Hello. Heat. Tle again. Good afternoon. Welcome to today's public comment. As I call your name, you'll have two minutes to address council. Our first speaker is Ryan Saud. Welcome. >> Test. Um, usually I'm here for uh Palestine, but I kind of gave up on doing that. So, um, I'm going to follow, uh, Jeff Craraming's advice and, uh, focus on more local issues. I just came back from, uh, Phoenix two weeks ago, and the first thing that I went ahead and got on top of was, uh, shoveling my local sidewalk. And while I was doing that, I ran into a 12year-old um, uh, black boy named Tim. And Tim just wanted a dollar off me to go buy a honey bun from the bodega. And I told him, you know, I don't got money to give out like that, but you want to help me uh shovel, I'll buy you whatever you want. He lasted all of four minutes because it's freezing outside, but I still bought him his honey buns. And that's where our story begins. Um, exiting the bodega, Tim did nothing other than walk across the street, uh, to which the cops pulled him over, uh, blaring sirens, called in for backup. three more squad cars come in and they told him that we have a warrant out for your arrest. So he said, "F you. I don't have a warrant out." And they said, "We're arresting you for jaywalking, but because you want to say fu to the cops, we're going to arrest you um for civil disobedience." So they handcuffed Tim, put him in the car, and I just watched the police laugh as they drove off. 10 minutes passed by, Tim's back. So I said, "Tim, what happened?" and they said, you know, we were driving and uh they looked me up, didn't have a warrant, like I told them I didn't have a warrant. They pulled over, said, "Get out of the car." And I walked three blocks back in 0 degrees weather. So, um I'm here today at council just requesting when I leave and cross the street to get into my car and I jaywalk to do so, please arrest me unless the only thing that he committed was being black. Thank you, Taiisha Pates. Welcome. Hello, my name is Taiisha Fates. I'm here to address the um community council of the villages of Ro Hill. Um I've been actually trying to speak out for a very long time. I've been asking them to speak to the higher up with the villages of Ro Hill, but every time we speak out, we get retaliated. We get evictions. Our plumbings is nasty. We get rats and roaches. The feces coming out of our sinks, they don't do nothing. When we speak to legal aid, it seemed like they are in cahoots cuz they come out one day at a time. Like soon as you say something, they come out and try to hurry up and fix it before they come. On top of that, even when we got like community council, when we go speak to them, it's like they push me out of the meetings. They act like they want my opinion because I live in that community. But then when I speak out, it's like I'm getting pushed out or I'm being retaliated on. So when I spoke out to them today, they're actually having a meeting with the higherups in the FA. I asked to speak with them. They pushed me out of the meeting. They wouldn't let me speak or anything in that nature. On top of that, it's so much going on behind the scenes that they don't understand. But it's like, who do we speak to? Do we have a voice? Are they willing to hear it? Can we speak out? Who can we communicate over these people? Because there's no reason why we got to keep suffering in silence and everything is happening out loud. And at this point, I just really want to reach out and I'mma come back if I got to keep coming back to get some type of improvement or speak out. The elections they be having everything. We didn't even know about city council or community council until this year. They've been doing it for two years in the villages of Ro Hill. When we speak to them people, they had the elections. They have the elections late at night. No one's going to come to those meetings. It's like it's a it's like it's already in cahoots already. They don't even let us know when it's the meetings to even speak to come vote. Um they got people winning off of four votes to be the president of the can. That's that's inadequate. But I'll be back next week if it for more time. Great. >> Thank you, Stanford Pool. Welcome. If we talk about corruption, this most of these people came up when they were elected, they said they going to stop the corruption and they have not. They add to it. You have PG pastor Bernard taking money and they were sitting city council people and scamming one black man. And I know that you didn't like him and uh you found a way to uh the FBI got them in jail and they needed to go longer. And then so if we look at this stuff here, the housing court here, we got 16 judges. Cranley went down and asked for a housing court and they they voted. 16 14 said no to create habit. And y'all know that this steal property from poor neighborhood. When your um law department and building department said we go to the poor neighborhood and we write them up and then we tell them to give us the title to their property. That's stealing. And nobody on this panel did nothing. We went to people for help, told them ahead of time, and they turned their head. They got their paycheck every two weeks and their benefits and that's all that count. And then here you went and got a whole bunch of rich guys and y'all were elected to make decision. So you went and got a whole bunch of people from Indian Hill and Amily Village and uh uh Westchester to make the decision to sell the airport where they got their planes and y'all sit there and look in the mirror and supposed to be men and women to take care of what you say you gonna do. You just got in there. I'm g listen to the people. I'm gonna do this and that. And you ain't doing nothing but getting a paycheck and taking care of your own stuff. Had the mayor call me a liar. He had this man here told me to get out of his office. Those these position is ours. The people. >> Paul Bean. Welcome. Ain't nothing changed in my life since I've been coming down in this Black History Month. So what what we had to do since black's getting ren over like that. I think you know you just put that convention center up, right? You you got this painting out here on the on the ground is getting ren over. So black lives don't matter because you know the paint getting ran over. So we want to put it on the convention center. It's brand new. Why not put it on there? You know, are you going to put it on city hall? Cuz we ain't getting no justice in the city. We got to have something that look like stuff. That painting getting ran over that that looks ridiculous out there. And this happens to us. We're used to it. So where we get justice at? I've been coming down here. I got I come up here with a ticket. Ain't a ain't got no use to it. Been in an accident ain't get no justice from it. Where do peace and love come from? This ain't making no sense. We asked for come down here with with a million problems and this ain't got nothing to do with color no more cuz everybody having problems but we having the most. So we want that that paint out there that's in front of the courthouse in front of city hall. We want that on the convention center. It look good. It it really would. Yeah. Are you going to put down stat city? All right, one or two. Cuz we ain't getting no respect. We ain't getting no justice. So what we have Black History Month for it don't make sense. We still going through the stuff is only thing you doing is just building a city. Justice stands nowhere. You see it? I I don't see it. It's not this. You're not making a change nowhere in this city since you've been back since you've been voted back in. I've been coming down here for 3 years for this same problem and it it don't add up. >> Stefan Prior, welcome. >> Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I'm down here to advocate for the ones that lost their homes, their property up under the receiverhip. Y'all need to do something about that. This is the Danny Clinger from Otr Adopt Anna Albby when he came down here. >> Danny Cling Clingler, welcome Danny. You have two minutes. >> Okay, I hear. >> You know my name, Mr. Mayor. Sorry about that. It's okay. My name is Danny Clingler. I am here to set the record straight on something. Um, I got uh word from a council member's aid that that Stefon Prior was passing out flyers that are spreading misinformation about a property that we're involved with and over the Rine 1600 block. I have known Stefon. I thought we were friendly with each other. I just >> This what he said. I'm the founder executive director of otr adopt. We've been we've been uh working for 5 years