2026-10-06 - Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee

01:04Hey, on the beat.

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10:48hey, hey.

11:22How you know?

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12:09>> [music]

12:59>> down.

13:01Hey

13:23grant uh that David will run us through.

13:27In essence, this is a $1.15 million

13:29grant from the federal government to the

13:32city. No match required or expected. uh

13:35we're able to use these dollars pretty

13:37flexibly for technical assistance

13:39related to financing uh major projects.

13:42So uh one of the you know big things

13:45that we'll talk about is the shorter

13:46quarter shore tiff and the way that we

13:48can use this grant to leverage those

13:50dollars uh without having any budgetary

13:53impact to the city. So David, if you

13:55want to walk through

13:56>> Yes. Thank you to the chair and the

13:57committee. Um all right, I will walk you

14:00through the presentation. Um so the uh

14:04RAIA program is uh administered through

14:07the US Department of Transportation, the

14:09Build America Bureau. Uh this program uh

14:13serves accelerators as defined uh in a

14:16geographical area and act as resource to

14:19uh evaluate and promote innovative

14:22financing uh methods for local projects.

14:25uh build the capacity of state, local

14:27and tribal governments to evaluate and

14:30structure projects involving private

14:31investment. Provide [snorts] technical

14:33assistant and assistance and information

14:36on best practices for uh infrastructure

14:39financing. Increase transparency and

14:41infrastructure uh project analysis and

14:44innovative financing for public

14:47infrastructure projects. And then

14:48finally, facilitating uh creation of

14:51pipelines of investment ready

14:53infrastructure projects.

14:55So, uh, the award was, uh, given to, uh,

14:59the city of Cleveland, uh, to the amount

15:01of $1.15 million, uh, back in, uh, late

15:05April. Uh, Cleveland was among, uh, 20

15:08recipients, uh, to receive this award in

15:10this round. Uh, the grant term uh, is a

15:1436 uh, month performance period uh, from

15:16the execution of the of the contract. No

15:20match is required for this grant. Uh and

15:22the purpose of the grant is to allow the

15:24city to identify projects uh eligible

15:27for additional funding uh under uh the

15:31uh federal financing programs such as

15:33TIFIA RIFF. Uh as well as supporting the

15:37ongoing project of creating a uh more

15:40accessible lakefront and riverfront. Uh

15:43the and department of transportation may

15:45provide additional time and resources uh

15:48to close out this grant. um and no

15:51increment fee or profit above cost may

15:54be paid to the recipient or subreient

15:56under this award.

15:59Uh the scope of the uh of the grant uh

16:02we are looking to uh bring on technical

16:05experts uh working in consulting

16:07capacity uh for uh specialized

16:10financing, design, engineering and other

16:12relevant firms uh will supplement our

16:16city staff knowledge and capacity to

16:18comprehensively deliver services. Uh and

16:22some of these uh activities include

16:24building financial models, financial

16:27plans and obtaining credit options

16:28necessary to structure deals, developing

16:31costbenefit analysis for various project

16:34delivery methods for the projects.

16:36Assisting in formalizing public private

16:38partnerships, managing pre-construction

16:40activities to ensure projects are

16:43Tiffian RIFF eligible, assistsing with

16:47project bundling and phasing, conducting

16:49market analysis to support uh promotion

16:52of trans uh transit oriented development

16:55opportunities. And then finally,

16:56developing communication and engagement

16:58strategies to engage developers,

17:00financial partners, and the public.

17:04And so our request for legislation uh is

17:07for the authorization of the directors

17:09of development andor finance to apply

17:12for and accept the $1.15 million uh RAIA

17:17grant uh which requires no match and uh

17:20to employ by contracts one or more

17:22consultants or consultant firms for the

17:25purpose of supplementing the regularly

17:27employed city of Cleveland staff in

17:28order to provide professional services

17:31necessary to implement this scope. for

17:33the grant.

17:34Thank you and happy to uh entertain any

17:37questions at this time.

17:41>> Thank you. This is a lot. I'm trying to

17:44process this whole u presentation. So,

17:48Chief, when the city uh applied for this

17:52grant, I'm I'm assuming it had a plan

17:54behind it, correct? Right. So was it

17:58always to align or to work on the um

18:03development of shore

18:05to core shore to shore what the

18:08lakefront I would say.

18:10>> Yeah. So uh and happy to share our full

18:13grant materials uh with the committee if

18:15interested. So the we had Noaka had won

18:19us this grant the REA grant years ago.

18:22We had already been working a little bit

18:24with Noaka through their grant um

18:28consultant grant funded consultants uh

18:30talking a lot about the shorter quarter

18:32shore tiff which

18:33>> say that again

18:35short core okay

18:36>> yeah we'll we'll all get there

18:37>> that name is going to change now

18:39eventually

18:40>> I tried a couple years ago um

18:42>> so the shorter shore tiff uh you will

18:45all probably remember we passed in 2024

18:50that tiff is set up in a way that can be

18:52used. Uh, initially the plan is to use

18:55most of the proceeds to do public

18:58infrastructure at the riverfront and the

18:59lakefront, but over the 42year life of

19:02that tiff, those dollars can be used

19:05anywhere. And so, at its core, what this

19:08technical assistance is meant for is to

19:11help the city figure out how to get the

19:14most projects for those dollars that

19:17cover, you know, the most impact in the

19:19city of Cleveland. So this 1.15 from the

19:23federal government is for technical

19:25adviserss that'll help us figure out how

19:27to leverage our tiff in the best way so

19:29that over the next 42 years we can be

19:31really strategic with those investments.

19:33>> Got it. But don't we have someone

19:34inhouse that is monitoring the tiff and

19:37advising?

19:38>> Yes. So, so the city has uh you know in

19:41addition to our department of economic

19:43development uh in our department of

19:45finance, the city is certainly

19:47monitoring and you know looking at

19:49proceeds of the tiff uh once they start

19:51coming in. Uh we also work with PFM and

19:55UNICAP uh who are advisers Municap

19:58specifically on the tiff PFM more

20:00broadly for the city's work. Um,

20:02frankly, these grant dollars can be used

20:05to then pay an adviser like Municap uh

20:08and able to look at those sources and

20:11we'll be able to use them to really work

20:14creatively to think about all the

20:16various different ways that we can

20:18leverage the tiff. So whether it's

20:20financial services, legal contracts or

20:23private public private partnerships,

20:25setting up those different relationships

20:27with our development partners, uh

20:29whether it's design services for value

20:31engineering, um this grant is purposely

20:35pretty flexible. So as the city's needs

20:37change over the next 36 months, we could

20:39be flexible with the dollars. The other

20:41thing I'll mention is for some of the

20:44federal loan programs like TIFFIA that

20:46we've looked at for public improvements,

20:49there is some bureaucratic requirements

20:52of things like a market study that is a

20:55necessity to access those programs.

20:57Market studies cost money.

20:59>> This grant could pay for those market

21:00studies which would then open the door

21:02to federal programs uh for us.

21:04>> Got it. Um, and then as far as the

21:07consultants, is that an RFP that will go

21:09out or you are already identified?

21:11>> Yeah. So, there would be an RFP that

21:12goes out and that's part of the the

21:14consultant process that's laid out in

21:15the legislation.

21:16>> Okay. I'm going to um um Councilman

21:20Harsh.

21:22>> Thank you, Madam Chair. So, um I guess

21:25uh dividing 1.15 million by three years

21:28is 383,000 a yearish. Um, and so how

21:32many consultants through the chair do

21:34you think the city is going to employ

21:36with this to help on the project?

