City Council - Regular Meeting

All right. Thank you. I'd like to call this March 23rd, 2026 council meeting to order. If you please rise for the pledge of allegiance. 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. Thank you, Mr. Thank you. Will the clerk please call the role? Hair. Here. Isabella here. Lamb here. Simmons here. Simpson Coin here. D Salvo here.

Reading of the minutes. Mr. President is here. I move that the minutes from the meeting on March 9th, 2026 as prepared and submitted by the clerk of council be approved. Second. Discussion on the minutes. Will the clerk please call the role on the approval of the minutes? Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Hair, yes. Motion passes 6. Reports of standing committees. The finance committee met prior to council this evening and will meet again prior to our next council meeting. Most items or all the items on the council agenda went through finance health um public properties. Miss her.

Mr. President, I have nothing to report and have no meetings scheduled at this time. Thank you. Thank you. Special legislation, Mrs. Salvo. Thank you, Mr. President. We had a special legislating meeting again today prior to finance. Um, we got some really good information from two other cities on how they dealing with their deer population. We are going to have another meeting as soon as I set up some dates probably before April 13th. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Streets and sidewalks, Mr. Isabella. Uh, we're going to uh have another meeting to follow up our previous one from the year on April 6. Okay. Uh, water and utilities, Mr. Simmons. Uh, thank you, Mr. President. No meeting scheduled and nothing to report.

Thank you. Emerging technologies, Mr. Lamb. Thank you, Mr. President. We did not have a meeting uh to report on, but we did have an advisory meeting to emerging technologies um which was um really really pretty interesting. We talked about everything from um cameras, flock cameras, self-driving cars, and door locks, um automatic door locks. So, it was it was a pretty interesting advisory advisory meeting, but we have nothing scheduled for a for a regular meeting.

Thank you. Requests for council action. We have several for the finance committee. We have 2666 budget amendments. 2667 advanced requests CDBG. 2668 expenditure for technology engineering group for the police department. 2669 bids for job number 1151 US42 resurfacing and repealing ordinance number 16925. 2670 bids for job number 1062 Prospect Street Bridge Replacement. 2671 LPA project agreement with ODOT. Job number 1099 for State Road and 2672 amends salary and benefits code for the parks department part-time labor position conversion. Uh reports of municipal officers, Mayor Shields.

Thank you, President Coin. Uh just two items tonight. I want to start with uh thank you regarding a recent storm. And believe it or not, I'm not going to talk about snow. I'm going to talk about high winds that we experienced on Friday, March 13th, and into that weekend. I wanted to publicly thank several of our city departments and employees. I'd like to first recognize the exceptional work of our dispatch team during the severe windstorm that day. During the height of the storm, dispatchers Crystal Vance, Jennifer Kio managed an extraordinary volume of incoming phone calls, radio traffic, and 911 calls. Despite the significant increase in activity, they handled the situation with professionalism, composure, and efficiency. The number of calls related to service related to down power lines, trees blocking roadways, other storm related hazards was substantial. At one point, Chief Kenny told me he'd never seen that many active calls at one time on the board in that dispatch center. Later in the day, dispatchers Patty Miller and Pat Vanua arrived and seamlessly took over operations, maintaining the same high level of professionalism and effectiveness. They continued managing the heavy workload of calls for service uh phone calls, radio traffic well into the night as the storm persist persisted for several hours. Events like this highlight just how critical the role of dispatcher is for the safety and effectiveness of our entire operation. Thanks to the operation that day and evening officers, firefighters, service department employees, which included employees from streets, parks, and forestry personnel had the information they needed to respond safely and effectively. Once again, our various city's employees rose to the challenge and provided exceptional service. To all involved on that Friday, that weekend, and the cleanup in the days afterwards, please accept my sincere appreciation for your dedication, outstanding performance during this challenging event. Thank you all for the continued commitment to the city of Madina, our residents, and other communities we serve through our dispatch center because again, it wasn't just the city, it was the townships, it was Mont um you know, fire with calls in Montville, Madina Township, it was the

police in Lafayette Township. Um it they just it was amazing to watch them figure things out so we could free up officers so they could go somewhere else once the street department got there. They it was uh quite the operation and really substantial. So thank you to everybody. The second thing I have tonight is a proclamation. March is Red Cross month and we have Steve Ferris here from the Red Cross. Steve is actually from Madina. Um we're drug Mart, but Steve is here representing the board of the Red Cross. So March is American Red Cross. As I mentioned, Madina is served by the Red Cross of Greater Akran and Mahoneying Valley District. The Red Cross has been in existence for 145 years. They provide services such as food and shelter during emergencies, provide life-saving blood supplies to patients, provide global support to military and veterans, and provide education and training for first aid, CPR, AED training. At this time, I'd like to present the Red Cross board member Steve with the City of Madina proclamation recognizing March's Red Cross month and thank the Red Cross for the services provided to Madina residents. Thank you, Steve.

Mr. Durham, director of finance.

Thank you, Mr. President. I want to remind everyone that the city of Madina does have an income tax. Um, you can get forms and pay online. We have Rita take care of collecting the tax for us and you can get those at rita.com. Then I want to take a minute and thank uh Kimberly Marshall and Barb Dour. We have a lot of America 250 events going on. And over this past weekend, um there was a glitz and glamour in the White House history of Ohio's first ladies and fashion in the White House event. And uh my 5-year-old and I had a daddyaughter date for that and she just loved it. So I want to thank them for all the events we have going on and everybody can look at the uh calendar that we have. We have a lot of events for America 250. Thank you, Mr. Huber, law director.

Thank you, Mr. President. I have no report. Thank you, Chief Kenny, Police Department. Thank you, Mr. President. I have no report. Mr. Toth, LST director. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh through February, the life support team responded to 629 calls for the city of Madina and for all three entities, we responded to 1,000 calls. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Boli, service director. Thank you, Mr. President. I have no report this evening. Mr. Glattis, building official.

Thank you. Uh, Mr. President, the windstorms we had caused some structural damage to three homes where trees had fallen through the roofs and then we had some facade damage to the new hotel. Uh, nothing that's going to delay the project. Everything's been taken care of. That's all I have. Thank you. I see Mr. Fry there, uh, communications director.

Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, as Mr. Durm just mentioned, I wanted to remind everyone that we do have the, uh, American 250 page on the city's website. If you go to our visitors section, uh you can see the America 250 section that will update you on all the calendar events happening, everything that's going on. But I wanted to focus on uh the section that we have is on our documentaries and videos page. You can go on there and see all the great documentaries and videos that we've produced uh over our time here as Madina TV and you can get up to date with those with the focus this month being on arts uh the arts. We have reaired a series called conversations in which Joanne King sits down with some of the local artists here in Madina. uh those focused will be on Fred Graph and Elaine Lamb uh this month. So make sure you tune in. The links will be on the website where you can watch on Facebook, YouTube, and also on the Madina TV website as well on demand at your convenience. I also wanted to thank uh Darren Zermba and Justin Fields for their work uh with our department to work through some issues we had last week with our live stream. Uh they were they were instrumental in getting us along with our department and getting things up and going this week. Uh so far, knock on wood, nothing has happened this week. We've been good. But it gave me a good opportunity that I wanted to point out other opportunities that you are able to watch us. Uh we have our Apple Fire TV app, which you just look for the city of Madina, Ohio. We also have it on the Apple App Store. You can just look the city of Madina, Ohio. And then if you have a Roku TV, you can also just look up the city of Madina, Ohio, and you're able to watch all of our programming on demand. uh if we ever run into any of those issues or if it's more convenient for you, that's a good way for residents to be able to watch and stay informed with what's going on at the city.

Thank you, Mr. Patton, city engineer. Thank you, Mr. President. I have no report this evening. Thank you, Mr. Worley, parks and recreation center director. Thank you, Mr. President. Just one update for the public. Uh beginning March 29th through April 18th, we will be doing some renovations on the gazebo in the uptown park. So, there will be some scaffolding set up during that time while we uh work to replace some wood and uh do some painting repairs. Thank you. Thank you, Chief Walters, Fire Department. Thank you, Mr. President. I have no report. Mr. Dutton, Planning and Community Development Director. Thank you, Mr. President. I have no report. Thank you. Uh we have one confirmation of mayor's appointment. Uh Beth German for the archive commission for a term expiring 123128. Mr. Present

here. Move to approve. Second. Any discussion on the confirmation of the mayor's appointment? Will the clerk please call the role on the adoption of the confirmation of mayor's appointment? Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes. Motion passes 6. Uh, notices, communications, and petitions, we have none. on fittest business. Uh we have ordinance 3726. Mr. President, Mr. Hair, uh I'm move to um go through the second reading of this ordinance. Second.

Ordinance 3726 is an ordinance amending section 113304, the zoning code of the codified ordinances of the city of Manan, Ohio relative to conditionally permitted uses. Uh Mr. Dutton.

Uh thank you, Mr. President. Uh, this ordinance will amend, uh, our local commercial C1, uh, section of our zoning code to allow, uh, three new uses as conditionally permitted uses. Uh, conference center less than or equal to 5,000 ft², restaurant with drive-in or drive-thru, and retail business less than or equal to 20,000 square ft. Uh, these would be conditionally permitted uses in the C1 district and would help facilitate uh, development on West Liberty Street. We have a public hearing scheduled for this uh, ordinance on April 13th. Thank you. Thank you. Um the third reading is going to be our next uh council meeting and then it'll be put on the floor for final passage. So, you know, we go through the three readings in every zoning ordinance. So, everybody has time to comment if they'd like to comment on it. But, uh the next council meeting will have the third and final reading and put on the floor for final passage. Introduction and consider introduction of visitors. Members of the public admit the opportunity to speak on any issue or concern which pertains to the city during the portion of the council agenda devoted to introduction of visitors. All comments shall be directed to the chair and a reasonable time limit approximately 5 minutes will be imposed. If there's a group, please appoint a spokesperson. Speakers should approach the rear microphone and state their name and address so it can be entered into the minutes. Members of the public will be afforded the opportunity to comment on other portions of the meeting as determined by the chair or by a vote of the majority of council members present. Uh also, if you wanted to speak, there's a signup sheet in the back uh if you want to speak this evening. Um, and I know that there's a lot of people here probably to talk about the um, uh, potential ordinance or potential ordinance on the house bills in the state of Ohio. We're taking no action on that today. So, if you came, welcome. If you want to talk again, that's great, but nothing's going to happen this evening. So, you might be disappointed. So, at this time, uh, introduction visitors, I see you have Janet back there. You'd like to start.

Good evening. Uh, thank you, Council President Coin. Good evening. My name is Janet Newcomer. I am the executive director of Feeding Madina County. Um I wanted to take this opportunity to report on how feeding Madina County has been um utilizing the funds that the city so generously um provided us at the end of 2025. Um you will see in the report that I've provided um we have done used this for a variety of our programs. direct distributions, including the special distribution that we had at the fairgrounds on December 30th, and then also distributions that will include City of Madina residents in uh January, February, and March. We've spent $11,559. Our emergency pantry, where people contact us when they are out of food and come directly into the office. We've been able to serve City of Madina residents with $4,640 of that. Um, our home delivery program, which provides uh shelf stable food and hearty produce twice a month to those individuals who have transportation barriers and health barriers. We have um utilized $5,679 of the uh monies for home deliveries. Staples for Seniors is a program where we deliver um between 30 and 40 pounds of food per individual to the lowincome housing facilities that are designated specifically for seniors here in the city of Madina. We have spent $11,767 on that bringing us to a total of over $33,000. We have plans for the remaining funds. We will be doing another special distribution for city of Madina residents on April 21st. That will be held again at the Madina County

Fairgrounds from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30. So, we certainly would appreciate the city's assistance, volunteer assistance with that event. Um it'll be daylight, so Chief Walters, we will not need um the assistance of the fire department, but Chief Kenny, if we could have assistance with traffic control, we would certainly appreciate it. Um in addition to that, we will be using those funds that are remaining from that for the Staples for Seniors program, for emergency pantry, and for home deliveries. So, um, on behalf of the, uh, people that we have served, I want to thank the city again for this generous donation and assure you that we are putting it to good use. Um, there are people who have um, dinner on their tables because of your thoughtfulness and your compassion and your consideration. So, thank you very much.

Yeah. and we want to thank you for all that you do for feeding Madina County and you know focusing on the efforts of those in the city of Madina because our goal is make sure that nobody goes to bed hungry and if we can try to minimize that as much as possible I think we're doing a great service uh to the city of Madina. We appreciate all your help. Thank you. This is a great partnership. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, next.

