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Each of which brings changes and challenges to our world. Winter with its darker nights and shorter days in colder temperatures has given us the time to plan for the next season.

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We all look forward to anticipation to spring's arrival with its continual renewal, refreshing, refreshing and restoration.

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Creator, we ask that you guide us with wisdom and good teaching.

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If there are differences of opinion, please help us act in the mood, in the most courteous and respectful way.

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Please help to restore peace around the world so that our children will have the promise of a future.

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Please watch over those that put themselves in harm's way in order to protect and serve our city.

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All this we ask in your

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name.

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Burton.

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Separately.

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Cook.

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Fagre.

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Farrell.

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Excuse.

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Gianola.

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Hoss.

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Hoover.

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Jenkins.

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Jones.

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Curves.

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Keane.

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Monardi.

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Moore.

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Overstreet.

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Pepper.

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Far.

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Robinson.

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Rubio.

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Selango.

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It's not grass, Solomon, steel hammer, Taylor, Mayor Goodwin.

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President, the clerk will please read the journal, Madam President.

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I just mentioned on four respects with reading of journal hearing,

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the same note of Jackson's read and journal sounds spent with.

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We have several public speakers this evening, our first public speaker.

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She had Alessad.

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I don't know what was worse.

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The false dangerous and flammatory and divisive

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saliliquies that were spoken against a Charleston community

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on February 5th, or the silence they were met with

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from the rest of Council.

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For example, when Mr. Moore asked where we are,

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Mr. Taylor and Mayor Goodwin, why didn't you answer his question?

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You were in our houses during your campaign years.

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On February 4th, Mr. Moore, you stated,

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they never came with any plan, they never came and talked to us.

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Mr. Moore, we asked you to meet with us in our remarks

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of the December 18th and again at the January 3rd meeting, we have also emailed you numerous

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times to discuss with no reply. Mr. Moore also stated, I wish these same people would

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come and help us with the city issues of Charleston. We are not for what aboutisms. That

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is a circular argument and of course we don't care only about Resa. All lives matter all the

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time. And to member Fagerie, keep those same remarks about how you are not a U.N. member

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the next time mayor good when meets with a delicate from Israel about a global issue. The issue

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If humanity does not have a city limit, and the mayor's meeting with the Israeli delicate shows

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she is aligned with that when she met with him about anti-Semitism, you also said our efforts

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were a campaign for Hamas, yet the resolution condemns Hamas, and calls for a ceasefire,

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which by the words definition is a two-way stop sign for Israel and Hamas.

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Council members, you do not get to be frustrated or scared when you do not respond to our

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emails, do not take our meeting request, and do not respond when we say we're willing to edit

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the proposed resolution.

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You do not get to present us with zero opportunities,

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unless we attend these meetings,

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then rant about how this forum is inappropriate,

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or that we've not made any effort.

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Your frustrations are caused by your own actions,

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not for our lack of trying and not for our lack of good faith.

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Lastly, Mr. Moore, you stated they are numerous occasions.

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I'll paraphrase what is on this sign.

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They do not participate in anything we do.

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Their kids don't play our sports.

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Who is they?

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I'll answer that for you.

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They are us. They are your constituents. They are the people you serve and the people who put you in the seat using their voices for a humanitarian play

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Where are they? They are working in Charleston hospitals?

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They are government state employees for us Virginia. They are Charleston teachers. I would I would be

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Remest to not gift I will end this and I would not I would be Remest to not give thanks to member steel hammer

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Solomon over street current

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It's not grad Berke and Feral.

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We really appreciate you seven lending and air to humanity.

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Thank you.

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Thank you so much.

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Our next, thank you.

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Our next public speaker, Morgan Feller.

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I'm sure a lot of you are glad I'm not here to talk about a ceasefire resolution tonight.

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But don't breathe your sigh of relief just yet because I am here to talk about the absurdity that happened on this floor two weeks ago.

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I think we can all agree.

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house due to the words that she had just quoted to you sound when you say them out loud.

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Elected officials are the people that we trusted to represent our diverse and loving community.

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When we're tossing around phrases like they and those people as if we've regressed to a

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century into the Jim Crow era, it's really divisive and hurtful. It's 2024 and this body took us

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on a backward journey with racially charged bigoted language that was so insanely inappropriate

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that I can't even believe the mayor of Charlottesville had it to go on on this floor.

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For anyone, especially elected representatives, to spew such nonsense in a downright insane way,

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referring to a group of people as they and those people is not only absurd, it's intolerant and appropriate,

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and given the context wildly as long a phobic.

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We're not living in a time where we tolerate hate-filled language within our civic government or anywhere for that matter.

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We know better.

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Well, at least I hope we do.

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My parents taught me at a very young age that basic decency is not optional,

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And so I'm looking at some of you right now wondering who raised you and how you've

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made it this far into this level of government with this mindset.

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Yet here we are, forced to spend another Tuesday night at Cindy Hall, defending our community

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against the lives and disrespect propagated by those elected to represent us in this

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body.

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And I'm not just standing up here defending myself for the Muslim community, but also for

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my child who sits in the gallery behind me who should not have to witness her community being

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demeaned by the very people that are meant to lead and protect it.

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To weeks ago, this body sat silent as members made a mockery of an entire community of people,

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scouting idiotic and insensitive language without reprimand by anybody in the leadership of this body.

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Members of this body claim that we don't live among them that we don't participate in their communities.

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They aligned us with a radical terrorist group and simulated that we are a dangerous national campaign.

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Reduce us today and those people. This is honestly the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard to sit

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up here and say that we don't live. We don't participate and we aren't a part of your communities.

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We don't care about kids going hungry. Are we honestly being serious right now?

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Imagine the fallout of this language if it was used against any other group, this is not a political indifference.

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This is a failure of basic decency and racial intolerant language.

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But here we are teaching a lesson of basic respect and D.I. and 90 seconds to our elected officials that are in this city.

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Before I came here tonight, I attempted to make a list of all the daily efforts that people in this community do every day to make this community a better place.

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But I didn't feel like as a humble group of people that I should stand here and list them.

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you all have them when you're desk. The things that about the people in this chamber are ridiculous

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and it seems like it almost could be funny. It's not. I love my city. I love this place

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I've called home for 28 years. Thank you. But tonight I'm truly disgusted. Thank you.

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Thank you so much. Our next public speaker, Howard Swing.

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So I wanted to thank you Madam Mayor and Council for the opportunity to speak. I wanted to thank

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you Madam Mayor and your administration for responding to the FOIA request in a timely fashion.

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I hope everyone on council got my email where it showed the Charleston Building Commission

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minutes. We're the bondholder trustee saying that either cure or the Charleston building

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commission or the taxpayers will be responsible for the parking garages over there.

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So that's their position, not mine. It shouldn't be yours either, so please be mine

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for that before we go to the auction. Secondly, I want to follow up on the other email

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that I said about my case before the West Virginia American Water Company in front of the

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see with the West Virginia American Water Company. There are two different types of water

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customers in the system.

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Those who are being swindled, and those who are being swindled worse than the other class.

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And that's true. Why? Because everyone in here has a washing machine, dishwasher, hot water tank.

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The useful life of your equipment is being accelerated very rapidly because of the high pressures that are going into your home.

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Most people, as I didn't know, have no idea what the water pressure is on the lateral coming into their home.

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It wasn't until we had two leaks in front of our house flooding our lawn that I filed this complaint.

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Only to find out that I did not fall under water rule 784.

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Okay, so that's what.

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Oh, oh, that means your pressure is only 135 psi.

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Or three times higher than what it should be for your appliances.

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By the way, if you had a washing machine or dishwasher, everyone in here.

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go bad? Guess what? The warranty from the manufacturer will not apply because they want to know what the water pressure is coming into your home.

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Oh, if you want to follow an insurance claim, forget that too because they're going to want to know the same thing.

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We all, everybody in here is being cheated by the West Virginia American Water Company who has the audacity to blame the public service commission for not regulating them.

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And then to go and have a 50th Anniversary Celebration at their plant and say they're setting

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standards for the whole nation, Bull Crap.

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Thank you so much.

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Our next public speaker, Sophia Wigale.

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Hello Mayor Goodwin and Charleston City Council members.

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My name is Sophia Wigel.

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I'm actually the Charleston Circle Brigada Queen, but I am also the tunnel to towers, Ripley

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five K volunteer race director and so I am here just to spread a little bit of awareness about the foundation.

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The foundation was started to honor first responders and military members and to remember 911.

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Basically what they do is if a first responder military member would die and leave behind a spouse and young children,

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they will pay off their mortgage and the same if they are catastrophically injured,

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they will build them a smart home that is to all of their needs that they are needing and they try to make their life as normal as possible for them.

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So, and they just started this new organization where they are trying to eradicate better in homelessness.

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They believe that veterans in homelessness should never be in the same sentence.

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So, not only are they building hotels to where people can come in and get help with PTSD and have a community around them to support them.

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They also give them skills to send the background to the community and to build a new life for them.

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And also, on top of that, they're trying to work with communities so that if they don't want to be re-glocated, they can go into their community and help them get a home.

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So, basically, R5K raises money for this foundation, and as we are a fundraiser, we need people to donate money, so I am here asking,

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I know I left a fact sheet on all of your all's desks with about the foundation they actually give,

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95 cents on the dollar goes to all of their programs.

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And I just wanted to see if you all be willing to support our run this year,

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actually a little bit about what they do in our community.

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I don't know if you'll remember the state trooper who died last June, but they actually contacted his family and he fell into their in the line of duty program

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And they are currently in the works of paying off his mortgage and they have done many things

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They obviously have guidelines for their programs

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But they have done other things for firefighters here actually from the Charleston fire department where they might not have fallen into the category

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But they have paid money to help their families

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So I just hope you all will consider donating and supporting this great cause

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Thank you. Thank you so much to Pam.

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Our final public speakers, they're coming up together as a group.

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I had the opportunity to meet with them before Council, Tanner, Caleb, and Hattie.

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John Adams students, there are student council. Please come on up to the microphone.

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Hello, City Council members. The John Adams student council has an

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multitude of things in our school this year. One of those being sphere week.

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We all the sphere week for our homecoming football game with many activities.

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We had just of days in a spirit wall.

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We all depending on wars, which raised $628.93 for the canal,

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humane, canal, humane society.

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We also gave a spirit to the great with the most spirit

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which was presented to the seventh grade.

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Here at John Adams, we have held fundraisers selling

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boograms during Halloween and candy cane grams during December.

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These were delivered to students one morning

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and it replenished our funds for further activities.

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During spirit week, our student council had an entire

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for fall sports. We had competitions among classes and we brought out the coaches to introduce all of our fall sport athletes.

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In March, we have an upcoming kindness week. During kindness week, we will have many activities to spread kindness among our staff and students.

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Our John Adams Student Council is going to the City Council, meaning to get a better understanding of how Council serves as people.

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My name is Heidi Ever. I'm the Secretary of John Outers Middle School student council. Our role, our role goes beyond the school walls. As Tanner said, we have done a lot this year.

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We have had a fabulous year so far. We are planning more. We also have discussed plans to buy a new student or a new school mascot costume. After more fundraising activities, we with the spring coming up.

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We also have a lot planned trying to work something in with Easter and before spring break.

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It's a lot of fun getting to help out with and be a part of student council.

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One of my favorite things was when we got to the pep rally run by officers.

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My name is Caleb Thomas and I'm the treacher of Jayce doing council.

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I'm mainly in charge of fundraising and making sure those funds work to support our school and things in our community.

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As I said before, previous fundraisers helped raise over $600 for the Humane Society and

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what I've once today, I hope to use to benefit more in our school and our community.

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Our public speakers tonight, all are important messages we all needed to hear.

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Thank you.

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The clerk will now please read the claims against the city.

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A claim of James A. Fraley, Charleston once Virginia legislature's

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damage to property.

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A claim of Robin G. Hickman, Charleston once Virginia,

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legislature's damage to property.

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A claim of Amber McAlister, Charleston once Virginia

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legislature's damage to property.

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Thank you so much.

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We have a lot of wonderful proclamations.

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We've got two proclamations, a certificate of appreciation,

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but if Council will permit me.

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Today is the birthday of a very, very, very special friend of mine.

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who's been a friend of mine for about six or seven years right now.

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He's here in the audience.

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Marcus, where are you, honey?

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That's my guy.

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Come on up here, Marcus. Come on up here, Marcus.

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Best kid, one of the nicest kids in the entire city of Charleston.

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He's good to everybody.

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Thank you, Marcus, for being such a good young man.

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Mr. Clerk, would you please read the first Proclamation?

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Proclamation, whereas the father of Black History Month, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founded the organization now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in 1915.

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And whereas Dr. Woodson's scholarship writings, while serving as an academic dean at Washington State University, advocated for National Black History Month.

