Welcome to the Providence City Council on this beautiful December fourth, twenty twenty-five.

Madam Clerk, please call the role.

Council President Miller, present.

We are very much looking forward to your swearing in and getting to work.

Counselors, am I forgetting any other special guests in the room tonight?

All right.

The invocation will be given tonight by Councilwoman Shelley Peterson.

Well, everyone please rise, including our guests who are able.

Thank you, Madam President.

As we embark on our holiday season, I want to take a moment to pause and remember why we're here.

And while we may define public service in our own way, the heart of it is still the same.

We show go up, we show up because we care about the people who call Providence home.

We don't always approach things the same way.

Some of us focus on the needs right in front of us, and others others look at the bigger picture.

But every morning, we step into this work with a shared purpose to lift up the residents of this beautiful city.

This time of year can bring out both our best efforts and our toughest debates.

We'll still wrestle with decisions about sidewalks, budgets, and the many challenges ahead.

But I hope we also remember that in every one of our neighborhoods, there are people carrying burdens that we may never fully see.

Some struggles are beyond our reach, but others we have the power to ease.

So as we continue our work.

May the season bring you peace, clarity, and a renewed love for the city we all care about.

Finally, as we close out the year, I pray that each of you feels the strength, patience, and grace that only God can serve.

May this guidance shape our work, steady our steps, and remind us that service is a calling bigger than any one of us.

Wishing you and all of your families a blessed and hopeful holiday season.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

And tonight the Pledge of Allegiance will be led by uh Pro Tem One Pichard.

To the flag United States.

To the Republic for which is things one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Madam Clerk.

Second, Madam President.

We have a motion and a second.

Any discussion on that motion?

Hearing none, Madam Clerk, please open the vote.

The vote is now open.

Thank you.

Councilman Vargas.

The vote is now closed.

And that is 13 ayes.

The minutes are approved.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Item four.

Madam President.

Majority Leader.

What's it away the reader by item four through six?

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Any discussion on items four through six.

All in favor.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Any abstentions?

The motion passes.

Madam Clerk, please note four through six as received.

So noted.

Item seven.

Madam President.

Majority leader.

Madam President.

We have a motion and a second.

Any discussion on item seven.

Hearing none, um, Madam Clerk, please open the vote.

The vote is now open.

Councilwoman Ryan.

The vote is now closed.

And we have 13 ayes, one absent.

The matter passes on a voice vote.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Item eight.

Madam President.

Majority leader.

Motion to weigh the reader of item eight and pass on a roll-call vote.

Second, Madam President.

We have a motion and a second.

Any discussion on item eight?

Councilwoman Ryan.

Talk about what it's before tonight.

Um guys.

Thank you, Councilman.

I can hear myself now.

Um so what is before us tonight is a lease of the building on to the waterfire organization.

A few weeks ago, uh, we passed uh the bonding for the purchase of the building itself.

Um each year through the mortgage crisis, the foreclosure crisis, the banking crisis, and all of the back-to-back crisis we endured together uh as a city in our recent history.

Waterfire lost corporate sponsorships that sustained it financially.

We all know that.

Over the years, water fire came before this body.

Over these years, water fire came before the body and asked for support.

We have continuously voted to support the organization because we recognize its value to our city.

Water fire has become synonymous with Providence.

At first it was an artistic expression, highlighting our own riverfront.

Over the years it has become part of our identity and heralded throughout the country and beyond.

Restaurants and other entertainment venues across our city are packed.

Everybody talks about water fire nights.

This is not merely an investment in a cultural anchor, but a fiscally sound decision to help sustain a vital economic engine for the city of Providence.

Under the leadership of Mark Allen, and we all know our good friend Barnaby Evidence, along with a newly constituted board.

This with this experience, the organization is well positioned to strengthen its operation, broaden its partnerships, and chart a sustainable path.

This comprehensive stabilizes the finances and set them sets them up not only to succeed, but to thrive and to continue to provide financial benefits to our entire city and our local businesses.

