2026-09-15 - Pre-Council

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

00:01Welcome to our premeating. Ladies and

00:03gentlemen, we're now in the hands of our

00:04capable city clerk.

00:07>> Excuse me. We ain't meeting.

00:11We are now in the hands of Miss Lisa

00:13Carol.

00:13>> This is the premeating of the Mobile

00:15City Council, Tuesday, September the

00:1715th. We have approval of minutes from

00:19September 8th.

00:20>> Any issues? Anyone?

00:23>> Okay.

00:23>> Appeals. We have requests for wave of

00:25the noise ordinance on September the

00:2719th on Pallister Place West,

00:31October 17th on Adam Street, October the

00:3610th on um Venicia Road, and September

00:4026th on downtown and Boulevard.

00:43>> Any issues

00:44>> for for district one? Can we move to

00:469:00 p.m.?

00:48>> Same thing on district one.

00:51Anyone

00:53else? Okay.

01:03Public hearing. Today is a public

01:04hearing to declare the structures at

01:061550 Stewart Avenue, also

01:09[clears throat] known formerly known as

01:101551 Forest Street, 1318 Hercules

01:15Street, 913 Texas Street, 858 McQuillin

01:20Street, and 11:09 Bay Avenue Public

01:23Nuisances and ordering them demolished.

01:26[snorts] Public hearing to consider the

01:28application of Granberry Executive

01:30Transport for a certificate of public

01:31convenience and necessity to operate a

01:33shuttle, sedan, and limousine service.

01:37Presentation of petitions and other

01:38communications to the council. Lonnie

01:40Robinson. Questions about why the city

01:42is not cutting overgrown ditch.

01:45>> Mr. President,

01:46>> Miss,

01:47>> did he say where this ditch is?

01:53>> It's behind his house.

01:57Did not

02:02[clears throat]

02:18he said that he has already he's filed a

02:20complaint with 311 back in April with no

02:23response.

02:26I have to looking it up. So, she's

02:30looking it up.

02:30>> This

02:33driveune

02:37>> Somerdale Drive.

02:41Yeah.

02:42>> Sunny where?

02:43>> Sunnyale.

02:44>> Sunnyale.

02:47>> Is that you?

02:48>> No, it's um

02:50>> that's you. Oh, [laughter]

02:53>> order in progress, but I haven't had a

02:54chance.

02:56>> Okay.

02:57>> Neighborhood off.

02:58>> Oh, okay.

03:06>> Jaden Bworth um collaboration proposal

03:09for hydration drive um in Mobile.

03:13>> Hydration drive. [laughter]

03:16>> I'm just I'm just curious like what is a

03:17hy what is hydration drive? I was just

03:20giving out water.

03:25>> Health res.

03:29[clears throat]

03:30>> Yeah.

03:32Uh electrolyte packets, cooling towels.

03:34>> Oh, okay. All right.

03:39>> Estella Troder, Mobile Housing Board.

03:42years of failing to enforce and follow

03:44finance reports to the federal

03:45government, including special

03:48application center malpractices of HUD,

03:50demolition, relocation, and replacement

03:52of residents and housing development

03:54buildings.

03:56Ordinance is held over 64 037

04:02038 039

04:05040 041 042 and 43 are considering

04:10proposed reszoning property located at

04:13320 and 330 Western Drive. Um proposed

04:17reszoner property located at 255 Church

04:20Street.

04:21>> Mr. President.

04:22>> Yes, madam. Um, on that particular one,

04:25I'm requesting that we do a hold over

04:27for one week. I've asked um legal to

04:31work with admin to get some questions

04:33answered. One in particular, I've had

04:35several um one developer and several

04:37residents to reach out. And it's

04:39regarding the fact that if we move to

04:41that T6 zoning, it would be the only um

04:44building there that would um be a T6.

04:48And the concern is that it would unravel

04:51um other um areas impacted basically.

04:54And and if we want to go ahead and just

04:57do a full amendment, then that's what we

04:59would do. But we just need some more

05:00questions regarding the fact why would

05:02we allow just this one isolated incident

05:05of T6.

05:07>> Okay. Any issues? There's no one

05:11>> consider a proposed reszoning of

05:13property located at 2665 Government

05:15Boulevard and 604 and 610 Mandrel

05:18Street.

05:20Proposed reszoning of property located

05:21at 2694 Government Boulevard and 2750

05:252754 and 2756 Brookley Avenue.

05:30Proposed reszoning of property located

05:32at 4460 Dolphin Island Parkway.

05:35Considering a prop proposed reszoning of

05:37property located at 4213 4221 Spring

05:41Valley Drive South and propo considering

05:45the proposed resoning of property

05:46located at the northwest corner of Bear

05:49Fork Road and Mafet Road

05:53resolutions held over 08958

05:57approve purchase order to MCCI for

05:59annual renewal of laser fish document

06:01management software

06:0301

06:04>> president. Yes madam.

06:05>> Um on that item I just want to thank

06:07admin for sharing with us the agreement

06:10and uh the agreement the agreement

06:12addresses some of the issues we were

06:14concerned with in terms of data privacy

06:16how we are handling uh PPI information

06:19or personal uh information along with uh

06:22data security. So uh thanks for sharing

06:25this um information.

06:27>> Okay.

06:3001966

06:32authorized agreement with Wesley

06:34Fontaine to provide racket stringer

06:37services. 01967

06:40authorized agreement with board of

06:41school commissioners of Mobile County

06:43for four community safety team

06:46prevention positions. 08972

06:50approved purchase order to Greybar

06:51Electric Company for traffic signal and

06:53pedestrian signal light poles. 08974

06:57approved purchase order to Burwell

07:00Material Handling forklifts.

07:0408975 approved purchase order to Camo

07:09Manufacturing for floor cleaning

07:11equipment. 09978

07:15allocate funds from fiscal year 2627

07:18CDBG census track restricted capital

07:20funds to the Taylor Landing affordable

07:22housing development. Mr. President.

