Council Meeting Highlights
May 11, 2026
City Council met in person this evening in Council Chambers, and the meeting was also live-streamed. A quick reminder that the Council website and email addresses now end in .gov, so please update your contacts. The next Council meeting will be on May 18th. Here are a few highlights from today’s meeting:
Mill Creek Restoration Project: Council authorized the City to donate permanent easements to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) for its Mill Creek Restoration Project at the Kerruish Park Flood Control Basin (Kerruish Basin).
Project Summary:
Through its Regional Stormwater Management Program, NEORSD plans to address ongoing streambank erosion along Mill Creek within the Kerruish Basin corridor. The erosion has caused excessive sediment buildup in the basin, reducing its flood control capacity, and has exposed underground sanitary sewers that are at risk of discharging sewage into Mill Creek.
The project will restore approximately 2,000 feet of Mill Creek upstream of the basin by realigning the stream to reduce water velocity and raising the streambed to protect sewer crossings. The improvements are intended to enhance water quality, improve fish passage, reduce erosion, and lessen maintenance needs at the Kerruish Basin, including debris removal at the outlet grate. Ord. No. 453-2026
Preparing for Winter with Salt Purchase: Council approved legislation for the city to purchase rock salt for the 2026– 2027 winter season through a cooperative purchasing agreement using State of Ohio procedures. The city is ordering 75,000 tons with about 16,000 tons left over from last winter that city officials believe will be enough until Christmas. Cleveland and other cities struggled with a rock salt shortage last winter, which had the highest snowfall totals since 2014. The contract, with Cargill, Inc., costs about $4,479,300. Ord. No. 468-2026
Conservation Services for Cleveland Residents: Council authorized the City to enter into agreements with CHN Housing Partners to administer energy, water, and sewer conservation services for low-income homeowners on behalf of the Divisions of Water, Water Pollution Control, and Cleveland Public Power for a two-year period.
The program is designed to assist low-income Cleveland-area homeowners by providing conservation devices and minor home repairs that help reduce water and energy usage, lower utility costs, and improve overall household safety by addressing hazardous conditions. CHN Housing Partners has assisted more than 1,500 households through this program since January 2023. Ord. No. 804-2026
Under the program, the Division of Water and the Division of Water Pollution Control will provide services including:
Installation of water conservation devices
Correction of minor plumbing issues
Repair or replacement of water service lines
Replacement of damaged main sewer lines
Basement clean-up services following sewer backups
Repair and thawing of frozen water lines
Cleveland Public Power services will include:
Replacement of inefficient “energy hog” refrigerators with energy-efficient models
Critical electrical repairs to address unsafe wiring conditions
Distribution of LED light bulbs to homeowners
The Department of Public Utilities anticipates a total annual program cost of $900,000. Funding for each year of the two-year program will be allocated as follows:
$500,000 from the Division of Water operating budget
$150,000 from the Division of Water Pollution Control operating budget
$250,000 from the Cleveland Public Power operating budget
Introductions
Solar Power: Legislation was introduced to develop solar power facilities that are "functional and visually appealing" at two landfills, one located at W. 11th and Spring Road and the landfill located on Kolthoff Road, respectively.
The City has received a grant in the amount of $14,882,505 from the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the Climate Pollution Reduction program through the County of Cuyahoga and also has the opportunity to apply for Inflation Reduction Act and of Investment Tax Credits before they are phased out which can both be used for clean energy solutions and to install solar power generation facilities. The City of want to develop solar power generation facilities that are functional and visually appealing through natural plantings. Ord. No. 620-2026