[1:26] Good evening everyone. It is 5:30 on Thursday, August 27th, 20026, and this meeting of the

[1:35] Huntsville City Council is called to order. Welcome to everyone who has joined us in

[1:39] the chambers or who is joining us remotely. All members of the council are present. We will

[1:46] begin, as is our practice, with an invocation offered by one of our uh Huntsville, Alabama

[1:53] Public safety chaplains. Tonight we have Rachel Harper with us, and that will be

[1:55] followed by the Pledge of Allegiance offered by council member John Meredith. All those

[2:01] who wish to and are able to do so, please stand for the invocation and the pledge.

[2:09] Father, we come to you tonight as a grateful people for all the many blessings that you

[2:15] have afforded us and for the opportunity that we have each and every day to live in such a

[2:22] great nation. Father, I'm thankful for our leaders and for their hearts to serve, Lord

[2:27] and I ask Father, that we never ever take lightly the responsibilities that we have

[2:34] as servant leaders. I pray for continued blessings over our city and for wisdom, Lord. over

[2:40] our city council in decisions made tonight. Lord, we pray for safety all the men and women

[2:47] who who give their lives, their lives on the line every day for your service and the protection

[2:54] of us, Lord, we just ask all these things in your precious name. Amen. 1. Hoover flag of

[3:07] the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God

[3:14] indivisible with liberty and justice for all. In Thank you, Chaplain Harper. Thank you, Mr.

[3:23] Meredith. Council members, you have the agenda before you. Please note that item 8A will

[3:30] require executive session. Are there any changes or additions to be made to the agenda?

[3:37] Hearing none of the agenda will be approved. Uh, you also have, um, the minutes of the regular

[3:42] meeting of the city council held on August 13, 2026. Are there any additions or changes

[3:47] to be made to those minutes. Seeing none, the minutes will stand approved. We have 2

[3:54] recognitions tonight. 6A is a presentation recognizing the 65 year legacy of Big Ed's Pizza,

[4:00] and Mr. Little, I believe you will be making that presentation. microphone. Oh,

[4:12] Our friends from Big Ed's here. Pizza? Mm It doesn't, come on down, sir. And I'm sorry I

[4:31] didn't bring you guys any food. Yeah, yeah, if he didn't hear, he said he didn't bring us any

[4:35] pizza, so we're gonna go ahead and vote this out, so that's OK We'll swing by. Thank you. I'd

[4:41] like to change my vote to a nay If he didn't bring us food, then I'm changing my vote to

[4:51] nay. Mayor Battle didn't bring me Britlins either, so just saying, so yes, well, that's,

[4:57] that's uh holding on to a grudge if you're bringing back Britlin's Yeah Yeah oh yeah.

[5:03] Well, I'm sure everybody that's lived in Huntsville for any amount of time has heard of Big

[5:06] Ed's Pizza celebrating 65 years of business in Huntsville, which is quite a testament to

[5:12] good pizza. Um, I did a little, um, Uh, research, and I can only find about 5 or 6

[5:18] businesses that are still around. As long as Big Ed, so that's really great, and this

[5:22] is a certificate recognizing that great, uh, the outstanding food and tradition and

[5:27] community service and assigned by everybody on the council and the mayor too. Yeah,

[5:32] congratulations. Yeah, yeah, and uh. Congratulations. 6B is the presentation recognizing

[6:12] the dedicated volunteers of the Chaffee community, and it is my honor to make that presentation

[6:18] representing the Chaffee community. Tonight we have Mr. Loud Wells and Mr. Bill Gould.

[6:21] Mr. Boyles, Mister Mr. Gould, will you come up, please? But you, you stay there I stand up.

[6:39] that feels right. That feels right. If you didn't know, the Chaffee community has the one

[6:47] of the oldest and largest civic associations in the community. They are a neighborhood that is

[6:56] well connected. They are a neighborhood that really cares about their community and

[6:59] tonight we're honoring them, particularly for the unique service that they provide to

[7:05] caring for Logan Park in uh collaboration with Parks and Recreation. So Mr. Gould, would

[7:12] you share with us what it is you do? Sure. So, uh, starting in 2011, the CNCA, the Chaffey

[7:21] Neighborhood Civic Association reached an agreement with the city to take responsibility for

[7:24] opening and closing and basically tending to the park, keeping an eye on things,

[7:29] letting them know her problems and issues. Calling in when somebody was in there when they

[7:33] shouldn't be and activities going on, Lyle here was one of that. First group. He was the

[7:40] actual founding member of it and he's still in the rotation today. Every once in a while he

[7:44] forgets his key, we've got to get it for him, but, but a group of 6 teams. Every week,

[7:51] every 6 weeks, you get a rotation. You take that week with a partner and somebody

[7:55] opens it in the morning, opens the restrooms, checks the facilities to make sure that

[7:58] it's good, and then somebody else or that same team. Lyle does it by himself. He can't

[8:04] find a good partner, I guess. Uh, we close it up every night. When we see something, we reach

[8:09] out, so the, the partnership with the parks department is amazing. We are truly partners.

[8:16] If we need something, we just reach out. David Delier is my favorite pen pal. I send him.

[8:20] note saying there's a toilet that's running or there's a trash can that somebody took

[8:25] home as a souvenir and the next day it's done, it's fixed. When we have issues, we can reach

[8:29] out to the police. We had somebody who was living in the, keeping their car living in the

[8:34] park while they were visiting their girlfriend down the street. The police department

[8:38] came over and helped us to clean that up. We've been doing that now for 15 years. We plan

[8:43] on doing it for a bit longer and we greatly appreciate the partnership and the support

[8:49] that allows us to keep our precious. Little park Safe and clean. And a great place for

[8:56] the families to spend time. So thank you. And I have 10 certificates here that I hope

[9:01] you will share with, with all the folks who are involved. Yeah, if I could, those, those

[9:05] people, uh, are. Most of them still getting out of work when we're starting this, so it's

[9:10] not a bunch of retirees that just hang around and that's nothing to do but open and

[9:13] close the park. They fitted in amongst everything else. First thing in the morning, last

[9:17] thing at night, we make sure that it's taken care of. And Lyle, we were talking before

[9:22] the meeting started about why this is so important and so do you want to comment on that?

[9:26] You don't just take care of the park just to make it look nice. Well, it's significant in the

[9:30] fact that the park was really uh it's, it's secluded off of the South Memorial Parkway. It

[9:35] was dark. There was a lot of nonsense going on in the park. Vandalism, things of that

[9:40] nature, and as a result of doing this now for these years, that's significantly reduced

[9:44] all of that, and again we're so grateful to the city for the support we get from several of

[9:48] the departments, not just Parks and recreations, but general services and others are in

[9:52] there, and we do appreciate that and thank the city for that. And we're sharing this

[9:57] tonight not just because we want to recognize volunteers and again, here are the

[10:01] certificates. We hope you'll share that, but this is a model we hope other communities can

[10:05] use. So thank you both for your service. Thank you to all the volun the Chaffee volunteers

[10:11] and for the work that they do. OK. Thank you. All right. Moving on. We have AA. Matters

[10:53] with outside legal representation. Uh, 8A is a resolution authorizing the

[10:58] mayor. To enter into a legal services agreement with Riley and Jackson PC and affiliated

[11:05] co-counsel for the investigation and prosecution of claims relating to the fire

[11:11] apparatus manufacturer antitrust litigation. Council members, we have been informed

[11:16] that there is need for executive session on this item before we vote. So Mr. Riley,

[11:21] could you share with us, um, that rationale. Certainly, thank you, Counsel President.

[11:27] counsel, the um. Item number 8A tonight is a matter with outside legal representative

[11:36] which will require executive session in which, which we will request. Executive session is

[11:43] uh something that is covered by the Alabama Open Meetings Act found at Section 3625A 7 of the

[11:50] code of Alabama which provides that executive sessions may be held by the council but only

[11:56] for the purposes enunciated therein. There are some ones listed, the pertinent provision

[12:04] for our consideration tonight for my opinion is found at subdivision A3, which is to

[12:10] discuss with the council. Attorney, the legal ramifications of and legal

[12:16] options for pending litigation or for controversies not yet being litigated, but imminently

[12:24] likely to be litigated or imminently likely to be litigated if the government

[12:30] body pursues a particular or proposed course of action. Before you go into executive

[12:37] session, the law requires, uh, that the governmental body shall receive either a written

[12:42] or oral declaration that will be reflected in the minutes from an attorney licensed to

[12:49] practice law in Alabama, uh, that this exception is applicable to that plan

[12:55] discussion and I for the purposes of that requirement, I am a lawyer practiced for a

[13:00] long, long time in the state of Alabama, so I've been. Licensed uh, for sure, uh, and I

[13:07] confirmed this item does fall within the exception that we just discussed, allowing

[13:13] executive sessions, uh, and, uh that, uh, I'm qualified to make that that determination. So if

[13:20] you would ask for a motion, thank you, Mr. Riley. The chair moves that the city council go

[13:25] into executive session to discuss with our attorney the legal ramifications of and

[13:29] legal options for possible litigation. Second from Mr. Meredith, is there any

[13:33] discussion? Question? Yes, Mr. Kling, I think just for the record, Mr. O'Reilly, there's a

[13:38] rally at the law firm, but that is not related to you, correct? That is, if it is, it's so far

[13:44] back, neither of us know, so, uh, to my knowledge, there's no representation whatsoever, no.,

[13:51] no relation whatsoever. Thank you for clarifying that. Any other discussion? All in favor

[13:58] please indicate Madam President we need a roll call vote for this. a roll call vote has been

[14:04] requested. Mr. Meredith, how do you vote? Mr. Kling, how do you vote? Mr. Little, how do you

[14:09] vote? Aye. Ms. Watkins, and the chairs outside. We have unanimous consent to go into

[14:16] executive session. Um, we will reconvene the public meeting when we return. Do you have an

[14:23] estimate of the time? We do not uh, we will Mr. O'Reilly, I would estimate between 50 to 15

[14:32] to 30 minutes. Thank you most likely on the short side of that. We will reconvene at. feel

[14:43] Um. Hmm. We have closed our executive session. Let the record show there was no action

[15:19] taken. Is there a motion to reconvene the public meeting. Move to reconvene motion from

[15:25] Mr. Little, second from Mr. Kling. All in favor, please indicate. A and opposed. The

[15:31] public meeting is reconvened. Is there a motion to approve item 8A moved motion for Mr.

[15:39] Meredith, second from Mr. Little. Is there any discussion Mr. Mr. Clink, question. Mr.

[15:47] Riley, or Mr. Trey Riley, city attorney. This is your recommendation for the counsel

[15:53] to pursue, correct? Yes, it is. OK, thank you. Are there, is there any other discussion? Ms.

