Common Council - Regular Meeting

Tastast.

Tastast.

Good evening, everyone, the hour of 6 o'clock. Having arrived on this 1st of September, 2026, it is my pleasure to call to order the City of Racine Common Council. Our first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. If you could please rise as you are able and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag. Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. President Jorgensen, do we have any excused absences this evening?

Alder Allen.

Thank you. Note that in the minutes. President Jorgensen, would you like to make a motion regarding the minutes of August 5th, 2026? Yes, I would move to approve the minutes. So motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Alderman Mack. Any discussion on said minutes? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion carries. We don't have proclamations for this meeting, so we will move on to public comments. If the clerk could please read the procedure on public comments.

The public comment segment is an opportunity for citizens to speak directly to the Common Council. Speakers will limit their remarks to three minutes. There shall be no dialogue or interaction between the speakers and elected officials or staff. This time is not intended to be a debate or discussion. The Common Council shall not hear personal complaints or attacks against any city employee or elected official or any matter related to an individual claim, citation, appeal, or lawsuit. Profane, disruptive, threatening, or conduct that otherwise impedes the safe, orderly, and effective conduct of the common council meeting is equally unacceptable during the public comment period as it is during all other portions of city meetings. Candidates for public office may not use this opportunity to campaign for office. Speakers during the public comment period shall follow all rules of the common council and rulings of the chair, including a decision to terminate the remarks if the speaker does not adhere to these rules. Public comment shall be limited to ideas or concerns regarding the city of Racine. We encourage you to submit any detailed concerns in writing to the city clerk's office or your alderman, where they can be properly documented and directed for response. There will be 13 speakers this evening. The first is Diana Connex at 5101 Wright Ave.

As the first speaker is coming up, as I say at every meeting, every speaker is entitled to three minutes. There's a clock that has a countdown on those three minutes. After three minutes, the microphone is turned off. That is not a reflection or a commentary on what you're saying, but an effort rather to treat everybody equally. The first speaker would like to begin.

Oh, hello. I like to speak of a concern of social media stalking. A few weeks ago at a fast food restaurant that I normally go to and have gone to for many years, I was social media stalked. And I didn't realize until I went shopping late in the afternoon, one person said, well, you're Facebook famous. I didn't understand what that meant. And she showed me where someone took a picture while I was at one fast food restaurant. of my Barbies. I take my Barbies with me because I have social anxiety and it helps me so they don't have to live as a recluse because sometimes they get very strange looks, very strange comments. It's nice to see a smiling face. But the person showed me, there are a couple that did this, and I talked with the manager. However, what followed was the caption was, in capital letters, what the, and the letter starting with F, And then 200 comments about 100 negative, 100 positive. Those that were positive were from medical professionals or people that understood about people that have social anxiety or that carry either a doll or a clingy thing on their purse or something else. And also those of us who are transgender. Because sometimes also what people run into, this is the diagnostic. And it's the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-IV. The current version is DSM-V. I have a DSM-V at home, but it's just a handbook. The reason I bought the full book is just to show you how detailed it is. And many people, when they do make comments about transgender, especially people who have hateful attitudes, they use attitudes that date back to the DSM-I, which was used up to 1970, There used to be what's called Lavender Glades, where basically gay bars were related, like, for example, Stonewall. Pink Glades, where people who express infirmative behavior in the State Department were fired, or even in certain companies were fired. And DSM 4 and 5 addresses that. Basically, those things are illegal. But the thing is, I do think we need an educational campaign like the old EASY program about social media stalking, and if that doesn't work, some sort of some sort of law or some sort of policy on this. Consequently, social media stalking also makes it hard for people who may be transgender, asexual, to find employment. And in the 90s, many people who were transsexual and asexual could find employment, but with the changeover ended in 1990 where data brokers and employment spies and employment brokers are present, it makes it hard. So again, this is the reason why we need to have an educational program discussion or a law. Thank you.

The next speaker is Ron Pearson, 4720 Byrd Ave. Good evening, all.

The last time I was here in August 4th, I mentioned the fact that we've had problems where I live at Oak View Manor with the elevators, and that happened on two occasions. Fortunately, that has been corrected at least temporarily, we hope. The outcome of that thing was I've now been served with an eviction notice for, I guess, retaliation. And part of that problem is their misconduct with the pest control people as well as Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corporation, which is under the management of Meridian. Apparently, it's a power play, I think, because of the actions that they've taken. Our community room has been closed for two weeks because of pest control problems. And the pest control people that they've contracted with are a little bit more selective in different ways. And they have treated me kind of in a way where I've had to keep up with clutter. And their vendors are not exactly the most complimentary people. They give like a 12-hour notice that they have to, but we're not always sometimes sufficiently prepared. And again, our community room has been closed for two weeks because of pest control problems, which is an ongoing event. And in my case, I've seen that for eight years living there off and on with three different types of managers besides Meridian. Meridian implies itself that they're, you know, under, you know, Wisconsin Preservation Corporation, which is supposed to be a prominent leader in the affordable housing industry. And their mission, supposedly, is to preserve, provide, and protect affordable housing for low and moderate income individuals and families living in the state of Wisconsin. And I find it kind of hard and difficult to understand why they've not been scrutinized before with the city of Racine. And I hope that we can come to some agreement, not just with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs protection, but with private legal needs that I've been invoked. And I hope that it can be resolved in the near future. It's an ongoing event, and I think the elevator will be going out again.

The next speaker is Siobhan Dillon Jackson at 2317 21st Street.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Siobhan Dillon Jackson. I'm here again on behalf of Danny Patel, who is a business owner in the community in which I live in. He is currently seeking a Class B license at the vacant property on Taylor Avenue, and I'm just saying that I'm here to support him. I've been a community member right across the street from the business that he currently runs. And I do believe that he is responsible and will follow city policies and regulations in regards to him running that new business. It also will bring jobs and opportunities to people that live nearby. So I'm just here to support him. So thank you guys for your time.

The next speaker is Madeline Thompson at 1906 Erie Street.

Good evening. My name's Madeline, and I'm a lifelong Racine resident. I'm here because I'm opposed to the continued use of the FLOC automated license plate readers in our city. I have many concerns, but only three minutes, so I'll keep it to the highlights. FLOC is not simply a license plate reader company. An article by 404 Media has documented its development of NOVA, a license plate people search information gathering database that'll start recording people's faces. They're not talking about this publicly yet. Separately, Flock's AI-powered camera search tools have already been used by police to search for people based on their physical appearance. Flock says those tools do not use facial recognition, however, I have serious concerns about the company's transparency. Flock recently held its annual conference for law enforcement agencies, but they barred the media from attending. What are they hiding from the public, but they're inviting the public officials to? There are also a tremendous conflict of interest to continue to allow the Racine Police Department to audit their own flock cameras. We now know of two officers who so far have been investigated for misusing the system. We have no idea how many more there could be. Wherever safeguards might be in place, clearly haven't prevented misuse. And I don't believe an internal auditing system is sufficient oversight. At a time when public trust in police is so strained, this unchecked system only adds to the negative opinion. Supporters of Fox will say, well, if you don't do anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about. These cameras don't only capture suspects of crime, though. They capture ordinary residents going about their lives, creating searchable records, connecting vehicles, locations, places, and people. There are documented incidences of Flock flagging the wrong car. You could do nothing wrong and the police could still hold you at gunpoint because they're working off of bad intel. There's even a camera on the corner of Erie and English, Mr. Mack's district, that appears to point directly into a multifamily building, not facing the road. What is that intended to capture? There's no excuse to treat their residents like inmates in their own homes. I'm concerned not only about the system Racine has today, but about what we're connecting ourselves to in the future and the contract. Racine deserves better. Thank you for your time.

