Meeting of Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025 at 9 a.m.

Council members Witherspoon, Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Schaff, Titus, and True.

I would like to ask everyone to please stand for a moment of silence and the pledge of allegiance.

We also want to take a moment to, in this moment of silence, to recognize the young man that died early, early yesterday morning.

He was shot just a block from my house.

So we wanted to recognize the life loss there in this moment of silence as well.

Underground with the liberty of justice for all.

Motion to approve the minutes from the Wednesday, November 19th City Council meeting and bills for payment on December 5th and 12th.

Members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Schaff, Titus Troop, and Witherspoon.

Is there anyone here to speak on a repository sale?

Anyone here to speak on a repository sale?

Anyone here to speak on a repository sale?

Hearing none, public comments.

Each individual has five minutes.

Please give us your name and your municipality.

So good morning.

My name's Kenneth Bounds.

I live in on Colorado Drive in the city of Erie.

This is my second visit to council.

I'm going to read a letter first of all, and then going to give you some comments if that's okay.

Thank you for your correspondence denying that the city has any responsibility for the backflow of water and sewage into the basements of our houses on October the 23rd.

The grounds for the quote for the grounds quoted for your denial were that you had no prior knowledge of the rain event and hence could not have taken any corrective or proactive actions.

On June the 19th, 2017, very many houses in the area of Frontier and Mill Creek were flooded extensively.

And you were certainly prior warned that this could happen.

Many of the houses in that area discharge storm water to the sewer because they were built in the 1920s when this was actually not against building regulations.

So on November the 5th, I came here to ask for two things.

If the city drains are inadequate for the expected rainfall, then something needs to be done.

Mill Creek supervisor, Miss Clear, uh, has publicly laid the blame on the of the flooding and back up in the city's jurisdiction.

What is the city planning on doing and we the the uh below signed wish that you take some action and I'd like to give this to the official record.

I'd like to briefly speak on um two matters first of all it's our understanding that the reasons given for not taking responsibility do not stand up secondly um we haven't seen any real action thirdly I did get a response to the from the CRC from Mr Stephen Jenks the assistant superintendent who who quite simply said there was such an influx of water from the storm that day that the systems were overloaded.

Well does this mean that in the future when we get a lot of rain we the people who live there can expect to have our basements flooded again it's not a pleasant prop uh um situation to be in if you don't live in a potentially floodable area then please come and visit me next time my space my basement's got some nasty stuff in it I'd be delighted to show you how unpleasant it is so finally um I would like to ask the council not the engineers we haven't really heard from the engineers that the real reason in my opinion as an engineer about why the storm the the sewer drain floods is the second mentioned thing in the letter from council uh from council say uh uh legal people and that is that people's storm drains from their roofs feed into the sewer and and there's a lot of people's houses in that area that do that I wouldn't imagine I can imagine okay I imagine it happens all over the city and I'll be very quick and say it is my wish that the council take action deary me uh take action is up take action on the storm drains of people's houses thank you very much for listening to me I look forward to hearing from you good morning council um my name is Michelle Dovershaw I live in the city of Erie um and I'm here to speak on cello um I tried long and hard to come up with words that nobody has said before um maybe people would listen more if they were different words but my niece said it best and if you allow me I would like to play something darkness silent key shatter back gunshot three times a man lives on rabble like a follow me on chill his name is forest time he was two weeks away should be here today to be now full of sorrow it's family fine letter feels so hollow alive taken in the blink of an eye one must be innocent always die chill

Feels so hollow.

Alive taken in the blink of an eye.

One must be innocent.

Always die.

Say his name.

Justice for his stolen time.

He was two weeks away.

A family fight for a one twenty-five days till Justice Not Bone.

Hello.

Justice for his soul's time.

Hello.

He was two weeks away.

Should be here to do in a salon.

Taking in the blank of a love.

Why did Shello have to do?

He is why.

Thank you very much.

We are here.

Every week.

This is why we are outside in the cold, and we won't stop.

I didn't know him personally.

But I know his fiancee.

And from the beginning, when we were told at work when I used to work at Gadenzia, our boss said, Oh, y'all can't go to protest because you know there will be rioting.

That is the stuff we deal with every day, including threats, death threats, but we continue because it's not about us.

It's about the family that was robbed of their father, their son, their fiance.

That's why we're here.

Justice for Cello.

Hello, I'm Jared Stasheski, uh, Erie, Pennsylvania.

I'm here to speak in favor of the transparency that's being presented in response to the uh Marcello Woodard situation.

I especially like section four of it, which is inviting the district attorney to speak here.

And also members from the probation office.

I would also like to uh thank the council president for his uh leadership the last couple meetings and the statements he's made to echo the city's uh you know temperature on that, so that was heard and well received, sir.

I would also like to uh bring up the letter that uh city council and the mayor sent to Governor Shapiro July 24th, and to my knowledge that is still was not responded to.

Uh he was in town October 17th.

I think that would have been a great time to ask him uh to respond to it.

Um he's very active on social media, and you know, when Erie needs help naming uh minor league baseball team, he uh is really involved in that and you know his staff makes videos on that, and I feel like uh this situation here is probably more important than that, and uh we still would like a uh response from Governor Shapiro.

I like that he's named in uh the resolution that we're talking about.

Uh and if he's to run for president and acknowledges how eerie is uh bellwether town and how important we are, I would like to keep in mind that he was silent when uh Erie Pennsylvania needed him, and I would also like to point out that if a member of council or the mayor were to ask him about it, that's not an endorsement of his opponent in the in the election.

It's uh beyond that.

Uh so thank you for everything that you guys are doing.

Uh, and have a great rest of your day, good morning, council.

Um, my name is Jennifer Kennedy, president of the city.

Um, two things.

The first is I live on the east side, and I would love some more equity with the salt that gets laid.

Burton is nice and dry, but Brandus is a skate of ice.

So thank you for that.

My primary reason, of course, is to be here with Cello.

Um I'm here this morning with a deep sense of urgency because the resolution before you concerning Cello Woodard is more than a symbolic gesture.

It's a necessary step toward justice, accountability, and the protection of our community.

Today you have the opportunity to say yes.

To vote yes on this resolution that recognizes a tragedy, demands clarity, and insists on transparency from the district attorney's office and every public agency that touched this case.

This vote matters not only for Marcello's family, but for every resident of Erie who deserves to trust the systems meant to protect us.

But I also want to be clear, even with this resolution on the floor, much remains unaddressed.

We still do not have full transparency about the events leading to Marcello's death.

We still do not have clear answers about the failures in oversight and communication.

We still do not have a commitment from the district attorney's office to provide timely public updates about their actions or in action.

And we still have no structural assurances that something like this can't ever happen again.

These unresolved issues highlight why your vote today is so important.

Passing this resolution is not only appropriate, it's responsible.

It's necessary.

And it aligns with the values of fairness, public accountability, and ethical governance that this council has pledged to uphold.

A yes vote today says you believe in transparency from every we believe in transparency from every public office.

We believe in accountability when a resident dies under questionable circumstances.

We will not ignore unanswered questions, and we will not allow a tragedy to fade quietly without demanding truth.

Not just to acknowledge Marcello Woodard's life, not just to support a grieving family, but to reaffirm that this council stands firmly for justice, accountability, and public trust.

Please move this resolution forward.

And please continue the work that still remains because passing this resolution today is just the beginning.

Thank you.

First and foremost, I'm not sure if it was recognized or acknowledged or if any even was uh the time for it, but you know, to have a moment of silence for Mr.

James Sherrod, um who recently passed away.

And I did see that there's a resolution to name the street after him, and I'm in full support and full agreement of that.

Mr.

Shira was uh Erie legend.

Um he opened up a lot of doors for a lot of different people, and he's he's put a lot of work into the betterment of the Erie community.

So um to whoever put that into play, hopefully that can go across seven seven-zero.

And then also I want to publicly acknowledge um you, Mr.

Witherspoon.

I really appreciate you coming to sit down and have a conversation with me the other day.

It was very admirable of you.

Um it really it really did mean a lot to me, believe it or not, regardless of what I stand up here and say, like to sit there and to be able to have a conversation with me civilly and us to just talk about just what we talked about, it really truly meant a lot.

So thank you for that.

Um a couple of different things that I want to talk about.

Of course, we all know um we're here to speak to Justice Farcello, but I'm also noticing some resolutions as far as like um board appointments.

And again, I'm not trying to knock anybody who is being appointed.

I do not know these names, and maybe I need to familiarize myself with these people, but when I see some of the addresses of these people, it's like outer city, you know.

And then I do see somebody that's being appointed to the water authority, and I know my friend Jarrus Tejeski is a huge advocate for the water in Erie.

He attends those meetings all the time, so I'm not sure if he's been considered or even if we're starting to think to consider some people who live in the inner city to appoint them to some of these boards so we can have a say so or have an influence on some of the things that happen in the city of Erie because when we talk about Justice Farcello, we talk about change, and it's not just arresting an officer.

So please also take that into consideration.

And I'm gonna try to be a little bit more nice with my words, but then I also notice some of you all um are very active on social media when there are certain issues that occur.

Passionate.

You know, we see a lot of passion and and deep conversations and deep comments, but when it's cello, we get little to nothing, or we just get a hashtag Justice for Cello.

So as you all sit on City Council, understand that you are advocates for the entire city of Erie, not just a certain community or just a certain walk of life or individuals that you you connect with or your community.