[16:00] Watkins. Oh Well, all in favor, please indicate any opposed? The motion carries. Thank you

[16:07] all. We'll move on to public hearings to be held 9A is a public hearing in order to

[16:16] consider and act upon all objections or protests, if any, for removal of a public

[16:22] nuisance at 4704 Cabot Drive Northwest, Huntsville, Alabama, in consideration of resolution

[16:27] ordering abatement of a nuisance located at the same property. Mr. Irwin. Oh yes,

[16:33] Mayor Battle, council member Scott Irwin Community Development Department. This

[16:36] public hearing is regarding the property located at 4704 Cabot Drive Northwest. The property

[16:42] was in violation of the state Public nuisance Act regarding junk. Community development

[16:47] issued notice to the property owner and interested parties, and the property remains in

[16:51] violation. Hearing development is seeking your authorization to abate this junk public

[16:54] nuisance, the condition of the property is before you on the video screen, including photos

[16:58] from when the property was initially determined to be a nuisance. The owners and

[17:02] interested parties were notified to attend the city council meeting in the council

[17:05] chambers where the objections could be heard regarding the abatement of this nuisance.

[17:10] Thank you, Mr. Irwin. The public hearing on item 9A is now open. Is there anyone here

[17:14] who wishes to address the council regarding this item. Singan, we will close the

[17:21] public hearing. Is there a motion to approve the resolution. Motion from Ms.

[17:25] Watkins, second from Mr. Little Are there any questions for Mr. Irwin or any discussion? Seeing

[17:32] none, all in favor, please indicate and impose. The motion carries. 9B is a public hearing

[17:38] on authorization authorizing the demolition of an unsafe building constituting a public

[17:42] nuisance located at 4204 Berry Street Northwest, Huntsville, Alabama, and consideration of a

[17:48] resolution pertaining to the same, Mr.. Yes, this resolution authorizes the demolition of an

[17:53] unsafe building constituting a public nuisance located at 4204 Berry Street Northwest. The

[17:59] owners and the industry parties were notified of this hearing by certified and. first class

[18:03] male and entered parties may be present tonight to voice any objections. We have

[18:06] photographed some of the property for your review on the screen and independent

[18:11] contractor inspected this property and determined it is not structurally feasible to

[18:15] repair the 89% loss of the independent assessment of fire damage had and had extensive

[18:21] interior damage of the property has been declared unsafe. No permits have been issued for

[18:26] repair or demolition. An official notice was sent by certified and first-class mail

[18:31] on July 2nd. Requesting demolition and removal of the structure, the owners of the

[18:36] parties were notified that tonight would be the time and place. where objections could

[18:40] be heard. Again, no action has been taken, so we're seeking your authorization to abate

[18:44] this nuisance. The public hearing on item 9B is now open. Is there anyone here wishing to

[18:51] comment on this item? I Please come to the microphone if you will please give us your name

[18:57] and address for the record. Uh, my name is George Macklin, 4204 Berry Street. And um I talked

[19:07] to a buyer and I got a buyer that's gonna buy it in September the property. OK.

[19:14] Thank you, ma'am. Any other comments? No, ma'am. Thank you so much for sharing that. Thank

[19:20] you. Are there any other comments? Public hearing is now closed. Is there a motion to

[19:26] approve the resolution? Move to approve motion for Mr. Little. Second from the chair. Is there

[19:32] a discussion? Mr. Irwin, there is apparently a buyer for this property for September. Does

[19:38] that change your recommendation ? No, Madam President, it does not. This has been a project

[19:43] we've been working on since December of last year. We are aware of the potential of a

[19:47] sale, so this, this public nuisance will be abated regardless of the sale. New

[19:52] owners would be held to the same standard, so if by the time we mobilize, it was at

[19:58] least 30 days before we were ready for the demolition, so we'll work with the existing or

[20:03] new owners to get demolished by voluntary compliance. Any other questions? All in favor, please

[20:10] indicate any opposed motion carried, madam, Madam President Ms. Watkins, I don't think

[20:16] everyone heard all the council members said, Can we do a roll call vote? Mr. Meredith, how do

[20:21] you vote? Mr. Kling, how do you vote? Mr. Bye. Ms. Watkins. And chair vote sign. The vote is

[20:30] unanimous. Thank you. We will move to 9C. 9C is a public hearing on authorizing the

[20:37] demolition of an unsafe building constituting a public nuisance located at 3042

[20:43] Boswell Drive, Northwest, Huntsville, Alabama, and consideration of a resolution

[20:46] pertaining to the same. Yes, this resolution again authorized the demolition of an

[20:52] unsafe building constituting a public nuisance at 3042 Boswell Drive, Northwest. The owners

[20:57] and parties were notified of this hearing by certified and first class mail and they may

[21:02] be present to voice any objections. We have photographs of the property for review on

[21:06] the screen and independent contractor inspected this property and terminated it was

[21:09] not structurally feasible to repair and 90% loss. The walls have come off the foundation.

[21:15] The roof system has failed, so it was beyond an economical viability for. Repair or

[21:21] renovation. The property is has been declared unsafe nor permits have been issued for

[21:26] repair or demolition. An official notice was sent by certified and first class mail

[21:30] on July 2nd requesting demolition and removal of the structure, the owners and the

[21:35] parties were notified to attend this city council meeting. where objections could be heard

[21:39] No action has been taken, so we're now requesting the council's authorization to

[21:43] abate this nuisance. Thank you, Mr. Irwin. The public hearing on item 9C is now open. Is

[21:49] there anyone here wishing to address the council regarding item 9C. Seeing none, the

[21:55] public hearing is now closed. Is there a motion to approve this item? Move to approve.

[22:00] Motion for Mr. Little. Second from Ms. Watkins. Is there any discussion? Questions for Mr.

[22:05] Irwin. I do have one question. I noticed on the, the photos this was May 19th. I'm, that's

[22:11] a little while ago. I'm assuming that nothing has gotten better in the interim.

[22:16] You've had someone check it. Yeah, he was checked the most recent this afternoon. So there

[22:20] have been no changes since the original photos. OK, all in favor, please indicate aye aye,

[22:27] and he opposed motion carries. Thank you. Uh, 9D is a public hearing on authorizing

[22:32] community development to assess the cost for the cleanup of public nuisances located at

[22:36] certain properties in Huntsville, Alabama in consideration of a resolution

[22:39] pertaining to the same. Yes, Madam President, this is a public hearing on a resolution

[22:45] authorizing community development to assess the cost of the clean of junk public

[22:49] nuisances located 3607 Princes Street and 4906 Clarty Road Northwest, the resolution

[22:54] before you authorizes an assessment to assessments in the total amount of $6,752.94.

[23:03] All procedural requirements relate to the declaration and clean up of public nuisances

[23:06] have been fulfilled in accordance with the state of Alabama Public Nuisance Act

[23:10] property owners were notified that an assessment. May be authorized and placed upon

[23:13] their property at this city council meeting in which they will have the opportunity to

[23:16] appear and present any objections to the assessed cost Thank you. Is there anyone here

[23:21] wishing to comment or the public hearing is now open for item 90. Is there anyone here

[23:26] wishing to comment on this item ? Seeing none, the public hearing is closed. Is there a

[23:31] motion to approve this resolution. A motion from Mr. Little, second from the chair.

[23:34] Does anyone have questions or comments? All in favor, please indicate a opposed. The motion

[23:41] carries. Thank you, council members. Thank you, Mr. Irwin. 9E is a public hearing on

[23:46] authorizing the finance director to issue a taxi license to Shasha Patsko

[23:52] Jennings doing business as Jennings' local transport for the operation of 3 taxis and

[23:58] consideration of a resolution pertaining to the same, uh, Ms. Bryant, good evening. Keisha

[24:04] Bryant, director of parking and public transit. This item is a public hearing to. Authorize

[24:08] our finance director to issue a taxi license to Mr. Jennings Jennings doing business as

[24:15] Jennings' Local Transport, he plans to operate 3 taxis under this business license. He has

[24:21] completed his application and passed his background check and also paid the fee for the

[24:26] license and so he is due to proceed. Thank you, Ms. Bryant. The public hearing on item 9E

[24:30] is now open. is Is there anyone here who wishes to comment? Seeing none, the public hearing

[24:36] is closed. Is there a motion to approve the resolution motion from Mr. Little second from Mr.

[24:41] Kling. Any comments? Mr. Meredith. Uh, Ms. Bryant, um, this is specifically for 3

[24:49] taxis. If he wanted to add additional taxes, does that have to come before the council

[24:56] or is that just added, so a taxi company requires 3 at the minimum, so anything above the

[25:02] 3, he would not have to come to counsel, but he would have to bring the vehicle to our office

[25:07] for inspection, metering, and, um, tagging. Thank you very much. Any other All in favor,

[25:15] please indicate any posed. The motion carries. Thank you. Thank you. 9F is a public

[25:21] hearing on the zoning of 24.67 acres of land lying on the north side of University Drive

[25:25] east of Providence Main Street to Highway Business C4 district and consideration of an

[25:30] ordinance pertaining to the same. Mr. Nunes, good evening, council members, uh, Madam

[25:34] President, Thomas Nunez, manager of planning and zoning services. This item is located

[25:39] north side of. You drive in east of Providence Main Street. Uh, this property was recently

[25:45] annexed into the city of Huntsville, uh, petitioners are seeking to zone the property

[25:49] highway business C4 for commercial, retail and hospitality development. Thank

[25:53] you, Mr. Thomas. Is there anyone here who we, oh, I'm sorry, public hearing is now

[25:58] open for item 9F. Is there anyone who wishes to comment on this item. Seeing none, the

[26:05] public hearing is closed. Is there a motion to approve motion from Mr. Meredith.

[26:10] Second from Mr. Little, any discussion? All in favor please indicate any opposed? The

[26:16] motion carries. 9G is a public hearing on the zoning of 1.98 acres of land lying on the

[26:23] north side of Capshaw Road west of Waltriana Highway to neighborhood Business C1

[26:27] district and consideration of an ordinance pertaining to the same. Mr. Nunez, Council

[26:30] members, is is located north side of Capshaw Road and west of Waltriana, uh, petitioners

[26:35] are seeking to zone the property neighborhood business C1 District, uh, for a property

[26:40] that was recently annexed into the city of Huntsville. Uh, the proposal here is for a

[26:44] commercial retail and office development. Thank you. Is there, oh, the public hearing

[26:50] on 9GE is now open. Is there anyone here who wishes to comment on item 9G. Seeing none

[26:55] of the public hearing is closed Is there a motion to approve motion from Mr. Meredith.

