By Noell Wolfgram Evans

The Twinsburg City Council met for its second regularly scheduled meeting of the month on Feb. 24, 2026, in council chambers.

Ward 1 Council Member Chuck Bonacci, Ward 2 Council Member Daisy Walker, Ward 3 Council Member Karen Labbe, Ward 4 Council Member David Post, Council President and Ward 5 Council Member Greg Bellan, At-Large Council Member Bill Furey, At-Large Council Member Shaun Castillo, Finance Director Christina Conway and Mayor Sam Scaffide were all in attendance.

After Bellan called the meeting to order at 7:43 p.m., Walker offered an invocation and then led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. Council next approved, unanimously, the minutes from the Feb. 10 meeting.

Bellan opened the meeting to those in the room. First up to address the council was Colleen Rubin. She brought concerns she has against the police department, saying “Chief Mason is the foundation of lawsuits that have cost taxpayers dearly.” 

She asked council to “please explain to the citizens what happened” and suggested that they should “resign or give us a full explanation.” As she concluded her remarks, those in attendance applauded vigorously.

Laurie Facsina was the next community member to speak. She introduced herself as “another victim of not getting the records I want to get. When I ask for things, they are important. None more so than this.” She then spoke about her concerns around the AI data center in the city. Facsina declared it a “menace” and said it uses 243,000 gallons of water on a daily basis, adding that the data center represented an “existential crisis.” [Editor's note: There is no AI data center in Twinsburg. A developer's proposal for a data center was rescinded because it did comply with the city's zoning code.]

The next community speaker was Karen Clinton. She spoke about the police department lawsuit and asked for a more thorough investigation. She said she has reached out to the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office and asked Scaffide to “reach out to BCI to do a complete and comprehensive investigation,” asking him to “do the right thing.” As she concluded her remarks to a round of applause from those in attendance, Scaffide asked if he could respond to Rubin’s remarks.

“75% of the venom that comes out of that woman’s mouth is false,” he said. 

Members of the community erupted with boos and jeers, with one person shouting “This is why no one respects you, Sam.” Bellan worked the gavel to reclaim control of the room.

When order was restored, the meeting continued. Post thanked Facsina for her information on the data center. 

“I did not know Verizon was no longer there,” he said. “I think we need to look into that.”

Bonacci then provided an update from the last Architectural Review Board, where one new single-family home was approved, as were two sign variances. He also announced that Windstream Kinetic is currently expanding fiber options in Ward 1. Bonacci said that a resident sent an email to all council members regarding some work with a strategic plan that Aurora is doing and he agreed with the resident that Twinsburg could benefit from developing one, as well.

He also spoke about a meeting he recently attended regarding data centers in the region. Ohio is currently the fourth largest state with data centers, he said. 

“I understand that residents are concerned, and I’m looking into it,” he said. “The way that the code is written, there’s no mention of data centers, so effectively, they are not allowed.”

Furey provided an invitation to the community to attend the finance meeting on March 24 and the CSC meeting on March 4. He also encouraged residents to go to the website and take the survey on street improvement.

Bellan said the Planning Commission approved the conditional use of a facility on Pinnacle Parkway for Ignite Volleyball.

Labbe announced that the next JEDI committee meeting will be held on March 9. Castillo said that BZA will meet on March 23. He also reminded those in attendance of the city’s mailbox replacement program, adding that if a resident lost a mailbox due to a plow, they should contact the service department for a replacement.

Scaffide then provided a brief mayor’s report, stating that the police department was now up to full capacity.

The only department head to speak was Conway. She said that the 2025 audit with the auditor of the state has started and asked council members to look for their fraud risk assessments.

Council then went through several pieces of legislation. 2026-12 would allow the city to sell property in an online auction, and 2026-14 would authorize the mayor to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Tinker’s Creek Watershed. Both passed unanimously.

Most of the legislation that was presented was entered as a second reading: 2026-16 for a contract with the Legal Defender’s Office of Summit County, 2026-21 for a contract with Animal Control of Summit County, 2026-24 amending a city ordinance, 2026-25 repealing a section of city code, 2026-26 allowing for the city to pursue a NOPEC energy grant, 2026-27 updating the local landmarks list, 2026-28 correcting a terminology error in the city ordinance, and 2026-29 for the purchase of a piece of property.

For three pieces of legislation, suspension rules were proposed and unanimously enacted due to the timeliness of each item. 2026-30 allows the city to purchase a skid steer loader for $109,066. The suspension was needed so the purchase could be made before the contract price expires. 2026-31 allows the mayor to enter into contracts for insurance plans. The suspension was needed here so that the plans could be included in the March enrollment. And 2026-32 enables the mayor to extend the contract for the Waterford Pond sediment removal. The suspension was needed because work is currently in progress. All three were passed, with the only comment being from Post, who said he was not happy that they needed to pay more for the Waterford Pond work.

The meeting then moved onto new business, where Castillo said tickets were still available for the Adult Wizard House Easter Egg Hunt. Bellan offered “kudos” to the service department and said he would sign a letter on behalf of the full council in support of the Twins Crossing District project. Bonacci offered a reminder that 211 is a great resource for anyone experiencing housing insecurity. He also offered words to those celebrating Ramadan and Lent.

Post used his time to respond to the community comments made earlier in the evening. 

“We are the checks and balances. We are here to represent the people. Except when the people are wrong. I hear a lot of stuff, but we can not respond while there is litigation going on,” he said. “I have encouraged this administration that when this is all over, we say our side.”

Council then moved into executive session.