City Council - Sep 08, 2026

good evening and welcome i call to order the tuesday september 8th 2026 meeting of the full city council and mr floor leader i turn over to you thank you sir our first order of business is as usual the invocation and pledge of allegiance i would ask that you please recognize council member marrow our council chaplain to introduce the kind gentleman who will be sharing their those duties tonight mr mayor you're recognized thank you mr floor leader would you please stand this week will mark 25 years since that terrorists attacked on the world trade center building as we know it and and we pause to remember the lives lost on that day where there was lower manhattan shanksville pennsylvania or the pentagon just in manhattan alone over 3 000 today there's still 1100 the remains remain unidentified so lest we forget what happened then the generation has come and they may not know but we know because we can remember exactly where we were when it happened so tonight our invocation will be delivered by two members of the public safety sector that lost a number of individuals during that day jso chaplain cory mcdonald who is a husband of 15 years a dad to his 12 year old daughter a u.s army veteran pastor of a local church thunder road baptist church he's a nine-year veteran officer of the jacksonville sheriff's office and the current chaplain we'll also have jfrd chaplain dr percy golden senior senior pastor and bishop of the holy church of living god revival center in atlantic beach he's retired from jfrd after 26 years and then asked to come back as jfrd's chaplain two and a half years later having served as chaplain previously and in a number of roles within the department and also take on the role of critical incident officer he also serves as the administrator over the peer support team for firefighters and when they're finished with their prayer we'll have a moment of silent for 60 seconds and then we'll do the pledge of allegiance gentlemen god of peace and mercy on this day we remember that day i honor and we honor the 343 firefighters and all the brave first responders who ran towards danger so that others might live we give thanks for their selfless courage their deep devotion and duty and their untimely sacrifice lord we lift up their families their friends fellow firefighters who still carry the weight and the pain of that loss surround them with your comfort grant them peace and strength and their family through this sorrow bless the active firefighters and emergency workers and personnel who put their lives on the line every day grant them wisdom safety and courage may we never forget their sacrifice and may we honor their legacy with living in kindness and in strength and in unity amen our father once further we want to pause to remember the 72 lives of law enforcement officers that perished on that day we thank you for their bravery their sacrifice and while this time of reflection comes out of great loss and devastation it's also a reflection of the bravery and courage and the pride that we receive from being fellow americans i pray that you'd be with the lives of the families of those law enforcement officers that are no doubt still grieving today over their loss but we also pray that you watch over the nearly 2 000 law enforcement officers of the jacksonville sheriff's office those of our partners and those in the surrounding agencies protect them as they go out every day to continue to protect and to serve our community and our country and god may we continue to walk in your paths we pray a hedge of protection around them and around us today we ask it in jesus name amen amen now a pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance of the united states and to the republic which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice mr president now it's time for the approval of the minutes from the regular council meeting of august the 25th 20 oh and you roll call first all right we'll call for a roll call then i'll do announcements roll call please 17 present all right with that we have a quorum and i do have three announcements mr floor leader if i can um first announcement i would like to welcome councilwoman monet holder to the dais for her four yeah first city council meeting get ready to make some law that's what we're doing tonight um second i'd like to highlight uh the floor amendment process uh for everybody's sake we have our budget meeting coming up two weeks from tonight september 22nd which uh that meeting will start at 4 p.m and you'll see an announcement about that uh but the floor amendment process should be out by memo by the end of this week from mr fopolis and it will require a deadline for any floor amendments by friday september 18th uh so look for that memo in your inbox and then finally the last thing i want to note and this is mostly for the public we are going to be pulling forward a bill that has public participation it's item number one three four that's twenty twenty six zero seven two three on page 54 i believe and it's the polling place change of location we're pulling it forward so uh the supervisor and his team can can move on um but we want to make sure that public participation is a part of that bill if you want to fill out a public comment card and comment on item number one thirty four twenty twenty six zero seven two three now is the time to do so back to you mr floyd leader thank you mr president it's now time for the approval of the minutes from the regular regular council meeting of august the 25th i move the approval we have a motion and a second on the minutes from the last meeting seeing no one in the queue will take the vote verbally all in favor indicate by saying aye aye all against saying no the minutes pass mr president we have a handful of communications from the mayor and other entities would you like those red or filed with legislative services let's follow them please tonight mr president we have two presentations the first was introduced by councilman areas i'm going to invite him to head on down to the podium honoring the 60th anniversary of florida state college of jacksonville mr teal would you please read the resolution resolution 2026 681 on august 22nd 1966 florida junior college now known as florida state college of jacksonville opened its doors for the first day of classes welcoming 2321 students the largest opening enrollment of any junior college in florida and at the time the largest in the nation expanding access the higher education for the residents of northeast florida florida state college of jacksonville provides access at locations throughout jacksonville to best serve the community including the downtown kent north and south campuses as well as the deerwood and cecil centers fscj also has two academies focused on public safety including the fire academy of the south and the criminal justice center florida state college of jacksonville was founded in 1965 as florida junior college and has grown over the past six decades into one of northeast florida's leading institutions of higher education serving generations of students and families throughout north throughout duval and nassau counties since its inception florida state college at jacksonville has fulfilled its mission of expanding access to affordable high quality education empowering learners of all ages through academic workforce and continuing education opportunities throughout its history florida state college at jacksonville has demonstrated innovation and leadership by pioneering workforce and technical education programs supporting military service members and veterans advancing dual enrollment opportunities and developing pathways that connect students to meaningful careers and lifelong success the college has enriched the cultural life of jacksonville through initiatives such as its renowned artist series and has voiced and has fostered civic engagement leadership development and community service among its students faculty staff and alumni known affection affectionately as the communities college florida state college at jacksonville has helped transform lives through education while strengthening the region's workforce economy and quality of life in celebrating its 60th anniversary from 2025 through 2026 florida state college at jacksonville honors the vision of its founders the dedication of its educators and employees the achievements of its alumni and its enduring commitment to serving the people of northeast florida for generations to come now therefore be it resolved by the council of the city of jacksonville the city council hereby honors florida state college at jacksonville florida state college at jacksonville upon its 60th anniversary the city council expresses appreciation and gratitude to florida state college at jacksonville for the six decades of service to our community and for providing access opportunity and support for students and families throughout duval and nassau counties thank you all right um council president holland council vice president joe carlucci colleagues today i'm proud to introduce this resolution recognizing truly a significant milestone in jacksonville the 60th anniversary of florida state college at jacksonville fscj was founded in 1965 and welcomed its first class in august of 1966. back then it was known as florida junior college and it opened its door to 2300 students 60 years later that institution has grown into something remarkable today fscj serves more than 46 000 students across four campuses three training centers and two academies one is jso's police academy and the other was jfrd training facility it offers 13 bachelor's degrees more than 50 associate degrees and over 100 technical certificates and workforce certifications but fscj is much bigger than those numbers see for six decades fscj has placed where people from every walk of life can find an opportunity to earn a degree learn a trade start a new career support their families or simply build a better future since its founding fscj has awarded nearly 200 000 degrees and certificates and fscj continues to evolve with the needs of our community from expanding skilled trades training and welding hvac and electrical to aviation logistics advanced manufacturing allied health public safety and maritime industries fscj is preparing our workforce for the jobs jackson needs today and the industries we're building for tomorrow and we're continuing that investment through the expansion of cecil training hub you may have noticed last week the governor came into town and awarded seven million dollars to fscj you as well my colleagues awarded five million dollars last year for me this resolution is also personal i'm proud to be an fscj alumnus i know firsthand that fscj isn't simply a college it is an institution of opportunity it has opened doors for generations of jackson residents including me and continues to open those doors for thousands more every year so on behalf of the city of jacksonville our city council i want to congratulate the faculty the staff the leadership alumni and most importantly the students of florida state college of jackson on an incredible 60 years i have some word from the president right now too sir thank you councilman i really could not have said it better myself thank you all of you for for your accolades today on behalf of my board of trustees we have four trustees here with us today our faculty and staff who are with us today as well i wanted to say thank you thank you to the city for this recognition it's truly an honorable thing for us to be able to say that we are part of jacksonville part of duval county and the work that we do are proud of our 185 000 alums and we touch every single sector across this entire northeast florida so on behalf of the entire fscj family thank you for this honor thank you for this recognition please know that we are here as your college as your local community college we're here to help in any way that we can i know most if not all of you here on the council i've developed good relationships with all of you please know that you can always call on me and the institution to help support the city advance all of its purposes and all of its missions so with that i say thank you and thank you councilman are is fair for have a great day everybody thank you you it's a photo opportunity for the board members and others and colleagues you also have a uh a nice pin on your desk as well too you should rock it tonight mr vice president our second resolution is being presented by uh by you uh actually by the council council president holland to a group that is close to my heart the duval county supervisor of elections office and especially their poll workers mr teal would you kindly read the resolution resolution 2026 159 free and fair elections are the cornerstone of democracy and the duval county supervisor of elections ensures integrity by managing election records safeguarding voter registration administering the office and complying with all election laws the mission of the supervisor of elections is to convey the voice of the people by providing fair accurate and accessible elections with transparency and integrity and poll workers are indispensable guardians of the voting process ensuring that every eligible citizen can cast a secure and confidential ballot in 2020 national poll worker recruitment day was established by the u.s election assistance commission to inspire civic engagement ensure the integrity and security of the elections and encourage people to sign up to become a poll worker poll workers set up polling places greet voters verify registration issue ballots and assist voters in understanding the voting process ensuring a smooth and secure voting experience during early voting and on election day national poll worker recruitment day exemplifies civic engagement in elections aiming to encourage potential poll workers to help america vote poll workers uphold our democratic system by enabling citizens to cast a free and confidential ballot to choose their representation during the 2026 elections the duval county supervisor of elections announced that august 11th 2026 was to be designated the sixth celebration of the national poll worker recruitment day in duval county now therefore be it resolved by the council of the city of jacksonville the city council hereby honors and commends the duval county supervisor of elections and the nearly 2 000 dedicated poll workers whose service ensures fair and accessible elections for all citizens the jacksonville city council recognizes that on august 11th 2026 the sixth celebration of national poll worker recruitment day and urges all eligible residents to consider serving as poll workers to support fair election and civic participation all right thank you mr council director thanks mr vice president and mr floor leader every election in communities across this country and particularly here in jacksonville americans step forward to make democracy work to run their own free and fair elections this past august our poll workers were among the hardest working people in our community they arrived before sunrise stayed long after polls close and gave of their time freely to make sure every vote could be heard they set up equipment checked in neighbors they may have known for years answered questions solve problems on the spot and stood watch over one of the most important responsibilities a community can share a fair and honest election and they did this not not for the big bucks not for recognition but because they believe in the process they did this over and over again two weeks of early voting and one very long election day and they'll do it again in just under two months so today we want to say thank you thank you for your patience thank you for your dedication thank you for showing up election after election so the rest of us could exercise our right to vote please join me in recognizing our poll workers for their outstanding service to our community thank you and at this point i would like to recognize all the poll workers if they would please stand i should have done that before supervisor holland pointed out shocking you hate democracy thank you very much and at this time i'll recognize supervisor elections holland thank you council president it is believe me it's a humble honor to be able to represent these people here as their leader you know we have a full-time staff of just 34 employees it takes 2 000 paid election workers to conduct one county election without these people behind me we could not do it and believe me it is although they're paid a small stipend i call it really their devotion to this process is what makes it work you hear them laugh they would love to have more they would not turn it down i will tell you that but but thank you again and i want to thank these people here that really make our elections run smooth and i think we do not just florida sets the platinum standard but duval county does and we're very proud we are of our staff and also of our election workers thank you all very much all right thank you and at this time i'll recognize council member boylan thank you mr vice president i just a quick message uh to my fellow colleagues at the supervisor elections office i've had the great pleasure this past seven of eight elections seven of eight years to serve as a member of the canvassing board i can see and i've witnessed every each and every time how hard you all work so thank you for your service okay now lock the doors don't if we have to sit through this so do you let's give them a few minutes to exit if we could have the cooperation of those in the chambers we're going to go ahead and continue with our meeting uh we are now ready for quasi-judicial actions i would like to remind all concerned that these items we are now taking up do not include public hearings as these matters were thoroughly reviewed at the committee level for public hearing for part of the decision decision making process council members are reminded to declare any ex parte communications the first item is on page 5 20 26 0 5 5 5 i move the bill we have a motion and a second on the bill that's 20 26 0 5 5 5 for council members and those in the audience following along it's on page five there are no speakers on the bill let's open the ballot and court to vote 17 yeas zero nays and by your vote 20 26 0 5 5 5 passes item number two 20 26 5 6 0 i move the amendment we have a motion and a second on the amendment we have mr peluso in the queue you're recognized sir on the amendment no my apologies on the amendment okay we'll take this there are no other speakers we'll take the vote on the amendment verbally all in favor indicate by saying aye aye all against say no the amendment passes move the bill as amended we have a motion a second on the bill as amended mr peluso thank you mr president i stand uh for ex parte in support i received a phone call from the applicant amanda hesson on august 21st we discussed the improvements uh to the building and uh the addition of a full service kitchen i also spoke with two members in ex parte against um two local property owners they're very concerned about the late night customers and intoxication on the uh on the in the alleyway um this has been sent over to legislative services all right thank you 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 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0560 passes page number six item three 2026 561 i move the bill we have a motion and a second on the bill no speakers let's open the ballot and court your vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0561 passes item four 2026 562 i move it we have a motion and a second on the bill we got no speakers in the queue let's open the ballot court vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0562 is approved item 5 2026 563 i move it we have a motion and a second on the bill we have miss tyrona clark murray did you wish to speak all right you're recognized thank you president howlin i rise to declare ex parte i spoke with mr andrew messiana on tuesday august the 18th via phone he explained to me what it is that he wanted to do and why he needed the exception for the liquor waiver and the appropriate paperwork has been filed with legislative services thank you ma'am no one else in the queue let's open the ballot and record your vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0563 is approved page 7 item 6 2026 564 i move the bill we have a motion and a second on the bill there are