So understand that we all are paying close attention to social media, and we see still the Republicans versus the Democrats and the budget issues and other issues that are sensitive to other individuals, and I'm being more considerative, people.

So I would just ask that you all, if you're going to have that much of a say so on social media when it comes to certain issues, understand that we have been crying for 154 days, and we would love to have that same advocacy from some of you all who are advocating for your people as well.

So please just take that into consideration.

Um also for the Justice Frello resolution.

Um hopefully we can get seven zero uh vote yes on that.

Um Mr.

Nelson, hopefully you can vote yes because you you don't you don't you're not coming back here unless something changes.

So maybe you can just shoot us one.

Um, Mr.

Witherspoon, you you don't plan on coming back, so hopefully we can get a yes from you.

Um, Mr.

Brzezinski, you got two more years.

I'm not sure what your plans is after that, but hopefully we can get a yes from you as well.

I don't think we're asking for too much.

Um, and then also I had a conversation with the district attorney Elizabeth Hurts outside, and she was present for a city council meeting when a police officer was being recognized.

I asked her to at least attend the city council meeting when we're here crying and asking for change in justice, so she can at least be present.

If she's not gonna speak to us or give us information, she can at least sit in this room and take the same, if we're gonna call it abuse as the seven of you all have taken.

She should be able to have to feel that as well because she lives here, she ran for a seat here.

So even at the least, if she can't speak to us or she can't give us any information, she can at least sit right there in that seat where she sat when the officer was recognized for his community engagement or for his support in the community, she can come here and recognize us in the community as we cry and we seek for help.

Also, another thing that I want to speak to that we're not gonna forget about, and I actually ran into Miss Ruby Jenkins husbands at uh at church, is uh a community review board for the police and us being able to have some type of engagement or interaction with the police.

And I do see that resolutions are being written out, and as I'm having conversations with different people, they're telling us how these things work.

So maybe we need to represent the resolution and see if we can get some support from some people on council.

Again, we know two people will be finished here in January, so maybe we can kind of get a little last who rob before you go to kind of help us support that.

Because again, like I told you, I've been working with the police athletic league, and they are active in the community and they are working with the kids.

And that I I agree with that program, regardless of how people think or how people feel, but also they need to be interacting with us as adults.

They need to be interacting with us as citizens so that we can understand what they're saying to our kids, and they can understand how we live and why we do the things that we do, so it can be more compassion as opposed to just treating us like animals.

And I'm gonna, I'm not even gonna run a time anymore.

Y'all have a good rest of y'all there.

Thank you, sir.

Good morning.

My name is Malcolm Pullium.

I'm from Erie, Pennsylvania.

I live on the west side of Erie.

Um, I'm just gonna be brief.

First of all, I want to send a heartfelt condolence to the family of Michael Mindrella, who was uh killed not too far from my house, also, Chuck on the west side.

Um that is definitely a tragedy that nobody was expecting.

And um Michael was also a real close friend of one of my sons.

He's been in my house a million times.

He's eaten at my house.

We've broken bread together.

So I just want to uh send my condolences to his family.

I I know they grieving hard and it's still fresh in the mind.

So if we all could just send a little prayer their way and hopefully that they get there just as soon.

Um I'm also here to speak about Marcello and I'm not gonna go into any brief details like I usually do on you guys.

I actually want to praise you guys for even putting his name on this paper.

That that that means a lot.

Hopefully, we do get that seven zero vote.

But hey, I'll take five or two right now.

Um we we need to start acknowledging that this is a major tragedy that is not going away until we get justice for Marcello.

So I hope that the powers that be that are paying attention to us when we come up here to city council and county council.

I understand that again, we are not going away until we get some form of justice.

We don't know what justice will look like, but it has to look better than what it's appearing to look like right now.

Um again, not the personal against any one of you again, Mr.

Witherspoon.

Uh second with my good brother said to you we did get a chance to talk to you, and that was a good talk that we had.

So I'm glad that you were able to see our point of view, and we were able to see your point of view.

So again, no no disrespect to you.

You are a pillar of this community.

Um again, I want to thank you all for sitting here listening to us about Marcello.

I know sometimes it might fall on deaf ears, but we still gonna keep your ears open until we get justice.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Good morning.

Morning.

My name is Mimi O'Connor.

I live in the city of Erie.

I'm here again to speak for Justice for Cello, and I'm grateful to all of you for your time and for your support and for passing this resolution.

Uh I'm also grateful to be walking with the peaceful warriors here, his family, his friends.

Uh they have not stopped.

We will not stop until there is justice for Cello.

And every time I say the following words, Cello was murdered in cold blood.

Every time I say that, I realize that those words are deeply triggering for every member of his family, Shateria Franklin, the mother of his son Major Shamel Henderson, his fiancee, because they're catapulted back instantly into that fateful moment when they heard the news, or in the case of Shamel, she was there.

She was there.

I hold them closely, but it has to keep being said.

And what also has to be keeping said is what I am I am reiterating, others have said, Cello's life matters.

He matters, and we all together insist that the source of this injustice be exposed, the murderer called out for Cello and for everyone who comes after Cello.

As uh has just been said, it has been 154 days that we have been pointing to the source, and still deafening silence, no transparency, no accountability, no identification of the source, and not even a word of acknowledgement for his family's immeasurable and permanent loss.

When we have visibility, oxygen comes into the room.

Respect is oxygen.

If it isn't there, it's just constantly re-traumatizing, right?

It's constantly that that toxic death loop in your head of the incident, the shock, the anger, the pain, the desperation.

Look, we're taught as very little children to stick up for, speak up for people who are hurt, much less killed.

As adults, and especially for those in authority, to withhold respect for human life, to deny that person visibility and due process is an act of moral cowardice that inflicts immoral injury and suffering.

And let me be clear.

When the bottom is victimized and his voice is silenced, we become his voice, and we refuse to be silenced.

Giving up is not an option.

So I'm gonna wrap up here.

Because giving up is not an option, so by the grace and power of love, which I call God, we continue to lift Cello, respect him, honor him, ensure justice for him and his grieving family, and as I always do, please, as we have been chanting his name, do it with me again three times out loud as we lift him, say his name.

And as I always do, please, as we have been chanting his name, do it with me again three times out loud as we lift him.

Say his name.

Cello.

Cello.

Cello.

I appreciate you.

I appreciate the work you do, and I appreciate that you will pass this resolution.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Good morning, everybody.

38 Page, Here E County.

Thanks for thornis or putting this together.

Um Cello's name.

Um I'm here today on behalf of uh the Cello situation.

A lot of you guys I do know, and a lot of you I don't know.

Um, so I just came here to just give a little just a few facts for real about the situation and uh and play a video.

I protested outside of this building two years ago, around this same time.

And I want you to hear what I said.

We want to see policy change in our local city today.

So we won't uh have to deal with the same thing that Tyree deal with.

And I that could have been me, they could have been you.

So look, two years ago, I I came today because the video just popped up as a memory.

Like I spoke about this same situation two years ago when Tyree got murdered, and I said it could have been one of us.

It could have been local, and it actually happened.

So I'm like, wow, so I feel like me being here today is gonna be the start of something new.

Not because it's me, but because of what's going on.

I feel like I got a lot of facts to give you guys about when situations like this occur, and we don't speak up as a uh a city, a people, and uh just overall.

So uh 1935, Harlem riots, a black team detained and falsely believed, killed by police with no transparency, massive riots, looting injuries, and kind of an economic devastation.

Um 1965, Los Angeles watch riots, traffic stopped, alleged brutality, community fed up with LAPD abuse, 34 dead, thousands arrested, national awakening.

1967, New York and Detroit, over 80 dead combined, billions damaged.

Miami 1980, 18 dead, hundreds injured because a situation like this, right?

The Rotney King riots, beaten on tape, nobody did nothing about it, right?

63 killed, 12,000 arrested, the royal watched America burn, Cincinnati 2001, 15 armed black men shot by police over six years, finally sparked Timothy Thomas killed, investigations forced to change, right?

Ferguson 2014, the killing of Michael Brown, um, and made the DOJ expose um the systematic abuse and racism.

Uh 2020, Minneapolis, George Floyd murdered on camera, the largest protest movement in U.S.

history.

It united so much, so many different situations, right?

Nothing good, right?

So me coming from a larger city being born in Detroit, but Erie saved my life, I'm always gonna speak on behalf, right?

Y'all don't know what y'all are doing by not letting this um situation pass while voting, right?

Because usually these are the bad things that happen if you don't speak up.

So to prevent Erie from turning into one of those cities and they get on a larger scale, and a lot more and a lot of more things uh might get uncovered and exposed if we don't handle it.

So just imagine if CNN get hold of this, right?

Just imagine if BET get a hold of this, right?

If you guys don't get the situation handled, it will be a rosspray and in an hotel and how we can suffer locally in Erie.

We already suffering as it is.

We don't even got that many great things here to look at besides what's being built right now.

But other than that, we don't got nothing else to afford to be able to burn down.

We don't got no buildings to burn out here, we don't got no houses here to burn down like that.

We don't want to do that to the foreigners that's coming in to produce um properly in our city legally.

We got a lot of immigrant people here who come and do the right thing.

They business don't deserve to be burned down.

You know, everybody deserved to be in a peaceful place.

But if you don't speak up and make a change today, I'm telling you, it could get bad.

Not because I'm saying, oh, everybody go do this because it happened in the past.

We got to know, because history shows us what happens when you don't speak up.

So that's one half, and the second half is um the youth.

