Council - Regular Meeting

You can take that thing off.

I'm going to taking this off. Thank you. Well, happy new year. The meeting is now called to order. Uh we'll ask everyone to stand. We will have an invocation by uh Mr. Spence followed by the pledge of allegiance.

Let us pray. Father God, we just thank you for this time together. We just thank you for stepping into a new year. Lord God, we just pray your grace and mercy over each and every one of us over our city. Lord God, I just pray a hedge your protection around our city and and the decisions that are going to be made by this council, by this this mayor. Father God, I just pray for for direction, provision, Lord Jesus, that you just guide us and and direct our hearts as we um as we lead, Father God, and just be with our citizens. For it's in your name we pray. Amen. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Light, if you'll call the role.

Council member Hendris here. Council member Dixon here. Council member Bowling here. Council member Spence [snorts] here. Council member King here. Council President Simmons here. Madame President, all six council members are in attendance and therefore a quorum is present. Thank you very much. At this time, we will have the uh approval of the agenda for the motion. Motion. Second. It's been motioned by Mr. Bowling, second by Miss King. All in favor of the motion? 6. Motion carries.

Thank you. At this time, we will have message from the mayor. Thank you, Miss Simmons. I'm going to move down here today because I have a couple of items that I am going to cover. First, I would like to ask those who are here with the launch program to please come forward. I know Dr. Bill is here. Do you want to Dr. Bill, do you want everybody to come and join you for the photo? I think that'd be great.

Absolutely. as they come forward. I don't know how many people are familiar with the launch program. I want to call it Dr. Bill's baby, but it is absolutely a nationwide model for how we can take students in high school and plug them into the workforce. And we have uh companies can uh train these students, put them to work for a period of time. They get school credit while they're doing it. And it's teaching them not only the hard skills, but the soft skills that are going to prepare them for a successful future when they get into the workforce. And before I turn it over to Dr. Bill to make a few comments, I do want to present you on behalf of all the students and those who've come behind you, I'll give you this one, a certificate of commendation. And and I'll read the the certificate of commendation, and we'll pose momentarily for those those photos so I'm not talking in the middle of it. the the this is a uh a certificate of commendation to the launch program that says the city of Florence is proud to honor and recognize the Florence High School launch program for earning the 2025 Alabama workbased learning seal of excellence. This program serves as a model of excellence for work-based learning across Alabama. I would say beyond Alabama, thus providing Florence students with quality hands-on experience in multiple fields before graduation. I applaud each of these who participate participating in launch program right now and all of you who have gone before look forward to speaking at your banquetss. But I want to turn it over to uh to Dr. Bill to make a few uh remarks and then we'll we'll get a good picture. How's that? Dr. Beal. really appreciate [clears throat] Mayor Mayor Tyler and the council uh for uh including us and putting us on the agenda and recognizing uh this accomplishment, this achievement because it's truly uh a result of of all of us working collectively. We've got some of

the partnerships um built into the city structures that have produced some outcomes um that we're very proud of. And one of the the primary reasons that we created Launch was to help students figure it out before they left high school um and equip them to do it at a very high scale. So it's it's student centered real world ex experiential learning and it's in my opinion I've been in Florence City schools for almost 27 years and I truly think it's one of the best things that our district has ever done that is having a just a broad impact in terms of development confidence building and just just helping them have a career path when they uh when they leave high school. So, um, as Mayor Tyler alluded, we've got some of our staff members here with us, and I will, uh, introduce some of the staff. We've got Mike Adams. We we stole him from the city. Um, does a great job, one of our partnership coordinators. Uh, we've got Miss Nikki Man, another partnership coordinator, does a phenomenal job. We really try to get people that have got a lot of connectivity that helps them, you know, in terms of setting some some placements up. Um, then we've got Beth Toner with us. She's our uh career tech coordinator. We've got Miss Jessica Flanigan. She keeps us all on a path structure. She's she's got a different strengths. Um and then we've got Amy Childers here with us. Uh she's just joined our team. And then we've got um Rachel Couns that's here on a part-time. She does a part-time role for us. So really um got a great team of staff. We've got Dr. Shepard out here in the audience. So he's a strong support system of what we do. Knows all about it. has had uh some of his kids in launch, so he can attest to the impact that it has. And then I'm going to let our students introduce themselves. This is part of their training. So, I'm going to let them come up and uh real quick

and uh let them let them introduce themselves. My name is Jake Lynville and my launch placement is at the Florence Lauderdale Tourism Bureau and I'm very grateful to be in launch and just very grateful for the opportunity. Hi, I'm Sienna Chers and I'm town at Reclaimed Spirit and it's really just allowed me to get my foot into some real world experience for something that I want to do outside of school. My name is Jamaia Ingram. Um, and then one of my launch placements is working with Mr. Trousdale for law. Um, and this helped show me what it's like being a lawyer.

My name is Alec Brutin. My launch placements at Massie Drugs and it has given me a lot of skills I will use for the rest of my life. My name is Lucy Vasik and I'm a medical assistant at Medical Associates of the Scholes and I'm so thankful that Launch has given me the opportunity to pursue something that I want to do after college. Give me that experience. My name is Emory Broadwood and I'm an intern at Geosource and Launch is just such a great opportunity for us to learn further what we want to major in in college and do after high school and I'm very grateful for it.

So, this program is a true example of everybody getting ROI off of it, everybody winning, everybody having an impact. And I think as you guys know, one of the the main things that people look for in terms of a community to come into the community, they look at the school systems and what's going on in the school system. So this is something that is truly having an impact. It's creating a workforce pipeline um for different channels and it's a it's a talent pipeline. You know, you're training them, you're building them up, you're moving them in those those channels and there's outcomes coming. So, um just the the biggest gratification of this program is just seeing true development. Um you know, understanding um you know, what kind of behaviors that you've got to play uh display under the roof of a workforce. They've got to get an impact off of it. You know, they're transitioning from the high school mentality. This is real world and they've learned that. They understand that they have to look at it through business industry lenses. You know, really want to thank uh Mayor Tyler. He's been a strong proponent of launch over the years. He gets it. He gets the vision of it. Gets the purpose. And this award will help us put Florence on a broader map because we will be speaking at multiple conventions um in different states um to showcase this because uh people want to replicate it. Uh we've actually started 12 other models already, you know, in state and out of state. So, uh, really proud of this and, uh, really appreciate you guys recognizing the value the value of this. So, any any staff members want to say anything? They're shy. [laughter] So, anyway, I really appreciate the the recognition and appreciate you working us in your your your meeting. Thank you very much. [applause]

Yeah. Thanks, I asked him how many students he had participating. He got 109 who are I guess 109 are in a different 109 different places. Is that right Dr. Bill? We've got 111 business industry partnerships and I think we've got about 109 students give or take uh in in different roles. Some of them most of them local. We got a couple that that'll drive out of the area a little bit. So I I appreciate all of those over a hundred businesses, companies, uh organizations here in town that are that are also supporting the launch program and and allowing these high school students to come in. So, uh, congratulations to each of you and I I know you are are your parents are very proud of you as we are. The second item that I have is a proclamation. Is is anybody here with um with human trafficking awareness? Would you come forward?

