Council - Regular Meeting

Our ordinary meeting of the Municipal Council is now officially open. And if everyone could stand up, we will have an invocation by Mrs. King following the oath of allegiance. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here tonight. Thank you for allowing us to serve you, as well as this city and its inhabitants. Please, continue to be with us and guide us in the right direction. We thank you for everything you have done. In your name, we pray. Amen. Amen. I swear allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic that it represents, a nation under the aegis of God, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all. Thank you, Mr. Williams. Please make the call, please.

Councilor Hendricks. Present. Councilor Dixon. Present. Councilor Bouling. Present.

Councilor Spence.

Present. Councilor King. Present. Councilor Simmons.

Present.

Madam President, six members of the Council are present and the quorum has been reached.

Thank you very much. E. As for the order of the day, we have added a point to the general affairs, namely an alcohol sales license for Johnny Panthers, under the name of Johnny Panthers LLC. E. This will be added to the order of the day. So, can I get an approval?

I propose. I support.

Proposition of Mr. Bulling, supported by Mr. Hendrix. All those in favor of the proposal.

Thank you. Now, we will have a message from Mayor Tyler. Thank you, Mrs. Simmons. It is an honor and a privilege for me to ask the Herbo family to come and stay with me. I had the opportunity to meet the Herbos for the first time probably in the summer of 2025 during a 5K Swampers at Muscle Shoals, when this little guy here, in bed, ran the 1 mile race. And I said to myself, what kind of family comes, you know, most of them ran, not everyone. And this one, in bed, finished the 1 mile race. And I said to myself that it was a little special, a little different, there. I was far from doubting to what extent this family was talented. Yaté Herbeau here presented, they, she is a student. Where are you going to school, Yaté? Ibite. She is, she is in Ibite. And Yaté was in the Florentine leisure team. And then, we had the opportunity to see her run during other athletics meetings. And I just want to read a few of the accomplishments of this young girl. Yaté currently holds the records of the state of Alabama in her age category for the mile in 5 minutes and 7 seconds. The 5 km in 18 minutes and 4 seconds. A 10 km in 39 minutes and 26 seconds. Et tu as 11 ans, c'est ça? Et un semi-marathon en 1h26. Je veux lire quelques commentaires de ton père à ton sujet et souligner ce que tu as accompli, car c'est impressionnant, mais ce n'est pas le plus important. Beyond the race, I want you to know that Yaté, these are the words of her father, and I know that you make your father, your mother and your brothers and sisters proud, just like all of us. Beyond the race, Yaté is a hard-working worker. She is a caring person, a talented student, a loving daughter and sister. She is always ready to help her brothers and sisters, as well as her father and mother at home. As a community, we are all incredibly proud, not only of her sporting accomplishments, but above all of the person she becomes. Very proud of you, Yaté. What makes us most proud, it's not just her races, her medals or her records. If you see her running, it's her work ethic. It's her discipline and humility. It's her way of getting over when things get difficult. Above all, she continues to move forward in what she loves. This summer, Yaté had the opportunity to participate in the AAU Junior Olympics and she really shone. It was in Des Moines, in Iowa. That's it. She made the trip to Des Moines, Iowa. So, let's talk about what Yaté accomplished. It's not a team sport. It's Yaté, over there, who surpasses himself. I mean, it's a mental challenge. Yaté ran the 3000m to qualify for the Junior Olympics. You have to understand that he doesn't let anyone participate. You have to deserve your place to get there. You have to go through regional challenges. You have to qualify. You have to reach certain times and surpass many competitors. She deserved her place in the Iowas, which is impressive in itself. But for the 3000m, she not only set a record for the AAU. She set the American national record of 3000m. Tell me, what distance does 3000 meters represent? It's about a mile. Is that right? 2 miles. 2, 2 miles. Very good. Keep that in mind. 2 miles. She ran that in 10 minutes and 8 seconds. 10 minutes and 8 seconds for 2 miles. She has therefore become a junior Olympic champion of the AAU. It's a gold medal, isn't it? She set the record. No one else. You, you ran against 12-year-old children. Are they 12? At 11 years old, she set the national record of 3,000 meters. During the same competition, she also ran 1,500 meters. This corresponds to miles and she ran it in 4 minutes and 38 seconds. In addition to being a gold medalist at the AAU Junior Olympic Games, she has beaten the American national record. She has not only made an appearance in the Iowas, at the AAU Junior Olympic Games. She crushed everything on her way and set two national records. Two national records, two Olympic Junior champion titles at the AAU, and a mother, a father and an incredibly proud community. Yati, I wanted, and it is very few things compared to these gold medals that have much more weight, to give you a certificate of congratulations for your work. I just want you to know how proud your community is of you and what you have accomplished. We can't wait to see everything you will accomplish in the future. I know you are 11 years old. I don't know where you plan to go to university, but I think that with your accomplishments, you will be able to choose the place you want. We are very proud of you, Yati. Nothing but hearing. Some of these times, I am tired. I saw her running and I know how fast I run. When I was on the track, she would have finished her mile while I would still struggle to cross the finish line of my first lap. So, congratulations to her! Very quickly, we have a lot of people and a lot of topics to address. I just want to make a brief point about our budget process. We monitor our revenues as well as some of our expenses. Last month, I asked our service managers to limit their expenses and to focus solely on the necessary strictness. As a reminder, our total income last year, the real income, and I will talk about the real figures rather than the budget planned. When we finished the accounts at the end of 2025, our general fund totaled $91,547,000 in revenue. Our real income last year was therefore $91,500,000. This year, during the budget development, we tried to integrate an increase related to cost of living. Our recipe forecasts were $ 90,447,000. We were therefore at about $ 1 million less in budgeted recipes compared to what we actually perceived last year, which seemed to me to be a careful figure. We thought we would try to budget with wisdom and be very careful in our recipe forecasts. We obtained the figures after 10 months and, for you to know, the expenses should be at 83.33%. I don't want to go into too much detail, but our expenses, after having mastered them, are at 84%. We are not very far from the account. The problem is that our receipts also take a little time off. The way we do our accounting is that our receipts have a month's delay on our expenses. We must therefore anticipate, but we think, given the work done by the service managers, that our expenses could slightly exceed our receipts, but the fact that they slowed down their expenses had an enormous impact. I have already told you once, I believe to have mentioned it, I no longer know to what extent in the community, but for the only month of February, we pay a monthly fee for our health insurance. And if there is a difference, because we are self-assured here, if our health compensation demands exceed our premium, we have to pay an extra. Thus, in February of this year, we paid $ 1.5 million more than our monthly premiums. We cannot foresee this. We cannot budget this when we have very high compensation demands coming in. It's hard to anticipate. We are therefore trying to manage some of our health insurance costs while we are asking service managers to submit their budgets. Hum. Once again, I don't want to go into the numbers too much. We have absolutely asked for a constant level of funding for next year. We want all service managers to not exceed a constant level of funding. We are going to anticipate about the same amount of revenue as the budgeted one this year. $ 90,447,000. You know, overall, it is a constant level of financing for the recipes. When we ask the service to submit their first budget project, I just want you to know that the total amount of budgetary requests received was around $ 97.5 million. Each head of service therefore reviewed the needs of his department and, at each level of the hierarchy, cuts were made before the manager submitted his budget to us. When we received this first budget project, I told you that we were planning $90.4 million in revenue for next year. After the first series of budgetary demands, we reached $97.5 million. We had more than $7 million to reduce. We quickly realized that we had to send these budgets back to the service managers by telling them, we are still far from the account, you have to make cuts. They went back to see the service managers, who then submitted us with a second project. At the moment, we are still $2.7 million above our recipe forecasts. We still have a lot of work to do. We expect $90.4 million in revenue. At the moment, budgetary demands are rising to $93.2 million in spending. We must make other cuts. This is where the difficulty lies and this is what we are trying to work on. I want the community to know that we are working on