We need to continue to fund the youth.

Um, I want to give a shout out to my mentor, Susanna Faulkner and Taywan Taylor.

Those are the people who I learned from.

Shout out to you guys.

I appreciate you for having us today.

Thank you for everybody attended.

And thank you for the previous attendees and everybody who protested and made a video for Cello and our youth.

We need to continue to pour into the youth and to the situation before a downspiral or outspiral and get out of control.

So thank you guys for having us.

Like I say once again, and God bless all of y'all.

Thank you, sir.

Good morning.

My name is Shataria Franklin, resident of Erie.

Um this is my first time here.

Probably will be my last time here, um, because it's too triggering for me.

Um many titles, and people will say community leader and all of the extras, but the most important title today is Major Woodard's mom.

Um, Marcello's eight-year-old now son, but was seven, 30 days prior to his dad being murdered.

Um so many of you, many faces.

I've had the liberty of calling colleague at one time, um, friend, many different titles.

So I thank you for this resolution and doing what you can do in your power, because I understand um the difference between city government, county government, etc.

Um, but I'll I just want to say how important this this is for our family.

Um, thank you for holding space for us.

Um, thank you for everybody who come here every single week and do what we don't have the strength to do.

Um, because my main focus is to support my grieving child.

Um, and many of you have children, and if you don't, um, you don't want to be in my shoes.

You don't want to have to look your child in the face every day and answer tough questions.

You don't want to be able to give them no answer.

Um, and you don't want them to get on YouTube, Google, TikTok, and find out things about their dad that is not true, um, or make an assumption of what they piece together what has happened because we have no answers.

So I just want to thank you all for doing what you can do and understand that this could be any of you.

This could be your family, um, and you will want people to hold space for you if it was the other way around.

Um this is just it's so important for change for our city.

Um, we hold positions of power to make change, not to make a name for ourselves, not to build our pockets up, but to actually make change.

So if you want to do that, I urge you to pass this resolution.

Please continue to hold space for us, to pray for us.

Um, this is a never-ending nightmare since July 2nd, something that we have to deal with every day.

And it's a little more personal for me than it may be for some people.

Um, I look at kids every day out of high school and I tell them they can be great.

I tell them that the sky is not the limit, etc.

But there are ceilings when you come from a place that we come from, and where racism and systemic issues constantly arise.

And this is what we are dealing with here because if Marcello had been on the other side of that trigger, his name would be everywhere.

Everywhere, and he would be in the Erie County prison right now with no bond.

He would be created to be the worst person in the world for killing a officer, someone who took an oath to protect and serve.

Whatever that would look like, there would be no silence, there would be no secret, there would be no lack of public acknowledgement for the person who took his life.

So I just urge you to please continue to do what you can do in your capacity, because I understand that you are not the district attorney.

You guys do not make the rules for county and um parole officers.

I understand.

But what you can do, please continue to do what you can do and stand alongside this hurting family, this hurting community, because if it happens once, it can happen again.

And we need to ensure that we put policies in place that when something like this ever happens, if we hope it doesn't, but it can, and if it does, that we are prepared and equipped to do what we need to do, and that no other family needs to be subject to what our family is being subject to.

Because my son and his siblings and his mother and his siblings are hurting really bad because we lost someone who is important to us, and he might not mean nothing to y'all or nobody else, but he meant something to my child.

Come on.

Morning.

My name is Michael Woodard.

I'm here for Justice for Cello.

Malachi is Cello's oldest son.

He put out a petition for transparency through this case because of the DA silence.

His name is Malachi Woodard Jones.

And when he puts his petition out, is because there is a podcast circulating through social media with the DA and the parole officer last October.

This built frustration and confusion within the family and the community.

The words stated on Facebook on Malachi Woodard Jones post.

I want everyone to understand why we are demanding an independent investigation into my dad's death.

How can this case be handled fairly when the district attorney and the parole officer who shot my father were on a podcast together laughing, talking, and promoting each other before my dad was killed?

That is the definition of a clear conflict of interest.

No family in America will ever feel comfortable with that, and nobody should.

Anyone else would face a full investigated process?

Why is this situation being treated differently?

Over one thousand people signed the petition under twenty four hours.

Our community is demanding transparency.

All we want is the truth.

All we want is a fair investigation.

All we want is answers.

Quoted Malachi Woodard Jones post on Facebook.

However, you can or go on to his Facebook, but there is a picture of the pro law officer and the DA at a podcast together.

So if this was your family member community, how would y'all feel about this?

How would y'all feel that one of your loved ones was shot and killed by the same pro officer in the DA is chilling, having fun together at a podcast last October.

He spoke something that is close to me.

When I said we gonna fight for justice and let the world know why we do this, that's a promise for me.

We got somebody brewing that's heavier, heavier than Ben Crump.

His name made it ring some bells.

Last Friday, I had a phone call with somebody.

Closer to you, you you would say he's probably equivalent but a little bit under with the president.

It's out there and it's live.

So these names that are stated up here, and these names that are attached to this case, you will embarrass yourselves through the nation.

Thank you, sir.

Martha Watuku, City of Erie.

I want to thank uh city council and specifically the council people who sponsored this ordinance to support more transparency for Cello.

A few people ago, there was a gentleman up here talking about the impacts of lack of action.

And I'm dirty-two now, but I think Trey Vaughn Martin and Mike Brown and the list of names and names and names that were murdered over the course of my young adulthood.

Um every time one of them was murdered and they made national news.

I wondered how many more people does this happen to all the time, and we don't hear about it.

Well, here we are in Erie, and we don't have the national attention, but it's happening.

And uh people in the community have been coming here for months, and I'm I'm grateful that you are now using your platform platform to amplify the message that justice injustice has happened here, and we as a community need to come together and take action together to make the difference in his justice coming due.

Um we talk about systemic racism is not, and I know you know bigots will say that black people complain about everything black people get everything black people this black people that we complain about systemic racism so much because we know that at the worst ends of it, it means the end of our lives, whether it's our feet in the ground underneath the dirt, or our lives being paused or stopped in the incarceration system, or the lack of opportunities that others are afforded.

So I'm grateful for this action from the city, letting the whole community state and country know that we will not stand for one of our community members being murdered and not coming together to take action on it.

Again, thank you.

Thank you.

Uh, thank you all for being here.

Uh the reason that I'm speaking today is for Marcello Woodard and Justice from Marcello.

Um I'm just want to make a few comments on what this resolution is representing.

Uh it's representing the obviously justice for his life and everything that has happened, um, but it also is representing uh the future safety, justice, and equality for all in this community.

So please keep that in mind as you are voting.

Um today is day 154 of really nothing being done.

I know that there's been conversations, I know that there has been you know different movements, um, but overall when it comes to the actual action of things, um, you know, what has been done?

Has there been any kind of committee put in place?

Has the DA done anything other than a you know, I think a brief update on an investigation?

The family has not been addressed, as we all know.

Um, you know, we kind of go over these things.

I don't want to say at nauseum at any kind of disrespect to the family, but more at disrespect to any of the leadership in this community on that level.

But 154 days, 24 hours in a day.

Um, so that's just roughly 3,696 hours of no answers and no action.

That's not okay.

These are these are our jobs, this is our community, and would that be okay in any other line of work or any other thing that we are doing in our lives?

No action for 3,696 hours.

Imagine if that was your family.

And I'm not just speaking to all of you, I'm speaking to anybody that's listening.

So a new slogan in Erie is good life, Great Lake.

Why can't it be a great life in a great lake?

So and I think of people, you know, when I hear this of just overall in the community.

Marcella Water doesn't have a life anymore.

Um, and I think that moving forward, we need to keep in mind that we need to start creating a great life for all, not just a good life.

And I think that that would set um a huge precedence for anyone moving forward.

Again, this incident of his murder points out the ongoing racial divide in this community that has been around since way before my time.

The systemic racism, obviously, that has been built into the systems, into our neighborhoods, into our community.

That's obviously detrimental, and you know, making national news.

It's affecting not just nationally, but obviously in our homes as well.

Nothing that has been asked to this point is nothing that is outrageous.

We are asking that a review committee is put in place, that the DA recuses herself from this, and someone else is looking at this case.

Because obviously there's a huge conflict of interest, which has been known since the very beginning.

But there have been many incidents of whether it's you know, police or those in charge, you know, that have shown light to the racial inequality.

So obviously, we need a committee that needs to be reviewing any kind of incidents like this.

And I'm not saying that they don't have tough jobs.

Um they do.

A lot of us do.

But there needs to be more that we can do to review these incidents so then they don't happen ever again.

Again, we're the second in the nation for this to happen to.

We're cello watered, not even us, we're cello watered, second in the nation.

We don't want to put that on the map for this good life.

Great Lake.

Obviously, injustice for one is injustice for all.

At some point, this will have impact on everyone, and it does, as you can see.

Um, the only other thing that I wanted to mention was the only justice that has been served in this is to the murderer.

So let's keep that in mind as well, because they have been protected.

Their image, their name, we all know who it is.

We know what they do.

Um, I would suggest if you have not to look into the history of their work and um their attitude, because that would not be tolerated anywhere else.

Um, you know, I've mentioned before in meetings, whether it's been a um, you know, county council, city council.

If you're late for work, you could get written up.

If you are a poor attitude, insubordinate.

This person murdered someone.

That would never be tolerated anywhere else.

So again, injustice for one is injustice for all.

And just because of someone's job choice, we should not ever, ever, ever give them any kind of a pass on that.

