[0:09] [music]
[0:13] Heat.
[0:17] [music]
Heat.
[0:23] [music]
[0:30] » [music]
[0:33] » There we go.
>> All right, welcome everyone. Let's uh
[0:36] open the meeting with the pledge of
allegiance
[0:41] to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it
[0:46] stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[0:52] for all.
[0:57] Dumbar
>> present.
[0:59] » Harper
>> here.
[1:00] » Maer
>> here.
[1:02] » Sofa
>> here.
[1:03] » Weaver
>> here.
[1:04] » Way
>> here.
[1:05] » Zimmer
>> here.
[1:10] » All right. [snorts] Uh, do we need to
remove anything from the consent agenda?
[1:17] [clears throat]
If we're not going to remove anything,
[1:20] if uh I can get a motion to adopt it and
list off what what it is
[1:28] presented.
>> Yes, please.
[1:33] » What do you Oh, you want all?
>> Yes.
[1:36] » August distribution reports electron
transfers nothing else.
[1:41] » Yes.
August dispersion reports $365,34068
[1:51] [clears throat]
>> the electronic wire transfers of
[1:54] $20,5365
[1:58] and there are no communications on
>> support.
[2:04] All right. All in favor?
>> Any opposed?
[2:10] adoption of the agenda. Any changes to
the agenda?
[2:16] » I don't know if we need to add it or if
we can include it as part of the animal
[2:21] ordinance, but we received the um
application uh from the last meeting
[2:27] about the kennel. An advisory has a
recommendation from it. Do we do you
[2:30] think it would be appropriate to add it
as an agenda item or as a subsection of
[2:35] unfinished business? Maybe just an
agenda item.
[2:40] » Yeah.
>> I mean, I'm fine either way.
[2:43] » Well, we're not going to have a
presentation, so that needs to be
[2:46] removed.
>> But we can talk about that. Yeah, we
[2:50] can.
>> Yeah.
[2:52] Pass the time.
>> Item K, the presentation is not
[2:56] happening.
>> It's not happening. If not, he can come
[2:58] to the next meeting on the 15th, but he
can't come he couldn't come tonight.
[3:02] » Okay. But that that won't change
anything for this.
[3:05] » No.
>> Okay. So can we motion to amend the
[3:10] agenda to remove the presentation of the
animal ordinance from Mcome County and
[3:17] replace that or actually I'm sorry add
to unfinished business
[3:23] the uh request for approval for the
rescue dog under the animal ordinance
[3:30] for the city of Memphis. Is that about
cover?
[3:33] » I think so. Um, so I make a motion to
approve the agenda as amended.
[3:43] » All in favor?
>> Any opposed?
[3:50] » Okay. Approval of minutes from August
11th,
[3:54] 2026.
[4:00] There are no amendments. Can I get a
motion to approve?
[4:04] » Make a motion to approve the minutes of
the regular meeting of August 11th.
[4:12] » Support.
>> All in favor?
[4:15] » Any opposed?
Motion car.
[4:20] Okay.
I have nothing this this week. reports
[4:25] from city council members committees
>> advisory met yesterday. Um there was a
[4:32] lot of things to come out of that
meeting. There's still some follow-ups
[4:35] that like um that are happening. So we
don't necessarily have anything for
[4:39] today. Um
uh aside from the
[4:45] application um but there will be more
for us.
[4:50] » Okay.
[4:58] reports from administration.
[5:03] » Donnie, you want to start?
>> I don't have anything.
[5:06] » Mr. Wilson,
>> nothing.
[5:11] I just want to report I um we have to
replace uh so many service lines,
[5:17] galvanized lines within our city and I
have one that came up that's actually an
[5:22] emergency that I'm about to jump on
tomorrow
[5:25] um because he has no water be a
galvanized line. It's up to the city to
[5:31] get that line from that curve box up
into the house within 18 in.
[5:38] Um, just want to let you know. So,
there's expenditures trying to get
[5:43] worked on, but this one happened to be
an emergency. And then, um, then we have
[5:48] an issue with our elevator at the
library
[5:53] that needs inspections.
And I didn't want to just drop it in
[5:58] your lap tonight, but at the next
meeting I will bring you a couple of
[6:03] quotes I have for
um two inspections a year.
[6:09] » Okay. I think at the moment that's
>> Have they been been being inspected
[6:15] twice a year already?
>> No.
[6:18] Assume somebody else is doing that. But
when the inspector came over, I got a
[6:24] phone call from
the department head there.
[6:29] » Anyways,
>> okay,
[6:31] » I'm taking care of it.
>> We were issued another permit because it
[6:36] was all new,
but in two years when he comes back, he
[6:41] he would like to see the maintenance log
on it.
[6:50] All
[6:55] right, parks and wreck.
>> So, we have our senior lunch next
[6:59] Friday, September 11th, and then um
we're doing a fundraiser with the Lions
[7:06] for the park that's next to the Lions
Club, um which is the side byside run
[7:13] and the foot race. And that is September
19th at 1:00.
[7:32] And how do they sign up for that?
>> Right here at the city.
[7:41] » Okay.
Any
[7:45] other administration?
[7:50] All right. Public comments.
Uh Judy Kendall.
