Columbus City Council Meeting 12/13/21

Columbus City Council Meeting Highlights:

• HELPING OSU EXPAND WEST CAMPUS WITH MORE THAN 10K NEW JOBS: Council President Shannon G. Hardin is sponsoring ordinance 3051-2021 to enter into a Jobs Growth Incentive Agreement with The Ohio State University for the creation of more than 12,000 net new full-time permanent positions with an estimated annual payroll of approximately $950 million on West Campus. The district will include new buildings for academic and commercial research, business development, and housing.

• INVESTING IN NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH FEDERAL HUD GRANTS: President Pro Tem Elizabeth Brown, chair of the Finance Committee is sponsoring ordinance 3221-2021 to accept $7.5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as to appropriate $2.02 million from the CDBG fund for various expenditures. These dollars will support recreation programming, affordable housing, economic opportunities, and infrastructure needs in neighborhoods throughout Columbus.

• FUNDING ORGANZIATIONS TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO THE COMMISSION ON BLACK GIRLS: Councilmember Priscilla Tyson, chair of the Health and Human Services Committee is sponsoring ordinance 3289-2021 to provide a total of $278,179 in grant funding for several organizations including: Image Character Etiquette Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Gamma Zeta Zeta Chapter, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Sigma Iota Zeta Chapter, Thiossane Institute, Actions That Matter for Youth, The Ohio State University, Bumblebeez, Physicians CareConnection, and Brown Girls Mentoring. Funding is being provided to these organizations because there services align with the recommendations included in the Commission on Black Girls’ Report on the Quality of Life of Black Girls in Columbus, Ohio. Click here to view the report.

• KEEPING SENIOR RESIDENTS IN THEIR HOMES BY MAKING ESSENTIAL REPAIRS: Councilmember Mitchell J. Brown, chair of the Public Safety Committee is sponsoring ordinance 3315-2021 to support a senior home repair program that corrects code violations in owner-occupied homes. This $100,000 contract with Columbus Next Generation Corporation will utilize local contractors to make repairs in homes where the senior owner may not be able to physically complete the projects or afford the necessary repairs.

• MAPPING THE FUTURE COUNCIL DISTRICTS: Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy is sponsoring ordinance 3246-2021 to select the final, official residential district map to complete this year's historic voter-mandated effort to re-shape the make-up and future of City Council. The official map will be selected during the 12/13/21 Council meeting from three final draft maps created by the Council Residential Districting Commission following months of public input and feedback.

• COMMEMORATING JUDGE TED BARROWS: Councilmember Shayla Favor, chair of the Criminal Justice and Judiciary Committee is sponsoring resolution 0248X-2021 to honor retiring Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Ted Barrows, who graduated from The Ohio State University's Mortiz College of Law in 1976 after serving in the United States Army and went on to work as a Franklin County public defender. Judge Barrows was elected to the municipal court bench in 2004 and has served there for nearly 17 years. Judge Barrows is serving his final year as an administrative judge at the Franklin County Municipal Court.

• AIMING TO DISRUPT YOUTH VIOLENCE WITH MY BROTHER'S KEEPER: Councilmember Rob Dorans, chair of the Neighborhoods Committee is sponsoring ordinance 3275-2021 to enter into a $127,000 contract with R.E.A.C.H Communications to provide planning, development and implementation of an extensive, city-wide community-mobilization process through My Brother's Keeper, aimed at reducing and disrupting youth violence in Columbus.

The next regular Council meeting will be held on January 10, 2022