Hi, Raleigh.

Welcome to Council Chambers.

At today's meeting, your elected leaders will have the opportunity to hear from you.

Before the gabble, let's make sure everyone can hear you here in the room and watching online and on TV.

When you step up to the podium, adjust the microphone so you're speaking right over it.

Close or pull back too far.

Hi, Raleigh.

Welcome to Council Chambers.

At today's meeting, your elected leaders will have the opportunity to hear from you.

Before the gavel, let's make sure everyone can hear you here in the room and watching online and on TV.

When you step up to the podium, adjust the microphone so you're speaking right over it.

If you lean in too close or pull back too far, or turn your head, we'll lose your voice.

The mic is sensitive.

No need to shout.

Just speak clearly, and we'll hear you.

If the podium mic is out of reach, no problem.

Our staff will bring you a handheld microphone.

Want to speak at a future session?

Head to RaleighNC.gov and search public comment.

Good evening all.

Thank you for being with us.

Uh this is our public comment session.

Mayor Cow has an excused absence this evening.

Each speaker will have three minutes.

Please approach the podium as your name is called.

Okay, first we have Octavia Rainey.

Good evening.

First of all, I would like to thank Mayor Cowell for meeting with me last Monday to talk about the Moore Square bus station moving.

I think she was very fair with her comments to me, and I was very honest about my comments as well.

As you know, I'm very dissatisfied with even the thought of moving Moore Square Bus Station.

I am a civil rights activist, been a civil rights activist for 50 years.

To this council, I am serving notice.

Let's be clear about this and let's be honest.

Moore Square is a civil rights issue.

It's not a crime issue.

I want to make that clear to all of y'all.

It's not a crime issue.

It's the civil rights.

And I do understand that y'all really don't have enough training to understand civil rights from crime.

To Corey, my district representative.

I am getting the meeting with the NO, and I want you to be there.

Why y'all gonna go to an endorsement?

So when Moore Square come up, it comes up in a negative way.

They put that pressure on y'all.

You want the endorsement.

So y'all are probably probably going to give in to what they say.

I'm also Corey setting a meeting with Riley Magazine.

I'm not having this.

And I am sick of this.

This is a civil rights issue.

It's not a crime issue.

It's not a crime.

So I would appreciate it if y'all stop talking about crime.

It's not a crime.

This is a black issue.

Y'all don't want black people gathered in that particular location.

That's my background.

I have travel in my day across the United States, strictly on civil rights.

So I know civil rights, like the back of my hand.

I even get phone calls telling me, just like I told the mayor, I'm too black.

I said, well, what else do you expect me to be?

Now I can tolerate you having a conversation on civil rights with me, but don't have one on crime with me.

Don't wrap this in a bow like it's a great present when it's poison.

That's now that is wrong, completely wrong.

And I would not tolerate it.

I would have a conversation with anyone.

I get six phone, seven or eight calls a day about my blackness and about my civil rights.

But you know what I tell them?

I am not discussing crime.

If you want to talk to me about civil rights, go at it.

But don't talk to me about crime.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Waleed Ben Saya.

Okay, I don't think they're here.

Uh Lisa Hugott.

How about William Smith?

Yes, please.

Hope everybody's doing well.

Um it's hard to know where to start here.

But I am the COO of priority care ambulance.

We are licensed by North Carolina.

We service Wade County, Johnson County, Orange County, many of them.

Um just recently we've come across an issue where they've put up a bunch of signs saying we can no longer park on our cul-de-sac.

You've been parking there for six years.

Never a problem.

Um we were first told, well, someone says they're breaking in your ambulance and sleeping.

Okay, well, that's not true.

We never reported that.

We've never reported anything in the seven years we've been on that street and we've been in business for ten.

Never had a problem.

We're the only business that operates overnight.

The only.

Everyone else is out here before 9 o'clock.

I hope you received all these letters that we've been sending you in these correspondences.

The only complaint that I've seen in writing is a complaint from one individual who seems to be speaking for the entire community.

Not another individual said a word.

But there's a whole lot of buzzwords like safety, this and that.

Oh my God, it's they're parking and blocking out.

That's a whole lot of fluff.

None of this true.

Um what's what's sad is that the individual has a lot of statements about things happening during the day.