07:25>> Uh, Mr.

07:26>> um I do have a um amendment that I

07:29offered last week and it's on file with

07:31the clerk's office that I'll be offering

07:33just cleaning up some language.

07:34>> Okay,

07:37>> Mr. Pen.

07:38>> Um, Mr. President, we're working on I

07:40want to add to that amendment. Um, um, a

07:43lot of confusion [snorts] kind of been

07:45going on regarding if this is capital or

07:48is it federal. I just want to add

07:50language to it. Let in that resolution

07:52know that this is not coming from the

07:53federal funds. Um um our attorney is

07:57working on that. Um and I have it to our

07:59council members um and administration

08:01before the council meeting. But it just

08:03will be saying that it's not coming from

08:04the federal funds.

08:06>> Will this be an amendment or

08:08>> can That's what I was going to ask. Can

08:09we tag my

08:11>> included in that one amendment?

08:12>> Okay. Okay.

08:13>> All right. Thank you.

08:15[clears throat]

08:16>> 09979

08:18consider adoption of the 2026 2027

08:21general fund and capital improvement

08:22fund budgets.

08:24>> We need to hold this one. Um

08:27Mr. Chairman, what do you what do you

08:29think? We hold it two weeks, one week.

08:31What's the deadline?

08:32>> The 20th.

08:33>> The 20th.

08:35>> But we're not going to make that.

08:36[laughter]

08:38Well, [clears throat] since we've got a

08:39finance committee meeting today,

08:43>> let's let's just push one week and see

08:44if we can

08:46>> the 22nd.

08:48>> Well, wait. All right, [clears throat]

08:49Madam Clerk.

08:52[snorts]

08:53>> 31,980.

08:55Authorize the mayor to apply, accept,

08:56and receive a grant from the Federal

08:59Transit Administration for five new

09:01trolley style buses.

09:0425981

09:05authorized limited temporary and

09:07non-exclusive access easement per

09:10permits for Mobile River Bridge Project.

09:13Ordinance [clears throat] is being

09:14introduced. 83044, an ordinance

09:17approving the annexation of certain

09:19described land and redefining proposed

09:21reduced corporate limits.

09:26>> Mr. President,

09:27>> Mr. Reynolds,

09:28>> I want to go back to the uh the

09:30trolleys. this uh I was looking through

09:33our uh contract with VIA on um sort of

09:37the funding plan

09:40[clears throat]

09:40is I I couldn't find in there where

09:42we're we're saying we must spend so much

09:45per year on capital expenditure

09:49is that in there

09:52and if so

09:54oh Mr. Woods.

09:57>> Good morning.

09:58>> Morning.

09:59>> So that that is it's not part of the

10:01contractual obligation. That's the

10:02federal obligation for taking federal

10:04funds.

10:06>> I don't understand [clears throat] what

10:07that means.

10:09>> So

10:09>> there's a federal obligation that they

10:12must or we must spend a certain amount

10:14of capital money.

10:16>> It's it's not necessarily capital you

10:17have to match, but because it is a

10:19separate entity, what we end up doing is

10:21we expend the capital. We can't pay we

10:24can't pay people who are not our

10:25employees, right?

10:26>> But we ultimately end up because

10:28remember the city owns all of the

10:31infrastructure. Correct.

10:32>> Um and so that's how we that's how we

10:34make our payment a contribution uh to to

10:38meet the federal guidelines.

10:39>> So that's that's what we do.

10:42>> Um it's twofold. One, I hate to revisit

10:45this one, but one, we have the uh the

10:47pension that we deal with, which you and

10:49I agree on. Um, and then two, there's

10:52this capital contribution to make sure

10:54that we are getting the federal funds

10:56because because we don't own the actual

11:01transit group. Now, some cities do.

11:04That's how we make our contribution to

11:06make sure we're being a good federal

11:07partner.

11:08>> All right. I don't understand that.

11:09>> But you you're right. You're right about

11:11it not being, you know, there in the

11:13it's not a contractual obligation for

11:15us.

11:16>> Okay. I see that we have an a capp fixed

11:19rate amount that we will contribute at

11:22$8 million.

11:24>> That's what we're contractually

11:25obligated to spend.

11:26>> That is right.

11:27>> $8 million. Okay. And [clears throat] as

11:30[snorts] far as capital goes there, what

11:33you're saying is there is no obligation

11:35[clears throat] in that same contract.

11:37>> Correct.

11:38>> But you're saying there is some other

11:39obligation that's created by some

11:41federal statute or federal something or

11:43another. When you take federal money,

11:44you have to make a certain amount. You

11:46have to make a certain contribution.

11:47Yes.

11:48>> And what is that?

11:50>> So it it's it's based on percentages.

11:52It's always based on percentages. I can

11:53give you the numbers, but I can't give

11:55them to you right now.

11:56>> Okay. Yeah. I want to understand that as

11:58especially for the budget discussion

11:59later on today, but the reason I bring

12:02it up is the $320,000 match towards this

12:05federal grant, which I hope that we're

12:08going to get. I would expect we're going

12:09to get um could that 320,000 serve that

12:14purpose of our capital uh outlay?

12:18>> Typically no. Um typically no, but we

12:21can look at that.

12:23>> Yeah. Okay. Um these five trolley buses,

12:28I think this is a start, Mr. Mayor. Um I

12:32think that's kind of where it should

12:33stop for now. Like let's let's try five

12:36out. Let's let's see how this goes and

12:39and then we can explore the the idea

12:42further at and this is just my opinion

12:45later. Let's see how the five work. put

12:47them in the strategic areas instead of

12:50going after more in this next budget or

12:52you know more before we know the outcome

12:54of what we're going to get in return

12:55because the goal is to increase wrership

12:57and I bring up the capital because if we

12:59got budget money budgeted in our

13:02upcoming budget for expanding trolleys

13:05to I don't know what the number would be

13:06I don't know what the goal is if it's 10

13:08or if it's 20 or whatever.

