Steering & Rules Committee - Regular Meeting

For Alderman Dimitri Avish as Vice Chair. Also joining us is Alderman Robert Baumann, Alderman Russell Stamper II, Alderman Jokasa Samaripa, Alderman Malayle Cox will joining us shortly virtually, Alderman Scott Spiker, and Deandre Jackson as committee members. We are also joined by Alderman Pratt and Alderman Taylor. So welcome. And we have with us Dira Melendez who's our staff assistant is approximately 01:36PM on Monday, April 6.

And want to jump right into our first file. Number one, file two four zero nine two zero. It's substitute resolution relating to the designation of, designation of Milwaukee as a certified sensory city. Yeah. Hold on.

I got some notes somewhere here. Today at the table joining us, have Clifton Krum, policy and admissions direct director for the office of the president. We also have Molly King and Visit Milwaukee with us. And just to put the file into perspective as the lead sponsor, this file outlines a prospective partnership between the city of Milwaukee, Visit Milwaukee, many of its partners under that umbrella, Culture City, and you'll hear from some of these entities today that are already trained in utilizing the Culture City platform. Culture City describes its organization as the world's leading nonprofit on sensory accessibility and acceptance.

It further states on its website that one out of every four individuals have sensory need or invisible disability that these are individuals with PTSD, autism, dementia, strokes, just to name a few. Sensory needs are common medical condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding information that comes in through the census. So in line with existing council council legislation such as the Innovation District where we seek to be creative in both the built and human environments. This file seeks to embolden Milwaukee as a visitor destination as well as a place of permanent residents that pushing the envelope for inclusiveness. With that, I'll turn it over to the team that's in front of us, spearheading efforts on this project so far and I think I'd like to start with you, mister Crump.

Thank you mister president Clifton Crump, policy and director, for the office of president Perez. Committee members, thank you for hearing this item. This, process or program started off with a simple search for myself. My son Austin is autistic. He is 20 years old.

And one day I started to think about where he and I will retire to. I started doing searches on autism friendly cities and states in this country and quickly I found out that certain states have stepped up and offer more in cities and some don't. So when I'm doing these searches often Mesa, Arizona will come up during my search. So I chose to look into it a little bit deeper and Mesa, Arizona, they tout themselves as being the first autism certified city. So I'm like, what is that about?

So I'm looking into it and essentially they partnered with the credentialing agency and they trained various entities such as hotels, recreation facilities, restaurants to be more inclusive. So if I or my son went into a restaurant and he starts to stem, they would recognize that he's on the spectrum, that he's not just being that is these aren't behaviors that are threatening at all, but that's how he communicates to the world and through his through his senses. So I thought about I looked into it further and saw that as one of the partnering organizations visit Mesa which would be akin to visit Milwaukee was a partner in Arizona. So myself being a visit Milwaukee board member, I began to think about if we could do something similar here. So, I've brought the concept back to President Perez and he embraced it.

We then went to the mayor's office and talked to him. He was enthusiastically supportive and then we took the concepts to DER. At the time, Harper Donahue was here. So, that would tell you that we've been working on this for quite some time. Probably a little over a year now.

Molly King has been kind of leading the charge as well as Tony Snowdieriguez just in terms of doing different modeling and reaching out to different organizations that offer such certifications. So that's kind of how we got to this point. But again, it was a search to find out how can we make, you know, Milwaukee better or on the same, I guess, scale or or tier as some of our other cities and Mesa is a good comparable. It's 550,000 people, very similar in a lot of ways. But again, as people like myself in my mid fifties look to retire, where am I gonna live?

Where is my autistic son going to live? Why not Milwaukee? Why not put Milwaukee on the map as best we can? And I think myself personally, I think there's a moral obligation to make sure that we're doing all we can. And as you'll hear later in the discussion, there's also some economic reasons that are tangible for doing this as well in terms of tourism and things of that nature. So with that, I will turn yes, sir.

No. I appreciate. Before we go to the other leaders, I wanted to point out that Alderman Jackson is a cosponsor and I wanted to provide an opportunity for Alderman Chambers who's also another cosponsor if he wanted to kick off the discussion and then recognize that Alderman Alderman Morris joined us as well.

Thank you mister president. Thank you you know Clifton for speaking to your testimony and you know, we all have family, family members that are close to us that have been impacted by, you know, this thing and I think that this should have been done sooner. You know, a lot sooner because a lot of people even in their adult lives are being diagnosed with, you know, being on the spectrum and you know, so I think this is a great start. I think you need to go further and you know, you know, I think Ms. King and Mr.

Snell is going to go on to more detail about it. But thank you for bringing it up, Mr. President, bringing this a great opportunity and Armaud Jackson for talking about something and that we should be in the forefront of leading and just making sure that we are inclusive to the entire community from all different walks of life. So thank you.

I appreciate it. Thank you. With that, I want to turn it over to Molly, then Tony, and we can continue. We'll have questions when we're done with the presentation. Excellent. Thank

Well, thank you again for having giving us this opportunity to be here. Think as a Alderman Chambers, it's a timely and well needed initiative. Just for the record, my name is Molly King, City of Milwaukee Benefits Director. So again, this is an important step forward for Milwaukee and I think it reflects both the shared commitment by Mayor Johnson and President Perez to work collaboratively to make this move this initiative ahead. And it's especially for me and meaningful that we're having this discussion during Autism Acceptance Month.

It's a time that calls for us to not just be aware but take action and focus on what could we do to move this forward. And at its core, this initiative is about making employee feel more feel an ability to recognize and support individuals who have these sensory needs. That could be a colleague or someone we're serving within the community. That is what we do, right? And so because because of when we are, I believe, when we are a workforce who equip and give our members of tools, we become a society where we're very much more inclusive and more responsive to everyone, not just a selected group.

That said, if anyone can see the presentation. So this is just an agenda we'll be going through addressing just about all these items listed from internal, external, economic perspective and so forth. So as President Perez alluded earlier to, when we talk about sensory inclusion, we're really talking about making everyday space easier to navigate for people who experience the world differently. That includes people with invisible disability and that things like what we're talking about here, autism, PTSD, dementia, anyone from ADHD. It could just be a spectrum of different kind of conditions.

Things that we can't see, right? But it deeply impact how someone experiences space. And this isn't a small group. As alluded to by President Perez, it's one in four Americans live with a disability and a significant portion of those are invisible disabilities. For many, something simple as a bright light, a loud noise, a crowded room can be overwhelming. So it is really important about moving away these barriers. What if we don't even notice are there? There are barriers that we just don't notice are there that can make it completely determine whether someone can participate in something or not. And so this is again, I'll be talking about partnership we're working with is Culture City. And who is Culture City?

Again, just to echo a national nonprofit organization that helps community like ours become sensory inclusive in a practical real world way. There's already in certified over 1,500 venues around the country from airports to stadium. And like this weekend, we were at the zoo with my son and where those there are a lot of noise. There are like headphones there for individual kids that may be experiencing that. So we have it.

Our partners here in the city has been doing it. It's our time to step up and support them as my what have you been talking about? So what makes this program more effective is it's not just a label, right? It's a training, it's tools and it's accountability. Staff can train on how to recognize sensory overload and how to respond to it.

Facilities are equipped with things like sensory bags, noise canceling headphones, phasor tools and cue like visual cue cards also. It's a simple ideas, small adjustment that could make a big difference in what happens here. And from our staffing perspective, this is about confidence. A lot of people, a lot of employees want to help others, right? But they just don't know how always know how to what to do and what to say, how to react to things.

This training gives them a practical tools so they not just guessing at the moment of what to do. It also builds empathy. Let me repeat that. This builds empathy, understanding what someone might be experiencing instead of interpreting behaviors. And internally, it enforces that we are a workplace that values inclusion, not just externally, but for our own team internally, whether it's our bosses, whether it's our peers, whether it's just about anyone we work with, we could engage in a rack as we don't know what they are going through experiencing.

So this can have a real impact on morale and retention, in my opinion, when it comes to the employees. And for a resident, it's about access, plain and simple. Just having access is important. There are families right here in Milwaukee who avoid public events, space because they are not sure how their loved ones will be received. And so in fact, it's over seventy percent of families with members who has autism say they feel excluded in their community events.

