[0:02] Brief agenda. So let us go ahead and begin. And we can socialize and enjoy

[0:11] ourselves and have a great time when we get through.

[0:15] This time I'd like to

[0:17] reconvene the meeting of September 12th. Is there any business to transact out of

[0:21] that meeting? Any old business? Seeing none, that meeting is now adjourned.

[0:29] I'd

[0:29] would you please call the row? Commissioner Bowlin? Commissioner Knight? Commissioner

[0:36] Scales? Good morning. Commissioner Tyson? Commissioner Stephen. Good morning.

[0:42] Invocation is going to be held. I'm going to turn over to Commissioner Knight to

[0:47] introduce his pastor. Our invocation this morning is by pastor Draper

[0:53] Rogers. He is the pastor of youth families at the Gardendale First

[0:58] Baptist Church. He is from Auburn, Cal, so I know I told him he might need to

[1:07] pray for them too, by the way.

[1:12] He's a great guy, he does a great job, and he's

[1:15] very instrumental in the community of Gardendale. So Pastor Rogers, if you'll

[1:21] step to the mic, stand for the prayer, and then you pledge.

[1:27] Before we pray, I

[1:29] give you four scripture verses that are instrumental in my prayer life every

[1:34] single day. Matthew 11 verse 28 Jesus says come to me all who are weary and

[1:40] burdened and I will give you rest. Psalm 37 3 trust in the Lord and do what is

[1:46] good. Dwell in the land and live securely. Matthew 6 33 but seek first the

[1:52] kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to

[1:56] you. And finally, second Chronicles chapter one, verse 10, give me wisdom and discernment

[2:02] so I can lead this nation effectively. Let's pray. Father, as I read those scriptures,

[2:09] that is the prayer of our heart today. We say, Lord, that we would come to you because,

[2:14] Father, if the people in this room are like me, Father, they're weary, they're burdened,

[2:19] and Father, they need you in their life. They need a touch from you, a word from you. Father,

[2:26] I know each person there on that panel, Deloitte, that leads this great county of ours. Father,

[2:31] they need wisdom. They need discernment on the things that needs to be done in their district.

[2:36] So Father, would you please guide them and lead them? And I pray just for all of our

[2:41] county workers, Deloitte, that give so much of their time and energy going over and beyond

[2:46] what's called of them. So Lord I pray for them, I pray for their safety. Lord I pray

[2:51] not only for Jefferson County but for Birmingham City and for all our

[2:54] municipalities in that make up Jefferson County. Lord would you just have

[2:57] your hand upon them all? Father I pray for this meeting today that you would

[3:02] have your way. I pray that all would go well. I pray that the the business

[3:06] will be taken care in orderly and friendly fashion. Father please have

[3:11] your way today. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen.

[3:18] Thank you

[3:33] Pastor Rogers.

[3:40] We appreciate

[3:40] you pal. See you down the road. Okay ma'am.

[3:46] Commissioners, we have the minutes from our

[3:49] September 12th meeting.

[3:52] If we follow our normal pattern and practice of behavior, we're going

[3:56] to let Alicia off and not have her read these minutes, but I'll need a resolution to do so.

[4:06] I move that Alicia not read the minutes,

[4:16] and then we adopt them as written.

[4:18] All right. We'll have a motion and a second, and Alicia, you're off another time.

[4:23] All in favor say aye.

[4:24] Aye.

[4:26] Any opposed? Of course, there is no opposition.

[4:30] I have no presentations, we have no public hearings.

[4:33] Can you believe that?

[4:34] Wow, hallelujah.

[4:36] That is, we do have 61 resolutions and two items of new business.

[4:41] One is coming from the DA, the assistant DA that would allow the commission to participate

[4:49] in a grant process and we need a resolution to do that and the other is an inadvertent

[4:56] But ARPA,

[5:01] true up from, I believe it's either Macadora or Macaulah, Macaulah from Macaulah

[5:09] to straighten up that, as we did with all of the others on Tuesday.

[5:17] So if we could-

[5:18] Mr. President, I move to adopt the two items of new business.

[5:22] I have a motion for two items of new business.

[5:26] Would you call the roll, and a second, would you call the roll please?

[5:30] Commissioner Baldwin?

[5:32] Yes.

[5:32] Commissioner Knight?

[5:33] Aye.

[5:34] Commissioner Scale?

[5:35] Yes.

