[0:00] Good morning. I want to
[0:01] welcome everyone to the
[0:03] Gadsden City Council meeting on
[0:04] September 29th. I would like
[0:05] to remind everyone to
[0:06] please make sure
[0:07] all cell
[0:08] phones are turned off
[0:09] or on
[0:10] silent mode. We would
[0:11] also like to inform you
[0:12] that our
[0:13] City Council meetings
[0:14] are broadcast on
[0:15] Comcast channel 99, AT&T U-verse,
[0:17] and the
[0:18] City of Gadsden YouTube channel. This
[0:20] Gadsden City Council meeting
[0:21] is hereby declared
[0:21] open. The Chairman
[0:22] asks City
[0:23] Clerk Jennifer
[0:24] Smith to take
[0:25] a roll call.
[0:26] Councilman Latham and
[0:27] Councilman Smith are
[0:28] absent today.
[0:29] Councilman Avery?
[0:30] Here.
[0:31] Beck?
[0:31] Here.
[0:32] Councilman Wilson?
[0:33] Here.
[0:33] Manatro?
[0:34] Here.
[0:34] Councilman Robinson?
[0:36] Here.
[0:36] We have a quorum, and our
[0:37] meeting is open
[0:38] for business.
[0:39] I will ask Geet
[0:39] Williamson to lead the
[0:40] prayer. Please
[0:41] stand and
[0:42] remain standing
[0:43] for the oath of
[0:44] allegiance.
[0:44] Good. Let's pray.
[0:46] Dear heavenly
[0:47] Father, we thank
[0:47] You for this day,
[0:48] Lord. Thank you for
[0:49] the many
[0:49] blessings you
[0:50] generously bestow upon us,
[0:51] Father. Thank you for the
[0:52] wonderful and perfect
[0:53] salvation that You give
[0:54] us above all else,
[0:54] Lord. Help us
[0:55] never to take
[0:56] it for granted, Father, but
[0:57] to seek You and serve
[0:58] You with all our hearts, in
[0:59] our every word,
[1:00] deed, and thought. I
[1:00] pray, Father, for
[1:01] Your wisdom and
[1:02] guidance, Your
[1:03] knowledge and
[1:03] insight for
[1:04] this council, for the mayor,
[1:05] for this great
[1:06] city, Father.
[1:06] Continue to
[1:07] bless us, and
[1:07] I pray that we may
[1:08] always bless
[1:09] and honor You. In
[1:10] the name of Jesus we pray.
[1:11] Amen. Amen.
[1:12] Oath of allegiance.
[1:14] Perfectly. To the
[1:17] United States of
[1:18] America and
[1:19] the republic for which
[1:20] it stands, one
[1:21] nation under
[1:23] God,
[1:24] indivisible, with
[1:25] liberty and
[1:26] justice for
[1:27] all.
[1:31] We almost forgot to
[1:32] do that, didn't we?
[1:37] Good. The Chairman
[1:38] presents for consideration
[1:39] a motion to approve
[1:40] the minutes of the working
[1:41] session and
[1:42] council meetings held on
[1:43] September 23.
[1:45] I suggest. I
[1:47] support.
[1:47] Thank you.
[1:48] Yes.
[1:49] Secretary, will
[1:49] you hold
[1:50] a vote?
[1:51] Those who are "in favor", please
[1:52] say "
[1:53] yes".
[1:54] Who is "against"? The decision
[1:55] to approve
[1:56] the protocol was made.
[1:57] The Chairman presents a
[1:58] motion
[1:59] to ratify the
[1:59] payments on the accounts
[2:00] for the week of
[2:01] September 18-24.
[2:02] I suggest. I
[2:02] support.
[2:03] Secretary, will
[2:04] you hold
[2:04] a vote?
[2:05] All those who are "in favor", please
[2:06] say "
[2:07] yes".
[2:08] Who is "against"? The decision
[2:09] to ratify
[2:10] payments on the accounts
[2:11] has been made.
[2:11] Item seven
[2:12] is reserved for
[2:13] making
[2:13] declarations and
[2:14] expressing thanks. Do
[2:15] we have any this
[2:16] morning? Mayor Ford,
[2:17] good. Thank you. Good.
[2:19] Item eight—
[2:20] unfinished business.
[2:21] Today we do
[2:23] n't have any. So,
[2:24] let's move on to the
[2:24] ninth item on the agenda
[2:25] . This is
[2:26] the time and place
[2:27] announced for a
[2:28] public hearing
[2:29] where anyone can
[2:30] speak for
[2:31] or against a resolution
[2:32] approving a
[2:34] liquor license.
[2:35] This concerns
[2:36] Brinker Restaurant Corporation
[2:37] , doing business
[2:38] as Chili's Grill and Bar,
[2:39] located at
[2:40] : 340 South Albert Rains
[2:41] Boulevard in the 4th District,
[2:42] which has applied for a
[2:47] restaurant retail liquor license. Is
[2:48] there anyone who would like to
[2:49] speak against
[2:50] this resolution? Does
[2:54] anyone want
[2:54] to speak in favor?
[2:57] The Chair will accept
[2:58] the motion to
[2:59] adopt this
[3:00] resolution. I
[3:01] support.
[3:03] Second.
[3:04] Good. Are there any
[3:05] discussions?
[3:07] Secretary, will
[3:08] you hold
[3:09] a vote?
[3:09] All those who support the
[3:10] adoption of this
[3:11] resolution, please
[3:13] vote "yes."
[3:14] By.
[3:14] Who is against? The decision
[3:15] to accept
[3:16] has been made.
[3:17] Item 10 is a resolution
[3:19] on the award of tender
[3:20] No. 3649 for the project to
[3:21] repave
[3:23] Hook Street. The lowest
[3:24] bidder
[3:25] requested to withdraw
[3:26] its bid due to a
[3:27] technical error.
[3:28] The city engineer
[3:30] recommended awarding
[3:32] the bid to the second
[3:33] lowest bidder
[3:35] , Alabama Grading and
[3:37] Excavation LLC, for
[3:39] $1,129,047. The Chair
[3:40] will accept the motion
[3:41] to adopt this
[3:42] resolution. I
[3:43] support.
[3:44] Second. Are
[3:45] there any
[3:46] discussions? I just
[3:49] want to say that this is a
[3:50] very important matter.
