[0:01] the mayor's coming. Yeah. So,

[0:20] okay.

[0:22] Um, Mr. Mudar is running a little late,

[0:24] so M, uh, Council President Porterfield

[0:27] asked me to, uh, call the meeting to

[0:29] order. So, I'd like to call finance to

[0:30] order. Um, we have one item on this

[0:33] evening's agenda and that is funding

[0:34] support for Belmont Pop Warner program.

[0:37] U Mr. Fley, would you like to speak to

[0:39] that? Certainly. Um, so over the last

[0:42] few times together um Belmont uh Pop

[0:45] Warner program um has came forth to ask

[0:48] of some institutional support to

[0:50] continue the good work that they're

[0:51] doing in the community. And um we

[0:55] discussed it at length two separate

[0:57] occasions. last time we uh got to a

[1:00] point where there seemed to be some cons

[1:02] consensus on the room that we wanted to

[1:03] support Belmont. We were just waiting

[1:05] for some information um to figure out

[1:07] exactly how much money was identified in

[1:09] the account and hopefully we'll get that

[1:12] information be able to move this

[1:13] forward.

[1:16] Okay. So, who was going to get us that?

[1:18] Oh, um our finance commissioner was

[1:22] going to get that information for you.

[1:24] Yes. Um, did did anyone else receive any

[1:26] information from our finance

[1:28] commissioner around what was left on

[1:29] their account? No. Um, so I did I'm

[1:32] sorry.

[1:34] I'll let the finance commissioner speak

[1:35] to you know directly they'll be back

[1:39] directly. Is that what you said?

[1:42] No, he said he let him speak to it

[1:44] directly. Sorry. What was the question?

[1:46] Well, so the question was weighing on

[1:48] information around the account that was

[1:51] identified um and to see how much money

[1:53] was left in that account before we

[1:55] decided how we were going to move

[1:56] forward. information. I mean, I gave the

[1:59] child myself and um had some

[2:01] conversations, but um I believe that the

[2:05] account um has no money has been spent

[2:08] down account besides I think it's in the

[2:11] area of $8,000 that are here marked for

[2:13] um for uh some students to come to work

[2:16] within city hall is my understanding. Is

[2:19] that your understanding as well, Mr.

[2:20] Mayor? Having trouble hearing you say

[2:22] Teresa, which county talk about the

[2:25] youth employment? Yes. And so there was

[2:27] $108,000 that uh we that we took that

[2:31] from us back. So that's the account I'm

[2:33] talking about. Yeah. So the other um mention was my

[2:39] understanding what the last thing was

[2:41] that there would be here for was in the

[2:44] county left over from the 150,000 for

[2:47] youth employment as well as 108.

[2:53] 150

[2:54] is 99%

[2:58] commit some

[3:04] point just got kids in the high

[3:08] school

[3:09] DC so it's going to be a robust

[3:19] part so where are we Does anyone have

[3:22] this information in terms of the funding

[3:23] is available that number 8,000? I think

[3:26] the finance commission

[3:28] I think finance commissioner is he

[3:31] coming? Are you pointing to him? No, I

[3:33] was thinking maybe we should shut the

[3:35] door but I mean thought all these people

[3:37] were wanting to come to us. Yeah, I I'll

[3:39] look out.

[3:41] Yeah. So, we asked for information there

[3:45] if they're in Did you get any

[3:47] information? I never was

[3:49] council. Did any of the council members

[3:51] get

[3:56] They're coming. They're coming into the

[3:57] meeting.

[4:29] Looks like Demani is actually going down

[4:31] to his

[4:34] office.

[4:37] Excuse me. You can public

[5:12] Oops. Not

[5:53] Mr. Charlie, sorry. Sure. I was going to

[5:56] just ask you. Yeah, I I went down I

[5:58] didn't see our finance commissioner. Um,

[6:00] however,

[6:02] like I said, uh, based on that earlier

[6:05] of Miss Carver that there is out of the

[6:08] $108,000 that we're talking about,

[6:10] there's only $8,000 that's been

[6:12] earmarked for kids who work here in city

[6:15] hall. So, I mean, I'm comfortable moving

[6:18] forward with that information that I got

[6:20] and moving that uh to a vote.

[6:26] Well, I think that has anybody spoken to

[6:29] Cocoa House to find out um the money was

[6:32] earmarked for co Coco House um and the

[6:35] programs that they run for it's not

[6:37] right no the 108 no it oh it was

[6:40] earmarked

[6:42] for for the city but Coco House um was

[6:46] housing it

[6:48] Coco house and then we were going to use

[6:50] it for the

[6:53] Right. Okay. So, now we're not using it

[6:55] for some reason.

[7:00] Well, you're saying it's 8,000. I'm

[7:04] saying out of the 180,000 8,000 has been

[7:07] committed in

[7:09] ear roughly $100,000.

[7:13] No, some of it was allocated to to uh

[7:15] work with what Mr. M was doing in the

[7:17] park. So, there was a money that was

[7:20] allocated there. Um my understanding is

[7:23] um that was about 8,000 then there was

[7:25] another 9,800 that is also allocated. So

[7:28] other money I know there was a budget

[7:30] that was submitted however there's no

[7:34] work that I understand that really get

[7:37] done to hire young people.

[7:43] So Mr. So yeah, so it seems that there

[7:46] so we wouldn't be abandoned. This is

[7:48] money that talked about during the

[7:50] budget period. What I was saying and I

[7:52] asked for the council, I said the first

[7:55] money that we bring back from the Arbor

[7:59] should be going to our youth services

[8:01] line. This is that pot of money and it's

[8:04] in complete alignment with our youth

[8:07] services that you see here. So I don't I

[8:14] Well, I have to say that I still feel

[8:16] very strongly that um I feel like that

[8:19] we really need to be thinking about all

[8:21] of these leagues. Um not just one partic

[8:24] not just singling out one particular

[8:26] league. We got another request since our

[8:28] meeting last week from our youth hockey

[8:31] um league. Uh also now that they're

[8:34] feeling that the conversation has been

[8:36] open that they also are asking for

[8:38] money. Um, my guess is if other leagues

[8:42] knew about that, they too would come

[8:44] forward. I myself would like to see us

[8:46] have a conversation with our parks

[8:47] director and consider funding um con

[8:51] consider whether we want to fund youth

[8:53] sports as part of our 2026 budget. But

[8:57] right now with this budget, I I just

[8:59] feel like it's not really to me it's not

[9:01] fair to be signaling out one one league

[9:05] um in particular, Mr. Far.

