So we were able to work with two different Speedway locations within the city of Columbus, one on the north side and one on the south side, and a business called Buckeye Supermarket, also on the north side. So we were able to come to good resolutions with all three of those. Our last resolution, or the last liquor permit that we're recommending to be withdrawn. The objection to today is True North Energy, which was an objection we made to preserve a different objection that we had made prior. We have had a hearing on that since then, and we no longer need to hold our objection. So happy to answer any questions anybody has.

Thank you very much, Sophie. Are there any questions for my colleagues? All right, seeing none, I will start with 0179X2026 to withdraw the objection to the renewal of liquor permit number 084-18994-88, held by Speedway LLC, located at 2875 Stelter Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43219, and to declare an emergency. This resolution formally withdraws the city's objection, so the liquor permit renewal may proceed. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for adoption.

Thanks. Timber, Ross, David Deer, Day, Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Next, I have 180X2026 to withdraw the objection to the renewal of liquor permit number 841-8994-106 held by Speedway LLC located at 1165 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43206 and to declare an emergency. This resolution formally withdraws the city's objection so the liquor permit renewal may proceed. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for adoption. Next is 181X, 2026, to withdraw the objection to the renewal of liquor permit number 02850275-1, held by 4432 Walford, Inc., doing business at Buckeye Supermarket, located at 4432 Walford Street, Columbus, Ohio, 43223, and to declare an emergency. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for adoption. And then I have 182X, 2026, to withdraw the objection to the renewal of liquor permit number 0907-3995-82 held by True North Energy LLC, doing business as True North, located at 2441 Lockbourne Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43207, and to declare an emergency. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for adoption.

And finally, thank you.

Thank you, Sophia, for your work on this. Finally, I have 2223-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Public Safety on behalf of the Division of Police to enter into contract with Penlink Limited to provide computer software licenses and subscriptions that aid in obtaining and analyzing electronic information crucial to resolving cases. to waive the competitive bidding provisions of the Columbus City Code to authorize the expenditure of $139,680.33 from the Law Enforcement Contraband Seizure Fund and to declare an emergency. This ordinance renews PennLink software used by police investigators to organize and analyze lawfully obtained electronic evidence, including phone and social media data, and to map and connect information across networks. investigations. A bid waiver is requested because Penlink is the sole provider of its software, training, maintenance updates, hardware and configurations, and the system must be purchased and serviced by Penlink to protect existing warranties. Emergency action is requested to keep these investigative software licenses, subscriptions and training available without interruption. Last week, a speaker raised important questions about how information in PLX could be shared with other law enforcement agencies and who would have access. I appreciate those objections, and we followed up with the Division of Police before bringing this back. I have asked Deputy Chief Sagal to come in tonight to talk a little bit more about this particular technology. We did learn that outside agencies do not have direct access to Columbus' PLS system. Any sharing is manual and goes through the lead CPD detective. We also learned that all data is in-house on city-owned services. So I want to ask the deputy chief to step forward and give us a little overview and answer any questions that my colleagues may have.

Good evening. Thank you, Council President Hardin, Safety Chair Rieme, and all the members of Council for allowing me to speak. PenLink PLX is a technology utilized by the Division of Police to organize electronic data of criminal activity obtained by a court order signed by a judge. The system organizes the data to make it more digestible and easier to search for investigators and analysts. All of the data is manually entered onto city-owned servers, maintained and accessible only to city employees that have access. PINLINK PLX organizes this data but does not host, store, or retain our data and cannot be aggregated with data from other agencies. PINLINK PLX and other users do not have access to the data CPD obtains and uploads and any sharing of the information is done manually with another law enforcement agency only with a legitimate law enforcement purpose based upon a criminal investigation or a criminal predicate. This technology allows us to organize large amounts of legally obtained electronic data to help locate violent felons, dangerous fugitives, and advance complex criminal cases. All of the data entered into PLX is vetted by investigators and prosecutors for accuracy and evidentiary value. Again, the division does not share information without a criminal nexus and never for the sole purpose of immigration enforcement. I appreciate your consideration of this critical technology. and am prepared to answer any questions anybody may have.

Councilmember Burrus at APDU.