So, I guess that's me. Um, my name is Nola Loathther, 3425 Forest Lake Drive, Madina. And I want to give out my email address because I want to email anyone who's interested what I'm talking about here. and I don't have copies to hand out. So my email address is enlofyaol.com. So anybody who wants to check my work, I encourage you to do it and I'd be glad to email you. What I'm talking about is related to the resolution from two weeks ago about the the bills in the state legislature about immigration. And I know we have no resolution before us, but I just want to talk about it and see how it goes. The treatment of undocument undocumented immigrants is not kind, humane, or legal. In many cases, the bills in the Ohio legislature raise serious constitutional concerns. I'm sorry. Did somebody inter Okay. Sorry. raise serious constitutional concerns violating equal protection, due process, and local control, while expanding government surveillance and policing powers in ways that target vulnerable people and undermine trust in our institutions. The immigration attack and proposed state laws are symptoms of a larger

problem. The main concern is loss of democracy and loss of const the constitutional republic. These proposals weaken local democracy, undermine equal protection, expand government power in ways that discourage the public trust. The changes within those proposed state laws are directly from the authoritarian playbook. For example, scapegoating and vulnerable scapegoating vulnerable groups, the us versus them mentality, emphasizing them as the other. Expanding surveillance and data collection means tracking citizenship and immigration across institutions. That is what House Bill 42 is about. publicizing. Politicizing law enforcement shifts police and public agencies toward immigration enforcement. That's House Bill 26 and Senate Bill 172. Penalizing local disscent means punishing cities or counties that choose different policies. That's House Bill 26. Blurring the lines between civil and criminal laws treats immigration, which is a civil issue, more like criminal one. That's Senate Bill 172. Using essential services as leverage by bringing enforcement into health care

settings is House Bill 281. These policies reflect familiar authoritarian patterns targeting a vulnerable group, expanding government power, and using fear and enforcement to shape behavior rather than building trust. Historians have long chronicled how authoritarian regimes take over perhaps slowly. Anne Applebomb, Ruth Benji, Timothy Snyder, Heather Cox Richardson are all historians that chronicle how authoritarian rulers took over and the similarities and what's happening now in our country. Please look up these historians and read what they're telling us. We are becoming an authoritarian country. Veam and Freedom House are two international research groups that document the slide into authoritarianism. Is that some kind of bell telling me?

Five minutes. Okay. So what I want to do is tell you that international research agencies have documented how we have slid into an authoritarian government. It's out there. I want you to have this information so you can look it up for yourself. So you know the historians to look at so you can make a decision for yourself and see how these bills in our state legislature are following that path.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Ann Marie Donigan. My address is 8845 Columbia Road, Mstead Falls, Ohio. And it was snowing when I left. Um, greetings, council, mayor, um, and, uh, department heads. Um, I stand before you in support of my Madina friends and in support of human decency. I'm a private citizen, but very familiar with your offices and your heavy responsibilities. As a former councilman at large and mayor, I get what you do, the decisions you have to make, and the fact that you cannot please everyone. You are asked to weigh in on what may seem like controversial issues in a county that is perhaps more conservativeleaning. That's hard and it takes courage. The resolution of opposing the Ohio House bills 26,42 281 and Senate Bill 172 is not a Democratic, Republican, independent, libertarian issue. It's quite clearly making a statement of what you, the city of Madina values, a statement about what your constituency values, mayor and council, mostly council, are you're the people's line of defense. They're counting on you to speak up on their behalf. Uh telling these fine folks to contact their state representatives is nothing more than not making a decision, which I believe in the heart that's not what you want to do. You know in your heart that the state representatives won't help them. And as you are aware um they are under

unamerican mandates coming out of Washington. Uh you know your representation uh starts at the local level and local level governance is one that I view is actually powerful because you have the opportunity to make things better right here at home. Local government can make states like I know what's going on in this crazy world that we're living in. Um, but the deaths, uh, internment, concentration camps, missing people, disappearing parents, here in Madina, we don't stand for that. That's right.

I stepped I decided to step back into the political process. God help me. And um, and and not because it's easy, because I will not be someone who when asked by my grandchildren, if I'm lucky to have them, what did you do, ma? What did you do, Grandma? Um, because in this country, our democracy is really at risk. I'm asking you to search your conscience when this uh uh piece of resolution or this legislation comes up and make a loud unanimous statement saying that says in vagina, we reject these laws and we demand that you do better Ohio. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you. Next. before I begin. Can the people who are in the back please step out? I want to speak to everybody, not just people out here. But for everybody, please. Yeah, come on out. Don't be shy. I taught second grade. Come on. There you go. There you go. That's perfect. Easy to hear back there.

Oh, trust me, everybody can hear me. My name is Amy Panchchamardi. I live at 889 Lawrence Street, Madina, Ohio. Been here for 32 years. And I brought illegal aliens with me tonight. Raise your hand if you've been a child. Oh, come on. Raise those hands. You've all been children, haven't you? Raise your hands if you have children that you've raised. Those shy hands. Raise your hands if you have or hope to have grandchildren. Oh, how about GREAT GRANDCHILDREN? GREAT. OH, great grandchildren. Bill Lamb. Yay, great Bill. They're the best.

Coming up in April.

Wonderful. Now, my great great grandmother. We came in 1793 to the US. This is something she brought with her. Looks simple. My great-grandmother told my great-grandmother, who told my grandmother, who told my mother, who told me, to look in this mirror every now and then. And when you look, make sure that you're proud of the person you see. This is an old mirror. So, here's your first illegal alien because we have to step forward. There's your illegal alien right there. Look at the color of the skin, the eyes, the hair. Illegal alien. ICE can come and take this child from their parents, from the school with no reason, with no legal recourse. This child at this age had been trained, as are many brown people, to say, "This is my mother's phone number. You can't arrest me without calling my parents. I'm a minor six-year-old." your smoril eagles. Look at the skin. Look at the hair. We can hate these people, can't we? Come on, guys. In this room tonight, I felt hate. Oh, they're this or they're that?

Here we go. Round them up. They have no value. Well, wait a minute. Somehow I have a picture of the young lady. Here she is, a freshman in high school. ROUND HER UP AND PUT HER somewhere where she cannot bother the white community. We don't need to have any laws. We don't need to even tell where THESE CHILDREN HAVE GONE. OH NO. OH, wait a minute. Nature has done something really weird here. Green eyes, red hair. We can keep this one. Maybe your child could marry him when he grows up. Maybe your grandchild, not these. Roam the back of an ice van. Let them have nightmares. As children, we need to stand up, look in the mirror, and say, "WHO ARE WE AND WHAT do we in Madina stand for?" Because guess what? Madana High graduates, both of them, Madina uh elementary, middle school, excuse me, students. This child moved out after kindergarten educations.

We don't need these people. Do we need a PhD, two master's degree, honor student? The uh What's it called? She's in the National Honor Society for three years. Silver medalist on the academic testing. Oh, and this little guy 189 IQ. He wants to become a neurosurgeon in third grade. Ladies and gentlemen, please, whatever you do, what is important is who's in the mirror and who you represent and where your hearts are. We're not speaking about Republican, Democrat, somebody who loves this person or that person. We are talking about the step forward and our country can be stronger after all the division. And I do have something to add if you would join me. Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains. Majesty above the fruited plain. America, America, God shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with from sea to shining sea. We got to hold hands, guys, because the ride's going to be rough.