no speakers let's open the ballot and record your vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0564 passes item 7 2026 565 i move it we have a motion and a second on the bill no speakers in the queue let's open the ballot and record your vote 17 yeas zero yeas by your vote 2026 0565 passes item 8 2026 567 i move the bill we have a motion and a second on the bill there are no speakers let's open the ballot record your vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0567 passes page 8 item 9 2026 623 move the bill no speakers in the queue we have a motion and a second on the bill let's open the ballot and record your vote 17 yeas zero nays and by your vote 2026 0623 passes express 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 to any of these items please let the chief of legislative services know via email as council rules prohibit pulling items for this reason mr teal would you please read the bills 2025 775 2026 545 625 626 629 630 633 637 638 683 684 685 686 looks like number 20. thank you mr president uh all items so i move the uh consent agenda less item number 20. we have a motion and a second on the consent agenda less item number 20 which is 2026 0684 i see no speakers let's open the ballot and record your vote on the consent agenda 17 yeas zero nays by your vote the consent agenda minus item 20 passes moving then on item number 20 2026 684 i move the resolution we have a motion and a second on item 20 20 26 06 84 dr johnson you're recognized thank you so much mr president uh i rise to uh move a floor amendment there is a bit of an issue that i did not catch uh and i'm sure councilman gaffey and uh councilwoman clark murray would be proud of this uh inadvertently in the legislation it says that the gentleman went to stanton high school he actually attended william marion rain senior high school only time i'll speak it on this day it's like that but if we could if i could get a second for this motion thank you thank you mr president we have a motion and a second on the floor amendment mr foplas are we able to handle this floor amendment right now in real time to the through the chair and to the council yes because the amendment has been prepared and distributed to the council roger that uh dr johnson you're no longer in the queue okay any speakers on the floor amendment seeing none we'll take a vote on the floor amendment verbally all in favor of the floor amendment from dr johnson indicate by saying aye aye all against say no form of the passes we'll entertain a motion i'll move the bill the resolution has amended all right 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 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 20 26 0 6 8 4 passes as amended i want to recognize the council rules chair yes sir mr gay you are recognized thank you mr president uh we have approved the following appointment as part of the consent agenda mr cory ford please stand uh he's been uh to be recognized he's been appointed to the construction trade qualifying board as a seasoned gentleman electrician so please join me in welcoming him to the service of our city thank you it's right up your alley mr president before moving on to public comment there is an item the body wishes to take up it's a resolution honoring our friend and colleague and my fellow techie steve cassado who is retiring for after more than 30 years of distinguished service to the city the resolution can be found on page 43 20 26 0 7 3 9 and before moving the emergency i would like legislative services to add me as a co-sponsor with that i move the emergency we have a motion and a second on the emergency uh miss clark murray do you want to speak on the emergency or the bill okay we'll take a vote on the emergency verbally all in favor of the emergency indicate by saying aye i all against say no the emergency passes move the bill as an emergency we have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency miss clark murray you're recognized followed by mr layman thank you president how i just want to move a council amendment second we have a motion and a second on a council amendment seeing no speakers we'll take a vote on the council amendment verbally all in in favor indicate by saying aye aye all against saying no council amendment passes move the bill as emergency as amended we have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency as amended there are no speakers let's open the ballot and record your vote 17 yays zero nays and by your unanimous vote 2026 0739 passes steve let me be the first to congratulate you on 30 years of service to the city certainly we are going to take a moment right now mr teal would you please read the resolution resolution 2026 739 for more than 30 years steve casada has given his talent time and extraordinary dedication to the city of jacksonville serving across generations of elected leadership and through enormous changes while becoming a trusted colleague problem solver an invaluable part of the institutional memory of the jacksonville city hall a native of etowah tennessee a graduate of mcminn central high school steve casada studied music in tennessee and pursued graduate study in church music at the southern baptist theological seminary carrying into his professional life the musician's understanding that timing matters listening matters every voice matters and the whole works best the whole works best when someone understands how all of the pieces fit together steve casada became an indispensable member member of the jacksonville city council staff bringing remarkable patience technical expertise dependability and quiet leadership to the information technology and audio visual systems upon which council members staff citizens and the legislative process depend during his remarkable career government moved from paper files and binders into a digital world of searchable legislation interconnected systems and live streamed public meetings and steve casada helped to navigate the council through that transformation including work that was made legislative records more electronically accessible to the public because technology in government when done well is ultimately without is ultimately about access transparency and connecting people to their democracy some people serve government from the dais while others serve it behind the walls inside the systems in the control rooms and just beyond the camera frame and through thousands of meetings calls questions technical emergencies and quiet acts of service steve casada spent more than three decades making certain democracy had a microphone there are people who simply pass through institutions and then there are people who become a part of them and steve casada became a part of this one giving jacksonville people more than three decades of his life and leaving behind systems he strengthened colleagues he helped knowledge he shared and a legislative branch that worked better because steve casada worked here now therefore be it resolved by the council of the city of jacksonville the city council hereby honors and celebrates steve casada upon his retirement following more than 30 years of distinguished service to the city of jacksonville and expresses its profound gratitude for his expertise professionalism patience kindness steadfastness and extraordinary commitment to the council and the people of jacksonville the city council recognizes that steve casada did not simply support the work of the city council he helped make the work possible steve casada stood behind the people who stood before the people and his efforts provided a voice by which democracy spoke steve fixed what was broken answered when called taught what he knew and consistently showed up when he was needed for more than three decades steve casada was there and the city is better because of his service 30 years of service by my math and uh councilman lane and you might have to check me on this that means that steve casada started with city council in 1996 and what that also means is that man we talk about going from paper to digital you went through a lot more of a it transformation than that he even navigated this city council through y2k think about that um so with that i just want to say steve thank you so much for your 30 years of service this is the smallest bit of recognition recognition we could do you deserve so much more and the city is so far better off for your 30 years thank you sir safe travel and steve would you like to say a few words well i'd just like to say thank you very much for this honor it indeed is an honor and i accept this on all those people that i've worked with this wasn't done by myself this was done with it by a team so thank you so much for appreciate that all right you want to get one with um let's pray we can hold it right here and maybe you could get one of the counseling back yeah enjoy that motorcycle after you're done with that picture we have uh councilwoman pitman in the queue all right steve one one second so we can get some acknowledgement here councilwoman pitman you recognized well steve i just want to say um we go way back before i came on the council and you're the same person um i'm i'm gonna miss you a whole lot especially those uh peanuts that you bring me i appreciate that so you still can bring those back um for me as well but i i think we all can attest that steve has been a great help to a lot of us especially our technology issues and you don't take the credit by yourself you always have a team effort and so i want to thank you for your commitment to the city of jacksonville and to the city council as well thank you all right we're going to move on now and in order to allow justin of the supervisor elections office to get out of here early may i suggest that we take up item number 134 found on page 54 and that is 2026 723 i move the emergency we have a motion and a second on the emergency there are no speakers in the queue let's take the vote on the emergency verbally all in favor indicate by saying aye aye all against say no the emergency passes and i don't believe we have any public participation cards on this i don't see anything forthcoming so i will move the uh the bill as an emergency we have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency there are no speakers in the queue let's open the ballot and a court to vote 17 yeas zero nays and by your vote 2026 zero seven two three is approved just for the record i just want to advise the general public the change of location from san jose uh country club was at the choice of the club to move and we've relocated it for the november election so thank you mr president as per ordinance uh 2022 475 we are now ready for public comments council members are reminded that this is our time to hear from the public there is not a time for questions or answers or debate however a member of the public may be invited to the bob johnson room for further discussions pending the approval of the president ladies and gentlemen if you wish to speak you should have filled out a green public comment card no cards will be except accepted after 6 p.m and council rules a lot for 90 minutes for public comment the allowed time of three minutes may be shortened so that all wishing to speak will have an opportunity to do so given that we presently have over 40 cards the usual lot of time for each speaker will not will be shortened to two minutes two minutes during the 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 address before beginning your comments or just said my address is on file meaning it's written on the green speaker card i will announce five speakers in order they are to appear when i call your name but ask that you move down here to the reserve seats in the front row awaiting your turn to speak and then directly to the podium your time will start when you arrive at the podium by the way if you have any baggages or anything leave them on or bags leave them on the table on the left all right you're right my left well uh our first five speakers are by the way we thank you for being here this evening kathleen pereira carnell oliver joy vio reverend av kearney and adam gray would you please come down to the front in the meantime i'm going to invite mr teal to read council rule 4505 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 mr cheal please note the start time is 5 43 once again our first speaker is kathleen pereira please be sure all of you provide your name and address as you begin otherwise provide that name and note the address is on the green public comment card miss per you have two minutes my name is kathleen prayer my information is on file thank you for voting against the slaughterhouse oil depot liquor store next door to the liquor store next door to a school and similar projects that would have been detrimental to our neighborhoods however what is still perplexing is that these and other bad ideas had to be considered by four other bodies the respective cpac the planning department the planning commission and the luz before council could vote them down why can't any of these other bodies stop any project after they review their case after all i'm certain that my cpac and even the planning department would certainly have nixed my uh rights my rights to build a 10-story apartment building in the middle of my single family neighborhood before anyone else had up the chain could hear right unfortunately the reality is what george orwell almost said best all property owners are equal but some property owners are more equal than others that is some developers who have influenced and no regard for the quality of life of their neighbors have rights with surpass the neighborhoods they also have the power to create and then watch the angst of a neighborhood reach a crescendo of bitten nails headaches and lost sleep over having to attend a minimum of four separate meetings before the council after twisting itself and the citizens and knots denies the project really none of us need this kind of drama and this is not the kind of drama that the fox chase will in station and windy hill neighborhoods want to see when they know that a 15 000 seat soccer stadium that doubles as a concert venue about one half mile from them will ruin their quality of life give the cpac and planning department the power to deny this project at that level and for all these reasons it's imperative that the city codify the 1995 neighborhood bill of rights and bring back 2026 570 to full council and pass it thank you thank you next we have carnell oliver uh yes my name is carnell oliver what would america be without american freedom the very foundation of the 13th 14th and 15th amendment what would the state of florida duval can be without black americans american freedom we have been subjugated in this country and oppressed not from just slavery but from immigration they never honored the 1866 civil rights act one of the things that i had was a 15-minute conversation with jim cliburns off dealing with the 2027 budget appropriation we're trying to focus in on compliance on the federal level of the 1866 civil rights act donald trump talks about enforcement of the laws i'ma do my part because american freedmen are america first without y'all without us you immigrants wouldn't be in this country let me make that clear you immigrants especially the black ones if you're not me and you sending these seats you better know who played that role for you be in this country the state has an obligation to us the city has an obligation to us underneath the 1866 civil rights act especially the land the fscj sits on was a freedmen selling the city gave it to them so you have an obligation to pay that reparation is that clear either you fold or you pay homage to the people that paid away for you because without us you wouldn't be here this nation came off of our backs mr oliver could you please note that your address is on file for me sir you already know thanks i'm already here thanks we have joy vio my name is joy vio and my address is on file i'm here to speak again today in support of ongoing efforts to reinstate funding for the affordable housing trust fund which i believe like the sometimes controversial kids hope alliance will be a commitment to our values as a community the current plan to cut 10 of those services to our vulnerable youth and the continued resistance to create a resilient and flexible affordable housing resource are both short-sighted in my opinion if city leaders sponsor support and oversee both these key resources we will see results in the next generation of jacksonville citizens mentoring young people and creating more sustainable homes for their families will result in less stress for seniors parents and children better school performance through resources directed at keeping them in their homes and in the long run less need for law enforcement intervention there are so many what ifs if we can explore as a community and let creative minds and stakeholders collaborate to support family homes one big advantage of the hope kids alliance is that there are opportunities for funding outside government my hope is that we can have a sustainable resource for housing initiatives that offers the same opportunities for donors who want to invest in the future of our city we have great non-profits in jacksonville working on homelessness relief and housing if they work together great things happen i came here as a navy wife in 1993 when jacks was less than a million people i raised my children here grew a business here and retired here this is no longer a town and we have to pull together for future success right now we're way behind thank you thank you ma'am next we have the reverend av kearney hi my name is av kearney um my address is on file um i'm here as a pastor campus pastor of riverside church of our kinky and i'm here to speak in favor of adding the light i'm back for affordable housing trust fund into our city's budget um in the past five years average rent in jacksonville has gone up 34 percent um and half of our zip codes it's up as much as 50 percent um and wages just have not come close to keeping up with that pace the families who were making it five years ago are now one missed paycheck away from losing their homes some council members have indicated that we may strip funding for affordable housing from the budget to prioritize public safety um but young professionals leaving our city because they can't afford to live here doesn't make any uh our city any safer um single moms like myself struggling to provide for their children because the rent is too high it doesn't make our city any safer and our senior adults working low-wage jobs well into their 70s like many of my congregants because they can't afford to retire doesn't make our community safer either if people can't afford a dignified place to live then our whole community becomes more desperate and more unstable and more cruel and so to those who might say that we cannot afford this investment i believe that we cannot afford not to thank you ma'am next we have adam gray in the meantime i'm going to invite down to the front please james wilson jerry woodham reverend keeneth emmanuel senior madison hilt and denise scott go ahead mr gray good evening my name is adam gray i'm the pastor of riverside church at park and king 2650 park street i want to tell you three stories tonight there's a woman in our church recent college graduate who told me just two weeks ago she never expects to be able to afford a home because the wages are too low and the rents are too high there's a woman in our church in her 50s holds a master's degree in education has served as the principal of a private school and even she is spending 50 of her income on rent to provide a place for her and her children in the riverside neighborhood there are people in my church in their 70s who continue to work low wage retail jobs not because they enjoy being greeters at walmart or serving concessions at the jaguars games but because the rent is too high for them to retire it's not a question of old or young it's not a question of educated or uneducated it's not even a question of black or right it's a question of right or wrong are we going to make our city affordable for people to live or not i want to be in a city where we can afford to live and thrive together thank you thank you sir next we have james wilson my name is james wilson my address is on record i moved to jacksonville in 1955 i've been a very lucky person i've been here for 70 years i went to fccj in 