Alder Woman Marina Dmitrievich.

I'll be chairing this committee.

Alderman Russell Stamper the second is excused.

I'm the vice chair person.

I'm joined virtually by Alderman Mark Chambers Jr., also Alder Woman Charlotte Moore, who is in route.

In person, we have Alderman DeAndre Jackson.

And that does provide us a quorum to begin the community and economic development committee meeting, and that's set for Wednesday, July 22nd at one thirty PM.

We are starting at one thirty-three.

We'll start with item number one.

Okay, looks like we have somebody here from the public library.

If you want to go ahead.

So it's a it's a lot of um just attendance, and then we'll also be doing some focus groups at the clinics and in the libraries to talk about barriers and for families to actually get into the library, um, although they're able to get to the clinics, and then um one citywide activity that we're planning is for a big play date at the central library, um giving um families a place to come with their um babies toddlers and preschoolers on a Saturday afternoon to um see how play serves as early learning and then how they can take that in.

So we'll be looking at um who attends that, getting zip codes to see where we're reaching with that messaging across the city, um, and then we'll be looking at Biller's bearing but hope to see if story time attendance or the circulation of materials um does increase with um additional families visiting up the libraries.

Okay, I'll move it around for more questions and comments.

I think this is exceptional.

Great innovation, great partnership.

Um city government should be doing more small pilots, testing it and then seeing if it works out and applying larger.

Um I'll probably want to meet with you a little bit because I have some other ideas to add on top of this, but um, I'm really excited to see how this works out, and um congratulations for finding a private um partner to work with.

So um Alder Woman Moore will move adoption.

Let me go around to see if any members, since so many people are virtual, you may need to just unmute yourself and let me know if you have any questions on item one.

I see no questions, and Alder Woman Moore moves adoption of item one.

Any questions on adoption?

Any objections to adoption?

Hearing none so ordered.

Thank you.

And look for a meeting request for me probably after the August break.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Item two, 260420 resolution relating to the use and allocation of the 2026 community development block grant funds awarded to the City of Milwaukee Youth Council.

This is sponsored by Alderman Stamper.

Um, and I would ask the um wonderful people at the microphone to introduce yourself and then begin.

Um good afternoon, uh Chairwoman.

Uh Madam Chair, this is uh Mario Higgins from the community development grants administration.

And Madam Chair Jim Ozarski, City Clerk.

Thank you.

Please uh let us know about this program and this um allocation for 2026.

Madam Chair and members, uh it is this is now the 20th year that the City of Milwaukee Youth Council has fulfilled its obligation under the the code of the city of Milwaukee.

One of its charges is on an annual basis to make an allocation for a percentage of that money.

It's an and it's a recommendation.

I want to be clear a recommendation to the Common Council for an allocation of a portion of the City of Milwaukee CDBG funds allocated to youth services.

Uh you have their recommendations before you.

This is the tail end of a of a long process.

They begin with learning about CDBG, learning the ethics of CDBG and the procedures of CDBG, but then eventually they have to come down and I want to particularly commend Mr.

Higgins and all the folks, particularly John and Dina and everybody in his office that has been working directly with the youth council, informing them about their obligations, teaching them about these different grant groups that are being given this money and getting us to this point.

Um and it was at their last regular meeting that they unanimously recommended these two recommendations to you.

Okay.

Anything else to add there?

Madam Chair.

Um yes, please, Mr.

Higgins.

Uh uh, thank you.

Um, I think my staff actually really enjoy working with the young people on these allocations on taking and going through the process with them.

Um so I commend the uh council and um and city clerk's office for their efforts.

Alder Woman Moore uh is always present at those those meetings.

Uh so uh uh kudos to her as well.

Um we really just try to make sure we have a really good process and get them to understand it, and um they do.

Um and they really are already always ready to hold uh the funded groups accountable as well.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Um Alder Woman Moore, anything to offer?

I was otherwise I was going to have you move adoption.

Okay.

Adoptions move by Alder Woman Moore.

Any discussion of adoption on item two?

Any objections?

Hearing none so ordered, thank you.

We're on all item number three.

Thank you.

260352 resolution relating to the establishment of the year 2027 funding allocation plan.

Okay, and I know we have Mr.

Higgins available.

This is sponsored by Alderman Stamper.

