City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Welcome to the November 24th meeting of the Aken City Council. Earlier today, we were informed that former municipal court judge Charles Chuck Simons third passed away. He aly served our city from 1987 to 2007 and we offer our sincere condolences and prayers to his family and friends. Please rise and bow your head in a moment of silence in his memory before I give tonight's invocation. Thank you all. If you are inclined, please rise while you are risen. Um, and now we will say the invocation. Almighty God, our heavenly father, send down upon those who hold office in the city of Aken the spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice that with steadfast purpose they may faithfully serve in their offices to promote to promote the well-being of all people. In your name we pray. Amen. Chief, would you come to the uh well, the podium's not there, but come up front and and lead us in the pledge.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Before the meeting begins, I'll review the guidelines. Meetings are public forums in which many opinions are expressed and the business of the city must be conducted. As such, disciplined, honorable, and professional decorum is paramount. Courteous and respectful communication is required. There should be no disruptions from the floor while council members or members of the public are speaking. Anyone wishing to speak must be recognized so that we can retain order as we conduct the business of the city and all comments can be put into the record. During public hearings, all questions and statements from the public shall be directed to the chair. If you wish to speak, please raise your hand and I will recognize you. Please approach the podium and state your name and address. In order to allow an opportunity for everyone who wishes to address council, speakers should limit their comments to the subject being discussed. Each speaker will be given five minutes to address an issue and may only address an issue once unless questions from council are pos to the speaker. [sighs] During the non-aggenda public comment section, each speaker has three minutes and can only speak once. We now move to additions and deletions to the agenda. For the last time, I will recognize Mayor Pro Tim Edo for this agenda.

Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, everyone.

Why are all y'all here? It's not a very big agenda tonight. All you new people don't get used to it. Believe me, it will it will be bigger next time. Um, to the new guys, I'm excited about all of you. Uh, Pete, Barbara, Brilen, Brilin is the man. That's that's pretty exciting. A 27y old running for city council and winning. Um, we need to get younger. I mean, us old people, we have our our place in all of this, but at the same time, we need to have some mixed in there, learn the ropes, and get in here and and help make some changes cuz we are in 2025 is last time I checked. Um, also I want to recognize and thank the people who ran against the winners. Um, Jacob, I know Jacob's here somewhere. Jacob Ellis. Um, Kurt, uh, not Kurt, Kent, Kent Cubbage. Sorry, Kent. I know Kent, so I can get it wrong. And then you have Clayton Clarkson and Lisa Smith. Uh, it was really interesting to have people run against them. And I ran in 2001 and lost. So, I know what that feels like. And as y'all all have realized by now, the sun does come up the next morning. Uh but give it uh 17 years or whatever it was, I did run and I did win and I've been here for eight years. So, thank you for running and all of you, you know, it's fun to say things and second guess everybody, but you know, put your mouth where your money is and uh get out there and run and and get involved. It's not as easy as it might think, but it is a worthwhile cause. That said, there are no additions or deletions to tonight's agenda, and I present the agenda as a motion.

Thank you. May I have a second? Second. Uh, Councilman Wolz, second the motion. All those in favor. Thank you. The minutes were provided to council for review prior to the meeting. Is there a motion for approval of the minutes? I so move.

That's Councilwoman uh Diggs. May the motion a second from Councilwoman Price made the second. Uh, any comments or changes? All those in favor? Thank you. Before we swear in our new three new council members, I would like to take this time to give the floor, except for Councilwoman Gerardo because he's already spoken. No, just kidding. to um if you'd like to say some some remarks. We would love to hear from you. Do I have to go first? I just talked.

You got called. You're first. I'm first.

Yeah. I don't know why I'm nervous. I'm used to talking obviously and being it. But uh it's it's been fun. It's a lot different than it was eight years ago. If anybody wants to be fun, go look. Unless you have y'all taken the pictures down of us yet out there on the wall. Go look at that and look at I'm a whole lot thinner, a little older. I've got longer hair, but I don't think I have more hair. I just think it's longer from that perspective. Um 50 years ago, I was a teenager in high school and my first job where I got a check that they took the taxes out which that was a shock was with the city of Aken in the recreation department. I don't think they had anything to do with tourism [clears throat] back then, but I uh that was my job. I was the um groundskeeper for Citizens Park, which is a whole lot different now than what it was then. But um I was the head groundskeeper. I was also the only groundskeeper. And I gave myself that title because I didn't like head trash pickeruper because that's what they hired me to do was pick up the trash, cut a little grass, line off the baseball fields, and do that type of thing. That was my summer job for five years. I loved it. It was great. And look at me now, 50 years later. Here I am saying goodbye after eight years on city council. I'm still that kid. I still think of myself when I look in the mirror as the kid who lined off baseball fields and dragged the the dirt in fields. And it was uh it never crossed my mind that I would be on city council. It wasn't a goal. It wasn't a dream. It's just one of those things. I went off to college and came back and here I

am. And some point, like I said, I ran and lost and then got my second chance and was here for eight years. I have spent a lot of time thinking about the last eight years and some of the things we did. There were good things. There's some things that didn't go quite the way we expected, which all everybody knows about that. But from a standpoint, it's been a very fulfilling job to serve the city and be in this position. Um, I want to thank the staff. Uh, I'd name all of them, but we'd be here all night, but Stuart certainly our relationship. And again, this may come as a surprise. We don't always agree on everything, but we get through. Uh, Mary, Sarah, Lex, I I'm not gonna get into the heads of all the committee of the different staff members because we'll be here saying their names, but you guys, y'all mean an awful lot. And Sarah, you're amazing. Um, council, these guys, I love these guys. You talk about people who don't always agree. I must tell Kay, I don't need to see that every council meeting. Let's get through it. But Kay and Gail, Mayor Teddy, Andrea, Ed, two Eds are better than one. That was Ed saying, and I thought it was pretty cute, so I keep saying it, but he he thought of it. And then Lesie, I would not want to have gone through this without Lesie. Her experience is incredible. Sometimes I think she's lost her mind. 30 38 years and she just ran

