I'm begging for that.

Okay, we'll say yes.

Regular meeting of the Annapolis City Council on Monday, July 13th, 2026.

We'll be called to order at 7 p.m.

At this time, we'll have a moment of silence as we prepare ourselves for the work ahead.

At this time, would everyone willing and able, please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?

Yes, sir.

Mayor Littman.

Alderman Hotley.

Here.

Alderman O'Neill.

President.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Right.

Alderwoman Also Johnson.

Present.

Alderman Shannon Meyer.

Alderman McConti.

Present.

Alderman Savage.

Present.

Alderman Thor.

Present.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda.

Thank you.

At this time, I'm entertaining a motion to approve the agenda.

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Huntley.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Thank you.

Any opposed, say nay.

Okay.

Motion carries.

Mrs.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Is a ceremonial item.

ID 14326, Arnett Finlayson Scholarship Recipient.

Thank you.

And I ask that you also call the next two.

I'm going to go up with all three.

The next item on the agenda is ID 14726, Annapolis Police Department Gone Fishing Award in honor of Lieutenant Brian Della.

The next item after that is ID 15326, Annapolis Police Department Scholarships.

Thank you.

Alright, so for the first one, we're going to do uh the Arnett Finlayson Scholarships.

Would Alderman Gay and I'm sorry.

Yeah, former Alderman uh gay, who think is in the audience.

Uh, and current Alderman Smith Brown, please join me.

And then we'll call uh anyone from the police department for the next set, and then we'll do the uh anyone for the police uh department scholarships next.

You welcome that.

Uh the Arnett Finlayson scholarships were introduced by the last council by Alderman Gay and uh in honor of former Alderman Arnett and former Alderwoman Ben Layson.

And we got through a process this spring with the help of Alderman.

Thank you.

Oh, you can stay in the middle.

Thank you.

With the help of Alderman Smith Brown, we've uh formed a procedure or process because this is the first time we've done any scholarships like this.

We don't have an education department to manage this.

Uh so our educator on the council, Alderman Smith Brown, helped us navigate this uh through the end.

Uh so the help of many individuals.

So we're gonna call them up, and um, they've already gotten their checks, by the way.

More importantly, their schools have gotten their checks.

This is just a certificate of uh acknowledgement.

All right.

Mayor Littman, if I may.

Uh, this is um a message from Alderwoman Finlayson, and I want to make sure that we read this with Alderman Gay.

Thank you.

A good evening to the recipients of the Finlays and Arnett scholarships and your parents.

Let me first apologize that we are not able to be there to celebrate you this evening.

Family business kept me in Milwaukee, and Alderman Arnett is also out of town.

I did not want to miss the opportunity to congratulate each of you.

Last year, our colleagues on the city council graciously recognized our 19 years of service by granting us this opportunity to give scholarships.

You are the recipients.

We wish nothing but the very best for you.

You were chosen for the scholarship because you have tremendous potential.

We hope this scholarship will launch you onto bigger and better things.

Know that your potential is endless, so do all that you can with the opportunities that come your way.

Sincerely, Sheila M.

Van Layson, former Aldwoman and Ross Arnett, former aldermen.

Blessings.

Thank you all.

So these individuals are my K branch.

Please come up and feel free to bring up your families as I call your name.

William Lopez Escobar.

I think you got both.

No, I think he got both.

Yeah.

McKenzie Adams.

Kaylee Slade.

Katie and Isaacs.

Kyrie Isaacs.

Angel Gray.

And Corinne Jenkins.

Corin Jenkins coming up, so we'll do that another time.

Angel Gray.

Okay.

Hirias.

I think you cover my hands.

Katie and Isaacs.

Okay.

Haley Slade.

Mackenzie Adams.

All right.

William Lopez Escobar.

What happened to some other two of you?

Um, congratulations on your award.

Good luck in college next year.

I'm sure you'll make your families and Annapolis proud.

Congratulations.

What's your name?

All right, thank you all.

Congratulations.

Alright, next we have the gone fishing.

Well, please follow me while I want to present.

Why don't we also call up Kayleen Rasenios Rodriguez?

Why don't you come on up?

Take a pack and talk about the people.

It's also bad.

Okay.

Very good.

Uh, so uh on behalf of the city of Annapolis residents, uh, we are pleased to confer upon you the City Council citation to congratulate you on receiving the Gone Fishing Award.

This annual award presented in honor of Lieutenant Brian Della, recognizes the child who catches the biggest fish at the APD youth fishing camp.

Was it this big?

This big.

How big was it?

You don't need to fish for compliments, but because we curse, we are here to congratulate you on this award.

Congratulations.

So we have a bunch of fishing.

Sorry, I don't have much of a voice today.

I've lost it.

Um we have some other fishing gear for you.

As you can take home, okay.

We got that.

And also we have a plaque at the station, uh, in reference to the honor of Lieutenant Della.

So your name is on the plaque right here, okay.

And this will be displayed at the Annapolis Police Department for all the city.

Thank you.

I'd like to go fishing with you one day.

Congratulations.

Enjoy your all the way you've got.

And lastly, we have uh APD scholarship awards.

Captain, do you want to do the honors?

You want to present them first as well?

Actually, what why don't you come on up here?

Okay.

I'll read and it'll explain it.

Okay.

On behalf of the residents of the city of Annapolis, we are pleased to confer upon you this city council citation in recognition of being named an Annapolis Police Department scholarship recipient.

Congratulations on joining an amazing group of young people from our community.

For the eighth year, an anonymous donor made a generous donation in memory of those lost in the two thousand eighteen Capital Gazette attack.

Uh Gerald Fishman, Rob Heisen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith, and Wendy Wendy Winters.

We wish you much success in your future.

Thank you.

And these are going to go to a number of individuals.

Graham Brown.

Elise Slade.

Okay.

Let's Shields.

Shemiah Rankins.

William Lopez Escobar.

You can need some more hands soon.

Savannah Holmes.

Congratulations.

Sorry, Lae Laney Gray.

She would always struggle with that.

Makaia Branch.

Congratulations.

And McKenzie Adams.

Excuse me.

Mr.

City Attorney, please call the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is petitions, reports, and communications, beginning with update from the mayor.

Thank you.

It's been a little while since we've had a chance to see each other.

Good to see everyone again.

I'd like to start off tonight with some great news.

As of last week, we have officially gone one full year with no homicides in the city of Annapolis.

This milestone is important because it represents a full year where no family has lost a loved one to violence in our city.

We all know that tragedy can strike at any time, and it's impossible to prevent every act that harms our community.

But a year without a homicide in our city is an achievement we should all be proud of.

I thank our Annapolis Police Department, the outreach teams in the mayor's office, and many, many other community organizations for their tireless work to keep our city safe.

They have worked proactively, not reactively, in response to violence and interrupt it.

That work has been paying off for these last 12 months, and we hope it continues.

This is an incredible milestone, and for all of them all of us in city government, we must work together to continue the important work of interrupting and preventing violence in the city of Annapolis.

On a more somber note, today marks the anniversary of Annapolis firefighter Alexander C.

Johnson's death in the line of duty.

On July 13th, 1958, firefighter Johnson collapsed while fighting a fire on Shaw Street and later died in the hospital of heart failure.

He was only 42 years old.

He had previously served his country during World War II and has a fire and worked as a firefighter for the City of Annapolis and the Naval Academy.

Earlier today, the City of Annapolis Human Resources Department and City Manager's Office made an important announcement.

I'll read you a portion of that message for you all.

After nearly 10 years of dedicated service, Harbor Master Beth Bellis has retired from the city of Annapolis.

Since joining the city as a harbormaster as the Harbor Master in 2016, Beth has expertly managed, had expertly managed our harbor operations and served as a cornerstone of our waterfront.

Under her leadership, the Annapolis waterways remain safe and well managed.

Her operational expertise are in formal formal accommodation from the United States Secret Service in Maryland, and her commitment to service was frequently recognized by visitors and participants at major shows, including the annual Annapolis boat shows.

We're grateful to for the expertise and dedication Beth brought to the City of Annapolis.

Please join us in thanking her for outstanding public service and wishing her the best in her retirement.

Following her departure, the city manager has named Deputy Harbor Master Tyler Northfield as the acting harbormaster.

The city manager's office will work closely with Tyler to ensure a smooth transition as they determine who will be our next Harbor Master.

As you may have heard, changes are coming to the city's main street program.

To share what these changes mean and to discuss a path forward, we invite you to join a virtual information session with the Office of Economic Development and the Mayor's Office on Thursday, July 16th at 10 a.m.

This session will take place via Zoom.

Please register in advance by emailing live testimony at Annapolis.gov.

And if you're watching online, you should be seeing that website again by 6 p.m.

on Wednesday, July 15th.

After registering, you will receive an email with a virtual meeting link.

The city is offering opportunities for you to share your views on what you want to see in the city's next chief of police.

By participating in a public survey and attending an interactive community engagement session, you can help inform the recruitment and selection process.

These community engagement sessions are highly interactive, allowing participants to work in small groups, discuss community priorities, and help shape the selection of the next police chief.

The city has already held its first session next week and will hold the second one on this Wednesday at 6 30 p.m.

at the Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis.

And the third and final selection on Thursday, also at 6:30 at First Baptist Church of Annapolis.

As a reminder, you can find the dates and times and locations at calendar.gov.

Each session will be recorded and available to view afterward.

The community survey asks participants to identify their professional experience and public safety priorities.

They believe should guide the selection of the next police chief.

The survey is available in English and Spanish and will close on July 24th.

You can find the link on the mayor's office page at Annapolis.gov.

The City of Annapolis is committed to conducting a transparent, inclusive, and community informed search for a police chief who will lead with integrity, accountability, and a strong commitment to public service.

And now let's get on with the meeting.

Mr.

City Attorney, please call the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is reports by committees.

Okay.

Would any member of the council wish to share their committee report?

Alderman Savage.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

So I did email out a chair report, but I can give a couple highlights here.

Our last meeting.

We received an update from Planet Zoning on some active development projects, any kind of changes that have happened as far as new environmental review.

There are a couple of new projects.

I just encourage you to either take a look at the report or tune in to the meeting if you wanted to get details.

But they include the Bay Village Suites, which is a 105-unit independent living proposed in Ward 7 on Bay Ridge Road, Loft City's Eastport Landing.

They've submitted a grading permit, and staff's trying to get that review completed by the end of the month.

And uh Rocky Gorge, also called Athens of Annapolis.

I think that's still in some.

I think that's going to the board of the Building Board of Appeals or Board of Appeals for some decision as far as if that permits expired or not.

Um Thomas Somerville in parole at West Village.

Uh update on that.

Um they're moving forward.

And that's about it for the development updates.

Um, we also received an update from Deputy City Manager Guild on the resilience and sustainability front.

Um, let's see in particular there.

So the streetcar feasibility study for West Street.

This is a they're actually uh the resilience authority received four bids, and so they'll probably be awarding that feasibility study by the end of the summer.

I would guess, but that as a reminder, that study is something that was recommended 15 years ago in a study of the county and the state and the city did in 2009.

