[6:20] Please come to order. Members will please rise while Councilwoman Berka leads us in prayer

[6:25] this morning.

[6:27] Good morning. Thank you for being with us today and guiding us all here safely. This is a special

[6:32] week for our city and we just pray that you will watch over it and keep us all safe, help

[6:38] everyone make good decisions while they're out there having fun. And just bless us in

[6:43] this meeting as we meet every other week, Lord, to make decisions for the city and

[6:50] for the people of and I pray you'll give us wisdom and guidance and help us do

[6:54] what's best for everyone and help us to know what that is just watch over

[6:59] everyone today keep them safe as we leave here and as everyone runs around

[7:03] the city and bring those people who are coming in safe and as everyone goes

[7:07] home keep them safe as well just watch over it and let it be a good safe

[7:10] time in Jesus name I pray amen thank you so much council member over

[7:16] We're sure you would please let us in the pledge.

[7:19] To the flag of the United States of America

[7:22] and to the Republic for which it stands

[7:30] to take.

[7:32] Nikki, will you please call the roll?

[7:38] Annie.

[7:39] Berka.

[7:41] Burton.

[7:44] Separately excused.

[7:45] Cook.

[7:46] Begrie.

[7:48] Feral.

[7:51] Giannola excused.

[7:53] Haas.

[7:55] Hoover excused.

[7:56] Jenkins.

[7:56] John's. Kerns excused King.

[8:02] Minority. More. Overstreet.

[8:06] Pepper. Bar. Robinson. Rubio

[8:11] excused. Selango.

[8:25] Excused

[8:27] Clerk, please read the journal, Mr. Chairman.

[8:31] I request unanimous consent that the reading of the journal be dispensed with.

[8:34] It's been a motion on floor dispensed with the reading of the journal. Hearing and seeing no objections, the reading of the journal is now dispensed with.

[8:39] We have one public speaker this morning, Rachel Rubin. Rachel?

[8:48] Is there a time limit that I need to respect?

[8:54] I think just two or three minutes, if that's okay with you, Rachel.

[8:57] Be great.

[8:57] Yes ma'am, thank you so much.

[8:59] Hi, y'all. I'm Rachel Rubin. I'm a tenant. I've lived in Charleston for three years. I've been in West Virginia for six.

[9:05] I work at the Chicanoa County Public Defender's Office. This is now the second year in a row that, in order to have its big party,

[9:12] that the city has undertaken an entire effort to disappear anyone that they don't want to see ahead of their gata.

[9:20] Over 25 people were booked at South Central on Thursday.

[9:24] Over the course of the last couple of days, 16 people have been charged for sleeping in a public park.

[9:29] Eleven are being held on nothing else.

[9:31] So that means it's coming out of the city's jail bill in order to incarcerate these people for six days.

[9:37] Let me go over that.

[9:40] The city's discretion was used in order to sweep people out of public parks, go on an entire war and sweep.

[9:46] There are 11 people who are being held for nothing else but being in a public park after hours

[9:51] That's 1425 for the finance boys in the room

[9:56] 4825 per day per person

[9:58] So that's excess of $4500 strictly for the city's jail bill

[10:02] In order to disappear people that the city did not want to be part of the regatta

[10:07] I wonder what that line item is going to be for next year's regatta

[10:10] How you will describe how you are spending that money in order to disappear

[10:14] here, my friends and my neighbors.

[10:17] For the technocrats in the room,

[10:19] whom I think the legal procedures work itself out,

[10:22] two things.

[10:22] People are technically entitled to a PR bond

[10:25] for nonviolent charges and violation of city ordinances.

[10:29] And city judge Matt Smith canceled court on Wednesday.

[10:32] I can promise you the public defenders

[10:34] filed bond motions for every single one of those folks

[10:37] that were arrested and the latest of those

[10:38] was filed before 3 p.m. on Friday.

[10:41] So it is the city judge's discretion

[10:43] to not have ruled on those bond motions.

[10:45] Those people don't have a prayer

[10:46] of getting out of jail before Thursday.

[10:50] Corporal Cooper and Corporal Harper

[10:52] have been the foot soldiers of this operation,

[10:54] but I want y'all to know

[10:55] that they're carrying out your wishes.

[10:57] You have the control and the discretion to direct CPD.

[11:01] I guess the last thing I'll say

[11:02] is that I'm a young person

[11:04] who's raised in another state.

