[{"_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",6534239,"mediaKeyId","3633958-2e482e439d37ce9383e3e67fe52f6d66","parentId",3633958,"title","Council votes at a glance: contracts, infrastructure projects, public‑safety programs, and zoning approvals","audioSeconds",1930,"startMs",1790000,"endMs",3720000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3633958-2e482e439d37ce9383e3e67fe52f6d66&start=1790&end=3720","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3633958-2e482e439d37ce9383e3e67fe52f6d66/thumbnail_1790000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6534239/Ohio/Council-votes-at-a-glance-contracts-infrastructure-projects-publicsafety-programs-and-zoning-approvals","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6534239-d7c05040745e00ec87a3acdcaa225859/orig.mp4?Expires=1771200529&Signature=QZf2451lyZD7Ef~sKE6XEEb6l6iq7Xx-6eIvzCdCK04ttcGaSFzp0nyT3wKiGfqiNQVtvRM6wBG49AZn0LAysu6Z3OAwaGqEbBS6ih3G9bHfMSN~3rbGsZPt4GoXSd~cxbw1DrDw7Eo0IXRlnI2vuLFRrfp1uRr-qJBDMUxbBTXw1Av4XRjMWJHhatyAzz5GjfpDI~cifKc3ZrmJ-yEbYU89OqlDvI53c33ABhm1zy3uB-f7soPSbuQrZAzKCPIIgd4BdMmqXhgzvyX7ALgBjj2SdhNMznW~V-uY4PmN3DIMhl-wx3F6izN7QmhZekJ9Qb-t15wxHQzFPoU8dzA7HQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Columbus","date","2025-06-02T23:20:29.097Z","article","Columbus City Council approved a package of ordinances across committees on Monday night covering vendor contracts, infrastructure projects, park construction, public‑safety programming and several zoning matters. Most items were approved on second reading or as consent; votes were recorded by roll call and many measures were declared emergencies to allow immediate contracting.

Key items approved (by ordinance number and short description):

- Ordinance 13 68 dash 2025: Renew fleet‑management software contract with AssetWorks LLC; authorize $1,150,000 from the fleet operating fund; declared an emergency — passed by roll call.

- Ordinance 1431 dash 2025: Renew subscription and services for the Bonfire strategic sourcing/procurement platform (contract with Una Solutions); waiver of competitive bidding requested; passed by roll call.

- Ordinance 12/2025: Contract with Complete General Construction Company to replace span‑wire traffic signals at Deering Avenue and South High Street; authorize $1,131,444.60 from the Street Construction Maintenance and Repair Fund; passed by roll call (estimated notice to proceed 06/05/2025).

- Ordinance 13 07 dash 2025: Amend 2024 capital improvement budget and award contract for bridge rehabilitation — Kimberly Parkway over Mason Run — authorize up to $1,536,290.24 from Federal Transportation Grants Fund and Streets & Highways Bond Fund; project will temporarily close the bridge for two to three months; passed by roll call.

- Ordinance 9 22 dash 2025: Gender Road Park project — appropriation of $2,630,582.20 within the Recreation Parks Permanent Improvement Fund to construct playgrounds, courts, picnic areas and an 18‑hole disc‑golf course; passed by roll call. (Transcript contained an inconsistent figure for the expenditure line; the appropriation amount above is the one listed twice in the ordinance text.)

- Ordinance 12 16 dash 2025 (Workforce/Education & Labor): Authorize $2,000,000 to United Way of Central Ohio to act as a fiscal agent for after‑school programming serving more than 1,000 Columbus middle‑school students beginning September 2025; passed by roll call.

- Infrastructure and utilities (Public Utilities & Sustainability Committee): multiple authorizations to move forward with water, sewer and stormwater projects, including:
• Contract modification for lateral‑line and green‑infrastructure work in the Hilltop neighborhood — contingent on Ohio Water Development Authority loan approval; up to $1,427,840.85 from the water pollution control loan fund (ordinance 01/2025) — passed.
• Contract modification with RCC Global (meter data management and enhanced‑meter rollout) — $371,820 split among utility funds — passed.
• AECOM engineering contract for the 3 Creeks relief tunnel project — up to $5,569,669.75 from the sanitary revolving loan fund — passed.
• Blueprint Hilltop lateral lining construction contract (BLD Services LLC) — up to $8,335,316.21 from water pollution control loan fund and sanitary bond fund — passed.
• Synagro Central LLC contract modification for water treatment residuals dewatering — $5,300,000 from water operating fund to continue services through 2040 — passed.
• Clinton Seward District sanitary sewer extension (university area) — up to $3,986,097.62 — passed.
• One item (ordinance 12 o 4 dash 2025) concerning a universal term contract for distribution switchgear (Pepco) was referred back to committee at council request.

