City Council - Oct 09, 2025

Welcome to the City of St. Petersburg City Council Meeting. Your elected officials are Mayor Ken Welch, District 1 and Council Chair Copley Gerdes, District 2, Brandi Gabbard, District 3, Mike Harding, District 4 and Council Vice Chair Lissette Kanowitz, District 5, Deborah Figg Sanders, District 6, Gina Driscoll, District 7, Corey Givens Jr. and District 8, Richie Floyd. Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the October 9, 2025 City Council Meeting. If we could do a roll call, please, clerk. Gabbard? Here. Harding? Here. Hanowitz? Here. Nick Sanders? Here. Driscoll? Here. Givens? Here. Floyd? Here. Curtis? Here. Today, we will have our invocation given by Pastor Louis Murphy, Sr. from Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, followed by a moment of silence. Then please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, creator of the heavens and the earth, creator of all mankind, Lord, you are an awesome God, a mighty God. You are a healer, a restorer. You really are the Prince of Peace. And we're just so grateful and thankful that we can be called your children. And, Lord, we thank you for the men and women who have put their hands to the plow to serve our community. Bless this city council. Bless our mayor. We thank you for the men and women who are laboring in your vineyard as we celebrate Clergy Month. God, we need you. Not only in our city, we need you in our state, in our nation. Lord, we know that you are loved. Help us to share that love with one another. In your holy name, I pray. Amen. Excuse me. There is no moment of silence, so please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Please be seated. Pastor Murphy, that's what I was talking about. I needed it. Thank you. Okay. Council members, we have an agenda in front of us. I'll entertain a motion for approval. Second. We have a motion and a second. Seeing as no other council members wishing to speak, Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please, enter your votes. Seeing as all present council members have voted, Clerk, please tally and announce the vote. Mr. Chair, the motion to approve the agenda passes unanimously. Okay. We don't have a consent agenda today, so we'll move into open forum. Clerk, could you please read the rules? If you wish to address city council on subjects other than public hearing or quasi-judicial items listed on the agenda, please sign up with the Clerk. Clerk, only the individuals wishing to speak may sign the open forum sheet. Only city residents, owners of the property, business owners of the city, or their employees may speak. All issues discussed under open forum must be limited to issues related to the City of St. Petersburg government. If you're speaking to an item on the agenda, you may only speak once during the open forum or when the item comes up on the agenda. In order to provide an opportunity for all citizens to address council, each individual will be given three minutes to speak, and after which the microphone will be muted. If you wish to address city council through the Zoom meeting, you must use the raise hand feature button in the Zoom app or enter star 9 on your phone at the time the agenda item is addressed. When it is your turn to speak, you will be unmuted and asked to state your name and address. At the conclusion of your comments or when you have reached the three-minute time limit, you will be muted. All raised hands will be lowered after each agenda item. Regardless of the method of participation used, normal rules apply, including the three-minute time limit on comments. The requirement that any presentation materials must be submitted in advance of the meeting and the rules of decorum. If, like public comment, is disrupted by violation of the rules of decorum, the chair is authorized to accept public comments by alternate means, including by email only. And, Mr. Chair, we do have a speaker. Okay. Thank you very much. Dr. Perry Washington, please come to the podium. State your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address council. My name is Perry G. Washington. I will not give my address because, Dr. King, I will not be assassinated. I've said that many times. Do we have to go over it again? Please give your cross streets, Dr. Washington. First Street and Main. There is no First Street and Main. First Street and Central. Okay. Proceed, Dr. Washington. I was arrested for planting concrete in my own yard. Can you get to the microphone, Mr. Dr. Washington? Can you get to the microphone? Planting concrete in my own yard by the St. Petersburg police because I didn't want that clown next to me planting a fence in my yard. He tore up my fence with the police watching. I asked them to stop him. They said, we don't know that jail yard. Dr. Washington, please address us into the microphone and not the audience. Thank you. For the last seven months, I've been telling everybody and their mama, I want to go to trial. I had three attorneys I interviewed. They wanted me to be guilty. For what? I came and told you all because you have a suit on that don't make your man. You think they elected you? They did not elect you. My people did. I was here in Pinellas County with the only 20,000 people in the county. I was here when they didn't have a road. I was here when more cows were here than people. I fought for you all. You're concerned about that building downtown? Why is it you haven't did anything about the bodies that are covered? Well, bottom line, tomorrow I go to court and they'll go jobbing and I'm going to sue everybody and their mama. D. Washington, owner. Look at owner in the real estate. Owner. I'm mad. Thank you, Dr. Washington. Any more speakers? No more speakers. Okay, we're going to move on from open forum and we're going to move into awards and presentations. And we are going to start with D1, our student ambassador program, student presentation. I'm going to turn it over to David Thompson, who's going to introduce the item. David, welcome. Hello. Good afternoon, council members. I am very pleased to welcome our student ambassadors to Takamatsu for their presentations. As many of our council members know, actually, I think even our new council member did this himself. We sponsor three students to go to Takamatsu, our sister city in Japan. And as part of that sponsorship, they agree to do a presentation for you all to talk about their experience, what they learned, and how they were able to represent the city. So, it gives me great pleasure to introduce our students, Rachel from Osceola Fundamental High School, Jared Jackson from the Lakewood High School, I know Mayor is listening, and Jada from St. Petersburg Collegiate, but all proud to represent St. Petersburg. So, I'll turn it over. Thank you. Welcome. Take it away. I'm Rachel. I'm Jada. And I'm Jared. And this is our trip to Takamatsu, Japan. So, I want to start by saying thank you to the city and to SPFs for providing us with such a life-changing opportunity. Today, I want to talk about family life while abroad because it was the most impactful part of my trip. My family was Sawa, your amazing host. I wanted to highlight the dinners we shared because of the depth they added to my experience. At dinner every night, my host mom would cook dinner and we'd all sit around the table. And even after dinner was finished and the plates were put away, we'd sit around the table and talk for hours. It was during these conversations that I got closer than I ever could have imagined with the family in such a short amount of time. And it was one of my greatest honors that even miles away, I'm known as someone's American daughter. On the rare occasions we did eat out, I was lucky enough to try conveyor belt sushi. In the picture, you can see. It is just as fun as it looks online. I also ate okonomiyaki featured above. And even on the last night, I cooked chicken parm. And let's just say my host family was very shocked by the amount of cheese in the dish. Next, I want to talk about excursions that my host family took me on. As you can see there, I went to a high school baseball game, which their stadiums are insane. And any time our team, which was Sawas High School, was on the field, we were standing and moving and doing these cheers. And I just think that's energy we need to bring to my high school football games. Next is Chi-Chi Bugahama Beach, where we took some beautiful photos in the reflection pool. And the featured photo is me and my host family. We also did candy making with Jada and her host family and friends. And we made wasanban, which is a special type of sugar that was crafted by the handmade wooden tools we're holding in the picture. We even had a fluffy pancake breakfast because my family knew that that is my favorite meal. And lastly, we went to a bonsai nursery, which had the trees that had been growing for years. And they also had a hefty price tag. But I bought my host family a little bonsai tree, which is seen in the picture. And we decided to name it Peter after St. Petersburg to represent the strong bond we as a family and the two cities have formed. So next, I'll be talking about cultural differences that I noticed while in Japan. But first, I want to acknowledge that these are pictures of me and my host family that I stayed with. So in nearly every house in Japan, there's a designated room at the entrance of the home where you remove your shoes before you enter the main part of the home. And they may offer slippers to guests, or