Yet at the end of that correspondence that she sent, she said a res a good resolution would be to shut them down but overnight.

We're the only people there overnight.

No one in all the years I've been there, no one's no one's there overnight.

It's just us.

But you know what the city did?

Exactly what she said.

They shut us down overnight.

They first came in and put up parking signs, no parking.

Then they added more a couple weeks later, and then more.

Now the entire street is the ghost town.

So now I have employees, young doctors, PAs, individuals in school for all that, walking in the dark to get to our building because they have to park further away, X amount of minutes away, and at one, two, three in the morning, they have to walk.

It is what it is.

Um, so we need these signs removed.

And we need somebody to investigate and find out who knows somebody, because this is clearly targeting.

They only target our business.

You complain about the day, but then you put in writing, shut them down overnight.

And that's exactly what happened.

Why?

And we've never had a complaint.

I've talked to numerous people, Estelle, you know, uh, Rico, individuals at the police department.

I mean, Estell's gone now, but I've talked to all of them.

They said there's zero complaints, never a complaint.

But this person, when you read this, I sent it to you.

They just write like they just hate us.

And they're speaking for everyone.

That's not the case.

So if you guys can get those signs removed, ASAP, I very much appreciate it.

All right.

Thanks for coming.

Thank you, Mr.

Smith.

Our next speaker is Myself Saltarian.

Okay, and Hana D.L.

E.

All right.

And uh Matthew Brown, I do see him.

Good evening.

Thank you for your service, and thank you for letting me speak.

Uh in 2022, the City Council adopted a policy that there is no right on red and at all the stoplights in the greater downtown area.

This was done in response to a pedestrian who was killed.

I think the intention of this policy was good, but it's had some unintended consequences.

Part of the problem is that only about half the people obey the signs.

The other half just go right through.

This creates a danger for the pedestrians because they might rely on those signs thinking, oh, I can just walk because it says no right on red, and they don't pay attention to who's coming over here or who's coming over here that might hit them.

And the other problem that danger it creates is some of these some lights already had no right on red because you couldn't see the traffic coming from the left because of the curve of the road or an obstruction.

And so it really is unsafe to turn right on red.

But once people get in the habit of ignoring the signs, they might ignore them everywhere and cause an accident.

And you may think the answer is better enforcement, but our police officers do not have time to sit at these lights and wait for violators.

They're spending all their time answering calls.

You know, we have a for our population, we have a small police department and they are very busy.

And the other problem with no right on red is the people who obey the signs because it blocks up, it clogs up the traffic in downtown.

People are spending more time waiting at lights rather than getting to their destinations.

That uh causes more air pollution and it causes frustration.

And frustration with traffic is one of the reasons that some people don't want to come downtown.

So if we want a lively downtown with successful businesses, we need to make it less frustrating to come downtown.

Um our chief traffic engineer, Jed Niffenager, was kind enough to speak to me about this, and he was very helpful.

He said that the accident rate has gone down since that policy was adopted.

However, it probably went down because of another policy that was adopted at the same time.

We lowered the speed limits downtown and adjusted the timing of the stoplights to match the lower speed limit.

I think that was a wonderful change that really did improve safety.

It's it's better to move slowly and steadily rather than wait and then go real fast and then wait.

It's safer, creates less air pollution, and creates less frustration.

So uh please reconsider this policy.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sarah Quadry.

Uh Mama Kai Sanders.

Okay.

Ashley Heath Armstrong.

Good evening.

Welcome back, Councillor Harrison.

And the name is Ashley Heath Armstrong is the last name.

Just wanted to set the record straight.

I like to introduce my neighbor friend, colleague, Pee Wee Wise, who works has been he's worked for the city since 1960, so he's just here for some reference.

I'm here to speak tonight about safety and budget.

Road safety in particular, but the number of safety issues that we've had recently.

I've brought up solutions.

So first of all, I would like to take a couple of moments to recognize Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day.

I wanted to be able to give 20 20 seconds or a minute or two of my time, but tonight I feel like we should hold that to the end.

And I first like to say that I love Raleigh.

We all love Raleigh, and that's why I'm here.

I'm here to raise issues and to remind council of and to offer solutions fundamentally safety first and respect.

There's things that we have shied away from and moved away from in terms of comprehensive plans.

