Making an In-Person Public Comment at An Upcoming Council Meeting
Council welcomes public comments at each regularly scheduled Monday evening Council meeting.
If you are interested in speaking at a Cleveland City Council, please read the revised rules and procedures for public comments and fill out the online form below.
Submitting a Registration to Speak
Anyone who is interested in addressing Cleveland City Council at a public meeting must register with City Council prior to that meeting.
Registrations may be submitted:
- By using the online form below
- In person at Cleveland City Hall, Room 220, 601 Lakeside Avenue NE. Paper forms are available to register.
- By downloading this form, filling it out, and emailing it to publiccomment@clevelandcitycouncil.gov or dropping it off at Council offices.
Registration Periods
Registrations will ONLY be accepted between Noon on Wednesday and 2:00 pm on the same day as a regularly scheduled Monday evening Council Meeting.
Council allows no more than 10 people to comment at its regularly scheduled Monday night meetings. Registration will close as soon as the first 10 people sign up. Each registrant will be allotted 3 minutes to speak.
Registrations will only be accepted for making comments at the next regular meeting; registrations for any future meeting will not be accepted until the Wednesday before the meeting. Early, incomplete, or false registrations will be rejected.
Notice of Registration
If your registration is successful, you will be notified by email or phone.
Accommodations
If you need assistance due to a language barrier or disability, please let us know at least three (3) days in advance by going here to make a request.
Attending Council Meetings
Cleveland City Council meetings are held in the Council Chamber on the second floor of Cleveland City Hall, 601 Lakeside Avenue, East.
Visitors may park for free at the upper lot behind City Hall after 5:00 pm on days when Council is meeting.
Public Record
Please remember that all registration information and public comments are public records and can be subject to public record requests.
Decorum
Cleveland City Council must maintain orderly, efficient, and productive meetings to ensure the important business of city government is completed. Council has developed a set of rules and procedures that allow the public to be heard in a fair and orderly manner. These rules and procedures apply to all speakers, and Council does not discriminate based on the speaker's identity or viewpoint or the content of the speech. Please read Council's revised rules and procedures for public comments before you register and before you appear before City Council.
Please note: Anyone attending a Cleveland City Council meeting is prohibited from engaging in any action or behavior that substantially interrupts, delays, or disturbs the due conduct of the proceedings of the Council; such conduct includes but is not limited to: handclapping, stomping of feet, whistling, making other loud noises, yelling, or similar demonstrations. Any person who violates any of the above may be immediately removed from the Council Chamber.
Rules for Speakers
- Speakers may not yield their time to other speakers.
- Speakers shall only address the topic they registered to speak about.
- Speakers' comments shall not be frivolous or repetitive.
- Speakers shall not use language that is obscene or likely to produce imminent unlawful action.
- Speakers shall address all comments to the presiding officer.
Prohibited Items
- Signs, posters, banners, placards, or similar items
- Food and drink
Make a Comment In Person at a Council Meeting
To sign up to speak during the registration period (Noon Wednesday through 2:00 pm Monday before Council Meetings) click this button.
You will be notified by email or phone if you are one of the ten people who will speak.
Make a Comment Online
If you would rather submit your comments in writing, please fill out the form below.
Written public comments will be published on this page and delivered to all Councilmembers before the next full Council Meeting after they have been submitted.
Public Comments
Filter By
Many nationally known musical artists—such as R.E.M., Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, and Devo—got their early breaks on college radio. WCSB was often a go-to destination for these emerging artists to promote their music, especially when mainstream commercial radio wasn’t interested. Acts of all kinds knew WCSB as the place to be if you wanted to break into the music industry.
Many former WCSB DJs went on to have successful careers at WMMS, a station that was instrumental in bringing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland. Names like Kid Leo, Jeff “Flash” Ferenc, and Jeff Kinzbach—who all got their start at WCSB—are part of that legacy.
WCSB was a cornerstone of Cleveland's cultural, artistic, and musical scene. And now, all that history and community involvement has been discarded—thrown into the wastebin—so a few wealthy donors can listen to jazz all day. One has to ask: what serves the public better—offering a wide diversity of art and ideas, or playing just one genre of music around the clock?
