[0:03] we launched Hunchville Music Month in September to uh make sure that jazz
[0:07] in the park is a pillar of that month and so we'll be kind of gathering
[0:10] up and reaching out again to talk about uh all things,
[0:12] uh, Huntsville Music Month and so to be able to announce this first ahead
[0:16] of everything is something we're really proud of and so a reminder these
[0:19] concerts.
[0:20] Free and open to the public in the new venue at Big Spring Park West,
[0:22] which means whether you're a jazz aficionado or just curious,
[0:25] there is a space for you out there, and that's what we want to keep building
[0:29] a music ecosystem where everybody feels welcome and we're attracting world
[0:32] class talent.
[0:33] I hope you'll mark your calendars for, uh,
[0:36] every Sunday in September.
[0:38] Bring a lawn chair, bring a blanket, um, and join us to celebrate some of
[2:44] Good evening and welcome everyone. So August 28th, 2025, 5:30 p.m., and we are gathered
[2:54] to convene this meeting of the Huntsville City Council in the chambers in Huntsville, Alabama
[3:01] We welcome all those who have joined us tonight. We have lots of opportunities to celebrate
[3:04] and we look forward to all of those who have joined us for that purpose. We are excusing
[3:10] Council President John Meredith who is traveling. We wish him safe travels and look forward
[3:14] to having him return on the on the September 11th meeting. We will begin our meetings as we
[3:21] usually do with invocation and Pledge of allegiance. Our invocation today will be
[3:26] offered by uh Alabama Public Safety chaplain, Ethan Ryan, followed by the Pledge of
[3:32] Allegiance offered by or led by council member Michelle Watkins All those who are willing and
[3:37] able to do so, please stand. Let's pray I call it in heaven though I just thank you and
[3:49] praise you so much for who you are. I thank you for, for creation. I thank you for
[3:52] sustaining us. I thank you for protecting us. Well, I thank you so much for our city
[3:56] council members. Well I thank you for our mayor, Lord our city attorney, uh, who worked
[4:00] so hard for our city. Lord, I pray that you would watch over them and you would protect them
[4:04] Lord, they was, uh, go to you and seek, seek your wisdom and not their own. Do I thank you
[4:09] for all the organizations that are represented here today, though I think specifically of
[4:14] Alabama A&M. Lord, I thank you so much for their 150 years of service to our community,
[4:19] educating, uh, the future of, of the city, where I know there's many products uh of
[4:24] that institution represented here at the Whites, thank you so much for that. Right, thank
[4:29] you for their slogan that Service is sovereign. Well, I thank you so much that you are
[4:33] sovereign, that you watch over us, Lord, you desire what is best of us. And Lord, I pray
[4:38] that we would live every day striving, uh, to make the world around us a better place, uh,
[4:42] sharing your glory with those around us. Lord, I pray you be in this meeting now. Lord, I
[4:46] pray that your presence is truly felt in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. I pledge allegiance
[4:54] to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it sta one
[5:02] day under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Chaplain Ryan. Thank
[5:09] you, Ms. Watkins While Council President Meredith is not with us. All the other council
[5:16] members are, and we have established a quorum. We'll move on now to the business of
[5:21] the council. Item 3 is approval of the agenda. Council members, please note that item 9A has
[5:27] been removed because the property is now in compliance. Are there any other changes to
[5:33] be made to the agenda. Seeing none, the agenda will stand approved. Item 4, approval of
[5:40] the minutes of previous meetings. Item 4A is minutes of the regular meeting of the city
[5:44] council held on August 14, 2025 Are there any changes or additions to be made to these
[5:50] minutes? Hearing none, the minutes will stand approved. That brings us to special
[5:56] recognitions. We will start with the mayor's special recognition. 5A is a
[6:01] presentation of appreciation from the Monte Sano Civic Association to city employees
[6:06] for their dedicated support and service following recent tornadoes. We're going to ask
[6:12] um Mr. Joe Pinnock to come forward and we have a microphone. The mayor, uh, Mr.
[6:17] Mayor, would you like to go down there? Oh. face the crowd Um, I'm, uh, certainly honored
[6:30] to be here to represent the first speaker for the Monte Santo Civic Association. I'd
[6:35] like to thank the mayor and all of the council members and all of the city workers behind the
[6:40] scenes that actually pull all of this together what we have this opportunity to speak. Uh,
[6:45] my wife and I have lived here for 30 years and we've had lots of ice storms. Uh, we've been
[6:52] through snow, but the city workers always, always come through. And this time it was
[6:57] really special, um, the city workers were there within an hour. They were working, they
[7:03] worked nonstop. They worked through Memorial Day weekend, and um, they obviously had a
[7:08] plan and it was well thought out, you know, everything moved uh, the just as it should to
[7:14] get us as um back, back to our neighborhood is, is soon as possible. And um, they say, you
[7:21] know, there's a picture says it's 1000 words. Well then a video would be 1000 pictures
[7:27] and the Civic Association with some help with some really talented volunteers has put a
[7:32] short 2 minute video for you to kind of showcase what we're here for. I see And the
[10:03] community has put together a, a small card to thank all the workers and um I'd asked I'd
[10:08] like to ask uh Klaus Berger. He's one of the longest living residents of Montecino. He was
[10:13] born in Germany, moved here 75 years ago when his dad arrived from Fort Bliss with the Von
[10:19] Braun team and also Aidan Weiss is one of the newest uh mountaineers. He attends first
[10:26] grade at Montecito Elementary, Aidan and enjoys camping on Montecio State Park. and
[10:31] swimming at the Montecito pool. If you too would come up with a card, please. Would we like to
[10:35] get Mr. Little to accept it since he was the star of the um text texting wars. Mhm Thank
[10:46] you for that great video. I think we got oh, we don't care but the people do. Um, thank
[10:57] y'all, uh, Mark Byeers, we have Public Works, Huntsville Utilities. folks here, they
[11:04] want to come up. We even got some coppers in the back, Chief Giles, I don't know if you want
[11:08] to send anybody up because y'all were up there too. Um just for a photo op. let's put
[11:26] it here, let's just do it. I'll hold it. I got it. All right, there you go. You want to come
[11:31] on the other side All right, so they can see faces. Yeah. Hey. All right, 12 right. Thank you.
[11:58] We don't often get that opportunity to do those kind of public thanks. One more comment
[12:09] Yes, so just to quickly wrap up you can't get 94% of the people to agree on the time of day
[12:16] this year, so it's wonderful to see we had this kind of unanonymity about the city's
[12:20] response. Uh, in a previous company I worked with cities all over the world, about 4000.
[12:27] I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in city management and I can assure you here that
[12:32] this is one of the best managed cities, not just in America, but in the world. Well done.
[12:39] And I would be remiss if I didn't point out something important here. Klaus Bergler,
[12:46] Klaus uh came here 75 years ago with the Vaughn Brown team. That's an important anniversary
[12:52] and they've left us a great legacy. Once this was a little town of 13,000 people. and
[12:59] because of them and their American counterparts, it's now the most livable city in the
[13:06] United States. We often take this legacy for granted, but I think it's the most important
[13:11] legacy of the 20th century. Think about it. 5 years before they came here, these Germans
[13:18] had been trying to kill a bunch of Americans. Who did they hire when they come here? The first
[13:24] GI War bill graduating class, but they put aside their differences. They focused on a
[13:31] common goal, and they achieved a goal, the century's greatest achievement that many thought
[13:37] was impossible. Now the, the good book says that we should turn our swords into plowshares
[13:42] These former enemies did it one step further. They turned their swords into spaceships. Now 75
[13:51] years later, these are polarizing times, and I'd like to encourage all of us to learn
[13:57] from their example, put aside our differences, work for the common good and continue to do
[14:04] the impossible. Thank you Thank you, Ralph Petro Thank you Thank you, Mr. Petro. Thank you
[14:15] Mr. Petrov. Mr. Pinna, all those and Montesanto Civic Association for those kind
[14:20] words and recognition for our exceptional department heads and communityartners. Item 5B
[14:26] is a proclamation to recognize and honor the remarkable accomplishments and historic
[14:31] milestone of Alabama agricultural and Mechanical University on its 150th
[14:38] anniversary, the celebration continues. Mayor Battle. OK Madam President, we have a
[14:50] proclamation and a resolution tonight which is very unusual and Ms. Watkins, if you would
[14:56] come join me down here, uh, to do the presentation and Doctor Wims, and if you want to bring
[15:01] the whole Bulldog nation, you can, if we got enough room up here for them. Please come up.
[15:08] You. Good to see you Come on I told you. should you do one che or start. signature on this.
[15:44] right, we got a meeting to get too serious. Yeah, I was putting you in the mix All
[15:55] right There we go, perfect. thank you Mm All right, the reason that we have 150 from
[16:13] the Bulldog Nation here tonight is because we are celebrating 150 years of Alabama A&M
[16:22] providing education, providing for our people, providing for people to have a better life,
[16:27] uh, education is a key to opportunity. Opportunity is the key to doing well in life and
[16:33] uh to having jobs and to and to uh being able to raise families and do all the things that we
[16:39] want to look forward to people doing in the city of Huntsville Doctor Wims, we wanna say
[16:46] congratulations on being here 150 years. I know that you weren't there when we started
[16:50] off 150 years ago Although it may feel like it some days, but uh, our, our proclamation has a
[16:57] lot of whereases, but I'm going to let Miss Watkins read hers because I have a feeling we're
[17:01] they're about the same whereas is there, uh, but I'd love for Ms. Watkins to give a sense of
[17:07] the, uh, the declaration and the pro the proclamation, uh, and, uh, talk a little bit
[17:13] about A&M and the importance and I was just gonna wrap up with my comments. OK, we don't
[17:20] have glasses, so we're doing an audible here whereas Alabama A&M Mechanical University,
[17:28] Alabama A&M is a publicly historically black land granted university whose rich heritage
[17:33] and bold vision continues to shape and the legacy as it marks 150 years of excellence,
[17:38] whereas the university was founded in 1875 by Doctor William Hooper Counsel, and
[17:45] whereas Alabama A&M remains steadfast in its core values, placing students first
[17:49] upholding excellence and integrity, embracing diversity, fostering partnerships, and
[17:53] cultivating global awareness, whereas is the largest historically black college and
[17:58] university in Alabama. Alabama A&M provides a student-centered environment. whereas Alabama
[18:03] A&M stands as an anchor institution driving transformation through record
[18:07] enrollment. Congratulations on the record enrollment this year too. Uh, infrastructure growth
[18:13] broad uh brand expansion and national recognition is one of the top producers of minority
[18:18] graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, whereas the
[18:22] university's bold leadership, that's you, Dr. Wimps, and enduring legacy continues to
[18:29] inspire progress and serve as a model of excellence in higher education. Now, therefore it be
[18:34] resolved that the city of Huntsville proudly recognizes and celebrates the historic
[18:38] 150th anniversary of Alabama agricultural and Mechanical University and commends this
[18:43] remarkable achievements and lasting impact. Be it further resolved that this proclamation
[18:47] is presented in honor of Alabama A&M's unwavering commitment to academic
[18:52] excellence, innovation, community service, and transformative leadership. Now
[18:57] therefore, I, Tommy Battle, mayor of the city of Huntsville do hereby commend our Alabama
[19:02] A&M for 150 years of visionary leadership and invaluable contributions and call upon all
[19:07] citizens to join in celebrating this esteemed institution and its enduring legacy. Thank you
[19:12] so much, Doctor Williams. And and to the Bulldog Nation, Miss Watkins. Good evening. Thank
[19:29] you everyone for coming out. Who would have thought at the tender age of 27, a former
[19:36] slave would start a university that is now internationally known. The Alabama A&M
[19:43] University where I learned service is sovereignty. That is why I'm standing here now. It's
[19:49] always been embedded in us at the university to serve, and that's what we do. And with the
[19:55] record enrollment, I want to say one of them is yours truly's grandson. Take care of
[20:01] my package. and he's very excited to be on campus, but I want to talk about the things
[20:06] that Anna does. We have one of the best engineering programs in the state. Throughout the
[20:13] nation it's known. We had the very best student, I mean teacher education program that
[20:18] I graduated from. Internationally known and had the highest enrollment of any
[20:24] education center in North Alabama. Alabama A&M University social work program is second
[20:30] to none, and we have record enrollment there as well. So I want you to know it's some
[20:33] great things going on at Alabama A&M University. We are excited about the 150 year
[20:40] anniversary and we're more excited about football season it's gearing up. So if you want
[20:44] to come out and have fun, please join us. But if you're ready to go to school and get
[20:48] an education that's worthy of any education. I put it up against any school. Come to
[20:54] Alabama A&M University, you will be loved. Doctor Wims, would you, would you give us a
[21:04] response? Uh, thank you for putting me on the spot, Mr. Mayor, but, uh, in deepest
[21:14] humility, uh, as I stand here with the councilites and normalites. Those of you who
[21:21] are graduates understand what I'm saying. Uh, it is a seminal moment for our institution and
[21:28] for our constituents. and I'm just deeply humble that you're honor the Mayor and council
[21:35] lady, Michelle Watkins, who was an alum as well as the other council members would recognize
[21:40] us in this way. Uh, I have a team here, so it's not any individual of us, it's all of
[21:48] us, and what the leaders of the cabinet members who have the provost here, the vice
[21:53] president for research and development as well as the leaders of the 150th campaign,
[21:58] which is Vice President Ali marketed communication and Advancement and then Vice
[22:04] President Reeves, who's leading our efforts on federal, uh, state and local governmental
[22:09] side we have had enormous success, but it's due to some of you who've also supported
[22:15] this institution in its trajectory. So I'm very, very humble, very very pleased. I I
[22:20] think, Mr. Mayor, that we're having some significant impact economically in your city and
[22:24] in the county of Madison, and we will continue to do so and continue to grow with your
[22:29] support and your help, and with this council's support and help So thank you all, Reverend
[22:36] Doctor William Hooper Council would be proud today that 150 years later we're still
[22:43] recognizing the institution but calling his name Thank you very much. May God bless you all.
