City Council - Regular Meeting

Light me up, let me see your fire Light me up, let me see your fire

Good morning, Birmingham. Today is Tuesday, July 28th. The time is now 9.41 a.m. I call to order the meeting of the Birmingham City Council. This morning's invocation will be led by Reverend Vincent Martin, Associate Minister of Wilson Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham. The Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Counselor Daryl O'Quinn. If you're willing and able, please stand and join us.

Let us pray. What a friend we have in Jesus. All of our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh God, we come this morning according to your word. You said that we acknowledge your ways, that you would direct us. Oh God, we come this morning seeking your direction. Oh God, let these decisions that are made today, let them not only look at the road, but let them look down the road to see how it's going to affect generations to come. Oh God, we pray that you would give us a kindred spirit today, that everything will go and have a heavenly father in a godly manner. And Lord, we ever give you the honor and the praise. And before we close this prayer, we ask you to forgive us for our sins of omission, our sins of commission. In Jesus' name we pray. Let our hearts say amen.

Thank you so much, Reverend Martin, for that very inspirational prayer. Thank you, Dr. O'Quinn, for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. At this time, good morning, Madam Clerk, if you'll call the roll.

Good morning. Council Member Guy. Good morning. Good morning. Council Member O'Quinn. Good morning. Good morning. Council Member Smith. Council Member Smitherman. Good morning. Good morning. Council Member Bassa.

Good morning.

Good morning. Council Member Williams.

Good morning.

Good morning. Council Member Woods. Good morning.

Good morning.

Council President Pro Tem Tate.

Good morning.

Good morning. And Council President Alexander.

Good morning. Thank you very much. Councilors, the minutes are not ready from the meetings of June 2nd, 2026 to July 21st, 2026. At this time, we'll entertain communications from the mayor. Good morning, Chief.

Good morning, Madam President. Good morning, Madam Pro Tem. Good morning to the members of the council, to the members of the public, all those that have the sound of my voice. I have a very brief mayor's report for you today. First of all, it's time to register for school. As a reminder to parents of school-age children in Birmingham, if you haven't completed your child's registration and enrollment, please do so now. School starts August the 10th, and we want every student to be ready on day one. Enroll at www.behamcityschools.org. Speaking of back to school, the city of Birmingham, along with several community partners, will host its Strong Start Birmingham Back to School Rally, presented by Window World on Saturday, August 1st, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Birmingham Crossplex, which is located at 2332 Bessemer Road. The event will feature a DJ, food trucks, face painting, a game truck, inflatables, Coca-Cola samples, a limited number of free haircuts by Birmingham Barber and Style School, and free school supplies. Partners include Crime Stoppers, the Birmingham Police Department, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Services, Church of the Highlands, Coca-Cola United, Rising Star Baptist Church, and the Birmingham Cross Flicks. Again, it's this Saturday, August 1st. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Birmingham Cross Blitz. And we hope to see everyone there. And then finally, Madam President, at this time, I would like to ask Zoe Fribble, Vice President of the All the Same Alabama, to join me at the podium, as well as any guests that she may have with her. Madam President, Madam Pro Tem, members of the council, Zoe is a part of a high school student, a group of high school students who formed a statewide non-profit organization, and they're traveling across the state. They're from Enterprise, Alabama, and they're presenting hydration essentials to our first responders. This morning, her group presented to our steam fire chief, Corey Moon, He presented to him and the rest of the department water bottles, Gatorade, Gatorades, electrolyte packets, and cooling towels for our firefighters and first responders. So Zoe is here to tell us more about their efforts. Zoe.

Good afternoon, Mayor and members of the City Council. My name is Zoe Fridl, and I'm a student at Enterprise High School, where I serve as the Vice President of All the Same Alabama. I'd also like to mention the President of All the Same Alabama, Jayden Bloodworth. Ever since we started this organization, we've hosted school supply drives, donated children books about literacy, and organized a Mother's Day hygiene drive to provide essential items to mothers and families in need. Through these projects, we strive to create opportunities for young people to make a positive and lasting impact across Alabama. Through partnering with Project Pulmonary, a nonprofit organization founded by Bettina Lee, Project Pulmonary is dedicated to raising awareness about the carcinogenic environments that firefighters are exposed to every day first responding. Their mission is to educate the public about the long-term health risks firefighters face and advocate for greater awareness and support for these brave first responders. Together, All the Same Alabama and Project Pulmonary are organizing a hydration drive for the firefighters serving your community. We work directly with local firefighters to coordinate the collection and delivery of bottled water and other hydration supplies. This initiative has already taken to Enterprise, Dothan, Montgomery. Yesterday we went to Homewood, and today we're in Birmingham. By the conclusion of our Birmingham drive, we have donated nearly 10,000 bottles of water, along with a variety of other hydration items to firefighters across Alabama. As we continue to grow, we hope to bring projects like this to even more cities throughout Alabama and beyond. Our goal is to continue serving communities, promoting equality, and helping ensure that everyone has access to the resources and support they need. Finally, on behalf of All the Same Alabama and Project Pulmonary, I'd like to sincerely thank the mayor and each member of the city council for partnering with us on this hydration drive. Your support makes this initiative possible, and we're grateful for the opportunity to work alongside your city in supporting the firefighters who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you so much. We are so encouraged when our youth take upon themselves to provide us with servant leadership. And so we really want to thank you for providing these resources to our first responders. We know how important it is for all of us to hydrate. And so I'm just excited that you took upon yourselves to bring this opportunity to support those who provide service to us. So thank you so much. Wishing you a great school year, OK? Thank you.

Madam President, that concludes the match report.

Thank you so much. At this time, counselors will return back to our agenda. And at this time we will consider the items that have been listed to be considered for consent.

Excuse me, counselor. I'm sorry. I have one item announcement of the mayor's board appointments.

Okay. Thank you.

This is just to announce that mayor Wolfen has appointed two members to the Birmingham airport authority. These are actually reappointments. The first person is Jennifer Reed Eggby. The other is R. Ashby Pate. And both of their terms will be expiring July 29, 2032.

Thank you so much. Councilors, if you will note those appointments that have been made by Mayor Woodfin to the airport authority, we congratulate these members for being reappointed and for the service they provide to the city.

Yes. Any presentations?

I'm so sorry.

Before we go to the rest of our agenda, this time, if we'll ask for unanimous consent to have the following presentations. And first, I'll start with Counselor Brian Gunn. Thank you, Counselor Gunn. And he has two presentations for us.

Good morning, everyone. One of the things that I believe is super important as a city councilor is that we don't just recognize accomplishments, but we recognize the people behind those accomplishments. So today, I would like to bring up Shannon Malcolm and anyone that is with her. Come up to the podium. No. Today we're honoring someone whose story is one of resilience, perseverance, and service. Shannon Malcolm's impact has been felt not only here in our city, but now across the country. Shannon has been selected as one of only three recipients nationwide of the Fair Housing champion award by the National Association of Realtors. That's an incredible honor. And it's one that reflects not only her professional excellence, but her heart for service and community. At this time, I'd like to read a portion of a resolution from the city council to Shannon. And then after that, I will allow Shannon to provide remarks. Whereas is the custom of this legislative body to take note and publicly acknowledge individuals who have distinguished themselves through their exemplary roles of service to the community and the city of Birmingham, the Council of the City of Birmingham is justly proud to recognize, commend them for their impact they have made in our city. Shannon Malcolm, whose leadership and service strengthen our neighborhoods, expand opportunities for our residents, and exemplify the very best of the Magic City. Whereas the National Association of Realtors recognize Shannon Malcolm for her outstanding leadership in fair housing advocacy, education, and community engagement, and for her unwavering commitment to ensuring that every individual is treated with dignity and afforded equal opportunity in housing. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Council of the City of Birmingham, with Mayor Randall L. Woodfin concurring, pauses in its deliberations to congratulate Shannon Malcolm for being named one of only three recipients nationwide of the 2026 Fair Housing Champion Award presented by the National Association of Realtors, and commends her for her exemplary leadership resilience, advocacy, and unwavering dedication to expanding fair housing and equal opportunity. Be it further resolved that we express our sincere gratitude to Shannon Malcolm for her dedication, service to the citizens of Birmingham, her steadfast advocacy on behalf of fair housing and inclusive communities, and for bringing national recognition to the Magic City. through her example of leadership, perseverance, and public service. Adopted this 28th day of July, 2026, at the recommendation of Counselor Brian Gunn. I ask for unanimous consent.

All in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Move for the resolution. Thank you. All in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Aye. All opposed?

Good morning, everyone. I want to begin by saying thank you. Receiving the 2026 Fair Housing Champion recognition is an incredible honor and one that I'm deeply humbled to accept. People often see the finished product, a beautifully renovated home, a family moving into their dream house, or a neighborhood beginning to thrive again. But what they don't always see are the years of believing in a community when others had given up on it or didn't know what to do with it. Almost 14 years ago, we started buying properties in historic Norwood, not because it was the easy choice or Not because it was an easy choice, but because we saw potential where others saw problems. We believed every home deserved another chance, and more importantly, every family deserved the opportunity to live in a safe, beautiful community that they could be proud to call home. Over the years, we have renovated more than 50 homes throughout historic Norwood, but this recognition isn't really about houses, it's about people. Fair housing means creating opportunity. It means treating every person with the dignity, respect and equality. It means believing that where someone comes from should never determine where they're allowed to go. It means opening doors, not just literally, but figuratively. For families who are building wealth, creating memories and changing the trajectory, of future generations. For me, this work is deeply personal. I know what it feels like to need a second chance. I know what restoration looks like because I've lived it. That's why restoring neighborhoods has never just been a business for us. It's been a calling. I want to thank everyone who believes the importance of fair housing. Thank you to our community partners, our fellow realtors, our clients, and to the residents of historic Norwood who welcomed us and allowed us to be part of the neighborhood story. Our work isn't finished. There are still properties waiting to be restored, neighborhoods needing transformation, and families searching for opportunity and communities that deserve to be invested in. I hope this recognition reminds all of us that changing a neighborhood doesn't always begin with a multimillion dollar development. Sometimes it begins with one family, one act of faith, one home, and one decision to believe that something broken can be made beautiful again. Thank you.

So thank you, Shannon, so much for all the work that you've done as a resident of the city of Birmingham and continuing to improve the Magic City. But I also want to thank you as a resident of District 4. So thank you so much for your work. Thank you.

All right. Thank you.

All right. The next up, we will have Birmingham Sister Cities. Can I get them to come to the podium? Every chance I get, I want to make sure that I take a moment to recognize and celebrate the incredible opportunities our Birmingham City Schools students have. A lot of times, we don't talk about these opportunities compared to their peers in other communities across the city of Birmingham. So I would like to have Marie come up and talk about this. Jennifer. Both of you, come up and talk about the opportunities.

I told her, like, you've got to be here with me. She is definitely heading up this effort. Hello, distinguished counselors, Madam President. Thank you, Counselor Gunn, for having us. We are Birmingham's sister cities. We are your volunteers on behalf of the city of Birmingham, exploring international, global relationships with multiple cities around the city of Birmingham. We just went to a conference and learned more about this organization and truly are the more enthusiastic the most enthusiastic we've ever been. This is peace through people and global connection. We cannot wait to send this new group of students. That's why we're here today. These wonderful scholars just attended Miles, and thanks to the City of Birmingham City Schools, Miles College, Links, and Sister Cities, these students will be going to Brace Global Citizen Diplomacy in Wales. And if you recall, Wales, in their community in 1963, took up a collection around their community to raise money to replace the stained glass window in 16th Street Baptist Church. We have a Friendship Act and celebrated that two years ago with Mayor Woodfin and counselors. And then last year we celebrated the 60th year of the installation. where John Pettis' son, Pitt's son, Mick Pettis, saw the window for the first time, and it was just a beautiful celebration. So we're excited to send these students to learn more about Wales, and then come back and tell us all about it. Thank you to Team Marie King, Justina Howard, Gwen Amamu, and the entire Sister Cities Commission, who supports these transactions. Thank you, City of Birmingham. And now we'll introduce our beautiful students.

Hi, my name is Ayanna Bishop, and I come from Huffman High School. Hello, good morning. My name is Madison Major, and I attend Ramsey IB High School.

Good morning, City Council. My name is Jeremiah Ware. I attend Huffman High School.

Good morning. My name is Taniya Gardner. I attend GW Carver High School. Good morning, my name is Shaquilla Comek and I attend George Washington Carver High School.

Good morning, my name is Valeria Ward and I attend George Washington Carver High School. Good morning, my name is Kennedy Jones and I attend George Washington Carver High School.

Good morning. My name is Raymond Young, and I am a senior at Jackson Olin High School.

Good morning.

My name is Usman Diallo, and I go to DPD Jackson Olin High School.

Perfect.

All right, thank you all so much. And I just want to remind my colleagues that this is something that we should all be proud of. It's a reminder that when we invest in our young people, we're investing in the future of our city. These students are serving as ambassadors for Birmingham, and I know they will represent us well. So thank you. That concludes my presentation.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Councilor Dunn, for presenting this group to us. To Jennifer, T. Marie, and the students, we're very excited for the opportunity that you have. We thank Sister Cities for what they've been doing. I don't know how many years. Did you say that they've been? It's been 1982. But internationally, it's been 70 years. Wonderful. So thank you all so much. We wish you safe travel and just great representation for the city of Birmingham. Thank you. And T. Marie was my classmate at Leadership Birmingham. 2023, best class ever. Thank you. All right. Well, we'll continue with presentations, and we have joint presentation by Councilor Crystal Smitherman and Councilor Darrell O'Quinn.

