City Council - Regular Meeting

And call this meeting to order.

Roll call for the City Council meeting of Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 at 5.30 p.m. President Titus. Yes. Members Brzezinski. Yes. Flores. She might be on her way. Horton.

Yes.

Pohl. Yes. Schaaf. Yes. Troop.

Yes.

At this time, we will stand for a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Thank you.

A motion to approve the minutes from the Wednesday, June 3rd City Council meeting. Members Brzezinski. Yes. Flores. Horton. Yes. Cole. Yes. Shaw. Yes. Troop.

Yes. Titus.

Yes. So at this point, we have a presentation this evening from our representative from the Erie Convention Center Authority on the proposed market house. So we will move right into that, and then we will go into public comment.

I believe so.

Megan, I don't know if you hear me. Can you hear me? I'd like to kick things off, if you don't mind. Yes. Can you hear me okay?

Yes. Yeah.

Great. Well, good evening, Council Members and Madam Mayor, and I apologize that I'm unable to attend in person this evening. We appreciate the opportunity to provide some additional information that's related to our proposed Market House project, as you consider a re-vote this evening. There's some communications we had earlier this week and last week as well with city solicitor check. We've provided some additional information in advance of the meeting that we think will help to clarify some of the critical points of the project. Additionally, tonight, our architect Megan Loney will present some updated renderings of the site. the location, the exterior design, and some interior renderings as well. I've also asked our authority solicitor, Jim Walzak, to assist as he's been involved in this project and our organization long before I took over as executive director back in 2023. Before I defer to Ms. Loney to present the updated renderings, there's three points that were included in the written memo that I provided that I feel need to be highlighted tonight. The first one is I'd like to clarify the misconception that the project is tax exempt. The Market House will consist of leasable space with commercial tenants. It has been and it will be our practice on this project to pass that along to our tenants. Mr. Walczak is here in person and he can provide more details if you'd like on that matter. Second item I'd like to clarify is related to the location of the proposed market house. Now our architect is included on her slides the exact location of the site. The Market House is going to sit on what is now currently the southernmost parking lot of the Convention Center. Some have confused this location with the former GAF property. The former GAF property is approximately eight acre parcel that's located directly to the west. It has been our intention and always will be since remediating the site to sell those eight acres for taxable private development. To that end, we're currently working with Mayor Devlin's World-Class Waterfront Committee to ensure that land is sold and developed to its highest and best use. And then lastly, I want to point out that without the Market House, PennDOT's plans to provide a pedestrian overpass at the Sassafras Roundabout will be scrapped. Through a benefit agreement, the Convention Center authorities agreed to fund the elevator needed to make this pedestrian overpass possible. PennDOT cannot and will not construct elevators, which means this access point from the bluff to the bayfront will be eliminated entirely. I'll now ask Megan to present her updated renderings. And then after her brief presentation, the three of us would be happy to answer any questions you may have related to the project.

Thank you, Gus, and thank you, everyone, for inviting us back to hear more about the project and our plans to act on the resolutions. Just a little bit of quick background on the site beyond what Gus has given. I wanted to note that our location is adjacent to the new PennDOT roundabout and is also nearby the Bicentennial Tower, Dobbins Landing, Convention Center, Maritime Museum in Brigg, Niagara, restaurant hotels, and docks. Building on our previous presentation at City Council on April 15th, we are showing additional exterior renderings which showcase the building's complementary materials of red brick, wood look cladding, stone, glass, and steel. Exterior hardscape will be activated by local vendors and outdoor dining. The four renderings shown on screen portray the approximate location and current design concept of the future pedestrian bridge mentioned by Gus by PennDOT. This bridge is not in contract of our project but does allow direct foot traffic from neighboring bluff to the waterfront. Signage will seek a zoning variance to locate the sign atop the building. However, the overall height to the top of the sign is 50 feet, which is within the limitations of the zoning ordinance. The design is revised to call for solid lettering that is uplit rather than backlit in order to limit the light output from the sign and any disturbance to neighbors. The following two slides preview the material palette of the project, which you've seen before. Again, this is red brick, stone, wood look cladding, anodized aluminum, and galvanized steel. Special consideration is taken into bird migration patterns and preventing birds from striking the windows. A UV film that is invisible to the human eye but appears to birds as a solid object will be applied to all of the exterior windows for bird safety. Taking a sneak peek at the vision for interior spaces designed by Richardson Design, the main objectives center around a multifaceted bayfront destination that integrates food, beverage, interactive experiences, and community engagement year-round. The restaurant showcases the lively spirit of sports and recreation to create a uniquely Erie destination. The space feels nostalgic, genuine, and fun. It's a place for locals to feel at home and visitors to have an experience that is unique to Erie. The ground floor features a state-of-the-art cooking classroom where visitors can learn how to cook quality homemade meals with local products that are featured in the market. The market space is the core identity of this project. The space is open, warm, and lighthearted. The Purple Martin Cafe within the public market is inspired by the Purple Martin itself. We hope the cafe will amplify awareness of this unique migratory bird species in our own backyard. This welcoming mixed-use market house evokes a thoughtful adaptive reuse with elevated spaces featuring exposed structural steel. It is a community-focused public space for all that enhances the vibrant core of the city of Erie. Thank you.

Is there any other further? I don't want to open it up for questions. I don't know if anyone else wanted to present. Counselors, does anybody have any questions? This is going a little bit out of order, I guess, for us. So we could hold the questions until we hear public comment, which I think would be more beneficial. So that way we can hear and then integrate those questions.

So that would be my recommendation for us.

And then that's what we'll do then. If there's nothing else to present, we'll pause and we'll move into the public comment part. Is that presentation's done?

Yeah, no more presentation. We're happy to stick around for questions afterwards, absolutely.