[7:58] » I won't take much of your time. Um my
name is Judy Kendall and I am with Twin
[8:03] Pine Apartments on Boardman Road. In
regards to the um advisory committee, I
[8:10] did attend with um Robbie and Tim
yesterday
[8:14] uh going over the proposals, the current
ones and proposals. Uh we had a one of
[8:20] the best discussions I've ever had with
the city of Memphis yesterday and um it
[8:25] was very productive. Um with meeting
with a group of the landlords, etc. Um,
[8:32] we still are missing the list of those
who are actually in town that rent. So,
[8:39] we don't even know who to contact to say
what do you think, what's your input,
[8:44] what can you give us, what can we learn
from you, etc. Um, we are we got the
[8:51] feel I got the feeling and shared it
with the other landlords the other day
[8:54] that the group was very very very open
to working with us, listening to us,
[9:01] brainstorming, coming up with something
that would work um
[9:07] for a lot of us. Um, we think there's a
whole whole lot to do. we have been
[9:13] doing constant hours and hours of
research uh with other towns, other
[9:19] cities um that it really just puts this
all way down the line because you got to
[9:25] have that list. You can't collect taxes
if you don't know who you're collecting
[9:29] them from. So, it's that's an analogy
there. Um the prices are still too high
[9:34] even in the proposal. Um we did not want
the individual that you selected to uh
[9:41] do the inspection. We feel like that's
putting the fox on the hen house. I'm
[9:45] making a couple of points only to get
the wheels moving here just to so we can
[9:50] kind of think about things and and be
open and honest with each other. Um
[9:56] we're wondering how many complaints have
been from people. Um we haven't had any
[10:00] and everybody else I talked to says they
haven't had any. So I'm not sure where
[10:04] all this uh manure came from. So, um,
and then there's another thing of how
[10:10] are we going to be notified of the
inspections with the date and time
[10:14] because we as landlords are in a mission
law. Um, it's a big book. Um, and we
[10:20] have to give them 24-hour notice that
we're coming in and they have to know
[10:24] why. That's the law. So, we have to be
following the law as well. Um, things of
[10:31] uh all the rentals that are uptown and
the businesses that are uptown. Do you
[10:35] rent? If you have a building and you
rent a business, is that going to be
[10:39] inspected? If you have a a business up
there and you have a rental above it, is
[10:42] that being expected? Which we darn well
better be. Um, and um wondering how
[10:50] often is it going to be yearly,
quarterly, 6 months, 2 years, etc., etc.
[10:54] A lot of the things that were brought up
in here were very good. It took a lot of
[10:58] thought and and thoroughess. Um, in in
conclusion here, I did get a the other
[11:04] list and it's so
it's just not there, folks. It's just
[11:09] not there. The people aren't there. Um,
we can't have a group of people work
[11:15] with you beautiful group people if we
don't know who to ask to be there.
[11:19] That's not fair to the public. It's not
fair to the business landlords. It's
[11:24] just not right. It needs to be fixed.
Um, and that is our not our job to run
[11:29] around town knocking on doors. Do you
have a rental? Do you have a rental?
[11:34] That's not our job. Um,
the other thing is we would very much as
[11:40] a group like to meet with um I don't
know Tim if Mr. simmer if this goes to
[11:48] the um advisory council again or I I
don't know what your um thing but we
[11:55] want to meet again as a group. We want
other people want to come.
[11:58] » I shared a lot of the um your great
ideas. Some of the ones I we totally
[12:03] disrespected or we respectfully
disagreed.
[12:07] » Um but we worked around a lot of them.
Um but I think there's a whole lot more
[12:13] that we really need to have some
meetings with you guys. um you know, you
[12:17] guys can't go in close session and do
this and then we go in uh somebody's
[12:22] living room and do it and that that
ain't working. We've already proved that
[12:25] doesn't work. So, we're not going to
keep doing the same thing and expect
[12:28] something different. So, that we would
are requesting a meeting for that. Thank
[12:32] you for your time. Have a good evening.
>> Thank you very much.
[12:35] » Can I respond?
>> Yeah. So, just so everyone knows, Judy
[12:41] was here yesterday. We talked for
probably an hour and a halfish
[12:46] roughly.
>> Y
[12:48] » um more than willing to have continue
those conversations as long as it stays
[12:52] respectful, right? The biggest thing.
>> Very good.
[12:56] » No hard feelings, no animous, no
anything like that.
[12:59] » Um I did reach out to uh the attorney
that was here last time. I don't know if
[13:04] you saw that. I did have I respond the
correct email address. Um, so the wheels
[13:09] are in motion to make those
improvements. Um, I don't think we're
[13:13] going to be finalizing anything tonight.
So,
[13:15] » no,
>> I think continuing the conversation is
[13:17] completely fine.
>> Yep. I just we just want to keep that
[13:20] ball rolling. We don't want to get
stuck.
[13:30] » Unfinished business advisory.
[13:36] I guess it's all us today.
>> Yes.
[13:39] » So, um, at the last meeting, you got the
proposed changes that we, uh,
[13:47] after our meeting recommended. Um, and
we just wanted to open up the
[13:50] conversation very similar to the
conversation we had with M. Kendall
[13:54] yesterday about thoughts, ideas after
our conversation yesterday. There are I
[14:00] mean, it it can be changed, right?
There's different ideas to to flesh out
[14:04] and talk out. Um, I think advisory is
probably going to have to meet again.
[14:08] Robbie, would you agree?
>> Yes.
[14:10] » To, but we want to make sure everybody
has ideas. One of the like one of the
[14:14] big ones that stood out to me yesterday
after talking with Miss Kendall was
[14:18] pricing, right? So, the way it's
structured right now is that it's a flat
[14:22] rate fee. So, you know, in some pe in
some landlord situations, there are
[14:27] apartments that are I'm going to make up
a number 500 ft² and they are paying the
[14:32] same fee for someone who has a house
that is 1,600 square f feet.
