All right, good morning.

I'm calling to order the legislative committee meeting of the Jackson City Council.

Today's date is December 19th, and the time is approximately 9.04 a.m.

Colleagues, this is just basically a discussion to not only hear more from the administration in terms of what the mayor's legislative acts will be, but also to express the council's legislative uh request uh what our priorities should be.

Uh we do know that this is a dual governing body.

And so um from what I heard during my conversation with Mr.

Newberger initially, the mayor has some things that are kind of in line with what we also uh have been asking about for the past year or so, but we want to make sure that we're all getting everything on the record to make sure that by the time we vote this out of committee and send it up to the state capitol that we're all on the same page.

Okay.

So I will start with Ward 1, Mr.

Foot.

Um, because I know that you and Mr.

Hartley both interact a lot more than the rest of us with uh though the delegation at the state capitol, and so um I'm giving you the floor to kind of talk about things that you find priority and what you would like to see.

Okay, thank you, Ms.

President.

The um I do think it's a really fortunate time that we need to make sure and take advantage of uh with the new administration and uh uh uh the ISIS thawed between at least it looks that way to me, between city government and state government, and we certainly have a lot to ask, and and um the um blight obviously is one of them.

Uh one of the other things I think that's constructive is that the speaker of the house a year ago set up this um select committee on revitalizing a capital city.

So you know, they've already uh made uh made an effort to embrace the idea of revitalizing Jackson and okay, is the brownie some coffee or something?

Great brownie.

So Brandon, you ain't trying to get him with okay.

Who made this bounty?

Sabrina it is Sabrina You know, she always gives us good treats, but we want to make sure you ain't choking over there.

Right.

So one of the things that as I've um gone in gotten deep in the weeds on the blight issue uh with abandoned properties and some of them at the state house and then commercial properties or the secretary state and then commercial properties blight.

Um the there might be some help that they can do just on the state ordinance level or state statute level regarding the issue um of squatters, and and what I've come to realize over the past year is the um the squatters really make our job a lot more difficult and also more expensive.

And the the what I would use as an example would be the Virginia College building, which is not an old building.

But what happened was squatters got into the building.

I'm just calling them squatters, they're got the people they got into the building uh while it was booked, it was closed, boarded up, they got snuck in, and then they do all this damage because they feel free to just tear out copper and wreck the HV, uh HVAC system and and set up, you know, set up fires during the winter that you know get smoke and other things and have the potential to burn the building down, uh, and old mattresses, and it just becomes a wreck on the inside, even though you can't see it from the outside.

So, even in this case, the Virginia College building, at one point the owner was in Louisiana, and I think they sold it to another real estate investment plate uh outfit that was down in Fort Lauderdale or Miami or someplace, and they assumed they had a property and they were trying to find somebody to move into it or whatever.

And so you had you had both lenders that were lending the money that had had bought had debt on it, and then you had the owners.

Well, it finally sort of came to a head.

Some people here around the around the city were trying to do some cleanup work, and they reached out to them and and you know, got a contract to clean up the outside of the Virginia College.

Well, to make a long story short, it got to the court system, and and the lenders and the borrowers, or you see the owners and the lenders sent an event uh an inspection team in to inspect the the whole building, and they came to the conclusion that it was not worth their trouble to even salvage it.

They just basically threw in that they went to the the um receiver uh at the chancery court with within the can't chancery court system and just said we're walking away from it.

So now the city has and the state, I think the first step will be go to the state, but somebody's gonna pay to get the building either demolished or fixed up.

And so instead of the the owners trying to come up with money or us being able to, you know, get them to give us money or the lenders putting up money, since they've walked away, we end up saying who's gonna pay the 250 or 500,000 to either take the building down or try to fix it.

It's it's a real dilemma.

But so my my getting back to the squatter issue.

We normally are sort of, I think the normal practice is we've run them off, we board up the building, but they go off and then they squat in some other building or some house somewhere.

There's a you know, a terrible situation off Old Canton Road where a house they went inside it and wrecked it, basically tore it up.

And the owner was living in Belgium or something like this.

So we we can't just say that that they're homeless people or treat them as, and there's different titles for this, but we can't just treat them as homeless people and let them go and hopefully they'll find you know some better spot to live because they're gonna go destroy other somebody else's house or somebody's other commercial building.