21:40>> To the councilman through the chair, uh,

21:42we can provide you kind of the entire

21:44budgetary breakdown of where we would

21:46see consultants. Um, the types of

21:48consultants that we anticipate bringing

21:50in are things like the financial

21:51adviserss, communication consultants,

21:54uh, legal adviserss. I would guess under

21:5710, but it it'll really just depend on

21:59the scope of those contracts.

22:01>> So 383 divided by 10 is 38,000

22:06uh per person, which doesn't really hire

22:08many people. Uh so do you envision

22:10hiring a firm to do this work and they

22:12distribute the work throughout their

22:13firm?

22:14>> No. uh we would anticipate that the city

22:17would be kind of contracting for

22:18services as the services are needed and

22:20some of them might be lower dollar

22:21services and some of them might be

22:23higher dollar services without having

22:26approval to spend the grant dollars. I

22:28don't have a list of firms that we would

22:30be using. Like I said, we do have a

22:32budgetary breakdown of, you know, what

22:33we would anticipate for a market study,

22:36for example, is like a $250,000

22:40study depending on how comprehensive it

22:42is. So that could be a large chunk of

22:44this grant.

22:44>> And so through the chair, would that go

22:46through a particular person or did that

22:48go through a

22:50company, a firm?

22:51>> It would go through a comp it it would

22:53go through a firm is what I would

22:54anticipate.

22:55>> Okay. Um and through the chair, can any

22:58of these funds be used on hard costs?

23:00Can any of this money be squirled away

23:01for the actual

23:03>> brick and mortars work? Uh it it could

23:05be used for some pre-construction costs

23:07but not a like hard cost for you know

23:11actually the bricks and sticks of

23:13building something.

23:14>> Okay. Um

23:17pardon me on uh the PowerPoint on uh

23:21page four I think.

23:24>> Um a lot of this just sort of strikes me

23:26as word salad. Uh, so I'm not entirely

23:32sure building a financial model um and

23:36financial plan. I I'm I'm a little bit

23:39confused about what that means. Could

23:40through the chair, could you explain to

23:41me what it means to hire somebody to do

23:43a financial model for a redevelopment of

23:44a lakefront? What that what that would

23:46actually be?

23:47>> Yeah. So to the councilman through the

23:48chair, um, a financial model would

23:50probably be more focused on the source

23:52of the dollars. So the shorter quarter

23:54short tiff for example um depending on

23:57how we utilize that tiff and uh the

24:00bonding or financing that we would go

24:02out for the tiff the financial models

24:04would inform you know the interest rates

24:07that we would be paying h how long we'd

24:09be paying principal how much interest we

24:11would be paying for when based on

24:13various different financings that we

24:15would take out. So, uh, about I want to

24:18say last summer, um, you might remember,

24:20uh, we did a presentation at caucus to

24:22talk about financing around shore to

24:25core to shore. One of the questions that

24:27council asked was, you know, we'd like

24:29to see a couple different options of,

24:31you know, what if we're taking out

24:33dollars for lakefront, riverfront, and

24:35something else. These would be the

24:37financial models that would show

24:39>> what the repayment is

24:40>> through the chair. Isn't this Skinner's

24:41job down at the north coast, whatever we

24:44called that? Isn't that his task to

24:47figure out the modeling for this stuff?

24:48So because so yes and uh to the

24:51councilman through the chair uh there's

24:53both the responsibility of North Coast

24:56Waterfront Development Corporation uh to

24:59look at financing for the lakefront

25:01redevelopment project and frankly a lot

25:03of that is going to go on the private

25:06developers because shore to core to

25:08shore tiff is a source that is available

25:11to the city for lakefront riverfront

25:14downtown core key neighborhood projects

25:17that is outside of the scope of just a

25:19lakefront development corporation. It is

25:21the city's responsibility and these are

25:23the city's dollars to figure out how to

25:25steward in the most effective way. And

25:27so these plans of finance will help

25:29inform those decisions.

25:30>> Okay. And just don't get me wrong

25:32through the chair, I'm always happy to

25:34take federal grant money. That's not a

25:36issue. Um I just I don't understand how

25:38this work fits into what's already

25:40happening. Um, I'm one of the folks that

25:43gets a little bit nervous when we just

25:44bring in untold numbers of consultants

25:47because it seems like they um are able

25:49to walk away from the work and we are

25:51not able to walk away. This is our job

25:52full-time and uh I always get a little

25:54bit nervous when people are asked to

25:56come in and do a handful of work and

25:57then leave. Um, and I'm not really sure.

26:00Typically, we we know what outcome we

26:02want before we bring them in because

26:04that's why we're bringing them in to

26:05achieve some goal. And I guess I'm just

26:07a little bit unclear about I mean I get

26:10it. It's a grant. We'll take it. We'll

26:11figure we'll But like what they're what

26:14the added what's not being done

26:16currently at city hall that um that that

26:21these folks can do and I thought we did

26:24financially model financial modeling and

26:26and and economic development and I

26:28thought we did all that stuff. So um

26:32>> yeah to to the councilman through the

26:34chair maybe I can give a little bit more

26:36color to the type of engagements um

26:38because these I think are very specific

26:39engagements specific to our shorter

26:41quarter shore tiff. So, for example,

26:44something that this grant could go

26:48towards and and could be used for is

26:51when we go to the federal government

26:53asking for uh you know requesting a

26:56TIFIA loan, for example, if that's

26:57something that we end up deciding to do,

27:00one of the things that has to go into

27:01that kind of pre-work process is going

27:05and getting multiple credit opinions

27:07from credit um institutions on our TIF

27:11specifically. So, we're going to have to

27:13put together a financial revenue model,

27:15then go out to Moody's S&P,

27:18ask them to then rate, you know, that

27:21modeling, rate the TIFF as a source, and

27:24from there, depending on their answer,

27:25that's a kind of gating requirement for

27:28our federal grants. This is grant that's

27:31something that the general fund could

27:32pay for or it's something that this

27:34grant could pay for and we would prefer

27:36to put those dollars towards this

27:39federal grant.

27:40>> Okay. Well, Madam Chair, I don't I'm not

27:42a financeier. It's not my specialty. I'm

27:45not a business person either. So, um uh

27:49sounds like, you know, free money to do

27:51some work that can help us with other

27:53projects. And, uh while admitting that

27:56there are parts of this I don't

27:58understand, I can certainly understand

27:59the idea of wanting to take the feds up

28:01on their offer to give us a million

28:02dollars to help with the project. So, uh

28:05that's my own that's my only I'm done.

28:07Thanks,

28:10any councilman um Austin Davis.

28:14>> Yeah, you know me u through the chair.

28:17Thanks again folks for being here. Uh I

28:19I think I have a similar conclusion as

28:21my colleague Councilman Harsh. $1.15

28:23million of free money from the federal

28:24government is just good news. Could you

28:26I mean and you won it during this

28:27administration as well, right? This is a

28:29grant that was awarded this year and not

28:31from years past. That's seems

28:33impressive.

28:35>> I would that's correct. So the city

28:37applied for this grant. Um, we actually

28:39had to apply twice for the grant. It was

28:41initially the NOFO was out during the

28:44previous administration and then the new

28:46administration came in asked for a

28:48reapplication. So, we reapplied and were

28:51able to win under this federal

28:52administration in April is when we got

28:54the award notice.

