>> I have this at six o'clock, and we'll call this meeting to order.
if able, if you would stand and join me in a moment of silence.
at this time, we have several guests with
our public safety department here. Let's recognize them.
hello. At this time,
I want to do the pledge of allegiance, but I'd like for all of our public safety individuals lead us in
the pledge, please. In unison.
thank you. To start our meeting today.
I do have a proclamation or patriots day.
whereas on september 11th, 2001, our nation experienced an unprecedented tragedy when terrorists carried out attacks that
claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people and caused immense destruction.
whereas the bravery and sacrifice of the first responders emergency personnel,
and ordinary citizens who risked their lives to help others in the face of
this calamity exemplifies the enduring spirit of american resilience and solidarity.
whereas patriot day is a time to honor and remember the lives lost and to pay
tribute to the strength of the survivors and the ongoing efforts of those who work to prevent future tragedies,
and whereas the values of courage, unity,
compassion that emerge from this tragedy continue to
inspire us to build a stronger and more resilient nation.
whereas the national day of service and remembrance is
an opportunity to engage in acts of service and volunteerism,
to honor those affected by the attacks and to strengthen our communities through collective action.
now, therefore, I mike mcquiston, mayor of the city of decatur,
do hereby proclaim wednesday, september 11th,
2024, as patriot day and national day of service and remembrance.
thank you to all those.
we appreciate our first responders.
item 1. This is a public hearing item. We will open this public hearing at 6:03.
this is to conduct public hearing and receive comments regarding fiscal year 2024 and 2025
and that on tax rate of 0.57751.
>> good evening, mayor and counsel. No changes since you first heard the tax rate.
just a reminder your advalor rate is split with 0.399127 being dedicated to maintenance and operation tax,
and then 0.178424, being dedicated to interest in sinking,
also called the debt fund. Happy to answer questions from the council.
>> all right. Any questions from counsel? Do you have anyone signed up for comment on this item?
>> no, sir. We don't. >> we'll stand for a motion.
>> mayor. >> yes, sir. This is just your public hearing.
>> thank you, city manager. >> your action comes on item number 6.
>> all right. We will close this item at 6:05.
item 2, we will open up at 6:05.
conduct a public hearing to consider public comments regarding the creation of
the meadow-brook pid and act upon a resolution creating the meadow creek public improvement district.
>> mayor, in similar fashion, your action for this item will come on number 7 in the form of a resolution.
>> thank you, sir. >> item 2 is simply public hearing for those who wish to speak for against the meadow creek public improvement district.
>> any comments from counsel? Questions? Do have any signed up?
>> no, sir. We don't. >> all right. We will close item 2 at 6:05.
item 3, at public hearing, opening that up at 6:05.
consider first reading of an ordinance and a public hearing
giving all interested persons the right to appear and be heard on the amendment to
appendix b zoning of the code of ordinance as the city decatur to grant
specific use permit to allow the veterinarian clinic door pens only.
>> mr. Mayor, this is a request on dr. Joe abel's behalf of wise associates lp to
grant a specific use permit to allow vet clinic with indoor pens only in a ceo that's an office business zoning district.
it's approximately 0.76 acres of land being legally described as jb williams survey abstract 880 wise county,
texas, and more commonly known as 1,600 west us highway 380 business.
this is in substantial compliance with the sup requirements.
staff is recommended approval of sup 2024-07,
planning and zoning commission, recommended approval, 5-0 with chairman lamond and commissioner absent.
there is a site plan and a floor plan that is included.
there's the site plans with the existing land use,
I'm sorry, I've lost that one. Services and light industry,
and then the property of interest is zoned as commercial office and there was the notification of property owners within 200 feet.
there were 16 property owners notified and we did not receive any responses.
next slide is the site plan and floor plan for this property.
for the time being, dr. Abel's plans to occupy business suite a,
which is on the north side of the building, and we'll later move into the other part,
but the sup is for the entire property. That is all we have.
>> thank you, wayne. Any questions or comments from counsel?
do we have anyone signed up for this item?
>> no, sir. We don't. >> all right. Anything else from the city?