There have to be account, they have to be held accountable in some way.

We have to have laws that hold them accountable for trespassing and do and destroying property.

I mean, if they went into the Best Buy and stole walked out with the TV or something like that, you would arrest them.

But we can't just say, oh, you've got 24 hours to leave.

I think that's what the current law is.

Well, that's that's not understanding the problem.

That law is not if it says you got 24 hours to leave, that's not the way you treat somebody who's wrecking your your home or your building.

So we have to come up with the the the and whether it's we need a different title than squatters or whatever it is, but um this is a really serious issue that is destroying the city from the end, you know, with with um in a way that that we're not I just don't think the laws uh are protecting the buildings and properties and in the city of Jackson in the way they should.

We can't just treat them as if they were just sitting there trying to stay warm in the cold because they're going in there and actually wrecking the value of these properties.

So I, you know, I don't know what the solution is.

Maybe the state can help us with the state law as it applies to people who who whether squatters is the right term.

You know, I you know, I it it's the term.

Yeah.

And then we need to make sure that there's accountability there so that we can keep them from just going on to the next board and saying it.

Well, we're trying to come up with $500,000 to make up for to pay for the damage they did.

I that's a big issue to me.

And I've not wish I wish I was more articulate and trying to be describe it, but I think it's a really serious issue.

We got to figure out a solution to.

Okay.

Anyone else want to chime in?

I mean, this is this is just a discussion.

How you want to do there's nothing formal here.

Uh the lobbyists are taking notes.

So just jump in.

Well, I feel like um that we I agree with councilman um foot in reference to the squatter, because if you know, they take over a lot of property down there in South Jackson.

Also, I have I think that we need to come up with more asking for more money for law enforcement to try to help with this carpet theft that um that we all have in problem with.

It need to be more laws put in place in reference to this.

And also, excuse me, um I say Blake properties is well this um councilman foot as well.

Thanks.

Um we've had a chance to meet um with Mr.

Newberger, and I appreciate all of his insights.

Uh, one thing that I stress to Mr.

Newberger is the importance of this is something that that I hear from our state legislatures all the time is they're asking for one cohesive Jackson package, and they feel like they're getting requests from a thousand different people, and the speaker is saying, what what does Jackson want?

What is the what is the request for Jackson?

Because I'm hearing this and this and this, and so I appreciate your efforts to sort of align people.

I mean, I think a lot of it has been said, I mean, we definitely need more resources.

And I think the argument, I think people understand it, but just to lay it out there is uh we're the capital city.

Um, and it's important for uh the entire area.

If if Jackson were to decline, that has a significant impact on the entire state.

And so I think the state uh should be investing in Jackson, and that can come in the form of blight elimination, it can come in, it's certainly come in the form of infrastructure, certainly come in the form of um uh criminal justice efforts.

I also think there's certain uh projects like Thalamara that we're gonna need some some significant investments from the state to be able to support and help with.

Um the council has a um a meeting in January next month about uh um how we can support our grocery stores.

And so I'm wondering if there could be you know a relief, you know, maybe the first year, if you open a new grocery store, maybe there's a a tax break on state taxes for um the first year or so to incentivize new grocery stores.

And so uh I think there's a lot that we can look at on the resources side.

I think also there's some um legislative efforts that I think we can see uh about um, for example, Mississippi today has done some excellent reporting on some tax loopholes that allow um properties to be blighted.

Um, and I people hold on to them for tax purposes, but don't actually have the title or uh and I would like to see some of those loopholes closed.

Um and then I'd encourage you if you if you could please get with uh Tyree Jones and also Bo Lucket.

Uh I think there's still confusion around who can enforce noise ordinances, by what mechanism they can enforce noise ordinances.

Um because this my understanding is the state law says capital is not allowed to enforce city ordinances, but there's an exception specifically for noise.

They are allowed to enforce noise ordinances, but I don't think they have any mechanism by which to do it because they can't issue a city citation.

And so uh I think there's just some confusion around the role that capital can play in some of those efforts, and so those I think are some of the things that I wouldn't uh hope are on y'all's mind.

Uh again, some of a lot of it's just bringing in additional resources to our city, which I think is clearly in our interest, but also genuinely in the interest of the entire state of Mississippi.