Thank you. Thank you. Oh, by the way, I do have birth certificates if anyone wants to see them. They are not illegal aliens. They're my family, my son and daughter, my grandchildren. No, they're not trash.

Thank you. Hello, my name is James Lawrence, 1131 Hillview Way. Um, I just first want to say thank you for not taking action on this proposal. Um it says at the very beginning that Madina is um not and will not be a sanctuary city. Along with that it says that the Madina city um and police department obey all applicable laws, the Ohio Constitution and the Constitution of the United States. And I think we should keep that statute in the city of Madina. I personally think that um we are a city of law- abiding citizens and that if we want to continue this passing this resolution would send a very um dangerous precedent to say in 10 15 20 years what laws are we going to ignore because we disagree with them. Um along with this um the things with the sanctuary city um oftent times it has been shown that sanctuary cities are much more dangerous. We look at the major cities um for example Minnesota um and we see that there's a lot more violent crime a lot more increase um excuse me Minneapolis um when it comes to these sanctuary cities um and it would be worse off if we were to become a sanctuary city um again I just want to say thank you um for not taking action on this proposal and respecting the rule of law in Madina. Thank you.

Thank you. Next.

Hi, my name is Laura Lane. I live at 34 Squires Court. Um, good evening, mayor, council members, and residents. Uh, you're going to have to forgive me because when I wrote this, this was before this resolution was actually on a piece of paper and I'd seen it. But, um, most of this still applies, just maybe some past tense issues. Sorry. At the last council meeting, some residents proposed that Madina formally adopt an emergency anti-ICE resolution, which is what I guess we see now. The fact that this idea was even introduced is concerning to me. Madina is one of Ohio's safest cities. Our violent crime rate is roughly 70% below the national average, and overall crime is about 60% lower than most communities our size. We don't have an issue right now and that's exactly why we should not pass any resolution that limits cooperation with ICE. Such a resolution would set a dangerous precedent. It tells criminal illegal aliens that Madina is a welcoming place and could invite problems we don't currently have. Instead, I strongly encourage the city of Madina to be proactive and enter into a 287g agreement with ICE, at least the jail enforcement model. This voluntary program would allow our trained Madina officers to screen dangerous criminals already in our jail, check immigration status, issue detainers, and ensure that they are removed rather than released back into our neighborhoods. Over 1500 agencies nationwide are already using 287G, including Butler and Claremont counties here in Ohio. In Butler County recently, an illegal immigrant who had been deported seven times was repeatedly released and later committed aggravated murder before Butler reinstated their 287g agreement. Just recently, just January, in Claremont County, an illegal immigrant

was indicted on 32 counts of rape against three young siblings. Crimes that occurred before their county joined 287G. Madina should learn from these tragedies and be proactive when it comes to protecting our citizens. If anyone would like more information, I have some handouts that compare the different 287g models. The uh jail enforcement model is the smartest choice for Madina for a first step. In my opinion, um I would respectfully like to ask the council to do two simple things. vote no on any future resolution that restricts cooperation with ICE and pass a resolution directing our police chief to immediately apply for at least the 287g jail enforcement model. Let's be proactive, protect our community, and lead by example for other Ohio cities. Thank you.

Thank you. Hello, my name is Brian Lane, 34 Squires Court, Madina, Ohio. I'll be quick and blunt. Uh, I would like Madina to support ICE and I am against this resolution. This is not about skin color. This is not about race. This is about if you are in this country illegally, either become legal or you don't belong here. That's what laws are. There are laws for driving. There are laws for everything else if you're not in this country. Just become legal then or go home. That's about it. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Hi uh Mary Mhof from uh Brunswick Hills, Ohio. Thank you very much for letting us speak here today. Uh to my neighbors in Madina County, we are cordial to each other in our interactions when out shopping, attending events at our recreation centers, libraries, parks. Let us remember that when we disagree on politics and religion. It's hard. I know we are all citizens. We are all humans. We are concerned about our personal finances, our families, and even our neighbors and acquaintances. to under try to understand each other's arguments and drop the desire to win. Compromise is the best solution. Sometimes what the state of Ohio is trying to do is unconstitutional and that's why we're here. Um you're not changing anything by asking them not to to change something. That's what they're trying to do is make it um force people in uh in our schools, in our hospitals, our local law officials to do the work of the federal government. That's what we're opposed to. Are we all going to start turning in people we suspect here illegally? This is the job of the very well-paid federal officials, and it should not be dumped onto our already very busy and well-trained police force. It's not their job. I am opposed to Homeland Security or ICE dumping their workload on us. This would be another drain on our tax dollars here in our community. uh when in the future lawsuits are

pursued because of this unconstitutional law in our state, once again, we the taxpayers will pay. I will end with a quote from Conservative Supreme Court Justice Antinine Scalia. The federal government cannot require states and localities to carry out its immigration policy. Thank you. Thank you.

Hi everybody. I'm Jack Petrella uh from 531 High Street in Wadssworth. I just moved there last month, but I've been a resident of Madina County for over 33 years. Uh I can't top the eloquence of some of the speakers that have preceded me and I don't want to try. But I do want to urge the city council to oppose House Bills 26,42, 281, and 172. And I'd like to uh quote a few statistics here. Uh DHS has said that over 70% of the people that they've arrested are criminals. 70%. That's what they're saying. Okay. The true statistics are less than 14% of the immigrants arrested by ICE have criminal records. Okay? And of that, 60% of that 14% are nonviolent criminal offenses. Okay? 40% of the people they arrest are simply non-citizens. Now, I'm not against immigration officials doing their job at all. Okay? Uh people that are undocumented uh should either find a way to become documented and if they are criminals, they should be deported. I don't have a problem with that. We've done it before. But that's not what's going on in our country. What we have in the United States today are masked agents of ICE terrorizing communities shooting people in the face, throwing congressmen on the ground for simply asking a question. This is terrorism. What kind of a country are we living in today?