and she's got four more. That's some amazing service to this city cuz this is not a get-rich type of act. [applause] And all of us are pretty close. Sometimes you might not realize it, but we are. And uh I'm going to miss that. But there again, I'm just going to be across the street and anybody can call me, come get me, and I'll be glad to come up here and talk and do all of that again. But um and and well, I I do need to thank one person in particular, our former mayor, Rick Osben. I would not be here if it wasn't for Rick constantly asking me to run and be involved. Um, so you can take that as a good thing, bad thing, but there is no finer person in the whole wide world than Rick Ospen. And I just think you need to hear that he is a fine person, uh, God-fearing, wonderful person. and I am honored that I call him and his family good good friends, one of my best friends. So, I wanted to thank Rick publicly for getting me involved in that. So, that leaves you, the city of Aken, thank you. Thank you for being there for you know sometimes we get a little testy here and there but at the same time all of the opposition in part it's important to hear that and we can disagree and yeah there's sometimes where it seems like okay this is really tough but that helps us grow you new guys will get used to that because there's things where people disagree and you need to be heard so I appreciate all of that And finally, without trying to get too into this, I look back at everything,

the thing I'll remember is the treatment I received and the prayers and the well wishes of this community when I was having a kidney transplant. Um, it it wasn't easy, but you made it easier. And I felt the prayers. I felt the whole thing. And in a day, I knew I was better. I was gonna be okay and it was time to go back to work after the doctors looked at me constantly for weeks on end. But um at any rate, thank you for that. That's what I will take from this and remember more than anything. So, thank you. God bless. And uh like I say, I'll be around. I'm not going to be that far away. But thank you [applause]

Gregory. No, you go ahead. You go on ladies for Thank you. You go. [laughter]

Um, thank you, Councilman Gerardo. Um, you know, this is a very, very, um, important evening. I'm so excited for the new members coming on to council. Uh Mr. Pete Msina, Mr. Brilan Waldo, and Mrs. Barbara um Morgan. You know, I'm looking in this room and there are very few people that I may not know personally, but you know, I'm sitting here and I'm like, "Wow, this is the essence of Achen." Because one way or another, we are all interconnected. And that's special. Of course, this is bittersweet. I love my city and we work hard and so do you. And I'm going to sit here for a moment and I'm going to just thank a few people because I want to talk about how interconnected we truly are because it's really kind of scary. You know, I'm going to start with Ed. Ed djed my wedding over 20 years ago

and she forgot me. But he reminded me. [laughter]

I mean that that that is a a an example of of how interconnected we are. Um Councilwoman Brol, I worked her rehearsal dinner with Mr. Brol when I was really young, right before she got remarried. Mama Diggs. I met Mama Diggs before I ran for council and was always so inspired at her commitment to her people and her community. That's special. She represents her community like no other. No other. Gary, I mean, he's everyone's attorney, real estate, whatever. We've been in town long enough where, you know, we've obviously um on the personal side worked with his firm. Teddy, I'm going to tell you a quick story about Mayor Milner. [clears throat] When I was in college and broke, I was broke. She owned Stoplight Deli and she was so good to me. She'd give me food. She feed me egg salad sandwiches. She makes the best. Um I I was 17 when I came to to Aken and she was one of the first people adults involved in Aken that I had met. Fast forward th oh gosh 30 years 28 years and we were remodeling our home a few years ago and um we were staying downtown until some remodeling was done and we were staying where the place we were staying at had a kitchenet. We didn't have a kitchen, so we were eating all over town. [clears throat] And uh Mayor Milner, I went in to get a egg salad sandwich, and she looked at me and

she said, "I know you like to cook, Andre. I know you want homecooked meals. I'll give you the key to my store so you can come and cook and just lock it up at night. That's amazing." Stuart. I've had the pleasure to work with Stuart in the last eight years and gotten him to know know him very well. One of the smartest, very detailed individuals that you guys will meet on council. You'll notice that Lesie Price has taught me so many lessons. Councilwoman Price, on how to navigate politics, how to navigate this system, always putting family before everything. and Ed.

I've I've known Ed and Hollywood probably for about the same time I've known the BRS. [clears throat] Big community members. We don't agree much, by the way, but we agree to disagree and and we're we're better for it. That's what it's all about. Um so with that, I want to thank my colleagues because, you know, we've been in the trenches. Being in the trenches is not easy. Um we've handled wildlife management. I've earned I earned a death threat over that. We've handled COVID. We've all earned a lot of backlash over that. The change in our political spectrum really took a toll on every community across the country, including Aken. So, it's not easy. I'm not trying to scare you new guys, but you know, we've learned that we've learned a lot. But listening is key. Listening to your constituents, listening to your community and you [sighs and gasps] know it takes a lot of patience. Um the biggest take takeaway is that pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right. And that's a quote from Ezra Taft Benson. And I don't think that could be more true um as we embark in different leadership capacities. I see a lot of leaders in this room, leaders on this council and we have to make sure that we're listening and we're humble because we are the people's messengers and that's it. That's what we are. We don't do this for ourselves. We have to remain humble. If you remain

humble, you will make the right decisions. So, um, Brilan, Barbara, Pete, um, if you do this right, you will return every phone call. Communicate using all the channels, using all communication frameworks. and really act as the messenger for your people. I appreciate everybody being here. I appreciate everybody coming. Um I appreciate the support in the last eight years and before that, you know, we've been all been involved in our community one way or another. Um, you know, we have to remember that conflict is good. Sometimes we lose sight of that. Civility is even better. But conflict drives change. And some people look at conflict like um, you know, it's you know, a bad thing. It drives change. And change is good. And our community needs change. But we need to make sure that that change is always in the best interest of the people. Um, I just want to say that Edgie, you can speak for yourself because I'm not that old.

You know, I meant to mention that she's not that old. She's the baby.