And then I think some legislative fixes that that won't cost them a dime.

I think there's some resources that we want, undoubtedly, and then there's also some legislative that will help our city uh but won't cost the the state anything.

For example, clean the noise ordinance, things like that that that are that are more uh statue than resource allocation, although not to undermine the resource allocation part is important as well.

I have a question.

What ordinances do we have that capital cannot enforce?

That is they can't enforce any city ordinance.

So okay.

All right, let me let me rephrase this.

They can write tickets.

Well, like for example, we passed a ski mask ordinance, just as one example.

Capitol police has zero ability to enforce that because it's a city ordinance purely.

Okay, but they can enforce state if if you murder somebody.

So I'm getting I'm getting to this point.

I'm getting to this point.

I had all my coffee off getting to this point.

So they can write speeding tickets, right?

Yeah, that's the state.

They can make arrest, right?

If it's a state law, they can't arrest someone for a city ordinance.

They can arrest for drugs, right?

Yeah, that's the state.

Okay.

They can they can arrest for homicide, right?

Yes.

They can arrest for aggravated assault, correct?

They can arrest for sexual assault.

Yeah, manslaughter.

Yes.

A lot of the things that already plague our community, right?

Yes, correct.

All right.

Noise, I understand it, but some of the things, because I feel like both entities, ours and theirs, are using it as a reason to prevent us from allocating our own resources in a better way.

For instance, Prince St.

Ford is also in the CCID.

Correct.

Is it necessary to keep that manpower there if most of the violations are already on the state books?

Yeah, so one issue, and this is getting better.

We can probably talk about this in the in the over committee.

But I but I think it's relevant here.

I mean, and I'll say this is getting better and better and better.

But at one point there was a there was an issue because say there was something happening that was in violation of a city ordinance within the CCID.

You would call JPD, and uh initially JPD would say, well, we're not going because that's Capitol's territory, and then you would call capital, and capital would say, Well, we're not doing anything about it because it's it's not a state or it's not a state statute, it's a it's a city ordinance.

And so what was effectively happening is nobody was doing anything about city ordinances that were violated within the the CCID district.

Again, that's getting better.

I I still think that there are some issues.

I think we need to iron out a little bit, but it's it's getting better.

But that was a that was a big problem.

And we've to my knowledge, please.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

This state of Mississippi has never ever had one police jurisdiction in another police jurisdiction like this.

This is the only one in the entire history of the state of Mississippi.

So naturally there is some bumps to work out, but um there was there was a time where there was a big issue where city ordinances were not being enforced within the the capital, the CCID district.

I guess when we talk about city ordinances, I know we got a lot of stuff on the books, right?

But when it comes to those big issues that actually plague or impact our communities, homicides, drugs, speedings, accidents.

They they can already do all those things.

Correct.

I feel like we can do a better job allocating our own resources to those other areas of need, South Jackson, Northwest Jackson, Northeast Jackson, you know, versus just keep them in that same um in that same in that same area and just let Capitol Police come fully do what they need to do, unless you have a young neighbor who has a ski mask, then of course call JPD, but nobody's getting arrested for scheme.

Yeah, I'm not worried about the ski mask.

But like this is one example.

Like we we passed the um no guns, grills, or glass at the same path at any downtown parade.

Capitol police cannot enforce that.

That is a city ordinance.

And so I would I would hope that JPD would also have a presence, even if Capitol takes the lead on um security for that particular event, given that it is in the CCID.

I would hate for us to say, let's be smart with resource allocation and not put JPD there at all, because Capitol does not have the ability to enforce city ordinances.

So, like a parade to me, that's a special event, right?

Yeah.

So I could see allocating resources, but I'm just talking about any given day.

Yeah.

I I I have precinct four right there in the CCID, it's behind the old grocery store behind old Kmart.

And I just feel like we can reallocate those resources be better, sir.

Um it used to be a Kmart back in the day.

That's the CCID map.

I have the map upstairs.

I can go they go all the way up until the North Side Drive, and now they expanded all the way back to Westbrook.

So they stop right there at North Side Drive, but Old Canton to Westbrook, they have expanded all the way to the July.

