For like three seconds, it's a five.

Good evening, everybody.

If we could find our seats, we are now calling this meeting to order.

Welcome everyone.

It is five o'clock.

And we are started.

All right.

Thank you, everybody for settling down.

It's Tuesday, April 14th.

Welcome to the city of Jacksonville City Council meeting.

Glad you're all here today.

We've got a packed house, it looks like a lot of great things going on.

So we're very happy to see you all.

Mr.

Floor Leader, take it from here.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Our first order of business is the invocation and pledge of allegiance.

Please recognize our council chaplain, Councilmember Kennemar.

All right, Chaplain Amoro.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Mr.

Floor Leader.

Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Chaplain Donner Zimmerman, a proud native Floridian, born in Miami, who moved to Jacksonville when she was 14, which she considers her home.

She went to Bishop Kenny High and received her bachelor's and master's degrees from UNF.

She worked for the State of Florida Health and Human Services Department, then later at Lutheran Social Services.

There in 1992, she started AIDS care and education, the first professionally provided service in the community for those with HIV AIDS.

It is still in operation.

After retiring, she did chaplain C internship at Baptist Hospital during the height of the COVID pandemic, where she was honored to stand in place of family to hold the hands of the patients as they left this earth.

Now she attends and spends her time as a member of Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Church on the worship team and the pastoral care program.

Please receive chaplain Donald Zimmerman for tonight's invocation.

Thank you, Ken.

Let us take a moment of quiet reflection to center ourselves.

God of many names and mystery beyond all our naming.

You, the members of our city council, come together from various traditions and with different beliefs to ground yourselves in the shared purpose of creating a city that can flourish and a community where everyone can thrive.

May you be guided by wisdom, justice, and compassion.

In my Unitarian Universalist faith, we have core values that inform and define our approach to each other and to the world.

We believe that every person has inherent worth and dignity and deserves the right to be heard and the opportunity to succeed.

I urge you to approach your decisions and use your resources to build strong and inclusive communities, working to dismantle barriers created by systems of power and privilege.

As you begin the business of this meeting, I ask that you listen to one another with open hearts, truly hearing the diverse experiences and needs of all residents, especially those whose voices are marginalized and seldom heard.

Build consensus through respect and understanding.

May you have the courage to make decisions with integrity, always keeping the best interest of your constituents at the heart of your work.

Let your work today help build a more just, equitable, and peaceful world for all.

May it be so man.

All right, roll call.

Next up is the approval of the minutes for the regular council meeting of March 24th.

I move the approval.

I've got a motion second on the approval of the minutes.

All in favor of approving the minutes, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed to say nay.

The minutes are approved.

Mr.

President, we have nine communications from the mayor's office and others.

Would you like them read or filed with legislative services?

Uh Dr.

Johnson is going to read them all today, or we're going to file them.

File them.

We will file them.

Mr.

President, we have two presentations tonight.

The first is by Councilmember Boylan commending Dr.

Arthur Buster Browning Jr.

for his decades of dedication to the practice of medicine and community service.

While Mr.

Boylan approaches the uh podium, Mr.

Teal, please read the resolution.

Resolution 2026 162.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Arthur Buster Browning Jr.

was a scholar, athlete, and active in his church.

Buster Brownie attended Mercer University and Wake Forest University, where he played football and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Delta Premed Honor Society, and then he graduated from the Medical College of Georgia.

Dr.

Browning made his home in Jacksonville in 1974, completing his residency in family practice at Baptist Medical Center, where he served until his retirement in 2023.

Dr.

Browning's love for golf began in his childhood and continues to this day.

He has actively supported the players' championship for years, becoming known as Dr.

TPC, where he volunteered with the first aid team when the tournament was at the Greater Jacksonville Open, was named the official doctor for the PGA tour in 1983, and was selected as chairman of the senior tournament in 1989.

Dr.

Browning has played an integral role with First T of North Florida, which integrates golf lessons with life skills to help youth build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience.

On First T's 25th anniversary, the chapter honored Dr.

Browning for his continuing active commitment with its community game changer award.

Dr.

Browning has consistently dedicated his time to supporting student athletic programs at the University of North Florida, serving three times as president of the Osprey Club Executive Board, establishing a scholarship fund for student athletes.

He received the 2020 sea Division One Athletic Director's Volunteer of the Year Award.

He was elected to the UNF Athletics Hall of Fame and honored with the naming of the Arthur Buster Browning Athletic and Training Center.

Dr.

Browning's life of public service also includes 30 years as the medical director for Cypress Village Senior Living Facility, membership and leadership for the Rotary Club of Deerwood, and fundraising and organizing for the American Heart Association North Florida chapter.

The ability to heal and comfort the sick is a gift.

And Dr.

Browning has devoted his life to the highest ideals of the medical profession.

Dr.

Browning has treated thousands of patients over the years, and he exemplifies an unsung leader, unselfishly striving to contribute to the lives of everyone he meets, practicing empathy and sharing his joy in a manner that encourages others to want to follow his lead.

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Jacksonville.

The City Council hereby commends Dr.

Arthur Buster Browning Jr.

for his decades of public service.

The council extends appreciation to Dr.

Browning for his altruism and for all he has done to take care of his patients and to make our city better as a physician and a community leader.

Mr.

President, fellow uh colleagues, uh honored along with uh Vice President Holland to recognize uh that as you listen to that resolution, it says it all.

This man truly has been a community servant.

And uh to expound upon that, I'm going to cede to our dear friend and former council member Lad Daniels.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Michael and Nick.

Thank you guys for this.

Mr.

President and Council members.

I've got about a 40-minute speech here that I'm gonna bring down to about three minutes.

If you want to read it in the in the records, but thank you for the resolution that you all just passed on behalf of uh Dr.

Arthur W.

Browning, Jr., MD.

We know him as Buster, and that's how we will refer to him for the rest of the evening.

Mr.

President, first of all, I'd like to thank you for being a community volunteer.

For several years, you volunteered to be the Patriots Outpost at the TPC.

Patriots Outpost is that venue that we celebrate and honor our military servicemen.

And thank you for that.

And for the rest of you, Councilman, each one of you serves this community in a number of ways far beyond your political commitment.

We appreciate all you've done.

We appreciate all you continue to do both at the time of your service on this council, before, and what you'll do after you leave this office.

It's nice to have this honor presented tonight and to recognize what you all have done because you have a double appreciation for Buster and what he's done in this community.

You've walked the walk, and we thank you for that.

A doctor's doctor.

It means that they've been recognized by their peers as having exceptional talent.

A patient's doctor, someone who looks for the entire patient, not just his medical needs, but his total needs, and looks after the welfare of that patient and the patient's family.

Tonight we're going to talk to you about a community physician.

A community physician is one who lives unselfishly to make his community safer and more healthy, and not more healthy in the sense of medical terms, but other terms.

He treats the community and its human needs.

He presides over healing divides, and he unites us in a common cause.

And all of this is wrapped in this sense of joy and love of life.

And that's what Buster Browning is.

Buster, your resolution talks about a number of things that you've done in the community, and I won't go over all of them because the resolution is pretty inclusive, but it's interesting to me.

At first of North Florida, it existed for over 25 years.

You're the first chairman, and you're a multi-year chairman.

And that organization exists to instill values in young inner city youth.

And along the way teaches them a little bit of golf.

UNF athletics.

You continue to be a sustainer through your scholarships to student athletes.

And I think it's amazing to me that as a volunteer, you get to have a building named after you without having to pay for it.

And it's nice to have you in the Hall of Fame, Buster.

Players Championship.

Some of us have known Buster since he first started volunteering in 1976.

It also says a lot for Buster's age.

You've been tournament doctor.

You took care of patients, your patients, the fans and players.

You elevated that to take care of both national and international players over a number of years.

You were chairman of the tournament.

And it's nice to note that the players' championship is given 125 million dollars in charity dollars since it's been here in this community.

It's nice to see the number of red coats that are here tonight, Buster.

They're here to celebrate you.

And it's well deserved.

Cyprus Village, resident physician there for over 30 years.

If you go out there and ask what they think of Buster, they have no idea who Dr.

Browning is.

They knew who Buster is.

And they will tell you that his care and concern for them as individuals is beyond measure.

We would add, some of us that have known Buster for a long time, we would add two things.

First of all, his dedication to family.

Married to Debbie for over 53 years.

They've had children and grandchildren, and it's an incredible commitment to family values and family dedication.

And the second thing that we would add would be his strong faith.

And his strong faith is best exemplified in his music.

He's a wonderful voice, loves to sing and play.

Jacksonville is blessed with many unsung heroes who daily make our life better and make it better and richer for each of our citizens.

Today, we thank you for recognizing one of those unsung heroes, Dr.

Arthur W.

Browning, Jr., MD, Buster.

Buster.

I promise I will not be that long.

Debbie and I were talking about what you would say.

And the first thing I would say is when I came to do my residency here, we were blessed to decide to stay here.

Jacksonville has been a blessing to us as a couple.

And no man does any kind of fundraising without your wife saying, okay, what are we going to do this time?

My motto in fundraising for this city has always been one thing.

If you don't have fun raising the funds, don't do it.

And we've always found that to work.

UNF, First T, whatever we did.

The most important thing I'll tell you about Jacksonville is when I came here from Atlanta, I realized that we had one of the best medical communities I've ever seen as an intern and resident.

And today I feel the same way.

You can get as good a quality care here as you can anywhere.

And a lot of it is because of what you all do in this city to make things happen.

Thank you for all my friends for being here.

I'm proud to be a red coat.

I have my red town.

And uh thank you for this honor.

Thank you very much.

All right.

Certainly want to thank Councilmember Boyland and uh Councilmember Howland for presenting that legislation for all of us for supporting it.

And also to acknowledge those past chairmen that are all here.

Anytime you can get a dozen of the uh red coats in the same room, it must be a special occasion.

So we also have our current our current chairman, Kevin Ice Cole Copeland right there in the back.

Congratulations, sir, on getting your red jacket this year.

And uh we'll turn it back over to the floor leader.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Our next presentation is by Councilmember Joe Carlucci celebrating the San Marco Preservation Society on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Mr.

Teal, may you please read the resolution.

Resolution 2026-198.

In 1925, Jacksonville Real Estate Developer Telfair Stockton established the San Marco neighborhood, an 80-acre community influenced by the City Beautiful movement with its winding streets, planted medians, and use of parks and larger lots.

The neighborhood quickly became famous for its distinctive Mediterranean revival architecture, its old riverfront mansions, and for San Marco Square, a vibrant commercial area with a multi-level fountain at its center, inspired by the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy.

In 1975, local residents and business owners came together to lead a revitalization of San Marco Square by addressing its aging fountain and to begin formulating a long-term improvement plan for the future of the neighborhood.

These initial revitalization efforts led to the official incorporation of the San Marco Preservation Society on March 19th, 1976.

Since its official incorporation, the San Marco Preservation Society has worked tirelessly for five decades to mobilize civic leaders, businesses, and citizens to lead beautification efforts, restore and protect historic landmarks, promote civic engagement, and establish smart growth principles that preserve the distinct character of the San Marco neighborhood while enhancing its economic vitality and quality of life.

Among its many accomplishments, the San Marco Preservation Society spearheaded the renovation and restoration of the South Jacksonville City Hall in 2003, a building constructed in 1915 that serves as one of the few remaining visual reminders of the city of the South, Jacksonville.

An effort that earned recognition from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation in 2009, and now serves as a permanent headquarters for this society.

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Jacksonville.

The City Council hereby celebrates the 50th anniversary of the San Marco Preservation Society and the dedicated efforts of each member throughout its history in its mission to preserve, protect, and renew the century-old neighborhood of San Marco as an area of historical and architectural significance for future generations.

All right.

Thank you so much for that.

And thank you, Mr.

President and colleagues, uh, for your support on this earlier.

I'll be short, but I am honored to present this large milestone to San Marco Preservation Society for their 50th anniversary.

It would take me all night to go through the list of accomplishments that this organization has had and made our community better.

But they have been a strong advocate in preserving the character of San Marco, which we all know and love.

And it's definitely not by accident.

It's by design.

In fact, our neighborhood action plan is called San Marco by Design.

So everything that is thought of and implemented in San Marco is just that.

It's by design.

And that is a true testament to what it has become over the past 50 years, having this organization be at the forefront of that.

So to my friends at SPS.

Thank you for always being a voice to the community.

You selfishly, you really do make my job easier.

When people come and ask about what should happen in San Marco, usually the first response is, well, have you talked to San Marco Preservation?

Have you talked to San Marco Merchants?

Um, so you guys are truly the amazing gatekeeper to keeping the character preserved in San Marco.

So I appreciate all of your hard, tireless work on that.

I know it all too well.

Um, whether it's fixing trees in planar beds or fighting storage units, thank you for being I knew there would be a little chuckle there.

Uh thank you for being an integral part of the San Marco community.

Uh colleagues, thank you for all your support and honoring this organization.

And if we all had champagne glasses, I would toast to another 50 years to a bright future.

So thank you.

And I'll now invite President elect Matt Little to come up and say a few remarks.

Good evening.

Um, on behalf of San Marco Preservation Society, first I would like to just thank Councilman Carlucci.

We're very fortunate to have you as a partner in our mission, and uh, we really appreciate your support.

Couldn't do what we do without you.

Um, thank you to Councilman Matt Carlucci as well for your long support of our organization and to the council uh for your service to our city and the support that you give to organizations like ours that help make up the fabric of what makes it such a great place to live.

Um so I'll keep it brief at that and just say we have a lot more work to do over the next 50 years.

So we're gonna get back to that and look forward to working with you as we move forward.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hold on, sorry.

Uh uh, is this the right?

Why is there two?

I feel like I should be handy this, not just holding it.

Are we good?

Good.

All right.

Congratulations.

You want to come?

You coming to what?

You coming down?

All right, well, come on down.

Councilmember Hatt Carlucci, let's go.

There's always an open invite for anyone who wants to come on down to these.

Council President, while they're wrapping up taking up pictures, I want to take this time to recognize our pages tonight.

From Southside Middle School, we have Kayleana Holmes and from Douglas Sanderson School of the Arts, we have Charles Minor.

Thank you for serving with us tonight.

All right.

All right.

Thank you.

And now Matt Carlucci will say a few numbers.

Colleagues, we're now going to take up quasi-judicial items.

The first of which is found on page five.

These items we are now taking up do not include public hearings as they were thoroughly reviewed at the committee level where public hearings were part of the decision making process.

Council members are reminded to declare any ex parte communications.

Item number one, 2026-0015.

I move the amendment.

We've got a motion second on the amendment.

No one's in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed saying nay?

The amendment carries.

Got a motion second on the bill as amended.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ballot and record your vote.

18 yes, one nay.

By your action you've approved 2026-0015.

Item two, 2026 0087.

I move the bill.

All right, we've got a motion second.

No one's in the queue, please open the ballot, record your vote.

19 yes, zero nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0087.

I'm three, 2026, 130.

Uh, Mr.

President, I have exparte to declare.

I spoke with Josh Carkrill about this on January 23rd.

Uh, he gave me an overview of this project, and I've filed this with uh legislative services.

And I move the amendment.

All right, seeing no other LUZ, I will add mine.

So I would like to declare uh not L-U-Z, ex parte.

Uh I got a call from Josh Cockerel this morning.

Said that this bill went through LUZ with no um with no opposition and asked me if I had any questions.

I said no, so we'll get that filed with legislative services.

And now we have a motion and second on the amendment.

All in favor of the amendment signify by saying aye.

Aye, any opposed to say nay.

The amendment carries.

The bill has amended.

Got a motion second on the bill as amended.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ball and record your vote.

19 yes, zero nays.

Item for 2026 131.

I move the amendment.

Got a motion second on the amendment.

Before that, we'll go to the vice president.

Mr.

Howland, you're recognized.

Yeah, thank you, Mr.

President.

I also rise to declare ex parte on this one.

I spoke with Ms.

Cindy Trimmer yesterday, April 14th at noon about the 301 bypass the project.

And we'll make sure all communications related to this are in filed with legislative services.

Thank you, sir.

All right, thank you, Mr.

VP.

So we have a motion second on the amendment.

Is that right, Mr.

Floyd?

Thank you very much.

All in favor of the members signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed saying nay?

The amendment carries.

That was a weak aye, by the way.

We're gonna get better as the night goes on.

