City Council - Regular Meeting

so so

Thank you.

6.31, so we will call this meeting to order.

Roll call for the City Council meeting of Wednesday, June 17th, 2026 at 6.30 p.m. President Titus? Here. Brzezinski? Yes. Flores? Yes. Horton? Here. Cole? Here. Shaw? Here. And Troop?

Here.

All right, at this time we will stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, beginning with a moment of silence.

Dr. Titus, if I may, I just want to say in our moment of silence that we can remember the family members and the Erie community that knew Mr. William Atkinson. He owned a barber shop on 21st Street around Reed or somewhere like that for 60 years. And he was a barber for like three generations of people. So keep the family in your prayers.

Dr. Titus, if I may, Mark Alexandra, which is a former city council person's wife, has passed away too. But I apologetically can't remember her name.

Linda. Linda.

Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the flag

Approval of the minutes of the meeting of June 9th, 2026 and bills under the dates of June 19th and 26th for approval. Members Brzezinski, Flores, Horton, Pol.

Yes.

We'll get everybody in the routine .

All right. At this point, we do have a presentation this evening by Ms. Angela McNair. I wasn't sure if I had seen her come in. Is she here? Do we know if Ms. McNair is here at this time?

Go on once.

Okay.

Dr. Titus, if you want me to, I could say some things that maybe she would have said.

That would be wonderful. Thank you.

Okay. I'll try to pull this up on my phone here.

just bear with me a very house no and as you're doing that i'm just gonna before you the cameras get set up over here on this side if i could have you come over all on this side yeah just so the public has a straight line down thank you sorry go ahead yeah i'm just okay let me get this up here just so i do know that um angela mcnair

has been organizing the Juneteenth in Erie for quite some time and you know there were people before her who actually did that too like Miss Cynthia Muhammad and some other people from the past but she kind of took over the mantle from them. So I do know that along with Erie's Black Wall Street they've been doing some things. It looks like They have a Juneteenth mix and mingle coming up on June 19th. That's going to be on the Victorian Princess. They have a Facebook page called Erie's Juneteenth Celebration if you want to look for this information. On Saturday, there will be a block party with vendors. It's going to be right in Perry Square, like a big festival to honor Juneteenth. There's going to be local vendors there. There's going to be food, clothing, whatever different types of vendors you can think of. She's also, there'll be live music all day from local bands and also she has some headliners, some well-known like national acts that are coming out at the end of the night. And then I believe tomorrow it looks like they're going to have a panel discussion. Looks like that's going to be at 315 East 9th Street from 6 to 8. Curtis Jones, Hayes Moses, Angela McNair, Johnny Johnson, Angela Spragans. Looks like it's going to be a discussion. So hopefully I didn't miss anything, but that's if you want to visit Erie Juneteenth Celebration Facebook page, you can go more in depth. But that's, I think, what you could say.

Thank you. And then just to give a little bit of context too as to why Juneteenth is so important. Juneteenth, so June 19th, 1865 is the day that enslaved African Americans in Texas found out that the emancipation had occurred approximately two years prior. And so June 19th, Juneteenth is the day that all people who were enslaved learned of their freedom. And so this is a day where those who are black can celebrate and those of us who are not show up in solidarity and allies and support. So I encourage all of us to attend to learn more about our history and to make sure that we are supporting the community and why days like this matter so much. All right. At this point, we will go ahead and ask if anybody is here on a repository sale. Is anyone here to speak on a repository sale? Is anyone here to speak on a repository sale? All right, this will move us into the public comment section, but before we get into public comment, I want to just address one of the ordinances that we have in the books, and I'm just going to read it down just so that we're all on the same page. So the City of Erie Code rules of council, all public comments during the citizens to be heard portion, which is the public comment. Meetings must be addressed to council as a body, not to any individual council member by name. So this means when you speak during the public comment, you address your remarks to council as a whole and not to a specific councillor. If you have a question for a council member, it has to be directed through the presiding officer, who would be me at this point. And then I can determine if we can answer it or appoint or if there's somebody else who would like to answer that, we can do that. But that all direct discussion and debate would have to go through the chair seats. And just reminding everybody that we do need to follow the quorum while we are in here. I know that there's There's a lot of emotion. There's a lot of things that are being discussed. But I do ask that we follow decorum and that we follow the rules of council. So when you come up to the podium, you need to sign in over here. There's a little monitor and a little brown desk. If you could sign in before you speak. We need to know your name and your municipality. You'll have five minutes when you come up to the mic. So just please be mindful of the time. As you can see, we have a very full chamber. And so we want to make sure that everybody who came to speak has the opportunity to speak. And with that, we will go ahead and open public comment.

Elizabeth Stanton, Harbor Creek. Dr. Titus, my comments are directed specifically to Madam Mayor. Can I give comments to Madam Mayor?

Yeah, unfortunately we can't protect the mayor with the rules of council. So he's no, we would, we would. I met a mayor.

I want to thank you. First of all, for all of the trees that were supplied to ground and works Erie to give shade and cooling to those neighborhoods. I want to thank you for the abundant and the excellent soil. that the city supplied for the boxes, the rise beds at Booker T. Washington for the children's program this summer. I want to thank you for going to Roger Young Park over Memorial Day and having a live experience of walking through. And because you did that, you have committed to upgrade the ballparks, the swimming pool, and the fields. I want to thank you for that. I want to also thank you for the lovely, lovely park that's almost at completion between E6 and E7. And I also want to thank you even this evening with your earnest invitation, and you also did it last session, to inviting the public to be more involved in making more public these opportunities that the public can be involved. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. Can you hear me okay? Okay. My wife reminded me to talk loud enough and don't talk too fast and ramble.

So you just state your name and municipality. Sure, thank you. Thank you.

Gary Kononchik. I live in Erie, PA for all of my life and presently in West Erie. So I'm principally here to talk about the two ordinances affecting licensing and registration. But I guess in the big picture, I'd ask outside and in the back of the room, to go through the process of getting a permit. And, you know, then you'll make a tough decision whether you want to do that or a root canal in the future. It takes forever. You walk into City Hall and, you know, out in the building, they sit you down, they call upstairs, and maybe they call you in a while and maybe they don't. But it can take days to get a permit for a tank. It can take weeks to get a permit for a garage. It's paper-based and it's sequential from desk to desk. If somebody's on vacation, sick, out of town, you can guess what happens. It sits. That's not a way to encourage investment. And these cost increases to both owners and tenants, because they will pay some of them, is not the way to go to encourage investment. I hope that the administration and council thinks about things like the licensing program for plumbers and for electricians. I get the safety part. But you need to increase the supply. I'm sure some of your constituents are talking to you, I can't afford a plumber. I can't afford an electrician. And let me compare you to the suburbs. They don't have these rules. Are they way less unsafe than the city? I don't think so. Thank you. Yeah, sorry about that. The frequency in one of these ordinance of what I'll call quality properties, and quality being if you pass two sequential fully approved, you used to get a little lower fee and a longer cycle. Well, the administration proposes to do away with that. That doesn't make sense. What does make sense is to go hard that those are not quality properties, unsafe, unhappiness. Do what needs to be done. As an apartment owner and a member of the association, the majority does not endorse substandard housing. Legal risk. I just want to talk about this a moment. And this is really to the administration and Jason, perhaps. There's been two cases, one in Ohio, one in PA, where the ability to do these inspections doesn't pass, I believe it's the Fourth Amendment. So there's great legal risks. If you're going to put a lot of money in your program and hire five or six people five or six people these were probably bargaining union employees you can guess what the costs are at a time when you're need to decrease the fad count and a 12 million dollar deficit is that rational city council is that rational mayor i i don't see how it is I think some of the costs in the financial analysis are ridiculously low. I don't think you can get software for 10 grand. I don't think you can get it for 10 times that. Some of you folks with an institutional memory may remember five, seven, eight years ago, I think Kathy Radosek was planner. she was getting code enforcement software blah blah blah find out what happened to that learn from either the inability to implement or the cost you know what happened to that one you know I don't disagree with the technology impacts on productivity but it has to be done judiciously get back to the bottom line I don't think these ordinances are ready now I would ask counsel to ask the administration to submit a comprehensive that hopefully is discussed with Department Association and collaborate on first. Thank you.

Thank you.

good evening council natalie miller erpa thank you for this opportunity for public comment i'm here to discuss the proposed changes to the inspection process i have concerns about the ordinances as proposed currently i'm hopeful that changes can be made if council members and the mayor can meet with members of the apartment association of northwest pa i know the mayor had previously stated she was willing to and i do hope that can happen at some point in the future to address some of these errors And I want to point out that I understand that the mayor got very busy and I recognize that in the meantime what happened was is this budget deficit was announced and six positions were cut. So no doubt things are busy and I want to recognize that. Clearly you all here are busy. There's many irons in the fire and perhaps bigger fish to fry. And there was no time to have a meeting or even a sit down which highlights my first point. is this the right time to make such a shift to bring all rental inspections in house if there's no time for a simple meeting or even a follow-up meeting this is a large undertaking and in light of the 12 million dollar deficit and cutting six positions is now the right time to hire five new positions the proposal would have three new inspectors one supervisor and one clerk the total cost of the salaries alone would equal more than 300 000 which is more than the current bid with biu which is 233 000 the mayor recently announced cutting six positions and the reality is that these cuts account for only a fraction of the 12 million dollar deficit but nevertheless the mayor shared how difficult it was to cut these positions here at the city recognizing the people behind these positions the relationships and the loss that will be felt considering the weightiness of firing people should not more consideration be given before making such sweeping changes in hiring five new positions is this not a slap in the face to the six people that are being cut right now essentially saying their positions are expendable so that new people could be hired I would like the city council to pause these plans due to fiscal responsibility. In addition, I would like a valid justification for moving from the third party to the in-house inspections. I would like to see documentation of how the proposed in-house inspections would differ from the current. We've not received any documentation yet. What we do have to go off is something the mayor stated at our large group gathering on May 19th. She listed maybe four or five topics that she'd like to see inspected. And the reality was those items are already being inspected. And it seems the issue is simply reporting. The BIU is in fact doing that, just not reporting. Well, if the issue is reporting, that can be fixed. I mean, mechanisms can be put in place and still keep this outsourcing to a third party, because I firmly believe that outsourcing to a third party would be cheaper in the long run versus hiring considering the costs of benefits, pensions, and those rising costs year by year. IF CITY COUNCIL IS INTENT ON HIRING MORE PEOPLE, I WOULD ASK THE CITY TO BE DILIGENT AND LOOK AT THE LONG-TERM COST ANALYSES OF NOT JUST SALARIES BUT ALSO BENEFITS, PENSIONS, WORKERS' COMPENSATION AS WELL AS THE ANNUAL INCREASES THAT OCCUR TO THESE OVER THE COURSE OF TIME. I'D LIKE TO SEE A STUDY DONE OF FIVE YEARS, 10 YEARS, 15, 20, 30 OR 40 YEARS. THIS IS ALL PERTINENT INFORMATION THAT CITY COUNCIL SHOULD WEIGH PRIOR TO VOTING ON THESE ORDINANCES. IN ADDITION, I'D LIKE TO SEE SOME CLEARLY STATED AND MEASURABLE GOALS FOR THIS IN-HOUSE RENTAL INSPECTION PROGRAM. AND I WOULD LIKE TO EVALUATE HOW THESE GOALS COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGHOUT SOURCING TO A THIRD PARTY LIKE BIU AND IF NOT BIU, THEN SOME OTHER PARTY THAT CAN ACCURATELY REPORT INFORMATION. AND THESE ARE ALL REASONABLE REQUESTS WHEN CONSIDERING SUCH A MONUMENTAL SHIFT, HIRING AT THE SAME TIME AS FIRING, WHILE STILL DEALING WITH A $12 MILLION DEFICIT. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Council, Madam Mayor. I am here today to address an issue that goes beyond politics, ideology, or personal disagreements. It is about respect, professionalism, and the standards we should expect from those elected to represent the people of Erie. Public officials are entrusted with a responsibility that extends far beyond casting votes. They are expected to demonstrate leadership, integrity, and respect towards their colleagues and the citizens they serve. When these standards are not met, it is appropriate for the public to speak out. At a recent Erie City Council meeting, certain council person who made a transphobic comment and was also disrespectful to another council person raised serious concerns about professionalism and respect within this governing body. The council president has publicly identified their preferred pronouns as they, them. Whether an individual personally agrees with a person's identity, that's not the issue before here today. The issue is whether elected officials can demonstrate basic professional courtesy and respect while conducting the public's business. When a public official repeatedly addresses a colleague in a manner that disregards their identity, their community, it creates an atmosphere where many perceived as dismissive and disrespectful. Professional respect means acknowledging the dignity of others, especially when disagreements exist. In government, we are expected to model civil behavior, not undermine it. The same concerns extend to the treatment of the other councilmen. Public debate and disagreement is part of democracy, sir. In fact, healthy disagreement is essential. However, there is a significant difference between debating ideas and showing disrespect towards fellow council members. The residents of Erie deserve to see their elected officials engage in thoughtful discussion, challenge one another when necessary, and through differences without resorting to conduct that distracts from the real issues facing our communities. Our city faces serious challenges. Residents are concerned about public safety, economic development, housing, neighborhood investment, and ensuring that every voice is heard, not some, all. These are the matters that should occupy the attention of city council and this room. When public meetings become overshadowed by conduct that many residents view as disrespectful, public confidence in government suffers. Citizens begin to question whether their leaders are focused on solving problems or creating them. Professional respect does not require agreement. It does not require friendship. It does not require abandoning personal beliefs. What it does require is treating colleagues with the same level of dignity and courtesy that we expect from employees in our workplaces, students in our schools, and citizens throughout our communities. Elected officials set the tone for public discourse. When respect is demonstrated it encourages productive conversations. When respect is absent it creates division and erodes trust. I believe the people of City of Erie deserve leadership that reflects the highest standards of professionalism. We deserve a city council where disagreements are handled with civility, where all members are treated with dignity, and where personal conduct reflects the responsibilities entrusted to elected office. Today, I am asking that councilman to reflect on his actions and the message you sent to the communities. Leadership requires accountability. It requires self-reflection. Most importantly, it requires respect for the people whom you serve. At the very least, you should apologize. At the very most, resign. This is not about

We have to maintain order. Thank you.

This is not about political victory. It is not about partisan differences. It's about maintaining a culture of professionalism and mutual respect within the governing body of the city. The citizens of Erie are watching. They are listening. And they deserve better than conflict rooted in disrespect. Thank you for your kind consideration.

Thank you.

Good evening, counseling collective. My name is Franco Harris, also known as Francois. And I'm 22 years young.

I'm an Erie resident, born and raised.

And as a young, my bad, as a young gay black male, my perspective is shaped on experiences that are often overlooked in conversations about representation, civil engagement, and public service. Growing up, voting was really discussed beyond, my bad, it was really discussed beyond presidential election. Many people in my communities, like mine, directly or indirectly were taught that our votes didn't matter, our opinions didn't matter. Yet, as I grow older, I come to understand that our local elections have the greatest impact on our daily lives. The people sitting in these chambers make decisions that affect our neighborhoods, our daily lives, opportunities, and futures. This is why I'm speaking today. I am not here to simply just address one incident, but the impact of the incident and what the incident represents. Recently, many residents witnessed the conduct directed towards the president of the council. a member of the LGBTQ plus community that was viewed as disrespectful, whether people agree on every social issue, that is not the point. Public service requires professionalism and professionalism requires respect. There is difference between making a mistake and repeatedly refusing to acknowledge someone's identity after it has been discussed and made clear. When that happens, it sends a message that some members of our community are less deserving of dignity than others. That message affects not just that individual, but it affects the transgender residents that live inside our communities, the LGBTQ plus youth searching for acceptance, and other members of the community that expect for the council to hold professionalism when addressing the community and anything else. Public office is not a position of personal authority over the people. It is a position of service to the people. The responsibility of leadership is not represented only to those who look like you, think like you, or live like you. It is to serve the entire community. Eerie is changing. Our community is diverse. Our leadership should reflect the willingness to grow. Listen and adapt to the needs of the people y'all represent. Respect should not be controversial, dignity should not be conditional, and accountability should not be optional. As future elections approach, voters will remember not only the policies that were discussed, but the characters that were displayed. We're watching, we're listening, and we're paying attention to actions in those who are truly committed to serving our community. in the residents who live within our community with equal fairness and respect. Do you understand the language? Thank you.

Thank you.

Period. Hello, my name is Savannah Wilson, resident of the city of Erie. Even if I don't understand or agree with somebody, I can always admire somebody's ability to be consistent. And in a team of players, it is important to know which player is going to be predictable. Some coaches won't admit it, but a team always has a weakest link. And what was displayed on this council last meeting by that said link is the disease of fragile masculinity. Fragile masculinity is the act of overindulging in the idea of having tough skin displayed often by uncontrollable outbursts towards non-traditional gender roles. And yet women are told we're too emotional. In this country, we have freedom of speech. But that does not mean that we have freedom from consequence. The actions made by said councilman last meeting is permission for discrimination in housing and in the workplace. The two economic drivers that this city specifically is struggling with. And one of our leaders, one of your teammates, If they're allowed to discriminate and spread hate, what do you think that message is sending to other landlords and employers that have that same ideology? Black trans men, black LGBTQ plus members exist, and I find it quite disturbing that the erasures of those individuals are the only thing that black and white people can agree on. If this is happening to a non-binary trans man, What do you think is happening to black and other members of the LBGQ2, the alphabet people? 365 days a year. It's men with fragile masculinity who are consistently threatened by the trans community and other members of the alphabet people because When they feel triggered and upset, they choose violence, and that's what upsets me. When most men, not all, but most men are living in the closet, very much DL, and they have double lives, and they're living with their children and their families, and they're too afraid to be themselves, that's a cycle that must come to an end, and that needs to be addressed. Thank you so much. Have a great night.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Aaron Homerski, I live in Erie. So during the last city council meeting, there was time taken up to disrespect and make transphobic comments to another member of the council. So I wanted to take some time to acknowledge other trans individuals and their contributions to our history. So to start off, we have Dr. James Berry, who was a military surgeon who performed the first successful C-section, where both the mother and child survived. Next, we have Roberta Caldwell, who lived as a Grand Prix driver and served as a frontline Spitfire pilot during World War II. We have Alan L. Hart, who was an American physician, writer, tuberculosis researcher and radiologist. Hart pioneered the use of x-ray photography and tuberculosis detection. We have Albert Cashier, who was one of 250 trans men who were enlisted in serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. We have Sophie Wilson, who's a computer scientist who created the ARM processor, which in its early stages was used in computers and other devices such as Apple's Newton. Now those processors are found in your iPhones and your iPads and the Nintendo Switches and Chromebooks. And all that to say that disrespect towards trans people can be dished out all you would like, but at the end of the day, they are part of our history and they will always be a part of our history. Gay people would be nothing without such individuals like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera. We would not have the rights that we would without how they stood up for us. And to conclude, so there is a phrase that Gen Z loves to talk about a lot. We say, the call is coming from inside the house. And what that phrase means is that The source of a problem is often coming from within oneself. So if there is such disdain for trans individuals, maybe there's an inner diva doll that needs to be acknowledged. Just know that it's okay to be who you are, but there's no need to disrespect other trans individuals. Thank you.