So, Justice for Cello, thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Kathy G.

D.

Mitchell.

I'm here for Justice for Cello.

Um I have literally been sick to my stomach after ever since uh Cello was murdered.

It's been a really difficult thing for me physically to just even think about the injustice of it all.

Um, I don't want to rehash uh a lot of what's already been spoken because a lot of our what's already been spoken is what's been on my heart to share.

But one thing I really wanted to emphasize and to share with you is that when I was a little black child growing up, I remember learning um the song Let There Be Peace on Earth.

And I remember learning that song and the lyrics to that song, Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let It Begin with Me.

I didn't just learn those lyrics, I believed them.

I live them, and I wanted that to be like my anthem, you know, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

And then I remember every time I had to do the Pledge of Allegiance, I put my hand on my heart and liberty and justice for all.

I believed that.

I believed it with all of my heart.

I believed that liberty and justice was for all of us until I became a young adult and then an older adult, and I realized that liberty and justice wasn't for all, especially for people who looked like me.

And it broke my heart, and I was like, why?

Like, that's not fair.

Like, like you told me liberty and justice was for all, so why isn't it?

And in I I just I couldn't grasp that at all.

Now we come to the cello incident, and and I'm thinking about all the little GGs, all the the little kids, especially here in Erie, and I'm thinking of you guys, and I'm literally praying that all the angst that we're all feeling, all of all of the unrest and the angst that you're hearing from all of us speaking right now, Shatera, what she's feeling, major, what he's feeling, Cello's uh fiance, all of his family, all the people that are going to the marches, everything that we're all feeling.

Shatera, what she's feeling, major, what he's feeling, Cello's uh fiance, all of his family, all the people that are going to the marches, everything that we're all feeling.

I pray that you feel a little of that as you're thinking about this resolution and going to vote for this.

And you can feel a little of what we're all feeling and the injustice of what we're feeling as you go to this vote so that that you can have some justice for what we're all going through, and that you will vote yes so that peace can begin with cello.

Thank you.

Hello, everybody.

My name is Savannah Wilson.

I've lived in Erie for 24 years.

I'm here for justice for Cello, but on my way here, I found out that one of my peers, Michael Mandrella was killed.

Michael was a good student.

He was an honor student.

This is really hard for me because at the beginning of this year I watched a young lady, Julia Tate, killed right in front of me.

Bleed out.

Michael was at that party.

So were my other friends from school.

When is this gonna stop?

When we want to talk about you don't care about the bad kids, only focusing on the good kids.

Michael was a good kid.

He was trying to get his life together.

His life was taken.

Jalia's life was taken.

Have you ever watched somebody bleed out right in front of you?

Have you?

Blood everywhere on the ground.

And watch paramedics walk slow.

Everybody around me have their phones out, recording.

This resolution is so important.

Because we need to end this cycle.

We need to end this cycle.

I'm so fed up.

I have no more anger.

I want change for the people of my city.

For people in my generation.

I'm tired of this.

I'm tired of this.

Michael was a good kid.

Cello wasn't a perfect man, but he was trying.

Right now, I'm standing in solidarity with his son.

Major, thank you.

I play roller derby.

Number 44, Major Rage, because there's a lot to be mad about in this city.

When I was being held down in the street by a police officer with his knee in my back.

Michael Mandrella was the only one that asked me if I was okay in that moment.

That happened when I was 15.

Because an adult was attacking me.

Michael was there because he lived down the street and he was walking by.

And he said, Savannah, are you okay?

And I said, I'm fine, bro.

I'm okay.

Well, the officer's knee was in my back.

This gotta stop.

I can't, I don't even have words right now.

I don't even have words.

Feel my pain.

Feeling.

Because I'm tired of carrying it for everybody.

Hi.

That was a lot.

Um my name is Cindy Triver.

I am born and raised in here in Pennsylvania.

I now live in Edinburgh.

Uh I usually come here with a lot of facts and information for you guys to consider that you may not um know about or have the time to look up because you are sitting here advocating for the city, and you all have personal lives and and businesses and professions.

Um I just want to um talk briefly.

Um this is not my story to tell.

Um, it will never be my story to tell.

Because I'm a white woman.

It is not my story to tell.

Um, but I would like to share with you.

I my family was just here for Thanksgiving.

I have two brand new grandbabies.

My kids decided to surprise me one month apart.

And during this time frame of the past two weeks, I was thinking about my childhood and my first memories and how they built me.

One of my first memories, I think I was probably six or seven.

My dad took my brother and I fishing down at the peninsula.

And he had to go back to our station wagon to get something out of the car, and he left me there with my younger brother.

I caught a huge fish.

My brother caught a huge fish, and I was the only person there to help him really to make sure he did not go in the water, make sure that the fish came in.

And it was big.

We have pictures.

And for being there for my family, and for not giving up.

And those are some of the first memories I have of my dad.

I think we need to consider that major is eight.

And this situation may likely be the first memories he has of his dad.

And when we talk about that, not everybody here may be married, not everybody here may have children, but everybody here was a child.

So I want you to think about the people in your lives who are instrumental in your upbringing.

Your first memories of who built you, who encouraged you, who gave you the strength to sit here, and think about what if that was completely erased.

You would not be sitting here.

So I think it's really important to consider that this resolution, although is for Cello, is also for major.

So that he has memories of you all associated with his dad, not of his dad's death.

I do want to briefly um touch on some information because I can't come here without it.

She does have the right to ask the attorney general to step in, and if he refuses to step in, she may also ask a different attorney, district attorney of a different county, to step in.

The case of impropriety here in conflict of interest, we can say, oh, it's just a podcast, oh, they probably didn't know each other.

Um the definition, according to the Pennsylvania Joe uh Code of Judicial Conduct is an appearance of impropriety can arise from a conflict of interest, such as a close personal relationship or a professional relationship.

And it has to be perceived only.

It does not have to be proven.

It is the perception of a lay person with outside of the criminal justice system that would see this situation and say, wait.

That is her job at this point.

If she doesn't want to speak out, it is her job at this point to explain why people, lay persons outside of the communal criminal justice system, are perceiving her to have a conflict of interest.

That is her job, and she needs to legally speak on it.

And while I understand your role and your power, I also know the meetings that you sit in, I know the people that you sit in, and I talk to a lot of you.

So I know that there's conversations that we're all having about the strength and the health of our of our city and our county.

Um and please look up this information because it is important, and it is documented.

It is not just somebody saying something, it is Pennsylvania law that she, as a representative of the county and state, must adhere to.

Briefly, I want to just say a friend of mine when we were stationed in Virginia posted this morning: never mock a pain you haven't endured.

Because when life hits you, you might be everything that you've criticized.

Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Fred A Tepford, I live in the city of Erie, and I continue to be in support of Justice Fricello.

I appreciate this resolution.

I don't understand why.

I understand there is an investigation.

I don't understand why there isn't more happening to impact the life of the person who did the killing.

There are some other issues I do also want to talk about today.

It's snow season, and I urge the city with their plows to ensure that all of the street crossings are fully accessible after the city comes through with their plows, especially that the um the traffic light push buttons are not blocked by snow, as was done last year, and also for their contractors.

I'm seeing a new phenomenon where people on my block who are hiring um plowers, those plowers are just leaving the snow in the street.

They're plowing the driveway and leaving the snow in the street.

And that's not appropriate.

I see, yeah, I see.

Jasmine has seen the same phenomenon.

I did anyway, that's another thing.

So as you know, we have a very colorful president who has a lot of very strange opinions about what is justice and liberty.

And um now he's attacking Somali immigrants.

And we need to be aware that not all of the Somali immigrants in our community are citizens.

And we need to be sure that we we stand up in support of all of the immigrants in our community, whether they have full legal status or even if they have green cards, apparently, that we we we protect them and that the city not in any way cooperate.

Um also I shared uh an email with several of you, most of you, maybe all of you a few weeks ago, about uh and SPM 7.

It's um something that our interesting colorful president passed.

Um National Security Presidential Memorandum, which directed federal departments to use existing authorities to investigate and target groups involved in domestic terrorism and organized political violence.

And they were asking for the cooperation of cities and states to provide information about people or people and charities, fundraising, etc.

Um, and what I sent you was about a um so the latest salvo government's efforts to target Trump's political opponents under the guise of countering domestic terrorism and organized political violence, directs the United States Attorney General and the Secretary of States to request operational assistance from and coordinate enforcement partners to identify target and investigate individual and individual funders, officers, and employees of organizations who engage in vaguely defined potentially First Amendment protected speech and activity.

City Council should act to tell the mayor to prohibit voluntary cooperation with efforts to affect Juwait NSPM7's attacks on nonprofits and charities, including the voluntary provision of data and other information.

And so I in the email that I sent to you was um a model uh resolution or action from the American Civil Liberties Union that you could take about this.

Um president has has talked about domestic and and international terrorism.

He's defined Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization that I belong to as a terrorist organization.

I don't consider myself a terrorist.

I don't consider Jewish Voice for Peace for a terrorist organization.

It does I it's very hard for me to call myself an anti-Zionist, but I'm getting awful darn close.

But Jewish Voice for Peace is an anti-Zionist organization because of the genocide going on in the Middle East.

And um we have a right in our society to express our opinions.

And um I hope that you will look at the information I sent you and I will resend it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Susanna Faulkner, City of Erie.

Firstly, I want to thank the members of council who have put forward and with the community members.

