Current News

City Council held its last regular council meeting June 5, before summer recess. Special summer meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, July 12, and Wednesday, August 16. Council will resume regular weekly sessions Monday September 18.
 
Here are highlights from the June 5 meeting:
 
Approved legislation for the city to accept a state grant for the “Safe Routes to School” program. The $460,000 grant will be used to upgrade crosswalks and infrastructures and remove any hazards kids might face walking or riding bikes to school.
 
Approved legislation lifting the moratorium on cultivators of medical marijuana within the city. The legislation is in accordance with rules recently issued by the Ohio Department of Commerce, allowing medical marijuana cultivators to apply for state provisional licenses through a competitive process starting this month. Council, in its action, did not want to preclude cultivators from applying. However, the city still has a moratorium on processors and retail dispensaries of medical marijuana.
 
Approved legislation authorizing the city to sell its Police Headquarters Building at 1300 Ontario Street, within the Justice Center complex, to Cuyahoga County for $9.25 million. Meanwhile, the city is looking for new headquarters space near downtown with easy accessibility and parking. Council also approved transferring the responsibilities of Cleveland’s House of Corrections and jail to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, including booking, fingerprinting, DNA testing, lodging and other duties. There will be a 270-day transition period during which time the inmates will be transferred to the county.
 
Approved legislation allocating $235,000 to the city’s “violence interrupters” program. Known as the Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance, the program trains every-day citizens and outreach workers – known as violence interrupters – to prevent shootings by identifying and mediating potentially lethal conflicts. Interrupters keep in contact with those involved to ensure conflicts don’t re-ignite. The program, established last year, has already received more than $100,000.
 
Approved a resolution that joins Council with Mayor Frank Jackson in reaffirming the city’s commitment to reducing air pollution affecting the Earth’s climate. The resolution supports the principals of the Paris Climate Accord and supports the city’s signing on to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. More than 200 mayors, representing more than 50 million Americans, have affirmed their cities’ commitments to climate action.