[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:09] Well, good evening, and I'd like to call the order our Monday, October 6, 2025, regular Columbia City Council meeting.
[0:17] I invite all those who are able to please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance.
[0:20] This
[0:25] is the flag of the United States of America, and this is the Republic for which it stands.
[0:32] One nation under God, in a divisible with liberty and justice for all.
[0:42] Sheila, will you please call roll?
[0:44] Ms. Buffalo, here, Ms. Carol, here, Ms. Elwood, here, Ms. Sample, here.
[0:50] Mr. Foster, here. Mr. Waterman, Ms. Peters.
[0:56] Well, thank you for joining us this evening.
[0:57] This is our first Columbia City Council meeting, since the events of the weekend of home
[1:03] coming from Mizu. So I'd like for all to please join me in a moment of silence and
[1:08] remember, instead of Ion and Williams and her bright light.
[1:37] Thank you.
[1:39] Well, the public have multiple opportunities to engage and speak at Columbia City Council meetings.
[1:45] You can option during public hearing, old business, new business, and at the end of the meeting.
[1:50] I do ask people to combine the remarks to the legislation being discussed if it's part of our normal council meeting.
[1:58] If you're an individual commenting, you'll get three minutes.
[2:01] If you're an organization that's affected by the legislation being discussed, you can request five minutes.
[2:06] I do ask that you help me acknowledge that so that our fellows can change the shot clock there.
[2:10] That'll tell you your timer left for that.
[2:13] I do ask also that people be respectful of both the time limits and one another.
[2:18] We don't always have to agree on everything but we will respect each other as individuals and humans and neighbors.
[2:25] Demonstrations that might intimidate your neighbors from speaking are not allowed at council meetings.
[2:30] I want people to address issues not individuals and refrain from personal attacks including on city staff.
[2:36] If there are disrupt disruptions, they'll be addressed with a warning in if necessary removal and recess.
[2:42] I'll you'll bring the gavel if that were to happen.
[2:44] All right, so moving forward on our agenda, up first, I'll make a motion to approve the September 15th,
[2:50] 2025 meeting minutes. Do I have a second? Second by Betsy Peters, all those in favor say aye.
[2:55] Aye. Any opposed? All right, next up for our agenda. Does anyone have any changes to the agenda?
[3:03] Seeing none, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda as posted. Do we have a second?
[3:07] Second by Betsy again, all those in favor say aye. Aye.
[3:11] And then next, as mayor, I'm going to do a point of personal privilege.
[3:15] I'd like to invite police chief Shlutey forward to discuss the recent shooting down town
[3:19] and what efforts have been done already for improved safety and future actions expected.
[3:25] Thank you, Chief.
[3:34] Good evening.
[3:35] So I'm going to go over quite a bit of information.
[3:38] I'll try to make it as much in chronological orders I possibly can.
[3:44] So,
[3:49] as far as downtown, and I'm going to repeat myself probably a little bit, but that's okay,
[3:54] we actually started pulling data points for what was going on downtown earlier this summer.
[3:59] So we recognized we had some issues with increased violence, specifically gun violence in
[4:04] the downtown area.
[4:06] And we tracked those incidents and kind of that culminated into looking at what's going on
[4:12] primarily after barclos of the 11 incidents we recognized the vast majority of those were
[4:18] after barclosing time. We'd had a kind of a hotspot in the Broadway and 9th and 10th area
[4:23] that shifted over into the A-Harblock of Walnut Street. So June 8th, we started in earnest putting
[4:33] more officers downtown in response to this. And we really tried to focus them on not only dealing
[4:39] with obviously big things calls for service that normally come out like fights and disturbances,
[4:44] but also trying to start doing lower level enforcement so that we can really kind of
[4:49] set the tone for what kind of behavior we should be having downtown.
[4:53] So, we've been tracking enforcement actions, we've had well over 300.
[5:00] Since June 8th, between Friday and Saturday 9pm to 4am. July 1st was kind of another watermark in this and that we had some more folks get out of training and we were able to add additional eight officers to our overnight efforts.
[5:17] It's not really helped our capacity to have more people down town during these key times when we needed to have more presence.
[5:24] So that really increased patrol staffing by about 12% just in June, and then it was a 20% increase from the prior year.
[5:33] So we'd really, 20% a lot more officers on the street, obviously during that time.
[5:42] Citywide total crime data right now, as we sit here and if you're not familiar with the, we have a new data dashboard.
[5:49] It's Google, Columbia Police Transparency.
[5:52] There's a link that will take you right to it.
[5:55] Our crime stats are on there.
[5:56] They get updated every day, based on what we upload
[5:58] into the system as reports get done.
[6:00] So that's a great place for you to go and get accurate crime
[6:03] data.
[6:03] It's really important that you go to us as the source.
[6:07] And I even say that over the highway patrol website,
[6:09] because they only update their data every 30 days
[6:11] where we do it every 24 hours.
[6:14] So right now, total crime is up about 14.7%.
[6:17] So what's total crime?
[6:18] So that's crimes against persons.
[6:21] It's crimes property crimes, crimes against property,
[6:23] and crimes against society.
[6:26] And breaking those down a little bit further
[6:27] for the last 365 days.
[6:30] So from this day, 365 days backwards,
[6:33] crimes against persons are up 7%.
[6:36] So that's almost exclusively driven by assault.
[6:40] So assaults are the most common crimes against persons
[6:43] that we investigate, and that can run the gambit.
[6:45] First degree assault is somebody getting shot or stabbed.
[6:48] then you have clear down to like a fourth degree assault where it's just a threat.
[6:52] So that is a huge group of offenses as an assault.
[6:55] Crimes against property or down 13.6%
[7:00] and crimes against society are up 37.2%, which might ask yourself like,
[7:06] I did. Why is that? Well, crimes against society includes things like drug use and possession,
[7:12] trespassing weapons offenses where there's no victim. So if someone's just in possession of a weapon
[7:16] legally, liquor law violations, things of that nature.
[7:21] The lion's share of those types of crimes are driven by proactive police work.
[7:28] So I believe at this point the reason that category is so significantly higher over
[7:33] last year is because we have more officers on the street which allows us to do more proactive
[7:38] policing.
[7:38] So we're encountering these types of offends of more finding more guns, drugs, being able
[7:45] enforce some lower-level crimes that fall under this category as well.
[7:51] So moving down on from that,
[7:59] comparing the two-month period of July and August of 2024 to
[8:03] 2025, arrests are up 31%.
[8:07] And next to that, we have also reduced our response time for calls for service by about 20%.
[8:14] So that's a really big improvement, and that's all driven by increased capacity.
[8:19] Then I'm going to move on from kind of how I'll just start it back in June.
[8:24] To downtown staffing and how generally I get lots of questions about how many officers are where when that's a real moving target.
[8:33] Generally on a shift right now, we have about 16 officers assigned to a shift, they're spread out between beats and sectors, but we pull more resources into the downtown district overnight, obviously on busier nights because we just need more presence down there. There's a lot more people down there.
[8:50] So it's pretty common for supervisors to get on the radio and say, hey, guess what, it's that time again, everybody come downtown, we got a managed bar close and everything that's going on.
[9:01] We've been working with other departments prior to, so I think some of you know this, but I came down and worked the night after the MUKU game, and had made a lot of observations about a variety of things, honestly, the number and volume of people downtown, not only for the game, but long after the bars closed.
[9:21] And it got me thinking about a lot of things I don't normally have to think about like food
[9:26] trucks and parking and where we pick up people for ride share and all of these things
[9:31] were kind of contributing to areas where we have pinch points with foot traffic and car
[9:35] traffic and lighting and a lot of other variety of things that really just made me think
[9:40] it was time to look at downtown overall and say hey let's look at this holistically and
[9:45] try to figure out where we can improve all of these different things with an overall view
[9:50] just safety in general. Obviously those things then play into larger offenses as like when we
[9:55] have fights or we have shootings.
[10:00] To that end, public works in the Health Department have been a great asset helping us try to parse through some of our parking and traffic issues.
[10:09] And then Rebecca Roslett and her team came down this last weekend.
[10:14] Dissemitication with our food vendors and make sure they're supposed to be, and we're not doing things like playing music from food trucks.
[10:20] And other things that kind of contribute to this atmosphere that I think was drawing people into stay downtown long after hours kind of have street parties.
[10:30] When we had the incident on homecoming weekend, post that, we had, I began conversations
[10:37] obviously in earnest with MUPD and Boone County as well as the Highway Patrol about coming
[10:42] into office and extra assistance.
[10:44] They were very open to that, and we had 27 extra folks downtown this weekend, both nights,
[10:52] to help that showed in the stats that we put out today, but one of the things I said in the
[10:59] media that I think got a lot of attention was not being able to really in earnest and wholly
[11:04] staff at downtown unit until next May. A lot of that has to do with the fact that currently,
[11:11] so people are going to, I can get really down the weeds here, but since the budget got adopted,
[11:16] that changed our numbers a little bit, so now we have some more positions added in and some
[11:19] got moved around. So we have 12 officer vacancies in this sergeant vacancy right now but that's
[11:25] because we got some positions added and moves some things around at the airport.
[11:32] We have seven
[11:33] officers in field training right now. We have 16 officers that currently in the academy. So that
[11:39] makes it feel like more vacancies than they really are because they're not out functioning yet. So
[11:44] that's why I said, May because that's when all those folks will presumably be out of training
[11:48] our goal is to reconstitute what we all used to know as the downtown unit.
[11:54] In the interim, we talked about what are the stop gaps we can try to fill in in between there.
[12:00] So we actually pulled one of our patrol sergeants from night shift.
[12:03] He's been assigned to really coordinate all of our downtown efforts.
[12:08] And that includes staffing, having extra people there, looking at all the different things I talked to him about.
[12:15] I get a lot of questions about the downtown whites.
[12:17] We do have those programs and can control those now.
[12:23] There is a city ordinance that governs when the lights are going to be at certain levels that we have to abide by.
[12:28] And so we have them program now to come on to their highest setting.
[12:32] I think they told me at 1230 those get turned up and then they stay that way until after bar close.
[12:38] So they're on a timer that goes on every day.
[12:41] And my observation being downtown is they're very helpful.
[12:45] It does illuminate a lot of the darker areas of the streets and sidewalks.
[12:55] This weekend there were a lot of great outcomes from this weekend.
[13:01] We did a lot of enforcement action and I will tell you not only myself but two of my assistant chiefs worked downtown over the weekend.
[13:11] And the remark that they made to me after the first night was they were absolutely shocked by the number of firearms that were being legally carried downtown.
[13:22] On Friday night alone we located in a return firearms to approximately 20 individuals who were stopped by police and did not appear to be patronizing any businesses downtown.
[13:32] I'm going to read a little bit from the press release we just put out prior to the meeting starting because I think this is really important for people to know.
[13:38] This is a couple examples of what we're finding downtown.
[13:43] So on October 3rd, one of our street crimes unit detectives conducted a traffic stop at
[13:46] cherry and eighth street for vehicle failing to display two license plates.
[13:52] Front seat passenger in the vehicle was identified as Damian hunt 32 of Columbia, during
[13:56] the stop of semi-automatic rifle was observed wrapped in a jacket between his feet.
[14:01] Hunt is a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms, the detective arrested
[14:06] on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, arm criminal action, and tampering with physical
[14:11] evidence and a felony prosecution.
[14:14] Hunt was involved in a shooting downtown in Columbia in 2019 in which he was arrested
[14:18] on original charges of first degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon in arm criminal action.
[14:23] These charges were reduced to a conviction of second degree assault, and Hunt was sentenced
[14:27] to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections that was set to begin on September
[14:30] 28th of 2020.
[14:34] So that's one example of many I can tell you, when I started, when out in the car Saturday night the very first traffic stop we pulled up on the two officers were pulling people out of the car and they were making a gun safe that they had found in the car.
[14:47] So the number of weapons downtown that are being legally carried is an issue.
[14:54] It's also an issue from the sense that officers are aware of this and that makes every single interaction.
[15:00] Section, a height and sense of, they have to have a height and sense of awareness and obviously concern
[15:05] because there are so many people armed downtown. Over the two day enforcement effort, we did
[15:12] two hundred and two traffic stops. 83 check subjects. We wrote 57 citations. We made 27 custodial
[15:19] arrests, search 19 vehicles, 49 people, frist 17 people, and there were 39 non-criminal citations.
[15:28] So there's just things like parking tickets.
[15:33] This has been a group effort.
[15:34] I'm so appreciative of our law enforcement partners that have been willing to help.
[15:40] I think, you know, we have spoken about some of the things we'd like to see changed
[15:45] in Jefferson City concerning some of the gun issues.
[15:49] My staff and I met this morning and talked more in depth about that.
[15:54] And besides the fact that there's nothing currently prohibiting a juvenile
[15:57] from possessing a gun, there's also this issue of being able, anyone can conceal a weapon as
[16:05] long as they're legally allowed to be in possession of one. That just has created this
[16:11] extra barrier for us. And I'm by no means before all the people start posting on social media
[16:18] that I'm anti-second amendment. That is not true at all. I just think there's some common sense
[16:23] things that we could do here that would make our job a lot easier and any and everyone being able
[16:28] to conceal with gun is highly problematic for us. So if there's anything I didn't cover,
[16:34] I'm happy to answer questions. Well, I think we'll try to save some for the end on this
[16:40] to her. I don't know if there's anything else that you would want to add to this update.
[16:44] No, I think it's one of the questions that we've had as no, no, what resources have the city
[16:50] allocated toward public safety.
[16:53] And so it's one of the things when we look at our budget,
[16:57] we look at our priorities,
[16:58] and the public safety is one of our top priorities.
[17:01] And we've been able to make move mountains
[17:04] in the last couple of years,
[17:06] actually hire police officers for a long time,
[17:08] we can hire anybody.
[17:10] And we had more of a exitist than we had
[17:12] in people coming on board.
[17:14] And to be able to say that within two years,
[17:16] we've been able to hire 50.
[17:18] You know, that's phenomenal in most cities, that's a celebration.
[17:23] We've also started an office to help address some of the community and social issues around community violence.
[17:29] So we can really understand the root cause and we can be better prepared to address those things.
[17:34] Our goal is always to make sure that we have a safe community.
[17:38] Our goal is to make sure that people in Columbia can walk and feel safe from the things that we do.
[17:43] And so those are the actions that we've been trying to take for the last couple of years.
[17:46] And it takes us a while to kind of turn this boat around.
[17:50] I do see the light at the end of the tunnel.
[17:52] It is going to take a lot of work.
[17:54] No, it's not just staff.
[17:55] It's also the community.
[17:57] It's all us working hand-in-hand to be successful.
[18:00] Those are the things I would like to say.
[18:02] I appreciate that.
[18:03] I appreciate Lumi.
[18:04] I'm happy to be at the beginning.
[18:06] Most of you won't stay till the end.
[18:08] So I wanted her to give her update at the beginning.
[18:10] So thank you, Chiefs.
[18:11] I appreciate you work really thankful for the brave men and women at CPD.
[18:15] So thank you for that and thank you to Carlin for her support.
[18:18] Thank you.
[18:18] Thank you all.
[18:22] Moving on to our special items, we have a few special items this evening.
[18:26] So first we have the presentation of our Capture Coimal Finalist.
[18:30] So these are the finalists for the fifth annual Capture Coimal Budget Contest.
[18:34] This contest began in 2021 for the fiscal year 22 budget document, and it's a goal of
[18:39] engaging our residents in the budget process while also showcasing the beauty of our community.
[18:44] So each year local photographers are invited to submit their work for consideration in the city's budget book.
[18:49] For the fiscal year 26 budget we had 48 outstanding photos of missions.
[18:55] And based on the artistic quality clarity and how well they highlight Columbia.
[18:58] 12 photos advanced to public voting round on the city's Facebook page.
[19:02] And from their community members help to select the top three finalists.
[19:06] So when I call your name, I'm going to ask you to come up.
[19:09] You'll receive a framed copy of your photo and then we'll have Josh take a group photo of everybody.
[19:13] So I'm going to list everybody's name, and if you want,
[19:16] I'm going to list everyone's name, and then I'll come join you.
[19:19] So we've got Solta Na Afro, wait, let's see, I got this, Afro's Jay Anni.
[19:27] This photo, or in the top spot, with 133 votes.
[19:30] And it's the one that's featured on the front of our budget document.
[19:33] We've got Nathan Jesse.
[19:35] Nathan's vote received 96 votes, and it's highlighted inside the budget book.
[19:39] And then last but not least, Megan Montesignos, who is actually part of the budget staff,
[19:45] but where it is not rigged.
[19:48] She received 67 votes and also proudly featured in the document.
[19:51] So I want to ask everyone to please join me in thanking them for sharing their talent and creativity.
[21:44] All right, I think we have a new cover for next year, maybe? All right, I want to thank everyone who did participate in that.
[21:51] It's a way for our community to come together with what is really a boring budget process, sorry Matthew Lou, but thanks for everyone for participating.
[21:59] Next, we have two very special items on us, the swearing in of two new department directors.
[22:05] So I'd like to ask Clint Smith to please join Sheila and the City Manager at the podium for his oath.
[22:22] You can come on this way.
[22:25] And then move that microphone to see you.
[22:39] I Clint Smith.
[22:41] Do solemnly swear that I possess all qualifications for
[22:51] the Office of the Director of the Community Development Department.
[22:56] for the city of Columbia, Missouri, that I am not subject to any of the
[23:03] other just qualifications set forth in the charter of the city of Columbia that I
[23:11] will support the Constitution and laws of the United States and of the state of
[23:18] Missouri and the charter and the charter and the ordinances of the city of
[23:24] and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of my office. So help me got.
[24:30] Okay, congratulations and welcome to play.
[24:40] Next I would like to invite William
[24:43] Rata, the director of Housing and Neighborhood Services to come forward for his oath.
[24:58] I will him Rata.
[25:00] Do solemnly swear that I possess all qualifications for the Office of Director of the House of the Housing and Neighborhood Services Department, for the City of Columbia, Missouri, and I am not subject to any of the disqualifications, that Fourth of the Charter, the City of Columbia, the City of Columbia, that I will support the Constitution and Laws of the United States and Laws of the United States and the State of Missouri, and the Charter in
[25:35] in the charter and ordinances of the city of Columbia.
[25:39] And now, a faithfully discharge.
[25:43] The duties of my office.
[25:45] So, how many got
[26:53] it?
[26:54] Welcome, Bill.
[27:00] I think Dick Carlin is overjoyed
[27:02] to have all of his department directors,
[27:04] like staffs.
[27:05] I thank you for that.
[27:06] All right.
[27:07] So, members of a public can contact the city manager's office
[27:10] by noon the Wednesday before a city council meeting
[27:12] to schedule a public comment.
[27:14] So, schedule public comment cannot be on items that are on the same night's agenda.
[27:18] And I've note it's been a typical practice of City Council to ask for additional follow-up
[27:22] of questions asked to night of staff at the end of the meeting if it's warranted.
[27:26] So tonight we have two scheduled public comments.
[27:28] So I would first like to ask Matthew Shack to please come forward to speak.
[27:37] Hello, thank you.
[27:39] I do have a patient.
[27:41] It will, yeah, the magic happens and then you click on your PowerPoint.
[27:45] Should I make the magic happen?
[27:47] Yes, sorry.
[27:47] The magic is just that that came on.
[27:52] And then just do it like, yes, all the things.
[27:57] Perfect.
[27:58] Thank you.
[27:59] My name is Matthew Shackt.
[28:01] I live it 211 North and Street, apartment 101, right
[28:06] across from Stevens Lake Park.
[28:07] I'm here representing Midwest, which is Columbia's Community
[28:11] Media Center.
[28:12] We are the inheritor of community media.
[28:15] The original was Columbia Access Television, which
[28:17] founded in 2004. We have over 240 members with many more 100 supporters, donors, and volunteers.
[28:26] We've come here today just to introduce ourselves and if you are a Midwest member or supporter,
[28:32] could you please stand up right now?
[28:42] And if this is your first time to a city council meeting,
[28:44] can you raise your hand?
[28:47] We meet the first and third Mondays.
[28:56] So I could give you numbers, but I thought it would be more impactful if we were here in person.
[29:02] I want to be brief, I know I only have a little bit of your time, and I can't help but recognize the public safety circumstances that we find ourselves in, while I'm here asking for funding for community media.
[29:16] I'd like to point out that if people are shooting with cameras, they are not shooting with guns.
[29:22] And if we provide them a safe, accessible space to learn and grow and connect, they are not seeking that downtown with people who may not have their best interests in mind.
[29:34] So, if you had breakfast this morning, you might have had a beverage, perhaps it was coffee.
[29:42] A barista may have poured that coffee for you, a truck driver may have shipped it to the coffee shop,
[29:50] a warehouse owner may have stored it and prevented pests from eating it.
[29:54] There was a whole chain of collaboration and participation that brought that cup of coffee to you.
[30:00] So that one little good thing that major morning bright came from many, many, many people.
[30:07] I'd like you to
[30:08] look at your community in the same way. So here are some snapshots of things that have happened recently
[30:13] in your community. Let's ask how many people made this happen.
[30:21] There's a workshop, film workshop,
[30:23] run by Ragtag Cinema with gear provided by Midwest.
[30:29] There's a downtown music and arts festival
[30:31] and marketplace with AV equipment provided by Midwest.
[30:38] Here's a public candidate form,
[30:40] where you asked constituents to come and ask you questions
[30:43] with AV equipment provided by Midwest.
[30:49] Here are the next generation of professional photographers
[30:52] getting a resume building professional experience at Midwest.
[30:57] And look at their smiles.
[31:02] Here are members of your community celebrating the life of a citizen
[31:06] Separated in multiple states, a family of musicians performing together in real time for the ceremony with technical expertise and equipment provided by Midwest.
[31:20] And here are a couple of dozen film apprentices who are taking advantage of Missouri's new tax credit, which is bringing feature films and pilots to the state of Missouri for the first time in 10 years,
[31:32] getting that training so that they can serve on productions that will then be able to take advantage
[31:38] of that tax credit with space and facilities provided by Midwest.
[31:45] So you see a common factor in all of these is community media.
[31:51] Now, when I think of community media, these are the images that come to my mind because this
[31:54] is the less glamour inside.
[31:56] This is our studio when we got it.
[31:58] It was dusty.
[31:59] It was an auto part store.
[32:00] It had oil stains on the floor.
[32:02] The roof was leaking.
[32:03] The AV are the HVAC system did not work.
[32:07] These are our volunteers in the snow rescuing equipment from cat, which the city did not have a plan for.
[32:17] This is us taking that equipment along with donations and pieces from MU surplus and making a studio.
[32:25] And these are our numbers to date going from zero members to at this point 240, the numbers speak for themselves.
[32:37] And so you can imagine when we got this letter from the city in June that said that they were no longer interested in funding us,
[32:42] that we were quite surprised in that letter.
[32:45] It was said that there's no more funding for peg channels,
[32:48] which is the legacy cable channel that was originally
[32:50] the backbone of community media.
[32:54] And so we go into the budget and yet the funding mechanism
[32:58] for community media still exists.
[33:00] In 2024 it was over $300,000.
[33:05] 2025 it was over $4,000 and $60,000.
[33:08] Thank you, man.
[33:10] I would just like to thank you for your time
[33:12] and we'll provide this PowerPoint to you so you can follow up with us. Thank you. Thank you.
[33:27] I would now like to ask Bonnie Steinmetz to please come forward to speak.
[33:35] Good evening. And I am
[33:37] speaking on behalf of the Como Renewal Project.
[33:46] I think to the right.
[34:02] Yep.
[34:02] You might need to go to the top because I think that might be your last slide. Oh Josh will help you.
[34:13] Okay, so this evening I am going to talk about money matters and so we are hearing that
[34:24] there will likely be an increase in sales tax, possibly property tax, parks and
[34:30] wreck fees, and parking meters. It is projected that expenditures will deplete reserves
[34:37] by FY27. And there was a quote in the Comobus about Mr. Seewood and Lou advising that operating
[34:49] expenses should not exceed operating revenues. It's unsustainable and that using cash reserves to
[35:00] Fund ongoing operations, will cause a tax increase or a need to cut expenses.
[35:09] So this is just a graph showing the increase in the number of employees within our city's government.
[35:16] And just to keep in mind that the new minimum wage bump also increased the expensive wages for many city employees.
[35:23] this is directly from comodot.gov documents. For example, salaries for part-time staff in parts
[35:30] and wreck increase $240,000 over all this year. And the next slide I'm going to show is that many
[35:37] salaries within the city government are over 90,000 a year. This was kind of a surprise to me as I
[35:45] looked through it and not saying that that isn't justified, but when you look at some of the
[35:52] expenditures for the city and the number of employees, then it kind of makes sense why expenses.
[35:58] This is part of the reason for the expenses increasing.
[36:03] So this is a little bit hard to see, but these are the different job titles and what those salaries are.
[36:09] Again, I'm just capturing those that were 90,000 or more.
[36:13] And so what I found were these were approximately 90 positions that are at that salary rate.
[36:21] And then we have an example of some expenditures, so on here health and human services you can see it starts out.
[36:31] I think it was in 20 and goes through 24.
[36:35] And so within that five years expenses increase 61% and from FY23 to FY24 expenses increased almost 33%.
[36:48] same type of graph you see for the city manager department but I will say for that one
[36:54] when you look in the notes and I didn't catch it right away. This department actually had IT services
[37:00] move in to the budget so you have to kind of look at the notes to be able to decipher what those
[37:07] expenses are.
[37:11] Public safety I thought this was interesting because we've spoken a lot about increased
[37:19] CPD positions, but when you look at the graph, they've actually been stagnant on what they've
[37:24] been able to fill over the last few years, so that really hasn't changed, hopefully that
[37:30] is turning around. The quote that you see there on the right-hand side is actually quotes from
[37:37] are to homeless outreach team officers,
[37:40] and this was in the Komo magazine.