This changes that. This gives them an opportunity to be welcomed, feel valued and included. It sends a message that our city is a space, a place where everyone is welcome, not just in theory, but in practice. And when people feel included, they participate more, more in events, more in programs and more, for me, extremely important and timely civic life, elections, voting, serving. It's not moving.

M 25. Got it. Sorry. The slide seems to not wanna move.

A mind of its own.

Yeah. All right. Can you see the screen again? Yep. So, you know, we have Visit Milwaukee. We have advocate groups as this carrier world here, the DOOM's online. This is also have a very strong economic case to be had here. The disability community represent over $175,000,000,000 in disposable income in United States. Let me say that again. Disability community represents over $175,000,000,000 in The United States.

And these families don't travel alone. It's not one person who's traveling. You travel as a group. So just imagine even the broader economic opportunities that are with this. So cities that are prioritizing accessibilities are increasingly becoming more preferred destinations to give Milwaukee a chance to stand out, not just as a great place to visit, but as a welcoming one. And that translates directly into hotel stay, dining, local spending. I'm not going to run it right in your parade, Tony, but just I guess give you some ideas and Tony will expand further on that.

Okay.

And so this is just a general roadmap of what this looks like. The good news is it's very doable, right? It's a very doable project. It starts with identifying key locations, places where residents and visitors can interact most are interacting most city hall, committee member like rules like this, license and so forth. And then staff, second step is staff gets trained up and putting tools in place. It's a thirty to forty five minute virtual training that we give all of our staff. Our goal is to have just about all of Milwaukee and the city of Milwaukee employees trained as much as we can. Culture City provides an ongoing support. So there isn't something we're figuring out on our own. We're not on our own here at all.

They help us give us a roadmap how to make this a successful program. And ultimately, is about long term commitment, embedding inclusion into how we operate as a city. Because at the end of the day, this isn't about just a program, it's about making Milwaukee work better for everyone, for more people that visit, to live here who lives here and who we served. And here I just want to give a picture of what a glimpse of what two point zero we call it, I call it, because we have not yet identified this space. Pfizer Forum has two of these sensory rooms and our Baird Center has three sensory rooms.

And this is a concept of what it looks like. When people feel overwhelmed and things like that, this is an area where they could go separate themselves. But there are sensory bags that noise canceling headphones and things like that. And I just want to read just what a slide that we put together very thoughtfully put together this slide. And Milwaukee is a city for everyone.

By partnering with Culture City, we believe that the city of Milwaukee takes a bold step forward, a future where everyone, residents, employee and visitors is seen, supported and included regardless of invisible disability or sensory needs. And so that is what President and I have had put together in collaboration with the team. We have our friend here from Visit Milwaukee and our Equal Rights member also Tony Snell. Tony, I'll hand it Thank over to

you, Molly. And good afternoon, Mr. President and members of the committee.

Good afternoon.

I'm Tony Snell Rodriguez and I'm with Visit Milwaukee. And I do also chair the city's Equal Rights Commission. So I'm doubly supportive. And we're here in strong support, the Visit Milwaukee, for becoming a sensory inclusive city. First, I want to thank President Perez, Clifton Crump, Molley, Mayor's Office, leadership and collaboration in bringing this initiative forward.

This is a meaningful step for our community and we appreciate the partnership. And it's also been an educational experience too and appreciate that part. At its core, this is about making Milwaukee work for everyone. Sensory needs impact one in four individuals as we know that includes our residents, our workforce and our visitors. Importantly, when someone travels as part of a group, which most people do, the presence of even one individual with a sensory sensitivity or disability, whether visible or not, shapes the experience for the entire party.

As a result, the number of travelers impacted by sensory needs is far greater than it may first appear. We also know that it's not a smaller niche population. It's worldwide. There are neurodivergent people worldwide, and we're talking about maybe fifteen percent of the entire world population. And that's a lot of people, live with such conditions as PTSD, dementia or traumatic brain injuries that affect how they experience environments.

Travelers with disabilities and their families take tens of millions of trips, tens of millions of trips each year and spend more than $100,000,000,000 that's collectively families annually in The United States alone. This is both a community impact issue and significant economic opportunity as I think Clifton alluded to. The bottom line is this, travelers and event attendees are more aware of their accessibility needs than ever before. That means our city and our industry need to meet the moment and stay committed to being inclusive for all. This is also one of the fastest growing segments in travel.

Travelers with special needs take more than 30,000,000 trips each year. At the same time, there is a clear gap. Research shows that eighty seven percent of parents with autistic children are not currently taking family vacations. But ninety three percent say they would be more likely to travel if autism certified options were available. That's huge.

That tells us that there is both unmet need and real opportunity. What Culture City brings is practical and proven through training led by medical and neurodivergent professionals along with tools like sensory kits, signage and real time support, it equips staff and spaces to respond effectively when someone is experiencing sensory overload. Milwaukee already has strong leaders like many of you in this space. And then we also have our partners out there like American Family Field, Fiserv Forum, Discovery World, the Mitchell Domes, the Baird Center and more joining us and already doing the work. This initiative allows us to scale those efforts into a coordinated citywide approach creating a more consistent and welcoming experience wherever someone goes.

From a destination perspective, do not experience just one venue or one building. They experience Milwaukee. This effort helps ensure that experience is inclusive, accessible and aligned with who we are as a city. Visit Milwaukee is already ready to support this adoption, connect partners and help move this forward. This is our opportunity to lead together and make Milwaukee truly, truly work for everyone. Thank you.

Thank you. I know we have a couple supporters and folks that actually are doing the work that we wanna take any questions on before we we hear from them briefly.

Yes.

Alright. Alderman Stamper? Yeah. Thank you, mister president.

So you know how we have the city mandated ADHD that you have to do ADHD for buildings or licenses or business? Do we envision something like that for this?

ADA. We're talking about compliance, ADA compliance?

Now you have to be sensory compliant.

So we if I may is that okay?

Go ahead.

Please. Yes. That's up.

Chucklea, we feel less necessary, Clifton. We the resolution is asking that give us the authority to execute this.

Okay.

And our goal is to have every department participate in this training. Frankly, my desire, and I think I speak for all of us here in the administration, to have everyone, every one of our department staff. If we can get 100% achievement, that would be great. That is our ultimate goal.

Yeah. So, mister president, is a cosponsor, please. Sure. I like to I don't remember how we did that program where you got a a if you were a clean. Need to put some type of sensory inclusion disability at least to get started so our partners and other establishments that that have already a steady flow of customers or business from people that would welcome this type of population. So I like for us to develop something like that in the meantime. I think this is important. I'm I'm happy to see this.

So Yeah. And and, you know are my

thoughts.

And it was phasing. And, mean, I we thought about all the front phasing employees whether you're in licensing, right, and you come in with your family. You have to wait for your application to be called and having everyone in in those spaces where you're paying water bill. Yeah. You know, the the front facing those were our priorities in phasing this out and that people be trained. Can someone talk a little bit about the the the kits and the bags that come with and you know, those were gonna be made available in these spaces. We delight with with time and wanna get the fire and police. Mhmm. Ready to go. And to give everyone the way we're thinking about this way down the road, our lobbying team.

Ladd also has a mission to figure out how we can work with the state to have license plates identified. So when someone's pulled over that first responders know that someone in the car may have an issue or could be an issue and how to be prepared for things like that. So that's how far we're talking about that.

Yeah. And the and the century bag, good question. The century bag includes, you know, wear a nice cancelling headphone. It includes cute things that will that someone who's experiencing this can calm that individual, move him away, kind of distract him from that. That's why two point we call it two point zero is recognizing space within different facilities.

Yeah. Important facilities, city hall, for example, where we can create that space, that venue where people could go to, that child can go to, that individual who come here for whatever reason for license, unused license or whatever committee can go to if they're feeling overwhelmed or whatever is impacting them at that time. The bag itself is some cue cards. There is the the head. There is some fidgets and so forth but I don't know if our partners at Culture City was able to join us. Are you in line by any chance?

And and Alderman Stamper along the point with the restaurants. That's the reason we have Tony here with hospitality and tourism that as we get more partners involved, we can figure out a way for these locations to be identified so they can be a priority for those for those families.

And just before we move on, want to say our gentleman from Discovery, they already implemented this. So if you want to speak a little bit about this, it would be great.