Hello, council. My name is Raya Witherow. My pronouns are they, them, and I expect that to be respected. And I've been a resident of Erie my entire life. I'm here because last week an occurrence of transphobic hate and disrespect occurred within these very walls. And let me be clear, there are parties which may be present that claim this was a simple and innocent mistake. an innocuous and harmless thing which should not create such a mass reaction. I disagree. As a member of the trans community, I am misgendered daily. I have countless trans friends who are also misgendered daily, and more often than not, they are in fact a simple mistake. A mistake that takes moments to correct. This may surprise those who are present, but generally this does not offend me or most trans folks when a mistake has occurred. Let us be clear, this was a deliberate act of disrespect and intent to harm a trans member of our community. It is easy for those outside of any marginalized community to not understand the dangers of a microaggression. They are seemingly small, even forgettable. But the occurrence of a microaggression is what paves the path for macroaggression and violence. Every day our nation's trans and queer lives are assaulted, targeted, and ended. We are currently within a trans genocide put forth by our government that is now being supported and uplifted by moments such as this. And this spectrum of violence may seem vast and non-related, but every time we allow an act of disrespect to occur unchecked or ignored, we are actively telling other transphobes or bigots that we are willing to tolerate other acts of disrespect or even violence. This sets the stage for continued violence and oppression to not only trans people, but all marginalized communities. What occurred last week was a prime example of acceptable disrespect and harm to a marginalized group, a disrespect which saw no correction or interruptions from anyone within authority. Due to the lack of action from our own elected officials, I along with numerous other local organizers have created three immediate calls to action which we believe are appropriate. One, the immediate resignation of the offending counselor. if any counselor of any party is willing to be so publicly disrespectful to a marginalized person, we call into question how disrespectful they are when cameras are not present, and therefore question how this counselor can adequately perform their duties to the public, which is full of other marginalized individuals. Two, if resignation is not happening, if the offending counselor is to remain on council, we request a censure from the council or to be removed from liaison assignments. Elected officials who cannot do the bare minimum decorum towards their own colleagues, let alone a marginalized individual, must be held accountable and face real potential consequences to their actions. Finally, we request a creation of a fully realized decorum policy. The creation of such a policy alone will likely help curve any issues amongst council in the future, as it would lay out clear rules and consequences for offending parties. Many of you in this room may think this is an overreaction. Many beyond and behind me may think that as well. And I'll give the grace to you to think that. But I hope that seeing the sheer size of the community's reaction to this event shows you how serious this is. Moreover, this is not an issue rooted in one singular council member's actions. My greatest disappointment last week came in the moments after. The purposeful misgendering was followed by what? Silence. I assure you, council, as a trans person, I correct people constantly, and it's actually pretty painless and easy, and non-disruptive even. But you all saw what it really was, a deliberate action, not a mistake. And you chose instead to be silent, which I will remember come re-elections. I don't care about whatever conversations you may have had in private, or what apologies occurred behind closed doors, because what we saw, the queer, the marginalized, the people of color, is that your constituency was not protected. Your comfort was chosen over our safety and our protection. If you can't protect us in public, you will not protect us in private. It is not just the act of violence that kills us. It is the act of silence, the complacency, the quiet acknowledgement that when you see us in harm's way, you will hesitate to protect us. And that statement rings true for all marginalized communities, not just trans people, not just queer people, but people of color, people of indigenous roots, anyone who is not for the status. We are all harmed when one marginalized body is harmed.

I think

If a white affluent trans person does not get your protection and does not get your immediate aid, how can we trust that you will come to our aid when we need you? Have we seen any of these constituent bodies help us, aid us as marginalized people? We don't hold trust in you, and this further showed that. People that I voted for, people that I campaigned for, and I am disappointed. Thank you, we have to. Thank you, Tyler. Have a great day, friends.

i would like to uh thank the city council for the time this evening we just need your name and your municipality thank you my name is bubacar berry i live on the east side of erie on the 400 block of east 7th street next to my house is a park that runs from 6th to 7th street separating the park from my property was a chain link fence filled with flowers and plants my mother spent years growing flowers in a fence to add privacy and it allowed her to relax in the backyard and avoid some of the illegal activities that go on at the park. She loved the flowers and they represented a symbol of pride for her. In the second half of 2025, there was an open house at the park and Aaron Snippert, the executive director of redevelopment authority for the city of Erie, showed the neighbors the architectural plans for the park. Redevelopment was making big changes and he said they would put up a black fence between my property and the park. I told him I had a privacy fence and he assured me he would not touch my fence. He would butt his fence up against mine and he assured me 100% my fence would not be touched. Fast forward some time and Mike Cole, a construction worker at the park, asked me if he could take down two of my mother's plants to put up his fence. I told him he could. What happened next was very surprising and insulting. Redevelopment completely tore down my fence and all the vegetation attached to it. They then quickly put up a black fence. Now I have no privacy between my property and the park. I immediately went to complain to Mike Cole and he gave me his supervisor's card for me to call and told me management was aware that my fence and all the vegetation attached to it was destroyed. I took the card and called his supervisor, Pat Oteni. November 19th, 25, I called Pat Oteni. I left a voicemail about redevelopment tearing down my fence. I didn't get a reply. November 21st of 25, I called him again, left a second voicemail. November 25th, I called, left another voicemail, no reply. The job site quickly closed down for the winter and months went by with no activity. In May of 26, the workers came back to finish the park. May 18th, 26th, I called Ann Snipper, the executive director of redevelopment, left them a voicemail. I was unhappy with the fence. I got no reply. May 18th, I called Anna Esmuara, the community relations and outreach manager, left a voicemail that I was unhappy, got no reply. May 18th, I called Dave Schaffer, the housing rehabilitation manager. Left a voicemail that I was unhappy with the fence. Again, got no reply. May 19th, I called Joshua Stern, the property compliance and redevelopment coordinator. I left a voicemail I was unhappy with the fence. He did not return my call and explained. He did return my call and I explained the entire issue. He told me he'd get back to me by the end of the week. As of right now, I haven't heard back from him. I had a privacy fence and redevelopment unilaterally made the decision to tear it down. They don't live there, and I don't understand what gives them the right or authority to damage my property. They told me they wouldn't touch it. They tore it down, and they won't even acknowledge my attempts to be made whole. The fact the redevelopment won't acknowledge me is extremely insulting. Now I feel like I need to get a lawyer. I'd like a privacy fence. It would appreciate any efforts from the city council to be made whole. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello. My name is Caleb Russian city of Erie. Several days ago, we saw bigotry from a council member. This is not an opinion, it was bigotry. That is what it was. Even if you do not know enough about why it was bigotry, there is no way around the fact that it was intentionally disrespectful, childish, and far short of what I expect from a council member, no matter who the comment was directed to. We are not going to play this game where we pretend we're all collectively too simple to recognize the tone, the context, the intent. For those who have not been paying attention, this has been a pattern of behavior. A weak ego lashing out when simply being told he needs to treat others with respect and follow established rules that he is well aware of and this did not happen on just one occasion. If this sort of behavior thoughtlessly comes to light during a public meeting, one can only assume what is said outside of the public eye. While some may say it is not a big deal or that everyone should grow thicker skin, this is a lazy response and interpretation. I have worked with many people, large corporate jobs and hundreds of small teams of folks. And when you see that there is a lack of respect from someone, it is a clear indicator that there will not be good work done. This is why I am calling for the immediate resignation of the council member that keeps showing disrespect to others. I also urge the council to amend its current ordinances to establish clear standards of decorum and accountability for elected officials to review its current provisions regarding term lengths and service requirements. When rules are violated, they require real consequences. Bullies have no place here. If the council person cannot be removed or does not step down, I request that at the very least he is censured and removed from committee liaison assignments. I also need to address everyone else who was here and present during this instance of bigotry. Your silence was deafening. If you want my vote, if you reflect on what should have happened, if something like this happens again, it demands an immediate response, not days after, not after the public cameras are off immediately. I will ask you this. What are the consequences of speaking up? What are the consequences of not speaking up? If one council member is allowed to spew misogynistic transphobic comments, evidently without consequences, I think you'll be fine. You know you will not lose your job for doing the right thing. Life will go on. Don't let a bigot have more guts than you. I know I am not allowing that to happen myself. To my trans siblings, you belong here. You belong wherever you want to be. The people that matter see you. We will not be silent.

My name is Christina Morawski and I am a resident of the city of Erie. I hold a doctorate in clinical psychology and as a psychologist I have spent years working with people trying to recover from the effects of rejection, discrimination, and dehumanization. I have seen the damage these experiences cause and that is why I'm here tonight. The council person whose actions brought me and many others here did not make a mistake. He made a choice, a choice to publicly disregard another person's identity, a choice to withhold the basic respect and dignity that every person deserves, and a choice that was entirely inconsistent with the responsibilities that come with public office. But the responsibility does not end with one person. Harm is not caused only by the person who speaks. It is also caused when others stay silent, especially when those in positions of authority fail to respond. Silence is often interpreted as acceptance. And for those who have already experienced discrimination or exclusion, that silence can be deafening. When harmful behavior is left unchallenged, people begin to wonder whether anyone will stand up for them, whether anyone notices, and whether they truly belong. People do not wake up one day feeling isolated, hopeless, unsafe, or unwelcome. Those feelings are built over time through experiences that make them question whether they belong, whether they are valued, and whether anyone will stand up for them when they are treated unfairly. Over time, those experiences shape how people see themselves, their community, and their place within it. We cannot claim to care about mental health while remaining silent when the very conditions that contribute to psychological suffering are allowed to persist. We cannot claim to value inclusion while allowing members of our community to question whether they will be treated with dignity and respect. And we cannot claim to be leaders if we are unwilling to act when damage occurs before our eyes. The research is clear. LGBTQIA individuals experience significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide than their peers. Similar patterns are seen across many marginalized communities that experience discrimination, exclusion, and social rejection. These outcomes are not caused by who people are. They are influenced by environments where discrimination, rejection, and dehumanization are tolerated, normalized, or left unchallenged. That is why accountability matters, not because accountability can undo what has already happened. It can't. Accountability matters because what happens next will send a message just as powerful as the actions that brought me and many others here tonight. It will shape the future. It will tell members of this community whether disrespect will be tolerated or challenged, whether leadership will be held to standards it asks of others, and whether dignity, inclusion, and belonging are values we truly uphold. For those reasons, I'm calling on the council person whose conduct fell significantly short of the standards expected of public office to resign. If he chooses not to do so, I urge his council to formally censure him and publicly condemn his actions. Silence is not neutrality, and inaction is not leadership. I also urge this council to amend its current ordinances to establish clear standards of decorum and accountability for elected officials and to review its current provisions regarding term length and service requirements. Standards mean little if there are no mechanisms to uphold them and no consequences when they are violated. Accountability should not depend on who holds office, how long they have held it, or how much influence they have accumulated. When public trust is damaged, communities deserve meaningful ways to respond. To every LGBTQIA resident, every marginalized resident, every young person, and every person who has ever questioned whether they truly belong in this community, you belong here. You deserve dignity. You deserve respect. You deserve to feel safe in your community. And regardless of what happens next, I want you to know that there are people in this city who see you, who value you, and who will continue to stand up and speak when those values are threatened.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is June Milock, Erie City. First and foremost, I'd like to thank the city council for giving me this time to speak on this matter as I firmly believe that empowering the voices in our community is important. I'd like to speak primarily as a transgender woman who not only resides in the city of Erie, but also as a government employee herself. I'm a proud government employee and I relish in the contribution that I give to my community. i am deeply upset and disgusted by the comments made by a certain council member the councilman's comments highlighted his belief that a transgender person's humanity is not entitled to them as a matter of fact and by their existence that they are not granted the same basic respect as others but is instead revocable that they themselves deserve the same baseline of respect that others are entitled to The idea that a trans person forfeits the humanity the moment that they express something that makes us upset is deeply concerning. These are not the actions of an adult. These are the actions of a toddler who throws a tantrum and in said tantrum destroys their toys. The sentiment that we teach our children that it is unacceptable to react out of anger is disregarded by adults is something that should not be present within leadership. I've had friends and colleagues tell me today that I should address this person as Miss Councilwoman, but I won't. That I should instead, excuse me. In doing so, I'd like to demonstrate that even though the actions of this councilman deeply disgust me, that they are, at the very end of the day, a human being. That they live their life, that they enjoy life just as I do, and that they are entitled to the baseline of respect just as I am. And I'd like to highlight that despite my disgust at your actions, despite me being upset at this person's actions, that it doesn't make them any less of a person. And I wish nothing but the best for them. And maybe that's naive. But I'd like to think that my work in criminal defense gives me the opportunity to realize that people are not above growth and change. So I'd like one humble request. Prove me right. Don't prove me wrong. Thank you.

Bright Israelson, City of Erie. Council members, I am here with my fellow community members today because of the disrespect that occurred last week. As a lifelong resident and chronic voter, I have come here this evening disappointed. Each one of you has chosen to stand up and do a civil service for your city. Civil is a great word. It not only describes and defines citizenry in the state, but also that quality of being adequate and courtesy and politeness. I watched one of our council members behave in his civil capacity last week in a manner that was deficient in both courtesy and politeness, and did so not once, but twice. And so I must come before you and provide a basic lesson in kindness and respect. As my council members, and especially the council member who caused this incident, you not only represent people who look and think like you do, but also represent all members of this community, even those who do not look and think like you do, people like me. And to behave in such a manner is deeply unbefitting of an elected official. I feel that it is ridiculous that we must all stop and address this behavior. I am frustrated that the good work this council is meant to be doing has to be paused to deal with someone who not only behaved without courtesy, but who has continued to remain silent when it's so clear an apology is due to both council members whom he has disrespected. As representatives in the public eye, this discourtesy has so much more impact than disrupting a single council session. I personally have been unable to engage with my community online because this despicable behavior has encouraged others to say similarly despicable things. Your basest, lowest nature on public display as someone who should be a role model in this city has opened the door for further hurtful, harmful, demeaning, and dehumanizing behavior. When it becomes clear that leaders endorse and engage in this behavior, often people pay with their lives. These words and behaviors lead to aggression and crimes against minorities. People, your constituents, are suffering from prejudice now and will continue to do so, especially as long as we tolerate behavior like last week's incident to occur without swift reprimand. Ultimately, that's what this is about. The comments were impolite, discourteous, disrespectful, and above all, dehumanizing. Your fellow council members are human beings deserving dignity and respect. Your words showed that you do not consider them as worthy of those things. Look around this room. Who else here might this councillor disrespect? If this is what he is willing to do and say as an elected official in a public session, what is he doing and saying in private? And if he doesn't respect his fellow councilors, does he really respect everyone in this community? And if so, can he really represent them fairly and equally? If he does not, cannot, and will not, then he must not serve this beautifully diverse city as an elected or public official. I am sick and tired of such nasty and inflammatory behavior of leaders enjoying the impunity of being able to behave so disrespectfully and be protected by power and privilege. No more. We have had enough. We will hold our council members to standards higher than this. We will demand respect, kindness, and courtesy from our elected officials. We require that they behave in ways that reflect the world we are building, one of equality, equity, understanding, empathy, and kindness. To that end, this counselor must be censured for his behavior and removed from his liaison assignments. And because this counselor has demonstrated an inability to serve With respect, he must therefore resign. And this council must draft and implement a policy that clearly outlines the decorum we expect from our representatives, which includes respect in civil behavior and lays out penalties for breaching it, as well as reasonable term limits. As a voter, I will be following this closely. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, Larissa Land. I live in Erie. I would like to propose that Erie City Council establish an official code of decorum. This code of decorum should ensure that any outright bigotry, whether directed at other council members or any member of the public, would be grounds for removal from office. Bigotry, like what we've seen, especially for it to occur in Pride Month, from the mouth of a public official while acting as a public servant in a city that is supposedly an LGBTQ sanctuary city is not only disgusting, harmful, and hurtful, it is a dereliction of duty. Not only was there bigotry on blatant display by city council, but there was also cowardice. As a kid, I was the person that stood up to bullies. I learned very young that to say and do nothing in the face of bigotry, oppression, or bullying is to signal acceptance of such behavior. I am here today to urge the members of city council that have sat by without calling out bigotry to reach within yourselves and really ponder whether you are doing enough to defend not only the city of Erie and your constituency, but your fellow members of council who have been on the receiving end of such hate. I would also like to implore anyone who is on council that is not enthusiastically accepting and welcoming of all people across all races, genders, gender identities, religions, and sexual orientations to resign immediately to allow for someone who embraces the acceptance that ERIE supposedly stands for to take your place.

Thank you.

Good evening, Council. Kristi Reeves. Erie. Last week, the people of Erie viewed some terrible behavior in this very chamber. The kind of behavior that happens to many of us in the LGBTQ community on a regular basis. Not only in the workplace, but in our homes, in public. And these things add up. These things matter. These things are not an overreaction. Because sometimes that one little microaggression is the thing that tilts people over the edge. Too many people lose their lives due to the disrespect they see in their community. Do better. Be better. History is watching you. Children are watching you. The people of Erie are watching you. Thank you.

Good evening, Council. I'm Scotty Freeman from Erie. I'm glad that everybody here is on board with dehumanizing behavior and things like that because it seems really impossible for me to tell you guys that having garbage thrown on my porch by a homophobic bully who had forced me to move my business already, one of them, it's dehumanizing, kids. And it puts my business at a disadvantage. You know, for the city to do nothing and for me to be told, deal with or remove by my lawyer, that's dehumanizing, okay? Now, I gotta tell you, as far as LGBT issues, there's a plan called the Strategic Plan for Development of Federal Hill. Now, that plan was funded with fundraiser meant for a vandalized lgbt owned business inherently making that plan anti-lgbt it was planned behind the back of an lgbt owned business owner who was fully invested into the area making that plan anti-lgbt policy now i i don't want to Tell you how I felt that day. It hurt, seeing the garbage thrown on my porch, feeling I needed a gun. I don't want anybody, I don't care if it's your sexuality, your gender, your race, what religion you have, we can do better here. We can. I've seen a lot of people working hard to make Erie great for everybody. And I'm sorry, kids, that's never going to be the possibility with me living in this town because I have a cease and desist order from Pat Harkins telling me I can't communicate with his office about tobacco harm reduction. It literally makes it impossible, no matter how much great work you guys do. And I've been watching. There's been a lot of hard work going on out there. I'm not blind. Everybody thinks I'm mean, because my means, they're just true. And they're art. My stand-up work is art. My businesses were art. And we have to learn to respect everybody. That includes MAGA people. That includes, you know, conservative business people that want to do work on the basics. But you can't do that when you're building plans behind people's backs, kids. And, you know, I know that these nonprofits do a lot of good for our community. But if they create division in our community, we have to figure out a way to bring it together. And, you know, I say we film some movies and have some ice cream and lazy Sundays. But, you know, I don't know, John Fetterman, I don't know. Anyways, I love you.

Bad Boomer, peace.

good evening members of council my name is Percival Powers and I am a resident of the city of Erie um a little bit about me because I just moved here about eight months ago I'm a taxpayer I work hard I pay my bills on time I buy groceries I go to the gym and I sort through about a hundred pieces of junk mail every single day I volunteer my time as often as possible and I regularly donate whatever I can money clothes food blood every six months platelets every single week to help the neighbors who live here with me. I do these things because I care about this city. And I know I look pretty young, I get that a lot. I am actually 39 years old for the record. Statistically speaking, I am exactly the kind of invested resident this city probably wants to retain. And like others in leadership and as I'm learning a bunch of people in this room, I go by they them. But I want to be very clear here, no resident of this city should have to present a resume of good deeds just to be treated with basic human dignity. No one is responsible for meeting your expectations of how they should look, speak, or move through the world to be worthy of your consideration. Whether someone belongs to the queer community, the disabled community, communities of color, our elders, our veterans, or any intersection of them or others, we are all the Erie community. As public officials, your social responsibility is to serve all the citizens of Erie, not just the ones who fit into a convenient mold. I am damn proud to live in Erie, and I am proud to have representation here. But when a member of this body deliberately chooses to use gendered terms to attempt to undermine a colleague's authority, it sends a direct message to others in the city that you approve of that behavior. I have come here tonight to try to correct that. Don't misunderstand me here. This is not a debate about pronouns, and this is not about anyone's personal offense. My feelings are not hurt. I don't care what people call me on the street or at the grocery store, and no one is standing here raging over an accidental slip up at dinner. This is about professional conduct, basic workplace decorum, and the integrity of leadership. If a member of this body used patronizing sexist language like honey or sweetie to dismiss a female colleague's authority, we would all recognize it as a blatant attempt to demean her. Weaponizing someone's identity to strip them of professional respect is no different. This was a calculated reaction to being corrected, an attempt by someone in a position of power to try to take power away from a colleague. It seems easy for certain members to target public figures whose backgrounds are known. I'm new here, good luck. And while the target of these comments may have the resilience required to brush them off, the resilience of the target does not excuse these actions. You aren't just affecting a single person, you are affecting an entire community of your neighbors. I remind the council that Erie is an official sanctuary city for people like us. We are just people living our lives, but if certain council members are comfortable behaving this way in a televised public session, it makes it very difficult to trust that our best interests are being looked after behind closed doors when it comes time to vote on ordinances and funding that affect our lives. If you cannot maintain basic professional respect for your colleagues during council proceedings, you cannot be trusted to fairly represent us outside of them. I urge the members of this council to keep in mind that we live here, we contribute, we build families here, we vote, and as has been stated many times before me, we are paying attention. Every time this body chooses to diminish a member of our community to score a political point, you can expect us to stand at this microphone and hold you accountable to the basic respect that every resident of Erie deserves. And while that is the conclusion of my speech, I just want you to know I actually wrote in what to do if there was an apology issued before I spoke, and I'm very disappointed that I did not have to use that. Thank you.