[3:52] We've been working on
[3:53] cases in East
[3:54] Gadsden for the past four years
[3:56] . One side of Hope Street
[3:59] was paved
[4:00] near Litchfield High School
[4:01] , and now it
[4:02] will be on the other side of
[4:03] Meagan Boulevard, and we
[4:05] will pave everything all the way
[4:06] to…are those railroad
[4:07] tracks, Heath, or will it
[4:08] stop at the
[4:09] tracks? There's another
[4:11] project that's
[4:11] going to start on the
[4:12] other side of the
[4:13] railroad tracks
[4:14] to redo the whole
[4:15] intersection there, at
[4:16] East Broad Street and Hope
[4:18] Street. This is a $
[4:19] 1.1 million investment
[4:21] in East
[4:22] Gadsden, I think in the
[4:24] 1st District, right? Do
[4:26] you know? It
[4:27] divides the 1st and 2nd
[4:28] districts. So, I'm very
[4:30] proud of this and very
[4:31] happy for everyone who is
[4:32] traveling this
[4:33] road. I drive it
[4:34] quite often, and it's
[4:35] all covered in potholes. I
[4:37] mean, she
[4:38] definitely needs
[4:39] help, so
[4:40] help is at hand.
[4:41] Okay, does anyone else want
[4:43] to speak?
[4:43] Mr. President, this
[4:45] should have been done
[4:46] when
[4:47] the construction of Peyton
[4:48] Road was completed. We had some
[4:49] issues with the
[4:50] railway, so we
[4:51] want to thank
[4:52] the railway for their
[4:53] cooperation, but these are two
[4:54] big projects that
[4:55] we are excited to implement in
[4:56] this area.
[4:57] This is an outstanding
[4:57] result.
[4:58] Yes. Thank you.
[4:59] Okay, Secretary, will
[5:00] you hold
[5:01] a vote?
[5:02] Those who are in favor of
[5:02] adopting this
[5:03] resolution, please
[5:04] speak up by
[5:04] saying "yes."
[5:05] By.
[5:06] Who is against? The decision
[5:07] has been made.
[5:10] Good. Let's move on to
[5:11] item 11 of our
[5:12] agenda. This is
[5:14] a resolution authorizing the
[5:15] receipt of a grant
[5:17] from ADEM. This involves
[5:18] accepting and
[5:19] administering a
[5:19] grant through the
[5:23] Alabama Department of Environmental Management's recycling program.
[5:24] The amount is
[5:25] $45,000, and the funds
[5:26] will be used
[5:27] to purchase a new
[5:28] conveyor system
[5:29] for the cardboard baler
[5:30] . The Chair will accept
[5:32] the motion to
[5:32] adopt this
[5:33] resolution. I
[5:34] support. Are
[5:36] there any
[5:37] discussions? Okay,
[5:39] Secretary, will you hold
[5:40] a vote?
[5:41] Those who are in favor of
[5:42] adopting this
[5:42] resolution, please
[5:43] speak up by
[5:44] saying "yes."
[5:45] By.
[5:45] Who is against?
[5:46] The decision was made by
[5:47] two votes to
[5:48] one.
[5:49] We had
[5:49] representatives from the
[5:51] recycling department during the
[5:52] work session, and I
[5:53] believe, if I
[5:54] remember correctly, they
[5:55] sorted a little
[5:56] over a million tons of
[5:57] cardboard this
[5:58] year alone.
[5:59] Yes.
[5:59] Uh, from our
[6:00] landfill, which
[6:01] , as you know, we
[6:02] have to pay for if
[6:03] waste ends up
[6:04] there. So not only do they
[6:05] remove it from the
[6:06] landfill, but we
[6:07] also get paid
[6:08] for this cardboard. That's
[6:09] $140 per ton.
[6:13] Right. So, this is a
[6:14] big deal. This is
[6:15] great. This will help, uh
[6:17] , reduce
[6:17] the number of
[6:18] workplace injuries. This
[6:19] will speed up the
[6:20] cardboard recycling program. It's
[6:22] just a smart
[6:22] way to run that, office over there. We have
[6:25] great people
[6:26] working in, in the
[6:26] recycling program. And
[6:27] we want to encourage
[6:28] all our citizens
[6:29] to recycle their waste. Uh
[6:30] , this, this helps
[6:31] keep
[6:32] things out of
[6:33] our landfill
[6:34] , which helps
[6:34] save the
[6:35] city money, and therefore
[6:36] saves you money.
[6:37] You are the city.
[6:38] Of course? This, this is not
[6:39] us. We, we are elected, but we are
[6:41] citizens. This
[6:42] saves
[6:43] citizens money. So everyone
[6:44] should think about
[6:45] recycling. Good. Did
[6:48] we vote for
[6:49] this?
[6:49] I started talking. We
[6:51] voted. Okay,
[6:52] great. Good. Uh,
[6:54] item 12 is a resolution
[6:56] authorizing
[6:57] the transfer of surplus
[6:58] bleachers to the
[7:00] Etowah County Department of Education.
[7:03] We received a substitute
[7:05] resolution number 202 Well,
[7:06] 2026, then 0752.1, which
[7:08] authorizes the transfer of
[7:09] four sets of
[7:11] stands instead of two and
[7:13] increases the
[7:14] proposed amount from $
[7:15] 2,000 to $3,000. We
[7:19] need a proposal
[7:20] and support for a
[7:21] replacement.
[7:24] Mr. President, I move to
[7:29] replace 2026, uh, 0752.1,
[7:32] uh, replace, uh, and, and,
[7:34] so that it be replaced
[7:37] with 20260752.
[7:42] Okay. Is there a second
[7:43] offer? Secretary.
[7:45] Those in favor, please
[7:46] speak up by
[7:47] saying "yes."
[7:48] By.
[7:49] Who is against? The
[7:50] replacement proposal was accepted.
[7:51] I suggest.
[7:52] OK. The Chair
[7:53] will accept the motion to
[7:54] adopt
[7:55] the resolution as
[7:56] amended.
[7:57] Accepted.
[7:58] Second. Are
[8:00] there any
[8:00] discussions?
[8:01] Secretary, will you hold
[8:03] a vote?
[8:03] Those who are in favor of adopting
[8:04] the resolution, please
[8:05] say "
[8:06] yes."
[8:07] By.
[8:07] Who is against? The motion
[8:09] for acceptance
[8:09] was approved.
[8:10] You explained why,
[8:11] right?
[8:12] Sorry?
[8:13] You explained why,
[8:14] right?
[8:14] Yes.
[8:15] Good.
[8:15] Well, I mean, I
[8:16] read, we
[8:17] increased the number of
[8:18] stands from two to
[8:18] four.
[8:19] Of course. I
[8:20] understand you. I missed
[8:21] that. Sorry.