13:11Um, if we're if the [clears throat] goal

13:12is to increase ridership, maybe that

13:14capital money could be spent in some

13:16other way to prop up, you know, the

13:19system to try to increase ridership

13:21rather than go just head first all in

13:24into the trolleys

13:26without

13:28really knowing that that's going to get

13:32us across the finish line. So I I just

13:35want to make that point that these five

13:37I think's a you know we're gonna try it

13:40out but beyond that I think we need to

13:42see some results before we you know go

13:44head first in and just make an a huge

13:47assumption that it's going to produce

13:50>> Mr. President

13:51>> I have a follow-up question uh regarding

13:54that. So, the new trolley style buses,

13:57are they similar to I saw some um you

14:00know um transit um it's a transit wave.

14:03It was like a little bus and but yet um

14:06it was small uh and it was a part of our

14:09uh [snorts] transit system,

14:10>> you know.

14:12Um there we go. Um I think I know which

14:16bus you're talking about. It's kind of a

14:18it's like a Ford front body and there's

14:20kind of the larger taller I call them

14:22church buses is kind of what they look

14:24like to me.

14:25>> Smaller.

14:26>> They are those you know those are

14:28smaller and that's something that we

14:29used in the MODA program and I believe

14:32we may have had one other one uh maybe a

14:35few more in the paratransit

14:37um side of things. The the trolley will

14:40be very different from those you know.

14:42Have you seen the the one that we have

14:44thus far? uh the one trolley that we

14:47have online with second line

14:49>> if that yes I saw one parked outside

14:51last week sometime but the size of it

14:54was similar to the size of the one I'm

14:55referring to just the size

14:57>> they they um if if we're talking about

14:59the same you know what I will refer to

15:01as a church bus for these proceedings um

15:05they do have uh the trolley has a good

15:07bit more capacity um they do have the

15:10same you know paratransit um ramps lifts

15:15to allow

15:16for wheelchairs and other people with um

15:18you know physical disabilities to be

15:20able to enter into the vehicle. They're

15:22they're a good bit roomier. Um I don't

15:25want to quote a number for occupancy. Is

15:27Jacob in here? I'm not sure the exact

15:30occupancy for the church buses, but I

15:33know that u the trolleys are a good bit

15:36larger. I want to say at least six to

15:37eight more passengers that they can fit.

15:40Um costwise, you'd be surprised at how

15:44similar those vehicles um you know are

15:47priced. Uh again, you know, with the

15:50trolleys, um you know, some of it is

15:53gut. You know, I I am working to some

15:56degree with gut when it comes to

15:58trolleys. Uh but I think that, you know,

16:00gut feeling on the rideability, the

16:03attractiveness of trolleys versus buses,

16:07um is is borne out in the market. You

16:09know, when you look at Hometown

16:11Trolleys, which is one of the primary,

16:13if not the only primary manufacturer of

16:15trolleys in the US, but it's the group

16:18that we're partnering with. Uh, in the

16:20last several years, they've gone from

16:22trolleys being about 5% of their um

16:25ridership to um 40% of I said wrership

16:30of their sales, 5% of their sales to now

16:3340%. There was a recent article and I

16:35can find it and share it with you, but

16:37it's out of Kansas City. Um Kansas City

16:40has gone to trolleys and have now beaten

16:44ridership for every other system in the

16:46country. Uh they are, you know, frankly

16:50doing far better than anyone could have

16:53imagined. Uh I think per per vehicle

16:57ridership in Kansas City on their

17:00trolleys that are much like ours beats

17:02um San Francisco uh beats every other

17:05system in the country. So, it's not just

17:08gut. Um, and in the end, we have these

17:11large buses that again, I don't believe

17:14fit the character of our city, fit the,

17:16you know, frankly, the size restrictions

17:18of our lanes and our roads. Uh, you

17:21know, purely impossible to turn onto

17:25some of our more narrow roadways in

17:27Midtown, specifically in downtown. Um,

17:31you know, I think there is certainly

17:33data to back up this move of of getting

17:36rid of these large oversized buses in

17:39favor of more nimble trolleys that

17:41generally fit nearly the same amount of

17:43passengers. Um, albeit, you know,

17:46slightly closer together. If you're

17:48riding two on a bench, you might be a

17:49little closer than you would be on a

17:51bus, uh, sitting right next to someone.

17:54U, but, you know, getting cozy with your

17:56neighbor is not the worst thing on

17:58earth. So, I think that could be um a

18:01good thing. I also don't think that many

18:04of our buses are riding around anywhere

18:05near capacity. Uh I would say most are

18:08not riding around anywhere near

18:09capacity. So, I think these trolleys are

18:12going to serve our citizens better. Uh I

18:14think and in the end, if you want a

18:16route that is has dedicated trolleys,

18:19you know, these six would generally

18:20allow us to have one dedicated route

18:22that is purely trolleys. It really

18:24wouldn't allow us to put them all over

18:27the city. Um, you know, we need to I

18:30think we need to go all in when it comes

18:33to trolleys. I know I am. Uh, you know,

18:35I would love to invite uh Councilman

18:38Reynolds on a on a ride. We can go

18:40cruise in the trolley. See how you like

18:42it. Um,

18:44>> yeah, we can you can we actually have

18:46functional windows in these trolleys

18:47versus the buses

18:49>> which don't mean I don't know what the

18:51secret sauce in Kansas City is. I mean,

18:53is it

18:54>> it's trolleys?

18:54>> Is it just trolleys or is it something

18:56else? Well, I can just tell you I can

18:58tell you this. I'm not going to jump on

19:00a trolley if I got to wait out in the

19:02rain to catch the thing or if I got to

19:05sit out there in a blistering 115 degree

19:08heat index to catch it. And and I I

19:11think most citizens probably see it that

19:14way as well. I don't care. They don't

19:15care if it's pink or yellow or it's a

19:17trolley. They don't care. They're not

19:19going to go out there and suffer on the

19:21side of the road to catch the thing, you

19:23know, or or to an inconvenient location.