it. There are certain costs that, without being fixed, are automatic and to which we must prepare. This is what impacts the service managers. They don't ask for much more. But I want you to hear these figures. We must foresee increases in social charges. They are coming. Our health insurance continues to increase. The current figures show us an increase in only social charges. This includes health insurance, retirement, and so on. We expect an increase in social charges of $1.9 million. Our service managers cannot control this. They submit a budget and we must integrate the cost of health insurance. This represents 1.9 million dollars, only for social charges. We have automatic salary increases related to old age. They are more modest. These are not strong increases related to the cost of living. These are lower percentage increases for the old age premium. These planned salary increases are automatic. They simply occur depending on the duration of your job here. Once again, the service managers do not control these figures. The expected wage increase, based on these annual scales, represents $590,000 more. So, at the moment, I'm at $2.4 million. Service managers can't change anything. It's about automatically integrated costs. We know that the price of fuel has increased and there will be a variable on which we cannot count. We are therefore planning an increase of about $ 125,000 next year by following the current expenses to establish our projections. The costs of public services are increasing for all of us. Once again, our police service cannot control the price of gas. Our fire and sewage services, when they use these big trucks to pick up waste, cannot control the cost of fuel. They only know that they have to run these trucks to collect waste or respond to emergency calls. They must pay these increases provided by public services. This is what we pay when we build a pickleball and tennis complex. It is not only a single cost for construction and planning. Once this complex or the River Heritage is built, we cannot simply get rid of it once paid, there are continuous operating costs. We must maintain it, we must make it work. The increases in public services for all departments of the General Fund exceed $ 400,000. None of our service managers can control the amount of these public service bills. We must therefore withdraw funds from these service managers who have already cut substantially, and we still have $ 2.7 million of additional cuts to be made. I want you to know that the more than $ 3 million that I have just mentioned, including social benefits, wage increases, seniority benefits, fuel and public services, represent non-discretionary increases of $ 3,024,000 that we must cover. We are therefore trying to save $ 2.7 million more, in addition to integrating this increase of more than $ 3 million. It is a difficult period for us and 2027 will be the year of redimensioning for the city of Florence. We will establish priorities on how we must spend our money. We will give priority to public safety, public works and essential services that we know. But we have these new facilities that require operations, maintenance and current costs. We do not plan, and I want the public to know, to increase sales taxes. This is not the case. We will examine our operations to resize them and reduce their costs. But very difficult decisions await us. And what we need are new sources of income. We need companies, companies and opportunities to come to Florence to generate new tax revenue that does not yet exist. So, hum, I mentioned some of it during the work session. I hope the council will take this into account, but there are things we are working on. There is still work to be done. The service managers are doing their part, but there are inherent costs that they have little control over. We are therefore grateful. So, C1, it's a work in progress. It will not be ready for October 1st. We will continue to follow the recipes. The service managers continue to monitor their expenses, I recognize that, and we will continue to move forward and do what it takes to adjust the size in view of 2027. Thank you, that's all I have, miss.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Do we have reports from the service managers? Permanent commissions? Yes. We had a meeting of the Public Service Commission on August 5 at 4 p.m. Mayor Tyler, myself, President Simmons, Councilor Bulling, Mr. Tad Cole and Mr. Willadoc were present. Mr. Cole presented information about two properties whose potential purchase by the city was discussed. The properties are located on Marianne Avenue and Rickwood. They both have the same owner. The city has not paid for a formal evaluation of these properties. The city attorney suggested to Mr. Cole to examine these values evaluated online by an expert to determine if the properties were reasonably estimated at their displayed price. The expert determined that the properties seemed to value approximately their listed values. The city has budgeted funds for the purchase of these lands over the past two years. The ultimate goal is to finally bring gas and water together in a single facility. The property of Marianne Avenue is adjacent to the property belonging to the city. The initial intention of the acquisition of the property by the city was to build a storage building. The gas service currently has an immediate need for this space. The property of Marianne Avenue could be used immediately for the storage of portable buildings and potentially for a pipe shelter. The estimated value discussed for the property of Marianne was $ 45,900. It has been noted that the property of Marianne Avenue is in much better condition than that of Rickwood. The city estimates at about $ 7,000 per property the cost necessary for cleaning, which would be taken care of by Mr. Cote of the Voirie Service. The estimated value discussed for the property of Rickwood was $ 66,400, or a combined value of $ 112,300 for the two properties. The owner would be ready to sell the two properties for about $ 109,000. The property of Rickwood Road does not directly host the gas service and does not bring it any immediate advantage. It could be useful in the future for an expansion or for another municipal service. It was a question of the possibility of using the property of Rickwood as a retention basin if the existing structure was demolished. This is one of the lowest properties on the road. Municipal Councilor Bulling opposed the purchase by the city of the property of Rickwood Road at the required price. He pointed out that the property is not suitable for gas services and expressed concerns about the purchase of a property that a small company in his district could acquire to develop. Municipal Councilor Bulling explained that the owner of the nearby hairdressing salon has been trying for years to buy the property adjacent to his business. We do not want to hinder the growth of a small local company by buying the property of Rickwood. It is ideal to allow them to grow in the future. Municipal Councilor Bouling estimates that the city should not pay $ 55,000 or more for this property in its current state. It has been discussed the capacity or the will of the owner of the hair salon to buy the property at the price requested by the seller. I expressed the fear that if the owner of the hair salon could not buy the property, the committee should seriously consider buying it rather than leaving the unused property. Mr. Cole does not want to completely abandon the property of Rickwood. The property of Marianne Avenue remains the main interest of the city because it is directly linked to the land already held by the city's gas service. The purchase of the property would be financed by the fund acquisition budget of the gas service. The previous amount presented for the purchase of the land was about $ 109,620. The combined values from the evaluation information were around $ 112,300. The group discussed the question of whether the city should obtain a separate evaluation for the property of Marianne Avenue. A formal evaluation would cost around $ 400 to $ 500. We opted for the use of the county's evaluation. We did not want to spend the money needed to evaluate it by our own means. It was feared that a new evaluation could potentially establish a higher value than the estimated value by the county. Municipal Councilor Bouling indicated that he would be more inclined to buy the property of Marianne because it is adjacent to the municipal land and suggested that the city envisages a fork of $ 30,000 rather than paying the full estimated value. Mr. Cole had asked how to determine our offer to avoid paying too much. The president of the municipal council, Simmons, opposed the purchase of the property since we have just increased the water rates. The mayor explained that the purchase would be financed by the budget of the gas service, separate from the city's operating budget. I stressed that the public should know that the city manages five separate budgets and that the gas service funds are separated from the general funds. Mr. Cole stated that discussions on these properties began in January or February and that the city generally tries to act quickly when a suitable property is available. Mr. Cole will contact the owner to determine whether he is willing to sell the property of Marant Avenue separately from that of Rickwood. The city will determine the amount it is willing to offer for the property of Marant. Councilor Bouling asked Justin Mason to be consulted on these properties. If an agreement can be found concerning the ownership of Marianne Avenue, Mr. Cole wishes to submit it again to the Council for the order of the day of September 2. We have lifted the session at 4 p.m. Thank you, Ms. King. Are there any other reports of permanent commission? Yes, Mr. Hendrix.