[8:23] Item 13 is a resolution
[8:24] authorizing
[8:25] amendments to the
[8:26] commercial
[8:27] lease agreement. Resolution No. R-
[8:29] 88-26 authorized the city
[8:31] to purchase 950 Rainbow Drive from
[8:33] England and Associates
[8:36] LLP, which had a current
[8:38] lease with Child
[8:40] Development Schools Incorporated. This
[8:42] resolution amends the
[8:44] lease agreement, designating
[8:46] the city as the landlord, with a
[8:47] monthly
[8:49] rent of $3,200
[8:50] and a term until
[8:52] January 1, 2027 with
[8:53] the option
[8:53] to extend on a
[8:55] month-to-month basis until
[8:56] January 1, 2028 without the
[8:57] right to renew.
[8:59] The Chair will accept
[9:00] the motion to
[9:01] adopt this
[9:02] resolution.
[9:03] Accepted.
[9:04] Second. Are
[9:05] there any
[9:06] discussions? Mayor Ford
[9:08] .
[9:09] Mr. Chairman, this is the
[9:10] daycare center behind Arby's.
[9:12] That's where
[9:12] Coosa Harbor is located
[9:13] , and we purchased that
[9:15] property from the
[9:16] corporation. We
[9:18] cannot close
[9:19] the kindergarten right now
[9:20] as we are waiting for
[9:21] FERC permits to
[9:22] develop this
[9:23] project. So they
[9:24] wanted to stay
[9:25] where they were, but they
[9:26] needed a
[9:27] 5-year lease. I thought that was
[9:29] quite
[9:29] appropriate. This does not
[9:31] interfere with the
[9:32] construction period of the project
[9:33] or the buildings
[9:34] they are going to
[9:35] erect. I hope
[9:37] they
[9:38] get everything built quickly and the
[9:39] kindergarten will be there
[9:40] for the remaining 5
[9:40] years, and in the meantime
[9:41] the city will receive
[9:43] $3,200 a month.
[9:44] OK. Good to know.
[9:45] Thank you. Does anyone have any
[9:47] other comments or
[9:48] questions? OK.
[9:50] Secretary, we are taking
[9:51] a vote.
[9:52] Those who are in favor of adopting
[9:53] the resolution, please
[9:54] say "
[9:55] yes."
[9:55] By.
[9:56] Who is against? The motion
[9:57] for acceptance
[9:58] was approved.
[9:59] Item 14 is a resolution
[10:00] authorizing the
[10:01] conclusion of an agreement with the
[10:02] Alabama Department of Transportation.
[10:04] This concerns
[10:04] the installation of
[10:05] street
[10:06] lighting in connection
[10:07] with the
[10:08] I-759 expansion project or the
[10:09] eastern connector
[10:10] road, and the city
[10:10] agrees to assume
[10:12] maintenance.
[10:13] The Chair will accept
[10:14] the motion to
[10:15] adopt this
[10:16] resolution.
[10:16] Accepted.
[10:17] Second.
[10:18] Any discussions?
[10:20] Secretary, will you hold
[10:21] a vote?
[10:22] Those who are in favor of adopting
[10:23] the resolution, please
[10:24] say "
[10:25] yes."
[10:26] By.
[10:26] Who is against? The decision
[10:28] has been made.
[10:29] Item 15 is a resolution
[10:31] authorizing an agreement with the
[10:33] Alabama Department of Transportation.
[10:34] This concerns
[10:35] traffic light improvements and
[10:36] operational
[10:37] equipment for the
[10:38] Eastern
[10:39] Connector project, and the city
[10:40] agrees to take over
[10:41] maintenance.
[10:42] The Chair will accept
[10:43] the motion to
[10:44] adopt this
[10:45] resolution. I
[10:46] support.
[10:47] Second. Are
[10:48] there any
[10:48] discussions?
[10:50] Secretary, will
[10:51] you hold
[10:52] a vote?
[10:53] Those who are "in favor" of
[10:53] adopting this
[10:54] resolution, please
[10:55] say "yes."
[10:56] By.
[10:56] Who is against? The decision
[10:58] has been made.
[11:00] OK. The mayor
[11:01] is now contacting
[11:02] City Clerk
[11:03] Jennifer Smith regarding
[11:04] the results of the
[11:05] preliminary ballots
[11:06] .
[11:07] Mr. President,
[11:09] no advance ballots have been submitted. So,
[11:11] the resolution contains
[11:12] numbers collected on
[11:13] election night. So, this
[11:15] resolution is ready for
[11:16] adoption
[11:17] as
[11:18] written.
[11:18] OK. Thank you very much.
[11:20] OK. So, this is our 16th
[11:22] agenda item
[11:23] . This is a resolution
[11:25] announcing
[11:25] the results of the
[11:26] municipal
[11:27] elections. This is to announce
[11:28] that Lamont Kyle
[11:29] has received a majority of the
[11:31] votes in the
[11:33] September 22 runoff election for the position of
[11:34] Councilman for
[11:35] District 1 and
[11:36] is hereby declared elected
[11:37] to that position for a
[11:39] term
[11:39] beginning on the first
[11:41] Monday in November
[11:42] 2026. The Chair
[11:43] will accept the motion
[11:44] to adopt this
[11:45] resolution. I
[11:46] support.
[11:47] Second. Are
[11:48] there any
[11:48] discussions?
[11:51] Secretary, will
[11:52] you hold
[11:52] a vote?
[11:53] Those who are "in favor" of
[11:54] adopting this
[11:55] resolution, please
[11:56] say "yes."
[11:57] By.
[11:57] Who is against? The decision
[11:59] has been made.
[12:00] Mr. Kyle, I see you
[12:02] in the hall. I want to
[12:03] congratulate you. I look forward
[12:04] to
[12:06] working with you.
[12:07] Okay, paragraph 17 goes in the
[12:09] first
[12:10] reading section. This is an ordinance
[12:11] to amend
[12:13] Section 74 of the City
[12:14] Code to
[12:15] add Article 12
[12:16] regarding licensing the
[12:18] sale of consumer
[12:19] hemp products. This
[12:20] resolution is being presented
[12:22] for first
[12:23] reading today, and the council
[12:24] will vote on it
[12:25] next week.
[12:27] Okay, item 18—new
[12:28] cases. We have, uh,
[12:30] I think, three items
[12:31] today, and if we
[12:32] could start with
[12:33] Councilman Robinson.
[12:36] With what you have for
[12:37] them from the engineering
[12:38] department.
[12:41] Sorry. Yes, I have,
[12:45] uh, a resolution
[12:46] authorizing a
[12:47] no-fee agreement with the
[12:48] gas,
[12:50] water, and
[12:51] sewer board. This is
[12:52] actually for, uh,
[12:53] moving
[12:54] utilities in connection
[12:55] with the replacement of the
[12:56] Hickory Street bridge so
[12:57] they can
[12:58] continue working.