28:55>> Great. Through the chair again that

28:56seems hard to do these days um

28:58especially for good ideas and forward

29:00thinking projects. Uh maybe you can just

29:02give us if you have a second longer of u

29:04flavor as to the kind of complicated

29:06bonding math that's going to be required

29:08to fund the north coast broadly

29:09speaking. I mean the idea of needing

29:11consultants I I think it made sense to

29:12me. It's like boy we're talking about uh

29:14ndigit projects and a 10digit funding

29:20stream over 45 years and just like the

29:22level of complication there seemed above

29:24and beyond what we typically do inside

29:25city hall. If you could tell me more

29:27about that I'd be grateful.

29:28>> Yeah. So through the councilman, through

29:29the chair, I I will say we have a lot of

29:32talented folks in city hall. And so the

29:34question of whether they could do this

29:37is different than the question of

29:38whether we they should be allocating

29:40their time doing this. I think one of

29:42the benefits of grant dollars like this

29:44is freeing up capacity in the city to

29:47focus on other work while we then have

29:49experts being able to work on something

29:50like this very complicated as you've

29:53mentioned uh tiff source uh and thinking

29:57about how to best capitalize on it. Um,

29:59you know, there are a lot of different

30:01variables to match up, uh, various ways

30:04that the funds could be used, uh, ways

30:07to leverage, uh, or at least suggest

30:10ways to leverage, uh, the balance sheets

30:12of some of our development partners. uh

30:15really just thinking creatively about

30:17how to look at all of the various

30:20different public improvement needs that

30:22we have um related to shore to core to

30:25shore and then how to make sure that

30:27we're getting the most money possible

30:29out of our tiff district. Uh once we get

30:32into this financial modeling I will be

30:34happy to share it with council members

30:36and it'll probably take us an hour and a

30:38half to go through one revenue model. So

30:40>> through the chair yes it's going to be

30:41above me looking forward to it.

30:42>> I mean it's what we're here for. Um but

30:45again like this is so complicated. Thank

30:46you for highlighting it. Just excited

30:47for the free money. Thank you all. I you

30:50>> um if I can to um to speak to the

30:53capacity [clears throat]

30:54question um as a part of the restructure

30:56for um the department of development, we

30:59did um account for a um tiff and tax

31:03manager and this person will um be

31:06working to you know to support this work

31:09as well.

31:15Okay. Any other questions? Um,

31:18Councilman Joe Jones.

31:25>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, to um

31:30the distinguished lady Travisano.

31:34Um,

31:36can you give me uh more? You talked

31:40about the background of the tiff, the

31:42intent. Um, apparently it came from

31:45Noaka. Is that correct? Can you give me

31:47a little bit historical piece and why it

31:49was why Noaka considered it, how how do

31:53it we come about it?

31:54>> Yeah. So to the councilman through the

31:56chair and let me clarify. So Noaka won

32:00this is called a regional infrastructure

32:02accelerator grant. Noaka won their own

32:04regional infrastructure accelerator

32:06grant uh multiple years back and at its

32:09core what that grant is meant to do is

32:12identify development projects that are

32:15eligible for specific federal financing

32:18programs. TIFIA and RIFF are the two

32:21programs that this grant was kind of

32:23designed around. when Noaka was doing a

32:25scan of various projects that you know

32:28in the region that might be able to take

32:31um you know utilize their own RAIA

32:34grant. They had identified you know the

32:36city as being a possible benefactor of

32:40their RAIA grant. Um so we used that

32:43engagement with NAKa to learn more about

32:45TIFIA and RIFF and the process and all

32:48of the credit analysis that is required.

32:51um that Noaka grant is now closed. Um

32:55but the city then kind of used that

32:57experience said okay this is really like

33:00valuable funding available to get us

33:03some technical experts. So we the city

33:06will now apply to get our own RAIA grant

33:08which is how we ended up here today with

33:10a $1.15 million. So we modeled off of

33:13Noaka's uh proposition to get technical

33:17assistance to accelerate infrastructure

33:20development.

33:21>> Correct.

33:22>> And so um madame chairwoman to uh our

33:27chief um when we look at this here um I

33:31think uh you said uh this would support

33:34shore to core to shore riverfront at

33:37lakefront development initiatives. So

33:39will it in the picture that you have

33:41shown us here in the slide will it be

33:45ranging from just that location in terms

33:47of the usage of the grant or does the

33:50grant have does it have geographical

33:52limitations?

33:54>> Uh to the councilman through the chair

33:55the grant does not have geographical

33:57limitations. uh the kind of bar for the

34:00grant is that we have to be able to

34:03explain that any project we're using it

34:04for could be eligible for those you know

34:08federal grant funding projects. So any

34:10transformational project uh not

34:14geographically bound you know but

34:16>> so we do have flexibility with the

34:17grant.

34:18>> Correct.

34:18>> All right. And then the next question um

34:21madam chairwoman to the chief um do we

34:25have any idea you know where we would uh

34:30be utilizing it or is still in the

34:32process of

34:34>> yes to to the councilman through the

34:36chair uh these are kind of the broad

34:38categories of where we would be

34:40utilizing it. Um, in our grant

34:42application, we submitted a budget as as

34:44part of that application, all consistent

34:46with uh the scope that you see in front

34:48of you. Uh, as time has gone on, um,

34:53some of our needs have shifted a little

34:56bit and so, uh, that budget is still

34:59pretty close to where we expect to be,

35:00but these are the various categories

35:02that we anticipate that we'd be hiring

35:04consultants to help us with.

35:06One of the concerns that I brought uh to

35:09the table of Cleveland City Council uh

35:12at the podium last night and also at the

35:16table was my concern of the emptying out

35:19of downtown. Will some of these funds be

35:22utilized to deal with that? And the

35:25reason why I asked that question because

35:27when I nine years ago, um, what was

35:31spoken at this table was that the

35:34downtown uh was a uh I guess the the

35:38phrase that was used was a um cylinder

35:43of an engine in our region. And um I'm

35:48quite concerned now. Uh I had a chance

35:51to visit uh a number of attorneys and

35:54they were talking about their buildings.

35:56Uh the IMG building 1360 uh used to be

35:59packed

36:00>> and now is less than 10% um uh in terms

36:05of those clients using those facilities.

36:07So um I guess my question would be uh

36:12would any of these funds be utilized in

36:14any kind of way to rebuild capacity?

36:17>> Yeah. To the councilman through the

36:18chair. I think that's really at the core

36:21of this entire strategy is is how do we

36:23work to make sure that we have a healthy

36:25downtown core that is then supporting

36:28our neighborhood and our city all of our

36:30neighborhoods in our city. Uh I would

36:32say my answer to that is yes but maybe

36:35indirectly. So these dollars could not

36:38for example be used to be granted as an

36:41economic development incentive to an

36:44individual company. So that is not

36:46permitted with this grant. What is

36:47permitted is for example a communication

36:51or engagement strategy to then entice

36:54businesses to Cleveland to help you know

36:58all of our various development goals. So

37:00that could be you know part of this

37:02grant that would be permitted. So

37:04indirectly but yes

37:06>> and madam chairwoman one of my concerns

37:09is sitting here at the end of this table

37:11and not really getting any and I'm not

37:14sure if it is our staff Mr. Joe Titan or

37:18whoever would gather the information and

37:20giving us a

37:22true assessment of our financial picture

37:26here in the city of Cleveland, a

37:27snapshot of our financial health. Um, it

37:30is really concerning to me um about all

37:34the talk that I've been hearing over the

37:36space of time. Now, this is for the last

37:39couple of years and now it's just

37:41unfortunately unraveling quickly and and

37:44especially when the Brown stadium and

37:47the owners have decided to leave

37:49downtown. So, um, I would suggest,

37:53Madame Chairwoman, that our leadership,

37:55uh, either hire consultant or if we have

37:59the staff that has the capacity to

38:02really give us a true assessment here

38:05because the decisions that we make, uh,

38:07Madame Chairwoman to Travisano,

38:10uh, in terms of the budget, uh, and

38:13planning for the budget, uh, we have to

38:15be fiscally frugal. uh if we see the

38:18storm coming um we can feel the storm,

38:21we can see the horizon and right now uh

38:24Madam Chairwoman, I think that what

38:26would be best for this body to be

38:28prepared is to have a fiscal uh uh

38:32session to really fundamentally talk

38:34about where where are we uh in terms of

38:36our financial health uh in the city of

38:39Cleveland moving forward a projection.

