Jan 20, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting

CARRIES. ALL RIGHT. THAT CONCLUDES OUR CITY COUNCIL CLOSED SESSION MEETING. THE

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GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. AND AT THIS TIME IS HILL, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER CUTHBERT HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER. JONES HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER. MYERS HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER. SMITH. LEE PRESENT. VICE MAYOR. HILL HERE. MAYOR. HERE. SO YOU HAVE A QUORUM. NEXT, VICE MAYOR HILL WILL LEAD US IN OUR OPENING PRAYER. LET US PRAY. ETERNAL GOD, OUR FATHER, ONCE AGAIN, WE COME BEFORE YOU. FIRST OF ALL, BEFORE WE ASK FOR YOU FOR ANYTHING, WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. LORD, WE ASK THAT BLESSINGS UPON THIS MEETING IN A SPECIAL WAY, HEAVENLY FATHER, THAT YOU WOULD GIVE US WISDOM ON HOW HEAVENLY FATHER TO HELP LEAD OUR CITY TO HIGHER HEIGHTS. HEAVENLY FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE THUS FAR. WE ASK THAT BLESSING UPON ALL OF OUR CITIZENS. HEAVENLY FATHER, WE ASK THAT YOU WILL PROTECT US AND KEEP US. LORD, BE WITH OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, OUR FIREFIGHTERS, OUR EMS, OUR POLICE OFFICERS. LORD, WE ASK A SPECIAL BLESSING UPON OUR CITIZENS, THOSE WHO ARE AFRAID.

HEAVENLY FATHER, SITUATIONS THAT ARE GOING ON ALL AROUND US. HEAVENLY FATHER THAT WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER. LORD, WE ASK THAT YOU WILL BE WITH US. GUIDE AND PROTECT US. LORD, WE ASK A SPECIAL BLESSING UPON THIS COUNCIL. HEAVENLY FATHER, AS WE LEAD THESE THOU YOUR PEOPLE, HEAVENLY FATHER, TO HIGHER HEIGHTS AND DEEPER DEPTHS IN YOU, WHERE SPECIAL BLESSING UPON OUR CITY MANAGER AS HE HELPED TO GET PLANS TOGETHER. HEAVENLY FATHER, TO TAKE US TO THAT NEXT LEVEL. BE WITH ALL STAFF AND ALL THOSE EMPLOYEES. HEAVENLY FATHER, BE WITH US DURING THIS UPCOMING SNOW TIME. HEAVENLY FATHER, WHERE WE MAY BE EXPERIENCING SOME WEATHER.

IF WE DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, LET US HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED IN OUR HOMES.

KEEP US AND GUIDE US. FORGIVE US OF OUR SINS. IT'S IN YOUR DARLING SON JESUS NAME. WE PRAY AND WE THANK YOU. AMEN, AMEN. NEXT IS ITEM THREE, THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. CAN EVERYONE STAND AND JOIN US IN THE PLEDGE? PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS? ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND

[4. Determination of the Presence of a Quorum]

[7. Approval of Consent Agenda (to include minutes of previous meetings)]

MYERS. COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. SMITH. AYE. VICE MAYOR. HILL.

[8. Presentations]

THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME HERE AGAIN. MY NAME IS DAVID FOLEY. I'M A PARTNER WITH ROBINSON FARMER COX ASSOCIATES AND WAS THE PARTNER IN CHARGE OF THE CITY'S FY 25 AUDIT. AND WE HAVE ISSUED A DRAFT OF THE CITY'S ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT. AND HERE TO PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THAT TO YOU ALL. BEFORE I GET INTO THE REPORT ITSELF, JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE AUDIT THAT WE DO FOR THE CITY. REALLY, THERE'S THREE MAIN PIECES TO THE AUDIT THAT WE DO WHEN WE'RE DOING THE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. ONE IS, YOU KNOW, WE AUDIT THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES.

THE OTHER TWO PIECES OF THE AUDIT, WE DO IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS, ONE OF WHICH IS IN ADDITION TO JUST LOOK, AUDITING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT NUMBERS

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ANYTIME A LOCALITY EXPENDS OVER 750 IN FEDERAL GRANT FUNDS, YOU HAVE A SINGLE AUDIT JUST INCLUDED WITH THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT. SO AS PART OF THE AUDIT, OMB PROVIDES A COMPLIANCE SUPPLEMENT WITH A LIST OF VARIOUS COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS THAT THE CITY HAS TO COMPLY WITH WHEN IT'S EXPANDED ITS FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS. SO, AGAIN, AS PART OF THAT AUDIT, WE GO THROUGH THAT CHECKLIST AND MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY IS COMPLYING WITH THOSE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS. SO AS SUCH, INCLUDED IN THE ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT, THERE'S THREE DIFFERENT REPORTS FROM US THAT COMMUNICATE THE RESULTS OF THE AUDIT. THE FIRST REPORT FROM US IS TOWARDS THE FRONT OF THE REPORT. IT'S ON NUMBERED PAGE TEN. AND THIS IS OUR INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT. AND IN THIS REPORT WHERE WE STATE WE DID PERFORM AN AUDIT ON THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND IS ALSO WHERE WE ISSUE OUR OPINION ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND OUR OPINIONS INCLUDED IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF THIS REPORT.

AND WE HAVE ISSUED AN UNMODIFIED OPINION ON THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, WHICH IS THE CLEANEST OPINION AND AUDITOR CAN GIVE ON THE SET OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

BASICALLY, AN UNMODIFIED OPINION MEANS THAT THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS HAVE BEEN PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES. THE OTHER TWO REPORTS FROM US ARE ON THE BACK OF THE REPORT. BUT BEFORE I GET TO THOSE, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW ITEMS IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT ARE TOWARDS THE FRONT OF THE THE REPORT. SO ON PAGE 24, EXHIBIT THREE IS A BALANCE SHEET FOR THE CITY'S GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS.

AND THE BALANCE SHEET REPORTS ASSETS, LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE FOR THE VARIOUS GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS THAT THE CITY HAS. SO THERE'S VARIOUS COLUMNS FOR THOSE DIFFERENT FUNDS. THE FIRST COLUMN IS THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH IS THE CITY'S MAIN OPERATING FUND. SO AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, THE CITY HAD IN THE GENERAL FUND 79.5 MILLION IN ASSETS, COMPARED TO ABOUT 15 MILLION IN LIABILITIES AND DEFERRED INFLOWS. AND THEN TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THE STATEMENT IS THE FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. SO, AS WE CAN SEE, TOTAL TOTAL FUND BALANCE FOR THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND WAS 65.4 MILLION. AND THEN THAT FUND BALANCE IS THEN FURTHER BROKEN DOWN BETWEEN NON NON SPENDABLE RESTRICTED COMMITTED AND THEN UNASSIGNED. SO THE CITY'S UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR WAS 59.4 MILLION, WHICH WAS AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 8.5 MILLION DURING THE FISCAL YEAR. THE OTHER FINANCIAL STATEMENT I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT IS THE NEXT PAGE OVER ON PAGE 25. THIS IS EXHIBIT FOUR. THIS IS A STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCE FOR THE CITY'S GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS. AGAIN, THIS THIS STATEMENT SHOWS THE REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCE. AGAIN, FOR THE VARIOUS GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS. THE CITY HAS AGAIN MULTIPLE COLUMNS ON THIS STATEMENT. THE FIRST COLUMN AGAIN IS THE GENERAL FUND. SO TOTAL TOTAL REVENUES FOR THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND WAS 106.6 MILLION, COMPARED TO TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF 95.4, AND THEN HAD TRANSFERS OUT TO OTHER FUNDS OF 2.5 MILLION. SO WE CAN SEE DOWN TOWARDS THE BOTTOM THE NET CHANGE IN FUND BALANCE WAS

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A LOT OF THOSE FINDINGS HAVE BEEN CORRECTED DURING THE FISCAL YEAR. SO THIS YEAR WE WERE DOWN TO ONLY HAVING FOUR FINDINGS FOR MATERIAL WEAKNESSES IN THE CITY'S INTERNAL CONTROL. SO THE CITY AND ONE FISCAL YEAR WENT FROM 11 FUNDINGS DOWN TO FOUR. AND THE DETAILS OF THOSE FINDINGS ARE A FEW PAGES BACK IN IN THE REPORT. THESE FINDINGS MOSTLY DEALT WITH RECONCILIATION OF SUBSIDIARY LEDGERS ON A MONTHLY BASIS TO THE GENERAL LEDGER REGARDING UTILITY. FEES AND ALSO PROPERTY TAXES. AND THEN THERE WAS A AN ADDITIONAL FINDING RELATED TO RECONCILING CASH IN THE TREASURER'S ACCOUNTABILITY FUND. BACK TO THE CASH THAT ARE REPORTED IN THE FUNDS. AND THEN THE THE FOURTH FINDING WAS RELATED TO AS PART OF THE AUDIT, WE HAD TO PROPOSE MATERIAL AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CITY'S FINANCIAL REPORT. BUT AGAIN, THERE WERE THE DETAILS OF THOSE FINDINGS ARE IN THE BACK. AND AGAIN, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT THIS YEAR FROM THE CITY, GOING FROM 11 FINDINGS DOWN TO FOUR.

AND THEN THE THIRD AND FINAL REPORT FROM US IS OVER TWO PAGES OVER ON PAGE 158. THIS IS OUR REPORT OVER THE CITY'S COMPLIANCE WITH ITS MAJOR FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS. THIS REPORT WAS CLEANED. NO SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCIES OR MATERIAL WEAKNESSES IN THIS CITY'S COMPLIANCE WITH ITS MAJOR FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS. AND AGAIN, NO ITEMS OF NONCOMPLIANCE WERE NOTED AS PART OF THE AUDIT. SO THIS THIS REPORT WAS CLEAN, BUT THAT'S ALL I HAVE. BUT BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, MR. FOLEY. THAT'S GOOD NEWS. I WANT TO THANK THE FINANCE TEAM FOR FOR GETTING THOSE FINDINGS DOWN. IT WAS HUGE TO REDUCE THOSE TO UNDER HALF OF WHAT WE HAD. SO NOW WE CAN WORK ON THE LAST FOUR. I THINK ONE OF THE BIG ONES I GUESS I'LL GO TO THE CITY MANAGER IS WHAT CAN WE DO TO FIX THE LISTING OF WATER AND SEWER CUSTOMER DEPOSITS? AND THE OTHER ONE WAS IN UTILITY BILLING RECONCILIATION. DO WE HAVE A PLAN ON HOW TO FIX THAT? SO FIRST, LIKE YOU, MR. MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO THANK OUR FINANCE TEAM, OUR COMMISSIONER, REVENUE AND OUR TREASURER FOR ALL THE HARD WORK WE WE SET OUT WITH AN AMBITIOUS GOAL TO GETTING RID OF ALL 11 FOR THE IN THE ONE YEAR, GETTING SEVEN OF THE 11 DONE DOWN TO FOUR I THINK WAS A PRETTY GOOD, GOOD TASK. I KNOW THE FINANCE DIRECTOR, OUR MR. KLAUS GLASTER, HAS ALREADY BEGUN WORKING ON PLANS TO ADDRESS THESE FOUR. SO NEXT YEAR WHEN WE WHEN WE HAVE MR. FOLEY STANDING HERE NEXT YEAR, HOPEFULLY WE WILL HAVE NO FINDINGS. AND WE'RE WORKING RIGHT NOW WITH NOT ONLY JUST WITHIN FINANCE, BUT WITH OUR TREASURER AND OUR COMMISSIONER REVENUE TO ADDRESS ANY OF THOSE, THOSE PIECES THAT WE NEED TO DO. SO WE'RE WORKING ON WE'RE ALREADY WORKING ON A PLAN FOR, FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR TO ADDRESS THOSE ITEMS. AND HOPEFULLY, LIKE I SAID, WITH THE 26 AUDIT, HOPEFULLY WE WILL SEE ZERO FINDINGS. SO BUT I DO WANT TO THANK THEM FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK. OKAY. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COOPER. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. MR. CITY MANAGER, WOULD YOU PRESENT COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC WITH THE PLAN TO ADDRESS THESE FOUR FINDINGS? ONCE THAT PLAN IS PUT TOGETHER? YES, SIR. WE CAN CERTAINLY PRESENT THAT TO COUNCIL. TIMES WOULD BE NEEDED TO TO PUT THAT PLAN TOGETHER. I THINK IF YOU GAVE US TO TO HAVE IT, WE COULD COME BACK IN MARCH, SAY, AT YOUR WORK SESSION IN MARCH AND PRESENT. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. AND IF I MAY, MR. FOLEY, WELCOME. THANK YOU.

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TOTAL PROPERTY TAXES RECEIVABLE WERE DOWN THIS YEAR COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS YEAR. TOTAL PROPERTY TAXES OUTSTANDING WAS 11.3 MILLION. NOW THAT INCLUDES REAL ESTATE AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. WHAT PAGE CAN I FIND THAT ON, OR CAN THE PUBLIC FIND THAT ON PAGE PAGE 24, PAGE 24, EXHIBIT THREE. THOSE ARE THE TAXES RECEIVABLE, WHICH IS 11.3 MILLION. SO IF I MA CUTHBERT, IN ANTICIPATION OF THIS QUESTION, BECAUSE YOU ASK IT EVERY YEAR, WE'VE ALREADY I'VE ALREADY ASKED MR. GLASNER AND COMPANY TO TRY TO BREAK DOWN THAT NUMBER FOR YOU, AND WE CAN BRING THAT BACK. MAYBE WE BRING THAT BACK FOR YOU AT THE MARCH MEETING. WHEN WE PRESENT THE PLAN, WE ALSO PRESENT THAT BREAKDOWN OF THE THE TAXES. THAT WOULD BE GREAT AND I'D APPRECIATE IT. AND I KNOW THE PUBLIC WILL APPRECIATE IT AS WELL, BECAUSE THE PUBLIC WANTS TO STAY INFORMED AS TO WHETHER THE CITY IS REALLY DOING HIS JOB IN COLLECTING TAXES ON THE AUDIT, BECAUSE THE MORE TAXES WE COLLECT, THEN THE LESS WE HAVE TO ASK THE PEOPLE TO PAY. AND IF IT'S IF IT'S UTILITY TAXES, THEN WE WON'T HAVE TO JACK UP THE UTILITY BILLS AS MUCH AS IF WE CAN GET A HANDLE ON THE PAST DUE UTILITY BILLS. AND SO IT GOES.

THE SAME IS TRUE WITH REAL ESTATE TAXES. THE SAME IS TRUE WITH THE THE HATED CAR TAX. YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN GET THAT HATED CAR TAX DOWN, WE CAN COLLECT MORE OF IT. THEN MAYBE WE CAN REDUCE THE HATED CAR TAX. I'D LOVE TO SEE IT. I KNOW EVERYBODY ON COUNCIL WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN, BUT THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH UP HERE. AND WE GOT TO BALANCE THE BUDGET.