Yes. How do

the establishes know that they are sensory aware?

Right. Culture City does provide

some Can identify yourself for the record, sir?

Absolutely. Thank you. My name is Casey Clapper. I'm here on behalf of Discovery World and I serve as their Human Resources Manager. As far as identification, Culture City has provided us with signage. So being one of the world's leading sensory advocacy organizations, their logo and their signage is known. And so when someone walks in the door, they can see right there that Discovery World is Culture City certified. And so they kind of know that standardized approach of what those organizations offer. Also there

is mapping in an app. So those individuals Says what? Who want to find a space. It's online. Okay. So there is a mapping in each city and wherever they go so they can look and do that research very easily and know Who organized is that? Culture City.

Yeah. Milwaukee is a culture city.

Not yet. Just over here before you asked

me. It's it. The

Start of it.

Yeah. And Right.

Okay. Alderman then Alderman Burgallis.

Oh. Awesome. Alright.

Just a few

quick questions. Molly, will the trainings be done annually?

This or is an annual just a one time training, 30 to 45 and virtual. So every one of us will have a login so we can do it collectively. Sure. George has to go in and complete the training. Our goal is to have us ready, get all as much employees possible within the next ninety days after adoption of this at April 21. Common Council is our goal so that we can be completely launched and certified as a culture city inclusive city.

It's about a 35 virtual training.

Got it. And is there a cost associated with this by any chance?

Yes. I did and I apologize if you didn't get a copy. There's a fiscal impact statement in the file that it shows that and it's again, when we look at this, myself, Clifton, Visit, Tony, President Perez and the administration, when we look at it as both in a feasibility, is this doable? Is it are we setting ourselves up to doing something that is not impactful or sustainable? And the second lens was, is it fiscally prudent? And so when we did look at this and again, this is not the only vendor we looked at. We did look at several different survey different opportunities or vendors out there. But what we did like about what resonate with us with the culture city, they charge us $1 for per department. So it's like $500 per department. So to get trained up annually.

This is amazing.

So Very doable.

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you all so much. And just to the sponsors for pulling this together in addition to the partners. When I hosted the very well attended youth resource fair, I have a cousin that has an autistic son. And she said, Sharlene, are there going to be any organizations here? Again, because it wasn't a first thought, you know, I try it I just I didn't try hard enough you know with the time frame that I had but it was something that was. On my radar. And so I hope that as we you know have these sort of discussions when we're having events. Whether the alders or whether departments are having events that there's some sort of.

You know checklist or rubric or something that says hey if you want to. Be inclusive these are some of the things that you may want to think about I would have loved to have had something like that I will for next year- because it's something that's important. To me because I want to make sure that. You know in my case every young person. You know had an opportunity to.

To you know be a part of organizations and again knowing for those organizations. Right a lot of organizations don't have the capacity or the staff to be able to. Have that broader rate but if people knew it know in advance- or can tailor programming or we just know who those organizations are. That would be super super. You know helpful- and Tony that- that metric that you said about 87% of parents.

Oh my gosh. Wow. That don't travel just because they are not spaces. That is an absolutely untapped market that we can as a city just be able to connect with the same no come here come in Milwaukee we got what you need right. I'm so excited about the what is to come. Mister president please add me as a cosigner

okay appreciate those comments because yet folks can choose where to have their venue based on their certification. Do you want take that?

Yes. Just wanted to say that's a really good point although the more you make because one of the important things that we recognize and Tony and I were doing some radar searching While we have great partners who started this chart already, And we have Discover We Were. We have a bunch of folks who's been doing it. It's our turn to step up as a city and as leaders to join forces. What's impressive though, we will be the first city in Wisconsin to be Culture City, a Century Inclusive City. So this is a really I think this is a momentum thing. Saved a lot of people in the

back. Alderman Bergelis?

Thank you very much. And you kind of touched on what I wanted to ask about. But is Visit able or ready to include this designation in their partner listings?

So as soon as we wanted to kind of dovetail with the city. So we set a strong example. Visit Milwaukee. We'll then also take the training and we're going to implement this as soon as it passes with the city so that we work together. And then making that announcement and then our partners will be given all of the information. We'll roll that out

I think this is great because we see that Milwaukee, a lot of places in Milwaukee are already doing this. So now we're amplifying it. We're making it official. We're making sure that the public has ready access to know where they can go, and what spaces are a lot more accessible. Accessibility to government is always important for the people sitting at this table on both sides of the table. Businesses will follow. We know that's going to happen. And it's great to see that Milwaukee is taking the lead in Southeastern Wisconsin. Southeastern Wisconsin will be a leader in all of Wisconsin on this. So Mr. President, please add me also as a co sponsor.

Okay. Thank you. Alderman Taylor.

Thank you so much. So I want to say thank you as well. So after teaching for twenty years, in addition to my teaching license, I also do special education as well. And so whereas we did all these things that you mentioned, we had the sensory areas in our classroom, sensory stations. We used the headphones.

You know, we really worked with our students from grade school all the way up to high school. And I guess it just didn't dawn on me that the city didn't do it as a whole. So I'm really glad to know that we're moving forward in that direction. I also wanna put a plug in for district nine because we have evolved church who also has sensory rooms. So if we have signage so that they can let the public know that they have those rooms.

I mean, I know they do when they come in, but just so people know overall, I think that would be great. So I think I really appreciate the fact that they're very conscientious about that. So that was one of the things that excited me about them being in our district. And then also I worked with Wisconsin Early Autism Project. And so I don't know if you guys have them as a partner, but it was great working with that organization over a few years. So that's just I wanted to just put that out there as well. But I appreciate the work that you guys are doing right now. Thank you. Oh, and could you please add me as a co source?

Yes, ma'am. So be it. Mister Perez, come here. President Perez. Alderman Stamper.

Yeah. Looking at what constitutes a sensory room? Like, how if I want if we want to make one up in the city, what what would we need?

Money. Some art. Mean, art

special? Be a

good candidate.

Who what? Your office. Office. Thought to say, but no. That's think

it has to be calming noise. Yes.

Mean it wouldn't we just have to location above everything but it's just more or less a quiet space for persons to go if they become overwhelmed. So it probably it will be harder to find the location than it would to

Make for the cost. Got you. Go ahead. So this art isn't special towards?

No, it just says essentially, it asks for the art to be created by someone that has autism.

Gotcha.

So it could be a school. It could be many of the partnerships that exist just for that artwork.

Gotcha. Gotcha.

Yeah. And I'll just give a shout out. I mean, in my district alone, I mean, we can all do an in reach and find everyone providing a service to school. I have island islands of brilliance. I have ignite which which is a child development for young people. So, they're in our they're in our communities. We just have to connect with them. Yeah. Anyone else?

Yeah, what does the sign look like?

Like, how will we know it? Like, what is it?

I just took what I was at the zoo and I just took it what the sign is. This basically, if you look at the presentation, this little sign on the logo is what you will see. What's interesting with the zoo, which I was there on Saturday and just happens to notice that they had they have a website, they have a QR code to tell you where to go to find that because over in the room where there's the animals are making noise and have a Okay. Head canceling heads a headphone. It was a specific area for you and your child

to get I picture of

don't have a picture of that, but I'm happy

We'll to send it to you.

Yeah. Send it all.

It's a basically, it's a head, I think, with the head with headphones on and it says culture city. So when you can put it on your entry door and then again like it was mentioned earlier it'll kind of tell you where to pick up your headphones if there's a QR code. But then you can also when you go to the website it will tell you if it's a participating organization and then you can call in advance as well. So

I would just say this with people with disabilities as we have looked at it from travelers and people who are visiting, they do the research ahead of time. And what's helpful is that we have this research out there so that they can do it before they commit to traveling here or anywhere else. But then they'll also look at the different cities and we'll rise to the top. And then that's where they'll take a look even closer before they make their decision to come here. Okay.

Aldo person Samaripa.

Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. Just wanted to thank you and Clifton Krum for spearheading this initiative and wanted to ask for permission to be added as a co sponsor.

Thank you very much. We will do that. Thank you. I we I don't I know that that Krista Beale's been on the board and she's with the Mitchell Park Domes. I know that she wanted to say something. So please identify yourself for the record and provide your testimony.