>> no. >> very good. Then we will close that item at 6:08.
we'll open up item 4 at 6:08.
this is considered the first reading of an ordinance and a public hearing giving all interested persons the right to appear and be heard on
the amendment to rezone approximately 0.4541 acres of land.
this is ordinance 24-09-28.
>> mr. Mayor, this is a request from rick de falco on behalf of oscar fonseca,
to amend the zoning map from c-2 thoroughfare business zoning district
to single family to residential zoning district.
this is 0.6 acres of land generally located from the center line of old chico road,
and 0.541 acres of land located at the 1102 through 1202 old chico addresses.
the applicant is requesting the zoning change from c-2 to sf-2 for the purpose of building three single family residences at that location.
this is one of those enclaves that was from the original zoning map was still zoned as a c-2 commercial district.
however, it's been used as residential for many years and so all we're doing is putting it back
into a c-2 or its sf-2 zoning district for the use as residential.
it does meet the comprehensive plan objectives with the compact neighborhood,
that is the existing land use that is already for that property,
which supports a variety of housing types,
including small family, single family, detached and patio homes with small commercial businesses also.
the zoning maps that are attached to this shows the existing land use,
which is compact neighborhood. The existing zoning, which is c-2 and the proposed zoning,
which is sf-2 and that you can see that all around that is sf-2
zoning so it's very complimentary to that area.
there were 12 property owners that were notified for this.
we did not receive any responses for this. Planning and zoning commission recommended approval
5-0 with chairman lamond and commissioner absent,
and staff does recommend approval of zone change 2024-05.
>> thank you, wayne. Counsel, any questions, comments?
do you have any one signed up for this? >> no, we don't. >> all right. Any other report from the city? Very good.
we will then close this item at 6:11,
and that will get us to our non public hearing item actions items.
item 5, consider second reading of an ordinance of the city decatur, texas and take appropriate action to adopt
a budget for the fiscal year beginning october 1st, 2024 and ending september 30th, 2025.
>> mayor and counsel, no changes to the budget as presented during your last two council meetings.
the full budget can be detailed starting on page 1 through
7 by department by line and then there's also an explanation of the tax,
which supports it next in item 6. Happy to answer any questions about the budget.
this is an item 4 action consideration, and it will require a record vote, mayor.
>> very good. Thank you. Counsel, any questions or comments?
>> no, but I'll make a motion if you would have one. >> I would love a motion.
>> move to approve ordinance 2024-09-23.
>> second. >> all right. Any further discussion on that motion?
if we would, we'll just start at this end of the table and let's say you on the motion?
>> aye. >> aye. >> aye.
>> aye. >> that is unanimous. Thank you.
item 6, consider second reading of an ordinance of the city of decatur,
texas and take appropriate action to approve the 2024 certified appraisal role,
leving an advom tax for 2024 at 0.57755 per $100 assessed valuation.
>> mayor, the only thing I would add is you just completed the requirement for public hearing on this item.
this is your second reading of the ordinance. You take action tonight to approve it.
this item also requires a record vote. >> very well. Any questions from counsel?
>> no. I'll make a motion to approve ordinance 2024-09-24.
>> second. >> you've got a second. Any further discussion on this item?
we'll start again, at this end of the table. >> aye. >> aye.
>> aye. >> aye. >> aye. >> that passes. Thank you, everybody.
item 7, consider and take appropriate action on a resolution of the city of decatur texas authorizing creating meadow creek public improvement district.
>> is bob dransfeld online?
>> hi, this is jordan sawyer and I am here as well. >> hi, welcome.
>> hi. Thank you so much. >> can we hear who this is?
>> this is jordan. Go ahead jordan. >> yes. This is jordan sawyer on the city's bond, counsel.
we have prepared this resolution. I lost my voice this weekend so I'm sorry I'm speaking here.
we have prepare this resolution that's based on the petition to create the mato public improvement district that was filed by the landowner.
we're here to answer any questions should there be any,
but this is the resolution that the public hearing was held for earlier.
>> all right. Does anyone on counsel have any questions or comments?
we have no questions or comments.
>> I'll make a motion to approve resolution r2024-08-18.
