City Council - Regular Meeting

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Yeah. There's like Goodbye. Let's see. Uh, this meeting of the Oaklair City Council will be called will come to

order. Please stand for the pledge of 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. Sitt clerk, please call the role. Council member Brewster, here. Gregor, here. Johnson Miller here. Present. Otto here. Reed here. Sh here. Serrano

here. Here.

All right. Well, thank you, city clerk, and uh welcome everybody to the uh Tuesday, May 12th meeting of the Oaklair City Council. Uh first item on the agenda is the consent agenda. Um some some of you may have may be here for the consent agenda items or one of those items uh those are items number one through 23 on the agenda. Um please know that unless an item is pulled out for separate consideration uh all those items will will pass on one vote or pass or fail on one vote. Um so so if if your item is one of those uh and it passes, you're free to to leave, but you're also welcome to stay. Um so uh do do uh council members have any questions regarding the consent agenda or wish to remove an item for separate consideration? Uh council member Miller.

Thank you, Council President. I just want to know there's I think nine separate special events just in this one agenda. So summer is in full swing in Oaklair. It's great to see so many events coming into town. Awesome. Thank you, uh, Council Member Miller. Um, let's see. Any other questions or observations? Uh, then on a motion uh by Council Member uh, Serrano and seconded by Council Member Brewster, the consent agenda has been moved. Is there any discussion? Uh, Council Member Serrano.

Thank you, Council President Gregor. Um yeah, similar to what uh council member Miller, I just I wanted to point out there are so many wonderful events in the consent agenda, I really urge everybody to look at them, but in particular the National Coupe Championship, which is uh uh called out here and authorizing uh the city to uh host this at the Oaklair Soccer Park. Um there was just now recently the um the um world premiere of a film about uh uh Coupe and Coupe here in Oaklair and um I'm just really excited about that and I think I might be trying to figure out a way to go to that uh and watch that fantastic uh national coup playing.

Awesome. Thank you. Uh any other uh discussion on the consent agenda? Any comments? Um all seeing none, uh clerk, please call the role on the consent agenda. Council member Brewster I. Gregor I Ziller I Otto I Reed I

All right. Well, that item passes. Um let's see. So next is the uh proclamations uh sections of the section of the agenda. So um I have a couple different uh we have actually have a certificate of appreciation uh before we go to two different uh proclamations. So, um, want to, uh, take a moment, uh, to recognize our our former, uh, city manager, uh, Stephanie Hirs. If you'd like to come up to the front of the room, please.

All right. So this is a certificate of appreciation. Uh whereas uh Stephanie Hurst served the city of Oaklair uh with dedication and distinction as city manager for four years. And whereas as a proud Oaklair native, she brought a deep and personal connection to her work and a steadfast dedication to the place and people she calls home. And whereas uh during her tenure, she demonstrated forward-thinking leadership, a strong work ethic, and a willingness to approach challenges with creativity and innovation, always with a focus on building a stronger future for the community. And whereas her service marked a historic milestone as the city's first female city manager represented an important step for the forward in the city's leadership. And whereas uh she championed meaning she championed meaningful initiatives that strengthened the organization and community including enhanced public engagement. She empowered neighborhoods strategic planning efforts and invested in infrastructure, public space and essential services. And whereas her commitment to public service, her her colleagues and the residents of Oaklair was evident in her daily work and in her belief in showing up, doing the work, and moving the community forward step by step. And whereas her leadership fostered uh collaboration among city staff, council, uh community partners, and residents, leaving a lasting and positive impact on the city of Oaklair. Now therefore, on behalf of the city council, the city staff, and the entire community, we do hereby express our sincere appreciation to Stephanie Hirs for her dedicated service, leadership, and lasting contributions to the city of Oaklair. We extend our gratitude for her time, care, and commitment, and offer

our best wishes for continued success in her future endeavors. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Street sign for you. Very nice. Doublesided so everybody can see. Right. Right. So yeah, we want to make sure you have a chance to to share with and and I'm sure others will have things to share with you. So I'll just go right past. Should I go first or Okay. So, uh, first just thank you. Oh, first of all, congratulations, Council Member Orth.

Yes, I'm welcome to the council and all this awesome work that you're going to do. Um, so thank you for giving me this sendoff. It means a lot to me. Um, and uh, I also want to thank my family who's here. That's Demi, Joey, Nancy, and Joe. um they are, you know, have been along for the ride for all the different um twists and turns of my career and when I'm in the public eye, they're also in the public eye. So, um you know, gratitude to them for um for being flexible and being willing to um handle handle that kind of um uh observation. Uh and it's sort of a secondhand stress. Um, so but just also my main thank you is to the city of Oaklair, to everybody who lives in it, to all of you and your your prior council members, and of course to the staff and community partners. Um, it was just such an amazing honor and the best honor of my whole life to serve my own hometown. Um, it's a community that has taken care of me and my family for a long time. My parents came to Oaklair and when in their 20s in the 1960s and I looked it up and Douglas Wyford or possibly Ray Walks were city managers when they came to town and so they benefited from all those people before us who took such great care of this community, the prior council members, the prior city managers, the staff, the community leaders. Um, and then I have had the wonderful um, experience to be raised in this community to to to benefit from those leaders and caring adults. And then returning here, my own kids got to experience that as well. And it's just such a it's been such a blessing to be able to return um, some of that investment and care for the community in the best job ever, which is of the city manager. Um there's certainly been some hard days, but just so many amazing moments and uh just wonderful friendships and camaraderie along the way. Um we had a lot of fun kind of um

even though there were really um hard hardships. Um and as a team, uh we've taken on really big uh efforts with you guys, with your predecessors, um with all of these folks, with the community. Just a few examples are our our POS facility rolling out asset management system which is one of my favorites and I think we'll see that see the benefits of that for years to come. Consolidating code enforcement and customer service increasing inclusion doubling youth transit ridership which has been really exciting. A day resource center opening, overhauling our zoning, uh leading the state in population growth and economic development. um and increasing employee retention and getting closer to having our police and fire departments fully staffed as well as inspections. Um there's so many people in this room and beyond that I would like to spend excruciating detail thanking and I know that they'd probably turn on the lights if I did that. But it's just absolutely amazing to work with these folks. Um so the work ahead, you guys are in good hands. I know that. I'm really sad to say goodbye and um stop my role in this amazing journey, but you certainly have are in great hands. Um our community me community members have a track record of investing in the common good ever since I was a little kid and I'm sure before that and for decades to come. And then our staff care for this city every inch of the city, every hour of the day and in every kind of way that the community needs care and attention. Um, and their professionalism, work ethic, and expertise is unparalleled. And I'm so proud to be connected with them even for a period of time. And just as an example, I was walking past city hall the other day and I looked at the trash barrels. If you haven't, go check it out. But they were like perfectly arranged. Every other color, recycling, trash, trash. It's like that little

