>> give him all he needs to move the city in a
positive direction, and lord, bless the old and new members of
this council.
give them grace, give them love, give them honor, and may
they earn their respect, integrity, and character to go to
the city of memphis without any hesitation or reservation
within them.
these give them the wisdom and knowledge to enact laws
and legislation that will benefit the citizens of memphis
. As we close this prayer, let us be mindful
of the real reason of this advent season, jesus christ.
may we have hope, peace, joy, and love this christmas and throughout
the new year. It is in the name of mary's first baby,
jesus christ, amen.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united
states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god
indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
>> councilmember johnson, you're recognized.
>> councilmembers, it is an honor for me to
recognize dr. Wayne williams for the identification he provided
for us today. I have known mr.
williams for a very, very long time, and I can assure you his words
came from the heart, and are very sincere in
their blessings.
in recognition of a life of exemplary qualities, outstanding
service to the city, he returns the environment
and humanitarian affairs, and demonstrated concerns for governmental processes
has been appointed.
chaplain of the day of the memphis city
council. And is hereby entitled to arms, rights, privileges, and prerogatives
containing to the office, into display of this certificate.
given under the seal, this 19 day of december, 2023
. Jones' the chairman, it is presented by cheyenne johnson of the
city council. And I so move.
reverend, would you like to speak?
>> thank you very much. We do go by quite a bit. I hate that
this person is going out of here.
I'll tell you one thing. She is certainly one
that believes in doing the right thing. I appreciate her, and words cannot
express how much I appreciate this honor, and it
will always be engraved upon the tapestry of my
art. Thank you so much.
>> thank you.
hey, these pictures are really good.
>> thank you, reverend dr. Period madam controller, will you please call
the role?
>> thank you, mr. Chairman.
councilmember canale?
councilmember carlisle?
>> present.
>> councilmember colvett? Councilmember easter-thomas?
councilmember ford?
>> present.
>> councilmember logan? Councilmember robinson?
vice chair smiley?
>> present. >> councilmember warren?
chairman jones?
>> here. >> chairman jones, you have a quorum.
>> thank you. The minutes of been read from the december
5th meeting?
>> thank you. I reviewed the meeting minutes
, and wish you adopt the december 5th meeting minutes.
>> okay. Our minutes of been approved by vice chair
smiley, seconded by councilmember ford.
>> mr. Chair, I have a card? >> okay.
>> on the minutes.
mr. Kent?
>> I would ask that someone from prevailing side of the ml gw illegal
rate increase votes item number 39 vote
from last meeting, and someone on the prevailing side of the prevailing
ml gw item 40 budget vote to do the right thing
, and moved to reconsider each of these items as they were both past on
a ml gw 24 budget that was not published for
public review to allow for adequate budget noticing
under state law.
additionally, a city council, dating back to
11-9-23. The
legal votes were not answered with the ml gw
24 document.
I put that in, and you will ignore them. The city council was considering fyi
24 budget in committee.
was arrogantly asserted that the public did not have any business
raising questions about the to be on dollars zero industries hearing
firm.
discuss a person dismiss the mlg is a publicly owned
facility utility. These remarks occurred at the
same time the mlg in the city council conspire to
conceal the fy 24 budget from the public. This arrogance provides
an exhibit of a call to the civic
was public behavior and disregards and dismisses
of the public at large. So, that is one
thing, 19 and 20 on today's agenda, mlgw
refused to provide the actual contracts, and I believe
, mr. Chairman, the brooks people, I am not speaking for them, were in
agreement with you that they would like a seat at the table. Both
negotiate and to be a part of an agreement, and that
is an agreement that does not exist today.
that was not publicly noticed. It doesn't even
exist. So, thank you very much.
>> thank you, mr. Kent.
our minutes have been moved by vice chair smiley,
seconded by councilmember morgan.
better controller, will you please prepare the
voting?
>> councilmember carlisle, yes, councilmember canale, yes, councilmember warren,
yes, councilmember morgan, yes, councilmember robinson, yes, vice chair smiley, yes, councilmember
swearengen-washington, yes, chairman jones,
yes.
>> that item past, and those minutes have been approved.
welcome to the december 19th, 2023 regular meeting of the memphis city council. Meetings
of the council shall be conducted in an orderly manner
to ensure that the public has the full opportunity to be heard,
and the deliberative process of the council is retained
at all times.
the sergeant at arms has meeting agendas available up front,
as well as comment request cards for members of the public wishing to
be heard on a specific item. All of those wishing
to speak on an item must turn in their comment card to
the sergeant at arms before the item is called. If you
are not here to speak on a specific item, you can note your
request to give general comments at the end of the meeting. As chair,
I will only recognize citizens that properly register
to speak by submitting a repeated comment request card to
the sergeant at arms.
members of the audience and persons attending the council meeting will not be permitted
to engage in gossip, make defamatory, personal,
slanderous, or profane comments, or use abusive
or vulgar language. The chairperson of the council may maintain
order by giving any persons who are in violation of the
stated rules of decorum a warning to cease any
violative action in order to leave the council's chambers, or by
giving an order for security personnel to remove any disruptive person in the council chamber
refuses to leave voluntarily. Madam controller,
item 12 will be held
until our january 9th, 2024 meeting.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman.
>> items 14 and 13 have been withdrawn.
>> 13 and 14?
>> yes, ma'am.
I am sorry, 13 and 39. I am sorry. 13 and
39 have been withdrawn. Not 13 and 14.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman.
>> so, item number 12 has been held
until 1-9-24, and then 13 and 39 have been withdrawn.
madam controller, will you please call item one?
>> item number one is a resolution approving an honorary street
name change on yale road between austin p highway and millie
road with dr. Sammy holloway.
district 1, super district 9. This resolution is sponsored by councilman
logan.
>> councilmember logan? >> thank you. I am honored to be able
to bring this forward. This is an honor in recognition for a
very worthy cause, a very worthy servant in
my district, and I would ask that the family and the pastoral staff
come down as I read this.
dr. Holloway has been in the raleigh area for over 40
years, and he will be retiring to a new position. We wanted
to honor that and commemorate that time, so, we will
be bringing this forward.
all right, thank you.
and it is going to be a surprise.
so, that is why there is not a lot. Whereas
when were the circumstances arise, the memphis city council has
seen fit to name certain public roads to honor citizens who have served
the city of memphis, and dr.
sammy holloway is certainly befitting of this great honor.
whereas a beacon of light within this community, he established a
breath of life christian center in memphis, tennessee, which blossomed from
a bible class he taught from his home in the early
1980s. And where is in addition to leading his flock
at the breath of life christian center, dr. Sammy holloway also served
as the regional director, and on the board
as the fellowship of inner-city word of faith ministries under the mitt leadership
of the late dr. Frederick casey price.
and whereas dr. Sammy holloway has founded and served as
a president of the missile fellowship of charismatic pastors
and multicultural organization formed to mentor and bridge the gap
amongst races in memphis from 1989 through 1998
while serving also as a regional director
of global feed the hungry humanitarian aid organization, and
whereas dr.
sammy holloway has distinguished himself as a scholar, receiving a phd
for cornerstone theological seminary, as well as an additional phd
from friends at a national christian university, and whereas a multifaceted individual
, dr. Holloway is also a published author of
four books. They are attributed to his name.
whereas dr. Sammy holloway is not only excited about
ministry, but education is very important to him.
in 1998, he found a breath of life christian academy, the raleigh
frazier area of memphis tennessee, providing quality, christian, private
education the partner with parents to train scholars
in every aspect of life, and in 2008, dr. Holloway opened
the doors of breath of life preparatory preschool
as well. And whereas the community is thankful to dr.
sammy holloway and his family, especially his wife and high school
sweetheart, dr.
annie holloway. Whereas dr. Sammy holloway is commendable and worthy
of praise for the good work yes provided
to the community and dedicated service to the greater
memphis region, now therefore be it resolved by the memphis
city council that yale road between austin p highway be declared dr.
sammy holloway boulevard in honor of his
remarkable life and numerous accomplishments enriching the city of memphis
, be it further resolved that the city engineer
is requested to a fixed suitable fine fixing this public road,
given by my hand and under the great seal of the city of memphis, this 19th day
of december, 2023.
and I so move.
thank you.
and we are going to give the pastoral
staff members an opportunity to say something as well.
>> right. Many ms. Original harris.
I'm on the pastoral stuffing of the church, and I just want to
say how excited I am for you guys to allow this to happen. Truly,
over 40 years of ministry, he deserves even more than this. I have been watching him
from the pool to the golf course. He is a man
of integrity, no matter where he goes. I'm just happy
to be here and be a part of it.
>> madam controller, will you please show that that
item has been approved by acclamation?
>> thank you, mr. Chair.
let me do so.
madam controller, will you please call item two?
>> item number two is a resolution honoring wanda
taylor, founder of ladies in need can survive, inc. This resolution is sponsored by councilwoman logan.
>> councilmember logan? >> thank you.
often times, we hear about crime, and we hear about
violence, and we hear about homelessness, and we hear about the things going on
in our community. But very seldom do we
hear about something coming before this body discussing and sharing
those that are doing something about it in our community. And today, I would just
like to bring forth a beacon, a shining star
in the district and surrounding areas
who is giving her life to this cause, and
to helping solve the problem. So, I would just like
to ask wanda taylor, miss wanda taylor of
ladies in need to come down, I would like to honor her for
the work that she is doing in this area to save
and change lives of women in our city. Let's give her
a hand.
and I have seen the work of women getting their high school diplomas,
get in the college degrees, buying their first home, getting their first car.
those things are really what changes lives from the
inside out, one person at a time.
so, I would like to read this resolution.
whereas when circumstances arrive, they see fit
with the distances of the city of memphis. Wanda taylor is
certainly befitting of this great honor. Whereas after experiencing a tumultuous
early life, wanda taylor made a choice to actively change the direction of
her life, which --which
change the direction of her life was headed in at the age
of 28. She received her high school diploma,
and whereas wanda taylor continued her education first
when she received both a technical certificate in substance abuse counseling, and an
associate of science degree in human services from
southwest tennessee committee college at the university of phoenix, where
she received a bachelor of science degree in business management.
and whereas with a focus on giving back to
her community and aiding young women with experiencing a similarly
tumultuous early life as hers, wanda taylor served as
an educator for more than 20 years working for the salvation army
, serenity recovery center, shelby county
crisis center, and a permanent human services, and shall
be county child support office while also volunteering
at various nonprofits, and whereas continuing
her dedication to serve other women who want to change the direction of their
lives, wanda taylor founded ladies in need can survive inc.
, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and whereas through links, wanda
taylor supports women who are transitioning back into being productive members of society
by providing holistic support
and services such as daily meals, clothing, transportation, basic necessities,
and wraparound service in a fully furnished home in the
quiet residential neighborhood in frazier, and whereas wanda taylor is commendable and
worthy of praise for the good work she has provided to her community
, including her work through links, and her unwavering dedication to supporting
women on similar journeys as her own. Now therefore be
it resolved that the memphis city council hereby celebrates and commends
the contributions of wanda taylor and
links to the city of memphis
, given by my hand and under the great seal of the city of memphis, this 19th day
of december, 2023. I am sorry, I am getting
emotional, because she does tremendously changing work for these ladies who
come up from the street with nothing. And to see them get their drivers license and
first carney first job in everything, it is just
impactful. Again, given by my hand under the great seal
of the city of memphis, this 19th day of december, 2023, wanda logan,
memphis city council, district 1, and I
so move.
>> first, I would like to say
thank you, city part of memphis for being on this
journey for the last 15 years the last 7 1/2 years without your
funding, without your prayers, without your support, I could not have done
this work by myself. So, I just want to thank you, city
councilwoman for recognizing the work that
we do. The work that we do is very difficult, because they
are the ones that have overlooked, and seems like there is no
hope because of their circumstance, because I travel the same path
, came to the same hail, so I position these women
, and have given them opportunities to become great
. And now they are living the life that we are living today when the world
so that they could in. Thank you.
>> madam controller, will you please call item three?
>> item number three is a resolution recognizing the career and contributions of
bobby alston, a football coach at the memphis university school since 1977. All council
districts. This resolution is sponsored by councilman colvett.
>> councilmember colvett?
>> thank you, mr. Chairman.
probably should have told him
that we would be recognizing some of the students and athletes, because we
would be here. But in typical coach style,
he doesn't want accolades for himself
, but we are recognizing him anyway.
colleagues, I think you will see why here in a moment. Whereas on
occasion, the memphis city council has seen fit
to honor those who have positively contributed to this community, and bobby alston
is one such citizen whose contributions to the
city of memphis are certainly worthy of recognition.
whereas on december 31st, bobby alston will be retiring
after nearly five decades of unparalleled devotion to the betterment
of the memphis university school.
he wore many hats, including teacher, dean of students,
and most notably, as a well decorated coach for both the
football and track and field teams.
whereas bobby alston led the university school's football team as their
head coach 24 state championships,
four state runners-up, nine regional championships, and 10
double-digit win seasons for an overall record of
213 wins to 90 losses.
any football players would move on to
achieve numerous accolades, including five football all-americans
, eight mr. Football winners, 14 mr.
football finalists, 95 all-state football players
, and 147 college football players.
and as a track and field coach, bobby alston led memphis university school
to five state championships, to state championships and team relays, four
state runners-up, four state runners-up in team relays, and
25 regional championships.
>> whereas on numerous occasions, bobby alston was
organized for his achievements in the tennessee athletics association
coaching association states track coach of the year in 1991.
commercial appeal for the football coach at 2004,
five, eight, and nine.
the coaches association --
in 2005 and 2006, tennessee sportswriters -- I skip the part there. He was awarded
in 2007.
commercial appeal sportsman of the year, national federation of state
high school association in state and the section of
the year in 2014.
tennessee football association hall of fame adopted in 2018, tennessee
secondary school athletic association hall of fame inductee in 2020, the commercial
appeal lifetime achievement award in 2023
, and the tennessee secondary school athletic regional association
athletic director of the year, and tennessee secondary school
f bridges award winner, and --
>> whereas bobby alston took time to positively contribute to
the athletic community and leadership position serving
in tennessee school athletic association regional
coordinator on the tennessee secondary school athletic
association states track and field advisory committee, and on the founding organizing
committee for legal high school all-star game. And whereas bobby alston could have
not accomplished so much without the support of his loving family including
his wife, and true alston and the grandchildren
, landon alston, charlotte alston, and
madeleine alston. Not be it resolved that the memphis city council
on is the dedication to the memphis university schoolhouse
bobby alston simple fight throughout his career.
this resolution was adopted december 19th, 2023
. Mr. Chairman, I so move.
>> second.
>> thank you, mr.
chair.
madam controller, will you please show that that item has been approved
by proclamation?
>> thank you, mr. Chair. >> madam controller, will you
please call item four?
>> I don't four is a resolution thanking
councilwoman cheyenne johnson for her service to the city of memphis. This resolution is sponsored by the memphis city
council.
>> you've got me. Oh, yeah, by request only.
absolutely.
oh, man, this one is going to be tough to
get through. I know.
I will pull a string, and I will just look straight down. Oh, you're going to
love part of this. Whereas the
members of the memphis city council honor and acknowledge councilwoman cheyenne
johnson was for her punctuality and service for her
pointman to serve super district 8.2.
and whereas cheyenne johnson has dedicated her life to
public service, and has made certificate contributions to the
memphis community. Both as a public servant, and a positive championship
for change.
and whereas councilwoman cheyenne johnson was appointed to the memphis city
council on january 8th of 2019, and has served the
city with distinction throughout her tenure. Her commitment to the chair of
the planning and zoning committee, vice chair of the budget committee
, liaison to the downtown memphis commission, and board member for
the memphis medical authority has greatly
benefited the city's growth, development,
and revitalization efforts. Whereas councilwoman cheyenne
johnson's previous servings as the assessor, spanning three terms
, demonstrated her unwavering dedication
to the effective leadership in a ministry of excellence
, and whereas councilwoman cheyenne johnson's historic achievement as the first
black female elected property assessor in the state of tennessee in 2008,
and her subsequent recognition as tennessee assessor
of the year in 2015 highlighted her extraordinary analytical
problem solving and leadership skills.
and whereas councilwoman cheyenne johnson
has consistently championed the restoration and revitalization of super
district eight aiming to reduce plate and crime all ensuring quality education
, fairness, taxation, and a brighter future for the residents, her trustworthiness,
dependability, integrity, and transparency in fulfilling her duty
as city center for excellence in public service.
where's councilman cheyenne johnson has shown herself to be a dedicated
bridgebuilder, fostering collaboration between the community, private sectors
, and public sectors to achieve common goals
for the betterment of memphis and advocate for the college chapel room in the
end, belle view tennis, and alternative energy resources.
whereas councilwoman cheyenne johnson fearlessly posed
challenging questions, ensuring her constituents receive the
necessary answers and effective solutions they deserved. Councilman
cheyenne's johnson's boldness is
part of the legacy that she leaves with the city council.
whereas councilman cheyenne johnson's educational background, including
her graduation from the university of memphis, and the security is a look at
his reader from the university of tennessee it emphasizes hurt committed to lifelong
learning and professional development, being
actively involved in a church, the historic memphis get church, where she serves
on the board of trustees, reflects her deep sense of faith,
and commitment to her community.
and whereas councilman cheyenne johnson's long-standing dedication to
the political arena inspired by her husband, alvin carmichael johnson,
and her services as a past member of the shelby democratic community,
and demonstrates her enduring commitment to the
democratic values as a devoted mother to her two sons, michael grisham,
and gerald lafayette. Her love and support
for family is her testament to character and values. Now therefore be it resolved by
the memphis city council
, by the memphis city council hereby honors and recognize as
councilmember cheyenne johnson for her outstanding contributions to our city,
her tireless dedication to public service, and
her unwavering commitment to not only the betterment of super district eight,
but his residence, and to memphis as a
whole, and I so move.
>> I might have another question.
[ laughter ]
I must say, it has been a pleasure to serve on
this board with the city council.
I came in with the one year apartment, never knowing
that I was actually going to serve five years. What I have learned
from serving is every citizen should have an opportunity
to serve. Once you serve, you learn the
complexity of what it takes to operate a city that operates
24 hours a day.
but, the journey was made possible because of you.
you helped me along, you informed me, helped me with the resolutions,
you helped me make motions through the whole process. I
am missing my dear friend polly, alan wade. We to
learn from each other with legal issues that
came about, and I just wanted to say thank you for being patient
with me.
I do know I ask a lot of questions.
>> a whole lot of questions!
>> but it is only through questioning's that we get to
the peer effects. So, I encourage you to continue to ask the questions.
>> absolutely. >> sometimes, things come so
fast that you, that you don't even know what hit you. So, so
the train down, and ask some questions. I wish you the best. I wish the citizens
of memphis the best. And god bless up on everybody.
thank you.
>> madam controller, will you please call
item five?
>> I don't number five is resolution thanking councilwoman patrice j.
robinson for her service to the city of memphis. This resolution is
sponsored by the memphis city council.
>> councilmember swearengen-washington?
>> it is my honor to be able to recognize councilwoman
patrice j robinson.
that's right, give her applause, y'all.
oh, that is so sweet.
whereas the members of the memphis city council extend heartfelt recognition
and honor to councilwoman patrice j robinson
for her unwavering service throughout her tenure on the memphis city council
is the admired representative of district 3, a
chapter that gracefully concludes on december
31st, 2023, and whereas patrice j robinson,
the eldest of the late reverend ament jordan junior
, and the late rosetta h jordans two
children blossomed into a devoted monfils and from
her years, the city of memphis and the nurturing
of others took root upon
her, evolving into the guiding force propelling her
illustrious career. Whereas embracing a passion
for education, her commitment to learning unfolded effortlessly, following her
graduation from whitehaven high school in 1972. She embarked on a dedicated
journey to further her education
. In 1981, she probably earned her bachelor's degree from them
memphis state university, followed by the attainment of her masters degree from
the university of tennessee in 1990.
in 1975, patrice j robinson became an estate member
of the roe gamma chapter of the sata five
beta sorority incorporated. Were her dedication
of would eventually be acknowledged as the chapters
longest active member.
throughout her graduate studies, she distinguished herself
as a national honor society member, and whereas upon receiving her
degree is, patrice j robinson gained over 30 years of professional expertise
in human resources, training, and development,
counseling, job development, and grant writing. Her district which career
culminated with the retirement from memphis
light, gas, and water, where she served as a supervisor of
assessment and development. And whereas outside
of her professional endeavors, she also achieved
great success in her political career before her
tenure on the memphis city council. Patrice
j robinson dedicated 13 years to
the memphis city shelby county schools board of education
, notably holding the position of board president
in 2004 and 2007.
her impactful service on
the school board not only provided a platform for her to support and nurture
memphis youth, but also ignited a deepened desire to extend
that care to a broader community of memphis members. And whereas in
november of 2015, she secured the position of memphis city
council district 3, representative of a role
she faithfully fulfilled
her eight consecutive years.
her leadership has shown brightly in 2020
, where she adapted, guided the counsel to the challenges
of the covid-19 pandemic while serving
as the memphis city council chairwoman throughout
her tenure on the memphis city council. She harnessed the depth of
professional knowledge she gained in her previous
roles. She channeled it effectively as the chair of the
memphis light, gas, and water committee.
whereas during her counsel tenure, patrice j robinson spearheaded
vital initiatives, such as the pre-k resolution, reviving the greater
what heaven economic champion, and champion to the davis
weight mca, and played a pivotal role in crime prevention grants
driven by her deep affection for district 3,
she prioritized community safety by installing over 50
cameras, and supporting the hickory hill juvenile project. She dedicated keeping
constituents informed, and dedicated to the patrice express
quarterly update newsletter.
whereas patrice j robinson, a recipient of various accolades, including spirit
magazines 50 over 50 award, finding my yes honoree
and the national foundation of women legislators women excellence award. She has been recognized
for her exceptional community service within the male horn trailblazer.
notably, the ymca of memphis and the midsouth honored her dedication by
naming the aquatics emporium center as
the patrice and jackie robinson name at thorium
recently nominated by president biden to the tennessee
valley authority board of directors. She was
also bestowed with the key to the city by mayor jim strickland.
whereas over a span of 20 years, patrice j robinson has
dedicated herself wholeheartedly to public service
as an elected official, all while maintaining a loving
marriage with jackie robinson. Her commitment transcended her various
professional roles seamlessly, extending into
the most honorable aspects of life, being a devoted
mother to her three beautiful children,
gina, jay, and jordan, as well as a loving grandmother, and great-grandmother
. Now, therefore be it resolved that the memphis
city council extends its honor to councilwoman patrice
j robinson for her eight years of dedicated service to
the council, and wishes continued success
and blessings to her political journey.
god bless you.
