Cuyahoga Falls City Council holds regular meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Council committee meetings are held on the first and third Mondays in order to allow councilmembers to publicly discuss pending legislation that will be voted on at regular meetings. The public is free to comment on pending legislation during the allowed time set aside as part of committee meetings.
Cuyahoga Falls city council started their meeting Monday night with a Committee of the Whole meeting to ratify Mayor Walters’ choice of Terry Mader to the civil service commission. Mader would fill the unexpired term of Rachel Victor that will expire December 31, 2027. Council voted 10-0 to approve the appointment.
Under communications and reports of city officials the clerk reported that she had received an application for a liquor license for 130 Broad Boulevard (Pilgrim United Church).
Council and the administration went into executive session, authorized by the following Ohio Revised Code Section: a. §121.22(G)(6), to discuss matters relative to security arrangements and emergency response protocols for a public body or public office.
New Ordinances & Resolutions
A-84: An ordinance accepting the planning commission’s recommendation for a conditional zoning certificate for the construction of a Clean Express car wash facility located at 581 Howe Avenue. Assigned to the planning and zoning committee for discussion November 2.
A-85: An ordinance accepting the planning commission’s recommendation for the vacation of a portion of Elmwood Trail right-of-way at Third Street between Parcel No. 0215287 and Parcel No. 0208109. Assigned to the planning and zoning committee for discussion November 2.
A-86: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an amendment of Contract No. 9127 with the Utility Workers’ Union of America, Local 399. Assigned to the finance committee for discussion November 2.
A-87: An ordinance amending Ordinance No. 104-2025, authorizing the mayor, as director of public safety, to enter into a contract or contracts for the purchase of annual requirements for certain services, materials, supplies, and equipment for use by the fire department during 2026. Assigned to the finance committee for discussion November 2.
A-88: An ordinance establishing annual appropriations of money for the current expenses, capital expenditures and other expenses of the City of Cuyahoga Falls for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2027. Assigned to the finance committee for discussion November 2.
A-89: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, according to law, for the purpose of raising streetlight poles in the median of State Route 8. Assigned to the public and industrial improvements committee for discussion November 2.
A-90: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute an intergovernmental agreement with the County of Summit for direct indictment services. Assigned to the public affairs committee for discussion November 2.
A-91: An ordinance authorizing Advanced Solar Products, Inc. to replace CS Energy as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partner to CEP Renewables, LLC for the 20 MW AC solar array located at the Hardy Road Landfill, and to provide the required performance bond and payment bond for the solar project. Assigned to the sustainability, energy & environment committee for discussion November 2.
Planning & Zoning:
A-60: An ordinance approving text amendments to the Cuyahoga Falls Development Code regarding data centers, as more fully described and depicted herein. The legislation was presented to council by Senior Planner Kim Ferencz who made a PowerPoint presentation about the changes to the code. The proposed rules would:
- Keep them small
- One building per property
- Max 5,000 square feet
- A capped power use at 5 megawatts with electric department approval
- Require water department approval to use city water for cooling
- Limit daytime noise to 70 decibels at the property line
- Hold them to Ohio EPA air and water standards
- Only allowed under limited use in E-1 and M-1 districts.
After her presentation the matter was opened up for public feedback. Three residents spoke against the legislation, citing noise and infrastructure concerns. The noise concerns were answered by showing that the limitation of 70 decibels at property line is far stricter than the city’s normal ordinance, which limits noise after 9 pm. This regulation would mean nothing over 70 decibels for 24 hours a day. Another concern from the public was the use of abatements or other incentives to bring data centers to the city. The administration’s response was that incentives are used to bring investment in our city that also brings in jobs. Data centers typically only have one or two employees; therefore there would be no reason the city would offer incentives. After asking three times if anyone had anything to add either for or against the proposed changes the hearing was closed. The planning and zoning committee voted to bring this out for a vote by all of council November 9.
A-61: An ordinance approving text amendments to the Cuyahoga Falls Development Code regarding nursing homes, assisted living and independent living facilities, as more fully described and depicted herein. Senior Planning Director Rob Kurtz stated the purpose of the change was impact of larger nursing homes, assisted living and independent living facilities on fire/ems operations, as well as having done a review of other communities’ zoning codes. The proposed legislation would no longer allow new facilities in R-R zoning districts and would make them conditionally permitted in R-5 and R-6, and all mixed-use districts. Fire Chief Chris Martin said this change would give his department the ability to check their capacity against what the fire department can actually handle. After asking three times if anyone had anything to add either for or against the proposed changes the hearing was closed. The planning and zoning committee voted to bring this out for a vote by all of council November 9.
Legislation scheduled for discussion
Finance & Appropriations:
A-79: A resolution accepting the amounts and rates of taxation as certified by the Summit County Budget Commission, authorizing the necessary tax levies, certifying such authorization to the county fiscal officer. Finance director Bryan Hoffman explained this is a yearly piece of legislation. Currently we are at 11 mills. The finance committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote by all of council. That passed Monday night, 10-0.
A-80: An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into contracts with MoxFive, LLC, Storm7 Labs, LLC, and Mullen Coughlin, LLC for cybersecurity protection and related services. This legislation was discussed in executive session Monday night. The finance committee voted to bring this out for a vote by all of council November 9.
A-81: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts for the purchase, installation, and maintenance of light fixtures which will illuminate city-owned property on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. These will replace the city owned lighting that is along the river near the Sheraton. The new lights will be LED energy efficient and match the other lighting in the downtown area. The contract is capped at $149k. The committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote before all of city council November 9.
A-82: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, without competitive bidding, with Virginia Transformer for the purchase of a substation transformer. This is for when a repair is needed at the Valley Vista substation. Electric Department Supervisor Rod Troxell said there are currently four transformers at that substation and one of the four has died. The current lead time quoted for replacement is 50 weeks and it will cost $1.8 million. The finance committee voted to bring this legislation out for a vote by all of council. That passed Monday night 10-0.
Public & Industrial Improvements:
A-83: An ordinance authorizing the director of public service to enter into a contract or contracts, according to law, for the Blossom Glen Detention Basin Retrofit. The current basin was built in 200 and met all of the requirements in place at that time. Since that time the EPA now requires that water quality also has to be tested. The current basin near Kaiser Park. The cost is expected to be $252k and work will begin in the spring of 2027. The public & industrial improvements committee voted to bring this out for a vote November 9.