I helped write these plans back into the 1980s into the 1990s for the comprehensive plan of 2030 and 2050.

I have a strong background in transportation, air, land, and sea.

So our transportation grid, we're ignoring all the fundamentals.

I'm so thankful that Matthew Brown brought up those facts about the right on red actually making it far more dangerous.

I'm a heavy pedestrian that walks primarily now because it takes less time to get here by walking with the road closures and that sort of thing.

So these are things that we've talked about before, and I'm here to bring them to the record again.

The other big thing is our comprehensive 911 system.

I've challenged us to all to call 311.

It's supposed to ring to our non-emergency number.

Primarily in Raleigh, it still rings to carry.

That's unacceptable.

We have 211 and 311.

We use 211 during Hurricane Helene.

We also used it during the ice storm.

I brought these up, these items up to Mitchell Silver in particular.

He ignored me.

So we need to get this fixed.

It's an ATT programming issue.

So here as City of Raleigh, we need to lead with safety first and respect.

So many things have happened in the past few weeks with bomb threats at the Federal Building across all the schools.

It's been exhausting.

In terms of the budget, number one, I want to remind everybody tomorrow at the legislative office building, you can stream it, but in um auditorium number 643, there's going to be a meeting on taxation.

So moving back to our budget, we haven't seen our budget.

I understand last week the City Council appropriated half a million dollars towards the 4th of July celebration, which we have been planning for since 1976.

It's a semi-quincentennial.

Y'all want us to fireworks when we're approaching a drought.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Our next speaker is Chris Crew.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

I would like to thank you for your recent votes in favor of preservation.

You are two for two this season.

You still got a long way to go.

We have got planners, commissions, concerned citizens, and you between the loss of the tangible connections to Raleigh's 233-year-old history.

Today I listened to the Planning Commission meeting and associated commissioner staff and public comments regarding Z 526, the New Burn Avenue assemblage.

There's conversation about whether the works were being gummed up over details, including equity.

There was wise counsel at the same meeting suggesting that we need to look at both the short-term and longer term impacts of any actions, and especially those touching on equity and on the importance of taking time to get it right.

Slow down was the message of that meeting.

There are currently 32 zoning change requests on your table.

A good planning process starts with defining a planning area and noting its features.

And we have got that in the comprehensive plan, which the interpretation of should remain stable through this update cycle we are in.

The comprehensive plan update process is being disrupted by tossing in these variations.

You need to incorporate these in these requests into the update process and solve them in the planning process, not one at a time as they come up.

So I'm asking you again to stop considering zoning change requests until after the update.

Channel those update requests into the process that is ongoing and that I am sure we are paying a lot of money for, knowing what contractors get for these kind of things.

So in closing, just I want to say that planners plan and commissioners and citizens debate and give you advice, but only you can prevent the perpetual and eternal loss of the material culture and character that makes Raleigh a great place.

Make preservation a core value in your in your decision making process.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Eugene Meyer.

I believe they get submitted to us, but we don't show those anymore.

Okay.

Yeah, we do have it in the background materials.

Okay.

All right.

So I had a slide, because I went to an event downtown at the Memorial Auditorium.

I forget what it's called these days, but there was an exhibit of the displacement of black folks in Raleigh, big exhibit about the fourth ward, as well as this walk and trail going through Shaw University's campus.

So again, it was left me with a bunch of questions as we still have no master plan.

So my question starts with for the mayor.

Did Diggs pay Shaw to have a walking trail running through his campus?

At our very first meeting, Mayor, you asked where was the Diggs trail?

And staff said property still need to be acquired.

What property was that?

Are city funds being used to build this trail?

Also, Shaw has closed two main dorms for the remainder of the semester.

At the same time, the city has blocked surrounding streets for construction.

What exactly is this construction for?

And was there coordination with Shaw administration before disrupting student lives?

Councilmember Melton.

On your website, it says the city accepted $3 million in Federal funding for a strollway connecting Chavis Park to Dix Park, running through historic neighborhoods and Shaw University.

Has any of that money gone to directly to Shaw?

If not, how exactly are those Federal dollars being spent?

Councilmember Branch, back to the shore rezoning.

You are expected to be a neutral decision maker.

Why did you solicit letters in favor of the rezoning?

