Recognizing June 2026 is National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

This is being brought forth by Councilwoman Kramer and Morris.

Whereas National Gun Violence Awareness Month is observed every June, beginning with National Gun Violence Awareness Day on the first Friday of the month to raise awareness about gun violence and advocate for prevention and safety measures.

And whereas the month was created to draw attention to the epidemic of gun violence in the United States, where an average of 120 people die in gun related incidents every day.

And whereas National Gun Violence Awareness Month honors victims, survivors, and advocates, and promotes the Wear Orange campaign inspired by the friends of 15-year-old Hadaya Pendleton, who was killed in Chicago in 2013, and the color orange was chosen because of the color that hunters wear to signal don't shoot.

And whereas key dates and events include National Gun Violence Awareness Day on the first Friday of June, and Wear Orange Weekend features events, education, and advocacy.

And whereas organizations and individuals can take action during the month by wearing orange to show solidarity and raise awareness, educating others about gun safety, including proper storage to prevent accidents, joining or hosting prevention events in schools and local community organizations, advocating for policy change such as a banning assault weapons and large capacity magazines, and sharing resources and graphics on social media with hashtags like hashtag gun violence awareness month and hashtag wear orange.

And whereas gun violence can be greatly reduced and is preventable when communities know the warning signs and take proactive steps.

And the month serves as a call to action for individuals, schools, and policymakers to work together to end gun violence.

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Toledo that June 2026 is hereby recognized as National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

Suspension?

Kramer, McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson.

Yes.

Meldon.

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis.

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Comives?

Yes.

Resolution adopted.

And now we'll turn the meeting over to Council.

I'm sorry.

Yes, we passed it.

Thank you.

Councilwoman uh Kramer.

Thank you so much.

I want to invite the volunteers to come up.

Those from Monsi, those from Moms Demand Action, those from the multi-faith coalition.

If you would like to say a few words about the proclamation.

Everybody's being shocked.

Is that right?

Yeah.

No, it's been a rough week.

Hello.

My name is Kendra Keck and actually Kendra Seville.

I've been married less than a month.

Um first inclinations with Monsi, I've been in the justice field for 30 years now.

Um, most recently I've transitioned into public health, and currently I'm employed as the director of childhood wellness at the Toledo Lucas County Health Department.

Um, being a former justice official as well, I have seen many attempts at reducing gun violence over the years and throughout our country.

I can unequivocally say that the efforts that Malcolm, Raymond, Josh, and their team, especially the violence interrupters, are some of the best I've seen in the nation.

Um recognize the importance of their work and the tireless efforts that it takes.

And I started learning about cognitive behavioral training back in 2000 as an effective methodology to help people learn that their feelings are okay, but their thoughts then transition into behaviors.

And when you have a negative feeling, you can do something else.

You can make a different choice other than a negative action that can have horrible lifelong consequences, such as any act of violence.

Malcolm and his team quickly learned to rewire CBT and have been promoting that throughout the community.

And truly that curriculum can make a difference in our community.

I know the schools with their social emotional learning work and some of the programming they have had also helps.

But now with their funding gaps, we're facing more gaps than ever because some of that programming has been lost in our schools.

So where can we restore it as a community?

And I just cannot thank enough Malcolm's team, as Malcolm said, and how discouraging this weekend was to all of us.

Every single person, our community needs to know that we are capable of verbally de escalating situations, and when we see things boiling to a surface, how can we intervene or get the right authorities to help de escalate the situation?

And sometimes things happen with no good reason or understanding.

So my heart goes out to the victims, and my heart goes out to the team working with the victims.

So thank you for all you do.

Thank you, and thank you for those remarks.

Hey team, would you team stand up?

The interrupters, will you please stand?

These are the men and women.

And many have turned their lives around in the journey.

And so it is so important, and it is so imperative to say thank you, because what you do a lot of us don't see.

Like going into the homes and talking to the survivors where they've just lost a family member that was murdered, going to the parks and sitting at the pools to make sure that our kids feel safe while they're at the pools.

This is what they do.

Um, they are out there each and every day in our schools, talking to our kids, talking to the gang members, talking and de-escalating and saying you can do better, you can turn it around, you can make a difference.

That was where we were headed to.

That's what's key in saving our young people, and because of that, that initiation, and now you're still there doing the work, and even though a lot of times the community does not see what you are doing, or don't know the impact that you are making, you are making a big impact on the young people in the city of Toledo.

So I publicly want to say thank you for what you do.

And I know a lot of times you don't even want to do this no more after you witnessed gun violence, witness over the weekend and what's happening, and trying to figure out how do we keep doing this and how do we do better?

I want to say thank you.

I want to say thank you and keep doing what you do.

Council Member Maladin.

Thank you.

I'll be I'll be quick to the to everyone on Malcolm's team and the interrupters, even getting interviewed right now in the middle of the meeting.

Um I want to make an observation, and I'll be I'll be quick about this, which is um when you have a business model of writing an editorial every single day about things that you're watching and just kind of listening to, you don't always get it right.

And that's what happened this morning.

So do not be uh discouraged by people saying things about things they don't know about.

That's all I want to say.

Keep it up.

Thank you.

Um will the Monsieur come and take a picture with um moms demand action uh with Aaron.

Uh you guys can come in so we can take a picture.

Is it okay if I address you briefly?

Just very, very briefly.

We have some members of the young leaders collective here today, and I think they were wanting to come to the microphone and make some brief remarks if it's okay if they address you all.

All right, thank you.

What's that for?

It's just a stress, okay?

You can pull the mic down.

Okay.

Hi, my name is Justice Meredith.

Um my shirt is my child's father.

He was a victim of gun violence September 4th, 2024.

Um, October 8th, I went to one of the class action um meetings with Malcolm.

And ever since then, them and their group have made sure that I've been a part of the cause to prevent gun violence.