Thank you, Madam President. Would the members of the Yonder Walls organization come up to the podium right here? I don't know if they're here.

They are? Okay. I looked the wrong way.

And they'll be able to talk about this more. Councilor O'Quinn and I are supporting them. They are having a mural festival, which is a first of its kind in Alabama. It's a large-scale public art and music festival taking place on October 17th in the Birmingham's Parkside District. So they're going to talk to us a little bit about their organization and this festival. And we all know Hunter as well, who's a developer here in Birmingham. So take it away.

Hit the silver button there, that little panel. And when you see the red light, come on. There it is. There you go.

Okay. Thanks, everybody. So thank you for taking the time to hear about our event, which is happening October 17th at Urban Supply in Parkside. I'm just here to kind of give you guys an introduction about it. So I met these wonderful ladies who, with Sean Gilder, started an organization focused on bringing more public art to Birmingham, and I'm happy to help sponsor that. their festival, which will be, uh, here in Birmingham. And it'll be one of the largest installations of public art in one place in Alabama. So, uh, I'm going to turn it over to them to talk to you guys about what their plans are.

Good morning city council. My name is Levi, like the jeans and Jordan, like the shoes. We are Bendini's design company, um, out of Birmingham. We are a mural installation and sign painting business. And then we are the co-founders of yonder walls mural festival. So basically we got into a mural festival out of Oklahoma in 2022 and it changed our lives. It was truly like the most magical experience we had ever had. We got to paint next to folks that had half a million followers and learn from folks that have been doing this all over the country, really internationally. And so we asked the festival what they were doing and if we could join the team. And we spent the last four years working on this mural festival out of Oklahoma to learn exactly how they were doing this. They were on average putting up like $250,000 to $350,000 worth of art in a week. and dropping it in these cities. And as cliche as it was, it was truly transformative. And so seeing this happen over and over, we were like, what is your secret? So we joined the team. Jordan was the production lead and the development lead. We helped fundraise over $375,000 that went directly back to artists in Oklahoma. And so, yeah, we are trying to bring this to Birmingham and make it feel like it is Birmingham's own festival. And so basically some issues that we're trying to resolve, there's been over $300,000 in the last 15 to 18 months that have gone to artists out of state. And so we are really trying to let folks know that we have creative talent here within Alabama. We don't have to hire artists out of state. And one of the reasons I think that's happening is because we don't typically get to showcase our talent as artists. Most of the time, the murals that we get from clients, we are given like a branding package. We're given their message and you know, as artists, we're told you have to make your piece of art around our message. And so we just don't have full autonomy, which therefore we don't know the, like the talent that we have in the state. So we are highlighting specifically 75% artists from Alabama. 25% of our walls we're saving for first time muralists for folks that are trying to break into the industry. And then we've secured 26 walls all within the same block. So it's going to be a massive, the largest concentration of public art that will happen in Alabama to date. As of right now, we've received 60% of our final budget with financial support. Our title sponsor is Alabama Power. We've received Mike and Jillian Goodrich Foundation grant. We have a few other pending grants. And then, of course, we've received our walls from Hunter here. We've got in-kind donations from the Birmingham Museum of Art, Rev, BHAM, Good People, Culture City, BHAM now, WBRC. The Birmingham Museum of Art is going to host our Kids Zone on the day of the festival. The festival is going to be similar to the Block and Bloom party that happened, so it's going to be just a massive event. celebration, a lineup of music from noon until 8 p.m. We're going to have vendors, food trucks, and then the celebration of these 26 new large-scale murals that are going up.

I know that's a lot of information. Do you have anything?

I think something that we noticed when thinking about bringing it back to Birmingham is just that this is kind of how all of these, all of our neighboring cities got all of their public art, is by doing these festivals. It just gives the city a huge discount to come in and decorate the walls. We've seen it done in Atlanta multiple times. They have so many festivals that they do year-round. And so that allows them to get these huge, massive murals for anywhere from like $4 to $5 to $6 a square foot. Where if you were to ask me, Levi, a professional muralist in town, that starts at $25 a square foot. So you're already getting a huge discount. What we're doing is we're going to try to meet in the middle where we're going to pay our artists $12 a square foot. So we're still kind of supporting the creative community that we have in town. We're still giving them the paycheck that they need to be able to complete the project and to create quality work. So we're trying to sustain our creative community as a whole through this project.

And at $12 a square foot, that will put us at one of the highest, if not the highest paid mural festival in the country. So just as an example, Atlanta does not pay their artists at all. So we are trying to still support our creatives. Sorry, can I interrupt you?

No, you're good. Yeah, that's pretty, I mean, I feel like we covered most of it.

I would say outside of that, so throughout the year, outside of just the festival, we are going to have a mentorship program where we have 16 to 19-year-old teens come out, and we get to partner them with a professional artist. So again, it just helps them get career workforce engagement, We're going to have programming throughout the year. We've already done programming with Carver High School through the Birmingham Museum of Art, working with our ESL students. So this isn't just a one-time festival. It is an entire year of art engagement, art opportunities. We're just trying to create sustainability for the creatives that we have here in Alabama.

We should also say that we're just starting in urban supply as like a jumping off point. We already have so much economic development happening over there. There's already the walkability. So we're doing this as a huge like we can do it Birmingham. And then we want to travel to our other neighborhoods in town. So we want to continue doing this year by year, a yearly festival and stay in Birmingham, but travel to our different neighborhoods so we can continue to cover the city in art.

Yeah, the last two things I'll say. In Oklahoma, the last year that we did this, because we saved 25% of our walls for first-time artists, we had a 67-year-old woman paint her first mural. And to see that happen, she was a fine artist but had never had that opportunity. It changed her life. So again, we are just trying to bring these opportunities to our Alabama creatives.

Thank you so much. Also, again, to Councillor Quinn and Councillor Smitherman for bringing them. I know, Councillor Quinn, you probably have some comments as well.

Yeah, I'm really excited about this. You know, I'm thinking back to days when I was still a young councillor. One of the first projects that I did was a mural project with a local artist. It was a... public participation thing where folks came and we had a paint forum and it was a bit of an experiment, but I have some memories from that that will last forever. And so the other thing that I'm thinking about is how murals specifically have transformed, you know, sort of forgotten spaces throughout the city. So I'm thinking specifically about the mural alley and woodlawn, you know, some abandoned buildings. There's, you know, one on First Avenue North that was like a COVID, you know, mural kind of thing. You know, there's two gorgeous Flemish painting murals on Second Avenue, I believe, downtown. And just, you know, a number of others that just take spaces that, you know, are blank walls and, you know, create a reason for people to pause and, like, appreciate, you know, the place that they're in. So... I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THAT HAPPENING IN THE PARKSIDE DISTRICT AND IT POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO CLAIM IT. THIS IS GOING TO BE A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL PROJECT AND, YOU KNOW, already thinking about, um, the future and this being able to move around the city and transform, you know, spaces around the city. So, uh, thank you for taking, you know, the lessons that you've learned elsewhere and bringing them to Birmingham and, and really, um, doing the service, you know, to the people of Birmingham and helping to transform the city.

Thank you so much. Thank you. As you all were presenting, I was thinking about, and some of my colleagues have been in attendance, we attend the Just Economy Conference that's a part of NCRC, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. And one of the things is they highlight murals across the city. And I believe they've highlighted some that have been here in Birmingham. I'm just excited that you all are bringing this into an even bigger fashion to the city and I again thank my colleagues for making us aware of this and I'm very hopeful and I'm going to go out with Dr. O'Queen and say that this is going to be a very big event and so we really want everyone to learn that date again. Give us the date and the times. Saturday, October 17th.

It's the third Saturday in October.

All right, thank you. You're just ahead of classic, so you're not competing with that. We're very strategic. Very good. But I do want to thank you, and again, we just know the importance of art, and as you said, it can revitalize the community. As I passed along the city and seen these murals, and to think that you're also bringing in local Alabama artists, thank you for that.

Madam Pro Tem has something to say. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you all. Grassroot. Organizing is so important. So a lot of times when you leave an area where you've grown up in and you have to go outside to learn what the collective has done and learn what not to do and somebody's already done it and did all the work for you and bringing it back. I think people have a misconception a lot of times when you leave the city that we are bringing outsiders in. That's just not true. We're bringing the knowledge. you know, back into the community. So Birmingham has a lot of creatives like Jamon Hill. Representative Hendricks just unveiled a mirror over in Ainslie. One just got unveiled over on McHale Pine Rec Center. Then we have our very own Erica Chisholm who works in community development.

She's on our board.

So I really appreciate all of you. And I'm going to join forces because when two or three come together, you know, It happens, so I'm gonna join forces with my colleague, thank Councilor Smitherman and Councilor O'Quinn for lifting this up because I can see it, the transformation taking place all over the city. And just come on over there to North Birmingham.

Listen, we had to create an application in our Oklahoma festival because we were having Main Street programs reaching out saying, if you guarantee to come here next, we'll match $100,000 because we travel to new cities all across Oklahoma. So that's our goal is to bring it to the 99 Habits of Birmingham. Thank you all so much for your time. We will email you all our presentation and our sponsorship packages so you have an idea of where all we are. Thank you. Thank you all so much for your time.

Yeah, just briefly. Thank you, Hunter, for the introduction. I'm really excited. I remember the initial meeting when you guys told us about this festival and you know, it's so important that we support our arts. I do remember being younger and going, I think Sal's Furnace still has it, where you have the ability to paint, look at different artists work, and so I love the workforce development part. One of my close college friends went to art school, is now a director of a museum. Like people don't realize it's much more than just painting and so You know, I think a lot of us support the arts. With me, we used to be in Council Smith. She's not here with her, Bloom on the block. And so I appreciate you all for what you do, especially bringing something big to Alabama and replicating it. And I think a lot of good things are really coming out of Alabama. So colleagues, you know, Daryl and I, or Councilor O'Quinn and I are sponsoring it. If you guys want to join us, I really think it's great. So I look forward to October 17th. I'm excited. And District 6 first, too, as well. Thank you.

Thank you all so much.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. At this time, Councilors, we will return back to our agenda and we will entertain the consideration of items for consent. All items designated as consent are considered to be routine and noncontroversial and will be approved by one motion. No separate discussion of these items will be permitted unless a council member, the mayor, or a citizen interested in a public hearing so requests. If so, such items will revert to its normal place on the agenda order of business. All matters of permanent operation, they're indicated with a capital P, will be read. All other matters will be announced by reading the item number only. All public hearings will be announced. This time, Madam Clerk, if you'll give us the items that are being considered for consent.

Yes, ma'am. The consent agenda begins on page two with items one, two, three, and four. Page 3, items 5, 6, and 7. Page 4, item 8 and 11. Page 5, items 12, 13, and 14. And on item 14, at the line separate from the bottom, please note that that should be June 30th, 2027, and not 2026. Page six, we have items 15, 16, 17, and 18. Please note that items 16 and 17 were also recommended by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. On page seven, we have items 19, 20, 21. On page 8, we have items 23, 24, and 25. On 23, please note that this is not a hearing of interested parties, so we're going to strike off that wording on item 23. On page 9 we have items 26, 27, 28, 29. Page 10 we have items 30, 31, 32, and 33. Page 11 items 34, 35, 36, 37. Page 12, items 38, 39, 40, and 41. Page 13, items 42, 43, and 44. Page 14, we have items 45, 46, Page 15, we have items 49, 50, 51, and 52. Page 16, we have items 53, 54, 55, and 56. And that completes the consent agenda.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Counselors, are there any items at this time you'd like to have added or removed from consent?

Yes, ma'am, President. Yes, Councilor Smitherman. I would like to take off consent. I am 12, 13 on page 5. I am 15 on page 6. I think that's it.

Okay, that request by Councilor Smitherman was to remove items 12 and 13 from consent on page 5 and item 15 on page 6. Any other items, Councilors? All right, at this time, we'll entertain a motion and a second.

So moved.

Okay, this.

And the vote has started.

Okay, that vote should be up. All right, thank you. Those items that were considered for consent have been approved. And if you're here for any of those items, we will continue with the rest of our agenda. Madam Clerk, I would like to... Go out of order. And I'd like for you to bring up item number 15 first, please. On page six.

Okay. Item 15, page six, a resolution approving and authorizing the mayor to execute an opioid abatement provider agreement with urban alchemy through the opioid abatement program to provide the Birmingham Oasis open, accessible, safe, inviting spaces for, A fixed location outdoor respite site designed to engage individuals at highest risk of opioid overdose. Staffed by urban alchemy practitioners with lived experienced and trained in harm reduction, the OASIS offers low barrier access to hydration, snacks, Narcan, care coordination, and supportive engagement. The site includes shaded or heated infrastructure depending on season, public bathrooms, dog park for guests with pets, and consistent daily operations open 12 to 14 hours per day, seven days a week for a term of 12 months for an amount not to exceed $600,000.

And Madam Clerk and counselors, we could also consider item 12 along with item 15. So Madam Clerk, if you read item 12 as well on page five.

Item 12 on page five is a resolution approving and authorizing the mayor to execute a ground lease agreement between Daniels Development Group LLC and the City of Birmingham under which Daniels Development Group LLC will lease approximately .21 acres located at 600 3rd Avenue, North Birmingham, Alabama 35203 to be used by the Department of Unhoused Strategies as an outdoor respite for unhoused residents of the city for a term of three years subject to appropriation by council at a rental fee of $1,388.89 per month for a total amount not to exceed $50,000.

