2026-10-06 - City Council

00:00[music] You never you still got your

00:03flame.

00:04Light me up. Let me see your fire.

00:08Light me up. Let me see your fire.

00:12Light me up. Let me see your fire.

00:16Light me up. Let me see your fire.

00:20Light me up. [music] Let me see your

00:23fire.

00:24Light me up. Let me see your [music]

00:27fire.

00:35Good morning, Birmingham. Today is

00:37Tuesday, October 6th. The time is 9:39

00:42a.m. I call to order the regular meeting

00:44of the Birmingham City Council. This

00:46morning's invocation will be led by

00:48Reverend Marcus Sims, associate pastor

00:51of Peace Baptist Church, Birmingham,

00:53Alabama. And as Reverend Sims makes his

00:56way up, our pledge of allegiance will be

00:59I will lead us in our pledge of

01:00allegiance. Councelor Smith is on travel

01:02this week. If you'll please join and

01:06stand and join us. Thank you.

01:17Thank you all for having me.

01:19[clears throat]

01:21Let us pray.

01:24Father,

01:25I stretch my hand to thee.

01:29No other help I know. If thou withdraw

01:33thyself from me, whether shall I go?

01:37Father God, when I woke up this morning,

01:40nothing changed. When I laid down last

01:44night and I woke up this morning, you

01:48put

01:50a different perspective in my life.

01:54Father God, I broke my ankle in three

01:58places three years ago. Father God, I

02:01had emergency gallbladder surgery.

02:05And Father God, I'm glad to you still

02:09put my feet on solid ground. Father God,

02:12we thank you for the city council. every

02:16thing that they do for the city of

02:18Birmingham. Father God, guide them,

02:21teach them to

02:24uh guide the young generation that our

02:27forefathers f for different things. Let

02:31us stay focused in November to go vote

02:35cuz all our black folks, Father God, all

02:38we got to do is just show our ID and we

02:41still don't want to do that.

02:43Father God, I thank you for at nine

02:46years old, I told my dad I was boy, he

02:51went and got me a lawnmower, four roses,

02:53and two garbage cans. And Father God, I

02:56thank him for the foundation. I thank

03:00him for being the voice to become a man.

03:05But Father God, as I go to my seat,

03:09instead of giving you 50%, we need to

03:11give you 100%.

03:13In Jesus name, let us all say amen.

03:17>> Amen.

03:18>> And amen.

03:23>> To the flag of the United States of

03:26America.

03:39Thank you so much, Reverend Sims, for

03:41that very thoughtful and inspirational

03:42prayer. At this time, good morning, Mr.

03:45Clerk.

03:46>> Good to see you. If you would please

03:49call the role.

03:52>> Good morning, sir. Council member

03:53O'Quinn,

03:55>> good morning. Council member Smith is

03:57absent. Council member Smither,

03:59>> good morning. Council member Vasa,

04:02>> morning.

04:02>> Good morning, Council Member Williams.

04:05>> Good morning, Council Member Woods.

04:07Morning.

04:07>> Morning, Council President. Pro Tim

04:09Tate.

04:10>> Good morning.

04:11>> Morning, Council President Alexander.

04:13>> Good morning. Thank you very much,

04:14President. At this time, councilors, I'm

04:17asking for a motion and a second to

04:19approve the following previous minutes.

04:22July 7th, 2026.

04:26The meeting of July 14th, 2026,

04:30July 21st, 2026, and July 28th, 2026.

04:37Second

04:39>> by saying I

04:40>> I post say nay. All

04:41>> right. Thank you. Those minutes are

04:43approved. The minutes are not ready from

04:45the meetings of August 4th, 2026 through

04:48September 29th, 2026. At this time,

04:52we'll entertain communications from the

04:53mayor. Good morning, Mayor W.

04:55>> Madam President, good morning to you.

04:56Good morning to the entire council. It's

04:58good to see everybody this morning.

05:01Good morning to the general public.

05:03those who are here in the chamber as

05:06well as those who are watching online.

05:10Uh Madame President and council, just a

05:11few notes.

05:14Um we're doing the state of the

05:15homelessness summit again um for 2026.

05:19Um wanted you to mark your calendars for

05:21Friday, November 6. Um the city of

05:24Birmingham will host the 2026 state of

05:26the homelessness summit.

05:28The summit allows us to bring together

05:30community leaders, service providers,

05:32faith leaders, nonprofits, businesses,

05:36residents, and people with lived

05:37experiences of homelessness to address

05:39one of our cities and communities most

05:41pressing challenges.

05:43The summit will be held on that Friday

05:45from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Bow

05:48Auditorium.

05:50This year's summit carries a theme

05:51beyond awareness to action. um that

05:55keyword action um because the whole idea

05:57is to not just reflect on the city's

05:59focus [snorts] on the conversation and

06:02collaboration but turning the actual um

06:04work into action um for people

06:07experiencing homelessness and h and

06:09housing instability.

06:11Um the good news is we're continuing to

06:13work with our local partners to align

06:14vision, strategy, and resources. And

06:17that's in a big thanks and support of

06:19this council um supporting $3 million

06:21investment out of our general fund um to

06:24address housing and homelessness

06:25services.

06:27Want to encourage you and your residents

06:30um to visit um to one attend this event

06:33um but to learn more on the website at

06:36birmingham.gov/homelessness.

06:40um they there learn more about what this

06:42summit offers as well as all of our own

06:44house strategies.

06:46We also have the Magic City toy drive.

06:49The city of Birmingham once again is

06:50partnering with Alabama 42 for our

06:52annual Magic City toy drive. The drive,

06:56as you know, was created to provide

06:57support for hundreds of less fortunate

07:00Birmingham youth from birth to 10 years

07:02of age

07:04by not only collecting toys and bicycles

07:07um to supplement for their holiday

07:08wishes, but to also be in the position

07:10to put a smile on their face. Families

07:13who are in need of support should

07:14register for help on Thursday, October

07:1722nd at 9:00 a.m. until capacity is

07:21reached. Registration will take place at

07:24the Department of Youth Services. That

07:26address is 1608

07:287th Avenue North. Donations will be

07:31accepted from November 2nd to no to

07:33December 4th. Again, donations will be

07:35accepted from November 2nd to December

07:384th. And for more information, you can

07:40call 205

07:4232079

07:45and or visit birmingham.govdys.

07:52Two more notes, madam president and

07:53council. One being that breast cancer

07:56awareness month. And so at this time I

07:59would like to ask Demetria Harris who's

08:02the marketing and branding coordinator

08:03with the department of human resources

08:06um to join here at the podium and any

08:09guests they may have.

08:12Um Mr. Demetri is here to tell us about

08:13a special event the city and our

08:15partners are hosting this Friday.

08:20Good morning everyone.

08:22>> How y'all doing this morning? So this

08:25Friday, October the 9th, we will be

08:28having our pink power a celebration of

08:30courage breast cancer awareness event.

08:33This event will have two parts. We will

08:35start in the morning 10:00 a.m. on the

08:37second floor of city hall in the hall of

08:40distinguished citizens. We will feature

08:42Miss Angela Hunter from My Beauty for

08:44Ashes. She will share her story and talk

08:46about her organization. And then we will

08:49also have Dr. Katisha Vance. She will do

08:51a Q&A session. Um people can ask

08:54questions, debunk some myths about

08:57breast cancer and just educate

08:59themselves. And then we will move the

09:01event outdoors for their pink for our

09:03pink festival. We will have more vendors

09:06that you see here. They will have

09:09educational resources and giveaways. And

09:11then we will also have line dancing, a

09:14big reveal at 11:45, and the highlight

09:17of the day at 1:00 will be our survival

09:19walk where we will honor our breast

09:21cancer warriors with a walk around Lynn

09:24Park. So, I'm going to move out of the

09:25way and let some of our organizations

09:28speak to you.

09:30>> Good morning, council. My name is Angela

09:32Hunter. I'm the founder of My Beauty for

09:34Ashes. Um, My Beauty for Ashes was

09:37founded in 2019. I was 36 years old,

09:41diagnosed with stage three, her two

09:43positive breast cancer. Um, throughout

09:45my diagnosis, I did experience financial

09:48toxicity. Um, I think a lot of times

09:51people don't know how much an person has

09:54to pay when it comes to cancer care. And

09:57so, when I was on the other side of

09:59cancer, I wanted to be able to give back

10:01to those who were fighting a battle that

10:02I didn't want to have to fight. And so,

10:04my Beauty was founded. We have um given

10:08grants to about 34 women nationwide. And

10:12we help with mortgages, car notes, um

10:15co-pays, mammograms, whatever a a person

10:18might need going through breast cancer.

10:20And so we're excited to be here today um

10:22and excited for this this month. Um the

10:26world always turns pink in October, but

10:28I like to remind people that breast

10:30cancer happens every day, not just the

10:32month of October.

10:38Good morning, council. My name is

10:39Chenique Stinson. I'm the president of

10:41Sisters Can Survive. We are a 501c3

10:44organization and we help the women here

10:46in Birmingham with co-pays, medical

10:50expenses that you may have um helping

10:52them with their mortgages, um gas,

10:55stipens, just someone to be there with

10:57them when they go on their doctor's

10:58visits or have surgeries or whatever. Um

11:01we are there for them. Um, the founder

11:04of Sisters Cancer Vivor is Sister

11:06Telicia Harris, who's a three-time

11:08breast cancer survivor. And I myself am

11:11a 19-year breast cancer survivor on

11:13Friday. Um, we have Thank you.

11:19We have Sister Donna Logan. She's one of

11:21our ambassadors. So to keep things from

11:24being just on myself, the um president

11:27and the vice president, we have started

11:29having ambassadors where they can go

11:31throughout the city of Birmingham and

11:34not just address women who come to us,

11:36but we get the word out there with

11:38literature and education and letting the

11:41sisters who may encounter this journey

11:44that they'll never walk alone. Thank

11:46you.