you can just wear your socks. At my host family's home, there was a smaller version of this room on the side entrance. And then we removed our shoes coming from outside from the backyard. The second thing that I've noticed was that Japan is a very welcoming culture, and they are very big on giving gifts. Jared, Rachel, and I had gifts prepared for our host family once we arrived. I was able to meet two of my host sister's friends, and they had gifts prepared to give me, one of which was a lot of Japanese snacks. And I definitely did not expect to receive the amount of gifts that I did receive. So the next thing that I'll be talking about is school and sports day. Every year, schools in Takamatsu participate in a sports day. We did sports day with Daichi High School in the Takamatsu City Gym where we played volleyball. Volleyball is a very popular sport in Japan, and there were a whole bunch of different tournaments within the Takamatsu City Gym. The next day, we went to Daichi High School to experience a full day of school in Japan. In English class, Jared, Rachel, and I did a presentation about St. Petersburg. Jared and I had P.E. and played volleyball and dodgeball. And Japanese dodgeball is very different from American dodgeball. And at the end of the day, the students have a cleaning period where they clean the classrooms. I also saw some of the students clean the stairs, hallway, and even the bathrooms. After the cleaning period, they have after-school activities where I made leather bracelets, and Jared and Rachel participated in kendo. And I will be talking about food. If anyone knows me, I am a very big foodie, and the food in Takamatsu is certainly something to talk about. At the very top is the assorted tempura and beef cutlet that we had as we were making soba noodles. I was just making soba noodles. And the top right is a tanuki cupcake that Rachel had as we were hiking Yashima Mountain. Below that is the assorted Japanese cooking that Jada's host family made for her. Below that is the specialty of the neighboring city, Marugame, that me and my host family went to go see one of the 13 remaining wooden castles in Japan. And their specialty, bone-in chicken. To the left is katsu that me and my host brother, Ken, we made together. Next to that is the charsudon that me and my host brother, Ken, went to a ramen restaurant to enjoy. Next to that is the coffee jelly with ice cream and a shrimp tempura nigiri that both me and my host family went to conveyor belt sushi. Which, again, is just as fun as the videos and pictures make it out to be. And to the left is tempura soba and a bowl of green onions that I very much so enjoyed after the sports day at school. Not only is food important, but eating dinner with the host family and our families in general are important. And the top right is me and my host brother, Ken, cooking katsu together. Below that is me and my host family enjoying Japanese barbecue and okonomiyaki together as one. To the left is me, my host brother, Ken, and one of his friends enjoying ramen at one of his friends' ramen shops. And above that is me and my host brother who came over here, Hayato, enjoying the bone of a steak. Eating dinner with the host family was not only a way to enjoy each other's company, but also a way to get to know each other better. So along with our personal experiences, we also wanted to share all the amazing things that the city of Takamatsu prepared for us. So this slide is all about mountains, gardens, and more, more of the natural things we did. In the top left, you can see Ritserin Garden, which is a Japanese national garden, where we had an authentic tea experience in a beautiful tea house that looked out onto the lake. And then you can also see a very large bonsai tree sitting atop a rock, which our guide described as a fluttering crane sitting on the back of a turtle. Our guide was also one of my favorites, and he was kind enough to let us practice our Japanese introductions on him and give us his stamp of approval. And the third photo of Ritserin, you can see probably the best view from the garden, and even though it was rainy on the day we went, it was just as beautiful as it would have been on a sunny day. On the right, you can see Megijima Island, and this is a special island that holds the tale of Momotaro, or Peach Boy, who left his family to go fight demons. But he beats the demons in a battle and ultimately wins, and it's said that Megijima was the island Momotaro fought on, which is why it is also known as Demon Island. It is home to the Onigashima Cavern, which the opening of it can be seen above. We also went to Takamatsu Castle, where we also received a tour inside the castle. And lots of the castle structure had been rebuilt or restored, such as the tower, that's a guard tower you can see far back in the photo. And that's also a photo of the garden, which was very beautiful. When we weren't spending time with our host family, we participated in city events. In the middle is udon making, where me, Rachel, and Jada all got to have our hand at making udon. Although we did not make good udon, it was still a lot of fun giving it our best and making udon to the theme of YMCA. One of the first things that we did was the Kagawa Prefecture Museum, where Rachel and Jada got to try on a traditional 12-layer Japanese kimono, and I got to try on a traditional Japanese samurai helmet. And also pictured is the two swords that me and Rachel fought each other with. Along with that, we also got to play with Japanese toys and a traditional Japanese instrument. And at the very right is the city dinner, where we got to present our presentations on Rachel's Nature's and Preserves, Jada's Downtown, and my food. Along with that, after giving our presentations to the city council and our host families, we got to enjoy a dinner hosted by the city council to eat with the city council and our host families. And lastly, I'll be talking about our experience hosting the Japanese students. Rachel had the same student that she went to go visit, Sawa, and Jared and I had two different students, Aya and Haito. So, we went to the Duncan McClellan Glass Blowing, where we got to make paperweights, and we got to design plates as well. And we were also able to go see the glass exhibit that was there. We also went to the Dolly Museum, which the students definitely loved, and they were very interested in seeing all the artwork that was there. We also were able to go to St. Pete Beach in the evening, where we got to eat, play in the water, and play in the sand, and we also got to watch the sunset. We also went to Busch Gardens and had a nice movie night at Rachel's house and a barbecue night at Jared's house. Thank you. Thank you. Chair, if I may, just quickly before you guys ask any questions, just want to acknowledge that this really is a community effort and a labor of love for the city. I want to thank council for allocating the funds to allow these students to go to SPFs and their parents who do all the work to get them there and the trust that they emplace in the city in sending their students for 14 days across the other side of the world, and also to the community partners. You heard some of the places they went to, the Dolly, Duncan McClellan Studio. Some of those things are given by these places because they believe in the mission of the program. Some of them we do pay for. And I do want to emphasize to any student who is listening that if this presentation was interesting to you, do not let price be a factor. The city pays for the travel, the lodging, even if your home is not one that you might want to invite a family into. We have had former host families say, I want another child to experience this. I would be happy to be the house that that person stays in so that child can go to Takamatsu and experience this. So we really do want all of our residents to feel that this is something that's accessible to them. Thank you, David. Councilmember Harding. Thank you, Chair. Congratulations. What an absolutely phenomenal presentation. So here's my question for you. With everything that you got to see over there and everything you experienced over there, give me something that you brought back that you would like to incorporate into your family. What about that culture just moved you enough that you brought it back to your parents and said, we need to do this? I'll go first. So I would say I guess the schools, how they have their own little cleaning period at the end, it makes it a lot easier and it teaches them like a nice, like I guess they have lots of discipline in them. So I think it would be nice for us to like, well, okay, I don't really want to clean the school, but I mean, it's a good concept. And I think it's really good that they do that. For me, I definitely think that the sitting down at the dinner table is something me and my family need to do more, maybe less in front of the TV trays. So that was like, honestly, just the time to reflect and talk to your family members. I think that's something that I want to instill in my family more. And so it was a great moment to actually get to know them, even though, because I was staying with strangers, so. I am with Rachel on that, spending more time with family, talking with each other, and also experimenting with new types of cooking, definitely. Thank you to the three of you for representing St. Pete. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you, Jared. Thank you for letting us. Councilmember Gibbons. Thank you, Rachel. Thank you, Jared. Thank you, Jada, for representing St. Petersburg so well. I have no regrets, Jada, writing your letter of recommendation, because I think you shine so brightly, and you represent the Sunshine City so well. You know, one of the things that I remember when I went to represent the city of St. Petersburg as a student ambassador to Takamatsu in 2009 was the similarities. You all highlighted a lot of the differences that we have with our peers overseas in Japan. But while you were there, did you notice any similarities between you and your peers? You know, in a world that seeks to divide us based on beliefs, race, nationalities, religious origin, did you notice that you had anything in common with those who you went to school with and who you lived with? I think, because I feel like Japan is definitely a very smart country. And do you know how in America there's students that don't like certain subjects? I was able to speak to a few students, and there's subjects that they don't like either, and I think one of them was, it was like ancient Japanese. They did not like learning and writing about the new, like the old, it's like our, like, I don't know, like Shakespearean, like old English, but it's their, like, old Japanese, and they do not like that class. So I think that's, like, a similarity, like, within the youth there that I can think of. Thank you for that, Jada. Appreciate it. Another thing I've noticed is what we're, our interests. My host brother in Japan was interested in computers and cooking. I, too, am interested in computers and cooking. So a lot of our interests are very similar. Same thing with the kids at school. We're interested in various hobbies or subjects or sports. All of us had, were very similar in that regard. I kind of have two things. One's deeper, one's not deep. So on the first level, like, one thing is you still communicate with your eyes a lot. Like, something would happen to me and Saul would be like, like, you know, we'd, like, look at each other, and, like, it's like you can talk without speaking. But on a goofier level, the high school kids still love to gossip. They're like, do you have a boyfriend? How many dogs do you have? Who's your sibling? Like, they want to know everything. Like, they were just, like, asking a million teenage questions. I'll just say that. And the same in that way. Thank you for sharing that. And you just reminded us that there's more that unites us than what divides us. And that's what I learned when I went overseas. We had, very, back then, anime was very popular. And so my host brother and I, we bonded over anime. And as a matter of fact, we still maintain contact to this day. So I encourage you to maintain those bonds that you've established with those families overseas. And then lastly, just remember, wherever you go from here, these international relations that you've formed, those are transferable skills. So whether you decide to go and study political science, communications, international relations, whatever it may be, just know that the training ground started right here for you in St. Petersburg. So if there's anything that we can do to support you in your future endeavors, you have a city council that backs you. So thank you so much, and domo arigato. Thank you. Well, I just, before we move on, I just want to quickly thank SPFs and the city and my colleagues for the continued investment in our youth. And then to our three students, I just am always blown away by the presentations that come back to council. And just so proud of the three of you and thankful for the three of you and very excited to see the future for all of you. And so thanks for everything that you do. Thanks for representing us and excited to see what's next for you guys. Thanks so much. Okay, we're going to move on to D2, our Clergy Appreciation Month proclamation. And for this, we're joined by our mayor, Mayor Ketatee Welch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, council, members of the St. Pete team, and all the members of our community and students, y'all make us proud. I'm honored to present the proclamation for Clergy Appreciation Month. To those in the faith community, the importance of one's faith and its impact on our personal growth and our ability to manage life's challenges cannot be overstated. Our clergy are key partners in building a caring, uplifting community. I'd like to invite Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Florida President, Reverend J.C. Pritchett, and other esteemed members of the clergy to please join me at the podium. Come up. Afternoon, neighbor. Thank you all for your leadership. The proclamation reads, Whereas the city of St. Petersburg includes a thriving faith community led by faith leaders whose contributions help ensure a better life for our residents and for future generations. And whereas for the faith community, faith is a guiding light in every season, both in times of uncertainty and challenge and in times of prosperity. And whereas our clergy teach, guide, minister, and help us build a compassionate and caring community, exemplifying respect and love for others despite our differences and our beliefs. And whereas our clergy dedicate their lives to supporting their congregations, investing their time and energies to help ensure their congregations can lead purposeful, purposeful lives that are comforted in times of adversity. And whereas the month of October has been recognized worldwide as Clergy Appreciation Month, our city is proud to celebrate our diverse faith community and those leaders who are important in our lives and communities across our city. Now, therefore, I, Kenneth T. Welch, Mayor of the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, do hereby proclaim October 2025 as Clergy Appreciation Month in St. Petersburg and urge all citizens to observe this month with appropriate activities, celebrations, and acknowledgments that honor the compassion, dedication, and energy of faith leaders in our city. Thank you all for your great work. We appreciate it. Thank you, Mayor and Council. Two things that I want to lift up. This is year 100 for the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, so we are celebrating 100 years, so we are grateful for this recognition. Secondly, I want to introduce a new pastor to our city, the new pastor who's been here 10 months at first, Presbyterian Robert Galloway has joined us, Robert. And then, especially for us to have one of our pioneers in ministry with us today, Bishop Clarice Pennington. She's going to give our comments for our clergy. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. This is a day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is such an honor, and we accept with gratitude and humility to carry on the work that God has assigned us to do. Thank you so much for this recognition. Amen. Thank you. Council Member Givens. Thank you, Chair. Bishop Pennington, so good to see you, as always. And to each of you, thank you so much. Welcome, Pastor Galloway, my good friend Fitz Conner over in Tampa, pastors at First Presbyterian, so we welcome you. I am so happy to have each of you here today as we recognize the work that our clergy do in our community. We recognize, as members of the clergy, and I share in the cloth with you, that the job is not easy. A lot of times it's a daunting task that you don't get paid enough to do, but we certainly appreciate you. We know that the work is plentiful, but I thank God for the labors that he has planted here in the vineyard. Thank you so much, Pastor Irby, for your leadership and for your mentorship, and may God bless you, each of you, in the work that you do. Thank you so much, Chair. Thank you. Well, I'm just so thankful. The proclamation said it really best. I mean, I'm just so thankful for the diverse, just plethora of faith leaders that we have in our community, and getting to know almost all of you personally has been just one of the true blessings of my life. And so thank you for what you do each and every day, each and every minute for our community, for your churchgoers. Just know that we share in the joy of those moments and in the tearful ones, too, and we're just so very thankful for your calling and your, even more important, your willingness to listen to the call. And so thank you so much, and we're celebrating you today. Okay, we're going to move on to D3, our Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation, and it will be given to us by our Vice Chair, Vice Chair Hanowitz. Thank you, Chair. I would like to invite Laureana Forsythe with the CEO of CASA. I think she is somewhere in here. She's on her way. There she is. And John Long, the VP of Abuse Services for Hope Villages of America, to join me here at the podium. Before, I was a city council member. I worked for many years as a prosecutor. When you work at the prosecutor's office and you start as a young prosecutor in the misdemeanor division, there are two paths you can take at some point when you're there. You can handle domestic violence cases, along with the other cases, because you handle a variety of cases. But domestic violence cases go to traffic court. And a lot of the attorneys that go and start at the state attorney's office go to the domestic violence unit. The fact that there is a domestic violence unit that handles cases at the state attorney's office tells you what you need to know. Because it is something that is among us everywhere. You may not