>> so we have a motion or second. Any further discussion on that motion?
all those in favor of that motion, say aye. >> aye. >> oppose, same sign.
and that passes. Thank you. Item 8, consider first reading of an ordinance of the city of decatur, texas,
to repeal and replace ordinance 2024-03-07, amending and adopting a new schedule of fees.
this is ordinance 2024-09-26. >> mayor, and council, this is the first reading of
your ordinance for consideration tonight. You're probably very familiar that oftentimes we adjust our fees as needed,
depending on what's happening in the market. Fees are coming online, fees are going offline.
law changes or local ordinance change depict when and how we do these things.
tonight, I'm going to speak to you from pages 53-71 of your packet.
I just want to hit the high points here. You're looking at the sheet that has
highlighted areas that will call your attention to the various items. We're adding a storable swimming pool permit for
those pools that are higher than 18 inches in water depth.
the reason we're doing that is because the in ground swimming pool permit is $300.
it's not feasible to ask a person who just has a temporary pool to pay $300 for a pool permit,
so adding the simple $50 fee covers that item. Moving on to get into donation bins.
we changed that to a very clear annual donation bin permit for $40 per location.
I would say that in event a nonprofit organizes that or a church or a school,
there would be a consideration and staff would be allowed to make the consideration to waive that fee if it was appropriate.
but that cleans that item up, making it an annual fee. Moving on into restaurants,
mobile foods, and community farmers markets. Working with wayne and his team in the health department,
they went through the process of determining the 3% cpi being applied to these fees.
each of those fees, I just mentioned, restaurant, mobile food,
and community farmers market items along with food establishment plan review,
all received a 3% cpi to their total cost.
then if the last item is related to parks.
we snuck that one in there. Apologies. Thank you, greg.
we added this. Greg and I both missed it, small clerical error.
you should have a one loose item at your das seat that basically we're just taking fees
away and giving it a combined fee for a court or pavilion reservation,
is $20 per hour. Instead of having numerous different fees and means to collect those fees,
we just streamlined it into one fee. Very simple. And just a reminder, this is first reading.
happy to provide any more clarity or bring additional clarity at your next meeting.
>> thank you, sir. Any questions or comments from council?
well, let's move on to item 9. Consider and take appropriate action to approve
an easement and maintenance agreement with industrial diesel.
>> mayor and council, item 9 is a simple easement to allow
the city access to a water line that was previously dedicated to the city.
this will help two different projects in the industrial park. It's a simple document.
it is attached in your binder starting on page 72, and you may approve this by action of your choice tonight.
vary has approved it on our side. >> council, any questions or comments regarding this item? Look for a motion.
>> mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve an easement and maintenance agreement with industrial diesel for an eight inch water line.
>> very good. We have a motion?
I have a second. Any further discussion on this motion?
all those in favor say aye. >> aye. >> oppose same sign.
that passes. Thank you. Item 10, consider and take action to approve
a parking lot use agreement between emmanuel baptist church, wise county and the city of decatur.
>> mayor and council, this is an unusual but interesting item for us to deal with.
it's a perfect example of public private partnership.
as we all know, parking around our historic downtown can be a bit problematic at times.
we recognize that, our partners in the county recognize that,
and our friends at emmanuel baptist church also recognize that. They have a piece of property that's otherwise unimproved.
folks park on it at will anyways. The intent of this agreement is for us to provide the materials to surface that space,
and the county would assist with equipment in laying down those materials to create a smooth asphalt parking spot.
then the churches lift on the back end, they are removing an old fuel tank that is going to have to be removed at some point.
they're going to pay the cost to remove that fuel tank and then allow us to have this agreement for eight years,
that it can be used as a public parking spot throughout the week and on the weekends.
it would benefit the wise county court annex, which is right across the street.
and then obviously, emmanuel would have an improved parking space for increased attendance at their various functions throughout the week at the church.
so just to be clear, we are asking for permission to invest $66,000
in asphalt and paving materials as our contribution to this eight year agreement.
if you approve us to enter into this agreement, the church will then proceed with executing
a contract to remove the fuel tank that's existing on site, and then the county, their part would be
providing the labor and the equipment to actually do the paving. I'm happy to answer questions.
this is in your packet in a little more detail, starting on page 83,
and there's an image on page 87 just to get you familiar geographically with where this is in the city.
it sets it at the corner of west main and lane street.
and that is an estimated cost based on the scope of work we've identified.
