[3:54] Mhm.

[4:25] » I'd like to call this meeting to order. Would you please rise for the Pledge of

[4:28] Allegiance?

[5:03] Uh welcome to tonight's meeting. It is 6:30 and we are staying at this time

[5:08] from now on. No no time change creating this. So uh clerk, if we would please

[5:13] call the roll. >> Bustos?

[5:15] » Here. >> Henning?

[5:16] » Here. >> Gorman?

[5:17] » Here. >> McDowell?

[5:18] » Here. >> Kelly?

[5:19] » Here. >> York?

[5:20] » Here. >> Farmer?

[5:21] » Here. >> Uh first on the agenda we have the

[5:24] clerk's report. >> Okay, first you have before you the

[5:26] Council work session minutes of August 20th, 2026.

[5:29] » I'll move for approval.

[5:32] » Have a motion to approve by Mr. Gorman and a second by Mr. Henning.

[5:36] Any discussion? Uh all in favor?

[5:39] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[5:41] The motion passes. >> And then you also have before you the

[5:44] meeting Council meeting minutes of August 20th, 2026.

[5:48] » I'll move for approval. >> Second.

[5:51] » Have a motion to approve the minutes by Mr. Gorman with a second by Ms. Kelly.

[5:55] Uh any discussion? All in favor?

[5:58] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[6:02] Uh motion passes. Looks like we have a few old business

[6:06] items here tonight. So, Clerk, if you'd read the first one.

[6:08] » Ordinance 008-26-11, an ordinance certifying charges for

[6:13] grass weed cutting for 2026-2027 to the Montgomery County Auditor for

[6:18] collection with real estate taxes and enactment as an emergency.

[6:21] » I'll move for an emergency. >> Second.

[6:24] » We have a motion to move for emergency by Mr. Gorman with a second by Ms.

[6:28] Kelly. Uh Clerk, if you would please call the roll.

[6:30] » Bustos? >> Yes.

[6:31] » Henning? >> Yes.

[6:32] » Gorman? >> Yes.

[6:33] » McDowell? >> Yes.

[6:34] » Kelly? >> Yes.

[6:35] » York? >> Yes.

[6:36] » Farmer? >> Yes.

[6:38] » I'll move for approval of the motion. >> Second.

[6:41] » We have a motion to approve the ordinance by Mr. Henning with a second

[6:45] by Mr. Gorman. Any discussion?

[6:50] All in favor? >> Aye.

[6:51] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[6:53] Uh ordinance passes.

[6:55] Next, please. >> Ordinance 008-26-12,

[6:59] an ordinance certifying unpaid charges for nuisance assessments for 2026-2027

[7:05] to the Montgomery County Auditor for the collection with real estate taxes and

[7:08] enactment as an emergency. >> I'll move for approval of the emergency.

[7:12] » Second. >> We have a motion to approve the

[7:14] emergency by Mr. Henning with a second by Ms. Kelly. Roll call, please.

[7:19] » Bustos? >> Yes.

[7:20] » Henning? >> Yes.

[7:21] » Gorman? >> Yes.

[7:22] » McDowell? >> Yes.

[7:23] » Kelly? >> Yes.

[7:24] » York? >> Yes.

[7:25] » Farmer? >> Yes.

[7:27] » I'll move for the motion. Approval of the motion, excuse me.

[7:31] » Second. >> Okay, we have a motion to approve by Mr.

[7:35] Gorman with a second by Mr. York. Uh any discussion?

[7:40] All in favor? >> Aye.

[7:42] » Aye. Opposed? Ordinance passes.

[7:47] Next one, please. >> Ordinance 008-26-13,

[7:51] an ordinance to maintain lighting assessments and enactment as an

[7:54] emergency. >> Move for approval of emergency.

[7:56] » Second. >> Motion to approve the emergency by Mr.

[8:00] Henning with a second by Ms. Kelly. Roll call, please.

[8:03] » Bustos? >> Yes.

[8:04] » Henning? >> Yes.

[8:05] » Gorman? >> Yes.

[8:05] » McDowell? >> Yes.

[8:07] » Kelly? >> Yes.

[8:08] » York? >> Yes.

[8:08] » Farmer? >> Yes.

[8:10] » Move for approval for the motion.

[8:14] » Second. >> Have a motion to approve by Ms. Kelly

[8:17] with a second by Mr. Gorman. Any discussion?

[8:20] All in favor? >> Aye.

[8:22] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[8:24] Ordinance passes. Next one, please.

[8:27] » Ordinance 008-26-14, an ordinance to impose assessments upon

[8:32] owners of real property in arrears for payment of fees for waste hauling and

[8:36] disposal services for 2026-2027, and enactment as an emergency.

[8:41] » Move for the emergency. >> Second.

[8:44] » Have a motion for the emergency by Mr. Henning with a second by Mr. Gorman.

[8:48] Roll call, please. >> Bustos?

[8:49] » Yes. >> Henning?

[8:50] » Yes. >> Gorman?

[8:51] » Yes. >> McDowell?

[8:52] » Yes. >> Kelly?

[8:53] » Yes. >> York?

[8:54] » Yes. >> Farmer?

[8:55] » Yes. >> I'll motion for the approval of the

[8:58] motion. >> I'll move for the approval.

[9:00] » Second. >> Have a motion to approve the ordinance

[9:03] by Mr. Gorman with a second by Ms. Kelly. Any discussion?

[9:08] All in favor? >> Aye.