Thank you. All right. So at this point, then we will head into the public comment. So just like it's going to operate how it usually operates with public comment, we do have the sign-in sheet. We moved it over to the desk. We're seeing that it's getting a little congested to try to help. So if you would like to come up and talk, you've got five minutes. Just make sure you've signed in, you've stated your name and your municipality. And then just when the timer goes off, just please be mindful. But the floor is open to public comment now.

I'll sign in after my comment.

My name is Mark Jenneret. I'm the interim president and CEO of Visit Erie, and I'm a Mill Creek resident. Tonight I would like to express the full support of Visit Erie toward the construction of the Bayfront Market House. The Market House project will significantly enhance the continued development of Erie's waterfront, add considerably to the visitor experience, provide benefits to the residents, and further strengthen Erie's position as a premier Great Lakes destination. This type of amenity is increasingly important, particularly to travelers, as they seek authentic, walkable experiences that showcase local culture and regional flavor. As Erie County's official destination marketing organization, Visit Erie is committed to supporting initiatives like the Market House that have a positive impact on tourism, Erie's third largest industry, generating more than $1.1 billion and supporting more than 13,000 jobs annually. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, everyone.

Brent Bricker, Lawrence Park resident. I would like to take a moment to discuss why a project labor agreement or PLA will be and can be a very tremendous benefit to the Erie community when undertaking a major construction project. At its core, a PLA is a tool that helps ensure that a project is completed safely, efficiently, and with a highly skilled workforce. These agreements bring together contractors, labor organizations under a common set of rules before work begins, creating stability, reducing the risk of delays or labor disruptions, One of the greatest benefits is the investment in our local workers and local families. Construction wages earned on these projects are spent in our communities, at local businesses, restaurants, and service providers, helping strengthen our local economy. The result is the dollars invested in a project continue to circulate long after construction is complete. Project labor agreements also provide access to trained and qualified workforce. Skilled straights people and apprentices receive extensive classroom and on-the-job training, ensuring work is performed to the highest standards of quality and safety. This not only helps protect workers, but it also delivers a finished product that taxpayers and community members can be proud of for decades. Another important benefit is workforce development. PLAs create opportunities for apprentices to gain valuable experience on significant projects, helping train the next generation of electricians, plumbers, ironworkers, and other skilled tradespersons. These are career opportunities that provide family-sustaining wages and benefits while building a stronger workforce for our future. Ultimately, a project labor agreement is about accountability, quality, safety, and community investment. It helps ensure that projects are completed on time, built right the first time, and provide lasting economic benefits to the people who live and work here in Erie, Pennsylvania. Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate all of you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Council, Madam Mayor. Thank you for the opportunity. My name is Eric Dixon. I am a representative for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and my brothers and sisters here in Erie. I just want to state that we do support this project and the opportunities it would provide. The obvious is a job site in close proximity and a paycheck, but it's much more than that. Projects like this support pensions, healthcare, mortgages, rent, car payments, utility bills, groceries, date nights with your partner, family pizza nights, school clothes, and I know it's June, but presents under the tree. But beyond that, it also provides opportunities to intake new members. Boys and girls, men and women of Erie, provides the opportunity to a career With a living wage and benefits, it provides financial stability and pride and dignity in our community. Projects like this give us, the building trades, the ability to change lives and are vital to providing pathways to our apprenticeship programs for a better life for all of Erie. So we call that community wealth. And I think as you hear us talk, you can kind of figure that out along the way. So I want to say at the end is, you know, let's work together and let's take advantage of projects like this and together we can make a difference in Erie. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. I'm Brandon Mendoza. I'm a resident of Mill Creek. On behalf of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership and our nearly 600 members, I respectfully offer our strong support for this proposed project. I believe that this initiative represents a critical investment in the continued economic revitalization of Erie and our region. Furthermore, Erie Events, a public authority I should add, is creating what we call in the public policy world, public value. That is they are utilizing public resources to enhance the community, provide jobs, and leave Erie better off. Using the land that the authority owns, the public will get a 30,000 square foot market house, The public will get a world-class development that will attract residents, neighboring residents, and tourists from outside of the region. The region will also get a dynamic mix of anchor tenants, local vendors, a new event space for that size, and also live entertainment opportunities. It will also be a year-round destination, which I know in this region we are working to make sure that this is a year-round economy and that our tourism in the region is also year-round as well. Visitors will not only be drawn to the market house itself, but to surrounding Bayfront assets. And with the construction that is hopefully finishing up soon on the connector there, we will also be able to build that bridge between downtown and our waterfront. Several other points, job creation. Both construction phase construction jobs and the permanent jobs tied to the retail, food services, event and operations of the space. These jobs will produce tax revenue for the city and the county. Obviously I talked about tourism. Right now, we are in the process of, under the mayor's leadership, rethinking how to build a world-class waterfront. And to Erie Events, their credit, they're at the table working with this group and trying to build that future. And obviously, lots of input from the community will happen. That being said, This Market House is also about setting the charting the future of the Bayfront and world-class developments on there. I'll touch on small business growth as well. It's my belief that Market House and a number of other coming developments on the Bayfront and also in downtown, you're going to see an enhanced ability of small businesses to have affordable retail space in our downtown and on our Bayfront. And Market House is one more of those. For those small businesses that cannot afford big rents, it will be one more location that is actually world-class that small businesses can operate. So with that, I really just hope this body can understand that this is an important project. The governor has endorsed this project. Most of our businesses and civic leaders support this project. And I hope that you vote yes.

Thank you.

Hello. Savannah Wilson. longtime resident of Erie, Pennsylvania. I am voting against this project. The design, I'm sorry, is hideous. And that does not represent the culture here in Erie. And when we talk about culture, that's what retains and attracts people to this region. When we want to talk about a world-class waterfront, that is very basic. And I'm just going to be completely honest in how disappointing that is for a group of people that say that they care about the community. Did the community even have input in this design? When I'm looking at it, just the basic layout, it doesn't even look accessible, really, for people in wheelchairs to sit at these Taco Bell-styled tables. And I just don't understand. We have a lot of money that is going into this. Josh Shapiro is investing a lot, but he's also investing a lot into trying to bring more hotels down here. And we can give the people more. We can show people from around the world and even in our community what Erie residents are really made out of. Art and culture. That's what this should really be about, is entertainment. It's mentioned briefly, but what are we gonna bring?

