Cleveland Heights City Council meeting highlights [7-5-11]

JULY 5, 2011

• Curfew discussion
• Community Development Block Grant
• Down payment assistance program
• Curfew changes

All council members were present.

Curfew discussion

Many citizens, including parents, and many young adults addressed council concerning the new curfew ordinance. All thanked council for their actions. Most expressed concern about the impact on the ability of Cleveland Heights youth of to participate in the Coventry community, several had specific questions about the law, and many expressed a hope that the community would work together to make the ordinance better fit the community’s needs. Several Youth of Coventry members suggested that council publicize the details of the ordinance more clearly. They also suggested creation of a committee, to include city council members and the Youth of Coventry, to deal with social media.

Community Development Block Grant

Council adopted an amended Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) FY2011 budget totaling $1,614,021 and authorized submission of the amended budget to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Council passed four more resolutions authorizing specific allocations of CDBG funds to:

• Cleveland Tenants Organization, $6,000 for assistance with its telephone information services
• Family Connections of Northeast Ohio, $30,000 for assistance with its Family School Connection Program to provide support to families and youth
• Home Repair Resource Center (HRRC), $251,300 for assistance with HRRC’s home-repair and home improvement programs
• Jewish Community Center of Cleveland, $15,000 for the Center’s Nutrition and Afternoon Out Program.

Down payment assistance program

Council authorized an agreement with Cuyahoga County for additional funding for the Owner-Occupant Down Payment Assistance Program for purchasers of one- to four-family homes and condominiums in Cleveland Heights. Council also amended several guidelines for the program to change the forgivable loan to a no-interest deferred loan for most homebuyers. The exceptions are for properties in the BlueStone Development and East Derbyshire CRA. The change was made due to the limited amount of funds available and would allow the city to recycle the money back into the program.

Curfew changes

Council enacted a new subsection, entitled Temporary Special Curfew Areas, to the minors curfew in the city code and amended the section on Curfew Exceptions. These changes are intended to allow the safety director to prevent or control assemblies of minors that pose a threat to the public. Council members thanked the many citizens who have spoken to them on this issue, and emphasized that council would continue to review the ordinance.

LWV observers: Lisa Peters and Kirsten Karakul.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.