mincow 10-13-25

1 MINUTES OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OCTOBER 13, 2025 EAST CONFERENCE ROOM Present: Councilmembers Kepple, Baker, Bullock, Marx, Strebig, Steiner, Evans Also Present: Council staff, CASE interviewees Call to Order: 6:45pm Approval of the minutes of the September 29, 2025 Committee of the Whole. Motion by President Kepple, seconded by Vice President Baker to approve the September 29, 2025 minutes. All members voted in favor. Minutes approved. RESOLUTION 2025-41 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, appointing _____________ to the Tree Advisory & Education Board for the three- year term beginning January 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2028. ( referred to COW 9/2/25) No action taken. RESOLUTION 2025- 42 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, appointing four volunteer members to the Complete and Active Streets Education & Advisory Board and one ex-officio non-voting member of Council to serve as liaison. referred to COW 9/2/25) Complete and Active Streets Education & Advisory Board Interviews President Kepple conducted the interviews by asking each interviewee the following three questions: 1) Why are you interested in serving on CASE, and what skills, knowledge and experiences would you contribute? 2) What do you know about Complete Streets and why is it important? 3) What is one near short term goal on which CASE could begin working right away? Tim Dewald In response to the first question, Mr. Dewald spoke about his background and experience, including his efforts toward developing pop-up parks in New York City. Mr. Dewald spoke about the appeal of Lakewood’ s walkability and some of the ways in which he navigates the city, as a pedestrian, cyclist, parent, and public transit user. He also spoke about his professional skills in communication and public engagement, and his prior role on the board of Lakewood Alive. Docusign Envelope ID: 56306208- CCBD- 4C01-ACEE- D1E6940BEDE1

2 In response to the second question, Mr. Dewald spoke about the importance of design that supports active transportation and stated that Complete Streets would work to make citizens safer, healthier, and that it would encourage more time spent in public spaces. He noted that the Complete Streets Policy would help make Lakewood’ s walkable streets safe and effective for everyone. In response to the third question, Mr. Dewald answered that a project focused on daylighting would be a good first initiative and gave specific examples of where daylighting could be beneficial. Lucinda Cave In response to the first question, Ms. Cave explained that serving on the CASE Board would encompass all of her interests. She stated that her primary goal is to increase the quality of life in Lakewood by making it safer for everybody to navigate its streets. She spoke about her experience on the board of Bike Cleveland and her work in community engagement. She also spoke about being an avid cyclist and her desire to make the streets safe for anyone who wants to use an alternative mode of transportation. In response to the second question, she spoke about the importance of CASE for the health of community. She named safety as a number one priority and listed some of the residents who would benefit from CASE, such as those who don’ t have cars or who use wheelchairs. In response to the third question, Ms. Cave responded that improving intersections, particularly by implementing a leading pedestrian interval, would increase safety for pedestrians. She referenced several intersections that could use evaluation and brought up a specific issue at an intersection that was eventually remediated by the city. She also mentioned the need for a bike rack at the Post Office. President Kepple responded to Ms. Cave’ s remark about crosswalk improvements, referencing a change brought about by feedback from the ADA Task Force. Emily Lindberg In response to the first question, Ms. Lindberg responded that she is extremely passionate about making Lakewood accessible and safe for all ages and abilities. She stated that she is particularly interested in the CASE Board’ s unique potential to encourage a cultural shift toward active transportation. Ms. Lindberg spoke about her relevant personal and professional experiences, including details from her work as a cycling instructor, her work educating cyclists and motorists on how to share the road safely, and her creation of outreach materials on safety and bike skills. She elaborated on her experience as a collaborator, specifically with the Hike & Bike program. Ms. Lindberg provided printed examples of the intersection audit tool she created to evaluate intersections for safety. She also spoke about her lived experience as a Lakewood resident since 2011, and the various experiences she has had navigating Lakewood on bicycle during that time. In response to the second question, Ms. Lindberg commented that streets are public spaces for everyone and are not exclusively intended for cars. She stated that more balance is needed for Docusign Envelope ID: 56306208- CCBD- 4C01-ACEE- D1E6940BEDE1