to try to take the property that was abandoned for 30 years and collapsing. We have invested 200,000 in that property. The previous owner had tried to tried for 30 years and had no other resources to do anything with it. When we finally was involved was was after in the years of trying to contact him and it was after years of trying to uh find him. But by the way, this is 1649 Vine Street. Finally, we went through court procedure to intervene with the property and pointed to the owner was deceased and have been working with his daughter and her husband and they're now investors in the project and we gave them equity. That's a damn lie. No, they didn't. He's lying. If you took you was working for 5 years to take this property, how the hell you trying to get them in uh uh uh be investors in the project? And he lied and said he got $200,000 in a vacant building. $200,000. That building should be brand new. So this receiverhip they keep doing y'all y'all need to end that. That's wrong. They making up these invoices. That's wrong. And they got resources to help them from Greater Cincinnati Foundation United Way. That's dirty what they doing. Hiko Kamura. Welcome. The genocide in Gaza has slowed, but it still continues. The Israeli military has attacked Gaza almost every single day of the ceasefire, whether by bombing or shooting Palestinians. Less than half of the needed aid has been allowed to enter Gaza, and essential foods like meat, dairy, and vegetables have been blocked from entering. The majority of food being let in is chips, candy, and soda. Items useless to people who have been systematically starved for two years. Vital medication is also banned, causing the cross causing the mass deaths of people with chronic conditions and injuries sustained during the genocide. It continues in the West Bank as well, where settlers and the Israeli army work alike to attack, kill, and drive out Palestinians from their land. Last week in Jericho, the Israeli military stormed the city and indiscriminately shot Palis shot Palestinians. Sed Nael al-Shik was killed by Israeli gunfire and a young woman was injured after being run over by an Israeli military vehicle. There were over 1,872 such attacks by the military and connalists recorded this January alone in the West Bank. The systematic killing of Palestinians is continuing and the US taxpayer continues to fund it. US military aid to Israel has topped $21 billion from October 2023 to September 2025. The Trump administration announced two weeks ago that they would bypass Congress to send $6.5 billion of weapon to the Israeli military, $3.8 billion worth of Apache attack helicopters, $1.98 billion worth of joint light tactical vehicles, and the rest in Koalaite helicopters and power packs. $6.8 billion dollars of the US taxpayer money being laundered into tools of genocide. This must end. Divest Cincinnati now. Thank you. >> Thank you. Moving to Zoom. Mike Ullehorn. >> Mike, can you hear me? >> Oh, go ahead, Mike. >> There you are. Great. Well, I'm back. uh this time since I'm approaching well I'm probably right at the 2-year anniversary since I found out that the Greater Cincinnati Waterworks was stealing money from me and other people across the greater Cincinnati area. I thought I would review things. So in end of November of 2023, I purchased a house in Forest Park. It had no water turned on. All the utilities have been turned off. It had sat vacant for more than 3 years. And I couldn't turn the water on right away because it couldn't I had to repair the electric and the furnace before I could turn the water on or the pipes would freeze. So two months later at the beginning of February, I contacted the waterworks to have the water turned on after the repairs were complete on the electric and furnace. They turned the water on and within about a week I received a phone call or an automated message saying that my payments were passed due. At which point I contacted them and said, "How can I have payments last due when you just turned the utility on? You had it turned off at the meter for more than 3 years." At which point they explained to me that they charge a monthly base rate for providing absolutely nothing other than just being ready to provide something and people having access to it. They're the only utility that does that because of course they are the only utility that has an absolute monopoly and is controlled by a corrupt government agency, the city of Cincinnati. Now, I had no idea when I bought a house in the city of Forest Park that I would be held to the laws of another city, the city of Cincinnati. And in fact, Forest Park just states that it doesn't have any requirement for somebody who's not desiring the public water service to comps of greater Cincinnati or the city of Cincinnati, the greater Cincinnati Waterworks or city of Cincinnati. So, I don't understand why they charged me. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Jonathan Norton. Welcome. ICE has opened a new office in Columbus, quietly signaling that the crimes they have been allowed to commit will continue against our neighbors, showing that a judge's ruling means nothing. Trump will try again until he gets the answer he wants. Because it isn't morality or justice that guides this administration, it is revenge. Revenge against 5-year-olds ordered to be released. Revenge against peaceful green card holders speaking out against genocide. revenge against innocent people that make our communities better. Innocent people like the 70% of ICE detainees held in Butler County with no criminal record. This surveillance tech pro proliferating through our country is all being used in surveillance or in service of this Gestapo force. Systems like Flock, Axon, and Fouseus, all backed by Epstein associates and Dreon and Horowitz. Systems this city rushed to offer more than $30 million to under the guise of protection. These systems offer their data to ICE. Cameras installed for school security instead being weaponized to target children. Nothing new for this nation. There is no age spared of its cruelty. Like 18-month Amalia, whose family legally migrated here from Venezuela in 2024, but then was abducted at a routine check-in. A toddler that had to be hospitalized for 10 days before she was forced back into the concentration camp where her medication was confiscated. Similar to the treatment of Laka Cordia, suffering a seizure from her abuse and then forced back into detention where she has been for almost a year for the crime of writing at genoc writing about genocide. It is our taxes and democratic collaboration that enables this violence to continue here and abroad. The internationally prohibited weapons we send to Israel to evaporate Palestinians. The illegal blockade and sanctions forced on Cuba to starve an entire population. When does your humanity force you to act? Will you wait until it's one of our Haitian neighbors forced through the same abuse? Will you wait until it's one of our fellow Cadians gunned down for speaking out against this? You can read the words of children locked in these camps. You can hear the voice of children murdered in Gaza. You should all feel our shared humanity rising in you. Take action. Commit local law enforcement not to work with ICE. Promise prosecution. End these contracts that only serve to harm. And divest from all those complicit in genocide and apartheid. Thank you. It's now 1:49. We'll stand in recess until 2 p.m. when we begin the business portion. Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. N. Number Heat. Heat. Hey, I'm Hello. Wow. I am. Round two. He's coming. Good afternoon. We will now begin today's business portion of Cincinnati City Council and the clerk will please call the role. >> Council member Jeff >> here. Council member Johnson, Vice Mayor Kernney >> here, >> Council Member Nolan >> here, Council Member Owens >> here, >> Council Member Walsh >> here, >> Council Member Albi >> here, >> Council Member Kramering >> here, >> Council Member James >> here. >> Please stand for a moment of silence. And now the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. The minutes from the previous meeting will be approved and filed without objection. Hearing none, they'll be approved and filed. Moving to our agenda item one. Uh we will now recognize Council Member Walsh. Recognizing Mark Riley, director of the Department of Public Services and his teams and expressing the appreciation of the mayor and the council of the city of Cincinnati for Director Riley and the Department of Public Services commitment to keeping the roads of Cincinnati safe during the 2026 January snowstorm. Mr. Walsh. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Director Riley and your team. if you guys would like to come up here. And by like I mean we're going to force you all up here cuz I know everyone always tries to avoid this. Welcome guys. Thanks for getting the heat fixed outside. It's been I know it's been down the last couple weeks here. Um, let me start by saying I'm sure all my colleagues in the mayor join me me in this. Uh, the the agenda says just from council member Walsh. It's from all of council and the mayor here. I apologize. There was some administration snafu. I'm going to read this real quick and then director Riley, we'd love to give you an opportunity to thank everyone and and acknowledge all the hard work. But um just on behalf of the city of Cincinnati, we are so proud of the work you guys have done the last couple weeks as we've taken on these large snowstorms and the incredible um colds that have been keeping us down here. So, uh this is recognizing Mark Riley, director of the Department of Public Services and his team and expressing the appreciation of the mayor and the council of the city of Cincinnati for their commitment to keeping the roads in Cincinnati safe during the 2026 January snowstorms. The city of Cincinnati experienced a significant weather event in January of 2026 where the city received the most snow in a single day since 2010 and that brought heavy snowfall and hazarded road road conditions across the city. And the Department of Public Services snow removal team took proactive measures prior to the onset of the stage onset of the storm including pre-treating roadways, staging equipment, and preparing personnel to respond quickly and effectively. And under the leadership of Director Mark Riley, Department of Public Services employees worked extended hours, overnight shifts, and weekends to plow, salt, and clear city streets, bridges, and major thoroughares to ensure safe travel for residents and emergency responders. The department coordinated effectively with other city departments and regional partners to prioritize critical routes, public safety access, and neighborhood street neighborhood streets throughout the duration of the storm and the and the following days. and the dedication, professionalism, and teamwork dedic demonstrated by the Department of Public Services resulted in improved road conditions and enhanced public safety during the challenging winter storm event. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Cincinnati, state of Ohio, that the mayor and this council hereby recognize Director Mark Riley and the Department of Public Services team for their commitment to keeping the roads of Cincinnati safe during the January 2026 snowstorm. Guys, thank you. Congratulations. Um I I want to say within 36 hours you guys had 95% of the streets taken care of and cleared. That is a remarkable feat and it's because of your leadership and your dedication out there and it did not go unnoticed. So thank you for joining us today. Um and everyone please join me in a round of applause to these guys. Director Riley, um I'm going to give you the microphone. You can address this way. There's a camera up here. Or you can dress council and the mayor's call. >> Good afternoon. So, first of all, I want to thank the mayor, city manager, council members, and everyone part of the city leadership team, but most importantly, I want to thank the Department of Public Services, everyone that's standing here, but the guys who are in the field, the guys and the girls, I don't think they get enough credit. They're away from their families. They're I'm sorry. This is a great team and I just want to say thank you. >> We're going to turn around now. Uh council and the mayor are going to say some really nice words about you guys if you want to turn around to face them. >> Thank you, Mr. Walsh. And congratulations uh Dr. Director Riley and to your entire team. We'll now take uh comments from council. Go ahead, Vice Mayor. >> Thank you. Um you all are amazing. Uh so uh one of the one of the stories I read said in downtown alone on one day you all cleared 200 pounds of snow. I I'm like this is this is pretty incredible. But I love the way um Mr. Riley uh you you updated the tech so that we you know we could know where the issues were. You could address them. Uh you had so many trucks out there. I think more than 65 trucks maybe more. um you just kept it moving all the pre-treatment that that went on because people said how did they get this done and I said well they've been working on it you know days maybe a week before the snow even came you were out there making sure the streets were ready and what you were saying about um our you know men and women sacrificing time with their families working long hours and horrible conditions where nobody wants to be outside really means a lot. So, you all are really rock stars and and we are so proud. You made our city so proud and just thank you so much. >> Thank you, Mr. Jeff. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Mr. Walsh, for bringing this forward. I think all of us know that a lot of people complain when things don't go right. uh and the amount of compliments that people just randomly gave I think all of us on how well this was done. Um it's very rare that people compliment things that just kind of happen in the background, you know, and I they just assume happened. But so thank you. Thank you uh to all of the men and women who to the point, you know, you're away from your family while we're safe inside our homes and relaxing and you guys are out there. So really appreciate it. into Director Riley and first the administration. Thank you to Cheryl for an amazing hire. Uh and then for ACM Bailey and her leadership as well uh because it definitely takes team Cincy uh to do it. But director Riley appreciate not only your results but even just hearing you now you you clearly care about your people and I think that just instills incredible loyalty and admiration. So I appreciate all of your personal leadership. Thank you, >> Miss Albby. Uh, thank you, Council Member Walsh, for doing this. I know all of us uh co-signed this because it's truly remarkable. I I'm going to echo some of what is said, but I was literally at a community council meeting last night and I got plenty of critical feedback on other topics, but they were sure to tell me, "Hey, the city did an amazing job clearing the street, the snow off the streets." And that has truly been the reaction across the board when I've gone places talking to uh friends, not friends, strangers, people who have been like, "The city really picked up the game this year." And those are long shifts. Those 12 hours out straight and you because you are the ones plowing the streets, the conditions aren't great for you, so you have to make the conditions great for us. Um it's just truly remarkable. It took a lot of work. Thank you to the administration. I agree. like this was a concerted effort starting from the top um throughout the entire organization to to make this difference and our residents are really grateful and I think at the end of the day that's what we can hope for. So thank you >> Miss Owens. >> Thank you. Um I am so incredibly proud of the city for where what we have accomplished truly. I will echo the praises of what it took to get here. This to me has been the best example of what innovation, teamwork and leadership looks like. First of all, yes to the city manager led by the direction of ACM Bailey to do the deep dive last summer. I'm sure that took working with you all. Yes, director Riley being in position and bringing innovation into this space, but that also meant you all had to learn new things along the way. And in transition and culture change, learning new things is not always easy. So, I thank you for being adaptable, for showing up, for doing the work. When I hear about 12-hour shifts, I thank you. and the city of Cincinnati. Thanks you. This has been remarkable, outstanding, and I can't wait to see where we go from here. >> Further comments, Mr. Kmer? >> Thank you, Mayor, and and thank you the entire team. It was great as I I did have a a media request during the middle of this the snowstorm and and they said, "Have you gotten any negative complaints?" And I said, "No, I have not." Which was true. So, for a city this size, for an elected official not to get any complaints with something, and then I wanted to to pass on a a a positive highlight, and I've sent this to the manager as well, so she's got it, and probably director Riley, too. But, uh, this is from a citizen. Thanks to