All right, thank you. Can we have a motion on those two items so we can get those presented? No, we don't need unanimous consent. We just made up. Motion for both items so that we can consider them just to bring them up. So I have a motion. Do I have a second?

Second.

Thank you. All right, Councilors. These two items are regarding a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement for Urban Alchemy to provide this OASIS project. And, Councilor Smithman, you asked that we move this from consent. Would you like to go ahead and have the administration to... provide an explanation or did you have a question?

Yes. Any presentation on it as well? Thank you.

Yes, ma'am. Good morning, Madam President. Good morning to the entire council. It's good to see everybody as Ms. Elena Melton and her team and any other presenters with her make their way up. I just wanted to set a frame of what you'll hear this morning. As you know, this conversation is not new. A few months back, we had a conversation about OASIS, the why of that, the use of opioid funding, et cetera, et cetera. Post your vote as we continue to move forward. Things didn't work in the direction we thought for that actual site. We actually feel that was a blessing in disguise, and it's allowed us to go back to the drawing board. spent a significant amount of time of just starting over, as well as taking feedback from you all from the last presentation related to this topic, which included public safety. It also included sanitation and how We would keep the site clean as well as management of the site as well. All these things were taken into consideration. So from our internal teams and partners to our external partners, this has been a very intentional process of how we got here today. We had the opportunity to present to the budget of finance yesterday because Part of this approval is for funding, and of course, funding sources to opioid settlement. Legal can answer any questions related to the use of those funds. They're no different than last time, so the same legal threshold holds a few months later. But I do, as I yield the mic, I do want to set the frame of the why this is important, and just a refresher. No different than housed residents have spaces and places that they hang out. Our unhoused residents have places and spaces that they hang out as well. They tend to be on public right of way. They tend to be in front of small businesses and they tend to be in other places. And while we receive all type of calls for services, we feel that, like other cities have done, creating a daytime shelter, a place for unhoused residents, gives us a couple of things. One, it actually gives unhoused residents an actual place Two, it's what can happen here to build rapport, to build trust, to get unhoused residents to actual service providers. Walking up to them, walking up to an unhoused resident simply on a corner or a street doesn't necessarily give you immediate access or trust to get them to open up. But if you can create a space and provide services, create a space that's very intentional about sobriety then you start to build a rapport you need to get residents, unhoused residents, to the actual services that they need. And so we have a presentation. It will probably be a minimum of seven, eight minutes. And then we can open it up for questions from the council. Ms. Milton.

Thank you, Ms. Milton.

Thank you, Madam President, members of the council. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for that wonderful introduction. I'm Elena Milton, and I serve as the Director of Unhoused Strategies here for the city. And we're here, as the mayor said, to talk about the OASIS operational agreement, as well as the land lease. Just a couple points to make. We're joined by a whole host of folks. We have some of the Urban Alchemy team, Ida Gilbert, Director of Operations in the chamber, but also their leadership is on with us virtually. Mr. Marcus Daniels, the property owner, who's allowing us to potentially lease the spaces, joining us virtually. We have a host of providers, Ms. Kelly Green with Food for Our Journey. We have Ms. Sherry Bray from First Light joining us, and also Nicole Boomhover, and forgive me if that's anyone I forgot. On yesterday, we were also joined by Gordon Sullivan, who leads our continuing care and he could not make it today. Just a couple notes also leading into this project we did do some community engagement especially we really spent time around the site right the church located close and the way station who also couldn't join us but who sent a letter of support today I think that's really important to note. We've also been going around the perimeter. The HART team has already started cleaning and engaging and letting folks know this is not a place to linger in hopes that we can get folks used to services being in the area. So what is the Oasis? It's a day shelter that's been said over and over again. It's an outdoor day space that will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. It's a place where folks experiencing homelessness can go to just be and exist, as the mayor said. It's a place that connects with services and providers. We'll talk about that more in a moment. It's a place for outreach beyond this location, a place where our service providers can establish community. And I just want to park there for a moment. Urban Alchemy is on the agenda as the operator. But this contract is bigger than this one space and it's bigger than Urban Alchemy. This contract is how do we all rally together to help our community. So they'll operate the space and keep it clean and safe. But we've already and they've already started outreach to other agencies to say that this is a safe space for all of our agencies. We've heard the cries of where do people go when we close. But I want to park and say one, we're working on that coordination. Additionally, it's a place for people to go when the shelters close in the daytime too. I don't think we talk enough about where do people go when the shelter's closed. So it is an answer for the daytime activities. And then lastly, the Oasis is a place of engagement. Research shows that it takes well over 20 touches for a person experiencing chronic homelessness to take any one service. And so by having a space that people can go every day and seeing the same people We hope that we escalate getting those 20 touches and hopefully getting people housed sooner. One of the charges the mayor gave us with the funding that you guys approved was that all roads to everything that we do need to end in housing or getting people housed. And Oasis will be that place, one place, not the only place. It's just a tool in a toolbox. It does not... It does not discredit the amazing work that's being done already by our providers. We just want to do it in concert with them and give them another tool in the toolbox. I want to talk a little bit about why Urban Alchemy as the operator. Almost a year ago now, you guys approved the use of $1.5 million in opioid settlement funds. During that time, you guys approved us funding agencies like Firehouse and 4-H, Love Lady, the Reentry Alliance, and others. This was one of the contracts in that list. You guys challenged us, and we've made some changes, and we've revamped. We do have a little synopsis of what those agencies that we did fund, what they've been doing over the past several months. You should have a copy, but just in case, we're going to provide some more copies of that. Also, we chose them as a provider. Actually, a separate panel I was not a part of chose the agencies that we recommended to be funded. They were the only agency that submitted for a day shelter, a space like this, and it was an answer to some of the, challenges that we've seen, the complaints we've gotten from businesses, house residents, you all, why are people just hanging out at the gas station? So we hope this will be an answer. We also want to have an answer for folks who say, I don't want people lingering in front of my business. We hope that the business community will see that this is a step toward us supporting economic development as well. So why this site? This site, located at 600 3rd Avenue North, it's right behind the Waste Station, another project that you guys allowed us to invest in with capital funding. It's about two blocks from the firehouse shelter, and that's why this site. The mayor referenced it's an answered prayer because the previous site meant folks leaving those two shelters had to walk a considerable distance And so now they don't. When the shelters close that day, they have a place to go that's safe, that's very close to them. But also it's important to know, and Mr. Daniels is on if there are questions for him, when he heard about the last project, he reached out to us. And I tell you, nothing feels better than being wanted. When you represent the most vulnerable in our community, to have someone to reach out to you and want to help every step of the way, that's been a welcome change. And then I want to talk a little bit about safety. One of the big questions that you guys had for us was how are we going to keep the site, the community, and the folks who come for services safe. And so we've had several meetings with our Birmingham Police Department, our chief, and our D.C. patrol, and I believe D.C. It might have stepped away. I'll do a safety plan. So we've been talking to the police department and Urban Alchemy's team about what safety looks like. So on site there will always be trauma-informed staff to help people who are in mental health crisis, experiencing homelessness, or quite frankly just having the worst day of their lives, which is often where we meet people. We will have 24-hour surveillance and cameras and signage. Per the recommendation of our fire and police chiefs, we will have a blue light emergency phone. That will be really important even when the shelter is not open. So now people in that area have a way, and a lot of our community, they don't have cell phones. When they need help, they can get help. for free. We've talked a lot to the Waste Station about this being something for when their clients need help as well. And then the reason that we're here, to see a decrease in opioid use, deaths, and overdoses. So this will be a space that will teach harm reduction. You'll see on another slide we have a number of providers who will come and provide resources around opioid and substance use issues. And we've also partnered with some medical providers as well. Everyone who enters the space will have to sign in like any other shelter and they will be asked to leave and or ban or permanently discharge depending on if there are any behavior issues. Next slide, please. So I want to talk about programming. Last time I stood before you, wraparound services was the number one topic. And I'm really proud of how our community stepped up, how our team is led in this space. These are some pictures of some other OASIS that Urban Alchemy operates. And here are just some of the services. They will provide case management, but we're also providing licensed social workers. It'll be that every day. Monday through Friday from 8 to 5 in addition to the Urban Alchemy staff. There will be life skills and I mentioned peer report recovery service. We will have ID cleaning. Right now that's tentatively set to be once a month. Where do people keep their things, especially when they have doctor's appointments? interviews, we've talked to people, and I failed to mention this, in our community engagement, folks with lived experience have been very important to get their perspective. And they want lockers, a place to keep their stuff safe. They don't want to have to haul everything they own into their important meetings. There will be a public restroom. People don't have to use the restroom outside. They'll have a place to handle their personal business with dignity. There also will be meal services. Food for Our Journey will deliver meals twice a day. There will be a dog park, a safe space where folks can bring their pets, and smoking will be allowed. A lot of these things seem like simple pleasures that we enjoy, but if you're unhoused, a lot of these things are just not easily accessible to you. So on the next slide, we'll talk a little bit more about the specific, and I won't read this. You guys already have it. These are all of the providers who have said they will provide some service. And on the next slide, it's the calendar. So this calendar is how every month will look. We have almost the same number of providers that was on the previous slide that we've started having conversation with. And I want to be real clear, we're not asking providers to do anything that costs them a dime or additional resources. We're simply saying if the OASIS is for everyone, it's for everyone. Is there a service that you already offer that you need a space for? Is there a service that needs to be remote? Or is there a service you think we're missing and you already have the capacity to do? And that's how we build this list. And so then I want to talk a little bit about funding. It's already been well stated that the primary funding source for this is the Opioid Settlement Funds for the operating agreement. I do want to make one note. The $50,000 for the ground lease is coming out of general funds. Per the recommendation of our city attorney's office and outside counsel, it was not a good use to legal, an allowed use to purchase or lease property using a settlement fund. So we're looking to do that out of the general fund. So the total investment for this first year would be $850,000. Approximately $200,000 will be for capital investments. Everything on the site will be removable. The most expensive capital investment will be the fence around the property. We've obtained the permission of the property owner. The fencing will be a little bit more expensive because of the location. We're only zoned for a very specific type of fence. The other capital improvement would include the lighting by alerts because there was a safety concern on the 3rd Avenue side of the property. We don't want any cars to jump the curb or injure anyone. And then the emergency phone. Again, as the mayor has stated, the use of opioid settlement funds for the operations is an allowable use and it has been approved by our council and outside council. As in regards to ongoing sustainability, our thought is after a year, this is funded for a year, and we have proof of concept. we would be proud to come back to you guys and say, hey, this is something we want to continue. Equally, we'll be honest if it doesn't work. We also hope that the burden lifted off of the private sector will be tremendous, and maybe this is an opportunity for public-private partnership. I do want to note and thank Councilor O'Quinn for challenging me yesterday to talk a little bit more about the cost of homelessness. We don't talk about it enough, but we immediately start pulling how can we quantify how much it costs for those 911 calls that dispatch police and fire. We have been working with the police department and Urban Alchemist Heart Team, our 311 team and 911, to find out how much we have saved by sending heart in as opposed to police and fire. So that's a work in progress. But also, how many times do we pull a DPW crew from their sites because we closed an encampment and now we need to clear it? Or people just moved on and they left their things. So how do we begin to talk about the cost of homelessness? And while I don't have that number, I'm fairly certain that $600,000 for a year, seven days a week, 12 hours a day, pales in comparison. So thank you, counselor, for that challenge. And so lastly, we have a timeline. It's real quick. We hope to... pending what happens today, begin securing the space, acquiring the fencing and the lighting with the goal of opening the space early fall. If I have even 30 seconds, of all the people that are here with me, there is one young lady I would love for you guys to hear from, and that's Christy Payne. And her words will be the last words. Hearing her talk about the need for a space like this helps me get the courage to stand before a crowd like this. So I yield to Ms. Kirstie. Excuse me. Hello.

How are you guys doing? OK. I'm just going, I'm nervous, I'm sorry. Yeah, the Oasis has really helped me out. You guys, you know, I didn't ask to be homeless. I didn't wake up, I don't want to be this way. I get up every day, try to go to work. It's hard out here. Not having a place to go take a shower and worrying about where you're going to get the sweaty off of you. You know, different things. What's people going to think if I go into work and I got the same clothes on? You know, where do I wash? What do I do? That's a lot of mental exhaustion. You know, having to run around Birmingham to try to find somewhere to go get these things done. I get off work sometimes four, sometimes six. You know, there's nowhere to take a shower. You have to go into a bathroom just to wipe off. I mean, that's embarrassing. You know, it's really downgrading. You know, it makes you less of a person. Maybe you can feel that. But, you know, I still try to hold my head up and I keep going. You know, there's different places that I've went trying to get help to get housing. You know, you can't do it when you're trying to come up. I mean, you can't just, I mean, it's hard out here mentally.

Thank you, Kirstie.

Thank you, Kirstie. And with that, I'll yield the floor. I will note that D.C. BALACLA is in the back up there. I know there were questions before about safety.

Madam President.

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Melton. Mayor Woodfin.

I think it's time for the remaining part of what's needed from the administration. We can engage through question and answer form.

Yes, thank you very much. First, I'll start with Councilor Smitherman since you asked this to be removed.

Is her name Kirsten?

Kirstie.

Kirstie. She referred to the OASIS, so is it open now? Where is she taking a shower now? Yeah.