Move the bill as amended.

We have motion second on the bill as amended.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ballot and record your vote.

19 yes, 0 nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0131.

Item 5, 2026, 133, I move the bill.

Got a motion second on the bill.

No one in the queue, please open the ballot and record your vote.

19 yes, 0 nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0133.

I'm six, 2026-134.

I move the bill.

I have a motion and second on the bill.

I have no one in the queue.

Please open the ballot, record your vote.

19 yes, 0 nays.

By your action, you have approved 2026-0134.

Item 7, 2026-171.

Move the bill.

Got a motion second on the bill.

I'm one member in the queue, Mr.

Peluso.

Are you recognized?

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I stand to declare ex parte against.

I heard concerns from the church neighbors about the possible impact on the premises regarding alcohol, sale, and consumption, and it's been filed with legislative services.

All right.

Thank you very much.

The bill has been moved and seconded.

No one else is in the queue.

Please open the ball, record your vote.

16 yes, three nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0171.

Item 8, 2026-172.

Move the bill.

I've got a motion second on the bill.

Councilman Peluso, are you still in the queue?

Nope.

They just cleared you.

Open the ballot.

Record your vote.

19 yes, 0 nays.

By your action you have approved 2026-0172.

Item 9, 2026, 173.

I move the bill.

I've got a motion second on the bill.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ballot.

Record your vote.

I don't think you've voted.

19 yes, 0 nays.

By your action, you have approved 2026-0173.

Item 10, 2026, 176, move the bill.

If no one in the queue, please open the ballot, record your vote.

19 yes, 0 nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0176.

Item 11, 2026-178, move the bill.

And a motion second on the bill.

If no one in the queue, please open the ballot, record your vote.

19 yes, 0 nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0178.

Colleagues, we are now on to page 9 to take up the consent agenda as a reminder.

You can be at us a co-sponsor on any item.

If you want to be, please reach out to Let's Slave Services as council rules prohibit items from being pulled just for this reason.

Mr.

Teal, would you please read the bills?

2026 158 182 1849 190 191 2020 207 228 233 234 235 238 246 and 253.

I move approval of the consent agenda.

Got a motion and second on approval of the consent agenda.

There's no one in the queue.

Please open the ball and record your vote.

19 yes, 0 nays.

By your action, you've approved the consent agenda.

Colleagues, we're now going to jump ahead to page 30 and take up our third reading resolution.

That's item 69, 2026, 204.

I move the amendment.

I've got a motion second on the amendment.

No one's in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment.

Signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed saying nay.

The amendment carries.

Move the bill as amended.

Got a motion and second on the bill as amended.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ball and record your vote.

19 yes, 0 nays.

President, please recognize our rules, Chair.

Colonel Miller, the rules chair.

Your recommendation.

Mr.

President.

We've just approved the following appointments as part of the consent agenda.

If you're in the audience, please stand to be recognized.

Matthew Jones to the Waterways Commission.

Krista Bowman to Council on Elder Affairs.

Bradley Nestor to the tree commission.

Dorothy Gillette to the Jacksonville Housing and Community Development Commission.

And Dean Kate Moorhead Carroll reappointed to the homelessness initiatives commission.

Please join me in thanking these individuals for their public service.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Mr.

President, it's time for public comments.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to speak, you should have filled out a green public comment card.

No cards will be accepted after six.

Council rules call for an allotment of 90 minutes for public comment.

Given the number of cards submitted so far, each speaker will be given two minutes so that all those wishing to speak will have an opportunity to do so.

This may be decreased if we receive more cards because you can't submit them up until 6 p.m.

I'll announce five speakers at a time.

When I call your name, please come down the reserve seats in the front row while awaiting your turn to speak.

Your time will not start until you arrive at the podium and remember to state your name and address before beginning, or you may say my address is on file.

A speaker may be invited to the green room for further discussion at a council member's discretion.

I will read the first five names now so you can begin to make your way down front, and then I'll have Mr.

Teal read council rule 4.505 regarding disruption of meetings.

My first five speakers, please come on down.

Latoya Kendrick, Robert Stafford, Johnny Turner, Kathleen Pereira, and Latrice Bell.

Mr.

Teal, please re uh read council rule 4.505.

Council rule 4.505 disruption of meeting.

Any person who disrupts a regular meeting of the city council, standing committees, special or select committees, subcommittees, or any other public meeting presided over by a city council member, may be forthwith barred, removed, or otherwise ejected in the discretion of the presiding officer from further attendance at that meeting.

If necessary, due to the nature of the disruption, the audience may be cleared from the council chambers or meeting location in the discretion of the presiding officer.

Any person who refuses to leave the city council chamber may be subject to arrest.

Thank you, Mr.

Teal.

Leslie of services, please note the start time as 5 33 and La Toya Kendrick.

Uh the floor is yours.

Hello, my name is Latoya Kendrick.

My name is On Fowl.

Um I'm part of JTA J Tech Disability Advisory Board.

I'm here to speak about User, a service that's provided through JTA.

Uh April the 2nd, the service left from six dollars to 10 dollars for one way.

Now a one-way trip is basically too much.

Um a person was telling me yesterday a six-dollar trip now is ten dollars.

By the time they do a round trip, is twenty-two dollars.

Is too much.

That's 44 dollars each day for a round trip.

Um, for the disability community, they have no, they don't have the funds.

Hopefully, the community can find federal uh grants or fair funding for the JTA, so they don't have to go in their pockets because now the service is now 6.2 million.

They are paying a year for this service.

The disability community needs this service because they are safe with this service, and they don't really trust the other services.

And when people are on budget, they're not able to afford this service.

This service impact the disability community, the wheelchairs, um, and plus they have uh special uh needs that the regular services are not able to do at this time, and we are asking for the community and others to help us find other ways to balance out the price of the service, maybe lower the service.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Robert Stafford.

Good evening.

My name is Robert Stafford.

My address is on file.

Um, I'm a staunch advocate of the health and the sales tax.

The shirt may be is is misleading.

I'm here to thank a council member for stepping up and uh and providing his support for to resolve an issue at Frequency Payne Elementary School.

Uh the school is a blighted property.

There was a hole in the roof.

And a sales tax is general generating enough revenue.

Well, we shouldn't have schools with holes in the roof.

We shouldn't have non-ADA compliant uh parking lots.

We shouldn't have crumbling sidewalks.

You shouldn't have trip hazards.

This we now they're making a hard pivot back to the conditions of the facilities.

We need to refine the acquisition and implementation process.

We need to develop a life cycle maintenance and life cycle uh support process.

We need to get these things in place and so that we won't have any more schools with holes in the room when we're just when this sir tax is generating 10 million dollars a month.

That's ridiculous.

That's ridiculous, ladies and gentlemen.

So thank that.

I'm thinking that council member uh who who pitched in.

I believe their support led to the COO giving this their personal attention.

So we need more of that from the council members.

We don't need any confusion.

We we need to resolve all the anxieties.

We need accurate information to the taxpayers, to the students, parents, administrators, and taxpayers.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next up, Johnny Churner.

Good evening.

My name is Johnny Turner.

I'm about I'm here about the George Crady Bridge.

I ain't going nowhere.

I'm gonna be here in every meeting y'all have, so y'all might as well get used to seeing this people.

And uh we we've been fighting for that for three years.

We take the head total when we first die.

We had to get petitioned.

We went around, we got everybody to petition it, going around the people's housing and did all that, and it's we still ain't got no no no satisfaction.

We taking they're taking the total bread down for the fruit for the bike, and we got nowhere to fish.

And we want to see what y'all are doing with the money because ain't nobody we can talk about the money, ain't nobody telling about the money you give when the bridge was throwed out, and then it's female money, we ain't hearing all you do telling where you got the money, but we ain't see where the money goes.

We want to know where the money is.

That's what we want to know where the money's going at.

The bridge ain't fake, the bridge going down, they tell one time they want to tear the whole bridge down.

Now we ain't got where a piece of bridge, and it supposed to be a uh a mile-long bridge.

Y'all need to just come out there.

Just come out there and look at the bridge, and on a standard, you just you can't hardly get up there.

You got to fish like this.

Because so many people on the bridge on the weekend, because that's what everybody does on the weekend.

That's a family bridge.

Everybody loves coming out there.

And we want y'all to find out where the money is going at.

We go downtown and setting up everything downtown for us to fish at.

We used to fit right behind the courthouse.

We can't fish that now.

They don't shut down fishing there.

Go right here to die.

All the bridges around here today.

We can't fit that.

They say no popping.

You're either gonna move your car or something gonna go on.

And we just want y'all to help us and go and get the thing over.

Because y'all, this ain't the last time y'all gonna see me or the rest of my crew.

Thank you all.

Mr.

Turner, can you please say your address?

You said your name.

My address is on fire.

Thank you, sir.

Miss Kathleen Prayer.

My name is Kathleen Prayer.

My information is on file.

Most of the neighborhoods in Jacksonville are made up of hard working citizens who deserve no less than their own place of refuge and peace.

So, how else should we feel when our meagre sanctuaries are destroyed the instant the city allows developers and deep pockets to put soccer stadiums, morgues, slards houses, or oral depots in our backyards?

The city is supposed to make decisions for the common good.

That is for most neighborhoods.

Is it is it for the common good then that the city to expect Wendy Hill and Fox Chase neighborhoods to tolerate sports taxes plans for a 15,000 seat major venue which will shake our windows from concerts and games, over tax our septic tanks, drown our backyards and pollute our well water for increased flooding by from increased flooding?

And what about the traffic logistics for handling 15,000 extra cars going in and out of only one main artery of the St.

Johnstown Center, which is already significantly congested?

The answer is quite simple.

For the common good, move the soccer stadium to areas that do not impact neighborhoods, like the downtown sports complex, Hymerson, Cecil Field, or Regency Square.

Also, pass 2026 183 tonight.

The emergency seat shelters known as the baby boxes.

Not only give the desperate mothers hope and peace without judgment or punishment, but also give witness to the decency of a civilized society.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, Latrice Bell, and then the five after that, please come on down.

Carrie Bags, James Bell, Wells Todd, Margie Watkins, Ulysses Cromedy.

Miss Bell.

Good afternoon.

Lee trust.

Lee Tris Bell, my address is on file.

Want to take the time to say thank you.

I know you don't hear get to hear that a lot, but thank you.

To the ones that have took time to come out to help support Councilman Gay.

Uh City Councilman at large, Matt Carlucci.

We're working hard to try to get the Duval side open.

We want to extend an invitation to you to a come together day.

You will be, if you have not already got an email.

We ask that you will pick a date, the best date for you.

And we call it a coming together day because that's what we're gonna be doing coming together to get the bridge.

Two bridges open back up.

Extending the invitation once again for the ones that have not come down there and laid eyes on the beautiful land that God has created for us.

We are our brothers' keepers.

And we need to look out for each other.

Because when you need help, you call in for somebody to help you.

So all we need to do is to come together, find this money that the federal government have already given us for the repairs for that bridge.

We really don't need to come up with no money because the federal government has already paid funds for the bridge, which was used for something else.

That's misusage of funds.

That's against the law.

We know some people have gone to jail for misusing federal funds.

So all we asking that we get together, put our hands together because y'all are a smart group of people.

I saw a lot of y'all in action.

And we can get things done if we come together.

Okay.

So all we're asking you to do is to come together, come to come together date, which will be next month.

You will be getting an email.

So we ask that you pick a date and we come together and we get those bridges open.

Thank you.

My name is Carrie Bags, 3330 North Canal Street, Jacksonville, Florida, 3209.

And I just want to iterate on more of what Miss Bell said.

We are getting older now.

Time is running out, and there's not a whole lot we can do.

But fish, and we need these bridges open.

We need to know where the money's going.

We need to be able to get out and express ourselves to meet new people, to meet family members we don't know.

We need to be a part of the community.

And it's not fair for us to sit around and wait and beg for these things to happen for years and years and years on end.

And now we're sitting there with the same thing.

And I'm like, it's like what the Israelite, the question that Israelite asked Jesus.

How long?

How long do we have to wait before this comes to a conclusion?

We need your help, and we need it now.

Thank you.

Thank you.

James Spell.

Good evening.

My name is James Bell, and my address is on file.

I'm here representing to represent the George Created Bridge, fishing piercing.

And the bridge crew.

You heard from three of the bridge crew already.

All we want to happen is to reopen, find a way, reopen that Duval side of the bridge so we can fish comfortably, comfortably.

That's all we asked.

Money hasn't been given for it.

We wouldn't be here today if the money was used the right way.

We would be here.

We'd be out there fishing.

But we can't fish now, but on the Nassau side, everything is working good on the Nassau side.

Put up new um portables down there.

That's Nassau's side.

We're talking about the Duval side.

So we won't have to go on the Nassau side.

But all we want all we want done is the bridge to open so we can fish comfortably.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Wells Todd.

My name is Wells Todd, and we're taking them down Jackson.

My address is on file.

These people have been coming here for months around being able to fish.

The money was already allocated.

Where'd the money go?

Money was allocated to fix the bridge.

Where's the money?

What I want to talk about is mental health.

It's time to create a permanent mental health emergency response team.

Too many of our citizens when they call 911 and the police respond.

There is fear in their hearts of what the police will do to their loved ones.

And we've seen it time and time again.

What result comes out of calling the police for help?

People have died.

It is time to take the responsibility of mental health out of the hands of JSON.

They are not mental health professionals.

It is not their job.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Margie Watkins.

Good evening.

My name is Margie Watkins, and my address is on file.

And I'm here to say no to 140, yes to 227, and yes to 186 baby boxes.

If our city and our Texas money can give seven 775 million to Jaguar, 49.66 million to publics downtown.

12 million, they asking for warehouse headquarters for Windicse.

Yes, I love my supermarkets.

I love all of them.

But if they can give all these money to publics and windsee, only $300,000 comparing with that is nothing.

And the councilman who put no only four.

He's the one who was standing for free health for illegals.

He's the one who is not standing for babies' life.

So that's baby lives everybody thinks is a joke.

I know so many that their children got saved in those baby boxes.

They told me themselves from many years ago.

And they were ex-firefighters, ladies, and she said she rescued 15 of those babies.

So why can't we give $300,000?

Maybe we can raise some carnival something downtown and make barbecue and raise that money.

That is like so funny for $300,000 that the gentleman said no.

But he will give millions, millions, up to billions to everyone else, and he asked for free health for illegals.

God bless you all, God bless USA, and God bless Israel.

Thank you.

Next up, Ulysses Cromedy, and then the five after that.

I believe this is Reginald Gundy, Blake Harper, James Edwards, Lydia Bell, and T.

Brad Huntley.

Come on down.

Mr.

Cromedy.

Good afternoon.

My name is Ulysses Crumney Senior, 4625, Lynn Crest Drive South.

It's a pleasure for me to stand before you, you and especially you to have my pleading crowd heard.

I've been here all my life, Jacksonville, Florida.

I'm standing to help ask you and you and you to keep the George Cradle Bridge open.

Please, ma'am, please, sir.

It's very important to me.

I'm my 74 years.

I have lived in Jacksonville.

I've seen bridges close and renewed.

And not suitable for us to fish them to fish.

The bridge I know of is the Nassau Bridge.

Now I understand.

George Cradle Bridge.

We ask you to please, ma'am, and please, sir, get us together, get together, and get the fund so we can have a fishing pill for the citizens of Jacksonville and around around counties.

A lot of people love the fish.

And that bridge is the only real bridge that a month or two of people can go on and have a good time and fish.

A lot of people fish and they don't eat fish, but they love the sport of fishing.

If you understand what I'm saying, a lot of us would go and feed our family.

Like I said last month, my mother bought us up to fish and feed off the sea.

So, sir and ma'am, whoever concerned, help us to keep that bridge open.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Reginald Gundy.

And sir, I need you to either say your address or fill out a new card and put your address because you can't write on record for the address on the card.

You're saying I can't see my address.

You can say it out loud now, yes.

You just can't say on record since he didn't put it on the card.

Uh my name is Reverend Dr.

R.

Leroy Gundy.

My address is on file as a national CEO of the truth, true Southern Christian leadership, Florida.

Uh some things were brought to my attention, and we would like to uh bring that to your attention.

GS culture must change.

Every person in a crisis is not a suspect.

They are a soul in need of care.

Matthew 2526, I was six, and you visited me.