>> first, let me say to the audience, please forgive me
for my full life story on today that you had
to go through all of that. And I guess you know how old I am now,
how busy I have been. You know my whole life story. To the
council, thank you so much today for those words
, and all I want people to know about me is that
I love the city of memphis.
I love our children, and I want us to be the greatest city in
the united states. It will take some work, but it requires that we
work together.
it is my hope moving forward that everyone gets on the
same page, so that we can be that late
in the united states that everybody wants to look up to, and to aspire
to be like us.
now, I may be leaving the city council, but you
won't leave my heart. I will be working every day to
make sure that memphis is remembered at the tva table.
I will ensure that east tennessee is not the only ones that
are remembered, but
west tennessee as well, and all of the other members in the seven state district.
it is my desire to always represent you well,
to always remember you, and to always ensure that we get the best
for each of our constituents.
thank you for the service with you. I really want to say
what time can I get out of here?
I don't know who will take all of those
phone calls about mlgw once my lights went out.
I get them seven days a week, 24 hours
a day, and some knock on my door.
I am so pleased that you will have that opportunity to continue
that work.
I want to remind you that you are not here just for yourselves, you
are here for the community that needs you to represent them.
we are here to represent the community and
their desires, and make sure that at that same time,
we remember all communities, and every decision that we make
. God bless you, thank you, and I love each and everyone of you.
>> excuse me, madam comptroller, but can you show that the item has been approved
by proclamation?
>> thank you, mr. Chairman.
>> madam comptroller, may you please call item six?
>> item number six is a resolution thanking councilman frank h. Colvett, jr. For his
service to the city of memphis. This resolution is sponsored by the memphis city council.
>> councilmember warren?
>> thank you, mr. Chair.
whereas the members of the city council which to recognize
the contributions of councilmember colvett, and bid him
a congratulatory farewell as we
know it achievements leading up to and throughout his service as a council
member to the great people of the city of memphis.
and whereas he graduated from memphis university school
in 1988 prior to attending millsaps college.
he earned his bachelors degree in business
in ministration and a minor in history, graduating with distinction.
while attending millsaps, he served as a chapter resident
at a fraternity, focusing as the highest standards of friendship, scholarship, leadership,
and service.
whereas upon graduation, councilmember franco that
--research the company in various capacities, such as
project minister --manager, estimator, and vice president
of marketing. After years of dedication at green scape
, and 2010, he was promoted to president.
later, he would refocus his career, and become a real
estate agent with re/max, and whereas a dedicated public servant with the passion
for development, he served the local development boards
, for example, chairman of the memphis county board of adjustments
, and as an alternate on the memphis and
shelby county land use control board.
his enthusiasm for the community involvement continued when he served as chair
of the memphis city councils planning and zoning committee, and
housing and community development committees.
on which he continued to use his mediation skills for service for his city. And,
whereas councilmember colvett's approach of serving as
chairman of the city council in 2021,
and whereas vice chair in 2018 and 2020 made an impact
that will be remembered long past his tenure on
the council. For example, his strong ability to arbitrate led to the resolution
of many disputes that would have remained
unresolved, but for his interception. And
whereas in ordinance supporter of our veterans, he spearheaded an effort
to extend cities appreciation for their sacrifice by creating the
veterans parking program. This program designated convenient
parking spaces for veterans, your city
libraries, parks, community centers, and senior centers,
and whereas his active member of the community, councilmember colvett regularly attends the
services at st. George's church, a church with
nearly a century of history in the city of memphis. He also attends
mass with his wife leslie, and his children, herman
and ella, and whereas the memphis city council will sorely miss
the ultimate mediator, councilmember colvett, and will think of him
often, and with deals that reach an impasse, I will say this again,
but think of him largely and often with
deals that have reached an impasse that only
councilmember colvett can navigate effortlessly. Therefore
, now be it resolved that the memphis city councils says farewell
to councilmember colvett, and thanks him for his dedicated service
to district two, the city of memphis, and for his contributions
to memphis city council presented by our chairman,
chairman jones.
>> oh, wow. Well, guys, thank you.
it is the end of a very fun, long road.
I would say to julia and clay
especially, thank you for being in my life.
you have amazing careers, and I'm happy to have just been a small part
of it. I am joined, and I cannot say anything but the
hugest debt of gratitude, thank you to leslie harmon, and ella.
thank you for the nights I was gone.
I was busy, I was late, I was
forever leaving supper to take a phone call. I could not do this
without you. Thank you.
ella's boyfriend, drew, is with us today. Now, drew
, we can't have fun unless we are appear having fun. I want you to introduce you
to officer cedric young, who security here. Now cedric and I, cedric
and I love the dallas cowboys, and firearms.
sorry, I am having too much fun here. You were all stuck having
to listen to me. To cheyenne, I would say keep asking questions.
that is what truly makes it work. To patrice, the
council mom, I hated telling you know.
to councilmember canale, who cannot be here with us
today, he is under the weather, he is one of the most honorable men
I have ever known. To jb, I would say that
the higher up you get, the more powerful you get, my friend. Always
remember, you must walk even softer than you ever have. The more powerful you
get, the more people are watching. To our
chairman, I would say I have loved these eight years,
especially when only once or twice we have agreed on something.
it's true. But, you did teach me the most important
lesson, I think, is that when the gavel bangs and it is over, we go
to the fifth floor, and have a cocktail
, and we leave it here on the field, as they say. It's lovely.
jenna, I would say I adore you. The one and only
vote I regret is the one I did not cast for you. I truly
and deeply apologize. To rhonda, I would say
feed.
you are gifted. Lead. I would say am the only member who can call
you pops.
if you had told me eight years ago that the treasurer of the tennessee
republican party would count forward as one of his very
close political friends, I would told you they were insane. But as
it is, I rely on your counsel, sir, and you
are in fact crazy like a fox. Always like a fox.
to chase, who is not here but I am sure can hear us, you talk
too much, brother.
brother, you talk way, way too much.
but if there is one thing in four years I have learned,
and it is an amazing gift, he has boiled down issues to bullet points
in exact ways that made it very
simple for all of us to understand.
his uncanny ability I think going forward would
be amazing.
I would close and say that in all candor, you are brilliant. In
all candor, while I count noses
, you have been the one that always thought through
an argument. To you, the facts mattered. The
details mattered. The arguments were always
on point. And I salute you for that optimism, sir.
I will close by saying doc, you will probably have to move this
one forward.
>> if one were to judge a book by its cover
, they would deduce that we have absolutely nothing
in common, and yet, these four years, we develop a
friendship and work together
so much that I look forward to counsel tuesday's if only to hang out. We should
have favorites appear, but you are mine.
that is so sweet.
>> thank you. I will close by saying,
because I know they are playing that music at
the oscars. I'm about to get yanked off the stage. I don't talk very much. I'm
having fun with this. You are about to have five young firebrands
I will fix everything the day before yesterday. And I want
you to think about your first days here. Okay? And what all you
have learned. Because you are the leaders now. You are the
ones we look forward and look to for leadership. And as
chairman jones taught me, we can sit in these meetings as elected
officials have for centuries, and just absolutely dog cuss each other.
but when the gavel ends, we are friends.
teach, lead, and be friends.
thank you.
>> madam comptroller, kenny please call
item seven?
>> item number seven is a resolution thanking councilman worth morgan for his service to the city of
memphis. This resolution is sponsored by the memphis city council.
>> councilmember logan? >> thank you, chair.
it is my pleasure to bring this forward as well. Whereas the memphis city council recognizes
the opportunity to express and approval of praise
to councilmember morgan for his tireless efforts and superb commitment
to the city of memphis, and all memphis members
throughout his tenure, and whereas an eager and driven ambassador
for change, councilmember morgan became his
politics 15 years
ago before moving on in 2016 to serve as a voice for the community in
district 5. Having consciously advocated
for the entrance to his constituency over the
course of the past octagonal., he is poised to conclude
his continued service for the city council,
marking the culmination of two consecutive terms. A resounding testament to his
unwavering devotion to his constituents.
and whereas councilmember morgan shared committees such as the
budget and pension board. He
also sponsored legislative ordinance for the charter
of the city of memphis to provide provisions
for the regulation of deadly weapons, drafted
several amendments in support of allowing the memphis zoo control
of the northern in of parker to allow
parking on the greens board. And whereas the councilman's
notable achievements during his tenure in the hollowed
chambers of the city council have imparted substantial contributions
to the amelioration of the broader community, providing a careful, thoughtful, but
deliberate approach in ensuring the most logical decisions are made in the
council chambers.
and whereas councilmember morgan has undoubtably edged
his presence upon the tapestry of his district for his
exceptional receptiveness to multifarious concerns and challenges, articulated by
his constituents, consistently extended a compassionate year
and aiding had hand to those in need. And
whereas councilmember morgan's dedication to the vocation of public service
is self-evident, exemplified by his unyielding commitment
to the betterment of his constituents through
an uncomfortable reservoir of perspiration --is
that right?
okay, it should probably be perseverance.
and unwavering constellation of determination.
he has emerged that mackey has emerged
as a champion for those who interested him
, perpetually situating their needs and grievances
at his legislative agenda. And whereas the city of memphis wholeheartedly
express our profound gratitude for
his unwavering dedication to the vocation of public service
, and his relentless endeavors to uplifting
his district, transforming it into a superlative haven
for the entirety of his residence. His
legacy cell into her in a font of a
inspiration, a beacon eliminating our own aspirations
to fill multifaceted needs and yearnings of those who are privileged to serve.
his departure from the hallowed halls of the city council does not mark
a farewell, but rather the inaugural chapter of an
ongoing odyssey, dedicated to the betterment of
the community. Now therefore be it resolved that the
memphis city council, be it a worth farewell,
so councilmember morgan for his unwavering commitment in even native
attraction, creation, and dedication to public service to the city of memphis
, adopted december 19th, 2023.
let's give him a hand.
>> madam comptroller, shall be voting
no on the resolution. That's an inside joke if you have been here.
councilmember logan, think of the kind words
of reading that. Patrice, I feel like I'm a bit more mixed feelings
about today than you do. Thinking back about the eight years, the very
first meeting I have had, you asked me what you
want to focus on? What is a problem had to work on? And
I said our call center is not working.
on average, it is 116 second wait time when someone
picks up the phone and dialed 911 before someone picks up.
he agreed, we change policies and procedures, we
may do hiring practices, they put people in charge, and
the council met them with resources and a new facility. And today, we
have that number down to 9.3 seconds on average.
96% of calls are answered in under 20 seconds, and
I wish everything that we worked on together had been as easy-going and smooth
as that first one.
you know, I especially wish that we could have done more for those who
needed it the most.
but I think that is the curse of being a legislator.
no one has ever left the office and said the work is
done. So, for council members it will still be here and those coming in, I
wish you the best of luck. It has been my deepest honor to serve
the public, and thank you for sending me here
today for this work.
usually, I lead by logic. Today will be a little different. I think it is
difficult to close this chapter. I love the
city of memphis more today than, if possible,
more today than I did eight years ago when I got here.
and again, be deepest thanks to the city council staff,
to my colleagues, to the directors.
you have been along that journey as we have worked together
to serve the citizens of memphis, and try to provide a
better tomorrow.
the 6000 city employees we have, you are all
the backbones, the hands, and the feet
of the city of memphis. We could not have gotten it done without you.
thank you so much, and I think a lot of the times were
u of l had to bear the burdens of problems
created by political arenas, but they were
yours to figure out and solve on the street. You all were tremendous, tremendous
in that effort. So, I came here to serve
the citizens of memphis. Thank you all for allowing me the opportunity
to do that. I leave here still willing and wanting to serve memphis.
I don't know what the future holds, but I am excited
to pursue it, and to still be a part of this community,
loving memphis every single day. Thank you, mr. Chair.
I forgot to thank my wife! That was a huge mistake!
she is my everything! It would not be possible without her!
>> thank you. Madam comptroller, will you please call
item eight?
>> item number eight is a resolution thanking chairman
martavius d. Jones for his service to the city of memphis. This resolution is sponsored by the memphis city
council.
>> it afternoon, counsel.
I think this is probably going to be difficult
for me.
yeah, this is going to be a tough one.
we will try to get through. In 2017, I moved back to the city of memphis,
attending to figure out how I can, you know, serve the city
of memphis. It was kind of difficult for a younger person
involved in politics. I was having meetings all across the cities, try to
figure out who will open the door for me. All of the elected officials
picked me, and only a elected officials took
the time to meet with me, talk about
memphis, and how we can help me along the journey.
that was chairman jones.
it's with great honor that I read this resolution
, honoring the career of my friend, and my brother, chairman
jones. Whereas to serve the people of memphis
, and to be on the front line of the present issues that impact our great city
on a daily basis is no easy feat.
the requires ordinary aptitude for compassion, a constant willingness to advocate
for those whose voices often go unheard, and a heart to serve the people
with grace and humility, and above all else
, even one's self, current chairman marti
vs jones is one such individual who possesses all those qualities and more. And whereas
chairman jones love the city of memphis, he served on any board
of the memphis city council. He traces all the way back to his childhood
in which he gained an appreciation for community, and a deep-rooted
sense of response ability to strive for excellence, and be a public
servant. These are principles that are instilled in him by
his parents. Chairman jones is a proud member of
the class of 1980.
of the legendary central high school. His intelligence leason
to the illustrious highway university, really will shine in and out of
the classroom, and if this is a ministry to
and finance in universities and colleges being inducted
into the golden key national honor
society, and serving of the treasure of the university's homecoming community.
german jones joined an organization for ideal friendship
essential to sold, or made it
in washington, d.c., and worse upon graduation, he
will go on to achieve great success in his professional career, including making
the brief choice of becoming a doctor for newer and opening
his financial consulting company. Through his career, will
provide with many compliments, his heart for people, and the services
to community. In 2003, he began serving
on the memphis alcohol commission, review devote the time and knowledge he gained
from his experiences of 10 years, knowing that
they were for the people is never done.
we shifted to one of that
he was appointed to the memphis school board in 2006, and twice thereafter
would be victorious in the election to the same position in 2006 and 2010.
on the opposite where he serves on the
school board, he uses his vast knowledge and experience
of finance to do better in the state of education, the memphis
city council, the chairman of the superintendent search
committee, later as board president, and --
>> whereas always a leader, a servant leader, visionary
found to serve all of the citizens of memphis after being elected to
the memphis city council on october 8th, 2015
, and october 3rd, 2019.
during his time on the council, he shared several standings ad
hoc committee, including the economic develop a committee
, budget committee, transportation committee, and executive committee
, and served as the liaison for the pension investment board
, memphis airport authority, memphis in may, and shelby county schools. Outside
of his role of chairman of various committees, he also
established himself as a fixture in our city
. Through his service on numerous boards, including methodist hospital
, extended care hospital board, playhouse on
the square, memphis rock and soul museum, and
the memphis police foundation, whereas a councilmember
, chairman jones fiercely advocated for the people of memphis, and was steadfast
in standing for what he believed in, even if it meant
that he would sometimes stand alone.
though his time on the memphis city school board ended, his presence
served as a constant reminder that his body, though
not directed in the education system, was always in the business of
serving children.
his commitment to this principle was demonstrated when
he established the memphis city council hbcu scholarship
program opportunity to experience the allocation
of $1,000,000.00, and to allow students the opportunity to experience the
rich culture and profound education provided by hbcu.
his commitment to this principle also extended to the many nonprofit organizations
that served our communities.
as chairman jones brought the resolution to establish the memphis city
council grant program each fiscal year.
>> whereas with the departure
of chairman jones, the council has lost a tighten and
true advocate for the council's authority and well-being.
is a leader in student mind. He has undeniably played a vital role in
improving the city we call home. And advocating for
a better quality of life for all people of memphis, his beloved role
in the proudest achievement is being a father to
his son, jerry jones. Therefore be resolved that the memphis city council honors
the intrepid leader, chairman jones.
>> colleagues, thank you. Thank you.
this has been an honor to serve
the city.
you know, I am with you.
I have mixed emotions about this. I will
have some free time on my hands, you know, to dedicate,
because I absolutely love what I do professionally. But, I love serving.
into my council colleagues, it has been a pleasure serving
with you all.
I think it's a couple of incoming councilmembers here
. You know, I just hope that you all, in the service that you do
to the city
, remember those people who we have to be the conscience. We have to be
the voice of people who
don't have the resources to come down here and advocate for the cause.
we have to do that.
you know, I still have to live here, I am still going to call
this place home, so I need you all, and
the collective of the city, to make memphis a city
of choice. None of us should have to look
over our shoulders. None of us should --we shouldn't isolate public safety
to just one community.
it should be all communities. Now, there's
a lot of work that I feel was not done, and not a compass. I
am not leaving here a happy camper. I am not.
because they still of a high poverty rate. Colleagues, let's address that.
I am not going to be here
talking about everything. But it has been a joy.
and now, I cannot leave here without thanking
the staff, the council staff. First of all, the
council staff.
you all, for those of us who understand, the council
members, there been people come down to city hall
expecting to see us. We are not here. But it is the people who work here
every day that really get the job done. People can
complain about government, but as he talked about, there are
6000 people who do things right every single day that we take
for granted.
so, we may get the credit, but it is you all, council staff,
and the 6000 folks who work for the city of memphis that do the real
work. So, continue to work. It has been a pleasure to serve with you
all. Thank you.
>> hello, counsel.
what a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man. We came on
eight years ago onto the council, and who would
ever imagine this day?
you have had many fights. You have had a lot
of wins, if you that you were not successful with
, but you kept fighting.
you are a fighter.
and that, one can't help but admire. I appreciate you
. You are the vice chair. My last day here on the
council, and now you have been
the leader of the city of memphis and
this council. And we are truly proud of you.
and I know you have some other dreams coming forward
, and I am a true believer. You have to have a dream. If you
don't have a dream, how are you ever going to make a dream come true? So,
we look forward to great things from you. We appreciate you
, and congratulations on all of your great works.
>> so, if I could have all of my councilmembers that are
outgoing councilmembers, sticky photo, please.
>> let the record affect that chairman jones
did not get to vote no on this. [ laughter ]
>> madam comptroller, will you please call item nine?
>> thank you, mr. Chairman. Item number
nine is a resolution approving the right-of-way vacation of lafayette place located between
e. Goodwyn street and lafayette street. This resolution is sponsored by the division
of planning and development.
case number is s.a.c.
23-04.
>> thank you.
councilmember johnson?
>> this item was discussed in committee, and was sent down
without a recommendation, and I so move.
>> okay.
they item has been moved by councilmember johnson, seconded by
councilmember morgan. Do we have any comment cards?
miss sergeant-at-arms?
do we have comment cards on this?
we do? Okay. Do we have comment cards
on item number nine?
so, we will also have a presentation
on this.
your odd, now. I am sorry about that.
>> thank you, mr. Chair, members of the
council. Kendra calm, number of development. This is a request for right
away vacation street segments.
it's two different street island closer cases, 2023-004, and 2023-005
. I combined them into one presentation.
and the request is the applicant
is part of the homeowners association, represented by miss
cindy reeves. As I stated, this is in the
gardens neighborhood, as shown on the map. Looking
at the zoning map to the left, this is residential single-family
six zoning, and the street segments are shown
in yellow. So, you have lafayette place
. That is to the right. And then, you have lombardi road that is to
the left. You also have the street segments
shown on the land use map. The yellow shows the residential
single-family uses, and then also, you can see in blue
, that is the memphis museum of science and history
. That is in blue, and then the star that is above that is the
lafayette place segment that is requested for closure.
and then, to the left, the other star is lombardi road.
so, looking at the subdivision plat,
the gardens was planted in 26.
at that time, it was well over 400 properties that
were planted.
this is the subdivision plat that I have broken into two
different images. So, the image to the right does
show once again, the street segments.
you have lafayette place, that is ray here in
yellow, and the lombardi road, ray here are makers there is.
also, the subdivision plat does have a
dedication of the citypark and the city lake
that were also dedicated at that time to
the city. It also shows pink palace museum here.
so, looking at photos of these locations, we have
lafayette place, and to the left, this is
where the proposed date would be. From lafayette street.
and, the opposite end of that would remain open. That would
be for lafayette place. And for lombardi road,
you have the cherokee drive access
, and to the rights, that is the proposed placement of the gate.
so, the closure plat does show that lafayette place
is 15,157 square feet. That is requested for closure.
and this is from lafayette street to east goodwin street.
and looking at schematics of what was proposed, this would be wrought iron
gate with brick columns.
and, you have the closure to vehicle access in the center, but
there is also a proposed access for pedestrians and bicyclists
that is to the south.
also, this shows that this gate would be a gait that swings into
lafayette place.
and that is how access
, or, actually, leaving would be accessed or maintained
at this particular location.
in the other closure plat would be for lombardi road
. That is 14,575 square feet. That would be from
the segment of cherokee drive to south finley road.
and it is the same type of gait that is
proposed. The wrought iron gate with brick columns.
rather than the gate swinging in, this gate is
proposed to slide to the north.
and also, there is a pedestrian gate proposed for this particular
location as well.
so, to conclude, these gates would be for emergency vehicle
access only.
or, it would be exit only access
if a clicker is purchased from the homeowners association
. There have been a number of street allie closures within
this neighborhood over time.
most notably along poplar avenue. Not only the street allie closures,
but also the wall that is along poplar.
there is the public park and the lake that is
at the center of the neighborhood.
and as I have shown on the subdivision plat, these are
public amenities that were dedicated in 1926 when the subdivision
was platted.
while the stated reason for the application closure request the security of the neighborhood
, dpd disagrees that street allie closure is the appropriate response
for that.
closing lafayette place and lombardi road could
negatively impact access for the residents that live
within chickasaw gardens, and also
access to the public lake and park.
and with the closure, that would limit the access to three access points
on central avenue.
our public works and solid waste divisions have
also expressed concerns about the closure, and
how that may impede service delivery. Lastly,
closure would further prohibit access to
the park and lake, and at the time, there was multiple
access points to these public amenities when they
were platted, and there have been less
over time.
so, approving the street allie closure applications in chickasaw gardens
would further prohibit the access to the amenities, would
you be detrimental.
and I am happy to answer any questions.