[37:46] So what they're speaking of, one says,
[37:48] I cannot help someone who is not willing to help themselves,
[37:51] so they're speaking about their work
[37:53] with the chronically homeless.
[37:55] It is a vicious cycle,
[37:56] we're running into the same subjects over and over again.
[38:00] These individuals have tried
[38:01] to utilize them any services provided,
[38:03] but prefer to stay homeless because of independence.
[38:07] And then Todd says it's challenging every time you're dealing with someone who is homeless and they don't want help it continue to violate the law.
[38:15] That is the biggest challenge I've seen.
[38:17] There are some who will use every excuse not to use the resources or services.
[38:22] We have to offer them but continue to do the things we ask them not to do.
[38:27] So just keep this quote in mind and I will talk a little bit more about it.
[38:32] This is showing one of the line items of expenses training and travel, so for FY24 there was a
[38:40] significant increase in that line item. The prior year it had been $654,000, which was an increase
[38:48] year over year and then in FY24 it had increased to almost a million.
[38:58] So the question is, and I apologize
[39:00] this is a little hard to read, where these expenses necessary. So looking back, we spent a lot
[39:07] on a pedestrian safety survey. We had travel outside of Columbia and yet we have poverty in
[39:17] Columbia. So we have significantly more a higher rate of poverty compared to Missouri overall
[39:26] And, unfortunately, a lot of those are children.
[39:30] Thank you, Bonnie.
[39:32] Thank you very much.
[39:34] All right.
[39:35] Moving on to our public hearings.
[39:38] Sheila, will you please read public hearing 2925?
[39:42] Public hearing 2925 is a proposed construction of a sidewalk improvement project along the south side of West,
[39:49] Broadway, between Maple, Drive, and West Boulevard.
[39:52] Do we have a staff report?
[39:54] Yes.
[40:01] Good evening. My name is Shane Creach and I'm the Public Works Director. This project would construct approximately 2,100 feet of 5 foot wide concrete sidewalk along the south side of Broadway between maple wood drive and west boulevard.
[40:18] The project also includes a substantial amount of 1,000 feet of new carbon gutter and some stormwater inlet work.
[40:27] An interested party's meeting was held on July 14, 2025, 8 written comments were received and 14 citizens attended the meeting.
[40:37] The total project is estimated at $616,000.
[40:43] Motot will fund up to 80% of the project using tap grant funds.
[40:47] The city's capital improvement sales tax will fund the remainder.
[40:52] The construction of the project is anticipated beginning in the fall of 2026.
[40:56] Lee White assistant public or director is here with me tonight and we're happy to answer
[41:00] any questions you might have.
[41:02] Thank you, Shane.
[41:03] Do we have any questions from the council at this point?
[41:09] All right.
[41:11] In that case, we'll open the public area.
[41:19] Anyone wants to come and speak to this, please come to the podium.
[41:24] Madam Mayor, the members of the council and the mayor.
[41:27] phone a little closer to you. You move the microphone a little closer. Thank you. May I have five minutes.
[41:35] I'm sorry. You an organization affected by the legislation. I have two homes in the
[41:40] neighborhood. One on Maplewood and one on West Broadway. I think I'm more qualified than anyone
[41:45] you're going to find to speak. You can do the three and then they'll add two at the end. Go ahead.
[41:51] Can you say your name and address please? My name is Mitchell Moore. I have 57 years experience
[41:56] residing in the neighborhood I reside at 12 10 West Broadway where I maintain a home office
[42:03] for my law practice for the past 37 years. My wife and I also have a residence at 500
[42:09] Maplewood Drive in a house. My parents built 57 years ago. So I live between Maplewood Drive
[42:15] and Hillside where Hillside Drive comes out on West Broadway and I can't imagine anyone
[42:21] We're familiar with the neighborhood and me.
[42:25] I can tell you, this proposal's been rushed.
[42:28] One meeting, July 4th, and middle of summer,
[42:32] out is all get out.
[42:35] But the disappointing thing is, in the conversation
[42:40] I've had both with the city engineer, Dr. Hussain,
[42:43] and the engineering supervisor, Alice and Anderson,
[42:46] they both told me the same thing
[42:47] when I asked him about three foot wide sidewalks.
[42:50] They said, well, the ADA, man, they's five.
[42:52] That's not true.
[42:54] I finally hit the law books Friday and found out that the ADA
[43:01] requires three-foot sidewalks.
[43:03] And that's much more appropriate for this area,
[43:06] because there's very little pedestrian traffic.
[43:11] There's some pedestrian traffic on the north side.
[43:15] on the south side, it's almost non-existent, people can do walk on the grass and all that,
[43:23] but the people on the south side probably live in our one and they go to work and rarely
[43:32] have cause to go any further now, they do cross Broadway and they do need a crossing because
[43:42] North is the arc, the farmer's market, and curves, but the thing that would be best would
[43:58] be a combination of a three-foot wide sidewalk on the south side, and traffic lights at
[44:04] the intersection of Pershing, Spring Valley, and West Broadway.
[44:08] Spring Valley has only one output, and that is on West Broadway.
[44:13] Those folks have a hard time getting out of Spring Valley, and the pedestrians have a hard
[44:19] time crossing Spring Valley.
[44:22] I don't think a pedestrian study has been done.
[44:27] I do know a traffic study was done some 20 years ago and found that there are 15,000 cars
[44:32] day on West, they go on West Broadway. It's not a walk in a park. It's more like a walk on a
[44:41] racetrack. It's loud. It's noisy, it's dusty. I walked it many a time. And if you make five foot sidewalks
[44:50] in there, you're going to ruin the residential character of the neighborhood, which not the worst thing
[44:56] For me, I've got a home office, if all those houses.
[45:00] A few weeks ago, he asked me to decide to resound to some mixed use, office, commercial, whatever.
[45:09] That's not the worst thing for me, but it is bad for the neighborhood.
[45:12] And I do care about the neighborhood. I really love that neighborhood.
[45:17] That's why I've got two places there right now.
[45:19] This project isn't ready. It didn't get vetted well by the residents who were told that three
[45:29] three-foot sidewalks could not be had. Well, they can, and they should be, because the unique
[45:38] nature of this road, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you all have.
[45:45] Thank you, Mr. Moore.
[45:47] Would anybody else from the public wish to speak on the proposed construction of the West
[45:52] Broadway side-up from Maybewood to West?
[45:59] Are you going separately? Are you going to be reading together?
[46:01] We don't have anything to read.
[46:03] OK, go together.
[46:04] We look like you get three minutes.
[46:06] Let's go.
[46:08] We are James and Annelis Bill.
[46:10] We live at 1312 West Broadway, or you might
[46:13] know it as the big White House with police shutters.
[46:17] We have one of the oldest houses in all of Columbia.
[46:22] On that note, there's not already
[46:25] just not a lot of space for us.
[46:27] We had a great experience with the city planners,
[46:30] with the engineer and charge of the project,
[46:33] they did an awesome job trying to change things,
[46:35] accommodate it to make it better for us.
[46:38] But even at the end of that,
[46:40] it's better than the original plan,
[46:42] but just can't be better than what's there now.
[46:45] We have a very steep driveway,
[46:47] so turning on and off of Broadway is already kind of a challenge
[46:50] if we add any more to that.
[46:52] It just doesn't really work for us.
[46:55] We have a lot more she wanted to say.
[46:57] Yeah, I just, one of the big things is our front doors so close to the road because it was built so long ago.
[47:05] And this project would require the city to buy two feet into everyone's yard sticks in the public easement.
[47:12] And being, we're trying to be good stewards of this old house.
[47:15] We don't know if that's in the house is best.
[47:19] Interest to lose some of the land. It's just, it's really scary as new homeowners to hear about.
[47:24] Some changes and losing some of our land,
[47:28] just because we're so close to the road,
[47:30] I think, what our neighbor said about just a study.
[47:35] If it was for, if it had such a great benefit to the community,
[47:39] I think we could deal with it a little bit more,
[47:43] but right now the other side of the road
[47:45] makes more sense for people to walk on.
[47:47] And we don't see very much foot traffic
[47:49] to justify the project that's going to be a pretty big
[47:53] convenience for a lot of us who live on Broadway. So if there could be more of a study going
[47:59] going on to figure out how many people would actually use this, that would be great because
[48:07] this will be big for us, just, it's really stressful buying a house a few months later,
[48:13] being like, oh, they went up on sidewalk. Oh, we only have so much room for parking and all this stuff.
[48:18] It's just be nice for a little bit more research to be done on the front end.
[48:25] Thank you.
[48:28] Would anybody else from the public wish to speak?
[48:35] Hello, McKenzie Ortiz.
[48:36] I'm here with local motion tonight.
[48:39] 201 West Broadway is our office.
[48:41] I just wanted to say that we support this project.
[48:45] We are often walking on West Broadway.
[48:48] And we think that anything that will connect people
[48:52] and increase accessibility as a win.
[48:55] So, thank you.
[48:57] Thank you.
[49:06] Kathy Barretto, I live on two spring valley,
[49:10] which is on the corner of Broadway,
[49:12] and spring valley, my parents have owned that house since 1968.
[49:16] I lived in it a while and then moved
[49:19] and was gone from Columbia for 39 years
[49:22] came back to take care of my parents.
[49:25] And I agree with Mitch, Mitch,
[49:27] my next door neighbor and we don't see very many people walking up in our area and I think
[49:37] there's a lot that can happen already when it's nose I get all the snow in my front yard
[49:47] and sometimes can't even get out of my neighborhood and I think if we could have more time
[49:54] to really give it a good study, we would find out that possibly we could do it with less.
[50:05] I am
[50:12] a full-time pedestrian. I do not drive a car and I've been doing this for over 10 years, since I've lived in Colombia. The reason why you do not see people walking on Broadway is because it's not designed to. There are no visual buffers. It's very dangerous. I walk this great set night because it's actually kind of safe to do so. You do see people traveling a night because it's safer to walk on the road.
[50:36] do so.
[50:39] There is a lot of concern. I think it is a very valid concern if your doorways getting
[50:43] closer to the road and it looks dangerous so that we need to think about visual buffers
[50:47] to make sure it's not so dangerous. I think this is something that's needed and people would
[50:52] start using it, would start cycling, would start skating if it was made accessible. But of course
[50:57] it's not a heavy traffic area, how could it be? It's very dangerous, overstimulating, not very safe.
[51:03] So I just want to share them in and tell you that's why.
[51:07] Thank you.
[51:10] What anybody else from the public which just speak about the proposed construction of the West Broadway
[51:14] sidewalk from Maybellwood Drive to West Boulevard.
[51:18] See, none. I'll close the public hearing.
[51:23] Any staff? Okay. I got all of them. Okay. I'm sorry.
[51:27] Betsy.
[51:29] Thanks just because you looked to the left.
[51:31] I did. I'll start tweeting this way.
[51:34] Is there a sidewalk on the north side of this area of Broadway?
[51:38] Yes, there is.
[51:39] So there is already a sidewalk, I mean if you cross the street, is that ADA compliant or not, do you know?
[51:48] In theory it should be whether it all is or not I couldn't speak to that.
[51:53] And then how close, I mean if we do with, was it a three foot buffer and then a five foot sidewalk that's eight feet out of people's front yards or what they perceive to be their front yard versus the road, how close does that get the sidewalk to people's homes?
[52:11] It's going to vary especially along Broadway.
[52:14] There's a lot of houses that sit back quite a bit from the road.
[52:19] The folks that were up here, I think, I think,
[52:21] 1312, that house is significantly closer than the majority of them.
[52:25] So it kind of varies.
[52:26] We're talking West Boulevard West, the right,
[52:30] heading to clean scale.
[52:31] So those road, those houses are much closer to the road
[52:35] than the ones east of West Boulevard.
[52:38] Right, generally yes, because then I guess the question is if someone were building a new house,
[52:46] would we let them build it as close to the road as these houses are, I don't know that you've
[52:52] got an answer for that, because you're not planning a development in some cases, no, but
[52:58] I don't, I don't know that there's something that's not something we had analyzed.
[53:02] And then can you address the three foot wide ADA sidewalk because when I pulled it up on, you know, you old Google, it said three feet was enough for ADA.
[53:14] So Mr. Moore's correct, the absolute minimum clear with of a continuous successful route is three feet and with however the city's minimum sidewalk with is five feet and with and it's been that way for quite some time.
[53:26] When the sidewalk is required to be pushed up against the back of curb, we then increase that minimum with the six feet so it's to provide a buffer from the adjacent roadway.
[53:35] So in this particular location there are utility poles.
[53:39] So some of this has to do with, you know, dodging those.
[53:42] So that green space that we're talking about in part gets us away from those utility poles.
[53:47] So if we push it up against the back of curb, I'm going to have to make that sidewalk wider where we've got utility poles.
[53:55] So it's just, I mean, the three-foot wide, I mean, if you have two feet or three feet,
[54:02] whatever you need for your utilities and I totally understand what you're talking about, why is
[54:07] a three-foot, why sidewalk not appropriate, I mean, do we have an ordinance saying it has to be
[54:12] five feet, or we, I mean, why, why the five-foot, why if that's more than the eight-foot, I could
[54:19] One reason is that ADA requires a passing space, every 200 feet, so in a place of its less than 5 feet, we have to provide a 5 foot passing space.
[54:30] Every 200 feet in the second thousand feet long, piece of sidewalk, right?
[54:34] There are places where you could use the driveway for that, but that 5 foot by 5 foot area has to be 5 foot wide and 5 foot long.
[54:45] So, you could have a passing space in the driveway, so I mean that's possible.
[54:53] I would tell you that the access board, the folks that the ADA goes through.
[55:00] Also talk about model sidewalks and they typically say a four foot minimum and a five foot width is recommended and that's what the city uses as a standard.
[55:09] We do some four foot sidewalks at time. I can't tell you in my almost 18 years here where we ever built a three foot sidewalk.
[55:16] Doesn't mean you can't, just doesn't mean we haven't built it.
[55:19] Okay, thank you.
[55:21] All right, I've got Vera.
[55:24] I was wondering a little more clarity on the ADA compliance of the sidewalk.
[55:30] My understanding from both the access board and modot is that three feet is only allowed
[55:36] when there is a geographic obstruction that would not allow construction of a wider sidewalk
[55:42] that four feet is the minimum and five feet is the suggestion and then required every 200 feet.
[55:52] I don't have the exact quote in front of me.
[55:55] I would tell you that the accessible path is listed as a minimum of 36 inches, those three feet.
[56:02] But in there's areas where you can duck below that, but it's very small.
[56:08] And so a three foot wide sidewalk would be difficult for, you know, two people to share the sidewalk obviously.
[56:14] That's why they require the passing space.
[56:22] Valerie?
[56:22] I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about I guess the impact of this project,
[56:33] how it was came forward, how it was ranked on the sidewalk master plan, what features were
[56:40] considered in its prioritization.
[56:43] Sure. This project is listed on the city sidewalk master plan.
[56:50] I can't speak necessarily
[56:52] the prioritization of that. What I would tell you is that we only have a finite amount of sidewalk money.
[56:58] So one of the things that we look at when it comes to sidewalk projects are things that we think we can get a
[57:04] mode on tap grant for. And this was a location that we felt like that was a strong possibility.
[57:10] It was on the sidewalk master plans. We pursued it and were able to receive it.
[57:15] It's not that we couldn't build the project without those funds, but that makes our funds go farther.
[57:18] And so that made this one attractive, there's also, when you have a road with the traffic volume that Broadway has it makes a lot of sense to us.
[57:29] We wouldn't build a brand new road like that that didn't have sidewalk on both sides.
[57:34] What made it attractive as a tap grant besides the piece of road that it was on?
[57:42] I think that's the main thing. There's probably some other things, but that's, that's the one that sticks out to me.
[57:48] Is the, the, the, the functionality of the road. It's a, and I'm kind of what Broadway is.
[57:58] Either a major collector or a minor or a carry on, I can't know which is I sit here.
[58:02] Right, but it connects to a mud at road.
[58:04] It, it also connects to a mud at road. That's a good point.
[58:07] Are there any pedestrian attractors in the area of this sidewalk piece that we're weighed?
[58:21] I mean, we see it as the connection between downtown and the mall at some point.
[58:28] There's obviously all the normal attractors are there.
[58:37] and close proximity to this exact section of sidewalk, maybe not, but the idea of having sidewalk on both sides of Broadway, like I said before, is attractive, at least to public works.
[58:51] Nick.
[58:53] This will turn, turn it at Maplewood, correct?
[58:57] Yes.
[58:58] And does it connect to sidewalk beyond that point?
[59:02] It does not, currently.
[59:06] There's another sidewalk section on the city sidewalk master plan on the south side of
[59:12] Broadway between Briarwood Lane and Manor Drive so that when that section, if and when
[59:18] that section's built, that pretty much fills in the gap everywhere, East of stadium.
[59:24] There's another gap, West of stadium, but that section of Broadway still maintained by
[59:31] No part of the reason I ask is that clean skills is right there.
[59:34] That's where there is a cross-flog and it is used by pedestrians to go north there, including
[59:43] kids who go to school, people who go to the ark, and so forth, and there is a good bit
[59:48] of traffic.
[59:49] Foot traffic there during those times, I know.
[59:52] I attended this interdeparties meeting.
[59:55] There were some concerns about grades on driveways.
[1:00:00] Have you been able to address those?
[1:00:03] Sure, I think the folks that got up and spoke the live at 1312. That one in particular is probably the most tricky. I'll be the first to tell you.
[1:00:13] They're close to the road. And so we looked at modifying how both of their drive approaches work, sliding one.
[1:00:20] I think the west one further to the west to help with site help with grade and then also kind of the angle of the one on the east side to help with like turning movements in and out.
[1:00:34] So we've looked at that at each one.
[1:00:36] At this stage at a public hearing before we go into detailed design.
[1:00:40] We've looked at them to make sure we didn't have any major problems there, but any place where we need an easement of some sort.
[1:00:47] We're going to have those discussions with each of the property owners about what way to make this work.
[1:00:53] For them as best we can with obviously if it's approved and I just to build a sidewalk with still putting in a sidewalk in this location.
[1:01:06] And I think that you I did send questions to you about this and
[1:01:12] Do you respond to something about what mode on anticipate when they support, or when the site
[1:01:18] supports through the LTAP grant?
[1:01:20] Well, the size of a sidewalk.
[1:01:22] Sure.
[1:01:23] I mean, it's very typical for at least a four foot sidewalk, if not a five foot sidewalk.
[1:01:30] And so, obviously, when we applied for a grant from mode on, we told them we were going to
[1:01:34] build a five foot sidewalk.
[1:01:36] And so, if we went back to them and said we're going to build a three foot sidewalk, I would
[1:01:41] I can't say this for sure because I haven't asked that question, but I wouldn't think
[1:01:46] that would meet the requirements of the tapering.
[1:01:48] I think we'd have trouble keeping that money.
[1:01:52] And I know that you mentioned that you received comments about this,
[1:01:55] but that that meeting, and otherwise, in terms of opposition and support,
[1:02:00] can you give an idea about what you heard in that way?
[1:02:02] Sure. I see. I think it's just what we put in the council memo.
[1:02:07] many comments were in favor of the project. We received eight written comments and we had 14
[1:02:13] residents have attended the meeting. The comments were attached to the agenda item tonight.
[1:02:21] I think those eight comments, I think six were in favor.
[1:02:28] That's the information that we have
[1:02:30] to give you a tonight with what we've done so far.
[1:02:35] And if we, and
[1:02:40] if we were to ask you to moderate, modify this in terms of size the width
[1:02:44] of the sidewalk, you'd have to go back to address the grant again in order to clear that.
[1:02:53] Yes, we would, I can tell you that one thing, you know, one thing that we would look at
[1:02:59] is, you know, areas where if we could get that five foot wide passing space, you know,
[1:03:06] within that 200 feet, and we could look at a four foot wide sidewalk, we could do that.
[1:03:11] I'd be hesitant to to recommend that you have this move forward with the three foot sidewalk
[1:03:16] for sure.
[1:03:17] And I think ideally, it's a five foot that we want.
[1:03:19] I will say that I walked in my neighborhood today with a friend on three foot sidewalks,
[1:03:25] which, you know, yeah, you can't really do that side by side.
[1:03:30] I certainly couldn't with him anyway.
[1:03:33] So I wouldn't support a three-foot sidewalk.
[1:03:35] I have to say that.
[1:03:37] I wonder what the process would be to look at a four-foot sidewalk
[1:03:40] and then provide the passing lanes as you described before.
[1:03:45] Well, I think another thing to consider would be whether that be something
[1:03:48] that you would want us to do through the entire length of the project.
[1:03:51] You know, we've got any new subdivision that's built in town for as long as I've been
[1:03:58] at the city's got a five foot wide sidewalk.
[1:04:01] So is it a matter of wanting four foot wide on this particular project or is it four
[1:04:06] foot wide in certain areas and what's that criteria to make that determination?
[1:04:10] I think in my review of this, my question was going to be for some of these tighter areas
[1:04:16] where especially you're looking at the grade of this, both for the distance away from
[1:04:20] the front door.
[1:04:21] It's a similar conversation that we're having on ash, right, too, is that for those ones
[1:04:25] that these homes that are older, that are really close, I think the direction from council
[1:04:31] is kind of like, you know, staff understands the intent, right?
[1:04:34] We want connectivity, people are connected, but we also understand the space that we're given
[1:04:39] in the historical nature, and so where possible we want to stay with the best case standards,
[1:04:45] And at the same time, knowledgeable over you have that flexibility in the design and in the conversations on these easements.
[1:04:53] Can you tell me what is the size of the sidewalk on the north side of Broadway?
[1:05:00] I'm not sure. There's some newer sections that are probably five feet. There's some older sections that are probably closer to four. That's a guess. I don't know that I have that right in front of me.
[1:05:10] Okay. I've got Betsy Mallory Vera. We're circling around again. Sorry. That's your head you're hand up.
[1:05:19] I did, mainly because if we had any other discussion about widening broadway, I hate to put a sidewalk in if there's any chance that we're going to actually widen broadway at some point realizing we have, we have houses way too close, right?
[1:05:37] That's the West Boulevard, but I mean, is there any discussion about that, or is it what I would tell you is there's there's no discussion of widening Broadway as it relates to what's in the 2025 capital improvement sales tax.
[1:05:52] There's there's no doubt that I think there's there's some need there.
[1:05:56] Um, but in the next 10 years, it isn't something that public works, anticipates having the funding to pursue.
[1:06:03] So therefore, we think 10, 15 years of sidewalk is, you know, worth it.
[1:06:08] It's worth it in this particular occasion.
[1:06:11] All right. Thanks.
[1:06:13] Beerer than Mal.
[1:06:16] Um, oh, no, you're speaking to that.
[1:06:18] I see.
[1:06:21] I'm changing one of your names.
[1:06:24] No, I think I said Vera, sorry, Vera, see, Vera, it's your turn, you would be right.
[1:06:31] Are we able to do comment or are we just saying questions right now?
[1:06:35] No, this is council comment too.
[1:06:36] Okay, perfect.
[1:06:37] I just want to comment and say there is absolutely a reason that four and five foot sidewalks are preferred.
[1:06:46] As someone who has used a mobility aid was a full-time mobility aid user for three years
[1:06:52] And as now a part-time mobility aid user,
[1:06:55] I've used cadence walkers, roll-aiders,
[1:06:57] and wheel-chairs at varying times to get around.
[1:06:59] If you have ever tried to navigate a three-foot sidewalk
[1:07:02] in a wheelchair, whether it is manual or motorized,
[1:07:07] if you veer like a centimeter,
[1:07:10] you are falling sideways into the ditch.
[1:07:13] To the point that I cannot power myself down a three-foot sidewalk
[1:07:17] in a wheelchair, and instead have to be steered by someone else,
[1:07:21] and have at times gone into the road because that was the safer option because I would not fall to my side.
[1:07:28] So while I understand prioritizing land and prioritizing understanding the historic environment,
[1:07:36] just being aware that that bare minimum is a bare minimum for a reason,
[1:07:43] and that the preferences are preferences for a reason,
[1:07:47] And that by making a three-foot sidewalk, you are prioritizing pedestrians who are mobile on their two feet without the aid of a mobility helper.
[1:08:02] So, wanted to make that comment and express my support for continuing with the plan as proposed.
[1:08:09] Thank you, Vera. Valerie.
[1:08:12] I do have some statements I want to make as well but first I want to ask if you can give
[1:08:17] us any comparison.
[1:08:22] We've had some comparisons to the Ask Street project and I think
[1:08:27] that stands out to me too and that it's also an area where some of the setbacks are different.
[1:08:34] How do the setbacks along this road compared to the setbacks along that other length
[1:08:41] just generally, and how does the amount of easement needed for this project compare to
[1:08:51] Ash?
[1:08:53] So, when we're talking about the Ash Street project, there was a desire for sidewalk on one side and a
[1:09:01] pedway on the other.
[1:09:02] So the pedway side, it is, you know, that's an eight foot wide, you know, sidewalk, so to speak.
[1:09:08] So there's additional three feet right there.
[1:09:11] There were some locations where we were able to go
[1:09:13] on the back of Kerb and some places where we were not.
[1:09:16] So if you weren't on the back of Kerb,
[1:09:18] and you had an eight foot bit weight,
[1:09:19] you're sniffing at the closer.
[1:09:22] Like I said, I haven't really done an analysis
[1:09:26] on the setbacks or the average setback on the two roads.
[1:09:30] I would tell you that the majority.
[1:09:34] Like you can see on the plan and I can scroll back through it,
[1:09:37] You can see where we're proposing to tie in the driveways, so while the houses are somewhat
[1:09:45] closer to the road, we're not chasing a driveway clear up to the garage door.
[1:09:51] I mean, I've done projects like that, it's no fun, but that's not the case here.
[1:09:57] Well, they get a little steeper, yeah, because they have a flat spot for us.
[1:10:00] I walk that didn't exist today. I'm not going to sugarcoat that, but for the most part, 13-12 was the
[1:10:07] most tricky one. The others, we feel pretty good about what we've got designed.