38:42And that would be end my end of my

38:43questions. Madam Chairwoman, I yield the

38:45floor. Thank you.

38:47Thank you, Councilman. Um, just my last

38:49question. Is this something that you

38:50could reapply every year?

38:53>> Um, to the council or to the chairwoman,

38:55um, we would need to kind of exhaust the

38:58grant funds before we could reapply, but

39:00once we exhaust the grant funds, we

39:02could reapply, assuming that the federal

39:04government continues to fund this

39:05program.

39:06>> I know. I'm just excited they're Yeah.

39:08providing funds to the city of

39:09Cleveland. So, any other questions?

39:12>> Okay. Here.

39:14>> Yes.

39:21Yeah. [clears throat]

39:26>> Talking about this one.

39:29>> Right here.

39:30>> Oh. Oh, down here. Right there it is.

39:35>> Okay. This one, right?

39:37>> Director's development. Okay.

39:39>> All right. Madam Chair, I'd like to

39:40offer an amendment. Um,

39:43we'll give law department a second to

39:45get back. Okay. In section four in the

39:46second paragraph, starting at line

39:48seven, strike director of development

39:49and insert directors of development

39:51and/or finance.

39:53>> I'm sorry, what was that?

39:56>> Sure. In section four in the second

39:58paragraph, starting at line seven,

40:03um, strike director of development and

40:06insert directors of development andor

40:08finance.

40:11Got it.

40:12>> Okay. Second. Any discussion?

40:15>> All in favor say I.

40:17>> I.

40:17>> Any nos? No. Okay.

40:22>> Passes.

40:24Here we go. I got it. Okay.

40:28Okay. Sorry about that. So, um, hearing

40:31no other questions. Ordinance number

40:32923-2026

40:35stands approved. Please sign on as

40:37amended.

40:39Was that?

40:41>> No, that's 9:23.

40:42>> Okay, it's okay. It's morning. It's a

40:45Tuesday. I don't know what is going on

40:46today.

40:47>> We got where we needed to go. That's

40:48what matters. Yeah.

40:51>> All right. So, once again, fans

40:53approved. Please sign on. Thank you,

40:54chief. Thank you, director. Nice to meet

40:56you. Sorry you didn't get a chance to

40:58talk as much. Okay.

41:01>> Um Okay. Next up,

41:05ordinance number 1031-2026

41:08by council member Santana and Griffin.

41:10An emergency ordinance authorizing the

41:12director of community development to

41:13enter into one or more agreement with

41:15the legal aid society as the lead

41:18partner organization to implement a

41:20program to provide access to legal

41:22services for covered individuals in

41:24eviction proceedings under section

41:26375.12

41:28of the codified ordinance of Cleveland,

41:30Ohio 1976. legal representation and

41:33housing court director.

41:37Hi, Colleen. How are you?

41:39>> Wonderful. How are you?

41:41>> Good.

41:42[laughter]

41:44>> So, go ahead.

41:45>> Good morning. Uh, thank you. Um, so we

41:48are coming before you today to renew our

41:50ongoing programmatic relationship with

41:52the Legal Aid Society of Greater

41:54Cleveland. Um, we are seeking to ensure

41:57ongoing access to legal services for

41:59low-income Clevelanders who are facing

42:01housing instability, particularly

42:03through eviction. Uh, to bolster the

42:05organization's ability to serve our

42:07residents through this right to council

42:09program, we are also seeking an

42:11amendment to the legislation to include

42:13an additional $500,000 that was

42:16identified during last year's bud budget

42:18reconciliation.

42:19Um, we have seen that 85% of Right to

42:22Council Cleveland clients out of 5,370

42:26cases last contract year met the primary

42:29objective avoiding of avoiding

42:31disruptive displacement. And we are

42:33hoping to continue that track record. I

42:36have with me this morning, Colleen

42:37Carter, who's able to answer any uh

42:39programmatic questions that you might

42:41have.

42:43>> Colleen, do you want to share a little

42:45bit?

42:46>> Sure.

42:48push the button that says push.

42:50>> Yeah.

42:51>> Sorry, I went to law school.

42:52>> You have to put like the microphone a

42:54little bit.

42:55>> Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. Great

42:57to see everybody on this beautiful

42:59Tuesday morning. Um we are so proud of

43:03our partnership with the city of

43:04Cleveland. And I just want to remind

43:06this body that

43:09>> you passed this ordinance creating a

43:11right to council for people facing

43:14eviction in 2019 before the pandemic

43:18started. Cleveland was the fourth city

43:20in the country to adopt such

43:22legislation. You were you were ground

43:26blade blazing. Is that the word? You um

43:30set the standard around the country.

43:31There are cities and counties and states

43:34that have followed the city of Cleveland

43:37and I am so proud of what we have

43:39accomplished to keep people in their

43:40homes. Honestly, before right to

43:43council, we there was a study that Case

43:45Western did that indicated that that

43:47evictions lasted 90 seconds in Cleveland

43:51housing court. 90 seconds for someone to

43:55have a home and then not have a home.

43:58and almost every tenant was evicted

44:00before right to counsel. Now, because of

44:03our representation,

44:0580% of people who are eligible for this

44:08program get a legal aid lawyer and 85%

44:13of tenants avoid displacement.

44:17That's an amazing accomplishment. The

44:19return on investment is about $2.50 for

44:23every dollar spent. And the city's

44:26investment with this uh new bud this new

44:30contract will be about 40% of the total

44:34cost. So the city is not footing the

44:36entire bill. Uh legal aid works hard to

44:40raise add additional dollars from

44:42philanthropy. We have lost some of those

44:44dollars as philanthropy move on to new

44:47things. We all know they do that. We

44:49used to get money from the Cleveland

44:50Foundation. They do not support it

44:52anymore. They're supportive of it, but

44:54they've moved on to other things. We

44:56used to get money from the United Way.

44:59We no longer get money from Well, no,

45:01that's not true. $50,000 we're going to

45:03be getting from United Way, so very

45:05small amount. Um, so an increase from

45:09the city of Cleveland is absolutely

45:11critical to um sustain this program. And

45:14again, it's still less than half of the

45:17budget required.

45:18>> Yeah. Thank you. Um, Colleen, can you

45:21talk about is it is the problem getting

45:23better and our numbers going down of

45:26eviction?

45:27>> So, the numbers are not going down um of

45:31evictions, but in comparison to other

45:34cities, they are not increasing. So,

45:37comparatively, other cities like

45:39Cincinnati and Columbus have seen a

45:42significant increase in evictions since

45:44the pandemic. You know, they went down

45:46and then have gone up. So, in those

45:49cities, evictions are higher than they

45:51were in 2019, and in Cleveland, they're

45:54lower than they were in 2019. Um, which

45:58is is part of the reason to have a right

46:02to counsel and evictions is that

46:03landlords know

46:05>> there's going to be a lawyer on the

46:06other side. Perhaps if I don't have a

46:09good case, I should not file an

46:13eviction. And um so avoiding that

46:15eviction filings is definitely a goal of

46:18the right to counsel program and I think

46:20we have achieved that.