[14:39] Pricing based based on square footage is
probably something we should look at.
[14:42] And we would have never we would have
never had that if we didn't have that
[14:45] conversation yesterday. So, I I think
there's a lot more to flesh out. I think
[14:50] there's a lot more conversation to be
had about it. Um, I did email uh Sarah
[14:56] Grout, I think.
>> Just like tile grout.
[14:59] » Yeah, Grout. Sarah Grout. Yes. Uh, this
morning, this afternoon,
[15:04] » something like that. Uh, I emailed her
this afternoon. She hasn't responded
[15:07] yet. Um, just so she also had that
information. Um, I did tell her and
[15:12] watermark it as, you know, this is a
draft. The council still has to meet,
[15:16] advisory still has to meet. We want to
continue talking with landlords. Um I
[15:22] think that we can both agree like a
great negotiation is that neither side
[15:25] is going to be happy with everything,
right? We're gonna it's give and take on
[15:29] both sides. Um and it sounds like, you
know, we're in the same spot, right? We
[15:35] have the same beliefs. We both want the
same things. Um so I don't think there's
[15:41] similar similar things. Yeah.
>> Yeah. And and I think that's the the big
[15:47] thing. I was going [snorts] to I was
going to kind of end with that, but um I
[15:51] I wanted to open up to conversations
here with the full council as opposed to
[15:55] just advisory. But one of the things I
do want to make sure that is is very
[16:00] very clear is this is not intended to
generate revenue for the city. That was
[16:07] never the intention. That has never been
the intent attent in intention and that
[16:12] will never be the intention. It is not a
revenue generating mechanism. So
[16:16] » disagree
>> that and we can respectfully disagree
[16:19] and that's fine but that is that is not
the intention of of this council. I feel
[16:24] confident saying that. Um so yeah I just
open the floor to what you guys looked
[16:31] at what we presented as a recommendation
what your thoughts were anything like
[16:35] that. I think we're open to it. I think
we're taking notes.
[16:38] » We met yesterday from
>> We didn't change any of that.
[16:41] » Didn't change anything. didn't change
anything. We just generated I mean I got
[16:45] like a few pages of notes just from that
conversation. Um
[16:51] the square footage was just an example
of one of the things that came out of
[16:54] that conversation. Yeah.
>> So I think there's more work to do. I
[16:58] don't I I mean I I'm I think this is a
good starting point. I don't think it's
[17:02] the final.
>> Oh no. No.
[17:06] I think something fair, you know, just
to show that this is not a revenue
[17:10] generating thing is to um at least as we
go along with this, you're going to have
[17:16] have a fee that you're going to charge.
Um it'd be nice to be able to show at
[17:20] least annually or something how much
came in and where it went. It went to
[17:26] pay this inspector. went to pay Donna
and and the clerks for doing whatever
[17:30] paperwork they did so that we can just
show that this isn't we're not, you
[17:34] know, we're not getting anything above
and beyond what we're actually paying to
[17:40] do the work is all, you know, and that
would be a good to show the landlords
[17:45] that, hey, we're not, you know, trying
to make anything off [clears throat] it,
[17:48] but this is what it costs to do.
[17:53] » Like detailed accounting of the fees
collected.
[17:55] » Yeah. just [snorts] you know you did how
many you paid the inspector how much um
[17:59] that the you know city clerk put this
much time into it you know
[18:04] » I wouldn't think that would actually go
into the ordinance I think that would
[18:07] just be best practice best
>> practice how we carry out the ordinance
[18:12] » the majority of the fee structure was
going to pay Mel for his time correct
[18:15] » 100%
but
[18:18] » you know honestly some of that is you're
walking into a one-bedroom apartment and
[18:23] you're checking smoke alarms and this
and that you're going to be in and out
[18:26] of that apartment in about a half hour.
>> What are you charging for a half hour?
[18:31] » You know,
>> that's kind of the idea,
[18:33] » especially when you're walking through
something like the old school apartments
[18:35] and you're going from apartment to
apartment to apartment and you're
[18:38] charging how much per unit,
>> you know, that that's the kind of stuff
[18:42] that needs to be figured out. It's going
to take him, you know, this much time
[18:46] and we don't really know until he starts
doing it,
[18:48] » right?
>> Um,
[18:52] that's what I think. Like I said, like
you said, if you're doing a house, yeah,
[18:54] you're probably going to have to walk
around, look at the grading, look at the
[18:57] drainage, um, things like that. Now, if
you're walking
[19:01] a large apartment building, you're he's
going to be in and out pretty quick.
[19:09] » I think that the fee should kind of
reflect that a little bit.
[19:13] » Yeah. When we created that fee structure
that you guys have in front of you, we
[19:16] did it as just a strictly number
[snorts] of units breakdown, which I
[19:22] mean after our conversation yesterday
should be adjusted. I think I totally
[19:25] agree with the whole square footage
conversation. I think that that makes a
[19:30] huge difference. And that wasn't even
something we we didn't even talk about
[19:34] that when we had our meeting to create
that fee structure.
[19:40] I mean, because pretty much when he
walks into an apartment, what's he
[19:42] looking at? You know, smoke alarms, do
the windows open and close, um, you
[19:47] know, trip hazards, handrails,
>> right? You know, um,
[19:53] » clear exits,
>> you know. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, clear
[19:56] exits, [clears throat] uh, gas,
electric, any leaks, things like that.
[20:02] It shouldn't be a big long process
inside each apartment. [cough]
[20:07] Anyone
else?
