2026-09-08 - Pre-Council

00:00Good morning everyone.

00:01>> Morning.

00:01>> It's good to see everyone this morning.

00:03Ladies and gentlemen, we're now in the

00:04hands of our capable city clerk, Miss

00:05Lisa Carroll.

00:06>> This is the premium of the Mobile City

00:08Council, Tuesday, September the 8th. We

00:10have approval of minutes from September

00:121st.

00:13>> Any issues? Anyone?

00:15>> Okay.

00:16>> Appeals. We have request for wave the

00:17noise ordinance on September the 20th

00:19from 4 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Dolphin

00:21Street. September the 12th from 2:00

00:24p.m. until 11 on Dolphin Street.

00:27>> Any issue? Councilwoman Inger,

00:29>> Mr. President, yes. Uh, if we can change

00:31518 Dolphin Street uh to 10 p.m. and not

00:3511 p.m.,

00:40>> Madam Clerk,

00:41>> public hearings. Today is the public

00:43hearing to consider proposed reszoning

00:45of property located at 320 and 330

00:48Western Drive from B3 and I1 to I1.

00:53Public hearing to consider the proposed

00:55reasonzoning property located at 255

00:57Church Street from T 5.2 to T6.

01:03Public hearing to consider the proposed

01:05reszoning of property located at 2665

01:08Government Boulevard and 604 and 610

01:11Mandel Street from R1 and B2 to R1 and

01:15B3.

01:17public hearing to consider the proposed

01:18reszoning of property located at 2694

01:22Government Boulevard from 27 and 2750

01:262754 and 2756

01:29Brookley Avenue from R1 B1 and B2 to B3.

01:35Public hearing to consider the

01:36reasonzoning of property located at 4460

01:39Dolph Dolphin Island Parkway from R1 to

01:42EML.

01:44Public hearing to consider proposed

01:46reson property located at 4213 and 4221

01:50Spring Valley Drive South from R1 and R3

01:54to R1. Public hearing to consider

01:56proposed reszoning of property located

01:59at the northwest corner of Barefork Road

02:02and Mafett Road from R1 to B3. Mr.

02:05president.

02:05>> Yeah, Vice President

02:07>> on this one. Um Josh, I don't know if

02:09you [clears throat] remember um this,

02:12but I think this was part of our

02:15annexation bringing this portion of

02:18Moffett and Barefork into the city.

02:22Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. Um what

02:25this is is a big old vacant piece of

02:27property out there on Barefork Road. And

02:29as you know, whenever we annex property

02:32into the city, if there is nothing on

02:34it, if it's vacant property, it

02:35automatically goes to R1. The um

02:40property that it's adjacent to. I mean,

02:42it's like the same parcel is already

02:44owned by this gentleman and he already

02:47has a camper sales there. Uh, one of the

02:50questions that I do have for him today

02:51is to make sure that it is sales, that

02:53it's not going to be a mobile home park.

02:55And I think I know the answer already

02:57that it's just sales, but just want to

02:58make sure that everybody understands

03:00what this is because again, it's going

03:02from an R1 to a B3. And you know,

03:05anytime it's an R1 going to any sort of

03:07commercial, you know, it always raises a

03:09red flag. In this instance, um I think

03:12it's something that is okay. The

03:14residential areas are fairly well

03:17removed from all of this and their main

03:19concern right now is that it's not a

03:21mobile home park. So, we'll ask some of

03:24those questions during our meeting.

03:25Thanks.

03:27>> Public hearing to consider adoption of

03:30the [clears throat] 2026 2027 general

03:33fund and capital improvement fund

03:34budgets.

03:36Presentation of petitions and other

03:37communications to the council. Robert

03:39Clapton, comments regarding cutting um

03:41funding to H.B.CU football game. Reggie

03:44Hill, request for various

03:45investigations, municipal enforcement

03:48and fiscal year 27 budget. Apostle

03:51Valina Green serving the disabled and

03:53handicapped and racism in black

03:55community. Ordinances held over 64034

04:00and 64036 are considering proposed

04:03reszoning of property located at 1509

04:06Navco and reszoning of property located

04:10at 97 Center Drive.

04:13Resolutions held over. 01954 authorized

04:17agreement with Richard Cooney to provide

04:20tennis teaching pro services for parks

04:23and recreation department. 08956

04:26approved purchase order to cone to

04:28rebuild convention center exhibit hall

04:30escalators. 08957

04:33approve purchase order to Thompson

04:34Tractor Company for diesel forklift.

04:3908958 approved purchase order to MCCI

04:42for annual renewal of laser fish

04:44document management software 219 Mr.

04:47President.

04:48>> Yes.

04:48>> 08958

04:50administration was going to share u the

04:52lease agreement and I'm not sure maybe

04:54if I missed that

05:05[clears throat]

05:06>> I do have a copy. Do you want me to give

05:08you a copy or do you want me to email

05:10uh

05:12>> for all of them to receive a copy, but

05:14I'll take a copy, you know, if you have

05:16it. Thank you.

05:18>> Thank you. [clears throat]

05:22>> Yeah. And keep in mind it's a it's a

05:24it's an annual renewal of that service.

05:26So the contract was last year and this

05:28is a renewal um [snorts] of that term.

05:31>> So So Mr. President, on this one, as you

05:33can see, we're just receiving this. So I

05:35would ask that if we can hold this over

05:36so others can would have an opportunity

05:38to look at it also.

05:39>> Okay. Any objections? Anyone? Okay.

05:42Okay.

05:4521959

05:47authorized contract renewal with

05:48Southern Earth Sciences for annual

05:50landfill sampling requirements for Bates

05:53CND landfill and Hickory Street

05:55landfill.

05:57ordinances being introduced. 64037

06:02through 64043

06:04are um reszonings various properties.

06:09Consent resolutions being introduced

06:1337964

06:15recommend approval to the ABC board for

06:17issuance of a special events retail

06:19license to Mobtown's Picnic Popup on

06:23Cadam Street

06:2660965 determining appropriation to the

06:29Child Advocacy Inc. serves a um public

06:33purpose and approved payment.

06:34Resolutions being introduced. 01966

06:37authorized agreement with Wesley

06:39Fountain to provide racket stringer

06:42stringer services

06:4480,000 per year. 01967

06:47authorized agreement with board school

06:49commissioners of Mobile County for

06:52four community safety team prevention

06:55positions.

06:56>> Mr. President.

06:56>> Yeah, Mr. Woods.

06:58>> Um could we I guess get a little bit

06:59more I guess information on this um if

07:02you wouldn't mind. I saw the list of of

07:05individuals that'll I guess in their

07:07positions, but I guess what what are we

07:08trying to accomplish I guess with this?

07:11>> Good morning.

07:12>> Good morning.

07:13>> Uh basically what we've been doing uh

07:15since 2015 and up in uh what we what

07:18we've done recently and that is uh

07:20enhance our services to the school

07:22system. Uh we are identifying schools in

07:25our city uh that we can uh uh increase

07:30our family intervention team impact and

07:32our intervention team specialist in

07:34those areas. Uh Williamson and and the

07:38floor being one of the being two of the

07:39schools. Uh Pathway Academy or Pathway

07:42Schools is another school for that.

07:45>> Gotcha. I appreciate that. And this is

07:47um I guess this is kind of part of I

07:49know with budget discussion, the budget

07:51that the mayor provided um we're we're

07:54starting to kind of pour back into the

07:55school system. This is just kind of one

07:56of the first steps I guess of of

07:58establishing that or expanding.

07:59>> Yeah, it's always great when they give

08:00us funding. [laughter]

08:02>> Uh but no, this is to uh the benefit of

08:05what we do with the school system and

08:07them seeing the benefit of what we do

08:08with them.

08:09>> Gotcha. Thank you. I um fully support

08:12everything. I I love the fact that uh

08:14we're working towards putting putting

08:15[clears throat] officers in our schools.

08:17Um I think uh as a dad to public school

08:20kids, um I I greatly appreciate pouring

08:22back in our school system. So, thank you

08:24for doing this.

08:24>> Absolutely. Uh our focus right now is to

08:27make sure that we are doing all we can

08:28in our city schools.

08:30>> Thank you,

08:31>> Mr. President.

08:32>> Yeah. Going to be vice president and and

08:35Madame um Ingram. Um Curtis, um are

08:39these schools the ones that uh the

08:41school system recommended?

08:43>> These are the schools they recommended.

08:44So that's why they're piloted right now.

08:46The hope is that we will uh we will

08:49validate the uh benefits of this program

08:52uh and hopefully expand the program uh

08:54if it yields uh what we hope that it

08:55does.

08:56>> And we don't have um school resource

08:58officers that we are paying for anywhere

09:00else right now.

09:00>> No, we are not. We do not pay for school

09:03resource officers. uh the school system

09:05is communicating with us uh and they are

09:07seeking to fund those positions uh as

09:09they become uh available.

09:11>> Okay. Thanks.

09:13>> All right.

09:15>> Thank you, Mr. President. So, um I

09:17noticed that it refers to community

09:20intervention specialists whereas

09:21pathways they're going to receive both a

09:23community and family. But when you get

09:25to Williamson High School and it has the

09:28feeder schools with it, it focuses

09:30mainly on a family intervention

09:31specialist. What what's the difference

09:34between

09:34>> The difference is we currently have

09:36people in those two schools already. So

09:38we're only adding an additional person

09:40to those schools.