The next speaker is Deborah Swenson at 2033 Golf Ave. Hello, I'm Deborah Swenson.

I previously lived at 2225 Jerome across the street from Cristiano's. I've known Danny and his family for 26 years. I gotta say, Danny runs a class act. He's never had a problem in the neighborhood, loved having the corner store to run to for those little odds and ends. And back when I had my first apartment, we shopped at the Piggly Wiggly at the location on Taylor Avenue that he wants to convert to a grocery store. Would be nice to have another grocery store there. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just go buy some brats hot dogs and pick up that potato salad and a case of beer for your backyard cookout instead of having to make six trips all over town just to get that stuff? And the city doesn't need another blighted building just waiting to be torn down. I just hope the initial 11 council members who stood behind Danny in the beginning are still for him. I just want to say he's a great business owner. Thank you.

The next speaker is Belinda Lawrence at 1213 Franklin Street.

Good evening. I'm Belinda Lawrence, District 1. I wanted to voice my opinion on the flock cameras. I currently work with over 700 security cameras, some with license plate reading capabilities. They have helped in catching illegal dumpings, identifying assailants, and locating a neurodivergent runaway child. I mention this so that you know that I have seen and understand both sides of the camera surveillance issue. Like any tool, they can be misused. As was mentioned in news outlets, there have been nefarious characters using them for the wrong reasons, even those sworn to uphold the law. The proliferation of flock cameras into neighborhoods, in my opinion, is overkill. Footage is stored off-site and out of the chain of custody for an unknown number of days, cross-listed and potentially shared by other flock camera users in other agencies. What I'm hoping for is oversight. Is there or should there be someone watching the watchers? That there is accountability for all users of flock and other security cameras, that there is constant vigilance of the chain of custody of footage, and that the storage is not excessive. Thank you.

The next speaker is John Christianson, 4020 Blue River Ave. Good evening.

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Those words came from one of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. While the original context of the quotation dating from 1755 had nothing to do with the surveillance state, the message rings true today. As of July, the city of Racine operated 37 flock license plate reading cameras. The city of Racine occupies about 15 and a half square miles. So doing the math, you can expect to see two cameras on every square mile in every square mile of this city. What I don't think people realize as much as the cost to the already highly burdened property owners of the city of Racine. Multiple sources list most basic of the cameras from Flock at about $2,500 to $3,000 per camera per year. That means we are paying at a minimum $95,000 for the right to be watched. And not just the criminals, everybody who goes by, because much like Pepperidge Farms, Flock are members. We have already seen the cases working their way through the justice system regarding misuse of the data by law enforcement. Not all law enforcement, to be sure, but enough that we should be concerned. An Institute for Justice investigation has identified over 100 cases of license plate readers abuse, and there have been 50 law enforcement officers accused, charged, and convicted of misuse of these readers. And the problem is growing, not shrinking. In the last two months alone, 240 users were identified with suspicious search histories, leading to 19 officers in five different states being arrested, fired, or placed under other investigation. Further, Flock is getting it wrong. Since 2018, and most of these cases happening since 2023, 27 motorists have been wrongfully pulled over, sometimes at gunpoint, to automatic plate readers. This number is considered by the Institute of Justice as a significant undercount, as most jurisdictions don't report failures of this type. In a city where we have an incredibly tight budget, where we can only drop off yard waste one day per week at Pearl Street because of budgetary reasons, we cannot afford to fund a company that is antithetical to freedom as flock. Thank you for your time.

The next speaker is Amanda Pefrath, 1828 Michigan Boulevard.

Good evening. It's nice to be on this side of the council chambers tonight. My name is Amanda Paffrath. I'm a downtown business owner and property owner for nearly 30 years. I've also been a member and currently a member of the Downtown Racine Corporation. In December of 2025, I was appointed to the downtown Racine Business Improvement District and in January of this year I was elected chair and that's why I'm here tonight to speak. I did speak at the Finance and Personnel Committee meeting a few weeks ago and that's what I'm going to share with you all tonight. Before you is an amended operating plan. The operating plan that you all approved as part of the budgetary process in November had some needed amendments. One of the most notable was that $125,000 of the original budget was cut and removed because properties that are apartment buildings and primary residential properties were removed from that assessment. And so as a new board, we had to adjust the budget by $125,000. We also wanted to increase the size of the board. There were some inconsistencies in the operating plan and the bylaws of the committee. And so we asked for a larger group to be part of this organization. And in addition, we cleaned up some of the operating plan that addresses organizational clarity between the Downtown Racine Corporation and the Downtown Business Improvement District. Since the communication that you have on the agenda tonight, the bid board received a letter from the Downtown Racine Corporation Executive Committee asking to terminate the contract with the downtown bid effective the end of September. So we wanted to be clear with you about that. The committee is working with legal representation and working with the current accounting firm so that there's seamless transition in the process of separating the entities. I'm excited about the opportunity to bring more voices and more transparency and allow both organizations to focus on their strengths. DRC does an amazing job at events And I'm excited to help the bid with promotion of the district wide as a whole, not just select businesses that are members of DRC, and also to improve the promotion of the district. So that's what I wanted to present to you tonight. Same information I presented to the Finance and Personnel Committee so that the organization is transparent and that you know what's happening in our efforts. So thank you for your time tonight. I appreciate it.

The next speaker is Bobby Doyle at 1720 Shoup Street.

Good evening.

Chris, you're not the person that's speaking next. You're not the next speaker. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but you're not yet.

Please begin, sir. Thank you. My name is Bobby Ayala, actually, not Doyle.

That's new.

So my neighbors and my communities spoke facts. Let's talk about this. Let's talk about technology, how we embrace it a lot. Years ago, there was a game, Pokemon Go, entertaining. Kids went everywhere.

People went everywhere, parks and everything.

That company made a map and made millions off the back of people not knowing anything. Now let's talk about data centers and Foxconn. What were we promised? What were we given? It doesn't look the same now, does it? Let's talk about Flock. It was great, but I believe in my police force that they can solve crimes. And the thing is this, what was mentioned, Yeah, they get 30 days to review it, but where does that go? Where is that looked at? There are other agencies. An open record request that I love to do will show the other agencies that look at that same footage. A lot of it, my understanding, is ICE. And if I'm not mistaken, this council has spoke on that resource. Right? So thank you all for listening to me. Thank you all. I love this presence. I'm not used to this. I've been in this franchise for a lot of my life. And I love being here. I love talking to you guys. I love seeing you eye to eye. Please understand, our communities don't want this. Why do we have to? Why is somebody making millions off of our backs? Why is this device being tracked? Why is this being tracked? Why is this being tracked? There's so much stuff we don't know. They're not telling us. Stop Flock. Let's review it. Let's get safeguards. I believe in it. Two minutes. I trust this lady in three. So let's just stop before we hurt ourselves and our community. Last month, 90 communities said no to Flock. In Wisconsin, five communities, six communities are putting bags over them. Stop. Let's stop. Let's be that city that we're meant to be. And I believe in you. Thank you.