[9:08] So again, the way that you're framing

[9:10] that is a little problematic for me. We

[9:13] didn't single anyone out and any youth

[9:16] program has the same opportunity to come

[9:19] forth and request support the way that

[9:21] Belmont did. So we're not singling them

[9:24] out. They're not getting any special

[9:25] treatment or have any special access

[9:27] that any other youth program does not

[9:29] have in the city. What's concerning to

[9:32] me is that now it's being framed that

[9:34] way almost in a way to almost pit

[9:36] programs against each other. And I don't

[9:38] want to do that. I'm actually I'm not

[9:39] going to I'm not going to be a part of

[9:41] that. But what I will say is we have

[9:43] funded our youth service line advocately

[9:46] when I did everything but beg to do so

[9:50] in order to fund this line so our kids

[9:52] and the community can get what they

[9:53] need. We wouldn't even be having this

[9:55] conversation. But being that we failed

[9:57] to act

[9:58] then, I can't accept that as an excuse

[10:01] to fail to act now. The money is there.

[10:04] Belmont has come

[10:05] forward with a request. We need to

[10:07] answer the request. And the thing is, we

[10:10] cannot say we support youth and youth

[10:11] programs. And then when someone does

[10:13] what any other youth program could do,

[10:15] then we say, well, I think everyone

[10:17] should have an opportunity. They did

[10:19] have an opportunity. And they do. And if

[10:20] you take and if you and if you follow

[10:23] what or or at least gave some serious

[10:26] consideration to what I brought forth in

[10:28] the beginning, we wouldn't be having

[10:30] this conversation. And last time we were

[10:32] at this table, I believe that there was

[10:34] more there was an expression of support

[10:37] for for this uh legislation to go

[10:39] through and now I'm I'm I'm concerned

[10:41] about where the hesitation is. I'm

[10:43] sorry, Mr. Williams. I'll just say

[10:45] there's also a grand difference between

[10:47] this and what the hockey association was

[10:49] looking at. I don't think has had a

[10:50] chance to reach out to them, but it

[10:52] appears that it's a county resource. Um,

[10:54] and then I perceive that as them trying

[10:57] to understand the increase in their ice

[10:59] time. So, I didn't necessarily see that

[11:01] as a funding request, but more of a can

[11:03] you help us ensure what is the

[11:05] additional ask of what will be normally

[11:07] expended for speeding time due to having

[11:10] college in transitioning arena. I've had a conversation part two with Miss

[11:15] Porterfield where we designated use of

[11:17] the ARP performance to the arena with

[11:20] the specific understanding that there

[11:21] would be a lot of community partnership.

[11:23] So I think that is simply a conversation

[11:25] that we can have but I saw those as two

[11:27] separate asks. I will say up to this

[11:29] point we have not heard other of the

[11:32] youth programs that you're highlighting

[11:34] which I would also like to point out to

[11:37] Mr. Farley's point. Um we have this

[11:40] program in front of us. Um I am all for

[11:43] proceeding uh with their full ask. Um I

[11:46] think if we're going to transition to a

[11:48] conversation of what is your

[11:50] comfortability as the only other member

[11:52] of the finance

[11:54] committee, but I I didn't want to take

[11:57] any of the talk of anyone, but sincerely

[11:59] the program speak for itself. Uh I think

[12:01] these kids deserve it. So,

[12:04] see, I guess the difference is that and

[12:07] I think that all of our teams um have

[12:10] some measure of need, have some measure

[12:13] of um a desire for support from us. Yes,

[12:16] this is the only one that has except for

[12:18] hockey now um that has come forward this

[12:21] year. I think we've in the past had

[12:23] requests from youth soccer which we have

[12:25] denied. Um, I just feel

[12:27] that in the middle of our budget year is

[12:30] not the time for us to be having this

[12:32] conversation.

[12:35] Um, Mr. So, we amend budgets and do and

[12:39] make changes to what we initially scope

[12:41] every time every every year since I've

[12:42] been on the council. There's been some

[12:44] sort of um

[12:46] uh amendment, if you will, to how we're spending money. So, in the

[12:52] thought of what future programs might

[12:54] come forward, if we go by that

[12:57] reasoning, then any programs that we did

[12:59] support um like with uh uh the money

[13:04] over $300,000 to the fields for the

[13:06] Blues any we would just say,

[13:09] well, let's wait to see who else comes

[13:12] forward and then let's wait to see who

[13:14] else comes forward. Belmont's here.

[13:16] they've come forward and it's I mean

[13:17] they quite

[13:20] honestly either we're going to do what

[13:22] we say and be who we say we are we're

[13:24] not Mr. Williams and I would just say to

[13:27] respond uh there are comments in the

[13:29] paper talking about the responsibility

[13:31] of the council I think it would be

[13:32] irresponsible for us to not consider uh

[13:35] this request and it is beyond

[13:38] frustrating to hear that because their

[13:40] problems don't align with how we review

[13:42] our budget that we're not going to

[13:43] consider their needs. I think this very

[13:45] much speaks to a point that I've

[13:46] singularly made of making sure city hall

[13:49] is meeting people at their doorsteps.

[13:52] Oftent times there's a connect between

[13:53] people understanding how the city hall

[13:55] functions and city hall understanding

[13:57] how uh there may be some gaps to move

[13:59] forward with addressing the needs of the

[14:00] community. Uh so I think it is our

[14:02] responsibility as advocates for them,

[14:04] hear them out as they come forward to us

[14:07] and in these types of considerations uh

[14:09] make those concessions. I think on an

[14:11] ongoing basis, yes, I can see the

[14:13] confidence of continuing to make these

[14:15] types of considerations mid budgetary

[14:17] season, but to my point or to my tenure

[14:20] on this, the first time I've heard of

[14:22] such a request and sincerely, I think

[14:24] that there is a bonafide need to respond

[14:27] in time.