Cover bands?

We need to throw these ideas away, and we need to talk to the artists that are living here now, because these are the people that are going to bring and attract the people to these areas. If you look at this design, it doesn't even represent what the people in Erie actually stand for. And this is a design for just summer months as well. I'm not even an interior designer, but when I look at this, I don't get something that could also be comforting for the spring, the fall and the winter. You have these big windows. Doesn't matter how much heat you put in there, they're going to let in the cold air. You're right on the lake. The lake is suffering right now from harmful algae blooms. And it smells terrible down there. And there's a lot of feces from birds. So if we want to attract more birds, let's make sure that we're cleaning up after the birds that are already there. Because around the area where Nick Scott's putt-putt is, there's a lot of feces. And if people are going to be walking, if people are going to have their wheelchairs, they're going to walk in it. They're going to roll in it. It's going to spread, and it's disgusting. How can this be a world-class waterfront if it smells like dookie? Please help me understand. And there's only a small section of where people can actually walk around down there. Because there's a lot of areas for parking, but there's not a lot of areas for actually walking. And what bothers me the most with this $9 million with Josh Shapiro and all of these hotels that he wants to bring, these data centers. Infinite Erie and the 300 strategy plan talk about alignment. And when you look at both of those, they're two separate things. When we talk about job development, you're talking a little bit about bringing in some construction work, which is great. We need that. But what about the other things that help our region? Entertainment, arts. We need this to retain the people. The young people don't want to stay here because it's boring. We already know this. So why are we having these discussions with young people? Why are we having these discussions with artists and with environmentalists? Because if we want to bring in data centers, that's super counterintuitive to protecting our lake, our greatest asset. our world-class waterfront, but yet we want to bring a data center in here and it's developed into a 300 strategy plan that's supposed to last our chambers 150 years? Who made that decision? It's kind of a little bit far from having this conversation. We should have had this conversation when those two plans came out. I'm very upset because this is not alignment. This is taking the resources that we could invest into our waterfront to bring in more tax revenues. Where is the community benefit agreements with the hotels, with this marketplace? What's the investment back? We still have a disconnection from our downtown area to our peninsula. Is the Victorian princess in the pirate ship going to hold us up for the next 150 years? Or are we going to find a way to connect our residents to the peninsula, to Canada? We're not working. We're not thinking bigger. That's a problem that I have. Think bigger. Be more creative. Because this is elementary. And I'm disappointed. And we can do more. Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm Dan Dahlkemper. I'm a resident of City of Erie. I live downtown. I've also for many years been on the design review committee for the city. So you've seen me before here. And as a member of the design review committee, we've reviewed this project to make sure it meets the requirements for the Bayfront conditional zoning. We recommend it. And there's architects, a historian, a community member, landscape architect on that committee. with some changes that the architects have made to the building, to the landscape. We're coordinating with PennDOT's landscape plans, so it looks great. And we've done this over many years for the Bayfront, and we have a pretty good-looking Bayfront as it fills in. However, the vote, I believe, is does it meet the Bayfront conditional zoning, not how good does it look, does it affect the environment that way, We looked at all the requirements for the Bayfront Conditional Zoning. We recommended it. Planning Commission recommended it to you. I think that's what you're voting on. I mean, jobs, taxes, all those things are important, but I believe the vote is on does it meet the requirements. It does. We've reviewed this. Volunteers work hard to recommend to you because you work hard for us, too. So we recommend that you move this project forward. It meets the requirements. And as the other areas fill in, as Gus had said, we get more area to develop down there. we can bring it together. Our firm has worked hard to provide public access. We have world-class public access all around the Bayfront, bike trails, Liberty Park, community events for everybody, free events that the Erie Events helped to provide, and there's good ways to get down there, and this is a good project to bring those forthwith. So I just hope that you vote to approve this project. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, Council, President, Council members, and Madam Mayor, solicitor. My name is Curtis Jones, Erie resident, lifelong Erie resident. I want to begin by recognizing the challenging position that each of you are in as local legislators. I literally understand firsthand the challenges that decisions like this will put on you and how you have to walk through the same community and answer questions about the decisions that you make behind the dais. Sometimes it feels as if when you represent an entire community that supporting one project sometimes can make you look as if you're supporting or not supporting other priorities or other projects. And the truth of the matter is not the case. All of you serve at large. And so you have the responsibility, and I'd say a weighty responsibility, to balance the needs of all sectors of the community. not to the exclusion of any of them on either end of the spectrum. Having served for 13 years, I've literally and figuratively sat in every seat behind that table or behind that desk, and thank you for continuing to do that and serve the way that you are, with your best information, best intentions, and with the passion that you bring to your service. I believe that as the director of Government Affairs for the Erie Regional Chamber, I'm here to speak in favor of this project and ask you to vote in that way. The Erie Bayfront Market House is not just another development, but it's a keystone investment in the future of Erie's waterfront. In my opinion, and I think way beyond my opinion, this is a catalytic project and one that is going to drive additional Private investment and actually not compete with it. It will promote more private investment that will be taxable, that will be able to add to the coffers of our city. This project drives real measurement and real measurable economic benefits. Year-round tourism that brings thousands of new visitors to the Bayfront. Increased revenue for local residents and retails. and hospitality businesses, job creation across the areas of construction, operations, and other small business ventures and hospitality jobs and positions in our community that are extremely important to the tourist environment and the positive environment in that space, in the tourist industry, excuse me. It provides direct opportunities for local entrepreneurs, offering accessible vendor space seasonal participation. But here's another thing. It's really shown significant support from the state. We've got a $9.5 million RCAP investment into this project, into our community that I don't know if that stays in our community if it doesn't go into this project. Those are realities that we have to recognize and appreciate. I think the Market House also is a one-of-a-kind destination asset, will be a one-of-a-kind destination asset. I could go on and on, and many have said some of the things that I wanted to say, so I won't rehash them, but I will say that I think the Market House is ideally positioned as well to be walkable from downtown. It's near existing and planned waterfront development. It's in alignment with world-class waterfront endeavors of the mayor and other economic development entities in town. And the truth of the matter is, it will provide the pedestrian bridge to not be a bridge to nowhere. It'll be a bridge to somewhere. And it is literally and figuratively an opportunity for our community to have another destination that they can enjoy. Finally, the Market House presents, in my opinion, and I think the opinion and the hard work of others this community uh it represents a transfer a transformative public and private investment it represents a hub of economic activity potential tourism and community life not just for those coming outside but for those of us who live here who choose to access what's accessible downtown and on the waterfront it will be available for us as well this is a project that positions erie to compete regionally for visitors, residents, and business growth. This is not about choosing one priority over another. This is about recognizing that this is an opportunity to advance and grow our community in a variety of different ways, and we'll have many, many benefits beyond just what we see built on our waterfront. I ask that you consider to vote yes for this project, as it is a catalyst, and I believe we'll see generational benefit moving forward. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Cole Shenley. I live in the city of Erie. I'm here to ask that you vote for this project, not because I am super thrilled with it. I just think that legally you don't really have a lot of choice. It has met the standards by which it would get approved. I think this entire conversation has taken up far too much oxygen in the larger conversation about the future of Erie. I think that this body should be changing the rules around waterfront conditional use. And I believe that the prior vote, where this project was voted down, spoke to some of the concerns that members of council have around how the waterfront is being developed. And you have every right to change those rules, to make upgrades, and figure out what is going to work for everybody in the city. I think this project is perfectly OK. I don't think it's transformational. It's a nice enough project. I don't know if it will truly change the waterfront for the better. I think tonight's pitch by Erie Events was better than the one they brought last time. And I don't think it should have been pulling teeth for them to have done this. This body, this council, has oversight over eerie events. Each one of you is allowed to pick A board member, as their terms come up, the mayor has a couple picks, the governor has a couple picks. If you don't like the things they are bringing to you, you can make changes. And I don't mean that as any kind of disrespect towards the board, who I think does generally good work, or Mr. Pine, who I think generally does good work. But this body has power over the direction of eerie events. And if you feel like they are not doing what they need to be doing, you should make those changes. I would ask that this body, instead of focusing too much on this particular project, work more toward how can we change the waterfront for the better, and how we can do more projects in the city that would be beneficial for everybody, working on things like social housing, for instance. I want us to get past this and move on to better things. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Is there anybody else here for public comment? Anyone else for public comment? Anyone else for public comment? At this point, I will ask if council has any questions that we would like to address to your events about the project.