She's been having to go other places. I think what she was trying to say once before. Oh, Urban Alchemy has been helping you.

Yeah, the Urban Alchemy. That's good. The heart. Okay, awesome. Yeah, they've been helping me out, you know, with like clothing and different things, you know. It's been hard out here.

Yes, ma'am. And I thank you for your bravery for giving your testimony today. I know that took a lot. And I really thank you for still keep moving forward with finding a job Trying to find housing. I really appreciate you, honestly. So I guess my first question is, have you spoken to the Neighborhood Association about this?

I have not. We have asked to get on the next agenda. And to be honest, because it wasn't residential, we focused on the businesses and everybody around. In conversation last week, we actually started reaching out to get on the next agenda just so they know what's going on and they ask their questions as well.

Okay, so that's interesting because that's kind of out of order because usually when we get projects, the neighborhood association is spoken to first and then it's given to us.

We didn't do that for Central City, did we? We probably should have. Actually, something of this nature to communicate with them is fine, but it doesn't require their approval as it relates to the leasing of actual land for an oasis. There's literally nothing residential around here. It doesn't mean that we're not going to talk to them, but this is no different than what y'all voted on last time. We didn't engage central city neighborhood either.

Well, I'm not talking about item 12. I'm talking about item 15. Just the programming and the activity of it because it still affects them. That's like saying people who live in apartment complexes don't interact with all types of residents. I'm not asking this to be combat. I'm just asking a question. I just think it was warranted to go to them first before y'all came to us. But I do have other questions too. Where would individuals go when the OASIS is closed?

Yes, so we are going to start talking to, we began talking to the shelters in the area so that we can coordinate. Here's the thing. The OASIS will be occupied by human beings who will have choice and we will make every attempt when it closes to get them to the shelter. We've been talking to Urban Alchemy team about you know, before they close, like let's know when every shelter closed, what's their process, and let's try to get people help. However, it's just like, When the shelter closes in the daytime, if they don't come to us, we can't make them go to us and take the resources. But we will make every attempt, which is why we wanted to put the licensed social workers on the property so they could work with folks every day and literally walk through their housing plan. Because maybe emergency shelter is not for them. Maybe they need something more long-term. And so we will be able to walk with them consistently through the housing process.

So will we provide transportation for them to go to those particular shelters?

The Heart does already offer transportation, so that is absolutely an option.

OK. I know you're on work with the other shelters, but if I remember correctly, a lot of them don't have space for a lot of individuals, and they turn them away. So what's the alternative when that happens?

Well, that's just it. The Oasis did not exist. The same question would happen when shelters let out. This is two questions. When shelters let out in the morning, where do our own house residents go? Well, we know some of them go all type of places. Well, in this case, the question is inverted. What happens at night? Some of them will go to shelters. Some of them don't want to go to shelters. Some shelters will be full and they will still need beds. But the truth is the city of Birmingham is still working through that. I mean, there are literally not enough beds in our city. And I think... In our time as a mayor and a council, we work to expand more beds, whether it's firehouse shelter or, most recently, with the Jimmy Hill mission, we continue to provide resources for additional beds. But I think we all know and can agree there are not enough beds. So we can't determine where everyone goes. OK. Madam President, whoever is speaking, can you

We are in the middle of a business meeting, and so if you would allow the council and the mayor and administration to conduct and have those conversations. Thank you. Thank you. No, sir. Thank you.

Okay.

All right.

So how can we prevent tents from being on the oasis in the surrounding area?

Yes. Tents is actually... We have a draft ordinance that we are continuing to engage council leadership when it's appropriate to present to the full body related to encampments citywide, whether it's our parks, city right of way, et cetera. I think on this site, it's easy. It's the city of Birmingham site that we're leasing. The owner doesn't want tents on there. The service provider is not going to allow tents on there. So we'll just enforce no tents on the site. But anything adjacent or approximate to the site, I think if and when this ordinance exists, that's an additional tool we can use well beyond proximity of this site citywide, particularly on our public right-of-way and our city parks.

Okay. Because I believe, was it San Francisco that ended up with a problem with people having several hundreds of tents and they got out of control to the point they couldn't manage it. So I just want to make sure that doesn't happen. I'm not saying it's going to happen. I just don't want this to happen. I guess I'll ask just a couple more. How will we measure the effectiveness of this project? What are our benchmarks for it?

So great question. One, you guys have received the year-to-date of the heart report. So we'll have something similar to this that Urban Alchemy provides. But also, again, going back to having case managers and social workers, we've asked for a report. And then the third is we want to particularly track any opioid-related activity. So did someone get treatment? How many times was Narcan? So our opioid outcomes will be a big part of it.

OK, let's go ahead. So how will we handle if I know you have a certain amount of staff insecurity, if we need to increase that because the numbers you thought would be on the Oasis increase, how will we address that problem for the need for more staffing?

So currently the capacity is about 75. Um, I think that's an issue that we'd have to look to address in the next fiscal year. it's just like any other shelter. Our capacity will have to be our capacity based on what has been allocated right now.

Okay. Um, and do we have any other existing day shelters in the city?

So, yes, Pathways operates a day shelter for women. And then many other of our shelters, First Light has opportunities, I'm sorry, Firehouse, for folks to come in. They operate, they have lunch and snacks, and there are times where people can take showers, but not a prolonged day shelter. And then we also have three days a week with... Faith Chapel care center.

Okay, so it's not something like a prolonged day shelter.

Okay, that's a little bit not currently Oh, and I felt to mention of Churchill the reconciler also opens a day a day shelter Four days a week and then us on Sundays for service.

Okay, and you said there's a representative for food for our journey Is that correct? Okay. I also have a just concern with them because this is over more in district 6 and district 3 I know they serve this food over in Near brother Brian part and etc and I've gotten complaints ever since I've been in the office about food for journeys Servicing the residents which there's nothing wrong with that. But what happens afterwards there's trash etc How will we make sure that doesn't happen over here on the Oasis as well?

So well, I'll ask the first part and then I'll let her address the site There is a separate drafted an ordinance that we would love the council to entertain as well, but we will move at this point.

We haven't talked about it publicly.

You can go on.

No need. That wasn't towards you. I can't hear you. That wasn't towards you. No worries. Okay, so we do have a draft to help that out.

Okay.

I just know we haven't talked about it yet. That's why I asked. But the draft does exist.

So we know that this is something we've been considering as a council. Go ahead, Mayor and Councilor. Thank you.

Ms. Milton.

So at other OASIS sites that Urban Alchemy operates, and this also gets to one of your earlier questions, they take care of the property around their property. So it's part of the community engagements. One of the pastors in the conversation talks about people not only loitering, but trashing the church parking lot. So they've already been in and around there, starting to pick up litter, engaging folks, letting them know you got to clean these spaces. And so that's the same thing. People will need to eat inside the Oasis. and throw their trash away inside the oasis. And I will say that's one of the really cool things about having a space like this is that it gives operators like Kelly a dedicated space to go and know that it will be clean when they're done.

Okay. And I want to thank both you and Mayor Woodfin for answering my questions. I do think, you know, this is a good idea to have a prolonged day shelter And just being a business owner downtown, I do interact a little bit more with our unhoused residents. I see them and I see them in need, ask for food, asking for help. And, you know, I think having a space for them and a safe space, making sure it's safe, I think will just kind of reduce any concerns we've seen with business owners having them. in their doorway. And a lot of times they're just trying to cool down or trying to find a safe space to sleep as well. So I think that's all of my questions. Thank you.

Thank you. You next, Counselor. Counselor Williams.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Ms. Felton, for your presentation. The second time that we tried to do this, y'all provided a staffing matrix for us. Is that something that you have That you could provide.

That part did not change, but we'll rescind that. There will be four practitioners per shift, and additionally, and D.C. BOACA talked about this a little bit, engaging our CSOs, and we will also provide a licensed social worker, so that's six people at all times, in addition to those folks providing the programming that we mentioned.

Well, now, remember the last time it did not have a licensed social worker? It did not. And the name practitioner means what?

That is the name for their staff, for our alchemy staff. The licensed social worker is not coming from... From their staff, yes. We've been working with this, I mean, to build this up as a community resource. So this will not be, it's not a part of the contract. This is a totally separate social worker that we'll dedicate in this space.

And where's that headcount coming from?

Everything else in the headcount is coming from the staffing plan that we presented to you guys, but we'll resend that.

And then where's the social worker coming from?

So, again... As a part of a safety plan, we have dedicated police officers who engage folks experiencing homelessness. We're also working to put social workers with them who are trauma-informed, who can handle the severely mentally ill. And so they will have a shift at the OASIS.

OK. So it's coming from BPD's budget, then?

No, it's not coming from BPD's budget.

OK. Where is the social worker headcount coming from?

So we've been, I don't know how literally I'm allowed to say, but in partnership with the health department, as a part of this team, we will also, we've been bringing a grant for social workers and peer support, so folks with lived experience with opioid addictions. We have an MOU between our office, the police department, and the health department to put folks in the spaces where we know they're needed in the community.

Okay, so they'll be coming from the health department. Correct. The social worker. Okay. And then the staffing matrix that we got previously, so we're using the name practitioner. What qualifications do those people have?

I think that's a question for the urban alchemy team if there's a way to, I don't know who might want to take that question.

I see we have someone on the screen.

Madam President, could you, I guess, share with those on the screen to speak to that question or repeat the question for them?

Yes, thank you very much. Are you all able to hear us? I know you are on the screen. Do we have someone? I think everybody seems to be muted. We do have one that's unmuted. If you will ask the question again, Ms. Melton, or Counselor Williams.

Yeah, sure. So the staffing matrix indicates that there are practitioners. Practitioner indicates a degree and a licensing. What is the degree and licensing that the practitioners have to handle specific, since this is opioid money?

And we see on the screen is FM. It gives some indication of who's responding.

Madam President.

Yes.

I think most of us tend to isolate the word practitioner to license. but there's a conjunction that has the word or. It's also a specialized skill that I don't have, that they have, not only from lived experience, but actually being on the ground, being trained in this work, and then years of experience actually engaging those who are in the house. So I just want to make that clear. Practitioner is not isolated to an actual license. It also means a specialized skill.

OK, thank you. All right, that is all the questions I have. I still have the same concern over the use of opioid money for this. And this is a question. I guess that's all the questions I have about the operations of it. I will say this. The first time and second time that this was presented to us, there seemed to be what I would consider an extreme lack of wraparound services. This third time that it's been presented does actually have an indication of some wraparound services. If the staffing matrix remains the same from the second presentation, then I still have concerns over the staffing matrix. But that's fine. Those are my concerns. As you all know, I don't feel like this is appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. But my question over the opioid settlement money is the Attorney General's Office indicated to all municipalities that they should submit their proposed use and active use of opioid settlement money to the Attorney General's office. Is that something that we have done for this project?

So, yes, in general, we have submitted what these funds will be used for. And as I went over with you all, those approved uses, this is in alignment with those approved uses.

Now, I just asked about if we've submitted it. I don't know if it's approved. Are you saying the Attorney General's Office came back and indicated it was an approved use?

So based off of what we did present to the Attorney General's Office, we did receive the funding through the settlement litigation.

Gotcha. Okay. Thank you. All right. Thank you. And thank you, Elena. I appreciate it very much.

All right, thank you. Councillor Vassa.

Thank you, Madam President. Three questions, two related to the budget. Director, hello. Thanks for the presentation. Could you explain where the budget for the build-out will come from? As I understand, there's $200,000 that will be a capital investment. Can you speak to the funding source on that?

Sure. We've been working with the Office of Capital Projects to do that.

Your question is the funding source. The general fund from this year's budget that started July 1, the $3 million for unhoused strategies. Okay.

Thank you for that. And then I did hear your point about year-to-year funding for sustainability, that the $600,000 per year, if found effective, given metrics and outcomes, etc., that it could be something that could be funded year to year outside of just receiving public funding. Can you talk to us a little bit more of what public-private partnership might look like?

Yes, so in other cities, not necessarily Oasis, but other projects, when there seems to be a lift on the business sector, the private sector, they've gotten involved. Cities like Philadelphia, for example, the local downtown business community has been very active in supporting projects with its workforce development. creative initiatives that's keeping people from sleeping in the doorways of businesses.

And I misspoke. I apologize. I received a note, so I need to clarify this on the record. The actual capital build-out is deferred maintenance, not the $3 million.

So deferred maintenance is where that $200,000 would come from? Correct.

And there's a deferred maintenance budget that already exists. Thank you.

And the last question related to building and sort of the funding piece is the property would not be owned by Oasis but would be leased by. So just wanted to get an understanding of that agreement as I understand that lease agreement is three years, is that correct?

Yes, sir. Okay. The contractual lease agreement is between the City of Birmingham and the owners. Daniel Property, what is it?

Daniels Property Group, Marcus Daniels, again, the property owner.

The property owner who is out of state is online as well if you have any additional questions.

Thank you. That's good there. And then my last question pertains again to the community engagement piece. Director, I know you spoke to this, but I just wanted to clarify, have business owners that are directly adjacent to where this property would be located, they've been reached out to, they've been spoken to, and we have letters of support from all of them?