We held a meeting of the Public Works Commission to discuss the optimization of the funds allocated to the city's paving program. The meeting was opened at 4 p.m. on Monday, August 10, 2026. There were Mayor Tyler, David Koons, Todd Sullivan, Chase McCluskey, Thomas Pence, Lisa Dickson, Shaina Balsh, Laura Morgan and myself. We evaluated the situation. Todd specified that the city had used annual payment contracts for six years before recently returning to an offer call process. He stated that engineering studies if an internal program would allow the city to save money and pave more kilometers per dollar each year. He cited the local example of the city of Russell, which recently hired its own team and paved about 160 km over the last two years. The potential advantages of an internal team. Todd and David believe that we would have better control over costs, delays and project priorities. The paving team would take care of the complete repainting of the streets, the repainting and the repair of open trenches by public services. They think this would give better results, an internal team that can pave up to 32 km per year, against only 10 km per year with equal-budget external companies. I would like to repeat that it is equal-budget, because we had an in-depth discussion on this subject. It is a reaffecting of existing funds for better use rather than asking for additional funds for paving. Regarding the logistics of the plan, the city manages 442 km of streets, which is equivalent to 925 miles of roads if we take into account the two roads, three roads, central road and so on. David declared that an internal paving team would employ about 14 people, including a highly qualified site manager to lead the program. He suggested a four-day working week, with an effective paving about two days a week. It was planned that we could reach 20 miles of paved road each year after a three-year start period. At that time, China reviewed an analysis of costs over 15 years, comparing internal costs and external costs, as well as the annual paving miles that each model could offer to the city. And once again, I would like to emphasize that this new cash was included in the existing budget that we are dedicating to paving today, and that it was projected over 15 years. E. What is the next step? It was suggested to organize another meeting of public works including the six advisers in order to deepen the discussions before the presentation to the full council for a vote. E. The meeting was raised at 5 p.m. and I sent you the accounts to each earlier today. Thank you, thank you, Mr. Hendry. Are there any other permanent commissions? Okay, if that's not the case, we have a public audience tonight. Mr. Mason. Okay. I have a public audience to receive comments and evidence from the owner or representative of 719 Kendrick Street against the declaration of the city classifying the property as public damage. I can answer questions about the city, then we can open the public audience to the public. Okay. Does anyone have any questions or comments? I recommend opening the public audience.

Okay. The public audience is now open. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Is the owner present? What happens to the neighbors who live next door? When will they have their say on the damage caused to our properties if they are not in the house? When the resolution will be in order to declare it a public harm. Je veux dire, à la prochaine réunion. Avez-vous, c'est notre avocat de la ville, monsieur Muscro, avez-vous compris ce qu'il a dit ? Oui, madame. D'accord. Donc, n'y ayant plus rien, voudriez-vous clore l'audience à ce moment ? Je recommande de clore l'audience publique.