So we're finally getting to that with those partner, same partners.

Um I'll be in touch on that because I may contact the resonance authority if see if we might be able to get a um a work session update on that sometime this fall.

And let's see, uh Deputy City Manager also spoke about some solar strategy.

I'm working on a city solar strategy in coordination with the county.

And I think there's gonna be an update on the climate action plan as they work to incorporate some of our comments from the work session.

We also had a joint meeting with rules and government, rules and rules of city government committee, uh, talking about 016 26, but I'll just save those comments for our next meeting when the amendments come up for and the legislation comes back to us for a vote.

That's all I have, Mr.

Mayor.

I don't think we're gonna have another meeting this month, so the next one will be um in September.

Questions for Ultimate Savage?

Any other committee reports?

Almond Huntley?

Very briefly the finance committee meeting on Wednesday at 10 30 a.m.

I know last council meeting there was a supplemental appropriation that we all wanted some more information on about uh funds going to our parking contractor.

I believe we are gonna get an update on that on Wednesday, and uh so anybody who's interested will be able to tune in.

Questions for Alderman Huntley?

Okay, any more committee reports?

Uh thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um, the next meeting of the audit committee, uh, we have a full agenda for the meeting on Monday, Monday morning at eight o'clock.

Uh we're working on several things, including a review of the procedures and uh perhaps approval of the procedures for handling and resolving allegations of improper procedures, irregularities, fraud, waste, and abuse.

Uh, we'll also try to begin addressing the department's uh performance metrics as well as reviewing the calendar to get us to a December approval of the audit.

So busy schedule.

Thank you, Alderman.

Any questions for Alderman Thorpe?

Any other committee reports?

Alderman Smith Brown.

Thank you, uh Mayor Living.

Uh so we did go over in the first joint meeting of our session together uh with the environmental matters committee.

Uh we environment matters committee.

Uh, we had the O 1626 for its conservation program amendments to conform with state law, which we did recommend favorably the amendments uh two, three, and six, and we'll look at the overall document or um legislation as well as four and five of those two amendments at our next scheduled meeting on Thursday, uh July 23rd.

Questions for Ultimate Smith Brown?

Any other committee reports?

Okay, just checking Brooks.

Um, next Mr.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is comments by the general public.

Thank you.

During the comments from the general public, I will call the people who have signed up, which are Stephen Wadi, Svenstorm, and Tom Creek, and then open it up to anyone else who wishes to speak.

We have subsequent public hearings on O 14 26 are in public places and 0 16 26 forest conservation and 017 26 right to park in front of your uh driveway.

If you're here to speak about any of those three things, wait for the next public hearing.

This is the general comment period.

Mr.

Wani.

Hello, my name is Stephen Wadi, and I'm here on behalf of the Anorondo County NAACP.

I wanted to speak about the uh uh hiring of a new police chief in the city of Annapolis.

Uh the NAACP's criteria for a police chief is based on one transparency, two, accountability, three, compassion, four, experience and education, and five, a commitment to work with the civil rights and black community.

When we're talking about transparency, um Annapolis is a colonial town.

Settler colonialism is emblazoned on the walls of this room.

The institution of slave catching was the foundation of American policing.

Um the principles of violence, sadism, surveillance, obedience, and racial and economic hierarchy are also embedded in our modern policing.

Transparent policing requires the release of data on how many arrests of people in mental health uh and mental health crises are happening.

We need to know that information, whether or not it's being collected by our police force currently and being shared with the community.

Um how many contacts uh have our police made with people from uh people that were in the help the foster care system?

So the foster care system is one of the um main places that um we find people who are in prison.

Um they they're many of them were previously in the foster care system.

So, how many contacts have our uh police officers made?

How many the Annapolis police department made with people that were in the foster care system so we can reduce those numbers?

Um how many contacts with people uh with the fourth grade or below reading level?

Um, you know, uh as a teacher, uh I would like to see you know some of the overtime that goes to uh some places go to teaching because I know you know we spend a lot of time lesson planning, um, but that's not here or there for the Annapolis City Council.

Uh but uh that's that's another main driver for um arrests and incarceration is people that have below fourth grade reading level.

And so uh teaching somebody to read one-on-one is the best way to improve their reading level.

How are we doing that?

Uh, how is the police interacting with these types of um characteristics?

And how can we intervene in that to uh to decrease the number of arrests that are going on with people that are experiencing these types of uh societal dynamics?

Accountability is a willingness to meet with the police accountability board uh in Anondo County.

So willingness, it is explaining institutional change and implementing the policies necessary to remove hierarchies and change lives.

It's not just holding the bad officers accountable, which is where we find a lot of officers or police leaders these days blaming the officers uh who they who they lead, as opposed to taking accountability for institutional change, is holding the institutions in the city accountable for oppressive hierarchies that they reproduce.

Um research shows that officers with degrees is number four.

Research uh shows that officers with degrees use less force, commit fewer policy violations, and produce stronger reports.

So having a college degree will help you get better officers, uh, not just a better chief results uh that directly influence community trust in agency liability.

Officer training and education is one of the pillars of 21st century policing as well.

Finally, we need someone who is committed to work with the uh NAACP, the caucus of African American leaders, I would say the ACLU as well, especially uh to make sure that we are operating within the Fourth Amendment and not surveilling people, putting them in databases and uh using that to arrest.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mr.

Wani.

Mr.

Storm.

Can you hear me?

Prior to the Doc Street project uh beginning a couple of years prior to that, we would have these meetings with the city, and we would bring our concerns and they would address them and they would tell us that we had nothing to worry about.

Right now we have two of the businesses that have a catered, it appears that three more are going to, and I'm sure everyone in this room knows that they won't be rented out anytime soon.

I went to my favorite hardware store in town the other day, and I frequent that one.

There's 24 parking places there.

Imagine, if you will, that that parking was reduced to five.

Imagine that along that parking, a six-foot fence would be put up to block the view.

Then a sign where just 500 yards away you could park for 325 an hour to still continue to do business at that hardware store.

Then let's add that every time it rains, there's a flood at the entrance.

How long do all of you anticipate that that hardware store would stay in business?

Yesterday, the Hillman Garage had a sign-up that said over 200 parking places were available.

And there were a lot of people that visited, and we did actually quite well at Storm Brothers, but we did get some comments on the parking as we do all the time.

And we were informed by this one person who spent 20 minutes driving around a full garage that said there's 200 spaces there.

He informed us that he would never be back.

We hear this frequently, and you have to understand that as a business, it's been here for I'm in my 50th year, that we work hard through the years to build up a rapport to contribute to the city to um engender goodwill so that we continue to have customers that doesn't exist.

There was plenty of engagement prior to the beginning of the project, and we've had one since then.

Now imagine that that parking 500 yards away from the hardware store is going to increase in price per hour.

One of the things that and I like Harry a lot, but one of the things you ran on was the sidewalks.

The other day, and I'm sure most of you know if you've been down there, I provide a wheelchair in the front of my store with my sentiments about the lack of repair on the sidewalks.

It was used twice, once to get someone to the hospital or to the ambulance.

I would assume they went to the hospital, and the other one was so that the injured person could get to their car.

Please wrap up your comments.

Okay, I'm done.

Thank you.

But I brought that up many times, and I'm hoping Harry, I'm down there all the time.

Mr.

Creek.

Tom Creek, 14 Murray Avenue, Annapolis.

Good evening, Mr.

Mayor and members of the council.

My name is Tom Creek.

I'm here to speak as the president of the Ward 1 Residence Association.

I'm here on behalf of Aura and with the authorization of my board of directors.

We're going to speak on resolution 2926.

I'd like to first begin by recognizing the city manager's recent presentation at the Transportation Committee.

We are encouraged by her thoughtful action plan, her emphasis on clear timelines, and most importantly, most importantly, her commitment to stakeholder involvement.

We believe that's exactly the right approach.

Our only suggestions that stakeholder involvement begin earlier.

By the time proposals reach this council, residents are reacting to a finished product, sometimes emotionally, instead of helping shape it.

Organizations such as War and others can provide practical insight before legislation is introduced.

Not opposing change, but to help make it better.

Turn it resolution 2926.

We understand that parking fees occasionally need to be adjusted.

Our concern isn't simply that fees are increasing.

Our concern is that residents have not been shown the financial analysis behind these increases and how the additional revenue will help parking.

The 27 parking fund revenue budget shows an approximately $200,000, $230,000 increase about 2.8%.

Yet this resolution raises numerous parking fees, including meters, garages, monthly permits, and others.

We're not suggesting your city's numbers are wrong.

We're simply asking for transparency.

How much additional revenue is expected from these fee increases?

What assumptions are used, and perhaps most importantly, how will these additional dollars improve parking for Neapolis residents, employees, and businesses?

We're also concerned about the proposed increase to helm and garage rates.

Our understanding is that the governing agreement of that garage is that annual rate increases are tied to the CPI.

If that is correct, we respectfully ask the administration to explain how this proposal complies with that agreement before the final action.

Whether the increase is 230,000 or substantially more isn't the real issue.

The issue is accountability.

If residents, employees, businesses are being asked to pay for more, they deserve to know what's beginning in return.

We will see better, will we get see better parking enforcement?

We see improvement to the permit process, modernization to the caregiver and the guest permits, better use relation of the helm and garage.

Finally, we expect react we respectfully ask that WARA and other community associations be invited to participate earlier in the parking planning process.

We respectfully ask that before final passage of resolution 2926, the administration publicly released a final impact analysis supporting these fees.

Please wrap up wrap up, Mr.

Rick.

And identify how additional revenue is going to be used.

Thank you.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Is there anyone else in the council chambers who would wish to speak during our general comment period who has not yet spoken?

Okay.

Come on up.

Start with your name and address, please.

My name is Laura Catherine Catherine Bell.

C for Christmas cookie, A T-H-E-R-I-N-E is how I spell my middle name, not K for Kick Me.

Um, I am one of the owners of 207 Hanover Street in the historic Annapolis district.

And I have a question about this Atlas company that's buying up land for the hotel and restaurants and who are they and what are they an entity for?

Are they connected to Terry Manufacturing Company?

I think so.

I don't know.

Maybe there's an Atlas Group winery in California connected to Joel Ailes and Lana Ales, and I don't know who are they, and maybe I'm wrong, but I I like to know who they're connected to.

Maybe if we're on a it could be a terror.

You know what I'm saying?

Who are is it Mafia connected?

Is it government connected?

Who owns Atlas Group?

My ex-husband.

So this is a public comment period.

So this is non-mortfolio, see more defilerry manufacturing?

I don't know.

What are they?

Because a lot of people I here in town are very concerned about this Atlas group.

Who are they?

That's my question to you.

Could you answer that, please?

I was trying not to interrupt.

I thought you were done previously.

So this is a public comment period, so we this is not an opportunity for dialogue and exchange.

It's for us to listen to you.

If you'd like to leave your name with our our city manager's desk over here, someone could follow up with you and have a conversation with you about it.

City manager.

Table right over here.

You can leave your name and number with them.

Someone will follow.

Okay, I'm just curious because Annapolis just doesn't seem like it used to be.