I don't I I don't think ICE is a legitimate arm of the government anymore. I think it's a terrorist organization. I think it's more like the Gestapo than a police force. And I think it's time for us to tell them enough. I don't want them coming here. I won't feel safer if they are here. With that, uh, I'll let you guys to it. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for allowing me. My name is Pauline Chapman. I'm at 7328 Worcester Pike in Seville. Um I am very disturbed about ICE. Um this proclamation isn't about making Madina a sanctuary city. Sanctuary cities are in democratic cities and Madina is blood red. ICE isn't just picking up the worst of the worst. They're picking up asylum seekers and those who are going through legal channels and have applied for citizenship. That takes years because there aren't enough people to feel those cases out. These people must report to the courts annually and they have to pay fees every time. And when they find they come out of these meetings, e some before they even go in, they're abducted by ICE. I've been at my address for 49 years. I've worked in this city for 24 years and I'm here every almost every day. I've never had to fear anyone in this city that's of different color or doesn't speak my language. And I don't want ICE coming here putting on that tactical gear with guns drawn and their faces covered. that just not does nothing but creates fear and creates chaos and havoc. If I for one will not come to town if that happens. I don't want to our county to harbor these ICE detainees that they're picking up. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening. I'm Kristen Lother. I'm at 3425 Forest Lake Drive. I am angry and bewildered and terrified. I don't want to see my country fall apart. I don't want to lose our way of life, our standard of living, our freedom to an authoritarian regime that doesn't, let's be honest, care about anyone in this room. Many of us are here in support of a resolution that would protect immigrants, and we should protect immigrants. They will suffer with or without our help. But without our help, it will be so much greater. And we will lose ourselves. We will lose who we are if we don't try to help them. But while we are protecting them, we can't lose sight of what's really happening. We must recognize that this is so much bigger than immigrants. Immigrants are a target. They're so different from us. They're easy to pick out. They look different, sound different, eat different foods, and have different customs. The same with trans people.

They're so different from us, from what we're used to. Immigrants and trans people, the distraction of the hour, indeed of the decade. I'll tell you what, wasn't no immigrant that made me pay 380 for a gallon of gas on the way here. And a trans person didn't make my cousin drop his health insurance because it went from $350 a month to over a thousand. When you have to make a choice between paying for your health insurance or paying the mortgage, I guess you choose the mortgage. It wasn't a trans person or an immigrant that made my grocery bill too damn high even when I shop at Aldi's. And then there's my neighbor. He's a contractor. He's barely breaking even. He can't afford the supplies it takes just to run his business. Many of us, I'm sure here in this room, we are hurting in some way that has nothing to do with immigrants. And oh, if you think you're hurting now, wait till this war continues. Wait till it settles in, people.

Just wait. You see Trump and his friends, the oligarchs in power, they love it when we fight. You there in the front, they love it when we fight. They say to themselves, "Chaching, cha-ching, baby." When we fight with each other about immigrants, we're not focused on what is owed to us. While we're talking about how immigrants are destroying this country, we're not holding our leaders accountable for literally stealing all of our damn money and giving it to the rich. Did you know that the top 1% of US households hold 32% of the nation's total assets? That figure has absolutely nothing to do with immigrants and everything to do with a rich oligarchy in power who will do whatever they can to keep collecting everything to keep siphoning everything in the United States, taking everything they can from us and spreading it to a handful of billionaires. And as long as we keep pointing fingers at immigrants and at each other instead of pointing fingers at them, they're going to keep getting away with it. And us, all of us, well, we'll just keep hurting.

Thank you. Good evening, Madina City Council members. Um, thank you for giving us all a chance to speak. I'm Kathy Jones from Sharon Township. Um, some of you and some others have told me that I don't have any right to speak since I'm not a resident of the city. I'm only a resident of the township in part of Madina County. But unfortunately, people don't recognize that that doesn't matter because I too come in the city of Madina to eat and shop. friends come in, people from other cities come into Madina City. So whatever this bill happens that it passes, it will affect everybody even if they're not in the city of Madina. So therefore, that's why I'm speaking. And to quote John Lewis, when you see something that's not right, that's not fair, that's not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something. You have to do something. So that's why I'm here to speak up tonight. I'm speaking on behalf of some of the immigrants in Madina County that are here illegally. U they're not illegal immigrants like some of the people spoke who thought they were, but they're here illegally and they're too frightened to come here to speak. So, one of them asked me to come and speak on his and their behalf and I'll try to express their thoughts and concerns here as best I can. Uh they wanted to say to all the neighbors who are at this meeting, res respect and appreciate all the men and women of the law enforcement that work hard to help prevent drug dealers and criminals from entering the city and the country and for keeping us safe as much as possible. These are words from the immigrants. Okay. The issues with the Ohio House bills 2642,281 and Senate Bill 142 is that it requires the city law enforcement, schools, and hospitals to cooperate with ICE and detaining immigrants or others that they

just suspect are undocumented. They have no clue. They may not be criminals. They're just suspects who are inside the city limits of Madina. These bills do not have any provisions that require the ICE agent to follow the law. They do not have to show their credentials or identify themselves. They do not even have warrants in many cases because of their history. There isn't any guarantee that when they come to Madina or any nearby cities, they will act any differently. So, um, one of them wanted me to give you an example of the trauma that's causing to children. When you have children in the school and they see ice come in and they can take away one of their students, they wonder what's going on and they're afraid. They're afraid to go to school. When they ask their parents why do they see someone being pulled out of a car or shot, they're afraid to go anywhere and they're traumatized. And that's for life. So, it's not just us here. It's uh the children and and they're important, too. They'll forever be traumatized. So, as you know, these bills violate the US Constitution, including the Fourth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause and home rule provisions. Please remember the oath you took when you were sworn into office. You pledged to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Ohio, and these bills are in violation of both. Um, hang on just a minute here. One of your board members even had asked me or said to me, I should not be wasting time doing this here, okay? I should be contacting the state legislature. Well, I I responded that we have done that. We all have done that and we've been doing that. That's our job. That's our part. But you represent us and a resolution from you is a lot stronger

than just from us. And that's your job as our elected officials to listen to what we believe is best and will protect us. So please listen to the de demands of the people you represent and stand on the right side of history. Do not permit your silence to make you complicit. I ask you please please to support the resolution to oppose the aforementioned ICE bills. Thank you. And like I said before, I'm a a a volunteer uh a watch a court monitor at the federal immigration court. And I'm telling you right now, most of those people in detention, they don't have any criminal or civil records and they're detained and being deported. And a lot of times they can't even afford attorneys and even if they can, but the majority of them and it's just it's not right. And that's what you see here. But uh when I have to speak for immigrants and there's more than you know here in Maida City and they're afraid to come even to talk to you, that's a sad state of affairs. So please, please consider it your duty to oppose the ICE bills. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay.