09:41>> Okay. And so when you say you have

09:43people already in there, so they'll

09:44already serve in the capacity of the

09:47community interventionist,

09:48>> family intervention specialists and our

09:50intervention our intervention uh

09:52community intervention teams. So yeah,

09:55we'll have uh much of what we're

09:57currently doing uh at Williamson where

10:00you see the uh safe passage for example.

10:02Uh the goal is to create those

10:04relationships with our youth uh to uh

10:07couple that with when it becomes

10:10available to have school resource

10:11officers in those schools as well. Uh

10:13they will be trained to be resource

10:16officers. Uh so they'll go through some

10:18additional training that the school

10:19system provides. So that the goal again

10:22is to make sure that we're building

10:23relationships in those locations and

10:26we're enhancing that with the wraparound

10:27services that we provide with our family

10:30intervention team and our intervention

10:31specialists.

10:32>> Okay. And and last question, you know,

10:34this really when you talk about

10:36wraparound services, I'm excited to hear

10:38that. Um my question is then so when I

10:40look when you talk about wraparound

10:42services, does it does it also include

10:44partnering with other agencies in terms

10:47of like attendance um with our helping

10:49families? Absolutely. Our partnerships

10:51uh expand uh well beyond just what we

10:54have. Uh the DA's office for example,

10:56helping families initiative is paramount

10:58in the schools. They do tremendous work

11:00and we have worked with them alongside

11:02them for years.

11:04>> Okay. And lastly, you said that some of

11:06this has been occurring since 2015, and

11:09I noticed that, you know, in terms of

11:12trying to look at the effectiveness and

11:14so forth, that you all are going to be

11:15providing progress report to school

11:17leadership and to the board

11:18superintendent office. My question is,

11:21have you all provided data to them

11:22already as to what has been occurring

11:25since 2015? And was that was was that

11:28part of the momentum to move forward

11:30with expanding to here?

11:31>> Yeah. 2015 uh uh Chief Jimmy Barber, he

11:34was police chief at the time. He

11:36actually established uh the bridging the

11:38gap program with DA with the uh US

11:40attorney's office and with the FBI uh

11:43partnerships. Uh that program again was

11:45designed to uh create relationships with

11:48our youth by showing them what to do and

11:50what not to do when they are encountered

11:52by law enforcement and to also advise

11:55them on what their rights were and what

11:56the rights were of law enforcement. Uh

11:58that program in and of itself yield

12:00positive results. Uh and it continues

12:02today. Uh the school system has kept

12:05that program running in our high

12:07schools. Uh we also have a program that

12:10is set for our for our middle school

12:12students as well. That is you still have

12:14a choice. Uh that program again was also

12:17created uh by uh Chief Barber uh along

12:21with some others. Uh but again that goal

12:24the goal of that program is to engage

12:26our youth uh at the level in which we

12:28need to engage them uh with the hope

12:30that that it resonates uh to them that

12:34that you know they don't know what they

12:36don't know and hopefully we try to teach

12:38them what they should know so they can

12:40make better decisions uh so we can have

12:42better outcomes.

12:45>> Okay. I think I think you answered my

12:47question.

12:48>> Okay. [laughter]

12:49>> Let me let me let me ask this.

12:50>> Yeah. the 2015 the data that you all are

12:54using right now to show the

12:56effectiveness of it and that it's

12:57working.

12:59>> Have you recently shared data with the

13:01school system to move them forward in

13:03terms of

13:04>> the bridge the gap data has always been

13:05shared.

13:06>> Okay.

13:06>> Yeah. U the new program of course is

13:09piloted right now. So we do not have

13:10data to share with them on

13:11>> that. But but you have shared the

13:12previous work from the 2015 and I asked

13:15that if we could just get get some

13:16information on it. I, you know, I'm

13:18interested to see what data points we're

13:20looking at as in terms of showing that

13:22it's working. We're make, you know,

13:23building these relationships. You know,

13:25we're partnering with other agencies, so

13:26attendance is being impacted and so

13:28forth. I think that this is a great

13:30program and I think the public should

13:32know the impact that we're making.

13:33>> I think some of sometimes numbers in in

13:36and of themselves do not yield true

13:39>> whether or not program successful. uh is

13:41the relationships that are formed uh

13:43along with how kids navigate uh

13:47difficult situations in schools and in

13:49the in the community.

13:52>> Thank you, Mr. President.

13:54>> Mr. Reynolds,

13:55>> are these four positions currently

13:58staffed?

13:59>> No, they are not. These position these

14:01will be new hires under contracts. They

14:03will not be merit employees.

14:05>> Okay. Will they get a pension and

14:06insurance

14:07>> as merit employee? I mean, as contract

14:09employees, they will be entitled to, uh,

14:11participate in RSA, uh, but they will

14:15not be merit-based employees. So, the

14:17contracts could very well end when the

14:19funding ends.

14:20>> Okay. So, because you're the public

14:21safety director, I might assume that in

14:24the next budget, these are going to be

14:26in your public safety budget.

14:28>> No, this this this these positions will

14:31be funded for the next three years

14:32through school system.

14:33>> So, they have to be reflected in

14:34somebody's budget.

14:35>> Well, it'll be reflected in our budget,

14:36of course. Um, but these are dollars

14:38that will go, I imagine, into our

14:40general fund and those monies will be

14:43will be used for the next three years to

14:44hire to pay for the salaries of those

14:46people that we hired.

14:48>> And do you expect that you're going to

14:51spend more than $224,000

14:53for these four positions over the next

14:55three years?

14:57>> I do not.

14:58>> So, you think the the full allocation

15:00that the school board will be making to

15:02fund these will cover all of its cost?

15:05uh as I understand it now based off of

15:08what we currently do and the fact that

15:09there's nothing that I see that we need

15:11in addition to what we currently have

15:13outside of just those additional bodies.

15:15I do not

15:16>> Yeah. So I I asked that because at times

15:20you know [clears throat] when the

15:21budget's put forward we put forward

15:23across the board raises.

15:25So, have we [clears throat] accounted

15:27for those merit increases uh or you know

15:31just across the board increases in this

15:34contract?

15:37>> Good question.

15:38>> If you know if you divide 224,000 by

15:40four, you get $56,000.

15:42>> Well,

15:42>> so did we account for6,000?

15:45>> We did. We did not budget for

15:49to get to the exact dollar amount of

15:51that those salaries. So, basically we

15:54hired those personnel. we will hire

15:56those people uh and we will have funding

15:58left over from the funding. So if there

16:01are increases uh for merit based

16:04increases or cost of living increases uh

16:06that can be absorbed into the cost of

16:08which we receive from the school system.

16:09>> All right. And then operational cost

16:12>> are there

16:14and operational cost as well. I mean are

16:16they going to have any operational

16:18budget as part of this 224,000? I just

16:20want to make sure we get a full

16:21accounting of you know our contribution

16:23to this program.

16:25Well, let me answer the um the merit

16:27question first. The um so the

16:29[clears throat] merit raise only impacts

16:30current employees in the merit system or

16:32appointed positions. Okay.

16:34>> It does not include future hires which

16:37this is what that would be.

16:38>> Yeah. For the 28 for the 27 budget. I'm

16:41saying for the next budget and the

16:43following budget certainly our appointed

16:45uh employees

16:47receive raises.

16:49>> Yes. But I thought your question was

16:51specific about the 27 merit raise, but

16:54the um

16:54>> No, no, no. [clears throat] I I think

16:56every budget year we try to give a raise

16:58to everyone.

16:59>> And I think that these salaries and and

17:01Curtis will have to work that out with

17:03the superintendent would have to track

17:04whatever the school system itself is

17:06doing as far as their payroll. So it it

17:09really is separate from what we do with

17:11city employees.

17:12>> Okay. And operational cost, who's who's

17:15bearing the burden on that? Is that

17:16going to come out of your budget or

17:18certainly they're going to spend some

17:20money doing some things?

17:21>> Well, the operational cost again

17:23everything will be uh tied to the

17:25funding that we receive. I don't

17:27anticipate at this point that we will

17:28have to uh allow for any additional

17:31funding outside of the funding that we

17:33receive uh for those salaries because

17:35those salaries also include uh other

17:38allowances that we need to provide for

17:40those people who will be uh hired.

17:42>> Yeah.

17:43>> Okay. Thank you, Curtis.

17:44>> Yeah.

17:45Mr. President,

17:46>> Mr. P. [clears throat]

17:48>> So, um I know we already have the safe

17:50passage program. Is is this connected to

17:52it since we already have Williamson and

17:55Laflur already operating this program?

17:57>> Yes, it will be. It will enhance what

17:59we're currently doing with safe passage

18:01along with what we have been doing uh

18:03for quite a long time with our family

18:05intervention team uh and um and our uh

18:08community violence intervention uh

18:10specialist that we have uh working in

18:13concert with other partners like helping

18:15families and others.

18:17>> So um of course when the video went out

18:19on the news talking about the safe

18:21passage program at Williamson um I got a

18:24lot of feedback. Um, some people didn't

18:25know that it was at the floor already.

18:28Um, what methods are we utilizing to

18:30share it with the community? Um, the is

18:33the school send that information out to

18:35the parents? Is it a parent when they

18:38have their PTO meetings? Is this

18:40information shared so the parents kind

18:41of know exactly what's taking place?