And I am a little worried about this whole parking thing everyone's talking about because we pay a lot of taxes in this town.

Huh.

And what about plat maps and things like that?

And you know, who owns what?

You know, I'm not really sure how all of that works, but I guess I could talk to your manager person.

Especially, because how does a historic preservation connect to that if you're building brand new hotels?

What about the historic preservation of Annapolis?

And by the way, I'll just have to say the very first governor of Annapolis, Maryland, I mean the mayor of the Continental Congress, Thomas Johnson, is my relative to my relative, Gladys Royal Johnson and William Williams Johnson Jr.

And you know, he also promoted George Washington to be the first um uh president of the United States, and I'm related to that because my grandfather, Reverend Charles Henry McVay, MC Underline Capital V E Y, changed his name to M-A-C Capitol V E Y because he was in the witness of protection for the government, because you know it's a whole spirit connected to President George Washington, of which my family is related, including to Alexander Hamilton, the first treasury secretary of the United States, through my father, John Herms Jack McVeigh, and my Aunt Barbara McVay Hitchcock, who is his sister, and John Edward McEdward Hitchcock from 415 Franklin Street in um uh Syracuse, New York.

I just like a little history.

It is our 250th after all.

I'm very proud of, you know, the indentured servant, and being the owner of the Peggy Stewart House.

That's my house.

Oh, with my ex-husband Scott Boeing Bell and Pam Alinger.

The Pan Malinger Trust, I did not know was the private buyer in my divorce.

In any case, that's all I have to say for now.

And by the way, you know, I have this been here three minutes.

It was a fake.

Where's the real one?

Thank you for your comments.

It wasn't my house at 207.

Thank you for your comments tonight.

Like, you know, some AI Scott William Bell.

Ma'am, thank you for your comments tonight.

Someone came into Apple and told me that.

Just saying, you know, where I work.

Apple's name for me.

Thank you.

Well, Einstein.

Is there anyone else who wishes to address the council tonight in the general comment period?

All right, seeing no motion in chambers, I declare the public comment period concluded.

Mr.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is ID 1326, the quarterly report from the housing authority of the city of Annapolis.

Thank you.

Ms.

Maddox Evans, if you could welcome to have a seat up front and join us.

Oh, and I didn't know the prime manager trust my plan, of course.

Oh, I'm sorry, not a turn.

Ms.

Maddox Evans, thank you so much for uh coming uh this evening.

We'll get ready to start in a second.

I just want to highlight for our council members and anyone uh following that the uh materials that you provided to the city council are all loaded to the city's website and can be downloaded by anybody or follow to follow along tonight or to be reviewed afterwards.

Thank you for the pre-read materials.

Well, thank you very much.

Uh Mr.

Mayor, members of City Council, and our residents, partners, members of the Annapolis community for inviting me today to present the quarterly report.

Um I will be happy to answer any questions after my report.

I do have some remarks to make today.

I'm Melissa Maddox Evans, executive director, CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis.

And tonight I just want to speak plainly about where the housing authority of the City of Annapolis stands and where it's headed, and uh really what this moment uh requires.

Uh HACA is in transition, and that transition is already underway, as you all well know, and it's really part of a national shift in affordable housing, and I believe Annapolis has the opportunity to lead in that shift with clarity, partnership, and discipline.

For more than 30 years, federal housing policy has moved away from the public housing model, and it has shaped that has shaped much of the uh 20th century actually, and across several administrations, Congresses, both political parties, the federal government directed direct capital support, and has also uh which it has done in the past has shifted must much of that responsibility uh to local governments and have moved housing authorities towards a more uh mixed finance redevelopment model using tax credits, vouchers, rad conversions, public-private partnerships, and private capital to support its housing.

And whether we agree or not with these choices, uh these choices, they were not made overnight, and they are uh they were made well beyond the people uh in this room, and that's really the environment that HACKA is operating in today.

Essentially, the old model of federal investment and direct federal responsibility just no longer exist.

So our mission has not changed, but the responsibility in the delivery of our services has.

We did not shut down.

And we have moved forward, and since my arrival, we have completed four redevelopment closings with three more scheduled over the next 18 months.

And those of you that are unfamiliar with affordable housing development, it or any kind of development really, it could take uh eight to ten years to for one deal to get to a closing because of various obstacles.

And so that progress shows that HACA is not standing still in the midst of all this transition.

So our path has been consistent to stabilize the institution, modernize our operations, and reposition the real estate portfolio, along with strengthening the governance in order to really have a sustainable uh long-term housing model.

And so we're entering in our next phase.

The future of the affordable housing in Annapolis, it requires real partnership with the city of Annapolis, with Ana Rondo County, with the state of Maryland, with private investment partners, lenders, nonprofit organizations, and the broader civic community and the federal government through HUD.

That partnership is no longer just simply desirable or aspirational.

It is the only way to be able to preserve and finance affordable housing.

HACA has been entrusted with over one million uh 100 million dollars in reinvestment in this community so far under my administration to date, and we are slated to bring over 500 million in reinvestment in the next three development projects that we have scheduled.

And all of this, well, I think that's a flaw.

I would clap for that too.

But all of this is to preserve uh not only the existing public housing uh or affordable housing rather, but um to redevelop aging neighborhoods, not just the housings themselves, and to expand housing opportunities for future generations.

And this is not obviously a small responsibility, but it obviously is a generational opportunity for Annapolitans, and this gives Annapolis the chance to replace our obsolete housing models with stronger communities, stronger partnerships, stronger stewardship, and protect affordability while creating neighborhoods that are safer, healthier, better connected, and economically resilient.

So the housing communities that HACA is responsible for, we house seniors, working families, hundreds of children, and our children are not separate from Annapolis.

Every one of these people and the people in our housing is a city, is a citizen of the city of Annapolis.

They're citizens of Ana Rondo County, of the state, and they deserve safe housing, stable communities, and economic opportunity and long-term reinvestment.

And for too long, I believe our housing policy has concentrated poverty in isolated communities, and those communities too often lacked the public or private investment, quality infrastructure, neighborhood stability, and access to economic opportunity.

They also reflected racial and economic separation that set that helped shape families and neighborhoods for generations, as we see and have heard tonight.

That model is not a model anyone should hope to preserve.

So I believe the future of affordable housing cannot be built around concentrated poverty and crisis management.

It has to be built about around economically integrated communities, reinvestment, stability and opportunity.

And that's what a health that kind of healthy community benefits all Annapolis and really everyone in our county and state.

And it doesn't mean that we abandon our public mission, but it means that we have to change and protect the tools that actually we need to use in order to face these challenges.

Subsidized housing remains necessary, senior housing remains necessary.

Workforce housing, also necessary, but market rate housing also plays a role and has a role to play to economically integrate communities and produce supporting long-term financial viability.

And if HACKA is left alone on the tools of the past, we will keep producing the same outcomes that we have had.

And families do deserve more than deterioration and uncertainty.

And seniors deserve safety and stability.

Children deserve neighborhoods that are connected to opportunity and not isolated from it.

Every single property in the HACKA portfolio has been evaluated through the lens of residence stability, financial condition, financial viability, and long-term sustainability and community impact.

All of these communities will require reinvestment and modernization.

All will require redevelopment and new partnership structures.

So the status quo is not sufficient.

And for that reason, I'm introducing the beginning of a more long-term institutional framework, HACA 2035.

Hakka 2035 will guide the next era of the authority.

It will help move HAKA from a 20th century public housing operating model to a more modern asset management organization that is capable of protecting affordability over the long term.

So the remainder of 2026 will serve as a launch period for this transition planning and institutional alignment.

That work will require governance review, operational and fiscal assessment, portfolio evaluation, stakeholder engagement, redevelopment planning, and implementation steps that are designed to position for our accountability and reinvestment.

So at a strategic level, we have four initiatives that we will be promoting.

One is the physical transformation of our properties from obsolete concentrations of poverty and towards a more modern economically integrated community that's built around safety, livability, and stability and reinvestment.

Secondly, institutional transformation.

So repositioning HACA from a reactive manager of distressed housing inventory to a more strategic asset manager and redevelopment platform that's capable of coordinating capital partnerships, sequencing and the long-term community reinvestment.

Thirdly, resident stability and upward mobility, strengthening institutional discipline, improving transparency and compliance, diversifying our revenue sources, and building a financial model that is capable of sustaining deeply subsidized housing, and whilst being supported by a broader mixed income redevelopment goals, and also governance.

We need to strengthen our institutional discipline, our transparency, our compliance, and do what we need to do to bring diversification here to not just our agency, but the way we manage affordable housing.

So HACKAHA 2035 is not simply a planning document, it's just the way that we are organizing at the housing authority, our partners, and our broader broader community around the future of housing in Annapolis.

And we've really already entered into it.

So the reason why I'm saying this is that the work is much larger than one administration, one mayor, one council, one executive director, and one board.

The work that we're doing here is going to uh resonate for years and decades to come, long after all of us uh have ended our respective terms and positions here.

And so we do have some choices as to how we proceed going forward in terms of the housing authority in partnership with the city of Annapolis.

We don't want to continue to treat affordable housing as a problem that someone is assigned to fix.

It must be addressed as a shared civic responsibility that has the full strength and support of this city.

You know, we are doing our part, and we are ready to work with our partners with this council, with the mayor, and with anyone that chooses to build this community with us.

And we do this because we know that the residents deserve this, they deserve the stability, and our families deserve opportunity, and their neighborhoods deserve uh re-reinvestment.

And Annapolis deserves a housing authority that's prepared to meet this future responsibly and uh with a clear purpose, and that is the work that we're prepared to do.

I've also submitted some written information for you just about the housing industry in general, the challenges that we are facing on the federal level uh with regards to policy and funding, and I have provided information for you on some of the questions that you presented to me prior to meeting today.

And thank you for this opportunity to speak with you, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

For the presentation, uh Ms.

Maddox Evans, uh, appreciate you being here and sharing all that uh guidance.

The um HACA 2035 that you discussed, I want to be clear, and so I'm not clear right now.

Is that something that's being drafted or that you you have drafted?

So, what that is is a framework for you to understand what we are currently doing at HACA, and so uh I thought it would be best to be able to frame uh what our approach is so you can understand um what we are actually doing now.

So it it is not a change, but it it is a framing and it's a conveying and a better illustrating uh a better illustration of the work that we are actually doing uh now, and it will entail, of course, much more in-depth involvement from our community stakeholders uh as we continue to make changes, but I thought it'd be best to be able to help frame uh what we are actually and presently doing as we are redeveloping our properties.

So, again, my question is is this something that's been drafted already or that you will be drafting?

So, again, I have established uh to you uh a framework uh of what we are already doing.

Is it reduced to writing?

I'm sorry, is it reduced to writing?

So, what I have provided to you is a framework of the work that we are already doing and the work that we are beginning to do, which will have to involve a partnership with all of our stakeholders to be able to fully visualize and actualize this vision.

So, does that make sense?

It's not answering my question.

I'm understanding you're describing this HACA 2035, that's a framework for how we're going to work together, and I'm asking if it's something that's in writing or something that's in.

