City Commission - Regular Meeting

[music] The Dayton City Commission meeting will now come to order. Would you all please rise for the invocation and remain standing for the pledge of of allegiance. The invocation this evening will be given by Commissioner Beckham. Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Continue to lead and guide us as we do the work of this city. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. I pledge [clears throat] allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right, Miss McClendon, may we please have a roll call this evening? Mayor Turner Sloth, I. Commissioners Joseph, I. Shaw, I. Fairchild Beckham. I may I have a motion to excuse the absence of Commissioner Fairchild, please. So moved, your honor. Second. It has been properly moved and seconded to excuse the absence of Commissioner Fairchild. All in favor say I. I. All oppose say no. May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the April 8th, 2026 meeting, please? So move, John. Second the motion. John, it has been properly moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the April 8th, 2026 meeting. All in favor say I. I. I.

All oppose say no. Miss McClendon, are there any communications or petitions this evening? There are none, your honor. Thank you. This evening, I would like to call Mr. Stefan Watts to the podium to discuss the Living Cities Project.

You're back again. Good to see you. Hello. Good to see you as well. Uh thank you for having me, mayor, commissioners. Um sorry I miss child. Love you. Um but yes, so we are having the living city project on behalf of the CLA which is April 25th this year. Um the city this living city project is the largest cleanup within Dayton. So we just want to invite everybody out to come to this one-day event. Um we are really trying to empower two really initiatives. one being students involved and involving the youth more as I have with me here on today actually one of the youth from our community um and also empowering continuous cleanups throughout the city um as we want to keep keep the city clean throughout um and we're really hoping this year that the number actually is less because we pick up less trash that mean people aren't littering as much so that's always a good thing to have um so yes thank y'all for having me on today and we just want to invite everybody out to the citywide cleanup um that initiative has been running since about 2019

and to date we have picked up 566 tons of trash. So we're really excited about that. Thank you all so much for having us. Thank you. Would you like to introduce yourself and Hi, I'm Danielle Scott. I'm here to assist him to support. Yes. Thank you, Miss Scott. Thank you, Mr. Walls. Thank you for both for being here.

Next, I would like to call Mr. Kevin Lighty to the podium to present the sister city update. [clears throat] Sister cities. Thank you, mayor, commissioners, city manager, and staff. Uh, I appreciate the opportunity to come here to give you an update on the activities of the Dayton Sister City Committee. Um, as many of you know, we have seven sister cities throughout the world, and I just want to give you an update about some of the things that are coming up in the, uh, in the coming months. So, uh, starting chronologically with our first sister city from 1964. So, in Augsburg, Germany, in about less than two months, about 20 Dayton students will be traveling to Augsburg for a 14-day exchange. They'll be staying with host families and vit visiting Yakab Fuller Gymnasium School. Uh, additionally, we've the city of Augsburg offers its trainees the opportunity to complete an internship abroad and it'll last up to about four weeks. And so um starting in actually we got an update yesterday. It's going to be in August uh a person by the name of Sunny Steini uh will be conducting an internship at the Dayton International Peace Museum. They'll be there for about a month. And lastly, we're the sister city committee is working with the Dayton leader Turner uh community organization uh to apply for a grant for about $25,000 through the Gerta Institute. uh they put out a call for German and US sister city relationships. It's a limited call. The grant is hoping to bring singers and dancers and culinary experts to Dayton in 2027 when the German Fest picnic that happens over in St. S an Hill. Um the theme for the German Fest picnic that year is all things Augsburg. And so we're we're basically supporting that initiative or that that effort. Uh we will find out about the grant by the by the end of May. uh OSO Japan which uh we've been a

