City Council - Nov 10, 2026

all right welcome everybody i call to order the tuesday november 10th 2026 meeting of the full jacksonville city council mr floor leader i turn over to you thank you mr president our first order of business is the invocation and pledge of allegiance i would ask that you please recognize council member omarra council chaplain to introduce elder yates for today's invocation mr omarra you're recognized thank you mr chair mr floor leader i will yield to council member rockman johnson for the introduction of reverend elizabeth yates who will deliver our invocation this evening thank you so very much mr chaplain and mr chair thank you for mr president thank you for indulging me to introduce my friend and a friend of the city of jacksonville elizabeth elaine yates master of divinity in the african methodist episcopal church the reason i'm introducing her is because i introduced a resolution to honor the elder who i have known for 30 years who has just retired and i don't think she would be upset with me mentioning it that a few months back she celebrated her 75th birthday 75 and gorgeous well she tells it i just i she tells it and it's gorgeous and and god has certainly blessed her uh the elder is also uh retired she's recently retired with a beautiful gala from the african methodist episcopal church so it's my distinct honor to introduce this woman whose life has been defined by faith service and history elizabeth elizabeth elaine yates who has spent 33 years after retiring from a career in banking uh from barnett bank working at times directly with our friend hugh jones god rest his soul um she was a banker and she's the immediate past senior presiding elder and she was honored here in this chamber by former mayor alvin brown as the first woman to be a presiding elder in the 11th episcopal district episcopal district of the african methodist episcopal church she's a graduate of edward waters of emory and she's also a part of the morehouse college's prestigious board of preachers which is a very distinguished honor and she's also a member of the board of trustees for edward waters university she's a proud member of alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated the lynx incorporated and has devoted thousands of hours to community service internationally but beyond the titers titles she's devoted mother of two amazing daughters a loving grandmother and of course the proud mom to her fur baby cooper uh today we are grateful for this remarkable woman and the council several weeks ago uh honored her service to the city of jacksonville she's prayed for us at the king breakfast and other places uh so at this time andrew would you please share this with her elder all 19 of us came together and honored you with this resolution for your service to the city of jacksonville let's give her a round of applause for a wonderful career in ecumenacy thank you elder for your work in this community thank you for moving forward the body of christ and at this time please welcome reverend elizabeth elaine yates presiding elder to lead us in prayer elder thank you so do y'all stand till i finish okay to council president the honorable nick howland and the honorable ken amaro chaplain of the council thank you for this invitation and the opportunity to invoke god's presence tonight to the entire council and the citizens of jacksonville who are both assembled here and live streaming you know who i am i've already been introduced so let us pray oh lord our god eternal father author of justice giver of mercy and keeper of every promise before this council calls its official role father let us call their names before your throne of grace without title without fanfare ah pomposity god i am calling nick joe ken mike will kevin michael jimmy reggie tyrona my neighbor jacoby raul randy rory rockman monet ron matt and chris one by one and name by name 19 lives 19 callings 19 opportunities to make a difference lord we thank you for every one of them bless their minds with wisdom their hearts with compassion their backs with strength and their spirits with the courage to do what is right even in the difficult of circumstances remind them oh god that behind every ordinance is a family behind every budget item is a blessing or a burden and behind every vote it's a human being whose life matters from my spiritual lineage of the african methodist episcopal church through richard allen and obsalon jones who understood even when the doors of tolerance were closed the gates of heaven remained open they taught us that some may try to interrupt a prayer but it cannot silence a purpose so teach us lord the beauty of tolerance tonight give us the grace to disagree without dishonoring to debate without diminishing and to offer without dividing we know the law is the law but your higher law calls us to justice mercy humility and most importantly love though we may worship differently pray differently and walk differently and walk differently paths of faith our collective service meets at the sacred intersection of humanity because this your city of jacksonville the god i serve is too precious for petty divisions its people too important for political pride and its future too promising to be held hostage by yesterday's disagreement so forgive us forgive us lord and let us forgive one another now lord we ask you to move in this chamber where there is division sin understanding where there is bitterness let there be forgiveness and where there is fear raise up courage where there seems to be where there seems to be no way forward let the opportunity through your righteousness be manifested for we know that you are the one who makes ways that out of impossibilities and that you are the one who creates bridges over troubled waters and you are the one who makes crooked places straight eda became residents the more you are the ones with faces because your political what's consistent ili and inter Kaleman that you are the one who makes that out of the 12th grade and that you are the one who makes the people make the people and that what we're doing that works we work in pieces of our care care of all these hosts that one is the one who knows where the personeli is a man who bunlar in the federalo it only has a woman who knows that they matter Liberations are finished when the votes are counted, when the lights of this chamber are dimmed and the title of officers have faded into the annals of history. Let the record of these, your servants, whose names I have called, declare they stood for justice. They walked in mercy. They led with love and they served all of your people. Now, Lord, order their steps, steady their hands, unite their hearts and bless, bless, bless this council for not for the 19 names that I call, but for your glory and for the good of one city that sits by the river, the city of Jacksonville, Florida. And may that city forever be covered by your grace, strengthened by your love and lifted by your holy hand in the mighty, marvelous, merciful and matchless name of our God. We pray. Let us all say amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. President, any announcements? Yes, sir. Mr. Florida Leader, we have three announcements. The first one is from Councilman Arias. You're recognized, sir. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to, first of all, give a shout out to Scout Troop 27. If you guys don't mind, please stand up. They're in attendance today. They are from District 11 from Holy Family Catholic Church. And so earlier today, President and colleagues, they were in my office just a few moments ago. And I asked them, like, if you were the mayor of this city, what would be one thing that you guys would like to improve or continue on? And it was very simple. I just told them, just give me one response. The response was pretty resounding. It was public safety, infrastructure, health, and education. Even at that age, middle school and high school, they understand what moves our city and what continues to move our city and what our constituents want. So I just want to commend them on that. And I hope to see you guys in District 11 and continue doing the great work that you do. Thank you for coming tonight. And once again, one more round of applause for them. Please. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Arias. Mr. Florida Leader, I have two announcements, one long one, one short one. The long one is regarding Amendment 3, because it's been one week since it was passed, and this is the first council meeting we have had since then. So last Tuesday, I issued a statement to the media saying that this city council had been preparing for Amendment 3 long before Election Day and that we were ready for the challenge ahead. Tonight, I want to elaborate on that a little bit. I supported property tax relief from the beginning. Jacksonville families are facing a real affordability crisis. From groceries and insurance to housing and utilities, everything costs more. Property tax relief keeps hard-earned dollars where they belong in the wallets of Jacksonville families. And we knew this could be an outcome. That's why we began preparing months ago. This year, we conducted one of the most thorough budget reviews in council history, challenging every dollar and asking fundamental questions. Is it core? Is it duplicative? And do we have the money? Under our finance chair's leadership, we held spending flat for the first time since 2017. We didn't wait for Amendment 3 to pass to get serious about spending. We got serious from the onset because it was the responsible thing to do. That same fiscal discipline will guide us moving forward. To start, I've requested two comprehensive analyses. First, our general counsel will examine Amendment 3's legal implications, including restrictions on revenue, expenditures, and our ability to deliver core services. There are qualitative aspects of Amendment 3 that are important to understand. And there may be further developments when the state legislature meets to put together implementing legislation regarding Amendment 3. And second, I've asked for a financial analysis from the council auditors. I've asked them to quantify, to the dollar, the projected revenue impact on Jacksonville. We've had rough numbers for the last several months, but I want them to get as close as they can to real numbers. And that analysis must not only anticipate revenue losses, but also potential gains from an accelerated housing market and continued economic growth. And that actually is a very important thing, I think, worth noting for everybody regarding Amendment 3. Commercial property and tangible property taxes remain unaffected. So many of Jacksonville's largest property taxpayers are capital-intensive manufacturers and distributors. So continuing to attract businesses in the way that this council has in the aerospace defense marine medical industries will not only create good-paying jobs, but it will also strengthen and diversify our tax base. But we cannot wait until next summer to act. That's why I'll be convening a special notice meeting on or before November 30th to review the analysis from the general counsel and the council order and to fully understand our path forward. In the meantime, we also need to have an honest debate about every new spending bill. We need to closely consider any new ideas for cost-cutting or cost-saving initiatives. And we need to work together with the administration to start planning the budget, next year's budget, earlier. I've spoken with the mayor, and she's agreed to include council leadership in her budget planning meetings, which will begin as early as February next year. And what we learn from those discussions can be reported back publicly at finance committee meetings. Transparency will not be an afterthought as we prepare for Amendment 3. It will be built into the process. So we know right now the voters have spoken. They want property tax relief. They expect core services to be protected. And they're asking for a government that limbs within its means. We prepared early. We budgeted responsibly. From this point forward, we must spend sparingly. And if we do, we will deliver on what the voters have asked. That's all I have on Amendment 3. And then finally, my last announcement. Tomorrow's Veterans Day. On a much more joyful note, the parade starts at 11.01. Some communities use this day to honor those who served. We do that here. But we don't just limit it to one day. It's one of the things I'm proudest of in our community. We're one of the most military and veteran-friendly communities in the nation. So we honor our veterans all the time. But we certainly honor them tomorrow. And I look forward to a productive Veterans Day. Thank you, Mr. Fleurley. With that, sir, time for roll call. I'm here for a bully. 19 present. With that, Mr. President, it's time now for the approval of the minutes from the regular council meeting of October the 27th. So I move the approval. All right. We have a motion and a second on the approval of the minutes of October 27, 2026. Seeing no speakers in the queue, we'll take the vote verbally. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against no. Minutes pass. President, we have six communications from the mayor and other entities. Would you like those read or filed with legislative services? File, please. Thank you. Next, we have a resolution presentation. As the introducer of the resolution, I would invite Councilmember Pittman to proceed to the podium as Mr. Thiel reads the resolution. Resolution 2026-686. Samuel Coleman was a devoted man of faith, a loving husband and father, and a cherished friend and mentor to many, whose life was defined by service to God, to his family, and to the Jacksonville community. Elder Coleman joined the congregation of the Potter's House International Ministries on Jacksonville's West Side just months after the church was founded in 1988, and he served the church faithfully for more than 38 years, becoming, in the words of the church leadership, a fixture of the congregation. As an elder of the Potter's House, Samuel Coleman was a mentor, a leader, and a difference maker, touching countless lives through his unwavering faith, kindness, and commitment to others. Elder Coleman was deeply involved with Young Life, the international youth ministry, and through conferences and gatherings held locally and around the world, he impacted the lives of countless young people. On Sunday, August 2nd, 2026, Elder Samuel Coleman tragically perished in an automobile accident while on his way to Sunday worship service, and his loss is mourned by his family, his friends, the Potter's House Church family, the Young Life community, and all who had the honor to know him. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Jacksonville. The City Council hereby honors the life and mourns the passing of Elder Samuel Coleman. Elder Coleman was a faithful servant whose decades of ministry and mentorship enriched the lives of generations of Jacksonville residents and young people around the world. The City Council extends its deepest condolences to the Coleman family, the Potter's House Church family, and all who were impacted by his life. Councilwoman. I'm going to ask all the members, family, and friends, if y'all would come stand with me, please. To my colleagues, thank you. This resolution is very, very important to me because Elder Sam Coleman was my classmate, my churchmate. I met Elder Sam Coleman and his brother Alan Coleman at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. You know, our love for the church was the foundation of our lives. We sang in the choir together. We were on the usher board together. We went to Bible study together. And at the time, Pastor McLaughlin and Lady Larlene were members of the church. I'd just like to say that Elder Coleman, his life was more than just a title. His life was proven, extraordinary service. And I'd like for his daughter, which you're the image of your father, and I want you to come up and say a few words. And we really, really appreciate you all coming during this time. And Lady Larlene, for your support over the years as well, your ambition. Thank you. On behalf of my mother and our entire family, I stand to accept this resolution honoring my dad, Samuel Coleman. Yes, he was a great man that touched so many lives in positive ways. Countless lives continue to be changed, even in his absence. Many of the changes are hurtful. We move forward by the grace of God and support from friends and family. As we navigate life without our beloved and legendary Samuel Coleman, an unimaginable pain is impacted by the circumstances surrounding his death. The person responsible admitted to seeing a red light, becoming confused about whether to press the gas or the brakes, and ultimately crashing into him. Despite the devastating consequences of that decision, the only apparent consequence was a citation for careless driving. And she retains the privilege of driving. It is difficult to reconcile the magnitude of our loss with the seeming lack of accountability. No citation can adequately reflect the life lost or the family forever changed. Again, it is with great honor and heartfelt gratitude that we accept this resolution. While nothing can undo our loss, we sincerely appreciate the recognition of Samuel's life, legacy, and the impact he made. Thank you. Again, as Elder Coleman's pastor and friend, I had a notice this past Saturday we were supposed to be meeting for breakfast, and so it's still quite fresh. But Valerie and all of the kids, thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you for thinking enough of the family and your relationship with Sam to give this resolution. Thank you. So all the council members, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I can get all of y'all to come this way and turn this way. Let's do it quickly, please. And some of you all can go this way. Come on. Quickly. Come down. Come down. Come down. Go fast, please. Thank you. Mr. President, as they conclude the picture taken, I would like to take a moment to ask you to join me in welcoming Jesus Rivera Alvarez of KIPP Impact Academy and Justin Nightingale, Jean-Raybould High School. They are serving as our pages today. We'll give them a second to clear out before we continue. Well, you're welcome to stay. We'll be here until about 10 or 11 tonight. Mr. President, we are now ready for quasi-judicial actions. I would like to remind all concerned these items we are now taking up do not include public hearings as these matters were thoroughly reviewed at the committee level and where public hearings were part of the decision-making process. Council members are reminded to declare any ex parte communications. The first item is on page 5, 2026-0694. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Seeing no speakers for ex parte, let's open the ballot and record your vote. 18 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0694 passes. Item number 2, 2026-743. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Before we vote on it, let me recognize Mr. Lehman. Thank you, Council President. I rise to declare ex parte. I had four emails all requesting a deferral or rescheduling of the public hearing dates. This has been filed with legislative services. Thank you, sir. Mr. Gay? Thank you, Mr. President. I have received a right to declare ex parte communication on this. I have received one email in opposition and it has been filed with legislative services. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Any other ex parte? Just raise your hand because it pops up on the speaker list and then drops off. Okay. Seeing none, we'll vote on the amendment. Verbally, all in favor 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. There are no speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 15 yays, 2 nays. And by your vote, 2026-0743 is approved. Moving on now to page six, item number three, 2026-744. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Seeing no speakers for ex parte, I'll take it 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. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 16 yays, 0 nays. And by your vote, 2026-0744 passes. Item number four, 2026-746. 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 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0746 passes. Item number five, 2026-790. I 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, 2026-0790 passes. Page number seven, item six, 2026-791. I move it. 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, 2026-0971 passes. Item number seven, 2026-0792. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. Mr. Salem, Dr. Salem, you were recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be abstaining from voting on this tonight. My brother is a principal in Linwood Board, and I've been advised not to vote on this. Thank you. Seeing no other speakers for ex parte or abstentions, let's open the ballot and court your vote. 16 yays, 0 nays, 1 abstention. By your vote, 2026-0792 passes. Item number 8, 2026-793. I move it. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and court your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0793 passes. Turn to page. Item number 9, 2026-794. I move it. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and court your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0794 passes. Item number 10, 2026-795. I understand Council Member Peluso has an amendment, sir. Council Member Peluso, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I do have an amendment to this item. It has been, you have it in front of you. Biscotti's and the applicant are here to speak in favor of it. We negotiated it from 60 seats down to 50 seats, and everyone seems to be acceptable to it. I believe Ms. Trimmer is here to represent. All right, you made your motion. Do you have a second? Second. All right, we have a motion and a second on the floor amendment. Let me ask Ms. Trimmer, I see you approaching the podium, if the applicant agrees, please, with the floor amendment. Through the chair, Cindy Trimmer, 1 Independent Drive Suite, 1200, on behalf of the applicant. I do have Jonas Lowe with Biscotti's, and he met with the person that was concerned, and we are in support of the amendment. Thank you, ma'am. I recognize Mr. Diamond. Look, I'm fine with this, but please, come to LUZ. That's what every district council person does. They go to LUZ, and they do this work there. This is the second time in a row. You're not special. Come to LUZ. Do the work at LUZ. All right, thank you, sir. No other speakers in the queue. We'll take the vote on this floor amendment verbally. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against, say no. Floor amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We'll need a second on that. All right, we have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Mr. Peluso, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I do stand and declare ex parte. I did receive one email with concerns over this, but I believe that was just okayed by what we just did. Thank you. All right, no other speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 16 a's, 0 a's. By your vote, 2026-0795 passes as amended. Turning to page 9, item number 11, 2026-796. 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 a's, 0 a's. By your vote, 2026-0796 passes. Item number 12, 2026-797. I move it. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers. Open the ballot and record your vote. 17 a's, 0 a's. By your vote, 2026-0797 passes. And lastly, item number 13, 2026-798. I move it. We have a motion and a second on the bill. There are no speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 a's, 0 a's. By your vote, 2026-0798 passes. Mr. President, we are now ready for the consent agenda. I want to remind my colleagues that if you want to be added as a co-sponsor on any of these items, please let the chief of legislative services know via email as council rules prohibit pulling items for that reason. So, Mr. Thiel, would you please read the bills? 2026-800, 804, 812, 815, 819, 820, 821, 823, 824, 826, 832, 879, 880, 881, 882, 883, and 884. Mr. President, I noted we move the consent agenda less. Item 879 and 883. All right. We'll need a second on that. We have a motion and a second. Thank you, sir. On the consent agenda, less items 2026-0879 and 2026-0883. Seeing no speakers, this will be a ballot vote. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 a's, 0 a's. By your vote, the consent agenda minus those two bills passes. Moving then, item number 25, 2026-879, I move the resolution. We have a motion and a second on the resolution. Mr. Carrico, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President, and I'll be real brief. I wasn't able to attend any committee meetings last week, and I missed his surprise retirement party, but I wanted to stand up and personally thank Tim Johnson for all the work that you've done for supporting our police and firefighters, making sure their pensions are strong and earn them all that money, and because also you're just my brother from another mother, man. So great work. I see that you and your lovely wife, Atiyah, are here as well. So congratulations on a job well done. You serve the city well. Thank you, Mr. Carrico. Mr. Matt Carlucci, you're recognized. Real quick, thank you. I want to say the same thing that Councilman Carrico did. I want to thank Mr. Johnson for his hard work in this regard. I've known him since he moved to Jacksonville, and I want to make sure that my name is on the resolution, if that needs to be done now or later, but if I could be added as a co-sponsor, I'd appreciate it. We have a motion and a second to move a council amendment on 2026-0879. We'll take a vote verbally on the amendment. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against, say no. Council amendment passes. We'll need to remove it. I'm going to move the resolution as amended. We have a motion and a second on the resolution as amended. No other speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By unanimous vote, 2026-0879 passes, and Tim, I'd ask you to stick around just a little bit longer, if you wouldn't mind, please. Thank you, sir. And Mr. President, we've got one other item on the consent agenda that we need to address. That's item number 29, 2026-883. Move that resolution. All right, we have a motion and a second on the bill. Mr. Diamond, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. To quote our former colleague, Terrence Freeman, we ought to give our laurels to people while they're around to enjoy them. But I do hate that we're having to do this already. But I would move a council amendment for our good friend, Matt Schellenberg. We have a motion and a second on the council amendment for 2026-0883. Mr. Carlucci, you want to speak on the council amendment or after? You want to speak right now? Oh, you want to be—I got it. Okay, understood. All right. All those in favor of the council amendment indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against say no. Council amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Let me recognize Mr. Boylan. Thank you, Mr. Chair. It was a great, sad, but pride that I was able to honor or introduce this resolution. Needless to say, Matt has been a mentor to me and made her respects. When I was a pure novice to this process, he was there to provide me guardrails and safety nets as I moved through this process. And I'm glad we had the opportunity to recognize him, as council member Diamond said, while he's still joining us. All right. Seeing no other speakers in the queue, we have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Let's open the ballot and accord your vote. 18 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0883 passes as amended. Mr. President, before recognizing the rule of chair, we have one more appointment to consider. Please turn to page 37, item number 79. The third reading resolution, 2026-517. I move the resolution. We have an amendment on that, I think. Move the amendment. Yep. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Mr. Diamond, on the amendment or the bill? Okay. Let's vote on the amendment verbally. All in favor of the amendment indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against the amendment, say no. The amendment passes. Move the resolution as amended. We have a motion and a second on the resolution as amended. Let me recognize Mr. Diamond first, followed by Mr. Gay. Let me go. Mr. Gay first, followed by Mr. Diamond. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This came through rules, as you all know, and we spent quite a bit of time working on this. It was originally introduced June 9th, 26. So we've had quite a few meetings. I had a notice meeting on this to address some of the issues. The applicant that came forward, I received, as soon as it was introduced, I received notices or communication from code enforcement and Buildings Trade Board that they were not in support of this candidate. I had meetings with them, discussed their concerns, passed out some information to everybody to understand what this board is, that the responsibility of this board is protecting the citizens of Jacksonville from unscrupulous, incompetent members of the construction industry. This board is a quasi-judicial body. This board has the authority to issue a construction license, take them away, fine, and protect our citizens. This individual, there was a lot of stuff that was brought forward about the work that he'd done with a customer, and it kind of got distorted about what we were looking at. But the main thing that we were looking at, or that I was looking at, was what the responsibility of this board is. Who is supposed to be on this board? This board is supposed to be made up of members that are beyond reproach. This individual, one of the qualifications was you had to be a contractor for three years. In the latter part of his third year of being in business, when he was caught by the construction or building inspection department of doing work without a permit. That, you know, we cannot have that blemish on a board. Keep in mind that we're talking about a board, another board, construction trade board, that regulates our contractors in the city. I did not support it. I will not support his appointment to this. I know the administration, for some reason, highly wants him on it. I passed out. There's three emails that he originally sent to the administration requesting to be put on the board as a representative of the plumbing industry. Not what he's being recommended for is the HVAC, the AC industry. And it's all convoluted, and all I can say is we, as a council, have to do all of our due diligence to not have another board go off the rail. We are charged with making sure that we listen to the concerns of the board members. They came to me. There's other stuff that's going on with this. And I don't even want to get into that, but the situation at hand is we've got to raise the bar on our boards and make sure we protect our boards' integrity and that they govern in accordance with what the laws are. And so if that's where I'm at on this, I just request everybody to vote this down. Thank you. All right. Thank you, sir. Over to Mr. Diamond. Thank you, Mr. President. I don't have a lot to say on this other than, you know, I've been up here seven years, and I get really exhausted when we rubber stamp a board member, and then a year or two or three years later, it bites us in the keister. And so in this one, there's a bunch of red flags. I'm not sure about whether or not Mr. Elio is the right person for this board, but I know there's enough problems with this board right now. Like, there's obvious problems. If you're not paying attention, there's problems with this board. So to me, the smart thing to do is either vote this down or just re-refer it. And then let's figure out what's going on with this board, because really the members need to be above reproach. This is where you go to make sure you can have a license to be a contractor in Jacksonville. If you're not sure, that's a very important job. So just, it just seems to me, I'm a no, but just let's be prudent. I say we re-refer and wait and just figure this out. And maybe if Mr. Elio is the right guy, maybe he's not. It doesn't matter to me as much as let's just get this one right. Let's not rush simply because we have a candidate. That's my two cents. All right. Mr. Carlucci, Matt Carlucci, you were on the queue a second ago still. Yep. Thank you, Mr. President. I am inclined to say re-refer this back to a rules committee. I understand there are some problems with this board as well, which I think need to be looked at independently, actually, of this appointment. And so that bothers me. And I've understood there are some other issues as well as far as how long some members on the board have been serving. That bothers me. So if we vote on this, I'll probably vote yes, just to put some fresh blood on this board. But I think perhaps a timeout may be in order. And I think this board needs to be looked at and reviewed by the proper people in our city government. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Mr. Carlucci. I'll recognize Dr. Johnson, Dr. Salem, Mr. Landon, and then we'll come back to Mr. Gave. That's okay. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to know, and I guess this is, I think, I was trying to get it from general counsel, but if someone could give me an idea, is the re-referral, if this is re-referred, is that going to encumber the board's work? Because one of the things that I want to make sure, I want the expeditious work of the board to move forward. Can someone answer that for me? We have a member of the administration who might be able to come up and answer that. All right. Mr. Dennis. Oh, Garrett, Mr. Dennis, Councilman Dennis. Yeah, if we re-refer this back, will that encumber the – I am – I haven't seen, just in my response, I've been getting the emails about this, haven't seen the red flags, but if there's a re-referral, would this be an issue for this board operating proficiently? And if – what is the administration's pleasure? Garrett Dennis, administration to Councilman Johnson through the chair. There are 16 members on this board. So, re-referring Mr. Alejo's appointment will not stop the business of the board. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Dr. Salem, followed by Mr. Lane. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm on rules, and we have spent more time on this particular piece of legislation than anything I can remember on rules. So, please don't re-refer it. Make a decision and vote. You've got a green button and you've got a red button. However, Councilmember Carl Leach, you brought up problems with this board. That's a separate issue. That can be dealt with without this particular candidate. So, please don't re-refer this, and let's vote. Thank you, Mr. President. All right, sir. Over to Mr. Lane. Thank you, Mr. President. Exactly what Dr. Salem said. I don't know how many times we've deferred this, but it's been on the rules agenda for many months now. So, I would prefer – and I'll defer to the rules chair if he's changed his mind, but I think we just need to vote because this one has been with us a long time. And over to Mr. Gay, rules chair. Thank you, Mr. President. Please don't re-refer this. You know, we have deferred it. We've discussed it. I've had notice meetings on it. I've had the Construction and Trade Board in. I've had code enforcement in, administration in, and, you know, got in and got the facts straight where they were kind of diluted and not accurate. So, we got all the facts straight. The mere fact that the action has taken place with a violation of not permitting work is not going to change. That right there is the sole issue with the integrity of sitting on this board. And it has nothing to do about – there was a lot of discussion about the homeowner in a project and a warranty and all that, putting in the too small of an air compressor. And, like I say, it's – we're not a construction trade board up here, but we're looking at the facts. And the facts is there was a – a recent violation, and just that cloud right there is enough pause for me to say, no, this is not what we need on our – our judicial board here. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gaye. Dr. Johnson, you still on the queue or no? It popped on and then popped off. President, I just want to give the fairness to it. Is the gentleman here? Okay. Okay. Thank you. That's what I wanted to know. Thank you, Mr. President. Okay. We have – I believe we have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. All right. Seeing no other speakers, let's open the ballot and record your vote. Six yays, 11 nays. By your vote, 2026-0517 fails. Sir, this would be a good time to recognize the Rules Chair. Mr. Rules Chair, you are recognized. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. We have just approved the following appointments as part of the consent agenda. If you are here in the audience, please stand to be recognized. Alexandra Field to the Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Grants Committee. Robert K. Hickson as the Chief of Fire Operations Division of the Fire and Rescue Department. Jordan M. Dowling as Chief of Homeland Security in the Office of the Sheriff. Michael B. Schell as the Director of Police Services for the Office of the Sheriff. Pauline Mackey Drake to the Board of Library Trustees. And that's all, and we want to thank you for your service to the city. And congratulate them for being appointed. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, given we've approved the consent agenda, in total, we have one more presentation today. And I invite the introducer of the resolution, Council Member White, to proceed to the podium as Mr. Thiel reads the resolution. Resolution 2026-879. Timothy H. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Duquesne University and a Master of Science in Organizational Development from Robert Morris University. And he has extensive professional experience in finance, public administration, and pension management. Mr. Johnson began his career in banking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before entering public service in 2004 as the Administrative Services Director for Allegheny County, subsequently serving on the Allegheny County Retirement Board from 2006 through 2011. And he was appointed Executive Director of the Allegheny County Employees Retirement System in 2012. Mr. Johnson was appointed by the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund Board of Trustees as Executive Director, Plan Administrator, effective August 1, 2016, bringing his extensive financial and pension administration experience to an organization entrusted with providing retirement benefits to Jacksonville's police officers, firefighters, retirees, and their beneficiaries. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Johnson has provided steady and thoughtful leadership in overseeing the police and fire pension funds, administration, investment operations, financial management, and compliance responsibilities, working closely with the Board of Trustees, investment professionals, legal counsel, and city officials to uphold the fund's fiduciary obligations and safeguard the retirement security of its members. Mr. Johnson has demonstrated an enduring commitment to strengthening the fund through improved organizational governments, enhanced administrative procedures, technological modernization, member education, and a culture of transparency and accountability, ensuring that the organization continues to meet the evolving needs of its members. As Executive Director, Plan Administrator, Mr. Johnson has been a dedicated leader and mentor to the fund's employees, establishing a high professional standard while encouraging individual initiative, collaboration, and professional development, fostering an environment in which staff members are empowered to grow and contribute meaningfully to the organization's mission. Recognizing the importance of organizational continuity, Mr. Johnson has placed particular emphasis on succession planning, the preservation of institutional knowledge, and the development of future leadership, helping prepare the fund and its employees for a successful transition following his retirement. After more than 10 years of distinguished service to the City of Jacksonville and its public safety personnel, Mr. Johnson has announced his retirement, effective November 30, 2026, leaving a lasting legacy of dedicated public service, sound administration, and professional leadership. And the Police and Fire Pension Fund's Board of Trustees has unanimously selected Mr. Johnson's long-time Deputy Director, Stephen Lundy, to succeed him as Executive Director, Plan Administrator, providing continuity in the organization's leadership. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Jacksonville. The City Council hereby honors and commends Timothy H. Johnson for his 10 years of exceptional service as Executive Director, Plan Administrator of the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund. The City Council expresses its sincere appreciation for Mr. Johnson's dedication to responsible pension administration, his commitment to Jacksonville's police officers and firefighters, and his leadership and mentorship of the fund's employees. The City Council extends its best wishes to Mr. Johnson for continued health, happiness, and fulfillment in his well-deserved retirement. Councilmember? Mr. President, I want to thank you for allowing this second presentation tonight. I know we usually don't lose this, but I want to thank Tim. When John Keene was there, we thought when he retired, you know, what would we do? But thank God you came along. Thank you. And he's got a good person. Steve, stand up. Stephen Lundy, he will be our next person. And I have a soft place in my heart, but every two weeks when I open up my mail and see what you've deposited in my ... I appreciate this, ma'am. And thank you so much. I hope you have a good retirement. And thank you if you want to say a few words. I'll keep it brief. To the Council Secretary, I appreciate what you've read on my behalf. And to all the members of City Council, you've been wonderful to me. It's been a great run, not only for me, my family, but also for the solvency of the Police and Fire Pension Fund. We're stronger today. We've got a great outlook with the surtax beginning in a few years. And I just want to thank you for all your support. Thank you again. Mr. President, up next is the economic development investment item on page 15, 2026, 855. There was an opportunity for public comment, but we did not receive any cards, so therefore I move the amendment. All right. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. Seeing no speakers in the queue, we'll vote on the amendment verbally. All in favor indicated by saying aye. Aye. All against saying no, the amendment passes. I move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill's amendment. We'll recognize Mr. Carrico. Not even on this one. Real quick, since we did do a council amendment, can legislative services update Mr. Johnson's certificate in the future so he has a copy with everyone's name on it? Just a quick request. Thank you. All right. Anyone have any comments on the bill? Seeing none, we have a motion and a second on the bill. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 16 yays, 1 nay. By your vote, 2026, 0855 passes. Mr. President, as per ordinance 2022 475, we are now ready for public comments. Council members are reminded that this is our time to hear from the public. This is not a time for questions and answers or debate. However, a member of the public may be invited to the Robert Johnson room for further discussions pending the approval of the council president. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to speak, you should have filled out the yellow public comment card. No cards will be accepted after 6 p.m. We're just about there now. Council rules call for the allotment of 90 minutes for public comment. Given the number of cards we presently have, each speaker will be allowed 2 minutes and 30 seconds to speak. During our public comment time, only the speaker will be allowed at the podium unless physical assistance is required. We provide this opportunity for public comment beyond what the state law requires. As such, you must state your name and address before beginning your comments or just say, my address is on file, meaning it's written on the yellow card. I will announce five speakers at a time in the order they are to appear. When I call your name, I ask that you move to the seats down here up front and await your turn to speak. Your time will start when you arrive at the podium. We ask that all bags, boxes, purses be placed on the table to your right prior to approaching the podium. We thank you for your time this evening. Our first five speakers are Denise Scott, Kathleen Pereira, Jerry Woodham, Carnell Oliver, and Addison Patrick. Come on down to the front. Please note, again, you have two and a half minutes to speak. Mr. Chee, I'm going to ask you to go ahead and read Council Rule 4.505. 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. All right. Please note our start time as 5.58. Again, our first speaker is Ms. Scott. Please be sure to provide your name and address before you begin. Thank you. Go ahead. You didn't say how many minutes we get. Two and a half. Oh, I didn't hear. I'm sorry. No worries. Good evening, everybody. I'm Denise Scott, and my address is on five. I say two and a half. This will be the twice in 2026 that I have agreed with Rory Diamond. That was definitely not on my bingo card. But here we are again, giving money to these for-profit companies. The story says that you all brokered a deal that will offer Gateway Jacks Incorporated $28.25 million when they complete whatever they're doing, and then $21.4 million property tax refund. We're issuing out property tax refund. Now that you know we just voted property tax cuts, where are we going to get this money from? These companies have enough resources to make their projects successful. Stop giving away our tax money for all these incentives, because they're going to be downtown anyway. Now I hear that Sheriff TK Waters received $73 million from the Justice Department to help reduce violent crime in the city, and I think that's an amazing opportunity for our city. I just have one question. Since the citizens just voted to cut this property tax, and we just gave him over a billion dollars, is he going to give us some of our money back? The pastor spoke this evening and she said that she would hope that you all would understand that the decisions that you make, the constituents matter. When you all decide to make these cuts, please don't stop at the working class families, because they always get to feel the burden of these cuts. Jacksonville would like for this city to continue to maintain our local parks, keep our libraries open, we want summer activities for our youth, we want affordable houses, and we do not want you to cut funding for childcare and other after school programs. You give too much money to these developers anyway. Let's start cutting there. Lastly, I wasn't here, but I was so disappointed to know that a citizen here was arrested last meeting for wearing a t-shirt, and it was not even a t-shirt candidate for nobody on this dais. Y'all know that she wasn't campaigning, but you had her handcuffed and escorted out of here like she was a criminal. I'm sure y'all violated her rights, but you say you didn't. I'm sure, I'm grateful that she's safe, and I know that she was doing good trouble for us. You guys need to make up your mind about what's allowed and what isn't, because the meeting before, she had on the same shirt. Next, we have Kathleen Pereira. My name is Kathleen Pereira. My information is on file. Thank you to Council President Howland for preparing and this council preparing for Amendment 3. And what's interesting is that a lot of people don't know what the core functions of the government is and what should be funded. So here's a quick tutorial. Protecting public safety, which means adequately funding the police, fire and rescue, disaster funds, and emergency measures. Ensuring laws are applied fairly by funding the court system and providing public services such as infrastructure, which means roads, water, management systems, lightings, and bridges. One of the important functions, even though it's not funded necessarily, is keeping the integrity of our boards. Sanitation, which is sewer systems, garbage collection. Health services, like indigent emergency care and public health department. And social support, which is limited to emergency housing and care of the indigent. Not just hectare, anything you want, social services. Period. Those are the core functions of the government. Even though the government is also responsible for education, that portion is not affected by this amendment. So that's a different story. Any other funding for current conflict of interest NGOs, which there are many, stadiums, pet projects, or developer and business incentives need to be cut first or even eliminated. Such as giving money away to publics and no emergency funds for furniture. So in other words, the city should not play any games with the public when it comes to amending the budget to reflect the change in revenue. And there should also not be any schemes to increase taxes by way of other avenues just to feed the fat. It's time to tighten the belt like all of us do when it comes to sensible budgeting. Period. Thank you. Next we have Jerry Woodham. Good evening, Jerry Woodham. Address on file. Good evening, President Howland and all council members. The voters have spoken. They want better control of their dollars. God's word says in 1 Corinthians 4 too. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. As a taxpayer, I have seen millions spent on a stadium that belongs to a millionaire. I have seen millions go to developers for just completing their project. I have lived in this city for 46 years. I am appalled by our JTA board, our JHA board, our JEA board. And recently I found out about the construction board mismanagement. Whistleblowers were punished. Now Publix wants to be given $28 million. And lastly, I don't see two-year-old furniture at $78,000 to be spent as an emergency when the furniture is only two years old. It is time that you look at your own checkbook as the council like we look at our checkbooks. If you don't have it, don't spend it and don't promise it. Thank you. Next we have Cardinal Oliver. Yes, my name is Cardinal Oliver. Today I'm going to speak, Cardinal, the address is on 5. The issue I'm going to speak to today is 541. I would go for this deal if the East Side had partial ownership in the asset of it. If this community does not get partial ownership of this development project, they don't get no funding. Because I'm going to give you my rationale. Number one, Amendment 3 passed. Number two, in second reading, we got a bunch of bonds going out the door for affordable housing. What we're going to do once this man's race is over with, this man we got going to leave us in a Joe Biden situation. Because I want you to understand something. The one thing I've learned and I appreciate about Donald Trump's administration, I clearly see when you put the wrong people in office, they get out of hand, they spend money, buy voters, make a mess. And the one thing I realize, it is Democrats who always break a lot of furniture. And then Republicans have to come behind, start snatching away everything, discipline the system. And the next election come around, you give Democrats a chance to govern and they end up breaking something else. Republicans come back in place, they have to snatch away more stuff. Because, simple fact, nobody has not learned their lesson. The form of discipline that this community sure needs right now at this point in time is effective governance that serves the interests of the people. I will not support a project like this if I was on this council, if I did not allow certain neighborhoods to own assets. That means that they would not be dependent on the government to provide their basic needs. I'm looking at every transaction now as I grow, as I mature, as a business transaction. Because I'm telling you, we're going to deal with a Joe Biden situation, COVID-19 situation. And I want you to defer this bill. And let's have an honest conversation. Is this deal worth anything if a neighborhood like OutEast has been denied for decades critical investment? I want you to think about it. You know I understand what's going on. Thank you. Next, we have Addison Patrick. In the meantime, I'm going to invite down to the front Blake Harper. I believe it's Davida Harper, John Scott, Diane Johnson McGee, and Janet Perry. Please come on down to the front. Go ahead. Hi. Good evening, everyone. Addison Liberty Patrick. And my address is on file. I have a feeling we're going to hear a lot of the same things this evening. So I just want to start off by saying that I really appreciate living in Jacksonville, despite all of the quirks and the things that we have going on right now. I do believe that we can be stronger together. I think that we need to come together more in community. I went to porch fest over the weekend. That was absolutely amazing. I know we've got a lot of things on the road ahead of us that are going to be difficult, like figuring out the specifics with this budget. But one thing that I do know is that if we are going to abide and follow the rule of law, we should be applying things equally. And you guys have heard me talk about this before, freedom of speech and expression and things like that. The T-shirt, that's a little excessive. I know that we have a rule. I think that's a rule that we should get off the books. I don't like that at all. We are pretty good in here. In terms of 2026-0850 and 51 for the SHIP housing funds, I'm loving seeing that we're going to expend these funds. It's about time on that one. I'm going to keep an eye on 2026-0931 that was introduced about candidates. I'm going to likely be attending the Rules Committee on that. That was deferred to the Rules Committee. I appreciate you all taking a look at that. I have to agree with some of the other stuff before. 