moment of seeing that, that little attention to detail, it made me happy. And that's but that's just an example. It's everywhere, every park, every flower, every tree. And that's the kind of work that our staff does. Um, so I just want to leave you with some of my personal mantras to help you as you carry this weight and pick up the mantle going forward. um uh and and some encouragement. So, the first one is when you're uncertain about the big long-term future is to do the next right thing. And I looked it up and the internet told me that this quote actually comes from Frozen 2. So, it's not so even though we don't know what's exactly ahead, we can continue to take steps with honor, integrity, kindness, and courage. And then of course the serenity prayer is always helpful to remind us of our humility of our small role in the universe um and our willingness to take on risks and and work even though we don't know um what what exactly will happen. Uh my dad as I've often said encourages us to show up and do the work that needs doing. And my mom always says that living in community requires daily acts of forgiveness. Um, so I also would encourage you to continue to think about inclusion and how to be a welcoming community as you go forward. Um, even though you know we don't know what all will happen with the world, but um, it's really important that our community um, has places for everybody, every kind of perspective um, and seats at the table. Um, so once again, thank you guys. Um, to all of you who are sitting at this table right now or who will be sitting at the table, to our staff, to our community, I know you guys are going to take on all the big challenges that I'm sure are coming your way with the same can do spirit that has shaped our community since its start. There's challenging times ahead and they call

for courage and humility and I wish all of that for you plus peace of mind and I will be cheering you on 100%. Um, if there's any way I can help, I'll be right across the river. And once again, just thank you. Thank you. And I know that there's staff that want to share as well as council members just just thoughts and reflections. And I I think that Well, should you might as well stay up there. I think. Um, yeah. So, maybe we could start with staff. Would that make the most sense?

Should I start Gregor? Yeah. With our

I just wanted to thank Stephanie for all of her hard work and um all of her dedication and everything she's done for the city. And I just wanted to share a couple of stories of the color that she added around city hall um for people and and people here would um probably um probably echo the same sentiments, but u we have a number of meetings in city hall and she is known regionally for her ice breakers that with engineers and finance directors and sometimes attorneys. Um, ice breakers aren't always the easiest to get started on, but she always had creative ice breakers that that everybody liked. Um, and then, um, very very musical and very very very much loved music. Um, so I think it was the first Martin Luther King Day training that we had. um she was able to with her persuasive skills get our community services director to sing karaoke with her and she's saying karaoke for the whole staff and a couple of memorable moments that'll live live forever. But just kind of an indication of the the color um that she added to city hall and to all of the different endeavors that we took and I I just like to thank her for that and for all of her hard work and it was a pleasure working with you.

Thank you. Thank you. Um, and I wasn't going to tell stories, but when you went music, I I have to have at least one. So, you know, we have this fantastic winter carnival parade right in Oaklair. And, you know, city administration always gets outdone w with the amazing floats that community services and utilities and parks and wreck do and that the whole community puts on, but we did a, you know, city manager, attorney's office, some council members float. Uh, we did a couple of them, but the first year we played trumpet.

Uh, I used to play trump used to play trumpet in the day. I was recruited. Emily Bergie's husband Mike was recruited in and Stephanie was playing. Handed out uh uh the uh the sheet music. It was in C. It's a B flat instrument, but anyway, we quickly transcribed or transposed it or whatever it is, but we figured it out. Um, but yeah, so much of that. Thank you so much uh for the service. You know, your care for the community, its residents, the employees was evident every day and by your your uh your wonderful comments here today. So, thank you for everything you did for the city and and for the time that we spent together. Uh really appreciate it.

Thank you. Uh city attorney Nick and any other staff would like like to come up and share or All right. Thank you, council. Um, so I'll just share a few things that our city uh community services department had to say. Um, the the definite theme amongst employees was how much you care about them and how much you listen to them. And even at CMF, which is um a little bit away from city hall, you still wanted to hear from them and listen to ideas. Um, you were totally committed to the residents of Oaklair. You were able to make relationships with many people inside and outside the organization. Um, you had a collaborative approach with staff. You always brought energy and enthusiasm to meetings. You were committed to trying new ideas. You were personally invested in the city of Oaklair and visible in the community. You have a tireless work ethic and you had a willingness to stay engaged on difficult issues. Um the city manager newsletter was epic. Uh you brought a different perspective and leadership style to city hall. You had a um you always reminded staff that we are here to serve the community, innovate and do the best we can with the means we have. And then several people um were grateful for your recognition as the city's first female city manager.

So uh thank you for the last four years. I learned a lot from you. consider your mentor and um take care and wish you the best. Yes.

I'll jump up real quick. Um need to check the time, see where we're at. Um Um Stephanie, I I greatly appreciate all the opportunities you gave me, all the difficult tasks you trusted me with. um wasn't always the most successful um on some days, but you continued to trust me to get uh some difficult tasks done and um I've learned a lot the last few years working with you and um appreciate everything that you did for the employees. You um continue growing and uh hope you're a part of my future and continue to be a mentor. Um, and even though some people aren't fans of ice breakers, I promise I will continue that for you because I think we're the only ones who absolutely love them. Um, and I'll keep that going as much as possible. Thank you.

Hello. Um, I just wanted to share how much I admire Stephanie being um, the first female city manager and just always being so encouraging and um, really caring about transit and me and thank you.

All right. Anyone else like to to share as we can move on to council and people can continue to think about whether they want to come up? Um I don't didn't really see the order of the lights exactly but I feel like uh council member Worth but it was first as he often also thinks only is the case.

Stephanie um I I think I just want to first highlight how hard and hard you work for this community, how much you care. um day in and day out in the role over four years. Um a thing that I'd love to share which to me was an incredibly moving um aspect of your leadership was when our community was wrestling with uh welcoming refugees from overseas. And to me this is a foundational question about who we are as a community, who we are as a as a country. frankly um and one that I think has deep moral implications um not only about where we are now but where we want to be and um I saw in your leadership during those moments the kind of conviction um the the kind of clarity um that I think is without a doubt a highlight not only of your tenure but um probably in city managers across Oaklair's history because to me it exemplified those words that that our community lives by is that we want to welcome all people and that we see our strength in being community that does so. And so when I saw you on public radio, on TV, and in the newspaper, and here at council vocally standing up for those principles, um made me proud, and I hope our entire community is proud by that as well. Thank you.