Yes, sir. Excuse me. Dr. Titus. Yes. Please forgive me. I don't have questions. I just want to give thanks to Mr. Pine and his board and Erie Events. And I will echo what the last speaker said, that this presentation was a lot better. And I certainly speak for me. It provided much more information, and it shouldn't have been pulling teeth. And these are the type of conversations that we should have had before the original vote. And I think a lot of it, good, bad, or indifferent, no matter what the situation is, it can always get better with communication. So I want to say that no one knows better than me what 18 months of work means to me. union labor, organized labor. I'm a 33-year member of organized labor. I know how important these jobs are. I also know that when 18 months come, 18 months go. And so I've said a lot of things about not just this last vote, But I think I've been on the record for over a decade voicing some of my concerns about the laws or the rules or the regulations. And in that wise, I have to agree with the last public speaker as well. Many of the people that I see or the calls that I've received or the emails that I've gotten are from friends and colleagues and peers and people that I work with in this community. And I want to say two things to you. The first thing is I wholeheartedly respect your opinions, your outlook, and your perspective. But probably the most important thing I want to say to you, because there was this narrative put out here, and I don't throw rocks and hide my hand. I work with really, really great colleagues. We have a great mayor. And we have a great team. And they're smart. And they're competent. And they listen. to all the information so that they can make informed decisions and they should be respected, always looked at in that manner. As for me, I gave a lot of information on historical background and no, it did not have anything to do with waterfront conditional use in zoning, but it had everything to do with the future of Erie and those living in the margins. And a lot of the things that we can't fix here, you can't fix. You're following the law. And so I certainly am not here to vilify any entity or any person, because I think we can all do better. And I think that we all love this city. I think I prefaced my remarks prior to the vote last week by saying some of those similar things. I don't want to fight. I don't want to vilify anyone. I'm not going to be vilified by anyone. Probably the most important thing that I would say out of all of it, my first thing, my second thing is I'm allowed to disagree with you. 6,800 people voted for me. to come down here to have an opinion. And it might not always jive with yours. And I think that it's unrealistic to think that we're all monolithic in thought or process. I think I prefaced my remarks last week or a bit prior to the vote by saying no one's here to poo-poo the project. We didn't get the information that we requested two or three times. And that does have something to do with waterfront conditional use. And so, again, I thank you for, and I'm not just talking because I got lips either. It wasn't just requested. Our solicitor requested it. I believe that the project should go forward as well. I believe that events is uniquely qualified to do some of the things that they outline in the letter. So not only the presentation was a step up, but the information that Mr. Pine and the board provided to us that we were able to look at during caucus was really, really helpful as well. And this isn't no It's not like we're going to the moon or anything. We actually had a great relationship, the community and the city, with the events on the original Convention Center project itself in Barton Mallow. Mr. Richardson will be familiar with that. When there were local hires and there was workforce diversity and there was training and there was an infusion of money into this community via the work that was put in by the Erie Events and Mr. Wells. Casey did a good job on that. So it's my hopes. You can vote, but I'm going to support it tonight and not because my union brothers come down here in their green shirts because my very first vote at Erie County I mean, I got sworn in, and two hours later, we had an Erie events bond in front of us, which you all remember, too. And so it's, you know, one thing that I will always do, I represent the worker and the person who doesn't have a job. I represent the landlord and the tenant, and we do look at things holistically around here. I want to thank everyone who came and made their comments, either pro or con. Because this is where democracy, we might can't do a lot at the federal level, but we can always be heard here. And you're always welcome to come to this mic and say anything that you want to say to me about my vote. And I'll take it. I will always respect your opinion. I would ask that you respect mine as well. And so thank you, Dr. Titus, for allowing me the time to say that. And I want to thank Savannah Wilson. I usually don't call out people by name, but when I sit here and I look up here and I see all us old people up in here and I hear young things, I think that some of the things that she said are very, very, very, very valid. And you would be well to listen to our young people, too. And I do understand that this is a 15-year, 14-year, 13-year conversation, Dan. I do understand that, and for 13, 14, 15 years, I've had disagreement with the way that LERDA is done down there. To your point, not everything to do with waterfront conditional use, but the premise of all of my comments and everything that I did, even my vote, hasn't wavered much from 2014 in that I don't believe that anything below Front Street It's blighted property. It should be LERDA applied. And I've been consistent with that. And now that I'm over here and not out of human service, trust and believe I'll be working to undo that. Because when I look at the LERDA investment and who can access LERDA, even amongst our citizenry, if you got a bill, you can't do it. If you got this bill, you can't do it. And so I've looked at. All of the investment, the RCAP investment from 1986 up to January 2026, it's been $9 billion invested throughout the Commonwealth and counties throughout this Commonwealth. Of that, $325 million of it has come to Erie County, and you guys have done fantastic work with it. Of that $325 million, about $185 million or so has been directed to the waterfront. And so when we talk about return on investment, I get what it does for the tourists. I get what it does for the developer. But what I don't get is how it affects us people who live up here on the bluff. And so I look forward to continuing those conversations. And I want to help in any way I can because I really do love this city. And finally, I'll say there's not a lot of people who really understand and know that Bayfront. I grew up at the foot of Sass where they're going to put the, the walkway. My grandmother cleaned the bathrooms when it was the public dock. I spent three or four days on her father's boat every day out in the bay. I was the labor steward for the convention center, the Sheraton, and the park and ramp. I was the representative of it for the last 12 years. And so I don't need a lesson in bayfront development or any of that stuff. I just need you all to be open-minded and not pontificate. But let's have these discussions before the vote moving forward. And that goes for anybody who's listening, because we've got Chris stuff coming, too. And we really do want to be a partner in it. I believe in public-private partnerships. But it's not a public-private partnership if you're pontificated, too. So thank you again. Thank you.