Thank you so much.

And this is this is Kim Beas and I want to read a proclamation about a uh a very important topic. Some people wish this is not a topic that would be uh mentioned or considered in the city of Florence. Nevertheless, it is. This is a proclamation and I I'll read it, so bear with me. It says, "Whereas human trafficking is a public health issue and crime that harms the health and well-being of children, individuals, families, and communities, often across generations. And whereas human trafficking can happen to anyone in every community. And whereas human trafficking is connected to many other forms of violence and exploitation and often shares common risk factors such as lack of resources in unsafe environments. And whereas strengthening communities requires collective action to prevent, recognize, and reduce the conditions that contribute to exploitation and to create environments where people are protected from human trafficking and other forms of violence. And whereas a successful response to human trafficking requires a coordinated communitywide response that includes collaboration across sectors and with those who have experienced human trafficking to ensure that services and programs are effective and meet the needs of survivors. And whereas every individual, family, community, and organization can help raise awareness, prevent trafficking, and support survivors by learning how to take action. Now therefore, I, Mayor Ron Tyler, on behalf of the city of Florence and its citizens in support of this endeavor, do hereby proclaim the month of January 2026 as human trafficking prevention month. I also want to reaffirm our commitment to human trafficking awareness, training, and education activities, strengthened resources for those impacted by human trafficking, and to being designated a traffickingfree zone supporting a more coordinated, comprehensive response to prevent and

combat the crime of human trafficking. I'd like to present this proclamation to you, and I appreciate you, your organization, and for what y'all do because it is a very important work. So, thank you very much. Would you like like to say a few things?

Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much. My name is Kim Beas. I'm the executive director of Kramer Children's Center. On behalf of our community, the Alabama Antihuman Trafficking Alliance and all those fighting against human trafficking, including [snorts] Kramer Children's Center, I want to thank mayor and the city council for recognizing January as human trafficking month. preventing, recognizing, and responding to human trafficking is very important and we take it very seriously at Kramer Children's Center. Thank you so much. [applause] Miss, that's all I have this time. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mayor. At this time, will do we have any reports for any of our department heads? Chief. Thank you, President Simmons. Uh good afternoon to everyone present. Um my name is Tim Anderson, chief of the Florence Fire Department. One of the many responsibilities I have in addition to uh overseeing the operations and the and the 97 personnel that we have working for our organization is forecasting and planning for needs in the future. Uh under the leadership of former fire chief Charles Cochran in the early 1990s. Uh Mr. Cochran, Chief Cochran began in 1992 uh incorporating basic EMTs into the medical field into our organization. And since 1992, uh, fire trucks respond almost always in front of an ambulance and arrives prior to, uh, the transport unit arriving and initiates patient care. And, um, about, uh, just a little less than three years

ago, using the same motto of trying to forecast and model what's needed for our community in the future and what's coming, we began an endeavor. And um today we reach we re reached a a major milestone with that just before the work session began this afternoon. We were inspected today by the Alabama Department of Public Health. They had their inspectors on site. They reviewed all of our equipment, our apparatus, all of our records management protocols, everything that's involved in uh the vetting process of becoming an ALS non-transport provider. And I'm very excited to uh present to you all that we received that recommendation and accommodation by the Department of Public Health. It puts the Florence Fire Department in a position to uh have increased level of prehosp care and interventions. And in today's world, that is uh that is certainly impactful to the to the good for people's public safety and their health and outcome. And we're certainly certainly excited about that. I can't say enough about the the men and women that work at the Florence Fire Department. and their willingness to take this on uh because it was a challenge put out to them a little less than three years ago and we've got numerous guys that have uh stepped up to the plate and they've taken the training that's required which is very demanding and uh there's about $250,000 worth of equipment and training been purchased and up to this point we're at about 96% of that was completely funded by grants. Uh we phased this in over a three grant cycle period and the the impact to the citizens of Florence has been near zero as far as financial support. We have a very good solid plan moving forward to for sustainability and uh there's certainly a good day for the Florence Fire Department. I I commend the the personnel that work with our organization. I certainly want to make that announcement today. Thank you.

Thank you, Chief. [applause] This time we have any reports of any standing committees? I do have one from the finance um committee. We met on uh December the 22nd at 11:00 a.m. In attendance was Katrina Simmons, uh the chair, Mayor Tyler, Shaina Balch, Jackie Hendris, Josh Bowling, and David Carson. The business at hand was we discussed the budget. Um, Mayor Tyler and Shaina Balch, they went back to find some find room for the cost of living raise, but the funding is not there for the 3%. The 2.5% cost of living raise was added to the budget. Um, it will become effective January the 1st. The revenue is expected to match the expenditures. Ideally a break even budget 22,000 for a placer AI great for application data split three ways with park and wrecks tourism with parks and wrecks and tourism the funding for UNA was reduced to 325,000 the original agreement was 500,000 per year mayor pointed out that this is common that it is common to support your local institutions used by the city of Athens. Um, for example, mayor major cuts to the uh police department budgets for savings. Additional costs for inclement weather policy 225,000 inclement weather policy as a savings account until March. Increase funding a

retirement from 3% from 3% to 3.5. increase in health healthc care cost. 11 departments are getting less than what they got last year. Police department only got two cars that last year. 8 to 10 is ideal. Mostly equipment and software in the budget is being cut. Mayor Tyler plans to continue to keep a closed watch on the overtime. Katrina Simmons asked about the cut to the Music Preservation Society and to the Burough Slater. Shaina states that they did not ask or provide documentation for financing. Shaina just cut the total in half rather than cutting it totally. Organizations must request appropriations to receive it. And that still doesn't mean that you would totally get it. Organizations are also required to submit financials. The Music Preservation Society was cut to 10,000. Katrina disagrees with this cut. Shaina said that they also did not request the funding. The timeline in is the end of July for organizations to request it. If there are any projects that works in the works, we need to know ahead of time rather than be surprised so they can be budgeted. Mayor Tyler pointed out that this is a very must important this is very important for a department ask out of the budget. Departments were told to ask for their needs only. Mayor Title is confident in the cuts that was made. Miss Balt explains that the budget and that we have plenty of money in the bank. We are in good financial standing. January the 16th paycheck will include the raise for the employees. Katrina's concerns about projects funding within our districts that's coming up soon for discussion. Katrina added that the budget can be amended and any change made to go before the council and if

they are all open to any conversations that the council is all open to any conversations and want transparency voted and the budget was passed on to the full council. Motion carries and the budget passed on to the next council meeting and we adjourned at 11:23 a.m. Any additional standing reports committees? Nope. Okay. We don't have any public hearings at this time. At this time, we'll have business from the floor pertaining to items on the consent and the regular agenda with the fivem minute time limit. But before we do that, I need to read some rules of procedures for the code uh city code sections. This is a new year. It's a new beginning. Want to wish everyone a happy new year. I feel like it's deemed that it's necessary for me to read this again just to refresh memories to our city um in regards to our city council meetings going forward. So I want to take this time to read the section codes uh so that we can all govern ourselves professionally and respectfully towards each other. It's a new year. It's a new day. It's a new administration. So we're going to start with the communication from the public and then we'll go with the decorum and then we'll uh discuss about addressing the city council. Section 2-65, communications from the public. Under the sections 2-6310 and 2-6314 of this code regarding comments from the public during the city council meeting, each speaker may address the council for a period not to exceed 5 minutes. After being recognized by the president of the council, speakers must state their names and addresses and must be courteous in their language and department. Speakers recognized to address the council who are ruled out of order by