The next speaker is Dixit Patel at 6536 Biscayne Ave.

Good evening, all council members. My name is Dixit Patel. I'm one of the Danish grocery allowance. First, essentially, I want to thank the council for approving my Class B license with the condition on August 5th. I trusted the process and decision that I was made since that approval. I have continued investing a significant amount of my time, money, and hard work into the property. We have already made many improvements and more work is still in progress because I believe in this project and in the opportunity to bring something positive to this neighborhood. Today, I respectfully ask for your continued support and your vote to allow me to finish what I have started. I understand that the mayor has veto authority However, I respectfully ask you to consider that my application was already reviewed and approved by this council with the condition I have listened to the city's concern, agreed to follow the requirement and remain committed to operating responsibly. This is more than just a business to me. My family and I have invested our saving time and future into this property we have collected more than any signature from people in a surrounding area who support our business their support means a great deal to my family and me because it shows that many people in this neighborhood believe in what we are trying to build My goal is simple, to create a clean, safe, responsible, family-owned business with a grocery store, deli, and a small shepherd lodge. We want to create jobs, invest in the property, and bring a positive business to the neighborhood. I'm not asking to ignore the serious concern. I'm asking for the opportunity to continue working under the conditions that were already approved, and to prove that I can operate this business responsibly. I respectfully ask the Council to stand by its previous decision and support my Class B license. Please give me the opportunity to finish what I have started, open my business, create jobs, and show the community that Danny's Gorsuch Loans can be a positive addition to racing. Thank you, Mayor and Councilmember, for your time, consideration, and continued support.

The next speaker is Chris Flynn, 234 Wisconsin.

I'm getting better hearing aids. Good evening. I'm Chris Flynn. My husband Mark and I are the owners of the DP Wigley building at 234 Wisconsin Avenue. I'm here to speak. to ask for your support of the official designation of that building as an historic landmark. We bought the building and the business in 1998. The building is very much the same as it's been for more than 150 years. David and Jane Wigley bought it and opened the business, the DP Wigley Company, in 1905. We still sell many of the products that they sold then. and we've worked hard to preserve the historic character while maintaining the building to the best of our ability. We've tried to contribute to our community by sharing the building with nonprofit groups, including Racine Urban Garden Network, the River Council, Rotary Dragon Boat Races, and others. It's already considered to be a landmark. Our goal is to protect and improve it. and continue to share it without changing its character and it will be helpful, excuse me, helpful to achieve these goals with official historic designation. Mark and I would like to thank members of the Common Council for your consideration and hopefully your approval of our request, thank you.

The next speaker is Sheila Patel at 6536 Biscayne.

Good evening, Mayor Mason and members of the Common Council. My name is Neha Patel. I am Dixit Patel's wife, and I am here in support of Dennis Grocery and Lounge. After receiving the Council's approval, we moved forward in good faith. We continued working on the property and invested our time, hard work, and savings into this business. We also contacted the city twice to check on the status of our license. Based on the information we had that time, we continued moving forward. This has been a long and difficult process for our family, but we are committed to following the city's requirement and keeping the promises we made to the council. We are simply asking for the opportunity to prove ourselves. We respectfully ask for your support tonight. Thank you for your time.

The last speaker is Andrew Arena at 1110 North MLK Drive, number 210 in Milwaukee.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, honorable members of the council. It was a surprise that I'm here for the second meeting in a row. I guess I'll see you in about a month for my third meeting in a row. I want to mention a couple of quickly things. Obviously, I'm here for Danny Patel and the lounge. I've been involved for quite a while now with Danny. We've put together our minds and I've been helping and consulting with him on viable businesses that should be successful if they're run properly. We've talked about putting in an afternoon tea, for example. If any of you have ever been to, like, a place that offers an afternoon tea. It's an old English tradition in London. It's very popular in Vancouver. People really like it. It'll be something different. It'll make the place an event. Now, the last time I was here, I recall, and I don't remember who brought it up, but there was an Years ago, a Woodman's application for a liquor license, and it was seen as important because it's a large grocer to bring them to town, and they obtained a liquor license. Well, I would submit to you that this Class B license on premise for on premise consumption is actually I think a safer alternative to allowing customers to consume on premise and be actually somewhat supervised. It was brought up that this location is close to the Halo Center and a rehabilitation center and that I have to tell you, well, first of all, We're not here talking about prohibition. We're not here saying, you know, these people do not deserve alcohol. Are inner city homeless unable to behave and do the correct things for themselves? Are they not entitled to a nice grocery store? It's my understanding that the closest grocery store may be as far as two miles away. This store is going to offer everything that all the grocery stores offer. the big stores, there will be meat, produce, vegetables, all of it, everything. And I would submit to you that when we talk about that halo in the other place, there's five liquor licenses that are closer than Danny's. Are they going to walk by these five taverns and whatever to go to the grocery store to have alcohol? I don't think so. I submit not. The point here, the final point here I wanna make is this is a small business. We should be rewarding small businesses. They're embedded in the community. Their money will stay here. It's not like Woodman's where the money's gonna take off and go to another.

This concludes the public comment segment.

We now move on to communications introduced to council. The first committee for referrals is for the Committee of the Whole. Alder Jorgensen, would you like to make a motion regarding these items?

Yes. I would move to refer item number 0789-26, communication sponsored by Alder Mac requesting a presentation on flock camera slash automated license plate readers. and also move to refer to the Committee of the Whole, item number 0772-26, communication sponsored by Alder Pro Bono, to take possible action regarding creating, amending, terminating, upholding, or any other action deemed appropriate by the Committee as it pertains to any City of Racine or other relevant flock camera-related ordinance, contract, guidance, implementation, or policy.

motion to a second to refer these items on that motion all those in favor of referring these items please say aye aye opposed that motion carries we now move on to referrals to finance and personnel older land would you like to make a motion regarding these items I'd like to make a motion to refer the filing items to finance and personnel committee item zero five eight

