City Council - Regular Meeting

We're going to call the meeting for Akron City Council to order at this time. Our clerk will read the roll. Bolden.

Aye. Boyes.

Aye.

Connor. Aye. Davis.

Aye.

Garrett. Present. Greer.

Aye.

Hannah.

Aye.

Kamer. Aye. Lombardo.

Aye.

McKittrick.

Aye.

Omobian. Aye. Somerville? Aye. Wilson?

Aye.

All members are present.

Thank you. At this time, we're going to ask all those to stand, if you will, please. We're going to just open up with a moment of silence. Immediately following our moment of silence, we are going to ask if Councilman Kamer will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you. Councilman Kamer.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The minutes from our previously held meeting have been provided. Are there any additions or corrections?

Motion to approve.

Is there a second? All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? The ayes have it.

The motion to approve the minutes passes 13 to 0.

We're now going to move to our public comment period. I'm going to ask all those who signed up to participate if you'll please stand at this time so that you may be sworn in by our clerk.

Could you please raise your right hand? Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you give will be the truth? If so, please say I do. I do. Thank you. Thank you.

And just going to ask when you hear your name, if you'll please approach the podium. Just as a reminder, you do have three minutes to speak before this body. And we're going to begin with Whitman Sullivan.

Good afternoon, members of council, Madam President, and city staff. I'm Whitman Sullivan from Highland Square. And I just want us to take a moment and think about that house in our neighborhood. Maybe it's a duplex or a smaller home that is in shambles. It has a caving in roof, boarded up windows, and falling off siding. And I want us to take a moment and think about what got us to that point. Often these homes were bought by a cash buyer for pennies on the dollar for what they were actually worth. And why is that, right? And especially in a city where housing assessments are going up and housing values are going up. It is simply because of zoning. In the city of Akron, the majority of our city is zoned specifically for single-family residential units, one unit per lot on a lot of at least 4,000 square feet. This zoning code was implemented well after the majority of our city was built. Much of our city, especially in our most historic inner ring neighborhoods like Highland Square, West Hill, North Hill, and many others, have homes that do not conform to those requirements. Now, why does that matter? Of course, as many people know, if you have a house that was built before zoning requirements, you're grandfathered in as a legal, non-conforming use. And while the city, state, and other governments may not care and may view your house the same as others, banks do. Banks will withhold mortgages, home loans, and home improvement financing because your home does not conform to the current zoning code. Now, how do you fix that? Well, the answer is simple, and the city has already proposed three major changes to do just that. Eliminating Akron's loss size minimums, upzoning our city to duplexes and triplexes citywide. I want to be clear, this does not mandate that a house is two or three units, but allows that a house is two or three units. And another change that would make it so that that legal nonconforming status does not go away after two years of vacancy. These are deeply important reforms that are needed in this city and that have been tried in many of our other neighboring cities that are similar in size, such as South Bend and Grand Rapids. And some people may have concerns over this. They might be concerned that their side lot is going away. I can assure anybody that that is not going to happen. If you own your side lot, you do not have to build on your side lot. They might be concerned that a house might be built too close to them. These changes do not get rid of setback or fire code requirements. I can guarantee that will not happen. They might be concerned that their neighborhood character or that their neighborhood density will be magically lost. And I encourage those people to take a walk through a neighborhood like Highland Square, take a walk down a street and try to find the duplexes and neighborhood. It's difficult. They blend in just with every other home. If you believe in maintaining our current housing stock, in preserving our environment, in adding neighbors and reducing your cost of living, support these reforms, support upzoning. I thank you for your time and have a great night.

Thank you so much, Whitman. Is Natasha Minson here? Natasha Minson? Jessica Riddle.

Hello. So last week, Eric Garrett gave a whole speech on window tint and racial profiling. And nobody voted to pass that from him. And until you walk a mile in someone else's moccasins, you really don't know how their lives are. I grew up on Lake Street in Victory off Lake Shore. I've seen so much racial profiling in my life that it disgusts me. There's been times I've been picked up by my boyfriend and just because he's black, I'm white, we would get pulled over stating that we left a drug house. We just got picked up at my house and searched the whole car. So for anybody around this horseshoe or the mayor or anybody else doesn't think that the racial profiling is happening in the city of Akron and the ghetto neighborhoods, it's happening. It's happening every day. every single day that we live. And for everything that Garrett said, for the councilman to say that all he got out of that was, I hate the police, Eric Garrett has meetings all the time for police reform because he doesn't hate the police. He just wants better policing for inner city where people are fearful of black young men. And it's not... It's happening all the time, not even just with the window tint. That would have been easily for you guys to pass that one because how do they know that the window tint's too dark unless they're measuring it? That's just a reason to pull you over and search your car. And growing up in the hood, I've seen it my whole life. And like I said, if you don't walk a mile in somebody else's moccasins, you'll never know how it is to be like them people. And there are several of you in here that I'm sure have family members that have been racial profiled or anything else. So for you guys not to even stand up and even say anything positive about what Eric says makes you guys know better than anybody else around this horseshoe. And You know, like, it really hurts my heart because I know Eric Garrett. He wants police reform. He never once said he hated the police. I watched that video three times. He never once said it. But now, since that's been stated, he again has made a spectacle on the FOP page. So we need... The whole police department needs revamped up, especially starting with Brian Lucy, that tries to make everything against Eric Garrett and turning everybody else in this room against him. So I hope that you guys all think about that and talk to somebody else that lives in the ghetto about racial profiling and see how true it is.

Thank you, Jessica. Justin Smith?

How's everybody doing tonight? I have something I want to bring to everyone's attention, but first I'd like to say, one week after I spoke to you guys, two loose dogs broke into my property and killed my cats. Nothing was done. I was told I'd have to sue for property damage and the owner would get to keep the dogs. Well, this past Sunday, 7.30 in the morning, two dogs owned by the exact same person back right in front of my house, killing some random animal and nothing has been done about it still. I just wanted to bring that up. But the real reason I'm here today is I took a trip to Grace Park with my family this weekend. A few people told me to stop by there. And since I had a large amount of recent, the park had a large amount of recent five-star reviews, I thought, why not? When I got there, I was met with a playground that is literally falling apart and a public campground for the homeless. Something needs to be done about this, and I mean more than giving them notice to vacate only to have them reset up camp 24 hours later. No one deserves to live like that, especially not in a city that has enough money to give $200 stipends to people holding 20-minute conversations on climate change. I understand not all of them want help, but a lot of them do. Akron was supposed to be getting approximately $512,000, and some change, from the HUD Emergency Solutions Grant this year to support emergency shelter operations, street outreach, homelessness prevention, rapid rehousing, and related services. I read that there is up to $2 million available for 2026 from the American Rescue Plan for gap financing of new affordable rental housing targeted at people experiencing homelessness. You guys always have these grand plans that sound really good, but nothing ends up happening. I have concerned members of my community telling me an encampment in the woods by the railroad track on Hazel is overrun by people with weapons, machetes, and swords. I understand that the railroad company is responsible for this, but if you guys know about something going on in the backyards of the residence, something needs to be done. I'd also like to point out that I've talked to at least over 100 people about this new rezoning plan. No one wants it. No one wants more duplexes or triplexes in a neighborhood that's already dense enough. I don't care what codes or this and that is set in place because you guys don't even care about code enforcement right now. That's all I have to say.