- Public safety and human services:
• Ordinance 11/2025 — Office of Violence Prevention: $345,130 contract with the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to expand the advocacy co‑response (ACTIV) program across police zones — passed by roll call.
• Ordinance 13 86 dash 2025 — Board of Health will accept and appropriate a $1,000,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Health to implement enhanced HIV prevention and surveillance programs (treatment to viral suppression, PrEP access, syringe support programs, housing‑first navigation) — passed.

- Housing and homelessness:
• Ordinance 14 08 dash 2025 — Add $1,060,000 in U.S. Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance funding and authorize payment of eligible expenses related to the city’s ERA effort; passed.

- Zoning committee: Council approved multiple rezoning requests and council variances across the city, including rezoning ordinances 13 69 and 13 77 and a series of variances to permit duplexes, low‑density multifamily conversions and other site‑specific adjustments after staff and area‑commission recommendations. One variance item (an automobile repair/storage use) drew public comment about sidewalk and right‑of‑way conditions; council accepted staff findings and approved the variance, while directing staff to follow up on related sidewalk and code enforcement concerns.

Many of these items were approved unanimously by roll call in the meeting and carried as presented or with the committee‑requested amendments. Several capital projects noted that Ohio Water Development Authority loan approvals are a condition for the ordinances that reference ORDA loan contingencies.

What this means: council action cleared a slate of procurement, capital, utility and social‑service actions that will allow contracting and construction to proceed on schedules set out by departments. Several emergency designations and budget adjustments were used to ensure provider payments and contractor notices proceed without delay.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Columbus City Council Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Columbus City Council approved a broad consent package and multiple second‑reading ordinances Monday, including fleet‑software and procurement‑platform contracts, street and bridge projects, stormwater and sewer work, park construction, public‑safety program funding, and a string of zoning rezones and variances.","taxTitle","Columbus City Council, Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio","taxId",75950,"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},6534244,"Council approves more than $188 million in appropriations and contracts for senior services and home‑care programs; director warns of federal uncertainty",247,2265000,2512000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3633958-2e482e439d37ce9383e3e67fe52f6d66&start=2265&end=2512","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3633958-2e482e439d37ce9383e3e67fe52f6d66/thumbnail_2265000.jpg","/articles/6534244/Ohio/Council-approves-more-than-188-million-in-appropriations-and-contracts-for-senior-services-and-homecare-programs-director-warns-of-federal-uncertainty","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6534244-695b3364d5244c13220654dbf036e6bf/orig.mp4?Expires=1771200529&Signature=mpE68QnxgRqLAYjDQEmNROlEkC~sHWSzeSW0KFw2ztF6GDnyI1bin8zOJ7xMNXgR6iHcCxo6zDd2D6tBZSrMinTioFBeDO5ZfoAS~E0SQPX37pIGizjHLBAcuZQjk7mT2rnub24CLLtDTdqCymfoGHMAsTHUPSwOkvEQrlNMxKZYxuVLvWR3JhwhQ9N5RNHnph3yIZI4H0CwIF0PM274Xk9MkZdGEKSwP~G4xdzisaSwVUw9~VzEvqjlvzr2jZHiFebwA2GtEvr~535pTUf8zDPU6M0uPYHsIFIgIHifmVWim4j4Ba55z-SIfDG9gdB0kbxoG8COE9Wd~-zrpdPHjQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Columbus City Council on Monday approved multiple ordinances to fund and contract for senior‑services programs administered by the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging (COAAA), including large appropriations for the Passport Medicaid waiver and related home‑and‑community services.

Council approved an appropriation of $102,474,640 for the Passport program (ordinance 13 44 dash 2025) and a separate authorization (ordinance 13 48 dash 2025) allowing the Recreation and Parks director to enter into contracts with listed agencies to provide Passport home‑care and assisted‑living services for Central Ohio for July–December 2025, authorizing $86,516,252 for that contracting period. Council also approved a six‑month extension and $225,000 payment for building maintenance at a COAAA office location (ordinance 12 08 dash 2025).

Katie White, executive director of COAAA, addressed council and characterized the ordinances as “to maintain business as usual.” She told council that the Passport program has been administered locally since 1984 and serves thousands of older adults across multiple counties; the contracted providers and agency staff coordinate screening, assessment and provider certification to keep people at home rather than in institutional care.

White and councilmembers also discussed an evolving federal policy environment: the transcript records COAAA staff saying a recent federal reorganization proposal had threatened Older Americans Act programs but that updated HHS materials showed the administration planned to keep Older Americans Act programs together and not cut the programs COAAA feared would be reduced. White described the development as “cautiously optimistic” while urging continued advocacy to protect federal funding.

Council members emphasized the local stakes: several council speakers noted the scale of the appropriations and the potential harm to local services if federal dollars were cut. Council adopted the ordinances as emergency measures to ensure provider payments and continuity of services after June 30.

Council also postponed a smaller senior‑nutrition item — the Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program grant (ordinance 11 93 dash 2025) — to the June 9 agenda at the request of the adopting committee.

What the council approved: large grant and contract authorities for home‑care and assisted‑living services through COAAA to continue Passport and related programs for older adults, a short extension of existing building maintenance services, and emergency designations so providers can be paid without interruption.