Uh, you know, I I feel like I have to say this piece because I have a microphone in front of me. And it's my last opportunity to be as vocal as I can be about this topic. But I do want to, you know, we we have accomplished a lot great things. Oh my gosh. The public safety building, uh, the mun this beautiful building. This is beautiful rehab. A lot of rehabs. Um, different projects. Our staff has been outstanding. Mary, Lex, Maria, Miss Sarah, I don't know how you do it, Miss Sarah, but you are a force. um and every department head and everything that we've done. When we call, they answer, they respond. Um Stuart is one of the most responsive individuals I have ever worked with. I could be in a meeting with constituents and they ask a question and I message Stuart and the response is immediate. And um and and that makes us look good. You know what I mean? And and that's the way he manages his departments. Um again, not everything's rainbow and butterflies. It's not like we agree on everything, but um it's it's been a pleasure to work with staff in the city. Um I want to thank my family, James, Abby, and my mother-in-law are here. No offense to Mayor Milner, but I think if BG ran for mayor, she might she might win. [laughter] U my my mother-in-law is a stable in Aken. James and is born and raised in Aken. uh my daughter Abby that the support you need from your family to accomplish these tasks is parallel. I mean it you need it. You know you have great days and sometimes you have tough days but you need your family, you need your support. Um so much so much greatness. So much greatness. This experience has been life-changing all in a good way. In a

good way. Um, I can't really think of anything else to say except that stay vocal, stay loud, keep coming to these meetings, give your opinion, give your perspective. We need perspective because we can think we know one thing, but until you listen to the people, you realize, wait a minute, I didn't think about that. I didn't take this into consideration. That's a different perspective. And that's that's what it takes. Um, a lot of great projects and all that, but I'm going to speak to the hotel before I hang my hat. I want to congratulate the Ingrams and the Johnston's for what they're doing at the corner of Park and Lawrence. I foresee that being an amazing project by community individuals that are vested, that believe in our community, that have been here, that contribute, that donate, that support. I'm not talking about just anything. I'm talking about millions. They believe in Aken and they're doing all the right things. I don't believe the Hotel Aken project is on that track. They're not bested in our community. It's bad business. Excessive payouts, ridiculous costs, price tag is way too much. I ask you guys, this community to get informed, get the details, ask for every single spec specific aspect of that project and speak your mind because the people I've spoken to

in the community all over town don't like it. Don't like this project. Only a few do. And we can do this better. It's been in the works for 20 years, guys. reel it back in and do it right. Do it properly. We are not there with this project. That won't be the last time you guys see me here except I'll be on that end speaking about that. But be brave and be bold. Doing the right thing is hard. Not being the popular majority is not easy. That's something I've taught Abby day in and day out. Be vocal and do what's right for you, for the community, and for the people. Ask the questions. [cough] [clears throat] At the end of the day, as Woodro Wilson said, the ear of a leader must ring with the voices of the people. God bless you. Thank you. me.

Would you like to say something? Well, aren't you glad you don't have to follow them up?

I'm I'm not much of a speaker, but I do want to say a few things tonight. Um, tonight ends 18 years of service I've done to the city. 10 on planning commission, eight on city council. I've enjoyed all of them most of the time. There are always things that you don't agree with and that's what makes this council good is that we don't always have to agree to move forward and that over the years that's proved itself right more than one time. Uh I appreciate the citizens of Aken giving me their support and letting me sit up here. I appreciate my wife letting me do it. I appreciate her saying to me tonight, "You mean you'll be home on a Monday night?" So, so I'm looking forward to that, spending some time with her. And I I just can't say it enough that everybody that works for the city that whether you're driving the truck or being a public safety officer, what they all care. I've never seen so many people work in a group that care as much as our city employees. And that that is something that can't be said in a lot. I've heard talked to people in other cities and they they have a lot more employment problems than we do. We don't have those problems. We have people who generally care. And I look out here tonight and I see some of these people vote some of these faces that I've seen for years and I hear people say, "Well, it's always the same people that you talk about." Well, it's always the same people that show up. And if you want to be heard, show up. We're glad to have you here. We're always glad when people come and voice their opinion. Again, I don't always agree, but I always listen. And uh I think that for anybody coming on, that's one thing you have to do. You have to listen. I really have enjoyed this. I really do think it was a great privilege to let me do this. And I thank everyone for their time in doing that.

And I hope everybody has a great holiday season and a great new year. Thank you. Thank you three. It's been a wonderful, wonderful two years getting to know you and working with you. And the food's gotten a lot better, Teddy. Thank you.

So, with that, would you all come down to the front and I will present you with your plaques. Turn around. Yes. [laughter]

Good idea. Congratulations. Thank you for everything. I will miss you.

[laughter]

There it is. This is for It says Edward Jr. in appreciation of your leadership, guidance, and service as mayor prompt of the city of November 23rd to November 25th. You want me to call the question one more? Yes, I do. Call a question. Let's get

wife and my family. Hey, Abby and James and Miss Beverly. Madame Mayor, if I could speak just a moment. Um, Ed, Councilman Geredo mentioned about two eds being better than one. And that's council there. There you are. and they're and we that was sort of a joke around council that two eds are better than one. But I want to tell you my life's going to be a little bit simpler

because I'm married to an ed. So every time I spoke about Ed, I was asked who are you referring to? So as much as I'll miss these two eds, most of the time from now on it'll be my husband Ed that I'm talking about. But I will miss you guys. And everyone here brings so many different talents and experience. And it's been my humble pleasure to work with each one of them. And I don't want to get sappy here, but I wish them God's blessing. Whatever they do, just know there's going to be a crew here supporting anything that you endeavor to do. And thank you all so much. I love you. Thank you. We are family, y'all. And uh most of us have been together at least eight years. Lesie and now a little longer than that.

Yeah. But I'm going to miss these guys. I'm going to miss Ed at conferences. Ed G. Because every time a song came on and we were at the dance, he knew every one of them. I don't care who sung it, what year, he knew. You know that song. When I didn't know the song, you actually knew it [laughter] and told me cuz I asked Abby and Abby didn't know either. Yes. Yes. She knows her music as well.

So, and then to have their spouses and their families part of us, that's pretty special. That's something that you don't forget. So, I'm sure we'll see each other a lot. Not as much as we see each other now, but that's okay. I know his wife will take continue to take care of my granddog, Harie. That's right. She said she'd even take her. So, if you want another dog, let me

No, we don't need another dog. But we are happy to have Lesie staying [snorts] with us. Lesie has been the backbone of this council and uh I call her my partner in crime. Um, we spend a lot of time on the phone just like a lot of us do and she know she's my sister and um I love her love all these guys Stewart Mayor Gary even though he's not my attorney we got a history booster club and Kay and and I used to be neighbors in Hounds Lake.