the president of the council must return to their seats and forfeit their remaining time. And then there's a whole section of additional codes. Section two-66 the decorum. Any person making personal, impertinent, slanderous or profane remarks or who willingly utters loud, threatening or abusive language or engages in any disorderly conduct conduct which would impede, disrupt or disturb the orderly conduct of any meeting shall be called to order by the president. If such conduct conduct continues, the president at his or her discretion may order the person barred from further audience before the council for that meeting. Section 2-67 addressing the council. No person, not a member of the council shall be allowed to address the same while in session without permission from the presiding offer um officer. And I just wanted to it's a new year. Just want to set the house in order um sharing these rules of procedures and they are on the city code. So you can find them on the website if you so deem to do so. And at this time we will have business from the floor pertaining to the consent and the regular agenda items with a fivem minute time limit. We will start to my right. If you'll come forward state your name and address please. Hello, my name is David Carson. I live in Florence, Alabama. And I will for security reasons I will share my driver's license with uh officer or lighty here. If I didn't live with family members, I would just say my address and dare people to come mess with me. But I do have family, so I ain't going to do that. Um, yes. My name is David Carson and I was just going to um

uh I want to It was just regarding general business item A. [clears throat] Excuse me. This is um regarding the the um budget and um I read this earlier and um I noticed this I it's worded very weird. is worded in in a way that I've never seen the a budget uh item worded on um when it's being voted in. And uh I I'll just read this out loud. It says resolution to approve appropriate sums for the operation of the various general fund departments for the interest on its bonded and other indebtness and to make appropriations to various boards and institutions and that it meets the requirements and reflects the projected revenues of 90 milliona and projected expenditures of $90,447,500 yielding a surplus of $0 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026. Sponsored by Shaina Balk. Um it's usually um when you do a budget, it says um um resolution to to um amend to to u pass the budget. That's usually all it says. We got this word salad here and um I already talked to a couple council members and and they uh assured me that this would get cleared up during the work session um with Shaina Balks, but um it was not mentioned during the work session. So, I was wondering before you vote on this, at the very least, um, Kacina Balk, um, explain why the language of this, um, agenda item is so different and so confusing. Um, before you vote on this, it's because this is a big deal. This is not over $90 million. I want to I think the public it should be crystal clear to the public why the language is like this because I don't understand like like for the interest of the bonded and other indebtness, what does that even mean meaning? you know, like um it's a lot of

money. I just want to I want to hear it from Shana herself what this new language is that I've never seen before for is in regarding to um passing a budget. And um just a side comment on the budget, it was mentioned that a lot of things were cut and stuff. Um I just wanted to say and and it's been a lot of back and forth. I appreciate the effort and stuff and efforts towards trans transparency as far as the budget's concerned, but it does, but if I'm not mistaken, this is still the most um the highest budget that we've ever had as a city. I'm just wondering, is that just from inflation or just from the employee increases because they said there was a lot of cuts, but yet it's bigger than ever. So, I'm just wondering maybe a simple answer of why it this is the biggest budget even though the there was a lot of cuts. That's all I got. Thank you. Thank you.

No. Thank you. Anyone else to my right in the middle?

My name is Rod Shepard. I live at 121 Whisperwood Trail, Florence, Alabama. We'll take off my name tag because I'm not standing on behalf of Florence City Schools. First off, I want to make sure that I'm not out of order in relationship to what I do would like to ask a question about, but it deals with item number seven on the agenda that deals with reports from department heads that you just made. Uh, as president of the uh music preservation society, um, I attended a meeting back in July with outgoing Mayor Betterton and several others at the table that who I can't call their names. It was myself and Dr. Lloyd Jones who's the vice president of the Music Preservation Society. During the course of that meeting, we left the meeting under the understanding that we would be funded at the same level for the upcoming year. However, that there was some desire to change what they required us to be able to spend the money on. Initially, with the memorandum of understanding between the city of Florence and the Music Preservation Society, those funds that were appropriated were for four events. One would be Riverside Jazz. One would be the opening session. The other would be uh Bill Street Blues and there's a fourth one to which is escaping me, right? No, I know it's the play, the Handy Play. That's the fourth one. And those are funds were appropriated to make sure that we had those events. And so, if I heard your report correctly, we are not going to be funded at that same amount at this up in the upcoming year. And as a president of the board, um, with one of the largest festivals that we have in the Scholes area, um, those funds are greatly needed. Let me just go ahead and tell you, I was in a a board meeting last night. I s I saw the the budget and, um, it's not great. And so I would just ask that if there's any consideration to reconsider. I was not under the understanding that we had to make a request for the funds. It was just said that we would continue to appropriate the at the same level. And that's how I left the meeting and that's

what I thought. Again, I can't tell you everyone at that table. There was myself, Dr. Lloyd Jones, uh there was uh some parks and Rex people uh that were at the table. Bill Jordan was at the table. I do remember him being at the table. But uh just want to for the record uh make that statement being here. I'm not here for that purpose tonight, but hearing that after I am here and serving in that capacity, I just wanted to stand and make that statement. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Anyone else in the middle? And just for the record, I know you some of you uh you come up here and we're just looking at you. [laughter] We don't have dialogue back. So, it's not like we're just being rude and in ignoring you. We just don't have dialogue back and forth.

Yes, ma'am. Uh first off, apologies. Uh I was supposed to be here at 4. I had my times confused. I got here at 4:45 for the working session. Apologies. But, uh I'm Carmelo Perceit. with Greenacres Organic Farms. Uh we have been in business in Florence since September 25th, 2019. Um we have love being here first off. We we love the city. I've raised uh been married here. I now have uh two kids with one on the way and Green Acres is my main source of income. Um and it has provided uh a great life for me and my family. And uh you know over the past few years we have uh been able to give back to the community to over $150,000 of products to folks with Parkinson's or cancer and just try to give back in in in different ways. Um what I'm here for today is the uh hemp application. The the laws changed in July. They passed a law called HB445. Um we have been we are a industrial hemp grower. We're also a processor. We have a a lab over in Florence. And uh when the laws changed um they are now requiring us to have a ABC hemp license um to continue selling what we've already been selling for going on seven years. Um and basically what I'm here here today is to uh was here to answer any questions. I know we can't have dialogue here, but to answer any questions and um basically just ask for you you folks to uh vote to give us uh approval to continue operating in the city of Florence for the ABC application before we can even apply uh apply. We need uh the municipality to approve that they want us here. Um so that's the first step, but we have everything else in line. We're basically waiting uh waiting on that and um we hope that uh you you vote in favor of of giving us that chance to continue operating. So, thank you.