[20:12] » Because the whole goal of it was for
safety. [clears throat]
[20:15] Right. Right. That was the entire goal
of it. It was just um people who live in
[20:21] apartments, they are our citizens of the
city of Memphis. There are voters and by
[20:27] proxy they're are taxpayers. Um and you
know to look out for their safety I
[20:33] think is a good idea. [cough]
That's what everybody needs to
[20:36] understand is that this this whole
program was a was is to be implemented
[20:42] for the safety of the residents.
[snorts]
[20:46] That's the whole goal there is to make
sure that we if anybody is renting that
[20:52] that it's the safety.
>> Yeah. One of the things we tal another
[20:57] one of the things we talked about
yesterday is integrity. It's going to
[21:00] challenge some people's integrity
because, and I'm just making up a
[21:04] fictitious example, say like I have a
spare, you know, apartment above my
[21:10] garage that I rent to Councilman Dunar,
but I don't claim it on my taxes. Like,
[21:16] there's some integrity issues with that.
And I I think as a city, it's it's
[21:20] important to have integrity and
character that you recognize that. So, I
[21:27] think that's important.
[21:33] If nobody has anything else, I would
just I I mean I would make a motion to
[21:38] table this until uh we're able to spend
some time with addition with Miss
[21:44] Kendall and some additional landlords
and have additional conversations when
[21:47] we're ready to present a final uh update
to the ordinance
[21:53] board.
Can I just mention one more thing?
[21:58] » No.
>> Okay. [laughter]
[22:01] » Just kidding. Bart,
>> when you have, let's say, a separate
[22:06] building on your property or or a loft
in your garage, what have you, I
[22:11] remember years ago, there was something
in our code, if you have a family
[22:17] member,
there was
[22:20] » something in that code book regarding
family members that's living in that.
[22:23] So, we did talk about that a little bit
about like family members because like
[22:26] um
>> you know, say for example, you know,
[22:29] your child comes back from college
>> and is, you know, living in the
[22:33] apartment of the above the garage until
they can get their feet under them and
[22:36] and things like that.
>> Does that count as the same thing as
[22:40] someone who has a structured lease, who
has a binding document, um like those
[22:45] types of things? Those are conversations
to have. I would say no. family members
[22:50] I would probably say no to. But I mean I
would want everyone to be on board with
[22:56] that. I'm only one one [clears throat]
person. So
[22:58] » just something I remember from years
back
[23:02] » like a wealth of knowledge. [snorts]
[23:09] I support it
>> the table until
[23:12] » until we can continue having
conversations, continue negotiating,
[23:15] continue, you know, figuring out what
the final version will look like.
[23:21] » I mean, realistically, it's not cutting
any time off.
[23:24] » I I mean, I there's no damage being done
to any, you know, any city people, any
[23:29] landlords. We're just uh probably doing
some due diligence that we should have,
[23:36] you know, regrettably done previous to
just rolling it out.
[23:41] » Like I think we have an implementation
plan. I think we have a a structure in
[23:46] place.
>> Uh I think we I think we need more,
[23:50] right? I think we need more.
>> It's a it's a lot better. It's a better
[23:54] uh better position for us to be in. Um I
think we're closer, but you're right. we
[24:00] can we can continue to work on it and
get something that's
[24:05] you know that everybody can agree is you
know
[24:09] » a good thing for the city.
>> And I could just squeak real quick with
[24:14] regards to the um and some may already
know this to the welfare of our citizens
[24:19] here in the community. Um
we'll get into that with you later but
[24:25] uh oh happy day. Uh they uh Pat passed
away.
[24:31] » So if you did Yes, he did. The one that
was in the fire on the house on the
[24:35] corner. So God rest his soul. But there
was a citizen that was in a very very
[24:40] dilapidated house that nothing got done
with and that breaks my heart. But it is
[24:46] what it is and we'll just keep them in
our prayers.
[24:49] » Thank you.
>> All right. We have a motion.
[24:53] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[24:55] » I. Any opposed?
[25:00] » All right.
>> Okay. Channel 10.
[25:02] » Yes. So, [clears throat] we received the
uh
[25:07] application for approval
um to continue operating. Uh
[25:15] it's a rescue, right? I thought I'd say
it's it's like a rescue, right? Is that
[25:19] the best for
not a cattle? Um, it's very well
[25:24] written. Robbie and I both read it.
Advisory's recommendation is to approve
[25:29] the request and allow her to continue
operating as a rescue. Um, as a uh I
[25:35] don't think we'd call it a variance. I
think we've just approved the
[25:39] application to continue operating as a
rescue. you I mean we can all read it
[25:44] but um [clears throat]
>> I mean that's advisor's recommendation
[25:48] and that is based on the fact that
multiple individuals were there
[25:53] inspected the property inspected where
the dogs were kept inspected the home
[25:57] talked with the homeowner talked with um
with her with the citizen about it and
[26:02] there were no issues that were found
>> I know the chief already also talked to
[26:06] neighbors and who didn't even know that
it was that they were there
[26:09] » right so I think all of that in And
>> I think all of that in total is what led
[26:14] us to without even knowing that she did
that. I think all of those things in
[26:18] total led us to believe that this is is
not a a harm or a burden on the city in
[26:24] any way, shape, or form. I think if
anything changed, we would, you know, we
[26:28] would find out about it. But advisor's
recommendation is to approve the
[26:32] application to allow uh should this just
be a motion? Should it just be a motion?
[26:39] » Just go ahead.