Thank you. Thank you for being here tonight. I have a couple questions. So from my understanding, this is how you can essentially take notes or a repository for evidence, correct? So can you share how an officer would use this technology?

So it would be investigators, somebody that's advancing like a criminal case, or our analysts that are helping advance a criminal case. If they would get a court order to basically intercept some sort of electronic evidence, so it could be like phone records, it could be social media records, things like that. They would first have a judge sign that court order, and then they would send that to the the company that has the data. They would then provide the data only to CPD in accordance with that court order, only the data that's asked for in the very specific time periods that it's asked for. And then that would be manually entered into PLX. So for an example, if you put off a request to a social media company, you may get 13,000 pages of data back. but we may only need something very specific. It just helps make it more digestible and easier searchable so that we don't have to go through all 13,000 pages. But again, we then take that court-ordered data that we receive back and then manually enter it into our own servers owned by the city of Columbus.

Got it. So with that data, so there's an AI element that comes through it, or is it only like a person, like a human being that comes through that?

A human being comes through it.

Okay. And then can you, so we've had residents that have reached out to us about that cell phone data that PLX, or I mean, Penlink may have procured. Can you talk about, you talked about this being like a closed circuit, so only we have the data. but Penn Lake does have access to that data, correct?

They do not. The only thing they have access to would potentially be like, if we're looking at a specific phone number, they could see that we looked for that phone number. They would have no other data associated with that. It would simply say Columbus Division of Police. That's a deconfliction tool that they do have, but they wouldn't have the data itself. So they would simply know that we looked for that phone number, And then if another agency entered into the deconfliction service, they would basically then pop up a screen that says, contact Columbus Division of Police. They are also basically looking at that phone number. Got it. It's a deconfliction tool.

And then my last question. So is Penlink the only company that offers this sort of data? Or is it just, are there other companies that offer this service? I mean, this is just the one that we've gone with, correct?

I BELIEVE THEY'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT OFFER THIS SERVICE THE WAY THEY DO, WHICH AGGREGATES, OR NOT AGGREGATES, I'M SORRY. COLLECTS THE DATA.

AND HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN, HAVE WE HAD THE RELATIONSHIP WITH PUNK?

ABOUT TWO YEARS.

THANK YOU.

COUNCILMEMBER GREEN.

I guess I'm just confused because my understanding of this technology is that pen link is the platform that scrapes the information from the internet. Do we use any of the additional tools that are owned by pen link that integrate into the pen link system that do that? So for example, the cell phone thing you referenced is like a separate tool. So when we are getting information and we're entering it into the PendLink system.

We manually enter it. We receive it directly from the, if it's a cell phone data, we would actually serve the court order onto the company that has that cell phone. So if it's Verizon, for example, we would serve the court order upon Verizon. They would then return that information to us and then we enter it into our servers.

Okay. And in authorizing, so... So my understanding is that now the Penlink company has technology that can essentially do all of that for you. In authorizing this contract, are we, you know, then if you were to look at other types of technology that would fit underneath the scope of this? I mean, I guess I'm just confused.

If Penlink offers any additional add-ons, we do not subscribe to them, and they would not be included in this.

Thank you.

Are there any other questions?

Sure, just a clarifying question. And not related to PingLink, which thank you for being here, providing an overview, but as we look at add-ons, do you envision kind of as we're doing this surveillance policy, even add-ons to an existing technology would be one that would come before this council before we decide to move forward? Correct.

All right, cool. If there was an additional dollar amount. Correct, yeah. Councilmember green.