Requesting transparency and accountability for for Martello Woodard and his the act of state violence that was committed against him because at the end of the day, that is what we are we are dealing with.

We are dealing with a state agent who killed one of your constituents.

All of us here are your constituents.

So thank you for this resolution.

And also, this is the bare minimum.

This is the absolute bare minimum.

From young people who are not screaming for justice, who are crying for justice, who are so heartbroken over the love they have for our city of Erie that they are turning to hate it.

Hate it.

And feel completely paralyzed.

I hear that the letter that you sent to our governor was not responded to on July 24th.

Under this resolution, which is this is standard in resolutions.

Section eight says, you know, for the city clerk to direct letters to three different state offices and then three different county offices.

That we simply do not go to Harrisburg with this resolution.

Book an appointment with the governor's staff.

You have the power, each of you to do that.

When I was on council out of my own dollars, I went down to Harrisburg and talked to the governor.

You have the power to do that.

That is within.

I've heard so much for these five months and one day of uh that's not that's not purview of city council, that's not purview of county council, that's a state issue, this, that, the other.

You have entry into doors that we all do not.

That is your privilege, that is your power.

Tell it was your constituent.

He was murdered five months and a day ago.

As I mentioned to County Council when I spoke there last month, if I left here and was pulled over by a state trooper for running a red light and was shot, would it take you all five months and a day to put a resolution out?

Demanding transparency?

It wouldn't.

It wouldn't.

Why?

Why?

We all know why.

We all know why.

I am asking you, yes, to send a copy of this to the three state offices and to the three county offices.

Get with county government, get with county council, get with our new leadership, go to Harrisburg together.

We will come with you.

We will come with you.

We need state policy change.

I was there two years ago at that excessive force protest.

Many of us were there.

I was there as I served in that seat as public safety liaison, trying to talk to our police officers, trying to talk to our chief of police about excessive force, and got nowhere for a year.

It's been two years since that protest.

So many of us have wondered when would this happen in Erie?

It's happened.

It's happened and it has caused great pain to a level that I have never seen ever in this community.

I love this community.

I was raised here, I left for 13 years.

I work with these young people.

I try to serve them.

I try to be a public servant.

It is broken.

It is broken.

You have entry into rooms we do not.

Let's go.

I will drive.

I will pack my car.

I will take whoever will go.

Go to Harrisburg.

Take this resolution.

This is one step.

This is day one.

That's five months and a day late.

Five months and a day.

He was your constituent.

He was killed.

And it's an act of state violence.

This should be the top of everyone's priority.

Until we get justice.

This is number one.

And all of us will not stop until this is your number one priority.

So thank you for the beginning.

Let's take it to the end.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are the any other citizens to be heard?

Hi, my name is Brenda Spears.

Um, the resolution is the first part.

There's you gotta go further than that.

We need answers.

Um heartbroke me to see that she terra had to take her son to the cemetery to see her so uh to visit his dad on Thanksgiving.

Um I don't know.

You guys need to go further.

You guys need to be supportive for everybody.

Um, the family.

Um, the city is heartbroken because we're just in limbo of everything.

Put your hearts to the to the test now and go further than just a resolution.

Get get answers for us.

Help us get the answers, and just keep praying for this family.

Thank you.

Are there any other citizens to be heard?

Are there any other citizens to be heard?

Are there any other citizens to be heard?

Before we go further, uh Lori, I just want to follow up on something that uh was said earlier.

I want to thank Mr.

Cooley and Terry Roberts for putting me in contact with Mr.

Charles Woodett, Chellow's father.

We had a conversation.

He has given me permission to honor Cello.

This in 2026 Spoons Summer Basketball League.

There will be his picture and of course his name on our jerseys, at least three to four hundred jerseys will see cello this coming summer.

President Witherspoon.

Um excuse me, I'm breaking away from our typical rule of order here, but I just wanted to quickly explain what happens next.

Is though as we go from public comment, we'll transition immediately into reading ordinances, and then we will go down into some of these other the other businesses in the resolution.

Um typically things are not pulled out if we think that they're gonna all pass together.

And so the comment the public was here, and so I want it.

I just want it to be clear that if this is does not get pulled out in an individual vote on it, it is not because it is not passing.

So it is it is likely because there's gonna be a unanimous vote forward.

So when you see things not pulled out, I don't want it to appear that we've we've just disregarded everything that everybody has said.

It's because of the way that it is tucked in with the rest of the agenda.

So I just wanted to explain that process so everybody understood what was gonna happen.

Next.

Thank you.

Hey, Lori Ordinances for final passage, council file number 16574, official ordinance 82, 2025, an ordinance appropriating the sum of 15,000 dollars from unappropriated and anticipated revenue and providing for the expenditures thereof.

It's a canine donation sponsored by council member witherspoon, seconded by council member Nelson, the council file bill number sixteen five seventy-four, and now known as official file ordinance eighty-two twenty twenty-five, be finally passed by city council.

Members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Schoff, Titus Troop, and Witherspoon.

City Council pass official file ordinance 82, 2025 by Yay 7, nay zero.

Ordinances for first reading.

Council file number 16576, an ordinance appropriating the sum of 400,000 dollars from unappropriate fund balance and the liquid fuels fund for the expenditure thereof.

Funds will be used for the 2025 street lighting and traffic signals.

Sponsored by Councilmember Brzezinski, seconded by Councilmember Troop.

The council file ordinance number 16576.

Members Brzezinski Flores Nelson Schaff Titus Troop and Witherspoon.

City Council pass official file ordinance or read and adopt council file ordinance 16576 by YA70 on first reading.

Council file number 1657.

An ordinance appropriating the sum of 115,500 from unappropriated and unanticipated revenue for the expenditure thereof.

This is a contribution from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acting through the Department of Community and Economic Development for the Strategic Management Program.

Sponsored by Councilmember Flores, seconded by Councilmember Titus.

The council file ordinance 1657 having been read is hereby adopted on first reading by City Council.

Members Brzezinski Flores Nelson Schoff, Titus, Troop, and Witherspoon.

City Council rented adopt council file ordinate 1657 by Yay 70 on first reading.

Council file number 16578.

Appropriating the sum of 20 million five hundred and seven thousand four hundred and forty-seven dollars and seventeen cents from unappropriated and unanticipated revenue for the expenditure thereof from the City of Erie Capital Bond Fund and will be used to fund capital expenditures associated with the public safety complex Miller Brothers proceeds of the 2025 City of Erie Capital Bond issue.

Sponsored by Councilmember Schaft, seconded by Councilmember Brzezinski.

The council file ordinates 16578.

Haven't been read is hereby adopted on first reading by City Council.

Members Brzezinski Flores Nelson Schaff Titus Troop and Witherspoon.

City Council rent it adopt council file ordinary 16578 by YA70 on first reading.

Okay.

Going into old business.

Number one, an old business.

A resolution that pursuant to section 306 zoning ordinance 8020 2005 and a public hearing held Wednesday, November 19th in City Council Chambers, and with the recommendation from the City Planning Commission, the request for waterfront conditional use submitted by McEerie Partners LP for construction of multiple family dwellings consisting of two three-story buildings totaling 30 units located on nine consolidated vacant lots from Front Street to Short Street on Myrtle Street East on Short Street as 263 West Front Street EREPA located in a waterfront residential district is hereby approved.

Mr.

President I would like to I would like to put forward a motion to table this resolution it was moved to table second motion to table members Brzezinski Flores Nelson Shaw Titus Troop and Witherspoon motion table seven to nothing it's your responsibility number two in old business a resolution that Erie City Council pursuant to section 306 no that's not it that's not it a resolution that pursuant to section 405 of zoning ordinance 80205 and a public hearing held Wednesday November 19th in Council Chambers per the request by D.

Baldwin of Pete Street Corner of L Peacht Street Corner LLC and 4125 Pete Street LLC rezone parcel tax ID number 185302303 from R1 to C2, located adjacent 4125 P Street, which is C2 to consolidate the two lots to form a single commercial parcel zone C2 be hereby approved and authorizing and directing the city solicitor to prepare an ordinance to reflect that change discussion voting on the resolution Brzezinski Flores Nelson Schaft Titus Troop and Witherspoon Resolution passes Yay 7 Nay Zero.

Voting on the resolution, Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Shaft, Titus, Troop, and Witherspoon.

Resolution passes Yay 7 nay zero.

This takes us to new business.

I would like to separate number four for comment and number five as well for comment.

I'd like to separate number nine and number 10.

I'd like to uh separate number seven for a small amendment.

I understand that one's wordy.

Uh I can give the amendments without the full reading.

Appreciate it.

I would like to separate number six.

Okay, we'll need four.

Okay.

Which is any other separations?

I have four, five, six, seven, nine, and ten in new business.

Voting on moving the balance of the agenda.

Members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Shaft, Titus, Troop, and Witherspoon.

Okay, going to the separations.

Number four.

A resolution.

Oh, that's wrong.

Um the comment is that different number.

Sorry.

No, you're good.

Five years ago, so there's some good council.

Okay.

Number four.

A resolution that Erie City Council of Jasmine Flores reappoints Dave Pilates of 215 West 41st Street to the Erie City Water Authority for a five-year term expiring the first Monday of January 2031.

Okay, so this appointment is going based off of the recommendation of the Water Authority.

When we were asked if Mr.

Dave Palados was a good fit, he does his due diligence as a member of this authority, and they asked for him to be reappointed.

So that's why he's getting reappointed.