sister city since 1968. We also applied for a grant uh through the US Japan Global Impact Grant. Um but unfortunately we were unsuccessful in getting that. Our hope was to bring ceramic artists to Dayton because we had two ceramic artists from Dayton go to OISO last summer. We're still going to pursue that. We just don't have uh it's not going to be as robust as what it was. But in addition to the ceramic artists, we're trying to bring uh or we're going to be bringing three Japanese students to Dayton in July for a 14-day homeay as well. Uh Monrovia, Liberia from since 1972, our Monrovian uh co-chair uh traveled to Monrovia recently to continue discussing the resurging um relationship. And we just recently found out that the mayor of Monrovia will be here in the US in the coming weeks. So, there may be a chance to continue those conversations here in Dayton if we can figure out where he's going to be in the US and if we can get him over here with uh Hone Israel since 1998. Um the for the last 14 months we've had virtual meetings with our sister city in in Hone in which different organizations from both Dayton and Hogan showcase their accomplishments. Um they field questions and they plant the seeds for collaboration alternating between city and city. The most two most recent presentations involved Dayton's own NCCJ and then the Israeli cartoon museum which is based in Halone for with Sievo Bosnia Herzgoina from 1999. Uh the federal funding that supported the Dayton Beha youth leadership program has expired but so we're currently exploring ways that we can continue the the program and we're exploring the possibility of commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords in Sievo uh coming this fall. Rushmore, England, one of our newest ones from 2019. Uh the communication continues. They had some governmental changes with their um their mayor. Uh and so we're we're still trying to navigate that um

relationship, but uh with the foreign borrow error show happening this summer, we're we're hopeful that we can go over there. Um but there was talks about there's interest in a youth exchange involving soccer um or football if you will. And then South Palestine um our most recent one from 2021. We had a representative from South come last fall and since then things have kind of picked up and slacked off particularly because in light of the devastation that's happening uh in the Middle East of of late. But discussions took place between Sinclair Community College and Alhoods University particularly around the idea of virtual classes to students in South through Sinclair's coil program and we have a pilot pen pal program involving students at the Dayton Regional STEM School and uh students in South and that's uh starting to take place as well. Uh lastly, I I've um presented to you in in in your packet just a a brief snapshot of the economic impact of the the Dayton Sister City Committee. The numbers that you see before you um go back to like post pandemic, so for about 2021 until uh 2026, well 2025 really. Um but just a couple of the highlights. So we've had over 117 international visitors here. We've had 100 plus visitor nights where they've stayed here in Dayton. about $40,000 in direct local spending. Lodging is around uh $4,600. Food and beverage around $23,000. Uh and transportation and attractions about $9,000. Local or lodging and meals are supported through some of the city funding uh that the sister city committee receives, but those dollars are spent locally and they generate additional visitor- driven economic activity. uh as a result over,300 hours of uh volunteer hours that the sister city committee has contributed over those last five years or so with a value of about $30,000 give

or take. Um I I do want to point out that even though there's an economic impact, uh there is u kind of a long-term personal uh impact. And I want to point out uh Tommoya right here who's who's with us tonight. He came to Dayton in 2019 as a as a student um exchange for 14 days. Um visited Sinclair, kind of fell in love. Uh he ended up graduating from Sinclair just recently and now he's living in the Dayton area. Um and it's it's just he's also my counterpart over in Oiso. So he's the ch well he will be voted next month the chair of the international relationship international association over in Oiso. So it's it uh and then we also had some students from uh Sievo who are expressing interest in attending UD. So in in addition to just the economic impact, it's also kind of a light long-term impact. So uh there's plenty more, but um I also provided you with like a calendar of events that are happening for the next two two years. Some of those may happen, some of those might not happen. We have additional things that get added every so often. So uh if you have any questions, I'd happy to answer any for you. Thank you very much, Commissioner Beckham. Do you have any comments or questions?

Uh, just thank you for being here. Appreciate the comprehensive update. Thank you for all your hard work. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Shaw. Yeah, likewise. Same. I'm sure my colleague, Mr. Joseph, will have plenty for you. All right. Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Joseph. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, Kevin, you and your colleagues do very good work. Uh we are known sort of an unlikely place for a a medium-sized Midwestern city to be, but we're known as an international city and you do a very good job continuing that reputation. Uh making sure that uh people who come are welcomed, not only from our seven sister cities, but usually people get funneled to you when they come from wherever. So we do appreciate that you represent the city well. And please take our thank yous to to the whole committee from from us here at the commissioner. I will. Thank you.

Thank you. I just want to echo my colleagues comments. Thank you very much for your leadership, your commitment. Uh, quick question for you. Is this located on the cities of Dayton's website? Not yet. Not yet. I just made it [laughter] last week. All right. Very good. And then we would like to if would you mind in bringing him to the podium so he can introduce himself and we want to uh congratulate him on his accomplishment in graduating from Sinclair. Yeah. So please you want to tell us your name and what was your major or your studies?