We have approximately 2300 mental health providers in Duval County.

We must use them and save our textiles from all these lawsuits.

I will send all the data to you, each of you, because uh I don't want to come to you and not give you a recommendation to fix it.

Luke 418, he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted.

Second, 65 million dollars of Wend Dixie with no equity in the deal.

13 stores where Harvest is closing on 48th and Main Street in a stable and thriving community in a four-story senior apartment complex is about 300 yards from the store being built right now.

City of Jacksonville prioritize corporate headquarters, job downtown and west side, while Wend Dixie leverage cash, tax breaks, and long-term incentives.

Our community benefited indirectly with no guarantees.

We need a community benefit agreement with three to five stores in certain areas to relieve the food deserts.

Third, thank you, Council Peluso, for help with Rufus E.

Payne.

It is in disrepair, and if you go to the school, any of you, I don't think you want to put your child in that school, and they're consolidating kids in a blighted school, and it must stop.

Fourth, JA belongs to the community, and we need a community advisory board for more for more transparency.

100 million dollars could be used for solar energy and the sun from above is free.

I commend you on your internal investigation, but a grand jury investigation will take a struggle out of the testimony that's going on with JE right now.

Fifth, the citizens with that bridge, just tell them the state will not give you a hundred million dollars to fix that bridge.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Pelusa would like to see you in the green room.

Uh Reverend Gundy, and then uh the gentleman, the cowboy hat.

If you could have a seat or if you need to stretch out, you can go out in the uh in the atrium, but we we can't have anyone standing in the chambers.

Thank you.

Blake Harper, you're up.

Blake Harper, information on file.

Well, Rockman Johnson's not here.

I was actually gonna thank him for putting up the resolution about honoring or recognizing the libraries.

The libraries are important to our community as schools are.

The work I'm doing with regards to the school libraries is has brought me to come to speak tonight.

I we didn't get a chance to speak on any kind of a public hearing with regards to or public participant with the participation with regards to the resolution.

I have a problem with that.

The reality is I told you about the American Library Association that has been openly uh uh advocating for subverting community standards.

I've come to find out that the ALA is now supporting critical race theory and DEI programs that undermine the 250th anniversary of our nation.

So this is the American Library Association, so why am I sharing this with you?

Again, I think Tim does a great job, but we have to continue to have scrutiny and pay attention and exercise care with our libraries, our school libraries, and our public libraries to make sure the content is appropriate, age appropriate for the children, to make sure that the events are appropriate for the for the people at the time and the place, and to make sure we have constructive people on the board who are going to recognize the importance of keeping a politically neutral, agenda neutral library in place so people are not indoctrinated by the left-wing agenda of the American of the American Library Association.

Again, I want to raise I want to thank Tim for the good job he's doing.

We need to keep continued scrutiny because the bad actors are all over this country and they're here in this city.

I can attest to that personally.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

James Edwards.

Honorable Council Lannimers.

My name is James Edwards, and my address is on file.

I'm sorry, deeply saddened actually to hear that resolution 2026-0253 Rockman Johnson's proposal passed.

I find as a believer in Jesus Christ and in a Judean Christian values.

For impressionable young children these times oppose biblical standards that promote the basic family unit and heterosexuality that God honors.

I recommend that as a governmental body we support the stories of white and black heroes who fought in our revolutionary war and Americans' wars that have purchased our freedoms.

There is support teaching by Tim Barton of Wallbuilders.com.

Check it out.

That can be viewed as on YouTube.

Any book written by him, The American Story, The Beginnings that the Public Library Should Provide.

Also in YouTube, Biblical Citizenship in America by former Texas Representative Rick Green is an excellent source.

This is he presents uh much historical evidence for the Patriots that fought for our freedom in the foundation of the U.S.

refuting critical race theory and implication that this country was founded on slavery and not on religious freedom.

Why was the civil war fought?

How far back did abolitionists go?

What did the politicians envision with the passage of the 13th Amendment?

Thank you.

Next up is Lydia Bell.

Good evening, Lydia Bell, Brinkwood 300 addresses on foul.

Mental health, mental health should not be a deaf census.

Drop the charges against Connor, Leah, and Dragon.

Dr.

Bob Falsegraph is being investigated, suspended with pay for his freedom of speech by posting on X.

I'm looking forward to the big beautiful obituary.

That's what he said and suspended with pay until further view.

He's suspended for words, but no one is investigated for genocide, not words to build a 51,000 square feet industrial plant releasing biomedical fumes, killing Brentwood children at Kimp school and residents, a morgue and forensic lab without the residents' knowledge, but one can be suspended and investigated for words, not death.

Then the pictures I have given to you.

I question why our senior citizens, young people sitting on the ground, sitting on the garbage cans with their grocery on the ground, standing at bus stops, no seats, our coverings that were removed all on the north side, not replaced by the millions of dollars by skyways that JTA wants to bring to the to the city.

Failing skyways.

Nothing's being placed on the north side.

All those millions of dollars that are being spent, and black people are sitting on the ground in 2026, waiting on a bus.

No covering, nothing.

People on the north side of Jacksonville don't get any of our tax money to be used for us.

So there got to be a change.

We're going to have to get people in office that want to do the right thing because we also had a neighborhood bill of rights meeting.

We're tired of neighborhood bill of wrongs.

So it gotta be a change.

T Brad Huntley, you're next, and then the five after Mr.

Huntley are Addison Patrick, Tracy Karpis, Kiana Blaylock, Jerry Woodham, and Alyssa Arroyo.

Please come on down, Mr.

Huntley.

Good evening.

My name's Brad Huntley.

I live in Holiday Harbor.

My address is 13927 Shipwreck Circle.

I'm here to solicit Councilman Diamond and any of the others for a line item support in the budget for a watershed sediment study that affects about a hundred of the residents in my neighborhood.

The shelting of the San Woo Canal is an issue that we need to have resolved one way or the other to find out where the lot where the issue lays.

So we hope for that support.

And I want to thank all of the councilmen.

You have a thankful job, but you do a great job in service in Jacksonville.

Sometimes it's a very thankless one.

But we appreciate you.

Thank you, sir.

Uh Addison Patrick.

Good evening, uh, Mr.

President and members of the council.

My name is Addison Liberty Patrick, and my address is on file.

As we look at the 2027 gap created by the Jaguars move to Orlando, I want to talk about the transient rental tax that visitors pay to stay in our city.

We know that some of that goes directly to our TDT, the tourist development and convention funds.

Traditionally, we use that money to bring people to the stadium, but in 2027, the stadium will be a construction site.

Orlando just approved 400 million of their TDT to renovate Camping World Stadium to host our team and expect to receive a whopping 20 million in local spending per game.

We cannot afford to let our local revenue in Jacks follow the team down I-95.

Florida Statute 125.0104 gives this council the authority to use TDT funds for promoting and advertising tourism.

I am calling on this body to ensure that the 2027 marketing budget is not spent on national TV spots, but instead a local first bridge campaign.

Specifically, I ask that one, we carve out an emergency marketing fund from the current TDT, and number two, ensure that this fund is dedicated to driving foot traffic into the city for watch parties and local events during the away season instead of national TV ads for a stadium that's under construction.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, Tracy Karpis.

Hello, my name is Tracy Karpus, and my address is on file.

I'm the mother of Charles Faggard.

It's been over a year since I've heard anything about him.

I still don't know what happened, but I have a really good idea.

Uh I am here to reiterate everything about the mental health and hopefully drug rehab as well.

We need these kind of programs in place instead of JSO just hauling somebody off to jail.

My son died for no good reason.

He was in there for misdemeanor.

Um I believe if there were such programs in place, my son would still be here.

Just because you have a mental health or a drug problem, it doesn't mean you need to go to jail and die.

It's disgusting.

There's no sound on the videos in the jail, not one.

There needs to be sound.

The COs don't wear body cams.

So eight of them, including a sergeant felt it convenient to kill my son.

No other family should ever have to feel what I still feel over a year later because my attorneys can't even get the video of what happened to my son.

Uh the jail is a problem, not a solution.

You don't need a new one.

Fix the one you have, and I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up, Keanu Blaylock.

Uh ma'am, Councilmember Pelusa would like to speak to you.

Ma'am, Councilmember Pelisa would like to speak to you.

Uh Miss Blaylock, you're you're up.

My name is Keanu Blaylock address on file.

In 2025, there were seven JSO shootings related to mental health crisis.

This community deserves people who are trained mental health professionals, not JSON officers when they are calling 911 for a mental health evaluation.

We are demanding a mental health emergency response team.

These, again, these officers are not those people.

That is not their job.

Their job, as they claim, is to protect us, but also we have seen that with these calls, they also use excessive force.

We have seen excessive force in here a year ago when three people who were just here to talk about Palestine and demanding y'all uh sign a resolution, they were actually attacked, but then Connor is now having felony charges for assaulting an officer.

The portion of the budget uh for JSO continues to rise, even though, again, they have proven that they are not uh capable of de-escalation tactics.

We do not need money for a new jail or for more officers or updated equipment for those officers with mental health services and resources, especially when there are studies that show time and time again that increasing and policing just makes more people incarcerated, not a healthy community.

If you continue to ignore the demands of the people for mental health services, you are then complicit for the future deaths of those people who call 911 to get help, not for an officer to then brutalize them and even kill them.

While we are given two minutes for public comment, people are here up here doing presentations, not that they don't deserve it, but you know what I'm saying?

You can use that time to then have a presentation for these families who are then affected by state-sanctioned violence via JSO.

We have presentations for San Marco and people in quote unquote red coats, but not for Miss Tracy and not for Miss Kemp and not for people who are actually brutalized by the city.

Thank you.

Next up, Jerry Woodham.

Chaplain Jerry Woodham, address on file.

Dear council members, you were a baby once.

Thank God your mother loved you and wanted the best for you.

Unfortunately, in this broken world, we have young moms who are scared or confused or depressed.

Because of guilt or shame, they want to get rid of the baby, or because of not thinking clearly.

We've heard the story of the moms who have killed their babies by drowning them or slamming them on a floor, throwing them in a garbage can or letting a boyfriend abuse them or even selling them for drugs.

This bill 2026 0186 protects the most vulnerable of all.

They are defenseless.

Every baby is priceless, and God has a plan for its life.

Babies are not born Democrat, Republican, independent, or NPA.

They're just babies.

Please pass this bill so every district will have a safe place to turn in a baby.

If you're worried about the small price of 300,000, what is a life worth to you?

What are your children and your grandchildren worth to you?

These babies deserve a chance to find a loving home.

If not wanted by birth parents, this city gave 25 million dollar property to Sean Kahn to build a hotel.

What are these babies' safety worth to you?

And since I have a little time, I must say you need to slow down on all the building in the neighborhoods with disregard to property owners' rights.

They pay the taxes.

We've seen a liquor store, a morgue, a slaughterhouse, and now probably another mosque.

I've lived here for 47 years.

And now we're talking about a soccer stadium to destroy two more neighborhoods, destroying the tranquility of their homes.

Also, they want to build on swampland.

The change on Cortez allowed building on swampland.

Are we not going to protect our environment?

Thank you.

Next up is Alyssa Arroyo, and then the five after that, please come on down.

Brian Jefferson, Denise Scott, Leah Grady, Monica Gold, and Ian Faith, please come on down.

Uh Ms.

Arroyo.

Alyssa Arroyo, my address is on file.

We remember what happened on this floor 11 months ago, almost 11 months ago.

When three of our community members who spoke up for a free Palestine in these chambers were arrested.

One of them was arrested for clapping.

The other was arrested for and brutalized.

Um because he was trying to film, and then the third person was arrested for reacting to that brutalization.

Why?

Well, they were asking you to stop the Brentwood Morework, they're asking you to stop the new jail, they were asking you to sign a ceasefire resolution.

Here in the South, we talk about the First Amendment rights a lot.

And the don't tread on me sentence.

Isn't that what this sentence is exactly for that First Amendment?

JSO or City Council would rather line their pockets calling JSO on people for clapping than helping do their job helping the working class people of Jacksonville.

We've heard from several people so far about where the city council can do so much better.

Instead, folks are begging you over here to be heard.

Mental health is critical.

Giving people answers is critical.

11 months later, these issues are the same.

Some are even worse.

We remember the political repression that happened on May 25th or May 27th, 2025, and we know who's accountable.

We stand for a free Palestine.

We stand for free Jacksonville, where people can talk to our city council like normal people, and where they will actually listen to us.

Until that happens, if one of us falls, we all rise up.

Free Palestine.

Thank you, Brian Jefferson.

My name is Brian Jefferson, and my address is on file.

In 2025, there were seven JSO shootings related to mental health crises.

That's seven lives unnecessarily lost at the hands of JSON.

Rashad Martin rests in power was one of them.

Thousands of people live with mental illnesses, many of them in your community, your friends, your family, and your neighbors, and their families are put in difficult spots when their loved ones have an episode and they have to potentially make the choice to call for help.

But oftentimes they get JSO instead.

And JSO is not trained to handle the sort of situation in which someone can be acting potentially erratically and perceived as a danger in a mental health crisis episode, and they are likely to shoot because they fear for their lives.

And a mental health crisis should not be a death sentence.

The community deserves guaranteed protections, ensuring that the actions of these officers will not be the normal and regular rules of engagement when it comes to dealing with mental health crises.

Jacksonville needs to create permanent mental health emergency response teams and with professionals and not patrol cars and police officers coming around and shooting folks.

It is a shame that people have been waiting for months, let alone years for some of these, and they have to sit on the anguish and the turmoil of not knowing and having their loved ones treated like criminals.

But having a mental health episode is not a crime.

Thank you.

Next up, Denise Scott.

I've got granny duty.

Who's gonna guard you all?

You all are corrupt as they are.

Vice President Holland, I told I came here just to get on the record to let you know just how rude you were on Thursday.

And I told you that you were rude.

But your little white privileged self had the nerve to say that just because you didn't intend for it to be rude, that it wasn't rude.

You it's not your behavior isn't is considered rude, and it wasn't based on the in it's based on the impact that it had on me.

Um while you lacked the intention, it may um it could be forgivable, but you were still rude, and you just refused to admit it.

Folks like you always like to change definitions of words.

Rude is still rude, just like woke is still woke.

Um I'd like for you to uh this council's assistance concerning that one mil referendum that should be on the ballot in November.

It would be beneficial to have this council and school board on the same page to get the word out to our constituents.

We understand that the chair is the voice piece for um the school board, but you all know that that's uh not a new tax.

And then you should remember to we need to invest in our schools and our children, and it's for the arts, it's for athletics, and it's also to support teachers.

Let's send a clear message that Duval supports public education.

And you were still rude, sir.

Next is Leah Grady.

Good evening.

My name is Leah Grady.

My address is on file, and I'm with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.

For two years, JPSN came to City Council to plead with our representatives to act in our interests to rescind resolution 2023 742 to pass a ceasefire resolution and to divest our tax dollars from Israel bonds.

Over the course of those two years, we witnessed our people and the broader community get ignored, silenced, and thrown out.

From comments on the budget, anti-immigrant legislation, the Morgan Brentwood, Palestine, to potholes in roads in our neighborhoods.

The people of Jacksonville who come out to public comment are consistently ignored.

What a shame it is to believe in a process of democracy and then be completely ostracized from it, or to face arrest.

The people in this city deserve to be heard by the representatives or for action to be taken on their behalf.

We deserve to live in a city that funds life, not death.

And we deserve to not just survive but to thrive in Jacksonville.

If the people don't get the action we deserve, or people that will hear us out, we can put them in uh come spring of 2027.

I unite with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee's campaign for a city budget that prioritizes the community over emboldening the violence of the police and for the establishment of a mental health response team to respond to mental health crises.

For too many far too many times have we seen people get brutalized or killed by JSON and we need something better.

We need real consequences and accountability for cops that use excessive force.

We need community control of the police.

We will not stop coming to demand accountability from this council, nor to speak about the issues that matter most to us, despite any ref repression, threat of arrest, or prosecution that we may face.

And we remain steadfast in our determination to fight for better conditions in this city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Monica Gold, you're next.

I am asking that city leaders explore a pilot program or mental health professionals or called to the scenes of mental health crises.

While this currently happens on occasion, it does not happen with enough consistency or with proper fidelity.

In the case of Brian Gillis, Brian's mother called requesting mental health support.

