All council members were present at roll call:

• Kyle Baker, Ward 1 / council  vice president 
• Bryan Evans, Ward 2
• Cindy Strebig, Ward 3
• Cindy Marx, Ward 4
• Tom Bullock, at large
• Sarah Kepple, at large / council president
• Angelina Hamilton Steiner, at large

Council Member Cindy Marx began proceedings by presenting a resolution celebrating the Church of the Ascension for its significance as the city’s oldest church. The Detroit Avenue church is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

HUD budgeting discussions: Bullock questions HUD calculations

The city voted to apply for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds for the years 2025-2029. During discussion on the HUD budgeting considerations, Council Member Tom Bullock urged the city to communicate with HUD on potential amendments to how HUD calculates assistance programs.  Bullock said some community members are concerned the benefits are no longer sufficient given the increase in property values over the last four years.

Lakewood animal safety: trap, neuter and release plan

Council Member Strebig reported on the Animal Safety & Welfare Advisory Board. She said the Public Safety Committee met with the law director and animal control on the proposed trap and neuter program.

The law department has drafted a version of an ordinance that the city has asked to amend. It asks for training for community cat care givers, to remove penalties against them, and directs them to work with the animal welfare department to care for cats. 

Complete and Active Streets board proposal report

Kepple reported that the Committee of the Whole and Planning Commission held a joint meeting on June 23 to discuss Ordinance 17-2025, which would establish the Complete and Active Streets Education Advisory Board (CASE).

CASE would collaborate with city officials to establish safe and effective multi-modal methods of community use of public right of way corridors. Kepple said residents in attendance spoke in favor of the board. Amendments were made to the ordinance to include a public transit user on the board as well as an ex-officio member from the schools.

Committee of the Whole Report: ranked choice voting

Kepple delivered a report from the Committee of the Whole meeting. She said the Charter Review Commission discussed a recommendation for a ballot initiative to enact  ranked choice voting for municipal elections. Justin Wells of Rank the Vote Ohio gave a presentation explaining how  ranked choice voting works.  Wells said cities using ranked choice saw more of people of color and women running for office as well as increased voter turnout.

Every person who spoke during public comment spoke in favor of the voting system. Kepple said the League of Women Voters of Ohio supports ranked choice at the federal, state and local levels.  

Other reports

Animal Safety & Welfare Advisory Board:

Steiner’s report was not audible as the mic went out. However, the report published in the city agenda states she was to inform council about the appointment of Julia Garlbeb, an animal sciences researcher, to the board.

Community Recreation and Education Commission:

Strebig reported that the commission interviewed two candidates, Chris Ferrone and Daniel McGraw, to be appointed to the commission, and two additional candidates are to be interviewed. 

Additionally, city pools are open and hosting swim teams and swim lessons, and adaptive aquatics are underway at the high school pool. Adaptive camps are filled to capacity, and Kids Connection is facilitating weekly field trips. 

Youth Council meeting:

Strebig delivered a report on the youth council. The Youth Council elected officers, reporting that “every member in attendance ran for an office”. Applications for new members to serve on the 2025-2026 council are available.

Council expresses skepticism of city hall proposal

Lakewood Mayor Meghan George spoke on a proposal to expand city facilities. George believes that purchasing the former Lakewood Board of Education building at 1470 Warren Road could be a solution for the space constraints at City Hall as well as allow for expansion of court space and the police department. The mayor seeks to complete the purchase by Sept. 5.

Kepple said, “By charter, things of a permanent nature would need to be read three times, on three separate dates.” Once the Committee of the Whole has reviewed it and feels the legislation is ready,  it could be referred to a full council meeting for a final vote.

Kepple agreed with the need to solve space issues. During a tour of the police department in 2021, she said, the space was not sufficient , noting lack of locker space for women officers. The city attempted to expand the police department utilizing pandemic relief funds but the law department said the federal government would not  authorize using the money for that purpose. 

Kepple then pivoted to discussing a past dispute.  Kepple said the mayor and council had created a document that said  fixing the power issues in Cove Community Center was a shared priority. (The center was forced to temporarily close following a storm last year.)

Kepple said the mayor blamed the council for the power issues.

“Last summer, she went around telling everyone who would listen it was council’s fault. This caused a huge erosion of council’s trust,” she said.

Kepple said this damaged the relationship between council and the mayor, but they attempted to work together on the City Hall expansion plans, introducing a joint letter in 2024 to initiate discussion of a space study and assessment report completed by architects.

When the administration presented this report, Kepple said, council felt there were questions left unexplored. 

Council requested that other options be considered, such as filling in the “U” shape in the existing building or expanding into the garage, the front lawn or the annex. Kepple said the mayor did not get answers to those questions  and instead announced in a news publication her plan to pitch City Council on making  the move to the Warren Road building .

“The mayor sent out an email to staff, essentially announcing the move to Warren Road as a done deal,” Kepple said.

Kepple accused the mayor’s office of trying to justify buying the Warren Road building rather than consider all options.

Council Member Evans said he agreed with Kepple and that the proposal has evolved from an idea into a full plan at “breakneck speed.” He expressed concerns with the timeline.

“This isn’t what a collaborative government looks like. Council has been presented exactly one plan for how to tackle the space problem,” Evans said. 

Mayor George called the council’s narratives “unfortunate accusations.”

“It’s really disappointing to hear from the president of council, and I’m not going to address any of these misguided accusations now,” George said.

Mayor George said the administration has been working hard to find a solution for this issue. The mayor said the administration has reached out to council “multiple times,” citing several emails sent to council that went unanswered.

She said the city will move forward with the process and that the three readings will proceed. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide new space for administration staff, and the space our police department needs for our community,” she said, urging the council to work with her.

Kepple said the offers were to discuss in private, and without the majority of council, and were not the same as addressing those questions on the record, as council requested. George began to say this was normal, but Kepple continued, saying she had the floor.

Kepple added the body may not meet in majority to discuss business outside of public meetings and that any such meetings would be illegal.

“At this point, what is being asked of us is whether we are going to spend millions of public dollars on a building, on a plan, that we don’t understand,” Kepple said. 

A city official (unclear who) said that suggestions to build onto the “U” or onto the front or back of the building are “non-starters.” 

Steiner spoke after this, but her mic was not audible. It is unclear what was said.

When Steiner’s mic was fixed,  she said that a conversation of this magnitude should be held in public. George asked if a meeting between her and Steiner to discuss the pool should be canceled too, as that’s also private.

Discussion on the matter was ended and the motion was referred to the Committee of the Whole.

Note: No council member disputed Kepple’s characterization of council’s stance on the City Hall plan. 

Public Comments

• Erin Stivers – Spoke on behalf of U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown’s office to offer services to the community.
• A Lakewood resident called for the abolition of property taxes.
• Allison Welch – Spoke in support of front yard gardens, in response to recent council discussion on the issue.
• Robby Organ – Spoke in defense of individuals who rely on public transit over cars.
• Carrie Anne McBride – Criticized council for failing to address the power issues facing Lakewood.
• Aaron Morehead – Argued for the installation of convex mirrors at the end of driveways, to enhance pedestrian safety.

These notes are by Documenter Timothy Zelina.

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