[5:35] Commissioner Tyson?

[5:37] Commissioner Stephen.

[5:38] Yes, thank you very much.

[5:40] We have a motion for the consideration of 61 items and two items in your business.

[5:48] Second.

[5:49] Motion and a second.

[5:50] Are we okay the way?

[5:51] You have to roll a call.

[5:52] Roll a call on the two items and then you can do it.

[5:56] Then we vote on it.

[5:57] So you made your motion to the roll call vote to consider the two items?

[6:02] We just didn't.

[6:03] Now we just need to vote.

[6:04] But now the roll call is going to do a new business.

[6:07] One through 61 you can do as well.

[6:10] Okay, fair enough.

[6:11] We have a, let's go ahead and do the new business first.

[6:17] I moved items, two items and new business.

[6:20] Second.

[6:20] I'll have a motion and second, two items and new business.

[6:24] Yes.

[6:25] Roll call.

[6:26] Commissioner Bowden?

[6:27] Yes.

[6:28] Commissioner Knight?

[6:29] Aye.

[6:29] Commissioner Scale?

[6:30] Yes.

[6:31] Commissioner Tyson?

[6:32] Yes.

[6:32] Commissioner Stephen?

[6:33] Yes.

[6:34] Thank you.

[6:34] Move Adams 1 through 61.

[6:38] I'll second that.

[6:41] All in favor say aye.

[6:43] Aye.

[6:43] Any opposed?

[6:46] All right.

[6:48] That brings us to the end of the meeting, believe it or not.

[6:53] County Manager, give us some news.

[6:58] Well, I just want to thank all the great employees of Jefferson County for a great year.

[7:04] We got a lot done. Thank you all for your leadership and funding and investing in the infrastructure,

[7:09] but looking forward to another great year and thank you employees for working hard

[7:16] and working in Jefferson County and making it a great place to work. Thank you.

[7:23] County attorney. No news is good news. Is that what you just said? When you say

[7:30] things it easily cost us money so we'd like for you to be quiet. We do have

[7:41] some things that we need to remember the folks in Florida and Georgia and

[7:46] and East Alabama in our prayers.

[7:49] This is supposed to be a generational type storm,

[7:54] similar to Katrina.

[7:57] It's huge.

[8:02] All we can offer is our prayers right now.

[8:05] But if we will do that, it would be greatly appreciated.

[8:10] And now I'd like to offer all the commissioners.

[8:16] Commissioner Bowling, would you like to say anything?

[8:17] I

[8:32] hope Auburn does a good Saturday as well.

[8:35] We don't turn the ball over.

[8:37] No.

[8:38] Mr.

[8:44] Toss.

[8:45] I wanted to announce that Saturday the Brunner-Brown Bulls and Buddies Breast Cancer Organization

[8:54] is doing a sister strike.

[8:57] We're inviting everyone out.

[8:59] So I said 730 at Legion Field.

[9:02] It's a, this is a very good organization and it fits in the gap with women in the community

[9:13] that do not have health insurance.

[9:16] They supply free breast cancer screenings, mammograms, rides to the doctor, light cleaning

[9:27] of the homes.

[9:28] No one in this organization get paid.

[9:31] I have volunteered with them self for several years.

[9:35] I think this is the 13th year I've been volunteering for maybe 10 other 13 years.

[9:42] And I'm just asking for everyone to support this organization.

[9:46] It is definitely there for the community.

[9:48] Commissioner Titian, what's the name of the event?

[9:51] It is the Brunner Brown bosom but it's Breast Cancer Walk and it's named after a three-time breast cancer survivor.

[9:59] But you said something about a strut.

[10:01] It's a strut.

[10:02] Women don't walk their struts.

[10:04] Can you demonstrate for the audience here

[10:09] what that strut is?

[10:11] You know my foot mist.

[10:13] So this would be the bosom hop.

[10:18] It would be a drag.

[10:22] So y'all please come out and support this organization.

[10:26] It is definitely worth it.

