City Council - Regular Meeting

For the pledge.

Eternal God, our Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you to continue to keep our police and our fire safe. Continue to keep every resident safe, even in the storm. And we just ask that you continue to let us do your will. In Jesus' name, amen.

Alexander.

Present.

Spitali. Here. Kalwinski.

Here.

Salinas.

Present.

I gotcha, okay. Tyler. Here. Emerson. Here. Warple.

Here.

Rakos. Here. Vanes.

Here. Let the record show nine are present, two virtually, seven in chambers.

Good evening, Mayor. Hi, thanks, Council President. It's good to see you all. Welcome back. This is my report for July 27, 2026. We've been following along the saga of Clark High School and Gavit High School and the wrestling match between the school city of Hammond and the civil city so we can take possession of these buildings and demolish it and move forward with our lives. I got good news on Gavit. I mean, we're moving forward on Gavit Clark. We're still in a holding pattern, Councilman Mark, but we're working on it. The fact that we're moving forward, I think, is positive. We have a memorandum of understanding between the school city, Hammond, and Purdue Northwest regarding the use of the area of the former Gavit High School football field. So they're not talking about the building itself. They're talking about the area behind the building. Purdue is looking to expand their sports program. They're looking to use those fields. They've been talking about this for years. Our action Through the demolition process, putting us on the demo list has prompted Purdue and School City Hammond to get together, prompted the School City Hammond, let's be honest, to get together. Purdue has always been willing. They entered into a memorandum of understanding for the next year to explore the possibility of moving forward with this property. I think it's great news. I'm obviously a fan of Purdue's expansion across the city. They've expanded into the second district, downtown Hammond. Obviously, they're all over the fifth district. And the sixth? No. No, I think it's just the fifth in Hammond, really. I guess they have a little bit in the sixth district. But for the most part, Purdue Northwest does a great job when they own property, and I appreciate their continued expansion. So they'll be looking to get into the fourth district in this case, I guess, right? No, Gavin, it's yours. Never mind. I'll just stop talking. This is a summary for Festival of the Lakes. We had five nights of the Festival of the Lakes. On Wednesday, we had freestyle night. Well, in addition to the golf outing and the car show and Polka Fest, which I attended, in addition to all the stuff, the 5K, all the stuff, the special person's day, the fishing derby, the stuff that is just constantly going during that week. We also have the main acts. And we took attendance through the grace of the Hammond Police Department. They have the ability to count tenants. And we had 9,000 people attend freestyle night. That was the first time we've done that. It's a low-cost option. It gives us good options for Wednesday night. I think, for the most part, we broke even that night when it came to money. When you count the fact that the beer garden made $40,000 that night, we had a pretty good night. So jelly roll, we had 7,700 people in the park that day. That's a concert. It would have been $25,000 to $50,000 if we had had a free show like everything else, but we held it down because it's a concert. We did really well revenue-wise. close to $800,000 worth of tickets, $70,000 in the beer garden alone. So we had a good night with Jelly Roll. The offspring, it was our best night as far as the amount of money we made. And that's because we won the insurance lottery that night. It rained 0.35 inches after 5 o'clock. I was doing the rain dance in Robertsdale. I was very, very happy for our city. So we got our money for the act that night, plus the act played, which is the perfect scenario for Festival of the Lakes. Offspring had a great show that night. Bear Garden did great. $50,000 in the Bear Garden. $30,000 parking. It was a really, really good night. So I love it when it rains during the Festival of the Lake, especially if we can get the act on. So Saturday, we're going to talk about that. When we get done with this, it was ridiculously packed. I talked to... So first off, we had 17,000 people showed up for that show. We did really well revenue-wise, as you'd imagine when you have 17,000 people show up. However, we did have a number of people that got blocked out from the massive crowd. These are free shows. That was a free show that night. I was talking a little earlier about Kevin Gates and Moneybagg Yo. At the Festival of the Lakes, we're used to getting bands that are not currently relevant. gentlemen are currently relevant and we saw a massive crowd it's a free show um and in a lot of cases i know i talked to councilwoman alexander uh paying customers couldn't get in because they were blocked out by the free customers which is a danger when you're having a free show we locked in we also had complications that night because it rained the night before we lost half of the d lot that's our biggest lot So we lost half to D a lot. We have a massive show. A lot of people, a lot more people showed up than we anticipated and we got overwhelmed that night. Um, so we did really well revenue wise and we had agreed this week. We got the festival lakes team together. We do have a number of people like councilwoman Alexander that couldn't get into the show and it's not fair if they bought a ticket. and they paid for parking and they couldn't get into the show. So we agreed to refund everybody that could prove to us that they bought a ticket and they couldn't get into a show. So if you didn't scan your ticket, if you didn't scan your parking ticket, we've already started refunding the people in that situation. I know the councilwoman's a supporter. I apologize to her. Unfortunately, quite a few people in your situation, Councilwoman. So we did start the process of refunding this week. We didn't do a press release on it because if we did, we'd have thousands of people put in and we'd have to dig through them. We figured the real ones were the ones that contacted us already. So if you can prove to us and you haven't contacted City Hall about not being able to get into that show, we will refund you as long as your ticket wasn't scanned for parking or for the show. So Sunday, we had more people. But the D-Lot was in service on Sunday, and we were able to accommodate them. And by the way, well, we'll get to the D-Lot in a second. Sunday, we had our biggest day, 21,000 people, over 21,000 people, 80,000 in the beer garden that night. That was also a winner. We did really well. We bound El Recoto. That's the second time they played Hammond. They did a lot bigger night this time than they did the last time. So... Anyway, the problems we had with D-Lot are being rectified before next year's festival. We can't, especially because we lost Clark High School parking, we can't lose D-Lot. So we have to make D-Lot serviceable even when it rains, and we're working on that. We're not going to pave it because it's a park, but we're going to work on some options so that we can park even in a rain situation. That was the main culprit that night. So I apologize to Councilman Mark. We had a lot of people parking in the neighborhoods, and we fight against that. That was a bad night. I acknowledge it from where I sit. It was an overwhelming crowd. A lot of people were parking illegally. They were just trying to get in. Anyway, we learn a lot. Every year we run the fest, and we're going to fix it next year and do better. Did you have any questions, Councilwoman? I know you and I talked on that night.

