Cincinnati City Council approves funding, street vacations and development agreements in packed business session

Cincinnati City Council approved a series of emergency ordinances, funding agreements, appointments and honorary namings during its business session, including financing steps for the Findlay Center redevelopment, transfers to replenish fleet equipment and funding to complete a Camp Washington skate park.

The actions move forward several development projects and grant-funded programs citywide. Council approved funding and bonding measures tied to the Findlay Street/Over-the-Rhine redevelopment, authorized transfers for vehicle and equipment purchases, accepted federal and state grants for transportation and victim services, and confirmed multiple board appointments.

Council used roll-call votes for each item. Several measures were introduced and passed on first reading under emergency suspension; no recorded no votes or abstentions were stated during the roll calls.

Key items passed included an emergency ordinance authorizing the issuance of economic development revenue bonds and related notes for the Findlay Center project and companion funding agreements with Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation, OTR Holdings and Crossroads Community Health (items 35–37, 43–45). Council members described the bundle as “transformative” for the Over-the-Rhine/Findlay corridor.

Council also approved a $1.294,008 transfer from a balance-sheet reserve to the general fund unappropriated surplus to buy automotive and motorized equipment for Public Services, Fire and Police, and to provide the final funding for the Camp Washington skate park (item 38). Council members said the snow season and a portion of fleet outages highlighted the need for a follow-up comprehensive fleet plan.

Other approvals included: - Acceptance of energy tax credits from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to reallocate into the city’s revolving energy loan fund (item 30). - An increase to an existing Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) award—presented as moving from about $1.2 million to $1.3 million—for the Wausau (Wauson) Way Trail (item 32). - Authorization to apply for and accept a State of Ohio Office of the Attorney General grant for a National Crime Victims’ Rights Week community awareness project supporting the Police Department’s Victims Assistance Liaison Unit (item 31). - Acceptance of an in-kind media promotion donation from Radio One for CRC’s Spring Fling (item 39). - Approval of an allocation of $1.9 million from an Ohio opioid distributor settlement for a grant program administered with Hamilton County (item 40). - Multiple appointments and reappointments to boards and advisory groups, including the Cincinnati Arts Association and the Lincoln Airport Oversight and Advisory Board (items 1–8). - Honorary street naming: Redding Road at Maple Avenue in Avondale designated with the honorary secondary name “Cat Williams Way” (item 42).

Council held companion introductions and combined comment periods for related items (for example items 33–34 and 35–37 were introduced together because they are related to the Findlay Center/OTR project). Several council members thanked regional and federal partners—citing OKI and federal funding—as instrumental to completing multi-jurisdictional trail and streetscape work.

Council members also signaled this budget year will be challenging: a council member reported an approximate $10 million general-fund gap and encouraged any new spending proposals to be offset by attendant cuts during the budget process.

Votes at a glance (selected items; all passed as recorded on roll calls): • Items 1–2 — Reappointments to Cincinnati Arts Association (Laura A. Carr; Marvel Gentry Harmon) — passed by roll call. • Items 3–8 — Appointments to Lincoln Airport Oversight & Advisory Board (James Murray; Susan Brown Knight; Neil Tillo; Robert Rourke; Alyssa Pogue; Anne Sessler) — passed by roll call. • Item 10 — Resolution recognizing the All in Cincinnati Coalition as a 2025 Women’s History Month honoree — passed by roll call. • Item 30 — Emergency ordinance accepting energy tax credits and reallocating them to the revolving energy loan fund — passed by roll call. • Item 31 — Emergency ordinance authorizing application for/acceptance of an Ohio AG victims-awareness grant for CPD Victims Assistance Liaison Unit programming — passed by roll call. • Item 32 — Ordinance amending prior ordinance to increase STBG funding for the Wauson Way Trail (to roughly $1.3 million) — passed by roll call. • Items 33–34 — Street vacations/dedications related to Findlay Center/Over-the-Rhine — passed by roll call. • Items 35–37, 43–45 — Bonding ordinances and funding/development agreements authorizing economic development revenue bonds, TIF transfers and funding agreements for the Findlay Center/OTR redevelopment (multiple companion items) — passed by roll call. • Item 38 — Transfer of $1,294,008 to the general fund unappropriated surplus for vehicle/equipment purchases and skate-park funding — passed by roll call. • Item 39 — Acceptance of an in-kind media donation from Radio One (reported value >$35,000) for CRC Spring Fling — passed by roll call. • Items 40–41 — Opioid settlement expenditure ($1.9 million) and HOME Investment Partnership funding agreements for downtown rehabilitation projects (Oscam/Ozcan/Ozcam Flats as read in meeting) — passed by roll call. • Item 42 — Honorary street naming (Cat Williams Way) — passed by roll call.

Notes: Where the transcript offered variant or unclear proper names for specific private partners (for example the mixed spellings of a downtown conversion project, read aloud as “Oscam Flats” or similar), council introduced and passed funding agreements as stated on the floor; the ordinance titles and funding amounts were recorded in the meeting minutes and will be reflected in the official ordinance text filed with the clerk.