[1:10:13] And as you do the plan, keeping five foot for the majority of the project, do you have flexibility in front
[1:10:23] of just the very most tricky points,
[1:10:27] as opposed to doing four feet with passing at very 20 feet,
[1:10:31] do you have flexibility to move that as needed?
[1:10:36] Yes, and we do that frequently.
[1:10:38] We don't usually do it the whole length of the property.
[1:10:41] That's pretty unusual.
[1:10:43] I can tell you that, for instance, Mr. Moore has,
[1:10:46] I think, three drive approaches along his property.
[1:10:51] And so, one of the things that we could look at is doing a four-foot sidewalk through there
[1:10:59] and using the driver approaches as that passing space that you're that's doable.
[1:11:04] It's someone unusual, I will tell you this.
[1:11:06] It's someone unusual for us to say, you get a four-foot sidewalk
[1:11:10] and then the guy on either side, he gets a five-foot sidewalk.
[1:11:12] So that's a little bit, you know, you start to wonder about the utility of it when you do that.
[1:11:17] know but that's it's not impossible and everybody when we get to the point where we have
[1:11:22] the ability to acquire easements if we move forward with this that's kind of what's a
[1:11:27] typical discussion with each property owner because I need that I need that easement in order
[1:11:32] to be able to move forward so that's definitely a conversation we can have is just not something
[1:11:36] we're usually able to get that far into the weeds before we come forward to get a public hearing
[1:11:42] get permission to move forward and so.
[1:11:44] Yeah, exactly.
[1:11:45] And I have learned a lot about your processes by now.
[1:11:50] I'll be at painfully at times.
[1:11:53] I appreciate the stage and the process that we are now
[1:11:57] and the flexibility that you have going forward.
[1:12:02] The statement I want to make, I absolutely agree with Vera,
[1:12:07] the width of the product, it has a purpose.
[1:12:10] I don't think this is all that similar to Ash. We're not talking about a pedway, we're not talking about eight feet.
[1:12:18] We're talking about two feet. I actually live very close to both of those projects and have walked both sections.
[1:12:28] This is not in my ward, although it's right on the border of my road of my ward.
[1:12:38] I disagree with the characterization that it's not commonly walked.
[1:12:43] People don't want to walk in other people's yards.
[1:12:47] And some of those yards have slopes.
[1:12:50] And so it's not easy to walk.
[1:12:52] I can say that I have walked right up to where that sidewalk dead end by surprise
[1:12:57] with two small children and then had to figure out how to get them to a place that was more safe.
[1:13:05] Similarly, it's not very easy to get to the church on the corner or to some of the neighborhoods to the west.
[1:13:17] I also want to point out that there's several paths that are undeveloped adjacent to this.
[1:13:27] This is close to Gerbs, which is a shopping center.
[1:13:33] People like to walk there.
[1:13:34] It's close to the art. People like to walk there.
[1:13:37] If you live in that area, and you're trying to get to the bicycle boulevard,
[1:13:42] you're going south right through that section.
[1:13:46] These are all pedestrian attractors.
[1:13:48] There's a school in the area. There's a church in the area. There's grocery stores.
[1:13:52] I think people will use it.
[1:13:56] I worry about the delay in infrastructure when we have things that aren't built out yet.
[1:14:06] And the chances that they may become built out in the near future.
[1:14:11] And I have seen agenda items related to those properties,
[1:14:17] not too far in the distant past. I suppose my next question would be, would we expect those
[1:14:27] to be required to be built by a pedestrian by a developer in the near future? And I don't know
[1:14:34] the answer to that. The largest swath of that is on the north side that's already built out.
[1:14:40] It's the manner drive corner that has recently had interest.
[1:14:51] Any other council comments?
[1:14:54] I've got Betsy and the Nick.
[1:14:57] Well, I just want to speak about what I would like.
[1:15:00] And then what I will support. I'll go ahead and say, I wouldn't support a three-foot sidewalk. I don't think it's effective and I think it would limit it.
[1:15:09] It's a very limited use of the sidewalk itself. I think that in terms of people using this, I look at all of the residential that's south of this area.
[1:15:19] I can't help but imagine that people who would cross who would go from that southern area and that southern neighborhood wouldn't enjoy having a sidewalk where they can make their way over to clings.
[1:15:29] scales, and then for the north, I mean, I'd like to see the sidewalk go to man or actually
[1:15:36] for that very reason.
[1:15:38] But I think we also have the reality of a historic neighborhood, a well-established neighborhood,
[1:15:44] and I think we do have to keep that in mind.
[1:15:47] So what I would like to see is to look at redesigning this, so we have four foot sidewalks,
[1:15:52] where we can put them, especially in those areas, where we have houses that are close to the
[1:16:00] And I don't know what it would take to get to that, and I know there's a lot of work that's already been in this chain and I apologize, but that's what I'm wondering about.
[1:16:10] Yep, that's it.
[1:16:11] Yes, I'm just going to speak to.
[1:16:14] We have a sidewalk on the north side and rather than put a sidewalk on the south side.
[1:16:19] Maybe we should look at pedestrian crossings to allow pedestrians to access the north sidewalk as opposed to putting an entire south sidewalk in.
[1:16:28] I think it's too close to the houses that are there, and I don't think that we would let people
[1:16:34] build houses. This is close to the road. It's we're now going to build sidewalks to their homes.
[1:16:41] So I would be opposed to this because we just wouldn't have that much space, and that's part of the
[1:16:45] problem with with redesigning or trying to improve areas in the older part of the city.
[1:16:52] Can you want to speak to any planned pedestrian crossings along Broadway?
[1:16:58] I think the only one I know of that's not at a major intersection is the one there that's at
[1:17:03] Green, what is that McBain or not McBain?
[1:17:06] The deal, yeah.
[1:17:06] Glenn Wood.
[1:17:07] The deal, yeah.
[1:17:08] Green Wood or something.
[1:17:11] I can't, right now, we've got a list of midblock crossings that we'd like to look at.
[1:17:16] I can't think of any that are on our list currently that are along Broadway.
[1:17:21] That doesn't mean that there couldn't be something there, but that's not something we have planned.
[1:17:26] It isn't imminent that we're going to put something like that in.
[1:17:30] The next steps for this is the public hearing to advise you to start the process on getting easements
[1:17:36] and doing the final designs.
[1:17:38] So any of those kind of considerations on the ones that are close to that might potentially
[1:17:44] warrant a four foot rather than a five foot, would that be taken into consideration?
[1:17:50] Yeah, that's something we always take into consideration, I guess I would remind you of this is just the public hearing to start that final design.
[1:17:57] We'd have to come back with a typically we'd come back with a bid call and in order to acquire those easements.
[1:18:03] So at that stage, we'll have a lot more information as far as what the detailed design looks like.
[1:18:10] So, I mean, that would be one way to take another look at it, for you all to take another look at it is what's been designed.
[1:18:20] Just understand though that we would not have the ability to acquire easements yet, so it could still change when I go to acquire easements and we're like, okay, let's make this modification.
[1:18:33] Still meet the requirements of the project and get us a sidewalk that runs from station to station.
[1:18:38] I appreciate that compromise because while there is a sidewalk on the north side, it is a very busy street.
[1:18:46] And while we don't have plans for the pedestrian crosswalk, we still have lots of people walking along.
[1:18:50] I know because I knocked on some of these doors, and I was walking through your front yard and I apologize.
[1:18:56] So at least it wasn't raining, so I didn't add flip to it.
[1:19:00] So with that, I'll make a motion to authorize staff to proceed with the construction of a sidewalk improvement project along the south side of West Broadway,
[1:19:07] Which we may be able to drive in less full of art. Do I have a second second second my Nick Foster. She'll have you call roll
[1:19:16] All right, yes
[1:19:22] Roll on the motion to
[1:19:25] Proceed with the project. Yeah, miss Buffalo. Yes, miss Carol. Yes, miss Elwood. Yes, Miss Sample. Yes, Mr. Foster. Yes, miss Peters. No
[1:19:38] All right, thank you
[1:19:39] Moving on, Sheila, we please read public hearing 3025 and the accompanying Bill 247-25.
[1:19:47] Public hearing 3025 is the proposed construction of the Albert Oakland Family Aquatic Central Improvement
[1:19:54] Project and Council Bill 247-25 is an ordinance determining it is in the public interest to
[1:20:00] Construct the Albert Oakland Family Aquatic Center Improvement Project, approving and adopting plans and specifications, the terminated portion of the work shall be done by contract, calling for bits through the purchasing division using a design-built contract, authorizing a portion of the project may be done by city employees providing for payment, for the improvement, authorizing the city manager to obtain, excuse, and record all documents necessary, for the improvement providing for compliance with the prevailing wage law and state mandated construction safety training and fixing the time in the sort of niche.
[1:20:29] I'll become effective second rating.
[1:20:31] We have a staff report.
[1:20:33] Yes, thank you, Mayor.
[1:20:33] Gabe Huffington, Parks and Recreation Director.
[1:20:36] Albert Oakland Family Aquatic Center is located at
[1:20:38] 1900 Blue Ridge Road in Columbia's Second Ward.
[1:20:42] Our facility turned 50 years old in 2025.
[1:20:46] And for this project, we have total funding
[1:20:48] as part of the FY-2026 budget of $4 million.
[1:20:53] The focus of this project is to update our existing
[1:20:55] mechanical systems, replace a 50 year-old underground
[1:20:59] plumbing all throughout the area and then address some of the pool shell cracking while we
[1:21:03] also try to increase our swim value and our patron satisfaction.
[1:21:06] Albert Oakland Family Aquatics Center is our biggest swim facility.
[1:21:10] We average about 24,000 patrons each summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day at this facility
[1:21:17] throughout all hours.
[1:21:18] So we do water aerobics to recreational swimming to private pool rentals.
[1:21:24] We have a two phase approach to the renovation project in Albert Oakland Family Aquatics Center.
[1:21:27] We've been talking about this since about 2023 in terms of long-term plans to fix the facility,
[1:21:33] some of the issues that we have, and then also to renovate an existing facility as we
[1:21:38] look at our outdoor pools and what we have offering to the public.
[1:21:42] Our first phase is obviously to address our pool structure, that mechanical room, patrons
[1:21:46] upgrades such as play features, shade and zero entry.
[1:21:50] Phase two, as we look down the road, will be renovations to the bathhouse, and then also
[1:21:54] replacement of our existing water slide.
[1:21:56] The water side was installed as part of the only renovation that has also happened in 1999.
[1:22:02] So we're pushing about 26 years old on that portion of this project.
[1:22:07] So in terms of the public input process for the renovations, we held two public input meetings at the facility on June 26th and June 27th of 2025.
[1:22:17] Our goal was to catch as many patrons that were visiting as well as talk to our lifeguards and other staff members about the potential renovation project.
[1:22:26] We also had online public comment on be heard Como, and then we've had our public hearing
[1:22:31] in front of our Parks and Recreation Commission on August 21, 2025.
[1:22:37] Our funding for this project is unique, because we had not planned to do this extensive
[1:22:41] of a project when we passed the 2021 Park Sales Tax.
[1:22:44] So we have been working with the Finance Department, and so we want to talk through each portion
[1:22:48] of the funding with the Council as we look at this project.
[1:22:51] Our total cost is $4 million.
[1:22:53] We'll have $300,000 will be from the Park Sales Tax.
[1:22:58] $1.2 million of the project will come from the city's designated loan fund.
[1:23:02] This is the same fund that we use to fund phase two of the Columbia Sports Field House.
[1:23:07] As an example, this is a 10-year loan.
[1:23:10] The payments are approximately $140,000 each year,
[1:23:14] and we will pay for those through our Park Sales Tax Funding.
[1:23:17] We will require as part of the legislation approval for the parts department to use the designated loan fund as part of the project.
[1:23:25] The last portion of the funding $2.5 million is from the city's capital project interest account.
[1:23:31] This is a one-time allocation of funds. This comes from the account that collects interest earned from ongoing capital projects funding throughout the city.
[1:23:38] So this could be a Parks and Recreation project, this could be a water and light project, or another department.
[1:23:44] But this funding would come from this account as a one time allocation, that's already been approved as part of the budget.
[1:23:52] So our procurement process and project timeline.
[1:23:54] So we are requesting authority to use the design build process as one option for the project design and construction.
[1:24:00] We want to be able to evaluate design build, which is to have one contractor to work with
[1:24:07] to do both those aspects of the project, versus our traditional concept, which is we would
[1:24:13] go out and do design and engineering of the project first, and then we would bid out the construction
[1:24:18] of the project.
[1:24:19] So, we'll work with our purchasing department on this.
[1:24:22] As we did the Lake of the Woods Pool project last winter, we used the design build process.
[1:24:27] for this project we want to just have the ability to evaluate both, so we do need authority from City Council to be able to move forward with that option.
[1:24:36] We are anticipating full project completion by spring of twenty twenty seven.
[1:24:41] And so our goal is with this, our process is to make sure that we don't have a major interruption to our twenty twenty six aquatic season at Albert Oakland Family Aquatic Center.
[1:24:50] And so as we start to work through this project we'll update council on our timeline.
[1:24:55] And we at originally thought we could have this project done by what is May of 2012.
[1:25:00] But we want to make sure we have enough time to get the project done. We're competitive through the bidding process. We have some concerns that will have some extra costs if we do try to do this in an expedited fashion.
[1:25:11] But then also our biggest concern is making sure we don't interrupt that pool season.
[1:25:15] Because what happens when you interrupt too much of that pool season, if we weren't to open until July, we're going to really struggle to be able to hire lifeguards, because we haven't made that entire summer commitment.
[1:25:25] And then also from a financial revenue aspect of re-couping some of our costs for the pool,
[1:25:31] we're not going to see that as much.
[1:25:33] So we'll evaluate this process once Council gives us authorization to proceed with the project.
[1:25:40] So we have done some initial concepts for what we needed in terms of the pool,
[1:25:45] and I'll kind of walk through each aspect of this and in terms of the comments we heard from the public,
[1:25:50] but then also comments from staff, and then things that we would like to do as well.
[1:25:55] So our main priority with this pool project is to upgrade all of our mechanical systems and plumbing.
[1:26:02] Our facility has 50 year old components in some areas.
[1:26:06] We have a leaking pool structure and then we have a lot of our plumbing is that original 50 year old as well.
[1:26:13] So the first very part of this is replacement of our electrical panels, breakers and controllers for the facility.
[1:26:18] This is work that will be done by Parks and Recreation staff as part of the project.
[1:26:22] and can actually be done before the contractor would start on the remainder of the project.
[1:26:28] We will also look at the replacement of necessary our filtration and sanitation equipment.
[1:26:33] This will be based on our age, efficiency, and wear and tear.
[1:26:36] So as the contractor comes in that will work with on the aquatic facility,
[1:26:40] they'll do an evaluation of all these components.
[1:26:43] Some of them are older and will need to be replaced and then some things have been upgraded recently by our staff.
[1:26:48] And so those parts of this mechanical room will remain.
[1:26:52] In terms of the pool of shell, this is a priority for the department in the project.
[1:26:57] The first is to install a PVC liner throughout the pool.
[1:27:00] So all of that structure that is in white in that photo will receive a pool liner.
[1:27:05] This will help with the existing cracking that we have in the pool shell.
[1:27:09] We've done this process with Douglas Family Aquatic Center,
[1:27:12] and also Lake of the Woods pool, both received a PVC pool liner
[1:27:16] as part of the project for innovations that we've done on those two.
[1:27:19] We'll also install a new deck level stainless steel gutter system, so they'll remove the existing gutter system, and we'll add that new system for capturing anything that is on the top level of that water.
[1:27:31] One additional upgrade that we'll do is part of the pool structure is installation of starting blocks on both ends of the pool.
[1:27:38] This is a request in terms of competitive swimming events so that we can have actual relays.
[1:27:44] We'll be able to go in both directions as long as we can increase our height of pool.
[1:27:48] Another major part of this is replacing one of all of the underground plumbing, so when you go from that mechanical room out to the pool, everything from main drain to returns, all of that will be replaced as part of the project.
[1:28:00] So we will get rid of our 50 year old plumbing system and we will upgrade that all to brand new plumbing.
[1:28:05] We will also replace the majority of the concrete deck.
[1:28:10] So as we are doing the plumbing replacement,
[1:28:12] we'll replace all of the pool deck.
[1:28:14] This coincides also with place of shade structures,
[1:28:16] which I'll talk about here in a minute,
[1:28:18] but one of the main factors is this is also
[1:28:20] some very old concrete and many areas of the pool.
[1:28:23] We've done some initial engineering work on this portion of the project
[1:28:26] with Cracket Engineering, so that'll be included in the RFP for the project.
[1:28:31] The renovations to the pool also include
[1:28:33] some design aspects for the shallow area of the main pool.
[1:28:38] This area has depths of water, which is about 18 inches to three feet.
[1:28:42] This is a very populated area of the swimming pool, based on the height of water.
[1:28:47] So our goal is to expand this space.
[1:28:49] And this is where we get more into the design of the pool as we move forward,
[1:28:53] but also increase our accessibility within the pool.
[1:28:56] So one of the things that we did with the woods pool is to add zero entry into that pool.
[1:29:01] And so we are going to propose to look at how we can do that at Albert Oakham Family Aquatic
[1:29:05] Center as well.
[1:29:06] This creates a beach feel.
[1:29:08] So as you enter the water you are entering at a zero level and then you are moving down
[1:29:12] into that three feet into the swimming lanes which is four to half to five feet of water.
[1:29:18] This allows younger kids to be in this area, we have some flashphrase, there is a dumping
[1:29:23] bucket but then also from an accessibility standpoint.
[1:29:26] This widens out this area of the pool, there is a handrail that is not shown but will
[1:29:29] as part of this. So it increases our accessibility as well. And so our one aspect we'll look at is to make sure we can enlarge this area because we have a lot of swimmers that occupy this space. So we'll make sure that we have this available and then make some improvements to it.
[1:29:46] We also are looking at some new waterplay features. One of our biggest task is to entertain our teenagers that are at the swimming pool as well.
[1:29:53] So one thing at Douglas Family Aquatics Center, we have a climbing wall that's approximately eight feet tall
[1:29:58] So if you look at
[1:30:00] It's essentially a little bit more than one panel. You can go up to 15 to 20 feet at Albradoclin Family Aquatic Center with the climbing wall because we have a deep end of the pool.
[1:30:09] And so we'll be able to have two diving boards and then also be able to have a climbing wall for kids to be able to utilize.
[1:30:15] There's another feature called an aquasip. So thank miniatures that blind. This is a feature that we've seen in some other facilities added recently.
[1:30:23] So we will look at how we can incorporate these into the pool as well.
[1:30:28] We also will look at it. We're placing the existing water place structure in the Kitty
[1:30:31] Poll area. This is not as old. We replaced this about 11 years ago, but as we look at
[1:30:37] a project that is going to be a year or two down the road, we're getting to 16 years. We also
[1:30:42] have some plumbing leaks under this area, so we want to be able to address this at the same time.
[1:30:48] Number one, request from the public to add to Albert O'Connor Aquatics Center was shade,
[1:30:52] which was not surprising.
[1:30:54] We had heard this before.
[1:30:55] But as we look at the pool deck of the existing facility,
[1:30:59] we have zero patron shade throughout that structure.
[1:31:02] So we will propose to add 10 different shade structures
[1:31:04] throughout the pool, different areas, different sizes.
[1:31:08] All of those will be for park patrons of the swimming facility
[1:31:11] and then also in the concession areas.
[1:31:16] We also will need to add in a new eight foot tall chain link fence
[1:31:19] that picture in the top right.
[1:31:21] This is the fence with slats at Lake the Woodspool that was recently installed, and so we will look at that same application at Elverto Climple as well.
[1:31:29] Additional improvements.
[1:31:31] We will re-referbish the existing water slides, so this is a process of painting and checking it to make sure that we can continue to have that for as long as we need.
[1:31:41] We'll put new lifeguard stands with shades out, a new ADA pool lift, we'll have to be installed on the, on the, on the deeper parts of the pool.
[1:31:49] New LED pool deck lighting. This will be done by our staff and our electrician.
[1:31:53] And then we plan to have a new PA system, new security camera system, and then we'll replace diving boards as well.
[1:32:01] This is the report I have, staff requesting approval of legislation authorizing renovations to Albert Oakland Family Aquatic Center, along with this approval to use the designated loan fund to pay for a portion of the project.
[1:32:12] as well as authority to look at the design build process as one way of procurement for the project.
[1:32:17] And I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
[1:32:20] Any questions for staff from Council?
[1:32:24] I mean, then I'll go ahead and open up the public hearing.
[1:32:28] But anybody from the public wish to speak on the proposed improvements to the Albert Oakland Family Aquatic Center?
[1:32:35] Thank you very much for that, Gabe. I just want you to know I'm so happy to be able to go to the pool eventually and then we'll be shade.
[1:32:41] I do not go to that pool for that reason, because there is no shade, and my husband who is a super pale cannot go either, because there is no shade, he has to be endorsed, so I'm looking forward to that.
[1:32:54] Thanks.
[1:32:54] Thank you, Tracy.
[1:32:56] Anybody else from the public which to speak about the proposed improvements to the Aquatic Center?
[1:33:10] Hello, I am from Ward 3.
[1:33:12] My name is Arch Kimbrill.
[1:33:14] I would just like to speak in support of this.
[1:33:16] This is not like came here, but I am very happy to see that we're working
[1:33:20] to make improvements at the pool.
[1:33:22] I am from Springfield, Missouri.
[1:33:24] Actually, I've been living Columbia just for college.
[1:33:26] And we have a lot more facilities than you guys do.
[1:33:29] I do realize there's a lot bigger budget in Springfield, Missouri.
[1:33:32] But it's really important to me and a lot of younger people
[1:33:35] that I have a place that I can swim safely,
[1:33:38] because trying to swim in your creeks here,
[1:33:40] there is a lot of debris and waste and things
[1:33:45] that I don't really want to be swimming in.
[1:33:47] So if these facilities are up to par, I would go to them instead.
[1:33:53] Thank you.
[1:33:53] Thank you.
[1:33:55] Anybody else want to speak to the proposed renovations
[1:33:57] to Albert Oakland Family Aquatics Center?
[1:34:01] You know, I'll close the public hearing.
[1:34:04] Any counsel questions or comments?
[1:34:09] You just cover such a so much amazing stuff.
[1:34:12] Thank you, Gary.
[1:34:13] Thanks so much.
[1:34:14] All right, Sheila, we please call roll on Bill 247-25.
[1:34:18] Councilful 247-25, Ms. Buffalo? Yes. Ms. Carroll? Yes. Ms. Elwood? Yes. Ms. Sample? Yes. Mr. Foster? Yes.
[1:34:28] Ms. Peters? Yes.
[1:34:31] All right. Going on to old business. She thought will you please repeat policy resolution 13425?
[1:34:38] Councilful 13425 is a policy resolution adopting priorities for the 2026 legislative session, second reading.
[1:34:45] Do we have a staff report?
[1:34:49] Hi, good evening.
[1:34:51] Stacy, why do I have an assistant to the City Manager?
[1:34:55] I've got some slides that just list our priorities.
[1:35:00] The Board of Trustees, the general ones, they've got two that cover the more specific priorities.
[1:35:05] You'll remember that this is a brand new process for us, so you've had the chance to look over these once
[1:35:10] a re-tweiss in the past, but I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.
[1:35:16] I'll just say thank you for that. I know this is something that makes it a lot easier for us to advocate for ourselves in Jefferson City.
[1:35:21] I guess one question I have is, from here, is the thought that, if other things arise,
[1:35:31] you would come back to council and see if priorities have shifted if any of these things
[1:35:36] get achieved.
[1:35:37] I don't know if we've thought through the next steps on that.
[1:35:39] Have staff?
[1:35:40] Do you mean for, once the legislation, once the legislative year has started, is there,
[1:35:45] once we see what bills are filed, is there kind of a touch point where you'll come back
[1:35:49] to council and be like, there's some of these things that actually
[1:35:51] didn't fall within, but we think would be, I don't know,
[1:35:54] to Carlin, you or Stacey, I've thought so on that.
[1:35:57] I think part of one of the things that Stacey will be doing
[1:35:59] is tracking legislation, and so as we track the legislation
[1:36:03] that are coming from our legislators, just making sure that they
[1:36:06] feel with our local priorities.
[1:36:08] And so you'll get a report that we'll talk about what legislation
[1:36:11] fits within these priority areas.
[1:36:14] The additional questions.
[1:36:16] I will say that before we open up for public comment
[1:36:19] is that I will be making one amendment
[1:36:21] to this based on the conversations that we've had with CPD.
[1:36:25] Do you have, did you say you have any more detail,
[1:36:27] do you have another detailed slide or is this one it?
[1:36:30] So this is our, you'll remember that we are splitting our priorities
[1:36:33] general, these are the really big broad areas
[1:36:36] where a lot of different potential bills might fall within these.
[1:36:41] And we also have more specific priorities
[1:36:43] of these are items that we would, of course,
[1:36:46] we would be engaging with our lobbyists on all these,
[1:36:48] that these are items that we might try more specifically to achieve.
[1:36:53] I'll just make comment to that first one under public safety.
[1:36:56] This is one that we heard this evening from our police chief,
[1:37:00] making the comments about that.
[1:37:02] And I'd like to add, I'll be making a commotion this before we've been open up,
[1:37:06] but to add an additional one under this,
[1:37:09] because one of the other conversations that we've heard from the police
[1:37:13] are about the incidents of guns stolen from cars
[1:37:16] and that the State of Missouri has no requirement to report them stolen.
[1:37:22] So when I look at what other states have done on this issue, reporting loss or slowing guns to local law enforcement may reduce underground gun sales and illegal gun trafficking.
[1:37:30] And so I think since this is one of the instance that I'm calling the police has brought up has been an issue.
[1:37:36] It has been introduced at the state a few times, but it should be one of the city of Columbia should advocate for.