Thank you so much, Mr. Smith. William Reynolds.

Hi there. Last week I wasn't here because I was a representative of Akron at the 117th NAACP National Conference. The theme was We the People. Such an appropriate theme. We the People are the first three words of the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. They mean that the power of the government comes from the citizens. Meaning and purpose. Popular sovereignty. Power belongs to the people, not a king or a ruler. A new union. Take that as you want. Fair rules. to create justice, peace, safety, and freedom for everyone. Tuesday, I woke up to this immature, childish, unprofessional statement from the FOP. If you ever find yourself lost in the city of Akron, make sure you ask an Akron police officer for directions and not Councilman Garrett. Tonight at City Council, he suggested that you could get to Youngstown if you took 76 North. Well, when I saw that, I was like, well, some people drive hundreds of times the same way and don't think about what direction they're saying. On Thursday, I woke up to a more professional comment from the FOP. My response was, this comment section is sad. Policing should not be a race thing. White people need to learn that they do not have the same lived experiences as black people. It is plain old racism, classism, and being power happy. There was not a single comment in support of the APD from a black person. That tells a lot. Many of you have not even bothered to step into the black neighborhood. How about some of you come stay in the areas you claim to know so much about for one week? We the people, we the people are tired of the tit and tat from the FOP We're tired of having a man step up for us and state things that everyone is thinking. We're tired of the criticism. We're tired of the no votes, of things that are just common sense. In ending, as our pledge that was just said ends with, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Mr. Reynolds. Emily Carson. Is Emily Carson here?

Hello, my name is Emily and I'm the co-chair of the Akron chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and an organizer with the Akron Ice Watch Coalition. I'm here today to talk about flock cameras and the real dangers that they present in our communities. Across the country, they're being installed in our backyards without so much as a moment for input from the communities most affected. They are tracking law-abiding citizens and painting them as criminals due to so-called technical error. Technical error with these systems can lead to lethal consequences when they're being utilized by police institutions that have historically proven that their policies and practices are poisoned by racial bias and complete immunity from consequences. Institutions that are consistently unwilling to accept even a small amount of criticism or oversight. In Akron, residents passed a police oversight board into law. Council has defunded the board and dragged its feet on its recommendations. City government is not here to only serve police unions, it's here to serve the people. Flock cameras are unprecedented in human history. They watch everyone, all hours of the day, and they never take a break. Because Flock is a private company, they ignore our constitutional rights. They track us outside of our cars too, using gate analysis to identify who is walking to the grocery store or to school. Flock cameras can listen for signs of distress. These cameras are a sign of distress in our city. I and many others feel far less safe when we're being tracked by a company that is deep in bed with billionaires who want to control us. These same billionaires befriended Jeffrey Epstein while Flock used live feeds of children's gymnastics practices to sell their product. In Talmadge, there's already a flock camera pointed at an elementary school. Who watches the watchers? The same billionaires who collect our data, store it in data centers that poison our communities, and sell that data to the highest bidder. Does anyone really want that in our community? Both flock safety and police unions argue that these cameras supposedly help with amber alerts and silver alerts, but both already have a roughly 90% resolution rate. That isn't because of mass surveillance that will be used to further victimize minorities, terrorize political opponents of the current regime, and erode the Constitution further than it already has been. It is because of our communities. It is us who shows up to help find missing people. It is us who shows up when someone cries out in need. It isn't police who refuse oversight and approach every situation as if walking into a war zone. And it isn't flock cameras and the panopticon that people like Peter Thiel wish to impose upon us all. I urge City Council to audit these cameras for misuse by police as well as for any immigration uses. Akron City Council has already decided that our police will not assist with federal immigration activities, and I'm asking that Council keeps that promise and removes this violation of rights and the dignity that endangers our neighbors every day. I ask that Flock is banned in our streets because mass surveillance doesn't keep us safe, we do. Thank you.

Thank you, Emily. Is Ava here with us?

Hello, my name is Ava Pathka. Mine's very similar to what you had just said, so to just put a couple, I guess, a little bit of icing on the cake. I've lived here for the past 10 years. I've gotten my bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Akron. I'm very proud to call Akron home. I plan to live here for a long while. I get to meet a lot of new people, try a lot of new food that I never got to try growing up in a rural area, and in order to keep our identity as a welcoming city, we need to get the Flockhammers out of the city of Akron. Our mayor has said himself that we will not be working with ICE, and in order for that to happen, we cannot have the Flockhammers. A University of Washington Center for Human Rights article published in October of 2025 said that Flock's own audits revealed that there was a backdoor access by ICE into 10 different Washington police departments that did not give consent to ICE. We are just like those 10 Washington police departments. We have not given consent to ICE, but Flock can still let ICE see our data. That's not okay. Additionally, they found limited access of Washington police departments looking into other police departments on behalf of ICE. Additionally, yeah, again, not without consent. No consent. The city of Akron, if you guys are serious about not working with ICE, then you need to get rid of your flock cameras. There's nothing stopping ICE from accessing our flock cameras right now. Around all of the different international grocery stores, I could go on a lot more. I looked at a map of where all of our flock cameras were after some city council members noted last weekend that there were 50 in some wards and four to six in others. And there are a lot that can be around our national, or sorry, our international grocery stores. What's stopping ICE from looking at those cameras and targeting our neighbors? Nothing. You guys need to get rid of the flock cameras. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Ava. That concludes our public comment period. Again, we want to thank everyone who took the time to come down and participate. Council, before you is the consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve?

So, second.

All in favor, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? The ayes have it.

The consent agenda passes 13 to 0.

We'll now move to old business, starting with planning and economic development. Councilman Kamer.

Thank you, Madam President. We're going to continue time on everything on the old agenda, but today we did have a discussion on item number two, and we did have a vote on that. If I could ask the clerk to read that in for the record.

Item number two is an ordinance authorizing a conditional use to install additional signage at 1960 West Market Street and declaring an emergency.

Thank you, Madam President. Today we did have a long discussion in regards to this. This was something that was up for a public hearing earlier this month on July 13th, and the committee's report is adverse.

Thank you so much. I want to yield to the ward councilperson. Councilman Bolton, do you have anything you want to say?

Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Madam President. I was the one that started the adverse report. This is in my ward. It's been a third time for zoning for this location. Residents of my ward were against it when they first came in. They were against it the second time they came in. Now they're against the sign. Last time I was checked, I was elected to represent people's views in my ward, and that's what I'm doing. But let's take the whole thing of the cannabis out of it, and let's talk about a developer that comes into your ward, originally comes in with a plan to get the zoning with a million-dollar investment on a corner that's been vacant. That million-dollar investment's going to be their flagship retail store. They get the zoning. Five months later, because they acquired the building next door to it, the 76-year-old building next door to it, they've decided they're not going to build the flagship store. They're just going to go into the one location where they evicted the tenant or the tenant whose lease was up, was moved out of that location. Pink Petals Flores had been there for years. Fortunately, they're still in Akron. They found a place across the street. So they come back in for zoning because it's a different location, and they have to get zoning for this. It is a, like I said, 76-year-old storefront. And they get the zoning for that. Both of these times, there's no mention of a pole sign, not one. Five months later, we fast forward to a few months back, and they're coming in for a pole sign. I'm wondering what's next. I think I know. It'll probably be the drive-thru that will be coming in next. I feel like they've been to my ward meetings. They've explained what they're doing. I brought them into my ward meetings to explain what they're doing. The residents understood, not happy. They come back again. Now they're asking for a pole sign. And this isn't just a small pole sign. It's 24 feet high, 32 square feet. If you don't know what 32 square feet is, think of a sheet of plywood. It's 4 by 8. So it's a big sign. What do I get after this? A developer is going to put in a flagship location. I don't get a flagship location. I get a parking lot. Next to a 76-year-old, instead of a flagship, I get a pontoon boat with a coat of paint. Residents aren't happy. I'm not happy. I'm asking for council to support me as if this was in your ward. You'd feel the same way, I'm sure. So I'm asking you to think that when you vote on this. I'd appreciate your support.

