Good afternoon.

I would like to call the uh special commission on Veterans Affairs meeting to order for Tuesday, April 14th, two thousand twenty-six.

Chair Picardo.

Vice Chair Aguinucci is absent.

Commissioner Elves is absent.

Commissioner Yarn.

Commissioner Del Valle.

Three present.

We have a quorum.

Thank you.

Great.

Thank you for uh joining us today.

Commissioner, the rector.

Sir.

Uh for uh taking the time.

I know it's been very active out there in the community.

State and one veterans.

I also would like to welcome the new members.

Thanks for your service.

This is our uh team here.

If you could please uh introduce yourself so that way we let up uh can officially know who's at the table with us too, also from our team at the uh Province.

I'm from the law department.

I mean I'm the municipal integrity officer for the City of Providence, and my name is Rosa Aries Pierre, and welcome to the city.

Thank you so much.

Hi, I'm assistant clerk to um deputy clerks and city clerks in the Leon.

I'm the second deputy of the city clerk, so it's me.

Oh, I'm Darius.

I'm just a tech guy.

Very important.

Next things work.

I'm the city archivist when I'm to kill Wharton.

Please join us.

Uh bring the table.

Go on.

Someone over there.

Sorry, yeah.

Um everybody on the table.

Thank you.

And my name is Isaac Slevin, I'm a policy analyst for the city council staff.

Yes, um, Aaron Eastogar, the deputy chief of staff for the council.

Thank you.

Nice welcome.

Thank you for uh volunteering and and and uh stepping up and being part of this commission.

Uh a couple of great things for the city of Province, and also uh we have some good plans for uh this community introduced in the city province.

So thank you.

Um for the agenda today we have uh discussion regarding uh the city's uh veterans they exhibit.

This is a conversation, Caleb Morton uh from uh city having uh we can improve uh some of the markers out there in the community, but also here in the city council.

Um as you notice that uh there's uh uh display uh just one right side of the uh province uh city council chambers.

Wanted to uh renew that because it's been kind of stale for for quite a bit now, and uh Caleb is gonna uh expand on that.

Yeah, so it's the first place to start.

So um, you know, I was looking for some input on uh kind of a permanent little home for that marker out by the council chambers uh you know that's uh you know I like to keep that, of course.

It's been in City Hall for quite some time, but um the uh part research.

I think that was put up last administration.

Um so you know, I was gonna ask actually the board's input, you know, because to follow on to me, and I think it would be great to get some insight from you guys.

Um what to place there next.

I'd like to do something providence-centric, of course.

Um or even dedicated to the veterans city.

Uh I think it's important to keep it centric.

Um bring it back to bring it back home, so to speak.

Um idea was to uh obviously have flags that stand out the colors on probably a flag up there.

But um yeah, I don't know if we could do a list of the fallen from Providence or maybe even a list of the veterans uh associations and committees throughout history and providence, dedication.

Um could even be a possibility with a kiosk as some information.

That's something we're working on with the city council history.

So if you wanted to, we could get you something like that, keep digital form up.

I think it would be nice to have kind of an uh lasting permanent presence in that corner.

Um I think it's fitting in that corner too because the World War One memorial uh model is next to that.

Um I wish that case was a little easier to look at because the doors are kind of kind of obscure it.

Maybe that's an idea to kind of have somebody come in and fix the doors and display window and make it make it make a little more sense to the public.

Um yeah, that was kind of my first question to present to the board.

Right.

Open it uh as you're hearing, uh Caleb.

Any uh any ideas or any comments uh commissioners, commissioner well, um I would just can you um where is it located again?

So yeah, it should have been by the doors of the chamber.

So if you were going to walk into the council chambers, there's like a table, yeah.

And there was a stanchion that was there, and then we're walking up the council.

It's right now near the Echo statue.

And that can certainly be moved too to kind of reduce confusion that was placed there that was actually originally here.

Nothing against the statue is a lovely statue, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um so it would be right outside the chamber doors.

And that's uh two observations from this uh inquiry.

One is that uh that's why it needs to not uh miss it.

And two, after this meeting, we'll take a walk out there and and uh really uh look at it visually.

Uh so it will be an ongoing discussion and ideas of how we can actually redesign that area for um with the camp.

Maybe also what it would be good to know to know is like any guidelines that it has to stay under as far as it be if there's any guidelines or any restrictions of what can be placed there, or does it have to fall under this thing?

Yeah.

Um historical uh fall within a certain um aesthetic.

I think that the overall goal is to make it providence-centric because obviously it's capital and building sort of city hall, um I think that leaves it.

I know it's we're a little open-ended probably because we can create it.

And uh I think keeping it providence-centric makes sense because you mean by parving centric.