I'm Tomoya Suzuki. I'm from Oso sister city from uh between Dayton and OSO. I came here 2019 and I met host family and they will they care about me very much and they accept the host family again and I came here and studying at Sinclair for three three years. I was my major was computer science because I I think US is more than uh US technology is more than Japan. So I I I I like to learn more latest technology and more uh improve more knowledge and and share my knowledge for everybody.

Great. Well, congratulations. on [applause] and we have some employment opportunities for you as well especially with the work that's being done with the uh the the data uh or the digital transformation center DTC. So I hope that you will um definitely explore those opportunities. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Especially with the computer science major. Thank you Mr. Lighty. Thank you

Miss McClendon. Are there any additions, deletions, or comments to the calendar? Yes, your honor. Emergency resolution number 6925-26 will have two readings at one meeting instead of one as indicated on the agenda. That is all, your honor. Thank you, Miss Dixine, are there any additions, deletions, or comments to the calendar this evening? I have none, your honor. Thank you, Miss Dixie. Miss McClendon, are there any citizens that are registered to speak on calendar items this evening? There are no citizens registered to speak on calendar items this evening. Thank you. Commissioners, are there any comments to the city manager's recommendations? Commissioner Beckham? I have none, your honor. Thank you. Commissioner Shaw, none. Commissioner Joseph?

Nope. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the city manager's recommendations? I move to approve the city manager's recommendations. Second the motion, your honor. All in favor say I. I. All oppose, say no.

Legislation. Miss McClendon. First reading emergency resolution number 6925-26 objecting to the issuance of liquor permit number 10007766-1 Leela Group LLC doing business as Dayton downtown BP 433 South Main Street Dayton Ohio 45402 and declaring an emergency. Your honor, resolution number 6925-26 being declared in an emergency. I move for its immediate passage. I second the motion.

It has been properly moved and seconded to declare emergency res resolution, excuse me, 6925-26 as an emergency. All in favor say I. I. All oppose say no. Second reading, emergency resolution number 6925-26, objecting to the issuance of liquor permit number 1000 7766-1 Leela Group LLC doing business as Dayton downtown BP 433 South Main Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402. Mayor Turner Sloths I. Commissioners Joseph I Shaw I

Beckham I Emergency Resolution number 6925-26 has been adopted with four votes in favor. Second reading ordinance number 32182-26 to vacate Vixsburg Street from Maywood Avenue to Maywood Avenue. Mayor Turner Sloths I. Commissioners Joseph I, Shaw, I, Beckham, I. Ordinance number 32182-26 has passed with four votes in favor. And that concludes legislation, your honor.

Thank you, Miss McClendon. Are there any citizens that are registered to speak this evening?

Your honor, there are seven citizens registered to speak. I would like to state there is a threeminut time limit. As you address the commission, we ask that you state your name and address for the record. At that time, I will turn on the green light. When the green light comes on, you will have three minutes to speak. After you have spoken 2 and 1/2 minutes, a yellow light will come on, and you will have 30 seconds remaining to speak. When the red light comes on, you will be asked to cease your comments and to take your seat. To the audience in attendance, please be mindful this is a business meeting and we kindly request that during this portion of the meeting you refrain from any hand clapping, finger snapping, and conversation that would prevent the city commission from hearing the speaker's comments. I call to the podium Kathleen G.

Good evening all. Good evening.

Kathleen G, 5066 Safeway Drive, Dayton, Ohio 45414. Once again, I want to thank uh Dayton voters for stepping up to the plate to get um the ballot initiative across the line uh in November. Uh in January, we know that uh Attorney Must um addressed the issue and where it will go, how it will go forward. I would I recommend that people look for that um what he had to say in January and and I'm sure the city will alert the public as to when that town hall will take place. Uh I am no longer a member of the CCC. Uh we had some differences and but I am still out there rallying for the issue. I spent seven years and thousands literally thousands of hours unpaid hours working on this issue. So, I'm here today in recogni in recognition and support for Black Maternal Health Week. I know I'm speaking to u an audience of people who probably know many of the things I'm about to say, but I'm going to say them anyway. Most of us know that black women die three and a half times more often than other women in or after soon after giving birth. Black infants in Ohio continue to die at more than twice the rate of their white counterparts, a devastating disparity that underscores systemic inequities in health care and outcomes. I recommend that everybody pull up this study that Care Source and um Good Works did groundwork, I'm sorry, last it came out in 2025. It talks about uh this issue in detail. It's really worth the reading. So, right now I'm going to read some from that study. Quote, "The pressing need to address