Greetings Council. My name is Josh Jaeger. I'm a cisgender heterosexual white male and current lifelong Erie resident and I am angry. And before I go on, I'd like to just challenge Council to flip their phones over and pay attention when people are talking. At the council meeting last week in this chamber, on the public record, a member of this council looked at his colleague and intentionally misgendered them. The councilman did it on purpose. He did it to wound. He did it from a chair the people of Erie gave him and he turned it into a weapon. Let's not pretend it was anything else. This was not a heated debate. This was not a slip of the tongue. Nobody accidentally insults a colleague's identity in a public meeting. He knew exactly what he was doing. He chose contempt, he chose cruelty, and he chose to do it out loud with the city watching. Council people, don't get to hide behind the word politics. Disagreement is politics. Budgets are politics. Zoning, taxes, potholes, argue about those all night long. But sneering at who another person is, that is not a political position. That's a bully looking for someone to step on it. I very much dislike bullies. There's no idea in it, no argument in it, no leadership in it, only the smallness of someone who would rather demean a colleague than do the job he was elected to do. And here's what I need everyone in this room to understand. When it happened, it didn't stay in this room. It went out the door. It reached the kid in this city who is terrified to tell their family who they are. It reached the parents lying awake, wondering whether Erie is safe for their child. I brought my daughter here to watch me talk about this because I want her to understand that I'm going to fight like hell for her. It reached every gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and non-binary person in this community. And in the voice of their own government, it told them, you are a target. Your dignity is a punchline. Your leaders will use you to score points. Well, I'm here to tell you, no. Not here, not in this city, not in our name, certainly not in mine. Erie is better than the worst thing that is said in this room. We're a city of people who dig each other out of the snow and check on each other when the power goes out. We do not agree on everything. Lord knows we never have. But we do not get to throw away basic human dignity the second a fight turns ugly. LGBTQIA plus residents built this city right alongside everyone else. They pay the same taxes. They bury the same loved ones. They love this place just as fiercely. And they will be treated with the same respect as every other person who walks through those doors full stop. So I'm done being polite about this, and I'm asking council to act. Say it. Out loud. On the record, say what happened here was wrong. Because if the rest of you sit in silence, that silence becomes a verdict. It says, this is acceptable, and this is who we are now. And I really hope that's not what you're thinking. I'm asking you to refuse to let that be true. This council person should be a grown-up and apologize. Not a non-apology, not an I'm sorry if anyone was offended. Look your colleague in the eye in this chamber and own what you did. Then commit to treating every person at this table and every resident in this city with the respect this office demands. And if you will not, if you cannot even manage that, then the people of Erie are entitled to ask whether you belong in that chair at all. What was done to the council person was beneath this body and beneath this city. They did nothing to deserve it, and they are not standing alone tonight. Look around. The people who believe in a decent Erie are right here, and we're not going anywhere. To the rest of the council, you swore an oath to this city, so defend it. Not just its streets, nor its budget, but its character. Prove to the people of Erie that their government can fight like hell over ideas and still treat every single human being in this room with dignity. That's the line, and I'm asking you to hold it.

Thank you.

My name is Cole Shunley. I live in the city of Erie. I wanted to start by reading a quote from writer and activist Tim Fost. If a politician is willing to compromise trans people for political convenience, they've shown they're willing to compromise someone else next. Eventually that someone might be you. And I wanted to use that quote because what happened last week was indicative of a larger problem. On tonight's agenda, there are items, ordinances to be talked about around the rental program and renter's rights and landlord tenant relationship that exist in the city of Erie. Trans people, unfortunately, disproportionately struggle with poverty, disproportionately renters across the country. The person who made those remarks has shown whose side of this issue they will be on tonight, in the past, and going forward. Whose side will the rest of this council be on? Will you be on the side of the wealthy? Will you be on the side of the people who have disproportionately all of the power in our community? Or will you stand with the people who are the most marginalized, who need the most help, who need the most support? If you can't make the right decisions, We will make them for you, and by changing the composition of this council. I want to point something out. If you looked at the composition of this council 10 years ago, it's a shocking difference. For too long, the powers that be, the richest in this city, have decided the fate of this city, have decided that Erie should be just managed decline. that good things can't happen here, but their pockets can get lined. Enough. We will make changes. There have been changes made. It will change further. And if you don't like it, tough. Thanks.

Thank you.

good evening my name is mo deacon and i live in the city of erie i would like to begin by wishing a very happy pride month to everyone here except for the council member we all know that we're talking about the behavior exhibited last week misgendering our city council president was unacceptable it was shameful honestly your actions as elected officials represent all of erie and we are better than this what you did at the last city council meeting was more than simple disrespect toward a colleague it was a message immediately and clearly received by every member of erie's lgbtq community you do not respect us But let me be clear, this is not an issue of respect only. Attempts to publicly demean members of our community directly lead to increased violence toward us and increased suicidality within our community. You are all elected to work together to make our city better. If you cannot respect each other, I don't think you're gonna do a very good job. I would like to echo previous calls for censure this member i would also like to call for a sincere public apology not only to the members of the council involved but also to our entire community i look forward to hearing that apology tonight happy pride make us proud

My name is Kate Deacon, I'm a resident of Erie, and that was my wife, Mo Deacon, very proud of them. I'm gonna be honest, I did have something written for tonight, and in the spirit of pride, I was, some of you may know this term, I was about to read a certain council member for filth tonight. But I think that we have, as a community, done plenty of that, and honestly, that council member has shown a tremendous amount of weakness and is quite pathetic today, I would assume that we are going to get that apology and that resignation. So instead, I would like to highlight some good things during Pride Month. Look at this turnout council. Look at who's watching you. We're going to continue to watch you. And I also encourage these people who showed up tonight with such conviction to continue to have that same energy always, not just for our community, although our community is marginalized community that needs it. But I also want to remind everybody, if you hadn't been here earlier to hear about it, this weekend is Juneteenth. We need to show up for our communities, all of our marginalized communities. with just as much fervor. i also i also would like to take the opportunity to um to say that i have had communication with mayor devlin and i've had communication with governor shapiro and i want you to know that we do make a difference when we reach out and these elected officials are willing to respond so please do continue to reach out and i also encourage us to continue to participate in every opportunity that we are given to have a voice and what happens with our community. We are recent transplants here. Very proud to tell everyone that we have a pretty blue city, but it's not blue no matter who, sir. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Dr. Clayton Bradshaw-Middle. I live in Erie. So I just try and bring a little bit of an extra kind of dimension to it. So I'm a previously homeless veteran. I've gone on, gotten my PhD. I've survived a lot of things in my life, and now I teach. And in my experience, my students are far more aware of the discourse that happens around them than we like to give them credit for. I've, you know, my pronouns are they, them. I am non-binary. And I do have to endure a lot of misgendering in the classroom. Some of it's intentional, some of it's not. And I stay quiet about all of it because I'm in a position of authority and because we live in a world where there is, we are, you know, the United States is quickly embracing a sort of trans genocide, right? That's from like the Lincoln Institute if you want to look that up. And so when my students see these things happening in the world, they mimic them a lot of the times. A lot of them are younger. A lot of them have anger and frustration. Maybe they got a bad grade on an assignment. And so they do things that they mean to mean harm. And when they see people in authority doing that, they tend to mimic that. And so I'd just like to urge the council to think about that and to think about that. those people who are watching, who a lot of people have mentioned already. And I don't want to harp on it too much. And I think there are a lot of substantial things that people have brought to you as a way of remedying, a way of creating justice around this situation. So just something to sort of think about. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, council. My name is Samantha Votto. I use she, her pronouns. I am here today to call for meaningful accountability regarding the conduct of the council member who intentionally misgendered another member of this council. Many of my peers here tonight will call for the council members' resignation, removal from liaison positions, and censure. Others will call for clear ordinance amendments that outline council members' decorum and the consequences for future infractions. together we are calling for action this is not a debate about personal beliefs at its core it is about whether we can trust public officials to accurately represent information even when it conflicts with their personal beliefs that expectation is not optional and public service it is foundational The council member in question serves in liaison positions that require communication between government bodies, organizations, and the public. If they cannot reliably convey something as straightforward as another member's stated pronouns, then it raises serious concerns about how they will handle information that they may disagree with in those same rules. Public service requires a commitment to accuracy and faithful representation, not selective acknowledgement based on personal preference. What makes this incident especially concerning is the context in which it occurred. The misgendering did not happen during a routine exchange. It occurred while the council member was being put on notice. At that moment, when accountability was being requested, the council member chose to misgender another member of this body. The context matters because it shows the conduct did not occur in isolation and it was not an accident. It happened during a moment of direct challenge to meeting rules directed at the same member attempting to enforce those rules. Whether driven by frustration, anger, or disagreement, the effect is the same. This was a failure to maintain a level of professionalism expected of elected officials in a moment of conflict. Public service requires the ability to remain respectful even when disagreement is present and accountability is being enforced. In fact, that is exactly when professionalism matters. If council members cannot meet the standard in public meetings, it raises legitimate concerns about their ability to serve in roles that require judgment, restraint, and accurate representation of others. But I'm not here tonight solely for the council member who is misgendered. I am here for the queer youth I serve every day. They are listening. They hear the message that is being sent when public officials refuse to acknowledge someone's identity. They hear the silence when the behavior is not redirected. They read the harmful and hostile comments that follow online. And many begin to wonder whether there's a place for them in this community and whether their futures include safety, dignity, and belonging. Young people pay attention to what adults in positions of authority choose to tolerate. When elected officials model respect, they learn that that matters. When disrespect goes unaddressed, they learn that their humanity is negotiable. This council has an opportunity tonight to send a different message, that professionalism matters, that accountability matters, and that hate-fueled language and misconduct will not be met with silence or inaction. Thank you.

Thank you.

Council people, good evening. Before I begin, I would like everyone to look around you, see who is here tonight, who has represented our community. We have black people, brown people, white people, gay people, straight people, queer people, trans people. We have everyone represented. This is not a gender, a marginalized group. This is not a demographic issue. I want you to look at how long this line is and how interminable it is. It has not shortened tonight. And it is not shortened tonight. It is as interminable as the wrath that we feel, the anger at what is going on on this board.

I think I forgot to ask you for your name. Oh, I'm sorry.

My name is Callie Paparelli. We are angry because not only did a council member inappropriately use his position to demean another council member. But nobody else spoke up and said something about it. We are all here on behalf of that council member who was misgendered. I'm going to echo some of what other people have said tonight. We are better than this. Every one of us in this room is better than this. You are better than this. And you are here to represent us in being better than this. If we are not better than this, if we engage in petty antagonism, If we choose snark over silence, if we do not rise above the temptation of childish and divisive rhetoric, then we do not deserve the privilege to serve this community. For it is a privilege to sit on this board and serve us. Then you do not deserve that privilege. I echo what everyone else here, the sentiments that have been spoken tonight. If you do not voluntarily resign, then censures. If censures fail, then removal from liaison committees. And if that also fails, sir, I would like you to appreciate the humility that would be reflected in apology and the change in attitude of the 100, 200 people that are here representing their community tonight. Each one of these people represents a family, a school district, a neighborhood that are looking down on your behavior. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Dan Pirtle. I live on West 9th and Erie. I wrote down a lot of things that I want to talk about tonight about what happened last week. I tend to go off script a little bit. But the core issues that I saw, three things really concern me. The first was lack of emotional control on someone who's a civil servant. When you're in a meeting with someone, when you're talking with someone and you decide to go with an ad hominem attack, ad hominem, if you don't know what that means, it's at the person, okay? You're up here trying to solve issues for the city. Attacking the other person means that you've gone to a juvenile state, maybe 12, 13 years old, you're no longer an adult, and you've attacked this person for no reason other than you lost the fight, so now you're gonna go after their person. You're a child, you're a baby. The next point, it's obvious, it's been made by probably 50 people tonight, is extremely transphobic, okay? This is a person who has struggled their entire life with things you have no idea about suffering that you had no understanding of I don't I still don't. And you're going to throw it in their face with some kind of little personal attack because you didn't get your way. That is unacceptable in any city body. The last thing and this goes for everyone. If you think that this comment was made just to this person you're wrong because if they were willing to say this publicly while being recorded what do they think about you what do they think about you what do they think about me and that's where i think all of us should be really concerned is what's rattling around in that person's head who's making decisions for our city So what I'm asking for tonight, I'm not asking for a resignation. I'm not asking for an apology because I don't think this person has the capability, the self-awareness to understand what they've done. So I'm not asking for that. What I'm asking for you as council is to codify decorum so that at least people like this who somehow get elected, and believe me, they're not gonna get elected again, somehow has some level of control over themselves because they obviously don't have it. Now, I've got a little time left, so I want to end on a positive note. I grew up out in Albion, reddest town in this county. I grew up a homophobe, I grew up a racist, okay? As I started to grow up and change, I started to meet people I went in the military, I met black people. Guess what? They ain't so bad, all right? I've met a lot of gay people, I've met trans people, I've met all kinds of people all around the world. Get out there and meet some people. Spend some time with them. This last fall, my grandma died. As she was dying, put her in hospice, but on the way, I spent every day out there helping her out. My kids were at home, couldn't help them. I needed help from my friends. Do you know who helped me? My trans friend helped me. Some other people that I knew, not gonna say MAGA, but you know, they couldn't make the time. My trans friend and my gay friends and my queer friends made the time for me. And if you take some time to understand the people in this room, you might figure out, like, huh, maybe I should respect their pronouns because I don't know the shit they're going through. Thank you, everyone.

Abdullah Washington here, Pennsylvania. I came here excited because Councilman Troup introduced a resolution for Juneteenth, and it's about time. And that's a way that we pay tribute to the past, but we look forward to our future, which includes our entire community. which includes our children, Mo True, of course, being a very respected educator in this community. I'm so proud of you and I'm proud of this council because of that. I'd like to go on about Juneteenth. But unfortunately, people don't like to play nice all the time. But this is all about respect, respect r-e-s-p-e-c-t respect ed brzezinski this isn't about you using counselors names thank you thank you this isn't about you this is about our future and our community so please don't think people are here for you we don't have to agree on everything that goes on But I worked with Dr. Tyler Titus' campaign for county executive a few years ago. And though we were unsuccessful, having seen the damage caused by the Brenton Davis administration, including the disruption of funds intended by Councilman Andre Horton to help the local black community. But today, it feels a little as if we're finally moving ahead with some of these new administrations. I'm not impressed by your hateful quips against Liz Allen. I'm not impressed by your bigoted remarks against President Titus and Councilman Horton. And I was not impressed when you took Dan Laughlin's Republican money and dumped it straight into our Democratic primary. It even begs the question, sir, are you still a Democrat? In fact, instead of the bigotry, you should put some respect on your colleagues' names. Sir, and I use that term loosely, if you cannot say something nice, then it's best to say

Let's keep decorum.

And if you can't carry out the demands of your position, then remember there's nothing stopping you from stepping down. Goodnight.

My name is Ken Quinn.

I live in Erie.

I'm here with my guide dog, Ashley. To the president, we stand behind you. We are your family. Also, Through the chair to the mayor, you said you want to make this city welcoming to all. However, if you are a disabled constituent of yours, you're not really welcome in the city due to inaccessibility issues. Are you willing to make the difference in what needs to be done? And are you willing to work with me to make that change?

Yes.

I look forward to working with the mayor about that. I do want to talk about what happened last council meeting. It was reprehensible. Dr. Titus, before this session even started, talked about decorum and how decorum should run. This whole council, with the exception of a few individuals, did not show decorum last council meeting. There's a specific individual who obviously thinks they're above decorum, above treating people with respect and dignity that they deserve. I took it up front to myself as a disabled member of this community of how that person acted. This person believes that he has the right to hold that seat. You are privileged to hold that seat and we are privileged to remove you from it. I'd call for the immediate resignation of yourself. If that's not possible, I call for you to be censured and take off any liaison community that you're a part of because you do not represent this community as a whole to the members of the committee that stood silent. You are no better than this individual. I hearken back to the South when we were talking about the rights of my fellow black Americans and their right to vote and the lynchings and everything that happened in the South. The people that did those crimes, and I will say they crimes because that's what they were, were accountable for their crimes. And guess what? The people who stayed silent also had to be compliant and be responsible for what they did not do because lack of reaction shows non-commitment to action. Again, Dr. Titus, everybody in this room, This is appalling. This does not deserve to be in our city, in our council, just because the federal government can act immature and unrespectful does not mean that we need to tolerate it from our council members and in this city. I've never seen so much disrespect from a sitting council member in all the years that I've lived here since 2009. And I've not seen in any place that I've lived the disrespect that I saw last council meeting from that member anywhere that I've lived. We are better than this as a population, as a city, and there's no room for discriminatory language or behavior that was put on show last meeting. This individual is a small person. The only person that I saw that had decorum at last meeting was the president. i applaud you i look forward to working with the mayor on making this city feel accepting to all whether ability disability gender equality race ethnicity we are better than what has happened we are better than what has happened in the past and we can change things going forward but it's going to take every person in this city to agree to make that change and we need to show our children that we are better than this this is not behavior that should be done by any elected official or even a member of society It has no place at all in our society. Again, I call for the immediate resignation of this member. And sir, you should be ashamed of your behavior.

Thank you.

Susanna Faulkner, City of Erie. It's going to be a long night. Maybe like do some shoulder rolls, stretch your neck out a little bit and take a breath. We've got a long line ahead of us and rightly so. There is nothing more important than respect and dignity for one another and for all community members. anyone calling this outcry a waste of time is missing the point this is what community looks like and we have to reckon with these issues if we're going to move forward as a former member of this council i know difficult conversations and disagreements are part of the job What I don't recognize is a council that hears public discrimination and responds with silence. The office deserves better. The community deserves better. We all deserve better. When prejudice was spoken, leadership said nothing. The silence spoke volumes. We all felt it. Do you know how scary it is to be your authentic self in a public role when you are facing hatred? In my short time on council, I received countless death threats for being an out queer person in this community and the bravery and leadership, our president of her council and the integrity that they have upheld. is something that is a bright light in our community. And if you have not experienced that public hatred for who you are as a woman, as a person of color, as a disabled person, as a queer person, then you might not know what that feels like. But it's horrifying, it haunts you, and it is a nightmare to live with, yet we keep showing up every single day. I'm so proud of you. I am truly, and I say this with love, beyond disappointed in every member up here that did not speak out after this happened. I'm disappointed. We cannot claim to be an inclusive city, a welcoming city when we tolerate public bigotry. What if this was a racial slur? What if this was an offensive comment about a disabled person? What if it was misogynistic or sexist? You know, it's a shame that caucus only started being filmed because the first caucus meeting after I was no longer on council, a certain member of council alluded to the fact that the only way I got appointed to council was because I must be having an affair with a member of council. It's a shame that those caucus meetings were not filmed at that time. And when that information was given back to me, I was told that nobody spoke up. Public service is a privilege, not a shield from consequence. The community responded. The question is why city leadership hasn't. The public deserves representatives with the courage to speak up and the decency to know when to step down. Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Freda Tepper, and I live in the city of Erie. And I am thrilled at the beauty of the diversity and the truth of the people who have shown up tonight, people who who I've never seen at these meetings before, but I'm so glad that they're here, and I'm sorry it is only because of a very painful incident they chose to come. I am actually, because of what I heard the landlord people talk about, I have to make some comments. I was sitting in the room during the caucus when it was decided that they were going to go with the BIU inspectors. And there were city staff members there saying, no, we can do it. We can do a better job. So what is the crap I heard tonight about this is a monumental decision you want to make to change back from BIU? No. That was the monumental decision. That was the monumental decision to allow this contractor to do a crappy job. Three people I know were living, you know, the woman that Marty brought here and two people who are pretty well known in this community, one living with mold, both living with mold, both living with mold. So no, I don't think we need to have more time and that we need to coddle the landlords. What we need. I heard that part of what's going to happen is there has to be a pre-inspection because before you can rent, we need that. We need that and we need to treat, we need to provide decent housing. Um, I want to mention that right now the Federal Register is open and it is receiving comments until July 2nd for a proposal that every state must send a list to the Postal Service of all of the voters who will be receiving a mail-in ballot or else they cannot receive mail-in ballots, only those on the list. So if you Google Federal Register USPS mail-in ballot. It'll take you to the page where you can comment. If you think this is a lousy idea, please do that. Please do that. Um, I, um, I also, once again, just because I often do want to comment that why our businesses using brave render park for free to park. Why don't they pay? Why don't they at least put in a free, a sidewalk there if they're going to, it's, it's baseball season. We got the contractor from the gas company or something on one side with piles of dirt and all kinds of crap. And on the other side, all of the people who work, uh, Anthony and sons and all of them parking for free. And I don't think it's fair. Um, Yeah, I've been here a long time. I saw Susanna Faulkner demeaned. I saw Andre Horton interrupted. I saw not an accidental misgender, a really deliberate slip last week. It was deliberate. And this is a person who was a teacher? I can't believe it. So before my time goes off, I'm going to read this poem by Miller Williams, the late Poet Laureate of Arkansas and the father of Lucinda Williams. Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don't want it. What seems conceit, bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign of things no eyes have heard, no ears have heard, no eyes have seen. You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone. And the last thing, I know Mr. Quinn. I worked with him when I was an O&M instructor, and I'm disappointed that As often as I come up and talk about accessibility, I haven't heard him. I haven't heard him come to the disability roundtable, which hardly ever meets anyway. But we need everybody who uses a wheelchair, who is visually impaired, to actively communicate with the city about accessibility issues. And complain when sidewalks are closed without signage and for no good reason. and for more than 180 days. Thank you.