Just to be clear, we we do not have to
[26:43] um send letters to adjacent property
owners for this.
[26:47] » Well, she said that
[26:51] » he didn't he just
>> he talked to a couple neighbors. That's
[26:56] what he's told me.
[27:00] » I'm not an expert on the ordinance.
>> I mean, if they're all fine with it,
[27:06] » it doesn't it doesn't.
>> It doesn't say that in there
[27:08] specifically.
[27:16] » [snorts]
>> Strictly there'd have to be a
[27:20] notification to property owners if you
were talking about a variance.
[27:24] » Well, it would be a variance if we're
not changing the
[27:28] » I'm just saying if it is does involve a
variance.
[27:30] » If that happened,
>> that is a hard pass black and white rule
[27:34] in the ordinance.
>> If that was the case, then absolutely.
[27:39] I don't think there is anything
>> without a change without a change to the
[27:44] variance. I don't
>> a change to the ordinance though.
[27:47] » You're not changing zoning.
>> Yeah.
[27:49] » Um
[27:54] if you made you're making that
recommendation granted that the
[27:58] neighbors could complain. I would go
look at it. The county might come out.
[28:02] » They already did. But I'm just saying in
the future if you if you granted it, if
[28:06] there was any change to the worst, then
we go look at it.
[28:09] » Right.
>> Right now, nobody's even knew it was
[28:12] there.
>> Right. Okay.
[28:13] » Well, she still has to adhere to
>> the rules.
[28:17] » The rules.
>> It's just the only thing that changes
[28:19] the number,
>> right?
[28:20] » So, this just says that we have to
notify the residents of the north,
[28:25] south, [clears throat] east, and west of
the property.
[28:27] » We still have the ability to review and
either grant or deny that request.
[28:32] So we can approve it and then
>> and then we would have to send a notice
[28:36] that says the city of Memphis has
approved the application to continue
[28:40] » operating as motion made. I support it.
>> All right. All in favor?
[28:47] » Any opposed?
>> So moved.
[28:52] » Donna, do you want this back for record
keeping?
[28:57] [clears throat]
>> All right. New business. I know
[29:01] » Richmond Lennox EMS smart contract.
>> Mr. White,
[29:08] » good evening. Um, mayor, members of
council, we're here for kind of what is
[29:13] almost an annual ritual uh with regards
to uh your local public transportation
[29:19] as relates to funding. As you know, you
know, the city of Memphis does not get
[29:23] any line hall type buses, the big buses
from from SMR. Um, however, I our
[29:30] residents nevertheless in the Mcome
County portion of Memphis pay 1 mil to
[29:34] Smart for buses. And so, um, since 1999,
uh, we've been working with Smart Bus,
[29:43] uh, on your behalf to provide local
what's called community partnership
[29:47] transportation, which simply means we
can use buses that you probably often
[29:52] see here in the community. be there
about the size of an airport shuttle and
[29:55] transport people to and from everything
from doctor's appointments, regularly
[29:59] scheduled medical treatments to the
grocery store and even to work. Uh we
[30:04] have a number of people actually that's
become surprisingly popular um that uh
[30:09] can't drive for one reason or another.
Maybe their cars broke down. Maybe they
[30:13] have a sight issue or or a medical
problem that prohibits them from getting
[30:17] a driver's license. But nevertheless, uh
they they are out uh being, you know, a
[30:22] hardworking member of our society in
various different jobs. They just don't
[30:26] have a means to get there. And so that's
what the the service does. We operate uh
[30:30] six days a week uh here in the
community. Uh and how the funding and so
[30:37] we provide about just over 700 annual
rides here in Memphis. So pretty good
[30:43] number for the size of your your
population. We do have about a 10% rate
[30:47] of refusal. That means we don't really
refuse people. We don't want to do that,
[30:51] but we're just full. Uh and there's only
a limited amount of funding to so once
[30:55] we're out of funding, we can't provide
more rents, if you will. Um a little bit
[31:00] of good news on that front. The um
through a lot of work from some of the
[31:06] larger communities farther to our south,
uh you receive about 3% of the one mill
[31:12] that you pay back from smart. but not a
very not a very big number. Um there's a
[31:18] lot of pressure put on by the county
board of commissioners uh as well as
[31:22] others um to convince Smart if the next
millillage passes which will come up in
[31:27] November they'll be reserving they'll be
returning uh 12 and a half% of your mill
[31:32] back to the community. So with that
we're hoping we can reduce that number
[31:36] of people returning away uh when all the
communities start to receive them. Um,
[31:42] the other thing I'd like to mention real
quickly before I move on to the actual
[31:45] number, uh, is that we are hiring at the
MS. We are looking for hiring at the EMS
[31:51] in our transit division. Um, we are
looking for drivers, uh, for those small
[31:56] buses. Uh, we have both full-time
positions that uh that come with, you
[32:01] know, full pay as well as healthcare
benefits. Um,
[32:05] and then we are also looking for
part-time people. We have uh we have
[32:09] part-time folks that work for us. A lot
of retirees, other people that might not
[32:12] want to work all the time, but can build
the schedule around their need, their
[32:16] children's needs, uh or just uh like you
say, want to make a little bit money for
[32:20] their golf game now that they're in
retirement kind of thing. Uh so, so we
[32:24] have a lot of those folks working for
us. We welcome uh folks coming in to
[32:27] apply uh at the EMS. They can come right
to our building on 32 Mile Road or they
[32:31] can go right to Google and go rms.org
or and it'll take you right to our
[32:36] website where there's an application
online. So, um with that, the amount of
[32:41] uh funding that SMART has provided back
to your community that you can then if
[32:47] you if you so choose provide back to the
EMS for that uh community partnership
[32:52] transportation service this year. The
contract is in front of you. And
[32:56] basically, if you get through all the
all the language in there, it's the same
[33:00] contract year after year. So, there's
nothing new in there. The total amount
[33:03] is $3,593
for this year. And the EMS is simply
[33:08] asking uh for council to approve the
mayor to execute that uh that agreement.