>> okay.
yes, well, I am sorry. I have, in the queue,
councilmember orange, followed by councilmember colvett and
councilmember morgan.
>> thank you, mr. Chair. Can we look at that 1926 slide that
showed the original?
yeah, if you look at the slide on the left, I think
you can see there is one, two, three, four, five, six
entry points of above that have all been closed. Is
that correct?
>> yes, that is correct.
>> all right.
that is what I wanted to know.
thank you.
>> councilmember colvett?
>> thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman.
staff, on the conditions item five,
I guess that is page two.
access would be for emergency vehicles only.
no remote open access shall be allowed by residents. But, later
on, page 16, you speak to the letter of intent
. The clickers being purchased.
I just want to make sure well we are debating
this, which you make sure, do we need to strike back? Or clarify
do they get clickers or not?
>> so, no.
staff is proposing this would be for emergency vehicle access only.
>> okay. So, the condition, because I want the audience to know if we are
in favor of closing this, no remote open access shall be allowed by
the residence.
that is the condition on this guy. Right?
>> that is correct.
>> okay.
you also speak to, on page 16, this is
the conclusion section.
there would also be bike and pedestrian gate that would stay open during daylight hours.
that is a conclusion. But, is it also a condition? Did not
see it in there.
>> there is actually, the applicant has proposed
if this is approved, and amendment to that.
which would then read pedestrian and bicycle gate access open
one hour before daylight, and remain open for one hour after dusk.
>> okay. So, the applicant intends to bring?
>> yes, sir.
>> I will say my questions.
ms. Reeves, we can delve into those two and clean
it up, exactly what you're looking for. Thank
you, mr. Chairman, that concludes.
>> thank you. Councilmember morgan?
>> thank you, mr.
chair. I will reserve my comments until after the public speaks.
>> okay. So, I have a number of comment cards here.
it looks like I have five comment cards for those in opposition.
I have one card that specifies that they are
in favor of it, but I need to know whether I should put you in the proponent
or opponent. Mr. Raines, and mr. Wilder?
in favor? Okay.
so, what I will do, I will designate 10 minutes for
each side. What that will amount to will be two minutes
for those that are in opposition to make your public comments,
and approximately 10 minutes for those that are in
favor of it. So, my first comment card is going to be for those in favor.
my first comment card for mr. Jim raines.
>> I will close, if that is okay.
>> okay, ms. Reeves? >> cindy reeves, we actually have
a presentation, and then we have an order of speakers?
>> okay. That would be fine. >> thank you.
mr. Chairman, so there are two cases that we are hearing, is there
any way to have 20 minutes?
>> well, because they are going
to be talking about the same subjects, that is why we are combining
them that way. But, no, as far as the comments from the public
, the presentation time that you have is not going to take away
from their time for those were going to speak
in favor from it.
>> so my presentation will not take away from it?
>> correct. >> thank you. Kendra?
I will try to go to my presentation fairly quickly.
this is our first line.
welcome two saw gardens. There is a large presence of residents here.
this is an extremely important case for our residents.
so, welcome to chickasaw gardens.
next slide?
this is the outline in blue is the actual subdivision.
the green are the three streets that will remain open, and
as you can see, the big yellow is the public park and the lake.
next slide?
this with the original subdivision that was approved
july 15th, 1926. We are proposing to approve the
lafayette entrances shown in red two substrates. Neither of these entrances
lead to the public park. The three entrances
on central as shown in blue are to remain open 24
seven for particular access. Visitors are familiar with
chickasaw gardens, and will find these entrances
leading directly to the public park, as you can see on the
fly. Next slide? This is from the memphis parks website
. As we said, we amended the condition on the park hours.
next slide? This is lombardi road.
it is 247 feet long, and it has five houses above it. Next slide?
slofie a place is 297 feet long.
it actually has one home that abides it. Neck slide? This is
the memphis three-point oh.
we do not agree with staff at this does not --that memphis three-point oh
does not apply. Soon, we will be addressing the three-point
oh points that we would like to point out, and
we feel that we are a walkable neighborhood, and we feel like that is extremely boring
to the council to understand, that this is
a very, very walkable neighborhood.
next slide?
as you can see, this is one of our residents. You can see
there is no sidewalks, there is small front yards. Your maintenance vehicles
, you're trying to keep your children safe
, and this is what you deal with on a
daily basis when you want to walk on our streets.
next slide? This is a couple more residents just enjoying
a walk, walking their dog. As you can see, it happens all the time
, and that is one of the beauties and amenities of the subdivision.
next slide?
as you can see, there is a lot of delivery
trucks, maintenance trucks. You have a lot of uber drivers, you have a lot
of fedex deliveries, you have a lot of people who visit this neighborhood
. Is a very, very pleasant neighborhood to visit
, but it is hard to get around of the narrow streets.
next slide?
these have been installed and paid for by chickasaw gardens.
here's a sidewalk that goes all around the lake, and
there is a new sidewalk with the curd curb cut ramp
for handicap.
next light? 30 benches a wheelchair pass.
use these, and we welcome everybody
to come enjoy the park. Next slide?
this is an additional safety lighting that
was installed by chickasaw gardens homeowners association
back in 2000. We feel that we are very proud
of those.
the footbridge was also installed by
the chickasaw gardens h away, not by the city of memphis. Next
slide? As you can see, this is the vote of the residence
that were in favor of this
application and closing those two substrates. There is an overwhelming
vote. It's 92.2% of the people in favor
of the lafayette substrate to be closed, and 92.5% for family road.
next slide?
chickasaw gardens homeowners association has been the steward of the
public parks since the 1980s, and we recognize this in 2014 by the
city of memphis for taking over this maintenance.
they started this and it's really long time ago,
because they want people to be able to enjoy
this park. They want to enjoy the park. The reason people want
to come is because it is very, very well maintained, because
chickasaw gardens makes sure that it is very
well maintained and kept up, and has the nice amenities that you have
seen in the previous slides. Next slide? This is the expenses
by the chickasaw gardens homeowners association.
just this year alone, there has been over $80,000.00 in beaton's expense, and
over $330,000.00 insecurity expenses.
over the last five years, the 382,990
, and 1,000,124 on security over the last 10 years. 720,000
, 700, and 2,000,164 security.
we feel that it is extremely important
for you to understand the amount of money that has gone towards the maintenance of
this park by the chickasaw gardens homeowners association,
and we feel it is important for the public to be able to enjoy this
nice park, and the lake, and to be able to
feel safe in this neighborhood.
I will introduce sue clark.
>> so, ms.
clark, would you please provide your name and home address for the record?
madam comptroller, would you set 10 minutes for the proponents? Total of
10 minutes?
>> yes, I will. Before I begin, I would
like to thank the council members and the staff for your time today. I recognize
your calendar is full today
, but I just want to thank you for your reference to make
the city a better one. My name is sue clark,
and I have lived in one cherokee drive and chickasaw gardens for over
28 years.
I stand before you, because I am comfortable in my
experiences that strengthen my resolve to improve the safety of our neighborhood
for all the people who use it. For that,
within the neighborhood within the neighborhood of either
two lots or two miles from our community.
why I am in favor of the gates of our community,
I am going to offer to you three very valid reasons.
number one, the clerks have always been
doll levers. Not long ago, our dog, lucy, snuck out and
was across the street to my neighbors yard. I called her
home, and she came running towards me.
at the same time, a car drove up the street, turn the
corner, hit lucy, and killed her. She died in my arms, right in
front of our home.
if any of you have ever lost a family pet, I am sure
you understand our family's sense of loss. I have been asked, with the
driver speeding? Answer is yes. Did the driver live in chickasaw gardens?
no, she does not. The point is that
vehicular traffic has increased accidentally do two more deliveries
from federal express, u.p.s., number, and other food
delivery services.
since we have no sidewalks, pedestrians, dog walkers, and joggers, must share
the roadway, which leads me to another incident that I have to share with you.
number two. I was witness to a very serious accident
a few houses down the street from my home. A biker, who
does not live in chickasaw gardens, was biking up
the street.
she drove further into the middle of the street to
avoid trash bags that were awaiting pickup by the
sanitation department.
coming down the street was a man in a truck whose vision
was challenged because of the morning sun. It was hurting his
eyes a little bit.
she was closer to the middle of the street, and he was having a
tough time seeing. The driver of the truck struck the woman.
I was there before the amulets arrived, and he
later learned that she suffered a concussion and several broken
bones. She underwent several surgeries. As they witnessed, I was deposed,
and dragged into a legal battle between the two parties.
fortunately, the woman completed her physical therapy, and has recovered
. Our narrow streets and limited sidelines contributed to this accident.
my family suffer the loss of a beloved pet.
a woman underwent surgeries in a lot of physical therapies due to a series
biking accident. My third experience is gut wrenching in a whole other way.
a young girl, 19 years old
, was caring for her neighbors home while they were out
of town. She parked her car on the street, and was walking up
the driveway. Mind you, this is next door to my home. A car filled with several
young men drove around the corner
. One fella jumped out, brandishing a handgun, stuck it to
her head, and demanded her purse, or die.
excuse me.
she surrendered everything. He jumped back into the car, and sped down cherokee, and
was tracked speeding out of the neighborhood via lombardi.
now, I did not witness this act of crime. Instead, I was
witness to the aftermath, and I was a young girl, hysterical
and screaming, coming to her door and screaming
at the top of her lungs because she was so scared
to death. The young girl lost her purse, her phone, and then she worried that
those fellows might track her down to her home since they had
her identification.
phones and purses can be replaced.
thankfully, that they do not result in a more serious tragedy.
moving on, and I apologize
. I have read to the city approved memphis three-pointer report
, and I took a few important facts from it.
number one, we are considered an s, primarily simply in a neighborhood
is outlined on page 130 in the study. We
are probably in clear violation
of the sidewalk work requirement.
in some cases, we don't even have curves. On page 203,
memphis is ranked the third most dangerous city for pedestrians
. Looking at our neighborhood, we are, quote unquote, dangerous by design.
as stated by smart growth america on page 211. There
is section 5 point one, the thrust of that section is to make pedestrians
the priority.
I offer that that is exactly why we are
here today.
>> excuse me, ms.
clark, let me just say that we have about five minutes left, and
we still have two other people that have to speak in the allotted 10 minute time.
>> thank you. I will move on. I can mention several other action
items --
>> but you have to do so at the expense of giving other
people the opportunity to speak.
>> thank you.
one more thing that I would like to offer
is that we, as a community, are doing an awful lot. We
are doing a lot on our own, and we are doing it free the entire
community around us.
we are challenged by sharing the streets of various forms of traffic on
old roads that were designed shy of 100 years.
we offer solutions, and need you, our city
council, to give us a little more health for increasing pedestrian safety
for everyone. Our obligation is to safeguard the
public. Please vote yes, and know that you have made a
wise choice in making the pedestrian the priority.
thank you. I would like to introduce mr. Jim raines.
>> thank you.
>> it afternoon.
I am a retired attorney of over
50 years.
others of you I know because of my age, your fathers
and uncles. I want to thank all of you for your service,
and in particular, the wonderful stories
from those of you who have serviced is coming most to an end.
I was born and have lived in memphis over three years
of my life. I grew up attending public schools
, I graduated from the university of memphis,
both undergraduate and law school.
I grew up at the corner of ellsworth and
woodworth, which is only one stop away from where
I live now.
I can member as a child in the 40s and '50s walking down
central avenue and riding a bike. I don't think mom
would let me do that anymore, but that is what
was done at that time.
my wife and I have lived in chickasaw gardens
for over 45 years, and have raised three children there. I can member
when they were little, we would let them play in the
neighborhood unattended. I don't think we could do
that anymore. The neighborhood that we are talking about, we
have worked hard as a homeowners association trying to compromise with
the surrounding neighborhood.
we are only looking to repurpose the streets to stop
, for the time, vehicular traffic, and leave
it open for pedestrians and bikers to easily enter and enjoy the amenities of
the neighborhood in which we maintain. I
have served on the homeowners association the whole time that I have lived in chickasaw
gardens, and I have to tell you that
the streets that are involved are what I called
an ancillary and unnecessary stub street.
the enter the neighborhood, but immediately terminate within a
matter of feet into
main thoroughfares that come off of central avenue, and the streets themselves
are less than several hundred yards away
from central avenue, which remains open with
free access unimpeded into the neighborhood all
the time.
I want to emphasize that the neighborhood is 97 years old
, and was constructed with outside work.
when you think of what was happening 97 years
ago with the regular traffic, there is no surprise that there are
no sidewalks. But what this means is that the people who enter and live or visit
have to use the streets to walk. Or ride their bike.
and I can tell you personally, there are a number of times where
I have been walking in the neighborhood, and have have two step off of
the street because of oncoming traffic.
the streets themselves are designed originally
with curves, and with trees close to the streets
, which restricts your view as a driver. Now, it
is beautiful to look at, but it is also dangerous. I assure you that
my purpose and request to repurpose the streets away from other vehicles
is not selfish, nor egotistical
, but it is done just for the safety of those of
us that live in the neighborhood, and those of
us that visit in the neighborhood to use the amenities
that are there. We are proud of them, and we want
people to visit, but we want them to be safe while they
do it. Our resignation --
>> I'm going to have to interrupt you. The time
that was allotted for the proponents --
>> two minutes.
>> I will have to extend that. Let me hear from those that are
in opposition.
>> let me finish.
>> mr. Raines, if they take more than 10 minutes, then we will do so, but
we have to do so fairly.
>> I would like to introduce to the
council -- >>
mr. Raines, thank you, but I will give those that are in
opposition and equal time to talk. If the get more than 10 minutes,
and it is the will of the council, then we will do so.
>> thank you.
so, your name, sir?
okay, mr. Wardlaw?
give me one second.
madam comptroller, me please place 10 minutes on the timer?
>> yes. >> thank you.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman.
thank you members of the council.
6410, poplar avenue, memphis, tennessee. You will see here, and
they haven't gotten quite a bit, no pun
intended, there are dozens of people in the audience wearing stickers
that say gate equals public safety.
liberty road neighbors, and above 50 other neighbors to the west of
the street closures. Gates don't
equal public safety.
access to this is bad city planning.
you seen that in staff, in 1926, the original developer
played a large part in the neighborhood in the midst of these public streets.
it's a public park on public streets.
the applicant wants to all that off, and create an island
of safety. They are wrong in that aspect, and it is your job, as
the city council, to protect the city from that mind-set. The
boundaries of the neighborhood and its
public streets are not even defined by the
chickasaw gardens homeowners association.
ingress, egress points.
these streets
>> excuse me, there will be no adverse in the council chambers, I'll ask security
to remove you if that happens again.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman, for that. That they claimed as their
own must remain unfettered and open to
the public. My clients, and I know I've been to dozens and dozens of city
council meetings over the years, especially in the last three or four years, my
clients and the city council or sympathetic to the crime wave facing the city
of memphis. They suffer from that, too,
each and every member suffers from that as do your constituents. But,
blocking off a neighborhood to
address that citywide problem is wrong headed and should not be allowed.
walking off a city
park, allowing, at their beck and call,
other residents to come in, stating that they want to
monitor who comes in and comes out of the neighborhood,
that's wrongheaded and bad planning. Much was made at
the control board about the pride with which chickasaw homeowners association takes and
that they are funding this, not asking this body
for money.
>> mr.
wardlaw, we have about seven minutes left and I have four other comment
cards.
>> I'm wrapping up. They take pride that they're not asking this
counsel, this body for money to do that. But what about other communities
that don't have the funds to address that? What about
hyde park?
what about central gardens? What about mud
island? That community, what if they come to you
and ask, put us on an island? What is the council to do, then?
gait and exclusion do not equal safety. And
we respectfully ask for the denial of the street closures. Several of the residents
are going to speak as well and I'm happy to answer
any questions.
>> thank you. My next comment card is from miss
julie green. Please state your name and address for the record.
>> I'm julie green,
I live at 2770 iroquois road. I've been a homeowner in humes heights,
the neighborhood to the west of the proposed closure of the lombardi and
fenwick for 18 years. Family walks and bikes to chickasaw gardens
often, using lombardi, and I
use those roads for going to pick up and drop off my son's
friends, who live in chickasaw gardens.
our property values in humes heights, fenwick, lombardi,
and joffrey are tied to having quiet, residential
road access to a public park less than a
mile away. The humes heights neighborhood association
opposes these gates and agrees with the
opinions that this request is nothing more than an attempt to continue
to turn chickasaw gardens into a private, gated community wall
by walt. It is elitist and exclusionary in nature. This sets a precedent that we, as a city, should not support.
allowing disclosure will violate city codes and excess ability plans, in
addition to adversely affecting the
surrounding areas property values, traffic patterns, and
safety. If ingress and egress is limited essential,
it will increase risk of accidents in
our surrounding neighborhoods. If chickasaw gardens feels their roads are unsafe
for pedestrians, they should have discussions
about adding street hubs or sidewalks, not
gates. The so-called offer of a pedestrian access point that they say they will unlock
from dusk to dawn is not a
real solution. There is no way to guarantee the gate will be unlocked consistently, regardless
of that, we all know people who exercise outside of
those time frames. Eliza fletcher was
running in the predawn hours on central when she was abducted. If we learned any
from from her untimely death it's that all men
fears, deserve a safe path to
exercise on residential roads in a matter what time they choose to
do so. If these gates were added, someone in the
area who wants to walk to chickasaw gardens with their family after 5:00 in the winter
would be forced to walk to central, a fine lane road with heavy traffic during
rush hour. Chickasaw gardens has the need for
additional security is the main reason for this request, but the idea
that closing off two more residential streets will
magically make them safe while leaving all openings to central
is ridiculous at best.
at one point, there were over 10 points of entry to
chickasaw gardens. Today, there are five, and now they want
to reduce that to three.
>> ms. Green, we have four minutes and I have three
other cards.
>> if the residents want to live
in a gated community they should move to one that already exists. We ask that
you reject these requests, thank you.
>> thank you.
>>> and next comment card is
from michael, I'm sorry if I pronounce this wrong.
>> good evening, and thank you for allowing us to have time
tonight, thank you for your jobs. My name is michael, I'm a 24
year resident at 193 south fenwick. Just two doors
down from the proposed closing at lombardi and fenwick.
as well, I'm a teacher at east high school, and
I'm very involved, part of our neighborhood. I'm here to state
my opposable to putting up gates, or a proposed closed gate
at either side of chickasaw gardens, because
we do enjoy the access into
the neighborhoods, and we are part of chickasaw gardens, even though we
may not be within the walls of chickasaw gardens. We love to
take our dogs, day and night, 6:00 this morning I was walking through
chickasaw gardens myself and it was 24 degrees outside, it
was wonderful. But I want to talk about specifically, one reason I
oppose, you're going to hear a lot of proposals, you may have heard a lot
of other putting up the gates, but mine
has to do with the safety of myself,
my husband resides with me for 24 years, neighbors in pretty cold and
along fenwick in the access we have two main roads during specific times
of memphis storms. We know in the past 24
years we've had major storms blow through memphis
with large oak trees blown down in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood was
hit hard during both storms, and during both storms,
the only access we had to central avenue or lafayette on the
other side of chickasaw gardens to leave our neighborhood
was down lombardi. Had that street been
closed, we would have been trapped in our neighborhood for seven days before
the city could clear all the trees that were blown down in
the area, that would have restricted our work, food, and
other access to the safe things we can get in
memphis. I hope that you vote no for closing any
streets in memphis for any neighborhood mama because
that's not what memphis is about.
thank you.
>> thank you for the comments.
the next comment card is from william maroon.
>> hello, thanks for your time. My name is william maroon,
2754 lombardy. I've
got my eye on the time.
>> comptroller, time, please. Okay.
I'm sorry.