[12:59] Because that bridge there
[13:00] , in the 5th district, is in dire
[13:01] need of replacement, and the
[13:03] replacement will be done soon.
[13:04] So, we have to
[13:05] move these
[13:06] communications. So,
[13:07] if I could ask
[13:08] colleagues to look into this
[13:09] today, I would
[13:10] appreciate it.
[13:11] Good. I
[13:12] support. Is
[13:12] there a second opinion? I
[13:14] support.
[13:15] Good. Secretary, will
[13:16] you hold
[13:17] a vote?
[13:18] Those in favor of considering this
[13:19] resolution as an agenda item
[13:21] today, please
[13:22] say "yes."
[13:23] Yes.
[13:23] Who is against? Consent
[13:25] received.
[13:26] I propose to approve. I
[13:28] support.
[13:30] Secretary, will
[13:31] you hold
[13:32] a vote?
[13:33] Those in favor of adopting this
[13:34] resolution, please
[13:35] say "yes."
[13:36] Yes.
[13:37] Who is against? The decision
[13:38] has been made.
[13:39] Okay, thank you, Councilman
[13:40] Robertson.
[13:42] Councilman Monatree,
[13:43] you have another question
[13:44] from the engineering
[13:45] department.
[13:45] Um, thank you, Mr.
[13:46] President. Um, yes,
[13:49] I have, um, 0763. This is
[13:51] a resolution authorizing the
[13:54] Gadsden Etowah MS4 agreement. Um, this is
[13:58] an agreement that will include the
[14:00] cities of Gadsden,
[14:01] Rainbow City,
[14:02] Southside, Hawkes Bluff
[14:04] , the Etowah County Commission
[14:05] , and the cities of
[14:06] Attalla and Glencoe. Um,
[14:13] this is a
[14:13] monitoring system, um, we
[14:15] actually, um,
[14:16] contract,
[14:17] each of these
[14:18] organizations
[14:20] contracts with TTL Incorporated.
[14:32] They will perform the
[14:33] necessary
[14:34] sampling and analysis of
[14:35] water discharges, which will include
[14:37] all the organizations that,
[14:38] um, implement
[14:40] stormwater management, which
[14:41] reduces the amount of
[14:42] untreated runoff from
[14:44] all the, um, areas
[14:45] that I mentioned, um, that
[14:46] discharge water into
[14:47] local bodies of water within
[14:48] our county.
[14:57] So I would like to
[14:58] ask my colleagues if
[14:59] we can
[15:00] suspend the rules
[15:01] and vote on this
[15:02] today.
[15:03] Excuse me, could
[15:05] you repeat all that again
[15:06] ? I didn't understand the
[15:09] first time. I
[15:10] support.
[15:11] I am not a chemist.
[15:12] Secretary, will
[15:13] you hold
[15:14] a vote?
[15:15] I heard support.
[15:16] Who received Who for
[15:21] considering the resolution
[15:22] today, please
[15:24] say "yes."
[15:25] Yes.
[15:25] Who is against? Consent
[15:27] received.
[15:27] I propose to approve. I
[15:30] support.
[15:31] Secretary, will
[15:32] you hold
[15:33] a vote?
[15:34] Those in favor of adopting
[15:35] the resolution, please
[15:36] say "yes."
[15:37] Yes.
[15:37] Who is against? The decision
[15:39] has been made.
[15:40] Okay, and Councilman
[15:41] Avery, you have a couple of
[15:42] questions for the
[15:43] police
[15:44] department this
[15:45] morning.
[15:45] Good. Um, since
[15:49] one is acceptance and the
[15:50] other is assistance with
[15:51] it, can I
[15:52] submit both at the
[15:53] same time? Good.
[15:58] So, it would be, um,
[16:01] legal acts 2026-0774 and
[16:04] then 2026-0775. Uh, the first one
[16:11] is an application for a
[16:12] JAG grant,
[16:14] or
[16:15] Edward Byrne Memorial Grant
[16:17] for Assistance in the
[16:19] Justice System, for
[16:20] fiscal year 2026, a
[16:21] local request for
[16:23] $19,233. Uh,
[16:29] these funds will be
[16:30] allocated
[16:30] to the police
[16:31] department to
[16:32] purchase a certain
[16:33] type of rifle.
[16:35] 14.
[16:38] uh, 14 carbines
[16:39] that are needed for
[16:41] this particular, uh,
[16:49] Gadsden Police Joint Special Operations Task Force.
[16:50] OK. Uh, in
[16:54] addition to that, there's a
[16:55] companion resolution
[16:57] that approves and
[16:57] allows us
[16:58] to accept the grant and, uh,
[17:00] move forward with the
[17:01] funding. Uh,
[17:06] so I'm asking, uh,
[17:09] asking my colleagues
[17:10] to accept this, uh, as a
[17:12] new agenda item
[17:13] today.
[17:14] Good. Is there anyone else? I
[17:16] support.
[17:18] I will be the first.
[17:19] Sorry?
[17:20] Who made the proposal?
[17:22] Mr. Avery. Councilman
[17:24] Avery.
[17:24] Three six, okay.
[17:26] Secretary, will
[17:27] you hold
[17:28] a vote?
[17:28] Three seven.
[17:29] Those who are in favor of
[17:30] considering both
[17:31] resolutions as new
[17:32] issues today,
[17:33] please
[17:34] speak up by
[17:34] saying "yes."
[17:35] Yes.
[17:36] Who is against? Consent
[17:37] received.
[17:39] I propose to approve. I
[17:42] support.
[17:44] Secretary, will you hold
[17:45] a vote?
[17:46] Those who are in favor of
[17:47] adopting both
[17:48] resolutions, please
[17:49] speak up by
[17:50] saying "yes."
[17:51] Yes.
[17:51] Who is against? The decision
[17:52] to adopt both
[17:53] resolutions was made.
[17:55] Okay, thank you. So, we
[17:56] moved on to
[17:57] agenda item 19,
[17:58] reports from departments,
[17:59] committees, councils. Do
[18:00] we have any of those this morning,
[18:02] acting mayor?
[18:03] No.
[18:03] okay. Then
[18:05] we move on to item
[18:06] 20, a request for citizens
[18:07] to speak. We have
[18:09] Janester Crockton with us,
[18:10] who wants to tell
[18:11] us about the Ribbon Cup.
[18:26] Good morning, Mrs.
[18:28] Crockton.