D'accord. L'audience publique est maintenant close. Now, we are going to treat the public's interventions concerning the points of order of the current and regular day, with a 5-minute time limit. Please move to the windows, indicate your name and address, and we will start with someone on my left. I am Greg Chouchemagnan. I live on Guicham Road in Florence. My wife and I have been living there for about 9 years. And I know that you are all aware, but I wanted to highlight the roundabout project. And you know the old adage, an image is worth a thousand words. I would like you to look, if you haven't seen it, it's around 13 o'clock. This is what our route looks like. So, we must clearly take care of it. And I don't know what happened with the traffic study carried out last year, unless it was done during a holiday weekend and that it did not show the explosive growth that we have seen in the last 9 years. Each year, we have seen the traffic jams spread more and more on the road, to the point of going from Middle Road to Seville, completely blocked. And they, it usually happens in the evening, but sometimes in the beginning of the afternoon, it can become quite critical because people use this route as a shortcut and try to turn left on Middle Road. They just can't. There is too much traffic. So, it's them, it's quite crowded and them, I think it will soon be subject to vote and I encourage you all that. to do something that will help solve the situation. I know that Chapelle is very, very aware of the problem and has tried to raise it. You know, until something is done about it. So, I appreciate it.

Thank you. Anyone else to my left in the center? Katy Palmer, 1630 Decator Avenue. To meet the budget deficit and maintain tax responsibility, it is essential that the city develop a strategy when new projects threaten to reduce tax revenues. In light of the proposed tax cut of 1 to 2 million dollars for the Wilson Hotel, the city should define a comprehensive plan to compensate for this financial impact. The proposed tax reduction of 1 to 2 million for the Wilson Hotel could effectively cover the daily services necessary, including road repairs, resurfacing, marking, water network maintenance, waste collection and management of police and fire services in our city. Moreover, the city has implemented budget cuts in all services to deal with excessive expenses and respect its financial obligations, a trend that should continue in the future. I suppose that the Wilson Hotel will employ up to a hotel employee. This is a personal estimate that could concern 30 members of the partial-time cleaning team. My staff, eh, okay. Eh, by the way, no matter how the city will treat this tax evasion. In summary, the city will not receive 1 to 2 million taxes from the Wilson Hotel. In addition, tax cuts should apply to all new businesses, because they would generate tax revenues for the city. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else in the center? Brandon Evans, 112 Crossland Lane in Florence. I am expressing myself on the 12G point of the order of the day concerning the budget of the city. Nous allons faire des coupes budgétaires, n'est-ce pas? Une idée, au lieu de couper dans la police, pourquoi ne pas supprimer les réductions d'impôts? Je veux dire, cela me semble être la bonne solution. Pardon, je ne suis pas le meilleur orateur, ça se voit probablement. Euh, oui. Je voulais dire ça, mais oui. Give me a second. Sorry. Yes, you can laugh at me if you want. Don't worry. Yes. You know, the poverty rate in this city, I have seen estimates ranging from 16% to 20%. How can we afford to give at least $ 1 million in tax reduction, when we do not have the means to help the poorest in our community? And also, as I said, for the budget cuts, why not remove the tax reduction funding instead of reducing the one from the police? Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else in the center? Zarensky, I would also like to express myself on the 12G point of order of the day tonight. First of all, a few facts about what you inherited from the previous municipal council. During the mandate of the previous council, between the 2020 census and today, in August 2026, Florence grew by about 1,400 people. Of course, the reason why this figure is so important is that more citizens in Florence means more calls to 911 and more people dependent on our police. I checked it earlier today out of curiosity. Currently, out of 237 municipalities in Alabama a year ago, Florence ranked 134th in terms of security against crime. At the moment, our crime rate is 25% higher than the national average and 37% higher than the average in Alabama. This being said, another of my concerns concerning the agreement of the Wilson Hotel is that as a disabled person, I mainly depend on walking to move. I almost fell over an incalculable number of times walking downtown, and I am counting on the presence of Florence police patrolling actively to ensure that drivers respect the rules, the speed limit and do not block intersections. The growth of 1,400 people proves that we need more policemen, if not more. Listen, I have presented myself to the elections twice now. I understand the difference between the general fund and the use of the mandatory market. The reason why, a year ago, when we were talking about Reverb, I did not express opposition, is that it was not a question of cutting an essential service at the time. while my concerns at the time concerning the project of the city hotel concerned the money of the obligations, not that of the general fund. And the fact is that, even if it is not the money we are losing today, these 1.2 million that we are about to give up could cover the 5 police stations currently on the Seylet for 5 years. Here is my recommendation. At this time, Mayor Tyler declared that he needed to wait until October to close the budget for 2027. What I recommend is to report the vote on the Wilson Hotel file until the meeting of the Municipal Council on October 20 or until Mayor Tyler has finalized the budget, because I would like to see a budget for 2027 that includes the hiring for the five vacant police posts that we currently plan not to approve due to the proposed budget cuts. On this, I give you my word. Thank you very much to all of you.

Thank you. Anyone else in the center, to my right? Very well, Mr. Williams. Oh, go ahead and read it.

Yes, madam. All questions on the agenda have been distributed to each member of the Florence Municipal Council for reading and study, are considered routine and will be adopted in a single motion of the Council without separate discussion. If a separate discussion is desired, this point can be removed from the agenda and placed on the usual agenda on request. Motion. I have a question, please. Is this the time to ask a question? I would like to know, regarding the order of the day, at point 12, the resolution to approve the notes of travel fees. I believe that we received an email from Mayor Tyler on July 14 regarding immediate restrictions on expenses. So I wonder why this appears in the order of the day. Mr. Muscoff, are you able to answer this?

His question is, repeat your question for me, sir.

E, we have the point GEJ in the order of the day, a resolution to approve the notes of travel fees. And on December 14th, finally, I apologize, on July 14th of this year, we received immediate restrictions on the expenses on behalf of Mayor Tyler. So, it appears for approval or resolution, and I think we have to examine it. This one goes through the mayor's office and the council. So, this is how they arrive at the order of the day. I forgot the exact process, but several councillors and the mayor must sign. So, do I have to ask them to withdraw? You think? Okay. I could provide a clarification on this subject. The mayor's note specified that all already approved trips were allowed. So, I don't know if this applies to these specific situations, but...

I might suggest suspending the point and checking the dates of these trips to see if they arrived before or after the mayor's email.

