City of Green committees advance investment-advisor move, major contracts and planning items; resident urges storage‑unit moratorium

The City of Green’s committee meetings on May 12 advanced a slate of contracts and planning items and heard a public plea for a moratorium on storage‑unit development.

Finance Committee Chair Councilman Humphrey presented Resolution 2026‑R21 to move the city’s investment account to U.S. Bank while retaining the same investment advisor, Michael McCullough. Finance Director Goodrich told the committee the transfer would be made "in kind," with no buying or selling, and that McCullough has proposed cutting the city’s advisory fee from 20 basis points to 18 basis points, which Goodrich said would save "around $4,300 a year." Humphrey told the committee he does not personally benefit from the arrangement: "I don't benefit in any way," he said.

The committee discussed potential perception issues because of corporate ties between banks and wealth managers; Goodrich said the city would continue with the same advisor because he specializes in public‑entity investing. Chair Humphrey indicated the item would move forward for second‑reading consideration at the regular council meeting.

The committee also heard a payroll item. Goodrich presented Resolution 2026‑R23 to grant a 3.25% across‑the‑board salary adjustment for non‑bargaining employees — matching the AFSCME increase — and requested $113,100 to fund the change so a new payroll clerk would not require retroactive pay.

In Environment & Parks, Director Carr reported trail and connector work at Butler Park is complete, including a connector near the basketball hoop and widening of an existing trail to 10 feet, to improve pedestrian safety.

Public Safety Committee Chair Mr. DeBees described a D‑5 liquor license transfer (TMP5344) for Beckley Group LLC, doing business as Dockside Grill at 3717 South Main Street. DeBees said there were no adverse sheriff's office reports and the committee agreed not to request a hearing before the state liquor authority.

Planning, Community and Economic Development Committee discussed several land‑use items. Chair Mr. Noble said Resolution 2026‑R16, the dedication plat for Southwood Drive Phase 2, is on third reading and will be moved for adoption at the full council meeting; the project completes the roadway between Tabs Drive and Arlington Road. The committee also reviewed a TIP/TIF agreement for Halasa Properties LLC (Akron’s Finest Mulch) to exempt 100% of improvement value from property tax for 30 years and discussed Ordinance 2026‑008 to rezone roughly 31 acres for the Greensburg Meadow planned development (proposing 101 single‑family lots, about 3.3 units per acre). Noble noted a public hearing is scheduled for May 26, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. and encouraged residents to participate.

During public comment, resident Des Wertheimer asked the council to adopt a one‑year moratorium on new storage‑unit facilities to allow the city to study policy and code changes. Wertheimer cited nine existing facilities and said they contain roughly 580 units. The law director warned that the owner of a recently denied proposal had filed an appeal and that litigation is pending, cautioning councilors before taking action on that specific property.

Transportation Committee Chair Mr. Maker reopened discussion of the Arlington Road Corridor Improvements (Resolution 2026‑R17). Engineer estimates showed a project cost of about $13.886 million; the low bid from Extreme Elements LLC was $13,543,261.70. Committee members discussed contingency authority, federal reimbursement (staff said the federal program reimburses roughly 80% of progress payments), scheduling and potential traffic impacts during construction. Maker also presented a companion contract to finish Southwood Drive Phase 2: the low bid from Kavanaugh Building Corporation was $1,227,596 and second‑reading passage was requested so work can proceed.

Intergovernmental and Utilities Chair Mr. Brandenburg presented Resolution 2026‑R22 to accept a $20,000 early‑access grant from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) for energy‑efficiency or infrastructure projects tied to the city's new electric aggregation; staff said part of the funds would likely be used to renew the ChargePoint EV charging software contract (estimated $10,000–$12,000).

Before adjourning, council voted to go into executive session to discuss pending litigation and invited the mayor, the law director, planning director, engineer, clerk of council and full council. The committee meetings recessed to reconvene for the full council meeting at 7:10 p.m.

What happens next: several of the items discussed — including the investment‑advisor resolution (R21), the Southwood Drive dedication (R16), the TIP/TIF agreement (R07), the Arlington Road contract (R17) and the NOPEC grant acceptance (R22) — were positioned for further action at the regular council meeting; the Greensburg Meadow rezoning will proceed to a public hearing on May 26.