Cleveland officials discuss allocation of ARPA funds; Board of Elections certifies East Cleveland recall election on Nov. 8

Here’s what happened last week in local public government meetings covered by Cleveland Documenters:

Council members, city officials discuss proposed uses for ARPA funds

Aug. 29 – Caucus Meeting, Cleveland City Council
Covered by Documenters Kellie Morris and Alicia Moreland – See full coverage here.

What happened: Cleveland City Council and members of Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration met for nearly seven hours to discuss proposed allocations of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The administration is set to propose allocations of $102.5 million, which is around 33 percent of the remaining ARPA funds awarded to Cleveland by the federal government. Cleveland received roughly $512 million, and the city has allocated about $200 million of that.

A focus on housing: Nearly half of the administration’s proposed allocations concern housing. City officials discussed their plan to use $50 million for renovation and construction financing, home repair, and low-interest loans for acquisition and rehab.

And also: The administration discussed plans to invest in violence prevention, eyeing a $5 million expansion of the Cleveland Division of Police crisis-intervention team program as well as a $2.8 million expansion of ShotSpotter, a gunshot-detection technology. Council Members Mike Polensek and Kevin Conwell asked for a presentation at an upcoming Safety Committee meeting.

This was a City Council caucus meeting, which does not feature official legislative action. Council President Blaine Griffin said he wants to begin the legislative process for the next round of ARPA allocation by introducing legislation on Sept. 12, the first regular Monday night council meeting after a 14-week summer recess. Want to make a public comment and tell the council how you’d like ARPA money to be spent? Check out this one-page guide to registering for public comment from Cleveland Documenters’ Paul Rochford. Note: Parking is free after 5 p.m. on Mondays on the top deck of the Willard Garage connected to City Hall.

Recall election to proceed for East Cleveland council member

Sept. 1 – Cuyahoga County Board of Elections
Covered by Documenter Jeanne Madison – See full coverage here.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections receives a comment from East Cleveland Council Member Ernest Smith (top right), who asked the board to not move forward with his recall election (screenshot from the video of the meeting on YouTube).

What happened: The board certified a recall election on Nov. 8 for East Cleveland City Council Member Ernest Smith. Four speakers—including Smith—asked the board to not certify the recall election, but Board Chair Jeff Hastings informed them that the petitions gathered meet the requirements in the East Cleveland City Charter and therefore the election must proceed.

Past issues: One speaker supporting Smith told the board to blame her for the involvement of strippers — allegedly underage and from out of state — at a 2019 school-supply fundraising event that Smith held. She said she had told Smith that getting resources for kids in East Cleveland sometimes calls for outside-the-box thinking. Smith told the board the movement to remove him from office was not community driven but rather an effort from six politically motivated people.

And also: The board certified the results of an automatic recount of a race from the Aug. 2 election, confirming Dean DePiero’s representation of District 24 on the Democratic State Central Committee.

Curious about board members and how they’re appointed? Check out this Twitter thread from Cleveland Documenters’ Paul Rochford for the answers.

Housing board remands several properties as owners don’t show

Aug. 31 – Cleveland Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals
Covered by Documenter Emily Anderson – See full coverage here.

What happened: The board denied requests from five property owners for time to remedy housing violations; none of the owners in those cases attended the meeting to make their appeals. The board remanded the properties to the Department of Building and Housing.

Time to settle: The owner of a Ward 14 home said a dispute with a tenant is preventing the owner from completing necessary repairs. The board granted a six-month extension for the owner to settle in court with the tenant and fix the violations.

And also: Five other appellants received varying time extensions to address housing violations.

Board approves funding for youth programs, discusses RFP process

Aug. 31 – Cleveland Board of Control
Covered by Documenters Gennifer Harding-Gosnell and Kellie Morris – See full coverage here.

The Board of Control meets at Cleveland City Hall (screenshot from the video of the meeting on YouTube).

What happened: Teen Enterprise and Recess Cleveland were unanimously awarded contracts to provide youth programming in the city.