0758-26, communication to accept the 2025 BGA Edward Byrne J grant and renew the interlocal agreement with RCSO. Item 0759-26, communication requesting permission to accept a donation from Woodman for the Racine Police Department. item 0764-26 communication requesting permission to authorize and approve the city of racine join with its partner agencies racine county and racine unified school district and executing an extension of terms of current agreement through december 31st 2026. Item 0765-26, communication requesting permission to authorize and approve the City of Racine to join with its partner agencies, Racine County and Racine Unified School District, in executing the sixth amendment. Amendment with Ascension Wisconsin Employer Solutions for Racine Employee Health and Wellness Center. Item 0767-26, communication requesting permission to submit the presentation of the second quarter 2026 fiscal results. Item 0773-26, communication submitting the claim of DeShonda Rocket for considerate consideration for disallowance items zero seven seven four dash two six communications submitting the claim of Edwina White for consideration for disallowance items zero seven seven five dash two six communication Submitting the claim of Grange Integrity Insurance on behalf of its insured Amy and Ryan Thomas for consideration for disallowance. Item 0776-26, communication submitting the claim of Sebastian C. Ransom through his attorneys for consideration for disallowance. Item 0777-26, communication submitting the claim of David Kraftzenk for consideration for disallowance. Item 0783-26, communication requesting permission to enter a sole source three-year contract with Carasoft Technology Corporation to renew our polymorphic software. Item 078526, communication presenting the network health Medicare Advantage plan renewal agreement for approval. Item 0786-26, communication requesting each department give monthly reports for each department including police and fire, public works, city development, finance, customer service, and all other departments, as well as the mayor's office and city administration, all invoices and credit card purchases made with department fee cards. Item 078426, communication requesting to apply for the 2026 e-cycle Wisconsin electronics collection grant program. Item 0791-26, communication requesting to enter to agreement with Habitat for Humanity to build three homes item zero seven nine two dash two six communication requesting to adopt the attached resolution regarding the trade negotiations underway with us and canada item zero seven nine four dash two six communication requesting to commission a commemorative plaque in memorial of Bishop Lawrence Kirby. Item 0795-26, communication regarding the renegotiation or termination of flock camera system in the city of Racine. Item 0799-26, communication seeking an amendment to the tax increment district 25 tax increment financing agreement with Jay Jeffers and Company. Item 0798-26, communication seeking a modification of the assignment of tax increment financing payment rights to Jay Jeffers and Company. I would appreciate a second.

So motion and a second on these items. Alder Weiner.

Thank you. A couple things. On item 0792 on page 5, the communication from the mayor to adopt the resolution regarding trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada, it says that there is a resolution attached, and I do not see it attached to this communication.

That'll be forthcoming then in terms of the attachment.

And then my next question on that same item would be, wouldn't it be, who would be preparing that resolution? Would that be coming from the city attorney's office or?

That'd be coming from the mayor's office.

Okay. Then I have a question on another item. And that's 0795-26. My question would be because we are discussing two items regarding the flock camera at the Committee of the Whole, would it be appropriate to refer this item to the Committee of the Whole and take up this discussion along with the other two items related to the flock camera?

Yep. The fastest resolution on this item would be to have a hearing on it in the Finance and Personnel Committee. That is where the contract was initially adopted, and it would give us the opportunity to review it in the next two weeks.

OK. Thank you.

All those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye.

Opposed? The motion carries. We move on to Public Works and Services. Alder Harmon, would you like to make a motion regarding these items?

Thank you, Mayor. Yes, I would like to make a motion to refer the following items to Public Works and Services. Item 0678-26, communication sponsored by Alder Papon to the Public Works and Services Committee to have the Commissioner of Public Works give a presentation regarding the operational contract with Passport Labs Inc. regarding the upgrading of our existing parking meter system to an all-digital format and details of said upgrade. Item 0732-26, communication sponsored by Alder Weidner for referral to Public Works and Services neighbors request for stop signs at the intersection of Eisenhower Drive and Belmont Avenue and Eisenhower Drive in Graham. Item 0734-26, communication sponsored by Alder Weidner For referral to Public Works and Services, neighbor request for 25 miles per hour speed signs posted on Eisenhower Drive. Item 0760-26, communication sponsored by myself, requesting to close off the south side of RUBERT BOULEVARD FROM CHICAGO STREET WEST TO THE CEMETERY DURING THE 2026 THROUGH 2027 WINTER SEASON. ITEM 0761-26 COMMUNICATION SPONSORED BY MYSELF SUBMITTING AMENDMENT ONE TO CONTRACT 2023-145 THREE-PARTY PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY OF RACINE Wisconsin DOT and AECOM for state project ID 2703-09-02, Mount Pleasant Street from Rapid Drive to Romaine Avenue. Item 0762-26, communication sponsored by myself, submitting a request to enter into state municipal agreement for state project ID 39508802703 for local roads improvement programs, Chicago Street and Golf Avenue. Item 0763-26, communication sponsored by myself on behalf of Elsa M. Carrero and all, requesting permission for rev... Revocable Occupancy Permit for the property located at 1045 Washington Avenue. Item 0766-26, communication sponsored by myself, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services requesting to close off Monument Square Drive from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 24th, 2026 for the annual PRCS Monument MASH Halloween event. Item 0778-26, communication sponsored by myself, submitting road salt prices for salt for ice control during the 26-27 winter season. Item 0779-26, communication sponsored by myself, submitting final payment for contract 2025146, racing multi-site, tuck pointing, Bergland Construction Company contractors. Item 0780-26, communication sponsored by myself, submitting final payment for contract 2025006-2025, Sanitary Sewer Repairs, item 0762-26, communication sponsored by my... Oh, my bad. Final item 0781-26, communication sponsored by myself, submitting change order number two to contract 2025-006, Sanitary Sewer Repairs. Second.

Second to the motion from Alder Pro Bon. All those in favor of these referrals, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion carries. Moving on then to Alder Pete.

Would you like to make a motion to refer these items to Public Safety and Licensing?

I'd like to refer to the following items, the Public Safety and Licensing Committee. Move to approve. Item number 069326, communication sponsored by myself for the Licensed Premises Report. Item number 069426, communication, again, sponsored by myself, requesting any consideration and formal expression of concern or other actions pursuant to the police report. Item 0793-26, communication sponsored by Mayor Mason, submitting the attest or curfew adoption, which should be in your paperwork, your attachments.

Just as a point of information, item 0793-26 is actually not yet ready. So the communication regarding the curfew adoption, so that may be something we want to...

receiving file at this time?

Or we can send it to the committee and it can be discussed there. I mean, I think there's a need to do something more in terms of some of the activity. It's, I guess, the council's pleasure at the very least would move it forward so we can have further discussion on it. There is a motion to refer these three items. Is there a second? Seconded by Alder Pabon. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion carries. We now move on to the committee reports themselves. Alder Land, did you have items for separate consideration?

Yes, I do, Your Honor. The first one is item 0689-26, communication sponsor myself to approve a resolution authorizing the issuance and establishing the parameters for the sale up to $22,700,000 of 2026 general obligation promissory notes dated October 28, 2026 to be used for paying the cost of various capital improvement and acquisition projects and vehicles and equipment as set forth in the 2026 capital improvement plan. The recommendation of finance and personnel was to approve the authorizing authorization fiscal note this is the city's normal annual borrowing for a long-term capital projects of 18 million eight hundred six thousand and equipment of three million eight hundred ninety three thousand that were approved and budgeted in 2026 budget move to approve

There's a motion to approve this item in multiple seconds. Just as an aside, I've been informed by the clerk that we will be able to engage in electric voting tonight, so be prepared to vote on your screens. Discussion on the item itself. Alder Land, did you want to speak to your motion?

Pardon?

Did you want to speak further to your motion?

It was called out for separate consideration by Alder Widener. I don't know what.

Alder Widener.

Thank you. I just have a couple of questions for our finance director on this item and the somewhat attached item, which would be 0691. So I know this is our normal that we typically do. I think in 2025, we had we had bonded for an additional 16 million that we had not anticipated for our capital improvement. So my question for you, Kathleen, is in 2025, what did we long-term debt for for our capital improvement? So this year it would be the 22.7 and then last year it was how much? Correct, let me just take a peek real quick.