1969 to unf and i've been a photographer in this city for 47 years i've been a very lucky man we moved in with my grandmother and then from there i bought a house cashed a mortgage my second house was i took over a va loan from a navy guy who was moving to washington today my wife and i bought a house and built a house and we've been there for 23 years i am in favor of the affordable housing act so that my grandchildren my great-grandchildren who i have 10 will be able to afford housing jacksonville's an awesome place let's keep the people here and let them afford to live here thank you for your time thank you sir next we have uh jerry woodham jerry woodham address on file i want to thank you for passing the money that uh fccj for the opportunity for their ship building and learning about space industry thank you council president thank you council for seeing forward that our youth will work with the new opportunities that are going to be coming uh that not everybody has to go to college so thank you for seeing that thank you for cutting the budget uh 25 million dollars um we're all hurting right now housing insurance property taxes you go to the grocery store every time you go it's prices are going up and up and up the packages are getting smaller and smaller so we need to try to see if we can trim more of that because that is our taxpayer dollars and thank you for stopping the slaughterhouse we know that you worked hard on that and you listen to the community i do want to ask you also to codify the original neighborhood bill of rights in 1995 that was passed by this body and it was never codified i think it would have helped and eased all the difficulties with the morgue and the liquor store and even a soccer stadium coming into neighborhood areas and please let people do their gardens why why cannot people have a community garden in a community it brings people together it gives them food it's it's a fellowship of people coming together doing something fun this world is so full of mistakes and disasters that we hear of every day let them have the pleasure of a garden and while we're talking about pleasures help the people get their grady bridge back so they can fish thank you thank you ma'am next we have the reverend keeneth kenneth emmanuel senior good evening council and thank you individually and collectively for allowing us to have the opportunity to speak i'm here to support i'm sorry sir name and address please my name is reverend kenneth emmanuel my address is 10731 town view drive jacksonville good no thank you sir but i must say that most of the information i've gathered over years came from my service as a deacon at second missionary baptist church and now an assistant minister there and second missionary baptist church address is 954 kings road here in jacksonville in support of the continuation of a affordable housing trust fund fund here in jacksonville i want to make two points and leave you with a spiritual note in our experience at second missionary baptist church our congregation i would have to say it's probably mostly on the north side but we have those on the west side even orange park as i formerly lived and south side throughout jacksonville we have what is called a benevolent fund and we're when our congress have difficult times because the housing cost is so much higher than what it should be for their income so we've noticed people spending 35 40 percent 50 and even 60 percent of their income and so if anything happens they're in trouble so i'll say to you that what that does is make people very uncomfortable and unable to live in a in a with peace knowing that they'll be able to meet their housing requirement thank you thank you sir we unfortunately have a two minute okay uh that deadline for everybody so two minute timer next we have madison hilt madison hilt all right move on then to denise scott in the meantime i'm going to invite the following to come down to the front please george i'm sorry joseph george samantha series carolyn rosenberry alan maston and addison liberty patrick please come down to the front go ahead miss scott hi good evening my name is denise scott my address is on file i'd like to welcome miss holder to the dais good to see you um yesterday we celebrated labor day to honor the achievements of the american workers and their contributions to this country history tells us that in the height of the industrial revolution in the late 1800s there were harsh working conditions they had the 12-hour days seven days a week unsafe conditions and little pay um thankfully labor unions today um oh no thankfully labor unions have been around for a long time in the 1800s labor unions were organizing strikes and rallies rallies to address the poor and unsafe working conditions today i'm so thankful for the two-day work week the 40-day um two-day weekend 40-day work week ending child labor to make sure kids stay in school minimum wage and other basic benefits i'm so glad that unions gave a force to the everyday worker and they helped build a strong middle class maybe that's why our state legislators are trying so hard to dismantle the labor union councilman howland the people depend on you to have your best the best interest um when it comes to making decisions for this city it's become increasingly clear that you and most of the folks on this council you can't focus on the people when you're too busy looking out for your own selves and your billion of friends i'm told that what you did mr howland was legal according to the law because you claimed you used your political committee to raise funds but the question is how does it make how does it look to the people not too many of your constituents can get in someone's private jet to see a baseball game with the owner instead of looking out for the great people of this city you're catering to the developers no wonder you can't understand what about the working class and what they're going through in this crazy economy it's no wonder why so many on this council don't understand why the people would benefit from that affordable housing money too many millionaires in your public service thank you next we have joseph joseph macelle george all right good evening my name is joseph macelle george i'm the president of north florida central labor council my address is on file on september the 3rd mayor donald deegan officially proclaimed september 7th through the 11th 2026 as labor week in recognition of the vital role that working men and women play in strengthening our city our state and our nation yesterday we proudly celebrated labor day the north florida central labor council extend our sincere appreciation to our labor mayor donald deegan councilwoman mona holder and members of the community who joined us in commemorating this important occasion your president helped us honor the dignity of work and recognize the countless contribution of working men and women whose dedication sacrifices and commitment have helped build the strength prosperity and progress of our nation labor day is more than a holiday or a three-day weekend it is an opportunity to recognize the men and women whose hard work keeps our community moving forward and to reaffirm our commitment to goods job fair wages serve safe working place and economy opportunity for working families the north florida central labor council is also pleased to express its support for mayor deegan's proposed city budget and respectfully urge the jacksonville city council to approve the budget in its entirety we believe the proposed budget represent an important investment in the future of our community and in the service and opportunity that working families depend upon once again we extend our heartfelt appreciation to councilwoman modi holder for standing with labor and being there on labor day thank you thank you next we have samantha series samantha series address on file i just want to point out seven of our council members are missing from the dais at this point and you've heard of the saying actions speak louder than words i would say people missing during public comment especially one that leaves right before public comment starts is an action that is noticed and is rude so just one point that out there i would like to say that affordable housing is something that's great to be investing in but i think that we need to actually invest in affordable communities instead of just having these random apartments that are for rent or you know just put off into a random like neighborhood they actually need to have a community base so having like a mixed-use building in the middle where there's a storefront people don't have to drive anywhere because sometimes people who can't afford homes have to take public transit it takes a long time to use public transit in jacksonville it's not the easiest city to get around if you don't have a vehicle and then pivoting i would like to talk about data centers i know that it's a little bit of a controversial subject but it doesn't have to be we allow these tech oligarchs to decide on how these data centers are set up and how they're cooled they let them use water why aren't we pricing the water so much that they can't make it a cheaper option to cool the centers data centers actually don't need water to cool they have the technology where they could use actual renewable energy like i know we're in a race with china just so you know america has 4767 data centers china only has 376 and china uses renewable energy for them they don't use water i think it's important that we make sure we elect a governor that would protect our state instead of selling it off and using pristine lands for data centers that are going to ruin our nature thank you next we have carolyn rosenberry my name is carolyn rosenberry and my address is on file many of us here feel the need is great for affordable housing in jacksonville and i commend city council for already supporting some programs such as incentives for builders and assistance for home repairs that make it easier for residents to afford the rising costs of living instead of saying that we're doing enough though i believe we need an all of the above approach looking for as many sources of funding as possible an affordable housing trust fund would have the advantage of being a private public collaboration once established an affordable housing trust fund could seek funding not only from the city but also from the private sector from corporations banks foundations money which would then be available for city directed programs i believe city council wants to do what their constituents want i'm here to stand up for the values that encourage me to treat others as i want to be treated and provide for those in need every resident deserves housing they can afford i want my taxes to assist others who need a leg up and i believe an affordable housing trust fund is a smart way to leverage our tax dollars to provide more services i urge you to support the establishment of an affordable housing trust fund thank you thank you next we have alan maston i'm alan maston and my address is on file so i'm here to uh talk about the affordable housing trust fund i'm just i'm going to give you a couple examples about why it's important um my grandson is a sophomore at unf and over the summer he and a couple of his buddies decided they wanted to get an apartment together and so after an extensive search they realized that even with three guys contributing to the rent of an apartment they couldn't afford one so he's living at home and prior to coming to this meeting we decided to go by sweet pete's you all know where that is and so we're talking to the server there uh guys probably in his about 25 or so and we discussed the uh you know the affordability of housing and he's another person who you know is a server in jacksonville and he can't afford his own housing so he's living at home so um the affordable housing trust fund is very important thank you thank you sir next we have addison liberty patrick in the meantime i want to invite up to the front area please ryan whitmer bob bevins kerr harold felder lonnie mills and the reverend cynthia joseph would you please come down to the front go ahead miss patrick good evening city council my name is addison liberty patrick and my address is on file first i want to publicly welcome miss holder to the dais and i also want to thank councilman jimmy peluso for holding a public meeting recently to investigate how our city handles flock cameras and surveillance i also want to thank the community activists who pushed this initiative forward i have provided each of you with an executive brief detailing exactly how our data is being sold and tracked we need to finish what was started mass surveillance cameras and acoustic listening devices should be turned off taken down and removed from our city completely they must not be quietly replaced by another vendor's technology if any city department wants to deploy splice gosh spy tech in our neighborhoods and must be voted on by the people in a public referendum first let's be more cautious about tech contracts and software subscriptions that trap us in endless recurring fees across various departments we have fleets of take-home vehicles a city vehicle is a work tool not a taxpayer funded commuter perk if we extend depreciation schedules and audit take-home policies citywide we could save millions every dollar wasted on an unnecessary vendor contract a spy camera or an underutilized take-home car is a dollar that we aren't spending on real crisis like housing we cannot build affordable housing when developers are strangled by months of bureaucratic red tape impact fees and specialized hearings just to get a shovel in the ground slash the red tape that makes it so expensive to live and do business in the city protect our privacy audit the fluff and let's make jacksonville affordable thank you thank you next we have ryan ryan whitmer i'm sorry hello uh ryan whitmer and my address is on file so hello and good afternoon council members i'm a long-time citizen and resident of jacksonville and an entrepreneur who employs many amazing citizens in this great city but today i'm here to talk to you about bonds so as i'm sure you're all aware the purpose of a city bond is to serve as one of the three functions of money essentially a preservation of value but it's no secret that our great city is doing something not so great with our money our leaders have decided to invest our hard-earned money into a country that is at the center of a world conflict in a country that is a known provocateur a country currently being bombed a country that has experienced for the past four years negative immigration and stagnant population growth so not only the skilled and affluent are leaving the country according to their own investment authorities 49 of planned investments were indefinitely postponed and vc funding the future of an economy has declined by 60 percent corporate acquisitions into the country have dropped from 44 to 4. investment from the uk is down more than 80 the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world has divested entirely so all of this along with other variables are leading the major credit rating companies to downgrade their rating and post negative future outlooks so if there's an 80 decline in jacksonville or if jacksonville was being downgraded would we expect investments in jacksonville certainly not so include in conclusion i want to say this why risk the income of your citizens to fund a country that doesn't have a solid rating is not projected to have one and is quite publicly and blatantly violating human rights killing innocent women and children and whose leaders have an arrest warrant thank you sir next we have bob bevins kerr good evening thank you my name is bob bevins kerr my address is on file for the past 18 years i've owned and i've operated a small business in mandarin where i have five employees and i manage non-scientific non-profit scientific societies that focus on food safety and environmental safety and i'm here tonight to ask you to establish an affordable housing trust fund for jacksonville this year i lost a very good employee she wanted to buy a first home and start a family and she found something affordable but it wasn't in mandarin not anywhere near our business she had to buy on the north side that meant she could no longer keep working for me the home she could afford would have added an hour commute i didn't lose the employee to another company i lost her to geography and she's not alone my other employees who earn 50 to 60 000 a year several of them are living with their parents and some are splitting rent three ways that's an honest wage and it still doesn't buy a foothold anywhere near where jobs actually are i ask that an affordable housing trust fund it gives you a dedicated tool that to that other cities have done we don't have to invent it we need the will to fund it and to target it and to support local businesses that are paying salaries where folks cannot afford a home thank you for your consideration thank you next we have harold felder harold felder 1926 north david street i hope that the city of jacksonville place these affordable housings all throughout the city of jacksonville and not just in the inner city where it has already gotten started i need to inform this council that the grass cutting contractors of the city of jacksonville are not picking up paper but are cutting the paper into the grass neither are they removing cut grass from sidewalk and are not edging cutting the easements i'm speaking in particular of the area uh along davis street that starts from 8th street and down to the u.s uh us1 interstate also i would like to see severely overgrown bush growing up along the size of the i-95 highway from edgewood avenue traveling south up to the bifurcation of i-10 west and 95 south of the interstate chopped and removed and mowed down i'm saying chopped because there are wild trees that are growing up there over 15 feet high as well the governments are not thoroughly removing the trash debris and automobile accident parts from the interstate in these areas it is not the residents living in the area that are trashing this general area in jacksonville but those traveling through as in relation to vacant lots can you please write an ordinance that would require owners of vacant lots to erect a barrier that will prevent vehicles from entering to dump trash tires furniture and other materials on these vacant lots vacant lots my major concerns are the residential areas in between myrtle avenue and davis street uh running from uh new king's road and the us1 interstate uh lastly i would like to commend the city for the uh planting tree arrangements of magnolias palms and crape myrtles and other complimentary shrubbery at the eighth street interstate exit and off ramp and the i-95 entrance ramp thank you thank you sir next we have lonnie mills mr paluso i would like to meet with you in the bob johns room sir if you want to come down good evening council president and council members my name is lonnie mills and my address is on file i'm asking the council to take an important next step in addressing jacksonville's affordable housing needs establish the fund a local affordable housing trust fund i recognize that jacksonville already invests in housing through a number of programs and initiatives those efforts are important and this request is not intended to replace or diminish them the question is what we are doing today is enough to meet tomorrow's need a housing trust fund would give jacksonville something different a dedicated accountable long-term funding mechanism focused specifically on creating preserving and protecting affordable housing it could support new construction rehabilitation of aging homes emergency repairs rental assistance and other locally determined priorities most importantly it would allow jacksonville to plan strategically instead of addressing affordable housing primarily one program or one budget year at a time affordable housing should be viewed as essential community infrastructure when working families seniors veterans young adults and people with disabilities can afford to live in the community they call home jacksonville benefits i am not asking the council to choose between between our existing housing programs and the housing trust fund i'm asking you to strengthen what jacksonville is already doing by adding another proven tool to our toolbox please begin the process