Written by the reviewer from the ASR + docket; [verbatim-ASR] = quoted machine transcript; [paraphrase] = reviewer's wording, not a quote.
0:00 All right, we will call to order the June 1st meeting of council.
0:06 If you're able, please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.
0:15 We'll now pause for a moment of silence.
0:36 Madam Clerk, please call the roll.
0:38 Vice President Baker, absent.
0:40 Councilmember Bixenstein.
0:42 Councilmember Bullock.
0:44 Councilmember Evans.
0:48 Councilmember Hamilton-Steiner.
0:50 Councilmember Striebeck.
0:52 Without objection, I'll excuse the absence of Vice President Baker.
0:57 Reading and disposal of the minutes of the regular meeting of council held May 18,
1:02 Move to approve without the necessity of a reading.
1:06 Motion's been made and seconded.
1:08 Hearing none, all those in favor?
1:11 And that motion passes.
1:13 Motion one, communication from President Keppel regarding council board and commission
1:26 Your colleagues, the following two pieces of legislation are intended to make appointments
1:30 to the city's community reinvestment area housing council and the local board of
1:36 Like most of the city's boards and commissions, these bodies are comprised of a combination
1:42 of appointments from both council and the mayor.
1:45 In this case, council has two appointments to make to each of these bodies.
1:50 Earlier this year, council and the administration put out a joint call for applicants for
1:55 Though the quality of the applications was high, the volume of applications was low.
2:01 At this time, I propose that council consider moving forward to fill these positions
2:05 with the applicants on hand and then strategize ways to identify additional suitable candidates
2:10 to fill the remaining positions.
2:14 And I'll just add to this, well, first I'll move to receive and file this communication.
2:19 Motion's been made and seconded.
2:21 And then in discussion, I just want to add, because tonight we have such an extremely
2:27 short docket, one thought would be to move these two items that follow this communication,
2:34 the two resolutions, to the end of our agenda after public comment and do a quick
2:39 executive session to figure out our appointments so that these can move forward if folks are
2:51 I'm seeing a lot of nods, which for the record, all right.
2:54 So any further discussion on the motion to receive and file the communication?
3:03 And that motion passes.
3:06 So without objection, let's move items two and three to add the public comment section.
3:14 Item four, communication from council member Striebig regarding all gender residents.
3:18 Council member Striebig.
3:20 Thank you, dear colleagues.
3:21 Thank you, President Keppel.
3:23 Thank you, Mayor George.
3:25 Thank you, City of Lakewood Law Department, for hearing the community members' concerns
3:30 and working together to make changes that will benefit and more fully include many
3:38 As we've heard from the community, including the Lakewood Youth Council, and discussed
3:42 here on this dais, gender-neutral single-use restrooms solve many problems for a variety
3:48 of citizens in different situations.
3:52 Older individuals that need assistance, parents with children, women, and the LGBTQIA-plus
4:01 community members that might be questioned or even threatened for going to pee will all
4:08 benefit from this resolution.
4:11 Imagine yourself in a public, I'm sorry, imagine yourself in public, and nature calls.
4:18 Cisgender people would probably look for a sign with a stick figure with a dress
4:22 or a pair of pants and take care of their business.
4:25 For transgender person and many in the LGBTQIA-plus community, this may not be as easy and instead
4:33 bring anxiety, exclusion, and even danger.
4:38 It's time that we stop this nonsense and make gender-neutral single-use restrooms
4:43 the norm instead of the exception.
4:46 With city leadership under Mayor George, the resources to encourage change, and a community
4:53 that values progress, we can help bring dignity and respect to all of our neighbors.
5:02 I'll first move to receive and file the communication.
5:05 Motion's been made and seconded.
5:10 I'd just like to thank Councilmember Stiebig for bringing this forward.
5:15 I'm happy to co-sponsor the resolution.
5:18 I also want to thank the members of the Youth Council for your advocacy on this issue.
5:22 Very important to many in our community, including my own family, and members of our ADA task
5:29 force as well who have brought up this issue for reasons of accessibility, as Councilmember
5:34 Stiebig mentioned in the communication.
5:37 Councilmember Bixenstein.
5:40 Thank you, President Keppel, and thank you, Councilmember Stiebig and the administration
5:44 for bringing this forward.