[14:30] So, and in terms of the ARPA funds,

[14:32] because that's it seems like what's

[14:34] boiled down to all the other line has

[14:35] been spent that's in the budget, but the

[14:37] ARPA funds that were uh we left under

[14:39] the um control of Cocoa House, but still

[14:42] for youth employment and as has been

[14:45] said, there's still money on that line

[14:46] that's not been expended. I think that's

[14:48] a place that we can look and to make

[14:50] sure because we have a deadline with our

[14:53] we're facing that deadline very quickly.

[14:55] So, in my mind, using this money from

[14:57] that line

[14:59] And as I said to Mr. Farley, I don't

[15:01] know we be able to fund it entirely, but

[15:04] that is the consideration that's being

[15:06] asked and that money is there right now. So I'm not sure why we

[15:10] didn't get the numbers from the um

[15:12] finance commissioner that was asked of

[15:14] him or that no one has seems to have

[15:16] today. But uh in having a conversation

[15:19] with u Miss Carver the director of

[15:21] development in terms of the ARPA funds

[15:24] because she is in control of that there

[15:26] is funding there that cannot been

[15:28] actually allocated to anything out of

[15:31] that $108,000

[15:33] in your conversation with Clint has been

[15:35] allocated hasn't been focused

[15:39] allocated to youth employment. Yes. So,

[15:42] but no specific has been right for any

[15:45] specific folk. That is my question

[15:47] though. Um because we have it allocated

[15:50] to youth employment and it's an awful

[15:53] fund. Um, can

[15:56] we change the designation? What do we

[16:00] need to do to change a designation of an

[16:01] ARPA funding?

[16:04] We have to do a resolution that I mean

[16:07] from what I'm hearing is the council

[16:09] wishes to use that

[16:11] funding and understanding that's grant

[16:14] funding and not a gift. And as such,

[16:16] Coco House would administer the grant as

[16:18] the recipient of the grant that we gave them.

[16:27] But the city still would have some as we

[16:29] do the fall grants. It still has

[16:30] something.

[16:34] Yeah, we're Yes, we we get the money

[16:36] from federal government.

[16:40] They look at us to make sure it's

[16:42] properly administered and our

[16:47] subsal responsible for getting the grant

[16:53] ated and also created a proper audit

[16:56] trail for this kind of money and it's

[16:59] not a gift at this point. No, I think

[17:02] everyone understands it's not a gift and

[17:03] that is a grant funded and the

[17:06] individuals who uh work who run Pop One

[17:09] would have to make sure that we have all

[17:10] the receipts and everything that's

[17:11] needed to do that. I think that's I

[17:13] think resolution indicate

[17:18] that you

[17:21] so number one I don't want to put

[17:25] any extra stipulation

[17:29] um with this program that we wouldn't do

[17:31] it with any with any other program. So I

[17:34] think that we need to be consistent in

[17:36] that way. Um the money is there. The

[17:40] money uh is

[17:41] available. The money will be going to a

[17:44] program that has

[17:47] survived I believe since the 70s in

[17:49] Skenctity with no true institutional

[17:52] support but a huge impact on our

[17:55] community. I'm struggling to see why

[17:58] we're not moving towards at this point.

[18:00] I really am. I think again I know that

[18:03] you've mentioned that you don't want to

[18:04] pit sport against sport, but I think all

[18:08] of our teams have a huge impact on the

[18:11] youth that they're serving. They do. So

[18:13] I think that's argument I'm not really

[18:16] accepting. And then also the fact well

[18:19] that statement the other piece about the

[18:22] fact that we fund that we spent money on

[18:24] our fields. Again I'm going to reiterate

[18:27] that we own those fields. It's our

[18:30] responsibility as a city to be properly

[18:32] maintaining our parks and our fields.

[18:34] This is different as would be any of the

[18:37] teams. I mean, we would be having to

[18:38] make um a considerable change. I guess

[18:42] I'm just saying I don't want to keep

[18:43] hearing about the fields and the money

[18:45] that we're spending on the fields

[18:46] because they're city of Skenctity

[18:49] fields. Uh we own them. Um we don't own

[18:54] GMA poper. So I again I'm just going to

[18:57] discount that as well. I don't know if

[19:00] we can completely discount that because

[19:02] um the way the fields were constructed

[19:05] were specifically working with Blue Jays

[19:07] I believe they're called. So those

[19:09] fields were created and done in such a

[19:11] way that was specific to them. Uh the

[19:14] cricket fields are being specific to

[19:15] cricket because that's what's played

[19:16] there. And I can also point out the fact

[19:18] that many of the members of Blue Jays

[19:21] are a traveling team. So there's a

[19:23] significant amount of players there that

[19:25] aren't actually disconnected res yet. We

[19:27] still did that. So I just want to make

[19:28] sure that that is part of the framing

[19:30] when we talk about I proud of that. I

[19:33] think that young people should have the

[19:35] ability and the opportunity to be able

[19:37] to play sports. It builds character. It

[19:39] does all those things that we don't need

[19:40] to continue to repeat. But I don't want

[19:43] to say that we didn't do something

[19:44] specific to the team when in fact we did

[19:47] and we did to their specifications and

[19:49] that's not a problem. That's what they

[19:51] needed. Do they know what they need? Cuz

[19:52] I don't play so well. Well, yeah. I

[19:55] mean, I think it we probably turn to the

[19:56] expert just like we turn to experts when

[19:58] we are thinking about what we do with

[20:00] our roads and our streets. I mean, we

[20:02] don't have the knowledge to be able to

[20:04] figure that out. We have to have

[20:06] consultants and and the city engineer

[20:09] looks to the partners that he has. Um,

[20:11] but then he's making decisions. What I'm

[20:14] trying to say, they they have input on

[20:16] what it should look like. Okay. Mr.