Thank you. Um let's see. I believe Council Member Miller is up toward the front on the list.

Sure, that's fine. Thank you, Council President. Stephanie, um I think if you look at the list of all the city managers and had to rank them on ideas per days generated, I think you'd probably be at the top. Um you just had five ideas for every issue that the city came across. um you know never accepted anything was the best way to do something the way we're doing now and always look for a way to do it better. Um and uh for some people that's uncomfortable and but through discomfort comes change and progress and moving forward. You don't you don't get better by sitting on the sofa. You go out and exercise those muscles and the change and the reexamining and the thinking about things is how you bring new ideas to the city and move forward. and and you know on council we see emails from you coming very early in the morning till very late in the evening. You're always thinking about it. You never took as many vacation days as we asked you to take um because your heart was always with the city and um serving us on council however you could sticking up for your staff and always thinking about the members of the community. So um you know that that you shown that beacon brightly throughout your four years here and that will be what I remember you best for.

Thank you. Q and I pass it on to uh Council Member Otto.

Thank you, Council President Greor. Uh Stephanie, it's been great working with you. Um one thing that comes to mind is when you think about it, you persevered through a historically significant time period. This was the aftermath of COVID and you were one of the leaders of Oaklair in this aftermath, this shock wave that that affected everybody and our town is doing pretty well as a result. So, um I much appreciate that. But personally, I really appreciate how you took a hands-on approach toward new council members and um you know, you you taught me such useful information about this role and taking it on and you made it much easier to take on this role. And one thing that will really stand out is uh we mentioned that Oaklair has a lot of events in the summer. Well, a lot of those events involve dunk tanks. And I've never seen anybody as willing to subject themselves to a dunk tank as you. I remember at least four or five that you've been a part of. And that that shows, you know, dedication. Not everybody's willing to do that. So, thank you for the time you you served here.

Thank you. I will pass it on to Council Member Moga. Thank you, Council President Steven. Thank you for your service. I know anytime I call you always pick up the phone.

Thank you for doing that. But uh I would highlight some of the things that you have done to the community for me which that's what tells me about Oakland community engagement. You are the one and the former city council president Emily Bi you guys should started that gone to districts talk about crime in that district. talk about what the city has done that's really and and being a data you like data everything you then another thing is this one here before you start city council would not have this one so we have even my language is here from Khim yeah

so those are the things that and I really another thing that I remember is the referendum so because you were saying we have rest police and the rest firefighters. So the the referendum of 2022 where we had we hired I think 15 Oh yeah. Yeah. So you were the person who was behind that one. I really appreciate that. Thank you so much for your service. Thank you. Thank you. We'll pass it on uh to Council Member Serrano.

Thank you, Council President Bergie. Bergie, President Greyert, and thank you to Stephanie. Um, there's a lot to say. Echo, I'm sitting here with a big smile on my face with everybody's comments because all of it is resonating and even the the language of the certificate of appreciation. I mean, all of that was just so right on. Um, local government is hard. It's really special in in in a way that I think most people don't really realize till they get kind of pretty up close to it. And um and wow, you were you were in it 150% more. I mean, I just completely day and night uh your work uh and dedication to trying to do the best and the right thing. the a lot of times what's hard but one of the things I find hard about local government is there's not always a right answer we we have to trade things off constantly it's not like oh if we just we'll get to the right thing no there there are trade-offs to be made all the time and um and you were you were just willing to look at all of those things with with intelligence and um and great dedication and and personal time that you brought after the job. I don't know that I've seen that very often in my in my career and in my life. Um, but and also I got to say like other people have said, your sense of humor, your creativity, you know, you you're a workhorse who always brought some amount of levity to the situations and that that makes things doable and makes things possible and it makes people want to kind of continue forward. Um, so and and finally, just the way that you um express such sincere appreciation for those in public service and for our public safety in particular, but you know, everybody, the health department,

the library, all all the people, all the crews that make up the city, uh whether it's streets or whatever, the your genuine deep appreciation for all of that that happens. uh sometimes it's in the middle of the night that that you know when that when that work happens uh it's an inspiration to me about that level of gratitude for people who so often give selflessly. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you uh Council Member Orth.

Thank you. Um Stephanie, I'm sad I didn't get a chance to work with you. um that I just wanted to say that um I am encouraged and motivated by the words you shared tonight as I always have been every time I've encountered you and that's so obviously backed up around the table and from everybody who's here. Um thank you for loving Oaklair and nurturing the city work.

Thank you uh Vice President uh Shan. Thank you, council president. Um, so I I have two messages to deliver to deliver. Oh my goodness, I can't speak. Um, one is from me and then one is from a special friend of council. I'll leave everyone on a cliffhanger there, so I'll read mine first. And I know that we're we've been going on quite long, but you're deserving of every single comment, Stephanie. So, um, from me, Stephanie, in your four years of service to Oaklair, you demonstrated a level of commitment that I've never seen before. I was constantly impressed by the way you showed up every day with seemingly endless energy, enthusiasm, and purpose. You were fearless in your willingness to take on difficult challenges for the greater good. From helping successfully to pass a referendum, as Council Member Emboga spoke of, uh to creating a weekly newsletter that gave residents insight as to what was happening across the entire city. That newsletter became something that people genuinely looked forward to reading and deeply appreciated. I know I've heard from many of my constituents asking if that that will continue. Um it reflected your belief that people deserve to feel informed, connected, and cared for by their local government. Those efforts have already become part of your legacy here in Oaklair in your hometown. Thank you for pouring your heart into this role and caring for your community in such a genuine and courageous way. The amount of yourself that you gave to this work is remarkable and your family should be incredibly proud not only of what you accomplished professionally, but the compassion, integrity, and care that you showed this community every single day. So, I thank you again and I wish you the best of luck in your next chapter.

Thank you.

And then the the special guest or special friend, um this is a message that comes from former council member Emily Anderson. Um, she actually shared this with me and I think it comes from an international source at some airport. She sent it to me as she was like changing flights. So, yes, it's amazing actually what she's able to do. Um, she's such a skilled writer. I don't know that that would be the best writing environment for myself, but so this comes from Emily. Imagine a corporation where during a time of budget constraints, the CEO goes without an executive assistant and instead hires someone with the skills to promote fairness in the workplace. No doubt this CEO would go viral for their bold commitment to promoting worker wellness and at their own excuse me to promoting worker well-being at their own expense. But this was the kind of thing city manager Stephanie Hirs did all the time. She championed the well-being of city workers every day. Going without an executive assistance assistant was one of the first choices Stephanie made and it was immediately clear that she was going to be a different kind of city manager. one who saw city operations at every level as a way to promote equality, fairness, and democracy. With the understanding that you can't promote democracy without a foundation of shared, accurate information that people can trust, Stephanie took on the role of the city's unofficial journalist. During a time of diminishing capacity for local media, Stephanie rolled up her sleeves and started collecting and sharing highquality information, both through the OSAP program and through her newsletter, which soon became beloved by city residents. I will always admire the way that Stephanie's values values that this council also champions inflected her actions, leading her to work incredibly hard and to make difficult decisions with integrity and courage. We live in difficult times, no doubt about it. But Stephanie's example shows us what public leaders can still be. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from Stephanie and wish her the very best on her next endeavors.