5:47 I think in addition to the safety, the inclusion, the equal access, and I know you touched
5:54 on when you're parenting littles of the opposite gender, this is very useful as
6:02 Then there's also, this may be not as important as some of those elements, but
6:07 from an efficiency standpoint, we've all experienced restrooms where there's gender
6:12 restrooms and one has a slow-moving line and the other one walk right in, so there's
6:17 a host of reasons and I really appreciate you bringing this to the floor this evening.
6:25 Councilmember Evans.
6:26 Thanks, yeah, I agree.
6:28 Thank you, Councilperson Stiebig, for bringing this forward, and also for the Youth Council.
6:34 You can see actually speaking up, you know, works and has results, so thank you for
6:40 all your time and effort on this.
6:44 Your actions make a difference, so I appreciate.
6:47 All that you do for us.
6:50 Thank you, other Councilmembers?
6:54 All right, on the motion to receive and file the communication, all those in favor?
7:03 And that motion passes.
7:04 Item five, resolution 202634, a resolution to encourage businesses and other places of
7:10 public accommodation within the City of Lakewood to convert single-user gender-specific
7:14 restrooms to gender-neutral restrooms.
7:18 Motion's been made and seconded.
7:25 Hearing none, all those in favor?
7:27 And that motion passes.
7:29 All right, let's do, we do have a copy of the ceremonial resolution, so anyone
7:34 who would like to join us for a picture down front, we will be presenting that to
7:38 the Youth Council, but we are going to, oh, did we have anyone signed in to speak on
7:47 I'm sorry, I should have checked on that.
7:55 Did anyone want to speak on this?
7:57 You're welcome to come up and speak.
7:59 Yep, just, yep, when you come up, just push, you guys know, you're pros, but
8:04 just push the button so it's green and just state your name for the record.
8:13 Hello, I am Amelia Ormel-Deemer and I am chair of the Lakewood Youth Council and
8:17 I just want to thank you so much for looking at this resolution for us.
8:21 I have had many friends have been harassed in bathrooms or have just, like,
8:25 not gone to the bathroom for hours at a time due to, like, inaccessibility.
8:29 So I know this means a lot to the Youth of Lakewood and also just people that are
8:34 taking care of other people that are a different gender than them.
8:37 So I thank you greatly for this.
8:45 When Councilperson Striebig approached us with this issue almost a full,
8:50 a little over a year ago, I didn't really know where it would lead,
8:53 but I was totally on board from the first second.
8:55 So thank you for that.
8:57 I penned the first letter that we ended up sending and
9:01 I am so happy that I ended up making it to the floor like this.
9:05 And also, it's just a great way to kick off Pride Month.
9:11 I'm a very new member to the Lakewood Youth Council.
9:15 As a Lakewood citizen, as trans myself, this resolution is a big deal for me and
9:20 other people like me in this city.
9:22 And I also think I speak on behalf of all of us who came up to speak that
9:27 we feel very grateful that we have the floor and we have the Lakewood Youth
9:31 Council to be able to speak our voices and we're all very thankful for the
9:35 platform that provides us and that you all took our thoughts into consideration
9:39 when looking at this resolution.
9:41 It means a lot to all of us and all the other youth in Lakewood.
9:47 Anyone else that wanted to speak on this?
9:49 I'm sorry, I should have checked in on that first.
9:58 So we are going to do a quick photo down front.
10:01 We have a ceremonial copy of the resolution for you, but since we still
10:05 need to get some signatures on it, so we will get it to you at your next
10:08 Youth Council meeting, Councilwoman Stupik.
10:10 But we'll do a little picture with it first and then we'll give it to you.
10:14 So if you wanted, anyone who would like to be in the picture?
11:50 Item six report from Council Member Hamilton Steiner regarding May 20th
11:54 meeting of the Lakewood Animal Safety and Welfare Advisory Board.
11:57 Council Member Hamilton Steiner.
11:59 Thank you, President Keppel.
12:00 Dear colleagues, La Swab met on Wednesday, May 20th in their monthly meeting
12:04 location of the East Conference Room in Lakewood City Hall.
12:08 While I could not be in attendance due to a scheduling conflict,
12:11 I am able to provide this update based on meeting minutes.
12:16 La Swab held their pet food drive on Saturday, May 9th and it was a success.
12:19 1,960 pounds of food was collected while $587 was collected from cash donations.
12:27 Volunteers from H2O provided support at the event and were very helpful.
12:30 La Swab appreciates the youth involvement.
12:33 A discussion occurred regarding buildings in Lakewood that have bird-safe glass,
12:37 which is a preventive way to assist migratory birds from making
12:40 impact with glass windows.