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And since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black

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History Month and called upon Americans to celebrate the observance and whereas Black

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History Month is celebrated annually in February and recognizes the monumental contributions

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of Black Americans throughout our nation's history and whereas Black History Month

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across the country's cultural awareness and understanding serves as a platform to educate people about the struggles and contributions of black Americans provides greater visibility to the people and groups helping to create change and promotes understanding unity and the importance of diversity.

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And whereas this year Black History Month celebrates African Americans and the arts elevating the use of art for preserving history, maintaining the collective knowledge of community.

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and for empowerment, and we're as the contributions of black Americans to the visual and performing arts, literature, music, architecture, culinary, and other forms of artistic expression have been vital to the growth and development of communities, including our capital city.

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And now, therefore, I, Amy Schuler-Goodwin, Mayor of the City of Charleston, do here

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by recognize February 2024 as Black History Month in Charleston, West Virginia, and

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urge all citizens to recognize and celebrate the contributions of African Americans in

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the greater Charleston area.

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In witness where I have set my hand and caused the seal of the Executive Department to be

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There are so many unbelievable people here tonight and organizations.

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I'm going to ask Shantai Ellis, bring everyone up and let's recognize each and every organization that's here tonight.

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Please come forward. Everyone, everyone, come forward.

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Thank you, everyone, for being here tonight.

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We do have an awesome group of individuals here with us celebrating Black History Month in its form of the arts.

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It's still coming, so I'm giving them some time to get here.

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So we have Mr. Woody Woods, our radio DJ personality,

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Laquisha Baron Brown, who's an author, Michelle Foster, an author, Hollis Lewis, Pam Valentine,

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Renee Eccles Hardy, Rachel Saundersar, Jamila Brown, or all authors, Theresa Gallaway, poet,

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The Zenos Espelon chapter is a speech choir.

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Shaloh children's choir and we have 17 representatives from the Shaloh church, Baptist

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Church, Jihari Beren, a musician at South Charleston High School, Lisha Lee, who's a photographer

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for an owner of a shot of leave photography.

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Natasha Harris, then Tyson of photographer as well.

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Natasha of Natasha to Ray photography.

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Chef Kee, gourmet chef, girl scout troupe 104 65.

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Dweedy, Miss Black West Virginia, USA, 20, sorry.

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20, 20, 24, Veronica Clay Bunch, Ms. Black West Virginia, USA, 20, 24, and I am your host Shantay

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Ellis.

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Okay, we're going to get a picture one second.

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Let me get up there.

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Thank you.

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So very much.

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So many wonderful organizations and people with us this evening.

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Okay, you know what?

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We're going to take a 30 second to 60 second break.

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It folks, I understand it's

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It's school nights and everything. Council would be okay just to pause for about 60 seconds, everybody cool with that.

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We're going to pause for 60 seconds, 90 seconds, anybody who wants to leave? No problem.

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Except John Adams. Except John Adams. I have one thing for you. Except you. Except my six separate students.

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Thank

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you so very much.

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Many special people tonight, many special organizations, including one family.

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We'll also honor tonight as well.

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The clerk will now please read the next proclamation.

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Proclamation, whereas a native of Cleveland, Ohio,

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of Steenstra graduated from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a history degree,

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worked in the field of social work, working for drug abuse agencies in New York, and New

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Jersey for several years before moving to West Virginia at the age of 26 to run a coal mining

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operation. And whereas Steenstra would become a grassroots environmental organizer and lobby for

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the betterment of the lives and health of his fellow West Virginians, and we're asked with

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no previous experience working with an environmental group, Stinchdrup pursued a position

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as an environmental justice organizer with the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, where

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he would later serve as Executive Director from 1996 to 2007, and we're asked Stinchdrup

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was the first paid environmental organizer in the state of West Virginia, and in the late 1980s he played a pivotal role in the creation of the West Virginia Environmental Council, a statewide coalition of environmental groups, and whereas establishing a network of recycling centers and hoping past legislation in the 90s that limited the dumping of out-of-state trash in West Virginia and protected our groundwork.

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water, where among steam stress achievements, and whereas,

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steam stress, after retiring from the West Virginia

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citizen action group, became the director of the

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Kanoa County Solid Waste Authority with a focus

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on management of the county's recycling program.

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And whereas, steam stress innovative approach

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to utilizing recycled materials allowed the Kanoa County

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facility to operate at a profit during an economic

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down turn in 2006 to 2008, and now therefore I am a cooler good one, Mayor of the City of

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Charleston, to hear by recognize Norm Steenstra for his leadership on environmental issues,

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his ability to gather folks together and being able to foster collaboration amid diverse

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perspectives. In witnessware of, I have set my hand and caused the seal of the executive

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Department to be a sixth is 20th day of February 20, 24.

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Norm Caret about West Virginia, our land, and her people.

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He committed his entire life to doing that.

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And when Emmett Pepper called to say, we need to memorialize what he's done and celebrate

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his life.

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It was very easy to say yes.

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I know Norm's wife and son and daughter and I've Gary's here and many friends and family

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You'll please come forward and let us say thank you for sharing norms gifts with all of us.

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Thank you so much.

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Mr. Clerk would you please read the certificate of appreciation.

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City of Charleston Executive Office of the Mayor, certificate of appreciation,

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00:36:28,130 --> 00:36:35,910
presented on the 20th day of February 2024 to John Adams Middle School student council.

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In recognition of your attendance at and participation in tonight's Charleston City Council meeting and

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in celebration of your hard work promoting student engagement and representing your peers and

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in honor of your collective commitment to making a positive impact in your school and in our community.

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In witness where up, I have set my hand and caused the seal of the executive department

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to be a fix this 20th day of February 2024.

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Before the council meeting started, I met with them privately in the office.

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They told me about the work that they're doing and things they want to see, the changes

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they want to see, which includes bullying, stopping fighting, connecting with students, improving

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their park and wrecks at their facility and also my very very favorite including kids on their

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worst day and connecting with kids who are having a hard time and they all made a commitment

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by the end of the month they are each going to spend 10 minutes searching out that one student

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that one kid in the cafeteria in the hall who needs an extra helping hand who needs somebody

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just to stand with them. So in recognition of all that you're doing and you're going to do

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Please come forward.

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It's very important.

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Thank you so much.

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Look, Kirk will now please read the committee report and bill number 8028.

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A bill to amend the municipal code of the city of Charleston relating to updating the

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Regulation of Vinders and reports to say in the council with the recommendation that the

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committee report be adopted.

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Yes, Madam Robinson.

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Thank you, Madam Mayor.

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bill number 8028 is amended simply cleans up regulations in the city collector's office regarding

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vendor licenses and permits within the city removes the internet vendor clarifications

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adds clarifications for street event and private property vendors and streamlines vendor

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relations and permitting requirements for the city committee on ordinance and rules moves for your approval.

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Thank you for the discussion on this bill.

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Question is councilmember Jeanola.

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You have a question, sir?

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That's okay.

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00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:02,800
No worries.

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There's a second, I think.

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Yes?

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No worries.

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Floor is now a discussion on the bill.

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Councilmember Jeanola.

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Thank you, Mayor.

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I just want to make sure this regulation will make it easier for small business owners

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and street vendors to, I guess, apply their wares and make a living if they can.

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on street vending, right?

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Councilman, my understanding of the bill,

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it will definitely streamline the process

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and provide a better process for our small businesses.

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And, Council, our city attorneys here

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for technical questions, if you need those.

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My main concern, and I don't know if the city,

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if Kevin was to answer this, is I had some concerns

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about the insurance requirement,

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but I think it's actually, I've been informed

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it's actually a little bit lower or easier to obtain than it was before I guess my question

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is directed to that.

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Yes, so insurance currently, before this bill is passed, any vendor in the city would

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have to provide insurance showing that they have a million dollars worth of coverage, essentially.

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And this will require that only of those who are going to be actively in the public right

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way.

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So if you're at an event, that's a city event, like a festival, regardless of those types

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things you would not have that requirement through the city collector's office anymore if you just operating on private property thinking of like a coffee truck on the parking lot of a grocery store kind of thing you would not need to show that proof here so it does ease those requirements.

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Thank you.

367
00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:42,340
Thank you so much. I thought I saw another hand up. Councilmember Pepper.

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00:41:43,260 --> 00:41:49,060
Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just want to briefly speak in favor of the bill. This is the the hard work of our.

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And this does make it easier as the city attorney, so well stated, so this is the good thing

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to make it easier for people to sell things on the street and not have to go through as much

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regular roll.

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Thank you.

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Thank you so much.

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Councilwoman Kerns.

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Thank you, Madam Mayor.

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I want to speak in favor of this as well.

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A number of my friends of the Charleston area art group dropped out of participating in the art

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walk because of the requirements for them to have a city business license, a street vendors

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permit, the insurance that they were speaking of, paying B&O tax.

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I mean, it went on and on and on.

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And these are folks that do this as a hobby.

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We had to pay the city service fee if we're retired and not working.

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We had to pay the city service fee as well.

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These are folks that often do crafts, part-time in their homes.

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They don't make a lot of money on art walk, so a lot of them dropped out.

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But I will be happy to let them know upon passing of this

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that they're once more welcome to do art walk again in Charleston.

388
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:05,740
Thank you.

389
00:43:05,740 --> 00:43:12,560
Thank you so much. Just for just so folks now, Audrey. I think most folks know you.

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Our small business liaison who literally went door to door. There's Audrey. If you don't know Audrey, she's happy to meet with you.

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After Council next week, next month. If you have any questions or concern, Audrey's done an amazing job.

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Going door to door talking with our small business owners this reason why we created this position to hear directly from our small business owners.

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what their challenges are and that really came to fruition this ordinance change.

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So thank you so much for all of your hard work and director bird.

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Christina Bird is here somewhere as well.

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Thank you director bird for all of your hard work as well.

397
00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,100
Of course the question is on the passage of the bill.

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The clerk will please call the roll.

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00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:53,200
Annie, Bertha, Bertha,

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00:43:53,200 --> 00:44:07,020
And separately, Cook, Fagre, Farrell, Gianola, Haas, Hoover, Jenkins, Jones, Kerns, King,

401
00:44:07,540 --> 00:44:21,020
Minority, Moore, Overstreet, Pepper, Far, Robinson, Rubio, Salango, Snodgrass, Solomon, Steel Hammer,

402
00:44:21,020 --> 00:44:23,680
Taylor, Mayor Goodwin.

403
00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:23,880
Yes.

404
00:44:24,820 --> 00:44:27,740
I'm being a majority of declare bill number 8028 as pass.

405
00:44:27,860 --> 00:44:32,120
The Clerk will help his read the committee report in Resolution 930-24.

406
00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:34,720
Resolution number 930-24.

407
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Authorised in the mayor or city manager to purchase two new 2024 Ford Super Duty F250 trucks

408
00:44:42,540 --> 00:44:49,020
for Spring Hill Cemetery from National Auto Fleet Group in the total amount of $97,000,

409
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:57,000
$636 in 20 cents to replace Spring Hill Cemetery Trucks as part of a budgeted replacement

410
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:59,820
cycle and reports the same to Council with the recommendation.

411
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:01,200
The committee report be adopted.

412
00:45:01,740 --> 00:45:07,160
Thank you, Madam Mayor. This is pretty straightforward. It's a budgeted regular replacement cycle

413
00:45:07,160 --> 00:45:10,680
for these two trucks and their finance committee recommends the approval of the resolution.

414
00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:17,200
Thank you so much for the discussion. On the resolution, question is the adoption of the

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resolution on fear of vote. All opposed, nay, a declared resolution 904 is adopted. I'll just

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00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:31,080
make a quick comment that thank you so much to our superintendent up at Spring Hill. Larry does a great job.

417
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:38,820
It's never looked better. So thanks for being here tonight and to our entire group up there who does diligently work every day.

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00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,000
Clerk will now please read the committee report and resolution 931-24.

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00:45:42,500 --> 00:45:53,040
Resolution number 931-24. Authorised in the mayor city manager to purchase an interactive use of force training simulator from

420
00:45:53,040 --> 00:46:03,560
safeware in the total amount of $616,220 dollars. The purchase is made through a competitive grant fund

421
00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:07,240
and reports it's in the council with recommendation that the committee report be adopted.

422
00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:11,080
That's right. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Through the efforts of our

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00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:17,380
senders, a mansion in capital, they've worked to secure a direct grant of $750,000 a

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00:46:17,380 --> 00:46:24,360
from DOJ. For the purchase of this training simulator, it is a good simulator. I've actually

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00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:29,440
experienced the one that her complete department has and this is an updated version and will

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00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:33,780
be a useful training tool for a police department. Therefore, the findings for many recommends it's approval.