Thank you so much, Councilman. Any other comments at this time? Councilman Lombardo?

Thank you, Madam President. This afternoon, we had some, obviously, discussion, as was mentioned, and I gave the analogy, which I thought was a pretty good analogy, that, you know, I built half a house. Didn't build a whole house, but half. And we had plans approved by the builder and signed off on all that, and, you know, I thought it was said and done, but no, I changed it. I said, need another window. Or we need more cabinets. I mean, it went back and forth a couple times. But you know what? The builder was there to accommodate me. And I just feel the city of Akron should be there to accommodate the business that is growing in the city of Akron, is employing people from the city of Akron, most likely, and creating jobs and You know, that's their business, and they chose that West Market Street corner. If you've been out to that corner, you know, yeah, a lot of weeds, and that pole right now doesn't look so good. So an improvement aesthetically to that neighborhood is, I think, would be a welcome sign. But speaking of signs, you know, across the street, there's the CVS that has a nice billboard, that plaza, and all the businesses are listed on that billboard. But down below on the ground are what I call mini billboards of those same companies up above. I mean, obviously there's no ordinance against that. It doesn't look that good to me. But anyhow, I just see there's no issue. We wouldn't have an issue, we wouldn't be talking about this if the ABC sub-sandwich company moved into that building. We'd give them a sign. So, again, I'm not in favor of the adverse report, and that's the way I'll be voting tonight. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilman. Councilperson, if you could refrain from clapping. Thank you. Thank you so much. Councilperson Wilson.

Thank you, Madam President. I appreciate the discussion with the councilperson, and I shared some of my concerns. I also went back, looked at the 1996 legislation. I read through and talked with the planning commission, who voted in favor of it, even though the planning staff said no. I think I echo a lot of what Mr. Lombardo was saying. For the planning commission, one of the minutes, one of the commissioners asked if this was a fast food restaurant, would it be permitted? city staff said yes right and then there was a question about whether it was meeting certain development guide plans and it you know it seems to be maybe probably an okay on the sign being there um so i'm not going to be supporting the um that and i you know i shared with that with you earlier and i just uh wanted to share why thank you thank you so much council person council any other

Council members want to have a comment. Councilwoman Omobian.

I rise to support the adverse report. I live in Ward 8. I am a resident as well as many other folks, and they have spoken against this. I voted against the business coming there. I'm voting against the signage. It is an area that is congested. If a business were coming into that area, I'd probably vote against that as well. So I just want to state clearly that I think it's crowded there, too much traffic. And the building will have a sign on the side. And I don't think there's a need for a poll signage. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Any other comments at this time? So the committee is asking for an adverse report. So we're going to ask if you are in favor of the adverse report signified by saying aye.

Aye.

Roll call. Bolden.

Aye.

Boies. Aye. Connor. Aye. Davis.

Nay.

Garrett.

Nay.

Greer.

Aye.

Hannah.

Aye.

Kamer.

Nay.

Lombardo.

Nay.

McKittrick.

Aye.

Omobian.

Aye.

Somerville. Nay. And Wilson.

Nay.

The motion for an adverse report passes seven to six.

Councilman Lombardo.

Madam President, I'd like to make a motion to go into Committee of the Whole and suspend the rules regarding a selection of the chairperson.

Second.

Hold one second. So this, the intention of going into Committee of the Whole was if the adverse report failed. In this vote, the adverse report passed seven to six.

So procedurally, and if law can come to the mic just so that everyone is aware of what just happened and where we go from here on this piece, I do see the petitioners here in the audience.

Sure. So the committee's report was adverse. And as explained by the president and the clerk, that votes in favor of the adverse report turn the piece down. So what happened was a 7-6 vote with seven ayes, which means that the piece has failed. So it's dead.

We're going to motion for a recess. Okay, we're gonna resume our meeting. And so there's been an error in the voting, the confusion of voting on the adverse report. Councilman Hanna?

Yes, I'd like to reconsider my vote.

And you'd like to reconsider your vote to a what?

A negative.

For the adverse report?

Yes.

So we would need a second on the motion and then pass that motion.

So can someone second Councilman Hanna's motion for amending his vote? Second. Okay, so we have a second.

All in favor of the reconsideration of allowing him to reconsider his vote?

Before we move to the question, I see Councilwoman Omobian has a question.

I guess my question is, is that appropriate? It is. To consult with someone about their vote?

No, no. It is not someone consulting about their vote. Again, when we vote for an adverse report, oftentimes there is a confusion of whether you're supporting it or whether you're against it.

But I thought it was pretty clear that, you know, voting, I thought you stated that before we took the call.

I try to state it as clear as I possibly can. So Councilman Hanna is saying that he did not intend to support the adverse report. So he is asking for his vote to be changed.

I hear what you're saying, Madam President, but I think you made it perfectly clear before we took the vote and then to somehow talk to someone about their vote and encourage them, whatever it was, to vote differently. My question is, is that appropriate?

No one talked to anyone about changing their vote. Councilman Hanna knew what he wanted to vote on, but he got confused in terms of how to vote on the adverse report.

Did he tell somebody that? I don't know how... That's just what he just said. No, no, no. Before that, before he said that, how was that known that he was confused?

He just said that.

That's what he came up here to say. Before he took the vote, how was it known... to take a recess to make sure he knew that he was voting improperly. I don't understand your question. There was no discussion with anybody else. I'm just curious as to how that was determined.

Councilman.

Madam President, this is not the first time that this has happened, and for the record, I was going to vote in favor of having that poll there. I just did not say anything about it, but I was going to vote in favor of having the poll there. And the reason being, and my colleagues, for some reason, you know, you stand up and you grandstand about your award and what you won in your award. Well, not too long ago, I also wanted something in my ward and it was not given to me. Now we're talking about a waste transfer station. I'm talking about a waste transfer station and I needed your support and I didn't get that support. So that's not even important here. But I was going to vote in favor of that poll being in that area because there were so many other polls on that street. Why would you deny this one company the privilege of putting that poll there? Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you. So currently on the floor, we have a motion and a second. asking for moving forward on Councilman Hanna to amend his vote. So all in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye. Roll call.

Bolden.

No.

Boyes. Nay. Connor. No. Davis.

Aye.

Garrett.

Aye.

Greer. Aye. Hannah? Aye. Kamer? Aye. Lombardo?

Aye.

McKittrick?

Nay.

Omobian? Nay. Somerville? Aye. And Wilson?

Nay.