12:42 Each spring and summer, there are millions of birds that migrate through the area.
12:45 La Swab would like to add education regarding migratory patterns and educate
12:49 the public building owners how to better assist migratory birds
12:52 by installing bird-safe glass in buildings.
12:55 ACO Cremley provided a monthly update reporting on animal control and shelter
12:59 numbers and provided an update on their new website.
13:02 La Swab members provided some suggestions to improve accessibility.
13:05 The website, while live, will continue to be updated where needed.
13:09 Lastly, Chair Binder wanted me to share that ACO Cremley,
13:13 Kerr and Barkowski and the Lakewood Animal Shelter
13:16 were featured in a nice article in the Lakewood Observer.
13:18 Article author Zeb O'Brien shared her family's experience with adopting sibling dogs.
13:23 The article was informative and highlighted the work of the Lakewood Animal Shelter.
13:27 I encourage everyone to read it.
13:28 I may just encourage you to adopt an animal through the shelter.
13:32 I move to receive and file that communication.
13:35 Motion's been made and seconded.
13:39 Appreciate that report and diligence even when you couldn't be there.
13:44 Motion's been made and seconded.
13:45 Any further discussion?
13:48 All those in favor?
13:49 And that motion passes.
13:53 Finance Department vendor report submitted pursuant to Lakewood Codified Ordinance 11103.
13:58 Move to receive and file.
14:01 Motion's been made and seconded.
14:05 All those in favor?
14:07 And that motion passes.
14:09 Liquor permit regarding QAJ Enterprise LLC at 14,000 Detroit Avenue.
14:15 Don't think we have a report on this yet.
14:18 That's correct, Madam President.
14:20 We'll need a continuance.
14:23 I will move to defer.
14:25 Motion's been made and seconded.
14:30 All those in favor?
14:32 And that motion passes.
14:34 Liquor permit regarding Speed Trap Racing LLC at 14718 Detroit Avenue.
14:40 We do have a report on this with no statutory reason to object.
14:43 Director Vargas nodding for the record.
14:45 And Councilmember Evans?
14:48 No reason to object.
14:49 I did meet with the owners and it looks like it's going to be a fun project.
14:54 I'll challenge you guys to a race sometime when they open.
14:57 The machinery they have looks pretty amazing and sophisticated,
15:01 so I'm interested in checking it out.
15:03 We'll have to go take a look.
15:05 Make sure they have gender neutral restrooms.
15:09 Councilmember Stupid?
15:11 I'm glad you brought that up because specifically in this report,
15:14 it states that there are two gender neutral single stall restrooms near the entrance,
15:20 and I'm wondering if this is now standard when we're getting reports.
15:26 Chief, I don't know if this is the officer or the detective that is looking at these.
15:33 If that could be part of the report, I would love to see that every time,
15:39 an update and a status on what do their bathrooms look like in these locations.
15:43 Yes, I believe that is on most of the,
15:47 because it is a requirement obviously to have restrooms, so going forward for sure.
15:59 So I will move to file with no objection.
16:05 Motion's been made and seconded.
16:09 All those in favor?
16:11 And that motion passes.
16:14 We are at public comment.
16:16 Do we have anyone signed in to, I see people here.
16:19 I assume people want to speak.
16:21 I don't know if we have some, Daniel or Holly, do you guys have a?
16:26 Oh, and we do have an e-comment
16:30 regarding short-term rental that will be included in the minutes.
16:47 So first up, we have Ed Rand.
16:51 And when you come, Mike's already on, so you don't have to push anything.
16:53 You'll have up to five minutes and you'll address me.
17:00 I live on Donald Avenue and I'm lucky enough to have called Lakewood my home
17:04 for my entire life.
17:06 I'm here this evening to add my voice to those speaking against our continued use
17:11 of Fox surveillance.
17:13 A recent Plain Dealer article, May 21st to be specific,
17:17 detailed that despite safety measures that were in place in the city of Cleveland,
17:22 more than 160 immigration-based queries were logged within 30 days.
17:30 That breaks down to about 5.4 queries per day.
17:33 Most of these did not come from Ohio Police Departments.
17:36 Many, in fact, came from the Texas Department of Public Safety
17:39 and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
17:45 What possible reason does the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
17:49 have to be repeatedly querying Cleveland flock cameras?
17:54 Well, both of these groups participate in a program which allows local law
17:58 enforcement to perform immigration enforcement activities
18:01 in coordination with ICE.