AND SO THAT'S THE OTHER TENT PULLING AT US. BUT CERTAINLY A MAJOR TENSION IS GETTING THOSE PAST FEW COUNTS DOWN. SO IF, IF YOU COULD BRING US THAT INFORMATION, MR. CITY MANAGER AT OUR MARCH WORK SESSION AND LET US KNOW WHAT THE PLAN IS TO BRING THOSE PAST DUE TAXES DOWN EVEN FURTHER, WHAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY, WHAT THEY WERE 12 MONTHS AGO, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL INFORMATION. LET US SEE WHETHER WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, WHETHER THERE'S ANYTHING MORE WE CAN DO TO ACCELERATE THE PACE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WE WANT TO SUPPLY SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC AT THE LEAST COST TO THE PUBLIC. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, MR. FOLEY. AND AGAIN, THANK OUR STAFF FOR FOR GETTING OUR ORDERED IN ON TIME THIS YEAR. SO IT'S DEFINITELY IS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU ALL. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. THANK YOU. NEXT MOVE ON TO ITEM EIGHT B WHICH IS POTENTIAL REFUNDING OPPORTUNITY WITH DAVENPORT. MR. ROSE GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING, MR. MAYOR. I'VE GOT SOME HARD COPIES IN CASE ANYONE NEEDS THAT. SO. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

WELL HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. HAPPY NEW YEAR. GOOD TO BE HERE. I WILL BE BRIEF. WE'VE GOT SOME POTENTIALLY GOOD INFORMATION. GREAT TO SHARE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. ALL. GOOD AGAIN. SO MAYOR MEMBERS OF COUNCIL DAVID ROSE FROM DAVENPORT. AND AGAIN IT'S IT'S PART OF THE REASON WE'RE HERE TONIGHT IS BECAUSE OF WHAT I JUST LISTENED TO, WHAT YOU JUST RECEIVED, WHICH WAS AN EXCELLENT REPORT AS IT RELATES TO YOUR 2025 AUDIT. AND THAT'S IMPORTANT. I WAS ALSO HERE THE THE DAYS AND TIMES IN WHICH THE AUDITS WERE ON THE LATE SIDE. AND YOUR CITY

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SO ALL OF THIS ALLOWS ME TO COME TONIGHT AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT AN OPPORTUNITY THAT'S SIMPLY ABOUT SAVING SOME MONEY. THINK OF IT THIS WAY. IT'S YOU'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE A MORTGAGE. AN INTEREST RATE ON YOUR MORTGAGE IS, SAY, 6%. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRYING TO GET IT TO 5%. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT EXTENDING ANY OF THE PAYMENTS. WE'RE JUST SIMPLY TRYING TO CHANGE ONE INTEREST RATE FOR A LOWER INTEREST RATE. AND WHAT WE'RE ASKING TONIGHT IS YOUR ABILITY TO LET US MOVE FORWARD. NO FORMAL ACTION WILL BE TAKEN TONIGHT, BUT RATHER WE'D LIKE TO SEE SOME GUIDANCE FROM THE COUNCIL ABOUT MOVING FORWARD AND PUTTING SOME THINGS TOGETHER. AND THEN I'LL SHOW YOU A SCHEDULE A LITTLE BIT LATER. THE LAST BULLET POINT HERE IS THIS YOU HAVE STRONG CREDIT RATINGS. PART OF THE REASON YOU HAVE THOSE STRONG CREDIT RATINGS IS YOU HAVE AN EXCELLENT UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE, WHICH IS THAT RAINY DAY FUND THAT WHEN I FIRST STARTED WORKING WITH YOU, WAS THAT A -$7 MILLION? AND AS YOU JUST SAW RIGHT NOW, THAT IS TO USE THE TO USE DAVID'S COMMENT IS NOW AT ALMOST 50, ALMOST $60 MILLION. VERY, VERY IMPRESSIVE. I WANT TO ADD, BY THE WAY, FOR ALL THE CITIZENS THAT THINK IF THAT MONEY IS SITTING THERE, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POINT, THAT MONEY IS EARNING INTEREST, AND THAT INTEREST IS BASICALLY HELPING TO KEEP YOUR TAX RATE DOWN. THAT MONEY IS GOING RIGHT BACK INTO YOUR GENERAL FUND AND IS BEING ABLE TO BE USED. SO IT IS NOT BY ANY MEANS SITTING IDLY. AND ON TOP OF THAT, THAT MONEY IS PART AND A VERY STRONG REASON WHY YOUR CREDIT RATINGS HAVE MOVED UP CONSISTENTLY OVER THE LAST 7 OR 8 YEARS. SO WITH ALL OF THAT, THIS IS THE POTENTIAL REFUNDING OPPORTUNITY. IT'S ABOUT $5.5 MILLION OF DEBT OUTSTANDING, AND INTEREST RATES RANGE FROM 3% TO 5%. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT IT IS ALL NOW CALLABLE. THAT MEANS WE CAN EXCHANGE THAT WITHOUT A PENALTY. AND SO THE REASONS WE CAN DO THAT HAVE TO DO WITH FEDERAL TAX LAW. I'M DELIGHTED THAT MY GOOD FRIEND AND YOUR BOND COUNSEL, DAN SIEGEL, IS BEHIND ME. HE'S GOING TO BE HERE TONIGHT FOR ASKING YOU TO APPROVE DEQ LOAN. UNRELATED TO THIS, BUT THE POINT HERE IS THAT WE ARE NOW IN A MODE WHERE WE CAN AGAIN CALL THIS IN AND SEE IF WE CAN EXCHANGE IT FOR LOWER INTEREST RATES. SO WE'RE GOING TO RECOMMEND WITH YOUR BLESSING WHAT WE CALL A DUAL TRACK PROCESS. WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT APPLYING TO THE VIRGINIA RESOURCE AUTHORITY. THEY HAVE A SPRING POOL. THAT MEANS THAT THEY DO A BORROWING ROUGHLY 2 OR 3 TIMES A YEAR. BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO LOOK DIRECTLY TO BANKS. AND THAT'S A DIRECT BANK LOAN. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN NO BANKS WOULD LEND TO US. AS YOU KNOW, THE LAST TIME WE PUT THIS OUT, WE HAD NINE DIFFERENT BANKING INSTITUTIONS OFFERING TO HELP US. SO WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET SOME VERY GOOD RESPONSES. AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE GOING TO COMPARE THAT TO WHAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE A POOL PROGRAM. AND IF IT MEETS CRITERIA. AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE, THEN WE'RE GOING TO RECOMMEND MOVING FORWARD. IF IT DOESN'T MEET THE CRITERIA, THE CITY COUNCIL IS NOT GOING TO BE AT RISK FOR ANY DOLLARS FINANCIALLY. THIS IS REALLY JUST SOMETHING THAT I ENJOY GIVING PRESENTATIONS ON BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY UPSIDE FOR US. THERE IS NO DOWNSIDE. SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE MARKET, THIS ROUGHLY 5.4 MILLION OF BONDS HAS AN AVERAGE INTEREST RATE OF 4.3%. WE WOULD LOOK TO RIGHT NOW ALL IN CHANGING THAT FROM 4.3 DOWN TO A FIXED RATE, ALL IN OF 3.7.

THAT'S A LITTLE OVER $300,000 OF NET SAVINGS. AND THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS IT HAS GOT WHAT WE CALL A PRESENT VALUE SAVINGS PERCENT OF CLOSE TO 5%. INDUSTRY STANDARDS SAY THAT ANYTHING ABOVE 3% IS CONSIDERED A BEST PRACTICES REFUNDING APPROACH. AND SO AGAIN, IF WE DO THAT, WE GET THOSE RESULTS. WE'LL RECOMMEND MOVING FORWARD. IF IT'S UNDER THAT 3%, WE WILL RECOMMEND HOLDING OFF AND LIVING FOR ANOTHER DAY. IF YOU WOULD. NO HARM, NO FOUL DOING THAT. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. IF INTEREST RATES GO UP 25 BASIS

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IF YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT, WE'LL PUT OUT A REQUEST TO BANKS AS EARLY AS TOMORROW.

WE'VE ALREADY WORKED WITH WITH MR. SIEGEL AND HIS FIRM TO MAKE SURE IT MEETS ALL THE LEGAL PARAMETERS. WE WOULD ALSO PUT AN APPLICATION IN TO VRE DUE ON FEBRUARY 6TH. GET THOSE RESPONSES BACK FROM THE BANKS. ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY 10TH. YOU HAVE A MEETING ON THE 17TH OF FEBRUARY, EITHER MYSELF OR ROLAND KOCH, WHO YOU KNOW WELL WOULD BE HERE GIVING YOU THOSE RESULTS. AND AGAIN, IF INDEED WE MOVE FORWARD, WE WOULD THEN LOOK FOR SOME ACTIONS. BUT THERE'S NO PUBLIC HEARING REQUIRED BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ISSUING ANY NEW DEBT. WE'RE SIMPLY REPLACING EXISTING DEBT FROM A HIGHER INTEREST RATE TO A LOWER INTEREST RATE. IF WE DECIDE TO PASS ON THE BANKS, WE CAN THEN MOVE FORWARD. THE BANKS. WE SEE THIS BOND SALE BY VRE HAPPENING AT THE END OF APRIL. SO IT'S A WAYS OFF. AND IF THAT MEETS OUR PARAMETERS, WE WOULD CLOSE WITH VRE ON OR ABOUT MAY 12TH. SO WITH THAT HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

I DON'T KNOW IF THE CITY MANAGER WANTS TO ANSWER ADD ANYTHING TO THAT, BUT THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE TONIGHT. MR. MAYOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. MR. RHODES.

QUICK QUESTION HERE. WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE DOWN FROM THE 4.3, AND I SEE WE HAVE HERE A 3.7. DO YOU THINK THERE'S ANY WAY WE CAN GET THAT DOWN TO LIKE A 3.5. WELL AGAIN IT'S GOING TO BE UP TO THE THE MARKETPLACE. I WILL TELL YOU TODAY WAS NOT A GOOD DAY. SO WE WERE GOING THE OTHER WAY TODAY. BUT HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. BUT IT'S COMPETITIVELY DONE. SO WHEN YOU ASK 3.5 IT'S THE OVERALL MARKETPLACE. IT'S DIFFERENT BANKS BIDDING AGAINST EACH OTHER. SO WE DON'T CONTROL THAT.

OBVIOUSLY WE'RE YOUR ADVISOR SO WE DON'T BID ON THIS AT ALL. WE REVIEW THE BIDS AND WE'LL GIVE YOU THE RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT'S BEST. PERFECT. ALL RIGHT. MR. ALTMAN, I THINK ONE, WE WANT TO THANK MR. ROSE AND DAVENPORT FOR BRINGING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO US TO ALWAYS ENJOY AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY. IF COUNCIL IS OF A MIND, WE'D APPRECIATE IF YOU WOULD ALLOW US TO AT LEAST MOVE FORWARD AND EXPLORE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SEE IF IT IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD COME TO FRUITION, WILL ALLOW US TO SAVE SOME FUNDING. EVERY PENNY COUNTS AND EVERY PENNY HELPS. SO WE FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE, WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD. IF COUNCIL HAS ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. ROSE, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM AND WE'D HOPE YOU WOULD SUPPORT THE REQUEST. ALL RIGHT, VICE MAYOR. MR. MAYOR, IF I'M IN ORDER, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE AUTHORIZE DAVENPORT, ALONG WITH THE CITY MANAGER, TO ENTER INTO THE DUAL TRACK PROCESS AND REPORT BACK TO THE CITY AT THE EARLIEST CONVENIENCE TIME WHEN THEY HAVE ANY INFORMATION. OKAY, COUNCILWOMAN SMITH LEE, A SECOND. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? SEEING NONE. MISS HILL, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. COUNCIL MEMBER. CUTHBERT. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. JONES. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. MYERS. COUNCIL MEMBER.

WESTBROOK. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. SMITH. LEE. I. VICE MAYOR. HILL. AYE. MAYOR. AYE. MOTION CARRIES.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MISS ROSE. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHERE THOSE NUMBERS LEAD US IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. WE'LL SEE IT AGAIN. AND ONE MORE THING. LET'S ASSUME THAT IF RATES GO AGAINST US, MEANING THEY GO ABOVE US AGAIN, WE ALWAYS HAVE THAT ABILITY TO COME BACK. WE'RE NOT GOING TO LOSE THAT OPPORTUNITY. I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. SO AGAIN, IT'S IN PLAY AND LET'S HOPE IT IT MOVES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I'VE HAD INSTANCES WORKING WITH WITH MR. SIEGEL WHERE IT MOVES AGAINST US. AND THEN BY THE END OF THE YEAR IT'S COME THE OTHER WAY. AND AS LONG AS WE HAVE YOUR AUTHORIZATION, WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE QUICKLY. SO WE APPRECIATE THAT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. ROSE. MR. SIEGEL, ALWAYS GOOD SEEING

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[9. Official Public Hearings]

BUDGET MANAGER. THIS ITEM IS A REQUEST FROM SCHOOLS TO CARRY FORWARD SOME ENCUMBRANCES THAT WENT UNSPENT AT THE END OF LAST FISCAL YEAR. SO THEY ARE REQUESTING TO AMEND THEIR BUDGET AND CARRY FORWARD THOSE ENCUMBRANCES FROM THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,977,123.61. OKAY. OKAY. THIS IS THE PUBLIC HEARING. SO I'M GONNA OPEN UP THE FLOOR FIRST FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING. THEN I HAVE DISCUSSION FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AT THIS FLOOR. THE FLOOR IS OPEN NOW FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO OPEN UP AND COMMENT ON THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE FY 26 PETERSBURG CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BUDGET. MISS RUDOLPH, GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU MAYOR. GOOD EVENING. BARB RUDOLPH, 1675 MOUNT VERNON STREET. QUESTION ABOUT THIS. I BELIEVE THAT THE MONEY, THE CARRY FORWARD MONEY IS SUPPOSED TO BE EARMARKED FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS IN THE SCHOOLS. I DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT WAS STILL IN EFFECT OR IF THAT HAD BEEN WIPED OUT WITH THE FIELD HOUSE DEAL DEALING THAT WENT ON ANYWAY. IT'S OBVIOUSLY IT'S IMPORTANT TO APPROPRIATE THIS MONEY FOR THE SCHOOLS, BUT I JUST WONDERED IF IT HOW IT RELATED TO THAT PROCESS THAT WAS PASSED BY YOU SEVERAL YEARS AGO. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SEEING NO HANDS, THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED. DO YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THAT, MR. WILLIAMS? I BELIEVE THE RESOLUTION THAT MISS. THAT THAT SHE WAS OUR SPEAKER WAS REFERRING TO WAS RESCINDED A YEAR OR TWO BACK, MAYBE A YEAR AGO. BUT THERE HAS BEEN SOME DISCUSSION AMONGST COUNCIL, AS I RECALL, OF REQUIRING THE CITY TO REPORT ON THE NINE CATEGORIES THAT THEY'RE GOING TO USE EXPENDITURES FOR AS A REQUIREMENT FOR CARRYOVER. COUNCIL HASN'T MADE A DEFINITIVE DECISION ON REQUIRING THAT YET, BUT I WAS HOPING THAT SOMEONE FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD OR THE SCHOOLS WOULD BE HERE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO COUNCIL, BUT I DON'T THINK THEY ARE. OKAY. NEXT, WE HAVE DISCUSSION FROM MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL.

COUNCILMAN JONES. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, AND THANK EVERYBODY FOR BEING HERE. IS THERE ANYBODY HERE FROM THE SCHOOL SYSTEM? YOU SAY $2 MILLION, 2.92.92.9 THAT THEY WANT TO CARRY OVER? YES. IT WAS APPROPRIATED LAST YEAR. IT WENT UNSPENT. AND THEY'RE ASKING TO CARRY IT OVER TO THIS. IS THAT THE 2 MILLION THAT WE VOTED TO GIVE THEM LAST YEAR? THAT'S JUST THE 2 MILLION THAT THEY DIDN'T SPEND. YEAH. SO THE TOTAL BUDGET, RIGHT. IT WAS COMMITTED FOR WHATEVER PURPOSE AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT WENT UNSPENT BY THE END OF THE YEAR. WELL, MARLO, CAN I JUMP IN REAL QUICK? MAKE SURE YOU SAY 2.90 CLOSER TO THREE THAN IT IS TO 22. 9 MILLION. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I'M HAVING DIFFICULTIES. WHEN PEOPLE SAY WE'RE NOT PROVIDING FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, IT'S CLEARLY THAT WE ARE. NOW, IF YOU GIVE ME $2.9 MILLION, I GUARANTEE YOU I'LL SPEND IT QUICK SO I CAN ASK FOR MORE. NOW. SCHOOL SYSTEM. IF YOU'RE WATCHING AND I KNOW YOU ARE, I TOLD YOU OVER AND OVER TO SPEND THIS MONEY.