18:44>> Yes, to all of that. The goal is to make

18:46sure that we saturate all avenues of

18:49communication uh uh with parents. uh the

18:52school system is working very closely

18:54with us and making sure that we identify

18:56those who would like to participate uh

18:58in the safe passage. Uh one thing that's

19:01very important for us is making sure

19:02that we have the right people

19:03volunteering. Uh so uh those folks will

19:07be vetted through us and the school

19:09system uh as they identify themselves as

19:12being or wanting to participate in that

19:14process.

19:15>> Okay. I would like to volunteer. I would

19:17like to be a part um of at of course the

19:21floor is in my district and I know

19:22figures um is in my district. So

19:25whatever I could do um from teaching a

19:27class to character [clears throat]

19:28leadership or just playing basketball

19:30with the students um I think it's great

19:32to to be a part of that. So thank you so

19:34much for the work that you're doing and

19:36just let me know what is the process of

19:38signing up so I can be there um to

19:40support this initiative.

19:41>> Absolutely. I love it. I'll get with

19:43you. And just to follow up, you know,

19:45this is such a a great program that you

19:49were doing and with the partnerships and

19:51I really don't think that the community

19:53knows what's what's happening and what

19:56we are doing. We get complaints all the

19:58time about you're not doing enough.

20:00>> So the fact that you are doing this just

20:03really needs to spread. Hopefully the

20:05media will pick up on this and

20:06understand that the city is partnering

20:08with all these agencies and that we are

20:10a part of trying to resolve some of

20:12these issues and help our kids and keep

20:14the schools safer. So yeah, I applaud

20:16the effort and I just hope everybody

20:19learns about it and picks up on it from

20:20from this.

20:21>> The goal will be to make sure that we're

20:23pushing out as much information as we

20:26can.

20:27>> Uh there are some things we're doing

20:28with council members as well. uh safe,

20:31clean, and kind uh with Councilman

20:34Fleming. Uh the goal is to educate our

20:36young people on civic awareness,

20:38responsibility, accountability

20:41u and understand at the end of the day,

20:43uh it truly does take all of us, but it

20:45starts at home. Uh but it does take all

20:47of us to participate in that process.

20:52>> All right. Thank you.

20:56>> [clears throat]

20:58>> 01968

21:00authorized memorandum of agreement with

21:02the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency in

21:04the Gulf Coast highintensity drug

21:06trafficking area for the fiscal year 26

21:08HIDA

21:10program $30,555

21:1408969

21:16approved purchase order and&d Cromwell

21:18concrete and construction for storm

21:20drainage vegetation debris removal

21:2308917971

21:251 are approving purchase orders to

21:27Butler Complete Services and Thomas A.

21:30Galloway for storm drainage, vegetation,

21:32and debris removal. 08972

21:36approved purchase order to Greybar

21:37Electric Company for traffic signal and

21:40pedestrian signal light pose $123,213.

21:45[clears throat]

21:4908973 approved purchase order traffic

21:51and parking control company for six

21:53traffic data collectors 18,7786

21:5908974 approved purchase order to Burwell

22:03material handling for um Bobcat

22:06forklifts for um the region's mobile

22:09arena $72,519.54

22:1308975 approved purchase order to Kimo

22:17Manufacturing

22:18for floor cleaning equipment $99,595.

22:2408976 approved purchase order to gray

22:27bar electric for decorative street light

22:29pose and top mounts and LED fixtures

22:33$40,672.60.

22:36>> Mr. President,

22:37>> yeah, Mr. Woods, I just want to I love

22:39these lights and several my constituents

22:42out in district 6 have said they really

22:43like the lights. They noticed them along

22:45the university. Um, so I guess I' if if

22:48possible, I'd love to potentially try to

22:51dispatch some of these when the time

22:53comes or when available um out in

22:55district six because they sure do look

22:57nice. So, thank you.

23:00>> District, [clears throat]

23:02>> that's I got it. [snorts]

23:03>> That's exactly it. Yeah,

23:06>> madam clerk.

23:0708973 approved purchase order traffic

23:10and parking control company for traffic

23:12data collectors $18,778.86

23:1708974 approved purchase order to Burwell

23:20material handling for Bobcat Fort lifts.

23:23Did I read this already?

23:24>> Yeah.

23:25>> Oh my god. [laughter]

23:29>> Yeah. Go 0977.

23:32>> Okay. Excuse me. 09977.

23:34Just in case y'all weren't paying

23:36attention, approved stipen to Captain

23:38Matthew James Cunningham for expenses

23:40acrewed while attending the FBI FBI

23:43National Academy. Uh $3,650.

23:50>> Oh, Captain Matthew James Cunningham.

23:54You just happen to know that this last

23:55night was coming.

23:57>> Um 09978

24:00allocate funds from fiscal year 2026 27

24:04CDBG census track restricted capital

24:07funds to the Taylor Landing affordable

24:09housing development $1,950,000.

24:12>> Mr. President,

24:14>> um Mr. Penn and Mr. Woods and and Miss

24:18>> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, after

24:21seeing this resolution, I have a lot of

24:23questions. Um, when I say a lot of

24:25questions, u one, um, I see that, um,

24:30the CDBG census track one, we're looking

24:33to take funding from there. One is what

24:36what would we planning on doing? Because

24:38if we were going to use vouchers

24:41for this project, now we're now using

24:43the 26 27 CDBG census track funding for

24:46it.

24:47>> That that mean it was a plan. we weren't

24:49planning on utilizing for that purpose.

24:52>> This is the mayor's capital funds next

24:54year, the four million that's CDBGC

24:56track restricted uh right now. Not sure

24:58if it's fully planned out, but that's

25:00reallocating the 2 million into this

25:02project to cover the vouchers not being

25:03available.

25:04>> So, but but yeah, but it's real. Yeah.

25:06So,

25:09>> there's generally lots of projects and

25:11plans in the works. This is the highest

25:12priority we have right now. But it

25:14wasn't the highest priority because the

25:16plan was that we were going to have

25:17vouchers to utilize this funds.

25:20>> I say the vouchers had been being

25:23discussed for over. You can see this

25:24post got stated September 2025. [snorts]

25:27We've been talking to the housing

25:28authority about this since last July and

25:31they have not allocated the vouchers

25:33properly to get them in the project. So

25:35we can't move forward on the project

25:36without the $ 1.95 million. And and so

25:40the resolution [clears throat] that I

25:42seen was approved in March for vouchers.

25:44So those were the Rome vouchers.

25:47>> Those are RAD vouchers. The developer

25:49has consistently asked for project based

25:50vouchers. It's a different uh funding

25:52source, a slightly different process. Um

25:55neither one has been approved by the

25:56housing authority plan. And so neither

25:58neither voucher.

26:01>> So when was this uh requested from the

26:03developer?

26:05Uh

26:07the developer is actually here. He

26:08probably bring bring him up and get him

26:10answer that. But uh I heard of it from

26:12the developer as early as last fall.

26:15>> Last fall.

26:16>> Yep.

26:17>> And was there any documentation with

26:19that request to the housing authority?

26:22>> The most relevant is an email from the

26:25housing authorities consultant works on

26:27vouchers to their then interim director

26:30explained how they could do it back in

26:31March.

26:35So the request the the the documentation

26:39was in March.

26:41>> The the most relevant documentation

26:43explains from the consultant to the

26:44director then exactly how to process

26:46this was from March.

26:48>> Do we have the the first request because

26:51it was stated that it was last fall.

26:53>> Yeah. I mean he's got numerous emails.

26:54He can speak to that. This is when I

26:56with Hollyan.

26:56>> Yeah we were uh yes when Yerby with

26:59Hollyan development. We were procured by

27:01the housing authority in 2023 for

27:03Oaklan, then by the city um in 2025 for

27:08the city of BG. Um when this project

27:11came on came under discussion, obviously

27:14the mayor and met with the housing

27:17authority back in the um I think August

27:20of 25. We had a follow-up meeting in um

27:24probably October, November with the

27:26interim director and other folks about

27:28the process that need to be followed um

27:31to um to have the impact that the city

27:34is hoping to have on the Oaklan

27:36development 1010, what's referred to as

27:381010. So that those conversations

27:41started in the fall, had numerous

27:44conversations with the interim director

27:46um and staff about the process. Um,

27:49obviously,

27:51um, you can't have vouchers unless

27:52you're procured appropriately. Uh, we've

27:55done probably about $300 million worth

27:58of public housing redevelopment across

27:59the state and have used the PBV process

28:03on probably about a half a dozen

28:05projects. So, it it is doable, but you

28:07have to follow the process throughout.

28:10And um our understanding and talking is

28:12that the housing authority did intend to

28:15do that but you know until the board

28:17actually acts formally on it um is not

28:20done. You know you're you're still in

28:22conversation and stuff. So

28:24>> So [clears throat]

28:26the um just to get clarity um last fall

28:30you did send a request that that from a

28:32documentation you could show that you

28:34requested this information this [snorts]

28:36the type of voucher you need. Well, we

28:37had actually a meeting um with um the

28:41interim director and I believe the

28:43chairman at that time to discuss what

28:45would be needed to have to be done. They

28:47would have to initiate the process um

28:49because it's it's a procurement process

28:52and so but we had those conversations at

28:55least starting back in the fall and have

28:57had numerous conversations throughout

28:58the process. We thought the process was

29:00moving forward but again until the board

29:03actually acts to formally do it, it's

29:05not complete. So you didn't find that

29:07out to March when you saw it was RAD

29:09vouchers instead of the [clears throat]

29:11>> um that's right the board acting that

29:13way. We had conversation the problem

29:14with the RAD one of the problems with

29:16the RAD vouchers is you've got deadlines

29:17with the CDBG funding the city has um

29:21the RAD process is a very convoluted

29:23approval process. We've been working

29:25with the city of Selma and just give you

29:26an example. We started the initial

29:28submission in the fall of 24 and didn't

29:30get final approval until August of 26.