>> very good. Any questions or comments from council? >> yes, I have a question.
what happens at the end of eight years? Is this renewable or are we leasing
or what's the thought process or has that even been discussed?
>> great question. Talking to the leadership of the church, and I'm not sure if there's any folks from the church here or not tonight.
but in communicating this deal with the church, we ask if it would be unreasonable to ask for renewal at the end of the eight years.
they didn't feel like it would be unreasonable to ask and felt like it would be an okay renewal process for us.
the eight year term was decided on because we felt that we could get our $66,000 investment back over the course of eight years.
and it would also give the church time to identify any of their own capital projects if they needed to improve any space around there.
they would know future land purpose at the eight year point. I'm not sure if I directly answered your question, but yes,
I think there would be an opportunity to renew that relationship and that contract at the eight year mark.
good question. Very good. >> other questions? Look for a motion?
>> I will make a motion to approve an agreement between emmanuel baptist church,
wise county, and the city of decatur, and authorize a city manager to sign the contract.
>> second. >> so we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion on that motion?
all of those in favor of that motion say aye. >> aye. >> oppose same sign.
that passes. Item 11, is a discussion regarding naming and renaming of roadways.
this was asked by council person reeves. >> yes, sir. I'll start out the discussion.
I asked to put this on the agenda because we've all attended board meetings and council meetings,
and we appreciate our public coming forward and speaking to us,
but we sit up here and we cannot answer. And so this has come before us for at least a month now,
and I wanted a chance to respond to the constituents that were asking for this.
I feel very strongly that a lot of the problems in our world today are partisan politics.
I'm very proud that we are a bipartisan council, and I feel strongly that we should stay that way and
not do anything that would influence anything politically one way or the other.
and so I really think that we should not be making that decision.
I think that it should be something that the citizens of decatur make.
but I think I need to know that there are enough citizens that
want to do this before I would be comfortable asking for it to be voted on.
I don't know if we want to do that in perhaps a petition with people that live
within our city limits telling us if they want it or not.
I know I personally got phone calls and it was just 50/50 with what I got.
I don't feel like I could make a vote based on that, and I really don't want to even start getting into
bipartisan politics as our city council.
so that's what I wanted to say. >> well, I totally agree with the concept of municipalities not get into politics.
and I would leave it at that. I would feel that as a governing body,
we should not even get into the concept of whether we should or shouldn't name it through a petition or what have you.
I think we should continue to remain as a non partisan entity, period.
>> I've lived here for 31 years. And one of the things I've always looked at is that our council represents everybody.
every single person that lives in the city, every person that pays taxes.
I also try to look at the people that live outside the city that use our city every day.
but when melinda and I were elected,
we represent every single person. We don't represent one district,
one area, we represent everybody. And it doesn't matter which way they vote when I hear someone tell me
that we're a certain percent conservative, I represent everybody.
I represent everybody in what we're trying to do best for our city to grow and to move forward as a city.
we've got a lot of things on our plate every day. I made a comment to somebody the other day.
I said, if we had 10 days in a week, nate still wouldn't get finished with his work.
that is how much is going on every single day. We have developers, we have people trying to improve our city.
and this is in my mind, not something that needs to be on our table right now.
we're trying to take care of the citizens that are here. As I look back and I look at things that have been named in our city.
it is people that have committed their lives to our city.
it's educators. It's people that have committed money. You look at the parks.
every one of those parks are named after somebody that donated land, that donated money.
and that's the way we've always done it. And I just look at it that I don't want to get into politics.
at no point do politics have anything to do with this up here. We have always agreed to disagree,
and find a way through whatever it is we're working on.
at the end of the day, we figure out a way to make it happen and what we think is best for
our community. I guess that's about it.
>> very good. >> well said, sir. >> I think that's well said, eddie and to touch on what you said and what melinda said.