Um, I would like to put a thank you out to Bryson.

Um I went to high school with Bryson.

He actually introduced me to the meeting, and he I say he saved my life, but he said he did it.

I did it on my own.

But by me being a part of this actually gave me a cause, actually gave me a reason, and I now feel like the world that my son is growing up in actually has some hope.

So thank you.

Thank you.

How you doing, everybody?

My name is Matrice Madrid, and um I just want to say thank you to Mr.

Bison, Mr.

Malcolm, Mr.

Chris, and Mr.

Josh for being there for me when I didn't have nothing.

I came from I was actually one of the victims at one point in time, and it changed my life.

And I just want to say thank you to Save Our Community.

Thank God.

Hi, my name's Liviana.

Um, I'm here with YLC The Young Leaders Collective, and I just want to thank everybody for having me today, for one, and for two, I want to say thank you to my Father Christopher, to Josh, and to Bryson as well as well as Malcolm, because this is really important to me.

Um, I'm a victim of gun violence due to my brother being somebody who was buying a gun.

You know, he's into the system now, and it's really sad watching what happens to these boys in our community, you know, because it's nobody there for them.

And I think spreading, shining a light on this will really help get people okay with talking about it and talking to one another about it, you know, and it's okay to be okay, to not be okay and talk to one another.

I'm really nervous, I'm sorry.

But thank you for having me, you guys.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, what those come um come up?

You can come up in here is um, you can the youth collective, yeah.

You guys can come, mom demands action and Mary Cooper or Kruper.

Oh, you're fine.

You're a lot of people, so I can try to go and I can't do that.

Yeah, because we can't get all of you in the picture.

There you go.

So close, so close.

There you go.

There you go.

Okay, one more.

That looks great.

Everyone looks good.

Perfect.

Thank you.

I now turn the meeting over to Councilwoman Aaron Kramer.

Clerk, please begin with the second read item.

Ordinance one eighty-five twenty six.

Authorizing the mayor to accept bids and award a contract for a period of up to two years with the option to renew for one year for the removal, hauling, and beneficial reuse of spent lime produced by the Division of Water Treatment, authorizing the expenditure of an amount not to exceed five million five hundred thousand dollars annually for over the term of the contract from the water operating fund and declaring an emergency.

He says uh I appreciate the administration's new direction regarding the spent lime contract given the uncertainty and political influence surrounding this contract.

I feel cautiously optimistic that the spent line will be disposed of in a responsible manner.

After a long drawn-out process over the eighteen months, I believe I am relieved that we uh have reached a resolution that promotes responsible contractors and takes into account the very real concerns of our residents.

I would like to acknowledge the former director of the Lucas County Plan Commission, Tom Gibbons, for his dedication to the welfare of the Toledo residents.

He enforced city code uh at even at uh significant personal and professional risk.

I'm also appreciate the current zoning director for continuing to upload, I'm sorry, to uphold our zoning code and for being receptive to residents' concerns.

I would like to thank all of the members of this body, especially Councilman Sarantu, myself, and Teresa Gaddis for their efforts in asking important questions and ensuring that our neighbors and residents are heard.

The situation regarding the contract, it's almost done, has been unlike anything I have ever experienced as city council member.

I'm hope the administration will remain attentive to this body as well as the residents and other concerned parties when considering future vendors for contracts.

Together we can work towards prioritizing and safeguarding our community's interests.

Thank you so much.

Go ahead, emergency Kramer, McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comes, motion carried, passage, Kramer, yes, McPherson, yes, Meldon, yes, Morris, yes, Williams, yes, Driscoll, yes, Gaddis, yes, Hobbes, yes, Jones, yes.

Comives, yes, ordinance passed.

Clerk, please continue with the new item from city council.

Council members Williams Driscoll and McPherson present resolution 228-26, declaring the intent of the city of Toledo to waive admission fees to all city-owned public swimming pools during declared heat emergencies and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives, motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Resolution adopted.

Councilman Hobbes presents the following item from the Toledo Municipal Court.

Ordinance 229-26.

Authorizing the clerk of Toledo Municipal Court to enter into an agreement with ScanWorks LLC for the scanning and destruction of Toledo Municipal Court case files.

Authorizing the expenditure of 72,934 dollars from the general fund and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer, McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comimes, motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris.

Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Comimes.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer.

Yes.

McPherson.

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbes?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Combes?

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Clerk, please continue with the new items from the administration.

Councilman Martinez presents the following five items from the Department of Public Utility.

Ordinance 230-26 authorizing the appropriation and expenditure of an amount not to exceed $1,600,000 from the Sanitary Sewer Replacement Fund for the Maine Equipment Roots Air Blower System Rebuild Project at the water reclamation facility.

Authorizing the mayor to enter into contracts for professional and general services associated with the project at the water reclamation facility.

Waiving the competitive bidding provisions of TMC chapter 187 to execute contracts with the original equipment manufacturers or their localized authorized representatives and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Comes.

Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Comives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer.

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbes?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

231-26.

Authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract for the purchase of a vector truck.

Authorizing the appropriation and expenditure of an amount not to exceed 325,000 from the stormwater replacement fund.

And 350,000 from the sewer replacement fund for said purchase and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer, McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comibes, motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comibes, motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer.

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris.

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbes?

Yes.

Jones.

Yes.

Comives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 232-26 authorizing the appropriation and expenditure of an amount not to exceed.

250,000 from the stormwater replacement fund for the purchase of roll-off boxes for the division of water rec.

Authorizing the mayor to advertise for bids and to enter into contracts for the said purpose and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Comes.

Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Comives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer.

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon.

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbes?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 233-26 authorizing the expenditure of an amount not to exceed 150,000 from the sanitary sewer replacement fund for the purchase of machine maintenance equipment for the division of water reclamation.