[22:54] Thank you, Mr. President, and we also will point out that Mr. Kling is also an alumni of your
[23:00] of your group who is sitting right behind us. cheering us on $1500. That's. Yes sir. Yes sir
[23:14] yes sir. Yes sir. Thank you so much for coming here and thank you for making, uh, help
[23:19] letting us make this a very special year for, uh, the Bulldogs and, um, as we get on
[23:24] the football field, we're all yelling, go Bulldogs. Oh. you do Yeah Hey. you see at you huh
[23:59] see and tell you What a great way to wrap up that. that presentation and proclamation.
[24:10] Um, to make it official, though 6A is a resolution celebrating Alabama A&M University's
[24:19] historic 150 year legacy of leadership and service. Ms. Watkins, would you like to move
[24:25] to approve. All in favor say aye, aye. And I'm not even mass for opposition on that one
[24:30] because it just wouldn't be right. So, uh, the motion is approved, and many thanks to
[24:36] all those who've contributed to 150 years of incredible service 6B is a resolution honoring
[24:43] Vicky Guerreri for her steadfast leadership and unwavering dedication to the
[24:48] community, the chair moves to approve. All in favor indicate any opposed. The motion carries
[24:55] we would like to invite Ms to come forward. and ask the mayor to join us. You can carry that.
[25:20] To the council members and the, and the public, uh, I think I first met Vicky and she was at
[25:24] the desk at the South precinct, uh, working as a volunteer and every time I came, I thought
[25:30] she worked for us because I thought she was getting a paycheck because she was there.
[25:33] Every time I came in and she was volunteering down there. Um this was before we even had
[25:39] Citizens Advisory Council or anything else. This was, uh, this was way back, uh, 17 years
[25:45] ago, and she was always a stalwart, always there to help make the community a better
[25:50] place and Vicky, we're so proud to be able to do a, a resolution for you, for all
[25:53] years of service and to want to say thank you for those years of service. It means a lot So
[26:03] this, this resolution is so special. I'm, I don't like to read resolutions, but we're
[26:07] going to read most of it this time. Whereas the city council and the mayor of Huntsville,
[26:13] Alabama wish to recognize and honor Vicky Guerreri for her decades and it really is
[26:18] decades I've dedicated service, steadfast civic leadership and tireless commitment to public
[26:24] safety and community engagement strengthening neighborhoods, fostering trust, and inspiring
[26:30] future generations of leaders. Vicky, a Kentucky native, has called Huntsville, Alabama her
[26:36] home since 1982, bringing with her the values of resilience, adaptability, and service
[26:41] learned as a proud US Army spouse. Vicky since 2010, she has faithfully served as
[26:49] District 3 representative on the Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council under 5 chiefs
[26:57] of police, chairing the 2021 Comprehensive Huntsville Police Review that was really tough
[27:03] duty. Advancing transparency and accountability and contributing to initiatives
[27:09] including body worn cameras, equitable disciplinary policies expanded mental health crisis
[27:15] intervention training, the Alabama Multi-agency Crime Center and Citizen involvement
[27:20] in incident review boards. Her volunteer service extends widely across the community,
[27:26] including leadership roles as a founding executi board member of the Huntsville South Civic
[27:32] Association, president of the Hillwood Estate Civic Asso ci ation member of the Madison
[27:35] County Personnel Board, board member of the Huntsville Area Crime Stoppers and member of
[27:40] the General Federation of Women's Clubs Legacy. She has devoted her life to
[27:45] strengthening neighborhoods, promoting public safety, building police community
[27:49] partnerships and mentoring future leaders, leaving an indelible mark on Huntsville's
[27:54] civic fabric. She is also a devoted mother of two sons and a proud grandmother of 3
[28:02] grandchildren who remain her greatest inspiration and mo t iv ation to foster a legacy of
[28:07] community leaders and services. There's just so much Now, therefore, be it resolved that
[28:15] the city council and the mayor of Huntsville hereby recognize and honor Vicky Guerreri for
[28:20] her steadfast leadership. Decades of volunteer service and unwavering commitment to
[28:24] public safety, civic engagement and community building, and extend deepest appreciation for
[28:30] her enduring contributions that continue to strengthen Huntsville and inspire future
[28:35] generations of leaders. presents you with this proc your copy of this proclamation
[28:41] and thank you so much. I just say I'd like to say thank you very much for this honor. It
[28:54] has been a privilege to serve um, through, um, all these years. and I know we did a lot
[29:03] of good and it's a really good feeling and I was blessed with a very good counsel to work
[29:09] alongside all of our members are very hardworking people. and I'm accepting this also in
[29:15] their behalf too. and um thank you very much. I gotta stop or I'm gonna start crying. Could
[29:25] we, could we have the chief come up? and you've got some of your command staff here, Chief,
[29:30] Chief Hudson. others Lee gonna get a picture with you take Yes he came all the way down here.
[29:48] We got get down. Let me get, make sure my good ears on there I'll see funny. Thank you all
[30:00] Thank you you. I've always said that we have lots to celebrate in our community and it's
[30:28] wonderful to start a council meeting with so much celebration. And now we go on
[30:33] to the business. Uh, we have no announcements and presentations no matters with outside legal
[30:40] representation. We do have a couple of public hearings to be held. 9A has been deleted
[30:44] because the situation has been remedied. That brings us to 9B, 9B. Now is the time and place
[30:50] for public hearing in order to hear, consider, and act upon all objections or protests, if
[30:55] any, for removal of a public nuisance at 2407 Oakwood Avenue Northwest, Huntsville, Alabama,
[31:01] and consideration of a resolution ordering abatement of a new nu is ance located at
[31:05] the same property. This was set at the August 14, 2025 regular council meeting, Mr. Irwin.
[31:11] Council members, Mayor Battle, Scott Irwin, the Community Development Department. Uh, the
[31:16] resolution before you at the public hearing to consider any objections regarding a junk
[31:20] public nuisance, uh located at 2407 Oakwood Avenue, uh, and this is authorization to abate
[31:27] that public nuisance. Uh, the video before you is on recent photographs of the conditions
[31:31] on the property. The public hearing is now open. Is there anyone who wishes to comment?
[31:40] Is there anyone from the public who wishes to comment on this matter. Hearing none, the
[31:43] public hearing is closed. Is there a is there a motion to approve the resolution to
[31:48] approve Motion from Mr. Little, second from Ms. Watkins. Any discussion? All in favor,
[31:56] please indicate and he posed. The motion carries. Thank you, counsel Members. This moves us
[32:02] then to item 9C. 9C now's time and place for public hearing on the zoning of 27.61 acres of
[32:13] land lying on the west of Old Big Cove Road and north of Beauford Drive to residents 2
[32:19] District and the consideration of an ordinance pertaining to the same. This was set at the
[32:24] July 10, 2025 Regular council meeting. Mr. Nunez, good evening, council members. Mayor
[32:29] Battle, Thomas Nunez, manager of Plant and zoning Services. This item is located west of
[32:34] Obio Road and north of Beauford Drive. It was recently annexed into our city limits. It is
[32:39] overall 27.61 acres. The petitioner is seeking to zone the property residents to
[32:44] District. with a plat restriction that will restrict the uses that's permitted by
[32:48] Section 10.1 of the zoning ordinance, while also offering another plied restriction to
[32:55] lots of residents 1B of 60 ft and lot area of residences 1B of 7500 square feet. Thank you,
[33:04] Mr. Nunez. The public hearing is now open. Is there anyone here who wishes to comment on
[33:08] this matter. Please come forward to the podium and give us your name and city of
[33:13] residence. Joy Johnson, I live on West Arbor Drive in Huntsville. Um I it it looks
[33:26] like maybe that's a farmhouse and it used to be a farm. So I find myself again saying we
[33:33] need to preserve farms. um, more than we need to, uh, give tax breaks to uh drone
[33:44] companies. Um, also one of these plat restrictions was just a code. I have no idea
[33:51] what that is. I wish I did know and I'd like to, um, suggest that anytime a zoning or
[34:00] annexation or anything of this character comes before council, uh, that recognition,
[34:07] acknowledgement of what is there now is given before suggestions of what is going to
[34:18] be there. as just a possible tiny window of thinking about things a little bit differently
[34:30] maybe opening the possibility of thinking about how we need to preserve farms or whatever
[34:36] might be there that might need to be preserved if we acknowledge what's there before
[34:43] we decide to build houses all over it. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Johnson Is there anyone
[34:50] else who wishes to comment? Hearing none, the public hearing is closed. Is there a
[34:54] motion to approve the ordinance No promotion from Mr. Little, second from Mr. Kling. Is there
[35:01] any discussion? Questions for Mr. Nunez? All in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Any
[35:08] opposed? Motion carries. Thank you, council members. Thank you Mr. Nunez. That concludes our
[35:13] public hearings. We have 3 public hearings to be set. 10A is a resolution to declare a
[35:19] public nuisance located at 10:13 Kinsey Drive Southeast, Huntsville, Alabama, and to set
[35:26] the date for when objections will be heard to that date is to be set for the September 11,
[35:32] 2025 regular council meeting. Is there a motion to approve approve. Second the hearing for
[35:38] Mr. Kling, thank you. Second from Mr. Kling, the hearing is set for September 11, 2025. 10B
[35:45] is a resolution to declare a public nuisance located at 3506 Gay Street Northwest,
[35:50] Huntsville, Alabama, and to set the date for when objections shall be heard. Move to set the
[35:55] meeting for September 11, 2025. 2nd motion by Mr. Little, seconded by Mr. Kling, all in
[36:03] favor, please indicate any opposed. The hearing is set for September 11, 2025. Resolution
[36:09] to set a public hearing on the zoning of 572.48 acres of land lying on the north of Bob Wade
[36:16] Lane and east and west of Mount Lebanon Road to residents to residents 2B, and Highway
[36:22] Business C4 districts and introduction of an ordinance pertaining to the same. Motion
[36:29] to set the hearing for September 25, 2025 from Miss Watkins, seconded by Mr. Kling.
[36:36] Any discussion? All in favor, please indicate by saying aye. And he opposed. The hearing is
[36:41] set for September 25. This brings us to a gender-related public comments. This portion
[36:45] of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the council on matters relating to
[36:52] specific content of items on the meeting agenda, individuals have signed up to speak uh on
[36:56] the agenda comments roster prior to the meeting. When called, please approach the
[37:01] microphone and state your name, home address, and city of residence. Each speaker may
[37:06] address the council for 3 minutes. Speaker shall refrain from entering into a dialogue
[37:10] with council members or city staff, and from making comments regarding the good name and
[37:14] character of any individuals. We have two people who have signed up. The first is Joy
[37:19] Johnson, the subject is agenda item number 2 I. Ms. Johnson. Joy Johnson. I live on West
[37:30] Harbor Drive in Huntsville. How are you guys doing? Long time no see. Um so just to start, 20
[37:38] I, I, this is, um, I, I, this is the first time I've heard about some railroad bridge
[37:44] project over Pinhook Creek, which is my neck of the woods. I would love to hear more about
[37:48] that if somebody might consider holding that for discussion and maybe getting some explanation.