do any other counselors have a question yeah just real quick sorry um first of all i just want to say that we do need a change in our waterfront conditional use and hopefully we'll start working on that and i've been pretty much a lifelong union member so i am pretty much always for unions and love seeing every time there's jobs in the city. I did vote no the last time. Being fairly new on this dais, I didn't really know a lot about it. And with the public hearing, I didn't really learn too much about it. And I didn't feel comfortable voting on something that there was what I've heard didn't really have any plans. Tonight, with what's in front of me and what's up there and what everyone has said, I've learned a lot more about it. And I will be in favor for it tonight. We need to get the whole community involved. And I think there will be opportunity for that, not only for people for entertainment, you know, with the cooking classes. I think that's a wonderful idea to get everybody involved. I appreciate the hard work that the design review committee does and planning, but again, we don't get that until, unless we're a liaison, we don't get that until it's in front of us. And I apologize if I offended anyone because I do appreciate what you do and it doesn't pay anything. So you're volunteering. So you must want to be there to do it. And you are interested in the city as I am. I am a lifelong resident and I want to see this, you know, I want to still to work together as a council with the administration, with the residents of the city. So thank you.

Any other questions?

Thank you, Dr. Titus. I am going to vote for this. Ironically, I was out of town in Stevensville, Maryland for the weekend, which is on the Chesapeake, and my nephews in their 20s and girlfriend invited me to lunch at a marketplace there that was attached to a hotel and their marketplace was new but it wasn't really big but it had a lot of different kinds of food and the food area where you could order for lunch and what not was really diverse and a lot of people were there and it was in the 80s while we were there and we were like one of the only people who ate outside there was indoor eating but then there was like the market area too had like fresh flowers and different things that you could buy but it um like I said, was smaller, but quite interesting. And my nephews said that they come there quite often just to eat and the lattes, what have you, and just for the whole socializing aspect of it. I would suggest if there are benches that they not have the partition in them, in the middle, because... As a mother, you want your children around you, and it's so much easier without those partitions, with people on your lap, or what have you. And if you're a couple on a date, Sometimes you can't fit two people, and that partition just sort of ruins the ambiance and that of it. For purposes of community, I would suggest just to have the one longer bench. Thank you.

Go ahead.

I just wanted to mention I'm happy with the additional information in the presentation that was sent to the clerk's office. Normally I always tell people when you're doing a presentation before city council to please make sure you give us the most information. The more information, the better. If we feel as though you're hiding something or keeping something from us, it's going to delay things. So we can move forward and see where things end. Thank you.

One question that I do have is I know that PennDOT will be constructing the walkway. But just around the maintenance part of it, how will it be open? Is it when they get to the other side? Is the elevator going to be closed down at certain times? Could you just explain or do we know just a little bit more about just that walkway and then just the accessibility part of it?

Yeah, the plan for the Pedway, the pedestrian bridge across, is an open concept. We've agreed to not only pay for the elevator that'll be on the bayfront side, we've also agreed to maintain that bridge once it's done. So PennDOT will essentially wash their hands of that and we'll maintain that. We'll take care of it during all seasons.