Michael , Erie, Pennsylvania. It's wonderful to be in the room with people, unifying together from all walks of life for the common goal of acceptance and liberation for all. The amount of people here tonight stems from repeated examples of the current system we live under, normalizing bigotry. I'd like to expand on a few words tonight, liberation and normalization. When I think of liberation, I think of liberation for all people. I have nothing but love for the LGBTQ plus community in Erie and around the country. They are some of the most giving, understanding, but also most unheard and targeted people. And specifically in this community, I am warmed by their incredible actions of mutual aid and defense of one another. This sense of liberation for all peoples leads me to not ingrain myself in the current systems of capitalism, racism, imperialism, and settler colonialism, but striving to build a new and better system outside what is acceptable to many. And that's where normalization comes in. Reaching true liberation for all peoples means we have to analyze what has been normalized. In the year 2026, there is a normalization of barbarism. 38 million people have been killed by U.S. sanctions since 1970, people just like you and I. When I was growing up, our government spent $10 trillion on a propagandized war on terror, killing 1 million Iraqis and displacing over 10 million people. People just like you and I. These are just a couple examples. In Palestine, in the Swana region, genocide has been normalized, carried out with our tax dollars. There are so, so many people subjectified to bombs and horrors which we can simply not imagine across the world. to indigenous people who strive for their own liberation. The liberation of the community here and the liberation of the peoples our government subjugates everywhere can be linked, and that's what I strive to normalize. When officials like Josh Shapiro deny genocide taking place and mobilize the police on anti-genocide protesters and aren't challenged on those barbaric positions, that normalizes his views. When officials like Ryan Bizarro take a trip to Israel while they're committing genocide against the Palestinians and are gifted lavish under-the-radar getaways sponsored by tech companies like Google, and leaders from Erie take endless photo ops with them, that normalizes his extreme lack of moral compass. Think of the lack of moral compass present in the system. It's truly astounding that this level of normalization is acceptable, and that's why I'll never be afraid to speak up for not only my neighbors in this community, but also my brothers and sisters across the world who simply do not have a voice. I'll leave you with something that I promised my friend I would speak next time I had access to a microphone. I was out delivering, stopping at a local gas station to park and eat, and they messaged me. One of their best friends had been killed in Gaza. They had been unable to stop crying for the past couple weeks and felt so lost and alone. Not being able to sit next to them once more and experiencing their friendship. He was gunned down by a quadcopter drone as he helped others escape an Israeli raid. Something that is endless and extremely common to this day in the Gaza Strip. He was, quote, an older brother to the children around him, especially to those who had lost a father, a mother, or an entire family. This man was a photographer who absolutely loved his art. During the genocide, he was known for photographing the joy of Palestinian children, capturing their sense of wonder and humanity, even though their environment was anything but. In that moment, it hit me. The same emotions I felt so commonly early in the genocide, those of fury, anger, sadness, motivation seeped out once more. And I sat there so longing to help my friend and the people in Palestine with tears streaming down my face. To the people in this room, I'm with you. Countless humans, as we all are, like him, and my friend, and many in this community, and many around the world, either exist without a voice or are simply not listened to, who violence is normalized against. And we must do everything to build a new and better system to stop it once and for all.

Thank you.

Hello. My name is Maria Chalovich. I live on East Wall Street. First, I want to congratulate all the speakers here tonight because I think it's wonderful that you've all come out here to support and demand corrective act actions. Second, I want to thank the mayor's office for contacting me today and code enforcement for contacting me after many, to get any resolution, although none's been done yet. And I will tell you about that here in a minute. But I also want to speak on how people are treated. My son, who's dark and placid, as I used to be as, you know, going in the sun, I got very tanned, you know, and my heritage is Italian and Sicilian. But he was in the McCain Tavern in McCain with his girlfriend who's fair complected. And yeah, my son has tattoos. So they went in to get something to eat. And he went to the bathroom and he was approached. And said, man said, what are you smoking pot in here? My son said, I don't know who you're talking to, but it wasn't me. So then they go back to the table and they order their food. They're approached again at the table and they're glaring at her, who's a fair, very pleasing young lady to look at, and say, this is a conservative restaurant. Now their family is supposed to be family friendly. That is not family friendly, in my opinion. So I wrote a little post on that, you know, but that's here nor there. But what I called the city and the county time and time again for, oh, and one other thing. My family is very, they're biracial, binational, bigender, it doesn't matter. And they'd fill up this whole city hall and then some. But my issue is homeowners. My issue is people doing damage to my home. My issue is blocking the sunlight from my home. You have no right to infringe on my home. We pay taxes. Every homeowner pays taxes. That's how this city operates. And that is not right. that people are allowed to do that too, because the way they put their fence in next door to me, if national fuel had to do and excavate the meter there, they'd never be able to get in because it's only two and a half to three feet. They can't. I had five people there today. It's got tree service to check on roots, Gerlachs, And I even contacted ground penetrating radar today to see if they could. Because my problem is, is because the damage that they've done to our home since this whole thing started from knocking out our plumbing twice and us having paid a plumber to come in and to try to find where they knocked the pipes loose. from knocking out our electric from our kitchen all the way out to our shed by putting those great big lights in that they don't use and pounding the ground, they have done some kind of damage. And at the same time, I had two men come to my house and say, hey, you have three outhouses on your property. Can we go down in them? I said, okay. So they got some old bottles, glass, that kind of stuff. But when he went to the east side of the property, he said, there's running water under here. So what do I do? I call the city. Then when they knock the plumbing out, what do I do? I call the city again to make sure there are no broken pipes anywhere. And to no avail. Nobody shows up. Nobody contacts me. Nothing. But my problem is if they have created a sinkhole between my property and their property, and that big light comes down, it's not just going to come down on my house. It's going to go down on 12th Street. And somebody's going to get killed. Thank you. And that's why it needs to be done.

Thank you.

Hello. My name is Julia Jacobs. I did first want to point out again that the expressions on some of the council people's faces who are being spoken about are being observed. The scrolling on your phone, laughing at comments that are made about you, that all just kind of adds to your case on this. I would also like to wish everybody a happy Pride month, although in my world, Pride is every day and it should be for everybody, queer or not. I also would like to wish everybody a happy Juneteenth because that is That celebration is unfortunately being distracted with other things, but these events are all connected. These causes for liberation are all connected to each other. I did also want to wish everybody a happy Men's Mental Health Awareness Month because... If it weren't for councilmen like Ed, I'm sorry, name dropping, we actually wouldn't need a month like that because men like him are the reason that other men and other colleagues do not feel supported, do not feel like they can seek the help that they deserve. I also did want to mention that I've been in this room many times for many different causes, and I've never seen the room so full for Justice for Cello, which is still an active issue. Justice has not been served, and as happy as I am to see as much diversity as there is, again, I've never seen this level of showing up for Justice for Cello and his family and loved ones. So I'm speaking tonight as a deeply concerned community member who is so committed to social justice and human dignity and ultimately community mental health and well-being that I'm dedicating my whole personal life and professional career to improving it. So I'm outraged by the unprofessional behavior of a councilman last week, specifically the deliberate transphobic remark made as well as the blatant disrespect toward another colleague. and the message that that immaturity and ignorance sends to any marginalized person in this city and beyond. What happened harmed at least one person, but is not solely about any one person or community, and it does not matter to what extent the harm was intended, it was certainly the intent. The moment reflected systemic patterns and normalization of much larger issues tied to transphobia, not just transphobia, but also misogyny, racism, colonialism, and other tools of bigotry that have existed in and oppressed our communities for a very long time. I hope you're paying attention. In the councilman's deliberate use of a derogatory remark publicly, harm was not done just to a colleague, but to every queer and transgender person watching. It sent a message to those already questioning if they belong that even their elected Democrat leaders, in quotation marks, may treat them as inferior and as if their dignity is negotiable. This issue does not thrive alone. I'll wait until you're finished with that. We've heard concerns about sexism and misogyny, and we've seen clear disrespect and discrimination directed at a black colleague. And we know these sorts of systems and oppression don't operate separately. When one marginalized group is targeted, all marginalized groups are at risk. Thus,

We have to maintain decorum.

Thus, if we were serious about addressing this kind of discrimination, we must also act in response to the discrimination that a black councilman experienced during the same meeting. Because there is no doubt that these incidents are connected. The same regressive mindset that devalues trans people is often the same one that devalues the black community, women, immigrants, disabled people, and anyone who challenges traditional structures of power. For generations in this country, and still, these rooms did not welcome trans people, black people, women. So people from historically excluded groups are finally gaining seats and opportunities to use their voices to represent their communities, which was never allowed before. When this happens, there are frequently attempts made, subtle or overt, to remind them of their place. This is why accountability matters, not because feelings were hurt, but because public attacks on marginalized leaders sends a message to every oppressed person. The evidence we've witnessed is clear. The research is clear. There's widespread documentation of discrimination experienced by the black and trans community within employment, housing, health care, education, social services, and government public policy.

Thank you. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Dan Braman. I'm a resident of Erie. I'm a psychologist, a father, a husband. Luckily, I'm not your psychologist, your father, or your husband, so check there. I'm here to discuss the disrespect toward a fellow council person, council people, actually, to be clear. I just want to discuss, I have two kids under the age of 10. One of them has long, lovely hair, a boy, constantly, constantly misgendered by people because he's a pretty boy. And his younger sibling has taken to introducing him with, my brother's a boy. Clear to the point? The four-year-old gets it. It's not that hard to respect people's pronouns, especially when they are right there in front of you. nice and clear on a nice, easy to read placard. If it's not easy to read, well, that brings us back to accessibility issues. We should work on that too. But most importantly, apologize. I talked to the four and seven year old. I say, you did something, you made a choice. You need to apologize for it. You need to apologize specifically for what you did. You need to not smile or smirk or mutter into your shirt. It needs to be clearly heard by the person who is hurt. And there need to be consequences. I would suggest you step down. I doubt that's gonna happen, but I would recommend it. At the very least, you should be censured by your fellow colleagues who also should speak up when similar things, if similar things happen in the future. Furthermore, you should be removed from any committees or liaisons of which you are a part currently. You have demonstrated a difficulty with communicating with others in a respectful fashion that has clearly derailed this body in being a productive focus on the needs of the individuals who live in this city if you need a four or seven year old to explain pronouns to you my kids are pretty friendly just let me know and we can set up a time sometime they really like hot chocolate that helps finally i don't know your life you don't know mine what i can tell you is You and I are both white men as far as I'm aware you identify. Living, we have it on easy. It's hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes, but trust me, unless people see nail polish on me or otherwise know I'm queer, I'm just a cis white straight man to them and they just don't bother me. Your colleagues, many of them, don't have that experience. And I think you should respect that. Maybe they know more than you in certain regards. Thank you.

Hello, Martha Wachuku, City of Erie. I want to start with thank yous first. Thank you, Councilman Troup, for platforming Juneteenth in the way that you have. And thank you to the mayor's administration for getting the dirt over to the Booker T. Washington Center because we have now launched a community garden there where the community will be able to get into the dirt and children will be able to learn gardening skills. I like to start with thank yous and often saying how hard it is to be you because I want before I become critical to put myself in your shoes so you can understand that I see your point of view. And as someone who comes up here regularly, every time I come up here, I'm still intimidated. I'm always aware of the power dynamic, be it that you're elected officials, be it that except for Jasmine, most of you are older than me. and that we live in a racial caste system where I, as a black person, are at the bottom of society. And then as a black woman, I also have another point against me. And it was only spoken about earlier, but the comments and the demeaning that was targeted at another person at council, that impacts black, queer, and trans people exponentially. I often come and I'm here today again to speak about housing. There is a housing crisis in Erie and it affects everyone, but it most especially impacts our elders. But a population that I don't personally often talk about is the impact on trans youth, trans people, queer people, and the discrimination they face in housing. So last week when I watched live, I wasn't here in person, but I watched on YouTube, we were having a very critical conversation about the zoning on the Bayfront and the development in the future of the city. And one of the council people was asking critical questions that they had the right to. Other council people asked critical questions that they had the right to, as representatives of the people where we don't have the privilege to be in those conversations with you. So I found it very belittling, all the side comments. and snark remarks made to that councilman who is a black person and then when uh they were called out by their leader on council to uh be professional and hold themselves accountable they knowingly and intentionally demean their leader And it pissed me off immediately because I, like I just said, I put myself in people's shoes. The council president is someone who's of a marginalized community. I am someone who's often a marginalized person in leadership who is the only person oftentimes whether it's being black, being younger, being a woman, having to keep people together. It's a very hard job to keep people from different backgrounds and beliefs together. So when they were demeaned that way in front of their colleagues, in front of county events, in front of all the different people in that room, I immediately felt attacked. I know what it feels like to be attacked in that way and to hope that someone else speaks up for you because it's a really hard thing to know that you're being belittled and no one else comes to your aid. Many of you know I really care about you and I respect you highly. I was disappointed that you didn't stand up for your fellow colleague. I was pissed off because they don't have the privilege, the black councilmen and the non-binary councilmen do not have the privilege of going off the handle and yelling and acting all kinds of crazy. Because as we saw in the media, we always get attacked regardless of whether we are the ones being harmed or not. we always are attacked and it's unfair and instead of us spending time tonight talking about the critical issue of uh housing inspections and having this hard conversation between renters and landlords we're instead having to spend this time showing support for who needs support but we shouldn't be still in this place of trying to bring ourselves together across division because one person who's supposed to be a public representative of all This is not the first time. That was years ago when you demeaned Liz Allen and called her abroad. I've been here seeing you roll your eyes when another fellow councilwoman raises her hand to speak. This is a pattern of behavior that I'm actually sick of seeing. I'm sick of the public having to hold themselves to standards that public representatives do not. And it is exhausting to be any kind of marginalized person. I was just talking to a fellow black person coming in here. We just saw a one-year-old get killed because they accused someone of stealing groceries. We just saw a young man defending himself get... 20 something years in prison. Meanwhile, a convenience man killed a black teenager and got off. These are things that marginalized people carry every day. And we don't have the privilege of letting it out all on you. And I'm just so exhausted. We need to focus on important things. Stop being hateful. Apologize.

Thank you.

I'm grateful for this opportunity, and I'm not pleased about being here.

Could you please say your name?

My name is Alan Brown. I'm not from the city, but I'm from this county. I had the unfortunate distinction in 1976 of being the first kid certified in the city as an adult, and I did 47 years before I came home. My last three teens, all of my 20s, all of my 30s, all of my 40s, all of my 50s, and my first three 60s, people always say, Alan, what was the most important thing to you? What meant the most to you? What made you feel the most human when you came home? It was being able to vote for the first time. I would like to think that my vote does not promote bigotry in such a way. I could not sleep for three nights. I just rolled around thinking like, well, if it did, what can I do to remedy this? How can I fix this? And in my thinking, I came up with a poem. The title of this poem is What If? And I asked myself these questions to realize the importance of everyone's life, everybody's being. What if I went to sleep? And what if while I was asleep, I had a dream? And what if in that dream I died and I went to heaven? And what if I met God and God took me for a walk through the most beautiful, fragrant garden I'd ever seen or smelled in my life? And at the end of that journey through this garden, what if I woke up from this dream and that flower that I had asked to pick from the garden that God allowed me to pick? That flower was in my hand when I woke up. That was my what if. And I asked myself, what would that mean? It would mean that that is, we are all given that same gift every morning. When you wake up every day, that flower is in your hand. That flower is your life. belittle or degrade or do something inhumane to another human being because you feel like they are beneath you or otherwise, that none of us walk behind anyone else. We are not beneath anyone else. We walk side by side. We all vote. We all have the same wishes. We're all human beings. I'll pray for you. I don't think it'll do any good. But I met a lot of calloused people in prison. None of them were as calloused as you seem to be. You have a life. You have your freedom. What do you have to be so ugly about?

Thank you.