[37:55] Um, I also noticed an item M20M as in Mike. um is about court code enforcement. Is this
[38:08] another way to uh get around, get in a city detect or something. I would like some
[38:15] reassurance that this is not another if you don't mind my saying, nefarious plot. Um,
[38:26] item S as in Sierra. uh I would love to hear if this is about public transit. We need to talk
[38:34] about public transit all the time, up one side and down the other. Please, uh, I think we
[38:39] would all love to hear what this grant would be going towards, that we are going to
[38:44] be applying Says an X-ray This looks to be like a contract with an AI company. And I will
[38:59] take every opportunity that I get to say we do not be needing to be used, using AI on any way
[39:09] shape or form, it is an energy hog at a time in history when we need to be stepping off
[39:17] using as much energy as we do. In fact, I'd like to propose that Huntsville proclaim itself
[39:25] AI free. and while we're at it, ice-free, but anyway, that's another issue. Um, and uh I, I
[39:37] would, uh, um, well, it's in item 21. So I know you're not inclined to discuss it, but be
[39:43] prepared that I'm gonna want to know about 21A and the uh human resources relations Commission,
[39:51] uh, not a gender bylaws, and, you know, what is actually being decided on next time when
[39:57] it comes up, OK? Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Johnson Um, the next person to sign up is Mr.
[40:09] Jeffrey Engel, Subject is police drone budget increases. Mr. Engle here. Well folks, my
[40:19] name is Jeffrey Engel. I live in Sherwood Park, um, with, uh, the North Alabama Democratic
[40:26] Socialist of America. Um, I would like to talk about the Skyfire contract that you guys
[40:32] are uh extending, uh, I, I guess. uh. building up a larger um, so for those of you not in
[40:40] the audience, not familiar, uh, we live in a surveillance state Uh, the, uh, police have flop
[40:47] cameras that watch your license plates and they uh document everywhere you drive. Uh,
[40:52] there's cellphone triangulation if you have it in your pocket, uh, they know where that is. Um
[40:57] and all of that data is put towards a fusion center, uh which is a center where uh law
[41:05] enforcement agencies are able to share all of that information to track you in
[41:08] every aspect of your life. Uh, to address the agenda item right now, Skyfire AI drones,
[41:15] uh, for the police department. Um, I do not think that you guys should extend, uh, I guess
[41:20] um enlarge in this contract, uh $25,000 per month. Uh, that could go to almost 8000 school
[41:30] meals, uh, instead of, uh, putting on uh an extension uh to a contract that will
[41:36] continue to surveil our communities. I will continue to be used to infringe on our
[41:40] privacy and we'll continue to be used to keep uh the American people uh down and watched. Um,
[41:49] so my proposal here is that you guys reject uh this uh expansion of the contract. Uh,
[41:56] it is what is in the defense industry called scope Creep. Uh they are increasing the amount
[42:03] of time and money uh that they are taking from your contract, um, and I guess Boeing is a
[42:09] very good example of that of a cost plus contract. That's what they're trying to get you into
[42:12] right now. And I suggest that you turn it down, but we do not want our our tax dollars used
[42:17] to surveil us. We want our tax dollars, as Mr. Tommy Battle said himself, uh, to provide
[42:23] opportunity uh to the community uh, instead of being used uh to keep us down. Uh, thank you, uh
[42:30] you myitan. Thank, thank you, sir Um, this brings us then to Mayor comments, Mr. Mayor
[42:41] Battle, the floor is yours. Good. Uh, thank you, Madam President, uh, and council. Uh,
[42:48] first off yesterday, the, uh, Metropolitan Planning Organization approved 6
[42:54] electronic traffic signs, which will be placed about the city parkway, North Parkway, South
[43:00] Parkway, 72 East, uh, 72 West, uh, and their traffic signs that can give you information,
[43:08] uh, there are information based uh signs as you come, uh, if you come uh up the parkway and
[43:13] coming over those hills where if traffic is stopped right in front of you, you have a big
[43:17] chance of having a wreck. Uh, the traffic signs will be saying, uh, congested traffic
[43:22] ahead, be careful, uh, they can say it's raining, slow down. They can say, uh, wreck ahead,
[43:30] seek alternate routes, those kind of signages will save lives in the city of Hustville,
[43:34] and I think it's one of the, uh one of the best technologies that we can put out in other
[43:40] cities across the state have are already way ahead of us. Uh we just installed two in the
[43:45] city of house where installing 6 more. It'll take about a year to get them in, but um they are
[43:51] great, great service for our community and they will make um uh they will make for safety on
[43:55] our roads. Uh, also, uh, this September is Music month. Um, there will be over 2040 events
[44:04] including jazz in the Park, uh, music events that will happen in September and I hope that
[44:09] everybody will take, will go out and take advantage of that. Uh, Ms. Watkins and I were at
[44:14] the back school parade on the 2 on Saturday the 23rd, uh, it was, uh, quite a production and
[44:20] there were a lot of people there. There were bands, there were, um, uh, school age
[44:27] children and, uh, and lots of and the superintendent of education wrote in the fire
[44:33] truck, uh, along with me and we got to talk about how, how, how much gains that we have had in
[44:40] our school system and I'm very proud of what he has been able to accomplish and achieve. and
[44:44] what we will achieve over the next year, um, this is, uh, the uh, we had also this week, uh,
[44:52] this past week we had the celebration of the 10th year of our cyber program in, uh,
[44:58] Huntsville and cyber Huntsville has been is 10 years old. It has provided jobs. It has
[45:04] provided economy and it's also provided a um a community that is, uh, much more intelligent
[45:10] than you'll find in the, in, uh many communities around, uh, as we go into those cyber cyber
[45:15] meetings. I'm probably, um, uh, I probably pull down the intelligent quotient a few
[45:20] couple of notches when I go when I go in, but they are very very intelligent crowd. And
[45:25] then, uh, last Sunday, uh, we had the 41st anniversary of the thirty-ninth birthday of Miss
[45:31] Betty Showers, uh, she hit 80 years old, uh, she was Dr. Shower's wife, uh, uh, widow,
[45:39] and she, uh, has been a, uh, a person of who has given back to this community time and time
[45:44] again and uh the there was, there were quite a few people there to celebrate with her and
[45:50] celebrate her 80th birthday. Uh this weekend, uh, starts, uh, the football, the pigskin type
[45:57] football, and, uh, we will start with uh games on Friday and then Saturday and uh A&M
[46:04] Bulldogs play Saturday and, uh, and, uh, all the other teams played in, uh, so it's be a
[46:11] start of a, a fall and a great fall to get us all started. I hope everybody will come out
[46:18] and enjoy, um, our community, uh, Saturday will be a good day to go shop because those chops
[46:23] will be not as full because people will be watching football, so, uh, I hope that
[46:27] you go out and and enjoy that and, and have a good time and um that's all I have. Madam
[46:32] President Thank you, Mayor Battle brings us to council member comments, um, Ms.
[46:36] Watkins, will you start us off? Thank you. Good evening everyone. Last Monday, um,
[46:44] August 18th, I had the pleasure of being a guest speaker at Hunts for Housing Authority's
[46:49] annual meeting. I appreciate, uh, Antonio McGinnis for extending that opportunity and
[46:54] on last Sunday I was with the mayor and councilman Clean. We celebrated Miss. Shower's
[47:00] birthday and um she was really surprised and they said it was hard surprising her, but she
[47:06] was surprised, and we had a really good time on last Thursday I attended with the
[47:10] mayor of the Good Neighbors event at Saint Barley Church, that is where AT&T distributed
[47:16] 100 laptops to the students that attend um Village of Promise School. I thought that
[47:23] was really a phenomenal event. It shows that this community cares and it's just awesome
[47:28] when you have community partners who want to um be part of the education of the child
[47:34] and make sure they have every opportunity available to them. I also attended an ice cream
[47:39] social at Monrovia Flats on last Thursday with um House Authority director in Elmington
[47:45] the ones that, um, built and maintain the facility, and it was really nice, kids were
[47:50] having a great time and this past Saturday, the celebrating education parade. It was, it
[47:57] was just awesome to see, um, students from all across Huntsville come out to the
[48:03] district to celebrate and I want to give a special thanks to the police officers who
[48:08] helped with the traffic. who kept everyone safe. We didn't have an incident. I really
[48:13] appreciate you for that. And I want to give a special thanks also to Scott Irwin and Crisis
[48:19] Services, had an incident where I needed them to assist with someone and they came through
[48:24] and I really appreciate that. On this Saturday, and then we kick off their first football
[48:30] game, so hey, it's not at home, but you can tune in on television and then tomorrow
[48:36] night, if you have nothing to do. please come out and support Jemison Hunts for high football
[48:41] at Milton Frank. The kids need us in the stands. It's hard to look at a game when it stands
[48:48] not full. I remember when I was in school, the stands were, it's like you couldn't find a
[48:53] seat. So tomorrow night hunts behind Jemison. David, I'm gonna see you there. night. Oh,
[49:00] sorry, no. Oh, my God, he don't listen to me. Auburn's playing tomorrow night we'll we'll
[49:07] excuse you, but if you don't have anything to do. No, go Jaguars Um, if you don't have
[49:13] anything to do, make sure you come out to Miller Frank and support our students, please.
[49:18] Thank you so much. That's right I'm sorry. I need to bring Shane Davis up to the
[49:24] microphone real quick. Um, Shane, um, is going to explain what's going on with the
[49:31] Northern bypass being named MLK Thank you, Councilor Watkins. Shane Davis, director of Urban
[49:36] Economic Development. So council members, uh, what is coming before you is the, uh,
[49:43] decision to name officially named a road that is under construction in District one,
[49:50] news media, and what we refer to as the Northern bypass. Uh, so this section of roadway
[49:54] that's under construction starts just east of Pulaski Pike and travels 1500 ft east
[50:00] of US 231. So the road that is under construction, there's been some confusion publicly
[50:05] about this. So I wanna take a moment just to explain to, to you and those who may be
[50:10] watching. So the road that is under construction is actually a state highway, so it's state,
[50:15] it's an extension of state route 255 that starts at I-565 and goes north through the
[50:21] northern part of our city. Uh, it's part of the reason we call it the Northern Bypass. There's
[50:24] two phases remaining that will ultimately connect to the east side of our city at US Highway
[50:30] 72, completing a northern loop Um, regardless of your decision on us giving a local name of
[50:37] the row will officially per state because it will be operated, controlled, and
[50:43] maintained by the Alabama Department of Transportation will be state route 255.
[50:47] There's been, uh, some confusion that we are widening Bob Wade Lane. Uh, we are not
[50:54] widening Bob Wade Lane. We're not renaming Bob Wade Lane. That is not what you are
[50:59] considering. Uh, the existing section of Bobway Lane for the most part is being demolished
[51:04] to make way for State Route 255 So state route 255 has three names, so south of Interstate
[51:12] I-565 on to Redstone Arsenal is always been referred to as ride out Road. Uh, north of
[51:19] Interstate I-565, they're near Bridge Street, uh, common landmark to Highway Alabama,
[51:26] Highway 53 is referred to as Research Park Boulevard. Uh, the council before you back in
[51:33] about 2005, I believe. uh as that next phase was under construction that went from
[51:38] Alabama Highway 53 to just east of Plaskey Pike, the piece that is there today. I was
[51:44] designated as Doctor Martin Luther King Highway from a local, from a state and most
[51:51] Google Maps, it still shows up as state route 255. We have that all throughout our city.
[51:56] US 431 through the medical district is Governor's Drive and so on and so forth. Alabama
[52:02] 53 is Pulaski Pike, Jordan Lane or Jordan Lane. So what your decision is, is to whether or
[52:09] not to extend the existing local designation that starts at Pulaski Pike and would carry
[52:16] through Memorial Parkway. That was the original intent of the existing road that is there
[52:21] today, and that's what you. Should counsel determine to vote no for that. The row would
[52:27] only have a signal designation a state route 255 because that is the state route and
[52:34] state-controlled highway. There is a small section of Bobway Lane that intersects at uh
[52:39] Memorial Parkway. that will remain. It is undisturbed, if you will, from the rope project
[52:43] and it ties back into State Route 255. That section of Bobway Lane will remain Bobway
[52:50] Lane. I hope that provides some clarity Yes, thank you so much, Shane. I appreciate that. And
[52:57] just to clarify for the public's information, that a hearing will be set at the
[53:03] September 11th meeting for to consider that renaming and then the hearing itself will take
[53:08] place on September 25th, and the council will consider at that meeting also. I want to
[53:14] add one other thing. Um even at that meeting when you choose what the decision is to name.
[53:21] The name will not go into effect until we officially open state Route 255. So upon that
[53:29] vote, you're just approving for the final signage that would get placed when the road is
[53:35] completed early next year and open to the public. So the existing Bob White Lane is
[53:40] being used by the public because we're trying to keep access to residents. They would
[53:45] continue with that until this road is open. Thank you for clarifying that, Mr. Davis.