[20:19] So I think again when um you talk about

[20:22] our those fields of belonging to the

[20:24] city and it's our word you use is

[20:28] responsibility. Um I also believe in

[20:31] fact I know you can disagree that it's

[20:34] our responsibility to provide

[20:37] opportunities and access to

[20:39] opportunities for our youth in the city.

[20:41] It's our responsibility to make sure

[20:43] that we are making the investments that

[20:45] align with the pictures we take and the

[20:47] things we say all the time. Now, here we

[20:50] have a situation where we're able to do

[20:52] that. We're able to meet the need of a

[20:55] program that came

[20:56] forward. When they came forward with

[20:58] their ass, there was no other ask on the

[21:00] table.

[21:01] So for us to almost penalize them for

[21:05] stepping up and saying, "Hey, our kids

[21:06] in our community need some support here

[21:09] to me is just it it it's unfound." I

[21:11] just I don't understand that. Mr.

[21:13] Williams. And I think all this needs to

[21:15] be taken into context because just

[21:17] challenging myself and my own biases

[21:19] when we had the discussion about the

[21:20] irrigation system with the golf course.

[21:23] I initially was opposed to it not based

[21:26] on its need based on a lot of $3 million

[21:29] funding to that singular project. I can

[21:31] guarantee you everyone in this room does

[21:33] not golf. That is not an assumption.

[21:35] That is me just putting it out there.

[21:38] Now I would say at at this standpoint

[21:40] it's understanding how do we ensure that

[21:43] under considerations if we look at it

[21:45] statistically it is not close but

[21:48] sincerely how do we look at the need and

[21:50] addressing the the interest of everyone

[21:53] of our community and we're not even

[21:54] talking about equally we're talking

[21:56] about equitably and as of right now this

[21:58] is the

[21:59] request Mr.

[22:01] F not trying to put you on the spot here

[22:03] but I heard from everybody except Mr. I

[22:05] was trying to get your thoughts on this.

[22:07] Well, I appreciate you bringing it

[22:10] forward and hearing from everyone. I

[22:12] think this um kind of brings a larger

[22:15] issue for us is looking at um our park

[22:19] and Rex director and looking at how do

[22:22] we make this as a long-term plan. We

[22:24] have this asked now and my understanding

[22:27] is we have that money. It's not

[22:29] allocated the 108

[22:32] now. It's not in Cumber. Okay. So, out

[22:36] there allocated but not in Cumber.

[22:41] Um, where is it? How is it allocated?

[22:46] Like what what's the projection for

[22:48] that? There's a little over

[22:52] 108,000 to Cocoa House

[22:56] and Cocoa House has

[23:00] administered we just heard to Belmont

[23:02] that

[23:07] 108,000 is located

[23:11] to house. So my understanding is that

[23:14] the request here is to take it from that

[23:18] link. So yes, it would be administered

[23:21] by Coco House.

[23:24] Does Coco House have that capacity? I

[23:27] can't speak to that,

[23:30] Miss. Well, when we allocated, we knew

[23:32] that they had to have some of them. So

[23:34] they have to because it was for youth

[23:35] employment. So that was going to have to

[23:36] be done. So in this case, excuse me.

[23:40] what I'm understanding and looking at

[23:41] the budget um some of it is purchasing

[23:45] materials materials uniforms and that

[23:48] kind of thing. So that's like creating

[23:50] invoices and again the city um

[23:53] department of development would make

[23:55] sure that they're doing it

[23:57] properly. So, we all have the budget

[23:59] here.

[24:01] Um, and they're all they're not for the

[24:04] out of state things. They're not asking

[24:05] the additional 30, but it's uniforms,

[24:07] it's cheer uniforms, it's insurance and

[24:09] leave fees. So, it's really just getting

[24:11] those invoices and making sure that

[24:14] they're paying based on on the budget

[24:16] that they they've um presented to

[24:19] us. Madam Chairman, um yes,

[24:23] uh members of the committee have chimed

[24:27] in on this and spoken to this. As of

[24:29] right now, it's 141 against the

[24:31] resolution would fail. Um, as of right

[24:35] now, there's a rule under the city

[24:37] council rules where if you get a

[24:40] co-sponsor for a piece of legislation,

[24:42] if you get a co-sponsor, you get two

[24:44] people, two two council members, they

[24:47] can bring it to the next council meeting

[24:49] or subsequent council meeting. Um, also

[24:53] the rules are that would require

[24:55] unanimous consent. In other words, for

[24:58] example, the resolution were to fail

[25:00] tonight, you could ask for a co a

[25:03] co-sponsor, then that piece of

[25:06] legislation could be as placed on, you

[25:09] know, unanimous consent because it

[25:11] wasn't presented by the deadline last

[25:14] Thursday. So, it's unanimous consent in

[25:17] order for for you all to consider it.

[25:20] That doesn't mean that everybody, you

[25:23] know, if somebody could say, "Okay,

[25:24] let's just deal with this and I don't

[25:26] want to vote for it, but

[25:28] let's doesn't, it just means

[25:31] that it won't be on the consent agenda."

[25:34] In other words, somebody can say, "I

[25:36] want to have a poll vote on this item in

[25:40] order to get couple of procedural

[25:42] things. One is if it fails a committee,

[25:46] the sponsor co-sponsor doesn't need to

[25:48] be a member of the committee. You can

[25:50] get two council members to ask it be

[25:52] placed upon the committee agenda tonight

[25:55] and then for you to consider it tonight

[25:58] meeting upstairs at

[26:00] 7:00, you would require unanimous

[26:02] consent members present.

[26:05] So what I'm saying is at this point, you

[26:07] know, if if if it's if it's going to

[26:10] fail, but if the members want to push

[26:14] the legislation forward for tonight for

[26:17] at least get to the ask for unanimous

[26:19] consent be placed on the agenda when we

[26:22] have to draft a

[26:24] draft resolution. So that I'm just for

[26:27] time

[26:28] purposes. Mr.