Yeah, me too.

She used to keep my children. My girls thought that her house was the place to be cuz she lived on the lake and she actually had a princess room on the bottom level. So, my girls would come home from school and I couldn't find them. They were at her house. So, and I just thank y'all, all of you for showing up and supporting us. And for the ones of you who disagreed with some of the decisions that we make, please know that we vote from our heart and all of us love this city. We make decisions that we know are going to impact the city. Sometime [snorts] it's hard. sometime you may not think they're good decisions but nonetheless that's what we voted for. So just thank you and continue to show up and share ideas with us. Um we get a lot of phone calls, we get a lot of emails and we try to answer as many as we can. But if you love this city as much as we love it, let's just continue to be good to this city and be positive for some of the things that we are bringing here. Growth is not always bad. Yeah, we won't continue to be this little small town that you may have migrated to because you thought we were going to stand still. That's not going to happen. So just embrace the changes that's here and the ones that are definitely about to come. So thank you all. Thank you,

[applause] Madame Mayor. It would be almost a travesty if I allow uh our council members that are departing from us to leave without publicly saying thank you. Thank you for your honesty as you had conversations with me. Though we all didn't always agree,

we still had conversations. You have given service to the districts you represent in addition to outside of those districts. And one of the positive things about governance and government is the fact that oftent times someone has an issue that needs to be dealt with immediately and someone will call outside of your district. The respect that we have for each other is we will let each other know that I receive this phone call. This needed to be handled right away and I want to let you know I followed up on that. That is the courtesy that we respect and honor. I will continue to communicate with you. It has been a great friendship and you've given good service, great services, many of you to our council. I wish blessings upon you and your family. Happy Thanksgiving. I didn't get an invitation from any of you all for Thanksgiving dinner, nor did William.

Well, come on and go. No, I'm only kidding. I wish blessings to you and your family and my family is out here as well. So, God bless you. God bless you. You know, ju just to piggyback on what's been said. I did not say this and I meant to. This council, our city is better because of the people that you see serving that are departing. They as has been expressed made tough decisions and the only desire of their heart was to move our city forward and do what was right. So this city is better because of their service in my opinion.

Thank you for saying that. Okay, I think we have to approve the uh election I think right before we leave. Unfortunately, Andrea, I think is left the building. Our next presentation is the election commission report from the November 4th, 2025 general election. Will the chair of the election commission, Mr. Loftess, please come forward. Good evening. Good evening. Talk about following up on a hard act. This is I wonder if you're talking about this. Madame Mayor, city council, administrators, and the public.

We have a uh report here from the municipal election commission. That's not me. I'm a member of it, but it's uh Ed I'm sorry KT Ruffin KT Sebastian Green and myself as a spokesperson on this particular time. It's a wonderful team we put together and we work together very well. The city of Aken conducted a general election on Tuesday, November 5th, 2025 to fill four expiring seats on the city council. The announcement of the election was made public as prescribed by law. The election was conducted under the 61 single member district plan. The opening date for the candidates filing for the political party primary or convention was 12 noon on July 7th, 2025. The closing date for the filing of the candidates filings by political party primary or convention was 12 noon on July 14th. The following candidates filed properly and their names were placed on the official ballot. Lesie B. Price for district 2 Democrat. Peter Vina, District 4 Republican. Jacob Ellis, District 4, Democrat. Kent Cubbage, District 5 Republican. Brilland D. Waldo, District 5 Democrat. Barbara Morgan, District 6 Republican. Lisa Smith, District 6 Democrat. The election was held and there were 2728 ballots cast and the results were as follows. Lesie B. Price, District 2, 267 votes. There were four writins in District 2.

Peter Msina, District 4, 674 votes. Jacob Ellis, District 4, 341 votes. There were four writins. I'm sorry, two writins in the district 4. Kent Cubbage, District 5, 350 votes. Brilland E. Waldo, District 5, 362 votes. There were four writing votes in district five. Barbara Morgan, 468 votes for district 6. Lisa Smith, district 6, 245. There were four votes that were writeins. I don't understand how this happens, but there were uh seven votes cast that were blank. That made a total of 2728 ballots. I say congratulations to the elected officials and uh best wishes for the people who didn't uh finish first. I'm proud to note that this election achieved our goals as a commission. We strive for accuracy. The system got it right. The voter list, the ballots, and the tabulation process. We strive for security. The system showed the necessary protections and resiliency to withstand any efforts to undermine the democratic process. Accessibility The system was free of unnecessary barriers and provided every eligible citizen with a reasonable ability to vote and credibility. Nothing occurred which would break the trust or the confidence in the accuracy, security, and accessibility of the voting process. We hereby now certify the election of Lesie B. Price to District 2, Peter Msina to District 4, Brilan D. Waldo the

district 5 Barbara Morgan district 6 and that their term shall be for a period of four years respect submitted by the Aken Municipal Election Commission. I'm available if you have questions. Thank you so much. [applause] Thank you Mike. Thank you. We will now have the swearing in of the newly elected officials. Oh, have to vote. I'm sorry, I missed that. Call the question. Uh, call the question. Makes your happy. I have a motion to accept that.

Sorry. Uh, and a second. Second. Uh, Councilwoman Price and Councilman Diggs. Uh, no. Um, all in favor? Thank you. It is unanimous. Thank you. Thank you. Councilwoman Gregory was um absent. Now we will have the swearing in of the newly elected officials. Miss Ry Out, would you swear in the step forward to swear them in,

please? Oh. That's they she's I'm doing them separately. I'm doing them separately. You're by yourself. [laughter]

Different. What? I know you've done this before. This is all. [laughter] What do you want me to take a picture of? Okay. This Mass Lassie Price District 2. So, if you raise your right hand and repeat after me, please. I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I'm duly qualified that I'm duly qualified according to the Constitution of this state. according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of this office to which I've been elected to which I've been elected

that as a council member of the city of Aken that as a council member of the city of Aken I will equally fairly and impartially I will equally fairly and impartially to the best of my ability and skill to the best of my abilities and skills exercise the trust reposed in me exercise the trust reposed in me. And I will use my best endeavors And I will use my best endeavors to preserve the peace to preserve the peace and to carry into effect according to law and to carry into effect according to the law the purposes for which I have been elected the purposes of which I have been elected and will preserve, protect, and defend

and will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the State of South Carolina and of the United States the Constitution of the State of South Carolina and the United States. So help me God. So help me God. Okay, I've got one more. Continue to raise my hand. Yep. I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I'm duly qualified that I'm duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of this office to which I have been elected to which I've been elected and that I will and that I will to the best of my ability to the best of my abilities

discharge the duties thereof discharge the duties thereof and preserve protect and defend defend and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of this state the Constitution of this state and of the United States and of the United States. So help me God. So help me God.

Okay. Congratulations. Peter Msina. Next is district four. Peter Msina. You already Okay. I dismally swear I disarm swear

that I am duly qualified that I'm duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duty of the office to which I've been elected to which I've been elected that as a council member of the city of Aken that of a council member of the city of Aken I will equally fairly and impartially will equally fairly and impartially to the best of my ability and skill to the best of my ability and skill. exercise the trust reposed in me. exercise the trust reposed in me. And I will use my best endeavors And I will use my best endeavors to preserve the peace to preserve the peace and to carry into effect to carry into effect

according to law according to law the purposes for which I have been elected the purposes to which I've been elected and will preserve protect and defend to preserve protect and defend the Constitution of this state the Constitution of this state and the United States and the United States. So help me God. So help me God. I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I'm duly qualified I'm duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of the office which I have been elected which I've been elected that I will that I will to the best of my ability

to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof discharge the duties thereof and preserve protect and defend to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of this state the Constitution of this state and of the United States and of the United States. So help me God. So help me God. [applause]

Brillin Waldo, District Five. Is it okay? I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I'm duly qualified that I am duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been elected to which I have been elected and that as a council member of the city of Aken

and that as a council member city of Aken I will equally fairly and impartially equally fairly and impartially to the best of my ability and skill. To the best of my ability and skill, exercise the trust reposed in me. exercise the trust proposed in me. And I'll use my best endeavors And I will use my best endeavors to preserve the peace to preserve the peace and to carry into effect and to carry into effect according to law according to law the purposes for which I have been elected the purposes of which I have been elected. and will preserve, protect, and defend will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of this state the Constitution of this state and the United States.

the United States. So help me God. So help me God. I do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I'm duly qualified that I am duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of the office to which I've been elected to which I have been elected and that I will and that I will to the best of my ability to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof discharge the duties thereof and preserve protect protect and defend and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of this state the Constitution of this state and of the United States and of the United States.

So help me God. So help me God. Barbara Morgan, District 6. [clears throat] So, I guess you need to stand. [clears throat] Okay. All right. I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I'm duly qualified

that I'm duly qualified according to the constitution of the state according to the constitution of the state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been elected to which I have been elected that as a council member of the city of Aken that as a council member of the city of Aken I will equally fairly and impartial that I will equally fairly and impartially to the best of my ability and skill. to the best of my ability and skill. Exercise the trust reposed in me. exercise the trust reposed in me. And I will use my best endeavors And I will use my best endeavors to preserve the peace to preserve the peace

and to carry into effect and to carry into effect according to law according to law the purposes for which I have been elected the purposes for which I have been elected and will preserve protect and defend and will preserve protect and defend the Constitution of this state the Constitution of this state and the United States and the United States. So help me God. So help me God. I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I'm duly qualified that I am duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been elected

to which I have been elected and that I will and that I will to the best of my ability to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof discharge the duties thereof and preserve preserve, protect, and defend and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of this state the Constitution of this state and of the United States and of the United States. So help me God. So help me God. [applause] That's cute. Thank you all. Congratulations. So we will now take a 5m minute recess. Yes.

Welcome, welcome you all and welcome back. Our final item under presentations is appointment of a mayor prom. I open the floor to nominations from the council. I cannot nominate anyone. I nominate um councilwoman K. Bro as mayor pro Tim. [applause] the nomination. Thank you. Uh, all those in favor? Oh, discussion. So, sorry. No discussion. Uh, all those in favor.

Thank you. Thank you. There we go. Thank you. Um motions pass for um Councilwoman Kroll to be our next member. Thank you all. I appreciate your Thank you so much.

We will now open the floor to public comments on non-aggenda items. Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker and for a total of 30 minutes. Yes, sir. Um yes. And then Linda, that's fine. He was waving. He'll be next.

Uh, Linda Keenir, 19 Juniper Loop. And first, I'd like to um thank the council who have just left us. They won't hear. Uh, and welcome the new members, Pete and Barbara, and particularly for me being in district five, Brillin Waldo. Thank you. Um, I [applause] did not know Brilan when this started and uh I have uh grown to admire everything about him that he's done and uh I'm proud to have you representing our district and I am proud to call you a friend now. Thank you. Um, this brings me Well, and also he is our first Democrat in district five. Yay. Um, but this brings me to another reason why I'm here tonight, and that is, uh, I've always heard that districts 1 and two have never had a Republican council person, as well as districts 3, four, five, and six have never had a Democrat council until tonight. And, uh, I would like to see that changed. I give a lot of credit to Brilan for even going out on the limb and campaigning with the odds as they are against anyone uh with these you know previous history that we have. um and to it's a very costly and timeconsuming to do a campaign and I would like to see us move to a non-partisan elections.

I think [applause] Thank you. Um, I think that we will see that there's a lot more people who would be interested in running if they were running in a nonpartisan uh election where you're not running against a party. I worked the Odell weeks um election and I saw people well at the end we you know had to tab it tab up the uh you know the the votes and a number of people came in and voted straight Republican or straight Democrat and we only had two people running in every district except for Lesie. Uh, and congratulations on having somebody come out with an unopposed. Um, but it it was a nice turnout. Um, but I think that we would see more people interested in running if we had nonpartisan. I think that it would attract more voters. We tried everything to get voters to come out, telling them where to go basically. um you know what they have to do like to register etc.