The motion passes seven to six. So at this time, Madam President, I think it might be appropriate for us to take a roll call on the adverse report. Again. Yes, okay. Excuse me. To clarify, I'm sorry, go ahead. The vote count was what? Seven to six.

Could you identify those that voted against it? I didn't hear everyone.

Sure, those that have voted against were Bolden, Boys, Connor, McKittrick, Omobian, and Wilson. And to be clear, that was to the motion for reconsideration. That wasn't the adverse report that we were...

Okay. And Councilperson Wilson, I see your hand.

So the motion that we just voted on was to reconsider his specific vote, not the vote as a whole.

That's correct. That's what the motion that I voted on.

That is correct.

Yep. And to be specific, Councilperson, if I may just step in. So under Rule 4.10 of Council rules, it's appropriate for a member who has voted on the succeeding side of a measure to ask for reconsideration. It has to pass by a simple majority of Council, and then you guys can re-vote on that. You can only do it once, and you have to do it during the same session. But that is Rule 4.10. Okay.

Any other questions on that before we proceed with the vote? So if we can read in what we're voting on again just so that we're really clear.

So again, this is an ordinance authorizing a conditional use to install additional signage at 1960 West Market Street and declaring an emergency. Again, the motion on the floor was for an adverse report. So what we are voting on is whether you agree with an adverse report or not. Right.

So all in favor of an adverse report signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. ROLL CALL.

BOLDEN. AYE. BOYS. AYE. CONNOR. AYE. DAVIS.

NAY.

GARRETT. NAY. GREER.

AYE.

HANNAH.

That's messed up again. You just did the same thing again.

No. I'm not going to do this twice.

I thought you could only do it one time.

Kamer. Mr. Lawyer.

Lombardo. Again, this is the adverse report.

Did you call my name?

Oh. I'm sorry.

No, it was me. Nay.

Lombardo.

Nay.

You're voting against the adverse report?

That's correct.

Lombardo just did.

Okay.

McKittrick? Aye. Omobian? Aye. Somerville? Nay. And Wilson?

Nay.

The motion for an adverse report fails by a vote of six to seven.

Madam President. Yes. I'd like to make a motion to go into a committee of the whole and suspend the rules regarding selecting a chairperson so that the Council President Yu Summerville remains in the chair for administrative ease. That would be my motion.

So we have a motion on the floor to go into council as a whole. And I'm assuming that we want to go into council as a whole to address this issue.

Yes.

Okay. So we have a motion on the floor. Is there a second?

I'm going to second.

All in favor of going into council as a whole, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye. Roll call.

Bolden. No. Boies.

Nay.

Conner. Davis.

Aye.

Garrett.

Aye.

Greer.

Nay.

Hanna.

Aye.

Kamer. Aye. Lombardo. Aye. McKittrick.

Nay.

Omobian.

Nay.

Somerville. Aye. And Wilson.

Aye.

The motion passes seven to six, although we will probably need to make this into two separate motions because to suspend the rules, we would have needed nine. So may I have a motion to go into Committee of the Whole? And then we'll need to do a separate motion to select a chairperson.

So moved.

We have a, is there a second?

Second.

All in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? The ayes have it.

Okay. You're now in Committee of the Whole. Is there a nomination for a chairperson?

I'd like to nominate President Margo Somerville. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Would you like me to do a roll call on this? Sure. Bolden.

No.

Connor. I'm sorry, boys.

Aye.

Connor. Aye. Davis.

Aye.

Garrett.

Aye.

Greer.

Aye.

Hannah.

Aye.

Kamer. Aye. Lombardo. Aye. McKittrick. Omobian?

No.

Somerville?

Aye.

And Wilson? Aye. Okay. Council President Somerville will be the chair of Committee of the Whole.

Okay, so now we are in Committee of the Whole. Is there a motion on this item? Council President Lombardo?

Yes, I'd like to make a motion for a favorable report.

And so just so that we are clear, can we read that item in again?

This is an ordinance authorizing a conditional use to install additional signage at 1960 West Market Street and declaring an emergency.

So we have a motion on the floor for a favorable report. Is there a second?

Second.

All in favor, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye. Roll call.

Bolden.

No.

Boyes. Nay. Conner. Nay. Davis?

Aye.

Garrett? Aye. Greer?

Nay.

Hanna?

Aye.

Kamer?

Aye.

Lombardo? Aye. McKittrick?

Nay.

Omobian? Nay. Somerville?

Aye.

And Wilson?

Aye.

The motion for a favorable report passes seven to six.

Thank you. You can refrain from clapping. Thank you so much. Thank you. We're going to move with the rest of our agenda. Councilman Kamer.

Madam President, I'd like to make a motion to come out of the Committee of the Whole.

Thank you so much. So we have a motion on the floor to come out as Committee of the Whole. We have a second. All in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Okay, thank you. Councilman Kamer.

On the planning portion, continue time.

Excuse me. I'm very sorry. But we need to also vote on this as a council. Your previous vote was as committee of the whole.

Yes.

Yes. Again, I'll make that motion for a favorable report. Second.

Second.

I'LL DO A ROLL CALL VOTE ON THAT AGAIN. AGAIN, THIS IS VOTING ON THIS ORDINANCE AS THE FULL COUNCIL. OUR PREVIOUS VOTE WAS VOTING ON IT AS COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FOR THOSE THAT ARE WATCHING. BOLDEN?

NO.

BOYS? NAY. CONNOR? DAVIS?

AYE.

GEARETT?

AYE.

GREER?

NAY.

HANNAH? AYE. KAMER? Lombardo. Aye. McKittrick.

Nay.

Omobian.

Nay.

Somerville.

Aye.

And Wilson.

Aye.

This ordinance passes seven to six.

Okay. Thank you so much. Councilman Kamer, what is your pleasure on the rest of the agenda?

Continue time.

Thank you. Time will be granted. Public service, Councilman Kamer.

Time.

Thank you. Time will be granted. Public safety, Councilman McKittrick.

Continue time on one and two.

Thank you. Time will be granted. That concludes our old business. We'll now move into new legislation starting with planning and economic development.

Item number one offered by Kamer, ordinance approving an amendment to the Ascot Urban Redevelopment Plan by eliminating Planning Commission and Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission review and to amend development requirements and declaring an emergency.

Councilman Kamer.

Thank you, Madam President. The committee's report is favorable and we're asking for suspension of the rules.

Are there any objections to suspension of the rules? Seeing and hearing none, the rules have been suspended.

Thank you, Madam President. This is just to move forward with an amendment in regards to OSCOT Urban Redevelopment Plan, and we're asking for passage.

Thank you. The committee's report is favorable. All in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? The ayes have it.

This ordinance passes 13 to zero. Item number two offered by Kamer and Connor, ordinance authorizing the director of the Department of Planning and Urban Development to enter into an agreement or agreements with local agencies to carry out the emergency solutions grant program for program year 2026, authorizing payment therefore. All in furtherance with Mayor Malik's objective of supporting local emergency and transitional homeless shelters to provide shelter and supportive services to homeless individuals and families and to prevent an individual or family from moving into an emergency shelter through housing prevention, relocation, and stabilization services and declaring an emergency.

Councilman Kamer.

Thank you, Madam President. Committee's report is favorable. We're asking for suspension of the rules.