So it having to do with our veterans with our our history, with uh with the city, per se.

Because I mean it we could compass encompass Rhode Island using the state house or other institutions.

Um so I think it would you know, like just be fitting to kind of bring back home, so to speak for us, uh especially close to the chambers.

Um but as the aesthetic it goes, uh it it doesn't I don't think as long as it's appropriate, it doesn't look good with there's no like strict guidelines.

Okay.

As long as it's honorable, it's appropriate.

And of course, you know, peer reviewed by us.

I think that's important too, obviously.

But before we put anything out there, we can take a look and see what needs to be improved works.

Um I think I would offer offer a different approach.

One of a popular displays that we see across the nation and places of how regard elected officials goes is what we call a POW MI chair or a table if you will, but more importantly a chair.

I mean, and it signifies a lot of things.

It it transcends all decades, generation of veterans and military families, but it talks about the sacrifice that those that have been stuck on the POW experience, and how we enhance it for provenance by those pro private city residents who died in various decades of right.

Well, if you serve this country, you die, then you there's a wall of honor associated that goes in c in tow with POW MIA chair, right next to it is a plaque that talks about those city of private folk that have died.

That's that served the nation.

See their proudest residents that have done a little longer with us.

That's perfect because we actually have a master list, and that's kind of goes into what the city archives have been doing since roughly about 2020 with trying to upgrade and place memorial square signs.

So we can kind of hit the ground running.

We have a a good list with POWs and died in action, missing in action.

Right.

One comes to mind right away, Carl Lafasia, that's somebody we worked on.

Right.

He was declared missing in action, but we know he died in the Argonne Farrus, most likely.

And that Chris Althus and the POW MIA is standard across all spectrums.

Every city and town that has one, it's easily replicable, and again, it's it's cost effective as well.

I have a question about that now.

Can you speak up so that way the audio could be picked up?

Yeah, no, but and by the way, you're also being filmed.

Uh yeah, I noticed I was like, oh, so you we can speak up to it.

Um little shy, but then I'll open up.

Um so a little bit I uh as an artist, I'm an artist, music is my medium, but in collaborating with other artists and knowing that we are the capital of creativity, right?

Pvd is known as that.

I was thinking about before that's I think this is even that's hitting it on the nail.

Uh but I wonder if there's a way that it could be designed with an artistic unique province flair to it, like incorporating other artists that are from here that can probably contribute to the design of the asset, or so we or do you think it would be more appropriate to keep it?

I I I say we keep it state, you you you develop a personal component by listing only province residents.

That's the personality, but you are acknowledging subject across and it's easily passable, powerful to the population.

Yeah, because they know that anyone can understand and take up a summer moment to think about POW money, that that chair signifies that and is universal.

But how we personalize it is by doing the plaque.

But when we honor those events, so now let's take that create create artistic work.

Okay, let's bring and put together a program that highlights the cultural difference here in the city and there of celebration of life.

But now there's more of the two way celebration of life.

And that but it's through the arts that we celebrate that life.

That way you can be as creative as you want because it brings it out the spirit of providence, but also to maintaining the traditional standards.

But because 75% of our population are over the age of 55.

We love them, but they might not necessarily get the component you're addressing, but at the very least, the common ad amongst all of that is that one table, that focal point that that person is not here to partake with us, and it's Loma, but let's honor that by those that are fallen, and more importantly, a celebrate of the next group of veterans that we want to invite to the city of Province to become a resident.

Yeah, and to that uh you know as you know, the the one at the State House have uh the same sort of uh same brand.

And the one recently we did a dedication in uh Tivington, we did one in Bristol.

Smaller scale, and it's at the town hall.

You walk in and it's right there.

Uniformly, yeah.

And uh uh at the same time, uh, how do we honor that?

But also uh like you said, put a plaque where uh those who have fallen, but also add uh something else that actually can draw the young those who are living.

Uh that's where that third component comes in.

So as we continue uh the discussion on this, some concept of it, uh where we will finalize a display, uh we'll bring it back to uh the next meeting.

Sounds good.

Fantastic.

Anything else on that.

Um the next item on the agenda is uh discussion regarding 1299.

This is a bill that's uh best uh policy directors uh to uh review obviously having the director here as a commission, uh director of uh veteran organization.

Uh just have uh discussion whether this is a worthwhile um legislation uh to for us city council's ambassador support it from the commission side, but also uh also uh moving it as a resolution on uh as an entire body, for instance.

So with that said, if I may, can I just uh Aaron just speak a little bit about uh issue?

Um yeah, so um this is um as you mentioned, Senate bill, you know, um 2997, and it's um directly related to you know the you know criminal justice system and you know how folks simply for veterans, um as you can see here.