In 2025 for our general capital improvement plan, we borrowed 18.8 million. This 22 that you see listed here is our regular capital improvement plan plus $2 million for the planning and design for the fire station as well is in there.

Okay. So I know, and the reason I'm asking this question and why it's related to the item that we will be refunding bonds and adding to the general obligation promissory notes for the $15,610,000 was not anticipated when we approved both the capital improvement for last year and then this year. And my concern is that I don't know if there was any discussion that took place between you and the mayor regarding Maybe we need to adjust our capital improvement plan, how much we intend to spend because of the 15 million that we did not anticipate. Was there any discussion about that? Because what my concern is, as we are adding this year, like 38 million to our long-term debt.

Sure, so let me just clarify. I don't know that it wasn't anticipated that we would borrow the $15 million for the Martin Luther King Center. It was anticipated. I stood right up here and said specifically this was a short-term borrowing that would likely be refinanced into a long-term borrowing. That's exactly what we're doing here tonight. So that was anticipated and talked about at Common Council last year about this time, probably before this time, actually April of 2025 likely is when we talked about that. But Having said that, the capital plan itself obviously is reviewed at budget time by the mayor, by the departments, departments put in their requests, all of those things are reviewed. That is actually structured then with our bond council and our professional services with Baird. So Baird is actually here on behalf of this, but that is all scheduled out and that's why we do that 10 year plan because we do schedule out what we anticipate borrowing each year.

Well, I understand having a 10-year plan, but I also understand that kind of like at our homes, we have to adjust our plans according to incidences that come up that we don't anticipate, and that's kind of what the $15 million is. And I recall our discussion about short-term bonding is we were anticipating about $17 million in grants to come in from the federal government in 2025, and that was the purpose for... the bonding was in anticipation of those, uh, grants coming in, which they did not. So, and here's what my concern is because last year we had such a huge jump in what we were paying back in longterm debt. Typically we do 18 million. Last year we did 22.5 and with what we are borrowing this year for both our usual capital, And then adding on top of that the 15 million for the Lincoln King facility, are we going to have to increase what we levy to pay back debt for 2027? And that's what my concern is. And the other part of that concern is what is carrying all this debt going to do to our bond rating and the interest rates that we pay?

Absolutely. And I will let Brad cover the bond rating, most certainly. But the tax levy for 2027, although the budget is currently being prepared, I don't anticipate that the tax levy associated with debt will increase for 2027. This is scheduled very specifically with Baird to make sure that we do maintain a level or slight increase in tax levy. Having said that, we do have two major projects that are starting right now, one being Fire Station One. and the next one being a police station. Those are large projects, so you are going to see some increase in borrowing in that space, but I'll let Brad talk about the bond rating quickly.

Okay, before you do that, I just wanna follow up question on what you just said. So you don't anticipate an increase over what we paid in debt in 2026 or would it be typical to what we usually, which is usually around the 18 million, are you expecting?

I do not anticipate an increase from what we budgeted for debt service tax levy in 2026. Thank you.

I hope you're all hearing that.

Thank you. with Baird Public Finance just to comment on the bond rating. annually or actually each time the city issues debt, we approach Standard & Poor's and ask them to assign a rating to your general obligation debt. So we did that in last spring, around April-ish or so, when the Lincoln King Center financing was in place. And we did it again in this time of year, late summer, early fall, when your annual CIP issuance was put in place. So the city's long-term bond rating for general obligation debt is AA-, that you've the city's had a double a minus for as long as I can remember you know going back probably close to 20 years if not more S&P also assigns a stable outlook to that rating so they're aware of the debt issues that were put in place last year we'll go back to them again this year but what they're messaging to us and to the city is with a stable outlook we wouldn't expect a rating change this year when we approach Standard & Poor's asking for a rating assignment.

So I recall in years past when you prepare that report that we get annually, it articulates the pros and the cons of our city budget. what plays into having the bond rating that we have. And we have several negatives. One of the positive thing was our relatively small debt. And I'm concerned that that portion of the report that we get is going to change when we are adding an unanticipated $15.5 million to it.

Well, again, the debt that was anticipated because we, went to Standard & Poor's and told them you're issuing this debt. We did that last spring. Some of the other credit characteristics though, outside of debt, they're not only looking at debt, they look at the economic condition of the city, the management practices, your budgetary performance, and management practices and budgetary performance in particular are called out specifically as rating positives in the rating report. The economic factors, we would need to see in the economic factors that go into the rating in order to have an upgrade. But there's no threat of a downgrade right now because of the stable outlook that's been assigned.

Okay. Well, thank you for that. And I just want to make a comment. I'm not going to vote against these because we anticipated that we were going to have to probably borrow for the bond for the Lincoln King Center. But I recall the discussion very, very vividly And we believed that we were bonding for almost $17 million because there were two federal grants that were supposed to come in and cover that bonding. So at the time this council voted on bonding $17 million, whatever it was, it was with the belief that we were not going to be adding this to our long-term debt. And the reason I'm bringing this up is our finance director just stated that We're going to spend $30 million on building a fire station. And I know we have been talking about building a new safety building for as long as I have been on council, going back to 2000. And because we now have added $15.5 million of unanticipated debt from the Lincoln King Initiative, to our long-term debt, I think it would be fiscally responsible for this council to say we've waited this many years for a new fire station. We need to put that down the road because of this other debt that we've created for ourselves. So that's the reason I bring it up is because we need to have that discussion. It needs to be a discussion that this full body does because we have never, before borrowed $38 million for long-term debt that I'm aware of in the 26 years I've been around. So we need to be cognizant of that. Thank you.

I'll repeat.

Thank you. Somewhat going along with what Alderman Widener just pointed out, I have a couple of questions for both the bond person from Barrett and... Director Fisher, number one, what does the additional borrowing do to our cost of interest? What does it, in real terms like in the household, what is the interest rate for this additional debt? I understand what you pointed out about the bond rating. In real money, what does that come down to? And the second part, you, Mayor, Director Fisher might have to answer it, but what does that ultimately do to the taxpayer? both short-term and long-term, and I understand interest rates fluctuate, but I think those are the real questions that we need to answer.

Sure. So the interest rate that's anticipated on the capital improvement plan, the annual borrowing, is 3.72%, and that's paid over through 2040, would be our final payment date, so about 14 years. And then on... the debt for the Lincoln King Center anticipated rate is 3.83 and that's paid over through 2044. So it's a slightly longer repayment period and that's why there's a slightly higher interest rate. In terms of the real dollars, the interest cost on the $22.7 million is roughly $5 million over that repayment period. So over that 14 years, about $5 million in interest. And on Lincoln King Center, about $7.3 million. Impact to the taxpayers, and that's what The director had talked about, we're very deliberate in working together and planning what the debt service levy would look like. So there's actually anticipated to be roughly the same levy, maybe even a little bit of a drop going into 2027's budget. And then we've got upward steps of right around 4% annually to fund inflationary growth and capital projects.

Thank you. I'm glad I'm not trying to live, my retirement's not trying to live off of those low interest rates, but that's great for us. As an investor, it's not good, but as a borrower, it's great. Thank you.

Seeing no further discussion on this matter, when the clerk opens the roll, please vote as you wish. Motion passes unanimously. Alder Land, did you have other items for separate consideration?