Are there any objections to suspension of the rules? Seeing and hearing none, the rules have been suspended.

Thank you, Madam President. This is $512,468. This is going to help provide shelters that will serve our youth, single women, women with children, single parents, families with children, and two-parent families with children. This is a great opportunity to Have our city go out there and help with the homelessness and with that we're asking for passage.

Thank you councilman Greer Thank You madam president, I just want to rise and state my full support of this measure but I do sit on the board of the Summit County continuum of care and so I will have to abstain, but I do fully support this measure and the work that goes on to support our homeless communities.

Thank you so much, Councilman. Any other comments at this time? Councilperson Wilson?

May I have my name added to this?

Yes, you can.

Thank you.

You're welcome. The committee's report is favorable. All in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? The ayes have it.

This ordinance passes 12-0 with one abstention. Item number three offered by Garrett. Resolution expressing support for the administration examining ways to eliminate the use of disrespectful command intensifiers and non-de-escalating language by police officers and declaring an emergency. Councilman McKittrick.

The committee's report is adverse.

Thank you. The committee's report is adverse. Councilman Garrett, do you have any comments?

Thank you, Madam Chair, Madam President, for this opportunity. This is something that constituents have been asking for. During the time of this past year, I had a chance to tour all wards. And during these town hall meetings, we had a conversation around police reform. And during these topics on police reform, there were certain things that the community wanted. They didn't have any problems with the roughly $7 million that the police department was getting or the $6 million, I mean, the $4.9 million that the fire department was getting. They just asked for things that cost zero for their community. Some of those things were a possible 120-second look back for audio and visual, limiting head strikes, high-speed pursuits in predominantly poor white, black, and brown communities. They asked to reduce the number of long guns in their community. They asked for a window tent to be deemed a secondary offense. And they asked for flock cameras to take a closer look at. During the time, they also asked for command intensifiers. And if you don't mind, Madam President, I think it's important that I actually be real with everybody in terms of what some of this conversation was like. We have a 15-year-old girl who scratched a police officer and she was called a fucking bitch. The punishment was a coach and a counselor. It wasn't no real punishment. And so this is the concern that a lot of people are having in our community where police officers are using language that's not necessary. That language escalates manageable solutions. It reduces public trust and confidence. It can provoke residents into engaging into a different type of behavior. It appears unprofessional, increases citizens' complaint, undermines de-escalation. And what we're asking for, Madam President, is just to urge the administration to have a conversation around this. Why is this important? We spent $300,000 for a PERF report that we don't have any real tangible solutions. You count the months, Madam President. It's been April. It's been May. It's been June. It's been July. Here comes August. The community has nothing. And so when my colleagues, when we talk about having these resolutions come up, it's to bring about a conversation, what we're trying to have, because the people in the community feel like the procrastination's bothering them. Why? Because procrastination means it's just not that important to this administration. Procrastination means it's just not that meaningful to this administration. Procrastination means it's not worth the urgency to move forward with this. This is an opportunity, Madam President, to stop a lot of things that could happen in our community. Not having these type of, having a restriction, on these command intensifiers is paramount to our community. Officers can be firm and in control while communicating professionally and respectfully. Strong command presence comes with confidence, clarity, consistency, and sound judgment and effective tactics, not unnecessary foul language. There's a video that's floating around right now with officers just letting regular citizens have it. I feel sorry for certain constituents who don't have a voice in certain wards to speak up for them when they know that this is an issue in their wards. And so madam president, I am hopeful that this committee, that the, my colleagues will find it necessary because spending $300,000 on a perfect port zero, We have a police oversight where we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. We have the issue 10. There is a reason that constituents are coming down to city hall complaining. Most of those complaints is all around police reform. And I know a lot of my colleagues want to push back and suggest that somehow this is not important. This is extremely important for our community. I mean, the mayor ran on issue 10 and what do we have for it? I mean, realistically. I mean, this is just sad that we can't even have a conversation around command intensifiers to stop having this type of language happening to our youth. What do we expect from them? If we're yelling and cussing and screaming at them, we're looking for a space where it can be community-based policing. Having a conversation. Even in the military, we were taught to have regular professional conversations, not just run out and cussing people out every chance we get. But trust me, it's a different world in the poor white, black and brown communities, how they're being treated and talked to. And there's no real accountability, Madam President. I'm hopeful that we'll be able to get enough votes to pass this, Madam President. And I thank you for your time.

Thank you so much. Are there any comments at this time, Councilman Lombardo?

Thank you. Um, councilman Garrett, my friend, you know, I can hardly believe members of the community are watching these situations that our officers go into. I can hardly believe there's a crowd and they're noticing the language, but beyond that, you know, no one's perfect. Nobody's perfect. Uh, we, we say things we don't mean in the heat of the moment. I've done it. No doubt. You know, I'm not to pick on my councilman friend here, Councilman Hanna. Today I think he used the word berserk. Maybe he wanted to use it, maybe he didn't. You know, I got the message. There was a time last year, I remember I used the word listen. I guess I should have used the word comply. So I'm starting to ask my kids to comply with me. But anyhow, what Councilman Garrett is asking for is a conversation, and I get that. But I just think that the administration is already working on these things. We have the PERF report, we have other things that they're working on to try to make our Members in blue, accountable, respectful. Bottom line, I mean, we've got to let them do their jobs. And again, we're not there in their shoes, heat of the moment. Things come out that they may not mean, but we're looking for the end result, and that's safety in this community. So I think we have other things to discuss rather than language, That could be a sign of respect, and we'll get there. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman. Any other Councilmembers have comments first? Councilwoman Omobian.

Thank you, Madam President. I think this afternoon when we were talking about this, I mentioned and I did acknowledge that All of these resolutions are causing me to do more research and ask more questions. We already have a policy in place, and the policy states very clearly that this kind of language is not acceptable, is disrespectful, and as a result of using it, there is the potential for someone to be disciplined at the level of a third level felony or something like that. That's part of the language in the policy. But as someone who has been a supervisor and a director before, I know whenever you're changing behavior, you start usually with a conversation with the individual and then try to listen to their point of view to see what are you thinking when you do this. And then you do some education and trying to do some reform building. Now this policy has been amended because this resolution states that you want the administration to examine ways to eliminate the use of disrespectful and that's what the policy is doing. And basically what I would like for us to do and this would be extremely helpful, is to let the public know that if you're being mistreated, disrespected with language from law officers, file a complaint. We have an independent auditor. He has staff now to do more work. And I've talked with him. When he gets these kinds of complaints, he would do a thorough investigation to find out who's doing it and then do more work with the police department to see what do we need to do. Do we need to strengthen the training? Do we need to discipline the person? What do we need to do? But this is already being addressed. And I'm trying to figure out if it's already being addressed, what should our conversation be about? Whatever we are talking about having here, a discussion about what? The administration is already addressing it. And that's what I'm trying to figure out. What else do we need to talk about? I'm assuming in council chamber, if all of us are going to be in the discussion, it has to be somewhere where it's open to the public. So I'm trying to understand what else would be done, because it sounds like they're already working on the issue. And I stated what the policy is, and I got it easily today, and it's already there.

Any other comments from council members at this time? Mayor Malik?