Thank you very much. Anyone else in the middle to my left? Okay. At this time, Mr. Lighty, if you will read the consent agenda. All matters listed within the consent agenda have been distributed to each member of the Florence City Council for reading and study are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion of the council with no separate discussion. If separate discussion is desired, that item may be removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda by request.

Okay. Do a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. So moved.

Second by Mr. Hendrick, second by Miss King. All in favor of the motion. 6. Motion carries. Proceed with the regular agenda. Regular agenda item A is a resolution approving an ABC licensing and a compliance division consumable hemp products pre-application by Greenacres Organic Farms Incorporated regarding a license to sell consumable hemp products in the city of Florence sponsored by the city council. Do

I have a motion for the immediate consideration? So moved. Second motion by Mr. Hendrick, second by Mr. Bowling. All in favor of the motion. 6. Do a motion for the adoption? So move. Second. Motion by Mr. Spence, second by Miss Dixon. Any discussion? Okay. Not all in favor of the motion.

6. Motion carries. General business. Item A under general business, a resolution to approve appropriate sums for the operation of the various general fund budgets of the various general fund departments for the interest on its bonded and other indebtedness and make appropriations to various boards and institutions. that it meets these requirements and reflects projected revenues of $90,447,500 and projected expenditures of 90,447,500 yielding a surplus of zero for the fiscal year ending September 30th, 2026. Sponsored by Shaina Balch.

Okay. Do I have a motion for the immediate consideration? Motion. Second. Motion by Mr. Bowling. Second by Miss King. All in favor of the motion. 6. Do I hear a motion for the adoption? Motion. Second. Sorry. Go ahead. Second. Um motion by Miss Dixon, second by Katrina uh Simmons. Any discussion at at at this point? I want to ask um Mr. Musgrove, do you mind clearing up that language? just discussing that language and the general business owner.

Yes ma'am. I the well first of all let me just make clear to everyone that what we refer to colloially as the agenda is literally just a table of contents and so it has no legal uh bearing on the actual ordinances and resolutions that the council votes on. And um the agenda the the language that was used for some reason this time is from a whereas clause that sets forth the reason that municipalities in Alabama have to adopt a budget. And the the resolution the therefore be it resolve clause in the resolution states um that the council approves the general fund budget. So this is so it's the same resolution that the city has used in my 23 years at least. Nothing's changed. So just just the table of contents is different this time.

Okay. Thank you very much. Yes, ma'am.

Thank you. And I want to uh read this statement. Uh as the chair of the finance committee, which is myself, it is important that we have an operating budget in place so the city can function smoothly. I just want to be clear at the proposed Florence City budget. It's a starting point. It's not a final product and the council is totally not bound by it. The budget is a living document. So if necessary, we can amend. We can adjust uh it as it prioritizes due to circumstances or physical uh realities that were to evolve. We're pleased to have revisited the proposal to include the 2.5% uh cost cost of living adjustment for employees employees. So, I want to say thank you to Mayor Tyler, to Miss Botch for working through a very tight budget constraints to make that possible. It reflects our respect and appreciation for the workforce that serves our community daily. And as we look ahead, there will be several matters that will require financial consideration. Passing a budget allows departments to plan, to operate, and to move projects forward efficiently. And as we move forward, certain funding requests listed in the budget will come before the council by resolution. Those items will require a council vote for approval before any funds are authorized. And I want to express my gratitude for the patience, the dedication, the collab collaboration for everyone that's been involved in making this happen. These discussions are necessary and essential to maintaining strong financial stewardship for the city of Florence stability. And if there is no further discussion, all in favor of the motion 6. Motion carries.

Item B is a resolution to amend the electricity department budget fiscal year 2025 2026 sponsored by Mark Lovejoy. Do you have a motion for the immediate consideration? Motion second. Motion by Miss Dixon, second by Miss King. All in favor of the motion 6. You'll hear a motion for the adoption. Second motion by Mr. Spence, second by Mr. Hendris. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion.

6. Motion carries. Item C is a resolution to amend the gas department budget fiscal year 2025 2026 sponsored by Mark Lovejoy. Do you hear a motion for immediate consideration? So move. Second. Second. Sorry. Motion by Mr. Hendrick, second by Katrina. All in favor of the motion. 6. Do I hear a motion for the adoption? Motion. Second.

Motion by Mr. Bowling, second by Mr. Spence. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion. 6. Motion carries. Item D is a resolution to amend the water wastewater department budget fiscal year 2025 2026 sponsored by Mark Lovejoy. Do I hear a motion for immediate consideration? Motion. Second motion by Miss Dixon, second by Mr. Bowling. All in favor of the motion? 6.

Do a motion for the adoption? So move second. Motion by Mr. Spence, second by Mr. Bowling. Any discussion? By way of discussion, these um resolutions from the gas and water, these are just to clean it up because of the um employee increase. So the budget had to be amended to reflect that. If no additional discussion, all in favor of the motion 6. Motion carries. That's all I have, Madam President.

Thank you, Mr. Lighty. So, at this time, we'll have business from the public with a five minute time limit. This time we'll start to my left. If anybody want to come, please state your name and your address. Monica Shannon 112 Cypress Landing Place, Florence. Um, I handed all of y'all a piece of paper that I was going to address when I came up here, but now you have the paper because I was able to do that beforehand. But, um, I'm going to say the launch program is a great thing. We did not have that kind of thing when I was in school because I graduated from high school in 1970. But I knew exactly what I wanted to do and my career worked out with exactly what I wanted to do. And in regards to the document I gave you, I think it's very important that each and every one of us move to a higher integrity, especially those in leadership. And sometimes we get caught up in doing a career because of certain reasons and not because that's how we want to spend our life. We might do it for benefits. We might do it, you know, for all kinds of reasons, health insurance in today's world. But, um, I was one of the fortunate ones. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life and my career and everything that I have done has worked out beautifully. And I just want to say that um sometimes we have to look deep inside ourselves

and in reference again to the document I gave you because sometimes we get caught up in doing something we hate and you'll spend your whole life miserable. My life has not been that way. And I had an excellent career and I have an excellent relationship with God. And I think that since our country is founded on God, we need to all think about that. But it's a choice. It is not my choice to make your choice. your choice is not what I should make of my choice. But everything that's happened to me my entire life has has actually given me everything I need to do what I'm doing now. And I'm kind of a behind thescenes person. But I know that what I'm doing I am following the word of God. And my career that I did in computers was exactly what I wanted to do. And I just wish that we would all, you know, try to think of that and not be miserable for life in a in something that you hate. Uh, and I'm just thankful that you all are here. And I want to say that there have been improvements that I have seen uh on the streets with the speeding and different things and some of the signs that are being put up. You know, I'm seeing improvements with a lot of different things. And uh thank you all for for serving because I'm a behind thescenes person. I don't know if I could do what you do, but uh I'm continuously

praying for protection for our city. Uh, and um I just uh just think that this is going to be a great year and that everyone is going to see improvements in the city and we should be thankful that our city has such a large budget and that we have a fire department that can do everything it needs to do and that we have a police department that watches after us and we have a water and gas department and electricity department and I know pretty much all the heads of those departments

and I know that we are in excellent shape and I don't see you know even though there is a disagreement in the way people feel I don't see how anybody can complain about our beautiful city and the way it operates so you can take the document with you and use that however you wish. You don't want it, you can throw it away. It's your choice. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Anyone else to my left? In the middle,