19:26We're doing these wholesale changes with

19:29routing and trying to make it more

19:31convenient. And that could be part of

19:34the secret sauce as well. I mean, I'm

19:36not trying to poo poo your idea of

19:38trolleys in general. I'm saying we're

19:40spending a lot of that young money on

19:42public transportation, right? and we

19:44committed to a a cap of $8 million by

19:47way of contract and it looks like we're

19:49exceeding that amount, substantially

19:52exceeding and um by way of capital

19:55expenditure and if there's a way and I

19:58agree with you about the big buses,

20:00they're empty everywhere. They don't fit

20:02the streets. They don't make a whole lot

20:04of sense. Um we probably went after them

20:07some years ago because of some federal

20:09dollars that were offered to get them

20:10and they're they need to be unwound. No

20:13doubt about it. But they need to be

20:15unwound at a sustainable reasonable rate

20:19in my opinion rather than going

20:22wholesale replacement while we still

20:25have other capital needs for this

20:27transit system in my opinion for at

20:29least the residents in my district I

20:32think would have to overcome in order to

20:34get on that bus, trolley, via car,

20:36whatever it is. And you know, I I

20:38realize that I began on the campaign

20:41trail talking about trolleys versus

20:44other things in the midst of a ongoing

20:46negotiation

20:48uh you know, with Wave and ultimately

20:49the transfer and contracting with VIA

20:52and I wasn't a part of any of that. Um

20:55you know, I think I understand that. Um,

20:58you know, when you look at the 8 million

20:59that generally the city is committed to

21:02spending its own money on, you've also,

21:04this year we've got a $4.5 million award

21:07from the federal uh transportation

21:10um authority. And you know, so that

21:13equals to 12.5 total. Um, of that 4.5, I

21:17believe Mr. Woods was referencing, some

21:19of that needs to go to capital. Um, and

21:22it's it's around to my knowledge, it's

21:24around four uh 10%. So, it's a little

21:26over 400,000.

21:29Jacob knows these numbers and

21:31percentages much better than I do, and

21:33he should probably be talking about it.

21:36But, in the end, every dollar that goes

21:37into the system u feeds the system.

21:40Every fair that goes into the system

21:42feeds the system. And my hope is that

21:46with trolleys, with really changing the

21:48vibe and the culture of our

21:50transportation system, um we [snorts]

21:52are going to see additional ridership

21:54and choice ridership. I think

21:56microtransit may play an even larger

21:59role any fixed route

22:03um vehicle, even the trolley. I think

22:06the microtransit system has a chance to

22:08do that uh and ultimately will do that.

22:11Um, in the end, we're still going to be

22:14stuck with a lot of buses nobody's

22:15riding if we don't make a change. Those

22:17buses are big, large, and expensive. Um,

22:20I think that with, you know, these

22:22dollars that we're talking about today

22:24with the 1.36 and a 320,000 match, I

22:28believe, uh, when we are trying to

22:30activate a workforce uh, for the up that

22:34we have that if we don't provide the

22:36workforce, we don't continue to develop

22:37economically. If it at any point we fail

22:40to deliver the workforce that these

22:42companies need, we fail uh as a city. We

22:46fail to continue to grow um we we failed

22:49to attract new businesses. And when you

22:51look back at that chamber study from two

22:54years ago, uh over 30% of our workforce

22:57was not at work simply because they lack

23:00transportation. That was the one

23:02barrier. It wasn't education. It wasn't

23:04criminal record. It wasn't any of those

23:06issues. it was they didn't have a ride.

23:10And if we are going to add 5 to 6

23:12thousand thousand jobs over the next 5

23:14years, we got to have those people. And

23:16if we have 30% of our workforce sitting

23:20at home simply because they can't have

23:22they don't have a regular ride to get to

23:24work on time when needed, if we solve

23:26that problem, we're solving multiple

23:29problems. So, you know, I think the

23:31trolleys are worthy of investment. Uh I

23:34don't do it just because I'm obsessed,

23:36even though I am. I'm obsessed because I

23:38think it will work and I think the proof

23:40is in the pudding. When you look at

23:41Kansas City, when you look at hometown

23:43trolleys and the increase in their

23:45sales, this is a uh this is a movement

23:48to this style of vehicle that you can

23:51see at different places in the in the

23:53country. And again, these trolleys, you

23:56know, Mobile used to be a trolley town.

23:59We had the loop because we had trolleys.

24:01you know that we have areas of our city

24:04still named for our public transit

24:07system and it hadn't existed in 70

24:09years. Um I think bringing some of that

24:12back uh could certainly help. You know,

24:15as we look at opportunities uh at the

24:18airport that it's going to bring. Um you

24:20know, you've got a large swath of people

24:22that I think would hop off a plane and

24:24onto a trolley without a second thought.

24:26They're not likely to do that if it's a

24:28big bus sitting out in front of the

24:30airport.

24:31they will if it's trolley and I think we

24:34need to take all of those moving pieces

24:36in into account and you know I would ask

24:39the council to consider u the investment

24:42in trolleys to be an investment not just

24:45our transportation network's future but

24:47the future of our city

24:49>> Mr. Mayor, I you made great points.

24:52Chamber commerce.

24:54I'm not saying those are not valid. They

24:57are.

24:59But I think we've resolved a lot of that

25:01transportation issue by partnering

25:03[cough] with a vehicle that I don't

25:06taking or tackling this problem by

25:08getting a new operator in here. They're

25:10rearranging everything. The

25:11microtransits, you know, going to be

25:14operating. Uh the routes are going to be

25:16optimized. you know, the software is

25:18going to be used, you know, the

25:20rebranding, all of that stuff ties into

25:23that getting the people to the job. I'm

25:26just simply saying that the trolleys

25:31are an idea and we are acting on that

25:34idea and

25:37by getting this federal money to pursue

25:40it.

