2021-57 - Call for removal of First Energy name from Browns Stadium

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conspiracy and bribery of public officials, all in an effort to illicitly secure the state subsidies provided by House Bill 6; WHEREAS, despite calls from State Legislators to remove its name from Cleveland Browns Stadium, FirstEnergy has failed to take steps to fully acknowledge its criminal behavior by continuing to market itself using our tax -payer funded stadium which unintentionally signifies tacit community support for a criminal enterprise and association with what the U.S. Attorney described as "the largest bribery, money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the State of Ohio"; now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO: Section 1. The City hereby calls upon the Cleveland Browns organization to take steps to fully remove FirstEnergy's name and logo from the publicly financed and owned stadium. Section 2. The City hereby calls upon FirstEnergy to voluntarily relinquish its naming rights to the publicly owned stadium and to forego expending its resources on future naming rights to Sports Facilities. Section 3. That the City will withhold all support for the future extension of the Sin Tax until this association between our community and FirstEnergy's admitted actions to conspire with public officials and other individuals and entities to pay millions of dollars to public officials in exchange for specific official action for FirstEnergy Corp.'s benefit is removed from the publicly owned Sports Facility formerly known as Cleveland Browns Stadium. Section 4. That the Clerk of Council is directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Cleveland Browns, FirstEnergy, and the respective members of their governing boards. Section 5. It is found and determined that all formal actions of this Council concerning and relating to the passage of this resolution were passed in an open meeting of this Council and that all deliberations of this Council and any of its committees that resulted in such actions were in meetings open to the public and in compliance with legal requirements. Adopted: �- jAu leak Approved: 1 -2'1 -''t Z1 ': �0Da ' . O'M 1 , Council President Maureen M. Bach, Council Clerk Meghan . George, Mayor