[9:09] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[9:11] Ordinance passes. And one more. >> One more. Ordinance 008-26-15,

[9:18] an ordinance authorizing the submission of the 2026-2027

[9:22] North Clayton Community Authority charge assessments to the Montgomery County

[9:25] Auditor and enactment as an emergency. >> Move for approval of the emergency.

[9:29] » Second. >> Have a motion to approve the emergency

[9:33] by Mr. Henning with a second by Ms. McDowell. Roll call, please.

[9:38] » Bustos? >> Yes.

[9:39] » Henning? >> Yes.

[9:39] » Gorman? >> Yes.

[9:40] » McDowell? >> Yes.

[9:41] » Kelly? >> Yes.

[9:42] » York? >> Yes.

[9:43] » And Farmer? >> Yes.

[9:45] » I'll move for approval of the motion. >> Second.

[9:49] » I have a motion to approve the ordinance by Mr. Gorman with a second by Mr.

[9:52] Henning. Any discussion? >> The only thing I'd say real quick,

[9:55] Mayor, is we've flown by these last five as stated last week by all of us when

[9:59] Council and the city manager, this is over $100,000 in fees not paid to

[10:05] Clayton. So, everything that we just read will now be sent to the county

[10:10] auditor's office to be assessed to the property taxes. Over $100,000 for a city

[10:15] of our size is a tremendous impact to the budget. So, you know, it Yes, um

[10:20] and these homeowners have got the bills and they have chosen not to pay them.

[10:24] So, we are sending them down so we can seek um collection of payment. So, um

[10:29] thank you to the city manager and to the law director and Kevin, our finance

[10:33] director, who organized these for us every single year so we can recoup some

[10:37] of the money that we have had to pay um up front for the residents.

[10:43] » And I would like to add that all these are emergency to give residents uh every

[10:47] last moment to be able to pay this without it having to be assessed against

[10:50] their taxes. So, um with that, uh is there a motion to

[10:55] approve? >> We did that.

[10:57] » I'll move for approval. >> That's right. Sorry, I did ask that. All

[11:00] right, I got to keep track. All right, all in favor?

[11:03] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[11:05] Uh the ordinance passes. Looks like we have three new business

[11:09] items and I'm excited to say none of them are emergencies.

[11:13] » [laughter] >> So, Clerk, if you would please read the

[11:15] first one. >> Resolution R09-26-50.

[11:19] A resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a cooperative

[11:23] agreement with the city of Brookville to use the city of Clayton street sweeper

[11:27] at specified times during the years 2027, 2020, excuse me, 2028 and 2029.

[11:35] » I'll move for approval. >> Second.

[11:38] » Have a motion to approve by Mr. Henning with a second by Ms. Kelly. Is there any

[11:42] discussion? >> Would you like to have a staff report on

[11:45] that? >> I I'd like to ask a question.

[11:48] » Please go ahead. >> I deal with it

[11:51] identification. It it says

[11:55] injury death that occurs during the use of the street seats street street

[12:00] sweeper by Brookville within the city of

[12:02] Brookville. Now, I'm sure that at some point in time

[12:07] this street street sweeper has got to move outside the city of Brookville.

[12:11] I I mean, even here in Clayton, all the roads going in at the city line.

[12:15] So, you got to turn around and I know they

[12:18] probably have a zero turn radius. >> I believe they may be um to transport it

[12:23] from one community to another that they actually uh put it on a bigger vehicle

[12:29] and transport it that way. They don't necessarily Okay.

[12:33] » But, when they're using it, they go outside of the city of Brookville then.

[12:37] And it says within the city of Brookville.

[12:41] » Law Director, do you see an issue with it?

[12:43] » Well, I think that it's close

[12:49] Yeah, I think it's meant to delineate between the actions in the city of

[12:54] Clayton versus the actions in the city of Brookville. So, you know, they

[12:58] probably do turn around at the end of the street, but you know,

[13:03] it's meant to indicate that's

[13:06] » Or somebody at the end of the street where they're turning around and the

[13:09] Clayton is the one that's killed before. responsible.

[13:15] I don't I don't know if you're sure if they're turning that way.

[13:18] That's why I asked the question.

[13:22] » They would still I mean, I have to I um if you read that again, if it's operated

[13:26] by a city of Brookville employee, then cuz I think it does say and it may

[13:33] say in Brookville, but what does it say again?

[13:38] » My Brookville within the city of Brookville.

[13:41] And as a result of negligence of the city of Brookville employee operating

[13:44] the street sweeper, if it goes outside the city limits, it

[13:47] comes back on Clayton again.

[13:50] » I think it's interesting though that while they're operating it within the

[13:54] city of Brookville, and if if they're operating it extraneously,

[13:59] it's still going to be their use. I mean, if they're they shouldn't be

[14:03] operating it outside the city of Brookville.

[14:07] So, they may have to not sweep the sweep the street 5 ft with

[14:12] within the jurisdiction. That's right. That's right.

[14:17] I understand. We will take a I mean, um

[14:20] if you what if If you want to wait till next time again

[14:25] and has been in there, but I do believe I agree with um the law director that

[14:29] the intention is that if it's being operated by a city of Brookville

[14:33] employee, then therefore it the uh it indemnifies the city for liability

[14:40] in that.

[14:48] » Ms. Kelly. >> So, do we need a staff report, anyone?

