Clifton Town Meeting (CTM) is the recognized community council representing the Clifton neighborhood in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. CTM sponsors and maintains this community website to provide information to residents, business owners, and visitors. Welcome!
Announcements
- Clifton Plan Progress Report
Gérald Checco, CTM Plan Chair
November 19, 2025
Thank you for your patience with this lengthy update—complex topics require detailed responses.
As chair of the Plan Committee for Clifton Town Meeting (CTM,) I’d like to clarify some inaccuracies and misinformation that have been circulating on social media.
• There is no active project to replace the gaslights.
The recommendation is to install 1-2 prototypes, reversible, and get more community input. See below to understand the Plan process.
• The present draft is a compilation of ideas gathered during various Plan meetings.
Ideas in the draft come from committee meetings, public engagement, responses of surveys, coordination with other stakeholders.
• The assessment and review phase of the draft Plan has not started.
The main goal of the draft is to have a document that people can react to. Many items will be amended, some eliminated and some added.
• More community engagement is needed and will take place.
All items in the draft, in all topics require further discussion
The Process
Our planning process has been highly transparent and inclusive, beginning 10 months ago and involving 29 community meetings (three per month), reaching out to 626 residents. Announcements of meetings have been made broadly, using our mailing system and on social media.
The Plan has been shaped by several subcommittees focusing on Environment, Development, Transportation, Community, and History. Each group has contributed considerable effort. Progress updates have consistently appeared at every board meeting agenda since the project started, accompanied by regular articles in the Clifton Chronicle, all providing opportunities for public input and questions regarding the Plan.
Each committee operated independently and offered various suggestions that were added to the suggestions gathered at public meetings and responses from individuals. City Planning staff also connected with organizations such as the Business Association, churches, schools, CCAC, and multiple city departments (i.e. CTM is not the only participant.)Where are we in the process?
We are now finalizing the public input for the draft document. What we have now is only the public input, discussion with other stakeholders and the committees’ work. Once complete, the Plan will undergo review, amendment, and approval. It is expected that CTM will opine officially on the Plan in March, but timelines have slipped before to allow more community input. Then the Planning Commission and City Council will vote on adopting the Plan. It’s crucial for everyone involved or interested to thoroughly examine every aspect, ask tough questions, and suggest improvements.
The Plan gives us a platform to explore difficult topics, and no idea was ignored.
• Portal for the Plan
• Engagement Boards
• Draft Plan Goals and ObjectivesThe Environmental Committee and the environmental input received
The Environment Committee presented their observations and concerns, emphasizing climate resilience and neighborhood-specific solutions. They recommended a range of initiatives involving urban forestry, hillside management, transportation improvements, and sustainable development.
The concept is to retrofit the gaslights, not eliminating them but only changing the mantle, which has already changed several times over the years, because of the type of gas used and the development of mantle technology. This concept originated not only within the committee but also through broader community engagement, including at CTM board meetings and other forums. This topic is currently under review in several historic cities, Boston being a notable example, as advances in technology now allow for comprehensive evaluation of possible solutions. The 1200 gaslights in Cincinnati contribute a significant amount of CO2 and methane emissions, presenting an issue that warrants thorough analysis.
CTM leadership proposes the installation of a select number of retrofitted, easily reversible gaslights and recommends their evaluation through scientific surveys. Forming opinions without tangible case studies or examples is counterproductive to informed decision-making.
Conclusion
As chair of the Clifton Plan, I would like to commend the many many volunteers who have participated and the extraordinary job that City Planner Gibbs has done to lead us through this effort. The concerns of people about the gaslights provide a great opportunity for more engagement, on all items in the Plan. City staff will now lead us through the review and finalization process. - Bios for CTM Trustee Candidates – 2025
The objective of CTM is to build a Board of Trustees that represents the diversity of Clifton including ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, religious, profession (salaried/hourly), community of origin (lifelong Cliftonites/new to Cincinnati and/or Clifton), etc. so we ensure our decisions are informed by diverse perspectives. We thank our current group of nominees for stepping up to serve their community, and we hope that more of you will consider joining the board in the future.