427
00:46:34,540 --> 00:46:36,840
Second. Thank you for the discussion on the resolution.

428
00:46:37,060 --> 00:46:39,970
Question is of course the adoption of the resolution. I'll infer a vote aye.

429
00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:44,680
All powers of vote aye. I declare resolution. I'm 31-24 as adopted.

430
00:46:44,680 --> 00:46:48,680
Clerk will now please read a committee report in Resolution 9-3-2-2-4.

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00:46:48,920 --> 00:46:54,720
Resolution 9-3-2-4, authorizing settlement of pending disputed claims against the city

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00:46:54,720 --> 00:46:59,700
in the matter known as Mary Maddox, V. City of Charleston, and the Circuit Court of

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00:46:59,700 --> 00:47:04,100
Cannell County, West Virginia, as recommended by the city solicitor, and reports to the

434
00:47:04,100 --> 00:47:06,740
same account. So with the recommendation at the committee report, be adopted.

435
00:47:06,860 --> 00:47:07,540
That's remember Jenkins.

436
00:47:08,340 --> 00:47:14,320
Thank you, Madam Mayor. This appears to be a pretty good settlement in terms of the potential

437
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:21,660
liabilities to the city and as explained by the city solicitor and therefore the Finance Committee recommends you approval of the summer.

438
00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:23,240
Thank you.

439
00:47:23,240 --> 00:47:24,880
Thank you for the question on the resolution.

440
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:27,020
Question is the subduction on per vote.

441
00:47:27,980 --> 00:47:28,520
Opposed.

442
00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:31,100
May declare resolution 932-24 is adopted.

443
00:47:31,580 --> 00:47:34,560
Clerk will now please read the committee report and resolution 933-24.

444
00:47:35,260 --> 00:47:37,800
Resolution number 933-24.

445
00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:43,160
That the mayor or city manager is authorized to renew its contract with Incovia Insurance

446
00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:52,260
for workers compensation insurance coverage for a premium of 269,847 dollars and authorizing, leaving

447
00:47:52,260 --> 00:47:59,420
the West Virginia self-insurance system to renew its contract with the U.S.I. Insurance Services

448
00:47:59,420 --> 00:48:06,560
LLC for insurance broker, risk management, and laws control services related to the city's

449
00:48:06,560 --> 00:48:12,420
property liability and workers compensation insurance coverage is for a cost of $75,000

450
00:48:12,420 --> 00:48:20,100
and to renew its contract with the West Virginia County's group self insurance risk pool for third-party

451
00:48:20,100 --> 00:48:25,700
administration services related to legacy claims incurred while the city was self-insured for

452
00:48:25,700 --> 00:48:36,540
workers compensation at a fee not to exceed $20,000 all to be effective from March 31st of

453
00:48:36,540 --> 00:48:40,960
of 2025, and reports have seen the council with the recommendation that the committee report

454
00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:41,600
be adopted.

455
00:48:43,440 --> 00:48:44,500
Thank you, Madam Mayor.

456
00:48:44,780 --> 00:48:49,640
If folks will recall, we had switched over to in COVID last year, instead of being self-insured

457
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:54,060
for workers compensation, this is a renewal of that policy that we had switched over.

458
00:48:55,100 --> 00:49:01,640
It doesn't tell a 2% premium increase, which is fair in our point, and from our perspective

459
00:49:01,640 --> 00:49:07,360
given that payroll had increased by 7% over the same period as well as generally with the

460
00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:12,440
inflation and the economy. And so they've kept down the premium charges. The insurance

461
00:49:12,440 --> 00:49:19,180
broker fee remains the same. And then the fee for the third party administrator legacy workers

462
00:49:19,180 --> 00:49:25,220
complaint is dropping from 35,000 to 20,000 because some of those active legacy

463
00:49:25,220 --> 00:49:37,340
claims have been cleared up and were down to about nine legacy claims right now, and so that also saves the city some money and therefore the finance committee recommends approval of this resolution.

464
00:49:39,100 --> 00:49:40,960
Thank you for the discussion on the resolution.

465
00:49:41,160 --> 00:49:43,700
Of course question is the adoption of the resolution on forever vote.

466
00:49:44,860 --> 00:49:45,500
All pose.

467
00:49:45,980 --> 00:49:47,860
Madam Mayor for the record.

468
00:49:48,100 --> 00:49:50,520
I abstain from voting as a work with both insurance carriers.

469
00:49:50,680 --> 00:49:51,200
Thank you so much.

470
00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:56,320
member burden. I still being a majority of declare a resolution 933-24 is adopted. The

471
00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:59,240
corporate now please read the committee report and resolution 934-24.

472
00:49:59,740 --> 00:50:06,780
Resolution 934-24 authorizing the mayor or the city manager to renew its contracts with

473
00:50:06,780 --> 00:50:14,940
the West Virginia County's group self-instrance risk pool at a price of 1,799,948 dollars for

474
00:50:14,940 --> 00:50:20,060
the city's risk management and property casually in cyber insurance coverage and including

475
00:50:20,060 --> 00:50:27,880
all third party administrative services for the period of March 31st of 2024 through March 31st of 2025 and

476
00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:30,800
reports the same in the council with the recommendation that the committee report be adopted.

477
00:50:31,040 --> 00:50:31,580
That's from Jenkins.

478
00:50:32,380 --> 00:50:33,240
Thank you, Madam Mayor.

479
00:50:33,400 --> 00:50:34,900
Our coverage is what we're making the same.

480
00:50:35,220 --> 00:50:39,180
This represents approximately a 2.8% increase from last year.

481
00:50:39,940 --> 00:50:46,290
Most of, well, majority of the increase would be attributed mostly to the

482
00:50:46,290 --> 00:50:51,890
an auto liability increase in the coverage of premium price, and therefore your finance

483
00:50:51,890 --> 00:50:54,150
can be recommended as approval of this resolution.

484
00:50:55,950 --> 00:50:56,270
Thank you.

485
00:50:56,390 --> 00:51:01,510
If there's a discussion on this resolution, the question is the adoption.

486
00:51:01,850 --> 00:51:03,570
Councilwoman Snagrash, you have your hand up, ma'am?

487
00:51:04,170 --> 00:51:04,990
I have two questions.

488
00:51:05,630 --> 00:51:06,050
Yes, ma'am.

489
00:51:06,110 --> 00:51:12,810
I want to ask the city manager after I went to finance, because I was curious about this

490
00:51:12,810 --> 00:51:15,510
contract, and maybe I'm mistaken.

491
00:51:15,510 --> 00:51:20,970
and maybe it was a year contract, but I thought when we voted this through, when we had the

492
00:51:20,970 --> 00:51:28,630
insurance select committee, it was a multi year contract. So maybe it was an annual contract,

493
00:51:28,770 --> 00:51:32,670
but I thought it was a, they were awarded a multi year contract. That's why we went through

494
00:51:32,670 --> 00:51:36,930
the effort. That's first question. I have another one, but go ahead.

495
00:51:39,640 --> 00:51:43,720
Yeah, and we discussed briefly after finance, and I confirmed what I had told you then. It was

496
00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:48,420
three-year agreement, but each year it is revisited in terms of what the premiums are, because

497
00:51:48,420 --> 00:51:53,920
the city has liabilities that change assets that grow. So for example, the automobile insurance

498
00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:58,880
are fleet groups, so we can certainly expect the premiums to grow with it. So it is a three-year agreement,

499
00:52:00,100 --> 00:52:05,220
but the cost of the premium is revisited each year. Is this the second year of that three-year agreement

500
00:52:05,220 --> 00:52:08,980
the third. The third. The third. Okay, I've got lost.

501
00:52:12,390 --> 00:52:15,470
And was this put out for bid or it wasn't

502
00:52:15,470 --> 00:52:19,970
because they have a three-year contract? It was not put out for bid this year. It was put out for bid.

503
00:52:20,250 --> 00:52:26,570
The procurement was done three years ago, two years ago, I suppose. Okay. This was just they

504
00:52:26,570 --> 00:52:30,810
provided us with the premiums we analyzed and reviewed them. Thought it was a fair increase in the

505
00:52:30,810 --> 00:52:35,850
cost. We've been happy with the coverage and the service we've received over the last two years.

506
00:52:35,850 --> 00:52:43,930
And didn't think it was worthwhile to go through any sort of procurement, considering we had the ability to conclude the third year of that initial agreement.

507
00:52:44,730 --> 00:52:53,030
And because this is contractual and city spending, should we not do a roll call about?

508
00:52:56,250 --> 00:52:56,670
Kevin?

509
00:53:00,180 --> 00:53:03,120
The state code only requires roll call votes on ordinances.

510
00:53:03,320 --> 00:53:08,460
And we do roll calls on budget amendments and the budget just out of prior practice.

511
00:53:08,460 --> 00:53:13,580
It's not required by state code, but any member can request a roll call on any vote at any time.

512
00:53:13,700 --> 00:53:15,660
Okay, I'd like a roll call on this one.

513
00:53:16,720 --> 00:53:17,120
You bet you.

514
00:53:17,220 --> 00:53:18,180
If we're still in good discussion,

515
00:53:19,500 --> 00:53:21,780
force question being the adoption of their surresolution.

516
00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:22,600
It's been requested.

517
00:53:22,820 --> 00:53:24,200
There's a roll call that.

518
00:53:24,560 --> 00:53:25,360
Work will please call the roll.

519
00:53:25,660 --> 00:53:26,040
Annie.

520
00:53:27,220 --> 00:53:27,660
Berkha.

521
00:53:28,320 --> 00:53:28,400
Berkha.

522
00:53:29,240 --> 00:53:34,080
I've seen from voting for as I do work for this insurance company that's in the resolution.

523
00:53:34,080 --> 00:53:49,140
Separately, Cook, Fagre, Fero, Gianola, Haas, Hoover, Jenkins, Jones, Curves, King, Monardi,

524
00:53:49,140 --> 00:54:03,540
More. Over Street. Pepper. Far. Robinson. Rubio. Salango. Snodgrass. Solomon. Still hammer. Taylor.

525
00:54:03,540 --> 00:54:09,980
Mayor Goodwin. Yes, I was being a majority of care resolution, 934-2 for as adopted.

526
00:54:10,540 --> 00:54:13,680
Clerk will now please read the committee report and resolution 935-24.

527
00:54:14,120 --> 00:54:19,580
Resolution number 935-24, that the City Council of Charleston, West Virginia, strongly

528
00:54:19,580 --> 00:54:25,800
backs the Charleston Capital Connector Project and authorizes the mayor or city manager

529
00:54:25,800 --> 00:54:31,300
to submit an application for the U.S. Department Construction Funding for the initiative

530
00:54:31,300 --> 00:54:35,360
And reports the same to Council with recommendation to committee report be adopted.

531
00:54:35,600 --> 00:54:36,340
Yes, Madam Jenkins.

532
00:54:36,780 --> 00:54:37,860
Thank you, Madam Mayor.

533
00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:39,740
Your findings committee recommends the approval.

534
00:54:39,880 --> 00:54:48,700
This resolution because it shows the full Council support for the capital connector project and the DOT construction grant funding.

535
00:54:49,240 --> 00:54:57,320
If Council were called, we have received a raise planning grant that is still waiting for final sign off approval.

536
00:54:57,320 --> 00:55:16,860
This seems to be getting the court before the court, the court before the court, but given the timing of how these things are rolled through, applying now for the construction funding from that planning grant initially will be a good idea and therefore if I ask many recommends it.

537
00:55:17,440 --> 00:55:18,000
Second.

538
00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:19,580
Thank you so much.

539
00:55:19,880 --> 00:55:23,480
For discussion on this resolution, of course, the question is, is it up to the resolution

540
00:55:23,480 --> 00:55:24,840
on Fairbred Off?

541
00:55:25,480 --> 00:55:26,040
Oh, I'll pose, nay.

542
00:55:26,220 --> 00:55:32,690
Declare Resolution 935-24 as a top, did.

543
00:56:00,670 --> 00:56:01,710
Discussion on something else.

544
00:56:01,830 --> 00:56:02,590
I won't make note.

545
00:56:02,590 --> 00:56:04,310
Thank you so much for passing that resolution.

546
00:56:05,010 --> 00:56:08,030
I spoke with Senator Capito last week.

547
00:56:08,090 --> 00:56:14,450
Late last week, and she is not only the super supportive of this federal grant, this

548
00:56:14,450 --> 00:56:18,930
project is also doing outreach for us and a support of a letter.

549
00:56:19,470 --> 00:56:21,810
So I wanted to also publicly thank her.

550
00:56:21,950 --> 00:56:23,690
The clerk will now please read the report of officers.

551
00:56:23,930 --> 00:56:26,010
Municipal court report to City Council,

552
00:56:26,290 --> 00:56:28,150
month ending January 2024.

