Good morning. I'm calling together the Transportation, Energy, and Utilities Committee meeting for Tuesday, September the 1st. It is now 9 o'clock. We'll begin with introductions from my left. Stephen Libby, Council Research. Carla Schell, Office of General Counsel. Edward Linsky, Council Auditor's Office. Monet Holder, At-Large Group 1. Matt Carlucci, At-Large Group 4. Jacoby Pittman, District 10. Ken Amaro, City Council, District 1. Good morning, Jimmy Peluso, District 7. Good morning, Raul Arias, District 11. Good morning, Reginald Gaffin, Jr., District 8. Thank you. I'd like to welcome our newest member, Councilwoman Monet Holger. If you have the floor, if you want to make some comments. I don't. Listen, trust me, I appreciate that because in this environment, some folks like to talk. So, anyway, welcome. Let's go over to the agenda. Our first item is 2026-0570. Number two is 2026-0627. 2026, item number three is 0629. Item number four, 2026-0633. Item number three, item number five, 02026-0634. Item number six, 2026-0635. And we'll begin with item number one. That's been deferred at the request of Councilmember Boylan. Item number two, 2026-0627. I'll open the public hearing. Do we have any cards? Ms. Renee Hunter, do you want to explain what this is about? I just want to see you walk down here. Good morning. Renee Hunter, Public Works, Real Estate Division. So, before you, for Bill 627 is the closure of an unimproved, unopened right-of-way on Gate Parkway. The applicant is Samuel Timber, and they're going to be redeveloping the right-of-way for Stillwood Pines Boulevard, Phase 2. And that's pretty much it. They've paid the $2,091 closure application fee. There's been no objections from anybody in the city to this closure request. And we're going to be reserving an easement over the area for JEA. I'm here for any questions. Any questions from the committee? None. Thank you, Ms. Hunter. Appreciate you. Yes, sir. I'll close the public hearing. Can I get a motion on the amendment? Can someone explain the amendment? Through the chair of the committee, the amendment corrects the book and page reference, and then also corrects the RE number listed in the bill. Thank you so much. Can I get a motion on the bill as amended? A voice vote on the amendment. All in favor? Any opposed? Now, can I get a motion on the bill as amended? Thank you. Open your ballot. Vote. Vote. Seven yays, zero nays. By your action, you've approved 2026, that's 0627. Item number three, 2026-0629. Can I get a motion? Any discussion? Open your ballot. Seven yays, zero nays. By your action, you've approved 2026-0629. Item number four, 2026-0633. Can I get a motion? Any discussion? I see none in the queue. Open your ballot. Seven yays, zero nays. By your action, you've approved 2026-0633. Item number five has been deferred at the request of the Jacksonville Electric Authority, JEA. Item number six, open the public, 2026-0635. Open the public hearing. No cards, no speakers. Close the public hearing. Move the amendment. Second. What is the amendment? Through the chair of the committee, the amendment corrects the council district. It is council district five in which the road renaming is taking place. It also cleans up the on file as well as reflecting that there are only five affected property owners. There was one response in the affirmative and four no responses on the street renaming. Thank you. Any discussion on the amendment? All in favor of the amendment? Any opposed? Second. Open your ballots. Let's record the vote. Seven yays, zero nays. By your actions, you've approved 2026-0625. Item number seven, 2026-0644 has been deferred due to a public hearing in neighborhoods on 9-14-2026. Item number eight, 2026-0662 is on second reading. And do we have any public comments? Mr. Cardinal Oliver, would you please come in two minutes and 30 seconds? All right. My name is Cardinal Oliver. Address is on file. I want to use this bill that was filed by Joe Carlucci, 2026-0633. I'm becoming more, I'm getting more comfortable with segregation. And when I look at the CIP, I believe the biggest problem is that everybody's in everybody's business. And look at what's happening in this election, especially locally. There was the lowest turnout of black Americans in some of the most historic communities. They didn't show up. I know how she got elected. All them rich white folks in the suburbs. I looked at the numbers. So here's my point. I want to create a trust fund for the old city limit black American community. What I mean, everybody pays into over five years. That money builds up and we can rebuild our own community without y'all getting in our business. The same reflection could happen to the other district. What I am circulating is a bilateral trade agreement. And I am utilizing the 1866 Civil Rights Act of 81. Now, I've already sent the email. It's written down. And what I want you to do is to act on it through the state legislature and here local. Because with this proposal, what it does is keeps everybody happy. Because everybody's really frustrated with the city council. I'm one of the biggest ones. I'm tired of hearing people from District 10 complaining about poor representation. They talk about roads not being paid. They're talking about sidewalks. People are saying this kind of stuff. And the only way to fix it is that they need their own pot of money. Let's figure out how much it's going to cost. The fund five years worth of capital improvement projects. Let that money stay in that community and leave people alone. Everybody must stop getting in everybody's business. Thank you, Mr. Oliver. Before we adjourn, I just want to make quick comment on the previous legislation and thank Council Member Carlucci for putting it forward. I've known Mr. Haskell for a number of years and the work that he's done. And this community is truly remarkable. And so this is just a good recognition of his contribution to our community. Go ahead. Chair, I wanted, while I was in this committee, as I did in the other committee, neighborhoods yesterday, just share that on Friday, this Friday, I'm having two meetings, notice meetings. It will be in the chambers. At least the first one will. The second one may be in one of the other conference rooms. And I've sent out a notice to everybody. And the first one at 1 o'clock is going to be on the affordable housing proposal that the mayor had included in her budget when she handed it off to the council. The council cut that out of the budget and finance. And I would like to have a notice meeting on the possibility of placing that back in the budget. And the next one is on some is one that I'm not going to be here during committee week. I'm going to be going up to North Carolina, desperately seeking cooler weather. And I won't be here, but it has passed by an emergency in council, but it has to do with the Family Exchange Club's parent