Authorizing the mayor to enter into contracts for the purchase of said equipment and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer, McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comibes, motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer, McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbes?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 234-26.

Authorizing the appropriation and expenditure of an amount not to exceed $300,000 from the water replacement fund for the permanganate facility improvements.

Authorizing the mayor to accept bids and award contracts for the design and construction of the permanganate facility improvements and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer, McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comives, Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Comives, motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbes?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Combes?

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Councilman Meldon presents the following item from the Department of Development.

Ordinance 235-26.

Authorizing the mayor to enter into a real estate purchase and sale agreement with the Toledo Lucas County Public Library purchaser.

And to execute and deliver needed instruments for the conveyance of a portion of city-owned real property located within Highland Park.

1865 Finch Street, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio.

Approving the waiver and release of a reverter interest on adjacent property located at 423 Shasta Drive, making certain findings with respect there too, waiving the competitive bidding and advertising provisions of TMC 187.19 and declaring the mayor to enter into a Bloomberg City Leadership Initiative Grant Agreement with the President Williams presents the following item from the office of Harvard College.

Acting through the Bloomberg City Leadership Initiative authorizing the acceptance deposit appropriation and expenditure of grant proceeds in an amount not to exceed 300,000 dollars for the purpose of salary and benefits for a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow authorizing the mayor to execute all necessary documentation for the grants and declaring an emergency suspension Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Comives motion carried emergency Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Comives motion carried passage Kramer Yes McPherson Yes Meldon Yes Morris Yes Williams Yes Driscoll Yes Gaddis Yes Hobbes Yes Jones Yes Comives Yes Ordinance Passed Councilman Driscoll presents the following two items from the Department of Transportation Ordnance 237-26 authorizing the mayor to enter into and execute cooperative agreements between the City of Toledo and the State of Ohio Department of Transportation and giving consent to ODOT to replace a culvert structure over Helpman Ditch within the City of Toledo limits on State Route 246 Door Street and declaring an emergency suspension cramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Co Mives Motion carried Emergency Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Co Mives Motion carried passage Kramer Yes McPherson Yes Meldon Yes Morris Yes Williams Yes Driscoll Yes Gaddis Yes Hobbs Yes Jones Yes Co Mives Yes Ordnance Passed Ordinance 238 26 Authorizing The Mayor to enter into Cooperative Grant Agreement with and Accept Financial Assistance From National Main Street Center Incorporated Authorizing The Acceptance Deposit Appropriation and Expenditure of Grant Proceeds into the Capital Improvement Fund in an amount Not To Exceed $60,000 Authorizing The Mayor to Accept Bids and Award Contracts and Declaring An Emergency Suspension Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Co Mimes Motion Carried Emergency Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Co Mives Motion Carried Passage Kramer Yes McPherson Yes Meldon Yes Morris Yes Williams Yes Driscoll Yes Gaddis Yes Hobbs Yes Jones Yes Co Mives Yes Ordinance Passed Councilman Hobbs Presents The Following Six Items from the Department of Police Operations Ordnance 239 26 Authorizing The Mayor To Enter Into An Agreement with the Bureau of Justice Assistance Through the Office of Criminal Justice Services And to Accept and Deposit A Project Safe Neighborhood Grant In the Amount of $21,900 $90016 For the Toledo Police Department Authorizing The Appropriation and Expenditure of Funds from the Operation Grants Fund and Declaring An Emergency Suspension Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Comives Motion Carried Emergency Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Comives Motion Carried Passage Kramer Yes McPherson Yes Meldon Yes Morris Yes Williams Yes Driscoll Yes Gaddis Yes Hobbes Yes Jones Yes Co Mives Yes Ordinance Passed Ordnance 240 26 Authorizing The Mayor to Amend The Existing Agreement WLOC Group Inc.

for the Toledo Police Department's Real Time Crime Center for a Two Year Continuation of Services For Portable Automatic License Plate Readers Authorizing The Expenditure of An Amount Not To Exceed $14,000 Annually From The General Fund Waiving The Competitive Bid Requirements of TMC Chapter 187 and Declaring An Emergency Suspension Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Comives Motion Carried.

Emergency?

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Comives Motion Carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

No.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

No.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

No.

Colmives?

No.

Ordinance failed.

Ordinance 241-26 authorizing the mayor to amend the existing agreement with FLOC Group for the Toledo Police Department's Real Time Crime Center for a one-year continuation of drone technology services.

Authorizing the expenditure of an amount not to exceed 100,000 from the law enforcement trust fund.

Waiving the competitive bidding requirements of TMC Chapter 187 and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Comives.

Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Comives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

No.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

No.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

No.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 242-26 authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Midwest Public Safety LLC for the purchase of in-car cameras for the Toledo Police Department.

Authorizing the expenditure of an amount not to exceed $91,000 from the capital improvement fund for the purchase of in-car cameras.

Waiving the competitive bid requirements of chapter 187 of the Toledo Municipal Code and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Comives.

Motion carried.

Emergency?

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives, Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 242-26 authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with mid.

Nope.

That's what we just did.

243-26.

Authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract with Motorola solutions for the purchase of radios.

Authorizing the expenditure and amount not to exceed $62,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund and declaring an emergency.

Suspension?

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives, Motion carried.

Emergency?

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives, motion carried.

Passage.

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives?

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 244-26 authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

And to accept and deposit an OCJS violence against women act grant in the amount of $30,000 and 52 cents for the Toledo Police Department Special Victims Unit.

Domestic Violence Office.

Authorizing the appropriation and expenditure of funds from the Operation Grants Fund and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives, Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives, Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Councilman Hobbes presents the following item from the Department of Fire and Rescue Operations.

Ordinance 245-26.

Authorizing the mayor to enter into an amended agreement with streamline Automation Systems for Fire Inspection Software.

Authorizing the expenditure of $7,888 dollars from the general fund.

Waiving the competitive bidding requirements of TMC Chapter 187 and declaring an emergency.

Suspension?

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Come's motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer, McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Com Ives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbes?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Councilmember Comeze presents the following item from the Department of Public Service.

Ordinance 246-26 authorizing the expenditure of an amount not to exceed $360,000 from the solid waste trust fund for the purposes of maintaining compliance at the Hoffman Road Landfill.

Authorizing the mayor to accept bids, award contracts, and supplement existing contracts for said purposes and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Come's motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives, motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Clerk, please continue with the items from the zoning and planning committee.

Councilwoman Morris, Chair of Zoning and Planning Committee, reports the following seven items.

Ordinance 247-26, granting a special use permit for gas station expansion for the property located at 4486 Monroe Street, City of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, subject to certain conditions and two waivers and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Com Ives.

Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris.

Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbes, Jones, Come Ives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

No.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 248-26.

Changing the zoning maps attached to Part 11.

Planning and Zoning.

Toledo Municipal Code for the property located at 4927 North Summit Street in the city of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives, Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer.

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 249-26 granting a special use permit for a school for the property located at 3300 Glendale Avenue in the city of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, subject to certain conditions and declaring an emergency.

Councilman Hobbes.

I want to say on this school.

So that when our young people have nowhere else to go in any other school system.

This is where they will go to hopefully finish out whatever years they have left in school, but walk away with a trade.

This is not a traditional school, it is a drop out recovery school.

When there's nowhere else for them to go, no other school district to go to.

Do we want these young people on the street with no education?

Do we want them walking around with no opportunity to further themselves?

They can't work at a McDonald's.

They can't work at a uh Walmart, they can't work at because they don't have the academic background to do it, or do we want to put them in position where they can further themselves and not only with academics but also with a trade and the skilled trades are really paying well.

Number two, they've done everything they're supposed to do as far as the plan commission is concerned.

This has gone on.

We've held it up to answer questions, we've brought it back, and so respectfully, respectfully, it is not our fault that TPS did not know whatever they didn't know.

That is not our fault.

We don't the plan commission, this school, and I did not push this as a council member.

This is in my district, and so the person or people that own the plaza, the space reached out to fit into what they need to do, and I sent them to the plan commission.

So everything has been done that it was supposed to do.

Also, I had a conversation with Dr.

Durant on this very subject.

I know for a fact, and you can talk to him yourself, that TPS was looking to partner with this school, and the reason why they were looking to partner with them, because oftentimes when kids are put out of TPS, they are expelled, and no other school district will take them.

They don't have anywhere to go.

So in partnering with TPS, partnering, it was going to raise the graduation rate or numbers for TPS to help them with their numbers as far as the state level is concerned.

So at one time, they were looking to partner with this very school.

So they have done what they were supposed to do, and you know, the last minute text messages or phone calls or whatever is going on.

Again, they done what they're supposed to do.

I want to make sure everyone in this dais has the right information so that we are able to move forward with this, and that is the correct information.

Thank you so much.

And I um I agree.

Um, I do know that this is a dropout recovery school, as everyone on the dais knows that I ran a dropout recovery school.

There are a limited number of credit recovery programs.

When you talk about drop out recovery, a dropout recovery program is a credit recovery program for those students that are trying to achieve their high school diploma up to the age of 22 as an educator as what we just had what we just happened that this weekend we do have to have a place for our kids to go when traditional settings don't fit.

Um I actually, as a dropout recovery principal, had a partnership with TPS for their career tech programs, and it was a beneficial uh relationship.

I understand that there's some worry about them coming into the neighborhood, but as a quase uh as a city council, we have to make sure this will not damage the neighborhood, which it will not, it would actually add to it.

If you think about what that neighborhood is, they are losing voucher as a traditional high school, and a lot of kids may not be into fine arts.

This will give them a place to go.

Yes, my goal is to have students not to ever have to attend one, but at this time where we are they do, and Oakmont is the school, and it's really a good career tech program across the state.

So I do support this, and I ask that Holland Council supports it because this is about our kids.

Emergency.

Suspension, Kramer McPherson, Meldon Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Com Ives, Motion carried.

Emergency, Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Dr.

School, get us, Hobbs, Jones, Comibes, motion carried passage, Kramer, yes, McPherson, yes, Meldon, yes, Morris, yes, Williams, yes, Driscoll, no, Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives?

No.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 250-26, granting a special use permit for a scrap and salvage facility for the property located at 5400 North Detroit Avenue.

In the city of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, subject to certain conditions and one waiver and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Com Ives, motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Com Ives, motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 251-26 granting a special use permit for community recreation active for the property located at 617 City Park Avenue.

In the city of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, subject to certain conditions and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Com Ives.

Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbs Jones Com Ives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 252-26 granting a special use permit for a standalone solar field for the property located at 427 Lotus Avenue in the city of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, subject to certain conditions and one waiver and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Com Ives, Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Comives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer?

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

No.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

No.

Col Mives?

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Ordinance 253-26.

Changing the zoning maps attached to Part 11.

Planning and Zoning.

Toledo Municipal Code.

For the property located at 2108, Collingwood Boulevard in the city of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, and declaring an emergency.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Come Ives.

Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson, Meldon, Morris, Williams, Driscoll, Gaddis, Hobbs, Jones, Com Ives, Motion Carried.

Passage.

Kramer.

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams?

Yes.

Driscoll?

Yes.

Gaddis?

Yes.

Hobbs?

Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Ordinance passed.

Councilmember Gaddis.

I move for immediate consideration of proposed resolution.

Uh 254-26.

There's a copy in front of everyone's.

Do you mind if I speak on it or would you like to you can go ahead and speak on it and I'll make them move.

Okay.

Councilman.

Uh today I'm introducing a time-sensitive resolution urging the Ohio General Assembly to vote no on House Bill 795.