[27:01] Second from Mr. Little. Any discussion? All in favor, please indicate. All opposed.

[27:06] The motion carries. 9 H is a public hearing on the rezoning of 12.5 acres of land lying on

[27:11] the east side of Lehman Ferry Road and north of Phil Dotts Drive from commercial

[27:15] recreation C5 District to B C4 district and consideration of an ordinance pertaining to the

[27:20] same, Mr. Nunez, council members, this is a rezoning request, a city imposed

[27:24] rezoning request. For the east side of Lehman Ferry Road in North of Philip Dodds Drive

[27:31] from commercial recreation C5 District to Highway Business C4 District. Uh, the property in

[27:36] question is actually of Joe Davis Stadium in the Wicks Family Field. However, uh, this

[27:42] will rezone the area in question to highway Business C4 which will bring it up to the

[27:47] proper boundaries of the primary and proper boundaries of John Hunt Park, um. Yeah,

[27:53] for the official portion. So The public hearing on item 9H is now open. Is there anyone

[28:02] who wishes to comment? Seeing none of the the public hearing is closed, Is there a motion to

[28:07] approve?? for Mr?. Little second from Mr. Meredith. Are there any questions or comments

[28:12] ? All in favor, please indicate any opposed? The motion carries Thank you, council members.

[28:18] Thank you, Mr. Nunez. We we have no public hearings to be set. We have no agenda-related

[28:26] public comments, so this brings us then to Mayor Battle, Mayor's comments. Thank you, uh

[28:32] Madam President, and, and council members, uh, first off, uh, we would like to

[28:38] congratulate Columbia High School, uh, they won their football game Saturday night.

[28:43] Um Quite a few of us were there and it was a, it was a great, um, it, it was a great matchup.

[28:52] They went down 14 to 0 in the 1st, 1st 2 times that, uh, Greensboro got the ball. They

[28:57] went down 14-0, then they fought back and they ended up winning 41-14. Uh, so it was a

[29:03] great game and, um, and it broke 101 game losing streak. So, uh, we're, we're

[29:12] congratulations to Columbia, and I think you'll see some other activities happening, uh,

[29:15] over the. Next, next couple of weeks for that high high school Uh, this weekend, Sanford is

[29:21] gonna play UNA Saturday at uh uh at Joe Davis Stadium, uh, Wicks Field, uh, should be a

[29:29] great game, a lot of fun, uh, and please come out and join it Um, we'll be there and, uh,

[29:35] watching football at its best as, as we see, um, Sanford playing UNA and also, uh,

[29:43] Saturday the 10th anniversary of Rock Steady Boxing. Uh, this is a program that was put in

[29:48] place at John Hunt Park, uh, for folks with Parkinson's, uh, is a, a rehabilitation process

[29:55] for those with Parkinson's, and they'll be having their 10th anniversary, um, I believe it's

[30:00] about 10 o'clock on Saturday there and also this week um I had the opportunity to go out

[30:05] on the arsenal to the ribbon cutting for, uh, the Defense Intelligence Agencies, uh,

[30:13] material exploit exploitation, uh, facility, which is a Huge facility, um, the people out

[30:19] there are to be congratulated for the work that they've done year after year. They, they

[30:24] keep our country safe. And finally, uh, on a sad note, um, we, um, memorialize, uh, the

[30:31] signage out on Highway 72 uh East, uh, for, um, Billy Clarty the 3rd. He was one of our

[30:40] police officers, one of our finest, uh, who was killed in the line of action, and this.

[30:46] And we'll stay in memorial uh fashion for Billy Clarty, uh, to for people to remember his

[30:54] sacrifice and what he did for our city, uh, many, many, uh, many years ago. So thank you.

[31:02] Thank you, Mayor Battle. We will move on to item 13. Council member comments, and we

[31:07] will hear first from council member Michelle Watkins. No comments. We will move on to

[31:13] council member Bill Kling. Well thank you, Madam President, first of all, let me just say

[31:18] on a personal note, thank you to everyone within the district who came out to vote and

[31:23] especially thank you to, uh, all those folks who voted to re-elect me. I felt like it was

[31:31] a long, hot summer. There were some ups. There were some downs but I enjoyed the process of

[31:36] getting out into the neighborhoods, perhaps even more than I normally do. It's a

[31:41] learning process for me, and I've heard some issues, some concerns that people expressed,

[31:46] I think. There are things we can do, uh, talking about uh how we up here can do our job a

[31:52] little bit better, so I'm going to be looking at things that I can suggest we could work on to

[31:57] the council as a body to interact better with the public Again, we have a great

[32:03] community. We're all on the same team, and we just went through a great process that I

[32:08] think a lot of people and a lot of countries would like to have the option. I am going to, as I

[32:14] said, continue my monthly town meetings. Of course, and, uh, give me a few days to kind of

[32:19] get my legs back, probably Monday or Tuesday of next week. Uh, I'll be back doing my

[32:24] little street patrols that I do and I think I got one mayor and 4 council members love it

[32:29] because me away from City Hall, and again, I'm working out in the neighborhoods. We've got

[32:35] great department heads and we work to get whatever needed city maintenance we can take so

[32:40] that action will be continued and certainly I'll be a very strong booster for the upcoming

[32:46] becoming uh I-565 at Memorial Parkway Interchange and also as we chase and continue the

[32:53] acceleration of the ring road around the city right out road coming into Alabama Highway 255

[33:00] Now we're up to the northern bypass, and from there eventually Hampton Cove and

[33:05] then coming around just east of the arsenal, that ring road again, I think will take a lot

[33:11] off of the stress of the central portion of the city, and I think that's a great

[33:15] thing for our future. as far as quality of life. Again, stepping back, uh, we have a

[33:22] great city. Uh, we've seen that by the way we've been recognized by around the

[33:27] country. Uh, we have challenges of course, but again, we do have many good things, and we

[33:32] can be appreciative of that. So again, I'm looking forward to the next 4 years and, uh, uh, I

[33:38] think there are many great things that are going to be taking place and on one sad

[33:43] note, uh, this week, uh, we need to recognize the passing of Libby Jones, who, um, had

[33:50] been the wife of Ray Jones, who uh, I think people throughout the community knew, very

[33:56] wonderful, very smiling, beautiful woman who, uh, was brought a cheer to everyone

[34:03] that she came in contact with, and she will be greatly missed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kling

[34:08] We'll now hear from Council member David Little. Thank you Madam President. Um, I just

[34:15] want to uh give a quick shout outs to our transit team, uh, police, engineering, public

[34:21] works, planning, and home utilities for being responsive to citizen needs over the last

[34:25] few weeks. As always, I'm grateful, as are citizens. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.

[34:30] Little. We'll now hear from council member John Meredith. Want to start by uh. Wishing a

[34:39] very happy anniversary to the best wife anybody could possibly imagine having. She

[34:46] knows who she is. Um, the, the mayor stole my thunder, but uh, how about those Columbia High

[34:52] School football players. Uh, wonderful group, um, and just for the record, they are

[35:01] currently undefeated. Want to also mention that I plan on having that far on Flock

[35:08] cameras here in council chambers on September 16th, it'll be at 4 o'clock and of

[35:14] course, as always, the public is invited to come talk to the uh issue area experts, which is

[35:23] HBD NAMA, and other law enforcement, uh, folks, and um again, the public is cordially

[35:29] invited to be here, hear what they have to say, but also have the opportunity to Question

[35:33] them. Um, want to thank, um, Columbia high High School and uh the folks at the central

[35:42] office of HCS for inviting me, uh, on a sneak peek of the junior ROTC building there at

[35:50] Columbia. It is a fantastic state of the art building that um I know they are looking

[35:57] forward to um getting into and also making available to all of the uh ROTC programs within.

[36:05] HCS schools. Um, looking forward to the brown groundbreaking at Westmore

[36:12] Landing, which will be on Monday, August 23rd at 1 p.m. uh, been looking forward to

[36:18] this project for quite a while. It is going to bring that Providence style living to

[36:24] limestone County. And then finally, I want to thank the Chamber of Commerce and the

[36:29] Research Park Board for inviting me, uh, along with my District 5, representative

[36:36] counterpart for the Huntsville City Schools, Carlos Matthews, to present medals at the UCI

[36:43] Pacycling world championships on Saturday, September 5th. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.

[36:49] Meredith, and I will extend my congratulations to Mr. Kling and Mr. Little for their

[36:54] reelection to council to Holly McCarty for reelection to the school board, and Peyton

[37:00] Redfern, who is newly elected to the school board as well and thank all of those who offered

[37:06] themselves for public service in this municipal election. We'll go on to item 14, the

[37:10] finance committee report 14A is a resolution authorizing expenditures for payment. Is

[37:15] there a motion to approve. I move for authorization and approval of expenditures in the

[37:24] amount of $53617,4014.27. Mr. Little, take the 2nd uh any discussion on this? I do have

[37:35] one question. The number is unusually large, um. Ms. Smith, would you like to Um, offer a

[37:44] quick explanation to the public Certainly I'll be happy to. Penny Smith, director of

[37:49] finance within these numbers are 2 actually very large payments. One is for our school

[37:55] system. So as you are well aware, the school is, uh, is moving through their capital

[38:01] plan and so they present to us some, um, payments for, for that out of the debt that we

[38:08] have issued and so for the school system and so those payments came to. 14,

[38:15] 14,400,000 and, and change. And then we had another payment that, um, a couple of, um, a

[38:22] couple of months ago, um, the city council passed resolution 26414, purchasing the assets,

[38:29] I'm purchasing the food and beverages assets that were owned. Um, by, by, um by the

[38:35] Huntsville Venue Group, and so that has that it took a while to get all the inventory

[38:41] counted and make sure that all those numbers were correct, so that payment actually went

[38:45] through on this particular item as well and so between those two payments, if you back those

[38:51] out, we'll back down to about 27.7 million. Any other questions or comments? All in

[38:57] favor, please indicate any opposed? The motion carries. 15 this is board appointments to

[39:03] be voted on. We have several 15A is a resolution to reappoint Thornton Stanley

[39:07] Junior to the Board of Examinations and Appeals for construction industries Place 8

[39:11] his for a 3-year term to expire September 21, 2029. Is there from Mr. Kling, second from Mr.

[39:20] Motion to most or little, all in favor, please indicate aye, any opposed the motion carries.