So we didn't do letters of support. We did signatures when we did the one-on-one meetings. There are no for-profit businesses right there, but everybody in the immediate block all around have been contacted. And so now we're spreading out to those other businesses, just letting them know. I'm sure, like I said, the HART team has been there. They've seen the increased engagement, but they have not had a conversation with us. We're starting to go out of the immediate block. Perimeter, but right around yes, I mean signatures That was only about four groups So it only really required about four signatures the only letter support that we got like I said It was from the weigh station because they couldn't be here today And they asked just to be clear when we when we met folks we wanted them to know what was going on, what was the details of the project, and signing saying that they got their questions, that we answered their questions. Support started to just kind of come in organically as people heard that this item was coming before the council yesterday and today. So thank you to our providers who've just been showing up to show their support and submitting letters.

All right. Thank you, Director. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you very much. Madam Pro Tem. Thank you, Madam President. Elena, I want to just give you just overall how you have been in the paint and have really worked extremely hard. I got a chance in 23, was it 23, that we traveled to California to visit Urban Alchemy, their whole operation. in how things, you know, they were doing things there from, you know, from the call center. Then we had the opportunity to go to the Oasis, where the property, you know, was given to the mayor to develop the Oasis. But I also want to continue to challenge my colleagues in order to, I just feel like in order for people to really see how things work, you gotta go and you gotta do some site visits. So you can really see this is a tedious thing to attack. I live directly across the street from the Salvation Army. I've worked directly with Alaina. I worked with the mayor, with this abandoned Suncoast service station. that we have worked tremendously hard to keep clean. Worked with Urban Alchemy about three weeks ago. Young lady and her son, several people were out there. They pulled up, called Artie, no problem, we coming. Got the young lady on the bus, sent her back to Huntsville. And I see this movement every day with people transitioning in and out to Salvation Army. And And the bottom line is we do not have day facilities in Birmingham. You know, we commend people like the firehouse. I commend Patricia Todd for doing the work that she's done. I commend everybody in this space for doing the work that they're doing. And so I think we've had some conversations. I think I've sent the mayor maybe like some, some texts or some things that I've seen in other cities where they open up. I don't call it transitional housing. I call it safe housing because what I do know is people that get into this work, they see dollars. They really don't see the person as being human. They begin to start counting bodies. This is how much I can make on this person. Then we have these systems that are in place. like our Alabama Department of Correction, that releases people that are coming out of prison, mentally ill, drug addicted, then you got all these problems. Then as I was exiting off 6th Avenue, exit yesterday, and I'm going to talk about the Alabama Department of Transportation, who is doing a terrible job not lighting up the freeways. But I see tents everywhere. Tents all under the underpath of the freeway. Now I'm reminded of maybe some years ago when somebody set a fire up under a freeway in Atlanta. And you can't even get these people to come do basic things of clearing out these sites. But everybody wants, where are these people going to go? Public safety starts with us all. business owners, community members, everybody. We got to have some sympathy and some empathy. I don't even see that from people. He said, what are we going to do? Everybody want to lock somebody up. What are they going to do when they get out of jail? They come right back to the streets. So where's the medium the balance in all of this. When we go get the solutions and we bring them back, then everybody want to push back. So where's the balance? The business owners, everybody got to come to the table to rectify this problem. But again, thank you for the hard work that you have put in. Thank Urban Alchemy. THANK EVERYBODY, FIREHOUSE, ALL OF THE PARTNERS, EVERYBODY COMING TO THE TABLE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

COUNCILOR QUINN?

THANK YOU. SO I AM THE COUNSELOR FOR THE DISTRICT THAT THIS SITE WILL BE LOCATED IN. I SUPPORT THIS PROJECT. I THINK THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, AS COUNCILOR TATE JUST SPOKE TO, THERE ARE reasons of, you know, empathy and humanitarian, you know, considerations for doing this project, but I want to set that aside completely. I think if you look from a just cold hard facts, dollars and cents, from a financial analysis point of view, this is a good investment of taxpayer dollars because homelessness is not free for taxpayers. You gonna pay me now? Are you gonna pay me later? And if you choose to pay me later, you're gonna pay five times as much. People who are living on the street have a much higher rate of engagement with first responders. So it takes police officers out of service from taking care of other public safety needs. paramedic units out of service for being at the emergency room. And oh, by the way, if they're admitted to the emergency room, taxpayers are paying for that medical care. If they have to be admitted to the hospital, taxpayers are paying for that. So there's a wise man that once said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And this is exactly that situation. Nobody, you know, gets out of this on a free ride. You're going to pay now or you're going to pay later. And if you choose to pay later, you're going to pay a whole lot more. So just from my experience, financial analysis point of view, and I know you guys are going to compile some numbers for us, but just based on things that I've read, it's just like crime prevention in general. I have some old numbers. I used to have a data sheet on my door of my office that talked about how much the cost of each homicide costs taxpayers. And this is like an old number, but each homicide costs taxpayers about a million and a half dollars. It's probably twice that now. And this is the same type of situation. If we can prevent And let me just give out a shout out to BPD right now because the work that they have done over the past year is saving taxpayers millions. And I look at this through the same lens. I think there are a lot of... big-hearted people in this metro area, and it's apparent just by the charitable giving that you see in the Birmingham metro area. But again, I wanna just, I wanna acknowledge that, but set it aside and say, this is a wise use of, taxpayer resources, because in the long run, it's going to save a lot of money. I just want to put that out there.

Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Quinn.

for your presentation and all the work that you have done up until this point. I'm reminded of a saying from a notable citizen of Birmingham. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. And we're at a point where we can't afford to do nothing. We can't be afraid to think outside of the box when it comes to tackling our unhoused crisis. that we have in the city of Birmingham and so we have to do something. Whether that something works is yet to be determined but at least do something and I'm super excited to see that we are doing something. As a municipality it is our responsibility to care for every citizen in the city of Birmingham not just those that are housed. And so I'm excited to see that we are making headway on this. I do have one question before I end. How would individuals know about the OASIS? So how would we get the word out?

That's a great question. Again, through engagement, so starting from the moment this passes, being able to say to folks who are already kind of hanging around close to the space that there will be a safe space that's coming really soon. Also, as we work with these providers, letting them know that this is a space for your folks who need a place to go to where Just like the mayor said, very similar to folks who are house residents, the word will spread that there is a space that you can go just to basically be able to use the restroom. The word will get out, but we're absolutely depending on partnership with our providers to let folks know that the Oasis is here.

Thank you. And just one last comment. Again, I want to thank you for the work that you're doing, the city of Birmingham is doing. I know since I've been on this side of the day is that people will criticize you when you do something, and they'll criticize you when you don't.

So keep up the good work.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Council Gunn. Council Wood?

Thank you, Madam President. Quick question on the finance piece. I heard you mention that. the lease funds couldn't come from the opioid source. Where are we pulling that from?

From the $3 million allocation that you all approved for unhoused strategies. So the general fund.

Yeah, I will say, like I said, this has been a growing issue, I think. I've seen, began to see more feedback from residents on the eastern side of town around unhoused population and kind of what are we doing to really move people ultimately to permanent housing, transitional, but ultimately to permanent housing. And so we've been able to increase our investment in this space over the years. So I'm optimistic. One, just get an opportunity to kind of get data. I think if we can find some solutions that are effective, we can kind of start to move this thing in a better direction. Kind of observe, I think, the significant trust issues. I think you talk about that a lot, but we've been able to kind of see that in real world. And I mean, it makes sense. Somebody just pulls up and tells you they want to take you somewhere. You're not going to be as receptive to that. Creating some safe spaces to be able to build those relationships. I think the data piece is going to be key. Being able to track that and point to yay or nay, is this impactful or not. I'm big on being able to pilot things prove concepts um you know and if effective we can find additional ways to invest in it but like i said excited about the opportunity to see it in action in birmingham and see if this is something that can be effective for us thank you thank you counselor woods um i do just have one question director melton um yesterday i did ask so i know the answer but i just want for transparency

during budget and finance, part of the presentation you included was the scope or the map of where this would be located and the surrounding businesses or people that were close. And you had several churches that were in there. And I believe I asked at that time, what had been your sort of engagement with those primary businesses or churches? And had you had some communication with those?

particular neighbors that would be involved there. Yes, ma'am. So we started there because there is one church in particular that's very, very close. And the feedback was really good for Pastor Caldwell. So I thank him for spending a tremendous amount of time with us. And what we've learned is the number one issue around the unhoused was the amount of trash and littering and loitering. And the next day, the heart team was out there cleaning up. And we've got pictures, and since then, that has continued to go on. Just being good neighbors, yes, we would be responsible for this by the land, but that entire community, how it looks and feels for the folks that will be on the other side of that gate is important, equally important that our churches in the area And our house residents in the community, even though they're far out, know that it's a nice, safe space that people can go. We have heard that there are increased, this increased loitering around Sundays. And so, one, this spot will be open on Sundays. But two, we know now from police patrol as well as the HART team, we need to increase our engagement. And that's not the only church we've heard that from. And so we want to be real intentional to offer them that support as well.

I'm glad that you gave that information because one of my concerns was, I believe I asked, what were the hours of operation? And I was concerned about just the churches and Sunday and people coming in and out and what would be that traffic and what would that be that experience. So thank you for that. I do want to thank you for the work that you're doing, for the work that has been done since the last presentation. I know that we voted at that time to support and had overwhelming response that made that not go into effect. I do want to thank the property owner that brought this as an opportunity for us. And I think it gave us an opportunity for lessons learned during the last presentation and the last time we considered that for the work that went into it to try to answer those questions. I do understand the concern. about being sure that we're good stewards of not only the settlement that we got from the opiate funds, but for the money that we have in the general fund for assistance of our unhoused strategies. I just have to think, often we have items that come before us that are meant to make money for people who are investing in a project. Sometimes we don't see this in the help and the aid to our residents. So for this type of a project, I'm excited that this one segment we will be able to help. It is not going to be the most perfect. But again, it is a start to where we want to go and what we want to see for the people in the city of Birmingham. So I thank you. At this time, if there are no other questions, councilor?

I have just a few more questions. you were talking about the trash and et cetera. It made me think how many trash cans will be on site and around the area.

So I don't know how many will be around the area. Um, but inside we've been working with DPW and they've suggested because of the potential volume that we have a roll off and they will service, um, the staff will clean and empty, but DPW will service and we're working to get a roll off.

Okay, good. And then, um, Do you mind repeating the timeline for this project? I know it was in your slides, but can you repeat it?

So the goal would be, of course, to continue community engagement from the moment we leave here, just making sure we meet with the neighbors. The longest thing in the timeline will be how long it will take to put the fence up. So in a perfect world, we would open early fall, so in October.

OK. I'm not sure if you mentioned this, but when it gets cold, will there be heaters on site? There will be heaters. Okay, good, good, good. Okay. And then last one, did you ever say the number of businesses you've engaged since you started? I did.

I did. I said there are no businesses in the immediate, so we focus on what's right around. And now we want to just start going outside the perimeter where there are some for-profit businesses in the area. So you don't know how many? We have not. It begins with the for-profit businesses in the area.

And what's the name of the business owner? Who's the business owner again? Which one? For the lot that we're purchasing from.

Oh, Marcus Daniels. Marcus Daniels. He's still on the call if there's a question for him.

Yeah, because... I just got information he's not really the owner, that's why I asked. Again, who is the owner of this lot? Okay, so are you the only person that owns this lot? Okay, that's fine. Thank you. Like I mentioned before, I think this is a good idea, and I'll say it myself, I need to do a better job of asking questions because we can have good ideas, but if we don't ask the questions and make sure the logistics is right, a good idea can sometimes fall by the wayside, and that happens from something as small as a family reunion to something as big as a development project. So I don't want it to appear as a lot of questions means not really in support. It's just making sure that things go well. And I do really appreciate you, Elena, because you have helped me recently with the situation with our unhoused residents. And I think what this project is really about investing in people. I think Madam President talked about we invest a lot of times in infrastructure, but it's the people that make up the city and not just the infrastructure. So thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions, councilors, or comments? Thank you, Director Milton. We thank you and everyone that has answered questions. And thank you, councilors, for the series of questions that we had regarding this particular item. At this time, Madam Clerk, we're ready for the vote. The vote has started. I'm yes.

That's not working either. I'm a no. All right.

That vote should be up.

All right. Thank you. So, counselors, items 15 and 12 pass. Next item.

If we go back to the beginning. Yes, we can go from the beginning. Thank you. All right. On page four, we have item number nine. which has been requested to be withdrawn by the mayor's office.

All right. Thank you. Item nine is withdrawn. Okay.

The next item on page four is item 10. an ordinance approving and authorizing the mayor to execute an interlocal contract, accepting a grant of $462,500 from the Jefferson County Board of Health for development of parks to provide sustainable industrial residential buffer zones as proposed by the city and in accordance with conditions set out in this ordinance and in the agreement presented to this council for approval This is an item of permanent operation, so we'll need unanimous consent first.

Second.

Council Member Gunn.

Aye.

Council Member O'Quinn. Aye. Council Member Smitherman.

Aye.

Council Member Vassa. Aye. Council Member Williams.

Aye.

Council Member Woods.

Aye.

President Pro Tem Tate.

Aye.

Council President Alexander.

Aye. Okay, now we need a motion on the actual item. All right, thank you, counselors. This is an ordinance approving and authorizing the mayor to execute an interlocal contract where we're accepting a grant of $462,500 from the Jefferson County Board of Health for the development of parks to provide sustainable industrial residences. residential buffer zones, and those have been proposed by the city in accordance with conditions set in the ordinance. Any questions regarding this item, or do we need any type of presentation regarding this item?

Just one question. I know the answer to this is on budget and finance for us, but which parts would benefit from this?