off of one thing you didn't give the attendance for the offspring night you said i'm sorry the numbers but not the attendance eleven thousand seven hundred all right thanks twenty one thousand three hundred for bondo ricotta about seventeen thousand for money bag bill gates gotcha um i had those numbers um but that was the only one you didn't say you just said the gardener everything but um my my question well i know we talked about this is um maybe for the next probably two years before it's all the stuff with the bears come up and everything. Then maybe we go to R&B, maybe thinking about like a Fantasia or Boyz II Men or something, just to bring that crowd down, because we know when we bring rap, it does bring a different audience. I mean, we had a lot, I mean, just like the experience of driving on the road, just to get from the hotel to the actual 129th was like an hour and a half drive. You literally had people and the police did a really good job. I want to give them that their kudos. It was crazy. People getting out of their cars and walking down the middle of the street. It was like nuts. But the one thing is, like I said, if we kind of change the genre. We know music plays a lot of part in a lot of things that maybe for the next two years we can go down to an R&B type thing and change that atmosphere a little bit. And like I said, maybe a Fantasia or Boyz II Men or something, an older crowd to rectify some of those other issues that were going on that night.

I appreciate the input. It was, I agree with you, by the way, and we do all kinds of music. We don't do rap every year. Like, we did Akon last year, Akon's not, and we didn't have any problems like this. Right. But it was a much smaller crowd also, so sometimes you get overwhelming crowds. That was a night of overwhelm. Absolutely. And, you know, and the reason it took you an hour and a half to get from the hotel, I don't deny that, to get down Calumet Avenue is they were out of parking.

Exactly.

And they were like, like, where do we put all these cars? So...

Yeah, and I talked to a couple of officers on the road and everything, and they were like, it's closed. And then the other suggestion was maybe, even in the instance of that, maybe the council people get a special pass or there's some type of parking somewhere for them to be able to get in and still continue to support and continue to monitor, give those updates.