I'll just say that the bill requires that law enforcement officers parole supervisors and correctional facility administrators um in collaboration with RI vets, provide arrest and incarceration, incarcerated veterans access to a variety of state and federal level veteran resources, um especially veteran justice outreach specialists and it ensures collaboration between um state agencies, well state and federal agencies and timely access to the needed resources.

Um and then it also provides for just tracking veterans as they go through the system and uh should we see here on the Senate side, which was introduced by um Senator Morgan, and I'm actually not sure if there's a house bill introduced yet.

I don't think there is, but there's nothing tracking that right very well.

Okay, indeed.

So uh would you like to add anything?

No, you work on uh looking and reviewing some of the we also um had uh the opportunity to look at or at least uh have the bills that I've been presented in the House and Senate.

I wanted to bring it forward before us so that way just have a discussion.

If there's anything particular uh just in the guard that we uh can uh support from this angle, and then two, there was uh to ask you a question in reference to this uh legislation that supports the uh veterans uh services, and then there was a bill uh to create these organizations throughout the state, and if there's any um any knowledge that you only have sure, absolutely.

Well, thank you, uh chair for allowing me to speak on this back on the on regarding uh Senate Bill 2997.

So having reviewed this bill, so full disclosure as a state director, I'm required to review all bills that pertains to veterans and military families and provide the support opposition remain neutral on.

Uh, as I reviewed this bill thoroughly, and uh we're doing this already in the state.

I have a MOU that's signed, that's act that's currently active uh between myself and director, department of correction uh director Salisbury.

Uh, in that document, it requires us to share information, develop a plan for diversion as well as the sentence amongst the uh veteran population to include meeting periodic report providing me periodic reports as well as an action plan on how we're addressing the needs of our incarcerated veterans to include our women veterans that are incarcerated.

I know, by the way, we have three of those three women that are incarcerated right now as a result of that work.

And so uh I uh was in opposition of said bill because we're already doing the work in the space already.

So I may not need to do a better job at communicating that work, which we do in my annual report, but to the members I've reached out and said, hey, we've already doing this work very well, actually, a well on machine, actually, uh, to include uh any time a veteran is incarcerated uh over the week during the week over the weekend, uh, once they get at intake, they required to fill application point, and this during that process, if they're revealed at intake that they are a veteran or so recognition, identify as a veteran having served, the intake uh law enforcement officer will provide that veteran with a form to fill out.

It is a consent form, and that they acknowledge that they're a veteran, but also two, it gives me as a state director consent to intercede on their behalf and to bring all the resources I can to bear to see on behalf of that veteran because they did something that 99% of our nation, unfortunately, did not serve our nation.

And when you look at the data around this segment of our population, over 90, now I would say 98% of all of those forms that have come across my desk, they served honorable.

So that means to me that somewhere after that service, they fell along the way, sir, or got off the track.

And so this process is to not only get them back on track, but also to offer them service to reduce the civilism amongst this segment of our population.

So as a result of that partnership, on a weekly basis, I get a spreadsheet from corrections.

They give me a list of all the veterans that are incarcerated in this state, to include their good time date when they're going to get released from incarceration.

Why is that sort of important?

Because that's the date that I care about because six to eight months from now, that veterans are going to get released to our communities.

Not to institution, to our communities.

The city of Providence is one of those communities.

And those are partnerships.

And so that comes on a weekly basis.

At the end of every month, my team, matter of fact, the next one is coming up this coming Thursday via Zoom.

We sit down and we go through all of the veterans that are incarcerated that were getting released within the next six months.

And we ratchet up our service efforts to address the needs of those incarcerated veterans.

But that work starts before the knowledge of the six-month month, because like I said, meeting on a recurring basis.

Did the veterans serve honorably?

Or if they didn't, if they serve honorably, are they eligible via healthcare?

Because if they are, it provides us options to utilize federal resources and not necessarily have to use state resources and they're working on MNASA, Mr.

Ms.

Polly resources.

So then we get a good gauge of this type of individual that we're gaining back to our communities.

If it's a VA eligible veterans, it's it's exponentially easier because we hand it, it's a virtual handoff.

We meet with the veteran before he or she gets relieved incarceration.

So we have a care plan essentially in place months before they get released.

And we check up on that periodically.

Like I said, we have three women veterans that are incarcerated.

One too many.

I've hired a woman veteran to her primary role is to serve our women veteran.

Were they incarcerated or in one of my municipalities?

Because I didn't walk in their shoes, but my job is to care for them.

The number one growing second of our population, the veteran population are women.

So I have a firm believer that you must look like the people that you serve.

How can I speak for our women's veterans?

Because I can walk in her shoes.

Now, what does that mean to them?