of establishing the jacksonville affordable housing trust fund with a dedicated funding source strong oversight annual public reporting the results thank you thank you sir next we have the reverend cynthia joseph in the meantime i'm going to invite down to the front please donna auger james matchett carol hawkins michael smith and kim fontatecchio i believe that's that go ahead reverend good evening i am reverend cynthia joseph and a social administrator at st paul amy church and my address is on file recently i just moved from san francisco to come back home and being interested in the affordable housing in my community i attended the finance budget meeting and was very disappointed with the decision pertaining to the affordable housing trust fund the city of jacksonville is a beautiful growing city please don't let our homeless population and those who cannot afford uh the high rent uh please don't leave them out of the growth and development of this city and please do not shun away from your responsibilities and commitment to the people of this great city it would be greatly appreciated if the affordable housing trust fund be put back into the budget because the people in every community in the state in the city of jacksonville in the state of florida florida their lives do matter thank you for your time thank you ma'am next we have donna auger thank you um thank you for having us speak about the affordable housing trust fund um i am with the st vincent de paul society conference in um arlington and uh we assist people in the three two two one one and three two two seven seven zip codes only however this august i was the screener for all the calls that come in and i took approximately 70 calls this month for people who needed help with rent food and jea we were able to assist 32 most of the those 32 were within the three two two one one and three two two seven seven zip codes so that we were doing what we needed to be doing but we get calls from all over the city and um we we can't help them we don't have the funds or the ability to travel as far as 30 miles from where we are um so hopefully you know i was able to get some help for them by giving them resources but a lot of the city resources have been diminished lately and people call 211 and nobody answers any of the people that are assigned to call they they can't they can't deal with it there's no time or funding to do what needs to be done so um i just hope you can reevaluate the trust fund it's very important to the people of jacksonville who can't afford their own homes but there's also many people who as we've heard uh can't work because they whatever they're they're um or they can't pay for their own homes because they need to live with three or four other people to help pay the rent thank you for listening thank you ma'am next name james matchett thanks sir next we have carol hawkins hello my name is carol hawkins and my address is on file i'm here also in support of the 90 000 people in our community who struggle to afford a home i urge you to designate and finance an affordable housing trust fund just like 850 other communities in america have done i want to thank my council member in district 7 jimmy peluso um and also our at-large council member matt carlucci both of these people have shown courageous leadership on what has been up until this point a minority opinion on this council and i hope it doesn't stay that way many of us know someone who should be able to but who can't afford a home in jacksonville my story is my friend alexa a single middle-aged full-time office worker she spent two years looking for and couldn't find safe affordable housing here so she left the state to live with her parents now that hurts me personally and i think all of us who have a personal story feel that way but i think what's more upsetting to me is that we have a unf poll from last year that showed that the top problem people face in jacksonville is affordable housing people mentioned housing twice as much as anything else not government spending not immigration housing so i wonder how can it be that this is not the top issue that our council is working on one of the people most the people who are most affected by this are essential workers bus drivers healthcare support staff entry-level school teachers firefighters these are people who went back to work during covid while the rest of us stayed home we need them jesus said whatever you did for the least among us you did for me so as you deliberate i hope each one of you will ask what will my legacy be here who am i helping thank you thank you ma'am next we have michael smith good evening my name is dr michael smith and my address is on file a florida state graduate i returned to jacksonville three years ago from chicago after a long social work career the last 20 with the salvation army you probably know that the salvation army operates shelters throughout the world actually and one here in jacksonville in my long career working with people experiencing homelessness i learned there are many reasons they end up on the streets very few want to live unhoused some manifest persistent and untreated mental illness other substance abuse substance abuse challenges others have physical and intellectual limitations still others were fleeing domestic violence where they lost their housing through divorce or other family disconnection homelessness is complicated i see the growing number of people living on the streets in jacksonville and often wonder what their stories are that resulted in their homelessness don't you increasingly increasingly those on the streets are there because there is simply no affordable housing they can't afford to pay a security deposit first and last month's rent to get into an apartment even if they could find one and once on the streets it's very difficult to get off the streets rents continue to increase men and women trying to survive on the streets here deserve a decent and safe place to live as we all deserve there's a desperate need for more affordable housing in this beautiful city i love this city and i'm deeply concerned that many can't enjoy a basic and fair quality of life because of the lack of affordable housing other cities have successfully set up the funds thereby providing a first and vital step to assisting persons thank you thank you next we have kim fantecchio followed by roxy mcleod please come on down to the front brian lipinski welts todd latasha hobbs and blake harper please come on down to the front go ahead kim hi good evening my name is kim fantecchio walton and my address is on file i'm here because i followed every rule the city gave me i applied for and received the certificate of use for my permitted garden space cou number two six one oh three nine oh five i complied fully i met every requirement i did exactly what the city instructed me to do and yet despite that i have been subjected to repeated citations contradictory enforcement and treatment that no resident should have to experience i attempted to resolve this privately and professionally i've reached out to many of you and i have not received a single response because of this silence i am standing here publicly tonight to report a very something very serious during a meeting on june 2nd inside the city's code compliance office on hogan street the code enforcement supervisor told me in front of another staff member that the complaints against my permanent garden were happening because i am allowing black people to come into my white neighborhood he then told me that because my neighborhood would my neighbors would continue to complain the citations would continue and then i would be forced to repeatedly defend my permanent garden space this exact pattern has already repeated three times since june i have received three separate citations for my permanent garden space from the city of jacksonville this is not a zoning issue this is not a compliance issue this is racial discrimination and it is completely unacceptable tonight i'm asking for three things number one identify the ordinance that i am allegedly violating and how my garden is violating that ordinance number two confirm whether the city can impose new conditions on my home-based business under florida law and number three address the discriminatory statement made by a city official and the enforcement actions that appear to be driven by bias rather than law i urge the city council to pass the home occupation bill and support the right to garden act to prevent this from happening over jacksonville thank you thank you next we have roxy mcleod good evening my name is roxy mcleod my address is on file and i'm so honored to be able to be here in front of each of you thank you for your endurance throughout the each time you guys have to sit here and listen to all of us i appreciate your patience thank you i want to congratulate three of you have come out to the community garden named common ground on the north side thank you thank you and i just want to see more of you there so you are more than welcome to come even this saturday morning if you don't want a proper tour and line it up with me just come saturday morning we have a work day and guess what we picked this morning watermelon we're going to have a party so please come to common ground on the north side in the neighborhood named panama park just south of the zoo you can't miss it obviously i'm also here to ask you to definitely vote for the home home occupation bill and also to support the freedom to garden act appreciate y'all thank you have a good evening you too man i love purple chris thank you next we have brian lipinski thank you so much my name is brian lipinski and my address is on file um i'm a lifelong resident of jacksonville and i am here tonight to urge the full council to prioritize our city's most pressing crisis housing affordability last month the finance committee completely stripped the proposed 4.9 million dollars from the affordable housing trust fund leaving us entirely dependent on federal and state pass room dollars that are simply not enough i strongly support councilman uh matt carlucci's efforts to bring forward an amendment restoring the 4.9 million dollars i have heard some critics argue this fund is too small to single-handedly solve a crisis of this scale and that of course is true but dismissing this funding because it won't fix everything overnight is dangerous we do not apply that logic to any other city service we don't stop paving roads just because we can't fix every pothole at once even though 4.9 million is relatively small in the grand scheme of our city budget every dollar is absolutely worth it it means real down payment assistance for working families it leverages private investment to spur the creation of stable below market rate housing doing something meaningful right now is infinitely better than doing nothing at all this is a crisis when hard-working jacksonville families are priced out of their neighborhoods our entire local economy suffers we cannot build a prosperous city if the people who keep it running can no longer live here please please restore the funding and we will see you on september 22nd for this big vote thank you thank you next we have wells todd my name is wells todd and we'll take him down jackson my address is on file often when i hear the word budget one thing comes to mind the word austerity i first heard the word in president jimmy carter's 1979 speech basically austerity means taking from the working class and giving more wealth to those that are already wealthy in fact austerity means cutting the funding for public services lowering government spending and adding more stress to low-income families the department of government efficiency doge is not helping the people of jacksonville in fact if there was waste it was created by the republican party no this part-time city council which is really a conflict of interests is being with in place to protect the interests of the rich landowners developers and investors just like many other city councils across the country the rich come first and the rest of us have to fight over what's left when you don't provide for the needs of society when jobs pay low wages when the needs of the neighborhoods are not met when affordable housing is out of reach when there are no when there are more liquor stores than grocery stores when the community's infrastructure is crumbling or even non-existent then what you have left is degradation when you don't provide for the people then you must provide for the police because we all know when you don't provide for the people and there are no jobs and no housing crime goes up so you must provide for the apparatus of control which is the police which gets about half this city's budget the people won't take it much longer they won't take the corruption and the greed thank you next we have latasha hobbs hi good evening my name is latasha hobbs address is on file and i stand before you as the mother of my forever only son maurice hobbs who was murdered january 26 2017 his murder remains unsolved today is day 3512 of me fighting for his justice and fighting to protect it i know it's me against the world when i stand here supporting use of flock cameras and i'm okay with that i'm a one army mom this fight is not for the weak as i have shared previously according to jso since 2024 license plate readers have assisted with 15 murders murder cases 17 kidnappings six forcible sex offenses including children nearly 100 shootings and 172 missing person cases i don't stand here with simply an emotional plea and no substance i stand before you with facts facts that demonstrate results and facts that certainly matter those numbers aren't just statistics those are lives i acknowledge sheriff tk waters decision to disconnect discontinue jso's use of flock cameras and the difficult position he was placed in my message tonight isn't about blame it's about solutions every day this technology remains unavailable is another day investigators are without a tool that has helped solve murders and bringing missing people home privacy matters constitutional rights matter public safety matters we should have we should not have to replace one to protect the other i urge our local officials to work with state legislators to establish strong safeguards for privacy data access and retention auditing transparency and consequences for misuse while preserving responsible law enforcement access and include violent crime survivors victims of violent crimes in that conversation thank you thank you next we have blake harper i'd like to invite the following to come down to the front please lidette lloydette noise that lydia bell nicholas petros amina sharif indira zakaria please come on down to the front mr harper blake harper information on file for some of you you will be jumping up and down in your seats because i'm actually admitting a mistake it's important that we recognize our mistakes so that we recognize when we're speaking truthfully and accurately versus inaccurately last time i was here we talked about uh gary wiggins and the change of the street name it was not gary wiggins it was his father cecil wiggins and you have in front of you the obituary for cecil wiggins you see his his likeness and you see the church that he built that you drive by every time you come eastbound on i-10 this is an institution this is a church that that reached reached out through through cecil and then through gary to solve and solve problems and help people and bring the community together yet three months after cecil's passing it was requested that they change a name of a street to cecil but it was turned down because he was not dead for five years you're being asked to make a change on a street for a person who still lives the reality is that you have a two-thirds vote that's required this is a serious issue not a simple majority it's a two-thirds vote consistency folks we also have to think about the fact that we have a constitution and we have a series of laws that's been with us in 1776 8 1783 you don't have to have been there to make a decision that is consistent with long-held precedent two-thirds of a vote is necessary to change the name of the street i'm not making any disparaging remarks about press and haskell not about his politics or his business practices what i'm speaking about is the fact that we have a precedence we have a standard in place today it requires two-thirds of a vote changing the name of the street is serious you didn't do it because for cecil uh cecil wiggins there's i don't know why but we need to keep things going consistently thank you thank you next we have loydette noisette noisette my address is on file thank you my name is lordette noisette and i live in the densmore neighborhood i am asking you to support the affordable housing trust fund the issue is important to me because as a current homeowner i know the joy of owning a home as well as the heartache of not being able to afford a down payment for my first home this is because as a working adult that worked two jobs to support my son i wanted to experience the joy of being able to put the key into a keyhole of my own home one where i would be able to raise my son in a house and not an apartment i was raised in a home with a yard in a room to in a room to play in i wanted this for my son as well and at the time my son was in elementary when i went to go and tried to buy my first home i experienced heartache because i couldn't afford a down payment even with working two jobs and saving money the home that i found with the yard for my son was not it's one that i want to walk through the front door i was not able to afford a down payment on my incitement became heartbreak and it would take more time and more money to finally be able to afford a home by the time i did my son was in his last year of high school an affordable housing trust fund can give working the adults who fall into lower income percentage a chance to purchase their own home when we work together great things happen i'll see you on september the 22nd at the next council meeting thank you thank you ma'am next we have lydia bell miss bell good evening from 1910 to the 1960s 50 years incinerated toxic toxic ash was spreaded over the north side many residents died from cancer kidney failure blindness young women couldn't bear children because you don't see death you feel death after 2005 class action lawsuit 75 million dollars you came down the street and placed a 51 000 square feet industrial facility a 300 body morgue forensic lab releasing biomedical fumes 32 feet from our children's school three feet from our home and now a concrete patch and someone said it's only going to be a little dust when it shouldn't be any dust at all going into people lungs and how and bodies we charge genocide because the continuous patterns of death on the north side is deliberate and criminal you as elected officials took an oath and when you consistently and repeatedly violate your oath these are crimes and crimes are punishable but who's going to bodyguard the bodyguard the people have to bodyguard the bodyguard you either need to be voted out of office or individually or collectively sued after church sunday i had the worst odor in my house and on my tongue i had to run and get some food and i realized it was that i had biomedical fumes the expectancy of that morgue is 30 years you already have taken 50 years of death on the north side we will not be giving you 30 more years we will not give you 30 more years of our children and us dying on the north side power to the people thank you next we have nicholas petros address thank you ma'am uh nicholas petros address is on file um i wanted to talk to council today about a serious issue with the budget um we are here talking about the affordable housing and a lot of issues of uh safety um the pension for the fire and police has been a serious problem for the city for a long time it's been a failing fund um and part of the reason is because it's investing right now two million dollars in tiva and millions and millions of dollars into other israeli companies tiva in particular is this israeli pharmaceutical company um it's involved in like all the genocidal actions in israel but it's also involved in shipping opioids and in fentanyl in the united states it's been sued in many different cities um and so really this is a win-win-win for the city right we can uh get rid of our association with a company that's importing