[53:49] Thank you. Um, is Ms. Smith here? Penny Smith? Miss Smith, can you come up to give an
[53:56] update on the budget, please? Could we do that when, when we do the financial report was she
[54:00] asked me. my comments. but that I'm sorry. I What do you do the finance report. Is that OK? Mr.
[54:19] Kling Thank you, Madam President, it was my pleasure to join uh Mayor Battle and
[54:28] Council member Watkins and celebrating uh Betty Shower's birthday, uh, again, I think a
[54:36] lot of great things have been said about her, so I guess all I can say is really ditto.
[54:40] She's been a great personal friend and uh I'm just so proud that uh we have a community
[54:48] where we got 3 elected officials, kind of paying accolades to her for what she
[54:53] has meant to our community and again a belated, but once again Betty, happy birthday. Also, uh
[54:59] I know we've had people in the public that have asked us about seeing if we could stream city
[55:05] council meetings on Facebook, and I do understand that our staff people are looking into
[55:10] that and I appreciate their efforts on that. And finally, uh, if I could borrow the
[55:16] microphone, mayor, we have one little bit of recognition that we still need to get done and
[55:23] uh we were able to arrange this at the um kind of at the at the last minute I have a uh
[55:32] certificate that's been signed by the, the mayor and all 5 council members to recognize
[55:39] Sonia Infinger. Sonia, come on down. Sonya is uh Miss Senior Huntsville, and she's a member
[55:47] of the Miss Senior Alabama court. in Sonya and uh uh her husband Jeff have done so many
[55:55] things in our community. Sonia, I just want to give you a chance to let you tell our
[56:00] community about what you are doing and what missing your Alabama is all about. Thank you
[56:06] Councilman Kling, and also yes, I think we're on. Thank you so much, councilman, and to all
[56:12] the councilman and mayor, I appreciate your time and, and thank you all for all your
[56:15] service and what you do. I'm super excited to be a part of the Miss Senior Alabama court
[56:23] and that I am the name of Senior Huntsville and so my honor is to be able to serve
[56:27] the city of Huntsville. And so what I get a chance to do is to promote nonprofits, anything in
[56:34] the community to help bring greater awareness to our great city. And so as Miss Senior
[56:40] Huntsville, if you have any volunteerism that you would like, MSA to be a part of.
[56:44] Certainly all you have to do is go to Miss Seniorallabama.com and we're able to serve. We
[56:49] also serve across the state of Alabama and so not only just the city of Huntsville but the
[56:55] entire state and our mission and goal really is to help promote women, senior women to
[57:00] know that we have a purpose, a purpose-driven life, and we like to contribute and give
[57:04] back because what that does for us, it helps us to have longevity. You get plugged into
[57:08] your city, you're doing more for others, and that helps bring greater awareness to
[57:13] those nonprofits and to the city, the great city that we have here in Huntsville. And so
[57:16] it's my honor to receive this great certificate. Thank you, Councilman Kling and Councilman
[57:21] and Mayor Battle. Thank you, counsel. Uh, thank you for everything that you have done
[57:41] for our community, you and your family have done Legionary Legion work, and we very much
[57:46] appreciate, uh everything. Thank you Thank you again, Councilman Clain. Councilman,
[57:53] Little. Thank you, Madam President. Um, just would like to give quick shout outs to
[57:58] Public Works, traffic, engineering, and planning, um, uh, being responsive to
[58:03] citizens, uh, issues and concerns over the last few weeks and then I certainly hope
[58:08] everybody's football team wins this weekend. Thank you. Um, I had the opportunity this week
[58:15] to attend the Council of Neighborhood Associations, Lyle Voyles has served as president
[58:19] of the council for many years now, and he does a wonderful job gathering leaders from all
[58:26] the neighborhood associations across across the city. They meet monthly for those of you
[58:31] who have any interest in attending, it's a public meeting. They meet monthly. If
[58:35] you have a neighborhood association, a civic association, a community watch,
[58:39] or an HOA, I encourage you to attend. At the meeting this past week at Travis Cummings,
[58:44] our manager, our zoning manager came to answer questions about zoning enforcement, and boy,
[58:49] they had a lot of questions for him. Uh, he went away with some homework to do and to report
[58:56] back, but he answered so many questions that I think there's been a little bit of confusion
[59:01] on those meetings are well worth anyone's time to attend. So if you have an interest, I
[59:07] suggest you contact Mr. Boyles and find out when the next meeting is. If you're interest
[59:11] ed in forming a neighborhood association, a community watch, um, it, this would be something
[59:17] to for, for y'all to, to do. I've found that the strongest neighborhoods have the
[59:22] strongest connections with each other, and one of the best ways to start that is with a
[59:27] community watch or a neighborhood association. We saw a great example of it
[59:31] tonight with the Monte Sano, um Civic Association who was there not just to recognize the city,
[59:37] but I think a lot of it was their work that they do with each other to look out for each
[59:42] other and to ensure that the well-being of their neighbors. So, so please take a look at
[59:47] becoming uh active in the Council of Neighborhood Associations. That brings us to
[59:52] the Finance Committee report 14A is a resolution authorizing expenditures for payments.
[59:58] Watkins, would you like to make that motion? Yes, Councilwoman. Robinson I move that we approve
[1:00:07] the expenditures in the amount of $29,230,00483.04. 2nd. Second, motion made by Ms.
[1:00:18] Watkins, seconded by Mr. Little I, all in favor indicate by saying aye, and he opposed.
[1:00:23] Motion carries. Do we have a a finance report? Yes, Ms. Smith will come up at this time.
[1:00:29] Thank you, Ms. Smith. Thank you Good evening, Penny Smith, finance director of finance. Um
[1:00:46] tonight, before you, I'm just gonna give you a short financial update, um, for, for
[1:00:53] the city out of head of, it'll actually usually I give these at the quarter end, but we have
[1:00:57] all the July numbers in and so this will actually run through July and, um, and give us an
[1:01:04] update at that point. So a little bit about the economic environment that we're in right
[1:01:12] now. It is a shifting landscape um, kind of moving almost daily uh, between what happens um
[1:01:20] from federal government, which bleeds into our also our local government and so I'm not gonna
[1:01:25] read through all of this in general, things are the, the labor markets are kind of
[1:01:31] softening. Customer confidence is still a concern. You'll see in our numbers that bleeds into
[1:01:37] our numbers as we move forward. We're very much in kind of a, a level playing field. People are
[1:01:42] still kind of holding back a little bit, but spending is looking a little better, um,
[1:01:49] inflation numbers, um, while the outlooks are rising, we still remain around the same
[1:01:53] inflation numbers that we've had for a couple of months. So that is, that boats bodes well
[1:01:58] for the future to to remain a consistency and then also with the Federal Reserve, they,
[1:02:04] their outlook is for a downturn in their expectations that rates will be cut at the next
[1:02:11] meeting, which will be in September. So we are gonna look look towards that and that will
[1:02:16] that will go well for the economy as a whole. So we're gonna look at some specifics
[1:02:25] you have seen these graphics before. So this is for sales and use tax. This is all of our
[1:02:30] sales and use tax. Remember that it supports not only our general fund, but also our
[1:02:36] schools and both of our capital projects funds the 1990 and the 2014 capital projects funds,
[1:02:42] year to date we are behind a little bit the prior year 0.7%, and we are under the original
[1:02:49] budget, um, at 80%, but remember we revised our budget mid-year and so we are, we are
[1:02:55] on that budget at 83.6%, just a teeny bit ahead for the fiscal year elapsed. So a couple of
[1:03:07] things, these are some selected revenues. So I kind of took out um, what's above uh the locally
[1:03:14] levied taxes there for sales and use tax which we already already looked at that, but I
[1:03:17] did want to point out a few things that are both ahead and behind in our sales um,
[1:03:27] feedback from somewhere. OK 00, sorry. Um, go ahead, miss. So, uh, the SSUT tax, it is 13%
[1:03:37] ahead at this year to date of last year and then it's at 88% of budget. So, um, so it is
[1:03:43] doing well. It is helping with the, with the general fund. The the other revenue here, the
[1:03:50] vast majority of this is actually coming from interest revenue, just like many other
[1:03:54] people in the state and across the country, we are benefiting from those high interest rates
[1:03:58] for the past couple of years, and that, that also feeds into this particular July report, um
[1:04:06] but for, for the whole year and we should see that moving forward as well. They are
[1:04:11] remaining fairly consistent as we move out from there. Permits are down, um, we continue to
[1:04:20] see a kind of a decline. So we are coming out of a period where we had lots of very large
[1:04:26] industry projects and multi-family projects that that contributed to our permit fees,
[1:04:32] and we are back to kind of normalizing that and so that continues to come down. We
[1:04:36] didn't predict it to fall quite this far, but, um, but we are hoping that that levels out
[1:04:41] this year. You'll see the line actually right above it. I didn't flag it, but the line
[1:04:46] right above it is our license fees, and that is ahead of budget and, um, and it should
[1:04:50] come in quite well at the end of the year as well. And then overall just pointing to that
[1:04:56] final total line that we are 86% ahead of budget and about a little over 2, 2.5% ahead of
[1:05:04] this year overall. That is ahead of the revised budget, so we've brought that budget down,
[1:05:09] so we are doing well relative to that revised budget. For this is a flip side, this is
[1:05:21] again for the general fund expenditures through July. So looking again at a couple of
[1:05:27] these personnel is that 80% of the budget. Remember 83% of the budget has elapsed, so we are
[1:05:34] under budget for that and which makes our sub the subtitle for the departments are at 78%.
[1:05:41] That is typical, um, of the city. We usually come in around 5% below, and that is happening
[1:05:48] again this year within our department s Our total, so the appropriations are pretty much
[1:05:52] paid out. Remember we pay out most of those quarterly. So, um so those, those have gone ahead
[1:05:57] and pay out, it will not grow above 100% and then the total general fund is at 79%. So that
[1:06:05] looks well. That represents about, um, if we remain consistent at that level, it'll
[1:06:10] represent about $9 million which um below budget, which is about what we took out of the
[1:06:15] general fund, so we should be right on, um, with that, with that in line with those budgets
[1:06:20] even making a little bit towards the end of the year. The lodging tax revenue, so, so
[1:06:26] this is just one that we follow It is much smaller than any other revenue we follow, but,
[1:06:32] but it is very, we like to, um, it points in real time to both individual behavior and excess
[1:06:37] funds for travel and commercial and defense. I would point back to actually and I forgot to
[1:06:43] mention it, but within that slide, that economic slide, the GSA came out last month and
[1:06:49] said that our department for that a department of defense and for those, those numbers
[1:06:54] for PDM would remain the same, um, which was usually they raise it every single year,
[1:07:00] which helps us when we, when we have so much DFD travel within our area so, so that may
[1:07:08] reflect be reflected in this number as we move forward, but we will be careful with those
[1:07:13] projections, but we do believe that right now it is ahead of budget and the year to date
[1:07:18] collections are 6% ahead of last year. So we believe this will come in um ahead of, ahead
[1:07:24] of budget and on time. And so I want to, before I get to any questions, I just want to talk
[1:07:31] for a minute to the overall because I do kind of bring this hey, we've got level revenue.
[1:07:36] We've had sales and use tax been revised and so kind of this concern that that kind of
[1:07:43] that kind of looms over what is happening in the year. and while our revenues, um, sales
[1:07:49] and use tax being flat, um, we are doing well and other revenue streams and our
[1:07:54] expenditures as you just saw, look good. Our departments, um, hats off to all of them as they
[1:08:01] manage their budgets and um and look towards the future with that physical in mind. And so,
[1:08:08] but we are physically stable. Our fundal, our reserves and our liquidity is strong. That
[1:08:16] not only speaks to our AAA performance in the markets, but it also speaks to, um, to just
[1:08:23] be in a good place as we move through the next physical year. Next month I'll be bringing
[1:08:27] before you, um the, the mayor's budget for y'all to present to y'all and um and so we'll do an
[1:08:34] introduction at the first meeting, we'll do, we'll have a work session on that next
[1:08:38] Friday, and then we'll do the, the second reading and actual vote for at the end of the
[1:08:43] month. So that will, um, this, this picture that as we go into that, we are financially stable
[1:08:48] and financially strong and I wanna be sure that Reiterate that Is there any questions Mr.