You guys get the sponsor because you're sponsors, and we couldn't even get the sponsors in because they were blocked out by the street crowd. But we'll work with you, and I appreciate the recommendations, Councilwoman. Any other questions about that? I haven't even got into my report yet. I mean, as far as, I don't have a lot, actually, because Festival of the Lakes was a lot of it. Summer is scheduled over the last two weeks. Appeared on WJAB morning show with Tom Dabberton to discuss 2026 Festival of the Lakes. Interviewed by NBC Channel 5 Marianne Ahern for the latest updates on the possibility of the Chicago Bears locating their stadium to Hammond. Spoke to all the Festival of the Lakes employees before opening day. I do that every year. I, like, remind them that there's going to be 100,000 people that come through here. We've got to be nice. We've got to, like, it's like Disneyland. We do the Disneyland speech every year. So attended full, NERPC full commission meeting in Portage, Indiana, right in the middle of the festival. That was painful, but I made it because we got to represent Hammond. So, appeared on Chicago Bears podcast, Brags in the Stand, concerning the latest update on the possibility of the Bears locating to Hammond. Lunched with the executives from the engineering firm American Structure Point in regards to numerous Structure Point projects across the city of Hammond. Internal meeting to discuss complaints from the Saturday night show and ability to get into the venue because of the massive crowd size. That was where we decided we were going to refund for the people that could prove that they didn't get through, like the councilwoman. And then attended the summer concert series to see Fleetwood Mac cover band from Chicago, Secondhand News. And I do want to remind people every Saturday at the pavilion for the rest of the summer, we're doing the summer concert series. I forgot who's playing this Saturday, but every Saturday night, they're great bands. And we had around 500 people to watch secondhand news this week. It's free. You can bring your own food, bring your own drinks. So reminder, quality of life issue. You can go out there for free and enjoy the pavilion every week the entire summer. So that's all I got, Councilwoman, unless you have any questions.

Thank you. You're right. It was the biggest crowd I remember there since we started this. It was a nice crowd. So kudos. Anything new regarding data center property?

No, being honest. I think the data center group was shocked that we met what we said. We said January and July 1st, if we don't have an answer, we're not going to talk about it. And July 1st came, and I haven't talked to them. I ran into one of the principals of decennial, and we talked. It wasn't about that, though. It was just being nice to each other, seeing each other. But I haven't heard anything, Councilman, since the first of the month. I did get an update from the state of Indiana today on what's going on with the bears, still moving forward. A lot of testing going on in our city right now. Testing's great, but results take a bit of a time. So I knew that when we started this new curveball, so to speak, it was going to cost us some time. This is what we're dealing with right now. And Chicago Media still wants to talk about it, but there's not really much to talk about right now. The Bears are holding all the cards, and they're doing a lot of testing in our city. And I can tell you they're very focused. Every consultant, every lawyer they have is working on Hammond. That's it. They're not working on Arlington Heights. They're not working on Chicago. They're working on Hammond. All of them, the lawyers, the engineers, the consultants, the PR people, they're all working on Hammond. They're in Hammond. They're working on Hammond. They're testing Hammond. I know we hear a lot of stuff from the Chicago media that it's like, oh, this is the new city that's going to get the Bears stadium. No, it's not. No, it's not. Because they have the same problem Arlington Heights has, the same problem Chicago has. Illinois can't afford it. That's their problem. So when they come up with all these curveballs, it's like, oh, McCook wants to throw it out there. Oh, about this place. I just ignore it to stay focused on getting the bears what they need in Hammond where all of their consultants and all their lawyers are working so that we can close this deal by hopefully fall. And hopefully we're all celebrating in the fall. I think that's reasonable. So any other questions?

Madam President.

Yes.

Mayor, what I did not say during the other portion was kudos to the team. They did an amazing job, as usual, from police, fire. I mean, just watching police and fire in action on those nights when people were getting overheated and things. They did an amazing job. So parking people just want to make sure that they get their kudos because it is a lot of work. for them on those nights. A lot of them are coming from working their regular shift and then doing the fest. Kudos to all of those that did work for the event.

There's hundreds of hours the team puts in during that week. Absolutely.

Eileen did a great job.

No, I appreciate it, Councilman. I know it's frustrating for the people that couldn't get in. It sucks. You know, we don't want it to be like that. But then Councilman Marks said it was one of the biggest night he can remember. I'll be honest. And the numbers don't bear out what I saw. It was crazy. It was bigger than that. It was bigger than the number. It was crazy.

That was just the number inside. Yeah, that was the number inside. The number outside was big, too. The number on the outside was crazy.

I agree with you, Councilwoman. That was one of the biggest nights I remember at the festival. It reminds me of Los Tucanes de Tijuana, which was our biggest night ever. That's what Saturday night reminded me of. Yeah. So I apologize to the people that didn't get in. If you paid VIP, you're getting refunded. If you paid for parking and you didn't use it, you're getting refunded. We're not being unfair about this. The fest isn't there to gouge you. It's there to... break even. So I think we might have actually done it this year, which is wonderful.

Mayor?

Yes, sir.

I kind of hesitate to say this, but the Jelly Roll show.