Thank you. Thank you to the chair and to the committee. I am Krista Beale Diepenbach, CEO of Milwaukee Domes Alliance. So that's the Mitchell Park Domes. And we are a culture city site.

I did want to just add in addition to everything that was already shared, I think one thing that is wonderful, as Tony was mentioning, people who are planning their trips and are doing research, the Culture City website actually not only does it identify which sites are part of its network, but also gives helpful photos so that you can see what does the entryway do And going pursued them as a partner. So the Mitchell Ir Park Domes has been a partner of Culture City for quite a few years. And we do have the kits as were described. And in addition to that, as many of you may know, we are going through a reconstruction project where we will be what we're saying is reimagining the Mitchell Park Dome. We're doing a lot more with our amenities.

Services. And one of those will be in this area of sensory inclusion. So we are adding a sensory room to the domes. Now that will be in a few years after we finish construction. But that will be in partnership with Culture City as well so that we make sure that we're able to serve that important population to the best of our ability.

Okay. Thank you. I also would note that as Tony mentioned, Equal Rights Commission has a letter of support in the file and we'll welcome any and all additional support as we lead the council day and moving forward to just just move this initiative forward. Any questions or concerns before we move on? Did you want to say more than what you said?

Please. Again, thank you all for having me today. My name is Casey and I am the Human Resources Manager here at Discovery World. So on behalf of our organization, we wish to encourage the council to consider partnering with Culture City to create a more inclusive community. Our partnership with Culture City has been an important step in strengthening our commitment to inclusive guest centered experiences.

We have partnered with Culture City proudly since 2022 after receiving staff requests for additional training to better serve the nearly one in four Americans who experience a sensory processing disability. Culture City quickly became the next step for our organization, offering practical, well designed resources that support both our guests and our staff. Their team worked closely with us to understand our museum environment, identify designated spaces for quiet zones and headphone zones, developed a customized social story to help guests prepare in advance of their visit and also provided the aforementioned sensory bags equipped with tools like the noise canceling headphones, fidget items and visual supports.

Equally

impactful was Culture City's sensory inclusivity training, a concise yet powerful training program that gives staff direct insight into how individuals with disabilities experience the world. The training equips our team with effective communication strategies, helps them recognize when a guest may need support and shows how to properly use the tools available on-site. By meeting the training benchmarks, Discovery World has earned and maintained its certification as a sensory inclusive organization, which we recertify annually. We strongly encourage other organizations to consider a partnership with Culture City. It is a meaningful and achievable way to create more welcoming spaces and take an active role in building a more inclusive community across Milwaukee.

I also just want to note that we are also a 100% across our staff and our recurring volunteers as well. So I believe the standard was about 50%, but we took the extra step that all of our staff, whether you are a public facing staff member or not, we want everyone to have that level of training and expertise.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Anyone else?

Move adoption.

Okay. With that said, the motion is for adoption. Any objections to that motion for item number one filed two four zero nine two zero? Hearing none so ordered. Thank you so much. Thank you all for being here. Appreciate your hard work.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Appreciate it. Thank you, guys. Item number two, file 251125251661. Communication from the Milwaukee Health Department and the Department of City Development regarding access to fresh food. This is authored or sponsored by Alderman Stamper, Pratt, Jackson, Chambers, and Cogs. Alderman Stamper is the lead. Do you do you Alderman Pratt wanna start off or go right to the departments? Sure. Let's let's let's get

the discussion discussion going.

Did you did you wanna say something on one, Brett?

Oh, no.

Here. We are. We all we all are. Alright. President Preza, thank you for this opportunity.

I'll I'll begin by thanking my colleagues and the community for all the support, the voices, the partnerships, and everybody coming together once we start hearing of all of the grocery stores leaving the community. It was a tragedy, and, it had became an, adversity. So with every seed of an adversity, there is an equivalent benefits, and that is us coming together, putting together programs, initiatives, and things we can do as a council to address the food desert and apartheid and the grocery stores leaving our community. So I'm happy about and impressed by the amount of partnership and how people came together, found money, and also ideas, initiatives to to address what we can and bring grocery stores back to our community and support the ones that wanna be here and offer incentives for those who can bring fresh food and also prescription to pharmacy to our neighborhood. So with that, Alderman Bratton Jackson and I and other colleagues have put together some things that we can do as the city, ordinances, resolutions.

And today, we're gonna begin with this this first one, two five one six six one. But I I did write down some comments I'd like to say. Today, we are taking a clear and necessary step towards step forward in how we respond to food access in the city of Milwaukee. What we are seeing across our neighborhoods is not isolated. It's systematic.

When grocery stores close without warning, when residents are left without access to fresh, healthy food, that is not just an inconvenience. It is a public health issue. These resolutions recognize food apartheid for what it is, establish accountability for closures, and require a better coordination and communication from our departments. This is about dignity, transparency, and making sure every resident, no matter their ZIP code, has access to fresh food. So with that, I'd like my colleagues to give some opening remarks, then we can get started.

Okay. This a lot of this effort was born out of the closure of grocery stores. For me, specifically, the Pick n Save in nearby Glendale closing and the Aldi's on Sherman closing and the how it devastated those neighborhoods after it happened and what we can do to keep the grocery stores we have, to maintain the grocery stores we have, and make sure that they're offering fresh food to neighbors and to residents as well as good service. They are not only there to conduct business, but they are very much a part of our neighborhoods, very much a part of our community, and they have a responsibility and they have to be accountable. And that is what our efforts are towards, making them accountable and making sure that they understand the responsibility they have to residents.

Yes. Hold on, Jackson.

Thank you. Thank I just wanna thank my colleagues for trusting and believing my crazy ideas. I mean, it sound good on paper, but implementation is always the the hard part. But if you have idea, you have to push it yourself, push to work. So went to my colleagues, was able to find some funding and something we could actually work together on and put together. So healthy food access and just grocery store stabilization, something we can all agree on. So we need and the 7th District is well short on grocery stores. And by the grocery stores closing around us, it makes it much, much harder. Yes. I think early on, I talked to a veteran who lives on Sherman Boulevard.

Mhmm.

His weekend was starting. He was to go up on 91st in Appleton. He used to go to Walgreens, get his medicine, then go to the ninety second in Lisbon, Sherman, and I could I mean, Century, and I could just see how he went in the circle around the city to get back Mhmm. But with that Walgreens closing, I think when I talked to him last, he has to go over to, like, Browder Road now because the one on 51st doesn't have a drive through. Mhmm. So with grocery stores closing and with our access to medicine as well, we just gotta be creative and think outside the box. I just thank my colleagues for believing in me. So thank you.

For sure. For sure.

Thank you. Thank you, Alderman Stamper and Alderman Pratt and Alderman Jackson for your leadership. I'll take this a step further for me. You know, it actually started when we lost a Walmart in the district on Silver Spring and I found out via email. You know, where it caused it and luckily, we had a Century Food at the time that was open and then that subsequently closed.

So we got hit with the double whammy luckily. The Century is going to be reimaged and repurposed into another grocery store called One City Supermarket that will be opening up soon this month. There are some still some kinks that are coming out far as accepting snap and things for the federal government. So that's what's holding up the grand opening on that one. So but you know, this is this is necessary because we are as orders on the North Side are severely impacted compared to our counterparts on the other side, on the South Side.

You know, for some reason, you know, they want to label theft as one of the read one of the main reasons and, you know, we get that with Walgreens as well too and and, you know, sometimes you have to call, you know, call the BS out as I like to thank the reporter for the Journal of Sando for doing just that because it puts their feet to the fire to actually come in with some valid ideas. One thing we got lucky as the as, you know, in our district with the one city, they were being proactive with, you know, some of the concerns that they were facing and they were able to tackle. We were able to work with the community partners in the nearby neighborhoods as far as Havenwood and the Choice Neighborhood Initiative and so on and so forth to try to keep a finger on the pulse and now that, you know, we did that, we were able to do a quick turnaround fires opening up. So, hopefully, with this with this these files that are taken out in the the funding that will be available with these files, we can be more proactive as opposed to reactive and thank you all for your leadership on this.

Well, thank you. Thank you. I don't I don't. Okay, maybe she's not there anymore. I think Colin Mummer Cogs was on for a minute but okay.

Floor is yours. Please identify yourself for the

record.

