Cleveland City Council approves employee benefits, several rezones and multiple city items; tax-rate hearing dates set

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland City Council met Aug. 19 and voted on a range of routine and land-use items, approving a renewal of employee medical coverage, a city-initiated industrial rezoning, street closures and facility uses for community events, and several budget-related resolutions. One rezoning item received no motion and was not acted on; other zoning requests drew public comment and discussion.

The council carried most measures by unanimous or near-unanimous votes, and scheduled a future action on the city budget and tax rate for Sept. 16.

The most consequential votes and outcomes were:

• Employee benefits (Item 17): Council authorized the city manager to execute a contract to continue employee medical coverage with Blue Cross Blue Shield after a competitive process. Jason Rispy of Brinson Benefits told the council the city negotiated an effective renewal that cut a proposed double-digit increase down to a 6.63% overall rise in cost, which Rispy described as “about a $74,000 overall annual increase” after negotiation. Motion carried 4–0.

• Rezoning at Southline Street & South Travis Street (Item 18, approx. 1.41 acres): After a public hearing and discussion about compatibility with nearby commercial zoning, the council approved rezoning the parcel from single-family detached residential (R-1) to general commercial (GC). Property owner Carl Smith spoke in support, saying he bought the tract as commercial and that the residential designation had reduced its marketability. Planning staff and a council member discussed procedures for notice and adjacency; the council recorded the final vote as approval (vote recorded in session as 3–1).

• Rezoning along Dunham/Fostoria/US-59 frontage (Item 19, approx. 1.17 acres): Planning staff presented the request to rezone several small lots from R-1 to GC and noted a historic-district overlay on mapping that staff could not locate as an ordinance. After discussion there was no motion made on this item during the meeting and therefore no council action was taken.

• City-initiated rezoning to general industrial (Item 20, approx. 65.27 acres): The council approved a city-sponsored rezoning of property used as a TxDOT staging/laydown area from R-1 and GC to general industrial (GI). Staff said the change aligns zoning with current and planned use near the BNSF logistics area and the Highway 105 widening project; the motion carried 5–0.

• EDC FY2026 projects (Item 21): First reading/approval of proposed Economic Development Corporation projects for FY2026 (wayfinding signage, public art/holiday decor, parks/facility improvements, airport hangar improvements, demolition of blighted structures, workforce training). The EDC board recommended the projects; council approved the proposed projects 4–0.

• Tax-rate public hearings (Item 22): Council corrected and approved the public hearing dates for the fiscal 2026 proposed tax rate; motion carried 4–0.

• Events and facility uses (Items 25–26): The council approved an in-kind use of the Civic Center (Tough Kids Dancing with the Stars fundraiser on March 21, 2026) and a street-closure application to host Pedal in the Pines (the Chamber’s rebranded Rock & Ride) combined with Log Jam Fest on Nov. 7–8 (including evening setup Nov. 7). Both votes carried 4–0. Organizers said Pedal in the Pines expects roughly 200 cyclists for the ride and a larger festival footprint for families and vendors.

• Early construction-hours exemption for Cleveland High School (Item 27): The council granted the city manager authority to exempt the school’s contractor from the city’s construction-hours ordinance (SCC 50-32.8) to allow concrete pours beginning at 4 a.m. on Aug. 20 and Sept. 2 to reduce heat-related curing risks; motion carried 4–0.

• Rename Loop 105 support letter (Item 28): Council voted 4–0 to direct staff to prepare a letter supporting a request to rename the Loop 105 corridor as a Veterans Memorial Parkway; proponents said the change affects a section without residences and would not require address changes.

• Liberty County Hazard Mitigation Plan (Item 29): Council adopted a resolution approving the 2025 Liberty County Hazard Mitigation Plan to preserve FEMA mitigation grant eligibility; motion carried 4–0.

• Montgomery County Emergency Communications District budget (Item 30): Council approved a resolution approving the district’s FY2025–26 proposed budget as required by the Emergency Telephone Act; motion carried 4–0.

• Airport-area agricultural lease award (Item 31): Council approved awarding the RFP for agricultural land use north of the municipal airport to P2P Cattle Company and authorized staff to negotiate terms; motion carried 4–0.

• Library complaint/book decision (Item 32): After review of materials and public comment, the council voted 4–0 to retain Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi in a curated potty-training book bag used by the library’s Thousand Books Before Kindergarten program.

• Budget schedule and next steps: After an executive-session period the council voted 4–0 to consider action on the proposed FY2026 budget and related items at the Sept. 16 council meeting; staff will notify council of any need for special-call hearings if the county tax assessor’s numbers require additional public hearings.

Why it matters: The votes set near-term policy for land use near key corridors (Interstate/US-59 and Highway 105), preserve the city’s access to state and federal mitigation funding, and finalize several routine administrative items that affect city operations and community events. The benefits renewal also fixes near-term employee health costs and preserves continuity of coverage.

Council members and staff who spoke at length on these items included Emily Navarro, the city’s director of community development; Jason Rispy of Brinson Benefits; property owner Carl Smith; and several council members including Rachel Hall, Brent McWaters and Roscoe Ward. Navarro provided staff analyses during the zoning hearings, and Rispy provided the market and loss-ratio context during the benefits discussion.

— Votes at a glance prepared from the Aug. 19 Cleveland City Council meeting record; actions below list the motions and recorded outcomes as read into the minutes.