products in this city in this country that have caused so many uh deaths my own cousin died from an overdose on fentanyl and so it's something i really care about um we also can cut ties with an israeli company doing so much damage in the middle east and we also get better investments uh in for our police and fire i mean take a firefighter they run into buildings uh to save people and their money right now is being invested in companies that are killing people and financing death and destruction both here and in palestine and lebanon so i think we really need to take a look at this and get this resolved thank you thank you next we have amina sharif good evening amina sharif address on file i was at the uh town hall meeting of mayor deegan and i was very surprised when we tried to let her know about the forensic lab that we still say we don't need in our neighborhood she said she wouldn't mind the forensic lab being in her neighborhood now realistically mayor deegan lives in atlantic beach for a conversation to even come up discussing a forensic lab in atlantic beach in atlantic beach in her neighborhood would never happen talking about putting something toxic like a forensic lab in a white neighborhood would never ever come up for the city council so i was very surprised for her to even say that she wouldn't mind the forensic lab being in her neighborhood all right police accountability we're seeing too many times where the police are abusing their authority they are supposed to arrest people not beat up people not punch people uh in the face snatch them by their head and what have you we have to make the police be accountable for their actions not excuse them or overlook their actions we need better training for the police all right now uh trump has this thing about something about the people the protection thank you ma'am your time is up i'm sorry all right thank you thank you next we have dira zakaria and uh please come down to the front if i call your name ashley marie mckenzie sarah haseen pastor john turner shane shane tremblay and jamie travis leonard please come down to the front kari go ahead dina zakaria address on file i'm here to direct attention to an urgent city budget issue in the midst of an affordability crisis we need to support affordable housing initiatives as well as address the root of the problem of where we are putting our money in the first place the jacksonville police and fire pension fund is the largest budget crisis in the city with 3.3 billion dollars in debt the bad investments are a part of the issue including bond investments in israeli pharmaceutical company tiva tiva is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the u.s and has a track record of price fixing and making medicine out affordable people in the city can't afford rent they can't afford to buy a home and on top of of it all can't even afford basic medicine all while the pension fund is invested in a company that makes it unaffordable in the first place it's in just the past decade tiva has been found guilty in multiple lawsuits settling for billions of dollars for jacking up drug prices and pumping fentanyl into our communities the decision to reinvest in tiva is up on august on october 1st and we need the community to come together to stop the pension fund from investing in a predatory company if anyone in this room thinks our tax dollars should benefit people in jacksonville and not corporate interests you can sign a petition jackspsn.org and stay up to date on upcoming pension fund meetings because we need to put our people first above corporations thank you thank you next we have ashley marie mckenzie my name is ashley mckenzie with the jacksonville palestine solidarity network address on file i'm here to put forth two asks to the fire and police pension fund of jacksonville but also to every citizen in jacksonville right now sitting in this room who have made um asks of city council to reinvest in the community we've heard about issues of lack of affordable housing we've heard about how the cost of groceries are too high how it's just like way too high to live right now and we have a direct solution for that and a step in the right direction so the first ask is for the police and fire pension fund to not reinvest in tiva pharmaceuticals bonds that is up for maturation on october 1st and the second ask is that we would like the fire and police pension fund to divest from all israeli companies and bonds that we have currently reason being is because the police and fire pension fund invest in tiva pharmaceuticals is a lose-lose-lose situation that benefits no one especially the tax-paying citizens of jacksonville these are commonly issued as junk investments in a predatory company that has helped fuel the opioid crisis and that proudly and unapologetically supports the genocidal warmongering state of israel where it is headquarters and just to give a little background information on tiva pharmaceuticals it is the largest generic medication um company in the world it is a predatory corporation that is known and found guilty for fueling the opioid crisis for price fixing medication and for foreign bribery and paying kickbacks um it has also agreed to pay billions and billions of dollars in settlements it has been criminally uh penalized and has been forced to pay millions of dollars so just overall it's a poor investment especially when the pension fund itself is in a state of under uh fundedness it is 45 underfunded it is projected to stay that way for the next 30 years and it is also the largest sum of jacksonville's debt sitting at 3.3 billion dollars and i think with everything we've heard today from the citizens um we owe it to them to invest our money in the community opposed to a foreign country thank you next we have sarah i believe it's hassein a sign or my sign one of the two sorry has seen access on file thank you hi i'm here on behalf of the jacksonville palestine solidarity network and as a concerned citizen of the city to call for our city's police and fire pension fund to divest from tiva pharmaceuticals as one of their bonds matures on october 1st the police and fire pension fund is the city of jacksonville's largest budget crisis the pension pension fund is 3.3 billion in debt and junk investments like those in tiva only worsen the situation and waste our tax dollars tiva is an israeli pharmaceutical company that has paid out billions in settlements for pushing fentanyl products on non-cancer patients fueling the opioid crisis and price gouging life-saving medications as someone who lost their brother to the opioid crisis it pains me our city would invest in a company directly complicit in addiction and death they're also complicit in genocide admitting up to 20 of their workforce engaged in military escalations in gaza following october 2023 and are based in the zionist settler colony itself we deserve for our tax dollars to go to initiatives like the affordable housing trust fund that benefit our city not predatory big pharma companies pumping fentanyl into our communities at home and supporting genocide and occupation abroad divest from teva justice for asia bennett and repurpose the morgue thank you next we have pastor john turner i'm pastor john turner i'm a pastor at rivers rivers riverside church of park and king i'm also a member of icare which stands for interfaith coalition for action reconciliation and improvement we are a congregational based organization representing different fates racial and economic backgrounds from all over the city our mission is to powerfully address city problems the affordable housing and affordable housing fund is in the best interest of of the of the city because it dev it directly addresses the housing crisis strengthens local economy and fosters inclusive sustainable communities by by ensuring that housing costs remain within the reasonable share of income the fund reduces homelessness and housing and in instability allowing residents to invest in education health care and local businesses this will only improve the the prop only improve public health and will be and bring bring also booster economic resilience through increased consumer spending and job creation affordable housing also promotes social equality and ensuring people from diverse backgrounds to live side by side in ensuring community life affordable housing creates consumer uh creates lowers traffic congestion and reduces uh environmental impact ultimately the fund supports jackson thank you sir long-term vitality thank you so much thanks we have shane tremblay shane tremblay address on file i am here with the jackson palestine solidarity network everything i'm about to say you can actually read in detail at jacks psn.org slash teva that's j-a-x-p-s-n.org slash t-e-v-a you'll also find a petition there that petition is one you can sign if you agree with us on what we believe is a pretty popular win-win-win issue to have the police and fire pension fund uh drop their investments with team of pharmaceuticals uh previous speakers have spoken on teva's involvement in the opioid crisis we're talking billions of dollars in settlement payouts for their contributions to pushing opioids on folks and just generally profiting from drug addiction uh we found that uh the police fire pension fund had these investments just by looking at the individual investment report of the fund and one thing you'll notice is that the majority of these of these investments are in u.s-based companies uh teva and a few other israeli companies really stand out for that reason uh and i believe that this money should be staying within uh the u.s should be helping with our economy uh lord knows it needs all the help that it can get uh for the city council members here i believe this is a pretty easy popular issue that any of y'all could jump on board with um again you can find more information on the website and uh on the note of just investing in our people and investing in jacksonville i stand in full solidarity with all the folks calling for the affordable housing trust fund and with the remaining time i have i'm going to repeat that link that's jacks psn.org slash teva j-a-x-p-s-n dot org slash teva thank you thank you next we have uh jamie travis leonard miss leonard in the meantime i'm going to invite up ryan delaney casey jones brooke dubay and kristin mcclathen mclanathan good evening good evening city council my name is jamie travis leonard my address is on file first i'd like to invite anybody who is not aware of our historic turkeyville tour that will be happening this saturday at emmett reed park starts at 9 a.m we'll go to about noon hope to see some of you out there uh second wow you guys are really putting yourself in some pickles up here i've noticed um cutting affordable housing is an interesting choice especially since in june you all passed 26 311 which was your target growth area map now i'm a pack rat so all the times i come up here and speak i keep all that so i can come back and remind you of the things you've done since you seem to forget uh and that map which i have right here you know a lot of those areas low income food deserts places where affordable housing is very much needed so i think it's interesting considering it was a 15 to 1 vote of course our uh no vote was diamond island but besides that uh again i just taking that out of the budget seems like such an interesting choice i came up for several city council meetings luz meetings to talk about affordable housing in this city i stopped because uh you all seem to be moving in a direction that was addressing some of the shortages we have especially considering our renter to home ownership rate being less than the state rate especially considering that our median income is putting people in a place where they can't afford to buy houses because they're that buying a house for them would be 30 percent of their income which is the max recommended by any financial advisor and now you're pulling funds to alleviate some of those people that's a choice i don't think it's the right one thank you thank you next we have ryan delaney ryan delaney address on file uh i'm here today with the jacksonville palestine solidarity network um i want to continue to talk to you all about the police and fire pension but i just want to comment and say you know i think your job as politicians is very difficult one thing that you all want to do is make change one of the most difficult things about that is the question of taxes um and the question of expenses but what we're hearing here today is that a lot of the people of jacksonville they actually approve of expenditures being made when it's something that makes sense for them when it's something like public housing when it's something like science programs for kids what we don't approve of is spending that does not make any sense and i i'm here to say that the investments that the police and fire pension fund makes into teva pharmaceuticals they do not make sense they are not good bonds they are rated as junk investments and we already know what a sorry state our police and fire pensions are in they have massive amounts of debt that we need to fix right because we cannot have our first responders going homeless when they retire we need to solve the problem with our our pensions and these these bad investments do not help what makes even less sense about them is that the the first responders that this pension fund is for they are the ones who have to be at the front of this opioid crisis that teva pharmaceuticals is directly implicated in our firefighters some of the most stressful moments of their careers have to do with the opioid crisis all first responders some of the most stressful periods of their careers have to do with this opioid crisis and all of the people in this room have been horribly affected by the opioid crisis so many people have already spoken about personal family members and friends that have been killed one of my best friends from high school died of an overdose on fentanyl and i have no doubt that the people in front of me and the people behind me can all say the same thing that someone in their life has been horribly impacted by fentanyl and so we ask you to work with us to end this crisis thank you thank you next we have casey jones how you doing uh casey jones uh my address is on file thank you uh i think everybody knows why i'm here and um and the battle's not over with we we actually won a a few battles uh at the state and in the city and uh i'm still calling on y'all to make a city rule and uh pause for the whole county the the beaches uh still have the flock cameras wide open uh i don't know if i can talk to the city attorney and see if y'all pass a ruling a 90-day ban until the state of florida uh rules on on this and with legislation but i'd still calling on y'all to do something i don't want y'all to sit here and not do nothing i've been coming for almost two months trying to ask for something some kind of ruling um our our great governor finally stepped up to the plate and did something um but it's only state state roads everybody knows what i'm talking about but uh you know to get here i had to pass by four cameras so i got digitally tracked on the way here it's this totally against the fourth amendment uh uh it's how how is the government dancing all over the constitution you ask it's because they're using a third party the third party is doing the dirty work to violate our rights and our constitution so i'm asking y'all to do something that's all that's all don't wait for the state to rule thank y'all thank you y'all are doing a great job and thank you for uh councilman jimmy thanks for nick for showing up to the uh meeting and next we have brooke dubay good evening my name is brooke dubay my address is on file i am here again to advocate for something that may seem like a small issue but it is a growing problem and that is tnr funding for community cats they are cats within our neighborhoods that do not belong to anyone that people are going out of their way to trap and get them fixed and vaccinated against diseases to prevent them from reproducing in our neighborhoods i personally have been doing this for over two years now helping who i can and i've gotten over 100 community cats fixed and vaccinated within that time i believe that the ceo of every pet has requested 150 000 as a significant increase i do agree that that is a very reasonable increase considering if you look at the previous year's funding it has ran out very quickly and we are looking at potentially more increases in the future when you look at the numbers of how many intakes are increasing over the years more people are learning about tnr more people are being proactive at being part of the solution so i think that the council really needs to consider raising the funding significantly um but right now 150 000 is the reasonable request so that's uh what i'm here to support thank you thank you i want to invite up uh tom mcguire john nooney and madison hilt to come on down to the front in the meantime kristen mcclanathan i hope i was close yes very close uh good evening my name is kristen mcclanathan located uh my address might be on file this is my first time doing it so i'm really nervous you're good you're good go ahead um i'm speaking on behalf of the community cats that i care for and the community cat caregivers around jacks this year was my first year feeding community cats and working with the tnr program at every pet as well as facilities like uh jacksonville humane society and acps and throughout this first year it was one of the most mentally disheartening and draining years i've had in a long time and i have a teenager and a three-year-old um at the beginning of the kitten season i took in 12 kittens some with scabies some with eye infections and some who needed to be bottle fed every two to five hours i paid for the supplies uh the vet visits and all the while continuing to help feed and tnr my two colonies my household uh my household also called scabies smelled like a shelter and my own pets were suffering having to be quarantined away from the kittens and then one kitten died and it broke my heart i bottle fed him i took him to the vet i bought a i battle fed him for weeks i took him to the vet i did the necessary things that needed to be done on my own but he still passed another kitten in the colony was run over and i know of at least four other kittens who are unaccounted for probably with the same fate and then the 25 fee came at every pet with about a week's notice to say i was disappointed as an understatement to say i was discouraged is an understatement caregivers like me need this program to keep down the population of these cats and kittens it prevents their deaths disease it helps the community and business and the animals did you know that a cat's pregnancy starts and ends within around 65 days and they can get pregnant while they're nursing and they can get pregnant at only four months old we need to protect these pets because once it gets overwhelming who's going to be the ones to do it thank you thank you next we have tom mcguire good evening i am tom mcguire my address is 4711 herder road jacksonville florida and uh let's start with a recap of what i said the last time i was here talking about how a new jail is economically unsustainable um let me just add to what i said then that increased use of civil citation and reduced cash bail uh would lead to a smaller jail population and obviate the need for a new jail so really you've got to consider there are so many other options than building a new jail all of it adds up to it not making economic sense for the city in its financial condition currently uh what we really need from you all is more blue-colored jobs and i'm very happy about uh johnson and johnson uh building their new facility um but we need a lot more of that because if you are looking around you are seeing adults using children's toys as transportation now there is a real problem with making ends meet and having enough money to pay the bills in this city and the working class people in this city are suffering because of it also we need road improvements for the exact same reason uh road quality is a big problem roads that damage people's vehicles endanger their livelihood and let me also add that the concrete batch plant is something that's toxically dangerous leading to fatal conditions to uh such as cancer and lungs and finally let me wrap up by saying i'm going to the