A bid farewell: City officials discussed updating its request for proposal (RFP) bidding process. Tyson Mitchell, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity, raised the issue after the board rejected a bid to make repairs to City Hall’s roof because the vendor didn’t complete the paperwork. Chief Financial Officer Ahmed Abonamah said a pilot program with RFP software is being planned.

And also: The board approved a $577,000 contract with Perk Company for infrastructure improvements at Circle Square, focusing on parts of Chester Avenue, Stokes Boulevard, and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near Wade Lagoon.

The Cleveland Board of Control consists of members of the mayor’s cabinet and leaders of city departments. City Council passes some legislation that authorizes the city to enter contracts for various services but leaves vendor selection and compensation to be set by the Board of Control. The board makes those decisions in this meeting and holds votes on the sale and purchase of land parcels.

Zoning board approves plans for Somali Bantu community center in Ward 11

Aug. 29 – Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals
Covered by Documenters Tina Scott and Jenna Thomas – See full coverage here.

What happened: The board approved plans for the Somali Bantu Community Center in Ward 11. Council Member Brian Mooney and the Department of City Planning expressed support for the project. A board member asked how people will get to and from the location. Idiris Mohamed, a project representative, said the site was chosen because it’s close to many Somali residents.

Plenty of postponements: The board postponed several other cases, including one concerning the planned redevelopment of a Ward 3 building for 45 apartments and first-floor retail. Wayne Ecke, the owner of a nearby towing company, said he owns property that this project would need for parking.

And also: The owner of another Ward 3 property got approval to build a 1,140-square-foot garage.

Want to learn more about zoning? Check out this introduction to Cleveland zoning by City Planner Matt Moss.

A look back
Highlights from Documenters’ meeting coverage of the Aug. 25 community meeting about a proposed new Cuyahoga County jail.

Residents raise issues with proposed county jail

Aug. 25 – Cuyahoga County Corrections Center Project Community Meeting
Covered by Documenters Rebecca Roark and Sam Bachelor – See full coverage here.

Residents address county officials about the proposed new county jail (screenshot from the video of the meeting on Facebook).

What happened: Sixty-five community members attended a community meeting about a new county jail. Several residents urged the county not to build a new county jail at 2700 Transport Road, a project with construction costs expected to reach about $550 million. An environmental study of the site released on Aug. 17 showed there are toxins in the soil, groundwater, and air, and detailed the remedies the site would need.

Focus on site and size: Residents focused specifically on the environmental concerns about the site. The proposed jail size — about 800,000 square feet with capacity for about 1,900 people — was another issue residents raised. Audience members had signs reading, “If they build it, they will fill it,” “Fund the future, not the past,” and “No new jail.”

And also: One local pastor expressed support for a new jail because of the poor conditions at the current one. One commenter read the names of 16 people who have died at the Cuyahoga County jail in recent years and asked that officials consult their families in this process.

The Justice Center Executive Steering Committee is reviewing this proposal. Documenter Daniel McCarthy’s coverage of a past meeting includes this list of officials on that committee. Here is the full video of the Aug. 25 community meeting.

Civic Term of the Week: ARPA Funds

Curious about more local government lingo? Check out this glossary of terms from Cleveland Documenters’ Paul Rochford.

What’s ahead?

A look at the meetings Documenters are set to cover the week of Sept. 5.

Sept. 6

• 8 a.m. – Northeast Design Review Committee (WebEx)

• 10 a.m. – Mayor’s Appointments Committee, Cleveland City Council (livestream)

   

Sept. 7

• 10 a.m. – Mayor’s Appointments Committee, Cleveland City Council (livestream)

• 3 p.m. – Cleveland Board of Control (livestream)

   

Sept. 8

• 9 a.m. – Cleveland Landmarks Commission (livestream)

   

Sept. 9

• 1:30 p.m. – Cleveland Plan Progress Committee, Cleveland Transformation Alliance (Zoom)