It is in writing before you I don't see anything labeled HACA 35 2035.

It's in here, okay.

I have quarterly presentation.

Okay.

All right.

I didn't see but did we get this ahead of time?

I didn't see this.

Yeah.

All right, do we have this electronically?

The HACA 2030 2035.

I I believe I forwarded, but I can forward it again.

Thank you.

I but I uh hadn't seen it and I had gone through the materials.

Um your occupancy number is something that HUD focuses on very carefully, and you gave us a number of current occupancy rate of 91.22 percent.

HUD, and the HUD goal of 96%, and then you talked about the number of houses under repair, sorry, not houses, units under repair.

And so I was asking earlier today to help me with the two numbers of how you get to 91.22.

It's uh one number divided by a number, another number to give me to give us the percent of units that are occupied divided by the number of units that could be occupied, and so I was trying to get a handle on what those two numbers are so that we could have some context of if we get these 48 units repaired.

What does that take us up to?

So, what I conveyed in my reply was that the occupancy rate is accordance with a HUD formula, of which we are not pervy to.

The HUD formula takes into account vacant units, units that are under modernization, meaning that's an official classification in which HUD does essentially does not count the vacancy status against an entity.

There are several categories in which HUD allows a unit to be offline for purposes of vacancy.

Um you all have had the pleasure of uh being a part of that when HACA brought offline two units for the city to use for free as a police substation, and now that converted to a community center.

So for example, those two units are not counted against HACKA as far as or it would not be counted for any housing authority if it is officially taken online for a HUD approved status.

There are several categories.

One is being uh brought offline for redevelopment, casualty loss, let's say there's a fire and a vac and a unit is demolished or destroyed uh permanently for uh extensive redevelopment which or modification or substantial rehabilitation.

Let's say a unit might take six months to a year to bring back online because of substantial uh uses.

It can be taken offline uh for community space, for um, if there is a police officer, if we come into an agreement where one we can have a security person live in a HACKA unit, we can bring it offline uh for those purposes.

But according to the HUD regulations, there are several categories that are permissible to bring a unit offline, all which require HUD approval and application process and approval.

And so those units are not counted against you, so it's that's why I say it's not a matter of just the vacant units versus occupied units, and there are several other factors HUD uses, and so once HUD has that information, it then gives you what it believes its vacancy uh your vacancy, your sorry, your occupancy rate is according to the HUD metrics.

And so the numbers I gave to you earlier reflected that we have five units that are currently in modernization status because we have taken them offline to prepare for temporary relocation for our tenants.

We have two units, as I stated earlier, offline as community centers.

We have a couple other units that are offline.

One is our management office, and the other is a maintenance office, and so all of the other um units that are uh available uh to lease are those that what HUD would count for our vacancy uh for vacancy purposes.

So we are scheduling to place nine units next month, nine of the now vacant units at Robinwood in a request to HUD to be kept offline because we're preparing for redevelopment of those properties, and you have to begin to preserve vacant units at least a year in advance of the time that families have to move uh for uh for redevelopment purposes, and we are scheduling to close on Robinwood and Bloomsbury Square in 2027, spring and summer.

So we have to begin preserving those units now, which means we have to go through an official process with HUD to request those units in which we have already informed HUD that we will be submitting those applications in the next month or so.

So essentially, the only site that we are focusing on filling for vake traditional vacancy purposes would be Eastport Terrace and Harbor House.

It has a goal of 96%.

Do you have visibility for when you'll reach that?

I I informed HUD that we would we would reach that sometime summer 200027.

Okay, council members, questions?

Alderman Huntley, then Alderman Woman O'Neill.

Director Maddox Evans, I just want to start by saying how inspiring I find it when you come and talk with us about how passionate you are on your mission.

And just uh I feel like in so many ways you're tackling the root causes, so thank you.

My question is you have this phenomenal line.

You said it better than I ever do, but uh the way I say it is to the future of public housing is mixed income.

You said something that's much more eloquent than that.

But the other half that I say is it's mixed income and it's mixed use.

And I'm curious if you can talk a little bit to that as part of the redevelopment.

How are we looking at adding not just housing but also some commercial?

Because I mean, this is maybe just me editorializing, but I think that's how you build a strong city and strong communities is not just all housing and nothing else.

How are you guys able to think about that?

Understanding housing is really your fundamental mandate.

It's a great question.

We are uh seriously and have contemplated mixed use in our uh redevelopment concept plan for Eastport Terrace Harbor House uh particularly uh with regards to uh some sort of retail space uh for the purposes of uh providing uh food in terms of not us not a supermarket, but maybe a small grocer uh their convenience store, uh some sort of medical facility.

We are already uh in partnership with the Y to uh provide uh child care uh services who they are already providing a child care center there now, and we would like to expand that.

So we've been in conversations with the Y Head Start program and with uh Congresswoman Elfreth uh about that and several other uh we plan to have several other multi-purpose uh spaces uh within uh the complex.

And so because mixed use is uh one of the components of diversifying a community, uh it's a also a great opportunity for the city of Annapolis as you are re envisioning Hawkins Cove for the expansion of that park and making that park available to the general public and the use there available, whether it's a expanded uh park area, amphitheater, so we are we have been in uh many many talks with the city staff uh about the possibilities and are continuing those talks as we are creating plans for the community.

And by the way, the plans that we have for the Eastport Terrace and Harbor House communities are not plans that Haka and the developers are coming up with because this is a collaborative process, and it and the public and all stakeholders are very much involved in the actual planning uh process.

So if you you go on to uh EastportCNI.org, it gives an overview of the types of mixed use um options that we're we are exploring, but every public meeting we have now is extremely important.

I would invite all of you to attend the public meetings that we have because we gather the ideas of needed amenities in the communities, and then we take those ideas and we discuss it with the city staff from an infrastructure uh perspective and a zoning perspective for for instance.

So uh, so your input is uh very uh much welcome as to the types of mixed use that would benefit that community.

We have also discussed the same with uh the Robinwood community, although it's a little bit more limited.

We had hoped for a more extensive partnership with the previous owners of the uh potential owners of the uh parcels of where the old uh Annapolis uh seafood market uh used to be, and there we we had uh extensive talks with those developers.

They had since backed out.

We understand they have different plans, and so we are trying to stay in communication uh with uh the uh developers of those uh commercial parcels to ensure that our plans are in alignment with the redevelopment uh that they are doing.

We are also in communication with the uh uh the um Anna Rondo uh public school system with regards to a possible access road that's behind the commercial uh area that's um on the on the side where um the Robinwood uh neighborhood is to create a better path for children to walk to school uh through as opposed to getting onto uh the busy uh Forest Drive corridor.

So uh mixed use is a part uh a very important component of our redevelopment planning, and we would welcome you know all suggestions throughout our planning process, and all of our public meetings are open, obviously to the public, but are they not checkbox public meetings?

We we gather input that we can use and we tweak um our redevelopment process uh as we uh go along.

So thank you for the question.

Thank you.

And I'll just say on the on the school and the access road point, you know, we we don't control the schools, but the thing we do get to control generally is the sidewalks going through the schools.

So if you need help with that, don't hesitate to let any of us or me know.

All right, thank you.

Woman O'Neill, then Alderman Huntley, Thorpe, excuse me.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Mayor.

Um, two questions.

Um early as you were talking, you were talking about the HACA portfolio and that every property has been evaluated.

Can you talk about what is included in that portfolio?

In terms of the evaluation, what's included in the portfolio when you say so it's Eastport Terrace, Harbor House, uh, what's in our housing portfolio?

Correct.

Okay, so Eastport Terrace, Harbor House, Bloomsbury Square, Robinwood.

Right.

Those are the properties that we currently own and manage.

So when think people traditionally think of Haka properties, those are the current Hakka properties.

Right.

But it used to include Morris Blum, Obery Court, Annapolis Gardens.

As part of our portfolio, our asset management portfolio, because we no longer own those properties.

We own the land that those properties on, but we are in a proper uh partnership with the entities that do own those properties, and there are various entities.

So those properties are Annapolis Gardens, Ovary Courts, Wilburne Estates, and Morris H.

Blum.

There seems to be a pretty large disconnect between people who are living in Hacker properties and people who are living in Hacker assets.

And the biggest issue that I find is the property management.

So, in a sense, we don't have any say or control, and when I say we, I mean the city, in the governing of those properties, although our residents often don't know the difference.

So are coming often to the council with issues.

Um, you and I had a discussion with Senator Henson about six weeks ago or more about some of those properties.

What's in your 2036 plan could help that issue?

So all of our properties are required to produce uh certain results, whether they're management results, fiscal financial results, uh quality of life, uh all of the criteria that makes a great property perform well.

And we evaluate those elements along with the partners to determine if there are longstanding systemic issues that need to be addressed on a particular property.

We evaluate the financials monthly, we're involved in the budget uh uh process.

Every year those properties produce their budget for our review and input.

And if there's, let's say, I'll I'll give an example.

We believe all the roofs at a particular development need to be upgraded.

We ensure that those line items are in the budget for that property to perform properly.

I'm just giving that as an example.

And so we take the information that we have been gathering if there are consistent systemic issues and that we would address with the owners of that development.

And so we do that not just from community input.

When we are kept a uh informed about an issue, we send our inspectors, our housing quality uh inspectors out because they're under a different program, the housing choice voucher program, and we record the findings that we see.

And if things are to the extent where there is severe noncompliance, we will abate the subsidy to the unit, mean cut the purse strings, and that usually gets folks' attention to rectify uh issues.

We don't like it to get to that point, but we have that leverage.

But I would challenge you that the city does have a mechanism to hold property owners accountable, and that is your city inspections process.

And so, from my understanding, the city inspects all rental units throughout the city of Annapolis.

If you find that there are units that are not in compliance, the city has an array of mechanisms that it can use to enforce compliance.

So our properties, not just Hacker properties, all of our properties are subject to the city inspections process.

And oftentimes when we hear of issues, we'll be in communication with the city inspections office.

They'll forward questions to us, we can forward those to the current management team to try to expedite uh answers if they are uh if there's some delay or uh difficulty in getting answers.

But the city very much so has uh a mechanism to enforce compliance, particularly with health and safety issues.

If those are uh issues under the city code, so uh so those are all of the mechanisms available to us.

But you are correct in that because Hackham did own and did manage these properties for many many years, many since it began as public housing, the natural inclination of residents is to rely on uh the HACA team to help resolve issues, and we understand that.

And so, but we take that information and we direct it to the appropriate parties for them to resolve.

Um, my second question kind of falls in line with that because the discussion that we had back in May was that if a property that is not a HACA-owned property goes for a certain amount of time and the inspection fails, that property that tenant is then moved, um given an opportunity to take their voucher elsewhere, and that property then goes to market rate.

So there are a number of options that are available.

And the move to market rate is not a move that is done without approvals of a number of entities.

The syndicate owners of the property, HUD has to be informed if as to whether they will allow that or not, and so it's not something that is automatic, and so uh, but while the resident is making a determination if that's the best place for them to live or not, we as a housing authority who is the administrator of vouchers on that property will offer them a voucher to move elsewhere if they cannot find satisfaction at the current site that they live in.