maternal and infant health disparities calls for a bold acknowledgement of racism as a root cause and the systemic transformation necessary to confront it. Racism, pervasive impact on health outcomes is evident with communities like Dayton grappling with historical segregation, structural inequities, and uh redlinining. Stores of marginalized mothers reflect the tangible consequences of these systemic injustices where many assert, "If I was a white mom, that wouldn't be happening." In the same report, quote, understanding the lived reality, black women face unique barriers in accessing quality care, ranging from provider bias to systemic underinvestment in their communities. Am I about to be done? Do I have a second?

So, I want to say this. I'm going to be pushing hard for what we pass the initiative because of the funding to open up a birthing center in Northwest State. And I've been doing a lot of reading about birthing centers across the nation. They operate on a1 to2 million a year budget. I think we can since we passed that initiative and it could be done in stages. I think we should work on a birthing center. Thank you, Miss Scott. I call to the podium Kevin Keller. Almost didn't recognize you. How are you doing, sir?

Good evening, mayor, commissioners, city manager, staff, and audience. Yeah, I dressed up a little bit because it was dress up day in my family and you guys got the extension of it. So, I'd like to open my comments with uh name and address for the record. Oh, I'm sorry. You're fine.

It's further paving the street. 3922 East Third Street, Dayton, Ohio, 45403. And I come here as a very jolly soul knowing that uh Mr. Richie over there, thank you, sir. He deserves a little round of applause for um standing by his word and getting some of these residential streets that are damaging a lot of cars by driving through these huge potholes. And you don't know how dark these deep these potholes are sometimes until you hit them because there's when there's a rain they fill up and it's a mess. We got did it once once I don't know a while ago, a couple years ago because we didn't have any other means and I didn't know Mr. Richie yet. Uh we gathered up some of our stuff, our garbage and old metal and everything and piled it in that big hole. And then the guy up the street owned a asphalt business and he let us get some of his asphalt and pound it in that hole. The uh the hole went away for a while and it kind of took care of us. Um but I'm so happy and and gratified to the city that they found the money to do those things. Right. have and uh Quinton and East and parts of East Third and Wolf Forth. Uh real great job. I thank you for it. The second item I have is art in the community. I have a sculpture downstairs in the lobby. Couldn't bring it up here because I guess it's considered a prop. Don't know what that means, but I I was trying to promote uh art in the city. We need more art. We need some more creativity in this town, especially at the airport. you walk through that corridor. Oh man, I feel like you're walking through like jail or something. Uh, spice it up a little bit. Have some fun. Um, I don't think it would be too hard to get some cases, some, you know, art cases and close them. I I I [clears throat] may I have a couple pieces that I'd be more than willing to donate for display. Third item is, and I Yeah, I might be a stickler for this. Um, I was told earlier today, and I've been doing it for as long as I've been [clears throat] coming to these meetings, and that is

having a water bottle, a water bottle with a cap on it, that if I were to tip it over, no problem. Today, I was told you can't have a water. It's got a cap on it. No, you're not allowed to have it. And that's been a policy for a long time. And I'm thinking, some of you may not like this, but um, city manager has one, chief of staff has one, all the commissioners have a bottle. if they don't have a bottle, they have a pitcher and that pitcher can tip over just as easily as my water bottle, but my water bottle won't spill because it's capped and I'm responsible for that. Um, I think that if the commission or the city is going to make that prohibitation stick, then they should, you know, uh, live like us and pay the price.

Equality. Thank you. Thank you. I will tell you, Mr. Keller, that is for safety precautions due to some recent activity. Um, that is due to safety precautions. Didn't know that. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, sir. Excuse me, Miss McClendon.

I call to the podium Victoria McNeel. Good evening, commissioner, mayor, city manager, staff, audience, citizens in deep participation. My name is Victoria McNeel, 107 Neil Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45405. I just have three asks, no complaints this evening. Uh the first one is I want to know uh so I heard I read I watched the commission meeting last week that you helped with the electric aggregate.