Hi, Council. Erin Meisner. I live on the Lower East Side. I was here two weeks ago, and I told you all happy Pride two weeks ago. And I said that there were 504 laws that were anti-LGBTQ that the ACLU was watching. As of Friday, it's 530. For the math, that's 26 laws in 10 days, and that includes the weekend. I can't do more back-end vote math than that. That's why we're a sanctuary city, right? That is why Susanna Faulkner put that resolution forth. Because they are trying to kill us. So for someone to belittle someone in this kind of manner, when some of us have to wake up every day. In Mississippi, if you go to Mississippi right now and your driver's license is out of state and different than your birth sex, which is allowed in many states, not only if you are pulled over will you be cited for driving without a license, they immediately will to turn you over to ICE to make sure you were a citizen. It's bananas. It's absolutely bananas. Why is this happening? These are the things that are happening. And so to feel this hatred is I don't have words for it, but what I can say is I know lots of people are asking for an apology. An apology doesn't matter without action, without repair, and the only appropriate repair is resignation. I also have a couple names for you. Cohen Wiley. One year old killed yesterday by police because his mother and his aunt drove away in a parking lot over a pack of potentially stolen diapers. Why do we have police that gave more of a crap about a pack of diapers than they do a human baby? I'm not sure if all of council is aware. Back in 2022, I was part of a group that asked this, and I'm going to ask again, county mayor's office and the chief of police to adopt the DOJ use of force policy at a minimum. It's been four years and there is no requirement to retreat even if you are not being actively threatened, if you can move out of the way. There's no requirement to retreat in the current policy for the Erie PD and that needs to change. Michigan research does say that policies do lower police killings. Not sure by how much, but it does seem to make some sort of difference. And if we're giving more names, I'm going to give the name of Ms. Carson. I live three blocks from where this happened. East Avenue and 8th Street where a police officer stopped three teenagers who were potentially loitering in a country fair parking lot. He didn't get out of the car the entire time because this was recorded. I know some of you have seen the video on Facebook. His mother, the mother of the 14-year-old who police are not supposed to talk to, who can't give ID because he's 14, comes and asks what's going on, and within 30 seconds of her exiting her car, the police officer got out of his car and arrested her for obstruction. That officer needs to be disciplined. There needs to be a different policy. This is my neighborhood, and this happens all the time. They are constantly harassing the children in my neighborhood because they look like adults, but they are very clearly children. My child is 22. He could pass for 30. But you could tell the difference between a 14-year-old and a 20-year-old. So, the other thing that I'm going to ask for is to hire more black and women officers at the Erie PD. they are less likely to stop, arrest, and use force on civilians, especially black civilians. That is a very, very small bit of what we can do to try to make a policy difference with the police so that we have some level of trust and transparency with our local police department. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name's Jane Deutschlander. I am a resident of Mill Creek. However, I currently teach and have taught for 23 years in the Erie Public School District. And it is on behalf of the youth that I serve and have served and I care very deeply about that I am here. The comments that were made to both council members not only affect those council members, They affect the children in our community. They affect their families. They affect them. I don't care if children are trans, lesbian, gay, black, brown. They are worthy and all people deserve respect. You don't have to agree with someone. You must respect who they are. And the blatant disrespect that occurred last week was wrong, deeply wrong. I was astounded when I saw the clip. Couldn't believe it. A public person serving our city, which is full of diversity. You have to, at the minimum, accept the diversity within the city that you are serving. So I just have two quotes that I want to read. I found them since this all occurred. The first one is from our former first lady, Michelle Obama, just recently. And this, although talking about women, you could interchange the word women with race, gender, LBGT, the alphabet word. It doesn't matter because it's still The statement still rings true. Let's be very clear. Strong men, men who are truly role models, don't need to put down women or any of those other marginalized groups to make themselves feel powerful. People who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together. That is the job of city council. That is the job of each of you sitting in the seats before me. I have another quote. This quote is from Desmond Tutu. This is for all of those who just let it happen and didn't speak up. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. So everyone needs to stop and think about what their role in the situation was and change for the better. And that's all.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Jessica Schultz. I live and have a business in the West Bayfront. I'm also a member of the LGBTQ community. I was born and raised on the east side, but I went away for over a decade to college in southwest rural Virginia, and I just moved back in 2020. I love Erie. I love everything about it. A good friend of mine, who's also non-binary, came to visit a couple of weeks ago. And I just loved showing off all the things in Erie that make us a gem city. I was so proud. And they kept remarking how diverse and how gay Erie is. Pride flags everywhere, supportive businesses, immigrant-owned businesses, so many. That's the reason why I came back, because there's so many small businesses in areas so good at supporting them. All of it. If you're not queer, it's hard to explain the subtle reconnaissance that goes on in your mind when you navigate a space trying to determine if it's safe for you. And I can imagine that's very similar to the feelings members of our black and brown community experience very frequently too. Well, my friend Liz saw Erie and felt safe. And that was just a couple weeks ago. Because these things don't happen in rural Virginia, all of our parades, all of our prides, and things like that too. They don't happen there, and they're things that I see that we kind of take for granted here. Erie is beautiful, and yes, it's home to plenty of black, brown, queer people. We all vote. We all watch and we don't like we deserve not only representation, but we deserve city council members who do not openly disdain their whole communities. Holding our counselors accountable for their words and actions and having clear processes for their removal when they do not uphold the values of service and community, that's a bare minimum of keeping Erie safe, of keeping Erie open, of helping us move forward. And so I'm asking for the immediate resignation of the counselor who made the transphobic remarks. If that counselor will not be removed from office, he is at least censured, as well as removed from committee and liaison assignments. And there needs to be some sort of policy to deal with this in the future, because I can't believe there's not a policy now. There needs to be something done, because it's no coincidence that these two comments and that all of this took place this close to Juneteenth and Pride Month. And it's no coincidence that Juneteenth and Pride are celebrating during the same month because I love it. Black liberation frees all of us. And the 4th of July is coming right up, and it's so perfect because taking action and protecting vulnerable and marginalized people within our community, that is how we earn the right to celebrate democracy, and it's by practicing it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Rock Copeland, proud resident and voter in the city of Erie. I thought it was kind of interesting, one of the early speaker's comments in a moment of acronym accident used the phrase alphabet people. And we all knew that there was a flub of words and it was said with love and respects. And I've heard that same phrase and seen that phrase put on social media comments in a very derogatory way. And how sometimes that could be a hurtful phrase, right? People are really good at picking up when our words lack respect. When they're devoid of love. I was thinking about a friend that was talking about safe people. Like that's what that is, right? People that respect you. and love you, and uplift you. It's really easy to pick up on. And, you know, calling somebody a sweetheart in a loving, caring, deep way sometimes comes off very different. I don't think broad ever comes off well. I don't think saying everybody knows you or not ever really comes off very well. There's a lot of nicknames that get thrown around. I hate nicknames. There's only like two people in my life that have ever called me anything other than Rock. Hate the nickname Rocky, especially when it's used in a diminutive way, or the nickname TT when used in a diminutive way. It's about respect. Are these words coming with love, caring? I have a bit of a weakness on our deliberative body. I'm a little too familiar with people. I sometimes forget to address people by a proper title. Sometimes they're a good friend. Am I right, Councilman Horton? Good friend. Sometimes it's real easy to just slip into first names. But you know, we do that on purpose because you're speaking to the title, not to the person, regardless of how you care about them, regardless of how much you might disrespect that specific individual. Chairman, President, Speaker of the House, Majority Leader, And in truth, one thing we don't do very well at the local level is a lot of times we engage in direct debates with one another. We're not really supposed to do that. We're supposed to direct it to the president. I'm not arguing with a colleague, I'm stating my case. Right? And I mean, that's just good Robert's rules of order. And I know for us, I've been through some battles, been through some nasty stuff And the one thing that really gets me through it is being able to still have a collegial respect. But that's somebody that I might disagree profoundly. Councilman Bail and I disagree on what color the sky is. But I call them and I talk to them and we'll talk for a half hour. And we're kind to one another. We speak well to one another. I'd encourage this body to do exactly that. Thank you.

jared staszewski mel creek township specifically and i have been touched with what i've heard uh it's been over two and a half hours now and i hope it goes three i have five minutes so i'm gonna take this slow very calm too I just would like to say shout out to Erie, Pennsylvania for coming together, facing bigotry in the eyes, respectfully, civilly, and with force that will be remembered for quite some time. because I know I will always remember it. I'm gonna, after I leave this, I'm gonna pull up the video. I'm gonna watch everyone else's speeches. And it is funny how we're allowed to bring phones to this meeting because we're not at County Council, but I don't see any issues with, I mean, does everyone have their phones? is there anyone like dying or anything i don't know we'll have to ask the county executive to clarify her position on that uh but dr titus i would please like to ask you permission uh to address mr brzezinski respectfully directly i'd like to keep it so that we're talking to the full body of council thank you okay and i will do that and i thank you for your service and always treating me with respect you know actually i'm not even going to do what i was going to do because I hope you take it upon yourself to apologize. You literally could go to the mic right now and say, I am sorry. And I hope you think that joke wasn't funny because it wasn't.

Hello, my name's Brandon Penn. I'm a resident of Mill Creek, Pennsylvania. Speak softly and carry a big stick. This quote by Teddy Roosevelt encompasses how I've lived my life. I will always be the first one to try and work with people to find solutions to the problems we are facing and deescalate a conflict. Unfortunately, that is what brings me down here today. It seems that our city council does not desire to meet and speak with people that are capable of coming up with the solutions to our problems. I've tried to contact council a few different times about different issues. Once about creating a tenant education course and I got crickets. Again about coming to our apartment association meetings or taking our landlord 101 course free of charge so they could see what we are trying to teach landlords and see what we are really about. Again, crickets. And most recently I sent an email to all of you sitting up there. about meeting about this update to the rental registration ordinance as well as outside of my capacity of the apartment association to help solve and offer ideas on solutions to the slew of problems our city is facing and yep you guessed it more crickets i will give you all the benefit of the doubt as i miss many emails myself i'm extremely busy I find it hard to believe, however, that not a single one of you saw the email, but in the spirit of cooperation, I will send a reply tomorrow to bump it up to the top of your emails. There are way too many points that need discussed regarding this ordinance to cram into five minutes. So I will focus on the issues that we have with the definitions that you've put out and a couple of other key items. First, it should be kept that notices be required to be mailed by certified mail or delivered directly to the landlord. We are required to do this with our tenants for evictions and this should be kept the same for the city. Our regular mail is way too unreliable. Lead hazards, this needs to be more clearly defined. Currently, to remediate a lead paint issue, you scrape the chipping paint and paint over it encapsulating paint, which solves the issue. This needs to be the standard considering the age of the properties in the city. I know some officials are pushing for full remediation. However, that is not logistically possible unless the city plans to put millions into a fund to cover the cost of this. The issues with full remediation are way too many to go into detail tonight. With the definition of tenant, in addition to what you've written, verbiage needs to be added as, quote, that has either signed a legally binding lease or paid rent directly to the landlord for the property they are occupying. Without doing this, you give every single person who breaks in or squats a property the protections of a tenant-landlord relationship, which they are not, and clearly goes against Act 88 that was passed in 2024. In the definition of unsafe structure, verbiage of equipment should be changed to structure as equipment is in the line below it. I think that was just a typo. One of the other key items is the housing authority should not be exempt from registration or inspection if our Section 8 housing is not. The excuse for bringing in inspections internally was because the mayor's office felt They couldn't properly streamline everything without full control and inspections being done by a third party. While this excuse loses all weight if they are not holding the public housing to the same standard, and I know for a fact that the management of Erie Public Housing is fully on board with registering their units and having them inspected because I've met with them. We have been lied to and mistreated by our government for quite a while. Real estate is one of the best vehicles for regular people to create wealth. We are not Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk. We are normal people, many with a nine to five, that are trying to pull ourselves up and leave a legacy for our children. If you continue to add regulations and make it harder to do business in this city, more and more of us regular folks will sell our properties and go deal with a municipality that actually understands economics a little better. You might think this is a good thing, however, what you will be left with is only the big real estate funds purchasing the properties because our citizens can't because they were never taught how to, which is a failing of our schooling system. This will mean companies like BlackRock, the Elon Musks of the real estate world, will own these properties, and if you think your lives will get easier with them, you are sorely mistaken. I suggest you work with those of us that want to help make Erie better, or else you're going to end up going against the folks that have billions stashed away for attorneys just to squash you guys into the ground. To this point, I've been extremely reasonable and willing to help. Maybe this has given you the wrong impression of me. I am not a man you wanna go to war with. And let's be clear, ladies and gentlemen, the gloves are now off. I suggest you get in contact. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Wednesday Kennedy.

I am a resident of Erie. I live in the Little Italy footprint.

It seems like a rite of passage for anyone going through the American educational system that inevitably you will find yourself assigned to the dreaded group project with some less than stellar teammates. And watching this all unfold over the past week roughly reminds me eerily of that moment when the teacher makes the assignment announcement. That dawning horror as you realize, wait, I'm expected to build something with that kid? That kid I just saw setting Bobby's Spider-Man lunchbox on fire at recess because, quote, boys who wear spandex are gay. That kid, I'm supposed to build something with him? What could that kid possibly help me build other than a case against procreation? And that's what I'm seeing right now. We have real existential threats coming for us. Climate wise, we're just watching ourselves descend into fascism before our very eyes. And the stakes are really high. People get real dangerous when resources grow scarce. And we have some pretty shiny resources. And oftentimes, a community's ability to survive existential threats relies on how quickly and seamlessly they can move together, how they can respond to shocks, how they can absorb shocks, how they can behave in community. And what I'm seeing is not a team that is well prepared to deal with real crises. And you are not going to have an opportunity to reflect always. You're not always going to have time to take a moment and figure out what the most politically expedient move might be for you. Sometimes the stakes are going to be so high that they're going to require immediate coordination, immediate action. And I don't see skills on display that lead me to believe that this body is currently comprised of people who are capable of doing that. And it really concerns me because I care a lot about this community. I care about my own safety. I care about the safety of other marginalized people in this community. And I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a team ostensibly in charge of making sure that coordinated support is put in place when there are these crises. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that you guys are able to do this. And so I'm expecting you to do better or leave. Do better or say I am incapable or unwilling to do better and therefore the appropriate move is for me to step down. Fielder's choice, genuinely. But we don't have time for this. This isn't cute. And the stakes are not small. So my question this evening is not for the council member, still somehow so incapable of regulating his emotions that he's still setting Bobby's lunchbox on fire in his mid-70s. It is in fact for that player's teammates. Y'all have a complicated set of challenges sprinting directly at you. And those challenges are going to require far more agility and resilience than merely keeping an egg from cracking for a few days the way that we were dealing with group projects when we were in high school. And one of the players on your team isn't even waiting until recess to throw destructive temper tantrums and set shit on fire. What are y'all gonna do about that?

Hello, my name is Casey Coratori. I am a City of Erie resident by Erie High. I'm coming to you today as a queer person, as someone who knows, loves, and has lost queer people, as so many of us in this room have. And if maybe you don't know that you've known, loved, or lost queer people, I ask you to consider if maybe you are a safe person for the queer people in your life. There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said. So as a cis white woman, I am here to uplift the voices of the people in this room who have gone before me, the people who will come after. And I implore all of us to consider the powers that our identities and our positions give us. Mine allows me the privilege to speak out and to have very little consequences for defending my neighbor for saying something a little edgy. It also grants me the privilege to sit by and watch and do nothing while my neighbor experiences harm at the hand of someone else. And we have that choice every day. We get to choose the legacy that we leave through our actions and through our words. And when we speak, everyone in this room who's been at the mic, who's typing into their phones, who's watching online, people listen. and I encourage all of us, maybe not the queer people in the room, but the straight people in the room who are on Facebook, I really encourage you to read the comment section of the articles that have been posted over the last week, the articles that are posted every single Pride Month, and to just read what one slip of ignorance permits in this community. Because without that door left a little bit ajar, there's less room for that hatred to slip through. So expose yourself a little bit to it. It's out there, even if it doesn't dwell in you. When we grant permission for that, it runs rampant. Hold on a second. Please take our words to heart. I echo the three calls to action that my peers have already laid out before you tonight. Please think before you speak and donate to gay people.

Hello, good day. Hello, council. My name is Alyssa Woke Kennedy. I am a city resident for 10 years, a county resident my whole life, and a voter in local elections for the last 15. I just want to reiterate the concerns raised by my community before me. There must be and are expectations in place for you as elected officials. We're tired of this being some sort of playground for insults. We don't want reality TV in these rooms. We want safety, equity. We have real issues in Erie. We have a housing crisis. We have food deserts. We have one of the poorest zip codes in America. And we want our officials to represent us with love and open eyes and be safe. Seeing a discord like this in full view on cameras I know that there are people out there supporting that sort of language. I don't see them in this room. I've been here for three hours now, and this entire line is nobody backing that up. So the voters are here, they're watching, and they have expectations for you. We want the best for you. We want you to protect yourselves and us. So I just want to reiterate the three calls to action. Would love a resignation, would love an apology. But at the very least, a code of conduct to protect yourselves from this sort of thing happening. You all deserve respect. And so do we as voters. So thank you.

Thank you.

Hello. Thank you for letting me speak, council members. and Mayor, I'm gonna break it back down to the- Could you just state your name and municipality? Yes, my name is Dan Galvin and I'm a Mill Creek resident. I'm also a landlord on multiple properties in the city of Erie. And I stopped, I actually just found out about these proposed ordinances for the landlords last night. So I wasn't able to get as prepared as many of the people here have to speak, but I threw a few notes together The proposed fees, they're looking at increasing it 37.5% to hire, I'm understanding, three inspectors. Now, BIU, I know I've met four or five different inspectors, and I can't see the city doing it with three people and taking the amount of inspections and making it an annual inspection, which is going to somewhere between double and four times, depending on what cycle our properties were on. I cannot see three people being able to do it, process it, and then follow up on what needs to be followed up. The BIU inspectors, I think they're trying to do a good job. They're not perfect. There's been some things that I've kind of disagreed with them on, but they're professional and they're trying to do the job and they're doing what the city's asking them to do. Myself, I've got a full-time job during the daytime. Going to an annual inspection, I have to take off work to meet every inspector. I lose about an hour and a half. I work from Harbor Creek, and I've got to drive in, meet them, go over the inspection, and go back. I try and keep my properties up where I want to give somebody a reasonable property. I want it like I would like to live in it, and I want to keep the cost down. Increasing the fees will increase the cost. Making me take more hours off work to do additional inspections is also going to increase the cost, which is going to get passed on to the residents in increased rent because it's part of the cost of doing business. I think you'll find the Apartment Association of Northwest Pennsylvania It has landlords that control over 15,000 properties that are residential rental properties. They've requested information to meet what is this about, what changes are going to be in this regulation, what's going to be here in addition to what BIU is doing, and we've got no answers. I've read both regulations. I don't know what's changing. neither does anybody else in the association, and I think with an association that's got 15,000 plus properties, it would be a gold mine of information for the council to meet with the board of directors and go over it prior to enacting any other further regulations. I know for instance in 2025 file 16 491 ordinance 02 of 2025 Requires all landlords to give a copy of article 354 the tenants Bill of Rights with all new lease agreements and all lease renewals That explains to a lot of the tenants what their rights are what they have to do what the landlord is supposed to do and And I think you'll find that a lot of the landlords are not giving this to people. If you feel that the tenants are not learning what their rights are, enforce that the landlords give this out. And then take the landlords that do it. There are some out there that don't care about their properties. Go after them. You've got a code enforcement. Division go after them for code violations and make the properties updated I think you'll find that there's a lot of landlords out there who respect the property and want to provide good housing to the city and I can't see increasing the cost to the people that want to rent and making it more unaffordable At this point I know The council members have a lot on their minds from all the previous speakers tonight. And I don't feel that I know much about this proposed regulation. And from what I see, I don't know whether council is ready to move forward with it without additional information and understanding of what they're doing. because I'm not sure that they're ready to take on the inspection process in-house. We can't find out what it's going to be about or what's with it. So I would recommend that you hold off and get more information before proceeding with a regulation like this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, everybody. It's nice to be with you again. I appreciate your endurance. My name is Mimi O'Connor. I live in the city of Erie. Tonight's been a fantastic example of words because they have power. And I too am here to address the impact of those words. City Council is full of words, right? There's so much that you do, you discuss, you debate all the things that you must do. And no doubt tonight that we citizens are full of words in response. But here's a quick quiz that everyone knows the answer to. How many derogatory denigrating words does it take to devastate a person? One. How many derogatory, denigrating words does it take to inflict verbal violence? And I don't need to demonstrate any of those words because we've all just had in our minds come up, right, in our experience, what those words have done to us. The word pride, for the LGBTQIA community originated in 1970 as an antonym and the opposite for the word shame. A favorite chosen weapon of the oppressor. Shame. But pride is a great word because there is so little chance for people to have worldly power. But everyone has a right to feel empowered, to feel worthy of respect, to have pride in themselves and to be respected. And in order to show the tiniest bit of respect, we must damn sure at the very least get their pronouns correct. The very bottom line, we all have the right to feel respected. We have a right to feel safe because words have power. So I wrote the following short tribute, it's very short, for a young, queer, smart, lovable young man in my life whose name was Jesse He died by suicide in 2013 because words have power. He was 15 years old. So I'd like to read it tonight to honor and to celebrate Jesse, to honor and celebrate Dr. Tai and every LGBTQIA cherished person who may be here tonight, who may be listening, and who we are blessed to have in this world. And I will never give up on this bedrock idea that we, the people, belong to each other. And it is our privilege and duty to protect and serve one another. So this is called Just As You Are. May it always be safe for you to come outside in the sanctuary of your deepest longings. May you remember with certainty that you are whole, precious and free. May you be strengthened and fortified by this knowing. May you always be greeted with welcome acceptance and respect. Wherever you choose to go, whatever you choose to do, and whomever you choose to love, may it always be safe for you to come inside, to show up, and to speak up. And when any darkness surrounds you, when any doubt wrestles you to the ground, remember, remember, hear us. We're calling your name. We're praying you back to this truth, to your truth. You are our treasure. We need you fully yourself, forever yourself, just as you are. You are our pride, our joy, and our celebration. May it always be safe for you to come outside. So I say happy pride to everyone here. Happy Juneteenth, and as always, justice for Cello. Thank you for your time.