[14:53] Law director? >> Well, I think as long as you have uh

[14:57] some discussion as to what this is about and what you're doing, I think that's

[15:03] enough. But, um I think we do need to have some discussion about what's going

[15:06] on. >> Well, I think it's great it brings in

[15:09] $175,000 to the city every year. And as Kenny

[15:14] just said, that's a lot of money to the city of Clayton and

[15:17] it that's better than the street sweeper sitting out here in the garage for

[15:23] however long time it sits there. I don't have a clue, but

[15:26] » Yes, and we did look into what the increased maintenance costs, as well as

[15:30] the replacement broom costs, took those into account when

[15:35] putting the fees in the contract. So, they are up from last term's contract.

[15:45] » And it's also great collaboration with neighboring unit municipality.

[15:51] So, any other comments or discussion on

[15:53] this? So, and I trust Jack

[15:58] He wanted or used to work for us.

[16:02] » Second. >> We've got a motion to approve by Mr.

[16:05] Henning with a second by Ms. Kelly. We've had discussion. All in favor.

[16:09] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[16:12] The resolution passes. Clerk the next one, please.

[16:15] » Resolution R-O-9-2-6-5-1, a resolution amending and readopting

[16:20] rules of council. >> I'll move for approval.

[16:24] » Second. >> And this would be because our council

[16:26] meetings have changed from 7:30 to 6:30 p.m. So, the only rule, if you will,

[16:32] that is being updated would be that change in time, right, law

[16:36] director and city manager? >> That is correct.

[16:39] » Cool. Thank you. All right, noting that only change, is

[16:43] there any other discussion? All in favor?

[16:46] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[16:49] Resolution passes. And I guess we got one more.

[16:52] » Resolution R-O-9-2-6-5-2, a resolution authorizing the city

[16:57] manager to enter into an agreement with Northmont School District for the

[17:01] provision of school resource officer for the 2026-2027

[17:04] school year. >> Move for approval.

[17:06] » Second.

[17:09] » We have a motion to approve by Ms. Kelly with a second by Mr. Henning. Any

[17:14] discussion? Looks like we have the police chief here prepared to chat about

[17:18] it. If you'd like to say a few words, that'd be great.

[17:22] » Yeah, absolutely. Evening Council and evening Mayor. This is the routine MOU

[17:27] that gets issued every year with a new contract for the SRO.

[17:31] The amounts for employees go up and that's adjusted in

[17:36] here too for the school to reimburse the city of

[17:39] Clayton for the SRO's time. And then there's just other language

[17:43] just for the uniform billing, etc. So it's it's routine. We do it every

[17:47] year. >> May I form a motion?

[17:51] » Second. >> Okay.

[17:53] Thank you, Chief. Got a motion to approve by Ms. Kelly with a second by

[17:56] Mr. Henning. Any discussion? >> I see we have Northmont school president

[18:02] and superintendent. I'm sorry, I don't know your name. We haven't met yet.

[18:06] What's your last name? >> Hughes.

[18:07] » Superintendent Hughes here. I just would say, you know, thank you for

[18:12] collaborating with us and Englewood and Union and other entities for this

[18:16] program. Obviously, we would all say without a

[18:19] shadow of a doubt, student safety is very important to us and our our team

[18:24] and all the other neighboring municipalities do an amazing job. So,

[18:28] thank you.

[18:31] » All right, with regards to the motion, all in favor?

[18:34] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[18:36] Then the resolution passes. Next, we've got the visitor comments and

[18:42] I don't have a list.

[18:57] » Did the superintendent have anything he would like to say this evening to the

[19:00] council?

[19:10] » All right, what I'd like to do with the list is just go through it if you marked

[19:13] yes, I'll go through that and then I'll revisit the end to see if anybody who

[19:18] marked no has changed their mind and uh Ms. Linda Bloom, you're first on the

[19:22] list tonight.

[19:34] » Thank you. Um I'd like to introduce Mr. Eric Hughes

[19:38] as our new superintendent of schools at Northmont City Schools. He has hit the

[19:43] ground running. He's doing a great job and um the transition has been fairly

[19:49] smooth. Um Eric was an assistant principal years ago at the high school,

[19:54] so he was familiar with Northmont. His wife is a alum.

[19:59] » Turn that on. >> Sorry.

[20:01] You'd think I'd know how to do that. I know how to

[20:05] » Hit it except the bar. >> This one?

[20:06] » Yep, right there. >> Thank you.

[20:08] Um so he's very familiar with the community as a whole. Obviously, he will

[20:14] spend some time in doing his own introductions, but we want would like

[20:19] for all of you to put September 23rd at 6:30 p.m. on your calendars. It is

[20:28] the um community forum where we are going to begin our community

[20:33] conversations around um what to do with our facilities. Our number has come up

[20:39] again from the state and we if we um defer again, we might be we go to the

[20:47] bottom of the list this time, so it could be 10 to 20 years before we get an

[20:52] opportunity for the state to almost pay half of it. Um so we're starting the

[20:58] conversation to figure out where we're headed and what kind of buildings we're

[21:02] looking at and um I'm going to let Eric introduce himself and speak to that, but

[21:08] please put it on your calendars and come.

[21:12] At the middle school in the in the gym.

[21:17] Thank you. >> The register Harold had it all figured

[21:19] out this afternoon in the paper if you read that, Linda.

[21:21] » No, I didn't. I'll have to get a hold of that.

[21:24] Wonderful. >> You even made a headline on the front

[21:26] page. >> We did.

[21:28] Awesome. Eric. >> Hi, good evening. I'm Eric Hughes as Ms.

[21:32] Bloom said, I'm the new superintendent and very excited to be back at

[21:36] Northmont. It's been a great It was a great experience when I was here

[21:39] previously and it's because of the people that are here in the the

[21:42] community and the culture that we have. So, very excited to be back. As Ms.