So that is what the housing authority can offer them uh throughout this process.

We had to uh have a moratorium on those offers because HUD halted our ability to extend vouchers to all voucher participants uh starting last year to ensure that we there was enough funding in the larger voucher pool that HUD issues us to have for our entire voucher program that was called shortfall status.

So HUD informed us uh in May that we are no longer in shortfall status, and they have uh relieved uh that designation, and uh we have more flexibility to issue vouchers, and so uh all of the parties that I mentioned are are involved, but ultimately that is a track that can happen that you mentioned with regards to units.

So all of the units that we had previously put in abatement, we have had are having our inspectors inspect and we are expecting a report back next week with regards to the properties that they're in uh inspecting and next steps as to uh uh what needs to happen for a particular unit for there to be uh a remedy um and you know what the next steps are for that unit.

So okay.

So when you're talking about um the occupancy average for the city of Annapolis, the 91.22, that does not include those properties that are not under your housing, no, that's just Eastport Terrace, Harbor House, Robin Wood, Loomsbury Square, even though the other properties would fall under the HUD occupancy goal?

No.

None of the how other properties, the Annapolis Gardens, Obery Code, the other, let's call them the partner sister properties, um, are in our HUD portfolio for purposes of public housing.

They are in the HUD portfolio for the housing choice voucher program, and whether those vouchers are being um uh leased up properly and meeting all the excuse me requirements and all that.

So they're out of the public housing fund bucket and they're into another HUD bucket essentially, and so but for when HUD says your occupancy rate is they're only counting public housing.

Thank you.

Alderman Thorpe, then Alderman Chandelmeyer, then Alderman Smith Brown, and then Mr.

Mayor.

Um, and uh, and thank you uh very much for all the time you have committed to me as well as other members of the council and helping me to better understand and learn more about public housing and the challenges you face and the challenges the residents face.

Um I guess my question, my first question comes from a uh a point of responsibility as a city council member.

Um I am most impressed at my colleagues and the city staff's interest in public housing success.

I'm also most impressed at Annapolitons' interest in public housing success.

Um I hear about it a lot.

Uh people are concerned, they sometimes don't know how to help, they don't know what they can do, and you have helped me uh answer those questions and things like that.

I want to specifically talk to you about your quarterly report, and I want to thank you for providing it today.

Um I don't remember that we've done this before.

You you came before us before, but not with this quarterly report.

And I'd like to to publicly ask you to provide more information in the future.

Um I'm on the audit committee, and one of the things we're working, we're doing is working with the city manager and the deputy city manager under the guidance of the mayor to provide perform better performance metrics that are consistent with where the city wants to go.

And um I'd like to work with you in the same area so that your explanation was tremendous as to HUD's criteria, and I I think you said something to the effect of it's too complicated, you know, we can't figure it out the equation and all that.

But I I fundamentally believe that we should be able to get some metrics as to how public housing is doing in Annapolis, so that we can be more responsive to you, to the residents of public housing, and to the residents of the city of Annapolis.

We I I think we have this unique unique in my world relationship where there's a HUD element, but there's also an Annapolis element, and I I guess my statement is I'd like to work with you on that.

And the second point is do you think that we could develop some metrics kind of in line with I think where the mayor was going a little bit, but detailed metrics that that and show trends?

Like for the next meeting, your numbers here are um there's 48 units under repair.

It'd be nice to see on a monthly basis what that matters because I don't know if 48 is a great number or a poor number.

Um and I know there's other metrics, you know, inspections.

How how many inspections have uh uh passed and failed uh month to month that would give us the ability to look at trends and and to stay a little ahead of a crisis mode when you would come to us with a hey, we we have this problem.

Can we do that?

Well, can I ask you a question?

Sure.

Have you read our board reports?

I try to go to every one of your board reports, but have you read board meetings?

The board reports, okay, because in the board reports are all of the HUD benchmarks, all of the scoring metrics, all of the key operational factors, and we put at least a three-month look back on key factors like occupancy.

We put what the current month and previous month trends are for rent collection, um, work orders, several of the factors.

Our board reports are on our public website on our on a page called board reports, and we keep a year's worth of detailed board reports on our websites for this very reason.

So people can research and look and review, and if there are particular questions they have, they can see for themselves what the issues are.

We place the minutes of those reports so the narrative that explains the board report is attached to every single board report.

It is an extremely thorough board report.

We're always welcome to add more information, but redevelopment, operations, resident services programs, finances, uh, and uh all of the acts was and my executive summary is in that board report, and it contains everything that you just mentioned.

So we we oftentimes on the city council get emailed all nine of us uh reports from the city manager or whatever.

Would it be possible when that is available on the website for you to email the city council or perhaps the city manager and she could forward it to the city council?

Could you take on that action so that you're you're welcome to do that, but as I said, all you have to do is go to HakaMD.org, board report, and it's all right there.

And if I'm sorry, I'm asking you specifically, would you initiate that action?

Because the bottom line is, and I'll just speak for myself.

Maybe the other eight are much more efficient than I am, but on the but is as often as I go, I probably make at least half of your board meetings.

Um, but going reminding myself to go to the website, I think it would be beneficial for the nine of us to proactively get your report, somebody to send it to us, preferably you, um, which would remind us to to review it, and then when you come on a quarterly basis, we will have looked at that and read them.

Sure.

I would imagine that you can't this is not your time to speak.

Ma'am, ma'am, this is not your time to speak.

Please sit down, ma'am.

Do you want to have to get her today?

Please, please exit the uh council chambers.

Perhaps you should be more so.

Ms.

Executive Director, I think um, for purposes of this meeting, I asked plainly in advance, um, what would your council like to see?

And I asked for them to forward to me questions, and I received a list of questions and I answered them.

And so I I asked what type of information would the council like for me to report on, and that is when you provide the uh quarterly presentation questions, and that's why I provided this snapshot of information to you because that's what was asked of me.

So please don't get me wrong, and I'm not attacking you.

I know that I'm explaining why I presented this information and answered these particular questions.

So I'm not saying you are, I was just giving that giving you that explanation, but I will certainly uh ensure that your uh staff and clerk is notified when our uh board reports are available.

Perfect, thank you.

The second question I have is concerns the properties, um the non-Haka properties that um, and in the military, when we went to private uh public private ventures for military housing, in some cases they tremendously succeeded, and in other cases they didn't.

And one of the things the military found was um that there was a lack of continued reporting with the transition of uh uh strong management or or complete oversight as compared to a developer.

Um and I haven't pulled up one of your reports, but does your does your monthly report include both the HACA, the four properties in your portfolio as well as the other ones?

Yes, okay, that's very useful.

Thank you.

Um, and then the third point I have is kind of future thinking, and it goes to Harbor House and Eastport Terrace and the uh choice neighborhood initiative, which I applaud all the work that's gone on, and and I want to compliment um the Haka 2035 plan and the words uh that you've used and and also your commitment to uh the public discourse that you have put actions behind your words, and one thing that I think I would like to express um it uh as a tremendous intent to integrate that development project with the rest of Eastport and Annapolis, and I continue, and you and I have discussed this.

I continue to be concerned that um while we increase density, which is good, and the plan uh for uh mixed income.

I continue to be concerned uh uh that we that we have the recreational and personal growth opportunities um commensurate with the number of people that you uh that are gonna live there.

And I applaud your discussion earlier tonight about uh the business opportunities that will be in there, uh the possibility of medical child care, uh, those are tremendous, and just for us to continue to think out of the box for like a maker space.

How do and and ideas and and you mentioned the why, and I that's tremendous, and how do we philosophically now but practically going forward, create an opportunity where uh President Street is not a barrier, but yet just another road that we cross both directions.

Um and I'd just like to get your thoughts on is that a valid goal that we should have that that people live three blocks, four blocks west of President Street, walk across President Street, and are part of that community.

What you're going to have to do, what we are all going to have to do, is to try to envision spaces where people naturally integrate and come to those spaces, it could be something as simple as a coffee shop, some type of retail, some type of arts center, some type of park space.

It has to be natural, where people decide themselves to integrate, essentially, is what you're referring to.

And to know it's not that neighborhood over there or that's a hacker neighborhood.

No, it's just a neighborhood where people live, where you know the uh the dog spa is, you know, or you know, the yoga studio or the farmers market is, or it's just a neighborhood, and yes, it has cultural significance, historical significance of from the people that live there, but it's a natural space, uh, it's more of a placemaking type of initiative, and that takes community input and community involvement.

That's why I said our redevelopment process is not a process in which we would devise a plan and bring it to you for approval.

It's a plan that we would hope, which is why I stress the aspect of partnership that we're actually creating with you, not just the leaders of the Annapolis uh city council and mayor, but with all of Annapolis, the people.

So by the time the plan is finalized, it will be the people's plan, and not just a plan that the housing authority and some developer brings that checks all the boxes, uh, to just get approved by council so we can get this deal done.

That's not going to do it.

That's happened before.

And that doesn't work long term, because what you're going to need is develop to develop communities where people feel proud of, and the people that live there protect, and the people that live there preserve, not just the owners of the properties there, um, that live somewhere else in a corporate office that is that are not connected to that community, but the people completely own the neighborhood and and all that is in it that makes it a great neighborhood.

That takes a lot of work, a lot of creativity, but what it's going to take is the understanding that that is done in collaboration and not in uh in adversarial fashion or in a fashion of, well, you need to check all these boxes and then we approve it.

That's not going to do it.

And so that is what our aspiration at Hacker is.

That is what our hope is for partnership with uh the city of Napoli, city of Annapolis government with all of the entities that we're involved in, because Annapolis can do that, and the residents are certainly deserving of that.

And so that is the framework that I'm talking about, not one in which we are trying to just day by day manage distressed properties.

That's not what we're trying to do here.

We're trying to reinvision communities, and it takes thinking of plans like that.

So, what kind of spaces would generate that kind of interaction and local investment of the people in that community, and that's what we want to work on with the city staff.

Great.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you.

Uh, before I go on to Alderman Shinemeyer, just want to do a time check.

We're approaching about uh 55 minutes into this presentation.

We had an hour set aside.

Um I'd encourage us to continue the conversation so that we get more questions answered.

I just want to uh do a time check because we do have people waiting for public hearing.

So with that said, Alderman Chandelmeyer, then Alderman Smith Brown, and then Alderman Savage.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Uh Director Maddox Evans, thank you so much for another fantastic presentation.

Uh sorry, I cannot be there in person.

Um so I got a couple of quick questions for you.

So uh with the HACO 2035 becoming an asset management focus, uh, is that still going to be focusing on redevelopment as part of that asset management?

Will Haka still be taking the lead as the redevelopment point for the remaining properties, or is that going to be passed off to another entity?

Uh yes, we are taking the lead for redevelopment of all our properties.

Okay, thank you.

And um, I had an offline conversation with you about financing being one of the barriers on the Eastport Terrace and Harbor House project.

Uh is that still um up in the air with the HUD grant?

