Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Steve Quesada's last ever finance committee meeting, who is retiring on Friday. Let's go ahead and start off with introductions, starting with Ms. Norris. Bernie Norris for the administration. Colleen Hampsey, Council Research. Mary Stifopoulos, Office of General Counsel. Heather Reber, Council Auditor's Office. Philip Peterson, Council Auditor. Ron Salem, Group 2 at Large visiting. Rockmont Johnson, District 14. And Steve, may you live long and prosper. Good afternoon, Rory Diamond and George, District 13, The Beaches. Good afternoon, Chris Miller at Large, Group 5. Will Lane in District 3. Mike Gay, District 2. Randy White, District 12. And Michael Boylan, District 6. Nick Howland at Large, Group 3. Ken Amars, City Council, District 1. Good afternoon, Jimmy Peluso, District 7, just visiting. All right, good afternoon, everyone. So we do have, we have 62 items on the agenda, so we have a lot to get through ahead of Budget Night next week. We are going to start off with a presentation in just a minute by the Jacksonville Housing Authority. One thing I want to give an update on, I've mentioned in some other committees, but for about a year now, I've been working with a group in town. I think everyone knows that my first career was as a submarine officer, and the only warship ever named after Jacksonville is a recently decommissioned sub, the USS Jacksonville. We got permission from the Navy to receive its sail superstructure. On Thursday, they loaded it up, and it's been on the road from Seattle the past couple of days. It is arriving here in Jacksonville sometime between 11 and 1 tomorrow at the Fink and Terry Marine Shipyard, which is the shipyard just north of the stadium. And so we are going to have a number of folks there, kind of like an arrival ceremony, now that we will have the sail of the only warship ever named after Jacksonville. So this is something I was involved in, not so much council-related, just being a proud submarine veteran, working with a number of other veterans groups here in town also. So you're all invited if you want to do that. Again, no exact time, but sometime between 11 and 1. They're in Tennessee going at 55 miles per hour because that's all they're allowed to go. It's four flatbeds and quite a few hundreds of tons of metal that is coming here. With that, the Housing Authority, are you all ready to go? Do you mind if I approach? Sure, yeah, you can use the other screen there. All right, thank you for having the Jacksonville Housing Authority, and thank you, Chair, and then the entire Finance Committee. I'm Sharon Corbett Waller, the CEO for the Jacksonville Housing Authority, and our address is actually on file, too. Today I'm here just to give you an overview, a highlight in regards to what we've done based upon a one-year cycle. We recently redesigned our entire logo, just FYI. We had a lot of comments. But overall, it's important just to understand our mission and vision for the agency. And so we have a new entire mission. Our mission is to build and preserve affordable, sustainable housing, manage public resources with accountability, which is key and critical, and champion pathways to long-term independence for every resident in which we serve. And so in a nutshell, we're truly dedicated to the residents that we serve here in the city of Jacksonville, Duval County. We will continue to be efficient, productive, and ensure that we preserve and expand housing that's affordable for all. When we compare ourselves to other public housing authorities, it's a total of 3,300 public housing authorities in the U.S. And so our vision is quite unique. Our vision here at the Jacksonville Housing Authority is to lead Jacksonville in housing excellence by maximizing public and private resources and innovative policies that will elevate the standard of living for all. So you're going to see more of that throughout this presentation. We've also developed four new core values, which core values did not necessarily exist historically at the agency. Core value number one is service first. Core value number two is transparency. Core value number three is efficiency. And our final core value is collaboration. And that's why we're here today to present in front of you, because we do recognize the collaboration with city council, representatives from the various committees, key stakeholders within the community. It's really advantageous for our agency to be able to forge forward and provide an expanding housing that's affordable for all. Who do we serve? We always get this question in regards to who do we serve for the Jacksonville Housing Authority. And so during this presentation, I just wanted to speak with you about public housing, for example. When you think of those that we serve, our average hit of household has an income annually that consists of about $15,000. In addition to that, the average occupancy rate, they reside in public housing for about 5.5 years. The average person within public housing consists of at least a person, right? And so we're finding within our portfolio, we have a heavier concentration of individuals that are seniors and those that also have disabilities as well. Within our traditional public housing portfolio, we actually have individuals, I would say the number of occupied units, approximately 2,300 occupied units. And that's pretty big, because when you think of the Jacksonville Housing Authority, we're actually considered the third largest public housing authority in the state of Florida. Number one is Miami, and number two is Tampa, and number three is Jacksonville. And again, we're going to be trending forward as a result of efficiency to be number one. Our occupancy rate now is about 95% with our traditional public housing portfolio. Housing Choice Voucher, which is one of the largest segments within Jacksonville Housing Authority, we have an occupancy rate of about 98%. We have a portfolio that consists of over 8,300 occupants, or I should say ACC units. The average individual that resides within the HCV program consists of families, so you'll find two and a half or more individuals. The average stay is about 6.7 years. And then the average income of the head of household is about 15,000 as well. And so as you can see, housing that's affordable is really critical for us. Our economic impact. I think it's important that we start talking more about how the Jacksonville Housing Authority really contributes overall here in the city of Jacksonville, Duval County. Our largest program, which is highlighted in red, which is actually in red, since you have this fancy screen, is our HCV program. That program accounts for 79% of our portfolio, meaning that the Jacksonville Housing Authority for Section 8 funds literally puts $103 million into the local economy for vouchers. Our public housing portfolio consists of 11%. Our central office cost is about 4%, but again, the HCV program is the very largest program, and we're going to continue to see upward trends as it relates to Section 8 funding. This is a breakdown in regards to the details of that $103 million for the various programs. And what you can actually see here is that there's going to be more of a critical need for the Fostering Youth of Independence program. So that's a new program. Well, it's been existing for a while, I should say. And this is for individuals that are ages 18 through 24 that are in the process of aging out of the foster care system. Believe it or not, by the age of 16, it's actually identified through their case managers, through Department of Children and Family Services, if they're likely to go homeless by time they reach the age of 18. And that's a lower amount that's actually dedicated to that. But out of D.C., we have the administration that's really advocating and pushing to have more funding opportunities for the Fostering Youth of Independence program, which is different from the Family Unification Program. The Family Unification Program is also another subset under our Section 8 program, and that's when we're trying to basically unify parents back with their children that they've lost in the process. And sometimes grandparents are also equally, they play a role in this too as well. And so you're going to see more of an increase. We're looking to really increase home ownership opportunities and funding, right? So that's one of the biggest pushes that you're going to really see from the Jacksonville Housing Authority. So we're going to always continue to come forward and really add some more of your support. Capital. So when we talk more about what is it that we do locally within the community, our impact, we've had several renovations to occur. HUD had actually allocated in one fiscal year about $6 million for capital funds. And so where we're at at the Housing Authority, since we're funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is that we can't afford to lose any dollars. So you're going to see more information as it relates to capital improvements from roof replacements, in which you can see within a fiscal year we spent about $583,000 for roofing. But because we're doing a lot more development activities too as well and rehab activities, we've also placed within the local economy about $2.3 million. And so this is just an overall span. Again, when we talk about J.J.'s economic impact, that's about $7.8 million that we put into the local economy as it relates to capital expenditures. Increasing opportunities through policy. So this is a new initiative. So historically, the Jacksonville Housing Authority did not have a homeless preference policy. So in this last, this previous fiscal year, we implemented a new policy that allows for the following. One, in a tiered approach for homelessness. So if indeed you are homeless and you reside within Jacksonville or Duval County, you have a preference to be number one at the top of that wait list. And that would be actually cross-functional through the continuum of care. So we will cross-reference. And if you're on both lists, then you'll be placed at the top of the wait list. So that's important because one of the things that we were actually finding is that not having a preference in place really didn't take care of those that reside here locally in Jacksonville and Duval. But now we have that preference. Tier number two, we actually now have an opportunity for those that are in surrounding counties within Florida. So that's important as well. Tier number three is all other locations. So if you're looking to port in and you're from, let's just say, South Carolina, Georgia, you will fall into that category. And we're going to continue to still have those other tier categories that will always remain in place for our veterans is always key and critical for those that are elderly, those that are disabled, working families, and then violence against women's act. And so these are just opportunities that necessarily were not in place historically for the new homeless preference. So we're really excited about that. Expanding affordable housing opportunities. You may have seen recently in the media that we're really working towards Franklin Arms redevelopment. Franklin Arms is located 888 Franklin Street on the east side. The structure right now was built in the 1970s. The structure that currently exists in which you can see in this photograph consists of about 98 units, anywhere from studio to one bedroom apartments. This is going to be the new Franklin Arms. And so right now they're actively working through environmental to get towards demolition. Our goal is to bring back new development, and it's going to consist of individuals. The target population will be for those that are ages 55 and older, which would be the new seniors. And so that's innovative for Jacksonville and also for the Jacksonville Housing Authority when we think about affordability. It's going to be safe, modern, place for