I'm sorry. I I just want I just wanted to say I think you know and I think a chair you and I talked about this earlier and Councilmember Bankston who chairs technology you and I spoke about this earlier too, but you know with with as much as new and emerging technology is becoming available, not just as it relates to public safety, but as it relates to a lot of things. I think it is going to be really important, not just that we have policies in place, but that we have a panel of experts. I'm not a technology expert. And you look like a very person that I could trust. But I think as it relates to this, that's sort of the fundamental flaw of being in positions like these is that you only know as much as you know going into it and you're only as good as the people that are advising around you and if you find yourself in a position where you don't even know what questions to be asking or in my case you know after having learned a lot as we've been having the conversations about the flock cameras right me trying to do my own research into this technology which what I'm learning on the internet sounds vastly different from what you're describing me. And so there's an incongruence there that I don't, you know, that I don't know how to solve. And so I think that, you know, of course having the stringent policies of how we're doing this, but having a, you know, a multidisciplinary sort of working committee that can be like thoroughly vetting these things so that we make sure that you know we are protecting people's civil liberties and we are doing our real due diligence to investigate potential challenges, because I don't know if you feel like I do, but I feel like we have learned a very valuable lesson with the flock cameras, that on the surface, things like this are not always what they seem. And even if, you know, brilliant minds can disagree on whether they should exist or shouldn't exist, but I think we all agree that we need more safeguards around them for sure that we did not have before. So even if for no other thing, having that place where we're able to proactively vet those things, with a multidisciplinary team that might include the ACLU or might include, you know, our public safety experts or, you know, people that can look at this from all angles to make sure that we are protecting our citizens while we're trying to protect our citizens, I think is going to be a good way. And so for that reason, I guess I'll just say I don't feel comfortable for me voting on this tonight, not because I'm inherently opposed to it. I just don't know what I don't know. And so...

President Hardin if I may So Please recall that this technology one first has to obtain Probable cause and go for a judge to get a warrant There is additional safeguards after that as you require was an assistant county prosecutor for many years a prosecutor is under a duty to review the evidence to make sure it's not defective. That's both statutory, constitutional, and professional standards. Next, you have defense counsel in a case who's representing the accused. And lastly, you have a judge. So you have many additional safeguards in a technology such as Penlink.

Thank you, Deputy Director, and thank you, Deputy Chief, for being here this evening. Appreciate your input and testimony.

Chair Remy, I just wanted to say one thing before we move forward. I think, to the point that Council Member Green was making before, I think that for me where what's challenging is that it's interesting because i think that sometimes when we talk about justice or we talk about solving crimes we already have a system that is unjust to a portion of our community and while we're working on that system the same tools that are trying to seek just for justice for one part of the community is literally what's helping us to detain other people in the community, right? And so when I look at the constituency groups that I represent, LULAC, ACLU, et cetera, these organizations that nationally are looking at some of the devices or some of the technologies that we are using and that are pushing back on them, it just makes it difficult when we're here to have that conversation. And so I think that I want, of course, I want everyone to be safe. I want us to have the best tools so that we can take care of people. What's challenging is that when we have those same tools, and even if it's not our CPD, right? because I have confidence in Chief Bryant. I believe in her as a leader. I know that she is making changes within the police force that this community has asked for. It's not her that I'm worried about. It's other entities that I'm worried about. My father used to say this all the time. It's not that I don't trust you. I just don't trust everyone else. And so when I think about that, that's what I think about with technology. Because we... We know that as much as we safeguard, I know that we can't protect everything. We can't protect our kids from everything. We can't protect our technology from everything, right? And so that's where I am when I'm thinking about these decisions that we're making. I just want to make that very clear that I think that there is still a learning curve for many of us as we think about when we make these choices. And I think continuing to work with the department to say, are we picking – vendors that match our values? Are we choosing technologies and do we have safeguards in place to ensure that those technologies are being used the way that they should and that we're protecting our people from other entities that do not have our best interests in mind? So I just wanted to say that tonight it's going to be a no for me because I don't feel like I know enough. And these questions and the briefing that I got was helpful but not quite there for me yet.

Thank you, Councilmember. With that, I move for passage by voice.

Is there a second?

Second.

Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Bankston. Barrosa-De Padilla. No. Dayakower. Yes. Dorrance. Yes. Green. No. Ramey.

Yes.

Ross. Yes. Weish. Yes. President Hardin.

Yes.

Ordinance is passed.

Thank you, Council President. That is all I have this evening.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The next committee to come before council, the Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee, chaired by Council Member Weiss. Council Member, the floor is quickly yours.

Thank you, Council President. First, in Public Utilities and Sustainability, I have Ordinance 2062-2026 to authorize the Director of Columbus Water and Power to enter into a contract with Dukes Root Control Incorporated for sewer root control services for the Division of Water Reclamation in 2026 to waive the competitive provisions of city code and to authorize expenditure of $225,000 from the Sewer Operating Sanitary Fund. These services will provide for the removal, prevention, and prevention of root growth in planetary sewer lines throughout the city. This will help preserve sewer lines and improve water service for customers. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Quick, please call the roll.