It builds up a level of trust.

Because now we are a woman that served, how can she relate to?

She can't relate to anybody that can come from us.

But if you tell me somebody come in and talk to me, and I'm a woman veteran, the conversation changes.

And it's that type of care that we get every veteran, regardless who you are.

I get paid, praise God, to serve you and connect you with services and have a plan.

Have a plan to assist you.

You still gotta do the work.

We're gonna hold you accountable because these aren't infinite amount of resources.

Because we don't represent one percent.

So that means that the 99% of folks that might have a different opinion.

So I gotta be a steward for the taxpayer as well and paint the right argument to allocate resources where needed.

Hence why this bill is I rise in opposition, because we're doing the work.

If we weren't doing the work already, I would say this will be a hundred percent great bill to put out but bring to light.

But we're doing all of this work, and I and I can talk about this each line item to the cows can home.

Absolutely.

Just a quick question.

So is it uh therefore?

It's an MOU, but it's not codified in the law.

Don't have to be called.

I'll need how pass to do my job.

M O U, excuse me, the MOU because we're state agencies.

We're sister and brothers.

We have a different pathway, conditioned tech point.

We have the right friends, no.

Exactly.

No, every state ain't had a right for now.

If we got if you have a right funder, we can do business, just talk, exchange, all those types of things.

That MOU is all director Soundsbury and I need to serve this constituency.

And we do it on a four-year, we revisit this, we'll revisit this again in 2027.

Uh sometimes uh uh when it's being done uh and having the experience of not having sometimes things that are codified when leadership changes, uh attitude changes.

I mean, I know, and so that's why sometimes uh uh um these bills uh or others uh need to be codified.

But uh under your recommendation, you you've been uh doing the work as you just indicated.

There's no need to uh move forward with this one as you as many bills up at the state house uh will be presented, but some of them will be hurt, some of them won't, and some will just go away uh because they're already uh agencies or individuals are doing that.

In this case, uh you're doing it, so therefore, we are doing that me.

We we are doing a certain way.

I don't know what's a we like to say that's a tape we but it talks to the partnership because we an example if the veteran isn't VA eligible, veteran affairs eligible because they care at your service, they still served.

And so we have private partnerships like Operation Standown, like Veterans Inc.

That's whole purpose is to care for those edge of care for those the veterans that fall in those other categories to ensure that they don't continue to fall through the cracks and utilize separate resources to address their needs that can't go through the the other path that they're birthed that served honorably as well.

Thank you.

So under those uh comments and recommendations, any or any other uh comments that anyone would like to uh provide.

I think that's uh sufficient, and uh we will be holding this uh um recommendation uh to insights.

So with that said, I also uh now would like to uh go back to uh Caleb.

I know Caleb also wanted to share with us also.

Actually, I'll bring it back.

The third item on the agenda, discussion relative to communication staff.

So under this item, this is a a uh a recommendation uh and discussion that I've had uh with Mayer, but also uh that I've also put forward uh within our communities, but also in this commission, and hopefully uh with the goal of having a an office or staff person directly supporting the efforts of the Providence uh office, but also working in coordination with other agencies such as yours, Commissioner, and uh specifically to uh uh uh veterans here in the city of the province.

Would that also uh having the potential that in the future that we can also provide whether within the city, state, or federal funding to support these uh services that come directly to our CRUNES services?

So the letter is specifically uh that's a uh summary of what I um would like to see here, and also uh it is to request from this commission uh to support my effort uh in sending a letter to the mayor uh requesting uh those items that I just sign in.

Um so that's any comments, any um discussion.

I think that would be great.

I think it would be great to have though I think it would be good to have to have that.

That would be the first um great piece that would maybe be able to integrate what we're trying to do, all these talking about right.

Um and that would be also are you connected with the the VA hospital?

That's right.

So then that would have I'm sorry, I'm just having a whole bunch of ideas and things in it's okay.

We got time as we work through it together.

That's what we want.

You know, active and so then any that's what you bring to the bring to the end of this energy, yeah, absolutely.

So uh if I may what problem we trying to solve here with this by this line, what problem we trying to solve?

The problem that uh I look at it more of an enhancement, not trying to uh other problems at uh over over the years to my experience as uh as a service member and as a uh veteran and serving at the state level, while we have uh our capital city and all and and uh having representation at the state level, and also the VA services here.

We as a city of Providence have not had that uh what I've seen and what I'm my experience have not had that connection directly that uh has a a person designated in essence from the city and municipal government to specifically speak and relate to the veterans just uh uh just as you eloquently uh just uh described uh in our previous conversation regarding what you do under the uh MOU.

Um that's part of pretty much my office and and how many veterans are living in the city of Providence?

How many have we uh calculated that how was that number?