OUR KIDS DESERVE THE BEST. YOU DON'T NEED TO BE PITCHING ANYTHING. THERE'S A LOT OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS LIKE MISS RUDOLPH SAID, THAT NEED TO BE WORKED ON YOUR LOCKER ROOMS. NUMBER ONE, TECHNOLOGY. NUMBER TWO, IF YOU DON'T START SPENDING THIS MONEY, WE'RE GOING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MAKE YOU SPEND IT ON OUR WATCH, HOW WE WANT TO SPEND IT. BUT YOU GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND THIS MONEY. I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU. I'M TALKING TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. WHO'S WATCHING? I'M TIRED OF Y'ALL NOT SPENDING MONEY THAT THE CITIZENS ARE PAYING YOU. IT'S NOT OUR MONEY. IT'S THE CITIZENS MONEY. AND $2.9 MILLION. YOU CAN'T FIND ANYTHING IN YOUR CITY, IN YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEM TO FIX. ALL OF

[00:35:01]

CATEGORICAL FUNDING THAT WE KNOW WE DO NOT. YOU'RE CORRECT, MR. VICE MAYOR. WE DO NOT BUDGET CATEGORICALLY. OKAY. SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK AT. MOVING FORWARD IS A GOOD, I GUESS, A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE IF YOU IF IT'S NOT LIKE WE $2.9 MILLION SHORT. BUT I'M IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, MISS HILL. COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER CUTHBERT HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER. EXCUSE ME. COUNCIL MEMBER. JONES, WITH THE DEADLINE ON GETTING BACK WITH US BY THE NEXT WORK SESSION. THE NEXT SESSION, I WOULD JUST SAY THE NEXT COUNCIL, THE SECOND MEETING IN FEBRUARY. SO YOU CAN TAKE ACTION THE 17TH WITH MISS CLARK, IF YOU CAN ADD THAT TO IT WITH WITH THAT DEADLINE SO WE CAN GET IT GOING.

COUNCIL MEMBER. MYERS. COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. COUNCIL MEMBER. SMITH. VICE MAYOR I MAYOR I MOTION NEXT IS ITEM 9BA PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE FY 26 GRANTS FUND. MR. COZIER OKAY. SO THIS ITEM WE HAVE A FEW GRANTS THAT WE HAVE.

NEXT PAGE PLEASE. WE HAVE A FEW GRANTS THAT WE HAVE COMING INTO THE CITY. ALL THESE GRANTS ARE FULLY FUNDED AND THERE IS NO MATCH REQUIRED. ITEM B PLEASE. PUBLIC HEARING. ALL RIGHT. YOU GOT IT. OKAY. WAITING FOR THE CHANGEOVER. YEAH. COULD YOU HIT PAGE 26 9B9B. SO THE PUBLIC HEARING WOULD BE TO AMEND THE, THE GRANTS FUND BY $989,643. YES, THAT IS CORRECT. IT IS SEVERAL GRANTS. SO WE HAVE TWO GRANTS FOR THE PETERSBURG BUREAU OF POLICE FROM THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES. WE HAVE A GRANT FROM THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES FOR THE PETERSBURG DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES. THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER ONE FOR PETERSBURG FIRE, RESCUE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES FROM THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF FIRE PROGRAMS, AND THEN A DONATION FOR BLANDFORD CHURCH AND MUSEUM. SO TOTALING ACROSS ALL OF THEM IS, LIKE YOU SAID, $989,643. YEAH, THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT. SO I'LL OPEN THE FLOOR NOW FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE FY 26 GRANTS FUND. SAYING NO HANDS. THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED. NEXT, COUNCILMAN JONES. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. QUICK QUESTION. ARE THESE GRANTS FEDERAL GRANTS? NO.

THEY LOOK TO ALL BE STATE GRANTS, A GRANT FROM THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL

[00:40:04]

MYERS. COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. SMITH. LEE. VICE MAYOR. HILL.

AYE. MAYOR A MOTION. NEXT IS ITEM NINE. C A PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ATTENTION OF THE PETERSBURG CITY COUNCIL TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF, NOT TO EXCEED $21,462,462. PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF GENERAL OBLIGATION WATER AND SEWER REVENUE BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE CITY'S PUBLIC SEWER SYSTEM. FACILITIES VIRGINIA RESOURCES AUTHORITY CLEAN WATER REVOLVING LOAN FUND.

MR. MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, WE HAVE MR. SIEGEL AND MR. ROSE HERE THIS EVENING. THIS VRE LOAN WAS SOMETHING THAT WE KIND OF INCLUDED IN OUR CONVERSATIONS AS PART WHEN WE WENT FORWARD WITH THE LOAN AND THE RATE INCREASES FOR WATER AND SEWER. THE LOAN IS FOR THE 21.4 OR $21.5 MILLION AT. CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, GENTLEMEN, A HALF A PERCENT INTEREST. WELL, THE TOTAL IS 1%. IT'S A HALF PERCENT. AND THEN THEY ADD VARIOUS FEES. SO IT IT'S A IT'S A BIG NUMBER. IT'S 1% BUT IT'S 1% INTEREST LOAN. IT'S A GREAT DEAL WHICH WE WILL USE THESE THESE FUNDS TO FURTHER OUR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE POOR CREEK WATERSHED. WATER WASTEWATER WASTE WATER, WATER IMPROVEMENTS ALONG FORT CREEK OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S PRETTY MUCH SELF-EXPLANATORY. ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD, MR. SIEGEL? JUST THAT YOU HAVE THE RESOLUTION BEFORE YOU. IT'S BEEN COMMENTED BY BY VIRGINIA RESOURCES AUTHORITY COUNCIL. IT PROVIDES FOR THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE 21,000,462, 462, BUT 20 OF THE 20,000,004, 4400 IS THE LOAN AT THE 1%. BUT IN ADDITION, YOU GET A WHAT THEY CALL A PRINCIPAL FORGIVENESS LOAN, WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH A GRANT OF OVER $1 MILLION, 1,022,000. SO ALTOGETHER THAT TOTAL IS 21.

BUT THE THE ACTUAL BORROWING AMOUNT IS THE 20 MILLION. AND IT'S A GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND AND A REVENUE BOND. SO IT'S GOT BOTH. BUT I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE GOT THE PUBLIC HEARING. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. NEXT I'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR ANY COMMENTS ON THE APPROVAL OF THE RESOLUTION.

FUNDING FROM THE VIRGINIA WATER FACILITIES REVOLVING FUND. SEEING NO HANDS. THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED. NEXT. COUNCILMAN COOPER, I MOVE THAT WE ADOPT THE ORDINANCE AS PROPOSED. ALL RIGHT, VICE MAYOR HILL, SECOND, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? SEEING NONE. MISS HILL, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? COUNCIL MEMBER CUTHBERT? AYE.

COUNCIL MEMBER. JONES. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. MYERS. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. AYE.

COUNCIL MEMBER. SMITH. AYE. VICE MAYOR. HILL. AYE. MAYOR. PARA. AYE. THAT MOTION CARRIES.

ALL RIGHT. NEXT ITEM D HAS BEEN STRICKEN FROM TONIGHT'S AGENDA. IT WILL BE GOING BACK TO THE EDA FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION. NEXT WE MOVE ON TO ITEM E, WHICH IS A PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTION OF A DEED OF EASEMENT AT 3101 JOHNSON ROAD. MR. ALTMAN. MR. MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL THIS EVENING WE HAVE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION THE REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE ME TO EXECUTE AN EASEMENT AGREEMENT FOR 3101 JOHNSON ROAD. THIS IS THE EASEMENT THAT'S NECESSARY FROM DOMINION POWER TO PROVIDE TO GET POWER TO THE SPORTS TRAINING FACILITY THAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON JOHNSON ROAD.

WITHOUT THE EASEMENT, WE WON'T BE ABLE TO DELIVER POWER, PERMANENT POWER. SO THIS EVENING, WE WOULD REQUEST THAT AUTHORIZATION, APPROVAL OF AUTHORIZATION TO ALLOW ME TO EXECUTE THE EASEMENT FOR 3101 JOHNSON ROAD. ANY QUESTIONS? I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. NEXT, THIS IS THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE

[00:45:02]

SEEING NO HANDS, THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED. VICE MAYOR HILL, I MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF THE DEED AT 3101 JOHNSON ROAD.

COUNCILWOMAN SMITH LEE, SECOND WITH A MOTION A SECOND. MISS HILL, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER? CUTHBERT? AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. JONES. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. MYERS. COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. LEE. AYE. VICE MAYOR. HILL. AYE. MAYOR A MOTION

[10. Public Information Period]

WE'LL START OFF WITH MR. AJANI SEKOU. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. AJANI SEKOU, 27 SOUTH SYCAMORE STREET. FIRST OF GOOD STUFF. FEBRUARY 13TH. I'D LIKE TO INVITE EACH AND EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU TO THE OPENING OF THE GATEWAY ARTS CENTER AT 27 SOUTH SYCAMORE STREET. WE HAVE 10,000FT■S. WE'RE ABOUT TO LAUNH A BRAND NEW ARTS CENTER HERE FOR THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. SO I HOPE TO SEE ALL OF YOU THERE. WE HAVE A RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY. IT'S BEING SENT YOUR WAY. AND NOW THIS MAY TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN TWO MINUTES. OKAY. SEE, I DIDN'T DESCEND INTO HELL LIKE DANTE, BUT I DID SHOW UP TO A CITY COUNCIL MEETING. THIS IS PETERSBURG. SEVEN WARDS, SEVEN SEATS, SEVEN CIRCLES. BUT THE SAME CYCLE. THE FIRST CIRCLE IS PRIDE. IT SITS AT THE DAIS OF MICROPHONES, POLISHED, TITLES MEMORIZED. MR. MAYOR, MR. VICE MAYOR, EVERYBODY IS IMPORTANT EXCEPT FOR THE PEOPLE AT THE PUBLIC COMMENTS. WITH THREE MINUTES AND SHAKING VOICES, PRIDE LOOKS LIKE LEADERSHIP THAT TALKS AT A CITY INSTEAD OF WITH A CITY. SECOND CIRCLE IS GREED. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES, RFPS THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME DON'T SEEM TO HEAR ABOUT. TAX INCENTIVES FOR OUTSIDE INVESTORS, WHILE BLACK BUSINESSES AND OWNERS GET TOLD START SMALLER OR TAKE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE. GREED GOT A SPREADSHEET WITH NO CONSCIENCE. THE THIRD CYCLE IS GLUTTONY. COMMITTEES, SUBCOMMITTEES, TAX FORCES, STRATEGIC PLANS STACKED LIKE PLATES. EVERYBODY EATING OFF THE PROCESS. BUT AIN'T NOBODY FEEDING THE PEOPLE. WARDS THREE AND FOUR. IT'S ALL ABOUT OLD TOWN. WHILE THE REST OF US GET SCRAPS. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SYCAMORE GROVE PROGRAM? FOUR CYCLE AND SLOTH. THIS IS WHERE PROGRESS GOES TO TAKE A NAP. NEXT QUARTER UNDER REVIEW. STILL GATHERING DATA. SOME STREETS BEEN FLOODING LIKE THIS FOR DECADES. GO TAKE A LOOK AT OLD TOWN RIGHT NOW. PEABODY IS FALLING APART. BUT SEE, URGENCY ONLY SHOWS UP DURING ELECTION TIME OR WHEN THE CASINO TELL YOU TO GET YOUR SITUATION TOGETHER. THE FOURTH CYCLE IS WRATH. NOW LISTEN, THIS ANGER, IT AIN'T COME FROM NOWHERE. THIS HAS HAPPENED WHEN CITIZENS BEG LONG ENOUGH, WHEN BLACK MEN STAND UP AND BLOCKS GET STAND UP FOR THEIR BLOCKS AND GET LABELED AS DISRUPTIVE OR ANGRY.

WHEN FRUSTRATION GETS CRIMINALIZED. BUT NEGLIGENCE GETS REELECTED. RAFTED, AND STORED IN THE STREETS. IT STARTED IN THE SILENCE OF YOUR BACK ROOMS. THANK YOU, MR. SULU.

ENVY. NOW I'M GOING TO RECLAIM MY TIME. Y'ALL WAS AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE, SO I NEED ANOTHER COUPLE MINUTES. MR. SUKU, I TOLD YOU, YOU AT YOUR TIME, LADY. AND RIGHT NOW. RIGHT NOW, YOU DISTURBING A PUBLIC MEETING. MR. SUKU, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. THOSE ARE THE RULES.

SAY LESS, SAY LESS. WELL, I SAY THIS. REMEMBER THIS. Y'ALL WORK FOR THE PEOPLE, NOT THE

[00:50:05]

ARE WE READY? YEAH. OKAY. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. COUNCIL MEMBERS I'M CLAUDETTE STEWART. MY ADDRESS IS 1151 WILCOX STREET, APARTMENT TWO SIX. WARD, I'M PATTY HEARST. MY ADDRESS IS 1733 SOUTH SYCAMORE STREET, WARD FOUR. WE ARE PROUD ALUMNUS OF PEABODY HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH IS THE FIRST AND OLDEST BLACK PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN THE NATION. THE PEABODY HIGH SCHOOL IS NOT JUST A BUILDING. IT REPRESENTS OVER 100 YEARS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING FAITH, LOVE AND HOPE, USING EDUCATION TO RISE ABOVE SEGREGATION AND PRODUCE LEADERS OF INTEGRITY AND A VISION FOR THE CITY, AND ALSO FOR THEIR LIVES ABROAD.

AND OF COURSE, IT AFFECTS THEIR AFFECTED VARIOUS FIELDS OF INFLUENCE, JUST TO NAME A FEW.

WE HAVE OUR FIRST BLACK MAYOR, PETERSBURG WAS HERMAN'S LEROY. JERMAINE FAUNTLEROY WAS ALSO THE FIRST SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WE HAVE ROSALYN DANCE. SHE WAS OUR PETERSBURG CITY MAYOR. SHE SERVED AS MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES, AS WELL AS THE VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR. AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR ACTOR, KENNETH LEE AFEMO OMILAMI, WHO PLAYED IN SEVERAL MOVIES AND SO MANY OTHERS THAT THREE MINUTES WON'T WON'T MENTION WON'T GIVE US TIME TO MENTION. BUT I WILL MENTION A COUPLE MORE RON BOLTON. Y'ALL LIKE NFL. HE CAME OUT OF PEABODY. HE SERVED WITH THE CLEVELAND BROWNS AND THE ENGLAND PATRIOTS. WE HAVE ROGER LEE GREGORY OUT OF LAW. HE SERVED AS A US CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS OF THE FOURTH DISTRICT.

AND OF COURSE WE HAVE IN OUR ARMED SERVICES MONICA WINFIELD. HE WAS THE ARMY BRIGADE GENERAL.

AND OF COURSE, HE WORKED AT THE PENTAGON. AND THAT'S JUST TO NAME A FEW. OKAY. OKAY. NOW.

OUR FAITH IS THAT YOU WILL SAVE, RENEW, RESTORE AND PRESERVE THE COMPLEX THROUGH CUSTODIAL OWNERSHIP OF THE PEABODY ACADEMIC LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, INCORPORATED. POWELL, DC, FOR OUR CHILDREN, OUR CITIZENS AND THE REGION. NOW, I CAN IMAGINE HOW YOU FELT WHEN RICHMOND WAS DENIED OR THE REFERENDUM STOPPED AND THE CASINO CAME BACK DOWN THE PIKE. ALWAYS THE JOY THAT YOU GOT WHEN YOU KNEW THAT THAT OPPORTUNITY AND WHAT WAS ATTACHED TO IT COULD SET PETERSBURG BACK UP ON THE MAP AND THE THINGS THAT YOU COULD DO FOR THE PEOPLE, YOUR COMMUNITIES, AND JUST THE THINGS THAT YOU HAD IN MIND AND IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU COULD DO FOR US. THAT'S HOW WE FEEL NOW ABOUT THE BUILDING AND THE COMPLEX. IF GIVEN BACK TO US, THE THINGS WE COULD DO FOR OUR CITIZENS, OUR CHILDREN AND THE FUTURE TO COME. AND OF COURSE, WE ARE OUT OF TIME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

APPRECIATE IT. NEXT, MISS PATTY HURTS. OH I'M OKAY, PATTY HEARST OKAY, OKAY. SO YOU WERE GIVEN. WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DO THREE MINUTES TOGETHER INSTEAD OF SEVERAL. OKAY, I DIDN'T KNOW. WOULD YOU WOULD YOU HAVE PATTY HEARST TIME? SURE. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU.