aid program. And it fits really well and fills a niche in the mayor's programs, the journey, I think it is, in helping parents in trying to work with their children that are high at risk. It's a great program. It received a lot of funding from the state. It's received a lot of private funding. And I've been talking to these folks for a long time. And finally decided to see if I could fund it. It's going to be with funding from this year. It won't have any effect on the budget that we're proposing for next year. Of course, the affordable housing will. And so if after discussion on Friday, I think that I would probably like to support an amendment to put that affordable housing dollars. And that program as proposed back in the budget. And I don't know if Ms. Councilmember Holder wants to speak to it today. I'm sure she does. She did in the committee yesterday. And I think she would like to be really the – well, there's no sponsor of budget amendments, but I think they may be on a list. The budget amendments may be on a list with people's names associated with that amendment. And it really should be – it really should be under her name, not mine. Or if mine wants to be a caboose behind hers, I'd be happy for that. But – so I would just ask that as many of you that can attend so that we can really understand what that affordable housing proposal is. And the comment has been made that, well, it'll only help out 800 or 1,000 people, so why do it? Because it's not going to help everybody. Well, I thought about that comment, and I thought about when I was a young salesman trying to piece together an agency that one day would become quite the book of business, which it finally has. And we had a saying that by the inch is a cinch, by the yard it's hard, you know? So you build a book of business, you build a city by the inch, and sooner or later they become yards. But if you try to do it all at once by the yard, then it's kind of hard because it's a big bite of the apple to take off. And so I would use that comparison. And so, Mr. Chair, I just wanted to make that announcement this Friday, 1 o'clock, Affordable Housing, and I think 2.30 is the Family Exchange Club Parent-Child Assistance Program. And then I would like to – if she wants to be recognized, I'll turn it back to you, Mr. Chair, and you can recognize Ms. Holder, Council Member Holder, if she would like to speak. Thank you. Thank you. And anybody else for that matter. Thank you, Mr. Carlucci. I don't see her in the queue, or you – go ahead, Council Member Holder. Through the chair. Thank you, Pastor President Carlucci. I just want to echo your sentiments about the importance of trying to get affordable housing back into the budget, as well as programs to help our children and our families. So look forward to our notice meeting on Friday and moving forward with an amendment to the budget with your support. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Palusa. Thank you, Chair. I wasn't going to speak on this at first, but I'm very grateful to our newest council member and our most seasoned council member leading on this issue. Housing is obviously pretty much the most premier problem facing the city at the moment. UNF poll has suggested that. I'm going to go a little bit of a step further. I'd like to see that meeting also evolve into maybe making sure that we, as a council, push back on this idea of putting things below the line. And if we can get the affordable housing money back in the budget, I'd also like to see PSG and CSG grants moving fully above the line. And I'd like to see if that's something that my colleagues would be interested in. Mr. Carlucci. If, Mr. Chair, through the chair, if Council Member Palusa was asking if those two concepts could be included into the affordable housing meeting, I'm not sure if we're noticed as such, A, on that. And I'm not against talking about anything in meetings. I usually like my meetings to be noticed, you know, so that anything can be talked about because we so seldom have the chance to do so. But I would say with some caution, going back to the by the inches of cinch, by the yard it's hard. I'm trying to get this inch of the budget restored, and I'm not sure we're going to have time or we want to take two bites at those two under the line things. Because I respect what the chairman of finance is trying to do, and I do want to try to keep respect with what the council president is trying to do. This budget has been a good budget process so far. But at the same time, cutting something out like affordable housing, I think it's worth trying to put that back in. So I would like to keep the meeting, too, the affordable housing agenda. But if we get through that in an hour and a half, we've got time left over. You're welcome to bring that up, and we can talk about it. Far be it from me to ever stifle any conversation on city business that we have in any notice meeting that I ever have. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Carlucci. Mr. Peluso, one more time. Thank you, Chair. And just to finish, yeah, I think that the main premise of the meeting should be the affordable housing trust. I just want to make sure if we have that opportunity, kind of go into other budgetary matters. If that's something that our general counsel's office is okay with, adding that to maybe the notice meeting and other budgetary matters, then perhaps if not, then we'll just keep it at affordable housing. It's your meeting. I see Ms. Schell grabbing her microphone. You see her? Go ahead, Ms. Schell. Mr. Chair. Okay, thank you. Through the chair to the committee. So I just pulled up that meeting notice that Councilmember Carlucci sent out, and it says it's a meeting regarding an affordable housing budget amendment. So you'll need to kind of limit your discussions to that topic and things closely related. If you want to do a revised meeting notice, perhaps, to make it a little broader, that would be my recommendation if you want to talk about other things that aren't closely related. And, Michelle, how many hours, if it's revised, how many hours does that have to be out before the meeting occurs? At least 72 hours before is our recommendation. Twenty-four hours would be the minimum. All right. Thank you so much for the clarification. Any other business to come before this committee? In the days ahead, we're still trying to schedule some presentations that are relative to the role and the function of transportation, energy, and utilities. If members of the committee have some ideas as to who can make a worthwhile presentation that would leave us rich with information and help us to make better decisions going forward, please forward your suggestions. And thank you all for showing up this morning, staff and committee members. This meeting stands adjourned. Our next meeting is September the 15th. May it be your first committee of the week.