11:51>> Good morning. Good morning. I'm just so

11:53honored and thankful to be here. My name

11:55is Loretta Herring. I am the co-founder

11:58of Cancer Awareness Network and this

12:00organization has been around next year.

12:03It'll be 30 years and I'm so excited

12:06about that. I'm also excited because I'm

12:09a 16-year breast cancer survivor. Had a

12:12reoccurrence a couple of years ago. So,

12:14I'm still getting past that. But what

12:17I'm so excited about is for uh the mayor

12:20of Birmingham and you guys to pull

12:22together something that we can all rally

12:25around and celebrate cancer breast

12:27cancer survivors even though our

12:29organization service all cancers. The

12:32main thing that I'm really excited about

12:34is that we've been able to set up

12:36different type of resources for cancer

12:38patients. You I gave you all a brochure

12:41and some flyers. Uh our 5K is coming up

12:44next Saturday. I hope you guys can come

12:46out and help us celebrate. The funds we

12:49raise for our organization go to cancer

12:52patients that's struggling with

12:54financial toxicities. We help them with

12:56co-ay, transportation,

12:59uh whatever their needs are. We don't

13:00take them through a lot of drama about

13:02filling out forms, but we have to be

13:05accountable, right? So, we have a

13:07program that we fund. We give away over

13:09$10,000 every year to cancer patients

13:12struggling with these financial

13:14stressors. We also have a telealth

13:16digital literacy program where we teach

13:18seniors, cancers and co and caregivers

13:21how to operate these cell phones so they

13:24can have effective communication with

13:26their healthcare providers. Our seniors

13:28are struggling with technology. I'm a

13:31senior. I almost cried trying to park

13:33this morning because and I still didn't

13:35get the parking right. Don't send me a

13:37ticket. And we also have another program

13:40that is called peer support. is a peer

13:42match program where we match young new

13:45diagnosed cancer patients with senior

13:47cancer patients to help them walk that

13:49journey along. Those programs that we

13:51have have gotten funded through other

13:53funding sources, but our fundraisers

13:56help us with our financial assistance.

13:58So, I encourage you guys to really come

14:00out next Saturday. We'll be at Spring

14:02Street Park in Adamsville. This is our

14:0511th anniversary of this walk. So read

14:08the brochure, send us some cancer

14:10patients, anybody you know struggling,

14:12let us know so we can help them. Thank

14:14you.

14:17>> Thank you.

14:18>> Good morning. My name is Lauren Roberts

14:20and I have the privilege of serving as

14:22executive director of Gorge Breast

14:23Cancer Survivors Center. We were created

14:26as a pilot project in 2016 by the

14:28Community Foundation of Greater

14:30Birmingham and the five health care

14:32systems here to try to really address

14:34the gaps in services from the day you

14:37find out that you have breast cancer

14:38through the rest of life. So, we've been

14:40doing this for 10 years now. We became a

14:42501c3 in 2020. Um, we now went from

14:46serving the five counties surrounding

14:48Birmingham to the entire state of

14:50Alabama and as of 2025, the entire state

14:52of Mississippi. Um, last year we

14:56supported over 11,000 breast cancer

14:58patients and survivors and paid almost

15:01$300,000

15:03in mortgages, rent, car notes, child

15:06care, bed bug treatment, whatever it is

15:09that is getting in the way of you being

15:11able to take time off of work and go to

15:14treatment. um gas cards, lift rides,

15:16mental health counseling for patients,

15:18children, family, anything that's an

15:21obstacle, we want to solve that. In the

15:23two states that are leaders,

15:24unfortunately, in breast cancer

15:26mortality, we feel like if we can get

15:28you to and through treatment, we can

15:30change those statistics. Thank you for

15:32having us.

15:37So, that's all that we have for right

15:39now, but again, we just would like for

15:41you guys to join us this Friday starting

15:43at 10:00 a.m. on the second floor and

15:46right outside on Short 20th Street at

15:4811:30. Thank you,

15:52[applause]

15:53>> Miss Harris and Mayor Woodman. Thank you

15:55so much for bringing these community

15:58partners in and telling us about their

16:00work. We know October is breast cancer

16:03awareness month. So, we thank you for

16:04what you're doing for the city as well

16:06as what all of these partners are doing

16:08for families that are affected by

16:10cancer. Uh for those counselors who were

16:12here during the COVID years, I want to

16:15remind you that Miss Harris was um the

16:18person that came up and always was um

16:21shooting um stuff on the microphone for

16:24us. So, she kept us safe and now look at

16:27her now. She's over there in HR doing

16:29her thing. Thank you so much,

16:32[applause]

16:33>> Madam Madam President. Council, we have

16:36one more note of importance related to

16:39other community partners um doing really

16:42important work. Um so at this time I

16:45would like to ask Council Darl Quinn um

16:48to the podium along with our partners at

16:50the YWCA

16:52and One Place Metro Alabama Family

16:55Justice Center. I'm not sure why they're

16:57still sitting sitting down.

17:00um and taking their time. They can do

17:01what they want to do, but as they come

17:03up, um October is domestic violence

17:07awareness month. And madam president and

17:09council, I think the best way I can

17:11frame this is

17:13um while we love the trend of violent

17:18crime decreasing and that it's it's

17:20helpful and safe for our residents

17:22around um gun violence and

17:26um felony assaults and crimes against

17:28properties. Um, one thing that's glaring

17:31is domestic violence. And domestic

17:33violence happens, majority of domestic

17:36violence happen in places where police

17:37can't be, right? They happen inside of

17:40homes and inside of apartments in inside

17:43of cars. They tend to happen in private

17:45settings where other people are not

17:47around.

17:49And while BPD continues to try to do

17:51everything it can, they can't do it

17:53alone. And so, um, these men and women

17:56you see here, um, three are going to

17:58speak. uh one being Dr. Daryl Quinn, the

18:02other being Monica Y. Shields, who's the

18:04executive director for domestic violence

18:06services for the YWCA,

18:09and the other is Rebecca Williams um who

18:11will also speak um as a as a director

18:13for One Place Alabama Family Justice

18:16Center. Um, I think their perspective

18:18and the hard work they're doing to

18:20address this issue and how we have to

18:23find better ways to protect victims of

18:25domestic violence as as well as offer

18:31uh a exit ramp that's safe for them, if

18:33that makes any sense. Um, for existing

18:36victims or potential victims. Um, it's

18:39incumbent upon all of us and so I'll let

18:41them come at this time and speak in

18:42their own way. Who's first?

18:48Good morning.

18:51Thank you for having us.

18:55My name is Rebecca McWills. I'm the

18:58executive director of One Place Metro

19:00Alabama Family Justice Center. On behalf

19:03of our board of directors, our staff,

19:06and the survivors we serve every day, I

19:09want to extend our gratitude to Mayor

19:11Woodfin and the Birmingham City Council

19:14for your efforts and support in bringing

19:17awareness to and recognizing the

19:19importance of addressing domestic

19:22violence in our community.

19:25Domestic violence is a public health and

19:28a public safety crisis in Birmingham. It

19:32is not just something that takes place

19:34in the home behind closed doors.

19:38In fact, just last week, Chief Picket

19:40shared that while total violent crime is

19:43down, domestic violence cases are up

19:4618%.

19:48[snorts] This spills out into our

19:50neighborhoods through violence,

19:52addiction, homelessness, joblessness,

19:55physical and mental health issues, and

19:58through our children. Domestic violence

20:01perpetuates the generational cycle of

20:05violence, poverty, and trauma that

20:08affects so many communities.

20:11So, as we work to lead a coordinated

20:15community response to domestic and

20:17sexual violence that protects survivors,

20:20promotes healing, and holds offenders

20:24accountable.

20:25I stand here representing not just the

20:28team at one place, but of all the

20:31community partners that join us in this

20:33work. Birmingham Police Department, the

20:36YW.CA, CA, the Hispanic and Immigrant

20:39Center of Alabama,

20:41Legal Services of Alabama, the Crisis

20:45Center, Safe House of Shelby County, the

20:48Black Women's Mental Health Institute,

20:50UAB Medical Center, the Jefferson County

20:53Sheriff's Office, the District

20:55Attorney's Office, the US Attorney's

20:58Office, Birmingham Municipal Courts, our

21:01City Attorney's Office, and the City of

21:04Birmingham, just to name a you. It is

21:08not on an individual victim to solve

21:10their domestic violence crisis. It is

21:13the responsibility of all of us. We are

21:16all in this together. We must be part of

21:19the solution.

21:21Thank you for joining us in this work to

21:23build safer communities where survivors

21:26are believed and our systems work

21:29together united against domestic and

21:32sexual violence. systems that ensure

21:35safety and justice for survivors, help

21:38to break the cycle of generational

21:40violence, and uphold the belief that

21:43everyone has the right to live a life

21:46that is safe and free of violence. Thank

21:49you.

21:53>> [applause]

21:56>> Good morning, um, mayor, members of the

21:59city council, distinguished guests,

22:02community partners, members of our

22:04community. I am Monica Shields, and I'm

22:07currently serving in the role as the

22:09executive director for the domestic

22:11violence services for the YW.CA.

22:14Thank you so much for having us today.

22:18We are not simply recognizing a monk. We

22:21are recognizing lives. We are

22:24recognizing the mother who is trying to

22:28protect her children. The survivor who

22:31is quietly planning her next step toward

22:34safety. The child who has witnessed

22:38violence in a place that should have

22:41been their safest place. and the

22:45individual who may be sitting in this

22:48room or watching from somewhere else and

22:52wondering if anyone sees what they are

22:56experiencing.