Well, to me, that's that's oh they're there's their precinct's still there, but the headquarters moved over to behind behind the where that that shopping strip mall.

Yeah, it was old Kmart.

Uh yeah, Mr.

Taylors and is old enough to remember.

Okay.

Yeah.

But I think I mean to your point, if we can get some of these uh if we can get sort of clear from a legislative perspective and say Capitol Police has a mechanism, and they might already, so if you'll do me a favor and check with them, please, because they they might be good, they might not need anything.

But um, if we can if we could arrange it so that, for example, Capitol can enforce noise ordinance, which is already my understanding is the state has already said that that could happen.

I just don't know if there's a mechanism by which it can happen.

Uh, if we can do that, then I I feel even stronger with your point, President Grisel, that we can be strategic about um, you know, not doubling up efforts.

Thank you.

I'll tell you another good point that I would encourage our um Mr.

Newberger to look at as a starting point is the um this brochure that has been put out by Jackson Rising as sort of their culmination of the 90 days they took to have all these workshops and stuff.

Lots of information in there.

I did a lot of good work uh digging stuff up and looking at data and and trying to cross, you know, uh pollinate you know, ideas with different you know, civic leaders.

The um I think there's a lot of good stuff in there that could end up, I don't have my brochure with me, unfortunately, but they could end up being um involved with the state in trying to come up with some solutions, monies for this or monies for that, or whatever, because um, well anyway, if if you haven't got one of these, not yet.

And I don't know how long this folks are gonna be in town, maybe they're leaving now.

I don't know.

Yeah, right.

But but they've got a lot of good things here, um rising goals and objectives and stuff that really we can embrace and extend on for their work and take advantage of their work they've got.

And there's probably more details behind this that that they can support with data.

So this would be a useful tool for us to go to the legislative, you know, our Jackson legislators and say, here's the supporting material for things we want to do as it regards you know, blight or economic development or a lot of different things.

But I I would encourage you to this if you don't if you can't find one, get one.

Yeah, I get me, I'll get you one.

Thank you.

So if if we could get a recap um come to the CD and let us know basically what the mayor is asking for, um, so that we as a body can hear and provide some input.

Because at some point, like I could say it has to be voted out of out of this committee and then sent up.

So um take the hot seat, please.

Yes, sir.

So you would you like a recap of everything y'all just said to condemn what the mayor's asking, uh because he's already communicated his priorities to you, correct?

He's communicated a few of them.

I I think he is also looking to get an understanding of what you all want um to to administer that as well.

Um he has talked to me uh a good bit about Jackson Rising, and then like I oh I'm sorry.

There's not a record.

We go ahead.

I you want me to back up uh I'm I'm keen to these principles of that's fine.

I'm I'm happy stationary for the record, please.

But Ken Newberger, CEO and uh managing partner of Bastillion Strategies.

Happy to have happy to do that.

Um yes, so uh the mayor he really really has focused in our conversations about um water, creating a water authority that would primarily be controlled by um the city of Jackson to protect its interests.

That has been the number one thing that we've talked about.

Um last year uh one of the members of the delegation uh helped push through a bill that would create allow um cities and and the state to create an authority to govern um water assets across the state and what water and wastewater.

Um so that's gonna be a big part of it.

We're not entirely sure what that looks like.

We're still working um with everybody in the delegation and as and you guys, and um the the Jackson rising uh foot uh blueprint has come up several times.

Now, would this water authority be a board that the legislative that that the body the governing body of the city appoints and confirms, or is this gonna be basically a state controlled water board?

No, it would be it would be controlled majority by the city.

That's the the sticking point that it needs to be controlled by the city.

Okay.

Um now it can get input from other sources, but it needs to be the city's uh the city's control.

This is something you could make in the state legislature to have to have to pass under the state legislature.

I I think the reason why that the mayor cares the most about is because there will have to be some kind of economic input from the state to help bridge the shortfalls of the current water situation, and I think that's why it it needs to go through the state.

I uh once that legislation is written, you know, we'll know a lot more about how we need to change it, and and I'd like to work with you guys on how to do that.

Do you have any idea what the probability of getting something passed through the state legislature turning over the water system to us is I think it's significantly higher than it's ever been before.