[21:46] Bloom had stated, we did have we're we're looking at potentially phase two

[21:51] of our master facility plan. Phase one would have been the Kleps building in

[21:55] 2014 when it opened. Phase two was the high school and because of that, we're

[22:00] considered a segmented district where we're building schools periodically. So,

[22:05] the OFCC has come back to us since about 2020 and has said, "Hey, your number is

[22:09] up again. Would you like to go through this process?" It's never the right

[22:14] time, but what we are discussing is that if we pass,

[22:18] we're afraid it's going to be a very long time. So, what we're doing is

[22:21] trying to get the the community's involvement, get some feedback and

[22:25] information to make a an informed decision for the board to decide, "Do we

[22:29] want to move forward with this process or not?" We know

[22:33] bond levies are, you know, always no no one ever says, "Hey, I

[22:38] would love to pay more taxes." But, we do know that in order for new buildings

[22:42] to happen, there there would have to be a bond levy at some point. As Ms. Bloom

[22:47] said, about 50/50 split. The last time it was 53% locally funded, 47% state

[22:53] funded. That's what they're offering us again, is that same option.

[22:57] So, again, we are looking we're using the information we had on those

[23:00] facilities forums prior to COVID and then using this information to help make

[23:05] a decision about what we need to do. But yes, 6:30 September 23rd at the middle

[23:10] school gym. We're hoping to have a have a great

[23:13] turnout. I know Mr. Farmer and I are going to meet next week and that's one

[23:17] of the things I wanted to discuss with him as well so that we can

[23:20] we can work on partnering together. So, all right. Thank you.

[23:26] » I just wanted to add as you think and talk to people in the community about

[23:31] the possibilities of doing a project another segment of the project.

[23:37] Just remember safety concerns way back when when the buildings were built were

[23:44] much different than they are today. So today when you walk into when you're

[23:48] buzzed into the middle school, you're standing in a hallway and no one has no

[23:55] one's right there. So safety concerns have got to be first and foremost on our

[24:01] minds as we look forward to what we do next.

[24:04] » So that the middle school and all four elementaries,

[24:08] the office there's not a vestibule like there is in the collapse or the high

[24:11] school. So you open that door from the office, you can't see the person. They

[24:15] just come right on in. So it's not a a super safe and secure.

[24:20] We talk about being microphone I guess. We we talk about

[24:24] being equitable for all students. Um Our buildings have two stories. We don't

[24:29] have any elevators. So if a student has any wheelchair needs or unable to you

[24:35] know make this walk up and down the steps, you know it becomes um

[24:39] yeah, to me how how do you how do you provide that education to

[24:43] make sure it's equitable and they have the same access as other students too.

[24:47] So there's a lot that we're looking at curriculum wise. There's a lot we're

[24:50] looking at safety security and then trying to make sure that

[24:54] you know we have equitable education options for all of our kids. And then

[24:58] the one thing that we've been talking about is our newest building, I think

[25:01] Northmoor was opened in 1969.

[25:05] All of the buildings continue to have maintenance cost, upkeep cost. There is

[25:10] a cost of doing nothing, so we're trying to be mindful of what those expenses and

[25:14] those costs are as well.

[25:18] » So, come on the 23rd and be ready to be part of the conversation. Thank you.

[25:23] » Thank you. >> Thank you for speaking tonight.

[25:28] Uh look out here Mr. Ron Henderson.

[25:38] » Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Uh

[25:42] following that I I I that was beautiful what you guys recommended cuz

[25:46] my granddaughter just graduated from up there.

[25:49] Okay, but I have some uh issues that I want to bring to

[25:53] everybody's attention. I assume that everybody in this room lives in Clayton.

[25:57] Am I correct? Okay. And I moved to Clayton 26 years ago,

[26:02] okay? I left Trotwood because what I saw in

[26:07] Trotwood I'm starting to see a little bit in

[26:11] Clayton. Okay?

[26:13] The property business, okay? I'm starting to

[26:18] see the more and more I ride around

[26:22] grass uncut property

[26:25] property unkempt and it's not it it it's getting bad.

[26:31] It's to the point where I don't know if Vinebrook owns a lot of property in this

[26:36] area and they don't keep up with that

[26:38] property at all. Okay?

[26:41] I live on Delores Court up Hilltop and then you turn off Hilltop

[26:46] to Colleen and the custom built houses up there.

[26:49] Okay, and on Hilltop I think it's three Vinebrook

[26:53] houses. And I mean, it's terrible.

[26:57] I mean the property upkeep is terrible.

[27:01] You know, I talked to Randy and Darrell all the time. I I got to get them to

[27:04] come out there in order to make us make them do anything.

[27:08] You know, it's to the point where I don't think that I should have to do

[27:14] that, but that's how Clayton's getting. I mean,

[27:17] the businesses grass is overgrown. You turn up you go

[27:22] to the corners of the street and you try to look out

[27:26] the evergreens you you can't see in order to in order to pull out. You know,

[27:30] people need to stay stay up with their property.

[27:34] You know. And then the other part of it is the

[27:39] Frontier thing. I I I've got Frontier's number, three

[27:43] numbers. Okay, they came into the city and they tore up everything.

[27:48] You had to call them and tell them that you got kids playing. They got holes in

[27:52] the street bigger than this desk right here.

[27:55] And you got to tell them you need to put something orange around it where the

[27:57] kids won't fall in the holes. I mean, it I I

[28:01] that's ridiculous. I think that that's not I won't say it's your

[28:05] responsibility, but I think that uh the the council

[28:10] should know what's going on with Frontier.

