LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS / Cleveland Heights City Council meeting highlights
AUGUST 12, 2024, special meeting
- Council action
- Committee of the Whole
Present were Mayor Kahlil Seren, Tony Cuda (council president), Craig Cobb, Gail Larson, Anthony Mattox, Jr., Jim Petras, and Jim Posch. Also present were Clerk of Council Addie Balester, Law Director William Hanna, and City Administrator Danny Williams. Davida Russell was excused. The meeting ran for eight minutes, following a one-hour Committee of the Whole meeting.
Council actions
All actions were approved as emergency measures, i.e. they would take effect immediately.
Council authorized, on first reading, conveying one permanent and two temporary easements over a portion of PN 682-02-026 (a parcel owned by the Cleveland Heights Land Reutilization Program) to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for improvements to Nine Mile Creek along Belvoir Boulevard for the purchase price of $300.
Also on first reading, council amended an agreement with All City Management Services, Inc. for crossing guard services, extending the term through Dec. 31, 2024. The total cost shall not exceed $179,913.84, one-half to be reimbursed by the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District.
On second reading, council authorized agreements with the U.S. Department of Transportation for a grant under the Safe Streets and Roadways For All Planning and Demonstration Grant Program to fund a Cleveland Heights Comprehensive & Equitable Safety Demonstration Project.
Council amended and then authorized, on second reading, an agreement with GPD Group for utility engineering services for the Altamont Road Waterline Replacement Project, at a cost of $94,307. The amendment was a version distributed at the Committee of the Whole meeting and replaced the version included in council’s meeting packet.
Offered on first reading only (no vote) were the appointments of Carly Beck, Mohammad Irfan, and Sean Terry to the Climate and Environmental Sustainability Committee and Fern Haught, Gayle Lewin, and Sam Bell to the Transportation and Mobility Committee.
Committee of the Whole
Council discussed a timeline for council and law department review of the Charter Review Commission (CRC) recommendations. Council will review balance of power items in August and September, ranked choice voting and vacancies in October and November, ethics and non-discrimination items in December, and referendums and recalls in January. The law department will work on these items in the month following council’s review. The law department will draft ballot language in March and April, which council will review in May.
The committee then discussed the CRC balance of power recommendations comprising items in the charter preamble and Articles 2.1 Form of Government; 2.2 Powers; 3.1 Council Powers, Number, and Term; 3.2 Council Qualifications; 3.3 Council Vacancies; and 3.4 Council Salaries & Other Compensation. While no formal vote was taken, changes were made to only one item, 3.2 Council Qualifications, increasing the residency requirement from the CRC recommended six months to one year. Item 3.3 Council Vacancies drew the most discussion, with a decision to return to the topic in a later meeting.
LWV observer: Jill Tatem
Meeting packets, legislation, and other information can be found on the city website at: https://www.clevelandheights.gov/1625/City-Council-Agendas-and-Minutes
Videos of council meetings can be viewed on the “City of Cleveland Heights, OH” YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ClevelandHeightsOH