Full Document
1 MINUTES OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FEBRUARY 2, 2026 COUNCIL CHAMBERS Present: Councilmembers Baker, Bullock, Bixenstine, Kepple, Strebig, Steiner, Evans Also Present: Chief of Staff John Storey, Finance Director Mahoney, Law Director Vargo, Planning Director Byington, Tom Kuluris of Liberty Development, Joe Berardi and Melissa Spires of Berardi Architects, Anthony Valencic and Mike Weber of John G. Johnson Construction, Council staff Call to Order: 6:06 p.m. Approval of the minutes of the February 2, 2026 Committee of the Whole. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the February 2, 2026 Committee of the Whole. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Minutes approved. Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall Space Due Diligence Update ( referred to COW 10/20/25) Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall Space Considerations Amended Schedule ( referred to COW 01/05/26) Communication from Mayor George regarding presenting the Administration’ s case for relocating to downtown Lakewood: 1470 Warren Road. President Kepple opened the discussion, stating that the goal of the meeting was to continue previous deliberations regarding the City Hall space considerations. At the invitation of President Kepple, Chief of Staff John Storey made opening remarks thanking Council for its willingness to continue the dialogue regarding City Hall. He expressed regrets that Liberty’ s team leader, Dru Siley, is home sick, though he had planned to attend tonight. He introduced Tom Kuluris from Liberty as well as Liberty’ s team of architects and financial professionals. Chief Storey stated that by next week’ s meeting the Administration intends to have all of Council’ s questions answered and encouraged councilmembers to submit additional questions within the next several days. Mr. Kuluris of Liberty Development expressed that his goal was to let Council know Liberty’ s perspective and to help Council get familiar with the team of professionals that Liberty has convened on this project. He reviewed the recent history of the project, noting that several years after Liberty purchased the two Warren Rd. buildings, the Administration approached Liberty about potentially purchasing one of the buildings for a City Hall expansion project. Mr. Kuluris attributed Liberty’ s confidence in the project to its previous experience renovating the 10,000 square foot building next door. He noted that Liberty has held both buildings long enough to be familiar with the building’ s issues and challenges and feels they can be addressed. Docusign Envelope ID: D379975C- 37C0-464F-8698-CE5DA782112E
2 Mr. Kuluris explained that his project team includes Berardi Architects and John G. Johnson Construction ( JGJ) and that this team has significant experience working together. He described other major projects on which the team collaborated including the Bulkley Building in Playhouse Square. He discussed other projects completed by Liberty for Cleveland State University, University Hospitals, and big box stores. He stated that Liberty’ s projects are always delivered on time and that his clients and contractors always give positive reviews. He expressed agreement with the Administration’ s vision for a City Hall at Warren Road and slight disappointment that the project contemplates selling the property to the City. He characterized Liberty as a company committed to building a real estate portfolio and providing continual investment into those properties. Mr. Kuluris mentioned that the forthcoming floor plan was informed by interviews with each City Hall department to understand its needs and staffing. He noted that the proposed floor plan is not a final product and does not include fine details, but that he is confident that it is a good foundation for additional discussion. Mr. Berardi introduced himself and his architecture firm, emphasizing that the company specializes in historic rehabilitation in Cleveland and the surrounding areas. He highlighted his experience and that his firm is a family business built on relationships. He briefly touched on the projects on which Berardi and Liberty have collaborated as well as other projects led by his firm such as the rehabilitation of West Side Market, the Artcraft building, and others. Melissa Spires introduced herself, stating her role as Project Executive and Director of Operations at Berardi and briefly mentioned the projects on which she has participated. Mr. Berardi displayed architectural renderings of a proposed floor plan for 1470 Warren. The plans were developed based on input from Liberty’ s Dru Siley, who interviewed city departments about their needs. He emphasized that historic integrity is a main focus of the design and he expressed confidence in being able to do that through landscaping, new windows, cleaning, and other strategies. He pointed out features from the renderings of the building’ s exterior including a new modern- style transparent awning at the building entrance and additional parking. Mr. Berardi displayed renderings of floor plans for floors 1 and 2 of the building’ s interior and pointed out notable features. He stated that the first floor would have an open, dynamic feel. He also noted that Lakewood Police would have an office on Floor 1 to provide security. He characterized floor 2 as more private in nature. Mr. Berardi concluded that although the building is from 1899, that with the changes proposed by the team, the building will feel like a brand- new space. He expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to bring life back to this historic structure. Mr. Kuluris commented on the beauty of 1470 Warren, even compared to Liberty’ s building next door. Acknowledging that this is the first time Council has seen these renderings, he expressed his expectation that additional changes may be requested. He noted that the proposed price is based on these renderings. Docusign Envelope ID: D379975C- 37C0-464F-8698-CE5DA782112E