46:21>> Got it. Yeah. I know my area is a hot

46:23spot so I refer constantly to legal aid.

46:27Um

46:29I'm curious to know is there a lot of

46:31like repeated evictions where you guys

46:34are serving? Is there is there um I

46:38would say a cap of how many times we

46:40could serve you? How how's that working?

46:42because I know those questions came up

46:44last year um just like reoccurring

46:48>> right yeah it's a great question um

46:51again having right to council gives us

46:53so much insight uh we retain uh the firm

46:57Stout Statinius to do an evaluation

47:00every year that this body receives

47:02you'll get the next one in J at the end

47:04of January they looked specifically at

47:07that exact thing because if it's a churn

47:09if we're representing the same tenant

47:12every six months. Maybe this is not very

47:14effective to actually keep people

47:16housed, but the reality is that in five

47:19years of right to counsel, only 7% of

47:23clients were repeat clients.

47:26That tells us people that's that moment,

47:30that crisis. We represent them and they

47:34don't have to come back because because

47:36we 85% of tenants do not experience

47:41disruptive displacement. If they were

47:44faced again with eviction, they'd be

47:47back and they're not. So, uh, we have

47:49not put a cap because we don't need to

47:52do that. only 7% are have come back

47:55again.

47:55>> Oh, that's great. Um, well, I am very

47:58aware of the program. I love it. It

48:00helps my families in the area.

48:02[clears throat] I would love to look at

48:02my numbers um outside of this meeting to

48:06see if they've gone down and at least in

48:08our area and I think my challenge is um

48:11non-English speakers, which you have

48:13bilingual staff there that help. So,

48:15thank you for that. Um any questions for

48:18my colleagues?

48:19>> Madam Chairwoman.

48:21Oh yeah. And I do have to read the

48:24amendment or you guys have to read it.

48:28>> I'm sorry.

48:30Okay. So, we have

48:32>> Yeah.

48:33>> Yeah.

48:34>> There is not an amendment.

48:38>> Sorry.

48:38>> Okay. That's my fault.

48:41>> Okay.

48:42>> You

48:45>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, so good

48:47morning.

48:47>> Good morning.

48:48>> Uh, I I just want to remind everybody

48:49who's listening and following along at

48:51home. Um, right to council was something

48:52instituted by the two city councils ago.

48:55I believe it was uh my predecessor Kevin

48:57Kelly who really wanted to push this um

48:59and make sure that tenants in the city

49:01of Cleveland had the right to defend

49:02themselves when uh we all know landlords

49:05can get really carried away sometimes

49:06and evict people uh over uh inconsistent

49:11or uh inappropriate reasons. And tenants

49:14oftentimes feel like they have no

49:15recourse. If your landlord says get out,

49:17sometimes you just have to, you know,

49:18sometimes people just shake their head

49:19and go, "Oh, okay. I guess I'm moving

49:21again. Um, but uh I was a tenant for

49:23many, many years and I've dealt with

49:24some of those bad landlords and I knew a

49:26little bit more than some folks. So, I

49:28was able to push back on my own. Um, and

49:30this extends that opportunity to

49:31everybody whether they uh know landlord

49:33tenant law or not. So, I think it's a

49:35very great program and I think it's

49:37wonderful that the city actually made

49:39cottified this right for Cleveland

49:42residents. Uh, but rights do come with

49:44responsibilities and the responsibility

49:45of the city is to fund it. So, uh, we

49:48have been looking at this and, um, it,

49:50you know, we're always always concerned,

49:52uh, about creeping costs and costs that

49:55go up forever. Um, the United Way, I I I

49:58think I want to come back to that in a

49:59minute, but I do know that there was

50:00some money earmarked for, uh, legal aid

50:03through the tenants rights uh, contract

50:04that we had with United Way where some

50:06of those funds are going to legal aid

50:08for resources. So I don't know through

50:10the chair. Do you think that is a reason

50:12that they reduced their overall support

50:14for legal aid in this project because

50:16that money came from a different source

50:17for them as well?

50:19>> Um well I can't speak for United Way but

50:22they were talking about concluding their

50:24investment even before that. They sort

50:27of laid out a five-year plan and um and

50:32then again moved on to something else.

50:34So we are part of that collaboration. We

50:36do get some funding. that funding does

50:38not go to representation. It goes to

50:41education.

50:42>> Okay.

50:42>> So, it does help us spread the word. Um

50:45but it doesn't pay for us to represent

50:47tenants.

50:48>> Okay. Um all in all though, I think that

50:51the investment from the city of

50:52Cleveland into this program uh has a lot

50:55of really good strong returns for the

50:56city of Cleveland. People who aren't

50:58displaced are are able to stay rooted

51:00and grounded. Their finances are more

51:02stable. Their children's education is

51:04more stable. We know that moving kids

51:05around from one school to the other is a

51:07constant problem in Cleveland where kids

51:09have to continually get reaclimated to

51:11new environments. So, keeping people in

51:13place in their homes is a social good.

51:15It's also a financial good. So, I'm very

51:17happy to continue supporting this

51:19program. Um, Madam Chair, we do uh need

51:22to before the discussion ends figure out

51:24how to word um it was a council

51:27prerogative during budgeting uh and

51:29council president Griffin really wanted

51:31to make sure we got this done to uh add

51:33an extra $500,000

51:35um to this uh and um we need to make

51:40sure that that is coming from the

51:41appropriate fund.

51:44>> Does that help?

51:46So yeah, we think we had the right uh

51:48amendment. Um we think it'll be a sort

51:51of on RL 26719

51:54um to add 500,000, but I think we have

51:56to identify the fund it comes from,

51:57which I believe would be SF400.

52:00And I'm sort of doing a little uh inside

52:04baseball work here out loud because we

52:06got to make sure we get our our fund

52:08numbers correct. Um but we did want to

52:10amend this to go from 750 to 1.25

52:13million. from 750,000 to 1 point

52:151,250,000.

52:18That fulfills the uh commitment that

52:20city council made during the budget to

52:22increase the amount. We just got to

52:23operationalize it right here in real

52:25time and and and uh identify where those

52:27funds come from. So,

52:28>> are we opening the floor for a question,

52:30Madam Chairwoman, or are we talking

52:32about amendment?

52:33>> I'm still I'm still

52:34>> Okay,

52:34>> I'm still talking. I'll wrap up here in

52:36a second. Um, so I think once we have

52:39those funds identified and we can make

52:41that amendment that I think will get

52:42this to the true point where we wanted

52:44it to be. Um, I don't have any questions

52:48uh regarding the actual application of

52:50legal defense. I think it's wonderful

52:52and I'm glad that we do it. Um, so I'm

52:54just putting word out there to our uh

52:57team. Joe's nodding. I think he knows.

52:59Um, and I think we figured out at the

53:00table, but I will proper that amendment

53:02when we're all done and make sure that

53:03we got all our tees crossed and our eyes

53:04dotted. Um, and with uh through the

53:08chair to the director. Does that sound

53:09right? That's what we're doing, right?

53:10>> That sounds good. Yes. Thank you.

53:11>> Okay, we'll get the language right.

53:13>> So, we need to just identify the fund

53:14number.

53:15>> That sounds we don't have that right

53:16now.

53:16>> Correct.

53:17>> I'm fairly sure it's SF I think it's

53:1910400.

53:21>> Okay. So, we would need to insert and

53:24and I apologize, Councilman Jones. We'll

53:26come back to this when we're all done.