see it, but I will tell you, if you go to the courtrooms, if you go to the agencies that provide these services, you will see those victims out there. And there are many victims out there that their voices are never heard, that they never make it to a courtroom. And so today is a day to bring awareness to that. I want to thank all the agencies here, both present and not present, that provide prevention, intervention, and support in domestic violence area. Also, the law enforcement agencies that work closely with the agencies, with the state attorneys. This is truly an area that it's not just one group of people that's doing the work. It's a lot of people. So this affects not just the victim, but it affects families. It affects a community. So with that being said, I would like to read the proclamation. Whereas each October, we come together as a community to observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month, recognizing the profound impact domestic violence has on individuals, families, businesses, and society. Whereas domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over their intimate partner. And whereas domestic violence is a pervasive issue that affects millions, regardless of age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status. And it requires a collective commitment to raise awareness, provide support, and seek justice for victims. And whereas we honor the strength and resilience of survivors and acknowledge the tireless efforts of organizations and advocates who work to end domestic violence and provide safety and support for those affected. And whereas the City of St. Petersburg supports organizations that provide resources, safety, and advocacy to domestic violence survivors and their children. Now, therefore, I, Vice Chair Lissette Hanowitz, on behalf of the Mayor Kenneth T. Welch of the City of St. Petersburg, do hereby proclaim October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and urge all citizens to actively participate in scheduled activities and programs sponsored by local agencies to work towards the elimination of personal and institutional violence against all people. Thank you all for all you do. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Council Members. Thank you for having us here and for the proclamation. We appreciate the awareness to a very big issue in our community. We talked about some of the numbers, and 70% of domestic violence cases are never reported. So they're happening in our community all the time. For those that are reported, CASA, we're one of the largest domestic violence agencies in the state of Florida. Last year, we served over 3,000 people at our agency. We served about 540 people in our shelter. Half of that is always children. One of the issues that we have with domestic violence, because the numbers are so big, for every 25 people that call our hotline, we are only able to shelter one of those people. So at CASA, we started a family justice center where we can offer wraparound services for survivors, even if we can't provide the shelter because we are always full. We can still help with other types of services, including rehousing 906 people through housing programs, some of which you all funded. So thank you for that additional assistance. The issue here is large. Federal funding for services like ours is being cut. And so we ask that you do remember us and think about how critical these services are as we move forward into the coming year. So thank you. Does anybody have any questions for me? No? Okay. Are you going to make any comments? Yeah. We'll do comments, and then we'll go to questions. Thank you very much. Sure, and I just echo it and say thank you for the support from the city. As shared, we know that this is an issue that continuously grows. So how do we stop it? One of the things that we really focus on is that prevention key. We have a program that goes into VPKs in elementary schools. Last year alone, they saw about 3,500 students. During that time, they're in that classroom. They sing goofy songs, and they've got this goofy puppet. But they're just teaching these kids that it's not okay to use your hands. Use your words, not your hands. Find a safe place if things are happening in your house. We do this project with them where we show them a picture of a house, and we say, if the adults in your house are fighting, where would you go to a safe place? And so the kids often, my bedroom or the kitchen is a very popular place that they pick. But we've had kids that say, I can't go hide. I've got to break up the fight. And so we've got five-year-olds, six-year-olds, that think that they're the referee of the family. They have to get involved. They have to stop the violence. And so we started at that very young age just making sure that kids understand that there's a different way to settle things. We've really focused lately in Jordan Park. And just in that Jordan Park area, we've seen about a 70% increase of our intakes that are seeking help that are victims of domestic violence. So, again, I appreciate the support, the ongoing support. There's more work to be done. So thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Gibbons. Thank you, Chair. And thank you so much, Lariana, for the work that you and CASA are doing. For years, even before my time here on council, I've had the opportunity to volunteer there in your thrift store. And I just know all the work. I'm a patron, so thank you so much. And I want to know, how can those who are listening both here in the audience and at home, if they want to be an ally and lend a helping hand, if they want to stop the violence, how can they help? There's many, many ways. You talked about volunteering. We have many different volunteer opportunities. A fun way to get engaged with CASA is actually we have a scavenger hunt in downtown St. Petersburg, a shop local, right, on October 25th. It's a fun way to spread information about domestic violence and make sure that people who have need for our services can get in touch with us. But we do have lots of volunteer opportunities. All you need to do is reach out to us at any point in time, and it runs a gamut of working directly with survivors in the shelter to working in the thrift store. So please do reach out to us if you'd like to get involved. Thank you. And monetary donations, I'm guessing you were accepting those as well? Always. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Well, downstairs, I'm not sure that you got to hear my comments, but my comments to the group before we came upstairs were celebrating a few things, and then there's a few things that I'd love to eradicate off the face of the planet that we're talking about today. This is one of them. And so although we haven't gotten there yet, thanks for fighting the good fight, both of you. And your organizations and all of, I know that the breadth of those is wide, from employees to volunteers to contributors. And if we want to do that, if we want to eradicate it, then we're not going to be able to do it without partners like you. And so just for me, I'm very thankful for both of you. Thank you so much for being here. Thanks. Okay, we're going to move to D4, Fire Prevention Awareness Week proclamation, and back with Mayor Welch. I'm back, Mr. Chairman and Council. We continue with the community safety theme, and I'm honored to bring a proclamation in celebration of Fire Prevention Week. This year's campaign is, quote, charge into fire safety, lithium-ion batteries in your home, end quote. Works to educate everyone about simple but important actions they can take to keep themselves and those around them safe from home fires. I'm joined by Chief, Deputy Chief Brett Siskowski. Chief Watts had to do some emergency travel, so he's not with us. And members of our St. Pete Fire Rescue Team, the very best in the business. Y'all show them some love, please. And Fire Marshal Womack will share some information about St. Petersburg's fire rescue's efforts to prevent fires in our community through education and outreach and details about their upcoming block party event taking place this Saturday at Walter Fuller Recreation Center. And the proclamation, keep it down at Westside. Just wanted to make sure you knew where it was. And the proclamation reads, It's whereas the City of St. Petersburg is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting. And whereas fire is a serious public safety concern both locally and nationally, and homes are the locations where people are at the greatest risk from fire. And whereas most of the electronics used in homes daily, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, power tools, e-bikes, e-scooters, and toys, are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which if misused, damaged, or improperly charged, can overheat, start a fire, or even explode. And whereas the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA, reports an increase in battery-related fires, underscoring the need for public education on the safe use of lithium-ion batteries. And whereas residents should follow three key calls to action. Buy only listed products, charge batteries safely, and recycle them responsibly to prevent battery-related fires. And whereas lithium-ion batteries store a large amount of energy in a small space. And improper use, such as overcharging, using off-brand chargers without safety certification, or exposing batteries to damage can result in fire or explosion. And whereas the proper disposal