Thank you. Thank you. And you know, Council Member Brewster next. Thank you, Council President. Um, I just wanted to to touch on something. I mean, I could say everything that's already been said, but, you know, on on so many things. um you you had a a a moral clarity that I thought was really refreshing and really put your money where your mouth is with you know I know that um like you moved from one place in the core to another place in the core um you know rode your bike around downtown if it was like

do you want to meet for lunch someplace can it be downtown you know and and and all that um sort of at least for me sort of re reinforced um that in myself um in a way that I really want to thank you for. So, thank you. Thank you. And and also everyone's mentioned it already, but you're like an insanely hard worker. So, thank you. Uh Council Member Reid. Uh thank you, Council President Gregor. Hi, Stephanie. Um yeah, I won't repeat what the others have said. I'll just say, um

well, I'll repeat a little bit. Um the first thing that comes to mind is is you know whether it's 6:00 in the morning or 6 at night um I get council emails on my phone and I always your name is always on my phone and it's always in parenthesis keeping council in the loop. So that along with you popping up to every single community event I ever go to. It just really shows to me and I've only been here for a year that you really care about constituent uh services a lot. So I specifically thank you for that.

All right. Thank you all. Um, and I I have a something to share as well, but then um a statement from from another person special to council uh in the community. Um, and this is from So, I'll read a statement from uh Emily Bergie, the former uh council president. Um, so this is from Emily. Uh, Stephanie, thank you uh for your service to the city of Oaklair for the last four years. You and I would talk about how being a city manager is like a three-legged stool and that the city manager's role needs to play needs to pay attention to the needs of the staff, uh, the public and council at all times. Basically an impossible job. And yet, I saw you fiercely protect your staff, put together an amazingly thorough newsletter that the public loved, and you're responsive to the council with lightning speed.

I particularly enjoyed our work together doing district discussions and city and the city circuits since uh we both know it's way more fun to be out in the community rather than stuck indoors. Oh, and the time we got up so early to fill potholes together. Yes.

Uh, thank you for your service and dedication to the city of Oaklair. And so that's from Emily Bergie. And yeah, I just, you know, I really wanted to, you know, I'm, you know, just I was able to be around for, you know, your hiring and like since the beginning of your service and actually got to see you in in the neighborhood where I was living in the third ward and it's really fitting that you have a street sign now from the third ward in that special kind of design and everything and um and that was the neighborhood I I got to represent and you you had a so many great ideas for me as when you were one of my constituents as well. Um, and you know, we were working for the county and then then you joined the city. So, um, so yeah, just amazing the the amount of energy that you brought to the role and I'm just really excited to to see what you do next because I I think that um, you know, you you just never give up like you you have a lot of great ideas yourself and you you take on other people's ideas as as as a champion. Um, and really you've been such a great champion for the city of Oaklair and for the staff and the residents. I want to thank you for for your service and and uh yeah, I hope you uh wishing you the very best.

Thank you.

Am I all done now? I think so. Okay. Well, thank you so much and I will see you around and please don't be a stranger. All right. Thank you. All right.

So, thank you so much. Um, all right. So, we have a couple uh proclamations and and folks to accept them. So the first uh so I will call um our EMS uh deputy chief Natasha Mirror up uh to the front of the room uh for a proclamation for emergency medical services week. I'll just go up to read it. So, uh, whereas emergency medical services is a vital public service, and whereas the EMTs and paramedics of the Oaklair Fire Department are ready to provide emergency medical care to those in need 24 hours a day and seven days a week. And whereas access to quality emergency medical care significantly improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury. And whereas an emergency medical services system consists of first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, emergency medical dispatchers, nurses, physicians, educators, administrators, and trained members of the public. And whereas the members of emergency medical services teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills. And whereas the public benefits daily from the knowledge and skills of those highly trained individuals. And whereas it is

appropriate to recognize the value and accomplishments of of emergency medical services providers by designating the 52nd anniversary of emergency medical services week and by recognizing its theme of improving outcomes together. Now therefore, I, Jeremy Gregor, uh, president of Oaklair City Council, on behalf of the entire city council, uh, do hereby proclaimed the week of May 17th through 23rd, 2026 as emergency service medical services week. Congratulations. Thank you. So, thank you very much, council president, council members also uh for this recogn recognition and for your continued support of the Oaklair Fire Department EMS providers. My name is Natashamir. I'm the deputy chief overseeing our EMS division. And emergency medical services is in many ways a mobile health care system. It's an accurate way to describe who we are and what we do and honestly what modern EMS and the EMS system has become. We respond to emergencies and provide the interventions like you see on TV, right? Uh the interventions needed to save save someone's life. We help them breathe or restart their heart. But it's also important to bring attention to the fact that we do so much more. We help prevent future 911 calls through education, connection, and prevention. We provide care for people in their homes, helping people stay safe and independent. We reassure patients, friends, family members in that moment of fear and uncertainty when we encounter them. It's all patient care and it's what we do. So sometimes, yes, it's it's advanced medicine, but sometimes it's something as simple as removing a fall hazard,

adjusting a rug, moving an end table closer to a chair for a person, connecting them with resources so they can stay safe and stay at home, and it's again all patient care. All patient care. I'm incredibly proud of our paramedics and EMTs and grateful to serve alongside of such serve alongside such an outstanding group of individuals. Last year alone, the Oaklair Fire Department responded to more than 10,000 EMS incidents, cared for nearly 11,000 patients from Oaklair and our 14 surrounding communities as part of our regional EMS system. And with that, we transported almost 8,000 people to our local hospitals. Those numbers not only reflect volume, but the trust that the community places in us. Our providers skill, knowledge, compassion, and professionalism allow them to do amazing things for our community every day, 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. They show up for our citizens on some of their hardest days, no matter the situation, and consistently provide exceptional care. I want to thank the council for supporting our staffing, supporting the investment in highquality equipment and the resources that make that high level of care possible. That support matters and it directly impacts what we can provide to our community. We appreciate your support and this recognition. The Oaklair Fire Department paramedics and EMTs are honored to serve Oaklair and I'm proud to accept this recognition on behalf of them. So with this year's theme, improving outcomes together is exactly what our system is. A mobile health care system working together and representing what we strive for each day. Thank you. Thank you. Uh in the next proclamation I