[1:08:54] Kling general assumption, just following up on what you said, uh, I would assume that we're
[1:08:59] probably in better shape fiscally than uh most cities around the country based on
[1:09:04] what I'm seeing in national news. I would like to say so. I mean, so much of that is the
[1:09:11] decisions that are made by the council and the conservative nature by which we treat um our
[1:09:18] financial stability, strong reserves and strong liquidity is a is a big portion of that
[1:09:22] having that cornerstone and that backbone in which to lean upon in lean times, so many
[1:09:27] cities bleed their city all the way down and um and we have never done that and so that has
[1:09:33] been just um it it's nice to have that whenever we need it. I believe best I can recall,
[1:09:40] there have not been any employee layoffs due to financial challenges, you know,
[1:09:47] programs being cut. here in the city. No, I'm absolutely not. Other questions Ms. Smith,
[1:09:57] thank you for your, you to you and your team for your leadership and also thanks to
[1:10:04] our department heads for being such great stewards of, um, the taxpayers' dollars. Great work
[1:10:11] from all. Brings us to 15 board appointments to be voted on. 15A is a resolution to appoint
[1:10:19] Sasha Irby to the Community Development Citizens Advisory Council placed 3 to the seat
[1:10:23] previously held by Billy Lennox for a three-year term to expire April 14, 2028. Is there a
[1:10:30] motion to approve? Motion from Mr. Little 2 from Mr. Kling. Discussion, all in favor
[1:10:37] indicate by saying I, and he posed motion carries. 15b is a resolution to reappoint Claude
[1:10:43] Moore to the Board of Examinations and Appeals for struction Industries. Place 6th
[1:10:46] is current seat for a 3-year term to expire September 13, 2028. Move to approve. Motion
[1:10:52] for Mr. Little from Mr. Kling. Any discussion all in favor, please indicate by saying aye.
[1:11:00] Any opposed? The motion carries 15C is a resolution to appoint David Blair to the Huntsville
[1:11:06] Police Citizens Advisory Council Place 8, the seat previously held by Vicky
[1:11:10] Guerreri for a four-year term to expire August 1, 2029. The chair would like to make that
[1:11:16] motion seconded by Mr. Little in discussion. All in favor, please indicate by saying aye
[1:11:21] or any he opposed. Motion carries. Mr. Blair is appointed 16 board appointment nomination
[1:11:30] 16A is a nomination to appoint Yolanda Caudle to the Huntsville Police Citizens
[1:11:34] Advisory Council placed 4 to the seat previously held by Willie Love for a four-year
[1:11:39] term to expire August 1, 2029. I move to approve Second, um, Ms. Watkins, would you like to,
[1:11:50] um, that there was a previous nomination made from the floor at the last meeting for this
[1:11:55] same seat. Yes, I nominated Linda Holmes from the floor, but um she did not want to
[1:12:02] serve, so I made another nomination so that's why. Let the record reflect that the
[1:12:08] nomination of Linda Holmes was withdrawn, and the nomination of Yolanda Caudle for to the
[1:12:15] police, police Citizens Advisory Council place for to the seat previously held by
[1:12:20] Willie Love for a four-year term is in place of that other nomination. Is there any
[1:12:24] discussion All in favor, please indicate by saying aye, and he posed the motion, or I'm sorry,
[1:12:30] that was for nomination only. We got ahead of ourselves. Uh, nomination only, there will be
[1:12:35] no vote taken at this meeting. It will be considered at the September 11th, um, council
[1:12:41] meeting. My apologies. a motion to change the, no, no, it was it was withdrawn. It was
[1:12:50] withdrawn, um, no hunts for utilities items, no legal department items or
[1:12:56] transactions to be considered brings us to 19 unfinished business items for action. 19A
[1:13:00] is an ordinance to amend Chapter 5, Division 2 of Article 2 of the Code of
[1:13:06] Ordinances of the city of Huntsville. This does require motion. Move to proof, motion
[1:13:10] from Mr. Little. Second from, uh, from Mr. Kling. Um, uh, is Mr. Fisher here? John Fisher,
[1:13:20] the director of, uh, our animal services. Good evening, council members, Mayor. This is the
[1:13:27] ordinance to amend Chapter 5 as it relates to the current fee schedule. Uh, the existing fee
[1:13:34] schedule has different rates for our residents versus services provided under service
[1:13:39] agreements with other agencies. This proposed um schedule would apply the same standards to all
[1:13:46] the entities, ensuring the cost of service is appropriately covered by all users. The only
[1:13:53] change for City of Huntsville residents is a small change for folks wishing to surrender
[1:13:58] their own pet to the shelter, um, it's a nominal, uh, uh, um, increase that um covers the
[1:14:08] increased cost of vaccines and exams that we would have to do on intake. Um, there is a new
[1:14:15] investigative hold fee that is for criminal investigations were required to hold animals
[1:14:21] for longer periods of time, um, and they require, uh, more extensive care, more extensive
[1:14:27] documentation, and veterinary care. Are there any questions for Mr. Fisher? Questions about
[1:14:33] the ordinance. Thank you, Mr. Fisher. All in favor, please indicate and you posed uh, the
[1:14:39] ordinance is approved. Thank you. 19B is an ordinance declaring certain property
[1:14:44] surplus and to be disposed of for agreement with managed asset recycling Solutions LLC.
[1:14:51] Move to proof. Motion from Mr. Little, seconded by Mr. Kling. Any questions or discussion?
[1:14:57] All in favor, please indicate and you opposed motion carries. That brings us to item 20 new
[1:15:04] business items for consideration or action. Are there any items anyone wishes
[1:15:08] to hold for separate consideration. Yes, sir. 20 F as in foxtrot and I as in India
[1:15:17] F and I, and I would like to do Mr. Kling. S and X S as in Sam was a request from report. And
[1:15:40] Ms. Watkins, um, I have been called. I still want IMS. XNZ Zulu. Zulu. OK, let me make
[1:15:54] sure that we've got everything item F. I I I M I S I X Item Z. Are there any others? Did, did
[1:16:17] I get all of them? Because you're going to do that Could you run through F? I have to
[1:16:28] have David do the phonetics on that. Item F, I I, India. M S X and Z. Can I get them all All
[1:16:43] right. Then the chair moves for approval. Items A to E. G, and H. J J to L. Thank you. And to
[1:17:04] R. T2 W and item 2Y. Is there a second? Second from Mr. Little. All in favor, please indicate
[1:17:13] any he posed. Uh, those items are approved and we will now move to separate consideration
[1:17:19] beginning with item F. Item F is a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract
[1:17:24] between the city of Huntsville, Alabama and Grayson Carter and Son Contracting Inc. for
[1:17:29] Tollgate Trail Improvements Project Project Project Project Project Project number
[1:17:36] 71-25-WP02. Um, chair makes the motion. 2,, 2nd by Mr. Mr. Little. Um Mr. Davis, will you
[1:17:45] be making a presentation on that? You want me to take it, Shane Jane, you want me to take
[1:17:53] it there? You can. This is extension of our, our, uh, trail system that we're working
[1:17:59] on with in partnership with the Land Trust and Huntsville Utilities. Huntsville Utilities
[1:18:03] is putting up $500,000 and land trusts put up $500,000. City cost is $760,760,700.31. and
[1:18:20] it's to make toll gates rail improvements on that, uh, Tollgate project there. What
[1:18:25] did I miss, Shane You nailed it Mayor. Are there any questions, comments, Mr. Little? I held it
[1:18:31] because this is my neck of the woods. This is an exciting project. Um, few people have
[1:18:36] asked me and just wanted for clarity that they're worried we're going to be up there
[1:18:39] clear cutting the mountain to build this. It's actually along the old tollgate roadbed and I
[1:18:45] walked it with one of the mountain residents and uh other than probably just a few
[1:18:49] saplings and some stones. It's a pretty clear path and it'll get people from the, uh uh land
[1:18:56] trustst parking lot on Bankhead all the way up. safely off of Bankhead, and a lot of people
[1:19:00] like to bike it, and this will be an alternative for them. Um, so I think it's going to be a
[1:19:04] great addition to that area. That that's correct. So you know the trail is is, uh, the
[1:19:08] mayor and council Little said we'll start at the existing parking lot and go up to Fern,
[1:19:15] and uh it's a trail system that's already used, but one of the things that, uh, both North
[1:19:20] Alabama Land Trust, uh, and then Hunt utilities come in in partnership with the city is we
[1:19:25] have a lot of cyclist activity on Bank, Bankhead, and there's just not quite enough facility.
[1:19:31] So what this will do is take a, a trail that is uh a non-paved, non gravel and put it in a hard
[1:19:37] surface not only to extend our greenway but also provide bicycle, uh, multimodal through
[1:19:42] that, that area of the city. Well, is there still a plan to um extend it down to the uh
[1:19:49] closed road along the shoulder of Fern. That's right, yes, so this is the first phase is the
[1:19:54] most expensive phase just due to the terrain, right? OK, great. Thank you. That's all,
[1:19:59] Madam President. Any other questions? I guess I would also note that um while it was not
[1:20:04] held the following item is the meat Greenway, and so we're going to be uh starting to
[1:20:13] greenlight projects too long awaited agreement projects at the same time. That's correct.
[1:20:17] I apologize for looking puzzled when I walked up here because that's the one I was getting
[1:20:20] ready to speak on and I know we celebrated Alabama A&M's 150th tonight. Uh, that project, uh,
[1:20:29] would not happen without, uh, some dedication of land for Alabama A&M and we want to
[1:20:34] publicly thank them for that. So, uh, this, this trail is almost 2 miles. uh, and it will
[1:20:40] go, uh, from Winchester to Alabama A&M's campus. So it's the first piece of the Northern
[1:20:47] uh, gateway belt line that we just had some public meetings. So this is, uh, one that has
[1:20:50] been in the works and, uh, finally was able to get all the right of way needed to get that
[1:20:55] started. So, uh, tonight, counsel, you're approving almost 4 miles of new greenway
[1:21:00] in the city. Thank you for that little update. I know it wasn't germane to our agenda topic
[1:21:03] there, but I felt like it deserved to mention. So all in favor, please indicate and
[1:21:10] opposed motion carries. Uh, item 2 I. 20i is a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter
[1:21:17] into an agreement between the city of Huntsville, Alabama and CSR Engineering Inc. for Peter
[1:21:21] Fain Railroad Bridge over Pinhook Creek Project number 71-23-SP23. Chairman's approval
[1:21:32] Second from Mr. Kling. Mr. Davis. Thank you, Dr. Robinson. So, um, as it's been long
[1:21:41] awaited. Uh, we received a federal park grant, uh, for our build grant for our park
[1:21:46] project downtown which has multifaceted pieces to it. It's a flood mitigation project, uh,
[1:21:52] that starts, uh, just on the north side of Holmes Avenue and goes into the low ill
[1:21:57] neighborhood crossing Governor's Drive and uh we're getting uh very close to
[1:22:02] advertising and bidding that, uh, project is part of that project. one of the major flood
[1:22:09] impediments downtown is the old existing railroad, Trussell Bridge, kind of behind the von
[1:22:13] Braun Center. Uh, that project will replace that bridge it's not our bridge, uh, it's
[1:22:18] actually owned by the Huntsville Mass Can Rail Authority. So through FRA
[1:22:23] requirements as we reconstruct that, um, we must provide, uh, funding for uh engineering
[1:22:31] inspections, third party inspections for federal rail authority, and Huntsville
[1:22:34] Madison Rail. That's what this will do is provide that on site uh, reviewed during the
[1:22:40] construction of that railroad trestle bridge. Questions from Mr. Davis. Yes, ma'am. Um, is
[1:22:45] this uh the bridge project, is that eventually tying with the whole park grant project down
[1:22:51] there or is this, so, so that the, the, the large scale park project that that has been
[1:22:57] widely publicized on the news. We will actually bid that project in 3 phases because
[1:23:01] there's different specialties of that project. The first phase that the public will see
[1:23:05] in the next couple of months will be the channel wide, the flood mitigation piece. Uh, so
[1:23:10] you'll see the widening of Pinhook Creek, a little bit of Spring Branch Creek as it
[1:23:16] crosses Governor's Drive and, and things that will alleviate flood mitigation in areas of
[1:23:21] our downtown where that we've experienced flooding. The next phase that you will see will be
[1:23:26] this, uh, railroad bridge. And the third phase will be pedestrian visa. There's
[1:23:30] actually, I know the quote sky bridge, um, I don't know how much I talked about this
[1:23:35] project that it's, you know, really a flood mitigation project and that seems to what
[1:23:39] dominates. It's only 20% of the project. uh will be bid, but there's 5 pedestrian bridges.