Matt Rejic, Department of City Development and I am joined here by

Dominique Hyatt Oates, Deputy Commissioner of Policy Innovation and Equity with the Health Department.

So we are here to, you know, really talk about some of the things that our respective departments and the office of the the mayor have been able to do in the past to, you know, sort of advance this issue but also looking, you know, towards the future and how this administration can help to center food justice issues and help to be sure that all Milwaukeeans have access to fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh food in general. So, start a little bit on behalf of the Department of City Development. We really try to make as much as possible collaboration really be the key of how we can bolster economic security through all industries throughout the city of Milwaukee. And fresh food access is definitely a big part of that. We want to work, you know, with the common council and with Alders on how exactly, you know, fresh food access needs to be addressed in your communities particularly because each neighborhood, it really varies what the needs are and how we can be of assistance.

But we definitely focus on collaboration from that perspective, but also with regards to the business and the neighborhood improvement districts, which we are also the liaisons to. We're working with Near West Side Partners on some of their efforts to try to see how they want to position fresh food in their neighborhoods. We're working with Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and the Food Justice Collective to be sure that see how we can both support them and also as needed get out of the way and help them to bolster self sufficiency as well from a neighborhood perspective. So one of the base one of the biggest tools that we have at our disposal in the Department of City Development is the commercial revitalization grants program and that we've used in the past to help start up new grocery stores, fill vacant spaces and that is something that we plan to utilize as well. But we do want to be sure that we are plugged into the ideas for both grocery stores and pharmacies that So you all have been working on we just wanted to really emphasize collaboration and be of service as much as we can to you and your communities.

And I'll turn it over to Dominique to

talk a little bit about the

health department and some of the collaboratives that we're having with the mayor's office and how we can keep this issue moving forward.

Thank you. Yes. Is collaboration is also a big effort of the city of Milwaukee Health Department. As you know, we have our community health assessment that looks at the issues within the city and out of that we develop our community health improvement plan which is our CHIP and is the what has allowed us to develop MKE Elevate. So since 2023, we have developed action teams and one of those action teams is our built environment that focuses on food security.

So through that, we have continued to build partnerships and stay active with the community and hosting quarterly meetings in which the community convenes to help us move forward with goals and initiatives to address the needs. In addition to that, we have the fresh food access funds in which we have supported Feeding America to continue their efforts with the market match of SNAP benefits that are utilized within the farmers market. So what that is, is it allows someone who is using SNAP at a farmers market to essentially double their money when purchasing fresh foods. And another effort that we want to speak to that shows what can come out of collaboration, especially collaboration to this extent is and with the determination that we have and is we all witness at the between October and November when snap benefits were at risk of being cut due to the government shutdown. Yeah.

Within a month's time together with the county and other partners like Feeding America, we were able to raise over $90,000 and over 900 pounds 9,000 pounds of food. So it just goes to show that when we come together, you know, many hands make light work and we can get this done. With the mayor's initiative, we are addressing the grocery store closures and so far we have developed three working groups. Those working groups will be focused on economic development, a needs assessment to understand what the residents are experiencing as well as alternative models. And so we look forward to having answers and ideas and just broader knowledge within ninety days.

Who's in the working groups?

It is the Milwaukee Health Department, our health strategy, data and evaluation. We have DCD and. Yeah. Remind me of some other.

Members of Department of Administration as well and on the DCD side, we're both from the economic development, looking at grants and how incentives could happen, but also the data side and the planning office, looking at mapping and strategies like that. So we're really focusing right now on it being a city government sort of led initiative, but obviously looking to see how we can broaden those perspectives going forward.

What does that mean?

Who else we can bring to the table? Else?

Is there an invitation now for people to participate or?

I think we're we're open to if there's, you know, any anyone who wants to collaborate. We want to, you know, see, you know, who we can work with and who can bring perspectives to the table that can help us.

Yeah.

So are the grocery stores at the table?

We're we've had some discussions with them and we'll continue to stay involved with grocery operators to be sure that their perspectives are and those of their customers are, you know, informing whatever steps we have.

Okay. Hold on, mister Stafford?

Yeah. Who's leading that group? Because I'd like to invite you to the Food Network group that meets on a regular basis for the last six months. They have all the insight and the planning that may be beneficial to the city government perspective. So who's leading that group? Because I like to invite you to their to their next meeting.

Yeah. And it's it's really an initiative of the mayor's office. So I would definitely There we go. Yes.

But is there a point person?

Good afternoon. Amber Daniels, council liaison to Mayor Johnson. This is what we're calling a map go. So, it's really just a focused effort to when the mayor's identified an issue that he wants to have particular attention paid to. This is what we're talking about.

So, we're considering like you said, we have a we have three different work groups and needs assessment. So, looking over the data that's already there to figure out you know, what stories there are, what truths we need to address, economic development strategy, which is what Matt had already touched on, and then alternative models. And so one of the things that the mayor and the council members that I've heard from were curious in hearing about were different models that would meet the today's needs, you know, looking at, you know, vans, mobile vans, and etcetera. Mhmm. Studying those models. So this is just a focused work group to and it's an internal work group. Exactly. Gotcha.

Yeah. Alright. Yes. So I'd like to when you're ready, I I more since we first did this initiative. So, where are we in updating the desert?

Mhmm. And That's my question. How much money has been spent since the inception? And with the new influx of funds that the council's gonna support, will it be used differently or can we tailor around some of the initiatives that we wanna do?

Yes. Thank you for that question. So, so far, as mentioned, we're allotting the $100,000 to Feeding America to continue with the market match. So that way we do not see that program dissolve. The additional funds we are and we have been having conversations with different alders so that way we can make sure that we are including the voice of the alders and the residents that they serve. Did that answer all

of your questions?

Yeah, if can do that

and let us know the updated map when the morning

Oh, will be yes. Apologies. Thank you for that. So yes, we do have an updated map. Okay.

I can provide a map to the committee and it's a map that shows the different grocery stores that we have within the city, grocery stores that have closed. There is definitions and designations as if it's a smaller grocery store, a niche grocery store, a superstore, supercenter and it also shows we can look at things like districts, we can look at the radius at which it impacts we have for community members who have limited access of transportation. And then in addition to that, there are a lot of maps actually being developed right now by various partners and we are in communication with those partners to make sure that efforts aren't being duplicated and that what we the questions that we are seeking are going to be answered through mapping.

So and the the purpose of Fresh Food Fund not only to produce fresh food and promote grocery stores to provide fresh food, but it is to address those desert areas. Well, anybody access to the funds should be in that mapped area. Okay.

Yeah.

Gag, a question. How does your internal your process figure out how residents who live in food deserts. Don't maybe patronize someone nearby and want to go away across town to get their food. How does your process get at people in neighborhoods to figure out some of these issues?

And prescriptions and drugs.

And pharmacies as well. That's definitely a similar issue. But with regards to that, that's part of what we are at really the beginning of this data analysis phase here. Trying to pull this information together. And I think that's going to be something that we have seen as well of how which where customers go and how we can help in as much as possible work with existing patterns that consumers have to be able to not reinvent the wheel, make sure that where people are already going for groceries, they continue to feel comfortable going to and that we have them available. So we're still trying to figure out the data from that perspective.

Yes. I guess I'll be even more specific, which one of all those departments is actually talking to people about what they're doing and where they're going?

That's something that we're trying to figure out in terms of how we're going to reach specifically the customers on that. I don't know that that has particularly been established right now, but it is definitely something that we're looking at in the near future.

But. No, no. Also, go ahead.

Other one, Brett?

Yeah. I was just, yeah, was going to add that I think it's important that like we may look at a map and it may look like there's a grocery store somewhere. I mean, I have places like that in my district but because of the history of that store or because of neighborhood feelings about the owner or whatever it may be, it it the people don't go to that store. So, while it may appear that food is readily available somewhere, it it it may not be because it is not. You'll see how peep the patterns that people in neighborhoods choose because of the store that's closest to them.

And especially now that a lot of people's EBT is being cut, there are a lot if you are going to have a store in your neighborhood, and I'm telling you this is happening in my district where the gross were gallon of milk cost $8 Maybe when you got $600 for EBT, you may have been willing to buy that $8 gallon of milk but now that you only get $300 you are going to go somewhere else, you know, and so that's what's happening to to some of the stores. I think it's really important that you're talking with the residents to see what what why they're doing, why they're going, where they're going, and with store owners about what they need to do to couldn't be bringing people back into their stores.

Mhmm. Hold on one more.

That's what mister on that point, that needs to be part of the study because

Bless you.

Our stores taking advantage of the leaving of grocery stores? So now they're upcharge they they stuff because they know the competition is leaving. Is that what's happening?

Market demand.

Yeah. They've been doing that. $8?

I'm sorry. Auto and mobile. That's ridiculous. So we need to fight, figure out who's doing that.

Well, listen. We got guys in bodegas that are going to Aldis. Mhmm. Buy Milford $2.25 and coming back to the neighborhood and selling it $56.

Yeah. Woah. Yeah. I forgot about that. Okay.

Thank you. Really quick. Thank you so much, mister chair. I think just my sentiments are we just really need to think about how we do government differently. A lot of times, we get to the table, right, and say we know the issues, right?

We'll get our departments. They're the smart est in the bunch and we pull together all this information and then we say come on in community we've done the work for you just rubber stamp this for us right so I'll urge you all as we are thinking about you know and specially what all the women perhaps said like yeah on paper. It may look like this but once you start talking to residents. It might be something completely different so I just encourage you all to pull in I know that we have the best and the bright est, you know, these, you know, in these departments, but to always think about centering community first and what that looks like. And it's typically getting them at the table from the beginning, you know, not when the train has already left the station and we want them to jump on.

Right? But that we center them here. And we have some folks from community that are in this room and make the same they they they they they share about the same thing like bring us in. We want to have we wanna share that input. So a lot of the mistakes that could be made aren't made because typically that's what happens. Right? You know, you made the decisions and, you know, you then bring community in and a lot of the mistakes have been made. I just implore us to start doing things a lot differently than what we've always been doing. Thank you so much, mister chair.

Okay. Thank you, mister chair. All in the chambers.

Yeah. Thank you, mister president and I'll be brief. I do gotta give special thanks to former Alderman Khalif Rainey on his leadership with the fresh fresh food grants that he that that was created. You know, that that was huge that was a a huge need because as Alderman Jackson mentioned, like, he don't have a grocery store in his district and, you know, to access that, you know, I really appreciate the leadership and Alderman Jackson leadership to continue moving forward. You all asked a lot of the questions I was going to ask initially, but I want to go back one thing about this $100,000 for Feed in America, the market match.

Is that the mobile truck that will go to and from like the neighborhoods that was going on? And does and I'm going ask another question following that. How do they navigate the locations to Autumn and Stampers Point as far as doing that? Yes.

This is the market that would be hosted at Fondy and so it's the it's a farmer's market. So then when you would go, you would be giving a voucher to double your snap benefits.

Okay.

But we are going to be looking at mobile grocery stores as an alternative and to resurgency exactly what the benefits of that initiative are. Yeah. As well as how it's you know, what that model has done for other cities.

And the full and the full $100.00 from the fresh put the fresh food access that we put year to year goes to that for just that?

It is for one year, yes. We we.

What's been going on? I mean, I get, I've been elected since 2022 and I know we continuously put $100.00 in year after year within the budget. So, does that go to that? Because I I'm guess what I'm trying to figure out is how does it, how does this touch citywide? So, but I know I know they do the match but like how does that impact citywide when there are multiple deserts?

You know, so I I guess I would implore moving forward especially with this increasing funding potentially focusing on other, you know, grocers maybe like a century or or you know, even one city supermarket or anything like to put some money into that pot to help make or grow their business and moving forward not just simply on the finding market. I love the finding market. I go to myself but again, like people don't know what they don't know. And I knew that until that century was open, we had a gap. You know, we had a gap for a year and a half.

You know, so until, you know, things moving forward. So, I'm just wanted to just implore you and hopefully, I can be coming up in the focus groups or anything like that. So, thank you.

Hold on, mister Stanford.

Yes. I'd like to call miss Melanie McCart. Is that Autumn Taylor?

Oh, I'm sorry. Did I skip you? My bad. I'm Autumn Taylor. If you wanna talk before, I'll just leave. Go.

So see. Was gonna call on miss Curtis to give us some insight.

Yes. Before.

I want I want her to give us some insight on the food network and all of the all of the work they've been doing with the mobile market, the community fridges, and the and the the farmers. I mean, the

Okay. Over until you

Food. The food show the food shelter stuff. So Yeah.

Over until you can you can go.

Oh, okay. Yeah.

Thank you. So I just wanted to mention that so I have so as Alderman Chambers was mentioning that we did have a big food gap, and we have food gaps all over. And it's very difficult to hold on to grocery stores that we do have. So I'm very fortunate to hold on to the pick and save that we have, but it's a struggle. It's a struggle because as he mentioned earlier about that it seems that the theft is the reason why people wanted to say that we lose those grocery stores.

But I think it's a little more than that. But it it has been a struggle. It's constant meeting. It's constant changing things. And I just implore many of the business owners to really look at how their stores are set up, how, you know, security cameras, security personnel, I mean, and cameras and and different things like that so we can curb some of those activities of theft.

And so that's that's been part of the struggle, but it's also been part of because of those constant meetings and constant changing things that we've been able to hold on to the pick and save so far. But it only goes so far. We still it it can only serve so many, and we still have a large gap. I'm glad that Alderman Chambers is able to hold on to that what was once century because it it did fill the gap, but one of the things that

Go ahead.

Was the issue with that was freshness because I don't know if you guys remember, but I walked through that store and almost everything in there had an expiration date. So that was one of the things that we just have to really stay on top of that it is quality. All the grocery stores we can put in place, but if they don't bring quality, then that's gonna be a whole another issue as well. So so while I I have two grocery stores, save a lot and pick and save, It's still and and that took a lot of work as well because I had to change ownership. I had to bring bring in quality managers.

So all those things are things that we really need to look at, to to make sure that we have not only grocery stores, but quality grocery stores. And so I need a few more. Two is not gonna cut it for the entire district, but but those are some of the things that that I noticed that went wrong with our grocery stores.

Yeah. So, yeah, Matt, I want you to understand that part of this discussion is it's okay to say if you haven't been working on or you don't know about it or know you haven't done it because part of this discussion is us coming together and working towards everything that needs to be done.

And what we're hearing loud and clear is the center lived experiences of people just because there's a dot on a map doesn't mean that is, you know, grocery store that people are

gonna want. For sure.

Feel comfortable going to.

Yeah. But we gotta look into what they're saying. That's that's crucial. Exactly. Mister Curtis, thank you for being a leader in the community, particularly the 15th Automatic District. We love you over there. You've been a staunch leader for the residents. So from a resident's perspective and leadership on this grocery store initiative, we like and welcome your comments.

Happy Monday, everybody.

Hey. Hey.

Hey. I'm Melody McCurtis. I'm a resident in the 15th, and I work in the 15th. Thank you all all for being here around this issue that's if it's not impacting your neighborhood or your district right now, it will eventually impact your district. This is not something that's just tailored to Milwaukee. This is a national trend with all of the cuts that's coming down as far as snap, Medicaid, farmers. We are experiencing the domino effects. So we just need to name that, right? The next thing, too, is I just want to highlight the community. If it had not been for the community, specifically Metcalfart, I don't think none of us would be here right now talking about this issue.

Mhmm. Because they sound alarmed nine months ago. And our neighborhood has no grocery store, no pharmacy, no clinic. Mhmm. Because all of them did the same thing. Our clinic closed with one month notice. Our pharmacy and grocery store did the same thing. So we're here now. What we've been able to see is the community has a lot of solutions that's been working with no resources. Most of the time, they've just been out there hitting the payment, doing it, right, doing assessments at the door, knocking on the door, asking folks, did you even know your store closed? Because they didn't even have signs to say they was closing. Right? What are you going to do if you don't have this grocery store? How are you going get groceries? How is that going to impact your life?

So not just creating an assessment, but working with the community to then be the folks that go and ask their neighbors the real to really get the real conditions. This little store over here ain't a grocery store because all they sell is tobacco and chips. That's not a grocery store. Right? They got a lot of space because they they bond and bought, but they buy stuff that ain't feeding the needs of the community.

