Remarks by Kimberly Gold
14 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 1
“Councilman Gould. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you for being here. I did want to state fully for the record that while I am not unsupportive of this, I have not yet made my final decision on how I will be marking my personal ballot for this initiative. I still have some research to do. And because this is a proclamation, it does not require a vote of the council. So I wanted to make it clear for those listening who are a part of District 4 to understand that I am not quite supportive and not quite unsupportive.”
“Thank you, Madam President. Congratulations on 20 years. Thank you, Councilmember Donaldson, for bringing this proclamation or resolution forward. It's Arts Month, and I think right now when we're facing such challenges in mental health as a nation and as a city, We need arts more than ever because art expresses emotion when words fail us and can heal us in so many ways. And I love going to Peak Radar because no matter what your interest is, you can find it. In fact, earlier this month, I celebrated Arts Month by going to a 90s hip-hop on strings candlelight performance. And who knew that in…”
“Okay, thank you, Madam President. So for clarity, this is the City Council Special Regular Meeting Minute, September 17th, 2026, which is the Project Taurus public hearing. If you are unable to attend this meeting or any meeting for that matter, our meeting minutes are a great way to get an accurate reflection of what happened during that meeting. I asked for this to be pulled off for a few reasons. One, On page 11, I do want to actually commend Councilmember Rainey for stating the obvious that we weren't quite ready and that we needed further review. And I want to publicly state to my peers…”
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
“Councilman Gould. Thank you, Madam President. While I was initially supportive of the ordinance as it was written, now that Councilmember Lineweber has brought this change forward, I'm reconsidering. And I think that when it comes to furlough days, people are squeezing more work into less time. So I think we may call, we may say that there's a furlough day, but the work still needs to be done. And we have so many folks who've been asked to do more with less. And I think it's a rare opportunity that we get to give this kind of appreciation monetarily to our city employees. So while there are…”
“So a motion would still support that paid furlough day, correct? Okay, then I will stay with that motion, thank you.”
“You can bring those up if you want me to pass them around.”
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
“Councilman Gould. Thank you, Madam President. I will try to keep my remarks pretty short, but I have a few things that I want to share. Earlier, at the end of September, beginning of this month, I attended the Hey Neighbor Community Luncheon I'm at Portal Park with Councilmember Hendrum, and that was just really amazing to see the work that's being done in that neighborhood and just how Hey Neighbor stitches together community residents. One of the things that I've been really surprised by my time on council is how much I fall in love with outdoors, whether it's I'm going camping or being on…”
“Thank you, Madam President. I always like to give credit where credit is due, so I still need to begin my statements with a thank you to Councilmember Rainey. Thank you for bringing this recognition program to City Council. It's just such a beautiful way for us to honor residents. And I'd also like to mention that when we did our first recognition, it was awarded to Allen from Council Member David Lineweber, and Allen is an honorary resident of the Southeast. So now Council Member Risley has recognized Joyce, and no pressure, Madam President, but we are kind of on a Southeast streak here, so.”
“But in all seriousness, really, we are so fortunate to have someone like Joyce in our community. I did attend this summer in Southeast and Joyce dragged me out on the basketball court and she said, Kimberly, you have to participate in this Zumba exercise activity. Y'all, I cannot dance. Joyce was recording and I was embarrassing myself, but... But that's the spirit of who Joyce is. She can make you comfortable in uncomfortable moments. She brings her heart. She has a bleeding heart for the Southeast and for our city. And we are so fortunate to have someone like that serve. And if I'm really,…”
“Thank you, Madam President. I'd like to thank you both for the work that you're doing in our community. You've hosted several workshops. I think that's the word I'm going to use for them. And I found several of them to be very beneficial. I do send my regrets for not being able to attend on September 30th. I have a conference that I'll be attending out of the city. I'm kind of reluctant to share this, but I'm going to just kind of sit in my truth. A few days ago, my car was vandalized. And, you know, the easy thing to do is to respond with anger. But when I step back and kind of take myself…”
“Thank you, Madam President. You know, this is such an interesting conversation, and I'm going back to the proclamation, and one of the things that's part of the five practices that I think is so important that we focus on, all five of them are important, but as I reflect on this moment right now, it's hear people well, listen to understand before seeking to be understood, asking questions, leading with curiosity. So again, this work is just so vital. Keep pushing, my friends. because it's tough from elected public servants to community members. This work is tough. It is needed. Please,…”
“Thank you, Madam President. I'd like to give a few acknowledgements. I want to first acknowledge the folks who came here in support of dissolving the DDA because I think it's really hard to speak up when you know that many of your peers want the opposite of what you want. So I just really applaud your courage. I'd also like to acknowledge those business owners who came here yet again, shutting down your business yet again to advocate for this. And it's quite remarkable to me that not only this is a consistent pattern for you that did that, but you're willing to sacrifice monetary support.…”