I have one more. Please read that item. 0691-26, communication sponsored by myself to approve a resolution authorizing the issuance and establishing the parameters for sale up to $15,610,000 of 2026 general obligation refunding bonds dated October 28, 2026 to refund the general obligation promissory notes issued on March 17, 2025 for the purposes paying the construction costs of the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center. Recommendation of the Finance and Personnel Committee was to approve. Fiscal note, the original note was $17 million has been offset by grants and donations since the initial borrowing. This $16 million borrowing is the permanent borrowing for this project and will be amortized over 18 years with principal payments beginning 2028. Move to approve.

There's a motion and a second to approve this item. Alder Weidner.

I had a question on that but it just slipped my mind. Oh my god.

To whom are you directing your question?

Well, to myself because I can't remember it. I guess for this one I would just, oh, I remember now. Further down in the finance committee report, there is a gift of a half a million dollars that's going to come in. I'm wondering if that half a million dollars is going to apply to this balance. before we actually do the borrowing. And then there's also 1.9 million that the Johnson family is donating to the city of Racine for the Lincoln King, and I'm wondering if that 1.9 million is going to be attributed to that long-term debt on this.

Sure, thank you for the question. So both of those grants, both the $500,000 from Cole Philanthropies and then the $1.9 million from Johnson, We don't have the restrictions on those grants yet, meaning I don't have a letter from either one of those two agencies yet saying what I can and cannot use those funds for. Having said that, if they can be used for capital, it would offset this borrowing. I just don't know yet. I reached out to Kola Philanthropies. We're waiting on some information. So right now, this is being refinanced. But yes, every penny that I can pay down debt, I'm going to pay it down as fast as I can.

Thank you.

Seeing no further discussion on this item, when the clerk calls the roll, or opens the roll rather, please vote on your screen as you wish. Motion passes 13 to one. Alder Land, did you have any other items for separate consideration?

No, Your Honor. The third item was withdrawn by the requester.

All right. Then without objection, the remainder of these items will be placed on the consent agenda, and we will move on to public works and services. Alder Harmon, did you have any items for separate consideration? No, I don't, Your Honor. Then without objection, this report will be placed in full on the consent agenda, and we will move on to public services and licensing. Alder Pete, did you have any items for separate consideration?

No, I don't, sir.

Then without objection, these items will be placed on the consent agenda. We'll then move on to planning, heritage, and design. Alder Pete, did you have any requests for separate consideration on this report?

No, I do not, sir.

And without objection, these items will be placed on the consent agenda. We will then move on to the Community Development Authority. Alder Hodges, did you receive any requests for separate consideration? No, I did not. Then without objection, this will be placed on the consent agenda. And this will take us to the Transit Commission report. Oh, I'm sorry. Alder Horton, did you have any requests for separate consideration? Then without objection, this will be placed on the consent agenda, and that moves us to the Office of the Mayor report. Alder Jorgensen, would you like to read the item?

Sure. Item 0720-26, subject direct referral communication sponsored by Mayor Mason, submitting a veto of the Common Council's action on item 0660-26. Is there a motion that you're making there? It's my first time doing this. Make sure I'm doing this right. But the motion would be to override the veto on behalf of the council.

It's a motion and a second to override the veto. Discussion on the item?

So this one, we heard it from the requester tonight. He is okay with the restriction that the council placed on him of having it be approved conditionally and having to come back. And so I think that it still stands from many of what this body voted on previously, that with that restriction, we felt comfortable that he would be able to open his business and then have to come back and show that there is a grocery store and there is more to it than just the alcohol portion of it. So that's why I think Um, much of the support is the same and I'll be voting in favor of the override. I'll do land.

Yes, I'm going to speak in favor of overriding this also. Everybody, you have this petition that was collected by Mr. Patel, and if you look at all these signatures, most of them are from the area. There's maybe a few Northsiders on there, but most of the people live in the area. They have support for this business. I support it myself because I'd rather have a nice grocery store with something And Mr Patel is a very responsible businessman. I've already stated that and I'd rather have a nice store and. everything there than a vacant lot and a vacant building just sitting there rotting. We approved it with conditions, so he will have to live up to those conditions. He's already started spending money because he didn't know this was going to happen on fixing up the place. And also he would be hiring people and there'd be jobs supporting this business. So I'm still in favor of this business opening with the license.

Alderman.

Thank you.

Thank you. When I first saw the notice of the veto, I was inclined to support it, but I missed the last meeting and I didn't completely understand the business plan. I was trying to figure out why are we serving alcohol or having a lounge adjacent to a grocery store. But as I delved into it and looked at Mr. Patel's reputation, the fact that he's been a long-standing business owner here in the city of Racine, he's had no violations and has sold alcohol in his other business, and the fact that restrictions were placed on it, I was... much more comfortable with the business plan and the project moving forward. So I will be supporting the override of the mayor's veto this evening. Alder Davis.

Thank you. I respect the mayor's authority to veto this item and understand his concerns regarding liquor license density and the previous zoning decision. However, I have significant concerns about using the proximity of the County Behavioral Health Center, HALO, and other services for vulnerable populations as a reason to deny this license. There is a difference between providing protection and removing agency. People receiving these behavioral health services, folks experiencing homelessness, or using those supportive services should not automatically be treated as though they lack the capacity to make responsible decisions for themselves. Vulnerability does not eliminate autonomy. Behavioral health services were often pushed away from neighborhoods and community life. Isolation was not necessary beneficial. Integration into the community can be a part of a healthier, more humane service delivery. Legitimate public health and safety concerns can be considered without making assumptions about an entire population. If this license should be denied, the reason should withstand scrutiny on its own merits. I have some questions. One is, was the County Behavioral Health Center, HALO, or the behavioral health professionals, or people with lived experience, consulted before determining that the establishment would be injurious to harmful or harmful to these populations? Okay, and that's one, and then my other is, is the proximity to this behavior health facility or homeless service provider an established criteria used when reviewing liquor license applications? Had this came up before? So I'll pause there. So my question, yeah, this would be to, I guess, to the mayor,

was these individuals consulted before determining that the establishment would be harmful to these populations so at this point i'm chairing the meeting not participating in the conversation the reasons i gave are in the veto message and would encourage people to vote accordingly based on the previous meeting and the message that's in the veto message alder weidner thank you um

I think it's been a while since we have had a veto before us, and I believe we have at least three new members of this body that will now be participating in their first veto and perhaps veto override. I would ask the city attorney to explain to the council about a veto override.

The city attorney could outline the conditions for a veto override.

Sure, as the mayor, if he's going to veto an action to do so within five days of the acts of the council being submitted to him by the clerk. Mayor Mason did that in this case. And then the objections are presented at the next regular common council meeting. Two-thirds of the common, if there's a motion to override the veto, If two-thirds of all of the members of the Common Council, so that would be 10 people, vote in favor of overriding the veto, then the act of the council becomes effective notwithstanding the objection. So two-thirds, 10 votes would override the veto.

Alder Herman. Alder Weiner.

Thank you. I just want to remind the council when we voted on this item at the last council meeting, the vote was 11 to 1 in support of granting the license. I'm hoping that that doesn't change because it takes 10 aldermen to vote in support of, to vote aye on the motion that was made to override the budget. So I just wanted to be real clear on that so everybody understood how important their vote is on this. whichever side you stand on. Thank you.

Alder Harmon.

Just so that it's clear. All right. Supporting this veto or saying yes would mean what?

I'll ask the city attorney to clarify procedurally what the result of the veto override would be.

The motion is to override the veto. So an aye vote would be to override the veto. And if there are 10 votes, 10 aye votes or more, then the license would continue to be granted as the common council approved at the last meeting.

And so a no vote to override it would mean that the license would not be permitted. Correct. Thank you. All right. Thank you. All right. I really support the mayor and his ability to veto and his decision with regards to this item.

However,

I really support the will of the community and Racine residents have stated loudly that there are enough businesses that serve alcohol in areas that are not necessarily in benefit. They're not, they're not, they don't benefit from alcohol being served in areas that have counseling and other things. Residents have said that they want less establishments that serve alcohol. And while I believe that the business owner has a great reputation, I believe that he has in the current business that he is operating. There have been positive community statements about what he has done. I see no public benefit for there being another business that serves alcohol where the people can drink the alcohol during the day and leave that facility and how that benefits the community as a whole. Our purpose as a unit is to make decisions that are in the best interest of the community, even when they don't know that it's in their best interest, even when they believe that it's in their best interest and it's not. we have been voted to make decisions that sometimes aren't popular and sometimes may restrict what they typically would love to happen. But because my background is in alcohol and drug counseling and because I have worked at a prison and because I know what alcohol and drug treatment looks like and how hard it is, I cannot support a business plan, even if a grocery store is attached to it, that allows people to come and drink alcohol and leave during the day, whenever it's open, and there's no accountability for it except for the person who is doing it. So I will not support overriding this veto. Thank you.

Alder Pete.

Thank you. Again, I'm going to say I hate to be one of the last speakers because it's very challenging not to repeat what's already been said by all the council members. But I'm in support of what Alder Harmon just stated for several reasons. Again, being the nerd, if you will, that I am, I went and got data on Douglas Corridor, etc. And so we all know, I think it's common sense, but I did get the data that proves that the more establishments that distribute alcohol increases your expenses for police resources, crime, et cetera, et cetera. And because of that, it's very challenging for me because I do know Mr. Patel personally. In fact, I'm one of his customers. That's not the issue. but i would be willing to make a motion to say let's get the other part of make some amendment to what we agreed on last time let's get it going come back in six months if it's working out and again i know i don't have a prepared speech so my legal verbiage is not going to be accurate per se, but let's give him an opportunity, but let's tighten up what we agreed on last time. We said something to the effect, put the grocery store in, put the deli in, and then if you do that six months from now, we'll give you the Class B license. But let's kind of change that around. I would make a motion to say let's put that first.

Yeah, I'll repeat, that motion is not in order. And what we had before us is a veto override. It's either a yes to override or a no to not override. But does that complete your comment, sir? Yes, thanks. Alder Weiss.

So I'm just going to say that it went through committee. It was pulled. I think we talked for 45 minutes and everybody was really uncomfortable about whether or not it was going to be an actual grocery store. And I feel like that was the biggest concern. And we all came to a consensus that with conditions to make sure it was a grocery store, we were comfortable approving this conditionally. I think even what we've seen tonight shows us that He's committed to making it a grocery store. We've seen floor plans already started to put work in. So I don't think there's any reason to assume that's not going to happen when that was our biggest concern or to change course on what we kind of all came to. I mean, it was like 45 minute conversation at least. Um, so while I totally respect everything the mayor said at the last meeting, um, and his concerns, I think what we wanted was to ensure it was a real grocery store. And so I think we're still on that path to ensuring it's a real grocery store. So I wouldn't change my vote from the last time.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So just to piggyback off Alderweiss, we did have a very thorough conversation and it took a while for us to figure out a compromise on this particular item. And as a reminder to anyone who may still be on the fence, that this is a conditional approval. That's what it was in the first place. So in six months, if those conditions aren't being met, the Public Safety and Licensing Committee can determine whether or not they want to take it or leave it. And I will say that I want to commend Alder Land for sticking by her constituent in business and going to bat. And then, you know, Mr. Patel, as long as he continues to have the community's back, we'll continue to have his. And so I'm in support of overriding the veto. Thank you.

Alder Weidner for a second time.

I was just going to ask for a roll call vote on this one. It comes up for a vote, a voice vote.

Well, which one, a voice vote or a roll call vote?

Voice vote.

So voice vote is when we all vote at once. A roll call vote is when we vote sequentially. Which do you mean? That a roll call vote. Okay. We do that in place of the, okay. There's no objection to a roll call vote. Alder Davis for a second time.

Thank you. I just, I wanted to add that This location is on the border of District 3, and I have not received any calls from constituents stating that they are against this business opening. So I just wanted to let that be heard, that the community that's around along with Auto Lane, I haven't heard anything that says, no, we would not like this. So... I will just leave it again. You just got to be careful basing assumptions on an entire group of people. Let them have their own agency. I'm complete.

So again, the vote before us would be to override the veto. So functionally what that means, if you vote yes, that would override the veto and the license with its conditions would go into place. If you voted no, the veto to not grant the license would be sustained. We're gonna do a roll call vote at the request of Alder Weidner. When the clerk calls your name, please vote as you wish.

Alder Mack. Aye. Alder Jorgensen. Aye. Alder Weidner. Alder Horton. Aye. Alder Hodges. Aye. Alder Pete. Aye. Alder Land. Aye. Alder DeMark. Aye. Alder Kelley. Aye. Alder Harmon. No. Alder Pabon. Aye. Alder Frazier. Aye. Alder Weiss. Aye. Alder Davis. Aye. That would be 13 ayes, 1 no.

The veto is overridden. We move now on to the consent agenda of tonight's meeting. Alder Jorgensen, would you like to make a motion to approve the consent agenda? I move to approve the consent agenda. Motion and a second approved by Alder Fraser. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion carries. We now move on to announcements. Just as a reminder, announcements are limited to recognition of city residents and employees, memorials, and non-political community events. Discussion of matters related to governmental business is prohibited. Are there announcements this evening? I would just ask, unless people absolutely need to leave, we do try to listen to the announcements of all of our colleagues before we go. If you must go, you must, but as a courtesy, generally we wait to hear people's announcements before we leave for the day. We'll begin with Alder Harmon.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say to all of the students, all of the educators, all schools, welcome back schools in session. I want to say to my granddaughter, Nora Harmon, you're gonna do well this season, baby girl, you're gonna do well. So just wanna say to everyone again, welcome back to school and thank all the educators and all of the schools for all that they do for the Racine students. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. To echo Alder Harmon's statements, first day back for RUSD. I know some schools have already been in session, but RUSD is their first day, and so first day of school can always be tough for students and teachers and can elicit numerous responses, including terror, excitement, or a heavy sigh. So welcome back. Looking forward to a great school year. I had something there, but it went away. Okay, that's all. Thank you. Alderweiss?