3 pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and drivers. She provided specific examples of improvements that could be made, such as curb bump- outs, islands, and raised crosswalks. In response to the third question, Ms. Lindberg answered that CASE could identify and advance small-scale safety projects such as daylighting. She gave several other specific examples that would promote safe routes to school, such as fresh paint on crosswalks and better signage at school intersections. Ms. Lindberg brought materials that she personally created regarding safe routes to schools to share with Council. Cody George In response to the first question, Mr. George stated his interest in making a positive impact through his contribution to the advisory board. He provided information about his varied personal experiences commuting as a driver, a public transit user, a bicycle commuter, and as a delivery van driver in a densely populated area. In response to the second question, Mr. George spoke about his goals for the equitability, safety and accessibility of Lakewood streets. He gave examples of areas in need of improvement and spoke about his current professional work in the medical device industry, explaining that he is accustomed to following an idea through to completion. In response to the third question, Mr. George spoke about his perspective on actionable items that could be accomplished without infrastructure changes, including reviewing the Active Transportation Plan to identify priorities and gaps. He emphasized the importance of communicating with residents to discover what they want and need and then focusing on what would work within each specific community. He advocated that a robust communication plan and good rapport with the community should be the groundwork for the advisory board. Sean McDermott In response to the first question, Mr. McDermott spoke about his long history of civic involvement in Lakewood and his desire to see the City thrive. He provided background information on his work as the Chief Planning and Design Officer for the Cleveland MetroParks as well as his role on the Planning Commission for the City of Lakewood. In response to the second question, Mr. Dermott spoke about his extensive education and experience in civil engineering and design, particularly in inner ring suburbs. He stated that Complete Streets is a generational opportunity to positively affect infrastructure that would increase the quality of life in Lakewood. In response to the third question, Mr. McDermott stated that CASE could begin by convening an annual summit on the status of the current plans for the City. He spoke about how CASE could bring attention to the work currently being done while evaluating priorities and determining actionable steps to move forward. Tracy Greenberg Docusign Envelope ID: 56306208- CCBD- 4C01-ACEE- D1E6940BEDE1

4 In response to the first question, Ms. Greenberg said that she has lived in Lakewood for over 20 years and wants to do what she can to make Lakewood the best possible community it can be. She shared that she has experience navigating the community as a person with a disability using a wheelchair and also riding a bike and driving a vehicle. She also spoke about her experience serving as co-chair of the ADA Task Force and said she would like to see that work through by incorporating it into the work of the CASE Advisory Board in the best possible way. In response to the second question, Ms. Greenberg spoke about how Complete Streets policy calls for transportation access for everyone. She said that Lakewood does a good job of promoting equitable transportation access, but she also highlighted areas for improvements, such as ensuring sidewalk access for all in construction zones. She emphasized the importance of enacting a Complete Streets approach to the city’ s many public rights-of-way. In response to the third question, Ms. Greenberg suggested a first step would be for the members of the advisory board to work together to craft a mission statement. From there she suggested taking an inventory of the current projects, possibly starting with the data gathered from the Report a Problem” feature on the City website, to determine the top safety issues that residents have already reported. She said it would be important to develop a system to centralize the various components of the process. Anson Hall In response to the first question, Mr. Hall spoke about his experience growing up in Shaker Heights which he described as a transit- oriented community. He said since moving to Lakewood in 2013 he has enjoyed walking and biking around the community with his three young children. He spoke about his professional role working at Destination Cleveland, and how his experience with stakeholder engagement would translate to the work of the CASE Advisory Board. He also spoke about his various community service roles and how he is committed to working for the good of the community. In response to question number two, Mr. Hall spoke about how he views Complete Streets as a human centered way of transportation planning and design that emphasizes a balanced approach for all users. He also said that he views the CASE Advisory board as part of the umbrella of the Active Transit Plan, that can help guide how everything fits together. In response to the third question, Mr. Hall suggested looking at crosswalks that have the most traffic and exploring ways to create improved visibility. He also spoke about the importance of providing equitable transportation options for underserved areas and suggested revisiting the 2022 bike and scooter share pilot program to see if there is a better way it could be implemented to improve community access. Martha Woerner In response to the first question, Ms. Woerner shared that she did not buy her first care until she moved to Lakewood at the age of 30 because she had always lived in dense cities where she could walk or take transit. She said that this experience has informed her approach to transit with her own family. She spoke about the many benefits of prioritizing biking and alternative transportation including the economic, environmental and social impacts. Ms. Woerner shared Docusign Envelope ID: 56306208- CCBD- 4C01-ACEE- D1E6940BEDE1