I knew you were going to talk about the Jelly Roll.

I know a lot because of my son's lifestyle. I know a lot of people and families that struggle.

Mm-hmm.

and the feedback that I got personally and what I saw out there from these people that suffer in silence and to see the tears that I saw. I've been asked by several people to thank you for bringing him to Hammond.

He was a nice guy. It was really cool. He went to, I know it was covered a little bit, but sometimes people aren't reading the newspaper. You know, Jelly Roll spent the day in Hammond. That day he flew into the Gary Airport, drove to the Sportsplex, his whole team, played basketball at the Sportsplex for like three hours. taking pictures with the people over there. I know the Sportsplex staff and all that. Then he came over to the show, and it was like a revival. It was really neat. I've never been to a Jelly Roll show. He was a really nice person. He got tattooed from a Hammond tattoo artist. Ate Greek food from a Hammond Greek restaurant. Tzatziki. And then the tattoo lady. He even got tattooed in our city.

He's the only artist I've ever seen tattooed. that drove his own car into the show. And he had the coolest police escort ever. And when he got out of the car, he made the comment, That's the best police escort he's ever had where the police were in front of him. But he really thought that the way Hammond treated him wasn't impressive. No, that was a neat night, Dave. Yeah.

Yeah, I agree.

But just the people that suffer in silence that I saw out there and the feedback I got from them, they really appreciated that show.

And I appreciate you bringing that up, Dave, and reminding me about that night. That night was important for a lot of things. That was a big band for us. It's the biggest band we've ever had, I dare say. The biggest act we've ever had. And that act brought out a bunch of bigwigs from, like, the company that books all these acts. And there was this big executive in the audience that day. And he saw the way we all were handling things backstage and the way Jelly Roll was happy with everything. That's huge for us. It's like passing a test, guys. So Festival of the Lakes, you know... We could keep on booking acts like this if we keep on doing a good job. So thankfully they weren't there Saturday night. So anyway, anybody have any more questions? I know I've probably gone too long. I apologize. Anyone else?

Anyone else?

Thanks, everybody. Thank you, Mayor. By the way, this is not a one-person job. I've seen a lot of cities where the council and the mayor don't get along. I've seen a lot of cities that don't move forward because the council and the mayor are constantly fighting. So, like, everything we're celebrating in Hammond is because you guys, it is. Like, I can't do this by myself. So, I appreciate the council and everything you guys have done for a long time to put us where we are. We're in a good spot right now. So, thank you, guys. Have a good council meeting.

Thank you. Have a good evening, Mayor. Thank you. Moving on to approval of minutes.

I make a motion that we accept the minutes and place them on file, please.

Second.

Motion by Councilman Salinas, second by whom? Councilman Emerson. Any discussion? Any discussion? Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Nine in favor, zero opposed. Moving on to approval of claims.

Madam President. Yes, Councilman. Move for approval of claims, beginning with claims dated 7-14-26 and ending with claims dated 7-22-26. Claim number 5477 through claim number 5899 inclusive. The amount of $5,587,261.86. Second. Motion by Councilman Rakos, second by Councilman Werpel. Any discussion?

Any discussion? Any discussion? Clerk Golic, roll call vote, please.

Alexander. Yes. Spitelli. Yes. Galwinski.

Yes.

Salinas.

Yes.

Tyler. Yes. Emerson. Yes. Warple. Yes. Rakos. Yes. Lanez.

Yes. Motion carries, nine in favor, zero opposed.

Moving on to public hearings. Item A, ordinance 26-20, sponsored by Councilman Warple. An ordinance to appropriate monies into the 2026 gaming fund.

Anyone wishing to speak on ordinance 2620, please approach the podium. Or George, if you have anything to say online, you're more than welcome. Anyone wishing to speak on 2620? Last time, anyone wishing to speak on 2620? Public hearing is now closed. Moving on to communications. Does anyone have any communications? I would like to acknowledge that we received correspondence from George Stoya today and it has been given to the clerk's office and placed on file. We also received correspondence from Mr. Aguilera this evening. It will be distributed to each of the council people. Any other questions? Any other communications? Any other communications? Any other communications? Communications are now closed. Moving on to committee reports. Uh, plan, uh, yes.

Committee commission was there for July 20th. Uh, the prisoner was the Dave's Imperial coatings. Uh, this, uh, starting parcels were consulated into one parcel to create a final address of 1175 state street.

Thank you. Councilman, uh, councilman tire, uh, Tyler economic development, uh,

No updates from the Economic Development Committee.