I have to pull that. I'm sorry, Madam President. Yes, Chief. I know they were mostly around the affected area of the interstate because the settlement from that lawsuit was the caveat for this, but we can provide that. But I think they're mostly in the north Birmingham area, the central city area.

Okay. I just wanted to say it for the public, but I do remember that.

Thank you. I was trying to think. Harriman, Macklin.

Fairmont.

And Fairmont. Okay. Thank you. Fairmont. Thank you very much. Any other questions? Okay, we're ready for the vote.

Okay, that vote has started. And Council President Alexander.

And I'm an I. Thank you. Having trouble with my iPad.

All right.

All right, thank you. That item passes. Next item.

The next item, we will go over to page 5, item 13. Item 13 is a resolution approving and authorizing the mayor to execute a funding agreement between the City of Birmingham and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham. under which the RPCGB shall assist the city with applications for federal and state grants, provide multi-jurisdictional planning for comprehensive land use, corridor and strategic development, provide long-range programs and planning including urbanized area and greenway plans, RPCGB shall assist the city with GIS data development, analysis, and deployment assistance for a term of one year and amount not to exceed $128,403 for the services provided. So we need a motion, please. Seconded.

All right, thank you. Councilor Smitherman, you're asked to sign it to be removed from consent.

Yes. What are the locations of the urbanized area and greenways that will benefit from this? It says in number three, provide long-range programs and planning, including urbanized area and greenway plans.

I'm trying to find it in the attachments, but I believe that it's still something that we negotiate with the RPC since this is our yearly funding agreement with them. So, you know, as they convene as a commission, they assign different projects within the scope of Birmingham and other municipalities that pay into that system.

Okay. I just didn't know if that was, like, for existing greenways or...

It's past and future projects.

Past and future, because I know... there's been discussion around vacant lots and seem to turn them into greenways, for example. And so I didn't know if that was something we could look into into different parts of the city, just trying to see how to repurpose them instead of them turning into old grown lots that have been really a burden for all nine districts. Um, okay. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other questions regarding this item? We're ready for the vote. Okay. The vote is started. All right, thank you. Item 13 passes. All right.

The next item is on page 8. It's item number 22. A resolution consenting to the industrial development Board of the City of Birmingham issuing up to $10 million principal amount of its industrial revenue bonds for the purpose of financing the acquisition, construction, improvement, equipping, and installation by Colton Holdings LLC of a manufacturing and warehousing facility located at 1811 Woodlands Industrial Drive, Birmingham.

Motion.

All right, thank you, councillors. This is a resolution consenting to the Industrial Development Board of issuing $10 million in principal amount of its industrial revenue bonds. Any questions regarding this item? Councillor Quinn.

Yes. Do we have a member of the Industrial Development Board here to speak about this item? Hi.

Yes, ma'am. If you give us your name, and then we'll let you answer the question.

Yes, absolutely. My name is Edward Gall. I'm with Bradley Aaron Bolt Cummings, serving as bond counsel to the IDB for the financing contemplated in the resolution before you. And we are the... proposal is to issue bonds on behalf of Jeff Colton. And those, the bond proceeds will be used for the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of a trade show booth manufacturing facility. So if all of you can picture in your head, like, you know, when you... I didn't think of Iron Man, you know, the big weapons displays they had. It's not what it is, but somebody builds those big expo booths. And Jeff Colton has been in Birmingham for about 30 years now. And so let's say he has to build an exhibit for a particular company. That exhibit then goes on the road. And it travels all throughout the country. And eventually it's going to come back to Birmingham where it's going to be refurbished. It's going to be continually, I would say, manufactured and bespoke for the next trade show that is coming. And in order to do that, you need a lot of manufacturing capacity and you need a lot of warehousing space. and so what we're trying to do here is provide Jeff with just that and the IDB is going to issue bonds on his behalf and under the IDB's certificate of incorporation it says that the IDB cannot lease, improve, expand any sort of real or personal property constituting a project underneath the statute 11-54-80 without the prior consent of the And so that is why we are here today.

So will the $10 million, will the IDB own the facility? Yes, that is my understanding. Okay, and so what is the IDB's total bonding capacity?

That I do not know the answer to. I know that underneath, what do you mean when you say bonding capacity?

Well, what I'm getting at is, you know, let's just say the IDB's total bonding capacity is $10 million.

We are authorized to issue up to $10 million in bonds. Okay, so...

CONVINCED ME THAT THE INVESTMENT OF $10 MILLION IN THIS FACILITY IS APPROPRIATE USE OF THAT BONDING CAPACITY VERSUS WHERE $10 MILLION COULD BE INVESTED ELSEWHERE.

Right. So in reality, the IDB is not investing $10 million in any way. That is not what this is. This is a conduit financing through which the proceeds of the bonds are secured and payable solely from lease payments that come from Jeff Colton. And so ultimately, it's going to be coming from Jeff. So the lease payments are going to come from the revenues of him just you know, ordinarily running this business. And realistically, there's nothing, there's no liability on the part of the city. There's no liability on the part of the IDB. It is a lease-backed revenue conduit arrangement.

So maybe I misunderstood earlier. So the IDB is just financing the project for them. So the IDB will actually not own

So it's a lease back? The IDB owns the property and it's going to be secured by a mortgage, which will serve as collateral for the duration of the debt service in paying off the bonds.

Okay, now I understand. I got you. So did Colton Holdings reach out to the IDB to solicit this sort of assistance?

So actually, Mr. Colton has done this before. He did this in 2009. And so the deal that we're putting before you today is essentially the same as it was in 2009. The only difference in 2009 is there was a federal tax hiccup that was applicable post-2008, which is not applicable here, which involves federal guarantees. But we have a letter of credit that's going to come from CB&S Bank that is going to – serve as backup collateral for the bonds, and then we have a confirming letter of credit that's going to come from Wells Fargo to even serve as greater safety net for debt service payments. And so at the end of the day, there's just all that we are asking for, and that comes from the IDB certificate of incorporation, is just the consent to just CONTINUE.

I UNDERSTAND. ALL I'M ASKING FOR IS TO CONVINCE ME THAT THIS IS AN APPROPRIATE USE OF THE IDB

resources so um does this project have the backing of uh say like the the birmingham business alliance yes that's the back of the birmingham business alliance and we have been in conversations with the state uh and we are waiting on confirmation of a scheduling for the state industrial development authority to convene so we can get state bond allocation for qualified small issue manufacturing bonds and so we've been you know working on

OKAY. I WOULD LIKE A SO THE ONLY INFORMATION THAT WE GOT IN THE AGENDA WAS THE RESOLUTION, THE TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE ITEM SO WE DON'T You know, part of the reason that I'm asking these questions is because the structure of the deal wasn't part of the information that was shared with us. So I would appreciate that.

Yes, and I did provide a project summary. Whether or not that was conveyed to you all, that is my apologies. There was an exhibit. Yeah, I'll make sure that that gets sent to you all after.

There was an exhibit as part of the resolution, but it's mostly a description of the property. So...

NO, THAT WAS THE EXHIBIT WAS JUST LIKE THE LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF THE LAND. I HAVE AN ACTUAL PROJECT SUMMARY WHICH OUTLINES A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR.

I'D BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATIVE IF YOU'D SHARE THAT WITH US. I'D ALSO APPRECIATE IDB SHARING THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING WHERE THEY CONSIDERED THIS ITEM.

Absolutely. I did share those as well in advance of this meeting, so I'll have to make sure that gets to you.

Okay. That didn't make it to us, so I appreciate it. And, you know, part of the reason that I'm asking about this is that, you know, We have a lot of businesses in the city of Birmingham. And historically, not everybody has had equal access to the type of capital that's required to expand and grow a business. So been on the council now. nine years. I think this is probably the first time that the IDB has come to us to, you know, ask for consent. You know, I may not be remembering previous.

No, and it makes sense that you are not because this is, this used to be a much more common method of financing back in the day, but for reasons, you know, beyond my knowledge. It became less popular, and they have been becoming more popular again lately, these qualified small issuing manufacturing bonds that we're talking about. And I know Ben Spratling, you know, counsel of the IDB, has given me the full gambit of history on bond financing through the IDB as it was before. I cannot speak to, you know, why there hasn't been in the past 10 years, but I do know that it was previously a much more common method of financing.

Yeah, so I'm learning, you know, and I'm happy to learn that this is, you know, a potential tool that we can use for economic development in the region. So I'm also curious, you know, the... I asked about the IDB's total bonding capacity. You mentioned the IDB is authorized to issue bonds up to $10 million.

For this particular financing, as to its total bonding capacity, I'm not sure that there's a limitation. I would have to look into that.

Yeah, so that's information that would be helpful. I DON'T THINK THERE IS A DAY THAT GOES BY THAT EVERY COUNSELOR SITTING UP HERE DOESN'T HAVE A BUSINESS OR AN ORGANIZATION THAT IS REACHING OUT FOR SOME TYPE OF ASSISTANCE. LIKE I SAID, ACCESS TO CAPITAL HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE. JUST FOR OUR OWN EDIFICATION THAT WOULD BE USEFUL INFORMATION. I MEAN, PART OF OUR ROLE AS COUNSELORS, MAYBE NOT EXPLICITLY STATED IN THE MAYOR COUNCIL ACT, BUT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, POINTS OF CONTACT BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY and resources. That's a position that we find ourselves in every day. And so, you know, having, uh, an inventory of resources that we can direct people to, um, is helps us in our work. So, you know, if you could assist us with getting that, um, type of information. Oh, absolutely. Appreciate it. Thank you. Happy to. Thank you, Dr. Quinn.

Any other questions? Yes, Councilor Woods.

Thank you. Just some clarity on the status. So at this point, they have only bought the property?

So, yes. Have they spent any funds towards the project? What had initially been the plan... was to directly use bond proceeds to purchase the property. But what happened was is we were having some delays with our tax due diligence. Because of that, I don't want to bore you all with federal tax law, but in There is a 2009-2010 law that made it to where you could issue bonds with a federal guarantee without blowing up the tax exemption that comes with these types of bonds. So it's not 2010 anymore, but Jeff did it. Jeff issued these bonds. The IDB issued these bonds in 2009, so it fell in that timeline. So what we had to do was figure out, okay, well, we can't get a confirming letter of credit from a federal home loan bank like we did before because that constitutes a federal guarantee. And so we had to allow for some time for CB&S Bank and Wells Fargo and and other parties involved to figure out, okay, what are we going to do instead? And so that's where Wells Fargo is going to come in as confirming. But in order for Jeff to proceed with purchasing the old EBSCO building, he needed to go ahead and buy it. And so CB&S came up with an idea. They said, okay, we'll provide a temporary bridge loan. And then the bond proceeds can go to then refinance that bridge loan. So it's effectively still being funded by bond proceeds. There just had to be some extra steps in between so that we could you know, make sure we did everything that we needed to do.

Right. Can you talk a little bit about the liability? Because you were saying...

There is no liability on the part of the city in any way, shape, or form. The bonds are secured solely from lease payments that Colton Holdings will make to the IDB. And those lease payments are going to be derived from the revenues that come from the project.

Right, my question is more so in terms of liability associated with the IDB.

Right, so the property that would be secured by a mortgage on the property, and then the lease payments will actually be supported by a letter of credit from CB&S Bank. So to the extent any lease payments cannot be made, those lease payments then come from the bank. And actually, there is going to be a confirming letter of credit to further assure bondholders and to assure everyone that everything will get paid. Wells Fargo is going to come in behind them And support. All right.

So the property would be a part of the collateral that the IDP, who's holding the collateral? That is my understanding, yes, of the project. Well, I'm saying who does it revert to in the case of a default?

In the case of what now?

A default. Oh, I believe it reverts back to the IDP. So the IDB would own this property and have to...

I don't want to speak at a turn here. I'll have to confirm that myself.

Yeah. And I've got a separate issue in my district associated with a similar situation that went a different route, but...

am interested in clarity around the downside, like what happens if, because it's also... From my understanding, that is virtually none to minimal, short of the business just not doing well. I don't really think there's much downside that comes because... Well, I mean, that's the downside I'm talking about.

If the business is... doesn't sustain or has some issue.

No, I understand. This is an expansion of the existing business because it is so successful and because it is doing so well. The entire reason we're doing this financing is so that he can expand his space to meet the needs and capacity that he is being asked for.

Right, but I'm saying these are, what's the term on these bonds? I believe it's 20-ish years. Right. So, I mean, we just don't know. So, I'm just saying in the event that there is an issue, I'm just trying to get clarity on specifically what happens in that instance. Right. In that scenario, it's going to...

Thank you, Councilman.

I'm out of turn, but I just wanted to state that so typically what will happen is if there is a downturn in this business... The letter of credit that the bank holds will then pay for the bonding so that there is no downturn to the IDB. The bank secures the bond payments or mortgage payments throughout the 20-year process with the letter of credit. The negative would come from a relationship between Jeff, or whoever the person is, and the bank. Because then Jeff would then owe the bank to repay the bank for their letter of credit that paid for all of the bond payments for that 20 years, is my understanding of how that would work, should the business become insolvent for any reason and not be able to make those payments. That's exactly right. Does that make sense?

There's a letter that basically says, so the bank would end up taking the property. They would continue the lease payments on the property. Oh, yes. There will be a credit agreement in place to affect that. Okay. And so I guess, has that agreement been done, or where is that in the process?

It's being drafted currently in the same manner as it was in 2019.

Sorry, I'm just trying to make sure I didn't overlook that in the agreement. If anybody else has a question, you can come back to me.

