Remarks by Christina Valdivia-Alcala
79 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 4
Thank you, Mayor. I am just like beyond grateful that nobody took up a second on that motion to strike out the inspections. That is, I mean, just to be really blunt, silly, in a name, because it takes the knees, it just like strikes us at the knees on everything that we have been trying to work with to help with the slumlords that we have and help to try to build a coalition that is not going to be busting down doors, demanding inspections. But we saw what happened at Timberley. We've seen what has happened at other housing that has not been inspected adequately. So I am very grateful that no…
Thank you, Mayor. I just have a couple of questions first a couple of comments based on specific record cameras understanding that they are not flock cameras and I think a lot of the emails and we have received a large amount of emails over the past I would say I don't know four to eight weeks or so maybe I think all of them were referring to flock cameras so it's good to have the differentiation there. When it comes to the record cameras, though, there does seem to be some of the same concerns as with the flock cameras. One of the main ones is the AI component, and we know how AI is becoming…
Bumper stickers, roof racks, surface damage, anything of that. I feel a little bit dubious about asking that, but I want clarity. I can see where that would be beneficial, but I also see with what they are saying is that critics argue this enables suspicionless generation searches where law enforcement can track everyone driving a specific type of vehicle in a region without a targeted warrant. So with these specifics that we're talking about that some recor systems use with bumper stickers, roof racks, surface damage, is that what our recor is able to analyze?
Okay. Thank you. And you've gone down from 90 days to 21 days, correct?
Okay. It says here that ReCore has been publicly calling for national standards, but there have been concerns about privacy experts noting that vendor contracts can contain ambiguous fine print where a city claims to own the data, but the company retains the right to license. share or store it in aggregated clouds available to external agencies. Is that in our contract at all?
Okay. So I'm not meaning to press the issue, but your belief that there is not should equal their certainty that there is not, correct?
Okay. I would just say with the number of concerns that we've been having, I'm really glad that we had this presentation. I understand that there's going to be, you know, that the city wants to invest in continuing to use this. I think that we really need to take a hard look at the AI component, the privacy component, where if there's any kind of inequity that's involved in this going into communities, more disenfranchised communities. I don't know what we were using before ReCore, but I believe that just because there is the newest, better, bigger technology, whether it's in law enforcement,…
Thank you, Mayor. I agree with you. I think that a committee coming forth is important because my really deep concern is that if anything would go out for March, I don't think I don't think the half set will pass. There's so much irritation and frustration out there by voters. I think that we need to get somebody hired as soon as possible in the auditor position. We need to put good faith forward to constituents, to residents, and we need to start the new year hitting the ground running with an office whether it goes by departments, forensic thought in some of the most concerning departments.…
Council Member. I think it's been I don't know, six weeks, seven weeks maybe since a request was put in to have Go Topeka come forward so we can ask questions. Questions that I can tell you I'm getting from constituents that I have no idea how to answer. Some of those I have sent forth already to Go Topeka and received responses. But I think that even though the comments keep getting made that people can attend the JATO meetings, we know that that's probably not really a reality. And I think that since these taxpayer dollars that OJPICA slash JATO is utilizing, they need to come before this…
Thanks, Mayor. I just wanted to remind folks that know and those that don't know that on Saturday, this coming Saturday, October 10th from 11 to 3 p.m. at the Oakland Community Center, the Oakland neighborhood will be celebrating its 100-year annexation. 1926 is when the community requested annexation into Topeka. We are going to have the Oakland NIA has been working really, really hard with getting all kinds of activities and vendors and history of the annexation and of the community, so all are invited to attend. Also, I just wanted to speak real briefly on the Lyman Street issues that…
Thank you, Mayor. Our invocation tonight will be given by Imam Omar Hazin. If you want to go ahead and come up to the podium, sir, right here. And just a little bit of background, the Imam is with the Islamic Center of Topeka. He is the Islamic advisor to the Kansas Department of Corrections and has served in these positions since 1990. Imam Haseem was the first Muslim to give the invocation to the Kansas House of Representatives in the Senate on March 9, 1995. So with that, Imam.