and recycling of lithium-ion batteries helps prevent environmental hazards and reduce fire risks in the home and community. And whereas the 2025 Fire Prevention Week theme, Charge into Fire Safety, Lithium-ion Batteries in Your Home, serves to remind us of the importance of using, charging, and recycling lithium-ion batteries safely to reduce the risk of fires in homes and communities. Therefore, I, Kenneth T. Welch, Mayor of the City of St. Petersburg, do hereby proclaim October 5th through the 11th, 2025, as Fire Prevention Week throughout the city, and I urge all citizens to check their homes for fire hazards, use safe practices, and to support the many public safety activities and efforts of the great St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Department. Thank you all for being here. Chief? As always, Mayor, I appreciate that. St. Pete Fire Rescue, members of council for giving us an opportunity to reinforce this message publicly and focus on Fire Prevention Month started as a national recognition years ago when America was literally considered to be burning. So the effort of focus, time, stand down to really focus on fire safety. And this year, focusing on lithium batteries. Who has one in their home? Everybody, right? It's an android, sir. Of course. Had the mayor known that, you might not be the one speaking. Probably. Probably, yeah. You know, we're seeing less frequency with androids. That's not validated. Don't quote me on that. It's a real issue, and it's a real safety problem. Just to share with the community, of the fires we've investigated so far this year, 28% have been battery-related. So it's a real issue, and we're seeing an increase. And a lot of that increase is being driven by the use and the proliferation of lithium-ion-type devices. So that safety message is very, very important. And some things to restate that you mentioned in the proclamation. Use only the charging equipment and supplies, charger cables that come with the device from the manufacturer. Oftentimes, when chargers go bad, people replace them on Amazon. And you have to remember, the charger has to be properly calibrated to the battery in your device, or it will overcharge it, and it goes into a condition called thermal runaway that you can't stop at home, and it's going to end up in a more catastrophic event for you. E-scooters, e-bikes, store those outside, please. Don't put those in your home. Find somewhere away from the house outside to store them, if at all possible. Don't leave these devices unattended when you're charging them. You know, don't plug your phone in by the bed at night and go to sleep. You want to pull these devices off of a charger once they've fully charged. Charge them, too, on non-combustible surfaces. It's a very, very prolific problem right now, but it's also a very solvable problem. With a couple of these simple steps, we can really make an impact. Think about that reduced 28% incident of local fire in the community right here in St. Petersburg with an awareness on that. So we appreciate the opportunity to highlight that. I do want to take a moment to thank this being Fire Prevention Week. All of St. Pete Fire Rescue participates in fire prevention every single day, all 400-plus members of our organization. There are some members that it is all they do every single day, and I think it's important to draw attention to those. We have our public education outreach specialist folks here, which you're very familiar with as well. Our deputy fire marshals. We've got some of our field inspectors here that go out and do thousands of inspections in the community every year looking for fire safety issues to help solve those. We've got plans examiners that review plans to make sure that things are built and constructed according to the fire code. And then also a team of arson investigators and fire investigators that help us define cause and origin, identify issues like battery issues, and help us to craft code that then can overcome that. So I appreciate the team and all the work they do daily helping to actually prevent fires in the community. And thank you for your time. And I will restate again, the block party. This is our big comeback party because we had to cancel it last year because of the storms. So we invite everybody in the community to come out and help us relaunch our annual block party. It's this Saturday, 10 to 2 at Walter Fuller Park. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Gibbons. Thank you so much. And happy Fire Prevention Awareness Week to each of you. Thank you so much, Chief, for your presence and to each of you all in your rightful places. Back in March, I had the opportunity to go out with a few volunteers and some of our fire personnel, and we went out into the Child's Park neighborhood, which I believe ranks 17th nationally and number one in the state of Florida for the highest home fire risk. And so what that means is because of the socioeconomic conditions and the proximity to a fire station, Child's Park's homes have a higher risk of catching fire. And so we went out there and we installed over 170 lithium-powered batteries, which have a 10-year lifespan. And so what I think you all are doing every day is you're being proactive about saving lives. And I thank you so much for all that you do. You risk your lives to save other lives. And for that, we say thank you. And so we're grateful for each of you. Thank you very much, Chair. Thank you. Councilmember Driscoll. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor, for the proclamation and to our fire department for all that you do. I'm very happy that lithium, that the batteries are the focus this year because, as Chief Siskoski knows, I've asked about this before. And, you know, it is a growing concern. I mean, 28 percent of the incidents this year related to that. So I'm hoping that this is going to launch a big communication effort because I think it's really just about knowing some of the things that you mentioned, Chief Womack, and understanding what needs to be inside, what needs to be outside, you know, the phone charger thing. And then also disposal. That's something that is really important. So I have – so a couple weeks ago, I changed out two of my AirTags. Yes, Chief Womack, that would be Apple AirTags. So I've got the old batteries, and they're, like, still sitting on the counter because I'm like, I've got to remember where I'm supposed to take these. Do we have – can you drop them off at any fire station, kind of like the police station has the drop-off for old prescription meds, that kind of thing? Do you have that? Great question, and thank you for highlighting that. That was a key bullet point. I forgot disposal, right? Yeah. So go to call to the number to recycle. All one word, call to recycle.org, and find out your closest spot to properly dispose of lithium-ion batteries. And that's actually currently on the grid, I'm Mason. Okay, great. Yeah, maybe we can get that out there. And then I'm wondering, and I'm sorry, I should have looked before, but the St. Pete Collects app that many people have on their phone to remind you when you have to take your recycling out and things like that. There's a – like a waste wizard where you can look this up. Is that – do you happen to know if that's on? I'm not going to look while we're sitting here, but – I don't know that that's on there, but I will tell you it is an issue of the few recycling facility fires that we have had over the years. That stuff generally leads back to battery disposal issues. Yeah. So that stuff needs to go somewhere else, and so I'm just wondering if someone – whoever handles the app, because so many people have it, and I just want to make sure that that's listed on there as – for that information. That would be perfect. And to touch on your earlier point, too, as we continue to identify the hazards and risk to the community, those public safety messages will increase. So we've communicated throughout this year about the lithium ion fires and the issue that's growing, and as Chief Womack identified. So we will continue those efforts. I can't wait to see you guys in the videos that will run on St. Pete TV. Chief Womack, you said something about e-scooters and e-bikes should be kept outside. If you could give a little bit more context to that, because I don't think they necessarily have to be outside all the time. And when they're being charged, where should they be? Because I'm thinking about them being outside in the rain. Not such a great idea. Yeah. So what I don't want to see them is in a bedroom or an apartment. You know, the reality is is it has the potential to catch fire, and because of that thermal runaway, when that device starts to smoke, there's nothing the homeowner can do to stop it. It's going to end up going into an explosion. It's going to release toxic gases. In a contained room, a small bedroom, it will make it untenable, very dangerous from a health and survivability standpoint. And also the fire condition will escalate very quickly. So we're seeing that as somewhat common practice, right? People are relying on these a lot, and they live in apartments, and they're bringing them inside the house with them. So it just increases the risk. I don't have a good solution, but I think it's important the public knows what type of risk they're assuming when they bring those devices into the home. It would be interesting to do some research and see if there are other cities that have come up with some brilliant idea that we just haven't thought of yet. Yeah, there's quite a bit of co-development work being done across the country right now to try to address the lithium ion issue. Some local jurisdictions have even created local ordinance where you can't store those devices inside, especially when it's apartment building stuff. I don't know if those are good solutions. I will say this. Sprinkler-protected buildings can help contain that event to the area of origin. So those are absolutely life-saving features as well. And there's been UL studies and laboratory studies so far to indicate a sprinkler can't make the fire not occur, but it can keep it contained in the area in which it occurred. So those are very effective as well. Right. Well, you just keep working to make sure it doesn't happen in the first place. Thank you so much. Thank you all for all that you do. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. So, Chief, I'm going to be the shining example of what not to do in two instances. Because over the last year, and I have had two lithium battery experiences. One was during Hurricane Helene. My best friend went out of town, and he wasn't here the two days before the storm. The day leading up to the storm, I went to his house. My wife dropped me off down the block because there was already a foot of water in the streets. I went and de-energized his home because we were worried, obviously. And he's got all the things, right? And so we come back, I think, two days after the storm because it took him a couple of days to get back into town, get into the house, do all these things. We re-energized the house with, actually, Treasure Island FD there to make sure that we were doing it safely. And get all of his stuff out of his house because his house is ruined at this point, right? Took on three and a half feet. And left the house. They went and stayed at a buddy's house that night, came back, and his house was destroyed, burnt down because they had left one thing plugged in, a children's toy that had a lithium-ion battery. It's crazy, right? I mean, like, you do all the right steps up to the last one, and something bad happens. Now, I couldn't make fun of my best friend and feel good about it without making fun of me. So talk about AirTags. I had never had one before. And I got one as a gift, and it wasn't popping up on my phone. And I'm like, oh, well, it must be dead. So I put it on my watch charger, got into the shower, and I blew up my watch charger. And so this is a Gerdes guy problem. We need to read directions more. And so I'm just very appreciative of the campaign and highlighting this because just the simplest little thing, right? I mean, you make a lot of really, really good decisions, and one okay one, not, you know, just less than okay, and it can be catastrophic. And so my point in bringing these stories is it can happen anywhere, anytime, to anybody. And so I'm just very thankful. I totally reiterate Council Member Givens' comments about the work that you guys do every single day and making sure that dum-dums like me make it through to the next day. And so thank you so much for everything that you do, and just know that you continue to have our full faith and support. So thanks so much for being here. They were clapping for you, not my decision-making. Okay, we're going to move on to D5, where we're going to talk about National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. Council Member Harding. Thank you, Chair. For those of us who have been around long enough to gain the wisdom that I have, Chair Gerdes, or Administrator Gerdes and I, that's the second time we've gotten picked on, it is nice to be able to talk about things that we have made enough progress on that have the ability to go away. We talked about domestic violence, and that's a battle that we'll fight forever, and we'll do our best to make ends and to make progress. Some things are a little bit easier if they have champions. And in this case, they do. Back in the 40s and 50s and 60s, we used to build houses with lead in them. It was cheap metal and pliable, and we built it into moldings, and we built it into windowsills. And it turns out that that's a really bad idea. But it takes a champion or it takes a group of champions to really bring this to light and then do the work to change the way that we do things. And in this case, the city, like other municipalities, has held a hand in this. The building code has held a hand in this, and groups like the Healthy Homes Coalition have held a hand in this. So our proclamation today, whereas lead exposure in children, especially those under the age of six, even at very low levels, may damage the brain and the nervous system, resulting in hearing, speech, and behavior problems. And whereas lead exposure to children can result from multiple sources, including drinking water from corrosion of lead service lines and a variety of everyday consumer and commercial goods. And whereas lead-based paint and the contaminated dust it generates in homes and soil represents one of the most dangerous and widespread sources of exposure affecting children, and whereas lead poisoning is preventable. The key is to keep children from encountering lead, and there are simple steps that can be taken to protect all family members from lead-based paint hazards in the home. And whereas education and awareness about the dangers of lead can help protect the lives of children living in St. Petersburg, now therefore, I, Mike Harding, Council Member, on behalf of Kenneth T. Welch, Mayor of the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, to hereby proclaim October 19th through the 25th, 2025, as National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, and urge all citizens to actively observe this week to enhance public awareness of lead poisoning prevention and the ways we can protect our families from lead poisoning and encourage all citizens to support lead hazard prevention efforts throughout the city and year-round. Thank you. On behalf of the City's Housing and Community Development Department, I'm honored to accept this proclamation recognizing National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. Lead poisoning is entirely preventable, yet it continues to threaten the health and the future of our children and families in our community. South St. Petersburg is within the 95 to 100 percentile for lead paint pollution. This proclamation affirms our city's commitment to education, early detection, safe housing, and coordination action to eliminate these lead hazards. I want to thank the mayor, city council, and our city's Healthy Home Coalition, our community partners such as the Department of Health, for their leadership and support. Together, we're advancing the goal of ensuring that every child in St. Petersburg grows up in a healthy, safe, and thriving environment. We hope that you'll all join us at our Get the Let Out Kick-Out event, Saturday, October 25th. You can come there, eat, play, have some fun, then go shopping downtown for CASA. From noon to 4, we'll be at Child's Park Recreation Center, where there's going to be family fun, community resources, and it is finally the opportunity to learn about our lead paint remediation grants. Thank you again for this recognition, for your partnership in building a healthier future for all of our residents. Thank you, Dr. Sleiker. Okay, well, next up, we have Breast Cancer Awareness Month Proclamation, DA, and it's going to be presented by our own chair, Chair Curtis. Thank you, Madam Vice Chair, and joining us, we have some representatives from a couple of local hospitals. From Bayfront Orlando Health, we've got Jamie Hershberger, the Associate Chief Nursing Officer, and Matt Letlier, they're intergovernmental. And then from Baycare Morton Plant, we've got Dr. Peter Blumenkrantz, who's the Medical Director of the Baycare Cancer Institute, and Tim McMahon, who is the Director of Baycare Cancer Institute. And also joining me this afternoon is my wife, Cecily Gerdes. So five years ago yesterday, our lives changed very drastically. My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 lobular breast cancer. She's my hero, and before I get into a little bit of that story, I want to talk about our heroes, the doctors, the nurses, the researchers who have supported us along this journey. Let me tell you, there were a couple of them that we would not have been able to get through the way we did without. Our team has been amazing, and so to all of the doctors and nurses here and those that are listening, you're changing the world, you're changing the world, and you're changing mine on a daily basis. Breast cancer is one of those things that, in my opinion, not only changes you emotionally, physically, not just physically inward, but physically outward. And so going through this process with my wife, it was clear to me that this, not only would we be dealing with this for a certain period of time, but we'd be dealing with it for the rest of our lives. And that's just because of, frankly, the emotional and the physical scars that come along with it. And I need her to know that she is loved and cared for and will continue to be until the day I take my last breath. Also, and I don't want to make this about me, but I think sometimes who we don't talk about are the spouses, the families, the friends, the kids, that it affects as well. You're going to hear in a minute some stats about one in eight women as a breast cancer