Any further discussion on item eight?

Councilman Gonzals.

By approving this lease, we essentially save our really beloved tradition.

Congratulations to our partners in Waterfire.

Madam Clerk, item nine.

Madam President, majority leader.

Motion to wait a reader on it nine and ten and receive and approve.

Second, Madam President.

Any discussion on items nine and ten.

Hearing none, Madam Clerk, please open the vote.

The vote is now open.

And the vote is now closed.

We have thirteen eyes, one absent.

The matters are received and approved.

Thank you.

And I realize that when I was welcoming people, I missed some people.

So we've got tonight fans, the executive director of Paris, and several board members.

You were just confirmed.

Congratulations, sir.

And is Eugene here this evening?

All right, just making sure.

Okay.

Madam Clerk, item eleven.

Madam President.

Majority Leader.

Second, Madam President.

We have a motion and a second.

Any discussion on item eleven.

Madam President.

Councilwoman Ryan.

Thank you very much.

At this point, I would like to thank our council colleagues, uh, John Guncalls and Sue Andebo, who've led their voices and support of this important project in their area, as well as the voice of Jill Davidson, right, but not of as a voting member just yet, who is also supportive of this project that's so intrical to their rewards.

Um who don't know, Mohar works to preserve, protect, and promote the historic character of Benefit Street and its surrounds.

It is one of Providence's premier destination for heritage tourists.

Home to the John Brown House, Joseph Nightingale House, the first Unitarian Church of Providence whose bell was cast by Paul Rivera Foundry, the Providence Art Club, the oldest art club in the country, Risdy Museum, Heffenrefa Museum of Anthropology, the Providence Anthony Am and others.

We heard testimony that this uh that it's estimated that about 300, 300,000 tourists visit the stretch of road annually, enjoying local history and supporting our local businesses.

The Providence Warwick Convention and Visitor Bureau, which endorsed this organization, notes that 38% of the visitors to the street live outside of Rhode Island.

Each year, millions of travelers visit America's historic places.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation Divines Heritage Tourism Tourism is traveling to experience the place, the artifacts, and the activities that authentically represent the stories and the people of the past and present.

A high percentage of domestic and international travelers participate in cultural and heritage activities while traveling.

And those who do stay longer, spend more, travel more often.

Heritage tourism creates jobs, business opportunities, helps protect resources, and often improves the quality of life for local residents and beyond.

This infrastructure project includes sidewalk improvements, which are necessary for ADA accessibility, ease of travel to our historic locations along Benefit Street.

This restoration part project would repair sidewalks, add the ADA accommodations, and restore tree wells.

Due to this important ordinance, um due to this impact, the ordinance is supported by the Governor's Commission on Disabilities, the Providence Street Coalition, AARP, and Real Access Motivates Progress Progress or RAMP.

If you put historic tourism feature aside, this project qualifies for precious general obligation bonds.

If we went to Bonn today, the GOB rate would be about 2.33%.

That is a very, very attractive rate.

It actually saves the city $2 million in bond funds for the sidewalked projects.

So again, it has historical value, makes financial sense.

Most importantly, it respects and supports our wonderful Mohaw partners that have been working, toiling in that area to help our city for years.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Further discussion.

Councilwoman Graves.

We keep talking about history.

Let's go back and talk about it for real.

If we're going to talk history, we need to know what that history is and how this history, when we're talking about it, is we're going to be pulling the scab off and opening up a painful memory for a lot of people.

The history of that area and all of that Lower East Side and all over in that Fox Point area, as well as the other parts of Ward 1, 2, and 3.

Ah scrabble, hard scrabble.

Snowtime, all these race wars that were not wars.

They were massacres, where they were killing people of color and taking their land because all of a sudden they wanted it.

Because they wanted it.

We're talking black and brown and a few whites.

But we're talking mainly hard working people.

They made it seem like it was.

So they could get rid of them and take their land by eminent domain, by brute force.

And just because they could.

