Welcome

The meeting began a little late, around 5:40-5:45 pm. The meeting was held in an auditorium at the Slovenian National Home, with tables scattered throughout the part of the room closest to the stage. The atmosphere before the meeting was quiet and felt a little subdued. I would estimate 30 to 40 people were in attendance, with residents trickling in after the meeting started. Ward 7 Cleveland City Council Member Stephanie Howse-Jones said that members of the Shiloh Temple House of God had provided refreshments (hamburgers, chips, etc.) (See the meeting agenda here).

Meditation and gratitude

Howse-Jones led residents in a brief breathing exercise and explained the calming benefits of the practice.

Review of the agenda and Ward 7 agreements

Howse-Jones led residents in reciting the “Ward 7 agreements” around meeting behavior, including 1) be courteous to others, 2) stay on topic, and 3) no interruptions when others are speaking. (See the full list of agreements here).

City updates

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb was scheduled to attend, but Howse-Jones informed residents that he couldn’t make it due to ongoing “emergencies and crises.”

Community safety updates

Cleveland Police commanders from both the 5th District (Johnny Johnson) and the 3rd District (Mark Maguth) were present. Johnson mentioned a recent shooting at a large party on Luther Avenue and East 59th Street that left one person dead and five injured. Johnson emphasized the police didn’t know about the party before the shooting occurred. Several residents spoke to Johnson and Maguth about problems with loud music during overnight hours, people driving the wrong way and running stop signs, and car break-ins. The commanders collected information from residents about specific incidents. 

In response, Maguth informed residents about a recently passed “nuisance law” where landowners can be held directly accountable for violations that occur from their property. Residents were also informed about the mental health crisis team (where a social worker accompanies Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained police on designated mental health calls). Howse-Jones mentioned possible traffic calming initiatives for problem roads and intersections in the ward.

Community Problem Oriented Policing (CPOP) Coordinator Adrian Calhoun spoke to residents about the program. He talked about police priorities for the summer, including acting proactively to prevent violence, being highly visible in public spaces, and conducting sweeps to remove dangerous individuals from the community. Calhoun also talked about community engagement events at neighborhood parks and swimming pools this summer.

Finally, a firefighter talked about a collaboration with the Cleveland Department of Public Health and the Red Cross to install home fire detectors. He also talked about ice cream socials planned for the summer (one has already happened and three more are planned).

Toward the end of this part of the meeting, Teri Wang (a former commissioner with the Cleveland Community Police Commission (CPC) who is a candidate for Ward 8 in the Sept. 9 primary election) asked the police representatives about short- and long-term police priorities, specifically referencing the recent Luther Avenue shooting. Howse-Jones asked for the question to be addressed in a side conversation away from the main meeting. The meeting continued, and Wang appeared to leave the meeting shortly after asking her question.

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MentalHealth First Aid

Yulanda Prude with the Cuyahoga County Youth Work Institute spoke about a program teaching community members to appropriately interact with individuals who are contemplating suicide. Prude provided statistics about the increased prevalence of suicide nationally and in Cuyahoga County (especially for younger people). In response to a resident’s question, Prude said when calling 911 that residents should request a CIT-trained police officer if the call is related to mental health. Prude provided residents a QR code to scan if they were interested in learning more about the program (see the QR code here).

Suggested Reading

Here’s what you can do if a loved one is having a mental health crisis

by Stephanie Casanova July 8, 2024May 16, 2025

Dementia news

Donna Salaam from the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging spoke about the SHARE dementia study. Salaam said that 13.4% of Cuyahoga County residents over 65 have some degree of dementia. The SHARE program is designed to help both individuals with dementia and their families (e.g., developing individual care plans). Benjamin Rose is looking to enroll more than 50 new individuals in the program, and a sign-up sheet is available. In response to an audience question, Salaam said that participants would be compensated for their time.

Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) update

John Benedict, chief communications officer with CMSD, spoke about the “Building Brighter Futures” initiative. Benedict said CMSD enrollment had decreased by 50% over the past 25 years, and as a result many schools have too few students and are not able to offer advanced academics and extracurricular activities like team sports. The initiative will “right-size” the district by closing and consolidating schools, thus saving money and hopefully avoiding the need for additional levies, Benedict said. Community meetings about the plan will be held through the summer and early fall. CMSD CEO Warren Morgan will make recommendations to the board by late fall, but any school closures would not occur until the 2026-27 academic year. 

In response to a question about how much of the student enrollment decline was due to charter schools, Benedict said “not as much as you would think” and instead emphasized falling fertility rates as the primary cause. In response to a question about the Say YES – Cleveland scholarship program, Benedict said the money for the actual college scholarship was secure, but funding for the supportive services related to the program was going through a “challenging period.” Finally, an audience member asked Benedict if he supported an elected CMSD school board. Howse-Jones answered in place of Benedict by saying that Cleveland voters had approved the current model of mayoral control of the CMSD board and voters would have to approve a change to an elected school board.

Suggested Reading

CMSD leaders say low enrollment is a problem. Will closing and merging schools solve it or introduce new challenges?

by Michael Indriolo May 20, 2025May 19, 2025

Ward 7 summer gardening program

Tondi Allen from Urban City Codes talked about her organization’s work in providing technology training for Cleveland residents. Allen talked about the creation of Urban City Farms to help teach residents about growing food and keeping gardens. Urban City Farms is planning to give away 100 self-watering garden beds and will be holding training sessions through the summer about growing “survival crops” like potatoes along with community-building activities like a poetry session in a community garden and a Sept. 5 pizza party. Flyers will be distributed for all activities.

Updates from Council Member Howse-Jones, Emergency Readiness

Howse-Jones spoke to residents about the need to prepare for power outages and severe weather situations (like the power outages seen across the city today associated with the extreme heat). A worksheet about emergency preparedness was included in folders located on each table (see the worksheet here). In addition, Howse-Jones asked residents to complete and turn in a “Ward 7 Power Outage Need List” to help responders during emergencies. (Note: The term “mutual aid” was mentioned by Howse-Jones during her remarks, but I don’t know that this connects with any current mutual aid society in the area.)

Election and redistricting updates

Howse-Jones informed residents that parts of existing Ward 7 would join the new Ward 8 due to redistricting necessitated by the elimination of two Cleveland City Council seats because of population loss. In response to a question, Howse-Jones said the new ward maps were available online.

Announcements

Howse-Jones introduced two individuals to residents:

1. Cordelia Shelley was introduced as the new executive director of the St. Clair – Superior Development Corp.. Shelley spoke about the role of the corporation and specifically mentioned new signage for businesses along St. Clair Avenue.
   
2. John Laird was introduced as the new director of Public Works for the city of Cleveland. Residents had numerous questions for Laird about grass cutting on city lots and pothole repair. Laird informed residents that the city had hired contractors to cut grass close to trees and in other tight spaces where large lawnmowers can’t operate. However, Laird said there may be delays until the contractors are fully operational. Laird said that the grass in vacant lots should be cut every seven weeks and that his department doesn’t have authority over anything that occurs in private lots.
   
3. Howse-Jones mentioned the upcoming “New Day in Hough” festival on Aug. 2 from 12 to 6 p.m., and directed residents to volunteer and vendor applications that were located in folders on each table.

The meeting concluded around 7:45 p.m. with a gift card raffle. The next Ward 7 community meeting is scheduled for Sept. 18 at Masjid Bilal at 7410 Euclid Ave.

These notes are by Documenter Tucker Handley.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at [email protected]  with “Correction Request” in the subject line.