22:58We see you. We see you and our community

23:03must see you. October is domestic

23:08violence awareness month, but domestic

23:11violence does not take a month off. It

23:15impacts our families, our neighborhoods,

23:18our workplace, our schools, and

23:21ultimately the health and safety of our

23:25entire community. That is why I am so

23:29grateful to stand before you today on

23:33behalf of the YW.CA CA Central Alabama,

23:36our CEO, Rashidita Workman, and our

23:40board president, Aaron Stevenson. Our

23:44work is centered on one fundamental

23:48belief. Survivors deserve safety,

23:52dignity, choice, and the opportunity to

23:57build a life free from violence. across

24:01Jefferson, Blunt, and St. Clair

24:04counties. Our team at the YW.CA

24:08works daily to make that belief a

24:11reality. While we provide emergency

24:15shelter, a 24-hour crisis line,

24:18advocacy, legal services, counseling,

24:22support group, housing assistance, and

24:25education, as well as working diligently

24:29to connect individuals to resources that

24:33help survivors move from crisis to

24:36stability. But as important as those

24:40services are, we know that the solution

24:44does not rest with one agency. It takes

24:49all of us. As Rebecca stated, it takes a

24:53city that understands that domestic

24:56violence is a public safety issue. It

25:01takes leaders who are willing to listen

25:04to survivors and support systems that

25:09make safety possible. It takes law

25:12enforcement, courts, health care

25:16providers, educators, employers, faith

25:20communities, nonprofit organizations,

25:23and community members all working

25:26together. And it takes elected

25:29leadership like yourselves willing to

25:32say publicly, violence in our homes is

25:36not a private matter when it threatens

25:39the safety and well-being of our

25:42community. Mayor, today I want to thank

25:47you and this city council for giving us

25:50the opportunity to bring this message

25:53into your space. Holding space for this

25:57message is important because when our

26:01city recognizes domestic violence

26:04awareness month, it sends a message that

26:07matters. It tells survivors that their

26:10experiences are not invisible. It tells

26:14children that violence is not normal. It

26:19tells those who cause harm in our

26:22community that we will not remain silent

26:27and it tells advocates and service

26:30providers that we do not carry this

26:34responsibility

26:35alone. But recognition is only the

26:39beginning. We need awareness that leads

26:43to action. We need action that leads to

26:48prevention. And we need prevention that

26:51leads to safer families and safer

26:54communities. So today, I ask that we

26:58continue to have the conversation beyond

27:02this month. Mayor and members of the

27:05council, we invite you to continue

27:08standing with us, not just today, but

27:12throughout the year. Let October be the

27:16month when we raise awareness, but every

27:20month be an opportunity to continue to

27:24raise our commitment to stop violence

27:28within our communities. Thank you.

27:33>> [applause]

27:38>> Just want to take a moment to thank

27:39these two organizations that do vitally

27:44important work.

27:46Um, and I want to thank you, Mr. Mayor,

27:48and my fellow council members for also

27:51supporting them. Um, I think it's also

27:54important to take a moment to recognize

27:59uh two individuals in our community that

28:02are really making a difference. And um,

28:04one of those is Chief Michael Picket who

28:08um, with his, you know, officers has

28:13worked with these organizations to help

28:15them recognize the signs of domestic

28:18violence. And Rebecca mentioned that,

28:21you know, the the

28:24arrests have gone up 18% and and part of

28:27that um is I believe attributable to

28:32police officers recognizing

28:35um you know some of the signs of

28:37domestic violences and acting on those

28:39and and so

28:41um I think that's making a real

28:43difference. Uh, the other individual who

28:47I I think deserves tremendous accolades

28:50is District Attorney Danny Carr.

28:53Um, in 2016, Jefferson County had 4,000

28:59untested rape kits that dated back to

29:031986.

29:05Uh, it was recently announced that they

29:08are nearing completion of testing those

29:10rate kits. um out of the 4,000 they've

29:14gotten uh about a thousand that have

29:19uh correlate the DNA has correlated to

29:22the national database.

29:25Um, so

29:28just goes to show you how vitally

29:30important, you know, getting that

29:34backlog of cases done. And, you know,

29:39I I can't imagine

29:41being in a situation

29:43where I'm a victim of that type of

29:46violence

29:48and feeling forgotten and left behind.

29:52So,

29:54with all my heart, I I want to thank uh

29:57District Attorney Danny Carr and all of

30:01the individuals who have been involved

30:03in that project um for

30:06bringing those victims uh some justice

30:10and

30:13allowing them to not feel left behind.

30:17Um giving them a chance for justice. So

30:22all of that to say um this is a vitally

30:26important issue and we recognize and see

30:30you and thank you earnestly for your

30:33work.

30:34>> Thank you councelor and thank you all.

30:37Thank you all so much madam president

30:39and council.

30:40>> Yes. Thank you all. Thank you again,

30:41Mayor Wooden, and also thank you,

30:44Councelor Quinn, for bringing these two

30:46groups together and just reminding us of

30:48the work that you all do in our

30:50communities, not just in the month of

30:51October, as you said, but throughout the

30:54year. I want to um thank you, Council

30:56Quinn. I believe it was when I first

30:58became a member of the council. you gave

31:00us an opportunity to visit one place

31:02Metro and out of all the services and

31:05the information you gave us that day. I

31:08think what hit me the most was the

31:10statistic around if he chokes you more

31:13than likely he'll turn around and the

31:16result will be not that good. And um so

31:19you just need to keep that in mind. And

31:21we see what's in the community and in

31:23the news right now about domestic

31:25violence and um how it's affecting our

31:28community. So, I really want to thank

31:30you all for the work that you do. Thank

31:31you so much,

31:32>> Madam President.

31:33>> Yes, counselor.

31:34>> Thank you, Mayor Wolfin and Councelor

31:36O'Quinn um for bringing these two

31:38organizations and thank you councelor

31:40O'Quinn for supporting them. Um

31:43this issue is very dear to my heart

31:45because when I was at Alabama Law

31:47School, I worked at the domestic

31:48violence clinic. So, I helped on the

31:50legal side and I want to commend you all

31:53for the work because you guys do every

31:55day what I just did for a semester. And

31:57I remember being so disappointed when I

32:00worked with my client, you know, we were

32:02getting to court and then she basically

32:04ghosted me. And I [snorts] remember one

32:06client that happened and I called her

32:07and she's like, "Well, I'm back with my

32:09husband." Da da. But I was like, "No,

32:11like you can't go back." But that one of

32:13my first things cuz I had my practice

32:15card was getting a PFA for my

32:1717-year-old client because, you know,

32:19there's a loophole sometimes where

32:22parents can signed off for minors to be

32:24married early and her husband who was

32:26also young uh was abusing her. So, that

32:29gave me a win. But it's really also very

32:32special to me because my college best

32:34friend was in an abusive relationship.

32:36And I've talked about it before how I

32:38was conflicted because he was my friend.

32:42He was a friend of the guy I was dating

32:44and she had confided in me like, "Hey,

32:47like da da." And she had long pretty

32:49hair. Would pull her hair down the

32:51stairs of the apartment. And she was

32:54telling me these things. Of course, I

32:55was only like 20, so like I didn't know

32:57what to do because I was conflicted cuz

32:59you know, he was the popular guy and the

33:01whole scenario. [snorts] And I just

33:03remember seeing him push her and I was

33:05just and you know I would look kind of

33:06strange to be like well that's not cool

33:08but I was so scared to speak up. And so

33:12um after that I was like I want to make

33:14sure to just always help people. And you

33:17know I've known other people personally

33:19with it and men get abused too that's

33:22not talked about enough and how they're

33:23scared to report it because they don't

33:26want to look you know weak or why did

33:28you let a woman um a woman beat on you?

33:31But I just I really commend you all. I

33:34thank you so so much for what you do

33:36because you know a lot of people don't

33:38realize you can be married and abuse and

33:40that's even harder because domestic

33:42violence is not just physical abuse is

33:44financial abuse. It is mental abuse. I

33:48mean it's so many different type of

33:49abuses. And I was just telling somebody

33:52before I finished that, you know, a lot

33:54of people they have to think look at

33:56victims from a non-judgmental standpoint

33:58because you think why can't she leave?

34:00Why? Just just leave. If they hit you

34:02the first time, why can't they leave?

34:04And not knowing they have kids, they may

34:06not have a job anymore. So, I just want

34:08to thank all of you all for the work

34:09that you do. And if there's anything I

34:11can do to help you, please let me know.

34:14>> Thank you. Thank you again.

34:16>> Thank you,

34:19>> Madam President and council. That

34:21concludes the mayor's report.

34:22>> Thank you, Mayor Whiten. At this time,

34:24Mr. Clerk, do you have announcement of

34:26boards and agency expirations for

34:28November?

34:28>> Uh, yes, ma'am. We have one with the

34:31zoning board of adjustments, Daryl

34:33Varnner. It's a building contractor.

34:36Term expires 11:2526

34:39and it's 7-year term is on the planning

34:41and zoning committee.

34:42>> All right. Thank you. We'll refer that

34:43to planning and zoning so they can work

34:45on uh looking at that particular

34:48expiration. At this time, counselors,

34:50we're ready to consider

34:53items that are being considered for

34:55consent. Before we go through those

34:56items, I'd like to read the statement

34:59regarding all items designated as

35:01consent are routine and

35:03non-controversial and will be approved

35:05by one motion. All items on the consent

35:08agenda will be announced by reading the

35:10item numbers only. No separate

35:12discussion of these items will be

35:14permitted unless a council member or the

35:17mayor requests the item be removed from

35:19the consent agenda. Additionally, a

35:21citizen interested in addressing the

35:24council with respect to an item on the

35:26consent agenda designated for a public

35:28hearing, as with a small PH, may request

35:31the item be removed from the consent

35:33agenda to hold the hearing on the item.

35:35Any items removed from the consent

35:37agenda will revert to its normal place

35:40on the agenda order of business. For

35:42remaining matters, all matters of

35:44permanent operation that's indicated

35:46with a capital P will be read and all

35:49public hearings will be announced. Mr.

35:51Clerk, if you'll read the items to be

35:53considered for consent.

35:54>> Yes, ma'am. Consent agenda starts on

35:57page two with items one, two, and three.

36:01Page three, items four, five,

36:04[clears throat] excuse me, six and seven

36:05are on consent.