Next, I have 2121-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a contract with Jerry Pate Turf and Irrigation Incorporated for purchase of one slope mower for Columbus Water and Power to waive competitive bidding of Columbus City Code and to authorize expenditure of $72,361 from within the Water Operating Fund. The mower will be utilized by the Watershed Management Section to conduct maintenance work around the city's underground reservoirs. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, then Barroso, De Padilla, Day-Ochauer, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, I have Ordinance 2129-2026 to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to enter into a construction contract with Fields Excavating Incorporated for the Hale Avenue Area Water Line Improvement Project to amend the 2025 capital improvement budget to authorize the appropriation expenditure of up to $7,358,590. and 58 cents from the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account Fund and the Streets and Highways Bond Fund to pay for the contract. To make this ordinance contingent upon the Ohio Water Development Authority approving a loan for the project to transfer cash and appropriation between projects within the Water Bond Fund and to authorize the expenditure up to $2,000 from the Water Bond Fund to pay for prevailing wage services. This project consists of the installation of approximately 11,260 linear of new water mains, as well as the replacement of privately owned lead service lines throughout the city. This project will improve water service, reduce burden on water maintenance operations, and minimize water loss. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you.

Next, I have Ordinance 2139-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a contract with Southeastern Equipment Company Incorporated for the purchase of one backhoe loader for the Department of Public Utilities to waive competitive bidding of Columbus City Code. and to authorize an expenditure of $167,282.23 from the Water Operating Fund. The backhoe will be utilized by the Distribution Maintenance Section to conduct maintenance work around underground water mains and related infrastructure. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa de Padilla de Alcow, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Passed. Thank you. Next, I have Ordinance 2142-2026, So I authorized the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a contract with Baker Vehicle Systems Incorporated for the purchase in delivery of two bat-wing mowers for Columbus Water and Power to waive competitive bidding of Columbus City Code and to authorize an expenditure of $228,646 from within the Water Operating Fund. Both mowers will be utilized by the Watershed Management Section to conduct maintenance around watershed properties and related infrastructure. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thanks, Denver. Rosa de Padilla de Alcala, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Harden.

Thank you. Next I have Ordinance 2171-2026 to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to enter into a planned contract modification with Resource International Incorporated for the Construction Administration Construction and Inspection Services 2026-2028 contract to authorize an amendment to the 2025 capital improvement budget to appropriate funds within the water supply revolving loan account fund to make this ordinance contingent upon the Ohio Water Development Authority approving a loan for this project. and to authorize expenditure of up to $1,316,643.59 from the water supply revolving loan account fund to pay for the project. This contract modification procures construction administration and inspection services for the Hale Avenue Area Water Line Improvement Project. These services will ensure that the project remains on track and adheres to expectations. Let me stop there and see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Bankston, Barroso de Padilla de Alcao, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, I have 2172-2026 to authorize the Director of Columbus Water and Power to modify by extending the contract term and increase funding for an existing service agreement with Aquatic Informatics Incorporated for the Backflow Prevention Management Software Services for one additional year to authorize the expenditure of $48,000 from the Water Operating Fund and to waive better bidding provisions of city code. The software enables the Division of Water to remain in compliance with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's requirements to maintain an effective backflow control program. Additionally, this software is necessary for office database and workflow management, as well as the online submittal of approximately 42,000 annual backflow prevention test reports. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barrosa, De Padilla, De Alcala, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, I have Ordinance 2238-2026 to authorize the Director of Columbus Water and Power to enter into a construction contract with JLD Construction Services LLC for the Shamrock Drive Area Water Line Improvements Project to amend the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget to a authorized the appropriation expenditure up to $6,798,972.95 from the water supply revolving loan account fund to pay for this contract and to make this ordinance contingent upon the Ohio Water Development Authority approving a loan for the project and to authorize an expenditure of up to $2,000 from the water bond fund to pay for prevailing wage services. This project consists of the installation of approximately 11,000 linear feet of new water mains as well as a replacement of privately owned lead service lines In the Mideast neighborhood, this project will improve water service, decrease burden on water maintenance operations, and reduce water loss. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcow, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, I have Ordinance 2247-2026 to authorize the Director of Columbus Water and Power, to enter into a planned contract modification with CTL Engineering Incorporated for the Construction Administration Construction Inspection Services 2026-2028 contract to authorize an amendment to the 2025 capital improvement budget to appropriate funds within the water supply revolving loan account fund to make this ordinance contingent upon the Ohio Water Development Authority approving a loan for this project and to authorize an expenditure of up to $1,098,331.21 from the water supply revolving loan account fund to pay for the project. This contract modification procures construction administration and inspection services for the Shamrock Drive area water line improvements project. These services will ensure that the project remains on track and adheres to expectations. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