I'm always open to giving new people opportunities if the people who are currently in the seats are not doing the job.

So I had no issue with the reappointment when I was asked to reappoint him.

And then do we move on to the number five?

Okay.

That's all I had to comment was while we were reappointed, Mr.

Any other discussion?

Voting on the resolution, members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Shaw, Titus, Troop, and Witherspoon.

Resolution passes Yay 7A 0.

Number 5.

Umber five, uh that resolution, the city council designates Chestnut Street between West Third and West 4th Street as James C.

Shiradeway after his passing in recognition of his years of direct as director of Bayfront NATO Incorporation and Martin Luther King Junior Center and his service and contributions to this Erie community.

Council members get two uh street renamings each year.

Um I am finishing up my fourth year of my first term on council, so I was the one to offer uh one of the street renamings that I had not used yet, because if you don't use them, you lose them.

So that was co-sponsored with council member Shaft, which had originally offered to do the street renaming.

Um whenever you have an individual who you would like to dedicate a street renaming, it is the best to reach out to council if they fit the criteria for which uh the street renaming.

There's a list, uh council member troop and pass council member keys uh redid the list on what the qualifications are.

So there's quite a bit of um community service and years of dedication and just a lot of different requirements that make you fit the criteria.

So I definitely recommend community members who um feel as though someone should be nominated to reach out to the clerk's office so they can give you that list of what is the requirements.

That way, if you have a council member who has some street renamings left on their term, they can then use them before they lose them because there's going to be one uh street renaming that we will not use this year for the term.

So unfortunately, I did try to reach out to individuals who had passed, but they don't want to do it this year, they want to do it next year, closer to the time we've either a birthday or um the passing.

So we will be um doing this street renaming, and we will let the family know when the sign is actually gonna go up as well.

Thank you.

Any other discussion?

Just um comment.

Um when we got on council together, um, because we get a lot of these, we get a lot of people, like you know, I probably had 50 to 100 people approached me about the street renaming since I've been on council.

And so we really didn't have an ordinance when I got on, I don't believe.

Um so I what I did was I looked up Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Columbus, all these different cities that are they already have stuff in place, and a lot of them were similar, you know, about the things that the criteria that had to fit.

It wasn't just hey, you know, my cousin was blah, blah, blah.

You know, can you get a name after them?

And I even sent messages, I put it on my Facebook page and asked people that I know that are local, and also sent messages, and they all felt like kind of like how the people of how the ordinances of Columbus were in Pittsburgh were in Buffalo.

Um people in Erie were like, this should be taken very seriously.

This is something that's very serious.

You know, having a street named after somebody, that's not something that anybody should just get.

That was local people.

So I asked people, I put it on my page, and I also researched how other places did it already.

And that's how we kind of crafted the ordinance just to let you know.

And uh the as uh councilwoman Flores said, um, for a four-year term, most places had had it set that the council people could only get like two per term, because before it was unlimited.

So if you go look at Buffalo's Pittsburgh's Cleveland's bigger cities, that's how they do it.

So we kind of crafted ours like theirs.

So just to let you know how that worked.

Yeah.

I'm gonna state two things about this.

Uh one uh that was that was something that council have been working on for years or not working on for years, and and I really appreciate um the effort you put in on that.

I think you came up with a great one.

Um then, second, you know, I'm really excited uh to see this street dedicated uh uh Jim Schrod.

The way the schedule works, I mean, this is a bit of a rush to get it on there.

Uh, there is some hopes that we can do this street dedication on Martin Luther King Day when the um when the when the parade goes to that intersection.

Uh so it's a very beautiful opportunity.

Um, you know, the the application process as as uh uh Councilman Troop was talking about.

Um the the application was sent on behalf of uh on the Martin Luther King Center, and and they are going to be sponsoring that street.

You need to have an application fee.

You put in the criteria that the person has accomplished, and then a uh and then so that the burden isn't on the taxpayers.

This there's a sponsor that goes into the Martin Luther King Center is sponsoring uh that installation.

Um really excited to to get to be there for it and uh thank you, uh Councilwoman Flores for uh making that uh using one of your name dedications for him.

I mean, uh the MLK Center is very important to our community, and that was one of the first playgrounds that I got our city to um update.

So I'm really happy that we're able to continue on um pouring into our community center right there.

Any other discussion?

Voting on the resolution, members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Shuff, Titus Troop, and Witherspoon.

Number six.

This is by Jasmine Flores, a resolution of the council of the city of Erie calling on the legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to pass legislation to allow for the creation of community energy programs in Pennsylvania.

Whereas community energy facilities allow customers to choose the source of their electricity, including customers that desire to purchase solar energy but do not have a suitable condition to install their own facility, solar facility, and whereas community solar facilities are a more decentralized, resilient and efficient way to deliver electricity to ratepayers, and whereas small scale community solar facilities are designed to interconnect with local power distribution systems, reducing the barriers to entry, such as PJM approvals, and whereas allowing community solar facilities would create economic benefits for Erie County farmers, landowners, and homeowners with a roof or space to build or lease ground for community solar facilities, and whereas community solar facilities have been shown to save thousands, households 10% on their electricity costs, and whereas a recent study for Penn State University determining that constructing the 235 community solar facilities planned in Pennsylvania could add 520 permanent jobs and 83.3 million of annual economic activity, and whereas Governor Shapiro has called for the creation of community energy programs as part of his lighting plan, and whereas 24 states currently have specific and specific enabling legislation for community solar, which provides a framework that supports the production of and streamlines approval of the community energy facilities in those states, and now therefore be it resolved that the City Council of the City of Erie calls on the Pennsylvania State Senate to approve House Bill 504, the Community Energy Act as proposed by Representative Peter Schweyer, which passed 114 votes to 89 votes in the Pennsylvania House to provide community energy facilities.

Discussion read there, Lori.

Probably not.

Call for questions.

Yeah.

I have to apologize, Laurie.

I have so many papers here that uh that's not one I wanted to uh separate.

That's why I was wondering, I'm like, we we had the subcommittee environmental caucus recommend it for us.

So I was like, I don't think Bell meant for number six to be there, but it will go back and forth if we need to, because I was just going to give supporting facts that the environmental caucus had recommended for city council to sign on and sign.

I am the liaison for the environmental caucus, and back in August, Mr.

Justin Mason had reached out, he is the individual who has been working with all of the legislators to get this passed in Harrisburg.

So he has worked on solar in our community for quite some time.

Um, prior to me being on council, I was a fan of solar power, so I had no problem making sure that the environmental caucus was informed and also to give our recommendations.

So that's what that was.

Thank you.

I agree.

Any other discussion?

Voting on the resolution, members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Schaff, Titus Troop, and Witherspoon, the resolution passes Yay 70.

Number seven, a resolution sponsored by Councilmember Titus, second by Councilmember Shaw.

A resolution of the Erie City Council requesting transparency and timely public updates regarding the death of a Marcello Woodard and the ongoing investigation by the Erie County District Attorney and the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole.

Whereas on July 2nd, 2025, Marcello Woodard, a resident of Erie, was fatally shot by a Pennsylvania State parole agent during a compliance check in the 300 block of East 27th Street in the City of Erie.

And whereas on July 3rd, the Erie County Coroner's office performed an autopsy and officially ruled Mr.

Woodard's death a homicide, meaning that death occurred at the hands of another person.

And whereas on October 7, 2025, Erie County Council adopted resolution 25 2025 acknowledging the tragic circumstances of Mr.

Woodard's death and recommending policy reforms for county affiliated law enforcement.

And whereas the investigation into this incident is being conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police in collaboration with the Erie County District Attorney's Office pursuant to the Erie County Protocol for Officer Involved shootings, and whereas the Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hurz has stated her office's commitment to providing a fully transparent investigation that protects the integrity of the process while understanding the public's desires for answers and whereas Erie City Council serves the community because of our profound belief in democratic ideals, chief among those being the pursuit of liberty and justice, and in support of these ideals, we advocate for transparency and communication wherever possible in our processes.

And whereas, at multiple Erie County meetings, community members have expressed concern regarding this incident and demonstrations have been held calling for justice and demanding answers.

And whereas local government bodies, including Erie City Council, bear responsibility to advocate for the safety trust and accountability of all agencies operating within city limits, regardless of whether such agencies fall under municipal, county or state authority, and whereas this council recognizes that thorough investigations require time to ensure accuracy, accuracy, and impartiality.

Impartiality while also acknowledging the urgent need for information to address community concerns.

Whereas, while we play no role in the proceedings of justice as elected leaders, we have a moral obligation to ensure that reforms that can be offered to prevent such tragedy should be pursued.

And whereas the public has a legitimate interest in knowing the status of investigations involving the involving the use of lethal force by state officials operating within the City of Erie, and whereas extended silence or delays in communication regarding incidents ruled as homicide risk undermining public trust and may cause additional harm to affected families and whereas transparency and accountability and law enforcement operations are essential to maintaining public trust, community safety, and the legitimacy of our system our justice system.

And now, therefore be it resolved by the Council of the City of Erie as follows.

Section one.

Section two.

Erie City Council formally requests that the Erie County District Attorney provide a public update summarizing the status of the investigation into the death of Marcello Woodard, including expected timelines for further action and any findings that can be shared consistent with the integrity of the investigation and applicable law.

Section three, the Erie City Council requests that the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole provide written clarification to City Council and the public regarding any internal investigation, administrative review, or personnel action taken in the aftermath of this incident to the extent permitted by law and personnel regulations.