According to uh the research that would you like to announce 22,000 is estimated.

And what's the population of Providence at home at large?

190,000, so that it's about four percent, 4.2 percent of uh city residents of governments.

Have we engaged with them at all?

Well, we say we like the city of province.

Um very little.

I don't remember, I don't remember being engaged with that.

So we don't know what they want.

So we might not this night might this night be the answer to the test.

Oh it could be in order to uh connect with them and have coordinated.

Do we have a designated so this is a FTA essential?

So we're creating an FTA, the City of Providence is potentially proposing an FTE full-time employee to fill this role.

Correct.

Uh actually it will be uh a request from me, uh, would be in uh support uh the commission, uh and oh uh at the end will be the city of Providence uh requesting the FTE.

So I have I have a recommendation for that, but I'm gonna pause there for the pause that topic for a second.

Because I'm a firm believer that getting buy-in from the veterans is so quickly part of any population.

So being that you have 20, well, how many 200 22,000 cohort in that cohort?

How many how many how many of the city of Providence?

How many are in your ill elderly population?

We'd have to dig deeper into that.

Most likely you probably have that date.

I understand.

Do we have a do we have we have a veteran affairs staff member?

Do we have an aging population staff member in the city of Province?

Who's that?

So uh do we have any other cohort groups that we have a staff member for?

In terms of uh working families or uh city of province?

Yeah.

Latino, Asian American.

Do we have a specific organization?

Staff person, MBE and WP police, maybe two of us for minority of the businesses.

How big is that population?

What I'm not what I'm saying, or whatever I'm doing is so we have 22,000 veterans that represent the city of Providence.

What other cohort out there that's a bigger population than this 22,000?

Yeah.

Hispanic communities.

Do they have register?

Is there an Hispanic appointed staff member solely perfect to speak his Spanish, speak Spanish to our Latin community folks?

No longer is needed because uh the demographic and the language capacities to the municipal government, at least uh uh visibly, but also uh talent.

And uh the city of Providence has made every effort to actually gain uh that status and we'll continue to improve.

It wasn't so in the previous years uh or decades, so we continue to evolve and uh improve.

So one would argue that this commission is answering the mail on behalf of the constituent that you serve.

What was that again?

This commission is answering the mail to address that 22,000 veterans that call the city of Progress home.

Right?

As of today, this this is it, right?

And also, Craig Peron, Mr.

Chair, you're also a veteran.

Right.

So not only do we have a committee, it is chaired by a veteran that's a council member that I can go off to any place in the world.

I can walk up to him, and he's gonna ensure put in a proper format, i.e.

agenda item or to address that matter.

You also have a highly multicapable tool in your toolbox known as the Ryland Office of Veteran Services.

No matter what veteran, no matter where you live in the state or any other state, because Sem Yon doesn't care what state you live in or where you live.

If you serve this nation, I by my charter, I am automatically required to take care of you and take care of your families.

On speed dial, every mayor, every state rep, every senator, every council person has my phone number.

They see an individual out in public.

Oh, here's directing yarn's card, give his team a card.

Because we also have a coordinated care network called Unite Us that puts all of our community service providers in the same network.

No matter if I can send these services in Warwick or I come in Providence, or I walk down the street to the to the to uh the state house, I can get direct access for care and services by utilizing these pathways already established because doom and serve being a servant is it's about custom service.

We're in the people business.

It goes a long way when a mayor calls my office, okay.

Cassim, got it, mayor, got it.

Jock, I need you to go check on this one.

It's a woman veteran.

It's automatic.

You're going right to Sarah.

Automatic.

And she knows that too as well.

Standing by, we're staying at the ready, and our network helped guides us along that process.

So okay, so Cassim, you brought me a problem, so what's your solution?

As I said before before this committee, and I've been on record the same.

In order for, I'm in a competition business.

I cannot compete at the at the national level.

I can't compete with states that have warmer climates like California, Florida, Texas, the Carolinas.

I can't compete with those climates.

It just turns the same today.

But what I can compete with, and what I can work around, run circles around those bigger states, is customer service, the quality of care.

But when you come to my office, you're gonna you're not gonna get that type of concierge service.

City of Promise.

Guess what?

We go to we sit there together.

We break bread together at our vet cafe programs.

And so that's a better use of taxpayer dollars along those lines because you are saying the cute needs, what my office is bringing to the table.

We've launched veteran cafes across our state, to which the chair has participated in.

And he also has said to me separately, we need this action in Providence.

So as a result of that work, but I was going to announce the Benz of 2026.

What other lessons have we learned?

Food insecurities is a major concern across nation in our state, in our communities, especially in our diverse communities.

Everywhere I turn around, there's a food campaign popping up all over the place.