>> okay. The
primary reasons that I'm in opposition are, this goes against the guidelines that the city of memphis and
the city urban design guidelines final draft adopted just one year ago. The memphis 3.0 plan, you
heard a little bit about, as well as the
city of memphis park services master plan. Each of these encourage access
to the parks. Closing two of the five entrances would
limit access to the park, creating a burden for pedestrians.
you saw a lady with the stroller, and had she not had
vehicle access, she would have had to go all the way
around central. Bikers would be pushed onto a busy street, you would want him and say he
didn't think that would make sense. And now, we're not suggesting that
this is going to decrease traffic, but force people through fewer entrances. For these
reasons, I don't think, I hope that you'll join me. It doesn't really
make sense.
>> thank you. Madame comptroller, will
you please, I'm going to allow for two minutes for the next speaker
in opposition, but then I'll allow two minutes for the last card that
I have from gerrit
wilder. So, my next comment card is from
lynn joyner.
>> hello. I live at 127
south fenwick.
>> your name, please, for the record. Your name?
>> lynn joyner. 127 south
fenwick road.
I am representing fenwick road neighborhood association. We have
lived there since 1984. And
have seen a lot of changes, and some of them were with the cooperation
of our friends, here, from chickasaw gardens.
we worked together on speed humps. That is a genuine safety issue. I
don't see the current issue is having anything
to do with increasing the safety of the
neighborhood.
it would make it less safe for those of us who walk, run,
and bike for some reasons that have been cited, but mainly, we go at night,
we go early in the morning, at all hours. We do not want to be forced
down to central, which is a detour. Okay. The other
thing, well, I will just, in the interest of cutting time, I agree with everything
that's been said. I hope you realize, this is such an important issue, that
we're at a crossroads, here. We are at a crossroads
for the community.
either we have gated communities and enclaves that
can make reasons for it, and a lot of them will be anecdotal, like some of the ones we've
heard today, or we work together as a whole community on the big
issues, broadly. But I don't want to see
us become a city of gated communities. I don't think that
bodes well for our future. Thank you, please
reject it, thank you.
>> thank you for your comments. My next comment
card is from gerrit wilder.
>> thank you,
mr. Chairman. There's obviously >>
name and address, please.
>> gerrit wilder, I live at 225 lombardy road, memphis. So,
the intention of what we're am a >>
you can continue.
>> what we want to do is not block
off and stop people from having access.
we want to do is, we have a significant pedestrian
safety issue, we're having a lot of close calls. In our 1920s at neighborhood we have winding roads and 97-year-old
treason we are having more and more
close calls. We've already had a biker hit who had
multiple surgeries and we are trying to create a safer area and draw more people in. We do
not want anyone to walk around to central. We want to take
these public roads, and make them dedicated to public
pedestrian access, to bring more people in,
and enhance our community. We are stewards of the
park, we have a unique relationship with the city of memphis, and we want to bring
people in to enjoy that, not deter that in any way. We are currently, I'm a father of
two young boys, and I can tell you that it is scary every time they want to
go outside. It is only a matter of time before the wrong car comes around the run corner, with
obscured views, and no sidewalks are going to lead to
a tragedy. We want to invite people in, we want for everyone to enjoy and
we want to be a haven in our area for people to come and exercise or
walk or sit at the park. This intention would prioritize pedestrians in these two areas and divert traffic around the
central avenue. We have a traffic study that shows
no loss of service with that, and does not deter traffic, central avenue will be
just fine. We feel like prioritizing pedestrians
in these two areas is the right thing to do for everyone in the area
who wants to come, and will create a haven that will bring in
more people, not keep people out of our neighborhood. I hope you'll please
give us consideration and I would like
to tell you that this is an issue that brings people from
our neighborhood. Everyone knows, everyone talks about, and
today they showed up in force and the people are here because
we have a pedestrian safety issue and we want to make a
difference, and I would ask them all to please stand right now and show your support for our
intentions to make this a safer area and a better area for the community,
not to wall it off.
thank you.
>> councilman morgan, you are recognized.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you everybody
for taking the time to come down
here both in favor and against. And for your patience here
tonight. I'll try to move through this quickly. I know
this area very well. I have lived outside the neighborhood
or in the neighborhood my entire life. My first five years on counsel,
I had a house in the neighborhood, and since then I've lived on goodwin street on the other side.
growing up, this is where I biked, this is my
carpool, I proposed to my wife walking around
the lake. This, this is, for the most part,
my backyard. And I know and understand a lot of these intersections that
people are talking about in terms of pressure. Central avenue is large.
it can handle more traffic. Fenwick and liberty are not large breeds,
central avenue is designed to hold as much traffic
as possible. There are not five entrances to chickasaw gardens park. There
are six. One of them has already been gated off since before I
was born. And it hasn't been the end of days, it
hasn't caused some sort of disaster, it hasn't been a blight
upon the city.
in fact, I can think of another a number of other street closures
that the city of memphis have taken on themselves from time to time that
have gone well, whether it be reddick, rowen, massey, and
it is improved the walk ability and the safety
and the character of neighborhoods, rather than taken back from them. So, there are some people
who certainly believe that no streets should ever be closed at any point whatsoever. And I
understand that, if memphis were a utopia.
but it's not. We love the city, we work to
improve it. But at some point we have to
make certain reasonable concessions for safety and
for traffic. People don't always drive the way they
should, people don't always behave the way they should,
and this, I believe, is a reasonable
accommodation to make for a neighborhood that is asking for it, and they've
asked for little else from
us. They take care of the city park financially, they have put sky cop cameras up, they
hired private security to watch these 330 homes so
that our limited police resources can be patrolling other neighborhoods at night.
I think this is a consideration that we ought to
give all due respect when they come to us in such force and make it. As you saw from
the 92.5%. That's a hard number to get.
we rarely get that at the city council, here. There has
been some misinformation that was
spoken about.
so that people, to the credit of people that have come in opposition today,
some of this misinformation I also saw on social media, where people were talking as
if from a place of authority. Walking to this park will
be unimpeded. There are gates that will
be open before and after the park is open. City parks
are not open at night, so axis being limited at night at 2:00 a.m. Is not an
issue, here. And it's not an issue, either,
where if you can get your bike out your front door of your house or out your back
door, you can be able to get it into chickasaw gardens, completely
unimpeded. It will be gated, they will have doors
that can be accessed by walkers and bikers, and if you're in your car
already and coming to chickasaw gardens, then
you've got to go a little bit around to one of the three entrance
is on central, including the only lighted entrance at central
and goodwin. Central is designed to handle
that traffic. So, to my colleagues, I see we've
got a lot of us in the queue, there will be more discussion and I make
jump back in the queue, as soon as we're
done because I want to hear your comments as well as
your questions.
but I think this is accommodation that we should make. I think it
makes sense, in this case, and I hear what people's philosophic position is about
gates and closing streets
in memphis, but where the rubber meets the road, it doesn't always work out,
and I think this is one of those cases that we ought to hear for
the best interest of the city.
>> thank you, councilman morgan.
councilman johnson.
>> thank you, chair.
often times what issues come before the council, we
always say, we want to hear from the people. We want to know what the neighbors think, what the
citizens think. And sometimes, we just don't. But this time, we did.
we see you in numbers expressing
your opinion. Some people told me, it's just
an elitist group. And they just want to have their way. So, my support
is not because you're being considered something
special, but because you came and you let us here how you actually feel
about the situation. And I think that you're deserving of those
gates, if that's what makes you feel safe. Now, I
do have one question. It was brought up about
emergency situations. How will those be
handled in regards, when the trees fall
and they need exit from their particular neighborhoods, or the
police or firemen, who is going to be responsible for
those situations?
>> we met with the fire department and the
police department prior to filing this
application, and the gates will be emergency
access operated. So, they'll have the yelp system and
squat box.
>> what about the situation with the trees?
>> public works and sanitation division has also been contacted
by us, and the gates will be, they will be
operable to them, also,
whenever necessary.
>> I think that needs to be worked out so
everybody knows what happens in case of an emergency, may be a sign needs to
be placed out there by the gate or something, in an emergency, this is
who you need to call.
>> yes, ma'am, and what we can also do
is when a situation does happen like that, then the gates will
be opened. That way everybody will know.
>> I'm not talking about the passenger gate. I'm talking about
the swinging gate for the cars.
>> yes, ma'am. The emergency gate.
>> thank you so much, thank you, chair, for the opportunity.
>> thank you, councilman johnson.
>> thank you, chair. In doing research I found in
2023 there were 57
pedestrian fatalities, and also in 2023, we
have had 150 pedestrian crashes. In 2022, there
were 83 pedestrian fatalities. As
well as 170 pedestrian crashes. It concerns me
greatly that they don't have any sidewalks, and they're
not able
to feel like they're safe with their children and their pets. That's a concern
for me. I feel better about the gate being accessible to
emergency access, and I feel wonderful about 92% of
the community being in favor of this. So, for all those reasons, I
am advocating for pedestrian safety, and I will
be voting for this. Thank you.
>> thank you.
councilman logan?
>> thank you, chair. I also visited, can
you hear me. I also visited the neighborhood, just
to see exactly what we were voting on. I
spoke with some of the residence, saw exactly
what they were talking about in terms of the narrow winding roads, the allotted trees, saw the access as well, that
they were allowing for the public space,
there is still great access. There may not be six or 10, in
1926, but there are several access points.
and I do understand that the community has been paying for their own security, and I also
spoke to the security officer about the problems in securing the
big space, the big neighborhood, with the small roads and the other
different trucks. So this is a neighborhood just trying to keep their
neighborhoods safe, their residence safe.
we saw on the picture, the mother and children trying to ride around
while we were driving
our truck, through there, it was hard to get through as well, with people walking
dogs and things. I totally get it. I appreciate
the fact that they are only blocking off or requesting to have blocked
off small sections
of streets that lead directly to homes, so anybody on
that street, really, there are other streets to
get to the park, even easier than it would be
to go down those narrow streets that they are proposing
to block off. So, the safety part and
the fact that they are welcoming people to come in, creating gates and times
to be open, and even are open to having
the gates open, so, there won't be any certain
time frames to leave them open, as it was stated
earlier, our parks are only open from dusk to dawn, and that
fits the requirement as well. Because of the fact that
I've seen them, I've seen the streets, I understand what
they're saying, I talked to the residence and the security officers, and I
totally agree that neighborhoods, and these
are citizens as well that we represent all citizens. Regardless
of such economic levels, and if there are other
neighborhoods that come, whether they are in
this figure, whatever you feel like this
community represents, any community that comes to advocate
for their community, we
are responsible to be open and to hear them. For that, as my colleagues
have said, they have pleaded their case and shown the information,
shown the proof, and I totally agree that we should be just as open.
thank you.
>> thank you. I haven't heard, we haven't
heard from councilman logan. I'm sorry, councilman
warren and cole that, I'll come back to you, councilman morgan.
>> thank
you, can I ask a question? Okay. Can I ask you
a question? Could you possibly explain to me how having
pedestrian gates are going to improve the safety for people walking
in the community?
why do they have to have pedestrian gates? Why is there
not an open access, if you're looking at
pedestrian safety?
>> well, first of all, my address is 35
airways boulevard, suite 229.
as I understand your question,
>> right now,
they've got gates that are going to close at dusk and
dawn. Why are there gates? If what we're talking about
is pedestrian safety, and not isolating the
neighborhood.
>> I think I understand. Pedestrians and vehicles
do not mix on roadways.
>> pedestrians need access. The streams
from other hoods
neighborhoods are walking in, coming in with bikes, they don't want to
necessarily just come into the neighborhood and ride around
on the safe streets. Between 5:00 in the morning
at five clock at night, they may want to come at 9:00 at night,
but that gate is locked for pedestrians.
why is there a gate, they are, for pedestrians if all you're trying to do
is improve traffic safety you mark
>> as I understand it, the memphis city parks
are closed at certain hours.
>> the city streets are not.
>> wait a minute. Hold on a second. Sir, there
are several city streets that are closed, and do not have access
to vehicles. The primary one is right outside this doorway.
>> in neighborhoods where
people live?
>> sir, I thought you said city streets.
>> city streets in neighborhoods where people live.
>> there are neighborhoods that are closed.
yes, sir.
>> tell me about the neighborhoods that
are closed. Completely closed. Tell me about the neighborhoods that
are closed.
>> that have city streets that
were closed?
>> that have city streets that are closed to pedestrian traffic
that make pedestrian traffic more difficult.
>> okay, hold on a second.
>> let me back this
up. What I'm saying is, the arguments that we're hearing are this is about pedestrian
safety. And the traffic that we heard about were
more u.p.s. Delivery
trucks, more trucks, people coming through
driving that don't know the neighborhood. And we are putting
up gates that have a pedestrian gate that stops them from
coming in from 5:00 and identify the clock in the morning. What
does that do for pedestrian safety?
>> respectfully, sir, the pedestrian
gates are open during the day.
>> I'm talking about at night.
>> I understand. I understand. I understand
what you're saying. This will limit the
vehicles in certain areas
of the neighborhood. If you could go back to the slide,
please?
>> I'm talking about, we are closing access to pedestrians with
gates from don, from dusk until dawn. That's what these gates
are doing. They're closing off pedestrians walking into the neighborhood.
the argument for putting up these gates is that what we're doing is
making the neighborhood safe from traffic, why would you wall off your
neighbors in the surrounding communities with a
gate at all for pedestrians? Why wouldn't you have an open access where people
can walk through?
>> open access to pedestrians.
>> and bicyclists.
>> what you're asking is that the pedestrian gates
remain open when the park is closed.
>> there
are no gates.
>> is that what you're asking?
>> what I'm saying is if you are trying to
only, take the gates completely out, go ahead.
>> let me, let me try to clarify
what dr. Warren is suggesting. The argument that dr. Warren
is making, if it's really about pedestrian safety and giving people
access to the park, if they are walking, why do
we have gates limiting pedestrian access at
all? He's not arguing the point about vehicles. What he's suggesting, I believe
this is what he is suggesting, would you be amenable
to allowing 24 seven access for pedestrians only. I think that's what dr.
warren is getting at. We haven't had an answer yet.
>> now that I understand the question.
>> now turn around, turn
around and look at all the people you brought out.
there's a lot of people in the crowd putting their thumbs up
to that.
>> yes, sir, now that I understand the question. I'll be happy.
>> the question is. >> me I have
a few minutes, please, to consult with my clients?
>> please, but I think this is, in my mind, the
big question. I don't think we have any data
that shows limiting these two access points are going to stop the u.p.s. Trucks
or the other trucks or
extra traffic because they're going to be coming in the other way and they'll
be driving strangely. But if what's going to
happen is, this is going to pass and you want it to pass,
one of the things that I think would show your neighbors in surrounding communities
that you want them in is not to put a
pedestrian gate. Just have the gate for the vehicular traffic, if that's
what you need, and leave an open area that is wide enough for a
bicycle or someone with a stroller.
>> I understand, dr.
warren. May I have two minutes to discuss this with my client? Mr. Chairman?
>> you can talk to your client, but
we have in the queue.
>> I will respectfully wait. >> we have other members in the queue.
to speak.
>> my question was to make sure that the
applicant understands that the a is now in charge or will be in charge, if this passes, perpetual maintenance required
by the property owners, at the applicant's
expense, the gutter
sidewalk closure the city engineers, all
a.
I don't think these guys are going to have any problem paying for it, I
just want to make sure that you know that
you're going to pay for it.
>> absolutely, we note that we are going to
pay for all those services.
>> okay, well you guys were gone I guess the
gate or opening, we ought
to offer some amendments for everybody to chew on, because
in the package it speaks to no remote open access shall be allowed
by residence. We need to work on, how do we strike that, depending on this
gait question. I would like language
as regards how the gate is to be opened in an emergency, specifically,
contacts. It could be the a president, I don't care, but give me some wording on
that. Last but not least, it speaks to, in some places, clickers
for thea.
I want to make sure that we have cleanup language
that they can in fact have clickers they can
have access to that gate. That any and all language as regards limitations
to that be stricken. All
right?
>> could you repeat that last part?
>> that any and all language, in case I missed it
in our package, in this resolution, any
language that speaks to the hoa residence not being
able to obtain a clicker for the gate
the stricken. That in fact, hoa members can have
clickers.
>> they will not have clickers.
>> they are not going to have clickers?
>> because they don't need access.
>> the wording on this.
all right. All right. So, we're going to strike all
wording that no hoa member family may have a clicker
to the gate.
>> there could be
somebody that could access the gate, in order to open it in
an emergency.
>> correct. >> I would not want to prohibit anybody from
not having it.
>> hang on, I got this.
so, your okay with striking, a clicker is purchased
from the hoa.
okay. Mr. Chairman, I want to put it out
there that strike all language as regards any member of the hoa being
able to purchase a clicker for the
gate. And strike any and all language that speaks to, no remote
open access shall be allowed by residence. I'm just trying
to clean it up at this point. It doesn't mean I'm for or against it.
if it passes I want the language stricken.
fair enough?
without objection? They're going to enter
the gate question. Chairman, if I could have a
second?
>> is there a second on that motion?
>> is there emotion?
>> any objection to that particular motion?
the language that councilman colvett be stricken or removed in
its entirety, he is allowing the members of
the a or any member of the community to have access to
the clickers.
>> correct. >> so I think ms. Reeves suggested that the
language has already been removed, maybe
we are looking at older documents.
there appears to be some confusion by planning and development.
it appears.
>> dbd is going to correct that.
>> I don't think we need to change anything. The conditions
that we have in the resolution just speak to no
remote access shall be allowed by residence, and that's been agreed to
by the applicant.
>> but on page 16, on page 16 it speaks to
exit only access if a clicker is purchased.
>> that's in the staff report?
>> page 16, I want to clarify that's for
emergency vehicles only and not
residence. If I'm wrong.
>> that's not part of
the resolution that is before you.
>> then as long as I know we're safe and we've got it
on the record. Last but not least and I'll close my remarks, I
need an emergency contact in case people need to
get that gate open. It's not a fire truck, trees come down, we need access.
I need a friendly amendment for that. And guys, all this is designed to
do, if it passes, it's in there, if it doesn't pass, we had
it covered.
>> as far as the pedestrian gate, we can
have that to remain unlocked.
24 hours.
>> so it will just remain open.
>> it would just be an open door.
>> yes.
>> the reason I'm thinking about that.
>> let me recognize other members in
the queue. So, I have a couple of
questions, here, and clarifying points I'd like to make, here.
there were some assertions about pedestrian fatalities
for pedestrian access. And colleagues,
and for new councilmembers that are coming on,
I hope that you are going to be driven by data. So, and
not by emotions. Everybody wants a safe
city, but, mr. Logan, there are neighborhoods
in your community in your district that don't
have sidewalks. They have u.p.s. Trucks coming
and going. And so, do we say, what I would ask
the homeowners, if this is about pedestrian safety, a lot of neighborhoods
have sidewalks. Has it been explored for the
homeowners association to install sidewalks? No, no,
no, no. On your property, you can say, the homeowners association can
say, throughout chickasaw gardens, that we want to
install sidewalks. Each individual would have
to do so, and it would be done at their expense. But if this were about safe
pedestrian safety, and you're concerned about people walking their
dogs, and not being subject to vehicles,
vehicular traffic, sidewalks. Instead of
gates.
so, there are plenty of areas in memphis that do
not have sidewalks. So, the way that we address them is by getting them off
as well? I would contend,
no. So, if we allow these gates to be erected, we're
just going down a slippery slope, and setting
a precedent that all you have to do is come down to council meetings
and you'll get a gate erected in
your neighborhood. This is a collective community that we have, here, in memphis.
shared sacrifice, we all want a safe
neighborhood. We all want a safe memphis. But, the way, and
I like, and I'll say
this facetiously. How it's being sold as
pedestrian safety. Have we had any, so, provide data that
talks about, is it more likely for someone to be hit by
a car in this neighborhood compared
to others? That's the data that I feel that we should be
making decisions on. If the data comes back
and says, yes, it's more
likely for a pedestrian to be hit in this neighborhood, I'll be the
first one supporting it. But this is not, we are
asked to make this decision without any data supporting
the assertions made.
none. So, I don't know if I would get a second
for this, but I would ask that we hold this and let the police
department come back and say, here's what
we've done. Here's what has been the result
of this. So, I have councilmembers in the queue
on this item. So, this is just on the
hold, first. Okay.
councilwoman logan.
>> I wanted to make certain that I responded
to the comment about communities in my district
with no sidewalks.
and code and development will tell you, I
have been an advocate for sidewalks being put in my neighborhood, and the
streets not my neighborhood, but the neighborhoods
in my district that don't have them. I'm the number one advocate for those
to be put in there by the
city. We have had that conversation.
it's our responsibility to put those in
the neighborhood, to have sidewalks.
>> the developer does it. If the developer doesn't.
>> the ones in my neighborhood, in
my community.
>> I just said that to you
because all of us one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
every single one of us has neighborhoods without sidewalks.
the assertion that I was making.
>> but the streets aren't the same size.
>> if you go to whitehaven you'll see the same things.
>> and there are gated communities in whitehaven
as well. It's not a race thing with me.
>> twinkle town, for instance.
that's the point. But now, we have to
get back,
>> I just wanted to make sure that it
was understood that I am a chief advocate for
nape.
>> we get it, yes.
councilman morgan smiley, and then logan, you're in
the queue.