[11:06] I went to college in another state.

[11:07] I decided to move here.

[11:09] I brought friends of mine here.

[11:11] And what the city has decided to do

[11:12] in my name just disappear an entire generation of people who they don't care about is embarrassing.

[11:17] For

[11:22] your comments this morning, that will be it for our public speakers.

[11:26] The clerk will now please read the claims against the city.

[11:29] A claim of Terry Natsen alleges damage to property.

[11:32] A claim of Nikki D. Robinson alleges personal injury.

[11:35] A claim of Patricia Thacker alleges loss of property.

[11:38] Thank you. Please refer to the city's solicitor.

[11:40] The clerk will now please read the committee report in resolution 841-23.

[11:43] 3. Your committee on finance has had under consideration resolution number 841-23, authorizing

[11:49] the mayor as city manager to purchase 2023 Ford police interceptor SUVs from Thorne Hill

[11:56] Ford Lincoln in the amount of $848,980 or the purchase price was determined through

[12:02] a competitively sourced statewide contract and reports seem to cancel with the recommendation

[12:06] that the committee report be adopted. Mr. Chairman.

[12:08] Thank you Madam Mayor. Recently in the past couple of years, essentially beginning with

[12:14] the pandemic, there's been a shortage and a delay on obtaining from Ford the police

[12:19] interceptor SUVs. Through happenstance, Thornhill Ford Lincoln had ordered about 50 or so of

[12:27] these for the state police but they came in the wrong color and so the state police

[12:31] declined to take delivery, thus making many of these SUVs available for purchase

[12:38] from other law enforcement agencies. We are able to purchase 20 of these, which is great

[12:44] because we recently purchased 16, and we may not even get all those, and they're still delayed.

[12:51] Possibly only get seven of those, and so the replacement schedule for CPD, particularly

[12:59] the patrol cars, is behind schedule. And so, therefore, your finance committee recommends

[13:04] the approval of this purchase.

[13:07] Thank you. The floor is up for discussion on the resolution. The question is the adoption

[13:11] of the resolution on favor of vote aye. Opposed vote nay. I declare resolution 841-23 as adopted.

[13:19] Before we close out, just want to say a couple quick things. First of all, we have a very

[13:22] special guest in the room, Nora Wood is here with us today. Nora, we are so happy

[13:28] to have you here at Council, honey. She's been very helpful earlier this morning. Thank

[13:33] Thank you to Chairman Jenkins for bringing coffee and donuts for those of us who slept

[13:37] two hours and those of us who just like donuts, so we appreciate you very, very much.

[13:42] Let me also just say thanks to council members who have volunteered or showed up to haul

[13:50] ice or water or sit at one of the booths and work, but especially to our refuse streets,

[13:57] traffic, police, fire, EMS, they're doing a wonderful job.

[14:01] Last night we had a little burst of weather that popped up pretty quickly when it's when

[14:07] you're working in event with a meteorologist you get those things in real time so the winds

[14:11] picked up to about a burst of 40 49 miles per hour and one small burst so it felt like

[14:19] it I'll say that it felt like it Matthew Sutton grabbed a tent from out of the air

[14:25] So it was amazing, but thanks.

[14:29] You know, we take for granted sometimes when we have those things in town and our streets,

[14:36] especially our refuse department, they work really hard.

[14:39] It's been really hot and they work extremely hard.

[14:42] It's a running joke now we see them.

[14:44] The first folks we get up in the morning and the last folks we see at night.

[14:48] Our streets and our refuse department are doing such an amazing job.

[14:52] So I do want to give a big shout out and say thanks to them before we close out

[14:56] Are there any remarks by any members of council this morning?

[15:01] Councilmember Solomon, do you have any announcements or remarks?

[15:10] Thank you, Mayor. I just want to comment on what Ms. Rubin said. We had 16 people charged with parks after dark or parks after hours.

[15:25] years, and we had,

[15:31] I mean, there's only five of those people had warrants, so we're sweeping

[15:35] two additional people for every warrant served, and before June 29th, only, that charge was

[15:41] only used seven times in the last seven years, and it was, it's kind of a, like, what, just,

[15:46] why did we just reinvent a prosecutable offense that is going to put people in jail for

[15:52] six days?