jumbo shrimp game on friday any of of y'all like to join me thank you uh john noonie you might want to join you hello i am john resiliency philanthropic jelly rule good boy noonie 8356 bascom road jacksville florida 32216 city council district four noonie cpac 3 which was a no-show at finance for cip wendy khan true commission that's our capital improvement projects and school board district three cindy pearson awesome representative 2025 0867 that was the legislation that was a result of joint meetings between duval county public schools and the city of jacksonville when working on a cip classrooms in pottsburgh now i got my cia hat on you know that's an acronym for classrooms in america you know charter schools public schools field trip park you know that was um representative pearson now affordable housing trust fund i'm only just down to a minute there's 27 million dollars in the tree fund i mean ask the auditors the point is you can use this fund immediately now i shared an option at the 9-3-26 northeast florida regional council board meeting you know ask beth payne jacoby pitman ken amaro they're here i'll be speaking on other examples which for those in council chambers they are agenda items 40 uh 48 just down to 30 some seconds uh i also need a pardon you know from speaking out on 2024 0107 that was ju in the direct contract for 3.5 million check out 2024 0325 that's the university of florida and also check out boat ramp billy in st john's county you know the palmetto road boat ramp he is right do a site inspection the point is that public access on our waterways is getting crushed jra the jacksonville riverfront alliance thank you sir all right next we have madison hilt reverend madison hilt addresses on file i am coming here today to speak in support of mayor deegan's proposed affordable housing trust fund housing is an essential right of people and housing is something that so many people in the city of jacksonville lack if you look across the country housing funds just like this have been approved on a bipartisan basis so this is not about politics on party this is about doing the right thing i want to address a comment that was made in regards to the funding for this affordable housing trust fund one of the council members said that it was just a drop in the bucket and that we shouldn't do it because of that because we would have a hard time choosing who to give the money to well then why do we fund jso why do we fund jfrd why do we fund any city department at all that kind of logic is not only disingenuous it's ignorant just want to take a second let that sink in we need funding for affordable housing more than anything in this city because when we can afford to take people that lose their houses and give them a bus ticket to send them back to another city but we cannot afford to send people into a house where they contribute to our community and they make our society and our city better than who are we the bible says that we should take care of the least of these what are we doing if we're only taking care of the rich in another spot in the bible the magnificat says that the rich will be sent away empty-handed this is something that people need this is something they're going to keep advocating for are you going to be with them are you going to stand in the way thank you thank you mr president we've got seven individuals who do not wish to speak but i want to note their names and their comments uh haley spring uh supports uh three seven six home occupancy christo bando band i'm sorry i support the affordable housing for jack's residents ava's bowling that's in favor of the change at uh precinct polling place number 505 508 we've got jennifer keifer and also uh miles bowdler who support the spray nuding program increasing funding for that and two gentlemen or two folks akil momen and willie batista who oppose the investment antiva and with that mr president we conclude public comment now it's time for public hearings on page 15 council members should declare any ex parte communications anyone wishing to speak on the following bill should have completed a blue speaker card and you will be allowed three minutes to speak if you provided your address on the prescribed form don't wish to speak stated in the microphone then you're permitted permitted to say it's on file but we encourage you to be specific as to your location will likely impact the weight of the comments that you give uh like public comment assuming of the approval of the presiding officer or the president in this case a speaker may be invited to the johnson room for further discussion with a council member failure to complete the perform provided including the provision of an address on the form will mean your name will not be called mr teal would you please read the bills 20 26 376 590 618 619 620 621 622 646 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 674 675 675 676 675 675 678 672 676 679 676 568 675 675 676 523 524 553 554 654 631 and 632 mr president i would ask that you please open all these public hearings these public hearings are all open item number 23 2026 376 we have one speaker card john nooney hello i am john j nooney jacksonville city council resolution 2023-0819 i'm in city council district four cpac planning district three school board district three and you know i'm just you know i got three minutes you know uh you know florida statute but i'm just surprised that i'm the only speaker on this i mean this is sweeping legislation you know it's uh county-wide but uh home occupation affordable housing park on potsford creek you know this has been in rules luz but it was never in waterways or neighborhoods and you know it fills up the whole entire page but i just i just want to be on the record you know and just to speak to it and this is it's huge sweeping city-wide legislation so thank you for listening i have no more speaker cards all right this public hearing is closed i move the substitute we have a motion and a second on the substitute i've seen no speakers in the queue we'll take the substitute verbally all in favor indicate by saying aye aye all against say no the substitute passes move the bill as substituted we have a motion and a second on the bill as substituted there are no speakers let's open the ballot and court your vote 16 yeas zero nays by your vote 20 26 0376 is approved turning to page 16 item number 24 20 26 590 i have one speaker card blake harper blake harper information on file i have a long standing record of standing for the second amendment the constitutional the constitution the bill of rights here at city council and i am just i'm just recalling uh what a threat there was when there's something that people were pushing called the gun show loophole it was documented that ill that it was actually criminals who were engaging in criminal transactions in terms of purchasing guns and the fact is that good good people stop bad people with guns and i was reading something unfortunately i didn't bring it with me to pass it out to you but in this last two years what we have seen over and over again is we have seen good people stopping bad people with guns in other words law-abiding citizens stopping uh people uh engaged in in violence whether it was a a mass shooting or one-on-one but the reality is that good people with firearms who trained to know how to use them are are uh are exactly what the second amendment's about and and so uh as i'm sitting here looking at this i'm thankful that this has been brought forward to you by the city council president uh it's a it's a great thing that he's doing here i'm also thankful for eric friday for the work that he's done i i in in conversing about this legislation you're being required to vote on this because if you don't pass this you're going to have some lawsuits that are going to be very expensive and maybe that's the best way to handle some of these things to to bring things to a head at the point of at the point of a gavel uh but the reality is this for those of you who vote against this legislation you're voting against the constitution and the second amendment and and and the bill of rights and the second amendment you're voting against the individual rights that we have as citizens here in the united states and it's an important thing that people are going to need to remember because you have video you have pictures all manner of records to show how you vote on this thank you i have no more speaker cards than 590. this public hearing is closed i move the amendment we have a motion and a second on the amendment no speakers we'll vote verbally all in uh mr miller you on the amendment or the bill okay um all in favor of the amendment indicate by saying aye aye i'll again say no the amendment passes move the bill as amended we have a motion and a second on the bill as amended mr miller you are recognized thank you mr president i just want to be at his co-sponsor thank you thank you mr miller mr peluso you're recognized thank you mr president i stand in opposition to this bill and any bill that could be passed that involves anything involving firearms uh again two weeks ago we had the third anniversary of a shooting in my district this piece of legislation while i believe it was good you know properly intended uh is something that we could do internally we don't need to pass a bill this is unnecessary this could be done administratively we don't need to go through this process there's a million different things that that are done at the state level that does not require the city to change its ordinance code vote this bill down it's completely unnecessary blood has been spilt on our streets far too often because of gun violence and we should not have our names associated with this vote now mr gaye you are recognized followed by mr diamond thank you mr president please add me as a co-sponsor thank you sir mr diamond you're recognized followed by mr matt carlucci thank you mr council president you're absolutely right blood has been spilled on our streets you know how you stop blood being spilled on our streets arming our citizens so they can defend themselves anyone who wants to stand up and strip the right the second amendment the constitutional right for someone to stand up and defend themselves shame on you i hope everyone in jacksonville knows what you're standing for today and over to mr matt carlucci sir uh mr president i would like to be added to this bill this bill was originated by my father in tallahassee back in 1986 he never saw it passed but when it passed it was named after my father and it was to make all gun laws uniform throughout the state so that one county couldn't have their own laws and that would make it easy for another county to have different laws and people would just skip around and buy guns and get guns wherever they wanted to the laws would be uniform i believe that's the intent and purposes of this bill and i don't really think the bill is needed like mr peluso said because it is a state statute law but um because of the um the history that i know with it um and he introduced this over 40 years ago before we had so many shootings like we do today but this won't have a difference to do with that one way or the other it's just keeping laws uniform throughout the state so you can't go from one county to the next and pick and choose who has the best guns to buy and with the less restrictions thank you all right thank you there are 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 14 yeas three nays and by your vote 20 26 0 5 9 0 is approved item number 25 20 26 6 18 i have no speaker cards this public hearing is closed turning page 17 item number 26 20 26 6 1 9 i have one speaker card bassam baker bassam baker come on down you have three minutes name and address please good evening my name is bassam nate baker my address is on file i'm here today on behalf of the property owner regarding ordinance 0 619 i'm respectfully asking for your approval to rezone this property from a ccg1 to a ccg2 this is not a request to introduce a brand new commercial use to this area this property has a long history of operating as a used dealership under the city of jacksonville approved exception dating back to 2004. the property is already commercially zoned in front cassett avenue it's a major commercial corridor i'm not asking to rezone residential property to a car lot i'm asking for an established commercial site to continue operating as an independent automobile dealership under the ccg2 zoning classification required in this application i understand there are concerns about the nearby residential neighborhood and i respect those concerns i also brought public records from the city of jacksonville showing other properties along cassett avenue that already zoned as ccg2 these are established commercial properties in the same corridor including properties located near residentials the fact that the ccg2 already exists in the compatible locations shows that the zoning classifications itself does not automatically mean that neighboring residential area cannot be protected we're also willing to work with the city on reasonable conditions regarding buffering landscaping lightning and signage to help protect the neighborhood homes while allowing this long-standing commercial use to continue i respectfully ask that this application be evaluated based on the specific history and facts of this property includes its previous city approved dealership use its existing commercial zoning and its location on a commercial corridor and compatible ccg2 properties are already operated on cassett avenue i believe the city's decision should be based on the actual conditions and history of this property thank you for your time thank you i have no more speaker cards this public hearings closed mr peluso would like to speak to you mr baker all right moving on to item number 27 2026 620 i have no speaker cards this public hearings closed item 28 2026 621 i have one speaker card steven wood questions only seeing no questions this public hearings closed item 29 2026 622 i have no speaker cards public hearings closed public hearings closed turning to page 18 item number 2026 646 i have one speaker card jamie travis lundered good evening city council my name is jamie travis lundered my address is on file uh i support uh 26 646 i just really came up i honestly had i was confused by why the funds are moving more so than anything else i do based on my understanding support what's happening so i guess i really just came up to request that if there is a way for the public to gather more information on what specifically these are being broken down to the bill summary did not quite give me the information that i was seeking at the time that's really all i came up for i'm sorry no worries thank you thank you i have no more speaker cards on 646 it's public hearings closed item 31 2026 661 no speaker cards public hearings closed item number 32 2026 662 i have one speaker card john nooney please be sure it's on the bill mr nooney hello i am john j nooney jacksville city council resolution 2023 0819 city council district 4 c pack 3 school board district 3 now i'm in full support you know 2026 0662 in fact i was just hoping there'd be more people you know you know speaking about it you know this was uh rules neighborhoods teu but not in waterways and uh you know councilman boylan's credit you know this is something that you know he's uh over the over the years especially you know with waterways you know waterways should be packed i mean everything should be going to waterways but uh i just wanted to be you know on the record fully supported and um you know just a good bill thank you thank you we have no more speaker cards on 662 this public hearing is closed an additional public hearing will be held on october 13 2026 turning out of page 19 item 33 2026 663 i have two speaker cards john nooney well he comes back up here mr nooney come on up do you want to speak on this one mr nooney in the meantime uh jimmy travis lender does not wish to speak on this but she does support 663 mr nooney you have three minutes all right i'm john philanthropic resiliency good boy nooney 8356 bascom road jacksville florida 32216 uh yeah this this legislation you know in neighborhoods finance send it to waterways i support the mayor's council on fitness and well-being park on pottsburgh creek and district four cpac three school board district three and uh i would just uh double it you know go from 31 000 to you'll make it 62 000 you know so good stuff all right thank you thank you sir i have no more speaker cards public hearing is closed items 34 and 35 664 665 i have no speaker cards these public hearings are closed page 20 item 36 666 i have no speaker cards this public hearing is closed item 37 20 26 667 i have one speaker card jamie travis leonard she does not wish to speak but she opposes this bill this public hearing is closed items returning to page 21 items 38 and 39 668 669 i have no speaker cards these public hearings are closed item 40 26 670 i'm sorry i have two speaker cards uh jamie travis slender does not wish to speak she supports and john nooney mr nooney 670 please stay on the bill i thought i've been pretty good on that 670 all right i am john j nooney add name and address is on file all right now this one okay what we're going to be doing is executing a third amendment agreement with ju to renew uh the manatee protection studies you know again neighborhoods finance but not in waterways and you know this is a hundred and three thousand dollars and you know and i filled out a card for 20 26 0678 and that's 50 grand for the manatee tank youth pitch competition so you know the priorities and let me just say too you know at the last waterways meeting you know you know there were some you know the manatee debts i i want to say it was uh queen's harbor they've had two or three i mean it's like month after month so anyway you know with this you know why it's not being sent none of this stuff is going to waterways and you really need to do that in the environmental protection board same thing so these things could be really vetted all right that's all i'm going to just say on that thank you thank you mr nooney i have no more speaker cards in six seven zero public hearings closed during the page item number 41 20 26 671 i have one speaker cord jamie travis slender she does not wish to speak but she supports the bill is public hearings closed item 42 67 emergency oh i have an emergency there oh emergency sorry i move the emergency we have a motion and a second on the emergency we have no speakers in the queue we'll vote verbally all in favor of the emergency indicate by saying aye aye all against say no emergency passes i move the bill as an emergency we have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency i'll recognize mr diamond uh thank you mr president just so it's clear if this contract was extended one day longer one day general counsel told us this would be illegal under florida state law so go ahead and vote for it if you want but clearly this flouts the intention of florida state law and we have no more speakers in the queue let's open the ballot record your vote 16 yes one day and by your vote 2026 0671 passes item 42 2026 672 i have one speaker card jamie travis leonard good evening city council my name is jamie travis leonard i'll try to keep this brief i do support 672 as you've heard tonight affordable housing is a hot topic in this city especially with some of the the stuff coming down from the budget my main request is that as we are looking at these initiatives where we are surplusing properties to uh donate them for affordable housing or incorporate them into our affordable housing initiatives that we don't just look at rentals i fear that's something that has been happening where we're looking at what i would call temporary housing i would like to see more initiatives that are helping uh lower income or even our um returning you know people who have experienced homelessness who are transitioning into full-time uh housing to then eventually be able to purchase and own their own home uh that's really what i wanted to say on this again i do support and i hope you all continue to bring forth initiatives to further our affordable housing in this city as you've seen it's very important thank you i have no more speaker cards in 672 this public hearing is closed bring the page to page 23 item 43 20 26 673 i have no speaker cards public hearing is closed item 44 20 