Police arrived on scene with the mental health professional, but instead of allowing the professional to de-escalate, officer Caleb Bumgarner traded in his non-lethal taser for his gun and fired seven shots at Brian as he ran away.

Brian was killed when he could have been helped.

And this is not an isolated instance.

This is a recurring problem that has a solution.

We are calling on a pilot program that truly prioritizes knowledge around mental health, de-escalation strategies, and a belief that our neighbors are worthy of proper care.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Ian Face, and then the five after that.

Please come on down.

Danny Cordy, Dina, Zachariah, Sarah Haddad, Carmen Martinez, and the only name I can read is Marina, I believe.

Please come on down.

Ian.

Hi, my name is Ian Face.

Uh, my address is on file, and I am here with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

Um, as we've heard, there were seven JSO shootings related to mental health crises last year.

Um, and you know, many more officer involved shootings other than that.

But the mental health crisis is is very important.

We need to have mental health emergency response teams, professionals, not police respond to things like these.

Obviously, the police responding to them only escalates, it does not de-escalate, and it does not help that person that that needs it.

Um Charles Faggard was killed by nine officers in a jail.

Uh his mother still has yet to receive the video of that, what little video there is.

There needs to be body cams on every single officer, whether you are in the field or you are in in the jail or you are corrections officer body cams with um audio.

Families should not be waiting for records within for months for records or videos or a year for videos.

They should receive them in a timely manner manner.

Also, I wanted to say it's it's kind of going off of people being rude.

It's it's really rude that a lot of you don't even look at the people in here that are speaking to you.

They're standing right in front of you and you're looking down, you don't even acknowledge that person.

Um, I think I guess I'll yield my time.

Next up, Danny Cordy.

Hello, my name is Danny Courtney, address on file.

Today we are 920 days into the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

It has been 369 days since Charles Faggard was pronounced dead after being brutally redacted at the hands of nine corrections officers inside the Duval County jail.

And it's been 322 days since officers inside this room targeted, assaulted, and arrested three community members as a tactic to suppress their right to free speech at the request of city council.

Some of the officers involved have recorded histories of domestic violence, and wellness just arrested for grand theft of almost $5,000 in public funds stolen from taxpayers.

This council is no stranger to controversy, as multiple members are repeatedly making the news cycle for unpaid taxes, using their positions on the council to funnel money into their own businesses, promising positions to people based on favors, and racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in charity funds to scam uh veterans with PTSD aligning their own pockets.

More than half of this council's members are millionaires, and yet we're expected to trust you to represent us when so many of us are living paycheck to paycheck.

And even more disheartening is the frequency at which you sit and stare down stare down at your phones, scrolling through Facebook, grinder, or posting heinous commentary about your constituents with your trigger happy Twitter fingers as we stand in front of you pleading for you to simply do your jobs.

The combination of cowardice, callousness, and unrelenting malice that permeates this council should mortify you.

But I know better than to expect humility from someone who has no shame.

So instead, I'm asking all people of conscience who stand um, I'm sorry, who stand against the repression of free speech and brutalization of the community by JSON to come support Leah at her trial tomorrow, April 15th at 9 a.m.

at the Duval County Courthouse, room 309, and our rally outside of the courthouse at 5 30 p.m.

Thank you.

Dina Zacharia.

Dina Zacharia, address on file.

On May 27th, 2025, City Council sicked three JSO officers or JSO officers on three organizers and community members exercising their first amendment right of free speech in these very chambers.

That day, a majority of of those in chambers were clapping, cheering.

But why?

I need to ask were those three specifically targeted.

Three people well known to be outspoken against city council.

We were told that this was a disruption that we were causing the disruption, but the only disruption that day was JSO swarming the chambers, a certain officer arresting Leah, Leah Grady, and permanently injuring nerves in her wrist, a different officer grabbing Connor by the neck and throwing him over a row of chairs and throwing him and pinning him down to the ground.

This is an attempt to try to silence our outspoken nature against the wrongs of city council, consistently ignoring our voices.

None of this would have happened if city council members had shown the slightest concern for Jacksonville residents, but instead we see reps regularly showing a lack of respect and attention during public comment, playing games on their phone on their phones, eating using social media, even live tweeting during public comment and sending photos, citing photos of people speaking at public comment directly on Twitter, live streaming this on Twitter.

People, the city council has also consistently ignored Brentwood Morgue, being the first morgue in America in a residential neighborhood, a predominantly black neighborhood, despite protests against it.

And a pro-Israel resolution, which we have campaigned against for two years because you all claimed allegiance to a foreign entity.

City Council was quick to pledge allegiance to Israel before listening to any one of our pleas and demands at public comment.

City Council members are meant to be public servants, not advocating vocally for a foreign entity that has sniped children and bombed hospitals.

Drop the charges.

Thank you, Sarah Haddad.

My mother is a Romola-born Palestinian, and my father's from Jordan, not too far away.

A little bit about me, I've lived in Jacksonville for almost two years now, and I've learned about the large and flourishing Arab community in Jacksonville.

I was so excited to be a part of that.

I found local organizations that are actively fighting for a free Palestine and to free West Asia from Zionist and US imperialist occupation and genocide.

The more time I spent in Jacksonville, I learned things I didn't like so much.

I learned about our involvement in shipping weapons to the Jacksonville port.

I learned that a fellow Ramullah Palestinian sitting on the city council wasn't an ally but rather a bystander, complicit in the genocide of his own people and ignoring those of us advocating for a free Palestine.

I've heard the countless stories of city council members ignoring their community members, working class people who are taking time out of their busy lives, lives which are only getting harder and harder every day to come in and voice demands that the city council has the power to change.

It's even worse when city council sicks the dogs we call JSON on people in these very chambers nearly a year ago today, only exercising their first amendment right to free speech.

Anyone who's seen the video proof knows there's no grounds for felony charges, knows that these charges have been trumped up to continue to silence and repress the movement for a free Palestine.

This city council is complicit in the brutalization and arrest of Connor, Leah, and Dragon.

We demand the city council advise Melissa Nelson to drop the bogus charges against Leah, Connor, and Dragon.

I also stand in solidarity with JCAC to demand a mental health emergency response team of professionals, not patrol patrol cars.

We need to enforce real consequences to officers who choose to murder or use excessive force instead of treat a mental health situation as it is.

Thank you.

Carmen Martinez.

Good evening.

My name is Carmen Martinez, and my address is on file.

I'm here as a soccer enthusiast.

I was the original Jacksonville soccer mom in the mid-80s.

And I followed the sport for many years.

I followed the Cyclones when they were our first team.

Uh professional team, then the Armada.

And now we're gonna have a new team, but it has no name yet.

But we're gonna have a stadium.

Um site of the stadium.

Uh I no longer go to the town center because it's too crowded, and the traffic is terrible.

So just adding uh 15,000 person stadium is just what we need there.

Um presently, uh to add this to the community, they're going to be gridlocked in their homes there.

It's it's impossible to get around right now.

And to add this venue is going to be insane.

Um I recently was at a professional women's soccer match in Washington, DC for the DC spirit.

And it's a 20,000 person stadium.

And it took forever to clear it at the end of the match.

And those people got there on public transportation.

They didn't even drive there.

And we're gonna have drivers come because we don't have public transportation to the town center.

If we do, it's very little.

So this is going to be a real problem for people that live on Beach Boulevard to Butler.

Uh and I urge you to think twice about this place.

Uh, you could have it at Regency, you could have it at IMASI, you could have it, ma'am.

Some other place.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Uh the next card, I believe it's Marina.

Uh zip code 3203, and that's all I can make out of this card.

That sounds like it may be you coming off, and then the next five speakers after that.

Uh Jonathan, last name, SMYK, Kathleen Murray, Nancy Murray Settle, Shane Trimblay, and believe this is Casey Cruz.

Go ahead.

I apologize for my handwriting.

Um, my address is on file.

Slamaikum, which if you aren't familiar means peace be upon you.

I don't know why the city leadership of Jacksonville feels like injustice is acceptable.

Why they feel like they can treat human beings with such brazen callousness.

Perhaps it's because your hearts are as hard as iron.

It's pretty clear that you guys don't care.

All right, you can't even look at us.

So I'll bring some warmth.

Perhaps soften the mattle that encases your hearts.

All right.

Please drop the charges against those kids.

All they're doing is protesting, killing babies.

All right.

If you want to be re-elected.

If you continue these evil actions, I'll be forced to bring fire.

All right.

That'll use to strike the iron that encases your heart.

And perhaps you'll bend a knee to the advancement of humanity.

And by fire, I mean political mobilization of the youth.

We're educated on these matters.

Our vote matters, and you refuse to represent us.

And as I'm standing here, you really don't represent any of Jacksonville.

It's pretty obvious that people don't really like you guys.

All right.

Your allegiance to Israel tells me everything I need to know about your character and intentions.

It's no surprise that your constituents are so unhappy.

All right.

You aren't doing a very good job because you lack morals.

And it's clear to me, listening to these good people today that they have them.

So in the future, we'll be showing up to these meetings.

We won't stop.

And not only will we vote against you, not only will we organize against you, we will run against you for office.

You're civil servants, and you work for us.

Don't forget it.

Jonathan, last name SMYK.

I'm sure I will mispronounce that, so I'll just spell it.

I'm here today to speak in support of those who have been targeted by this council and by JSO, specifically Leah Grady and Connor Collie, my fellow comrades in Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, JPSN.

Connor and Leah are two of the kindest souls that I have had the pleasure of meeting since joining this organization about six months ago.

Their strong morals and sense of justice are something we all should model.

Well, I was not at this council's meeting on May 27th, 2025.

I've seen the videos, and it's clear that while many in the chambers were clapping that day, Leah was specifically targeted and singled out by two JSO officers.

It's obvious that Leah's continuous and outspoken appearances in front of this council in support of the Palestinian people was the impetus for targeting her, especially given she was sitting in the far rear of these chambers apart from the others.

As her arrest was taking place, Connor was slammed by his neck over the chairs while filming the arrests, as he is allowed to do.

I call upon this council and JSON and the state's attorney to drop these egregious charges.

We will not be silenced.

We are only growing our movement, and we will be here and in the courts continuously and peacefully until you do what is right and is demanded of you by the citizens.

Lastly, I'd just like to express solidarity with my fellow citizens seeking their right to fish in our most beautiful resource, the public waters of the St.

John's River.

If city funds were promised to them, then those funds should be used properly.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Free Palestine, and I yield my time.

Thank you, Kathleen Murray.

Good evening.

Kathleen Murray, Citizens Defending Freedom, Address on File, speaking in support of ordinance 2026 0186, which funds infant safety devices or baby boxes at fire stations across Duval County.

This is a practical life-saving measure that provides a safe, anonymous option for parents in a crisis moment when panic can otherwise lead to irreversible harm.

These devices ensure a newborn is immediately placed into a secure, monitored environment where help is already in motion.

In that critical moment, fear is replaced with safety, and desperation is met with a path that preserves life.

This is not theoretical.

In Florida, the only existing baby box located in Ocala has already been used to safely receive a newborn.

Proof that when this option exists, it's used and it saves lives.

Fourteen fire stations mean 14 accessible points of intervention across the county.

Fourteen chances to ensure a child is received safely and given a future.

Citizens Defending Freedom supports this ordinance.

We thank the bill's sponsors and urges the council's approval.

Finally, although the freedom to fish is not explicitly mentioned in CDF's mission statements, the pursuit of happiness is foundational to the Declaration of Independence.

And as such, we urge the opening of the fishing bridge so that Duval residents and fishermen can be free to pursue their happiness.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Nancy Murray Settle.

Nancy Murray Settle, addresses on file.

We are not in DC.

I'm quoting a council member from this past summer.

She continued to say, you need to stay out of people's bedrooms, and what they do with those bodies is totally up to them.

You're totally wrong.

You have no business going down that road.

You're going down today, period.

I'm ashamed of you.

Last summer, Councilman Diamond introduced a budget amendment that divided the council.

And once again, Diamond wants to bring the culture wars to Jacksonville.

I'm talking about ordinance 0227, prohibiting the expenditure of city money on abortion or related services.

Currently, the city does not pay for abortion or abortion-related services, nor do city employee insurance plan cover elective abortions.

So why?

This unnecessary ordinance is just another attempt to slip in the budget amendment that was defeated last summer.

Yes, I am ashamed of this man also who is obsessed with regulating women's bodies and health care choices.

The ordinance is overly vague.

What are related services?

Ultrasounds, test kits, emergency contraceptives, medications, surgical procedures, all that legally fall within the already restrictive six-week Florida ban.

Why is he so obsessed with women's health care?

Because yes, access to these reproductive services is health care.

He should be all of you, we should be ensuring that all women and men have access to health care.

All children, boys, and girls have access to food, quality public education, freedom from this government overreach.

We don't want government snooping in our bedrooms and our Dr.

Ovid's visits.

Please don't support ordinance 227.

And also, I stand with Connor Dragon and Leah drop the charges again, government overreach.

Shane Trimble.

Good evening.

My name is Shane Tremblay.

My address is on file.

I'm coming to you on behalf of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.

Many people in this room, including myself, were also in this room on May 27th when Connor Leah and Dragon were brutalized and arrested.

You really didn't need to be there, though.

All of this was captured on video.

Anyone I've shown this video can account to the appalling uh use of force by JSO that day.

Uh beyond the physical brutality, uh outside the context of this is even worse.

These are three of your constituents that were punished for taking an active role in their city.

Three people conscious bringing Palestine to the ears and hearts in this chamber.

Three big hearted individuals that want to make it clear that despite y'all's uh resolution that the city of Jacksonville does not stand behind genocide.

This by the way, this is the majority opinion in this country and the world.

Y'all have the minority opinion here.

Must feel a little bizarre for some of y'all to be a minority.

This context is worse because of what it means for the people of Jacksonville that want to voice their opinion and take a stand.

It's been almost a year since my friends were brutalized by a JSON.

It's been over a year since Charles Faggard was murdered by JSON.

It's been over two years of an ongoing genocide.

When will y'all take a stand?

How many more people need to get arrested?

How many more people need to get brutalized?

How many more people need to die?

Leah's trials tomorrow at 9 a.m.

Connor's trial is on the 28th at 9 a.m.

I urge folks in this room that stand for a free Jacksonville and for a free Palestine to join us in support.

Drop the charges, free Palestine.

Next speaker, I believe this is Kaya Cooney.

And then the five after that come on down.

Connor Cavley, Ashley McKenzie.

Clarence Maximus Cassius, I believe that is.

Hi, I'm Kaya Cuny.

My address is on file.

I've heard a lot of good uh arguments about why the treatment of the three people who were arrested last year is unfair and why this trials are just a way to punish them without actually convicting them of a crime.

But I know we are a practical group of people.

Your jobs is to take money on one end and decide where it goes on the other.

So I have put together a list of some better uses of the cost of uh putting these three sham trials in place.

We could fill in 1,500 potholes in the city.

We could pay for 37,500 school lunches, 5,000 bus stop benches, 35,885 gallons of gas, 653 wheelchairs.

City council pay amounting to 10,714 hours.

7,500 clown makeup kits.

Uh all items in 15 to 20 dollar general stores.

One quarter of the budget of the film Napoleon Dynamite, and approximately one Playboy Cardi feature if you were to produce a hip hop track.

Thank you, that is all.

Connor Cavley.

Connor Collie, address on file.

So almost a year ago, myself, Leah, and Dragon were brutally arrested and dragged out of these council chambers simply for speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

I'm currently facing two trumped-up felonies.

I did not commit, each carrying a maximum sentence of five years each.

I'm here today to remind City Council that you not only remain complicit in this clear case of political repression, but that you also remain complicit in said genocide through resolution 0742, which you have yet to rescind.

I'm also here to remind the people who have come here today to have their voices heard that this threat of violent removal for disagreeing with the council extends beyond just the anti-war movement.

Just two weeks prior to my arrest, the family of Charles Faggart was removed for demanding his justice, and two weeks after Miss Lydia Bell was threatened with removal for speaking out against the redlining of Brentwood.

The way this council treats her constituents is horrid and disgusting and should not be tolerated by the people.

Chalky Arla is an Irish phrase that means our day will come.

And sure enough, no matter how many times you share my mugshot on y'all's Facebooks, y'all's day will come to an end, and the day of the working and marginalized people of Jacksonville will come to fruition.