>> to the hold and a few of the comments. We don't want to wait for
every resolution we pass to be written in blood. We can proactively legislate
before accidents happen, and that's okay,
too. We don't have to wait. You can show up with your own
eyes, walk it with your own feet and see the problems that
they have and come to a rational decision without waiting for somebody
to be killed. And I think this is something
that fits that circumstance. And dr.
warren, pedestrian access is not closed off to a single one of these streets
in the chickasaw
gardens neighborhood.
you can come walk them with me at any time of night, 3:00 a.m., midnight,
whatever it is. We will always be able to access them. We will always
be able to walk them to our hearts content.
we're talking about limiting access at two
locations that it sounds like now the applicant's would rather be
opened up. But there are not a lot of people walking neighborhoods at
3:00 a.m. That are sightseeing or looking at
the stars.
so, we're not going to block anybody from coming into
the neighborhood at 3:00 p.m. At 3:00 a.m., you've got
some problems and people want to be diligent in looking out for their
neighbors. And keep a watch. That's our entire camera
program that we've been putting up across the city, and avery neighborhood,
rich and poor. To the hold, I
would say, we should dispense with this right now. If a vote for
hold fails, I would move previous question that we go ahead and vote
and deal with this so people don't have to come down here,
five new councilmembers don't have to get updated on the issue and get hundreds
and hundreds of more emails, and that we deal with
this tonight, once and for all. I think we for the case, I think
we understand it, I think there's going to be some agree
to disagree for various reasons, but the details
of this case for the most part have been hammered out, and we owe them a vote and
a solution tonight, rather than holding. I'm going to vote against
the hold, and hopefully we can get onto the rest of the agenda
and debate.
>> thank you, councilman morgan.
vice chair smiley.
>> for those of you who
don't know, I appreciate a pretty good argument. I think both
sides made a really good argument. But, this conversation,
for me, it reminds me of a
very eager jb smiley, the
attorney, visiting a hoa meeting.
I won't talk about the neighborhood, but in that
meeting, what transpired was something that I thought was concerning. It was a group
of wealthy people and during that hoa
meeting, one of the individuals present said, there is so much
crime going on in the city of memphis, maybe our community
should consider building a wall. And I'm going to tell you why
that's problematic for me, because that doesn't breed inclusivity. That
doesn't breed one memphis. That breeds, let me be
excluded from the general population.
I'm not sure that the members that I want to be part
of. On the other side, I do value each
and every person who comes down, and takes time
out today, and comes making a very strong argument
for why they believe that this will ultimately put
them in a better position. And I'm also reminded of
this, a couple things. If
this was about pedestrian safety, and please correct me if I'm wrong, someone
in planning and development. I think is neighborhood decline speed humps, but it's about pedestrian safety,
I believe this neighborhood, declined those
traffic devices. I'm not understanding why, if it's about safety, we are declining
traffic calming devices. In addition to that, I'm
also reminded we're not the first body
to hear this. Planning and development said
no. And then when it went before land-use control board, they said no. And what's happening, here, is your coming before
us after planning and development said no, after land-use control board,
you're asking this body to say
yes. Without any data.
councilman jones quotes a school board member, sarah lewis, all
the time. And I would let him say the quote.
>> you can't measure it, you can't manage it, if you can't manage it, I
can't improve it.
>> his argument today, I've wavered on this issue.
I had a meeting with mr. Wilder, he did
a really good job for you all.
kudos to him, but, when I was looking at it, I
get back to, there is no data. So I'm having a hard
time, here, and I'm going to support a hold, and hopefully you
can have some data, but I don't know if the hold is going to win the
day, but I'm going to support the hold because there has been no data presented.
there's folks making good arguments on both sides and with no argument for
me to supersede the other, I'm in the position
that I think maybe there's more information out
there that this body would benefit from when we
make a decision. But we'll see what happens. But good job on both
sides, and I appreciate the participation
of everyone. I often see the government works best when
we have active participation from the community, so thank each and everyone
of you for coming out, and
I really do hope in 2024, this is the last time you come to
city hall. I don't know any of you out there. A very small few, and
I see a consistent few who always come because the issues that this
body deals with is more
important than erecting a gate or choosing not to erect a gate. This city has
real challenges and all of you out there seems to
have means and the ability to help the city
of memphis with some of its real issues, so I hope you
will dissipate more than just this single issue, but other issues as well.
thank you all for being here.
>> thank you, vice chair smiley. Councilwoman logan.
>> thank you, chair. I
didn't know that they had rejected speed
humps. That's new information. I would like to hold
as well to get more information about that.
I had no idea that speed humps
were rejected. I just assumed, because I drove down the streets,
and I know those streets are more narrow than some of the streets that
are in my community and other communities in my district and they
were told that they could not get speed
humps, because of the street being narrow.
if this community was offered speed humps,
and rejected them, that's problematic,
and I would like to get more information about that. So I support
the hold.
>> this is, >> point of information about
the speed humps.
>> mr. Morgan, you said after this you were going to call for
the question.
>> after the vote for the hold, but this answer
directly goes to councilmembers and whether or
not they are voting for a hold as councilwoman logan just said. It has been
alleged that they were offered speed humps and rejected it. I would like to find
out the truth of that, if any council
member's object.
>> that's the purpose of the hold, colleagues.
>> I can answer that. >> we can answer it right now.
>> respectfully, I would like for us to go back
to engineering. Your regular collection of this may
be different.
madam comptroller, will you please prepare the screens for the volt on the hold. This
is on the hold. Yes. I was the maker of that
motion and I think it was seconded by
councilman warren.
thank you. Yes.
>> carlisle, no, colvett, no, ford, yes, johnson, noe, logan, yes, morgan, noe,
robinson, no, vice chairman smiley,
yes, washington, yes,
>> that item passes.
madam comptroller, will you please, okay. So this item will be held until our next meeting, which is
january 9th.
>> that's correct, mr. Chairman. >> madam comptroller, will you please call
item 11? Yes.
nine and 10, both of them have been held until the next meeting.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman. We will note that items nine and 10 will be held
until january 9th.
majority.
>> item number 11, is a resolution
pursuant to chapter 9.6 of the memphis and shelby county unified development code approving
a planned development at the subject property located
at 1674 delano avenue.
this resolution is sponsored by the division of planning and development. The case number
is pd 23-16.
>> councilwoman johnson? >> chair,
before we proceed with item number 11, I think we need to go back and clean up item number 10. It
was not red and voted on when we or another.
>> this was a hold on both of the items.
>> okay. But they were never read out loud. I'm just saying
it was not red out the place on
the record.
>> hold on one second.
>> mr. Chairman, for the record, we did read item
number nine, and we had a rightful hold on it, but I'd like to read item number tens action that will
be held until january 9th. The resolution
approving the right-of-way vacation of lombardy road between south fenwick
road and cherokee drive. This resolution sponsored by the
division of planning and development. The case number is
s.a.c. 23-05.
>> thank you. Thank you, councilwoman johnson.
>> and I have read number 11 into the record. Be make
item number 11.
>> this item was not discussed when it was sent directly
down without recommendation. So we
need, I so move, and we do need a presentation.
>> if you would move so
electronically, please. And seconded by
councilmember warren. The floor is yours.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman, members of
the council. This is the case, and I think we're getting the
presentation here in just
a second. It is a case, pd 23-16, planned development
to allow a self-service mini storage facility at 1674 delano
avenue. You can see here, on the left, there's a location map in the fraser area
just north of the 240 loop, and on the right is the vicinity
map showing the notice that was sent out to judge the adjacent
property owners. Here you have, to the left, the
zoning, this property is zoned, it is bordered
by are you one residential properties on the
west side, and it is cmu
1 to the north and cmu 3 to the south. On
the right, you see the land use, the pink star is
the property, and it is commercial to the north and to the east, and
to the south, and residential to the west. Again, and ariel of the property,
showing the current use is office space to the south of the property,
to the bottom, and
there are five car wash bays, self-service car wash bays, and
auto sales. Photos of the subject property from delano,
and also from watkins. And aerial views of
the site. Here. So, on the left is the
existing plan showing the existing uses of
office, and then auto sales. To the right is the proposed
plan which retaining the office space however, converting the
car wash and the auto sales to a self storage, facility
one story.
so, the applicant is requesting this planned development to allow the self
storage mini storage facility in
commercial mixed-use one district.
self storage meetings or facilities are not allowed which
is why the planned development is being requested, and I mentioned the
current use. Dpd did recommend rejection to
the language control board with if approved
with outlined plan conditions, the language control board is recommending
approval with those outlined plan
conditions.
and the outlined plan conditions are essentially for
the use, it allows anything in cmu
one with the addition of the self storage facility, and I'm happy to
answer any questions you might have.
>> councilwoman johnson? Can you speak into
the mic?
>> can you please go back to a previous slide? I think
you said, was the front part going to
be, what is it being used, the existing use, what is
that again?
>> the existing use, and if we pull
this up, the existing use has two office space,
and then a five bay self car wash.
and then auto
sales. So the new use would retain the office space, but it would only
allow them the self storage facility. The self
storage facility would replace the car wash
and the auto sales.
>> is there going to be a fence or division between
those uses?
>> between the office and the self storage?
>> yes. >> there is not between the two uses, there is
iron fencing already surrounding the property. And it
will be modified slightly to allow the regular entrance and queuing
space for that.
but, the two office spaces, and the applicant might be able to answer
that. I know they were going to keep the building and
I don't know if that office space is only going to be used
for the self storage facility or not. Right now, there are a couple
of different businesses in there.
>> may I hear from the applicant, please?
>> go ahead.
>> good evening.
good evening chair. My name is
evelyn royce, kirby parkway, memphis, tennessee, 38119.
>> sorry, the mic struggles,
it's okay.
>> take
your time.
>> sorry for that.
>> okay. The applicant's and owner, byron cook and lottie jones,
are seated here. Have been a staple among this
community and are a valuable attribute for over
28 years. Some would also refer to mr. Cook as a
rock. He stays put but he constantly grows. And he's
been at this location for 28 years. They currently are operating
a multi-business facility that
offers car wash, business office, and auto sales. The most
positive impact their business have had in this community is
creating jobs, to encourage more people to stay in
the area. This not only allows people to work closer to home, but also improves
the quality of life for the community by increasing city
revenue, creating a more self sustainable community while connecting
the community together.
they maintain a clean, safe, and aesthetically pleasing
business center here at watkins and
delano intersection. Currently on the east side of this property intersection, there
is a u-haul storage facility. If you would pull up
that site, I think it's page eight.
and nine. Please. It will show, that
will show a u-haul service center on the
opposite side, on the east side of this property, as you can see here,
on the east side of that intersection. There is a u-haul
storage, there. As I said, the most positive
impact that they've had in this community is creating jobs for people to stay in
this area, and this will allow people to work closer to home, and
also improve the quality of life for the community by increasing city revenue, creating
a more self sustainable community, while
connecting them together. Mr. Cook, along with the owner
of the u-haul facility have collaborated to
work together because of the demand for storage
in this community, and the growing families,
to have the convenience to do business near
their schools, library, community center, keeps the community thriving
together. This property is currently zoned cmu 1, which permits multi
storage units, but the cook's request is
for 85 single storage units. This particular zoning does
permit single, does permit two
story storage units, but does not permit single story, and he wants
to do single-story storage units. This would be used
to enhance the improvement of the site and
would clear up the cars that are sitting dormant,
even though they are enclosed and secure with
electronic gate. Again, the site plan shows
the perimeter of the property is enclosed with the wrought
iron gate. This is how the site appears. They've gone on to the
next. A storage facility would be much nicer and neat for this intersection immediately
off of i2 40
exit. We have no oppositions to the cook's operating a storage facility at
this location. Matter of fact, they have 100%
support from the surrounding community.
the request use is compatible with the location characteristics, zoning, and
adjacent lands use and zoning as the proposed self
storage would not be too intense in terms of both use
and skill for the surrounding neighborhood and the
nearby elementary schools. There currently
are two other storage facilities located on james road, at covington
pike, and on austin at stage road. That are zone c
that permit single-story self storage but were
approved recently for single storage units
as well. The project presently is served adequately
by a central public facilities and services street parking, drainage
refused disposable amma fire protection and
services water and sewer. Are that the applicant
will provide adequately for such services. We are requesting
the city council members would approve applications for a single
self storage unit at this location, and I would
also like to thank those who have served us very
well and are exiting at the end of this month. I hope I see you along
your journey, and thank you.
>> thank you. Councilwoman johnson, you're in the
q. Okay. Seeing no other councilmembers to speak
on this item, madam comptroller, will you please prepare the
voting screen?
>> carlisle, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes, logan,
yes, morgan, yes, swearengen-washington, yes,
warren, no, german jones, yes.
>> that item
passes.
>> thank you. >> you're welcome. Madam comptroller,
will you please call
item 12. Item 12. Yes, yes, I'm sorry,
it is. 13 has been withdrawn. Madam comptroller, will you please call
our consent agenda.
>> item number 14 is up for a second reading on our
consent agenda. The ordinance number is 5895, and it's sponsored by
chairman jones. Item number 15 is also
up for second reading. His ordinance is sponsored
by the division of planning and development.
the case number is z 23-12, the ordinance number
is 5894. Item number 16 is a resolution approving the
engineering plans for university lofts, and accepting bond
as a security, there is a request for same night minutes. The contract
number is cr 5451. Item number 17 is a resolution
approving the engineering plans for frank because as a subdivision,
part of lot 420 23, and accepts revised letter
of credit in lieu of bond. The contract number is
cr 5452. Item number 18 is a resolution accepting
public improvements for broad avenue apartments, and
releasing bond. There is a request for same night
minutes. The contract number is cr dash 5364. And mr. Chairman,
that concludes our consent agenda items.
>> thank you. Our consent agenda has
been moved by councilman swearengen-washington and
seconded by councilman warren. Seeing the members in the queue to
speak on it, madam comptroller, will you please prepare the
voting screen?
>> carlisle, yes, ford, yes, johnson,
yes, morgan, yes, vice chairman smiley, yes,
swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, german jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller will
you please call our fiscal consent agenda?
>> thank you, mr. Chairman, that takes us to
item number 18, a resolution ratifying the emergency award contract
number 12474, emergency meter repair to utility partners of
america llc, not to exceed amount of $7,098,724
and $.30. Item number 20 is a resolution to ratify
the emergency award of contract
number 12463, adventures inc.
to um our adventures inc. And not to exceed
the amount of $959,000. Item
number 21 is a resolution approving change number one to
contract number 12236, meter support maintenance,
with honeywell, to ratify the change, and current
contract not to exceed amount
of $145,259. Item number 22, is a resolution approving
change number three to contract number
12265, with solutions llc to renew change and increase the
contract valued in the funded amount of $464,719
and $.23. Item number 23
two contract number 12464 and track
solution incorporated, to expand the scope and increase the current
contract value, of now
648,000 $28.50. Item number 24, is a resolution approving change
number two to contract number 12288, gas matrix utility
landscaping with enlightenment inc. Doing business
as aps facility maintenance, in the funded
amount of $398,448. Item number 25 is a resolution
approving change number one to contract number 12366, large
directional drilling with memphis road boring
company incorporated, to renew the current contract
for the first of four annual renewal terms for the period covering january
1st, 2024, through december 31st, it says 2024,
but that possibly could be corrected, in the funded amount of
$2,509,000. Item number 26, our final item, a resolution
approving change number one to contract number 12378,
fleet maintenance with goodyear commercial tire and
service center, in the funded amount of $1,144,008. Determine, that concludes
our fiscal consent items.
>> thank you. R mlg w
physical agenda has been moved by councilmember robinson,
seconded by councilwoman swearengen-washington.
I have two common caramels,
the first one is from glenda hicks. Name and address for the record,
please, ms. Hicks.
>> good evening, glenda hicks. 3090
wood thrush. 21st century. Thank
you all. As we come to the end of a most challenging, frustrating, and
financially abusive year
regarding gas and water services, I ask each of you to give
serious weight to your continued approval of millions of
dollars regarding lake acid water. You unanimously
say yes. And with that, you are continuously strapping already
overstressed citizens. Ones who live paycheck
to paycheck.
of course, we understand that this council
recently improved a rate increase that's going to
seriously impact the citizenry. Per doug mcgowan's
own statement to fox 13, on september 20th, this
situation that has caused delayed bills is now, he's
saying won't be remedied until the end
of 24. So, you have people yet coming in to the
situation where they have yet to receive corrected
bills, and meters are yet malfunctioning. So I ask this
council to take this situation into
serious consideration as you move forward with any
requests from mlgw. Thank you.
>> thank you. Our next card is
from pamela moses.
>> pamela moses, 2383 jackson avenue, 38108. Mlgw charged me $143
because I called in a gas
leak. They said it was a false gas leak.
it wasn't. It was a broken thermostat that cost us
almost $500 to fix. I got the receipt from national economy plumbers to prove it if
you don't believe me. I'm a single parent on a fixed
income, mlgw refuses to give me a
courtesy credit, but yet, they've entered into a binding agreement of fraud
with honeywell, and just like I know what product liability,
is, if you don't, you're an attorney. Product liability claims can be
based on negligent, breach of warranty fitness, this typically depends on the jurisdiction which the claim
is based. Due to the fact that there is product
liability law, if you give them another dime, I'm going
to report each one of you to the federal government, because all of
those things that they say they need money for, they're under warranty,
so therefore, they should be filing a claim with
honeywell or whoever it is,
in which guaranteed that warranty. You can correct me if I'm wrong. If
you vote on it, that's up to you. I will say this, what does
it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? Y'all keep cutting
all these deals. They won't even give me
$143 credit. You gave me your word, mr. Mcgowan, the last time I
was here you would talk to me about my community
and the things that it needs, but he refused to do
that. He refused to talk to me about my community, but you're getting
ready to put gates up. Just like trump might not
be able to run for office, some of y'all are going
to be joining him in federal.
>> madam
comptroller. The voting screen, please. That was our last comment card.
mlgw consent agenda.
>> carlisle, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes, logan, yes, morgan, yes,
robinson, yes, vice chairman smiley, yes, swearengen-washington,
yes. Chairman jones, yes.
please joe, councilmember warren as voting yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller, will
you please call item 40.
>> that will take us to our add-ons. Item
number 40. Is
a resolution accepting grant funds from the u.s. Department of homeland
security, over a three-year period for the 2024, 2022 safer grant
in the amount
of 13 and $.40, and appropriating fy 24
funds in the
amount of $1,700,645.02, all council districts,
this resolution is sponsored by the administration.
there is a request for same night minutes.
>> thank you. Councilwoman logan.
>> thank you, chair. The committee may
recommend our proposal, and I so move.
>> item number 40 has been moved by councilwoman logan, seconded by
councilmember warren, madam comptroller, will you please prepare
the voting screen?
>> carlisle, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes, logan, yes, morgan, yes, robinson,
yes, vice chairman smiley, yes, swearengen-washington, yes, warren,
yes, chairman jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller, will you please
call item 41.
>> item number 41 is a resolution to allocate
and appropriate $300,000 to the memphis
inner-city rugby to assist in the operation
of its program. All council districts, this resolution
is sponsored by
councilman carlisle, and there is a request for
same night minutes.
>> councilman carlisle?
>> thank you, I would invite my colleagues to join as cosponsors
if they would be so willing.
>> no objection, would you
please note that the cosponsors of that are all council
members that are present. Remic yes, thank
you.
>> councilmember
swearengen-washington?
>> thank you, chair.
the committee met, recommended approval, and I so move.
>> item number 41 has been moved by
councilwoman swearengen-washington.
seconded by councilwoman logan, seeing no cue cards to speak on this
item, madam comptroller will you please control prepare
the voting screen.
>> councilmembers, please cast your vote.
thank you.
carlisle, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes, logan, yes, morgan, yes, robinson,
yes, vice chairman smiley, yes,
swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, chairman jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller, will
you please call item
42.
>> item number 42 is a resolution to amend
the youth pilot program funded by the american rescue plan act. All
council districts, this resolution is sponsored by council
and robinson.
and there is a request for same night minutes.
>> councilman carlisle?
>> think you, mr. Chairman, the community met
and regimented approval and I so move, is it as amended? As amended. As
amended. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chair.
>> thank you.
councilmembers, please cast your vote for item number 42
as amended.
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes, logan, yes, morgan,
yes. Robinson, yes, vice chairman smiley, yes,
swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, and chairman jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller, will you
please call item 43.
>> item number 43 is a resolution approving a
management agreement between the city of memphis through its divisional parts
and memphis brooks museum of art inc. To manage and
operate downtown museum facility. District 5, super
district 9, this resolution is sponsored by the administration. There
is a request for same night minutes.
>> councilmember warren?
>> mr. Sherman, during committee there was
a motion to not have the same night minutes. And I would like to make sure
this goes through regular channels without same night minutes.
>> okay. Is there any objection to removing the same night minutes for
this? Okay. So, there is no objection, we will remove the same
night minute request for this item.
madam comptroller, will you please prepare the voting
screen to vote on item number 43, but oh,
I'm sorry. Miss mclean, virginia mclean,
we have three comment cards.
so, councilwoman warren, would you please move this, please.
okay, yes.
>> hi, I'm virginia mclean, and I'd like to thank
those peers
>> name and address, address for the record, please.
>> virginia mclean, 3848 poplar. I want to
thank all of you for allowing me to present in
the executive committee today. I think there's been
a lot of misinformation and confusion about
the position of friends for our riverfront. For those
of you who weren't there, I just want to say
quickly that, basically, our position is that there's
no rush, there's no time sensitiveness to this
contract that the issue is in the courts, that neither brooks nor the city
owns the land, that brooks is a private institution,
that they do not have a
building permit, that they haven't raised the
money to build the building, and that truthfully, why sign a management
contract, now, for a building that won't be billed for
two years. Really, and then there's the issue
of what is the contract say?
the contract that y'all are being asked to sign
today has not been made public. I understand that y'all have seen it,
but, nobody else has seen it. So, I ask that you,
I'm delighted that we're having this chance to talk,
and I welcome the opportunity to talk with anybody on this city council
about this, since 2017 we've been trying to work with
brooks art museum, and the city.
we've only asked that the promenade be honored, that the bluff
remain green, and that there be a promenade either around
or through or across the river. That the two could work together. We have
been ignored, we have been misled, and I very much
would work welcome the
city council becoming involved with us, giving us
an opportunity to work with brooks, to work with the city. I thank you for
this time, and I think
you for honoring the fact that there is no contract.
and delaying minutes for, what you call it, for
a vote tonight, thank you. Munich miss mclean, I have a question for
you. Before us is to approve the management agreement. As you know,
although things are in litigation, there's construction that's
taking place already. So, with construction taking place,
without a management contract, who would
be responsible for the construction that's currently underway?