26 674 i have one speaker card victoria dosti questions only i believe seeing no questions this public hearing is closed i move the emergency we have a motion and a second on the emergency no speakers in the queue we'll vote verbally all in favor i'll wait a second while mr peluso sits so he can be at his seat and vote hurry up mr peluso all in favor indicate by saying aye aye all against say no all right the emergency passes move the bill as emergency we have a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency no speakers in the queue let's open the ballot record vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 20 26 60 674 is approved item 45 20 26 675 no speaker cards public hearing is closed turning to page 24 i am 20 i am 46 20 26 676 i have three speaker cards you all want to come down to the front please jolita wainwright and also jamie travis leonard i also have a card from dks community development no name uh i think oh it's james kelly i'm sorry he's written here uh does not wish to speak he's here for questions only but we have miss leonard and miss wainwright good evening name and address please my name is jolita wainwright and my address is uh on record thank you for the last several years i've watched funds being assigned to improve our shortage of housing for those that can afford it and those that cannot afford it and those that are homeless and only to see funds cut to make the help useless to those needing it the most the cutting from 10 million to 3 million for homeless shelters and now removing 23 million from the mayor's budget proposal what was the reason for cutting the funds every time you found a solution to help our people our city council finds a way to block it our citizens always need support to buy a house and maintain it but it's a different day now we all need support mortgage food and even gas we have a successful program that helps the homeless return home run by the police however jacksonville has many resources for the homeless that other counties send a lot of their homeless to us instead of helping their own people don't turn your back on our residents that can help this city and please replace the funds i am a homeless i am a member of the homelessness commission and we have to constantly fight to get funds to our agencies to do an effective job please help those in need thank you thank you next we have miss travis launder okay and mr kelly does not uh do you want questions on here correct i have no more speaker cards on 676 all right and see no speakers or questions we will close this public hearing during the page 25 items 47 2026 677 i have no speaker cards this public hearing is closed and item number 48 i have one speaker card for 2026 678 mr john newney hello i am john j newney jacksville city council resolution 2023 0819 city council district 4 cpac planning district 3 school board district 3 so we're going to appropriate 50 000 from the contributions from private sources line item and you know for and here we have funding for the manatee tank youth pitch competition for sustainability programs well here's the reason you know this is here's our woke joke thing you know and i wanted to say you know i thought when this thing got created there was like 25 million bucks so we're just you know just plowing through this and you know it's a neighborhood's finance not in waterways you know so you know what i just scratch it you know it's uh it's a budget transfer submit through request of the mayor you know use this money for the the manatee affordable house on anywhere in on any waterway in in jacksonville split it 25 a piece but scratch it this is like i said woke joke stuff all right thank you for listening i have no more speaker cards on 678 this public hearing is closed we're into page 26 items number 49 and 50 679 and 687 i have no speaker cards these public hearings are closed president we now move on to uh public hearings on land use amendments and companion rezonings and modifications to the comp plan beginning on page 27 item number 51 2026 126 i have two speaker cards samantha series and javis jamie travis leonard i both uh oppose it but do not wish to speak on it at this time this public is uh public hearings continued to september 22nd 2026 and turning the page item number 52 well one two seven i have i think one or two samantha series uh uh she does not wish to speak but she does suppose oppose it this public hearings continue to september 22nd 2026. all right next we have item number 53 2026 5 2 3 i have one speaker card samantha series again and she does oppose this but does not wish to speak this public hearings continued to september 22nd 22nd 2026. item number 54 20 20. there was the other 127 card jamie travis leonard i don't think we need to open it i think we knew it uh moving on item number 54 2026 5 2 4 i have one speaker card again samantha series she opposes but does not wish to speak this public hearings continue to 9 22 2026. item number 55 55 5 5 3 one speaker card john herbia uh questions only this public hearing is closed i move the bill we have a motion and a second on the bill seeing no speakers in the queue let's open the ballot record your vote 17 yes zero nays and by your vote 20 26 0 5 5 3 passes mr floor leader before we move on uh miss travis leonard just to make sure did you want to speak on 20 26 0 1 2 7 i can reopen the public no okay she didn't want to speak down she was fine item 56 20 26 5 5 4 i have one speaker card again john herbia questions only this public hearing is closed i move the bill we have a motion and a second on the bill no speakers in the queue let's open the ballot record your vote i get it that's good 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 20 26 0 5 5 4 passes page 30 items number 57 and 58 20 26 6 3 1 and 6 3 2 i have no speaker cards these public hearings are closed and additional public hearings for both will be held on 9 22 2026. mr president and colleagues pursuant to section 200.065 of the florida statutes the council secretary mr teal will read a statement immediately prior to today's public hearing concerning the adoption of the first second and third 2026 27 millage levies mr plea mr teal please read the applicable statement prior to our opening of the public hearing on 501 ordinance 2026 501 the consolidated city of jacksonville proposes to levy the following millage rate within the general fund general services district accepting urban services districts two through five a total millage of 11.1919 mills for operations this reflects a 3.93 increase in the operating millage rate from the rollback rate of 10.7689 mills that it i open mr president you could open the public hearing this public hearing is open and we have one speaker card john nooney mr nooney does not appear to be present all right we close the public hearing this public hearing is closed i recommend approval actually an additional public hearing will be held on 9 22 2026 thank you with that i recommend the approval of the tentative millage i have a motion and a second and i'll recognize finance chair layman i think council president and colleagues in finance we talked about there was a new state law already approved not dependent on amendment three that changes the voting threshold requirements for changing the millage rate both up and down and i want mr peterson to share the same information as well as what the new voting thresholds are going to be for us uh not just this year but going forward uh so i'll turn it over to him to uh explain that new law to us mr peterson you're recognized through the president to the council so the new law that passed this year uh requires that if the millage rate any millage rate above the rolled back rate um requires a two-thirds vote of the governing body there are there's a higher limit that would require a three-fourths but for your purposes of the millage rates that are presented to you uh tonight as from the mayor do require a two-thirds vote of the governing body tonight only requires a majority vote because you're just doing tentative approval but for uh the vote on the september 22nd it will require a two-thirds vote and that is the law going forward anything above the rollback rate all right thank you mr peterson i will recognize mr diamond uh thank you council president i just want to say again this is my last time ever doing this we're raising taxes on the people of jacksonville with this vote let's be clear the mayor has proposed a tax increase on the people of jacksonville making it harder for the hard-working people of jacksonville to keep their homes if you're renting in jacksonville right now and you're dying to buy a house the mayor just raised your taxes again made it harder for you to not be a renter but to buy your first home so this is ridiculous the fact that we're not even looking at a rollback rate which counties and cities across forward are doing is wild to me so i'm a no i'll be a no on all these and i'll speak on the budget in a minute thank you sir over to miss clark murray thank you chair um through the chair to mr popolis i'm i'm just curious about process i know we're talking about um the beaches do they ever have an opportunity to speak in regards to the rollback and decision that we make outside of this body do you do you know mr popolis you recognize through the chair to council member clark murray are you talking with respect to what they assess as their millage or just as far as the city of jacksonville's assessment thank you for that question so i'm my concern is that they like right now we're holding a public hearing there's no one here from them from them from from them to speak in regards to it so we did have a public hearing and we in the beaches everybody does receive the trim notice just like they do in the city of jacksonville and the trim notice would reflect the assessment of each entity that is authorized to assess taxes against the household so that would include the school board etc so those are all listed on the trim notice and again we do have a public hearing tonight and again on the final adoption night and they just as anyone would have an opportunity to come and speak to the items when they come up okay thank you so what you're saying is that they receive notices individually in the mail and then the other opportunity they have is to come before this body but they don't come before any other body in regards to they could also come to their respective municipal council to address the assessment so for instance for jacksonville beach the city council also will hold budget hearings and they will address the millage there that they assess and they also are able to attend because that is also reflected on their trim notice and they can also attend that public hearing to speak as well as they can uh here as the county assessor we have that millage that we're assessing essentially as the county thank you for that thank you all right dr salem you're recognized thank you mr president through the president to miss stefopolis is the two-thirds two-thirds of the council as in 13 or is it two-thirds of those present it's two-thirds of the council so that's 13 votes irrespective of who's here through the president correct and that's going to be on each of the millage bills 501 502 and 503 high bar thank you all right with that we have no more speakers on the queue we do have a motion to recommend approval of tentative millage and we have a second let's open the ballot and record your vote 15 yays two nays and by your vote 2026 0501 passes all right moving on to item number 60 2026 502 mr clerk would you please read the statement ordinance 2026 502 the consolidated city of jacksonville proposes to levy the following millage rate within the general fund general services district including only urban services districts two through four a total millage of 7.9012 mills for operations this reflects a 6.24 increase in the operating millage rate from the rollback rate of 7.4373 mills thank you mr president thank you with that mr president i ask you please open the public hearing this public hearing is open i have one speaker card john nooney i believe john left mr president go ahead and close it if you like yep seen not seeing john nooney this public hearing is closed an additional public hearing an additional public hearing will be held on september 22nd 2026 thank you with that mr president i recommend approval of the tentative millage we have a second please all right we have a motion and a second to recommend approval of tentative millage we have mr carico in the queue sir uh thank you mr president i rise just explained my vote on the last one in the next couple when we reduced the millage rate last year a lot of people were critics of it said it wasn't enough it was just a sandwich it was this and that and i stated then that uh there was still going to be money that we could save and we could find savings that i would that i would push and that i would vote for a continued millage reduction so i know there's not an appetite for it i'm not trying to train wreck anything that's my principle that's what i said last year so i'm gonna stick to that and that's why i can't support this and that's the reason thank you okay and seeing no other speakers in the queue we do have a motion and a second to recommend approval of tentative millage let's open the ballot and record your vote 16 yeas one nay why don't we um can we entertain let's do this for mr diamond uh who can move to reconsider only mr carico i'll move to reconsider anyone okay we have a motion do we have a second to reconsider all right we have a motion and a second to reconsider we'll take this vote to reconsider verbally all those in favor of reconsidering say aye aye all against say no okay we're gonna we're gonna take this vote by hand all in favor of reconsideration raise your hand please i'll give uh mr fopolis a minute and legislative services a minute to count okay the motion to reconsider passes um all right so we'll entertain a motion to recommend approval of tentative millage unless i have to go through the whole thing open the public hearing again i think what we've reconsidered last year and i recommended then that yes you would go through the process again so i would recommend you have the clerk read the statement you open and close your public hearing announce the additional and then vote thank you all right so mr uh teal would you please mr carico can even give his statement again if he'd like to go ahead mr too ordinance 2026 502 the consolidated city of jacksonville proposes to levy the following millage rate within the general fund general services district including only urban service districts two through four a total millage of seven point nine zero one two mills for operations this reflects a six point two four percent increase in the operating millage rate from the rollback rate of seven point four three seven three mills thank you mr president this public hearing is open and i have one speaker card mr nooney but i believe he's gone for the day not seen mr nooney this public hearing is closed an additional public hearing will be held on 9 22 20 26. and with that i move the recommendation of the i recommend the approval of the tentative knowledge we have a motion and a second to recommend approval approval of tentative millage seeing no speakers let's open the ballot and very carefully record your vote 15 yays two nays by your vote 2026 0502 passes and mr diamond can sleep at night we move next to 2026 503 turning to page 32 item 61 2026 503 mr t would you please read the statement ordinance 2026 503 the consolidated city of jacksonville proposes to levy the following millage rate within the general fund general services district including only urban services district five a total millage of 9.4208 mills for operations this reflects a 1.98 increase in the operating millage rate from the rollback rate of 9.2380 mills thank you mr president this public hearing is open thank you we have one speaker card again john nooney but i think he's gone not seen mr nooney this public hearing is closed an additional public hearing will be held on 9 22 20 26. with that mr president i recommend approval of the tentative millage we have a motion and a second on recommend approval of tentative millage seeing no speakers in the queue let's open the ballot and court your vote 15 yays two nays and by your vote 20 26 0503 is approved moving on now to item number 62 20 26 504 i ask you to please open the public hearing this public hearing is open i have three speaker cards john nooney who's no longer here jamie travis leonard followed by blake harper good evening city council my name is jamie travis leonard my address is on file this should be the last time you see me tonight um so i am here because i do not support the finance committee's um changes to the mayor's proposed budget they did a reduction of two 23.4 million dollars i was really upset though that it came from uh all all the pieces except our largest piece which is the 33 percent so it's going to jso as a reminder they have 673 613 389 in their budget and instead were nickel and diming all of these other areas you heard people come out tonight they want their affordable housing initiatives they want their affordable housing trust and do you know the money if you had taken that just from jso if you taken this savings that you the finance committee apparently very once do you know how much it would have been from just jso 3.5 percent not a lot in comparison to wiping out an entire trust fund almost uh if you had taken it just from the public safety piece which is again uh over 50 of our budget it would have been 2.2 percent of the overall budget uh so i'm coming here today to remind you that stop nickel and diming our public services you say public safety is important the mayor says public safety is important you're not giving us public safety just by committing over 50 of our budget to jso and jfrd we need actual public safety that includes roads that includes affordable housing that includes access to nutritious food and instead of addressing these shortages you're bickering about it in finance we there's an entire fund over 50 of our budget that you could look at our i'm gonna also talk about the mayor you all want to cut from the mayor's office i'm actually not necessarily opposed to that as long as the cuts are across other areas our sheriff makes more than our mayor our sheriff has a higher salary and you're going to tell me to my face that the mayor's office is where we need to be cutting money seems ridiculous seems seems out of touch with what's happening in this city so i come up here to oppose the changes specifically to finance i do support the mayor's initial budget i obviously have some issues with where the majority of my tax dollars are going but at the very least she allocated some funds to actual public safety thank you thank you next we have uh blake harper blake harper information on file on surface it may seem somewhat comical what i'm going to suggest but i'm very serious about it and it came to me while i'm sitting here listening to things going on about the affordable housing trust fund you all know that i brought to light the fact that a million dollar grant was wasted by donna deegan with regards to the james wild and johnson renovation project my my my conjecture is that that was so mismanaged and it was never intended to be managed the way it run the way it was presented that they were faced with a the question of whether or not they would submit funding under the grant or and get caught for it or let it go and and present you all with a million dollar bill that's where i think that's what i think happened so there i think i'm not sure if it's five six or seven million dollars it's in the cip item for that but the reality is there's only one number in that total amount that you need to deal with and that's a million dollars that was spent now if you just if all you do is keep that million dollars in there and leave that that plaza out there the way it is so nobody gets any kind of political or social societal benefit from it that it's it's benign then we reduce the damage but you know what you can do and this is the serious part whatever the difference is between that million dollars and the cip item you can use it to fund the affordable affordable housing trust fund you've already got that millions of dollars four five six million dollars set aside for that through that cip transfer that to the