[33:14] Send it back to us. We will forward it
to SMRT and the money passes right from
[33:18] SMRT to us at that point. So it does not
pass through the city's um through the
[33:22] city's treasury.
[33:26] That's all I've got unless there are any
other questions.
[33:29] » I have a quick question. Where's the
where's the pickup here in Memphis? We
[33:32] don't really do. So this this is uh we
do it we I like call doors show, right?
[33:37] But we used to do it we used to have a a
a vehicle that started in Memphis and
[33:42] just went down to Chesterfield for
people to catch the um I think they call
[33:46] the 5310 bus. The bus that leaves 23 and
Grash there uh and goes to Point South.
[33:53] We just weren't getting enough ridership
on that. So we still have some people
[33:56] that take that. We just pick them up at
their door.
[33:59] » Okay. So that's still available to folks
to go down and catch that bus and go
[34:02] farther south. But but like you say, we
we were we had an empty bus going a lot
[34:07] and so we didn't want to we didn't want
to continue operating the empty bus, but
[34:10] we have people that were turning away
for service. So this way if somebody
[34:13] calls their home, they say they want to
go to that bus stop, we just pick them
[34:15] up their house and take them.
>> And I think was it last year that you
[34:20] brought it to us that they restricted
the area of uh travel for smart bus?
[34:25] only Mcome County right before I think
there was
[34:28] » so uh so that's only so what we had is
we had some of our senior groups
[34:34] » that were um using the bus to go fairly
great distances taking the bus out of
[34:39] service for for for an extended period
of time
[34:43] » um and and a lot of times it was just to
go to a meal we had folks that were
[34:46] wanting to get the bus in
>> ex community up here in the north and
[34:50] they'd want to go down to um Detroit for
for lunch. Well, that that's great. I
[34:56] like to go to Detroit for lunch, too.
But but at the end of the day, we were
[35:00] doing those trips, you know, for eight
or 10 seniors, but that bus was gone all
[35:04] day,
>> right?
[35:05] » And so, we had to make a decision. And
this was our decision. So, I'll take
[35:10] credit for this because I had to make a
decision with the limited funding that
[35:14] we get to say
>> I felt like it was more important that
[35:17] we get as many people as we can to those
I call the medical, the grocery, the
[35:20] pharmacy to work. Um, and so by simply
saying we will take you in Mcome County,
[35:26] we can take that same group of seniors
or community members, we can take them
[35:30] to a restaurant here in our area, we can
drop them off, we can go pick up a
[35:35] couple people and get them to a doctor's
appointment and then we can go back and
[35:38] get them. But when we send a bus all the
way to Detroit, that becomes more
[35:41] difficult to do.
>> Absolutely. I was just curious.
[35:43] » So yeah, so that's how that all came
about. It really was an issue of
[35:46] funding. We we may be able to look at um
tweaking some of those things if we you
[35:50] know should the taxpayers decide to
continue with the smart village and
[35:54] should uh you know should those
additional funds come I think I think
[35:57] then we'll be able to talk about how do
we expand and improve service
[36:01] » absolutely curious
>> are they still doing airport runs
[36:04] » we we are I don't I don't talk as much
about that as I used to and I'll tell
[36:07] you exactly why uh simply we've become a
victim of our own success the airport
[36:11] runs are generally very very full they
are still available I I I'm I'm always
[36:16] cautious because every time I bring it
up, I have two people that are very
[36:19] happy with me in the audience and three
people that are not. [laughter] So,
[36:24] so in in honesty, um we still encourage
people to call for it, we encourage you
[36:28] to call way in advance because it does
book up and that's another area that
[36:32] we're really looking at. Um one of the
discussions that we've been having with
[36:35] some of the communities is as opposed to
doing this airport shuttle the way we've
[36:39] done it, which is kind of pick you up at
your house and take you is having a
[36:41] central location for people to come and
then do it several times throughout the
[36:44] day. So maybe we have the location at
our headquarters on 32 Mile Road and we
[36:49] say three times a day we're going to go
at these times to the airport and you
[36:53] can come book a ride and and you can
drive your car to our to our location.
[36:57] We have a big parking lot there. Uh and
and you know it's all camera I'll set my
[37:02] cameras or what have you. You can park
your leave your car there. You can still
[37:05] do everything. You might just have
[music] to get to our station and then
[37:07] we could look at doing something like
that. And that's one of my hopes if we
[37:11] are able to get this additional funding.
>> It's expensive to park at the airport.
[37:16] » It sure is. And I really feel like, you
know,
[37:20] I've been in this community a long time.
Been here, I think I'm at 35 years or
[37:24] something like that. I've been here.
And I think one of the things that uh
[37:28] has has um hopefully been a key to my
longevity is I believe if I take your
[37:33] money for something, then I should give
you something back for it. That's just
[37:37] Jeff White's philosophy. And I feel like
with smart sometimes uh there are
[37:41] certain groups that benefited from it
but not others. And this was the airport
[37:44] was a great way to give something back,
right? Because you go to the airport
[37:49] once or twice a year. You pay for that
mill that you're paying to Smart. And so
[37:53] we want to continue that. We want to
expand upon it. Um and with this we're
[37:58] we're not Smart won't be asking for any
more millillage. We've just negotiated
[38:02] with them to give more of it back to our
community so we can do those things.