the public works detail that happened to be at the corner of Elizabeth and Central this morning at 7:55, they got out of the truck and pushed my mom's car so she could get out of the snow and reach her job at the nursing home. So that's just the tremendous human impact that your work has. So thank you, >> Mr. Nolan. >> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Walsh, for bringing this forward, Director Riley, uh for for the effort you've made leading this team. Um I I do want to point out, you know, a year ago, we had a snowstorm where the response uh wasn't adequate. Uh it was a rare event. It exposed a lot of weaknesses in in the systems and the processes that we have. and our leadership team with uh city manager and assistant city manager Bailey stepped up, took responsibility, and said, "We're going to do this better. We're going to do this right the next time around." And to do a complete 180, I mean, to echo what everyone else has said, we got a lot of complaints last year. I got nothing but compliments this year. That is fantastic. Um when everyone else is hunkered down at home in a snowstorm, uh this team literally goes out and faces that storm and makes our city a better place for everybody else. So, thank you, >> Mr. James. >> Thank you all so much for coming today. And uh I just want you to know that, you know, I I'm probably beating the dead horse here, but uh you you represent promises delivered and kept to the people of Cincinnati. You know, it was my I believe my second week on Cincinnati City Council, and I know that my colleagues had lovingly shared with me that um you know, a snowstorm is going to be a tough time for communications because there's a lot of tough questions answered um and a and a lot to learn very very fast. And I was just astonished, similar to um Council Member Crane sentiments, that I checked my email in the morning and I had too um and uh and uh and and everything that I've heard since was just so positive about our city seizing control of an unprecedented snowstorm and leading the way. Uh thank you so much to our team of assistant city managers. Thank you to our city manager, Cheryl Long. I don't even want to know what you all had to do to get this done because I will because I will tell you I'm this is not the case for for cities across Ohio. So, thank you for leading the charge. Uh, going off um council member Owen's point of just driving innovation, thank you so much for whatever you had to do to adapt this situation. I know we've thrown dollars at this. We've thrown technology and innovation ideas at this, but we've threw a whole lot of uh of manh hours into this. So, thank you for your commitment and thank you uh for working for the people of this city because uh it's rare we all get to have a universal moment of celebration and you have certainly created one, especially in a time of crisis. So, thank you so much. Miss Alvie, back to you. >> Yeah, and I just want to add, sorry, Director Riley, I meant to say this before. You knew this was going to be a hard job coming in. First time we sat down, you said you watched all the city cable recordings of what happened last year. And it is truly remarkable that you watched all of that and still said, "I want that job and I'm going to make it better." So, thank you. I wanted to give you some shine there because that's truly remarkable. Thank you, >> President Johnson. >> Thank you, uh, Mayor. Uh, to the men and women of the DPS, thank you. It's already all been said. Thank you for caring about this city. Thank you for taking your job seriously. Uh and to the administration. Um once again, thank you. Thank you for the amazing choice that you made as the for the director of DPS. Greatly appreciate that. And to Mr. Rally Ru. Uh, city manager Long, I'm sorry to put you on the spot, but uh, wanted to give you an opportunity to to weigh in. >> Thank you, Mayor. Look, um, it was a lot of hard work, and I can recognize that when we get the right leadership team, we get the right people, we get the right resources, we have an amazing supportive team that I have, we had ACM Weber looking at OPDA, we had Kathy Bailey in the front with public services. I had my comm's team. This was a multi- department. All the departments that rallied around together, MSD, public services, GCWW, everyone said, "We're going to get this right. We gave you all those resources and you all activated and you showed out and you showed up." That is impactful. That is amazing. And that shows what team cincy can do when we all are rolling in the right direction. all those small things that we're doing with site initiative with performance-based budgeting. This is all this stuff that comes into play and our city is amazing because of that. We're recruiting, we're hiring director Riley Kane because he wanted to bet on us. He saw what we were be building. And so I would say to the people of Cincinnati that we have a great team. As long as the resources are there and we have a great council in addition to mayor given those things, we can do great we amazing things. And I appreciate you all because I was stressed. I was nervous. We all were. But you activated, you executed, and you made Cincinnati a better place during a very terrible time when people are trying to navigate and get to work. Great job. I appreciate you greatly. Thank you. >> Thank you. I think it speaks volumes how much uh pride we have for your work. Um how grateful we are um for the sacrifice. Public service is a sacrifice and that's true for a lot of different departments in the city, but it's particularly true for public services uh doing hard work um under unfair conditions um with a high amount of scrutiny. It's um it's only for the bold and for the truly devoted public servants. And I I can't say enough just how grateful that we are that you chose this profession. um that you continue to challenge yourself to improve um and so grateful for Director Riley's leadership um to not just uh find a different path but also to inspire all of you to buy in to that vision. Thank you all so much. Roll call on adoption of of the resolution please. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. Yes. Council member Nolan. >> Yes. >> Council member Owens. >> Yes. >> Council member Walsh. >> Yes. >> Council member Albby. >> Yes. >> Council member Kramering. >> Yes. >> Council member James. >> Yes. >> It passes. >> Congratulations. >> I know. Yeah. Please. We want to take a picture with with all of you. Um, but we have one more resolution um to pass and then we'll meet you in the uh just in front of the stairs out in the foyer for a picture. Congratulations again. Item number two, we'll now recognize council member Owens. Recognizing Ryan Mooney Bullock and expressing the appreciation of the mayor and the council of the city of Cincinnati for Miss Mooney Bullock's service as executive director of Green Umbrella, Greater Cincinnati's region climate collaborative, and the amount of work she has undertaken personally and professionally to make Greater Cincinnati more climate driven. >> Yes. Thank you, Ryan. Oh, I'm so happy to see you. Thank God for my my colleagues that help me out. So first of all, it takes partnership and teamwork on many levels to make this city move forward. One of which are our partners like you externally that help to uh you know make us reach the highest the highest goals right to to swing big to reach for the stars all of the things central to the green Cincinnati plan the bold audacious goals. You all have been at the center of that green umbrella. you as a person, Ry Ryan, you know, when I joke and say I've, you know, I get to hang with the climate avengers of Cincinnati, Ryan is definitely at the top of the list. And so I thank you for uh your commitment personally, professionally to making sure we are living a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable uh Cincinnati. And so it is bittersweet because she's leaving Green Umbrella, but she's certainly going on to doing great things in this space. And so for those of us that don't know what Green Umbrella does, it's a 10 county, they serve 10ount region with 188 individual jurisdictions, including all 49 in Hamilton County to basically build resilience and sustainability. uh you have been at the center of the IRA and uh regionalizing climate action plans and all of the things and uh bringing our other partners OKI and everyone else together and that's how we get to action. That's how we get to impact. And so she's been in this role uh for eight and a half years and has worked in this field for 26 years. Uh during that time you've quadrupled