[1:37:42] And so the writing that I have is just,
[1:37:44] this is the declamious supports legislation requiring
[1:37:46] lost or still in guns to be reported to local law enforcement
[1:37:49] within 72 hours after discovery of the loss.
[1:37:53] So I'll make that motion to amend our priorities for exhibit A,
[1:37:57] to include that one.
[1:37:57] Do I have a second?
[1:37:59] Second.
[1:38:00] Second, by Vera.
[1:38:00] All those in favor of that amendment say aye.
[1:38:03] Aye.
[1:38:03] Any opposed?
[1:38:05] Thank you for that.
[1:38:05] And I'm sure there will be more things that will come up
[1:38:07] from CPD.
[1:38:08] Any other questions from Council on the legislative priorities we have before us?
[1:38:15] Then I'll, all right, would anyone from the public wish to speak on policy resolution 13425?
[1:38:21] The 2019-26 legislative priorities have so come up to the podium.
[1:38:32] I'm Natalie Hampton and I have been a first-word resident for 15 years.
[1:38:37] Thank you to the Council and the mayor.
[1:38:39] I know that your job is difficult and you all are volunteers.
[1:38:42] we really appreciate it. My views I'm expressing tonight are my own, I have recently been threatened
[1:38:49] by my employer with possible termination for speaking out on public issues, but I wanted to say
[1:38:56] that I am very happy to see retaining local control as part of the legislative priorities,
[1:39:03] particularly with the things that have been happening here. I have some fears that some of the
[1:39:09] that Manchoy has made recently could be paving the way for potential attempts to have a police take over
[1:39:18] in Columbia similar to what happened in St. Louis. This was a really well-funded effort and there's still money there
[1:39:26] to support that effort. So I think that that's going to be really important to keep an eye on. It is so important to me
[1:39:34] that we do maintain control of our city and don't have this kind of authoritarian effort to
[1:39:43] to take control of of it from our citizenry. Thank you. Thank you.
[1:39:48] What anyone else from the public wish to speak on the policy resolution resolution 1.34. 25.
[1:39:55] When I want to concur with Natalie, Tracy Wilson and Klee Camp, I want to concur with Natalie about
[1:39:59] a little cock-in-tip.
[1:40:01] I don't want to say too much, because too much has gone on in the past week, but I do think that it's very
[1:40:06] important that we are able to look to looking at that. One choice has his plantation that he takes
[1:40:11] care of and the mayor you're in charge over here as our representative, and we do have an equal
[1:40:18] to one choice in Mr. Cwood. And so I would ask that in some ways that we be more proactive in
[1:40:27] language and how we situate power, power, structure so that we're in front and not behind.
[1:40:37] Thank you. Would anyone else wish to speak on the proposed 2020-6 legislative priorities?
[1:40:46] Being none, come back to council comments. Any council comments? I'll look this way first.
[1:40:53] Yeah, Valley.
[1:40:56] Do you know, I had planned. I had not expected for this to come up under
[1:41:01] legislative priorities and had planned to say something during closing comments.
[1:41:07] But I do appreciate the input, and I do share many of your concerns.
[1:41:15] Thank you.
[1:41:16] Vera, anything?
[1:41:17] I'm from now.
[1:41:18] Check me.
[1:41:19] Thank you.
[1:41:20] Well, to say this is one of those times when I appreciate that we have a conversation
[1:41:24] this in a pre-counsel meeting, so we can go through these things and feel good about
[1:41:31] where we are, and so I do, but I think it also is significant to point out that the mayor's
[1:41:36] offered an amendment to this, that I support, and it's important that we would call it all of
[1:41:42] these things that we do are living documents, and they are subject to change as situations
[1:41:48] and circumstances change.
[1:41:53] I'll just add to, I was in a meeting recently, where somebody said,
[1:42:02] advocating for common sense gun legislation was a non-starter in the state of Missouri.
[1:42:08] And while I understand the political landscape that we're in, when I have my police chief
[1:42:12] telling me a couple of laws that would help them do their job to keep people safe, I'm going
[1:42:18] to listen to her.
[1:42:19] And so I was happy that the fall of council was supportive of those amendments because I think
[1:42:24] it makes it easier for them to do their jobs.
[1:42:26] And I think I reject the narrative that it's a lost cause, and then we need to stop advocating for things when it comes to people safety, and especially for future generations.
[1:42:36] So just thankful to Council and think for staff for putting this together. I appreciate it. Thanks, Casey.
[1:42:42] Sheila, we please call roll on policy resolution 134 or 25.
[1:42:46] House of Bill 13425 as amended. Ms. Buffalo. Yes. Ms. Carol. Yes. Ms. Elwood. Yes. Ms. Sample. Yes.
[1:42:55] Mr. Foster. Yes. Ms. Peters. Yes. You requested me to the one guy. All right.
[1:43:02] Sheila, will you please read Bill 24325. Council Bill 24325 is an ordinance extending the corporate
[1:43:09] limits of the city of Columbia, Missouri by annexing property located on the northwest corner of Clark Lane
[1:43:15] and Lakewood Drive, directing the city clerk to give notice of the annexation, placing the
[1:43:20] annex, placing the property annexed, and district MC mixed use corridor and fixing the
[1:43:25] time when this ordinance shall become effective second reading.
[1:43:28] Do we have a staff report?
[1:43:30] A new staff report?
[1:43:32] Yes.
[1:43:32] Thank you, Mayor.
[1:43:33] Council.
[1:43:34] We do have a staff report tonight.
[1:43:35] I'm Clint Smith, a community development director.
[1:43:39] I've had all of one week under my belt.
[1:43:41] So I have asked Mr. Ziner, Development Services Manager, to come and give an overview of this
[1:43:46] case and to help me answer any questions.
[1:43:48] So with that, I'll turn over to him.
[1:43:50] Okay.
[1:43:50] Good evening, Council.
[1:43:51] Pat Ziner, Development Service Manager.
[1:43:55] So we are concluding the process this evening as it relates to the assignment of permanent
[1:44:03] zoning and annexation of 0.89 acre piece of property at the northwest corner of Clark and
[1:44:09] would drive. The request by the applicant is to have this parcel annexed into the city that public
[1:44:15] hearing was held on the 15th of September. And they are seeking to have MC mixed use corridor
[1:44:23] as the permanent zoning upon annexation should Council desire to make recommendation for that
[1:44:29] or approve that request. General Locator Maps, you have an idea of where we are in the world.
[1:44:36] Here, northwest of the roundabout of Clark Lane,
[1:44:41] Lake of the woods and St. Charles going off to the east.
[1:44:45] This is the vacant parcel and is immediately adjacent to the
[1:44:48] liquid shopping center.
[1:44:50] Property to the northwest is in the county,
[1:44:54] as is property to the immediate east on North Lake Wood Drive.
[1:44:58] All of the properties south of...
[1:45:00] Of the roundabout is inside the city's corporate limits in his own M.C. as well.
[1:45:07] So as indicated, we are applicant is seeking open M.C. zoning to allow for auto-oriented commercial
[1:45:13] development on this property, and generally a more direct path towards development approvals.
[1:45:20] This particular property is presently zone, boon County, R.M., which is their moderate
[1:45:28] zone in 2004, which is now an expired request to county general commercial planned district.
[1:45:38] So there was a plan associated with this property that restricted the uses on the vacant
[1:45:43] tract of land as well as the liquid shopping center to what is equivalent to our mixed
[1:45:48] use neighborhood zoning district or in the county referred to as CN, neighborhood
[1:45:53] commercial associated with that rezoning request was an approval by the County Commission
[1:45:59] to allow for a 500 square foot coffee shack drive through restaurant and that was a conditional
[1:46:06] use approval that was approved in addition to the development plan revisions made in 2004.
[1:46:14] And our meeting when we were talking about this request on September 15th, a couple of questions
[1:46:20] were asked of me and I have a couple of answers.
[1:46:24] So first and foremost, the accesses to this particular property, they're off of Clark Lane,
[1:46:30] were intended to be utilized for both the parcels, the developed and the vacant parcel
[1:46:35] to the east.
[1:46:37] I also made a statement during that public hearing that the applicant would only have to submit
[1:46:42] the final development plan in order to activate the actual development potential on the vacant
[1:46:50] parcel. After conferring with my colleagues over at the county, that was an incorrect statement.
[1:46:57] Given the fact that the plan has expired, I'm an expired two years after 2004,
[1:47:04] the zoning on this property would have to be re-approved fully by the county commissioner.
[1:47:09] That would require going through the county's planning and zoning commission as well as going
[1:47:13] through the County Commission themselves is that process does create some potential uncertainties,
[1:47:24] which is partially why this request has been brought forward to the city of Columbia.
[1:47:27] There is a more direct path to allowing for development to occur.
[1:47:32] MC zoning is a straight zoning district.
[1:47:35] The uses that are auto-oriented that have been expressed a drive through specifically is a
[1:47:40] right permitted use, meaning there would be limited review in the limited ability for the
[1:47:48] city to apply additional conditions such as buffering or access restrictions that a conditional
[1:47:56] use would potentially be able to apply or a plan district would be able to apply.
[1:48:04] To give a little bit of additional context, this is the original review plan in 2004.
[1:48:09] At that time there was a 4,000 square foot building shown on the vacant lot.
[1:48:14] There was no drive through or the coffee shack.
[1:48:18] The image to your right is where the coffee shack was authorized.
[1:48:22] If you think our city-blending processes are difficult to follow.
[1:48:26] My reading of the board orders with the county are even more challenging.
[1:48:30] I can't quite tell if the drive through canopy shown on that 4,000 square foot building was actually approved.
[1:48:35] But the best I can tell is, no, it was not, and there was a requirement that the review plan be amended.
[1:48:41] So the red circle represents the 500 square foot coffee shack that apparently their board order was the only drive through use on that land.
[1:48:52] The images that you see here explain a little bit about the access.
[1:48:57] So Clark Lane, the access is on Clark as I indicated, were done with the intent that they would serve the development as a whole.
[1:49:05] and the access to the North Lakewood at that time was also contemplated.
[1:49:10] That is the upper image.
[1:49:12] And as you will note, the roundabout was not there.
[1:49:16] The lower image, which is from the assessor's files from 2015 to 2017,
[1:49:20] obviously shows the roundabout and shows the relocation of the eastern access
[1:49:25] eastward into the roundabout.
[1:49:28] And that was done in order to give a better separation between the original two access
[1:49:33] as well as a more appropriate turn-off coming into this commercial development.
[1:49:41] At the time that the first phase of this project was approved, which is where the shopping
[1:49:45] center exists today, there was no cross-accessesment created in order to fully allow development
[1:49:51] opportunity for the adjacent vacant track to the east across accessesment still will be
[1:49:57] are acquired. And that would be, regardless.
[1:50:00] Reduce if whose jurisdiction this property does come into, they are asking for an annexation.
[1:50:05] So, if this were not to be approved, the county would still have control over the property.
[1:50:11] And they would also, for my conversations with my colleagues at the county, indicated that
[1:50:15] there would be a requirement for that cross-excessible statement.
[1:50:19] As we discussed as a part of the annexation, the comprehensive plan supports the
[1:50:24] commercial development concept here that is being offered and requested by the applicant,
[1:50:31] the Commission and the staff are both supportive of that. The MCZoning, however,
[1:50:36] allows for more intense auto-centric uses such as drive-throughs, gas stations, higher levels
[1:50:43] of commercialized development, would limited review oversight, and the intensity of those uses in
[1:50:49] M.C. zoning district would be greater than that of the current uses that were permitted
[1:50:55] in the C.G.P, which were never restricted by the county, then would be otherwise allowed
[1:51:02] in our M.C. zoning district.
[1:51:04] The M.N. zoning of the city would be consistent with the county authorization that was
[1:51:10] provided in 2004 and allows similar auto-centric uses, however, would require that
[1:51:16] out-of-centric uses be approved with a conditional use permit authorization. Conditional use permits
[1:51:22] within the city structure require a site plan. They require planning and zoning commission
[1:51:29] recommendation and they ultimately require city council approval. The MN through the public hearing
[1:51:36] process by our planning commission as well as by staff as viewed as the more appropriate transition
[1:51:41] for the neighboring residential development that is to the north of the subject site.
[1:51:50] And the graphic you see in front of you here is a comparison basically of our zoning.
[1:51:55] This is basically the yellow column represents our MN with conditional and permitted uses
[1:52:01] shown with the C and the P accordingly and then the green column is basically all of the uses
[1:52:06] in the M C zoning district either conditional or permitted.
[1:52:09] This table does not represent all of the use comparisons across each of our land use categories.
[1:52:16] This is where there was a disconnect, one district allowed one use versus the other did not.
[1:52:22] And what you will see in this table if you study it, which I understand that it may not be readable.
[1:52:27] There is a far greater number of permitted uses in the CP or in the MC zoning category than there is in the MN.
[1:52:33] And most of the uses that are permitted by right in the MC are higher intensity auto-centric related.
[1:52:43] So, the MNCUP process, which would allow for the auto-centric uses that the applicant desires,
[1:52:51] would provide greater development oversight as we talked about during our annexation public hearing.
[1:52:56] A CUP will allow additional conditions to be placed upon the future development of the site in order to mitigate possible land use and traffic impacts,
[1:53:05] which were expressed as concerns by the adjoining
[1:53:08] proper analysis part of the public hearing.
[1:53:11] And the CUP process is a more direct end result
[1:53:17] than going through the unknown outcome
[1:53:20] of a county full rezoning to apply basically
[1:53:23] planned development back to the property,
[1:53:25] as it was previously approved in 2004.
[1:53:29] MC zoning would be subject to neighborhood protections,
[1:53:32] which is many of you who've been around long enough,
[1:53:34] that is that deals with our buffering or lighting and other impacts that generally would occur
[1:53:39] on a joining residential property.
[1:53:41] However, the traffic impacts could be exempt, dressing traffic impacts could be exempt
[1:53:47] based upon the improved in size of the trip generation.
[1:53:51] Now, we did identify earlier today, again, as an oversight from what we originally presented
[1:53:56] to you, that we do have use specific standards that relate to drive through uses.
[1:54:03] The trip generation threshold generally with an
[1:54:06] Arcode is at 100 trips in the peak hour.
[1:54:09] The use-specific standards, however, that apply
[1:54:11] Specifically to drive through uses, allows for
[1:54:14] the city's traffic engineer to require a traffic
[1:54:17] study even if the 100 threshold is not triggered.
[1:54:21] That is to ensure that we would allow additional
[1:54:25] concerns to be taken into account.
[1:54:27] That would apply in either the MC or the MC
[1:54:31] zoning district. So should Council desire to proceed forward with the request that the applicant
[1:54:38] has made, which is MC, there would be the ability through the use specific standards
[1:54:43] of a drive through to be able to still require a more thorough investigation of the property
[1:54:50] from a traffic impact perspective. The buffering provisions are going to be the identical between
[1:54:55] Zoning District's MN or M.C.
[1:55:00] Water is the only thing that we are currently providing this site today. Electric is by Boone County. Electric, there is a 1992 sewer connection agreement that governs the site's availability or access to city sewer, and within that 1992 agreement, there is no requirement for annexation.
[1:55:18] furthermore, per the 92 agreement, the recurring monthly rate that the user of this site
[1:55:23] would be charged is 80% of what we would typically charge a city resident, and that is
[1:55:29] governed by the 92 sewer agreement.
[1:55:33] City public safety and solid waste services would transfer to our responsibility after annexation.
[1:55:39] Currently they are provided to be the county in private hall and then we maintain all of the
[1:55:45] right of way that is currently within the roundabout.
[1:55:47] So it is a city roundabout and a city controlled from that perspective.
[1:55:54] During the Planning Commission's public hearing with this request, there were three residents
[1:55:57] that spoke in opposition, and should have been opposition by apologies, expressing concerns
[1:56:02] about the quality of life, traffic impacts in their residential development to the north buffering
[1:56:08] and the possibility that improvements may be expanding off the current site.
[1:56:13] Based on our review, it does not appear as though there are such improvements, there is a utility easement that breaks basically the development area from the residential development to the north.
[1:56:25] Also during the public hearing, the applicants agent as well as design and real estate professionals address the commission providing responses to public concerns as well as the rationale for the desired MC applicants agent is here this evening to provide counterpoint to staff's report this evening.
[1:56:42] The Commissioner has expressed a concern as they discuss this project about MC going north
[1:56:47] of Clark Lane.
[1:56:48] There is no MC today that is north of Clark.
[1:56:51] All of that is contained to the interstate frontages, and the intensity of the uses
[1:56:57] that will be allowed without general review, more detailed review, in the MC zoning district
[1:57:03] versus MN.
[1:57:06] After concluding, their public hearing, the planning and zoning commission recommended
[1:57:09] and denial of the request 5-3 of the permanent MC zoning.
[1:57:14] If you have questions, I'll be more than happy to try to answer them.
[1:57:17] Any questions for staff on this?
[1:57:21] I'm going to go with Jackie.
[1:57:23] Thank you for this information.
[1:57:26] Do you know if the MC zoning is denied by Council?
[1:57:30] Well, the developer or their applicants come back and request MC?
[1:57:35] I do not know that.
[1:57:37] applicant's agent may be able to explain that to you, though they would be allowed to do so.
[1:57:42] Okay. That's only quite a comment. Yes, questions on this. Yeah, Fira.
[1:57:48] Am I an apologies if you, if you've already explained this, am I remembering correctly that the
[1:57:56] the property owner or the person making this request was offered the MN and chose to continue
[1:58:05] with MC or am I mixing that up with a different PNZ presentation from the last meeting.
[1:58:11] We did discuss the with the applicant's agent to convert the request to MN prior to publication
[1:58:20] of the staff report, the planning and zoning commission did inquire of that as well during
[1:58:26] public hearing, but the applicant chose to continue to move forward with the MC request and
[1:58:31] had the Planning Commission vote as it is turned out.
[1:58:35] Thank you.
[1:58:37] Yep.
[1:58:37] That's the end of it.
[1:58:38] Is there zoning?
[1:58:40] Is there screening required with MC zoning?
[1:58:44] Yes, there would be given the, given the adjacency of the RM and the county, there would
[1:58:50] be a level three buffer, if I am not incorrect, and what's a level three buffer?
[1:58:55] The level three buffer is a ten foot wide buffer strip with an eight foot tall screening device.
[1:59:02] Light standard heights would be eliminated to 20 feet maximum adjacent to the residential zone property to the north.
[1:59:10] Thank you. I knew you would know that information.
[1:59:12] I just leave with code.
[1:59:13] You will.
[1:59:14] Of course you would.
[1:59:16] Yeah Nick.
[1:59:19] You mentioned that.
[1:59:21] You've changed your mind about part of the information you were providing to us before.
[1:59:26] that you were incorrect about that.
[1:59:29] The staff, I know that the planning and zoning voted against voted to deny this, but staff also recommended that if I'm not mistaken.
[1:59:38] And is there anything that's changed in your mind about that from the staff perspective since you've gotten this other information?
[1:59:46] And there is not Mr. Foster staff is still firmly in the camp that we believe MN is a more appropriate transition in this particular area.
[1:59:58] We do not.
[2:00:00] Not support commercial development here. We believe, however, it is in the public's best interest, that we have a little bit more of a methodical review of site-related issues, which is what the CUP process would allow.
[2:00:16] MC, while a site plan will be required in a traffic study, can be facilitated.
[2:00:23] We believe that it does not necessarily provide the same level of controls as a CUP
[2:00:31] would, where we can do a little bit more, we can be a little bit more refined as it relates
[2:00:35] to placement of future structures and other aspects associated to the site.
[2:00:42] We believe when you look at it from the county's perspective of a plan district, if they
[2:00:46] have to go back through a full reapproval for the plan district, the CP process and the
[2:00:51] MN zoning district is probably still going to be more efficient.
[2:00:55] It's more of a direct perceived.
[2:00:57] It's not as direct as MC, but it is more direct than going through the uncertainty of a
[2:01:02] rezoning process.
[2:01:04] And so we are not moved based on the new information, even though that does provide some
[2:01:13] solace that we would still have the ability to go to traffic study.
[2:01:16] We still believe MN is a program.
[2:01:20] Any other counsel questions for this?
[2:01:23] All right, would anybody from the public wish to speak on bill 24325?
[2:01:30] The magic will happen.
[2:01:32] All right.
[2:01:37] The magic will happen.
[2:01:45] All right.
[2:01:45] Good evening.
[2:01:46] Mayor members of the council.
[2:01:47] Caleb Hobbert, attorney at 827 East Broadway.
[2:01:50] And I'm here to not only half of the applicant to ask for your support for MC Zoning.
[2:01:55] So to give you a little background about why we're here this evening.
[2:01:58] You can blame the county.
[2:02:01] When we went to explore the possibility of developing this property or rezoning it in the county,
[2:02:07] They suggested pointed out that the city, all of the property on the south side of this intersection is in the city limits.
[2:02:14] So they suggested that the city would have an interest in having this property within the city limits.
[2:02:19] Once that was suggested to us, we look at what commercial zoning districts are available.
[2:02:23] And here in Columbia, we have MC, corridor, commercial or neighborhood commercial.
[2:02:28] And when we look at the intent of those two districts, this site is located at a major intersection along a major roadway.
[2:02:35] MCZoning again is intended to be at sites that have high visibility a lot of automotive uses, so we feel like MC was appropriate.
[2:02:47] When you look at this particular intersection, and everything to the south is owned MC corridor commercial.
[2:02:54] You look at the surrounding uses and what has actually been built out, it is automotive oriented uses.
[2:03:00] When you stand on this property and look to the east, you see a BP gas station, obviously
[2:03:05] drive up fuel pumps.
[2:03:09] Look to the southeast, you see a sonic drive-in fast food restaurant, obviously with
[2:03:15] drive-up menu boards, food service, all automotive oriented.
[2:03:20] You look to the southwest, you see a drive-in club car wash and then in the background, you
[2:03:26] can see the McDonald's sign, all of those very automotive oriented.
[2:03:30] So when you look at this particular property, this would be the one site that is not improved
[2:03:36] with an auto oriented type use.
[2:03:40] To our west, you have the shopping center, again, but it's not located directly on this
[2:03:46] roundabout.
[2:03:48] Baff's concerns with the MC zoning and some of the questions that came up at the annexation
[2:03:54] hearing we're about transition and buffering.
[2:03:56] You heard Mr. Ziner talk about this property would trigger the most restrictive buffering
[2:04:01] that Columbia is adopted and that is a level 3 screen and requires a minimum of a 10-foot
[2:04:06] setback. We put together a diagram that shows we're 134 feet from the nearest residential
[2:04:13] structure and the reason for that is this site has a lake, a common lot between it and the
[2:04:20] residential structure to the north and then when you transition to this property there are 40 feet
[2:04:26] of drainage and utility easements before you even get into the site.
[2:04:31] So this property, it's exceeds the level three buffering requirement by 10 times.
[2:04:38] Additionally, you might recall that in 2017, we adopted neighborhood protection standards.
[2:04:44] And the neighborhood protection standards have this buffering requirement for the reason for the intention of allowing commercial next to residential.
[2:04:52] So, if we were never going to allow commercial next to residential, why did we adopt those
[2:04:57] neighborhood protection standards in the first place?
[2:04:59] We adopted them.
[2:05:00] And we go above and beyond what's required. As far as what the residents to the north would see, that is the existing vegetative buffer between us and the property to the north. The folks of the north will never see what's built on this particular site. Here is standing at the residential property looking south. Again, that's the existing vegetative buffer between these two properties.
[2:05:25] Finally, you know, the elephant in the room is the drive through.
[2:05:28] Drive through is really why we're pursuing the MC because the drive through is a bi-ride option.
[2:05:34] If you consider a conditional use requires a site plan, I mean that's the type of zoning
[2:05:39] we've had for the last 20 years and the sites never developed.
[2:05:42] We've had a plan zoning that requires site plan and going through additional political processes.
[2:05:49] That's what a conditional use permit is.
[2:05:51] We would have to submit a site plan and go through additional political processes in order to build anything with the drive through on this particular site.
[2:05:59] But back in 2017, when we adopted the Unified Development Code, we adopted use specific standards.
[2:06:05] And there are use specific standards for drive-up facilities.
[2:06:08] Those include requiring that all sound and light is directed inward, so they don't shine onto the neighbor's property.
[2:06:15] And additionally, the city built in a safeguard.
[2:06:19] any drive-through, the city traffic engineer can require that we produce a traffic study.
[2:06:25] If that traffic study says there would be a problem with that drive-through, the city can
[2:06:30] require traffic improvements or can deny the request, so there is overview, or oversight.
[2:06:36] It's not like if we get MC, it's just the Wild West, and we get to do whatever we want.
[2:06:39] We still have to operate with the plan that the city traffic engineer thinks makes sense.
[2:06:47] I'll let John cover some of the traffic counts, but overall we're asking for your support
[2:06:53] on campus.
[2:06:54] Thank you.
[2:06:54] Thank you.
[2:06:55] Anyone else from the public wish to speak on Bill 243-25?
[2:07:09] My name is John John with offices at 1,000 West Knifeung.
[2:07:14] I am the real estate agent for this property.
[2:07:17] The reason we are really here is that for 20 years it's sat and done nothing.
[2:07:22] About five years ago, the city came to the commercial real estate agents and said,
[2:07:29] how can we get more jobs and more retail in the north side of town in the north east
[2:07:34] corridor?
[2:07:36] There were very little suggestions, truthfully, because most of us look at it and say that houses
[2:07:44] follow retail follows houses.
[2:07:48] Businesses follow houses.
[2:07:49] is the rooftops account.
[2:07:52] But over my many years, I became finally
[2:07:56] to realize that the plan zoning districts
[2:07:59] were holding a lot of districts back.
[2:08:01] I would get inquiries, and people would
[2:08:04] look at the thing and say, well, wait a minute.
[2:08:06] Let me go to the planning department and ask them
[2:08:09] if I can have this use.