29:33We didn't have the time to work through

29:36that process with the RAD because it's a

29:38much more convoluted process.

29:40>> So what is the time frame that are are

29:43we in a time crunch

29:46>> in getting this project or getting these

29:48funds released?

29:50>> Yes, the CBGDR funds from the state have

29:52to be spent by uh we have to complete

29:54the project by the middle of 2028. Uh

29:56the construction timeline all these are

29:58about 18 months and you have to rent it

29:59up also. So there's there's not any

30:02time. The the bond side from the Alabama

30:04Housing Finance Authority, they're

30:05requesting from the developer updates

30:07every two weeks. And if you don't show

30:09progress, they're going to cut your bond

30:10application approval off. And they're

30:12trying to close all those by the end of

30:13the year, which is really the end of

30:14November to them.

30:16>> So [clears throat]

30:18are you um stating that this need we

30:20need to move forward with something by

30:22November?

30:23>> No, we need to move forward earlier than

30:25that because if they don't have an

30:26update to AHFA, HFA will cut off their

30:28bond approval. And so I can clarify on

30:30that. Yeah, the HFA called and said that

30:33if we're not ready to close by the end

30:35of September, they're not going to close

30:37this fall and that would put us off into

30:39next spring, which would then jeopardize

30:40the CDBG funding. That's the that's the

30:43time constraints that are being imposed.

30:46So So if we know that if we we the

30:50information that we received in March

30:52that it was RAD vouchers, why is this

30:55council just receiving this information

30:57now? Now it's the last minute and we got

30:59to make a move by the end of September

31:02and it's September now.

31:03>> You have to ask the housing authority

31:04for that. They've been telling us the

31:06whole time that they're willing to work

31:08on the projects till really recently

31:11when it just lost lost communication

31:13with them. The mayor actually sent them

31:14an a letter. Find the exact date.

31:18>> August 11th.

31:19>> August 11th. We didn't get a response

31:21until 10 p.m. after this item hit the

31:23agenda. So

31:24>> that same day. So you we have

31:26documentation saying that we have that

31:28they stated that they was working with

31:31us with this project based voucher.

31:33>> That's the March I yeah the March email

31:34from their consultant was walking

31:37through that the projectbased side to

31:39vouchers.

31:40They did the RAD as a placeholder to

31:42keep the bond application alive.

31:45>> All right. Um and this my last question

31:48because I know we have other people. Um,

31:50can I get the what? Cuz [clears throat]

31:52to me, we had to have a plan for 27 26

31:55and 27 CDBG. What was the plan? What

31:59what how is this project going to hurt

32:02other projects that was in the work? I

32:04would like to receive that information.

32:05And I also would like to see what have

32:07we done with the CDBG census track these

32:10past three years, how funding was

32:14>> the the second question. Uh generally

32:17the first two years it was to plug other

32:18gaps in infrastructure projects. This

32:20last year the mayor put in a million

32:22dollars towards critical repair grant.

32:24There's uh some light street lighting

32:26congress in Baltimore street. I believe

32:28the congress is moving to a different

32:29project working with counselor. The um

32:32there's acquisition demolition of bite

32:35line item in there and I don't remember

32:37the other one but it's it's equivalent

32:39type projects for that but it's it's all

32:41the current year expand. Oh it's Taylor

32:43Park to move the baseball field.

32:47That's part of this project.

32:48[clears throat]

32:51>> Yes, I like how

32:53we can certainly get you something in

32:54writing on how those funds have been

32:56expended over the last three years. As

32:59far as the plans for this funding, uh,

33:02you know, ultimately

33:04we had to decide, you know, after an

33:08August phone call, um, [clears throat] a

33:11failure to have a specially set board

33:13meeting to at least begin the process of

33:16dedicating these projectbased vouchers.

33:18Prior to September 3rd, we had to make

33:20the move to place this in front of the

33:22council. We don't want to risk uh loss

33:26of over $10 million worth of CDBG, you

33:29know, federal funding going towards this

33:31project. This project, you know, we hope

33:35will change the face of Baltimore Street

33:37permanently. Um we're already investing

33:39so much money there at the rec center,

33:42obviously with the baseball field as

33:43well, moving that. The ultimate hope is

33:45that we can put the the individuals, the

33:48families living at 1010 Baltimore,

33:50Oaklan into these brand new units once

33:53they are completed. You know, what

33:55happens to 1010 after that I think is

33:57part of this discussion. Maybe part of

33:59the hesitancy to act at this point by

34:02the housing authority. Um, but we c we

34:05continue to communicate with them. We

34:07have received that email as of September

34:103rd, you know, wanting to discuss this.

34:13I believe there still is a pathway

34:14forward uh for their plan to be updated,

34:17for the the board to act, for the plan

34:19to be updated and for these projectbased

34:22vouchers to be applied prior to us

34:24expending any of this money that we are

34:27asking you to allocate and dedicate

34:28today. That is still our goal. That is

34:31something that we will continue to to

34:32work on. Uh but from the city's

34:35standpoint, uh I believe from from many

34:38of your standpoint to have a

34:39generational project that can truly

34:42change the lives of the individuals uh

34:44in that community uh frankly who are

34:47living in in a place that according to

34:50Holly Han back in 2023

34:53uh was was obsolete. It was not a a

34:56community a development that could be

34:58rehabilitated and that this was the

35:00pathway forward especially for those

35:02residents. um you know rather than lose

35:05out on that funding and lose out on the

35:07opportunity to really change the face of

35:09that area um we made this move to put

35:12this on the council agenda. It is our

35:14hope that these funds will still be

35:15deployed in the manner we you know we've

35:18been I won't say a shotgun approach but

35:20we've been taking the approach uh

35:22through critical repair through blight

35:24remediation um through a number of

35:26mechanisms to affect housing and mobile.

35:30It is still my hope that this 1.95

35:33is still going to be deployed in that

35:35manner. Um but but for a project of this

35:39magnitude uh we can't risk that funding

35:42and we're asking the council to dedicate

35:44this funding today in the shared hope

35:47that ultimately it will not have to be

35:49expended on this project that we will be

35:51able to uh update the housing

35:53authorities plan and get these

35:54projectbased vouchers.

36:00[clears throat]

36:01>> Mr. was

36:02>> uh Jamie uh this this money that we're

36:05we're transferring over to to bridge the

36:07gap uh should we have to use it just

36:10like the mayor said uh obviously working

36:12continue to work with the housing board

36:14I I [clears throat] heard from several

36:15members this weekend um about about this

36:18uh obviously there's two sides to every

36:21story um this 1.9 if we have to expend

36:25it um is this a reimburseable back if if

36:28if we have to spend a dollar of this And

36:31then the housing authority goes through

36:32and they they approve the voucher type

36:34that that was needed. Um in I mean is

36:37this re is this a reimburseable expense

36:38back?

36:39>> Yes, this will be a mortgage. So until

36:40the vouchers are applied it's deferred

36:42forgiven. If the vouchers get applied

36:44then it advertises and pays back.

36:46[clears throat]

36:46>> Gotcha. And then um as far as when this

36:49project was was underwritten I guess um

36:51obviously there's a plug RAD the RAD

36:53voucher was the plug. So so the project

36:55was was underwritten or planned for to

36:58be funded by RAD vouchers. this isn't

37:00something that that you know through the

37:03through the process of of getting

37:04everything started um we we didn't say

37:07oh well never mind we we're not going to

37:08use the type that they approved because

37:10they they did approve some vouchers

37:11already for this project

37:12>> the difference between two well the

37:14administrative type difference between

37:15two vouchers is that the RAD vouchers

37:18require HUD approval it's a different

37:19office Chicago has to go to takes they

37:22actually just change their software

37:23you're not even allowed to submit your

37:25application right now so they're in the

37:26middle of a software change up once they

37:27get their software back up and running

37:29it takes about six months to get through

37:30the uh fair housing office and then

37:34another six months or so to get the

37:36project under it and approved on their

37:37side. So at least a year a few months

37:39out once the software change over

37:40happens. The project based vouchers are

37:42local decision. The housing authority

37:43can approve as staff that it meets all

37:46the criteria which has already been done

37:48from Maryville. Uh it's a very similar

37:51setup. The uh economic development going

37:54on the area is going to be the same. the

37:55Airbus property, the airport, what

37:57they're doing, um location, the jobs,

38:00that kind of stuff. So, the local

38:02decision bypasses all that federal HUD

38:04over oversight on it and they can do

38:06that much faster.

38:07>> Gotcha. And um so I I am glad to hear

38:10that y'all are working with the housing

38:12authority are are trying to find a um

38:15trying to find a solution. Um I

38:17[clears throat] do have an amendment to

38:18the to the resolution. is basically just

38:20removing one line from the 1 2 3 4 from

38:23the fourth warehouse. Um the line cost

38:25by the mobile housing authorities

38:26abstension to participate with project

38:28based vouchers

38:30takes that out. Just says that we have a

38:31financing gap. I I don't see throwing a

38:34throwing a M when the people are still

38:35working.

38:36>> Fair enough. That was 10 years of

38:37frustration.