SURE. AS THIS NEW ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO ERASE HISTORY THROUGHOUT OUR NATION, I PRAY THAT WE WILL HAVE THE COURAGE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT SO THAT WE CAN RESTORE THE PEABODY HIGH SCHOOL COMPLEX. AND, OF COURSE, THE HISTORIC SITE FOR OUR CITY OF THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION, FOR EVERYONE WHO LIVES HERE AND FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL VISIT US.

SO WE ARE PRAYING THAT YOU GUYS WILL DO THAT. I KNOW THAT YOU MAY NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE HISTORY. YOU WEREN'T AROUND WHEN THERE WERE COLORED FOUNTAINS AND WE COULDN'T SIT IN THE LIBRARY. WE HAD TO GO DOWNSTAIRS, CALL IT BATHROOMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT WE ROSE ABOVE THAT. AND EVEN IN THE TRANSITION AND THE FORCED INTEGRATION, WE WERE ABLE TO

[00:55:04]

THAT'S A LOT OF HISTORY FOR PETERSBURG. AND WE HAVE COME FORTH. WE ARE INTEGRATED AND WE HAVE COME FORTH AS A PEOPLE TO MAKE THE CITY GREAT AGAIN. SO I HOPE THAT YOU GUYS CAN, CAN, CAN SEE THAT. I KNOW YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. YOU CAME UP IN ANOTHER GENERATION. SO I DON'T KNOW THE THE LOGISTICS OF IT. I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF MONEY, BUT IT'S GOING TO TAKE FAITH TO DO IT. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE SOMETHING HAPPENED TO US. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THAT. SO SO THAT'S WHAT WE REALLY WANT INTO THAT BUILDING. WHAT WAS THERE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING WHEN WE STARTED WITH THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IN DC. HELPING CHILDREN, HELPING CITIZENS, HELPING ADULTS, AND HELPING THE COMMUNITY GIVE US OUR PURPOSE BACK. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. NEXT IS NITA AMADOR HERNANDEZ.

AND YOU GUESS THAT DOESN'T MOVE DOWN. GOOD EVENING. COUNCIL. MY NAME IS NINFA AMADOR HERNANDEZ, AND I AM THE DAUGHTER OF TWO IMMIGRANT HOMEOWNERS AND TAXPAYERS AT AGUSTA AVENUE, RIGHT PAST WESTVIEW AND BIRDVILLE NEIGHBORHOODS. I WISH I COULD GIVE YOU MY FULL ADDRESS TONIGHT, BUT I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING SO AS AN IMMIGRANT AND AS A LATINA DURING THIS TIME. AND THAT IS WHY I'M HERE TODAY AS A GRADUATE OF MAGGIE WALKER GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL, A POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR, AND A PUBLIC POLICY PROFESSIONAL, I TOOK THE TIME TO BE HERE BECAUSE I CANNOT STAY HOME NOT KNOWING WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL OR WHAT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT HERE IN PETERSBURG IS DOING TO PROTECT OUR IMMIGRANT HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESS LEADERS AND COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, FROM THE ROGUE FEDERAL ATTACKS OF A PARAMILITARY FORCE THAT IS ICE. AND AS I THINK WE ALL KNOW, AND WE ALL SAW WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK JUST A BLOCK FROM HERE, THIS HAS HAS EXASPERATED EVEN MORE THE NEED FOR ME TO KNOW WHAT WE CAN COUNT ON YOU TO DO DURING THESE TIMES. RIGHT NOW, WE ARE SEEING IMMIGRANT FAMILIES BEING ABUSED CRUELLY BY A SYSTEM THAT IS FUELED BY HATE THROUGH RACIALLY MOTIVATED AND A QUOTA BASED IMMIGRATION SYSTEM OF DEPORTATIONS. NOT ANYTHING LOGICAL LIKE WE'VE SEEN BEFORE, AND WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK TOO FAR. LIKE I SAID, OUTSIDE OF OUR OWN CITY LIMITS, TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON HERE, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE IN OUR OWN CITY. WE MAY SEE THE CASES OF RENEE GOODE AND IN MINNESOTA AND OTHER CASES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BUT AFTER THE KIDNAPING OF MY VERY OWN BONUS FATHER, A MAN THAT HAS WORKED TIRELESSLY WITH MY MOTHER TO RAISE MY FAMILY HERE IN PETERSBURG, HE WAS KIDNAPED IN MINNESOTA AS HE WAS GOING TO A JOB SITE, BECAUSE HE IS A CLASS A CONTRACTOR AND AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WORKS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AREA. HE WAS KIDNAPED BY UNMARKED AND UNMARKED VEHICLES, BY MASKED INDIVIDUALS, WITHOUT ANY REASON, WITHOUT ANY WARRANT AND WITHOUT ANY CAUSE. HE IS NOW NO LONGER ON US SOIL WITHOUT ATTORNEYS BEING ABLE TO REACH HIM OVER THE PAST 12 DAYS WITH US, WITHOUT US KNOWING WHERE HE MIGHT BE. AND THIS STORY IS NOT UNIQUE. I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE MANY OTHER STORIES OF FAMILIES LIKE MY OWN HERE IN OUR VERY OWN CITY THAT ARE WITNESSING THIS AND THIS PERSONAL PAIN. AND MY COMMITMENT TO MY COMMUNITY IS WHY I AM HERE TO ASK THIS BODY,

[01:00:01]

[01:05:24]

HERE'S THE DEAL. I KNOW PEOPLE WHO THE THE FEW PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPORTING THE PRESIDENT. THEY DON'T LIKE HEARING THIS, BUT HE ONLY GOT LIKE 13% OF THE VOTES CAST IN PETERSBURG DURING THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. SO HE'S NOT VERY POPULAR FIGURE. AND ASSOCIATING THESE PROGRAMS WITH THESE FEDERAL BASICALLY MAHA MEANING MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN, WHICH IS AN OFFSHOOT OF MAGA, THE INFAMOUS MAGA, WHICH TO SOME OF US IS REALLY KIND OF A DIRTY WORD.

QUITE A FEW OF US, I'D SAY. SO WHEN YOU ATTACH THE THE CURRENT FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION TO ISSUE TO PROGRAMS THAT ARE GOING TO BE LAUNCHED IN PETERSBURG TO HELP PEOPLE WITH, WITH THEIR HEALTH AND WITH THE ENVIRONMENT, YOU'RE YOU'RE DEPRESSING PARTICIPATION BECAUSE A LOT OF THESE PROGRAMS, THEY'RE LIKE PUBLIC HEALTH OUTREACH, AND IT RELIES ON PEOPLE BEING OPEN TO TALKING WITH OUTREACH WORKERS. MY WHAT I'VE HEARD IS THAT FEDERAL WORKERS ARE COMING TO DO SOME OF THIS. I'M JUST I JUST THINK YOU'RE YOU ARE IN IN YOUR ZEAL TO GET, YOU KNOW, TO GET PHOTO OPS WITH THE GOVERNOR AND, AND GET IN THE PAPER AND HAVE ALL THIS TALKED ABOUT.

YOU'RE YOU'RE DOING YOU'RE MAKING MOVES THAT ARE NOT THAT ARE IN THE LONG, LONG TERM, NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF PETERSBURG. AND SO WHEN THIS AND YOU SEE THIS, WE'VE GOT NOW WE'VE GOT THIS INITIATIVE WHICH IS BASICALLY LABELED WITH WITH A NAME FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO GET WE HAVE ICE BEING SEEN HERE, HEIGHTENED POLICE ACTIVITY, ALL KINDS OF THINGS. THE WE'VE GOT OUR FORMER DELEGATE. SHE'S BUSY PUTTING OUT STATEMENTS ABOUT ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OVER THE PAST WEEK. NOW THAT THERE'S A DEMOCRATIC DOMINATED HOUSE OF DELEGATES. SO IT'S ALL PART OF THE SAME PACKAGE, IS THAT WE'RE BEING PRIMED TO BE I DON'T WANT TO SAY WE'RE GOING TO BE THE NEXT MINNEAPOLIS SAINT PAUL. I SURE HOPE WE'RE NOT. BUT I THINK, I THINK WE'RE I THINK PETERSBURG'S GOING TO BE A DEMONSTRATION NOT EXACTLY OF THE SAME KIND THAT GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN WANTED TO DO, BUT MORE LIKE WHAT GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN'S CHIEF IN WASHINGTON WANTS TO DO.

THANK YOU. NEXT, LEELA THOMPSON. LET ME PUT MY GLASSES ON SO I CAN SEE. OKAY. HELLO. MY NAME IS LEELA THOMPSON. I LIVE AT 623 GILLIAM STREET, WARD FIVE, AND MY MOTHER OWNS AND OPERATES CINDY'S GIFT SHOP IN DOWNTOWN PETERSBURG AT 235 NORTH SYCAMORE STREET IN WARD FOUR.

I'LL BE HONEST, I WAS HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I WAS HERE TO DISCUSS THE I AM POWER DEVELOPMENT. MR. RAINIER, I BELIEVE, WAS HERE AND I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO TALK TO HIM AND ASK HIM QUESTIONS ABOUT SUCH A BIG DEVELOPMENT. THAT'S GOING TO BE POTENTIALLY A REALLY BIG PART OF OLD TOWN IN A REALLY KEY PIECE OF REAL ESTATE. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE CITY GO ABOUT THIS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS FOR THIS PROJECT. I'D REALLY LOVE TO SEE. AN EXPERIENCED DEVELOPER WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND AN EXTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO. I'D LOVE TO SEE WHAT THEY PROPOSE FOR THIS PROJECT, AND I'D LOVE FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC COLLABORATION WITH COUNCIL ON SUCH A BIG PROJECT IN OLD TOWN. BUT I'M PART OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT IS I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT BANK STREET FOR THE CITY MANAGER. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT WHEN CONSTRUCTION WILL BEGIN ON THE REPAIRS. I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LINE ITEM. I'M NOT FAMILIAR

[01:10:05]

MY NAME IS KEVIN. MY NAME IS KEVIN NEWBY. I'M FROM 444 18 CLINTON STREET.

I ACTUALLY APOLOGIZED FOR SIGNING THE LIST. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A SIGNING MY FIRST TIME. I JUST WANTED TO LISTEN. BUT I AM ACTUALLY ENJOYING THIS BEING. EXCUSE ME, I DO FIND A LOT OF INTERESTING THINGS FROM PETERSBURG. I'M ORIGINALLY FROM THE HAMPTON ROADS AREA. I'VE BEEN OUT HERE FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS NOW, BUT I HEAR A LOT OF PEOPLE AND I HEAR A LOT OF THEIR COMMENTS. THEY ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR CITY, THEY DO CARE ABOUT THEIR CITY, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY YOU GUYS, NEED TO GET ON BOARD, YOU KNOW,

[01:15:02]

THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL IN THE COMMUNITY. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE. THE PEOPLE ARE YOUR SOURCE. PEOPLE ARE YOUR POWER. YOU KNOW, THEY VOTE FOR YOU TO BECAUSE THEY TRUST YOU, NOT BECAUSE THEY JUST CHECKING OFF A BALLOT BOX, YOU KNOW, SO REALLY CARE ABOUT YOUR PEOPLE AND EVERYTHING ELSE. BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OKAY? THANK YOU. NEXT IS THERESA BROWN. GOOD EVENING MAYOR. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS THERESA BROWN. MY ADDRESS IS 923 OAKMONT DRIVE, PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, AND I AM IN WARD THREE RIGHT DOWN. THAT GOOD? YES. 923 OAKMONT DRIVE. CORRECT? CORRECT, CORRECT. AND THE REASON I'M STANDING HERE TODAY IS. THE RAINWATER THAT WE PAY FOR. WE. MA'AM, SPEAKING TO THE MIKE. PLEASE. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YEAH, YEAH. DO I NEED TO STAND BACK A LITTLE BIT? GO CLOSE. OKAY. MY TIME IS STILL GOING, SO I'M GONNA KEEP TALKING, OKAY? IT'S THE RAINWATER. OKAY. WE WERE TOLD YEARS AGO THAT THAT RAINWATER THAT WE PAY FOR WOULD HELP OUR COMMUNITIES. BUT YEAR AFTER YEAR, THE WATER GETS HIGHER AND HIGHER, AND ALL YOU NEED IS A SWIMSUIT. BECAUSE THAT'S HOW DEEP THE WATER IS. AND THOSE TRENCHES THAT YOU ALL DUG FOR US WERE OF NO AVAIL. IT DIDN'T DO ANY GOOD. ALL IT DID WAS CAUSE US TO HAVE TO USE OUR LAWNMOWERS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY, BECAUSE ALL IT WAS WAS A HOLE IN THE GROUND AND THE WATER IS STILL THERE. AND LIKE I SAID, IT'S GETTING HIGHER AND HIGHER. SO WE IN NOT JUST OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS BATTLEFIELD PARK, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE ALL OVER WE'RE HAVING A PROBLEM, BUT WE JUST WANT TO KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THAT? THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. NEXT IS PAM NEWTON. CAN YOU HEAR ME? OH, YOU CAN HOPEFULLY. PAM NEWTON, 203 NORTH JEFFERSON STREET. I JUST MOVED HERE IN MARCH. AND I HAD A WHOLE LAUNDRY LIST OF THINGS I WANTED TO SAY, BUT I'M GOING TO STICK WITH TWO KEY POINTS. I NOTICE A LOT OF DISCONTENT WITH THE CITIZENS OF

[01:20:10]

SHE SUBMITTED A PETITION WITH, I BELIEVE, 100 NAMES ON THERE WANTING TO BRING TO THE COUNCIL THE FACT THAT WE WANT AN ELECTED MAYOR IN PLACE. WE WANT TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE NO SAFEGUARDS. YOU'RE ALL UP THERE ELECTING EACH OTHER BACK AND FORTH TO BE MAYOR. WHAT INPUT DO WE HAVE? IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM. WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE GOVERNMENT IN DC. DON'T THINK THAT WE ARE NOT WATCHING WHAT YOU ARE DOING. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. NEXT IS JAVON DE GARNER. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING JAVON. I INITIALLY THOUGHT IT WAS A SIGN IN SHEET. I'M A TEACHER AT PETERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL. I WAS BORN IN PETERSBURG. I'M NOT CURRENTLY A CITIZEN, BUT I AM MOVING BACK.

IF I'M ALLOWED TO SPEAK, I WILL SPEAK AS A TEACHER. BUT MR. CITY ATTORNEY, IS THAT A. THE RULES REQUIRE RESIDENCY OR A BUSINESS OWNER IN THE CITY. OKAY, OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AT THIS TIME, YOU CAN STATE THE STATE, THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF YOUR SCHOOL, YOU YOU WORK AT. OKAY.

JAVON GUERRIER, I WORK AT PETERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL, 3101 JOHNSON ROAD, PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA. OKAY. I THINK ONE THING THAT WAS BROUGHT UP WAS THE CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND COUNCIL MEMBER JONES, I DO APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT ON THAT. I WOULD ALSO ASK THAT WHEN THAT DOES COME UP, IF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO ALSO HAVE AN INPUT IN THE CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, I HAVE A CLASSROOM WITH NONE OF THE SOCKETS IN THE FLOOR WORK, SO IT'S VERY HARD TO CHARGE COMPUTERS. I TEACH COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS. I ALSO TEACH DESIGN, MULTIMEDIA AND WEB TECH. SO TYPICALLY I HAVE TO TAKE LIKE THREE EXTENSION CORDS AND LIKE JUST PLUG ONE INTO THE OTHER, ONE INTO THE OTHER ONE INTO THE OTHER. SO THAT DOES INTERRUPT LEARNING. THERE'S ALSO CERTAIN THINGS I NOTICED AS A TEACHER THAT AS A STUDENT I WOULD SAY LIKE, OKAY, I CAN HIDE IN THIS CORNER OR I CAN DO THIS OVER HERE. BATHROOM ISSUES, THINGS LIKE THAT. IT'S IT'S NOT GOOD. SO IF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS CAN ALSO HAVE AN INPUT, I THINK THAT WILL ALLOW WHEN THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGNS GO IN, IT ACTUALLY

[01:25:03]

I WORKED IN SILICON VALLEY FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS. I SAW WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE INDUSTRY OVER THERE, AND I WORKED. I WORKED WITH APPLE, BANK OF AMERICA, PEPSICO, AND I KNOW WHAT'S COMING WITH THE AI REVOLUTION IS ALREADY HERE. AND I SAID, I NEED MY PEOPLE AND MY COMMUNITY TO KNOW HOW TO USE THIS. AND IT'S THE ONLY REASON I'VE COME BACK TO TO PETERSBURG.

