Garfield Heights council adopts four emergency ordinances, honors local child-care provider

Garfield Heights City Council on Monday night adopted four emergency ordinances and a resolution and heard routine city reports, including a new online permitting launch and an upcoming hazardous-waste collection.

The council unanimously approved: an extension of the moratorium on new smoke- and vape-shop permits (Ordinance 21-2025); an ordinance authorizing the city to participate in the Ohio Ambulance Supplemental Payment Program (Ordinance 22-2025); midyear appropriations for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2025 (Ordinance 23-2025); and an agreement to obtain city liability and property coverage through the Public Entities Pool of Ohio (Ordinance 24-2025). The council also moved Resolution 16-2025 to the beginning of the agenda and adopted it to honor local child-care provider Aliyah Loves.

Why it matters: The moratorium preserves the status quo while the city reviews rules governing smoke- and vape-related businesses. The ambulance supplemental-payment ordinance enables the city to pursue federal reimbursement for ambulance runs, a source of revenue the fire department and administration said would not increase local costs. Appropriations and insurance renewal are routine fiscal actions that authorize spending and coverage for the rest of the year.

Votes and formal actions

All four ordinances and the resolution were adopted by roll call with recorded unanimous tallies of 5-0 in favor. The council suspended the three-reading rule and waived Rule 24 when adopting each ordinance, actions the council used to treat the measures as emergencies and adopt them at the same meeting.

City reports and program updates

In reports to council, administration staff said the service department will hold a hazardous-waste roundup and a shredding event on Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to noon, with drop-off available at the service garage on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The city is hiring seasonal staff including part-time patchers, lifeguards, concession workers and seasonal grass-cutting employees.

The fire department, through the administration, asked council to support Ordinance 22-2025 so the city can receive reimbursements under the state federal supplemental-payment program; the administration characterized the measure as no-cost to the city. The fire department also reported that a 2024 engine was placed in service March 5 and that a firefighter swearing-in is scheduled for March 26.

The building department will launch a new online permitting and payment portal, CitizenServe, on Monday, March 31; staff said the office will be closed for final installation on the preceding Friday.

Resolution honoring child-care provider

Council adopted Resolution 16-2025 honoring Aliyah Loves for her years of child-care service and for operating Leah's Learning Center at 4949 Turney Road. Loves accepted the recognition and told council she appreciates being recognized and that serving children is her passion.

What the council did not do

There were no public comments raising substantive objections that led to changes in the adopted measures, and no items were tabled or postponed.

Next steps

The adopted ordinances took effect as emergency measures per council action; staff will move forward on implementation steps described at the meeting (insurance renewal, appropriations adjustments, enrollment in the ambulance payment program and continued moratorium enforcement). Administration staff and department directors will return to council as needed with implementation details and follow-ups.

(Reporter note: details summarized from council roll calls and department reports recorded during the March 24, 2025 Garfield Heights City Council meeting.)