Section 4.

Erie City Council respectively invites representatives from the Erie County District Attorney's Office and the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole to appear at a public meeting of Erie City Council to address questions related to transparency, communication, and investigative process.

Section 5.

Erie City Council requests that both the Erie County District Attorney's Office and the Pennsylvania State Police commit to providing a regular public to provide regular public updates on the status and progress of the investigation until its conclusion.

Section 6.

Erie City Council encourages the release of all nonsensitive, non-prejudicial information to the public to the fullest extent permitted by law, including body camera footage, dashboard camera footage, and any other video or audio recordings while respecting due process rights and the integrity of the investigation.

Section 7.

Erie City Council stands with the family of Marcello Woodard and the residents of Erie in seeking answers, accountability, and transparency.

Section 8.

The City Clerk is hereby directed to transmit certified copies of this resolution to Governor Shapiro, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, Erie County District Attorney, Elizabeth Hurz, Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Erie County Executive and Erie County Council.

This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.

Discussion.

And then I confirmed with Malachi.

So it's not something that the family had promoted as an issue, but I think it's something that we could address in this, which would then I think call for certain amendments to be made.

So the amendments I would like to make is in second paragraph, whereas uh the Erie County Coroner's office performed an autopsy.

Uh officially ruled would be an overstatement, I believe.

So I would like that change to the term stated, because he did publicly state that it was a homicide shortly thereafter.

However, it was not officially ruled.

There is no signed death certificate stating that.

Uh with that, I would like to see a an additional section added after section one.

So this will bump all the section numbers.

And I would like that section two to state Erie City Council formally asks the coroner to sign and release the death certificate.

With that being added, I would like to have in section eight, but now section nine in the amendments.

Um attorney general David Sunday to be added.

And Erie County Coroner Lyle Cook to be added.

I would like the names to be added of the Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner.

That's Christopher Paris.

Uh Pennsylvania Board of Probations and Parole is a nine member board.

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis, Erie County Council Chair Terry Scotella.

Um these are just I think simple things that were just brought to light in the course of this meeting.

Uh probably things that I should have done better due diligence of ahead of time on it.

Um, you know, some of the times the family isn't, you know, they're they are humble and they don't point out the things they're up against in the in the circumstances.

And so um that was the first I'd heard of it.

I think it's first for the from the reaction of the people here that anyone's heard of it.

Um but I was able to confirm even with Malachi by text um that that that's an issue.

So I would ask for those amendments to be made, and I'm asking for a second.

Um call for the question.

I'll you call for the question on the amendment.

Voting on the amendment, members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Schaff, Titus, Troop, and Witherspoon.

Voting on the resolution as I would like to have a voice vote on this one.

Mr.

President.

May I make just one comment?

Prior to it going in the vote, and I'm just gonna make a statement, and it doesn't need a response because this is again, I think, as pointed out, and I accept this, um, is is is one of the bare minimum things that we can do.

But upon the passage, I'm just personally committing, and I will invite uh anyone who would like to join that uh to make a trip down to Harrisburg so that we can have the band this together.

I wrote also two, and then there's notes.

Any other discussion?

Voting on the amend the resolution as amended.

Members Brzezinski Flores, yes.

I asked for voice vote.

You ask for a vocal vote?

Yes.

Brzezinski?

Yes.

Flores, yes.

Nelson, yes.

Shaw.

Yes.

Titus?

Yes.

Troop, Witherspoon.

Yes.

Yes.

Thank you.

Resolution passes unanimously.

Council President, um, can I make a comment real quick before you guys leave?

Uh about that.

Um I had reached out to um a couple of the members of the cello movement.

Um I grew up with one to the same church with.

They happen to be musicians like me.

So you know who I'm talking about.

Okay.

And I had reached out to them after the election, because I didn't want it to look like I was trying to get votes with things.

So I'd asked them, and I reached out.

I work with a member of a friend of Mr.

Wood's niece.

Um his niece is Shantae Woodard.

I work with a friend of hers.

I contacted her and I said, Um, you know, I'm a local musician.

A couple of the guys in the mood movement of musicians, they do concerts, they just had a concert.

Okay.

And Malcolm talks about Christmas Thanksgiving a lot.

I had um asked through Shantae to Mr.

Woodard.

Umbe, you know, the the musicians of Erie, which I would help to organize, could come together and do like a concert for Cello.

And for and the and the the proceeds would go to his children, actually, or or to his family, basically.

So if you could um and I it was my understanding because I did talk to the the two guys, they happen to be twins, um, and they said that the family did not want anything like that.

But if they ever do want something like that, I am willing.

Let them know that we are willing to organize that for them.

All right.

Okay.

Okay.

You know, everybody will pay everything.

Okay, no problem.

Yeah, thank you.

Okay, we continue.

Okay, number nine.

A resolution sponsored by member Witherspoon, seconded by member Titus.

The proposed repository sale of one property commonly known as East 26th Street, 46 by 133, identified by assessment index number 1851, 2125 by the Erie County Tax Claim Bureau to J and M International Holding Group, LLC, 721, Burnt Tavern Road, Suite C Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, in the amount of 250 dollars is hereby approved.

Mr.

President.

Yeah.

Um, I asked for this number nine and number ten to be separated.

I know we're discussing number nine right now, but my comments will be the similar for number for number 10 here.

Um the individual who is requesting to purchase both of these came before us and and laid out what I I believe to be a pretty clear um uh evidence that does his intent is really not to benefit the city, that this is more of a personal financial gain.

Um he does not reside here, nor does you know he own any other properties here.

I think that this would be a disservice to our residents and those who surround those areas to allow this to go to an out-of-state someone who is out of state.

Um, and we have seen this happen time and time again, where somebody who is doing this is purchasing properties like this um to build up uh their own personal equity versus benefit the city in any capacity.

Uh and I think that this would be just a disservice, and they would most likely end up back in right before us again as as we have to go through the entire process again.

So that is why I'm I'm asked to separate and then I will be voting no.

I don't think that this is in good service to our citizens.

Um I echo Tyler's uh concerns.

I have always asked what the intention of these vacant lots being purchased at the price of 250 to out of state purchasers, and most times they want to maintain it until they could turn around and resell it.

I have a hard time with that when a lot of city residents don't even know that an opportunity to buy a vacant lot is only 250 dollars.

So I will be voting no as well.

And I have also discussed with Tyler how do we get those uh 250 vacant lot fees to be raised?

So hopefully in the new year we can get some additional um fees um for those and maybe even giving the opportunity as a discount to residents to purchase them so that the out of state people would be paying a higher price, and then the local people would get a discount on whatever we end up doing.

But ultimately, the fact is out of state purchasers are buying up what is available in property, and our current local residents are not getting the opportunity, and that is an issue for me.

It has been, so it'll continue to be one.

Mr.

President, yes, sir.

I've long been very vocal about this.

We've had people coming in buying 20 lots.

Uh I'm gonna vote with us, but we might be in trouble.

I Mr.

Betsa, the fact that we okayed these previous uh multiple sales from out of town people.

Could these people say we're presidential by saying no?

If we want to have a legal discussion, this is not the forum to do that.

I'm just looking for direction as far as I don't see control by saying no if we can't.

We could go into executive session to have the discussion, but we cannot have it in open session.

Should we table it guys?

What do you think?

I vote that we table.

Second.

It's been moved in second to table.

Voting to table, members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Shoff, Titus, Troop, and Witherspoon.

That was number nine.

Number ten is by the same bidder.

Motion at table.

I second.

It's been moved in second.

Voting to table, members Brzezinski, Flores, Nelson, Schoff, Titus Troop, and Witherspoon.

Okay.

I think we're now in committee reports.

Kathy.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Thank you for everyone who came to spoke to today.

So I want to uh thank the people who are continually volunteering, the nonprofits who are helping the people who need assistance in food, clothing, and shelter.

I want especially to recognize all who are involved with running the neighbors place.

And this time of the year, you know, we get a lot of uh flyers in the mail asking uh for um monetary donations.

Um I always prefer to help as needed um with my hands and my presence because um you know anyways.

Um I attended uh the Erie Historic Preservation Committee meeting on Monday, and uh woman spoke concerning the Erie Cemetery Association, and uh when you put something up for historic recognition, um you have to meet certain criteria, and I found um that very interesting.

So those people interested in history, you can watch the historic preservation committee um meeting online, and it uh was established uh unofficially May 20th, 1851, and uh officially 1885, but I found that it was interesting that the Erie Semature cemetery is associated with Emma Hay, and she was one that said, if not the earliest woman in the history in the country to serve as a superintendent of a major American cemetery, and she served as the superintendent of the cemetery from 1892 to 1916.

Uh and she was uh appointed what have you interested because her husband had it first, but he died.

And I you know I think in history, as we see, um sometimes uh that definitely happens where the w uh widow steps up and um takes care of business.

So I found that to be quite interesting.

Um when my husband and I travel, um we often uh spend a lot of time uh in cemeteries and uh I am thankful for the Erie Cemetery Association.

Um for those of you who are very interested in uh history and cemeteries, they actually have a Facebook site and they are uh doing stories about the different mausoleums, mausoleums in the Erie Cemetery.

So uh I am uh forward to seeing that.

Um I do most of my walking uh up at uh the Winnergreen Gorge one because that's in my neck of the woods, but um in referring to historic um preservation.