Thank you. Councilman Morpo, finance?

Although this ordinance wasn't in finance, 2620 will be coming out. It pertains to the gaming funds.

Thank you. Thank you. And who is giving the capital improvements? I will do that. Report. Thank you.

We met on July 20th, 26, three things were passed. New business was passed, funding allocation number 335, the amount of $110,465.97. It's a Walnut Avenue alley drainage project, the 4900 block of Walnut. and the amount was given to Dyer Construction. We also had a funding allocation number 336, design air curtains for the sportsplex. Structure point is the receptor of the allocation, and the amount is $11,400. We also had a funding allocation number 337, rail crossing signage and striping. DCCM engineers in the amount of $168,000. Thank you, Councilman.

And as usual, I'll announce the few community and crime watch meetings that have been scheduled. As I've mentioned before, school starts the middle of August and that's when our regular crime watch meetings will resume because we utilize the schools. Community Watch at Mount Zion Pleasant View Plaza will not meet until September. That date is to be determined. East Hammond Pullman Crime Watch will meet Tuesday, August 18th, 6 p.m. at the Ophelia Steen Center. Edison Community Watch will meet 6.30 p.m. at Edison School. That date is to be determined in September. Harrison Park Crime Watch will meet at the VFW on Holman Avenue. 6 p.m. The date in September, I believe it's going to be September 1st, but I'll update you on that at the next meeting. Council meeting. Hessville Crime Watch will meet at the HC3 Community Center, 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 20th. Irving Community Watch will meet 9.30 a.m. The date is to be determined. Generally, it's Tuesdays. South Holman Avenue Neighborhood Watch meets at Trinity Lutheran Church on 173rd and Holman. Their date is yet to be determined. It's generally in October. Whiting-Robertsdale Prime Watch will meet at Calumet College on Thursday, August 13th, 6.30 p.m. And Jefferson Crime Watch will meet at Jefferson School. The date is to be determined. I also wanted to announce that National Night Out is coming up. That is next Tuesday, August 4th, from 4.30 to 8 PM, up at the Wolf Lake Pavilion. Enjoy a free, fun family night with neighbors and first responders. Get up close with the vehicles from the Hammond Police and Fire Departments, the Lake County Sheriff's helicopter. plus canine demonstrations, vendors, giveaways, pontoon rides. The first 500 kids will receive swag bags. So that is coming up Tuesday, August 4th, from 4.30 to 8 p.m. at the Wolf Lake Pavilion. And as usual, I encourage everyone to... Come out to a crime watch meeting, learn what's going on in your neighborhood. Meet some of your neighbors and more importantly, the police officers who patrol your neighborhood and allow us to sleep at night knowing that they're there to protect us. Because community is not just about me, it's about us. Okay, moving on to ordinance, third reading, final passage.

Ordinance number 2620 sponsored by Councilman Warple. An ordinance to appropriate monies into the 2026 gaming fund.

Madam President. Councilman Warple. I move for final passage and adoption of 2620. Second. Second.

Motion by Councilman Warple, second by Councilwoman Alexander. Any discussion?

Madam President.

Yes, Councilman.

This ordinance is nothing more than carrying over the money from 2020, the gaming funds of 2025 into 2026. For instance, if you put in money for a program in parks that is ongoing or whatever and it wasn't all spent in 2025, it carries over to 2026. And it also carries over the unused funds that we get every year into the new year.

Thank you. Any other discussion? Any other discussion? Any other discussion? Clerk Golic, roll call vote, please.

Alexander. Yes. Spitelli. Yes. Kalwinski. Yes. Salinas.

Yes. Yes.

I need to see you, Councilman.

We need to see your, there we go.

I apologize, difficulties, yes, thank you.

Tyler. Yes. Emerson. Yes. Warple. Yes. Rakos. Yes. Vanes.

Yes, motion carries, nine in favor, zero opposed.

President Vanes, that concludes the ordinances for final passage.

Moving on to introduction of ordinances.

Item A, ordinance number 26-22, sponsored by Councilman Warpel. An ordinance creating new funds 4456, 2258, 2260, 2245, and 2503 for certain city operations and projects.

Madam President.

Yes, Councilman.

I move for this on first and second reading. placed in council as a whole for the meeting of, I'm looking at my calendar, August 10th at 5.15 p.m. Second.

Motion by Councilman Warple, second by Councilman Kalwinski for first and second reading of 2622. Any discussion?

Madam President.

Yes, Councilman.