36:07Page four, items 9, 10, 11, and 12 are

36:10on consent.

36:12Page five, items 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17

36:16are on consent. Page six, items 18, 19,

36:1920, 21, and 22 are on consent. Page

36:22seven, items 23, 24, 25, and 20, 26, and

36:2827 are on consent. Page eight, we have

36:31items 28, 29, 30, 31, and 32 on consent.

36:34Page 9, items 33, 34, 35, and 36.

36:40Page 10, items 37, 38, 39.

36:44Page 11, items 40, 41, 42, and 43. Page

36:4912, 40. Items 44, 45, and 46. Page 13.

36:55Items 47, 48, 49, and 50. Page 14. Items

37:0151, 52, 53, and 54. Page 15, we have

37:06items 55, 56, and 57. Uh, page 16, items

37:1258, 59, 60, 61, 62, and 63. And we

37:18conclude with item number 65 on page 17.

37:20And we have one amendment item.

37:23>> Thank you, Mr. Clerk. At this time,

37:25counselors, are there any items you'd

37:27like to have added or removed? And we do

37:30have the um additional item 66. Any

37:34items you'd like to have added or

37:35removed?

37:36>> Yes,

37:37>> councelor Smith.

37:40>> Right, counselors, the request is to add

37:42item 66 for consent.

37:46Any other items? Council,

37:49>> can we please remove item two on page

37:52two as well as item five on page three?

37:56>> Okay. And the request is removed. Item

37:58two on page two from consent and item

38:02five on page three from consent.

38:07Any other items?

38:08>> Madam President.

38:09>> Yes. Council,

38:10>> could we withdraw item 45, please?

38:13>> And that's item 45. Has been requested

38:16to be removed from consent. And that's

38:18um on page 12.

38:22Any other items? All right. At this

38:25time, I'll ask for a motion and a second

38:28to approve the consent agenda.

38:30>> Some

38:39voting should be open about.

38:47>> All right.

38:51>> I'm an I.

38:52>> Okay.

38:53Thank you, sir. Uh, that vote should be

38:55up, Madam President.

38:56>> All right. Thank you, counselors. Those

38:58items that are be considered for consent

39:00have been approved. And for anyone in

39:02the audience for any of those items, we

39:04will continue now with the rest of our

39:06agenda. And your item has been approved.

39:08First item, Mr. Clerk,

39:10>> item two. And I'm sorry. Yeah, we two.

39:14Is it two? Did we remove two?

39:16>> Yes.

39:16>> Yes. Item two, an ordinance to further

39:19amend the neighborhood revitalization

39:21fund budget for the fiscal year ending

39:23June 30, 2027 by appropriating

39:26$69,699.33

39:29to the office of city attorney for

39:31neighborhood revitalization

39:33soldiers or settlements funds from

39:35opioid litigation. Motion, please.

39:39>> All right. Thank you, councilors. This

39:41is an ordinance to further amend the

39:43neighborhood revitalization fund budget

39:45and by appropriating 69 $699.33

39:50cents to the office of the city attorney

39:53for neighborhood revitalization.

39:54Councelor Williams, you asked that we

39:56remove that from consent.

39:58>> Yeah, I some questions about this. So

40:01which which specific settlement is this

40:05from and how is it different from the

40:07ones that were used for that Oasis

40:10project?

40:12>> So this is from the remnant settlements

40:16and I can give you the parties. Um, this

40:18is associated with pharmacies, American

40:22Associated Pharmacies, JM Smith

40:24Corporation, Louisiana Wholesale Drug

40:27Company, North Carolina Mutual Company.

40:30It's it's a a list.

40:32>> Okay. So, is I guess so is this are

40:34there, you know, there there's been a

40:36lot of parameters around some of the

40:38opioid money we've received. Is this

40:41some separate litigation that the city

40:43was involved in that does not have the

40:45parameters or does this have the same

40:47type of parameters that the state

40:51attorney general wanted us to follow?

40:54>> Right? It's it's all combined. And so

40:56what this does is everything has to be

40:58screened from our office before it can

41:01be allocated anywhere else. So we have

41:03to have the first glance to make sure

41:05that everything is appropriated

41:06properly.

41:07>> Okay. And so how I guess so this is

41:11going to the neighborhood revitalization

41:13fund budget. I guess my question is how

41:16is that?

41:20So this remember part of the approved

41:22uses and I don't have the full list but

41:24a part of the approved goes to um police

41:28safe fire safety it goes to opioid

41:31treatment opioid counseling um training

41:34mechanisms

41:36as well

41:38>> but none of those things would be in the

41:40neighborhood revitalization budget if I

41:43understand that budget correctly. police

41:45and fire

41:47whatnot.

41:48>> It does have to go through with safety

41:51treatment concerns as well.

41:56>> If you recall, we we handle a lot of

41:58cases through DNA and that also is

42:02involved.

42:03>> So, is it is DNA the neighborhood rev

42:06revitalization?

42:07>> Those funds go to the neighborhood

42:08revitalization fund. Yes, that's

42:09correct.

42:15I guess I'm still confus maybe I'm

42:18confused about that but um

42:22>> okay

42:25so council is some of the confusion are

42:27you looking at what that fund or that

42:29particular fund

42:32is allocated

42:34how it's designated to be used

42:36>> yeah I mean like I thought the

42:37neighborhood rev revitalization fund we

42:39were using for paving streets for paving

42:42sidewalks. Um, am I thinking of a

42:45different fund?

42:47>> So, all of that, so the neighborhood

42:49revitalization fund goes towards the

42:53rehabilitation, the treatment, and it

42:55also goes towards mechanisms to improve

42:58the community.

43:00>> Okay. So, I guess we're saying that

43:01those funds can be used towards DNA. Is

43:03that what I'm

43:04>> Got it. Okay.

43:06>> Thank you. believe our budget and

43:09finance chair, councelor Woods, did you

43:11have something to add or a question?

43:12>> I was going to add some context if

43:14needed.

43:15>> Okay.

43:15>> Very good.

43:17>> He's good.

43:19>> Any other questions regarding this item?

43:21All right. Thank you, counselors. We're

43:23ready for the vote.

43:32>> That vote should be

43:33>> all right. Thank you. Item number two

43:35passes. Next item

43:36>> should be item number five. A resolution

43:39authorizing the mayor to execute and

43:40deliver, excuse me, an agreement with

43:42Flourish Alabama under which the

43:44Flourish Alabama shall provide the

43:46following community engagement

43:48initiatives, neighborhood environment

43:49initiatives for youth and young adults,

43:52education and technology programs which

43:54include music, art and health awareness,

43:57community gardens and cleanup

43:58initiatives. The term of the agreement

44:00shall end on June 30th, 2027 and the

44:04city shall pay. the floor Alabama an

44:06amount not to exceed $100,000.

44:09>> Motion.

44:11>> All right. Thank you, counselors. This

44:13is a resolution authorizing the mayor to

44:15execute and deliver an agreement with

44:16the flourish Alabama which includes uh

44:20several initiatives uh that would be

44:22undertaken in the community. Let I know

44:26councelor Williams you asked this to be

44:27removed and the source of this um

44:31request is this a council request

44:34councelor I mean administrator McDaniels

44:38sorry

44:39>> yes ma'am it's a request submitted by

44:40district 8

44:41>> okay so district 8 all right and does

44:44that answer thank you all right thank

44:46you all any other questions related to

44:47this item all right we're ready for the

44:49vote

44:53Okay,

44:54that vote should be up.

44:56>> All right, thank you. Item five passes.

44:59Next item

44:59>> should be item eight, a resolution

45:01appointing three members to the

45:03Birmingham Historical Commission at the

45:05recommendation of the mayor. Two

45:07representatives at large members terms

45:09expiring February the 3rd, 2029. And one

45:13professional historian member to fill

45:15the unexpired term of Lauren not uh

45:18resign term expiring February 3rd, 2027.

45:23All right, counselors, we need a motion

45:24and a second to bring these names

45:26forward.

45:29Second.

45:30>> All right. Thank you. This is a

45:31resolution where we'll be appointing

45:33three members to the Birmingham

45:34Historical Commission. And I believe

45:36these appointments are recommended by

45:37the mayor, Mayor Whiten.

45:47>> Madam President, I apologize.

45:48>> That's okay. verify some information

45:50with a team member now.

45:52>> Okay. Thank you. If we can, we can table

45:55this one and come back to it.

45:58>> Yes, ma'am.

45:58>> All right. Thank you. So, we'll table

46:00item eight and we'll go on now with the

46:02rest of the agenda. Do I need the

46:04motion? Oh,

46:07>> here we go. Thank you. If you give us

46:10your name and

46:12Good morning. My name is Hannah Garmin.

46:14I serve as the historic preservation

46:16manager for the city. Um we have put

46:18forward three names. One um is Marjgerie

46:22Wide who is the uh emmeritus chair at

46:26the Birmingham Historical Society. One

46:28is Roy Stoves who works for Urban

46:30Impact. And then the other is um excuse

46:35me the other is um

46:38I'm sorry I

46:43Stuart Steuart Oats who's the sexton at

46:46Oak Hill Cemetery. Um these went to PNZ

46:50and were recommended. Um and they will

46:52one will serve out a remaining term and

46:55then the other two are for three-year

46:57term.

46:58>> All right. Thank you council. Any

46:59questions regarding those nominations or

47:02appointments?

47:04All right, we're ready to entertain the

47:06vote. Thank you.

47:11>> Gotcha.

47:13Council member.

47:15>> That vote should be up.

47:19>> All right. Thank you very much. Item

47:21eight passes. We appreciate the uh

47:23designating appointment of these three

47:26members to the Birmingham Historical

47:27Commission. Next item.

47:30>> Uh item I think we pulled 45.

47:33>> Yes.

47:34>> Item 45.

