[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6326440,"mediaKeyId","2324033-8a8a03cb70dbc5d4e08bf39c48b44e9f","parentId",2324033,"title","Berea council refers Cleveland Browns development agreements to committee after councilors outline tax and land terms","audioSeconds",1346,"startMs",1251000,"endMs",2597000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2324033-8a8a03cb70dbc5d4e08bf39c48b44e9f&start=1251&end=2597","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2324033-8a8a03cb70dbc5d4e08bf39c48b44e9f/thumbnail_1251000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6326440/Ohio/Berea-council-refers-Cleveland-Browns-development-agreements-to-committee-after-councilors-outline-tax-and-land-terms","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6326440-34cb4dd991d4cc4139c172f80857999c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771007156&Signature=UWgjWC49-YVxq~Xy-obRH3q3P~4BrN-Lr4pWiOCS8GqX2TkUKzeH5kvHpHB0gnWCIjfLzyZmanysdV5rm2lmCOCR4q5XbEGwkjWz0d27~IaqP0~jS-SdYeFG4LjY2vrhchqa~SF6oerwvwT5wcY4NP6WxojkyXovSVsvkwkfp8Nr2kEeJycVmhfQw33EcCF4muanqdRkazj2iE6PVswJT6vK9flrcdQxEwRWlorLFoEA1Rqg9~jc4oO5yTHg-asXDrzuNW1BP67wdhEwNLVM7dVAvp1sVxE8Sw7EAhKoUK2byZVSK4S4GNAtc8XyDmW2llwpCqyE39QLSsruo8MJSA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Berea OH","date","2025-02-03T00:00:00Z","article","The Berea City Council on Feb. 3 substituted two ordinances tied to the proposed District 46 development by the Cleveland Browns and then voted unanimously to refer both amended measures to a coordinating-committee work session on Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.

The legislation before council — identified in the meeting as ordinance 10-5a and ordinance 10-6a — updates previously circulated drafts and, according to the council discussion, codifies nine negotiated points covering taxes, a lease extension and land sale. Council members and city attorneys said the Browns’ and the city’s attorneys worked over recent months to resolve language and that the substituted drafts reflect those negotiations.

Council members and city staff described the items that appear across the two ordinances: the city will not take a share of several new taxes in the development (a new payroll tax, admissions tax and bed tax) for a limited period; the city would sell specified city-owned land for $1 million; the city would receive up to $1 million in permit fees; the city would retain new residential income tax from apartment units in the district; and the city would receive up to $4 million in cash flow paid as four $1,000,000 installments. Councilmember discussion and the ordinance language referenced a lease extension handled in 10-5 and the tax- and incentive-related provisions primarily in 10-6.

City law director Barb Jones said attorneys were not “renegotiating” the nine points but were “working out the language.” Jones and other speakers emphasized two clarifications recorded in the meeting: employees currently paying city payroll tax who are relocated to new office space connected to the project would not be subject to the new “rebate” language in 10-06; and the term during which the Browns would receive rebates on the new taxes was negotiated down from 30 years to 15 years.

Council members also discussed the role of tax increment financing (TIF). Jones said the TIF is mentioned in 10-6 but that the TIF terms would require a separate, later agreement and are not fully detailed in the current ordinance text. She noted the council would have 45 days following approval to proceed with related steps spelled out in the agreements.

Members of council pressed for the city’s principal outside attorney and the city’s investment adviser, Matt Stesinski, to attend the committee meeting. Councilmember Zacharias asked whether the Browns’ public timeline — social posts announcing a Barker Hotel (a Tribute Portfolio hotel) breaking ground in fall 2025 — would create scheduling pressure. Jones and other council members said the project’s public timeline was “aggressive” but stressed that the city must follow its PUD (planned-unit development) and other local review processes. Jones summarized the PUD path as a multistage process: stage 1 (concept/initial approval) has been completed; stage 2 requires traffic studies and drawings and will return to planning commission and then to council for a final decision on that phase.

Council substituted 10-5 with 10-5a (motion: Dozier; second: Zacharias) and 10-6 with 10-6a (motion: Zacharias; second: Schozen). Both substitutions passed on unanimous roll calls. Council later voted unanimously to place 10-5a and 10-6a into the coordinating committee for a date-certain work session on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. (motions to refer: Brown; seconds: McManus). Several council members asked staff to circulate the ordinance texts and a summary “cheat sheet” of the nine points before the work session so members could prepare questions.

City staff reminded the public that the PUD process can occur in phases and that different components of District 46 — for example, the hotel and residential buildings — may come before the planning commission and council on different schedules. Jones also said that the city will strive to accommodate reasonable development timelines but will not skip required procedural or review steps.