[28:13] It's pathetic. It's flat out pathetic. They've dug up

[28:17] my yard and I had to tell them kept it undug for almost 2 months.

[28:22] It doesn't take too much to run fiber optics.

[28:26] You know, then they say they're going to put your property back like uh you had

[28:31] it. It's nowhere near.

[28:33] They put down grass seed and I have to tell them how to put down the grass

[28:36] seed, but they won't listen to me cuz I planted plenty of grasses. I've had

[28:40] about what? 30 or 40 trees cut out where I live at and I got beautiful

[28:45] grass now. You know, you you got to tell them

[28:48] they want to put down topsoil,

[28:52] throw the grass seed on top of the grass on top of the topsoil, and then put the

[28:57] the hay down. The seed's never going to get into the

[28:59] ground. You got to scratch the You got to scratch the ground in order to get

[29:04] seed to grow. You know, so they've been out there

[29:07] three times. And right now, I got a area two areas big as that closet door right

[29:12] there. Nothing's there.

[29:15] And with all the rain we got, man, we I should have grass busting up through

[29:19] that yard. You know.

[29:22] And Frontier, Vinebrook. And the other thing, when the people

[29:28] come out with the grass is grown, it's hard it's it's up to this table if not

[29:32] higher sometime. And when they cut it, it's all in the street.

[29:37] I think it should be my opinion it should be a citation for that.

[29:41] You know, you you I drove through a uh

[29:44] What was it? Last week. On Garber Road.

[29:49] I mean, there was so much grass in the street. All this is going to do is clog

[29:52] up the gutters. I mean, I know I mean the sewers.

[29:55] I mean, I I think it should be a citation for that when they just keep

[29:59] the grass in the street like that. You know, I don't know I don't know if

[30:03] you guys got any recommendations or what You know, I'm not I I know I'm

[30:07] complaining, but I'm just trying to make you know, our city more beautiful.

[30:11] That's all I'm doing. You know.

[30:20] Okay. All right, thank you.

[30:24] » Thank you. Appreciate that. >> Okay.

[30:31] » All right, uh Ms. Christina Neckerbocker.

[30:41] » Good evening, Council and Mayor. It's so nice to be here and thank you for

[30:45] everyone in the audience doing our part of civic engagement. I'm Christina

[30:49] Knickerbocker and I'm running for Congress against Mike Turner.

[30:52] And I'm an Air Force veteran and a nurse practitioner and a mom. I have a

[30:56] 2-year-old and a 5-year-old. And I have seen a lot in my patients in my

[31:02] community how they're living in a lot of struggle. They're not able to afford

[31:07] their prescriptions. Uh a lot of policies have inhibited them from

[31:12] getting the things that they need. And so I felt very convicted I needed to do

[31:16] something about it and make sure my kids have leadership that they can look up

[31:20] to. And so throughout my military career and my civilian career, I have learned

[31:25] we have to step up to the table in order to meet the need. And I think very much

[31:30] so we need someone willing to stand against the status quo and corruption

[31:34] with experience not only in our military, but also as someone that has

[31:39] been a public servant their entire life. And so as an officer in the United

[31:45] States Air Force, I took care of many veterans and their families and active

[31:49] duty members that often came home from war and are still living in the shadow

[31:54] of it without getting their needs met. And I take care of terminal cancer

[31:59] patients that are working so hard to fight their cancer, yet they may spend

[32:04] more time fighting to keep their insurance, to make sure their employer

[32:08] doesn't get rid of them, or potentially calling the hospital to try to get them

[32:12] to cover the treatment that costs thousands, tens of thousands of dollars.

[32:16] And so I think many of us have experiences like that where

[32:21] we simply can't meet the need and our systems are broken. And so because of

[32:26] that, we need someone to step in and identify that these policies are hurting

[32:30] people and we need them to become much more accessible to every person in our

[32:35] community. And in order to do that, we have to make sure policies

[32:41] um are really written in a way that legislators know how they actually

[32:46] impact our everyday lives. And I've seen that. I have seen how often times we

[32:51] have out-of-touch politicians writing policies that they cannot comprehend how

[32:57] they impact my patients. And how could we? But they also have to make sure

[33:01] they're listening to the experts. And I would consider my myself an expert after

[33:07] nearly 20 years in the healthcare sector, both in the military and in the

[33:10] civilian world. And I'm the one that takes care of the patient with Medicaid,

[33:15] Medicare, or private insurance. I may be the one that's calls their employer to

[33:20] say I need them to have accommodations off work. And yet the policies at the

[33:26] both the state and the federal level are keeping me from doing my job. And so I'm

[33:31] here to advocate for people not only in Clayton, but everyone in our district,

[33:36] as well as people across this uh country. And so I I hope every one of

[33:42] you are um encouraging your neighbors to look into the upcoming election. This is

[33:47] a very important year to hear from our neighbors and see, you know, how are you

[33:51] hurting? What can we do to fix it? Because I really do believe our status

[33:55] quo right now is not working, and we need leaders to come in with new ideas

[33:59] and fresh perspectives to really rebuild not only our community, but also our

[34:04] country. So, thank you for having me tonight.

[34:09] » Thank you, ma'am. Thank you for coming to Clayton and sharing tonight.

[34:11] Appreciate that. All right. Um

[34:16] Next person I got here, I'm afraid I might butcher your last name, Isaiah.

[34:20] Oh, what what what's your last name? Anyamu?