47:36A resolution accepting and approving the

47:38bid of Oracle America Incorporated,

47:40Redwood Shores, California for cloud

47:43solutions, including software as a

47:46service platform as a service and

47:50infrastructure as a service as needed at

47:53unit prices on file office of the

47:54assistant purchasing agent for a period

47:57of 120 days contingent upon council

48:00approval for the information management

48:02services department per the NASPO value

48:05point Master agreement contract number

48:07AR 2487. Motion approved. So move.

48:13>> All right. Thank you counselors. This is

48:14a resolution accepting and approving the

48:17bid of Oracle uh for software and

48:20platforms for a period of 120 days.

48:23Council, you ask we remove this from

48:25consent.

48:25>> Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Madam President.

48:27Um I was just looking for more

48:28information. Uh I may have skipped it

48:30but could not find uh information in the

48:33attachment. So just looking for more

48:35clarity on on what this item is about.

48:38>> Thank you. Council of Vasa

48:40administration. Do you have some

48:41information to share?

48:42>> Yes, ma'am. Madam President, councelor

48:44Vasa. So the so our IMS team is engaging

48:47Oracle. It's really for um both service

48:50governance, service requests, critical

48:53business monitoring. So it's engaging

48:55the corporation that actually

48:56facilitates our Oracle system. It's

48:59really more for the technical assistance

49:00they'll provide.

49:06Council Williams.

49:08>> So now I'm actually confused what we're

49:10doing. Um, you know, I've gotten nothing

49:12but complaints from any single city

49:14staff [snorts] member that could

49:15possibly stop me about this Oracle roll

49:18out. Um,

49:20>> what city?

49:21>> Uhhuh. So, um, so is is this to help

49:26with fixing the issues that

49:31exist with, uh, with Oracle or is this

49:35more of like a tech is this a technical

49:37support thing or is this help with the

49:40issues that are going on with Oracle?

49:42>> So, it's both. So, the issues that are

49:44going on are technical in nature. So,

49:46Oracle support is being engaged to help

49:49with issues with Oracle. So it's it's

49:52both. So the issues that are being

49:54raised, Oracle needs to be engaged to

49:56address the issues with the platform

49:58that they've created. What's the funding

50:00amount for or is this included with the

50:03original agreement?

50:12>> It's coming out of IMS account um for

50:16>> from the ERP system.

50:19Is there a funding amount? Because I

50:22don't have

50:23>> I don't have the included in our packet.

50:26I didn't we don't have that funding, I

50:28don't believe.

50:32>> Get in it now, Madam President.

50:34>> Thank you.

51:08While we're waiting on that information,

51:11is it okay if we go ahead to item? Have

51:14you got it yet?

51:14>> 315,000.

51:17>> 315,000.

51:33it's recommended by the purchasing agent

51:35and the chief information officer. I

51:38mean, yeah, for IMS.

51:45>> So, I guess my question is, do bids

51:47usually go to committee?

51:49This is this is a cooperative. Um it

51:51doesn't go through a bid.

51:54>> We're already engaging the same

51:55organization. That's

51:57>> we've already bided out for the service

51:59to begin with.

52:02>> That satisfy

52:02>> additional this additional work on top

52:04of what they've already been engaging in

52:06to help address um your colleagues

52:09concerns about city employees walking up

52:12to them talking to them about their

52:14complaints about Oracle.

52:19Hope does that answer your question,

52:21council?

52:23>> Yes.

52:24>> Any other questions, comments regarding

52:26this item? Yes, council.

52:30>> Um, so just clarity, this is a standing

52:33agreement that already has some unit

52:36costs built in that we're tapping back

52:38into.

52:44>> Yes, sir. Any

52:49other questions? Thank you.

52:50>> Just one question.

52:52>> We've had Oracle for what about a year

52:55or two? Have we assessed the

52:57effectiveness of transitioning to

52:59Oracle?

53:00>> It hasn't been a year. Oracle rolled out

53:02January one of this year. There have

53:05been significant challenges. Any type of

53:07major overhaul roll out. um you deal

53:10with a system of such magnitude that

53:11literally touches every part of your um

53:14systems from HR to finance personnel um

53:19and and a litany of things I'm not

53:21naming what we have been able to do is

53:25um have a significant deep dive on

53:28addressing those issues. Um, Chief

53:30Sparks has taken the lead on not just

53:33troubleshooting, um, but putting

53:34everybody at the table between our

53:37department heads, um, as well as our

53:40external vendors and partners who are

53:41addressing this. Um, they're being held

53:44to a standard um, to address um, but

53:47there was also a recommendation um, to

53:50troubleshoot and to kind of close the

53:52gap on some of these major issues. Um,

53:55this additional support is needed to

53:57close those gaps.

53:59Um, in an ideal world, um, you know, any

54:03new system you roll out doesn't have any

54:05kinks, but something of this magnitude

54:08to the tune of that many multi-million

54:10dollars, but over literally overhauls

54:12your entire system. So think every

54:15department, think every major artery

54:18within the department which would be

54:19IMS, finance, HR um

54:25would be lying to you if it told you it

54:27was without any challenges. And so all

54:30those concerns and I wasn't being

54:32flipped. There are genuine concerns. We

54:35really really want to address them.

54:40>> I believe you.

54:41>> I believe you.

54:44I don't know.

54:45>> Yes, sir. So,

54:48I think I think Chief Sparks will put a

54:51button on what I said in a better way

54:52because he's literally like been a like

54:55taken the charge on getting this right.

54:59Any additional comment?

55:01>> No, I I think the mayor has noted it. I

55:03think the complaints that you all have

55:05seen the vendor issues a part of what

55:07we've done is troubleshoot workshop to

55:09see okay why are those things happening

55:12so alignment has now happened and the

55:15Oracle engagement helps with that

55:17because obviously if they're the ones

55:19facilitating the system when there's a

55:21breakdown you want the people that are

55:23facilitating the system to be able to

55:24guide you on how to rectify issues that

55:26hasn't been in place that's what we're

55:28looking to do now

55:30>> okay Um

55:34I'm almost of the mind madam president

55:37when we get to the one year mark getting

55:39the update on the system and kind of see

55:42if it's been effective how well have the

55:45employees very

55:46>> you know adjusted even our own

55:48department cuz

55:51>> we

55:52>> I'm not dumb I shouldn't say that but

55:54it's it's not easy to to navigate Oracle

55:58but I was just like that request if

56:00y'all could just know Just just for

56:02update really almost all the systems we

56:04kind of transition.

56:05>> Yeah, we will be um Yes, ma'am. Madam

56:08President, to all of you, not just a

56:10council smitherman's request. We will be

56:13honored um to yield to that request and

56:16provide the update. Um there's some we

56:19would like to

56:21make sure this fourth quarter is better

56:23than the first quarter when it started

56:24and we will it needs to be more user

56:27friendly for in for our internal members

56:30as internal team members as well as all

56:32departments which includes council. We

56:35are aware of payments. We are aware of

56:38travel issue. We are aware of every

56:41single issue.

56:43um with your support today it allows us

56:46to go deeper on solving for those

56:49issues. So yes um 90 days from now I

56:51would love to provide you an update.

56:55Thank you, councelor Basa.

56:57>> Just last question. Uh, after the period

56:59of 120 days are up, what happens at that

57:02point?

57:04>> So, there's a couple of things. The

57:05infrastructure that's being built now is

57:07the Oracle Corporation will hand off the

57:09subject matter expertise to our internal

57:11team members. So, we're not relying on

57:13external to resolve issues when they

57:15come up. So, it's also included in

57:18technical assistance training for our

57:19own support members as well. So we don't

57:22need to engage them beyond that point

57:24financially.

57:27>> Any other questions?

57:29>> So if we are not satisfied with uh sort

57:32of the information we gather during that

57:35120day period, there could be an

57:37additional extension of that time frame

57:39and contract price as well.

57:41>> If if we deem that necessary, but the

57:44whole point is to is to engage the

57:47entity that created it so that we can

57:49draw from them. But if we needed to, we

57:52could. But we don't anticipate needing

57:53to.

57:54>> The desire, the desire is to get the

57:58necessary information, the training,

58:01learning to troubleshoot, and a host of

58:04so many other things. So the offramp

58:08actual team members can be empowered.

58:09And that's the off-ramp the 120 days

58:11gives us to like so we don't have to

58:14engage external folk or amend this

58:18contract or renew this for a third party

58:20vendor to make the system better. This

58:23gets us to a better place of an offramp

58:26so our employees know what the how and

58:29when related to Oracle.

58:35>> Thank you.

58:36>> All right. Thank you. I do appreciate

58:38Mayor Wooden and Chief your

58:40acknowledgement that it's not a perfect

58:43system. We are going through I think it

58:46was a very massive um undertaking and

58:49learning for those of us that are using

58:51the system and I know primarily our

58:54touch point is mainly with I think

58:56travel and purchasing but it has so many

58:59other touch points among staff. So

59:01appreciate that and um I am interested

59:04and would like to go ahead and call for

59:07for committee of the whole before the uh

59:10end of the third quarter that we will

59:12have this as a presentation during

59:14committee of the whole. So you'll be

59:16within a year. So can we do something at

59:19least by the end of the first quarter of

59:222027?

59:23>> Absolutely.

59:24>> Yes, ma'am.

59:24>> Okay. I knew you

59:25>> Yes, ma'am. 100% all in.

59:28>> All right. Thank you. All right. We're

59:29ready for the vote.

59:33>> [snorts]

59:38>> Okay.

59:39>> All right. Thank you.

59:41>> Okay. Sorry.

59:42>> I'm sorry. Council member.

59:46>> Thank you. That vote should be

59:48>> All right. Thank you. Item 45 passes.

59:51Next item I think we have for the public

59:52hearing next.

59:53>> Yes, ma'am. Item 64. A resolution

59:55setting a public hearing November the

59:5717th, 2026 to consider the closure of

59:59approximately 900 ft of Woodcrest Road

1:00:02South and Wars Court South to the

1:00:04intersection of 21st Way South 15th

1:00:06Avenue South Birmingham due to the

1:00:08hazardous deterioration condition of the

1:00:10roadway. Motion, please.