Will it be...

In terms of the elevator closing, I think we maintain that throughout. And that's part of the reason we don't have the elevator actually coming into our building. That way we can make sure that the elevator is accessible 24-7. Thank you.

If there are no other questions.

Dr. Titus, I have a question for Erie Events. The other units that will be inside of the facility, what types of things are we looking to lease out to put inside? Do we have any idea there? Are you speaking in the public market area? So it says A, B, and C, right? There's different parts to it, correct? Correct. What are some things that we're looking, are we looking for specific types of things to put in there or different businesses or different, what are we? Yeah.

Yeah. And this is where the plans evolved over time. And originally it was planned with stalls. to where individuals could come in and set up shop. We moved from that plan and instead moved to holding a variety of products. And that's with a particular emphasis on local products, which goes back to the comments made by Visit Erie. Tourists want to travel somewhere that's authentic to the city that it's in. and when we have local products represented there. So there's going to be a ton of shelf space in that 5,000 square foot area that will highlight local products. And the good thing for the business owners that are making those products, they don't have overhead costs associated with that. And from our standpoint, then we don't have an influx of multiple vendors, small businesses coming in and leaving empty spaces. However, that's not going to address all of the products that we would want in the market. So we've also additionally added in seasonal markets that we will do exterior in the parking lot area. So we'll do spring, summer, fall, and winter outdoor markets as well.

Yeah, I was kind of wondering what we're looking to put in these other parts of the facility as well. Are we looking for specific types of businesses or people to lease it? Or does it have to go along with what's already at the marketplace? Or just curious.

Yeah, well, right now the concept is local products. And once we start building the market, then we're going to work with our tenant Once we get past this phase, we'll be able to sign a contract with the anchor tenant that's going to manage that public market for us. And then we'll work with them to establish which specific products that would be included in there. But it's a strong emphasis on locally made products.

Any other questions? Okay.

No, I just would.

Mr. President, I'm just going to be quiet until, you know what, I'm going to wait until after the vote. Call for the question. I'm going to tell you. You were at meetings and you knew exactly what was going on. You knew exactly what was going on the first time we were here. I'm done. For real, bro. You know who I am.

Okay, we're just gonna maintain order though, so we can, let's go through, Laurie, then if we don't have any more questions, we can go ahead and move in through the agenda. Laurie, is your mic on? Because you are sounding very quiet.

I didn't have my mic on. Resolution number one is sponsored by Councilmember Titus, seconded by Councilmember Schaaf. A resolution of the Council of the City of Erie regarding motion to rescind the vote of four to two denying a waterfront conditional use request on or about May 20th, 26th for the Market House project. Whereas on or about May 20th, 2026 City Council denied a waterfront conditional use for the proposed Market House project. Whereas subsequent to that vote, City Council desires to reconsider the aforementioned vote on the proposed Market House project. Whereas the rules of City Council, specifically Article 112.14, permit for any member of Council to introduce this resolution to rescind pursuant to Robert's Rules of Order, specifically Section 35.3. Whereas Robert's Rules of Order, specifically Section 35.1, outlines a motion to rescind as the proper vehicle to vacate a prior vote upon a resolution, specifically the affirmation vote on May 20th, 2026. Now, therefore, be it resolved, on or about June 9th, 2026, by the Council of the City of Erie, hereby approved, said request to rescind the May 20th vote that denied the waterfront conditional use for the proposed Market House project. And that said vote is now rescinded and or vacated in its entirety. Discussion?

Maybe discussion on the first resolution.

Okay, voting on the resolution.

If I voted yes the first time, do I have to vote yes to rescind it again?

Yes, it's a resolution that's before us, so you have to cast a vote.

Yeah, Ed, the vote on May 20th was to deny the waterfront request. So what you're doing is you're kind of erasing that vote specifically so you're back at kind of ground zero. Okay. Okay, and the second resolution is then to re-vote on the actual waterfront condition, okay? Thank you, sir.

Okay. Councilmember Brzezinski?

Yes.

Flores? Yes. Horton? Yes. Cole? Yes. Shaw? Yes. Troup? Yes. Titus? Yes. So the resolution to rescind passes yeas seven, nays zero. Resolution number two. Sponsored by Council Member Schaaf, seconded by Council Member Brzezinski, a resolution of the Council of the City of Erie regarding the request for approval of a waterfront conditional use for a new two-story commercial building, commonly known as the Market House, submitted by Piper O'Brien Hare, Architects LTD, on behalf of the Erie County Convention Center Authority, and pursuant to Section 306 of Zoning Ordinance, Ordinance Number 80-2005, as amended, is hereby approved with listed conditions number one the developers and or owners of record shall maintain open space which contains green space that satisfies all of the following criteria a it shall consist of living landscape material including grass ground cover planting shrubs and or trees consistent with the general landscaping criteria set for in Rule 306.5 in landscaping shall include regionally native planting materials where reasonable and be that impervious surfaces shall not constitute more than 40% of any qualifying open space and such impervious surfaces shall be limited to walkways, paths, and bench pads serving towards public use of the space. And number two. The following shall not count towards open space. Calculation under these conditions, parking lots, enclosed or screened areas from public view, rooftop amenities not accessible from grade, vehicular use areas but excluding emergency vehicles access any area subject to permanent fee-based access or private reservation and or mandatory public access consistent with 306.1. Number three. Further, the developers and or owners of records shall make reasonable efforts to incorporate bird and wildlife sensitive measures intended to support the safety of birds and or other migratory species. Number four, the developers and or owners of records shall design, construct, and maintain the site to be welcoming, publicly accessible, and harmonious in character. and shall avoid physical barriers, design features, or site elements that would reasonably discourage public entry, pedestrian activity, or engagement by citizens and business invitees. Number five, the developers and or owners of record shall install exterior lighting along public access ways consistent with 306.2D and that all light fixtures shall be hooded or shielded to direct light downward and shall not constitute unreasonable glare, defined as light perceptible at ground level beyond a reasonable distance and or on the surface of the bay. Number six, the developers and or owners of a record shall install and or maintain not less than eight public benches per acre pursuant to the following conditions. A, the design standards of the public benches shall be constructed of weather resistant materials consistent with 306.2D and 306.5B, shall be securely anchored to prevent displacement or removal, shall comply with ADA accessibility or be adjacent to an ADA accessible path, and shall bear no commercial advertising consistent with 306.2H, but excluding donor plaques not to exceed a maximum size of six by 12 inches. And B, the owners of record shall be responsible for all maintenance costs, including reasonable cleanliness, regular repairs, and or replacement of structurally unsound benches within a reasonable amount of time. Number seven, the developers and or owners of record shall apply for a zoning variance, if necessary, regarding the proposed signage of the market house pursuant to section 303 of the zoning code. And finally, number eight, the developers and owners of record shall comply with all the policies and procedures above to the extent not otherwise inconsistent with federal law, Pennsylvania law, city of Erie ordinances, and or any other applicable to design, construction, and maintenance of the market house, including, without limitation, ADA compliance.