Rightfully so, because it's how we address those matters.

So we launched a cafe, veteran specific and their families to come and participate.

We have other organizations, DHS, because all you know, 8,000 of our veterans are getting snap benefits in the state.

Let me require legal services.

May not be able to afford those legal services.

But guess what?

Right on legal also participates at this program.

We know that our veterans may need assistance at the federal level.

We have a representative from the hospital and a representative from the benefits office.

So that way because Sam came in.

I haven't seen my a bit.

I've got a notice about my BA claim.

It's stuck in level.

I don't know what's going on.

Can you help me?

Go right over there, sit down.

We have someone from the VA log into their network and track Kasim's name down and see where it's adding the system.

If it's stuck somewhere, it's held up somewhere, they can get that gratitude information instantly.

If I need access to a V health care system, we got represented there.

So I haven't been I haven't seen my PCP, my primary care position, physician in months.

Okay, we'll sit down.

When would you like to visit them, sir?

Okay.

Yes, ma'am.

Come right on here, Cassim.

Your next appointment will be next week.

Conscience survey, front door services, hand over hand, individually based along those lines to better serve our constituency in that space.

What else can the city of Paris do?

To which I've said before.

I'm very competitive.

Let's look at your three other sport of cities that are looking that have addressed the property tax exemption program, to which we talked about before.

Let's just see where province breaks against the other big four cities.

That's the tail sign era.

That's where we would try to start to look at to move the needle on that.

Because not only are we trying to retain and honor the veteran the veterans that live in the city, we want to recruit more.

What's number the number one reason why the recruitment one?

It's about yes, close to the work of transportation.

There's also two exemptions, military possession.

We say we're gonna honor them.

Okay, well, let's show this monetarily as well, as another example along those ones.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Any other comments?

So I appreciate uh obviously giving us an overview of more comprehensive, especially our new members, so that way she's more attuned of what the uh state is is doing.

Um this has been a uh a priority, one of mine, uh, as you indicated, uh being uh uh soldier and a veteran and so forth, and uh recognizing the fact that uh we do have some great services throughout uh the state and even the city.

I think this will complement uh everything that you do and so on the benefits of um appreciate uh uh the the uh the insightfulness and uh hope uh that uh uh our uh interests and and and finding out that uh even the city of Providence and our veterans and their family can also um merit uh some type of uh representation within that senior service um uh entity uh slash uh veteran services that will work along with uh your agency uh at the state level, among others, um, which we all can use a little bit more of uh outreach and number of of uh face-to-face one-on-one uh participation.

So thank you.

Anything else?

All right.

Um the next item on the agenda we wanted to uh discuss, and this is when came up from in here the uh item number four discussion relative to the upcoming veteran events in 2026.

Um for a little bit of uh content and also history.

We we as this commission discussed about having a an overall eventually a parade.

Uh we did uh uh talked about having it this year.

Uh doesn't we're not going to get that accomplished this year because it requires so forth and more discussion.

So we're going to kick that over to hopefully next year and uh when would we can discuss uh the uh sources on the uh with that said also uh the veteran the uh upcoming events that uh have been in our radar and we've done uh some uh events uh throughout this uh uh past years, but also moving forward would be Memorial Day um celebration, a weekend celebration.

We had uh the flag day, which usually uh takes place uh June uh 11th, uh around that time.

And then uh Veterans Day, which is the big uh event in the area of the uh uh province water.

So with and and and then within that uh those uh veteran events that sort of like the markers.

We also identify um markers within the wards or community in the city of Providence to uh hopefully refer to re uh remote rebrand uh at least uh the markers for the memorial space and so forth.

And as we're driving by also respecting the time when we see flags that are dilapidated that we can call it in and uh we can retire them.

So with that said, uh I wanna recognize again uh Caleb uh to discuss a little bit further uh the memorial day.

Yeah, so uh one of the things that's coming up.

I was uh I received an email from the mayor's office in a couple of months back and and uh the William P.

Armstrong uh Memorial Square sign and that's um located between public and uh further.

Um actually so that one was the one on uh street?

It's uh Cranston Street, yeah.

Um by kind of near Wigan Village by the by the intersection and um street, right?

Yeah, just and um I'll pass this along and uh Frank Lennon who represents um journal about various veterans topics.

He did uh a story on uh Private Raymond Flynn.

We had actually uh tired police detective John Clancy and I had last year rededicated and well not rededicated, we actually got him a gravestone um cemetery.

Um he had never received one um before him.

But um you say we uh the organization or yeah, province representing the council and in archives.

Um yeah, so this is uh Armstrong here and he was just uh we need to look over this this was a bio written.

It's basically a quick write-up on this one.