diagnosis. In the last five years, we have had three close friends in our world be diagnosed, a fourth just a stakeholder in this community. And so it's amazing what still lies ahead of us. One of those friends, her doctor is Dr. Blumenkrantz. And so she was diagnosed just a few months after my wife, and she received amazing care and is in remission today. And so I just want to thank the mayor for bringing this forward. I want to thank council for giving me the grace to celebrate my wife and be a little selfish. But any time I can get her up here and talk about what an amazing woman she is, and I'm going to go one step further because, as you know, just over a month ago she lost her dad. And so not only is my wife a breast cancer survivor, a mom of two, a husband to me, or excuse me, a wife to me, which that should be at the top of the list of things that are difficult. She is an accomplished human resources director for a local company, and right now she's the de facto CEO of Valenti Liquors after her dad's passing. And let me tell you, just two or three of those things is enough. To have all of them is incredible and miraculous. And I'm not going to look at you, Cecily Gerdes, but I love you very, very, very much. And thank you for everything you do for me and our family and your family. And I am on this journey with you till the very end. And I love you very much. Here's the proclamation. Whereas, one in eight women in America and one in 833 American men will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives or one person every two minutes. And whereas, breast cancer touches so many lives in our city and county, from our loved ones and friends to our neighbors and coworkers who have survived or lost their lives to breast cancer. And whereas, thanks to earlier detection and better treatments, mortality rates for breast cancer have decreased in the last decade. And whereas, affordable access to screenings and early detection for all women is an essential component in the fight against breast cancer. And whereas, the state of Florida recognized the need to provide uninsured, low-income women ages 50 to 64 with access to life-saving cancer screenings, such as mammography and cervical cancer screenings through its Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, or BCCP. And whereas, the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County's BCCP performs life-saving screenings yearly and has been recognized as one of the state's top programs. And whereas, we stand with our mothers, our daughters, our grandmothers, our sisters, and our friends, and our wives, supporting their struggle after a breast cancer diagnosis, as well as recognizing the doctors, the nurses, the researchers, and all other health professionals whose care and dedication gives hope to those living with breast cancer. Now, therefore, I, Chair Copley-Gerdes, on behalf of Kenneth T. Welch, the mayor of the city of St. Petersburg, do hereby proclaim October 2025 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month throughout the city, and I urge all residents to educate themselves on prevention and treatment options of this devastating disease. Thank you. I'm going to ask Dr. Blumenkrantz to come up and say a few words, Madam Vice Chair. Thank you. Thank you so much. It's an honor to be here, and I want to thank the mayor and chair and council members for having us. It's really wonderful to celebrate with all of you. On behalf of BayCare and the Cancer Institute, I can tell you that you've got St. Anthony's in your backyard here since 1931, and glad to have that contribution to the community and the health care of everyone around here. On a personal note, having taken care of a close friend, I can't tell you, I've been in surgical practice as a surgical oncologist for over 40 years. I've operated on thousands of women and men, important and men, just don't forget male breast cancer, in this county. And I will tell you that one thing never ceases to amaze me, and that's the strength of the human spirit. Because in the worst adversity, no one wants to hear that C word, and the strength that women and their families show to get through this is remarkable. In the worst of circumstances, the wonderful news is things are getting better. When I started my training up in New York at Sloan-Kettering, we did radical mastectomies. Everybody had their breasts removed. They were terribly disfigured. And now, if you catch it early and you do good screening, we have over a 95% cure rate, and you can have an outpatient small lump taken out, maybe a lymph node, and go home the same day and go back to your activities the next day. That's remarkable. I don't want to take too much time, but one new thing we're doing, there is evidence in the past couple of years that women of young age, under 50, the incidence of breast cancer is increasing. We're not sure why. It may be something genetic or environmental, but we are starting a new program just launching, which has been a pet project of mine, as a high-risk assessment project. This is powered by software, something called CancerIQ, where patients or anyone in the community can go on a tablet or phone, scan a QR code, answer some simple questions, and within a few minutes we'll know if they're at high risk for any one of nine cancers, including breast. And then we can get at them early. And the goal of that is instead of presenting disease, maybe stage two or three or even four when it's metastatic, if we can find the people at risk before they have the disease, we can start screening sooner. We can often, if it's breast cancer, detect they have a BRCA mutation, which leads to increased risk. They can have preventive surgery and never deal with the cancer in their lives. Our goal is to change that curve. We're going to move the curve of stage disease back. So that's really good. Council Member Harding. Thank you, Chair. Dr. Blumenthal-Krantz, thank you. You mentioned that you graciously talked about human spirit, and I think that we saw that. That's been around forever. You also, and not to diminish it, but we've always had a fighting spirit. But you said things are getting better, and they're getting better because of you. They are. I appreciate the efforts that BayCare makes in making this an important part of their business model. I appreciate all the support that goes into what we do, but it is your profession and it is you that is fighting this problem and making this something that the next generation doesn't have to face. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Well, thank you all for everything you do. Honestly, Chair, Gerda, thank you for your heartfelt words. Cecily, you are seriously a hero and amazing, and I agree with everything your husband said, and I can understand why he would not turn around. I can barely sit up here like some of us and hold back tears, but the work that the doctors do, you have a group of people that are behind you, and everyone here honestly wants to see this eradicated, just like Chair Gerda said, and I know that we're on our way based on what the doctor is saying. So thank you. Thank you. Okay. And next up, we have D6, the Preschool Officer Program Update, and this is going to be presented by Arthurine Williams for Kids World Preschool and Jackie Lang, Imagination Station Daycare, and I will hand it over to Council Member Faye Sanders. This is her item, I believe. Yes, it is. First of all, good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for all that was presented today, and they saved the best for last, our young people. So we are going to have our POPs program as well as Mr. Devon Miller, but I'm going to ask Ms. Arthurine Williams, Ms. Jackie Lang, and I know I'm going to say this wrong, Officer Nora Bracha, and Officer Moe. I was told to just say Officer Moe. To come on up, what this program is, is back in 2021, we had a rash of gun violence, and we had an Enough is Enough movement where we wanted to teach our community about the importance of gun violence. But one of the things that we found is that a lot of the ease and the anxiousness started with our babies, started with our young households, and so they understood the fact that police officers were in control, but they didn't have the correct understanding of why they were there. So we started the police officer program, affectionately called POPs, where they had strong interactions with our men and women in blue, and every time I get to go and see them have fun, they don't just go and read books. They actually go and have fun, and I've noticed over the past four years, the relationships have changed with not only the children and our men and women in uniform, but with the parents as well. So with that, I'm going to open it up to Ms. Arthurine Williams to showcase what our police officers are doing with our preschoolers, and they have been doing an awesome job. And I want to thank St. Pete Police Department. I want to thank Chief for saying yes when I called to ask. But Ms. Arthurine doesn't have a, she has a waiting list of officers that are willing, and I'm so excited about that. Ms. Williams. Okay. Good afternoon, Mayor, Welch, City Councilmembers, and guests. I'm Arthurine Williams, owner and administrator of Kids World Preschool and Learning Center, and this is Ms. Jackie Lane, owner and administrator of Imagination Station Preschool. We would like to thank Councilmember Figg Sanders for giving us the opportunity to share with you the story and the impact of a