So I've asked me Maloney several times last couple years. Can we get a gas aggregate please? Especially with gas and oil going up. She said it's hard to work through. The electric I guess was apparently hard to work through, but it probably would help a lot of citizens so we don't have to sign up for PIP and all that other

stuff that we do. I don't sign up for I just pay my bill even if it's high. I still find a way. [clears throat] Um the second thing is um I want to know when we come up to the podium to speak, can we have like 3 minutes 30 seconds or four minutes instead of the time allotted? I know it's been in place for a long time. I was talking to Commissioner Joseph about it. Shall I think I've talked with him about it too because sometimes you need another minute or can we request an extra minute to speak if that would be a viable thing. And the third thing is um since we did the North Main Street road diet, I sent an email to I'm not sure in the police department civil uh civil engineering Joe Wyn now. I would like to know what the statistics are. have the crashes gone down, pedestrians not being hitched, traffic is backed up. I hear a lot of complaints at times, but I said, "Well, this is what we have to deal with for now." So, if it's slowing traffic down, that's a good thing. And less accidents, that's a good thing. Unless pedestrian strike, but I don't know because I haven't heard anything uh from the email. Didn't get a response. So, thank you.

Thank you, Miss McNeel. I call to the podium Jacob Hewitt. [clears throat] Hello. Good evening.

Uh Jacob Huitt, 4125 East Third Street. Uh I want to start off by mentioning that I have read the active transportation plan and the strategy for a sustainable Dayton. I think they have a lot of promising ideas and I hope many of them are implemented. Uh some of them have some flaws as well. I'm here to talk about one of them and that's the bike lanes. Uh I want to say that I bike down East Third Street every day. Uh for safety reasons, I have a lot of LEDs on my bike. It makes me more visible and I like to think that it helps brighten people's day. Uh I'm developmentally disabled. I have a driver's license, but I still choose to bike because it's safer and better for the environment. Uh my point of concern is the curb separated lanes. Uh for example, on Second Street and in front of Sinclair, there are curb separated lanes. And uh so depending on what direction you're coming from, to enter the lanes, you have to cross uh oncoming traffic. And it's not really clear the correct way to do this uh especially safely. On top of that, uh both of those HA lanes have uh one direction it will terminate onto the sidewalk and I thought cyclists were not supposed to ride on the sidewalks and so that's a little confusing. Uh I learned recently that East Third is getting a curb separated lane from Kiwi to Lynen. I don't think it should be a curb separated lane. With a few potholes filled, that part of the road is already perfectly suited for a dedicated bike lane on each side. It would just need paint. Paint is cheaper than concrete. Uh, and the lanes go with the flow of traffic, which is more intuitive for

everyone. I believe the current plan was made with the best intentions, but I fear it will have the worst outcome. I doubt it can be changed. I'm probably too late. It's hard to stay up to date uh with my disability. I I just want the city to have safer bike lanes and I hope whatever happens, it's safe for everyone. And thank you for your time. Thank you, Mr. Huitt. Thank you very much.

I call to the podium Sharon Screech. Hello, my name is Sh Hello commissioners. My name is Sharon Screech. I live at 515 West Grand Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45405. Commissioners, I [clears throat] am standing here today because a man is dead. Regginald Thomas lost his life over something as small as a missing bicycle. Like, think about that. A missing life. What should have been a routine stop, something that happens every day, turned into something permanent, something final, something that can never be undone. A man went out on his bicycle and never came home. That is not normal. That is not acceptable. We are told that officers need reasonable, articulable suspicion to stop someone. We are told there are procedures, safeguards, and protections. But where were those protections for Mr. Thomas? And where are the answers now? because the silence is loud. And then when a member of this community, Talis Gage, stood right here where I'm standing now, when he spoke his truth, his pain, his frustration, what happened, all for mentioning, "If you didn't get it by midnight, you will if you didn't get it by now, you will by midnight." Which is nothing but saying once you think about it later, you will understand what he was saying. Mr. Gage was detained after this statement. detained for speaking and Mayor Turner Sllos and Mr. Beckham know him personally. Do you both believe he meant this commission harm? So now I have to ask not just for myself but for everyone watching for everyone in this community. What are we supposed to take from that? That a man can die over bicycle light and when we speak out about it we risk being detained too. Is that the message? Because if it is then this space, this space, this commission, this room is not a place for the public. It is a place of fear. And that is a problem, a serious one. Right now, your

integrity is being questioned not because people want conflict, but because people want accountability. They want to feel safe. They want to feel heard. They want to believe that their voices matter. So, I'm asking you clearly, who made the decision to detain him? I'm sure it was someone on this commission. Why was it allowed to happen? And what are you going to do to make sure it never happens again? Because this community is watching and trust once broken is not easily repaired. And once again, if you don't get it by now, you will by midnight. So for saying that, am I now going to be detained also? Thank you. Thank you very much, Miss Screech.