And last, I have Ordinance 2293-2026 to authorize the Director of Columbus Water and Power to enter into a construction contract with New River Electrical Corporation per the Mayor's Emergency Waiver dated August 12, 2026, for the emergency upgrade of power distribution lines to amend the 2025 capital improvement budget to authorize the transfer of cash and appropriation between projects within the electricity bond fund and to authorize an expenditure of up to $2,500,000 from the electricity bond fund to pay for the contract and to declare an emergency. As a series of severe storms in mid-August resulted in significant damage to Columbus water power infrastructure, including power transmission and distribution lines, immediate repair was necessary to restore the damaged lines and ensure quality service for customers. Emergency designation is requested in order to prevent further disruption to the city's daily utility operations. Let me stop there, see if we need questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bank Simperosa de Padilla de Alcoward-Dornsgreen, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. That is all I have for my committee this evening.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The final committee to come before council is the Rules and Reference Committee. I chair that committee. We have one ordinance, 2451-2026, to amend previously passed ordinance 2354-2026. Proposed charter amendment number one, city council district elections to correct a drafting error. This ordinance would correct a typo through a drafting error in Section 6, inadvertently referring to a previously ordained valid issue. This ordinance corrects that drafting error. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Is there a second?

Clerk, please call the roll.

Pass. If there are no further business coming for counsel, is there a motion to adjourn? Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Acao, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Meeting is adjourned. If you would stick with me, we have three non-agenda speakers.

¶¶ Thank you. Thank you.

We'll be right back. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. La, la, la, la, la, la, la. La, la, la, la, la, la, la. Thank you. We'll be right back. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you.

Meeting number 38 will now come to order. Can I get a motion to submit for the reading of the journal? Second. Clerk, please call the roll.

She's good.

Okay. Bankston, Barrosa, de Padilla, de Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Are there any additions or corrections to the journal? Hearing none, the journal is approved. We'll now go to the zoning committee. Presbyterian chair of that committee, all members sorry.

Thank you, Council President. I'll remind the gallery to be quiet. Unless you're a former council member, then you can holler at us all you want. As always, allow me to briefly explain our rules. Speaking before council, reasonings and variances. We will only hear a staff presentation of ordinances that have a disapproval from a recommending body or if we have a public speaker assigned to speak against an ordinance. We permit three speakers on each side, three proponents, three opponents. We ask those speakers to limit their remarks to three minutes per the standing rules of city council. All speakers and council variants, including city staff, area commissioners, applicants, members of the public, will be sworn in before they give testimony. Representative and Area Commissioner are always able to speak in an ordinance and do not need to fill out a speaker slip, but we do ask you to alert city staff of your intention to speak at this committee hearing. Representatives of a civic association do need to fill out a speaker slip because civic associations are not formally recognized under Columbus City Code. This evening, we do not have any public speakers assigned to speak on any legislation within the committee. The Vice City Attorney's Office will announce we're in city staff. Please stand and raise your right hand and be sworn in. Do you swear or affirm the testimony about the gift shall be the truth, nothing but the truth, as you shall answer under pains of penalty and perjury. So please say I do.

I do.

Thank you. Please let the record reflect that Joseph Rose and the Department of Building and Zoning Services have been sworn in. First, we have Ordinance Number 1931-2026 to rezone 2700 East 6th Avenue, being 0.87 plus acres located in the northwest corner of North Cassidy Avenue and East 6th Street from M2 Manufacturing District to AR1 Apartment Residential District to LM Limited Manufacturing District. The site consists of four parcels developing an automotive repair facility. The request to rezoning will bring all four parcels under one zoning district that allows an automotive repair facility and limited commercial uses. A concurrent council variance will also be considered on our agenda. Proposal is approved from city staff, development commission, and while there's no area commission within the area, the East Columbus Civic Association is also in approval. Any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move to amend as submitted to the clerk.