[10:28] It is and what's something that we've done in the past and we've always

[10:32] Kind of help promote this and it is it is a very good job

[10:36] Commission of Scales good morning. Good morning. Yes, sir. Thank you, miss president

[10:42] I do want to ask everyone in the midst of while we're talking about families who may be affected by

[10:50] The possible hurricane coming in our direction, but we know that they're touching down in other places

[10:57] pray for the city of Birmingham I am on between yesterday and well yesterday just

[11:06] around the corner for me had someone killed at Captain D's had someone shot at

[11:14] the gas station around the corner and then late last night someone was I don't

[11:21] think that person may have made it either. Another shooting is real when it's right there

[11:28] at your doorstep. So I encourage everyone to pray for Birmingham. I'm very thankful to

[11:36] this commission. I've said this privately and publicly, so I'm going to say it from

[11:40] this day officially. The commission has given a lot of money to try to support the

[11:48] the Sheriff in order for the Sheriff's Department to be able to support Birmingham Police Department,

[11:56] but it would behoove everyone to find out that the Sheriff does not control the police

[12:01] chief. And the Sheriff's Department is doing the very best that they can with the resources

[12:06] that they do have. And I just want to tell them thank you because we've had a lot of

[12:14] assistance that are showing up in these communities but I'm going to be honest

[12:19] with you I was talking to someone all the way to work this morning it's getting

[12:26] very real and and we just can't make it make up excuses about this it's just

[12:32] getting real and yesterday I could not believe it was not even 11 o'clock and

[12:38] someone was already killed around the corner I mean it's just it's different

[12:42] But I believe in this. If it works in one city, it can work in all.

[12:48] We just got to be intolerable when it comes down to bad behavior.

[12:55] And the good thing about being over here at the county is that you're over here at the county courthouses too.

[13:00] Meaning that these judges.

[13:02] And we're going to be calling on these judges to help lock these bonds so that by the time these folk go to jail there's not a catch and release that you were out by the end of the day.

[13:12] But I want to say, you know, for us to continue not only to pray for Birmingham, but pray for

[13:17] the people who live in Birmingham, pray for the people who do business in Birmingham.

[13:21] We just need help.

[13:23] And so, and I think this commission followed the help that they have done in a city where

[13:27] I live.

[13:28] So thank you so much, Mr. President.

[13:32] Mr. Mott.

[13:33] I just want to reflect the sentiments about the hurricane Helene.

[13:40] We're going to be on the western edge of it.

[13:43] so we shouldn't get the bulk of it.

[13:47] Sometimes those things will wobble,

[13:49] but generally when they get before land,

[13:52] they jog to the right a little bit.

[13:54] But we're still going to get rain.

[13:57] We're still going to get winds.

[13:58] And so our EMA is going to be on top of it.

[14:01] I know that.

[14:02] And I know we have some employees on standby

[14:05] in case we need to go get some trees off the road

[14:07] or whatever, so we appreciate them for being there

[14:11] and taking on that role. Again, Angela, you and all your team, thank you for

[14:18] getting the budgets done. We appreciate it. And roll tight.

[14:27] You want to say something?

[14:28] Yes. I forgot about the senior citizens exercise program, why you said they

[14:37] will be starting on TV on Saturday mornings at 10 o'clock in the morning.

[14:43] It's a big deal, it really is.

[14:47] They started, I think, cutting their videos in the TV show two months ago.

[14:55] So they will be shown, they will actually be televised now on the office.

[15:00] Saturday mornings, it'll be every Saturday morning for an hour. It's also a

[15:05] ballroom dance, I think 30 minutes ballroom dancing, and then the other one is

[15:10] the get fit while you sit chair exercise. And our seniors are a huge part of it.

[15:17] And I think they're in Chicago or either Detroit too, so it will not just

[15:22] only be the state of Alabama, it would also be other seniors too, but I know we

[15:26] have shot I think for two months. So they will start showing this Saturday. So everyone tune in on

[15:34] is it CW channel 21?

[15:40] Back here. Well I want to again commend our

[15:46] employees for the good job that they do and

[15:50] how they've been able to help elevate the quality of life of the citizens of Jefferson County.

[15:55] And I'd like to also echo what Commissioner Scales said, is that

[16:06] we can lose everything

[16:10] we've gained by something that's not under our control.

[16:16] We work hard, Commissioner Boland, management staff, we work hard to bring economic development

[16:25] into the city and into Jefferson County and one random act of violence can

[16:32] completely cancel everything that we've done. So life is about expectations and we

[16:42] need to expect more and we need to demand more. Our children need a safe

[16:52] place to grow up and be able to raise their family. We need safe thoroughfares to

[17:00] and from working school. Our primary response is built in and I see Wayne back

[17:06] there. Wayne, you do a good job. Sheriff, the department does a good job, but you

[17:10] tell the sheriff that the commission does appreciate him and that appreciate

[17:16] what he does and the way he's able to engage and put star one where it needs to be.