[34:25] And I'm afraid to say it twice, so >> [laughter]

[34:28] » please step up to the podium.

[34:35] » Good afternoon, everybody. Um

[34:38] I do not have much to say today. Um I would just like to come up here to just

[34:43] say thank you for first off. Um I want to thank you for uh Mr. Hughes

[34:48] and Ms. Linda for coming out here and expressing our community forum as

[34:53] they've also enlightened us as students, cuz I'm a junior at Northmont High

[34:57] School, um to get out there and support our

[35:00] city and the wonderful cities we have in this district. Um I also want to thank

[35:05] you for Mr. Paul, uh chief of police, um for

[35:09] on here it was the the school resource officer um safety concerns as we talked

[35:15] about earlier are very important in the lives of our students. Um so I just

[35:21] wanted to say thank you for that and what we assessed um regarding that.

[35:26] Um Ms. Knickerbocker also did a good job at talking about civic engagement as

[35:31] this goes out towards Mr. Hughes. We have great teachers at our school um Mr.

[35:36] Kinc Kincade included who encourage us to get out in our community and I am a

[35:42] resident of Union, but encourage us to get out to our community just to be able

[35:46] to understand what's going on and what's relating around us. So I just want to

[35:49] say thank you to him and thank you to Mr. Kincade as well just for allowing us

[35:54] to get that opportunity. Um

[35:58] yeah, I hope to see many of you guys more um in the future. I plan to work

[36:03] with Mr. Hughes if that is allowed for um

[36:07] taking the position for succeeding Kareem Shahady as student

[36:12] board representative. So I just want to thank everybody for your time and I um

[36:17] have a great afternoon. That's all. Thank you.

[36:20] » All right, thank you. Thanks for coming out.

[36:23] All right, uh last but not least, Mr. Earl Harmon.

[36:38] » Yes, it's time. Sunday

[36:44] fireworks going to happen 4:30

[36:49] for the volunteers to help Colin get the outside ready. I'll be working in the

[36:55] basement doing hot dogs, getting them ready.

[36:58] Uh so far we got Kroger's donated all the

[37:02] hot dogs and Myers has given us all the water and uh

[37:05] uh Miss Tina over there has given us all the uh

[37:09] silver pieces to wrap the hot dogs in. So, uh we're rocking and rolling pretty

[37:14] good. Uh and what I would like to have I got a

[37:18] young man back here who's going to help us set the outside up. And you as

[37:22] officials, I want you up where you can be seen. I don't need you in the

[37:26] kitchen. You got people you need to talk to out

[37:30] here in the crowd, so you talk to them. We'll take care of the other stuff.

[37:34] My ladies and I will be working in the kitchen out of sight, but uh we're here

[37:39] we're here for you. And just remember there's no chairs this year. You got to

[37:43] bring a chair if you want to sit down. Uh Mr. Willie Williams will be there uh

[37:50] up on the platform at 7:00. He's going to spin records and teach you how to

[37:54] line dance if you want to dance. So, that'll go on until 9:00. 9:00 is

[38:00] when the actual fireworks go. We'll have hot dogs ready by 7:00 and

[38:05] because we're going to start at 4: 30. We'll have hot dogs ready to go at 7:00.

[38:11] Uh hot dogs are free, water's free.

[38:15] Everything that we're trying to do is to present Clayton

[38:20] as a great town to live, and enjoy and have fun.

[38:26] And it is a great town. That's Sunday, yes.

[38:30] It starts on Sunday. And just like to have everybody come and

[38:35] enjoy yourself. Beautiful fireworks. And of course you

[38:39] get a get a nice hot dog along with it. So, anyhow,

[38:44] I just wish everybody could come. So, thank you very much. And like I say, I

[38:49] want you guys up up top. Don't come down to kitchen. You'll be

[38:53] down there cuz you won't be recognized. We all know you.

[38:57] » Well, I might come down see what you're doing with those hot dogs for 2 and 1/2

[39:00] hours, Earl.

[39:03] I mean, maybe I'll bring the chief with me, too, cuz that's

[39:06] » Yeah, I'll need him. I need him. But,

[39:09] I say we'll my group will take care of downstairs. I

[39:14] I need you out there to see the people and meet the people and things like

[39:18] that. So, anyhow, and heck, come and big smiles on your face and have fun. Cuz if

[39:23] you don't have fun, I don't need you.

[39:27] Please, come come with a smile. Thank you.

[39:32] » All right, thank you, Earl. I know I'm looking forward to that.

[39:36] Last call for anyone who would like to speak, but didn't sign up.

[39:40] Anyone? Any takers? All right. Well, with that, we'll move

[39:45] on to the city manager's report. >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. So, to

[39:51] follow up with Earl's Sunday Labor Day Festival and Fireworks, the city offices

[39:57] will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday, September 7th, and trash

[40:01] will be delayed for all routes, one day throughout the week.

[40:08] I wanted to let you know that the 2025 audited financial report has been

[40:13] completed. It is is on the city's website for public review. So, you can

[40:18] go out there and check that out. An update on the State Route 48 Road and

[40:24] Sidewalk Project, it's uh been pushed back a little bit due to the rain. So,

[40:29] they are expected to begin working September 14th. However, once we do

[40:35] solidify that date, we will get that out to you as well as post on our media

[40:40] outlets.

[40:43] The also the Westbrook Oak Road intersection

[40:48] safety project, uh project fact sheets and frequently asked questions regarding

[40:53] this proposed safety improvement on these roads uh were mailed out to

[40:57] residence residences and businesses in that area.

