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

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.