I unite with the JCAC's demands for a mental health response team, and I want to invite everyone in this room to come to my trial on the 28th.

Not only to support myself, but to join us in the struggle and fight against the repression of all of our voices.

Chakiar Law, free Palestine.

Council Mirapalisa would like to speak to you in the green room.

Ashley McKenzie.

My name is Ashley McKenzie.

My address is on file.

On May 27, 2025, the city council decided to deploy JSO to target, brutalize, and arrest three of our beloved community members in a clear act of political repression, as they advocated in support of the Palestinian people amidst an escalated genocide.

During the brutalizations, an officer permanently injured Leah's wrist and another threw Connor by his neck over a row of chairs.

Dragon was arrested for merely being a concerned friend.

The implications of these actions are grim.

They mean that this council believes it is above accountability.

You banned clapping and showing signs of support because a unified room of constituents terrifies you.

You don't want to hear speech against you backed by a whole community because that signifies your facade of invincibility is crumbling.

This commitment to cowardly actions means you see JSO as your personal enforcement arm.

The fact that City Council continues to allow officers with a history of violent misconduct and domestic violence charges to monitor chambers to keep us safe is beyond shameful in a clear attempt at political intimidation.

But let our presence here tonight serve as a reminder that we are not afraid of you.

The true power here lies in the hands of every single working class person sitting behind me who comes out each and every week to confront your corruption in these chambers.

It's evident that none of you have interest in the will of your constituents.

You ignored protests against the Brentwood morgue, the first in America built in a residential neighborhood at a historically black neighborhood.

You're wasting a billion dollars on a new jail instead of allocating that money to providing affordable housing, supporting food programs, or repairing what already exists.

You also pledged allegiance to a genocidal entity before listening to a single person in this chamber as we campaigned against your pro-Israel resolution for over two years.

May 27th was not an accident.

It was an expected conclusion of a council that silences dissent, weaponizes police, and punishes those who refuse to be quiet.

Leah's trial is tomorrow, April 15th at 9 a.m.

Connors is April 28th.

We will be at the courthouse and we will keep this fight raging until the charges are dropped.

Free Palestine.

Next up is Clarence Long Maximus Cassius.

Okay, I'll call that again later.

My name is Sarah Posey.

My address is on file.

Um as I was walking up, I noticed Peluso and I actually have the same water bottle.

I guess I'll burn it.

I'm with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.

On May 27th, 2025.

City Council allowed JSO to brutally arrest three organizers and community members for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech here in this room.

I stand before you today, concerned that you are normalizing silencing your constituents' voices as an act of political repression, whether it be through ignoring us when we bring our demands for a ceasefire resolution, failing to meet our eyes, when we bring hundreds of pages filled with the names of Palestinians murdered in the ongoing genocide, concerned that you would rather let your constituents be brutalized in your chambers at your command before you would let their words change your mind.

Because you are that afraid of finding out that you might have been wrong all this time.

This is the definition of bigotry.

You claim you want your chambers to feel safe.

In my experience, the safest places are filled with resources to meet my needs and filled with people who I trust, neither of which you have provided.

You have nearly unlimited power to enact legislation that will actually meet the needs for our community.

And what I need is to not be falsely represented by my council members who to this day maintain that Jacksonville supports a genocidal state.

And as for trust, you don't build trust by allowing your constituents to be brutalized in your chambers for the simple act of clapping, and then tweet about it an hour later, saying things like hashtag back the blue and hashtag FAFO, which is an acronym for fuck around and find out.

These arrests were would be your final warning for language, even though you only have nine seconds.

I yield the rest of my time.

Next up, Ashley Chapman, and then the four final speakers, please come on down.

Charlie Bender, Jake Jacobs, John Nooney, and Caroline Schultz.

Ashley.

Ashley Chapman addresses on file here at the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

Far too many times, members of our community have called the police, trusting that they would serve and protect their loved ones undergoing a mental episode.

Instead, the police arrived and murdered the person they were called to help.

People like Brian Gillis, a 30-year-old with a documented history of mental health struggles who was killed by JSON.

People like Jose Cabrera, also with a known history of mental illness, who was killed in his own son's yard.

Tell me how one mentally ill 62-year-old in flip-flops is a deadly threat to three heavily armed officers.

His daughter said he has his good days and his bad days, but mental illness means there's nothing for sure.

His son said, I break right now.

Why'd you shoot my dad?

Why'd you kill him?

Why'd you shoot him?

JSO has proven themselves to be fundamentally inequipped to deal with these matters.

This is why we have an urgent immediate need for an emergency mental health response team.

You have all deemed it fit to spend $750,000 on a survey simply to decide where to put a jail, much less to build it, instead of investing in infrastructure that keeps people out of it.

Furthermore, I implore you to join us in asking the charges to be dropped on Connor, Leah, and Dragon.

To all those listening, if you can be arrested for speaking up in public comment, every person here is a suspect, and all of us are at risk.

Thank you.

Charlie Bender.

I'm 67 now.

And I fished on that, sailed on that, swam in that creek.

It was a wonderful, wonderful waterway.

11 years ago, my wife and I bought our family property and moved back.

And we noticed a big difference since the inception of the Sandalwood Canal.

The waterway has not been the same.

We don't see the wildlife.

Rarely see manatees anymore that we used to see all the time.

Five years ago, that the set uh sediment that uh was filling in the creek had accelerated greatly with the expansion of the Sandalwood Canal.

Uh, the north end of the creek in our canal is now uh completely sanded in.

It's not coming from the intercoastal, it's coming from the sandalwood canal.

I am advocating and asking the council to put forth the funds on the uh on your uh expenditures to make sure that a proper environmental study is done to assess exactly what damage the Sandalwood Canal has done and is continuing to do to our wildlife and our environment.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Jake Jacobs.

Good evening.

My name is Jake Jacobs from 1415 Pine Island Drive, uh Hog Pine Creek.

Um I would like to ask all of my neighbors that uh came here today to stand up so that the council can see who you are.

Thank you.

I want to thank Councilman Amaro for meeting with me today to discuss this very topic.

Uh the sediment buildup in Hog Pine Creek has been identified as a concern, but the underlying causes have not been fully analyzed or quantified.

There are multiple factors that influence the sediment movement, and each of you should have received this deck, which I'm reading from.

Number two, the stormwater runoff from developed areas such as San Pablo Road.

And number three, in channel disturbances, such as the work that was done by JEA in uh 2013 to 2018 and in 2023.

Gentlemen, still standing, please have a seat.

That's considered a display right there.

Thank you.

Without a watershed level analysis, the city lacks the information needed to determine the primary sources of sediment or develop effective long-term solutions.

A comprehensive watershed analysis is the standard method for evaluating these types of systems.

If you look through this deck, you can see just how significant this problem is.

The Sandalwood Canal is an 11 square mile, just over 7,000 acres.

I put a map in there so you can visually see what it this is.

Thank you, sir.

Uh next up is John Noone.

Hello.

You know, there's a waterways commission meeting tomorrow at 9 30.

You know, so hope they show up.

There.

Listen, I am John Philanthropic, Jelly Roll, good boy, resiliency nooney.

8356, Baskum Roads, Xville, Florida, 3216.

I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC, Planning District 3, Rosemary Wislowski.

School Board District 3, Cindy Pearson, 2025, 0867, 2024 0107, 2024 0325.

Look them up.

It's evidence.

Governor Ron DeSantis, Pardon Nooney, FWC, fishing with corrections.

Now the next topic, you know, at a recent ethics commission meeting, I asked, we have six seat packs representing the entire city of Jacksonville, the MDC, Mayor's Disability Council, the Council on Elder Affairs, uh Senior Citizen Gang.

Why is OGC not represented at these meetings?

Uh right now, CPAC meetings.

Here's three that I went to the North District, Southeast District.

I'm in that one.

It's probably the worst.

Then the Urban Core.

Well, here's JTA, and here's JEA.

Only down to about like 50 some seconds.

But what I want to just share with you, JTA, public transportation.

Anyone that's attending or representing JTA needs to go to these senior citizens using public transportation.

If you can't do that and then report back, then don't sign up for it.

Okay, uh, just down to like 20 some seconds.

JEA.

You know, they're not even on the agendas.

And let me just say with JEA, always remember the river accord.

And you know, um, and you know, right there, that's public access, you know, uh septic tanks.

You know, just down to 12 seconds.

But public access on our waterways, it's the worst ever.

But FWC, fishing with Crady, the George Crady Bridge, you know, FWC 2026 0024.

Carolyn with Clara.

Hi, my name is Caroline Schultz.

My address is on file.

I'm a member of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.

Um, it sounds like you guys care about kids because you're over here um claiming more than 300,000 to put up baby donation boxes around town.

So I'm assuming you do, but it's pretty selective, right?

Just the local kids, just the white kids you care about.

You can think about local kids, but you can't think about kids in Palestine.

We come in here week after week for over two years to demand for you to sign our ceasefire resolution.

Your eyes glaze over, you play games on your cell phones, you eat snacks, you excuse yourself from the dyes.

Instead, you all have claimed allegiance to a genocidal foreign entity committing treason for the whole city to see.

I know you see the images of an entire people being ethnically cleansed and genocided, bombed, being starved, being tortured.

You can't ignore it.

You see the images of parents picking up the remains of their little babies in plastic bags.

What if that was here in Jacksonville?

What if that was the little pieces of Monroe's the little jacks, the little Christies having to be picked up by their parents in public screw shoe bags?

Would you care then?

Speaking of selective, let's talk about city council's history of selectively using arbitrary conduct rules, forced removal, shortened speaking times, and arrest to silence community members who are speaking up against the wrongs of this world.

You are silencing dissent and ignoring the will of your constituents, the ones you work for.

First, it was passing new rules about clapping or showing any type of support for speakers.

Now you are sicking JSO, violent, brutal JSO officers on the people.

All right.

Point of order, Mr.

Johnson.

Johnson, what's your point of order?

About what?

Mr.

President, I'm sorry to interrupt this uh constitu uh this young lady here, and I just have to say this body.

We cannot say the names of children here, especially the children of the members of this body.

They did not sign up for this.

And especially in this context, this is incorrect.

And I do believe the speaker does need to be uh not removed, but your your remarks must through the president.

I'm sorry.

I don't un the remarks should be cold at this time, please.

All right, I'll agree with that.

You can be seated.

I don't know that the kids thank you, ma'am.

Your time is done.

Uh I'm gonna call this name again.

Uh he did wish to speak, but he did not come up.

Clarence Long Maximus Cassius, I believe, is that person here?

Okay.

Uh Mr.

President, that concludes all those wishing to speak.

I'm gonna read some those that do not wish to speak and read them into the record.

Mary Stafford, uh, please continue to research closely school consolidations.

Han Churner, please do not build a football stadium next to my subdivision.

She's from the 32246 area code.

Uh Margaret Hall opposed to stadium being built near UNF.

Catherine Del Rio, 2026 0186, she supports baby boxes.

Deb Hitchcock, yes to baby box, no to the new soccer stadium.

Michelle Dumars, police accountability, justice for mental health victims who were killed from lack of proper care.

Kari Cooper, uh Grady Bridge, uh Faith Elliott, uh citizens have a right to free speech and the protest.

And Marcos Azelli drop the uh drop the charges on Connor, Leah, and Dragon.

This is a public comment.

And it is now time for our public hearings beginning on page 16.

Council members should declare any ex parte communications, and anyone wishing to speak on the following bill should have completed a blue speaker card, and you will be allowed three minutes to speak.

You may state your address is on record, but you're encouraged to be more specific with your locations that may impact the weight given to your comments.

Like public comment, a speaker may be invited to the green room for further discussion at a council member's discretion.

Mr.

Teal, please read the bills.

2026 005, 140, 170, 174, 175, 21, 212, 213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 22, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 248, 249, 2026, 006, 7, 22, 23, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, and 169.

We can open up all these public hearings.

I'm 20, 2026, 0005.

I have one speaker card, Mr.

John Nini.

Mr.

Nini, you've filled out a lot of cards tonight.

Please speak directly to the bill of what you're coming up for.

That is 2026 0005.

Hello.

I am John J.

Noone.

Jacksonville City Council resolution 2023 0819.

I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3 School Board District 3.

The reason uh I wanted to fill this out.

Address Mr.

Nini.

Yeah, 8356 basketball road.

Uh was when this went through the committee process.

You know, uh, here's the CPAC meeting, and it that I was at.

And the CPAC wanted a resolution, and it this could have been deferred.

And the reason I just want to speak at it was that it was said through the committee process that people could come here.

I don't know if Mr.

Smith is here, the chair, or anybody, you know, from the CPACs.

And uh, but I just want to be on the record for this.

This is just one of dozens of examples.

You know, with these C PACs.

You know, OGC is not there.

It is completely off the charts with stuff.

So uh anyway, that's you know, I I just wanted to uh speak to it because through the committee process, it was said this is a public hearing.

You get one more turn.

It could have been easily deferred so that the CPAC resolution would then at least have some meaning.

All right, thank you for listening.

I have no more speaker cards.

All right, the public hearing is closed.

Mr.

President, I have an amendment.

It's the floor leader amendment that has been passed around to everyone.

I move the amendment if I can get a second.

We've got a motion second on the floor leader amendments.

I will have Ms.

Stefopolis explain this technical amendment.

Thank you.

Through the president to the council.

So there is a summary of this floor amendment on your blue sheet to uh in the instance you want to refer to it.

It was a technical cleanup after we went through the committee process.

The neighborhoods committee had approved an amendment that addressed the fact that there were additional property owners that were identified and then noticed.

And when we initially drafted that amendment coming out of neighborhoods, originally the split was eight initial property owners were noticed, and then two were thereafter notice when we identified those two additional.

We identified that there were actually three property owners that were noticed on the second round, and seven that were noticed on the first round.

So it's everything that was approved through the neighborhood's amendment with the change that it was seven initial property owners that were noticed and three additional that were noticed the second round.

All right, Dr.

Johnson on the amendment.

I just wanted to say, and there's actually it's on the bill, Mr.

President.

I'll wait.

I'll wait.

All right, no one else in the queue.

All in favor of the floor amendment.

Signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed say nay, the amendment passes.

Move the move the bill as amended.

Got a motion second on the bill as amended.

Dr.

Johnson, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I rise uh for this quickly to say in TEU, this was discussed, and I know it was brought up in public hearing that it needed to go back to the CPAC, but the CPAC chair was here at the time, and uh we have not, from my understanding, there's not been a communication from the CPAC, but the chair did go back and share the information with the CPAC.

So all of that information was, and if there were any objections, uh the chair did let us know that the CPAC would bring it up to us.

Thank you.

Wrong bill.

All right.

So we're gonna go ahead and vote.

Unless Ms.

Clark Mayor would like to speak.

You're recognized.

Thank you.

Uh do the chair through the president to council member Johnson.

This is the wrong bill.

The other bill is the other bill.

So please just disregard what council member Johnson said because it refers to another bill.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right.

Thank you.

All right.

So we have passed the floor amendment on this bill, and we'll go ahead and open the ballot.

Record your vote.

19 yes, zero nays.

By reaction to approved 2026-0005 as amended.

I'm 29, 2029, 140.

I have seven speaker cards for that wish to speak.

Come on down, Mr.

Tony Langles, Kathleen Pereira, Blake Harper, and Jerry Woodham.

And then while they're coming down, I'm going to read the do not wish to speak.

Uh Deb Hitchcock opposes this ordinance, as does Catherine Del Ray and Ann Martin.

Those three all oppose this ordinance.

Uh Mr.

Langles, go ahead.

Good evening, everyone.

Uh my name is Tony Langles.

Address is on file.

It won't take me very long to address this issue.

Uh I'll just make it uh short and quick.

Uh per ordinance uh 2026 0140 to rename Confederate Street to Rose Arbor Way, at least to pick the colorful name to rename the street.

I'll give you that.

I do not want my taxpayers' money spent in this fashion.

The councilman is using the name change to erase the Civil War history to reshape the Civil War narrative of our city.

Confederate street has been a part of Jacksonville's history for years.

Let's keep it that way.

Let's not change it.

So vote no on this name change for 0140.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Kathleen Prayer.

My name is Kathleen Prayer.

My information is on file.

There is no need to change any of our streets' names, but there is a need to fix the potholes in our streets.

Stop wasting our resources on such virtual signaling to eradicate our history.

Good, bad, or indifferent, our history is our history.