Hi, my name is Sadia Jaganti. Um, I live in 6770 Deerale Drive, Madina, Ohio. I don't have anything prepared. I just had a few things I wanted to share um to offer some perspective from a Latina in the Madina community. Cooperation with ICE doesn't just affect illegal immigrants in Madano County. It affects the people that live here as well. Especially people like me who have a different skin color than the rest of you. Since the rise of ICE, I have faced a lot more prejudice than I ever have living here in Madana County. It's It's really hard. I don't I'm really worried that we won't stop here. Racially profiling is so dangerous to a lot of people. Even if you're not even even if you are documented, people are being killed from racial profiling. Like my parents told me I have to get all this stuff and I have to carry it with me at all times because they're scared that I might be taken away. And I'm not even undocumented. So, sorry I'm getting emotional. This is just really hard. Um, so I ask, when does this stop? Does it stop with checking immigration statuses? And does it stop with racially profiling and deporting all these illegal immigrants? Because I've seen how people treat people of color like me. And I'm worried it won't stop at just deporting illegal immigrants. I'm worried it's going to reach the people in this community that are here legally but look different than you guys. I'm worried. It happened in other countries. It could happen here, too. So, I just

just want to say I believe there's a right way to have deportations and I believe that we need law in Madina County, but this is not the right way to go about it. It causes harm to not only the illegal immigrants but also the residents in this community. I know of so many children of even adults that are scared to go public places because they're worried that they're going to be detained and they're never going to see their family again. I have to carry my documents with me at all time because I've heard of stories of people like me getting taken away and without due process and being detained. So, there's a right way to do these things and this this just isn't it. Cooperation with ICE at this level is not right. And I encourage you to look over this resolution and really think about what it does with the impact in this community, especially with people like me. Thank you.

Thank you.

All right. I'll keep this brief because that that really was not I mean that's where I would like this to end up. Her comments there were more emotional and heartfelt than any of mine will be. But uh when you look at this resolution, uh these bills would essentially force local governments like Madina to make a choice between prioritizing our social welfare, public safety, or are we going to siphon off from that and help the federal government perform its immigration enforcement duties? Already ICE and CBP receive more money than any other law enforcement agency uh in the United States. They they get more money than the United States Marine Corps. The be the big beautiful bill allotted tax dollars in the amount of 75 billion to ICE, 65 billion to Customs and Border Patrol, and another 22 billion to DHS, Department of Homeland Security. Now, our state congressional representatives want to further burden the local municipalities to help aid the federal immigration forcement even further uh by by us aiding them in their activities and they're not going to give us any money to do it. These bills are also an attack on the dignity and humanity of thousands of legal law-abiding immigrants living in Madina, contributing to our economy, our society, and our community as in general. If these bills are passed, the state of Ohio would be co coercing us to assist in unconstitutional actions, not to

mention violate the rule of law. US Chief District Court Justice Patrick Slitz of Minnesota stated in one month's time ICE violated 96 court orders in only 74 cases. And he said that number of violations is likely much higher. He went on to say this list should give pause to anyone who cares about the rule of law. ICE has likely violated more court orders in January of 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence. So if we want to keep Madina safe, let's keep ICE out of Madina. On February 10th, 2026, Judge Joseph Goodwin of the US District Court of the Southern District of West Virginia excoriated immigration agents for making arrests while wearing masks that conceal their identities in a scathing opinion that referenced a regime of secret policing. The agents presence with masks, unmarked cars, and without badges, and detaining individuals without a bond hearing is indistinguishable from lawb breakakers, and the arrest that followed was the elimination of constitutional accountability itself. He concluded that an anonymous government is no government at all. It cannot be held accountable. A masked agent freely uses force without justifying his actions, and the public cannot name him to challenge his conduct. A regime of secret policing has no place in our society. Here, the government's power is derived by the people, and the people must be able to identify the government when it acts to infringe on their liberty. Masks obscure government action and deprive the public of its Fourth Amendment protections. That's the judge's words, not mine. Our

city cannot sit quietly by while our state congressional representatives consider creating an ethical dilemma for Madina and other local municipalities. We must coach them into good ethical leadership by speaking out against these proposed bills which not only put a financial burden on us and decrease our overall public safety and public services but would force us to support and commit unconstitutional actions and violate the rule of law itself. Thank you and I urge you to support this resolution.

Thank you. Pat Walker, 523 East Friendship Street in the city of Madina. And just for the record, I am not related to Dan. But anyway, I want to clarify what the proposed resolution does and what it doesn't do. First of all, the resolution states, "The city of Madina and its police department obey all applicable laws, the Ohio Constitution, and the Constitution of the United States." This resolution is not asking anyone to ignore any laws. It's asking the city to confirm that they will support the laws. The issue is that the Ohio legislature has proposed bills that do not comply with the Ohio Constitution and do not comply with the US Constitution. The resolution recognizes that the United States has immigration laws and those laws need to be enforced. However, this resolution states that those laws that I mean, excuse me, those bills I made mistake myself. Um, the proposed bills in the Ohio legislature, they're not laws. They are proposed. Those proposed laws do not comply with the Ohio Constitution and the US

Constitution and also provide for unfunded mandates for the city and other entities. This resolution is not anti-ICE. This resolution just states that we need to enforce our immigration laws in the correct method by following the Ohio Constitution and the US Constitution. This resolution does not limit cooperation with ICE. The first paragraph states, "The city of Madina is not and will not be a sanctuary city." There is nothing in this resolution that says that ICE is bad. ICE shouldn't be here. It just says that we need to follow the constitutional law and do it in the proper method. Therefore, I urge this council to take up the resolution and ask when is the council going to take up the resolution and actually vote on the resolution. Thank you.

Thank you. Is that it? One more. I'm not very good at this. Um, councel, I'm listening to everybody that's speaking here. I'm James Gates, 3454 Hamlin Road, Madina Township. I come into town a lot. We're talking about people that come here illegally and trying to take over parts of our country and they're doing it illegally. And everybody here is emotionally setting themsel up and it shouldn't be emotional. It should be what is right and what's wrong. My family came here. We established ourselves. We came through Ellis Island. There's a right way and a wrong way. So I if these people want to come in here, let them do it the right way. Let them leave and come back to the right channels and they can be assimilated. That's all I've got. If you guys want to have your people live in your houses, that's fine with me. But I don't want them here. I want ice. Thank you. All right. All right, I think that's everybody. Um, okay. Introduction and consideration of ordinances, resolutions. At this time, I'd entertain a motion to suspend the rules requiring three readings on the following ordinances and resolutions. Ordinance 48 26, 49 26, 50 26, 51 26, 52 26, 53 26, 54 26, 55 26, and 56 26.

Mr. Present is here. I move to suspend the rules requiring three readings on the following ordinances and resolutions. A second. Any discussion on a motion to suspend the rules? Will the clerk please call the role? Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Motion passes 6. Ordinance 4826, an ordinance amending section 1331 of the codified ordinance to the city of Man Ohio relatives to the chief of police or design association memberships. Mr. President here. Move to approve. Second discussion. Chief Kenny.

Thank you, Mr. President. We're requesting permission to add International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators as one of the memberships that we're permitted to be members of. This is for one of our detectives who does financial investigations. Thank you. Any further discussion? Please call the role. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Ordinance 4826, passes 6.

Ordinance 4926, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute a memorandum of understanding with the Madina County Board of County Commissioners. Board of Commissioners to provide public transportation services within the city of Madina for the period of April 1st, 2026 through August 31st, 2027. Mr. President. Mr. Hair. Move to approve. Second. Discussion. Mr. Hair. Mr. President, the emergency clause has been requested and I move to add it at this time. My second includes the emergency clause. Discussion on the emergency clause and the ordinance. Mr. Dutton.