38:39Thank you,

38:40>> Mr. President.

38:41>> Madame uh Ingram [clears throat] and

38:43then Vice President.

38:45>> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, as a

38:47followup um to Councilman Wood's um

38:49question,

38:51you [clears throat] the RAD states that

38:53the resolution was a the RAD uh voucher

38:56was approved March um 19th, 2026. So in

39:01March, the original request that came

39:04from the and I think the project what is

39:07it Halahan development and figures

39:09program did that request come from

39:12Halahan development and figures or did

39:13it come from the city? the original

39:15request for the type of voucher.

39:17>> So all voucher generated applications

39:19come from the developer. I have speak

39:21that the housing get housing uh on the

39:23city side gets involved when the

39:25projects appears feasible. Okay. And

39:27they apply to us separately.

39:30[clears throat and cough]

39:32>> Yes. The conversations from the

39:34beginning were about the PBV process. Um

39:37due to some time constraints there there

39:40was issues. The housing authority was

39:41concerned about their capacity initially

39:44about whether they had available PBVS

39:46because they've committed to a lot of

39:48other projects. Um HUD was also going

39:51through some budgetary issues. the the

39:54RAD was available, but the time, you

39:57know, once the RAD was approved um and

39:59that at that point, we we then had some

40:03fairly um concrete conversations with

40:06the Alabama Housing Finance Authority

40:07about [clears throat] the timing issues

40:08that we would have on this project. And

40:10as I mentioned, just you know, the pro

40:12project we've done in Selma, it took us

40:14two almost two years to get through the

40:16RAD process. and that just would not

40:18work um you know for what we're trying

40:20to accomplish [clears throat] here given

40:21the time constraints with the other

40:22federal money that's coming down the

40:24pike.

40:24>> Okay. So it was determined that the RAD

40:27wouldn't work but but that showed a good

40:29faith effort. They move forward with the

40:30RAD and you realize that that did not

40:33work

40:33>> right and we had subsequent

40:34conversations about the PBV and again

40:37not until the board acts you know

40:39nothing is formal but we certainly had

40:41conversations with staff with the

40:43interim director. the interim director

40:45called um asked what we needed, laid

40:48laid out what we needed to do. Now,

40:50typically we've always been procured um

40:53and um and made very clear you have to

40:55be procured. That's what we've always

40:57done in the past. I was told that there

40:59was a way to move forward with the PBV

41:01without a formal procurement. So, we

41:03thought it was teed up and ready to go

41:05and stuff. So, again, that's that was

41:08the process. And so my follow-up

41:09question is so um from the city side so

41:13March the 19th they approved the board

41:15approved a resolution.

41:18So in March um was the administration

41:21aware of the fact that it was a rad and

41:23that we had some issues?

41:25>> Yeah, those conversations continued.

41:26What that did really was allowed the the

41:28developer to submit their application to

41:30the HFA with the initial underwriting

41:32with everybody locally knew the swap out

41:34was expected of the voucher type.

41:36>> Okay. All right. So then they show good

41:38faith effort and so then they were in

41:39the process now of trying to move to a

41:41project base and that just didn't happen

41:43in a timely manner right what I'm hear

41:45>> to to add on something he said the the

41:46procurement uh not to bypass it but the

41:48essentialment

41:50of project based vouchers is to add the

41:52housing authority affiliate to the

41:53project and so mobile development

41:55enterprises their nonprofit affiliate

41:57that the board chair and vice chair are

41:59members of as board members and then the

42:01directors the third board member they're

42:02part of [clears throat] the deal they're

42:03part of the development team and they

42:05get first right refusal to buy it when

42:06the timelines run off of it.

42:08>> Okay. And and just as um back to

42:12Councilman Pin's request, I think he

42:14requested if we can see for the last

42:15three years uh the CDBG the expenditures

42:19for the last three years by district how

42:21that has been expended and then

42:23>> I'm not going to have two of those

42:24years. Nick Amber managed it the first

42:26couple years. So be John probably has

42:28that. Uh this current year I'll have

42:30some numbers on that.

42:31>> Okay. If if we can get it but it's in

42:33our system, right? Okay. So if we can

42:35get that for the last three years in

42:37writing and then the last part um you

42:39spoke of you know um the you know

42:43district 2 has 300,000 of that four four

42:45million. So if we can get the full

42:47picture of the 4 million and the plans

42:49for this year I think you went on to say

42:51that there are plans for this year um in

42:53terms of when I say this year 2026 2027

42:57if we can get the actual plans and what

43:00that $2 million was reallocated from

43:02that would be great. Thank you.

43:06Mr. President,

43:08>> um, [clears throat] very quickly, Jamie,

43:10um, my questions really have been

43:12answered already through through all of

43:14this, but I just wanted to reiterate

43:16what, uh, Councilman Woods had said, and

43:18you agree to that this allocation can be

43:21reallocated back into the CDBG program

43:24and any of these other projects that we

43:26had been looking at doing that did not

43:28include this particular housing

43:30development. Correct.

43:32>> That's correct. The only caveat to that,

43:34spoken to the singer about it the other

43:35day, the disaster funds have a

43:38duplication of benefits. It's the

43:39Stafford Act triggers. So those if if

43:42funding is deducted in whole all at

43:44once, that funding is paid back to the

43:45state first. So it has to be advertised

43:47payback as just mortgaged.

43:49>> Okay.

43:50>> All we would still be paid back.

43:52>> Right. Right.

43:52>> Okay,

43:54>> Mr. President. Mr. P.

43:55>> But the only way to get the payback is

43:57from the housing authority. Correct. The

43:59vouchers coming in would offset the need

44:03essentially for the 1.95. So the

44:04developer would actually pay us the

44:05mortgage back over time.

44:07>> So the vouchers, but we still need the

44:08projectbased vouchers, right, to get

44:10that paid,

44:10>> right?

44:11>> So have they agreed for the project

44:13base? Because right now we still at RAD.

44:15>> Correct.

44:16>> So it's not a guarantee we're going to

44:18get paid back if they don't agree to the

44:20project base. Is that correct?

44:23>> That's true. There is one uh slight

44:25tweak once the project's been built. uh

44:28HUD considers that's an ex existing uh

44:30structure and the site and neighborhood

44:33standards which seems to be part of the

44:34issue the housing authority has falls

44:35off it's not a requirement anymore so it

44:37may actually be easier once it's done

44:41>> thank you

44:43Mr. Woods

44:44>> I just want to say I'm very impressed

44:46with your knowledge of federal uh

44:48regulations

44:50>> Mr. rentals.

44:51>> I I don't understand this completely. Um

44:54it's very complicated in my mind. My

44:56simple

44:56>> it's complicated to all of us.

44:57>> Um [laughter]

44:58we're taking a portion of the one cent

45:01sales tax that's allocated to CDBG

45:04eligible census tracks cash that's

45:06received from that and we're giving that

45:08money to who?

45:10>> It's going in the mortgage to the

45:11developer.

45:12>> So we're going to lend the the money to

45:14the developer,

45:15>> right?

45:15>> Okay. And then that developer is going

45:18to build this project.

45:20>> Okay? And then they're going to lease it

45:22to people that are going to have

45:25vouchers.

45:26>> Currently, there's no vouchers, which is

45:28why this gap's caused because the rent

45:29charge is going to be lower.

45:30>> Guarantee a voucher,

45:31>> right? Well, the current setup with no

45:33vouchers is that the rent has to be

45:35substantially lower than if there were a

45:37voucher. If the vouchers get applied,

45:39the rent can go up to what the market

45:40rate is, and that offsets the need, and

45:42that's where they can pay us back the

45:43difference. So they they have these

45:45apartments or town houses,

45:47>> right? It is

45:48>> town houses and they put it out for

45:49rent. And what you're saying is they

45:52can't

45:54they can't say uh we've got this

45:58townhouse for rent for $1,000. They have

46:01to restrict it to a lower amount.

46:03>> It'll be a lower amount based on the

46:04people's income. So the income coming

46:06through is going to be 50% of their

46:07immediate income for the most part. uh

46:09some 60s. AHFA's financing dictates

46:12that's a lower amount than our normal

46:14amount.

46:14>> That's like a a federal thing,

46:15>> right?

46:16>> Because we're getting this federal

46:17money.

46:18>> You're using tax credits. We'll have an

46:19investor. Um it's actually going to be

46:22um Service First Bank and Raymond James

46:24buy the tax but the tax credits limit

46:26your rents to an affordable rent and in

46:29the market.

46:30>> So third party buys into the tax credit

46:34and the developer has lower rents. So

46:36your project based vouchers would give

46:37you more of a market rent as opposed to

46:39an affordable rent. And and by losing

46:41that, that would allow us to then pay

46:44back the funds.

46:45>> So yeah, it's it's 30% of somebody's

46:47income unless they have a voucher

46:49because then you can charge current

46:51market rate, which for a threebedroom is

46:531362

46:54uh instead of probably $7,00.

46:58>> All right. When when y'all say uh

47:00without this it doesn't work, what does

47:02that mean? it doesn't cash flow enough

47:04to maintain the property. And what is

47:06there like a specific rate that you know

47:08we got to get to or I mean right to

47:10maintain the debt or I mean

47:12>> the these you um

47:15these properties are underwritten by the

47:17Alabama Housing Finance Authority and by

47:19HUD if you get vouchers and so you have

47:23um you bring your very you know you have

47:25to disclose all your funding to the

47:26state and um if there's a gap where the

47:30if there's a gap that doesn't where the

47:31project doesn't work the investor won't

47:33invest and they're putting And I think

47:36here we've got a lot of CDBG because of

47:37the nature of the project, but we have

47:39about 10 or 11 million coming in from

47:41Service First and Raymond James. They're

47:44partnering on the project, but they

47:46essentially they're the 99% owner. So

47:49they look at it from standpoint, is it

47:51financially viable or not? If it's not

47:52financially viable, they want to invest.