[2:08:11] And they go, well, you've got to present a plan.
[2:08:13] You've got to hire an engineer.
[2:08:14] You've got to hire an attorney.
[2:08:15] You've got to spend six months.
[2:08:16] And there we go, let me find another place.
[2:08:20] There was a VA proposal I doubt if we'll ever get it.
[2:08:23] Under certain circumstances, but there was a VA proposal for a lab.
[2:08:27] They came and looked at two places in the Northeast and said,
[2:08:30] yeah, we would like that spot is its own proper way.
[2:08:34] It's well, you'd have to go through planning and zoning,
[2:08:37] city council, all these reviews and do all this.
[2:08:40] We can't submit a bid that way.
[2:08:42] It has to be entitled to do what we need to do.
[2:08:45] And that gets down to the residential part, too.
[2:08:50] So this is the last piece I have of, I think,
[2:08:54] seven pieces in the Northeast Corridor that I've worked hard
[2:08:59] to get through to the right zoning.
[2:09:05] This intersection is a four lane highway.
[2:09:07] It's designed to be a four lane interchange.
[2:09:10] Clark lane is designed out through there to be four lanes.
[2:09:17] The other issue is, what about traffic into the neighborhood?
[2:09:21] If you've ever driven back into that neighborhood, you're not going back there unless you
[2:09:25] live back there, because you can't get back out without knowing how to get back out.
[2:09:29] I remember when I was first in real estate, I would turn around in there and be in the last
[2:09:33] for almost forever.
[2:09:35] It's, and the third point that I just want to make a real quick before I go, it's no
[2:09:41] longer a big lot, a big hunk of it was taken off for the roundabout.
[2:09:45] A lot of it is in that buffer zone and there's actually an easement that is maintained by the neighborhoods in that buffer zone
[2:09:53] So it's a very small lot and about the only good use for it is a small coffee shop type drive through
[2:10:00] May be a Jimmy John, which I've described through. But anything else is probably never going to happen. And if we have to wait six months, they'll probably find some place else to build. So I appreciate your thoughts on this. And if you've got any questions, I'm still here.
[2:10:14] Thank you, John. Does anybody else from the public with to speak on bill 24325? There's something behind you, John.
[2:10:20] Sit down.
[2:10:27] I get evening from Steve Spellman,
[2:10:29] a little bit 23-12, Katie Lane,
[2:10:32] and Columbia's blood, beautiful fourth ward.
[2:10:35] I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not the post-property owner.
[2:10:39] I have no financial interest in this project.
[2:10:41] Let's never know a couple of the fellows
[2:10:43] speaking about this, but just as a concern,
[2:10:46] citizen observations in the back here,
[2:10:49] you know, before they even spoke looking at the maps,
[2:10:52] which I do appreciate the agenda and the maps and stuff.
[2:10:55] I can kind of digest some of that.
[2:10:57] But this is a busy corner, you know, even notice in the pizza
[2:11:01] place and a gas station there.
[2:11:04] And it's kind of, well, what's supposed to go there?
[2:11:08] You know, the everyday average citizen would assume,
[2:11:10] well, that seems like it's part of the city limits.
[2:11:13] Isn't it already?
[2:11:14] I mean, there's all this growth there.
[2:11:16] It's this jagged area, a town, or some,
[2:11:18] officially, county, and some old houses and stuff.
[2:11:20] But the everyday average citizen would assume
[2:11:22] that this is part of the city limits
[2:11:24] at this point. At this point with everything built around it, it is infill, isn't it?
[2:11:30] It was a vacant lot. I don't know what else they're going to do with it. Nobody's
[2:11:33] going to go about a house there. I mean, the houses behind there are in the neighborhood
[2:11:37] but every house like, well, I assume it's probably going to be some kind of business.
[2:11:42] And as they said, there's a bunch of rules about it. You know, I'm no lawyer either,
[2:11:47] but, you know, if you, I'll skip that part.
[2:11:51] But, you know, the part of the description here that I learned from this is that the county suggested,
[2:11:57] well, look, well, why don't you become part of the city?
[2:12:00] Sounds like you'd want to do this.
[2:12:02] You got a property owner coming here that they want to be part of our town.
[2:12:06] And they want to be under our regulations and so forth.
[2:12:10] That seems like it seems like a decent thing.
[2:12:13] I remember from the budget cycle, or from ready, the regional economic development incorporated,
[2:12:19] there's talk of additional tax revenue generation so they're talk of a store here that might
[2:12:25] generate tax revenue sales tax revenue that seems like a decent thing and just a little
[2:12:33] bit of memory some of you might remember a former city council in Jerry Wade I think he was
[2:12:39] second fourth or fourth yeah and good guy you know I bless his soul and everything we got to know
[2:12:46] each other a little bit.
[2:12:48] And I remember he was at it for something called Smart Growth, which I don't completely understand
[2:12:54] at the time.
[2:12:55] But I remember one thing from that is you want traffic generating facilities to be on your
[2:13:02] busy roads.
[2:13:04] You don't want a traffic generation, you know, like a store or daycare center, he was concerned
[2:13:08] about, at the end of a cold of sack or way off in a residential area.
[2:13:12] Mr. John, I think it was was saying, this is a busy corner, it's designed to do that.
[2:13:18] That's what our infrastructure is built to do, and I think it's good that somebody's
[2:13:22] wanting to be part of our town, wanting to follow our regulations, and wanting to have
[2:13:28] sales to act generation to help our budget.
[2:13:30] Thanks, your time.
[2:13:32] Thanks, Steve.
[2:13:33] Does anybody else from the public wish to speak on bill 24325?
[2:13:46] It's a good evening Mayor, Council of Kevin Murphy with a civil group and welcome back
[2:13:51] Clint, let's say.
[2:13:53] Yeah, so again, some of the same things are pointing out.
[2:13:57] The unknown outcomes here is a CUP process, which is covered basically under any other requirements
[2:14:10] to have a drive through.
[2:14:14] But again, you're going to board, again, coming back and you're requesting this and you don't know if you're going to get it or not.
[2:14:23] So if we do accept an end zoning that does not guarantee that we get that.
[2:14:28] We are going to have to follow all the maximum screening requirements.
[2:14:30] We're going to have to follow neighborhood protection requirements.
[2:14:33] And so basically it comes down to, is this property developing the city or does it develop in the county.
[2:14:38] Again, major intersection, a gas station, next door, drive facilities on either quarter across
[2:14:46] the street, directly next door, there's bars and restaurants, and it is quite fitting
[2:14:54] with the screening that we already have in the additional screening that we would have
[2:14:58] provide.
[2:15:00] It's all in there. Thank you. Thank you.
[2:15:05] Anybody else from the public? Wish to speak.
[2:15:10] I mean, none will come to council comments or council clarifying. Yeah, Jackie.
[2:15:16] Yes, so this is in my ward and it's actually not too far from where I live. So I drive by this location.
[2:15:25] for any match on a daily basis.
[2:15:27] So I'm very familiar with this site.
[2:15:30] I can tell you that it is just this empty space that's being
[2:15:37] not utilized with the exception of the month of June
[2:15:40] when there is a firework's tent there.
[2:15:43] So there are probably a lot of residents who would appreciate that
[2:15:46] not being there.
[2:15:50] I appreciate the input and the work on planning and zoning
[2:15:53] from this, but I'm in favor of M.C. I think it's appropriate for this area. There is
[2:16:02] I want to validate the concerns of the traffic, but the roundabout people kind of whip
[2:16:10] through that pretty well. So I'm not concerned about that as much as maybe others would be.
[2:16:17] In just the other, you know, it was mentioned, but Ward 3 is very short on revenue generation and available jobs, places to go, and when I think about about a high school, out in that area, and the possibility of having some kind of drive through, I'm not a coffee drinker, so I don't get it, but I'm sure a lot of people are, and they'd really appreciate what I think about the staff and even the students, if it's developed in that manner, I think they would see that as a real win.
[2:16:45] for word three, so yeah, and this is something I'm in favor of for word three.
[2:16:54] Yep, figure out.
[2:16:57] So this is also a roundabout that I am very familiar with that I utilize quite often and it's very
[2:17:06] true that on that road, if you go straight back, you're going to get stuck into a neighborhood where there's
[2:17:13] really an outlet out. However that roundabout serves some major roads and just one direction
[2:17:20] on that roundabout you are going to find multiple day hairs, a fire station, battle high school
[2:17:27] and a major immune doctors office that includes family doctors, OBGYN, mental health practitioners,
[2:17:35] and physical therapists. It's a very high traffic area this roundabout feeds into St. Charles
[2:17:42] road, and I have seen some of the other auto-dense commercial properties where drivers are attempting
[2:17:54] to use back shipping entrances to divert the roundabout and nearly cause accidents directly
[2:18:03] across from this location, so I would have major concerns because there's an equivalent
[2:18:11] access on this property as well in that same spot. So I do have major concerns about safety and
[2:18:19] want to make sure that we are keeping that in mind. And so at this point I do not support the
[2:18:27] MC zoning.
[2:18:37] I'm looking at this request and I'm looking at the roundabout and the history of
[2:18:41] request that I've seen during my time on planning and zoning, and during my time here, and
[2:18:48] the trends in development around the area. I do have a concern about the traffic. I do
[2:18:54] see several auto-centric uses around here. I'm going to say, the gas station,
[2:19:09] that's county
[2:19:09] The things that I see that are auto-centric, I'm not sure would likely be permitted by our
[2:19:23] department.
[2:19:25] And I do want to encourage development.
[2:19:28] I think that's extremely important.
[2:19:30] And I do have a concern that this hasn't been developed.
[2:19:33] I think some of the commentary that we've heard about the present zoning and the future
[2:19:38] processes needed on that parcel lead to some of the reasoning why it's not, why it's not
[2:19:45] being developed because it would need an additional uncertain process through the county.
[2:19:54] I do think it's appropriate for many commercial uses. I think MN covers most
[2:20:00] Of the uses they would seek, including drive-thru's, and I do think that council needs to have oversight on drive-thru's.
[2:20:09] When I look at the history of cases that came before me on planning and zoning, including most of them that would have gone to consent on council, and may not have been seen by this body in the same way.
[2:20:24] I can't call very many at all that had an M.C. use of budding, residential.
[2:20:32] It's almost always M.N., and when I think about some of these doctor offices, the OBGYN,
[2:20:40] these are all permitted in M.N., and so are several commercial uses.
[2:20:48] I think that giving it a straight MN zoning if that were sought would still help it to be sold and developed.
[2:21:01] When I look at this area, this area is rapidly changing and rapidly growing.
[2:21:07] I know that it has been installed for a while.
[2:21:09] I still believe that, and then would likely get developed.
[2:21:17] I think it needs certainty in zoning and not necessarily specifically MC zoning.
[2:21:28] I don't support MC on this roundabout location for the traffic constraints.
[2:21:36] I agree with the need for more oversight and careful handling.
[2:21:45] I also don't support it in this location,
[2:21:50] abutting the residential.
[2:21:53] I still believe in our screening and our neighborhood protections.
[2:22:01] We have screening and neighborhood protections for MN.
[2:22:05] I still believe in smart growth and nodal development and part of smart growth and nodal development is transitional zoning between
[2:22:18] neighborhood residential uses and commercial uses.
[2:22:25] So I think MN is perfectly appropriate in this location.
[2:22:30] I know that's not what it is in front of us.
[2:22:34] I hope that you would rethink that reconsider for the future.
[2:22:37] I do not think that MC is appropriate for this location.
[2:22:42] I worry about the future of continuing to make our choices based on surroundings if we're
[2:22:49] making our choices based on non-conformities and then agreeing to them.
[2:22:55] And then the next choice is based on the MC that we gave, because it's a budding, a non-conformity.
[2:23:06] So that's where I come from on this one.
[2:23:09] Annick.
[2:23:11] I see it all.
[2:23:14] I will say that when planning and zoning says denial and staff says denial makes it harder
[2:23:21] for me to say, devote in approval.
[2:23:26] However, I moved by a couple of things here.
[2:23:29] One is, while is the natural buffer that exists on this site, there's a good bit of distance
[2:23:37] between the property line and residential.
[2:23:40] The other is the development of commercial on the northern side of town.
[2:23:45] We really need, for this to happen, I have visions of it happening in other places on the
[2:23:52] inside a town. So my tendency is to be supportive of it for those reasons.
[2:23:59] That's anything? I'll just say for my similar, I see all the things and I think it's
[2:24:06] to a very your point, right? There are some of those things that you're seeing on the other
[2:24:10] side where that county zoning that happen, which is why the safe guards are not in place.
[2:24:14] ours is different, we're a little bit more strict on doing those things.
[2:24:17] Also say Pat, you mentioned methodical review for placement of future structures is a need
[2:24:24] why we want to do the CUP. But what I see is less than an acre of a site with a lot of easements
[2:24:30] and a lot of setbacks requirement. So I feel like we have a lot of restrictions in place as far
[2:24:34] as where you could put a structure on this site. And when I think about that, I'm also just thankful.
[2:24:41] We have so many historical PUDs, especially in the second and third words, that need to be
[2:24:49] replacing to open zoning so that we can actually see development on it.
[2:24:53] And so I'm in favor of this one.
[2:24:56] So I'll go for it as Sheila to please call roll on Bill 2.
[2:25:00] 243-25. Council Bill 243-25, misbuffalo. Yes. Ms. Carroll? No. Ms. Elwood? No. Ms. Sample? Yes. Mr. Foster? Yes. Ms. Peters? Yes.
[2:25:13] That's as fortitude. All right. Moving on, Sheila, we could please read the items under consent agenda twice and call roll.
[2:25:23] items. On the consent agenda include bills 2.4225.242425.255.24425.245.2525.255.225.255.
[2:26:07] 28, 25 and 139, 25. Ms. Buffalo. Yes. Ms. Carol. Yes. Ms. Elwood. Yes. Ms. Sample. Yes. Mr. Foster. Yes. Ms. Peters. Yes.
[2:26:23] Moving on, we have no items under new business this evening, so I'll ask Sheila to read the items that are under introduction and first read.
[2:26:33] All bills are introduced by the mayor unless otherwise indicated bills to 5625 to 5725 to 52825 to 52925 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 to 625 for leading.
[2:26:51] All right. Now we're on to our reports. So the first one is we had a resignation from the Business Loop Community Improvement District.
[2:26:59] we had a membership change.
[2:27:01] So if it's a group, I would like to appoint Renee Hall
[2:27:04] to a term ending April 19th, 2000 and in 2007,
[2:27:09] can I have the consent of Council for these appointments?
[2:27:12] Any objection?
[2:27:13] Object.
[2:27:14] All right.
[2:27:15] So Renee Hall will be there.
[2:27:17] And I believe Renee is representing MACC, is that correct?
[2:27:23] All right.
[2:27:23] Now moving on to our second and final report of the evening.
[2:27:28] And we're going to talk slow while the Marcus Thomas Brown works his way into the room.
[2:27:33] This is a report from our office of violence prevention.
[2:27:36] This was requested a couple of meetings ago, which works out well for the timing because we've been talking a lot about this.
[2:27:42] So do we have a staff report from the office of violence prevention?
[2:27:46] We do have a report.
[2:27:49] Good evening, and have a report from the administrator of the office of violence prevention.
[2:27:55] the Marcus Thomas Brown, and so I have slides.
[2:28:00] If you do a next button on your computer there, it might come up.
[2:28:04] Oh,
[2:28:08] this might be something that someone in the back, I know,
[2:28:14] if you click on,
[2:28:36] I think what
[2:28:37] it might be is, so Marcus, why you, if you want to start doing a kick off, I'm imagining that
[2:28:41] it's from the agenda item, if we can pull up the agenda on that computer, his slides are one
[2:28:47] the attachments for this item on the agenda.
[2:28:53] So I'll just kick off while we're doing that.
[2:28:56] The slides give a pretty thing to look at while we talk about a lot of this information.
[2:29:03] I am excited about this information and live in this world and dive into it quite often.
[2:29:09] And so I don't suppose y'all might have that same enthusiasm, but so I want to give you something to look at.
[2:29:16] So I'll just start out with the Office of Violence Prevention.
[2:29:21] Obviously, we recognize the creation of it,
[2:29:24] and myself being hired into that by the Carlos C. Wood.
[2:29:31] And so the first.
[2:29:56] Yep.
[2:29:57] Right there. Yep.
[2:30:12] So this shows really just the just a snapshot of what the purpose of an office of
[2:30:24] prevention is. This is, obviously, not a new concept in our nation and in an evidence-based practice
[2:30:32] of seeing impact into areas of violence to off-survice prevention exists in many municipalities.
[2:30:43] And so this is the, this graphic shows the, how the off-survice differential works with other entities.
[2:30:49] and so I'll just dive into that.
[2:30:50] The Office of Violence Prevention is focused on coordinating the development, implementation,
[2:30:55] and the evaluation of prevention, intervention, and community enrichment, which
[2:30:59] the community enrichment is full sale when we see transformation 15 to 20 years, right?
[2:31:05] That's when we see, we start to see the payoff of that community enrichment by collaborating
[2:31:10] with law enforcement, community organizations, which I will refer to as CBOs, community
[2:31:19] federal and other key stakeholders by giving entities a
[2:31:22] philanthropic operations within our orbit.
[2:31:26] And we will continue working to develop strategies that
[2:31:29] reduce violence and promote public safety and well-being.
[2:31:32] So you see tie costs here, which is actually something I borrowed.
[2:31:39] I don't steal, so I borrowed from the recovery community.
[2:31:43] And what we learned from a recovery oriented system
[2:31:47] care is that this same premise overlaps into other ecosystems if you will, and so we have a trauma
[2:31:53] informed community oriented system of care, a holistic wrap around approach to both intervene
[2:31:59] and prevent that is informed by an overarching framework that recognizes the widespread impact
[2:32:05] of trauma and understands how trauma can affect an individual's health, behavior, and overall well-being.
[2:32:11] So the definition of trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing event that significantly impacts
[2:32:16] a person's emotional, psychological, and physical well-being.
[2:32:19] The effects of trauma vary wildly from person to person, but may include emotional distress,
[2:32:24] physical symptoms, cognitive difficulties, behavioral, avoidance, SUD, risk-ease, hazardous
[2:32:30] behaviors, and interpersonal relationship dysfunction.
[2:32:33] Those are all, can be caused by trauma.
[2:32:38] And acute, you have acute trauma, chronic, and complex trauma, collaborative efforts, then help develop programs that deal with a trauma informed or a system of care.
[2:32:54] So, what we are tasked with is developing and building ecosystems of change and enrichment that can lead to flourishing, flash driving individually and hopefully communally.
[2:33:05] Right, so my job and it's a large one is to be able to impact communities that we can see equitable driving, right, and communities that may not be the case.
[2:33:21] So, or something I also borrowed and I will read this here. I won't read the slides to anybody. Well, yeah, yeah, I can see that. I won't read the slides to anyone.
[2:33:30] I'm just going to go off of what I have for the report, but slides again are nice.
[2:33:36] So, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
[2:33:40] are endowed by their creator with certain unavailable rights.
[2:33:43] That among these are life-librity and a pursuit of happiness, which I turn flourishing.
[2:33:48] That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just
[2:33:52] power from the consent of the governed, which comes from the constitution.
[2:33:57] And I can tell you there are communities that are not living in that reality, and my job
[2:34:02] is to help influence and bring change in those communities.
[2:34:07] So, personally,
[2:34:09] I have known 54 individuals who died in Columbia, Missouri due to community
[2:34:15] violence, 54.
[2:34:17] And the data I'm going to use for this report is actually qualitative, not quantitative, it's
[2:34:24] personal data that I can tell you these people actually died we have
[2:34:29] documentable proof and all that so if you want that I can get that afterwards
[2:34:32] but 54 individuals who died in Columbia Missouri due to community
[2:34:35] violence. Nine of them from the years 2002 to 2015. Nine of them.
[2:34:41] I started to keep in track in 2015. That's 13 years. 44 of them from 2016 to
[2:34:53] 24 from 2016 to 2025. That's nine years.
[2:34:59] Half.
[2:35:00] 22 of them of the 44 between 2018 and 2020. These are friends and family of mine.
[2:35:10] And so we see the issue of community violence that has occurred. And so in the summer of 2016 there was a meeting called at French Commissioner about this church by pastors, David Ballinger and Pastor Carlos Taylor and Pastor Clyderuffin to intervene in the gun violence.
[2:35:28] Or agency call community faith was born that day, and the likes of Marcus Richardson,
[2:35:34] Jane Williams, Conrad Hake, Andy Griffith, Sophia Smith, Tori Stevens, Amata Harris,
[2:35:40] CJ Tallden, Pad McMerry, John Pringer, and Scott Claybrook were among that group.
[2:35:46] The first meetings were hosted a love Columbia that was on business loop at the time, and
[2:35:50] that was the first early meetings, and we began to work within the three identified strategic
[2:35:55] areas, central, east, and north. The reason I bring that up is because I'm not new to the work.
[2:36:02] And the work has been going on, and we've been losing people, but there's been a payoff
[2:36:07] from the work that was started. And so I think, and I don't read the future, but I think Jill
[2:36:14] will be back probably before this council adjourns. But I think the Columbia Police Department
[2:36:20] in the in the in the in the nature of things that have happened in the community-based organizations really deserve an applause
[2:36:27] for worth a 22 people
[2:36:31] 2018 to 2020
[2:36:33] It's two years
[2:36:35] It lost 22 people to gun violence and I think Jill can talk about the homicide rates currently and they're not 22
[2:36:44] They're not even close and so violence prevention strategies are most effective in communities where residents engagement is high
[2:36:50] and where there's ongoing collaboration among residents, businesses, and other local stakeholders.
[2:36:57] So community-based organizations entities that operate within a specific community or geographical
[2:37:01] area aiming to address local needs and improve the well-being of its residents.
[2:37:06] These organizations specialize in the micro communal subsets versus the entire macro community.
[2:37:13] This is important because of the various differentiated nuances of micro proponents that contribute
[2:37:19] to the macro issue, but must be distributed individually.
[2:37:23] It's imperative that CBOs collaborate, but stay in their lane when we talk about mission
[2:37:29] creep, or the spillover contributes to issues.
[2:37:33] And so what we're also pass with is to define and monitor the problem, identify risk, and
[2:37:40] protect the factors, develop and test preventative strategies, and assure widespread option.
[2:37:46] So we're talking about gap analysis, right?
[2:37:48] We've got to figure out what's going on.
[2:37:49] If everyone's doing the same thing, but we have an issue over here,
[2:37:53] and we've got to figure out how can we entice CBOs and other entities
[2:37:56] to fill that gap so that we're not all focused here
[2:37:59] when we have the issue over here, right?
[2:38:02] So that's what this office has tasked with.
[2:38:04] And so then the community-based organizations can be recipients
[2:38:07] of the data that we collect.
[2:38:09] And so there's enough of that slide.
[2:38:12] Community engagement, and I'm just going to read the heading
[2:38:15] see if that's okay.
[2:38:18] Community engagement, violence disruption, and we want to disrupt violence, right?
[2:38:22] Violence is not something that you just jump in the middle of you must disrupt the
[2:38:27] cycle of it. Violence tends to be very cyclical, and this is not, I'll explain that, this
[2:38:33] is not coming out of the Marxist head, I'll explain that later, and I'm not plagiarizing
[2:38:37] so I have references, but violence is not something that just, it's cyclical and you
[2:38:43] us disrupted right before you can intervene in it. And so youth engagement is a huge piece
[2:38:49] of that in policy advocacy. As as as Jill's as chief sleuty, so are we in professional
[2:38:55] sitting, I know her as Jill, but she sleuty said, we have to do something about guns, right?
[2:39:04] There's too many guns, right? So that's going to be policy, right? We got to do something
[2:39:08] about landlord intended. You go to somebody's places and you want enrichment, but when
[2:39:13] And so when Liz and their doors don't shut to their houses, and they come out and people are
[2:39:20] living on top of each other, and the leases ain't really legit, we got to do something
[2:39:23] about that if we want to have community enrichment, because that leads to those are proponents,
[2:39:27] to violence.
[2:39:29] So we'll get into that later.
[2:39:30] So policy advocacy, and there's not a lot we can do, but that's like widespread, right,
[2:39:35] macro.
[2:39:35] That's Jeff City policy advocacy.
[2:39:37] advocacy. So core functions, community coordination, data informed strategies, program development,
[2:39:44] and evaluation, supported, sustainable sustainability and capacity. So in that supported
[2:39:50] sustainability and capacity is not just for the office, that's for community-based organizations
[2:39:54] and entities that are working in the work. Because what we saw in from 2009.
[2:40:00] And onward, as you had these entities pop up and start doing good work, but they were not sustainable
[2:40:05] and they would just go away and we would lose all those gains. We would have to restart, recreate
[2:40:09] the wheel. This office is tasked with being able to sustain those and to make sure there's wide spread
[2:40:15] adoption and that that work does not just go underground, but that there's sustaining power so
[2:40:21] that other CBOs can maybe pick that up or the city can sustain for a time to be able to hand
[2:40:26] that off because we're not here to create and do services.
[2:40:30] We're here to sustain those that are doing services in our community.
[2:40:35] So we're not competing with those other services there.
[2:40:39] And so the data informed piece there is the initiatives
[2:40:43] that have already started in this office.
[2:40:45] And I will go through those while they are data informed.
[2:40:50] We've had to quick change and hit the ground running.
[2:40:54] And we're going to have to even look and evaluate those things that have been started because
[2:40:59] we've kind of did a quick try to do a quick out-to-gate fix when we weren't even able
[2:41:04] to readily evaluate to the standards we would like to measure those initiatives.
[2:41:12] So OVP strategic plan and outlook and timeline.
[2:41:14] So I broke this out when I came into the office with three different phases.
[2:41:18] I have phase one, phase two and phase three.
[2:41:20] And so phase one is assessment and alignment.
[2:41:23] So if anyone's wondering, we're in phase two,
[2:41:26] I've been here 134 days, no one's counting,
[2:41:28] no one's counting, no.