Rodri Shepard 121 Whisperwood Trail. Notice I have my name tag back on. Split personality. I rise this time for the official reason as to why I attended tonight. On behalf of interim superintendent Bill Hopkins and the newly elected Florence City Board of Education, just want to say thank you in their absence uh for recognizing our launch program. It is a very worthwhile program. I have three children now that have benefited from the program. One who uh thought she wanted to be a cosmetologist until she worked in cosmetology and worked at a beauty salon and said she didn't want to do that. She's now a nurse at Huntsville Hospital. another one who worked at Namzy during the launch program who will start Monday in cardiac care unit at Huntsville Hospital and a son who is working at uh Killllin Pharmacy who wants to be a pharmacist and so uh I will say as a person who has had a great experience with the launch program as a parent that it is indeed a great program. Uh just letting you know the board would have been here tonight. Uh as some of you may know, we're in the process of launching our search for our next superintendent of the Florence City Schools. That started today with a meeting from 2 to 4 with staff members to get input. And right now, as we speak between 5:30 and 7:30. There is a community meeting that is taking place at 541 Riverview Drive where anyone from the community can come and and put their input in as to who they would like to see and what they would like to see in our next superintendent as we get begin to go forth as a city school system. But I just wanted to stand to say thank you for that and thank you for that recognition tonight. Also, in another capacity that I serve in the community, thank you for supporting the 34th annual Martin Luther King Unity breakfast that is upcoming January the 19th. Uh I look forward to seeing you all each uh at the event and I thank this council for the last 20 years that I can know of of supporting that event. Thank you all for what you do.

Thank you very much Dr. Shepard. Anyone else in the middle to my right? Hello, my name is David Carson. I live in Florence, Alabama. Yeah. Um I would like to speak on um an item in the agenda that was just passed uh specifically the um $325,000 handout to UNA. And that's what it is. It is a handout. Um, yeah, we're not at the point yet. I'm going to definitely bring this up when it's time to vote on this individually, but um I'm I'm getting ahead of the curve and I'm going to talk about it now since the general since it did make it on the budget and the budget did pass. I attended the um the second financial meeting that they had um for the budget and um the mayor mentioned that um that um that he said that we should support our institutions and I want to focus on that. Um is I don't feel like UNA is my institution. U I don't think it's ours. Does it? It's not. It's the University of North Alabama. It's not the University of Florence. It is a state college supposed to be funded by the state and by in by tuition. Um it's even got its own police force. Um it's its own entity. It's the nice probably the nicest part of town surrounded by poverty. This institution is rich. It is a rich institution surrounded by poverty. And I think it's obscene that the um the taxpayers of this city um have to continuously give

this institution a handout every single year. I I think it's good they got decreased um um a bit. That decrease needs to go down to, you know, get it down to zero. Hell, if anything, I think we should be taxing them. Um but yeah, it's not the University of Florence, it's the University of um North Alabama. It is not our responsibility. We're respon We should be responsible for our city schools, you know, for city residents, not for this um state university that takes in people from all over the country and all over the world. Imports some very some interesting characters um um like a a a professor [snorts] from New York that wants to uh destroy our local monuments stuff. Very it can be a very very subversive element in this area. And um it is what it is, but I just don't want to fund it. I don't want to give it um a handout. I didn't go to UNA. I don't care. There's a lot of people in this town didn't go to UNA. I think most people in this town didn't go to UNA. I think most people that go to UNA get their degrees and leave. I think the only ones that seems like the only ones that stay are get in local government somehow. I guess that explains why local government keeps on writing them checks. Um during the last election, our mayor and two council members received donations from friends of UNA. So yeah, you know, I mean, they're going to definitely get a return on their money on that. You know, you give $500 or $1,000 and then back they get $325,000 and back. That's a pretty good profit margin right there. So yeah, I think that's pretty corrupt. Um a lot of people say, "Well, I support UNA. What would our town be without UNA?" UNA is not going anywhere if we don't give them $325,000. UNA is a rich organization. They deal with millions and millions and millions

of dollars. I mean, if this is just like a UNA alumni donation from using city tax dollars, listen, UNA alumni, if you want to donate to UNA, get out your checkbook or your credit card. You're more than welcome to give your personal money to UNA. shouldn't force the the um the city taxpayer to give them a handout every single year. Um we don't I mean they're not going anywhere. Do we donate does the uh city um give handouts to TVA? Do you have any idea the financial impact the TVA has this area? I still don't think I do work for TVA sometimes every now and then. I I wouldn't want my tax dollars to to go to them. They got their own.

You have one minute remaining. you know, it it's not it's not appropriate. Even though that institution does help us and this this area would be gutted if TVA went, but we're not donating to them. That's because, you know, a lot not a lot of people, you know, there's not as many connections between TVA and the local government. So, yeah. Um I am not a friend of UNA. I know the friends of UNA gave some of y'all some money and now they're going to get a return on that, but I'm not a friend of UNA. a lot of people in Florence could care less about UNA. So, it's not going anywhere. I think it's obscene that we're even considering giving them even more money. And I will continue to bring this up and uh yes, the budget is not set in stone and I'll definitely be bringing the heat whenever it comes to this. It'll be remembered who votes no and who votes yes and it'll be mentioned who received money from friends of UNA and who maybe does a lot of business with UNA as well. So, yeah, I hope it's worth it for the handout. That's all I got. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else to my right?

Good afternoon. My name is Vivian Pearson. I live at 926 West College Street here in Florence, Alabama. I just want to publicly and personally thank our mayor for allowing me the opportunity to speak with him on yesterday. Our conversation was very warm, very friendly. I left with more understanding than I went with. I publicly want to say thank you, mayor. I'm concerned about the community development block grant program that is being run uh through the city through our department head and I want the city council to take a look at it. Take a strong look at it. Take a long hard look at it the way it is being run. I am deeply concerned about it. I have my reasons for being deeply concerned. But I want you all as a council to take a look at it. make sure it's being run right because it's coming from the department of uh federal funding HUD and it's very important if we maintain we got to run it right at this point I want to say thank you for allowing me to share you all have a wonderful evening thank you anyone else to my right

good evening I want to my name is Donna Tate I live in District 2. Um, I want to congratulate our new city council and Mayor Tyler. If you don't mind if you'll state your address, please.