It's just a suggestion. Can we do that, Mr Muscro? It's unprecedented, this part. I must therefore consult the legal advisor on this subject. You can move it to the ordinary day order and vote against its immediate examination. You can vote to remove it completely from the day order. These are the two options. Which one do you ask? Move it to the ordinary or remove it completely?

I think that if we establish this and that we do not have a clear picture, we must move it. Honestly, both suit me. What do you want to do? Let's vote against. What? Or let's move it to the next order of the day as Alyssa said, Miss Dixon. Okay.

Okay.

Mr. Williams. I don't know, it's all new. I beg you to excuse me. I don't know how to handle this.

To withdraw it from the agenda, someone must make a proposal, support it, then vote. I propose to withdraw point J from the agenda by consent. The resolution to approve the travel bonds.

I press. Supported. It was proposed by Mr. Spence and supported by Ms. Dickson to withdraw the resolution to approve the travel bonds. Tous ceux qui sont pour ?

D'accord.

Six.

Did that clarify this part? Yes, thank you. Okay. Please excuse me. It was something totally new that had never happened before.

Well, we all learned something tonight.

That's right, that's right. Thank you, Mr. Musgrove. We wouldn't know what we would have done without you here. C'est pour cela que nous avons notre conseiller juridique. Merci. Très bien. Maintenant, l'ordre du jour réel.

Oh, il nous faut un vote là-dessus.

Oh, pardon.

Peut-on procéder au vote ?

Une proposition pour l'approbation de l'ordre du jour par consentement. Puis-je apporter mon appui ? Motion de Monsieur Bouling, appuyée par Mademoiselle Dick, Mademoiselle King. Tous ceux qui sont en faveur de la motion. 6.

La motion est adoptée. Another ordinary point. Very well. Point 12A is a resolution aimed at approving the acquisition of a property for the roundabout at the angle of Gresham Road and Seville Street, Parcel 3, William and Judy Cager, for a amount of $ 35,342. To be paid by the 196 Fund, is $ 95,448,500. and understands a note indicating that this point received a unanimous vote for an immediate examination during the meeting of August 4, 2026, but was not adopted due to a second vote for approval. So it only requires a simple vote tonight.

Just a simple vote?

Yes.

Okay. Does anyone propose a motion? I propose the motion.

Press.

Ms. King's motion, supported by Mr. Spence. All those in favor of the motion.

Discussion.

Oh, I'm sorry. Is there a discussion? Yes, I would like to discuss this subject. I have always said, since I started this approach to introduce myself in District 6, that security would be my first priority. E. Seeing about 3,000 to 5,000 cars a day on Gresham Road, the situation has become extremely difficult at the intersection of Gresham and Seville Street. E. Since I took over, I myself have witnessed several accidents in this area. E. Several times, I have been informed and I got back on site just after the accident. E. An accident involving a car that ended on the roof. These people were very lucky to be able to get out of the accident unharmed. With about 24 new houses under construction in the area, we cannot continue to operate with this intersection as it is today. Buying these properties is an important first step to repair this intersection and ensure safety. It is a very necessary project to improve safety, traffic fluidity and the future of this area. Thank you. Thank you. Any other discussion? No, all those who are in favor of the motion.

6. The motion is adopted. Point 12B is a resolution aiming to buy a property for the roundabout at Graceham Road and Seville Street, Parcel 2, Grace House Incorporated, for a amount of $ 26,400. And the financing comes from Fund 196. And a note on this subject also, this point did not receive an unanimous vote for an immediate examination during the meeting of August 4, 2026. A vote for adoption is all that is necessary at this stage.

Thank you. Do I have a motion?

I propose.

Supported. Motion of Mr. Spence, supported by Ms. Dixon. Is there a discussion? All those in favor of the motion? 6.

The motion is adopted. Point 12C is a resolution for the purchase of a property for the roundabout of Gresham Road and Seville Street, Parcell 1, Premium Properties LLC for a amount of $ 31,630. Also to be financed via the Fonds 196. Note also that this point did not receive the unanimous approval for an immediate examination during the meeting of August 4, 2026. A vote for adoption and all that is necessary at this stage.

Is there a motion?

Motion. Supported.

Motion by Mr. Hendrick, supported by Mr. Boeing. Discussions? All those in favor of the motion?

6. The motion is adopted. Point D. Contract with Jackson Thornton Advisors for a study on cost of water and used water services. Excuse me, for a amount of $160,200 for a three-year study, not exceeding five years on budgeted funds. Y.

Does he have a motion for an immediate examination?

Motion.

Supported. Motion by Mr. Bouling. Supported by Ms. Dixon. All those in favor of the motion. Six.

Is there a motion for adoption?

It is proposed. Supported.

Motion by Mr Hendrick, supported by Mr Bouling. Discussions? No, I am sorry. All those in favor of the motion.

6. The motion is adopted. The point E is a contract for the purchase of real estate of a property located at 648 Marianne Avenue for a amount of 40. $ 45,900. Correct. Okay. I made a mistake here. That's right. Sponsored by Tad Call.

Do you have a motion for an immediate examination?

I propose.

Supposed. Motion by Mr. Spence. Supposed by Ms. King. All those in favor of the motion. 6.

The motion is adopted.

Do you have a motion for adoption? Motion.

Supposed.

Motion by Ms. Dixon. Supposed by Mr. Spence. Discussions? Yes. I recently visited the gas service and discovered their operations. The gas service must follow strict federal and state regulations to operate safely. They are currently operating in a very small enclosed area, which limits their expansion capacity. The city works with five different budgets and the gas service manages its own. The gas service has no debt. The gas service has important funds budgeted for the acquisition of land. The property under study is directly behind the gas service and would provide the essential space for future growth. As our city continues to grow, we must look beyond today and plan our needs for tomorrow. With the number of houses under construction and circulating, we can see how we are growing. Our main services that must develop with our community are water, electricity and gas. These services do not only serve the city of Florence, they also offer benefits to many residents of the county. If we want to continue to advance Florence, we must ensure that these essential services have the space, resources and infrastructure necessary to support future growth. Planning from now on helps us ensure and prepare the growth that is already in progress around us. Other discussions? If not, all those who are in favor of the motion.