>> I think they have hired contractors themselves, I think that
they have to be responsible for themselves,
the court ruled that it gave a warning tone.
she said we have claims
but then she divided the baby and asked us to come up with
$1 million, which we do not have. So, it's still in the courts, we're
waiting on the judge
to decide. The development, what about it?
I'm sorry. This is stacy greenway, I don't
know the answer.
>> thank you. Miss greenway, I have your
card next, name and address for the record and you'll have two minutes
to speak, thank you for that.
>> I don't understand.
>> hello, council persons and good evening, I'm stacy
greenway.
I represent friends for our riverfront as well as the descendents of some
of the heirs of memphis. My address is
780 ridge lake boulevard.
381-2820. So I want to start with your comment, councilperson jones
in the committee meeting. You said the city is being held hostage. With
the development of the land downtown.
the city doesn't own the land. That seems
to be a very big misconception amongst a lot
of people. So when you don't own the land, there's
restrictions to what you can do with the land
and the supreme court has recognized their ability to enforce this
easement. I want to be clear, the descendents of the founders of memphis
are not holding the city hostage, nor do they
want to. The bottom line is that they own the land, and they have rights
and responsibilities. They have the right to
challenge the city and the city's use of
this land, and they have the responsibility to protect the public's
interest in this land as a public promenade. The laws and the constitution
of the state of tennessee will determine what happens with the
public promenade. The laws and the constitution of this state
are not holding you hostage, they are holding
you accountable. We're just asking you to
allow the court to do its job and make
a determination before you push forward on a contract. That affects a lot of
things. I also want to end with your comment to
your successors. You urge them to figure out a way to settle this issue and
come to an agreement.
the city mailed a letter to the descendents in october
of 1999, recognizing the need for some sort of partnership
to figure out what could be done with the
public promenade. 24 years later, we still do
not have an agreement, but you have an
error right here, telling you she's going to agree with you on something
to speak with her. There is nothing
at that point right now. We have to start somewhere,
and it seems to me, holding off on approving
a contract that isn't even an issue for two years
seems a really good place to start.
>> thank you for your comments, ms. Greenway.
>> and if you have any questions I'm
happy to answer them.
>> councilman warman, carlisle, and logan.
>> I heard today that one of the projects we
were looking at, doing a zip line or something
across, had been stopped by your group. Is that
accurate?
>> not to my knowledge, nothing like that. But
if that is something that's going to happen, then you are acknowledging that maybe
they need some sort of approval to do so, and if you are needing
approval, why don't you need approval for
eight 180,000.
>> that's why I don't know
anything if that's true or not.
>> it's not true.
>> miss mclean,
>> there's a lot of questions that need to
be answered, councilperson jones, isaac use it
once before you want to do your homework and you
want to make sure that you get it right. I think there are plenty
of questions being asked and I think that just means we have more
homework.
>> thank you. We may have a question for you from councilman carlisle.
>> thank you, chairman jones, I'll try and be brief
because I know I'm tired and you guys are, too. It's the holidays. You are,
this is, this is about the management agreement. Your issues are with
construction. What in the management agreement you take
issue with? You are adverse to the city and not seeking reconciliation with
the council or the city, you're seeking summary judgment from the
chancery court. So how are those two related?
>> we just saw a minute ago that closing
a street and putting up a gate, you have a responsibility for the private
parties that are going to be putting up that gate,
maintain the gate. Those types of things,
like who is responsible for building it, who is maintaining it, is funding
it, those of the types of things that
are going to be in his management and operation agreement. And so until
we have the answers for that on who the responsible party is, then you shouldn't
be voting on whether or not it should be approved or not, because we don't know
the details.
>> but you're trying to convolute it with your issue with the
district and prep design of the promenade.
>> I don't think the issue is the construction or the design. That's part
of the issue, but,
>> is it, or is it not?
>> there are probably about eight claims in
the complaints. The use of the land is at issue, the specific enforcement
of this easement is at issue.
>> I guess that's my question. In what relation does
that have to do with the management agreement of an inevitable museum that is going
to open? In what standing is the friends
of the riverfront have to negotiate that management agreement.
I understand the claims on the construction.
I don't want to get into that, because, again, you're in active litigation.
and I would remind my colleagues
about. So let's take the promenade and put that in a box for a hot minute,
because that has nothing to do with what's before us. You're asking us
to delay a vote on the management agreement
for an operation between the city and
a museum, and to date with the city believes is its land. If the judge
rules otherwise, that's the city's position.
>> the supreme court in 19
>> the city's position, the city's position is adverse
to yours.
>> I mean, everyone has recognized
that they have an easement.
>> the benefit of the use of the land, not
the ownership of the land itself.
>> okay. Let me back up.
>> I guess what I'm getting
at is,
>> why am I challenging the contract?
>> yes, why would you like us to delay a vote on the management agreement
with the city that is unrelated to the litigation about the use of the
land?
>> because I think it is related. Especially, we've alleged
that they are a private entity, they are a private organization that
is funding this, they are a private economic developer. And if we prove that, then
I think that has a very big impact on who builds it, who
maintains it, and who funds it. Just like we saw.
>> so you would concede the point that if a judge ruled in
your favor, that it would strike down the
management agreement anyway in part or in whole?
>> correct.
okay, yes. If you're trying to build relationships and come to
a consensus and an agreement with people, that's what I said this might be a
good place to start.
>> unfortunately, the city council is not in a position
to be the administration to which you guys
have failed to do so, to your point, in 24 years. I'm not saying,
>> is that my failure or
our failure?
>> you represent the entity, correct, like I
represent the city of memphis?
okay. I wasn't around in 1999 for it, I'm not trying to be
argumentative with you, but it's the argument that
doesn't make sense to me, whether we move forward on the
management agreement or not, to me, today, is insignificant. It's the
spirit of the argument that I'm taking issue with, and
for me, it's not jiving. You're saying we have a problem with the use of
the land, so we're suing you for it because we believe that
the easement that the heirs gave his violated. That's
fair, that's a fair argument.
but then to say that the management agreement is directly related to that knowing that
it may be struck down for some reason,
that's the piece of the argument.
>> isn't it labeled a use at operating
agreement?
>> correct, because the city believes
that it owns the property.
>> that's not what
the city believes. That's not the position they've taken in court.
>> then why would
we have the management agreement?
>> that's
what I'm trying to figure out.
>> then we can let the court
settled it. Let me
answer, let me answer for you, it's because the city believes that the on
the property, because we've had a fire house
in the garage there, and the only thing you have is an easement, or your
claim for the easement.
>> during the time that those two buildings were built, the city
did on the property.
>> as much fun, as much fun as I
do enjoy this, this is the point of having the
court system. It's not for us to litigate it here.
>> at the courts should make this decision and I'm just asking
you to give the courts time to do that
before you push forward a contract that impacts
things. I don't know what it's going to impact. That's the thing.
this is very last minute. I came here at 3:00 on
a committee meeting and now we're here, I don't have
a laptop.
>> mr. Carlisle, is at the conclusion of your questions?
okay. Seeing no other members in the queue to speak on this item, madam comptroller, will
you please prepare the voting screen.
just to note, this is without same night minutes. For item 43. I'm sorry. I
withdraw that. Sue williams, I'm sorry. Another speaker. Sue
williams.
>> she wasn't able to wait this long, so she's not going
to be speaking, thank you.
>> okay.
>> carl carlisle, yes, ford, yes,
johnson, yes, logan, yes, morgan, yes, robinson, yes, vice
chairman smiley, abstained, swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, german
jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller,
will you please call item
44, yes.
>> item number 44 is a resolution to allocate the
remaining $500,000 to the whitehaven stem project, district 3, super district
8. This resolution is sponsored by councilwoman robinson.
there is a request for same night minutes.
>> thank you, council member
carlisle.
>> I so move.
>> item number 44 has been moved by councilman
carlisle, seconded by councilwoman
swearengen-washington, seeing november's in the to speak on
this item, madam comptroller
will you please prepare the voting screen..
it past.
ms. Mclean, will you please speak to us?
a staff member about what happened, please. Okay.
>> somebody will come help
you.
>> colvett, yes, for the vote. Ford, yes, johnson, yes,
logan, yes, morgan, yes, robinson, yes, swearengen-washington, yes, warren,
yes, german jones, yes.
>> madam comptroller, would you please register mr.
smiley as a yes vote. Thank you. That
item passes. Madam comptroller, will you please call item 27?
>> that will take us to our regular
agenda. Where we have an ordinance to establish city council meeting dates for 2024, up for third and final reading.
ordinance number 5891 is sponsored by german jones, and there has been a
request for same night minutes.
>> okay.
>> when is your vacation?
>> thank you. Colleagues? There are no speakers in the queue to
speak on this item, it has been moved by councilman carlisle,
seconded by councilman warren,
madam comptroller, will you please prepare the
voting screen?
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes. Johnson, yes, logan, yes,
morgan, yes.
robinson, abstained. Vice chairman smiley, yes, swearengen-washington, yes,
warren, no. German jones, yes.
>> that item
passes. Madam comptroller, will you please call
item 28?
>> item number 28 is an ordinance to fix
and determine the salary and compensation of the
mayor pursuant to home rule amendments, up for third and final
reading. Ordinance number 5892
is sponsored by german jones, and there is a request for same night minutes.
>> thank you. Item number 28 has been moved by swearengen-washington, and
seconded by councilman warren, I have one comment card from
mr.
richard massey.
>> good evening, council. 3615
central avenue.
I would like to reaffirm that the holiday season doesn't always conjure
images of gift sharing, of happiness
and gratitude from memphians. It may be a time of great uncertainty and
looming instability. As many folks are struggling to pay their utilities.
struggling to put
their kids in quality childcare while their children are off for winter
break.
let alone being able to put a
christmas turkey on the table limits rising food prices. In the face of
the city that is reeling from a legacy of disinvestment, we are all here,
gathered today, discussing an ordinance that would increase the salary of
the mayor elect by $40,000. Meanwhile, the median household
income in memphis is just over $43,000 itself. Folks,
there is no understating just how egregiously irresponsible and morally
bankrupt of this proposal is. It's
my understanding the underlying rationale of this ordinance is to promote
job retention. If we want to talk about job retention, how about
increased wages for ordinary city workers? Such as directional
workers who aren't sure if they'll be able to retire comfortably in memphis.
what about those workers who have been left out of
every single wage increase proposal, including
this one that we are hearing tonight? Make no mistake about
it, people from this great city have been coming
here for months on end, taking the time to ask this body why. Why has
the maintenance of their
school building been put on the back burner?
why hasn't the affordable housing trust fund been expanded to develop more
affordable housing units within our communities mark why have routes
not been expanded to cover more of our city? Council, let it be heard
that if we want to talk about creating a memphis that works for all
memphians, wage increases should come from the bottom up,
and never from the top down. Thank you.
>> thank you, mr. Massey. Seeing no
other councilmembers, and I have no other comment cards, madam comptroller,
will you please prepare the voting screen.
>> colvett, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes, logan, yes, morgan,
no, robinson, abstained. Vice chairman smiley, yes,
swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, german jones, yes.
>> that
item passes. Madam comptroller, will you
please call item number 29?
>> item number 29 is a referendum
ordinance pursuant to article 11, section 9 of the constitution of the
state of tennessee home rule amendment, to amend provisions of
the charter of the city of memphis, the
same being chapter 11 of the acts of 1870 as
amended, relative to mayor, council, and appointed salaries, up for third and
final reading. Ordinance number 5893 is sponsored by
german jones. And there is a request for same
night minutes.
>> thank you. Councilman warren.
>> yes. Mr. Chair, on this, I
take it that was going to happen if this passes is that we will
have to approve the salaries of each of his
appointed directors. And that, in my mind, it seems
like I don't know what it takes to hire
people to do these jobs, and what the situation
is on the ground, they are, and I don't think our council
is going to be expert enough to know what salary it took to
get what person here. For that reason, I am
perfectly content with us looking at,
you know, the salary of the mayor and the salary of the
council, but appointed salaries, I think, are on
the marketplace. And I don't know if we're going
to know or have enough expertise to be able to do that. And I
don't think without any discussion about this up until this point. I would
really like us to hold this
for another meeting, if we possibly could, to get some comment
from the new administration about if they're okay with it or not
and why, and let us hear what they have to say before
we move forward.
>> okay. As a response to that, and one of the things,
if you recall, councilman warren, that mr. Wade talked about
the timing of things, certain things have
to take place. We can't do it in the middle of
the administration. But I still would trust that as we are
looking at the salaries of the human resources would have what would
be comparable salaries that would be information, talking about what
comparable salaries or the study for those type
of ideas. I don't think that we would be, the
council would be charged with just pulling
a number out of the air and approving it. But I think that
compensation would be, would be brought before
the council in order to evaluate what those
salaries are.
>> I just am sitting here, I know that
they would bring that to us, I'm not sure what our expertise would
be in it,
>> I would contend that we don't
have any. We don't have any with any of the things that come before
us, but we trust the professionals to go out, and I don't think that
the city, that the city administration itself would do the compensation
study. There are companies that they would access the professionals who are familiar
with the industry, with those practices, that
would go out and do the compensation study.
that's my thinking. Councilwoman johnson?
>> chair, my question is similar to dr. Warren. Is this the
only time, where this can take place? I was clear that this
is the only time the mayor's salary could be addressed,
is that true of all the appointees, the
council, appointed salary? This is the only time we can authorize
it?
>> right.
>> we're not setting any salaries, we're just allowing to have the opportunity in the future. Okay. Thank you
for the clarity, thank you.
>> vice chair smiley? >> I don't
necessarily know if I need to be in the queue at this point. I feel
like councilman jones did a good job addressing the questions and concerns.
what I would like the council to consider is, we are
less than, less than 12 days from having a
new mayor, and I'm not sure if the mayor, at this point, has in his entire
administration. Some of the difficulties, some of the difficulties the mayor is currently
experiencing were filling some of his potential
employments is the difficulty in salary.
and in order to give the mayor an opportunity to
be successful, and I believe this is council's responsibility to
show the administration some grace, and to allow him to be able to
go out and get the best talent and the difficulty is are you going to the
private sector, those salaries are significantly more than
city government can pay for, but we want, we do want to be able to properly compensate people. I think
mr. Massey spoke to it, we gave, we gave increases
to sanitation, we gave increases to police, we gave increases down the board, but
we have not contemplated as a body is, what does it look like
to attract the best talent? And we have to give
ourselves an opportunity, once hr gives us the wage comparison, I
think this gives an opportunity to bring in the best talent of the city
of memphis. You see what we did with our
staff and I'm going to echo the words of someone else, that council has put together some of
the best staff they've ever seen. And it's because we were able
to give our staff the
necessary increase.
>> this is a referendum ordinance.
yes.
yes. This was mainly for the council itself to set their salaries. But, we had to, this will not
kick in come january 1st. This
is going to be a ballot item. Because, I guess city council salaries to
the county commission,
and includes the mayor, the council, and
I would still contend, though, once this is
in place, come 2027 when there is an election, they will be a compensation
study for the then council to say we approve what the
salaries are. But this was done to address the council's
salary, not tying it whatever the county commission does. But this is
referendum only. This is a referendum item so the vote, the voters vote
on it.
>> I was trying to play by the rules,
but yes.
the mayor's salary must be set before the term
begins, or it cannot be changed during the term.
>> that was the previous one.
>> the directors of salary cannot be changed in the middle of the fiscal
year, which is where we are, which was the issue. Which is
unrelated but to set us all on, set
level. So, if mayor elect young has somebody
he wants to bring in, hypothetically, so-and-so wants
to come in and they are salaried today $175,000, but they've agreed
to do hundred $10,000, he's going to figure
out somewhere in the budget to give them a
bonus of sorts. Or some other compensation mechanism. To councilman jones point,
I can't remember when it
was sometime, I see edmund ford junior back there, he
would probably remember, but sometime in the early, mid to
thousands it got attached as an escalator by referendum, by the
vote of the people, to the county commission. This is on doing
that, and it's broad because it's required to
be, to bring it home to chairman jones points, all you're doing is putting
the question on the ballot, and that's
that.
>> okay. Seeing no other
members in the queue to speak on this item, madam comptroller, will you please
prepare the voting screen.
I move, yes.
>> carlisle, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes,
logan, yes, morgan, yes, robinson, yes,
excuse me. Vice chairman smiley, yes, swearengen-washington, yes,
warren, yes.
>> thank you. That item passes. Okay. Madam comptroller, will you please show mr.
cole that as a yes vote on that item? Yes. Madam
comptroller, will you please call item 30.
>> item number 30 is a resolution
for approval of parade or race routes per ordinance
number 5675, all council districts, this resolution is sponsored by the engineering
division.
>> thank you. Vice chair smiley?
>> committee member recommended approval and I
so move.
>> item number 30 has been moved by vice chair smiley,
seconded by councilmember swearengen-washington, seeing the
members in the queue to speak on this item, madam comptroller, will you please prepare the voting
screen..
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes,
morgan, yes, robinson, yes, vice chairman smiley, yes, swearengen-washington,
yes, warren, yes, chairman jones, yes,
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller, will
you please call
item 35.
>> item number 35 is a resolution to reallocate and
re-appropriate $3 million in capital improvement
plan funds previously earmarked for mud
island contract construction. All council districts. This resolution
is sponsored by german jones. And there is a
request for same night minutes.
>> thank you. Councilman carlisle?
>> thank you.
iso move.
>> item number 35 has been moved and seconded. Seeing the members in
the queue to speak on this item, madam comptroller, will
you please prepare the voting screen.
>> seconded by swearengen-washington.
>> thanks.
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes,
logan, yes, morgan, yes, robinson, yes, vice chairman
smiley, yes, swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, chairman
jones, yes.
>> okay.
councilwoman logan?
your mike wasn't on.
>> I'd like to abstain from
this note.
>> madam comptroller, will you please show
that councilwoman logan's vote is an abstention on
that item.
>> abstained.
>> okay. >> we have it for the record.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller, will you please call
item 36?
>> item number 36 is a resolution to amend the memphis
city council rules of procedure. All council districts.
this resolution is sponsored by councilmembers carlisle
and smiley. And there is a request for same night minutes.
>> okay. Vice chair smiley. >> I just wanted to make note that this
is the previous resolution that this body passed, a
meeting ago, we previously met in committee today, we amended this, I
want to note, this is being moved
as amended earlier today.
>> okay.
item number 36 is being moved
as amended.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman. >> seeing no
councilmembers to speak on this item, madam comptroller, will you please prepare the
voting screen.
>> thank you.
carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, johnson,
yes, logan, yes, robinson,
yes. Vice chairman smiley, yes, swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, chairman jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller, will you
please call item
38.
>> item number 38 is a resolution to transfer simmons bank
liberty stadium and allocate $120 million of
state grant funds for sports facilities improvements to
university of memphis auxiliary services foundation. All council
districts. This resolution is sponsored by
the administration.
and there is a request for same night minutes.
>> okay, I have councilman carlisle in the queue.
>> first, mr. Chairman, hold on, let me look at
my notes. The committee did meet, it did recommend approval, as you can
imagine, mr. Chairman, there has been lots of discussion
since then. I'm going to move the item to
the floor, and you've got comment cards,
mr. Chairman.
>> I do. >> I'll yield back.
>> I have three comment cards. The first
comment card is from mr.
fred jones.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman. Members of
the council. I'm really concerned about
>> mr. Jones, name and
address for the record, please.
>> fred jones, junior. 1030 dumaine
place, 38106.
I received this amendment to
the agreement, I was on route here, around 2:50. Been expecting it really for
the last couple
days. And I was, you know, hadn't had enough time to really evaluate it
and evaluate it from a standpoint of how much this is going
to affect. My council, has
seen it, and we have come to the conclusion that we really have a problem and
we need to really evaluate what is this going to cost us,
based on the way it's being written.
the document is not
very supportive of the southern heritage classic,
at all. Even though I've heard different versions of
the extensions from three years to five years,
the documents, after the first year which
was 2024.
if you want an extension, that
we would have the right to request an extension
by the people who really would be running
the stadium the people running the stadium. So you don't have autonomy
to move forward
pass that. Then there were some changes in terms
of what the city was saying that they were no
longer provide we don't know what that is and we haven't
had time to evaluate it, with our present contract
to see how that applies, to what they're
talking about, here. They are simply saying
they are going to take
it away.
with this document that was presented to us,
in item number five, it says once the
transfer happens, it automatically goes to the people,
the foundation even
our one-year deal with the city would be
negated in essence this document is not very helpful to
this process at all. Okay. I want to make that very clear,
on the record with
that. It would be very, very detrimental to us, the southern heritage classic, we
don't know what, financially, is going to impact, yet,
because we haven't had a chance. Hopefully the same day has
been requested for this, they will give us a little time, two or three days
to really analyze this, because right now, on the surface, it's
very detrimental to the southern heritage classic, and to the
existence of the classic, I want to be very clear about that. The way this
is written, and the way it is structured. So I want to be clear
as far as that goes, thank you
very much.