Uh, thank you, Mr. President. This ordinance will allow uh the city and enter intoou with Madana County uh board of commissioners uh to provide public transit services via Madana County Public Transit. Uh the funds are $90,000 over a two-year period. Uh the majority of uh that amount, $75,000 will come out of our uh recently awarded CDBG grant uh with the remainder coming out of the general fund. Thank you. Any emergency clause? Uh yes, the emergency of cause was requested as um we were a little late getting ordered on the grant. So we have a year and a half to accomplish this rather than two years. Thank you. Any further discussion on the emergency clause andor the ordinance? Will the clerk please call the role on adoption of emergency clause? Salvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes.

Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Point, yes. Motion passes 6. Will click please call the role on adoption ordinance. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Ordinance 4926 passes 6. Ordinance 5026, an ordinance authorizing the purchase of two 2026 Ford F-150 pickup trucks from Montrose Ford to be used by the water department. Mr. President, here. Move to approve. Second. Discussion. Mr. Polei.

Thank you, Mr. President. Um, these purchases of the pickup trucks were discussed in last year's water budget process. It'll bring us up to speed with our vehicles and uh replacements. One of these trucks will be equipped with a small plow to assist on water breaks and clean up small areas. Thank you. Thank you. Any further discussion? Clerk, please call the role in adopting the ordinance. Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Hair, yes. Ordinance 5026 passes 6. Ordinance 5126, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to approve a change order number two to GMP number three with the ruling company for the renovation work at the Madana Municipal Courthouse. Mr. President, sir, move to approve. Second

discussion, Mr. Patton. Thank you, Mr. President. Last August, excuse me. Uh, finance committee uh reviewed and approved an expenditures for the replacement of the underground sanitary and storm sewers in the courthouse basement. Uh the cost of that is $368,772. This asked to formally approve it as a change order to the project. Thank you. Any further discussion? Cler, please call the role on adoption ordinance. Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Salvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes.

Ordinance 5126 passes six. Ordinance 5226 an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Wickard Richard uh insurance for the city's property general liability and umbrella liability insurance for the period of April 1st 2026 through March 31st 2027 Mr. President move to approve second discussion Mr. President, the emergency clause has been requested and I move to add it at this time. Discussion on the emergency clause and the ordinance. My second includes the emergency. Thank you, Mr. Shields.

Thank you, Mr. Coin. Uh, this involves our airport liability insurance as well as our property general liability, auto, and umbrella insurance for the city. Uh, annual basis, it's due on April 1st here, the renewal. It takes us a while. The reason for the emergency clause is that uh takes a while for us to get the quotes. We go back and forth. We looked at a couple different options to try to lower our insurance rates. The overall increase this year is about 14% which is higher than average in the years past. But uh from talking to our outside consultant who looks at this from a neutral viewpoint, they say we actually are getting some of the best coverages for the best rates. They're very impressed with that. We looked at about 16 other cities and we're in the bottom percentage of what we pay for insurance and have very competitive rates for all of our lines. So the emergency clause is so that we can get it in place by April 1st here.

Thank you. Any further discussion on emergency clause and or the ordinance? Cler, please call the role in adoption emergency clause. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Motion passes 6. Clerk, please call the ro adoption ordinance. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Ordinance 5226 passes 6. Ordinance 53-26, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an employer adoption agreement to implement the Ohio deferred compensation Roth 457 option for employees of the city of Madina, Ohio. Mr. President, Mr. move to approve.

Second discussion, Mr. Durham. Thank you, Mr. President. This came up during union negotiations. The Teamsters Union asked us to uh authorize to approve a a Roth uh deferred comp plan. We in the finance department had sent out a questionnaire with paychecks a few years ago to see if there was interest and at that time there wasn't. I'm not sure if something changed or if nobody reads the stuff we put in their paychecks, but in any case there is interest now and so we'd like to adopt it. Thank you. Any further discussion? First, please call the role in adopting the ordinance. Salvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes. Liam, yes. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes.

Ordinance 5326 passes. Ordinance 5426, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to accept three easements necessary for the South Huntington Street Bridge project. Mr. President, move to approve. Second. Discussion. Mr. President, emergency clause has been requested and I move to add it at this time. My second includes the emergency clause. Discussion emergency clause and the ordinance. Mr. Patton. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm sure you're getting tired of talking about easements for the Huntington Bridge project. We're almost there. Not quite. Uh, but this is uh three easements, one property owner. We're asking for the emergency clause because uh council did previously approve the appraisal and we'd like to get this uh signed and delivered as soon as possible. Thank you. Any further discussion? Clerk, please call the role in adoption emergency clause.

Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Dalvo, yes. Hair, yes. Motion passes 6. Clerk, please call the role on adoption ordinance. Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Dalva, yes. Hair, yes. Ordinance 5426, passes 6. Ordinance 5526, an ordinance amending ordinance number 21825 passed December 8, 2025, amendments to the 2026 budget. Mr. President, Mr. Hair, move to approve. Second discussion. Mr. Durham.

Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, one of these is for a contract with a law firm that we had from last year, but we didn't get it paid out of the last year's appropriations. We got to appropriate it this year. There's a number of appropriations involving a grant through CDBG which has to be approved and then we have to do in advance and so it comes up a few times. There's appropriations for the celebrations fund which we created and that's this year is dealing with the America 250 and then finally there's appropriations in the bid and performance bond fund which is just to give back those um bid those bonds once the contracts have been met. Thank you. Any further discussion? Clerk, please call the role in adopting your ordinance. Lamb. Yes. Simmons. Yes. Coin. Yes. Salvo. Yes. Hair. Yes. Isabella.