Oh, 2011 North Oak Street, Florence. Um, I'm excited to see the new blood in our city council and look forward to what you will accomplish. I know some of you personally and I've already seen firsthand um the work that you do for others in our community. And I truly believe that this council will be a boots on the ground and not just um driven by personal agendas. I think that you're committed to serving the best interest of the citizens in your district and the overall good of our community. You know, we all live here and are you going to make everybody happy all the time? No. So, and I have to make notes because if not, I'll be all over the place. So, anyone who knows me knows the passion I have for as an animal advocate. Um, we're incredibly fortunate to have the amazing animal advocates in our area. I see what these heroes do. Not for recognition or glory, but simply to help some of the most vulnerable of God's creatures. Whether you're an animal lover or not, having a strong animal services like we do in Florence Lauderdale Animal Services affects you. Um, it impacts everyone's life. Who are you going to call if you have a stray or an injured animal? If you don't have an animal services like we do, you can ask some of our fellow um counties like Franklin County. Um they they would love to have half of what we have. So, speaking of injured animals, I've heard some people say that why not just put an injured animal down. Well, that might be somebody's beloved pet. If you have an animal that comes up missing and they're lost for two weeks, that baby's not going to look like what it did whenever it left your house two weeks ago. Uh so what are you going to do? They find a one that's been been hit. What are you going to do? Are you going to put it down immediately? Are you going to let it lay there in pain while it's on the stray hold? Or are you going to seek

medical treatment for that for that animal? So, uh, you know, recently, I'm sure a lot of people, anybody who follows Facebook is aware of the two doodles that came up missing from the Simpsons and both were finally returned home. But it was witnessed that someone actually intentionally tried to run over one of them. So, what if that dog had been hit? And I can guarantee you those people would have been devastated if their dog had just been put down. But like I said, we're fortunate that we do have the services around here and we have a lot of advocates that work hard to try to support that as well. Um, and I'm I may be mistaken. I don't know. But I don't know if there's another department in the city that the public pours into like they do the animal shelter. Whether it be time, whether it be money, donations, food, blankets, everything. And that's because of how amazing it is and the work that they do and because so many people care about the animals. They don't choose their situations. We just try to make them better. Um and you know that speaks that just speaks volumes. And the reason that we support them so is because it is amazing and Cheryl Jones is an amazing director. If people don't know her or some of her staff, you really need to get to know them. The things that they face every day and what they have to do. Um, she is well educated in what she does. She's got a lot of experience. She knows the laws and she's going to do what's right by an animal. Um, I have I have seen them do for, you know, for the public. We there's a food pantry for people who cannot afford to feed their animals. um it allows them to keep them in the home with them instead of having to surrender it to the shelter because a lot of times those dogs don't do well and they could be top of the list to be euthanized. So I don't know what the budget is, what the outcome was for the

shelter. I I just know that we are all affected by it whether you are have ever been in it or whether you go out there all the time like some of us do. what goes on there trickles down because like I said, if you've got a stray dog, you've got an aggressive dog, who are you going to call? Because like I said, you can talk to people from other counties and they can tell you it's not good when you have no one to reach out to. So, um I appreciate all the support that um they get from people and um can't wait to see what y'all all do this year. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else to my right? Katie Palmer, 1630 Decator Avenue. Good evening. The role of animal shelter director is tense with emotional challenges stemming from the suffering of animals due to neglect, abuse, and illness. alongside a relentless influx of new arrivals, particularly young puppies and kittens. This position position is compounded by significant operational and financial pressures necessitating ongoing fundraiser effort, intricate management of staff and volunteers, and adapt public relations skills. The director, Cheryl Jones, must also navigate difficult decisions which can lead to high levels of burnout, anxiety, depression despite a profound love for animals. Additionally, the legal complexities involved, such as handling cases with as many as 82 dogs at once, further complicates the responsibilities. This is not a conventional 9-to-five job. It demands roundthe-clock commitment to address continuous crisis, manage staff well-being, and uphold the welfare of numerous lives. Success in this role required exceptional organizational skills, sound judgment, leadership, comprehensive knowledge of animal laws, and the ability to maintain compassion and resilience under constant pressure. Experiencing the daily responsibility of the shelter firsthand would provide

invaluable insight into its operations. A typical day from 9 I'm sorry from 8 to 5 encompasses a wide range of task including cano cleaning feeding giving medication process animal processing animal intakes vaccination assisting potential adopters capturing stress of injured animal among other duties. Budget cuts would only intensify the challenges of running the shelter effect uh effectively. If the city must reduce his budget, a fair approach, in my opinion, would be to implement cuts across all departments. In my view, the city of Florence has one of the finest animal shelters characterized by its profound commitment to rescuing, caring for, and ensuring a joyful and healthy life for the animals in its care. The shelter excels in matching each animal with the ideal adoptive family, fostering lasting bonds. I urge the mayor and the city council members and the community to continue the support for the for this vital instit institution including its director staff and dedicated volunteers. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else to my right?

Helloapoo 1718 Maple Avenue. I just want to briefly um I'm in district uh one and I just want to briefly uh say something in reference to we've been asking for um block what do you call them when for the for speeding speed cushions

speed cushions yes um where I live it's right at the end of hope and maple so it can be a blind spot the cars coming fast both ways. So, I have literally back up in the driveway cuz I'm afraid to back out of the driveway. And we've had some major accidents whereas two young men's was racing and uh literally ran up on the post lady uh Sherry, that's the postwoman for the uh post office, and tore her porch down. One car went over in one yard and the other one went in her yard. And just recently we had another accident where uh the gentleman I think he lived right down the street. He was going fast and Sherry's husband car was parked on the street and he ran over that car. The traffic there is horrendous coming up on Maple and it's very short. is is we're right there um not far from the uh field, the soccer field. And they I I think you had given us information saying that there had been some type of information or uh research or whatever. I've been there almost three years now and there has not been anything over there. I've not seen any type of of um cord or whatever you put down to check the the speed and you can hear it late at night. You can hear it in the morning and they go so fast even with my camera. I can't catch it. And and I'm asking for that to really be checked because somebody is going to really get hurt there. We've had three two accidents and one um other one probably

the first year I moved back over there. And the other thing I want to uh reiterate is um I want to touch a little bit on what Miss Edwards was I'm sorry, Miss Pearson shared about block grants. Um, I had the opportunity to assist my brother Nim with that the block grant and they had gotten really high up on it, but yet because of um I shared I was helping them, I shared that the person who was sent out to look at the house and they came out at night and nobody knew they were coming, but they were sent out by the city, the individual that's over the plot grant. And when I called them and talked to them the next morning about that, uh they shared with me that that person gets all the city contracts. And I said, "Well, in that isn't that a conflict of interest?" And um she told me, "Well, you don't have to use them if you don't want to." I said, "Well, I wouldn't want to." Because I had literally put all the paperwork together, gotten all the estimates from the three different um businesses that you had to do. I had submitted everything for my brother and uh then after that, I kept checking back after I said that and it was gone. Well, we're not doing that anymore. It's been transferred over to Habitat for Humanity. I contact them. They could never It was a runaround. a runaround. So now I understand that now it's with um uh

community action. I'm sorry. Community action.