One of those letters was later read into record before the vote.

Why did you involve yourself in advocacy instead of maintaining neutrality?

Councilmember Harrison, we believed you to be a no vote on rezoning.

But during that meeting, something unusual happened.

A motion and a second, and there were only two votes in favor of the process.

After that, the mayor did not follow standard procedure.

Instead, she whispered to you, she tapped you on the shoulder during a public meeting.

What was said?

Was there pressure?

Was there influence?

Because whatever that conversation was, it belongs in the public record.

Councilmember Silver, you were a part of the Urban Land Institute study involving Shaw.

And in November 15th, 2019 News and Observer, it says Shaw was land rich and cash poor.

It was suggested that Shaw sell seventy-five acres of land that it did not need in order to obtain 10 million dollars.

The debt was 27 million dollars.

This would have left them with no money, less land, and still in debt.

Even at the best, Shaw was still old with far less of anything.

At the same time, another study was advanced in downtown South.

So I'm asking plainly, did you believe that that was responsible recommendation?

Or did it look like the early stages of a land grab targeting a historically black institution?

Here's my concern.

When public funds, private interests, and historic intersect institutions intersect, transparency is not optional.

Neutrality is not optional.

Accountability is not optional.

Right now, in the public deserves answers, we deserve answers, not silence, not side conversations, and not decisions made in whispers.

Thank you.

Is Keisha Monk here?

Yes.

Hello.

Good evening.

I'm here on behalf of Biltmore Hills and the surrounding community.

I wanted to talk a little bit about bike lanes this evening, but I didn't want to debate bike lanes.

I'm here to talk about how the decision was made and who it actually serves.

Because this didn't actually feel like engagement.

It felt like a decision followed by a presentation.

We showed up to the meetings that you held, and we told you clearly that this is not a transient neighborhood.

It's a legacy community with lots of seniors, lots of families, there's a school in the community, and there's a bus stop sitting right in the middle of this design.

We told you that it wouldn't work, but you did it anyway.

And what you installed was just not dismissive of our concerns.

It was incomplete because these lanes were placed without clear roadway markings, no clear direction, no clear separation, just pure confusion.

And it's on a street where confusion can literally cost someone their life.

So I just want to call it what it is.

It's negligence, and what you prioritize is visible.

There's bright green paint with clear markings for bikes, but not for the people who live there, especially for the seniors who walk that road because there are no sidewalks and adjacent blocks.

There's no clear path, no defined protection.

So what message does that send?

That cyclists were planned for and residents were expected to adjust.

And we've seen how the city operates elsewhere in Five Points, North Hills, Cameron Village, there's early engagements in these communities, multiple meetings, adjustments before installation, and residents are treated like partners.

But in our community, there's late communication, limited outreach, and changes only backlash, if at all.

Residents are treated like respondents, and that's not a coincidence in my humble opinion.

That's a pattern.

We understand that projects like this are often tied to funding timelines and broader planning goals, but those constraints do not justify unsafe implementation or ignoring the lived reality of the people who use this street every day.

So tonight I'm asking for immediate correction of roadway markings, a full safety review, a pause on any further rollout, and equitable engagement, equitable engagement across all communities, because what you cannot do is experiment on a legacy community and call it progress.

So tonight I'm not asking for another explanation.

I'm simply asking you to fix it immediately and visibly, with the same urgency that you would expect for your own neighborhood.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Athena Wallen.

Hello, it's me again.

My name is Athena Wallen.

Um just wanted to give a quick update that Brooksides Creek Week celebration.

Uh, we managed to make 16 pairs of paper binoculars to have elementary school kids look at the world just a little bit differently.

Um it was in a huge effort to raise awareness of our stormwater creek ecosystem, and that Raleigh is a creek city.

Um it was in a huge effort to raise awareness of our stormwater creek ecosystem, and that Raleigh is a Creek City.

We may be the city of Creeks.

Um this also coincided with uh an art initiative that I brought to the neighborhood called the Brookside Wanderlust, an initiative that brings Stormwater Creek ecosystem themed art along the corridor to create a more inviting space for pedestrians.

Um my husband helped by sweeping and shoveling over 1600 feet of accumulated dirt, debris, and dog poo, at times reclaiming a foot's worth of sidewalk that has not been seen for who knows how long.