553
00:56:29,310 --> 00:56:30,210
Received in file.

554
00:56:30,570 --> 00:56:31,770
Thank you so much.

555
00:56:32,250 --> 00:56:36,650
A couple of quick announcements tonight before we wrap up Council.

556
00:56:37,150 --> 00:56:38,230
I wanted to take this opportunity.

557
00:56:38,450 --> 00:56:41,230
Many of you were there and so I appreciate it.

558
00:56:41,230 --> 00:56:48,890
We have a new chief and a new deputy chief Scott Demsey and Jason Webb, who are here with us this evening.

559
00:56:49,170 --> 00:56:50,770
Congratulations to both of them.

560
00:57:04,200 --> 00:57:08,080
I asked deputy chief how many city council meetings have you been to, and your current

561
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:10,820
he said three, maybe four, I said welcome to the show.

562
00:57:11,900 --> 00:57:15,000
Welcome and I will remind him, bring us snack.

563
00:57:16,460 --> 00:57:22,220
Also did want to mention, thank you so much to our public art office.

564
00:57:22,220 --> 00:57:29,740
We are hosting for the second time, something I think is incredibly important with it, which is

565
00:57:29,740 --> 00:57:30,980
youth art month.

566
00:57:31,420 --> 00:57:35,140
We do a lot of celebration of sports that go on in our community.

567
00:57:35,800 --> 00:57:39,440
The youth art exhibit was amazing last year.

568
00:57:40,100 --> 00:57:44,780
The amount of kids that showed up from all of our schools, it was just absolutely beautiful.

569
00:57:45,860 --> 00:57:48,900
We'll make sure that everybody gets an invitation if you can.

570
00:57:48,900 --> 00:57:52,700
Please show up to that as well.

571
00:57:52,820 --> 00:57:56,440
It'll be on display the entire month of March.

572
00:57:57,020 --> 00:58:02,460
So, thanks so much to everybody who also posted online about it as well.

573
00:58:02,780 --> 00:58:08,380
Also, I wanted to give a shout out and thanks to our CLRA roundtables and public input sessions

574
00:58:08,380 --> 00:58:14,760
are this week, developer roundtable tomorrow, three o'clock city service center.

575
00:58:15,540 --> 00:58:17,000
We hope to have a good crowd.

576
00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:21,620
There's also going to be a public input session on February 28th at 530 at Roosevelt.

577
00:58:22,220 --> 00:58:26,840
Lots of good things are happening with the CLR A.

578
00:58:26,920 --> 00:58:32,860
Thanks to so many members of our team, including Kevin Baker, who's been a lot of time developing that

579
00:58:32,860 --> 00:58:36,480
and John Butterworth and Dan Verent and way too many people to thank.

580
00:58:36,680 --> 00:58:39,240
A lot of good things going on with the CLR A.

581
00:58:40,180 --> 00:58:43,520
Is there any other unfinished or miscellaneous business to come report council?

582
00:58:43,520 --> 00:58:47,320
I see one, I see two, I see three, I see four, I see five, I see six hands.

583
00:58:47,500 --> 00:58:48,020
How about that?

584
00:58:48,260 --> 00:58:50,320
Councilwoman's Congress, you go ahead and lead us off.

585
00:58:50,500 --> 00:58:55,220
And I ask that council members, if we can during our comments speak about everything that

586
00:58:55,220 --> 00:58:59,200
you want to speak about when you're called upon and then let's let everybody else finish.

587
00:58:59,400 --> 00:59:03,160
We've been pretty loose about letting people go back and forth, but if you have something to say,

588
00:59:03,320 --> 00:59:07,820
let's say it during this one public session time and we'll allow other council members to speak.

589
00:59:07,860 --> 00:59:12,340
And if you have something to speak about in response, we'll save it to the next council.

590
00:59:12,340 --> 00:59:13,900
Well, thank you so much. Council on the Syngress.

591
00:59:14,440 --> 00:59:18,240
I want to publicly thank you, Mayor Goodwin.

592
00:59:19,640 --> 00:59:24,880
You probably made one of the best and most important decisions during your administration

593
00:59:24,880 --> 00:59:27,960
in the selection of Chief Scott Dempsey.

594
00:59:28,440 --> 00:59:34,440
You and your staff, I think, I knew took a long time and it was a long and arduous process.

595
00:59:34,860 --> 00:59:40,400
And I'm very glad that Chief Dempsey stayed in the process and didn't bail on us.

596
00:59:40,400 --> 00:59:44,740
But I wanted to say publicly, I thank you for that.

597
00:59:45,620 --> 00:59:49,280
You got this one right, and I appreciate it.

598
00:59:49,660 --> 00:59:54,040
Chief Dempsey, I thought you'd be shocked.

599
00:59:55,160 --> 00:59:58,700
Chief Dempsey, you have the integrity, the experience,

600
00:59:58,760 --> 00:59:59,980
and the respect of the other office.

601
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:11,340
Officers to lead CPD. I am so glad that you stuck with this lengthy and arduous process, and I look forward to great things from you as our new chief.

602
01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:20,860
The community and all the uniform officers at CPD deserve your great leadership. Jason Webb is deputy chief, great selection.

603
01:00:21,660 --> 01:00:24,700
I'm glad that you are going to serve in that role.

604
01:00:25,880 --> 01:00:29,400
I thank you both for your service as well as the other uniform officers.

605
01:00:30,080 --> 01:00:34,480
May God provide you with all the safety as you protect our citizens of Charleston.

606
01:00:36,580 --> 01:00:36,860
Thank you.

607
01:00:42,620 --> 01:00:43,480
Council Member Pepper.

608
01:00:43,600 --> 01:00:44,520
Did you have your hand up, sir?

609
01:00:45,100 --> 01:00:45,720
Thank you, sir.

610
01:00:46,280 --> 01:00:46,920
Thank you, Madam Mayor.

611
01:00:47,740 --> 01:00:52,720
I wanted to second what you said about the later use agency is one of the things I'm proud

612
01:00:52,720 --> 01:00:57,680
about that I've been able to do on city council and second the two meetings coming up tomorrow

613
01:00:57,680 --> 01:01:04,640
at three and next Wednesday at 530 p.m. And just to highlight the two things that are the

614
01:01:04,640 --> 01:01:09,840
most prominent new things that have been in the news a little bit, one is the sidelot program,

615
01:01:10,380 --> 01:01:16,040
so there's some lots owned by the land reuse agency that for owner occupants, you can get your

616
01:01:16,040 --> 01:01:20,820
lot next door for 200 bucks and you look at the list and see which ones if there's one near you

617
01:01:20,820 --> 01:01:25,560
or one of your constituents, and if for non-owner occupants,

618
01:01:25,640 --> 01:01:26,980
I guess landlords, $500.

619
01:01:28,120 --> 01:01:30,500
So that's a really great program that's been in the works

620
01:01:30,500 --> 01:01:31,340
for some time.

621
01:01:31,840 --> 01:01:33,620
The second is a new construction in the Senate.

622
01:01:33,700 --> 01:01:35,380
This has been in the news of Fairmount lately.

623
01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:39,240
This is for single-family homes, with a cost of construction,

624
01:01:39,440 --> 01:01:43,960
under $300,000, built before November of this year.

625
01:01:44,640 --> 01:01:48,220
Anywhere in the city gets a $35,000 reimbursement in the Senate.

626
01:01:48,720 --> 01:01:58,500
And if it's on one of our last delay in res agency owns, it's an additional 15,000, so we really, and so all you have to do is, well, get it built, that's all.

627
01:01:59,260 --> 01:02:10,900
And also, get your medicine by July 1st. So this is something I think is really important for our city, and I'm just proud to get to, to tag along to the really great work that's being done.

628
01:02:10,900 --> 01:02:23,200
I do want to speak on one other thing and that is the role of our of this body and the

629
01:02:23,200 --> 01:02:29,800
requests recently for us to take action and to debate and vote on topics outside of our

630
01:02:29,800 --> 01:02:39,520
jurisdiction and I believe that we need to have a bright and clear line between what

631
01:02:39,520 --> 01:02:46,200
topics we introduce, debate and pass resolutions on, and those topics that we do not.

632
01:02:47,640 --> 01:02:51,620
As members of Council know, we have sent letters to the Public Service Commission to the

633
01:02:51,620 --> 01:02:57,160
state legislature to our congressional representatives whenever we have asked when we have

634
01:02:57,160 --> 01:03:01,280
had positions that we have taken in a broad-based way.

635
01:03:02,080 --> 01:03:08,700
And we have not, since I've been on Council, had resolutions on those topics, or on the

636
01:03:08,700 --> 01:03:10,740
those bodies.

637
01:03:12,940 --> 01:03:17,340
There's two reasons I think that we should be sticking to topics that we have

638
01:03:17,340 --> 01:03:25,540
power over. For one, we do not have a mandate from voters to work to weigh in on those topics

639
01:03:25,540 --> 01:03:30,960
and to debate them and use our precious time here together on those. I couldn't find anything in

640
01:03:30,960 --> 01:03:38,680
the city charter or the oath that we swore when we join, or anywhere else that says that we

641
01:03:39,500 --> 01:03:50,600
I'm not aware of anybody in this chamber or even opponents who ran on the platform of international of any international affairs,

642
01:03:51,040 --> 01:03:58,360
much less or even external affairs state-level issues, even those who ran on very large platforms.

643
01:04:00,480 --> 01:04:15,760
And I felt confident saying those of us who went door to door during the campaign did not hear from if anybody, you know, less than one or two or five people that actually asked one of us to weigh in on things outside of our powers.

644
01:04:16,780 --> 01:04:26,320
We received about 80 some emails on this on the international, the Gaza Resolution, and only

645
01:04:26,320 --> 01:04:32,780
a handful, all but a handful were from emails, and more than a third were from people

646
01:04:32,780 --> 01:04:33,840
from outside the city.

647
01:04:34,580 --> 01:04:40,340
So about 55 of the 47,000 residents here expressed support for us taking action on the resolution.

648
01:04:40,340 --> 01:04:46,560
I put a survey online about this topic.

649
01:04:46,920 --> 01:04:52,120
The survey said, let's assume that this council could come up with a resolution that you agreed with.

650
01:04:53,820 --> 01:05:00,400
And do you think that we should debate and pass a resolution on that topic even if you agreed with it?

651
01:05:01,060 --> 01:05:04,060
And 180 respondents, 90% of them said no.

652
01:05:05,060 --> 01:05:08,140
So to the extent we have a mandate from voters, I think it's the other way.

653
01:05:09,840 --> 01:05:13,560
Secondly, debating external issues like this

654
01:05:14,260 --> 01:05:16,240
has actually makes it harder for us to do

655
01:05:16,240 --> 01:05:18,000
the things that we're elected to do.

656
01:05:19,280 --> 01:05:23,080
I think that what we have here in this room

657
01:05:23,080 --> 01:05:24,560
in this body is really special.

658
01:05:25,400 --> 01:05:27,500
We have one of the largest, most accountable

659
01:05:27,500 --> 01:05:29,480
city councils in the country.

660
01:05:30,500 --> 01:05:32,940
There's one of us for about every 2,000 people in the city

661
01:05:33,600 --> 01:05:36,320
and our residents have put us here to work on things

662
01:05:36,320 --> 01:05:38,340
like addressing dilapidated structures,

663
01:05:38,740 --> 01:05:40,960
bringing more people here, diversifying and broadening

664
01:05:40,960 --> 01:05:43,700
our economic base, and increasing population,

665
01:05:44,440 --> 01:05:45,360
making the city better.

666
01:05:47,100 --> 01:05:49,700
So for us to spend the precious time we have together,

667
01:05:50,300 --> 01:05:52,480
which is only a couple dozen times every year,

668
01:05:54,040 --> 01:05:56,980
on something that we weren't elected to do,

669
01:05:57,420 --> 01:05:59,320
it makes it harder for us to accomplish our goals.

670
01:06:00,100 --> 01:06:02,000
It takes time for democracy to work

671
01:06:02,000 --> 01:06:04,080
and for this impressive body to think through

672
01:06:04,080 --> 01:06:10,320
and how to best improve our city so I just wanted to just state that as the

673
01:06:10,320 --> 01:06:14,680
records I think that it's easy I know these are really emotional issues and

674
01:06:14,680 --> 01:06:20,240
really important issues we should weigh in our on issues that are important but I

675
01:06:20,240 --> 01:06:25,280
don't think we should spend time debating them and I do think we should be careful

676
01:06:25,280 --> 01:06:29,540
about the way we spend our time together so I appreciate the long-winded

677
01:06:30,600 --> 01:06:35,160
opportunity to talk. Thanks. Thank you. We had a couple of other hands up. I apologize.