25:42I think it would be wise, prudent of us

25:46to see the

25:49the changes that we've all adopted in

25:52the system to see what sort of results

25:54they produce

25:56and use these federal monies to to go

26:00down the road of trolleys and then make

26:02a decision at some later date in time

26:05on, you know, the efficacy of the

26:07trolley. Is that the secret sauce? And

26:10um if so it it is it's not like that

26:14it's lost on us and we never can go down

26:16that road again. I just you know I don't

26:19want to go all in and spend a lot of

26:22money. I mean it's frankly a lot of

26:23money. It really is. And and and there

26:26are areas in the budget that I think you

26:28know probably should get more money. Um

26:33and we're foregoing that opportunity you

26:36know by doing some of this. That's kind

26:38of the way I see it. Look, this is this

26:40[clears throat] is an agenda item for a

26:42federal grant that I support. I'm in

26:44favor of. So, we'll vote it today and

26:46I'll be voting in favor of it. I just

26:48wanted to sort of tee that up as we have

26:50the discussion in our finance committee

26:52this afternoon and as [clears throat] we

26:53approach approval for the budget. That's

26:55all,

26:55>> you know, and I appreciate that and I

26:57appreciate your support of this, you

26:59know, pursuing this grant.

27:01I don't think it would be fair, the one

27:04point I would make, I don't think it

27:05would be fair to jud to judge the

27:07efficacy of trolleys based on six. You

27:11know, six is only that's not even

27:14replacing a fifth of our fleet of buses.

27:17they really you couldn't utilize them to

27:19the degree I think they need to be

27:21utilized especially in the older

27:23portions of our town with narrower

27:24roads, lowerhanging trees, uh all the

27:27things that I think fit a trolley much

27:29better than a bus. Uh and so I I'm

27:32certainly willing to, you know, take

27:34this bite by bite and have those

27:36discussions, but I'm asking not to limit

27:39your judgment upon trolleys by six. Uh

27:42which would, you know, maybe be a route

27:44and a half. Uh I think I think we would

27:47need to go a little further beyond that

27:49before we pause and take stock.

27:52>> Mr. President,

27:53>> here council [clears throat]

27:54>> just to follow up um on Councilman

27:56Reynolds uh point the church buses that

27:59came about because we needed something

28:01smaller, right? So is there a way for us

28:03to consider like what has you know what

28:06has happened with rerships since we have

28:08the smaller buses you know whenever they

28:10came on board and use that data to see

28:12how that's impacting it and just um and

28:15a followup to that and that would allow

28:17us to also look at other barriers like

28:18it talked about you know in terms of the

28:21weather making sure that the conditions

28:23are are

28:26uh in place so that we can ensure that

28:28they will take advantage of the public

28:30transportation. I asked that because I

28:32agree with um Councilman Reynolds. Yes,

28:34I'm in definitely in support of this,

28:36but it would be great if we could see

28:37the data that shows once we brought on

28:39the smaller buses. What impact did that

28:41have a ridership? More importantly, as

28:43we start thinking about the budget, what

28:45are we going to do to uh address the

28:47other barriers to public transportation

28:49in terms of the conditions that they

28:51must um weather when they're waiting on

28:54public transportation? We we certainly

28:56have, you know, I completely agree about

28:57the need for shelters and uh better bus

29:00[clears throat] stops and and you know,

29:02not waiting out in the sun and rain for

29:03an hour and and so you know, our focuses

29:05are on frequency, you know, increasing

29:08frequency of fixed routes. So that hour

29:10is not a reality uh you know hopefully

29:13eventually on any of our routes, but um

29:16with the new updated system, it won't be

29:18the reality on many of our routes. Um

29:21you know, the capital needs are not just

29:23trolleys. The capital needs are vehicles

29:26for microtransit. They are new bus stops

29:29uh with, you know, better signage and

29:31replacing existing signage and and

29:34creating a better um world around not

29:37just trolleys but buses and microtransit

29:40and everything that we use. Um so we're

29:43happy to have that discussion. I don't

29:45know if there is data specifically, you

29:47know, addressing ridership on the

29:49smaller vehicles versus others. Uh, you

29:52know, I would offer skepticism to

29:54believe that they had a measurable

29:57impact. Um, I I also don't think they're

30:00trolleys. And I think you don't have to

30:03look very far. Kansas City is not too

30:05close, but um, you don't have to look

30:08too far. If you've ever visited San

30:11Francisco or Kansas City, um, to see the

30:15people lined up to to ride on trolleys.

30:18I haven't seen a line to ride on any one

30:20of our buses in the history of their

30:22existence.

30:24>> Thank you, Mr.

30:26>> President.

30:26>> Mr. Woods,

30:27>> uh Mr. Mayor, uh just real quick before

30:29you sit down and sorry you sat down

30:30already. Um uh I know we were kind of

30:33waiting on the rewrap and saw the

30:34trolley last week. I know it was it's

30:36been in a parade. Um it's still on

30:39target. Try to get everything rewrapped

30:40like you like you originally. Yeah, the

30:43uh the wrapping.

30:45It has been probably a week since I've

30:47checked that schedule. I I just got a,

30:50you know, a text last night from Joe

30:52with a a Suburban wrapped for

30:54microtransit that looks pretty sleek,

30:57pretty cool. Um, you know, I would have

31:00to get back to you on the wrapping

31:02schedule for all the existing buses. I

31:04I'm not sure, but to my knowledge, we

31:06are still on track for the end of this

31:08month. Thank you.

31:11>> All right, Madam Clerk.

31:13>> Consent resolutions being introduced

31:1648982

31:18through 4986 are declaring the

31:21structures public nuisances and ordering

31:22them demolished. 58987 and 988 are

31:26authorized removal of Williams groups

31:281681 and 1683.