Um it's been communicated to me, especially in the past 48 hours by uh legislators from all across the state, not just in the central region, but north and south, that they want to help the city of Jackson take control of itself and also grow with a better plan moving forward.

Um I've been told by mostly Senate leadership that that is not that has not been the case in the past.

A lot of times northern and southern uh legislators don't really care about the city of Jackson, but in the past seven months that has changed dramatically now the mayor has taken over.

Okay.

Um and then the other thing that that the mayor really cares about is uh securing matching funds for uh an amount of uh 46 million dollars that have been appropriated by the federal highway administration, and we need to come up with matching funds as a city to draw down on that 46 million.

I think he said that we need 29 million of matching funds, and we're gonna be looking to get that uh out of the legislature.

This money would go to there are I think four or five key um highways that run through the city that that they would go to those.

Um I I'll have to ask him for what those specifics are.

So I I guess my question would be um I know that the state spent a lot of money on Lakeland Drive and then highway 80, I guess it was.

They had two big projects that went on for a long time.

Last year, I think I'm not sure.

I guess they finished sometime um a few months ago or whatever.

It was big they had some issues with Lakeland Drive, but they put a lot of money into it because that's a state highway.

That's right.

But I don't think we've had to do any matching funds.

So if you get this is from the federal correct.

Okay, so my question would be I know they pay for the interstates.

Uh what the stipulations of it are.

It'd be interesting to know you know what roads would qualify for that those matching funds.

I know a million dollars is a big number to come up.

I I do know that uh Woodrow Wilson is one of the ones that qualifies, and I know McDowell Road is one of the ones that qualifies.

I don't know which others.

Okay, those two roads I do know have been mentioned.

It'd be good to know if they're if we're gonna ask asking us to come up with 29 million dollars in matching funds.

We need to know what roads qualifies, right?

I'll get that to you.

Um, and then the uh the other two things that he has mentioned specifically to me are um about blight.

Um he he has been working with the Secretary of State's office about how to best get that cleaned up in the way the title is handled.

There are some needs that need to be uh that that need to be cleaned up in law.

Um Councilman Parkinson, you were talking about things that wouldn't require any money, but we're would require policy changes at the state level.

That's one of them where we need some clear law of of who owns what, who acts first, how that that goes uh goes about.

Um the mayor said he's he's looked at some model legislation and a few other states, and he's gonna get that to me so that way we can craft something.

Um and then we talked briefly about the um the real-time crime center about its needs, command center command center.

I'm sorry.

I I believe they're trying to figure out what needs to be done that is manpower versus technology and AI, and then we'll have a good package of what how to ask for that in the future.

The thing about the RTC, that's something that the city built from the ground up.

We've requested several years appropriations to assist with that because we knew Capitol Police was coming, and you know, even though we do well, the city provides uh regional support, um, it could be bigger and better.

And the RTCC has been um one of those.

Have you seen it?

Have you have you visited it?

I have not visited it.

You should really visit it.

Um it's been one of those hidden treasures actually for the whole state.

And other law enforcement agencies come down and they tour it, they get more ideas.

Um, and it's a great work in a center, and people don't really understand that virtual policing, you don't have to have people sitting there all day every day.

You know, if you go down to New Orleans and look at their their real-time uh command center, it is great.

You know, they feature it on TV.

And um I think it would be really a good idea to get in there, just really see what it's all about.

Um we're gonna talk about what we have at the next committee meeting.

I think it's at 11.

But for years the city has denied our request to support that.

And that was one of those things that when I talked about public safety, that's gonna always be a priority of the council because we we have a duty to help protect our communities.

And um, even the cameras that we're gonna talk about today, like we have several communities who have actually purchased their own cameras.

Bellhaven has purchased cameras, Fundrine has purchased cameras.

I have a few communities out in my ward, they've also purchased cameras.

Um, and so and I know that Capitol Police they benefit from it too.

And so if the state could help to support what we've already started, I think that'll be great.

Um what else did he say?

And then my the final point is uh on the it's blended into economic development, but it's it's supporting the um kind of the arts district of Thalamara and the the um capital convention center um and uh the Museum of Art and Planetarium getting some kind of funding for the uh parking lot and renovations to those areas as well.

I know what else I was gonna ask.

Um we requested for several years land banking legislation, yes, yes.