And if you return to that section of of the art walk first of first phase of three, uh it walks alongside the Oakwood Cemetery, and you can see the debris that has reclaimed its own little territory, and it's a note on erosion.

Things are moving, isn't it?

So I had to occupy the sidewalk, and I felt that burden with every every millisecond that I was painting.

I had to remind myself that a couple weeks of a sidewalk closure is an inconvenience.

While at the northern cap of Brookside, there hasn't been a sidewalk for 70 years, and that's an injustice.

We have no sidewalks to get to our bus stops for the entire time that our neighborhood has been constructed.

The overwhelming support I received from my extended communities and neighbors is still overwhelming.

I care so much about our community, and it turns out they care so much about our community too.

Why can't we protect them in that northern section of Brookside?

Why hasn't a sidewalk been an issue for the city council to address and help address?

It was promised to come with the automotive way roundabout.

Well, that's postponed indefinitely, pending on another city project and pending on whether or not there will be funding.

So when will that sidewalk be installed?

When will we be able to protect our neighbors?

Because it's not just adults who use that section.

It's not just drivers.

I get to choose to walk on the street because there is no sidewalk.

But high school children still walk that route to get to city buses to get to school.

At 5 30 in the morning in December, I met my neighbor's son.

I was out being weird, putting little wreaths on people's yard signs and everything.

He was going to school with no sidewalk in the dark.

Please, let's be creative.

Let's make changes.

If we could paint and put a protection for your time.

Thank you.

Alex Bursett.

Good evening.

I'm Alex Brissett.

As I'm sure you know, there's a brand new baseball season underway.

And as a huge baseball fan myself, I thought I'd share my excitement by reading a famous scene from one of the great baseball movies.

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.

America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers.

It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again.

But baseball has marked the time.

This field, this game, it's part of our past, Ray.

It reminds us of all that was once good and could be again.

Oh, the people will come, Ray.

People will most definitely come.

That, of course, is the great James Earl Jones as Terrence Mann from the field of dreams.

I know I can't do justice to that incredible voice.

Some people find that movie kind of cheesy, but I like it.

Terrence goes on.

They'll come to your farm in Iowa, Ray.

They'll even come to Raleigh, North Carolina to see a major league team.

Ray.

Raleigh Terrence?

Terrence.

That's right, Ray.

Raleigh's a great town and could even get a major league team of its own.

But just like you built this farm with your own fortune, the owner of Raleigh's new team can build his own bleep bleep stadium.

Bob Dundan has a billion dollars, right?

Ray.

A billion?

Terrence.

A billion dollars.

Ray, publicly funded stadium projects almost never deliver the economic benefits that are promised to municipalities.

And Ray?

Yeah, Terrence.

I can cite studies that back that up.

Terrence turns to walk away but stops.

Oh, and Ray, one last thing.

Ray.

What's that, Terrence?

Terrence.

John Kane John Cain can pay for his own bleep bleep soccer stadium too.

Yes, thank you.

Jane Hubbin?

Well, y'all don't have to guess why I'm here.

It's the Greenway on Anderson Drive behind our house on Big Branch Greenway.

You've heard all the valid reasons we oppose it.

But today I come to you with a new reason.

You have heard us speak about the potential exorbitant cost of this route.

Now more than ever, it is so important because of the budget shortfall.

This particular project was originally funded by a bond referendum for four and a half million dollars.

But the increased cost have, and that was for three segments of the Greenway.

But because of the increased cost of our sector, one sector of the Greenway, it could cost as much as 11 million dollars.

I have a good suggestion.

If you would choose one of the options that is much cheaper, you would be able to fill a big hole from $4.5 million to $11 million.

Take that for the city budget.

Because there were less expensive options, less costly options.

Choosing another route would go a long way.

One of the reasons that the city thought they could do this was funding from clean water management funds a million dollars.

Well, doesn't clean water management need this money?

I think there are a lot of very good valid projects they could do that would be important for the city.

And it has been mentioned that another bond referendum could help with the budget crisis.

But bond money isn't free.

That's money your citizens will have to eventually pay back, like you have to pay back a loan.

A loan is not free, you have to pay it back.