2026-0869, $70,000 for city council suite and conference rooms. I would say no on that. And I also think a big chunk of where we can lower our spending cut back or whatever is in public safety and anywhere that we have government vehicles. Those government vehicles should be used for work only, not commuter purposes, and they should be parked and not used for personal errands. Let's stretch out the depreciation on all those things. Those costs add up. Then we don't have to nickel and dime like other programs. The last thing I'll say on the budget is with the nonprofits. We're going to have to keep a close eye on that. I believe there was 2026-0867. We were looking at waiving. Thank you, ma'am. All right. Thanks. Have a good one. Next, we have Blake Harper. Blake Harper, information on file. Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, buddy. You and me tonight. You called out Tony Ricardo for speaking the truth about Islam. You and Donna Deegan. But, you know, the interesting thing is Elizabeth Anderson came up for appointment at the Board of Trustees of the Library. She called a conservative black woman a token, but you were silent. I think that's what we call hypocrisy. I think it's shameful hypocrisy. The thing is, the media gives you a pass because they're in your pocket, the reality of it. Now, I'm passing around to you something from John Stuart Mill, 1859. It is perhaps hardly necessary to say that this doctrine, liberty, is meant to apply only to human beings in the maturity of their facilities. Folks, law of this country recognizes that adults have a different mental capacity, have a different capacity to make decisions than children do. There was a Supreme Court decision, Ginsburg versus New York in 1968, which enumerated that by saying pornography and inappropriate content is different for an adult than it is for a minor. Second of all, it said that the lawmaking bodies have a responsibility to protect children, but we're not protecting children. If I brought the three books to city council that I mentioned in rules, you would be trying to infringe on my First Amendment rights because of me reading to you and showing you the obscenity in the books in our public library. Now, somebody has said, well, let policy take care of it. No, you've got to get the policy fixed to start with because when you look at the complaint process, it's a circular process where a dog's chasing its own tail. You've got to get the right people on the board, they've got to straighten out the policy, and they've got to clean out these disgusting books that destroy our children's minds. It's just that simple. It doesn't make a difference if it's a public school or a private school. You don't walk into a convenience store and see a penthouse or a Playboy sitting in front of kids. Why is it acceptable for that same content to be in a public library? Next, we have Javita Harper, I believe it is. Thank you. My name is Javita Harper. My address is on file. I want to speak a little bit about transparency. My question is, what is the council and its administration proactively doing to prevent the rise of discriminatory and biased terminations within the city? Subsequent causing extended unemployment, I'm sorry, for Jacksonville constituents. What is being done about discrimination in the hiring and rehiring process within the city of Jacksonville itself, which is disproportionately affecting black professional women in the city? The city of Jacksonville in this administration facilitates biases and discriminatory practice amongst applicants and prior city employees, as I myself was one. What steps are being taken to ensure these roadblocks do not permeate throughout the city, which impacts and further grows economic hardships in the underserved communities within our city? This administration and the council is notorious for being reactive to the community concerns instead of proactively getting ahead of issues which ultimately affects the constituents of Jacksonville, which now we're facing a rise in unemployment. Thank you for your time. Thank you, ma'am. Next, we have John Scott. Thank you, Mr. Floor Leader, Mr. President, members of Council. My name is John Scott. My address is on file. Last Tuesday, Amendment 3 was approved by strong bipartisan support. But today, this council is considering nearly 50 million incentives for a private development outlined in Ordinance 25-541. Despite the community's outright opposition, we are now being presented with a compromise amendment. Take $4 million from the Shipwards West project, take another $4 million from the proposed restaurant Ripper Hut Plaza, find $4 million more from downtown redevelopment funds, redirect $7 million previously committed to another residential tower, then take another $9 million from the general fund and call that fiscal responsibility. It's not cutting spending that's rating other priorities to preserve this deal. Not $1 has been eliminated from the $28.25 million completion grant. Not $1 has been eliminated from the potential $21.4 million in property tax rebates. The funding sources change. The taxpayer commitment does not. We're told Amendment 3 will reduce general fund revenues by approximately $200 million in fiscal year 27-28 and $300 million the following year. And yet, with that backdrop, we are still discussing how to spend nearly $50 million rather than whether we should spend it at all. So I have three questions for this council. First, if not now, when? If the prospect of losing hundreds of millions in annual revenue isn't enough to force difficult spending decisions, when will that moment arrive? Next month? Next year? When the budget crisis is already upon us? And second, if not this, what? If nearly $50 million in taxpayer incentives for a private development isn't an appropriate place to start cutting spending, then what is? What expenditure is too excessive? What subsidy is too generous? What financial commitment is this council actually willing to reject? And third, and finally and most importantly, if not this council, who? You were elected to make difficult decisions, to establish priorities, to protect the taxpayers who entrust you with their money. Fiscal responsibility isn't always popular. Chairman Landon could attest to that. It doesn't always earn applause. And it means having the courage to say no today rather than typing up tomorrow's revenues with commitments we may no longer be able to afford. Now this council must make their decision. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Next we have Diane Johnson McGee. Just a quick reminder, name and address, please. Good evening, President Holland and to all the city council committee. My name is Diane Alice Johnson McGee and my address is on file. Bishop Dr. Jandy Goodman Sr. is well deserving of having part of his legacy in the form of a street being named in his honor. A proud, when I say proud, proud native of Jacksonville, Florida. Bishop Goodman, a humanitarian, has shared his life unselfishly with people. Oh, how he loves people. Our ministry, One Accord Ministries International Incorporated, formerly One Accord Gospel Temple Incorporated, has been in the North Riverside area since December of 1999. However, our ministry is going on 33 years old. I have the privilege of having Bishop Goodman as my pastor, who accepted this call 48 years ago. Wow. A Marine, hurrah, 250 years old today, 51 years old today. Former JSO, officer, 20 years, husband, father, and son. I'm going to tell you, you will not regret voting yes and changing the sad street to Bishop Dr. Jandy Goodman Sr. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Janet Perry. I'd like to invite down to the front, please. Come on down, please. Samantha Ceres, Alan Mastin, Nancy Murray Settle, Jamie Travis Leonard, and Joy Vu. Go ahead, ma'am. Good evening. My name is Janet Perry. My address is on file. I want to say good evening to all of the council members. I'd also like to do something that you probably don't hear very much, and I want to say thank you. I know you don't hear that very often. I especially want to thank Councilmember Clark Murray and Councilmember Pittman for the sponsorship of the street naming change for Bishop Dr. Jandy Goodman Sr. I can say this, that a lot of times we wait until people have left Earth to honor them. This change would be honoring somebody who walks today, and it would be a privilege for this community to know that there is somebody that, in some miraculous way, still cares about people, is still committed to making sure that we are honest and viable citizens as well as being spiritually taught. We want to say that he also is one who cares, who counsels, and offers everything that he possibly can to see that the community is safe, to see that our community is viable. So, as Ms. Johnson-McGee stated, we hope that you would vote in favor of this name change. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Samantha Series. Samantha Series, address on file. My timer is, it didn't stop. Okay, thank you. Samantha Series, address on file. Thank you for the ten of you that are sitting here out of the 19 that we have. Appreciate that. I just wanted to talk a little bit, I know I usually talk about overdevelopment and how I'm against it, but I also want to talk about data centers a little bit today, especially since I saw a lot of AI slop out in the lobby area, which was really fun to look at. Data centers are eyeing Jacksonville. Recently, St. Johns County actually imposed a moratorium on data centers for a year, and I think we should be following in the footsteps because our land is precious and our water is precious. Our residents are people, and they don't deserve to be tortured by the data center noise, by the poison and the air and the water, and just taking our resources. We already have enough problems with JEA raising, increasing our rates, and how they're trying to have those different, the new gas plant and everything like that. I think that we should take it upon ourselves to make sure we do not get rampant data centers in our city. I think it's a concern that a lot of people do have. You know, we can live without artificial intelligence. We can't live without clean water or clean air. We have a lot of different issues going on. I know with the Amendment 3 passing, people are concerned about money. You know, data centers might have, like, the incentive. Maybe they'll make money, but they're really depleting our resources, and I think it's really interesting that so many people talk about, oh, the race with China. Like, no, China, I'm sorry, China's winning because they don't use fresh water to cool their data centers. They have less than 500, and we have almost 5,000. So, obviously, we're doing something incorrect, and maybe if we want to win the race, we should be not allowing tech bros and tech oligarchs to ruin our planet, to ruin our water, to ruin our air, to torture our residents. I think it needs to be implemented that we take a stand against them and make sure people are listened to and do better. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Alan Mastin. Good evening. My name is Alan Mastin, and my address is on file. I'm here to support establishing a permanent affordable housing trust fund. Affordable housing is a growing concern for many Jacksonville residents. As you know, home prices and rents have skyrocketed in recent years, while wages have not kept pace. I live in Riverside and bought my home in 1997. I could not afford to buy that home in today's market. Many of your constituents, including the ones who voted for you, and especially those who serve you, struggle to find affordable housing. Ask them about it at your next town hall meeting. Ask a server next time you visit a restaurant, particularly in Riverside-Avondale, San Marco, and the beaches, how difficult it is to find affordable housing near where they work. You have the opportunity to help them by creating a permanent affordable housing trust fund. I can think of no better use of our tax dollars than supporting a fund that helps our less fortunate neighbors make ends meet. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Nancy Murray Settle. Nancy Murray Settle. Address is on file. Tonight I want to talk about jails, incarceration, the budget, and the river. I want to tell the parable of the St. John's River. Basically, downstream, terrible things float by crime in our city. And the city comes together and does what it can to deal with it, and that's police and jails. And so we put a lot of money into that. We put more money, more money. Crime comes down the river, more money. Finally, someone says, hey, let's go upstream and see what the problem is. And it's poverty. But Jacksonville has one of the highest incarceration rates of major metropolitan areas in Florida, and that costs taxpayer money. We pay $9 to $12 million annually to keep people in jail for nonviolent crimes when they cannot afford bail. We all want safety and prosperity in our community. So instead of looking at a bigger facility to incarcerate more and more people coming down the river from upstream, let's look upstream and look at crime prevention. Poverty is what breeds violence. And that leads to incarceration and a vicious cycle in Jacksonville of recidivism and reincarceration. Cutting spending in community mental health, rehab, after-school programs, Kid Hope Alliance, housing. At first, it's going to look like savings to you guys when we have to cut the budget. But the reality is, is that these cuts increase homelessness, untreated mental illness, and survival-driven crimes. So there is no savings. We're just being pushed. The costs are being pushed downstream by having more people sitting in jails, in emergency rooms, in the courts of our justice system. Jails are acting for our city as the largest psychiatric facility, detox centers, and homeless shelters. Jails are not equipped to serve in that capacity, and it is more expensive. The bottom line is spending money upstream to address poverty and social safety nets saves money. Thank you. Next we have Jamie Travis Leonard. Good evening, State Council. My name is Jamie Travis Leonard. My address is on file. I'm coming up to give you all free advice. I've got the ultimate win for you. It is a beloved perspective across all political spectrums, with the exception of billionaires. Put a moratorium on big data centers. When I say put a moratorium on big data centers, we already have six data centers in Jacksonville. They use about 10 megawatts each. The data centers I'm talking about are the ones who are going to use 1,248 megawatts of power, which is approximately 700,000 homes, which we don't even have in Jacksonville, because we only have about 450,000. So this city council has been a little contentious, a little bit in the news for not the right reasons. You can put yourself in the news for the right reasons. Already, across our state, moratoriums are going into effect because data centers that use more than 50 megawatts of power are so unpopular. And I don't just mean the blue counties. I mean places like Sarasota County, Lakeland, Washington County, Manatee County, Alachua County, Northport, Marion County, Gilchrist County, and St. John's County, on top of all the others. So I'm up here to propose that this council take the easy win and work together to form a moratorium to save our water, to save our land, and to save our communities. Because not only do data centers suck our natural resources, they have an adverse health effect on the communities that are near them because of noise pollution and runoff. Take the win. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Peluso would like to speak to you in the Robert Johnson room, please. Next, we have up Joy Vayu. I hope I spelled that right or pronounced it right. Could I invite Alicia Grant, Michael Haskins, Carolyn Rosenberg, Elder Timothy Johnson Sr., and Dragon Beloit to come on down to the front, please. Go ahead, ma'am. My name is Joy Vio, and my address is on file. I'm speaking again tonight in support of the Jacksonville Affordable Housing Trust Fund, specifically bills 2026-858 and 2026-885. To me, the recent passage of Amendment 3 makes this fund even more critical for those in our city who are facing challenges to find or remain in housing. If private homeowners will have more money in their bank accounts, maybe we, homeowners, as individuals, can contribute part of those tax savings to programs that will benefit taxpayers struggling to rent or own homes. This public-private fund will allow those targeted individual donations. Please support these bills. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Next we have Alicia Grant. I've got a handout there for you. Alicia Grant. My address is on file. Good evening. I had hoped and planned to be speaking on bills 2026, 094, and 2026-0795, which was listed on the LUZ agenda last week as 0796. Having voted on the bills already, I would like to confirm my approval of the project, which is an expansion of the Biscotti's Restaurant and the Shops of Avondale. I met with the owner and his attorney yesterday and we had a really good conversation and I was left feeling with very good vibes about the project. I have prepared these packets for you because after meeting at the LUZ meeting last week, I didn't leave feeling very fuzzy about them understanding the parking problems that we have encountered in our historic district since the passing in 2008 of the historic Avondale, the Riverside Avondale historic zoning overlays. So I have prepared a lot of materials for you to review that address the issue of parking beginning in 2016 when there was an exception filed, which I ended up having to appeal to city council. After you have an opportunity to review this material, I hope that you will take the initiative to address and introduce appropriate legislation to address the following request. And that is that this city city council make Jacksonville the bold city it claims to be. It is time to enact a residential parking permit program citywide to protect those areas that are being impacted by intrusive parking brought on by commercial expansion. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Next, we have Michael Haskins. Michael Haskins, address on file. Thank you for your time tonight. I'm here to speak on 0541 for the gateway incentives. This has been supported by the Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Board of Directors because we know that city investment in our downtown is a form of economic investment in our city. We know that these public dollars will be recuperated by the city over time and that they are critical to attracting additional private dollars in the form of new residents and small businesses that will be able to occupy space in this building downtown as a result of this incentive package. So I would encourage you to support this incentive package and thank you for your time. Thank you. Next, we have Carolyn Rosenberg. Good evening. Good evening. I'm Carolyn Rosenberry and my address is on file. I'm here to support the legislation which will create an affordable housing trust fund to be administered by the city. I commend city council for voting, not just once but twice, to approve the funding proposed for affordable housing projects in the budget that was recently passed. This is a good start, but it's only a start. 47,000 housing units are needed in Jacksonville to accommodate low income families, senior citizens, health, maintenance and other service workers and many others whose jobs we depend on daily. This deficit in affordable housing has been years in the making and will need long term sustained efforts to resolve. Long term solutions would be greatly helped by having a structured affordable housing trust fund administered by the city's housing and community development division as is being proposed by the office of the mayor. This structure is advantageous because it can incorporate other potential funding sources such as developers fees and donations from corporations, not just funding from the city budget. With state and city budget resources to be so squeezed in the next several years, it is all the more critical that we have an affordable housing trust fund available, which can draw from as many funding resources as possible and can administer them effectively. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And my apologies for mispronouncing your name. Ms. Rosenberry. Next, we have Elder Timothy Johnson, Sr. Can we close that door, please, Jessica? Go ahead, sir. All right. Good evening, President and council and fellow Jacksonville residents. My name is Elder Timothy Johnson, Sr. Address is on file. I wish Mr. Pelosi was here because this is specifically for him. District 7, 8, 9, and 10. This affects you greatly. I have an initiative, a District 7 community initiative I'd like to introduce and I will have handouts and I'll email the individual council members later. But I'm here today to introduce the District 7 community housing initiative focuses on affordable housing, homelessness, prevention, transition to housing, and neighborhood revitalization. Housing instability is not simply a housing problem. It affects public safety, employment, education, families, veterans, and the overall economic health of our communities. We cannot continue to address homelessness only after individuals and families have lost their homes. We must also focus on the prevention, early intervention, and creating pathways toward permanent housing stability. I am proposing a community centered approach that begins in District 7 with the potential to become a model for neighborhoods throughout Jacksonville. I am asking this council to consider three specific actions. First, a District 7 community housing needs assessment. We need to understand the actual housing challenges facing our residents. This includes affordable rental housing, workforce housing, vacant properties, veterans experiencing homelessness, facilities facing displacement, and individuals needing transition housing. We cannot develop meaningful solutions without identifying these needs. Second, a community partnership and resource coordination meeting. I am requesting that the City bring together housing agencies, nonprofit organizations, community development corporations, veterans service providers, faith-based organizations, and private sector partners. I would like the Brooklyn Riverside Community Development Corporation considered as a proposal, as a proposed, I should say, community partner in this effort. The purpose is to identify existing resources, uncover gaps in the services, explore funding opportunities, and determine how organizations can work together independently. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Next, we have Dragon Beloit, but before that, I'd like to invite down to, I believe it's Evan Rajtu, Katrina Brown, Tom McGuire, and I believe it's Latrina Dottle. Please come on down to the front. Ms. Beloit, the floor is yours. Hi. Dragon Beloit, address on file. I'm glad to see most of you haven't been on your phone the whole time that everyone's been here, but I am one of the lucky ones that has more than 10 people at the dais at a time. I appreciate that very much. I know some of you are busy, and I know some of you are avoiding us. I don't know which is which, but I can guess. Hi, everyone. Obviously, affordable housing, very important. Other things that are very important, again, Nancy Murray Settle had it absolutely on tap. Our jail is being used as a psychiatric facility, as a homeless holding facility, and I know that because after a guy that I've seen a couple of times here threw someone over a set of chairs. I spent 26 hours there, and the people I met were almost exclusively people that were homeless, people that were in need of serious medical or medication intervention, and people who had nowhere to go. These people were still in the jail, not because they needed to be there, but because, such as in the instance of one woman who I knew who had been there for three months, she didn't have enough money to get out, and even if she did, she didn't have anywhere to go. This is one of the big issues of our time, folks. This is something that we need to be working on. We see some really, really fast turnarounds for stuff that people really don't like. I know for a fact you guys can do things very quickly and very efficiently. So here are some suggestions. Data center moratorium. Easy win. Gets you all points. Like, three points up in the polls, minimum. Making sure that our jail is functioning as a jail and not as a homeless housing psychiatric health facility. Big deal. Affordable housing and taxes, this can be fixed at the same time. If we invest money into government, the same way you'd invest in a business, right? You guys know business. Business. Ooh, jingle keys. If we do invest money in making housing here and then renting it out to people, we make money because they pay rent. There's a lot of different things that could be done, and it could be done really, really fast. Data center moratorium, 10 seconds. Also, great job on the Free to Garden Act. I know that took literally months to get you guys to listen to, but we're actually getting it. I'm super happy about that. And we could be doing so much more for housing. Just work like a little and not with developers that are huge. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Evan Rida, I believe it is. Hope I was close. Yes, sir. Evan Rida. Address is on file. I just want to say that I'm very proud of the city and the way, you know, we are getting to be known as the city of gross. And, you know, I'm a big, you know, proponent of downtown and I love everything that we're doing. So I'm speaking on the ordinance 2026-0541. So, you know, if you guys were here for Super Bowl, you know, it was beautiful to watch the city grow and, you know, all the growth that we had. And then 08 happened and all the fire got basically turned off. Right. So now we're at that stage again to where you see the spark, you see the growth. There's a lot of business owners here in support that want to see this type of growth in Jacksonville. I get it. You know, it is scary. You know, we lost some money from the state and the government with the property tax bill. But we can't lose the momentum that we created. We have to keep the course and keep growing it because we're right there. You know, we're very close. And so I urge you guys, you know, to vote pragmatically on it and not emotionally on something that we all know will be great for this city. Thank you for your time. Thank you. And next we have Katrina Brown. Good evening. My name is Katrina Brown. My address is on file. I came down here because I really just want to talk about Bill number 2026-0541. And I really just want to say that, first of all, you council members are doing a great job. And I know it's hard because I've been in your position before. So I'm not here to bash you. But I just want to bring something to your attention. When Amendment 3 passed, most of the council members told the constituents to vote no. I know. Most of you guys said vote no because it's going to cut into the city services. Okay. And then now, seven days later, you're voting to give away $50 million. So it looks as if to the constituents that you told us one thing and then you're doing something different. My ask, I read through the bill, and most of the projects seem pretty decent. The only thing that I ask that you look at is if you're doing a lot of development downtown, try to have some affordable living. Don't have where everything is market rate. And I don't see anything in this particular project that gives a discounted rate to a certain amount of units. And most of the projects that I see gateway jacks is market rate. And one of the issues when I look through the partners of Gateway Jacks is that JWB is one of the, I guess, part owners. Well, JWB came through most of the 7, 8, 9, 10 district and bought up most of the houses. And that's how most of the prices got jacked up. And so when you look at a partner like JWB into the project and most of the market, the homes that they bought in our districts, the prices are high and it costs a lot of people to struggle. And so now they're part of this particular project and you guys are giving them everything in the city of Jacksonville. I'm concerned about the cost of living. So that's why I wanted to make that point to the city and the council. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Tom McGuire. Good evening. I am Tom McGuire. My address is 4711 Herter Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32210. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Amendment 3 passed. I surely didn't see that coming. I voted against it and I'm a property owner. Go figure. But maybe now you will decide to listen to what I've been saying about the city not being able to afford a new jail. It's really a luxury that Amendment 3 has totally taken off the table. We just can't do it fiscally. And you should really, really be mad about Proposition, I mean Amendment 3 anyway because this is just a horrible power grab from Tallahassee that just pretty much takes all your authority away from the municipalities in Florida and sends it all down to Tallahassee. Ah, just a horrible, horrible measure that we now have to live with. As for 541, my second point I want to get to here this morning on First Coast Connect, Mayor Deegan quoted an independent Gallo study with a return of investment on your funding of between $330 million and $500 million over the next 30 years. That study was done by Gallo. And then another issue we've talked about, my third point here, T-shirts. It's interesting. We can get into the weeds on some of these things. But if council allows affiliation T-shirts, and I know I've worn affiliation T-shirts here, then maybe we should allow the political ones as well. And the question, a rhetorical question for y'all, if LJ Holloway had come here wearing an LJ Holloway shirt, would that have been a problem or is she allowed to wear her own name? Also, like I say, into the lesser issues. I did not know we were going to talk school board issues. But, you know, Tony Ricardo should know that it is always wrong for an elected public servant to attack a segment of the population they supposedly represent. Especially if that's on the basis of ethnic or religious identity. There should be no problem with that whatsoever. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next we have Latrina Dowdell, I believe it is. Feel free to correct me. That was good, Dowdell. My name is Latrina Dowdell. My address is on file. Today I'm concerned about District 10 and the things that we have going on over there. I hear a lot of everybody want to do something about the housing crisis. But I just wanted to make sure that everyone consider that District 10 would probably be the place that they put this additional housing. It's become clear that we are the jackpot of the city where our bad habits have become the city's hustle. So what we want to do or maybe look at the fact that Jacksonville is this largest city land-wise. Why aren't we able to put some of these programs in other areas of Jacksonville and take the burden off of the woman, because it's women in our community that are trying to save their homes and taking care of this particular community. I'm asking that we expand out some of this affordable housing, because once these programs come over to our community, it actually calls social determinants of health, because they put minimum requirements for income as it relates to how much income you can make to qualify for programming. So it pulls down our income medians, so it begins to look intentional to us that we're the excretory system of the body, where you're dumping everything that the city doesn't want. And now we have an issue with housing, but we opened a great building for our men, but we didn't consider that right outside the gates on golf fair those men are at risk again, because there's a hotel that no one ever cleaned up that charges per hour and prostitution and drug usage there. So just a walk to the corner store will put those people back in jeopardy of going back into the system. So maybe rethink the way that we do systems and where's the best place to put those systems within our community. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. President, we've got four persons who filled out cards but did not wish to speak. William Hoff is available for questions and supports 2026-806. Carol Hawkins also supports 2026-806. And I believe it's Sasa Muldera and also I believe it's Wyatt Bowers, both support 2026-541. And that concludes our public comment for this evening. Mr. President, it's now time for public hearings beginning on page 17. We'll have a quorum. We've got to hold off to have a quorum. The floor later can continue until I open the public hearings, right? Yeah. So Mr. Teal's going to have to read them all out too. Let's just keep going. I'll stop short of opening public hearings. Okay. Council members, if you'd please return to your seats. All right. I'll just go ahead and read the script and give Mr. Teal the opportunity to announce the bills. It's time for public hearings beginning on page 17, only which will be taken up this evening. Council members should declare any ex parte communications. Anyone wishing to speak on the following bill should have filled out a blue speaker card and you'll be allowed three minutes to speak. If you provided your address on the card and do not wish to stay on the microphone, just merely, again, say that it's on record. But we encourage you to be more specific as it might have impact on your, the impact of your comments. Failure to complete our form provided including the provision of an address on the form will mean your name will not be called for public hearing. Mr. Teal, would you please read the bills? Pursuant to council rules 6, sorry, 3.601, 3.602, and 3.604. For all public hearings and public participation bills, it is a violation of the council rules of the bill. I would like to ask any person to speak on any topic that is unrelated to the particular bill's subject. The following items are up for public hearing. 2026, 779, 789, 799, 807, 845, 846, 847, 848, 849, 850, 851, 852, 853, 854, 856, 857, 858, 859, 860, 861, 862, 863, 864, 865, 866, 867, 868, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867. 2026, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867, 867 to speak but supports the bill and John Nooney. Mr. Nooney please hurry to the voting. Hello I am John J. Nooney Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023-0819 and City Council District 4 CPAC Planning District 3 Raymond Day Duval County Public Schools Cindy Pearson District 4 with this particular piece of legislation it's citywide you know and I just want you all to know you know I just came you know from Clay County you know the Board of County Commissioners there and with Amendment 3 Amendment 3 it's real and this is parking stuff so stay on the bill please sir yeah it's parking off-street parking on-street parking and and right now you know the state all 67 counties are going to be scrambling for revenue and so I just want to be on the record that you know with this piece of legislation if there's a potential for a public-private partnership that incorporates and there's a whole bunch of other things that will be just potential revenue streams that this will be under consideration for a split revenue share ultimately between potential counties so I just want to have that on there and again a public-private partnership thank you for listening. I have no more speaker cards than 779. This public hearing is closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers in the queue let's open the ballot and accord your vote. 16 yays. 0 nays. By your vote 2026-0779 passes. Item number 33-2026-789. I have no speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. Public hearing is closed. Turning to page 18. Item 34-2026-799. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Mr. President I believe we need a motion to postpone until 11-24. All right do we have a second on the motion to postpone to 11-24? All right we have a motion and a second. Go. I did hear a second over there. Ballot vote then I'll reopen the public hearing. Yep okay. Please open your ballot open the ballot and record your vote on the motion to postpone. 17 yays. 0 nays. By your vote 2026-0799 is postponed. I reopen the public hearing. Thank and continued. And there are no speaker cards. This public hearing will be continued to 11-24-2026. Thank you Mr. President. Moving on now to page 35-2026-807. I have quite a number of speaker cards. If I call your name I'm going to ask you to please come down to the front. I will call five names at a time. Jennifer Leggett. I believe it's Michael, Elijah, I think you know who you are, Roth Thompson, and Morgan Baird, as well as Nathan Valentin. Please come on down to the front. Ms. Leggett name and address please. Yes sir. Jennifer Leggett and my address is on file. Good evening council members. I'm also the, I'm Jennifer Leggett and I'm also the chair of the Duval County. Agricultural Council. I'm here in support of Ordinance 2026-08-07, the pathway to urban agriculture. Our agricultural coalition has worked towards establishing clear workable rules for community gardens and urban ag in Jacksonville. We appreciate the efforts of city council, city staff, and the planning commission. As this ordinance moves forward, we look forward to further discussions about increasing the number of allowable sales day, sales days, and permitting cross-selling of agricultural products grown in Duval County. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you. Next we have, I'm going to try, Michael Elijah Aquafrieden. Michael Elijah. Moving on then, we'll go next to Ruth Thompson. Michael did support the bill. Good evening. My name is Ruth Thompson and my address is on file. I'm representing Murray Hill Farmers Market tonight to speak in support of Ordinance 2026-08-07, the pathways for urban agriculture. We know in Jacksonville. We know in Jacksonville that there's a food insecurity, that 15% of Jacksonville residents experience food insecurity, and Duval County has 29 recognized food deserts. I feel that passing this bill will help to ease those numbers to make our food more available. We ask that you support this amendment, but increase the market garden community access days from the 12 that you have now to 70, and to allow for cross-sells among Duval County growers. I don't know, if we increase to 70, that means you can go to the stores six times per month, which actually is not very much. I live in Riverside near Publix, and I usually find myself there every day. So by providing once a week that you can find food in your neighborhood, I would actually increase it to more, but I will accept the 70. These small changes will ensure that neighborhood-friendly community and market gardens are truly permissible by right in Jacksonville. It also supports the comprehensive food plan that Jacksonville has started to address the network of production, distribution, and access of food in our neighborhood. It recommends 32. This roadmap to food security recommends including zoning updates for urban agriculture. So the pathway for urban agriculture and increasing it to 70 is just the minimum to provide food security for our neighbors in Jacksonville. And also as a vendor at the Murray Hills Farmers Market, we do not have enough farmers producing local fresh produce and food for our neighborhood. So by increasing this to the 70, it would really support and aid in our food security in our city. So please vote for that. Thank you. Next we have Morgan Baird. Good evening. My name is Morgan Baird, and my address is on file. I happen to live in the San Jose neighborhood, zip code 32217. I'm here to support the ordinance formerly known as the Free to Garden Act, now known as the Pathways to Urban Agriculture, number 2026-807, and encourage critical amendments to ensure neighborhood-friendly community and market gardens are truly permissible by right in Jacksonville. We have come so far these past several years, and we do not need to let this stay in legal limbo. Currently, there is an uncertainty in our global food supply lines, even more so when they are disrupted. As many as you know, food prices can rise, and market gardens are uniquely positioned to help insulate Duval County from these rising costs and provide their neighbors with locally grown fresh produce. By purchasing locally grown produce in these neighborhood market gardens, we'll be keeping our money locally and helping our neighbors continue to invest in their urban farms and provide jobs and food for others. I'm requesting you to support Ordinance 0807 and embrace the amendments to increase the market garden community access days and allow cross-sales among Duval County growers. Thank you. Next, we have Nathan Valentin. In the meantime, I'm going to invite these folks to come on down to the front. Kyle Harper, Valerie Herman, Miranda Anderson, Mikey Howell, and Susan Rogers. If you please come on down to the front. Go ahead, sir. Good evening. My name is Nathan Ballantyne. Overall's farm grows at 125 East 7th Street. Speaking of which, should anyone on the dais or in the audience be so inclined, I would love to receive you for a tour of our neighborhood farm to show and tell how such urban gardens provide zero public cost green space, neighborhood grown food abundance, culinary education, and Jacksonville grocery grower support. But in the words of Mulan, let's get down to business. We are here tonight to usher Ordinance 2026-0807, Pathways for Urban Ag, formerly the Free to Garden Act, towards the finish line and in route to secure a few critical amendments to make sure community and market gardens are truly permissible by right in Jacksonville. We respectfully request that the current language of the bill be amended to, one, rename public sales days to more accurately community access days, and increase the annual limit from 12 to 70 days, which is our coalition's minimum viable threshold based on 52 weekly markets, 12 monthly workshops or dinners, and six random tours or field trips. This limit of 70 community access days allows our existing market gardeners to grow in peace, while preventing bad actors from running Saturday-Sunday year-round businesses under the pretense that they are market gardens. And number two, to permit market gardens to sell agricultural and value-added products from other Duval County growers. To pass an ordinance with less than 70 community access days and without cross-sales permissibility is to confine our market gardeners to continued legal limbo or force them into costly variances, not to mention it could subject us all to a prolonged presence of concerned citizens in this chamber to address this matter. For all of our sakes, let's get it done, and let's get it done right the first time so we can move on to other things. Thank you for your attention, your patience, your service, and support. We eagerly await the moment when we can return to growing and supporting others to grow groceries for self and neighbor, and so leave you to govern over other important matters. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next we have Kyle Harper. Good evening. I'm Kyle Harper, and my address is on file. I live in San Marco area, and I also represent the Murray Hill Farmers Market. I'm here also to support the Pathway to Urban Ordinance 2026-08-07, formerly the Free to Garden Act, and ask that you make it a stronger, make it stronger. I've worked farmer's markets in this city for four years, and I want to tell you what I see every week. I see families who know the person who grows their food. I see neighbors running into neighbors. I see whole families of growers and vendors who lean on each other to make it work. That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because people show up week in and week out. Our money spent, the money spent there stays in our neighborhoods, and every year these markets get bigger and stronger because people keep showing up. They are voting with their dollars. Market and community garden bring that same thing right down the street, but you can't build a community 12 days at a time, and as has been stated already, 70, I think, is a reasonable place to start, but it should be the floor, not the ceiling. Let these growers sell each other's products, too. That's how small markets or small farmers survive, and that's how communities eat. Please support 2026-08-07, raise community access days to at least 70, and allow cross-sales among Duval County growers. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Valerie Herman. Hello, my name is Valerie Herman. My address is on file. I'm Executive Director of First Coast Urban Ag, fungardens.org. I'd like to thank everyone that worked so hard to bring this ordinance, 2026-08-07, Nathan Ballantyne and his crew, and especially Councilman Peluso and Councilman Arias for bringing this to the floor and championing our small businesses. Right here I have the food plan that was released by the city of Jacksonville just a few weeks ago, October 24th. And in it, it commits to urban agriculture, to integrate urban agriculture into land use policies, to expand food access and local economic opportunity. Capping the market days at 12 days, as is in the draft, or even the 70 days, as in the proposed amendment, goes contrary to this strategy. It's like handing us a brand new car, the keys to a brand new car that we're only allowed to start once a month. As small business advocates, you can imagine how impossible it would be to secure a bank loan or microfinancing for a business that's restricted from operating most of the year. Now, farmers are great at being creative, but this is not part of the strategy to have them jumping through unnecessary hoops. If a fast food chain opens up down the street, they're allowed to operate 365 days a year. They have hundreds of cars going through their drive-thru every single day with zero caps on visitors, bringing ultra-processed, ultra-accessible foods to our kids. If there's going to be a clicker on community nourishment, it belongs at the drive-thru fast food window and not at our neighborhood farms. So, council, let me ask you, why do we need pre-crime legislation on access to fresh, healthy food in our neighborhoods? We don't. We don't. We have robust city codes already on the books for traffic, parking, noise, light. As this bill moves forward, I applaud it, and I also urge you to strike the cap on market days, not 12, not 70, not 120, not 202. We need fresh food access at least as much as our fast food. Thank you. Next, we have Miranda Anderson. Hello. My name is Miranda Anderson, also known as MJ. My address is on file, and I'm here representing the Murray Hill Farmers Market as well to speak in support of Ordinance 2026-807, Pathways for Urban Ag. We ask for you to support amendments, as the previous speakers have said, to increase market garden community access days from 12 to at least 70. Fully support what Valerie just said, and to allow cross sales among Duval County growers. As co-founder and manager of the Murray Hill Farmers Market, the importance of local food systems and local agriculture are at the heart of what I do, and in fact are the very reasons why Nadia and myself started this market four years ago in the first place. We've all seen what happens when our global and our national food systems get threatened or disrupted. Total chaos, right? Food and food systems are one of the few and most fundamental and important aspects of our lives. We all eat, right? We must remember that and become more connected to where our food comes from, in my opinion. The more we can support people to grow and produce food here in our city, and the more we can support the connectivity of growers to consumers and to each other, the more resilient our city and communities within it will become. The Pathways for Urban Ag Ordinance helps us as a city to have the opportunity to move in a healthy direction. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Mikey Howell. Shorter than everyone else. I'm Mikey Howell. I am owner and farmer at Chandanko Farms. I'm also representing Murray Hill Farmers Market and also Bold City Trusted Growers and also maybe Slow Food and like also anybody that grows a plant or farmer that's in this building right now. And your address, please. It's on file. Thank you. And I'm here in support of Pathway to Urban Ag Ordinance 2026-08-07. Being involved in the Free to Garden Act movement, which is what this was formerly known, is my first time being involved in the political process outside of voting and protesting. The amount of conversation, organization, and energy that has been required to get to this point is truly mind-boggling. We are really grateful to be on the verge of having a logical pathway for urban farmers and gardeners to legally operate. However, if we are limited to the 12 days a year to potentially sell our food or host a gathering, educational, sales-related, workshop, or otherwise, it's going to be difficult to create a sustainable business to support that farm and keep it running. We cannot pay bills or create a demand for our vegetables or brand by having one day a month for people to come to the farm to enjoy them. A weekly market and the possibility of an additional farm tour and workshop days is where the 70 number comes from. But Val crushed it, and she nailed it. There's no reason for any kind of regulation. You know, really would love for it to pass the way it's stated currently with the amendments that have been applied. But the amount of people that are trying to do what we're talking about is nominal, right? It's not—you don't get rich doing it. You know, you don't—we're not going to disturb a neighborhood by putting a farm in it. You know, growing food, getting it to you. I'm sure you buy the highest quality foods when you go to Whole Foods or wherever restaurant you go. I provide the food for those people. So it would be excellent if you could give us a backbone, throw money at us, support us, because we're really an answer to a problem that is always talked about in the stratosphere as far as how to solve this food system problem. Give a hundred me's the ability to function and operate. We can feed your whole city. So please pass the bill. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Next, we have Susan Rogers. I'd invite down to the front, please, Lorraine Husband, Nadia Korths, Michelle Wilson, Lorian Anderson, and Joe Weist. Please come on down to the front. Go ahead, Ms. Rogers. Good evening, Council members. My name is Susan Rogers, address on file. And I'm here tonight to speak in support of Ordinance 2026-0807, Pathways for Urban Ag, and to encourage you to include critical amendments, most importantly, to increase the number of market days currently limited to 12 per year. I come to this conversation from two perspectives. I come as someone who personally is a farm member of Overalls Farm and enjoys the perks of being able to pick my own produce. And I also come as pastor of a community church, the Well at Springfield, who have partnered with Overalls Farm to host a number of community gatherings, including our Sunday services and our community potlucks. I've had the privilege of seeing firsthand what happens when a vacant piece of land not only becomes a place to grow food, but becomes a place to grow community. In gardens like Overalls, people who might never otherwise cross paths have found themselves working alongside each other, sharing meals, exchanging stories, and building friendships. People of different backgrounds, ages, races, and life experiences have connected across those differences. Yes, community gardens, as we've already heard, nurture physical and mental health. They offer access to fresh food, opportunities to learn how to cook that food, and meaningful connections to the land. But I believe they also offer us something that is very important, particularly in the time that we are living in, an opportunity to repair our torn social fabric and to counter the division and the disconnection and the isolation so prevalent in our society today. So I appreciate the work that has already gone into considering this bill and to putting it together. And I ask that you consider whether the current limitations on market days will truly allow these gardens to function as the community health and community incubators they already are and continue to be. Thank you. Next, we have Laureen Husband. Good evening, Council President and Council Members. My name is Laureen Husband. My address is on file. I serve as the chair of the Duval Food Policy Council and I'm also the co-founder of Just Food Network. I'm here tonight in support of Ordinance 2026-0807, Pathways for Urban Agriculture, and the amendments that will allow community and the market gardens to thrive throughout Jacksonville. I want to begin with what is happening in our community this weekend. Just Food Network and our partners will be creating 75 residential gardens for families in zip code 32209. That's 75 households who will have greater access to fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs right outside their doors. We are doing this because families are struggling with the rising cost of groceries and access to affordable fresh food remains a significant challenge in many of our neighborhoods in Jacksonville. But here is what I want you to understand. 