Four votes in favor of. Opposed. Two votes against. The motion is adopted. The point F is a resolution supporting the request of Wilson Hotels for tax cuts suite to Malabama, sponsored by advisor Hendry. Est-ce que ?

J'entends une motion pour une prise en considération immédiate.

Adopté.

Appuyé. Motion de Monsieur Hendrick. Appuyé par Mademoiselle Dixon. Tous ceux qui sont favorables à la motion. 6. Entends-je une motion pour l'adoption ? Adopté. Appuyé. Motion de Monsieur E. Hendricks. Appuyé par Mademoiselle Dixon. 1. Discussion ? Non. J'entends une motion ? Motion of Mr. Etesvous, Mr. Hendrick, supported by Mrs. Dixon. A discussion? No discussion. All those who are in favor of the motion.

Five votes in favor of.

An opposition.

An opposition. The motion is adopted. Point G is a resolution aimed at approving the tax abatement agreement between the industrial development council of the city of Florence and Junior Art Properties LLC concerning the construction of the Wilson Hotel in the city center of Florence, sponsored by Mayor Tyler. And note that this point has not received unanimous vote for immediate consideration during the meeting of the municipal council on July 21, 2026. A vote for adoption is all that is asked at the moment.

I have a motion. Motion.

Supported.

Motion by Mrs. King, supported by Mr. Hendry. A discussion?

Yes. We have all received an email today concerning the spending of the ball tournament that took place here, and it is an excellent example of support to our investors and sending good news. The city of Florence is open to investment. What we discovered. Last year, the tournament was there for 10 days and spent about $ 1.5 million. This year, they were there for 15 days and spent $ 2.5 million. Assuming that 75 to 80% of this has been spent in Florence, we are talking about a few million dollars. Assuming a turnover multiplied by 3, we are talking with the multiplier of about 6 million dollars. Let's deduce what goes to education, that means that the city of Florence collects almost 4% of this amount, or a little less than $ 250,000. And that in 15 days. And that's what these hotels do for us. This is why I think it is crucial to support these programs promoting growth and economic development, so that in the future, we no longer have to listen to the mayor tell us this kind of story. That's all.

Okay. Any other discussion? No.

Yes, sir. This demolition, if I remember correctly, applies from the 1911 to 1920. No fund is withdrawn from the police department. This tax cut does not affect the budget for the coming year. No police station is currently impacted by this tax cut. No municipal service is currently affected by this tax cut. We are making decisions today for the next 10 years and beyond, based on performance. If this hotel is mediocre and has a bad reputation, it does not bring us anything. There is no, there is no tax evasion. This is a prosperous hotel, attracting customers who spend in cities, in bakeries and local restaurants. At this point, we are beginning to benefit from indirect tax returns on sales. To be clear, we are not removing the bread from the mouth of anyone. Nous ne supprimons aucun poste dans aucun service de la ville. Aucune rue ne sera privée de pavage à cause de cet abattement fiscal. C'est une décision prise aujourd'hui qui impacte l'avenir. Il s'agit principalement des années 11 à 20. C'est donc une décision dont l'impact est différé. Merci, mademoiselle S. Merci.

Plus d'autres discussions. Eux, tous ceux qui sont favorables à la motion.

Cela fait trois voix pour. Contre. Et trois voix contre. La motion est rejetée. Le point 13A est une demande de licence de boisson alcoolisée pour Johnny Panthers LLC. Je m'excuse.

Nous avons sauté HI.

Oh, je vous prie de m'excuser. Je suis allé trop vite, n'est-ce pas ? Okay, I don't seem to have the H and I points. I have yours, thank you. Very well, let's go. The H point is a resolution aimed at declaring various properties as public damage. Sponsored by Justin Mason of the Urbanism Service.

Is there a motion for immediate consideration?

Motion. Motion of Mr. Bouling, supported by Ms. Simons. All those in favor of the motion. 6. Motion for adoption.

Motion.

Supported.

Motion of Mr. Bouling, supported by Ms. Dixon. Other discussions? All those in favor of the motion. 6. The motion is adopted. The point I is a resolution aimed at approving the second amendment to the project development contract between the city and FOF. QZB 1 LLC concerning the Hotel Hard Rock Reverb project.

Is there a motion for immediate consideration? Motion.

Supported.

Proposition of Mr Hendrick, supported by Mr Bouling. All those who are in favor of the proposal. 6.

Is there a motion for adoption? Motion.

Supported.

Proposition of Mrs. Dixon, supported by Mr. Hendricks. Is there a discussion? All those who are in favor of the motion?

That makes four votes in favor of.

Someone against?

And two opposites. The motion is adopted. Now, point 13a. Il s'agit d'une demande de licence pour boissons alcoolisées pour Johnny Panthers LLC, opérant sous le nom de Johnny Panthers, pour une licence de salon de vente aux détails avec consommation de spiritueux, bières et vins sur place, située au 1205. Northwood Avenue. Entendez-vous ?

Une motion pour un examen immédiat ?

Motion.

Appuyé. Proposition de Monsieur Bouling, appuyée par Madame King. Tous ceux qui sont favorables à la motion. Six.

Do you hear a motion for adoption?

Adopted.

Supported. Mr Hendrick's proposal, supported by Mr Bouling. Is there a discussion? All those in favor of the motion. 6.

The motion is adopted. Okay, now we move on to public affairs with a five-minute time limit. You will come to the podium to indicate your name and your address. Starting on my right. In the middle. Stanford Smith, March 80, Hill Road. This is the first time I attend a council meeting. And I made a monumental mistake. And I'm going to say it in front of everyone here. J'étais l'un des propriétaires figurant sur l'ordre du jour concernant les nuisances publiques sur lequel vous venez de voter. Il y avait, et il y a toujours pour ce que ça vaut, un plan en place pour tenter de réparer et de nettoyer la propriété. Euh, je ne savais pas que la période. Hum. Comments from the public concerning this order of the day. E. At this point, I can't do anything about it anymore. E. It's scheduled for demolition.

My house is... We don't have any direct dialogue from the podium.

Oh, okay.

E. Well... You can speak with your representative at the council after the meeting.

All right. Well, thank you very much for your time. I guess I'll talk to Counselor King in a moment. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else in the middle?