will call uh Steve Bkull up to the front of the room. Um and this is uh for to recognize Welcome back bird. So whereas uh wild birds are among the most beautiful and familiar forms of wildlife in our community, inspiring wonder, curiosity, and joy in people of all ages. And whereas birds are an important part of a healthy and vibrant community, inspiring artists, informing science, and reminding us to pause and appreciate the beauty of the natural world through their colors, songs, and seasonal return. And whereas the arrival of migratory birds each spring symbolizes renewal, hope, and the welcome return of warmer days in Oaklair. And whereas uh protecting bird habitats and supporting healthy bird populations helps preserve the ecological balance, biodiversity, and environmental health of our community. And whereas Oaklair's highf flyier bird city designation reflects our community's appreciation for wild birds and serves as a call to continue creating spaces where birds and people can thrive thrive together. Now therefore, I, Jeremy Gregor, president of the Oaklair City Council, on behalf of the entire city council, do hereby recognize and celebrate Oaklair's bird city status and proclaim May 20, 2026 as welcome back bird day in the city of Oaklair, and encourage all residents to celebrate the return of migratory birds, learn about their importance, support bird friendly spaces, and help

make our community more welcoming to wild birds. Congratulations. Thanks. If you were to ask yourself um the question, what's the most magnificent natural event on the planet? You'd have to consider for a second, is it a tornado? I know when those sirens go off, I run outside to to look for the tornado uh instead of going inside because I've always wanted to see one. They're magnificent. uh hurricane. Is that something that you think might be the most magnificent spectacle on planet earth? Uh the aurora borealis, I don't know of anybody who's seen too many aurora borealises. Uh but if you ask me, I think it's hands down bird migration. And there's a reason for that. It happens on every continent, all seven of them. It happens for three quarters of the year. It's been going on for millions of years. And while all of us are asleep, everybody in this room was asleep last night. Six million birds passed through the city of Oaklair. Six million. And that's going on every night for the month of May. Uh those birds are passing through and they've been doing that forever. And yet uh they face such stressors. And so we do this this proclamation is part of our designation as a bird city uh requirement and uh we became a bird city because we recognize that birds add to the quality of our lives. If you look at what people do now, we see more and more of this. I think it's remarkable. Birding is the most popular recreation, the fastest growing recreation outside of gardening in the United States. It surpasses hunting and fishing. Uh young people are doing it more and more and people are coming out and saying they're proud of doing it and they're excited about doing it. We know scientifically it makes people happier to be bird watchers and yet the birds that we honor and love are disappearing. Uh free roaming cats are taking them out. They're hitting structures. uh they're being pest uh poisoned by pesticides like glyphosate and we have to do something about it. We've lost a third

of our birds and so this is part of that by recognizing that they are important to our community and they add to the quality of life is important to us. So I want to thank you guys for doing this for paying the fee the yearly fee for bird city. Phil I want to thank you for working with me to do this to fill out this is not easy. We sit in the room and we do this together. We fill out these questions and every year we do this. So, thank you for your support of birds in our community and therefore your expression of love for those wild things that are so magnificent on planet Earth. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Bkull. And all right, that that's that concludes our uh proclamations and and uh appreciations. Uh and but yeah, but appreciate everybody who is here um part of our meeting today. Uh and we want to move on to our business agenda. Um and the first item is actually item number 24. Um because we just did our con consent agenda a while ago uh at the beginning of the meeting. So, um, this item, I will just read it, is a a resolution authorizing submission of a community development investment grant application to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation on behalf of Candessa LLC uh, redevelopment project. And we have our economic development specialist uh, Kendall Williams here to present on that item. Welcome. Thank you, President Gregor. City Council members, this agenda item is a resolution authorizing submission of a community development investment grant or CDI grant application through WEDC for $250,000 on behalf of Candessa LLC for a redevelopment project at 200 Oaklair Street within Hey Market Landing. The

proposed proposed project will redevelop a long vacant commercial space adjacent to both Hey Market Plaza and Pablo Center at the Confluence into a 200 seat upscale restaurant concept projected to generate over $2 million in revenue annually while creating 30 to 40 total new jobs. The site has remained largely underutilized for nearly a decade despite significant investment occurring throughout the broader Hearket landing area, making redevelopment of the space an important opportunity to continue activating both the district and strengthening downtown activity. The project already includes conventional bank financing, SBA backed lending, regional business fund financing, and a city EDA revolving loan fund previously approved by our loan administration board. This CDI application is intended to help address remaining financing gaps tied primarily to increased construction and mechanical costs associated with the restaurant buildout. Under the CDI program structure, municipalities are required to serve as the applicant for eligible redevelopment projects. In this case, the city was approached by both the business owner JP Nunes, who is here with us this evening, and WEDC staff in late March to gauge the project's eligibility. The project was then preliminarily reviewed by WEDC and approved for submission of an application in midappril. As has been the process for all past CDI grant applications, including those submitted on behalf of the Oxbow Hotel in the Lake on Dante apartments, children's museum of Oaklair and Canary Square Apartments. A resolution from city council authorizing submission of the application is required by WEDC at this stage. Then if the grant is awarded, the city of Oaklair would enter into a pass through agreement with Candessa LLC and administer the grant in accordance with the program requirements. At this time, I'll take any questions about the project itself if there are any. I'm also happy to invite JP up to answer any as well.

Okay. Thank you. Um are there any questions from council? Looks like we have one from council member Miller. Thank you, Counc. Uh thank you, Miss Williams, for the presentation. The last thing you said, um, if the applicant were to receive the grant, the city would act as the administrator of the grant. What kind of, uh, duties does that entail from the city? Um, that just makes sure that he meets all, uh, that the owner, JP Nunees and Candasa LLC meets all of the grant requirements. So, that would be reporting on what the funds were used for, making sure that they're hitting target deadlines, um, anything that's required by WEDC, we would just work with him to make sure that those requirements are met. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. Uh we have a question from uh council member. Thank you, council president. My question is what about if this grand application will be denied? So does the city mean that's the end of this business or they have second option? Um if he I won't speak on behalf of JP's financing package, but um if he were not to have this grant application approved by council, we would not be able to submit the application to the state on his behalf. So he would have to look at other options.