I've gone back and forth on this issue over the last couple of weeks several times.
I probably shouldn't say my politics. I support what these folks are trying to do as far as that side of the aisle, yes.
however, I'm 100% with eddie on we've always
named streets after local contributors to our city.
I almost think it'd be a slap in the face for that road to be named after anybody other than fabio labrada.
eddie has been touched by him. The guy takes 90-100 trips per year to
houston to md anderson free of charge for anybody in airplane.
took eddie's son this last year, I don't know how many times, for free, free of charge.
and he owns fbo out there and if we were going to name it anything other than him,
I think it'd be a slap in the face to him. He actually probably wouldn't let us name it after him knowing the guy.
I personally think we should stay local who we're naming streets,
if we have to name streets. I agree the citizens should be able to vote,
but I think we would have to see a large petition of
decatur residents before I could vote to put it on a ballot.
that's what I would say. >> any other comments? I think
that's not on this agenda at this point.
I think I would want to echo one other thing is,
I think this is from council. I do appreciate the enthusiasm of the body in communicating to us.
and I do appreciate everybody on council's communication at the dias tonight.
thank you. [background]
we'll have a public session shortly, sir.
item 12, consider and take appropriate action on a request by keeping decatur beautiful to waive
garage sale fees and permit processes for a citywide garage sale on october 12th, 2024.
>> mayor, and council, this request, it came to me via
keep decatur beautiful and thinking through a larger citywide effort for an event,
they're calling declutter decatur, which will be october 19th,
in which we will provide the opportunity for rollofs to be here.
confidential papers can be shredded. Cooking oils and fats can be recycled.
it's various things that can be dropped off here at city hall.
but as a primer to that, the weekend before, which will be the weekend of october 12,
we're asking the council if you're okay with us waiving the garage sale fees and processes for that weekend to allow for a citywide garage sale.
something that keep decatur beautiful is willing to advertise for. They should receive all the credit for these ideas.
I'm just here making the requests on their behalf. We estimate it to be somewhere around $500-100
if you have a large amount of participation that we would be waiving the fees on.
I'm happy to answer other questions. There's also a flier on page 92 of
your packet that talks about the declutter decatur event.
>> very good. Any questions or comments from council?
well, I would say I really appreciate the declutter decatur group.
that's very forward of them.
>> look for a motion. >> go motion, mr. Mayor.
I move that we approve a request by decatur beautiful to waive
the garage sale fees and permits processes for a citywide garage sale on october 12th, 2024.
>> thank you, miss reeves. >> second. >> we have a second. Any further discussion on that motion?
all those in favor. Say aye. >> aye. >> oppose, same sign.
that passes. Item 13. Consider and take appropriate action regarding revisions of
the city of decatur personnel policies regarding merit pay and public safety step plan.
>> mayor and council, if you will recall in last year's budget, this group agreed to fund a public safety step program.
this year the need is to step forward those officers and firefighters that need to step in through the process,
so we're asking to create a public safety step policy.
also by your actions on items 5 and 6 tonight, you approved the merit pay program for all of those folks in the city
that are not public safety officers for them to receive some form of merit program.
we need policies to ensure that there's consistency with both the step and merit program.
>> yes. >> there's a clear path for both programs. I worked with the chiefs and hr to get us to both of these drafts.
they are available in your packet, starting on page 93. They are drafts at the moment,
unless you have comments or corrections, I would ask that you offer a motion to approve them.
>> any questions or comments from counsel? Look for a motion?
>> mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion for
the revisions to the city of decatur personnel policies regarding merit pay and public safety step plan.
>> second. >> motion to approve? >> yes, ma'am. I moved to approve.
do I need to repeat it again? >> we have a motion and a second.
any further discussion on that motion? All those in favor, say aye.
>> aye. >> oppose same sign. That passes. Thank you.
>> thank you, mayor, counsel. >> item 14, is there consent agenda, and we'll look for a motion.
>> I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda as written. >> so we have a motion?