Do I have to give my name back? Key Palmer, 1630 Decator Avenue. To stimulate tourism and encourage the occupation of our hotels while offering pleasant family activities to residents of Florence as well as visitors, it is essential to develop a multifaceted approach. This could involve summer recreational activities in the open air such as an aquatic park or an aquatic attraction located near the river, which would generate revenue through various channels, the general entries usually representing about 48 to 50% of the total revenue. The remaining revenue would come from high-end auxiliary services, including food and drink sales, cabin rental, derivative products, etc. The modernization of existing cinemas in our shopping centers also involves several key improvements to boost the cinematographic experience. First, replace obsolete projectors with advanced laser models, and so on. I mean, simply modernize the existing one and also replace the seats. Finally, improve the catering offer in the shopping centers by introducing extended concessions, tactile bars, bars and sellers who will respond to varied tastes, making the experience more pleasant. Why the shopping center? Because it is practical in case of bad weather and to have fun all year round. Collaborating to offer fun activities, beyond sports, for residents and visitors, can strengthen community engagement and promote a dynamic atmosphere for our city. Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else in the center, on my left? Okay, now we will move on to the council members' report with a five-minute time limit. Starting with you, Mrs. Dixon. I had not realized that I was the first today. First of all, thank you to all those who came today. I appreciate your interest in the city and the things we are accomplishing. Allow me first of all to thank the Council for Industrial Development. I appreciate the role you play within our city and the work you do. Thank you for sharing your expertise for the improvement of the city. You are doing a work that is most often unnoticed, but which we take advantage of as a community. I particularly appreciate those who contacted me after the email I sent earlier this week. I want to be very clear. I am in favor of incitations to development. I think it is necessary as times change, in order to remain competitive to attract development in our communities. My decision during tonight's vote was made after many research and discussions with people who know much more than me. It is easy to understand both sides, and I agree with the logic and the reasons behind the information received during these conversations. However, no one has yet answered what I consider an important question, and I could not find the answer by my own research. What other cities comparable to ours have provided programs of encouragement as important as those asked here? During our last work session of the Municipal Council, I asked Mr. Standfell, who expressed himself on behalf of the Council of Industrial Development, if he had examples of other cities of size comparable to Florence that provide substantial demolition programs similar to what is asked of our city. Shortly after, the promoter declared to be shocked that such a question was asked, because this information had already been provided to us. He then cited several hotel projects in the following cities as examples, Huntsville, Birmingham and Franklin in Tennessee. Personally, I do not find these examples relevant while Florence has about 42,000 inhabitants, against 233,000 for Huntsville, 195,000 for Birmingham and 90,000 for Franklin, Tennessee. I know that many other factors could be used to compare, but the size of the population is a good starting point to discuss municipal resources and relief and resumption programs, especially given the capacity of cities to support such programs and the amount currently asked. J'étais également impatient de lire la lettre que le promoteur a transmise au Conseil de la part du sénateur Tuberville. Il soutient fermement ce projet et a énuméré de nombreuses raisons pour lesquelles l'Hôtel Wilson sera bénéfique pour la ville de Florence et les communautés environnantes. Je suis en parfait accord avec son raisonnement et je suis également conscient et reconnaissant des emplois qu'il va créer et du potentiel de développement touristique grâce aux conférences et autres événements qui pourront s'y tenir. However, referring to the Wilson Hotel, Senator Tuberville wrote, I quote, this project should create permanent employment opportunities, increase tourism, support local businesses and generate new tax revenue linked to accommodation, sales, property and others. According to this statement, it does not seem that Senator Tuberville has been aware of the agreement of demilitarization and resumption previously concluded with the promoter and the city a few months ago, nor of the second agreement and the Sweet Home Alabama programs submitted to vote tonight. According to what I understand from his letter, he thinks that the hotel will report tax receipts related to accommodation, rent and others. And it is difficult to achieve when these revenues are reduced by multiple relief programs and extended over long periods, going up to 20 years. I support the development incentive programs. It has been said that the city of Florence should send a message to future promoters to say that it is open to business, and I believe that the city is. This has become very obvious with the initial agreement that we concluded with the promoter several months ago. Once again, I support these initiatives and I am open to examining other agreements in the future. This agreement is not quite ready yet, which is why I could not support it today. Some adjustments are necessary on the conditions so that the promoters understand that we are open to business, but we must also protect those we are in charge of, which requires tax receipts. I congratulate the promoter for having had a vision and for having realized it. I appreciate the jobs that will be created and the additional tourism that it will bring. I appreciate that you have chosen Florence and I hope that you will be able to appreciate the agreement concluded a few months ago when we supported the Wilson Hotel. By the way, things could have gone faster if the members of the municipal council had been informed that the IDB was considering a project that would be submitted to our vote. We do not need to attend all your meetings, but it would be appreciated that in the future, you inform us if a subject is under study before it is submitted to the council's vote. And I say it loud and clear now, not only to the IDB, but to all the municipal councils. Please, if you discuss a subject or if you submit it to the council for a vote, let us know so that we can attend the meeting and listen to you. We want to know your point of view. We want to understand how you make your decisions and this will facilitate the process. So, thank you. Moreover, to finish on an enthusiastic note, Yaté, our young finalist here, I saw her run and she is incredible. Si vous voulez voir quelque chose de stupéfiant, venez la voir courir, elle participera certainement à de nombreuses courses. Elle donne l'impression que c'est facile. Elle est absolument fantastique et passionnante à regarder. Elle peut laisser sur place certains de nos coureurs de cross-country les plus rapides du lycée. C'est un plaisir de la voir. Je tiens donc à la féliciter, ainsi que sa famille. Merci, mademoiselle Dixon, monsieur Ping.