seniors. In addition to that, we're going to have anywhere from up to approximately 130 units, and that's going to consist of 110 one-bit room units and a total of 20 two-bit room units. The area medium income will be based upon 30% to 70% of the AMI. So we're really excited about this opportunity for the east side, too. The total development cost, hard cost, is about $30 million. Collectively, for demolishing this, new construction, bringing back the best products aesthetically. And so this is not going to be wood frame. This is going to be concrete for this particular development. We anticipate about $50 million in total development costs over time. You can keep going. Are you sure? I'm so sorry about that. I'll wrap it up. No, this is good stuff. You keep on going. I'm really excited about this. All right. So, okay. So Franklin Arms, this is such a great opportunity. We're looking at tax credit, so we're going to do a 4% bond for this. One of the things about our developments going forward as we rebrand, you're going to see a difference in regards to it aesthetically on the exterior and also the interior. And so when you walk past Franklin Arms, if you're driving past Franklin Arms, you're going to see more modern-type development. So interior will be aligned with what you would see in the market rate market, right? And so these are just examples. On the next page, you can anticipate a fitness center. Seniors should have an area in which you can work out in. You should have a movie theater, a sunroom, green space, a business center, because we're going to have computer labs and resources and educational trainings, and then also a seating area for community. And so when we do the unit breakdown, this is just a little bit more information on it. I told you it's going to be a total of 130 units approximately. This will be the breakdown based upon the 30% up to 70% of the area's median income, again, 130 units. And so 100% of this, and we're really excited, will be affordable or an affordable option for individuals. I do want to thank you personally for your support as it relates to Daisy Homes. So you had awarded the agency, Jacksonville Housing Authority, $1 million in ERAP funds. We did use those funds. We built a total of five single-family homes. This is a quick video I'm going to show you, and then we'll probably just make the video a little bit shorter, so I'll go ahead and let you play the video. This is what happens when we work together, and we built these homes within a total of 98 days, and they're totally sustainable long-term. And this is one of the clients that actually resides within the home right now. So Tom will play the video. Oh, that's okay. All right. I'll send this video out so you can basically take a look at that, no problem. We're also doing capital improvements. This is an example of one of our existing senior sites located at Brentwood. We've done extensive work in the interiors of Brentwood, and so this is way more modern, which you're going to see in a lot of our existing locations. This is the after picture, and this right here is before what it basically looked like. Again, this is the after, and these are the after pictures. So more modern, aesthetically pleasing, and residents truly want to live there. Partnerships. So we continue to ramp up more partnerships. We did a huge partnership with Seacoast for a huge back-to-school drive. We do ongoing landlord symposiums. When you're thinking about learning about the Housing Choice Voucher Program, we're going to have a new upcoming symposium in October. We have food drives to you as well. We have a lot of educational resources teaching individuals about financial literacy because we have programming. It's called the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, and it not only takes an individual that enters to public housing or the Housing Choice Voucher Program, but it really aims towards helping residents or our clients that we serve achieve upper mobility. And upper mobility can be achieved through those that are seeking a diploma and or a college degree, an opportunity for job placement, a job training. And then also we have a component from our Family Self-Sufficiency Program that helps individuals towards home ownership. And so we're really excited about these great events. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at info at J-A-X-H-A dot O-R-G. I always do tags, so you're going to notice if you want to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, these are our QR codes here. And by the way, we're going to be relaunching our entire website the first quarter of 2027, so we're really excited about the Jacksonville Housing Authority. We understand it's a new day, and we're most definitely here to continue to provide housing that's affordable, sustainable, and help those clients achieve upper mobility. So thank you. Any questions for me? Thank you, Ms. Corbett. I have Council Member Boylan in the queue, and then I have one question as well. Sure. You're recognized, sir. Thank you, through the chair. Ms. Corbett, appreciate the presentation. As most of my colleagues know, I've had a ringside seat to the transformation you're making over there as soon as the council liaison. One question real quick with respect to the employment requirement that's in the works. Can you speak to that? Obviously, and I think that's a HUD requirement that now we are looking to embrace. Can you speak to that for a few minutes? Absolutely, absolutely. So public comments, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had public comments that closed off May 1, 2026, and it was in regard to two components for public housing authorities. Component number one in which a PHA could adopt was based upon term limits, which gave individuals that resided within public housing, traditional public housing, and our housing choice voucher program, any of those programs, a max of two years to reside within housing. That's an option in which the housing authority could adopt. And this is rolled out to every public housing authority in the U.S., but many of the housing authorities already have key limits that are in, well, key work requirements in place. Component number two was work requirements, meaning HUD had suggested to public housing authorities that individuals that are within these programs that are federally funded should have to work 40 hours per week. And so what the public housing authority for JHA we elected to do within our plan, which is in a draft, it has not been effectively implemented as of date until HUD gives us that final rule, is that we elected for work requirements at 30 hours per week based upon the local economy here, right? And so we're proposing if you're in our public housing program, if you're in our housing choice voucher program, that you would have to work with the exception of the following, and this is aligned to HUD rules as well. If you are a veteran, you're excluded from that. If you are a senior age 62 and older, you're excluded from that. If you, an individual that have a certified disability, right, you're excluded from that. If you happen to be an individual that is enrolled in full-time university college, you are excluded from that. In addition to that, if you are a caretaker for one with a disability or severe critical need, you are excluded from that. However, we do recognize within our programs for the Jacksonville housing authorities that we do have seniors that do work. We do have veterans that work. We do have individuals with disabilities that work. And so we're not saying you don't have to work for those that are excluded from that, but there is still a likelihood that they will probably still work, you know, but that's an exception. So we just wanted to make clear, we did put these policies within both our administrative plan and then also our plan, which is our ACOP for the public housing section of it too as well. It is not fully implemented until HUD gives that final rule, but we're informing you. And I just want to make the point that able-bodied people who are in this housing program should find, you know, employment. They need to make every effort to do so. And there's going to be some effort and some pushback, I suspect, to many of your clients right now who are going to balk at this prospect of this. So I'm sure some education and patience are going to be required to make it work. Absolutely. And we're working on that right now. And, again, I'll continue to advocate for our family self-sufficiency program. We have partnership with CareerSource too as well to get individuals trained, career opportunities. Our team is working around the clock, and we have upcoming meetings with other local organizations too. I think, Mr. Chair, through this presentation, you get a sense they're getting their act together over there, and she's doing a great job. Thank you. Oh, I appreciate that. That's nice. Thank you. Absolutely. Dr. Johnson, you're recognized. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And Ms. Corbett, through the chair, thank you for your work. I know we talk often, and the great work that you're doing is certainly, and we can see it. I know I didn't, what I learned in the presentation here, I didn't realize in those other ancillary places that you have, the decor, and people just because they're living in public housing should not have to have substandard ways. In fact, I don't mean to put you on the spot, but I was sitting here, and Dr. Salem was like, I want to live there. Like, he literally said that. That's the kind of energy that we want from our public housing, right? No, I think it's a beautiful thing. Let me ask you this. I want to talk about collaboration because that's something that's so big to me. Where are you with the other agencies that are here that are Ability Housing and others that are doing this kind of thing? And are there any, besides Franklin Arms, are there imminent plans to do any more specific public housing that can be built? Is that something that's in your purview? Yeah, so two-part question. What I'll do is I'll answer the second part of partnerships secondary, and then the first one in regards, so what we're doing in regards to the expansion and preservation of affordable housing, right, but expansion first. And so, yes, Franklin Arms is a great initiative. We're really excited about that. But within our portfolio, we do have other assets. So, for example, within the historic Durkeeville community, as an example, we have many vacant lots, right? And so what we're going to be working towards is a plan to actually mobilize to develop those vacant lots, to have more in-field development, and provide opportunities for homeownership. That's key and critical because, again, yes, it's important for individuals to be able to rent, to have a place that they can call home, but it's also equally important that we really push for homeownership here, especially within the city of Jacksonville and Duval, too. So that's one initiative. We also own other lots, I should say, assets to you as well, in which we're going to be working to mobilize with our new strategic plan. It's a five-year strategic plan that we'll be rolling out. We have it in a draft format right now that will go to our board of commissioners, and this is going to be also aligned with the city of Jacksonville's consolidated plan as well. And so there's many opportunities. We would love to do, and I won't say the entity's name, an even bigger partnership in which we're actually in talk with another government entity about assets in which they own. We do believe that if JHA was at the forefront, at the table of that, we can most definitely bring more affordable units and do more mixed income developments within the city of Jacksonville that would also help from a tax base, too, as well, but yet still preserving affordability for those that are in need. And so we have very pockets of different initiatives throughout the city of Jacksonville. So it's not – they won't only be in District 7. Yeah, there are opportunities at other locations, too, as well, but we're really working on a strategic plan right now. Again, it's in a draft format. Homeownership is at the forefront. The second part of the question in regards to partnerships. So, yes, for ability housing, for other organizations, too, goodwill, industries, I think that's key and critical because when we think about right now what's going on with our current administration and looking at the potential of work requirements, right now we have to be heavily focused on work, work. We have to, you know, educate individuals the importance of work. Working is a good thing, right? Working is healthy. We all work. But in addition to that, too, as well, we want individuals to understand that upper mobility to be able to attain that. You know, you have to work, especially if you want to become that homeowner, too, as well, eventually one day. And so we have various partnerships. We have a new platform for MOUs that we've launched, too, as well. And if anyone is even interested in partnering with the Jacksonville Housing Authority – so there's a difference between the vendors, right? And so our vendors, you go through the procurement process, but like an in-kind type donation in regards to the services that you offer, you can also reach out to info at jxha.org because we do have an internal governmental relationships department that is actively working with many organizations. And I can get you a list of those organizations, too, as well, that we've done partnerships with and we're actively engaging with. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Thank you, Ms. Corbett. Thank you for updating us today. And you can have a seat or just leave, I guess. But one thing I want to point out to my colleagues, everything that we were just shown is above and beyond what we have done as far as affordable housing initiatives. And, again, just to review, because I'm sure it's going to come up next Tuesday night, but just this year, Council Action approved $18 million for this year for affordable housing among four separate bills. We've already approved $15 million in affordable housing initiatives for next year. Plus, we've approved, but not yet appropriated, three separate bills adding up to $15 million for specific actual projects. So, again, that totals $45 million over two years that Council has approved for affordable housing initiatives around town. And I'm sure what we'll debate is if this is the right time to actually put stuff into the 504 bill, which is the budget bill, which we have not traditionally done. But that is a Tuesday night conversation. Speaker cards, I forgot to ask. Do I have any speaker cards? I do have speaker cards. All right. These look like they are all public comment. All right. Carnell Oliver, Janina Perez, I believe it is, Yasmin White, Sue Watson, and Daryl Patterson. And you get two minutes each. Mr. Oliver, neither of those are on the agenda. It is not on the agenda today. Thank you, Mr. Oliver. Janina Perez, and I apologize if I'm mispronouncing that. And you did great. Thank you. So my name is Janina Perez, and I am a Florida director with Moms Rising. Moms Rising is an online, on-the-ground grassroots organization working with families across Florida and the nation, including our over 18,000 Jacksonville members to increase family economic security and ensure we all have communities where we can thrive. I'm here today to represent those over 18,000 local families, many of whom this time is very difficult to be able to come and do public comment, and neighbors who rely on the vital services of the Kids Hope Alliance, KHA, every day. I really think some of the cuts that are being proposed and the budget changes are really premature. The proposed $50 million cut to the Kids Hope Alliance on August 26 was made in anticipation of Amendment 3 passing this November. Cutting funding before voters have even had their say penalizes our children needlessly. And let's be clear, an intent to cut is still operationally a cut. Programs will not, will have to respond to that possibility and will have to make those changes, even if there's this idea of a contingency. We're only four weeks into the school year, and families are actively using these programs right now. Losing the mid-year leaves working families stranded and can also do things like increase your child care costs across the city. KHA does far more than provide free and low-cost after-school care. It funds essential lifelines across Duval, including early learning programs, mentoring, summer camps, job and teen career growth. These programs will increase the burden on families and increasing costs, while they're already struggling with rising across the city and across the state. City Council should be working alongside the community to protect working families and keep children safe, supported, and learning, not slashing their budget prematurely and putting the hard-working families of Jacksonville at risk. Thank you. Thank you. Next up, Yasmina White. Hi, good afternoon. My address, Yasmina White, my address is on file. I just want to share that I'm a parent of two young children and an advocate for children and families, our most youngest and vulnerable in our community. Please consider your cuts to the Kids Hope Alliance. What concerns me most is that we are talking about reducing services for children today based in part on what might happen tomorrow. Amendment 3 has not passed. Voters have not even had an opportunity to vote on it yet, but Jacksonville families could already feel the consequences of preparing for a potential loss of revenue, and really this could lead to a losing Amendment 3. As you know, these are not hypothetical programs. Warm bodies are sitting in these seats right in this moment. These are programs that allow parents to work while knowing their children have somewhere safe to go after school. These are summer camp programs that typically come at an extraordinary cost, youth development programs, and services that thousands of Jacksonville children rely on. These average care of extended day, morning, and after is $275 a month in Duval County Public Schools. That's for an elementary kid student. That's for my elementary student. For middle school, it's $250. For my middle schooler, that's about $550 in child care a month that I'm spending. If you cut these programs for families who rely on KHA services, it is not a cost saving. It is a cost shift to those families. We talk constantly about approving literacy, reducing crime, supporting work and families, and giving children safe and productive places to be. There's heavy emphasis on housing affordability. Well, I can't afford housing if I don't work. I can't work if I don't have child care, which is after care, before care, summer camp, the entire life cycle of the child. Thank you. Thank you. Sue Watson. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I just wanted to come and say that a sincere thank you to the members of the Rules and Neighborhood Committee for taking the time yesterday to listen to us and to support the work that we do at the Exchange Club Family Center. We're very grateful for the opportunity to be heard today for our Bill 0673. We especially thank Councilman Mark Carlucci and the Mayor's Office for helping us and guiding us through this process. As we are moving forward, we have been working for years to secure funding with Duval County, and as a small nonprofit, we face challenges that larger organizations may not have. We don't have grant writers. We don't have development directors. Our large administration team consists of myself, an administrative assistant, and a very part-time accountant. So like every nonprofit, we are facing the ongoing challenges of diversifying our funding, and we cannot rely on just one funding source. So yes, we are looking to the city to help support the work that we do to keep children out of the foster care system and to keep families and support families to not abuse and neglect their children here in Duval County. As we discussed yesterday, we did apply for the public service grant, but because of technical issues and miscommunication, the application isn't being processed this year. We do appreciate that the public service grants are looking at many grants for smaller agencies like myself, and when those do come, we will definitely apply. So with the support of the council, we would appreciate your support in supporting 0673 today. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Watson. Daryl Patterson. Thank you. My name is Daryl Patterson, retired firefighter. Can I get your address too, sir, Mr. President? Address is 400 East Bay Street, Jacksonville, Florida. Retired firefighter, also owner of Patterson Funeral Service. I'm here on behalf of the Exchange Club Family Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. As Sue just mentioned, we did apply. We went through the proper channels to apply to get the funding for this program. This program is designed. It's like the 911 system. When we get a call that a child is experiencing some form of abuse, we go in at that time. It's not a wait thing. We go in, prevent, and stop that abuse from occurring. That is not something that we can tell that child to now wait until the funding come in or wait until next year. Imagine calling 911 and your house is on fire, and someone tells you, well, can you wait until next year? That's just not going to happen. We are that 911 system for that child, and I want to emphasize that because last year alone, we served almost 250 children that was in an abuse situation. If you want to look at it on an economic standpoint, it costs $150,000, $105,000 to even have a child in the foster care system. It only costs us $1,800, so we're talking $24,000 versus $400,000, so the economic dollars makes sense to have this program in place, so we're asking you to fund this particular program to continue to provide those services to those children, to continue to save their lives, to give them a way that they can continue to prosper. So I plead to you, please, put this funding on the table. Thank you. Hey, Mr. Patterson. Colleagues, we are going to be jumping around quite a bit today, and again, 62 items. Not all of them are action items, but a very lengthy agenda. We're going to get item 26 first, 2026-667, which is on page 17. Could I get a motion and a second? I got a motion second. I know this was discussed at length yesterday in neighborhoods. I have no one in the queue. I'll give everyone a minute to get there. Again, it's item 26 on page 17. And I have no one in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Eight yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We passed 2026-667. We're going to go back to page 15, item 23. We have a bill here from our tax collector. Can I get a motion second on 2026-664? I got a motion second. Again, I'll give everyone a chance to get to page 15, 2026-0664, which is item 23. The pages are off. Okay, item 23, 2026-0664. It is the tax roll bill from the tax collector. I have no one in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Eight yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We have passed item 23, 2026-0664. Now we're going to go to item 588. We keep on moving backwards here in the agenda. On my agenda, it's on page nine, and it's item 17, 2026-0588. Can I get a motion on the rules amendment? I got a motion second on the rules amendment. Council Member Amaro, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm here to speak on this bill. I want to make an amendment to move the numbers, if you will, from 10 years to 11 years, and from 1 million to 1.5 million on this rev grant. And I'm not a member of the committee, so if I can get someone to... Ms. DeFopolis, I believe that's the amendment we're talking