And because those people had no place to go.

Because the people that's that were sitting in these chamber chambers or around that could vote and help them did not.

They turned a blind eye.

They passed the laws to give them the authority to take that land from them.

So when we start talking about the history, let's talk about that.

Let's talk about what you're doing.

Because there are still people alive that remember some of those things.

And if they don't, their children or their grandchildren do.

And you guys don't seem to care.

There were blacks and immigrants from Cape Verde Islands.

Some of them were migrants from the South, which are my people.

We remember, I remember.

My people came up here and lived on Charles Street.

Where the Marriott was.

That's where my people lived.

Is now where the marriage is now.

They got rid of it.

They put a highway in, where the post office is.

They got rid of a whole bunch of people.

That was the thriving community.

Where John always talks about his family.

They got rid of all of that.

Why?

Because all of a sudden, people on the top of the hill wanted it.

Because all of a sudden, oh, that looks pretty good.

We're gonna take that.

Now the sidewalks, you want those same people's people or their children to help you pay to fix the sidewalks.

Why should they?

You forced them out.

You forced them into projects.

Some of them went to the East East Province, but most of them had to move into other parts of the city.

Not in, they didn't move up the hill.

They didn't move up to where you guys were.

And they're in this the other part of the cities where their sidewalks are tore up, their side was all messed up.

Nobody's talking about going over there fixing their sidewalks.

Nobody's talking about helping them.

And you want us to fix a sidewalk that's in an area where three council people have it.

Three of the wealthiest areas.

I don't know if any of you read it.

A letter from a Berman Heron jail.

You know what he's talked about?

When the all those other priests and clergymen wrote him and said, Well, you know, you need to wait.

That waiting is we're tired of waiting.

That's you know what waiting means to those that are the ones that are always the ones that are getting trampled on, the ones that always have to wait.

We're waiting for that trickle down.

We are tired of that trickle down.

You know what trickle down means?

Trickle down means we're looking up for a drop to come down that we never see.

Because it gets stopped up here.

Because we, you know what?

You get yours, then your your sons and your daughters get it a little bit, then your friends get a little bit more, and then you know, you gotta get to managers for everybody else.

So by the time it gets down here, there's nothing.

We have to fight and struggle to get every single thing.

Why we wait.

It is not fair.

The other comment I heard was well, we can't walk our children down the tripping on the sidewalk.

Our elderly are fallen.

Oh you know, um, it's a shame that that we have to go through this.

And and we have to sue because you know, this and that and the other one of us got, you know, our face got hurt, and this and that, and the other.

And they had to sue.

Well, you know what?

You all can probably sue because you all can probably afford a lawyer.

A lot of us can't.

And if a lot of us are probably afraid to go and try to get a lawyer and fight City Hall.

You know why?

We are afraid that something may happen to us.

We might go there and try to sue City Hall because we we can't afford one, or we might go to court, and guess what?

There's ice.

We don't have the same luxuries that you have.

I sat here and I watched the public hearing.

And most of you were wealthy, or very well off.

And you all talked about it.

I'm sorry, Councilman.

I'm gonna finish.

I just gotta make my one point, which is uh please keep talking, but direct your comments to me.

Okay, thank you.

I will.

Most of the people in that audience well were wealthy, or well off.

And I'm saying to myself, this is privilege, privilege, privilege, and it's a shame.

And it's not just this little area.

This is but this has been going on in in this city for a long time.

It's not just the east side.

And I I know Sue, you feel like it, but that we're picking on your councilwoman.

I um I know I know that the east side feels like we pick on them, but we don't.

We pull up over in South Providence and get it out and go visit people in the hospital, and we have to pay to pie.

You know what people say.

The par we gotta pay the park, and my grandmother owned a house that she got forced out of by eminent domain, so that they can have a parking lot for the hospital.

So this has been going on and going on.

When is it gonna stop?

When is it gonna stop?

That's all I'm gonna say.

So I am voting no.

I am voting no because it has to stop.