75 gardens are not enough. Residents continue to call to get on our waiting lists, hoping for the opportunity to grow food on their own properties. Let me share one example with you. Yesterday, I received an email from a woman in the Royal Terrace community near Northwest Elementary. Nearly two years ago, she was diagnosed with a serious blood condition. While she understands that changing her diet is not a cure, her diagnosis has made her more intentional about what she eats and where her food is coming from. She has already started transforming her backyard into a garden, building raised beds, and learning as she goes. But her vision goes beyond feeding herself. She wants to become a farmer and have her property recognized as a community farm so she can grow food and make a difference in the lives of her neighbors who do not have any land. Think about that. This woman is not asking the city for a handout. She is investing her own time, resources, and labor to improve her health and strengthen our community as well as hers. She needs opportunity, not another barrier. As chair of the Duval Food Policy Council, I believe food security must include the ability of residents to participate in growing, sharing, and distributing the food their communities need. Urban agriculture is about more than gardens. It's about household affordability, public health, economic opportunity, neighborhood resilience, and community ownership. Council members, we are planting 75 gardens this weekend. More than 100 families are waiting for their time. Please support Ordinance 2026-087 and its amendments. Let's make sure Jacksonville's zoning policies encourage the very community-led solutions we should be celebrating. Don't just... Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Next, we have Nadia Kortz. Hello. My name is Nadia Kortz. My address is on file. I'm a vendor at the Riverside Arts Market. I've been there for now 14 years. I'm a co-founder with MJ and a vendor and advisor of the Murray Hill Farmers Market. I'm also a co-founder with Chloe, the marketing director of the Riverside Arts Market, and MJ, the manager of the Murray Hill Farmers Market of the Northeast Florida Market Coalition. In all these roles, the ongoing issue is finding farmers, especially those who consistently have produce for sale as well as variety. We also need farmers who as well resell from other farmers. It is a conservative estimate that there are about 600 micro-businesses every week selling at markets an average of $200. If you multiply that by 50 weeks, that's $6 million a year, and a lot of that stays in the area. Markets are business incubators. Market gardens, especially if allowed to cross-sell, have the same potential to generate economic impact and act as incubators for micro-businesses to grow into brick and mortar. Market gardens also, like markets, could become key distribution points of locally grown produce and product. I want to thank Nathan, Manon, overalls for spearing this initiative and for the city council members for already updating the Right to Garden Act. And I hope that this bill, or whatever it's called, and amendments are approved. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Michelle Wilson. Good evening. My name is Michelle Wilson. My address is on file. I come to you today as the chef of Overalls Farm, as well as the chef and owner of the Sweet Spot and Urban Lounge, which is soon going to become the Sweet Spot and Urban Farm. We work with individuals who have special needs to help them start growing. We also installed a garden over at Pine Castle, which was very advantageous to the individuals over there. What I want to talk to you about is I also went and got the food plan, the Jacksonville food plan. And as I was perusing it, I saw something that said that people come to Jacksonville for some of the restaurants. I drive Uber at night, and I always start up at the airport. You might want to talk to a lot of Uber drivers because we are sometimes, you know, who people talk to when they first get to Jacksonville. How do they like Jacksonville? Where can they go eat in Jacksonville? And the most fabulous restaurant they have noticed was Waffle House. So I don't know how many vegetables Waffle House sells, but I know the other day I went to Cracker Barrel and couldn't get broccoli because it was on recall. How great would it be for Jacksonville to have restaurants that were using produce grown by the farmers? So we don't have recalls. We can't, you know, we don't use all that, you know, the bad chemicals and things like that. My mother currently has the blood cancer from the Roundup. And so I don't use any of those chemicals and things like that. It's not bad for my daughter who is on the spectrum. I've been in business since 2013. And in that time, I have made over 150 flavors of jams, jellies, and pickled vegetables. I'm now working now on getting those okayed so that I could put those out on the market, as well as having just written two cookbooks, one that has to do with some of the things that city code enforcement has deemed to be a weed. So I'm hoping that you will pass this ordinance. I stand with Nathan. I've been with him through all three of his farms and everybody else who's in here and talking about it. So I hope you do that. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Laureen Anderson. Good evening. My name is Laureen Anderson. I am an Atlantic Beach resident, and my address is on file. I am here to support the ordinance formerly known as the Free to Garden Act, now being called Pathways to Urban Ag 2026-0807, and to encourage you to adopt the critical amendments that are being proposed. I also believe that it's really important for people to be able to sell more than 12 days a year. I am a small business owner, and if my dance studio was open 12 days a year, I wouldn't have made it a week. So I think it's important to consider that when you are considering this, that they're not only just selling something, they are providing a service to their community. I am an herbalist, and I understand the importance of using food to keep your body healthy. It can also really hurt your body to buy food that's not healthy. So in a time when we are critically not having access to nutrient-rich food, at a time when our population is overfed but undernourished, it is my opinion that we should be doing everything in our power to get good nutrient-dense food into the mouths of our neighbors, our children's, and the residents of this city. Let's make sure the legislation allows for food to be picked and sold as it ripens, rather than constraining farmers to extremely limited days. We can get under-ripened food at the grocery store if that's what we want. What we're looking for is the food that is at its peak because that's when it's healthiest for us and that's when it's best for us. One of the reasons that people like me go to the farmer's market to support our local gardens is that grocery store prices are high and their food is often brought in from thousands of miles away. If we could support our local people and get things that are more healthy for us, why would we not want to encourage everyone to take advantage of that? So I'm asking you as your constituent, as someone who cares deeply about the health of our community, to please support the neighborhood-friendly common sense legislation being proposed tonight in Bill 2026-0807. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Joe Weist is next. I invite down to the front, please, Nicole Sparks, Eugene Trey Ford III, Nancy Murray Settle, Alan Moore, hold on a second, let me finish here, and John Nooney. I think I've got everybody. Go ahead, sir. Hello, City Councilmen and women. My name is Joseph Weiss, and my address is on file. I'm here tonight to support Bill 2026-0807, Pathways for Urban Ag, formerly the Free to Garden Act, and ask for a few critical amendments to this bill. Number one, rename public sales days to more accurately community access days, and increase the annual limit from 12 to 70 days for any and all markets, workshops, and events while preserving exemptions for routine operations and rolling sales. Number two, permit market gardens to sell agricultural and value-added food products from other Duval County growers. I believe that these are fair amendments to ask for, considering inflation, food insecurity, and the fact that the quality of the food that we buy from the grocery store is becoming increasingly unreliable. This year, we have had over 500-plus recalls in the food and beverage industry. In June of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Bayer and its subsidiary, Monsanto, broad legal immunity from state-level failure-to-warn lawsuits regarding the cancer risk of its herbicide, Roundup. Most of our food supply is sprayed with this Roundup. That's scary. We need more organic food that is sourced locally. The need for locally grown produce is becoming increasingly important, and that affects all of us. Not everyone has time to grow their own garden, so we need these fine men and women to help us source food. If we had more local markets and market garden vendors, our food insecurity can decrease, and the quality of our food can increase. This is a common sense legislation that can benefit everyone. Please be heroes and pass these amendments. You can make a difference, councilmen and women. Let's have the City of Jacksonville be an example for the rest of Florida. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Nicole Sparks. Good evening, Council President and members of the City Council. My name is Nicole Sparks, and my address is on file. I stand before you tonight as a project manager and grower for the Arlington Community Garden, located at the Tree Hill Nature Center in Arlington. I'm here in passionate support of Ordinance 2026-0807, but without critical amendments, this bill will inadvertently restrict the very food access it intends to protect. I urge you to pass amendments that protect education by explicitly separating educational programming and volunteer work days from commercial market days, while also scaling market day allowances to meet agricultural realities. Every week, we witness the transformation or power of community at our garden. We do not grow food for profit. We grow food to combat hunger. Fresh vegetables we grow and harvest. They go directly to local food pantries to support families facing food insecurity. We also partner with service-learning students from Jacksonville University, molding the next generation of civic leaders through rigorous, hands-on education. Yet the current draft of this ordinance threatens this vital work by forcing all public gatherings into a single regulatory framework, treating a low-impact volunteer work day exactly like a retail commercial market day. It's administratively counterproductive. Educational work days are not businesses. We are not selling products or hosting retail vendors. We are running a living classroom. Threatening these non-commercial gatherings with strict retail permits and crushing oversight will effectively shut down our ability to engage volunteers and students. Furthermore, the true commercial market operations, the current limit of 12 market days is structurally flawed. Fresh produce is highly perishable, remaining viable for only about three days. If the allowance is not increased to 70 or more market days annually, local growers cannot consistently distribute their harvest, which will drastically prevent the public from accessing fresh food. Please pass ordinance 2026, but amend it to keep educational work days separate and expand commercial market days to functional standard of 70 or more days. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Eugene Trey Ford, the third. Thank you. Eugene Trey Ford, the third. My address is on file. Representing Duval Swallow Water Conservation District, I'm also the founder of Florida Fish Pepper Co, through which I facilitate agricultural training with the Boys and Girls Club at SP Livingston. At SP Livingston in Newtown. And a couple of years ago, I was the market manager at Earthless Farming Market, launching their weekly Saturday market. And I don't remember running into any of these issues at that time. And so, you know, I know, I know you guys are probably ready to get back to your regularly scheduled program. But isn't it amazing to see how proactive we've been with advocacy in this Democratic Republic of Duval County, vouching for one of the most basic human needs, food and the ability to earn income from the food and the production of that food. A lot of the public comments a while back talked a lot about permissibility. But I think today we're coming with a lot more audacity. The right and ability to generate wealth from it should be more than just permissible. It should be catalyzed, should be incentivized, should be championed. I want to get more specific about the request for more market days, the 70 days or 100 days, as somebody said, or no limit. The real problem with that is the application of the variance. And so I want the public to know that if it stops at 50 or if it stops at 13 or whatever the number is, as soon as we go over that number, thousands of dollars have to be spent in order to send mailings and get the permit potentially did not even get the variance approved. My request of city council is to see where there are opportunities to creatively solve other problems like recidivism through funding agribusiness and agricultural education for those we say that we're trying to rehabilitate in that fancy new jail. The journey forward. I see this as a step to push Jacksonville above and beyond whatever Florida has going on with Amendment 3 and whatever the federal government has going on tampering with the USDA. Imagine how good it can get if Jacksonville could buy what Jacksonville supplies. Keep our dollars in Duval for the future. Next we have Nancy Murray Settle. Good evening, Nancy Murray Settle. Address is on file and I'm in support of 2026-087, the pathway for urban agriculture. And I want to go back to that parable of the St. John's River because this is, we all agree that we want a city that is safe and prosperous, so safety and prosperity. And so this isn't actually an upstream solution to preventing crime in our city. It seems odd, but there is an interconnection. For example, the pathway to urban agriculture supports a community's health and resilience. And it aligns with the Blue Zone initiatives here in Jacksonville. It also addresses some of the negative impacts of poverty, such as food insecurity and food deserts. And as I mentioned earlier, poverty leads to violence. Violence leads to incarceration. That costs us money. It costs the city money. And this is an upstream solution to that in a lot of senses, in a lot of ways. It allows a framework for addressing vacant lots in the city that are owned by the city that can become areas of crime. And it beautifies those neighborhoods and it can lower local crime rates that often can take place in these vacant lots. So it's great for infill. So those are the things that I want to say. It's an economic opportunity for citizens. My niece, my sister, beekeepers in Jacksonville, adding to our safe and prosperous city. And then the intelligence of so many people I've heard tonight, Nathan Ballantyne, listen to him. All of this stuff with the community access days and increasing to 70 days makes sense. They know a lot more than I do. And I think a lot of us about urban, a lot of you guys about urban agriculture, it can benefit the city. Please pass this with the requested amendments. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Jamie Travis Leonard. Good afternoon, City Council. My name is Jamie Travis Leonard. My address is on file. I come up in support of 26807. As you heard, there's a lot of community support for this. I come up a lot to talk about food deserts and addressing food scarcities in various areas. And having community markets is a great way to try and address some of those shortages that we have. I love grocery stores. I would love community markets even more, honestly, because then I know where the food is being grown. So I anticipate most of you are going to support this because, let's be honest, it's an easy win for you all at this point. But the community has come out and expressed some amendments they would like, and I think you should listen to that and really take it into consideration. So the number one thing that I've heard, you know, talked about from the people who have been more proactively working on this is the number of market days. And I agree, 12 is very limiting. I have a family of four, and we grocery shop at least once a week, sometimes multiple. I also stock a food pantry. So I personally am shopping a minimum of once a week to try and, you know, help with that. So 12, like, the accessibility with that is just not there. So I know some have asked for 70. Honestly, my recommendation would be, you know, over 100. So that way they could do twice a week. So they can make food more accessible to the communities that they're trying to serve. And you've heard other people talk about, like, this is not a very profitable business. I think it should be because I think feeding people should, you know, outweigh some of the other industries that make a ton of money. But they're in it for the love of the game and the love of community. And I think it would be prudent for this council to support that, to support their love of community and support their ongoing efforts to encourage a healthy, happy Jacksonville. Thank you. Thank you. Alan Moore. Good evening. Several years ago, I stood before you all. I'm sorry, sir. Name and address, please. Alan Moore. The address on file. Thank you. Several years ago, I stood before you as I retired from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, recognized by this body for outstanding service during that time, as the district representative here in Jacksonville. Tonight, I stand before you as the vice chair of the Jacksonville Duval Ag Council, member of the Urban Ag Council, past member of the and chair of the Duval Soil and Water Conservation District, past USDA Natural Resources Conservation District conservationists in Northeast Florida. I stand tonight in the support of Ordinance 20-2608. And the reason I stand before you, because as I served at the District of Conservation USDA over the 40-some years, I've seen the rise of the urban conservation movement nationwide. And just to share with you a few excerpts from a brochure that the USDA has issued under urban agriculture. Food security is an everyday reality for many urban communities across the United States. About 23.5 million people live in communities lacking food access. Nationwide, and 15.8 million children are food insecure. According to the data from the USDA Economic Research Service, many low-income urban areas lack retail grocery stores and access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Convenient stores or fast food franchises provide the only food options, which are highly processed with low nutritional value. Urban farmers are addressing food access issues by growing healthy foods for their communities. Urban farmers empower people to solve hunger and poverty issues within their communities by changing the way people look at what and how they eat. Providing jobs and skills, training and beautifying and unifying neighborhoods. Many farms also teach citizens how to process fresh ingredients for healthy needs. Urban farmers practice conservation. They convert food, waste, and so forth and so on. We'll get into all the details today. 15% of the world's food is grown in urban areas, according to the Economic Research Service. With most of the world population residing in cities, the statistics will likely continue to increase. Urban agriculture is part of the rising local food movement aimed at reducing the distance food must travel from farm to table. As a result of my past and present extensive knowledge skills and abilities, I strongly support and stand in support of this bill as proposed to be amended. Thank you. Appreciate it. John Nooney. Hello. I am John J. Nooney. Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023-0819. And City Council District 4, CPAC Planning District 3, Raymond Day, True Commission, Duval County Public School District 3, Cindy Pearson, 2025-0867. You know, that's CIP, you know, citrus in Pottsburg. You know, I've got my CIA hat on. You know, it's a play off the Culinary Institute of America, but it's also, you know, citrus in America, classrooms in America. You know, I was in Clay County with the Board of County Commissioners. That's why, you know, I missed, you know, the public comment. But right here, 2026, Clay County Legislative Priorities, Amendment 3. On the bill, please. I am on the bill. You know, it's, you know, because you flipped it over, quality of life. I shared with them public-private partnership, 4-H, you know, citrus, it's farming. You know, this is, it's countrywide. I support the legislation. And what I just want everyone to realize is that not only Clay County, but St. John's County, and especially Duval County, you know, the ability, again, there should be the opportunity for an open ability to sell whatever it is that's produced. Now, I'm getting back to this. I had an orchard, 50 citrus trees. I mean, it was just off the charts. That's just a sampling of farming. And where I'm going with it is that St. John's County or Clay County, with what they're looking to do, I just hope, with the bill, that going forward, when you see these public-private partnerships, that you can offset or that maybe one of the other counties will offset the opportunity to sell their produce, and in this case, citrus. So I want that, I just want it to be on the record, and especially as, you know, you go through. But I'm in full support of it, and thank you for listening. Mr. President, we've got three people, individuals who did not want to speak, but support 807, and they are Betty Sanders, Nanette DeLage, I believe, and Noelle Barbera. All right, before we close the hearing, recognize Mr. Arias. All right, thank you, Council President. You've heard it. These are good people out here. They really are good people. They're working. One of the things that we passed earlier this year was a home occupation bill, which was phase one of this. This is phase two, the Freedom Garden Act, which is what I'm going to continue calling it. And what it is is essentially letting them do business. We're all here on council. We've all campaigned on pro-business, especially the small business community. It doesn't get smaller than this. You know, business is not always just a brick-and-mortar or an online virtual store-selling goods. It's also people working hard in our city, in our community, feeding our families. So what they're asking for is not much. Myself, Councilor Armpelluso, the administration, and many people have worked on this bill for many months now. And when it comes to committee in the following weeks, I urge you guys to please just have an open heart, an open mind, and to just really give them what they're looking for. They're asking for 70 days. I'm asking for 1,000 days in a year, which means give them as many as you guys can give them because it's not easy doing business in Jacksonville. It's not easy doing business at all. And the fact that they have produce, products, that literally go bad if they don't sell it, and if they have one day a month, and let's say they pick this Saturday, and then this Saturday is a rainy day and nobody comes out to the market, then guess what? They're going home with those products. So let's give them the opportunity to do business and thrive. That's all we're asking for. So I urge you guys to please have an open heart when it comes to committee. Thank you. All right. No more speakers, right? This public hearing is closed. An additional public hearing will be held on November 24, 2026. Item number 36, 2026-845. I have one speaker card. John Nooney. Hello. I am John Historic Resiliency Jelly Roll Intangible Good Boy Nooney, 8356 Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 3216. City Council District 4, CPAC Planning District 3, Raymond Day, True Commission, Duval County Public Schools, Cindy Pearson. You know, with this one, you know, why isn't it going to public participation? You know, and also to, I mean, this is Environmental Protection Boards. You know, I mean, this is the woke joke stuff. You know, I think of 2024-0325. You know, we're, you know, don't be engaged in environmental business or advocacy. I mean, that's, you know, we just had something with the trades, you know, we've got some real serious problems with some of these boards and commissions. I'm telling you, it's off the charts. But, anyway, I just, you know, wanted just to, I'm just curious about that. Everything you, you know, any kind of an appointment, you'd have a public participation. All right. I have no more speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. John, please be reasonable tonight. If you want to speak on every public hearing, you can. But there's a lot of people waiting for some important bills to vote on. Turning to page 20, items 37 and 38, 2026, 846, and 847, I have no speaker cards. These public hearings are closed. Page 21, items 39 and 40, 2026, 848, and 49, I have no speaker cards. These public hearings