[1:23:46] Uh, there's one that crosses Pinhook Creek back into, uh, the Thrasher Fountain or the
[1:23:51] canal that goes between the embassy suites and the von Braun Center. There's a new
[1:23:55] vehicular bridge behind the embassy suites to provide better truck access to the back
[1:23:59] of the BBC. There's a pedestrian bridge that goes into the medical district and
[1:24:04] then uh the bridge over the parkway and over Governor's Drive. Those will be bid at
[1:24:09] different phases and then the final phase will actually be the linear park piece. So it'll
[1:24:13] be the Greenway Trails, uh, bot repair stations, uh, benches, landscape, those type of things
[1:24:21] along a new linear park in our downtown that will combine about 12 acres of new linear
[1:24:27] park. Now that sounds very confusing and our engineering department's done a great job
[1:24:31] of staggering a schedule of letting these packages to where they will finish on time
[1:24:37] together. So we won't, you know be going through construction saying when will the public get
[1:24:42] to use this? When will the flood mitigation? But, but they're all different
[1:24:46] specialized contractors to do those types of work. Uh, but the thing to remember the first
[1:24:50] phase in the next 45 days, uh, we'll be bringing that first contract for your consideration
[1:24:56] that will be used with the federal grant funds. Thank you. Is it too early to tell how
[1:24:59] long the railroad replacement, a railroad bridge replacement would take. Um, it, it is a new
[1:25:05] design, so it's concrete, it's pre-cast. Uh, so when we let that project, you won't see, uh
[1:25:13] immediate activity. Uh, the whoever the low bidder is will, will pre-order that, so it'll
[1:25:16] take the manufacturer some months to do that. But once the those pieces get on site, I
[1:25:22] would think, you know, 3 to 6 months it would be finished. OK great. Thank you. Thank you,
[1:25:27] Madam President. Any other questions? All in favor, please indicate and imposed. Motion
[1:25:32] carries. Thank you Davis. 20m is a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute addendum
[1:25:38] number one to the business agreement to implement technology between the city of
[1:25:42] Huntsville, Alabama and Comkate Inc. for continued services related to the code enforcement
[1:25:48] division of Community Development. Is there a motion to approve motion for Mr. Kling
[1:25:52] second from Mr. Little Mr. Irwin. Oh, yes, council members Mayor Battle Scott Irwin, the
[1:25:58] Community Development Department. This is an addendum to an existing contract with
[1:26:01] Comate to do code enforcement software. So what that software allows our staff to do is open
[1:26:07] track and close code enforcement cases such as overgrown grass, junk vehicles,
[1:26:13] unsafe structures, of public nuisances. It also allows mobile functionality,
[1:26:18] inspectors can enter case notes take photos, and update violations, uh, from the field
[1:26:23] directed from their tablet or smartphone. Um, it also provides dashboards and reports
[1:26:28] to track performance, uh, look at trends and for enforcement outcomes. So it is a program
[1:26:33] we've been using for about 3 years, and this is a 1-year extension. Other question, Mr.
[1:26:40] Klain, just for clarification, since the concern had been raised. This is not the
[1:26:46] artificial intelligence issue that we were talking about a couple of weeks ago, correct?
[1:26:52] No, sir. This is data management of our of our system as its currently exists. Thank
[1:26:56] you. Anyone else Um, I should note that at the Council of Neighborhood Associations this
[1:27:02] week, one of the issues that the, the focus was on zoning enforcement, but it evolved to
[1:27:08] enforcement of all our codes, and one of the concerns that was expressed was we have a lot
[1:27:14] of codes on the books. They need to be enforced. And so this software is what helps us
[1:27:18] do that. You absolutely does. Thank you very much. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion
[1:27:24] carries. We will go on now to 20 S. 20s is a resolution authorizing the mayor to make a
[1:27:29] grant application to the Federal Transit Auth Administration for the FY 26 4
[1:27:35] mg. Motion from Mr. Kling. Mr. Little council member is a mayor. I'm Emma Walker,
[1:27:45] accountant for the Public transit department. Um, welcome Miss Waer in lieu of Miss
[1:27:50] Bryant, our director, um, this is our annual appropriation just applying for it, um, from
[1:27:58] FTA for our operating in capital budgets for FY 26. Thank you. I can't remember who
[1:28:03] held this. who had questions about it. We, we had a question from, from the public. And I
[1:28:12] guess just to clarify this, you're talking about buses. Yes sir. Shuttle buses, maintenance
[1:28:21] uh, those types of things. Everything in administration there. OK. You know, it's just
[1:28:26] total, total cost of $6,115,287 of the grant fund is $33,972,492. The city cost is
[1:28:42] $2,142,795. Yes, sir Any other questions All in favor indicate Any opposed? Motion carries.
[1:28:48] Thank you so much, Ms. Clark. 20 X is a resolution authorizing the mayor to
[1:28:54] execute modification number one to agreement between the city of Huntsville and Skyfire AI
[1:29:00] Incorporated. OK, I've makes the motion. Second by Mr. Little. Mr. Eland been asked by
[1:29:08] Chief Giles to uh to speak to this item, uh, basically, this is a resolution authorizing the
[1:29:15] the uh mayor to execute modification number one to the currently existing agreement
[1:29:22] between the city of Huntsville and Skyfire, uh, we are currently under a contract with
[1:29:29] this group to manage our drones as a first responder program. uh, under the current contract,
[1:29:35] we pay for 2 employees, uh, Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. They're FAA
[1:29:44] certified. They perform rooftop pilot in command and teller operator duties. The program
[1:29:51] has been very successful and they're requesting to add 2 more employees, HPD is, uh, to,
[1:29:58] uh, 2 more employees for 2 additional days of service when being Saturday and Sunday, uh,
[1:30:03] during the same hours, which is 30 p.m. to 11. Uh, and so the modification is for those
[1:30:11] additional hours in those days. And again, this is a first responder program, very uh
[1:30:17] helpful and successful when there is an event and first responders there, the drones
[1:30:21] were able to get to that scene before vehicles on the, on the uh land can get there and for
[1:30:29] instance make an assessment early on as to the severity of the injury, for instance, in an
[1:30:36] accident or uh God for bi d there's a gunfight or, or some type of situation to determine
[1:30:41] the exact situation where there are armed individuals who are still there. These are, these
[1:30:47] are the type of services that are provided to help the first responders as they come to have
[1:30:52] a better idea of what they're coming to and if it's determined that the emergency
[1:30:57] is not quite as emergent. They don't have to tear through the city at a high rate of speed
[1:31:03] with all the danger that might be associated. So it's been a very successful program and
[1:31:08] there's a look to expand it. Questions? Yes, ma'am. Uh. so I've heard about these. I know
[1:31:16] they're, they're really great in those situations. I just wanna be clear they don't just
[1:31:20] fly around randomly filming people. Right? That's not what this is for. This is a first
[1:31:24] responder program, um, and obviously a lot cheaper than us buying a couple of helicopters.
[1:31:29] I would say considerably cheaper. All right, thank you. That's all I have. Question.
[1:31:35] I'll make one comment when I visited the NAMAC, um, I got to see video of how quickly these
[1:31:41] drones can give them eyes on a critical situation, and they can, and then give the officers
[1:31:48] who are responding accurate information about what's going on, so they come in prepared to
[1:31:54] deal with the situation. It's, I'm glad we're expanding it. It's very successful. Yes, Mr.
[1:31:59] Davis. I just want to make a comment. It's not germane to what, uh, directly to what
[1:32:04] you're about to vote on, but uh I do want to recognize that this company is headquartered
[1:32:11] here in Huntsville, uh, started here with two employees and now provide these services globally
[1:32:17] So, uh, they are a local company, local vendor. That's good to know. Thank you. Any
[1:32:22] other discussion? All in favor indicate and he posed motion carries, Sir, you're out of
[1:32:27] order. You can make comments after the meeting. So, sir, sir this is not an opportunity for
[1:32:35] you to have a conversation with us. You can make comments, uh, after the meeting if you have
[1:32:40] signed up. Uh, 20Z is a resolution authorizing authorizing the mayor to enter
[1:32:45] into a special employment agreement between the city of Hunsel and Kurt W. Worsick.
[1:32:51] Chair Mo's for approval There's a from Mr. Kling, um, Ms. Watkins, I believe you held
[1:32:58] this item. Do you have a question? I think the mayor is going to be this is yeah, this
[1:33:06] is our, our expert with the NAMAC, uh, who makes, uh, uh, Namack really roll. It's a one
[1:33:14] year contract and this is a renewal for for one year, and the city cost amount is 168,540
[1:33:23] annually. uh, total cost is, is again $168,168,540. The NAAC has been a very good tool to be
[1:33:36] able to use to uh make sure that uh crime, crime is abated and we keep crime down. Kurt
[1:33:43] has added, uh, the technology to it that, uh, makes it very, uh, uh, protects our, uh,
[1:33:50] citizens but also protects our policemen out there. comments All in favor, please indicate
[1:33:58] any he posed, motion carries. Um, item 21A. New business items for introduction. 21A is
[1:34:06] an introduction of an ordinance revising, restating, and consolidating the Human
[1:34:10] Relations Commission and its bylaws, pursuant to resolution number 94-633, which was
[1:34:17] adopted and approved on August 25, 1994. No action will be taken at this meeting, but it
[1:34:24] is for introduction only and will be considered at the September 11th uh regular
[1:34:30] council meeting that concludes all of our business and it brings us now to Citizen
[1:34:35] comments. We have a number of people who have signed up, and I will just read the little
[1:34:40] preamble for you. This portion of the meeting is reserved for for persons wishing to address
[1:34:45] the council on matters relating to city business, whether or not such items are on the
[1:34:50] meeting agenda. In individuals wishing to speak, um, have signed up on the 2nd public
[1:34:57] comments roster prior to or during the meeting, when called upon, please come to the
[1:35:01] microphone and state your name, home address, and city of residence. Each speaker may
[1:35:05] address the council for 3 minutes. Speakers shall refrain from entering into a dialogue
[1:35:09] with council members or city staff and from making comments regarding the good name and
[1:35:13] character of any individual. Please remember that the best way to communicate with council
[1:35:19] members really is by email, phone conversations or one on one on one meetings with
[1:35:25] council members. So we will begin, uh, first person to sign up is Donald Campbell, Subject
[1:35:30] is smart meters is Mr. Campbell here. Hello again Uh, my name's Donald Campbell. My address is
[1:35:45] on record. A city of residence, sir. Madison, thank you, sir. Um well, a few people have
[1:35:54] presented a proposal for a smart meter opt-outs to hunt through utilities. For the
[1:35:59] record, I was not part of that. and the proposal, many requests were made that HU um Huntre
[1:36:08] Toys HU is not about toomply with at this time I regret that they did not reserve such
[1:36:14] requests for our town council, as you are the entity with authority over HU. And then
[1:36:21] working on a proposal. and I still am to present it to you, which includes a layout of how
[1:36:26] to implement controlling legislation, which is financially feasible to HU. And
[1:36:32] there is more involved which I cannot divulge at this time. HU has responded with her opt-out
[1:36:38] plan, although it is called an AMI opt out. They are not guaranteeing that we can choose
[1:36:44] to have an analog meter, which is our main request and concern and there are many reasons why
[1:36:51] we do not want any electronic meter besides the fact that they are physically harming us,
[1:36:55] which you've heard about before Um, HU did not agree to allow those opting out to send, it
[1:37:02] did agree, excuse me, did agree to allow those opting out to send a photo of the meter
[1:37:09] reading each month, which is being done in other places. However, they still want to
[1:37:13] penalize us with a fee. We should not be and refuse to be penalized for not allowing a
[1:37:18] device on our homes that harms us. All of our lives we've been paying for meter readers to
[1:37:24] read every meter. If the smart meters are saving so much money then it should be no burden for
[1:37:29] HU to retain a few readers, but if we are sending in the reading, which we must now do.
[1:37:35] we should not be paying anything extra for that. Uh, any such uh additional cost for
[1:37:44] that can be incorporated in the cost of the watt hours we're paying for. Uh, also, if HU is
[1:37:49] sure that everyone will suddenly opt out in bankrupt them. Studies have shown that
[1:37:54] only a mere 2% will opt out. There will be more as time goes on, but there will be time to
[1:38:02] make changes and new technology that will communicate without harming us. Uh, I again request
[1:38:10] that you, the council, write legislation. amending the code which regulates HU to make
[1:38:16] opt-outs long. I spent this summer studying this entire history with this battle of the
[1:38:21] meters all over the country and all over the world. We're in a time where industry is now
[1:38:27] beginning to control us. We must not let it. We must contain it. Um, I have copies
[1:38:35] of sample legislation, for opt-outs for you. And also copies of some bad legislation
[1:38:42] that's going around the country which I hope we don't see happen here. And I'd like to
[1:38:45] give it to you after the meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Campbell Next person to
[1:38:54] sign up is James Franchini. Subject is smart meters, is Mr. Franke here. Hello, my name is
[1:39:09] James Franchini, and my address is accurate as shown on your sheet, and I'm in Southeast
[1:39:12] Huntsville. I'm speaking on behalf of a group of concerned residents regarding the health
[1:39:18] and safety impacts of smart meters that are being installed as part of Huntsville Utility's
[1:39:23] advanced metering infrastructure program, also known as AMI This will be a
[1:39:28] short status update on the progress being made in our collaboration with HU on
[1:39:32] developing a smart meter opt out policy for Huntsville residents. For those in the
[1:39:38] audience that may not be aware of this important topic, we originally approached this
[1:39:42] council because we were notified by HU that smart meters were going to be
[1:39:46] installed on our homes, even though we had previously opted out a few years earlier. More
[1:39:52] importantly, there was no provision allowing us to opt out again This was unacceptable
[1:39:57] for us because of the extensive research and studies that have been done revealing the serious
[1:40:03] health impacts that can arise from exposure to radiofrequency or radiation emitted by them.