We need to stand back and say, is this bill that so much importance?

Is it important enough that we have to keep on stepping on the same group of people?

And I'm done.

Okay, thank you, counselor.

I'm about to call in uh councilman Anderwalber, but before I do that, uh I just want to remind folks.

Uh, I forgot to mention at the top of the meeting, there is on everyone's uh table, there's a rules of the Providence City Council, one of which is um that our members address the president when speaking.

So that is why I interrupted you.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Anna Brah.

Thank you so much, Council President and members of the um the full council.

I first want to acknowledge the um really important things that uh my colleague and friend, councilwoman Graves just shared.

In fact, I have um a constituent who I spent considerable amounts of time with who can tell me which parking space at the Whole Foods he was born in.

Um, because he was his family was removed during urban renewal.

Um, and I take that really seriously.

I represent Camp Street, I represent the East Side.

I've been on a lot of the tours of that history of the East Side, and I take that responsibility really seriously, and it is shocking and appalling to know that he was born, you know, we walked to the parking spot where his house was where he was born and his family was removed.

Um so I really want to acknowledge the important history that councilwoman graves um is uh just shared with us um about our whole city.

Um that happened on the east side, happened um in other places as well, and that Whole Foods is a pretty stark reminder of like went from housing to a Whole Foods is a really stark reminder.

Um I am supporting um this um obviously co-sponsor.

Um and I just wanted to share a few a few comments.

The first is, and I'll be I'll be brief and I thank you for the opportunity, Council President.

Um, the first is I really just want to be grateful to this city.

Um we all have parts of our wards with amazing cultural and um economic importance.

We in fact just voted on a lease for the waterfire arts center, which is in Councilman Vargas's ward.

And does ward three benefit from that?

Yeah, we do.

It's not in Ward 3, but the people of Ward 3 benefit greatly from us having a thriving city with amazing cultural resources.

We benefit from I should stop using the word benefit.

I feel like that's gonna get confusing.

We all feel good things.

No, we all get good things from a thriving At Wells Aff and the amazing fountain that's on there and Deepasqually Square and all the images and cultural um and economic and historic things across our whole city.

I think that's one of the things that makes our city so amazing.

We're a city of neighborhoods, and there are amazing cultural assets in all of those areas that deserve investment and also bring economic and other value to our city, and I think that's one of the great things about our city.

Um wards one, two, and three have a fair amount of our own history, and in fact, the Mile of History, the Benefit Street um neighborhood is part of that as well.

Um, I was really grateful to see um, you know, folks like ARP and Ramp, the Cape Verdean Historical Society, the Tourism Department, that kind of large group of folks come together to support a project like this.

Um, and I think um, and we also obviously had the great support of the Mile of History Association, who's put their own resources and time and efforts into moving this project forward.

I also really want to acknowledge that we've all identified the need for sidewalk improvements across the whole city, both for tourism and economic development, but also most importantly for our residents.

Um, I was really glad to see the city apply for this competitive Ride Out program that gets us the special financing and general obligation bond that councilwoman Ryan mentioned earlier.

It's really amazing for the city to have received and been part of this program.

Not everyone who applied was able to get that fund, or it's not funding, able to get access to this project.

And I'm glad to see that kind of investment happening in any of the wards of our city.

Obviously, ward three is the ward I represent.

If this had been any of your wards, I would have been as enthusiastically supportive of this, and we'll be enthusiastically supportive of working with you all early next year as we amend the capital improvement land to make sure that we have these types of investments in all of our wards.

I think it's really important that we maximize this type of low finance, low cost financing that we have access to through this program.

I've also been incredibly grateful to the folks at the Mile of History Association, who not only will help us with this project, but have said in all of their testimony that they would love to help to make sure that other historic areas that could qualify for this learn from their example and are able to also apply for this.

And I think that's an exciting thing about this.

Once we have a good that's another exciting thing about this, once we have demonstrated to RhyDot that we're able to successfully implement a project like this, that'll make us even more competitive for this city to access those funds later.