>> okay, I have councilwoman logan,
councilman carlisle, and vice chair smiley in the queue. Councilmember logan.
>> thank you,
chair. Colleagues, we've discussed at length on a number of occasions not
having information for us
to look at and discuss, and I know we've been round and
round and talked about this a lot.
my only concern, I've stated several times but
I definitely want to see this happen, but first and foremost, I think we should
be fair and it's not fair to mr. Jones or the
other gentleman, I'm sorry.
ehrhardt, mr. Ehrhardt, for us to have given them
this today in the 11th hour and expect them to answer to
it. I'm opposed to that part. I do want them to be able to sign
this in good faith and with
total understanding, and to make certain that we, as a
community, are going to continue to experience the classic and the liberty
bowl as we've had in the past, and I hear them saying they just
got this and he hasn't been able to look
at it. And that some of the things look different
for him. I think we should give them that time. It's not their fault or
our fault that we just got this today. And I think that we,
moving forward, have to change that behavior.
if there is a way that somebody can sit with them and go through it today, line
by line, I wish that would have happened before we got here, right now,
but I don't want to force it down their throat. I don't want to force
it down the city's throat. Because, in terms
of the community, and the people, I don't want to come
up and have been one of the ones to sign this, then we no
longer are able to have the classic or the liberty bowl. So, unless I
hear something subsequent to this, I will not be supporting this.
thank you.
>> thank you, councilmember logan. Councilman carlisle.
>> thank you, hopefully I can say something subsequent
to your comments to get your support.
there's no doubt, it's been a very fast-paced moving deal, we, unfortunately,
only meet every other tuesday, and we're at
the end of the year. And this is not, this
is actually not what's before the body. The point that I want to
make is, I'm not trying to play games, I'm just trying to
put say, this is something that this body, you and others and
myself included, for both the southern heritage classic and the autozone
liberty bowl want to be successful. So does
the university. The extension is very fair, and it's pursued between
both the autozone liberty bowl and the southern
heritage classic. Mr. Jones is absolutely correct,
his understanding, you're talking about in-kind services, historically what's
that been able to cost has been, the university
wants to see those events be equally successful,
and I'm happy to bring them up here to get on the
record and say that, that they want these events to last and they
want them to be successful.
the concern, and you mentioned the term good faith, and here's the
reality. We've got this resolution, we are going to
attach that the auxiliary services board has signed
off on, that to be clear is going to extend them
for three years, on the same terms and conditions, and five one-year options
for both parties. Where they've got together,
to be fair to both these two entities in the
university of memphis is to understand the future
cost of in-kind services, like setting up
the halo, parking, how this, and the city has already
agreed, here, to negotiate directly with, and to be clear, the stadium,
the university is only taking the city is going to control
everything else. Really, what they've got to work out is, after these first
couple years where they know what the costs are going to be, what those
costs are going to be, and there is no real way to determine what
they're going to be, they've got to work out language between the
parties that is fair and equal, and they've agreed to work in good faith to
do that. I think that you can support that, moving forward. Furthermore, the mayor,
the mayor isn't here to agree to this, but we
can approve this tonight, and the mayor and the university and these entities
can work before the resolution is executed, and
I believe strongly that he's going to do that,
and especially the smith family, who is an ardent supporter of the
university, ardent supporter of the autozone liberty
bowl and a key sponsor for the southern heritage
classic wants to see all those events succeed. So
I recognize mr. Jones representing his organization has
issues, because there are unknowns to him, and that's a
very fair point.
we, unfortunately, have to make a decision whether or not we want to transfer
the stadium, or potentially forgo $50 million and or put this back in
the hands of the state of tennessee general assembly to split the baby down
the middle which is 175, 175. Which creates a huge problem for
the grizzlies.
it's a very, and also, the tigers.
the tigers play in the fedex forum. It's an unfortunate set of circumstances
that we are at the end of the year, but, I think, at
some point, there's enough
within the parameters of the loi to come together and negotiate,
and council miley, vice chair smiley, correct me if I'm wrong. Any material changes to the loi
requires this to come back before the body.
so, we've given them, again, the parameters to work within and negotiate and we've got
to let them go do that, but this body can authorize them
to do that. Almost every lease, like the management agreement,
is us authorizing the administration to go and do
that necessary job. We try to do here and just
ran out of time was to have as much of that work done, and hoped to be
completed but we ran out of time, before the council had to vote,
and it's pretty far along. It's
just, no one is going to be able to tell you what it costs to operate the
stadium in 2028. It's not possible. You can have an idea. So, I hope
that the university, the city of
memphis, the autozone liberty bowl and the southern heritage classic will
work in good faith, and I believe they will, to come to an
agreement that works for them on the amendment, and if not, I have
no doubt that this body and the body that will be seated january
1 will take issue with that, but I implore
you, I implore this body to vote on the $120 million grant, and the transfer of
the stadium so that we do not put that
in jeopardy. With that, I yield my comments, thank
you, mr. Chair.
>> thank you, vice chair smiley.
>> okay. I just want to remind this body where
we started. So, when we started talking about
the transfer of liberty bowl stadium, this body had absolutely no input.
we were basically being told what to do, and this is in the best interest
in the city of memphis without any information. I this council expressing
its deepest concerns about the transfer,
what transpired is this body having a say on
what the steel ultimately looks like.
we've had extensive conversations, me having
good conversations with mr. Jones, at first he
started off with one year remaining on his contract, it went from one
year remaining on his contract to four years on his contract, and
after that, another conversation with mr. Jones,
he said, I need more assurances than that.
now, where we are now is, I think it's three years and
the option of four more years.
I think that's what it is. I may be wrong on the timeline, but
he has more time now than he had previous to when we started this
conversation. In addition to that, when we talk about
what happens with the liberty bowl stadium,
we went from no advisory board meeting,
we have nothing to do with the liberty bowl, the university of
memphis will act at its own volition without really
any type of mechanism for this body to still have some say
so, some input on what happens with the liberty bowl that ultimately impacts the
assets around it.
in addition to that, pursuant to the concerns by
dr. Warren and councilman ford, concerns about what happens if the
university of memphis decides to
fail this back to the state of memphis. What this body decided to do was, if we're
going to transfer it to you for free, you should give it back to us for
free. It's not free. It's a nominal cost of one dollar.
I think we've made significant progress.
and I'm
very critical of things that I don't believe to be
right. And like I said I like a good argument. One thing that's abundantly
clear to me, not to give the
university of memphis too much credit, here, I had some really direct
conversations with them and I think you all know I speak
very frank all the time, and they met my frankness with
essentially acquiescence to most of the terms this body demanded. What I
believe the university of memphis will do,
they will act in good faith and ultimately make
it right. And if they don't, I'm sure that mr. Jones will have no
problem letting us know it's not right, and then we will have to figure
out, how are we going to move accordingly? But I don't think we
should be taking a position, now, since we can all see
that there is progress being made, taking a position now saying, it's not
perfect yet. We agreed to the material terms.
it's up to the administration to come back with
an agreement that, ultimately, that's amicable to
mr. Jones, because we want to put him in a good position.
that's amicable to mr. Ehrhardt, we want to put
him in a good position. But we agreed to the material terms, and
what I hope this body does to vote for, and if the administration doesn't
put them in a better position, we hold the administration's
feet to the fire.
it will be on mayor young to make sure it happens, and if
it's not mayor young, it'll be on jim strickland. But if we're going
to do this, it's time to do it now.
>> thank
you. Councilman warren.
>> thank you, mr. Chair. I guess I have
a question. To the university of memphis and mr. Jones and
mr. Ehrhardt. I think it makes sense, we pass
this tonight, do you think two weeks is enough time
for you to work out your differences were everyone can feel safe that this
is an agreement that's going to make you happy? Because we
have to approve the minutes before its
official. So we pass it tonight, you have a two
week timeframe. Is that long enough time to be able to come up
and make sure, mr. Moody, could you talk
to that? Is that enough time that you guys could possibly get
this done?
just, I mean, I'm hoping that that's the case.
it sounds like everybody here wants it to work. Everybody here wants to make
sure everyone is successful. It seems to me that we
don't have the paperwork right, and we haven't
dealt with the small details.
>> number one, the way that things are
going, now, we are getting this on the
back end, of the discussion about what's going to happen.
>> that's how.
>> for the classic it had to be while this is
going forward.
and expect to go back and make it right for the classic.
based on the paperwork, when it's been presented.
>> I get it that what you've been presented isn't working for you. So, you'll have
two weeks for you to be able to get something
that's working.
>> it wouldn't take that long. We just didn't have
enough time. We were presented this document.
>> I think,
>> so, I'm just saying, you're going to vote
for this, and then we are going to hopefully get something done. I'm saying
that we need to have a clear understanding in order for this to
go forward, in a unison way that we need to be taken care of and considered
now, as opposed to later.
>> so, what we're looking at is if
we pass this tonight, what we're doing is
passing it and there's two weeks left before its
official. And if it's not you're going to come back and tell
us before our next meeting, that we have a problem, here, and at that
point, we can pull it off the minutes and we can bring it back
and discuss it and make it right. The fact that we move it forward today
doesn't mean that you will not be able to
work and get this correct. Mi, is this
correct, chase? I'm going through my real estate guy, here.
>> yes. Mr.
chair, may I?
thank you. The answer is, yes, the body has the option to approve the
vote tonight. Here are our options. The body, here's what
we can decide.
the body can approve the vote tonight and ratify the minutes on the ninth,
it gives you three weeks to work out
a deal, the body can recess and come back in 48 hours by the end of the week with same night
minutes if everybody is available.
thursday would be great, friday isn't a good one for me. Four
next week. But I'll be gone, but, the longer, hold
on, brooke, easy. Getting into next week
gets more difficult.
>> I'll be gone.
>> so what I would suggest is 48 hours
for them to work out the details, or it passes with
same night minutes tonight, and the mayor doesn't sign
the resolution.
those of the options. As I see it. Or you vote it down.
>> thank you, councilman carlisle. I think it would
be wise for us, in my mind, to go ahead and move forward
with this, and vote for it, knowing we have good
faith in you, and mr.
ehrhardt and mr. Moody, we think you're going to get a
deal that's going to be good for all of
us, because everyone wants the same thing. And if it's not, we'll
pull it from the minutes on the ninth, and
we can reassess it and vote it down, if it's not where
we wanted to be. So I think it behooves everyone to
work together, because you want to have the
classic there, too. You want to have the liberty bowl and we want to have
memphis to have a stadium. In my mind, if we
vote this down, vote it up today, I don't want you to think we're not
listening to your concerns. We think you will have your concerns fixed. By
the time we have to ratify the minutes on the
ninth. Thank you, mr. Chair.
>> I want to make sure that I'm on the record with this. This is a very
critical time for the southern heritage classic. I
want to make sure that we're clear with that. As
much as that stadium needs the repair and
everything else, but if we do not have a deal
in place the correct way that takes
into consideration what the classic has done and means to
this community, I want to make sure that we are on the record with that.
thank you.
>> thank you. >> mr. Ehrhardt?
>> since you called me up, to clarify our
position and on behalf of steve ehrhardt, representing
the autozone liberty bowl, the liberty bowl festival association, and
I think part of the real problem is the communication, which I
know I learned about from you, because even to this moment I have
not seen some
of the resolution, and I gather that some of that has changed already in the
last few hours, and councilman carlisle, had expressed to
me that the extension, which was critical to our
association, we're in the middle of negotiating long-term contracts right now, that the resolution
of this council, tonight,
would include a three-year agreement, three-year
addendum, and then five one-year options, which was exactly what was in our prior
contract. So we were not asking for anything unusual. That there's
a three year firm agreement after our 24 year, and then five one-year options
which is exactly the language. And then
the other issues that I think mr. Jones, and I certainly agree with him, we haven't had that
chance to determine some of the actual specifics. But I feel in
good faith, one of the ones this council, the new administration since parking is being cut aside from
the stadium, that will be managed by
the city. So you can't have football games and big gatherings without
parking. It will take a negotiation with the city, with you all
about how to integrate parking to put on
our games. With that, I think if that's the resolution, then we're
certainly willing to work diligently as quick as we can, and
we don't have much time. This sunday, on
christmas eve, iowa state university is
showing up, here, christmas eve, with thousands
of people that are going to be here next week. Hopefully we
can roll out the red carpet for our visitors from out of town. Thank you.
>> thank you. We will have, I just wanted
to make some general comments. From the onset,
this was the city, the city on this property,
and there were multiple stakeholders. University
of memphis was a stakeholder, the autozone liberty bowl
was a stakeholder. Southern heritage classic was a
stakeholder. But there were only two people that went to
the table and talked about this without
any consideration for the other two stakeholders in this. So,
I just see,
the mighty powerful university of memphis, and something that
two organizations that are equally important, to this community,
but they were not part of this. This
is something, this is something that is essentially, in my words,
are being shoved down their throats. Versus having them as
true stakeholders
and saying, how will this affect the liberty bowl? How
will this affect the southern heritage
classic? This was not done. And so, from
the onset, there was no good faith.
for you not to have all stakeholders, to be at the table to
talk about this. It's not only affecting the
university of memphis. This affected the southern heritage
classic, this affected the autozone liberty bowl, and they
were not at the table, and they were stakeholders in this, and I think that that's, this
has been unfair from the beginning. We
can hear from athletic director.
>> I just want to say thank you for being
here on one of the biggest nights in tiger
basketball of the season. I saw you watching on your phones, I appreciate it.
>> last I checked we were winning.
>> I wanted to come up and echo councilman carlisle's comments,
summons miley's comments. From
the beginning, we have had every intention to move forward
in good faith, just has been suggested. I do believe, confidently,
given the time that councilmember warren has mentioned,
that we can come together and find resolution. I think this is more of
a function of the speed and magnitude of the
entire affair, and we would look forward to that opportunity as has been suggested,
to sit down over the next couple weeks and come
together with all four parties to help make
this happen. I know it's an important decision and I
appreciate the efforts.
>> thank you. Councilwoman johnson?
>> let me hear what you said. You said in the next
four weeks? Three weeks?
>> he sang ratifying the minutes on the ninth.
>> reporter: so it's like granting an
extension? Okay. My question was,
>> you are next in the queue. You are next in the queue.
>> my question was, what was the urgency?
why do we have to get this done by
a certain date? Has that been explained?
>> multiple
times. Gift expires december 31st of this year.
>> what gift? >> $50 million.
>> are we certain of that you mark
>> yes, ma'am.
yes, ma'am.
>> I don't know about that. I heard different, but okay.
>> so, to that point, and as I said earlier, I'm not familiar with
anybody's finances. Along
these lines. But, to make a charitable
contribution, to get the tax benefit and the tax
write off, I've never seen it tied to the transfer of a stadium. I
just haven't.
and that's, I'm looking at it blindly. I just haven't seen
that. If we look at the generosity of the smith family to
the university of memphis in the past,
that's not going away.
and so, I just, I simply don't buy the
fact that, if we don't transfer the stadium that their generosity is all
of a sudden going to dry up. I haven't
had any conversations. That's just my opinion without having any knowledge
about that. I'm not going to go to mr. Smith and say what you going
to do with your money?
no. I'm saying based upon what I've seen and
the generosity that has taken place in the past, I'm
just skeptical of it being contingent upon the
transfer.
>> okay. The only thing I want to say is, I definitely want to
see these organizations be treated fairly.
in this process. If they can wait three
weeks and that won't be the end of their project, let's give
them the three weeks. Because they need to
have an opportunity to look at that contract, I'm just sorry they
gave me two different documents, I said what am I looking at? Nobody
explained the documents to me. Thank you for telling me. I have
no idea. But I just think
that, I also feel like memphis estate university of
memphis should be in control of the management of the stadium's. That's
not the issue with me.
the issue is making sure that everybody feels comfortable. We want the community
to know that we did not mistreat mr. Jones in
any capacity. And that the liberty bowl fans got everything that
they were looking for. And it's just
not worth it if it's a couple days, I'm willing to come back for that special
meeting, whatever it takes to make it happen. But we need to make sure
everybody is in agreement, thank you.
>> thank you.
chief fry?
>> one inquiry, are you
all opposed to the council saying there is no same
night minutes, and trying to spend their time between
today and the next, today
and the next council meeting working it
out? Or, I think councilwoman johnson wants
to do some more work before she rolls off
this body. Or would it be prudent, prudent to
all parties involved to say, if we can't get it done, that just
resets it and come back?
tomorrow, thursday?
although, holed up. Go ahead, go ahead and speak to
that.
>> we would be, we would be
okay with the recess, that would be great for us to get everything resolved by
the end of the year. I believe we could
live with having the minutes on the first
council meeting.
>> I'll tell you, I would tell you based on, it's the
holidays, et cetera, to give, here's the good news. If
we recess, mr. Chairman. If we recess, getting everybody
back together at the holidays might be difficult,
including staff. By voting this through and having the minutes come
on the ninth, well it does take authority away from some sitting councilmembers
to approve the minutes, it gives them the clock.
you can say 48 hours gives them the clock but
they may need another 48, so, I think, I think the prudent thing
to do is to vote this up or down. I'm going to be voting
it up, and let it follow the ordinary course, and
between now and the end of the year, we will reach out
to the smith family and I'm sure that they will acquiesce a nine
day total. But there are many reasons, and
I can produce the letter. It's a matter of public record at this
point. It was sent to the university of memphis is to
be living the reason why the gift was tied at 2:00. It wasn't
necessarily arbitrary. The general assembly is seated on the
11th or the 12th, so I think we've got time, but,
I'm tired. These organizations are going to work
it out. I would encourage us to take this note and we will ratify the
minutes on the ninth and that gives them three full weeks to work
it out. If they can't work it out then, and this deal
doesn't go through, then we have a bad stadium and mr. Jones and mr.
ehrhardt are left with one year left on mr.
jones agreement, and I don't know, two years or three years on mr. Ehrhardt's
agreement. They're in a worse position, too, because the stadium
is retained by us, then it's at the will of the
city administration whether or not what deal they want
to strike. I point is, it's not a threat, is to demonstrate that all parties
are induced to work something out.
to the benefit. Thank you, mr. Chairman, I'm sorry that I went over.
>> I have councilwoman logan, swearengen-washington in the
queue.
>> thank you, chair. We had
three options. And I didn't know if we were going, are those
the options for us, or the options for the
two gentlemen? Okay. Well, I just want
to stress the fact that we have known all along what our
concerns were. It hasn't been a big u.s. It has
not been
hidden. We've said this looks wonderful, everyone wants to do this, the only thing
we ask for was to get with those two parties to make
sure everything was included, and that was
not done. It still hasn't done. Not to where they can
understand it.
>> let her get her comments
out.
>> I don't feel that they understand and are comfortable with
what they received today. Some of my colleagues have
heard are not comfortable with what they've heard
today, however, this has been going on for two
council meetings. It's not rocket science. It
could have been sent to us before now. And then, to me, what I
hear them saying is, they don't know what
this means for their organizations. They're not just going to sign a piece of paper
saying yes, on good faith. To them it's business, to us it's politics. My
thing is, we said that we could give them
48 hours to come to an agreement that they understand, put
it in writing, come back and vote on it in 48 hours, why are we changing
that now? Because they want to see it before they sign, and
I think that's there. That's the only thing left
to consider. Everyone else here is on board with the transaction. The
only thing that's not is there agreement, which that's what we've been saying
for two meetings. Is not something we just pulled out the hat. I
would recommend remove that we recess for
those 48 hours, give them time to put in writing what everybody is
agreeing on, they know, they have their attorney to sign it, and then
we come back in 48 hours and vote and
go home.
>> councilwoman swearengen-washington.
>> my question is, or statement, or concern
is, if it was that important, why is it at 9:00
this morning that fred jones did not have
a contract? And if it's that important by 2:45, he still hadn't
gotten the contract. If it's such a sense
of urgency and the deal had to be made, why weren't all
parties included so that an agreement could be made? It
seems disrespectful.
>> may I respond?
there have been several documents passed back and forth. I would call attention to a
document dated december 12th that was sent to both mr. Erica hart and mr.
jones detailing what the university was willing
to do at the last council meeting.
the conversation was about giving those two
entities reassurances that the university would want to work with them, and
would have good faith effort in working
with them. And the university produced that document, they
produced it on december 12th. Last week.
then, from that conversation, it shifted and it keeps shifting two
different terms and deal points. And we've been trying
to work with them to iron out, and we've had
a lot of help and
support from members trying to help us along this journey to bring it
all together, but that is what has
been happening. It looks like the narrative is nothing that was
produced today as if it was haphazard.
there have been several conversations.
it started at five years, that was four years, then 5+3, we got the five
+3, 3+5, and
to these points, to make this, to resolve
this issue. And that's where we are wanting, we would love to have a
vote today, so we can resolve the rest of these
terms.
my fear I don't want to keep moving the date if
possible, so that we can get everybody nailed down and
just finish the negotiations for this piece. But, we just came up with a
document today.
it's been a lot of conversations back and forth.
>> thank you, councilman carlisle.
>> thank you, mr. Chairman. I'll yield the floor.
if you don't mind. I've spoken on this matter,
I guess. I just, before I do, I have to
acknowledge the fact that this is an symbol. What councilman smiley
said is accurate. There is a deal to transfer
the stadium by and between the city and the
auxiliary services foundation, for them
to care for. It was only after the council said it's important that
these events, through the body, get extensions or some sort of certainty,
it's actually not even really part of the deal that's before us, but it's
something we're trying to do. Be careful, because what you're going to do is you're going
to put all the negotiating power in those two entities hands, if that's
what your vote is contingent on. If I'm in that position
that I'm going to take everything I need and more in order to get
what I want. So,
that is why you can't negotiate where it's like, we're
only going to vote yes if you get everything you want because the field
goals and posts keep moving. What has occurred,
and I want to reiterate this. Under today's
current situation, we maintain and on the
liberty bowl, and the southern heritage classic
has a one year left on their term. It's likely to get renewed,
but it could get renewed under worse terms, because they don't have a
deal. And we don't have an improved stadium.