[18:28] Good morning.
[18:29] Nice to see you again
[18:31] .
[18:31] Or good afternoon,
[18:32] actually.
[18:32] That's right. Yes.
[18:33] How are you doing
[18:34] today?
[18:35] Perfectly.
[18:35] Good. I'm not here for long
[18:36] . I've
[18:37] told
[18:38] you about "Voicing Value" before. Uh,
[18:40] and basically, we're a
[18:40] non-profit
[18:41] organization, we
[18:42] help anyone with
[18:43] any type of
[18:44] cancer or rare
[18:45] disease. We
[18:46] provide
[18:48] patient advocacy services and have
[18:49] about six different
[18:50] programs. One of the things
[18:51] we're launching on
[18:53] October 1st is a friendly
[18:54] competition between different
[18:55] cities in
[18:56] Etowah County. And I just
[18:58] found out that there are 10 of them
[19:00] . I didn't know we had 10
[19:02] different cities in
[19:03] Etowah County. And it's easy to
[19:05] , uh, participate in this. This
[19:07] will be an interesting event, and
[19:09] essentially, it's all to
[19:10] raise
[19:11] awareness about different types of
[19:12] cancer and rare
[19:13] diseases. So, I'm
[19:16] asking everyone who is on
[19:18] Facebook to simply
[19:19] follow the
[19:20] Voice and Value Health
[19:22] Advocacy Foundation page. Take a
[19:24] photo with your group.
[19:25] It can be any
[19:26] group. This could be a
[19:27] work team or a
[19:28] church community. This
[19:29] could be a social
[19:30] club or community
[19:31] organization. It
[19:32] could be your
[19:33] neighbors. It can be
[19:34] anyone, as long as it's
[19:36] two people, and you
[19:37] have to dress in a
[19:38] color that's dedicated to a
[19:39] specific
[19:40] cancer awareness month.
[19:42] For example, in September
[19:44] we had five topics. These are
[19:46] thyroid cancer
[19:48] , blood cancer,
[19:49] gynecological cancer,
[19:50] and childhood cancer. So
[19:53] you could take
[19:53] five different photos, and
[19:54] for rare
[19:55] diseases, we
[19:56] had
[19:56] sickle cell
[19:58] anemia. So
[19:59] you could have taken a
[20:00] total of six
[20:01] photos. All I
[20:02] ask is to take
[20:03] a photo, dress your
[20:04] group in this color, and
[20:05] tag your city.
[20:07] At the end of each
[20:08] month, as part of a
[20:09] friendly competition,
[20:10] we will be giving away a
[20:11] banner. It will
[20:12] be called the "
[20:13] Ribbon Club." It
[20:16] looks something like this
[20:17] and will hang in
[20:18] front of the city hall or
[20:19] another place in the
[20:20] city where the
[20:21] largest photo was taken. Along
[20:26] with this, I will be
[20:27] posting tips
[20:28] and information on
[20:29] signs and symptoms, things to look out for
[20:31] , resources for
[20:33] treatment, and more. This
[20:35] way, everyone will gain
[20:36] knowledge, it will be a
[20:37] fun and easy
[20:38] way for us to
[20:39] participate together.
[20:40] At the end of the year, we
[20:41] will hold a gala evening
[20:42] and announce the big
[20:44] winner. Actually, that's
[20:45] all I wanted to
[20:46] talk about. Something new is
[20:47] emerging in
[20:48] Etowah County. This
[20:49] will be called the "
[20:50] Ribbon Club." I have
[20:51] several flyers and
[20:52] brochures. If anyone
[20:53] needs more
[20:54] information,
[20:54] please come to
[20:55] me after I'm
[20:56] done. Well
[20:56] , thank you very much. This is a
[20:58] great idea.
[20:59] Thank you. Oh, and one last thing.
[21:03] Yes, ma'am.
[21:04] I have to talk about
[21:05] October, since it will be here
[21:06] soon.
[21:09] October is breast
[21:11] cancer awareness month
[21:12] , when
[21:13] we wear pink, and it
[21:14] also seems to be
[21:16] peritoneal cancer and
[21:17] liver cancer. So, those are three
[21:21] topics, and the rare
[21:22] disease would be a
[21:23] neurological disorder
[21:25] . Mostly it is
[21:26] cerebral
[21:27] palsy or
[21:28] Rett syndrome. So I
[21:29] will report on the different
[21:31] colors. Yes, this is your
[21:32] opportunity. Thank you.
[21:34] Mrs. Proctor.
[21:36] Our next
[21:37] speaker is Fred
[21:38] Zachary, and his topic is
[21:39] water.
[22:00] Good afternoon.
[22:01] Mr.
[22:02] Zachary.
[22:06] I have come to
[22:07] you today to talk
[22:09] about an existential
[22:10] threat to our
[22:10] community. This is poisoned
[22:14] water. And I heard many times
[22:18] , when I got up to
[22:19] say this, that she had already
[22:21] been checked. It can
[22:24] lead you to death
[22:25] . So the water problem in
[22:28] the community needs to
[22:29] be solved. Staying silent
[22:34] is not an option, in my
[22:35] opinion, because now
[22:36] information
[22:37] spreads around the world
[22:38] in a matter of seconds.
[22:41] So you can't
[22:42] hide anything here
[22:44] in Gaston except what
[22:45] you've been hiding
[22:46] all this time. But in
[22:50] any case, this is
[22:51] poisoning the source. Here is a
[22:54] book that I will leave with
[22:56] the secretary so you
[22:57] can read it
[22:58] if you wish. You
[22:59] don't need to say it's
[23:01] verified.
[23:02] You don't need to
[23:03] deny that this is
[23:04] happening, because it's
[23:05] true. No one from the
[23:09] municipality's leadership
[23:10] showed up for the
[23:11] Frontline presentation.
[23:14] Although it seems Mr.
[23:15] Avery was there.
[23:18] Frontline presentation
[23:19] regarding the
[23:20] documentary that was
[23:21] produced. And Gastonia
[23:24] was featured in that
[23:26] documentary. You must
[23:28] address the
[23:30] water issue. I don't know anyone
[23:31] who could live without
[23:33] water. We made a
[23:34] fuss when we were building
[23:36] that processing plant
[23:37] because of the smell. And I was
[23:39] one of them. You can
[23:41] live with a bad
[23:42] smell, but you can't
[23:43] live with poisoned water
[23:44] . PFAS in water is a
[23:48] polycarbon
[23:49] compound that is now
[23:51] called a forever
[23:52] chemical. And
[23:58] it is eternal, because
[24:00] polycarbonates can
[24:01] remain in our
[24:02] environment for up to 125
[24:04] years. So most
[24:10] of us won't be around to
[24:11] see
[24:12] PFAS disappear from the riverbed. There wo
[24:16] n't be any of us, and I won't have to
[24:17] worry about
[24:18] poisoned water.