[41:01] The materials outlined proposed uh single-lane roundabout, anticipated

[41:05] traffic, and right-of-way impacts, project schedule, funding, and

[41:09] opportunities for public comment. So, copies of uh the documents can also be

[41:14] found on our website. And this is looking out cuz construction is not set

[41:19] to begin until October of 2028.

[41:23] Um that is all I have for you this evening unless you all have any

[41:27] questions for me. >> I have a question. Um

[41:31] on Haber and National, it was grass and now it is all dug back

[41:37] up. And I'm wondering about that.

[41:40] Additionally, there is a large hole um on Haber Road. Yes, it has one orange

[41:48] traffic cone in front of it, but it is as deep as the pipes.

[41:52] So, if somebody falls in there, it's going to be a significant injury. Um

[41:57] and it's been open for a couple of days now.

[42:02] Sure why they've they've dug it all back up, but um they've dug up the whole

[42:06] property again. So.

[42:11] » I don't want to misspeak. I do know I've read something of what they are

[42:14] installing, but again, I do not want to miss speak,

[42:17] but I will look up on that and again address the large hole on Haber.

[42:26] Any other >> questions? Um

[42:29] Your report mentioned the community reinvestment area, the CRA, along 49.

[42:34] And I wanted to ask council members if they needed any additional information

[42:39] on that before we gave Elaine the go ahead to go forward on that. I think

[42:44] that'd be a great asset along that corridor to encourage some commercial

[42:48] business, and I sort of like to get on with that if we could.

[42:52] » Thank you for bringing that >> any pushback?

[42:54] So, Elaine, go ahead and and take the next steps that we need to to do that.

[42:58] » Thank you very much.

[43:05] » Uh anything else? City manager, is that it?

[43:09] I guess so. Is that Is that all? >> That is all I had, yes. Thank you.

[43:12] » Thank you. All right, we're to our council and

[43:15] mayor comments. Mr. York, would you mind starting us out tonight?

[43:21] » Uh sure, yeah. Um

[43:23] just want to say uh everyone stay safe with the heat that we have out there.

[43:27] And then and then also I hope to see everyone

[43:31] this Sunday at the 4th of July festivities.

[43:33] » Nope. >> Sorry. Labor Day. Labor Day. I associate

[43:37] I associate fireworks with 4th of July. Sorry.

[43:40] Um And then also wanted to make a comment

[43:43] on the mosquito spraying. Um there was also, I believe, at the Ward

[43:48] Field uh West Nile virus also detected, so it is getting around the area. So, um

[43:54] like I said, everyone just stay safe out there. Thank you.

[43:58] » Uh thank you, Ms. Kelly. >> Good evening. I wanted to congratulate

[44:03] and welcome Mr. Hughes to North Mont City Schools, and I've heard that not

[44:09] only tonight, but from Tony Thomas and his family and the Walkers that he is up

[44:15] and running, literally, and has um we're excited to have you, and I'm

[44:21] excited to work with you in this community.

[44:24] Also, too, I think it's very refreshing for the first time ever have I heard a

[44:29] student, after 14 years, from Mr. Kincaid's room come up and actually

[44:34] speak. You did a wonderful job. I appreciate

[44:38] that so much, and I hope you come back and engage yourself, because

[44:45] you're our future. So, congratulations for getting up

[44:49] there. I've never seen that happen. Other than that, everyone come out. This

[44:53] is the best event of the year, in my opinion, besides breakfast with Santa,

[44:58] of course, but this is such an exciting event. I've never seen better fireworks,

[45:04] and I've been everywhere. Uh EBN fireworks are nothing compared to the

[45:09] city of Clayton. So, we have a great time. We're looking forward to having

[45:13] everyone. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, uh Ms. McDowell.

[45:18] » Good evening. Thank you for coming out tonight. Have a

[45:22] safe Labor Day, and see you at the fireworks, of course. Stay hydrated.

[45:28] Stay sprayed up. Uh remember to stay connected with your

[45:31] neighbors to help maintain the safety of our community. And thank you, as well,

[45:36] Superintendent Mr. Hughes, the student, and all of you brave people got up and

[45:41] spoke, and you, as well, good luck, Ms. Christine.

[45:46] Lock her up.

[45:49] » All right. Thank you, uh Mr. Gorman. >> [clears throat]

[45:53] » Yes, Mayor, I'd like to thank everyone for coming, and uh wish you all a happy

[45:57] uh Labor Day coming up, and hope to see you all at the um fireworks on Sunday

[46:02] night. And I heard that um Myers donated the Coke.

[46:07] And and Kroger's donated something. Did Did anyone happen to donate the beer?

[46:13] » [laughter] >> You did, Mr. Gorman. You did.

[46:19] No, but it was but the bar will be open. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. And everybody

[46:23] have a nice Labor Day.

[46:26] » All right. Thank you, Mr. Gorman. Mr. Henning?

[46:28] » Uh just a few things. Mr. Hughes and Ms.

[46:31] Bloom, thank you for coming here tonight.

[46:34] We had a conversation last or 2 weeks ago with

[46:40] Fire Chief Garver about another building that we own that was built in 1969

[46:46] that is absolutely inadequate for our fire department, and we are exploring

[46:51] what we can do to make that also better for them.

[46:55] Um these buildings are

[46:58] these buildings' life spans have just exceeded by tens of years, and

[47:05] it's just as you said, the safety component is not there, but then also

[47:10] the productivity and everything else is just

[47:13] not what it should be in 2026. So, we are as a council exploring how we can

[47:18] also improve the building up front that is the main

[47:22] fire department building. Um same year as Northmoor. So, I look forward to the

[47:27] September 23rd meeting at the middle school at 6:30 p.m. And I will be there.