Um we are still waiting for uh word from HUD on whether or not we are or are not awarded the Choice Neighborhood grant.

However, we've proceeded um with redeveloping of phase one of these Port Terrace Harbor House and are submitting our LITEC uh meaning tax credit application in two days by July 15th for uh nine percent tax credits.

So as we said at the beginning of our process, we know in terms of how HUD communicates in terms of the length of time it takes for them to communicate, um, whether you are or are not granted an award.

We've always decided at the onset of this endeavor to proceed uh with redevelopment regardless of whether there are HUD funds, there are no HUD funds, we're still proceeding because the project still needs to be redeveloped.

And so we are exploring a number of other uh uh investment opportunities, and we'll be speaking more uh uh in more detail with uh prospective developers in the next month or two.

And we have spoken with your uh your planning and zoning director and with um uh Eric Leshinski.

Uh we spoke to them about that today, actually, and we will keep your staff abreast and would actually like them involved in our conversations with uh potential investors.

Excellent.

Um, and LITEC, that's with the state, correct?

Correct, and um I am glad you brought up uh keep us invested with potential investors because I uh was very excited to introduce you to the FLCAO's housing investment trust, which hopefully uh we can make that work.

Uh that's a really great investment rate.

And um, everything else that I had down has been answered by other people, so I'll yield the rest of my time, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alderman uh Smith Brown.

Thank you, Mayor Living.

Thank you very much always um for the work that you do, regardless of all that is keeping us from the goals uh that we have in mind and that we've put down on paper.

Uh there it's not a surprise, I think.

You know, we shouldn't doubt that there still remains a gap between what our people deserve, which is the to-be, the future, and how we actually treat our residents and what we actually provide to them.

That is the what is of the present.

Um, some of the questions that I think were alluded to earlier today um is for the occupancy rate.

My first question is what is the total uh number of units that we are measuring with this 91.22 percent occupancy rate.

What is the total number of units meeting that we have in our portfolio?

Yes, the fraction that's used for this number.

So it is blank units out of blank units is the occupancy rate.

As I mentioned before, it's a a HUD formula that is used that we're not we're not privy to.

We have 554 units in our housing portfolio.

Um, we have 48 vacant units currently, and so uh a number of those are under mod, a number of those offline, and uh for our purposes, we plan to fill 33 of those units to get uh as close to or beyond the um 96% occupancy rate.

Uh the next is um for the units currently under repair, um so that 48 is out of the 554, correct?

Correct.

Okay.

Um and the occupancy goal by December 31st, 2026, that 94% goal is out of 555 total units, correct?

So the total number of units that we're that are in our portfolio are 554.

Um the next question is what are the causes uh generally if not specifically uh of the 48 units under repair.

There are a number of causes.

Yes, what are some of them if you have maybe the major causes of the most normal wear and tear between occupancy of units?

Uh it could it could be any type of repair uh that we find that needs uh upgrading or repairing.

So it just it varies, it depends on the use of the unit and or the issues that a particular unit uh is experiencing, some more extensive than others.

Um, so for example, because of the age of the units, a normal flip of a housing unit for occupancy purposes should take uh a week, five days for a unit that is within uh current modernized standards.

So the average time for a uh quick turnaround for a flip of one of our units is 30 days because of the extent of the repairs that are needed.

So if a repair is needed in a floor, we oftentimes have to replace sub-flooring because of the to ensure integrity.

So that adds two or three weeks on to a turnaround time for example for an example.

Replacing cabinets can take up to a month to get because of ordering um cabinets or doors, even screen doors.

There, we've waited two or three months for screen doors to come in, those are supply chain issues.

The average costs of a unit turn is 20 to 30,000 for one unit to turn one of our units.

Normally it should be maybe five to five to ten thousand max for it to turn a unit.

So these costs are significant, so which requires us to negotiate down pricing of contractors, which adds time to get quotes and then re-quotes and then get quotes again.

And so uh, if I had a couple million dollars, I could just go ahead and fix everything boom, like that.

But that's not how our resources are or given to us.

And so we address emergencies, urgents, and then we uh address all things according to the resources that we have, and uh the uh ability to get that work done uh in a uh reasonable costly manner.

And so we recently went out to bid for uh contractors again.

We do that when the uh annual uh when the contract terms are up for our contractors.

We got uh several respondents, but we hired six contractors.

We normally would hire two or maybe three tops to help divide the work, but we hired six just for the purposes of having the ability to compare pricing amongst our selected contractors because the pricing in construction and redevelopment is simply uh it's simply cost prohibitive for standard uh uh property management.

Um it's particularly ours.

And so uh that's something that a lot of people are not aware of.

That's our nitty-gritty of what we deal with.

Um, but again, if we had unlimited resources, we could flip units instantly, but we don't, and so we have to be able to be wise and um judicious with our with the resources that we have, and um, and plan repairs according to when we have the resources to pay, and so which along with the way contractors are setting their prices now, adds additional time to the length of time that it takes to actually flip a unit, let alone lease it.

We have lots of families available, um, and so we would like to lease up to all of them that are on our wait lists, and so but those are I'm just explaining the processes and the factors that go into turning a unit and addressing um repair.

So there could be a number um of issues uh going on in a unit.

Okay, thank you for that.

Um so when are the 43 vacant units being scheduled for repair?

All of them are in the process at some level of being scheduled for repair.

So there's there are no units that were not scheduling or in the process of scheduling for repairs.

It just says some take longer.

For this year, is that the question?

These are being repaired this year.

Okay.

Um, so out of the 554 units, how many of those units um would you say are facing severe inspection uh difficulties or deficiencies?

Um inspection from city of Annapolis inspection, holds pest infestation, HVAC issues.

I would have to get a number.

I don't want to pull a number off, but we deal with all health and safety issues very promptly.

Uh health and safety is a 24-hour turnaround frame.

Of course, if there's microbial growth, that usually takes at least a month to address because you have to schedule testing, you have to schedule uh any type of abatement activity, then you schedule the repair.

And so it usually takes at least a month to 60 days if there is significant microbial growth in a particular unit to bring it back online because all of those different aspects have to be scheduled with those entities, including City of Annapolis inspectors who come out and then approve the unit to be licensed for occupancy purposes.

So all that needs to be scheduled, but I can get you that number.

Yeah, please that'd be yeah, I think we would benefit from that.

Um what was done with the $500,000 that Hacker was given from the city?

In 2024 and 2025, both if you can.

Well, there was only one amount.

That's the one I'm referring to.

It was used to address capital repairs as we have described today.

And it brought our units within 98% of compliance with the city licensing.

How are we dealing with the mold issue?

How are we dealing with the mold issue in our in our housing costs?

How are we dealing with it?

When we are made aware of microbial growth, we initiate our program, which is the mold abatement program, which is you schedule a unit to be tested by a third party, then you get wait for the report from the third party, then you inform the contractor of the repairs that are needed in accordance with the report, then you schedule the repairs, then you ensure the repairs are completed, then you bring the testing agency back out, and you have them test again to ensure the unit is cleared of any microbial growth or in the air or or otherwise.

Then if the unit is requiring a city license, you bring the city inspector out to clear the unit, and then you can schedule it for occupancy purposes or reoccupancy if a tenant had to uh move out of the unit.

So it's a very extensive process.

Air quality is tested in that process, do you know?

Okay, my last two questions.

How is the delayed and denied funding jeopardizing populations in Annapolis financially based off of this briefing that you provided to us with the subtitle delayed and denied funding will jeopardize vulnerable populations as housing assistance?

So I am forwarding to you information related to the current climate and conditions now that housing authorities are operating under, and which we can experience delays in funding.

We can experience uh delays in getting approvals, delays in getting inspections.

For example, we have been delayed as far as uh our HUD inspections.

Uh we're still waiting to hear when HUD will inspect us.

They haven't inspected us since 2024.

And so we're waiting to hear when they will inspect us.

So we anticipate that.

So it causes several layers of delays that impacts our operations.

So what we have to do is manage and juggle operations in anticipation of when we predict we will get it is most likely when we will be funded in hopes, and we continue to advocate if we do experience delays.

So, for example, we experienced delays last year in our housing choice voucher program.

HUD was delayed in providing voucher funding to all housing authorities across the nation.

HUD doesn't give a reason why they're delayed or not.

You just have to deal with it and manage accordingly.

You're rarely given notice if there's a delay.

We are funded, uh funds are directed to our agency and directly deposited from the uh federal government into our accounts.

So it is anticipated that the funds will be there.

We don't know that funds are not there until they're not there.

So then we get on a horn, find out whether that is it is a local issue or systemic, cross-the-nation HUD issue.

Uh most likely in the past year, there have been several instances.

We were delayed in getting our public housing operating funds last month.

What reason?

None given.

So that is the atmosphere.

That's why I said we have to enter into another era in which reliance on federal subsidies in the federal government to be the uh uh the source in which we rely on depend on for stability with regards to affordable housing, are gone.

And if we continue to operate that way, we're not gonna be prepared as a locality to address.

And that's just that's just the bottom line, and that's really any any jurisdiction.

So we need to be very much proactive.

So when we bring funding requests to you all as a body, it is for a very good reason.

And I spoke to the mayor about this the other day.

It is most likely we'll receive our 2026 capital funds, probably no the way things are going, October, maybe November of this year, which I would have hoped to have them earlier.

So if there are funds that the city committed to for capital repairs, we could really use that funding until we get to our our HUD pot, because our 2025 funds, we have about 700,000 dollars more of that to spend, and we can spend that in a couple months, you know, with the level of repairs that we have, and so it is quite a feat to manage the funding and to try to predict when we will get funding and to try to stave off uh issues when there are delays.

But that's that's the climate, that's the nature of affordable housing, and you know that's just the nature of things right now, and those are things that are way above our ability to control right now.

So that's why we have industry groups like NARO and FATA and CLAFA who are on the hill, and with uh congressional uh leaders uh advocating for our housing authorities uh as a collective to be able to mitigate and reduce these types of issues that impact all of our housing authorities, not just not just ours, okay.

The last question that I had was um directly related to that with the funding delays uh because we're told that um hundreds of families are gonna be um kick off kicked off of this voucher program, or uh they may no longer uh be provided the subsidies that they once were.

And so when I ask about the impacts or you know, how will this uh jeopardize the population at Annapolis?

I'm really looking to see, I'm sure.

As all of us would want to know, is how many families do we expect out of those 554 units uh to have to experience something like this, and will there be an extended period um with the whole HUD situation of to come into compliance and all for those families to still uh stay in those housing complexes now.

You welcome to my world.

So um when we uh see within our own budget that there are issues or serious concerns with regards to uh providing uh the subsidy needed for our families, we contact our elected officials immediately.

So I contact the governor, I contact the county executive, I contact the mayor, I've contacted our representatives, and uh on all levels of government uh to be able to notify them of what the issues are and of the uh perspective and potential impact.

Um that's what I did in 2024 when we were staring down the barrel of a two million dollar deficit for that year, which would not have been able to sustain our families at all, and so which is why the local uh entities and governments stepped up and assisted us during that time.