[39:27] 15B is a resolution to reappoint Dennis Dean to the Board of Examinations and

[39:31] Appeals for construction industries Place to his current seat for a 3-year term to

[39:34] expire September 21, 2029. Motion for Mr. Little. 2nd from Mr. Kling. All in favor, please

[39:43] Yes, sir. You might want to specify you didn't on the last one, but it requires 4/5 for

[39:49] passage. All in favor please indicate aye, any opposed the motion carries. 15C is a

[39:59] resolution to reappoint Heather Bender to the Animal Services Advisory Committee placed to

[40:01] her current seat for a 3-year term to expire September 8, 2029. Is there a motion to

[40:07] motion from Mr. Merritt, 2 from Mr. Little. All in favor, please indicate any opposed the

[40:12] motion carries. 15 CD is a resolution to reappoint Colin Keller to the Animal Services

[40:19] Advisory Committee. Place 5, his current seat for a 3-year term to expire September 8,

[40:23] 2029. Is there a motion motion for Mr. Little second from Mr. Kling. All in favor, please

[40:30] indicate any opposed? The motion carries. 15E is a resolution to reappoint

[40:36] Christopher Jason Smith to the Board of Examinations and Appeals for construction

[40:39] industries Place 16 is current seat for a 3-year term to expire September 21, 2029. Is

[40:44] there a motion to approve? Move to approve motion for Mr. Little. Second from the chair.

[40:48] All in favor, please indicate many opposed. The motion carries. 15F is a resolution to

[40:55] appoint Joshua Pennington to the Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council placed 13 due

[40:59] to the resignation of Brian Webb for the remainder of a vacant four-year term to expire

[41:03] August 21, 2027. motion from Mr Meredith, 22nd from Mr. Little. All in favor, please indicate.

[41:10] Aye, and he opposed the motion carries. 15G is resolution to appoint Larry Durham to the

[41:17] Board of examinations and Appeals for construction industries Place 7 to the seat

[41:20] previously held by Russ Grimes for a 3-year term to expire September 21, 2029. The Chair

[41:26] makes the motion. Second from Mr. Little. All in favor, please indicate. I oppose and

[41:33] he opposed the motion carries, and I think Mr. Durham is here. Thank you for your service. We

[41:39] have no board appointment nominations on the agenda. Are there any nominations from the

[41:44] floor. Then we'll go on item 17 Huntsville utilities items. Mr. Gerdes, do you have a report

[41:51] for us? Thank you, Council President Jo Joe Gerdes, I would almost call myself Joseph

[41:56] I never do that. Joe Gerdes Huntsville Utilities and as promised, uh, we're just here

[42:01] to answer any questions you may have. Uh, nothing to report tonight. We will appear at your

[42:08] next meeting with our FY 27 budget. Thank you, sir. Um, we appreciate you being here. Of

[42:14] 18 legal department item transactions 18A is an ordinance authorizing the

[42:18] vacation of two portions of a utility and drainage easement tract 1, Richland Park 2nd

[42:25] edition containing 0.07 and 0. And 0. let me do that again, 0.07 and 0.11 acres. Is there a

[42:36] motion to approve? Move to approve motion for Mr. Little, second from the chair. Any

[42:39] questions? All in favor, please indicate any opposed. The motion carries. 18B is a

[42:47] resolution authorizing the acceptance of a 0.528 acre tract of land from North Valley

[42:52] Land LLC for a sanitary sewer easement off of Highway 53 at Blake Bottom Road. Is there a

[42:58] motion to approve a motion from Mr. Little, second from the chair. All in favor, please

[43:03] indicate and opposed. The motion carries. This brings us to unfinished business items

[43:08] for action in 19A is an ordinance to declare certain real property located at the

[43:12] intersection of Moors Mill Road and Vintage. Drive a surplus and authorized the mayor to

[43:17] enter into a purchase and sale agreement between the city of Huntsville and Opian in

[43:23] Incorporated. Is there a motion motion for Mr. Little, second from the chair. Mr. Davis is

[43:28] here with us, uh, to make a presentation. Thank you, Madam President. Good evening,

[43:33] Council member Shane Davis, director of urban economic development development so

[43:36] development, uh, council members from time to time probably 6 or 7 times a year we

[43:40] bring you real estate contracts before this council, um, in various forms sometimes they're

[43:46] industrial development, sometimes they're retail development, uh, sometimes

[43:49] they're property that may be a counter agency that we're we're helping and, uh, tonight is one

[43:55] of those, uh, ordinances and when we do that, there's two-step process, uh, that's

[44:00] why it's an ordinate, so we must. declared surplus no longer needed for public use.

[44:04] And then enter a purchase and sell agreement. So that's what you're going to vote on here

[44:08] momentarily. So I wanna give a little bit of history about this property and how the city

[44:15] uh came to acquisition of it, so it's located in Chase Industrial Park, uh, the

[44:19] property is located fronting, uh, Mooresville Road and was the former campus of Qualitas

[44:24] Pharmaceutical. I think locally a lot of people refer to pharmaceutical. Uh, the city

[44:29] acquired the undeveloped portion of this back in about 2010 after the acquisition of

[44:35] Qualitas Pharmaceuticals by Endo Pharmaceutical. Uh, the Probst family donated this land

[44:41] to the sea, the undeveloped portion, uh, in the direction that it had 3 purposes for

[44:48] which to dispose of it, one, a public use. Or commercial or industrial development. They

[44:52] wanted to see good happen out of out of it for the betterment of the community. So on this

[45:00] screen what I wanted to point out is, uh, the, the pharmaceutical campus uh that

[45:05] you see kind of central to it with the ring road, uh, those buildings are still active,

[45:10] actually, uh, trial X Pharmaceuticals is in the southernmost building, uh,

[45:14] still in operation. The building to the east is, is Lidos, one of our defense

[45:19] contractors in our city with multiple locations in the building to the north is more

[45:25] warehouse logistics storage. Uh I do want to point out that. The dash yellow area was part

[45:30] of that original uh acquisition by the city. And a couple of years ago we uh partnership

[45:37] with some property that allowed us to expand in John Hunt Park. Uh, this council approved a

[45:43] development agreement and real estate agreement with Alabama National Guard for this to

[45:47] become one of their latest training centers if you've been by there, that project is

[45:50] getting very near completion looks very nice, uh, very nice. Uh, I do want to point out to

[45:57] the north and to the east of the Lidos building. That area has been reserved for the

[46:03] future Northern bypass to connect to US Highway 72, so that is the corridor being

[46:08] reserved for that, as it would cross Winchester Road, Mooresville Road, and come back

[46:11] to US 2. 31. So that leaves the southernmost portion and that's what uh we're presenting to you

[46:19] tonight. So what's before you is a 15 acre site as you see, uh, hatched out here, uh, the

[46:26] southernmost portion of the city property, the purchase price is $1.126 million. That

[46:35] is $75,000 an acre if, if you're doing the math, uh, that is in conducive of the market

[46:40] rate for this area of Chase Industrial Park and it's Highway 72 area. Uh, as we do

[46:46] with any real estate contract, we want to make sure that the reason that you would vote to

[46:50] sell that that project gets delivered to the community, should it not? There's a

[46:53] repurchase option. Uh, so that's pretty standard in our contracts. You always see those

[46:58] So there's 18 month purchase, a repurchase obligation should the project not move forward.

[47:03] The city has the right to regain the property at the same purchase price, so there's no

[47:08] escalation that we'd pay more to to receive that property back. So the proposed land use,

[47:13] so this property due to the utilities both public and private utilities in this area.

[47:18] We felt that this is good for the overall community. Uh, the proposed use is a regional

[47:24] fiber network switch facility, so that's a big word, right? Uh what I wanted to describe to

[47:29] you and the public what that really means is to get more efficient in delivering high

[47:34] speed long distance, reliable transmission and routing of existing fiber Internet service

[47:40] and in our data that we send. Every day, whether that's email storing, uh, social media or

[47:45] just conducting business, uh, I like to, um, equate that to what the AT&T building just

[47:54] outside this uh building we set tonight across the is to our phone network that building is

[48:02] a hub to distribute incoming and outgoing landline phone service. Uh, that building

[48:09] stretches and provides service all the way to Southern Tennessee. So think of this and

[48:13] very similar to that but for our existing fiber infrastructure through our city

[48:19] Um, there's additional benefits to the city, uh, so the southernmost portion you see in

[48:24] red, we are retaining and uh uh Jon Hamilton, the fire department and looking at a

[48:30] long-range plans has identified this with the rapid growing area of East Huntsville is a

[48:35] perfect location for a future fire station. So in working with the purchaser in the

[48:39] layout of how they would build their facility and connect to the fiber network and provide

[48:45] this better efficiency and more high speed service throughout the region. Uh, they've agreed

[48:49] in their layout to build a new road for which our fire station would gain access to. Uh, there

[48:55] so, uh, that would be at no cost to the city. And the proceeds from this, should you

[49:01] approve this tonight, uh, the administration would like to take those proceeds, put them

[49:06] in the 1990 plan to help fund this project. Council members, it, it, it's, it's not a lot,

[49:13] it's not very complicated, um, open to any questions you may have. Council members, any

[49:18] questions for Mr. Davis, Mr. Meredith. Uh, my question is just how many acres are going

[49:24] to be utilized for the fire station. So if, if you look, uh you know, once they get design,

[49:31] there's much more property here than is needed for the initial, but we wanted to carve enough

[49:35] out to, as the city grows, if, if, you know, fire department needed a new ladder truck bay

[49:41] like we're doing out in Greenbrier that there's room to expand, so, uh, the typical

[49:48] initial is 2 to 3, maybe 5 acres at most, uh, if you look. Here, there's a just under 10

[49:53] acres of additional property for the city to use. Thank you, sir. You're welcome. Any other

[49:58] questions for Mr. Davis? All in favor please indicate any opposed. The motion carries.

[50:04] Thank you, Mr. Davis. Thank you counsel members. This brings us to 20 new items of business

[50:11] items for consideration or action. Are there any these items will be approved in one

[50:15] motion unless any member of the council wishes to remove an item for discussion, the

[50:18] reading of each item will be waived unless a council member requests otherwise. Are there

[50:22] any items anyone wishes to hold separately, Mr. Meredith. Item M That that's all OK, Ms.

[50:33] Watkins. B See I He Q S. S S or X S as in Sam. OK, item A. see. I I F Q. And S as in Sam, and

[51:10] the chair moves for consolidation and approval. Of items 20. 2 H20J. 2 Jade K and

[51:25] L. 20 and O. 20R are. 20 and 20U. 22nd for Mr. Little. All in favor, please indicate. I

[51:39] opposed those items are approved. We will now move on to 28. 28 is a resolution

[51:44] authorizing travel expenses as their emotion. Motion for Mr. Little, second from the chair.

[51:50] Is there a discussion? Council members, any questions? Yes, Ms Smith, did you get a chance to

[51:57] send me the the update of this for this. Prior to the approval Not for, for this, it's, it's

[52:06] in. No, I did not realize that you wanted them for every session, OK, session if you

[52:13] don't mind, yes. OK, I will send those to you. Any other questions? All in favor, please

[52:22] indicate aye. and he opposed. The motion carries 20B is an ordinance amending budget

[52:27] ordinance number 25-744 by changing appropriate funding for various departments and

[52:33] funds is their motion. Move to approve motion for Mr. Little. Second from the chair.

[52:38] Questions or comments. The discussion. Ms. Watkins, you held this. Do you have I did. I

[52:45] want her to explain for the listening public, so this, this item has been donated, so we

[52:53] have a, um, we have a a fire pole that um, that should, so this is for a budgeted item,

[53:00] I'm sorry, not a donation, budgeted item that increases um a transfer to a 1990 Capitol

[53:07] Projects fund from um from our fire and rescue department. So that, that contract and

[53:12] everything. Everything will be executed within the capital projects funds, um, along with

[53:19] the, with the remainder of things around it. And so this is literally just moving money

[53:25] from, from the general fund where we initially established that to the Capitol Projects

[53:30] fund so that the money can be properly expended according to the contract. Thank you. Any

[53:36] other comments or questions? All in favor, please indicate opposed. The motion carries.

[53:40] 20C. Is the resolution authorizing the mayor to take a portion of the proceeds of

[53:45] certain future borrowing is to reimburse the 2014 Capital Improvement Fund of the city

[53:49] for expenditures incurred prior to borrowing issuance. Is there a motion to approve? motion for

[53:56] Mr. Little. Second from the chair. Um, Miss Uh, Ms. Smith, can you help us understand what

[54:03] we're doing here. Um, good evening, Penny Smith, director of finance. So this is, um,

[54:10] you've seen these types of resolutions come before you, um uh, it is a tool that we use in

[54:17] order to, um, in order to right size any borrowing that we do moving forward as we go forward

[54:23] so, so there has been a a tiff that has been set in place, um, Along with a 1% lodging tax

[54:31] that has been set in place to fund the the Von the Von the Von Civic Center expansion. And

[54:39] um, and so there will be borrowings up to $260 million obviously that is, that is a

[54:48] max amount, um, that is not, uh the actual borrowings themselves, there will be

[54:52] multiple series of borrowings as we move through this three-year project. And um and

[54:57] so setting that in place, there are a number of things that are starting to occur and happen,

[55:02] um, and as we move across that, we want to be able to capture that into the borrowings right

[55:08] now, the first borrowings set maybe for spring, February, March time frame. We're not

[55:13] sure of the size, um, or scope of that borrowing as of yet. Any discussion? All in favor,

[55:22] please indicate any opposed. The motion carries. 20 is a resolution authorizing the

[55:27] mayor to enter an agreement between the city of Huntsville and Three Notch Group Inc. for

[55:31] engineering design services for Alabama Highway 53 and Douglas Road intersection Improvements,

[55:36] project number 71-26-SP56. Is there a motion to approve? Move to approve motion for Mr.

[55:43] Little. Seconded by the chair, Ms. Martin. Yes, good evening. Kathy Martin, director of City

[55:49] engineering. So this is a design contract with 3-notch Group. It's for intersection

[55:54] improvements at the Alabama Highway 53 and Douglas Road. And what we're doing is adding

[55:58] a right turn lane at Douglas Road to minimize congestion in the area. So this is a lump sum

[56:02] design contract amount of $45,090. Thank you. Questions or comments? Do you know when

[56:09] this construction is going to start on this road. We would hope, uh, by spring of next

[56:14] year, we've got to go through ALDOC permitting process. OK, thank you, Ms. Martin. Yes,

[56:19] ma'am. Any other questions or comments? All in favor, please indicate. I oppose the motion

[56:23] carries. 20M is a resolution authorizing the city attorney to settle a personal injury

[56:28] claim of Alicia Smith. Is there a motion to approve motion for Mr. Little, second from the

[56:34] chair. Um, Mr. Riley, would it be appropriate for us to discuss this, or should we go

[56:38] into another executive session want to discuss it, we need to go in the executive Council

[56:43] members, is there a motion for executive session. Motion to go into executive session, I'll Mr

[56:51] Meredith, how do you vote? go into executive session. Mr. Kling, how do you vote? Mr.

[57:03] Klein, come back to me, would you? Um, I'll go ahead and vote on. Mr. Little Mr. Ms. Watkins.

[57:10] On the chairboat's side, we will be going into executive. We will now convene for

[57:17] executive session. Yes sir, I guess a personal contact, a comment I would have on this,

[57:23] it seems like something like this an individual council member can consult with the

[57:26] city attorney before the meeting, but I'll Went along with it as a courtesy. Thank

[57:32] you. We will now convene for a closed suspend the public meeting and we were go into

[57:40] executive session. We hope to. e public meeting. Motion for Mr. Kling, seconded from Mr. Little

[57:51] All in favor, please indicate motion, the meeting is now convened. We have a motion on

[57:58] the floor to approve item 20M. All in favor, please indicate opposed. The motion carries.

[58:07] 20% is a resolution authorizing the mayor to submit a grant application to the Federal

[58:11] Transit Authority FTA administration, FTA for the FY 27 formula grant. Their motion

[58:16] to approve motion Kling, second from Mr. Little. Any discussion conversation, questions. Yeah,

[58:27] uh, is there going to be public input on how all this money gets used when you get further

[58:32] down the line, Ms. Bryant. Yes, Keisha Bryant, director of parking and public. So these

[58:39] are our annual dollars that are appropriated from FTA and so we will use them for our

[58:45] operations cost, um, which are covered by these federal dollars at a 50% rate, and then

[58:49] we'll also use them for capital costs at a rate of 80% for the federal dollars. And so we will

[58:56] not have any public hearings. We are just continuing our operations. There's nothing new

[59:01] that's going on with these dollars. It's just so that we can access and Allocate the

[59:05] dollars that the federal government has allocated to us. Any other questions? Ms.

[59:12] Watkins, well, now, Mr. Clean jumped in before I could ask a question, even though I held

[59:17] the item, but thank you, Ms. Rich, read your mind. Thank you Mr. Meredith. No, I've got

[59:25] something else. Let's finish this off and then I'll, all in favor please indicate opposed.

[59:30] The motion carries. If I can interrupt just for the record, Mr. Riley, could you for Um,

[59:39] compliance with the Opens the Meeting Act give the reasons for the last, uh, Need for

[59:45] executive sessions, and I apologize for failing to do that. I kind of got called off

[59:50] surprise there, but yes, uh, once again I am an attorney in the in the uh uh license to

[59:57] practice in Alabama and in my judgment this falls within the open litigation and discussing

[1:00:04] with your attorney those litigation matters that need to be done in confidence, so it

[1:00:09] does apply to one of the, the, uh, uh, the exceptions. In the open Meeting Act that allows

[1:00:15] for executive session for the record, could you give the site citation. Citation of the code.

[1:00:24] Just for the record. It's 36 25A-7A3. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you

[1:00:39] Mr. Meredith. Um, 2020Q is a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into facility

[1:00:44] use agreement between the city of Huntsville and Fox Trosts Company LLC is there a motion

[1:00:49] motion for Mr. Little, second from the chair. Council members Jon Hamilton city administrator

[1:01:00] So, uh, customers, the, the item before you is uh our standard facility use agreement

[1:01:05] that you see each year for the fair, carnival event that occurs down at John Hunt Park.

[1:01:11] This event is scheduled from September 24th to the 27th. Any questions for Mr. Hamilton?

[1:01:18] Thank you, Ms. Hamilton. That's what I want to know. What was the Rocket City Fair? Thank you

[1:01:24] Any other questions? All in favor, please indicate opposed. The motion carries. And finally

[1:01:29] 20s 20s is a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a memorandum of

[1:01:33] understanding between the Federal Bureau of Investigation the Huntsville City Board of

[1:01:36] Education and the City of Huntsville Public department, police department to formally

[1:01:41] establish the Tennessee Valley Threat Assessment and Threat Management Team. Is there a

[1:01:46] motion to approve? Motion from Mr. Little. Second from the chair. Chief Giles, can you

[1:01:51] share with us, uh, the action being here. Yes, ma'am, this is an MOU with the FBI in respects

[1:01:59] to It's basically just violent as initially, um, When law enforcement traditionally are

[1:02:05] dealing with this. We deal with this after the fact. In other words, once the incident had

[1:02:08] already occurred. What they discovered back in 2015 to a symposium was the best way to

[1:02:15] tackle this in a multidisciplinary team was to do threat assessment and then

[1:02:19] threat management. So what they'll do, they were asking us to be a host agency, the FBI,

[1:02:25] and we are going to collaborate with the schools, city schools, because that's where we're

[1:02:29] obviously the concern is throughout the neighborhood, but especially with the schools

[1:02:33] and at this point in time, we can help identify threats ahead of time and then, but once we

[1:02:37] get through that, I. We'll be able to partner with other local resources such as mental

[1:02:43] health to provide resources for the individual, and this can go outside the schools as well. In

[1:02:50] other words, it can go, uh, in a normal, uh, business world as well. Any questions for Chief

[1:02:57] Giles, Ms. Watkins, um, Chief Giles, with this assessment one of the schools? Not necessarily

[1:03:02] It's going to depend on the circumstances. When we set up a multidisciplinary team, it'll,

[1:03:08] it'll bring us all together, uh within that group, and we'll discuss it. It's not knowing

[1:03:13] which cases we'll be dealing with at the time. It's hard to say, but we will be pulling to

[1:03:15] schools in like an exercise? Yeah, they'll be involved if it involves a student, they would

[1:03:21] definitely be involved. OK, thank you. Any other comments? questions. All in favor please

[1:03:28] indicate you opposed. The motion carries. We have no new business that concludes our

[1:03:33] business before us this evening We have no new business items for introduction. The next item

[1:03:38] on our agenda is 2nd roster public comments. We have several s. Right, we

[1:04:46] will call the meeting back to order, so we are now at 2nd roster public comments. This

[1:04:51] portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the council on matters

[1:04:55] relating to city business, whether or not such items are on the meeting agenda. Those

[1:04:59] wishing to comment have signed up in advance, um, when called, approached the microphone,

[1:05:05] state your name, home address, and city of residence, and I will also call the person

[1:05:09] following so that you can be ready to come up. We'll move this process along. Each

[1:05:13] speaker speaker may address the council for 3 minutes. Speakers shall refrain. from entering

[1:05:18] into a dialogue with council members or city staff and from making comments regarding the

[1:05:22] good name and character of any individual. The first person signed up to speak is

[1:05:27] Christopher Boulware, who will be followed by Maggie Minsk, um Mr. Boltware. We'll just come

[1:05:33] right here. And you will each have 3 minutes. Good evening. City council. I am an Alabama

[1:05:45] native who graduated high school and college here. Name and address for the record,

[1:05:49] please. Christopher Bulware 119 Rebecca Pines Drive, Madison, Alabama. Thank you. I've lived

[1:05:54] in 5 states across this country I've seen enough to know that Huntsville is a special place.

[1:06:00] In one worth preserving. That's why I'm here to address what I consider a travesty against

[1:06:05] American freedoms. AI powered automated license plate readers with flock safety as the

[1:06:12] infamous market leader. Marketed to eliminate crime. This technology is dragnet

[1:06:18] surveillance, paving the road to a surveillance state. Alabama now ranks 6th

[1:06:23] nationally, and these cameras per capita. Fought claims that it makes communities safer, but

[1:06:30] a leaked internal tool called OS Investigate showed can correlate plate scans with data

[1:06:37] broker information. Social Security numbers, phone numbers relatives. Performing with

[1:06:43] Flock itself calls a one command background check. Another tool, convoy analysis,

[1:06:50] Clegg's vehicles traveling together, letting police monitor who regularly gathers,

[1:06:55] whether a criminal ring or simply neighbors, coworkers, or protesters. With 20 billion

[1:07:00] scans per month, you'd assume that Flock protects the data. And it's wrong. Researchers

[1:07:06] gained root access to a camera in under 30 seconds with a ladder. Credentials transmit in

[1:07:12] clear text and the cameras violate 8 of 10 industry internet security standards.

[1:07:19] Clock doesn't even require multi-factor authentication. And flock logins have been

[1:07:23] found for sale on Russian cybercrime forums and the public is responding. At least

[1:07:30] 54 cities have canceled their flock contracts in 26 alone, including the LAPD after an

[1:07:35] audit showed a 1 in 3 chance of pulling over an innocent person The opposition is bipartisan,

[1:07:42] uh, Governor DeSantis recently said that the cameras are out of control. Congressman

[1:07:46] Burchett from Tennessee introduced HR 9800 to cut federal funding, and make no

[1:07:53] mistake, protecting Americans from AI overreach and mass surveillance has become one of

[1:07:57] the biggest issues voters use as their North Star at the ballot box. For Huntsville,

[1:08:03] this is a national security issue. We are one of the largest defense hubs in the

[1:08:07] nation, and for adversaries can buy stolen login credentials for a few $100. Mapped the

[1:08:13] vehicles of our defense contractors, trace them home, and profile cleared personnel

[1:08:18] for blackmail in minutes with no warrant. Our founders warned us, James Madison said there

[1:08:24] are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of people by gradual and silent

[1:08:29] encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations, and Benjamin

[1:08:34] Franklin said those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary

[1:08:38] safety deserved neither liberty or safety. As his counsel to cancel Flock's contract and

[1:08:43] pass a local ordinance requiring warrants for any mass surveillance data. Thank you.

[1:08:50] Thank you, sir. Next person to speak is Maggie Min Minsk following Ms. Minsk, we will

[1:08:56] hear from Jerry Burnett. Hi, my name's Maggie Minsk, and I live in Madison, um, but I'm also a

[1:09:18] business owner, uh, in Huntsville's District 5. Um, I am a single mother and business

[1:09:26] owner, and I'm also concerned about flock safety, um, which I believe is rather Orwellian, uh

[1:09:34] in speech and might be more aptly named Flux surveillance. I, I am truly concerned, uh,

[1:09:41] the cameras take videos, essentially a warrantless search of everyone in Hunts, uh

[1:09:46] Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, etc. all have contracts with Flock, um, Huntsville did it it

[1:09:50] first. Madison got theirs. Um, not too long ago for 86,000, uh the North Alabama Multi-agency

[1:09:59] Crime Center uses license plate readers, cameras, gunshot detection, which is microphones

[1:10:04] and also intelligence, AI, um, however, statistically, it seems like a study of flat

[1:10:10] cameras showed that ALPR's are wrong 71% of the time, leaving us to pay for a lawyer, take

[1:10:19] off work, and prove in court that it wasn't us, um, so. there's a concern about

[1:10:24] innocent until proven guilty, and once the data exists about all Huntsville citizens, it

[1:10:30] becomes a cybersecurity target. Uh, in January, Flock confirmed a security incident involving

[1:10:36] its condor cameras that exposed live camera feeds and archival footage and a allowed video to

[1:10:42] be deleted. Researchers have also demonstrated vulnerabilities in ALPR

[1:10:48] technology that exposed these surveillance systems to unauthorized access. Anything

[1:10:52] connected to a network is potentially vulnerable. Uh, 2 days ago, uh, August 25th,

[1:10:58] Pflugerville, Texas, unanimously voted to end its flat contract after it was

[1:11:02] revealed that. 1.6 million searches had been conducted by 459 outside organizations

[1:11:13] within a six month period. This week, a US Senate Jujudiciary Subcommittee opened a formal

[1:11:20] investigation into Flock's data collection access and sharing practices, flocksone materials

[1:11:25] acknowledge that it's LPR system is connected across 49 states while the ALC ACLU has

[1:11:31] raised concern about the creation of a nationwide surveillance infrastructure as

[1:11:36] a mental health professional, I'm concerned about the privacy and safety of clients or any

[1:11:42] vulnerable marginalized residents. How do we protect? Those seeking refuge from

[1:11:47] domestic violence, stalking, and other dangerous situations. Anyone can gain access and

[1:11:52] reconstruct where a client lives or a police officer, judge, city council member,

[1:11:58] track the movements of someone with national top secret clearance and what happens when

[1:12:03] Huntsville's military intelligence, aerospace, and, and defense activity becomes

[1:12:07] part of a searchable hackable surveillance database. The overall infrastructure also has

[1:12:14] an environmental cost yet to be ascertained. Um, finally, taxpayers very much, Ms. Minsk.

[1:12:21] Your time is up. Thank you for joining us tonight. We'll now hear from Jerry Burnett. Mr.

[1:12:27] Burnett will be followed by Austin Jones. Uh, Jerry, Jerry Burnett, 2405 Greenhill Drive,

[1:12:38] uh, to the mail and the rest of the council. Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to

[1:12:44] speak. I'm here because I have an issue with my next door neighbor. Who doesn't seem to

[1:12:51] care to keep their property up. And I've had to call my councilwoman, uh, several times

[1:13:01] Crash and debris that they leave around the house, they don't care that. Bring the

[1:13:06] trash can in, uh, dropped trash trash on the ground. They don't they'll just walk right over it

[1:13:11] They don't mind drinking a soda Throw the can out the door. And from time to time I've had to

[1:13:17] pick trash up that's coming over into my yard after it lay down for several days and the

[1:13:22] wind blew it into the yard. And I told my wife, I said, well, maybe we can put up with it

[1:13:27] until we can find the relocate. But then they got a cat, thththh cat that cononontinues to. use y

[1:13:37] Property for its bathroom. So that's, so I spent a lot of money to make my backyard

[1:13:44] catproof. But then the cats start going in the front to use you know, and it's creating

[1:13:52] flowers and other insects, and I've called them animal control and they, they come by a couple

[1:13:58] of times and once I come out to talk to him because I wanted to make sure you get your, get

[1:14:02] them to clean their. Cat litter out of my yard. And he told me, he said, why don't you go back

[1:14:09] in the house, sir? I got this. But in the meantime, Kat started doing his thing. So.

[1:14:16] I'm I don't like picking up cat litter, but that's why I don't have a cat. And I think if the

[1:14:24] owner should be responsible for their own cats and uh as it turned out the um. Animal

[1:14:31] control so that uh. If you get a picture of it, and, and, uh, go to the city magistrate and

[1:14:38] then maybe you can get some uh satisfaction from that so we'll give that a try. I put. Video

[1:14:45] up and I captured the cat. Out on my property and then we go to the city magistrate, and she

[1:14:50] looks at it and she says, well, the animal control set of caddies, y'all, this is a great

[1:14:55] cat. I said, well, I don't know why a yellow cat come from. Then she said, Well, you got to

[1:14:57] do it all over again. So it looks like I'm getng the runaround. In the meantime I

[1:15:03] got a cat problem. Um, that's my issue. I wonder what is there any solution though.

[1:15:10] Thank thank you sir um we can certainly get someone to meet. Miss, Ms. Watkins will meet

[1:15:17] with you afterwards to discuss it. Thank you very much. We'll next hear from Austin Jones,

[1:15:23] who will be followed Coden Cayden Helbling. Hi there. I'm Austin Jones. Uh, dress on the

[1:15:35] sheet and I'm out in no one's crossroads. I'm a 21 year Army vet and a member of the

[1:15:41] Democratic Socialists of America and I'm running for Madison County School Board

[1:15:44] District 3. I'm here to talk about safety. The top 3 causes of death for children,

[1:15:51] according to a New England Journal of Medicine study published May 13, 2026 are

[1:15:59] firearms, motor vehicles, and poison. Followed closely by cancer, which is on the rise

[1:16:05] among children. But there's something more insidious not captured by this study poverty

[1:16:13] and poverty has lifelong effects on our children, our future. The poverty rate for

[1:16:19] children in Madison County is 42.5%. That means just about every other child you meet

[1:16:28] around is living in poverty in the richest country in the history of the world. This

[1:16:35] doesn't count the number of kids that are borderline impoverished, which I would bet

[1:16:40] puts that number well over 50%. What are we doing? What's going on? I constantly hear from the

[1:16:49] Republicans how important and how much they care for kids. Do you really think the Epstein

[1:16:55] class sitting in office care. My dad always said the proof is in the pudding. Well, the

[1:17:02] children ain't even got no pudding to eat. And what they do eat 60% of it is processed.

[1:17:11] Why are we living in a real life Hunger Games. That book is a warning, not a goal on how

[1:17:18] society is supposed to run. The parents of these children are working their tails off over, 2

[1:17:23] and 3 jobs with what to show for it on top of the Epstein class, not paying people, they

[1:17:30] steal $50 billion a year in wages, so what are we doing? What's going on? Freedom starts

[1:17:38] but it sure is hard to study when you're hungry and your parents can't cook because

[1:17:42] they're at work. Freedom starts with education. All the power to all the people, free

[1:17:52] Palestine, solidarity forever. Thank you Mr. Jones. We'll hear now from Kayden Helbling. Mr.