Yes, community action. But uh I even tried to ask can you please share with me then who was the individuals that uh was awarded? Well, it's personal. But my question was how can it be personal when it's federal government money? It's block grant money. It's from the federal government. And I agree with Miss Pearson that that situation need to be reviewed and it needs to be a lot of transparency there because it's not right now. And the person that they said get uh all the contracts and and that was another thing I didn't quite understand. Why would you have me to go out and get three contracts? We I [clears throat] had to get three different um quotes from if it was uh the windows, get three. If it was the roof, get three. If it was whatever it was, I had to get three. And I did that. But then you send someone out there and they go up on the house in the dark and scare the individuals in the house. My sister-in-law, which lived in the house, and uh when I get get over there, he tells me, he says, I said, "Why are you coming down off this roof?" He says, "Well, uh, you said you'd call me back." I said, "I hadn't talked to you." He said, "Yeah, you said, but you know when someone calling, if you busy, you just swipe up. I'll call you back."

You have one minute remaining.

Okay. I didn't know the number. He gave me the number. I said, "Okay, you did, but why didn't you call me back since I didn't call you?" Because how can you give an estimate at nighttime on a roof? And when she told me that he gets all the contracts, he he was a fireman and he gets all the contracts. I said, "Well, that's a conflict of interest, isn't it?" And after that, we no longer could get anywhere with that. It was transferred to the Habitat for Humanity. But yet, they never got the money either. So, I'd like some, you know, answers to that, some transparency, and really something done about the speeding on on Maple Avenue. It's It's bad. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Anyone else to my right? Okay, at this time we'll have council member reports with a fivem minute time limit starting with Mr. Spence.

Well, happy new year everyone and just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight and those who are watching online. This is um what we want. This is what this council is looking for people to be involved with um with our city, you know, government here. And thank you for all the comments tonight and and participating and being a part Also, I'd like to thank the mayor um and Sha Shaina and President Simmons and Josh and um council members Josh Bowling and Jackie Hendricks for moving the um the budget forward and grateful for our employees of our city and that we could give them a 2.5 proven tonight a 2.5 increase. We thank them for everything that they continue to do to keep our s city functioning. um be looking for a a district 5 uh community meeting in the near future. Um within the next month or two, we're going to be getting together and and having, you know, Q&As's and, you know, open for everyone to ask questions and see where our city's going. And um also just want to be grateful for this new year that we're walking into. And then I'm I'm grateful to stand with with the mayor and this city council and where we're embarking on the new, you know, in the future for 2026 and what um the possibilities are for our city and where we stand and and where we're going. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Spence, Miss King.

Thank you all for being here tonight. Happy New Year. Hope everyone has a great 2026. My phone number is 256-956-9621. Feel free to contact me anytime. Um January the 15th, 6 p.m. at um Parkway Community Church of God on Cox Creek, I will be having a District 6 meeting. So if you live in District 6, please um attend. If you cannot, please get with me. I would love to share some information with you. Thank you for all those who applied to the boards. We have lots of applications to look through. We appreciate you all for doing that, for stepping up and serving our community along with us. Thank you for the people from the launch program who came tonight. We are glad for all that you are doing for our city. Thank you to Miss Beas who was here also uh for the Kramer Children's Center. the work that they do is is just priceless. And I've been there several times and met with them and I just cannot tell you what a blessing they are um to our community. Last Monday I attended my first um planning commission commission meeting. Um the planning commission is a vital part of development and planning for our city. I'm glad to be a part of that and I look forward to uh the good work that is to to become of that. Thank you to our city employees. You deserve this raise. You all work so hard and we appreciate you. We're glad this budget um is passed. I know the department heads and the employees will be glad um to get things done and we're glad to see our city um moving forward. I want to say thank you to the Florence Fire Department uh for what they have done and their hard work. I mean, in getting this AALS certification, I have done

that myself. Spent many years um as a nurse with that certification. And I'm going to tell y'all, it is hard work what they are doing and what they are doing for this community. There are no words for. Um I'm so grateful for them and what they have done. They're so important um in making this future as we grow and things change in health care and our needs change. This is going to be huge for our community. And I just want to say thank you to our mayor. He works so hard. Um we're so appreciative of him. He is always accessible and communicates with us and just he is absolutely making this job incredibly easy for for us. And so thank you for that. And so thank you for all who've come out tonight who are listening from home. Um, we're here for you and we're grateful to serve you in this new year.

Thank you, Miss King. Councilman Hendricks,

good crowd tonight. Thank you all for being here. Um, M. Pearson, you handled that textbook style today with the mayor. Thank you for doing that. Uh, falls right into some of the comments I have tonight. You as well, you handled yourself very well at the microphone tonight. Thank you for how you did that and how professional you were. and Miss Simmons, thank you for reading the ordinance that you read tonight. Um, tonight, uh, I'd like to issue a formal apology to Mayor Tyler, uh, to our department heads and our employees of the city of Florence. At our last work session, someone on the agenda mentioned an employee by name while airing a complaint about that department head. Then during the public comment period of the council meeting, two more individuals mentioned grievances with city employees. And as President Simmons has already mentioned, uh city employees do not work for the council. And while we encourage citizens to be engaged and attend their council meetings, no mention of a city employees name with a malicious intent is ever acceptable during a portion of a council meeting. These situations should always be taken up privately by scheduling a meeting with the mayor as you did today. Uh my apology is for not intervening intervening on your behalf and I commit to being better prepared should it happen again in the future. So that is my apology to you mayor your department heads and our city employees. Um with that I want to wish everyone a happy new year and a prosperous 2026.

Thank you very much Miss Dixon.

All right. I have a few things today um just as I've been pondering over things. But first of all, I want to do um wish everyone a happy new year and I'm really looking forward to 2026 and seeing where our city um goes. It's it's going to be a great year. We've got um lots of enthusiasm and excitement within the city and um great employees that are here to work for for the city. So, thank you to them. And I I do want to second um what uh Miss King was saying about Mayor Tyler. I I really am grateful for his work and how communicative he's been with um the council members. So, thank you. I appreciate that. He's he is working hard and I I know he's really trying to to um put everybody first. So, thank you. Putting the city first. Um let's see. So, another thing I wanted to talk about, there was a an accident that happened, a fire. I don't know if you guys knew about it. It happened in my district last uh yesterday morning and um it was just a good reminder to me um after I talked with uh Chief Andertton about it. It's a good reminder for us to please check our smoke detectors within our homes. Um it it really can save a life um and save our families. So, please, let's just be reminded today, go home, check your check your um smoke detectors, and I I believe um council president is going to actually give a little bit more information on um some benefits that we have in the city for that. Um, another thing that has been on my mind, and this is kind of a a a funny thing. I only have five minutes, so I got to make this story really fast, but I I I fell [gasps] I've been pondering how um how we can raise the city. How can how can we better the city as as communities, as individuals? And I've been pondering

this and it's I woke up with this story that came to that I heard um a while ago. And basically it's about a piano that needed to be moved in a church, but where it was situated, you could not move it um with any sort of equipment. It it was going to be manpower only. And so this group of men got together and they were trying to figure out and they were sizing everybody up. Who's bigger? You stand over here. Who's smaller? You stand over here. Let's try this. Let's try that. And they just really couldn't get it to move. that they um over collaborating with each other and trying to figure it out. One person said, "Everybody stand close to close together and lift where you stand." And as I pondered on that this morning, I thought to myself within my own district, that is what I hope to accomplish, that we can come together as a community, come together, stand close, and lift where we stand to make things better. And um I do have a a district meeting that will be coming up. So I would like you to kind of watch out for that. Um putting some arrangements together for that. And I'm really excited. But not just as a district. Think about ways that you can stand close together within your own communities as a city and lift where you stand and and our city will be lifted. So that was something that that really came to mind. Um I also we have board applications out um that we're taking in for historical board and um appeals board and those are going to be really important. We really want to get that appeals board going. We need um more applications if you're interested especially district 3. We don't have anybody representing district 3 yet in any of the applications. So uh please look it over and think about um being a part of that. wish you all a great rest of your week and thank you for being here.