Um I had been in contact with uh Demilio uh Luckett and I had applied to be a Northwestern Pennsylvania person for the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, which um deals with um it's the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, which is a public-private collaboration, and um it started in Pennsylvania back in the day.

They are actually looking for uh northwestern Pennsylvania uh regional person to uh do more uh they don't have a representative in this area, and I had applied and uh am not able to because of being an elected um an elected position, but uh she actually uh is still looking and wanted me to get the word out and uh you can contact me, I can give you her email, or you can look her up online on the Heritage, there's a website, etc.

Um and this weekend is the lighting of the uh tree and the park festivities with the downtown partnership, and I love to go to that event.

I've been going to it um yearly and would suggest other families do the same.

It's a family-friendly event, and it's free, and there's going to be activities through concerts and art and galleries, um the city gallery and uh the night gallery uh gallery night's going to be coming up um the Friday, I think it's December 12th, but uh they're free, and I really support the arts artistically and um musically.

There's going to be concerts Friday and Saturday and Sunday um in churches and things, and you know, I'm not a walking encyclopedia, so I can't spew them out, but um look them up online.

Um they're out there and enjoy family activities, make memories that don't necessarily cost money.

Just walk around your neighborhood looking at the different art uh winter displays um this time of the year.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

President, yes, sir.

So I'd like to start off by um just um I had emailed uh my committee assignments, and I they didn't have anything to report, but I did want to just make a few comments.

First of all, I'd like to um shout out one of my former class, one of my classmates out there grew up with them.

Um went to middle school and elementary school, Mr.

Antonio Howard at Burton School.

Always good to see you.

Um recently there was a contest going on called Hulk How Cool Is Your School.

Most of you know I work at Erie High School and Erie High School end up making a video.

Um students and staff, and people had to vote for the video.

So Erie High ended up winning that contest, so we're really proud of those, everybody involved with that.

Just a few of the names.

Um Don Orlando's the principal, if you don't know him.

Um the music teacher who was a kind of organized it all, Becky Lockwadara, and then the head of our digital media apartment, Robert Gibson.

So like to thank them for everything they did.

Um I'd like to just wish my condolences to the family of the young man who was killed.

I did know him from Erie High School.

Um, spoke to him a lot.

He's a nice young man.

And I'm not sure what happened, but from what I know from He was a he was a good kid.

And also pray for the other students, because I before I found out who who it actually was, I heard kids yesterday talking about it, about a kid being murdered and stuff like that.

So it also was affecting them because they knew him.

So also pray for those kids.

Um as I mentioned earlier, I know we reached out to the I reached out to the um some members of the Woodard family about organizing a musical event.

If anybody knows them, I know at that time they didn't want that, they didn't want anything like that to be done.

But if they ever do, they can contact me and I'll I'll um I'm pretty good at organizing things like that.

So and I know a lot of I happen to know a lot of musicians, so we could we could definitely make that happen.

And like to congratulate all the teams, sports teams that played in the playoffs locally.

Um as you know, the state playoffs were going on.

And um one of our district ten teams is gonna be playing on Friday in the state championship down in Farrell.

I have been another head coach, so I'm wishing him good luck, Ampagese.

Hopefully bring back the state title.

And I just wanted to read something real quick.

As you as I said, I'm a musician, and I I I looked up what does a cello do in a band?

I had looked that up before.

So I just want to read this what it says.

It says in a band, a cello, of course.

You know, a cello is like it looks like a guitar kind of.

Um it says a cello can take on a lot of roles, so it's a versatile instrument, including a base providing a baseline, playing melodic leads, and adding harm harmonic texture.

It's versatility allows it to act like a bass guitar, a rhythm or lead guitar, or to create atmospheric layers.

Cellos are used across all genres from orchestras, chamber music, cello rock, folk rock, and even heavy metal.

So that's just a little bit about and just from what when I've been seeing from all the people that have been coming down for cello, he seems like a person who could fit into this type of, you know, he could be he could be the baseline, which is foundation.

Or he could be the melody.

Seems like he he played a lot of roles in different people's lives.

So I just wanted to add that to the whole situation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Grizzly.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh just uh fill and folks were uh wondering and hoping that the uh your events zoo situation would be finalized starting today.

Uh that didn't happen.

The devil's always in the details.

Uh we have to get state approval for one item.

Uh it looks right now that we'll be able to uh finish this up by the end of the year, and uh we will have the zoo saved after all of this.

No, no problem.

Um but I almost forgot to tell you, Mr.

Hayes said hello.

Coach Hays.

Tell Mr.

Elaine Hayes I said hello.

Thank you.

Okay, take care.

Uh just so everybody knows that it's on the docket, uh, it might take an extra meeting because we have to wait for the okay and then legally I say that right, Mr.

Bensley.

Yes.

Okay, good.

Then I'm done.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Councilwoman.

Uh I don't have much of a committee report other than the environmental caucus doing that recommendation letter that we um just voted on today.

I also just wanted to acknowledge that the holiday season is a heavy season for those who are missing family members.

So just be kind to one another and spend as much time with your loved ones as possible.

We put a lot of emphasis on the gift giving, but I feel like the importance is the time we get to spend with each other and also the meals we get to cherish.

Take pictures with your family members because sometimes we regret the pictures we didn't take.

I also just wanted to say that with Christmas coming up, we also need to look out for those who are most vulnerable.

I spent a lot of time at the Blasco Library, and I see a lot of our on-house community members are local library as such an asset for during the day when the shelters are closed for our unhoused community.

So I love that we don't make people feel unwell unwelcomed in our library, and we kind of let people do their thing, whether it's on their computers on their phones, um, reading books, just sitting there enjoying the view because there is a great view outside of our Blasco, if you look in the back.

So it's unfortunate that we couldn't get ahead of this, and I still do want our governor to provide funding for those body cams for the parole officers because there should be no reason why you have a gun in our community and there's no record for what's happening when you're interacting with community members.

So hopefully we can get that situated as well because until the body cameras are on them.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Nelson.

Um my committee assignments are finance committee and airport authority, uh finance committee.

We've had a lot of meetings regarding the budget.

It seems like all that's going smooth.

We have another one after this meeting.

Um as far as airport authority.

I I forgot the uh the budget, the uh schedule shift with the holidays, and I I missed a meeting this month.

Uh I think it's the first time it's happened with that committee uh in my time assigned to it, and I apologize to the public for not having any information.

Oh, that's so nice of you.

Um I'm assuming I go next.

Okay.

So I'm gonna just jump in really quick.

Uh it'll be brief.

Uh EMTA who is my my uh where I'm at the liaison is not meeting this month.

They had their meeting last month where they uh voted for the reorganization and their audit went through with no major findings.

Uh so there's nothing else to report on with that right now, other than they are still hiring.

So if anybody is interested, please visit their website.

Um to just appear or to see what careers they have open.

As far as the zoom, Mr.

Council Brzezinski had had spoken on where we are right now, and so we are going to be having a special meeting so that we can get this passed.

Um, but we have to wait until another meeting occurs on the 22nd.

Uh so that's kind of where we are.

And in closing, um I just I can't say this enough.

I want to reiterate that every statement that is made when a community member comes in here, it it stays with with all of us, and I know myself personally.

I replay and I I go over and over and over what can I do to to alleviate or to fix or to remove some of these barriers.

I don't take any of this lightly.

I want to thank everybody who comes here and genuinely apologize that you continue have to to show so much vulnerability and relive your trauma in front of all of us, and then for it to then be broadcast to everybody.

That is that is not an equitable way for change to occur.

And I am deeply sorry that that is where we are as a system, and I am again deeply committed to making sure that we can change this and that things are different for not just our community members that are here, but those hopefully who choose Erie in the future um and that they can look to Erie to be to be a model city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh first of all, I need to remind council that we have a budget session following the meeting.

Uh and to the public, uh, you've seen that uh councilman Troop and Councilman Councilwoman Florez uh has exit because they have jobs to take care of.

Uh I didn't want you to think they were just leaving.

And that is so important.

I want to thank you for that, Councilman Nelson.

Teresa.

No report.

Administration.

Good morning.

I'll try to be quick here.

So just to give a very quick update.

We have one more that we're submitting in December for Bulletproof Vests.

And hopefully that will be it for this year.

We are working on the transition.

We have we're trying to get everything in good order.

We do have a study session next Tuesday at 5 30 here on the comprehensive housing strategy.

ML will be here to provide a short presentation and get your input on housing needs assessment for the City of Erie.

And they're doing they'll be in town and we'll be doing outreach with a number of stakeholder groups.

And then the number two, the ordinance for first reading for the 115,500, that's the award of the stamp funding for the city's five-year financial management plan.

So we'll be able to get the contract with PFM on the um December 17th agenda so that uh that process can kick off in the new year.

And then just to reiterate, downtown delights is this Friday.

Um we'll kick off at about five o'clock, but the lighting will start just after six.

So we hope everybody will come down and enjoy that together as a community.

That's it.

Thank you.

Attorney Betts.

I have nothing.

You have one more meeting, Mr.

Betts.

I'll have something for the last meeting.

I love you for that.

Speaking of which, um, thank you for your dedication, Mr.

Betza.

Um like today's meeting, we relied on your expertise as we do throughout the time that we've been working with you, and you really truly are appreciated by us.

Thank you.

If there's nothing else, this meeting is adjourned.

City Council adjourns at 1124 a.m.

Member Witherspoon, Brzezinski, Nelson, Schaff, Titus, Flores left the meeting at 1 20, and Troop left the meeting at 1118 a.m.

1120.