Hello. My name is Raina Harris. I'm a city resident, a rental property owner, and a board member of the Apartment Owners Association. my concern tonight is with the proposed solution of moving rental inspections in-house from biu to the city after watching the council study session i'm not convinced that moving the rental inspection program from biu to an in-house city department addresses the actual problems the reasons for bringing inspections in-house appear to be complaints about inspection consistency like communication access to the data and coordination between the city and biu those are legitimate concerns but they are management concerns they're not necessarily reasons to replace an entire system if the city needs better access to data let's negotiate better reporting requirements for biu If communication is lacking, let's establish clear expectations. If there are performance issues, let's modify the contract and hold the contractor, BIU, accountable. Those are all options that are far cheaper and should be fully explored before creating a larger and more expensive city operation. I'm also concerned that many of the financial assumptions presented in this study session are still estimates. salary projections or estimates technology costs or estimates staffing needs or estimates i feel that all of these are going to be much higher in the end anyone who has been involved in government projects or even in private private business knows that estimates always go grow over time our news once new city positions are created along with those benefits pensions, administrative support, vehicles, training, and software systems, those costs become permanent obligations to the city. If the program ends up costing substantially more than projected, landlords and renters will ultimately bear that burden. I'm also concerned about the apparent expansion of the program's scope. The original rental inspection program was created primarily as a safety initiative It was intended to address serious safety concerns that could put residents at risk. To me, that goal was accomplished by BIU over the past decade and a half. What I heard during the study session suggests a shift towards citing more exterior issues, increasing inspection frequency, and expanding the number of items reviewed during those inspections. Many of those concerns can already be addressed through existing ordinances, like the quality of life ordinance or other code enforcement tools. If the city believes those ordinances need stronger enforcement, then let's have that conversation. By creating a more intensive rental inspection program to address issues that are already covered elsewhere simply creates duplication and additional costs. Those costs do not disappear. become higher operating costs for housing providers higher operating costs eventually become higher rents higher rents reduce affordability and reduced affordability leads to fewer housing options for the very residents we are all trying to help no one on the city council wants higher rents or less housing availability the council president even expressed this concerned during the study session, mentioning something along the lines that if this program is implemented incorrectly, it could hurt those who are most vulnerable. That is why I would encourage council to slow down and ask a few important questions before moving forward. What specific problem will an in-house program solve that cannot be solved through improvements to the current system? What evidence shows that the proposed changes will produce better outcomes? What are the long-term costs, not just the first-year estimates of this program? This program change could easily end up costing double what it does now. Before replacing the current system and greatly increasing costs, I believe there is a cheaper, simpler solution. We could start by raising the inspection fees. I think that is long past due. That'll cover the current operating shortfall and also work more closely with BIU. I think the problems that were brought up can be mostly resolved with those two actions at a fraction of the cost. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Julie Hurt. I live in Mill Creek. I am involved in many things in the City of Erie. One of them being the Booker T. Washington Gardens. And I appreciate the city donating because that was a huge budget item on our gardens. And it'll allow them to spend it on something. Other than that, I did notice in the agenda that there's funding for community centers. I would hope that you pass that because many of our youth are never going to feel valued if we don't value them by having decent community centers for them. I would like to thank Mr. Troop and McNair for their work on the Juneteenth celebration. Last year's was a great I look forward to seeing this year's being just as good. First of all, I would like to address the makeup of council. We have a very diverse group. We have young, old, men, women, black, white, brown, LGBQTI, and I'm sorry, I never get that right. So although I believe the individual intentionally misgendering a member last meeting to be a strong enough, sorry, although I believe the individual intentionally misgendered at the last meeting to be strong enough to address this insult, I don't think they should have to do so alone. And I'm glad to see so many people come out. As public officials, you must be held to a standard of decorum and civility. This standard was not met in this instance, and the harm of this extends far beyond the targeted person, putting vulnerable members of our community at risk. Please remember that these community members are the people that you, as elected officials, are here to serve. There is a saying, death by a thousand cuts. I would hope that your cut did not cause a death. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, honored officials and lovely, wonderful crowd.

I don't think I need this thing. I'm really loud. my name is kathy whitmire and i am a proud 40-year resident of downtown erie the o1 zip code the poorest zip code in the nation and i am so sick and tired of watching people bicker over ridiculous bs People are people. Every one of us in this room are marginalized in some way. And to watch leaders of our government, any level of our government, belittle other members of this council makes me sick. Do better. You know better. Do better.

Hi, Cindy Treiber, born and raised in Erie and currently live in Edinburgh. Thank you for sitting for this time. These words and these actions are important and we appreciate that you are here. I want to really speak on something that one of the speakers said about lack of reaction shows a commitment to inaction. The last city council meeting, there were two incidents that happened up here. I am not going to pretend that there was not a third because there was. When we were out in the hallway, there were two young women. There was a council member who is in question and a public official or public employee who were having a conversation with each other. I don't know if the behavior was addressed by one to the other. What I do know is that there were two young females who came and approached said councilman and he laughed at them. So as a person, I am obviously a white woman. I cannot speak on how degrading it would have been for our president or for the other person who is marginalized, but I can say that was embarrassing. And I spoke to that person about it. I confronted that council person about it and encouraged them to please evaluate why it is so essential and important for you to laugh when somebody approaches you with a concern whether you agree with it or not. Whether you like them or not. Whether they look like someone you know or not. Because what we need to understand is optics and patterns. When the people on this council did not say something except for two last council meeting, that puts every single one of you in a bad light also. When we have people on this council who have female grandchildren that do not look like them and then laugh at females out in the hallway, that does not make anybody look good. And you should be really thinking about not what we want, but who looks back at you in the mirror at the end of the day. Not at the beginning, because it's really easy to look at yourself when you just woke up. At the end of the day, who looks back at you? And who is behind you? Who is coming up behind you? Your grandchildren, your children, your neighbors, people who are in this room, who have been built by a city of grit, that seriously needs to work on their grace. People who have moved here to live in this environment, people who have moved back to this area after being gone, my grandparents, great grandparents, my husband's parents, like we were built by the city. All of these people are built and affected by the city. You all are built and affected by the city. You are running this city. And I think it's really important to think about who's watching you, not us, people who are watching you, people who are watching you, people who are watching you, people who are watching you. And I think that the, when we act in a manner of integrity, it also shows value to how we feel about those people. When we don't, it shows value to how we feel about those people. I want to really commend the three gentlemen who, in the spirit of speaking out when something is not right, the three gentlemen who spoke on their apartment landlord situation, who quite literally went to the back of the line instead of cutting in front of 50, 60 people who wanted to talk about something important so they could speak first. I would like to bring that to everyone's attention because that also is a pattern. That also is an optic that also shows people how you feel about them. The women in that hallway were young 30 year old women. They were brave. They confronted an older gentleman in a power of position. We see people in powers of position holding rank over us, holding power, holding money, holding classism, racism, all the time, we see this. And we are better than that. But it is not gonna take one of you. It's not gonna take you, Dr. Titus. It's not gonna take you, Mr. Horton. It's gonna take every single one of us. Like Mimi says, we belong to each other. But we have to remember who is watching. You need to remember who is looking back at you. And you need to remember the people that you love in your life and what they are thinking of you in the future when they watch this go down.

Thank you.

Nathan George, Fairview Township. Good evening, council members. I just have a few things to say. First of all, I want to thank Councilman Troup for recognizing the fact that we have a Juneteenth celebration this weekend. It would be regrettable if it wasn't recognized, and I'm excited for the event. I appreciate all the work that's gone into it. Secondly, I just want to say to all of my queer friends and colleagues, you matter. You are worthy of dignity and respect. And comments from fake tough guys doesn't change that fact. Third, I'd like to mention that I think it's a good thing The city is moving forward with taking control and ownership of inspections of rental units. And I think the reason why some folks in this chamber tonight are opposed to it is because they don't want ordinary citizens and renters in Erie to have people that they can hold accountable over poor renting conditions in the city. And finally, I would just like to say So many folks have come out tonight to speak on the issue of the blatant disrespect that occurred last week. It was clearly that the misgendering was clearly an act of malice. And how many people have spoken tonight? I want to say at least 30. How many speakers tonight had anything to say in defense of the councilman's comments last week? None. None, so I implore council to act on this. Please, review rules surrounding decorum. Move to censure. Do not wait for the councilmen to apologize or resign. So much time is wasted in politics at every level waiting for white men in positions of power to do the internal work to make sure they're not committing harm. As Wednesday said earlier, we've got some serious issues coming our way in Erie. We are facing the grave threat of global climate collapse, the consequences of which we are already seeing in the city. There is no time to play around, like we gotta act. So again, I'm just imploring you, you have you have the mandate of your constituents 30 40 people came out tonight to condemn those statements not one not one to defend them please act do not wait for an apology do not wait for resignation move to censure move at least to review the rules of decorum thank you so much thank you where's the camera there it is hi

I'm Ash Carr from the city of Erie born and raised. I'm here because I'm queer and I wasn't planning on speaking today, but I felt compelled by the strength of the community here. And I'm ashamed to say it's the first council meeting I've attended in person. won't be the last you're going to see of me. Frankly, it shouldn't have taken hateful comments to get me here, but even these things bring community together. I wanted to echo everyone's previous calls for apology, censure, resignation, as well as the codification of decorum procedures. But honestly, I think we're spending far too much time considering what somebody earlier called the weakest link. Instead, I would like everyone in the room to consider THE BRAVERY, COMPOSURE, AND STRENGTH OF CHARACTER THAT THE CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT AND THE COUNCIL PEOPLE OF COLOR HAVE SHOWN THROUGH THIS INCIDENT. IF YOU'VE SPOKEN TONIGHT, YOU KNOW HOW NERVE-RACKING IT IS. MY HEART IS POUNDING. I'M SHAKING. IT'S ALSO PAST MY BEDTIME. But this is stressful and I've had plenty of people call me plenty of things. I've never had to sit for three hours while people talk about it, while presiding over a meeting with this much dignity and respect for everybody here. I just want to say that I see the work that you're doing and this must be very hard and I just want to say a personal thank you for continuing to show up. I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't want to show up tonight, but I'm glad you did. I'm glad everybody here did. Earlier tonight someone read a list of significant trans figures in the queer community that we all look up to, many of whom are people of color, and I'd like to offer that We have many right here in this room, and because Dr. Titus is in this room tolerating this discomfort, I feel safe to speak, and there's a direct cause and effect there. So speaking of cause and effect, the intended effect of the comments made last week were disrespect. But you don't even really get that because the actual effect of the comments are this wonderful show of pride that is happening right now today. So this impromptu pride celebration in this room is a direct reaction to the hateful comments made, and I hope you enjoy being the mascot of this year's Pride Month. So happy Pride, happy Juneteenth, never forget our liberation is always collective and interdependent and those are really big words. So just, I'm also gonna say this, do better and we're watching. Thank you.

Hi, my name's Joe Sell. I am from Harbor Creek and I will apologize. I'm on like 18 hours right now. So my bedtime was eight. Um, my wife always tells me everything happens for a reason. When I walked in here and seeing all these people was like, we're never going to get our chance, but I'm glad that we got an opportunity to listen. Um, some of the training that we've had over this past year was coming out of our bubble and thinking how somebody else thinks some of the things that were said, It's embarrassing as a white male. It seems to me that everybody here feels disrespected. And I'm going to keep this short again. My question is, is that we have landlords out there that are not doing their job. Why didn't you guys go after them? I mean, we have people on council are not doing their job how would you feel if we thought of all the rest of you because of one person's comment one more thing we went to columbus and we met with some other landlords I'm going to say the same thing to you guys and girls, and if I misspoke, I apologize. Start looking in a little Zig Ziglar. Anybody here know who Zig Ziglar is? The world would be a lot better place, more Zig Ziglar. Thank you.

Thank you.

My spouse told me that I'm not going to be able to keep quiet. So I'm going to swallow my pride and say that they were right. They are right. Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in her talk, The Danger of a Single Story, reminds us that power is the ability Not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the only and the definitive story of the person. She also warns us that single stories are created when we show people as one thing and only one thing over and over again. and non-binary people, queer folks, black folks, people with disabilities, cisgender women, immigrants and refugees are whole human beings. They deserve to be seen in their whole humanity and not to be defined by the gaze of the other. Adichie also reminds us that it is impossible to talk about single stories without talking about power. at the very core of any form of bigotry is an assumption of legitimacy and entitlement. The assumption that certain bodies are more legitimate than others and certain folks have more of a right to take up space than others. None of us are immune to prejudice or bias. We inherit stories about ourselves and others. It is not possible to not have biases when we grow up and are socialized in societies that are inequitable. Our responsibility is to examine those stories, sit with the discomfort, and commit to learning and unlearning so that we can make an intentional effort not to do harm. At the end of the day, now that we are all here, we've been born, All of us are guaranteed death. Our legacy is the impact that we have on the hearts, minds, and lives of others.

Hello, my name's Mike Renssel. I was born in Erie, low income. Buying rental properties made me middle income. I'm really here to talk a little bit about my tenants and about discrimination with law enforcement. A lot of my tenants are minorities. A lot of them are low income. None of them want their homes damaged or vandalized, even though they don't own them. I do. I used to rent to two elderly women. I no longer do because the house was vandalized so bad. I was forced to sell it, not because of the vandalism, but the police wouldn't take action in a timely manner. Both grandmothers, though, lost their washing machines and dryers. because Chad Watson vandalized our washer and dryer, my tenants, my elderly tenants. And I had to help the elderly lady move because she couldn't afford it. The other elderly lady couldn't afford to move, almost became homeless. And I gave her like $735 and I paid for the truck. So she could leave Erie. She was a black woman. She had to look at a Confederate flag. This young man made sexual advances towards her. Damaged her washer machine here. And the police haven't done shit about it. I ran into an African, a young woman years back. I was mowing the grass. I heard her screaming and yelling for help. I called the police. They wouldn't come. They said, did you see this guy hit her? I said, no, they're in my apartment. I can hear them fighting. And they told me it was a landlord tenant dispute. I never had an argument with this lady. I did not see her get hit. I went down to the police station. They told me I was more concerned about my rental property than her. I seen her a week later. She told me she got raped, beaten, and held in her apartment against her will. The guy got arrested, but there was no reason for her to get raped and beat for days. And I remember that every time I deal with a wacko that's high on drugs. My tenant, Carol, we wrote a letter about her grandson. He says he's hurt people near the rental property. He threatened to kill me and my daughter with a knife. He stabbed the table with a knife and said he'd kill me. He vandalized the apartment, causing me to lose my home and me, thousands of dollars and rent on income. I have family members that are low income. Somebody, my niece and nephew are like 20 years old. One of them's going to school to be a boulder. They're gonna be low-income That's it. I'm gonna help you out. I'm gonna help them buy a rental property to get started, but not now But I know something about rental properties. You guys don't none of you guys know about in here You're gonna buy it to you in Erie. You have to be a cash buyer. You cannot take a loan When I sold my rental property It was all cash buyers. Well one guy came for a loan. I didn't consider him and The first guy that wanted to buy my rental property, he told me that he'd give me what I want for it. Told me he was going to raise my tenants rent $600. Raised their rent $600. $1,200 for an apartment where I was charging. I was renting the Carol, the elderly woman. I think I was charging her like $565. Then he tells me he's only giving me half the value of my house because it's damaged and I'm in a bad situation. I was trying to get 75% of the value of my house. I got more than 75% of the value of my house. I sold it to a construction company, a multi-million dollar company. They're going to take over. I'm saying if the police don't help me, I'm going to have to sell a house down the block. There's someone there that's going to be homeless. I helped my tenants move. I do care about them. I lost a lot of money. I had Doberts come by and give an estimate of the damage. He didn't get it all, but he says he could do $8,200 worth of work there for what that guy did on the damage. I could have stopped this guy myself. also the police could have stopped him after he kicked in the first three doors and everyone called and he said you want to deal with him get him evicted takes me 35 days to get someone out of my house there's no house left he's ripping the wiring out the plumbing i i don't know why we have law enforcement i really don't i don't know what they do i don't thank you but i want to give this to you guys also i've been a victim of the two hate crimes sir that's the time so we'll have to follow up i'd like to give this to the mayor Thank you. I've shown it to two police officers, one state cop and one military cop. They said there's nothing to charge. Yes, this is everything. I want to give the damage to the truck.

Sir, could you just hand this to the... Sir, thank you.

I'm going to lose everything I've worked for.

Thank you.

Hello. My name is Adrian Recker. I live in Mill Creek specifically. I just wanted to point out, first of all, I wasn't planning on speaking tonight, but I'm coming up because I feel everybody in this room has a little something that they wanted to say, but maybe not want to come up and say it. I just wanted to point out that the Council member who has made these specific remarks towards another council member is the most privileged council member out of every single one of you that I'm looking at right now. Considering that he is cisgender, he is straight, he is white. He is the most privileged out of all of you and I think that is a trend that we have all seen for how long. And I think that we can all agree that it is time that this trend comes to an end, starting with our council.

Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Deontay Cooley, lifelong Erie resident. I had a couple of different things that I wanted to say. First and foremost, thank you, Councilman True, for stepping up for the presentation that wasn't available or wasn't ready because it is important that we talk about Juneteenth. It is important that we recognize our heritage. We recognize our freedom. And there are some events that are taking place this weekend. Erie's Black Wall Street on Friday, they're having a cruise at the Victorian Princess. It's going to be a great event. And then on Saturday, Angela McNair and the Erie's Juneteenth celebration. They're going to be hosting the event downtown Perry Square. And then I believe on the Sunday, there's also a, like you stated, to reiterate, there's also going to be pretty much like a town hall meeting. So I believe that those things are important. And I also appreciate the fact that you sponsored the resolution. to make Juneteenth to recognize, to make it recognized in Erie City because it is important. And I love the fact that more people are being willing and open to celebrate blackness, black heritage. Also recognize Mayor Daria Devlin. I seen you had a meeting with and you did your walking Wednesday. I'm not sure if it was Wednesday with Angela McNair to talk about Juneteenth. Thank you. I appreciate that as well, as well as The resources that have been given to some of the community centers, I do pay attention to everything, even when I don't speak about it. So I've been recognizing, had a conversation with Mr. Gary Horton, you know, had a conversation, well, hearing what Marty said, as far as like the compost and people being able to learn how to grow their own food. and to educate those cells because those things are important. And when it comes to the resolutions for pouring into those community centers, east side or west side, white, black, whatever the case may be, that is also appreciated as well because it is needed. And it is important that we pour into our youth. It is important that we invest into our communities because young people are looking up and young people are understanding what is important. And I also appreciate everybody showing up to exercise their civic duties and to speak to their concerns and speak up to things that happen that aren't right because it is what it is. There was a council person up here. We're looking at you. You were completely wrong, 100% wrong, especially when it's recognized that you can recognize Dr. Titus as president, but then When you're being corrected, it's ma'am, completely inappropriate. And another thing that I had an issue with was the way that another council person was treated for asking questions. Because we don't understand what you all understand. You all represent us. So if there are questions that are being asked, maybe it wasn't on behalf of one individual, but the city at large here. So you represent us all, and we have sat here for, and I hope this happens every single week. Right now it's 10.05. This meeting started at 6.30, caucus started at 5.30, and I said it here one day, hopefully we can get 100 people and come in here to speak up to hold this meeting hostage. So not like what everybody, I don't want you to resign. I don't want you. I want you to take this punishment until your time is up. And then when 2027 comes, I hope that you do not run again. We sat here. I've watched your body language. You smiled at people. You smirked at people. You stood up, ate a piece of candy, threw it in the trash. I've literally watched you sit there in color because nobody takes notes in this manner. So you are showing your privilege. You are showing us how much you care, how much you don't care. And honestly, if you can say these things publicly, I wonder what you say privately because I've heard you make smart remarks about me. after I spoke when I couldn't respond. You've degraded so many different people. You've played with politics to the point to where you were sitting on city council and you also ran for city controller to play games with Chuck Nelson and Brooke Sanfilippo. And I actually was at a forum where I watched you degrade this woman on a stage during a forum where y'all was sitting there playing games with her. So you have a history of feeling like you're better than. You have a history of acting like you're better than. And you cannot continue to treat people that way. But I don't want you to resign. I don't want you to go anywhere because I've been sitting right here in this seat and I've been enjoying these people coming down here and tearing you to shreds about you being a bigot, about you being a homophobe, about you being a transphobe. And I do not want to see you go anywhere. I want you to sit here and take it every week. City council meeting, personnel meeting, finance meeting, whatever meeting you are a part of. I hope 100 people takes up 500 minutes to address you because what you said was wrong and I think now that people are recognizing it, they're calling you to the carpet. They're calling you to the carpet because Dr. Titus stands up for so many different people and the way that you disrespected them and the way that you treated them was inappropriate. But I'm glad that you have to sit there and you have to deal with this because I signed up for a lot of smoke and I would not want to deal with what you had to deal with tonight. but I'm glad that you had to deal with it and I want you to continue to deal with it. I hope people find your email when they email you. I hope they call your phone and they blow your phone up. I hope they figure out how they can get in touch with you and bother you because this is what it feels like to be a black man in America. This is probably what it feels like to be a trans person in America. This is probably what it feels like to be a gay person in America. It feels like being uncomfortable every single moment, every single place that you go, wondering who's going to say what to you and about you, but what you show was you don't care because your privilege speaks. So all white men feel like they can say and do whatever they want to do. It's not fair. I hope you get it every week.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else here for public comment? Anyone else here for public comment?