Council members asked that the city’s primary attorneys be present at the Feb. 19 session to answer detailed legal and fiscal questions. No final approvals on incentives, TIF, land sale or lease extensions were taken on Feb. 3; the council’s action was to substitute the two ordinances with the attorney-drafted versions and to move them to a committee meeting for more detailed review.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Berea OH, Regular Council Meeting 02/03/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Berea City Council on Feb. 3 substituted two ordinances tied to the proposed District 46 development by the Cleveland Browns and then voted unanimously to refer both amended measures to a coordinating-committee work session on Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.","taxTitle","Berea City Council, Berea, Cuyahoga County, Ohio","taxId",70635,"location","Ohio","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6326431,"Berea seeks Ohio Water Development Authority loans for neighborhood water and sewer work; bids to be opened this week",286,3260000,3546000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2324033-8a8a03cb70dbc5d4e08bf39c48b44e9f&start=3260&end=3546","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2324033-8a8a03cb70dbc5d4e08bf39c48b44e9f/thumbnail_3260000.jpg","/articles/6326431/Ohio/Berea-seeks-Ohio-Water-Development-Authority-loans-for-neighborhood-water-and-sewer-work-bids-to-be-opened-this-week","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6326431-c5a8b46c39e51d11e1c292e6a7c141e3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771007156&Signature=ZhwCCoGRT~tD7KgUkHt5lNysIthN~icIXSNKM1JTrmCdLgQZo3TnethwzxU-bDlLLZhZTCl-BX2wMTLCeFcaFLDeSS8l~iymjy4WCAAPgAFQGNQJq3ZBThzwuKQXmuxKqOA9voPKuQJVre10X0TxamnDv0tZlVCGIkKdcotm5QAF2i8vQDFW-I~yZUwXb1Ysy3EBDQ~8-QSpkqgb6sl6C-LzkXmkLpYJJQFvwH0N0Z9QE-XkOnlJq4sRpWtu7baf2FR1G7hSTo2Tuo0aN47OFZePGIb8qrmoGnOVfFTa1bST1X0rpa-4uDOipp~7EJy11xlm86nMi5SoIleYR8ArXg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Council on Feb. 3 gave first reading to two ordinances that would authorize the director of public service to apply for Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) funding for the Adrianne, Patty and Gerard reconstruction project.

Public-service staff said bids for the project will be opened this Friday. City staff told council they have received some Ohio Public Works Commission funding as a grant plus a small loan and plan to apply to OWDA for two loan components — one for sewer and one for water. Preliminary estimates presented in the meeting put the sewer loan around $800,000 and the water loan around $1,500,000, for a combined application of about $2,300,000 across ordinances 2-1 and 2-2.

City staff said the OWDA board meets on the last Thursday of each month and that the city may request suspension of the second-reading requirement so the council can transmit approvals in time for the February board meeting if needed. Public-service staff also said the city will hold a public meeting for affected residents after a contractor is selected; the contractor and the city’s construction-management firm would attend that meeting.

Council members asked whether the two ordinances corresponded to water versus sewer; staff confirmed that ordinance 2-1 covers the water component and ordinance 2-2 covers the sewer component even though the title language is similar. A resident who identified an address asked for that clarification during the public portion of the meeting.

No final votes were taken on Feb. 3; council advanced the measures for first reading and heard staff presentations about schedule, funding sources and outreach plans.","Council heard first readings for two ordinances authorizing the director of public service to apply for OWDA funding for the Adrianne/Patty/Gerard reconstruction project, with preliminary estimates of about $800,000 for sewer and $1.5 million for water.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6326436,"Berea council approves two labor contracts; several others remain pending",224,2691000,2915000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2324033-8a8a03cb70dbc5d4e08bf39c48b44e9f&start=2691&end=2915","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2324033-8a8a03cb70dbc5d4e08bf39c48b44e9f/thumbnail_2691000.jpg","/articles/6326436/Ohio/Berea-council-approves-two-labor-contracts-several-others-remain-pending","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6326436-2e7bdeeda47def52098cbe9aa8852286/orig.mp4?Expires=1771007156&Signature=fB6UhrnDHQ0p74yV1j5EvkgOLnuItXZhInHYJC5Pw858lN1JeKxIlt47qMsc8I4gDluuVakl7K88gWE3StrviJHBmEBoL36gUgqQjwRLdO6BXSba-pgu7llwNb9IhBSyh~SXoRSYWAdwoa19XlFthscIKCj70TYr53lXkRH43a1gY1a0~XBzD3~KeI7cSIsXkVe0rO8vzm51gjWGDWb74JKGvh~KdWmTFeu5bUtOWYKRMjdeRnLJuJ~O61PoKbWAK1qAIjmO8AnDQZjb7Bk1bEHToZ1Oqk0TpSr0oRYGezV0DNv8WUesnHX~VWhPlNKBvJOTq2wmu3KRC4DB0hzujg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Berea City Council on Feb. 3 approved two three-year collective bargaining agreements and left several others on the agenda for future action.

Council adopted ordinance 12-4, a three-year agreement between the city and water-department employees represented by Local 270 of the Utility Workers of America, AFL-CIO. The agreement includes 4%, 4% and 4% wage increases (the 4-4-4 schedule appears in the contract text). Councilmembers voted unanimously to ratify the contract on second reading.

Council also adopted ordinance 1-3, a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Berea Firefighters represented by Local 1836 of the International Association of Firefighters. The ordinance was approved on what council identified as a third-reading vote; roll call showed unanimous support.

Several other pending labor measures were discussed but were not finalized on Feb. 3. Ordinances 1-4 (Berea Police Lieutenants, P.O.P. Lodge 15), 1-5 (Berea Police Sergeants, Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association), 1-6 (Berea Police Patrol, OPBA) and 1-7 (Laborers International Union Local 860) were placed on the agenda and “let stand” while exhibits or final language were completed. City law director Barb Jones and council members said staff were finishing exhibits and clarifications; one item under review involved final wording for patrol agreements.

Council discussion included a timing note for contract back pay. Jones said retroactive wage adjustments would be applied to the first full pay period starting in June, with contract pay adjustments applied retroactively to the beginning of the year (a council exchange recorded that back pay would go to the first full pay period in June and that some contracts would reference January 6 as the retroactive start date).

No contract-specific funding breakdowns beyond the stated percentage increases were presented in council chambers; council members and staff said the contracts followed previously discussed city budget plans. Council did not take final action on the police and laborer agreements during the Feb. 3 meeting.","Council voted to ratify a three-year collective bargaining agreement for water department employees and a firefighters contract; several police and labor contracts remained on the agenda for later action.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Berea council refers Cleveland Browns development agreements to committee after councilors outline tax and land terms

Berea seeks Ohio Water Development Authority loans for neighborhood water and sewer work; bids to be opened this week

Berea council approves two labor contracts; several others remain pending