Columbus City Council Meeting 4/24/23

By Veronica Simmons On Apr 25, 2023

Columbus City Council Preliminary Meeting Highlights:

• DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE FOR DISPLACED RESIDENTS: Council President Shannon Hardin and Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla are sponsoring Ordinance 1021-2023 to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to execute a grant agreement with the Tony R Wells Foundation in an amount not to exceed $265,000.00 to provide a one-time cash payment and furniture directly to each leaseholder that was displaced from the Latitude Five25 apartment complex on December 25, 2022. The City is in the process of rehousing tenants. Right now, there is an immediate need for access to flexible resources that allow these households to re-establish themselves in new units and purchase the household items that they need. Payment amounts will be determined by household size and estimate of monthly expenses as determined by FEMA and the IRS.

• DEVELOPING LEADERS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTLILITIES: Council President Pro Tem Rob Dorans, chair of the Public Utilities Committee, is sponsoring Ordinance 0936-2023, to authorize the Director of the Department of Public Utilities to accept the 2022 EcoSmart Choice Grant Award in the amount of $101,536.31 for the Division of Power. This grant award will offer smart thermostats at no or low cost to customers in connection with the Enhance Meter Project. The advantage of a smart thermostat is its ability to learn a household’s patterns and adjust heating and cooling according to when a home is occupied or not. This reduces the use of heating and cooling systems when no one is home for significant periods of time.

• ADVANCING THE CITY’S COMMITMENT TO REDUCE PLASTIC USE: Councilmember Emmanuel Remy, chair of the Environment Committee, is sponsoring Resolution 0078X-2023 to commit the City of Columbus to the Reduction of Plastic in Central Ohio and to Encourage Community Members, Organizations, and Businesses to Commit to Plastic Reduction. Americans discard about 35.7 million tons of plastic each year, but only 5% of it is recycled. Plastic pollution costs Central Ohio municipalities, businesses, and commercial districts millions of dollars in cleanup costs related to litter abatement and removal from the storm drain system. This Earth Month, Columbus City Council encourages residents to reduce their use of single-use plastic packaging and single-use disposable plastics, reuse plastics where possible.