Attendees included outgoing Council President Salem and the incoming Council President-elect. The meeting focused on Salem’s remaining priorities, budget challenges ahead of a November referendum, and strategies for downtown development funding.
Thanks to Councilman Salem for a fantastic eight years for all you've done for your community and your city. It's been I think you've had a a market effect, positive effect on the city and its citizens. Let's talk about your parties. Okay. Well, thank you for those for those comments. I appreciate it. Um don't have it is my eighth year, and uh to me the eighth year is more to complete some things that I'm I'm involved with, and uh two very important passion projects for me are the clubhouse at Blue Cypress golf course. Okay. As you probably know because I've talked about it three thousand times. We have added the three holes out there. Yep. And it the golf course is now twelve holes. Uh it's been uh very popular, it's been a great thing for the course. They thanked me. They they were very skeptical, but now that it's out there and people are playing it, they're they're very supportive. Um the next component to that is a clubhouse that uh will be a uh a joint venture so to speak of the city and JU. And uh uh I've seen a design of it, and uh Daryl Joseph, who is has become a dear friend over the years, is uh is meeting with J U and we hope to get construction uh moving in this year to get that completed and uh um that will be the clubhouse for the JU golf team as well as a venue for golfers uh to uh have lunch, check in, kind of a regular clubhouse for a city facility like that. So um I'd like to get that moving, if not completed at least. Is that a CIP item? Uh, we own it. It's already it was approved during that uh $50 million a dollar thing that I think you were involved in that Randy White chair. Yeah, got it. Okay. Um the second one that's uh a passion project that's very similar to that is JP Small. Okay. Um we we are investing ten million dollars in JP Small. I don't know if you've been out there. I have and you've seen the the field and all those things and the new lighting and uh all those things are already in place. The the last major uh component of that is the Hall of Fame uh that will be built out outside the left field wall. Okay. And uh I've seen designs of that, and uh um it will clearly be a museum, and uh there's uh we're having discussions with uh the old owner uh Peter Braken because he's got a collection as well. We want definitely want uh a bunch of uh African-American par uh paraphernalia from from the Negro League and all that stuff in there as well. And so I'm hopeful that that will be ongoing and and at least construction started as far along as we can, because I really believe that that could be a a tourist attraction for people coming off I-95. For sure. And where that Hall of Fame is going is at one of those three corners that is kind of that the heart of Durkeyville. That's exactly right. And it's pretty run down now, but it has so much opportunity for improvement. I I you and I share the same thoughts. Yeah. So getting those two as far along as I can in the next year are very important. Fantastic. And uh it's it's a lot of it is me working with Daryl. I mean, and Daryl is uh as excited about them as I am. Okay. Um a few cleanup things as I committed to you is to is to complete Doge uh uh in June. Yep. We have a a meeting Tuesday, which will complete the health care analysis with some recommendations on rates and such. Um that uh I I hope the administration is paying attention and will uh take under consideration. Um I think beyond uh as uh as our good friend Councilman Laden has said, health care, the completion grants and and the garbage fee. Well, we've solved the garbage fee issue.