Thank you. There [clears throat] just isn't an incentive when people are running unopposed or we have this um you know preconceived that only thank you for your Democrats or Republicans in a certain district can make it. Thank you for your comments. So is my three minutes up? Yes. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Anyway, please consider it for the next election. Yes. And again, Brilan, thank you. Thank you. [applause]

Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. What a blessing it is to be here tonight to see the the transformation from what we had to what we've got. Uh, I thank God for the the ones that were here and I'm praising you guys right now because you're going to get to see my face quite a bit. I'm here every minute. Did I give my name and stuff? I don't even think I did. I'm Kurt Johnson, 114 Bruce Way. I'm the pastor of Law Sheet Ministry and uh we are an outreach to the homeless unsheltered. We go out into the woods and into places that most of most everybody else doesn't want to go to. But we are finding success because we are doing this. We're pulling them out and we're being able to get them their IDs into rehabs into mental health. Um, but it's all because we work together. The city works with us. We work for the city. We don't do this just for those people on the street. We do it to make it a better community all around. And like I said, the city has been great. And I don't think it's going to change any because of who we got on the board. But um I guess that's about it. I'm very thankful for this night tonight and for each and every one of you. Um we are still seeing an influx of people coming in. We're dealing more with people coming up from the valley and from Augusta. So, if you see somebody, my my number is out to everybody. If you don't have it, I'll make sure you get a card tonight. Um, we are we are dealing with a lot more than we have in the past. So, I just want to thank you all for your for what you've done for us and that's it. So, thank you.

Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Do you have a question? One question. Um, you think that influx from Augusta and the valley is because of the situation with Walking Tall Ministries? It's that's part of it. Yes. And we're starting to work with some concerned citizens down there about that. Well, it's getting ready to get cold and probably go see a lot more. So, we're we're always collecting jackets and gloves. You're in my prayers. That's it. Thank you.

I just want to thank you and Lex. Lex, you're going to come up next, I think. But, um, for what you do, you are not only resilient, but you have a passion for what you're doing and it's making an impact. Well, uh, God is giving me the opportunity to do it. So, I mean, he's opening up doors for us that we didn't have, but now they're opening and I'm just looking forward to working with the new members and the older members as well. Not that you're old, but [laughter] that you've been here a minute. Thank you. You all have a blessed night. Thank you.

Yes, sir. In the back. Good evening, Lex.

Good evening, council. Um, Lex Perry, pastor of U C4 uh pack I impact ministries, uh, 1526, uh, South Boundary Avenue. So, welcome Barbara. Um, good evening. Um, just to, um, echo what, um, Kurt has already said, you know, we are definitely seeing an influx of people coming in. I um as our ministry that we started with the bridge housing is at uh 316 Greenville Street Northwest. Um I am getting phone calls where I'm having to turn people away because we now have one um space left for a female at that location. We have four spaces available at the um the Hatchaway Bridge u road um that I've told you about the last time we met. I have four spaces for females there. Um we are continuing to look for opportunities to repurpose uh different properties uh land owners, developers and so forth trying to find this partnership because we're now going on eight months where we've had a successful model. It's not the only model. We look for creative ways to to more creative ways from um other leaders within the community. You know, we thank you know um New Spring Church um and uh St. John's Methodist um law sheet ministry that we work closely with um um relink.org uh all of these organizations that we're work working closely together to get the resources to people that need it. Um but we have had this model successfully working now for eight months and um you know we currently house u 18 people where we are now um we are seeing the transformation we are seeing the changes and as I've shared with you before it takes um a contact daily in order for these things to work to have that impact on people to have their hearts changed because that's what's needed. It's not about throwing money at anything. uh we have a model that's um close to self- sustaining. So there's very little that has to come in. We do need some support. Obviously the the council you have been

wonderful and supporting us as we've been um u you know trying to face this challenge. Uh and that's what it is. You know we will win. You know that is something C4 as well as law sheet ministry we are committed to Aken first God but to Aken as a as a city as a community we're committed to this. Um, it's our heart's desire to see every single person that wants to be off the street to be off the street. And I emphasize that wants to be because it isn't 100% of the people. We know that, but the vast majority of them do want to come off the street. They want a change and we want to provide it, continue to provide this opportunity. So, we're going to be looking for more creative ways where we can find housing um to to manage it for them. Uh, we believe this model works. Um, so I'm hoping to work with all of you more closely and you know, I know we're coming to the end of the year, we're getting into the holidays, but for you to think about it over the holidays, not work all the time, but when you have a free moment to just to think about new creative ways where we can work together to solve this problem because it can be solved, but at the beginning of the year, I will be bending your ear more to find more opportunities and more places that we can repurpose in order to tackle this because that's what it's going to take. God bless you all.

Thank you. Welcome for all you new council members. Um, God speed. Looking forward to working with you, [applause]

Jacob. [clears throat] Good evening, council. Jacob Ellis. Good evening, Madame Mayor. Um, I'd first like to start out this saying welcome to the new council. I look forward to being a thorn in your side like I was with the previous council, but I would also like to say two things. Running this past election cycle was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. I ran as a joke about four years ago, but among the seven of us, I don't think there was ever a cross word, a negative attack, a slant, a slight, and with the way politics are today, it was very, very refreshing that that was what a local election turned out to be. So, I'd just like to thank you all and say that. And now to my bit of bending your ear. The proposed parking garage for the hotel redevelopment. What is the security protocol if any for the parking garage? Because we need to have something in place before the parking garage gets built and people start to use it because statistically crimes happen in them. um people unfortunately live in them. We need to have something in place to protect the citizens and the patrons of the parking garage. So that that's what

I'm wondering. What is the if any the security protocol? Well, uh until a parking garage is is green lit, uh that is when the time will come to put together a security protocol. But since it has not been approved yet, um there is no protocol at this point other than we know as public safety uh um checks and patrols existing um properties and roadways. Uh this will just be part of that. But um other protocol again until we uh get to that point when um if it is approved then uh we can begin designing appropriate protocols.

So we don't know yet if there's going to be an open and shut time for the parking garage. We don't know if there will be a garage approved. I mean again until we we have to get that decided first until we can develop protocols. So to use I guess an appropriate analogy for Aken we don't want to put the cart ahead of the horse. Gotcha. Thank you and congratulations to all new council members. Thank you the show. Good evening, Jensen.

