Notes

Council Member Kevin Bishop opened the meeting by calling on the Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects (MOCAP) which oversees a host of construction projects in the city of Cleveland. 

Briefly, the office consists of three departments: Real Estate, Architectural Site Development and the Division of Engineering & Construction. MOCAP Director James DeRosa was called upon to provide his remarks, which were pretty technical. However, council members were eager to start the conversation. The focus was mostly what the different projects cost and what it takes to get them out the door. 

Council Member Bishop asked about the oldest bonds on these projects and what was still owed. 

DeRosa said his department had hired a project manager to oversee sidewalk repairs. He also mentioned that his department had gotten behind on such projects and was confident the new hire will help the department catch up. The director expressed the need for technical expertise,  hiring people with that expertise, and continuing educational assistance for current employees. 

Council Member Joe Jones complimented DeRosa for working to identify weaknesses and strengths to better manage resources where needed. However, Jones still had a bone to pick concerning contractors and sloppy work on various projects in the city. He said there are “bad actors“ who get paid for doing poor quality repairs, messing up time and time again. He asked if DeRosa had a baseball bat. He was alluding to what “enforcement mechanism” the office has to keep this from continuing to happen. He also said contractors don’t hire Black people.

Council Member Michael Polensek had questions about street repairs being done in the dead of winter. He said a company was literally tearing up the streets in his ward and it was a terrible mess. 

Council Member Nikki Hudson wanted to know about retention programs for employees. 

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Council Member Brian Kazy asked probing questions about funding for Justice Center leasing. 

Council Member Kris Harsh asked about properties not in use and was interested in efficiency. 

Then came the Office of Sustainability

Director Sarah O’Keeffe was up. 

Kazy asked why it takes so long to install an EV station. He also said there were some red flags for not getting money out the door with the grants fast enough. This appears to be a common theme among some council members. 

Jones praised this department by saying they earned their keep! Jones’ line of questioning apparently upset  Kazy, who was chairing this portion of the meeting. Jones was asking questions about federal budget cuts, and Jones reminded Kazy he was within his five-minute time limit and could ask what he wanted to ask. The tension was high at this point. Kazy voiced his displeasure with the discussions. 

Council Member Richard Starr’s questioning was centered around what is being done to improve opportunities for advancement for current city employees. 

Polensek had questions about health care costs for city employees and said that the city must offer good coverage to attract and keep employees. He also said this was a major cost of the City of Cleveland budget. 

Jones asked why there are so many human resource departments within City Hall? 

Council member Stephanie Howse-Jones said they should get serious about employment standards in the City of Cleveland. O’Keeffe said her office was attempting to standardize these efforts.

Though this hearing continued on after 5 p.m., I excused myself out at that time. 

Best wishes!

These notes are by Documenter Bilal Hakeem.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org  with “Correction Request” in the subject line.