Thank you, Mr. Bowling.

Thank you, Miss Simmons. Uh happy new year to everyone. Good to see everyone here tonight. Uh we appreciate your attendance and everybody online. Um I would also like to say congratulations to the fire department. Uh that's an amazing achievement and uh the city is very proud of them. Uh as everybody should be very proud of them. uh the launch program. I learned about it last year and it's a awesome deal. Uh that's a that's so cool. They were they came and spoke to us at the exchange club and uh kind of laid it all out there. Now I know several kids who have been a part of that program. It's it's truly amazing. So mayor, thank you for uh um acknowledging them today. And I'd also like to say thank you to the mayor for he was our speaker today for exchange club. He did a great job. Uh very transparent. That's all I heard from all of our members. Uh he he laid it out there and you know it wasn't, you know, roses and sunshines. It was this is what's going on right now. So uh uh I appreciate that. Um as far as District 4, I would like to I have just launched a new Facebook page. It's called District 4 City of Florence Updates. Um, so if you are in District 4, you want District 4 updates, please go and and um like that page, um, we're going to have a a lot of information going uh on that. So, um, with community meetings, all that. So, that that will all be on there. And then also um something that we did, my wife and I, mainly my wife, uh, in 2020, she uh created a neighborhood watch for Edgemont, which is the neighborhood that I live in. So, we are working on trying to get that started for every neighborhood in District 4. Um, so there's information on that new Facebook page. So, if you are in District 4 and you live in another neighborhood other than Edgemont, we want to help you get a

neighborhood watch started there. Um it's it's very simple and um but it allows everyone in that area to communicate with each other uh and and gives we give you all the tools for that. So you can reach out to me and we can get more information out about that. And then uh I would like to also encourage people to uh apply for the board of appeals. We are trying to get that going. Uh I spoke with Mr. basin today with the building department and uh we really want to get this thing going uh hopefully either by the end of the January, 1st of February, get these people in place uh so we can start that process. Um so if you are uh if you have any kind of background in construction, electrical, uh appraisals, architecture, all of that, that would be very very handy to the city. Uh, and we would love to see you serve on our board of appeals. And, uh, that's all that I have tonight. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I too want to say again, happy new year to everyone and thank you all for coming out and um, speaking and sharing. Um, Miss Pool, on December the 10th, there was a list of streets that um, was provided to me. And on December the 10th, I shared those information and I got with the mayor. He responded back. Out of all of those streets, none of them, including Maple York Street, met the criteria. Um, it was reported that a study was done um a year ago and you can't do another one. Correct me if I'm wrong, mayor, until 18 months. So, it has been done. It just didn't meet the criteria. Out of all of them, it didn't. So in 18 months, unless the mayor dean something different, it can possibly be revisited and looked at again. But I did provide the information um back. Um I too want to say thank you to Mayor Tyler for being transparent and communicating and sharing with us. It's like a breath of fresh air. And so I just want to say thank you. I appreciate that. And I think that's what it's take uh to work with the mayor and the and the council and to move the city forward trying to keep the promises that we all ran on transparency and communication and to support one another and support the our districts and our city. Um in regards to um the appeals board I too can't stress enough applied. I know we have some district one. I want to see you guys well represented represented as well as the city at large. Um, as far as the fire department, kudos to them. They do an excellent job. All of our first responders, we do uh partner with them. They have a fire smoke detector campaign that they have been u doing for years and I've been part of it for the past I guess three years. And if

you need a smoke detector, I encourage everybody to get one. It is no charge to you. Just call the fire department, call me, call any of the council, request one. It's no charge. They'll come out and install it. It literally will save your life. So, I just can't encourage you enough to make sure that you get some smoke detectors if you know of somebody who don't have them. Look out for a neighbor, look out for a friend, and call us and let's make sure that we get those um taken care of. on February the 21st. Health is our wealth and we need to take care of our temple. So the fourth annual show scaleback will be held on February the 21st at the Coach Harvest Mitchell Gym is put on by myself uh Susan Bentley nurse practitioner Dr. Javar Ma Jones and city of uh parks and wreck. We are partnered with that to put that on. And so please everybody come out get take charge of your health. you get all this free information. If you go to to the doctor, he's going to charge you, but come get it for free because we have the health professionals there that you can um you can get that. Um let's see. I think Dr. Shepard, in regards to you about the money, as you read what I read, I tried. So surely we'll look at that again. Uh the handyfest, it brings in a lot of people, a lot of revenue. So hopefully we can get that back up to u the 20,000 where it's always been. I didn't even know you was a president. So maybe you guys can also collaborate u share with the council um who's your new officers because I don't know about them but I had no idea that you was the president um at this time. So maybe you all can come and share with the council uh what you're doing. Certainly get some financials in and just share with us what you all are doing. I don't have no idea who on your board, who on your committee are really a lot of what you do. So maybe that's a starting point to

to share to enlighten us and and not just not picking on you, but I think everybody who asked for funding need to come and grace the podium at some time or another and share. You want the money, come talk to us. And I'm not picking on you. I have a problem.

Okay. [laughter] Well, I'm not you're just happen to be sitting there. So, but I'm talking to everybody who's listening, you get appropriations, I think you should come and speak. Yeah. Then that's just there it is. And um I think with everything being said in regards to the community development block grant um funding, Miss Pearson, she did come. I was with her in that meeting with Mayor Tyler. It was a good meeting. um this pool. I suggest Mayor Tyler, I saw him taking notes, so he already knows and he is going to be looking into further uh dive deeper into uh that. He's already told us he's going to do a follow-up with that. So, he's he's on it and he'll get back with us to see where we are with that at this point. And if there's nothing else, Mir, did you have anything you want to say? Okay, we will stand and be dismissed. Again, thank you all. Happy New Year. here. We appreciate your support. We'll have a closing prayer by Miss Dixon.

Dear Father in heaven, we're thankful for this time that we've been able to meet together as a city council along with the other communities that have participated in this meeting with us. We're thankful for their participation, for their ideas, their thoughts, and their concerns. We ask you that you will please guide us in in the ways that we need to to better this city and to raise awareness in places that need awareness and uh be people of action that we can work and and do those things that will better the people that we serve and the communities in which we live. We ask a blessing that you will give unto this city and to those people within it. Um bless those with heavy hearts. Bless those with physical needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs, and help us in know in which ways we can reach out and help and lift others at all times. And we ask for thy protection as we go um to our homes this evening and about the rest of our week. be with us always in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.