The Reader Beat: City Council Notes from June 4, 2025

Following our notes taken during the City Council meeting held on June 4 at 9 a.m.

I attended the City Council meeting on June 4 at 9 a.m. All council members were present. At the beginning of the meeting Tara Hofferth of Kittelson and Associates presented an implementation plan for Safe Streets and Roads for All. According to Jackie Spry of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, the plan will enhance pedestrian infrastructure, calm traffic, and create safer routes to schools. The city is preparing to apply for a grant to implement the plan. "This is critical for the city to adopt this plan," Spry said. "This money is still available to us at the federal level." The meeting centered around the following ordinances: 

• An ordinance amending and supplementing Article 354, Rental Housing, specifically to amend section 354.05(a) that established the rights and obligations of the owners and occupants of rental housing in the City of Erie; in particular the rights under federal, state, and local laws that apply to the landlord-tenant relationship passed unanimously. 
• An ordinance amending Article 131, Bureau of Fire, to add sections that amend the duties of the Office of Chief Fire Marshall and Fire Marshal; to improve the safety of buildings throughout the city; to prevent fires or fire hazards throughout the city; and to permit the issuance of citations and/or enforcement of traffic laws in specific circumstances passed unanimously. 
• An ordinance for the sum of $1,097,563 from the City of Erie ARP Fund Interest to be used to fund the Capital Improvement Fund was adopted on first reading and not voted on. 
• An ordinance for the sum of $18,417.06 of program income through the Community Development Block Grant for the following CDBG projects was adopted on first reading and not voted on.