I want to open up this meeting by acknowledging that this meeting is being held on the unceded stolen land of the Cherokee Shiny and Yuchi people, and to remind you all that no one is illegal on stolen land built by stolen labor.

We have two presentations to open up today.

Thank you so much, Madam Chairman.

Um, I'm reading a resolution honoring the contributions of Tom Palco of the Department of Water and Sewage Services upon his retirement.

And uh invite all my colleagues to come back and join me.

So, whereas Tom Palco was hired as the third stormwater employee of the Metropolitan Department of Public Works in March 1985, he was an engineer in training, fresh with a degree from University of Tennessee, working in a meat department cutting chickens.

With five years, the other two stormwater employees had left, and Mr.

Palco became head stormwater employee.

And whereas since the first FEMA flood maps were developed in 1982, Mr.

Palco missed only three years of flood mapping and has been involved in all nine subsequent revisions.

And whereas Mr.

Palco started the stormwater national pollutant discharge elimination system program in 1996 when Nashville was issued the first phase one municipal separate storm sewer system permit.

And whereas Mr.

Palco established Nashville's successful floodplain home buyout program, purchasing and removing 485 homes in the floodplain and restoring nearly 250 acres of Nashville's natural floodplain, turning much of that into public park land.

And whereas the stormwater division moved to what Metro Water Services in 2002, Mr.

Palco was named assistant director, adding the maintenance division to perform daily routine stormwater maintenance activities such as cleaning inlets, the stormwater division has grown to a total of a hundred and thirty-six employees and whereas Mr.

Palco led efforts to create and continuously update the stormwater management manual to regulate impacts of development on stormwater runoff, which includes one of the most stringent flood plan development restrictions within the nation.

The stormwater program has successfully negative navigated through several compliance audits from the Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation without any major findings of non-compliance.

Whereas Mr.

Parko's many achievements include receiving the John Ivy Award, which recognizes superior efforts in certification of floodplain managers, serving as ASFPM certified flood planagers, exam working group being responsible nationwide for CFM certification and overseeing the certification of as many as 10 certified floodplain managers at Metro Water Services.

And whereas Mr.

Palk will serve as floodplain basis basics instructors for the Tennessee Association of Flood Plain Management and helped Chad and continue to serve the state chapter of Silver Jackets, which develop comprehensive and sustainable solutions to natural disasters.

And whereas Mr.

Palco is driven to create successful programs and impactful regulations, several of which, such as the home buyout program, four feet above base flood elevation requirement, and May 2010 flood response were the envy of our municipalities at floodplain manager events.

And whereas co-workers at M MWS Metro Water Services refer to Mr.

Palco as a Herculeanly competent and steady, and his hard work and always cheerful demeanor will be missed upon his retirement, leaving very large shoes to fill.

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the council of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County that the Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record recognizing the accomplishments of Tom Palco on the occasion of his retirement and thanking him for his many years of service and leadership, improving Nashville's environment and wishing him lots of fun on his retirement.

Well, um yeah, thank you very much.

And I just want to say I appreciate the support I've had all the time through the council and as an engineer, all I wanted to do was give you all good information in a timely manner, and hopefully I did that.

So thank you very much.

Let's get a photo.

Congratulations, Mr.

Palco.

Next we have RS 2026-2029, Councilmember Terry Vowe, a resolution recognized in June 2026 as Immigrant Heritage Month in Nashville and Davidson County.

Council Member Vaux, you are recognized.

Thank you so much, Pro Tem.

Um, June has been, I mean, I feel like this year has been really fast, and for us, we wanted to make sure the immigrant caucus, um, and of course my colleagues, uh, to honor all the amazing immigrants um that live and call Davidson County and Nashville home.

And so I'm gonna read resolution RS 2026-2029, a resolution recognizing June 2026 as immigrant heritage month in Nashville and Davidson County.

Whereas Immigrant Heritage Month was started in 2014 to honor and recognize the countless contributions made by immigrants to the fabric of American society, and whereas the United States is a nation of immigrants, for generations, immigrants from all around the world have built the economy of the United States and shaped the character of our community and whereas immigrants have contributed immeasurably to the economic prosperity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit that not only of Nashville and Davidson County, but the United States, and whereas immigrants make up 15% of the population of Nashville and Davidson County, Nashville is also home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States with a population of more than 15,000 hands.

Whereas in 2013, immigrants made up 9.5% of all business owners in the greater Nashville area.

As of 2019, there were over 13,000 immigrant small business owners in this area, showing the importance of the contribution of immigrants to Nashville's economic vitality.

And whereas since January 2025, hundreds of Nashvilleans have been arrested by immigration and customs enforcement.

More than half of these community members had no prior criminal conviction or any pending criminal charges.

And whereas now more than ever is important to recognize and celebrate the contributions of immigrants in the United States and fight against policies that harm our immigrant community.

And whereas the Metropolitan Council supports and stands united with our immigrant community, now therefore be resolved by the Council of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davison County.

Okay, I'll read the second section one, the Metropolitan County Council hereby goes on record recognizing June 2026 as Immigrant Heritage Month in Nashville and Davidson County.

Section two, this resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

From the Kurdish community, I just want to tell everybody thank you very much.

Thank you for having me.

It was wonderful to see everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you so very much, Councilmember Vaux.

Before we go into the announcement period, I want to start by acknowledging the tragic loss our community has experienced.

On June 30th, Nashville lost a daughter, a leader, and an icon.

Vonda McDaniel, the Queen Mother of Nashville's labor movement.

While many Nashvilleans may never have known her face or her name, countless workers across this city, our state, and our nation have benefited from her vision, her leadership, and her unwavering commitment to working people.

For more than 30 years, Vonda has been dedicated to the labor movement, starting as a member of the United Rubber Workers in 1994.

Since 2013, Vonda served as president of the Nashville Central Labor Council and has served as vice president of the AFL CIO Executive Council since 2017.

Beyond those extraordinary leadership roles, she was a founding member of Stand Up Nashville, the Music City Construction Careers, Music City Construction Careers, and the Nashville Justice League as well as Tennessee for All.

Her tireless advocacy helped expand opportunity, strengthen workers' rights, diversify the labor movement, and build a more just community for generations to come.