I don't know how you guys are so fast. I wanted to say it first. First day of school. Today was fabulous. I know that none of my 21st century prep people are watching this meeting because they're all sleeping probably. Sure. But just a huge shout out to the entire staff. We went through a lot last year. Today just felt like a rebirth on this first day seeing the kids come in with all their joy. seeing the staff so happy, seeing new teachers have their first day ever teaching. It's just what it's all about. So just thank you, thank you, thank you to everybody I work with in my building that worked so hard today for our first day of school.

Alder Frazier. All right, I got three things. Number one, a week ago, no, last week, we had the funeral celebration for Bishop Kirby. So we want to shout out to him and his family, let them know that as a city, we're praying for the family, as well as St. Paul Baptist Church in my district. Number two, happy first day of school. So shout out to all the parents, all the kiddos, all the teachers. I'm a school resource officer. So shout out to the SROs that's in there dealing with kids. I got twelve hundred kids. So it's yeah. And then number three, Audra Allen is not here because she is competing for Mrs. Wisconsin in Las Vegas. And so we want to send her good luck vibes and and can't wait for her to come back. So you go get them.

Thank you. My condolences to Bishop Kirby's family and to St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. My wife had the honor of singing in a combined community choir on Saturday for that service. Prayers and thoughts go out to his family as they deal with a new normal. I'd like to wish my wife a welcome back to school. She started her 21st year, I think, of teaching last Wednesday. And my grandkids started their first day today up in Sheboygan and saw their smiling faces on Facebook. Wish I could have been there with them to see them off, but unfortunately I wasn't able to. Last month I missed the meeting so I couldn't, well there was a reason I missed the meeting last month. I went to hell and back. Well, hell Michigan that is. And while there I was appointed mayor of the incorporated city of hell, Michigan. And I was also impeached on the same day. I'm not sure if it was because I wasn't a resident of hell, Michigan or Michigan itself, or if it's because I declared free ice cream at the ice cream shop that the proprietors ran. So my tenure was very, very, very short lived, but it, uh, was a bucket list item. And I'm proud to say that, uh, I was mayor for a day. I'd also like to wish my wife a happy 36th wedding anniversary. We celebrated last month also on August 11th, and it's been a long ride, an interesting ride, and it's never been a dull moment. Thank you.

REPEATING EVERYONE'S SENTIMENT ABOUT TODAY. HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL TO EVERYONE. IT WAS REALLY NICE SEEING KIDS FILL THE HALLWAYS AGAIN WITH JOY AND READINESS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR. I KEEP TELLING ALL THE STAFF AT JERSTED THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR.

Thank you. I guess I want to start by thanking everyone who in this body that stays for these announcements. I think it shows a lot of respect to listen to everybody. You know there's 15 of us for a reason. We were elected by our constituents. I think every person in this body has made a a comment at the end to recognize someone or something. So I think it shows a lot of respect from everyone to listen to all of those voices and opinions here and all the great things that are going on in our city. So thank you for those that state. Second, I want to say happy Labor Day to everybody. I think there's a great quote that really, I think, kicks off the Labor Day celebrations well. It's a quote from Abraham Lincoln, and it goes, if any man tells you he loves America yet hates labor, he's a liar. If any man tells you he trusts America yet fears labor, he's a fool. And so happy Labor Day to all my brothers and sisters out there. I look forward to celebrating with you in the coming week. Thank you.

Alder Pavone. I remembered. Thank you. Well, three things in front of that. First, I want to echo Alder Frazier's sentiments regarding Bishop Kirby, and then also cheering on Alder Allen and her competition. And then to Alder Jorgensen's point as well, happy Labor Day. And I just wanted to congratulate or Shout out the clerk's office. We had a primary that just happened in August in between now and the last meeting, and they did a fantastic job. It ran smoothly, and there's a lot of hard work that goes into that, so thank you for keeping things running. I'll repeat.

I'll repeat. Thank you. Next time, I'm going to start raising my hand first. By the time you get to me, it's all been said. But again, first of all, echo the sentiments for Alder Allen, the Kirby family, As Aldrich Jurgensen pointed out about Labor Day, and I have to give a shout out to the school, Racine Unified, our school districts, but I won't mention why, but I have to say we had an awesome day, our first day back at 21st Century today. Nobody knows why I said that. And also, speaking of 21st century, I'm under the impression that one of our aldermen will be having a birthday. I'm not going to say, she tells me she's like 30 or something, but she'll be having a birthday next Tuesday, so I'd give her a shout out. Thank you. All right. Father Kelly.

Thank you. Welcome back to the Racine Lutheran High School students. My daughter is officially a senior, so they've been back for two weeks now. I also want to thank all of the city staff and my fellow council members for being patient with me on my long journey. This coming Thursday, I'm happy to announce it is my last treatment, so I get to ring the bell.

All right. Congratulations.

Congratulations, Elder Kelly. Alder Horton. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. First of all, I'd just like to say to the Kirby family that Bishop Kirby is going to be truly missed. I used to work for him at the Hope House, and every time he would see me, I would say, let me hold something. I said, Bishop, I ain't got nothing. I said, man, I don't have anything. The second part of it is I just want to thank the council for those that voted to get the name changed, Bishop Kirby Lane down there, for we did not foresee this coming and that I seen it at the slideshow. I seen it on the slideshow at his funeral. The other part is that everybody that was at the funeral, they know they are in trouble because we went over an hour, Bishop. It was like three hours. So those people, three and a half hours. So they are in trouble for doing that. And then to Alder Allen, who is not here. Alder Frazier beat me to the punch, congratulating you and saying, go get him. So I hope I'm still in good favor. He just beat me out first. Alder to Mark for a second time.

I have a couple of things I forgot to say before I get yelled at by my brothers and sisters of union. Happy Labor Day. And the other thing is to the clerk's office. As a RUSC employee that worked with your employees, they were great. They were awesome. There was no issues that I could see of. And I hope that I gave them a home where they felt comfortable.

Alder Pete, did you have another announcement? Yes, don't turn me off this time, though. I just forgot to mention that when I mention a birthday, it's Alder Weiss.

I think we understood what you were... All right. So we'll adjourn in honor of Alderweiss's birthday next week and subtlety. Just a couple other things just to mention. Again, I too want to mention the passing of Bishop Kirby. He was obviously not only a force for his congregation, but for the entire community. I was honored to be part of the three and a half hour funeral service on behalf of the city. And it was quite a service. People came from all over the country to honor a great man. And so glad that we did the street renaming last year and could reference that. Happy Labor Day to everyone who works and celebrates labor unions and people who fight for working families, and to the members of the council who are members of Organized Labor, thank you very much. We're happy to have you there. For tomorrow, high schools, all the students go back. Today, at Case High School, it was freshman orientation day, so my youngest had his first day of high school today, and I now have three teenagers at Case High School this year, so pray for me. But good luck to all the students and to all the faculty and staff. I've said many times, and I will say as many as we can, the strength of our community is tied directly to the strength of our public schools. And so want to wish everybody well who's making that work as students or the teachers and staff who find that vocation of education so important to our future. A couple of just procedural things, just as a reminder, finance and personnel will not be Monday of next week because it is Labor Day. It will be Tuesday. And I was asked by IT to say, if you have not yet picked up your phone, please do so. because those numbers will transfer over. So we do have staff that are here who can help you with that when we adjourn. With that, I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn with multiple seconds. All those in favor of adjournment, please say aye. Opposed? We are adjourned.