AND A HUGE INSPIRATION FOR ME WAS PEABODY HIGH SCHOOL, KNOWING THAT I COME FROM A COMMUNITY THAT DOES HAVE THE FIRST BLACK HIGH SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY, THE OLDEST BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE COUNTRY, THE FIRST BLACK CHURCH IN THE COUNTRY. I ALSO WANTED TO CARRY THAT LEGACY FORWARD. AND I ALSO THINK FOR OTHER STUDENTS AND KIDS GROWING UP IN PETERSBURG TO ACTUALLY KNOW THAT HISTORY, IT WILL ALLOW THEM TO TAKE MORE AGENCY AND HAVE MORE PRIDE IN WHO THEY ARE. WHEN I SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH STUDENTS IN CLASS, THEY DO TEND TO ENGAGE MORE BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE A PART OF SOMETHING IMPORTANT VERSUS A CITY THAT'S JUST FALLING APART. SO THAT'S ALL. NEXT IS CHRIS MARCELLA. NEXT IS ADELE SCOTT.

OKAY. BERNIE GANNAWAY. GO WASH YOUR HANDS. GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL MEMBERS. GOOD EVENING.

MY NAME IS BURNELL GANNAWAY, 652 OLD WAGONER ROAD, HALE. BLACK AND GOLD, PEABODY.

BECAUSE I'M ORIGINALLY FROM PETERSBURG. A LOT OF YOU, I DON'T THINK SOME OF YOU ARE EVEN NOT EVEN THOUGHT OF. SOME OF YOU WEREN'T EVEN BORN HERE. BUT I'M ORIGINALLY FROM PETERSBURG AND WAS A PART OF PEABODY UNTIL MY DAD SAYS. TIME TO GO TO PETERSBURG AND GET SOME STUDIES, SO I SO I ACTED UP AT PEABODY AND WITH MY FRIENDS. I ENDED UP GETTING MY WORK DONE IN PETERSBURG HIGH. I. BUT SINCE THAT TIME I GRADUATED FROM PETERSBURG HIGH. ALSO, WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I GRADUATED FROM THERE? I HAD NO CONTACT, BUT I STILL HAVE MORE CONTACT WITH THE PEABODY, WHICH I DIDN'T GRADUATE FROM THEN AT PETERSBURG. SO I'M LOOKING AT THE SAME ARROW. YOU FORGETTING ABOUT THE PEABODY THAT I WAS A PART OF? AND TO ENGRAVE THE PETERSBURG WITH ALL OF THE THINGS I HAD TO GET A TICKET FOR $100, FOR A TICKET FOR PASSING THROUGH ON WASHINGTON STREET, WHERE, YOU KNOW, AT PEABODY, I DON'T GET A TICKET.

OKAY. BUT BEFORE I GO THERE, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO THINK ABOUT THIS, THOUGH. ONE OF MY MAIN THING WAS TO. I WANT TO MAKE SURE BEFORE MY TIME RUN OUT, THERE'S STILL I'M GOING TO WORK FOR. I'M WAITING ON MY LIGHT. WE'VE HAD FOR TEN YEARS. WE'LL MAKE SURE I GET MY LIGHT.

PLEASE GET MY GET MY WIFE. WE DON'T NEED A GRANT. WE DON'T NEED A DISCUSSION. WE DON'T NEED TO BE VOTED OUT AND VOTED IN. WELL, THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME OR FIFTH TIME I NEED MY LIGHT. WE DO NEED THE DRAINAGE LIKE THE GENTLEMAN WAS TALKING ABOUT. WE DO NEED SOME INFRASTRUCTURE. WE GOT TO GET THAT DONE. LIKE I SAID, THE LAST MEETING, THE JOB IS NOT COMPLETE UNTIL IT'S DONE. DON'T GET YOURSELF A PAT ON THE BACK. THE CASINO IS HERE. IT'S HERE.

I SEE TWO STREETS, STREET SWEEPERS ON WAGON ROAD. I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT IN YEARS. TWO STREET SWEEPERS. NOW WE WANT TO SWEEP THE STREETS. OUR INFRASTRUCTURE CANNOT CONTINUE.

YOU GOT PEOPLE THAT THAT HAVE BEEN HERE LIVE IN YOUR BUILDING. THESE PUT TOGETHER HOUSES FOR TAX BREAKS FOR TAXES, GOOD TAXES BECAUSE YOU GOT NEW PEOPLE COMING IN WITH THESE FABRICATED HOUSES, WITH SOME OF THE OLD INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE OLD GUTTERS OR THE OLD PIPING.

WE NEED GRANT FOR THAT OF THINGS BEEN DONE YEARS AGO. WE DON'T NEED GRANTS FOR THAT ANYMORE. IT'S TIME PEOPLE OUGHT TO CHEER YOU, PEABODY. THAT'S LEFT. SOME OF THEM HAVE MOVED AWAY. WE DON'T NEED ALL OF THEM TO MOVE AWAY. WE GOT A FEW LEFT LIKE MYSELF. IT'S TIME FOR US TO LOOK. DON'T GET NO MORE GRANDSTANDING. SOME OF YOU GOING TO HAVE YOUR THIN SKIN.

DON'T BE THIN SKINNED. JUST COME UP WITH THE FACTS. YOU WERE NOT HERE, I WAS HERE. HOW MANY PEOPLE WAS IN THIS ROOM? I CAN TELL YOU. NONE OF YOU WAS ON THE PICKET LINE LIKE I WAS.

HOW MANY PEOPLE FORGET ABOUT CARL WINFIELD? YOU FORGOT ABOUT CARL WINFIELD. CARL WINFIELD WAS A PART OF PEABODY HIGH SCHOOL. ALSO, WINFIELD WAS THE ONE THAT IMPLEMENTED US TO BE ON THE PICKET LINE WHEN WE WERE HANGING OUT THE WINDOW. AND WE HAD TO STILL HOLD OUR SIGNS.

THANK YOU, MR. GANNAWAY. THAT CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC COMMENT. NEXT, WE'LL GO ON TO PUBLIC, TO

[11. Business or reports from the Mayor or other Members of City Council]

[01:30:08]

LET ME GO TO THE TOPIC OF CATEGORICAL FUNDING FOR OUR PUBLIC OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. I DO HOPE THAT WE FOLLOW UP ON THE VICE MAYOR'S COMMENT ABOUT THAT WHEN IT COMES, WHEN WE ARE A LITTLE BIT LATER INTO THE BUDGET SEASON, AND WE THAT WE DEEPLY CONSIDER SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THIS IDEA OF CATEGORICAL FUNDING, CERTAINLY THE STATUS QUO IS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. AND PERHAPS CATEGORICAL FUNDING WOULD HELP MOVE THAT NEEDLE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. MY SENSE IS THAT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE, AND I HOPE THAT COUNCIL WILL ENTERTAIN THAT DISCUSSION. LAST POINT I HELD A WARD FOUR MEETING ON JANUARY THE 8TH. THE A LOT OF PEOPLE ATTENDED. THE PRIMARY TOPIC WAS THE FUTURE OF OLD TOWN AND LOTS OF GOOD COMMENTS. AND I'M SORRY THE CITY MANAGER'S FAMILY HAD AN ILLNESS AND HE COULDN'T BE THERE, BUT MR. MILLER WAS THERE AND TOOK GOOD NOTES, AND I HOPE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THE GOOD IDEAS THAT WERE RAISED AT THAT WARD FOUR MEETING BY THE PUBLIC, AND USE THOSE IDEAS TO DIRECT THE PROGRESS IN OLD TOWN, SPECIFICALLY, WHAT WE DO WITH THE MASSIVE CHEVROLET PROPERTY. IT'S CERTAINLY DOING NO ONE ANY GOOD SITTING THERE LOOKING LIKE A WASTELAND. I'M DELIGHTED TO SEE THAT WE DO HAVE SOME MORE PARKING ACROSS FROM THE DIXIE ON THAT PROPERTY, BUT THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT THE CITY CAN DO, AND EVERYTHING THAT THE CITY DOES THERE BREATHES FURTHER VITALITY INTO OLD TOWN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. MAYOR. THANK

[01:35:07]

BUT I GOTTA KEEP IT REAL. SOME OF YOU JUST MOVED HERE AND GOT THE NERVE TO COME AND TELL US.

THE CITIZENS ON WHAT WE'RE NOT DOING. LET ME TELL YOU WHAT HASN'T BEEN DONE IN THIS CITY 50 YEARS AGO. 60 YEARS AGO, NO LEADERSHIP EVER SAID IN FRONT OF ANYBODY IN THIS CITY AND TOOK CARE OF THE ISSUES OF INFRASTRUCTURE, EDUCATION, POVERTY, NOBODY. SEE THE REASON WHY YOU'RE BRINGING IT UP NOW? BECAUSE WE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO IT. AND WE DO LISTEN TO OUR CONSTITUENTS. RIGHT NOW. TODAY THERE'S MORE GETTING DONE. TODAY, 2026, THAN WHEN BROWN AND WILLIAMSON WAS HERE. THEN TITMUS OPTICAL WAS HERE. AND ANY OF THOSE FACTORIES, SEWER, LUGGAGE AND EVERYBODY KNOWS NOBODY WITH ALL OF THAT MONEY THEY WAS MAKING IN THIS CITY, YOU STAYED POOR AS WHITE PEOPLE, YOU STAYED POOR AS BLACK PEOPLE. AND THE LEADERSHIP DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN. THAT LEADERSHIP DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN. AND WE TAKE A BEAT DOWN BECAUSE OF WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE DIDN'T DO FOR YOU. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, RIGHT AROUND YOUR CITY AGAIN, LOOK AT YOUR CITY AGAIN. THERE'S MORE HAPPENING THIS YEAR SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL THAN EVER HAPPENED IN THIS DAMN CITY. SO YOU CAN'T COME UP HERE AND SAY WHAT'S NOT BEING DONE BECAUSE WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. AND I PROMISED ALL OF YOU, ALL OF YOU, THAT I WILL HOLD ANYBODY ACCOUNTABLE. I EVEN SAID I HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE IF I HAVE TO DO IT. DAMN IT, Y'ALL KNOW I WILL.

AND LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. MISS MAMA. NEED SOME MORE TIME. I'M GOING TO NEED SOME MORE TIME NOW. I SPOKE ON US PLENTY OF TIMES AS BEING A SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY. IT'S NOT TOO LATE. I DON'T WANT US DEPENDING ON, LIKE MISS RUDOLPH SAID, FEDERAL DOLLARS, STATE DOLLARS, ANYBODY? DOLLARS. Y'ALL GOT TO START DOING FOR YOURSELF. YOU GOT TO. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, PEOPLE. YOU GOT TO BE YOUR OWN LEADERS. IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THIS WHOLE GOVERNING BODY, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? YOU GOT TO BE ABLE TO LEAD YOURSELF. I HEAR PEOPLE SAY, Y'ALL NOT BUILDING DECENT HOUSES AND Y'ALL NOT Y'ALL NEGLECTING IS WHAT SHE SAID. I AIN'T BUILDING NOTHING. I DON'T HOLD THE HAMMER. THESE ARE DEVELOPERS OUT THERE THAT'S BUILDING. THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT'S MOVING IN AND THEY'RE FIXING UP WHAT HAS BEEN NEGLECTED. TRUST ME, IT'S BEEN NEGLECTED, A LOT OF IT. BUT LIKE, HE DISAPPEARED. BUT OUR CODE COMPLIANCE IS MOVING FORWARD. WE'RE TAGGING THINGS. WE'RE KNOCKING THINGS DOWN.

LISTEN, Y'ALL, I MEAN, I GOTTA SAY, THIS MONEY, WE WANT STREETS BUILT, WE WANT INFRASTRUCTURE DONE. WE WANT ALL OF THIS STUFF DONE, Y'ALL. WE WANT TAXES REDUCED, BUT IT'S GOING TO COST MONEY. IT'S GOING TO COST Y'ALL MONEY. AND WE GOT TO BE CAREFUL HOW WE SPEND IT.

THAT'S WHY I WAS HOT ABOUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM NOT SPENDING MONEY THAT THEY HAVE. IT'S YOUR MONEY. WE DON'T SPEND MONEY LIKE IT'S OURS. WE LOOK AT EVERY DIME SPENT. THIS IS YOUR MONEY AND YOUR MONEY. MONEY AIN'T GOT A BLACK FACE ON IT. IT DO GOT WHITE FACE, BUT IT PAINTED GREEN. BUT IT'S STILL Y'ALL MONEY. IT'S STILL Y'ALL MONEY. NOW LET ME SAY SOMETHING.

I'VE LEARNED MORE ABOUT PEABODY. OUT OF PEABODY THAN I DID WHEN I WENT TO PEABODY. PEABODY IS A GREAT SCHOOL, WAS A GREAT SCHOOL. PEABODY IS THE OLDEST IN THE NATION. CAN'T REFUTE THAT. PEABODY, LET ME READ SOMETHING REAL QUICK. HAIL TO THEE. MAY I HAVE SOME MORE TIME, MR. MAYOR? AT THIS TIME, GARRETT, I'M GOING TO DEFER. CAN YOU JUST GIVE COUNCILMAN JONES MY FIVE MINUTES RIGHT NOW? I'M GONNA DEFER MY FIVE MINUTES. THANK YOU, SIR, AND TWO OF COUNCILMAN WESTBROOK. SEVEN MINUTES FOR COUNCILMAN JONES. WE'RE DEFERRING. YES. THANK YOU.

ANY PEABODY PEOPLE IN HERE RIGHT NOW? RAISE YOUR HAND. TELL ME IF YOU REMEMBER THIS.

[01:40:02]

THY PRAISE IS TRUE. FOR THAT HONOR AND THY GLORY WE WILL NEVER, WE WILL EVER STAND. HAIL TO THEE, OUR ALMA MATER. BEST IN THE LAND. Y'ALL REMEMBER THAT? YOU DON'T REMEMBER IT? YEAH. THEY DIDN'T TEACH IT TO US NEITHER. NOW, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. PEABODY. I LOVE THIS SCHOOL. I LOVE KNOW, I LOVE WHAT CAME OUT OF THE SCHOOL. NAMED AFTER GEORGE PEABODY, PHILANTHROPIST GEORGE PEABODY, KNOWN FOR HIS GREAT ACADEMICS AND LEGENDARY EDUCATORS. 1954 BROWN VERSUS BOARD OF EDUCATION. MANY SCHOOLS CLOSED DOWN BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO INTEGRATE. SOMETHING HAPPENED AND THERE WAS A MERGER AND INTEGRATION, AND IT WASN'T EVEN VOLUNTARY. WE WAS FORCED TO DO IT HERE IN PETERSBURG. NOW, ALL OF THIS GREATNESS COME OUT OF PEABODY. SOMEBODY STOPPED FIGHTING AFTER YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED. I GOTTA TELL IT LIKE IT IS, BECAUSE WHEN I WENT TO PEABODY, IT'S A SHAME THAT NOBODY TAUGHT ME ABOUT THE GREATNESS IN THAT SCHOOL. I FEEL CHEATED TO THIS DAY, I FEEL CHEATED. NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT THE GREAT PEOPLE THAT COME OUT OF THERE. NOBODY TOLD ME HOW GREAT I COULD BE.

IF YOU TOLD ME THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A FATHER AT 13. I WOULD HAVE BEEN LOOKING TOWARDS THE GREATNESS THAT I WALKED THE HALLWAYS WITH NOBODY. SO WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY, PEOPLE.