Thank you, Madam President. Just a few things I wanted to note, especially since the administration was invoked. I want to be clear, we have as of today implemented 18 of the recommendations in the PERF report. There are 56 recommendations directed to the administration, 58 of them total, two of them are separate in relation to the oversight board. One of them, there was a comment made about procrastination with regard to head strikes. The language with regard to head strikes and restrictions on head strikes was done on day one. The change was made on day one. There are other changes to the use of force policy in relation to language about the sanctity of life and preserving the sanctity of life. Again, done on day one. We continue to update the tracker online regarding our progress on that work monthly. We will continue to do that until all of the recommendations are done. This work does not happen overnight. Additionally, just a few other points I want to mention. I think last week several of these recommendations came in. I think today Chief of Safety Craig Morgan shared a number of details about vehicle pursuits and changes we've made and statistics in order to have a conversation. We will always be open to having a conversation and in whatever form Council would like to do that. About these issues, they're very important issues. We're happy to come back and bring forward more data about, I think some was shared today, but more data after the break about the issue mentioned here today about profanity and discourtesy, which is a really important issue. I don't know what incident the council person was referring to with regard to the specific comment that was used, but I do know of an incident in which that specific comment was used in reference to a teenage girl. The officer in that case, in that incident, was fired as a result of that incident. So I just want to be clear. I don't know if that's the one that the council person is mentioning, but I know that an officer used that language and threw a teenage girl into a vehicle and was fired for that conduct. These issues are very important, and we take them very seriously. And so I push back on the notion of procrastination. Just in this past few weeks, there was another response, our latest response to the Oversight Board on a number of reports, including one in which the determination on use of force was changed as a result of the recommendations made by the auditor. So we take this extraordinarily seriously. We will continue to and we as the administration are open to having discussions about any of these points at any time.

Thank you so much, Mayor. Councilman Garrett.

Thank you, Madam President. As it relates to the head strikes, I mean, we would really like to see the policy, the consequences surrounding all of that. You know, just to come out would say that we have, we put something in place. Where's the teeth? Where's the substance to any of it? Madam President, and so that's concerning to a lot of folks. And so I just wanted to make sure that we're clear on that. And when we talk about the policies that's coming in place, This PERF report has been done since April, and the meaningful things that can really impact individuals' lives are still sitting on the administration desk. I just wanted to make sure that we knew that and the citizens understand exactly where we are with it. Over $300,000, and we're still waiting for real meaningful reform. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you so much, Councilman Garrett. The one thing I did want to mention, and I know it was on this past Thursday at the Faith Place, I know there were several council members who were there and present where we actually heard from the Attorney General's office, right, who really talked about this whole process that they went through, the Blue Ribbon Task Force of really evaluating and trying to improve upon faith. police training, right? And so again, I think it is good that we just have these conversations, right? They're having them at a state level. We should also be having them here on a local level as well. So I just wanted to make those comments because I know those conversations are definitely happening. Yes, Mayor Mahalik.

I just wanted to note in relation to the last two comments, there was a point made about asking what the penalties and what the teeth around the head strike policy is. We are happy at the next public safety meeting to present about that and walk through that in detail and have discussion around that. There are penalties that are a result of that. The second piece is we're also happy to have more discussion around the Attorney General and the state's accreditation process. I know APD is actually in the middle of that accreditation process. I think they actually have an update that they might be in a position to share. So those are two things in which we'd be happy to talk about the next public safety meeting.

And Mayor, I think that would be helpful, you know, just getting more of a regular update in terms of what's happening with the PERF report and some of the things that you're working on. So that would be helpful. And that way, council's not in the dark and the public is not in the dark about what's going on. So at this time, again, we're going to try this again. This is an adverse report. So all in favor of an adverse report, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Roll call.

Bolden.

Aye.

Boyes. Aye. Connor. Aye. Davis.

Nay.

Garrett. Nay. Greer.

Nay.

Hanna. Aye. Kamer. Aye. Lombardo. Aye. McKittrick.

Aye.

Omobian.

Aye.

Somerville. Nay. And Wilson.

Nay.

The adverse report passes eight to five. Item number four offered by Garrett, resolution expressing support for the administration examining ways to limit the deployment of long guns and AR style rifles to SWAT zones rather than issuing them to all patrol officers in our communities and declaring an emergency. Councilman McKittrick.

The committee's report is adverse.

Thank you. The committee's report is adverse. Are there any comments at this time?

Yes.

Councilman Garrett.

Thank you, Madam president. Um, once again, during the town hall meetings, this was just something else that the constituents were concerned about, um, in a world where we ha where we're having so much gun violence to now have, um, a quarter of a million dollars designated for long guns, AR style rifles. But we need to be really clear. It's how we got here. We got here because a 15 year old kid, Jasmine or Tucker was shot in the back by a police officer. Who's not held been held to account for this, who could have been fired by the mayor for this, who allowed this kid to lay there for eight minutes without rendering any aid. This is how we got here. I just want to make sure we're clear. And now that we're here, the solution is to bring roughly 650 new guns, assault rifles to our poor white, black and brown community. I just want to make sure that we're really clear on how we got here. And for any of my colleagues, to sit back and suggest that this is somehow healthy to bring more weapons. If you take a look at each one of those AR style weapons that we used in the military, let's just say each of them had a capacity with a 20 round clip. That's over 12,000 lethal bullets in our poor white, black and brown community. And folks are okay with that. I am not. It's just a matter of before long, we're going to have the 50 cows that we're going to have all type of weapons in our community. I am hopeful that with this conversation that we're having, that we would like to have with the administration, if we could examine ways to perhaps maybe only have them with SWAT or someone with a trained real life training and trained background. While we were in the military, everyone didn't have Claymore rounds. Everyone wasn't able to have detonated devices. And so we had those designated to certain areas and certain groups. To have these weapons in all police cruisers is concerning to a lot of constituents in the community. If you take a look at Ward 7, where Ms. Jaylen Walker was shot and killed, 90 something shots fired at this gentleman. It's a time that we look and explore opportunities to deescalate, to bring the temperature down. There was a statement made earlier this week, I mean earlier today, about a thousand weapons being recovered and half of them were switches or half of them was the automatic style, which is, that's extremely questionable. I mean, at the end of the day, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will leave us all toothless and all blind. We don't need more of these in our community at this rate. If it would be fair, if you take a look at the flight cameras, there's over 145 flight cameras in our city and counting. That was my 22 report that they gave me. They haven't given me a 2026 report. We're still waiting via public records request. So based off the information that I do have, Out of those 75% of them are in the poor white, black and brown community, heavily surveilling us. Heavily surveilling us. So where do you think these long guns are going to go? They're going to go where the data shows. They're going to go to patrol us. I mean, so it's really important that we look at an opportunity and ways to create community policing instead of this militarized zone, just militarized policing. So just remember how we got here. 15-year-old kid shot in the back, laid there for eight minutes, no help. The mayor had the ability to fire him, chose not to. But then this same officer went off and did something else and now is on paid leave. We're still paying for him. And so out of all of this, Madam President, out of all of this, it is the taxes that our constituents will have to pay because of the lawsuits. And so all of the things that we're bringing up from these town hall meetings cost us zero to make us better. But if it was really important, we wouldn't be waiting April, May, June, July, and here comes August, the hottest time of their year. where more people are outside and more people are being less safe. Thank you, Madam President, for your time.

Thank you so much. Councilman Libardo.