Um it wasn't just to help HACKA, it was to help keep families in our programs and help us keep our doors open while HUD stabilizes.

So uh I cannot guarantee that that will not happen again, not in this climate.

And so, but I can guarantee you that if we anticipate that there is to be some sort of significant shift, we will be notifying you right away of that and of contingency plans.

Thank you for all of that.

Appreciate it very greatly.

Thank you, Mayor too.

Thank you.

Ms.

Mannox Evans, you were referring to federal funding and the potential need to um essentially to wean us off or to replace what is the total amount of funding we that you HUD, I'm sorry, the HACA gets either direct subsidies to HACA or to the voucher program and subsidies?

Approximately 14 14 to 16 million.

Total.

Okay.

So I just want to make sure the council members heard that loud and clear when we talk about we need to have a system that does not rely on federal government support.

What I believe the director is saying is replacing 14 to 16 million dollars.

Okay, it's not per year, per year.

Per year, yep.

Uh Alderman Savage, then I think Alderman uh O'Neill had one follow-up question.

Thank you, Miss Mayor.

Um, and first I would just like to reiterate that I really personally think that this report should happen at a work session.

Um, afraid you know, or at the very least, if we don't do that, have it go after all the public comments.

I didn't think of it tonight, unfortunately, but I'm worried that we end up driving people away by having them have to sit through presentations.

It's an interesting and important to us, but not necessarily everybody who's here to test filing specific legislation.

So, but the first question according to the report that you pointed us to, um, so HUD is you're under, is it correct that HAC is under a HUD recovery program?

Can you explain that to us as far as are there certain milestones you have to meet and when you have to meet them?

And what does that mean?

So, any time a housing agency is designated having a trouble status, HUD is required to enter into a recovery agreement with that housing authority, which will establish different markers and measures in which they deem you have to reach in order to not be deemed as trouble.

Our markers are centered on Eastport Terrace Harbor House.

That is really the only site that HUD is scoring for purposes of scoring because our other properties are already approved for redevelopment in HUD HUD's portfolio.

And so it would essentially mean uh meeting a 60 and over in let's say physical inspections.

Um, so uh we are waiting for HUD to schedule their inspections this year, and we will see how we score.

To prepare for that, we conduct uh pre-inspections, pre-HUD inspections.

We do that annually every June.

We just did uh those inspections in which we have third party inspectors come out and uh find every possible violation they can find through HUD eyes and give us that report, we enter into our work order system, and then we uh perform those repairs.

The problem is we don't know when HUD's coming.

So let's say we perform all the repairs, we're tip top shape.

Let's say we give you know 30 days by, you know, August, you know, the end of August, we're in tip top shape.

We're waiting for HUD, so we might get a notice in November that HUD is coming.

So we have to do the uh we have the challenge of keeping the unit compliant, which is sometimes not in our control, because as you all may and our city inspectors are well acquainted with this, it can pass one day and the very next day fail for some change that's happened in between the time the inspections occur.

You know, so we try to address all of the systemic things that HACKA can control, but things like smoke detector tambling, which is a serious uh point deduction, we can't control that because we don't know that they're dismantled until we come, you know, and see that they're dismantled, even though we fixed it the last time it was.

So I'll I'll give you that's an example of something that's completely outside of our control, you know, and that is uh more uh tenant control, you know.

But if there are issues related to the like microbial growth or uh uh infrastructure or uh any type of you know the replacing of blinds or screens or windows or um any other systems-related stuff, we have full control of that.

Uh and so uh we uh put a plan in place to address those things.

The other uh factors are uh the vacancy rate plays into a factor.

Uh rent collection plays a factor, and HUD tracks pretty much all of the uh performance metrics of uh standard property performing up to par, and they have their own formula system in which they calculate um uh any uh uh what the actual scoring is um for those particular those are just a few, that's not all of the factors, but I just gave you a highlight on some of the major major areas.

So areas that we can control is getting our our audits in on time, you know, completing our unaudited financial application in on time.

So those are things that we do and that we can control, we have done, you know, in the past couple years.

Uh things that are somewhat out of our control, uh, and or partially out of our control, are rent collection, because our rent collection system is not tied uh simply to standard rent enforcement, it's tied to the city inspections process, and because of that, we lose uh uh uh months' rents for rents that are unlicensed.

So we can't collect.

So our rent collection numbers will be off for HUD purposes, because that's money that we can't recapture at a loss to our agency, and that's a local issue that impacts our HUD scoring.

There's nothing we can do about local law, there's nothing we can do about the way HUD scores, and so we will have to do the best we can with regards to that metric, you know, for example.

So, but there's there are several other, and I can give you uh more information on the system of the scoring system if you would like, and if you're a super technical person, you would probably really love it.

Um, but um, yeah, I can give you that information if you'd like more detail.

Well, I think what I I would like at some point is just better understanding of what your plan is to get off of get out of that um agreement in particular to um particular to get those improvements that you need at the Eastport.

Another aspect of that plan is redevelopment, okay.

The ultimate plan is redevelopment, and that is actually also part of our recovery plan.

HUD is requiring us to have a plan to redevelop the property, not just the current performance metrics of that property.

So they want to know who are the developers you've hired, what is your uh uh your site plans, uh, what is your concept plan?

What is your what is your plan to redevelop the property?

We have to produce that to them uh as well.

And so uh notice that the rent collection was 69% in May, down from 74% in April, which is roughly what 45,000 a month.

Um is that particularly focused on these port properties?

Yes, and so what what can be done to improve the rent collection?

Because I mean this has been an issue for a number of years.

So I'm just what do we need to do to get that so resolved?

Because I know that that ties into your rent collection, our properties being licensed and us proceeding in court with ejectment actions.

We can't proceed in court with an ejectment action without a license, so it's a non-starter if we don't have the license.

We have to get the license for that unit.

Once we get the license, we proceed in court.

Resident has more incentive to pay rent and or enter into a repayment agreement, and so that is our enforcement mechanism, our deepest and most effective enforcement mechanism, right?

But you I mean it's it's it's this whole cycle that we've been dealing with for years, you know, we can't license units that fail, you can't collect rent on them, which means you can't do all the improvements that are needed on these units to be able to get them up to licensing, right?

Um but it is so again it's been happening for years.

I'm just really like to dig into what the plan is.

That cycle until we redevelop the property.

That's not a that's not a sufficient answer for these residents who have to live in that those conditions.

I mean, that's just not that's not saying we won't address the reason why the unit is unlicensed, we address those issues.

But if you're asking for the long-term solution to get out of the loop and the cycle of always having the you because every single year we could potentially lose a license for a unit and then spend that that year trying to regain the license back because of the condition of the unit and the age of the unit and the as I mentioned earlier, the amount of funds it takes to I've had units that I have spent 50, 80,000 to repair and fix.

That is not any small amount of change that we're not talking about 10,000, 8,000 here to flip a unit.

No, that's not what we're talking about.

I've had units that I have had to uh go in multiple times for various issues, of which I won't go into to address similar things.

And so large costs of money to do that, and so the loop will continue as all as long as you have aged units, because there will be a reason that that unit loses the license.

Most likely.

Now, in the meantime, we address the issue, we regain the license to get it back, and we go through that process, but we've lost months where the unit is not licensed, which means I've lost income for that particular unit.

And so that's why you will continue to hear these issues, um, as long as the units are in the condition that they are, and so which is why we are on a mission to redevelop the property.

That's the long time out.

I mean, so do you have an estimate on what you need to get these units up to par?

I mean, because right now, looking at Eastport Terry, all of the unlicensed units are in Eastport Terrace and Harbor House, right?

66.

Um I just you're trying to really trying to get my head around like what the what the cost is, what the plan is, what's the time frame for residents?

Uh is this.

So the committee, the city committed $500,000 of its 2025 funds to hack them.

It would be great to receive those funds to assist us.

So if you're asking us what do we need, we need the funds that you've already committed.

But we can't commit funds without an actual the data to support us giving you.

I can provide you whatever level of data you need, and whatever costs you need, I can I can provide you ample amount of data.

Well, please do.

Um, that is all I have, Mr.

Mayer.

Thank you.

Okay.

Any other questions by any other council members?

Okay.

Seeing none, I think that we're done.

Miss Evans, again, thank you for coming today, staying uh late in the evening with us.

I do think it's important to have these discussions on our uh typical council meetings so that the public and everyone could be engaged.

So I appreciate you uh bearing with us with many questions.

Um I think this is a good um quarterly report, and I think it'll give us a chance to build on it as we go forward.

So thank you for that.

Thank you, Mr.

City Attorney.

Please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is public hearings, beginning with ordinance 01426 art in public places.

Thank you.

We have one, I'm sorry, two people uh signed up to speak on this.

Um, Miss Glover and and uh Mr.

Ruddy.

And now for something completely different.

Just a courtesy reminder, name and address to start, please.

I'm McShane Glover at 124 Archwood Avenue 21401.

In truth, the council solved most of the art in public places commission's problems when you remove the members.

What seemed to be lost in the discussion is that this commission established in 2001 functioned very well for a very long period of time, and that's why I gave the ancient report that is an authentic copy of something that was written almost 20 years ago now.

Anyone who has watched recent meetings could see the personalities were the primary difficulty.

When the players aren't following the rules, and the referee is otherwise occupied, your first impulse should not be to tear up the rule book.

The commission and this legislation was developed with very little input from anyone who knew how AIPPC functioned in the past who could have provided information on the current problems.

Concerned stakeholders reached out to be engaged in the process.

Sometimes there were meetings, sometimes there wasn't.

Either way, there were one-time events, there was no dialogue, just input.

The first action under the new process was to deny a grant to the Annapolis Arts Week because it wasn't a permanent visual installation.

Nobody stepped up and said that's not what the legislation requires.

So thanks to the Anne Creative, we had an Annapolis Art Week, but the city of Annapolis wasn't involved in it.

Solo decision making by someone with no background in the arts is a dreadful idea.

The director of planning and zoning has more than enough requiring his detention and his talents are better spent in those arenas.

Reducing the commission to five people would mean three people would make a decision since that's a minor majority.

Not much better.

Nine people works well if they are the right people.

It provides a necessary representation from all of the wards and allows for a rich mix of artistic opinions that leads to balanced, thoughtful decisions.

And yes, they should be city residents.

There are sections saying a the commission should interact with other city entities and other artistic groups.

Again, a well-functioning commission always does that and has in the past because it's the right and effective thing to do.

And why do we single out mention for historic preservation commission?

Anything in the historic district overlay is automatically going to go to them.

Nowhere in this legislation is there any reference to the state legislation that mandates that 3% of the hotel tax that the city receives should be used only to provide funds to the art and public places.

Funding for AIPC has technically been from the art fund, which was under the control of the commission when that legislation came into being.

This shifts the money control to the director of planning and zoning.

Primary purpose of the state legislation was to ensure regular funding to the commission rather than having it be at the mercy of the city.

In sum, I wish you to kill this legislation.

Please refocus on getting the right people.

Let them put together a good commission for you that will serve the city and can then come back to you with appropriate recommendations for better legislation.

Thank you.