53:27Um but just to to lay clear

53:31>> um in the ordinance uh it would go into

53:37>> uh would this be section three? Uh we

53:40would amend

53:41>> and we would amend it to uh I'm I'm not

53:45profering the amendment yet. I am

53:47talking through the amendments. Uh in

53:49line two after the period we would

53:52insert

53:55and five uh the cost of the agreement

53:59shall also include $500,000 paid from

54:02fund SF10400

54:08uh through the chair to legal and uh

54:12policy. Does that sound like an

54:14appropriate wording?

54:16>> Yes.

54:17>> Okay. Madam Chair, do you want me to do

54:19the amendment now?

54:20>> I'd like to offer an amendment.

54:21[laughter]

54:22>> Okay.

54:23>> Now that we figured out what the

54:24amendment is.

54:25>> Madam Chair, in section three, after the

54:28period, insert the following sentence.

54:31Funds shall also

54:34be paid.

54:37Funds in the amount of $500,000 shall

54:40also be paid from fund SF4 10-400.

54:44SF10-400

54:52>> or is it sub fun 10-400

54:57>> madam chair uh fund shall also include

55:00500,000 from 10 sub fund 400

55:06>> second

55:07>> okay

55:07>> that was an exact dollar amount so we

55:09don't need to worry about that not

55:10exceeding

55:11>> discussion

55:12>> yesmen

55:13Madam Chairwoman, I you know, for

55:15starters, uh we're asking for a 70%

55:19increase.

55:20>> I'm sorry. Go ahead.

55:21>> We're asking for a 70% increase. There

55:24is no presentation. It has been

55:26delivered to this council on the reasons

55:29why there should be a 70% increase. And

55:32um I haven't heard anything that has

55:34convict convinced me this morning why we

55:37should increase it. And so right now I,

55:40as you've heard me stated earlier about

55:43the emptying out of one of our engines,

55:46I'm very concerned about um our capacity

55:50to continue to spend at the rate we're

55:52spending. And right now um we're talking

55:55about and and I'm not against this, but

55:58I don't have anything that tells me what

56:00you've done for our communities, who has

56:03been impacted, how many families.

56:05There's been nothing given here. Um u

56:08madam chairwoman nor has uh the director

56:11Tate uh given us any information. Um I

56:14just think that right now we should slow

56:16this down.

56:17>> Just remember this is from 2026

56:21general um budget.

56:23>> I'm sorry.

56:24>> So this goes back to February and March

56:26when we passed this.

56:29So we we did increase we they did ask

56:31for an increase

56:32>> early on in reconciliation

56:35we added five. So they just never

56:37received.

56:38>> Exactly. Yeah. So this goes back to

56:40February. This is not a new allocation.

56:43>> Okay.

56:44>> And to the councilman through the chair

56:45I'm happy to provide their um their

56:47audit report for you.

56:49>> No worries.

56:50>> Okay. Madam Chairman.

56:52>> Okay. Council.

56:53>> Yeah. Thank you. I'll just add some

56:55additional context because I got a a

56:56call this morning from the chief. My

56:58understanding is that originally the

57:00administration came forward with

57:02$750,000

57:04during the budget hearings. We added on

57:06the half a million dollars with the ARPA

57:09recovery. When it came time to bring

57:11forward the legislation, they remembered

57:13the three4ers of a million dollars that

57:15they had originally proposed, but they

57:17forgot to tag on to it the half a

57:19million dollars that we added on through

57:20budget reconciliation. So the purpose of

57:22the amendment is to

57:25make sure that both both financial pots

57:29are included in this contract so they

57:31can get the full amount.

57:34Got it. Okay. Any other questions? Okay.

57:38So we have to vote on this. Um all the

57:41A's say

57:43all in favor say a.

57:45>> I and all in say no. And any nos. This

57:50has been a crazy morning. Okay, so the

57:52the yays have it amendment passes. Thank

57:55you. Um Okay, so now we're going to have

57:58questions about 1023-2026.

58:01Any other questions? Um Oh, I have list

58:05already. You're next after Councilman um

58:07Davis.

58:09Okay, Councilman Jones.

58:11>> Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. One of the

58:12things that's really concerning to me

58:15and you know we pass a lot of

58:18programming on and just wanted to uh say

58:22how careful we must be with how we spend

58:25general fund dollars

58:27>> and um and also want to just you know

58:32share this that it's really difficult

58:33for council to get its programs out uh

58:36similar programs that help our citizens

58:38and it seems like we're able to get them

58:41all out real smoothly. smooth uh on the

58:43other side and um and I just want to put

58:46that and we can talk about it a little

58:48bit more in depth. We have programs on

58:50this side of the table that we would

58:52like to see get out as well and we would

58:55love to get the same kind of support

58:57that we give like we have the attorney

58:59down there at the other end of the table

59:01who does a great job. We would like to

59:03see our programming go out to our people

59:05to help our people. And we're tired of

59:07being limited with the capacity to be

59:10able to help our s and assist our

59:12citizens with small programs that help

59:14them with the things that they need to

59:16have uh done. And so I just want to make

59:19sure that while I'm sitting here at this

59:21table, I'm fighting directly for my

59:23citizens. Now, when I sat here and I

59:26listened to some of the conversation

59:29about and I know that we're tightening

59:31up in times where the the other

59:34foundations are not giving money to or

59:36not giving money out like they used to

59:38and everyone is sort of starting the

59:40proposition of tightening their belts. I

59:43would suggest that we begin the

59:44proposition here at this table to start

59:46tightening our belt uh as it relates to

59:49um giving out programming and and I

59:52would like to uh madam chairwoman to the

59:54director get an assessment uh of this

59:57particular program and how it's helped

59:59people and here's why. Um, oftentimes

1:00:02when I'm meeting with my citizens and

1:00:04they need legal assistance and they need

1:00:05legal help, I always tell them call down

1:00:07to legal aid and they're constantly

1:00:10calling down there and I would say 90%

1:00:12of the time we get no help. 90%.

1:00:16And and so then when we talk about

1:00:19passing off uh 70% increase here, um I'd

1:00:23like to know exactly what legal aid is

1:00:25really offering and who's allow who's

1:00:27allowed to to get it. So, if you could,

1:00:29Madam Chairwoman, uh, to the director

1:00:32Tate, tell me who would be eligible if

1:00:35if all of a sudden I'm looking to be

1:00:37evicted out my house. Do I have to have

1:00:38a certain income? Is there certain I

1:00:41mean, what is the restrictions? Why is

1:00:42it that my my people can't seem to get

1:00:45assistance? And I have to call down

1:00:46there. And listen, it gets so bad, Madam

1:00:49Chairwoman,

1:00:51that I have to physically go down there

1:00:53to the place because I can't get anyone

1:00:54on the phone. and I knock on the door

1:00:57and I talk to the the the person who's

1:00:59at the place. Not one time have I been

1:01:01down there, but I've been down there

1:01:02several times to help my citizens. So, I

1:01:04sit here at this table as an elected

1:01:06official and can't get the kind of

1:01:08assistance that I'd like to see. And so,

1:01:11that's the reason why I'm sharing with

1:01:12you here at the table that I don't know

1:01:14what you do because you don't serve my

1:01:16citizens. And I got a problem with that.

1:01:19when I give my citizens your number

1:01:22so that they can call to get legal

1:01:24assistance and they get nothingness and

1:01:27then I have to go all the way down there

1:01:29just to beg and plead to get assistance.

1:01:31Beg and plead to your attorneys to get

1:01:32assistance to help my citizens in my

1:01:35neighborhood in Cleveland. So, it would

1:01:38be nice to know, Madame Chairwoman, to

1:01:41the new director Tate, you know, exactly

1:01:43what it is that that this legal aid

1:01:47system is really providing the citizens

1:01:49of Lee Harbor One, southeast side, city

1:01:51of Cleveland. And are we the only people

1:01:53that you can't seem to assist

1:01:57>> to the councilman through the chair? I'm

1:01:59gonna let Miss Carter

1:02:00>> and I got a number of examples if you'd

1:02:03like to see them. I'm gonna let Miss

1:02:05Carter uh defend

1:02:07>> and I'll give you one of them in a

1:02:08minute.

1:02:10>> Okay. Sorry.

1:02:11>> I'm gonna let Miss Carter defend the the

1:02:14requirements of her program. Um but I

1:02:18assure you that it is the intent of the

1:02:21Department of Community Development and

1:02:23the City of Cleveland, the

1:02:24administration as a whole, that all of

1:02:26Cleveland's residents are served by that

1:02:28program. If you want to talk a little

1:02:30bit about

1:02:31>> Absolutely. I'm happy to to the to the

1:02:34councilman through the chair. Um I I

1:02:38hear you. We do not have enough

1:02:41resources to help everyone who needs us.

1:02:44The reality is that in our country, we

1:02:47do not fund civil legal aid to the

1:02:50extent that it needs to be funded. And

1:02:52nationally, only 8% of people who need a

1:02:56lawyer can get a lawyer because

1:02:58organizations like the Legal Aid Society

1:03:00of Cleveland do not have enough funding

1:03:03in general. This isn't my fault. This

1:03:06isn't the council's fault. This is a

1:03:08national problem and we experience it.

1:03:11So that so I have no doubt you all refer

1:03:15folks to us and we turn them away and I

1:03:18am sorry about that. It is due to a lack

1:03:22of resources for our system. That is in

1:03:25general. With regard to the right to

1:03:28counsel program,

1:03:30this body two councils ago passed the

1:03:34legislation creating the parameters for

1:03:36this program. To be eligible for the

1:03:38right to council, the family has to live

1:03:41in Cleveland, be faced with an eviction.

1:03:44So, have an eviction summons in

1:03:46Cleveland housing court, have a child in

1:03:49the household, and have income at or

1:03:52below 100% of the federal poverty

1:03:54guidelines. That those are the

1:03:56parameters established by this body. And

1:04:00those are the the parameters that we

1:04:02follow. If folks qualify, they get legal

1:04:07assistance from the Legal Aid Society of

1:04:10Cleveland because we don't have this

1:04:13year we had to cut um back in terms of

1:04:18how much uh money we could put into the

1:04:21program. Um so not everyone now gets a

1:04:25lawyer in court. Most people do, but

1:04:28they at the very least get advice, but

1:04:31most people get a lawyer in court. So,

1:04:33if folks qualify, they get legal

1:04:36assistance. Um, I will and I'm I'm

1:04:40regret that I did not do that this in

1:04:42advance of this meeting. Um, I will by

1:04:45next week make sure that every single

1:04:48member of council has the report which

1:04:50we do regularly about the the clients

1:04:54that we're serving in your ward in

1:04:56general and specifically with right to

1:04:59counsel. I can assure you that we serve

1:05:02tenants in every single ward. Um we, you

1:05:06know, we ask address, we don't ask what

1:05:08ward you're in uh when folks call. So,

1:05:11and um I'll uh you already receive our

1:05:14flyers for brief advice clinics, which

1:05:16we do throughout the city. Uh every

1:05:19month we have brief advice clinics.

1:05:21Folks can call us, they can go to a

1:05:23brief advice clinic. Um they can apply

1:05:26online. We have 247 folks can apply

1:05:29online. But I cannot tell you that when

1:05:33people call they will automatically get

1:05:35through because we have too many people

1:05:38to serve in this country in general and

1:05:41in Cleveland in particular. Um so I I

1:05:45will provide those uh reports to you and

1:05:48I'm more than happy to have a follow-up

1:05:50conversation one- on-one to hear

1:05:53concerns that you have and and I take

1:05:55your concerns very seriously.

1:05:56Councilman,

1:05:57>> I would also add to the councilman

1:05:59through the chair that if there are

1:06:01patterns of need that you are seeing in

1:06:04your community, I would encourage you to

1:06:05share those with the department of

1:06:07community development. We don't know

1:06:10these things necessarily unless you

1:06:12share them with us. And we do have

1:06:13capacity to build specific programs that

1:06:17serve specific wards and you have ward

1:06:19dollars that you can do that with. So,

1:06:21we're happy to have that conversation.

1:06:22>> Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, to Director

1:06:24Tate. Um, we had a situation and and

1:06:27it's disturbing to me because it wasn't

1:06:29the first time we had a situation like

1:06:31this. This is actually three different

1:06:33times where we had people who were being

1:06:35evicted out of their homes. And then we

1:06:38had a group of folks who were being

1:06:40evicted, over 40 people, and we had

1:06:43meetings and I tried to get one of your

1:06:45representatives to come down to one of

1:06:47our sessions and to no avail. And then

1:06:50we had all of these people who we have

1:06:52the developer who has come in and we

1:06:54we're going to have a press conference I

1:06:56think tomorrow about one another

1:06:58developer and the developer came in

1:07:00madam chairwoman and took over this

1:07:03location and decided to kick everybody

1:07:06out and in this particular instance they

1:07:10were living monthtomonth so they didn't

1:07:13have a lease agreement and they did this

1:07:14on purpose uh so that they could evict

1:07:17them out. So we tried to get to your

1:07:19people to get assistance and get help or

1:07:21get some assistance and help and to no

1:07:23avail. So the bulk of the people who

1:07:26were evicted was just tossed out on the

1:07:28street. They didn't even care. They were

1:07:30tossing people out who had cancer. They

1:07:32were tossing people out who was dying in

1:07:34their homes. Uh it was probably madam

1:07:37chairman one of the sickening things to

1:07:39see people who are actually in need and

1:07:42then we're paying uh for this service

1:07:44here at the table and then when I do

1:07:46actually need to to call upon them I get

1:07:49no help and that's the problem that I

1:07:51have madam chairwoman with these

1:07:53programs that we have sitting here at

1:07:55the table and we fund them. When our

1:07:57citizens in our respective territories

1:07:59need the assistance and we have funded

1:08:01these programs we don't get them. So I

1:08:04just wanted to express that here sitting

1:08:06at this end of the table that it's just

1:08:08not right. So if if you are allocating

1:08:11funds then maybe you should cut a piece

1:08:13off for the east side for southeast when

1:08:16we do call we do get some kind of legal

1:08:19assistance and right now the way I feel

1:08:21about how my people have been treated

1:08:23through legal aid at this point I may

1:08:25vote no on the on the on the majority of

1:08:27the floor and claim the floor to talk

1:08:29about how we as a citizens in Southeast

1:08:33have not been able to get any kind of

1:08:35legal assistance like we would like to

1:08:37see it as human beings on God's planet.

1:08:39And then I'd like to get the rag

1:08:41breakdown. So if you're telling me that

1:08:43you have to, and this is another problem

1:08:44that we have at this table. So you're

1:08:46telling me we have to be so broken, so

1:08:48completely devastated as a human being,

1:08:51then we can get your service. But it

1:08:53doesn't work for most Americans, and it

1:08:55certainly doesn't work for our citizens

1:08:57in our neighborhood. We have a lot of

1:08:58folks on fixed income. And $5, $2, Madam

1:09:02Chairwoman, means a whole lot. And when

1:09:04we come and we ask for services and we

1:09:06can't get it, we're upset about it. So

1:09:08when you see the passion at the end of

1:09:10this table, I truly represent the

1:09:12interest of my people. And that passion

1:09:14is coming out hitting you. You have to

1:09:16change this program. It has to be able

1:09:18to help everybody, especially those

1:09:20folks who are who are in desperate need

1:09:22and dying. And that's the problem. Madam

1:09:25Chairwoman, I yield the floor. I

1:09:27appreciate your consideration and time

1:09:28you have given me.