are closed. Page 22, item 41, 2026, 850, I have one speaker card, Jamie Travis Leonard. Good evening, Sea Council. My name is Jamie Travis Leonard. I come up in support of 26, 850. I just would request that, so this is to address, like, SHIP within relation to mobile homes. And one of the things I like to request is something I've noticed that can happen when we are discussing mobile homes is that the individuals can own the mobile home, but maybe not the land the mobile home is on. So I hope when we are looking at this in relation to SHIP funding that that gap can be closed to ensure that people can stay on the land that their home is placed on. Again, I understand mobile homes, kind of the original premise was that they could be relocated. I don't think that's really how it's happening in 2026. So as this goes through and, you know, gets developed, I just hope that that is being considered and addressed within the parameters that are being outlined. Thank you. No more speaker cards than 850. This public hearing is closed. Items 42 and 43, 2026, 851 and 852, I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Hearing to page 23, item 44, 2026, 853, I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Item 45, 2026, 854, I have two speaker cards, Dragon Beloit and Travis Leonard as they come down. I also have a card from Anthony Hakeem who supports the bill but does not wish to speak. Ms. Leonard. Good evening. My name is Jamie Travis Leonard. My address is on file. Sorry, I'll move you up a few more times. So I come up, I tentatively support this. So I did have to call in to get information on why they're being asked to be removed from the noncompliance list, which as I stated before, I don't like. I don't get paid by my taxes to do research. So I would appreciate that when you are giving us bill summaries, you are including as much information for transparency as possible. But what I did find out is that they were placed on the noncompliance list in 2007 because at the time they had the Chapter 8 information on there that they were a follow-up for noncompliance and since then they have not had any future contracts that included Chapter 18. So they're, you know, again, being requested to take off. I am curious as to why, again, this was in 2007, is my understanding of when this was first enacted. So why almost 20 years later we're coming to this? Why wasn't it done sooner? I can't get those answers from the auditor, so I need you all to be giving us those answers when you are filing your bill summaries. But again, I do support. I would just like more public transparency when it comes to information like this because, you know, how our tax dollars are spent, especially for nonprofits and everything, I think it's really imperative that the public knows why people get put on certain lists, including the noncompliance lists, and why they're being asked to be taken off. I don't want my money going to somebody who's not following the regulations we have established to ensure transparency between how dollars are spent. So again, I would just request more information and transparency from the City Council as you're going through with some of this. Thank you. Next we have Dragon Beloit. Hi, Dragon. Address on file. I'm going to keep this short. You guys voted for one similar to this, taking off the Fraternal Order of Police who actually didn't follow regulations recently. So I support this because we should apply these things equally. And first of all, no more homeless pets is, they did a much more minor violation. Thank you. Have a nice day. Thanks. I have no more speaker cards on 854. This public hearing is closed. Item number 46, 2026-856. I have no speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. Turning to page 2026-857. I have one speaker card, Jamie Travis Leonard. She supports the bill but does not wish to speak. This public hearing is closed. Item number 51. Oh, wait a minute. I missed one. I missed one. 48. I got it. I turned the page too far. One page too far. Backing up. Back to page. Item number 48, 2026-858. I have two speaker cards, Joy V.O. and Patricia Frank. I both support the bill but do not wish to speak. This public hearing is closed. Item 49, 2026-859. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Turning to page 25. Items 50, 51, and 52, 860, 861, and 862. I have no speaker cards. These public hearings are closed. Turning to page 53, item 53, 2026-863. I believe I have a speaker card from John Nooney. Hello. I am John J. Nooney. Name and address is on file with the Environmental Protection Board, 2024-0325. Okay, this one, we're in ordinance appropriating $1.5 million from the Jax Recreation Environmental Land Acquisition Fund. I didn't even know we had that. How much money is in that thing? And, you know, so here again, you know, land acquisition and, you know, it's neighborhoods financed, not rules, L-U-Z, or waterways. And it's going to be referred to as the property. It's going to be used as a passive park. You know, we need active parks. You know, we have more passive, you need active recreation, and especially on our waterways. So, anyway, I just wanted to, you know, speak to that. All right, thank you for listening. I have no more speaker cards in 8-6-3. This public hearing is closed. Item 54, 2026, 8-6-4. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Item 55, 2026, 8-6-5. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. Move the emergency. We have a motion and a second on the emergency. There are no speakers. I'll vote for the emergency verbally. All in favor of the emergency indicate by saying aye. Aye. I'll again say no. Emergency passes. Move the bill as an emergency. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. There are no speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 18 a's, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026, 0-8-6-5 has passed. Turning to page 27, item 56, 2026, 8-6-6. I have one speaker card. John Nooney. Hello. I am John J. Nooney. Jacksonville City Council Resolution 2023-0819-8356. 56, Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida. You know, this one. You know, Amendment 3 passed. You know, we're appropriating now 1.8 million, you know, from the resiliency infrastructure improvements. You know, resiliency. You know, I've never had a call back from Ann Coglianese. You know, so anyway, you know, this thing is going to be a neighborhood's finance, not rules or waterways. So, you know, anything with, you know, I just wanted to speak on that. I mean, this is, again, you know, some pretty big stuff, 1.8 million. All right. I have no more speaker cards than 8-6-6. Public hearings closed. Turning to page 28, item number 57, 2026, 8-6-7. John Nooney. I was going to save some. I put don't speak, but... Oh, darn it. But, okay, this is 2.3 million. Oh, man. I apologize to the entire chamber. There. But, okay, you know, here, again, you know, we're waiving, you know, section, you know, nonprofits to receive funding. Can I ask for your name and address, please, Mr. Nooney? Sure. John J. Nooney, 8356, Baskin Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 3-2-2-1-6. You know, I still need a pardon, you know, you know, of my trespass on 2024-0107. But, anyway, let's see. You know, here again, you know, 2.3, from the General Fund Operating Reserves, you know, and we're just going to waive everything for nonprofits to receive a direct contract. So, no, it's Amendment 3. You know, it really did. It's real. All right. I have no more speaker cards for 867. Public hearing is closed. Number 58, 2026-868, I have two speaker cards. Both wish not to speak. One of those is John Nooney. And the other is Joseph Stanley Jones. They both support the bill. Public hearing is closed. Turning the page. Item number 59-869, I have one speaker card. Does not wish to speak. John Nooney. He's opposing this particular bill. Mr. Public hearing is closed. I move the emergency. We have a motion and a second on the emergency. There are no speakers. We'll take the emergency vote verbally. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, say no. Emergency passes. Move the bill as an emergency. We have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. We'll go to Mr. Romero, followed by Mr. Diamond. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to ask for your support of this measure. My mama used to say, a liar can travel around the world quicker than the truth can put his shoes on. A lot has been said about this. I asked the administrative services, council secretary, what were the needs, and the needs were identified. I said, tell me how much it is, and they came with a price, and therefore that led to the introduction of the legislation. Here's the reality. The money that's being asked has been earmarked for council contingency to support maintenance and keep our house in order. The items that have been identified have been in use since 1989. 1989. 37 years. Conference room, A and B chairs. Don Davis room, conference tables. Don Davis room and Henry Cook dyes, conference chairs. Council member office desk chairs. Part of physical steward responsibility is not just controlling how much we spend, but also protecting the future of the investment. It's almost, it feels almost like I'm in a Toyota with 300,000 miles on it, and because it continues to drive, I behave like it's never going to fail. We need to do our housekeeping. We need to preserve the future and make the investment, $70,000 to bring things up to date, considering the millions that we spend around here is a very small ask. I ask you to support this measure. This is not luxurious living. This is doing what is right. It's good stewardship. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Amaro. Over to Mr. Diamond. Oh, I love my friend, Ken. I really do. I respect you. Genuinely. I've been watching you on TV for so long, and I genuinely, we sit next to each other. Our offices are next to each other. I love you, man. But I just think this one's wrong. Last week, 56% of Duval County, in one of the most Democratic votes in the city's history, recent history, and 56% said, you guys are spending too much money down there, and we want you to take less of our money. And then the next day, we have a vote on replacing our furniture in the city council offices. Maybe in another day, in another time, this might have made some sense, but to me, it's just so tone deaf and a slap in the face of the voters who said, listen, stop taking my money and wasting it. And I promise you, if you go around Jacksonville and ask people, should we spend $70,000 on new chairs and new tables for the Jacksonville City Council, and those chairs and those tables still work when you sit on them and still work when you put your drink on them and your paper's on them, they'll say no, absolutely not. It would be a massive majority who say no. So just speaking for the people who are so exhausted by people on this dais, seemingly never listening to what they have to say, I am respectful to my good friend, Ken, no. Okay, over to Dr. Johnson, followed by Ms. Clark Murray, and then we'll round it up with Mr. Romero. We're on chairs. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. And no, these chairs aren't moist, but they are good chairs to have. However, I had to throw that because we came up in finance committee, but this is important. Mr. President, I will tell you, right now, I don't have an office, right? One of the reasons is because we had some issues. I'm going playing musical offices. Thank you, Bernadette, for allowing me to bunk with you, but it's sad. No, seriously, because that's what I'm doing right now because I don't have an office. And part of the reason, I brought this measure up when we were talking about budget, during the budget time, there was mold in my office, which is why I do not have one, and they had to do the mitigation. Councilor Romero, I'm certainly supportive of this measure because this is the people's building. It's interesting that my colleague from the beaches said that 56% of the people said they didn't want the property taxes, but it ain't 60, and the threshold is 60, so Duval County said they didn't want it. What they do want us to do is take care of the things that we have, and this is the people's building. This is the people's chamber. So when people come in, I want them to have a safe place to do their business and their work. I want the furniture to be there, so if we need to have meetings or a place for people to spread out and do work, there are places, like Councilor Romero said, that 19, I think 1989 for some of the stuff, I know one of the things I looked when I put the measure in was 1997. These are things that people come in, and if there are things that happen and things are destroyed and they hurt people, we have to then pay that through risk management. So let's do the right thing, colleagues. Please join me in voting for this measure. Let's take care of the people's building while we are using it, while we're using their resources, because I want to be able to pass on to the next generation of people who will come and sit in these seats a pristine thing, a way that we have said we have done the work, we have been a good steward, and we will pass them on something that they will be able to pass on to the next generation as well. Thank you, Councilman Amaro, for bringing up this bill. I'm certainly supporting it, and I pray Councilmembers should join me to do the same. All right, Ms. Clark-Murray, followed by Mr. Amaro. Thank you, President Howland. So through the chair to Mr. Peterson, perhaps you can answer this question. Councilmember Amaro stated that these dollars are earmarked, meaning that they can be used for pretty much just this purpose, and not necessarily chairs, but in regards to maintaining council facilities. Is that true? It's not that I don't trust what he's saying, but I just want to verify what he is saying. Through the President to Councilmember Clark-Murray, these funds can be used for any council purpose that you so desire. They're stuck in a contingency included in almost every budget year at $100,000, and it does take a two-thirds vote to get them out. Okay, thank you so much for that. So with that being said, I appreciate Ken, you telling us, so in regards to making sure that this particular bill is used in order to help city council. I know he's like, what I said, he's looking at me like he's totally confused, but I'm going to go ahead and support this. I know it does seem at this time in our history and in our existence that perhaps we shouldn't take $70,000 and use it for chairs or tables. But we also have, I don't necessarily want to use the word image, but council shouldn't look broken down either. And if I don't want Councilmember Johnson bunking with our legislative services. So if that is the case, I'm definitely going to be in support of this bill. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, ma'am. We'll go to Councilman Arias and then Councilman Amaro to wrap up. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. Just for clarity, Mr. Peterson, through the chair, Mr. Peterson, the $70,000, will it be distributed to all 19 council members? So $3,600 each roughly? I ask because, and you don't have to answer this, if that's the case, I don't want the money. I have potholes to fill my district, and that's where I want the money to go to. I don't need furniture in my office. I already have working furniture. So no disrespect to anybody here, but at the end of the day, we're here working on what we need for the community. We have enough chairs up here. So if that's the case, send my money to my potholes. Thank you. All right. Mr. Amaro. Thank you, Mr. President. If your logic was applicable, it would be appropriate. The reality is that this is City Council Contingency Fund. This is a bill asking for permission to spend the money that's already dedicated to City Council. We can't take this money and go fix potholes. If this money is not used, it goes back in the general fund. The money is being asked to be used for what it's supposed to be used for. It's that simple. It's that simple. It's amazing how things become politicized that don't need to be politicized. Stewardship has to do with not just watching where you spend your money. It has to deal with integrity of the money that's being spent. So, listen, if I didn't think this was necessary, number one, I would not put my name on it. Number two, when I checked with the council auditor to be sure this is a permitted use, it was sufficient for me to be able to put my name on it to introduce the legislation. This is not for us. This is for this institution. Our stewardship is not just to the outside. Our stewardship is also to the inside. Thank you. All right. For the second time, just jumped on the queue. Mr. Diamond. Not to belabor this, but this is my favorite issue on this council, and it's not political to say that we shouldn't spend money. I keep hearing that we're politicizing things that when we say we shouldn't spend money, that it's politicizing. It's not. It's policy. That's one. Two, councilman Arias is 100% correct that we could not spend this money and then reallocate it to the general fund and then allocate it to potholes. That is our right as a council. We are the ones that decide the budget. And I think over and over again, even if we have bound ourselves to some bucket of money in the past, we should unbound ourselves and allocate it to the things that people actually want because they have told us, a majority of them in this county have told us that they want us to spend money on police, fire, picking up the trash and the roads, and that's it. All right. There are no other speakers in the queue. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. Eight yays, 11 nays. All right. By your vote, 2026-0869 fails. Moving on now to item number 60, 2026-885. I have two speaker cards, Joy Veo and Patricia Frank, both of which support this bill. Before moving on, you want to close that one, sir? This public hearing is closed. Before we move on, I'd like for, if we could, to open up, go back and open up 8-20-26-866, please. I, there's a gentleman who's wanted to be noticed that he had filled out a blue card on 8-66. So if you wouldn't mind opening that back up. All right. For everyone's sake, this is item number 56. We're on page 27. It's 2026-0866. And this public hearing is reopened. And Mr. Stanley Jones does not wish to speak, but he supports the bill. With that, Mr. President, you can close that public hearing. And this public hearing is closed. Moving on now to item number 61, 2026-886. I have one speaker card, Blake Harper. Blake Harper, information on file. A lot of you remember that song by Arlo Guthrie, City of New Orleans. I used to live at 1116 LaSalle Street. That's a connector road between San Jose and Hendrix. I managed 25, 26 apartments for about five, six years. So I have an intimate understanding of San Marco. One of the things about San Marco is the trains. If you live in San Marco, you can't escape them. You'll never escape them. Because they've been going through that part of town since the bridge was put up, before they put a bridge over to the south side of Jacksonville. It is an integral part, a natural part of the community. If you live in San Marco, it's part of your life. And quite frankly, from time to time, if I didn't hear a train going through at night quietly, I woke up. It stirred me out of my street to sleep. But the bottom line is the trains that go through there have to go through there. And to put something up there saying that you're going to make it entirely quiet is impossible. It's like a left-handed pencil. It doesn't make any sense. I don't know where they're putting this. I don't know what they're doing with it. But spending $90,000 for this is a waste of money, a complete waste of money. This is an established neighborhood. It's been this way since whenever. And the notion that you're going to make a change, it's not really going to make it happen. It will not happen. I don't care what you put up or where you do it. I think this is an impressive effort on the part of the railroad, on CSX, on FEC. It doesn't make any sense. What I will tell you that you should consider, though, is, and this potentially could be more expensive for the railroads, what has always been a problem is with the trains holding up traffic and when those trains go through San Marco. A lot of you have tried to get to the city council or get to downtown at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and you've had to wait because the roads are backed up however far they're backed up. It's just the nature of the roads. So, folks, you're not going to make this thing zero quiet. It will not happen. You know that and I know that. But what you should focus on is making sure that traffic is not impeded because when you impede traffic, you can risk people's lives. Thank you. I have no more speaker cards on 886. Public hearings closed. Mr. President, now it's time for public hearings on land use amendments, companion rezonings, and modifications to the comp plan, beginning on page 30. Item number 62, 2026-126. I have one speaker card. Samantha Series. She does not wish to speak but opposes this bill. This public hearings continue to 11-24-26. Turning the page. Item number 63, 2026-127. I have one speaker card. Again, Samantha Series does not wish to speak but opposes this bill. This public hearings continue to November 24, 2026. And turning the page. Item number 64, 2026-523. I have no speaker cards. This public hearings closed. An additional public hearing will be held November 24, 2026. Item number 65, 2026-524. I have one speaker card, Samantha Series. She opposes this but does not wish to speak. This public hearing is closed. An additional public hearing will be held on November 24, 2026. And let me see. Hold on. Page 33. Item number 66, 2026-689. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. 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. 19 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0689 passes. Mr. President, item number 67 and 68, 690 and 691. I have no speaker cards. These public hearings are continued to November 24, 2026. Turning the page 34, item 69, 2026-741. I have one speaker card. Ian Brown, questions only. This public hearing is closed. Move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. No speakers in the queue. Open the ballot and record your vote. 19 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0741 is approved. Item number 70, 2026-742. I have one speaker card. Again, Ian Brown, questions only. This 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. 19 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0742 passes. Item 71, 2026-7-H1. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. An additional public hearing will be held November 24, 2026. Joining the page, 35, item 72, 2026-782. No speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. An additional public hearing will be held November 24, 2026. Item 73, 2026-783. I have no speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. Move the withdrawal. We have a motion and a second to withdraw. No speakers. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. 19 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0783 is withdrawn. Item number 74, 2026-784. Again, no speaker cards. Public hearing is closed. And again, I move for withdrawal. We have a motion and a second on a withdrawal. Seeing no speakers in the queue, let's open the ballot and record your vote. 19 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0784 is withdrawn. Turning to page 36, items 75, 76, and 77, 785, 786, and 787. I have no speaker cards. These public hearings are closed. Additional public hearings for all three will be held on November 24, 2026. Item number 78, 2026-788. I have no speaker cards. This public hearing is closed. An additional public hearing will be held on November 24, 2026. It's now time for third reading resolutions and ordinances. We've given, we've already taken up item number 79. Please turn to page 38. For members of our audience, again, these bills have already had their public hearings, and the committee reports have been finalized, so they are now ready for full council action. With that, I move resolution 2026-816. We have a motion. Oh, I'm sorry, amendment. We have a motion on the amendment and a second. We'll take the vote on the amendment verbally. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against the amendment, say no. Amendment passes. I move the resolution as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Seeing no speakers in queue, let's open the ballot and court your vote. 19 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0816 passes. Item number 81, 2026-817. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. We have Mr. Carrico in the queue. Thank you, Mr. Howland. I just want to take a second to ask the bill sponsor if you considered at all any other areas of downtown to be added to this. I know we have an entertainment district and a lot of things going on in other areas of town. This area of town isn't quite built up yet, but I don't know if you considered that. And as I understand, maybe OGC can opine. I don't think we can amend or change this one, but I just want to have the conversation that maybe it lends to something happening in the future. So maybe, Mary, you can do that, and then I'll just take your question and I'll sit down. You're not the bill sponsor? Who's the bill sponsor? Joe, you're the bill sponsor. I'm sorry. I thought it was you. District Councilman. Mr. Carlucci, you're recognized. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. Through the President, Mr. Carrico. Yeah, basically, this was an alleyway, ultimately, between two of their major projects and components. And so, no, it wasn't thought about adding any other areas, so to speak, because this area is basically one square block with a line through it. So that's what this is for. Okay. And then, Mr. Fopolis, just for future reference, if we wanted to add another area that starts the process over. Through the President to Councilmember Carrico. So this bill was put forward by a local proponent that's represented by Ms. Tremmer and Ms. Karis Lockhart, and they are proposing this open container area on solely private property. So if there was an interest by a council member or someone to include other areas of the city, that could be accomplished through another J bill. You would just go through the same process. You would identify the area. What it does is it amends state law to create an exception for a certain area that allows for open container. And a similar thing could be done in other areas as well. Okay. Thank you for that. All right. Mr. Arish, you're in the queue. Would you still like to speak? Yeah, Mr. President, thank you. That's exactly what I was going to state, but I think our first course of action will be to speak to our delegation. Because once I saw this, I did co-sponsor it, but I also thought that, you know, we have an entertainment district, and it's actually not being used in this proposed resolution. So I'm going to be speaking to our delegation to see how we can spearhead this for the next session, and hopefully pass something for our entertainment district as it is. Thank you. All right. And Dr. Johnson, you're on the queue. Thank you, Mr. President. Just a clarification, Mr. Popolis. So this could be, through the President, Mr. Popolis, based on what you said, just wanted to make sure I understand it. Even though it's not in this resolution, the, like, let's say, Councilman Aris wanted to add E-Town in to this district and create it, the legislative delegation could add that in whatever they do, not necessarily coinciding with the resolution that we're sending them. Is that what I understand? Through the President to Councilmember Johnson, no, what I was saying is that a separate J bill would be filed at the next legislative session to address other areas. Adding it to this bill at this stage, it's too late. You wouldn't be able to file it. I don't think we're, that's not what I'm asking. The question is, with this, this is just a resolution recommending this to the delegation. So they could change, they could, in essence, in Tallahassee during session, let's say Aris comes to the podium, speaks to them, and they say, good idea, they could include it in whatever they're doing. Could that happen? Through the Chair to Councilmember Johnson, so all the resolution is doing is expressing the Council's support for this particular bill as it stands. If a member of the delegation, traditionally it's a representative, wanted to file their own bill or address it through committee action at the state level, that would be up to them. But ultimately, there's a separate local proponent outside of the city of Jacksonville that is pursuing this legislation at the state. Got it, got it. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right, back to Vice President Kerlidge. Okay, thank you, Mr. President. Yeah, just to be clear, because I know this went through committee and some of the similar questions came up. This is not open container on city property. This is all on private property. The state will have the final say on this. This, again, is our recommendation that goes to the state in the form of a J-bill. So for all of those out there listening, this is on private property, not city property. And, yeah, that's where we're at, so thank you. All right, no other speakers. And FYI, I did check with JSO to see if they had an opinion on this bill, and they have no objection to the bill or the boundaries here. With that, no other speakers. Let's open the ballot and accord your vote. 19 a's, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0817 passes. Turning to page, Mr. President, page 39, item number 82, 2026-0541. I believe there's a floor amendment. I recognize Councilman White. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. President. This is my floor amendment, and I'll probably get Mary to explain it or read it. But basically, this is an amendment I hope will get us in a place of something that we had promised. I know from last Tuesday when we woke up there and woke up 24 hours later, a lot has changed. This floor amendment, which she will explain, actually shaved about 66 percent. The $28 million brings it down to nine-something. And I'll vote your heart, but I would appreciate you supporting this white floor amendment. Thank you. We have a motion and a second on the floor amendment. Speakers are starting to line up. Let's make sure you're on the floor amendment. Mr. Diamond. Thank you. Just on the floor amendment, and I appreciate my colleague, Mr. White, trying to make this a more palatable bill, but it doesn't actually change the ultimate amount of taxpayer dollars going out of the taxpayer's pocket into the pocket of the developer. So it's a nice idea. It's marginally better, but it doesn't actually change what happens. Before we go to Ms. Clark-Murray, followed by Mr. Landon, Mr. Fopos, you want to briefly summarize the floor amendment? Yes, I'm happy to. Through the President to the Council. So you each have a copy of the floor amendment in front of you. Most of what's in this amendment was the Neighborhoods Committee amendment, so we carried it forward here. The pertinent language, the new language, is added on page two towards the top. It says, in addition, in an effort to alleviate the potential future impacts to the general fund to fund the completion grant, the City Council is expressing its support and intent that $19 million of the funding to pay the completion grant would be comprised of transfers from a couple of other projects that have been authorized by the Council, $4 million from the Shipyards West CRA project, $4 million from the Riverfront Plaza restaurant project, $7 million would be allocated from another gateway project, Gateway N8, to this incentive instead, and then $4 million would also be comprised of other CRA TIF funding that the DIA may authorize or recommend during the future years to pay additional funding towards this particular incentive. Thank you, ma'am. Over to Ms. Clark-Murray, followed by Mr. Landon. Thank you, Chair. If you don't mind, through the Chair, I'd like to call, yes, Mr. Actually, you're standing. I think, last name, Colin, yes, if you would come forward. And, President Howland, if you would just give me just a little bit of latitude, I'm going to call a few people up so they can explain. And to my colleagues, I know that floor amendments and it's complicated, so my hope is that those who I bring up will help to explain how they are going to, how this bill is going to change from the original. Go ahead and introduce yourself. Sure. Colin Tarbert. I'm the CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority. Okay. So, through the President to Councilwoman Clark-Murray. What's proposed on the floor is to move about $12 million of CRA funding that we currently have for existing projects. The two projects that were mentioned, Shipyards West, which is currently in design, but we will pause that. This is the CRA parcel, not the full park, just to be clear. There's about two acres that's on the east side of the park. And then, additionally, we had gone through a pretty lengthy process for a riverfront restaurant and we have a draft lease, but we're going to pause that and that's another $4 million. So, that's $8 million that we currently have in our budget. For the additional $4 million, we'll need to find that over the next couple fiscal years, but we will work with our board to do that. So, essentially, through the Chair, that this funding is coming through your debt savings. You looked at where you can see, where you have funding that you can use to apply for this particular project. We have essentially eliminated two projects, or at least paused them for the foreseeable future, and then we will endeavor to find the additional $4 million by the time this completion grant is due. All right, thank you so much for that. Through the Chair, Ms. Trimmer, if you would come forward. And if you, after you introduce yourself, just explain to us how Gateway is using their previous $25 million completion grant for this project. Cindy Trimmer, 1 Independent Drive, Suite 1200, on behalf of the applicant. Gateway Jacks is part of the Phase 1 project received, and I'm pulling up the exact number so I don't misstate. $25 million, $557,000 for N8, which is their other residential tower. All of the projects that were approved in Phase 1 are under construction. N11 has residents moving in. N4, you can see vertical construction nearly complete to work inside. The N5 garage, likewise. N8, the horizontal work has been done. We are able to pause that, and we are moving $7 million of what was approved for that project to apply it to this project. So to Councilman Diamond's point, there is a net reduction of $7 million overall, in addition to offsetting the money coming from the general fund. Thank you so much for that. So through the chair and to the council, essentially, we're doing what our finance committee wants us to do in regards to looking at where we can move different funds in order to fund this particular project. And that's what you all are asking us to do, to be fiscally responsible. They looked at where they can move shift funds and DIA and Gateway, and so they've done that. And so that's the floor amendment that you have before you. Please consider it, because remember, this project is going to help support downtown. We have those apartment buildings that are finished, those apartment buildings that are online, and we need to have a grocery store to help anchor this community. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Clark-Murray. Mr. Landon, followed by Mr. Diamond. Thank you, Mr. President. Through the President, Mr. Peterson, just double-checking my math here. I think what it does is the cash completion grant goes from $28.25 to $9.5, roughly. Through the President to Councilor Merlainen, $9.2 million when taking into account the $12 million DIAs committing and then roughly taking $7 million from the N8 project. Through the President. Thank you, Mr. Peterson. So, yeah, me and my view on this is it makes it less damaging than the bill as presented. And just to remind everyone, two weeks ago, we drove down here knowing we had $68 million in unbudgeted cash completion grants coming up the next couple years. We knowingly added $3 million more to that last meeting that the next council is going to have to figure out now at this point. So, $71 million, $9.2 million, we're at $80 million instead of $99 million, I think is what the original bill would have. So, again, last time we added $3 million, here's the potential to add $9 million. So, for that reason, because it moves us to yet more unbudgeted, unknowing how we're going to fund in the future, I'll be a no. I'll support the amendment because, like I said, I believe this is less damaging overall. But because it increases going the opposite direction of where we should be with our unfunded cash completion grants, I'll still be a no on the overall bill. Thank you, sir. Mr. Diamond followed by Mr. Romero. I'll be brief. I just want to make sure that what's on the record and what people hear at home is accurate. So, first of all, this didn't go to finance. We never had a chance to look at it. And then somehow this got discharged. And so we, finance committee, has never looked at this. So, that's one. Two, this notion that we're suddenly how we're going to save money only makes sense if we cancel these other projects. Because, so people at home understand, the Jacksonville City Council agrees to these development agreements, but just kind of semi-promises that maybe down the road we'll go ahead and fund it. And then DIA goes and binds us and forces us to spend the money. So, if these projects are all out there and now they're saying, well, we're going to delay those other ones, I guarantee you DIA is going to be right back here at this podium saying, okay, well, now let's fund this restaurant. Let's fund this parking garage. And you guys already said you wanted to do this. I've seen this on this council over and over and over again, that people will say, well, you already bound yourself. Well, we haven't. And we should correspondingly cancel these other projects then. That's what would actually save money. That would be an honest savings if we cancel these other projects. All right, Mr. Merrill, followed by Dr. Johnson, followed by Mr. Boylan. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to support the amendment and eventually support the bill for a couple of reasons. I remember my first meet with Gateway, and they made a rollout, the presentation of what they wanted to do. And they came to the table with already $312 million in capital and looking for the opportunity to do some collaborative work, partnership. And what I've seen is what no one else has done in this city in the last 50 years. That is, they have presented their plans, and they have fulfilled their plans. They have transformed Pearl Street. Their work is being done. This property that they're hoping to develop for the last 50 years has not paid any property taxes. It was church property. They're about to convert it into commercial. Even with rev grants, they'll be putting money back into the tax rolls. But in order to be able to do that, they first have to build it. And so I think we have to give them the opportunity to be able to do that, to become contributing, tax-paying members of this community, as well as transform what downtown is. And that's why I believe this is a viable product. I believe they have heard us, and they have gone back to the table, and they've reduced the burden from 28 to 9. That's a demonstration of good faith to get this thing done. And if we're going to be collaborative partners in transforming our city, I think we need to support the legislation. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Dr. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. President. I, like Council Member Romero, do plan to support both the amendment and the legislation. I want to say something, though. I heard one of my colleagues say just moments ago that the Finance Committee never saw this, and the Finance Committee may not have seen this amendment in this iteration, but the Finance Committee certainly saw the bill. So that's just not the case. And I want to make sure that we understand that. And, you know, there's an axiom that I heard years ago from who I like to refer to as an immortal poet, Nino Brown, and he said, scared money don't make none. And I will tell you that that is the truth in this case. We must look. If we want our city to progress, we have to put something in the pot. If we want to see, as Council Member Romero said, and my colleagues have said, if we want to see the dead space that's here that is allowing us to bring in revenue, and Lord knows right now with the Amendment 3's passage, we must have additional revenue so that we can run our city, so that we can have the things that move our city forward. This is the kind of government that people have sent us here to do, not just to say we have lots of money sitting in the reserves. We do have enough in the reserves, but we also have a responsibility to do the good work of government to say, let us take the funds that we need to, even though we've reduced it here, which is a good thing. Let us take these and work together so that those places in our city that are just sitting there become revenue-generating opportunities. So I will be supporting this amendment. I hope that we can use those words of Nino Brown and not be scared on the money we spend and not be too liberal, but be in a place where we are putting the right resources in the right places to move our city of Jacksonville forward. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, sir. Over to Mr. Carlucci. Mr. Boylan went off the queue. He wants to speak on the bill. Mr. Carlucci on the floor. Thank you. I'm just going to be on the amendment, and I just want to make one thing clear. It's not like we don't have any money. Some of the comments that have been made tonight makes it sound like we have no money budgeted whatsoever for these completion grants. And if I'm not mistaken, and the council orders could correct me if I'm not correct here, but we have $33 million in a contingency fund for completion grants, and that would be for next year. And so we do have money that is available, accessible, for these completion grants, and there will be more money coming down the pike as the year goes by that will be budgeted or that will be passed and appropriated as proposed ordinances as we go through the year. So to say that there's no money there, there is money there. And I just don't want to send the wrong message out to our community, make it sound like we're just passing these incentives and we don't have any money for it. Well, we do. I just wanted to clear that out. Thank you. All right. There are no other speakers on the floor amendment. We have a motion and a second on the white floor amendment. Let's take this vote by hand. All in favor of the floor amendment, indicate by raising your hand. Floor amendment passes. I mean to move the bill as amended, Mr. President. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Mr. Boylan, I'll recognize you first. Thank you, Mr. Jarrett. Mr. Tolbert, would you mind coming back up? We've heard some reference to the return on investment, not quantitatively. Could you speak to the rationale why the DIA board and yourself and others support this? I think it's important for us to appreciate this is, we're looking at the ROI on this and it's pretty remarkable. And I want you to speak to that if you wouldn't mind, sir. Sure. So for each project, Colin Tarbert, Downtown Investment Authority, for each project we undergo underwriting both with our staff and now we're also using third party consultants to look at each project to demonstrate what we would call the but for in economic development. And the but for is to make sure that there is a need for public participation in a project. And that's based on both the developers' returns but then also the return on investment to the city. And so the public investment policy of the city sets forth kind of a minimum of a 1.0 return, meaning whatever the city is putting in, we're going to get back at least. And so on this project, this project overperforms on that. And so we look at it as having up to a 1.45 ratio. And so that's basically for every dollar we're putting in, we're going to get back $1.45. And a lot of focus is on the word publics in the context of this, but there's a lot more to it than that. Could you speak briefly to whatever else is going to be building in that location? Sure. And I know it's been referred to as publics. There's also kind of a misinformation that publics is getting $50 million. Just to make this all very clear, publics is not receiving a dime of the money. This is a mixed-use development project. It's $140 plus million. It includes 250 apartments, more than 250 apartments. It includes a structured parking garage on top of the grocery store, which is a publics. And so it's a large project on over an acre and a half of land in downtown. And what is the projected private sector investment in this project? The private sector investment is over $140 million. And as we've seen, as Councilman Amaro mentioned, we've seen them deliver. Correct. Next week there's a ribbon cutting for the first apartment building that's just been delivered. The second apartment building has been topped out. And then there's work going on on the garages along Beaver Street, which is going to be retail. And there's work underway on the Ambassador Hotel. We've heard time and time again from independent restaurateurs and others the importance of this project. We've seen in 10 years a doubling of our downtown residency to nearly 10,000. And then projects like this are important to continuing that growth. Is that correct? So I've been in Jacksonville just a little over a year. I was fortunate enough to be selected for this position. And when I came down, I did my own walking tour for my interview. And then I did a more involved listening tour. And when I did that, throughout all the projects, I've been very clear that the full-service grocery store in the downtown core is the number one priority, which is why you see us shifting things around to make this a priority. Without the full-service grocery store, it's going to be very difficult to keep residents in downtown. It's going to be hard to attract the additional density that we need to... Thank you, Mr. Tolbert. My time's up. Thank you, Mr. President. All right. Thank you, Mr. Boylan. Dr. Salem, you're up, followed by Mr. Carlucci. Thank you, Mr. President. I've had a number of phone calls and emails, particularly in the last 10 hours. So I wanted to explain my position on this bill. In the spring of 2026, I asked the administration to place $100 million in the budget in an Amendment 3 contingency fund. And I asked if the Amendment 3 passed, those would be real cuts to the budget. If it failed, those dollars would come back into the budget. The budget was released in July, and there was no consideration of Amendment 3 in the mayor's budget. Zero cuts. The budget passed in late September with 99-plus percent of what she asked for in her budget. On November 3rd, Amendment 3 passed, and it was repo day for the taxpayers. They got their government back. They understood their vote clearly. They voted for Amendment 3, but they also voted for the school tax referendum. So they clearly understood the difference between the two. So any talk of the taxpayers not understanding what they were doing, they both passed overwhelmingly. Surely after November 3rd, I thought the administration would take Amendment 3 seriously and begin making cuts to the budget. Open up the budget, as many of us called for. The administration indicated they will wait until after the elections in March, in the spring, as they're working on the 27-28 budget, and identify the roughly $200 million that needs to be cut from that budget. I believe that's an irresponsible decision. We need to be doing that now, in my opinion. If there were cuts being made, if we were meeting, I'd feel much more comfortable about this bill. But I, like Council Member Lane, do not want to add more money making it go from $70 to $80 million. I won't be here, but many of you will be here and be dealing with that, and that $80 million is due over the next four years. It's a heavy lift, and we're adding to it if this bill passes. Cuts in the budget are tough. I understand that. I watched the Finance Committee this past couple of months. There's a constituency for every cut that you make. May I, would you give me some discretion? Thank you, Mr. President. However, if you have no courage, you have no enemies. You have to make those cuts, and you're going to aggravate people. I cannot add another $9.8 million to this total. I think it's wrong, and I think we should vote this down. Thank you, Mr. President, for that discretion. All right, thank you. Over to Mr. Carlucci, first time on the bill. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm just going to give you my opinion. I have watched the previous administration, and they had a commitment to downtown development, and they did some things to try to set the table for the many things that we've done in this administration and with this council. We have passed so many projects for downtown development. University of Florida, just to name one. So many things we have done, and we have all, for the most part, supported those. Now, I've done some research, and I found out that every major city that has a vibrant downtown and has a large residential community, which we are building beyond what most people think because sometimes out of sight, out of mind, but we know we have a large residential community in our downtown area, and it's only growing, and it's going to grow more with the Gateway projects. They all have one thing in common. They have at least one major grocery store and pharmacy, at least one. And the timing could not be more important for us to pass this one tonight. If we don't, it's like saying we're going to swim across the English Channel, and if we don't pass it, it'd be akin to getting halfway across, swimming halfway across, and saying, oh, gosh, I'm so tired, I'm going to swim back. When we could, just swim on the cross and actually advance ourselves to the other side for the same distance. We need to complete what we're trying to do. Now, yes, I hear what Councilman Salem is saying. You're so right. Anything we do, cutting the budget, voting for this, it's going to take courage because we're going to have some enemies no matter what we do. But this is going to be one of those votes that you're going to look back on, and you're going to remember it. And I, for one, want to make sure I remember that I advanced the city of Jacksonville, that I was one of those that tried to champion downtown, that I can look back at in five years from now, ten years from now, hopefully I'll still be here, I hope, and I can say, wow, downtown is amazing, and I have something to do with it. And I didn't retreat. I advanced. And that's what I think everybody here should think about, and I know that's what I think about deep down inside. Vote to advance. Don't vote to retreat. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Over to Mr. Gay. And Mr. Carrico, you were on the queue. Did you come off the queue? Okay, so Mr. Gay. Thank you, Mr. President. I've listened and looked and heard. We've debated this in finance. Just looking at the overall aspect of it, and I'm, you know, yeah, it's great. It's been cut down to $9 million, but it's still $9 million. It's still a project that I will never understand that a project gets started with an expectation of an entitlement of contribution from the taxpayers. And so that, to say, $28 million before, the project wasn't going to be able to be completed. But now it can be completed with just a $9 million contribution. And it keeps, it still doesn't make any sense. It couldn't be completed then, but now you can cut it down to $9 million. It can be completed. You know, this, I just look at the whole thing. This is no, I conferred with the auditor, there's no affordable housing in this. And that's where I hear a lot that we're concerned about is getting affordable housing. The, yes, you know, I'm challenged with being a good steward of the people's money. And I will always be a champion of the people's dollar. And so, you know, with that, I can't support this. And we've got to look at Amendment 3 to sit here and to say it doesn't matter now. You know, if you've got, your employer tells you you're going to have a pay cut coming at the end of the year, you're going to start making provisions now for those adjustments. And we've got to be wise and look at what the future holds. So, thank you, Mr. President. All right, thank you. Dr. Salem for the second time. Thank you, Mr. President. Just wanted to clarify a point through the chair to Mr. Peterson. That $33 million that was referenced by Council Member Carlucci has already been applied to the spreadsheet. So, that $70, $80 million is real money that has to be made up. That's not $50 million because of the $30, correct? Through the president to Council Member Salem, that's correct. Okay. I just want to make sure everybody understands that $33 million has already been applied. And I agree with Council Member Carlucci. We may gain some money through the year and be able to reduce that. But there's no guarantee of that. Number two, I've heard, not necessarily tonight, but I've heard that we need a quality grocery store in downtown. That's offensive to me. There's an Aldi grocery store downtown. Many people shop there. I shop at Aldi. I suspect many of you shop at Aldi. So, what is that signal sending to those people that shop at Aldi downtown? They're not shopping at a quality grocery store. So, we need to stop that. That's a bad, bad message. Thank you, Mr. President. All right. Over to Mr. Harris. All right. Thank you, Mr. President. So, this is a tough one for me because on one hand, I'm pro-business. I want our city to thrive. I've been, if anything, one of the biggest proponents to advocating for downtown, passing numerous legislation. On the other hand, I'm also, as I've been doing a lot of town halls recently in the last several months, I've asked my constituency, what do they want in our city? And the number one answer I'm getting from my district is we need to get our roads repaired. And earlier, we talked about the potholes. I wasn't exaggerating. I need money for road repairs in my district. We are literally over a better Jacksonville plan. All the roads in our city are pretty much in disrepair. We don't have enough money to fix all the roads that are happening. With Amendment 3 passing, had we taken this vote up prior, I would have probably a different mindset, but I want to explain my vote tonight. And the fact that we have Amendment 3 just passed, we're looking at a deficit of property tax revenue of $200 million next fiscal year, $300 million the following fiscal year. And when I'm going to go out in the community to talk to my constituents, and they're asking me what are we doing for public safety, and the answer is we don't have enough money, but they see that we're giving dollars to incentivize developers, that's where I draw the line. We have a great team here in Gateway Jacks. They've done tremendous work. But I heard the saying earlier today, scare money, don't make money, and that is true. But since we've been in office in 2023, we've actually incentivized over $98 million in incentives to developers. We're not scared here in Jacksonville. We've over-incentivized people, and now the buck is stopping. We've talked about this since I was finance chair. The days of incentives are almost over. And in my opinion, they are over with Amendment 3 passing. So, it's tough. This is a tough one. And I hope that, you know, whatever happens tonight, the city, our constituents, that's all I care about, the people out there. They know that we did what's right for our city. Whether you support it or not, I know your heart is in the right place. So, if you voted up, good on you. If you voted down, good on you. Don't let anybody, any of the noise happen tonight or tomorrow, make you guys angry or thinking that you guys did a wrong move, because you guys voted based on what your constituents wanted. But my vote tonight is going to be a no, because I know that that's what my constituents want. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Over to Colonel Miller, followed by Matt Carlucci and Dr. Johnson for the second time. Thank you, Mr. President. To the President, I've been listening to everyone. And I, too, received a lot of phone calls, texts, e-mails about this subject. I'll make it clear. I do like this project. I do. And I see the importance of it. But my quandary is, as Vice Chair of Finance and as Finance Chair has so clearly stated, we have the realities fiscally. And even though, and I applaud our colleague, past President White, for this amendment to bring this down quite substantially as far as the impact on completion grants, taking that additional, those additional funds, even though I appreciate that, I think that was a good move. That's why I voted for the amendment. However, my quandary is I've done a lot of research, a lot of research with people in the capital world as well as other cities throughout our country who were in a similar situation that we were in. And I'm asking them, what do you do to incentivize? And I did not find anyone anywhere who provided completion grants, meaning once the project is complete, here's a big amount of taxpayer money for completing the project. Everywhere I went, they said consistently, we don't forgive loans. We invest, the city invests as partners with these projects. And we give out mostly low-interest loans to the organization that is working with the developers, and they give out low-interest loans, not forgivable, but repayable. And so there's an actual payment back to the city coffers, to the taxpayers. And I heard that over and over and over again. And so, again, I'm a little torn here. Again, I like the project. I really do, and I see the goodness. I see the importance of this project and the impact that it will have. But at this point, even though I voted for the amendment, I'm at the place, and I'll listen to any others, so I reserve the right to change this if I hear something compelling. But I'm at the point where these realities with Amendment 3, with other realities of this bringing it to $80 million coming out of our operating budget in our future, we're going to have to make a lot of tough decisions. And I don't want to add to that. So there's my problem. And I will say, we have a lot of smart people here, a lot of smart development people and capital people. I think we can figure out a way, like other cities that I referred to, and I'll get into details if anybody wants to, of those cities, to figure out how to incentivize without completion grants. So I think we can do this. So I'm looking for more movement in that direction so we no longer have completion grants, but we have other incentives that still get us moving forward. So thank you, Mr. President. Okay, for the second time, Mr. Matt Carlucci, followed by Dr. Johnson. Two minutes. All right, thank you. Councilman Salem, you're correct about the $33 million, and that will cover us for next year. But there will be other times that that $33 million can be replaced, just like where the $33 million came from for next year. So we just have to have a little faith in the future, which I do. The point I was trying to make about the grocery store in downtown, what I was trying to say is we need a grocery store in the core. And the Audi is a nice grocery store. I shopped the one around the corner from my insurance office. No problem with Audi. But the point is, is we need one more in the core of our downtown area, and that's the point I was trying to make, and that's why it's important. So, again, I just stand on what I said earlier. This is a hugely important vote for downtown and for our future of Jacksonville, and I urge you to support it and appreciate the time. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Dr. Johnson, too. Since I have a very quick time, Ms. Sickler, could you come up for just a moment? I have a question for you. I know this is not a public works thing, if you will, Mr. President. I know we're not talking public works, but I do have a question, and I'm so glad that you're still here. What I want to say as you come up, Ms. Sickler, is we are talking fiscal reality, and I think it's so important. And so this is, I want to get to some real numbers and facts and figures. Ms. Sickler, just a question for you through the President. What would it take annually for you to put funds into making sure that all the roadways are prepared in the city of Jacksonville? Ms. Nina Sickler, Department of Public Works, through the President to Council Member Johnson and the body. So the realities of what it would take to maintain the same condition rating for our roads on an annual basis would be about $100 million. We're thrilled with the money we have this year, but it's an ongoing requirement. And the $9 million, if we were to give that, that would be nice, but it certainly is not going to get you to the $100 million you need. Ms. In comparison, it is a different scale of dollars. Thank you, Ms. Sickler. I just want us to understand, we're talking about a couple of dimes, but we need to look at the real work of making sure that we are doing the work that people sent us to do. I want to also, the fiscal reality is that if we take this, we do have the funds coming back from these REV grants. And I also want to push back. I want to say something, Chicago, Detroit, New York, St. Louis, Dubuque, Iowa, Sanjay, Texas, those are all cities with REV grants. So I don't know where the gentleman got the information that there are no other cities across this country. And that was a quick search that I did to get those things. Understand, they are taking, the city of Chicago does something very similar to this, where they're taking these grants to go into these areas that have been underserved or need improvement. And they're taking these places and corridors that do not have activity in them and moving them forward, which means a greater tax base. Because there are things going on in that community. There are funds that are coming in. There are people that are coming in. There are jobs that are being created. And that's what this does. I've had to tell people over and over, especially in my community, this is not about publics. Because many of the folk thought that we were giving millions of dollars to publics. That's not what we're doing. We're putting in an opportunity. And that's what this is about. That's what people sent us down here to do, opportunity. So the reason I asked Ms. Sickler to come and the reason I listed those cities is because I want us to speak in reality. I don't want us to speak in scary numbers and saying, oh, no one has ever done this. Sir, this is new when Jacksonville is creating this thing that doesn't work. It works. It's worked in other cities. It can work in the city of Jacksonville. Let's support this. And let's bring just innovation but commerce to downtown because the lifeblood of our city starts in the heart and it flows outward. Thank you, Mr. President. Okay, Dr. Salem for the second time. Third time. Two minutes, sir. It won't take that long, but thank you for recognizing me. I don't want to beat this Aldi thing to death, but Publix is a full-service store. It does have a pharmacy. I understand that. That's the difference between a Publix and an Aldi. But I just don't want people using the word quality. Call it full-service and I'm fine. For anybody, it's a full-service store. Thank you. Okay, we have no other speakers in the queue. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Let's open the ballot and record your vote. Ten yays, eight nays. And by your vote, 2026-0541 passes. Mr. President, we move on now to item number 83, 2026-756. I move the amendment. Actually, before we move, stand by to be entertained. We have two folks who want to speak. After that, Bill, we'll go Mr. Peluso first, followed by Mr. Diamond. I think – I'm sorry, Mr. Diamond's going after me. Thank you, Mr. President. Colin, when you first – no, you don't have to get up. Don't worry. When you first came to the city, I remember we did a lot of ribbon cuttings very early in your time. And you said, I didn't do anything to get to this place. You did a lot tonight to get us here. I know DIA put a ton of work into this project. Guy Parola, are you in the audience? Guy did an incredible amount of work on this project as well. Brian and Cindy, I know you did as well. This was a lot. This means a lot for the city. And I know that a lot was discussed tonight about this or that, but this is a big deal. Thank you. Mr. Diamond, you recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate the indulgence. But I will notice in our agenda there is an introduction of yet another one of these developer grants. Another one. And I guarantee you, after you all just completely ignored the voters and allowed taxpayer money to be shoveled to another downtown developer, and Mayor Deegan asking us to do this, completely tone deaf, completely throwing the voters and the taxpayers under the bus, because at some point, at some point, you are going to have to say no. At some point, you're going to have to say no, because we do not have the money. Because it is not a choice about whether or not we wanted this project or that project. It's a question of whether or not you want to protect funding for police, fire, roads, and picking up the trash. You cannot say you care about police and fire and vote for this. You just can't. We don't have the money. You'd like to go, Mr. White? Yes, I would. Okay, go ahead, Mr. White. Mr. Diamond, if you don't think I'm for police and fire, you have woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Even though I see this field different than that, I think more about police and fire than anybody up here. Thank you. Mr. Council Secretary, will you determine if Mr. Matt Carlucci and Dr. Johnson are still? Okay. And is Ms. Pittman still here? Oh, sorry, Ms. Pittman. I didn't see. I was wondering who was empty there. Mr. Gaffney, I'm going to recognize you. Tell us what you want us to do. All right, thank you. I actually supported this bill. I supported the amendment. I voted yes. However, I don't see it being recorded. So I would like to reconsider this bill and vote yes. Do we have all council members here now? Okay, we do. We'll need someone on the Victoria side to do a motion to reconsider. All right. We have a motion and a second to reconsider 2026-0541. We're going to have to have Mr. White do the floor amendment, introduce the floor amendment. Oh, yeah, sorry. We have a motion and a second to reconsider. We can do it by hand, right? Okay. All in favor, reconsidering, raise your hand. All right. Reconsideration passes. So we're going to hear 2026-0541. Mr. White, would you please reintroduce your floor amendment? Second. We have a motion and a second on the floor amendment. We'll take a vote on the floor amendment by hand. All in favor, indicate by raising your hand. Floor amendment passes. Move the bill as amended, Mr. President. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Ms. Clark-Murray, you are in the queue. Do you want to wait until after the vote? Okay. Then no one else in the queue will open the ballot and record your vote. Reminder, before we close the vote, you're voting on what you did before 2026-0541. We're just doing this to add Mr. Gaffney to the vote. 11 a's, 8 nays. And by your vote 2026-0541 passes. Thank you for bringing it to our attention, Mr. Gaffney. Can I move on? Yes, sir. Thank you. Item number 83, 2026-756. I move the amendment. President Hellman, I'm in the queue. Okay. Hold on. All right. Before we second that amendment, Ms. Clark-Murray, on 2026-0541, post-vote. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to all 11 of you. When we bring family and friends to Jacksonville, people go downtown. We bring them downtown. We don't want them to come to a downtown that is blatantly raggedy and filled with incomplete projects. Thank you, the 11 of you who had the courage and the tenacity to vote yes. And I know the phrase was used, scared, but we have to have faith. We've got to have faith in this city and faith in the people. Thank you again for representing the people. Yes, we want to save money. Yes, we want to be fiscally responsible. We also need to get things done. And in the past four years, we've gotten things done. And as a native of Jacksonville, I know what this city used to look like. And I know what it looks like now. And it looks a whole lot better. Thank you. Okay, Mr. Boylan, let's do it. All right. Item number 83, 2026, 756. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment, 2026-0756. Seeing no speakers in the queue, we'll vote on the amendment verbally. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying 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 accord your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 0756 passes. Turning to page 40, item number 84, 2026-802. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers in the queue. Vote verbally. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against saying 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 accord your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0802 passes. Item 85, 2026-805. I move the bill. We have a motion and a second on the bill. That's 2026-0805. Seeing no speakers, let's open the ballot and record your vote. 15 nays, 2 nays. By your vote, 2026-0805 passes. Turning to page 41, item number 86, 2026-806. I believe there's a floor amendment offered by Mr. Councilmember Peluso. Mr. Peluso, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. President. I do have a floor amendment. I believe Michelle is going to speak on it, but essentially it's all the other amendments that we've done rolled up with a few other additions. Go ahead, Michelle. Through the president to the council. So that's correct. It encompasses all of the neighborhoods amendment, but it clarifies that regarding the areas in the mapped, the figures for Durkeeville, Durkee Gardens, San Marco, and St. Nicholas, that only structures over 70 years old will be considered for inclusion on the endangered historic homes list. And it also clarifies that the Housing and Community Development Division shall not donate any preservation priority property to a not-for-profit that previously received a preservation priority property after January 1, 2027 failed to comply with all covenants and restrictions, and the city had to initiate an action for reverter. I'm here to answer any questions. All right. Seeing no speakers in the queue. We have a motion, I believe, and a second on the Peluso floor amendment already. All right. We'll vote verbally. All in favor of the Peluso floor amendment, indicate by saying aye. All right. All again, say no. Floor amendment passes. Move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. Seeing no speakers, let's open the ballot and afford your vote. 17 yays, 0 nays. By your vote, 2026-0806 passes. Mr. Peluso, you're limited to two bills per meeting that you can speak afterwards. This is your second. You don't get another. Go for it. Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate the latitude. I am only standing because we have a number of people in the audience that have done some incredible work with the Demolition by Neglect Task Force. We talk about it a lot, but there's so many studies and meetings and groups that get together and produce things for this body to do work on, and we have the Historic Society. We've got Bill Hoff, I believe. I saw him earlier this evening, who led the task force. We have so many people from our planning department, folks who did all the good work to make this bill possible. I want to thank my co-introducer, though I'm a little mad at him because of his prior vote a moment ago. I'm still very grateful, as the other council member who has a bunch of historic districts. This is going to be great work for a number of properties that our constituents have said, yeah, we need to do something with these old properties. Also, one final shout-out. Carla Schell did incredible work with this bill. I brought it up to her many, many months ago, and she, I think like many folks, thought, okay, the council member brought up this idea. He's not going to bother me about it again. I kept hounding her on it. She produced an incredible bill. Thank you so much for this work. Thank you all for voting up. All right. Thank you, sir. Moving on now to page 42, item number 87, 2026-811. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendment. No speakers in the queue will vote verbally. All in favor of the amendment indicate by saying aye. Aye. All again, say no. Amendment passes. I move the bill as amended. We have a motion and a second on the bill as amended. There are no speakers. Open the ballot. Court your vote. 16 nays, 1 nay. And by your vote, 2026-0811 passes. Moving on now to 88, 2026-813. Again, I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendments. Seeing no speakers, 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. No speakers. Open the ballot. Court your vote. 15 nays, 2 nays. By your vote, 2026-0813 passes. Page 43, item number 89, 2026-814. I move the amendment. We have a motion and a second on the amendments. Seeing no speakers, Mr. Carrico, I recognize you. Do you need to abstain from this one? Actually, you don't, but do you need to state why you don't need to abstain? Yeah, sure. Thank you, Mr. President. I did abstain during committee. This came up in committee like two days before I opened a downtown office, so I just got cautious and abstained so we could do further research with ethics. And if anyone needs the details, I can have the mayor explain. I don't think we do, but I do not have a conflict on this bill, so I'll be able to vote. Thanks for the clarification. No other speakers. We'll vote verbally on the amendment. All in favor, 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. Seeing no speakers in the queue, let's open the ballot and record your vote. 13 nays, 4 nays. By your vote, 2026-0814 passes. Mr. President, it's now time for second reading resolutions and ordinances beginning on page 44, nine of which involve public participation. Mr. Thiel, would you please read the bills? Pursuant to Council Rules 3.601, 3.602, and 3.604, for all public hearing and public participation bills, it's a violation of the Council rules for any person to speak on any topic that is unrelated to the particular bill's subject. The following bills are on second reading. 2026-870, 871, 872, 873, 874, 875, 876, 877, 878, 833, 835, 836, 837, 838, 839, 840, 841, 842, 843, and 844. Mr. President, given we have no public participation cards for items 90 through 98, I move the addendum. On page 64, we have the addendum. We've had a motion and a second on the addendum. No speakers in the queue. It'll be a voice vote. All in favor of the addendum, indicate by saying aye. Aye. All against, say no. Addendum passes. Mr. President, that concludes our business for the evening. All right. Let's do roll call. 17 present. All right. With that, do we have any announcements other than happy 251st birthday to the U.S. Marines? All right. Mr. Boylan. I just want to point out, Mr. Diamond and I spent way too much time together yesterday afternoon, all day yesterday. As you know, there's a recount, and it's still going on as we speak. There's still an Atlantic Beach commissioner's seat. I want to throw a shout-out to the folks at the Supervisor of Elections Office. We spent all day Monday going through those ballots. We went through them all again today, and I'm here only because I'm here, not there. But I want to commend SOE and the good work that they do and diligence in the work that they do. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, sir. Over to Mr. Kerrko. Thank you, Mr. President. A few things. Actually, I've saved up all my announcements for the year for one swoop. I want to thank everyone who came out to the ribbon-cutting ahead at my new office with my wife, Daisy. Many of you came out to support and check us out and see what we're doing, so I want to thank you guys for that. And then many of you know or maybe you don't know, my father's wife passed away last week, my stepmom. So I spent the majority of the week in the hospital and just being with him. And numerous people, you know, once the word kind of got out, just checked on us and called me and checked in, see how I was doing, the mayor's staff, administration, colleagues, all kind of folks from our City Hall family. So I just want to thank you for that and just ask that you continue to pray for my dad as he figures out his next chapter. And then, gosh, there was something else I don't even remember. Thanks. All right. Mr. White, you were on the queue. Do you have something? Yes, sir. Thank you. It's just more of a question than a comment. I'd like to ask Jimmy and Kevin where they've got their uniforms. Stand up, please. It's like 1972 out here. Okay. And thank you, sir. And finally, Dr. Johnson. Yeah. To the president, didn't you just get certified and pass a test to be a model? No. Congratulations to Kevin Carrico, the newest real estate broker in the city of Jacksonville. Congrats, brother. Fantastic. And unless Ms. Pittman has anything. All right. Ms. Pittman, over to you. First of all, I don't know if y'all, or Mr. Johnson, if you shared this about Principal Vincent Hall, who we recognized last year as Principal of the Year at Raines High School, passed away this weekend. And so please play for his parents, his family, and the students, because they're having a really, really hard time with this as well. I'd also like to recognize Councilwoman Clock Murray. Her birthday is on the 16th. Yay! And Andrew Powles, who is the ECA for Councilman Johnson. His birthday is on November the 13th. And Courtney Brooker, who is on the ECA for Councilwoman Holder. Happy birthday to you. And then, of course, Council staff, Yvonne Mitchell, is tomorrow on Veterans Day. And Bernadette Smith is on November the 12th. Happy birthday to everyone. All right. And with that, no other... Happy birthday. No other speakers in the queue for announcements. We are adjourned. And over to the chaplain, Mr. Romero. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. And I know tomorrow is Veterans Day, but I'd like to say to all the veterans on the dais, thank you for your service to the country. Mr. Romero, before you begin your prayer, Ms. Pittman, do you have one more announcement? Mind you all, on Feed the City on Saturday to feed the homeless and low-income individuals at the Clara White Mission from 11 to 1. If you are interested, please contact me and let me know. Thank you. Sorry, Mr. Romero. Back to you. I'm good. Let us pray. Gracious God, we thank you for yet another evening of doing the people's work. Thank you for the wisdom and the guidance. Thank you for guarding our speech where civility existed. Thank you for the opportunity to serve. We lift up Ron Salem and his family, and we lift up the family of Principal Hall, and we lift up the family of Brother Carrico's family as well. We know that you're a healing God, and there's nothing on earth that heaven cannot heal. As we depart from this place, we ask you to be with us, continue to guide us, and keep us. It's in Jesus' holy name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.