program that has truly touched the lives and hearts of our children, our families, and staff, and would not have become a reality without the diligence of Councilmember Figg Sanders. The program, as she said, is a preschool officer program that we call POPs. POPs was launched at Kids World, Imagination Station, and 11 other preschools in August of 2021 with one simple goal, to build positive relationships between our youngest learners and St. Pete's Finest, the police officers who serve our community. Since its inception, over 100 of our Kids World VPK students have participated in this incredible program, and Imagination Station has had over 80 to participate. The concept is simple, yet powerful. Once a month, our police officers visit our preschools. There's no script, no structured lesson plan, and no formality. Just fun. An authentic interaction on the playground. Our children see them laughing, being silly, and enjoying being a part of their everyday world. That's what makes it so meaningful. Our children get to see that these officers are people just like them. They have families that they like to play, and they care deeply about our community. Example of that is, they are here. They don't have to be. They are here because they want to be. For some of our children, they have only known police officers through negative or stressful situation involving mostly their family members. POPs gives them a new perspective. Children who once was hesitant, and now they have the biggest grin. They run up to the officers for hugs and always ask the question, are the police officers coming today? I tease the officers because we are actually assigned one officer. One officer now. But we end up with four or five at a time. And I tell them, it is so, so sad that you all have to call for backup for four- and five-year-olds. I don't see, I tell them, I don't see that many cruisers at crime scenes. The beauty of POPs doesn't stop with the children. They have become an integral part of our kids' world family. They do not just visit once a month and then disappear until the next month. They have participated in our annual trunk of tree. We also had a day of fun, and the day of fun was really fun. They brought the horses. They brought the canine. They brought the decked-out Mustang, what you see now, the decked-out Mustang, a Camaro. And the police officer who had that car, the other police officers came to me and said, you know what, him, like, nobody touch his car? Nobody. I mean, when I tell you it was shining, it was shining. They said, do me a favor. Take all them kids over there and let them put their handprints on them. So I said, no, you want to get me in trouble. And they say, no, please do it. So that's exactly what we did. But the bottom line was he had a spray bottle and a rag. So when they finished, he got his spray bottle and his rag. And also they did the bicycle and helmet giveaway. The officers, there was a grant, and they applied for the grant, and they were able to get the grant. So every one of my VPK students last Christmas got bicycles and a helmet. And also they've done the car seat giveaway because, I tell you, our parents at the preschool, those children do not have car seats. They're sitting in laps. They're just sitting in car, just in the seats. So we had the giveaway. Also, they are at all of our VPK graduations cheering our children on. And there is this stash closet they have at the station. They find stuff in the stash closet and bring it to the school as well. So their presence, their presence sends a strong message that police officers aren't only there when something goes wrong. They're also there to celebrate with us when everything is right. Our parents over the years have shared how meaningful this program has been for them too. They have said that their children come home excited to talk with them about their officer friends. The POPS program has strengthened the connection between Kids World and our police department. It has fostered a sense of partnership. We at Kids World are grateful to the dedicated officers who make time for our children each month and then some. They show up eager to connect and their commitment is truly making a lasting impression. On behalf of Kids World's kids, staff, families, I would like to say thank you, City Council Member Deborah Figg Sanders again, Chief Holloway, Sergeant Diddy, Officers, Officer Murther, Wynn, Cox, and others, for the support and for believing in the power of connection. Together, we are making a difference. One preschooler and one positive experience at a time. At this time, I would like for my two Vanna Whites to come up. We have something for each of the City Council members. And once you get your bag, over here. Over here. Yes, over here. Yes. The two young ladies escorting the two Vannas. Those are my two teachers, BPK. And we want a group picture with these as well. Okay. Jackie Lane. Authorine has said it all. But, again, greetings from Imagination Station Preschool. Like a parent, it warms our heart to see your children, our students, social and emotional growth flourish. Their interaction with these officers build trust, memories, sparks curiosity, and lots of conversation. One specific interaction I vividly recall was one of the officers pushing one of the children on the swing. I don't think he realized that his gym workout was spot on. After about three pushes, I'm not sure if it was the officer's physical strength or the fright in the child. But the child and the swing seat started to separate. But the officer, in a split second, caught the child. In the world of a preschool, the lesson plan is only on paper because this was a perfect description of a trust lesson. Really, we, again, would like to thank Councilmember Deborah Fig Sanders for your shared vision on building bridges between law enforcement and our youngest citizens. And, again, officers and councilmembers, thank you. And we are grateful for you and your service. Both of us would like group pictures with your shirts. You know, make sure you send it to Jackie. Not now. I mean, you know. Oh, okay. No, no, no. No, because that's what... Things are about to get interesting. Councilmember Fig Sanders. We had one of the officers. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. Good afternoon. My name is Nora Brockna, and I've been with the police department for almost 11 years. I'm currently assigned to the community service division and have been participating in the POPs program at Imagination Station Preschool since the beginning of this year. Participating in this program is honestly one of the most rewarding parts of my job. It's a chance to connect with young members of our community in a fun, positive, and relaxed environment. Kids at their age are still forming ideas about the world around them. By playing with them, not just talking at them, we show the police officers are approachable, kind, and safe. We're not just people they see in emergencies. We're part of their community, too. These children are gaining trust and learning that the police officers are here to help. Those small moments of connection may shape how they view law enforcement for years to come. POPs isn't just about playing on a playground. It's about planting seeds of trust, building relationships, and strengthening the bond between police and community, starting with our very youngest citizens. Thank you all for supporting programs like this. They may seem small, but they have a very big impact. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon, council members. My name is Officer Murthal, and I've been with the City of St. Petersburg Police Department for over two decades. I'm also a veteran of the United States Army with the 26th year of service. Thank you for the opportunity to speak about the program that's shaping both hearts and communities. This program brings together our youngest learners and our community law enforcement officers in a way that builds understanding, respect, trust, and error in the very beginning. When children see officers not in uniforms, but as mentors, helpers, and friends, it changes the way they view safety and community service for the rest of their lives. The program does more than teach children. It strengthens the bond between families, the preschool, and those who protect us. It reminds our young ones that leadership is about caring for others and that every act of service, no matter how small, makes a difference. Together, we are helping to not just grow better students, but better citizens, neighbors, and future leaders. Thank you for your support. Thank you. Council Member Fix Sanders. Thank you. Again, I just want to say thank you, but I also want the other men and women in blue to please stand up so that we can acknowledge you as well. Because we always have so much fun whenever we're there, and you all always show up. So, again, thank you, thank you, thank you. Chief Holloway is not here because he did not have to say yes, but he did. So, I am so grateful for you. I'm so grateful for Ms. Arthur Marine, Ms. Jackie, that thinks enough of your children to want to give them positive experiences with our St. Petersburg Police Department. So, thank you so much. And for the parents as well. So, I do appreciate that. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Council Member Givens. Thank you, Chair, and thank you to my colleague for bringing this forward. Thank you, Ms. Lang. Thank you so much, Ms. Williams, for being here. