City Council - Regular Meeting

I call to order the city council meeting of October 6th, 2026. Clerk, please call the roll. Morris? Here.

Please stand for the invocation by Pastor Carl Jackson from Precious Blood Church, the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag, and the singing of the National Anthem by Charisse Easterly, a City of Toledo employee.

councilwoman morris thank you very much one of the wonderful things about being on council is that every uh... month you get to choose who is going to sing and who is going to do the prayer and this is my mom and so i just want to say thank you so much to pastor carl jackson uh... he leads a church where we have a community meeting every month and we have been really wonderful partners together and uh... just want you all to say an extra prayer for him and his church as they continue moving forward. Having a church, it's a hard time right now. And so just say an extra little prayer. And Cheris

Thank you. And Cherise will be singing at my wedding for free whenever I find a husband because that is my cousin.

Thank you, President. To Pastor, thank you for coming and sharing and praying for us. We all need it. Thank you so very much. And to my girl, you kept that one on the down low. Yeah, we're going to pull you out, girl. Thank you for sharing your gift and letting us know I will be calling on you, not to sing at my wedding, but just to sing. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Clerk, please begin with the resolution in attendance recognizing Chili Rodriguez. Would Mr. Rodriguez come forward?

Thank you. I know it's really hard, probably, to stand up there and be, you know, listen to all of the different things that have happened in your life, but to us, you are amazing. I first ran into you at Art-O-Matic, and I saw you at Techleto, and just all over our community, and... I see your work everywhere too, but being creative also takes a lot of courage. Being a part of the Latino history and all of the vibrant colors that artists in the Latino community use, it brings you home. It gives you a sense of belonging. Visual art can transform our communities. It can give us an identity for

Thank you. It's such an honor to have you here. I'm a huge fan. I'm really grateful to work with Councilwoman Morris on this. Because you bring hope. Your art is hope. And in some of the darkest places of East Toledo, you've brought hope. And that message of hope carries through to our kids, to our seniors. some of our neighborhoods, they're down, they're down and out, but the art that you bring starts that transformation. It makes the kids walk taller and it helps people dream. And that's, it's a beautiful thing and we're so lucky to have you. Not only are you doing your art but you just cele

Thank you. Thank you for your work. And I hope that there's some way that we can get you into the schools so that you can tell your story to our students. where you come from does not determine your destiny and that you can make a change and what you have turned it around and the way you have turned it around and contributed to our city in turning it around and beautifying our city at the same time is simply amazing. And so I am so proud to sit here and celebrate you on today. I'm with Councilwoman. I know you're probably a little nervous up here with all of this, but take it in to know that y

All right, well, if you would come in so you can take a picture with us, that'd be great. recognizing the next clerk please begin with the resolution in attendance for recognizing domestic violence awareness month will rebecca facey chief prosecutor please come forward council president williams and all members of council present resolution 410-26

Thank you, thank you. Amazing, the work that you do. And thank you for allowing me to bring greetings at the workshop. And I kinda told a little bit about the story, what domestic violence experienced in my family, where my daughter had to go underground because of domestic violence. And the work that you do daily, a lot of people have no idea. But the word is, it is not what you think when it comes to domestic violence. It is not the uneducated. It is not the poor. It is not just in one community. but it can be at your door. And it's not the lack of, it is something that can happen because of

Thank you, Council President Williams. I want to, first of all, thank this council because since we've come on council, since I've come on six years ago, we've added, we really put our money where our mouth is when it comes to domestic violence. And I'm extremely appreciative and thankful for the work that this council has done to give Chief Facey the necessary staff and tools that she's needed to get this work done. And then you have to have someone that is passionate And it's fair about doing things the right way and not assuming just because of who comes in. But Director Facey, Chief Facey

Thank you, I just wanna keep it, I'll keep it brief. I just wanna thank you guys for all of your efforts. The numbers of domestic violence are real in District 3, and you guys are making a difference. It's gotta feel tireless, and we really appreciate all your efforts, and I just wanna commend you and thank you for all the hard work you're doing for this city. Thanks, Chair.

Councilwoman Kramer. Thank you, Chair. I also, I just want to thank you all for all of the work you do. I had the privilege to be able to work with Chief Facey on some initiatives with my gun violence prevention work and you always bring a grace and poise to everything that you do and I just so appreciate that and appreciate how you advocate for victims. I was able to go to the waiting room, open house, and it just goes to show how much thought and care you all put into making sure that you're taking care of the folks that you're working with. And it just, it means a lot to our community. So t

Thank you, Madam President. I just want to add my gratefulness to Prosecutor Facey and the entire staff. I think we've made good progress.

We still have many, many victims of domestic violence approaching the municipal court bench, but we are making progress. And I appreciate Councilwoman Morris and myself working on the fact that Back in 2022, there was not a clerical person to assist attorneys in filing these very complex cases of domestic violence, and we also worked on that. We worked with the police department in expanding the role of officers being assigned to domestic violence and getting the evidence and the information that's needed so you and the prosecutors can do your job. And that's just so important. And we must be

Thank you so much if you guys would come on in and take a picture with us.

I now turn the meeting over to Councilwoman Morris.

Thank you, President Williams. Clerk, please begin with the second read items.

Councilwoman Gattis. Thank you, President Williams. Before us, we have a printed copy of an amended version of the retaliation prohibited. We were given a legal advice from, a legal opinion from Director Emch and Dr. Jones and I were able to sit down with Director Imch and Madigan and discuss the issues that they had raised. And we have made amendments to all of that. So it fits within the confines and complements the state law. So I just wanted to move to amend.

Seeing no objections, so ordered by the new title.

Thank you, President Williams. There's been an amendment proposed by the administration, but they don't have the right necessarily to amend an ordinance once it's before council. So someone from the administration, I believe, is here to present an amendment to this ordinance.

Thank you. I just want to get on the record, Chief, that if the full $1.4 million is not used, then that money reverts back to the general fund?

Very good. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.

All right. All right. So the motion, move to amend. Any objections? So ordered. Clerk, can you read the new title?

Clerk, please continue with the new items from city council.

Resolution adopted. Clerk, please continue with the new items from the administration.

uh colleagues this next ordinance that uh clerk will read is for uh the gas station or north detroit i actually want to support me and not voting for this based on our decision-making criteria in 1111.0706 item c through f if you would please support me in not voting for this thank you

Councilwoman Morris, first call. I move to dispense with the reading of Toledo City Journal for the city council meeting of September 22nd, 2026. Seeing no objections, I'll order. I move to excuse Council President Williams for non-attendance at the Community and Administrative Services Committee of September 23rd, 2026. Council Member Gattis for non-attendance at the Community and Administrative Services Committee of September 23rd, 2026 and the Agenda Review Meeting of September 29th, 2026. Councilwoman Jones for non-attendance at the City Council Meeting of September 22nd, 2026. uh communit

I understand how it feels to be Julie right now. Just a couple of things. We do have our candidates night for the general election at the Point Place Business Association. They sponsor that. And so that will be on October 21st at 7 o'clock at Friendship Park. I will be the person who will be the emcee. So Come on out. And then we also have now begins the season of Trunk or Treat everywhere. And so there will be two in the point, probably more that I'm missing, but October 24th at Friendship Park. again sponsored by the point place business association and then october thirtieth uh... a new bus

Thank you very much. I want to thank Senator Paula Hicks-Hudson and the Buffalo Soldiers and the Toledo Police Department for sponsoring a community forum at the Enrichment Center part of the Metro Parks last week. I thought it was very fruitful and a good discussion of concerns with the community and the police department. and I look forward to their leadership in the future also. I want to thank Care Net for what they do in Toledo. I was on council the first year we appropriated money for Care Net. Mayor Ford was the promoter of that, and this has been an excellent program that's helped lite

Thank you, clerk. I'm sure you all read about the motorcycle accident that took place in South Toledo Saturday afternoon. It grieves me to say, someone I graduated high school with, Josh Seaman, he was my age. We were in the same class. He had been over to my house a couple times. We weren't great friends, and we definitely went our separate ways after high school, but he was a good guy. served his country in the Navy and had two young daughters. And as chair of the Transportation Committee, I do want to refocus our efforts along transportation safety. This accident looked to be like a lot of

Thank you. First, I want to take a minute to thank Council for their support on the retaliation legislation. At the beginning of the year, Dr. Jones and I hosted seven town halls and worked with the administration to do a citywide survey, and we promised every resident that came out and that gave their input that we would deliver legislation that is going to work for the citizens and this is just the start so I just wanted to take a moment to thank the agencies that also came to all those town halls and have helped us with their input on this legislation and I look forward to presenting more i

Thank you, clerk. First, I really want to start off by thanking my colleagues for supporting this ordinance. The work is not done. We're still going to be meeting, making sure that all of the system components are in place because the overall vision is to have a system. when it comes to these circumstances and try to at least alleviate some of the communication problems when it comes to housing. So this is still a living document as it was just important to put it on the books, but this is still a work in progress when it comes to that. So thank you just for that support. And the residents wou

Thank you, clerk. I just want to thank Councilmember Gaddis for bringing up the trash issue. I was away for some time, and one of the things that I noticed while I was away were the number of emails I was suddenly getting about complaints around trash. So it was noticeable. to me was one of the first conversations I had when I got back to town. So I anticipate a hearing sometime soon to bring in all those people that you mentioned. So we can ask the appropriate questions and make sure that we are getting all that was agreed to. I just want to lightly bring up the fact that today we are appropr

Councilwoman Kramer, first call. Thank you chair and I want to congratulate Councilmember comives on that. That was a long project and it will be a fantastic event. I'm sure I do want to also remind everybody about voting as some of my colleagues already did, but early vote makes it very easy. I do have a dad who's in a wheelchair and he's very excited to go and vote in his car. They will come right out to your car at early vote and so that makes it so much easier for folks who have some ability issues. Thank you to all those who are working at the Early Vote Center. And I encourage those of y

uh republic services has been there dpu engaged toledo uh some of my colleagues have been there and we've just had some really good conversations with residents so thanks everybody who's come out councilwoman mcpherson first call thank you clerk i've got a couple of things um this week here in toledo we are welcoming marian and i'm her last name is Battistelli and she is an Italian opera singer. She's being brought here through Pursuit Magazine and so she will be spending the weekend with us and they're going to have her performing with the Clarence Smith Community Choir On Saturday night, and

Council President Williams, first call. Thank you so much. I want to just say thank you to my colleagues for helping me vote down that gas station on Detroit. We have so much going on on Detroit, and we don't. need more mess if it was a reputable company I would I would definitely advocate for small businesses for sure we just need good actors and not paying your taxes means that you're not a good actor Another thing is there is a pending project that is in the works for the Fullerton school site. Wooda Cooper is a company out of Columbus, Ohio. They have opened up to take us to another proper