[24:21] Building this city,
[24:22] transforming it into
[24:23] something new—it's wonderful.
[24:26] But have you read The
[24:27] Little Prince?
[24:32] You can't be a
[24:33] king without a
[24:33] kingdom. And you can't
[24:35] have a
[24:36] kingdom without water.
[24:39] So I strongly
[24:41] suggest you
[24:41] get involved in the water. You
[24:44] won't be able
[24:46] to find a solution instantly, because
[24:47] cleaning up the riverbed
[24:49] will probably cost billions of
[24:50] dollars. So, at this
[24:53] point, there is no solution yet
[24:54] . But you
[24:58] can start
[24:58] informing citizens
[25:00] about what is
[25:00] happening to the water.
[25:03] So that they can take the
[25:05] necessary
[25:06] safety measures. The young lady
[25:07] was talking about cancer.
[25:10] We have new
[25:12] pancreatic cancer foci
[25:13] in this area. We
[25:16] need to discuss
[25:17] all the diseases
[25:18] linked to these PFAS.
[25:22] So, it would be good
[25:23] if you guys
[25:24] came to that
[25:25] theater and listened to
[25:27] the experts. We would gain
[25:30] understanding. There is a lot of
[25:32] work here. I know. I know
[25:34] you are very busy.
[25:35] But some things
[25:36] cannot be ignored. And I'll
[25:40] be sure to leave
[25:42] some books with the new secretary so you
[25:43] can take them and
[25:44] read them if you
[25:45] like. Read
[25:49] about the water situation.
[25:52] I've been doing this for 13
[25:54] years. I traveled
[25:56] everywhere. I interviewed and
[25:58] spoke with
[25:59] many experts.
[26:00] This is not going away.
[26:03] There are 165 communities in America with
[26:09] PFAS problems, and
[26:10] Alabama figures in
[26:12] almost every one of them.
[26:15] Alabama, not Gaston, but
[26:16] Alabama. So we have to
[26:18] solve
[26:19] the problem with PFAS. And we
[26:21] must engage in
[26:23] community education on how to
[26:25] protect ourselves
[26:26] in the midst of this water
[26:27] crisis. I heard someone
[26:30] ask when I
[26:31] came in what
[26:32] happened to me. I fell. I
[26:35] broke my spine. But I'm still
[26:38] working. We have to
[26:41] deal
[26:43] with the water. Please
[26:45] do this. That's all
[26:46] I want to
[26:47] ask of you. I also
[26:48] want to ask
[26:50] one thing, Mr. Mayor. I
[26:53] understand that behind
[26:54] the college, on
[26:56] land leased from the city,
[26:56] irrigation is carried out
[26:58] directly from
[26:59] the river. I want to
[27:05] ask you to consider
[27:07] stopping this
[27:08] as soon as possible,
[27:08] as the skin is the
[27:10] largest organ of the
[27:11] body, as we all know
[27:12] . So when children
[27:19] crawl through fields,
[27:20] get scratches
[27:21] and abrasions, and
[27:22] pollutants
[27:23] get into their
[27:24] young bodies, it's
[27:25] not fair. I don't
[27:32] know if you pay for
[27:34] water or not, whatever it is
[27:35] , please
[27:36] consider
[27:37] stopping direct
[27:38] irrigation from the Kusa River
[27:39] , because it's a bad place
[27:41] to take water. That's
[27:47] all. Finally,
[27:54] contaminants are in
[27:55] our food because we
[27:56] grow it, they are
[27:57] when we cook, they are
[27:59] in your
[28:00] swimming water, they are in your drinking
[28:01] water, and there is no
[28:02] amount of PFAS that
[28:04] studies have shown is
[28:05] safe for you.
[28:13] I don't care what
[28:14] the tests show, whether
[28:15] it's a high dose or a
[28:16] low dose, there is
[28:17] no safe amount for you
[28:18] . I want to
[28:22] thank you,
[28:23] welcome the new board,
[28:24] and thank the old
[28:25] board for the
[28:26] work they did, and I miss
[28:27] my friend
[28:28] Jason. We
[28:32] talked a lot about
[28:33] this water problem for a long time.
[28:36] He understood this very
[28:37] well. So, um,
[28:39] let's just do a
[28:40] better job. There's
[28:45] nothing you
[28:46] can do about it now,
[28:47] but you can
[28:48] inform the community
[28:49] about the
[28:50] predicament we'll
[28:51] find ourselves in
[28:52] a few years if we don't
[28:53] solve the
[28:54] water problem. Thank you.
[28:59] Mr. Zachary.
[29:03] Okay, let's move on to
[29:04] the speeches of the mayor and
[29:05] council members. Mayor
[29:07] Ford, start with
[29:08] yourself.
[29:08] Uh, I just want to
[29:09] thank our
[29:11] staff and our
[29:12] employees for everything
[29:13] they've done
[29:14] lately. They, uh
[29:15] , never
[29:16] missed a beat. Mr. Chairman,
[29:18] council members, and community
[29:19] , we have been very fortunate
[29:20] to receive many
[29:22] grants over the past 6
[29:23] days, and so I want to
[29:24] thank the team
[29:25] for their work. We
[29:28] announced some great
[29:29] grants, and we want to
[29:30] thank the
[29:31] Robinson family in the 3rd
[29:32] District for
[29:33] allowing us to
[29:34] purchase and
[29:35] build a
[29:37] community water playground, restrooms there, and
[29:38] more. I think it
[29:39] will be a great
[29:40] addition to this
[29:41] area. I also want to
[29:43] thank Heath
[29:44] Williamson for
[29:45] Hawk Street. And I think
[29:47] we're wrapping up
[29:48] the work on Peyton Road
[29:49] with the final
[29:49] paving, and just so
[29:51] you know, we're
[29:51] calling it
[29:53] Chicken Factory Road.
[29:54] But asphalting
[29:56] this road is also in the
[29:57] plans. So
[29:58] asphalting is now in
[29:59] full swing.
[30:00] They're in Walnut Park, and
[30:01] they were putting
[30:02] asphalt in The Falls, kind of
[30:03] inside the park,
[30:04] getting ready for Christmas,
[30:05] and now they're
[30:06] back in
[30:07] Walnut Park again. Then
[30:08] they will return to
[30:09] North Gaston.