Um this was made a priority for the Mississippi Municipal League also.

Yes.

Um I know Hattersburg has been in favor of it.

Uh Gulfport Beluxa, they've been in favor of it.

Um it works really well in Tennessee, and it it helps the state to get the properties, the state and the city to get those properties back in the hands of private owners.

And so uh we know that a lot of our properties are actually currently in the Secretary of State's possession, right?

If we have land bank legislation and actually have a working land bank, we can get these properties uh turned back over and help to fight the blight in the city.

So I think that should definitely be a standard.

MmL has been working on this significantly.

Yeah, I'm on the executive board now for MML, and so uh we'll convene in January, but I think that definitely needs to be part of our asks again.

Um we've been in conversation with federal obvious one of the state space mentioned about getting the land bank later switch.

So it's federal lobby is dismissed by they provide us something that has yes.

Okay.

Yes, they have okay.

Yeah, uh say it's it's uh it's a new but not new thing, but it's new here in Mississippi, and a lot of the cities uh have come together and expressed an interest in that.

And so uh I think that land bank will be a really big win.

Mr.

President, yes, sir.

May I add one thought on the land banking?

Is this council is well aware?

We attach liens um when we demolish structures.

Uh the number of properties that are being sold at tax sales has exploded since COVID.

Further, the number of properties that are not redeemed in Hines County has exploded, which has increased as you point out, Mr.

President, the number of properties at the Secretary of State.

When those properties go to Secretary of State, we don't get any money back.

Our liens are extinguished.

It seems the land bank would help us offset the fact that we lose money cleaning properties that then we have no control over.

So that may be uh I'm sure the state doesn't want to give us any finances directly, perhaps towards blight, but this may be an alternative way.

So I just want to emphasize that from a an administrative and spending standpoint.

I think the land bank makes a lot of sense.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Now on the subject of cameras, um the what I've heard, and and this is all secondhand, is that the um license plate reader cameras that have really advanced a lot in recent years in their ability to read the license plates as they're going down road at 50 miles an hour or something like that, and then they're connected to computer systems that track where they're going and where it'll show up next or whatever.

Uh I think those we ought to really embrace those type of cameras.

Um, I think they're really really um my understanding is they're very helpful in the police being able to figure out where somebody's stolen car ended up in Madison or Buck 2, and they'll it'll read it read it from some other community, and it goes into some central network of the computer, and suddenly they know that the can't the star that was car that was stolen in um Jackson ends up in Sarasota, Florida.

That's a really powerful, powerful technology, and I would say let's use that wherever we can, wherever it's you know, possible to um deploy those cameras and take advantage of that technology.

You know, Mr.

Foote, to your point, you know, we we do have those.

But we need we need more.

We do need more.

My point is get as many as possible.

Oh, yeah, for sure.

Um if we can get a million dollars, I think we'll have them everywhere.

Um I've even had a neighbor who benefited from that.

Uh her little truck was stolen, and you know, they were able to track it down, you know, know exactly where it went.

Um sometimes, you know, if you if you can't get like, say for instance, if someone can't get the license plate, they can put in there the color and the make of the vehicle, and it'll it'll find it, you know, in the metro.

So that's the benefit of virtual policing.

And I think that um we definitely be more intentional about increasing our efforts there, uh, even though I think what we have is a jewel, but if we can just get more support for that, that'll be great.

Anything else, colleagues?

Welcome, Mr.

Mayor.

Welcome back.

Anything else?

I I'll I'll be sometime about the 30th of this month.

I'll I'll have a package of everything you all have shared with me.

If you have anything else, you have my email.

If you don't have my cell phone, I'll give it to you.

Reach out, send it to me.

Um the mayor and I have spoken a good bit.

We're gonna continue to talk about it.

We will be convening the Jackson delegation to talk about their uh their opinions and what they want done over the past several years.

Um they've made many requests.

I don't know if it's because they've been talking with you or it's just their constituents, but they've been making many requests that I've compiled into a spreadsheet uh of what they need, and we're gonna put that together in one package and and bring that to you guys.

Well, I would tell you what I what I I know each one of us have a relationship with the people who represent our particular areas.

Up until this year, I will send a certified letter to mine just to make sure there's a record, you know, outside of what was presented from the committee.