Thank you. Councilman Garrett, my friend, I hear what you're saying. I hear it all. I just can't and I can't speak to other or all the situations that you have said that brought us here today. I can't speak to that. But I just You know, I would support something to say, all right, everybody lay down the long guns or AK-47s so we can all be on a level playing field. I would support that, but that's not going to happen. So Councilman Garrett is suggesting that just the SWAT team has these types of weapons. I, you know, I'm not... expert on APD policy. I don't know if an officer versus a lieutenant versus a sergeant versus, you know, a chief can carry certain types of weapons that are more powerful. I don't know that. But I do know that if we were faced with a situation with an active shooter, and police were called on the scene, I don't think the active shooter is gonna hold on till our SWAT team gets there. I believe our safety chief over there would say that, you know, there is time for SWAT team to get there. I mean, so I just don't think we have that kind of time. So again, I'm not supporting this resolution at all. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilman. So at this time, the committee's report. Yes, please.

I just wanted to clarify a point I made earlier today. Councilwoman Boyce had asked a question about whether or not this would come back before council. Certainly the original sum to purchase the rifles was allocated, but Ultimately, when we get into the acquisition phase, the contract would come back before council. And I just wanted to point out for clarity, we have no intention of purchasing 650 anything rifles. Again, my comments earlier, are that we are very much engaged in an active process of reevaluating our long gun program as a whole. And long gun is holistic. It's our rifles and our shotguns. And we're trying to balance the right amount of each per shift. And again, we're definitely going to be utilizing a different program for the amount of experience, certification, and training for anybody to have any of those type of rifles. But I just wanted to clarify that point that you brought up earlier today. Councilwoman, thank you.

Thank you so much. Councilman Greer.

Thank you, Madam President.

I think that oftentimes we look at these issues and it seems that either it's all one way or it's all another. And there's many times a lot of layers in between. I went to Miller South School. When Jasmine Tucker was killed and shot in the back, that really affected me. And I believe wholeheartedly that that should not have happened. I don't think any of us want more guns on the street. But I have to say, these guns are currently on our streets. They are unfortunately in our communities. We have automatic weapons that are in our communities right now. We just had a shootout in Patterson Park where people had illegal guns that had been altered to be automatic weapons. And these weapons can literally wreck such havoc and carnage in just seconds. I think we have to think about that side too. And I do have concerns that if we have an active shooter, whether it's at a school, whether it's at a mall, whether it's at a sporting event, with an automatic weapon, and if we would have to wait for a SWAT unit to show up, I have concerns about the safety as a whole. I think we have to also look at the specific instances where things were not handled correctly, but we can't apply that to every instance. And we have to think about the general public safety and look at these issues comprehensively, not just one way or another, because life has shown us and history has taught us there are many shades in between.

Thank you so much, Councilman. Any other comments at this time? Councilwoman Omobian?

Thank you so much, Councilman Greer, for being so thoughtful in your comments. Because I think what we talked about this afternoon is that we really want to make sure that we have equipped our police officers with the tools they need to do their job. But the other thing that I have learned over the last few days is not all the officers want long guns, rifles, and for those that will get them, and I think we put it in the budget. It's already in the budget and we authorized that several months ago. And for those who will have those rifles, they will get additional training and certification, as Mr. Morgan has stated. You know, I wish we lived in a world where we didn't have guns, period, on either side. But since we do, I just want to make sure that we are equipping the people who are there for our safety and their safety, that they have the tools they need to do their jobs. Well, that's all I want. I don't want guns around me, period, because I don't want to touch them. But if I call a police officer and if I'm having some problems, I want them to be equipped to take care of me, my family, and other people and make this community safe. So I feel comfortable in the fact that we have already authorized the administration to do this. I want them to do their job in figuring out, how do we do this? And I did talk to some of the leadership and the oversight, the independent auditor. It's the policy that's going to make the difference, and I think that's what they said they're working on, is developing a policy around all of this. So I'm comfortable with allowing the people who know how to reinforce the staff with what they need to make a decision about this. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Councilwoman. Any other comments at this time? So the committee's report is adverse. All in favor of an adverse report signify by saying aye. Aye. Roll call.

Bolden. Aye. Boyes. Aye. Connor. Aye. Davis.

Nay.

Garrett. Nay. Greer.

Aye.

Hannah.

Nay.

Kamer.

Aye.

Lombardo.

Aye.

McKittrick.

Aye.

Omobian? Aye. Somerville?

Aye.

Wilson?

Nay.

The motion for an adverse report passes 9-4.

That concludes our new legislation for this evening. We'll now move into our committee assignments. Rules, Councilman McKittrick? 2 p.m. Public Safety, Councilman McKittrick?

2.15.

Budget and Finance, Councilman Lombardo? No.

3 p.m.

Parks and Recreation, Councilwoman Conner. Planning and Economic Development, Councilman Kamer. Housing and Neighborhood Assistance, Councilman Bolden.

2.30.

Public Service, Councilman Kamer. Health and Social Services, Councilwoman Davis.

2.30.

Is there anything else coming before Council this time, Councilman Kamer?

Thank you, Madam President. The last thing I want to do is extend the meeting. But I see that the mayor showed up tonight. Thank you for coming out tonight. I see you got a new haircut. It looks pretty good. All seriousness, we're about to go on a legislative break, and we won't be back until September. But a lot of conversation tonight about the police. And I'd like to see if the mayor can just briefly speak to us what we're looking at for the rest of the year. Obviously, over the last seven months, we've heard a lot of constituents come down today. And I appreciate all the constituents that came down and hung out with us for almost two hours now. But I'd like to see what we're looking at for our parks. Our streets, I mean, a lot of constituents have come down and voiced concerns about the conditions of our parks and conditions of our streets. I'd really like to hear from the mayor tonight, not just in regards to those topics. And I'm not putting you on the spot. I'm just trying to get a forecast of the rest of the year and see what else we have coming down for September, October, November, December. So please, I would love to hear from him.

THERE IS A LOT THERE, COUNCILPERSON. I LIKE YOUR HAIRCUT TOO. So I guess first, and I mean, really, I could take your invitation and extend the meeting by 45 minutes. I would ask our service director, Mr. Luddle, to come up just briefly and talk about resurfacing and talk about our streets and potholes. We have a couple updates there. So, Mr. Luddle.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you. Real quick, obviously we've had a lot of concerns, duly warranted to the condition of the streets. I talked to committee a couple weeks ago, maybe two, three weeks ago, about the water main and the water main breaks we've had this year. So this is not a good thing to be proud of, but it looks like on the pace we are going, that we may hit 500 water main breaks this year. which is gonna be a record, okay? With aging infrastructure, that means 500 holes in our streets. So we have always fixed these, what we call a permit. So the water permit goes out, they excavate down, typically it's a six by 11 hole, they backfill with sand and they put the premix in, which is the soft asphalt. Typically it might not hold all the time, it sinks, and then we get the calls. Highway goes around the city and they repair those. So what I said a couple weeks ago with the number and the crews we have out there working, we need some extra help. So we always bid out every year what we call large restorations. So just last week we extended that contract and added more funds to that contract to help them catch up. And what we've prioritized is our arterial and our collector streets that everybody uses every day they get off their street. So I mean, there's Delia, there's East Exchange, there's West Exchange, there's Albrecht, and I can go on and on, but they're gonna hit those first. Okay, then once they hit those, we are going to make prioritize obviously for the marathon route. But when they do those arterials on the market streets and the main streets are going to hit those. Our highway department is still out there in the neighborhoods doing them. So I say when you come back, we hope to have a little better picture of where we're at. Hopefully the water main breaks slow down a little bit, but we're out there fixing those every day. When you get two or three a day, that's two or three extra holes a day to keep up with. And as far as resurfacing, as you know, we kept the same funding, but we did do two contracts. So both contracts are performing well. I thank the council because we did bring it to you early on, probably December. We got through the assessment process. So both contractors were over 50% and they're out there every day. So we anticipate way before October, they'll be wrapped up. North Main Street, that's been a big project. They did put asphalt down last week. So that project, moving from bridge to bridge, and obviously with the fence project and the Y Bridge is fully open now, things are looking up. But extending that contract and us working some more overtime, I think you're going to see a big difference by the time you guys come back.