5 that she walks her two kids to daycare each morning – and now that they are learning to ride bikes, she is even more aware of the potential hazards. She also spoke about her experience serving on the Charter Review Commission and working on other community task forces and said she would relish the opportunity to serve the community in this capacity. In response to the second question, Ms. Woerner said that she has been following the plans the city has adopted related to active transit and she has also been following the transit work of Smart Growth America. She said she has been growing her knowledge on the subject matter since it is not a part of her professional work and she is excited to learn more about the topic. In response to the third question, Ms. Woerner said she would be interested in digging deeper into the projects underway to see how the advisory board might be able to support that work. She also suggested undertaking a walking audit as suggested by Smart Growth America to get a better understanding of current neighborhood conditions. Cassandra Organ In response to the first question, Ms. Organ said she hopes to bring meaningful changes to transit projects in the City and to help encourage community and resident support. She spoke about the importance of including community input when designing transit projects to understand the needs and values of the residents. She shared that she has been regularly attending Council meetings for the past two years and is a board member of Bike Lakewood. She also spoke about her and her husband’ s commitment to getting around Lakewood without the use of a car as much as possible. She said she appreciates what Lakewood has to offer as a bikeable and walkable community, yet she has seen the close calls and would like to help bring more lived experience to the forefront of decision making. In response to the second question, Ms. Organ said that she has been following Council meetings for the past two years and is very aware of what has been going on with the transit related ordinances and plans. She said she appreciates that Council adopted Complete Streets legislation as it shows that the City values the infrastructure we inherited and will make sure there is consideration for all road users in future projects. She said that the Complete Streets Ordinance will promote accommodation for people of all ages and abilities, encourage collaboration amongst the community and City officials, and is an important public safety tool that will help people to feel safe using any mode of transit. In response to the third question, Ms. Organ proposed focusing on daylighting as a first intervention for the advisory board. She spoke of the benefits of daylighting and said there are many low costs ways to implement daylighting measures at intersections that have already been identified as problematic. She suggested it could be an easy win that will help both drivers as well as cyclists and pedestrians. John Mitterholzer In response to the first question, Mr. Mitterholzer spoke about his previous community service in the City of Lakewood and how he values modeling civic participation to his two sons aged 20 and 17. He said that this role would intersect well with his commitment to Lakewood and his professional experience as the Director of Climate Action at the George Gund Foundation. He Docusign Envelope ID: 56306208- CCBD- 4C01-ACEE- D1E6940BEDE1

6 also spoke about his experience helping to write and pass the Complete Streets legislation for the City of Cleveland. In response to the second question, Mr. Mitterholzer said that he has been immersed in the Complete Street world for the past 15 years as he helped the City of Cleveland write their legislation and he also helped to launch the advocacy group Bike Cleveland. He said his 17- year-old son bikes to Lakewood High School every day, and there is a lot more that can be done to improve our bike infrastructure. He also spoke about how the norm for the past 100 years has been to plan streets around cars but as a streetcar suburb Lakewood was planned around not driving and we should strive to support people that use all modes of transportation. In response to the third question, Mr. Mitterholzer said that the City has great bike lanes to connect the east and west ends of the City but they could do a better job with the north and south connections. He suggested some north and south connectors could be created relatively quickly using flexi posts and striping. At the end of the interviews President Kepple made a motion to enter executive session for the purpose of considering the appointment of a public official, seconded by Vice President Baker. A roll call vote was conducted as follows: Yeas: Baker, Bullock, Evans, Hamilton Steiner, Kepple, Strebig, Marx Nay: none Council entered Executive Session at 8:25 p.m. Council exited Executive Session at 8:54 p.m. President Kepple made a motion to insert the following names in Resolution 2025-42; Section 1: Sean McDermott and Tracy Greenberg; Section 2: Cody Geroge; Section 3: Emily Lindberg. Vice President Baker seconded the motion. Discussion: President Kepple asked Councilmembers if they would also like to select the ex- officio representative this evening. It was suggested that Vice President Baker would be the natural choice, to which he agreed. In response to a question from Councilmember Bullock, Vice President Baker assured everyone that he would provide timely updates and reports on what is covered at the CASE Advisory Board meetings. On the motion: President Kepple made a motion to insert the name Kyle Baker in Section 4 of Resolution 2025-42. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. President Kepple then made a motion to refer Resolution 2025-42 as amended favorably to full Council, seconded by Vice President Baker. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Docusign Envelope ID: 56306208- CCBD- 4C01-ACEE- D1E6940BEDE1

7 The Committee of the Whole adjourned at 8:59 p.m. Approved: Sarah Kepple, Chair Committee of the Whole Maureen M. Bach, Clerk of Council 11/17/2025 Docusign Envelope ID: 56306208- CCBD- 4C01-ACEE- D1E6940BEDE1