Um we have not seen a lot of traction for one reason or another.

I'm not sure what was going on in the House or the Senate, but um uh it has been helpful to put things on their brain uh to try to get things you know in and out of these committees.

But um, colleagues, if you have not done that, you know, I encourage you to do it so that you because at that at that point they can't stay with nobody said anything to me.

So it gets it on the record.

Um, but you know, we after you have that conversation with the delegation, I would be really interested to see what they had to say.

Yeah.

Are we gonna have a meeting with the deleg delegates who've done that in the past where I think that'll be great.

I don't know who said that up.

Okay, yes, we don't.

Uh let me let me just say this.

Um, and um, you know, having been on the other side uh as a member of the legislature, often when this the city would bring us packages, it would be a list of 20 things or 25 things, what whatever.

And uh I think that that uh a more laser focus on um three or four big packages, big impact projects uh opportunities will be more effective.

Now uh we can have that 25 item list and have members of the delegation say, okay, I'm gonna work on this, but I think that we will be better served if we have uh a limited number of priority items uh that we can focus on that our government relations persons uh can focus on uh and uh not come with so much a scattered approach because a lot of times when it's that scattered, you wind up coming away with zilch.

Uh and and so I I I want us to be a lot more effective.

I've been encouraged to look at uh a certain priority items.

When I got in last night, I met with the Senate pro Tim.

Uh he encouraged that same thing.

Uh uh others who are trying to assist us are encouraged, you know, to be be more laser focused uh as opposed to uh Scattergone.

But but but that does not preclude a member of the House or member of the Senate, uh saying, oh well uh I like this item here.

I'm gonna personally work on this item.

And I think that that's that's fine, but but as a body uh of city council as well as the mayor's office, we we need a laser focus.

I agree, and I think that based on what we're hearing today, there is a focus on public safety, there's a focus on blight elimination, right, colleagues?

And then of course, there's the the little nagging piece in terms of what capital police can do, but that's that's not a funding type thing.

That's more of a getting clarity type thing, right?

And of course the the arts district.

Yeah, I would agree with you, Mr.

Mayor.

And I and I would say we talked about this a little bit.

It's it's not only making sure that each of the eight of us aren't giving our own wish list of 30 items, but we're gonna have to try to get a lot of the there's so many well-intentioned, amazing, fantastic groups uh in Jackson that each have their own uh efforts as well.

And I've heard from our representatives as well that that the speaker feels like what is Jackson ass.

What what is Jackson's ass?

I mean, I'm hearing from all these different groups, and and I can understand and appreciate why those groups have stepped up uh because they felt like they they've had to, and there's been gaps and this, that the other.

Um, but at some point we need to make sure that we're aligning and saying, and I don't know if if it's their effort to try to coordinate that a little bit, or um maybe all of our roles or or what have you, but I I think that's a really important point, and and we'll be more likely to be when we make it easy for the legislature, and we say this is collectively what Jackson wants.

Yeah, we don't we don't want to submit a catalog of things.

We we want to you know maintain that focus.

Um but you know, go ahead, Mr.

Put.

Well, I'm just gonna say that that um one of the biggest most you know difficult issues for the city development that the city's had since I've been on the council 11 years the problem with water collections.

That's been a problem for 20 years, and it's obviously it's been a problem for Jackson Water now.

And I I wonder if there is something that might be done ordinance-wise or statute-wise to um you know make it easier to compel people to pay their water bills.

No, obviously, there's a lot of red tape that gets in the way, but but we we have got to figure out a way that people are account are counted accountable to paying their water bills.

Um it wasn't there's never been much appetite since I've been on the council for at the city level to to collect them and pay force people to pay their water bills, and we've paid the pro consequences and and obviously Jackson Water hasn't succeeded at that at that either.

I just I don't know if there's a something the state could do in ordinance of um and same thing with stealing copper.

I mean, you in stealing water, stealing copper is you know, you can put them in the same category somewhere where where um that's a big no no, and you're gonna get in trouble if you do it.

I don't know.

All right.

Well, colleagues, we got 14 minutes until the next meeting.

Uh I would like to give y'all a little break.

I need one.

Is there anything else to come before this committee at this time?

Hearing none, we are adjourned.

10 a.m.