This resolution comes at the request of the Ability Center, which has been actively working on this legislation and advocating on behalf of Ohioans with disabilities throughout the legislative process.

Medicaid provides essential home and community-based services and transportation that allow people with disabilities to live independently in their homes and communities rather than in institutions.

A major problem with this bill is the expansion of the GPS-based electronic visit verification requirements for Medicaid-funded personnel care and transportation services.

While prevention preventing fraud is really an important goal, these additional tracking and reporting requirements may create new administration burdens by providers, for providers, and make it harder for Ohioans with disability to access the services they need at a time when Ohio already faces shortages in personal care attendance and transportation providers.

We should be removing barriers to care, not creating new ones.

This bill raises concerns about privacy, workforce capacity, and critic and access to critical supports that help people with disabilities remain independent and connected to their communities.

Just as concerning is the speed at which this legislation is moving.

Changes that could significantly impact the lives, privacy, and independence of Ohioans with disabilities should not be rushed through a legislative process without meaningful stakeholder engagement.

People with disabilities must have a seat at the table when decisions that are made that directly affect their daily lives.

This experience and concerns deserve to be heard and carefully considered before any changes moving forward.

I believe Toledo City Council supports policies that strengthen home and community-based services, protect individual dignity and privacy, and ensure that Ohioans with disabilities can continue to live independently.

I respectfully am asking for your support on this resolution.

Seeing no objections, so suspension?

No, the title.

Suspension.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Com Ives.

Motion carried.

Emergency.

Kramer McPherson Meldon Morris Williams Driscoll Gaddis Hobbes Jones Comives.

Motion carried.

Passage.

Kramer.

Yes.

McPherson?

Yes.

Meldon?

Yes.

Morris?

Yes.

Williams.

Yes.

Driscoll.

Yes.

Gaddis.

Yes.

Hobbs.

Yes.

Jones.

Yes.

Come Ives.

Yes.

Resolution adopted.

This completes the agenda.

Councilwoman Kramer, first call.

Any more?

I move to dispense with the reading of the Toledo City Journal for the City Council meetings of May 26, 2026, and June 2nd, 2026.

I move to excuse.

Oh, sorry.

Seeing no objections to order.

I move to excuse Councilman Martinez for non-attendance at the Finance, Debt, and Budget Oversight Committee of May 27, 2026.

The housing, community development, and public health committee of May 28, 2026, the special council meeting of June 2nd, 2026, the agenda review meeting of June 2nd, 2026.

Councilmember Meldon for non-attendance at the City Council meeting of May 26, 2026, the Housing Community Development and Public Health Committee of May 28, 2026.

Councilwoman Morris for non-attendance at the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee of June 4th, 2026.

Councilman Hobbes for non-attendance at the Finance, Debt and Budget Oversight Committee of May 27, 2026.

Councilwoman Dr.

Jones for non-attendance at the Finance, Debt, and Budget Oversight Committee of May 27, 2026.

Seeing no objections, so ordered.

Thank you.

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of the volunteers who were here today.

They have been doing good work for years.

I think all of you know I've been involved with Moms Demand Action for Guns Sense in America since 2017, and I've been right along with them.

So I'm happy to join with them to try to do all we can to prevent gun violence in the city.

You know, we have to take a minute and I have to to um, you know, think of all of the people who are still in the hospital, still recovering from the shooting over the weekend, um, and I want to think of everyone who is traumatized, um, from these events, and I want to say, you know, we will all work together, all of us on this dais, all of the elected officials in this city are gonna work together to keep our residents safe.

Um, you know, I've heard a lot of people that said we need to do something, and yes, we are gonna work together to see what we can do here in Toledo, but I do want to say our hands are tied on a lot of things when it comes to gun violence prevention.

There are countless number of bills that are sitting in Columbus waiting for hearings, and they will not get hearings because the Republicans don't want to do that.

They don't want to even vote on any of these things that will keep us safe from gun violence here in Toledo.

So I just want to encourage residents.

Yes, we are gonna do what we can in Toledo, but I want to encourage you, reach out to all of those representatives who are representing us in Columbus and demand that they do something because it is important.

Um, one of the things we are doing here in Toledo is we have an unwanted firearms disposal event on Saturday, 11 to 3, Monroe Street United Methodist Church.

If you know someone who has a gun in their home that they don't want anymore, tell them, come to Monroe Street United Methodists, it's a drive-thru event.

They can bring their gun, they will get uh a gift card, there's gonna be a table setup, you can make art out of these disposed gun parts.

So that is gonna be going on this weekend.

We also have a gun violence prevention panel uh next week.

It is uh June 18th, so we have some flyers about that as well.

We have, you know, Malcolm Cunningham, Rebecca Facey, um, a lot of great people are gonna be on that panel, which is more important that we talk about these things than ever.

Um, and I want to thank all of my colleagues today for wearing orange, and I want to thank our chief of staff and our interns for making sure we had um the ribbons today.

Um it is gun violence awareness month, so it's important that we remember, you know, that there's a lot of people who are doing good work around gun violence prevention in this area and around the country, and you know, we need to keep doing this work.

Thank you.

Councilwoman McPherson, first call.

Thank you, clerk.

Just one thing for all of the adults that say it or are saying this event has traumatized me.

Think about a 10-year-old kid that witnessed the murder of their brother or sister, and the next day had to go to school, just let them marinate.

Because we are adults and feeling traumatized, but we have young people every day dealing with this in their homes, in their community, and we don't reach out to them because a lot of us is don't affect us, it's not a part of us.

It wasn't our cousin, it wasn't our family member, but this old West Indian has hit a lot of people, and I think it has awakened the citizens of Toledo, to realize what a lot of our children deal with on a daily basis.

But we never really thought about it.

Because it didn't impact us.

It wasn't at our door, and in a community like the old West Indian, you would have never thought it in a million years.

I say that to say that we have to be sensitive and caring to everyone.

No matter what they look like, no matter what they wear, no matter where they come from, no matter how they act, because you don't know what that person has had to deal with prior to encountering you.

So the next time you look at somebody, just smile.

Because that smile may be the one thing that that person has never experienced or has not experienced in a long time.

And that smile could change the trajectory of their life because you smiled at them.

Let's pray for our city.

We've got work to do.

But we can do it.

Let's stop the insults.

And pointing the fingers.

And who's not doing what?

Where are they?

Why weren't they there?

Why didn't they look at it?

Saw a passate.

It could have been me.

It could have been you.

Let's work to be better together.

And it's going to be some hard conversations that we have to look at and deal with in this community.

And everybody's not going to like the conversation.

But in order for us to live together and to get along, we have to set aside our agendas for the betterment of the future of the city of Toledo.

That's all I have.

Councilmember Meldon, first call.

Thank you so much.

I'm going to come back to this, but I just want to bounce off something that Councilwoman McPherson just said, you know, totally agree.

And you said something, it could have been us, it could have been you.

And I think the thing that draws me to the work of Monsi and the different things that we're doing in this city is that that work actually acknowledges that the one who pulled the trigger also could have been us.

What if our life went different when we were 10, 11, 12?

I think about the way my parents split when I was eight, and I grew up in a single parent household.

And the dynamics were different.

But I think about all the interventions that I had in my life in those moments.

Because it's really, really profound stuff.

I'm gonna come back to the old West End, my thoughts there in a minute.

Two quick things, one very very sad, one not so sad, one just want to put our collective um, you know, hearts and and goodwill and thoughts toward the family of Aaron Grizzanek, the founder of Patron Saints Brewery, uh fought a long hard battle.

Um his illness caught up with him, but this was someone who lived in District 5 and had um his his brewery was just outside of district five and really represented what we want in our community.

People who care about their neighborhood, people who want to start local companies and do good work and did, and did.

And he did a lot of good work.

Um he is there's a lot of family and friends that are thinking of him every single day, and so I just want to add our names to that list, and then on a much more positive note, uh, the garden tours are this weekend.

So if you need a reason to get outside, it's supposed to be, I think a beautiful weekend, hopefully.

Maybe you want to get outside and look at some pretty flowers and plants.

That's something the old orchard is doing.

I haven't said anything like publicly since the weekend.

I don't think that that actually matters all that much.

I don't do a lot of like statements and little things on social media or anything.

Instead, I just spent the weekend just reaching out to friends who live in the Old West End, who live in the Old West End.

I think it's gotta be like, is it the most diverse neighborhood in the city?

I mean, socioeconomically, I don't know.

It's in it's interesting, at least.

It just feels like when I think of the Old West End, I feel like I could picture almost any Toledo one there.

Um, and I think that's a profound thing.

Um I'm gonna do this real quick because we could talk about it forever, and I don't, there is supposed to be a time limit on this thing after all.

Um I found myself looking at something which is kind of kind of odd, but it came to mind as I thought about our the way that our country uh worships guns.

Um I was actually I found myself looking at the Toledo City Journal.

You know, at the end of our meetings, we talk about the Toledo City Journal, right?

And it's like, but it's all like kind of digital and just archived, and but back in the day, the 1926, the Toledo City Journal from 1926.

You ready for this?

This is fascinating.

I found myself looking at this.

It's like this amalgamation of like meeting notes and like um like articles.

It's like if you were you couldn't listen to the meeting, so you read the city journal and you get a sense of what were the members of council debating and what were what was the city going through?

And I found this one kind of interesting.

Ready for this?

In 19, guess what happened?

Guess what they were dealing with in 1926.

Population about the same, 280, okay?

City of Toledo, 280,000.

Here's the article.

Traffic accidents skyrocket, motor vehicle mishaps increase over 50%.

Accidents to pedestrians numerous.

This is real.

Pedestrian responsible pedestrians responsible in most cases, which I think is an interesting subheading.

But guess how many accidents there were?

Car crashes in 1926 in the first half of the year, 4,317 car crashes.

Same, about the same population.

And guess how many involved automobiles hitting human beings, pedestrians?

This is a year.

690.

So 690 instances of a car hitting a pedestrian in 1926 in our city.

Okay.

And then it has this thing about causes, which is really interesting.

And listen to some of the causes of this, ready?

Um, violation of right-of-way.

Oh, makes sense.

We see that one, right?

Inattention.

That's not relevant anymore.

Everyone's attentive.

Um my favorite one is uh like like slipping was was an interesting skidding, 329 instances of skidding.

What does that mean?

Probably tires, right?

We probably have innovated and made better tires, right?

There's it's a really interesting list.

Why am I saying any of this?

I hope that sooner than 100 years from now, this is how we talk about gun violence.

I hope that we look back at the epidemic we have in our country and go, I can't believe that h that those were the numbers.

Because what has happened in the last hundred years was we have spent billions and billions and billions of dollars in innovating to make the experience of driving safer for everyone involved.

We've just done it because we wanted to.

I hope maybe we could just do some similar things to call it to solve this problem.

And you're right, uh Councilwoman Kramer, that a lot of it's above our local level of government's jurisdiction.

Um, but what are the other, you know, 75 things we can do, like investing in Monsey and all of those things.

Um I think that's what we should spend our time on.

And I know you all agree.

Thanks.

Councilwoman Morris, first call.

Thank you, Clerk.

Um, Councilman Sarantu is traveling and asked me to read his statement.

Um, an otherwise beautiful day of community gathering was marred by uh senseless violence this past weekend at the old West End Festival.

A Toledo tradition, we pray for the healing of innocent bystanders who were victimized, as well as everyone there who witnessed this chaotic, tragic situation.

We are grateful for our safety forces and first responders for their tremendous response.

May the perpetrators be found and swiftly brought to justice.