Thank you so much, Mr. Little.

So I will try to be brief on the remaining piece. I will say that certainly wherever there are potholes, wherever we see patches that folks think are not up to the correct standard, we want to know about them. And so I know we often see them on social media, and that's OK. But I think we also want to make sure that they're getting to 311 that they're getting to council members to be able to share as well. That's very important. And I think that we do have aging infrastructure, but our residents deserve the results of the tax dollars that we've been able to put into these streets from issue four. and we want to make sure that that we're that we're doing that right so i appreciate that piece the second piece around the parks you know i think that there are a lot of uh parks that we have in the city we're in the process of working with akron parks collaborative on a parks master plan but you know there are parks that they get a lot of traffic and there are parks that don't get a ton of traffic right i i Went for a walk this weekend, and I found the basketball court there on Adams Court, and I beat some kids in knockout. I apologize to them. But there are parks that get a couple people, and there are parks that get a lot of people. All parks need to be taken care of adequately. I know there were recently some questions about Prentice Park. We are in the process of allowing new skateboarding portion to be put in there on former tennis courts. As that happens, there may be places where it's appropriate to put up a sign saying there's work going on here or that you know pardon our mess or something like that right and so i think we want to reflect on that and see where that's appropriate but certainly we remain available to all the council members during the break that is not a break for any of us right in order to have those conversations if we think that there are places that are not kept up to par And then the last thing is around safety. And certainly, there's a lot that could be said here. We do have an APD Academy class that is close to graduation. So in the next month, those officers are going to graduate and hit the street. So we are looking forward to that. invited to that ceremony. We've had a number of events recently. We had a reverse ride along that Project Ujima worked with our police department on to have community conversations with those cadets. And that was a really successful event last week. And there are going to be more events in the weeks and months ahead. In addition, National Night Out coming very soon here. And then the Akron City Fest right before Labor Day. More opportunities for folks to engage and police will be out there. National Night Out, of course, started as a way for communities to engage with police. Just two more points and then I will stop. You know, we've talked about gun violence throughout this year and I really appreciate the work that we've all done together around creating this new community violence intervention work, the pivot program with the hospitals, the street team. I'm going to go down a rabbit hole just really quick and then I'm done. I think of it as three buckets. We have the traditional work of law enforcement that they do every day trying to hold people accountable who commit crimes. We have the intervention work, the community intervention work that we're beginning as a city that's shown a lot of promise and results in other communities. Then we have prevention work, which is done by our non-profits, which is great work, but we all know could use a lot more funding. Non-profits that do a lot with a little bit. I think to that, we need to add also a component around community. What are we asking from the members of our community when we say that there's a part for them to play in safety? And then the last thing I would say is when there are specific issues around neighborhoods, we've talked a lot about Highland Square, but we've seen in recent weeks as Highland Square, the issues have diminished. We've seen parking lot parties at lots on Copley Road and on South Arlington, and our police department has worked collaboratively with business owners in the area to try to come up with some of the same ways of addressing things, putting up barriers, making sure that there are towing agreements. And so we continue to be open to work where folks are seeing any kind of hot spots that they're seeing. So those are just a couple of the things. And I appreciate you, Councilperson, for not trying to put me on the spot.

Thank you, Mayor. Councilperson Wilson, then Councilman Greer.

Thank you. I'll try to keep it very brief. I just want to just note something and also ask for a follow-up here. At the July 6th meeting, there was an individual who was added to public comment. after the public comment period closed. And that, to my understanding, is a violation of Rule 5.3 in our rules. I'm just going to give this to the clerk and the president. So I'm just initiating the complaint process through you guys, if you wouldn't mind passing that down, Mr. Bolden. So I won't elaborate too much, but I would love an answer about why this happened and how this happened. I would appreciate that. Thank you. You're welcome.

Yes, thank you.

Thank you, Madam President. I will be brief. I just wanted to highlight a couple of things. Last week, we had downtown on Main Street the Firefighter Challenge Championship Series. And one of our own Akron Fire Department firefighter medics, Hunter Branciforte, set a new national record. And she's really just an outstanding firefighter and medic, and she did things that I don't think many of us could probably dream of doing. So again, just want to say congratulations to her and just encourage everyone as well. We have a really great Akron Fire Department. and they're currently hiring. And so if you know people who are interested in becoming a firefighter, please have them go online and apply by August 31st. I just wanted to announce that since we will be on recess. next month. And also August is National Black Business Month. So we want to also encourage everyone go out and support all of our small black business owners that add so much to our community. I know that the Urban League will be hosting events as well as the Black Chamber of Summit County. They're going to be having a Black Wall Street event at the end of next month on August 29th. So just want to highlight those two things.

Thank you so much, Councilman, for sharing.

Thank you, Madam President. I would just like to share as we go into our summer recess initiative that Council County Councilman Brandon Ford and myself will be hosting. It's called a Summer Safety Lockup Initiative. This initiative is partnered with by Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. And what we've done is we've collected over 125 gun locks and giveaway bags. And we've partnered with Easy Drive-Thru, Kelly's Drive-Thru, both of the Hineni subs on the east side and west side of Akron, and also the Barber College on Roemick Road. And how this will work is for individuals who post on social media or go into these locations, sharing the fact that they shared a gun safety kit or bag with the individual they'll then receive discounted products from these vendors whether you go to hanini subs and receive a chips or a drink or up to the barber school get a discounted haircut we want to meet people where they are as relates to guns and gun safety for the summer so for the month of august And September will be having passing out over 125 of these of those participating locations. So we'd like to invite folks to attend those spaces, grab those gun locks, share them with your family and friends and posted on social media. It's called a summer safety lockup initiative. Thank you, madam president.

Thank you so much. Councilman for sharing councilman McKittrick.

Thank you, Madam President. Just wanted to spin off of Councilman Greer's mention of the fire department. It wasn't just one member of the department that did well. Akron Fire showed up and showed off. I mean, they really represented well. I think we have a state record holder as well. And in one of the classifications, Akron Fire took number one, two, and three in those positions in one of the classifications. So I'm just hoping when we get back from break that we could possibly bring those members down and recognize them if possible. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Is there anything else coming before council at this time? Seeing and hearing no, we have a motion. No objections. Meeting adjourned.

This concludes the live broadcast of Akron City Council. Margo Somerville, President of Council, presiding.