Okay. Any other questions from council or Well, thank you for the presentation and we'll we can move this item for discussion. Um so on on a by a motion by council member Worthman um and seconded by council member orth uh this item is moved. Uh is there any discussion from council? Okay. Um oh actually sorry uh vice president show.

Thank you council president Gregor. Um, I just wanted to make a comment that I've heard from a lot of people in the community that are really excited to see this space um, being filled and moving forward with this like really vibrant and robust proposal. So, I just wanted to express my gratitude to the owner um, that's here tonight and my hope that this um, grant application is approved by WEDC and um, wish the owner luck in this endeavor. Thank you. Uh, Vice President Shonne, any other discussion? Okay. Well, I think we can uh uh city clerk, would you uh please call the role? Council member Greger. I

Miller. I Reed. I Serrano. I Worman. Hi, Rooster. I All right. And that passes uh unanimously. Thank you and congratulations on the support there.

Um so next item is item number 25 and this is resolution establishing a new voting site for election ws 1640 41 and 64. And yesterday uh we had a presentation from city clerk uh Kerner and a public hearing on the on the item. Um do council members have any questions uh about uh the proposal to uh have a new voting site?

Uh council member uh Worthman. This is a question for clerk kerner and it deals with the uh statutory timeline that uh new voting new or existing polling locations need to be approved by the city council just for my awareness. What part what point in the year do we need to make those decisions? Those will be 30 days before the u the primary election basically. So, so basically by mid July before mid July. Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much. Any other questions?

Yeah. Thank you, uh, City Clerk Kerner, and thank you for that question. Any other, uh, I guess we'll we'll move this item. So, um, on a motion by Council Member Miller and seconded by, uh, Council Vice President Shan, uh, this item item is moved. Is there any discussion? Uh, Council Member Serrano.

Thank you, Council President Gre Greger. Um, I just want to thank our city clerk and our elections department here for for making this proposal. Um, I on behalf of the residents of Ward 41, which are in my district, um, this is going to greatly facilitate their uh, easy voting and or easier voting. And so, um, um, I think I think this is this is brilliant. Um, I'm eager to help get the word out about the change in in voting location. I I know there's going to be postcards sent out, but I hope to work together with you also to um, you know, if there's anything I can do to to help inform uh, citizens um, in in the whole of Oaklair, but certainly for this Ward 41, I really appreciate the the effort that went into figuring this all out. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you, uh, Council Member Serrano. Um, any other, uh, discussion before I move on to a vote on this item?

All right. Uh, city clerk, please call the role. Council member, I excuse me. I Miller I Otto I Reed I shown I Sir I Rooster I Gregor I

All right, that passes uh unanimously. Um thank you. Next item on the agenda, there are there are the next three items are actually in the realm of granting licenses. And um so item number 26 is a resolution granting a combination class A intoxicating liquor and fermented malt beverage license to Indiana Indian Head Oil Company LLC doing business as Circle K number 2746593 at 4 4304 Jeffers Road. uh Hillary Hakes agent and we have our assistant uh city attorney uh Herbison here. Um welcome uh to present on that item. I'm not sure if you're going to present on all three at once or

Yes. My my plan would be to present on all three at once. Uh Council President Gregor. Okay. So, thank you uh Council President Gregor. Uh good evening, Council members. Uh

so speaking to all three of these applications, uh so it's the same uh combination class A uh intoxicating liquor and fermented malt beverage for three separate locations for uh new circle circle K locations in the city of Oaklair. Uh so it'll be for the we have Jeffers Road on the screen. There's also Highland and Craig Road um involved. Uh as you'll see in the packet uh I provided a memorandum for you that uh briefly explains some of the context for uh today. Uh but these applications returned to council after the applicant withdrew similar applications in January to address certain uh ID check practices and other concerns raised by the license review committee at that time. Since then, uh, the applicant has taken, uh, substantial efforts to, uh, address the city's concerns, uh, including sending upwards of 30 employees to the police department and health department's retailer training, uh, to get, uh, training on, uh, fake ID check practices and other concerns related to, uh, sale of of alcohol in the community. Uh the applicant updated their internal training materials for employees in the city of Oaklair to reflect city expectations. Uh which in in many cases is is uh uh I guess that to that extent would then reflect what uh the materials and the retailer training materials would look like. So they've aligned with expectations from a training perspective. uh they have undergone several compliance checks in the past uh I guess about two months now uh and that pattern indicates that they've continued to approve uh when locations uh failed on a compliance check. They were responsive to city requests to uh uh implement um increased measures uh and particularly at the Claremont location. You'll see

they've passed the two most recent locations. Uh the G road location was previously granted a license, only recently issued the license because of inspection um and certain construction concerns. But given that that location passed its first check after opening, uh that indicates to the city that uh that the the training at the two existing locations will eventually reach these three new locations as well. Um and uh in addition to that, they have uh been actively uh confiscating IDs. So we have reports of confiscated IDs outside of compliance checks and they're working with the police department uh to um uh uh report and uh turn over those IDs as they happen in real time. And so based on the efforts that were conducted by the applicant uh their ability uh and and skill demonstrated to align with city expectations of alcohol licenses, the license review committee does not object to the granting of these licenses. And I'm happy to take any questions you have at this time.

Yeah. Thank you. Are there any questions uh from council? Um all right. Well, I think we can move the first one uh and then we'll have to vote on them all and we'll have to move the all three of them separately and everything and vote on them separately. But thank you so much for the presentation. Um so uh on a motion uh by council member Ibogga and seconded by council member Otto. Um item number 26 is moved. Is there any discussion? Okay. Well, uh, since there is no discussion, we will, uh, pass it on to the city clerk, uh, to call the role, please. Council member Miller.

I

Serrano. I Rooster. I Johnson. I I.

All right. And that item passes unanimously. We'll go on to item number 27. Uh resolution granting a combination class A intoxating liquor and fermented malt beverage licensed to Indiana Oil Company LLC doing business as Circle K number 2746597 at 21109 Highland Avenue Kelsey uh Satterback agent. Um, and I will just move that one right away because we presumably nobody has any specific questions about this one. Uh, so a motion by uh, Council Member Reid and seconded by Council Member Serrano. Um, item number 27 is moved. Is there any discussion?

All right. Well, city clerk, please call the role. Council member or I Otto I Reed I Toronto I Worthman. Hi Rooster. I Gregor I Johnson IA I Miller I.

All right and that passes unanimously. Uh we'll move on to uh agenda item number 28. Resolution granting a combination class A intoxicating liquor and fermented mold beverage licensed to Indiana Oil Company LLC doing business as a Circle K number 274600 at 2920 Craig Road um Anna Rotor agent and presumably there's no questions about this one specifically uh so we will uh by a motion made by Council member Brewster um and seconded by Council Member Worthman. This item is moved. Is there any discussion?