And as stewards of our whole city, which we all are, even though our wards are what we most represent, that's exciting.

Maybe we'll get to see.

Um, and I I really feel that point about waiting, and also hope that this demonstrates and helps us access um funding for Smith Street for other neighborhoods as well.

Because I've seen, I was looking at them today, the maps of where the sidewalks are going across the city.

And and we do have a lot of sidewalks going in.

We've got a lot of sidewalks going in, you know, in in all the wards.

Um, and particularly um, I, you know, on I'm not gonna name all the wards, I'm not gonna do that to y'all, but that's boring.

But um, and in fact, we don't have a lot of sidewalks besides this project going in um in at least wards three and two.

Um, even though the the need across the whole city is great.

And so I just want to I just want to say I'm excited about this project.

I think it's important, it's important to do these this type of work in all of our wards, and I'll be excited to work with you all and I've committed to many of you to do this hard work with you early next year um on the capital improvement plan and make sure that we're supporting in the finance committee the projects and the the um investments that you find uh to be most important in your neighborhoods.

I'm grateful to everyone who will support this project.

Um also if you haven't been to Benefit Street recently, it's uh all done up for the holidays, and I recommend you taking a stroll, maybe in the daylight so you don't trip, but all of the wreaths and the beautiful things are up for the holidays, um, and I'll be heading over there this weekend for their stroll.

Um, so a lot of gratitude to Moha and to my colleagues.

Um I know this has been a challenging conversation.

I appreciate folks who've come to the table honestly and earnestly, and I'm looking forward to working with you all next year as we make sure that there are equitable investments across all of our wards.

But I really uh do ask you for your support on this so that we can leverage this really great resource for our city.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, brother uh Councilman Sanchez.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um first I just want to start off and quickly, you know, acknowledging the actions that were taken by myself a couple weeks ago.

Um if if I you know hurt anyone's feelings or or made folks feel a certain type of way, I you know, as your colleague uh apologize.

Um but today I I rise um again in opposition uh of this project, and not because I don't support the construction or renovation uh of streets uh in the city of Providence.

I think we've made it all clear that we all support that across the city, and the need is there on the east side, on in my neighborhood and the south side.

Uh we're an old city, we're we were one of the the first cities in in America, and for decades and and even centuries, uh maintenance and uh road and sidewalk repairment wasn't uh the highest priority for legislative bodies.

So I think it's important that that we acknowledge um that point that that's important.

Uh but why I'm in opposition, I don't think it's been very clearly stated uh by anyone um up to this point, but the way we've traditionally have done sidewalk repairments and improvements and any infrastructure is we do a citywide uh capital improvement plan, it's called a CIP.

Um obviously if it's a state road, that the state will will invest uh funding or or repairs.

Um all of us uh counselors have uh access to different uh buckets of money, whether that's the neighborhood infrastructure fund or CDBG national dollars that we can choose as city councillors to spend in our neighborhoods.

That's something you know how we've traditionally have done sidewalks, and it's important to uh understand and acknowledge that you know we need more resources, and I think that's the intention here by the the supporters of this project.

They found a way uh to access capital um in a way that other neighborhoods currently don't have.

Um, and that's my biggest frustration here is that we're intentionally or unintentionally, depends how you look at this, uh creating uh a process uh that's just not fair.

Is this currently as written, it's not fair until every single city, uh part of our neighborhood or part of our cities have access to this uh pool of funding.

Um any project that's done with without doing it in other neighborhoods, it it's just creating uh those uh levels uh of inequitably even larger.

We're we're increasing uh those gaps.

And you know, I appreciate the thoughts and comments about you know, let's do this first, and then we'll be able to duplicate it.

But who knows who who'll be in office?

Uh who knows if if we have another COVID pandemic, who knows if you know the the United States uh falls apart and we don't have access.