31:3260989 through 9991 are approve and award

31:35a special bonus to the parks and

31:37recreation employee of the month,

31:39firefighter of the month, and officer of

31:41the month. Resolutions being introduced

31:4301992

31:45authorized agreement with Mirthth artist

31:48for construction of Marty Gar float

31:50$55,725

31:530893

31:55approve purchase order to VC3 Inc. for

31:59annual renewal of Think Art Network

32:01Cyber Security and disaster recovery

32:03software services $125,540994

32:09approved purchase order to prime

32:10professional concrete pumping and

32:12finishing for storm drains vegetation

32:14and debris removal

32:17$23,20095

32:21approved purchase order to Long Lewis

32:23Ford Scholes of um of of the Scholes for

32:28Ford Bronco CO SUV $32,189.50

32:3250s 08996

32:34approved purchase order to truck

32:36equipment sales for three Ford pickup

32:38trucks with utility bodies 180,171

32:45$21997

32:46authorized contract with Kim Kimley Horn

32:49and Associates City of Mobile Arterial

32:52Management

32:55Project for congestion management

32:56300,000

32:5921998 authorized contract Direct with

33:01Acon Technical Services for City of

33:04Mobile

33:06Material. Oh, just spoke. Arterial

33:08management project congestion management

33:10300,000.

33:11>> Mr. President.

33:12>> Yeah, Mr. Reynolds.

33:13>> Um, I'm not familiar with this. Uh,

33:17arterial management project. Can maybe

33:21Jennifer, can you help me? Jennifer, you

33:24sometimes use technical terms that are

33:26above my head. If we could do it sort of

33:27in layman's terms.

33:28>> That's the art program where we have

33:30consultants that help us with the

33:32constant time.

33:34So we've divided the city into two

33:38half

33:43mic.

33:44>> Okay. How's that funded?

33:47>> Come up to the mic. Yeah. Thank you.

33:59>> It's funny. Yeah,

34:01>> it's funded through the NPO. So, this is

34:03federal funds.

34:03>> Okay. Federal funds. And these are just

34:05operational dollars for them to go in

34:07and adjust.

34:08>> Yeah. As necessary.

34:10>> Yeah. It's constant. It's also um

34:13observation. So, like when we had when

34:15y'all call and say, "Hey, we got a

34:17little problem over here." They will

34:19actually pull up and watch the signal

34:21and then they'll u make adjustments to

34:23it remotely kind of thing. So, this is

34:26part of that RTOP program.

34:29>> Thank you. Yeah, Mr. President.

34:31>> Yeah, madam.

34:32>> I want to follow up. First of all, thank

34:33you all for sharing this and also giving

34:35us the exact locations of where it's

34:38going to take place, but I noticed that

34:40it said you stated that they give us um

34:42in-person quarterly performance

34:44evaluations and so did we get those last

34:47year also?

34:49>> Yeah, they give us um quarterly report.

34:51So it it it says like kind of gives us

34:54what travel time is on the corridors. Um

34:57what arrival on red is you know so it

35:00gives us kind of some of that to see how

35:02the function of the signals are working.

35:04>> Okay.

35:05>> And so like if there if there's an area

35:07like in one of our districts that you

35:09have concerns about you're getting it

35:11from uh from these reports. not

35:14necessarily concerns, but like when we

35:16have concerns, we approach them about

35:18actually helping us, you know, make

35:20changes to the signal timings to kind of

35:23make it the efficiency better. So, it's

35:24a constant, it's like a constant

35:26tweaking is what we're doing to keep the

35:28signals operating at their top function.

35:31Okay.

35:31>> And and I'm interested because I saw

35:33Water Street and Government Street um as

35:36um an area that they will be looking at.

35:38So, um, recently, have we received

35:41anything on that from the previous year

35:43or

35:44>> we'd be getting them at the end of the

35:45year in December? Yeah.

35:47>> All right. Thank you.

35:49>> All right. Madam Clerk,

35:52>> 37999,

35:53consider application of Grand Executive

35:57Transport for certificate of public

35:58convenience and necessity to operate a

36:00shuttle, sedan, and limousine service

36:02451000. Resolution to reaffirm

36:05previously accepted streets located in

36:07public low rent housing project Alabama

36:102-5

36:12601 authorized settlement agreement and

36:15release of claims announcements.

36:17>> Mr. President,

36:18>> uh Mr. Reynolds,

36:19>> I want to say thank you to the mayor for

36:21[snorts] making the decision to delay

36:24the opening of the arena. Um not I think

36:28it was just a wise business move. It

36:30seems that uh we likely could have made

36:34it happen at some great expense and um I

36:37think the decision was made soon enough

36:39to allow these organizations opportunity

36:41to pivot and still modify their budgets

36:43or they're operating as

36:46Marty Gar [clears throat] organization.

36:47So I want to say thank you for making

36:48that decision uh sooner rather than

36:50later.

36:51>> Well, Mr. Reynolds, you you lost your

36:52bet, didn't you? [laughter]

36:54>> I mean, look, we all got to eat a little

36:56crow from time to time, but that's fine.

36:59Council woman.

37:01>> Um Mr. President, um I want to first um

37:04start off by thanking uh public safety

37:07uh for sharing with us last week some of

37:09the things that they're doing in the

37:10community and um madame vice chair

37:14shared you know at that time we really

37:16need to communicate more of that

37:17information. Recently uh there was a

37:19shooting um in the same area again. and

37:22I think it was Rickerby area um this

37:24weekend and I've had several um

37:27residents to reach out to me and and

37:29they're hurting and and the bottom line

37:31is they want to feel heard and and feel

37:33safe and I know that you all are doing

37:35everything that you can but if there is

37:37any way that we could have some open

37:39communication with them uh you know just

37:42about the fact that we know that we hear

37:44you know we hear them we know that

37:45they're hurting maybe in the form of a

37:47community safety meeting and at that

37:49point share with them specifically some

37:51of the things that we're doing because I

37:53know that when you're hurting like that

37:55and and you continue to see real realize

37:57that it's consistent in your

37:59neighborhood, you're you're you're

38:00alarmed. And so, um, that's just my

38:03request. If if there's some way we can

38:06figure out maybe a community safety

38:07meeting, share with them the current

38:09action plans, it would be greatly

38:11appreciated.