Below are the bios for candidates running for CTM Trustee at the upcoming elections on Elections will be held on Monday, November 10 from 6:00 – 7:00pm at the Clifton Recreation Center at 320 McAlpin Avenue.
All voting will be in person. There will be no online voting option.
You can pay your membership current by clicking here prior to voting in advance or at the night of elections.
There are 5 three-year term and 1 one-year term positions to be filled by the five candidates. Candidates receiving the most votes will win the longer length terms.
Bridget Waller-Kent
I’m Bridget Waller-Kent, I work as an accountant, enjoy a good matcha latte, and love to knit. I have lived in Clifton for the last two and a half years and I am a strong advocate for safe, walkable, and accessible spaces. I was appointed to a vacant board position in the spring due to the elected treasurer leaving the board. I have been meeting with the interim treasurer and finance committee to support CTM’s fiscal operations as the role of treasurer transitions in 2026. I am excited to see how CTM utilizes available funds to facilitate the ongoing improvement of our beautiful neighborhood.
Barry Gee
I have been a member of the CTM board since 2022. I originally began my work on the board by reviving the CTM Memorial Day Parade/Picnic and Holidays on Ludlow events. I currently serve as the committee chair for the Nominating Committee and the Neighborhood Support Program (NSP) grants. For NSP, we received and managed $10,000 spread across eight projects. I am immensely proud of the work that the CTM Board of Trustees have worked on and will continue to advance in the coming years.
The crime issues related to the Hookah Bar, traffic improvements throughout the
neighborhood, beautification efforts, supporting our schools, organizing great events, providing recommendations and a watchful eye on city policies are just a few of the areas that I am very proud of as part of the CTM board. I look forward to continuing to serve and to helping make Clifton a welcoming and diverse community.Bob Siegel
My name is Bob Siegel, and I am very enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve
on the CTM Board of Trustees, particularly on the Transportation Committee.
My wife, Claudia, and I first moved to Cincinnati in 1984, and we settled in Clifton in 1991, where we raised our three sons. Currently, two of our sons, our daughter-in-law, and our grandson live in Clifton.
I am a pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, with a focus on childhood obesity. Over the years, I have collaborated with Cincinnati and Norwood Public Schools to improve health and nutrition, and I have served on the Board of the Mill Creek Trail Foundation.
I am passionate about making Clifton a healthier and more walkable community, which I believe aligns well with the goals of the Transportation Committee.Robert DiMartino
Robert DiMartino joined Clifton Town Meeting in June and currently serves on the Finance Committee. He holds a B.A. in Financial Mathematics and an M.S. in Mathematics. Robert worked for the first six years of his career as a financial analyst, and for the last 8 years Robert has been a software engineer in various
industries. He has lived in Clifton since 2019, and he values the neighborhood’s walkability, diversity, and strong sense of community. If reelected, Robert plans to continue serving on the Finance Committee. Outside of work, he is a very active Episcopalian and a slightly less active runner. He lives on Clifton Ave with his
husband, Drew, and their golden-retriever, Rosie. Robert is grateful for the opportunity to serve his neighbors and help keep Clifton a great place to live.Clara Babcock
Although I am a more recent Clifton resident, I have a lot of love and appreciation for Clifton. I went to the University of Cincinnati, and I have lived on Middleton Avenue for the past few years. My grandparents have been Clifton residents for almost 60 years, so I grew up coming to Clifton events, Clifton Meadows, and frequenting Clifton area businesses. I would love to contribute to the work and care that makes Clifton so wonderful. In my current role at the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, my work focuses on building a strong local community and creating inclusive spaces. I am looking forward to applying these same principles and values to our wonderful Clifton community.
Future CTM Meetings
Check the website calendar for all future meetings of the Board and also of various CTM Committees.
Stay Informed: Update Your Information with CTM
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