Thank you. Any other questions? All right. And you're saying that information was included in the attachments that we have? I'm sorry, what information? The information that Councilor Woods was asking. What are you looking for?

Yes, I mean, I think... Ultimately, just clarity on the bank providing a letter. So if there is some sort of letter of intent to do that or indication that they've agreed. Because I think to Counselor Quinn's point, this is a tool that we can use locally to bring in economic development funds. And whatever we lend that capacity to is diminished by, in this case, $10 million. that can't go to something else, but I'm comfortable with it if the bank is backing that and committing to ensure that the bond payments are paid in full through the term of that bond, but we don't have that here. Do you understand what he's saying? I don't think so. Do you have a letter of intent from the bank or the bank agreeing to back?

Also, what we have is documentation from the bridge loan, which expires come October 26th, which means there has been a bridge loan put in place that's entirely premised upon the hope that this bond issue can happen, which means that nobody is... nobody is doing anything that they don't fully intend to commit to because they've already entered the phase one portion of this so that Jeff could just buy the property without having to wait and prices go up and all those things. And so there's no risk that that aspect of this will not occur.

Right, but I'm saying after that point, so... Once they sell the bonds, they're going to pay off the bridge loan. And so the bridge loan will be paid off, and that will happen prior to October of this year. And so my thing is you're saying that the bank is guaranteeing the lease payments through the term should something happen with the business of the project. And I'm just asking, where is that reflected? Do you have that letter? At what point would that be?

I can certainly provide all of that to you, absolutely.

So that's kind of where I'm interested in, just making sure the liability is not on the IDB.

Yes, the liability is not on the IDB, and I can provide documentation to support that, absolutely.

If I could ask administration, thank you for those questions, IEO or economic development, in asking for these items that were in the packet, Can we request these or were these provided to us?

So the administrator had no insight on this. So the IDB acts separately apart from the city. So I think it's just between the IDB and us. All right.

Yes, Administrator McDaniels.

There are some additional attachments in the packet. They're misnumbered.

If something looks like number 19, that I think should be 22. Thank you. Do you have copies of those, or we can refer counselors to that? Because thank you so much for bringing that up. And I think it's mislabeled as 19. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. Yes, ma'am. We apologize for that. Thank you. So, counselors, if you could look at those.

It should be in your contract packet. Keep going.

For anybody who's looking, that's page 263 of our packet.

But it has the Project Expo summary at the top.

Yes.

And that gives some of those information. And then the... which is identified as page 119.

How long will it take you to get that letter of intent, like basically the bank letter?

I'll send it to you when I get back from the office. You have it? Do what? You have it already? I don't know if there is a letter of intent or I don't know if there's I don't know what specific documents you're looking for but I can certainly I guess the point like the liability is going to rest with somebody and so it's either the bank or the IDB and you're saying the bank and so we just want yeah I'm asking just for yeah no I can send you the bridge loan documents you can take a look at those and see if I don't know that why would that be in the bridge loan document Because the bridge loan is the phase one portion of this financing to support the bond. So the bank is signed off for the entire project.

Typically, the bank is typically a bridge loan is going to go away once it's paid off. Correct. It'll be paid off with the bond proceeds that that come from this bond issuance. Right. And so, I mean, I'm representing the public side. And so I'm talking about down the road. You understand what I'm saying?

I honestly don't because when the bank issues the bridge loan, you know, that financial analysis is done so that they can issue the letter of credit because the bonds can't be issued without the letter of credit. And so the individual's already been deemed credit worthy by the bank that's securing the bonds with the letter of credit. So I don't know where we're going with this.

Yeah, so I guess the point goes back to if they're unable to make the lease payments.

Then the bank takes it through the letter of credit. The letter of credit guarantees the lease payments.

But I'm saying, is there a letter of credit? Does that exist, or is that something you're going to get?

So that is currently part of this deal. Everything gets closed on the same day, the letter of credit. You know, there's probably about 50 plus documents that come with the transaction that is this complicated and of this size. And that will all happen simultaneously. So we do not have the full credit agreement for you yet. What I have for you is the plan, which is nearly identical to what was done in 2009. of which to my knowledge, a debt service payment has never been missed for counselors included in the packet.

We do have some items again that were labeled as 19 even though this is item number 22 and I do see some of that communication regarding the bridge loan and the attachments of the IDB. that's labeled item page two and three that does describe some of this information. Yes, ma'am. And now we need to take a few minutes to allow you all to review.

Yes, I mean, that's what went to committee, that document. Like I said, I don't know that we have everything, but I don't see anything that suggests that the bank is engaged beyond the bridge loan being paid off.

Any other questions, counselors? How are you sitting with this as far as getting more information, Councilor Woods?

I mean, I don't know if there's any time-sensitive element to this. I don't think it's creating an issue. We delay this a week just to get that out. If there is, you know, the bank is already on board with this, that's basically what I'm looking for is just some confirmation that somebody's backstopping.

I can absolutely assure you that the bank is on board with this. We engaged Stiefel as underwriter through the last IDB meeting. That was one of the actions that we took to hire us as bond counsel and, you know, steps we're drafting right now. We've engaged with regions to serve as trustee on the deal. We have pretty much, honestly, a great framework laid out due to the fact that this deal was done almost identically in 2009. And so I can certainly provide you with everything that we need, but I do know that this is something that we would like to get done fast to the extent that we can.

All right, well, I'll move for a one-week delay. If you can pull all that together, then we can sort it next week.

Second. Second.

All in favor, let it be known by saying aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

All right, thank you. We'll have a one-week delay on this item, and we just want to be sure we have clarity. for you to provide us with the items that are being requested so that we can get those before the council to consider during that week.

What specific items are we looking for? So I understand, is it a letter of intent to issue a letter of credit?

Is that the, yeah, there's some commitment from the bank that there'll be backstop in the 10 million.

Is that understandable what we're looking for?

Okay.

letter of commitment to ensure that the bank is backing the...

Right, just where, like, yeah, I mean, because I'm being told that the liability is not going to rest with the IDB, so just making sure that that is covered.

Understandable? Understandable.

All right, thank you. Awesome.

Thank you all so much.

Thank you. This item 22 is delayed for one week. Thank you very much. Next item.

That is the last item on the agenda.

That was the last item on the agenda. Thank you very much. At this time, Councilors, we will turn our attention to your updates regarding things going on in your district. So, Councilor Smith, do you want to start first?

Yes, I'm president. Um, thank you to everyone that joined us last Thursday at Arlington house for the community forum in partnership with Brenda Brown, bosom buddies, uh, join council with taking on this Saturday, August 1st, from 10 to two for peace on the block. Um, we will be meeting at 1200 Tuscaloosa Avenue, food vendors, mental health resources, and more, and then get fit while you sit. We are still continuing through the last Monday in September. The class starts at 9.30 at Crystal Ray Birmingham High School. And also, I want to tell Madam President, happy belated birthday. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Councilor Vassa, are you ready?

Thank you, Madam President. Our D3 school supply pop-up is this Saturday, August 1st, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Bessie Estelle Park. We will distribute supplies at Bessie Estelle Park in Glen Iris. We are inviting families from Epic, Glen Iris, and Avondale Elementary Schools to come pick out their school supplies for the upcoming year. And there will not be a Redmont Park neighborhood meeting tonight that has been canceled. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you so much. Mr. Quinn, you ready?

Yes, ma'am. Fountain Heights Neighborhood Association meeting has been canceled for this evening. Crestwood North Neighborhood Association will meet tonight at 6.30 p.m. at Girls Incorporated. And I just want to, again, sound like a broken record about this up here, but the annual District 5 health fair will take place on Saturday, August 8th, 9 to 2 p.m. at Parker High School. Again, we're... Proud to partner with the Alpha Phi chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated to make the event possible. I want to say thank you to those guys again. over and over again. They were out canvassing the neighborhood in Smithfield yesterday afternoon, going door to door, passing out flyers, which we haven't had the capacity to do in previous years. So it's tremendous. So the health fair is going to offer free health screenings, community resources, back to school supplies, blood drive, backpack giveaways, school supplies, free food. It should be a fun time. So you guys come out and make plans to check it out. And again, that's August 8th, 9 to 2 p.m. Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. O'Quinn. Councilor Gutt?

Thank you, Madam President. These are my announcements for this week. This Saturday, we'll be hosting the District 4 Conference Back to School Splash. It'll be a free community event designed to bring families together before the start of the new school year. So we invite residents, all residents in District 4 and the city of Birmingham to enjoy an afternoon filled with water, fun, music, food, and back to school giveaways. We will also, during that time, it'll start at 11 o'clock, so we'll have an hour dedicated just for our seniors. in the community to come out and enjoy aqua aerobics in the pool without kids around. So I want to make sure that everyone comes out and attends that. Neighborhood Association meetings coming up. The first Monday of this month, which is August the 3rd, we have the Maple Grove Neighborhood Association meeting, which takes place at 6.30 p.m. via teleconference. We also have on that same Monday, Zion City, which takes place at 6.30 p.m. via teleconference. Also on that same Monday, we have Brownsville Heights, which takes place at 6.30 p.m. at the Brownsville Heights Community Center. And lastly, on that Monday, we have Collegeville, which takes place at 6.30 p.m. at Greater New Antioch Baptist Church. Also on the first Tuesday of the month, which is August the 4th, we have the Fairmont Neighborhood Association, which takes place at 6.30 p.m. at the North Birmingham Library. And rounding out next week, we have Brummett Heights, which takes place August the 6th at 1 p.m. at the Brownsville Heights Community Center. Upcoming committee meetings, we have the next neighborhood, I mean, community development committee meeting scheduled for Monday, August the 3rd at 3.30 p.m. right here in the city council chambers. And that concludes my announcements.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Madam President. Dolomite Neighborhood Association meeting is tonight at 6 p.m. They meet on conference call. You can call 720. 843-2669, the access code is 3789-426. As it has already been stated by Councilor Quinn, Fountain Heights Neighborhood Association meeting is canceled tonight. Central Pratt Neighborhood Association meeting will be held Monday, August 3rd, 6 p.m. at the Howard Sanford Park, located at 320 Avenue D, and that's in Pratt City. The next public safety meeting will be today in the council chamber. I also want to also talk about and highlight Peace on the Block. We're locking down Tuscaloosa Avenue again. I want to thank my partners, Councilor Smitherman, D5, Urban League, Offender Alumni, and all the vendors that will be out here. So the Peace on the Block is our annual event that brings resources and bring people together in the community for wellness resources, music, vendors, food, youth activities and family fun, and mental health resources. We're looking forward to this event. It's going to be at OAA at 1200 Tuscaloosa Avenue from 10 o'clock to 2 p.m. Also, Dr. Jamila T. Davis and the Community Safety Department is going to be doing an activation at One Prep Park, 205 Game Changers. Those were the 50 students that took the Rise Up program at Miles this year, so they're going to Activate the park tomorrow from 11 to 3, and that's going to be at One Prey Park. So the kids are going to lead that activation. So they'll do the youth leadership, wellness, sports, resources, sort of be an array of things. So you have Restore, Community Safety Department, and Dr. Jubila T. Davis, who heads the RISER program at Miles College. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you very much. These are announcements for District 7. I do want to note, Councilors, that tomorrow we do have a special call committee of the whole Administration of Government Affairs Committee meeting. That's tomorrow at 3.30 here in Council Chambers. On Saturday, August 1st, the District 7 office will be teaming up with Grace Club, CDC, and the Roosevelt City, and the East and West Brownsville Neighborhood associations. This is the third annual community resource fair and book bag giveaway. So there are many opportunities for you to get your children ready to go back to school. That will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Roosevelt City Rec Center. We'll have plenty of free school supplies. There'll be bouncy houses, free limited haircuts, and free food. The book bag giveaway that's being part of this that's being sponsored by District 7 that will be until supplies last. So get there early so that you can get there for all those items. And we're happy again to partner with Grace Club, CDC, and the three neighborhood associations to bring this opportunity to our residents. On Monday, August 3rd, the Grisela Heights Neighborhood Association will meet at 6 p.m. at Bryan Chapel AME Church, and that's at 3125 Spalding Street Southwest. If you have any, want to report any illegal dumping or missed bulk trash pickups, please dial, make that known to 311, or you can dial 205-254-6314. And on behalf of Councilor Smith, I would like to announce that on Saturday, August 18th, she will be partnering with the Joint Town Hall with Representative Trapp Travis Hendricks, and that'll be at Sardis Baptist Church at 6 p.m. We don't have any other announcements at this time. We'll alert our attention to the speakers list. Madam Clerk, as you call the first speaker, I just want to remind our speakers, after your name is called, If you'll please come to the podium, and if you'll give us your name and address, and there are monitors to my left and right. They'll be counting down your time. You do have three minutes, and we want to entertain any communication you want to provide to the council at this time. So, Madam Clerk, if you'll give us the first person on the speaker's list.

The first name we have is Laquan Jackson.

Good morning, Mr. Jackson. Good morning.