3 Anthony Valencic and Mike Weber of John G. Johnson Construction ( JGJ) introduced themselves and explained their roles as co-owners of John G. Johnson Construction. Mr. Valencic described his intimate knowledge of both of Liberty’ s Warren Rd buildings that he gained by walking prospective buyers through the properties over the years. Based on his first- hand knowledge of the buildings and his experience working on similar projects, he expressed confidence in the estimate provided to the City for the renovation. He described similar projects that JGJ has worked on and is currently working on. He listed a resume of municipalities for which JGJ has performed work. He expressed familiarity with prevailing wage, union agreements, and labor issues. In response to a question from President Kepple, Mr. Kuluris explained that if the City wished to change elements of the baseline design Liberty would price out a new quote. At that point it would be up to the City to decide if they wanted to incur the additional cost. In response to a question from Councilmember Strebig about the staff survey, Director Byington recounted that Dru Siley met with each department individually and asked about specific needs and preferences. She said that the conversations were high level, but they provided enough information to meet the needs of the individual departments and the City as a whole. Mr. Storey added that the work Mr. Siley did was an extension of the initial study conducted by Weber Murphy Fox. In response to additional questions from Councilmember Strebig, Mr. Berardi explained that the team went through many iterations as part of this process and that they were strategic about where they located each department to ensure an equitable distribution of space. Other members of the design team added that if the City moves forward with the design there will be opportunities to check in during the various phase reviews, and adjustments can be made. In response to a question from Councilmember Strebig about parking, Mr. Kuluris explained that one of the benefits of not using historic tax credits is that they will be able to add a parking lot to the front of the building. He also said there is a municipal lot next to the building that is not included in the site plan. The design team confirmed there would be 60 – 70 parking spots on site. In response to a question from Councilmember Strebig about the bathrooms, Mr. Storey said that the inclusion of gender- neutral bathrooms in the design plan was intentional. He added that in response to her previous question, the Weber Murphy Fox study made it clear that the space issues with City Hall were not isolated to the Police Department, and it was a global issue that the Administration had previously identified. He said that the Mayor wanted a solution that would create the best space for all employees while best serving the needs of the residents. In response to a question from President Kepple, there was discussion around the timeline of the employee interviews that were conducted and who has the ownership rights to the product of the interviews. President Kepple stressed that she thinks Council needs to review the interview data product to make the best decision for the City. In response to a question from Councilmember Hamilton Steiner, there was additional discussion around the plan for parking. Docusign Envelope ID: D379975C- 37C0-464F-8698-CE5DA782112E
4 In response to a question from President Kepple, Director Byington shared that her department allows flexible work schedules and that employees can sometimes work from home as long as the office is covered and they are meeting together as a department on a regular basis. Director Mahoney stressed that as a public service industry many employees would not have the ability to work from home. In response to questions from Councilmember Hamilton Steiner, Mr. Kuluris said that Dru Siley conducted the interviews and there are likely notes on file from those interviews. Mr. Kuluris urged Council to trust that the work was done to a high standard and that his team is working in the best interest of the City. Councilmember Hamilton Steiner asked Mr. Kuluris to elaborate on his previous statement regarding the existing market for office space. Mr. Kuluris acknowledged that he doesn’ t have data in front of him. In general, he reported seeing office properties sit on the market longer and netting less rent. He didn’ t rule out the possibility of marketing 1470 Warren as office space but acknowledged that it would be a risk for Liberty. Anecdotally, Director Byington added that the City does not receive a high volume of inquiries about office space. Councilmember Baker acknowledged that there may be a way to make a development agreement work with Liberty but that he would like to see the City have an owner’ s representative. He credited Liberty and its team for being reputable professionals but noted that they do not have the same duty to their customers as an owner’ s representative. He asked for the status of the building’ s roof, basement, and HVAC system. Mr. Valencic of JGJ responded that the current plan calls for the roof to be replaced along with downspouts and gutters. He predicted that a new roof would come with a 30-year warranty. Regarding the basement, he explained that 75% of the basement is dry, however, the plan calls for certain walls to be waterproofed to address moisture. Regarding HVA, Mr. Valencic explained that the plan calls for forced air and multiple split systems allowing for department- specific temperature control and no large air handlers. In response to a follow-up question, Mr. Kuluris explained that the basement of the building can be used as storage. He said that the elevator will be able to reach the basement and that it will be heated and cooled. Councilmember Baker questioned whether this was the right solution to solve the City’ s space challenges. He asked for further analysis of that question and suggested that the question could potentially be answered best by a neutral third-party professional. In response to a question from Councilmember Bixenstine, there was discussion around whether the new City Hall could be designed in a manner that would allow for future adaptability. The design team said that with the right updates they are confident this building will last another 100 years and can serve as an anchor in the center of the City. They spoke about how the building has already been adapted many times over the years and that the design plan they have in mind will provide flexibility for the future. Docusign Envelope ID: D379975C- 37C0-464F-8698-CE5DA782112E
5 Councilmember Evans said that he agrees with Vice President Baker’ s remarks and that his disconnect continues to be that he is not convinced that moving City Hall is the overall right solution. In response to questions from Councilmember Bullock, there was additional discussion around the details of the design plan covering the topics of total square footage, ADA accessibility and energy efficiencies. President Kepple said that Council will have an hour during next week’ s Committee of the Whole to continue the discussion. She invited Councilmembers to continue to email questions to the Administration. She echoed concerns that it is premature to be so far down the road with design when Council has yet to decide if they agree with the two-building solution proposed by the Administration. She requested that the Administration provide ideas for what the renovation of the Police Department will look like by next week’ s meeting. Meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m. Approved: Sarah Kepple, Chair Committee of the Whole Maureen M. Bach, Clerk of Council 2/9/2026 Docusign Envelope ID: D379975C- 37C0-464F-8698-CE5DA782112E
Docusign Envelope ID: D379975C-37C0-464F-8698-CE5DA782112E LAKEWOOD GRAMMAR SQHOOE Biyt 1470 WARREN ROAD, LA { CONCEPT PRESENTATION as BE belts BERARDI+ FEBRUARY 2026 BERARDI+ WARREN ROAD BERARDI+ FIRST FLOOR PLAN BERARDI+
Docusign Envelope ID: D379975C-37C0-464F-8698-CE5DA782112E fe] eis i LIBERTY SECOND FLOOR PLAN BERARDI+