I'm going to say this again. Nobody, hours and hours and hours conversations
and meetings, alan wake got on the zoom call
from mexico. To try and hammer this deal out, and the
reality is it's because this gift came at the end of the year in
order to make it happen to avoid a cataclysmic outcome for the
city of memphis. We have an opportunity to
do something very simple, and ultimately, you're saying,
I don't think of the university of memphis is telling
the truth, and that the administration is telling the
truth, that they want these two organizations to last and be fruitful for the
city. To be frankly honest, we lose money on the southern heritage
classic and on a direct basis supporting it, but it's
important because of the indirect impact to the city from a visibility standpoint and economic
development standpoint. No one wants to mess that up, the only way we will mess
this up is continually trying to kick this can until every tiny detail in the agreement
as to the satisfaction of one or two people. That is no way
to negotiate. They have all the parameters in the letter
of intent, that they need to go and finalize
this deal, mr.
jones and mr. Ehrhardt now have from 2024 25
three years guaranteed under the same terms and conditions,
and five one-year options. They now have
nine years.
the only thing that they've got to work out, this is where the rub
is coming, is all of the in-kind services that the city has provided over the
years that the university is willing to provide to
some degree inside the liberty bowl, and we will
provide outside.
the reason you can't iron it out is no one knows what it's going to cost
to operate the liberty bowl post renovation, or what it's
going to cost for a vendor to do something in the locker room in 10 or six years
or six or seven years. So you have to figure
out, to put some mechanism in there that it's fair and equal.
that is something their attorneys can
do in pretty good form. I'm going to say this again. We
need to move forward on this boat, and they need to do their
job and work it out in the near term. I'm going to repeat what
councilman smiley said, because it's important. If there's a material change
to the loi which sets the ground rules, it's got
to come back to the body anyway. With that, I move the previous question, I
recognize there are members in the queue for a vote this
evening.
>> okay. We do have comment cards, the first comment card I
have is from joe kant.
>> joe kant, 5111 from mango, please grant the stadium for the
university of memphis terms to the u
of m and run, run, run from any board seats. Following
the grant, place a resolution, perform and recognize yourself and memphis taxpayers
as truthfully the most generous city by far
of any in the nation.
we're number one. Give us a hand.
number one. Then offer another grant to the university
of memphis in the granting
of which upon waiting the $2.5 million owed to the city by the university,
we will let that go, make
this offer as they are talking about being in professional
terms to memphis. Keep in mind, there is no where
for any spectators to sit. While also knowing, with confidence, that left
which peaked out the day it opened to the public. Immediately
offer two grant that will take
it, immediately, and in add-on item today. Give that
away, too. Where's my client? After the former, don't
grant the u of m another public local dollar. Not
another one. You are number one by far in the united states,
and don't collaborate on any research, either, as the u of m is
corporate slop. Corporate socialist slop.
keep in mind that not granting the u of m another local dollar is actually
in the interest of the u of m. But no the idiotic u of m board
of trustees lack the ability to connect the dots
between vital civic evolution and the success of the
university. They don't have it.
these businesses, in
the image of jack black himself, you know the u of m board is a band
of civic idiots, I promise you, they're always. Finally, appeal after the
grant, and ask them to not behave like rednecks in bullying
the taxpayers out of more tax dollars. Don't give them another dollar,
don't sponsor any grant applications, public grant applications,
unless you have them take no more than 20%. You will have to
negotiate hard. They're negotiating hard, you're going to have to negotiate hard
with them. And one
more thing, district one said they didn't have information for this.
brooks had zero information that you voted
on that. You had no information on that, I'd like to see
the contract that you approved after the meeting. District 1 for brooks.
>> thank you, mr. Kent. Next comment card
is from pamela moses.
>> what does it profit a man to gain the
world and lose his soul.
>> name name and address, please. Pamela moses, 2383
jackson. You don't care nothing about my life, that's why y'all conspired
to try to harm you when I leave every time. But god knows who all
of you are, and just like the lady from chickasaw said that we are at
a crossroads, you could continue could to cut deals out there in the foyer.
mr. Carlisle. But don't forget who was murdered on front
street. If you want to reduce
crime, you invest in people, and not corporations. How much has
simmons bank spent in hollywood? How much have they spent on any of
the poor communities surrounding them?
not a dime. The love of money is the
root of all evil. Mr. Morgan, you can give them gates, but you
can't get resolutions, I'm sorry, patrice robinson for reparations,
but the chickasaw folks
have no indians, but you don't know this, they're on stolen land. This
man gave you 30
years of the southern heritage classic, and if you ain't willing to
give him 30 more years, then it's not a
good deal, and I say that for all the people that travel
from tsu, gsu, and arkansas every year for that event. If
he ain't getting what he been getting,
he getting nothing, and you sold the city out for the last time. I can't wait
till all of you are gone and we get some change in this city.
>> next comment card is from mr.
fred dors.
>> my name is fred dors, 3268
northland. Memphis, tennessee, 38111. I stand before you because I was sitting back in
the back and I got very concerned.
it appears that we are putting the cart before the host horse. If
you vote tonight in the favor of university
of memphis, which I attended memphis state. If you
vote in favor of that tonight, you're putting fred jones,
the southern classic heritage, and the african
american community, who have been a recipient of so many of the
offspring dollars that trickle down effect of the southern classic heritage that
are not being spoken or addressed here tonight.
we cannot do this. Once we
vote tonight, they will not do what they said, but you
put the power in their hand that they don't even have to speak
to mr. Jones. That is what I am mostly concerned. It's not
put the cart before the horse. Let's keep the playing
field level. Let's keep the playing field level.
if everybody is operating in good faith, and I don't know the deals
about the $50 million. I confess to that. But, I
think if it's here for now, if you can't give them
a place next year, then so be it.
memphis grizzlies say grid and grind. Memphis has been gritting and
grinding for a long time, and especially we in the african american
community. Let's not vote against the legacy of
fred jones brought to this city and to our community as
a whole, and to the state of tennessee, even mississippi. Three jackson
state, and now arkansas. Their sister states. I
encourage you to hold this and let them go back
to the table, and try to work it out and
come back for whatever deal they think is there.
thank you.
>> colleagues. The question has been
called on this item.
mr. Smiley.
>> all right.
I think people know I have an affinity for mr. Dors, but I think your
argument is flawed for several use reasons.
I don't think it's putting mr. Jones in a bind. This is the councils saying,
telling the university of memphis, you've got two weeks to get it done.
if you screw it up, the council has the authority
to essentially kill the deal. It's also telling jones, you've got
to come in with the spirit
of understanding that you all have to work together. I think
this body has been very clear and over the past year that both entities
have to work together. It's not saying
mr. Jones is in a lesser position, is not putting the university of memphis
in a better position. You have two weeks to get it done. If you don't
get it done, the council, trust me, this
new council will be different. The council will take corrective action,
and I don't think you want the council to take corrective action. It's putting
the onus on the inner city of memphis to get the job done but also
telling mr. Jones, come to these meeting rooms when you talk to the university of
memphis, and operate in good faith, and I
think he's done that. For me, I was critical of these deals
at the beginning. I think university of memphis has operated
in good faith. What we have, here, is an agreement by this
body of the loi, which is the principal terms. Now they have
two weeks from today till the next council meeting to get
it together. And if they don't, this new body will
take corrective action, and it's not putting anybody in a better
position. It's saying, get it
done. That's where we are now. Get it done, figure it out. They have
two weeks, three weeks because it's january 9th. That's more time. And
I see mr. Jones coming to the podium, I think your hand has
been going up all the time, and I will note,
it is 8:15.
>> we've got to be out of here.
>> it's 8:15. So what I would like to hear from you. Are
you committed to getting it done?
you have three weeks.
>> I mean,
I really don't like that, I'll be quite
honest. Because I have worked really hard
on this, trying to get some clarity on what was going with
this. Okay? And I want to make sure that I'm clear, on
the record. I did not receive any document until
this afternoon.
I want, the people that are listening to
this, nothing. Nobody is giving me a document to reach an loi that you're
talking about. I read it in
[ inaudible ]
they have the whole document, there.
>> when did you read it?
>> whatever day the letter is from peer
>> you just made a statement you didn't receive any documents until today, but now you're
saying, holed up, holed up. No, sir.
>> mr. Smiley, he has the floor. To your point,
>> I was very clear. [
inaudible ]
>> pardon me for one second. He's a party to this. What
he's saying is it should be the newspaper. If he's part of these
negotiations, he shouldn't have to rely on the
daily memphian to get this. That's what I think
he's saying. That's unfair to us, too.
>> to his point, he's been having communications, there may not
have been a document but there's been multiple conversations
for mr. Jones talking about how much time do you need him
at first you said you wanted one, then it went to four,
because he was having communications with the administration. That's true.
and also true is, I need more than four years,
and this is the conversation that I have, and I have the text message
to prove it, that I need at least eight.
we got to eight. He's been in communication. The council, he's
been in communication with the
administration, and maybe, I'm not going to say maybe, the administration
should have operated differently. I will agree to that
point, because this body didn't have all the information. So surely he cannot have all
the information. But, I think
it's difficult for me to sit here and say there was no information shared.
he got information. Maybe not a written document, because the same
loi that we all received, guess when we received it? Today.
guess what mr. Jones received it? Today. However, all of the other
points that have been addressed, mr. Jones was
privy to that. The nuances of this, that's
something different. And what this body is
asked to do is, what happens in the next three weeks? That's a very valid concern
of his. We're not, we're not here to address what happens, they have to work
it out, and I agree with that. But I mean, I
just have a hard time.
>> mr. Jones,
>> I want to make sure I'm clear, all due
respect. There has been conversation. The fact that I had conversation about
what's going on, what's going on with this
whole thing was a conversation. There was never a document
that was presented to me regarding this.
at all.
until this afternoon. I had conversation with
many members of this body, but
never the document. And I've asked for that time and
time again. So I want to make sure it's clear, I've
had conversation. That is part of what running a big organization
like the southern heritage classic and autozone liberty
bowl, talking to steve ehrhardt, we are
talking about that, to have a document that states what's going
to happen.
was not received until today. There never
has been. Only conversations.
talking about the loi.
if it's going to change again, it never came from anybody else other than
what was in the paper,
which was, all of us had that same, they could have gotten the
same thing.
>> thank you, mr. Jones, let me hear from mr. Johnson and then
we will figure out what we're going to do.
>> I have a question for clarification. I
don't have a copy of the loi in front of me, but, where in the
loi does it say that we have to make sure
these third-party issues of been addressed?
and we can use it to come back?
>> paragraph e. >> can you read it, please?
>> it says the city will convey the property to on or before december
30th 2023,
contemporaneously
>> slowdown, please, please slow down, I'm trying to hear
it.
>> contemporaneously, okay, with such conveyance,
the asf will assume the city's rights and obligations
under all existing contracts that affect the property
and execute an assignment and assumption agreement for each
contract as may be required, to the extent that such contracts
are assignable, without fees being assessed against the city. Asf will
be allowed to conduct its own due diligence
with regard to any contracts to be assumed, and reserves any rights it
may have regarding the continuation of those contracts provided, however,
that regardless of the foregoing, the asf shall fully
assume the existing contract between the city and mfa populace and barton marlow, each
as hereinafter defined and provided that the asf
shall commit for a period of
five years execution date of the definitive agreements
to use good faith efforts to continue the existing contractual
relationships with usfl league llc, liberty bowl venture inc.,
for the liberty bowl festival association and summit management
corporation.
>> okay. So they did say that they're going to
extend the time on the contract. That's in
that. But I'm not sure what other items that they may be
looking at.
that's how I understood that, that they would grant that particular
contract and extend it. No, I thought they
said they were going to give it to them.
>> the city does not have the ability to
force upon a non-city entity to do city tasks.
so, they can't force, if you look at the amendment, they can't force
the university to do something at tiger lane when
the city controls tiger lane. I'm going to say
this as clearly as I can. The stipulation, the biggest
issue here is, we
don't get to review mr. Jones or mr. Ehrhardt's financials. They could be making $1
million a year, we wouldn't know.
>> but we don't ask for memphis states either.
>> memphis estate is a
public entity it's a matter of public record.
>> I'm talking about the expenses of the game.
>> I'm just making the point
to you, [ inaudible ] and then you say let me see your financials and they say, no, be careful. All I'm saying
to you is, what's really at issue, here,
are the expenses. All the fringe benefits that
are provided either by the city directly, like public safety
is a good one. We provide both events, sheriff's department,
mpd support, and they don't pay us a dime for that. That's a
real cost. There are other things that are in-kind
contributions by the city that are currently in
the agreement that either the university can't, because
they wouldn't have the legal ability to enforce,
or that in four or five years, the university doesn't
know what the cost of those are going to be, so why would you agree
to something that you don't know the cost of? What they have to figure
out, it's not political. This is straight business. Straight business. Is,
what parameters are you going to put in
place, not knowing the hard dollar number.
I'll give you a few examples. You can cap the exposure of expenses
to one party of the other. Could have noncumulative
expense caps. What you're trying to do is make sure that both
organizations and the university are financially viable. The city has been
picking those costs up for years.
so there is no way to quantify what they are, outside of maybe
two or three years specifically once the liberty bowl has been
fully renovated. Theoretically, some cost should come down, but they could go up,
and they won't know that until they finalize the design and get feasibility
studies on this. These attorneys and their partners, their
principles, have to get together and say, here's the
framework in which we are willing to work. Three weeks
is enough time to do that. Jb has said this, and I cannot
agree more. Nobody is going to screw this
up given the amount of publicity that has.
in my question is, I want to be assured, if you're using
the loi as a document that we can come
back to. And say you have violated this document.
>> if there are material changes to that.
>> based on what she read was very vague. The
only thing she addressed was the contract.
that's my concern.
>> what is referencing is the actual lease
agreement. That's the problem. First off, the university today doesn't have the ability to
negotiate anything. Period.
they have no authority.
what we're asking, this is the reality of what's happening. We are asking the
city to try and amend, this is what the council asked.
we wanted the city to amend, with the council's approval,
before the transfer occurred.
>> that didn't work?
>> we are out of time. Hours of meetings have taken
place.
we have two options. Give them more time to
work on the amendment before the minutes
are ratified, or have the lease assigned to the university with transfer and let
the university do it which doesn't seem like that's very tenable for this group.
>> where we out of time in regards to
transferring the lease?
>> we have covered that
ad nauseam.
>> we said of the 50 million can be extended.
>> no one has said that. What we said is we hope
that if we make this vote.
>> you can go talk
to mr. Smith and try to get those nine days.
>> that's not
fair.
>> it's non-debatable. I'm calling for it and
I'm going to enforce the rules of this body.
>> madame comptroller will you please repair the
voting screen?
>> this is for this agreement, without same
night minutes.
as amended. Without same night minutes. So, in essence, we
are giving the parties time to come up
with it.
the motion.
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes,
logan, abstained, organ, yes, robinson, yes, warren, yes, german
jones, no, councilmember smiley as yes, and please
show councilmember swearengen-washington is no.
>> that item passes.
no same night minutes. Madame comptroller, will you
please call item 38.
39. 39 was withheld.
madame comptroller, will you please call item 32.
>> item number 32 was a resolution requesting
the approval to transfer a 6.95 acre parcel, parcel
number 069004 00174 two the
memphis shelby county board of education in memphis, shelby county, tennessee.
district 7, super district 8. This revolution
is sponsored by general services.
>> vice chair smiley is not here. Item number
32.
>> swearengen-washington, will you please call item number 32 approved
in committee?
>> thank you, chair, the
committee met, the committee met, recommended approval, and I
so move.
>> item number 32, will you move it electronically,
please? Has been
moved, okay, I'm sorry. This item has been moved by councilman
carlisle, seconded by councilman warren, madame comptroller, will
you please prepare the voting screen.
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, logan, yes, organ, yes, robinson,
yes, swearengen-washington, yes, german jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madame comptroller, will you
please call item 31.
>> item number 31 is a resolution approving the sale of
city-owned property, pardon me. In the
amount of $3500.
mr.
chairman, jones is saying I did
31. Know?
item number 31 is the resolution approving the sale of a city-owned property in the amount
of $3500, known as 927 little weaver lane come in memphis, tennessee,
38109. Parcel I.d.
number 07508700556.
district 6, super district date. This resolution is sponsored by general services.
>> thank you.
councilwoman swearengen-washington, will you please
announce this?
>> thank you, chair, the committee met, recommended approval, and
I so move.
>> thank you. Item number 31 has been moved by
councilwoman swearengen-washington, seconded by councilmember carlisle, madame comptroller, will
you please prepare the voting screen.
>> carlisle yes, colvett yes, logan yes, morgan, yes, robinson, yes,
swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, german jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madame comptroller, will you
please call item
number 33.
>> item number 33 is a
resolution transferring $450,000 from fleets
unreserved fund balance to cover the unexpected
need for a lease for general services fleet maintenance body and paint
shops until their permanent location is completed at the former coke property. District
6, super district date.
this resolution is sponsored by general services.
>> thank you. Councilwoman
swearengen-washington.
>> thank you, chair. The committee met, recommended approval, and
I so move.
>> item number 33 has been moved by councilwoman swearengen-washington,
seconded by councilman warren. Madam comptroller, will you please prepare the
voting screen..
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes,
logan, yes, morgan, yes, robinson,
yes, swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, german jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller, will you
please call item 34.
>> item number 34 is resolution transferring allocations
and appropriations for cip projects
number cd 01101, raleigh vehicle repair shop and
gs 01032 city of memphis phase two, totaling $1
million to cip project number gs 01049 coke facility adaptive
reuse to help fund the completion of the fleet fueling station and
administration building. District 6, super district 8. This resolution
is sponsored by general services.
>> thank you, councilwoman swearengen-washington.
>> thank you,
chair, the committee met, there was a favorable recommendation for
approval, and I so move.
>> item number 34 has been moved by councilwoman
swearengen-washington, seconded by councilman
warren, seeing the numbers to speak on this item, madam comptroller, will
you please prepare the voting
screen.
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, logan, yes, morgan, yes, robinson,
yes, swearengen-washington, swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, german
jones, yes.
>> that item passes. Madam comptroller,
will you please call item 37.
>> item number 37 is a
resolution to require city administration to seek council approval prior
to nonemergency street closures that last more than 24 hours
in the city of memphis and are
not covered by existing ordinances. This resolution is sponsored by
councilman smiley.
>> vice chair smiley.
>> thank you, german jones.
the committee met, recommended approval, and I so
move.
>> okay. Electronically, please.
thank you. Item number 37 has been moved by vice chair smiley,
seconded by councilwoman swearengen-washington, seeing no members in the queue to speak on this
item, madam comptroller, will you please prepare the voting
screen.
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, johnson,
yes, morgan, abstained, robinson, yes,
swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, german jones, yes.
>> that item passes.
mr. Vice chair, will you please read our same night minute items into
the record?
>> thank you mr. Chair. The same night minute items
are 16, 17, 18, 27, 28, 29, 35,
36, 40, 41, 42, and 44. And I so move.
>> our same night
minutes have been moved by vice chair smiley, seconded by
councilman carlisle. Seeing no members in the queue to speak on this item,
madam comptroller, will you please prepare the voting
screen.
>> carlisle, yes, colvett, yes, ford, yes, johnson, yes, morgan, yes,
vice chair smiley, yes, swearengen-washington, yes, warren, yes, german
jones, yes.
>> that item passes.
that brings us to our public
comment section.
we have just two comment cards, the first one is for mr.
raymond neil.
mr. Neal? Okay. We don't have mr.
neal here. Before
we announce, I wanted to announce that
the university of memphis beat the university of
virginia 77-54. University of virginia was ranked in the top 25.
rate job. Okay.
okay.
okay. So, we're at the point of our meeting where this
is my last meeting as chair. So, what I'll do, at
this point, I'm going to pass the gavel for
the chairmanship, for the memphis city council
to chairman elect, mr. Jb smiley jr.
>> applause mac
>> although my gavel is not as shiny, I appreciate it. And to my friend, my brother,
current chair of the memphis city council,
sherman jones, I want to open it up, because it's amazing.
>> thank you.
[ applause ]
>> so, you have the gavel now, what you can do, you can call up mr. Walter
brody.
>> all right, now. Get used
to it. Mr. Brody? The floor is yours, sir.
>> good evening, my name is walter brody, I said
memphis tennessee, 38109, and I've got this scripture, right
here, and it's going to be a scripture, and it got
deuteronomy chapter and verse, and it says you
have passed this mountain long enough, turn you north. Just
a test that you have went through,
all the old and the new, the coming in, I'm
just going into prayer right now, it's been a long day. Heavenly
father, I want to thank you. I want to thank for everything. Father god,
continue to bless all the city council members, father god. Less
the old and the new, father god, continue
to bless the staff members who are working
real hard behind the scenes, father god, father
god, continue to bless wade, bless everybody who come
down here to voice their opinion. Father god, continue to bless
both are mayors, continue to bless the city
council commission, bless our president, our vice
resident, every republican, democrat, bless everybody
in this city, every saint, every sinner, bless everybody all around
the world. Father god, we thank you, we glorify you
in the mighty name of jesus, amen and amen.
>> is that emotion? Adjourned.