Thank you, Mayor. So last night I met with about 15 to 20 folks from the community and read the components of the ballot initiatives. There was vociferous no, we're not going to vote for anything that has market rate housing because that was not what the intention was. If we are having issues with what is being given to developers for RHIDs, then the bottom line is we need to stop giving them to high-end developers. If high-end developers cannot afford to build here or if like the last high-end developer that was here says we need to redo the process, and I think people on this governing body…
And I think that if we need to have shared suffering in this city, I would not support in any way for that to be something that is listed on here. Thank you, Mayor.
Mayor, Councilwoman Hiller, I've never heard you that fiery before. So I want to go back to the 110. And I don't think, I could be wrong, and not to speak to colleagues, but I can, poor colleagues, but with the expectation of you telling us with affordable housing, you know, you can have this much done and this much done and this much done, you know, per year. I don't think, I don't expect that. when it comes to moving away from the market rate when it comes to the homelessness and the build for zero which is why we need to have Carrie make her presentation with the budget wrapped around it…
So I should have been more broader in the scope. This all started with Built for Zero looking and searching and bringing it here, the idea, and us talking back in 2021, I think it was. And then Equity Access Shelter was a small component of that without the full Built for Zero program. I think Carrie was part of meetings, the was part of meetings. There were a number of people part of meetings when we first got started with Built for Zero with the people in Rockford, Illinois because they have a Built for Zero program there and they have for close to 20 years and they have similar…
OK, so what are we looking at right now? I heard what you said. I heard city managers say a work session would be nice. I would prefer to have meetings in October at our regular council meetings. So when are we supposed to find out about that?
But explanation of what this auditor will really be doing that we want, you know, that we're changing up the ballot for this conversation later.
Okay, and just as an aside, I think it's important, I don't think we're going to be able to discuss all of it, but the chair of the Citizens Government Review Committee gave us a lot of information about the city auditor, Jim Kopp. I hope I'm saying your name right, Jim. Kopp. Kopp, is it? Kopp. Kopp? OK. And so I think that's worth reviewing as we go further down this whole helpful hole. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you, Mayor. There's a lot of merit in what Councilwoman Hiller is saying because Weibel's project was really thinking outside of the box. And I think as far as co-op, don't we only just have one other in Topeka? Maybe two at the most? Fox Ridge. Fox Ridge. Okay.
So it is a wonderful idea for that area. It is so sad. to see him continue to look for funding through financial institutions and not being able to find it. If there is private donors or a cache of private donors or somebody that has an extra amount, that would be certainly wonderful because it would be, I believe, transformative. But I would also request for the information that Hiller is asking for, if you could send that amount to the full governing body. So in case they're having any conversations with anyone that may know a lot of loaded people, they'll be able to say, hey, there's a…
Thank you, Mayor. As stated before, I totally support and continue to support the chief and the city manager in making this very hard decision. With everything that Councilwoman Ortiz just read off, there is every indication that this program is not being dropped cold. I think that perhaps people underestimate Chief Cochran or whatever he's calling himself now. And I think they definitely underestimate Anderson because She was quite adept at bringing forth a number of teachers and students, et cetera. I think what needed to be said, Mayor, when you said it the other night, was something very…
Did you just say that you work for 501? Isn't that a conflict?
It's because I would want you to ask me that question if the shoe was on the other foot. Oh, yeah. I don't have an interest. I would want you to ask me that.
Contractor? Then we're good, right? Then we're good.
You know, I'm going to vote for the budget. I think what gives me more peace of mind knowing of voting yes for this budget are what we have coming down the pike, which is going forward. to be the emphasis on an internal auditor, which I believe is a very serious commitment that we're making so that the people can understand that we are trying to look at everything when we look at these looming deficits and not just depending on let's try to get more money out of sales tax. I'm still in the way of the forensic audit. We'll see what happens with this internal auditor. And so I just needed to…