Merci, mademoiselle Simmons. Merci à tous d'être ici. And to all those who follow us online, I will not extend myself on my vote, as I said at the last meeting, when the proposal was not supported. You know, my silence meant neither yes nor no. In fact, I wanted to get more information. I got my information and I didn't agree. So that's essentially where I am. If anyone wants to contact me to get more information and better understand my position, don't hesitate. It doesn't bother me at all. I even encourage you so that we can discuss it around a coffee or as you wish. I would like to address some problems currently occurring in District 4. Several citizens have contacted me in recent days about crimes committed at night. I would like to inform everyone that Chief Holt and I are in touch to try to solve this problem. by strengthening night patrols. And we hope to be able to understand what is happening. This occurs in three different districts of District 4. With more patrols, we hope to be able to make them flee, stop someone or act. I really hope this will be the case. And for the young runner, these are really impressive results. We greatly appreciate her efforts and her hard work. With such results in running, if you have already run, you know that it takes a lot of work to reach her level, and she is only 11 years old. It is simply extraordinary. We thank her, as well as her family, and thank you Mr. Mayor for honoring her tonight. It was a wonderful moment. That's all for me.

Thank you, Mr. Spence.

I would simply like to thank all the people present tonight, as well as those who follow us via YouTube. We appreciate your presence and your comments, and Brandon, thank you for your interventions tonight. I am delighted that you took the floor in front of the city. This is what we would like to see more of, exchanges with the community. Thank you to our staff for everything they do on a daily basis. I will never thank them enough. I saw today the refuge save a small farm in Cox Creek. It was incredible to see this intervention and how a passer-by spontaneously lent a hand. It was something. In fact, I would like to highlight a major step for Florence and the County of Lauderdale today, at 8.45 this morning. Florence Lauderdale's new emergency call center Emma 911 received its first call. It is an excellent facility, the result of the collaboration and partnership between the county and the city for our first stakeholders. I really want to thank Brad Holmes and Lisa Brown, as well as all those who worked tirelessly to realize this project. Brad Holmes deserves a special mention for giving so generously of his personal time to help our city and our county. His supervision, his dedication and his work on the ground, inside and outside the premises, have been invaluable. I will quote an email that the Council of 911 received late last night, it is the first time in our history that our first aid agencies will be gathered in the same room, using the same software, for a unified response to our community. This is something important, you know, the city and the county unite to achieve this. I want everyone to know that there will be a meeting on public safety here, at the auditorium of the city, Monday at 3 p.m. Everyone is welcome if they want to attend. And once again, I would like to thank everyone for contacting me regarding recent events. Keep sending me emails, talking to me in person, as you did, taking the time to chat around a coffee. I met a lot of people. I favorably welcome your opinions, your ideas and what counts for you, your concerns for our city. For the future, I would like to see our city work continuously together. We must progress in order to make Florence economically strong and competitive, while making our community move forward in all areas. Above all, we want Florence to continue to be a place where people want to settle down, come back, build their lives, raise their families and feel at home. Together, we can continue to make Florence move forward. Thank you again.

Thank you, Mr. Spence, Mrs. King. Thank you to all those who came tonight, who took the time to express themselves in front of us and to those who have been watching us from home. We are very grateful to you. I don't have much to say tonight, but I'm here. If you have any questions, if you want to contact me, discuss my vote or if you are concerned about a subject, my number is 256 956 9621. Do not hesitate to join me. I had so many people who contacted me over the last few weeks. I want to hear from you. I want to know your opinions. I want to hear what you have to say. I have a meeting for District 6 on September 10 at 6 p.m. at the Florence High School and I would love for the inhabitants of District 6 to come and attend this meeting. It will take place in the auditorium of the Florence High School. So I can't wait to see you there. Do not hesitate to contact me if you need me. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. King. Mr. Hendrix.

Well, I have only one topic to discuss tonight, and that is money. I have received a lot of calls from people and there has been a lot of discussion about the budget, and I want to clarify the fact that your city is not on bankruptcy. We are simply determined to have a balanced budget. So, the city is not on bankruptcy. And the mayor assured us that we will have a balanced budget. It is an annual obligation. I explained it to many groups with which I discussed, just to let people know how much the city is affordable. We talked about $ 91 million, and what I do is I delete a few zeros. So, let's say your family earns $ 91,000. After taxes. This is what you bring home in your home after taxes. $ 91,000. you would have about $25,000 in liquid savings. I am not talking about retirement savings plans. I am not talking about pensions. Liquid money available if you had to use it today. Your total debt, including your real estate, your cars, your student loans, your children's student loans, the highest interest rate you would pay would be well below 5%. and the service of your monthly debt would be less than $600 out of $91,000 that you earn annually. We are therefore a city with a lot of liquidity. Our total debt is equivalent to our total income, including our real estate loan. How many people can say that when they build a brand new house, as the city is about to do it? Normally, your real estate loan can represent three times your salary. So again, we are a very affordable city. I will not even talk about the balance of what the city has, but when you drive in the city and see everything that the city has and who is paid, we are a city with a lot of liquidity. Je ne veux juste pas que ces deux choses soient confondues, car nous parlons de la nécessité d'avoir un budget annuel équilibré. Tout va bien. Nous devons simplement continuer à travailler pour l'avenir afin de créer de nouvelles recettes pour cette ville et, comme nous l'avons déjà dit, agrandir le gâteau pour tout le monde. C'est tout pour moi, merci.

Merci, Monsieur Hendrix. Euh, merci à tous ceux qui étaient présents ce soir. And when I make a mistake, I will tell you that I made a mistake. I was wrong in my vote. I want, for the record, to make sure that you have noted it well, Mr. Williams. I support the Sweet Home Alabama project. I am therefore very happy that it was adopted. I just made a small mistake at that time. But I support it and I sincerely hope that they will obtain the Sweet Home Alabama grant. I hope they will. And that being said, that's all I have to say. I tried to correct my mistake even if the vote was closed, but no, for the record, I support this project. Very well, if there is nothing else, I ask everyone to stand up and Ms. Dixon to conclude with a prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for having been able to bring us together as a city, to have been able to discuss and openly exchange, and to have been able to accomplish certain things for the future of the city. We are grateful to those we serve. We are grateful to you. We are grateful for the joy and happiness we receive through these blessings you send us. And we pray that you help us as we strive to reach out and help others in our communities, to be attentive to others and to accomplish what you expect us in your name to help and support others. And we pray that we may return home safely tonight. And we pray for your blessing on the city, in the name of Jesus.