47:54>> What What is like market on financial

47:56viability for these sort of deals? Like

47:59your rate of return, would it be, you

48:01know, 6% or 50%. Um, to be frank from

48:06standpoint of the investor, I don't I

48:08don't really spend too much time running

48:10their numbers. They tell us what they'll

48:12pay for the project and stuff for the

48:14for the for the credits and then we use

48:16that to see if we can make the project

48:18work. Build it.

48:19>> I wonder if the these investors have uh

48:22sent any notice to the de to the

48:24developer whoever saying, "Hey, if you

48:26don't get this, we can't underwrite the

48:27deal."

48:28>> Well, yeah, we've had we talk to them

48:30every pretty much every day because

48:31we're we're in a

48:32>> That's what they say. Yes, we're in a

48:34race to get um this closed by the end of

48:37the month. So, we talk daily on it and

48:39stuff. So,

48:40>> Okay. Um

48:43Jamie, you said something. I just want

48:45to make sure I understand it. You said

48:46something about board members being a

48:49part of some other organization. And it

48:53seemed to me like you painted a picture,

48:55and I may be wrong here, that there is

48:57an incentive not to approve PPV. No,

49:00there should be an incentive of two to

49:01approve it because they Mobile

49:03Development Enterprise is a nonprofit

49:05affiliate totally owned by the housing

49:06authority.

49:07>> Okay.

49:07>> The board chair, the vice chair, and the

49:09director are the board members of the

49:10nonprofit.

49:11>> Okay.

49:11>> They're unpaid. Uh but that that

49:14nonprofit is actually part of the

49:16development team. They get a fee for

49:17participating and then they get a first

49:19right of refusal when the the timelines

49:20run on the bonds to buy the property.

49:23>> First right of refusal on the timelines

49:25of the bonds to buy.

49:26>> So is it how many years? Well, typically

49:29it's 15 years.

49:30>> So after 15 years, MD will have first

49:32right to purchase this property uh above

49:34anybody else. And so the housing

49:36authority is very likely to own this at

49:37the [clears throat] end of this in 15

49:39years. So they have full incentive to do

49:40this project.

49:41>> Okay. All right. And and the P to get

49:44the PBV done, they have to modify their

49:47annual plan. Is that is that what the

49:49drag is?

49:50>> And that's what the that's what the

49:51issue right now is because it takes a

49:5245day comment period and then HUD gets

49:54to review it for up to 75 days. And so

49:56we neither type of voucher has been sent

49:59through their annual plan process. And

50:00so either one of those you lose at least

50:02100 days. Um if it's rad, you probably

50:05lose another year.

50:06>> Project.

50:06>> I get all that. I think I get all that.

50:10>> One last thing is uh it's important that

50:14I from my perspective that this money is

50:16repaid uh that we're putting out. I'm

50:18hoping for that too.

50:19>> It's not just going to some developer's

50:21pocket. You know,

50:23>> I understand they got to the deal's got

50:24to make sense. But you said something

50:26about a

50:29a mortgage that we couldn't collect on

50:32or something like [snorts] that or

50:33>> it's going to have trigger language in

50:34it. So if the vouchers come in that it

50:36advertises and pays back immediately

50:39>> forgivable mortgage

50:41>> without the vouchers there's no way to

50:42offset those lower rents and would end

50:44up being a deferred forgivable mortgage.

50:47>> Mortgage I don't know what that is.

50:49essentially a grant, but they won't let

50:50you call it that with HFA because it

50:52comes into other business practice

50:54issues on accounting.

50:55>> So, they wouldn't be required to pay it

50:57back,

50:57>> right?

50:58>> The the developer. So, we're basically

51:00granting the money

51:00>> if the vouchers don't come into play

51:02later. Yeah.

51:03>> Yeah. Okay. And and if

51:06>> just to clarify, it is it does have to

51:08be structured as a loan. A soft loan

51:10typically has deferred interest, then

51:12it's owed at the end of the compliance

51:14period and stuff. Now, if we'd had the

51:16vouchers, we'd have a larger first

51:18mortgage that goes um would go to a

51:21lender. And since those vouchers didn't

51:24come in, we have a lower amount. So,

51:25you're filling the gap with a soft loan,

51:27as we call it, but it will stay on the

51:29property and stuff.

51:32>> Okay.

51:33>> And those vouchers that if they don't

51:35didn't get used for this project, they

51:37would get used somewhere else by

51:40>> Yeah, it could go anywhere in the

51:41county. They can go anywhere in the

51:42county.

51:43>> Yeah.

51:44>> All right. Thank you, J. Councilwoman,

51:46>> M. Thank you, Mr. President. Jamie, I

51:48just want to confirm um the um we're not

51:52going to use the RAD. We can't use the

51:54RAD. That that doesn't comply. And and

51:57at this point, the projectbased uh

51:59vouchers um that's not available because

52:02of the timing. And so therefore, when

52:05we're saying that we're it's going to be

52:06reimbursed, it's not going to be

52:09reimbursed like $2 million back over

52:11time, years to come, that reimbursement

52:14because anything else could trigger

52:15supplanting or something like that. Am I

52:17correct?

52:17>> Right. Yeah. It it could potentially be

52:19escalated. We could negotiate with the

52:21developer, but it would have to be a

52:22monthly payment over time.

52:24>> Thank you,

52:26J.

52:38>> [cough and clears throat]

52:58>> Yeah. Sorry. Sorry.

53:09>> Okay. Yeah. Sorry. So, mayor's reminded

53:11me the funding we currently are asking

53:14for doesn't need to actually be paid out

53:16in the 27 budget. It'd be the 28 budget

53:18because the development cycle we have to

53:21allocate it need need it allocated and

53:23put in a mortgage during the 27. But if

53:24the council wanted to move the money to

53:26some other category in 28 budget

53:28negotiations, that's available.

53:30>> So the money would still be available.

53:31>> It just needs to be encumbered for this

53:33closing to happen in the next 30 to 45

53:35days. And it's not going to be used by

53:37the developer till probably middle of 27

53:41calendar year.

53:42>> But if we if we can determine a way to

53:43get the larger mortgage as anticipated,

53:46then we can just pay it back. But the

53:48question is the complications with the

53:49other funding is is the is the

53:52complication.

53:52>> Yeah. If it wasn't for the disaster

53:54funding triggered Stafford Act, this

53:56wouldn't be that difficult. We could

53:57escalate it and it'll pay back in two

53:58years, but with the Stafford Act, we

54:00have to be very careful because we don't

54:01want to be getting extra things involved

54:03so we pay a DECA back. We want to keep

54:05the money local.

54:07>> All right, [clears throat] Jamie. Uh,

54:08thank you so much. Um, I appreciate you

54:10and the mayor for working hard on this

54:12project, especially you. I know you've

54:13been on this project for several years.

54:15Can you explain to this council one uh

54:18more time exactly where all the money

54:20sources are coming from for this

54:22particular project?

54:23>> Yes. So the city has 11.8 million in

54:26CDBG DR funds from ODCA. It's that's HUD

54:29provided that to ODA for Sally and Zed

54:30Hurricanes. Um the I'll have to get the

54:34developer to answer the other questions

54:35on the he's got first mortgage and then

54:36the voucher value is the 1.95 is the

54:39voucher value if they do

54:40>> it's about a $26 million project. like I

54:42said 12 roughly 12 million with CDBG.

54:45Um most of the balance will be equity

54:47from the investor and then we'll get as

54:50large a per mortgage as we can get but

54:52because of the you know you know not

54:53having the PBV it only generates about

54:57um about a million and a half I think of

54:59a regular mortgage and stuff. So that so

55:02that's how you feel that's how that's

55:04the basics of the financing.

55:06>> Okay. Yeah. [snorts]

55:07>> Um I would like to ask our chairman of

55:10the finance committee because u I know

55:12we using a lot of DECA money and

55:14majority of this council was not present

55:16when that money came in. We like to

55:18probably get an update on the DECA and

55:22also on the uh ARA money um that came

55:25from CO um to see exactly uh for this

55:28council because it's pretty much a brand

55:30new council and they wasn't here. So I

55:32want uh our chairman to look into that.