18:03 This is just one of several workarounds available to avoid local safeguards
18:09 to prevent immigration enforcement using flock.
18:14 The alarming ease of these workarounds makes it so that even tight safeguards
18:17 are not enough to protect our residents.
18:19 Even, they can submit queries under just other, other as a category,
18:27 Now Cleveland is right next door, obviously.
18:29 If they're being queried repeatedly, I'm willing to bet we've been queried
18:32 at least a few times.
18:36 The city of Lakewood has made numerous proclamations in support and defense
18:41 of vulnerable communities and against state and federal overreach.
18:45 It's generally shown itself to be a leader in forward-thinking policies
18:49 and compassionate governance, and I do sincerely believe that.
18:54 Why then should we continue to give away the data of those communities
18:57 to those who mean them harm?
19:02 Why continue to utilize a system which tramples on Fourth Amendment protections
19:06 and abdicates our city's concept of home rule?
19:11 As a father with young children, I understand the need to prioritize safety,
19:15 and I understand that balancing safety and privacy can be difficult.
19:19 I trust our local community police officers.
19:23 I do not trust flock.
19:24 As another example, Dayton, Ohio, recently decided to suspend their contract
19:28 with Bloc after determining that their data was used in over 7,000
19:32 immigration-related searches, again, despite safeguards to the contrary.
19:38 On top of this, they've gone ahead and covered all of their city's
19:43 I understand the deliberative process takes time, but the example of
19:46 Cleveland and Dayton shows that every day these cameras operate is an
19:50 opportunity for harm to be done.
19:55 I therefore urge council to take swift action to protect its most vulnerable
19:59 communities and to be good stewards of our residents' privacy.
20:03 Suspend the contract with Bloc, and while the specifics of that are
20:07 being worked out, cover our cameras so no further harm can be done.
20:11 Thank you for your time.
20:13 Thank you, and I appreciate you coming to speak.
20:18 I just want to follow up that we do have—this is a very concerning issue,
20:23 and each of these articles that has come out has made it even more concerning,
20:28 so it is something that we are actively working on.
20:31 Councilwoman Hamilton-Steiner and I have a meeting with the administration
20:36 to go through to look at sort of understanding all of the technological
20:40 options that are available to us and looking through our policy.
20:45 As you shared, you know, we have absolute trust in our liquid police,
20:51 but we do want to make sure that we are protecting all of our residents
20:57 in every way that we can, so thank you for bringing that forward.
21:00 We will have more to share, so stay tuned.
21:03 All right, next up is Emily Lindbergh.
21:05 Welcome back, Emily.
21:15 I live on Lauderdale Avenue.
21:17 Good evening, President Kempel and Council.
21:21 Since I moved here 15 years ago, I have seen Lakewood make meaningful
21:26 investments to our pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure,
21:31 such as our hawk signals, several miles of painted bike lanes,
21:37 and I'm even starting to see the beginnings of some new daylighting
21:42 projects, such as the construction on Northwind.
21:46 These infrastructure improvements are important and necessary
21:51 for achieving an environment that is welcoming to multimodal transportation.
21:58 However, they are just one piece of the equation
22:03 when it comes to making our streets safe for everyone.
22:07 A little over a week ago, I sent an email about recurring parking violations,
22:12 that pose significant safety risks to pedestrians and cyclists,
22:18 and I continue to observe the same patterns throughout the city.
22:24 When parking is discussed in Lakewood, many people complain that we don't have enough,
22:29 but the issue I see is not a shortage of parking,
22:33 it's a lack of effective curb management.
22:37 On a regular basis, I observe vehicles parked directly on our sidewalks or across our sidewalks
22:45 within driveways. I see vehicles parked in no parking zones, near intersections,
22:53 and also inside of our bike lanes. These are not harmless inconveniences.
23:01 They reduce visibility, block accessibility, and force pedestrians and cyclists into unsafe conditions.
23:11 I recently learned that these violations are handled by patrol officers rather than
23:16 parking enforcement officers. That was surprising because these are parking violations and I
23:22 believe that they should be a priority for parking enforcement, not just something to be
23:27 addressed when a patrol officer happens to be available. I also believe our current fines are
23:34 too low to meaningfully influence behavior. If parking on a sidewalk, in a bike lane,
23:41 or in a visibility zone costs little more than a minor inconvenience, most drivers
23:47 will continue treating these spaces as loading zones and temporary parking.