[1:17:58] Helbling will be followed by Gerald Vines. I'm Cayden Helbling from Huntsville. My

[1:18:06] address is on the sheet. Um, I wanted to follow up with the city council and make others in

[1:18:12] Huntsville aware of the status of my records request, uh, surrounding the flock audit

[1:18:17] logs with the city. Uh, I spent 8 months, requesting those audit logs, um, that the city

[1:18:23] is legally required to have for oversight that they are capable of providing electronically and

[1:18:27] have been provided by Blount County in Alabama unredacted for the public to review, um,

[1:18:32] but for whatever reason, uh, the city has determined that they are not legally compelled

[1:18:36] to provide them, um. After my last update at City council uh during the last uh city council

[1:18:41] meeting, uh, I stayed after to speak with council president, uh, Robinson about why Blount

[1:18:48] County, um, under the same rules and regulations as, uh, Huntsville was able to provide

[1:18:52] the same documents I was asking for, and she told me that it is because Huntsville is bigger

[1:18:57] and has more lawyers. Um, that is something that I think those living in District 3, should

[1:19:04] keep in mind during the runoff election on September 22nd. Additionally, uh, city attorney

[1:19:10] Trey Riley told me that I will have to go to court if I want these audits and that I should,

[1:19:14] and should I be successful, that I will be putting children in danger. One more thing that

[1:19:19] I would like to highlight because there is news of Flock uh implementing some new safety

[1:19:24] guidelines. Uh, the city's official stance is as follows. The city rejects the premise

[1:19:29] that flock safety's guidance documents established the city's legal obligations under

[1:19:32] Alabama law. Flock Safety is a private software vendor. It's publications, user manuals,

[1:19:38] customer guidance documents, and recommended practices are not statutes, judicial

[1:19:42] decisions, or opinions of the Alabama Attorney general. They possess no president, and no

[1:19:47] presidential value and cannot define, expand or restrict the city's legal obligations under

[1:19:51] Alabama's Public Records Act or any Alabama case law that has endeavored to interpret the

[1:19:56] same, nor can they be substituted for the statutory analysis required under Alabama

[1:20:01] law. Effectively, the city can do whatever it chooses regardless of what Flock

[1:20:07] recommends or suggests that the users do. So if you hear anything about, um, you know,

[1:20:11] flock implementing new safety tools. Take it with a massive heap of salt. The city does not

[1:20:15] have to follow it. Uh, these systems have never been up for public vote, have no means of

[1:20:20] public oversight, and it appears that rather than listening to those living in

[1:20:23] Huntsville and change those things, the city is looking at other vendors with all the same

[1:20:27] problems. Let's do better. Thank you. Thank you. We'll now hear from Gerald Vines, who

[1:20:34] will be followed by Molly Cluck Good evening, Gerald Vines 165 Mid Park Drive, Meridianville,

[1:20:42] Alabama. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Madam President and council members, thank you

[1:20:47] for allowing me to share this vision with for the Omega Psi Phi fraternities, 50th state

[1:20:54] meeting hosted here in the Rocket City October 2nd through the 4th. I am the state marshal

[1:20:58] for this meeting. We're excited to be in Huntsville for this meeting, and it's more than,

[1:21:05] more than just the gathering of men. It is an opportunity to provide economic impact, serve

[1:21:10] the Huntsville community, and invest in the next generation through youth enrichment

[1:21:15] activities. The economic impact We're expecting approximately 1000 members from across the

[1:21:19] state of Alabama and beyond our attendings will have an opportunity to experience the

[1:21:23] city's restaurants, entertainment, and other destinations and support the

[1:21:26] local economy. Uh, we encourage them to stay in our hotels and patronize the local businesses.

[1:21:32] The community impact. However, Our presence in the city of Huntsville is not just economic

[1:21:39] service is the heart of Omega Psi Phi. We are planning a community service project with

[1:21:44] the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Huntsville on the Pulasia Pike to to set up their

[1:21:48] computer labs for them to Um, For the education opportunities community programming, and, and

[1:21:55] at the center. As you know, access to technology is increasingly important for

[1:22:01] students pursuing education, career opportunities, and, and, and, and digital skills. We

[1:22:04] have a talent competition that will be held Friday night, uh, October 2nd at the Marriott,

[1:22:09] and this competition will be, will be hosted by our fraternity, and we have

[1:22:13] students from all over the state competing in this competition. Then we'll have a

[1:22:17] STEM competition that'll be held on Saturday at the um Space camp operations center

[1:22:22] now we have members young kids from all the state at the STEM competitions as well. Our goal

[1:22:31] Is to ensure that when the members of Omega Psi Phi leave Huntsville, we leave behind

[1:22:37] something tangible that continues to benefit the community. We welcome the state

[1:22:42] of Huntsville to partner with us in making this a memorable and impactful weekend for our

[1:22:46] members, our young people, and the entire Huntsville community As a part of this weekend's

[1:22:51] activities, our public meeting will be held on Friday, October 7th at 7 p.m. at the Helmsford

[1:22:57] Marriott. We will be honored to have representatives from the cities of Huntsville to join us

[1:23:04] bringing greetings and welcoming our visitors to the, to our great city. Your

[1:23:07] presence and help. would help demonstrate the strong partnership between the city of

[1:23:13] Huntsville and the Alabama statewide organization of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. As we come

[1:23:16] together. Around economic opportunities, service, and the arts and development of our

[1:23:23] youth. We look forward to welcoming you to this and the city, to our Alabama statewide

[1:23:27] organization. Meeting it will make us our fire on October 2nd through the 4th. Thank you.

[1:23:32] Thank you, Mr. Vines. We'll now hear from Molly Cluck who will be followed by Luis Bal

[1:23:40] Balderrama. My name is Molly Cluck. My address is correct on the form, and I'm a resident of

[1:23:52] Huntsville. Thank you. Good evening everyone. I'm here tonight to demand rejection of

[1:23:56] the expansion of automatic license plate reader surveillance. This is often

[1:24:01] presented as a simple public safety tool, but that description leaves out the most

[1:24:05] important question. What happens to the relationship between citizens and government

[1:24:10] When the government is allowed to collect information on everyone all the time without

[1:24:14] suspicion of wrongdoing. ALPRs collect license plates, locations, and time stamps from

[1:24:20] everyone who happens to drive past a camera. That means the government can build a

[1:24:25] searchable record of where ordinary people have been, even when those people are not

[1:24:28] suspected of committing any crime. That is an inversion of a basic principle of a free

[1:24:34] society. We are being asked to accept a system where everyone is treated as a potential

[1:24:39] future suspect. The government collects first and justifies the search later. Instead of

[1:24:44] public power being limited and accountable, ordinary people are made permanently available

[1:24:48] for inspection. Citizens should not have to live under constant surveillance so that someday

[1:24:53] the government might decide their past movements are worth investigating. And surveillance

[1:24:58] does not fall equally on everyone, people who work irregular hours rely on older

[1:25:03] vehicles, travel across jurisdictions, organize with neighbors, attend protest,

[1:25:08] visit clinics, or move through heavily monitored areas are more likely to be recorded and

[1:25:14] scrutinized. A system that collects everyone's movements becomes a system that

[1:25:17] disciplines the people with the least power to challenge it. And once that infrastructure

[1:25:22] exists, the question is no longer simply whether we trust today's police department. It

[1:25:26] is whether we trust every future administration, every future employee with access,

[1:25:31] every agency this data may be shared with and every future expansion of this technology.

[1:25:35] Power that can be abused finds someone willing to abuse it. We also need to ask whether the

[1:25:42] evidence justifies the cost. A quasi randomized study found an increase in vehicle recoveries,

[1:25:47] but no increase in arrests and little clear evidence of general crime prevention

[1:25:51] benefits. Earlier experimental research into Northern Virginia jurisdictions found no

[1:25:57] statistically significant reduction in general crime, auto-related crime, auto theft,

[1:26:00] or theft from autos associated with ALPR patrols. Public resources should be directed

[1:26:05] towards measures that strengthen people's security directly, reliable emergency

[1:26:09] response, housing stability, mental health services, safe transportation, and the

[1:26:14] conditions that allow people to live with dignity, a technology that expands the state's power

[1:26:18] to watch everyone should not take priority over investments that improve people's lives. A

[1:26:23] safe society does not require turning the entire public into a database just in case someone

[1:26:27] might be useful to an investigation later. The people of this community are not raw

[1:26:32] material for an ever growing surveillance system. Safety and freedom are not opposites. No

[1:26:38] one here should accept a false choice between protecting our community and protecting our

[1:26:42] civil liberties. I urge this council to reject the expansion of ALPR surveillance and to

[1:26:47] refuse to build a system of mass suspicionless monitoring in our community. Thank you.

[1:26:52] Thank you. We'll now hear from Luis Valderrama who will be followed by Joyce Macklin. Is

[1:27:01] Mr. Balderrama here? Good evening, Mayor and council. So accidentally name and address,

[1:27:15] so Louis Baldroma, 1580 John Wesley Way. Thank you. So I thought that was a and she, so

[1:27:21] I accidentally signed up to speak. So while I'm here, um, I'd like to introduce myself

[1:27:24] again, Louis Balrama. I am the chair for the city of Huntsville's Community

[1:27:28] Development Citizen Advisory council, and while I'm here I would like to thank Community

[1:27:32] Development for everything it does and. I would like to cordially invite everyone on

[1:27:35] council. We've already had Mayor Battle come speak to us to join us in any one of our

[1:27:40] meetings. So that's uh standing invitation for whenever you get a chance. Um, one thing we have

[1:27:46] been talking about a lot during the CAC is housing affordability here in the city

[1:27:50] of Huntsville. Um, as in North Alabama native, I've gotten to see the process of housing

[1:27:56] skyrocketed in my short life that I have been alive. Um, a lot of residents who grew up

[1:28:01] here are starting to feel the impact of that. So down payments are starting to become

[1:28:06] incredibly high, and we who grew up here and have lived here our whole lives are

[1:28:09] struggling to be able to afford some of those. So we ask that if counsel could seek some

[1:28:13] solutions to help address some of these issues. That'd be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[1:28:19] Thank you, sir. Thank you for being with us and for serving on the advisory council. We'll

[1:28:24] now hear from Joyce Macklin, who will be followed by Edward. Uhniowski Junior. Miss Macklin

[1:28:33] Not here. We will then go on to Mr. Ponniowski. And who will be followed by Christopher, uh,

[1:28:43] boulware. I thought we were. Edward Pontiatowski, 821 Mira Vista Drive. Uh, I'm just here

[1:29:01] to just as a general citizen provide Uh, my discrepancy with the flawed camera industry as

[1:29:10] of right now, I don't think that's a good direction for the city of Huntsville to move

[1:29:14] forward, and I just wanted to provide my, uh, general comment on that. Thank you. Thank you,

[1:29:17] sir. We'll now hear from Christopher Boulware, who will be followed by Shaylon Moody. I

[1:29:24] signed up through the phone and then I signed. OK, very good. Thank you. Uh, Shay, Shaylyn

[1:29:30] Moody, and then Doctor Angela Somerset. Hi. Thank you Mayor and council members for hearing

[1:29:39] me out on an opportunity to raise the level of name and address please for the record.