55:35Um again um this project here that's

55:38before us today and again this you know

55:40what's before us is pretty much a um

55:42like a I'm going to say a note for the

55:45mayor is say hey we we guarantee this

55:47almost $2 million um we don't want to

55:49send no money back um this project is

55:52very important not you know I know what

55:54the mayor said about the residents but

55:56it's really for the city of Mobile um

55:59Baltimore Street is no secret you know

56:01it's probably it was the the worst you

56:04know area community in the city of

56:06Mobile, especially before I got on

56:07council. But when I got on council, uh,

56:10one of the first thing I stated that I

56:12want to redo Baltimore Street, and that

56:14was back in 2012, and we started off

56:17revitalized that whole entire street,

56:19which looks a whole lot better. Whole

56:22lot better. Now, the uh city is now

56:25revitalizing Taylor Park u, which is the

56:27recreation center in there, put in

56:28millions of dollars there. Now, um, we

56:31are looking to build town homes. um

56:34between that and the uh renovation um

56:37excuse me revitalize and an street to

56:41where um RV Taylor is that we're going

56:45to be doing homes there between um off

56:48of Arlington Street and from Arlington

56:50Street to Herail Street and then last

56:52week we passed a resolution with um

56:55Broad Street. The whole area is about to

56:57be revitalized. Um I'm very excited. um

57:01the residents in that area really didn't

57:03think no hope was coming be before I got

57:05on the council. They never thought that

57:07Baltimore Street was going to be

57:08revitalized because they kept on being

57:10told that the city did not have any

57:11money. But uh with the u revitalization

57:15of um Baltimore Street, the wreck now

57:18building town homes um with the homes

57:20that's coming up on Herail Street, the

57:22homes that coming up on Arlington

57:24Street, revitalizing up RV, revitalizing

57:27a Broad Street that's leading to

57:29Brooklyn by the Bay and our um new

57:32airport. That area is going to be one of

57:33the best areas. It's going to be like a

57:35turnaround. It's like almost like a 360,

57:37a flip from one of the baddest areas in

57:40the city to one of the best areas in the

57:42city. Only thing I'm asking uh for this

57:45administration um is make sure we just

57:47do enforcement because this area u we do

57:51have some rentals uh rentals in the area

57:53that people not keeping up their

57:55property. But um when we get rid of

57:57blight, crime will follow and get be

58:00gone also. So with the um assistant with

58:03administration with fighting the um

58:06current uh rentals around there that's

58:09you know not taking up care of their

58:10properties to enforce them to take care

58:12of their properties. This area is going

58:14to be a 360 degree change and I'm very

58:17excited and again it's not just for the

58:19residents at 1010 Baltimore Street. It's

58:22for the city of Mobile um take a black

58:24um to cover up a black eye that have

58:26been hindering this city for years. And

58:28again, I do appreciate all your hard

58:30work. Um, Jamie, and you do have a map

58:33on the side of you. Can you tell us what

58:34your map is is all about?

58:36>> Since I got it. So, this is a slightly

58:39changed since then. This is the building

58:41on top.

58:43A little little wider, a little

58:44skinnier. But this is street here, Kelly

58:47Street here. Uh, the town houses. This

58:50is 10 townhouse up front. A threetory uh

58:54scener.

58:56Um this this is 70 units 69 would be

59:00vouchers 70 units here to dis this place

59:04essentially 1010 to move over 70 units.

59:07This will allow housing court in future

59:09years demolish 70 on the back over here

59:11and apply for another tax credit on the

59:12back and get another 50 which when all

59:15said and done they could demolish the

59:16front move back entire thing will be

59:19gone. The front will be for potentially

59:20for single family housing

59:25the baseball. Don't [clears throat] mind

59:27the baseball field on top of the tree.

59:28We work that out. We'll cut somebody a

59:31little more pressure.

59:34>> So pretty much working with the housing

59:36board, you know, we could get rid of

59:38that statement of 1010 Baltimore Street.

59:40Um this council remember um maybe a year

59:42and a half ago. uh this came before us,

59:45a resolution came before us and I said

59:47one thing I want you to do is get rid of

59:49that that number 1010 Baltimore Street.

59:51Many people didn't even think that the

59:52project had a name which is called

59:54Oakland Homes and um but it's not 1010.

59:58It's called Oakland Homes but want to

59:59get rid of that statement. And again um

1:00:02thank you u Councilman Woods for

1:00:04bringing in that amendment u to um go

1:00:07ahead and stretch it out. Again, this is

1:00:08a partnership between the city and the

1:00:11um and the housing board. And I want to

1:00:13be add as a sponsor. Um madam clerk.

1:00:16>> Okay,

1:00:17>> Mr. Roberts,

1:00:18>> one more thing, just a stat that uh

1:00:19public safety helped me get. Uh over the

1:00:21last 12 months, 1010 has had 522 calls

1:00:24for service from public safety. It's 1.4

1:00:26a day. Uh so that's, you know, impacting

1:00:29the need for doing this.

1:00:30>> Yeah. And I just want to put this out

1:00:32there too. majority of the cause, the

1:00:34issues over there at 1010, it's not the

1:00:37residents itself, it's the outsiders,

1:00:39right? So, I mean, now I'm probably

1:00:41putting a little salt on the housing

1:00:42board with this, but they need to make

1:00:44sure that trying to maintain um bad

1:00:48people from coming over into that area.

1:00:51So, I hope with the new developer make

1:00:53sure that it's just like on Herail

1:00:55Street, keeping bad people out of it

1:00:57because again, majority of the issues

1:00:59that's over there, it's not the

1:01:00residents, it's the people outside.

1:01:03Thank you. Next,

1:01:06>> Madam Clerk,

1:01:08>> 09979,

1:01:10consider adoption of the 2026 2027

1:01:12general fund and capital improvement

1:01:14fund budgets.

1:01:1631980

1:01:18authoriz mayor to apply, accept, and

1:01:20receive a grant from the Federal Transit

1:01:21Administration for five new trolley

1:01:24style buses 1,360,000.

1:01:27>> Mr. President,

1:01:28>> uh, Miss Pen,

1:01:30>> u with these new tri I saw the new one.

1:01:32um out outside look good. Um I think is

1:01:35is great um to have [clears throat] um

1:01:37these type of um buses. Um my only um

1:01:41concern I want to get more information

1:01:42by bringing five new tries. Are these

1:01:45tries will be ADA accessible? Um when

1:01:48you got seniors um trying to get on

1:01:51these tries, would they be able to

1:01:53utilize it?

1:01:56>> Absolutely. Um absolutely. If you saw

1:01:58the new one today, it does have, you

1:02:00know, that hydraulic lift that could be

1:02:02lowered that can pick people up from

1:02:03ground level whether whether they want

1:02:05to step onto that or um you know, use

1:02:08any kind of motorized device or

1:02:09wheelchair or anything else they may

1:02:11need. Um we are going to ensure that any

1:02:14of these trolleys will be ADA compliant.

1:02:18Mr. [clears throat]

1:02:18>> President, Mr. Reynolds,

1:02:20>> this $320,000

1:02:24I hope that this is not costing us extra

1:02:27money. This is going to be offset by

1:02:29some way somehow where we're going to be

1:02:33not spending any new money if the grant

1:02:35is given [clears throat] to us for new

1:02:37equipment.

1:02:38>> You know, there is some uh some dollars

1:02:41within the via contract that go towards

1:02:43capital improvements.

1:02:45Uh there is also the opportunity to

1:02:48pursue um you know grantee to grantee

1:02:51transfers of the vehicle. So, for the

1:02:53most part, if we get these five

1:02:56trolleys, we're going to offload five

1:02:58other vehicles, likely buses. And so,

1:03:01through that sale, um, through that

1:03:03sale, as well as VIA's capital funds, we

1:03:07expect to be able to cover this 320.

1:03:10>> So, net neutral on our fleet cost

1:03:14>> as far as size. Yes.

1:03:17>> Okay. Oh, no. What do you mean size? I'm

1:03:19talking about money.

1:03:20>> Well, size of the fleet and Yeah.

1:03:21dollars as well. Okay. Um,

1:03:27I guess that's it for now. Thank you,

1:03:30>> Mr. President.

1:03:31>> Yes, madam.

1:03:33>> Again, I'm excited, too. You saw it

1:03:35outside. You get all excited when you

1:03:37see the new look. Uh, that looks great.

1:03:40My follow-up question is when we talk

1:03:42about the new trolley style buses that

1:03:44are coming, and I know you've shared

1:03:46with us before that you really don't

1:03:47know how many are going to come off, how

1:03:49many are going to be, you know, come on.

1:03:51when can we get a a plan just an idea of

1:03:53like what what's the future in terms of

1:03:56the budget for this in terms of where

1:03:58we're trying to go in the next three to

1:04:00three years

1:04:01>> you know I think to some degree the

1:04:03proof will be in the pudding as we you

1:04:05know this redesign predates my

1:04:08administration um in the end the goal is

1:04:11frequency increase frequency so that

1:04:14people who want to use our system can

1:04:16get to where they're going in a timely

1:04:18manner quickly at a reasonable price. Um

1:04:21the success of this redesign, the the

1:04:23amount of ridership that we continue to

1:04:25see, my hope is that uh through the the

1:04:30introduction of trolleys as well as the

1:04:32microtransit network, we're going to see

1:04:34increased writership. That's more

1:04:35dollars coming back into the system,

1:04:37more dollars that can be applied to the

1:04:39system. Um, but when it comes to the

1:04:42overall uh trade of these larger buses,

1:04:46which, you know, I contend don't really

1:04:48fit the character of our city,

1:04:50oftentimes don't fit the lanes that

1:04:51they're prescribed to drive in. Um, I

1:04:54want to see those gone for the most

1:04:55part. I think there are some places

1:04:57going forward where they could still be

1:04:58utilized appropriately, but I want to

1:05:01trade generally all of those large buses

1:05:04for trolleys. Uh, we what we sacrifice

1:05:07in capacity, which is very small. um we

1:05:10gain back in drivability,

1:05:12maneuverability,

1:05:14um general cost of operating these uh

1:05:17vehicles. And the hope is to um see that

1:05:21success, see that wrership grow, see

1:05:23those dollars coming back into this

1:05:25system to hopefully justify maybe even

1:05:27going beyond the amount of investment

1:05:30that we're making right now in order to

1:05:32get this change over to happen to really

1:05:34invigorate this system. Um, a lot of

1:05:37that is going to be driven by grants

1:05:39just like you're seeing here in order to

1:05:41keep that netneutral cost structure.