[2:41:30] But it's just, you know, I've been here for a little bit.
[2:41:34] And what I can tell you is that each phase
[2:41:38] is designed to build upon itself and we'll go through those.
[2:41:45] So phase one, and I'll pick out some key things here.
[2:41:48] phase one was March 31st. I started it was a Monday, March 31st, and that was orientation.
[2:41:58] And I won't belabor in the process of orientation, but the knees scared me deeply. And so,
[2:42:04] I made sure I don't share nothing about what happens at the city. But if anybody did a orientation
[2:42:10] process, you know I'm talking about. So that was, that was the first day. But from March 31st to July
[2:42:15] My initial strategic plan was developed in order to assist and being able to hit the ground running so to speak and learn the process of the city and tandem
[2:42:23] So you'll notice some initiatives engaged in their out-of-sequence, but I I can't say that I recommend the overarching strategy
[2:42:33] But when I came into the office everyone kept asking what are you going to do and and mainly what is the Carlin doing and I'm like
[2:42:42] Okay, well we doing stuff, so we don't come here.
[2:42:44] I'm sorry, I will be about to do.
[2:42:45] And so I have some of that here,
[2:42:47] but I would not recommend another office
[2:42:50] of unsprediction to do that,
[2:42:52] but we did, because we're Columbia.
[2:42:55] And we take on our, we take our initiative seriously.
[2:42:58] And so, but I'm grateful to everyone
[2:43:00] assisting and educating me on the house
[2:43:02] and the lives of city processes from grannicus
[2:43:05] and to internet.
[2:43:07] Seriously, one of the, I don't think the general populists
[2:43:10] gets to see the giftings and the kindness we have in the city of Columbia and our directors
[2:43:17] and our staff. They have been nothing. Holly, she's a staff member, has been nothing.
[2:43:24] But gracious, Christina, I won't name names, I'm gonna leave somebody out like they, I've made
[2:43:29] some blunders, right? Because I'm coming from a whole different understanding of things and it's been
[2:43:35] fantastic. So hopefully, you know, we appreciate them while we have them. So the current 240 day strategic plan initially runs on a timeline that was seemingly match the starting of the national institute of criminal justice reform local involvement and private development.
[2:43:52] And so you see some of the key initiatives there. So news chapter coaching was the entity that was hired and
[2:44:00] about 2014, 2016, to look at some of the violence trends, I was able to get that document that
[2:44:07] they completed. Thank you, Carolyn Sullivan. And look that over and see, is this still happening today,
[2:44:14] right? Because it's not that we don't have the information, sometimes we forget about the information.
[2:44:18] And so I took that document and was able to look at this strategic area, isn't all that,
[2:44:22] and kind of mirror some of the things we're doing. Internal 101, once I met with every director
[2:44:27] and they were gracious within the current departments with a few collaborations and I'll talk
[2:44:34] about those and access to the stressors map and police call data. So we were able to overlay that.
[2:44:40] So we didn't just pick areas out of the sky. With the old, it's academically old, it's fairly
[2:44:49] new but 2014. Right. So with that data and with the overlays of the stressors and the police
[2:44:54] all data map. We were able to overlay and see areas that we were to impact, right?
[2:44:59] And this lead in game.
[2:45:00] Page partners and stakeholders. Those are another initiatives by the first coming in from the 31st on today. I met with the
[2:45:06] BOOM County O'Reilly's response coalition, Central Missouri recovery coalition, unity in the community, league of women, voters,
[2:45:12] BOOM County Republican women, Central Missouri Republican Council, BOOM County Packaderms, Mule Scanners,
[2:45:18] BOOM County Race, Onward, Moms, the Man Action, Moms Against Drunk Driving, Missouri Foundation for Health, Columbia Public Schools,
[2:45:24] Juvenile Justice Center and Juvenile Office,
[2:45:27] Boone County Community Services Division.
[2:45:29] We must never forget Donna Clayborne,
[2:45:32] I give a shout out, Boone County Coalition
[2:45:33] to Insexual Violence, Southern Christian Leadership
[2:45:36] Conference, Race Matters, Friends,
[2:45:38] the NAACP, the Columbia Chapter,
[2:45:40] Como Supreme, Noble Court,
[2:45:42] Neighborhood Association, Boone County Community
[2:45:44] Against Violence, United Community Builders,
[2:45:46] Jesus' House, Columbia.
[2:45:48] They have a lotment there in the first ward
[2:45:50] that they're looking at doing a resource center there.
[2:45:52] of hope, Dream Tree 5, 7, 3 North, Stewart Learning Center, William Guitar, Little Foundation,
[2:45:58] Job Point, Connections to Success, the Rinship Opportunity Center, Fresh Start, so we're
[2:46:01] living into action, reentry housing for a change, turning point, moving forward, so we're
[2:46:06] living, love Columbia, Crime, Stoppers, Neighborhood, to watch the CIT, the district 13 treatment
[2:46:15] court, Boone County Prosecutors, STL Violence Prevention Coalition, that's saying to us,
[2:46:20] for four H. A Ventures Club, National Office of Alliance Prevention Network, Mid-Mazery, Unmet
[2:46:26] Needs Committee. They're out of Jeff City, but they cover Central, habitation and
[2:46:31] powerment and accountability. They're at pre that is actually the heat training that those
[2:46:35] get with treatment court. I'm at the founders for that. These were actual meetings. Some of them
[2:46:39] I had to actually talk to them and give a presentation. I took that data collection in that community
[2:46:47] stakeholder engagement seriously. So those are actually literal meetings and
[2:46:51] people I met with. OVP advisory committee formation, Near East,
[2:46:55] Canadian neighborhood opportunity, community accountability,
[2:46:57] pro council, affectionately known as no cap, was created to me in the
[2:47:03] handover village because of the data that we collected there.
[2:47:05] So face to, we are strategy and stakeholder mobilization.
[2:47:11] And that was July 21st to September 26th.
[2:47:13] And it's face to the community mental health for practical community application trainings that was engagement community education on community enrichment social determinants of health adverse childhood experiences and positive childhood experiences as it relates to root causes of community violence because we talked about that trauma and form lens.
[2:47:33] We also did the National Office of Arts Prevention Convenience St. Louis, also went to Pierce County
[2:47:40] Washington with the National Association of Counties to focus on youth justice and innovation.
[2:47:46] And then we had the, I cannot say enough about the PMO project management office.
[2:47:54] They're, they're data dashboard that they have been feverishly working on,
[2:47:59] with Shreya, leading that charge, has been phenomenal.
[2:48:02] And I don't just say that because I like the information,
[2:48:05] I was able to actually have Dr. Ruth Abaya,
[2:48:10] which if you don't know who Dr. Ruth Abaya is,
[2:48:12] giant and to work, she is out of Philadelphia.
[2:48:14] She is the senior director of health systems
[2:48:16] and CVI integration at the hobby.
[2:48:20] It's the health advisory violence
[2:48:22] intervention coalition they have there in Philadelphia.
[2:48:26] If you any heard about Philadelphia,
[2:48:27] that number's plummeted. She's the brain child of actually being able to develop KPIs through metrics
[2:48:34] and applying it back to community violence initiatives. And so Dr. Ruth DiBuy was able to look at
[2:48:39] this data thanks to the NOVP. And so was Joseph Mosin, who was out of the Chief Data Analysis
[2:48:46] at a Baltimore. If you haven't seen what's going on Baltimore, phenomenal. And the two things
[2:48:50] they told us to do measure process metrics and use geographic indicators for strategic programming
[2:48:56] and placement, that's exactly what PMO did, right?
[2:48:59] Don't create too many KPIs so that you don't focus,
[2:49:03] so that a focus doesn't keep you from your core function.
[2:49:06] And that's when they looked at that,
[2:49:07] they said, hey, this is beyond great.
[2:49:10] How many thousands did you spend on this?
[2:49:11] And I said, well, it was just time,
[2:49:13] because we have a benevolent PMO office.
[2:49:17] So community navigation liaison is for transit,
[2:49:19] there's a RFP out for that.
[2:49:21] I don't know how much I can talk about that,
[2:49:23] But that's an initiative that we're doing through the city for transit through off the
[2:49:30] vice-version in phase three.
[2:49:33] The I asked for a report.
[2:49:35] I mean, look, I'm just, this is I'm just giving them a report.
[2:49:38] So, y'all think this is linked, the other, I'm just giving the report of what's going on so
[2:49:42] that when people want to know when we're talking about the city's focus on violence, we're
[2:49:48] not playing games.
[2:49:50] We are focused, and I could tell you, ask my wife and ask my film, we're not playing games
[2:49:54] Because we understand that this affects people deeply and so we want to make
[2:50:00] Sure, we're able to adequately and efficiently and effectively address root causes so that we can actually solve
[2:50:08] community violence, not playcated. And so phase 3 is 131 days, 240 days, right? We're in the middle of phase 3.
[2:50:16] I'm going to focus at phase 2, we're in the middle phase 3. September 29th, February 27th, it's phase 3. And so phase 3, we can look forward to and we're in the midst of
[2:50:26] is the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform.
[2:50:30] We are in talks of the contract, as we speak,
[2:50:34] to solidify things.
[2:50:35] There was a contract drawn up.
[2:50:37] I don't know how Mr. C would was doing this,
[2:50:41] but he was trying to work this office
[2:50:44] and be the city manager, Kudos, to trying to do that.
[2:50:49] But there was a contract in place with them
[2:50:51] before it predated my existence in the office.
[2:50:54] So you can imagine when I came in,
[2:50:55] contract did not fit the landscape of what we're doing.
[2:50:58] So I had to go back to NICJR and read a just what's going on in the landscape.
[2:51:06] And so in that readjustment, we're looking at a violence reduction landscape analysis and
[2:51:11] a gun violence problem analysis plus a violence reduction strategic plan development and support.
[2:51:17] So they were going to create a strategic plan, but the director there, Shantay, Jackson said,
[2:51:23] Hey, you have a strategic plan.
[2:51:25] How about we just help develop further
[2:51:28] the strategic plan throughout the 240 days onward?
[2:51:32] And we bring support in that, as we do these other analysis.
[2:51:35] The reason for the analysis is because we need to clearly
[2:51:39] understand so that we know we're clearly the gap
[2:51:41] side because you can imagine, if 10 to 15 years is the payoff,
[2:51:45] we want to make sure in your six and seven,
[2:51:47] we're actually doing from year one that's going to give us
[2:51:49] the payoff to 15, right?
[2:51:51] And so that's what we're asking them to come in and do from us from an objective and an evidence-based peer-review lens.
[2:52:00] And so, then there's another initiative we're talking to the bullet related injury clinic.
[2:52:07] The clinic in St. Louis, if you don't know what brick is looking up, it is fantastic.
[2:52:11] They want to come to Columbia.
[2:52:13] I think we have an appetite for this kind of innovation.
[2:52:15] They don't only do the wellness of removing a bullet out of bullet related industry, but they also do workforce develop
[2:52:22] Upwork mobility and they affect the whole community and they are interested in and coming here
[2:52:27] We will see how that goes y'all can hold me accountable. So future growth and this is
[2:52:32] down to the end here
[2:52:35] Evidence based practices no one really cares about that
[2:52:39] OVP evidence, but I'm being facetious. I'm sorry. Yeah, it's late. It's late. So cognitive intervention
[2:52:44] and obviously we have community mental health
[2:52:46] for practical, community application trains,
[2:52:49] the council graciously signed off on that.
[2:52:51] A focus deterrence, and this is,
[2:52:53] so community navigational liaison
[2:52:54] who's talking about which transit,
[2:52:56] that is at aspect, but that's not full focus deterrence.
[2:52:58] That's the partnership with law enforcement
[2:53:00] and that chief sleudy and deputy chief Stevens,
[2:53:07] and as we collaborate, there's fuller aspects
[2:53:12] to focus deterrence.
[2:53:14] That's just the jump that we are able to do without, you know, a lot of research into that as we
[2:53:19] wanted to hit the ground runny. The neighborhood base outreach and investment. And that's obviously
[2:53:24] our no-cap groups or no-cap pro councils, excuse me, then our groups, they have their
[2:53:29] authority. And they will tell you that too. Come to a meeting. And so, measuring success, keep
[2:53:35] performance indicators are there.
[2:53:38] So for future growth and capacity building,
[2:53:41] it's a loan office.
[2:53:44] As I talk with the NICJR and other offices,
[2:53:49] depending on how we decide to move forward
[2:53:52] is what our capacity needs will line out.
[2:53:58] So two staffing positions in the office of ours prevention
[2:54:00] And by fiscal year, 2027 would not be just way out there.
[2:54:08] And the NICJR recommends comms and data, but because of our collaboration in Columbia
[2:54:15] and y'all are truly special, I can tell you the community connectors, Department of Diversity
[2:54:21] and Equity, PMO, Sustainability, Neighborhood Services, Parks and Rec, PHHS, Police, Department
[2:54:28] and public works. The collaboration has been just phenomenal and I've been in places where people
[2:54:34] wanted to have their five of them. That is not here. That is not at the city of Columbia.
[2:54:40] In my experience, I don't know if others may experience something else. So community violence
[2:54:44] intervention and continuity coordinator is what is a staff position that would actually
[2:54:55] and bolster that offerings to serve the gap in the making.
[2:55:00] Make sure they're still in orbit, because even these other agencies and community-based organizations can get sidetracked and need to help to come back to understand, okay, this is what we're doing. How can we help you and what's going on. Oh, don't do that because this group's doing it. Let's collaborate. That's a full time work right there at all the meetings. They're meeting with these organizations. So that would be one position. And then the other would be something as a community violence specialist, the community violence interruptors, those who are out who know the landscape,
[2:55:29] know the people linking intervene, right? And turn a fist fight to keep it a fist fight
[2:55:36] and not a gun fight, right? Or to remove it and make sure that people are dispersed. So that's
[2:55:42] that would be another position that we see the office of our Christians have across the
[2:55:46] across the nation. And then findings, this is last point here, references, and I'll leave it
[2:55:53] in my thank you. Columbia's special, but it's not unique. Meaning we can take successful initiatives
[2:55:59] from other municipalities with similar challenges and employed them.
[2:56:03] How do we support each other while holding each other accountable?
[2:56:07] We want this if we have a growth mindset and a focus on excellence.
[2:56:12] Evidence-based peer reviewed and data informed.
[2:56:15] And as this says, when I as replace what we even illness becomes well, this and we all have
[2:56:20] a part to play in this.
[2:56:21] So thank you, Council for the time for this report.
[2:56:24] Thank you, Demarcus.
[2:56:25] If you're okay, are there any questions from Council for this?
[2:56:29] Otherwise, we might do follow-up later.
[2:56:32] Yeah, Jackie.
[2:56:33] Thank you.
[2:56:34] For your report, I know this came after a request that I made, so I appreciate your
[2:56:38] time.
[2:56:38] And I also just want to comment, I'm sorry for the trauma that you've experienced in your
[2:56:43] life, and I commend you for turning that trauma into working proactively to try to protect
[2:56:49] other people from having the same experiences.
[2:56:52] So I'm glad you're here.
[2:56:54] Thank you.
[2:56:54] And I did just want to circle back around to discussions
[2:56:58] we'd hide when we were talking about the budget
[2:57:01] and talking about creating a position for this office.
[2:57:05] And I still very much feel that we should fast-track that.
[2:57:10] Instead of waiting the usual kind of starting
[2:57:14] the job description in January process,
[2:57:17] which I believe is what we talked about the last time.
[2:57:19] So I guess, to Carl and it's a question I'm asking you,
[2:57:22] Is there a precedent, can Council say, let's make this a priority to create this job position at this point?
[2:57:31] I think the, um, yes she can. The hard part is we have to understand exactly what the job is going to be able to do.
[2:57:39] So we can understand exactly what pay range would fit in and so build not that job description takes a little is more nuance.
[2:57:46] I think one of the things that one talking to the markets I think ideally would be, I think would be better suited if we can get into some of the work with the strategic plan process to kind of help us understand exactly what we're looking at hiring for and then we can start building that out.
[2:58:04] But so the question of what will be budget for I think that's the magic number we have to figure out exactly what that is and so we have to do a little bit more work to say exactly what that
[2:58:15] Sully range will be and then we can come back to the council and say okay here's a salary range that we need in order to fill these positions and so I would say
[2:58:24] Let us do a little work and then we can probably bring something back
[2:58:30] Well, let me work with remarks to see exactly a time when I'm
[2:58:33] predicting that.
[2:58:34] Yeah, that was going to be my next question.
[2:58:35] I think ideally what he would like, not speaking for,
[2:58:39] but I think when we had our conversation,
[2:58:41] we'd like to start looking at positions by 2022.
[2:58:45] So fill in those positions for the 26 budget is important.
[2:58:48] And so that would be our goal.
[2:58:50] And so it would go into the next fiscal year,
[2:58:53] but we can try to figure out exactly when and where.
[2:58:56] So, just to clarify, I heard an mention to positions for fiscal year 2027, so that's your vision as well.
[2:59:03] Well, I think yes, I was talking about what he's looking for and talking about other, because we've had, like,
[2:59:11] when we're in South Carolina, we had a conversation with the person who's running their office and looking at their staffing numbers.
[2:59:16] And that kind of helps us kind of get a look exactly what they're working on.
[2:59:19] And so we had a program that they talked about,
[2:59:23] which was a young men's, young men's united.
[2:59:26] Young men's united, and it was an awesome program.
[2:59:30] But we're going to need staff in order to help make sure we facilitate those programs.
[2:59:34] And so, yes, we do understand there's a need for staffing.
[2:59:37] It's understanding exactly what those priorities are.
[2:59:40] So that's something we can work on.
[2:59:42] And so it's just, no, we're going to not those processes.
[2:59:45] So I'm hearing we won't have a timeline on potential job description because you guys need to
[2:59:51] put your heads together and figure that out.
[2:59:53] So do we have a timeline on when you'll be presenting the timeline?
[2:59:57] I think it kind of flows.
[3:00:00] We're talking about going back to Kathy. When we look at how we do for our new job, how we do for job processes. And so we can fast track system and put this kind of ahead of some of the other ones.
[3:00:10] Because the Department of Justice haven't said, okay, here's the positions that we want to start looking at. So we can start that process.
[3:00:17] Let me talk to Kathy. Get exact time frame before I promise something that I can't deliver on.
[3:00:22] Okay, just now I'm going to, I'm going to be asking about it. Well, all right. Thank you.
[3:00:26] Any other council questions on this one? Yeah, Valerie.
[3:00:30] I'm not sure that I have any questions.
[3:00:34] I'm not sure that I can live with delay on this,
[3:00:39] and I just want to express a level of urgency
[3:00:43] that I'm sure everyone already feels.
[3:00:50] Any other council comments for this?
[3:00:52] Well, the market's I think I know I speak for a lot of us,
[3:00:56] but I think we pick the right person for the job.
[3:00:58] Your passion for this is obviously felt.
[3:01:00] and so, thank you for this and for connecting with your peers across the nation so that you are borrowing
[3:01:07] best practices that will work for us, but also within our community. So thank you. Thank you.
[3:01:12] All right, would anyone from the public, now up to the general comments of the public with anyone from the
[3:01:17] public wish to speak?
[3:01:24] Good evening. I'm Danny from the First Board. I was suddenly reminded of a quote and I
[3:01:35] One thing the government doesn't do.
[3:01:38] Crime cares.
[3:01:40] Crime is grassroots.
[3:01:41] Crime looks for the young kid
[3:01:43] who needs support and electing hand.
[3:01:46] Crime offers internship programs
[3:01:48] and part-time jobs and opportunities for advancement.
[3:01:53] Crime gets involved in the community.
[3:01:55] Crime doesn't discriminate.
[3:01:58] Trevor Noah, born a crime.
[3:02:01] To put in another way,
[3:02:03] crime doesn't pay when the government invests in its community when it engages with its
[3:02:09] people.
[3:02:12] I am very happy that we are getting more involved with other ways of investing in our
[3:02:19] community that isn't just approved force and harsh law because I think based on the numbers we've
[3:02:24] heard it's not working.
[3:02:28] I do hope that when we do move forward that we keep this in mind that
[3:02:33] If we want to diminish crime and violence, we have to make investments.
[3:02:40] That said, it's better for people to shoot with cameras than it is with guns.
[3:02:45] So we have to put funding in programs and internships and businesses that provide opportunities
[3:02:53] and advancements especially when it comes to our youth.
[3:02:58] We do need to build more infrastructures.
[3:03:00] We need to have more reliable, livable streets.
[3:03:04] it does cost and it does rubble some feathers, but it is so necessary right now and I'm glad
[3:03:12] to see some improvement along with finally talking about the guns.
[3:03:18] I'm very happy to hear
[3:03:19] this, but I do think we need a lot more work to be done and I want us to remind ourselves
[3:03:25] that crime right now fills in the gaps when the government lacks. Thank you.
[3:03:33] Would anyone else from the public wish to speak?
[3:03:44] All right.
[3:03:44] By doing my name is Devin Battle.
[3:03:47] I'm a native from St. Louis.
[3:03:49] I came to Columbia.
[3:03:50] Maybe about seven years ago.
[3:03:53] Grandma, the lyrics her.
[3:03:55] I have a lot of family that lives her.
[3:03:56] And they love this town.
[3:03:58] They've been here.
[3:03:59] They haven't left.
[3:04:00] What I really want to say is I'm
[3:04:02] I agree with Slady that said about,
[3:04:06] you know, just getting, you know,
[3:04:08] getting to it, you know, not waiting on it,
[3:04:11] you know, just kind of lulligating because these people are sick.
[3:04:15] You are like, it's not just, they're killing, you know, yeah,
[3:04:21] that's the big, that's the big root of it,
[3:04:23] but it's a deeper root going on.
[3:04:26] And it starts with trauma, like I say, I compensate Lewis,
[3:04:30] and a lot of the things that are happening here
[3:04:32] have been happening there a long time, you know,
[3:04:36] grew up in certain areas where you know that was a normal you know and if I don't want this to
[3:04:44] become like normal I have to like really dig deep down right now and get to the root of what's
[3:04:51] really going on with these people these kids these you know people that are you know
[3:04:57] many of these crimes because it's all, it's, it's metal.
[3:05:00] There are mentally disturbed, and it's not going to get any better if we don't tackle the mental
[3:05:08] aspect of affairs. I know you all have a rail and a couple more compass health to target those things,
[3:05:19] but these people are coming from a place where they don't have nobody to really key in on these
[3:05:27] things that's going on, like, and I'm one of them, you know, PTSD, you know, trauma,
[3:05:33] growing up, seeing things, you know, just, it's a lot, you know, so that's why I say,
[3:05:40] like, if I really, you know, want to key in, what's really going on in this city and
[3:05:45] help, you know, better these situations that's going on, yeah, I got a really key
[3:05:51] know that aspect first. So thank you.
[3:05:55] Thank you.
[3:05:57] Anyone else from the public wish to speak?
[3:06:06] Tracy Wilson, click camp.
[3:06:11] I was thinking about my daughter who graduated from high school when I think 2016.
[3:06:16] And I wrote down all the names of students that she went to school with
[3:06:31] like on and things like that and so yeah root causes from social issues but also we have some
[3:06:40] deep trauma in this town from environmental choices that we chose through urban renewal which
[3:06:46] has created I think a serial decision not to invest in certain places in spaces in our town and I see
[3:06:56] those young people in our schools and they shouldn't kill each other because they don't
[3:07:02] feel there's a reason for living. They don't care about dying. And you don't just get that
[3:07:07] way because you're born that way, you get that way because you're born into circumstances where
[3:07:12] you don't have any hope. I've brought this book up before it's called a peculiar and
[3:07:17] difference, the neglected toll of violence on black Americans, by L.A. at Curvey, great book.
[3:07:25] But it talks about what happens when we don't invest in people, and we put land first,
[3:07:30] and we put property first, and we don't put people first.
[3:07:34] So my years seem a little bit when people come up and say, well, you're going to take a piece
[3:07:38] of my driveway or something like that, not that that's not important, but what is it
[3:07:43] for us to develop practices as we will put people first.
[3:07:47] So, if DEI is important to us, that's a people first practice.
[3:07:50] It shouldn't take years and years for us to get it together.
[3:07:53] If we're going to have a strategic plan, we need to have measurable goals
[3:07:56] that align with DEI, that align with our actions
[3:08:00] to intervene in violence.
[3:08:02] These things all run together.
[3:08:04] I understand from what Mark was saying that it's a long-term plan.
[3:08:11] But I think in the short one, we need to work on our mindset and our mindset is we really
[3:08:16] have to have a deeper understanding about equity.
[3:08:18] I know in the current strategic plan, this is everybody's going to know how to define equity.
[3:08:23] And I don't know how you measure that.
[3:08:24] That's one of my problems with the strategic plan.
[3:08:26] So what I would say is one of the things we have to do is a whole society is think about equity
[3:08:31] and what it means and what the challenges we are on the gaps that Mark has talked about, what
[3:08:38] are those gaps.
[3:08:39] And what are ways we can think about filling them now in the immediate year by just
[3:08:45] stuff's going to come up again.
[3:08:47] And so the challenges will you really pay attention to those or will you kick the can?
[3:08:52] Good night.
[3:08:54] Anyone else from the public wish to speak?
[3:09:01] Generalised Ward 2.
[3:09:04] President Choi came and brought some things to our attention this last week.
[3:09:10] And it showed its frustration with inaction.
[3:09:16] And that inaction created action.
[3:09:19] And I think what we need to see is an opportunity.
[3:09:25] I think what happened was it created something
[3:09:29] that was disappointing.
[3:09:32] We had a chance to get ahead of it.
[3:09:34] We had a chance to step up and show leadership.
[3:09:39] I think we need to say hey we have time now to still do that. President Choi is a great leader in this town,
[3:09:49] but he's not running our city. At this point I think it'd be great to see a combined effort by our mayor, our city manager.