I call to the podium Talis Naturo. Talis Netaru 515 West Grand Day Den Avenue 4550. Um, so I just found out I didn't know that you commissioners are the ones who choose the city manager. Am I right or wrong? That is correct. The city manager, the commission collectively appoints the city manager.

All right. So, with that being said, I'm trying to figure out how she still sitting there, y'all. It takes three votes majority. Five members, three votes, majority of the commission.

That's wild. That's wild. That's wild. I I really don't have nothing to say. I just can't see how she's still sitting here after all this time. Like, you've been over there. I remember when Fairchild asked you asked her about the where the funds was going for that's supposed to be going to the the schools or for the rec centers and I remember you interrupted her or interrupted him questioning her about that and had like a brief intermission because he was getting upset about what she was saying or not saying and that was probably like two or three four years ago. I'm just trying to figure out how she's still sitting there cuz she's not really doing a good job. And I see that and I just looked up what a city manager is in charge of and she's in charge of uh stuff with policing and fire uh departments and different things of that nature. And so it makes sense. It's like they're all they're all on teams, man. And we can't have it just don't make no sense. None of it reads, man. So I just want to know what y'all going to do. I already know what you two are going to do cuz YouTube been up there for a very long time. So it all makes sense. And I told you how I feel about you outside in the hallway. So it makes sense on why stuff happened to me. But I just you gotta go, man. It just don't make no sense, man. Like hear what the people are crying for, what they calling for. I mean, y'all know y'all probably got a a cool relationship with her. Y'all probably b laughing, joke, man. And then it's like, forget what we talking about, what we want, what we after. I mean, y'all know what I'm about. I'm action. I'm action. And again, I'm not on just one front. Like Malcolm said, I'm on all fronts. So you'll see me in the community doing love days and then you'll see me up here and you'll see me get cuffed. You'll see me go through a lot of stuff cuz I'm that dude. I'm action. And you got to go. That's all I got.

Thank you, Mr. Tales.

I call to the podium Stanley Hurdle. Good afternoon, uh, commissioners. I'm Stanley Hurdle from 12:30 Amherst Place in the University Road neighborhood of Dayton. Dayton voters voted for a city public hospital to deal with the long recognized problem of health care disparities, particularly infant and mother mortality and chronic illnesses affecting many, but particularly black communities in West Dayton. What is the commissioner doing now [clears throat] to bring this about? Problem has been greatly exacerbated by the closing and demolition of Good Samaritan Hospital and then only slightly helped by urgent care and other things that have replaced it. Meanwhile, providers are open continue to open large health centers in various mostly white suburbs. Much of the problem with health care is due to the division of people into classes of access and coverage with differences in reimbursements between private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, uninsured, and what people pay privately. While no country's s system is perfect, compared to most other industrialized nations, US health care system is much more costly and much less effective in its outcomes. Major reason for this is the search for profit drives the system, not the search for health. Insurers profit by ensuring the healthy, not insuring the sick and denying claims and prior authorizations. Providers, which includes both corporations that hire actual doctors and health care professionals, and the makers of drugs and equipment they use, profit by selling as much as possible. In American health care, markets do not work. This is not really price competition, only negotiations covering

big players and excluding small ones. We play pay huge amounts that are wasted on paperwork battles over coverage. The result is many people not affording or getting care or going bankrupt. As a result, while the city commission cannot solve all these national dysfunctions on its own, it can have an independent need assessment to determine what is required here and then consult with independent health care advocacy groups and experts to think of innovative actions to take to approve improve Dayton's situation. The law provides a list of services that the public hospital is to provide. It can include other innovative things as well, both to promote health as well as treat its absence. But the public needs to know that the city commission is doing its job and what it is doing. It's unjust that Dayton, particularly West Dayton, suffers from this. Public hospital works in Cleveland Commission needs to use this opportunity to evaluate and provide a program for health care in the healthc care desert of West Dayton. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you, Mr. Hurdle. That concludes speakers, your honor. Thank you, Miss McClendon. Miss Dixon, do you have any closing comments this evening? I have none, your honor. Thank you, Miss Dixon. Miss McClendon, do you have any closing comments? I have none, your honor. Thank you. Commissioners, do you have any closing comments? Commissioner Beckham. [clears throat]

