July 10: Cleveland City Council meetings

Covered by Documenters Carolyn Cooper (notes), Tina Scott (notes), Barbara Phipps (notes), Emma Sedlak (live-tweets), and Marvetta Rutherford (live-tweets)

Investments in Shaker Square

Dave’s Market in Shaker Square is set to receive a $250,000 forgivable loan from the City of Cleveland. City Council passed legislation approving the funds for improvements to the store on July 10.

In a committee meeting discussing the proposal, Tania Menesse, president and CEO of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP), emphasized to council members the loan’s importance for keeping Dave’s Market in the Shaker Square district. David Saltzman, the vice president of Operations, Finance and Strategy for Dave’s Supermarkets, said their lease at Shaker Square ends in December, but they have agreed to renew through 2029.

Saltzman said the loan would fund improvements such as replacing the flooring, upgrading signage and expanding the prepared food section.

Tyson Mitchell, director of the Mayor’s Office of Equal Opportunity, said the work funded by the loan would meet requirements of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with Shaker Square, which was bought by CNP and Burton, Bell, Carr in 2022.

He added that the CBA requires that 10% of the contractors hired be women-owned businesses and 20% be minority-owned businesses. He said Shaker Square has also agreed to a workforce development agreement that will give Ohio Means Jobs participants priority for work with Shaker Square merchants.

Concerns about past Dave’s closures

Although council members unanimously passed this legislation, some questioned the grocer’s decision to withdraw from other Cleveland neighborhoods in past years.

Council Member Michael Polensek criticized the decision to close Dave’s Collinwood, Central, and Payne Avenue locations. He said that residents are left to rely on corner stores and dollar stores for their groceries.

Saltzman countered that when they closed the Central and Payne Avenue locations, it was due to a move to a new location in Midtown. He added that the Central location had been losing money for several years.

Menesse added that Dave’s Shaker Square location is also losing money. She said she doesn’t think that will change until improvements are made.

Standardizing Cleveland HR training

The City of Cleveland’s Human Resources department is on track for a training refresh.

Matthew Cole, the city’s director of HR, told council members the department is developing an HR “university” that will provide an internal certification for city employees. Cole said historically HR policies and procedures were applied differently across departments, so the new training will create more consistency. He added that they plan to end the training “once everybody’s up to speed.”

Cole said the training would cover topics including general HR knowledge, relationship management, business administration, cultural effectiveness, professional acumen and talent acquisition.

Council members approved legislation paying up to $75,000 for a consultant to help with the development of the training.

Read the notes from Documenter Carolyn Cooper:

Read the notes from Documenter Tina Scott:

Read the notes from Documenter Barbara Phipps:

Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Emma Sedlak:

Read the live-tweet thread from Documenter Marvetta Rutherford:

Signal background

Suggested Reading

Anastazia worked as the Cleveland Documenters Commuity Coordinator for Signal Cleveland through July, 2024. She supported the Cleveland Documenters community and helped weave Documenters coverage into Signal Cleveland reporting.

Cleveland Documenters pays and trains people to cover public meetings where government officials discuss important issues and decide how to spend taxpayer money.