| Landscape Enhancement or Beautification in Public Spaces Grant Program |
The Landscape Enhancement/Beautification in Public Spaces Grant program was created in 2008 by Columbus City Councilmember Priscilla Tyson. This is a competitive grant program available to community based organizations who were currently maintaining flower gardens or other landscaped areas in parks and public spaces controlled by Columbus Recreation and Parks. Each organization was required to provide a 1:1 dollar match from the grantee. The value of in-kind donations and volunteer labor were taken into consideration. This partnership between non-profit community groups and the City was developed to assist people who plant and maintain flowers in our city parks. |
| Office of Homeless Advocacy |
The Office of Homeless Advocacy will coordinate efforts in the public and private sectors to transition people from the streets to permanent housing. The office will also address the critical issues of providing mental health and addiction services to the homeless, as well as job training and placement. |
| Walk & Talk |
In a creative way to initiate feedback from Columbus residents, Councilmember Priscilla Tyson developed the neighborhood Walk and Talk. This effort not only allows members of the community to provide comments face-to-face to Council, its ultimate goal is to promote an active and healthy lifestyle through walking. |
| Scrap Metal |
Councilmember and Public Safety Chair Andrew J. Ginther initiated a review and examination of local scrap metal industry practices in early 2007 as a result of the growing number of incidences of scrap metal theft in the community. |
| Area Commission-Neighborhood Civic Association Work Group |
For the first time since the creation of Area Commissions, Columbus City Council has empanelled a work group to study the role of neighborhood organizations and their interaction with city government. The work group is comprised of one representative from each of the fourteen Area Commissions, and representaives from the major civic organizations. |
| Neighborhood Safety |
| One of the most successful neighborhood safety programs is the Community Crime Patrol (CCP), a long-time collaboration between a local non-profit organization using civilian patrollers and the Columbus Police Department. Current neighborhoods with service include the Hilltop, Franklinton, Merion Southwood, the Ohio State University area and several multi-use trails around the City. Council members Kevin L. Boyce and Andrew J. Ginther continue the historic support for this program. |
| Preventing Domestic Violence |
| Council President Michael C. Mentel and Councilmembers Andrew J. Ginther and Hearcel F. Craig have been strong advocates for programs that aim to prevent domestic violence, or which give assistance to domestic violence victims. Annually, Columbus police respond to approximately 23,000 domestic violence calls and make approximately 5,000 domestic violence arrests. |
| I-70/I-71 Freeway Caps |
| The impending reconstruction of the I-70/I-71 split offers a rare opportunity to address this issue and dramatically improve the urban landscape of Columbus. Council Member Maryellen OShaughnessy is working hard to promote a design concept that calls for the construction of multiple retail caps and plaza caps over the freeways on both the south and east sides of Downtown. |
| Protecting the Environment - Big Darby Watershed |
| Columbus City Council has been fighting to save one of Central Ohios most important natural resources from degradation--the Big Darby Creek Watershed. Designated by the Nature Conservancy as one of the Last Great Places in the Western Hemisphere, encroaching development and storm runoff from farming threatens the rich array of wildlife found in the watershed, including 103 species of fish and 38 species of mussels, at least 104 species of birds, 35 species of mammals, and 33 species of reptiles and amphibians. More than 25 rare or endangered plant species are also dependent upon the corridor areas of the watershed. |
| Neighborhood Environmental Safety |
Ensuring safe neighborhoods goes beyond police, fire and emergency services, Councilmember Maryellen OShaughnessy fights for better neighborhoods by promoting policies that address Environmental Safety - all of the issues that contribute to health, safety, and a high quality of living in every neighborhood in the City. |
| Creative Arts Policy Initiative |
Confronted by the challenges of changing times for arts, culture and creative industries in Central Ohio, City Council formed the Creative Columbus Policy Steering Committee to research and offer policy recommendations to Council. The committee was chaired by Wayne Lawson, former Executive Director of the Ohio Arts Council. |
| Animal Abuse and Family Violence Task Force |
| Domestic abuse and animal cruelty often go hand in hand. Councilmember Michael C. Mentel leads the effort to form a community coalition of concerned advocates, including law enforcement agencies, animal rights groups, and child advocacy agencies, working to make it easier for women and children to escape domestic violence situations by giving a safe haven for family pets that might be under threat. |
| Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign |
| Council Member Charleta Tavares champions the Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign. Instituted by Congress in 1975, The Earned Income Tax Credit is considered one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the country. |
| Parsons Avenue Study and Redevelopment |
| Recognizing the need for swift and strategic action to jump-start redevelopment in the South Side of Columbus, City Council joined the administration to launch a South Side Targeted Investment Strategy in 2005, a community-driven project to pull private and public investment together to spur growth and help drive future private investment on the South Side, an area long affected by job losses in the manufacturing industry. |
| Pay As You Grow |
| In recognition of the changing economy Council Member Maryellen OShaughnessy joined with the administration in 2003 to forge a new model in how the City finances new development in Columbus growth corridors. |
| Smokefree Indoor Air |
The City of Columbus Smokefree Indoor Air ordinance was voted on at the June 28, 2004 meeting of Council. The ordinance passed 5 to 1. In November 2004, Columbus residents upheld restrictions on indoor smoking in the general election. Since that time a statewide smokefree indoor air act was passed by votes during the fall election of 2006. |
| Community Health and Welfare |
| Councilmember Charleta Tavares has been a consistent leader in advocating socially conscience public policy that meets the needs of the less fortunate residents of Columbus. |
| Good Government |
| A long-term strategic plan was initiated in the summer of 2000 to make Council more responsive to the needs of citizens, revolutionize the way the public interacts with Council, and modernize Council operations. The starting point was the call for Community Action Teams, groups that included in-house and outside experts to review existing operations and procedures to develop detailed tactics. |
| Columbus Bikeway and Trail System |
Council was an early proponent of expanding a regional bikeway and trails system in Columbus and Franklin County. At year-end 2005, the system consisted of 60 miles. In 2007, Councilmember Priscilla Tyson sponsored legislation for enhanced signs and graphics throughout the Columbus system. |
| 315 Research + Technology Corridor |
| The 315 Research + Technology Corridor is a vision of partners that include government, academic and business interests in Central Ohio to create, attract and cultivate "Smart Capital," with the goal of creating and sustaining good paying jobs within the high-tech industry. The initial focus will unify and mobilize existing corridor assets such as Battelle and Ohio State to catalyze job growth. |
| Legislative Agent (lobbyist) Registration |
Led by the efforts of Council President Michael C. Mentel, the Columbus Lobbyist Registration provides greater accountability for those agents hired to lobby City Hall, while protecting the rights of citizens to meet with and address City Council members and the Administration at any time for any reason. |
| Safe Playgrounds |
| In 2005, Councilmember Kevin Boyce initiated a collaborative effort to improve safety in playgrounds for Columbus school children. In 2005 Council contributed $300,000 to redesign two playgrounds, which serve about 13,000 residents. In 2007, Councilmember Priscilla Tyson modified the Capital Improvement Budget to improve additional City-owned playgrounds. |
| Vacant, Abandoned and Nuisance Structures |
In 2004, Councilmember Maryellen OShaughnessy along the Columbus Department of Development instituted tough regulations that require owners to register vacant property, comply with all exterior codes, and empower the Safe Neighborhood Review Board to hear cases relating to vacant structures and order action from the owner. |
| Youth Employment |
| Understanding the importance of giving youth opportunities for productive activities and acquiring critical job skills that prepare them for their future endeavors, Councilmembers Charleta Tavares and Kevin Boyce, together with a coalition including The Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corporation, the administration, and Franklin County stepped up efforts in 2006. The City provided $500,000 and is continuing the investment in young people in 2007 with $600,000 in City funding to find 2,000 jobs. |
| Franklinton Health, Safety, and Crime Prevention Campaign |
| Council member Kevin Boyce chairs an effort in Franklinton to prioritize community challenges and to create collaborations between the City and area stakeholders to affect solutions |
| Assault Weapon Ban |
On September 13, 2004, the federal ban on semiautomatic assault weapons expired. This, combined with the fact that crimes being committed with these type of weapons is on the increase in Columbus, prompted Council President Michael C. Mentel to investigate the need to enact a local ban on such weapons. |