[1:40:09] After presenting our concerns to this council back in July of this year. Mr. Meredith,
[1:40:15] proactively hosted a meeting between representatives of our small group and HU For that,
[1:40:21] Council President Meredith, we're deeply grateful. I know he's not here, but I share that
[1:40:24] with you. And we're grateful as well to the Huntsville Utility leadership for being open to
[1:40:29] work with us. Now for an update of our progress. We attended the August utility Board
[1:40:35] meetings this week with our primary purpose being to request that the boards
[1:40:40] postpone their vote upon the current draft opt-out policy and allow us to continue to
[1:40:44] work with HU in crafting a more complete and robust policy. The meetings were productive with
[1:40:51] many good questions being asked by the board members, followed by intelligent and thoughtful
[1:40:56] discussions between them and the HU team. which led to the vote being postponed. HU staff
[1:41:03] in our group will be meeting several times over the coming weeks to prepare the next
[1:41:07] version of the policy for the board's review. I intend to provide another update at the
[1:41:12] next city council meeting in 2 weeks. Thank you for your support and for your interest
[1:41:17] in this matter. Thank you, Mr. Franchini The next person to sign up is Ms. Francis Akridge,
[1:41:28] Subject is professional respect sacred. Thank you. I live in Huntsville and my address is
[1:41:41] correct on the sign sheet. and the topic is professional respect because I've been very
[1:41:50] busy traveling, yay, and learning about the world and art and food, and yet somebody
[1:41:56] called me recently and said, Did you see the epic? embarrassment of the last
[1:42:03] meeting. so I watched it It definitely could have been less contentious if number one the
[1:42:15] president or the second the whatever the titles that you have had called a point of
[1:42:21] order. A vote had already been made about Mr. Bowden, the item on the floor was about Ms.
[1:42:28] Caruso, and yet the conversation started back to Mr Bowden. parenthetically, I have
[1:42:35] no idea why someone would want that person on the, no, that we have to be very careful when we
[1:42:42] put people on the board because their need to, they need to add value. They don't, the
[1:42:49] clutching our pearls and saying they had been thrown out of here doesn't disqualify them.
[1:42:54] Please do not bring Facebook into your repertoire. If someone can get on their phone
[1:43:00] and go to Facebook for crying out loud, you can go to the Huntsville Media Center and
[1:43:06] watch these live and by the way you might learn something while you're there, like the phone
[1:43:11] numbers of the planning division and find out that it is not up to the government
[1:43:17] what a farmer wants to do with their land once it is annexed. Thank you. Thank you, Ms.
[1:43:26] Akridge. I have a gift for everybody. The next person to sign up is David Snyder.
[1:43:36] Subject is multiple Hello, my name is David Snyder. My information is written
[1:43:52] correctly on the sheet, and I live in Huntsville, Alabama. Um I'm going to run through a few
[1:43:56] items kind of quickly. One, I would like to talk about transparency in the jail. I
[1:44:01] understand it's the Madison County jail. It is not the Huntsville City jail. But I
[1:44:05] would like to know if Huntsville is making money off of ICE deportations. My
[1:44:09] understanding is every person that gets an ice hole that is in the Madison County jail
[1:44:14] right now is getting taken. That's what's happening. And I would like to know if our city
[1:44:18] is making money off of that, a horrendous thing is happening to our Hispanic community. and
[1:44:23] I expect that Huntsville should establish establish itself as a welcome welcoming city like
[1:44:30] Birmingham did. uh previously. There have also been multiple deaths in the jail that we need
[1:44:37] transparency around. There are going to be FOIA requests made. I, uh, hope to have the city of
[1:44:41] Huntsville's, uh, support when those FOIA requests are submitted and any dealings that
[1:44:46] we have with the MCSO. Um, I'd like to talk about Derick Street a little bit. I am going
[1:44:52] to be meeting with Scott tomorrow, actually, um, about that um, there needs to be
[1:44:59] greater access to the hose that is a water outlet for people to be able to get water from. It's
[1:45:03] not a great setup to drink uh from, but it is water, so, you know, that's great. Um, but it
[1:45:08] could be, it needs to be moved over a little bit or have an access away from the camp so
[1:45:12] people with mobility AIDS can actually get to it and it's suitable to drink out of. Um,
[1:45:17] there also needs to be an EMA special response. Imagine being in a tent, uh, when a storm
[1:45:21] like we saw with Monteceno. Imagine being in a tent when that happens. We need to have a
[1:45:26] special van come out and be willing to take people to safety ahead of a storm like
[1:45:31] that. Um, we also need to have the resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza signed. I emailed Bill
[1:45:39] Kling actually at our last district. uh meeting a petition that has gone around. I'm going
[1:45:44] to email that to all of City council and to Mayor Tommy Battle. It will be a stain on
[1:45:49] the city of Huntsville if we don't at the very least, it is the bare minimum thing that we
[1:45:54] can do to sign for a ceasefire resolution and for humanitarian aid to be supplied to the area
[1:46:00] that is the bare minimum. Um, regarding city detect, I am going to say again that these
[1:46:07] uh people of Huntsville, uh, like you've seen with the concern with Skyfire. We don't
[1:46:11] want to be surveilled. We don't want money to be put into surveillance. Um, we would uh
[1:46:16] like to have a Black History Museum installed in the city. We do not want to be surveilled
[1:46:21] Um, I understand that with Skyfire, the idea is that it is for emergency response, and
[1:46:26] that is a good thing, right? Um again, one of the things with uh City detect is about what it
[1:46:31] can be used for or what that data can be used for, right? So where are we getting assurances
[1:46:38] and transparency that they're not going to use those drones for any other purpose other
[1:46:42] than emergency uh you know, response and um like with City detect, what assurances do we
[1:46:48] have that if a larger federal body demands that, you know, data that that's not gonna just
[1:46:54] be handed over to other parties right? The best way to not do it is to not have it. We
[1:47:01] appreciate your attendance tonight. The next person to sign up is David W. Address is
[1:47:07] AAMU. There's no subject. Is Mr David W here? Apparently not. Uh, then we will move on to uh
[1:47:16] Taris Smith. Mr. Smith Mr. Smith is not here. Moses Eben Mr. Eben Yolanda Caudle Is
[1:47:28] Caudle here Lynn Holmes I'm beginning to suspect that these were folks who were here and
[1:47:36] thought they had to sign in. Tony Gaskin, subject is AI cameras, AI police, drone
[1:47:43] budget increase. Hello, um, my name's Tyranny Gaskin. Uh, I live in the city of Huntsville.
[1:47:52] Thank you, um. real quick, I would just like to talk about the city to tech program, so
[1:47:57] local citizens, I have a copy of everything I'm about to say. I'm about to talk very fast. So
[1:48:01] a local citizen's concern on the city detect program possibly coming to Huntsville,
[1:48:06] Automated surveillance undermined trust and cooperation between citizens
[1:48:08] and their government. If the AI tool is used, is doing the work of spotting violations on the
[1:48:14] street than our officials will lose contact with the community and the human element is lost.
[1:48:19] Without community and civic empathy, government officials will become disconnected from
[1:48:23] citizens. for privacy concerns, the CEO of City Detech claims that the data collected will
[1:48:27] not be sold to anyone, but how can we be certain that our data won't be sold ever. Legally, is
[1:48:32] it in the contract that our data is not for sale under any circumstances or after a
[1:48:36] certain period of time, how does City detech make money for its investors if they do not
[1:48:41] sell our data. Customer data in the contract that you guys have um under that. uh proposal, uh,
[1:48:49] customer data is defined as any information or other data of any type provided by the
[1:48:54] customer or its end users to City detect in connection with the product, including
[1:48:58] preferences, case status, notes and summaries, however, customer data does not include
[1:49:04] analytical data or raw data or any other information reflecting the access of or use
[1:49:09] of the products per section 3.2 of the terms of use. Raw data is defined as quote, all audio
[1:49:18] visual images, text global positioning system, and other geospatial and environmental
[1:49:23] data and other types of content captured by devices or otherwise provided by City
[1:49:27] detect in connection to the product. End quote. Also as per section of 3.2 terms of use.
[1:49:34] Analytical data is defined as the output that is generated through the gene that is.
[1:49:40] output that is generated through the product using artificial and intelligence AI
[1:49:45] output, and the data and information submitted or produced by the customer or its
[1:49:49] end users related to the interpretation, understanding and refinement of raw data and
[1:49:54] AI output per section 3.2 of the terms of use, as of section 11.1 of the terms of use states
[1:50:00] that all customer data, the product and analytical data, raw data and AI output are
[1:50:05] deemed to be confidential information of City detect, which implies that if we are
[1:50:10] not in a contract with City detect that we cannot access our own data. All of the
[1:50:14] cameras that are used in the City detect program are leased to us by the company, we will
[1:50:19] never acquire ownership of the data and the collection devices um. well which implies that the
[1:50:25] photos, videos, and audios that is collected is not legally ours. First section 1.10 of
[1:50:30] terms of use. In the agreement, it is said that City Detect has the right to use analytical rot
[1:50:36] and raw data in a way that implies that it could be sold or used for data mining, quote,
[1:50:41] City detect shall not use customer data for any purpose outside of the scope of the
[1:50:46] agreement or otherwise permitted by the privacy policy the foregoing does not restrict
[1:50:52] the city detects right and and abuse. Gaskin. Your time is up. I'm glad you're going to
[1:50:57] provide us printed copies of that, you said? Yes, I do have printed copies. Good. That's a
[1:51:02] lot of information. We appreciate you preparing that for us. Uh, the next person to
[1:51:06] speak is Sabrina. Craxi Our subject is AI cameras City detect. Hey guys, I am Spring
[1:51:17] Clary. Um, I wanted to talk about residence, please. Oh, Madison, thank you. Sorry. Um,
[1:51:24] I wanted to also talk about City detect with the Environmental concerns or the
[1:51:30] aspect. Um concerning AI. AI has a substantial power draw requirement, which some
[1:51:36] estimates suggesting that data centers supporting AI could require up to 3 times the power
[1:51:41] of traditional facilities of the same size. That power disparity will continue to grow
[1:51:47] as these egg chips grow more and more powerful and therefore more power hungry, a
[1:51:51] considerable portion of the power cost is due to cooling requirements. Given that
[1:51:56] Alabama has a rather warm climate, it stands to reason that its cooling costs will be
[1:52:01] greater than the average of other area s With climate change mounting in an ever
[1:52:05] greater as ever greater threat, it would be more prudent to invest the money into renewable
[1:52:11] energy solutions instead of dumping it into a surveillance mechanisms that that would, as
[1:52:16] things stand now, only accelerate the rate of greenhouse gas emissions to
[1:52:20] keep up with their inefficient power requirements. Buying solar panels and incorporating
[1:52:25] them into the city's power grid would pay for themselves over a 5 to 15 year time frame. And as
[1:52:32] they can last up to 35 years, they'll provide savings for the city well after that.