[3:10:00] Police Chief coming together and coming out in front of this issue. The other thing I'd like to see is I saw a talk about forming another task force.
[3:10:11] Task force is sound good on the surface, but again it's another chance to just get together talk about issues and do nothing.
[3:10:21] Back in 2014, we had a task force. They had a 30-page report. I got, sorry.
[3:10:28] Some of the information right here, and I had a chance to talk with one of the council members, Jackie Sample.
[3:10:37] And we had a great conversation about, there's a great number of things that are actionable in the 2014 Task Force.
[3:10:46] Let's not reinvent the wheel.
[3:10:49] Let's dust off the 2014 task force.
[3:10:53] Let's get together.
[3:10:54] Now, if you want to get community leaders together,
[3:10:57] which I'd love to be one, because I run a restaurant
[3:11:02] downtown that my son, Thursday Friday Saturday night,
[3:11:06] he closes there, leaves the place between three and four
[3:11:09] in the morning.
[3:11:10] Every day, Thursday Friday Saturdays, they're shot fired.
[3:11:13] every day he has to deal with that, every day I worry if he's going to come home.
[3:11:19] So there's a lot of people that are concerned, but I don't think we need to do new things.
[3:11:27] I think we need to do the things that people have researched.
[3:11:30] I think we need to maybe get the community together.
[3:11:33] And I think we have an opportunity here to bring everyone together,
[3:11:36] But Ivy allows, out to the side, we don't need to be Republican, Democrat, progressive, conservative, black, white.
[3:11:45] We need to come together as Columbians and work together to solve this.
[3:11:50] And we can, but we have to get together.
[3:11:54] We don't need Dr. Choi to do that, but Dr. Choi got us going.
[3:11:58] Thank you.
[3:12:02] Anyone else from the public wish to speak?
[3:12:12] Hi, I'm Steve Spell, a little bit 23, 12, Katie Lane, I appreciate your time and effort.
[3:12:19] It's just after 10, I guess.
[3:12:22] I want to speak on one thing and maybe another if I've got a minute.
[3:12:25] I remember, Madam Mayor, when you announced the Office of Violence Prevention.
[3:12:29] I thought, well, I don't exactly know what that is.
[3:12:33] I'm not sure what that's going to do. It sounds pretty good.
[3:12:37] Wait and see.
[3:12:38] I heard some of the things that came up like, well, okay, that sounds like good things to do, but we're going to talk about it or something what's going to become of that, I guess.
[3:12:47] Um, when a democracy was, uh, but hired is that I didn't know him from Adam, um,
[3:12:55] it's a big community, a city in cross paths.
[3:12:58] Um, I've got to know the fellow, um, over the last few weeks, there are how many days
[3:13:03] he's been there.
[3:13:05] And I'm deeply impressed by his character.
[3:13:09] Uh, this is a fellow with experience, uh, passion.
[3:13:14] Um, yeah, I couldn't think of a better person for that position.
[3:13:17] I'm still trying to figure out what all that is, but deeply impressed by him.
[3:13:22] I've sat in at least two of the community presentations he listed a bunch of them.
[3:13:28] I don't doubt that.
[3:13:30] He has the gate of a pastor, I guess, can be long-winded.
[3:13:35] I get that.
[3:13:37] But the confidence that he has there in the drive, an example that he gave in that that really
[3:13:43] help cut through the jargon of some of the, you know, social work acronyms that I, you know,
[3:13:49] cognitive things and, you know, I don't know what that is, but I guess we'll learn.
[3:13:54] He gave an example on if I'll do it justice, but he said, I guess soon after he was in there
[3:13:59] or sometime there, tragic, census killing about three-year-old child.
[3:14:07] And everyone's just like, this doesn't even make any sense, like, how do you register that?
[3:14:14] And he gets in there and I guess he was the chaplain for the police department.
[3:14:18] It was the background.
[3:14:19] And those people in the community helped usher the grieving parents.
[3:14:23] Family members to see their dead child.
[3:14:28] And to see that and tell them, as I understood or recall,
[3:14:33] I'm sorry you can't have the body yet because we've got to do an investigation.
[3:14:39] I know that's going to step into that place.
[3:14:43] And you know that really did the light bulb for me to wear
[3:14:45] Oh, okay, that's where we can meet this thing.
[3:14:50] And you know, talk about, you know, what government does
[3:14:52] and the community does and so forth,
[3:14:54] I think bridging that gap is the opportunity.
[3:14:57] I look forward to actionable items and still.
[3:15:00] Trying to get my arms around that, and if public communications is a passion of mine, so give me on the acronyms and what that looks on the ground would help me. Thanks, your time.
[3:15:10] Thank you. Anyone else from the public wish to speak?
[3:15:18] My name is Kristen Bowen. I live in the fourth ward on Stuart Road, and I just want to say I'm moved to speak because I'm so grateful. First of all, to be here to hear the report from the Office of Violence Prevention,
[3:15:31] and the work that's been done to connect our community is really powerful to hear about
[3:15:36] and it's early days, but it's so important. As many of us already know in this room, Missouri
[3:15:42] currently experiences one of the highest rates of gun violence in our country. We also simultaneously
[3:15:51] have some of the weakest gun laws in the country, which is why I also just want to say thank you so
[3:15:56] for taking this effort and time that you've done today to spell out a legislative priority that
[3:16:04] the city of Columbia can be proactive about in Jefferson City. I have had the experience of being
[3:16:11] in hearing rooms just this past legislative session, listening to truly extremist lobbyists and
[3:16:20] lawmakers who do not have the interests and values of Columbia in mind when they attempt to enact
[3:16:26] some further weakening of our gun laws.
[3:16:30] I've been in the room when I've heard testimony
[3:16:33] from some of our own law enforcement officers
[3:16:36] from Columbia talking specifically about
[3:16:38] how the work that's happening in Jefferson City
[3:16:41] makes us less safe.
[3:16:43] It's just so important that we are in that conversation
[3:16:45] and at that table.
[3:16:46] So I just want to say thank you for taking this step
[3:16:49] and continuing to commit to pay attention
[3:16:51] to what's happening in Jefferson City
[3:16:53] Because it's going to take all of us to change those gun laws and to change those policies.
[3:17:00] And it's just a fact that safer gun laws would make us all safer as a state, and we're
[3:17:06] just not there.
[3:17:07] So thank you all, and I really appreciate this opportunity, and I hope to come back and
[3:17:13] hear more as you all continue to re-evaluate what happens.
[3:17:16] This is a coming session in 2020, six.
[3:17:19] Thanks, Kristen.
[3:17:20] Anyone else from the public wish to speak?
[3:17:29] I'm Paul Layman, I'm an organic farmer and an environmentalist, a long time environmentalist.
[3:17:37] I have to be the chairperson of the Missouri Green Party, but that's just a side piece of information.
[3:17:47] I'm here to speak about the herbicide damage in Steven's Lake Park, if you've been out there recently,
[3:18:02] it looks like someone described it as a war zone where the life has been sucked out because of this herbicide damage.
[3:18:14] I'd like to pass out some packet for each of you if you said, okay, I do that.
[3:18:22] If you want to hand it to Sheila, she'll hand it to the rest of us.
[3:18:29] These are numbered one through eleven.
[3:18:32] What that means is I had 33 pictures and sort of divide them up among these.
[3:18:38] So if you want to see more than what's in your packet, just to, you know, exchange with your neighbor.
[3:18:43] So, the numbers are irrelevant except to help you remember which packet you looked at.
[3:18:51] So, I brought a, well, I wanted to say that I'm also a victim of herbicide drift
[3:19:00] and a volatization on my farm.
[3:19:04] My neighbor sprayed his GMO soybeans and that has drifted over and has stayed.
[3:19:11] is one of these kind of inversion situations where it doesn't go away. It just stays in one place
[3:19:22] and it calls all kinds of damage. It killed my clover crop, my garden. These samples are from
[3:19:32] My farm, as you can see how the damage works, it's supposed to go away according to the
[3:19:41] chemical people, but it didn't.
[3:19:44] It's been four months of endless siege of this dust that's always around.
[3:19:51] It gets in my house, it gets in everywhere.
[3:19:54] And then I discovered it's in Stevens Lake Park, identical.
[3:20:00] The same kind of effect. So, of course, I couldn't cut any trees at Stevens Lake, so I brought an identical.
[3:20:10] You'll see that you start off with growth in the spring, then they spray, and then you get damaged here.
[3:20:18] This is a kind of a shrubble-up effect, and then it dies down, we get a cover clear day, the wind shifts, and comes out of the south, and so the north, and then it allows the tree to grow some more, and then they...
[3:20:38] Mr. Leighman, you're at time?
[3:20:40] Okay.
[3:20:41] But I want to have a staff member come and talk to you before you leave tonight.
[3:20:45] I might have a staff member reach out to you.
[3:20:47] Okay. Well, I just wanted the council to do local control measures because you can control this.
[3:20:56] Thank you, Mr. Layman. Appreciate it.
[3:20:59] Would anybody else from the public wish to speak?
[3:21:11] Eugene Elkin, 346, range line.
[3:21:14] As the previous gentleman was talking about chemicals.
[3:21:18] You know, for anybody who's gotten a little older than you think back, there was once a word called Times Beach, Missouri.
[3:21:25] It evolved around too many chemicals.
[3:21:30] We do not want that happening in the city of Columbia, but long he headed in a rule setting.
[3:21:37] Tonight, I want to thank the gentleman that was talking on the mention of violence, that gentleman earns his paycheck sir.
[3:21:44] When somebody can give out that much knowledge that he is truly meeting with people, communicating with people,
[3:21:51] I hope I can leave a message tonight that I don't get cut off because I was so upset last time.
[3:21:59] President Moon Troy has suggested that the students now leave the downtown at midnight.
[3:22:06] From my perspective, let's see businesses start their eight o'clock fund and
[3:22:12] It's not down at midnight.
[3:22:16] The children can all hang around to one and hopefully on their way, because what we're
[3:22:22] talking about is the effects of alcohol.
[3:22:26] In the last two years, I was in downtown the exact same location.
[3:22:31] The shots went off and I had no idea where to go.
[3:22:35] I returned the night of the killing and I was on the opposite corner at 1130 which puts
[3:22:42] me about two hours before the actual shooting.
[3:22:47] I want the old Columbia as many people have said.
[3:22:52] We are a peaceful community. We don't need to dread walking down the street of Columbia,
[3:22:58] even if it's dark. Did the lights need to be brightened earlier than they have mentioned tonight?
[3:23:06] We have to be educating those who are handling guns.
[3:23:13] Our police need to be careful when handling those who are breaking the law.
[3:23:19] Tonight's trauma subject has been very prominent.
[3:23:22] Many different ones have mentioned as well as Marcus.
[3:23:26] The more we educate, the better off we'll be, for no one seems to educate the packer,
[3:23:33] The one carrying the gun legally, do you realize if you have to pull that thing?
[3:23:39] What laws are not in your favor?
[3:23:42] You have to go by the law when you're carrying.
[3:23:46] Arcing now and using gun can't keep up my own notes.
[3:23:54] Don't it?
[3:23:55] The point is please, please, see that our officers are handling the public in the proper manner
[3:24:03] for I am getting many reports of misunderstanding of our homeless God bless.
[3:24:09] Thank you, Jean.
[3:24:10] Would anyone else from the public wish to speak?
[3:24:18] Even in Dimitris Stevens, I live in the Third Ward.
[3:24:22] I want to speak to the violence prevention position.
[3:24:28] That position is necessary.
[3:24:32] I want to say that it's been more than a year that I've taken time to go downtown.
[3:24:39] I saw individuals Saturday night and I was a little disappointed because I don't believe
[3:24:47] the reason and down there is what we've heard.
[3:24:52] I believe that it is the city's position to lead not University of Missouri.
[3:25:00] I go down and I watch, I observe. It's not a pretty sight. What I see? I'm saying all of this to say that it is very necessary
[3:25:10] for the position and the work that's being done for it to be done. But again, I heard someone say on
[3:25:17] the mental health that is real. You got to start at the basics. What you guys are doing is great,
[3:25:25] But it's the mental health. I hear about guns. I'm a registered responsible gun owner and I will fight to the end from my rights to have that.
[3:25:36] But a gun can't kill a person without the person. A gun will do what it does. It can sit on a shelf and it won't kill a person.
[3:25:46] Um, but I said that to say that we got to address the mental health.
[3:25:51] That's the basics.
[3:25:53] Then we can talk about the jobs, the homelessness,
[3:25:57] because until you hit the root of the issue of what's causing the problems,
[3:26:02] we're not going to fix it.
[3:26:04] I visited my grandson this weekend,
[3:26:08] and he said something to me.
[3:26:11] And it broke my heart because I thought all the work that we're doing
[3:26:14] that it's making a difference and it is, but he said grandma, he said the individual is on the street that's killing, they don't care about nobody.
[3:26:24] He said, it's about street cred, they just want to be able to say I killed somebody, that's sick.
[3:26:32] But I'm saying to you guys, the work, that position is necessary, build on it if it needs assistance, the mark is doing great work.
[3:26:40] going to take all of us when you see something, say something, I see a lot. And it ain't always
[3:26:47] pretty. Citizens, the police department, I've watched, I've recorded. We not all act in
[3:26:55] accordingly. Everybody got to be held responsible and accountable, but you got to start
[3:27:01] at the basics because mental health is running rampant. If you can get out there more than just
[3:27:09] and on a weekend, I'm telling you it's so much going on that need to be addressed.
[3:27:14] Thank you.
[3:27:15] Thank you, Jimmy.
[3:27:17] Would anyone else from the public wish to speak,
[3:27:25] greetings, council, and city leaders?
[3:27:29] I come up here with a very heavy heart.
[3:27:32] You see, I have Shazon, the young lady, Ayanna, Ya Ya, whom was most recently
[3:27:38] gunned down by an act of gun violence with someone that I knew.
[3:27:42] She just celebrated her 21st birthday in May of this year.
[3:27:48] And she reminds me of myself.
[3:27:50] I came here in 2009 from Springfield, Missouri,
[3:27:53] Green County to attend the University of Missouri.
[3:27:55] I've attended there in Column College.
[3:27:58] I worked for a local nonprofit.
[3:27:59] I've even been able to start a small business here in Columnia
[3:28:02] that actually was accepted in downtown.
[3:28:05] And I would just like to echo the sentiments
[3:28:07] of those that came before me.
[3:28:09] Thank you all for your time to Marcus for his time, but the sense of urgency has been here.
[3:28:15] I think just the numbers that he's displayed, the sentiments from the chief earlier I was here
[3:28:20] earlier than I left. We need something done. I feel as first word Valerie fills. I don't feel like
[3:28:29] we need any more time to deliberate on the fact that we need more positions within the office of
[3:28:37] prevention but also something in the interim. Some type of crisis intervention and I think we need to take a full
[3:28:45] assessment of all of the citizens of our city to see what everyone really wants. I frequent online.
[3:28:52] I frequent community public spaces like this and there are a variety of opinions and none of them are
[3:28:58] aligning and I would implore the council and the city management to start with the youth and start with
[3:29:05] most vulnerable youth to really see what is valuable to them, because yes, we are working on a long-term
[3:29:12] plan through the Office of Prevention, but as we can see, are you third dying? Literally, every day.
[3:29:20] I think back to January when there was the large shooting at Cosmo Park, which mostly consisted of
[3:29:25] college students and young people between the ages of 17 and I'm 34, my age. And so I would just say
[3:29:32] all that to say that I just urge more funding, more support, and whatever timelines need to be set forth
[3:29:39] like Jackie requested on, giving us some type of in the now response to what we clearly are seeing.
[3:29:46] I have to go to my friends funeral this weekend. She was about to graduate from Stevens College
[3:29:52] when they're seeing, and I would like to say I had to test the actions that were displayed this
[3:29:56] Saturday, I personally didn't go downtown, I appreciate the...
[3:30:00] Council members who spoke out about it but did not give their presence and I respect that and I appreciate that because those of us who frequent the community, frequent these areas of concern, know that what happened last Saturday is not even a first step into getting the issues resolved.
[3:30:16] We have to come to the people and I think even me being a millennial 34, we need to really reassess what the youth want.
[3:30:24] Because clearly there's a disconnect and we're not aligned with the measurable goals for trying to achieve.
[3:30:30] Thank you for your time.
[3:30:31] Can you say your name for the record?
[3:30:33] Sorry.
[3:30:33] My name is Ernie Shoduke and I live in the fifth ward.
[3:30:36] Thank you.
[3:30:37] Thank you.
[3:30:38] Would anybody else from the public wish to speak?
[3:30:44] Hey, Harry cast a loam in the fifth ward.
[3:30:46] I'm speaking on behalf of Peaceworks if I could get five minutes.
[3:30:49] Okay.
[3:30:50] Glad to.
[3:30:51] Thank you.
[3:30:53] on comments made by Emu President Munchoy on the horrific murder of the bright Stevens College
[3:30:59] student Ayanna Williams during homecoming weekend, where he sent an email to the Emu campus
[3:31:04] community as well as the City Council and Mayor Buffalo. He also held a press conference
[3:31:09] addressing what he felt were issues in downtown and heard from others using the tragic shooting
[3:31:13] as a catalyst for the comments. As is unfortunately typical in these kinds of situations today,
[3:31:20] his comments were made before more information about the accused shooter was known.
[3:31:25] We know that we're from Florida, but we were, were they a student, a part of our unhoused
[3:31:29] community, a criminal for out of state, or a citizen who had a gun when they probably
[3:31:35] shouldn't have, but did due to lacks gun laws.
[3:31:39] The lack of information did not stop many from latching onto the situation in choice
[3:31:43] comments as a statement of political discontent and calls for officials to resign or be recalled.
[3:31:50] And this is in spite of the mother of the victim saying that the family does not want
[3:31:54] Ion as murder to be used to drive political agendas.
[3:31:57] President Choy stated, rampant crime downtown is a crisis, even though violent crime downtown,
[3:32:03] citywide, is on a downward trend based off of Chief Sludes reports.
[3:32:10] Choi praised CPD for doing an excellent job all the while saving crime is out of control
[3:32:16] despite the number, despite numbers painting a more complicated picture than that so I'm
[3:32:21] not sure how that quite works but okay.
[3:32:24] He states current policies and practices need to be examined because they attract criminals
[3:32:29] but would not articulate any specific policy or practice doing such.
[3:32:34] This vagueness when making dire claims about the state of Columbia, Columbia's downtown, and the policies causing it serves no one and only leads to confusion and worry over what is implied here.
[3:32:47] Especially with the state's pension for trying to overturn the will of local control of municipalities, and in some cases the entire population of the state.
[3:32:57] Passing a loitering ordering, clearing encampments for the unhoused congregate and enacting
[3:33:02] a youth curfew are some of the suggestions, I'm not going to have enough time, that
[3:33:07] don't address the problem of gun violence, and each of these comes with their own logistical
[3:33:12] and constitutional enforcement concerns.
[3:33:15] Choice comments to the city also includes what I would consider, a not-so-vailed threat
[3:33:20] about possibly asking Governor T. Heo to get involved. I think the residents of Columbia
[3:33:25] understand that threat and what is meant by it and we see how other progressive cities are
[3:33:31] treated by the Trump administration and red state governors. I'm not going to be able to finish this,
[3:33:37] but I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
[3:33:40] You're here. Oh, here you go. I see more minutes. Yeah, I was looking at that.
[3:33:44] All right. Thank you. I appreciate it. When I was talking. I appreciate it.
[3:33:49] Let me see. I also heard Councilman Waterman speak on the, well, wake up Missouri radio show.
[3:33:54] where he had mentioned the unintended consequences of concealed and carry laws
[3:33:58] were less police confiscation of guns of carrying guns.
[3:34:03] I think most people that want reasonable gun laws would say the expected consequences of concealed
[3:34:08] carry is that good or bad people will carry again wherever they wish and when they feel threatened,
[3:34:14] feel that they have a way out without feeling fully assessing their surroundings.
[3:34:19] What also seems to indicate this are comments made by the accused shooter to officers and said he felt people
[3:34:26] ganged up on him in an altercation. So he fired warning shots, blindly into the crowd of people,
[3:34:32] injuring two and killing one, none of them involved in the original altercation.
[3:34:36] What I find glaring enjoys comments, at least, is that they never once addressed that we live in a state where you can
[3:34:45] awfully carrier concealed weapon.
[3:34:48] Also, Miss Missing is a single mention about any sort of reasonable gun control, so why
[3:34:52] we're both of those things, Missing.
[3:34:55] This tragedy is a situation where some political actors are attempting to assassinate a
[3:34:59] the line escape.
[3:35:00] Let's take a blame instead of blaming backward gun laws put in place by lawmakers in Jefferson City. They pass laws giving virtually everyone the opportunity to carry a gun, then blame liberal policies they perceive as supermissive of crime when tragedy strikes and ignore the guns. The comments from Moon Choi, which engage in this, are particularly alarmist and rhetoric which is concerning.
[3:35:24] But what more would you expect from the M.U. President that doesn't pay many of its employees
[3:35:29] a living wage?
[3:35:31] What more would you expect from the M.U. President who, when the opportunity arose,
[3:35:35] stop providing life, saving medical care for the trans community?
[3:35:38] What more would you expect from the M.U. President that sends emails intended to chill the
[3:35:43] speech of employees and students to speak out about various causes?
[3:35:47] Thank you, Terry.
[3:35:48] Now you are.
[3:35:49] Thank you, though.
[3:35:50] And anyone else from the public wish to speak, at Danny Verdy talked on general comment,
[3:35:56] But we're all around.
[3:36:05] I'm Sebastian Montgomery.
[3:36:07] I'm originally from St. Louis, but I've been living here for school for the past
[3:36:10] four years.
[3:36:10] I'm a student at Mizzou.
[3:36:12] Kind of touching on what the last person just said.
[3:36:15] I want to state that President President and Chancellor Leron Montcho is a
[3:36:21] statement, severe the email he sent out to the campus community.
[3:36:23] Do not reflect the views of the student body at Mizzou.
[3:36:27] I'm sure there are probably some people that agree for him, but I know I speak for myself and many of my friends and my allies on campus.
[3:36:34] When we say, we don't want to anti-loadering ordinance pass, we don't want an anti-panhandling ordinance pass.
[3:36:41] A curfew is a frankly a silly idea, especially in a city like Columbia.
[3:36:47] I don't think those things would make the lives of the average person in Columbia any better.
[3:36:52] I actually think it would make it worse.
[3:36:54] I think it will lead to possible harassment
[3:36:56] of unhoused people.
[3:36:57] I think it doesn't do anything to make our community safer
[3:37:00] and better.
[3:37:00] I think the kind of thing that does come in our community
[3:37:03] safer and better is the things that we're being talked
[3:37:06] about with the Office of Violence Prevention.
[3:37:08] And I'm very glad that that sort of task market force
[3:37:11] is being implemented and doing good work in our community.
[3:37:14] I would also be hesitant to give Moncho a too much credit
[3:37:17] for starting us on the path of violence prevention
[3:37:21] because I know that the city has been
[3:37:22] working on that kind of thing for a while now, and honestly, I'm very disappointed that
[3:37:28] one toy would seemingly from where I'm standing, use the tragic killing of Ayana Williams.
[3:37:33] I mean, she rest in peace as an opportunity to push his very obviously political rhetoric
[3:37:39] and to characterize Columbia as a man's safe town.
[3:37:42] I live downtown, and I never feel unsafe walking alone at night, a student, and so sometimes
[3:37:49] my sleep schedule is a little late and I've never had any problems walking home late at night
[3:37:55] or walking alone. And frankly, I would be much more, I would feel much more worried about the
[3:38:01] dangers of certain people with certain political views that think that people like me shouldn't
[3:38:06] exist or think that people like me shouldn't be allowed to express ourselves. I would be much more
[3:38:10] worried about people like that who are lawfully allowed to carry guns than I ever would be about
[3:38:19] And so I'm glad that the city is proactively doing things, especially like affordable housing.
[3:38:25] That actively addressed the root causes of homelessness and are not putting a bandaid on the wounds out of speak with more police presence.
[3:38:32] And so I hope the city continues on that path.
[3:38:35] And doesn't get too intimidated by one choice trying to push it as political rhetoric.
[3:38:40] Right, Eric. Thank you.
[3:38:41] Thank you, Sebastian.
[3:38:43] But anyone else from the public wish to speak?
[3:38:47] I mean, none will come. Oh, no, we're not done. Just kidding. You don't have to hustle. It's okay.
[3:39:01] Hi, my name is Dr. Less Gray. I live in the first word.
[3:39:05] I am here representing myself.
[3:39:08] Not my employer. I've been crying a lot in public recently.
[3:39:12] And I'm just going to use it as a political spectacle at this point.
[3:39:16] I have so much grief that I am trying to hold in my body and alongside people that I care about.
[3:39:23] And I know that you are too, and I didn't come up here to catastrophize during catastrophic times or fear munger.
[3:39:30] I'm just trying to tell you that I am so grateful.
[3:39:34] I see you trying to do right by people.
[3:39:37] I see you treating people like they belong to us to each other in a way that is not about ownership or discipline or all these things that historically have been true.
[3:39:49] I really want to be able to tell my students, particularly my Black female students, that they're worth protecting, and that they're actually.
[3:40:00] Citizens, sustainable actions that will illuminate that and not make me a liar. So thank you. I see what you're doing. I appreciate you.
[3:40:16] And I hope that you can sustain yourself through this moment and the harder moments that are to come.
[3:40:22] Thank you.
[3:40:24] Would anybody else from the public wish to speak?
[3:40:29] The none. I'll come to Council comments.
[3:40:31] We'll start with council member Carol.
[3:40:34] That happened fast.
[3:40:36] Okay.
[3:40:40] I have a housekeeping item.
[3:40:42] And I also have some things that I wanted to say.
[3:40:47] So I'll get the housekeeping item out of the way first.
[3:40:51] I've met with Adrian Stovic recently to discuss our ADU ordinance.