This basically is the city controller request that new funds be created and dedicated for the city for accounting purposes for specific accounts such as the city hall TIF, the lane mileage, direct distribution, building and construction, construction-related fees, the residential rental, lease regulation. I can't speak tonight. And the Cameron Street Light Project.

Thank you. Any other discussion? Any other discussion? Any other discussion? Clerk Golick, roll call vote, please.

Alexander. Yes. Spitelli. Yes. Kowalski. Yes. Salinas.

Yes.

Tyler. Yes.

Yes.

Emerson? Yes. Warple? Yes. Rakos? Yes. Vanez?

Yes. Motion carries. Nine in favor, zero opposed.

President Vanez, that concludes the introduction of ordinances.

Thank you, clerk. Moving on to resolutions, there are none. New and unfinished business.

Madam President.

Yes, Councilman.

Earlier in... Communications, you brought up Mr. Aguilera's letter that we all received. Just to address it as an overview, Councilman Rakos and I have been working with Sounds of Sarah. It's an organization that brings attention to saving lives, and I don't know the exact medical term, but it's to Narcan. And Sounds of Sarah provides Narcan boxes for any city or town buildings that want to be used. As far as the vending machines go, I am aware that there's one in front of Barton's Pizza. But those are more on the owner to get them, if that makes any sense.

Thank you.

I know the Griffith Fire Department has a Narcan vending machine. in front of it and you can do that it's free to the public or we can get these narcan boxes that through sounds of sarah so i just wanted to make the point clear that it's not it's not as easy as just saying we want the vending machines because there's a process you have to go through if you're a business or an organization that wants them and there is a maintenance fee on them Whereas the alternative is to, and I'm not sure if the schools take the Narcan boxes, but I know all city and town buildings are eligible to get these boxes. And like I said, Councilman Rakos and I have been working with Sounds of Sarah to make that a priority. for the coming you know the rest of the year so it requires some work yeah it's i've been working through patty stovall who runs sounds of sarah it's her daughter that passed away and uh i hope that clears that up as far as it's not that we are ignoring the vending machines it's just it's a more complicated process you actually have to get business owners to either apply for a grant to get the machine or buy the machine outright. And to fill it, it's like $1,500 every time you fill the machine. And in the perfect world, a lot of businesses would want them, but there's also financial constraints with that program. Okay, thank you.

Thank you. Any other new and unfinished business? Any other new and unfinished business? Any other new and unfinished business? New and unfinished business is now closed. Special zoning action adopted under Indiana Code 36-7. There is nothing. Public expression. Paul Aguilera.

I'm going to try to get through this without coughing. And actually, just to clarify, Councilman Whirlpool, sorry to confuse you with our conversation the other day. The communication from today that I put forward is actually a draft ordinance for something I call the Welcome Home Veterans Program. You're good, actually, but... I'd love to talk more about that. I'll bring that up later. There's a program that actually allows the fire department itself as a first responder organization to apply for a grant for Nalox boxes or Narcan vending machines. The fire department themselves can do that. The city, I'm not sure it needs to be an ordinance, more of a resolution, but we'll get that in a second. I'm using a lot of my time. What you have in your inboxes and the council has at the inbox, and I've shared with some of you already, is something called the Welcome Home Veterans Ordinance. This is a policy that I couldn't find actually enacted anywhere else in Indiana, but a bunch of other states have these on the municipal and state level, which basically waives all permitting fees for honorably discharged veterans who want to move to Hammond, purchase a home. build a home or do an addition or remodel. This is an easy, like low barrier to entry way to encourage veterans to move to Hammond, especially with Hammond's kind of initiative to encourage development in the city with the new housing lots that were just carved up in Harrison Park and auctioned off. Clark sports fields, and this type of ordinance was so popular in Illinois that so many towns and cities adopted it that it actually became state law over time. I looked all over. I couldn't find an example of this anywhere in Indiana, so it's also good to be first. So for examples like this, if we want to lead the way in welcoming veterans and thanking them for their service, I think this is a great example. I hope you'll review the ordinance, and it'll meet with your liking, and somebody will sponsor it, and it'll meet with your approval and acceptance. Any questions?

Thank you. Thank you very much. I don't have anyone else on the list. Anyone on the screen that would like to speak? Lori, Dave, George? Okay. Public expression is now closed. Motion to adjourn?

I'll make a motion to adjourn.

Second. Motion by Councilwoman Alexander, second by Councilman Morpel. All those in favor? Aye.