23:52 I encourage the city to explore substantially higher fines for violations that directly impact
23:59 pedestrian and bicycle safety, and to consider expanding physical improvements the city is
24:05 already utilizing, such as bike corrals, flex posts, and curb extensions that make illegal
24:12 parking less likely in the first place. I also encourage the city to think creatively
24:18 about enforcement itself. Lakewood already owns police bicycles, yet parking enforcement is
24:27 typically conducted from motor vehicles that often cannot easily access the very spaces
24:33 where the violations are happening. Bicycle-based parking enforcement would allow officers
24:40 to more effectively monitor sidewalks, bike lanes, and intersection visibility zones,
24:47 while demonstrating the city's commitment to multimodal transportation. Most importantly,
24:53 it would align enforcement with the perspectives of the people most affected by these violations.
25:03 Finally, I ask that we begin viewing curb space as one of our city's most valuable
25:07 public assets. When every available space is dedicated to vehicle storage, we shouldn't be
25:15 surprised when delivery drivers, contractors, rideshare vehicles, and moving trucks resort
25:20 to parking on sidewalks, in bike lanes, and in visibility zones. With better curb management
25:27 that includes dedicated loading zones, bike corrals, daylighted intersections, and stronger
25:35 enforcement, the city can help ensure that our public right-of-way works safely for everyone.
25:41 Thank you. Thank you.
25:49 That is everyone I have signed in to speak. Did anyone else wish to speak?
25:56 All right, so that brings us to the end of our public comment section. We do have the
26:04 two items that I moved to the end. Before I do that, are there any announcements from council
26:09 members? Council Member Striebig? Yes, thank you. Happy Pride, everyone. We kicked off
26:17 first with Pride Month today. Also, I had a neighbor reach out to me about
26:24 June 5th is HIV Long-Term Survivors Day, a day that honors individuals that have lived
26:31 with HIV for many years, particularly those diagnosed before the advent of effective
26:37 treatments in 1996. It aims to raise awareness about the unique challenges and health issues
26:45 faced by long-term survivors, as well as celebrate their resilience and contributions to the
26:51 community. This neighbor wrote, this day is meant to commemorate those that have gone
26:57 before us and those continuing in the struggle for parity as we highlight our unique
27:02 and specific needs. Long-term survivors like myself include those diagnosed before 1996,
27:10 perennial survivors who, in those living with HIV for over a decade, we comprise
27:17 twenty-five percent or more of the U.S. HIV population. If you keep those folks in
27:24 your thoughts as we enter into this season of pride, I'd appreciate it. Thank you.
27:32 Other announcements from council members? Announcements from the administration?
27:37 All right. With that, we're going to head back up to items two and three.
27:44 Item two, resolution 2026-32, a resolution to take effect immediately appointing two
27:50 volunteer citizens to serve on the Community Reinvestment Area Housing Council.
27:59 Can we read them concurrently? Yeah.
28:08 And item three, resolution 2026-33, a resolution to take effect immediately appointing two
28:14 volunteer citizens to serve on the local Board of Tax Review.
28:18 All right. I'm going to pursue into ORC 121-22G and move to enter executive session for the
28:26 purpose of considering the appointment of public officials to the CRHC and the local
28:32 Board of Tax Review, and we'll include council staff in that motion.
28:40 Motion's been made and seconded, and roll call?
28:44 Oh, I don't think, but we can, we'll include the law director if you wish to.
28:56 I don't think it's necessary, but if, but you're welcome to join us, Director Vargo.
29:05 I don't want to deprive you of your early night off, that's all, but you're very welcome to
29:09 join us. Okay. Council Member Bixenstein? Yes. Council Member Bullock?
29:14 Council Member Evans? Yes. President Keppel? Yes. Council Member Hamilton Steiner? Yes.
29:19 Council Member Striebig? Yes. All right. So we, folks, you're free to, free to go.
29:25 We're going to head to the back, Council.
57:02 All right, we've exited executive session and I will first, on resolution 2026-32, I'll move to defer.
57:19 Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor?
57:26 And that motion passes. And on resolution 2026-33, I'll move to amend to insert the names John Seaman and Will Costello?
57:37 Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion?
57:44 Hearing none, all those in favor?
57:47 And that motion passes. And then I'll move to adopt as amended.
57:52 Motion's been made and seconded. Discussion?
57:56 Thanks to both of these gentlemen for being willing to serve.
58:01 Hearing none, all those in favor?
58:04 And that motion passes. And with that, no further business become before council.
58:08 Without objection, we are adjourned.