678
01:06:35,580 --> 01:06:38,700
Council member, I'm working my way this way, everybody. Sorry. Council member,

679
01:06:38,920 --> 01:06:40,260
every street. Yes, sir. Thank you.

680
01:06:44,990 --> 01:06:48,010
I want to thank the Charles and Land Reviews Agency.

681
01:06:49,630 --> 01:06:55,370
I saw the spoken with Dan Verenze office the other day and I had a property next

682
01:06:55,370 --> 01:07:02,590
door to mine at 1910 fourth and they had already been working on it within three days they

683
01:07:02,590 --> 01:07:10,690
it down. And so it's, I do, and they do a lot of the building commission does a lot of work around

684
01:07:10,690 --> 01:07:15,770
here. They've taken down a number of buildings in my area. I also needed, I wanted to quickly

685
01:07:15,770 --> 01:07:21,690
just to bring up one of my constituents had brought up, I was just going to bring up a property

686
01:07:22,810 --> 01:07:31,010
1050 Washington Street West. It's a lot going on. The gentleman said there's raw sewage coming out of the property.

687
01:07:31,570 --> 01:07:35,850
there's people in and out, he believes there's some things going on, he's been dealing

688
01:07:35,850 --> 01:07:43,570
with the 4x4 or 5 years. So if you could just put that on your radar and I had to speak

689
01:07:43,570 --> 01:07:50,490
from my parents to live in 702 Hall Street, they have cats over there, and I've spoken

690
01:07:50,490 --> 01:07:54,430
with Jackie, I've spoken with several of the people I've called the Humane. The officers

691
01:07:54,430 --> 01:07:58,810
here didn't get a, like we were saying before, I think we need more, some kind of way,

692
01:07:58,810 --> 01:08:05,090
I never got to call back the rescue folks haven't called they have they don't know what to do and in the meantime

693
01:08:05,990 --> 01:08:14,850
My 80 year old well should should be 90 actually coming up year old mom has gotten a few letters. It aren't so good to read over there

694
01:08:14,850 --> 01:08:18,460
So if we can get back and get some help with these cats

695
01:08:19,090 --> 01:08:22,170
Some might please tell me what to do. Thanks

696
01:08:22,170 --> 01:08:24,470
Council member every street. I don't want your mother man. It may

697
01:08:24,990 --> 01:08:30,050
Thank you so much, and as you well know, Andrew is writing copious notes as well.

698
01:08:30,410 --> 01:08:34,690
So if there are other notes that you want to give to them as well, and at any time, as just

699
01:08:34,690 --> 01:08:39,090
a reminder, Council members don't have to wait to bring these up on the floor.

700
01:08:39,250 --> 01:08:43,830
You can call us at any time, because I'm not sure about that we had 10, 50 in our office.

701
01:08:43,890 --> 01:08:46,310
But if we do my apologies and we'll circle back.

702
01:08:46,430 --> 01:08:47,570
I'm going this way.

703
01:08:47,850 --> 01:08:48,270
Councillor interjecting.

704
01:08:48,410 --> 01:08:48,770
Yes, sir.

705
01:08:48,930 --> 01:08:49,790
Thank you.

706
01:08:51,970 --> 01:08:57,750
If I want to apologize to anybody, I saw me on my phone, looking at text, I got a text

707
01:08:57,750 --> 01:09:03,210
back from Janine's family. She had a procedure at five o'clock today at Thomas Memorial

708
01:09:03,790 --> 01:09:08,030
and everything came through good and she just wanted everybody to know that.

709
01:09:08,750 --> 01:09:13,670
Thank you so much. You're always keeping an eye out and we thank you for that.

710
01:09:13,930 --> 01:09:17,870
Council member, I see your hand up, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you.

711
01:09:18,550 --> 01:09:27,570
I want to say, we lost a very great man on the 10th, Stephen Starks, so mainly I don't know who Stephen Starks is.

712
01:09:27,930 --> 01:09:35,230
He started to multi-fest. His family was very intimate, like his mom, I think, might have been the first black measured in Charleston, my right chuck.

713
01:09:35,530 --> 01:09:40,870
Mrs. Starks, she might have been the first, the black measured black Zoja Charleston. He started to multi-fest.

714
01:09:42,050 --> 01:09:48,290
He was the reason we have the multi-fist today and his blood sweat interiors, you know, was reason we had he seen it was an E-4.

715
01:09:48,470 --> 01:09:52,010
He also ran the beacon digest, which was the black newspaper in West Virginia.

716
01:09:52,930 --> 01:09:56,030
So, and I was going to say, he was a great man.

717
01:09:56,130 --> 01:09:57,910
I knew Mr. Stark's name as we were always a wonderful person.

718
01:09:58,690 --> 01:10:04,880
And then I also want to talk about, we, like in the city, we enforce the entity that we have no control over as in the D&V.

719
01:10:05,420 --> 01:10:11,440
And the DNV sometimes put us in bad situations because they are lackluster on give now stickers

720
01:10:11,440 --> 01:10:12,240
or whatnot.

721
01:10:13,040 --> 01:10:18,420
And they, as in me sometimes get, be it situations because of DNV.

722
01:10:18,680 --> 01:10:22,660
So I want to maybe come up with a some type of way of fixing that.

723
01:10:23,440 --> 01:10:24,720
You want me to fix the DNV?

724
01:10:25,080 --> 01:10:25,200
Councilman?

725
01:10:25,920 --> 01:10:26,960
No, no, no, no.

726
01:10:27,040 --> 01:10:28,560
What all would I want to say is that?

727
01:10:28,560 --> 01:10:29,540
What all would I want to say is that?

728
01:10:29,540 --> 01:10:30,920
I love your confidence in me.

729
01:10:31,060 --> 01:10:34,860
Well, I want to say as in the city of Charleston, like sometimes when we get

730
01:10:34,860 --> 01:10:42,360
like we're stickers or not, so like we get, like I got followed just because of DMV issue but my

731
01:10:42,360 --> 01:10:47,880
plate was good but I got followed and I guess they because of me you know so but this we need to get

732
01:10:47,880 --> 01:10:53,120
that kind of maybe because it, it with the lessons interactions between, it makes it you know it

733
01:10:53,120 --> 01:10:58,000
makes best situations that's so bad so we can kind of fix that and then the one more thing

734
01:10:58,000 --> 01:11:04,840
still on a youth sports and those still a bunch of kids they live on the west side they live on the

735
01:11:04,840 --> 01:11:11,420
More Charleston can also say they still don't have an order to play football at or cheer these were boys and girls and I want to say thank you to City of South Charleston

736
01:11:11,420 --> 01:11:15,020
There are kids in South Charleston. They are going to do the same thing in South Charleston too

737
01:11:15,700 --> 01:11:22,780
So they are trying to help us so hopefully we can't you know get to something to come because I know even at legislation

738
01:11:22,780 --> 01:11:28,840
I know the delegates are working on it too because I mean this is going to be said because they or a bunch of boys girls

739
01:11:29,940 --> 01:11:33,440
You know that won't get to participate this year because it's looking bad

740
01:11:33,440 --> 01:11:36,820
because the league won't let us in, the league.

741
01:11:37,600 --> 01:11:41,680
So hopefully we can get that fixed, but they are really working hard.

742
01:11:42,000 --> 01:11:44,680
There are some people that are working hard to get these kids in,

743
01:11:44,760 --> 01:11:47,580
and I want to appreciate everybody who's efforts that help in this,

744
01:11:47,860 --> 01:11:52,820
but hopefully we can get some more people at the corner to help our kids in the city of Charleston.

745
01:11:53,140 --> 01:11:56,800
You know, we want to live on the west side, East End, Hill Cress, west side,

746
01:11:56,800 --> 01:12:01,740
some even living, make sure to go to Conal County Schools, help them out, help us,

747
01:12:01,740 --> 01:12:04,420
because they would appreciate and only would. Thank you.

748
01:12:04,440 --> 01:12:08,720
Thank you, Councilmember Moore. I'm working my way this way and I see just two more hands up.

749
01:12:09,060 --> 01:12:10,960
I see three hands up. Councilmember Solomon.

750
01:12:14,990 --> 01:12:15,570
Thank you.

751
01:12:18,350 --> 01:12:22,730
I'd like to talk about some local issues some issues that hold our community together.

752
01:12:23,770 --> 01:12:28,110
Once again for the fifth city council meeting in a row, community members from across different

753
01:12:28,110 --> 01:12:33,510
faiths are here helping in praying we may get amplify their calls for ceasefire.

754
01:12:34,030 --> 01:12:37,170
It's been three months of our neighbors asking and pleading with us.

755
01:12:37,510 --> 01:12:39,490
We've so far tabled their request twice.

756
01:12:40,130 --> 01:12:42,850
We haven't even yet granted their request a discussion.

757
01:12:43,630 --> 01:12:46,590
But the thing I want to talk about tonight is why.

758
01:12:47,610 --> 01:12:50,490
The most popular rebuttal to the simple call for peace,

759
01:12:50,910 --> 01:12:55,870
for an ending to the bombings in Gaza, for the end of turning kids into charcoal.

760
01:12:56,590 --> 01:13:01,450
The most popular argument in this chamber for tabling is we should pay attention

761
01:13:01,450 --> 01:13:06,470
to the issues that bear on Charleston, we should focus on our city's neighbors.

762
01:13:07,410 --> 01:13:08,370
We should get local.

763
01:13:09,590 --> 01:13:10,690
I agree with you.

764
01:13:11,150 --> 01:13:11,470
We should.

765
01:13:12,170 --> 01:13:17,490
Though I also agree that the atrocities taking place in Gaza are local for many in our community.

766
01:13:18,510 --> 01:13:22,110
This is not simply a moral request being made of us.

767
01:13:22,310 --> 01:13:29,270
These people, our neighbors, your constituents, have loved ones and family and roots in Palestine and Israel.

768
01:13:29,830 --> 01:13:35,810
When a hospital is turned to rubble, it breaks us not just morally in Charleston, it breaks

769
01:13:35,810 --> 01:13:40,910
our neighbors' hearts, same as if your homeland was wrought with bombs and shrapnel.

770
01:13:41,930 --> 01:13:47,230
I agree, we should focus on Charleston's local heartbreaks, and I want to make absolutely

771
01:13:47,230 --> 01:13:52,730
clear before it again, that what is happening in Gaza is a Charleston heartbreak.

772
01:13:53,930 --> 01:13:58,110
What is happening and being allowed to happen in Gaza is highly local to the well-being

773
01:13:58,110 --> 01:14:02,710
of our neighbors, if it wasn't, they wouldn't be here. So it's that simple.

774
01:14:06,250 --> 01:14:07,310
And yet, when

775
01:14:07,310 --> 01:14:11,850
you say we should focus on those issues that bear on Charleston, that occur within our

776
01:14:11,850 --> 01:14:18,030
city limits, I am with you too. Let's talk about the issues that bear on us here in Charleston.

777
01:14:18,510 --> 01:14:24,350
You want to get local? Let's get local. Let's talk about the issues that mean life or death

778
01:14:24,350 --> 01:14:29,710
for the people of our city. Let's talk about the overdose crisis. Let's talk about gun violence.

779
01:14:29,710 --> 01:14:31,870
Let's talk about the climate crisis.

780
01:14:32,470 --> 01:14:34,250
Let's talk about the democracy that's hanging

781
01:14:34,250 --> 01:14:38,130
by fewer threads than when we were last sworn in.

782
01:14:38,450 --> 01:14:39,310
Let's begin again.

783
01:14:40,310 --> 01:14:42,670
Many of you know why I ran in 2022.

784
01:14:43,630 --> 01:14:44,670
It was a very simple reason.

785
01:14:45,450 --> 01:14:48,110
I didn't think that Charleston ought to be on the map anymore

786
01:14:48,110 --> 01:14:50,390
as the overdose capital of America.

787
01:14:51,290 --> 01:14:54,450
That seemed like maybe something we could shock, you know?

788
01:14:54,770 --> 01:14:56,350
It didn't seem like a title worth keeping.

789
01:14:57,250 --> 01:14:59,150
First, we must reckon with a question.

790
01:14:59,150 --> 01:14:59,970
how to chop

791
01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:00,860
Welcome to the House and the West Virginia.

792
01:15:03,480 --> 01:15:09,780
We are ready to know that West Virginia leads the nation with its overdose rate by

793
01:15:09,780 --> 01:15:18,360
wide, which is to say harrowing margins. So West Virginia for many years now has been the epicenter of the nation's overdose crisis.

794
01:15:19,180 --> 01:15:26,000
But Charleston, along with our surrounding county, we took a special route to lead the state of West Virginia.

795
01:15:26,000 --> 01:15:29,580
It's something that we shouldn't let get lost to history.