[30:10] So we're excited about
[30:12] that. There are
[30:13] a lot of
[30:14] good things happening right now. We
[30:16] got a great
[30:17] grant for the amphitheater,
[30:18] it's almost like a goldmine
[30:19] for grants,
[30:20] just because it
[30:21] was built under the
[30:22] WPA program during
[30:23] Roosevelt's time, and so we
[30:24] can
[30:25] apply for a lot of
[30:26] grants that you
[30:27] can't apply for anywhere else
[30:28] except through the historical
[30:29] society. John
[30:31] just received a grant
[30:32] for 800-something thousand
[30:34] dollars for sound and
[30:35] lighting at the
[30:36] amphitheater. So when
[30:37] Bill Avery comes on
[30:38] stage, you'll be able to
[30:39] see him. Because he
[30:41] sings like a bird. So
[30:42] we are very happy about this. And
[30:44] on Saturday night there's a
[30:45] big concert with
[30:45] Bill Avery. I'm not
[30:46] sure about the name of
[30:47] his band. It seems
[30:48] he has left. John, what's the
[30:49] name of his
[30:50] band?
[30:51] I think it's Bill
[30:52] Avery. It's
[30:53] called "Soul revival".
[30:54] "
[30:54] Soul revival". And a concert on
[30:56] Saturday night in the
[30:57] amphitheater.
[30:58] Stay with us.
[30:59] Due to rain, the event may
[31:00] be moved to
[31:01] Pitman or to
[31:02] Building 210 on the tracks.
[31:03] Tickets are only
[31:04] $10. So
[31:05] please come. We are
[31:06] very happy about this
[31:07] event. He is a wonderful
[31:08] local artist in
[31:09] our city. But, as
[31:10] Steve Smith would say,
[31:11] it's another good
[31:11] day in power. Thank you.
[31:13] That's right.
[31:14] Thank you, Mr. Mayor
[31:15] Ford. To Councilor Avery.
[31:16] Mr. President. I want
[31:18] to invite everyone
[31:19] to the
[31:21] Gadsden City High School celebration on Friday night,
[31:22] since they have their
[31:24] senior year reunion this week. Let's
[31:25] support our
[31:27] local Titans.
[31:28] This morning they
[31:29] visited the
[31:30] Head Start program. The little one is always excited
[31:32] about the
[31:33] band, the cheerleaders,
[31:34] and everyone who
[31:35] comes to our
[31:36] Head Start program. Regarding
[31:39] Head Start, those
[31:40] driving on
[31:41] Tuscaloosa Avenue are asked
[31:42] to be careful
[31:43] as a
[31:44] wall is being replaced there.
[31:45] were many
[31:46] questions about what was
[31:47] happening there. She was
[31:49] in dire need of
[31:50] a replacement. We
[31:53] worked hard to find the
[31:55] funds to repair this
[31:56] wall. This is what is being
[32:00] done now to
[32:00] keep our
[32:02] children and our community safe
[32:03] . This location
[32:06] is
[32:07] right next to a
[32:08] playground
[32:09] and a busy
[32:09] intersection. I want
[32:14] to mention one more event
[32:16] , continuing the topic of
[32:17] grants. Gadsden State Valley
[32:25] Street received a
[32:26] $200,000 grant from
[32:28] Home Depot's "ReTool
[32:29] Your School" program to improve the
[32:31] campus at Valley
[32:32] Street, our
[32:33] historically
[32:34] black college
[32:35] . I would like to express my
[32:41] gratitude to Mr. Ricky
[32:50] Tillis, the principal, as well
[32:52] as Alan Smith,
[32:53] our
[32:54] campus president, the president of
[32:55] Gadsden
[32:56] State College, Mr. Tony
[32:57] Smith, and the other
[32:58] representatives who
[32:59] participated. And yet, it's a kind of
[33:05] challenge. I don't
[33:07] think the city
[33:08] council has any commemorative
[33:09] coins, but, Mr. Mayor,
[33:10] if it's not too difficult, please
[33:11] present such a coin to
[33:12] representatives of Lowe's and
[33:13] other companies. Home
[33:15] Depot is not in our
[33:16] community, but we
[33:17] received a
[33:18] $200,000 grant from them.
[33:22] So we hope
[33:23] that later on, Lowe's,
[33:24] Marvin's, and other companies will
[33:25] also give us
[33:27] grants for
[33:28] community development and
[33:29] workforce training
[33:30] through Gadsden
[33:31] State. Collie Homes 6th
[33:37] Street Day, a celebration for the entire
[33:39] community. This usually
[33:42] happens
[33:43] the following Saturday. We will be
[33:47] rescheduling our event
[33:49] to align with a
[33:50] community
[33:52] health event we are
[33:53] hosting in the 3rd
[33:54] District in partnership
[33:55] with Dr. Ashley Goggins
[33:56] and the Carver
[33:57] Community Revitalization Committee
[33:58] . It's
[34:03] Collie Homes 6th Street Day, a
[34:04] community day of rest,
[34:06] which will now
[34:07] take place on October 10th
[34:09] at 4:00 p.m. Before
[34:12] this event begins, we
[34:13] will be holding an event that
[34:14] I started
[34:15] last year—an event
[34:17] dedicated to health
[34:18] and
[34:19] wellness.
[34:22] Last year we did yoga
[34:23] .
[34:25] Let me
[34:26] make sure everyone
[34:27] has heard about this event.
[34:28] Last year we did yoga
[34:29] . So
[34:31] , this year
[34:32] we will not only
[34:33] be doing yoga on the square,
[34:34] we
[34:35] will also be doing Zumba
[34:36] and training on
[34:37] park benches.
[34:39] Our
[34:40] yoga instructor will once again be
[34:41] Raven DeVisey. Our
[34:44] Zumba instructor will be Siandra
[34:45] James, and
[34:46] park bench workouts
[34:47] will be led by Jakoya
[34:48] Jackson. We also
[34:50] plan to invite
[34:51] insurance agents to
[34:52] talk
[34:54] about health
[34:54] insurance and
[34:55] life insurance. We
[34:57] are counting on the
[34:58] participation of
[34:59] sportswear retailers, as well as
[35:01] mental and
[35:02] physical health specialists.
