City Council - Aug 11, 2026

All right, I call to order the Tuesday, August 11, 2026 meeting of the Jacksonville City Council. Good evening, everybody. And the first order of business is to thank former Council President Keriko, who will be stepping in tonight as floor leader. Councilman Boylan is on an excused absence. So with that, let's turn it over to former Council President Keriko. All right, thank you, Mr. President, and I'll add my welcome to everybody as well. What we'll do first is call on the chaplain, if you'd like, to go ahead and get the invocation and the pledge. Mr. Amaro, you're recognized, sir. Thank you, Mr. Floor Leader. Good evening, everyone. Tonight, our invocation will be delivered by Elder Earl Matthews. Pastor Matthews is a senior pastor of New Horizon Church located in Jacksonville, Florida. He considers himself a Jacksonville native, being resided in the city since early childhood. He's a graduate of Stanton High School. He's served 11 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. For the past 24 years, he's been employed full-time in ministry. He serves Florida Central First Jurisdiction as jurisdictional secretary and superintendent of the Jacksonville Metropolitan District. He is a sought-after workshop facilitator focusing on protocol in the church. He currently serves by mayoral appointment as a commissioner on the Jacksonville Housing and Community Development Commission. His life's pursuit is to serve God through service to the people of God and humanity at large. Tonight, he is here with his wife, Gail, his companion of 18 years. Please receive Pastor Matthews for tonight's invocation. Good evening to Council Member, pardon me, Council President Nick Holland, Council Vice President Joe Carlucci, Councilman Ken Amaro, and this August body. Thank you for extending this privileged invitation. As you begin this evening with the business of continuing to make our beloved city the envy of municipalities around the country, there's no doubt that this collective body has to make extremely important and weighty decisions that will impact the lives of every citizen that calls Jacksonville home. Those who serve in leadership capacities must remember that it's not about you or I, it's about servant leadership. Scripture teaches us in Mark 9 and 35 states, If anyone wants to be first, he or she must be the very last and the servant of all. Let's continue to work in harmony. Shall we pray? God, we ask for your wisdom and guidance as we gather to make decisions for our community. Bless this meeting with understanding and cooperation. Help us to listen with respect, speak with kindness, and act with integrity so that the work of this evening is productive. Grant the council clarity, fairness, and unity in purpose as they carry out their responsibility to serve the citizens of this city. Lord, we lift in prayer our mayor, the council members, and other city officials. We pray for their protection as well as the protection of law enforcement officers, first responders, and everyone that has chosen to serve humanity. And the people of the Lord says, Amen. I pledge allegiance. Mr. President, this would be the appropriate time to call for the roll. All right. And before we do, let me just do one quick announcement. On Thursday, begin the budget hearings. It's Thursday, August 13th. And for all my colleagues, you're all welcome to attend, even if you're not on Finance Committee. And if you do attend, please let Bernadette know so we can make sure we have your name on the dais and have the right seating adjusted for it. That's all I have. So roll call, please. 17 present. All right, Mr. President. One announcement from me. Due to the general elections being held on Tuesday, 818-26 per Ordinance 2026-568-E, Tuesday standing committee meetings will be rescheduled to Wednesday, 819-26. And then, of course, the next council meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 25th. Thank you, sir. All right. As you know, the first order of business tonight is the approval of the minutes from July 28th, 2026. So I move the approval of the minutes. We have a motion and a second on the approval of the minutes from the regular meeting of July 28th, 2026. We will take this vote verbally, and there's no speakers in the queue. All in favor of approving the minutes, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no, the minutes pass. Mr. President, we have several communications from the mayor and other entities. Would you like these read in the record or filed with legislative services? Let's file them, please. We'll get that done. Mr. President, we have one presentation tonight. So if we could have Council Member Amaro head down to the podium, and then we'll have the council secretary read the resolution. Mr. Secretary. His mic's broken. Okay, let's get him one. Resolution 2026-408. Mrs. Alicia Jones Seabrooks, a Jacksonville native and graduate of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, has served Duval County Public Schools with distinction for more than 30 years, from 1995 through 2026, as a teacher, exceptional student education specialist, and administrator. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks earned a Bachelor of Science in Mentally Handicapped Education from Edward Waters University and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from the Jacksonville University and began her career in 1995 as a middle school educator in exceptional student education. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks served at Arlington Middle School as a teacher, exceptional student education specialist, and administrator, and played an instrumental role in helping the school rise from a low C rating to achieving its first state of Florida B grade in more than 10 years. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks is known for her practical student-centered teaching approach that emphasized lifelong skills such as handwriting, communication, confidence building, and personal responsibility, leaving a lasting impact on generations of students and families across Jacksonville. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks served Duval County Public Schools across multiple campuses, including Arlington Middle School, John E. Ford K-8 Montessori School, Lakeshore Middle School, Jefferson Davis Middle School, Twin Lakes Academy Middle School, Terry Parker High School, and Eugene Butler Middle School. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks demonstrated exceptional leadership in transforming pride units for students with behavioral and mental health needs into structured, supportive, and effective learning environments where students could thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks was named Teacher of the Year at Arlington Middle School in 2001 and received the Star Administrator Award in 2012 in recognition of her outstanding impact in schools and communities. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks has devoted herself to service beyond the classroom through programs with the Bridge of Northeast Florida, including the State Attorneys Program and the New Chance Program supporting teen parents, as well as youth development through summer camps with the Boys and Girls Club. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks is a proud 34-year member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, having been initiated through the Omicron Beta Chapter at Edward Waters College and has supported numerous civic and service initiatives through her membership. Mrs. Jones Seabrooks is a devoted member of Spring Hill Missionary Baptist Church, where she has served as a Tuesday night Bible class teacher, nurturing spiritual growth and guiding others through teaching and encouragement. As Mrs. Jones Seabrooks enters retirement after more than 30 years of public service, her legacy of excellence, compassion, and transformational leadership has strengthened Duval County Public Schools and forever changed the lives of countless students and families across Jacksonville. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Jacksonville, the City Council hereby honors and recognizes Mrs. Alicia Jones Seabrooks for her more than 30 years of dedicated service to Duval County Public Schools and the Jacksonville community, and extends its sincere congratulations and best wishes upon her retirement. Through the chair, it's an honor for me to be able to recognize Ms. Seabrooks for her accomplishment. I am empathetic with educators because I think it's one of the most underrated professions anywhere. No one can become a doctor without having an educator or a lawyer or anything of that matter. And so it reminds me of a quote from Melvin Gravely of his grandmother's wisdoms where he says that grandma told him that you can't scrub the floor with a mop. You have to get down on your knees and you have to work the corners. And that's what educators do every day as they plant seeds in the minds of young minds and develop them. And she's done it for 30 years. So tonight, just wanted to say congratulations and thank you for what you've done, the minds you've shaped in this community. First of all, I want to thank this governing body that governs the city of Jacksonville, the county of Duval. I just thank you for recognizing a little old me. I never expected growing up in Emerson Arms, you know, and going to some of the best schools in Duval County that I would be standing here today. And I was just happy to serve. And I thank you so very much. I thank you. Thank you, God. Thank you. All right. We will announce our sole page tonight. So please give a round of applause for Mr. Hudson Williams, all the way from Creekside High School. Thanks for volunteering with us tonight, Hudson. He did that politician wave really good. You see that? All right. Next, Mr. President, is quasi-judicial actions. So we are now ready for quasi-judicial actions beginning on page five. Council members should declare any ex parte communications as the bills are introduced. I'll remind the public that these items do not include public hearings as these matters were thoroughly reviewed at the committee level where public hearings were part of the process. And, Mr. Floor Leader, before we move on and call for an amendment, Mr. Freeman would like to speak. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and through the chair to Ms. Seabrooks, and I thank you for your service to the community. I could not sit quiet without speaking. Many of you know, if you don't know her, you know her son, Winston Seabrooks. And what I love most is we just acknowledge the 30 years of your service of others and their kids, but you did it without neglecting your own. And you've raised an amazing son, and I want to just put that on the record. The work that he's done is evident of the hard work that you've done for others. And so I just wanted to share that. So thank you so much for sharing your son with us. Thank you, Mr. Freeman. Mr. Floor Leader, back to you, sir. All right, Mr. President, we're on page 5, item 1, 2026-0544. I move the amendment to grant the appeal. All right, we have a motion and a second on the amendment to grant the appeal. Let me give my colleagues a chance, just in case they miss it, to declare ex parte if they haven't. Okay, seeing none, I will turn it over before we vote to Ms. Daphopoulos to explain the vote here on the amendment. Thank you. Through the President to the Council, so the amendment before you is to revise the bill to grant the appeal. If this amendment is approved and the bill is moved as amended, if you vote yes, you are voting to grant the appeal and overturn the final order of the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission. If you vote no, you're voting to deny the appeal and support or uphold the Historic Preservation Commission's final order. All right, and with that, Mr. Peluso, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. This appeal relates to a property in my district. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the historic districts, these are incredibly important. I would just ask that you guys deny this, vote no on this. HPC is a body that we have empowered, and we should continue to empower them. We should recognize that it's a panel of experts and people who care about historic preservation. And this property is not, it's an important part of the fabric of the community. And so I'll be voting no, and I ask that you do as well. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Peluso. There are no other speakers in the queue, so we will take this vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against, say no. All right. Ashley? Want to re-vote and we'll do it by hand? Okay. Let's take a re-vote on this. We'd like to do it by hand. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by raising your hand. I'll give legislative services time to count. Okay. And all against, raise your hand. The amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Seeing no speakers in the queue, let's open the ballot and record your vote. 11 yays, 5 nays. By your vote, 2026-0544 passes as amended. Mr. President, we're on page 6, item 2, 2026-0372. I move the bill. All right. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 16 yays, 1 nay. By your vote, 2026-0372 passes. We're on item 3, 2026-0434. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers in the queue. We'll take the vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, say no. Amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Mr. Peluso, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I stand to declare ex parte in support of this item. I received a letter in support from SPAR and a few emails from the applicants supporting the PUD. Thank you. Thank you, sir. No other speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0434 passes. Brings us to item 4, 2026-0435. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Before we vote, I'll recognize Ms. Clark Murray. Thank you, President Howland. I rise to declare ex parte on July the 21st. I spoke with Peter King here in Council Chambers during the Land Use and Zoning Committee meeting, and we discussed a date and time with which Mr. King could meet with the community. Also, on July the 21st, I received a voice message from the Honorable Randy DeFore. She talked about the land trust, and she vouched for Peter King, the applicant's representative. Lastly, on July 30th, I met with Michael Blanke, Corey Blanke, and Peter King during a High Grove community meeting on July the 30th at the Lane Wiley Senior Center, and Mr. King and Corey Blanke, or Chase, okay, I'll make sure I correct that, sorry, thank you. So Chase Blanke, for the record, that's Chase Blanke, met with them at the, once again, the Lane Wiley Community Center, and they basically presented the project to the community. The community was allowed to ask questions. They also, at that time, told us about the revised exhibit for the project. And all of this, all of these ex-parte communications have been filed with legislative services. All right, thank you, ma'am. We have no other speakers in the queue. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. We'll take the vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no, the amendment passes. Move, the bill is amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0435 passes. All right, Mr. President, we're now on page 7, item 5, 2026-0437. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers in the queue. We'll take the vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no, the amendment passes. Move, the bill is amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0437 passes. We are on item 6, 2026-0483. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Mr. Amaro, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I rise to declare ex parte. During my CRA meetings, we had conversations about this. The information will be filed with legislative services if it has not yet been done. Thank you, sir. No other speakers in the queue. We'll take the vote on the amendment verbally. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no, amendment passes. Move, the bill is amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0483 passes. Item number 7, 2026-0484. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. I'll give it a minute in case anyone has ex parte. Seeing none, let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0484 passes. All right, Mr. President, we're now on page 8, item 8, 2026-0485. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Mr. Peluso, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I stand to declare ex parte. I met with Dr. Richard Danford, Dennis Stone, Christian Reed, and Faith Danford, all of whom are in support of this project. It's been filed with legislative services. Thank you, sir. No other speakers in the queue. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0485 passes. Item number 9, 2026-0486. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0486 passes. Moving on to item 10, 2026-0487. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Mr. Gay, you're recognized. No need on the bill. Roger that. No other speakers on the amendment. We'll take this vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment. Indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. The amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Mr. Gay, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to declare ex parte on this. I received two emails in opposition, and it has been filed with legislative services. Thank you, sir. No other speakers on the queue. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Let's open the ballot. Record your vote. 16 yeas, 1 nay. And by your vote, 2026-0487 passes. All right, Mr. President. We're now on page 9, item 11, 2026-0488. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Mr. Gay, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I received two emails in regards to this bill in opposition, and so I have filed with legislative services for ex parte. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Seeing no other speakers in the queue, we do have a motion and a second on the bill. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 16 yeas, 1 nay. By your vote, 2026-0488 passes. Moving on to item 12, 2026-0533. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0533 passes. Item 13, 2026-0534. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Seeing no speakers in the queue, let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0534 passes. All right, that moves us on to the consent agenda on page 10. So I move the consent agenda. After the secretary reads the bills. Assuming his microphone's working. 2026-537, 538, 539, 540, 546, 547, 548, 613, 614, and 617. All right, Mr. President, I move the consent agenda minus the item pulled, which was, I believe, item 22, 2026-614. All right, so we are moving the consent agenda minus 0614. We have a motion and a second to move the consent agenda minus item number 22, 2026-0614. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yeas, 0 nays. By your vote, the consent agenda passes minus the bill noted. All right, Mr. President, we're now going to move to page 13 and take up item 22 individually, 2026-0614. We have a motion and a second on 2026-0614. Mr. Freeman, would you like to speak? You're recognized, sir. Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to bring everyone's attention to this bill. We discussed it in a resolution. We discussed it in committee about Sunshine 811 Day. And during committee, Mr. President, we asked if there were other organizations within the industry that were aligned with it. And they are here in the audience today. If you don't mind, may I please recognize Mr. Gary Monaghan from TECO's People's Gas to share the importance of digging and why you should call 811 prior to it, if you would so indulge me. Fantastic idea. Mr. Monaghan, if you don't mind, your name and address and just share a little bit about it. Thank you, sir. Good evening, Gary Monaghan. TECO People's Gas, 4040 Phillips Highway, Jacksonville, Florida, 32207. Today is August 11th or 811 Day, and we are here with your support, Councilman Freeman and those in the Rules Committee, to recognize the importance of damage prevention, protecting our underground utilities and infrastructure. Florida leads the nation for damaged underground utilities, and we want to make sure that people know and understand the requirement to call 811 prior to digging. That's me, that's you, it's our neighbors doing any planting or installing a mailbox in our front yard, and it's also contractors as well. So we appreciate the opportunity to call attention to this to keep our communities, our utilities, our neighbors safe. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Monaghan. Thank you so much. And I thought it was just important that we all, as leaders in our community, are aware of this and that we can go back and share with our constituents. I also want to take pride in the fact that today was 811. Hopefully, everyone caught on to that, because I want to say I am the self-professed dad joke winner up here on the council. So thank you so much for that. Masterclass in legislative timing, Terrence. Well done. Ms. Clark-Murray, you're recognized. Thank you, Chair. I just want to be added as a co-sponsor, if it's possible at this time. Also, it is my grandson's birthday, so 811 has another significance for me. He's 13. Yay. All right. Thank you, Mr. Monaghan. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to recognize our friends from JEA here in support as well. Thank you. All right. Thank you, sir. With that, do we have a motion on this one? All right. We have a motion and a second on this one. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0614 passes. At this time, I'd like to recognize Councilman Matt Carlucci, please. Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate that very much. If it's possible, if Ms. Vanessa could add me as a co-sponsor to item 23-2026-0617, honoring the life of one of my former colleagues on the council, Harry Reagan. Harry was one of the finest councilmen I ever served with. He was extremely effective in his work, and I don't know if I can be added as a sponsor, but I sure would like to. And also, just thought I'd say that there will be a celebration of his life this Sunday at the History Center, starting, I think, at 1 o'clock till probably 5, for those who would like to, who knew him, show up and honor his family. It's been a tough couple of years for Councilman Reagan and losing his wife and his daughter. He has one remaining daughter who will be there, but a lot of y'all probably never knew Harry Reagan. A lot of y'all did. But this was an incredible man and a legend in everything that he did. So, I just appreciate you recognizing me, and then I also wanted to throw in the celebration of his life for this Sunday. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Carlucci. And this will be the time to recognize our rules chair. Let's do it, Councilmember Gay. Thank you, Mr. President. We have just approved the following appointments as part of our consent agenda. If you are in the audience, please stand to be recognized. Alicia Summers to the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville. Arlene Lloyd to the Cultural Council of Greater Jacks. Please join me in thanking these for their service to the city. Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. President. All right, Mr. President. That brings us to the public comment section of the meeting tonight. So, if you are ready for public comments, the council shall reserve up to one and one half hours of time for the public comment period. The deadline for filling out and submitting a speaker card for public comment is 60 minutes after the published start time of the council meeting. When there are multiple speakers, the time allocated per person shall be divided so as to allow as many speakers as possible a turn to speak. Each person addressing the council shall proceed to the place assigned for speaking, which will be this front row up here. We'll do that five at a time, and then you'll be called up and comments. We ask that they be directed to the body as a whole. We have a significant amount of cars tonight, as you can see, so we'll set the time at two minutes and 30 seconds. Members of the audience should refrain from demonstrations during our meeting that include demonstrations of approval, disapproval, such as applause, signs, or displays that can cause disruption to the meeting. Council members are reminded that this is our time to hear from the public, and this is not a time for question and answers or debate. However, a member of the public may be invited to the green room for further discussions. A council member subject to approval by the council president may extend this invitation. Mr. Secretary, could you please read Council Rule 4.505 regarding disruption of meetings? Council Rule 4.505, disruption of meeting. Any person who disrupts a regular meeting of the city council, standing committees, special or select committees, subcommittees, or any other public meeting presided over by a city council member may be forthwith, barred, removed, or otherwise ejected in the discretion of the presiding officer from further attendance at that meeting. If necessary, due to the nature of the disruption, the audience may be cleared from the council chambers or meeting location in the discretion of the presiding officer. Any person who refuses to leave the city council chamber may be subject to arrest. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Let the record reflect that the time is 5.33. I'm going to go ahead and call the first five speakers. If you would come down and sit in the front row, as so you will be ready when your name is called. That is going to be Kathleen Pereira, Lorian Anderson, Melanie Saxon, Isabella Spencer, Kira Moreau. If those five could come up front, and Ms. Kathleen Pereira, you know the drill. You can take the podium and start with your name and address. My name is Kathleen Pereira. My information is on file. In some ways, I cannot blame the city council for growing a deaf ear when the citizens constantly complain about overdevelopment, encroachment in previously peaceful neighborhoods, and horrendous traffic. After all, anyone would become numb to complaints after having their ears bent enough by those developers' full-time lobbyists. However, the sad point is that the city council has developed that deaf ear because they haven't looked at the big picture. Most citizens don't come here just for the sake of complaining, especially when it means that they will have to leave their jobs early enough and get babysitters to come here and petition the council to redress their grievances. I think they would much rather not have to worry about what the council will or will not do to protect their quality of life, or to worry that the council will ignore the comprehension plan or will reflexively change a previously rational land zoning code in order to please developers who don't care at all about careful land use planning, much less ruining neighborhoods, as long as they can make money. Just listen to the neighborhoods which have had to fight a morgue, a liquor store, an oil depot, a slaughterhouse, and now maybe a 15,000-seat poorly placed soccer stadium in St. Johnstown Center, especially when there are plenty of land opportunities in Jacksonville that will not encroach upon the quality of life for long-established neighborhoods, like part of the old Regency Square, the Emerson Commercial Center, or the Cecil Field Center, to name just a few. After all, our neighborhoods want to save everyone time and money over bad ideas, and we definitely want to save the council's ears, which would be very easy to do. So, codify and follow the 1995 Neighborhood Bill of Rights, enforce the 2045 Comprehensive Plan, and be proactive in stopping development that encroach upon neighborhoods. I hope you heard that loud and clear. And also, please support the right to garden. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Lorian Anderson. Good evening. My name is Lorian Anderson, and I'm a resident of Atlantic Beach. I'm here tonight in support of the Free to Garden Act, which will make community and market gardens permissible by right in Jacksonville. As a social worker, fitness professional, and herbalist, my entire life revolves around health and wellness. And at a time we have astronomically high levels of anxiety and obesity, it is more important now than ever to ensure that everyone has access to clean and fresh food. Diet makes a huge difference not only in our health, but in our levels of anxiety and depression. And interacting with nature is calming to the nervous system, beneficial for our microbiome, and very good for our immune systems. Having community gardens and urban farms allows more opportunities for people to interact with nature, help children understand where food comes from, and leads to healthier communities. I imagine you've heard of the affordability crisis that we are in. Groceries are insanely expensive. And health care is completely unaffordable for people like me. Most of us are making well under $50,000 a year, so anywhere we can supplement and grow things that make for ourselves, barter with our neighbors, trade, and sell things that we grow is a win. This is a neighborhood-friendly, common-sense legislation that builds upon regional, state, and local policy foundations. I implore you to recognize the importance and efficacy of urban and community farming. We hope you will vote for the Home Occupations Bill and then respectfully request you to support the Free to Garden Act as a sponsor once it has been filed. To learn more, please join us at the notice meeting on August 19th at 10.15 a.m. to discuss how we can make neighborhood-friendly market and community gardens permissible by right and by amending the zoning code. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next we have Melanie Saxon. Council members, my name is Melanie Saxon. My address is 6027 Mizell Drive on Jacksonville's west side, where I've had a front yard organic vegetable garden for six years. With support from Nathan and his team at Man and Overalls, I've had the joy of eating a lot of really healthy, good food. I'm here to speak in favor in support of the Free to Garden Act. I serve as a development manager for a food pantry in Springfield, which, as most of you know, is a food desert. In the two years that I've been there, I've seen firsthand how much this community needs food. The number of people who come to us for food is increasing every month. We as a community need to be doing all the smart things we can to grow more food, to help people grow food, and to provide more food to our community. Please vote for the Home Occupation Bill, then once it's filed, please support the Free to Garden Act. It's the right thing to do. To learn more, please join us at the notice meeting on August 19th at 10.15 a.m. to discuss how we can make neighborhood-friendly community and market gardens permissible by right. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Isabella Spencer. My name is Isabella Spencer. I live off of Enzo Way. I'm a resident of Duval County. I'm coming to you today to request an increase in funding for the TNR program in Duval County. As many of you know, the stray and feral cat community is an issue that is unfortunately continuing to grow. While I do want to highlight the impressive program that this county has, we do need more assistance. Turning our backs on this issue will not make it disappear. Increasing the funding will allow residents of the county to help close the gap that the shelters, Humane Society, and Humane Agents can't do themselves. Every pet is an accessible resource that helps many residents throughout the county. It remains accessible by allowing it to remain free to those residents who dedicate their time trapping and transporting these animals. By allowing the cost to get cats fixed allows us to continue to tackle this problem. I appreciate your time and your consideration in supporting the Spay and Nuda program in Duval County. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Kira Moreau. And while Ms. Moreau is coming down, I'll call the next five speakers to come down to the front row. Jennifer Joyner, Nathan Valentine, Samantha Siris, Brooke McNeil, and Edward Whistler. Ms. Moreau. Greetings. I'm Kira Moreau. I'm the director of Dig Local Network, which runs two farmers markets and two community gardens out at the beach. And I'm also a resident of Atlantic Beach. I'm here to speak in favor of the Frida Garden Act. As somebody who's been closely involved in farmers markets here in Duval County since 2008, I've seen more and more of our local farm applicants come not from traditional farmland, but from homesteads, small market gardens, and backyard farms right here in Duval County. It's, I think, very important for the economic security of our small agricultural businesses in Duval County to pursue this kind of diversification of efforts and promote the use of resources that are previously unutilized. It's relieved some pressure on our agricultural supply chains, especially as I'm sure you've all seen with recent recalls, outages in web services, and that farmers markets and small markets in general are a growth industry within agriculture. It also promotes the visibility of work and productive land use. When you have a very indoor work culture in the county, it's really useful for young people to see folks working outdoors and producing food themselves. And I'd like to point out also that agricultural land in Duval County itself has been greatly reduced. Between the year 2000 and 2010, we lost 85% of our agricultural land to development here in Duval County. which further stresses those agricultural supply chains. So I just would like to emphasize that diversifying the resources that we have within the small agriculture is critically important to our future. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Jennifer Joyner. Hi, Council. My name is Jennifer Joyner. I am a member of the Southeast CPAC, and my address is on file. I am here as our city budget is currently in the works. And the proposed fiscal year, 26 to 27 highlights, are highly lacking in allotment for animal welfare, despite an ever-increasing need in our growing city. I volunteered my efforts in TNR, trap, nude, and return, for those who don't know, for six years. And the difference this program makes is exponential for neighbors, shelters, rescues, and, of course, the community cats. Benefits of TNR. See here. We've got reduces unwanted kittens, keeps cats in their territory, which will give them a much better chance at having a good life, not being just dumped somewhere where they don't know where to get food and water. It improves their health by preventing reproductive diseases and reducing mating-related injuries, reduces nuisance behavior. So whether or not neighbors like cats, regardless, everyone can benefit, with less roaming, less fighting, less yowling, spraying, and mating behavior. And it gradually decreases the community cat population, which ultimately helps all animals, because then shelters, rescues, and other resources are freed up. So it helps them in that way. And it just improves neighbor relationships. Sometimes there are problems with neighbors just because there are cats next door and they're having a problem, they're yelling or fighting because they're wanting to mate, well, TNR gets rid of that, and then it's no longer an issue. Duval Catfix, which covers TNR, is currently funded at $232,402 annually. This was exhausted within the first couple of months of this current fiscal year. Per the CEO of EveryPet, who I consulted for a number, this number has not been increased significantly for many years. Our city is growing very fast. So is our annual population. And an effective increase would be around $100,000 to $150,000 to cover the increased costs and demand for this program. It is our responsibility to be stewards of God's creatures. We can do better. Please consider this as details are being worked out in our budget, as now is the time to lead by example and to embrace this beautiful responsibility that we've been blessed with to do right by the little guys in our city. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next speaker is Nathan Ballantyne. Good evening. My name is Nathan Ballantyne. O'Reilly's farm grows at 125 East 7th Street. I'm here as an urban gardening entrepreneur, chair of the Duval Urban Ag Council, and on behalf of 1,630 people who signed the petition for permission to grow, which calls on city council to support the Free to Garden Act, a proposed amendment to the zoning code that will make neighborhood-friendly market and community gardens permissible by right in Jacksonville. I'd like to submit the text of the petition and list of names for the record, if I may, to document the level of support this proposed legislation enjoys. To quote the petition in part, whereas Jacksonville has a proud tradition of neighbors feeding neighbors and a centuries-old legacy of backyard gardens, market and community gardens, urban fruit tree nurseries, and orchards, whereas Duval County has no straightforward business-as-usual means for a standalone community or market garden to secure the legal right to grow on most property in Duval County, and whereas diet-related diseases now kill more Floridians than faulty plumbing ever did, making access to fresh local food every bit as essential to public health as clean water and paved streets. And whereas Florida law confirms that food cultivation, even inside city limits, is a protected public good rather than a nuisance. Therefore, we, the undersigned, urge the city council to support the Free to Garden Act so future community and market gardeners can focus on carrots, not courthouse paperwork. End quote. We hope you'll vote for the home occupation bill. Then we respectfully request you to sponsor the Free to Garden Act. To learn more, please join us at Councilman Arias' public noticed meeting on August 19th here in City Hall to discuss how we can make neighborhood-friendly market and community gardens permissible by right. Thank you, and thank you so much for your service. All right, thank you. Next, we have Samantha Series. Samantha Series, address on file. Of course, I'm here today to talk about overdevelopment. I understand we do need more homes. I think we need to maybe have more affordable homes. I recently read an article that stated that Florida is number one, number one in foreclosures. That's for sure. So I think we're running into an issue where we are building too quickly and costing too much. People are buying in and unable to make those payments. So now we are number one in foreclosures. Again, I think we need more affordable homes rather than just overdeveloping, creating heat domes in our city. Natural land does keep our temperatures down. It does filter out the wastewater to not, you know, get into our drinking water and our streams, rivers, and ocean. It helps with all sorts of reasons. And I wanted to inform you guys, there was a new report from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Water Keepers Florida reveals that over 52% of assessed water bodies in Florida failed to meet the state water quality standards due to excessive nutrients and bacterial contaminations. The findings show a significant decline in environmental enforcement with state actions dropping to less than half of their historical average despite the surging population. Overdevelopment is part of the reason we are having this issue. We need to protect our natural lands, not only just for enjoyment, it actually helps the environment, it helps our water. We are being poisoned via our food, our water, our air. We need natural land to make sure we are able to get rid of some of those pollutants. I know you all, I'm sure, have heard of Forever Chemicals. We have some legislation that's coming up to address two of them. There's hundreds of Forever Chemicals. It is very difficult to get Forever Chemicals out of our water. And it's dangerous. People are getting sick. It's not something that is to address lightly. And each step, each person in our city council, each part of our politics, they need to start addressing these things because it's the people that are hurting. The companies are making money. The people are being hurt. It's not easy. I know people in many different cities, a lot of them are having health issues because of the contamination that's happening. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Brooke McNeil. Good evening. My name is Brooke McNeil with Vital Acre Urban Farm in the Port Caroline area, 1421 Gately Road. I'm here tonight to support the Free to Garden Act, which will make neighborhood-friendly community and market gardens permissible by right in Jacksonville. When my husband and I first started transforming our front yard into a garden in 2020, we were afraid that the neighbors would hate us because our property is own residential rule, but we're surrounded by HOAs. Much to our surprise, it was actually the opposite. They loved it. I can't tell you how many times people have been walking by, walking their dog when we're out working and want to stop, talk to us, bring their grandkids in, show them where a tomato or a carrot actually comes from. I believe growing food should be a right accessible to every person who desires to do so for themselves or for others. Gardens strengthen communities. They improve health of those who grow them and those who eat from them. So we hope you'll vote for the Home Occupations Bill, and then we respectfully request you to support the Free to Garden Act as a sponsor once it has been filed. To learn more, please join us at the notice meeting on August 19th at 1015 to discuss how we can make neighborhood-friendly market gardens, market and community gardens permissible by right by amending the zoning code. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Edward Whistler. While he comes up, the next five after him will be Z Top, Mary Elizabeth Valentin, Mikey Howell, Lindsey Schaefer, and Suzanne Kramer. Good evening. My name is Eddie Whistler, and I'm a resident of Jacksonville Beach, and my address is 1425 Tanglewood Road. I'm here tonight to support the Free to Garden Act, which makes neighborhood-friendly community and market gardens permissible by right in Jacksonville. You heard from some other gardening entrepreneurs and people who are in the business. I would love to support those folks, and I'm hoping that you would be able to as well with this Free to Garden Act. Some of us just really love gardening, and some of us are better than the others of us at it. But all the same, the property owners should have the right to be able to grow food without excessive bureaucratic barriers, and this seems to be able to align. This act does align our zoning code with Jacksonville's local government comprehensive plan, the Florida Home Occupation Bill, and the right to farm. And it also protects the right to feed ourselves and our neighbors. And so, this neighborhood-friendly, common-sense legislation that builds upon residential, state, and local policy foundations is one that we should really consider. So, please consider co-sponsoring the Free to Garden Act. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Zee Toth. Good evening. My name is Zee, and I'm here representing Farm and Forage, a small urban farm located in Murray Hill. I'm here tonight in support of the Free to Garden Act. So, one of the biggest challenges of urban farms isn't the ability to grow food or the demand from our neighbors. It's navigating unnecessary barriers that can make it difficult for small-scale growers to operate where they're needed most. There are families looking for fresh local food, farmers markets looking for more local vendors and property owners who want to put their land to productive use. Neighborhood-scale gardens and market farms can help meet all three of those needs. This is not about turning neighborhoods into industrial farms. It's about allowing responsible, neighborhood-friendly food production to exist alongside the communities it serves. Let's work together to make Jacksonville more resilient, supporting small local businesses, and increase access to fresh food. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mary Elizabeth Ballantyne. Good evening. My name is Mary Elizabeth Ballantyne, a Springfield neighborhood resident, and my address is on file. I am here tonight as a mom to support the Free to Garden Act because my friends' kids who refuse to eat vegetables at home will eat lettuce and kale picked straight out of our neighborhood farm. I've heard concerns that urban gardens could be a nuisance, so I support this proposal because it addresses concerns like these while celebrating the beauty of fresh-grown food. I hope you will vote for the Home Occupations Bill, and then I respectfully ask you to support the Free to Garden Act as a sponsor once it has been filed. Please join us on August 19th, as you've heard previously, to discuss how we can amend the zoning code. Thank you for your service to every citizen of Jacksonville. All right. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mikey Howell. All right. I'm Mikey Howell from Chandanko Farms and Urban Farm in Murray Hill. My address is 3328 Plum Street, and I am here in support of the Free to Garden Act for the following reasons. My dad, two grandpas, or two grandmas, a grandpa, an uncle, and an aunt have all died from various cancers. My mom has COPD. My stepdad has diabetes. My uncle have Parkinson's right now. I was 300 pounds when I was 13 years old. I struggled with substance abuse and mental and physical health conditions. Most of my adult life. Growing plants and connecting to food saved my life. Connecting to community saved my life. My hands are what can an urban farm do. My hands have moved upwards of nearly half a million pounds of food into this community in four and a half years. I've planted hundreds of thousands of seeds. After this, I'm going home to plant trees and more seeds. Imagine what these hands could do with unfettered support opposed to skepticism or apprehension. This is not a political issue. Everyone wins when we work together. Jacksonville could be an example for not just the rest of this state, but the rest of the country for what's possible with community gardens and urban farms. Plants and food do not care about gender, race, religion, socioeconomic class, or political affiliation. And this is a chance to display that unity is not only possible, but practical. So please, join us August 19th for the meeting at 10.15 a.m. to discuss making community gardens and urban farms permissible by right. Thank you guys for hearing us all today. All right, thank you. Next we have Lindsey Schaefer. Good evening, council members. My name is Lindsey Schaefer. Address is 1431 River Place Boulevard. And I have lived in the South Bank for eight years. After moving to Jacksonville, I noticed many community cats living in the neighborhood. I realized these cats needed help, so I did my research. And with help from the community, I learned about Trap, Neuter, and Release TNR and the wonderful program available to us at Every Pet and Trap My First Cat. Today, I am requesting additional funding from the city to help cover vet care for spay and neuter programs so that my fellow trappers and I can continue to stretch our personal dollars elsewhere in this cause for items such as fuel for transportation for the cats back and forth, for the tuna and rotisserie chicken as enticing bait, for the large traps themselves, and all the other gear that helps us trap more cats more efficiently. Additional funding for this program would also reduce the burden on our local shelter intake and help prevent the growth of the community cat population. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you very much. Our next speaker will be Suzanne Kramer. And while Ms. Kramer is coming up, I'll read the next five names if you could come down front. Stephen Husband, Addison Patrick, Robert Stafford, Denise Scott, and Trey Ford. I'm Suzanne Kramer, and I live in San Marco. And in 2010, I started trapping feral cats, and I'm still at it. There are a lot of four-letter words in this life, but here are a couple good four-letter words for you. Trap, spay, save. We would really like more funding. The cats need help. I'm a cat lover. I do it. I cannot tell you how many people do it that are not huge cat lovers, but it's the right thing. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next is Stephen Husband, and if we could just be more specific when we state our address. Neighborhoods are nice, but if you could either say it's on file or say your actual address on the card. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Stephen Husband. I'm the head farmer at Earthless Farming Market. I live at 1336 Silver Street, Jacksonville, Florida. I'm here today to speak in support of the Free to Garden Act, and I want to tell you guys about a former student of mine. He's smart as can be, but he's struggled to find direction. He's a gang member who's faced a life of struggle, but in my class he found something he loved, agriculture, specifically growing plants. I remember the excitement he showed when he realized he could make a living installing raised beds and edible landscaping for his neighbors. I watched him find peace in the garden, and I watched him take pride in feeding his family and his community with something he had grown himself. That young man is what many of the young men and people I encountered while teaching for Duval County Public Schools who found something they loved and opportunity through agriculture. In some ways, his story is my story, too. These young people are the people I'm here today to advocate for. Duval County has many agricultural education programs throughout its high schools, and when these students graduate, I want them to be able to take those skills and build careers right here in their communities. We have an agriculture community here in Jacksonville that is already an incredible asset to our city. Farmers are doing the work, nonprofits are doing the work, and community garters are doing the work. Small businesses are as well, and people from across the country are starting to pay attention to what we're doing here in the city. But we need our city government to let us do our thing above board. Allow us to feed the homeless. Allow us to grow peace within our communities. Allow us to pass down generational knowledge. Allow our young people to turn the skills they've learned into businesses and into careers. This is more about than growing food. This is about creating opportunities and giving young people a place to belong. It's about building relationships between neighbors, and it's about finding common ground at a time when that seems impossible. The Bible says, love thy neighbor. We farmers and gardeners, we love our communities. Let us spread that love. Please vote for the Home Occupation Bill, and once filed, we ask that you support the Free to Garden Act. Please join us at the notice meeting on August 19th at 10.15 a.m. to discuss how we can make neighborhood-friendly community and market gardens permissible by right. Thank you. Ryan, thank you. Addison Patrick. Good evening, City Council members. My name is Addison Patrick, and my address is on file. This evening, I have a few things to mention, so I'll go through them quickly. Number one, I still oppose the mega jail and the big government spending associated with this. We don't need this. This is going to burden taxpayers with decades of debt. We would like an update on that before the end of the year. Let's expand our mental health diversion programs, not build bigger state incarceration infrastructure. Free market dynamics, not tax dollars, should drive development. We shouldn't be picking winners and losers using taxpayer money as corporate welfare. Lest we forget, we do have that pending property tax referendum. Let's fix the housing supply shortage by removing all these government bottlenecks. Let's simplify some of these zoning codes and empower property owners to get creative and build more attainable housing, ADUs, duplexes, triplexes, and others. Let's sell off blighted city-owned properties directly to local residents as part of public-private partnerships with workforce development, who will then restore them and put them back on the tax rolls. We do need absolutely strict compliance with public records laws. We need to codify our neighborhood bill of rights and keep our local government small, accountable, and out of everyone's personal lives. As far as flock cameras and these drone-as-first responders that JSO is using, we need to be keeping tabs on exactly how we keep track of these drones, how are they notated in police reports, and how do we hold JSO accountable and ensure our privacy is not violated. Ban flock cameras. Let's cancel these contracts as soon as possible. And also, I support the Free to Garden Act. Thank you so much. Ms. Patrick, Dr. Johnson had requested to speak with you in the green room. Our next speaker is Robert Stafford. Good evening. My name is Robert Stafford. My address is on file. I attended the mayor's town hall meeting last week at Riewoldt Senior High School. I'm certified in the Uniform Federal Act Accessibility Standards. It's the federal government's equivalent of the Americans with Disabilities Act. So when I enter a building, I'm kind of conscious of the accessible routes. And as I was sitting there, I kept seeing the mayor's staff squeeze between the wall and seats, fixed seats in the auditorium. And I started looking more in the row I was on and all the other roads, I call it the upper tier, but right up against the wall, right up against the wall. You know, so I'm thinking, well, it should be at least 36 inches of space between those seats in the wall. I'm looking around for other accessible things. And it occurred to me that the fire marshal does the final inspection before the school board is, well, DCPS has issued a certificate of occupancy. I mean, did they file for request a waiver to deviate and waiver from the standards? This is dangerous, ladies and gentlemen. I've never seen this. It butts right up against the wall. So there's one entrance and one way to egress. If there was a panic, folks will get injured. So we talk about student safety, student and teacher safety. This is life safety. This is fire and life safety concern. Take a look. I didn't take pictures, but I know there's someone on this council who's familiar with fire codes. I'd like for that person to take a look and to investigate this. I'll reach out to that person. This should be looked at. But, you know, if he explained it to me, I'll try to understand it. But they were granted a certificate of occupancy in these seats, but right up against the wall. I've never seen this before. Thank you. Thank you. And Pastor President White would like to see you in the green room. He might be that guy that knows a little something about the fire code. Our next speaker is Denise Scott, followed by Trey Ford. Unless you want to switch? Okay. Ms. Scott. Good evening. I'm Denise Scott, and my address is on file. As you always say before public comments, this is your time to listen to the people, so we want our three minutes back. How do we do that? Kids Alliance. I see you're voting on that, over $50 million to that organization. I'm just curious. How many folks on this council will benefit from that vote? Just because you abstain your vote is still not right. City Council, I see that the auditor's report stated that JEA, those large commercial companies that they failed to bill for two decades, that's $55 million, guys. Come on. As I said before, when we as the people, when we don't have enough money to pay our JEA bill, we can request a payment arrangement, and I'm glad of that. But guess what? That's what they should do, because if we don't pay our bill, they disconnect our services. Are you disconnecting these big company services? That's not fair to the people, especially since you decided, since they decided on June 30th to increase our rates. That's not right. This is supposed to be a public utility. We need to make that happen. Let's talk about these fly cameras, the license plate readers. I've learned that when we're in public that there is no expectation of privacy. However, why do the innocent have to always suffer? Why do our information have to be stored just because we pass by a certain street? How long is this information stored? And I also found out that it's $114,000 a year. I'm not clear, but who's paying for that? The city, or does that come out of JSO's budget? Speaking about that, Sheriff, I see that you all have decided to spend $750,000 for a consulting firm that they can tell you all where best to put a jail in our city. That company is from Miami. Where do they know where we want the jail? You mean to tell me there's not one consulting firm in this city that you all can pay to take care of it? Because do they know that the people don't want this jail in certain neighborhoods? That's not fair. But just because you have the money and just because you negotiated it down from $1.something million to $750,000, that's still not right. I'm sure there's someone in this city that could do that. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Trey Ford. And our next five after Trey will be Casey Jones, Roxy McLeod, Mike Hardison, William Barker, and Jennifer Kelly. Go ahead, Mr. Ford. Thank you. I'm Trey Ford representing Duval So-and-the-Water Conservation District. My address is on file. Also representing Florida Fish Pepper Co., which is a chamber of commerce for gardeners and growers. And I was on the steering committee for the Duval Food Policy Council. So I want to add some perspective. By now, pretty much everybody should know that it's permissible to grow your own food and share it with neighbors. We wanted to be cautious about the word farm when we drafted the language because it can carry some connotation about livestock, which can open up a whole other can of worms, pun intended. The real conversation brewing is about urban agriculture, market gardens, and small farms inside Jacksonville's neighborhoods. I want to expand the conversation beyond just favorable zoning towards access to funding and other resources. The Free to Garden Act is about economic development and access to quality food. We keep seeing recalls in the news, lettuce, recently the jalapenos, and it's a reminder of how fragile our reliance on the national food supply really is. As we approach an official ordinance on urban agriculture, I ask you to consider programs that encourage citizens to start agribusinesses. That can start by directing city resources toward UF-IFAS Extension Office and refunding the Duval So-and-the-Water Conservation District, which hosts the Start Farming Mentorship, which I was a part of in 2021. We've seen filmmakers and artists receive $10,000 stipends, which I support, and I'd ask that you imagine that same kind of investment towards local growers and agribusiness owners. Honorable members of the council, I want you to imagine how good it can get if Jacksonville were able to gain real independence from the federal food system through our own local gardeners, farmers, and agribusiness owners. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Casey Jones. How y'all doing? Casey Jones, 725 First Street, South Jacks Beach. I'm here about the flock cameras. I need this on the agenda next time. This needs to be voted on. I think both sides can vote that we're slowly becoming a police state. I think it should be unanimous next time it's voted on because, you know, it's called the Fourth Amendment, and it's amazing. So how many JSO flock cameras are there? Does anybody know? Over 400. So you leave your house. It's not a license tag reader. That's false. Do y'all know what it's called? It's, it's, it's, you're getting data tracked on where you go, minute by minute. Every camera that you pass by, you're being tracked. Both sides, unanimously. Next meeting, or the meeting after that, get rid of these. There's already been two cities in the state of Florida. The whole, I'm going, I'm going to, to Tallahassee. The whole state needs to get rid of them. Let's don't leave it up to each city. The whole state. We just had a 250 anniversary. Happy birthday. And we're slowly becoming a police state. It's scary. Think about it. It is so scary. Over 400 cameras are recording you. And it's not a license tag plate reader. It's a data minute by minute of where you're going. It's scary. I want to know why they're sitting on the agenda tonight. Two cities have already banned them. All right. Thank you, sir. It's not enough time. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Roxy McLeod. And a council member from District 7 would like to see you in the green room. It is an honor once again to be here before you all. Thank you for letting me come and talk to you. I'm Roxy McLeod. My address is on file. I proudly live in District 10. And I'm even a member of the CPAC in Northwest. And I am here representing Common Ground Community Garden, which is located in Panama Park neighborhood. It's one of our larger neighborhoods. But I believe that is the only garden that there is in that whole neighborhood, which is a food desert. And you may already know this, but I've done my research, and there are way too many food deserts in our city. So you know good and well what I'm here representing and letting you know that I stand for the Freedom to Garden Act. But also please vote on the Home Occupations Bill. And you are definitely, again, maybe I'm number six or seven, inviting you to next Wednesday. That's not tomorrow. I usually wear my farmer's hat. Today I'm wearing my teacher hat. Not tomorrow, but look at your calendar and put it on your calendar for next Wednesday, the 19th. We'll be in the Don Davis room, you know where that is, and at 10.15 in the morning. I'll be there, and I'm looking for you to be there. We'll talk a little bit more details about that Freedom to Garden Act. I know there's more I'm sure I'm going to say. Let me see. Well, well. This morning, when I was wearing the garden hat, I loved what Mr. Husband said earlier. He was talking about the transformation of someone. Why? Because of the environment that being in a garden does for you. I love it when there's dirt under my fingernails. It does something to you. It gave that man, that young man, peace, and it helped transform his life. This morning, I was in the garden trying to learn the new bus schedule for the kids that come and catch the bus on the corner where the garden is. They love to come to the garden. And an old neighbor, old man walking, he stopped me, and he said, you know what you're doing? And I said, I'm having fun. I'm in the garden. He goes, no, you are creating a safe place for these children. And he looked around, and you know what he's talking about. It's that park in, oh, sorry. Thank you. Bye, y'all. Come on and see the garden. Appreciate it. Next is Micah Hardison. Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Micah Hardison Carr. I am a local beekeeper, grower, food entrepreneur, educator, and I am in support of the Free to Garden Act. I just want to bring to the council. Can you state your address so that it's on file? Yes, I'm sorry. It's 13534 War Admiral Court, Jacksonville, Florida, 32218. I just want to bring to the council's attention the recent focus on our first comprehensive food plan, the state of the food plan, and really how city leaders have recognized that food access and food resilience really are an essential part of city planning. A lot of the food that we have, probably most of the food that we have here travels through very long and complicated supply chains, hundreds and thousands of miles before it reaches Jacksonville. A resilient city can't only depend exclusively on food that's grown somewhere else, transported, again, lots of miles, and delivered to a limited number of outlets. We also have to build local capacity to feed ourselves. The Free to Garden Act is a practical step toward that goal. It allows more food to be grown and distributed inside communities where it's needed. It also gives residents access to fresher food from growers that they know and trust, while also allowing greater transparency about how that food is produced. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have William Barker. Good. Good afternoon, council. Members, my name is William Barker. My address is on file. I am a local entrepreneur and a community urban farmer, and I was just here to support the Free to Garden Act. And I just wanted to take time to paint a picture of why is it important coming from an underserved community and a local food desert myself. I wanted to bring you guys' attention to the vast possibilities that urban development around community garden brings to the community. It's more than just being able to grow food, but it offers education, and if we can expand the use of these urban farms into classroom settings, areas that we can continue to push workforce development, teaching students that are coming from these underserved communities, skills that are valuable, that they can learn in their own communities outside of a school, outside of their independent home, in these areas. It can offer vast and tremendous results in the community, and I've seen it myself, and I know a lot of times you guys are not always on the ground level. And I just wanted you guys to paint a picture to see how these zoning issues can cause problems in the community on a larger scale, because a lot of times funding is involved getting custom zoning to do more than just grow at a farm. And if I wanted to add other amendments to the community that would help educate students around STEM, around other things like engineering, being able to offer farm stands, being able to offer different levels of educational training outside of just growing food, removing those barriers around the zoning would definitely help offer a wider and broader reach to what we can offer in these underserved communities. So, going into the Freedom Garden now, I just wanted to paint that picture so you guys could see it's more than just growing food, it's being able to offer more to the community and the garden be an entryway to offer these things. And removing those barriers will help us do that. We understand we do have the right to grow, and we know we can grow, but we want to paint a picture that's bigger than growing and the impact that it will make in underserved communities. Thank you. All right, thank you. As Jennifer Kelly comes up, I'll call out the next five speakers, which will be Latasha Hobbs, Dragon Beloit, Valerie Sproul, Jamie Travis Leonard, and Wells Todd. Jennifer Kelly, you are up. Good evening, City Council. My name is Jennifer Kelly, and my address is on file. I'd like to begin by saying shift left, shift left, shift left. What does that mean? In business, shift left means solving a problem as early as possible when intervention is simpler and less expensive than waiting for the problem to become a much bigger issue that's more expensive and more difficult to manage as it moves downstream. This is exactly what the trap, neuter, return, and accessible spay and neuter programs do for Jacksonville. When we fund a surgery today, we aren't just helping one cat. We are preventing future litters. We are preventing sick animals, injured animals, animals that fight and need care from entering the system, and generating animal control calls or producing another generation of community cats. That's what's what's called shifting left. When funding runs out, reproduction doesn't stop. The alternative is waiting until kittens are already born and then asking the Animal Care and Protective Services, the Humane Society, volunteers, foster homes to deal with the consequences. I want to note that this issue has a strong community response. I started a petition that has 591 signatures as of this meeting. Right now, the program has run out of funding, and the cost has shifted to $25 per cat. For many residents and volunteers, this out-of-pocket cost is a real barrier, and it's causing fewer people to participate in the TNR program. When the cost goes up, fewer cats get fixed, and the cycle continues. Not only does it continue, it exponentially grows as a problem. Right now, the program is funded by Duval Cat Fix, which is funded by ordinance for license fees, shifting the burden to consumers who actually take the time to register their pets. And then Rosie's Fund, which is private donors, kick in. It's not enough. So I'm asking the city to increase funding for the Community Cat and Spay and Neuter Program by $100,000 to $150,000 to provide enough resources. I'm not asking you to spend more money on cats. I'm asking you to be a business and to invest earlier in the problem that Jacksonville has fewer animals. Thank you, and please shift left. That's your time. Latasha Hobbs. Good evening, everyone. My name is Latasha Hobbs. Your address address is on file. I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge Rose DeVoe, mother of Gabrielle DeVoe. She is here today. I am here today in honor of my forever-only son, Maurice Hobbs, who was murdered in District 2 on January 26, 2017, just two days after celebrating his 18th birthday. As of today, it's been 3,484 days of suffering that I never chose and can never undo. I stand before you not only as a constituent of District 3, but as a mother of a murdered child who has spent years living with the consequences of violent crime and fighting for justice. And today, I want to talk about something that is uncomfortable but necessary, community accountability. We talk about gun violence. We talk about violent crime. We talk about the need for more law enforcement, more resources, and stronger laws. And those conversations matter, but we also have to be willing to ask ourselves, what responsibility do we have as a community have when we know who is committing violent crimes and choose to remain silent? When someone is carrying illegal guns, committing violent offenses, or participating in violence, there are often people who know something, saw something, heard something, and yet nobody speaks up. That silence has consequences. I am asking those who know something to use the resources available to report information safely and anonymously when necessary. We cannot demand that law enforcement solve every violent crime while simultaneously withholding information that could help them solve it. And I would like to also acknowledge the men and women in law enforcement who show up every day responding to dangerous situations, investigating crimes, and stand with victims and our families. They have a difficult job. The sheriff's office deserves our respect, our support, and our partnership. They cannot see everything. They cannot investigate what they don't know. Public safety is a shared responsibility. If we want safer neighborhoods, we have to build a culture where protecting innocent lives matters more than protecting someone committing violence. We have to stop confusing silence with loyalty. Accountability is not retaliation. It's a prevention. It is about giving law enforcement the information they need before another mother receives a phone call that changes her life forever. I know that pain personally. I'm the mother of a murdered child. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next we have Dragon Beloit. Oh, my gosh, it's me. Hi, I'm Dragon Beloit. My address is on file within 300 feet of my house. There are about 14 flock cameras. That's a lot. I literally cannot leave my neighborhood without this private corporation tracking my every move. I don't like it. So I brought a couple of things for you today, actually. This is a list of 100 cities who have been in an agreement with flock or an ALPR service and have chosen to end it. I'm hoping we can add Jacksonville to that list. This is a list of 250 names of Jacksonville residents and their zip codes. Every single one of them has signed a petition, which I am currently running, to try and remove ALPRs from our city completely. We've talked a lot about it. I'm going to talk a little bit about something we don't talk about much, which is the RAVEN program. There are three RAVEN-activated or RAVEN-equipped cameras within 300 feet of my house. RAVEN is the term for the one that listens to your voice. It listens to voices, and it was originally rolled out as a gunshot recognition software. It's really strange how this gunshot recognition software now also listens for signs of human distress. They didn't change it at all. It just magically gained that ability, which means it always had that ability. They switched the software around, started marketing it a different way. It was always listening to the people talking around it. One of the cameras is right on the end of Yellow Pine Drive. Yellow Pine Drive has a RAVEN-equipped FLOT camera right next to a child's home. There are three children in this home, and they are being listened to every single day. That camera does not turn off. It doesn't turn away. We've already had one arrest from someone who decided that you guys were not going to do your jobs and act on removing these cameras, and so tried to do it themselves because they felt their First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights were being violated. We are going to keep asking you to do this. Again, $144,000 is quite a big contract, but what you might not know is that every time a camera is damaged or comes down, we pay FLOT again when they put up a new one. So people are mad. They're going to keep breaking them. The cost is going to get bigger. Let's try moving left and stopping it before we end up doubling that cost because people are going to keep throwing rocks at the cameras, guys. Thank you. Next we have Valerie Sproul. Hi, my name is Valerie Sproul. My address is 286-2 Yellow Pine Drive in my lovely neighborhood in Arlington. Let's see. I'm here to talk about FLOTC and other ALPRs. Having a degree in computer science, I was surprised just how many FLOTC cameras I witnessed here in Jaxx. Why? Because it is not just a matter of privacy, but national security as well. FLOTC is not a governmental organization. It's a business that prioritizes profit. Because of this, they are not privy to the checks and balances our lovely government staff are beholden to. Because of this, FLOTC lies about their security and proof is readily available. FLOTC does not only store license plate data, it stores video, both regular and infrared. They all have facial recognition, every camera. Some FLOTC cameras store audio, as Dragon mentioned. FLOTC cameras, let's see. FLOTC cameras also have, oh, I already mentioned they have facial recognition. They have facial recognition. All of this information is, by default, stored for 30 days. It's also on, as in not, encrypted. All of these cameras are all so incredibly hackable. Because each and every camera has its own computer, any hacker can hack these cameras and install their own software. Changing how long that information is stored, and changing where that information may go. Cameras are throughout Jacksonville. And how that data can be used can not only be used to stalk and monitor information about us, regular folk, but also every single one of you. Information stored by FLOTC cameras has already been used to stalk several women that were former partners of police officers in other cities throughout the United States. Video information that maybe someone could extract from a FLOTC camera could also be used to say, oh, okay, thank you. Thank you. Next we have Jamie Travis-Leonard. Good evening, City Council. My name is Jamie Travis-Leonard. My address is on file. I'd like to start off by inviting everybody on the dais to the Emerald Trail S-Line cleanup this Saturday from 9 to 11. It's being hosted by Northside Pride and Groundwork Jacks. I hope to see you there. Second, I'd like to talk about something a little more closer to the heart. I apologize if I get a little emotional. And that is retention pond safety. Last Wednesday, a little boy with autism near my neighborhood drowned in a retention pond after being missing for several hours. A lot of the community was looking for him. I know that JSO was out. We had the helicopters flying over my neighborhood. I think everybody on the ground did everything they could. But I fear that the City Council could have done more prior to this inciting incident. See, two other little boys with autism drowned in 2021. That was Gavin Doyen and Mohamed Noor. And at that time, the City Council was supposed to address the lack of protective infrastructure around retention ponds. And it clearly has not. I'm asking this City Council to take that initiative back up again. We have regulations, Florida pool regulations for personal pools. Florida regulations require that barriers for any new or remodeled pool be protected by a four-foot barrier with no gaps large enough for a small child to crawl through or climb over. I'm asking that we have similar protections for residential retention ponds. I recognize that we can't protect every body of water. We live in Florida. It's a coastal city. But I think there's more we can do to try and protect these kids because kids don't see stormwater infrastructure. They see a shiny little lake. So, once again, I'm calling on all of you to pass something to add in some protection for our children. They're getting too close to these ponds. Thank you. There are actually two council members that asked to speak with you. We can't have them both do it at the same time. So, ladies first. So, Ms. Pittman is going to speak to you, and then Mr. Gaffney, Jr. will follow up. And our next speaker is Wells Todd. And then the remaining speakers can come forward. After Mr. Todd, we'll have Brooke Dubé, Tom McGuire, John J. Nooney, and Denise Cook. My name is Wells Todd, and my address is on file, and I'm a member of Take Them Down Jacks. I was watching Brian Stevens in this morning. He's the director of the Equal Justice Initiative. And he spoke about the narrative in America and how the North won the war, the Civil War, but the South won the narrative. To put it bluntly, that narrative has always been blacks are inferior and whites are superior. I raise this part of the narrative because it has allowed rich white folks over the past 400 years to carry out untold misery and suffering towards African Americans and all people of color. The narrative has allowed redlining to be put into law. The narrative allowed major highways to run through black communities, driving down the value of land. And that propaganda, that narrative, was that they were getting rid of slums. In Jacksonville, through that narrative, is a medical examiner's office, morgue, in the black community. If not for the community organizing, there would have also been a drive-thru liquor store. Part of that narrative is you know how black people love their liquor. Now you want to put a concrete plant in the black community with no concern about the negative and harmful environmental costs. So the cycle continues. When are you all going to do something to stop this cycle? All right, next we have Brooke Dawn Dubay. Good evening. My name is Brooke Dubay. I live at 8505 Cordovia Avenue, and I've been volunteering with Trap Noodle Return, or TNR, for community cats in Jacksonville for about two years now. In that time, I've helped get over 100 community cats fixed and vaccinated. I've seen firsthand how important the Duval Cat Fix program is to our communities. At the beginning of each fiscal year, funding is provided to every pet, but because the need is so high, those funds are often exhausted within just a few months. After that, many cats have to wait for help or rely entirely on volunteers trying to find other resources. Right now, the cost is $25 per unowned cat through every pet. That may not sound like much for one cat, but it adds up quickly for volunteers who are helping trap multiple cats across different communities. Many caregivers also simply cannot afford the fee, and volunteers are already paying for traps, supplies, transportation, and countless hours of our own time. While volunteering, I've seen the impact that delayed TNR can have. Kittens are born into difficult conditions and can become sick. Mother cats struggle to survive while producing litter after litter. Male cats often get injured in fights and wander miles through neighborhoods looking for mates. Every time funding runs out, it becomes harder to prevent that cycle from continuing because community cats reproduce so quickly. TNR is one of the most effective and humane ways to reduce the outdoor cat population. It prevents future litters, allows cats to be vaccinated against diseases, improves their overall health, and reduces the number of cats that eventually enter our shelters. It also reduces nuisance behavior such as fight-in, sprain, and loud mating calls, which benefits neighborhoods as well. I understand that our city has many important priorities, but I respectfully ask the city council to consider increasing and maintaining funding for the dual cat fix program. Right, so that it continues having funding throughout the entire year rather than the first few months and running out. Thank you for your time and for your consideration. All right, thank you. Next we have Tom McGuire. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am Tom McGuire, 4711 Herter Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 32210. Before I start complaining tonight, I would like to give two kudos for events recently in the city. Very pleased with the Johnson & Johnson Active View expansion. Good job. It brings jobs in an area that truly needs jobs, and we need more of that. So I hope we all will continue on in that. And, hey, the JSO Aviation Unit has finally achieved something of note, resulting in the seizure of several vehicles. And that's great and happy for that, though I'm not sure if that justifies the expense of the union. Now, let's get to the complaining. I still struggle to understand how in a time of declining city revenue and the pending vote on the property tax amendment, we are even considering building a new jail. We have spent $750,000 to find a new location, but we have not allotted any money to study how much money it would take to renovate and repair the old jail. To make a fair comparison, we need both data sets on that. We cannot make an informed decision without that. I also believe the information that we are using on the cost savings for having a new jail does not take every aspect of it into consideration. You are going to be building a much larger campus, which you will have to maintain and secure. Every single foot of a jail has to be secured. That's going to be expensive. And another thing is we're mostly considering locations on the outskirts of the city, so transporting the inmates of the jail to their very many court appearances is going to be an enormous cost, and that's something we need to take into account, too. I really can't believe that this is the one issue that you all and the mayor's office have found that you can bipartisanly support, because it's really just a bad idea. Thank you. Thank you. Next, fresh out of the Baker County insane asylum, we have John J. Nooney. Hello. I am John. Jelly Roll, intangible, good boy, resiliency, Nooney. Ocho Tres, Cinco Seis, Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 3216. I'm in City Council District 4, Scott Wilson. CPAC Planning District 3, which was a no-show at the Finance Committee meeting for CPAC. CPAC, CIP Corruption in Pottsburg. We've got some massive backroom deals on our waterways. And school board, District 3, Cindy Pearson and her brilliant idea for charter school, public school, field trip, public park on Pottsburg Creek, 2025-0867. That's the Duval County public schools. COJ, Wendy Kahn, City of Jacksonville. You know, that's Amendment 3 stuff. All right. Big shout out to RD, the real Doge, Ron Davis, AM, 600 WBOB, 6 to 9 AM, Monday through Friday. Now, elections are August 18th. I'm voting for anyone who will pardon Nooning. Now, I'll be addressing agenda items 24, 2026-0376, 27, 2026-0505. That's some CIP. 29, 30, 31, that's opioid. 32, 2026-0511, Kids Hope Alliance. 33, 2026-0512, that's J-E-A. 35, 2026-0570, that's J-T-A. Okay, here we go. 39, 2026-0570. This is the e-bikes. PPP, Public-Private Partnership. Now, I'll be wearing my CIA, Cycling Includes Accidents. So, a big shout out to Morgan & Morgan, Harold & Harold, Farrah & Farrah, and e-bike-friendly Amendment 3, Public Park on Pottsburg Creek, CPAC 3, CIP, Cycling in Pottsburg, State of Florida. This is TDC tourism stuff. Okay, agenda item 40, just down to 14 seconds. 43, 2026-0574. 