So that that's where I I just have uh a lot of concern on it is that we're doing something um right now uh that benefits uh a specific neighborhood um that you know might have already more um access to resources without you know focusing or or making sure that this plan helps uh the whole city and and that's why I'm in strong opposition of it.

Um, you know, I I feel bad because there has been a lot of work, you know, the this organization, my old history has been doing this work for for quite some time.

Um, but until we have this as a tool um presented to every single part of our neighborhoods, um I'm always gonna be in opposition.

Um, because what hasn't been said is that this is a citywide bond.

Um, you know, you think uh of where this is going, you know, you have Brown University, you have RISD, you have other uh very other well-off institutions, and and they're not part of this, you know.

If if you want to do something extra or or something in your own neighborhood, you know, you tap into to those types of resources that are already there that other parts of the city uh don't have access to for whatever reasons.

Um and my last concern um about this is that this is a huge project.

We all have issues with our Department of Public Works in terms of capacity and uh timeline projects, you know, being delayed, and what we're doing is adding a whole nother multi-million dollar project without uh increasing the capacity of um our current uh public works department.

Thank you, madam president.

Thank you.

Further discussion on item 11.

Councilman Vargas.

Thank you very much, Marba.

I rise to talk about this great project.

But we are one city, and these chambers now only three councils who represent these three wars.

But as a sidewalk needed, I need 150 sidewalks in my area.

I've been getting phone calls from constituents that they haven't got their sidewalks for the last 20 years.

And I don't see that that this is important.

It is important.

But why this organization didn't talk about the whole city?

Why being so greedy or so for us and not thinking about the rest of the city?

Because this is the loan.

It's not a grant.

We pay interest in this and this loan.

2.33.

My grandkids will pay for this.

It's not fair for me to vote in favor to benefit one side of the city when the whole city is in need.

Let's balance.

Let's have a weight and balance these projects.

Why we considering to go one side of the city and forget in the other side.

It's true, we have money in the CIP, but you don't know if we're going to get it.

We don't know if we're going to get it.

And I represent my community.

My community gets so happy when they see a sidewalk done.

You know who called me?

The neighbor.

Oh, when is my sidewalk to be done?

If my neighbors find out that I support this, they will scream at me.

They will call me every day and remind me.

And we will benefit only three parts of the city.

Those three parts of the city.

But we are one body.

And that body has to be share the pie.

And we look like that we just giving the whole pie, and we lose them, and we stand behind.

The bank.

Nobody has called them.

Hey, can you drop a penny and help us to do this sidewalk?

Because nobody wants to work, nobody wants to bother.

Then we have RISD, another great university.

Then we have 300,000 people who come.

Out of those 300,000 people that we're talking about, half of them are college students.

They come, enjoy the city, get graduate and leave.

And I will have my community to pay for something for them to enjoy.

Sounds great.

It's like we're giving the city away again.

I think we got used in this chamber, yes, to do that.

But we're talking about his history.

I think the city was built in 1816.

Right.

You know, the other day one lady called me, oh, I got a house was built in 1800s.

I said, Jesus, it's still up.

Do you have a sidewalk?

She goes, No.

I don't have a sidewalk.

So I just want to remind every colleague here.

Remember, you gotta elect to serve the people.

Not to serve one side of the city.

If that's part of the city, want to become one city.

Let's start with the process.

Let's make one city.

Let's see that will work.

But remember, we are one city.

If we get something, we should get equal amount to each council person.

Because each council person has have a need to use any kind of money.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Further discussion on item 11.

Councilman Peterson.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um not to belabor the points that were just made by my fellow counselors, but I do want to acknowledge a couple of things myself.

Um I think the conversation has been more geared towards Eastide versus everybody else.

And I don't think that that's actually the conversation that I'd like to be able to have.

For me, we as a body of 15 have fought for equity in so many different things.

We have put forward change in a way and impact in a way that is very intentional to support those that don't, that they can't or that they don't have.

And I stand by all of those decisions because they are right and fair and just for all of our neighborhoods.

However, when we talk about equity, it should be for everything.