>> second. >> a second. Any further discussion on that motion?
all those in favor say aye. >> aye. >> opposed, same sign. That passes. Thank you.
item 15, is our counsel to hear public input. Do we have anyone signed up?
>> yes, sir. We have mr. Scott robertson.
>> when you get to the podium if you just state your name and your address, please.
>> scott robertson. I live in alvord 116 cody cave lane.
I'll bet you don't know why I'm up here to talk about. I just wanted to lend support to the motion to rename airport bridgeport to trump way.
I think the reasons for it outweigh the reasons not to.
in my mind, president trump is about the economy, about economics, renaming the road to trump way,
I think would open the door to a lot of economic development to decatur,
would bring a lot of unprecedented media attention to
decatur and possibly who knows a lot of funding for decatur.
I think that the reasons to have the road renamed for trump outweigh the reasons not to.
we can all say that we don't make political decisions, but I think the decision not to bring that up is a political decision.
I don't see any harm in having a road named after president trump.
there are countless numbers of martin luther king boulevard in this state and nationwide.
countless number of obama elementary schools, so to say that it's too political to name
a generic airport road for president trump, I don't know.
I think it is short-sided. I would encourage to reconsider that and bring
it to a motion to allow that to happen. Thank you. >> thank you sir.
>> thank you for your comments. Do you have anyone else signed up? >> yes, sir, we have mr. Rick lifto.
>> again, when you arrive, if you would announce your name and your address, please.
>> rick lifto, I live at 1505 road and drive in decatur, texas.
I've probably made a mistake because you're going to see,
first of all, we have a petition that was not driven by me. I have 128 people from decatur that have asked that you put this as a referendum.
you only had 450 people vote in your last election so to get
128 people of which I didn't even go out hardly I didn't solicit anything.
there's people soliciting for this. We did a pool. I had 484 pool and only four against having a referendum.
in fact, the vast majority of them want you just vote on it and do it. I've already provided for you from your own charter,
from state statutes that you have the authority to do this. You could just vote on it and do it.
you could vote on it to do a referendum, or you could get a petition from people in
the local citizens and provide it to you and then you'd be mandated to put it on there as a referendum.
it's not political. In the political year will be over. There are 17 presidents within
texas that have roads named after him in over 300 communities of texas.
president obama has obama academy in dallas. There is the obama elementary school in austin.
I think this is really one of the least divisive things that you could do. I think the most divisive thing for you to do is not give it as a vote for the people.
by not allowing the people to do it. I think what you're going to do is you're going to instill a lot of people in
this town just because I was to a meeting two days ago with 60 some people.
I didn't see one person opposed to it at ris church. There is a overwhelming number of people who have contacted me.
now, I did not give them your phone numbers and your emails I regret that I didn't do
that because I think you would have been flooded with hundreds of people wanting to do this.
I'm afraid. I'm sad that I didn't do it because and I spoke to one of the council members.
he said, well, I really didn't get anything. I said, because I've been screening him. Well, I'm going to give them all of
your phone numbers and all of your emails if that's okay. If you object to it, tell me no.
I won't do it. But if you want it, I'll do it. But you've got the petition. There's 128 names from people from decatur,
you would have had 500 if it was wise county, but you don't have them.
now, you've been provided the facts. I've shown you all six different pieces of legislation that president trump has
passed that involved infrastructure for rural communities of which we've been impacted.
bridgeport airports have been impacted. It's impacted us as far as I can understand for funding on high-speed internet.
in addition, I know that you know that 82.1%, I think it was,
people indicator voted for president trump in the last election,
and 2% voted for the libertarian, I think 14% voted for the democrat and you want to remain nonpartisan.
I get it. I understand that. >> [inaudible]
>> I just asked you to[overlapping]. >> thank you, sir, and take a serious look and please look at that petition,
and we're getting more and more. >> do we have anyone else signed up?
>> yes, sir. We have mr. Rick devito. >> again, when you arrive to the podium,
please announce your name and your address.
>> I'm rick devito from albert, texas. I'm a farmer.
I don't believe this is political at all. I believe everything that president trump did for america was for america. It wasn't political.