Mr.

Wadi.

Hello, my name is Stephen Whitey.

Some say peel box 6210 in Annapolis, Maryland.

This is again on behalf of the NAACP.

We one uh a part of our discussion around the art in public places, uh focuses on um Annapolis 250.

And um the poor management, the the inefficiencies related to uh arts funding um can affect how underrepresented groups are presented in this uh era of whitewashing of our history and um denying uh the the history that has gone on here in Annapolis here in America um over the last 250 years, and I think that that also breeds uh community distrust, and so um fixing the art in public places, uh commission having people that uh fully represent the community, it should be a part of the legislation that we are um considering today.

Um part of that also involves uh so funding for underrepresented communities should be um uh a part of this legislation.

Uh uh better oversight.

I think that this is a this is a uh path to better oversight uh that is fair and equitable, um, having more youth-oriented programming.

Uh we definitely need to have youth members that are uh gonna be consistently placed on this board so that we can address some of the issues around young people not being involved in um in our arts funding, and then also more funding for Cota Kente, um especially in the 50th anniversary um the Kotakente Festival is one of the premier regional um arts festivals in the city of Annapolis has done a great job uh through arts and public places funding it, and we want to definitely see that continue at a at a greater amount.

And um, if if I can't say this legislation is gonna be the primary vehicle to do that, but just needs to be on the mind of our legislators as we move forward.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Bonnie.

No one else has signed up, but if anyone else wishes to speak that hasn't spoken already, feel free to approach the podium.

Okay, seeing no movement in chambers, I declare 014 26 public hearing closed.

Mr.

City Attorney, please call the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is uh 01626, forest conservation program amendments to conform with state law.

Okay.

Uh and Gimunder is signed up to speak.

Feel free to approach the podium if you're still here.

Okay.

If anyone else would like to speak about on ordinance 1726, right to park in front of residential driveways.

Feel free to approach the podium now.

You start with your name and address, and you have three minutes.

Uh yes, my name is Ann Gamunder.

Uh I live at uh 12 Horn Point Court uh 21403.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Mayor, the city council for uh giving me the opportunity to uh speak.

Um I am here in regard, I'm here in regard to the proposed legislation.

Right to park in front of residential uh private driveways.

This proposed legislation will significantly impact the Eastport Peninsula in several negative ways.

Many of you represent areas of Annapolis with suburban characteristics such as wide streets that can accommodate cars simultaneously, moving in opposite directions with parking along the curb lanes.

On the peninsula of Eastport, the streets are tight with cars parked on both sides and typically one lane down the middle.

Cars and trucks traverse along these narrow roadways by taking turns pulling over in front of driveways, allowing the car or truck in the um in the opposite direction to pass by.

If this legislation passes, this typical traffic pattern will stop.

If driveways are no longer open segments of the road, allowing opposing traffic to stop to pull over into opposing cars and trucks will have to back up off and down long blocks onto intersections to allow cars to pass.

Cars and trucks encountering emergency response vehicles will have nowhere to pull over to.

Residents will encounter people parking in their driveways in order to pick up takeout orders or drop off or drop something off, risking a ticket or doing it with impunity because they know they will probably get back to their car before police or traffic enforcement arrives.

Drivers will respond to these unnavigated unnavigable traffic patterns, particularly on Chesapeake Avenue by pouring onto Severn and Chesapeake Avenues, straining already congested roads.

The narrow numbered streets will not fare any better.

Our residents are frequently sharing the road with large delivery, delivery and garbage trucks, food and beer trucks, trailered boats, and party limos.

I hope this better describes the seriously negative impact the proposed legislation would have, particularly on the Eastport Peninsula.

Thank you for considering these implications when making your decision.

Thank you, ma'am.

Is there anyone else that would feel free to approach the podium?

Good evening.

Thank you for all you do, everything she just said, I haven't been to a meeting in a while.

You start with your name and address.

And even per street, and people can apply now for special permits to park in front of their house for disabilities, uh physical challenges, whatever, even temporary.

I don't see why it can't be done for this with special exceptions for certain um households, and then even the alderman of each and alder woman of each award could oversee some of that.

That's what we should be doing, right?

Each alder person has their ward to manage and see what's going on throughout the ward, but I don't think it should just be a blanket thing for everybody.

We zipper through these neighborhoods so much.

So thank you for having us.

Of course, thank you.

Anyone else wish to speak on this subject?

Okay, saying no movement in chambers.

I declare the public hearing on 017 26 closed.

Mr.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

Point of information.

So I believe that I didn't maybe said this, I didn't miss it, but did you did you close the hearing for 016 26?

I did.

Okay, okay.

The next item on the agenda is approval of the consent calendar, journal of proceedings, CCM 6126, CCM 6826, CCM 6226.

Thank you.

Any objection to the consent calendar?

I'd entertain a motion to approve the consent calendar.

Summit.

Second.

Thank you, Alderwoman O'Neil.

Thank you for the second.

Yes, sir.

Mayor Littman.

Aye.

Alderman Chandelmeyer.

Alderwoman Conte?

Thank you.

Aye.

Alderman Savage?

Aye.

Alderman Thorpe.

Aye.

Alderman Huntley.

Aye.

Alder Woman O'Neill.

Aye.

Alderwoman Alder also Johnson.

Aye.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

City Attorney.

Please call the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is legislative actions on first readers beginning with ordinance 012-26, removing streets from special residential parking district number five.

Is there a motion to adopt 01226 on first reader?

So move.

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Huntley.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Thank you.

The motion carries.

I refer 012 26 to the public safety committee and the transportation committee.

Mr.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is ordinance 01526.

Cottage food businesses as home occupations.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt O 1526 on first reader?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman.

Channelmeyer.

I think I heard you first.

Uh is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

I refer O1526 to the planning commission and the rules and city government committees.

Mr.

Mayor.

Yes, sir.

And Mr.

City Clerk, I'd like to be added as a co-sponsor.

City attorney, please present present the next item on the agenda.

Next item on the agenda is resolution R2926 update of fiscal year 2027 city fees.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R2926 on first reader?

So moved.

Thank you, Alderman Savage.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

I refer R2926 to finance committee.

Did you want to be added to it as a second one?

As a co-sponsor.

Mr.

City Attorney, please go.

Please present the next item on the agenda.

The next item on the agenda is legislative actions on second readers beginning with resolution R2126 designating city attorney Anthony P.

Cooper Smith as resident agent for service of process.

Is there a motion to adopt R2126 on second reading?

So move.

Thank you, Alderman Smith Brown.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Thank you.

Madam City Clerk, please call the roll.

Mayor Littman.

Aye.

Alderman Chandelmeyer.

Alderman McConty.

Hi.

Alderman Savage.

Aye.

Alderman Thorpe.

Aye.

Alderman Huntley.

Alderwoman O'Neill.

Aye.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Aye.

Alderwoman Also Johnson.

Aye.

Thank you.

I neglected to ask if anyone had discussion, but I thought it was pretty safe to skip that.

Uh Mr.

City Attorney, please present the next item on the agenda.

The agenda is completed.

Is there anything else for the good of the order?

Alder Woman O'Neill.

Thank you.

I didn't want to disappoint you.

Thank you.

I want to talk a little bit about last weekend, July 4th weekends, and the Annapolis 250 Commission and shout out specifically.

There was a commission of 15 individuals, and we had been meeting for the last two and a half years.

The commission is staying intact through the end of this year.

So we still have some work to do, and we're still working with a couple of organizations, including Kunta Kinda Festival and the Alex Haley Foundation in some of their projects in our continuing of unfinished revolutions.

So there's still more to come.

But there's a few people that I really wanted to just shout out really quickly.

Judy Bunzick did an amazing job bringing Hamilton to the big screen outside.

To be outside, but we had over 500 people that showed up for the movie.

She worked diligently to ensure that everybody knew exactly what was going on.

So thank you very much to Judy.

She also brought a really cool program on Saturday, which was George Washington and General Lafayette arrived by boat to Eastport and had a discussion that Jamie Costello basically DJ'd is not the word that I'm looking for, moderated for.

And it was a really great presentation, and they it was just a discussion and kind of talked about some history and talked about what they thought about what is going on today versus what they planned and organized.

Of course, it was a lot of tongue-in-cheek, but really really amazing.

Katie McDermott worked really hard to get the Naval Academy electric brigade band, which we had to cancel because of the storms coming in.

That is hoping to be rescheduled.

But she also worked with the garden clubs in downtown Annapolis to beautiful beautify the city.

And if you haven't gone by the fountain on College Avenue, go by.

Much thanks to Burr Vogel and his team for helping with that because a bunch of ladies from the garden club would not have been able to put all the banners up and the flags up.

So he really helped.

There, Debbie Woods from the Children's Museum put on an incredible program that unfortunately had to be rescheduled to this past Saturday.

So the attendance was a lot less, but the intensity and the creativity involved was amazing.

It's a show that she's hoping to put on a couple more times this year.

So stay tuned for that because if you missed it, don't miss it again.

It was dancers from all over the world, representing cultures, near and far.

It was a reenactment of Frederick Douglass's um famous speeches.

Just amazing.

And she was pulling in people from the audience to stand in to be parts.

People very happily stood up and took that challenge, which was amazing.

It was a lot of um goods, um, solid community involvement.

So I just wanted to give those um few individuals.

Joanne Vaughn served on our commission.

She was in charge of all of the signage, the passports that are out, um, and she really led the charge on making sure that our um event was well branded.

So everywhere you looked, you saw Annaplos celebrates, and we're gonna continue to celebrate.

So those were a few of the many that really did a great job.

So we gave not only those individuals, but you, frankly, a round of applause for your effort and latent several.

Thank you.

Anyone else for anything for the good of the order?

Alderman Smith Brown?

Most of them.

He should.

Okay, okay, thank you.

Thank you, Mayor Littman.

So for the first time in the history of our city council and in the city of Annapolis, we will be facilitating, organizing, creating a caucus on the city council.

And that's the announcement for today with more details to come.

That was what I just I heard all but until the end.

Oh, so I'll just repeat for the first time in the history of the city of Annapolis and our city council.

We are formulating, creating, facilitating, organizing a councils, caucus.

There will be a caucus being formed here in the city.

Thank you.

That's all for now.

Thank you.

Was there anyone else on this side?

Alderman Thorpe.

Yes, thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I would like to commend our colleague Alderwoman Dayesha Kanti for hosting a picnic at the Harbor House pool last week, um, where she uh took it upon herself to organize burgers and hot dogs and chips and sodas.

Um it was a heartwarming uh event at the pool, more than 30 some kids in the water.

Um that number again, if not more, of their brothers and sisters and moms and dads.

Um, and it was just a really great community event and testimony that the residents of Annapolis's money that has been used to invest in those lifeguards, who by the way were also very impressive, but a testimony that that's money well spent.

So uh huge huge kudos to uh okay.

Anything else?

I'm looking at you too, Brooks, don't worry.

There being sorry, okay there being no other items on the agenda under entertaining a motion to adjourn.

Thank you, Alder Woman O'Neill.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor of the motion to adjourn, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed