City Council brief for October 24

The city council meeting on Oct. 24 saw lots of active discussion on a variety of topics in both the 1 p.m. session and the 3 p.m. session. Discussed were things like the Tinsley Park renovations, the reappointment of Avery Johnson as vice mayor and cryptomining.

In the 1 p.m. session, council discussed the Tinsley Park facelift involving the installation of several new pickleball courts. Currently there are only six permanent courts at Tinsley for pickleball, and the city manager, Joe Fivas, discussed the addition of six more. A member of the Cleveland Pickleball Association, Rich Lively, gave a presentation in regards to the pickleball courts, saying that CPA would ideally like a total of 24 courts at Tinsley since this would enable the city to begin hosting professional tournaments for pickleball.

The Tinsley Park renovations will also include redoing the parking lot and adding security locks to the bathrooms to cut down on vandalism.

There is nothing currently approved but the conversation will be on-going.

During the 3 p.m. session, discussion and voting of the reappointment of Avery Johnson as vice mayor occurred. Johnson has served in his role of vice mayor for 20 years and has been a part of city government since 1993. Before being a vice mayor, Johnson worked at Maytag Cooking Products for 44 years, in several different management positions. Once the vote passed, members of the city council expressed their support and gratitude to Johnson. 

“Vice mayor, it is an honor to serve with you,” said Mayor Kevin Brooks in response to the reappointment. 

Another topic of discussion at the 3 p.m. session regarded cryptomining and data processing facilities. The city of Cleveland is discussing adding new city ordinances which would govern where and how cryptomining facilities can be built within city limits. The conversation was driven by concerns over what has happened in a neighboring city, where a lawsuit with a bitcoin company has occurred. Earlier this year, the lawsuit came to a settlement which resulted in the cryptomining facility being removed.

The next city council meeting is being held on Monday, Nov. 14 with sessions at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.