[26:31] So thank you for that. I I

[26:34] I'm not sure that it would fail based on

[26:38] previous conversations that have

[26:39] happened. I respect the fact that you're

[26:41] asking questions. We all need to make

[26:43] informed decisions. Um but again, this

[26:46] is money earmarked for uh to support our

[26:49] youth. We have one of the longest

[26:52] standing uh youth serving agencies in

[26:54] the city of Skenctity um with strong

[26:57] demonstration of grassroots effort.

[26:59] they've been surviving and and and and

[27:02] doing things, you know, uh existing in a

[27:04] space with zero to no institutional

[27:07] support. So now we're in now we have an

[27:09] opportunity to make sure that we support

[27:12] them. So I don't again and I believe and

[27:14] I don't want to speak for you um but I

[27:16] believe in our our previous council

[27:18] meetings that this um had your support

[27:22] and I'm sure that in previous council

[27:24] meeting that you said it had your

[27:26] support as well, Mr.

[27:28] So, I'm trying to figure out now. I

[27:30] don't know if we just ask some questions

[27:32] or are you saying that you're voting

[27:34] against this? I'm just trying to get

[27:35] what your position is and be clear about

[27:37] that now. Well, I mean, I really have

[27:38] put a lot of thought into this um over

[27:41] the last week, and I really feel

[27:43] strongly that if we're going to include

[27:46] this type of activity in our budget, um

[27:48] that we should be thinking about how we

[27:51] support all of our I mean, again, as

[27:53] chair of health and recreation, I think

[27:55] it's important for us to be thinking

[27:56] about if we're going to do this at all

[27:58] with any of our teams, um how do we, you

[28:02] know, do it so that we can support beach

[28:04] recreation in general the same way that

[28:07] we're supporting youth employment. Um,

[28:10] so that's sort of my position and what

[28:12] I've been thinking about, I think, in

[28:13] terms of, you know, really being

[28:17] stewards for the for the money and, you

[28:19] know, for our for our city's finances.

[28:22] um knowing you know what's going to be

[28:24] coming

[28:24] ahead you know I'm just I just feel I'm

[28:28] not even sure you know where we should

[28:30] end up on any of this um in terms of how

[28:32] it compares to our infrastructure how it

[28:35] compares to other things other needs of

[28:37] the city um knowing that as you said I

[28:41] think last week you know we had to

[28:43] increase our our our fees for trash

[28:46] collection we you know had to increase

[28:47] our water fees we had to increase our

[28:49] sewer fees I think all of that's going

[28:51] to be worse in the next year's budget.

[28:53] What I'm coming to the table with after

[28:55] thinking about this for the last week is

[28:57] should we be considering and I know I'm

[29:01] stepping ahead here but in our 2026

[29:04] budget how do we think about youth

[29:07] programs? And I also just want to say

[29:09] that I you know Mr. Barrett's meeting is

[29:11] still uh underway uh so I'm not sure

[29:13] he's going to make it uh tonight. So the money that we're talking about about

[29:19] right now is here now. You're talking

[29:22] about in the future and I understand

[29:24] that. But this money or spending this

[29:26] money will have no uh impact to our

[29:30] budget as it stands right now as the

[29:32] money has already been allocated to

[29:34] support the program. So So the things

[29:36] that you brought up though are are are

[29:40] very good points, but they're completely

[29:41] irrelevant to to the issue that's on the

[29:43] table right now. So we are able to um

[29:46] allocate this funding to this youth

[29:48] program right now as it stands without

[29:50] it making any difference to the budget

[29:52] as it exists now and you still have the

[29:55] time and the consideration to make

[29:57] moving forward around what it can look

[29:59] like for all our programs. So I'm

[30:02] starting to hear the

[30:04] different reasons as why not. And it

[30:06] almost feels like we're fighting to find

[30:08] reasons why we can't do it when it's the

[30:12] money's here right now and it doesn't

[30:14] impact us. Uh what our next year's

[30:18] budget Mr. May but I submit to the

[30:22] council for your consideration school

[30:25] move down a path that provides some

[30:28] support to do it. Uh it's an

[30:31] organization that's for 50 years gotten

[30:35] by with community support. All of a

[30:37] sudden this year saying there's no

[30:39] community support. I didn't say that. I

[30:42] just looking for the total amount to

[30:44] come from the city. So what you just

[30:48] talk go through it. Sorry Mr. May

[30:50] apologize.