I wanted to recognize that there calib just handed out in hand out uh they uh titled Second Lieutenant William P.

Armstrong, nineteen twenty-four, nineteen forty five, Tuskegee Airmen, fire fighter planet.

Except one exhibit one.

Exhibit one, okay.

So the plaque would missing, we tried looking for it.

We couldn't find it.

They could have been stolen.

Um regardless, this is something we always account for anyways.

I mean, cases point to place this uh stone or square sign, place a few other memorial square signs of order.

Yes.

Does he have any survivor members?

I believe he does.

Um does or relatives.

Um and I know that Frank and I just actually received an email that the phone before the meeting started, he said he is willing to reach out and have representatives from the route uh uh represented there.

So uh Frank's very involved in that.

Yes.

That's certainly helped for us great network community.

Um just an interesting tidbit, and I was actually working on a uh little article on published about Saul Bard, another veteran, or not veteran, sorry, a man who died actually now bullets in December nineteenth, nineteen forty-four.

Um Jewish uh support for essentially doing some research on him.

But uh I actually was going through a whole kill and action letters that were sent to the um Board of Vital Statistics office and they were transferred to us a few years ago, found in a closet and they were sent from you know Army Air Corps, uh Navy, seven or seven different branches of military.

And I found this completely by accident today while I was looking for something else.

So I'll pass it around, it's kind of interesting.

It's an original documents, be careful.

That's not like you know, and it's it's amazing how these guys will just appear, you know, and and what we have in the archives, you know, I can celebrate their lives.

So I think this is a great opportunity to dedicate this memorial.

Um I think it's very interesting that Tuskegee Airmen.

Um we had an uh another Tuskegee Airmen from Providence.

Um second, sir.

One second, sir.

Go ahead.

Uh uh so I think they could you know this is a good opportunity to celebrate that.

These printouts could be an interpreted panel that might go with the Memorial Square sign, kind of like we did with Vasia, and then we could continue that as we upgrade and move on, especially because the stories were interesting and it's I think it's important to be out.

Thank you.

Before I recognize uh Commissioner Yarn, I just wanted to uh point out that uh two things.

One uh that uh I need to uh uh entertain a motion to uh accept zip one, which is the second Lieutenant William P.

Armstrong uh 1924-1945 to SkiM and uh fire pilot uh handout.

Is there a motion motion has been moved and seconded?

Yes, seconded by uh any discussion.

So none um the exhibit is accepted.

Uh motion carries.

The second one is that uh there's this a a uh uh the original is going to go back to Caleb.

Okay, sure.

Enter into the recording.

Gotcha.

I can do that.

Enter the copy once it's made into the record as exhibit uh two.

Uh so is their motion to move the motion hasn't made second by second any discussion.

All those in favors, motion carries.

Thank you.

Uh Commissioner Yarn.

I I I just wanted to exercise the caution here and say, hey, if they if these folks have surviving family members, it would be prudent to reach out to them earlier and say, hey, here's what we're thinking about doing as a family member.

Are you supportive of this?

Because we don't want to do all this great work.

You come to find out the parent members may have said they didn't want this, but who knows what, but we again that's what is handless with sensitive, especially when the you know, men of men of honor, and we don't want to upset the families, you know, because it may stir up some emotions that we might be able to return.

But if they give us a concurrence to proceed, then it's going to be better to see, especially from the community perspective.

I can probably just add to that, sorry, real quick uh interrupt, but I know I pretty sure the family already communicated the Hall of Fame.

And they kind of went through different telephone, right?

Went through different channels and went to the city.

And I know they did do a rededication in 2010.

Um, so they had approved it then.

So I I think but you definitely make a great point, and that should have priority number one.

But I think in this case we should be yeah, um, let me add to that is that uh myself uh have been uh involved but also uh supportive of this.

Uh uh Lewis Armstrong through the post 69 uh American Legion for almost now two decades uh with Senator Metz and others, and the family has uh attended uh many of the ceremonies that we've held in the uh West South Side.

Um and every memorial weekend uh celebration uh now that uh there's a uh park designated on corner of uh of uh uh public and prairie uh a Tuskegee Airmen and also uh the Armstrong Post 469 on uh street with uh several uh ceremonies there.

So community does come together every every year to commemorate uh the heroic uh uh service that they um uh provided to our country.

So we'll make sure that uh they get a letter, but also uh uh uh a phone call to the post and also the family members to ensure that uh their memories are not gonna fade.

As I drove also through Planzer Street and I saw that it was missing, what's going on?

And so those are the kind of things that personally myself, I drive through when I drive through uh um Providence and I see old um dilapidated uh memorial squares.