Uh, yes, your honor. Uh, just two events I want to quickly highlight. Um uh I want to thank our poet laurette Sierra Leon for joining us last week in honor of National Poetry Month. Um she is actually hosting a poetry open mic night voices against violence. Uh that'll be this Friday, April 17th. Um at Art Has No Rules Gallery. Um and this is targeted to uh young people in our community. So um I plan to be there. Please come out if you're interested. Um, also want to highlight the 4th annual Black Men's Mental Health Conference uh that will be um a really powerful panel um about access and awareness. Um that will be uh this Saturday uh at Sinclair Community College at 10:00 a.m. uh to 2 p.m. Uh so you can register if you like uh at ww.bmhc.com. Uh thanks. I appreciate

Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Shaw.

Yes. Just a couple things. Uh this Saturday, April 18th, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Laurai Recreation Center will host a Kids Entrepreneur Expo. I'm very excited about that. Uh Dayton's youngest business owners will be selling their products and creations. And this is a fun way to shop local and help our young entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. For more information, you can call 937-333843 uh for more information. I hope to see everyone there. And and also I just wanted to highlight uh wanted to thank the mayor for allowing me to speak at the um at the Boys and Girls Club groundbreaking ceremony this past Monday. Uh very exciting. They have uh raised about $15 million of a $18 million ask for a new facility that these children's uh children so desperately deserve and uh was just glad to support uh them in their work. their great director Crystal Allen and their their uh very um engaged board uh [clears throat] have been doing a lot of great work in this community and I want to thank the residents uh for their support of this of this very worthy cause and thank you all for for your um your support too. But it was a really nice event. Many of my colleagues joined me there and it was just a great day. So thank you.

Thank you Commissioner Commissioner Joseph.

Thank you mayor. Just one today uh one I'm very happy to announce the return of the Dayton World Soccer Games. Uh we held it from 2012 to 2019 and pandemic disrupted it like it did a lot of things but it's coming back. Uh the the the goal is to bring together teams from all of our different cultures and ethnicities here in the city. Uh anybody can come and play. Uh youth teams, adult teams. Uh I'm probably too old to play now, but for those seven years I played every year and enjoyed the heck out of it. Uh so the games are going to take place on Saturday, September 12th at Ketering Field Sports Complex, a new location for us. Team registration opens today, April 15th. Uh so go to the city's website at www.datton ohio.gov and uh click on the Dayton World Soccer Games link. If you uh aren't online, you can call 93733383 for more information. I hope to see you all out there. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you. Thank you to all of my colleagues. I have very a couple of comments. Keep it very brief. First and foremost, Commissioner, thank you for your leadership, Commissioner Shaw and the Boys and Girls Club. It was a well attended event. And kudos as well to to the staff for even making that recommendation for the uh award of ARPA dollars for the the new construction of the site, the Boys and Girls Club. I'm still stuck on the 18 8 to 22 that are needed within our area. So again, applaud the the board, the staff, the leadership of Miss Miss Allen and to your leadership as well. So thank you. Um also would like to commend and uplift the work of the entire organization with the neighborhood conference. I believe this was the fourth annual conference, annual event. Uh there were over 200 registrants I believe uh 12 to 15 workshops a well well attended event and it was uh held at the the Dayton school a beautiful site and so again just want to uplift the the staff Mike Squire and the entire community engagement uh division for their efforts. Also NextGen Leaders registration is open o open until May 22nd. This teen summer program, ages 13 through 17 to 17, excuse me, runs uh June 2nd through the July the 11th. Focuses on leadership, job skills, and hands-on experience, including CPR uh certifications and behind the scenes recreation work. You can register at GDRC Tuesday through Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Urban Explorers, registration is now open as well for teens ages 13 to 17. Uh there are plenty of things for our kids to do. So we are are really truly hoping that people uh visit the city of Dayton's website. They can visit daytonrec.com or you can also call 937-3338400

for a number of different programs and services that are readily available. And with no further business to come before the commission, this meeting is now adjourned.