[35:09] In addition to the three
[35:10] instructors mentioned, there will be
[35:12] other health vendors to
[35:14] complement the
[35:15] community event,
[35:16] in partnership
[35:17] with 6th Street Day, of course. Here we
[35:27] go. Date,
[35:28] okay. October 6th, I got the
[35:31] order a little wrong. October 6, another
[35:33] public
[35:34] event. This will be our
[35:36] first meeting for the 3rd
[35:37] District after
[35:38] re-election. However,
[35:43] our first district
[35:44] meeting will be held on
[35:46] October 6th at the
[35:48] Carver Community Center, 10:30 a.m. Tusculum
[35:49] Avenue, and our
[35:50] guest speaker
[35:51] will be Maria Marie
[35:52] Johnson, Executive
[35:53] Director of the
[35:55] Etowah County Food Bank. I
[36:02] get a lot of
[36:03] calls, which is very
[36:04] encouraging, from
[36:05] community
[36:06] organizations,
[36:07] especially churches, who
[36:08] are interested in the work of the
[36:09] food bank
[36:11] or how they
[36:12] can help
[36:13] people in need of
[36:14] food, clothing, and other
[36:15] things. So I decided
[36:20] to call Ms.
[36:22] Marie Johnson to
[36:23] see if
[36:24] she had any
[36:24] suggestions or ideas.
[36:27] Instead of
[36:28] being a mediator, we
[36:29] simply invited her
[36:31] to a public
[36:32] meeting so that anyone
[36:33] interested could come and
[36:34] get this
[36:35] information. I also
[36:40] met a lady
[36:41] last weekend in
[36:43] Anniston at a
[36:43] community
[36:45] gun buyback event
[36:46] attended by Beach Mitch
[36:47] Bentley, Deeder,
[36:48] Millionaire Kevin, and
[36:49] many other
[36:50] guys. It provides
[36:56] resources or, uh...What do you
[37:00] call it when
[37:01] you go to
[37:02] prison? You buy
[37:03] groceries at the prison
[37:04] store. She
[37:06] supplies
[37:08] stores in many
[37:09] prisons and has
[37:10] about six pallets of
[37:11] free goods
[37:17] that she would like to
[37:18] give to our
[37:19] community. So we
[37:22] plan to place
[37:23] these items at that
[37:24] event, and they
[37:25] can also go to
[37:26] organizations that
[37:28] do
[37:28] charity work, whether
[37:29] for your parishioners
[37:34] or for other
[37:36] community needs. I think that's
[37:41] all for my events
[37:43] . I'll end with this.
[37:46] Follow our
[37:47] Facebook page. We
[37:48] will note everything there and
[37:50] publish it. Thank you.
[37:52] Councilwoman
[37:54] Avery. Councilwoman
[37:55] Wilson.
[37:56] I have no
[37:57] announcements today, Mr. President
[37:58] Mack. Thank you.
[37:59] OK. Good. We
[38:00] are waiting for your first
[38:01] comments, okay?
[38:02] I already said something the
[38:03] first time.
[38:03] Oh, really. They said.
[38:05] Yes, okay. Second
[38:06] remarks.
[38:07] Happy Tuesday.
[38:09] Good. Madam Councilor Monatra
[38:10] .
[38:11] Thank you, Mr.
[38:12] President. I just
[38:15] want to remind you that a
[38:16] week from
[38:17] tomorrow there
[38:19] will be a
[38:20] health and resource fair
[38:21] for seniors at our town community center. It
[38:25] will last from 9:00 to 11:00
[38:28] am. So, it's a
[38:29] week from tomorrow.
[38:31] It's Wednesday, October 7th,
[38:33] for
[38:34] seniors, a
[38:35] health and resource fair
[38:37] from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Thank you.
[38:39] Madam Councilor.
[38:41] Mr. Councilor
[38:42] Robinson.
[38:43] I'm giving up my
[38:45] time until next
[38:46] Tuesday. Oh, you
[38:47] like it. I
[38:48] took that from Councilor
[38:49] Avery. I love
[38:50] giving up my
[38:51] time. I want to say
[38:53] that "First Fridays" is this
[38:54] Friday. So
[38:55] get ready for this, and
[38:55] we'll have a graduation parade on Broad
[38:57] Street. I think it
[38:58] will start at 1:00 PM.
[38:59] So Broad Street
[39:00] will likely be
[39:01] closed from 12:00 noon until
[39:02] the end. So let everyone
[39:03] be careful.
[39:04] I hope the rain
[39:05] stops, the Titans
[39:06] win their game,
[39:07] and First Friday
[39:08] goes smoothly. And
[39:11] as my good
[39:12] friend, Councilman Wilson, used to say:
[39:13] good morning to everyone
[39:15] except the Philadelphia
[39:16] Phillies. Because he and I are
[39:19] fans of the
[39:20] Atlanta Braves.
[39:21] Today is the playoffs.
[39:22] They are in the first round of the
[39:23] playoffs. So today
[39:25] at 2:00 p.m. They play all three games
[39:26] there, as if over a
[39:27] beer and lunch in
[39:27] Atlanta. This is simply
[39:28] absurd. I don't know
[39:29] why they
[39:30] do this. But
[39:31] anyway, good
[39:32] morning to everyone except the
[39:32] Philadelphia Phillies. Go
[39:33] ahead, Braves.
[39:34] Thank you all. Go
[39:35] ahead, Braves.
[39:36] That's right. We must
[39:37] support our
[39:38] Braves. Okay,
[39:39] friends. It was a fruitful
[39:40] day for our
[39:41] administration.
[39:42] Congratulations to Lamont
[39:43] Kyle. Congratulations again. I
[39:45] look forward
[39:46] to working together. And
[39:47] Mr. Mayor Ford,
[39:48] thank you for all the grants
[39:49] and assistance we
[39:50] receive. It's just
[39:52] incredible how much
[39:53] state and
[39:54] federal funds
[39:55] have come to Gadsden
[39:56] in the last three and
[39:57] a half years. This
[39:59] really
[40:00] changes the situation dramatically. This
[40:02] replenishes our budget and
[40:04] allows us to do things
[40:05] we wanted to do but
[40:06] couldn't afford
[40:07] due to lack of funds.
[40:09] So kudos to the team that
[40:10] organizes all of this.
[40:12] is simply outstanding
[40:13] work. Let's support
[40:14] our Titans.
[40:15] We have one
[40:16] high school in Gadsden.
[40:17] Friday night is the Gadsden City
[40:18] football team's
[40:20] homecoming game.
[40:22] There will be a grand
[40:24] parade on Friday at 1:00 p.m. We want
[40:25] to support our
[40:26] students, our band,
[40:27] cheerleaders,
[40:29] ROTC cadets, all the students
[40:30] who will be marching
[40:31] and participating in this
[40:33] . We pray that the
[40:35] rain will pass us by and everything will
[40:36] go smoothly
[40:37] . I hope
[40:39] everyone has a great day,
[40:40] see you back here
[40:41] next Tuesday.
[40:43] May God protect you.