38:13I

38:13>> think all those things are good ideas.

38:15uh the

38:17uh victim of the shooting, the initial

38:20shooting that happened on Rick. I went

38:22out within 12 hours to visit with her at

38:25the hospital. Uh went back out to the

38:28hospital a second time because she's had

38:29reoccurring visits due to her injuries.

38:32Uh given her my personal cell number and

38:35I've visited her at home uh with Chief

38:38Jackson. uh to say that we are exhausted

38:41of trying to get the community to talk.

38:44Uh uh we we can't get tired of it. Uh

38:47however, it is very difficult to uh

38:51apprehend the appropriate people absent

38:53of the community working with us. So our

38:56hope is to get the community uh to talk

39:00to us. Uh but I also understand that

39:03there is a fear factor in the community.

39:06So all those things taken taken into

39:09consideration. Uh we are being very

39:11meticulous in making sure that we get

39:13this right. Uh it is unfortunate, it is

39:16sad, it is horrifying that this same

39:19neighborhood has encountered a second

39:21incident. Uh and that uh Miss Kohley uh

39:25wonderful lady

39:27has again

39:30is subject to hearing gunshots outside

39:32of her home. Thankfully no one was

39:34injured. Uh, however, uh, the goal again

39:37is to make sure that we get this right

39:39and getting getting the community to

39:41talk to us is paramount. So, uh, to your

39:44point, Councilman Ingram, I think it's a

39:47great idea to have a community forum to

39:50talk to the community. Uh, I've talked

39:53to some of the community, but at this

39:57point, we're still trying to make sure

39:59that we identify the appropriate people

40:01and apprehend the appropriate people. So

40:03until that point, uh we continue to be

40:06uh very meticulous but very intentional

40:08in our efforts to uh apprehend the

40:11correct people.

40:14>> And thank you for that. Um Mr. Graves,

40:17again, I I I know that you all are, you

40:20know, employing all the strategies and

40:22resources you have, but uh back to the

40:25request for the community safety

40:26meeting. Really just giving them an

40:28opportunity to know that we hear them

40:30and understanding that you're still

40:31working the case. So if that's an if

40:34that's an option, I would like to

40:35partner with you in trying to make that

40:36happen.

40:37>> We can definitely work on that. That

40:39that is uh we will not say no to any

40:41ideas. So uh hopefully uh we can get

40:44together uh with the mayor's

40:46administration and come up with a

40:47strategy to address that. Uh but I'm

40:49more than happy to do that.

40:51>> Okay. Thank you, sir.

40:51>> You're welcome. So I guess uh Curtis

40:54that when you all have that meeting and

40:57when the residents come, you all need to

40:59stress to them that they need to talk to

41:01the rest of the rest the rest of the

41:03residents in the area, the neighbors to

41:05talk because to me that's what I'm

41:07hearing is that that's what y'all

41:09looking for is people in the

41:10neighborhoods to really talk to you all

41:13exactly what they see, what they heard,

41:16you know, etc. Am I correct?

41:18>> That's absolutely correct. And it goes

41:20back to the fact that there is a fear

41:22factor. Um how can they not? Uh so it

41:26does take time. It it takes time for

41:28them to be encouraged uh to have the

41:30confidence

41:32to share with law enforcement uh what

41:36they know. Uh these incidents are

41:38happening in the wee hours of the night,

41:40early morning hours. So there are people

41:42who are not awake. There are people who

41:44are not out and about that see the

41:47things that we need people to see and

41:49talk to us about. Uh but people talk. So

41:52the hope is that uh those who hear

41:55things share those things with us. And

41:57we're trying to come up with additional

41:58strategies to address uh how we may be

42:01able to get others who have uh not

42:04shared with law enforcement thus far to

42:07come out and actually share with us. I

42:09know a long time ago there used to be a

42:11number where residents can call.

42:13>> Yeah.

42:14>> That that they would not be identified

42:16and I believe that

42:17>> that's Crimes Stoppers. Uh

42:18unfortunately, Crimes Stoppers still

42:20advertised, but they do not um pay out.

42:23Uh they're not actually functioning in

42:25this area. But what we're looking at now

42:27is trying to figure out a way that we uh

42:30can uh set up a reward for anyone who

42:35shares information with us. So, we're

42:37working on that now. Uh, and like I

42:39said, there are things that that law

42:41enforcement can't share publicly. Of

42:43course, everybody knows that. Uh, but I

42:45also understand the frustration of the

42:47community when they don't see results in

42:50a way in which they expect them.

42:52>> Okay.

42:53>> Vice President U. Uh, Curtis, while

42:54you're still there, I just want to thank

42:56you and Chief Jackson for your quick

42:59response to emails that I started

43:01getting last Friday and then over the

43:04weekend uh about the intersection at

43:07Tutill and Spring Hill. There has been

43:10another accident recently and so

43:12neighbors are concerned and it's it's an

43:14intersection we've been working on for a

43:16long time trying to figure it out and

43:18and I know that you've got traffic

43:20control out there as often as you can

43:22but they can't be there 24/7. So we have

43:25looked at some other options. We do have

43:27a blinking red light right there at the

43:30intersection itself. But I'm thinking

43:33that we need to try to be more creative

43:35in trying to grab these motorists

43:38attention to at least say there's a red

43:41light ahead. You better be slowing down

43:43>> before you get to the intersection. I

43:45don't know if it's the digital sign,

43:47some sort of blinking something,

43:48whatever we need to do.