796
01:15:29,960 --> 01:15:31,800
It's not something we should be resigned to.

797
01:15:32,140 --> 01:15:34,240
It's not something we should let get covered in the fog of,

798
01:15:34,520 --> 01:15:36,080
it's always been that way.

799
01:15:36,640 --> 01:15:38,860
It has not always been that way.

800
01:15:39,520 --> 01:15:42,240
Up until 2018, Charleston and Kenna

801
01:15:42,240 --> 01:15:45,740
did not lead West Virginia with its overdose fatalities.

802
01:15:46,600 --> 01:15:48,220
Kenna was not the overdose capital.

803
01:15:48,460 --> 01:15:50,360
The capital of the capital as a word.

804
01:15:50,500 --> 01:15:51,660
We made it that way.

805
01:15:51,660 --> 01:15:59,180
To folks know who was the overdose capital before 2018, I'll tell you, Huntington and Cabo were.

806
01:16:00,040 --> 01:16:00,640
What happened?

807
01:16:01,480 --> 01:16:04,580
How did Charleston and Canna eclipse Huntington and Cabo?

808
01:16:05,080 --> 01:16:06,120
It was not by chance.

809
01:16:06,760 --> 01:16:08,340
It wasn't a thing that always was.

810
01:16:08,700 --> 01:16:09,520
Something changed.

811
01:16:10,140 --> 01:16:13,140
Something very simple happened that put Charleston on the map.

812
01:16:13,840 --> 01:16:17,900
In March 2018, just as Winter was truly thawing,

813
01:16:17,900 --> 01:16:29,260
Just as the green nubs of spring we're showing themselves, a political showdown led to the shutdown of the very successful syringe program, which was run by the Cannot Charleston Health Department.

814
01:16:30,200 --> 01:16:37,820
In March 2018, that program, which serves sometimes up to 440 people a week, was forced into shutting its doors.

815
01:16:37,820 --> 01:16:43,200
No more syringes, no more evidence-based harm reduction program, and all the life-saving

816
01:16:43,200 --> 01:16:44,240
benefits it brings.

817
01:16:44,580 --> 01:16:46,280
It was shuttered.

818
01:16:46,600 --> 01:16:51,860
And by the end of 2018, by the end of that very year, low and behold, Charleston

819
01:16:51,860 --> 01:16:54,220
cannot overtook Huntington and Cabot.

820
01:16:55,200 --> 01:16:56,660
We led in deaths.

821
01:16:57,080 --> 01:16:58,780
We led in Carvedow families.

822
01:16:59,320 --> 01:17:01,180
We led in GoFundMe funerals.

823
01:17:01,600 --> 01:17:04,040
We led the state in GoFs.

824
01:17:04,040 --> 01:17:13,960
And we've led, we've held that distinct lead every year since, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021,

825
01:17:14,780 --> 01:17:17,840
2022, and the provisional data is in for 2023.

826
01:17:18,920 --> 01:17:20,940
We're coming up on six years next month.

827
01:17:21,280 --> 01:17:26,640
That's wild to me, six years since we lost our most valuable tool in confronting the overdose crisis,

828
01:17:26,900 --> 01:17:30,160
six years with leading the state and fatal overdoses.

829
01:17:30,160 --> 01:17:32,560
And we've never reckoned with this.

830
01:17:32,840 --> 01:17:34,820
We generally don't hear about it on the Council floor,

831
01:17:35,140 --> 01:17:36,520
though I can't blame any given speech.

832
01:17:37,180 --> 01:17:39,860
We barely hear about us being the overdose capital

833
01:17:39,860 --> 01:17:42,360
from our local health bodies or many elected

834
01:17:42,360 --> 01:17:43,960
across our city and our county.

835
01:17:44,680 --> 01:17:47,040
Too many people who we rely on for clarity

836
01:17:47,040 --> 01:17:49,780
find it difficult to express this simple bit

837
01:17:49,780 --> 01:17:51,820
of public health cartography.

838
01:17:52,500 --> 01:17:55,060
In a national map, our little city

839
01:17:55,060 --> 01:17:57,760
is the capital of the capital of the capital

840
01:17:57,760 --> 01:17:59,820
of America's overdose crisis.

841
01:18:03,430 --> 01:18:04,170
We are the heart.

842
01:18:05,430 --> 01:18:07,210
Will this be the year we reckoned with that?

843
01:18:07,770 --> 01:18:09,970
This past year, we had a chance to reckoned.

844
01:18:10,810 --> 01:18:14,030
We had a chance when the women's health center said they would run

845
01:18:14,030 --> 01:18:16,930
an accessible syringe program in the part of the city

846
01:18:16,930 --> 01:18:19,450
with the highest overdose calls that go to 911.

847
01:18:20,490 --> 01:18:22,150
They said they followed all the rules.

848
01:18:22,530 --> 01:18:25,930
This body managed to come up with late in the night back in 2021.

849
01:18:26,770 --> 01:18:28,950
They said the women's health center said,

850
01:18:28,950 --> 01:18:35,350
they do their best, balancing rules made by politicians, not healthcare experts, and the pursuit

851
01:18:35,350 --> 01:18:40,870
of saving the most lives through this crisis. This wasn't so long ago. That was August.

852
01:18:41,650 --> 01:18:50,070
So we all remember what happened. We said no thanks. We said not this time. Nine of us voted

853
01:18:50,070 --> 01:18:55,630
to let the women's health center help Charleston, our city, shruck its title as the overdose

854
01:18:55,630 --> 01:19:00,590
capital of America, the rest of us, the majority of us as it were, said no thanks.

855
01:19:01,550 --> 01:19:07,450
We had a chance to leave the brightest legacy of our council term to get to work, shucking

856
01:19:07,450 --> 01:19:11,990
in the mantle of being the nation's overdose capital, and we passed on it.

857
01:19:12,530 --> 01:19:18,090
If we want to get local about saving the most lives, I'm happy to get local.

858
01:19:18,730 --> 01:19:21,570
But 2023 was not our year of getting local.

859
01:19:21,570 --> 01:19:26,210
It was not our year of reckoning, and therefore it was not our year of atonement.

860
01:19:27,210 --> 01:19:29,850
Though we did do something kind of neat in early 2023.

861
01:19:30,970 --> 01:19:35,790
In February 2023, just one day under one year ago,

862
01:19:36,230 --> 01:19:39,170
we passed a bill to create a health advisory board.

863
01:19:40,130 --> 01:19:42,670
This board was originally focused on health equity,

864
01:19:43,530 --> 01:19:45,350
though the word equity was carved out.

865
01:19:45,730 --> 01:19:48,830
Still, this bill calls for this community advisory board

866
01:19:48,830 --> 01:19:51,270
to create a community health action plan.

867
01:19:52,070 --> 01:19:56,810
This health advisory board would in turn make reports and recommendations to council based

868
01:19:56,810 --> 01:19:57,830
on that plan.

869
01:19:58,450 --> 01:20:01,050
It got enough votes just six days.

870
01:20:01,850 --> 01:20:02,410
It passed.

871
01:20:02,790 --> 01:20:05,070
This body said, go for it.

872
01:20:05,350 --> 01:20:09,330
Yet a day shy of a year later, the task force has yet to be assembled.

873
01:20:10,310 --> 01:20:14,530
That said, I fully expect this advisory board will be assembled soon.

874
01:20:14,970 --> 01:20:17,030
And I invite all of us to take part in it.

875
01:20:17,050 --> 01:20:18,030
All of us in this room.

876
01:20:18,030 --> 01:20:24,590
Surely this board will include an action plan that includes evidence-based steps to address the overdose crisis.

877
01:20:25,030 --> 01:20:27,250
We will have much to learn and much to embrace.

878
01:20:28,430 --> 01:20:32,570
When I learned in my first year of City Council, my first year being the year of 2023,

879
01:20:33,550 --> 01:20:39,610
was harm reduction was not the only life in death issue we had yet to reckon with on a local level.

880
01:20:40,350 --> 01:20:41,070
There were others.

881
01:20:42,190 --> 01:20:46,570
That said, one issue that came up just a few months before I was sworn in.

882
01:20:46,570 --> 01:20:52,210
many in this chamber will remember. Former Council member Diana McKinney worked with this council

883
01:20:52,210 --> 01:20:58,270
to unanimously pass a bill which called for the creation of a gun violence prevention and

884
01:20:58,270 --> 01:21:07,010
survivors commission. That passed unanimously in September 2022. That commission has never been

885
01:21:07,010 --> 01:21:15,190
assembled. It's been over 500 days. Diana lost her son to gun violence nearly 10 years ago.

886
01:21:15,190 --> 01:21:24,610
And one of the brightest legacies on this council was the passage of this commission, a legacy shared by all of you who served on this body then as well.

887
01:21:25,290 --> 01:21:29,910
Over the past couple weeks, we've been reminded of the stakes that inspired that commission.

888
01:21:30,670 --> 01:21:34,790
There have been a string of more shootings on Charleston's west side and in north Charleston.

889
01:21:35,350 --> 01:21:39,030
More deaths, including more young people, cut down in their prime.

890
01:21:39,770 --> 01:21:42,890
This commission's charter, this commission's charter,

891
01:21:43,170 --> 01:21:44,650
calls for it to present our body,

892
01:21:45,170 --> 01:21:48,270
this council, with the report with recommendations every December.

893
01:21:49,150 --> 01:21:50,350
We've missed two of those December.

894
01:21:51,870 --> 01:21:52,670
Though for a moment,

895
01:21:53,570 --> 01:21:56,990
I want to share what a few of those recommendations could be.

896
01:21:57,630 --> 01:22:00,950
Let's pay to picture of potential local solutions

897
01:22:00,950 --> 01:22:02,690
to gun violence prevention.

898
01:22:03,950 --> 01:22:06,450
I've been studying this issue at Johns Hopkins University

899
01:22:06,450 --> 01:22:09,450
where I am a slow-moving second year doctoral student.

900
01:22:10,190 --> 01:22:14,210
Like with harm reduction, there is deep research into the question of

901
01:22:14,210 --> 01:22:19,150
what programs and policies can prevent the most gun violence.

902
01:22:20,330 --> 01:22:24,590
One such model is called the cure violence model, cure violence.

903
01:22:25,310 --> 01:22:30,750
This model invests in a core group of people who in turn invests in a small network of people

904
01:22:30,750 --> 01:22:32,630
who are the most at risk of gun violence.

905
01:22:32,630 --> 01:22:40,650
This model empowers outreach workers to provide these hot members with services or fast moving

906
01:22:40,650 --> 01:22:47,510
referrals to address other needs, including food, housing, job training, therapy and employment.

907
01:22:48,530 --> 01:22:53,950
Our reach workers are often those with lift experience, people with experience with gun violence

908
01:22:53,950 --> 01:22:57,450
and or those who have been impacted by the criminal justice system.

909
01:22:58,390 --> 01:23:03,970
The credibility of having gone through these life experiences helps to build rapport and trust.

910
01:23:04,810 --> 01:23:08,250
This is a model that could help save lives in our city.

911
01:23:08,510 --> 01:23:11,170
This is a model that is ripe for Charleston.

912
01:23:11,730 --> 01:23:18,730
It's also a model that has been tried all around us in Pittsburgh, Durham, Louisville, Nashville, and so on.

913
01:23:19,350 --> 01:23:25,270
And I'll note, it's a very similar model to how Charleston already leads with the care team.

914
01:23:25,270 --> 01:23:31,210
For those who don't yet know, the CARES team is a nine-person team of mostly people with

915
01:23:31,210 --> 01:23:36,390
lived experience who feelth calls and build relationships every day with people who are

916
01:23:36,390 --> 01:23:39,510
challenged with drug use or mental health or housing issues.

917
01:23:39,790 --> 01:23:41,850
It's an amazing branch of our city.

918
01:23:42,410 --> 01:23:43,810
We have a template for this.

919
01:23:44,090 --> 01:23:45,570
We can do this.

920
01:23:46,650 --> 01:23:52,410
A complimentary model is to do what Minneapolis has done and create a gun violence prevention fund,

921
01:23:52,410 --> 01:23:57,810
a gun violence prevention fund that offers grants to community groups that want to do the work.

922
01:23:58,530 --> 01:24:04,210
This fund also equips community leaders with trainings such as grant writing and program evaluation.

923
01:24:04,950 --> 01:24:12,810
Minneapolis offers $6,000 for pilot projects pilot projects and funded nearly 100 community projects in 2022.

924
01:24:14,150 --> 01:24:17,730
We have to ask ourselves, have we reckoned with gun violence in our community?

925
01:24:17,730 --> 01:24:21,370
will we call this commission together this year?

926
01:24:21,930 --> 01:24:25,650
And when we do, will we give this commission every tool in capital

927
01:24:25,650 --> 01:24:26,990
it means to succeed?