Its main job is to remind everyone to strive on improving ourselves from the lessons learned from controversial times.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Blake Harper.

Blake Harper information on file.

I have been working to protect the history of Jacksonville for over three years.

Every time the issue has come up about protecting the history of Jacksonville, you all have made the wrong decision.

When you've had the opportunity to make the right decision, you haven't taken it.

The reality of it is that history for a nation is like your memory and your personality.

We're 250 years old.

We're not perfect.

But we are the single greatest nation that's ever been on this earth.

We've had mistakes.

We've made mistakes.

We started out in a world of slavery in a world of oppression and darkness.

We understood that we needed to fix that.

And we worked on it.

600,000 people.

Their lives were lost.

And then in the compromise of 1877, all those lives were washed down the drain when the Democrat Party re-established economic and political slavery in the South.

To me, this isn't about the Civil War.

To me, this is about what happened after it.

There's a narrative out there which is absolutely false.

I keep on reciting Joseph Gerbil's and uh Saulinski tell a lie often enough it becomes the truth.

You might even actually believe it yourself.

That's exactly what's happened.

I asked the question, what would what would the other side of the this conversation say if they want if somebody wanted to change a name that had something to do with their side of the conversation because they didn't like it?

Would you all go along with that?

What kind of a precedence are you setting here?

Because somebody doesn't like something.

The facts are the facts, they're uncontroverted.

This is a long this is a long-standing street.

We need to learn from our the thing about this nation is we have we have learned from our history.

We need to keep that history in mind.

We aren't the same nation today that we were in the year I was born.

When uh a gentleman wrote color communism and common sense when we were a black and white nation.

We are no longer a black and white nation.

We're integrated, we're multicultural nation of many colors and hues.

And we that's a great success.

And so when you start to start to remove the point of our beginning, then you start to diminish that success.

And you start and you start to diminish the reality of how great this nation is.

Indeed, as we were talking about with the the 250th uh celebration, they're trying to destroy our history, our nation, the foundation of it, and this is a small part of it.

Please make the right decision.

Thank you.

Next next up, Miss Jerry Woodham, and then John Nooney will be after Miss Woodham.

So come on down where oh, there you are.

Miss Woodham.

Uh Chaplain Jerry Woodham, address on file.

I stand here tonight to not to tell you to not fall for a long-held tactic of communism, destroying history, wipe out any remnant of it.

We are a town that had Confederate and Yankees fighting against one another in a terrible war.

We can't change that, but we can learn from it.

From 1862 to 1865, there were 11 states referred to as the Southern Confederate, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Did you hear that?

Florida.

You can't change that history.

Children can learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

If children don't learn history, we're apt to repeat it.

Keeping the name Confederate is merely just conserving history.

It is not condoning the slavery, but it is a reminder to never go down that path again.

The Declaration of Independence says all men are created equal.

So she we we should remember that on God's law, once we are forgiven by Christ, we are all one family.

Only people that want to cause division want to destroy our history.

Why did communists do it?

So they can replace our history with their own version.

So stand for the truth and vote no on 2026 0140.

We must protect our history.

And lastly, what does it cost to change the name of a street?

John Owning.

Hello.

My name's John Uny.

Name and address is on file.

I just want to apologize.

I had the bill number wrong.

And uh, but I did want to speak on this, and really it's more of a just a point of order, you know, with the process with all these CPACs.

Like I said, there's dozens of examples.

But I just want to say or and and just speak to this.

Again, it was the you know, on the agenda, it wasn't even on the agenda, but they talked about it at the meeting, and then they voted on something.

So I just again want to be on the record with this.

And there are so many other examples with these C PACs.

So uh that's really what I just wanted to talk about, and again, I apologize for Mr.

D.

I think you forgot your address again.

Okay, just say it's on file.

Uh well, I said it was on file.

Thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

All right.

So I moved the uh the amendment.

Yes, I moved the TEU amendment.

Oh, I believe sorry.

I moved the TEU amendment.

Dr.

Johnson is having a conversation out there.

Uh Councilwoman McClark Murray recognized on the amendment.

Yes, thank you.

Um the through the president to the council.

So the amendment was proposed as a you know, a a compromise in a sense for changing instead of the entire street, a portion of the street.

And so those of us who are on neighborhoods, we thought that that was very fair to do so because if a person lives on a particular street, which most of the people who come who came to the podium, they don't live on the street.

They pay their money, the fee, and they want the name of their street changed, they have the right to do so.

And they went through the proper procedure to do so.

So with that being said, they should be able to change the name of the street where they have property to the name that they're choosing, as long as it's not vulgar and it doesn't um uh is not in any way illegitimate or break any laws.

So with that being said, everyone should pass this amendment.

And if through the through the president, may I call up Ms.

Pollock for a moment?

Yep, you still have some time.

Because there have been many things that have been said this evening that are not true, and as I stated earlier, it's amazing how everyone is speaking for the street except for those who live on the street.

So we know that this street has two halves in a sense, it's not a straight road, it has one portion that is near the park that parallels the park, uh Springfield Park, and there's another portion that's more business like.

So through the through the president to Ms.

Pollock, would you first of all because that there have been many things said in regards to the history of this road?

And I did read, and I'm hoping that I read correctly.

What was the original name of this road?

And it was in your report.

Do you remember the recall the original name?

Cherry Pollock, Office of General Counsel, and the uh historic preservation committee through the chair to council member Clark Murray.

The historic preservation commission issued a report, um, and that is in the um in the documents, and I believe that the original name was ND Confederate Street as um mentioned in the report.

And so they did their um they did a review and they recommended they voted to change the name of Confederate Committee.

And do you recall the time what what what year or what time frame was that?

It wasn't during the during the Confederate war.

I think it was in the eight.

I have the minutes here, I have to just go through the minutes of the HPC, uh the minutes.

Well, within the time that I have, because I I did read that it was called maybe Lincoln Way or Lincoln Street at one time, and so it was changed to Confederate Street, because I I did my reading, but I didn't read it recently, so it's it's tough for me to recall right now.

But thank you, Ms.

Pollock, for that just very briefly.

But the point that I'm making is this if someone lives on a road and has property on a road, they should have the right to change the name of the road.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Dr.

Johnson, you coming back?

All right, Dr.

Johnson on the amendment, then Dr.

Salem.

Not on the amendment.

All right, Dr.

Salem on the amendment.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I am familiar with the neighborhood amendment and voted against it in committee.

I am not familiar.

I apologize on the TEU amendment.

How does that differ from the neighborhood amendment through the chair to Mary?

For the president to council member Salem.

So the you recall the neighborhoods committee, the primary aspect of their amendment was it instead of renaming the entirety of Confederate Street, it's renaming the portion between Market Street and Liberty Street.

When the item was marked for the subsequent committee agenda and rules, it reflected a waiver of a provision of the code where it it would provide that because you were only doing a portion of the street to be renamed, it it inserted in the amendment that it included a waiver of the code provision, because otherwise the code says you have to rename the entirety uh of the street.

However, upon further review, Miss Shell looked at it as well as Ms.

Pollock.

They determined because Confederate Street is not contiguous, that waiver was not necessary.

So the only thing that the TEU amendment did was take the waiver out that was added as part of the neighborhoods amendment.

Everything else remains the same.

So it's essentially the neighborhood amendment.

It is the EU amendment.

Correct.

Okay.

I just want to make sure I know what I'm voting against.

Thank you.

All right.

All in favor of the amendment.

Let's do a show of hands.

The amendment passes.

I move the bill as amended.

I have a motion and second on the bill as amended.

Dr.

Johnson.

You, Ms.

President.

And I've got a little discombobulated on the other bill.

And uh Mr.

Teal got me.

We were dealing with another issue, but I want to say here quickly with this uh as it stands.

I'm gonna repeat what I said, but I also want to explain um and share uh one of the reasons that I had some trepidation with this.

Uh number number one, um, as I said earlier, the CPAC chair was at our meeting in uh TEU.

And I do believe had there been any kind of objection, uh, we'd have got some something back from them, and I hadn't seen it anything uh to that respect in my email or you know, from to our offices.

Uh so I think that they're okay with this.

Uh number two, I voted no on this in committee.

Uh I was the only one to do that, and let me explain why.

Um, while I will probably support this bill tonight, uh my reason for voting no is because I think if we're going to do something, I don't want to be performative about it.

If we're gonna rename the street, um, even though the street is not contiguous, I don't believe we should do portions of it.

If we're gonna do it, let's do the whole thing or let's not do it at all.

And so that was my reason for voting no because I really, while I do understand that it was a concession and that only a part of the street was named.

I do believe this is an opportunity to move forward.

And as I share with uh one of the emails I got, I try to return all the emails I get.

But as I explained to them, it's not about erasing history, but it's about preserving dignity.

You cannot erase history.

That's impossible.

But what we can do is work to the aspirational needs of our community today, and I believe that's what renaming this does.

So I do not believe that we should do just portions of it, but uh I will am highly likely to support this tonight.

Thank you for letting me share that, Mr.

President.

All right, there is no one else in the queue.

Please open the ball and record your vote.

11 days, eight nays.

By interaction, you've approved 2026.

And Council Member Peluso, you recognize.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh, I want to thank this body uh uh for putting this bill up.

And I genuinely want to thank uh through the present to to Councilmember Boylan.

Um I know this was this was a tough one for for a lot of folks.

Um this was not about me or or my great initiative by any means is because desk asked for this and we want to respect them.

And I genuinely appreciate you doing uh the good work uh in the committee process.

Um this was a this was a uh it's not ideal, but in this body, uh and and given given where we are, I want to be I want to show gratefulness when when it's due.

So it's a thank you, sir, and thank you to this body.

All right, thank you very much.

Mr.

Floor Leader.

I'm 30, 2026, 170, I have no speaker cards.

Public hearings closed.

I'm 31, 2026 174.

I have one speaker card, questions only, Mr.

Austin Riboshka.

Open caring is closed.

I move the amendment.

And motion second on the amendment, no one's in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed to saying nay, amendment carries.

I re-refer as amended.

Got a motion and a second on the re-refer as amended.

No one's in the queue, please open the ball.

19 yes, zero nays.

Right, your action, you've amended and re-referred 2026-0174.

I'm 32, 2026, 175.

I have one speaker card, Austin Ruboshka, uh questions only.

Public hearings closed.

I move the amendment.

Got a motion second on the amendment.

No one's in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any post saying nay?

The amendment carries.

I move to re-refer as amended.

We've got a motion second on the re-refer as amended.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ballot and record your vote.

19 yes, zero nays.

By your action, you've amended and re-referred 2026-0175.

I'm 3334, 2026, 211-212.

I have no speaker cards.

These public hearings are closed.

I'm 35, 2026, 213.

I have one speaker card, John Nooney.

Hello.

I am John J.

Nooney, Jacksonville City Council resolution 2023 0819.

Then City Council District 4 CPAC pointing district three school board district three.

All right, uh this ordinance 2026 0213.

You know, it's a uh balanced budget uh stabilization reserve.

Um what we're gonna do, we're gonna be changing the process for when general fund journal service distribution unassigned fund balances increases to fund future financial obligations.

I mean, this is some good stuff.

I mean, you know, that sounds like uh some rap legislation to me, you know.

And uh we all know what that's uh acronym for RAP.

That's Renegades at Pottsburg Creek.

That's good.

I'm in.

No, it's uh no, this is gonna be it's in rules finance, you know, it's not neighborhoods or waterways, but you know, this is some real CIP stuff, you know, our capital improvement projects.

You know, I can't help but think of 2025 0867.

No, and uh, you know, Wendy Kahn, you know, Office of Economic Development, that's CIP.

No, what we're doing is this is going to be funding future financial obligations.

What an unbelievable opportunity.

You know, for legislative leadership, you know, you know, with this body.

So uh FWC, you know, financing with council.

I'm in.

All right, thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

Public hearings closed.

I'm 36, 2026, 214.

I have one speaker card.

I believe this is uh Shanice Dunham.

Good evening.

Thank you for coming here.

My name is Shanise Denham.

Um I don't know if I'm supposed to say my address is on file because it's on that paper, or do I still need to say it?

I still need to say it.

You can say addresses on file.

Okay, my address is on file.

Um, so I came to speak because I recently attended a housing symposium at the main library, I believe.

Councilman Peluso was there.

Um, and uh there were many organizations that address our affordability crisis in Jacksonville.

Um, but what stood out to me was that the access to a lot of the resources, it it shows that there we have a lot of major barriers for the people who actually need those resources, the low and extremely low citizens of Jacksonville.

Um there's a lot of administrative burden.

Um there's a lot of technical language that a lot of these residents probably don't know or understand.

Um, and they're dealing with already um high daily stress.

So I just wanted to make sure that we're understanding uh what the United Way 211 um, because this program, we just want to make sure that they're addressing those real world barriers that the low and extremely low residents are facing.

Um just to make sure that when we discuss this with the mayor's office and the city, um, we're simplifying the navigation for these citizens, um, reducing the friction for them to access those resources and ensuring that the people in these high stress situations can actually connect and see the success.

Um, I also just wanted to post these questions for the council.

Um are there any follow-up referrals to see if these resources are actually being helpful?

Um is there a support for the people who struggle with the applications or any of the documentation that's required during the process?

And also, is there any plain language or accessibility being addressed for those citizens who face those barriers?

That's all.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

Public hearings closed.

I'm 3738 2026 215 217, no speaker cards.

These public hearings are both closed.

I'm 39 2026 218, one speaker card, John Nooney.

Name and address, Mr.

Nooney.

All right.

Uh my name is John Nooney.

Uh name and address is on file.

All right.

Um now this one, you know, this is you know, DIA stuff.

And all I just want to just say on this is this going to the urban core CPAC.

You know, we have 2026 000.

Uh excuse me.

Um, yeah, that one.

And uh 2026 0024.

But uh again, you know, it's I just want to speak on this.

You know, you got DIA board meeting tomorrow.

You know, and uh you the urban core CPAC.

All right, thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

Public hearings closed.

Item 40, 2026, 219, one speaker card, John Nooney.

Uh my name's John Nooney, name and address is on file.

You know, again, this is another one of these where you know, uh DIA board meeting tomorrow, too.

But uh, is this also you know, with the uh Urban Core C PACs, you know, and it's not just this one, like I said, it's all six of them.

So um anyway, I just wanted to uh you know just have that on the record.

Thank you.

No more speaker cards.

Public hearings closed.

Items 41, 42, 43, 2026, 222, 21, 22, no speaker cards.

Public hearings are closed.

Item 44, 2026, 223, one speaker card, John Noone.

Hello, I am John J.

Nooney, Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023 0819 in City Council District 4 CPAC 3 School Board District 3.

All right, now this is a happy bill.

I mean, this this is a good one.

Okay, we're you know, ex DIA.

I mean, we're expanding the drinking zone.

I got my Guinness shirt on, FWC, you know, it's spin off the Fish and Wildlife Commission, but in this case it's fishing with cocktails.

And uh I'll I'll tell you, uh, and tomorrow, like I said, we got DIA board meeting, you know, FWC fishing with collin.

You know, DI downtown includes alcohol, and you know, again, at the urban core CPAC meeting, they wanted this, you know, why not make it citywide?

And uh, so anyway, you know, I just wanted to get that on on the on the record.

I'm in, and uh just make it citywide and send it to all the committees.

It's the neighborhoods rules, you know.

Uh send it to all of them.

Mr.

Ninning, can you tell us your address is on file again?

8356 Bascombe Road.

Thank you.

I also had one do not wish to speak.

Ms.

Jerry Woodham opposes this ordinance.

Oh no more speaker cards.

Public hearings closed.

Item 4546, 2026, 224, 225, no speaker cards.

These public hearings closed.

Item 47, 2026, 226.

One speaker card, John Nooning.

All right, my name's John Nooney.

Name and address is on file.

Now, this one, you know, um, okay, we're appropriating 77,000 in grant funding from FWC.

Yeah, here we go.

Fish Wildlife Commission.

And you know, my thing is, you know, we got waterways tomorrow, and this is, I mean, this is in everything.

This is a neighborhoods, TEU, Finance, Waterways Commission.

And so we have four, we're gonna be disposing of four derelict vessels.

And so, I mean, where are they now?

I mean, is it in just one particular council district?

I mean, uh just curious about that.

And uh, but anyway, uh no, I support it and just wanted to speak to it.

Thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

Public hearing closed.

Item 48, 2026, 227, seven speaker cards, none of which are John Nooney.

Come on down.

Uh Miss Kathleen Pereira, Mr.

Blake Harper, Miss Kathleen Murray, and then Miss Deb Hitchcock does not wish to speak but opposes this.

Catherine Delray does not wish to speak and supports this.

I'm sorry, Miss Deb Hitchcock supports this.

So does Kath uh Catherine Delray and Martin also supports but does not wish to speak, and Nancy Murray Settle opposes, does not wish to speak.

Uh Miss Pereira.

Yes, my name is Kathleen Prayer.

My information is on file.

Uh, I don't know if y'all remember, but to prepare paraphrase, Chaplin Zimmerman who spoke at our Invo vacation today.

She said everyone has a right to a good life.

Our taxes are supposed to be used again for that common good, which means preserving life, not taking innocent life away.

It's time to stop pretending that abortion is health care.

It is the antithesis of health on many levels.

The death of a helpless unborn child, the fatal wound to a mother's soul, and the further destruction of the family.

And so this bill is necessary to make sure that the taxpayers should not be forced to be complicit with this.

Uh these things like abortion, nor with those who willfully and callously murder the responsibility.

Please pass this bill.

Thank you, Mr.

Blake Harper.

Blake Harper information on file.

First, a bit of legislative history.

Reggie Gaffney Sr.

put up a bill for uh Jacksonville taxpayers to pay travel expenses for city employees to go get abortions out of state.

This is when the abortion amendment was on was uh was up for a vote in the last election prior to that.

So roundly uh offensive was that uh to the city of Jacksonville.

That Reggie Gaffney Sr.

withdrew that bill.

The city of Jacksonville very clearly understands how important life is.

It understands how important how wicked taking an unborn child out of a womb is.

Very simply.

By the way, uh just real real quick comment.

I didn't have a chance to speak on another bill that Mr.

Diamond is is has put up.

But I want to thank Mr.

Diamond for putting up two very strong pro-life, protect unborn children, protect uh newborn children.

That's a huge thing.

And you will all do well to support these.

So back to this.

So why?

Why is it important that Mr.

Diamond put this up?

Well, this mayor has a record, a penchant, if you will, Ponchan, however you want to pronounce it, of deciding to do whatever the blank she wants to do, irrespective of what the codes say.

Started with taking down the women of the Southland statute when she did not get a certificate of of uh appropriateness.

The uh hologram, uh hollow hologram Donna thing, was was money taken out of parks.

It was never supposed to be used for that.

Uh, she she decided that your veto wasn't relevant.

Mr.

Harper, we gotta get back to the bill of I I am.

I'm talking about, but the reason for this, okay.

The reason for this is because you have an executive who's who will try to do anything she can to pursue her agenda, even when it's she knows people don't want it.

So this is a very important stopgap.

So I again uh Mr.

Lane and I know I know my the rules here, and I will I will speak to the necess necessity of a context, which is what this is.

You have to put this boundary in place.

The city of Jacksonville has spoken over and over again.

We have a mayor who goes rogue.

This is very important to do this.

I wouldn't be surprised if the vote is along party line, which it seems to be so often.

This needs to pass, folks.

We need to make sure that we protect unborn children.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Kathleen Murray.

Good evening.

Kathleen Murray, Citizens Defending Freedom, address on file, speaking in strong support of this ordinance to prohibit city funds from being used for abortions and related services.

This is not a marginal budget decision.

It is a question of whether public money should be used to fund the intentional ending of human life.

At its core, the issue is simple but profound.

A child in the womb is the same human life that child will be moments later outside the womb.

The only difference is timing and location.

When government crosses that line, citizens are compelled to financially participate in decisions that many deeply and conscientiously reject.

This ordinance draws a clear boundary.

City funds should support services that protect life, strengthen families, and provide real help for women in crisis without requiring taxpayers to fund abortion.

And consistency is unavoidable.

This council cannot affirm the value of an infant life through baby boxes designed to preserve and protect newborns in their most vulnerable moments, and then turn around and fund the intentional ending of the same human life.

That is not nuanced policy distinction.

It is a direct contradiction in how the value of life is applied.

Whether that life is protected or deliberately ended.

That inconsistency cannot be reconciled while claiming to affirm the value of life in public policy.

This is also about conscience, moral and religious.

Citizens should not be forced to subsidize procedures that violate their most deeply held beliefs.

That is foundational to fairness and trust in government.

Every budget reflects values.

Thanks the bill sponsor and ask for the council's support of this measure.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

Mr.

John Nooney, he supports this.

Okay.

Public hearings closed.

I'm no more speaker cards.

Or I'm sorry, on item 50, 2026, 249.

I have no speaker cards.

Public hearing is closed.

On a page 24, which starts our public hearings on land use amendments and certain companion rezonings.

Item 51 2026 0006.

I have no speaker cards.

Public hearing will be continued to 428-26.

Item 52, 2026, 7.

I have one speaker card.

Shanice, I I apologize.

I cannot read this last name.

Uh Duman.

I could read it on the last one, not this one.

I apologize for that.

That's okay.

Um I just wanted to speak on this rezoning request.

Um and address, please, ma'am.

Oh, I'm sorry.

My name is Shanice, and my address is on file.

Um I understand that we need additional housing.

Um I'm just concerned that if we continue to focus primarily on the single family developments, it won't align with the affordability challenges or the current demographics in the city of Jacksonville.

Um, right now we're seeing an increasing demand for more diverse and attainable housing options, and a lower density development can limit how many people are able to house in these high need areas.

Um I just wanted to make sure that the council takes into account that there needs to be a broader strategy for housing affordability and um alternative housing types that would consider this.

Um my last question is what at what point do we shift away from primarily single family zoning as our default approach given the current affordability pressures?

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

Public hearings closed.

I'm 53, 2026, 02.

Sorry, public hearings continue to 428 26.

I'm 53, 2026, 22.

I have one speaker card.

Mr.

Mike Herzberg, who is questions only.

Public hearings closed.

I move the amendment.

Motion second on the amendment.

No one's in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment.

Signify by saying aye.

Aye.

And you're supposed to say nay, the amendment carries.

I move the bill as amended.

Got a motion second on the bill as amended.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ballot, record your vote.

18 yes, zero nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0022.

Item 54, 2026, 23.

One speaker card, Mike Herzberg, questions only.

Public hearings closed.

I move the bill.

I have a motion second on the bill.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ballot and record your vote.

18 yay, zero nays.

By your action you've approved 2026-0023.

On page 26, items 55, 56, 2026, 122, and 123.

I have no speaker cards.

Both items will be continued to 428-26.

Item 57, 2026, 124.

I have one speaker card, Bill Lewis.

Yep, I see him there.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you're still here and wish to uh speak on a bill that hasn't come up yet, I would ask you to start moving, uh making your way down just so you can get to the podium faster.

Thank you.

Uh good.

Good evening.

My name is Bill Lewis.

Uh live at 8852 Ivy Mill Place South.

I'm the president of the Oriel or Civic Council, which August will be 25 years with been an organization.

So we've been up just been spent last 20 minutes talking with planning department about the traffic issue there because capacity on Collins Road is at 122% capacity, I believe.

Plus my notes.

Um anyway, hopefully we get that self-resolved.

And on um, is there an explanation why this has been postponed or moved or added extra stuff?

Extra.

After uh after your time is up, we can have someone talk to you in the green room and give you that, but we we don't really dialogue during the public comment session.

So we'll get someone to answer that for you afterwards.

Fair enough.

Um we are in favor of this project because it's a lot better than 400 apartments and and um a hundred townhomes like it was four years ago.

Um that it got approved by city council.

Um so like this, we're just concerned about the traffic on Collins Road going into industrial business part.

Thank you.

Mr.

Lewis, you're uh your council member, uh Councilmember Johnson would like to speak to you there.

Thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

This public hearing will be continued to 526.

Item 58, 2026, 125, one speaker card, Mr.

Bill Lewis, who is currently talking to his council member, Dr.

Johnson.

This public hearing will be continued to 526.

These public hearings will be continued till 428.

I'm 61, 2026, 128.

I have seven speaker cards.

Uh go ahead and come on down if you do wish to speak on this.

It's a combination of those that wish to speak and those that do not.

Herbert Ramsdale, come on down.

He does wish to speak.

So does Keith Langgenberg.

Jeremiah Dernberger also wishes to speak.

Jane Ramsdale opposes but does not wish to speak.

Does not wish to speak but also opposes.

Melvin Pepers opposes as well, but does not wish to speak.

And then Mike Herzberg does wish to speak.

So let's see.

The order I called them, I believe I called Jeremia Dernberger, Keith Lingenberg, Herbert Ramsdale, and Mike Herzburg.

Are you Mr.

Ramsdell, sir?

Yes.

You can go ahead first then.

My name is Herbert Ramsdale.

My address is on file.

Why do we have a 2045 comprehensive plan that outlines future land use and future land use maps?

This was supposed to be a plan to manage future land use and development.

You put this together, you voted for it.

Why is the plan not good enough now in this instance?

Why does the developer need a small scale amendment?

It is because he wants to do something that is not allowed in your plan.

What good is a plan if we continue to allow developers to ignore it and get amendments?

The 2045 comprehensive plan, future land use element.

I would call your attention to goal number one, policy one point one point one.

Objective 3.1 continue.

In compatible land uses.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Next up, Mr.

Dernberger.

And then Mr.

Lingenberg and then Mr.

Risberg.

All right, uh Jeremiah Dernberger, uh, address on file.

Um so what I've uh given uh there to pass around and take a look at is actually what as I was trying to get ready to to talk about this tonight, and actually last week before the LUZI, although I was not able to attend the LUZ meeting.

It's kind of the challenges that we have as the public to get the information that we need in order to form an opinion and express that opinion.

And so um on the legislative gateway, which is the first uh document here, screenshot from today was also the same as last week.

The only information that's available there is the bill and two exhibits, which were simply the description, uh the legal description of the land, which really doesn't tell us anything about the application, what's going on with that.

Uh and so trying to find that is where I went to the uh the plan department's uh public view and the the application to search there for the for the zoning applications and the land use application.

And so when I actually searched for the ordinance number, whether it was 128 or 129, it says no applications are found.

And so actually going in and using the map, which right now apparently has some difficulties with some pins being out in the middle of the ocean.

But when I did go into the area of record here for Southside for this particular uh this application, clicking on it, it gives me ordinance number 2026-0059, which is of course not the one that we're talking about.

And so there is no way for us to maybe look at the application, understand more about what's going on when maybe our opinion may have been that we may actually have been in support of it, but we have no information in order to do that.

And so, you know, with that being said, I'm gonna have to stand with what the planning department's uh recommendation is at this point, which is denial.

CPAC, as the previous speaker mentioned, was not given a chance to look at this, but um probably also would have denied it based on the uh the lack of information.

So recommending that we uh object this, but I also did want to point out these sort of process issues that we struggle with as citizens to try to understand what's going on so that we can make an opinion and speak to that because we just can't get the information through what's available currently to the public on the uh the websites.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Lingenberg.

Keith Langeberg, address and file.

Good evening, council members.

I want to respectfully respond to several claims made by the applicant at last week's LUZ meeting.

I was there and opposed, and I spoke.

Many of the claims do not reflect the reality of our neighborhood.

And several statements after research reflects conflicting statements.

First, the developer or applicant referred to these homes as outdated relics as part of the residential island.

Uh, excuse me, these homes were built in 1946 before South Side Boulevard was a dirt road, two-lane road, one way.

Okay.

They are not even an exception, they are the foundation of the community.

Residential is the foundation of this community.

The road came later.

The neighborhood did not suddenly become inappropriate.

The conditions around the residential homes became they changed.

Not sure about a residential island.

There's 45 single homes going south to Boulevard and several going north.

How can you call this an island?

Second, we heard that single family homes are no longer appropriate due to the current local traffic.

But if Southside Boulevard is intended to function as a major corridor, then introducing businesses will only increase congestion, turning conflicts, turning conflicts, and access points, making traffic worse, not better.

Third, the claim that homeowners cannot invest or achieve a positive return is simply not accurate.

There's a strong demand in Jacksonville for housing, especially rentals.

Older homes are being renovated, rebuilt, and repositioned every day.

With these parcels, there is ample space to build further back from the road, improves liability and value.

It takes effort, but it's viable.

Fourth, the argument that no permits happened in that area in 20 years on the east side or west side of Southside Boulevard is misleading.

There's a brand new house built several houses north of that.

I guess this new building house didn't require a building permit, this new brand new house.

A lack of permits does not mean lack of value.

It reflects durability and longevity.

Just asking finally, the statement that rezoning would have no impact is simply not realistic.

Okay.

Introducing business invites further and encroachment, and once that line is cost crossed, it's very difficult to undo.

I respectfully ask you to vote no and stand with the residents in South Side Estates.

Thank you.

Sir next and last speaker, Mr.

Mike Herzberg.

Mr.

President, members of the council, I appreciate the opportunity to speak today.

And I do understand that.

Can you give us your name and address?

My apologies.

Mike Herzbagh.

Mr.

Till, can you start the clock for him too?

Your staff is handing out the stuff.

Mike Herzberg addresses 12483 Aladdin Road.

Sir and ladies and gentlemen, this is an application to change the land use from LDR to BP along these parcels.

As stated earlier, these parcels were originally developed in 1947, post-war and long before State Route 115 or South Side Boulevard was completed by the Jacksonville Expressway Authority in 1963.

As stated by the testimony provided just a few moments ago, this roadway really was a dirt road.

However, it has since 1963 run more than 10 miles in length from the Arlington Expressway at US 1 at the Avenues all the way back up to the Arlington Expressway, excuse me, from U.S.

One.

Construction began in the 1950s, so shortly after these homes were actually built.

And it was intended as a bypass to avoid the then non-consolidated city of Jacksonville.

It was built actually as an eight-lane super road intended to bypass the city, and it spurred development in the area.

A lot has changed on South Side Boulevard, as you heard.

A lot has changed in our city from going from dirt roads to a paved eight-lane road.

Additionally, as you can see in the 1960s map that's on the front page of the handout that's coming around, the east side of the road was actually deemed to be a part of South Side Estates at that time.

The west side was actually part of Holiday Hill.

And I do understand that the resident's concern on the South Side Estates side being that that neighborhood was bisected effectively by this 200 foot right-of-way, which is uh South Side Boulevard.

Let me make very clear that these are in fact FDOT expressways.

The city's comprehensive plan designates them as FDOT expressways, and so does the FDOT.

Furthermore, as you'll see on page three of the handout, the city's comprehensive plan divided the urban and suburban boundaries right down the middle of South Side Boulevard.

So the properties on the west are in the urban area, the properties on the east are in the suburban area.

So the comprehensive plan, which, as you all know from working with this, is a living breathing document.

It's not intended to be done.

There will be changes to it, which is why you face land use and zoning changes on a regular basis.

Again, that plan morphs and changes as our growth continues.

You did hear a little bit about the traffic volumes, as I stated at LUZ.

They now exceed 42,500 vehicles each day.

You heard some testimony earlier about how busy the town center is.

This segment is actually busier than any area of the town center as calculated by the FDOT itself.

So in uh 2010, they were around 30,000 vehicles per day.

So that's up about 42% over the last uh 15 years.

That's substantial.

The city's roadway design classifications for the side streets or the service roads makes very clear that these are not local roads.

These are service roads for the expressway.

Traffic on that service road well exceeds a local count.

In other words, according to the comprehensive plan, a local road is deemed to be a road with less than 1,450 vehicles per day.

We're well over 2,000 uh vehicles per day along here, and most of that or a lot of that growth occurring over the past five years.

Uh council members, I won't go through all of the policies I'd ask you to look at.

Sorry, sir.

Time's up.

Thank you.

I'll ask you to look at the policies on the back page.

Thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

All right, the public hearing is closed.

I move the bill.

Motion second on the bill.

Councilmember Peluso.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I stand to declare ex parte received.

Um we're not on the um that's that's the next one.

Yeah, we're on the land use.

We'll do the ex parte next on the zoning.

There's no one in the queue.

Please open the ball, record your vote.

12 years, six nays.

I'm 62, 2026, 129.

I have eight speaker cards, a combination of those that wish to speak and those that don't.

Uh Herbert Ramsdale, come on down.