1:00:15>> All right. Thank you, counselors. This

1:00:16is a resolution setting a public hearing

1:00:18for November 17th, 2026 to consider the

1:00:22closure of the affformentioned roadway

1:00:26due to hazardous deterioration. Any

1:00:28questions about setting that date?

1:00:31We're ready for the vote.

1:00:38>> Council member Williams.

1:00:40>> All right. Thank you. That vote should

1:00:42be up.

1:00:42>> All right. Thank you, counselors. We've

1:00:43set that public hearing date for

1:00:45November 17th, 2026.

1:00:48Mr. Clerk, does that conclude our agenda

1:00:50for this morning? Thank you very much.

1:00:52At this time, councilors, we're ready to

1:00:54entertain any updates you have from your

1:00:57various districts. And councelor Vasa,

1:01:00can you go first?

1:01:01>> Thank you, Madam President. Uh updates

1:01:03from district three. Virginia Sanford

1:01:05Theater is hosting Berlin to Broadway

1:01:08with Kurt Wheel, uh, musical voyage from

1:01:11October 8th through the 18th. So, it

1:01:14starts in two days on Thursday, uh,

1:01:16opening night. Looking forward to that

1:01:17event. More information online, uh, at

1:01:20the Virginia Sanford Theater. Hoots and

1:01:22Howls 2026, daytime Halloween event, uh,

1:01:26will take place over the last three

1:01:27weekends in October. Y'all check that

1:01:30out. Hoots and Howls 2026. Um, and then

1:01:33lastly, Forest Park South Aenddale has

1:01:35their neighborhood association meeting

1:01:37this Tuesday, uh, meeting tonight at

1:01:406:30 p.m. at the Aenddale South Aenddale

1:01:42Library. Uh, those are my announcements.

1:01:45Thank you,

1:01:46>> thank you, councelor Vasa, Councelor

1:01:47Smith.

1:01:48>> Thank you.

1:01:51>> Thank you, Madam President. Um, in

1:01:53Council Smith's absence, I will be doing

1:01:55the District 8 announcements. The

1:01:58application for the District 8 capital

1:02:00improvement awards is live. Residents

1:02:02can apply now through November 9th for

1:02:05this matching funds grant that supports

1:02:07residentled neighborhood improvements.

1:02:09For more information, uh the District A

1:02:12office invites you to attend their

1:02:14virtual office hour session on Sunday,

1:02:16October 11th. That's this Sunday,

1:02:18October 11th at 4 p.m. Email data grants

1:02:22with a S at birmingham spelled out.gov

1:02:26gov or call the office at 2052542304

1:02:31for meeting details. For neighborhood

1:02:33meetings, Fairview will have their

1:02:36meeting tonight at 5:30 uh via

1:02:39teleconference. The phone number is

1:02:41774-3370703

1:02:45and the access code is

1:02:48125688.

1:02:50And then the Thomas neighborhood will

1:02:52also have their meeting tonight at 6:30

1:02:54p.m. in person. The address is 153 First

1:02:58St. Thomas. Also, park and recreation

1:03:01board meeting will be tomorrow at 9:00

1:03:03a.m. at Legion Field. And then for

1:03:05district 6 announcements, we have two

1:03:07neighborhood meetings. Oakwood Place

1:03:09will be today at 400 p.m. at Harrison

1:03:11Park Recreation Center. Mason City will

1:03:14meet today at 4:30 p.m. via

1:03:16teleconference. And then we have West

1:03:18End Manor. They will meet this Monday,

1:03:21October 12th at 5:00 pm at New Hope

1:03:24Baptist Church. Thank you.

1:03:26>> Thank you very much for both sets of

1:03:28those announcements. Counselor Williams.

1:03:31>> Thank you. Um economic development

1:03:33tourism committee will have a work

1:03:34session 11:30 in DNE. So if you're

1:03:37available, Mr. Cohen, um Rob Springs

1:03:39neighborhood will be Thursday, October

1:03:408th at 7 o'clock at New Beginnings

1:03:42Church and Overton will be tonight at 6

1:03:44o'clock at Macedonia Baptist Church.

1:03:46Thank you.

1:03:46>> Thank you very much, Councelor O'Quinn.

1:03:50Thank you, Madam President.

1:03:52East Lake Neighborhood Association will

1:03:54meet tonight at 6 6 PM at Household of

1:03:58Faith Church. Force Park South Aenddale

1:04:02meets uh also tonight at 6:30 at the

1:04:06Aenddale Library. Smithfield will meet

1:04:09on Thursday at 6 PM at Smithfield Court

1:04:13Community Center

1:04:15and the uh Birmingham Metropolitan

1:04:19Planning Organization is updating its

1:04:22public transportation plan. This is a

1:04:25roadmap for public involvement in

1:04:27transportation planning. The public

1:04:30involvement meetings will take place on

1:04:33Wednesday, October 21st from 12 to 1:00

1:04:37p.m. and 5 to 6:00 p.m. Again, that's

1:04:41Wednesday, October 21st.

1:04:44This the meetings will take place at the

1:04:47Regional Planning Commission of Greater

1:04:49Birmingham, conference room 2 on uh

1:04:5420th.

1:04:56That's two two north 20th. Um the draft

1:05:01will be available starting Monday,

1:05:03October 19th with a 45day comment and

1:05:08review period uh taking place from

1:05:11October 21st to December 4th. And

1:05:14comments can be emailed to mopcb.org.

1:05:22And so, um, the there's two ways to to

1:05:28get involved in this. You can go online

1:05:30to www.rpcgb.org/publicinvolvement

1:05:38or the two uh in-person meetings at

1:05:43RPCGB.

1:05:45Again, that's Wednesday, October 21st

1:05:48from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. and on the same

1:05:51day at 5 to 6:00 p.m.

1:05:56And that concludes my announcements.

1:05:58Thank you.

1:05:59>> Thank you, Councelor Quinn and Councelor

1:06:01Woods.

1:06:02>> Thank you, Madam President. Quickly, the

1:06:04uh budget and finance committee uh the

1:06:06next meeting will be on Monday, October

1:06:0812th at 3:30 p.m. Agenda submissions are

1:06:12due by noon on Wednesday, October 7th.

1:06:15Uh, also this week, uh, Apple Valley

1:06:17Neighborhood Association will meet

1:06:18tonight at um 6:30 p.m. at the East

1:06:21Pinson Valley Rec Center. Spring Lake uh

1:06:24will meet Thursday, October 8th at 6:30

1:06:28p.m. at Huffman High School uh via Zoom.

1:06:33Also, uh, Echo Highlands will also meet

1:06:36on Thursday, October 8th at 7 PM. The

1:06:39Robuck meeting will be on October 12th

1:06:42at 6:30 p.m. Uh, as always, encourage

1:06:45residents to get involved and

1:06:47participate in your neighborhood

1:06:48meetings. The next beitterfree community

1:06:51cleanup uh will be Saturday, October

1:06:5417th at 9:00 a.m. Uh we appreciate

1:06:57partners from our recent cleanup help

1:06:59remove 367 pounds of litter from the

1:07:01community. The safe summer series coming

1:07:05up u on partner with councelor Crystal

1:07:09Smitherman. Um and excited about that

1:07:11coming up on October 25th at 6 PM. Uh

1:07:14got a great guest. It's going to be a

1:07:17great time. So stay tuned for more

1:07:18details.

1:07:20Stay [clears throat] tuned. Stay tuned.

1:07:22Stay tuned. Uh I also want to just

1:07:25invite everybody out on Sunday, October

1:07:2711th from 2:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. Uh we'll

1:07:30be having a District 1 harvest and

1:07:32Garden Fest. And so come out, check out

1:07:34the community garden. Uh the group of

1:07:36volunteers there has been doing a really

1:07:38great job of uh planning and keeping

1:07:40that place up. It's really grown. And so

1:07:42uh come out, you'll be able to learn um

1:07:45how to garden. They'll have different

1:07:46stations set up. So, encourage everyone

1:07:48to get involved.

1:07:50>> Thank you, councelor Councelor Gun.

1:07:53>> Thank you, Madam President. These are my

1:07:54announcements. Uh, this Saturday, the

1:07:56North Side Harvest Festival will be

1:07:58taking place at the Norwood Trolley Stop

1:08:01from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Come out and

1:08:03enjoy live music, food, and local

1:08:05vendors. Uh, also this Saturday we'll be

1:08:07hosting a community cleanup in the

1:08:09Collegeville neighborhood uh in

1:08:10partnership with the Black Warrior

1:08:12Riverkeeper at Mlin Park from 9:00 a.m.

1:08:14to 11:00 a.m. So come out and take pride

1:08:17in your community uh in the Collegeville

1:08:19area. Uh upcoming neighborhood

1:08:21association meetings um this Monday,

1:08:23October the 12, well next Monday,

1:08:25October the 12th, uh the Engle Nook

1:08:27Neighborhood Association will take place

1:08:28at 5:30 p.m. at the Engle Nook

1:08:30Recreation Center. Also that same

1:08:32Monday, Woodline Neighborhood

1:08:33Association will take place at 6 PM at

1:08:36the Willowwood Recreation Center. Also

1:08:38that same Monday, Highland Airport

1:08:40Highlands will take place at 6 PM at

1:08:42Pleasant View Baptist Church. Also, uh

1:08:45rounding out that Monday, Robuck uh will

1:08:47take place at 6:30 p.m. at the

1:08:49Birmingham Police Department East

1:08:50Precinct. Uh on that Mon that following

1:08:54Tuesday, uh October the 13th, Kilo

1:08:56Springs will have their neighborhood

1:08:58association meeting at 6 p.m. at Smith

1:09:00Middle School. and then Pinfield Park

1:09:02also on that Tuesday uh at 6 PM at the

1:09:05Brownsville Heights Community Center.

1:09:07And that concludes my announcements.

1:09:08Thank you.

1:09:09>> Thank you very much, Council Pro.