So I say that this would help with that problem too, because people need their money for more essential services like food and housing.

There's been a suggestion to raise taxes, and already the people are complaining about the tax space to help with this budget shortfall.

So why don't we use the extra money and choose a less expensive alternative?

One of the other routes presented by city staff that could be less costly, passed by the front yards of nine homes, but staff opposed it because of that fact.

But what about the Greenway in Quail Hollow?

How many does that?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Maggie Bailey.

Good evening.

Members of the City Council.

My name is Maggie Bailey.

I'm the executive director of We Plan It Forward, a local nonprofit that's committed to planting and caring for trees in Raleigh.

I'm here to urge you to support the leaf out bold but achievable goal to plant 24,000 trees in Raleigh by 2032.

Our city's 240th anniversary.

Now is when we need the fiscal commitment to turn this vision into our city's thriving tree canopy.

Proof of what we can achieve is already taking root.

Last month, we planned it forward, partnered with the city's urban forestry division to transform five bus stops in South Raleigh.

We planted nine trees, replacing unshaded, sweltering pavement with a cooling natural canopy.

But this wasn't just about planting trees.

It was about public health, commuter comfort, and environmental equity.

We took a common transit challenge and addressed it with a sustainable community-driven solution that will serve these South Raleigh neighborhoods for generations to come.

For the riders of these Raleigh bus stops, trees really do make Raleigh cooler.

This bus stop project is a microcosm of the Leaf Out Initiative.

It demonstrates that when the City of Raleigh aligns its resources with the expertise of local nonprofits, we don't just improve our environment.

We are ready to scale this impact with your leadership and funding.

Those nine trees can become 24,000.

Let's ensure Raleigh remains the City of Oaks by actively growing the future one tree at a time.

I urge you to fund the leaf out goal to plant 24,000 trees and help us leaf out toward a cooler Raleigh.

Thank you.

George Jones.

Good evening, members of the City Council, City officials, and Raleigh citizenry.

My name is George Jones.

I'm the executive director for Partners for Environmental Justice.

And I'm speaking on behalf of and in support of the 24,000 Tree Initiative.

At PEJ, we've been proud to partner with the City of Raleigh through NOAA funding efforts addressing urban heat islands and their disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities.

Through this work, we developed the HILP program, Heat Island Learning and Net and Training Modules, working directly with residents to better understand how extreme heat affects their daily lives, their health, and their long-term resilience.

We are also honored to be recognized as part of the 21st Urban Waters Federal Partnership, where we serve in stewardship through our community watershed ambassador working to address ongoing degradation impacting Walnut Creek watershed.

This effort reflects our deep commitment to restoring and protecting the ecosystems that sustain our communities.

Trees are not just amenities.

They are essential infrastructure.

They clean our air and water, they reduce extreme heat, they manage stormwater runoff, they protect and restore wildlife habitat.

The beauty of our neighborhoods and most importantly, the support of our health, well-being and property values, all are because of trees.

As Raleigh continues to grow rapidly, we must ask ourselves: how do we balance developing with environmental responsibility?

Too often we seek large-scale residential and commercial development that removes tree canopies, disrupts natural habitats, and weakens the ecological systems that protect our communities.

Ensure there is meaningful replacement, especially with native species.

Stream buffer mitigations and restoration efforts should prioritize planting native trees that stabilize both our banks and reduce erosion and protect the health of our creeks and watershed systems.

I'll tell you the biggest challenge we have if a catastrophic storm comes into this community is the erosion of sediment, soil erosion.

Our creeks and our streams have moved over the last several decades.

We keep living in the mystery of 1995 of Hurricane Fran and Floyd, while most of the members and residents of this community have been here less than 10 years, in some cases 20.

Additionally, we must continue investing in green stormwater infrastructure across all communities.

And only these solutions will protect our ecosystems.

And as we plan for our city's future, we must ensure that connection remains strong.

Thank you.

Nikki W.

Good evening, Council and Community.

Tonight I would like to.

Okay, I can't read this.

One of the things that I've been coming upon lately is when I pass out place, a lot of people are asking me for water.

There's just no way for them to get it.

The Raleigh Rescue Mission does put a cooler out.

And um there are community members who are bringing out water bottles who thank you for that.

You know who you are.