BEING IN LEADERSHIP IS NOT A SIDELINE SPORT. THE PEOPLE HIRE A COACH, THE COACH HIRED THE PLAYERS AND THEY PLAY. THEY GO FOR A TOUCHDOWN. I'VE BEEN IN PEABODY. I HAD TO SURVIVE. I THINK THE MAYOR WENT TO PEABODY. YOU HAD TO SURVIVE. IT WASN'T AS GREAT AS IT WAS WHEN Y'ALL WENT THERE. WE HAD TO SURVIVE. AND TO HEAR THIS GREATNESS THAT'S COMING OUT OF PEABODY, YOU DAMN RIGHT I'M OFF THAT IT LOOKED LIKE THAT. WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE AN AGENDA. WE HAVE TO HAVE MONEY. WHERE'S THE MONEY GOING TO COME FROM? I DON'T MIND DOING IT. IF Y'ALL SAY, USE OUR MONEY, MARLOWE, TO FIX IT UP. I DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER RIGHT NOW TO USE YOUR MONEY TO FIX IT UP, BUT IT'S COMING FROM OUT OF YOUR POCKETS, Y'ALL. SERIOUSLY, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND. I DON'T LIKE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN LIKE THAT, BUT LET ME ASK ALL OF YOU SOMETHING. WHEN THE BODY DIES. DO HIS MEMORY MOVE ON? YOU JUST CELEBRATED MARTIN LUTHER KING. HE'S NOT HERE NO MORE. HIS BODY IS GONE, BUT HIS DREAM IS TO HERE. THAT DON'T MEAN YOU STOP BEING GREAT, DOES IT, PEABODY? THAT DON'T MEAN WE STOP BEING GREAT. WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD. PETERSBURG. DON'T Y'ALL GET IT TWISTED? THERE'S OUTSIDE INFLUENCES THAT WANT US TO STAY SEGREGATED. THEY WANT US TO STAY SPLIT UP. THIS IS A MELTING POT OF ALL KIND OF PEOPLE. TO THE YOUNG LADY ABOUT ICE, I DON'T LIKE WHAT I'M SEEING IN OUR COMMUNITIES. LET ME UNDERSTAND. LET YOU UNDERSTAND SOMETHING. THERE ARE THINGS HAPPENING ON THE OUTSIDE THAT YOU GUYS ARE AFRAID OF HAPPENING ON THE INSIDE. IT AIN'T HAPPENING YET. AND I WANT TO TELL YOU, ICE IN OUR CITY DOES NOT MEAN WAR IN OUR CITY.

THERE'S LEGAL AID AND OTHER PLACES WHERE YOU CAN GET HELP AND ASSISTANCE ON KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS. WE DON'T NEED TO TAKE UP ARMS, AT LEAST NOT YET. I DON'T THINK WE EVER HAD TO DO IT, BUT WE HAD TO PROTECT EACH OTHER AND GIVE THIS YOUNG LADY THE WHERE IS SHE AT? SHE NEED HELP. YOU NEED TO SEE SOCIAL SERVICES, LEGAL AID. GET ALL THE HELP YOU CAN GET. YOU CAN SEE ME AFTER THIS. YOU CAN SEE THE POLICE CHIEF. WE GOT THINGS THAT WE'RE NOT DOING IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE ARE GOING TO PROTECT YOU. AND AGAIN, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING. I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY WE GOT SEVEN SEATS AND SEVEN WARDS. BUT PEOPLE, YOU FORGOT ABOUT THE 30,000 PEOPLE HERE. IT AIN'T JUST THESE SEVEN SEASON SEVEN WARDS. PEOPLE WANT TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM. I GOTTA ASK YOU WHAT YOU. YOU KNOW, LISTEN, IF YOU'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM, IT GOT TO BE FAIR FOR BOTH SIDES. I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO NO CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO NO SEGREGATION. I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO NONE OF THAT STUFF. IF YOU CAN'T BRING IT TOGETHER AND TELL IT AND TELL IT ALL, THEN DON'T EVEN TELL IT AT ALL. DON'T TELL IT. PERIOD. WE ARE PETERSBURG, AND Y'ALL NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE PETERSBURG, BLACK, WHITE, MEXICAN. I DON'T CARE WHERE Y'ALL AT. COCKROACH. ANYBODY?

[01:45:03]

WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, COLLECTIVELY. SO I'M ASKING YOU GUYS TO DO THIS FOR ME, PLEASE.

WE NEED AN AGENDA, NOT A CITY COUNCIL AGENDA. A PETERSBURG AGENDA. AGENDA ON WHAT YOU WANT, HOW YOU WANT IT. THERE'S WAYS TO GO ABOUT IT. YOU WANT A SUB COUNCIL. WE CAN DO THAT. WE WANT TO PUT TOGETHER A GROUP TO TALK ABOUT THINGS, TO GET IT ON OUR PLATE UP HERE. WE CAN DO THAT. IF YOU GOT IDEAS, EMAIL THE CLERK. IT'LL GET TO US. THAT'S MY TIME. THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN JONES. NEXT WE'LL GO TO COUNCILMAN WESTBROOK WITH HIS THREE IS THREE REPRESENTATIVE SAID ABOUT NO SHOWERS MAN. YEAH HE NEEDS YOU WANT YOU WANT TWO TWO MORE. JUST 11I GOTTA TELL YOU ABOUT THAT SCHOOL SYSTEM. I'M SURPRISED AT THAT. BUT WHEN I, WHEN MEN AND MEN WENT INTO THE PETERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL, WE WITNESSED SOMETHING REALLY BAD. THERE WERE NO SHOWERS. THERE WERE NO LOCKER ROOMS. AND WE COMBINED. AND WE TOLD THEM, DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO TO GET SOME LOCKER ROOMS OUT THERE FOR THEM KIDS AND GET SOME SHOWERS FOR THE KIDS. DO YOU KNOW WHAT ONE SCHOOL BOARD REPRESENTATIVE SAID? AND I HOPE HE WATCHING. HE SAID THEY AIN'T BEEN TAKING NO SHOWERS. YEAH, YEAH. SO THIS IS WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING AGAINST. BUT IF YOU RIDE PAST PETERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL NOW, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE SOME SHOWERS OUT THERE AND SOME TRAILERS OUT THERE WITH BRAND NEW LOCKER ROOMS AND BRAND NEW SHOWERS IN THERE FOR ALL OF THE KIDS TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY, TO TAKE SHOWERS IN SCHOOL, IN P.E. AFTER SPORTS. SO ALL THESE YEARS THEY'VE BEEN GOING TO SPORTING EVENTS AND GOING HOME FUNKY. THIS IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE UNHEALTHINESS OF OUR CITY. SO THE PRINCIPAL, THE SUPERINTENDENT, THE MAYOR, MYSELF, THE REST OF COUNCIL, YOU GO PAST HIGH SCHOOL, YOU'LL SEE IT. BUT WE GOTTA STOP DOING THAT JOB FOR HIM. WE GOT TO. SO I JUST WANT TO LET Y'ALL KNOW THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING. WE'RE FIGHTING FROM ALL ANGLES, BUT WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE. WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE. NOBODY CAME BACK FOR THE LITTLE BOY. THERE WAS A DADDY AT 13 YEARS OLD TO TELL HIM ABOUT PEABODY. TELL Y'ALL START TALKING ABOUT HERE.

THAT'S HOW WE. THAT'S ALL I GOT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN WESTBROOK. ONE MINUTE. I ONLY NEED TWO. I'M GONNA KEEP IT STRAIGHT. I GAVE UP MY MINUTES. SO THANK YOU EVERYBODY. HAPPY START TO THE CALENDAR YEAR 2026. IMMA GO FAST. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT PASSION. WE ALL PLAY A ROLE MODEL IS THE PASSIONATE ONE. I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR HIM TALK AND TALK THE REAL TRUTH. BUT WITH THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY MY CONDOLENCES TO MISTER MARQUIS MASON, THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR WHO LOST HIS MOM. I SHOT HIM OUT BECAUSE HE DEFINITELY LEAVES A GREAT MARQUIS ALLEN. I'M SORRY, MARQUIS ALLEN. EXCUSE ME? HE LEAVES A GREAT BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATION IN PETERSBURG. AND I KNOW THAT, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO GET THAT INFORMATION. SO MAYBE HIS STAFF, MISS BLAND, MISTER MASSENBURG, EVERYBODY CAN STEP UP SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A GREAT CELEBRATION IN PETERSBURG NEXT MONTH FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH. MARQUIS ALLEN, PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME. MY CONDOLENCES GO OUT TO YOU. AND I'M SURE EVERYBODY ELSE HERE UNDER THE SOUND OF MY VOICE WILL DO THE SAME. WE HAD A GREAT WARD SIX AND SEVEN MEETING. I KNOW MISS COUNCILMAN ANNETTE SMITH LEE HAD TO LEAVE, BUT WE DID HAVE A GREAT WARD SIX AND SEVEN MEETING. FOR THE

[01:50:02]

THIS IS NOT RICHMOND WITH A STRONG MAYOR SYSTEM. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR. IF THAT STRONG MAYOR SYSTEM COMES AND YOU HAVE A A TYRANT, THEN WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO GO BACK THIS.

BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT THAT COUNCIL 40 YEARS AGO SAID THAT THEY WANTED, THEY WANTED THE WARD SYSTEM. SO BE CAREFUL. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR. I'M A QUICKLY GO BECAUSE TIME. IF YOU HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION. SNOW IS COMING THIS WEEKEND. MR. CITY MANAGER WARMING SYSTEM WARMING STATIONS. I'M A PASS OVER TO YOU. SO YES, SNOW IS COMING THIS WEEKEND. WE KNOW IT'S GOING TO COME IN. MODELS ARE SHOWING WE COULD GET DOUBLE DIGIT DOUBLE DIGIT INCHES OF SNOW. WE'RE WORKING AND WE HAVEN'T HAD WE'VE BEGUN THE CONVERSATION OF DEVELOPING A WARMING CENTER. WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION AS WE HAVE FURTHER DISCUSSIONS THIS WEEK AS WE PREPARE FOR THE SNOW, BUT WE'LL LET THE CITIZENS KNOW IF WE HAVE ONE AVAILABLE AND WHERE AND WHAT TIMES IT WILL BE OPEN. AND I JUST HOPE THAT AS A CITY WE CAN BE PROACTIVE. I ALWAYS SAY, IF YOU KNOW THIS AREA, YOU CAN START THE TIME AGAIN. I'LL STAY TRUE. WHENEVER THEY CANNOT PREDICT THIS EARLY OF HOW MANY INCHES WE GET, WE USUALLY GET SLAMMED. WHATEVER THEY SAY.

RIGHT NOW WE'RE GETTING 6 TO 8IN. WE GET 2 OR 3 RIGHT NOW. THEY STILL CAN'T SAY WE CAN'T PREDICT. SO THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE SOME MODELS ARE SAYING UP TO A FOOT OF SNOW, PLEASE PREPARE YOURSELVES AND PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS AND KNOW WHEN THOSE WARMING STATIONS ARE OPEN. HOPEFULLY THE HOMELESS AND EVERYBODY ELSE CAN GO AND GET HELP THEY NEED SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY INCIDENTS COMING WITH THIS SNOWSTORM COMING SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. AGAIN, FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, WE DO LISTEN. SO SPEEDING WE I KNOW WHEN I GOT ON COUNCIL AS WELL AS OTHER PEOPLE, WE'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT SPEEDING. THANKS TO MR. MILLER FOR GETTING SOME OF THE RUMBLE STRIPS IN SEVENTH WARD. THEY STARTED IN DOWNTOWN. THEY'VE GOTTEN SEVENTH WARD BY PLEASANTS LANE, SO THOSE ARE HOPEFULLY STOPPING. BUT THAT CROSSING DOUBLE LINES AND SPEEDING FOR NO REASON WILL YOU LEARN TO DRIVE? I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT'S CRAZY. AND MY LAST BUSINESS TIME IS THAT THERE WILL BE ANOTHER WARD MEETING IN MARCH. AND PLEASE CONTINUE TO GO PETERSBURG. WE CREATE HOPE UP HERE. I DO UNDERSTAND THAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ACTION, BUT AS MARLOW SAID, WE GOT TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THAT ACTION. WE ARE POLICY MAKERS. WE CANNOT TRULY AFFECT THINGS ON A DAILY DAY BASIS, BUT WE ARE DOING WHAT WE FEEL IS BEST FOR PETERSBURG, FOR THE FUTURE AND LOOK AROUND. IT'S A GREAT DAY IN PETERSBURG. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMAN W HOWARD MYERS. ANYTHING? I'M GOING TO KEEP IT BRIEF, MR. MAYOR. YOU KNOW. I SIT BACK HERE AND I THINK ABOUT 15 YEARS SITTING UP HERE ON THIS DAIS DAIS, AND I LISTEN TO WHAT IS GOING ON FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS, 2015, WHAT WE HAVE REPRODUCED HERE IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. AND THERE'S NOT MUCH THAT I CAN ADD TO WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN STATED, BECAUSE EVERYBODY THAT HAS SOMETHING NEGATIVE TO SAY HAS LEFT THE ROOM. AND THEY'VE NEVER BEEN A PART OF THE 15 YEARS THAT WE HAVE BEEN HERE, GROWING THIS CITY. AND I HAVE TO SAY, YOU KEEP COMING UP HERE TALKING ABOUT I GOT TO ELECT A MAYOR.

WHO DO YOU KNOW? WHO ARE YOU GOING TO ELECT ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE UP HERE? AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT TO SAY THAT YOU SHOULD ELECT ANYONE HERE, BUT I AM JUST SAYING WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE MAYOR THAT'S SITTING HERE NOW THAT WE HAVE TO NOW CHANGE THE RULES TO ELECT A NEW MAYOR? I WAS PROUD TO BE MAYOR WHEN I WAS MAYOR. I WAS PROUD OF HIM AS MY VICE MAYOR. I'M PROUD OF EVERYBODY HERE. DARREN. WHO ELSE WAS ON OUR TEAM WHEN WE WERE HERE? WHEN WE STARTED THIS JOURNEY? WE WERE IN RUIN. AND YOU ALL WERE ABOUT TO BE IN WHAT? CHESTERFIELD. WE STOPPED IT. WE FIXED IT, BUT WE DON'T HEAR ANYBODY TELLING US WHAT A GOOD JOB WE HAVE DONE. ALL WE HEAR IS ABOUT THE NEGATIVITY, AND IT IS NOT ABOUT ANYONE SITTING IN THIS ROOM. BECAUSE SOME OF YOU ALL HAVE BEEN HERE THROUGH THIS JOURNEY WITH US, ESPECIALLY YOU, MISS BARB RUDOLPH. DON'T SIT THERE AND HOLD YOUR HEAD DOWN. WE LOVE YOU. YES WE DO, BUT TO SIT HERE NOW, WHERE WE HAVE ACHIEVED SO MUCH, I MEAN, IT'S REALLY

[01:55:01]

EVERYBODY WANTS TO RUN FOR OFFICE. YES, I COULD CARE LESS IF I GET VOTED BACK IN OFFICE.

I'M BEING REALLY HONEST WITH YOU. I'M NOT GOING TO LIE TO YOU. NEVER WILL. I SAID IT THE LAST TIME AND IMMA SAY IT AGAIN. I DO IT BECAUSE I LOVE THE CITY. I MOVED HERE FROM RICHMOND 22 YEARS AGO. EVERYBODY HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME, EVERYBODY AND I CANNOT COMPLAIN. SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU. YES, TOMORROW NIGHT, 5:00 AM I CORRECT 4:00. SORRY. FOOD DISTRIBUTION COME DOWN MARKET STREET. TURN DOWN RIVER STREET AND GET YOU A GROCERY BASKET OF FOOD. SO COME ON DOWN.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. THANK YOU, VICE MAYOR HILL. YES. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. I THINK EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SAID THAT PROBABLY NEED TO BE SAID. ALL I WOULD ASK IS BECAUSE IT'S ELECTION TIME, Y'ALL. AND FOR OUR NEW CITIZENS AND PEOPLE LIKE THAT EVERY TIME DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR, I DON'T CARE WHAT ELECTION IT IS, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS. WE'RE JUST WE'RE USED TO THIS. AND THEN ONCE THE ELECTION IS OVER, WHAT THINGS START DYING DOWN AND WHAT HAVE YOU. BUT THIS RIGHT HERE REMINDS ME OF THE TRAIN STATION, THE WAY IT WAS BACK IN THE DAY.