[38:08] Okay. Thank you very much.
>> Yes.
[38:11] » Um I'll make a motion to add into the
municipal credit and community credit
[38:16] contract for fiscal year 2027.
[clears throat]
[38:21] » All in favor? I. Any opposed?
Motion carries.
[38:26] » Thank you all.
[38:34] » All right. Planning Commission
appointment of Ken Riley uh reappoint
[38:41] Ken Riley
uh onto the planning commission to
[38:45] expire July 31st, 2029.
And we need a motion.
[38:53] » A motion to reappoint Ken Riley with a
term to expire on July 31st, 2029 to the
[38:57] Memphis Planning Commission.
>> Support.
[39:01] » All in favor? I.
>> Any opposed?
[39:06] All right.
[39:14] Okay. Administrative me memo
uh
[39:20] city of Memphis office
requesting council approve to allow the
[39:26] city office to start at 11 a.m. the day
after all elections.
[39:32] » I did have a question. Is this in
perpetuity
[39:35] like for every election from from now
on?
[39:41] » You think they're working from the
morning till 8:00? I don't know.
[39:48] » The polls close at 8. You're still
there. So,
[39:52] » I'm not saying it was wrong. Just
>> No, I know. [laughter]
[39:59] You want to take a dog or do you want me
to take
[40:01] » Oh, it don't No, I mean this last
election that wasn't really even that
[40:06] big. Me and Amber didn't get back from
the county till midnight. U presidential
[40:11] elections, we're usually home around 1
or two and we just can't get up at 8 and
[40:15] come. It's just too hard. After working
them two weeks straight, too.
[40:19] » Robbie's done it this year, so she
knows.
[40:23] I wouldn't wish that on anybody because
you're working the early voting prior to
[40:28] it too and it's a very
>> weekends everything
[40:30] » very stressful day. [clears throat]
>> So yeah, I would
[40:35] » I'd make a motion to approve this for 11
a.m. the day after all.
[40:43] » All in favor?
>> Any opposed?
[40:47] » Motion carries.
historical society.
[40:57] Hi. Um yeah, as my letter says that um
our source right now is in the basement
[41:07] of the community center that's attached
to the library. It regularly floods.
[41:13] Um, and there's a lot of times we aren't
o able to get over there to clean it up.
[41:20] And it's been worse this past year cuz
it's been raining a lot more this this
[41:25] this past year than than before. And uh
when we were getting ready for Memphis
[41:32] days, we noticed a lot of stuff was uh
some of it was starting to mold. It was
[41:37] very musty smelling when you went down
there. Um, we have like dresses and
[41:44] older clothes on a rack. We have old
maps. We have old like large atlases.
[41:53] Um, there's just a lot of things that
cannot take the moisture in there, the
[42:01] humidity there. You you can see they're
deteriorating really bad. And so we were
[42:06] wondering since you moved into this
larger building if there is any space at
[42:11] all that we can move just those items
in. The rest of the stuff will stay in
[42:15] the basement as is. They're they're
secure most of them, but some of them
[42:20] are are, you know,
really in danger of of being ruined. So
[42:25] we were just wondering if there was an
area that we could put some of the
[42:29] stuff.
[42:33] Wonder why it's flooding.
Barb.
[42:37] » Yeah.
>> When you hear the word flood, I'm not
[42:41] sure how you all interpret that, but
you're probably picturing a foot or two
[42:45] of water, what have you.
That's not the case. It's an old
[42:50] building, stone foundation.
If anybody knows what a Michigan
[42:55] basement is, generally they're damp and
there's water comes in. It kind of goes
[43:01] through the floor. not 100% of the
basement.
[43:05] » No, but
>> if things were setting up on pallets
[43:08] versus right on the floor,
>> they are
[43:10] » and and items
right now in the library and in that
[43:15] basement.
>> They're they're piled right in front of
[43:18] electrical panels, which I'm going to
tell you right now is illegal.
[43:23] And the librarian is going to have to
move stuff around. Historical society
[43:28] needs to move stuff. Um
because we we're in deep violation on
[43:33] that. Speak that up. But by flooding,
no. Do you have water? Yes, you have
[43:38] water. They make what you call
>> they make what you call dehumidifiers.
[43:43] » No, a mission basement. I I have a
mission basement. I cannot keep anything
[43:47] down there that I that I have any value
>> any value because it's musty. It's
[43:54] everything smells. You can't use
anything that's that's down there. So,
[43:58] » yeah. A lot of basements are like that
whether they leak or not. The question
[44:01] is, do we have any area that they could
h how much stuff are we talking about?
[44:09] » I'd say the the rolling rack with our
clothes on it, maybe
[44:16] four or five boxes.
You know, the everything is off the
[44:21] floor. Um, we if it's not on a on a
shelving unit, we have something stuffed
[44:28] underneath it that's plastic.
Um, and we don't cover up the electrical
[44:36] in our room.
>> Then you've changed it.
[44:38] » You We You mentioned it like last year.
You mentioned it like last year.
[44:44] I'm just saying I last I was down there.
It's all
[44:47] » But um
yeah, it's it's it's not that great of
[44:53] an amount.