1:09:11>> Thank you, Madam President. The Wam

1:09:13Neighborhood Association meeting is

1:09:14tonight at 6 PM at Wam Public Library.

1:09:17Thomas Neighborhood Association meeting

1:09:18is tonight at 6:30 at Greater Saints

1:09:21Thomas Community Church. A Cypico Family

1:09:24Neighborhood Association meeting is

1:09:25meeting Wednesday, October the 7th, 5:30

1:09:28at the Cypico plant community room. The

1:09:30next public safety meeting will be held

1:09:32on Tuesday, October the 13th, 100 p.m.

1:09:35in the council chambers. Please submit

1:09:37your agenda items by email later than

1:09:39Wednesday, October the 7th, which is

1:09:42tomorrow by 12:00 noon to Gregory

1:09:44Stanley and Ashant Little. Um,

1:09:49I am getting u geared up to partner with

1:09:51Council Gun. We're kicking off the um

1:09:54Avenue Street Market which is going to

1:09:56be on October the 17th from 10:00 a.m.

1:09:58to 2:00 p.m. at the North Birmingham

1:10:00Square located at 312 27th Street North.

1:10:04So we're looking um for a good time

1:10:07there um activating that square. And so

1:10:10I want to thank councelor Gone for his

1:10:11partnership as councelor Woods has

1:10:14stated um leading into their safe summer

1:10:17series

1:10:18event. We are kicking off the 205 and

1:10:21park the H.B.CU edition of that. So we

1:10:24are calling all college students,

1:10:26alumni, if you went to a H.B.CU, we

1:10:30would love to have you in the building.

1:10:31And if you didn't and you represent in

1:10:34HBCU, um come on out to about auditorium

1:10:38and that's um October the 23rd from

1:10:4010:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. So it's a

1:10:42college edition. We'll be having

1:10:44discussions um don't fumble the bag,

1:10:47don't fumble your freedom. So, you know,

1:10:49the hot topic around NIL, uh, the

1:10:51history, um, the let, you know, the

1:10:53future of the H.B.CU's, um, the future

1:10:56of H.B.CU's love life in the yard. Going

1:10:58to have some great national guests along

1:11:00with, you know, our college students

1:11:03gauging the platform as well. So, come

1:11:06on out um and celebrate um and kick off

1:11:09um the 205 and part the H.B.CU edition.

1:11:12So, come out. Thank you, Madam

1:11:14President.

1:11:14>> Thank you so much, Madam Pro. Council of

1:11:17Vasa, I think you said you had one other

1:11:18item you'd like to mention.

1:11:19>> Thank you, Madam President. I would be

1:11:21remiss if I didn't uh give thanks to my

1:11:24wife for putting up for me

1:11:25>> for eight years as of today. So, want to

1:11:29thank her for that. And um and then also

1:11:32say happy birthday to our chief of staff

1:11:34of District 3 office, Tony King. Her

1:11:36birthday is this Sunday.

1:11:37>> Oh, wow.

1:11:38>> Thank you, Madam President.

1:11:39>> Thank you very much uh for noting that.

1:11:41Happy anniversary and happy birthday to

1:11:44uh Chief of Staff King. These are

1:11:47announcements for district 7. First, I'd

1:11:49like to acknowledge that we had uh

1:11:52several commemorations for what is going

1:11:54on uh as we're celebrating things in the

1:11:57month of October. And the month of

1:11:58October is also National Principles

1:12:01Month. So, I'd like to take this

1:12:03opportunity to thank all of our D7

1:12:05principles that work hard and work

1:12:07diligently for our parents and our

1:12:09students in District 7. I sent them a

1:12:12letter yesterday uh congratulating them

1:12:14on uh National Principles Month and also

1:12:17announcing to them our discretionary

1:12:19support this year which total $20,000 to

1:12:22our five D7 schools. So very happy for

1:12:25each of them and the work that they do.

1:12:27Uh also last week I think you all

1:12:29noticed that councelor Woods and I left

1:12:31a little early and I would like to thank

1:12:34him. We both had an opportunity to speak

1:12:37during the Alabama Community College

1:12:39Systems Workforce Exchange. We're on a

1:12:42panel where we talked about how

1:12:44legislation and collaboration with local

1:12:46municipalities can help to fuel or boost

1:12:49workforce development in our area. So, I

1:12:52thank you, Councelor Woods. Uh he

1:12:54brought up some very good programs that

1:12:56we are have in the city of Birmingham

1:12:59and so I really enjoyed participating

1:13:01with you on that panel. So, thank you

1:13:02very much.

1:13:03>> Yes. Thank you all.

1:13:05>> All right. And um last, and I'm not sure

1:13:07if you did this one if I wasn't paying

1:13:09attention, but I would like to encourage

1:13:11attendance at the upcoming citywide

1:13:13framework plan implementation committee

1:13:15meeting that's coming up Thursday,

1:13:17October 8th from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

1:13:20You're going to be on the west side. We

1:13:22going to the West Police Princeton

1:13:24meeting room. That's over in uh Five

1:13:26Points West. So, please join us there.

1:13:28Also, Alabama Colleg's free application

1:13:32week is being held this week from

1:13:34October 5th through the 9th. Why is that

1:13:37important to us? College applications,

1:13:39when you have a child that wants to

1:13:40attend every school that they've ever

1:13:42thought of, that can be kind of costly.

1:13:44Okay? And some parents, I know when I

1:13:46was going to college, we kind of had to

1:13:48decide which one would we want to uh

1:13:50apply for because it weren't a lot of

1:13:52money for that. And so, right now, and I

1:13:54know you're all thinking, of course, it

1:13:56wasn't in the old buggy days. It was

1:13:58still colleges were existing when I went

1:14:00to college. But anyway, um I do want to

1:14:03encourage parents to plea and students

1:14:05to please go out. Uh we have this on our

1:14:08city website and we'll also be posting

1:14:10this on the D7 page. Get those

1:14:13applications in and again that'll be

1:14:15October 5th through 9th and they are

1:14:16free. So we want to encourage you to do

1:14:18that. This week uh neighborhood

1:14:20meetings, we do have the Roosevelt City

1:14:22Neighborhood Association. will be

1:14:24meeting at 6 PM at the Roosevelt Rec

1:14:26Center. And Monday, the Powderly

1:14:29Neighborhood Association will meet on

1:14:31October 12th at the Henry Crompton Rec

1:14:33Center. I also want to make you aware

1:14:36that on Saturday, October 10th, the West

1:14:39Gwire neighborhood will have a block

1:14:41party from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

1:14:45They'd like to invite everyone to come

1:14:46and meet and greet your neighbors over

1:14:48there in West Gwire. There'll be food,

1:14:51music, and fun. So bring your lawn

1:14:53chairs and they'll be meeting on Gold

1:14:56Crest Way between Winona Road and Re

1:14:59Winona Park Road. This is just one of um

1:15:02I'm very proud of this neighborhood as I

1:15:05am with all of those in D7. But um these

1:15:08residents and really a lot of seniors

1:15:10that are really doing a lot of work to

1:15:11keep that neighborhood vital and I

1:15:13appreciate the work they're doing. So

1:15:15they're just encouraging everybody to

1:15:17come out and meet and greet there during

1:15:19the block party. That's Saturday,

1:15:20October 10th. That concludes my

1:15:25announcements. I do want to remind you

1:15:27counselors, we have a 911 commission

1:15:29meeting immediately following this. So,

1:15:31we will need a quorum to um conduct some

1:15:34business. And so, with that in mind, if

1:15:37we'll go ahead, Mr. Clerk, and turn our

1:15:39attention to the speakers list.

1:15:41>> Willie Jenkins.

1:15:44>> Willie Jenkins.

1:15:47>> Hey, good morning, Mr. Jenkins. Um, as

1:15:50you come forward, just remember you have

1:15:52three minutes and we've got these

1:15:54screens over here to my left and right

1:15:55and they'll let you know as your time is

1:15:57ticking down. Glad to see you this

1:15:58morning.

1:16:11North

1:16:17Sunday church

1:16:20from

1:16:25church

1:16:33high school

1:16:38high

1:16:48everything.

1:16:50Also, I saw I got chance to see

1:17:12and concert invite all to come

1:17:18in

1:17:21college.

1:17:29I came out 197.

1:17:40other school.

1:17:52We had a wonderful time.

1:17:57We had a wonderful day.

1:18:00Everybody

1:18:11especially women

1:18:25all

1:18:34always.

1:18:49>> Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. Thanks so much

1:18:51for bringing these announcements to us.

1:18:52Did you say the class of 72? That's who

1:18:54you graduated with?

1:18:56>> That's right. That was a good year to

1:18:59graduate high school. There you go.

1:19:01There you go.

1:19:03>> Thank you, Mr. Jenkins.

1:19:05>> Appreciate you. All right. Next speaker,

1:19:08please.

1:19:09>> Leroy Russell. Leroy Russell.

1:19:14>> Good morning, Russ. Mr. Russell, as you

1:19:16come forward, um, we have two speakers

1:19:18on the to my left and right. You have

1:19:20three minutes. And so, if you give us

1:19:22your address and we'll go ahead and

1:19:24listen. Thank you.

1:19:27My concern this morning is

1:19:32okay. Good morning. Yes. So, my name is

1:19:34Lee Russell. I own the Spice of Life

1:19:37Jamaica restaurant across the street. I

1:19:40lived in Atlanta, Georgia. We have

1:19:41business in Atlanta. We have business in

1:19:43Jamaica. I um spent $280,000

1:19:48opened that restaurant in 3 years ago.

1:19:51And ever since I opened the restaurant,

1:19:53we have been bombarded by a lot of

1:19:56things that happened within the city. I

1:19:58have tried to speak to Dr. Aquin. I've

1:20:01never met the gentleman, but I heard

1:20:03that he is over the district in which my

1:20:06restaurant is located. I called for 3

1:20:09years now. I never had anyone return my

1:20:12call. The other day I I called again and

1:20:14I spoke to the lady. She said she spoke

1:20:16she speak for him and the way she was

1:20:18talking to me was very bad. However,

1:20:21each time they have a function out here,

1:20:23they block the entrance of my restaurant

1:20:25and they put police right at the

1:20:27entrance. I've been threatened to be

1:20:30locked up before. I'm dragging into my

1:20:33business place and police officer

1:20:35threatened to lock me out because I'm

1:20:37trying to get to my business place.