Yes. Ordinance 5526 passes 6. Ordinance 5626. An ordinance authorizing the finance director to make certain fund advances. Mr. President. Miss her. Move to approve. Second. Discussion. Mr. Durham. This is uh typical with federal grants. We advance the money. Advance is just a loan from our general fund to the grants fund. We'll spend the money. Then we'll submit for reimbursement from the feds. When we get the reimbursement, we'll repay the loan. Any further discussion? Cler, please call the rolling adoption ordinance. Simmons, yes. Coin, yes. Salvo, yes. Hair, yes. Isabella, yes. Lamb, yes. Orders 5626 passes 6. Council comments, Miss Hair,

I want to thank everyone for coming out again this evening to talk about this quite controversial issue. Um, nothing here is is being missed on me. Um, I realized how absolutely fortunate I personally am because of my circumstances. Um, and I feel for those who have difficulties um, in other areas. I I still have questions that need to be answered. Um and I will be approaching people to get those questions answered. Um but in the meantime, we we are so divided still as a country and it breaks my heart and and I'm not going to lie, it actually angers me as well. Um we we've become a society where it's all about me and we don't care about our neighbors. We don't care about anything that doesn't immediately involve me and and I don't like it. I don't like it. Um so as I said, I have questions that need to be answered. I need some guidance. I need some legal guidance. Um and and I do take this topic extremely seriously. And my request to all of us is again treat other people the way we want to be treated. Let's look at facts. Let's not read dumb stuff that's on social media that just makes certain people look bad or certain people look good. Let's look at the whole picture of what's going on here and let's act appropriately. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Simmons. Um, in the literature rack behind me, there's a guide for America 250. We've got some events coming up in April, April 11th at the library. There's going to be one where a local author Steve Hamley is going to talk about the electric railroad which came down Court Street, went out Liberty down Madina Street right through town. Uh, also on the 25th uh at the rec center, there's going to be trucks uh uh touch a truck. is going to have uh the old Phoenix stage coach if you're old enough to remember that writing on that that's going to be there uh early in the morning there's from 10:00 to 11 or so there going to be a sensory uh session where if you have kids grandkids if you're not used to loud sounds uh you can go there and won't be affected by that negatively. So thank you.

Thank you Mrs. Selvo.

Thank you Mr. President. Um, I just wanted to uh agree with what councilwoman here had to say about having more questions. Um, I don't know if everyone's aware of this, but I work um I'm a school teacher and um while I am a resident of Madina for the last 23 something years, um I work in inner city Canton. So there is a large um immigrant population um that I deal with those students fears and those their concerns regularly. So I appreciate that. Um and I like I said I do also have questions about what is going on. Um that being said I just wanted to say I had the opportunity this past weekend to go don't take this the wrong way to the adult book fair. It's not adult books like that. It was the books and blossom adult book fair at the common ground. Um, and it was a a lovely event. There was probably 30ish local authors there um that we could talk to and read their books. They gave us their cards. Um, a lot of them were available on Kindle. So, I really enjoyed that. I just want to really kudos to Common Grounds for getting that put together. It was great.

Thank you, Mr. Isabella.

Uh, want to thank everybody for uh for coming out again. Uh, you know, I guess since we've had two meetings on this topic, uh, I don't think we're going to be taking I don't want to speak for everybody, but I don't imagine that this is going to be coming up for action, but I think you all at least deserve to hear where I sit on this. Um, the version of ICE that we've seen in other cities is not a version that I want to see in this town. I've seen them show up at shopping centers, at restaurants, harass people, beat up people, kill people. I don't want that version of ICE in town. It seems to me that they're not being held particularly accountable and at least from what I've seen, we have a phenomenal police department here in Madina. It's very professional and it's very talented. ICE, a well-run organization, doesn't relieve the uh command from its field leader like they did Greg Bavino when they kicked him out of Minnesota. They don't fire the head of a national organization like Christine Gnome just lost her job. I guess I want to see ICE kind of clean its own house before I'd like to see them here in Madina. So, you deserve to at least hear that from me. So, thanks for coming out everybody.

Mr. Lamb,

uh, thank you, Mr. President. Uh, sometimes I I guess I don't know. I'm not really sure what to say now, just to be honest with you. Um, we are a community and and community is about people who share a commonality and we don't look like a community that shares a commonality. We look like a community that has let itself get seriously divided, separated, no longer share something in common other than the fact that maybe this is our residence and that's that's about it. And it seems more difficult for me because as the oldest person here, I grew up in such a different time. My father was a Republican. Our neighbor, our only neighbor was a Democrat. I believe they talked about political issues on a day in November when there was an election and that was about it. Beyond that, they got along fine and they were friends. They also shared a commonality though that they had bought both fought in the second world war and they had a commitment to this country and what this country stood for and they didn't talk about it and they didn't wear it and they didn't brag about it but they simply lived it. They lived it through supporting other people through paying their taxes through wanting their kids to go to school and get a better education. They represented what this country stood for in the way they acted and behaved in their lives. Not only what they did just for their family, but what they did for other people in this community, whether they knew them well or didn't know them at all. And so when I reflect back on those things and the way I grew up, it's hard for me to witness what I have seen happen here. In the last meeting, I mentioned it's great to have everyone come and talk. It

is good. It is great. But we can't remain this sort of a divided space. And while we may not take an action right here, I don't want anybody to misconstrue that that inaction is lack of support for the beliefs that are in the resolution because that would be wrong. Many times I have mentioned this, odd as it may seem, when this city was became a city in the 1950s, the Madina County Gazette was called a Republican newspaper. The men who created this city in the 1950s determined that this city council should not be partisan. It should be nonpartisan. It should not be Democrat. It should not be Republican. And we are a community made up of Democrats and Republicans and independents and uncommitted and we all need to work together and get along. And what we do here is all relevant and related to the very fundamental things about this community and that is our ability to function here and to serve the community to provide the services that the city demands. The divides that exist now need to not be divided. We need to work together as people. Not discriminate, not to characterize people, but to recognize that we are all here together. And a look, how people look, where people came from, their status is not my business. It is that we work together as a community. So, I appreciate that everybody came here to talk, but I don't want you to go away thinking that we we are supporting necess we support

that we don't support the language in the resolution for me anyway. Thank you.

Thank you. And uh it's 9:00 and uh I'm glad that everybody um as Mr. Lamb said and others indicated as a public forum to present their ideals, present their opinions. That's what we're here to do. We're a government. We're a government of the people for the people and that's what we do. We listen and uh everybody has differing views and I think uh it was shown here this evening that Madina is diverse and as a diverse community that is great for us because with diversity we learn from each other and I think as we as we go through the process of government there are people agree disagree many of us up here agree and disagree with one another uh on an ongoing basis but we let those opinions be heard and we move forward. and make sure that the city of Madina can be the best city possible in the in you know throughout the state of Ohio. And that is evident through our low income tax. Of course, we have low income tax. So, I think that's great because I'm more of a a budget kind of a guy to make sure that the money is spent certain ways and and make sure that we don't try to raise our taxes because nobody likes to pay taxes. But, we need to have the services and I and I commend the uh department heads for providing those services on the funds that they have, right? We do a good job on that. But I think I've talked too much already. But the only thing I want to mention that's kind of different from this evening is is I have to mention it because you know we're watching the final four and Tennessee did win. Now they're in the final the sweet 16 which is a good thing and make sure everybody continues to watch that since uh since it doesn't happen very often for Tennessee. So I had to bring

you're not going to give us a little old Rocky top. I'm not going to No, I'm not going to sing that but I just just mentioned that and going. But uh I thank everybody for coming this evening and have a have a good uh rest of the week and weekend. Thank you. No rapid.