I'm Bob Strasser, lifelong Erie resident, Erie's Lower East Side. I'm going to try to be quick. I didn't make it into the beginning part tonight just based on what was going to be addressed. Along the lines of that, I want to say a number of you on council know me and some of you know my family know that I come from a very large family. I'm the oldest of 11. And as a family, we have some really rough times, bitter fights, things like that. And I see that same type of thing happening with our council right now. But I do want to say that some of the family things I went through, some of you might find this hard to believe, would be even worse than what we have taking place with council. But we've always found a way to try to work it out and we're still all together and we all love each other and all that even 50, 60 years later. So you're a group of seven and I guess all that I can say is just try to find a way to work this out. Let's get this resolved so we can get back to what is really important for the city of Erie. All the big issues and problems that we have. When Mayor Devlin announced she was running, I really thought that there was going to be some big and I still think that I still think that that can happen. But I didn't expect like this type of incident to set things back because we really cannot afford to be set back. There's way too much going on. in the world today, and to be stuck on issues like this, just, I'm not trying to downgrade, you know, what was done, but man, we gotta come together. We gotta move on. Find a way to resolve it instead of letting, you know, that I come to next month's meeting and it's still lingering over, and the month after that when there's so many things to work on it and myself and I hope a lot of other people residents of Erie want to work on all these different issues so that we can move Erie ahead make it the glowing gem on the Great Lakes so that can be the glowing gem city and that's all that I have to say for tonight thank you thank you

Is there anyone else for public comment? Anyone else for public comment? Anyone else for public comment? We will close this section of the meeting.

Ordinances for final passage. Council File Number 16612, Official Ordinance 332026, an ordinance appropriating a sum of $254,061 from unappropriated and anticipated revenue to be received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is HUD, for the following emergency solution grant ES26 projects. Sponsored by Council Member Schaaf, seconded by Council Member Brzezinski, the Council File Ordinance Bill number 16612, and now known as Official File Ordinance 332026, be finally passed by City Council as amended. Members Brzezinski? Yes. Flores?

Yes.

Horton? Yes. Cole? Yes. Schaaf? Yes. Trude? Yes. Titus?

Yes.

City Council pass Official File Ordinance 332026 finally by aye seven, nay zero. Council File Number 16613, Official Ordinance 342026, an ordinance appropriating the sum of $797,014.86 from unappropriated and anticipated revenue to be received from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, for the following home M26 project sponsored by Council Member Schaaf. Seconded by Council Member Brzezinski, the Council File Ordinance Bill number 16613, and now known as the Fish File Ordinance 34-2026, to be finally passed by City Council. Members Brzezinski? Yes. Lores? Yes. Horton?

Yes. Cole?

Yes. Shaw? Yes. Troops? Yes. Titus? Yes. City Council passed the Fish File Ordinance 34-2026, finally by a 7-0. Council File Number 16614, Official Ordinance 352026, an ordinance appropriating some $2,909,512 from unappropriated and anticipated revenue to be received from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, and $5,000 program income for a total of $2,914,000. $512 for the following community development block grant CD 26 projects. Sponsored by Council Member Schaaf. Seconded by Council Member Brzezinski. The council file ordinance bill number 16614 and now known as official file ordinance 352026 be finally passed by city council. Members Brzezinski. Yes. Flores. Yes. Horton. Yes. Cole. Yes. Schaaf. Yes. Troop. Yes. Titus. Yes. City Council pass and finish file ordinance 35-2026, finally by a 7-0. Council File Number 16615, Official Ordinance 362026, an ordinance amending the City of Erie zoning ordinance to designate the former Erie Label Temple, 1701-1707 State Street, Erie, Pennsylvania, as a historic site pursuant to Article 7 of the revised City of Erie Zoning Ordinance 80-2005, and to amend the zoning map to reflect such designation. Sponsored by Council Member Schaaf, seconded by Council Member Brzezinski. The Council File Ordinance Bill number 16615 and now known as Official File Ordinance 362026 be finally passed by City Council. Members Brzezinski? Yes. Flores? Yes. Horton? Yes. Holt? Yes. Schaaf? Yes. Troop? Yes. Titus?

Yes.

City Council pass Official File Ordinance 362026 finally by aye 7, nay 0. Council File Number 16616, Official Ordinance 372026, an ordinance amending the City of Erie zoning ordinance to designate the Erie Manicore Club, 1607 State Street, Erie, Pennsylvania, as a historic site pursuant to Article 7 of the revised City of Erie Zoning Ordinance 80-2005, and to amend the zoning map to reflect such designation. Sponsored by Council Member Schaaf, seconded by Council Member Brzezinski. That council file ordinance bill number 16616 and now known as the official file ordinance 372026 be finally passed by city council. Members Brzezinski. Yes. Flores. Yes. Horton. Yes. Holt. Yes. Shaw. Yes. Troop. Yes. Titus. Yes. City council pass official file ordinance 372026 finally by ye seven, nay zero. Council File Number 16617, Official Ordinance 382026, an ordinance amending the City of Erie zoning ordinance to designate the South Erie Iron Works Company Building 1919P, Erie, Pennsylvania, as a historic site pursuant to Article 7 of the Revived City of Erie Zoning Ordinance 82005, and to amend the zoning map to reflect such designation. Sponsored by council member Schaaf, seconded by council member Brzezinski. The council file ordinance bill number 16617 and now known as official file ordinance 382026 be finally passed by city council. Members Brzezinski? Yes. Flores? Yes. Horton? Yes. Holt? Yes. Shaw? Yes. Troop? Yes. Titus?

Yes.

City council pass official file ordinance 382026 finally by ye seven, nay zero. Ordinances for first reading, Council File Number 16616, an ordinance appropriating a sum of $4,237.21 of program income generated through the Community Development Block Grant for the following CDBG CD24 projects. Sponsored by Council Member Schaaf. Seconded by Council Member Brzezinski. The Council File Ordinance 16-618, have you been read, is hereby adopted on first reading by City Council. Members Brzezinski?

Yes. Flores?

Yes. Horton?

Yes.

Hull? Yes. Schaaf? Yes. Troop? Yes. Titus?

Yes.

City Council pass, read and adopt Council File Ordinance 16-618 by Ye 7, Nay 0 on first reading. Council file number 16619, an ordinance amending and supplementing article 330, landlord and rental of the codified ordinances of the city of Erie by amending existing sections, adding new provisions, and updating rental registration requirements, procedures, and related regulations applicable within the city of Erie. Sponsored by Council Member Schaaf. Seconded by Council Member Brzezinski. The Council File Ordinance 16619, having been read, is hereby adopted on first reading by City Council.

Dr. Titus? Yes.

Yes.

Um, may I say something? Are we, um, ready to vote for this after the people talking or are we going to table it? So this is, would be the first reading.

My recommendation to council would be that any amendments we would like to do or would like to go through, it could be done between now and the next. But if we, if we pass it, we can't do it. If we table it, we can't do any amendments at the moment. So I would encourage us to do, to pass the first reading. I concur.

Thank you.

I also think that we should ask the solicitor to clarify for the record of the public for those who weren't able to be here during caucus on what our updates are actually going to be and where the definitions had come from. Please and thank you.

Yes. so first i'll start with well start with the one article in front of you which is article 330. so the definitions that are being added come from city ordinance article 354 which is the tenant bill rights legislation that was passed in 2024 which i believe was referenced by one of the public speakers i don't remember which one so those definitions have already been read, approved, and voted on for that, that deals with rental issues, it made sense to move them, copy and paste them over, essentially. So that's where those came from. The changes, the only other changes were that the cycle is four-year cycle right now, and that's a benefit of consecutive good inspections, essentially, to move that from four years to two years. There's still the benefit of getting a two-year window for consecutive positive annual inspections. That's in Section 330.04. Section 330.05 This was amended. There's been some discussion about whether the city can inspect hospitals, HUD properties, Section 8 properties, other units where people live, the housing authority. So what the city has done here is basically change the language a little bit that those entities are supposed to submit their annual inspection reports to the city's VCO and the VCO will then have them on file and then we'll be able to compare them to the inspection or qualifications that the city has, the standards. If the standards are equal or above, then those entities I just referenced would not have to go through an inspection by the city. However, If the BCO says that the standards are below what the city would do, then everything I just mentioned would be subject to inspection by the city. And then that's section 330.05. Now, and then through section 330.09, the only changes there in section A were the fee changes that were suggested. So the $55, the $100, and the $150 would be the new fees that are listed. In section B, again, there was reference to a four-year cycle, changed the four-year cycle to a two-year cycle. So that was the only change in Article 330. So very minimal overall. So if it's OK, I can talk about 1503.5, which is next. The changes there were simply that for stop work orders, for orders to show cause, and for unsafe building structure notices dealing really with habitability, that The requirement was by certified mail or personal service. We've added regular mail as a possibility because oftentimes in the scope of these things, someone may not accept certified mail or doesn't sign off for it, and we may not have personal service. But at least with regular mail, if that gets returned as undeliverable, then we know that maybe that person didn't get it, but if it doesn't come back, we can say maybe they got it. There's nothing in here that changes anything else. The 15.03.5, those sections always say that it should go to the owner of record and or the owner's agent. And it's already codified that if a landlord lives out of state, they're supposed to have a local agent that's already in our ordinance. So those are the changes for that.

Thank you so much.

And just for clarification as well, what we are voting on right now with the ordinance in front of us, the first reading, has nothing to do with any existing contracts currently in place.

Are you talking about with BIU? Yes. No, that's very simple. So the ordinance that's been in effect for years and years is that the city has the authority to do their own inspections and or give it out to an authorized third party. So since 2006, BIU has been the authorized third party to conduct those rental registration inspections. and they've had a contract with the city delineating what the responsibilities are. There's been changes in the amount paid over the years, but there's been a consistent contract. But that contract, though, is irrespective. The city has the authority to do it either way.

Dr. Titus?

Yes.

Thank you, solicitor, for in taking the time and thank you, Councilor Flores, for prompting the question. Hopefully it answered some of the comments that were made here tonight. But I wanted to say to the Landlord Association and to Mr. Penn, if he's still here, that we're very interested in talking and receiving information and exchanging thoughts and ideals And we're very appreciative of the comments that you make here. But there's nothing off the table here when we have a $12 million deficit. There's nothing off the table. Could we get better results by changing the procedure? Maybe. We don't know. But those are the questions in the conversations we intend to have. So no one's running in here tomorrow changing the code thing. No one's firing or terminating BIU tomorrow. PIU may or may we may do some in stuff. We may do hybrid stuff where they handle some of the duties or not. It's going to come down to the scope of work. But I think we can all agree on that what's going on right now isn't working and we intend to fix it. So thank you.

Thank you.

Call for the vote.

Voting on council file number 16619, members Brzezinski? Yes. Flores? Yes. Fortin? Yes. Cole? Yes. Shaw? Yes. Troop? Yes. Titus?

Yes.

City council read and adopt council file ordinance 16619 by yeas seven, nays zero on first reading. Council File Number 16620, an ordinance amending and supplementing the codified ordinances of the City of Erie, namely Article 1503.5, enforcement of noncompliance, specifically to amend and or add sections that update the policies and or procedures. Rental housing in the City of Erie, in particular, the rights under federal, state, and local laws that apply to the landlord-tenant relationship. Sponsored by Council Member Schaaf. Seconded by Council Member Brzezinski. That Council File Ordinance Number 16620 is having been read is hereby adopted on first reading by Erie City Council. Members Brzezinski? Yes. Flores? Yes. Horton? Yes. Cole? Yes. Schaaf? Yes. Truth? Yes. Titus?

Yes.

City Council read not adopt Council File Ordinance 16620 by Yay 7, Nay 0 on first reading. Council President, there is no old business. This moves us to new business.

At this point, I would take a motion to move the balance.

Motion. Second.

Do we have any separations?

Number one.

Any other separations?

Nope.

Move in the balance of the agenda, members of Brzezinski?

Yes.

Flores? Yes. Horton? Yes. Hull? Yes. Shaw? Yes. Troop? Yes. Titus?

Yes.

Balance is moved. Resolution sponsored by Councilmember Troop, seconded by Councilmember Horton, resolved by the Council of the City of Erie that Erie City Council, on behalf of the Erie City Council, we proudly recognize Juneteenth, June 19th, as a day of profound historical significance and reflection. Juneteenth marks the moment in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. This day is a powerful reminder of the resilience, courage, and enduring contributions of Black Americans throughout our nation's history. As a city, we honor the struggles and triumphs of the past while reaffirming our commitment to justice, equity, and inclusion for all. We encourage all residents to reflect on the meaning of freedom, engage in community events, and continue the work of building a future rooted in dignity and respect. Happy Juneteenth. Discussion?

Dr. Titus, I just wanted to, I know a lot of the citizens gave me credit for it, but I just wanted to say that on behalf of the entire council that we came together as a team, as people mentioned, to put this forth. So I just want to say thank you to all the council for this resolution.

Dr. Titus. Yes. And I want to thank Councilman troop for initiating. I want to thank the rest of the other five colleagues because I know every one of us wanted to cosponsor it. And so we're gonna say all seven of us cosponsored it. I think this really, really timely to be celebrating Juneteenth this year as our nation embarks on celebrating America's 250 year history. And I would be remiss if I didn't say in that 250 year history, some may feel that that was the time when America was great and even echo that sentiment, make America great again. But I can assure you It wasn't a great time for African Americans. And so while we embrace and celebrate and pledge to the flag, we're acutely aware of what this country has done to black people. And we're acutely aware of what our current president is doing in removing black history We're acutely aware of all of the efforts that we've made from the 1950s and 60s. All of the strides that we've made, we're acutely aware that he seeks to overturn them. Anything black or brown, it seems like it's an issue. And I can tell you, just as one black man, that we're never going back. It's not going to be, you know, America will be great. But it won't be great because of the policies that our current House and Senate or our Supreme Court are delivering to us. And so while we celebrate, it saddens me to watch all of this stuff go. And I'll say this, too. Man, what a great response tonight. All of the LGBTQ alphabet, as they say. Y'all know I rock with you, man. But I need to say this, too. Because back in the 50s and 60s, when you weren't so prominent, many of the freedoms that you enjoy as members of that community are on the shoulders and by the blood of black people. And so when we have our issues, we want to see you too. Because if I had a dollar for every time a member of the community said, oh, we're just like the civil rights, I don't feel the need to remind them that their kids weren't fed to alligators. They didn't go to church and leave church and go to the town square as a church community for the lynching, for the castrating. They didn't feed their babies to alligators. Yeah, it happened. And just like the Jews talk about the Holocaust, Never again, nobody gets mad at them when they bring the Holocaust up. But let a black person bring up the Middle Passage and the 10 million people who were thrown overboard and who died en route to this country. So as we celebrate Juneteenth, It took two years because the story is Americans were set free in 63. It took two years for the news to get to Galveston, Texas. So that means that they were still in bondage. It wasn't that they didn't know that they were free. They weren't free. And so as we celebrate Juneteenth, I hope that you will come out, celebrate with us. It's not a black holiday. It's a holiday for all Americans. It's not black history. because black history is American history. We just want it told. We just want it to be accurately told. So thank you. Thank you again, Mr. Troup.

Thank you, Mr. Horton. Call for the vote.

Members Brzezinski? Yes. Flores? Yes. Horton? Yes. Hull? Yes. Shaw? Yes. Troup? Yes. Titus?

Yes.

Resolution passes, yeas, seven, nays, zero.

This brings us to committee reports. We'll go ahead and start with you, Councillor Poole.

I don't really have an actual committee report. I just want to talk about this evening's events. I'm very happy that all of you showed up tonight and spoke and I listened. I listened to everyone speak. And Being new on this side of the government and council, what I learned was when we're up here, there's no back and forth talk. There's no each other, whatever. So that was the main reason I didn't speak up. For Dr. Titus, the last meeting, I did reach out personally. And it's very hard, and I apologize for what you go through. Being a baby boomer, You know, each generation has their own, and I've talked to my kids about this, they each have their own thing that, you know, like I would teach my parents, well, you can't say this, you can't do that, you know. My kids have taught me the same thing. And not being, I mean, My parents weren't, didn't have a prejudice born in their body against anyone. And I was the same and I brought my kids up to be that way. Because I grew up in old school where somebody says something to you or, you know, someone from the opposite sex as I was growing would say something and you would just, Cower and say, you know, that's just the way it is. So I'm very proud of everyone that came out and spoke tonight. And. I I can't say that I know how you feel or I know. How some of my colleagues? What they've gone through, but I did grow up in in in prejudiced against me and my family. You know, it's something that I don't really speak about, but, you know, my paternal grandparents came over from Russia. And they were, you know, Jewish immigrants that had to start from scratch. And, you know, I didn't know my grandfather. I knew my grandmother for a couple years, but... I know my father dealt with a lot of things that he just pushed aside and just rose above and taught me to do the same thing. i just i just want to say that i'm proud of everyone that's come out here and and spoke their mind and how they felt because i grew up like i said sort of sitting in the background not speaking up and not not you know saying i was proud of who i was or whatever um but i just want i want um

everyone to feel that we do hear you and we do appreciate everyone that's come out and i hope you continue to come out thank you thank you council truth thank you uh dr titus i kind of got some stuff to read here so bear with me i know it's kind of i know it's it's a little late but that's all right we're here We're here now, right? I did want to say that I was happy here to start off because I told people this. When I was growing up, when I was a little kid, I remember all the older black families in the community, like the people who were the grandparents, they were maybe 50 or 60 years old who came up from like Mississippi. They all had a garden in their backyard. And they all used to have gardens. And I know my grandfather on my dad's side was actually a farmer when he came. He was a farmer. And one of my cousins who did a lot of research on the migration from Mississippi showed me some census records of some of the families that came up. And a lot of the occupations was farmer. They knew how to grow food. And I told somebody that that was lost in the black community. And I think I'm happy to hear that they're gonna be reteaching that skill at the Booker T. Washington Center. Been sitting around lately and just thinking about what's going on in our country and I'm kind of the question that's coming to my mind is like despite what's going on in the country how can we can a community block out what's going on in the country and come together as a community I don't care what's going on in Ohio and How does Erie do it? How can our community come together? And I just wrote a couple questions down. It says, when will it be we in Erie? When will it be we? How can we and how do we? You probably heard of Marcus Garvey before. He was talking to blacks. in the 20s and 30s. And he said, as long as you guys stay divided, as long as the blacks stay divided, you'll always be easily defeated. And I think that can be applied to everybody. Us as people, as long as we stay divided, we're not going to get anywhere. And I know you talked about Zig Ziglar. I read a lot of stuff by him. He talks about that kind of stuff. So my big question is, how do we, despite what's going on in the world, make Erie best for everybody? How do we do it? That's something that's just been on my mind lately. Just wanted to throw that out there. Most of you know I'm an educator, so I do want to congratulate all the students on a successful year. I do want to congratulate Dr. Gibbs, who is my boss, on her first full successful year as superintendent of the Erie Public Schools. I reached out to also want to congratulate Miss Zuma Gala, who's going to be retiring soon here. She she put in 31 years for the for the public school. So I do want to say that I reached out to EMTA They said that they want to encourage people to review their transportation development plan on their website, so please visit their website. They said today we presented it to the MPO, and they want to thank everybody for coming to Fourteen Fest. Reached out to the Redevelopment Authority. They've gotten a lot of money. Race and the Erie Land Bank were recently awarded fair funding to support continued efforts with the City of Erie. these uh they got money for affordable housing blight reduction through demolition i'm trying to cut some of this down so it'll be as long they got money for healthy homes it says these funds will directly support the work we are doing around neighborhood stabilization improving housing conditions addressing blighted properties and continuing to invest in safe and healthy housing within Erie, also Erie downtown. Some things just going to go through this quickly. On Wednesdays, sunrise yoga continues at Darby's Landing, 6 a.m. It's really growing. World Refugee Day will be celebrated in collaboration with Erie Arts and Culture on Friday, June 26th. The event will feature vendors and festival-style event. This is also gallery night, so downtown will have lots to do. The Erie Downtown will host the PA Downtown Center's annual Main Street Conference in Erie June 28th through July 1st. Over 250 are expected from across the state. The Pay What You Can Farmers Market resumes July 10th through October, featuring local produce, community assets. The Port Authority water taxi from Dobbins Landing to Presque Isle is operating for the summer season. The water taxi will be free every Friday. So I encourage you to reach out to Erie downtown for some more highlights on this stuff. I did reach out to the family of Mr. Bill Atkinson, who just passed away recently. So I did ask them for some information because he was a landmark in our community for over 60 years as a barber. He was one of our residents that was over 100 years old. so he passed away on june 12th um 2026 he was born on december 1st 1924 to the late ezekiel zeke and lula akison in houston mississippi bill spent his early life in mississippi but then relocated to erie bill survived all of his 12 siblings and was the patriarch of the akison family bill worked at local factories such as general electric company in the 1940s and 50s He then learned the barber trade from his brothers growing up in Mississippi. And his passion for it soon became a reality in 1967 when he opened Bill's Barber Shop, which is located on 21st and Reed or somewhere like that. Bill loved to talk and could strike up a conversation with anyone, and he did. Oftentimes, he would cut off his clippers during a customer's haircut just to tell a story or a joke. I remember that because I used to get my haircut by him when I was in high school. His sons, Charles and Harold, joined them, making it a thriving three-chair family business. Customers came from places far and wide to sit down, get groomed, and enjoy a good conversation. It didn't matter your occupation, title, status, or lack thereof. If you walked in the door, you were welcomed, and you returned for the service, smiles and good-hearted laughter. If you were a kid, the lollipops were added. After more than 50 years, Bill retired from the shop in 2009. However, he continued his practice of going to people's homes, hospital rooms, and nursing homes to provide a haircut and a shave without charge just because he loved people. He even provided his services to those who had passed away from the final viewing. Today, Bill's Barbershop is known as Atkinson's Barbershop, and it is still a successful part of the community, bringing people of all walks of life together, providing the styles, smiles, and good hearted conversation after 59 years. So that's all my point. Thank you, Dr. Titus.