1:20:39My concern is me coming here in

1:20:42Birmingham trying to bring commerce to

1:20:44the city, I have been treated extremely

1:20:47bad. I don't think that

1:20:51one should be able to block a brick and

1:20:54mortar business for profit. When they

1:20:57have their functions here that they are

1:20:59getting a lot of money from, my business

1:21:01suffers. We have to throw all that food

1:21:03in the garbage. So, I'm here this

1:21:06morning to ask you guys if we can come

1:21:09to some kind of consensus where they

1:21:12stop placing police at the entrance of

1:21:14my business because I I I'm too busy. I

1:21:17don't have time to go to court. But me

1:21:20being here in the city, I'm asking the

1:21:22people who are in charge to find a way

1:21:24so we can work amicably that my business

1:21:27can be successful and whosoever brings

1:21:30their whatever they're having out here,

1:21:32they also can be successful. We have

1:21:35thrown away thousands and thousands of

1:21:37dollars of food

1:21:39because no one will come inside the

1:21:42restaurant when police are entrance.

1:21:44I don't know anybody who want to throw

1:21:46$280,000 in the garbage, but that's what

1:21:49we are about to do because it's a big

1:21:51hindrance.

1:21:56>> Thank you, Mr. Russell. You've made um

1:21:59made made us aware of this and we do

1:22:02have administration here that would be

1:22:04able to look into this and u for further

1:22:07consideration. So, thank you.

1:22:09>> All right. I have been talking I spoke

1:22:10to the mayor before

1:22:13and um there's a gentleman that works in

1:22:15transportation

1:22:17Mr. Fowler worked I spoke to him one day

1:22:21when they were blocking it he was

1:22:22standing right there he said there was

1:22:23nothing he could do Mr. or Quinn's

1:22:26secretary or whatever her position is.

1:22:28>> She was staff.

1:22:29>> She was staff. She told me she wasn't

1:22:31willing to give me her name. I was very

1:22:33surprised to know that I'm a business

1:22:36owner and been talked to the way I don't

1:22:38want to declare who I am because if you

1:22:40know who I am, you would never talk to

1:22:41me that way in terms of I am not some

1:22:44person who is trying to make it. You're

1:22:46looking at a million here. And I told

1:22:48the lady, you cannot talk to somebody

1:22:50the way you talk to someone the way you

1:22:52talk to me.

1:22:53>> Thank you, Mr. Russell. Again, your

1:22:56concerns are duly noted and um we will

1:22:59uh have administration to look into

1:23:02because permits are given and different

1:23:05work is being done before we block off a

1:23:08street. I don't know if chief if you had

1:23:09anything or any direction anyone else

1:23:12Mr. Russell could speak with.

1:23:13>> Yes, ma'am. Madam President, Mr.

1:23:15Russell. So, um, he stated that our

1:23:17department of planning, engineering, and

1:23:19permits, our office of public affairs,

1:23:21our department of transportation are

1:23:23working closely with him to try to make

1:23:24certain that there are adjustments that

1:23:26allow him to not have his business

1:23:28impeded, but also make certain that city

1:23:30events that have been sanctioned to go

1:23:32on for the public, that they are

1:23:35mutually they they can mutually occupy

1:23:37the space, that it's an ongoing

1:23:39discussion that the staff will continue

1:23:40to have to see if we can find a meeting

1:23:42of the minds.

1:23:44>> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Russell,

1:23:45>> have a great day.

1:23:46>> Next speaker,

1:23:47>> Nathan Thompson.

1:23:56>> Mr. Thompson, as you come forward, we

1:23:58have three minutes. You have three

1:24:00minutes to speak. And we do have um

1:24:02monitors on my left and right that will

1:24:04indicate your time.

1:24:09>> Hold on one second.

1:24:24Go ahead, Mr. Russell.

1:24:26>> Uh, Nathan Thompson, 6779 Old Spring

1:24:29Road. Dear council members and mayor,

1:24:31thank you for the opportunity to come

1:24:33before you today. I've lived in

1:24:34Birmingham area for 51 years. You may

1:24:37recall me from September 22nd when you

1:24:39condemned a property I had gained

1:24:41ownership of 4 days prior. The property

1:24:43came from my father's estate. Since

1:24:45acquiring the property, I've spent

1:24:47significant time and money cleaning the

1:24:49property up. My father always gave back

1:24:51to the community and I wanted to

1:24:52continue his passion. He made one of the

1:24:54first community gardens in Birmingham in

1:24:56the southeast lake area on a property

1:24:58the city of Birmingham had demolished

1:25:00and for years paid for everything that

1:25:02went into it and gave out everything

1:25:04grown throughout the community. I still

1:25:06remember the day Birmingham Public Works

1:25:07came through with a tractor and mowed

1:25:09all the crops over and told him he

1:25:10couldn't have a garden on that land

1:25:12because it didn't belong to him. I spoke

1:25:14with my father before his passing on the

1:25:16vision he had for the property at 3012

1:25:18Dael Avenue Southwest, formerly known as

1:25:20Powderly Church, of getting funded and

1:25:22opening a STEM center for the struggling

1:25:24school across the street. According to

1:25:26US News and World Report, as of 2026,

1:25:28Jones Valley Middle School was tied at

1:25:30407 out of 428 in Alabama schools for

1:25:33reading proficiency at 19% and tied at

1:25:36422 out of 428 for math proficiency of

1:25:39only 1%. Jones Valley Middle School is

1:25:41ranked last in Birmingham Middle

1:25:43Schools. This really troubles me as

1:25:45someone who works with youth of all ages

1:25:47in my business. If I cannot get approval

1:25:49and working capital to form a STEM

1:25:51center, I would like to turn the

1:25:52property into a farmers market,

1:25:54contributing to the local economy and

1:25:55local farmers. We could also have a

1:25:57community garden on the property.

1:26:00Bearing [snorts] the feasibility of a

1:26:01STEM center, the size of the structure

1:26:03would also make it a great venue to host

1:26:05local art exhibits with a food and craft

1:26:07farmers market. I [snorts] acquired the

1:26:09property on September 18th and gave

1:26:11notice. I requested a hearing which was

1:26:13received in your office on the 18th by

1:26:14Mr. Jeffrey McDaniels. Three days later,

1:26:17I was told by Artemis Willis that I

1:26:19would be removed from the that it would

1:26:20be removed from the agenda so I could

1:26:22have some time to resolve the issues

1:26:23with the properties. I came and spoke

1:26:25with the mayor on September 22nd and

1:26:27found it was still on the agenda for the

1:26:29council recording video line. At 33

1:26:31minutes and 3 seconds, items 20 and 21

1:26:33were withdrawn at 1 hour and 22 minutes

1:26:36and 8 seconds. Councelor O'Quinn stated,

1:26:38"We're not going after properties that

1:26:41are residences and inhabited, but we

1:26:44have plenty of properties that were, you

1:26:46know, commercial structures that have

1:26:48just essentially been abandoned." He

1:26:50thanked Jefferson County and further

1:26:52stated, "If you don't take care of these

1:26:54properties, we will come after you and

1:26:56you will no longer own those

1:26:57properties." Later in the meeting at 2

1:27:00hours, 1 minute and 32 seconds, uh,

1:27:02Councilwoman Smith stated, "Whenever

1:27:04I've driven by, I've noticed doors open

1:27:06and it's unsafe. When I went to the

1:27:09property, the doors were shut and locked

1:27:10on the front of the main building, and

1:27:11the alley was blocked by a tree. The

1:27:13auxiliary building does have a door

1:27:15missing that someone has removed from

1:27:16the property, which may be her concern.

1:27:19If I'm trying to do something helpful to

1:27:21the community with this property, why is

1:27:23the city trying to steal from the future

1:27:25potential to the children?" Thank you

1:27:27for your time.

1:27:28>> Thank you.

1:27:29>> Appreciate that.

1:27:33What we're not going to do, you can see

1:27:36it. You can see it. What we're not going

1:27:38to do, we're not going to talk about the

1:27:40students and the parents and the

1:27:42administrators at Jones Valley Middle

1:27:45School because let me tell you what they

1:27:46do just about every other day. those

1:27:52students, those faculty, they have to go

1:27:55out and they have to clean up places

1:27:57like the one that's been affermentioned.

1:28:00And so what I'm going to say, we're not

1:28:02going to come here and make the students

1:28:05and that middle school a part of this.

1:28:08Birmingham has one school left on the

1:28:11failing school list and they have worked

1:28:13diligently and we've had a lot of

1:28:15community partners and people to come in

1:28:18and they have wanted to help these

1:28:20schools and they've helped these

1:28:22students and they've helped these

1:28:23residents. Each year, District 7 holds a

1:28:28love D7 day which is right adjacent in

1:28:32this area. I have three seniors from the

1:28:36Jones Valley neighborhood who go out

1:28:39each year and they work diligently to

1:28:42try to remove the debris and what they

1:28:45see as an eyes sore in that property.

1:28:47So, what we're going to talk about in

1:28:49this particular chamber is how we can

1:28:52work together to improve our communities

1:28:55and to revitalize it. But what we're not

1:28:57going to do is sit here and make those

1:29:00students, those parents, and those

1:29:02families feel as if they are part of

1:29:04this problem. That ends our community

1:29:08voices. And at this time, I'd like to

1:29:10thank our officers on duty, officer

1:29:13Pinkert, Tarant, and Wesley, and our

1:29:15fire inspectors on duty, Inspector Shaw.

1:29:18This time, we got have a motion and

1:29:19second to end this move.

1:29:21>> Second.

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