My name is Laquan Jackson. I reside at 1236 Riverford Drive, Hoover, Alabama. I'm glad to see you, sir. And all of you councilmen, council ladies, for what you guys do in the community. The Bible says that in the... In the presence of council, there is safety. And you guys definitely do a good job of making us feel safe. Now, this is provided. I'm a New Yorker, so. I'm probably getting the back story, but I know Birmingham has been good to me. I came here running for my life from New York City. And Birmingham embraced me, educated me. I'm a Miles College Go Bears. Since then, I've served Birmingham solidly. If you ever see all those black people on bikes riding around bicycles in Birmingham, that's my group. We're called Team No Breaks. We've rode on every neighborhood from Avondale to Hoover, from Homewood to Gate City, and it's been nothing but love. We stopped in the most worst neighborhood y'all could think of, and those people embraced us. changed tides for us, gave us rides. So sometimes I see on the media what they say about Birmingham, and that's not what I see. I see love. So recently I've invested in a gym on the south side with three other people. It's called Five Points Fitness. I thought it was in Councilman Quinn's area and Lady Smitherness, your area. So I didn't do the traditional way. I think I reached out to you on social media. And I just wanted to come here to show you my face and let you know that we are here to serve you. We're here to give to you whatever you need. You have an army behind you when it comes to my group, Team No Breaks, as well as the gym. Thank you for everything that you're doing in the community. Are you over... Are you over the transportation? Yes. Yes, sir. OK, thank you for the bike lanes that you give us. It has really helped us out as the best that it can. As far as them seeing us, we see enough. They give us six feet. They even now start honking and cheering as we get out the way. Sometimes you hear and get off, get out the way. But sometimes you also hear y'all keep going. So I just, again, wanted to take the time out to thank you. I look forward to working in your area, ma'am. And y'all keep doing what you do. God bless.

Thank you, Mr. Jackson. You do look familiar to me. I think you were here with the group before with the bikers at one time. And you told us your story. So I thank you for not only being grateful to the city of Birmingham but reinvesting in it through your business. So I wish you much success with that. I always look forward to seeing, when I see the bikers at night and see those lights, I'm always enthused. One day, maybe I'll get on that bike and ride it.

You're telling me that because we'll buy you a bike. We've given over $100,000 worth of bikes. That's a document. So you want a bike, y'all holler at me.

Is it equipped for seniors? Is it equipped for seniors?

We have e-bikes. We have every bike you could think. We have tricycles. Well, thank you. My wife told me I got to get a... A bike that has two seats on it. So we have every bike you basically think of. But I do thank you all for real. And I look forward to hearing from you, lady.

Thank you.

Mr. Jackson, I know you're not here in... this capacity, but aren't you employed with the city? I am. So I am a bailiff for Judge Kathy Alexis. I was with police and safety, and then I went to corrections. And now I am a bailiff under I get to serve Kathy Alexis, and I did meet the awesome Smithermans, who I saw them in court, and I said, God, I do not want to go against them. So I'm just grateful for every opportunity that I got, that I have. Birmingham has been good to me, guys. Trying to move my family here, and I'm trying to create an event so I can bring Birmingham to New York City. So life is good.

Thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you. Next speaker.

The next speaker is Courtney Brown. Courtney Brown.

Next speaker.

Joseph Holt.

Hey, Mr. Holt, how are you?

Hey, how you doing, Madam President and city council members? My name is Joseph Holt, 4730 2nd Avenue North. I'm here again about, like I said, a system, the IEO program. I'm going to read this to you. It's official, this Birmingham City page. It says, Birmingham workforce needs are concentrated in six key sectors, information technology, advanced manufacturing, construction trades, health care, professional services, and transportation logistics. If your organization is working in any of these areas in the Birmingham Workforce Partner Acceleratory was designed with you in mind. Free program, key word, free program, real support. May 29th, I signed up that day. The program starts now in July. This is the letter I got. Thank you for allowing Birmingham Workforce Partner Accelerator and for the care you give submission. The decision reflects, it says the Hope Foundation, we cannot offer the Hope Foundation a spot in this cohort. It says this decision reflects the specific fit of this cohort. Now what does cohort mean? Cohort means a group of people who share something in common. Now, it says right here, construction trades. The whole foundation teaches kids construction trades. I'm a licensed contractor for 11 years. I build homes across the community. I teach people trades. I'm on the news. I'm in the papers. I've been taught over 50 kids in my program, and I got denied because I'm not a specific fit. Where am I not a specific fit? It's a construction trade, okay? IEO and all these programs are discriminating against me. Now, I'm coming here because it's recorded. Some people don't care, and that's fine, but I'm a resident, too. I'm a community leader. You're supposed to care about me, too. But that's fine. So what I'm saying to you is it's recorded. I just wanted to come here and say, hey, I'm a resident. I got discriminated against with my program. I'm in construction trades. Where does the specific fit? It says I'm not a specific fit. Now, these are six cohorts that say I'm not a specific fit for a cohort. Why not? So I asked the guy. He has no answer, Mr. Howser. The girl who's over the program, the manager, Erica Dix, got smart with me, talked any type of way to me. I took it. But you know what? She's not specific fit. She's the manager. And on the video for this program, Workforce, the first video, she says, hey, I know I may not be a manager that has experience. She don't have experience. She says she's criminal justice. She graduated from criminal justice. So how is she over Workforce Development Program? She has no experience, but I'm not a specific fit. So what I'm telling y'all is this. I done tried every way. I come here being diplomatic. Joe just come and tell the people. I tell the mayor's office. I tell y'all nobody does nothing. So from now, I'm going to come tell y'all and I file my lawsuit. Because I'm tired of coming here. I do what's right. I'm in a community. I'm a community leader. I get an email saying, may have been on the news, with kids behind me. I got 50 parents already prepared letters saying I taught their children. And I'm not a specific fit. But when I call IEO, you know what they tell me? They say they don't know what a specific fit is. They don't know why Diamond... Anderson sent me that because they don't know what she means by specific fit. But I got denied because I'm not a specific fit. But the sixth key item says construction trades, which I teach to 50 kids. So this is frustrating to me. It's nothing against y'all. Y'all have nothing to do with it. But y'all are over the city of Birmingham and these departments. So this is not fair. I'm coming to you because it's not fair. I get no answers why I'm not selected.

Thank you, Mr. Holt.

Thank you.

I appreciate you for sharing this. I understand. You know, I understand your frustration. Just to clarify, the city council, under the Mayor Council Act, these departments do not operate under us as far as administration and direct lines of authority. So thank you for sharing that with us, though. We do have people from administration here who have heard your concern as well, so thank you. Next speaker.

Excuse me. The next speaker is Bob Friedman.

Good morning, Mr. Friedman. It's afternoon now. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone. Quite a morning. Every possible subject has been discussed. I am very impressed with your due diligence, I must say, and your patience. I come to thank you for ordinance number 41 on the agenda. I see that the mayor and the Department of Capital Projects has kind of given a little bit more oomph to get the sewer line looked at and repaired. for the Carver Theater. That's going to mean a whole lot for the Birmingham Black Radio Museum. I come with a lot of joy on the part of not only my board, but the board of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, because we are contemplating a grand opening for the second time for that building that will involve both projects. Also very happy to hear that 4th Avenue is going to get a new look in terms of I don't want too much to lose on that block because we've already lost a lot of the block to the federal building. But that there'll be new emphasis on the history of civil rights in this city and the role that Birmingham played. We intend to be certainly partners in that. I wanted to ensure certain folks on the council who have contributed to the the women pioneers of black radio, that that project will be absolutely a part of the new construction when it's time for us to rebuild. And I wanted to tell you one story about a man who was born in 1898. His daughter is still living with the city, Miss Annie Blevins McCrae. I don't know how many of you might know her. She's in her 90s. And a dandy human being she is. And we have breakfast from time to time at Fife's Restaurant. Her father, William Blevins, was on the air in 1931. WSGN, considered to be the first African American to broadcast in the Southeast. So picture the 1930s in Birmingham where one gentleman has 15 minutes on a Sunday to do his program. And the council doesn't look like this. The city doesn't look like this. It's totally structured differently. And he comes on and he sings a and then he says hello to his friends in Central Park and his friends in Ensley and his friends and I'll be here and I'll be there and I will see you then and he sings another hymn and he's off the air. What has he done? He has told people where people will gather in the community. And that was an essential piece to giving coherence to the community as a whole. And this is just one program, 15 minutes on a Sunday. And as we watch the progress of black radio emerge in Birmingham, we see the formats changed and more folks are on the air during the week. And there's more of that kind of communication going on. It's not overt, it's not necessarily on the air, but it happens where the meetings are, where the parties are, where the concerts are, and so forth. It's a great history, and we look at it from the 1930s to the 1980s. AM radio, when it was closest to the community, from 15 minutes on a Sunday in 60 years, ownership. It's something that we hope will be embraced by the city when we're finished and certainly a gift of ours to the city. I want to tell you one more thing. Do I have a second for the board members?

Is it going to be just a second?

Yeah, I'm just going to tell you who's on our board. Ms. Wilhelmina Richardson, who's general manager of JLD. Minister Gwen Webb, that most of you know. Attorney Emery Anthony. Most of you know. But we brought on three more members. Pam King, who's a professor of history at UAB, Wayne Coleman, who was the head of archives for the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and Bob Ryder, Dr. Ryder, who teaches archival history at the University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies.

Thank you, Mr. Friedman. Thank you for sharing that information and sharing that story with us. And we were glad to... approve that item today so that you can get further ahead with the changes you want to make there. Thank you. Next speaker. Terri Michael.

Good afternoon everybody Terry Michaels 629 Ridge Top Circle here in Birmingham So there was just two things I wanted to talk with you about today one of them is that I see in the Alabama messenger on July 22nd the southern framework plan the there was a hearing notification and from the city council about the hearing that's going to happen on August 18th. And also, since then, in just the last couple days, people that are affected by that southern framework have received a mailer letting them know this is going to be happening on August 18th. I have been looking for a week or more on information about the Pratt-Ensley hearing that's going to be happening the week before the Southern Framework hearing. Well, two weeks before. And I've looked all through June. I've looked all through July. I can find nothing in the Alabama Messenger showing notification of that hearing. I've asked folks I know, now that I know about this mailer, did you receive anything in the mail about it? No, they've received nothing in the mail about it. I have been trying. All I wanted to do was to get the ordinance to find out what's going to be voted on in just one week. I can't find it. It's not out there. So it's just really concerning to me that the Southern framework has received all this time and attention and the Pratt Inslee one, there's just nothing out there about it. So I really want to ask, I honestly, I think this needs to be postponed. I don't think you all should do this in a week. But if you can't do that, can I at least receive the ordinance that you all are going to vote on so that I can help get it out there to the people so they'll know what's going on? Also, I did want to mention once again the data center ordinance. We really would appreciate if you all can be looking at some of those amendments. And please consider adding those before any other data centers come and put in applications. And you won't be able to make those amendments without having a grandfather and all the other complicated stuff. Okay? So thank you for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Any other speakers? No, ma'am. That was the last one.

All right. Thank you very much. At this time, counselors, we would like to thank our officers on duty, Officer Pinkard and Officer Tarrant, and our fire inspectors on duty, Inspectors Shaw and Griggs. At this time, we'll entertain a motion. Salute.

Who made the second? Aye. All in favor, let it be known by saying aye.

Aye.

All opposed?

Meeting adjourned. Thank you.

Well, today we are in the heart of Ensley, so we are here for our Block and Bloom block party. So this is a partnership between myself, the District 8 Council Office, as well as the Flourish Alabama. So we have music, we have food, we have art, we have... Oh gosh, some of everything here today. So it's really just trying to create community or just to bring the community together for a positive event and just a time to have fun and just enjoy our area. I want to say thank you to my colleagues on the Birmingham City Council, Latonya Tate, Brian Gunn. Thank you all for being here to support us.

We've had almost all of our councils down here today, so that's been really great.

So we've been planning this for several months now. And it was just something that organically happened. I wanted to do something different for my Safe Summer concert series. And I mentioned it to Jamon with The Flourish. And they were thinking the same thing.

I want to just take a couple minutes to tell y'all a little bit about The Flourish Alabama and the programming that we do. If you're here to say word. Word.

I said if you're here to say word.

Falsetto gang, what's poppin'? Falsetto gang, what's good? What's up, y'all? My name is Eric Marable Jr., creative director, co-founder of The Flourish, Alabama. Like I said, me and my brother been rockin' with this for seven years. This is the manifestation of seven years of work, man, so thank y'all so much. Shout-out to the city council. Shout-out to Sonya Smith. All this hard work is paying off.

Well, it's been great. Several people have told me that they hadn't seen anything like this in this area. So, having all of this here is something that hasn't happened on 19th Street, Inslee. So, it's just been really good to see everyone come out and support and enjoy what we have to offer here in our burgeoning black arts district.

Thank you.

We are here for another Respect Back to School Rally.

Hey guys, we're out here at the 31st More Than Congress Faith Church Respect Rally. We're out here on the grounds. It's been amazing. I'm sure you can hear the kids screaming. We have a tent along with Birmingham Park and Rec and GMC with a park survey giving away school supplies, books. Anything you can think of. This is such an amazing event, especially from attending this event as a little girl, participating in the fashion show, helping with the planning to now being a sponsor and a partner for the last about six years, six or seven years. So it's so amazing. We have to continue to pour back into our kids, love our community, especially before school starts. We have to motivate them to know that they are leaders. They are capable of doing great things and that we are behind them every step of the way. Respect every single person, every creative. That is what respect stands for. So just making sure that you are always being kind and courteous, not only to yourself, but to your parents, your siblings, your family, and your friends, and your classmates, and your teachers. And when you start with respect and respect others, you can make it a long way in life. I just hope our kids just come with a positive attitude and with a toolbox of success to make sure they are successful in everything they do, whether it's in the classroom or out of the classroom.