Is there any discussion on the resolution before us? I'll call for the vote.

Voting on the resolution, Council Member Brzezinski. Yes. Flores. Yes. Horton. Yes. Pol. Yes. Shaw. Yes. Troop. Yes. Titus.

Yes.

Resolution adopts, yeas seven, nays zero. This takes us to committee reports.

All right, we will start down with Councilor Brzezinski.

A lot to say, and I'm not sure I can even say it. First off, nobody mentioned Mr. Pine isn't here in person. He's out of the state working to bring more things to our Bayfront. He's at a business conference. He's taking time out of it to be with us here. We have to learn as a council that when we sit down here to make a decision, Our facts, which base our vote, should be in our heads before we sit down here. We can't wait for somebody to give an oration, or whatever it was, and change votes because of confusion. Everybody, I'm liaison, and when I ask for questions, everybody saw everything I saw. President, you saw everything we saw twice, and still, We asked a whole lot of questions that had no real bearing to what we were doing. If you have questions, I'm begging you as a council, if you have questions like this, go to the planning commission, go to the zoning board, sit there and see what they're doing, and then change it there. Don't bring it here and make it a dog and pony show, because that's what we did. We brought a lot of very important people. Thank you all for being here. But you didn't have to take a Tuesday night, again, to get this okayed. It should have been okayed a couple weeks ago. I'm done. Thank you very much.

Councillor Horton.

Absolutely. Two things. I still don't know what's going in there besides what was stated to me in the meeting which you attended, the one company. And the other thing is, if you ever do anything like that again, I'll respond in kind. That was rude, and you don't have your facts right. And it's really hard for me to understand how you can say what. someone else know now. I heard what I heard. I don't know what you heard. Point of order.

Mr. Horton is speaking. Mr. Brzezinski, it is.

No, you said something and I just want to get you straight on it.

Okay.

And so you'll never be able to come here and perform on me ever. And the information that was given was embargoed, Mr. Pine and Ms. White asked us to embargo as minimum as it was. But don't ever do me like that again. So I'm going to respond in kind.

Thank you, Dr. Titus. So here we are. A lot of things happened this week and I just want to say that I have empathy for the people whose positions were cut this week and thank you to Dan Dahlkemper for all your years of service for all the boards that you were on in the Planning Commission, you were able to get the native plants that are hardy for this area for the marketplace too. I remember that as well. Your work is very valuable, and we appreciate that. And thank you, Gus Pine, for being in attendance today, taking the time out when you could be with the people at the conference, what have you. And the people who showed up today, thank you. I thank Mark Tannenbaum for hosting people who wanted to come up to the top of the roof at PACA today for seeing big boy train come into town. That was totally awesome and amazing. My husband and I divided TeamWorks. He was at the brewery union station and I was at PACA, but I think I got the better view. I have never been up on the top of the roof and that truly was amazing to feel on top of the world like that. Went to the trade union meeting and admire all the people who work for that board and the people who work hard to get their license. It's not easy getting a trade license. There's a lot of stipulations you have to acquire to get your master's and whatnot. And the redevelopment authority had a brief meeting this week as well. And again, I thank people who are on the boards of these meetings. places. I was disappointed today to want to go to the parking authority meeting with some of my colleagues and the mayor and found out through Dr. Titus that there was a sign that said the meeting would not be attending and I specifically got up nice and early to be at that meeting so that was a disappointment and School is out for a lot of people and I'm already finding that some kiddos like to play in the streets and that's not a good place to be. Don't play in the streets, play in the parks. Oh, I did want to make a statement because at the redevelopment, MEETING, THEY SAID THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE PARKS READY ALONG EAST 7th STREET THAT ARE GOING TO BE HANDED OVER TO THE CITY. AND I KNOW OUR PARKS PEOPLE ARE REALLY STRETCHED, SO I JUST HAVE A SUGGESTION THAT MAYBE WE COULD HAVE ADOPT A PARK. AND SOME NEIGHBORS COULD ADOPT THAT PARK THAT WE'LL BE GETTING. LOOKS REALLY COOL. BUT WE DO ALL NEED HANDS ON DECK. BECAUSE LIKE EVEN UP THE WALZAC PARK THAT'S BY ME THAT IS ATTENDED TO. People need to know to use those trash cans. Take the extra steps not to just leave stuff on the ground, but use the trash can located nearby. Thank you.

Thank you. Councillor Flores?

I don't really have much of a report. I just know that we have a study session this coming Thursday, and Jackie Spry from our, I get her title wrong every time because we keep changing it, but her department is going to be presenting our parks and recreation information that we gathered from the community, so I look forward to our findings.