[1:52:37] Bolstering the power grid could also help incentivize incentivize future AI
[1:52:43] investments that don't involve invasive hammer fleet since cities with robust power grids
[1:52:48] would be ideal sites for development in the long run. So that's AI in general, but I
[1:52:55] also wanted to mention that for citizens here in Alabama who have native plantings The
[1:53:02] native plantings will not be recognized by these cameras leading to citations. The
[1:53:06] movement to create yards and grounds that use native plants to create habitats for Alabama
[1:53:11] pollinators and reduce water usage means that we can have more native lawns in our
[1:53:16] communities. These would benefit everyone and there is concern that the AI cameras
[1:53:21] will not be able to discern a patch of native vegetation from weeds. And therefore
[1:53:26] insinuating citations unneeded. Thank you. Thank you The next person to sign up is Jeffrey
[1:53:33] Engle, Mr. Angle. Hello, uh, Jeffrey Ingle, uh, City of Huntsville, live in Sherwood
[1:53:44] Park. I'm with the Democratic Socialists of North Alabama. Um so we're going to talk about AI
[1:53:50] again. Um, so I want to express my uh complete disappointment with the board uh for extending
[1:53:57] the contract uh to allow drones to surveil our communities on weekends and uh for that to be
[1:54:05] uh shuffled through uh through an AI company. Uh, I am a very active in uh the uh movement
[1:54:13] here uh in Huntsville, and I know that those drones are used to watch us. Uh, Eleanor, First
[1:54:18] Amendment rights, uh, gatherings. Those drones are above us and those that all of
[1:54:24] that data is being fed into this AI uh system. Uh, so it is being used for more than just
[1:54:32] first responders. Um, onto City Detect, uh, that again on data. um your, their contract says
[1:54:40] that all data is stored in third parties facilities, uh, and uh we do not know where
[1:54:45] those facilities are. Uh, the contract also says the city detect can store that data
[1:54:50] indefinitely. Now, why are they able to store that indefinitely ? Why would they not be able to
[1:54:54] delete it after a certain amount of time, quote, images stored in deep storage for 12
[1:54:59] months and then moved into deeper storage indefinitely, retrieval retrievable upon
[1:55:04] request. Who would be requesting that data of all of our streets who would need all
[1:55:09] of that data of every street for uh for years and years, um except for to use it, uh, for
[1:55:16] some type of surveillance. All right? The uh gone to cost, so this will be over $300,000 per
[1:55:24] year uh for three years, uh, equating to almost a million dollars. Uh, that money can be
[1:55:30] used for solar panels. That money can be used instead to uh feed schoolchildren. Uh, one of
[1:55:37] the biggest, uh, indicators of econ economic opportunity is hunger. Uh, one of, uh, the
[1:55:45] greatest things that our city can do is provide for its children and then provide uh
[1:55:53] impoverished communities, uh, with free meals. Uh, where did it go All right, uh, so again,
[1:56:01] to the crowd, uh, you live in a surveillance state, uh, just because there are AI cameras
[1:56:06] all over the roads, uh, like Google, Amazon, that does not mean that we need to have more
[1:56:13] of them. Uh, I've been heard that as an excuse from a uh city official that, hey, this
[1:56:19] technology is already out there why not use it? We don't want it. We don't want to be
[1:56:23] surveilled more. We don't want our tax dollars used to surveil us. Um, 1984 was not meant to
[1:56:29] be an instruction manual. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Engle, and please to the, just for
[1:56:37] everybody's information, comments should be addressed to the council, not to. everybody
[1:56:41] else. Amanda Puchek. Is Miss Pushek here? That was fantastic I don't know if I've ever had
[1:56:46] someone say my last name so well. My mother was Czech, so Again, thank you for the
[1:57:07] pronunciation. I'm very impressed. Uh, Amanda Pushek. I live in Huntsville. Thank you.
[1:57:12] Welcome. Hi. Uh, I want to talk a little bit about City detect AI as well. um here's the thing
[1:57:21] I check my mail in my robe. and there's lots of people in our neighborhood who have kids,
[1:57:30] walk around, their kids in their bathing suits in the summer, splash pad out in the
[1:57:34] yard, all of that sort of thing and the way that City detect is currently being proposed. All
[1:57:41] of that data, all of that information, all of that photographic evidence would be
[1:57:47] stored indefinitely. So while we may live in a time right now where that may not be so much
[1:57:51] of an issue. I've also had my data leaked before. I've had it leaked, I've had it sold when
[1:57:58] companies close down, and now I get 8000 spam calls a day. Not to mention the amount of times
[1:58:03] that I've had my credit damaged because of it, or I've had my father's personal home
[1:58:10] information leak because of it. My biggest concern is because of the indefinite manner in
[1:58:15] which that this data is stored. Historically speaking, when these sort of companies do
[1:58:22] close because typically companies close. That's just how it exists. Because that
[1:58:28] information is stored forever. One of the first mechanisms of action that they do to try to
[1:58:33] liquidate their assets is by selling the data. Another thing that they'll do is also just
[1:58:40] leak the information, whether intentionally by a company workers or an outside source,
[1:58:44] it doesn't matter because once it's out, it's out. We all know that it's very difficult to put
[1:58:50] that information back into the bottle. Now there's services out there that will hopefully
[1:58:56] pull that information back down off of the internet for us, but I feel like the people of
[1:59:02] Huntsville shouldn't have to pay for that to happen. If we get ahead of problems, it's
[1:59:07] much easier than fixing them later. And I would just say with a word of caution that
[1:59:13] when we think of things indefinitely. time is a construct, and then we tend to
[1:59:20] experience it very differently as individuals. When we look at broader periods of time, it can
[1:59:26] be very difficult for our brains to wrap around that indefinite concept. What we do
[1:59:33] with that information cannot only affect us today, but 20 years from now, when those same
[1:59:38] kids are adults applying for jobs. and now they have their pictures of them in swimsuits
[1:59:43] as kids on the internet. I know that that seems very silly, but that's what we're talking about
[1:59:49] here. And that's the real life consequences. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you, Ms.
[1:59:54] Kuscha Next we have Julie Calderwood. Julie. I'm Julie Calderwood. I live in South
[2:00:16] Huntsville, um after one of my, our meetings about the smart meters, uh, one of the comments
[2:00:23] from the city council was, but you've been here before talking about smart meters and we've
[2:00:28] referred you to that, so, um, uh, utilities kind of questioned why, why we're
[2:00:36] coming back and, and I, and I thought to myself, um, it's because you don't understand,
[2:00:41] um, this is not just about smart meters. Um we have man-made two-way microwave
[2:00:48] radiation that sends and receives data in all sorts of things, the smart meters, the
[2:00:53] cell towers, Bluetooth laptops, iPads, WiFi routers, classroom access points, you name it, all
[2:01:00] those wires or stuff, hearing aids, vehicles, gaming systems. So there has never been a safe
[2:01:06] level of microwave radiation determined in scientific literature. Many of the health
[2:01:12] issues associated with wireless technologies can also occur with electrical system s and
[2:01:17] devices that operate in low, extremely low frequency range. Um, when I started researching,
[2:01:23] because I was feeling, getting sick, what was going on with me ? I finally bought a an acousta
[2:01:30] meter and started measuring around different places and different things, and that's
[2:01:35] what got my attention. Um. I have done so much research, but well I realized that um we
[2:01:46] adopted wireless technology without taking into consideration its potential
[2:01:50] impact on health. The FCC guidelines in place today were developed in 1996 and they do
[2:01:58] not address the much lower nonthermal impacts that come with use of today's devices.
[2:02:04] The science has proven there are many harmful nonthermal effects, and the FCC standards
[2:02:09] also don't address the impact on children and fetuses who absorb a lot of this radiation
[2:02:14] more than we as adults do. and impact our bodies in such in so many ways. um, the FCC, um, an
[2:02:22] agency reported by the Harvard is captured industry, and they have thousands of pages of
[2:02:29] scientific evidence that has been entered into the public record. Thousands of studies
[2:02:35] have been done and many countries have banned and restricted the use of Wi Fi and
[2:02:38] cell phones for children and protect women who are pregnant. Um, from the health impacts of
[2:02:46] this this technology is causing and 2015 Harvard University published a captured agency
[2:02:52] report detailing how the FCC is run by the industry. It presumably regulates. The US
[2:02:59] government has known that there are biological effects for from electromagnetic radiation for
[2:03:03] decades in the US and elsewhere evidence of harm was suppressed and non-protective standards
[2:03:09] were set, falling back on the excuse that more research needs to be done before those
[2:03:12] standards will be updated and NASA back had a report in 1981, the Army intelligence document
[2:03:20] from 1998 identifies I have other things, but we would like to send you some information
[2:03:26] and that would be great you thank you always appreciate that. Thank you. Um, next, Dr.
[2:03:31] David Calderwood. David Calderwood, Southeast Huntsville. I too would like to
[2:03:50] um express our gratitude as a member of the Smart meter opt group of this of the Huntsville
[2:03:57] utilities being willing to work th us to try to come up with a good plan, and we hope that
[2:04:02] the, this will be successful. Um, I come tonight, uh to extend an invitation, um, to
[2:04:09] the members of this council as well as everyone else present. I think that there are members
[2:04:15] of our city government who would like the city of Huntsville to be a smart city.
[2:04:22] Um, and, uh, my invitation is for all of us to become educated on electromagnetic
[2:04:30] radiation so that we will all realize that a smart city is neither intelligent or healthy.
[2:04:37] Um, I am going to send links to members of the council. and if I can to, uh, Mayor Battle as
[2:04:45] well to a wonderful website, Massachusetts for Safe Technology.com. It is probably
[2:04:53] one of the most extensive collection of information on electromagnetic radiation. It
[2:04:58] has a section on the science on cancer infertility, impact on children, WiFi in schools,
[2:05:07] including the effect on the health of children and how it interferes with their learning.
[2:05:12] Um, electromagnetic hypersensitivity. You utility company smart meters, a large
[2:05:18] section on that and the effects of those cell towers, 5G, planetary impact, including the
[2:05:27] impact on um uh wildlife, on plant growth and insects, including bees, if the
[2:05:34] radiation level gets high enough, beaming down from satellites as it is, and in all
[2:05:40] of our areas, we could kill off all the bees, and that would end life for humans on this
[2:05:46] planet. Um, also, there's legal issues section bills from Massachusetts and other states.
[2:05:53] Um, also a section on industrial whistleblowers, exposing what's going on behind
[2:05:58] the scenes and the cover-ups and so forth. and world response in which you learn
[2:06:03] that the United States, Japan, and Canada have the highest levels allowed, which are 100
[2:06:11] times higher than smarter countries who are allowing a much less than those include
[2:06:17] Switzerland, Austria, and Russia, among others. Um, there's also a section sections
[2:06:24] on solutions for schools and families, for workplaces, for healthcare providers, for
[2:06:29] engineers and physicists for municipal leaders like yourselves. for legislators and
[2:06:35] for lawyers. I therefore would like to extend an invitation that we learned about this, so
[2:06:42] that Huntsville can be an intelligent and healthy city. Thank you. Thank you, Dave,
[2:06:49] Doctor Calderwood. And now Mariah Hammond, isn't Miss Hammond here? I suspect these
[2:06:56] areMU people who were here earlier. Mariah Hamad and Kenya England. They're not here and
[2:07:03] that concludes our um citizen comments. We welcome all of you back at our next council
[2:07:09] meeting, which will be, yes, uh Rhonda Lynn No is that you I skipped right over you Thank
[2:07:20] you for calling that to our attention. You will be our concluding speaker. Please give
[2:07:25] your, is your time to sign on the list and I would love to speak also. we we have to have
[2:07:33] you sign that our procedure is to have you sign on the list. We'll look forward to hearing
[2:07:36] from you at the next meeting. Miss Lynn, good evening. I'm, I I read this statement from,
[2:07:42] name and address. I'm Rhonda Lynn. I'm reading this statement for Huntsville. Thank
[2:07:48] you. Uh, Alicia Booth Hegmaker also from Huntsville, um, and this is her statement uh, who
[2:07:56] she wishes to raise an issue that ties directly into Huntsville's future stability.
[2:08:01] We all know Huntsville is being branded as a tech hub, but there's a dark side to that
[2:08:06] trend across the country corporate giants like BlackRock and Blackstone are buying up
[2:08:12] utility companies, tying them directly to the growth of AI data centers. These data
[2:08:17] centers don't just use electricity, they drain community water supplies and
[2:08:22] spike local power costs. Communities in Texas, New Mexico, and Minnesota are
[2:08:26] already in legal battles because private equity firms are driving rates up while
[2:08:31] residents are left footing the bill. Here in Huntsville, we've already seen the proposed
[2:08:37] rollout of AI-powered surveillance cameras. Pair that with the growing demand for
[2:08:42] server farms, and you have a picture that should concern all of us. Our resources, power,
[2:08:47] water, even our privacy are being turned into commodities for outside corporations. She
[2:08:53] wants to be clear She uses AI. I believe it can be tool, but using it irresponsible at the
[2:09:00] expense of residents' bills, health, and freedom puts entire communities at risk. selling
[2:09:07] out to corporate interests that view Huntsville as just another market is a dangerous path.
[2:09:13] Huntsville is unique. We are a city with deep military, scientific, and family roots.
[2:09:18] We cannot afford to let Wall Street interests dictate our utility policies, drain our
[2:09:24] resources, and then leave us with the damage. So I'm asking this council before Huntsville
[2:09:29] follows the same path as other cities, commit to transparency, commit to protecting residents
[2:09:36] first, not outside investors, because if we don't, we may wake up to find out that the
[2:09:43] city we love is being run by algorithms and corporate balance sheets, not by the
[2:09:47] people who live here. Thank you Thank you very much I believe that concludes our meeting.
[2:09:56] Move to adjourn Uh, we are adjourned until September 11. We welcome you back then. Thank