the staff and launched eight new programs. You've moved Green umbrella from a regional sustainability alliance to a regional climate collaborative. During your tenure, you also helped to just uh really uh the Midwest Regional Sustainability Conference has doubled in attendance and welcoming brilliant minds from all over to the Midwest uh right here in our our Queen City. You also fostered a network of over 55 talented staff and intern alumni, including my chief of staff. Thank you, David, for your plug. Um, including my chief of staff who who is uh who came from Green umbrella before joining my office. And so now we it's with, you know, a bittersweet uh moment. Uh, but we know that as the executive director of the Gorman Heritage Farm in Eendelle, you will continue to build upon the seeds that you have planted here in Cincinnati and our region will just continue to get better because of your work. So, thank you, Ryan, so much. >> Absolutely. All right, you get to say words. Thank you. Well, thank you all um so much for this recognition and ultimately for your deep partnership and commitment to the issues that Green Umbrella is all about um over the past decades. It has been such a privilege to work closely with the city of Cincinnati through not only designing the Green Cincinnati engagement process and shephering those goals, but also helping to implement it. Um, I have to say one of my proudest moments in the last few years has been, well, two things related to the city of Cincinnati. One, um, Cincinnati public schools has blossomed in its attention to green schoolyards and green workforce development, and that has a huge part to do with the city's investment in these issues and your prioritization of getting kids outside. um not only so they can grow like kids should grow in outdoor environments, but so they can get connected to these issues which will create the environmental champions and climate avengers of the future and amazing employees um and residents here in Cincinnati. Uh and second um Mayor AFTAB during your first term um you started using this language that I was just so excited to hear you say around we are going to put everything we do through the lens of climate and equity. And I just want to encourage all of you to continue to lead from that perspective. Um to make bold moves as we move the city forward into the future because these issues are not going to go away and Cincinnati is very well positioned now if it can maintain the momentum um and commitment to this work. Thank you. >> Thank you. Congratulations, council members. Vice Mayor, >> thank you. Uh Council Member Owens, let me start by by thanking you. um you partnered with Green umbrella. Um really you put uh Green Cincinnati on the map. Uh we won a national award for the Green Cincinnati plan. Um everybody looks at our plan as a model and it's thanks to to the leadership really of both of you. So thank you so much. I know you've been executive director for Green Umbrella for eight years, but you've been there about 16 years I think and >> involved in different ways, >> right? and uh your leadership is just phenomenal. You know, we we look at what you've done here, but you've done that work across at least 10 counties and so that is really phenomenal. You've made a huge difference. Uh I know that uh Gorman Heritage Farms is so happy to get you, but your work, your legacy will continue as we keep pushing forward with with the Green Cincinnati plan. So, you've really made um huge changes here in Cincinnati and so thank you for that. We're really grateful. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Johnson. >> Thank you. The vice mayor said it all. Congratulations and enjoy retirement. >> Miss Albby, >> uh, thank you, Council Member Owens, for this. Brian, congrats. I got to celebrate with you a little bit briefly last night, and it was truly my pleasure. I think you know everyone said it that the work you've done on green Cincinnati plan but I think also the the culture you have in instilled around these issues. I it is also it's always a quite the reflection of a leader to work with an organization and every single person in Green umbrella that I've worked with has been uh eager to help uh intellectually curious and just some of the most supportive people and and some of the first when I was uh the new Beyond Council to reach out and say hey we hear you care about food come join us we got something for you and you have welcomed me with open arms uh helped educate me given space to talk about this issue uh and the resources to really follow through own policy. I was talking your ear off talking shop last night even about it. So, thank you so much for this. I know you're going to continue to do amazing things and we're always here for the next thing. So, reach out anytime. >> Mr. Jeff. >> Yeah. Thank you, uh, Councilwoman Owens, uh, for bringing this forward. Uh, Ryan, thank you for all of your leadership. I think it's been said, but just to put a finer point on the Green Cincinnati plan, like 88 recommendations, we as a city can't implement them by ourselves. like we absolutely need partners especially Green umbrella and uh you have been formative in making sure that that work actually gets done versus us just saying it should happen um and so thank you for that also thank you it's also mentioned uh the regional climate plan like it's easier to get a plan and get people around who all agree uh our region is very diverse uh different perspectives on the importance of climate and what it means and so the work that you did through OKI on that I think was really remarkable remarkable and important because we as a city are only going to achieve our climate goals. We don't live in a bubble if our region also goes uh with us. So, thank you for all of your leadership and best of luck. >> Mr. James, >> Ryan, thank you so much, not not only for your tremendous name, but your tremendous commitment to community. Um, you know, I I I'm new here. You're getting probably getting a chance to meet me, but I'm already a fan. Now, I will say that uh one thing that I think that you and your organization does fantastic is um uh drawing alignment between equity outcomes in our community and sustainability outcomes in our community. I think that's uh you know, walking as a new council member, referencing council member Alfie's point, being being the newbie. We both came in in circumstances where we were kind of the the new person alone. Uh it's it's it's a tough landscape because we have such fantastic leaders solutioning towards better and brighter for our futures. and uh Council Member Owens, want to commend you as well. It's a thrill to be on in your side car as vice chair on the climate committee. I want to shout out to uh Council Member Jeff and Mayor AFTB as well. Thank you for all of your commitments. But Ryan, um I uh I I you know, I'm a new entrant to the sustainability space and helping our region solution towards brighter outcomes. Uh but I will say I'm uh more than familiar with uh the situation some of our communities most vulnerable are in. And I will say that um seeing these two pieces come together are fantastic and we can't get anything done without our stakeholders outside of this organization. So thank you for being a leader in community and a leader in ideas. So thank you so much. Thank you. I'll add my congratulations and also it's bittersweet to to see you go, but thank you so much. Your your legacy um of inspiring a new generation of of climate avengers and champions um is is well respected and well documented. Uh, good luck to you in your next endeavor and uh, we'll we'll be sad to see you go. Congrats. Roll call on passage of the resolution, please. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> It passes. >> Congratulations. Okay, it's now 2:27. Uh, we'll take a 5m minute recess to uh take a picture. We'll be back at 2:32. Mr. We're now back in session. Items 3 through nine are as indicated. Item 10 will be referred to Youth and Human Services. Items 11 and 12 are as indicated. Item 13 is the appointment of Sarah M. Kent to the Environmental Advisory Board. Roll call and confirmation of the appointment, please. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Items 14 through 56 are as indicated. Item 57 is a motion from the vice mayor that since that city council support the $87 million Brent Bernett Square project that includes approximately 300 mixed income residential units as well as retail units by commit by committing to working with the administration to find the needed resources left by the unexpected gap in the capital stack. This is in budget and finance. Mr. Kmerding, may I have the vice mayor introduce this item? >> Yes. Thank you, mayor. Vice Mayor, >> thank you. And thank you to um all of my colleagues. Everyone has um supported this project that's very important to the Aendale community and also uh to the city of Cincinnati. So, um this project by Steiner and Associates uh is almost 300 residential units, mixed income. Uh in addition, uh there's retail space, there's um for for retail and and for restaurants and an incubator space. Uh so it's it's um and it's on Bernard Avenue. So it's called Bernardet Square. And as you know, this is an area um that uh the Cincinnati Herald started uh developing several years ago and it's kind of been dormant since, but now it's coming back to life. And so this development is very important. Um, Steiner, as you know, has developed about um 9 million square feet of mixeduse u development totaling more than $5 billion in gross asset value uh including the Eastn Town Center that many of you have visited in Columbus. And so we're excited that they're here and um really excited that they're partnering partnering with a minority development firm here in Cincinnati, Civotas. So, we're all invested in making sure this project happens. Uh, as we discussed in budget and finance, there's a a a small capital uh gap. And, um, what this motion is doing is asking the administration to work with this developer uh, with support of council and closing that gap so that the project can move forward. >> Thank you. Further comments? Roll call on adoption of the motion, please. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Ali, >> yes. >> Council member Kramerine, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Item 58, first reading, please. An emergency ordinance adopting a council code of conduct pursuant to section 101-45 code of conduct of the Cincinnati Municipal Code to govern conduct by council members and their staff. >> Roll call and suspension. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Karnney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albi, >> yes. >> Council member Karing, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Mr. Mr. Kmerding. >> Mayor, I'll defer to my colleague, Council Member Owens. >> Miss Owens, >> thank you. Yes, this is our third time uh uh passing our code of conduct, which is central to I believe you know how people see trust coming out of this building and our behavior matters. The only update from in this third time is that our staff are also guided by the same policies as uh city employees. >> Further comments? Roll call on passage, please. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramer, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Emergency. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. Council member James. >> Yes. Item 59, first reading, please. >> An ordinance authorizing the city manager to apply for, accept, and appropriate a grant grant of up to $15,000 from the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers to support the city of Cincinnati Primary Care's participation in the tobacco cessation pro project. >> Roll call and suspension. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. Council member Aldi, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Mr. Kramering, >> this was a grant designed to uh prevent tobacco use. Thank you to the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers. >> Further comments. >> Roll call and passage, please. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Item 60, first reading, please. >> An ordinance authorizing the city manager to apply for, accept, and appropriate a grant of up to $112,790 for the fiscal year 2025, Ohio Drug Law for Law Enforcement Fund through the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Services. >> Roll call and suspension. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Mr. Kramering, >> this grant is specifically for drug law enforcement and it comes from the Ohio Department of Public Safety. So, thank you to the state of Ohio. >> Further comments. >> Roll call on passage. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. Item 61, first reading, please. >> A legislative resolution declaring the necessity of assessing for the control of blight and disease of shade within the public rightway and for planning, care maintenance trimming and removing shade trees in and along the streets of the city of Cincinnati Urban Forestry Maintenance District for calendar year 2027. >> Roll call and suspension. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. Mr. Kramering, >> mayor, this is a multi-step process that we go through annually. This is the first step. Uh, the city has a very small frontage assessment that we charge property owners. That money goes to the maintenance of the trees in the rightway and helps our tree canopy. It's been a very successful program. and the parks department that runs it uh has not asked for an increase in several years. So, we thank them for their uh use of uh of our city resources and a great program. >> Further comments, >> Mr. Mayor, >> Mr. Jeff. >> Yeah, just to add to that, this is a really hallmark uh program for our city going back decades. And it's why we have more tree canopy coverage in Cincinnati than any city other than Atlanta, which is really remarkable. Uh and why it matters is because we know by neighborhood some neighborhoods have more than others. There's a 10 degree difference that affects people's health. It affects people's wallets because of the cost of electricity. Uh it is a really meaningful uh issue and the fact that we have this program helps avoid a lot of those challenges and is one of the great things that makes the city so wonderful. So, thank you to all the urban forestry people in the parks for all of their work. >> Thank you. Further comments? Roll call and passage, please. Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albi, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Item 62, first reading, please. >> An emergency ordinance amending ordinance numbers listed, each as may have been amended previously, to extend the term of the city's tax increment financing districts for an additional 15 years pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code section 5709.40. 40 L. >> Roll call and suspension. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Mr. Kramering. >> Yeah, Mayor, this is extending the TIFF the TIFF district, the tax increment financing district. This is a tool that the state grants us. It's one of our most important tools for economic development. This ordinance specifically is extending the tiff districts. We thank uh ACM Weber and all the administration for their work negotiating with site public schools uh to to make sure that uh these tiffs are generating development but also that uh are treating our public school partnersh. Uh as we talked about in in committee, I think this has definitely been a pri a priority of council. We talk about housing. We talk about economic development being a priority. the tiff districts are an important tool and also recognizing that that uh the tiffs have worked exceptionally well in some neighborhoods. Uh in other neighborhoods they have not and in other neighborhoods there's not tiff districts. So it'll be an ongoing part of the larger conversation. Council member Walsh has got uh is asking for a report on the subject. As I said the vice mayor has been very active talking about neighborhoods where there it's not as much as development as we as we like. So we look forward to continuing this conversation with the uh administration and with each other. Further comments, Miss Alvi. >> Uh, thank you. We talked about it a little bit in committee, but this is truly a great win-win for the city and CPS. So, thank you to ACM Weber and everyone else behind the scenes who I'm failing to list off who worked really hard on this. I know I think it's been a long time coming. So, I appreciate all the work and and I'm grateful to CPS for their partnership on this as well. >> Thank you. Uh, I'll add my comment on this. There's a lot of very important work happening uh at the city, including yesterday welcoming our newest Fortune 500 headquarter um in paychecks to downtown Cincinnati. But I don't want this to to to to not get the attention that it deserves. This is a very big deal. Uh it's a very big deal as we continue to look at uh new and innovative ways to drive economic development in our community. It's a big deal because through the leadership of Sher Long and her team led by uh Billy Weber, it was a multi-year negotiation with the school board. Um that resulted in not just these extensions, but also an increase in the pilot payment uh and I believe a check of $6 million directly to the school board. Um public education is is critically important. Our partnership with CPS is important and this demonstrates this council um understands that growth is important as well. But it has to be equitable growth. So, congratulations to the administration. Congratulations to council for continuing uh to lead by your values. Roll call on passage, please. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. Roll call emergency. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albi, >> yes. >> Council member Kane, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. >> Item 63, first reading, please. An emergency ordinance establishing interim development control overlay district number 89 data centers as an overlay district for a period of three months pursuant to chapter 1431 interim development control overlay district regulations of the Cincinnati Municipal Code. >> Roll call and suspension. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albi, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. Council member James. >> Yes, Mr. Jeff. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, first I want to thank the administration for putting this forward uh and proactively addressing uh something before it is a problem. Uh, so this is establishing what is called an interim development control overlay IDC. Uh, and what it essentially is is addressing a hole that's in our zoning today. So today data centers, we have no definition of data centers as we know they're proliferating around the country. Um, and we treat them today in our zoning no different than offices or warehouses. Uh, and so essentially what we're saying is, hey, let's put a pause on automatically building them. Folks can still go through a process, go to the planning commission and get it approved if they they want to. Uh, but in the interim, we're going to uh do a zoning study uh across uh the IDC district to understand their true impact on the community and be much more deliberate. Um so this is really about being fair, predictable. Uh we want clear zoning where uh that puts the benefits on everyone. Uh and it's predictable for residents, developers uh and for investors, whomever. Uh and I think this is a very prudent uh smart uh decision to get out in front of this uh and make sure that we're very deliberate about how we want to handle data centers. They are important in our society. We all use the internet. We all use uh of many people use AI. our our big Fortune 500 companies need them as well. So, we just want to be very thoughtful in how we approach data centers. >> Thank you, Mr. Jeff. Miss Owens, >> thank you. Yeah, echoing all the same comments from my colleague here. It's important to recognize that we're having this conversation because we are in a moment, a revolution technology-wise in terms of AI being here. And so, the conversation is broader to the sense of how will we adapt? And so I believe that this is a very proactive pragmatic step to yes getting prepared for this but you know at the top of the list is energy consumption and so by way of what sorts of policies we will have to confront you know to make sure that we are protecting all of these resources um I appreciate the administration's approach in this way and and as we uh study this over the course of a few months it's also important that we bring the public conversation we bring the public into this conversation because we are all learning together and so to be able to create a space where we are not villainizing or being fearful but understanding that we're learning and we are react we are acting and so I think that's important so I look forward to the the continued work uh that the administration will do while giving the flexibility of extending it if we need to to make sure we are actually uncovering the answers to to the questions >> further comments vice mayor >> uh yeah I I totally agree agree with my colleagues. We have to be proactive. We know um AI is booming. Many of us use it. Um you know, we're not going back. AI is is creating lots of jobs. Data centers are necessary, but we do need to take a pause and uh take a look at the um at at the impact. And part of that is community health. Data centers use um diesel powered generators. From what I understand, they run 24/7. Uh, and they can increase uh nitrogen dioxide, PAFS, other pollutants in in the atmosphere, in the environment, uh, which can increase, um, you know, problems with breathing like asthma, lung cancer. We need to look at all of that. We need to make sure that we're making decisions that also take community health into consideration. So, I just want to thank the administration, thank uh uh city manager Cheryl Long for saying, "Let's take a pause. Let's let's study this. Uh let's see what we need to do." Also, I've understood uh that in some cities, data centers have been uh put in many disadvantaged neighborhoods. So, we want to keep that in mind as well. Um we we want to make sure there's uh health equity. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. James. I think this marks a really important step to helping our residents get these energy bills down. Uh we've mentioned time and time again the 77% increase on the average energy bill for Cincinnati resident over the last 5 years. I mean this the economic impact of these bills for our residents has been absolutely devastating. I think that um one big question mark that we have endeavoring into this process is what is going to be the material return on investment for our residents in terms of costs. We know that the primary lever raising our energy bills is demand. We understand uh reiterating the vice mayor's point that um these data centers and the advancement in AI and a few other technologies have um really uh boosted demand for these exorbitant um energy bills. Um, I hope we don't find much here, but if we do, um, I will say that, um, I I I I stand in an optimistic position for our chance to, uh, pass these cost savings along along to our residents. So, thank you for thank you to the administration for your efforts here and thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Mr. James. I'll add my comment. Uh, want to thank uh the administration and council member Jeff for partnering with me on this uh, piece of legislation. We are challenged with affordability here in Cincinnati. Like other cities across the country, housing affordability uh is is a primary concern of this council and and you have led on on uh multiple fronts on that goal. But as Council Member James just mentioned, we are increasingly um challenged by energy affordability. As our energy bills continue to go up as a community, um this council uh has been um proactive in thinking about how the policies that we pass or the projects that we fund can stabilize those energy costs and hopefully drive them down. Uh this is an important step because there is no doubt that energy costs are going up across the country in part because of these large data centers uh consuming high amounts of energy and then unfortunately passing them off to the general population. It's important to also understand that these data centers while they uh the large ones may not yet be in our city um they rely on the same energy grid that we rely on. Uh and so it does have an impact on us. uh putting this IDC forward uh will give us an opportunity uh to craft more specific policies and regulations around the creation of data centers within our city. Uh and it will also give us an opportunity uh to fully vet any potential new data centers and its impact on uh all of the public health challenges the vice mayor mentioned but also critically on uh energy costs for our population. Um I uh this goes handinhand with the other strategy um that this council funded uh at the end of last year of uh creating a new solar array on the former Center Hill dump on the west side uh to create more renewable energy and to uh stabilize energy costs um in our city. Uh I want to thank the administration again and council for your forward-looking leadership. Uh this is an issue that a lot of cities are grappling with right now and once again Cincinnati is the the proven vanguard in addressing these issues in an innovative and collaborative way. Roll call on passage please. >> Council member Jeff. >> Yes. >> Council member Johnson. >> Yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney? >> Yes. >> Council member Nolan. >> Yes. >> Council member Owens. >> Yes. >> Council