[1:29:44] Yes, my name is Shaleen Modi, uh, address is correct on the sheet and your city of

[1:29:48] residence Huntsville, Alabama. Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am. So thank you for hearing me out on

[1:29:55] something uh of an opportunity to raise the safety awareness level across the city, um, I am

[1:30:01] I've been a resident, uh, resident of Huntsville since 2018. Yes, I am another

[1:30:07] engineer in town. I'm also a civic engagement, uh, academy alum and related to safety, I'm

[1:30:13] also a former Boy Scout, former volunteer firefighter, and also went through the training

[1:30:19] classes for the community emergency response team through Madison. Tony Cert. In a

[1:30:24] growing city like ours, we have an opportunity to address concerns of many new residents

[1:30:29] who may not know what to expect when or how best to interact with first responders.

[1:30:37] Additionally, some, some just lack confidence or competence to assess someone in medical

[1:30:42] distress, which may cause the situation to worsen. Metrics of growing cities often show

[1:30:48] safety and harm prevention efforts may fall short in uh unless you have a critical mass

[1:30:55] of trained professionals or bystanders, just generally spread across the city. What I

[1:31:00] propose then is a pilot project for a citizens' safety and preparedness academy, which

[1:31:05] could slot right in next to the Citizens Police Academy and Citizens or the civic

[1:31:10] engagement academy. The end goal would be to increase survivability rates of victims

[1:31:17] reported on 911 calls related to emergency medical distress through raising the overall

[1:31:25] safety consciousness of our residents. The situations I have in mind are often time

[1:31:29] critical. Such as heart attack, stroke, blunt trauma, mental illness episodes, seizures,

[1:31:36] heat stroke, excessive bleeding and similar. Having someone who practices clear communication

[1:31:43] and risk assessment in dynamic situations are some of the best people to have in an emergency.

[1:31:51] Their confidence and calmness is a safety multiplier. A pilot program of about 30

[1:31:57] participants seems to be a sizable enough cohort which can train in how to speak and

[1:32:01] interact with the emergency call center personnel and first responders. Trained in CPR and

[1:32:05] AD and recognizing signs of various medical conditions. Additionally, fire extinguisher

[1:32:10] use and fire escape planning would be helpful. After the sessions conclude, we can check

[1:32:16] in quarterly with the participants and the newly safe uh safely aware to see what

[1:32:21] kind of effect they have had in the community and continue the program pending the results.

[1:32:28] Raising the safety consciousness across the city may show up in different ways

[1:32:32] and increasing the survival rates. Dispatchers and first responders having an easier

[1:32:37] time to get through an incident participants may take up careers in emergency services,

[1:32:41] and we may see an uptick of residents getting formal CPR and first aid training. It

[1:32:46] might even cause some old boys to formally designate a 911 caller for a pickup game of

[1:32:52] football. Thank you, sir. Um, we appreciate you being here. We'll now hear from Doctor

[1:32:57] Angela Somerset, who will be followed by um. Tyler Gottney. OK. Good evening counsel. My

[1:33:08] name is Doctor Angela Somerset, and I reside at 9 Chalkstone Street. Thank you, sir or ma'am

[1:33:14] OK. This evening I would like to talk about a double standard I would also like to talk about

[1:33:23] the importance of financial responsibility. The same way that our city requires us to be

[1:33:31] responsible financially. I would like to also see that our utility company. is responsible

[1:33:38] Right now young people are facing a huge responsibility. As well as a. Pressure in

[1:33:48] regards to affording homes. Medical care. But our city sits uniquely under an umbrella for

[1:33:55] the city of Huntsville, Huntsville Utility sits under that umbrella as well as

[1:34:00] Huntsville Hospital under the healthcare authority. Many of you may not know that if you

[1:34:05] face problems in paying your utility bill. And now you are unable to pay your medical bill

[1:34:11] that the hospital can place a lien against you. You could lose everything and that's why

[1:34:16] we are seeing such a rise. In homelessness, but one of the most important things that I am

[1:34:22] still concerned about is that $4 million deficit and we keep brushing past it and I will

[1:34:25] bring it up every time, whether it be here or on social media. Because I think as we all have

[1:34:31] seen now social media is a very powerful force. The one concern I'm also going to bring up is

[1:34:38] we have a city administrator. I'd like to see that in your budgets. Miss Penny Smith, I'd

[1:34:43] like an answer. Council persons I'd like an answer. And this is why our city is changing. Young

[1:34:52] people are looking for answers. We're looking for responsiveness. This past week,

[1:34:56] one of my neighbors, ironically an attorney asked me to look at another, uh, citizen's bill of

[1:35:03] $1,601. It took me 3 days to get my mind around that before I made a few calls to

[1:35:09] Huntsville utilities, and they corrected that person's bill by $591 and change. It's very rare

[1:35:15] that you see the doctor help the attorney, but this was the case. There are too much in

[1:35:20] regards to misreads from a utility company that is still not representing accountability

[1:35:26] and transparency as well as getting those books and just like this young man was saying

[1:35:30] with the flock cameras, etc. We we have open record laws. And what you don't realize is that

[1:35:38] these young people, if they're not getting the answers here, they will take this to social

[1:35:43] media and the world will see it Thank you. Thank you Dr. Somerset. We'll now hear from

[1:35:48] Tyler Gottney, who will be followed by Holiday Holyfield. Hey, I am, uh, Tyler Gotney, uh

[1:35:59] Huntsville District 5. My address is on the sheet. I'm here to, um. Speak out against

[1:36:06] Flock. I know the little worm that's uh worming its way through your head, fuck, you

[1:36:11] have no reason reasonable expectation of privacy in public and it's collecting

[1:36:15] public data. But my argument hinges on a recent Supreme Court ruling in June of this

[1:36:21] year, Chater of the United States. The Supreme Court. Uh, pontificated the stance that

[1:36:28] individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the whole of their movements and

[1:36:33] Flock is fundamentally tracking those movements. It further reasons against surveillance

[1:36:39] technology offering newfound tracking capacity, technology that runs against everyone, not

[1:36:44] just those under investigation and technology that can travel back in time, the court's

[1:36:49] reasoning provided that location history is protected under the Fourth Amendment as

[1:36:53] follows location history provides an even more fine tuned. picture of a person's

[1:36:58] movement, location history allows police to reconstruct retrospectively and with no

[1:37:03] real effort people's comings and goings in any area enabling tireless and absolute

[1:37:07] surveillance of any number of people in any number of places. Location history implicates

[1:37:13] personal privacy interests because location history is the individual's own in that way

[1:37:18] location history resembles other private materials. That even if stored on a private

[1:37:25] company's servers are user reasonably expects to be shielded from the inquisitive

[1:37:28] eyes of the government. The court also referenced prior landmark rulings on privacy

[1:37:34] such as Carpenter. Carpenter v. United States where. A rule that acquisitions of Aon CSLI

[1:37:42] data constitutes a protected Fourth Amendment search in United States v. Jones. It

[1:37:47] ruled that attaching a GPS device to a vehicle and then using the device to monitor the

[1:37:52] vehicle's movements constitutes 1/4 Amendment search in United States via Dri deri uh Fourth

[1:37:59] Amendment is designed to place obstacles in the way of two permeating police surveillance.

[1:38:06] How then can you argue in good faith that a mass surveillance network. Such as ALPR

[1:38:11] technology where the movements of people are easily discoverable in a tireless and

[1:38:14] absolute surveillance network allows parallel reconstruction of for anything that they want

[1:38:19] to charge a person is not Fourth Amendment private protected domain. Um, the other

[1:38:28] argument commonly is that you have nothing to hide if you have, you have nothing to fear

[1:38:32] if. You have nothing to hide, but it indicates that the speaker fundamentally demands

[1:38:37] we justify our desire for governmental boundaries. It is on America and un-American, and

[1:38:43] I shouldn't have to explain to my thick-headed politicians why I'm glad I don't live in a

[1:38:48] surveillance state like China or Russia. The nothing to hide argument uses sound circular

[1:38:55] reasoning to present a false dichotomy to people. And another common argument is that

[1:39:02] the national movement that's the end of your time. Well now our last speaker will be Dana

[1:39:08] Holiday Holyfield. Thank you. My name is Dana Holiday Hollifield. I live at 10,010

[1:39:18] Strong Drive, Southeast Huntsville, and my mother-in-law, I'm here with,

[1:39:22] uh, to represent her as well. She lives at 4301 Holmes Avenue Northwest. So, um, I know that

[1:39:30] Tara Bailey has spoken to several of y'all about uh removing the sales tax on

[1:39:35] hearing aids, um, the state did that 2024 and Madison City followed suit, and I don't

[1:39:42] think a lot of people realize that, you know, that that is taxed and it's a significant

[1:39:49] amount. It's 4.5%, and I went with my mother-in-law to get her hearing aids, and that was

[1:39:56] hundreds of dollars, extra dollars that she is on a budget We're talking about an 83 year

[1:40:02] old woman who every dollar counts, and that 4.5% on those expensive hearing aids is, you

[1:40:11] know, for some people it may be the. matter of groceries or getting my medication. So, um,

[1:40:18] when they don't have their hearing aids, as a nurse, I see what that means. We're talking

[1:40:22] about social isolation. People feeling like they're left out of the conversation that they

[1:40:27] can't interact. It can lead to depression. We're talking about people just feeling like, you

[1:40:32] know, they're old, you know, and going through all these things, and then now they can't

[1:40:36] even participate in conversations. Um, so I feel like we need to follow suit and

[1:40:41] provide a re. Resolution to remove that sales tax is not that much. I don't think it's

[1:40:47] going to impact the budget that much to remove that, but it could really mean a lot to some

[1:40:52] of our senior citizens, um, and making a difference in their lives. So I would really like

[1:40:58] for y'all to consider bringing a resolution forth so that we can remove that sale tag and

[1:41:03] follow suit with what the state has done, what Madison City's done. We need to go ahead and

[1:41:08] get this done. I know several of you have spoken with Tara Bailey. And myself, please,

[1:41:14] let's consider getting that done. I appreciate y'all's time and I always appreciate your

[1:41:18] service. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Holyfield. That's our final speaker and concludes all the

[1:41:24] items on our agenda is there a motion to adjourn. for Mr for Mr. Little, and we are

[1:41:32] adjourned. It is 7:54 p.m.

City Council Regular Meeting on 2026-08-27 5:30 PM

Agenda

Transcript