1:05:44We're going to be relying upon grants

1:05:46from the federal government, from the

1:05:48FDA, and other sources in order to make

1:05:50this change over. Um, our hope is that

1:05:53we're, you know, in a way there are ways

1:05:56that we can send money back to the

1:05:58federal government by selling some of

1:05:59these buses early essentially before

1:06:01their useful life is over. As the FTA

1:06:05sees that, receives that, the

1:06:07willingness to invest more in our system

1:06:09will grow.

1:06:11>> So, what I think I hear you saying is

1:06:13that this is the plan. What we see here,

1:06:15this is the plan. The goal is to

1:06:17increase routership. And so the way you

1:06:20the success of the plan is determined by

1:06:22that and basically we are adding the

1:06:26trolleys on as we go and that's the plan

1:06:28and then we'll stop at some point when

1:06:30we've reached that goal.

1:06:32>> I would say you know I do have grand

1:06:35goals. I would love to see the entirety

1:06:38of this city covered in fixed route

1:06:41lines with with trolley so that any

1:06:43individual wanting to get anywhere in

1:06:45our city really wouldn't have to think

1:06:47about it. They would just be able to

1:06:49show up at any bus stop and hop on a

1:06:51trolley and get to where they're going.

1:06:53Um I I look forward to that day. It will

1:06:56it will take a great deal of increased

1:06:57wrership. I'm not telling you that's

1:06:59going to happen tomorrow or even in this

1:07:01first term. Uh but I think we have a

1:07:04chance to change the mindset around

1:07:05public transportation in Mobile

1:07:08specifically where it is not something

1:07:10that people only utilize because they

1:07:12have to because it's their only option

1:07:14because they can't get to where they're

1:07:16going without it because it's

1:07:18convenient. You know, I want people to

1:07:19consider it. Even those who have

1:07:20vehicles, even those who could even call

1:07:23an Uber and pay that, you know, cost of

1:07:26of utilizing that service that they see

1:07:29uh the trolleys, the micro transit, our

1:07:32second line transit system as so

1:07:34convenient, so reliable, so frequent

1:07:37that they'd rather use that. Uh and and

1:07:40it's going to take some time. It's going

1:07:42to take further investment through these

1:07:44grants and other procedures. And

1:07:46hopefully as we begin to show the proof

1:07:48of the success of that uh you know if we

1:07:51need to invest more at one time in order

1:07:54to finalize this plan that I'll come to

1:07:57the council at that point.

1:07:59>> I just want to close with I mayor I

1:08:01commend you for focusing on

1:08:02transportation. We know that that helps

1:08:04us with a lot of our underlying issues.

1:08:06Right. Um I just would like to make sure

1:08:09that we have a plan and we know what

1:08:10that investment is going to cost us as

1:08:12we move forward. But what I hear you

1:08:13saying is that you're going to keep it

1:08:15net neutral. So therefore, you know,

1:08:17there's really not a impact in terms of

1:08:20the budget. Thank you.

1:08:21>> The goal at this point is to maintain

1:08:23net neutrality. Um, and as success

1:08:26continues to grow, I'll come to the

1:08:28council with any other opportunities,

1:08:30>> Mr. President.

1:08:31>> Mr. Ronald,

1:08:32>> Mr. Mayor, I'm saw I'm sure you saw the

1:08:34news of the big released release in

1:08:36Austin of the cyber cap.

1:08:39>> I don't know that I did.

1:08:40>> No, you didn't. I mean, it's

1:08:42unbelievable. They delivered these uh

1:08:44cyber cabs, the Tesla cyber cabs

1:08:47throughout Austin. They're fully

1:08:49autonomous. There's no steering wheel in

1:08:51it. There's no pedals or brakes or

1:08:53anything. And these cabs are just all

1:08:55over the city. And and apparently the

1:08:58cost is substantially less than your

1:09:02typical carriers like Uber, Lift,

1:09:04Standard Cab, anything else. Like

1:09:05substantially less. And you know, as

1:09:08this you I'm sure we'll see other cities

1:09:10pick up this and start doing it. But as

1:09:13we sort of increase our techn

1:09:16technological abilities as a society, I

1:09:19think we're going to find maybe we move

1:09:22away from where we're headed right now.

1:09:26So my my ask would be let's look into

1:09:30it. you know, if if we're going to see a

1:09:32substantial change in the way

1:09:33transportation's done in metropolitan

1:09:36areas, say in the next 10

1:09:38[clears throat] years, let's don't get

1:09:40so far down this road that when the time

1:09:42comes, we're behind the eightball. You

1:09:44know, I think there's some opportunity

1:09:46there. And I know the contract we have

1:09:48with VIA.

1:09:49>> Yeah.

1:09:50>> They're like the transportation experts.

1:09:52Now, of course, they they want to

1:09:53operate a transportation service like we

1:09:56certainly have set up with them, but I

1:09:57think we should probably lean on them

1:09:59and discuss [snorts] with them where we

1:10:01see ourselves in say 10 years with

1:10:04autonomous driving because, you know, we

1:10:06are having to pay pension costs for

1:10:08folks that are operating.

1:10:09>> I certainly am aware of that. Um,

1:10:13you know what I'll say is, uh, I was in

1:10:16Savannah pretty recently and they have

1:10:17this entire trolley tour system that

1:10:20people, you know, buy a ticket to. It

1:10:22takes you all through town, different,

1:10:24you know, spots of, um, historical

1:10:27importance or just, you know, good spots

1:10:29to stop and grab a bite to eat. Um, I

1:10:32think there's a future in the city of

1:10:33Mobile for these trolleys no matter what

1:10:36happens. Uh, have you taken like a Whimo

1:10:38or anything yet? It's scary. I'm afraid.

1:10:42I don't know. Um, you know, I want to

1:10:45see a little more proof in the pudding.

1:10:47>> Maybe.

1:10:48>> Maybe. Uh, but I'll certainly look into

1:10:50these cabs. I know Tesla's based out

1:10:52there in Austin, so I'm not sure if this

1:10:55is something that they're doing as kind

1:10:56of a a fun thing or if this is actually

1:10:59an economically viable option, but it's

1:11:01certainly something we'll take a take a

1:11:03look into.

1:11:04>> Thank

1:11:09announcements,

1:11:10>> vice president.

1:11:11>> Okay, let's look at u all of these

1:11:14resolutions for potentially waving the

1:11:16rules

1:11:18starting with uh 01.

1:11:22>> Hello everybody.

1:11:25>> I'm sorry. Um we needed to

1:11:30>> uh we needed to add vibration monitoring

1:11:32agreement between the city of Mobile and

1:11:34ADOT and I was going to John's here if

1:11:36there's any questions about it. Uh this

1:11:38has to do with the construction of the

1:11:39Mobile River Bridge and they'll be

1:11:41placed at the history museum Fort Candy.

1:11:44What other in the um old city hall?

1:11:47>> What what is it again?

1:11:49>> This is just the um requirement FHWA for

1:11:53the construction of the Melbour River

1:11:54Bridge. Just monitoring vibrations, you

1:11:58know, for protection of the the the fire

1:12:00museum, the the Fort Condi at, you know,

1:12:04Wallace Tunnel and the old um city hall.

1:12:06We're just asking to add

1:12:08>> ju just asking to add it. And this is

1:12:10all this is is just an easement. We're

1:12:13just granting Alot an easement to um

1:12:16just come on you onto the property,

1:12:18install the vibration monitoring

1:12:20equipment.

1:12:21>> Do we have two council members?

1:12:22>> Yeah. No.

1:12:24>> All right. We add it. All right.

1:12:26>> Okay.

1:12:27>> All right. Uh chief

1:12:29>> one other thing.

1:12:36>> Well, it's

1:12:38>> well under. [laughter]

1:12:40>> Yeah.

1:12:41>> Okay. Vice President.

1:12:43>> Okay. Uh let's go back to the

1:12:44resolutions for waving 01968.

1:12:49Um 08969

1:12:5408970 971 973 976 77

1:13:00and then whatever the ad will be. Lisa,

1:13:04>> no.

1:13:05>> No car.

1:13:06>> Well, we're we're going to

1:13:08>> be

1:13:08>> y'all don't want to wave the rules on

1:13:10this. It's just a

1:13:11>> You know what it is?

1:13:11>> No. No.

1:13:12>> Okay. Well, never mind then. All right.

1:13:14So, those will be it if everybody is

1:13:17>> Okay. Yeah, I think we good. [laughter]

1:13:20Uh,

1:13:20>> Mr. Woods,

1:13:21>> just a reminder, we have a finance

1:13:22committee meeting uh here at 1 p.m.

1:13:26>> Okay.

1:13:26>> And Mr. President, I want to acknowledge

1:13:28that I have Ronin Rich with me, a

1:13:31sophomore from University of South

1:13:33Alabama, majoring in political science,

1:13:35uh, who's chatting with us today. So,

1:13:37Ronin, if you would stand. Thank you.

1:13:39>> All right. Welcome.

1:13:41>> Anything else from this council?

1:13:43>> Anything from administration? Yes, sir.

1:13:45>> All right. We see each other downstairs

1:13:46at 10:30.

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