[17:24] And we'd like to encourage him to work with our other municipalities to create that task

[17:33] force that the governor was talking about and change these expectations of these criminals

[17:40] because you know two out of three says they're going to get away with it in

[17:45] Birmingham and we do not want that.

[17:53] We look forward to having great things come

[17:56] from those meetings. Yes sir. And you know the study was done through youth

[18:03] detention where over 95% of the people that has been shot and the ones that

[18:12] during the shooting has went through the system some kind of way, and even their parents.

[18:20] So you're looking at a study that have shown us for the last 15 years, this is what's happening.

[18:29] Yeah, and I don't want any excuses.

[18:31] When I see the word system and I see the word gun laying on the seat, I see somebody

[18:36] going to jail, okay?

[18:40] I don't say I can't touch them because I got a gun. It's an open carry law. No

[18:48] That's not the way it works

[18:51] That's not the way it works

[18:54] That's enforced the laws

[18:57] You're doing it. I know

[19:00] Okay, yeah, we build our youth attention like we supposed to we got to do our head

[19:04] Yeah, and we got up we got to get to the youngsters right those kids that'll come after this generation. Hopefully

[19:12] it's it's it's it's a it's a hard sell now for them but these youngsters the

[19:20] little kids now just we got to get some kind of intervention to so that they

[19:25] don't follow that path and that's that's a real challenge this commission loves

[19:33] the city in this county and we're gonna do everything that we can within our

[19:38] power to make sure that it's a quality place and a safe place where you can live and raise

[19:43] your family.

[19:43] Ms. President?

[19:45] Yes, ma'am.

[19:45] If you don't mind, I'll say this in closing, especially one who works a lot with children.

[19:52] The way you change the culture is you change the mindset.

[19:56] You change the thinking and investing in their education and providing them equal access

[20:03] to exposure opportunities outside of their communities.

[20:09] That's how you're going to change it.

[20:11] But I'm seeing, like I was telling someone this morning,

[20:14] it's not just Mongeon folk.

[20:16] This is anyone who wants to shoot just because you think you can.

[20:19] But it's only limited to a particular area that allows it.

[20:24] And I'm with you.

[20:25] I'm not here, no excuses.

[20:26] There's just no excuses.

[20:28] If you look at AO.com as one of those media outlets

[20:32] and Carol Robinson does a real thorough comprehensive writing and she talks

[20:38] about you know what we have countywide versus what we have in the city I live

[20:43] in all I can tell you is that Mr. President until we get to a point that

[20:49] when we recognize it's broken you do everything to try to fix it try to

[20:54] repair it is not going to change but at some point we're gonna I'm over the

[21:01] blame game and so you know it just going to boil down to the fact that we just

[21:07] going to have to be very militant in what we do and and bringing in the

[21:10] national guard that's just a temporary fix that's not the police I mean police

[21:15] is one of the things you pay taxes for so just like we have the sheriff and do

[21:19] let me say this very quickly and close him as president you said something and

[21:23] I want to again reiterate what I tell my constituents in the in the

[21:28] district the sheriff's department polices unincorporated Jefferson County they

[21:36] cannot override it is so important because a lot of times I think the sheriff's

[21:42] department is getting a bad rap matter of fact I think they don't even get the

[21:46] credit that they rightfully deserve because they are supplementing in a

[21:50] lot of communities I'm talking about even outside of Birmingham you know

[21:55] But at the end of the day, I don't think it's just an age bracket at this point.

[22:00] I think it's just a matter of you take it where it's not hot.

[22:04] But if you make it hot, I promise you, they know when they said 12 on such and such a block,

[22:11] anybody that knows about WTAT, I would encourage all of us to go on that little social media site.

[22:20] They know where it's hot.

[22:21] And if you don't take it in certain communities because you know you go into jail, all we got

[22:26] to do in Birmingham is just stop putting people in jail and I agree with you, Mr. President,

[22:30] wholeheartedly.

[22:31] Keep praying, but keep working.

[22:33] And make sure we do our half and bill you for detention, like we supposed to.

[22:39] This meeting is recessed.

[22:40] as far as I know it is, yeah.

Sep 26, 2024 Commission Meeting

Agenda

Transcript