about now, so we do not have to have that introduced. I think we're ready to vote on that amendment, correct? Correct. So as reflected in your agenda, the rules amendment, the first two items were to increase the rev grant amount from 1 million to 1.5 million and increase the payout period from 10 years to 11 years. So that's part of the rules amendment that is on the floor currently. So we may go ahead and vote now. All those in favor of the amendment say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. That amendment passes. I got motion second on the bill as amended. Council Member Diamond. I have a question for the chair. Is this affordable housing money that we're spending? I believe the answer is no, but Mr. DeBanell... Is it all market rate? I'm just trying to... I've got buckets that I'm categorizing these in. Steve DeBanell, one independent drive, suite 1200 here on behalf of the applicant. No, this is just a tax rebate rev grant, and there is no restriction on the level of equality of the housing. It will be high rate. I mean, market rate housing. Okay. Okay, before we vote on this, is this bill settled as is? Mr. DeBanell, is this good with the way it is? Yes, I appreciate Ms. Stephopoulos and the auditors checking on that. I was under a different impression before the meeting, but with that clarification, yes, sir. Okay, with that, we'll open the ballot and record our vote. Mr. Chair, I believe my understanding for Mr. DeBanell earlier, and this may have been otherwise resolved, was there was an intent to change the capital investment amount back to $20 million, or is it going to remain at $28.5? It's going to stay at $20 million. Okay, so then that would require an additional amendment, because the rules amendment was to increase it to $28.5. Okay. Okay, so we have a motion second. Do we need anything written, or do you have what you need verbally to incorporate it into an amendment? So, Mr. Chair, no. It's just reducing that number back down to $20 million, and if this passes, I'll request that we can be able to roll it up, and then you can just move the bill as amended, and we'll create a finance amendment with that additional change. Okay, thank you. And then my understanding is this really does nothing to impact the economics of it. It just changed. It's a different definition as to what OED versus DIA considers the definition of capital investment, correct? Essentially, yes. It's just changing what the minimum amount would be for capital investment for the project. Okay, thank you. Council Member Boylan. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Chair, Ms. Heather. This does change the ROI, however, does it? Since we're not increasing the investment. Through the Chair to Council Member Boylan, the ROI was already calculated on the $20 million private capital investment. Against a $1 million rev grant. Now we're looking at $1.5 million. So it would reduce it a little bit. I believe the ROI that was calculated was around $2.01, so it would be just a little bit less than that. I think it would be a lot more than just a little bit less. Thank you. All right. So with that, we have no one else in the queue. This will be on the amendment. All those in favor of the amendment say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Amendment passes. We can roll those up into one finance amendment. We've got motion and second. All the bill is amended. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, one nay. Fire actions. We have passed 2026-0588. All right. Council Member Boylan with a strong introduction to the finance committee here. All right. We're now going to go to page, we're going to go to item 708. Council Member Salem, this is your bill. So we're going to 708, which, let's see. That's item 47 on my page, at least, is page 30. It's item 2026-0708. Can I get a motion on the emergency? Got motion and second on the emergency. Ms. Reber, can you explain it, please? To the chair, to the committee, the emergency is due to, the funding source will lapse September 30th. Thank you. All those in favor of the emergency, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. The emergency passes. Can I get a motion? It's moved the bill as an emergency. Got a motion on the bill as an emergency. No one in the queue. I'll say one thing. I did co-sponsor this, and there's two reasons why. On wrap-up day, we pretty much went around the dais. We had full quorum, essentially. And some council members had requests. And really, the goal of that wrap-up day is, could we work out non-budgetary solutions? In other words, something to where it didn't have to go into the 504 bill. Council Member Salem did that. Another thing, this is an example of, if this was $250,000 for downtown, it wouldn't have even been a fighter discussion. So I'm glad to see that we are investing in park upgrades in kind of more the suburban areas. So, Council Member Salem, thank you for bringing this forward. Council Member Marr, are you in the queue for this? Thank you. Through the chair, I don't know if this is a proper posture. I'd like to add my name to the bill. So, I believe in the work that's being done here. I think this is like the final piece to complete the transformation of Blue Cypress. So we're moving forward. Okay. Council Member Marr is added as a co-sponsor. And this is a great part of town and a great park we got there. It's going to be even better. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Eight yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We passed 2026-0708. Council Member Peluso, which number are you here for? 42. We will go there, and then we can get Council Member Peluso out of here. Item 42, 2026-0703. Can I get a motion on the emergency? Got a motion and a second on the emergency. Ms. Reber, I think the emergency is self-explanatory, so I will not have you read it. All those in favor of the emergency, say aye. Aye. Any opposed to say nay. Emergency passes. Can I get a motion on the amendment? Got a motion and a second on the amendment. Also, one word there. So, can I get a, all those in favor of the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed to say nay. Amendment passes. Got a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency, as amended. No one in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Eight yays, zero nays. By our actions, we have approved item 42. All right. With that, we are going to go back to the top of the agenda. Item 1, 2024-966 is deferred, as is item 2, 2026-0361. Item 3, 2026-227 deferred. Item 4, 2026-320 is deferred. Item 5, 2026-0377 is deferred. Item 6, 2026-05, or I apologize. I have my note here. We're going to go to item 15 before we come back to item 6. So, we're going to jump ahead once again to item 15. This is the JTA bill, and I see Mr. Ferguson and his staff down there. Thank you for joining us today. So, we're on item 15, 2026-0514. Can I get a motion on the amendment? I got motion second on the amendment. I have no one in the queue. All those in favor of the amendment say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. The amendment passes. I got motion second on the bill, as amended. Council Member Diamond, then Boylan, then myself. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm not asking for any amendments or anything. We are where we are. I think everybody knows that we've got a lot of struggles at JTA right now. And a lot of this right now is impacting local option gas tax. And there's a lot of shuffling going on at JTA to try and make things work. So, I absolutely commend them for the work that they're doing. This is hard. But I do, I'm going to sponsor resolutions soon that will be for us to say, hey, we'd like to reopen the LOGT. That resolution, we'll have a public meeting. We can all talk about it. But I do think we need to get that process going soon to give them more flexibility on their half of the LOGT. Even if we did nothing on our side, their side needs help. And so, I'm glad we're doing this. Thanks. Council Member Boylan. And then, Mr. Ferguson, if you don't mind coming up, I'm going to have a question for you. It'll be very brief. But, Council Member Boylan, you're recognized for now. Thank you, Chair. First of all, I have a question and a comment. I guess, Ms. Heather, with respect to, I'm kind of drinking from the fire hose on this one. Could you help me understand just briefly what schedules P&R entail? Mr. Peterson, through the chair. Through the chair, to Council Member Boylan. It schedules P&R are JTA's operating schedule. It's pulled out separately due to a council member conflict. So, that's why. Otherwise, it would be just included in the normal city budget 504. And P&R are their placeholder in 504. So, just to keep it safe. So, what does that entail? What does P&R, what's in P&R? That's their operating budget. All their revenues for various divisions and their expenditures. Okay. Secondly, and to a comment, and Cleveland, thank you so much for stepping up and doing what you do. I know it's a challenging time. Sadly, I just got off the phone with a constituent, stage four cancer. He's trying to get connected to your office or JTA for a reservation of service. He was told it would be a couple hours before something got back to him. I don't know. And I tried to explain to him, you're going through some manpower issues, et cetera. Is it emblematic of the challenges you're facing in operating JTA right now? Through to the chair, to Council Member Boylan. I know it's a loaded question, and I apologize, but I think it's an important one for us to appreciate the challenges you are facing in trying to balance the budget and serve the community at the same time. Thank you. Through the chair, to Council Member Boylan, I will get with you or your ECA immediately to get that issue addressed. But to the larger question, in terms of being able to provide the services, timely services, to constituents. Through the chair, to Council Member Boylan. Again, as a representative of the JTA, we will absolutely do everything we can to ensure that timely service is provided to all of your constituents. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Boylan. And Mr. Ferguson, glad you could make it here today. I know you had a very busy schedule. Similar to what Council Member Diamond said, I think our biggest concern, even though we're not doing an amendment or changing anything to the budget we're about to vote on, we really just want your word, and I've heard you say it in the press, that everything's on the table. There's a lot of, frankly, discretionary items out there on a list right now that we just want to make sure is not started until we come to whatever the next resolution is. So there's new segments of the Emerald Trail that haven't started. There's UTC items. I know Council Member Diamond could probably list three or four more that I can't think of right now. But we just want your word that as we're in this area of kind of looking at what the new project list should be, that we all agree as a Council, as a Board, that anything that hasn't started is not going to start during this time period. Through to the Chair, and thank you for the question. We have a Board meeting on September 23rd. As staff, we are absolutely in earnest looking for, in every way, where we can be as efficient as possible. So our intent at this moment is not to start anything new as we move forward. And we look very much forward to our partnership with the City Council and working through our issues together. Okay, thank you. We'll go with Council Member Johnson for the first time, then wrap it up with Council Member Diamond, our JTA liaison. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. I just want to say, you know, first of all, thank you through the Chair to Mr. Ferguson for the work you're doing and for stepping up. I echo the sentiments of my colleagues. But also to say to Mr. Chair, with all due respect, that's not Mr. Ferguson's decision. That's the Board's decision. They make those decisions. It's an independent authority whether the agency will go and do other things. But I think there have been some things that have been done that I think speak to – they put Jacksonville on the map. And so I'm thankful that at least the agency is finding responsible ways to, if downscaling is the thing to do, to do that kind of thing to ensure that, as Council Member Boylan said earlier, and as you said, Mr. Ferguson, that people are getting the services that they need. I guess mine comes – I've enjoyed my tenure of, I think, two years as your liaison. One of the things that I had become most passionate about is Connection Plus. And I hope that – not just putting it on the radar here – that I hope we can find a way. I know I've been in talks with both Congressman Bean and Congressman Rutherford's offices about ensuring that the Connection Plus gets credit for JTA. Because right now it's an add-on service that they get no credit for. Where are you in that and have there been any – while I did my part while I was there – were there substantive talks? Are we moving forward so that you can receive the benefit of doing the great work that Connection Plus does to ensure that citizens who do have issues get to the appointments in places that they need? Thank you. Through the Chair to Council Member, we are certainly working. There is an open period for comment with the National Transit Database that discusses the ability for – or provides the opportunity for us to provide comments for the ability for various transit agencies to provide and get credit for the services that are unique to our communities. And so that conversation is ongoing, and I pledge to keep you informed as to the progress of those conversations. I'm going to Council Member Diamond, then Council Member Mara, then we'll wrap it up. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't mean to belabor this. I just want to put some teeth to what I think you were trying to get at, Mr. Ferguson. This is for you and for the board, who I think everybody's on the same page. It's really actually nice to see how constructive the discussions have been. I certainly know your board realizes the significant financial problems that JTA has right now. And so it's not a question of whether or not we can cut. It's like must cut, like absolutely dramatic. Big decisions are coming to JTA. And I love that we're having a healthy discussion about it so that we can do basic services, which I know my colleague, Colonel Miller, is like, do the basics, right? But what keeps happening to the Finance Committee and to the City Council is that contracts get signed. And then the argument made at that podium is, well, we're under contract, or it's already been partially designed, or we're already down the road. But it just can't be on this one. And so if you came back to that podium and said, you know what, we signed this contract, we had to break it, the cost of breaking the contract was this much money and a lawsuit, I will stand behind you. Because those are the decisions we have to make. Tough negotiations right back at these people who are going to say, well, we have paper. Well, I got paper, too. I got pencils. There's a whole, like, courthouse over there. And all those people are elected by the people of Jacksonville. I have a lot of faith that we will succeed in that building if we have to. So please don't make decisions, at least as far as Roy Diamond is concerned, and what I think your board feels, of being afraid of contracts. But please don't sign new ones either. So I appreciate it. Thank you. Councilman O'Barr. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to make a quick comment regarding the paratransit program. As someone who sits on the Transportation Disadvantage Committee, I know that they're getting the work done, number one. Number two, their performance is 90% or better. When the constituent calls them with a complaint, they're very reactive, proactive, and respond to it efficiently. So I just want to voice support for the work that they're doing in that area. These funds are going to good purpose, and that community is being served. I've seen the numbers. Thank you. And, again, I think we found a lot of common ground here. Connection is very important to me and my constituents. We want buses to run on time. The ferry is important to a lot of our military members getting back and forth to Mayport. But then there's other stuff out there that we need to have a serious conversation on. So, Mr. Ferguson, we look forward to working with you. Tons of faith in our council liaison and the work that he's going to be able to do this next coming year as well. And with that, let's open the ballot and record your vote. Thank you. Eight yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We passed 2026-514. And I think that is all we need at JTA for today. So, Randall, good to see you, Jessica. Thank you for coming. All right. With that, we can now go to item 6, 2025-0505. This is one of the big ones. Can I get a motion on the amendment? Council Member Gay, I apologize. You are recognized first. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be abstaining from voting on this one as my company does work for JEA, and JEA has items in this bill. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Gay. We did get a motion and second. All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Amendment passes. Can I get a motion on the bill as amended? Got a motion second. On the bill as amended. No one in the queue. Mr. Peterson, from what was proposed to what is leaving Finance Committee, can you tell me the change in what our next year debt-funded number was? To the chair and the committee, the debt number went down a little over $3.7 million as part of Finance Committee's actions. Thank you, Mr. Peterson. And I think on the first finance hearing day, I said that CIP is an area where I want us to get an especially good focus this year. I think we did that. I said from the beginning, Mr. Weinstein, we were happy initially to see the reduction in the year-over-year CIP. I think it's going to continue to do that as we get some of these, what I've been calling generational projects behind us. A lot of generational items we had in the same four- or five-year period is just how they all came up for replacement. So we should still continue our CIP to decrease every year. And then the work we did scrutinizing it between some timing shifts. We made some fairly small cuts to it. And then we were able to add a few things. I mean, we were able to reinforce some of the parks that were outside of downtown as well, Dutton Island being one example. So I appreciate all the hard work we did. There were hours of research and conversations that took place individually with council members and other department leaders to get to a good place on that. So with that, open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays, one extension. By our actions, we have passed item 6, 2026-0505. Item 7, 2026-506. Can I get a motion? I got a motion and second on the amendment. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. The amendment passes. And I got a motion and second on the bill as amended. No one in the queue, only thing I'll say is I do appreciate the fact that UF Health was able to stay flat for three years. And looking forward to seeing what the next round of negotiations, which I believe are going to begin shortly, look like. And hopefully we can stay flat or better going forward. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Eight yays, zero nays. By our actions, we passed 2026-506. Item 8, 2026-507. Got a motion and second on the bill. No one in the queue, open the ballot recording vote. Seven yays, one nay. By our actions, we have approved 2026-507. Item 9, 2026-508. Got a motion and second on the bill. No one in the queue, open the ballot recording vote. Seven yays, one nay. By our actions, we have passed 2026-508. Item 10, 2026-509. Can I get a motion on the amendment? Got a motion and second on the amendment. No one in the queue. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. The amendment passes. Got a motion and second on the bill. As amended, open the ballot recording vote. Seven yays, one nay. By our actions, we have passed 2026-509. Item 11, I'm sorry, that was item 10. Item 11, 2026-510. Can I get a motion? Got a motion and second. And for those in the crowd, we're going through a lot of budget bills here, which is why there's not much discussion on some of these. No one in the queue, open the ballot recording vote. Eight yays, zero nays. By our actions, we have passed item 11, 2026-510. Item 12, 2026-0511. Got a motion and second on the amendment. Ms. Reber, explain the amendment, please. Through the chair to the committee, the amendment will attach a revised exhibit two, which is Schedule M, to reflect the corrected operating and program support amount, the grant information, and formatting changes. It'll correct the amount for Angel Kids Foundation within the bill to $215,000. It'll attach a revised exhibit three, which is the Angel Kids Foundation term sheet to replace the program budget with the unit of service detail, and attach a revised exhibit four for Cathedral Arts project term sheet to replace the program budget with unit of service detail and include other technical changes and formatting changes. Thank you. Don't in the queue. All those in favor of the amendment say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Amendment passes. Got a motion and second on the bill as amended. I have a number of comments. You know, I'm going to take the chair's privilege and do my comments first. So, KHA is shaping up to be, oh, there I go. KHA, in a lot of ways, it's kind of shaping up to be the Meals on Wheels conversation last year. Last year, if you remember, we doubled the budget of Meals on Wheels, and somehow in the media, it was city council reduced the Meals on Wheels budget. If we go back two weeks ago, there was conversation on if we did a $5 million amendment to reduce KHA's budget, that would mean next year they were still spending more money than what they were spending this year. And somehow, just by us having that conversation, it somehow morphed into a cut. And I'll make a note, there is no amendment on that on the table right now. The other thing is we've all been getting a lot of emails about how come we give so much to public safety at the cost of potentially cutting KHA's budget. It's the very fact that KHA's growth has so far outpaced public safety's growth is the whole reason this conversation has gotten started. And again, I said this a couple of weeks ago, if KHA had grown at the same rate as public safety since we've been in office, their budget next year would be $52 million. Instead, they're going to be spending $65 million. Nonetheless, I did meet with both the outgoing CEO, the incoming CEO, as well as their board chair. We had a good conversation. I think they understand my concern that going forward, how can we keep KHA flat? I just talked about how UF Health has been managed, which is roughly the same budget. UF Health has been able to stay flat for three years. And if you can't reduce a budget, keeping it flat and outpacing inflation, that's almost just as good to me. The other thing that KHA brought forward to me is one of the reasons they're still going to spend more much, they're going to spend $5 million more than this year, is that we as a council, we rolled over $5 million that was meant for the Youth Empowerment Study, or I forget what it was called, the Youth Empowerment Initiative. We rolled that money to next year. So it's not just the budget money, it's that money as well that KHA has at their disposal. But the leadership of KHA did come to me and they said, we have not awarded that money from that $5.2 million that was rolled over, we