Jun 01, 2026
Hi, everyone! Joan Mazzolini is retiring from the role of Chief of Communications for Cleveland City Council, so I will be taking on producing these highlights. This is my first attempt, and I hope you’ll bear with me. I may wind up doing these a little differently from how Joan did them, and I hope you’ll continue to find them informative.
Also, I’d like to remind everyone that these highlights are NOT an official record of what occurred at any Cleveland City Council meeting. The only official record of the meetings and actions of Cleveland City Council is the Cleveland City Record.
--Mike Thomas, Interim Chief of Communications
Today, June 1, 2026, Cleveland City Council held its final in-person meeting before its summer recess. The next meeting of the Cleveland City Council will be held on July 15, 2026. It will immediately follow after Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 9:00 am the same day.
The final Council meeting before summer recess is always a busy one, and today’s meeting was no exception. Council’s Committee of the Whole Meeting began at 9:30 am and continued until 7:50 pm with only a brief break for lunch. Council President Blaine Griffin called the Council Meeting to order at 8:05 pm and adjourned it at 9:55 pm.
Council heard and passed dozens of pieces of legislation. Six, however, stood out because of the attention they received from the public and at the committee table:
Flock Cameras: Ordinance 683-2026. Council introduced for first reading an ordinance requested by the Bibb administration to renew or acquire the annual license and the professional services of maintenance for the Flock Safety Automated License Plate Reader Solution for a period of one year. Council DID NOT pass this legislation but referred it to committee.
Violence Against Health Care Workers: Ordinance 1380-2025. Council approved an ordinance sponsored by Council President Blaine Griffin and Safety Chair Councilman Mike Polensek, amending the city’s menacing ordinances to include harsher penalties for menacing healthcare workers.
10022 Madison Avenue Property: Ordinance 386-2026. Council passed an ordinance authorizing the administration to purchase the former CVS property located at the corner of Madison Avenue and W. 100th Street for the purpose of building a new Firehouse Number 23. This property was the topic of controversy last year when a gas station was proposed for the site. Council DID NOT consider or pass any legislation authorizing the Bibb administration to acquire the property by eminent domain.
Paid On-Street Parking: Ordinance 522-2026. City Council passed an ordinance lowering on-street parking rates in downtown and Ohio City to make it easier for Clevelanders to access those areas. This Ordinance alters the fee structure introduced as part of the Bibb administration’s changes to downtown parking.
Short-Term Rentals. Ordinance 561-2026. After more than six years of work, Council passed an Ordinance licensing short-term rental properties (where transient guests spend no more than 30 days) and regulating them to protect the neighborhoods where they are located from any negative impact they may have.
Settlement Agreement for I-X Center: Ordinance 664-2026. The Bibb administration introduced this ordinance as an emergency measure to amend a decades-long agreement with Brook Park that involved a land swap with the City of Brook Park. Council chose to hold the ordinance for more discussion at their July 15, 2026, meeting.
As busy as tonight’s meeting was, Council’s meeting on July 15 is shaping up to be even busier. So, rest up and enjoy your first month of summer!
Mike