928
01:24:27,830 --> 01:24:32,070
Well, we ourselves, as vital council members, continue to promote the ideas

929
01:24:32,070 --> 01:24:36,050
and back up the healers who are working every day to stem this rise

930
01:24:36,050 --> 01:24:37,970
and violence here in Charleston.

931
01:24:38,970 --> 01:24:40,670
I'd like to talk about a couple other issues.

932
01:24:41,810 --> 01:24:46,010
At the start of 2023, we also knew there would be billions

933
01:24:46,010 --> 01:24:50,630
available in climate funds from the Biden administration and Congress.

934
01:24:51,690 --> 01:24:57,670
These inflation reduction act funds represented and continue to represent a historic opportunity.

935
01:24:58,650 --> 01:25:01,670
The climate crisis isn't playing games with us anymore.

936
01:25:02,090 --> 01:25:07,390
These are times of peril and we are no exception to those dangers or these opportunities.

937
01:25:08,630 --> 01:25:11,610
We have gone after some of the federal governments to store climate funds,

938
01:25:12,050 --> 01:25:14,630
good solar work and good energy efficiency work.

939
01:25:14,630 --> 01:25:19,870
Still, the most efficient way to go after these funds would have been, and remains, creating

940
01:25:19,870 --> 01:25:23,290
a climate office, a climate office in the city of Charleston.

941
01:25:24,110 --> 01:25:29,510
Without a dedicated climate and resiliency team, including a committed grant writer, how

942
01:25:29,510 --> 01:25:33,650
many tens were hundreds and millions of dollars in epic project development work that

943
01:25:33,650 --> 01:25:37,410
can lift up and protect our city will we miss out on.

944
01:25:38,230 --> 01:25:44,090
As many know, we do have a local council committee that has meant to work on this issue,

945
01:25:44,090 --> 01:25:47,250
It's called the Environmental and Recycling Committee.

946
01:25:48,510 --> 01:25:54,150
In March 2023, a blogger from Morgan County noted that Charleston's environmental and recycling

947
01:25:54,150 --> 01:25:59,170
committee was chaired by an elected official who was also registered as a lobbyist at the

948
01:25:59,170 --> 01:26:00,410
time for exon.

949
01:26:00,930 --> 01:26:02,070
I am on that committee.

950
01:26:03,030 --> 01:26:07,590
Quickly after that blog post was published, it was announced that that chair would be

951
01:26:07,590 --> 01:26:12,090
swapped for another committee chair, though that committee has only met once since I've been

952
01:26:12,090 --> 01:26:12,630
on council.

953
01:26:12,630 --> 01:26:23,030
So just to say it again, the city's environmental and recycling committee has only met once since we were all sworn in in January 2023, 13 months ago.

954
01:26:24,130 --> 01:26:33,810
This committee has a responsibility for proactively finding solutions to lower the city's emissions while increasing our resiliency to the climate impacts.

955
01:26:34,550 --> 01:26:39,310
I would like to request once more that we follow the green team's lead and meet monthly.

956
01:26:40,170 --> 01:26:53,490
It's our job and to elevate this again, we have done good work including being a part of the clean energy lift the lift hub in the making on the east end and we're also making remarkable stripes to expand recycling on the city.

957
01:26:54,290 --> 01:27:03,770
So given the stakes we need to ask have we truly reckoned with the climate crisis and the opportunities and the threats it poses for our city.

958
01:27:03,770 --> 01:27:05,670
have we gotten local?

959
01:27:09,260 --> 01:27:14,940
Here's the thing. It's hard to get local in the dark. As

960
01:27:14,940 --> 01:27:19,940
these issues and others compound, we need light. We need more light. We need to rely

961
01:27:19,940 --> 01:27:24,760
on the press and independent journalists to help us be our best-sounds, to help

962
01:27:24,760 --> 01:27:31,400
us reckon, to help us atone. Yet, in 2023, this council did something a little

963
01:27:31,400 --> 01:27:38,520
topsy-turvy, forgive me because I didn't see it coming. We voted to remove access to the

964
01:27:38,520 --> 01:27:44,700
legacy press table that sits in the corner of City Council right over there. As far back as

965
01:27:44,700 --> 01:27:50,440
anyone can remember, that was the table for Charleston Press. They could watch us, all of us,

966
01:27:50,760 --> 01:27:57,660
including the public. It had the best view. Not only that, we voted on removing all press access

967
01:27:57,660 --> 01:28:02,920
beyond the front rail of the public gallery, nor, along with the public, our press allowed

968
01:28:02,920 --> 01:28:08,480
to cross over, 15 minutes before council starts, or 15 minutes after council ends.

969
01:28:09,260 --> 01:28:12,000
This has never been something we've done before.

970
01:28:12,640 --> 01:28:16,680
This vote was fresher, it happened in early October, so you may remember.

971
01:28:17,540 --> 01:28:19,160
Some had their reasons for it.

972
01:28:19,560 --> 01:28:24,100
There was fear of a new media journalist trying to get an answer from an elected official

973
01:28:24,100 --> 01:28:25,180
after council ended.

974
01:28:25,760 --> 01:28:29,000
Some might remember, some intense metaphors were utilized.

975
01:28:30,240 --> 01:28:34,420
And yet here we are, a press table, empty a press.

976
01:28:35,080 --> 01:28:35,880
Here we are.

977
01:28:36,740 --> 01:28:40,720
I don't think it gets more local, really, when your local press cannot fully document

978
01:28:40,720 --> 01:28:43,380
and engage the happenings in their city hall.

979
01:28:44,240 --> 01:28:48,260
Have we reckoned with freedom of the press here in Charleston, West Virginia?

980
01:28:49,360 --> 01:28:55,120
We started this talk, we started this talk with the discussion of Gaza.

981
01:28:55,940 --> 01:28:59,460
It's one of the reasons there are still people in our views.

982
01:29:01,060 --> 01:29:05,460
Since October, our hearts have been heavy with so much loss of life.

983
01:29:06,460 --> 01:29:09,560
Hamas, attacked Israel, and grew some ways.

984
01:29:10,340 --> 01:29:14,560
Israel responded with what's been regarded as genocidal tactics.

985
01:29:15,660 --> 01:29:19,060
We've been asked to lift up calls for a ceasefire.

986
01:29:20,000 --> 01:29:24,060
We've been asked to get a bit global even as it is also rather local.

987
01:29:25,140 --> 01:29:28,800
And we've said, no, we said you can have our thoughts and prayers,

988
01:29:29,360 --> 01:29:32,400
but you cannot have a resolution, not yet anyway.

989
01:29:33,360 --> 01:29:35,880
Yet this community has given us something else.

990
01:29:36,480 --> 01:29:39,780
This community, which called on us to save the most lives in Gaza,

991
01:29:40,240 --> 01:29:43,040
they've helped open our eyes and open our hearts

992
01:29:43,040 --> 01:29:46,200
to ways we can save the most lives here in Charleston.

993
01:29:47,260 --> 01:29:49,300
Even if we can't reach our arms around Gaza,

994
01:29:49,820 --> 01:29:51,720
we can reach them around our own city.

995
01:29:52,480 --> 01:29:57,080
We can see, we can see the stakes here, like never before.

996
01:29:57,940 --> 01:29:59,980
We face our own bombshells and we can...

997
01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:15,800
We can do something about them. We can race to end the overdose capital right here in its heart. We can be a leader in the climate fight. We can finally get a handle on gun violence prevention efforts. We can restore the threads of democracy we've so worn.

998
01:30:16,900 --> 01:30:21,420
These are gifts from the people who asked us to save the lives of their loved ones in their homeland.

999
01:30:21,420 --> 01:30:25,580
may we take them as gifts to save the most lives in our own city.

1000
01:30:26,420 --> 01:30:34,000
And may we one day soon return these gifts with a clear call for an urgent, still that's really needed ceasefire.

1001
01:30:36,790 --> 01:30:41,290
Thank you. Councilwoman Kerns, your next on the list, and then Councilwoman Verca.

1002
01:30:43,110 --> 01:30:46,210
Thank you, Madam Mayor, and fellow council member persons.

1003
01:30:47,170 --> 01:30:56,390
There's been a long-garrison avenue I call probably at least monthly about a variety of homes

1004
01:30:56,390 --> 01:31:00,210
along that way that desperately need help.

1005
01:31:00,990 --> 01:31:08,330
The building commissioners position has been vacant since 1 July 2023 when Tony Harman retired.

1006
01:31:09,330 --> 01:31:12,650
So when can we expect that position to be filled?

1007
01:31:12,650 --> 01:31:16,890
Billy has been the interim director since that day.

1008
01:31:17,370 --> 01:31:19,010
So he is serving in that room.

1009
01:31:19,310 --> 01:31:22,570
I understand he's also trying to do his former job as well.

1010
01:31:23,310 --> 01:31:26,750
And it's quite frankly not working.

1011
01:31:28,350 --> 01:31:34,750
That position is very important as witnessed by the home explosion on

1012
01:31:35,310 --> 01:31:38,230
in North Charleston that had been reported repeatedly.

1013
01:31:38,230 --> 01:31:46,610
these houses are constantly just an ice sore and something needs to be done with them.

1014
01:31:46,710 --> 01:31:52,630
I will call that office again tomorrow. Also, with the new budget coming up, I have a few

1015
01:31:52,630 --> 01:32:02,050
concerns. The retirement fund for our uniform employees is over $7,000 or $7 million short.

1016
01:32:02,050 --> 01:32:10,550
No, excuse me, yeah, that's right, the uniformed employment employees is over $7 million short.

1017
01:32:11,210 --> 01:32:19,030
And the retirement fund for the OPEG is also about $7 million short, both of them are $3 million.

1018
01:32:19,370 --> 01:32:21,650
I'm sorry, but they're $3 million.

1019
01:32:22,630 --> 01:32:31,170
During the mayor's state of the city address, it was announced that there are plans for increasing city employees' salaries

1020
01:32:31,170 --> 01:32:34,790
to at least $15 per hour, which I agree with.

1021
01:32:35,590 --> 01:32:40,650
Also, a public safety building was discussed with no estimated cost.

1022
01:32:41,130 --> 01:32:46,430
The firefighters training facility with no estimated cost and improvements and renovations

1023
01:32:46,430 --> 01:32:51,970
to the municipal auditorium, which was, in fact, closed the morning of the state of the city,

1024
01:32:52,370 --> 01:32:58,710
addressed due to threatening life concerns with no estimated cost for improvement.

1025
01:32:58,710 --> 01:33:03,550
I'm in hopes that at least the historic art deco,

1026
01:33:03,830 --> 01:33:07,290
staff to saw it on that building can be preserved

1027
01:33:07,290 --> 01:33:11,590
and by tying in any new construction into that.

1028
01:33:11,950 --> 01:33:15,950
And at last, but not least, the capital city sports complex.

1029
01:33:17,050 --> 01:33:21,150
With rising building materials and labor costs,

1030
01:33:21,710 --> 01:33:24,490
I estimate that the total increase with the salaries,

1031
01:33:25,250 --> 01:33:27,910
the retirement funds, the construction projects,

1032
01:33:27,910 --> 01:33:33,290
projects are rapidly approaching about a billion dollars, and I would like to know where this

1033
01:33:33,290 --> 01:33:41,390
money is going to come from. Last year, City Council approved to create a committee in conjunction

1034
01:33:41,390 --> 01:33:47,610
with the Conal County Commission to do a feasibility study about the sports complex. We gave

1035
01:33:47,610 --> 01:33:54,810
the committee $5 million towards the project. We have not been provided any information regarding

1036
01:33:54,810 --> 01:34:02,330
the feasibility study. Are they meeting in private? Are they going to hold public listening

1037
01:34:02,330 --> 01:34:12,330
sessions? Where is the transparency with this? Before we voted on the $5 million seed money,

1038
01:34:12,850 --> 01:34:18,750
I specifically asked about the authorization regarding spending the money, and I was told

1039
01:34:18,750 --> 01:34:23,110
But no money would be spent without an additional vote by City Council.

1040
01:34:24,210 --> 01:34:29,190
And that City Council would have to vote whether or not to proceed with the project after

1041
01:34:29,190 --> 01:34:30,610
the feasibility study.

1042
01:34:31,930 --> 01:34:37,270
What are the anticipated expenses for staffing, utilities, cleaning and maintaining the

1043
01:34:37,270 --> 01:34:38,310
sports complex?

1044
01:34:39,070 --> 01:34:41,670
How much are we going to charge to use the facility?

1045
01:34:42,390 --> 01:34:46,590
How will it impact the use of other gyms and the facilities in the area?