Right? We got folks who can't get baby formula or milk, and then they driving all the way around, and none of the stores have it. So it's bigger than just a loss of a store. This is impacting jobs, right, when folks are transferred to another store way outside of their means, right, Where now they have to pay for Uber, all of those different things. So this is a domino effect. The theft narrative I just met with the century on ninety second of Lisbon, they need to be real. These stores, they cannot keep up with the pricing. That's the bottom line. Farmers, cuts. The whole Lisbon is shut down for construction.

You're not gonna have foot traffic. So if we're not dealing with what is really happening, if we're not seeing what is really happening, and we're just going with the buzzword that has worked, But shout out to April from the journal Sentinel that did that investigation, but that was community saying, somebody need to investigate because we can't keep being the blame for every little thing. And we know this store was their highest earning store, and we know it wasn't clean. We know the food was expired. We know we paid our money, went home, and the stuff was having fungus on it because they don't value our community.

So that's another thing too. So I don't wanna keep dumping money to stores who not coming with a value set. And the value is I'm spending my money nine times out of 10 because it was another report in black and brown neighborhoods. Our cost is higher than the suburban stores. So I'm paying more for garbage. It's unacceptable. Right?

That's right.

This thing started with community. The middle gotta be community. The end gotta be community. Otherwise, no store is successful. When we talk about alternatives, we need to look at specialty stores. Like back in the day when you have walkable communities where this was the butcher, this was the the fruit stand. Right? Mhmm. We got one space, everybody buying in bulk, storing together to help with the cause. We gotta be creative. This is the time to be creative. Mhmm. It's a whole bunch of space and opportunity to be creative. The Food Justice Collective has convening for nine months. I can say they track record.

Community power fridges, working with hunger hunger task force to bring the mobile market. Even that market is not beating the knees because the pricing is still high because they're getting it from Pick n Save. It's 25% off, but it's still high because Pick n Save is not Pick n Save. Biggly Wiggly is the number two highest grocery store in the state of Wisconsin. So 25% off already the high is not a deal. So y'all gotta talk to community, not just talk to them. They gotta be in the room. We can't just create a solution without talking to community. That's just like a store saying, I'm gonna build a store right here, and ain't nowhere to park right there. Yeah.

Ain't no houses over there. You you you you bought nothing but land, and you think you're gonna make a profit?

Yeah.

But you didn't think high enough to do an assessment before you came. So we gotta look this is not a one size fits all. We gotta name the problem, which is food apartheid. All of these stores cut their losses because they see what's coming down the pipeline. If they was making 85% of profits off of food stamp, and food stamps is at risk of being cut, why would this business stay in this neighborhood? We have to name it for what it is. So that's where I'm at. You got any specific questions.

Are you I I you were ready, and I appreciated the the the overlay, but that was to the point of we have to connect with the people that's already done the work.

And I will say Matt has been at almost every food justice collective meeting.

Matt, you have. Respect.

But I need the mayor to talk to the older people because the older older folks, even outside of Russell, have been coming to meetings, calling me, saying, what can we do? I need the mayor to do the same thing. I don't need this to be I'm gonna work with the corporate stores in this group, and then we gonna just work with the community. We have to meet each other halfway and figure it out because it's like 40 different plans happening at the same time. And all of them is gonna miss community, and it's gonna miss the business owners. Mister

chair.

Alright. Thank you.

Mister chair, just quickly, I wanna share your point. Thank you and much appreciated. We respect your work. You know, the mayor's office certainly does. But I do wanna say that the mayor's been working on this issue for quite some time and we've been working with Alderman Pratt, Alderman Stamper, and it's been some months that we've been meeting with different business owners, grocers, etcetera to come up with a plan. And he did direct DCD pretty early on to come up with a plan. And for the past few months, it's been reviewed by several different council members. So, we've been working in collaboration with them listening to their feedback and then trying to figure out what that looks like to have a more community centered, informed approach.

I think the working group need to have community on it.

Well, that's that's the point of what we're saying. I think they hear that loud and clear. I forgot, Matt, you did used to attend the meeting. So you already kinda got the connection there. So you can make it official. Yeah. Thank you.

Anyone else? Mm-mm. Okay. This this is just Yeah.

This is the communication file. Correct?

Yeah. This is it.

So what this is gonna do is branch over to CED on Thursday where we add some funds to the to the network and expect that updated map.

So Can can I be clear? So this is a communication file. This is from the health department at the Department of City Development regarding access to fresh food which means what? That you're you have these working groups set up and what you're going to report back to the community. What what are the outcomes that we can all measure. Three months from now, six months from now, nine months from now.

That's right.

Whatever the case may be.

Yeah, I believe we have a deadline of ninety days to be able to come forward with direction of what tools we might be able to implement and what we might be able to bring to the table there. So that's definitely our next measurable deadline.

Okay. And then we're going to see some of that in the following resolutions, correct?

Yes.

Okay. Mister chair? All of them more?

Can you just add me as a co sponsor?

Okay. Yeah. Well, to the communication?

Yes.

Yeah. Alright. Are we gonna we gonna hold this to the college chair then?

Yeah. Alright. They they said ninety days. Yeah.

Okay. Alright.

Mister chair, I I would like to be added as well to both.

All of them are also another co sponsor. Anyone else before we close this up? Okay.

Mister chair.

Sorry. All the all the person somebody also.

Oh, you ain't gonna be here next time?

I'm good.

I'm done with that, you. Okay. With that said, I'll limit Stamper moves that we hold to the call call of the chair item number file item number two, file 251661. Hearing no checkings are ordered. Moving on to item three, file two five one six six two, resolution declaring food apartheid, a public health emergency, and directing coordinated city action. Alderman Stamper.

Yeah. Thank you. I like what this resolution says, so I'll just reiterate it. Resolution declaring food apartheid a public health emergency and directing coordinated city action. The resolution declares food apartheid a public health emergency within the city of Milwaukee and directs the Milwaukee health department to treat the elimination of food apartheid as a core public health objective.

Other city departments are directed to collaborate with the Milwaukee health department and Milwaukee County to address the issue. The Milwaukee health department is directed to report back to the common council also within ninety days to communicate the status of efforts intended to eliminate food apartheid in the city of Milwaukee. This is a declaration so we can let everybody know that the city of Milwaukee is in a struggle and needs to be labeled what it is, apartheid, we can attract as much interest as possible, raise some funds, and address the issue of fresh food in our community and pharmacies in our community. So I wanted to align along with Milwaukee County and have a one big initiative as we work together to address this this issue.

Okay. And the resolution

is right there.

Any any comments, questions, Alderman Bergales?

Thank you, mister chair and thank you to the sponsors. I also asked to be added as a co sponsor. Retail is changing. Food deserts are not happening just in Milwaukee. They're all over the country. Right. Because how people buy groceries and how people feed their families is changing. I want to make sure that we're leaving no stone unturned, that we have every opportunity to ensure fresh fruits and vegetables and a healthy community in every zip code in our community. That said, if there are city ordinances that are standing in the way of expanding smaller scale retail, we have to take a close look at those and we will. So please add me as a cosponsor.

Thank you to Alderman Stamper and Alderman Pratt for your leadership on this issue.

Okay.

Yeah. Thank you and I recognize Alderman Pratt, Alderman Jackson, Alderman Chambers Junior, Alderman Kais, Alderman Baumann, and Alderman Woman Moore. So I know we have other orders at the table, but I just want to recognize those.

I'll I'll I'll be added as a cosponsor. Thank you, mister president. Mhmm. Alright. Anyone else before we move forward on?

Mister chair. Me too.

All all person somebody was also added as a cosponsor. Anything else before we move on? Thank you very much. Okay. With that said, then, all the woman Pratt would move adoption of item three, file two five one six six two. Are there any objections to that?

Did you get did you add more on myself?

Yes. What

just to be sure, what more and Alderman Taylor to cosponsorship.

Some president press, somebody else will have to move to you've said Alderman Pratt. I'm not on the committee.

Pardon me?

You said auto woman Pratt moves too.

Oh, yeah. That's right.

I'll I'll I'll happily move adoption.

All the all the person Samaripa will will will move adoption of item three, file two five one six six two. Hearing no objections or order. You're just a natural. Yeah. I get it. Okay. Moving on to item number four, file two five one six seven six. I understand that there is a substitute.

Yeah. Alderman Pride is a sponsor. She she can begin. Here it is. The the the I'll move the sub.

Alderman Stamper moves that we move to adopt the sub. The proposed substitute, are there any objections to that? Hearing none so ordered. Did you order Alderman Pratt wanna go Alderman Pratt.

Yeah. I'll go into. Okay. So the purpose of this is to make sure that we have notice before grocery stores or food peddlers close. One thing I've I've said since the beginning of this is that you shouldn't wake up in a food desert. Desert. And so what's happening is that I know the Aldi in my district, when it closed, they emailed me they left me a voicemail on January 9 to tell me they were closing on January 11. Mhmm. Which means that all of those people in that neighborhood were left without a grocery store in two days. They found out on the news.

So what this legislation does is when a food pillar or grocery store so this is a food pillar, but it would exclude, food trucks and restaurants. So they would notify the local order in writing local order, the license division, and the mayor's office that they intend to close within sixty days.

During

the first thirty days, day period, we would have the opportunity to work with them to see if we have something in our toolbox that can help them to stay in business, to stay there, and work with them with community. If they decide at the end of that thirty days that they can't stay there and that they will close, they then be asked to post that they are closing within thirty days, meaning neighbors have at least a thirty day notice and can plan accordingly Yeah. About how to best get their food. Well, you know, and basically, I have a a whole month to to plan that.

Yep.

So that's our goal. It's just to enforce some accountability and to provide the opportunity for intervention from our end.

Mr. Chair? Alderman Bowman. Yeah.

The the change I see is this B dash one dash C provision. Is that correct? Yeah. Could somebody explain how that is intended to work and and and did you intend to say sale of meals? Yeah. Could you explain how this is going to intend to work and who determines if the 50% threshold is met or not?

Sure. Jim Cooney, License Division. What we are doing here is we are leveraging existing language in the administrative code of Chapter 75 of agriculture trade and consumer protection. Broadly speaking, food establishment includes retail food establishments which are going to be your brick and mortars, mobile food establishments which are gonna food trucks and carts and transient food establishments which are the stands that pop up at festivals and fairs throughout the city. The substitute B1C separates transient and mobile so that they're not impacted by this.

It exempts them from the reporting requirement to city clerk, mayor and everyone else. And then uses a further distinction in the administrative code between retail serving meals which are restaurants and retail not serving meals which are grocery stores, convenience stores and then specialty food retailers things like bakeries, butcher shops, that kind

of thing. Micro markets. Yeah.

Okay. And what's the sanction for failing to provide notice?

Jeff, see up here.

Are barred from closing?

Well, it does relate to their license. So that is the kind of hook that we have in them is the license, the underlying license for food establishments. So that's part of Chapter 68. So there are punishments for that. I think there are some sanctions and then there is obviously the availability of removing or pulling the license. Understanding of course that those people are on their way to being exiting the business that might not be as compelling as we want but sanction is available.

Any other questions? Any other concerns?

Mr. President?

Alderman Stamford. I want to thank

Alderman Pratt and Community Bridges. We were both working on the same thing at the simultaneously. It started off with six months. Alderman Pratt was working on a two month, and we came together with this more feasible for the way it is now. We don't want you to just leave. Mhmm. So first thirty days, we'll try to work with you to keep you to stay. If we are unable to do that, then we need notice to inform the community. And that's the gist of it. So thank you very much, and look forward to getting this out as soon as possible. Can I get this for us?

Cosponsor as well. I was on the original, but

I thought you were, alderman. Alright.

I put you down.

Substitute. None of us are on

Oh, okay. Just gonna put the same, please.

It's on the notes.

It's

on Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. So sponsorship, co sponsorship.

Yes. Co sponsorship. But just wanted to also say that this completely makes sense.

Yeah.

For us to request something like this, especially for, you know, entities that have been in community for decades, you know, at a time. So to just respect, I mean, we're asking that people simply respect our community. You know, especially if they're, you know, cap getting money Yeah. From them regularly to say that you're gonna close is just like, give us at least thirty days. Right? And so, I just wanna thank the the authors and the, the co authors of this that put this together. You know, please add me as a co sponsor.

Okay. Mister chair, can

I just add something? I do want to add that because it says food pillars that it also would encompass pharmacies, Yeah. So because they derive business from selling food as well. So I'll say in my district, I had Walgreens closed, CVS closed, you know, right behind each other. So this is something that's we're impacted not just the gross people got their groceries store groceries at Walgreens. They knew they could go in there, the gallon of milk wouldn't cost $8. You know? So it makes all the difference.

It does. It does. And I had the same exact story as you all over Pratt. Two days before two days before pick a save

Mister chair.

Decided to close. Got a got a call from them, so I got the same thing.

Alderman Tamaripa?

Yeah. I that was my question, actually. I wanted to make sure. In the 8th Aldermanic District on the near South Side, in the span of months, we saw two Walgreens close.

Yeah.

And I wanted to make sure that a Walgreens would meet the definition that we have laid out here.

Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify there. So Walgreens and other pharmacies will carry a retail food license with the city of Milwaukee. And so we'll get notification through that menu. They're not actually technically considered food peddlers, but they are even with the subs still considered in that retail non serving meal category. And so this would apply to them.

Okay. Thank you for that clarification. Yes. Okay. Sure.

Usain Mann as a co

sponsor, Okay. Mr. Add Alder Prince Amaripa as a co sponsor, Alder Memoir, Taylor Mr. Chair. And Bergelis. Alderman Spiker.

Just for this item and for the proceeding on the resolution, I'd ask in case anybody missed it that we'd just all be added as sponsors. We're one city. This is one issue affecting our health.

So, we have

to speak with one voice.

Thank

you. Correct. Okay. Correct. Correct.

Let the record reflect all the committee members and those attending as co sponsors for this item.

Sure. Mister chair, one more question. Yes. May be directed to the city attorney. Would we have the authority to impose a fine on a business which failed to meet the sixty day advance notice with the fine equal to the number of days they failed to miss the sixty day advance notice?

We don't have that kind of ramp currently built into sixty eight. So Chapter 68 is the operative chapter that we're using right now to lock this in. There was a previous notice requirement. This makes it a little bit more robust. It doesn't add or change the penalty scheme in chapter Do

we have the authority to amend chapter 65 or something?

I I would hesitate to kind of give you a legal enforce able review of a citation that ramps based on that. And again, noticing that these businesses may not survive or perpetuate as an LLC, we would then be forced to maintain them as an open and operating going concern to then cite them. So if they're, again, leaving the business, exiting, that LLC might be collapsing as well. So we, as the city, would then have to petition a court to keep an LLC open to then levy fine against them. And so that might be another difficulty again if we are talking about fines or sanctions.

Cooney? It's worth exploring.

It definitely is.

Maybe there a lien waiver somewhere. Mr. Cooney?

If that is okay. Thank you. In reading this ordinance too and I understand that the reason for the notice is so that some of the departments can work with the owner to prevent the closure. There are some things I just want to speak real briefly to what we will do in licensing should this pass. Everyone is provided with the license document that is posted. So we are going to make sure that this part is included in the section of the ordinance we make very clear and provide employees and everyone who might walk by that a way to get us that notification rather than waiting for the licensed agent or someone in corporate to notify us. Okay. And then we will be able to push that out to the other departments on this as well.

Okay.

Oh, yeah. And to add, it does help. It has an employee timeline as well. So people out of a job who have to move that yeah.

That's key. Mhmm. Okay. Any other questions, concerns yet? Uh-huh. Mister Stafford?

Yes. Oh, I wanna invite everybody as we continue this conversation and this work for Community Economic Development Committee this Thursday. I tried to get them all on stay in the rules because I feel that together as a council, we are working towards this initiative. So based on rules You have three more files will be this Thursday at community economic development committee, and that's the programming with funding for grocery stores. The fresh food fund revamping and then oh, yeah. The the department's coming together with a plan.

So if you wanna co sponsor something, get the CD.

Yeah. Please do. But, anyway, I would like to invite you all to sort, and thank you, community bridges, miss Bowenko, and Melanie for coming out today.

Okay. So with that said, alderman Stamper moves passage of the substituted file. Please. No. Item four, file two five one six seven six. Are there any objections? Hearing none, so ordered. Thank you all for being here today. Thank you. There being no further business, this committee is adjourned. Thank you. Ordering.