Bank's Timber Rosa de Padilla de Acao, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Thank you. Next move to amend to emergency.

Second. Bank's Timber Rosa de Padilla de Acao, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Thank you. Finally, move for passage as amended.

Second.

Bank's Timber Rosa de Padilla de Acao, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Thank you. Moving on to the council variances portion of the agenda, we have Ordinance 1932-2026, a grant of variance provisions in Section 3312.21, Landscaping and Screening, Section 3312.27, Parking Setback Line 3312.39, Stripping and Marking 3312.43, Improved Surface Required 3312.45, Wheel Stop Device 3356.07, Distance Separation Standards in 3363.24, Building Lines in the M Manufacturing District of the Columbus City Coast for property located at 2700 East 6th Avenue to allow reduced development standards for an automotive repair facility in the LM Limited Manufacturing District development standards. Again, this is a concurrent council variance of rezoning we just considered that will allow reduction in development standards for distance, separation, landscaping and screening, building setbacks, parking setback, parking lot stripping, STRIPING AND REQUIRED SURFACE AND WHEEL STOP DEVICES. AGAIN, PROPOSALS OF APPROVAL FROM CITY STAFF AND THE EAST COLUMBUS CIVIC ASSOCIATION. FIRST MOVE TO ACCEPT THE ENTIRE STAFF REPORT INTO EVIDENCE AS AN EXHIBIT.

ACCEPTED. SECOND MOVE TO ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL STAFF AS THE FINANCIAL COUNCIL. SECOND MOVE TO ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL STAFF AS THE FINANCIAL COUNCIL.

SECOND MOVE TO ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL STAFF AS THE FINANCIAL COUNCIL.

SECOND MOVE TO ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL STAFF AS THE FINANCIAL COUNCIL. SECOND MOVE TO ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL STA

Thank you. Move to amend to emergency.

Thank you. If I move for passage as amended. Thank you.

Thank you. And finally, we have ordinance number 2073-2026, to grant the variance provisions of section 3332.02, AR-12, AR-LD, and AR-1, apartment residential district uses, 3312.01, dumpster area, 3312.09, aisle. 3312.13 driveway, 3312.21 AD1 landscaping and screening, 3312.25 maneuvering, 3312.27 parking setback, 3312.29 parking space, and 3312.49C required parking, and 3321.05 A1 vision clearance, 3333.18 building lines, 3333.22 required side yard, and 3332.25 side or rear yard obstruction, and 3333.255 perimeter yard The Columbus City Coats are properly located at 290 North Champion Avenue to allow primary and non-accessory parking and reduced development standards in the ARLD apartment residential district. The site consists of three parcels, one developed with a Poindexter Village Museum, one with a parking lot, and one with a multi-unit residential development. The applicant requests a council variance to allow parking as the primary use of the current parking lot and allow off-site parking on the other two parcels. Variances for dumpster location, drive aisle, driveway, parking lot, landscaping and screening, maneuvering, parking setback, parking space, required parking, vision clearance, building setback, required side yard. and rear obstruction and perimeter yard are also included in this request. Proposals have approval from city staff and the Near East Area Commission. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I first move to accept the entire staff report into evidence as an exhibit.

Thank you. Next move to adopt the finance of staff is the finance of council. Thank you. Next, we move as amended to the clerk. Next, we move to amend to emergency.

Next, we move to amend to emergency.

And before I move for passage, I do want to acknowledge our...

Forever colleague, or my forever colleague, former Councilmember Tyson, who's here, who's been such a great proponent and staunch supporter of the Poindexter Village Museum. It's great to see you here tonight, and thank you for all your work on that for both your years on council and certainly in this phase of life as well. And long-term chair of this committee. That's right. I get a little nervous when she's here. And with that, I finally move for passage as amended. It's like he's called a row.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. See no further business to come for the zoning committee.

Is there a motion to adjourn? Second. Please call the roll. Thank you, Mr. Chair.