[15:53] I think I've asked questions I've not received answers and we can debate that but it's it's

[16:01] something that we're there we're hearing a lot from folks that are concerned about it and it's

[16:07] just not looking good it's not a good no not good optics when we have 25 people arrested on one

[16:14] day, the day before Regatta starts. It's primarily on house folks and it's just not a good look

[16:28] for the city. Thank you.

[16:35] Thank you Mayor Goodwin. I would echo the speaker's concerns and questions

[16:42] questions, as well as Councilmember Steelehammer's concerns and questions.

[16:48] I spent some time with others visiting parks and the monomial parking lot on Saturday,

[16:58] a regatta day, and just listening and trying to learn more about what was going on.

[17:02] And one person told me, I overheard one person share, either all my friends just

[17:10] died or they've been swept away to jail. And I don't think they all just died. And that

[17:17] just really, really resonated. I think the numbers are also so far. We're trying to learn

[17:25] more. We're the of concern. But one area where it seems like we could reduce the harm

[17:33] of the arrests that have been made since court has been closed since last Thursday

[17:38] is to ask Judge Smith to return to the bench before Thursday, today, Tuesday, Wednesday,

[17:48] and help clear out some of these cases. I don't really know how to do that, but if anyone

[17:54] has any advice or suggestions or relationships with Judge Smith to ask if he might return

[17:59] to the bench, that would be much appreciated. I'm happy to work with you on that. Thank

[18:04] you.

[18:04] Yes sir thank you council thank you councilmember Solomon councilmember King

[18:10] and I'll think I see any other hands yes sir I just like to that say thank you to

[18:15] our law enforcement agency for doing their jobs all year round not just right

[18:20] before we got it thank you any other comments where we close out tonight

[18:25] Mr. I'm gonna call you the ice man now since you've been doing ice is that

[18:30] okay with you slinger slinger hey there a couple of us have been out there

[18:36] each morning slinging ice and helping the vendors and the mayor mentioned some

[18:41] things about all the hard workers of the regatta but I want to recognize the

[18:46] administration these the individuals sitting up front are here at daylight

[18:53] they're here till dark they're here till two in the morning they're jumping in

[18:59] they're doing everything starting from Jane Bostic to the regatta commission

[19:03] to Mayor Goodwin, to Matt Sutton, and I'ma miss the people. Tina, all of them. Andrew, you know,

[19:11] they're all out there riding in carts. They're all out there slinging ice, taking the vendors,

[19:19] making sure the vendors orders are taken care of, making sure all the behind the scenes,

[19:25] means I listen to the radios. They won't give me a radio by the way. But there's a lot that

[19:36] goes into this regatta. And until I started working with Bruce and riding around the

[19:43] cart with Matt, I didn't recognize what goes into an event like this. I put on a lot of

[19:50] myself but nothing to this that stage- but it there's a lot of people doing a

[19:58] lot of things behind the scenes and they should deserve the credit they deserve

[20:02] so I just want to recognize those people sitting up front and those that are

[20:06] not here and out there working now the refuse and the fire the police that

[20:10] I mean they're out there we did get to see the new officers the officers

[20:15] new shorts this weekend so they were pretty sure that so I just want to

[20:19] make that recognition. Thank you councilmember Robinson we appreciate it

[20:25] and it's not just during regatta we care about our work all the time we care

[20:29] about our work and we care about every single person that lives in this city

[20:33] every single person if you own a business if you live here if you work

[20:38] here if you are just here we care about you we have amazing teams plural

[20:44] not just in the in the mayor's office or the city manager's office we have

[20:48] lots of different departments that were here before we got here, and departments that we

[20:53] created to make sure that we're doing the best that we can for the most that we, for

[21:00] all, for everyone. So we don't always get it, we don't always get it right, but our

[21:06] heads and our hearts are certainly in the, certainly in the right place. Thank you

[21:09] so much. The clerk will now please call the roll.

[21:11] Annie, Berka, Burton, Seferly, Cook,

[21:18] Bagree, Barrel, Giannola, Haas,

[21:26] Hoover,

[21:27] Jenkins, Jones, Kearns, King,

[21:33] Minority, Moore, Overstreet, Pepper,

[21:39] Farr, Robinson, Rubio, Solango,

[21:49] I am here. Thank you so much. Mr. Chairman, most adjourned until Monday July 17th at 7 p.m. There's a motion to adjourn until July 17th. Thanks everybody.

City Council Meeting - 1st Meeting

Transcript