[30:52] Uh let's look to see what they would be

[30:56] able to raise on their own and put

[30:59] something together to support that to

[31:02] allow still to be a uh first

[31:06] class uh organization that goes forward

[31:10] because a year from now if we give them

[31:12] everything that takes the

[31:15] uh fundraising mechanisms that they have

[31:18] been using it creates a gap people

[31:21] sometimes won't you know if you give to

[31:24] an organization every year you that just

[31:26] becomes part of the business plan for

[31:29] businesses for other

[31:31] organizations if you fund it and they

[31:34] don't have to ask for

[31:36] it a year from now I'll tell you we're

[31:39] going to be in a much more difficult

[31:41] budget process just you know the ARPA

[31:43] money here has roughly $6 million

[31:47] uh is the hole we're starting off with

[31:50] and then so we then take some numbers,

[31:54] see what they can raise realistically,

[31:56] come back and take a number that fills

[32:00] the gap and allows them to maintain

[32:02] their program at a level that they have

[32:04] in the past. He's part um I understand

[32:08] that. I'd like to propose that we um

[32:10] approach it differently though because

[32:11] we've done this with other

[32:12] organizations. I'd like to propose that

[32:14] we give a specific amount. I'll just say

[32:16] one thing you at least have and then

[32:19] we've asked other organizations to if we

[32:21] will allocate this and then you have to

[32:22] have matching funds. So let's give a

[32:24] number so that to say we will allocate

[32:27] this much and then you have to have

[32:28] matching funds and that way we can do

[32:30] that tonight and then say in order to

[32:32] get this you need to have matching funds

[32:34] and then they have an opportunity to um

[32:37] already go out there and get it. They

[32:38] know that the city has made this

[32:39] investment and they can kind of use it

[32:40] to say the city has invested this amount

[32:42] of money and would you now need this is

[32:44] the number we need to get to and are you

[32:46] willing to help us get there. So I would

[32:48] propose it be handled with that that

[32:52] yes I wouldn't disagree with everything

[32:55] that the mayor entirely said but I would

[32:57] say in its

[33:00] uh in its framework isn't that in

[33:04] essence what the community development

[33:05] block grant does like annual repeat

[33:08] funding to the same organizations year

[33:11] in year out and I would say based on

[33:14] that concept I would say if we are then

[33:18] holding this organization to that

[33:20] standard. Then we replicate across

[33:22] entire operations across the city for

[33:25] your various points. So I can respond to

[33:28] that because for my career as a

[33:31] fundraiser um I pretty much every year

[33:34] applied for a CDBG grant and they're

[33:37] very competitive and you don't always

[33:39] get them. Um the same organizations

[33:42] don't get them. There's a whole

[33:43] selection process. Anybody can apply for

[33:45] it. Well, I mean, I shouldn't say that.

[33:48] Um, you have to be a 501c3. You have to

[33:50] fit within the parameters of the CDPG

[33:53] grant program. Um, but the same

[33:56] organizations are not funded every

[33:58] single year. It also people have to keep

[34:00] in mind that it's a competitive grant

[34:02] program. It's not automatically awarded.

[34:05] Um probably I probably got rejected uh

[34:09] many more times than I got funding from

[34:12] CDBG um at my various uh workplaces uh

[34:16] whenever I applied. So I just want to

[34:17] you know make sure people are well aware

[34:19] of that.

[34:21] So let me just I want to add a level of

[34:23] clarity. There are some organizations

[34:25] who consistently over the years and the

[34:26] records will show that they've always

[34:28] there may been some organizations that

[34:29] maybe they were new maybe whatever

[34:31] number of reasons but to Mr. Wayne's

[34:33] point there have been there has been a

[34:34] level of consistency actually it's come

[34:37] into question that we're consistently

[34:39] funding these organizations like if we

[34:41] always give them they're never going to

[34:42] have so there has been a level of

[34:44] consistency when we funded the same

[34:46] organizations over and over again I% and

[34:50] so um I agree with Williams that that

[34:52] maybe next year I'll learn uh should

[34:55] look at CDBG funds but right now we're

[34:57] looking at the ARP funds which have a

[35:00] deadline they you know have an

[35:01] expiration

[35:02] And again, we could if we can't do the

[35:05] entire thing, we could come to this

[35:07] level of compromise where we're saying

[35:09] this is what we can do and then then ask

[35:11] for matching funds.

[35:14] Did you have your hand up? Oh. Oh, I'm

[35:17] sorry.

[35:18] I generally agree with everything

[35:20] everybody's saying, but should also be

[35:24] cognizant of some of the changes in

[35:26] Washington. If anybody at this table can

[35:28] predict what's going to happen, you

[35:30] shouldn't be at this table. You should

[35:32] be on the national news service

[35:35] guiding the country. But if council

[35:38] president's outlined if you want to pick

[35:40] a number

[35:41] of 50% or 20,000 or

[35:46] 22,000 something of that level, make it

[35:49] work.

[35:52] Mr. Farley, Mr. Williams, and I keep

[35:54] thinking you have your ar your hand up,

[35:55] but I guess you don't. You do? Yeah.

[35:57] Okay. No, I'm just Do we I'm still stuck

[36:01] on the

[36:03] um the the money. Is it possible some of

[36:06] that can be covered and allocated? But

[36:08] do we know if if there's been any um

[36:12] programmatic advantage as there are some

[36:14] restrictions on stuff and some of it's

[36:16] to go through what the

[36:20] actual expenditures they're looking to

[36:23] do.

[36:25] Mhm. Sometimes looking at

[36:28] the clips on the list today, there are

[36:31] sometimes like uniforms or helmets or

[36:34] other things that they might buy. I

[36:38] haven't looked into this, but there may

[36:40] be some things where the city has

[36:43] opportunity through state contracts that

[36:45] we could buy those cheaper. So, we

[36:47] wouldn't give them the money, just buy

[36:49] the helmets and give it to them. And so

[36:51] there would be a little bit more

[36:53] negotiations of trying to manage the

[36:55] best value for the outcome of the things

[36:58] that they're attempting to achieve.

[37:03] Yes. I'm I'm sorry. Oh, are you Mr.

[37:06] Crowley? So Mil's not asking us to um

[37:11] fully fund them. That's not that's not

[37:13] what the request. Um the request what

[37:15] they're the requested amount would get

[37:17] them through this season. Um, and they

[37:20] would still have to fund raise and do

[37:22] the hard work that they've been doing, I

[37:24] don't know, for the last 50 years. I'm

[37:25] sure that's not going to change um, in

[37:27] order to um, get them through like the

[37:30] postseason if they get to the Super

[37:31] Bowl, which they have, I think it was

[37:33] like three out of the last five years.

[37:34] I'm not sure about that, but I know. And

[37:36] how I know is because every time they

[37:38] make the Super Bowl, we bring them down

[37:39] here and we smile and cheer for them and

[37:40] take pictures with them again. So what

[37:42] I'm saying is that right now

[37:45] uh the ask would uh help them through the season until they um win uh

[37:52] the and get enough wins and go on to the

[37:54] postseason which I have confidence that

[37:56] uh they'll be able to do that. Um but um

[38:01] it's not asked and again they hadn't

[38:03] come to us with a request uh prior to

[38:07] this because they've been working so

[38:09] extremely hard to provide these young

[38:12] men and women in our community the

[38:13] protective factors that they um that

[38:15] they supply. You know, I was just on at

[38:18] uh the uh YMCA over the weekend where

[38:21] the lieutenant governor was speaking. Um

[38:24] he's a Belmont uh alumni. Uh the

[38:28] executive director is also a Belmont

[38:31] alumni and it got me to thinking about

[38:34] all of the people that have uh raised in

[38:37] this community that has gone on to do

[38:39] some pretty substantial things and you

[38:41] know Belmont is a part of that pedigree.