43:50>> We are actually uh in communication with

43:52traffic engineering talking to Nick uh

43:55with PD. Uh the goal is for us to

43:58collaborate and to figure out a strategy

44:00to uh address what we've already

44:02addressed uh what we continue to

44:04address. Uh it's hard to stop

44:07[clears throat] bad behavior, bad

44:08actors. Uh it's hard to be somewhere

44:10247. Uh almost impossible. Uh that's why

44:14cameras are important. Uh but I will

44:16tell you ultimately the goal is to uh

44:19figure out how do we become more

44:22creative in getting that problem solved.

44:25Uh but to your point, yes, people are

44:27very frustrated as it should be.

44:30>> Uh and we are frustrated as well because

44:32it's not without us trying. So we

44:34continue we continue to try and hope

44:36that we come up with a solution that

44:38will stop bad actors from speeding

44:40through Spring Hill and Tutill.

44:42>> Well, I appreciate you reaching out

44:43directly to a lot of those folks who

44:46contacted us. I know they really

44:48appreciate hearing directly from you and

44:50not just me.

44:51>> Well, it's important that we do talk to

44:52them. So, thank you.

44:53>> I appreciate that,

44:54>> Mr. Pan. Hey, Mr. President. Um, thank

44:56you, U Commander Graves. Um, I had a

44:59question. I know in the past we had this

45:01system where if a homeowner had cameras

45:05>> um they can connect um or with the

45:08police MPD is that still

45:10>> we still have that. Yes. Uh that is

45:12something that the community homeowners

45:14who elect to do that uh then we are more

45:17than happy to oblige and to allow that

45:21uh access for our feed so that we can

45:23actually see what's going on or be able

45:25to pull basically whatever video footage

45:27needs to be pulled if it's uh connected

45:29to an incident in our community.

45:31>> Yeah. And the reason why I'm sharing

45:32that, I think we're in a situation, I

45:34was saddened to hear about what to took

45:36place at um close to Rick um Park. Um

45:39and of course in all our district, we we

45:41have challenges. Um and I think maybe we

45:44all have to be a part and and and share

45:46the same message. So, you know, maybe in

45:48our newsletters, we can kind of also let

45:50people know that they have, you know,

45:52some people probably might not heard

45:54about Operation Shield. Um, so if

45:56there's any information that you'd like

45:58for us to share as well, um, and

46:00anything that even if it's in other

46:02people district, I would love to support

46:03any initiative to help stop this gun

46:06violence. Um, and and and so anything

46:08that if if it's verbage, is anything

46:10that I need to share on my end. Um,

46:13please let me know. I I want to be there

46:15to support you all. I think it's it's

46:17great to show unifi unification um, in

46:20this process. So just just share any

46:22information that we can put in our

46:24newsletters or even at our community

46:25meetings or any time where we go into

46:28different you know organizations and

46:30speak with people just let me know in

46:32>> this is what I would like for you to do

46:33and others to do. Uh safe passage uh

46:36this is something again that we're

46:37encouraging the community to participate

46:40in uh council members if they want to

46:43participate. Uh the goal again is to not

46:46saturate someone with a responsibility

46:49that often times they expect law

46:51enforcement or public safety to manage.

46:53However, public safety cannot do it

46:55alone. Uh the communities have to

46:57actually buy in into a strategy uh safer

47:00communities, safe passage uh speaks to

47:02some of the concerns that we're talking

47:04about now. I mean Ricky, for example, I

47:06mean we don't know who's responsible. Uh

47:09but it's not without thinking that there

47:12are young people involved.

47:14Uh so we're trying to figure out how do

47:16we actually reduce hypervigilance in our

47:18community. Uh and one of those

47:21strategies is safe passage. Uh so uh

47:24this is a holistic approach and this is

47:27a strategy that will not fix itself

47:29overnight. But what will not work is the

47:32absence of the community participating.

47:35U Councilwoman Anger. Um

47:37>> I just want to remind um everyone the

47:39public that September the 22nd we do

47:42have a public safety committee meeting.

47:44So that again we are listening and we

47:46are trying to um come up with you know u

47:48comprehensive solutions for this. So

47:50thank you.

47:51>> You're welcome. Anyone else? All right,

47:53vice president.

47:55>> Okay. Thank you. Uh let's look at

47:58resolutions that we might wave the rules

48:02on. Um starting with um

48:0501992

48:07Honda resolutions being introduced. So

48:10that one as well as 994 995

48:14and 998.

48:16Any others?

48:17>> Yeah.

48:20>> Oh, I'm sorry. That is a 5,000. A little

48:23over the 50,000

48:26>> 94 and 995. Those are the two.

48:28>> Yeah. So you don't want to deal with

48:31Okay.

48:34[clears throat] All right.

48:35>> All right. Just those uh three two Yeah.

48:38two. Okay.

48:40>> And Mr. Woods,

48:41>> um just a reminder, we have a finance

48:43committee meeting at 1:00. Um and the

48:45goal is to have a two-hour finance

48:48committee meeting. And um I appreciate

48:50everybody remitting their remitting

48:52their questions. Um thank you to the

48:54finance department for for uh submitting

48:56those answers back to us. And um you

48:58know between now and and then uh I'd

49:01encourage everybody to take a look at

49:02the the questions and the answers that

49:03we received regarding the budget, but

49:05we'll see everybody at 1:00 when it

49:07comes to the finance meeting.

49:08>> Thank

49:11u councilwoman Ingram mentioned the um

49:14public safety committee meeting next

49:16week. She has uh submitted some

49:18questions. If anybody else has questions

49:21that they would like to have covered,

49:22concerns, questions, whatever, please

49:25get them submitted so that Commander

49:27Graves and the rest of the folks can be

49:29prepared with answers. Um, just let us

49:32know ahead of time.

49:34>> Thank you.

49:35>> Anything else from this council?

49:37>> Anything from administration? All right,

49:39we see each other downstairs at 10:30.

49:42Finger.

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