Good evening, city council. Jensen James, 138 Florence Street Southwest. So, I live right here in downtown. Um, I will echo what many people said. To new members, welcome to the council. I look forward to working with you and I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you. For those veterans, I won't say old, I'll say vets. Um, thank you for sticking out and continuing to fight good fight and being good stewards to the city of Achim. Um, so I actually just wanted to make sure uh for our new council members that you know that I work um with dis like Americans with Disabilities Act and make sure that things um are accessible and I know we're doing a lot of new redevelopments and potentially a garage. I just want to hold y'all accountable because, you know, we have a, you know, a mixture of old and young here in Akim, but there's some older and some people with disabilities. So, I'll make sure that that parking garage has accessible parking. On a personal note, I would love to see those stop signs that that have make noise and talk because my wife is blind. I would love my wife and my child to be able to traverse the downtown area uh by themselves independently because they can with the technology. And I truly hope that you will consider investing in technology that is not just helpful for those who have disability but also is advantageous for the great mass of of the citizenry. So thank you so much and God bless you all.

Thank you. [applause] Anyone else would like to speak? Okay, thank you all. Uh we will now move to approval of the consent agenda. Mr. Been Bill, will you please read the titles of the items on the consent agenda into the record?

Thank you, Madame Mayor and Council. Uh we received no uh comments uh regarding any of the consent agenda items by the deadlines. The two items on the consent agenda this evening are an ordinance authorizing the city of Aken to grant an easement to Dominion Energy South Carolina Incorporated and a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a deed of dedication for the reserve at Hollow Creek Woodside phase 4 section 10- C. Thank you. Is there a motion to accept this? Madame Mayor, I move that we uh pass the grant easement and the deed of dedication as outlined by our city manager.

Thank you. Do I have a second? That was Councilman Brol. I second. A second from Councilwoman Diggs. Uh since the consent agenda does not have um uh does not have to have comment, we'll go straight to a vote. Uh, all those in favor, please. It's uh unanimous. Thank you. We now have approval and discussion of appointees to various city boards, committees, and commissions. Mr. Beenbo.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. Uh, and council, we have the following for consideration. the reappointment of John Mcichael to the design review board, John Carman to the Energy and Environmental Committee, [clears throat] and Douglas Cusk to the General Aviation Commission, and the appointment of Elijah Alford to the Recreation Commission. Thank you. Is there a motion to accept these nominations? Uh, Councilwoman Price made the motion and a second from a second.

Second from, uh, Councilwoman Morgan. Uh, comments from the public, comments from council. All those in favor? Motion's passed. Are there any nominations to consider at our next meeting? Uh, madame mayor, I would like to make a recommendation to uh recommend Jacob Ellis to the uh tax accommodation committee. Thank you. Are there any others?

Also like to make one more recommendation will be Mr. Jim Horch uh to the building code of appeals. Thank you. The next item under old business is second reading and public hearing of an ordinance to adjust the 2025 2026 budget to include allocation of sea funds for road paving projects. Mr. Beenbo.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. This is an ordinance amending the budget of the city of Aken for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026 for the road maintenance fund. These funds uh were uh we receive allocated um annually uh so-called C funds from the department of transportation that goes through the county transportation committee that are allocated for local road projects. Um we um have allocated or re uh are recommending allocating this amount of 29292,740 for roads that will be paved. Uh including we we've paved Governor's Lane that uh that was a project that was due to be paved uh last year, but because of the hurricane, we were unable to pave it until earlier this year. but also Ascot Drive, Spencer Road, Reed Drive, Jias Drive, Northland Boulevard, Whiteall Place. And uh this does require a budget adjustment and is before council for second reading this evening. Uh council heard it and approved it at first reading on O November the 10th.

Thank you so much. Is there a motion to accept this? Uh Councilwoman Price made the motion. [clears throat] I I second. Madam from Councilwoman Br. Are there any comments from the public? Comments from council?

I do want to comment, madame mayor, on Governor's Lane, which uh is in the district that I represent. We have, and Stuart is aware of this because we've had several conversations and several meetings with the residents in that area. And indeed, they have been extremely patient uh with the city. Uh there were multi multitude of things occurring that we had to postpone, postpone, postpone and the last postponement took place when we had hurricane uh Helen and they were expecting the road pavement then and we had to changed it because of you know what happened with the destruction of many many of of our areas with trees etc. and we finally got to them uh August of this year and they wanted to see Stuart and I in that area uh and I wasn't sure whether there it was something else occurring that we should know about and the purpose of them asking us to come to that area was to thank us and I'm thinking thank us we we didn't get to it as fast as we wanted to but they were so pleased with the results and waiting that it really meant something very special to the both of us in terms of their patience not complaining over and over and being delayed and and we didn't cause the delay it was by nature and other things occurring. So those are the kinds of things that you receive in a very very positive way. You don't know you don't want these to occur but incidents take place that we can't control. Thank you, mayor.

Thank you for your comment. Um, all those in favor, if there are no more comments, all those in favor? Thank you. It's unanimous. We now move to new business. We have one item and it is an ordinance to reszone two parcels in the block surrounded by Richland Avenue East, Marboro Street Northeast, Orangeburg Street Northeast, and Barnwell Avenue Northeast from Light Industrial to downtown business. Mr. Bemo,

thank you. It is an ordinance to reszone property located at Richland Avenue East, Marbor Street Northeast, Orangeburg Street Northeast, and Barnell Avenue Northeast from Li Light Industrial to DB Downtown Business. the applicant and owners requesting that the two parcels be reszoned to downtown business. The these are within the o olden overlay and if reszone would remain in the overlay. The zoning ordinance describes downtown business as follows that the district provides for the central commercial and civic functions in a city in a compact area offering maximum convenience. Although activities are intended to be walking scale, they serve the entire community with an integration of retail service, entertainment, government, and residential uses encouraged. uh the downtown business until several years ago. The uh eastern edge of the boundary was uh Union Street Council reszoned it uh or excuse me, amended the zoning ordinance to extend the downtown business zoning boundaries to Williamsburg Street where the farmers market is. It encompassed the farmers market. There was uh uh within the last year a subsequent um extension uh of of several parcels just to the east of uh the farmers market at the at the southeast corner of um Williamsburg and Richland to encompass property the city own uh that is uh um tenatively planned to be marketside village. And this uh reszoning um is contiguous to that parcel and um the comprehensive use uh designates the property as undeveloped. Uh the zoning um is uh a mix of things from GB to LI to RML to the DB as I described earlier. Uh light

industrial allows certain types of development. Uh but this DB zoning would allow for additional commercial uses uh such as retail and office uses but would restrict vehicular, industrial and equestrian uses. U it does fit the definition of DB. Uh it has water and sanitary sewer service available and the those present at the uh planning commission uh at their November 12th meeting unanimously voted to uh reszone the property from light industrial to downtown business and that is the recommendation to council and it is for your consideration this evening madame mayor and councel.