Uh I ask everyone, including the public, if they say this, but they could send it, send a take a picture of it, take a look at where the street is and send us a notification so that we as a city of Province uh one can go out there and replace those, and two uh we their memories are not going to be uh forgotten as the community continues to the other uh um besides that.

I mean we're continuing um as you know the Department of Archives and History continuing to you know uh make these stories accessible.

Uh one of my jobs is trying between everything else, like like the Sawbar story that I'm looking at to try to proliferate that.

Um the projects we did was a master list of all the memorial squares, including uh their locations and the date of um their dedications along with the city council resolutions to approve uh these memorial squares.

So I can instantly look up okay.

Um I can take a look and I can't.

So do you have uh is that a all of them?

Yeah, that's all of them.

So we would like to enter that into the record so that way we could have them.

Sure, yeah, I could do that.

Yeah, I I have a digital copy of my notes here.

So do that.

So those are the kind of things that through your effort and research that uh we and the city uh we hope to that uh have a dedicated uh website and so forth to have those resources available on the city private families can be connected.

Um we'll we'll take that and not say motion.

I'll entertain a motion to uh accept uh and present uh exhibit uh number number three, which is the list of uh the memorial squares in the city of Province with the uh resolution number services and location.

Is there a motion?

Motion has been made in the second and the second.

Any further discussion?

See and none, all those in favor?

Exhibit is a copy and we'll choose at least uh uh the original to you, but it will also uh distribute these exhibition to the show that we have a digital.

Okay, can you send them by email?

Yeah, I can do that.

And the letters.

Yeah, definitely.

Anything else, would you?

Um so far at I know one day we'll get the the uh parade in order, but um as far as Veterans Day or around Veterans Day, we will continue with the with exhibit if we can talk to senior types and bring it on the yes, so to speak.

So I think uh that's become uh correct.

And those are three years.

Yeah, it's gonna be the fourth year.

Yeah, so we're going to have a veteran state celebration.

Where is that celebrated?

I'm sorry, I uh November.

Uh yeah, so uh we've been uh having a veterans day celebration here at City Hall.

Uh close to Veterans Day, as many activities take place in the state, including the big one, which the uh the rector uh uh guard eats for the state uh waterfire he asked all commissioners and veterans to join us over that day, including carrying torches, you know, the uh the water fire torch.

So this year you get to uh carry a torch.

And all our members, right?

If you have uh a family member that's uh served, this is an opportunity to be proud of uh uh members, but also support them in that day.

I correct would you like to say well, Mr.

Chairman?

Okay, and anything else?

Um that's it so far.

So as a conclusion of your uh discussion, is that for memorial day?

Uh we're looking to do uh something uh to support the uh Lewis Armstrong a display there uh public stream and primary and the Veterans Day.

Um I don't think uh we selected a date.

We did not select that yet.

Do we do you have any idea uh when is your date the date to the modifier?

The 11th the water fire is the first Saturday in November.

Or Saturday November.

Can someone look at so that's we could do the Thursday Wednesday before the school next meeting?

Uh no, no, it's uh for veterans uh uh celebration here at the uh at city hall and then while we're looking for that date if someone can uh uh for the November first we the first time in November this water flower.

Okay, so that's November the first Saturday is November seventh.

So uh the Friday is the sixth of the fifth.

November 5th.

Y'all in session on the fifth?

We all have session.

Uh so the fifth.

That would be a first Saturday.

I mean the first Thursday of uh right we immediately write at the session they were right into the um program.

So the first uh Thursday of November 5th, we will have the veteran celebrations at City Council chambers.

All right.

Great.

And then um the other event day uh is flag day, which is uh June.

Um the 11th 11th.

Do you have an event on the stayhouse?

I don't do a state of it, no, we do it at the veterans home.

There's doing that week actually, the 10th actually.

That Wednesday, we do an event at 5 30 p.m.

at the veterans' home.

We're having a big band if you listen to that type of music.

They come in as the veterans at the residents at the veterans level.

Oh yeah, they love yes, ma'am.

Absolutely.

So it's there for which one the veterans at that time.

The veterans one.

You went to the veterans day one, yeah.

Uh uh flag day.

But the flag now was on the 10th at 5 30.

Yes, sir.

So for us it uh uh would be uh hopefully it's usually on the 11th, right?

Right, right, but we had to do it to the puppet, yeah, because we know the other goals competing events.

So we do it, we move out to the left of the 10th.

Uh so uh let's uh put on our calendar for now the 11th and 12th, just to have 11th and 12th of June.

Okay.

And that way uh I say that so that way we can coordinate also with the mayor's office in the state.

Flag day?

Flag, yeah.

Um any further business.

See and no for the business, there's a motion to adjourn.

Is there a second?

Yes.

Accepted.

Thank you very much.