Um I know you have a brief presentation, but this is kind of the next step.

Um, Director Higgins in the public meetings that we just held out in the community.

Is that right?

Uh correct, madam chair.

Um, I won't uh do an actual presentation today.

Uh we had the two um two presentations uh in our community in the community.

One of them we did have to reschedule.

Uh but the funding allocation plan does start our 2027 funding process.

Um so we look to solicit public input on the on the on that on that plan.

Uh we try to do at least those two public hearings.

Um we had uh the first public hearing July 15th uh at St.

Augustine Preparatory Academy.

Uh we worked with uh President Perez's office uh to secure that location.

Beautiful space.

Uh I want to thank them for uh for allowing us to use that space.

Um it was very, very common, they were very, very accommodating.

Um we had one uh had another meeting scheduled for July 16th at the DPW field operations building um in Alderman Jackson's district.

Um unfortunately, due to poor air quality that day, we had to cancel that meeting.

Um and so we pivoted really fast to do a virtual meeting on Tuesday.

Um Carmen, the staff assistant was amazing getting that all set up and done in a matter of a couple days.

So um, and we still got really good participation during that virtual meeting, so I really appreciate that as well.

Uh the funding allocation plan itself right now, we're still waiting.

Uh we'll be waiting for Congress to for our final authorization on funds.

That's gonna probably be in October.

So I'm not gonna go into a lot of detail about that, but obviously the Senate hasn't been meeting on budgetary items yet.

Um, so we won't know.

Right now, what we're proposed to do, if funding stays stable, uh as it has been for the last few years, as far as the um the amount the THUD, the transportation housing and urban development um bill has been funded.

Uh, we expect to get and for community development block grant uh 14.8 million dollars home investment partnership program, the home program at 4.3 million dollars, uh emergency solutions grant program at 1.3 million dollars, and housing opportunities for persons with AIDS uh at 1.5 million dollars.

So the total of about 2.9 million dollars is what we will be expecting for 2027.

Um over the years, I mean we had been trending downward as far as how much the city actually receives, um, and that's mostly probably due to uh new participating jurisdictions.

So as the country um is in a you know bad economic state as it you know seems to be, we continuously uh just lose funding just because there's probably more um more pieces of the pie that have to be cut.

Um so from 2022 to now or to about 2027, CDBG is probably down about 1.5, 1.6 million dollars.

Uh the home program is down almost 2 million dollars.

So we probably will continue to see some small declines in our funding because of that.

Uh for right now, what we want to do is uh get the plan approved and to be able to release our RFPs um as immediately after common council approval.

Um, we would expect to release those uh right on August 3rd.

Uh so common council being on the 31st, uh if there's granting approval and from this committee, uh we want to release um those RFPs and have about a three-week deadline uh for return, so maybe submissions due back on the 21st of August.

And so during that time with uh why the council is also out there in September, we would be uh evaluating and scoring those um our RFPs and applications to bring back to this committee uh sometime in the uh early early October late no I mean early November so right now we would move uh we would move approval of the plan as submitted.

It is on it is online, it's on the sit on our webpage at Milwaukee.gov backslash CDGA.

Uh we've gotten a lot of input from the community so far, and we can still take input uh on the plan up until uh July 30th.

Okay, great.

Um, thank you so much for that work and those community meetings that are part of a long process.

Just to be clear, um, because I did receive some questions.

You know, none of this is actually adopting the allocation or the funding, it's just beginning kind of creating that framework so people know the framework of how the allocating will work, but no allocating is happening today.

Is that right, Director Higgins?

Um, allocations do happen for city departments because those are all what we prepare with the budget, so that part is um included in the plan and allocated, yes.

Okay.

The RFP, correct?

Yes.

Okay.

Great.

Um wonderful.

Anyone have questions on item three?

Alderman Jackson would move adoption of item three, which is the resolution um to the establishment of the year 2027 funding allocation plan.

Discussion on the adoption questions, objections to the adoption of item three.

Hearing none so ordered.

Thank you.

We're now on to item four, two six oh two eight seven resolution relating to the use of public school identification identification cards as library cards, sponsored by Alderman Mark Chambers Jr.

Alderman Chambers.

Thank you, madam chair.

Uh, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on this.