So I just want to make an additional quick request that maybe there could be other places around the city or downtown that water cools could be put out.

This would alleviate people passing out in the heat, uh, the overwhelming cause to EMS, um the prevent people from drinking from hoses and pilfering drinks.

Um also I want to speak about uh so some there have been some changes to go rale to bus offs and the benches.

Um there was a senior lady on a bus, and she was kind of telling me how I guess I move the stops further away from the senior living, and it makes it uh more of a challenge for them to get to the stops and they're having to run and they're leaning on stops.

So I wanted to ask if there could be a reconsideration of replacing those thoughts for them and also getting some benches closer to their stops.

Um also there are a lot of young, I've been seeing a lot of young people through downtown on the scooters who are dangerously driving through these intersections.

And I'm not sure if the scooters have like logs or they make any type of um announcement when you get on a scooter, like how you cross the street or whatever.

Um, but maybe if we can look into that, I'll help you research it as well.

Um at 2800, the elevator is still not working.

And as a result, um I and other residents over there have been having is issues with climbing the steps, and I've lost the wheel and had to replace it to my walker.

Um not least, I just um you may already have been informed about May Day, which is Friday, May 1st, which is a day that the nation is coming together to um protest on safe working conditions that's gonna be at Halifax Mall at four o'clock.

Um, as this is a distress cause, we're not only focusing on unsafe working conditions, but also on we're protesting against the agenda of the public education, housing, health care.

So I look forward to seeing you all there.

In solidarity.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I believe we have one more speaker here, Mama Kai Sanders.

Good evening.

It's another amazing day in paradise.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim, whatever the title is.

So part of me generally thinks, thank you for your service.

But after the March 17th presentation from the tax assessor's office, another part wonders what the heck did y'all do?

It's not only the taxes though.

I've been attending the technical team meetings.

Not that I'm a member of one.

I'm allowed because it's a public meeting and because I asked.

And so in the last one about housing, I learned that we've got housing options.

We've got plenty of housing options with more to come.

The problem is we've overproduced housing for those making over 80,000 per year or something like that, and lost thousands of units for those making under 50,000 a year, mostly to accommodate those who make over 80,000 a year.

Whether they are their homes or being used for short-term furnished rentals, and I know because I personally stayed in two different units that were obviously affordable housing in the past.

The crazy thing about that is I kept hearing that we needed to produce housing for the riches because they're taking from those who made a little less than them.

It didn't sit well with me when I first heard it, and now I see the reality is that the richest have actually taken from the poorest, and now not only has homelessness increased, but access to housing has become more challenging as well.

And the system that addresses homelessness only knows how to put people in poverty or keep people in poverty.

They don't actually know how to eliminate homelessness and provide opportunities for upward mobility.

So we have a real mess on our hands on top of what our current administration on the federal level is doing.

These those are facts you may or may not be aware of, but you need to gen but you need genuine solutions.

So I'm gonna provide an idea for one.

The parks and recreation, parks, recreation, and cultural resources needs to operate either as a partial or full enterprise model like water or solid waste.

The reason I'm saying this is because our community centers are aren't actually accessible to the community.

We have centers open for hours and hours every single day, and I guarantee you that a majority of the employees watch videos on their phones because there's absolutely nothing for them to do.

How do I know?

Because I often walk into empty community centers in the middle of the day just to use the restroom when me and Wiz are playing outside.

The staff are gatekeepers to the resources stored in the closets, and you can't even sit in an empty air conditioned or heated room that tax dollars pay for.

Our youth can't access, can't access empty basketball courts when they should be in school, so they get kicked out until after school.

I get it, but the problem with that is they might not ever return if they find something more unproductive or destructive to do instead.

The only time our community centers are more fully realized, though still not entirely, is during summer camps, six to eight weeks out of fifty-two weeks in a year.

That's absolutely ridiculous.

If you created a membership model that individuals and families paid for with different benefit levels, including a free one, so the community centers can actually be used by the community.

Thank you so much.

And thank you to everyone who came out tonight.

For anyone who wants to sign up for public comment, just a reminder, you have to do that on Fridays at 3 p.m.

Um, the week prior to public comment.

Public comment is the second Tuesday at 7 p.m.

and the third Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Uh always appreciate hearing from you.

Have a good evening.