[47:33] Also wanted to thank the bus drivers for last week and this week with

[47:36] transportation. I have a little one that's on the buses. It is hot, but

[47:40] they're doing a tremendous job getting everyone to where they need to be and on

[47:44] time. So, uh to the Northmont students and CTC students, we hope you have a

[47:50] great school year. Uh Mr. Henderson, thank you for coming tonight. Um I don't

[47:55] know if you caught our last meeting or not, but earlier in the meeting we

[48:00] approved um council work session minutes from our August 20th meeting that went

[48:05] over a presentation by Colin, who's our development director, in regards to

[48:11] civil penalty enforcements dealing with nuisance property maintenance and

[48:16] unpermitted business occupancy enforcement. Uh, this is something that

[48:21] council as a whole, all of us up here and the law director and city manager

[48:25] are really trying to be proactive with because everything you said tonight is

[48:30] something we hear from yourself and others all the time.

[48:34] Um, and as we passed tonight um the emergencies

[48:39] for grass cutting and other things that also go unpaid and which is an impact to

[48:43] our budget. So, thank you for bringing that up. We will look for um future

[48:48] presentations for this. And if you have a chance, it's on YouTube, you can

[48:52] review um that meeting and if you have any ideas more than what were presented

[48:57] to us, please let us know because we are trying to be as proactive as we can with

[49:03] um having these enforcements done. And

[49:07] finally, this is something that I know we all um

[49:11] also just agree and send out our prayers to the student um and individual who was

[49:18] struck on 49 um and also prayers to another uh family

[49:24] member of the Newburg family who is just such a part of our Northmont community.

[49:30] Um, to these two individuals um and families, we just want you to know that

[49:35] we're thinking of you, we're praying for you uh during this extremely tough time.

[49:39] So, that's all I have. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Ms. Bustos.

[49:45] » Good evening. Thank you all for coming out. Um, superintendent, it is I look

[49:49] forward to working with you. Um

[49:53] the young man that came up here and spoke, you were very eloquent. The

[49:57] definitely the first one I've seen as well, and I hope you come again. Uh Mr.

[50:02] Henderson, I share your feelings. Um and we are working on it. We've been talking

[50:08] about it a lot. We have passed an ordinance to at least get

[50:12] um utility vehicles or utility trailers and things off being parked on the

[50:16] street full of junk, and we are working um Sometimes it takes a little bit, but

[50:22] we are working to try to get things cleaned up because we all agree that

[50:27] um a nice-looking city benefits all of us. So, thank you for coming tonight.

[50:48] » I'm starting to see vehicles parked in grass like we're in Hillbilly's

[50:52] Hillbilly >> [laughter]

[50:53] » Billy central, you know what I mean? It's it's getting crazy, you know. I'm

[50:57] starting to see that a lot, too. You know.

[51:01] » And I will tell you that part of the meeting we had uh last our last session,

[51:06] we did talk about yard parking, and that is something that we're looking at right

[51:11] now. >> Okay, thank you.

[51:12] » Yeah. >> And hopefully we can get the holes

[51:14] filled where it won't you won't find kids in the holes where

[51:18] Frontier is not doing what they need to be doing, too, so you know, that's

[51:22] that's a big concern of mine. >> Yes.

[51:24] » got kids playing. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[51:27] And I hope I see everybody Sunday night. I will be at the fireworks as well, and

[51:32] I don't know what I'm going to be doing there yet, but I'll be there. Thank you.

[51:37] » All right, thank you. I just like to start my comments and

[51:41] join in. Obviously, I go last, so any thunder I might have usually gets

[51:45] stolen, which is fine with me. Do you want to Mr. Hughes, welcome to

[51:49] Northmont. Look forward to meeting with you after Labor Day to talk about

[51:53] Clayton and the school system and see what we can do.

[51:56] Isaiah, thanks for coming out and and speaking.

[52:00] Feel free to bring some friends with you next time.

[52:03] Welcome all kinds of engagement with uh with our our young citizens

[52:08] get their perspective and know what's important to them.

[52:12] Um I did in talking with Mr. Knickerbocker

[52:15] earlier before the meeting, she reminded me about cycling, how much I enjoy that

[52:20] and miss it because of just being pulled away from it. But because of the

[52:25] accident over on on 49, just please be careful about where you choose to ride.

[52:30] Uh if you have to take some back roads and takes you longer, but it's less

[52:34] traveled by vehicles, I I'd encourage you to do that. Uh just just for

[52:39] safety's sake. It's sometimes it's just not worth trying to be expedient, you

[52:43] know, if if your life could be at risk. Um

[52:50] I think last Mr. Anderson is what I'm joining in with Mr. Henning. Thanks for

[52:54] bringing up those comments and I do hope you find what you're looking for in the

[52:58] meeting that we the work session we had on trying to address that. And so that

[53:02] is on our minds. And uh

[53:07] as as Earl said, look forward to seeing all of you out for fireworks this Labor

[53:11] Day weekend. Should be a great time. Um great opportunity for our community

[53:16] involvement and getting to know your neighbors. So I encourage you to come

[53:19] out for that. Are there any last comments from

[53:22] council? >> I'll move for adjournment.

[53:27] » Second. >> We have a motion to adjourn by Mr.

[53:30] Gorman with a second by Mr. Henning. Any knows?

[53:34] And make

City of Clayton Council Meeting - September 3, 2026

Transcript