Council member requests ‘off-table’ discussion about Cleveland Public Power service center
A lease renewal for Cleveland Public Power’s (CPP) East Side service center is stalled. Cleveland City Council’s Utilities Committee held legislation that would allow the city to renew a lease with City Rose, Ltd. for $250,000 per year to continue housing the center at 14100 Darley Ave. in North Collinwood.
The committee spoke with Director of Public Utilities Martin Keane and David O’Neill, executive managing director with Hanna Commercial Real Estate. The legislation would extend the lease for five years with an option for an additional five-year renewal.
A discussion ensued around the feasibility of consolidating all of CPP’s service center operations at its West 41st Street location. Committee Chair and Ward 16 Council Member Brian Kazy said he would like to have “off-table discussions” with council colleagues and department officials about the importance of having a CPP service center on the city’s East Side before the committee’s next meeting on May 2.
‘Not a clean piece of legislation’ regarding clean energy
Keane was later joined by the city’s Director of Sustainability and Climate Justice, Sarah O’Keeffe, to discuss a proposal to extend the city’s Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council Community Choice Aggregation Program. O’Keeffe said the program gives Cleveland families and small businesses choices in utility providers to get lower rates. It provides renewable energy and has saved customers an average of $275 per year, she said.
The committee also decided to hold this legislation until its next meeting. The legislation isn’t “clean” and was not submitted on time, Kazy said.
Status report on DigitalC
Joshua Edmonds, CEO of DigitalC, gave the Utilities Committee an update on the company’s broadband project outcomes. Ward 15 Council Member Jenny Spencer brought up the end of federal funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
Edmonds said that the loss of the $30 discount the ACP provides low-income Internet customers would be a “morbid win” for DigitalC in its work in signing up new customers. “We don’t love that it’s going away,” said Edmonds, “but…it co-signs our business model in a very unique way.”
Need help with housing or utilities? Signal Cleveland’s Olivera Perkins has an update on pandemic-related housing assistance programs and resources still serving Cuyahoga County residents.
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