[38:44] Um, so outside of the 50-year track

[38:47] record, which I, you know, I I think

[38:49] speaks for itself, I think supporting

[38:51] them that money will be in good hands

[38:53] and put to good use. I think they've

[38:54] already proven that with their actions

[38:56] more so than what uh what we're talking

[38:59] about, Miss Porterfield and Mr.

[39:00] Williams. Okay. I just wanted to bring a

[39:02] time to attention to that we had a 7

[39:04] o'clock meeting. So when we have a

[39:06] resolution to this meeting, we have

[39:07] probably about 15 more minutes to make

[39:09] that happen. Thank you, Mr. Williams. Uh

[39:12] so sincerely I was here ready to fully

[39:14] meet the uh requested amount for their

[39:16] regular season seems as though that is

[39:19] not something that we're going to

[39:20] consider. Um it's put out 50%. Is there

[39:25] a number that we work with with um us uh

[39:30] us having a motion on that allows for

[39:33] there to be additional funds in the

[39:36] intent that we hear from other programs.

[39:39] And I say that in a caution of I still

[39:43] want to have this conversation if we

[39:45] hear from no other program because I

[39:47] still heartfully feel that we should

[39:49] fully meet their ask. I would be happy

[39:52] to um I would be willing to uh look at a

[39:55] different number. I do you know I think

[39:58] that you all know that I since we have

[40:00] so many people here who don't know me um

[40:03] they probably know I think they know

[40:05] you. Um, I just need to say that I

[40:08] really have to say that yes, we have

[40:12] photo opportunities uh when we bring

[40:14] people here, but I find it insulting

[40:16] that you're acting like that's the only

[40:18] reason that we do it. And I need people

[40:20] that don't know me to know that uh and

[40:23] I'm speaking personally here, not

[40:24] necessarily my city council hat on, but

[40:27] I do do a lot of work in this community

[40:29] for youth and for other folks in this

[40:31] community. So, I just have to honestly

[40:34] say that it it is somewhat insulting for

[40:37] you to say that we do things just for

[40:40] photo opportunities. Excuse me. Excuse.

[40:43] So, so I just I just really needed you

[40:46] know that I I tend to be let's

[40:48] all the conversation please to the I

[40:51] needed to confront and but but I have to

[40:54] say this he sent it to everybody in the

[40:55] council so everybody could have felt

[40:57] that way but you know

[40:59] I was the person that did do the

[41:00] resolution for the Belmont children when

[41:03] they went so I was taking it a little

[41:05] personally. Let's redirect the

[41:06] conversation please to whether or not

[41:09] funding that we're going to have. We are

[41:10] time limited so we have to do that. And

[41:14] so Mr. um I'm sorry it's your it's your

[41:16] committee Mr. O'Brien has his hand up. I

[41:18] would just say if if one if one of the

[41:20] members of the comm Mr. Williams is the

[41:23] member wishes to make a motion for an

[41:26] amount um to authorize Cocoa House to

[41:30] disperse previously allocated ARPA funds

[41:32] up to a figure. I don't know what that

[41:35] number is. the Belmont Pop Warner

[41:37] football program upon the presentation

[41:39] of documented budgeting requests for

[41:41] uniforms equipment

[41:43] transportation participant registration

[41:46] fees by the Belmont pop football program

[41:49] to the cocoa house that's dealing with

[41:54] it's just put the number in I think

[41:55] that's encapsulating everything also

[41:57] it's grant money we have to be make sure

[41:59] there's a paper audit trail

[42:02] so and substance That's what I'm hearing

[42:07] is a motion. It's a it's a it's a figure

[42:11] a number for me to put in there.

[42:15] Mr. The question is what do you feel

[42:16] comfortable because my number would be

[42:18] 47,000.

[42:19] Oh yeah. Hence what number figure I

[42:22] think that we were I think was it Miss

[42:24] Porterfield or the mayor um were

[42:26] suggesting a compromise perhaps of half

[42:28] FEMA. Did you just say that? I I did say

[42:31] 50% but I rounded it up to 25,000 in my

[42:34] head.

[42:35] So, is that a number that you'd be

[42:36] comfortable with? Mr. Fley,

[42:40] I want to be clear that I definitely

[42:43] like to see um the funded and filled,

[42:46] but also part of our job here is to make

[42:48] concessions and and work with each other

[42:51] to do what we think is best um for the

[42:53] community. And if that's a number that

[42:55] you would uh that you're comfortable

[42:57] with, um then I would support that if we

[43:00] could move that out.

[43:03] So with this whole conversation in mind,

[43:05] I would like to make a motion that we

[43:08] everything you just said.

[43:10] Could you repeat it for us?

[43:17] But you said to put a little flexibility

[43:19] in there because there's still accounts

[43:21] where you may be able to nickel and

[43:23] dime,000

[43:25] bucks, 500 bucks.