I think if you look at all things president trump has done for america, infrastructure.
big things, small things. He did grants for the farmers, he did stuff for everybody.
he is the only president in all these years to sit there and let people on food stamps who have no money,
don't eat good food, don't get access to any good vegetables, nothing.
he lets them now because of president trump, allows food stamps to be used at farmer's markets.
now that's a blessing. I don't care how y'all think. That's not political. People in this county are children,
40% of our children are overweight. Do you-all realize that? There's no good food out here.
there's no farmers' markets. I live where all the farmers are. There used to be farmers' markets all over this place there's none.
having president's name on the road does not make it political. We're just honoring a man who did things like that for america.
I don't see where it's political. I'm sorry. I think it's a cop-out. I really do.
I think you should put it up for a vote tonight, and all should vote on it so everybody can see how y'all stand on it.
I think it's chicken to sit there and not do it. To be honest. I think you all owe us to sit there and put it to a vote,
referendum. It's too late. It's too much down the road. As far as I'm concerned, I think you all should vote on it and let
everybody see how y'all stand. Thank you for what you do. >> thank you. Anyone else signed up, suzy?
>> no sir. >> thank you. >> pam, I have a question for you.
>> no. We can't respond. >> I'm asking pam a question.
>> I'm so sorry. You have a question for pam?
>> will you explain the rules
about naming anything after somebody whenever they are in
the process of running for office because I don't believe that anybody's been made aware of that.
it's in the election code that if there is a candidate for political office,
no public monies or staff resources, staff time, equipment,
or any type of money can be used in support or opposition of any current candidate.
>> thank you for clarifying that for me. >> suzy, are you having something? I will stand by.
suzy, do we have somebody else signed up for public input?
>> he is on his way. >> I'm greenwood road. >> thank you, sir. Here we go.
I'm reading a letter from a gentleman, big business owner here who has the same sentiments as people that I'm here with have.
it says, thank you for allowing me this time to have this letter read aloud.
unfortunately, soccer practice won the time battle this evening. Know if that means.
I'm writing to counsel to encourage you all to take into serious consideration, allowing the city decatur opportunity to vote on naming
a street after the 45th and possibly 47th president of the united states donald j. Trump.
these are many positives to come from this doing. You're allowing he says, democracy,
but I don't like that word our republic to work in our town by allowing the people to choose,
in essence, giving people an opportunity for their voice to be heard.
something that doesn't happen in all forms of government enough, and I think tried to be sidestepped by bipartisan language.
there will be [inaudible] from honoring our highest office by naming a road after him.
it is surely to make some waves and earn some recognition. I would imagine some positive press for
city decatur council for choosing to put this vote to the people.
our vp candidate, as you know, has very close family indicator,
which increases likelihood of positive press. This also brings about patriotism amongst folks,
which is desperately needed to heal and unite this community.
I am aware that the country has turned this idea or has turned this idea down.
that was only because they had adopted a code years ago to only name county roads after numbers.
I don't know who genius came up with that, but the argument that some of you would make by saying it could
offend some people is probably the lamest of them all. You guys make decisions that offend people every meeting and that's okay.
if you choose to stand on the hill of potentially hurting feelings or potentially offending someone,
well, what about the feelings of the folks who want to see this happen? That argument falls flat on its face.
the wise republican party is doing what local political parties are supposed to do.
one of those tasks being to honor the past and present leaders of the party for their accomplishments.
you can debate those accomplishments, but that's not what this is about. Take your feelings of the figure in question out of the equation.
wise county voted for president trump by more than 80% margin.
it's safe to say we're a republican county. There was nothing more american than allowing the will of the people to play out.
long live freedom, that's sign mark arie, and I want to talk about defensive,
who came up with the idea of a moment of silence instead of a prayer. That's just what I want to say. Thank you.
>> anyone else signed up, suzy? >> no, sir. That is all we have signed up.
>> item 16 is an executive session, personnel matters under code 551.074,
and counsel will adjourn into executive session at 6:47.
[noise]
we will reconvene into open session at 7:07 and there was no action.
on that item, item 18, council members can request for future agenda items.
that gets us to 7:08 for adjournment [noise].
thank you, everybody. Miss suzy?