AND WE CAN'T GO BACK TO THAT, Y'ALL. IF YOU IF YOU RUN YOUR CITIZENS AND PEOPLE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY AND Y'ALL THINK IT'S GOING TO BE CONTAGIOUS, MAYBE ASK THEM TO PULL YOUR COUNCIL PERSON ASIDE AND REALLY HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH US. YOU KNOW, WE HAD WARD MEETINGS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. WE PUT OUT A LOT OF INFORMATION. A LOT OF TIMES WE JUST HAD A SOFT OPENING OF THE CASINO TODAY. SOME OF YOU ARE, WEREN'T THERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WENT TO CHECK IT OUT. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. WE'RE NOT HANGING OUR HEAD ON THAT BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE MORE THAN JUST A CASINO. BUT WE WERE DOING THINGS BEFORE THE CASINO EVEN CAME HERE. WE WERE TURNING THE CORNER BEFORE THEN. AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE GOT INFRASTRUCTURE GOING ON ALL THROUGHOUT OUR CITY. YOU KNOW, CREATE A ROAD EVERYWHERE. WE'RE FIXING PIPES AND AND EVERYTHING. WE KNOW WE HAVE AN OLD CITY, AND WE KNOW WE HAVE CERTAIN THINGS. WHEN YOU FIX SOMETHING UP THE STREET, THEN ANOTHER THING WILL GO, GO BAD DOWN THE STREET FROM THERE.

SO THAT'S JUST THAT'S JUST THE NATURE OF HAVING A HISTORIC CITY. I SAY THIS, I THINK THE LAST TIME ALL OF US, PROBABLY EXCEPT FOR COUNCILMAN MYERS AND COUNCILMAN CUTLER, ALL OF US WENT TO PEABODY. EVERYBODY UP HERE WENT TO PEABODY. SO WHEN YOU PUT THE PEABODY THING OUT, LIKE THE WAY YOU DO, YOU'RE PREACHING TO THE CHOIR. I WENT THERE TWO YEARS. MOST OF OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS WENT THERE TWO YEARS. YOU KNOW, YOU WENT THERE THREE. YEAH. SO, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST SAYING. AND I SPOKE TO A DEVELOPER, A LOCAL DEVELOPER TODAY ABOUT PEABODY TODAY. SO IT IS ON OUR RADAR. WE DO WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH THE BUILDING. IT HAS TO BE

[02:00:01]

WE WE TURNED IT OVER TO THEM. THEY HAD IT. THE PEABODY ALUMNI, THEY HAD PEABODY. BUT THEN WE HAD TO TAKE IT BACK BECAUSE IT COULDN'T KEEP IT UP. SO DON'T GET IT TWISTED. YOU KNOW, IT AIN'T LIKE THEY AIN'T NEVER HAD IT. SO, YOU KNOW, BUT WE'RE NOT I DON'T WANT TO THROW DARTS AT ANYBODY BECAUSE THAT'S NOT MY STYLE. WE'RE ALL ONE. PETERSBURG. AND I THANK EVERYBODY FOR THEIR PASSION AND WHAT HAVE YOU. BUT IT IS AN ELECTION SEASON AND EVERYBODY JUST TRYING TO DO THROW DIRT ON TOP OF IT. WHEN MY TWO YEARS COME UP OR WHATEVER, THEY'LL BE DOING THE SAME THING. AND IT'S BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH AND WE KNOW. AND SO AND I DO WANT US TO KNOW THIS WHEN WE HAVE NEW PEOPLE COMING TO THE CITY AND NEW PEOPLE THAT'S COMING TO WORK FOR THE CITY, THEY'RE LOOKING AT Y'ALL. THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS LOOKING AT US. THEY'RE LOOKING AT HOW THE RESIDENTS REACT. DO I REALLY WANT TO COME HERE? YOU KNOW, DO I REALLY WANT TO COME TO A CITY COUNCIL MEETING EVERY DAY, WHEREAS CONTAGIOUS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? SO, I MEAN, I WE CAN DO BETTER AND WE'RE BETTER THAN THIS PETERSBURG. AND I KNOW I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR BECAUSE EVERYBODY THEY SAY WHAT THEY SAID AND THEN THEY LEFT AND WHAT HAVE YOU. AND I, YOU KNOW, ALL OF US GROWING UP IN HERE, THAT'S WHAT I CAN SEE. AND NOBODY NEEDS A LECTURE AND ALL THAT. BUT THIS RIGHT HERE IS IT'S TOO MUCH, Y'ALL. IT'S TOO MUCH. I'M BORN AND RAISED IN THIS CITY. LIKE SOMEBODY SAID, I RAISED MY CHILDREN IN THIS CITY, GOT MARRIED IN THIS CITY, CHURCH IN THIS CITY, ALL THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S NOT TAKING NOTHING AWAY FROM ANYBODY WHO. CAME HERE FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. WE'RE GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE. WE REALLY ARE. IT AIN'T NO THEM AND US, BUT WE'RE GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE. BUT LET'S SPEAK LIFE AND NOT DEATH, BECAUSE LIFE AND DEATH LIES IN THE POWER OF THE TONGUE. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SPEAK, BECAUSE IT WILL COME TO PASS. YOU ARE PLANTING SEEDS WHEN YOU SPEAK, NEGATIVITY WHEN YOU SPEAK BAD. WE'VE BEEN SPEAKING GOOD, AND EVERYBODY ELSE CAN SEE EVERYTHING WE'RE DOING IN THE STATE AND THE REGION. THEY SEE EVERYTHING WE'RE DOING, MEANING WE, MEANING YOU ALL AND US BECAUSE WE'RE NOT DOING IT BY OURSELVES. BUT IT SEEMED LIKE SOME OF OUR OWN PEOPLE CAN'T SEE IT. EVERY STREET YOU GO DOWN, YOU SEE A NEW HOUSE OR A RENOVATION OR CONSTRUCTION COMING UP. YOU SEE THE STREETS BEING CLEANED AND EVERYTHING. I KNOW HE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT WORKING THE ROAD, BUT THAT USED TO BE MY AREA. THE STREET SWEEPER HAS BEEN ON WAGNER ROAD BEFORE. WE TAKE CARE OF THAT. IT'S BEEN PAVED A COUPLE OF TIMES ON ONE SIDE AND THE OTHER SIDE ON WAGNER BEFORE THE CASINO WAS THERE. SO EVERYBODY HAVE A BLESSED DAY AND BE SAFE THIS WEEKEND. I HEAR SOME OTHER STUFF TO SAY, BUT YOU KNOW, Y'ALL, Y'ALL JUST DON'T KNOW THAT THIS RIGHT HERE THIS IS A ROUGH ONE TODAY. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. OKAY. THANK YOU, VICE MAYOR HILL. AT THIS TIME, I DONATED MOST OF MY MY LOOK, DONATED MY TIME TO COUNCILMAN JONES FOR HIS COMMENTS TONIGHT. SO AT THIS TIME, I JUST WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR COMING OUT AND JUST WANT TO MAKE SOME RECOGNITIONS. FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE OUR TREASURER IN THE BACK, PAUL MULLEN, WHO JUST GOT ELECTED CHAIR OF THE PETERSBURG DEMOCRAT COMMITTEE. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO PAUL. ALSO HAVE HAVE AN OUTSTANDING GENTLEMAN JOINING THE PETERSBURG TEAM. I WANT TO WELCOME MR. JEFF STOKES HERE, WHO'S GOING TO BE COMING ON AS DEPUTY CITY MANAGER HERE IN PETERSBURG, WHO HAS AN EXTENSIVE, EXTENSIVE HISTORY, MULTIPLE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO TO HIM ADDING AND DEFINITELY JUMPING IN TO THIS, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRONT TO EXPAND A LOT OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S GOING ON THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND ALSO USE SOME OF HIS OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT THAT HE'S HAD FOR MANY YEARS. SO, JEFF, WE WELCOME YOU AND HAPPY TO HAVE YOU ON AND LOOKING FORWARD TO TO A MANY GREAT THINGS. HE'S HE'S SOMEBODY THAT I KNOW AND KNOW PERSONALLY. I'VE SEEN WHAT HE'S DONE IN PRINCE GEORGE WITH BRINGING LEGO DOWN THERE MULTIPLE THE LOVES DOWN ON FORT 60, THE WENDY'S, THE HARDEE'S I I'VE SEEN HIM BRING ALL OF THOSE THOSE THOSE DEVELOPMENTS AND EVEN BUILT A NEW SCHOOL DOWN THERE IN PRINCE GEORGE. SO, JEFF, WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU ABOARD AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU. SORRY YOU CAME IN ON A DAY LIKE TODAY, THOUGH. I'M APOLOGIZE FOR ALL OF US. THAT'S NOT A WAY TO WELCOME A NEW DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. BUT THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. NEXT, WE MOVE ON TO ITEM 12. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT

[13. Finance and Budget Report]

[02:05:02]

MONTHLY BUDGET TO ACTUALS AS THE END OF DECEMBER. SO THESE BUDGET ACTUALS WILL COVER THE FIRST HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR. SO 50% OF THE YEAR COMPLETED SPEND OVERALL UNDER OUR UNDER OUR GENERAL FUND WE ARE AT 45% OF SPEND. SO THAT IS UNDER THE 50% SPEND. SO TRACKING REALLY GOOD THERE. HERE ARE OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS BASICALLY ALL UNDER 50% EXCEPT FROM DOGWOOD. BUT DOGWOOD IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE DOGWOOD OPERATES OFF OF ITS OWN REVENUES. SO THAT'S STILL OKAY. AND I BELIEVE THAT THAT'S ALL. SO OVERALL WE'RE TRACKING REALLY GOOD. THERE'S NO OVERSPENDING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT GOING ON. AND AS YOU HEARD EARLIER, OUR FUND BALANCE IS INCREASING. SO PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY WELL THANK YOU. OKAY.

ALL RIGHT, COUNCILMAN COOPER THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. WAS IT AT THIS MEETING THAT. FUNDS THAT WERE USED FOR OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE. EXPANSION AND ALSO ALL CAPITAL. THE ADMINISTRATION WAS GOING TO GET BACK TO US. AND I THOUGHT IT WAS YOU, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS TODAY. BUT I MAY BE WRONG ON BOTH SCORES. FORTUNATELY, I WASN'T HERE AT THE LAST MEETING, BUT WE WILL HAVE THAT FOR YOU AT THE NEXT AT THE NEXT WORK SESSION. THAT'D BE GREAT. THE QUESTION IS, WHAT THE OPERATING BUDGET OF PETERSBURG AREA TRANSIT FOR A MINUTE. WHAT PERCENT OF THAT OPERATING BUDGET IS FUNDED BY THE CITIZENS OF PETERSBURG? THE CITY OF PETERSBURG HAS, EXCUSE ME, A 4% LOCAL MATCH. THERE IS A 68% SHARE FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, A 28% SHARE FROM THE STATE AND 4% FOR THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. NOW THAT'S OUR OPERATING BUDGET, I BELIEVE.

CORRECT? YES. NOW WE REALLY HAVE TWO BUDGETS THAT ARE IT'S THE SAME FOR CAPITAL. IT'S THE SAME BREAKDOWN. I THOUGHT I REMEMBERED IN THE FALL THAT WE TALKED ABOUT BORROWING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR NEW ROLLING STOCK. YEAH. SO THAT'S ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS. I MEAN, IF THERE WAS A GRANT SPECIFICALLY BEING WENT AFTER FOR ROLLING STOCK, IT WOULDN'T FALL UNDER THAT SAME REIMBURSEMENT SCHEDULE. WELL, HOW MUCH OF THE I GUESS THE THREE BUDGETS THEN THERE'S AN OPERATING BUDGET AND A, A CAPITAL BUDGET. AND THIS ROLLING STOCK BUDGET IS IS THAT WHAT I'M HEARING? NO, IT WOULDN'T HAVE A BUDGET NECESSARILY. BUT I MEAN, LIKE IF THEY WERE APPLYING FOR A GRANT, THE GRANT THAT THEY'RE APPLYING FOR WILL HAVE ITS OWN TERMS REQUIRING WHAT THE MATCH WOULD BE FOR THE LOCALITY. WELL, LET'S SEE, MR. CITY MANAGER, WOULD YOU LOOK INTO THIS FURTHER AND LET US KNOW AT THE NEXT MEETING? I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE TAKING ON SOME LONG TERM DEBT IN ORDER TO BUY MORE ROLLING STONE. SO WE WILL WE WILL HAVE A HIGHER I BELIEVE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE'LL HAVE HIGHER THAN A 4% MATCH ON THE ROLLING STOCK THAT'S UNDER A DIFFERENT GRANT, NOT THE THE FORMULA FORMULAIC OF FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL. WHEN WE'RE DEALING IN THAT TERMS, IT'S A 4% MATCH. OTHER GRANTS HAVE US HAVING HAVING HAVING A HIGHER MATCH BECAUSE THERE MAY NOT BE FEDERAL OR STATE MONEY INVOLVED.

BUT WE CAN WE CAN GET THOSE NUMBERS AND BRING THEM BACK TO YOU. WELL, THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE I, I WISH I COULD BE SPECIFIC IN MY RECOLLECTION, I CAN'T, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS A PRETTY, YOU KNOW, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER. NOT I MEAN, I THINK IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WE'RE IT'S ABOUT $1 MILLION OF A MATCH ON THE ROLLING STOCK THAT WE WOULD IN GETTING THE THE ORDER THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT WHEN WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION BACK, SUMMERTIME, MAYBE IT WAS IT WAS ABOUT $1 MILLION LOCAL MATCH IN ORDER TO PLACE THE ORDER FOR THE BUSSES AND MOVE FORWARD. AT THAT TIME, COUNCIL AUTHORIZED US TO MOVE FORWARD, AND WE'RE GOING TO BUDGET THAT MATCH AS PART OF THE UPCOMING BUDGET YEAR. BUT IT'LL BE SPECIFIC, GRANT SPECIFIC, BUT WE'LL BRING THAT NUMBER BACK FOR YOU. THAT'D BE GREAT IF YOU COULD BRING THAT TO US AT OUR WORK SESSION IN FEBRUARY. THAT'D BE SUPER. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU, MR. CROSIER. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, MR. KOCHER, ANY OTHER ITEMS? NO, NO. ALL RIGHT.

[14. Unfinished Business]

[02:10:07]

OBVIOUSLY, CITY INSPECTIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, ALL THAT GOOD STUFF. SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR CONSIDERATION AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. YES, MR. WILLIAMS, AND JUST TO CLARIFY, BETWEEN THE TWO STATEMENTS THAT WERE MADE BY MR. MOORE AND THE DEVELOPER, AS I READ THE PROPOSED REVISED DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY ASKING YOU TO REMOVE THE REVERTER CLAUSE. THEY'RE ACTUALLY ASKING TO ALLOW THE LENDERS TO HAVE PRIORITY OVER THE CITY'S REVERTER CLAUSE, WHICH IS A LITTLE LESS DRASTIC IN THE PACKAGE THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED WHERE THOSE CHANGES OCCUR. I DID PUT A COUPLE OF COMMENTS IN RED THAT I WOULD SUGGEST ADDING TO THAT TO SOFTEN IT A BIT IN TERMS OF THE CITY'S EXPOSURE, BUT I THINK HE'S ACCURATELY DESCRIBED WHAT THEY'RE REQUESTING. YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S BASICALLY SUBORDINATING, YOU KNOW, IT'S PUTTING THE LENDER IN FIRST POSITION ON THE LOTS.