1:09:31>> Council Councilwoman Gray.

1:09:36>> Thank you, Chair. U I just want to say

1:09:39um um

1:09:42u director um do a fabulous job for my

1:09:47ward per se and for the citizens in uh

1:09:50war II. I know that um we had great

1:09:54outcome uh dealing with eviction uh

1:09:57notices and also with the team coming to

1:10:00uh the Morans group meeting also come to

1:10:03my meeting also to uh assist um uh every

1:10:08citizen uh that dealing with the tenant

1:10:10eviction uh situation um you know the

1:10:13outcome has been uh um uh superb.

1:10:18So I just want to share that with you.

1:10:20Well, I just have one or two questions.

1:10:22Um, uh, I am dealing with something that

1:10:26I was glad to see you, chair. I'm sorry,

1:10:28chair to the director. I was so happy to

1:10:30see you here because I was going to come

1:10:32down to legal aid today and talk to you

1:10:36about a situation with the Atlas

1:10:38building. I think uh uh uh Terrell I

1:10:43mean uh Catrell from uh um of um of um

1:10:49what's the what's the homeless center

1:10:52name? Um

1:10:54>> from Neoak

1:10:54>> Neoak.

1:10:55>> Yes, she's involved. She reached out to

1:10:59someone at Legal Aid and myself and we

1:11:02dealing with the Atlas situation.

1:11:05something similar to unfortunately what

1:11:08uh Councilman uh Jones had related to u

1:11:11of this uh um landlord is attempting to

1:11:14um uh raise the rent um on the tenants

1:11:18uh that he just took over due to the OFA

1:11:21agreement that was signed by him uh if

1:11:24you're aware of it per se. If not, I do

1:11:27want to go over that with you intensely.

1:11:29I just sent the email to uh Catrell and

1:11:32to get in touch with someone legal age

1:11:35and she was attempted to do that because

1:11:37we this is a serious situation that he's

1:11:40trying to um go to monthto month on

1:11:42these tenants and they are in a uproar.

1:11:45I got letters, emails, and we've been

1:11:47trying to work something out. But, uh,

1:11:49we both need to come to you to sit down

1:11:52to see if you're able to assist these

1:11:54tenants in the Atlas building so we can

1:11:57know exactly what their rights are

1:12:00versus what he is trying to do with the

1:12:02agreement that he received from the uh,

1:12:05OFA agreement that he received per se.

1:12:07And since that's not my expertise, I

1:12:10need expertise in the room before I even

1:12:13uh comment on this situation that we're

1:12:15dealing with. And that is on u in the in

1:12:18the Sabic Village area and the Athens

1:12:20buildings right there on 57th in

1:12:22Broadway. But I get the information to

1:12:25you. So I'm glad that when I saw you

1:12:27there, that's something that I just want

1:12:29to uh uh speak on, per se. But

1:12:32otherwise, um I could I just had one

1:12:35more question. chair uh uh um uh uh to

1:12:39this um to the right of council. You

1:12:42explained um thoroughly uh what what it

1:12:47covers, you know, does it cover anything

1:12:50else like it used to prior to only

1:12:53eviction notice chair to the director

1:12:55like um I know you said that you only do

1:12:58evictions, you know, do you do anything

1:13:00else other than that

1:13:02>> to the council woman through the chair?

1:13:04We at at Legal Aid, we do a lot more

1:13:07than evictions. The right to counsel

1:13:10only covers evictions and it only covers

1:13:13evictions for families with a child at

1:13:16or below 100%. Those are not our

1:13:18guidelines at Legal Aid. This is the

1:13:21city's guidelines that you have

1:13:22established for right to counsel. But at

1:13:25Legal Aid, we represent tenants in

1:13:28situations like you're explaining where

1:13:30there's a whole building issue,

1:13:32conditions issues,

1:13:33>> and then all sorts of other civil legal

1:13:36issues from access to uh income, public

1:13:40benefits, education, barriers to

1:13:43employment, lots of other issues. Um,

1:13:45and I would be happy to have my team sit

1:13:47down and talk to you about the building

1:13:49and see if there's anything we can do to

1:13:51help.

1:13:51>> Okay. All right. Thank you. Um,

1:13:54thank you chair. One more question. Uh,

1:13:56is it possible that I can come down

1:13:58today because this is urgent.

1:14:01>> Yes, it is.

1:14:02>> Okay. Okay. So, what's a good time? You

1:14:04know,

1:14:05>> um, I'll have somebody reach out to you.

1:14:06>> All right. Thank you. Thank you, chair.

1:14:08>> Thank you, Councilwoman. We have

1:14:10Councilman Bishop.

1:14:11>> Uh, thank you, Madam Chair Mo.

1:14:13Chairwoman. Uh, briefly, I just wanted

1:14:15to make a comment. Uh it seems like we

1:14:18have a mixed bag of um how people feel

1:14:20about the service provided by legal aid.

1:14:23But I just want to um express some of my

1:14:26frustrations. Uh I am not very confident

1:14:29when I uh have residents who need uh

1:14:33legal services to refer them to legal

1:14:35aid because of my experience

1:14:38um and my residents experience with not

1:14:41being able to get anybody on the phone

1:14:42like Councilman Jones said and just the

1:14:45lack of um um success that we had with

1:14:48legal aid. So, I just wanted to express

1:14:50that uh madam chairwoman um that uh you

1:14:54know we when we refer folks to um legal

1:14:57aid is because they are desperate and

1:14:59they're in vital need of some direction

1:15:01and some legal services. That's all.

1:15:03Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.

1:15:05>> Thank you for that. And you know,

1:15:07Colleen, maybe get in with every council

1:15:09member and kind of sharing some numbers

1:15:11and so that we could improve um process.

1:15:14And thank you, director, because if you

1:15:15don't know, you don't know what's going

1:15:17on. Councilman Hush,

1:15:20>> Madam Chair, to to uh Chief and Colleen,

1:15:23um perhaps when you send that report out

1:15:27again, uh make sure everybody gets the

1:15:30whole picture because I think my

1:15:33neighborhood has a smaller percentage of

1:15:34renters than most neighborhoods in

1:15:37Cleveland. I think I had a corresponding

1:15:38smaller number of people using services.

1:15:40So maybe this get make sure everybody

1:15:42gets the full picture of of who's

1:15:44getting access to the services so that

1:15:46we can see where that distribution is

1:15:47and knowing that some of it's based on

1:15:49where the renters live. I don't have a

1:15:51high density of renters so I think I

1:15:53have fewer uses of your of this

1:15:55particular program but we'll just

1:15:58request that when you share that

1:15:59information you share the citywide data

1:16:01with everybody as well.

1:16:02>> Absolutely.

1:16:02>> That would be helpful. Okay. So hearing

1:16:05no other questions. Ordinance number

1:16:061031-2026

1:16:08as amended stands approved. Please sign

1:16:12on.

1:16:13>> Yeah.

1:16:14>> Thank you.

1:16:14>> Thank you everyone. Um this concludes uh

1:16:18development planning and sustainability.

1:16:35>> [music]

1:16:42[music]