[3:41:00] This is something that we worked on during my time on planning and zoning twice.
[3:41:07] And something that we actually expected to come back around to,
[3:41:13] but kind of lost that momentum.
[3:41:15] I thought she had some good recommendations, and I'd like to recommend that the planning
[3:41:23] and zoning commission and planning staff revisit this again for code updates.
[3:41:32] And if we have a council consensus, I'm happy to make a motion.
[3:41:40] to Kyle and let me know what you want me to do.
[3:41:45] You have specific recommendations that we're sending to
[3:41:48] planning and zoning in relation to Adrian's recommendations or just to review.
[3:41:52] I would say to review, and you know, I can read off the recommendations, but
[3:41:58] she has come to speak with them directly.
[3:42:02] And I know that there were things that were on planning and zoning's list of items they wanted to review as well.
[3:42:10] So perhaps I would suggest discussion to renew discussion and they can permit what needs to be reviewed.
[3:42:22] Yeah, we could just ask planning and zoning to look at the ADU regulations and ask ADU into a forward that her email to them.
[3:42:32] I think most of us have read that and you don't need to read it to us again.
[3:42:36] But I do agree it should go to planning and zoning and they can.
[3:42:41] Yeah, is there any objection to setting for me review?
[3:42:44] No objection.
[3:42:45] Okay.
[3:42:47] I feel like I should also remind all of our council members.
[3:42:49] It's 10.45.
[3:42:50] So some of your additional things.
[3:42:51] We might just kind of.
[3:42:53] Okay.
[3:42:54] No, no, I'm not you, Valerie.
[3:42:55] I'm your first of seven or five.
[3:42:58] I'm your first.
[3:42:58] I will try to be timely.
[3:43:00] But I will also say that I'm not.
[3:43:03] We have some things to address as a council.
[3:43:07] I think we don't need to do it today.
[3:43:12] I am a Williams tragically lost her life this week and I don't think we can pass by that.
[3:43:21] And somehow in the wake of this tragedy,
[3:43:26] Our public conversation turned to focus on homelessness and property crime, and I'm not saying we don't have a problem, we have a problem, I know we have a problem, we need to work on that problem, we're already working on that problem and we're going to continue working on that problem.
[3:43:50] What worries me is the politicization in the wake of a tragedy, and the harm that that does
[3:44:02] to the communities that are already affected by gown violence, and my fears that it
[3:44:09] the divide.
[3:44:12] I can't say one thing that President Choi and I share in common is the frustration
[3:44:19] with an action. I hear you. And to be honest, I think a lot of the public shares the same
[3:44:27] frustration. I hear you too.
[3:44:33] We don't have time to delay in our response to community
[3:44:37] violence and violence prevention. I can say that, to Marcus Thomas Brown, Chief
[3:44:47] Shlutie, you two are the heroes of this conversation. I've been so impressed with both of you.
[3:44:57] Some of the positives that came from this.
[3:45:00] Adding
[3:45:05] staffing down town, we've had some help from highway patrol working with Chief Shlutty.
[3:45:13] I tend to get good feedback when there are officers on the street on foot interacting with people.
[3:45:24] And I think that that has been more positive. This is a move towards community oriented policing.
[3:45:32] and we need to move towards that and I support discussions surrounding addition of a dedicated
[3:45:40] downtown unit because I think that also moves in that direction, police need to establish
[3:45:46] a relationship and I think they've worked to do that and I'm giving credit where credits
[3:45:52] I also think that the proactive enforcement has helped diffuse things before they become, oh my gosh, I lost the wording.
[3:46:08] It's helped diffuse the situations before fights break out, and I have seen that be effective in the reports that we've received.
[3:46:17] discussions that we've had that are positive that do something specific to prevent violence.
[3:46:26] Lighting, traffic flow, this is crime prevention through environmental design.
[3:46:33] Step 10, we talked about it a whole lot, not that long ago.
[3:46:38] That's real, that's concrete, and it has effects.
[3:46:42] Um, discouraging groups from forming after bar closing 1 p.m. 3 a.m. the discussions around food trucks and handling crowds.
[3:46:57] I think that's a common sense safety measure.
[3:47:01] I can't give enough attention to our violence prevention methods.
[3:47:05] strengthening mental health, trauma-informed care, community engagement, youth programs
[3:47:15] to divert people from getting involved in violence,
[3:47:21] and also investing in societal factors
[3:47:25] that lead to violence, providing economic opportunities, workforce training, job programs,
[3:47:32] improving housing and making affordable housing available.
[3:47:38] All of these things are things that we've struggled with.
[3:47:41] I want to see investments there.
[3:47:46] You know, in this moment that we have attention from
[3:47:55] state legislators, if I can ask for one thing,
[3:48:00] I would ask for expansion of the Mobile Crisis Response Team,
[3:48:06] 988 Mobile Crisis Response,
[3:48:09] which was recently integrated with dispatch.
[3:48:15] These are one of the few groups that I think
[3:48:20] could effectively respond to some of the calls
[3:48:25] that our police are having to deal with,
[3:48:28] But may not involve our city ordinances, and may not be well prioritized because it's not
[3:48:38] a police matter, and when they're dealing with crowd control on a football game weekend,
[3:48:45] someone in a mental health crisis is a different priority call, and we can't change that,
[3:48:52] especially if no laws have been violated, what we need is to be able to dispatch people where
[3:49:01] they're needed and to serve as that front line response for that need, and I'd like
[3:49:12] to see that well funded. I also think that the discussions we've had recently about the
[3:49:19] my block program. Man, I've been hoping that would get attention for a long time. I think
[3:49:26] this could really help put eyes on the ground and help make people feel more comfortable
[3:49:32] just knowing that there's someone else there who can walk you to the car or telephone
[3:49:38] a law enforcement officer, so I think that's a productive discussion, and I hope we put
[3:49:47] our focus on productive proven techniques to deter violence,
[3:49:57] so that's my piece, thank you.
[3:50:02] So, I want to start by acknowledging a few of the wonderful things that have happened in our community between the last council meeting and this one, before getting into some of the heavy topics to cover tonight.
[3:50:18] Since the last Council meeting, we started our newest round of the Civic Academy and have helped more of our residents of Columbia become educated and engaged with their community.
[3:50:33] We welcomed United back to the Columbia Regional Airport and heard from the United Representative that he had never attended a celebration where the community showed as much support as we did here in Columbia.
[3:50:45] We saw the Pride Fest and Pride Parade, which celebrated its 25th year in the community,
[3:50:53] see incredible support and attendance, which proved that our community loves supports and
[3:50:59] is accepted of the entire LGBTQ community.
[3:51:03] I was deeply touched to particularly see people showing additional support for LGBTQ kids
[3:51:11] in this moment of federal politics.
[3:51:16] We also saw city departments, leaders, and outreach teams out and about all around town at
[3:51:22] festivals, at events, in hallways, sharing information about our resources, services, and
[3:51:29] engaging with the community.
[3:51:31] I particularly enjoyed seeing the Office of Sustainability, send notes about how they were participating
[3:51:37] in week without driving and what that meant for their staff.
[3:51:42] I also want to take a brief note away from Columbia for just a second to say that my
[3:51:48] thoughts, prayers and grief have been with the community I lived in for three years in Hayes
[3:51:54] Kansas for this last week as well.
[3:51:57] Sergeant Scott Heiman was shot and killed on duty on September 28th, becoming the first
[3:52:03] officer to be killed on duty in Hayes since the 1800s, back in the Wild West.
[3:52:09] I had the honor of knowing Scott and his family very well in my time in Hayes.
[3:52:14] He was a great man, a wonderful officer, and an even better husband and father.
[3:52:20] And his death was a loss to the community of Hayes to the entire state of Kansas, where he
[3:52:25] has been represented and acknowledged on the legislative floor.
[3:52:28] and most importantly, to his wife and two young children, Beth, Victoria, and Patrick.
[3:52:36] I am also mourning the death of Ayanna Williams, a Columbia native.
[3:52:41] Ayanna was a beacon of light in Columbia and an absolute success story,
[3:52:46] who knew she wanted to change and improve the world from an early age.
[3:52:51] You'd be hard-pressed to find a local non-profit, arts organization,
[3:52:55] or educator in our community who did not know and work with Iyana because she was everywhere in our community.
[3:53:03] She was deeply involved and while I didn't know her myself, I have heard many stories of her life over the past week.
[3:53:12] And I can tell you that she loved and was loved very deeply by this community. Her loss is an absolute tragedy for Columbia and
[3:53:21] deserves to stand on its own.
[3:53:25] There have been recent conversations
[3:53:26] about violence and safety in our community,
[3:53:28] particularly in the downtown area.
[3:53:31] And while these conversations,
[3:53:32] I truly believe, have been well-intentioned.
[3:53:37] There are a few things that I like to keep in mind
[3:53:39] when talking both about the crisis in our community
[3:53:42] and potential solutions.
[3:53:45] When we look at safety downtown,
[3:53:47] we are looking at multiple intertwined and interconnected issues.
[3:53:50] We are looking at gun violence, we are looking at our unhoused population, we are looking at traffic and pedestrian safety.
[3:53:59] In my undergraduate years at Masu, I often joked that causation day was just as predictably on my class schedule as syllabus day and stop day.
[3:54:08] Whether it was communications, psychology, statistics, or anthropology, I would have at least one day devoted to my professor teaching the difference between causation and correlation.
[3:54:18] These three issues are all seen downtown because of high population density and high traffic
[3:54:26] nightlife destinations. That does not mean they in any way cause each other and it does not mean
[3:54:35] they can be fixed by the same solutions. We have to be specific about our solutions. What we are
[3:54:42] to address and how we intend to fix it. And the best way to do that is to work with experts.
[3:54:50] We have incredible local experts in our community who specialize in their areas and their specific
[3:54:58] solutions. Who use...
[3:55:00] The best practices of the field and who can build on successes in other communities as we saw today in the presentation from the office of violence prevention.
[3:55:12] I also think it's incredibly important to acknowledge the work of people who have come before us and people who are actively doing the work every single day in our community.
[3:55:20] I've been using the phrase quiet work a lot this week.
[3:55:24] Solutions are not always loud and immediate.
[3:55:28] Sometimes, and most of the time, they are quiet and slow.
[3:55:33] While it can sometimes be a piece of it,
[3:55:35] Solutions don't always look like doubling or tripling the police footprint downtown.
[3:55:41] Sometimes, it means doing the work of creating and changing policies,
[3:55:45] putting in street lamps, offering social services,
[3:55:47] and having hard conversations with our neighbors.
[3:55:51] These are the holistic solutions
[3:55:52] that Chief Shluty was talking about
[3:55:54] at the beginning of the meeting.
[3:55:56] And none of this is new or revolutionary in Columbia.
[3:56:00] We know that public safety is a priority for a community
[3:56:02] and our council for many years now.
[3:56:05] We've heard a lot about the mayor's task force
[3:56:07] on community violence that led to the development
[3:56:10] of the Office of Violence Prevention.
[3:56:12] Last meeting we heard about OVP and their upcoming
[3:56:16] in ACEs and trauma-informed community education,
[3:56:19] tonight we heard about many more initiatives.
[3:56:22] City staff from across a variety of departments
[3:56:26] are all working on projects that improve public safety.
[3:56:29] With the police department, we see our community service aids
[3:56:32] and our homeless outreach teams.
[3:56:35] With Parks and Rec, we see summer camps,
[3:56:37] basketball teams, and the care program
[3:56:39] that offer opportunities for youth and young adults
[3:56:41] to make safe and healthy choices.
[3:56:43] Sustainability has outreach about high heat areas, tree planting, community gardens that increase mental and physical health and have immediate impact on public safety.
[3:56:53] The Municipal Court has the community support docket. Public health has mental health support.
[3:56:58] The Commission to Insexual Violence, the Mental Health Task Force, substance use prevention and intervention.
[3:57:04] Even our complete streets policies, which are in the process of being updated, address many
[3:57:10] of the issues that we have heard about tonight, like lighting, parking, and pedestrian areas.
[3:57:16] Community-based organizations that Damarkis was talking about are working to reduce
[3:57:21] silence and are working to help our unhouse neighbors.
[3:57:25] As Damarkis said, we are not new to this work.
[3:57:28] We want to support the active programs in our community and build on their success rather than reinventing the wheel and trying to figure it out all on our own.
[3:57:39] If you are not seeing that work in our community every day, I encourage you, follow the City Social Media, sign up to get the press releases emailed to you,
[3:57:49] Talk to your city council representative and volunteer with the city or a local organization
[3:57:54] because I promise this work is happening every day and it takes more hands to see the success
[3:58:01] and it takes more support. Thank you.
[3:58:07] Okay. One thing I'll say for the next meeting.
[3:58:13] The 2014 Mayors Task Force and Community Violence Recommendations.
[3:58:19] I would like to request if other council members are in agreement, a report that discusses
[3:58:26] what suggestions were implemented.
[3:58:29] I believe there was a report you told me earlier, 2020.
[3:58:31] Again, November and 2016, there was an update from Stephanie Brown from Public Health
[3:58:35] and Human Services as a special item, but I don't know if there was an attachment with it or
[3:58:39] anything like that. So. There wasn't an attachment with the report and I would agree. It'd be nice to get an update on that.
[3:58:45] Yeah, so if we could just get an update from the suggestions that were made in the 2014 plan, just so we know if things were implemented or if they were barriers to them being implemented.
[3:58:57] That would be a request that I would like to make.
[3:59:00] And then additionally, I typed out what I want to say next because I wanted to make sure I was organized.
[3:59:06] Okay, it's in the same kind of thought process of everybody else this evening.
[3:59:12] Freedom of speech is a cherished right, but as has been said often lately, there's no freedom
[3:59:19] from the consequences.
[3:59:21] Right now the consequences are being felt most by our children.
[3:59:25] They're watching, learning, and absorbing how adults handle conflict.
[3:59:29] And, fortunately, what they see too often is name calling, superficial insults, and rhetoric that edges toward violence.
[3:59:38] They cannot do better until we do better. Words are no longer only words. They do not disappear when spoken.
[3:59:48] They linger, they echo, and too often they are weaponized long after they are stated or typed.
[3:59:55] Every citizen carries responsibility not only to condemn acts of physical community.
[4:00:00] But also to reject the language, behaviors and actions that fuel and insight that violence, call it out, do not allow it.
[4:00:11] grief expresses itself in many ways, sorrow, despair, anger, and fear.
[4:00:19] When people are scared, they sometimes act in survival mode, but I urge our community to resist
[4:00:25] the pull to act on fear in ways that displace or project anger onto the wrong targets.
[4:00:32] In my opinion, our anger belongs squarely with those who choose to commit crimes that harm
[4:00:37] our citizens. If we direct that anger at our helpers, those who are working to solve problems
[4:00:44] and keep our community safe, we risk losing them. And if we lose them, we create more
[4:00:49] danger for our city. Let me be clear. I'm not asking anyone to agree with everything they're
[4:00:57] elected and appointed leaders say or do. What I'm asking is that we step away from device
[4:01:02] rhetoric that we have hard conversations without finger pointing and personal attacks.
[4:01:08] And that we support the team working on the very same concerns that our citizens hold.
[4:01:12] Provide feedback, offer suggestions, but do not allow hate to drown out hope.
[4:01:19] Our children deserve to see us modeling the kind of community we want them to build in
[4:01:25] the future.
[4:01:26] Let's show them how to disagree without destruction, how to hold one other accountable
[4:01:30] without tearing each other down,
[4:01:33] and how to turn grief into progress instead of division.
[4:01:38] Becky, thank you, Foster.
[4:01:43] Well sometimes I wonder, especially at this hour,
[4:01:45] how many people are still listening out there.
[4:01:48] But I'm also reminded that this is a meeting of the city council
[4:01:51] and at this point in the meeting,
[4:01:53] the leadership of the city and the form of our department heads
[4:01:58] is here for as long as we keep them.
[4:02:02] I won't keep you long, but I do want to share a few words about how I see leadership.
[4:02:07] Tonight, we swore in two new leaders as a part of our team here at the city.
[4:02:14] And I hear a few thoughts that I have about how we model leadership.
[4:02:20] In a recent interview, former New Zealand Prime Minister, just in our turn,
[4:02:25] was asked about how power is being used currently
[4:02:27] in the political realm and in response,
[4:02:29] she asked, what is power?
[4:02:32] In my mind, it's responsibility.
[4:02:35] I very much appreciate her perspective and I share it.
[4:02:39] If a leader elected, appointed, or otherwise,
[4:02:42] sees their position as a place primarily
[4:02:44] of enforceable power, then they are more likely
[4:02:49] to act out of that power and service to their own self-interest
[4:02:52] or for the sake of power alone.
[4:02:55] So, if I take my role as an electric, as an electric leader, seriously, as being entrusted with the responsibility to act in the best interests of my constituents in my community, I will be more likely to act responsibly.
[4:03:10] In this way, I am less likely to act either impulsively or strategically in an exercise of power over others.
[4:03:18] As a responsible leader, I must make a commitment to maintain trust.
[4:03:22] and to act in good faith is my responsibility to be honest in my assessments, to be as informed as possible and to be as willing and to be a willing partner both in finding and in moving forward toward progress and solutions.
[4:03:38] If I break the trust of someone with whom I work with those who are impacted by my decisions or with partners with whom I share responsibility in this community.
[4:03:47] If I act impulsively without doing my due diligence to being fully informed, and especially if
[4:03:53] I mislead anyone with faulty information, then I will have acted irresponsibly.
[4:03:59] I'm not alone in this.
[4:04:01] I need to remember that I have the resources of others to rely on.
[4:04:05] People who are far better prepared than I and who know more than I do about their areas of
[4:04:10] expertise and interest, and it is reasonable not only to look to them for input, but to take
[4:04:16] perspective, seriously. It's the responsible thing to do. We are all, of course, human,
[4:04:23] and we are often inclined to act in self-interest. When we set a high bar for ourselves,
[4:04:29] to act responsibly, each one of us will inevitably fall short. This may not be the end of the story.
[4:04:37] If and when trust is broken, it is imperative that there be a desire on the part of each person
[4:04:42] involved to seek repair. That will require an additional level of outreach honesty and compassion.
[4:04:51] I'm calling on us to recommit ourselves to the common good for our community, to acting in good faith,
[4:04:58] to maintaining honest relationship.
[4:05:00] And to being the responsible leaders needed in difficult times.
[4:05:12] Okay, well, first I'd like to thank you all for being on the City Council with me.
[4:05:17] It's been an interesting experience to listen to all of you, very articulate.
[4:05:21] And I think you've covered every topic that I can think of, so I'm not going to repeat anything.
[4:05:26] I would like to thank the staff who, as has been pointed out, does the work, the quiet work, and the day-to-day work.
[4:05:33] So thank you for that and for stepping up to the plate and just for continuing what we've been working on in the past.
[4:05:40] And I have nothing else to say.
[4:05:42] Thank you.
[4:05:43] Thanks, Betsy.
[4:05:45] Well, I, yes, I'm the one who's like it's 11 o'clock at night.
[4:05:48] We should stop talking because no y'all want to go home.
[4:05:51] Some of you have deadlines and needs to hit the presses.
[4:05:54] That's not a thing anymore.
[4:05:56] I'll just say as the recipient of a lot of the attention over the last few weeks, I have nothing but thanks to my fellow council members for checking on me for the city staff for informing me for making sure that I'm both protected and safe but also informed on what it is that we're already working on.
[4:06:23] I especially what I think Chief Sludy, who has an amazing amount of patience for sitting in rooms with people telling her how to do her job.
[4:06:33] And then for just saying, yes, we're working on that.
[4:06:37] And we've been working on that for the last few months.
[4:06:39] I just want to say show tremendous patience with that.
[4:06:43] And I appreciate that.
[4:06:44] Also to your command staff for maybe biting your tongue, deputy chief,
[4:06:49] even sometimes in meetings, but showing that attention to detail and the data informed
[4:06:57] decisions that you're making to change how it is we're responding to community issues,
[4:07:02] not just downtown issues.
[4:07:04] And I just want to show my appreciation for that, for Demarcus Thomas Brown, for his passion,
[4:07:10] but also working with us and understanding some of the ways that we can interject as a council
[4:07:15] support.
[4:07:16] I'll say, you know, we recently went to Columbia, South Carolina on the Chamber of Commerce Leadership
[4:07:21] Trip.
[4:07:22] And it's just a fantastic opportunity to learn from a pure city who are going through a lot
[4:07:26] of the same issues.
[4:07:27] There are just a few years ahead of us.
[4:07:29] And some of those takeaways that I had were actually on my last day lunch, I think, to
[4:07:33] literally a map for organizing that counterparts all got together was the mayor, the mayor,
[4:07:38] the Office of Violence Prevention, Office of Violence Prevention, the City Manager, City
[4:07:41] Manager.
[4:07:41] Deputy Chief and the Police Chief, us all getting together to talk about these issues or
[4:07:47] district director and district director, sorry Nikki. I'll talk about the issues that we're
[4:07:51] experiencing and what they're working on. And it reminded me something that Fire Chief Brian
[4:07:56] Chief heard told me, he's like, you're a city now. These are city problems. You're no longer
[4:08:01] just a town. And so to me it's looking at what they've done and they're learned from there. They
[4:08:06] talk about as their growth has happened. They plan in a resource accordingly, whether that's
[4:08:10] staffing within police or officer violence prevention,
[4:08:13] having things like homeless outreach employees
[4:08:15] that are doing some of that ground work
[4:08:17] to help people get people to services,
[4:08:19] and it's having the services for people to connect with.
[4:08:22] We're right now in a time where funding is being cut.
[4:08:27] There's a slide earlier where it showed our budget
[4:08:28] for that public health and human services,
[4:08:31] but what it failed to show is that the majority
[4:08:33] of that funding is grant funding that comes from the state
[4:08:35] and from the federal government.
[4:08:37] And so while it might look really big,
[4:08:39] we rely a lot on those partners
[4:08:40] to help our community be healthy and safe.
[4:08:42] And so as those funding are being cut,
[4:08:44] it's important more now than ever
[4:08:45] to tell the story of the impact
[4:08:47] of what it is we're working on.
[4:08:49] So I just want to say thank you to everyone.
[4:08:52] That weekend was a lot of, a lot was going on.
[4:08:57] And my heart was broken by the loss of a young woman.
[4:09:02] But for me, it's how do we then move forward
[4:09:04] and make sure it doesn't happen again.
[4:09:07] And so with that, I was asked
[4:09:09] by President Choy to form a task force.
[4:09:12] And I was wanting to be responsive.
[4:09:14] But then I don't want to do another task force.
[4:09:17] Y'all, I'm one of the ones who's trying
[4:09:18] to cut boards and commissions so that we have
[4:09:20] like more efficient use of time.
[4:09:22] So but actually coming back from South Carolina,
[4:09:25] you know, one thing I did realize one voice
[4:09:27] that is missing, and that is the voice
[4:09:30] of our young, especially kind of university age students.
[4:09:34] And the mayor of South Carolina
[4:09:35] has something called the Collegiate Council,
[4:09:37] which is representatives of the higher education institutions that he meets with monthly is like
[4:09:42] what's going on. And so I've asked him for more information on that. So I think that's the
[4:09:47] direction I'm going because we're already bringing together property owners, business owners, staff, and experts
[4:09:53] on this issue. I don't want to have another meeting to have another report that in four years we may be
[4:09:58] of you and look at again, it's...
[4:10:00] Just more of how do we, we're already working on the work. We're getting it done. How do we communicate
[4:10:04] out what we're doing? So I think the follow-up to what did we talk about last week in the press release
[4:10:09] with President Joy. What have we done since then? We need to prayer in for that. But how are we
[4:10:13] then pushing forward? So our future generations have hope that you all mentioned. So I just want to say
[4:10:19] thanks for the support of everyone up here and for our community, because I think we do show up for one another.
[4:10:25] So with that, I'll see if there are any staff report to Carlin.
[4:10:29] That's hard to follow.
[4:10:33] No, so I do want to thank the City Council.
[4:10:36] I mean, you've said some things for about our staff,
[4:10:40] that a lot of people don't recognize.
[4:10:42] No, when we talk about issues,
[4:10:46] when we talk about how do we stand in front of everything that's going on.
[4:10:51] No, as a staff, we collaborate.
[4:10:53] We sit down. We have two true conversations about what are we working on. We meet and meet and meet and I think sometimes I get tired of hearing me because we meet again
[4:11:02] But we look at what are the true solutions and
[4:11:07] Don't recognize in that there is a lot of work that's being done and
[4:11:11] Wow people may not see it because it's being done as we're as we're moving forward
[4:11:17] It has been done. No, when we talk about law enforcement
[4:11:20] know, being able to start a our own academy to help us recruit and hire and retain police officers
[4:11:28] was a phenomenal process. The fact that we invested in technology to update our process so we have
[4:11:36] better camera systems that our officers are very equipped. Those are important. The fact that we
[4:11:41] stood up on office on violence prevention in a time when people were actually reducing our
[4:11:47] It's not looking at those processes.
[4:11:50] The fact that, I don't know, we have a homeless outreach team.
[4:11:53] We have the different programs.
[4:11:55] We're really trying to work hard to improve our community.
[4:11:58] Now, when we looked at what's going on our strategic plan,
[4:12:02] and understanding that, yeah, it's probably time to redo it.
[4:12:06] The idea was to really make sure that we made impacts
[4:12:08] for our community.
[4:12:10] And so, I do want to thank you for recognizing that.
[4:12:13] I want to thank our staff for the hard work that they do.
[4:12:15] No, it's tomorrow morning we'll start meeting again at 9 o'clock to have our first meeting to talk about tonight and then we plan on how to
[4:12:26] We move forward. And so it is a lot of work. We don't do it because of pay. We do it because we enjoy it. We do it because we care about our community.
[4:12:36] We do it because we care about people and so for that that's all ended. So just thank you.
[4:12:41] We didn't see anything, we didn't see anything.
[4:12:44] All right, I'll go ahead and adjourn us, 11-12.