hear you on Amendment 3, and so KHA has promised me that none of that money that we rolled over is going to be awarded until after November 3rd. And depending on which way November 3rd goes, we will revisit that bucket of money as well. And I'll leave it to the either incoming, outgoing CEO, if y'all want to confirm our understanding of that conversation on the dais, you're welcome to come up. But again, I just want to make the point, the whole reason we even had the KHA discussion is when you look at what public safety has done versus how much faster KHA has grown the past couple of years, that is our job up here to make sure we are looking at growth rates and scrutinizing everything, basically. So that's where we're at with that. And again, I guess, Ms. Zuber, it's not you quite yet, so Dr. Kriznar, if you want to come up, I just want you to confirm that that was my understanding of our meeting, that we won't make an amendment to reduce the budget, or at least I won't, but that $5.2 million we rolled over, we reserved the right based on what happens with Amendment 3 to revisit that with you. Thank you, Chair Landon. I am Dana Kriznar, Interim CEO of Kids Hope Alliance. And by the time that you approve this budget on Tuesday night, you will actually have the new CEO, Penny Zuber, so that happens on Monday. Yes, we did take that $5.2 million. It is out on RFP. The deadline for submission was end of September. We've already moved that deadline to the end of October. This board has already met in finance. Thank you to our incoming board chair, Cynthia Nixon, who's here, and our finance chair, Chief Carson Tranquil's here, and also another board member. They've all committed to not spending any of that money out of that RFP in case you need to claw that back in any way. And we've also committed to working with you through the mayor's office next year to holding to a flat budget. Okay, thank you. And again, just before I recognize different speakers, I'm satisfied based on that conversation and based on the fact that we may have that money available to claw back, depending on how Amendment 3 does, we put a number of items in the Amendment 3 bucket. This is more of a lady and gentleman's agreement. We're not going to legislate that, but we do have KHA's leadership board here on the dais that that money will not be awarded and expended until at some point having a follow-up conversation in November. With that, Dr. Johnson, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. A few things. First of all, I want to thank you, Dana, for your service to this city. Thank you for being a friend, to quote the Golden Girls, but thank you for really being a friend to the kids of Jacksonville as a superintendent. And as you move away from KHA, I know you will not move away from service in this community. So through the chair again, Dana, you are certainly a superstar, and we look forward to your brain trust remaining as a part of what we do in Jacksonville for years to come. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I also want to say I'm appreciative. I know today Vince Taylor, who was the teacher of the year last year. Mr. Taylor, thank you for being here. I got contacted by so many people across section of this community who wanted to ensure that Kids Hope Alliance did get the funding that they needed to ensure that kids had protections. But I want to push back a little bit on something, Mr. Chair. While I certainly understand what you're saying, one thing I know for sure is that numbers are on spreadsheets, but people fuel the city. And this hearing is anathema to me when we hear it being said that KHA is growing at a higher rate than public service. What percentage-wise, I cannot look at percentages. I've said this before and I'm going to say it again. I'm looking at people, not just percentages. And the needs of a 12th grader and the needs of a kindergartner, I said it during our budget hearing, those needs are different. We do not need an ambulance every day. We do not need a hospital every day. We do not need a fire engine every day. We do not need police every day as individuals. But every day, if our kids aren't taken care of, if the work isn't done for our children in our communities, we will pay one way or the other. This is an opportunity for us to not just ensure that we don't have to pay down the line, but that we are making a positive investment on what could become for this community. And I believe in the work that they're doing. When we see the data, when those data come back, we see the numbers that are there. So I'm glad that we did not entertain. While it was certainly an exercise that was a bit frightening for some, it wasn't anything that was legislatively done. But I think, for me at least, one of the things that is so important to me is that we look beyond just specifically. I mean, I see Chair Betty Burney here, former school board chair. So many people have come to say, we want to make sure that our kids are taken care of. And while that's the school board's responsibility in totality, we are a part of that. And that's what the Kids Hope Alliance is about. So I'm glad to see that an amendment did not make its way in. While I certainly respect your view of saying that the budget, the percentages rose higher, there is no amount that would bar me from trying to make sure that we take care of our children. Because eventually, they'll be the ones taking care of us. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Okay. I'll respond at the end before we vote, but we'll go to Council Member Diamond, then Salem. Thank you, Mr. Chair. All right, that's half the information. The other half is there's hardworking people, nurses, police officers, firefighters, secretaries, people who are struggling to pay their mortgage and to hold on to their house. And every time this body goes and raises taxes, which we did, this budget raises taxes, makes it harder to hold on to your house because they're going to be spending more, their kids suffer a little bit. They will have less. They will have less because we have decided to take money out of their pocket and put it into other people's pockets. And let's talk about the people because we talk about the people all the time. They're not here. You know why? Because they're at work. The people who are in the room right now are the ones being paid to be here. The adults at KHA, which has become a big KHA adult employment factory. So when we talk about cuts at KHA, I don't want to cut programs to kids. I want to cut bureaucracy. Whenever we talk about a lot of these programs, I don't have any issue with making sure kids have nice summer camps. What I have issues with is that we have summer camps and no kids show up, or we have reading programs and they forget to order the books. I want to have accountability. I want to spend the money wisely because there's people who are suffering in our community, and we call them taxpayers. And they have children, and they need to be able to take care of their children. I'll listen to my colleague because he always has very articulate things, and what he says is important. But this other half of the conversation also has to happen. Dr. Salem. Thank you, Chair, for recognizing me. The action you just took on KHA, how is that different than putting it into the Amendment 3 bucket? Is there a distinction you're making? Yes. For my benefit? The distinction is simply because it's other legislation already. So we approved that $5.2 million. Mr. Peterson probably knows when. So we already approved that. It's simply they have not awarded it yet. So if it was part of the 504 budget, we simply could have put it into the Amendment 3 bucket. So that's why I said this is an on-the-dice commitment to us that this will not be touched until discussed again after November 3rd. This was the CARICO initiative. Correct. For lack of a better term. That we, a few cycles ago, we essentially extended to the end of next year. I clearly understand now. Thank you. I appreciate it. Yep. So again, Dr. Johnson, I completely get it. But again, when you add up inflation plus population growth, you don't come anywhere near the 17% that it's grown by each year. With that, open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays. One nay. Fire actions. We've approved 2026-0511 and have fully funded the mayor's proposal for KHA's budget. Item 13, 2026-0512. Got a motion. Second. Councilman McGee, you're recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be abstaining from this, voting on this, this JA bill, as my company does work for JA. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member. Gay, I have no one in the ballot. I'm sorry. I have no one in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Six yays. One nay. One abstention. Fire actions. We approve 2026-512. Item 14, 2026-513. Got a motion. Second. On the bill. No in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Six yays. One nay. Fire actions. We approve 2026-513. We've already done item 15. Item 16, 2026-541 is defer. Item 17, we've already taken up as well. Moving right along here. Item 18, 2026-624. Can I get a motion on the rules? Got a motion. Second. On the rules amendment. Ms. Reber, this is an important one. Can you please explain this one to us? Through the chair to the committee, the rules amendment establishes that a maximum of 50% of the award amount may be initially advanced, with the remaining 50% being advanced upon receipt and approval of documentation, confirming that they spent those funds accordingly. And then we need to correct some Scrivener's errors. Thank you. And there was a lot of conversation and rules on this as well yesterday. I didn't watch neighborhoods. There probably was also. But the rules amendment was in response to the auditor concern that was listed there. I believe Council Member Salem was the one to bring it up. So, Council Member Boylan, are you on the amendment? Okay. All those that vary the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Amendment passes. Motion is second. On the bill is amended. Council Member Boylan. Thank you, Mr. I'll keep this brief. Yes. The amendment with the 50% was offered by Council Member Salem, and I think it was a reasonable point. I think, just to put this in perspective, we're looking at $200,000, the number of grants to be awarded somewhere between 15, 10 to 15. Many of these organizations, we heard from Ms. Martin earlier today, by putting them in a position that they not only have to provide receipts, but also need to take part in the program that the grants and compliance has put together for them to do, I think, is an appropriate use of these dollars. As you recall, this has been in the work for multiple years. Last year's funding was deferred and reallocated to a different initiative. I just want to let you know that PSG is standing ready and prepared to serve this program. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Thank you for all the work you did. I know the PSG liaison job, it's one of the more work-involved liaison positions, so thank you for carrying this. And Terrence, if you're up there watching, I hope you approve of this bill. Open the ballot. Record your vote. I said open the ballot. Record your vote. Eight yays, zero nays. By our actions, we have passed 2026-0624. Give me a sec. All right. Item 19. Can I get a motion? All right. Got a motion second on the bill, 2026-0634, item 19. Okay. All right. We're on the same page. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see Council Member Boylan. Mr. Chair, thank you. Very briefly, people need to appreciate the time and effort that JEA staff and management made in reaching out to each and every one of us in the context. This is no small number. And for us to breathe through it in terms of a vote, as this committee, I think it's a misconception as to the energy that went into scrutinizing this, which I'm sure you did, as did my colleagues and I in this process. That's a great point, Council Member Boylan. I see the CFO and a lot of the leadership team at JEA out there. And I think a lot of us had individual meetings because, yes, this is a complex one. And I think it's the type of thing every two to three years, is my understanding, JEA will be coming back with this. This was actually a bill we approved a couple years ago that triggers when we have to approve changes in debt ceilings. So, yes, a lot of work. JEA finance team, thank you for all the individual meetings briefing us. Council Member Amaro, I recognize you since it is your bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just very quickly, just to piggyback on what Council Member Boylan said, he is right. It is no small number, but this is important for the sustainability of the utility company. And what impresses me the most in speaking with the finance team is that they know it's a big number, but they're also committed that within the next five years to reduce that debt ratio, debt to asset ratio, to get back to a comfortable spot. So, they're committed to making it work, and they're committing to alleviating the debt within a reasonable period of time. Council Member Gay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Out on an abundance of caution, I will be abstaining for this until the OGC can confirm if I can vote on it or not. Thank you. All right. Thank you. No more speakers. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays, one abstention. Fire actions will be approved 2026-0634. Thank you, JEA team. Item 2026-639. I got a motion and second on the bill known in the queue of the ballot. Record your vote. Eight yays, zero nays. Fire actions will be passed 2026-0639. Item 21, 2026-0646. Before I ask for a motion, I do want to point out this is a budget bill. It wasn't marked up that way, and we kind of went into a wormhole yesterday, but this is simply adding both years appropriations into one. So, with that, can I get a motion on the amendment? Got a motion and second on the amendment known in the queue. All those in favor of the amendment say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Amendment passes. Got a motion and second on the amendment or on the bill as amended known in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, one nay. Fire actions. We have approved 2026-0646. Item 22, 2026-0663. I got a motion and second on the bill. I have no in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Eight yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We have approved item 22. Item 23, we've taken up. Item 24, 2026-665. Can I get a motion on the withdrawal? Got a motion and second on the withdrawal. No one in the queue. All those in favor? Or I'm sorry. Open the ballot. Record our vote. And a yay is to withdraw. Eight yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We've withdrawn 2026-0665. Item 25, 2026-0666. Can I get a motion? Got a motion and second on the withdrawal. This is withdrawn because it's not only the devil's number, but because we actually put this in the budget. And so, it was in the budget. Councilman Carlucci had submitted it separately. And by realizing it was in the budget, he now is withdrawing this. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. Our actions, we've passed 2026. I'm sorry. We've withdrawn 666. 26, we've taken up. 27, 2026-668. Can I get a motion? Got a motion. Second on the bill. Known in the queue, I will note that this is the council member's CBA dollars, and I will support it. Seven yays, zero nays. Fire actions, we've passed. Item 27, 2026-668. Item 28, 2026-669. Got a motion. Second. Known in the queue, and this is simply rolling over to an extended date. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. Fire actions, we've passed. Item 28, 2026-669. Item 29, 2026-670. Got a motion. Second. This item came up during budget. It's the manatee protection study, and then talking with the auditors, this is actually a statutory requirement, is my understanding. So, I know we question this one every year, but it is actually a statutory requirement to help the manatees. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Oh, I'm sorry. Dr. Johnson. You can take it. Want to let you know, on the Waterways Commission meeting on Thursday, Dr. Pinto, this actually water, the manatee report that we have to do by state statute, will be, that report will be delivered to the Waterways Commission on Thursday, Thursday at 1130. Thanks. All right. Thank you. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We have approved item 29, 670. Item 30, 2026-0672 is deferred. Item 31, halfway there, 2026-0673. Can I get a motion on the amendment? Got a motion and a second on the amendment. Ms. Reber, please. Through the chair, the amendment will correct the entity name within the bill. It'll attach or revise Exhibit 1, which is the BT, to correct the oversight department and include carryover. Attach or revise Exhibit 2, which is the term sheet and budget, and attach or revise Exhibit 3, the affidavit, to correct the entity name. Thank you. All those in, Councilor Diamond, are you on the amendment or the bill? Okay. All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Amendment passes. Got a motion and second on the bill as amended. I will point out that this was a technical defer in neighborhoods. It failed in rules in 3 to 2 since it didn't get four votes. It's deferred. So I think irregardless of how it does in this committee, the council president will have to decide whether to discharge it or not. Council Member Diamond. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to vote no, but I like this organization. My problem is procedure. I don't want to, this is a weird way to try to jump money into the budget without doing it properly. And so it's a disservice, really, to the organization to have done it this way. So I'll commit to supporting something for this organization. I'd just like to do it as a separate bill after budget. I've got a couple of those bills that I'm going to do because I didn't want to gum up the budget with a bunch of discussion that we didn't need. And so that's where I'm at. So on the record, would like to do something for this group. Don't want to do it this way. Thank you, Council Member Diamond. And that was the discussion and the way, thank you, a number of council members yesterday. Just we've gone through millions and millions of dollars of direct contracts. I also think there was, and you heard one of the speakers from the organization, there was some sort of snafu with the application process as well, which I certainly have empathy for. But it doesn't mean we have that money right now just because of that. So I appreciate, I don't know if they're in the crowd still. I hope they heard you there. And perhaps that that's something that you can tackle and help them with. So with that, open the ballot, record your vote. Two yays, five nays. Fire actions. This item has failed. And as mentioned, it'll be up to the council president on whether this is discharged or deferred to another day. Item 32, 2026-0675. Got a motion to second on the amendment. It looks very technical in nature, so I won't have Ms. Reba read it. All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. The amendment passes. Got a motion to second on the bill as amended. I have known the queue. Open the ballot, record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We passed 2026-0675. Item 33, 2026-676. Got a motion to second on the amendment. Known in the queue. All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Amendment passes. Got a motion to second on the bill as amended. I have no one in the queue. Open the ballot, record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. Fire actions. We passed 2026-676. Item 34, 2026-677 is being deferred, but I'll just point out this bill. I mean, this is another affordable housing bill, similar to some that we have approved recently. This would be $6 million, well more than the $4.9 million that I would argue is, in some cases, placeholder dollars that was submitted in the budget that the Finance Committee removed. But it's my understanding that we're going to defer this for a little while. So, again, item 34 is deferred. Item 35, 2026-0678. Got a motion to second on the amendment. I assume you're on the bill, Council Member Diamond. All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Amendment passes. Council Member Diamond, you are recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is to Philip or to Mary. The reason we're doing this is private money that came to the... Is there a bill back there? Yeah, there is. Or Mary. Money came to the city, and we have to appropriate it because it's a grant. Yes. Through the Chair to Council Member Diamond, this is from an organization, and the city is appropriating their funds given to them. Okay. I just would say this to the Finance Committee. This is something that kind of drives me crazy. Someone gives money to the city, and then we have to appropriate it. The easier fix is for us to have thoughtful nonprofits out there that can take money and work with the city, and then we don't have to go through this whole rigmarole to appropriate money that's already been given for a specific source or for a specific reason. To me, that's a little ridiculous. And so just in the future, I think that we ought to encourage the nonprofit community to go ahead and just do these things if they can so that we don't have to. And it's the Manatee Youth Tank Competition that has caused the queue to light up. Ms. Norris. Thank you, Chair. Through the Chair to Council Member Diamond, we've actually had those discussions. If anything, just the time that it takes for this whole process delays getting money out on the streets for the kids in the project. So going forward, we'll definitely be looking at partnering with a nonprofit to be the recipient of the dollars. Dr. Salem. Thank you, Chair, for recognizing me. Just to remind Council Member Diamond, if you recall, there was a dispute about money coming into the city and who was the appropriator, whether the mayor could directly spend those dollars versus it coming through the council. And that's the reason this is occurring. We are the appropriators. The dollars need to come to the city council. And now that may take some time and such, but I believe this is important to occur. Thank you. Council Member Diamond. To be clear, I agree. We're following the law 100%, and we should. So if money comes to the city, the city council should appropriate. My point is that it would be just as easy for a private individual or foundation to give to a Jacksonville nonprofit, and that nonprofit can just do the work, and it doesn't involve government at all. All this machinery going on and all the delay, just to add more layers to this, I did some free legal work for a nonprofit for the city of Jacksonville, for which I got just like destroyed on Facebook just for trying to help out animal control to raise some money privately. It's the only purpose is take money so that we don't have to do this every time dogs are hungry, or we need treats, or we need to clean something. It's wild to me that we have to go through all this. I think this is weird government. It's not our fault. We're doing the right thing. I just like, just give the money to a nonprofit. A nonprofit can go do the good work. Council Member Boylan. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Notwithstanding all that, I do want to commend Ashanta Green and Ms. Green for taking the time to put this grant together. And I suspect because she was in the position she was as the aggregator in this process, made it very much more likely that the grant was awarded to the city. And at all, I appreciate Councilman Diamond's concerns and comments. Had it been done individually, directly to one entity, the success may not have been the same. But nonetheless, I do appreciate Ms. Green's efforts to secure this grant. And I'll put it on the record. I just want an invite. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays. Zero nays. By our actions, we have passed 2026-067-8. Item 36-068-7 is deferred. Item 37-2026-688, can I get a motion on the emergency? Got a motion and second on the emergency. I'm not going to make Ms. Reber read that. It is right there in front of us. But the main one being that the term ends here shortly. All those fair to the emergency, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Emergency passes. Got a motion and second on the bill as an emergency. No one in the queue. And my question to Mr. Peterson was, does this have any financial impact? No, it's simply an extension of the term. Open the ballot. According to your vote. Six yays, one nay. By our actions, we have approved 688. Item 38 is on second. 2026-0698. Item 39-2026-0699, can I get a motion on the emergency? Can I get a motion on the emergency? Ms. Reber, I am going to make you read this one. Through the chair to the committee, the emergency is to ensure that the code amendments are effective in advance of the upcoming special assessment process. Thank you. No one in the queue. All those in favor of the amendments, say aye. Aye. I'm sorry, it was all in favor of the emergency, say aye, but I'll let the ayes count. The emergency passes. Can I get a motion on the bill as an emergency? Got a motion on the bill as an emergency. No one in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Six yays, one nay. By our actions, item 39 passes, and it will be the shortest consent agenda in council history. Item 40 is on second. 2026-0700. 0701, which is item 41. Also, item 42, 2026-0703. Can I get a motion on the emergency? I'm sorry. I already took up item 42. Item 43, 44, and 45, which are 704, 705, 706, are on second. Item 46, 2026-0707 is on second. We have taken up item 47. Item 48, 2026-0709 is on second. And then item 49, we have not taken up yet. 2026-0710. Can I get a motion on the emergency? Got a motion second on the emergency. Can you explain the emergency, Ms. Reber? Through the chair to the committee, the emergency is to make sure that this allocation of funds occurs before the end of the year to prevent the property appraiser from potentially going over budget. Thank you. And I believe at some point in the budget process, I think it was Ms. Moyer maybe gave us a heads up in one of the budget hearings this was coming. All those in favor of the emergency say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. The emergency passes. Got a motion second on the amendment. Known to the key, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Amendment passes. Got a motion on the bill as an emergency as amended. Known to the key, open the ballot, record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. By our actions, item 49, 0710 passes. Item 50, 2026-0711. Got a motion on the emergency, a motion in a second on the emergency. Can you explain that, Ms. Reber? Through the chair to the committee, the emergency is to the, because the funds will lapse September 30th. Thank you. All those in favor of the emergency say aye. Any opposed say nay. Emergency passes. Got a motion second on the neighborhoods amendment. I believe this is all technical in nature there and is listed on our agenda, so we will vote on it. All those in favor of the neighborhoods amendment say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. The amendment passes. I got a motion on the bill as an emergency as amended. Known to the queue, open the ballot, record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. By our actions, 2026-0711 passes. Item 51, 2026-712. Can I get a motion on the emergency? Got a motion second on the emergency, and the reason is right there. It's another one that funding will lapse. All those in favor of the emergency say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. The emergency passes. Got a motion second on the bill as an emergency. No one in the queue, open the ballot, record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. By our actions, 2026-0712 passes. Item 52, 2026-713. Can I get a motion on the emergency? No one in the queue, and this is due to lapse in funding on September 30th. All those in favor of the emergency say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Emergency passes. Have a motion on the bill as an emergency. I'll just say I'm going to support this, and the only reason why this was another item, I know it's small dollars, is brought up on wrap-up day. I told that council member I would not support it to be a budgetary item, but if he was able to find a funding source outside the general fund, I would support it. So I've been consistent with that on other items that were brought up on wrap-up day that we were not able to put into the budget. Open the ballot, record your vote. Five yays, two nays. By our actions, we have approved 2026-713. Item 53, 2026-714. Can I get a motion on the emergency? Got a motion and a second on the emergency, and I believe the emergency is just due to the expiration of the funding source as well. All those in favor of the emergency say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Emergency passes. Got a motion and a second on the amendment. No one in the queue. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Amendment passes. Got a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency as amended. No one in the queue. For those on the finance committee, you remember this one came up multiple times as we were working through different moving parts, or different moving parts as it related to downtown parks funding. Council Member Carlucci, similar to some other council members, did find an outside-of-budget funding source for this as well, so I'll support it. The ballot is open. Six yays, one nay. By our actions, we passed item 53, 2026-714. Item 54, 2026-0715. Got a motion and a second on the emergency. Ms. Reber, I believe this is pretty much the same thing, correct? The expiration of the funding source. Okay, thank you. All those in favor of the emergency, say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Emergency passes. Got a motion and a second on the amendment. No one in the queue. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. The amendment passes. Got a motion and a second on the emergency as amended. No one in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. By our actions, we approved item 54, 2026-0715. Item 55, 2026-716. Got a motion and a second on the emergency. Ms. Reber, I believe the same exact thing, right? Okay. All those in favor of the emergency, say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay. Emergency passes. Got a motion and a second on the bill as the emergency. No one in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. By our actions, we have passed 2026-0716. Item 56, 2026-0717. Got a motion and a second on the emergency. Same reason for the prior emergencies. It's simply a timing thing with the expiration of the funding source. All those in favor of the emergency, say aye. Sorry, aye. Any opposed say nay. The emergency passes. Got a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. Council Member Johnson, my only question is I've been hearing Project T, I think, ever since I've been in office. I know you're the liaison for that. I also know some of it may be confidential. I just want to know what you can share, if at all, on Project T. Well, first of all, Council Member, you have not been hearing it since you've been here. It only came about last year. Yeah, it came about last year. It's been a long year. Yeah, it's been a long year. I am, because of documents, I can't really say anything. What I can say is that we should be able to, Todd, nod your head if I'm right through the chair, we should be able to have an announcement with the talent before the end of the year. So by November, there's major talent, so Todd's nodding his head, yes, major talent coming, $5 million plus investment at minimum in the city of Jacksonville. I didn't know I was the liaison, but it's good to work with you. I've been in this business. I'm not. No, I just, I've been in the business for a while. It's what I love. And so I'm really excited to be able to bring more film and TV projects here. But most importantly, the economic aspect of these productions that are coming to Jacksonville, which allow people not that are just actors and talent, but gaffers and grips and lighting people and other professionals. So I have to say through the chair, thank you so much to Ed Randolph for the Office of Economic Development and Todd Rubin in the film and TV office for working. I mean, we've been working very closely together, but to ensure that Jacksonville continues to realize the potential that it can have in film. Thank you. Dr. Salem. You're jogging my memory, but I think the president of the city council is the liaison to film and television, sort of like the TDC. It just rotates because I did it for a year, just to clarify. Thank you. Well, Dr. Johnson, he's our film and television guy or defect guy. So all right. I was hoping to hear involve Mr. T somehow open the ballot, record your vote. Six yays, one nay. By our actions, we pass 2026-0717. I have 57-2026-718. Got motion, second on the emergency, no one in the queue. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Emergency passes. Got motion, second on the bill as an emergency, no one in the queue. Open the ballot, record your vote. Six yays, one nay. By our actions, we pass. Item 57-718. Item 58-2026-719. Can I get a motion on the emergency? Got motion, second on the emergency. It's the same reason as all the other ones. All those in favor of the emergency, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Emergency passes. Got motion and second on the bill as an emergency, no one in the queue. Open the ballot, record your vote. Six yays, one nay. By our actions, we have passed 2026-0719. And council members Boylan and Diamond have returned to their positions. Item 59-2026-720 is on second. That brings us to item 60-2026-0721. Got motion, second on the emergency. Ms. Reber, I believe, same exact thing, correct? Okay. All those in favor of the emergency, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Emergency passes. Got motion, second on the amendment. Ms. Reber, this one is a long one, so I will have you read it, please, or explain it to us. Through the chair to the committee, the amendment is just to clarify account information within the explanation of appropriation and corrects Scrivener's error. I'm sorry. That is the part I was reading, not the, so I apologize. Well, you got to talk one more time this meeting. All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Amendment passes. I got a motion on the bill as emergency as amended. Is there anyone in the queue? Open the ballot. Record your vote. Two yays, five nays. Fire actions. Item 2026-0721 fails. Item 61-2026-0724. All those in favor of the emergency, say aye. Any opposed, say nay. The emergency passes. Got motion, second on the amendment, which also has very few words when I look at the correct spot. All those in favor of the amendment, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Amendment passes. Got motion on the bill as emergency as amended. No one in the queue. Open the ballot. Record your vote. Seven yays, zero nays. Fire actions. 2026-0724 passes. Item 62 is on second. With that, gentlemen, we did a lot of good work. I thought we would be here way longer than 242, so I will see everyone next Tuesday. Anybody from the committee have anything before we gavel out? Council Member Johnson. Mr. Chair, since you did not realize your vision of staying long, you're more than welcome to join us at the Land Use and Zoning Committee meeting tonight at 5. Thank you. I have to wash my hair. Thank you.