Um, this is uh something came out of um I saw something that was going on with Chicago with Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Um recently made uh all Chicago Public Schools um identification cards, um you know, uh library cards within the Chicago library system.

Um come to find out that we already do this um in the partnership with the county uh with library now uh with uh partnership with the county, the library uh federation, and also um the city.

So this is just simply uh highlighting this and just asking for um the library and um or MPS to uh give us a reporting within six months just to see the current operations, the scopes, and the current uh participation um from what we gather with uh LRB.

Um it's very popular within middle school age children.

Um wanna make sure that we are you know getting this uh district wide and potentially citywide.

Um and you know, we're not necessarily just all public schools, but all schools within the city of Milwaukee um to you know further educate and further promote the wonderful libraries that we have here in the city of Milwaukee.

Um so this is just um expressing support for the expansion of the student awareness and the utilization of the library resources through the library now partnership.

And I will move um adoption or approval at the appropriate time.

Okay, thank you, Alderman.

Adoption's been moved.

Um, yeah, I was under the impression that like I only know MPS that their student ID can kind of like double as a library card only because sometimes we forgot our library cards.

Um but uh I think this is great.

So any other questions for the sponsor, Alderman Chambers.

He moved adoption of item four.

Madam Chair.

Alderman Jackson?

Oh no, I just think this is a great idea.

Um in the future, hopefully we can expand it to more operations.

Um let it be almost like a muni ID, so to speak.

So um I just appreciate Alderman Chambers bringing this a little.

I'm glad we already did it.

But um this could be just a start.

Do multiple things with that ID.

So thank you.

Right.

Okay, any other discussion?

Otherwise, adoption is before us and item four, discussion of adoption.

Objections to adoption.

Hearing none so ordered.

We're on item five, two six oh three nine five substitute resolution authorizing the expenditure up to two thousand five hundred dollars from the community and economic development committee fund for the 2026 Beat Street Fall Festival.

Um, if you all recall, um, we talked about this um, I believe last cycle, it's a really diverse, all inclusive, welcoming um event that takes place in Bayview.

There's tabling from many community organizations.

Um, and this is something that Alderman Stamper, the chair, uh, would like to allocate.

Um we made it a city event because the city also is a co-sponsor and has a table.

I want to say one or two cycles ago.

Um, so with that, Alderman Jackson Jackson would move adoption, and I want to see if anybody had questions for the city clerk there.

Madam Chair.

Yes, Alderman Jackson.

So like actual beats like the vegetable beats.

Um they don't have beats necessarily available, but it's like a part because it's during like September harvest season.

Okay.

Um, but I really invite you guys to come.

It's super fun.

There's a um cactus club led stage, which they're known for really high quality um music, you know, it's right off of um Russell Avenue and like Wentworth.

Um, just the amount of community groups that table it really is extremely inclusive, artistic, um, a fun thing to do in fall.

So thank you.

Um, Alderman Jackson had moved adoption then of item five.

Any other questions on adoption?

Any objections?

Hearing none so ordered.

Item six, two six oh four nine eight, substitute resolution appropriating up to two thousand two hundred and seventy-nine dollars and forty-four cents from the community and economic development fund for Bronzeville week.

That's also sponsored by Alderman Stamper.

Did anyone wish to speak on this item?

Oh, I see.

Yes, please.

Thank you, madam chair and committee.

Um, and Alderman Stamper for having the um file this file today.

As uh members know, August 1st through the 8th will be the 16th annual Brownsville week celebration.

We just released the schedule for the week today.

Uh so people can go online to Milwaukee.gov for slash bronzeville to get Bronzeville to get the schedule uh for the week.

Um, but yeah, to put together eight days full of art, culture, and commerce.

As you can imagine, we have some wonderful sponsors, um, but we can always use a little a little bit more to help execute in excellence.

Um, and for what uh the uh um for what he was able to give to the last penny that was left, um Alderman Stamper was willing to uh sponsor uh sponsor this file, and we're grateful for that, and we will hope that you all can approve it.

Thank you so much.

Very much looking forward to that event.

Any questions or comments on item six?

Alderman Chambers moves adoption of six discussion of adoption, objections to adoption, hearing none so ordered.

All items uh have been handled, and seeing no further business before the community the committee of community and economic development.

This meeting is adjourned.

Have a great day.

Thank you.