May our whole city come together in unity after this event to rebuild our trust in each other and a sense of security.

Our city will endure this tragedy.

So he asked me to read that into the record.

I wanted to honor uh Lori St.

John, who is a resident was a resident of District 6.

Um, she was a mother and a longtime volunteer for the Girl Scouts, like 48 years.

Um, and so one of the things I always say is that uh it's an honor to be able to bring forth everyday heroes that you probably wouldn't hear about.

And um, so it's one of the things that I enjoy about this job.

Um, thank you, Councilwoman Kramer, for allowing me to co-sponsor the National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

Um, little did I know that uh the things would happen over this weekend.

Um, and just today, uh, just while we were in the meeting, there was a very bad accident on Shoreland and Angle in District 6, where a 21-year-old woman is clinging to life after she was in a very bad car accident.

So there's a lot of things that are going on that it that affect our our community, and um you know, every day is a gift, and um you just never know when you're going to say that last goodbye.

Uh and so you know, reflecting on on over the weekend, it was really hard for me because my family was in town and my family was there, um, and um, by the grace of God, they weren't injured.

Um I really don't understand why the state of Ohio passes gun laws uh that put our communities in danger.

Um, I wish that we could get some back some more funding from the state and federal uh programs that we don't so desperately need here, whether it's our schools, whether it is housing, whether it's community mental health.

These are things that we need help with, and uh these are also programs that have been cut in our community, and so you start looking at some of the causes uh and some of the issues that come up.

A friend of mine said that they used to go uh and swimming at our parks.

They used to have swim uh uh lessons and uh swim leagues, and the live or the museum used to have free um uh classes on on Sundays, and so if you are a person who doesn't have a lot of means, where do you go and what do you do?

So we don't know if these were juveniles, um, but I am I am calling on the mayor and the prosecutor to explore criminally charging parents when unsecured firearms land in the hands of children.

Uh there is legal precedence under Ohio law to charge them for neglect.

Our children are telling us that there is a problem, they don't feel safe, and they are securing weapons for their safety.

Are we listening to what they say?

This is not, we don't know if these were juveniles, but these are actionable steps that we can take to keep our community safe, and this is just one step of many on the staircase.

But one thing I'm sure of is that Toledoans are resilient, compassionate, and will overcome these challenges.

There are no divisions in Toledo today.

We are just strong Toledoans.

We will continue coming together.

We will continue to enjoy our community and our neighborhoods, but we just need time to heal.

Thank you.

Councilman Driscoll, first call.

Thank you, Clerk.

Uh, as a resident of the old West End, I've said a lot about this already, but the only thing I would say is it was a challenging weekend, obviously.

I woke up on Sunday, though, feeling a lot of gratitude for first responders, uh, for our neighbors who, you know, hang in there, hung in there and and um and help bandage people up and ply tourniquets and it saved lives.

Not just first responders, but just average neighborhood neighbors in that uh neighborhood saved lives that day, and I'm grateful for them.

Um I want to add a little bit to what Councilman Kramer and Councilwoman Morris have said.

Um, you know, the media's just doing their job, but one of the questions that was asked at today's press conference has been asked of me is well, hey, the public safety budget was cut this year by the city of Toledo, uh, and there's an implication in there that maybe we didn't do enough to try to prevent this.

And the truth is there are just random acts of violence, and and um, and and I'm pleased to say that the chief said, you know, we had every even if we had an uh a force of 700 800 officers, we had everybody there that we would have had there sometimes bad things just happen.

We ought to be measured by our response, which by all indications was was flawless.

We did everything we could, and it looks like everybody's gonna pull through, thank God.

Um, I just hope though that, and and it's fair to ask questions of public officials, it's fair to ask questions of members of council, but I hope I really hope that the members of the local media, I'm sure they got their numbers, and if they don't, I'll supply them, will call our state reps and our state senators and the governor's office and ask them why for almost two decades now.

Have they as the state continued to cut the local government fund, continued to cut it?

Because I'll tell you what, I would spend more on police if we had the money to do it.

Absolutely I would.

I would spend more on the things that make our community safe if we had the money to do it.

We're struggling, and then part of the reason we're struggling is because there's folks who live in the suburb who drive in our drive into our city, who use our public goods, and they don't pay everything, they don't ever pay a dime into that.

And that's what the local government fund is designed to help remediate, which is the fact that there's a lot of people that use our services and never pay a dime into those services.

And year after year, budget after budget, they cut the local government fund.

I'm telling you, if we had an extra 20 million dollars, which is about what we used to get, we'd spend it on cops, we'd spend it on youth activation, we'd spend it on the things that make our community safer.

I'm I'm not afraid to answer that question to the media, but I hope that the media will call up Josh Williams, call up Teresa Gavron, call up the Republicans who continually cut the local government fund and continue to tie our hands.

And if we're responsible in some way, then so are they.

There's just as much responsibility on them.

And I really hope that that question will be asked not of us in the future, but of the folks at the state level making those decisions.

Thank you.

Councilman Hobbes, first call.

Councilwoman Dr.

Jones, first call.

Thank you, Clerk.

Um, I mean, really, everything that has been said dealing with the weekend, is basically has been said.

I don't think I can really reiterate too much, except just the feelings of disgust, um, feelings of disappointment, but then also looking at the opportunity to try to fix what's been going on.

Um we weren't there, my family wasn't there, but we were literally minutes from parking to attend.

And we got a text message from my sister saying that there has been a shooting.

We were literally down the street.

Looking on Facebook, looking on social media, that really does something to your mental health, and especially those, the victims from that.

Um it just did, it just did not have to happen.

But this is the conversation I believe Councilwoman McPherson spoke of the difficult conversations that we need to have.

Because it's become a culture, and it's become something that is glorified, youth already sensitized, and there's no street code anymore.

If you in the way, you in the way.