And this right here just doesn't feel equitable.

We have neighbors, we all have sidewalk lists.

Every single one of us has a sidewalk list, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 sidewalks long that we can't acknowledge or get to.

I have neighbors that have are 60, 70, 80, and 90 years old that have been waiting.

I have neighbors sitting in this chain this chamber that didn't want to wait or could no longer wait to have a sidewalk put in and installed it out of their retired income funds.

It is very serious for every single one of us to be having equitable to have the opportunity to have an equitable distribution for any sort of bonding.

And let's face it.

Telling our neighbors that we didn't have enough, that we didn't have enough to make our ends meet, that we didn't have the opportunity to figure out how to how to cover our the salaries for our employees and continue the work that we had to do.

And here we are bonding out and borrowing for three out of 15 neighborhoods.

That was not fair, that is not just, and that is not right.

And I don't want to sit and say that these sidewalks are not necessary.

I 1000% believe that they're necessary.

But the sidewalks in every neighborhood are necessary.

We have neighbors that have been waiting for decades, and we still can't get to them.

And the little pots of money that we had through ARPA a couple of years back, that was able to fix 10 sidewalks in my ward.

10.

I still have a long list waiting and more to come.

So to the people that are here, I want to make it very clear.

But as you're sitting here and you're thinking about your next year and how it's going to kind of play forward in any capacity that, and I'm talking to my counselors here.

And are going, well, hang on a second.

I know that my street could actually use a sidewalk fix here and there.

And I just want to recognize the fact that there were people here that tried to fight until the 11th hour to try and find something different to have equitable distribution of this fund of this fund or this funding.

And we failed, and I'm sorry.

And our neighbors should be holding us accountable day in and day out.

Thank you.

Councilman Pretembicharno.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and to you and through you and my colleagues.

I rise uh to speak on this issue because give credit to what credit is due.

Credit is to the organization that put this forward, they did the due diligence, they empowered, they had the experience, and brought this before us.

And during those times brought it before us when we were having a discussion on a bigger topic, which was the budget.

And uh during those times, all of us were focusing on how difficult it is for our own families in our neighborhoods in our wards.

But this has and continues to awaken a spirit in all of us, especially in the community that have been disenfranchised for many years, as is as we're reminded by the story and the real story, the Consulwoman Graves just illustrated.

But it also empowered us because we really went to town with this one.

We've expressed the needs of our districts.

It forced us more so to know that when we get out of our house, that we look at that sidewalk.

And I know in my district, every time a constituent that texts me almost every week, that every time she comes out of her house, she reminds it's it reminds her about that sidewalk.

And this is why during these times when we discuss this particular 6.2 million dollars for the benefit street and making the argument that this is tourism, this is this is part of economic development and so forth.

I always say, what else can we do to bring the dollars back home in our own district?

And over time, I've heard from people, including the administration, including uh finance and the chair and the president, that we're gonna get and make that a priority, and we're gonna make it happen, because it gave us also the opportunity to dig in and look at the dollars, how we're spending it in our in our own uh backyard, and let's make sure that we really look at those dollars and hold each other each other accountable because councilwoman Peterson, you are right, our constituents will hold us accountable.

That constituent of mine every week is holding me accountable, and I'm up to here with this with their constituent and and like you had like 10 10 sidewalks, but I also am reminded all these years when former colleagues that were served in this community and served in this chamber called it what it was, whether if it was councilwoman Babina Young, whether if it was other city council people would say College Hill, they have the money, and we're and we're actually our housing stock is no good.

Our sidewalks need uh need improvement, and yes, since 2016 17, we've had some money invested, but we need more, and the message is for not only for us here, but also for the administration to put our community more so, add more than just the trickle small amount that we can just do several uh sidewalks in our community because they've waited so long, and so I conclude with this is that I've gone to the meetings, I've asked questions, I've actually uh try to get more details in terms of even with the with with the uh uh Larry Mancini, but we're gonna hold people accountable to ensure that this gets done right, and I asked the last thing I would say is that the organization that put this forward, yes, you knew and you found out what the process was, and you're empowered, congratulations, but know that you are part of a community on College Hill and have the door that could go door knocking on those universities or institutions up there, including the state more so, because Benefit Street that's where the courts are the state should be investing even more money.