84, 85, 2026-0552. Not in waterways. Vote no. 2026-06-01. The Northeast Florida Regional Colonel. Thank you, Mr. Nooney. When you come back for all those votes, make sure you stick to them. Last speaker is Denise Cook. If there are any council members in the green room, come on back. We need you for a quorum. My name is Denise Cook. My address is on file. Good evening, everybody. I'm going to be pretty brief tonight. I was kind of all over the place last meeting. I want to stay a little bit more focused tonight. I want to talk about CPAC. I want to talk about the Neighborhood Bill of Rights. I want to talk about that I agree that it was a good idea to slow down the public's building in downtown so that we can look at the incentives that we're passing out to businesses. You know, we have a lot of things happening downtown with UF. There should be some organic development within our city that will stem from that. So let's, you know, let's halt some of the incentives that we're passing out like candy. I, so I'm glad of that. I also want to say that, you know, there's some good development on the west side that I've been happy to see as far as the Army training facility and things like that. I do want to talk about redlining, as always. There's digital redlining. There's environmental redlining. There's regular zoning redlining. We're going to continue to talk about this until there's some more equity in our city. Um, we've made some slight progress, but what are we doing as we grow and gentrification starts taking place in the northwest? Are we going to protect the people that have been there for 80 years, or are we going to let them be pushed out because the development is going to happen? So I want us to really think about this and think about our land use and zoning and really be purposeful with our decisions that we're putting forth. I think that's about it tonight. Um, I hope everybody has a good evening, and we'll see you in a couple weeks. Thank you. All right, Mr. President, that concludes our public comment for tonight. And we are going to recognize Council Member Ayers, who wanted to speak about his notice meeting, I believe. Yes, sir. And thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me some time here. So just two bullet points very quick for the council members here is the fact that next week we're going to have a public notice meeting, as you heard, on the Free to Garden Act. Um, there have been, I want to say, 1,000 cards today, and 975 have been from that community. So I definitely encourage you guys to come out and, um, and meet with us. Um, they just have some concerns. They're entrepreneurs. Uh, they want to make sure that they have the right to grow. Um, but in conjunction with that, there's also another bill in the process, uh, the Home Occupation Bill, which was introduced by Council Member Peluso and Chris Miller. Um, that bill has been deferred, um, since May 12. It started in May 12, so it's going on three months now. And so my question to Mr. Fopolis, um, I want to know what the status is with that, because in order to, to pass this Free to Garden Act or to even start and have a conversation on this, we need to have this bill, Home Occupation, under wraps prior to that. Through the President to Council Member Aria. So it's currently being deferred in committees. It's assigned to both rules and the Land Use and Zoning Committees. Um, I would have to either defer to the, one of the introducers or to Michelle or Mr. Harvey to express why the committees have been continuing it, or one of the, or one of the chairs may be able to address that. Sure. And I know that, um, Council Member Gates, your committee that's being deferred, if I'm not mistaken, do you, or Peluso, would, would you guys like to enlighten us as to what's going on with that? Or address it in the committee next week. Or we could address it next week. Mr. Gay, you're recognized. You'd like to address it. Uh, through, through the chair, the Councilman Arias, uh, we'll be addressing it based on the introducers, if they're ready to move forward with it or not. So we, we kinda, or I'll be just relaying on, uh, their, uh, desire on that. I was only asking because when we have the meeting next week, the communities want to know what's going on with that, because that essentially enables, uh, residents to be able to have a business in, in their home and also sell their products in their homes. So it's a very, um, it will be before. So I'll get with you on that part then. But once again, just wanted to, uh, invite you guys next week and, um, look forward to seeing you guys there. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Arias. All right, Mr. President. It is now time for public hearings, beginning on page 16. Council members should declare any ex parte communications. Anyone wishing to speak on the following bill should complete a speaker card and you'll be allowed three minutes to speak. State law requires public hearings. If you provided your address on the form prescribed and don't wish to state it on the microphone, then you're permitted to just say that you're a resident of Duval County or not. But we encourage you to be more specific. Your location will likely impact the weight given to your comments. Council members may obtain the speaker's address from the floor leader. All comments should be addressed to the council as a whole and not to any member individually. Failure to complete the form provided, including the provision of any address on the form, will mean your name will not be called for the public hearing. Mr. Secretary, please read the bills. 2026-376, 420, 421, 505, 506, 507, 509, 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 531, 532, 569, 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 577, 578, 579, 580, 581, 582, 583, 584, 585, 586, 587, 588, 589, 2026, 222, 123, 126, 127, 430, 431, 475, 476, 477, 478, 479, 480, 481, 482, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, and 530. These public hearings are all open. All right. We're on page 16, item 24, 2026-0376. I have one speaker card. John Nooney. Hello. I am John J. Nooney, Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023-0819. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3, School Board District 3. All right. This is massive, sweeping legislation. And home occupations, you know, I put on there Amendment 3, Home Occupations Park on Pottsburg Creek. You know, it's going to be in rules, L-U-Z, but not in waterways or neighborhoods. You know, just five days ago, I attended the Executive Committee of the Northeast Florida Regional Council. It's seven counties. And right here, number 11, potential impacts of property tax reform, Ms. Payne. Now, the reason I'm just mentioning this, you know, you're changing everything on this. So, you know, the public hearing is going to be continued to September 8th, 26th. But I just wanted to be on the record when I go to all these other counties and really throughout the state of Florida, you know, the implications that this legislation is going to have for everyone in Duval County, Jacksonville. Thank you for listening. That's our only speaker card, Mr. President. This public hearing is continued to September 8th, 2026. All right, turning the page, page 17, item number 25, 2026-0420, no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Seeing no speakers in the queue, let's open the ballot and record your vote. 16 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0420 passes. Item number 26, 2026-0421. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers in the queue. We'll take the vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, say no. The amendment passes. Move the bill is amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill is amended. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 16 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0421 passes. All right, moving on to page 18, item 27, 2026-0505. I have one speaker card, John Nooney. Hello, I am John J. Nooney, Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023-0819. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3, School Board District 3. Now, this is an ordinance adopting... Address, Mr. Nooney. 8356 Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida. And so 2026-0505, you know, this is CIP stuff, as required by Chapter 122, Public Property. Now, I attended last night Southwest CPAC, and all six CPACs are supposed to be submitting, you know, their CIP projects. You know, I saw the Finance Committee, Urban Core CPAC, you know, they're right at the table. And you know what? They've got millions that's going to be in here. And I'm curious, because you're going to be changing it. You know, they had some roadway stuff. So, you know, you're going to be allowing for roadway resurfacing to be included in the list of capital improvement projects for 26, 27, you know, fiscal year. But where I'm going with it is, you know, the other two CPACs, you know, Greater Arlington. I'm in CPAC 3. It was a no-show. I mean, it is tough. So, anyway, you know, again, at last night's Southwest CPAC, here's the agenda. And I'll tell you, they don't have anything for CIP. So, I just want to be on the record. You know, CIP, classrooms in Pottsburg, think of Amendment 3. And so, I'm just down to a minute. But I wanted to speak to that. And remember, with our CPACs, we're getting crushed with them. You know, JEA, JTA, they weren't even on the agenda. OGC doesn't show up. The bill's on the CIP. I know. CIP, right? Stick to it. Yeah. CIP is big. And so, anyway, classrooms in Pottsburg, thank you for listening. Thank you. That's our last speaker card. His public hearing is closed. All right. The next two items, 28-29, 2026-0506, and 2026-0507, do not have any speaker cards. These public hearings are closed. Item number 30, 2026-0509. I have one speaker card. Jamie Travis Leonard. Ms. Leonard, are you still here? All right. So, that is our only speaker card. His public hearing is closed. Moving on to item 31, 2026-0510. I have no speaker cards. His public hearing is closed. Turning the page to page 20, item 60, 2026-0511. I have one speaker card. John Nooney. Item 32, 2026-0511. John Nooney. Mr. Nooney, please stick to the bill, please. Thank you. Okay. I am John J. Nooney, Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023-0819. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC, Planning District 3, School Board District 3. And 2026-0511, you know, it's 50 million bucks from various contingency accounts for Kids Hope Alliance. And, you know, I attended the August 5th, you know, Kids Hope Alliance. And, you know, where I'm just going with it, you know, it's just in finance. You know, it's not in neighborhoods, rules. You know, it should go everywhere because we're going to be handing out a lot of money. And so, you know, again, what I just want to bring to everyone's attention, and even at that Kids Hope Alliance meeting, is this Amendment 3 and the potential, you know, for, you know, other counties and how Duval County can really be a leader with this, especially if you tie it into our waterways. All right. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Mr. President. That's our last speaker. Ms. Boba Cairns, closed. Item number 33, 2026-0512. We have one speaker card. Mr. John Nooney. Hello, I am John J. Nooney in Jacksonville, City Council Resolution 2023-0819. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3, School Board District 3. Okay, this is JEA stuff. And, you know, you got the Office of General Counsel and the Auditor's Office. Make all changes necessary to effectuate the council's action. Well, just remember, JEA, the River Accord, you know. That was, you know, going to be for waterways. You're not sticking to the bill, Mr. Nooney. Yeah. Well, you got budget stuff in there. And, you know, that was a big consideration. You know, septic tanks then. How about 2024-0325? You know, building community. I mean, you know, I've been to those JEA meetings. So, anyway, again, I just want to get on the record with JEA and JSEB and how they're expanding to these other counties. And, you know, so when I go and pull up the stuff from a year, two years, three years with JEA, that they'll know what I was talking about. And then I just shared it with all of you tonight. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Nooney. Councilman. Before we go any further, there were 60 people behind you and about 25 in front of you that all want to see their government move efficiently. So, please, if you have something important to say on a bill, you're always welcome to sign up for any public hearing. But please reserve that for important things so everyone else can move on with their lives. Thank you. Also, Councilman Lane and your neighboring district council would like to see you in the green room, Mr. Nooney. So, that's the last card on that one, Mr. President. This public hearing is closed. All right. Item number 34-2026-0513. No speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Item number 35-2026-0514. I have two speaker cards. Is that one three? One four. I have two speaker cards. John Nooney and Timothy Johnson. Hello. I am John J. Nooney standing by to go into the green room. All right. 8356. Address. Baskam Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 3-2-2-1-6. I'm in city council. District 4, CPAC planning district 3, school board district 3. You have 2026-0514, $1.8 million from the special council contingency to JTA. Again, and this is going to be approving the fiscal year 26 to 27 budget for the JTA. So, again, this is in finance. You know, not rules, TEU, CPACs, or waterways. You know, again, I can just show you even last night's, you know, CPAC meeting. You know, JEA used to be at all the CPACs. Same thing with JTA. There are no shows. Okay. Well, all right. All right. Let's pause. Mr. Carlucci, you're recognized. Mr. Nooney, I have been one of the friendliest council members to you, and you know that. I have known you a long time, and, brother, you keep coming up here time and time again. You're not making a point. What you're doing, I don't care about being held up. I can be held up. I can sit here and listen and listen and listen. A lot of people back here, though, are going to want to get up and hear their bills. There's people here that have important bills that they want to talk to, and they want to get to their points, and you're not, and you're holding them up. Now, John, you know that that is not polite, and you are a polite person. You know your manners, but you're breaking them right now, so that's the point I want to make to him, and I've known this man for a long time, and you know what you're doing is repetitive. It's out of order, and if you do it again, I'm going to bring him to that point of order like I did the other night, and I'm going to stop it. This is out of my character. I don't like doing this, but I also don't like to see good people held up because somebody wants to get the attention of the dais and not make a point and just ramble on. It's not fair, and I'm for fairness, okay? I gave you a nice resolution, commending you because you've done good things. There's people up here, they want to take that away from you, and I won't do it because I like to err on the side of kindness. You need to err on the side of kindness tonight and stop this, okay? Mr. Carlucci, your point is well taken. Thank you. Mr. Nooney, you have a minute 47 left. Please stay on point, otherwise we'll have to cut you off. I do. Well, thank you, and again, you know, I go to the JTA meetings, and you know, this is for the paratransit, and you know what? All I want to just bring to everyone's attention is that, you know, when you do attend a JTA meeting, and whoever it is should take that transportation to the meeting, and I have demonstrated over a period of time, you know, taking the Skyway, for example, and then reporting back or showing up at a JTA board meeting, and again, here you have the budget. You're not on the bill. This is the, well, the budget is for the paratransit program, you know, and, you know, for the 1.8 million. So all I'm just saying in using this period of time is that going forward when you are, for everyone, especially to CPAC meetings, if it's at a public place and the meeting starts at 5, whoever is representing JTA should be taking public transportation to that meeting. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Nooney. Next speaker card, Timothy D. Johnson. Good evening, everyone. They said my name. The address is 1-800-Denise-Court. Can you state your name as well? Say that again? Can you state your name for me as well? Timothy D. Johnson, Sr. Thank you. Representing District 7, Brooklyn Riverside in San Marco. Mr. Pelosi, how are you doing? We'd like to see you at the senior center when you get an opportunity. We are going to reestablish the Brooklyn Community Development Corporation. We have to elect new officers. It's been dormant for a little while, but we're about to get— That's not part of this bill. This is a JTA paratransit program. I'm getting to that, Mr. President. All right. Please do quickly, sir. So, specifically for San Marco, there are no bus coverings from Phillips all the way down. Bus route number 17. Case in point, on my way here, as I wait for the bus, my shirt was dry when I left the house. I used an umbrella to shield me from the sun because there's no cover. Now, with this budget, I hope that they'll address that because my dry cleaning bill is not cheap. So, that's really all I got to say about that. A lot of folks that I talk to on the bus are not satisfied. They are excused, or I guess he left for a better job. So, they were saying all these great things about what he did, but I don't see it. Y'all have a good day. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. That's our last speaker. This public hearing is closed. All right. Item 36, 2026-0531. We have no speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. Item number 37, 2026-0532. I have three speaker cards. Kristen Reed, followed by Nancy Murray Settle, then Samantha Sirius. Good evening. Kristen Reed, 12740 Grand Bay Parkway West, Suite 2350, Jacksonville, Florida, 32258. I'm really here for questions only. Sorry. You know what? And you marked it. I guess I'm still hazing you for being back in the public sector or private sector. Sorry about that. Next speaker is Nancy Murray Settle, followed by who does wish to speak, followed by Samantha Sirius, who does not wish to speak. Good evening. Nancy Murray Settle, address on file, District 7, CPAC 5, Northwest Jacks. I'm here to talk about concrete, healthy neighborhoods, and redlining, specifically a plan to allow the operation of a concrete batch plant in the vicinity of the Settle-King's Crossing CRA. Although the land used currently in the area is part light industrial, the proposed PUD requests that a concrete batch plant be allowed. Current zoning, light industrial, those plants are expressly prohibited. Concrete batch plants produce high levels of particulate matter, dust, which can cause serious health implications for people living nearby. They also bring high truck traffic and noise that can occur around the clock. This 17-acre proposed facility, part of that acreage is included in the King's Hotel Crossing community redevelopment area, and that's an area the city has committed millions of dollars to uplift this historically underserved district through retail, housing, and commercial corridor enhancements. A new heavy industrial use, like concrete batch plant, is incompatible with that mission. All 19 of you guys sit on that board. There's residents nearby, and I'm just here to say the degradation of the environmental quality will further the historical blight that this area has experienced. This is a part of a historically marginalized and under-invested section of the city. It's closely tied to the legacy of discriminatory local zoning, redlining. So let's slow this down and ask ourselves if we really want to continue on this path. The city of Jackson said we don't, and that's why we do have the King's Hotel Crossing CRA, to stop redlining and to improve these historically neglected neighborhoods. These areas, Moncrief, well, the ones that it's going to be Lincoln Villas, Carver, Manor, and Sherwood Forest, children and residents will be exposed to excessive noise and pollution produced by a concrete block plant. There is an industrial land use in this area today because of historical redlining, and it's light industrial. Let's not bring in a heavy-use concrete batch plant into these neighborhoods. It's not compatible with where the direction the city is going. We put millions of dollars into the Sutelle-King's Crossing area. Let's not backtrack that and then make it into, like, oh, Lord, more heavy industrial. And let's slow it down just a bit. I'm part of CPAC, and they're meeting this week. Five. Thank you. All right. Thank you. And the last card, again, was Samantha Sirius, who does not wish to speak, and she opposes the legislation. Is public hearings closed? All right. Turning the page to page 22, item 38, 2026-0569. We have no speaker cards. Is public hearings closed? Item number 39, 2026-0570. I have three speaker cards, starting with John Nooney, followed by Kathleen Pereira and Jamie Travis Leonard. Mr. Nooney. He's in support. Well, pay attention. Come on down. We're on e-bikes. All right. All right. I thought you had called them first. All right. All right. I am John Evil Knievel Nooney, 83, 56, Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 3, 2216. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3, School Board District 3. Now, this, you know, this is BBB stuff, Boylan's Beautiful Bill. And, you know, I'm taking this opportunity because this is sweeping legislation, not only in Duval County, but, you know, really throughout the entire state. So, I'm making two donations. One will be to 2026-004. That's the Parks Trust Fund right here. And then the other is 2026-0396. That's O-E-D. It's Everhandle. J-Seb. And that's the movie Trust Fund. So, you know, right now, you've got it in rules, neighborhoods, TEU. And that's all right. I'm done. Thank you for listening. Do you still want to observe your point of order, Mr. Carlucci? Kathleen Pereira, you're next. My name is Kathleen Pereira. My information is on file. It looks like walking is rapidly becoming a luxury because soon it's going to be mandatory to buy pedestrian insurance from all the encounters with bikes, e-bikes, scooters, and even motorcycles, which think that the sidewalks are extra two-way highways that make them immune from any traffic laws, especially speeding. Unless more legislation of this type is defined and, more importantly, enforced, there's going to be a lot of very happy new insurance brokers and very broken pedestrians lying on the sidewalks. Pass this bill and even stronger ones. Thank you. All right. Thank you. And last is Jamie Travis-Lennard. Good evening, City Council. My name is Jamie Travis-Lennard. My address is on file. I am in support of 26570. I don't have too much to say on this. Honestly, my only ask is that kids using e-bikes, this has grown over the years because they lack transportation and other forms. So as we continue to pass legislation around e-bikes and ordinances that deal with what is and isn't allowed, which I do agree with them not being on sidewalks, as a reminder, I hope that we continue to look at alternative transportation options for our kids to get to and from school. As I said, this is a very popular mode of transportation at this moment. So by adding restrictions, you are now limiting their access to get to and from school. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. That's our last speaker card. Public hearings closed. Turning to page 2, page 23, item 40, 2026-0571. I have one speaker card. Jamie Travis-Lennard. Good evening, City Council. My name is Jamie Travis-Lennard. My address is on file. This will be quick as well. I do want to come up in support of 26571. Homelessness is close to my heart. I used to live in the Riverside area for many years, and I got very familiar with a lot of the transient population over there. I was on a first-name basis with a lot of people in that area for many years. They looked out for me, and so any initiatives that I see come up where we are helping transition people away from homelessness, I support wholeheartedly. I do also want to remind that as we look at these transitional policies and hopefully continue to grow these programs, we remember that not everyone who is unhoused is on the street. There are a lot of people who are sleeping in their cars, their families, so just please keep that in mind as you do continue to grow these programs and hopefully continue to help our unhoused population transition into being housed again. Thank you. All right. Thank you. That's our last speaker card, Mr. President. All right. This public hearing is closed. Move the emergency. We have a motion and a second on the emergency. Seeing no speakers in the queue, we'll take the vote verbally. All in favor of the emergency, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. Emergency passes. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Seeing no speakers in the queue, we'll take the amendment vote verbally. All those in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. The amendment passes. Move the bill as an emergency, as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency and as amended. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 18 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0571 passes. All right, Mr. President, the next two items, 2026-0572 and 2026-0573, have no speaker cards. These public hearings are closed. Turning the page to page 24, item 43, 2026-0574. I have two speaker cards, John Nooney and Jamie Travis Leonard. Hello. I am John J. Nooney, Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023-0819. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3, School Board District 3. I'm in full support of the legislation. Address, please, Mr. Nooney. Yeah. 83-56, Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 3-2-2-1-6. And, you know, right here, you know, it's going to be in rules, neighborhoods, TEU finance. But send it to waterways. You know, we've got the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Merter Marines. You know, these are CIP. It's Careers in Pottsburg, JSEB stuff. You know, and so, anyway, you know, public-private partnerships. You know, and, again, all I can tell you is this is a very positive, Amendment 3. You know, it's going to be, you know, a tremendous benefit. So, thank you for listening. All right. Thank you. Next speaker, Jamie Travis Leonard. Good evening, City Council. My name is Jamie Travis Leonard. My address is on file. I am here to support 26574. I mainly just wanted to come up to remind you all that while, again, I'm full support of this, and I do believe in supporting our military, by creating an ordinance that specifically encourages the creation of new jobs, specifically for veterans and active duty military spouses in Duval County. This is the EI. This is literally diversity, equity, and inclusion. So, how you vote today, I will remember because we're coming up on budget review, and I remember last year's budget review and some of the stuff that you all said in that review. So, keep that in mind. Thank you. That's our last speaker, Mr. President. It's public hearings closed. Item number 44, 2026-0575. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Moving on to page 25, item 45, 2026-0577. I have no speaker cards. None. This public hearing is closed. Move the emergency. We have a motion and a second on the emergency. See no speakers in the queue. Let's vote verbally on the emergency. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, say no. Emergency passes. Move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers. Take the vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, say no. Amendment passes. Move the bill as emergency as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency as amended. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 18 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0577 passes. All right. Moving on to item 46, 2026-0578. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Turning the page. We're on item 47, 2026-0579. I have one speaker card. Jamie Travis Leonard. Good evening, City Council. My name is Jamie Travis Leonard. My address is on file. This is my last time up here, I promise. I support 26, 579. Now, some of you would be like, wait, didn't you come last City Council meeting and oppose removing somebody from the noncompliance list? You'd be correct. So, the reason I do support removing the Made Away Foundation, where I did not, the FOP Foundation, is because in the bill summary, it was explained to me what happened and the remedies this foundation is taking to rectify what put them on the noncompliance list. I'm telling you this because my understanding is there are several entities on the noncompliance list that we'll probably be getting similar bills about. So, if you want me to come up in support, all you have to do is add in the details. Otherwise, I will be up here opposing. But as I said, for 26, 579, I do support. Thank you. Our last speaker card, Mr. President. Public hearing is closed. Moving on to item 48, 2026-0580. I have one speaker card, Mr. John J. Nooney. Hello. I am John J. Nooney, 8356 Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 3-2216. In City Council District 4, CPAC Planning District 3, School Board District 3. And so, this is an ordinance appropriating $750,000 from the Multi-Year Program Initiative Council District 6 CBA contingency account. You know, for dredging of Deep Bottom Creek in District 6. Now, it's in neighborhoods finance, but not in waterways. You know, I fully support it. And at the same time, you know, I just had watched, you know, the debate on that. And let me just say right here. So, in order to make this happen, we're going to amend the 26 to 35-year CIP, capital improvement projects. With CIP, you can do anything, you know, with the CIP. There is so much flexibility when it comes to that. And that's why with the CPACs, six CPACs. So, even last night's CPAC, there was even just the discussion of a waterway access component just using a CIP. So, anyway, I just wanted to speak to that, full support of it. And congratulations, you know, Councilman Boylan. And thank you for listening. All right. Thank you. That was our last speaker card. Public hearings closed. Move the emergency. We have a motion and a second on the emergency. No speakers in the queue. We'll take this vote verbally. All in favor of the emergency, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against, say no emergency passes. Move the bill as emergency. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. File your vote, 2026-0580 passes. Moving on to item 49, 2026-0581. I have no speaker card. Public hearings closed. Moving on to page 27, item 50, 2026-0582. I have one speaker card. Jamie Travis Leonard. Ms. Leonard appears to have left the building. That's our only speaker card. This public hearing is closed. All right. The next three items, item 2026-0583, 2026-0584, and 2026-0585 have no speaker cards. These public hearings are closed. Item number 54 on page 28, 2026-0586. I have one speaker card. Frank Cirillo. Good evening, City Council. My name is Frank Cirillo, 1300 Shutter Avenue, apartment 1205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida. I'm a resident of Jacksonville and an economist by training and occupation. I ask that City Council vote to veto all JSO budget appropriations until a former regulatory ordinance and removal framework for mass surveillance hardware is enacted into City code regarding Flock cameras. The City Council must not write a blank check for unmonitored mass surveillance. By placing a legislative hold on JSO budget allocations, Council asserts its constitutional power of the purse to protect civil liberties, mandate full data transparency, and establish an orderly process to regulate and ultimately decommissioned unapproved Flock camera networks in Jacksonville. Thank you so much. That's our last speaker card. Mr. President. Public hearings are closed. Move the emergency. We have a motion and a second on the emergency. No speakers in the queue. We'll vote verbally. All in favor of the emergency. Indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. The emergency passes. Move the bill as an emergency. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and accord your vote. 16 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0586 passes. All right, moving on to page 29, the next two items, 2026-0587 and 2026-0588 have no speaker cards. These public hearings are closed. Item number 57, 2026-0589, I have a one speaker card, John J. Nooney. Hello. I am John J. Nooney, 8356 Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 32216. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC 3, School Board District 3. And, you know, with this, you know, relating the council rules, amending the council rules, attendance and voting. And, you know, you know, the reason I just want to speak, I thought this was very similar to another piece of legislation. Maybe it's, you know, I'll have to just go back and just look. But I can't tell you how many times the fact that I signed the attendance sheet and then I wasn't recognized in the minutes or even being at a meeting. So these checks and balances are just imperative. So anyway, I'm just full support and just wanted to be on the record, you know, for that. Thank you. That's our last speaker card. Public hearings closed. We are moving on to public hearings on land use amendments and companion rezonings, item 58, 2026-0122. I have one speaker card. Samantha Ceres does not wish to speak, is in opposition. Public hearings closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Give my colleagues a minute to get on the queue if they need to. Seeing none, let's open the ballot and record the vote. 16 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0122 passes. Moving on to page 32, item 59, 2026-0123. I have one speaker card. Samantha Ceres in opposition. Questions only. Public hearings closed. Move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers in the queue. We'll take the amendment vote verbally. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. The amendment passes. Move. The bill is amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill is amended. No speakers in the queue. Open the ballot and record your vote. 15 yays, 1 nay. By your vote, 2026-0123 passes. Moving on to item 60, 2026-0126. I have one speaker card. Samantha Ceres in opposition. Does not wish to speak. As public hearings continue to August 25, 2026. Item number 61, 2026-0127. I have one speaker card. Samantha Ceres in opposition. Does not wish to speak. Public hearings continue to August 25, 2026. Item number 62, 2026-0430. I have no speaker cards. Public hearings closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. There are no speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0430 passes. All right. And just a correction for the record, I do have another speaker card on that item. Who does not wish to speak here for questions only in support? That was Brian Small. Roger. So we are now on item 63, 2026-0431. I have one speaker card for questions only. Brian Small in support. Seeing no speakers or questions, this public hearing is closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No one in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0431 passes. Moving on to item 64, 2026-0475. I have one speaker card. Samantha Siris in opposition does not wish to speak. This public hearing is closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0475 passes. And once again, let the record reflect that Mr. Small was here in support of this bill but did not wish to speak. That's on 475. I want to make sure his clients know he's doing his job. Item 65, 2026-0476. I have two speaker cards. Samantha Siris in opposition, questions only. And Brian Small in support, questions only. Seeing no questions on the queue, this public hearing is closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0476 passes. All right. Moving on to page 35, item 66, 2026-0447. I have two speaker cards. Paul Harden in support. He does wish to speak or not. Questions only for Mr. Harden. And then we have Jacqueline Buckley. Jacqueline Buckley, are you here? She does not wish to speak but is in opposition of the bill. Those are our two speakers, Mr. President. All right. This public hearing is closed. All right. We're on item 66. I have more speakers. Oh. Chrissy Klein, followed by, so yes, could you reopen the public hearing? Thank you. So we have Chrissy Klein, followed by Elise Broch, followed by Amy Caulfree, and Laura Backus. Chrissy Klein does not wish to speak. In opposition? She doesn't know. Okay. Does not wish to speak. Elise Broch, question mark, does not wish to speak. Amy Caulfree, question marks, does not wish to speak. Laura Backus, question marks, does not wish to speak. Those are all the cards. All right. This public hearing is closed. Move the amendment. Move the bill. Are we on? Okay. We're going to move the bill. Would you not have a floor amendment? Still 66, right? Yeah. Okay. Move the bill. All right. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Reminder, everyone, we are on 2026-0477. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. Oh, wait. We have a speaker in the queue. Mr. Carlucci, you're recognized. Way to stop it. Just a minute. Yeah. Yes, sir. Okay. The ballot is open. Let's go ahead and record your vote. 17 yays, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0477 passes. All right. Item 67, 2026-0478. I have a number of speaker cards. And starting with Jacqueline Buckley, does not wish to speak. In opposition. Paul Harden, questions only in support. Chrissy Klein, questions only. Amy Caulfree, questions only. These are all questioning whether they support or oppose. I guess they're going to look forward to the amendment. Elise Broch, questions only. Did not state an opinion. Laura Bacchus, questions only. Questions on support or opposition. Those are all the speaker cards. All right. Before I close the public hearing, now's a great time for anyone who may have ex parte who haven't declared it already to do so. I'll recognize Mr. Gay, followed by Mr. Miller. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to declare ex parte communication. I received four emails in opposition, and it has been filed with legislative services. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Over to Mr. Miller, followed by Mr. Peluso. Thank you, Mr. President. I also rise to declare ex parte communications. I reviewed material regarding Ms. Kenney's opposition to the bill, and this has been filed with legislative services. Thank you, sir. Mr. Peluso, followed by Mr. Matt Carlucci. Thank you, Mr. President. I stand to declare ex parte against. I spoke with Ms. Chrissy Kenney in my office on August 11th. She expressed concerns over egress, ingress, spot zoning, height, and road width with the driveway size. I filed that with legislative services. Thank you, sir. Mr. Matt Carlucci, followed by Mr. Lehnen. Thank you, Amit. With filing ex parte, it's been filed with Chrissy Kenney, is how you pronounce her last name, and Ms. Bacchus yesterday at my insurance office, and we discussed their concerns about this zoning. Thank you, sir. Mr. Lehnen, followed by Mr. O'Meara. Mr. President, I rise to declare ex parte. I had four emails and three voicemails in total, all in opposition, and this has been filed with legislative services. Thank you, sir. Mr. O'Meara. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I rise to declare ex parte. I met with Ms. Chrissy Kenney about two weeks ago. She expressed her concerns about the impact of this proposal. It's being filed with legislative services. All right. Thank you, sir. Councilman Salem. Thank you, Mr. President. I also met with Ms. Kenney about two weeks ago in opposition, and I'll have it filed with legislative services. Thank you. All right. Thank you, sir. And I also have to declare ex parte communications. I had a phone call via applicant's agent, Mr. Harden, today about 1 p.m., and we'll ensure it's filed with legislative services. With that, unless there's any other ex partes, I will close the public hearing, and I will recognize Councilmember Joe Carlucci. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. Is now a good time to go ahead and introduce the floor amendment? Okay. Great. So, first and foremost, I just want to say thank you to the community. You guys have been at a lot of meetings. You've been very organized. These are the folks that obviously handed out the binders to everyone. And this is a good example, just real quick, because like last year, there was a zoning, and it got changed into a more acceptable zoning, so to speak, right next door. And from that, this group formed the San Jose Neighborhood Association, and they've got officers now, and this is what you want to see from your communities and your neighborhoods. We've got a lot in San Marco. We've got St. Nicholas, Riverside, and all those groups have that, and it's important. And I just wanted to come in, you guys, and say thank you. So, with that, we were able to work through a lot of items, and the floor amendment that I'm offering tonight is kind of a compilation of the conditions that were set at LUZ. So, we set all those conditions at LUZ, and then we have a revised site plan that includes a six-foot, at minimum, a six-foot and vinyl fence along the front of the property, as well as a landscape buffer on the outside of the fence facing the street. That's included in the revised site plan. And then there is also a revised written description that is going to have a height restriction to 30 feet. So, that was included in there. Maybe Ms. Kinney is, okay. Whew, I thought you were coming down to correct me. So, okay. And then it also, the floor amendment also, like I said, includes all of the other conditions that were already approved at LUZ. So, with that, I make a motion to approve or support for the floor amendment. Second. All right. We have a motion and a second on the floor amendment. I'll give it a second for any speakers that want to join the queue. Ms. Tyrona Clark-Murray. Thank you, President Howland. And just, my concern, through the president to the council, my concern is that they don't quite know, I know you just gave them some information, the council representative for that district, but they're still not sure of what exactly is in the amendment. So, I'm asking through the president to Ms. DeFopolis, if you would just actually read the floor amendment verbatim. Oh, Mr. Harvey, I'm sorry. I apologize. Typically, it's you, so, Mr. Harvey. So, the floor amendment will do two things. It will incorporate the conditions that were approved at the LUZ committee, which included the traffic study that was agreed upon, and that, unless waived by the chief of traffic engineering or their designee, a traffic study will be undertaken by the developer upon PUD verification and provided during the 10-set review. The methodology of the study shall be determined by the developer's traffic engineer, the chief of transportation planning or their designee, and the chief of traffic engineering or their designee. The other two conditions, which were the installation of the fence along the southern line of the 20-foot roadway buffer and also the landscaping along that fence line, were the three conditions that were agreed upon at LUZ, or, excuse me, approved by the LUZ committee. The two additional amendments that were being proposed tonight is the revised site plan, which is exhibit four, and the revised written description, which is exhibit three. Those were both dated August 10, 2026, because they incorporate the changes that were discussed at LUZ committee, and the revised written description incorporates the change in height from 35 feet to 30 feet, as discussed at the LUZ committee. With that, I'll turn it back over to you. All right, Ms. Clarkburn. Thank you, Chair. So, with that, I hope that the community has a little better understanding of what the amendments are. I did attend that particular LUZ, so it seemed as if the community and the applicant's representative had come to some type of consensus. So, with that, I'm going to yield the rest of my time. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. We also have next Mr. Matt Carlucci in the queue. Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to ask a question now of the sponsor of the floor amendment, the other Councilman, Carlucci. The vinyl fence, is that on the Old Kings Road in front of the subdivision Old Kings? Was there any room or any consideration to any plantings of oak trees, perhaps, at various space, you know, any distances apart along the front of that fence line? Right, yeah. Yeah, palm trees. No, I'm just kidding. Inside joke. The joke there is, I can't stand palm trees. Right. So, yeah, there was, so there's the fence, that's going to be the first buffer for the backyard, and then outside of that, there's going to be some type of tree and shrub, like viburnums or whatever, that can grow high. The trees aren't designated on the site plan, Mr. Harden, correct me if I'm wrong, but we didn't want to arbitrarily pick a certain type of tree, because it's going to be in that buffer where the sidewalk is and the utilities are. So, we're going to let the landscape architects figure that out. That's my understanding of the site plan, how it is right now. Okay, thank you, Mr. Chairman, or Mr. President. Could I ask Mr. Harden a question, please? Yes. Okay, thank you. Mr. Harden, if you want to come to the podium, please. I just want to ask you a question, Mr. Harden. In thinking of the vinyl fence, I think that's a nice amenity, as long as nobody damages it and so forth. But, in thinking, I don't want to get into amending the floor plan, the floor amendment. I don't want to do that. I like that idea. Well, I'm sure you do. But, I like things that add value. And, I like cooperation. And, you've always been that type of person. I just wanted to ask if there would be some kind of commitment on your behalf, the builders, the developers' behalf. There are a lot of oak trees on this piece property, large oak trees. And, I know they couldn't be saved because of the development configuration and so forth. But, I thought it would be a good thing. There were some nice-sized oak trees planted in front on the Old Kings Road side, if there's room. And, intermobile spaces, you know, down that line of that, of the fence, of the vinyl fence. That would make a nice presentation. That would soften it a bit. And, viburnums, whatever. But, that would take a commitment because I don't want to amend this tonight. Because, then, that could cause gymnastics that we don't want, I don't want to get into. But, I would like to have a commitment that you would meet with the neighbors and with the councilman to make that happen. I got to tell you, I met with some neighbors. They're heartbroken. But, they're not up here causing a fit. Okay. Well, their district councilman did a pretty damn good job for them, is what happened. He did. That's why I am. So, they, we, we. Look, Ms. Harden, I don't need you to tell me how good the district councilman did. He did a real good job. I'm good with that. I'm asking you, please, sir, as somebody who's worked on a lot of zonings with you over the years, would you just make a commitment to meet with them to make some of those. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. That's all right. That's all right. You know, would you quit interrupting me while I'm interrupting you? Yeah. Okay. Okay. So, would you make that commitment to meet with the neighbors? Treat me like you, Jimmy. Okay. Yes, I will, I will commit to work with you. But, Mr. No, meet with, no, to work with the neighbors and the developer to plant some trees along the front of the gate on the Old Kings Roadside. Some decent sized oak trees, please. Yes, I will work with the district councilman and whoever you want us to work with. That was an addition he added on that the neighbors didn't discuss. There were some additions such as the height limit that Mr. Carlucci proposed that the neighbors originally didn't want. He added those back in. So, putting the trees outside of the wall was one of those items. I will tell you, an oak tree is not going to survive that location because there's not water coming to it of there. There are some trees that may survive. I'm thinking that some of the native volunteers in there, there's an additional 10 feet southerly of the 20 feet that we are already northerly of the road where there's room for trees to live. If there are some trees in there, we won't move those. But, the school board is going to deliver us the property in a certain way, in a certain manner. They've got the obligation to raise the school and deliver us the land in a certain way. So, we will meet with them. I can't guarantee it, but we're willing to try to resolve that issue. Okay. Before we proceed, Mr. Harden, name and address, please. Oh, Paul Harden, 1431 River Place Boulevard. Thank you, sir. Okay. Well, I don't speak Spanish, so. That's all I was asking. That's fine. If y'all would meet. If you have to put them on the other side of the fence, whatever. But, I would like to see a row of trees along that side. I'm very familiar with that area, just like you are. We've both grown up in that area. We know it. And, I think it would be a nice addition. And, I'm sure that the district councilman is fine with that. It sounds like he's already made the suggestion. So, I am an at-large councilman. That's part of my at-large geographic area. And, that's my request. And, I appreciate your honor. Thank you. Yes, sir. All right. Thank you, Mr. Harden. Appreciate it. There are no other speakers in the queue. And, the floor amendment of note replaces the committee amendment. So, it incorporates everything from the committee amendment. With that, seeing no speakers in the queue, let's take this vote on the floor amendment verbally. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. Floor amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and accord your vote. 18 yays. Zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0478 passes. All right. Turning the page to page 36, item 68, 2026-0479. I have two speakers. Solomon Raz in support, but does not wish to speak. Here for questions only. And, Trevor Peters in support, but does not wish to speak. Those are our only cards. And, there are no speakers or questions, so this public hearing is closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers. Open the ballot and accord your vote. 18 yays. Zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0479 passes. Item number 69, 2026-0480. Two speaker cards. Solomon Raz in support, does not wish to speak. And, Trevor Peters in support, does not wish to speak. Those are the only cards. Oh, before I close this public hearing, I see Mr. Peluso. Questions? No? All right. This public hearing is closed. Wait. Did you want to declare ex parte? All right. I'm reopening the public hearing. Go ahead, Mr. Peluso, and then I'll close it after. Thank you, Mr. President. I stand to declare ex parte in favor. I spoke with Alexis Pierre, Vice President of Development in support of the project. It's been filed with legislative services. All right. Thank you, sir. Anyone else ex parte? All right. This public hearing is closed. All right. Move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers. Let's take this vote verbally all in favor of the amendment. And, Kate, I say an aye. Aye. Aye. All again, say no. Amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. There are no speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 18 yays, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0480 passes. Item number 70, 2026-0481. I have no speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. Move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers. Let's vote verbally. All in favor and Kate, I say an aye. Aye. All again, say no. Amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. No speakers. Open the ballot and record your vote. 18 yays, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0481 passes. All right. Turning the page to page 37. Item 71, 2026-0482. I have no speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers. Open the ballot and record your vote. 18 yays, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0482 passes. All right. Next item, 72, 2026-0523. I have no speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. Additional public hearing will be held on August 25, 2026. Item number 73, 2026-0524. I have several speaker cards. Looks like four. So we'll start with Ira Blue, followed by Nancy Weeks. If you guys could make your way up front. Then Jody Stalling and Jeremiah Stanley. Yes, sir. I'm Ira Blue. I live at 16990 Wells Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 322-34. I'm here today to speak about the trailer park that they have listed on this ordinance. It says Yellow Water. There's no access from Yellow Water, so it's got to come from Wells Road. Which Wells Road is only a mile long, not even a mile long. It has a wooden bridge they have to cross. It has not been updated in years. And there's no turnaround at the end of the road. So it's going to be really impossible to bring concrete trucks and stuff to do what they're anticipating. What I'd like to do is request this committee pause the construction on Normandy Boulevard and all those housing projects that you're putting out there until you can get Normandy Boulevard four-lane and upgraded, which I understand the councilman was on TV. It's going to cost over $300 million to get it done. And I think it'll be a lot more than that the time it's done. And you don't have the funds to do that. It's already a safety hazard to go down Normandy Boulevard to 301. Considering the buses that have to stop on there, it's crazy what you're doing out there until you get the infrastructure there. I don't believe you have the water, the schools, the sewage, and all the other stuff to take care of all these subdivisions that you're letting these outside developers come in here and build. And they're going to leave you having to maintain this stuff. I heard the lady about the catch pond. They want to put a 19-inch pond in there. Who's going to maintain that once they put it in there? Like the rest of them that I see dug all over the county. I've lived there 50 years, and this is all in a wetland. That's why Gilman Paper Company owned all that out there. All that water where they're putting this trailer park, all that drainage has to come through there and eventually gets to Yellow Water Creek, which eventually gets to Black Creek, which eventually gets to the St. Johns River. And if you have hopefully a low tide, then it'll flow on out to the Atlantic. Well, sooner or later, we're going to get that 100-year flood, and I've already seen three in my lifetime out there where we couldn't even get to Norrie Boulevard for the water flowing across. School buses couldn't run. So we're going to get that flood, and all the people that's already out there are going to get flooded out. These new subdivisions, they're bringing in field dirt three foot high to put the houses on. They'll probably be safe, but where's that water going to go? All right. Thank you, sir. Our next speaker will be Nancy Weeks. Good evening. My name is Nancy Weeks. I live at 16970 Wells Road. I live within 350 feet of the proposed RV park on Wells Road, and amazingly, I and only five others of my neighbors were notified of the proposed RV park on our street of 25 families. This proposal to rezone and grant permission for this particular development ordinance, 20260524, has direct impact on this whole west side area from the new First Coast Expressway to Highway 301, about one-fifth of Duval County, approximately 918 square miles. Among the plethora of reasons this should not be allowed is the idea that only residents within 350 feet of the project have been notified and sent images of what the applicant has plans to do here, with invitations to speak for three minutes to this body, most of whom have already made their decision. The history of Jacksonville planning and economic growth decisions, making bodies such as yourself, having to do with our area in the government's closing of Cecil Field as an air base, when permission was sought to have a time period of 25 years where the Planning for Economic Growth Commission would be allowed to add clean fill to some 400-plus acres of wetlands. I cite the Army Corps of Engineers report of March 19, 2019. I'm not sure that permission was granted to fill in our wetlands, but my point is it was sought for economic development. Way back then, our planning authorities were willing to sacrifice our wetlands, which would affect all of the west side of Jacksonville and beyond. When is enough enough? We have already unnumbered building projects right here, ruining the traffic flow on Normandy Boulevard, which is an evacuation route for our community and all other residents from the beaches in time of emergency evacuation. Our intersection at Yellow Water and Normandy is deadly. Now we have, on Normandy, the beginnings of dozens of developments. When will we pause to see what we have already done to the wildlife corridors and habitats? Is FWC ever consulted about any of this? Is there ever a window between the tree-cutting, cypress-head intrusion, plans to reroute creeks, water management, flow, water drainage? In the plan for this trailer park, there is a detail of a 19-acre pond, the sketch of up to the fence rows of three of our neighbors. To what depth, it doesn't say. To move that amount of soil from where it is supposed to be in the ground, downhill toward the creek, where water drains, built up several feet, we don't know how high it will be, and concrete added to allow parking of large vehicles. Thank you. All right. Thank you. And next is Jody Stanley. Thank you for this opportunity tonight. My name is Jody Stanley. I reside at 1707 O' Wells Road, 32234. And I'm going to stand in opposition to 20260524. Inside the rezoning notice, we received the criteria by which planning zoning makes decisions about rezoning. They were listed. After reading those criteria, I cannot understand why the zoning characters, the zoning changes, are even being considered. We were informed there are five basic questions to be considered. Have the changes been carefully thought out, or is it premature, and will it contribute to urban sprawl? We currently have at least four to five big developments within three miles of this property. Hundreds of homes. We have already lost 400 acres of the adjacent acreage on that same property, on the south side of the creek. From our back fence all the way to Normandy, every single foot is slated for development. There's nothing left. This is urban sprawl. Second question was, does it create a spot zone, an isolated zone? One district, unrelated to the area, there are no RV parks within 13 miles of our home. An RV park is totally inconsistent with the local area and will stand in isolation. Was this considered in the decisions? Again, this is not my criteria. This is what is expected of those making decisions. Use permitted, must be consistent or compatible with the existing land use and zoning of adjacent and nearby properties and general areas, and must not deviate from established development logic and orderly development patterns. Ten homes on five acres in that area would be acceptable. But an RV park with 300 pads on 50 acres is not. Nothing in that area is like that. An RV park is in no way resembles the area. Our neighbor, Mr. Bill, a nine-year-old man who's lived here many years, will have hundreds of campers placed right on his west property line with nothing but a sea of campers to look at. The fourth was no significant impact upon adjacent property values. We know how that will go with 300 capacity RV park. Fifth, the proposed rezoning will not detract from the character and quality of life in general area of the neighborhood by creating excessive traffic, noise, lights, et cetera, and other deviations. The average family has two cars. A 300-pad RV park could bring in 300 additional vehicles in a neighborhood that has about 40. Excessive lights, there are hundreds of existing street lights. I mean, there are just a handful of existing street lights on Wells Road, very few yard lights. Additional 350 RVs will bring in all kinds of lights at excess. Thank you, sir. Our next speaker is Jeremiah Stanley, and that will be our last speaker, Mr. President. Good evening, distinguished council members. My name is Jeremiah Stanley. I reside at 17070 Wells Road. My wife and I are three boys. We bought this property about eight years ago. It's roughly 15 acres, and this proposal to add this RV park will be right adjacent to our property line across our southern boundary. We also were able to get my parents, who you just heard from my dad. They retired, and we moved them onto our property, hoping for a peaceful way for them to live out the rest of their life in Duval County. And so, as you can imagine, we were super surprised to see a proposal of not neighborhoods, which we anticipated and expected, but over 300 pads for recreational vehicles to be parked alongside. What we have as a greenbelt, we've had it established since we moved there. It was greenbelted before we actually moved in. We have a cattle herd of between 20 and 40 cattle. It's a cow-calf operation that we run there on the property. And so, my concern, there are two of them. One, is how would people expecting to come and enjoy an RV park respond to an active cow-calf operation right next door? You can imagine this is a built-in issue for conflict. I know that my rights are protected through the Florida Right to Farm Act. I'm very well aware of what I am able to do and will continue to do there. But I know that you all will be dealing with the issues for years to come from the complaints that will no doubt come from RVs right up against our property line. The second one is in relation to the pond that has been proposed, a 10-acre pond literally right alongside of our property line. And my concern is there is nothing in the paperwork we received that states any kind of detail about how the water for the sewage from these 300-something RVs will be handled. There's no information about a dump station or a water treatment facility. And my concern is with running a farming operation right next door, what would happen if all that sewage somehow got into the pond, if there was some type of issue related to that getting into our water system. And so I just feel like this has been not well thought out and definitely doesn't come into order with what is already there in an area that's established as a rural agriculture area. Very little of that left here within Duval County. We ought to do better than this. Thank you very much. That was our last speaker. All right. This public hearing is closed. An additional public hearing will be held August 25, 2026. All right. Turning to page 38. And would you kindly join your district councilman, the Westside Godfather, Chief White, in the green room? We're going to attempt the six-pack on the next one, Mr. President. So, 2026-0525, 2026-0526, 2026-0527, 2026-0528, 2026-0529, and 2026-0530 have no speaker cards. These public hearings are all closed and additional public hearings will be held August 25, 2026. All right. We are on page 40. Third reading ordinances, starting with number 80, 2024-0627. And again, if any of those folks from Wells Road wanted to meet with their district councilperson, he is in the green room. Right to my right, your left. All right. On 2024-0627, I'd like to state for the record that pursuant to council rule 3.106, this bill is pending administrative withdrawal on 8-13-2026. And I will turn to Ms. Daphopoulos to further explain, please. Thank you. Through the president to the council. So, as stated by the council president, rule 3.106 provides that any bill that has a sponsor currently serving on the council that's been pending for two years since its date of introduction shall be administratively withdrawn and removed from all agendas by the chief of legislative services unless the council takes an action prior to its withdrawal. So, therefore, today, legislative services has marked the agenda to reflect that it will be administratively withdrawn in the instance the council does desire to take some action. If you do not take any action this evening, and I can go through the options of that, Mr. President, if you would like, then it will be administratively withdrawn on the 13th, as stated on the agenda. Please do go through the options. So, the rule provides that the council can take an action, a couple of different actions. The council can postpone the bill to a date certain or re-refer it to committees. In that instance, it would only allow for 60 additional days for there to be some disposition of the bill through either the council or the committee process and back to council. The council can take an action this evening to withdraw the bill if they choose to do so without, to take a formal action to withdraw it rather than allow it to be administratively withdrawn. Or if a motion is made to take up the bill, the council can take up the bill this evening. I will tell you that the actions to take up the bill this evening, if it gets moved, or to re-refer or to postpone the legislation, all would require a two-thirds vote of the council to accomplish. All right. Thank you, Ms. DeFopolis. I'll give it a minute. I see no speakers. All right. With that, we will proceed to item number 81, 2026, 0535. All right. Move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. I see no speakers. We'll vote verbally on the amendment. All in favor of the amendment. Indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against, say no. The amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Reminder, we're on 2026, 0535. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026, 0535 passes. All right, Mr. President. We're on page 41, item 82, 2026-0536. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers in the queue. We'll vote verbally on favor of the amendment. Indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against, say no. Amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026, 0536 passes. Moving on to 83, 2026-0542. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Seeing no speakers. We'll vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment. Indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against, say no. Amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. We have Mr. Freeman on the queue. Thank you, Mr. President. And I'll be supporting this bill today. But I just wanted to bring to the attention of my colleagues, if you did not watch committee, this was a situation where I had a meeting scheduled with the fire chief. During rules, it was scheduled for that day at 3 o'clock and it was canceled about 9.30, between 9.30 and 10. And as a member of the finance committee, I found that a bit troubling because I wanted to talk about the budget. However, you also see that there's an item here in front of us. I was informed at that time that via email, all meetings with the fire chief must have a member of the administration in it. If you go back and pull the tape, you will see that I stated that that is the first in the 10 years that I've been here that I've heard of that. I also stated that the previous fire chiefs, Chief Powers, Chief Wilson, are of one ethnicity, one race. I also stated that this current one, and I'm going there and I'm saying it because I'm troubled still. Because when they announced who this fire chief was going to be, they said it must be someone from a diverse background. And I feel like if I don't speak up, I am doing a disservice to all my little mentees that are from all walks of life. I don't want them to ever think their voices should be silenced. Now, I will say, I had a meeting today, and I'm grateful for it. I did not act rude. I did not disrespect the administration. I allowed them, and I'm going to use that word seriously, I allowed them to stay in it. It won't happen again. From here on out, as a member of the finance committee and the finance chair, if I need them in a meeting, I'm going to request it. If they demand to be in it, and I really hope that Mr. Darnell Smith is watching and that he comes back and changes the tone. But if that does not change, I will not take that meeting. And if I do not take that meeting, and I do not feel comfortable voting, I'm hoping that members of whatever committee I'm on, be it finance or rule, will support their colleague in saying, and maybe I'm the only one up here. I hope I'm not, because that would send another message. But hopefully that will communicate that he is able. Because I'm going to close with this. I said, my little son watching is asking his daddy, why is this young man, why is this person who is so credible in this room, not allowed to speak? That bothers me. Because he is, he has the experience. He should be trusted. So I'm going to sit down. I'm going to support this. But I wanted to make sure that I put that on the record. Moving forward to the administration, I would not take another meeting if I'm told I have to have someone in the administration by me. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Freeman. No other speakers in the queue. We have a motion on the bill as amended to open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0542 is approved. Okay, Mr. President, we're on page 42, item 84. I think you have someone in the queue, possibly, Mr. Diamond. Yeah, Mr. Diamond, you are recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I didn't want to say this during the vote because I support the bill. But I just want to echo my colleague, who jumped right on it, right? But there's an issue, especially for the district council people. There's 14 of us. I respect you at-large folks. You're fancy. But for the district council people, we have work to do. I get calls about parks and sidewalks and streets, and we've got to work with the administration. We just have to. That means I have to pick up the phone, I have to call parks and say, hey, we've got an issue at Hano Park. I've got to pick up the phone and say, I've got an issue on Florida Boulevard and get it fixed. I do not have time nor the inclination to beg for permission from the administration to have these meetings. Whether you're Republican or Democrat up here, whether you like them or you don't, we've got to get this fixed. I have a lot of respect for the people sitting up here. I know they know that's true. So let's get this fixed, because all of us have work to do, and I'm not waiting or asking permission to do that work. All right. Thank you, Mr. Diamond. Now to 2026-0543. All right. Move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers in the queue. Let's vote verbally on the amendment. All in favor and indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, saying no amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. No speakers. Open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, zero nays. By your vote, 2026-0543 passes. All right. Turn to page 43, item 85, 2026-0552. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Seeing no speakers, we'll vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, saying no. The amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Seeing no speakers, open the ballot and record your vote. 15 yays, two nays. By your vote, 2026-0552 passes. All right. We are now moving on to the next section, which is going to be on page 44. That is the public participation. If the clerk could go ahead and read the second reading, and then I'll announce the speaker cards on the public participation. We have several. 2026-508, 593, 594, 595, 597, 598, 599, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 608, 609, 610, 611, 612, 615, 616, 2026-501, 502, 503, 504, 553, 554, 555, 555, 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 560, 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 566, 567, and 590. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I will now just skip to the items that have public participation cards. They're all John Nooney. So, Mr. Nooney, as you come up and start to speak on these bills, most of these are council appointees and things of that nature. So, if you have something favorable or unfavorable about that council person, please stick to the bill and don't wander off and just read it. So, we're going to go to 2026-601, which is on page 93. One speaker card, John Nooney. Mr. Nooney, before you speak, just understand that your First Amendment rights are there for you to enjoy, not to use as weapons against the rest of us. Thank you. I'm sorry, I didn't catch that? No, then just go. Go ahead, Mr. Nooney. All right. All right. I am John J. Nooney, Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023-0819, 8356, Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 32216. I'm in City Council District 4, CPAC, Planning District 3, School Board District 3. Now, the first one, resolution appointing Jacoby Pittman as a member of the Northeast Florida Regional Council. Well, I would hope that you would reconsider that and instead appoint Chris Miller, the Northeast Florida Regional Colonel. The guy is a superstar. I'm just saying he's been at some of these meetings. I was just at the executive committee meeting, you know, for the Northeast Florida Regional Council. It's seven counties. And agenda item 11, potential impacts of property tax reform. This is paying. And so, I mean, this is big stuff. I'm going to these other, here's St. John's County. I don't know if Duval County has taken a position or has meetings, you know, on this yet. But, you know, and I just, and if, and also I would throw, you know, Dr. Salem in there too, you know, and the reason is, like you take 2026-0024. You know, the big part about this is going to be our waterways. And so, I just wanted to say that on that particular one. So, yeah, the Northeast Florida Regional Colonel. I mean, I'll tell you, I just hope you would just, anyway, okay. I'm ready for the next one. All right. That was our last speaker on that one. So, we're going to go to item 94, 2026-0602. We've got to vote on the emergency before we do the public participation. So, I'll move. Thank you. We have a motion and a second on the emergency. We'll take this vote verbally. All in favor of the emergency indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, say no emergency passes. All right. Now that we've passed the emergency, I can read the public cards. John J. Nooney. I'm up. I'm up. My mom is going to talk about it right now. I need a meeting. Can you please turn your stuff right now? Sure. I'm going to be serious. Okay. All right. Well, okay. My name is John Nooney, 8356 Baskin Road, Jacksville, Florida, 3216. And, you know, these next three, you know, the Tourist Development Council, let me just say this. I mean, it's big. It's statewide. But as far as the appointments, I just wanted to be on the record, you know, to support, you know, Council President Howland, who's the chair of the TDC. And I put on here Amendment 3, and I put on here Amendment 3, TDC, NEFRC, fine, CPAC 3, public park on Pottsboro Creek, visit Jacksonville. It's all tourism. And that's it. We can go on to the next one. Well, thank you for your permission, Mr. Nooney. He's the last speaker. So, we're going to move the bill as an emergency. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. We'll open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0602 passes. All right. Moving on to item 95, 2026-0603. I move the emergency. We have a motion and a second on the emergency. No speakers. We'll vote verbally. All in favor of the emergency. Indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, say no. Emergency passes. All right. We have one public participation card. John Nooney. My name is John Nooney. Name and address is on file. I just want to be on the record. You know, again, you know, I support the legislation. And just know that, you know, the Tourist Development Council, you know, it's statewide stuff. And so, I support it. That's it. All right. Move the bill as an emergency. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0602. 203 passes. All right. We have a public participation card on item 96, 2026-0604. It's John Nooney. All right. My name is John Nooney. Name and address is on file. And this is a resolution reappointing Ken Amaro as a member of the Northeast Florida Regional Council. And, no, I support it. 2026-0004, that's the Parks Trust Fund. And he was instrumental in that. So, that is big Tourist Development Council stuff. It's also Northeast Florida Regional Council stuff. And the big thing is, it's like visit Jacksonville, visit Florida. It's all about tourism. That's it. Thank you. That's the only speaker card. So, we'll move to item 98, 2026-0606. So, move the emergency. We have a motion and second on the emergency. No speakers. We'll vote verbally. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no emergency passes. We have one speaker card. Mr. John Nooney. Start the clock, please. This one is on me, John. Do you want me to be on the Northeast or the, what is it, TDC? Do you want me to be on the TDC, John? The guy you call it to. My apologies. All right. John Nooney, name and address is on file. No, I fully support my District 4 city councilman. And, no, great that you're going to be back on TDC. Thank you for listening. Thank you, John. Move the bill as an emergency. All right. We have a motion and second on the bill as an emergency. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and court your vote. 16 yays, 1 nay. That's all right. I just want to bet. Just want to bet. All right. So. By your vote, 2026-0606 passes. So, now we're going to turn to page 54, item 127. And that's going to be, it's going to be, what is that going to be? 2026-0641. There it is. Move the emergency on 2026-0641. We have an emergency and a second on 2026-0641. Mr. Diamond, on the emergency or the bill? Okay. Seeing no speakers in the emergency, we'll vote verbally. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. Emergency passes. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. Mr. Diamond, you are recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. First of all, I want to thank my good friend, Councilman Freeman. We were just reminiscing that we worked with WC back on the old Jack's Journey days. And I have just the biggest heart for him, and he has the biggest heart for Jacksonville, one of my favorite people I've ever met in public service. And so, I move a council amendment. Thank you. All right. We have a motion and a second on a council amendment. Got no speakers. Actually, Mr. Freeman, on the council amendment. One, thank you so much for that, Councilman Diamond. And he said this in a public space, so I'll just share it with you all. He's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. And so, he stepped away because science is saying that exercise can reduce those symptoms from it. And so, I really want to, I believe in giving people their flowers when they can still smell them. And so, this is another example that we can do that. Thank you. All right. Thank you, sir. So, the council amendment is on the table right now. The second was vote verbally. All in favor, the council amendment indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. Council amendment passes. Move the bill as an emergency as amended. We have a motion and a second to move the bill as an emergency as amended. And, Mr. Freeman, you're still in the queue. Do you want to talk again? No? Okay. All right. And with that, we have no speakers. Let's open the ballot and court your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By unanimous vote, 2026-0641 passes. All right. With that, Mr. President, we're going to move to page 61. And I'm going to make a motion to move the addendum. All right. We have a motion and a second on the addendum. No speakers. We'll vote verbally. All those in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no. Addendum passes. All right. Mr. President, there are no action items on the addendumment. So that concludes this meeting. We can go ahead and call for the roll. And then we'll do announcements and get up out of here. Roll call, please. 17 present. Thank you. And before we adjourn and then do announcements, I just want to say, Mr. Carrico, thank you so much for stepping in as floor leader. You did a fantastic job. Thank you, sir. Hopefully not good enough for a permanent replacement. That's right. Not good enough. Thank you. And with that, we are adjourned. Announcements next. We'll go to Councilman Reggie Gaffney, Jr. first. Thank you. Thank you to the chair. So as many as you know, we had a seven-year-old kid pass away last week. It broke my heart. I got a call from the parent. She was devastated last week. What I want to do in the next few weeks, I'm going to host a notice meeting, trying to come up with some legislation. You know, I did my research. I think over the last five years, we had at least 10 kids to pass away from dining retention ponds. So as legislators, you know, do we stand by and don't do anything or we do something? You know, I'm not sure what would come out of this notice meeting, but what I do want to invite is invite you guys, the builders, HOAs, the community, just to try to figure out how we have, you know, come up with a solution. You know, my biggest fear is that I get another call like I got last week. You know, so typically we take these things for granted until I hit our district or I hit home. So Roshonda will be sending out an email sometime soon. You know, and like I said, it'll just be a notice meeting. I understand the cons, you know, beyond putting a gate at every, you know, ponds. I get it. I thought about it, but trust me, I get it. But so anyway, Roshonda, look forward to email. It'll be in the next couple of weeks. I'm not sure what's going to come out of it. Resolution. I don't know. Maybe encouragement, safety, but just want to hear you guys out before I do decide to propose legislation. So just be out on the lookout for the email. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Over to Ms. Pittman. Councilman Gaffney, I would just say I would love to share a lot of information that has been done already with legislation, but mainly what we've done is had a marketing campaign funds that was allocated from the Curry administration and also by Mayor Deegan. We did have a meeting with several of the developers and engineers, but I think it's time to pick that up again. And I would urge all of you all, if we can come together and develop some legislation, because retention ponds are everywhere. And of course, it's kind of out of sight, out of mind if you don't hear anything. But this is really, really serious, especially kids who have, yeah, autism. So I'll be happy to share that information and I'll be glad to work with you on some legislation as well. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Pittman. And with that, I'll recognize Dr. Johnson. Check, check. Okay, there we go. Thank you so much. I will do it since we have a special day today. First of all, we want to recognize birthdays today and our birthdays right now. I'm just doing it as a favor because we know the reigning birthday diva is Councilwoman Pittman. So birthdays, first of all, August 11th would be Rory's ECA McKenzie. August 13th, Wendy Naw, or Naw Wendy. And August 21st, Big E, Eric Grantham. They're all celebrating birthdays. But most importantly, this will be the final birthday on City Council for my dear friend. And I got to say this, not forever, just for this term, as she's term limited. So you will not celebrate another birthday up here, but we're still going to celebrate. I've known Jacoby personally probably longer than anybody on this day is for decades and decades. I won't say how many. And Jacoby, I just got to say from all of us, as I say frequently, I was there after your health situation, what, 20-some years ago now, sitting next to you in the hospital when you woke up with everything attached to you. No one could have seen you in the place that you are now but God. The God that we serve, that's a miracle that you are sitting here. And I'm thankful to call you my friend and my sister. And so Jacoby Pittman will be celebrating a birthday on August 20th. I won't say what number it is, but what we want to do, Jacoby, is all of us say happy birthday to you. And you know you have to sing it because it's Jacoby Pittman. And since it's Jacoby, and by the way, I want to tell everybody who's watching at home and here, every one of us gets birthday cards, bar mitzvahs, divorces, whatever it is, Jacoby comes and does all the announcements from this dais, and you spend that out of your pocket. Thank you from all of us here on this city council. And because it's Jacoby, we have to sing it the way Stevie Wonder did. So here we go. One, two, three. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, Jacoby. Happy birthday, Jacoby. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, Jacoby. Enjoy your day. All right. And with that, happy birthday, Jacoby. Any other speakers? All right. We're already adjourned. Everyone have a great night. Thank you. Nice to speak. Oh, we do have the prayer. Yeah, sorry. Councilman Amaro, do you want to lead us in a prayer before we leave?