Okay, seeing no discussion. Um city clerk, please call the role. Council member Otto I. Reed I. Sh. I. Serrano I. Worth. Hi. Brewster. I Johnson. I Invoga I Miller I or I

All right. And that passes unanimously. Um, now we are going into item number 29 um, which is a resolution appointing an interim uh, city manager and we have our HR director Carrie Reaple uh, to present on this item and there is a um, a substitute resolution that's on everybody's desks uh, that um that our HR director can explain a bit more. So, thank you.

Uh, good evening. So, uh, with Stephanie Hersh's resignation, we have a vacancy in the city manager position. Council finds it to be in the best the public interest to appoint an interim city manager until until a new permanent city manager is appointed. Before you is a substitute resolution appointing David Soulberg as the interim city manager, effective at 6 pm today. With that, I will take any questions. Okay. Are they any questions from council? So, I see one from uh council member Serrano first.

Oh, sir, you don't have one. Okay. Any questions from from council before we move this item? All right. Thank you. So, uh on a motion uh by council member orth and seconded by council member Miller, um this item is moved. Is there any discussion on the resolution? Okay. Oh. Oh, sorry. Council member uh Miller.

Uh thank you, Council President. So, just for members of the public to know that, you know, this resolution will hereby uh appoint um Davis Hullberg as the interim city manager and then um at the work session after this meeting, we will have a work session with council on the process for hiring a new city manager. So, this is just one step to get somebody officially in the saddle there to run the city. And then, you know, as of the business meeting today, we're already going to be discussing what we're going to do in the future to have a permanent position. Thank you, uh, Council Member Miller. Um, any other discussion? All right. Uh, city clerk, please call the role. Council member Reed, I.

Sh. I. Serrano I Worman I Rooster I Gregor I Johnson I Miller I Otto

I all right and that passes unanimously and congratulations uh Mr. Soulberg. All right uh now we're going into ordinances for action. Uh item number Agenda item number 30, um, ordinance amending table one entitled speed limits of the code of ordinances of the city of Oaklair to change the speed limit on Locust Lane from 30 miles hour to 25 miles per hour. And we have um we did have a presentation uh yesterday about this uh but we also today we have Deputy City Engineer Al Rinka joining us. Welcome.

Yep. Thank you, President uh Gregor, and good evening, city council. Um so just a recap from last night. So this is in front of the Locust Elementary School up on Locust Lane, northeast part of the city. Um I did get one follow-up question earlier today. Um and it was in regards to is there any upcoming construction on Locust Lane in this area? And I can tell you that we do have a Milton resurface project in the next one to two years that'll be in this section of Locust Lane. Um but other than that, um you know, as we spoke last night, um we did receive some concerns about speeds in front of the schools. So after looking at it and looking at our um safe routes to school program, um we feel that this is a good candidate to lower the speed limit down um by 5 miles an hour. So from 25 uh so then the school posted zone will be 15 miles an hour with a 10 mph difference from the posted speed limit.

So any questions? Thank you. Yeah. Are there any questions from councel? Uh council member Miller.

Thank you c uh council president. Uh ma. Yeah, that was my I was want to ask you that question and the reason I asked you that question is because um you know looking at the street itself, it's a very wide boulevard, very straight which uh lends to people going fast on it and it's 30 and dropping the 25 that will officially post the speed limit down but uh getting behaviors to change is is much harder. And um you know throughout the city the engineering department has implemented different traffic caling measures where possible. Um you mentioned that there would be some construction between on this road from Abbeby Hill to P road which includes the block directly in front of the school. And then my question was it would be feasible um it probably incurs some extra costs but even like just around the school some sort of curb cuts or islands or any sort of traffic calming features which directly in the vicinity of the school which is probably the motivation for the reduction in speed to do physical implementations to help drive that speed limit down while you do the mill and filaments. I know it's a very superficial one compared to it but is something like that possible?

Absolutely. Yeah. So with that project, we would do some spot curb and sidewalk improvements and and we always do look at traffic caling measures, you know, whether it's through signage or um yeah, the curb bumpouts as you mentioned um you know, as long as it uh you know, it can it fits within the the available travel way space. That is something that we can definitely look at and consider. Yeah. So I'd highly encourage, you know, you said next year, the year after maybe, but do look at so with the 25 mile 25 mile per hour speed limit, see what kind of physical things can be done to help keep the school zone safer. So thank you.

Okay. Yeah. Um, Council Member, thank you, Council President. Um, something just popped up. What about doing the drop off and pick up? I I feel like 25 miles an hour too fast when there's drop off and pick up the 25 miles. Well, so the drop off and pickup would be occurring during school hours. Yeah. But when people get out then get back to the the locust lane because that's a lot of traffic.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean they you know they would have to abide by the two posted speed limits of 15 during school hours, 25 during non-school hours. Um, and it's just up to self-regulation and, you know, potential law enforcement to make sure people stay safe. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Uh, Council Member Worth,

thank you. Um, my question has to do with the safe routes for schools. Um, I know it's not directly related to lowering the speed limit, although it was a recommendation from safe routes to schools. Um, is the city still receiving safe routes to schools money or is that not a thing anymore? We I I do not know the answer to that. I I don't know if we're receiving money for that. Back in the day, there was safe routes to school money, but obviously no more. Thank you.

Yeah. Thank you. But yeah, I don't doesn't look like there are any further questions. So, thank you. Um Okay, Mr. Rinka. Yeah. Um so, we will um I don't move this to discussion. Uh by a motion made by um Council Member Johnson and seconded by Vice President Shown, uh this item is moved. Is there any discussion on this item of speed limits at Locust Lane? Okay. Uh, city clerk, please call the role. Council member Sh. I. Serrano. I. Worth. Hi.

Rooster. I. Greor. I. Johnson. Imbogga. I Miller. I Reed. I right and that passes unanimously. Uh, next item is number 31 on the agenda. Ordinance to resone property from UR and URP to UC located at 918 926-93 936 Monomony Street Z1 76326. And we have director Aaron White uh to present on that item. And I know last time you didn't have any imagery, but maybe you have that with you.

Correct. Um I don't know that we've got the it's still in limbo somewhere, but no worries. I have no new information to present to council, but I' been happy to answer any additional questions that might have come up. Okay. Uh we have a question from Council Member Otto. Well, thank you, Council President. Do we have any sense of how many units or how tall the uh units might be floor-wise? No, we have not seen any um site plans yet. Um it is just looking it it's expected to be something similar to the surrounding area. There are some sections of that area that have some height restrictions. I don't this is not I don't think this is specifically one of them, but um it's expected to be something that'll blend in with the with the surrounding properties. Okay. Thank you.