Thank you. Is there a motion to accept this? Madame Mayor, uh, I so move that we reszone these two parcels. Councilwoman Bold made the motion and second. I second. These are in my district. I definitely want it to happen. Councilwoman uh, Councilwoman Diggs. Uh, any comments from the public? How are you?

Hello, Madame Mayor, council um men and women. Congratulations on uh another uh four years new uh for the new um incoming council members. Congratulations on your successful campaigns. I'm Katie Nuranjo. I um my father and I, David Sax, who's also here in the crowd, are um partners in Keradasa LLC. We're at 237 Park Avenue and we um are the owners and developers of this site. So, I just wanted to let you know we were here. If there's any questions, I'm happy to um answer any questions you might have or any anything the audience might have as it relates to this resoning. Thank you.

Thank you. We're excited about the plans that you have for that area. Thank you for choosing it. Thank you. Um any other comments from any comments from council? Um we're going to um vote on this. All those in favor? Do you have a question?

It's unanimous. Thank you. Now we move on to petitions and requests. We have one item and it is approval to award a contract to Green View Landscaping Incorporated and allocate capital project sales tax three funds for Citizen Park one irrigation replacement. Mr. Beber,

thank you. We do uh need to replace the irrigation system at uh CP or Citizens Park Complex number one. Publicly advertised bid. Uh we received a single bid for 176,729 uh from Green View Landscaping Incorporated. We included in the budget ordinance 95,000 for this work uh that was approved September 22nd and recommend the balance of 81,729 from capital project sales tax 3 funds to cover the remaining balance and is before council for consideration this evening. Thank you. Is there a motion to accept this? I so move.

Councilwoman Diggs made the motion and I'll second. Madame Mayor, second from Councilwoman Brol. Any comments from the public? Comments from council. All those I have a question. I'm sorry. Yes. To our city manager. We only solicited to one. Uh no, it was a advert publicly advertised bids. Uh, no. Given the dollar amount, we had to do publicly advertised sealed bids. Okay. Any other comments from Yes.

Uh, I guess the question for uh Stuart, uh, why the difference in cost from the original cost estimate to the actual added to it or

I'm going to uh ask the parks, recreation, and tourism director to come and speak to that. Councilman Msina. Good evening and welcome. Um, so again, when we put our budget estimates in, we're a year in advance. Um, so we're doing like estimates now for next year. Um, and this was actually budgeted two years ago. Um, the project was unable to move forward um, back in 2024. So, we requested funding get put in the carry forward, which is was the amount that was provided in 2024. So, 95,000 at that rate is what it was. We really weren't quite sure um what the bids would come back as. That was um a best I guess faith estimate when we first talked to a contractor um in 2024. And I think just the prices have gone up and um that's you know what it came in at.

Yep. Okay, thank you. Thanks a lot, Miss G.

Thank you, Jessica. Uh, any other comments from council? All those in favor? Thank you. It's unanimous. We will now open the floor to public comments on non-aggenda items. Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker and for a total of 30 minutes. Okay, we'll now move on since no one seems to want to do that. Are there any items from the city manager this evening? Mr.

Yes. Um I would like to uh note city offices will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving. Uh we have our Christmas tree lighting a week from Thursday, December 4th at 6 PM at our uh our annual downtown tree lighting in the Newberry Street Festival Center. As we did started last year, we're going to have three trees lit. A artificial tree at the intersection of Lawrence and Richland. A live tree in the Teague Parkway, which is the parkway between um on the uh 200 block southwest of Park Avenue between Lauren Street and Newberry Street. and our uh uh Las Vegas style tree um in the festival center.

Um also um I want to acknowledge I had the privilege 10 days ago of attending uh the chief Baro's swearing in as uh very prestigious uh honor. He will be the 2026 uh president of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association. [applause] So we congratulate the chief. Uh that is a very prestigious honor. Um and um we are he is to be commended.

Thank you so much. Uh we now have an executive session. The executive session notice reads as follows. On Monday, November 24th, 2025, the Aken city council will go into executive session after the regular meeting pursuant to section 30-4-70 Princess A. Princes 2 to receive legal advice where the legal advice relates to a pending threatened or potential claim or other matters covered by the attorney client privilege settlement of legal claims or the position of the public agency and other adversary situations involving involving the assertion against the agency of a claim. Uh number one, specifically the city council will receive a legal briefing regarding Blake at L versus the city of Aken. And number two, specifically the city council will receive a legal briefing related to Boswick verse the city versus the city of Aken. Is there a motion to go into executive session?

Counciloman Price and a second from uh Councilwoman Diggs. Uh all those in favor um uh we will now move into executive session in room 315. Thank you.

playing. Did you ask for a motion? Is there a mo councilwoman Price made the motion? Barbara, I made it. Councilwoman Morgan made the motion to come out of executive session. Of executive session and the I need a second, please. Madame Mayor, Councilwoman Br. Uh, now we need a motion to adjourn the regular meeting. Go ahead. Is there a motion to adjourn the regular meeting? Yes. So, and no official action was No official action was taken in executive session. Thank you. Now, I'm need a motion to adjourn this meeting.

Mayor, I move that we adjourn the meeting. Councilwoman Burl moves to and we need a second. A second. Councilman Waldo made the second. All those in favor? The meeting is adjourned.