I'll be brief. I just wanted to mention that I'm very happy to support a Juneteenth proclamation. I know that in the past with being on council with you, we have been asked in the past to have that done. So I'm happy to see that it did happen this year. I also wanted to state that I'm very happy to see that the money is going towards the community centers. I know that it's hard when we get funding from the state. to make sure that the funding is going directly towards our community. And this is a great way to show that we are putting our dollars where we intend for it to be spent, which is with our community that most needs it. I also wanted to make a comment that when you're in a governing body As fellow council members, you are here to sit and wait your turn. We have to get permission from our president before we can speak. So if any of us would have intervened, it would have been looked at as disrespectful or not allowing our president to do their job, which could be a slight in itself. So sometimes you just kind of got to see how it goes. And I know as someone who was president last year, I've had moments where you are being attacked and you have a lot coming at you, but you want to remain respectful and cordial. So as far as last week, I know that you would have liked to see a display of all of us coming to his defense, well, their defense as far as not allowing another council member to go back and forth, but that's not our place. That's the president's place to correct that behavior. And our president did try to do that, and that was being displayed for everyone to see. Now, I know sometimes it is hard to use the gavel, but we have recommended for Tyler to not be afraid to use the gavel. That it is okay to gavel at your fellow council members. So I just want everyone to know that I did... we have to keep decorum i did um make sure that i checked in with tyler and i let it be known that i was not happy with it but i have had conversations in the past with tyler about how we do get disrespectful how there are slight minor undertones of disrespect and it does need to be corrected a previous council member didn't mention in the past where she was referred to as honey I've seen it with other city employees. It just happens. And unless we correct it, it's going to continue to happen. So I'm happy that you guys all, well, everyone came down here and they spoke for their five minutes and they were heard because at the end of the day, that's what this body is here for. We're here to listen and we're here to make the best judgment for all. And that's all I have to say. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilor Brzezinski.

Tomorrow night, Civic Center Authority meeting Other than that, that's it. Thank you.

Councillor Horton. Decorum. Decorum. Thank you. Councillor Horton.

Thank you, Dr. Titus. Seems like we had a lot of discussions about a lot of things. Most of us centered around decorum. And people were dismayed by some of the decorum that was displayed here. I want to tell you that we get dismayed sometimes, too, by some of the decorum or lack thereof that some of you do here, too. I've come from another body. I see them come in and do push-ups, jumping jacks, blow the whistle, fall down. I mean, I get it. And so I played a part in some of that last week. I'm unapologetic about my part, too, because I meant what I said. I tend to try to be respectful. Dr. Titus is gonna have his hands full every time I'm disrespected because I will respond in kind. As far as defending anyone, I'm proud of the way that our chair handled it. President Titus handled it. I used to be a trooper, and yeah, there were a lot of things that could have been said and a lot of things could have happened here, but de-escalation sometimes is the order of the day. It was at the end of the meeting, and so I don't mind telling you all that you all are wrong to talk about, I don't care, you can say it to me all you want, but to sit up here and say my colleagues didn't respond as if they don't care, you're wrong. When I'm wrong, I'm man enough to say that. And we do want you to come down here. We want you to make your comments. We want to know. We want to learn. We want to be responsive, not reactionary. But you got to be fair, too. Some of the things that I've seen tonight weren't too fair. It's okay, though, because I would rather have it all expressed here. than to go back to do the keyboard, Facebook, Facebook warrior thing. I tend to work better and receive information better when it's directed to me, like right here. But you gotta be able to take it back, too. So as far as my reports, it's been a lengthy, long night. I'm sitting here in agonizing pain. I got a stimulator here, that's how important y'all are to me. I could've did it on a Zoom, but I wanted to come in here and see. I like pressing the flesh, man. I like to see your face when you're talking. I like to look in your eyes. And Mr. Strauss was right. There's 11 of us siblings, too. I'm the blessed one. I'm the youngest of 11 and stuff. So I had six older sisters. One had been telling me what to do my whole life. And so I have no problem taking instructions, guidance, directions, criticism, critiques. But I'm the councilman that kind of pushes back too. And I'm going to push back a little bit tonight on the line of remarks that says that anyone up here should have got up and said something immediately. You are entirely wrong. And it's okay to be wrong sometimes too. Because when you find out you're wrong, you know better, you do better. And we'll try to do better to some of the things here too. But we need to all do better too. These meetings are like three, four, five hours long. They're getting to be, it's getting to be the norm. Some of the stuff that we talk about, someone said it's all important. It's all important stuff. But I could do without some of the theatrics. I can do without, I mean, express it the way you want to express it. But I'm telling you that we had like six, seven themes on here tonight. I've been sitting here since 5.30. Could've voted on that stuff in 10 minutes. If he was a, and I'm glad that he's not, But at some point, this can't be sustainable to come here and do five-hour meetings every night. It can't be sustainable. We have families, too. Seeing in some venues, what they do is they limit discussion, which I pray we never have to do. But there are instances where you have to do that. And you're going to say something like, I'll take three pros and I'll take three cons. And you're all going to be up in your feelings. But we have families too. I volunteered for this. I got elected to do this. I get people run up in my face telling me they're my boss, they pay my salary. I get $6,000 a year. I make $16 a day. I make $200 every two weeks. I wish you would run up in my face, talking about you my boss. You're gonna get a reality check. I will respond in kind. As for my report, I attended the zoning board meeting. I won't get into the weeds. I met with Bess regarding the new housing development project proposed for 6th and Parade. It'll be proposed on the northeast corner where the fruit groves is. I live in that neighborhood, so I'm excited about it. We do have a housing crisis. You're talking about 40 one- and two-bedroom apartments and possibly ten single-family home units on property that they own in the East Bayfront. The Blighted Property Review Board, their meeting was canceled this week, and I was running a little late to the land bank meeting because I was meeting with Bess. Tomorrow there's an event, it's a Black History Juneteenth event over at the Bishop Jones' Church, the old St. Mary's, I think it's 315 East 9th, the Erie Historical Institute of Art, whatever, African American Museum. And I'll say this last thing, because you invoked some memories about Mr. Bill to me. I knew Mr. Atkinson from, I can't never remember a time not knowing him. He lived on West Third Street a couple blocks from us in a place we called Jerusalem down there, West Third. Mr. Atkinson used to have a Blue Tempest convertible. He had three sons, actually. Everybody knew Harold and Charles, but he had a son named Richard we called Barney. He was our age. And me being a Basically a juvenile delinquent, I guess. Ultimately, my parents had enough. But before they had enough, I used to sneak out the house at 2 or 3 in the morning. I liked the little girl. I'd go and one night a dog chased me. I jumped up on top of his Tempest, the convertible. It's 3 in the morning. He's at the door telling me, get off my car. Get off my car. Now, my dad's going to kill me already when I get home. I know he's calling him. I'm on his car. And Billy Blanks and them lived next door to him. And they had a dog named Keita. And I couldn't get off the car because Keita kept running up to the car and jumping. Keita, bite the mess out of you. But Mr. Atkinson finally, he says, son, please get off my car. I said, I can't. That dog going to bite me. He started throwing stuff out the house. Shoes, trying to get the dog to leave me alone. So eventually the dog left. Eventually I got home. Eventually he called. Eventually I got clobbered. And the next time I went into the barbershop, he said, I know you're upset that I told on you. He said, you're a good boy. He said, whenever you do wrong, the first thing you should do is go home and tell your parents. And that's a lesson that I still give my children today. Because no matter what they do, I can't fix it or help you if you're not honest with me. And to this day, my adult children, even still to this day, if something's going on, they come home and they tell their dad. And so I'm so grateful. I'm grateful for the life that Mr. Atkinson lived. You all don't even, if I begin to tell you the families that they're related to, because I'll take a couple minutes to do that. We're celebrating Juneteenth, but Erie has rich history on West 11th Street, where all the apartments, all the parking lots are, from 11th and Myrtle to 11th and Liberty. Those used to be black homeowners. There was nothing home with the homes. I mean, we got 100-year homes out here now. Those homes weren't 100-year homes. They were like 50-, 60-year homes. There was a guy named Ernest Franklin Smith who recruited blacks to come up here from Laurel, Mississippi. of those blacks that came up there, the Ackersons, Woodards, Loftons, all are one family. And they're really, really big, big, big, big families. We come from one of them families. Hortons, Jones, Smiths, Williams, Cahies. And most of us come from Laurel to work in those factories on West 11th Street. And many believe that it wasn't Tulio's Follies. It wasn't City Hall that killed downtown. It wasn't the flower-potted revetments that they made to walk in Trans-Way Mall. It wasn't the reversal of traffic. It was the decline or the closing of that neighborhood which fed downtown. Here we are 60 years later. We still have the parking lots. We have a housing problem. We have a program that's come through right now. That program at the time was called the Erie Redevelopment Plan. It would be akin to the Erie Refocus Plan today. And so the things that we do up here, we take our time. We don't always get it right. Probably get it wrong more often than I get it right, but I'm committed. And I'm always available and accessible. I look forward to hearing all the things that you say. I'm sorry that you all have to sit here for four or five hours, too, and we'll do better. And as far as this city, as far as us being a welcoming place, I happen to know that the mayor, one of the first things we did was put in a thing for Welcoming City. Some of those things, how we treat our neighbors and how we treat those certain demographics, whether they're black, trans, gay, you know, all of that stuff matters to our quality of life. And ultimately, that's what we all want, regardless of what your race is, regardless of what your sexual identity is. Everybody wants a better life for themselves and their children. And if we work together, we can obtain some of that stuff. And you're blessed to have the mayor that we have. We're blessed to have the council that we have, broken and shattered as we may be. But we're a team, for better or for worse. And we're going to work together to do some things. And I'm expecting fantastic things for you. I think Erie's best days are ahead. Don't let these days define us. These days don't define us. These are growth days. Dr. Titus, thank you. Thank my colleagues for allowing me to rant. little bit but that stuff's important and it matters so thank you again thank you counselor

Thank you, Dr. Titus. Before I begin my committee report, I am white. I am a white woman. I had severe acne when I was nine years old, and I went to a dermatologist from the time I was nine until I was 21 when I got married because I figure he loves me. I don't have to worry about my looks anymore. don't put a lot of makeup on I am Who I am and I'm comfortable with that I love people I was very tall up through middle school I was one of the tallest kids in my class and all the other girls were pretty much shorter than I am and so I understand what it's like to be I mean, not in your shoes, exactly, because I haven't walked in your shoes at all. And I get that. But I do love people. I have a transgender relative. We have mixed faiths in my family. And I love people. I got to know Dr. Titus a lot better this year being his VP. Not, excuse me, them. so anyways i think i can call dr titus a friend i have other transgender by all kinds of people i just love people but you don't know my story i will tell you though that i'm not a speaker like i knew in my life i wasn't a speaker i get All that going on every time I speak with you. So when you come up here and you say you're nervous, I'm nervous too. I'm also a person who someone commented that you're reactive. i've always knew or reflective i always knew that i was a better writer than a speaker i was like a mouse in school through until like up in my senior uh high school years so Knowing all that, knowing that I'm not a good speaker, I still like to be a part of our community. Thank you for coming. I appreciate you coming.

That's it. I am not going to ask anyone to step down.

I was on council before and made a resolution to have a civility professional come in to address council and We didn't carry through with all of that, and I'm not going to go into that at this time. But it is what it is. I've been on council when a council person, people all, I mean, they'll say, hey, you know, Why is this person putting rocks on a sign and telling them to throw rocks? But I'm not that kind of a person. I don't like conflict. Sorry, you got me. Imperfect. And here I am. So don't vote for me, whatever. God bless us all. Thank you. Oh, my committee report. So I went to a prayer vigil on the second Friday of every month at 1245 in front of the courthouse. There's a denomination church affiliation group that puts on a prayer vigil. And Last Friday, we were given little tiny Statue of Liberty, and we sang This Little Light of Mine. I love that, being a former kindergarten teacher. Loved it. Went to the land bank meeting. We pray for our country. It's a prayer vigil. It's not a protest. Went to the land bank meeting, went to the planning meeting. Mr. Witherspoon sent me some pictures of his basketball league that's going on that just started up. The kids are so cute. The little ones are playing right now. And thank you to the MTA for hosting the first unofficial summer blast on Thursday with Twisted Lid and the Geek Army. And I did. Mayor Devlin asked for there's a sidewalk that may not be the cities, it might be the train. And the engineering department does know about it. And I apologize for not addressing that. But they're checking to see who owns the property for ADA accessibility. Last Friday in Erie was a wonderful way, again, to kick off the season. We had a baseball game going on, a senior art show. Thank you to City Gallery who hosted that this year and did it the previous year. Long School of Dance was going on at the Warner Theater. and there was a car show, and I love Juneteenth, and I plan to be there again. Thank you. Have a great day.

Thank you. So my report this evening is going to focus on the events that occurred at the last council meeting, and I know I'm going to get flack for it, and that's okay. I spent the last several days reflecting on what has happened and on the community response and on what is required of us as leaders moving forward. In the immediate moment, I felt embarrassed, I was humiliated, and I was angry. There's something profoundly painful about having your humanity questioned in public. There is something deeply degrading having your identity, your body, and your existence treated as a subject for public debate. Marginalized people are often told they are overreacting, that they're being too sensitive, that they need to toughen up, move on, or stop making such a big deal of it. But the harm is real, and the consequences of that harm is real. words matter actions matter the culture we create through our behavior matters and i sit with those feelings and my thoughts turned away from myself and toward the people who were watching and i thought about the young person who was sitting at home wondering if there's a place for them in this city i thought about every resident who has been ever who's ever been made to feel invisible unwelcome or unsafe and i thought about shar I thought about Char who is no longer with us because they came to believe the cruelty that they encountered would always outweigh the possibility of belonging. And my heart continues to ache for them and it's because of them that I cannot allow this moment to be solely defined by my anger and I'm gonna let it be defined by action. The public response over the last several days has been extraordinary. Hundreds if not thousands of people have spoken up. I've been humbled by that response and I am deeply grateful for it. Moments like this invite us to ask difficult questions about who we are, what we value, and what kind of city we are building together. As elected officials, we are entrusted with governing and with being accountable to the people who elected us. Public office is privilege, not entitlement. None of us are above accountability. None of us are above conducting ourselves in a manner that reflects the seriousness of the responsibility that we have been given. We are entrusted with representing everyone who calls Erie home, not those who agree with us, not those who support us, everyone. And when our conduct diminishes the offices we hold, it diminishes the public trust in the institution itself. As Council President, I want to publicly reaffirm my commitment to ensuring this body remains focused on serving our community with integrity, transparency, and accountability. I want to acknowledge that I know my colleagues, I know them to be compassionate people. I know them to be dedicated public servants, and I know that they care deeply about the city and the people who live here. And because of that, I am optimistic about what comes next. I remain committed to working alongside my colleagues to strengthen this body. That includes reviewing our council rules, procedures, and ordinances, and making necessary changes to ensure that they reflect the values of our city. Heading, healing does not happen by pretending harm did not occur. Healing happens when we tell the truth about what happened, we take responsibility for our role in it, and we commit ourselves to building a better city. That is my hope for this council, that is my hope for this city, and despite everything, that hope remains stronger than my anger. And with that, I'll turn it over to you, Mayor.

Dr. Titus, it's difficult to follow that, so I won't even really try. I very quickly want to say that when we left that meeting that day, I regretted that I didn't do more in the moment. And I want to say that out loud. And unlike council, and to Councillor Flores' point, they are governed by your rules. I am not. And so I just want to say that out loud. Reflection, you know, we always know that we can do better. And in the moment, given the fact that you are a respected colleague, but more importantly, a friend, I'm sorry that I didn't do more. So please forgive that. I know with your leadership that we will move forward because I agree that our best days are ahead, Councillor Horton, and I agree that we have lots of work to do. So with that, I'm committed to stand with you and all of council as we do do that, and I know that we can, and I know that we owe it to our residents to do so. I want to just say a couple of other things. I hope that we clarified some of the confusion perhaps over the ordinances on tonight about the rental registration. Nothing in there tonight was about a move in-house. Nothing was about hiring folks. Nothing was about changing a program. These were small changes with regard to fees and regularity that we have discussed many times. But I am also committed to making sure that we are clear. I know that the Landlord Association, the Apartment Association is waiting for a checklist from them, from us. We owe them that. I understand that we have additional conversations and so I am committed to doing that, but I just want to be clear about the action that was taken tonight and the action that will come next. None of these large programmatic changes have been made, nor are they on the table at this point, so. And lastly, I want to thank Councilor Troop for his sponsorship of Juneteenth. I want to encourage everyone to participate this weekend in the Juneteenth celebration. I appreciate the distinction. Those of us that are not coming from a heritage of enslavement, we don't celebrate this day, but we can commemorate it, and we should, and we will do. And lastly, I want to wish on that note well to the students that are currently on the Walking in Black History trip with gary horton i had hoped to go with him this year and just couldn't do it but i was on the phone with mr horton today at a meeting and he said one of the students i think one of his his own grandson had had a medical incident and they were dealing with that while they were away council horton i hope you'll express our concern and care but for all of them and for the trip that they're doing which is really a pilgrimage to see and experience this history i wish them well and safe travels home and hope to be with them next year. And with that, I will conclude my report. Thank you.

some of you might know that i keep track of the number of public speakers after every meeting in my three and a half years today's total public comment was 58 individuals which is the most i've seen in my three and a half years as part of the city so that says something thank you all right we have no other reports so at this time we will conclude the meeting

Adjourns at 11.15 p.m. Members Titus, Brzezinski, Flores, Horton, Pol, Schaaf, and Trout.