Any other uh questions from council? Uh, council vice president uh shown. Thank you, council president. Um, I don't know the proper Robert's rule for this, but I have um just I guess would like to direct council member Otto to page 137 in the agenda packet because there is a narrative that talks about how many units are proposed. And so just I wanted to share that information. Um, from the I believe the consultant assisting the developer, it indicates there would be 42 residential units on the second and third floors. That's all.

Yeah. Thank you, Vice President Shon. Um, yeah, if there are no further questions, we can I can move the item. Um, so, uh, on a motion by Council Member Emboga and seconded by, uh, Council Member Otto, this item is moved. Is there any discussion? Yeah. Uh we have Council Member Worthman.

Thank you, Council President. Um this is a project that has been a long time in the making. Um and I'm just excited to finally see it arrive here. I want to thank our our economic development director and and entire city staff that helped kind of keep this conversation going so it could get to this point. Um but but on top of that is the support from the neighborhood which I think is a huge deal because I've been in neighborhood meetings where um you know in prior years people said maybe that's too many units that doesn't necessary fit that's too the building is too high. You know all these different things that that neighborhoods are concerned about to see the neighborhood come and say you know what we want to welcome this and and think it's a good addition to our our neighborhood um on that corridor. It's exciting. So, I'm I'm pleased to see this finally moving head. There was one small thing and the developer already knows. I've talked about it, but um was around the trees and the trees were um taken down ahead of our the passage of our um tree protection ordinance. Um which, you know, it's it happens, but um besides that small piece, I I feel good about this entire project and the way that it's been it's been uh moving forward. Thank you, Council Member Worthman. Is there any other discussion by council on agenda item number 31 um to reszone property on street? Oh, we have council member Miller.

Thank you, Council President. Uh kind of echoing what Council Member Worman said. Um when we we did our uh zoning ordinances, you know, we encouraged denser development throughout the city to make city more compact, more energy efficient, more uh transportation efficient, pedestrian friendly. um natural concerns were that you you'd have giant highrises going up right next to single family homes. Um this really encodifies like that um that middle ground the I'm forgetting the phrase or the the missing middle that because it's right next to the hobs right next to the s tag. you know, you does have single family homes on the other side of it, but this is really the smart kind of upscale uh development that I was hoping to see coming from the um zoning changes and I'm I'm glad to see this coming forward here and and fitting exactly kind of what we were thinking or at least what I was thinking things should move forward as. So, it's good to see this.

Thank you, Council Member Miller. Uh any other any other discussion? Okay, seeing none, uh, city clerk, please call the role. Council member Serrano, Iman, I. Rooster, I Johnson, I. I, Miller, I

sh I.

All right. And that passes unanimously. Um so we will now move on to the ordinances uh for introduction. Uh so I will read item agenda item number 32 ordinance amending uh table nine entitled parking during specified hours of the code of ordinances of the city of Oaklair to amend the effective date of paid parking. Um and um so we typically do not have a presentation um on a first um on an ordinance for introduction unless anyone wants to suspend the rules. I don't know though that there's any reason to do that. Okay. Um so that will be on our agenda in two weeks then. Um, so we will move uh into announcements and updates uh by the city manager and the city council. And we have uh our acting uh city manager Soulberg, soon to be interim city manager Soulberg once we get to 6:00 pm I believe. So thank you council president uh Gregor. I just wanted to just a few quick announcements. I just wanted to announce that we are in um National Police Week and um I just wanted to say that in uh 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed N or May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15th falls as National Police Week. Uh it's established by Joint Resolution of Congress in 1962. Uh this week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. So, I thank our police uh for the work that they do each and every day and congratulate them on swearing in three new officers today. Um, Wednesday, May 13th from 6:30 to

8:30 p.m. um Decki will have a mix and mingle uh downtown at the Oxbow Hotel uh with a timely parking f parking focused discussion uh talking about our changes to the uh parking uh program in downtown Oaklair. Uh and again, that'll be at the Oxford Oxbow Hotel. Uh Monday, May 25th, uh at 9:30, we have our annual Memorial Day parade in downtown. Uh then Thursday, May 28th, uh there is a Chamber of Commerce eggs and issues. It's a legislative roundup uh that'll be held at uh Chipo Valley Technical College. Uh let the city manager's office know if you're interested in that and we'll get you signed up for that. And then in the evening um on late afternoon to evening on Thursday, May 28th, there is a st there is a staff and city council team building exercise um or meeting scheduled at the Chipo Valley Museum um tenatively scheduled to start at 4:30 um with uh food and uh beverages from 4:30 to 5:00 and then um from 5:00 to 7:00 to go um over have for an opportunity for staff to uh talk about what each department does, what um you go over Robert's rules of order, a lot of the a lot of the housekeeping education that we have here, and um the director of the Chipo Valley Museum is planning a brief presentation on the history of Oaklair. So, just a chance for city council members and department directors for the city to uh get to know each other and um learn a few things and have some entertainment.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Soulberg. Is there any announcements uh from city council members or any other staff? Um so, just want to mention, you know, we have quite a bit left on our agenda. So, um there is going to be a a close session. Um and then we will um do a city council photo since we have a full council. Um and then we will um have two work sessions after that. But um I will read um the the um notice of the closed session and then we will uh have a vote on that. um to see where we're at with. So, I'll just read that. Upon a motion duly made and carried, the city council may go into close session to discuss and receive negotiation direction on the e acquisition of land adjacent to I94. City staff are seeking negotiation uh direction from council regarding the potential purchase of land. This item involves the deliberation or deliberating and negotiating the potential purchase of public properties and use of public funds which is authorized for close session pursuant to Wisconsin statute section 19.851E. Um and do we have a motion to go into close session?

I'll second. So, we have a motion from Council Member Worthman, seconded by Council Member Brewster. Um, is there any, uh, discussion of that motion? Okay, seeing none, uh, city clerk, please call the role. Council member Worman, I. Rooster, I. Gregor I Johnson I Miller I Otto I Reed I Sh I s I

All right. And that passes. So we'll go into close session. If folks could generally stay seated who are on council and and we'll we'll get to the close session and then we'll do the photo after we uh reopen. uh after the close session I think uh there's there's there was one close session then two work sessions later. So

so we'll just give folks a moment to uh to exit the room. Appreciate everybody joining us in the gallery. No, I mean I'll be treating caution.