Thank you.

Councilor Trudeau.

Dr. Titus, I just appreciate all the work that your events and everybody has done on this. I was an athlete a lot of my life, and I was a part of some losing teams, and losing sucks. I can tell you that. I was a part of some bad teams in my life, and it didn't feel good. I was a part of a really good winning team at one point too. And people are still talking about that team that we had 35 years later. They're talking about the memories. They're talking about how things felt when we were winning. And I think that this year, we need some wins as a team. You know, we need some opportunities to win together, and I think this could be an opportunity. Let's make this a win. We can make it a loss. That's easy to do. But all the teams that I was a part of that lost is because we didn't work together, period. We didn't know how to work together. When we decided to work together, we won. I also want to say, as a local entertainer, I did hear that entertainment is going to be a part of the project. I've been able to be successful on the Erie music scene as an entertainer. Someone mentioned cover bands. I play in a popular cover band, which I was able to build from the ground up. Nobody gave me anything. We built it from the ground up. And it became one of the most popular bands in the city and the area. But I do want to... ask Erie Events or any other venue out there that is thinking about entertainment to consider, you know, if you're going to bring in some of the popular cover bands. Also consider some of the local entertainers, artists, spoken word artists, dancers that are original artists. Because that's what Erie does, the Erie original artists. I was just thinking about a couple ideas that came out of Erie, like the American Gladiators and Taibo, which is a worldwide sensation. Those came from Erie. So I know cover bands are popular and people are going to come see them, because I'm going to vote for cover bands, because I'm in a cover band. but also let's make space for our original our original artists as well because um who knows we could have another taibo or we could have another american gladiators i know we have that still in erie it just has to be developed so also consider our original erie entertainment in your decision making thank you thank you counselor paul

As far as your adoptive park, we used to have that and it sort of went on the wayside, but last week I was driving and the V in front of the ECAP building at East Avenue and East Lake Road, there was probably 20 people there pulling weeds and you know, planting new flowers. It's been done for years and used to be one or two people just doing it. And now there was like, I don't know what group it was, but it's looking nice. And if I think if people like our community and want to, you know, they feel better about the community when they actually have a hand in, in what they're doing. Um, as far as our vote tonight, um, It would have gone through, I think, for myself anyway the last time, but I didn't know a lot about it, like I said in my last, before I voted. And I appreciate everybody coming out here and making it known of what, you know, I know you can't, either you don't know or you can't say, that's fine, but I know a little more of a plan now, and I felt better voting for it now and I appreciate you coming out. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll keep my report brief. I do, again, want to thank for the additional information that was provided. I think not only is it helpful when we are in individual meetings, but the public deserves to know more, right? And so that was part of the element of this as well, too, is making sure that this information is available to the public, and that is what we did through this process. And then just as a position within the chair position, There is a decorum that has to happen up here, and because it was brought out here, Mr. Brzezinski, you are not to do that again. I haven't called upon you to talk. I haven't called. This is my liaison speech or my liaison report. You just addressed me. What did you say? I'm finishing my sentence.

Oh, please do that.

We're gonna follow the decorum and we're gonna follow order. And if we continue to interrupt, I will call upon the body to use the powers that are in this seat to do a censorship. So we're gonna follow the rules of order and we're gonna allow them to continue appropriately. Yes, ma'am. You're on notice with that comment. I will call for a censorship if that happens again. With that, I will close out, and Mayor.

Thank you, Dr. Titus. I will be brief as well. I want to thank Council tonight for all your work and all your study and all your conversations. I want to thank Erie Events, Attorney Walczak, and the board for being here again and providing information. I think tonight is an example of we can get some wins, Councilor Troop, and I think that this is an example of one of them. So I want to thank all of you for coming together. I want to thank our friends from Labor for being here as well. I think your comments were very helpful and noted, so thank you. A couple of the public comment speakers referenced a plan, and I do want to speak to that. From the time that I came into office, I have been, and even before that, have been saying and working with Erie Events, with the Port Authority, and with the Scots, as well as with the Chamber, to say that the development of our waterfront needs to be done with care and concern and input from our community. And there were two projects that were already very far along, the Scott Hotel that you all have listened to and voted on, and this project. And so there was an understanding that these two projects would continue. They were funded. They had moved along in the process. But there was an agreement from all of us, including Erie Events and the Scotts, that everything from this point on needs to be done with more collaboration and communication. So we have delayed the announcement of this planning process to give council the space to do the work that you had to do. But now that this is past us, I want the public to be on notice. I don't know if Ms. Wilson is still here. She is right. Every comment we have heard is correct, that It is time for us to take ownership of our waterfront and together to dream about what it can and should be. And the time is now because the funding is here, because the CRIZ has been secured and the dollars are available and can be available. So I want to let the public know tonight that next week you will hear the announcement of the first public planning session. It's gonna be held on June 25th, Council. We will send you all this information. It will be the beginning of a summer-long process with a survey, with input sessions, where I will ask every one of you who have come out and spoken so passionately and so eloquently to please come now and help us dream this together. Don't come when you're disappointed. come now and help us build the rest because there is more development to come. And that development can benefit all of us, but we need all the voices that were here and the voices that are out there. So I'm asking you all to please spread that word, to watch for those announcements, to be with us and stand with us and help us dream and make this possible because this is how we get our win. And I truly believe it's the future of Erie. I believe it was demonstrated tonight and I know we can do more. Thank you all, and let's now move forward into what this can be for all of us. Thank you.

Thank you.

Just I want to echo the same sentiments of everyone else I want to thank actually you know the mayor council and your events for all kind of collaborating for the revote and I was part of that process So I was just happy that all of us work together and that's I think the message I got from this tonight That's my only report.

Thank you. This is a reminder then to the public We do have it was mentioned a study session on Thursday. This will focus on the parks Plan and so that will start at 530 and with that we will adjourn