member Walsh. >> Yes. >> Council member Albby. >> Yes. >> Council member Kering. >> Yes. >> Council member James. Yes. >> Roll call number on emergency. >> Council member Jeff. >> Yes. >> Council member Johnson. >> Yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney. >> Yes. >> Council member Nolan. >> Yes. >> Council member Owens. >> Yes. >> Council member Walsh. >> Yes. >> Council member Albi. >> Yes. >> Council member Kramering. >> Yes. >> Council member James. >> Yes. >> Item 64 is a motion from council members Albi and Jeff. that the administration prepare a report within 30 days assessing the need for additional lighting and camera infrastructure across city parks, playgrounds, and recreational areas owned by Cincinnati Parks and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission. Mr. or this is in youth and human services. Um, Miss Albby, would you like to introduce this item? >> Yeah, first time that I get to introduce something from the committee in this format. So, thank you. >> Congrats. >> Thanks. Um, so yeah, this is a motion. Uh so we're requesting uh a report back. You know, we have tragically had uh more than one instance of a young person being shot inside a park, rec center area, like recreation area. Um you know, uh places where we want kids to be safe. We specifically build and make these spaces in public because we want them to be safe spaces where kids and families can congregate and to have uh Queen of Reed uh be shot and killed uh in the Laurel Play area, to have multiple youths be shot in the Grant Park area and others. It's just it's heartbreaking and unacceptable. In our motion to do the 5.4 4 million around public safety. Uh cameras and lighting were included, but those were directed specifically in the right of way area. So in the road and in the sidewalk. So what this motion is asking is to go into the space kind of beyond the sidewalk where the park, the playground, recreation area is uh to see what what is the lighting and camera situation in those areas. starting first with where kids there have been shootings and then the then next looking at those same areas in neighborhoods that are part of the top five for gun violence. And so phase one will be simply an assessment of what uh what's there, what's it look like. Phase two is then asking the administration to come back and provide us a cost estimate of what it would look like uh to actually make these infrastructure improvements, install cameras, install better lighting. Uh I uh attended the the balloon release with Greener Reed. Uh Vice Mayor Kernney was there too, maybe some others. Uh I know members of the administration and you know it's 6:00 in the middle of winter. It is dark in this these areas. So we owe it to our our kids and our community to provide uh this light and and cameras. Uh quickly I I received a question before when we talk about the neighborhoods uh top five gun violence incidents so far in 2025. Those top five neighborhoods are Winton Hills, OTR, West End, Walnut Hills, and Abendale. So, those will be, I believe, the focus areas for for this report, this assessment. So, that's the overview. Uh, Council Member Jeff was a co-sponsor on it, so I'll pass it to him for any additional questions or comments. >> Mr. Jeff, >> thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, especially as we're thinking about budget for next year, I think this is super helpful to lay out. Uh, we all know what uh happened in the West End. The community had been asking for cameras. Um and we did respond. Thank you CPD uh especially uh in that case. But even beyond the West End now, I mean we know I talked to Pastor Leslie Jones yesterday. She's been advocating for something of this nature like how can we make sure that parks uh rec centers where kids are playing are safe. That means lighting, cameras, whatever the case may be. So I think this is the right analysis to lay out uh here are the priority areas uh from the administration and then going into the budget season we can then determine uh how uh and um you know how we implement and allocate resources uh whether it's all this year or over time how we phase in uh making sure these areas are safe for kids and families. Thank you. >> Thank you. Further comments? >> Roll call and adoption of the motion, please. >> Council member Jeff. Yes. >> Council member Johnson. >> Yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney. >> Yes. >> Council member Nolan. >> Yes. >> Council member Owens. >> Yes. >> Council member Walsh. >> Yes. >> Council member Albi. >> Yes. >> Council member Kramering. >> Yes. >> Council member James. >> Yes. >> Thank you. We have a need for an executive session. I move that council adjourn into executive session to discuss pending or imminent court action with the city solicitor's office pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 121.22 G3. Roll call on adoption of the motion. >> Nope. Uh, may I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Vice Mayor. Roll call on adoption of the motion. >> Council member Jeff, >> yes. >> Council member Johnson, >> yes. >> Vice Mayor Kernney, >> yes. >> Council member Nolan, >> yes. >> Council member Owens, >> yes. >> Council member Walsh, >> yes. >> Council member Albby, >> yes. >> Council member Kramering, >> yes. >> Council member James, >> yes. Thank you. Heat. Heat. Nat. Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey. Heat up. Hey, hey hey. Hey, hey hey. Hey, hey hey. Hey, hey hey. Heat up here. I la n. Pinky pink. Round and round. Well, Hey, Heat. Heat. Hallelujah. Everybody's got a Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Hello. Thank you. Hey. Hey. Hey. Heat. Heat. Hey, hey hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Someone get Nolan >> and Well, no, Kramerick is gone. >> Uh, I think we're good. Okay, you guys ready? Uh, our executive session is over and our agenda is at an end. That concludes the business portion of our agenda. The city manager did not have any announcements. Council members, any announcements? >> If I >> Yes, Mr. Johnson. >> Um, mayor, and I think the world saw unfortunately the deplorable, disgusting, disrespectful racist bigoted hate that came from the president of the United States depicting Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's as apes. This country needs to get his head out of the sand and realize that this is not the home of the free for everybody. the lack of accountability, the lack of denouncing from the Republican party nationally, state level, and locally is disgusting. The fact that over 77 million Americans voted for that dislorable, despicable mindset speaks volumes more than a ugly, disrespectful meme and it speaks volumes to the mindset of this country. And we can all try to act like it's not a big deal. We can ignore it. We can put our heads in the sand. We can keep moving on like, "Well, black people, you need to just get over it." We can all just keep trying to do that. But America better wake up and see that there's a prevailing mindset in this country that cares nothing about anybody that doesn't look like and think like what's coming out of the White House. So the question has to be, America, your lack of denouncing, your silence is complicit. And when will enough be enough? Every day, black people in this country have to wake up and reinvent themselves. every single solitary day. And we really believe that we're at a we're at a we're a country now that's accepting to everyone. The unfortunate mindset that is in the White House is nothing new to America. He just made it popular to hate and be racist again. And America, I don't know when you're gonna quit drinking the Kool-Aid and get a backbone and denounce this despicable human being that allegedly represents all of us. To be quite frank and honest, anybody that rocks with that mindset, please stay far, far away from me. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. >> Thank you, President Johnson. Further announcements. Miss Elby. >> Uh, thank you, President Johnson, for those comments. I'm gonna take a hard turn. Um, and I don't know how all of you are planning to spend your Valentine's Day, but I'm going to go check out the Mayor's Career Expo um at TQL Stadium from 9 to 100 p.m. Uh, we have a lot of amazing vendors, so if anyone knows uh a young person who's looking for a job, this will be a great opportunity to get out and get their resume out and about and hear about all the great job opportunities this summer and beyond. Thank you, mayor, for hosting this as always. >> Absolutely. My pleasure. Further announcements. Seeing none, meeting adjourned. Thank you.