North Ridgeville — On Sept. 10, 2025, the North Ridgeville City Council Committee of the Whole voted to return Ordinance 2025-104, the measure to designate the North Ridgeville Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) as an official city tool, to full council for further consideration with a condition that the CIC board amend its bylaws to include at least one council member.

The CIC designation was presented as a way to let the city complete certain real-estate and economic-development transactions more quickly and to access some grant funding the city otherwise could not. “The CIC already exists. So this legislation before you is just designating the CIC as a tool of the city,” Mayor Kevin Corcoran said during the meeting.

Councilmembers and members of the public raised questions about oversight, funding, and board composition. Resident Susan Olsen asked whether the city needed the CIC given possible future budget constraints: “Is this absolutely, positively necessary considering we're looking at a future where everyone is saying finances are gonna be strapped?”

Supporters on council said the designation would not obligate the city to fund the nonprofit. Councilmember Winkle read from the draft agreement’s Exhibit A to underline that, in his view, the city would not be forced to contribute: “...it says the city shall not be required to make any financial contributions to the CIC and nothing in this agreement in the plan shall be construed as permitting the CIC to obligate the city except as expressly provided forth in this agreement.” Outside counsel Russ Balthus told council the document was not AI-generated and emphasized that “there's no obligation for the city to appropriate any funds and that would always be subject to the council's appropriating power.”

Several councilmembers said they want council representation on the CIC board. Opinions differed on how to implement that representation: some favored a seat tied to a specific office, while others preferred allowing the council president to appoint a council designee based on relevant expertise.

Legal and procedural issues were also discussed. Council heard from legal counsel that the CIC, once designated as the city’s official community improvement corporation, would be subject to Ohio’s public-records and open-meetings laws, meaning its meetings and records would be public. Council members also heard that, because a CIC is organized as an Ohio nonprofit, nonprofit practice typically does not include alternate board members in the way some city boards do.

Councilmember Jacobs made a motion to send 2025-104 back to council for further consideration with the condition that the CIC board change its makeup to include at least one council member; Councilmember Swank seconded. The clerk called the roll and the motion carried (yes votes recorded by Swink, Schaefer, Abens, Winkle, Awig and Jacobs). The motion does not adopt the ordinance; it returns the item to council with the stated condition.

Why it matters: A designated CIC can act more quickly on property and development matters than the city can through the usual legislative process, and it can apply for some grants and private funding sources that municipalities cannot. Dissenting comments at the meeting focused on oversight, risk of expanding city activity beyond core services, and the need for explicit exit or force-majeure language.

Next steps: The ordinance will return to full council. Staff and the existing CIC board were asked to consider changes to CIC bylaws and membership so the board includes a council member to satisfy the condition placed by the Committee of the Whole.