Council voted by roll call on each ordinance; recorded roll calls showed unanimous support among members present for the items taken up in the Health, Human Services and Equity committee that evening.

The council’s action moves substantial local, state and federal Medicaid‑linked funding into local contracts and authorizations; COAAA said it will continue advocacy and monitoring of federal proposals that could change the funding or administration of Older Americans Act and Medicaid waiver programs.","Columbus City Council approved multi‑million dollar appropriations and contracts for Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging (COAAA) programs — including Passport Medicaid waiver funding and vendor contracts — while COAAA leadership warned of shifting federal proposals that could affect Older Americans Act programs.",{"_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},6534246,"Columbus council creates Division of Housing Stability, transfers funds and adopts emergency amendment",144,3874000,4018000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3633958-2e482e439d37ce9383e3e67fe52f6d66&start=3874&end=4018","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3633958-2e482e439d37ce9383e3e67fe52f6d66/thumbnail_3874000.jpg","/articles/6534246/Ohio/Columbus-council-creates-Division-of-Housing-Stability-transfers-funds-and-adopts-emergency-amendment","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6534246-51fcc79ffbd31f6dec1f8089971fd077/orig.mp4?Expires=1771200529&Signature=JJfEOrJ-2MMhRojC~0kh~JjaVdCeNT8mnxgvbmoCAQ9-3fdqzDAp3QIc89k4g3ZjRh7mcuyQrw9hZElsajZeVViowcUH5SJhR8RNDbo0DupQ1j4nTL88PVa9jBQsL5ZdQP4Yl5PAXSZ~rBZkqRR0f98v93hq3R22xTRoynGbIzClpQzk72CBgBYwMIRqUKuP05tv-N928umegPcoqhZw~Mr7fDpebmfXhgIdKXTleyh8nIaz8wi6FT54vj7Trfblw~4GVIWXpGUtvrpYWy3P4It3dRvOBh6YvSKfhD7dh~XRrQufeZXfYc2DNBEw2WwRHTR8kC1B9ij~1G4Qvzjpuw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Columbus City Council on Monday approved an ordinance creating a Division of Housing Stability inside the city administration and moved and reallocated general‑fund dollars to stand up the new office immediately.

Council members amended the ordinance to declare an emergency before voting for final passage, a move supporters said was necessary to begin coordinating tenant protections and ongoing rental‑assistance operations without delay.

Council leaders said the new division will centralize tenant protections and housing supports the council and administration have pursued in recent years. The ordinance amends Columbus City Code and creates a new appropriation for the Division of Housing Stability, adds an initial Administration general‑fund appropriation of $657,400, reduces the Department of Development housing division appropriation by $131,200 and transfers $525,000 from the general‑fund citywide account. Council documents and the ordinance text indicate a total package of approximately $1,313,600 in adjustments to fund the new division.

Council members described the division as a way to institutionalize tenant protections adopted under prior policy packages. “The division of housing stability is a landmark achievement for our city,” a councilmember said during the meeting. City staff described the office’s role as coordinating fair‑housing enforcement, eviction‑related services and tenant assistance programs; the director of the Department of Development told council the new division will drive the city’s long‑term strategy as federal pandemic funds exit the system.

The proposal passed after a roll‑call vote following the emergency amendment. The amendment to emergency status was approved by roll call and the ordinance was then passed by roll call during the same meeting.

What council approved is organizational and budgetary: it establishes a city division and transfers existing local funds to seed it. The ordinance text and council discussion make clear the division will coordinate enforcement of existing local tenant protections included in previous ordinances (source‑of‑income nondiscrimination, access to counsel referrals, prohibitions on retaliatory evictions, rental receipt requirements) but does not itself create new legal authorities beyond those in the ordinance.

Councilmembers briefly asked how the new division would manage the end of federal pandemic rental assistance and whether the division would oversee remaining rental‑assistance programs; the director of development said yes, the division will lead strategy for continuing assistance as federal COVID funds wind down.

The ordinance was amended to emergency and then passed. Council members who took part in the roll calls were recorded as voting in favor on both the emergency amendment and final passage.

The new Division of Housing Stability will appear in the city’s budgets and administrative code going forward; staff and council said the division will coordinate with the Department of Development and other agencies on implementation and oversight.

Looking ahead, councilmembers indicated additional policy work (code and program changes) will accompany the division’s launch, including continued attention to tenant outreach and enforcement of sidewalk and property upkeep rules that affect housing stability and neighborhood safety.","Columbus City Council voted to create a new Division of Housing Stability, reallocating and transferring general‑fund dollars and adding emergency authority so the office can begin work immediately to coordinate tenant protections and housing programs.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council votes at a glance: contracts, infrastructure projects, public‑safety programs, and zoning approvals

Council approves more than $188 million in appropriations and contracts for senior services and home‑care programs; director warns of federal uncertainty

Columbus council creates Division of Housing Stability, transfers funds and adopts emergency amendment