It's just yeah, like I said, like a
[44:58] rolling rack of clothing, several other
pieces, items and clothing that's that's
[45:02] like you can't hang because they're are
delicate, so they have to be kind of
[45:06] laid out and maybe four or five boxes.
>> Average closet size.
[45:12] » Exactly. Kind of. Yeah, it's not
>> Well, particularly the documents, I
[45:16] think you would want to get in a dry
environment. I can appreciate that.
[45:19] » Right. Yeah, it's
>> there is quite room bit of room
[45:21] upstairs. I'm not going to allow who
gets to call on it,
[45:25] » but there is quite a bit of open space
up there. If you're talking, you know,
[45:29] 2T 3T by 6T long or something,
>> I'm sure temporarily that would be a
[45:35] workable solution.
>> Temporarily is really all all we need
[45:38] until we can find another solution. Um
[45:44] that off limits up there by the way
>> a building inspector I'm not mistaken
[45:49] that's not supposed to be open to public
up there. Yeah, he said it's
[45:53] » Well, I don't know if anybody's
accessing it by the public. It's just
[45:56] talking about storage. making
we we
[46:01] construction zone and I'm just saying
that our building inspector advises does
[46:06] not
>> Well, I'm I'm fine with running to buy
[46:08] metal circumstanc Sorry, that's not No
big deal.
[46:11] » And then how do they gain access
[clears throat]
[46:14] » at any time they want?
>> They don't, you know, they come during
[46:18] business hours. Well, hey, I'm just
saying they come anytime at the library.
[46:23] So, I feel like
>> we we are able to get to the library at
[46:27] any time now because the city gave us
keys so we could get in on a Sunday and
[46:32] that's when we were doing all our work
for Memphis days. Um, but yeah, most of
[46:37] this stuff is more storage. It's not
going to be on display until we, you
[46:43] know, change some stuff upstairs, get
some new um, cases and things like that.
[46:50] It's just strictly going to be
[clears throat] for right now in
[46:54] storage. And if we do need it, we could
definitely come during the day when you
[46:58] guys are open and just grab maybe the
one or two things out of there that we
[47:02] might need.
>> I would ask Donna
[47:05] I feel like you're the one that knows
the most about like what and Mel
[47:10] » Yeah, Donna and Mel would be the ones to
to talk.
[47:13] » Yeah, I just know what Mel said that
nobody from the public's lot upstairs.
[47:17] Um I'm trying to think. I'm I would like
to see how much to be honest before I
[47:22] say like, "Yeah, we can fit it here." I
like to just go over and see how much.
[47:26] » I'm not against
>> I think it's just understanding, right?
[47:30] Like
>> Yeah. I just I know he said nobody
[47:32] upstairs so that kind of counts that out
if you have to go um
[47:36] » I think the size of the current room is
>> what like 8 by 10
[47:42] » you know I I'm bad at I'm bad at [cough]
>> the best 10 by 10
[47:49] » whole room you need
>> No no I just need a small portion just
[47:53] to put some of the rest of the stuff can
stay down there just let me know when
[47:58] you're there and I'll come back if I can
look at it and we'll
[48:01] that
>> I don't think we need to.
[48:04] » I don't think we need
>> No, because they're going to they're
[48:06] going to meet then Donna can have you
know a recommendation of where you know
[48:13] you know it might fit in a corner of the
invol the old involvement room or
[48:17] something you know down there
[48:26] » historical
that would literally
[48:35] Okay.
>> So, there are some options. So, let
[48:38] we'll let Donna get with you.
>> Is our basement dry
[48:43] » like that be the same as
>> same thing similar, right?
[48:48] » We don't want people going.
>> I wouldn't want I'd rather both.
[48:53] » Yes.
>> I don't want to go.
[48:56] That's just
okay.
[49:04] [clears throat]
[49:06] All right. Um,
I just want to uh talk a little bit
[49:14] about uh the festival. We just had the
beginning of of uh of August. Um it was
[49:24] I think our best festival in many years.
Um the
[49:30] return of Miss Memphis which we had a
lot of good participation with. That was
[49:35] great. Uh the parade, the fireworks were
were outstanding. Um lots of events
[49:40] going and lots of collaboration around
town. Everybody supporting everybody
[49:46] else. And that's it just it it was just
a very great fun weekend and we had a
[49:53] lot of people in town and that was good
to see. So I appreciate everybody who
[49:58] put on events, supported each other and
uh hopefully next year will be will be
[50:05] even better.
>> Yeah, because uh you got that haunted
[50:09] trail that's going to help
>> Yeah.
[50:12] » some stuff.
[50:16] Yeah.
Okay.
[50:19] Anything
council member?
[50:23] » Uh I saw on the sign when I was walking
in that there's a CBA public hearing
[50:29] » on one of the days coming up.
>> 16th.
[50:33] » 16th. What's that?
>> There's a resident uh there's a resident
[50:36] applying for a variance on their uh on
their fence. it was put up. Um Mel gave
[50:42] them a stop work order um to which they
um asked for a variance as opposed to
[50:49] you know they wanted to continue. Um so
uh
[50:52] » just curious
>> uh yeah the
[50:54] » I didn't know if it was something
>> the fence isn't supposed to be come into
[50:58] your front yard and because they're a
corner lot they technically have two
[51:01] front yards. Um, so the the uh fence is
coming into the front yard of their
[51:06] Henderson Street property and uh Mel
gave him a stop
[51:10] » work order.
>> Yeah, just curious.
[51:13] » Okay,
[51:17] so
[51:21] » laborer.
>> Good.
[51:24] » All right. Motion to
[51:36] » [music]