1046
01:34:46,590 --> 01:34:53,450
Last week, curimette, during an executive session, they discussed the purchase of the Macy's

1047
01:34:53,450 --> 01:34:53,850
building.

1048
01:34:54,670 --> 01:35:00,730
Additionally, last week and again, today, I can all count the commission, I can all count

1049
01:35:00,730 --> 01:35:05,630
a commissioner announced the ground breaking would occur in April of 2024.

1050
01:35:06,510 --> 01:35:16,490
I have concerns about investing millions of dollars, immediately beside the former Town

1051
01:35:16,490 --> 01:35:22,610
nothing to protect, maintain, or promote the mall, which is highly visible, a highly visible

1052
01:35:22,610 --> 01:35:29,650
dinosaur in the center of our city. Why would we put in a state of the art complex beside

1053
01:35:29,650 --> 01:35:37,150
a virtually abandoned mall? The destruction of the parking garage to build the complex also has

1054
01:35:37,150 --> 01:35:43,610
me confused because when the mall was in its glory, it was hard to find a parking space and

1055
01:35:43,610 --> 01:35:50,810
Rogers State Fall. I believe a better plan would be for the city to take back control of the mall

1056
01:35:50,810 --> 01:35:57,390
itself. All the businesses could be moved to the first floor and include shops at sports enthusiasts

1057
01:35:57,390 --> 01:36:03,570
would need, such as the shoe stores that are going out. The second floor could be the various

1058
01:36:03,570 --> 01:36:10,650
courts, locker rooms, jogging trail, and maybe other attractions such as laser tag arcade games,

1059
01:36:10,650 --> 01:36:16,590
anti-gravity rooms, bowling alleys, zip lines, or roller rink, the list is limitless as

1060
01:36:16,590 --> 01:36:22,990
what could be done there. Leave the food court on the third level and expand it. Keep the current

1061
01:36:22,990 --> 01:36:28,670
anchor restaurants and fill the vehicle once. And of course, build back the parking

1062
01:36:28,670 --> 01:36:40,630
grudges bigger and better and have over the road access to the local hotels that would be

1063
01:36:40,630 --> 01:36:47,650
is a beautiful waterfall. Bring it back. If we're going to do this, at least let it make the attraction

1064
01:36:47,650 --> 01:36:55,370
a real attraction for families, team, groups, and visitors can enjoy it. Thank you.

1065
01:36:56,510 --> 01:37:02,410
That's woman current, Councilwoman Berke. Thank you. I think that's our last council member,

1066
01:37:03,330 --> 01:37:08,850
Councilwoman Far, so Councilwoman Berke and Councilman Far, is there anyone else?

1067
01:37:09,090 --> 01:37:11,970
No, okay. Thank you. Councilwoman Berke, please.

1068
01:37:12,610 --> 01:37:17,330
I just wanted to say a special thank you to Chief Dempsey. You all may or may not know.

1069
01:37:17,490 --> 01:37:22,150
We had a vital business in Canal City that had been operating for a while.

1070
01:37:22,650 --> 01:37:27,370
I found out a better October. We started working together and they closed it down a couple of weeks ago.

1071
01:37:27,630 --> 01:37:28,850
So thank you very much for that.

1072
01:37:31,850 --> 01:37:33,650
Thank you so much. Councilwoman Far.

1073
01:37:33,650 --> 01:37:38,070
bad one more thing. Oh, I'm sorry. That's all right. Just real quick. You all remember the

1074
01:37:38,070 --> 01:37:42,130
incident where the people got stabbed and McDonald's and then on the Roosevelt Avenue,

1075
01:37:42,250 --> 01:37:46,790
which is where I live. A woman was just taking her trash out and got stabbed. Her sister called

1076
01:37:46,790 --> 01:37:53,870
me a couple of days ago and the neighbor who lives three doors down from her is also her landlord

1077
01:37:54,610 --> 01:37:59,150
and they credit him for saving her life because the police at that point didn't even know that

1078
01:37:59,150 --> 01:38:05,090
anybody there had been harmed and she came to him through the yards and got his attention and

1079
01:38:05,090 --> 01:38:09,110
he flagged out of policemen and they were able to get her help so she they feel like he

1080
01:38:09,110 --> 01:38:13,150
saved her life they asked me was there anything we could do to acknowledge him and I wasn't

1081
01:38:13,150 --> 01:38:16,910
sure I was just going to throw it out there I don't know if there's a hometown hero or anything

1082
01:38:16,910 --> 01:38:22,430
like that that we could apply for for him. Thank you. It's always a good time to recognize

1083
01:38:22,430 --> 01:38:26,910
so yeah absolutely thank you thank you so much for that appreciate that

1084
01:38:27,430 --> 01:38:32,870
Councilwoman Farmer. Thank you Madam Mayor and I really didn't think I was

1085
01:38:32,870 --> 01:38:39,370
gonna say anything this evening but I've listened and there's some things that I

1086
01:38:39,370 --> 01:38:45,010
want to make sure that I reiterate things that are very difficult for me to

1087
01:38:45,010 --> 01:38:52,410
discuss but are important because of the folks that I know that elected me

1088
01:38:52,410 --> 01:39:02,210
be here. Whenever we have conversation about the syringe programs, I have said this numerous

1089
01:39:02,210 --> 01:39:11,010
times that when things are one-sided and agendas are pushed and folks are left out that

1090
01:39:11,010 --> 01:39:18,510
suffer because of someone that's in active addiction, I'm not quite sure I would agree that

1091
01:39:18,510 --> 01:39:20,470
The syringe program was successful.

1092
01:39:22,170 --> 01:39:27,050
When I looked through my mother's bank statements and saw that she spent over $200,000

1093
01:39:27,050 --> 01:39:34,870
on her child, that was in active addiction for several years, that would go to the health

1094
01:39:34,870 --> 01:39:40,410
fares and would get the 60 needles that were in a bag and use them as bartering tools

1095
01:39:40,410 --> 01:39:41,350
and commodities.

1096
01:39:41,350 --> 01:39:48,790
And until we start having that conversation, we are going to stay in a vacuum.

1097
01:39:49,710 --> 01:39:56,690
I will continue to be a resounding no if there is not something that is listed about the

1098
01:39:56,690 --> 01:40:03,310
people that have to deal with folks that are in active addiction and their side of the story.

1099
01:40:04,090 --> 01:40:11,330
I also want there to be notice and for other people that are pushing for this type of agenda

1100
01:40:11,330 --> 01:40:14,110
to include the domestic violence victims

1101
01:40:14,110 --> 01:40:17,070
that arise from someone that's in active addiction.

1102
01:40:17,550 --> 01:40:19,390
How successful do you think they would feel

1103
01:40:19,390 --> 01:40:20,510
when they have a broken rib?

1104
01:40:20,990 --> 01:40:23,310
How successful do they think that a syringe program

1105
01:40:23,310 --> 01:40:25,610
would be when they have to live in a home

1106
01:40:25,610 --> 01:40:27,470
with someone that beats them in the face

1107
01:40:27,470 --> 01:40:28,590
or kicks them in the stomach?

1108
01:40:29,050 --> 01:40:31,710
I have yet to hear that conversation

1109
01:40:31,710 --> 01:40:33,210
except coming from me.

1110
01:40:33,430 --> 01:40:35,470
Have yet to hear that conversation.

1111
01:40:36,150 --> 01:40:37,790
When we want to talk about experts,

1112
01:40:38,230 --> 01:40:40,570
the experts are the ones that have the lived experience,

1113
01:40:40,570 --> 01:40:46,810
The experts are the ones that are not sitting behind a table putting together statistics of what may be or what may not be.

1114
01:40:47,010 --> 01:40:50,770
The experts are the ones that I'm speaking about.

1115
01:40:51,490 --> 01:40:56,570
So until that conversation starts, I don't hear anything that you're saying.

1116
01:40:57,930 --> 01:41:09,770
And until I hear about people that look like me and look like my brother and look like the people that are just dying and dying without having any type of access to coverage.

1117
01:41:09,770 --> 01:41:37,210
I hear nothing. I have said this over and over and over and over again and I'm not going to stop saying it because as I've said a number of other times, I am the only black woman that sits on this on this council and every time that something comes up and my words have been skipped over ignored or blatantly just said maybe you don't understand harm reduction. I understand it's so much better than the books that people read.

1118
01:41:37,210 --> 01:41:42,950
I understand it's so much better than the stories that are told or the saliliquities that are mentioned.

1119
01:41:43,410 --> 01:41:45,650
I understand it because I have lived experience.

1120
01:41:46,190 --> 01:41:51,290
And not only do I have that lived experience, the hundreds of not thousands of people that have contacted me,

1121
01:41:51,590 --> 01:41:56,050
since I have spoken up about my lived experience, have said, please keep speaking.

1122
01:41:57,370 --> 01:42:04,550
So, if we are talking about saving the most lives, I would like for there to be someone that's on an advisory committee that has been a victim,

1123
01:42:04,550 --> 01:42:09,590
that has suffered through domestic violence or has had their money stolen or just, you know,

1124
01:42:09,690 --> 01:42:11,110
maybe they'd lost their home.

1125
01:42:11,830 --> 01:42:13,110
That's not success.

1126
01:42:13,670 --> 01:42:18,390
When someone else's success ends up bothering or interfering with another person's life,

1127
01:42:18,790 --> 01:42:19,970
we can't call that success.

1128
01:42:20,110 --> 01:42:20,690
That's failure.

1129
01:42:21,350 --> 01:42:26,810
It's failure over and over and over again and many times that affects people that look like

1130
01:42:26,810 --> 01:42:28,370
mean more than anything else.

1131
01:42:28,370 --> 01:42:38,970
So you can skip me with the heartthrobs, you can skip me with pulling on the heartstrings because I don't have any more heartstrings to pull, I have none.

1132
01:42:39,770 --> 01:42:50,250
Finding, living through three people that I care more about than I can explain to you that died in a 11-month period and walking in and seeing my brother's lifeless body.

1133
01:42:50,250 --> 01:42:57,230
And a syringe right beside of him are walking into a home with feces spread all over the walls

1134
01:42:57,230 --> 01:43:01,390
And 60, 70 needles sitting on the ground and I'm the one picking them up

1135
01:43:01,390 --> 01:43:06,690
You can skip me with the success because it's not successful. It's not successful at all

1136
01:43:06,690 --> 01:43:09,170
And I also want to talk about the legacy press table

1137
01:43:09,170 --> 01:43:11,410
I don't know if any of you all saw it

1138
01:43:11,410 --> 01:43:18,970
But I did on January 8 there was a Nevada judge that was lunge that when there was law enforcement standing right beside of her

1139
01:43:18,970 --> 01:43:26,230
she was hurt. We did certain things to protect the mayor and to protect us. I know that most

1140
01:43:26,230 --> 01:43:31,730
people in this room saw it because it was on television over and over and over again. We try

1141
01:43:31,730 --> 01:43:36,730
to make the best decisions that we possibly can, but when we sit in a room and we're called Heartless,

1142
01:43:37,050 --> 01:43:42,750
when we sit in a room and we're called Murderers, when we sit in the room and we are talked to

1143
01:43:42,750 --> 01:43:48,250
like we are the scum of the earth and if our words don't matter, I don't understand how that's

1144
01:43:48,250 --> 01:43:55,170
productive. I really don't. And I hope that I hope and pray again as the only black woman

1145
01:43:55,170 --> 01:44:00,070
that sits on this council that my words are listened to because, quite frankly, this

1146
01:44:00,070 --> 01:44:03,850
and the notes that I just recently took, it maybe it wasn't as eloquent as something

1147
01:44:03,850 --> 01:44:09,410
that was prepared. None of this. None of this that I have been saying over and over again

1148
01:44:09,410 --> 01:44:13,070
since I have been on this council was mentioned. Thank you for your time.

1149
01:44:13,070 --> 01:44:16,890
Thank you so much, Council Member Far, the clerk will please now call the roll.

1150
01:44:17,610 --> 01:44:21,470
Annie Berke, Burton, separately.

1151
01:44:22,330 --> 01:44:36,190
Cook, Fagre, Feral, Giannola, Haas, Hoover, Jenkins, Jones, Perns, King, Monardi, more,

1152
01:44:36,190 --> 01:44:52,950
Overstreet, Pepper, Far, Robinson, Rubio, Selango, Snodgrass, Solomon, Steel Hammer, Taylor, Mayor

1153
01:44:52,950 --> 01:44:53,430
Good one.

1154
01:44:53,630 --> 01:44:53,750
Here.

1155
01:44:54,150 --> 01:44:54,770
Madam President.

1156
01:44:57,400 --> 01:44:59,960
That Charleston City Council will be adjourned until-

1157
01:45:00,660 --> 01:45:03,740
4th at 7 p.m. Thank you. Council adjourned.