housing affordability trust fund and you're going to deal with a lot of problems and i mean that that's that's a serious suggestion if somebody actually wants to do something right president i have no more speaker cards on 504. this public hearing is closed an additional public hearing will be held on 9 22 26. with that i move the substitute we have a motion and a second on the substitute seeing no speakers will take a vote verbally on the substitute all in favor indicate by saying aye aye all against saying no substitute passes i recommend approval of the tentative budget as substituted we have a motion and a second to recommend approval of tentative budget as substituted we have one speaker on the queue dr johnson thank you for recognizing me mr president um let me say i am certainly going to i was having some uh my reason for voting yes tonight i will be voting yes on the tentative budget but i will be making some amendments to the budget when we bring the final budget up for vote but my reason for voting yes tonight is because i appreciate the work that chairman lanon put in on the finance committee having served on this committee and worked with him he put everything into it and i know all of the committee members who are here put in an extraordinary amount of work and while we may not all agree on what we need to do or how we need to do it we all agree that what we need to do is to move our city forward in the great work that we're doing so i will be voting yes on this tonight but i certainly reserve the right to put the things in that will bring it closer aligned to what i believe the people sent us here to do thank you for letting me say that again i have to say while i'm speaking good work on the chair of our finance committee thanks thank you dr johnson over to councilman peluso thank you mr president just to verify the reason for the substitute is some of the items that were put um below the line in preparation for amendment three or what is the substitute primarily say again uh to councilmember lanon to the president i recognize councilmember lanon yeah thank you mr president to councilmember peluso it's the entire work that was done by the finance committee through 40 hours of televised budget hearings essentially so uh i mean it would take a while to go through everything but yes if you watch the finance hearing the substitute bill is the culmination again the high points we are well positioned we did put some things in the amendment three referendum about six million or so our budget is pretty much flat year over year which is the perfect place to be with the revenue uncertainty and to councilmember johnson 99 of the budget the mayor supported was approved without much discussion so we modified about 20 million ish similar to last year we modified the legislative branch modified about one percent of the budget that was proposed to us do you have any other questions for right now councilmember peluso as a matter of fact i do thank you uh through the president uh i do appreciate that councilmember lanon just to verify and possibly to to the president but to philip just to verify by voting on this right now this 10 budget we could still make changes on on council night right we know that that's certainly plausible and doable we've seen it before just to piggyback on what councilmember johnson was saying mr peterson you're recognized through the president to uh councilmember peluso that's correct up until september 22nd you have the opportunity to make changes or on september 22nd rather no different thresholds than what we would vote on tonight correct through the president to councilman peluso that's correct excellent i'll be voting on this as well with the same intention as councilmember johnson all right thank you very much seeing no other speakers in the queue we do have a motion and a second to recommend approval of tentative budget as substituted let's open the ballot and record your vote 16 yeas one nay and by your vote 20 26 0 5 0 4 is approved and i just want to say i appreciate the decorum and the collaboration that we've seen all through tonight not just on that bill but on the millage bills uh and everything else and i hope to see it on september 22nd as well we can disagree without being disagreeable and um finally the i mentioned it earlier today the process for floor amendments will come out by memo from mr fopolis before the end of the week and should be pretty clear for anyone who wants to introduce floor amendments on budget night two weeks from tonight thank you sir mr president we now move on to third reading resolutions and ordinances as it happens there are no third reading resolutions tonight so we move on to the ordinance beginning on page item page 33 for members of the audience these bills have already been had their public hearings with final committee reports and are now ready for full council action our first item is number 63 2026 0627 i move the amendment okay did you just introduce the motion on the amendment i did and we have a second all right we have a motion and a second on the amendment on 2026 0627 seen uh no speakers we'll take the vote verbally 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 no speakers in queue let's open the ballot and accord your vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0627 passes item 64 2026 628 move the amendment we have a motion and a second on the amendment no speakers let's vote verbally all those 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 no speakers let's open the ballot and accord your vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0628 passes turn to page 34 item number 65 2026 635 i move that amendment we have a motion and a second on the amendment seen no speakers let's vote verbally all those 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 all recognize mr diamond move council amendment we have a motion and a second on a council amendment we'll take this vote verbally all those in favor of council amendment indicate by saying aye aye all again say no the council amendment passes i move the bill as twice amended we have a motion and a second on oh do we have a second second on the bill as twice amended seen no speakers let's open the ballot and accord your vote thank you 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0635 passes item 66 2026 636 i move that amendment we have a motion and a second on the amendment no speakers let's vote verbally all those 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 let's open the ballot and record your vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0636 passes and lastly on page 35 item 67 2026 645 i move the amendment we have a motion and a second on the amendment there are no speakers let's vote verbally all those 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 no speakers in the queue let's open the ballot and record your vote 17 yeas zero nays by your vote 2026 0645 passes uh mr president now it's time for uh second reading resolutions and ordinances ordinances ordinances beginning on page 36 mr deal would you please read the bills 20 26 680 682 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 and 660 given we have no public participation cards for item 68 69 we've already taken up item number 98 on page 43 we now move on to the induction of first reading resolutions and ordinances beginning on that same page again there was one item already addressed 2026 723 at this point mr president we have one additional item to add to the agenda but it does require no action this evening therefore i want to move the addendum second we have a motion and a second on the addendum we'll take the vote on the addendum verbally all in favor of the addendum indicate by saying aye aye all again say no addendum passes that concludes our business for the evening thank you sir um quick announcements and then we'll open up to the uh dais again um the meeting uh for the full budget will be next two weeks from today that's september 22nd we're going to start it at 4 p.m you'll see a memo from me last year we started at 3 p.m i don't think we're going to need that much time but we are going to start at 4 p.m next uh council meeting um again i've said it before memo on the floor amendments uh will come out from mary and if you have any questions on whether you've submitted amendments anyways um you can contact her and uh she will clarify it for you and uh with that let me open up to the queue for people who have comments or announcements we'll do roll call first before that and then i'll open up to the queue thank you roll call please 17 present all right thank you the queue is lighting up it's dr salem followed by mr diamond followed by miss pitman thank you mr president i i just want to stand up and i'm just getting a little concerned about some of the naming that we're doing i mean the rule is you're supposed to be passed for five years and i voted for all the ones we've done so i'm just as guilty as anybody and then we in recent years if they had passed for a year or two we waived the rule to do that now we are honoring people that are still alive and my concern is we're going to start honoring people at this diaspora before long so we need to take a look at the rule or we should abide by it one way or the other and i just think this is getting i see a lot of heads nodding this is getting a little out of control both the ones we did i voted for i know them both well i i so i i didn't want to bring it up at the time but this is getting a little out of control and i think we somehow mr president we should take a look at that rule it may be adjusted in some way or come up with something thank you for letting me say that thank you sir over to councilman diamond thank you mr president this is this is a little awkward now i wanted to rename lora street ron salem memorial boulevard i i don't really know what to do now dr ron salem you know on a on a more serious but um also camaraderie note on friday uh which is 9 11 uh out in jack's beach at 6 p.m councilman uh lan and i will be running the travis mannion foundation 5k councilman lan is speaking and uh travis mannion was his classmate and so you know it's not gonna be a long speech that's good um it'll be quick but uh if anybody wants to join us we have a team you can go on the website and we are d16 which is 13 plus 3 which is our two districts we didn't want to do what was it faster than navi i think that's what it was which is what i really wanted to do i said let's do it uh but in any event um if you'd like to join us ping either one of us text us it's not a public record that's okay and join us for the run it'll be 5k we're both out of shape so it'll be easy unless ron comes with us in which case you're gonna have to keep up we'll be all right thank you thank you mr diamond we have two speakers on the queue miss pitman and mr miller miss pitman would you like to go last okay we'll go to mr miller thank you mr president um through the president it's uh i'm not sure where i'm gonna go with this but i'll try to make it quick um i haven't been able to talk about this for a long time but it just seemed right so i wanted to thank council member amaro and also our two uh chaplains from jfrd and jso who aren't here right now but um for us to remember and for us to pass that on to the next couple generations who many of them have no idea what happened that day um hits close to home with me in that many years i couldn't talk about this but uh i was assigned in the pentagon and uh should have been there with my normal period of assignment at the pentagon however my assignment manager called me and sent me to a class a nato course over in europe and so i wasn't there when the plane the nose of the plane went into my senior boss's office at the pentagon and so 30 of my colleagues that i just left when i went to that course were killed that day including my my office mate sergeant major strickland and my senior boss the senior person killed that day in the pentagon also one of my best friends his aide um major kip taylor and many others and some of which i hired and i brought into the pentagon to work and whose family members were very upset with me for years and maybe even still a couple of them to this day and i get that because they were hurting and they're still hurting um so that's just one of those things that i don't want us to lose that and those who don't know what happened that day i hope our schools and others are teaching them what happened that day and we do everything we can um to keep that from happening again there were signs there and we should have picked up on them as a country and we didn't and uh things that could have short-circuited those things from happening that day um so i don't know i don't know what the point is in this really maybe my last statement is my real point but um it's it's it's tough when this time rolls around uh when this comes up and especially when someone brings it up i just used to just try to ignore it and wait till it passed um but um but now i've been able to speak i've been able to speak to some groups and um i think it's better that way for everybody including myself so um my hope is that we don't forget that we remember not only 9-11 but also other things that are important to pass on uh that we learn from for the future so thank you for allowing me to kind of kind of uh go on a little bit more than i should have but uh i think in some ways it's probably good for me to get it out as well so thank you mr president well said colonel miller uh miss pitman i'm going to keep you last still we have miss clark murray and mr peluso in the queue miss clark murray first please thank you i'm actually in the queue for miss holder okay miss holder has your button not worked all night okay just not to just not now okay um thank you for sharing that um councilman miller i just wanted to thank all of you not only for your support last week in my installation but for the very very warm welcome i received both of my first committee week and my first council night um i will be getting some a few notice meetings on the calendar so i can talk with you all hear more about your priorities and see how we can work together so just wanted to publicly thank you all welcome aboard um over to mr peluso followed by miss pitman thank you mr president honestly i'm just standing up to thank you councilmember miller for saying that i know a lot of senior officers and a lot of senior enlisted that have a really tough time talking about their time in service um their time and situations like that i'm grateful to you and i hope that that's a lesson to others um that they're able to speak up as well as you did thank you sir and finally over to miss pitman first of all colleagues i just want to say thank you to you all that were able to come to the memorial on august 26th um keeping the car laguerra and gallium family and the nine survivors um and your prayers and just being there beside me um meant a whole lot i just i just have to tell you all that and you know i know that may have might be my my last time um but i hope that the city will continue it on or if the city will allow me to have that because we cannot forget what happened on king's road at dollar general there are um there is a boulders that will be put in front of dollar general um before the end of the year um acknowledging them as something permanent for the families last year we put a permanent um seating um there at the park on um king's road so um also i wanted to just um remind i know y'all we're talking about the budget and it's below the budget but we are hosting um and i like kevin and um raul to talk about well we don't have to talk just let you know that we're hosting the um 2026 um innovative um policy conference here um for um fac which is florida florida association of counties will be in jacksonville and that what that means is heads in the bed so but i know there was long conversation about that on finance but we will have several commissions from around the city of jacksonville that about three years ago we opted to host um that um innovative and policy um conference here in jacksonville and because um we are one of the leading cities in jacksonville um i would say duval county um who's doing this where we're showcasing our rich history transportation logistics environmental restoration of what we have been doing for several years and we're now getting attention um they will be here from september 15th through the 17th so um i'd like for you all and actually they're doing it at mayo um hosting at mayo um hilton hotels so i know there's been a lot of discussion but um the association has been very i say helpful for me i don't i'll let my colleagues speak about what the support has meant in us bringing ideas back um to jacksonville and i'm really hoping that you all will consider um the membership for that uh again and also a very good shout out to um visit jacksonville for helping us put this together um kevin and raul i don't know if you all want to say anything about it um being members and i know we've had um past um colleagues or uh members of the city council that have been on um members of the association raul would you like to say anything or kevin regarding okay all right mr carrico you recognized i thank you uh yes raul and and councilman pippman are the designated members but i did go with them to an innovative conference that they had in panama city when i was vice president and that's when we started having the dialogue about how to bring that conference to jacksonville get some heads in bed so i definitely want to support them coming to town and i guess we'll have further discussions during the budget uh in which i would support i am a member of the league of cities and i had a good fruitful time down there uh in orlando uh making connections and um selling jacksonville to the broad abroad florida communities and they received it very well so thank you miss pitman for setting that all right uh miss uh thank you miss pitman floor still yours yes um the other thing i i wasn't able to um attend the luz um meeting or the uh neighborhoods um regarding several um zoning issues in my district because my mother is is sick and i want to put that on record but i am hosting a meeting this thursday september 10th at the legend center um regarding three and specifically just zoning issues or concerns um in my district um before we vote on the legislation there is a lot of concern and it matters and hopefully that you all are listening um to the residents because they have been down here and i just want to make sure that we get the experts and the planning commit planning commissions um report um so we can look at all the substantial evidence to make sure these um zonings um either up or down so i just wanted to say that as well and now we're ready to celebrate our birthdays um councilman will landon his birthday is september the 9th and then his eca as well let's give him a big round of applause james his birthday is on the 19th and uh councilman uh staff uh rhonda uh hall patrick her birthday is also on the 19th so we have two um individuals birthdays on the 19th and again thank you all for listening to me and i'm hoping that um i can get some of y'all to at least come on one of the days um at the marriott i mean i'm sorry at the mayo um to support the association um of counties thank you so much fantastic and seeing no other speakers in the queue great meeting tonight we are adjourned and over to councilman amaro for the prayer thank you mr president as i was sitting here trying to think of what to say i was moved by councilman miller's remarks so this is what's on my heart lord help us to remember those who died on 9-11 lord help us to remember those who are still battling with diseases and other illnesses as a result of what happened on 9-11 lord help us to remember the families who are still grieving 25 years later lord help us to encourage those who are now serving overseas on the front line help us to remember the unity that this nation experienced in the aftermath where we were one one voice lord help us to remember that we can agree to disagree without hating each other lord give us the strength help us to remember that we were called to serve and let us serve now on to him that is able to keep us from falling and to present us oh god to present us before his presence with his exceeding joy to the only wise god our savior be glory and majesty dominion and power both now and forever best ever you you