WCSB was more than just CSU's station—it was Cleveland’s station. Students didn’t just contribute; they ran the day-to-day operations. In addition, countless volunteers from the community gave their time to provide their expertise in a wide array of musical genres, such as blues, soul, metal, punk, funk, reggae, and folk. And other community volunteers provided programming that reached Cleveland’s many ethnic communities, including Latino, Arabic, Hungarian, Polish, German, Chinese, and Slovenian listeners. These communities looked to WCSB not only for music and entertainment in their own languages, but for vital information about their countries of origin. How many stations can say that? Not many—and certainly not in Cleveland.
As for CSU and Ideastream touting “internship opportunities” for students, they’ve failed miserably to recognize the stark difference between working in a controlled, limited internship and participating in an open, creative environment that fosters real self-expression. Their claim that students can simply “go online” to continue their programming is a hollow substitute. There’s a vast difference between running a real radio station and uploading content to a website.
Let’s also not forget that not everyone can afford a smartphone or computer to stream content. Many rely on terrestrial radio—and CSU and Ideastream have now taken that away from them, likely for good.
Broadcast radio operates under federal regulations. Students at WCSB learned firsthand about FCC compliance, indecency laws, Emergency Alert System protocols, and station identification requirements. Streaming platforms are not bound by these rules. Every licensed radio station in the U.S. requires staff who understand regulatory compliance—something you cannot learn from podcasting alone. Will students learn this through Ideastream internships? No one knows. There’s been zero planning.
On live radio, there is no “pause” button. Students learned to solve technical issues in real time, operate sound boards during live shows, take calls, and respond to breaking news. These real-world broadcasting skills cannot be developed through pre-recorded podcasts. And Ideastream has no intention of offering students any over-the-air experience like WCSB did.
At WCSB, students also learned radio frequency engineering, antenna systems, and transmitter maintenance. They handled real transmission problems affecting thousands of listeners. This type of hands-on technical knowledge is specific to over-the-air broadcasting. Streaming requires only basic digital audio skills by comparison. Broadcast engineers are essential to every radio and TV station—and this kind of expertise is not gained from streaming.
FCC-licensed stations are required to serve the public interest. WCSB gave students a platform to learn community engagement and how to handle emergency broadcasting during severe weather or local crises. Streaming platforms have no public service obligation. Broadcasting exists to serve the public; streaming exists to entertain consumers.
A student who operated an FCC-licensed station like WCSB has tangible broadcast experience—far more meaningful than a one-semester internship or a podcast that competes with millions of others recorded in bedrooms. Broadcast hiring managers know the difference. And as of now, no one at CSU or Ideastream has outlined what students will actually be learning in these supposed internships. The pitch sounds good—until you look at the details. Then it falls apart. And right now, there are no details at all.
Finally, I want to publicly condemn Cleveland State University for its shameful treatment of its own students. Taking a recognized and active student organization, changing its mission without any student or faculty input, doing it under the cover of an NDA, and then informing students just 15 minutes before the change—while summoning the police to remove them—is the height of hypocrisy from a university that claims to promote “student belonging and success.”
Nothing says “you belong” quite like dismantling something without cause or warning, and then calling the authorities on your own students as if they were criminals. Cleveland State University should be deeply ashamed of its actions.
I would like to know why this decision was made without consulting the students, alumni, volunteers, or members of the community. We don't need a new jazz station; we want to see local voices and local music thrive.
WCSB provided that platform for nearly 5 decades.
I strongly oppose the takeover of 89.3 WCSB by Ideastream. I urge you to listen to the community and reconsider this decision. Thank you for your time.
49 1/2 years. That is a very long time. That’s how long this station has been on the air. 1 year less than I have been around. How can we stand by and let a conglomerate company silence a perfectly good station that delivered a wide range of genres , including ethnic programming that drew in listeners around the globe. They took over and play jazz. That’s it. Jazz 24/7. How does that help the community? How does that help students who want to make a career in radio broadcasting? Losing this station is not a win/win for anybody. The way it was lost was despicable and cowardly. Cutting the signal, escorting the students from the building, and locking everyone out. That is a textbook station takeover.
At least they could have set a date, and gave the station a send off, giving DJ’s time to say goodby to their listeners. Not a complete and sudden end that blindsided every listener. Please fight the good fight and bring the station back to the community where it belongs.
Sincerely,
Matt Vale
-a listener since 1996
Submissions are accepted up to 5 hours before a hearing if time slots are available