YEAH. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. YEAH. THANK YOU, MR. JONES. COUNCILMAN JONES THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. TEACHING MOMENT RIGHT NOW. OKAY. SOMETIMES I DON'T FOLLOW. AND IF I DON'T FOLLOW, I KNOW THERE'S SOME PEOPLE OUT THERE WATCHING THAT DON'T FOLLOW. ABSOLUTELY. SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND, AS A DEVELOPER, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE SOMEBODY OUT THERE THAT WANT TO DEVELOP SOME OF THESE PROPERTIES LIKE YOU DOING. SURE. YOU SAID. THE REVERTER CLAUSE IS KEEPING YOU FROM FINANCING. I WANT TO KNOW THE MINDSET OF WHEN YOU CHOSE THESE PROPERTIES TO PURCHASE.

WAS THE MINDSET I GET THE PROPERTIES DIDN'T GET FINANCING OR WAS IT ALREADY GOT FINANCED? LET ME GET IT. LET ME GO ON AND DO IT. WHAT WAS THE MINDSET? AND BECAUSE DON'T JUST TELL ME THAT, BUT TELL THE PUBLIC BECAUSE WE WANT TO REDO THIS CLAUSE. BUT I WANT TO GET MY HEAD WRAPPED AROUND THE FACT THAT WHEN WE SELL THESE PROPERTIES, ARE WE SELLING IT TO PEOPLE THAT GOT THE MONEY UP FRONT TO GO ON AND FIX THEM? OR WE SELL THEM TO PEOPLE WITH HOPES OF GETTING FINANCING FROM SOMEBODY ELSE. THEREFORE, IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR FINANCING, IT'LL SIT THERE ANYWAY, LIKE IT DID BEFORE. LET ME HELP TEACH THE PUBLIC, PLEASE. SURE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE MONEY TO ACTUALLY PURCHASE THE PROPERTIES, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE MILLION DOLLARS IN DEVELOPMENT COSTS THAT WE WE DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, JUST LAYING AROUND. SO MOST BANKS REQUIRE A FIRST POSITION LIEN WHEN THEY LEND, ESPECIALLY FOR CONSTRUCTION. SO, YOU KNOW, WE WENT TO SEVERAL DIFFERENT LENDERS. WE LANDED ON THE ONE THAT WE TYPICALLY USE. ALL OF THEM SAID BASICALLY THE SAME THING THOUGH. SO I MEAN,

[02:15:07]

SO WE'LL BUILD FOUR AND THEN THREE WITHIN ONE YEAR. ONE LAST QUESTION. WHEN YOU GET YOUR FINANCING LOOKING AT THESE PROPERTIES AS THEY'RE IN DIFFERENT WARDS RIGHT. WHICH ONES HAVE PRIORITY ON YOU WORKING ON FIRST. IS IT GOING BY THE CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY OR. WELL THEY'RE SO THEY'RE ALL IT'S ALL RAW LAND. SO WE'RE REALLY GOING OFF OF THREE OF THEM WILL BE SINGLE STORY AND FOUR WILL BE TWO STORY. SO I BELIEVE WE'RE STARTING WITH THE THREE SINGLE STORY AND THEN ONE. TWO STORY. ARE YOU ALREADY WORKING ON THE BANK STREET? ONE ON THE CORNER? NO, SIR. THAT'S ALL I GOT, MR. MAYOR. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. ALL RIGHT, VICE MAYOR HILL, I'M SORRY WE DON'T HAVE TO OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. YEAH. SO BASICALLY, THEY LET THE CITIZENS KNOW.

BACALLY, WHEN WE DO, WE HAVE A REVERTER CLAUSE. IF THEY DON'T DO WHAT THEY SAY THEY DO, THEN WE CAN REVERT, TAKE IT BACK. BUT THE BANK SAID IN ORDER FOR THEM TO GET FINANCE THAT THEY HAVE TO BE THE NEXT ONE UP AND THEN WE COME. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE AUTHORIZATION OF THE CITY MANAGER TO AMEND THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG, NEW WAVE DEVELOPMENT LLC AND THE PROPERTIES OF 851 EAST BANK STREET, 1420 FERNDALE AVENUE. 11 662 HINTON STREET, 417 SOUTH JEFFERSON STREET, 921 PRIME STREET, 1150 ROME STREET. 201 TERRACE AVENUE, PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA 23803 THAT IS MY MOTION, RIGHT. COUNCILMAN MYERS SECOND MOTION A SECOND AT THIS TIME IS HERE. COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER CUTHBERT? I'M VOTING NO. I THINK IT'S A BAD PRECEDENT. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER JONES, I, COUNCIL MEMBER. MYERS. COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. SMITH. VICE MAYOR. HILL. AYE. MAYOR I THAT MOTION CARRIES. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GUYS. NEXT IS ITEM 15. NEW BUSINESS. NO ITEMS TONIGHT.

[16. City Manager's Report and Special Reports]

SOME OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW AT THE LAST MEETING I WASN'T HERE AND WELL, YOU MAY KNOW BECAUSE YOU SAW MR. MILLER WAS HERE. WE HAD A FAMILY MEDICAL EMERGENCY AT 11:00, WHICH PREVENTED ME FROM COMING. BUT I HAVE TO SAY, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE ALL MEMBERS OF COUNCIL SUPPORT, THOUGHTS, PRAYERS AND YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PROVIDE ME THE FLEXIBILITY TO KIND OF BALANCE FAMILY HOME LIFE DURING THAT PERIOD. THE GOOD NEWS IS, AFTER BEING ON A WAITING LIST FOR SEVERAL YEARS, MY MOTHER IN LAW HAD A KIDNEY REPLACEMENT, SO AND IT'S DOING VERY WELL. BUT.

AND THANK YOU. BUT I HAVE TO SAY, MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW, BUT WHEN YOU WORK WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT YOU AND THE COMMENTS THAT I GET BACK OR HEY, WE'RE FAMILY, THAT IS NOT COMMON EVERYWHERE THAT YOU WORK. AND I DO WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU PUBLICLY FOR THE SUPPORT YOU PROVIDED. I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMAN JONES, YOUR THE QUESTION. YES, SIR. MR. CITY MANAGER. WITH THIS WEATHER COMING UP, I WANT TO MAKE A STATEMENT ON OUR PUBLIC SAFETY. INDIVIDUALS AND DEPARTMENTS ARE ALREADY OUT THERE WORKING THE

[02:20:03]

I MENTIONED THAT THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS, BEING THE FIRST RESPONDER, CONSIDERED A FIRST RESPONDER DEPARTMENT. BECAUSE WITHOUT THEM, A LOT OF OUR JOBS AND THEIR JOBS WOULD BE HARD TO DO. WITHOUT THEM, OUR CITIZENS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET FROM A TO B WITHOUT THEM. WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES. I'VE SEEN THESE PEOPLE WORKING IN THE MUD, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THEY WERE IN THE MUD, IN THE HOLE FEELING FOR THE LEAK AND ACTUALLY PATCHED IT. NOW THIS IS SOME MILITARY GRADE STUFF THAT MY EYES HAVE WITNESSED. AND I'M SAYING THIS BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO CONSIDER STRONGLY. AT LEAST A 3% RAISE FOR THAT GROUP, BECAUSE WE GAVE ALL OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS RAISES. THESE PEOPLE, WE THEY COME HERE JUST LIKE THE POLICE HAD THE ISSUE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD ISSUE. WE GIVE THEM RAISES, THEY TRAIN, WE TRAIN THEM, AND THEY LEAVE AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. BUT NOW THEY GOT A HOME. POLICE GOT A HOME. WE'RE NOT LETTING Y'ALL GO. FIRE GOT A HOME. WE'RE NOT LETTING Y'ALL GO. BUT WE'RE LOSING PUBLIC WORKS PEOPLE OR GETTING READY TO, FROM WHAT I HEAR. PLEASE SAVE EM NOW, PEOPLE. THIS Y'ALL MONEY. IT AIN'T BLACK DOLLARS, AIN'T WHITE DOLLARS, IT'S GREEN DOLLARS. IT'S YOUR DOLLARS. THEY HELP US GET AROUND THIS CITY. SOMEBODY TOLD ME TODAY ABOUT A POTHOLE ACROSS FROM THE POST OFFICE. YOU KNOW, PLEASE CONSIDER THAT PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. I MEAN, OUTSTANDING OPERATING HEAVY EQUIPMENT. AND WE LOST ONE IN BROOKLYN MANOR FOR A WHOLE DAY, ALMOST. AND THEY DIDN'T GO HOME UNTIL THE WATER WAS, WAS RESTORED. SO I THINK WE NEED TO DEFINITELY LOOK INTO IT. THAT'S THAT'S MY STATEMENT FOR THAT. SO AS A A GRANDSON OF A DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, THE STEPSON OF A DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT OUR PUBLIC WORKS PEOPLE ARE FIRST RESPONDERS. IF THEY ARE NOT THERE. NOW, IF YOU GO DOWN SYCAMORE ACROSS FROM COMEBACK BURGER, THERE MAY BE A HOLE IN THE GROUND RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE A WATER LINE LEAK. ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN FOR ME. BUT SAME THING ABOUT THE SAME PLACE. IN 20 1718 WE HAD A LEAK THERE, SO THEY ARE THERE AND THEY ARE GOING TO BE THERE IN THE BITTER COLD OF TONIGHT WORKING THROUGH THOSE. AND THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY FIRST RESPONDERS. AND I THINK THE STEPS THAT COUNCIL HAS TAKEN THUS FAR, HELPING REDUCE COSTS FOR INSURANCE AND THE PAY CLASS COMP STUDY THAT WE IMPLEMENTED, WE WE NEED TO CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD. BUT I THINK THOSE ARE HELPING US. BUT ABSOLUTELY, WE WILL CONSIDER I APPRECIATE THAT, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU SAID EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID, MAN, BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE A MOTION NOT FOR A RAISE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S GOING TO THAT'S GOING TO COME BECAUSE I ASKED FOR IT. BUT I WANT TO MAKE A MOTION THAT IN THE FUTURE, STARTING TODAY, THAT WE CONSIDER OUR PUBLIC WORKS AS FIRST RESPONDERS OFFICIALLY. SO WHEN WE GIVE RAISES TO FIRST RESPONDERS, THEY'RE INCLUDED IN THOSE RAISES. SO I WANT TO MAKE A MOTION, MR. MAYOR, THAT WE CONSIDER OUR FIRST OUR PUBLIC WORKS AND STREETS AS FIRST RESPONDERS. NOW THAT NOW THAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THEY'RE NOT FIRST RESPONDERS ON THE LEVEL OF FIRE AND POLICE, THEY AIN'T GOING TO RUN A NO BUILDING OR CHASE NO BULLETS OR BAD GUYS, BUT THEY WILL FIX YOUR STREETS SO THEY CAN DRIVE DOWN AND CATCH THEM. THEY. MARLO, CAN I INTERJECT WITH YOU? YES. SO DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT 2:00 IN THE MORNING AND IT'S ZERO DEGREES OUTSIDE AND THEY'RE DOWN IN THE HOLE. THEY ARE DOWN IN THE HOLE. AND THAT'S THE. THOSE ARE THE THINGS YOU NEED TO. YES, SIR.

POINT OUT. OKAY. YES, SIR. NOT JUST YOUR STREETS. WELL, THEY ARE DIGGING DOWN IN THE STREET.

ALRIGHT. I DID MENTION THAT. HOW THEY FEELING FOR THE WHOLE. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU. RIGHT.

EXACTLY RIGHT. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT MOTION THAT WE INCLUDE THEM IN THE FUTURE AS FIRST RESPONDERS, NOT THE LEVEL OF POLICE AND FIRE, BUT THEY OFFER AS RESPONDERS FOR THE CITY. I MAKE THAT MOTION. ALL RIGHT. VICE MAYOR HILL, SECOND MOTION A SECOND. MISS HILL, CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER? CUTHBERT, I THINK WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. EVERYBODY APPRECIATES PUBLIC WORKS,

[02:25:03]

THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN JONES, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THE. I'M NOT OKAY WITH IT BECAUSE THE STATE CODE SAYS WHAT THE STATE CODE SAYS. SO IF IT DON'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS LEVEL OF FIRST RESPONDERS, THEN IT DON'T SAY NOTHING ABOUT IT. SO IF THE POLICE GET RAISES, I MEAN, GET BENEFITS AND AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, OF COURSE, PUBLIC WORKS WON'T GET IT. I MEAN, THEY UNDERSTAND THAT. WE UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT THE THING IS, LOCALLY, AS A CITY, THEY ARE ALL FIRST RESPONDERS ALL THE WAY AROUND. RIGHT? YOU KNOW, SO ALL I'M ASKING IS FOR TO PUT THEM IN THAT CATEGORY FOR THE FUTURE WHEN WE CONSIDER GIVING FIRST RESPONDERS RAISES, THERE'S A TIER. YOU GOT FIRE, YOU GOT POLICE, AND YOU GOT PUBLIC WORKS AND STREETS DIVISION.

WITHOUT THEM, IT'LL BE SO DIFFICULT FOR ANY OF THESE GUYS TO DO THEIR JOB. RIGHT. AND COUNCILMAN JONES, AND CAN WE HAVE THE CITY MANAGER JUST BRING ALL THAT BACK OUT SO WE CAN HAVE IT IN FRONT OF US FOR THE PUBLIC, JUST, YOU KNOW, SO WE CAN BUILD IT INTO THIS, THIS CURRENT BUDGET THAT WE'RE BUILDING FOR 2627, MR. ALTMAN. AND IT MAY BE IN SPEAKING WITH REFERENCE TO WHAT THE CITY ATTORNEY IS TALKING ABOUT, IT MAY BE JUST A DESIGNATION.

THAT'S A POLICY STATEMENT THAT WE CONSIDER DPW AS A FIRST RESPONDER, BUT NOT NECESSARILY UNDER THE DEFINITION OF WHAT'S IN THE STATE CODE THAT HAS BRINGS ALL THIS ADDITIONAL AND ANOTHER COMMUNITY. WHEN WE DID RAISES, WE DID CONSIDER DPW AS A FIRST RESPONDER. SO WE KIND OF MADE SURE THAT THEY WERE TAKEN CARE OF AT THE SAME LEVEL THAT WE DID POLICE AND FIRE.

AND THEN WE HAD ALL THE ADMINISTRATION. SO WE'LL TAKE THAT AND WE'LL BRING SOMETHING BACK FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. ALL RIGHT. SO FIRST OF ALL, I'M OKAY WITH WHAT OUR LEGAL COUNSEL IS SAYING AND I'M OKAY WITH BRINGING IT BACK. BUT I JUST DON'T WANT Y'ALL DON'T UNDERSTAND. IF YOU HAVEN'T WORKED OUT IN ZERO DEGREE WEATHER, GETTING WET WHERE EVERYBODY ELSE IS AT HOME SLEEPING. IF YOU HAVEN'T FOUGHT FIRE IN 20 DEGREES BELOW 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO WITH ICICLES COMING OFF YOUR HELMETS WHERE EVERYBODY SLEEP. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE BEACH. WEARING A BADGE. WHEN YOUR LIFE IS AT STAKE. EVERY EVERY MOMENT YOU'RE OUT THERE ON THE STREET. YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOUR ENEMIES ARE. WHERE EVERYBODY'S AT HOME ASLEEP. BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE IN THE GRIT. KEEPING OUR CITY OPERATIONAL. SERIOUSLY. SO I'M OKAY WITH BRINGING IT BACK. COUNCILMAN JONES, ALWAYS REMEMBER, YOU CAN SUSPEND THE RULES OF COUNCIL. SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME. I'M STILL LEARNING, Y'ALL. YOU CAN SUSPEND THE RULES OF COUNCIL AND MAKE YOUR MOTION. HE. HE MADE THE MOTION. COUNCILMAN JONES, IF I MAY, MR. MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, WE WE WE WE MAKE DECISIONS. AND I KNOW WE LIKE TO CARRY THINGS BACK AND STUDY AND AND STUFF LIKE THAT. ALL HE IS HE ASKING FOR A TITLE. YOU CAN BRING BACK THE ALL THE STUFF. WHAT'S GOING TO GO WITH THE TITLE THEN? SO HOW ABOUT WE VOTE ON THE MOTION TO MAKE THEM FIRST RESPONDERS? AND THEN WITH THE PROVISIONS YOU PUT WITHIN? I MEAN, WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GOOD BUSINESS TO DO THIS, NOT GOOD

[02:30:03]