What I say is that we in the community sometimes don't have that empowerment or that knowledge, and it is for you to know that you have that empowerment and that know-how and that environment up there that has more influence in money and in even constituency, and so I ask today that as you move forward, as this when we take the vote, and I will vote in favor of this and justifying it just by the remarks that I just said, but I hope that you all continue to work with us to ensure that the administration and all of us spread the wealth in terms of the infrastructure in our in our wards.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you.

Further discussion on item 11.

Hearing none, madam clerk, please uh open the vote and call the roll.

The vote is now open, and I will call the roll.

Council President Miller, aye, deputy majority whip and bois.

Aye, majority leader Espinal, senior deputy majority leader Gonzals, aye, councilwoman Graves, Deputy Majority Leader Harris, aye, councilwoman Peterson, nay Council President Pro Tempore Pichardo, yay, Council Arroyas, nay Councilwoman Ryan.

Yay.

Council Arroyas.

Nay.

Councilwoman Ryan.

Aye.

Majority Whip Sanchez.

Aye.

Councilman Taylor.

Councilwoman Ana Vargas is absent.

Councilman Oscar Vargas.

The vote is now closed.

No, I I believe I caught him.

Oh, okay.

I have eight ayes, five nays, one absent.

The motion carries the matter is approved for the first time on a roll call vote.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

It's a good thing we still know how to do stuff by hand as well.

Item uh Councilman Vargas, is your uh machine working?

It's not set up yet.

Okay, we'll just do everything uh without the vote.

The all right, madam clerk, item 12, please.

Madam President, uh majority leader motion to weigh the reader of item 12 through 22.

Uh may I get a second, madam uh deputy majority leader on that motion.

Oh, I'm going to pull around a second.

We have a motion and a second.

Um any discussion on items 12 through 22.

Hearing none.

All in favor.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Any abstentions?

The motion passes.

Madam Clerk, please note items 12 through 16 as received.

17, please refer to claims and pending suits.

18 through 22 as received.

So noted.

Thank you.

Item 23.

Madam President.

Majority Leader.

Motion to weigh the reading item 23 and passing a voice vote.

Second, madam president.

We have a motion and a second.

Any discussion on item 23?

All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed?

Any abstention?

The motion passes.

Item 24.

Madam President.

Majority leader.

Second, Madam President.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Any abstention?

The motion passes.

Madam President.

Majority leader.

Why should the suspend rule 2A of the rules to the city council to hold regular city council meeting in 2026 at 6 p.m.?

Yeah.

Second.

We have a motion.

This is uh because the rules of the council, I'll just clarify for everyone.

The rules of the council, which we should update uh in 2026, still state that our meetings are at 7 p.m.

So to con every year we kind of do this housekeeping to continue meeting at 6 p.m.

as we have been all term.

We just need to vote on it.

So that is what we got.

We got a motion and a second.

Any discussion on that motion?

All in favor?

Aye.

Thank you, Madam President.

Opposed, yes.

Madam President.

Majority leader.

Why should we suspend Rule 28 of the rules to the City Council?

Not to hold the first regular schedule meeting on Thursday, January 1st, 2026, and rescheduled to the date certain on Thursday, January 8, 2026, and not to hold a second regular schedule meeting on Thursday, January 15, 2026, and rescheduled to the date certain on Thursday, January 22nd, 2026, and resume regular schedule thereafter.

Second, Madam President.

Any discussion?

All in favor, aye.

Any opposed?

The motion passes.

Madam President.

Majority Leader.

Being there's no further business in the calendar, motion to adjourn.

Second.

All in favor.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Any abstentions?

We are adjourned.

Thank you all so much.

Happy holiday to everyone.