You do wish to speak.

Uh Commander Wayne Van Dorn uh does wish to speak as well.

Keith Lingenberg does wish to speak.

Mike Herzberg wishes to speak.

Candle Ladia Peepers also wishes to speak.

And so does Jeremiah Dernberger.

Those that do not wish to speak, uh, Jane Ramsdale opposes this.

And Melvin Pepers also opposes this, and neither of them wish to speak.

Uh go ahead, sir.

My name is Herbert Ramsdale.

My address is on file.

On this agenda item, I see that the planning department recommends denial.

The planning commission approved.

But what I didn't see on this agenda item was the recommendation from the Greater Arlington and Beach of CPAC.

This begs the question: do the members of the council have a copy of this communication from CPAC 2 recommending denial for this ordinance?

You have recommended from your planning department.

You have a recommendation from your planning department to deny, and they have told you why.

You have a recommendation from the CPAC 2 to deny.

Recommendation from CPAC comes from the neighbors expressing their concerns relating to this rezoning.

Your experts say no.

People who have skin in this game say no, but people we do not get to vote for, and people we do not uh that do not have skin in this game, say yes.

We are incessantly bombarded with reasons for rezoning projects that say we have a housing shortage, that we need thousands more residential properties in the next few years.

Yet we have four residential properties here that the developer wants to obliterate to build an industrial business park.

This means destroying trees and thus destroying the environment, increasing traffic in an already challenging traffic area, thereby increasing safety risks along the roadway that is already considered to be one of the most accident prone roadways in Jacksonville.

First one property, then a second, now four more, then more, then more and more.

Where does this insanity stop?

Every time you allow a property to be rezoned to commercial or industrial, you effectively decrease the property value of the adjoining RLD properties, and the cascade continues.

You are destroying our neighborhoods, our properties, our lives.

Can you please do the right thing at this time and deny this rezoning?

If you don't have skin in the game, should you be allowed to vote against those do.

Thank you.

Next, Kandah Ladia Peepers, if you're out there.

Uh Keith Lingenberg.

Uh Miss Peepers opposes.

I do not believe she is uh in the crowd any longer.

Good, sir.

Keith Langeberg, address on file.

I want you to take you back just for a moment.

Back in 1988, you'd be traveling north on 995, you get off at Southside Boulevard.

You would encounter pine forests and pine trees on the both sides of the boulevard, Bay Meadows, JTB, South Side, all the way to Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic Boulevard, okay.

This meant driving through nothing but Pine Forests and peaceful.

It wasn't commercial, it wasn't crowded, it was quiet, open, and this made you feel at home.

Over the years, that changed, all that changed.

But what did not change was the commitment of the people on South Side Estates.

Remember Bill Bishop, Scott Wilson, Lynette's self.

They didn't live in that area.

They invested thousands of hours working to preserve this corridor as a residential place for families.

They worked with the state with F DOT and with the community to shape what this area would become.

And out of that effort, FDOT for four blocks named it Penulpin Parkway in honor of Skip Benulpin, who dedicated his life to South Side Estates, walking up and down those service roads, developing that park, working with the city, working with councilmen, sitting, got benches into that park, so people, school people, whatever walking up and down could sit and relax.

He didn't think about roads and traffic, Skip.

He thought about people.

He envisioned the overpass park as a place where neighbors could sit on benches, gather and join the community.

And that's what this area has been all about.

It's been simple.

When you're stuck on Southside Boulevard traffic in South Side Estates between Beach and Atlantic, you're stuck.

What do you look to the side and see?

Residentials, homes, trees, neighbors, neighborhoods.

It's calming.

It reminds you of that this place is still where people raise families and care about what they are.

Do we want to replace all South Side Estates with commercial development?

That's what's going to happen.

That's the only place on South Side of the Boulevard, the 10 miles that FDL F DOT has that's pure residential.

Yes, there are some businesses on the urban side, whatever, but they've been there many, many, many years.

This just isn't about parcels.

It's about honoring people that have put in decades of work vision and a people who gave their time to protect something meaningful.

We are the stewards of that legacy now.

And once we start to replace it piece by piece, we don't get it back.

I respectfully ask you to protect what so many before us have worked so hard to preserve.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Commander Wayne Van Dorn, you're next.

And then Mr.

Dernberger, then Mr.

Herzberg.

Wayne Van Dorn address on file.

I'd like to address a couple of things.

One, the fact that our letter uh from CPAC from the previous month never made it to the Planning Commission and to the LUZ, according to what we were able to find out last night from the person who oversees our uh planning CPAC uh meeting.

I want to move on to a more important thing.

You all plus the mayor have lamented about the fact that we have a lack of affordable housing.

In fact, if you look at development of apartment complexes, only seven percent of them between 2020 and 2024 are deemed affordable that have been built and used in that period of time.

This area on both sides of South Side Boulevard, and I don't think it'll the development will stop with just the western side of it, but it'll be both sides because you all are gonna go and bend to the sway of those people that want to just demolish all the homes, build concrete jungles to house businesses.

And there's a great place for it.

How about the old defunct um place just to the north of the Arlington Expressway?

I I'm sorry, I forget the name of the uh the complex, but right across from uh from best bet.

It's in large area, it doesn't add any more heat because every time you turn something to concrete jungle, it adds more heat.

So are we gonna re get rid of more single family houses that are affordable?

Has any have any of you actually been in those neighborhoods and seen the homes?

We're talking two and three bedroom, one bath homes, very reasonably priced.

And the average starting family can actually buy them.

Look at the prices, and you're gonna demolish all these affordable houses.

Yet you're gonna go to the bully pulpit and say, Oh, we need more affordable housing while you're destroying it.

You need to stop this.

We need to stop this development in the internal part of the city here.

And by the way, last night we also got a thing about the canopy being destroyed, being actually moving out the canopy.

This will destroy more of the canopy of the trees and so forth that'll help ameliorate what we have in terms of temperature rise in this in this part of the city.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Dernberger.

Okay, thank you.

Mr.

Dernberger said he has not wished to speak but is opposed to this.

Mr.

Herzberg.

Mr.

President, uh members of the council, again, Mike Herzberg, my address is 12483 Aladdin Road.

Uh, as part of the zoning, uh, I have three criteria that I must meet uh in order to have the zoning approved, and those are is the rezoning consistent with the comprehensive plan.

Even the staff report indicates that if the BP category were uh approved, it would be consistent.

That is, the IBP would be consistent with the comprehensive plan.

So, number one, not only have we done that, uh I would ask you to look at those policies that I I have on the back page, goal one uh to uh ensure that the character and location of land use is optimize the combined potentials for economic benefit while minimizing the threat to health safety and well welfare nuisances and incompatible land uses.

Obviously, living in one of these lots on the west side of the road, directly abutting IBP on one side, or business park uses as they're trying to seek, and having 45,000 vehicles a day out your front door, clearly is an incompatible land use.

So these homes are the residential island that have been trapped.

Objective 1.1 ensure that the type rate and distribution of growth in the city results in compact and compatible land use patterns.

If you're the homeowner with skin in the game who owns these lots immediately adjacent to the business park, then you certainly are are uh not feeling this to be a compatible land use pattern, but rather the BP, which is immediately adjacent to you, would be a compatible land use pattern.

Uh the other uh two criteria that I'm I must uh show adherence with is the uh consistency with the comprehensive plan.

I think if you would finish reading those policies, I won't belabor the point.

I think you'll see that uh not only are we seeking to have residential development in the city, we need to balance that with commercial development.

Uh and that is exactly what's being proposed here.

As you heard from some of the testimony, there are already commercial offices, AC contractors just north of these parcels on this same side of the street.

Uh and then finally, uh, does the proposed rezoning conflict with any of the city's land development regulations?

As a professional planner, having reviewed the matter, I would contend that this rezoning would not conflict with any of the city's uh land use regulations for development.

They would have to meet all the requirements of the IBP zoning district.

With that, I'll yield my time.

Thank you, sir.

I have no more speaker cards.

All right.

While the public hearing is still open, let's go to ex parte.

Dr.

Salem.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh, I had one phone call in opposition today.

I had one email in opposition today, and I had a phone call with Mike Hortzberg, and all these will be filed appropriately.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Amara.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I rise to declare ex parte, receive a number of emails in opposition.

It's been filed with legislative services.

All right, Councilmember Gay.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh rise to declare exporte communication.

Uh received one email in opposition and it's been filed with legislative services.

Thank you.

Thanks, sir.

Next we'll go to Councilmember Boylan.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I I too stand to declare ex parte.

I received one phone message today from Mr.

Keith Lernberg in opposition to this rezoning.

It's been filed.

All right, Councilmember Pelusa.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Stand to declare ex parte against I received one email in opposition.

I also am here to declare ex parte in favor.

I received a text message from Mr.

Herzberg later today.

Um these are both filed with legislative service session.

All right, Vice President Howland.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I also rise to declare ex parte.

I had one email in opposition, and I spoke with Mr.

Herzberg yesterday by phone at 4 p.m.

We'll make sure they're filed.

Thanks.

All right, thank you.

Councilmember Lane.

Mr.

President, I had five emails and one phone call in opposition uh to this, and I will be filing this with legislative services.

All right, thank you.

Colonel Miller.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I rise to to declare ex parte communications.

I received a voicemail message from uh Keith Langgenberger in opposition.

It's already been filed with legislative services.

Thank you.

All right, Councilmember Arias.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I too rise to declare ex parte.

I also received the email communication in opposition.

It's currently being filed.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

And I have expert a to declare.

I had three emails in opposition and two phone calls to my office, one from Keith Langenberg, in which he left the voicemail, and one was a phone call from Mr.

Ramsdale to my assistant Jackie Lee, in which she um took notes and told me everything that was uh asked and mentioned on that phone call.

Then I got a phone call from Mike Herzberg last week on Thursday, uh, in which he told me that this went before LUZ and it went before clanning commission, and then he asked me if I had any questions, which I had one uh about what the use was going to be, in which he stated the uh owner did not know what the use was going to be.

Um those are my ex parte and the queue is clear.

I move the bill.

We have a motion and a second on the bill.

We have no one in the queue.

Please open the ball and record your vote.

12 years, seven A's.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0129.

And Miss Jane Ramsdale, who does not wish to speak but opposes this legislation.

Mr.

Amstel.

Go ahead, sir.

My name is Herbert Ramsdale.

My address is on file.

Once again, we're in a situation where we're pushing a land use change uh from uh low density residential to a industrial business park rating.

This uh, as I read the comprehensive plan is not a compatible move.

Uh I guess some people could say that I'm wrong on that, but that is uh not something that needs to happen.

This area that we're talking about is repeatedly had land use changes, as repeatedly had uh move in of commercial and industrial properties, and is destroying that neighborhood.

I would hope that uh you would take a strong look at that and vote no for this particular ordinance.

Thank you, sir.

I have no more speaker cards.

It's public hearing is closed, and additional public hearing will be on 428-26.

I'm 64, 2026, 165.

I have two speaker cards, Mr.

Herbert Ramsdale who does wish to speak, and Jane Downs, who does not wish to speak but opposes this ordinance.

Mr.

Amstell.

My name is Herbert Ramsdale.

My address is on file.

If you're familiar with this part of Leon Road, it is a one-way in, one way out road off of Beach Billard.

It goes through a section that has repeatedly been uh commercialized one property at a time, and the argument then becomes well, there's a commercial property or an industrial property next door.

Why not this one more?

Why not this one more?

Why not this one more?

That has gone on at least five times on the left hand side of the road where this particular property is.

How far are we going to allow this industrialization of Leon Road to push into a primarily uh RLD 60 neighborhood?

Once again, you're destroying the property values of these properties, and the people are losing uh everything they get.

When you say uh the people decide that they want to go to a commercial rating, uh that's only to try to recuperate money that they're losing because of what we've already done to them.

As you move into this property, if you look at the uh tax uh record, there's a little picture up in the corner.

If you blow up that picture, you'll see that the back part of this RLD60 property has already been used or being used as industrial uses, and it has been being that way for a couple of years now.

What are we doing about that?

Why are we allowing these things to go on and push into this kind of a situation that is not uh registered for RLD60?

Please help save this neighborhood and vote no on this rezoning.

Thank you.

I have no more speaker cards.

Public hearings closed, and additional public hearing will be 428-26.

I'm 65, 66, 67, and 68, 2026, 166, 167, 168, and 169.

I have no speaker cards.

These public hearings are all closed.

Additional public hearings on all of them will be on 428-26.

We've already taken up third reading resolution, so we'll go to page 31 for third reading ordinances.

Item 70, 2026, 146.

I move the bill.

Have a motion and second on the bill.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ball to record your vote.

16 y's, three nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0146.

I'm 71, 2026, 179.

Move the bill.

Got a motion second on the bill.

No is in the queue.

Please open the ball, record your vote.

17 y's, two nays.

Your action, you've approved 2026-0179.

I'm 72, 2026, 180.

I move the bill.

Excuse me.

I move the amendment.

Got a motion, second on the amendment.

No one's in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed say nay.

The amendment carries.

Move the bill as amended.

Got a motion and second on the bill as amended.

No one is in the queue.

Please open the ball and record your vote.

19 yes, zero nays.

Fine, your action of approved 2026-0180.

I'm 73, 2026, 181.

I move the amendment.

I've got a motion second on the amendment.

No one's in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment.

Signify by saying aye.

Aye.

And your opposed say nay.

The amendment carries.

Move the bill as amended.

Got a motion second on the bill as amended.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ballot and record your vote.

19 yes, zero nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0181.

And I do see Fire Chief Percy in the back.

Is that you all the way out there?

Percy Golden is that you okay.

You should have came up front, man.

Would have got you out of here.

Thanks for hanging in there and thanks for all you do.

I'm 74, 2026, 183.

I move the amendment.

Motion and second on the amendment.

No one's in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment.

Signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed to saying nay?

Amendment carries.

Move the bill as amended.

Motion and second on the bill as amended.

No one's in the queue.

Please open the ball, cord your vote.

19 yes, zero nays.

By your action, you've approved 2026-0183.

Item 75, 2026, 0186.

This item has been discharged from neighborhoods committee by the direction of the council president, and I move the amendment.

Got a motion and second on the amendment.

There is no one in the queue.

All in favor of the amendment signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any post saying the amendment carries?

I move the bill as amended.

Got a motion and second on the bill as amended.

Councilmember Colonel Miller, be recognized.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I'd also like to be added as a co-sponsor.

I missed that earlier, so appreciate being added.

And I'll also say if we can save at least one life, this will all have been worth it.

And I'm sure there will be way more than that.

So I I thank the introducer and uh the rest for the support of this effort.

So thank you very much, Mr.

President.

All right.

Thank you, Colonel.

Councilmember Boyland.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I just wanted to uh clarify earlier was mentioned that I did not support this bill.

That wasn't the case.

I merely raised a question about the veracity of 14 of these as opposed to uh four.

And after the fact, actually uh JFRD was looking at four as an initial starting point.

That being said, at the neighborhoods meeting, Councilmember White uh set me straight when he said if it saves one life, it's worth it for all 14.

So I'm going to support it today.

Besides, I don't want to get the wrath of Mr.

Diamond on me either, too.

His Twitter thumbs are deadly.

All right.

Uh past President Freeman.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

I would like to be added as a co-sponsor.

Thank you.

Councilmember Gay.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Um, I fully support this.

Uh I I thought I had requested in neighborhoods to be added as a co-sponsor, but please add me as a co-sponsor.

Thank you.

All right, Councilmember White.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

You did uh recommend uh being added, Mr.

Gay and audio too, and they missed it.

So please add me now.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Clerk Mary.

Thank you.

I recommend a uh council amendment for this bill.

Thank you.

Aye.

Any opposed saying nay?

The council amendment has been approved.

Councilmember Gavney, no.

Mr.

Diamond, you want to go last because I want to say something real quick.

All right.

Uh if I could give the chair to the vice president.

I move the bill as twice amended.

Okay, we have motion second on the bill as twice amended.

All right.

We'll first recognize council president Carrico.

All right, thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Vice President.

Thank you.

The bill sponsor.

Also want to recognize and thank JFRD.

Uh I got a call from Chief Terrence Holmes, and we talked in detail about where I thought in my district would be a good place and which fire department would be the best one.

So we actually had that dialogue and came up with agreement on where to put the the uh the life-saving baby box.