Tempers sparked confrontations between some Columbus City Council members and a group trying to dramatically change the city's government Monday night. The city council voted to hold a special election on Aug. 2 so voters can decide whether to change council from seven at-large members to 13 members, 10 of whom would be elected from wards or districts.

Tempers sparked confrontations between some Columbus City Council members and a group trying to dramatically change the city�s government Monday night.

The city council voted to hold a special election on Aug. 2 so voters can decide whether to change council from seven at-large members to 13 members, 10 of whom would be elected from wards or districts.

The ballot issue comes after the grass-roots group Represent Columbus gathered more than 19,000 valid petition signatures and turned them into the city to get the measure before voters.

But anger was obvious on both sides Monday night as one of the group�s organizers, Jonathan Beard, expressed his frustrations with council�s efforts to beat back his proposal for the past five years.

Beard and Councilman Michael Stinziano then got into a heated confrontation after the meeting. The men were nose-to-nose as they passed through the doors and out of council chambers.

During the meeting, Stinziano grilled Beard and Whitney Smith, co-chairwoman for Represent Columbus and a Republican candidate for the 18th Ohio House District, about their knowledge of how many neighborhoods Columbus has. Smith said there were 20 neighborhoods.

Stinziano chided her, saying there were more than 200. Stinziano, who at times had flushed cheeks and a trembling jaw, also accused Smith of using the group to cloak a Republican-funded initiative.

All seven members of council are Democrats, and a majority of them don�t support the proposed change.

�Aren�t you concerned that one of the co-chairs doesn�t know how many neighborhoods there are in the city of Columbus?� Stinziano said to one of the group�s supporters.

Beard called Stinziano�s actions �disgraceful� and told him to apologize to Smith.

Beard and Smith were upset because the ordinance had not been put on the council�s agenda for Monday�s meeting despite getting notification from the Franklin County Board of Elections on Friday that they had enough petition signatures.

Council sets its agendas on the Thursday before the Monday meeting.

Council President Zach Klein brought the issue from the floor and verbally placed it on the agenda before council unanimously approved the ordinance. That was a formality, though, because the council is legally required to approve it once the Board of Elections does.

Beard said it was "disrespectful� to not put the item on the agenda so the council could accept public speakers on the issue.

Beard and Smith were able to get their comments into the record during the council�s first reading of an ordinance that would create Mayor Andrew J. Ginther�s Department of Neighborhoods.

Klein, who normally allows for more expression during public comments than his predecessors did, warned the crowd several times to stop clapping after Beard and Smith spoke.

At the end of the meeting, neighborhood activist Willis Brown, president of the Bronzeville Neighborhood Association, tried to bring everyone together with a history lesson full of quotes from Benjamin Franklin.

Also Monday night, the City Council approved a swap of city-owned land for more public parking in the Short North.

The no-bid land swap would add 143 public parking spacesin two areas on or near North High Street.

The projects include the city lending $1.25 million in capital money and agreeing to give its 45-parking-meter surface lot in the 700 block of North High Street to the Wood Cos. and its partner Schiff Capital Group. The developers plan to build a 75,000-square-foot office building.

The developers have agreed to build a 15-unit residential building connected to a 240-space parking garage on the other side of North High Street, near the corner of Lincoln and Pearl streets. Under the agreement, 125 spots must remain available for paid public parking for 30 years while the developers repay the city's $1.65 million investment in money and property at no interest.

>>> See a map of the Short North sites involved

A few blocks north, at 987 N. High St., White Castle Inc. and Borror Properties will get $1.95 million in capital funds and a 41-parking-meter lot in exchange for a dense development that includes 12,000 square feet of commercial office space and a 98-unit condo development above. It will include a 206-space parking garage with 104 paid public parking spaces.

Steve Schoeny, the city�s development director, said the land was swapped without bids because of problems with the properties that are hurdles to new development.

The surface lot associated with the 711 N. High St. project had a deed restriction when the city purchased it decades ago that said it could be used only for parking, Schoeny said.

The lot with 987 N. High St. was too small for development so the city was hamstrung, he said. The property is one-third of an acre, according to the Franklin County auditor�s website.

lsullivan@dispatch.com

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