That's basically what what was shown at that time.

And President Williams bought this up as far as how to include the youth, and how to make sure that we are hearing them because we're leaving this world for them.

And I completely agree about that.

I was just thinking about how, what can we do?

And I saw something on Facebook talking about kind of reactivating or at least restructuring youth youth councils with representatives from each neighborhoods, just trying to create some sort of system to where and platform to where the youth voices can be heard.

And then that would also help when it comes to situations such as this because majority of these crimes are ego-based or revenge.

And I don't know how you can really change the mindset of someone who is seeking revenge with no regard for human life whatsoever.

And it's part of the conversation, some of them are lucky, they say they're lucky to even see 25.

You know, it's just the value of life is just not there.

So we have to really look at the systems at play.

We have to look at, we can legislate all that we want, but it's deeper than that.

This is about community and the village, the village is broken.

Yeah, that's that's just what it is because the youth do not feel that they have that space, they don't feel they're they're looking out, being looked out for, and then they're just running rampant.

Everything's being cut, there's nothing to do.

If you lock them down per curfew, people are still going to break it.

It it's it's a deeper conversation that definitely needs to take place.

And yes, we can start with the parents because it does start at home, but then we also have to think about what they're going through as well.

There's been comments saying, you know, I you can do everything you can for your child, but you can't really control them outside of that, because again, we're talking about social pressures, we're just talking about the environments, we're talking about the spaces, what's available, and it it really is gonna take a lot to really fix this, and to I wouldn't even say eradicate because I don't think gun violence is going anywhere, um, just because that's just how it has been, but to reduce it is something at least kind of like a little low-hanging fruit, in a way, so that in itself, that's one solution.

Probably some youth councils kind of reactivate that.

I think Save Our Community does something, but they're stationed at Rogers, and it's about 25 to 30 students.

How can we expand that?

That's that's something that we can at least try to work on, um, as well as just the parental responsibility as well, but um, other than that, it still weighs heavy, it's still weighing heavy.

Um, and but we we are gonna get through this.

We we really are um it's is just presenting an opportunity I wouldn't say an opportunity, but just presenting something that we can either expand upon or um try something new in a way.

Um other notes, um, I do want to thank Breaking the Glass uh organization, a network organization.

Um I was recognized as a civic leader through their organization on the fourth.

So I really want to thank them for that and really encourage other entrepreneurs or um other business owners, or if you're thinking about having a business to really start attending those events.

So that was a good time.

I met a lot of people, a lot of ideas are out there, so now we're talking about silos and and things of that nature, which is the other difficult conversation to have.

Um putting those egos aside, but I I've definitely felt a lot of just that interaction there at their at that event.

Also, this Saturday, it's a lot going on this Saturday, but um the homeownership fair is happening at Scott High School starting at 10 a.m.

to 2 30 p.m.

Last year was a great success.

Um, and if you're even thinking about having a home, getting a home, I would still encourage you to go because of it's great information.

Definitely great information.

And then also I wanted to give an early happy birthday to my husband.

Um, his birthday is this Saturday.

So, like I said, it's a lot happening this Saturday, but um it just it really makes me thankful for life, especially just what happened um this past weekend.

Um not even in thinking of what if we have been there, but um, this is definitely a celebration of life come this Saturday, and I also wanted to uh speak a little bit on just the solar field.

Um, when it came to that, the the background of my decision, it was really the point of the community benefits agreement portion.

I think that when it comes to projects like this within the neighborhood, a CBA goes a long way because residents are aware of what's going on, the accountability factor of what this is supposed to do to the community, um, and then also just looking at making sure that people are involved within that conversation.

I I don't have a problem with solar energy.

I think that it's a great way to go.

It seems like the process was kind of lost in translation, and then it seemed to kind of got kind of get political as well, considering where this was coming from.

But I'm, I mean, I'm looking forward to seeing how this works because it is going to set a precedent as far as using residential, well, it's industrial, but land near neighborhoods for this sort of thing.

We see this in farmland, but um house is going to work within the neighborhood.

So this is a pilot.

I say it's a pilot, basically, and ran by a nonprofit.

So that's another thing that um we have to be aware of, but I really would urge administration and other entities to look at what CBAs do, and then it will mitigate a lot of just pushback because citizens were part of this conversation, as well as listing out what they expect from this pro from this project.

So, like I said, I'm looking forward to that and then just seeing what can be done because I'm pretty sure this will not be the last of projects being used for uh vacant land.

But other than that, um everyone be safe.

Try to get some mental health rest.

Um, but we're we're we're gonna get through it.

Um, I reclaim my time.

Thank you.

Council President Williams first call.

I'm just gonna read a statement from Councilman Um Martinez who represents District 2.

I am shocked by the tragedy that unfolded this past weekend at the O West End Festival.

One of Toledo's beloved traditions.

My heart goes out to the 12 victims of this senseless act of violence.

I pray for their speedy recovery and for healing from the psychological and emotional trauma endured by them and the thousands of festival goers affected.

Violence has no place in our city or in our society.

Families should be able to attend public events without fear.

This is not who Toledo is.

This is not who the OSTM is.

I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the Lucas County Sheriff's Office, Toledo Police, Fire Rescue, and all the first responders who assisted during this distressing time.

Your quick and decisive actions prevented what could have been far worse an outcome.

Thank you for your unwavering dedication and service.

I also sincerely appreciate the countless unnamed hometown heroes, neighbors, and volunteers who stepped up to support our local law enforcement during this tragic event.

In the face of tragedy, we find resilience and reunification.

Toledo is Toledo strong.

We will emerge from this challenge even better.

Our city is built on hard work, love, unity, personal commitment to our communities.

We will pursue every necessary measure to ensure the Swiss swift capture, persecution, and judgment to these perpetrators together.

We will grow stronger and create a safer environment for all.

With nothing else, this means adjourned.