Council Meeting Highlights
May 18, 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 final Council meeting before summer session will be on June 1st. Here are a few highlights from today’s meeting:
Speed Tables: Council approved legislation for the city to go out for bids to repair, construct, or install various speed tables for traffic calming and pedestrian safety purposes. A speed table costs about $7,000 to $8,000 to construct. The city is using some ARPA funds and other funds to finance the cost, which is about $1.105 million. Council members added an amendment that the Clerk of Council would receive written notice on upcoming speed tables. Ord. No. 1406-2026
Small Entertainment Venues Get Tax Relief: Council approved eliminating entertainment taxes on small capacity live entertainment venues that hold up to 750 people. "Small capacity live entertainment venue" is defined as any separate room in a premises where people pay admission to attend a separate active performance. If the same performance is occurring for the benefit of more than one separate room, then those separate rooms shall be considered together as one venue. The legislation, sponsored by Councilman Kris Harsh, amends an ordinance passed in 2017 that relates to admission tax exemptions. (Strip clubs are not exempt.) Previously, only venues that held up to 150 people were exempt. Ord. No. 469-2026
Dynamic Messaging Coming to Highways: Council approved legislation allowing ODOT to install new Dynamic Message Signs along I-90 and SR-176. These electronic signs will give drivers real-time traffic updates, while the new Queue Warning System Lite will use sensors and automated alerts to warn motorists when traffic ahead is slowing or stopped. The project also includes queue-detection cameras and related equipment at several locations along the corridor. In addition, the legislation authorizes the City to provide ODOT’s required local funding match. The state is providing $1.6 million. Ord. No. 353-2026
Introductions
St. Clair-Superior Home Repair: Legislation was introduced to authorize the city to enter into a $750,000 grant agreement with the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, d.b.a. the Cuyahoga Land Bank, to provide funding for a neighborhood improvement program in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood for home repairs, new home construction, and street-level improvements in blocks surrounding new housing development. Ord. No. 675-2026