[43:29] So just a lot of part get mad at me for

[43:33] that. So just to be clear, are we saying

[43:35] 25,000 here? But there's other accounts

[43:36] of other places that you could

[43:39] if you're taking it. So I had sent the

[43:42] message

[43:44] to Willis who said nobody has talked to

[43:48] him. So Mark had to have a conversation

[43:51] with him and we're taking the whole

[43:54] amount of money from him. he might not

[43:56] be happy with it. So if I nickel and

[44:00] dime other accounts

[44:03] to minimize that and I'm not saying

[44:06] there's money sitting

[44:08] around huge amounts

[44:11] but just a little flexibility in order

[44:15] up to so in other words up to in other

[44:17] words if there's other funding sources

[44:20] there'll be flex flexibility from other

[44:22] funding sources up to

[44:25] So there's there's a firm figure, but

[44:28] it's up to here. So as the mayor just

[44:30] indicated, there could be other sources

[44:34] of that. So

[44:38] go ahead. Well, I was just

[44:41] So was there a plan still for Cocoa

[44:44] House to be using the money? I don't

[44:47] know. Oh, okay. I misunderstood what you

[44:50] were saying. So I'll speak to that. So

[44:53] if we did say summer employment, it is

[44:55] June 9th and so I would thought by now

[44:59] we would be hearing what that is going

[45:00] to look like and to my knowledge we have

[45:02] not heard that and so uh I don't first

[45:05] of all it's it's it's actually city

[45:07] money. We just asked Coco House to

[45:09] administer it. So it is city money. Uh

[45:12] so I don't um want to make sure that

[45:15] we're doing our due diligence and

[45:16] spending the money first and foremost

[45:18] and we're doing it. We I know they're

[45:20] saying is employment but you see the

[45:22] level of flexibility. We're we're still

[45:24] making sure that we are supporting young

[45:25] people in our community and in terms of

[45:28] the amount I say up to 25,000 and um

[45:32] that's not taking the whole 47 that was

[45:34] the ask um from from this organization

[45:37] um doing a summer youth program and and

[45:40] still an opportunity to do the summer

[45:42] youth program. In addition to that, in

[45:43] the past that that particular program

[45:45] has used summer youth from the county as

[45:49] well. So we could look at all the

[45:50] different ways to make sure they're

[45:52] still supporting their summer employment

[45:54] with some of this funding as well as the

[45:56] funding that um the employees the young

[45:59] people that they're getting employed

[46:00] through the county.

[46:02] Mr.

[46:03] So, this money that uh that we're

[46:06] talking about um is part of the money

[46:10] from the legislation that I brought

[46:12] forth um to to fund to make sure that uh

[46:15] the Cocoa House uh got the funding and

[46:18] support that they needed. Um so, the

[46:20] last thing that will do is allow us to

[46:22] turn into something that we're taking

[46:24] from one organization's ability to serve

[46:26] youth. the money that was came back into

[46:29] the city um from the Cocoa House was

[46:31] money that they were unable to spend um

[46:35] within the required deadline. So I

[46:37] advocated for that money to still serve

[46:41] the same purpose, the ultimate purpose,

[46:43] which would be serving the youth of said

[46:45] community. So I think that's a really

[46:47] important distinction to make and it's

[46:48] something that that uh I just want to

[46:50] make sure that we put on record. we're

[46:51] not taking from this organization um

[46:55] with their capacity uh to serve the

[46:57] youth. Um I see this as very uh close

[46:59] alignment. And again, moving forward, I

[47:02] would just think that we would um talk

[47:04] about funding our youth services budget

[47:06] line. Um I asked for it to be up to

[47:09] 300,000 this year. It was only

[47:11] $150,000. And maybe this will be a good

[47:13] point of reflection for us moving

[47:14] forward to make sure that we don't have

[47:16] to make those type of distinctions. Mr.

[47:18] And just my closing statement because I

[47:20] do believe that there is a motion on the

[47:21] table. I would say if the youth of the

[47:23] community are benefiting, who should it

[47:26] truly matter where that money comes

[47:28] from? We're all destined to be here to

[47:30] improve at least in this setting uh the

[47:33] quality of life and living conditions

[47:34] for them. We're able to do that through

[47:37] any means or mechanism that is within

[47:39] our I feel personally responsible to do

[47:42] that. But sincerely, I believe there is

[47:44] a motion. Yes. Um I'll end the whole

[47:46] resolution. I'm going to read the

[47:47] resolution to the council here. So

[47:49] unless it gets printed

[47:51] up says, "Whereas the city council has

[47:53] reviewed the financial needs of the

[47:55] successful youth recreational activities

[47:57] of the Belmont Pop

[47:59] Warner football program and whereas the

[48:01] city council finds that a grant

[48:03] allocating funds to the grant to the

[48:04] Belmont Pop Warner football program to

[48:07] assist with the cost of uniforms,

[48:08] equipment, transportation, registration

[48:10] fees in keeping with the public purposes

[48:13] in the legislative intent of the 2025

[48:15] operating budget for allocation for

[48:17] youth and recreational

[48:19] activities. And now therefore being

[48:21] resolved, the city council does hereby

[48:23] authorize Cocoa House to disperse

[48:24] previously allocated federal ARPA grant

[48:27] funding up to

[48:28] $25,000 to the Belmont Pop Warner

[48:31] football program upon the presentation

[48:33] of documented budget requests for

[48:35] uniforms, equipment, transportation, and

[48:37] particip participant registration fees

[48:39] by the Belmont Pop Warner football

[48:41] program to Coco

[48:44] House. Is everybody okay with that

[48:46] language?

[48:48] Oh, sorry that you were raising your

[48:50] hand. You raising your hand. Okay. Um,

[48:55] the motion needs a second. Oh, second.

[48:58] In favor.

[49:00] You have to call.

[49:02] Sorry, I'm I'm not usually in the role

[49:04] as chair of this committee, but um, all

[49:07] in favor? I I and Madame President, just

[49:10] to save time this because we have to

[49:12] draft this. Does the council have an

[49:14] endless consent to put this piece of

[49:15] legislation on Kent agenda tonight?

[49:18] Well, we have it on for unanimous

[49:19] consent, but we didn't know if it's

[49:21] going to happen, but we were prepared,

[49:22] right? It's on there for unanimous

[49:24] consent. And uh so we're we don't have

[49:27] Are you going to be able to type that

[49:28] up? I have to you have to go type that

[49:31] up. Okay. But it is on the listed on the

[49:33] agenda in anticipation that would happen

[49:35] and if when things don't move forward on

[49:38] the agenda we can always remove it but

[49:40] thankfully we won't have to do that

[49:41] tonight. Okay. Thank you.

[49:45] So I ask for a motion to Is there

[49:47] anything else that needs to come before

[49:48] the finance committee? Okay. Um then I

[49:51] ask for a motion second. All in favor?

[49:54] Thank you. We have nine

[49:59] minutes. How

[50:14] do you

[50:24] feel good?

Schenectady City Council Finance Committee Meeting 06 09 25

Transcript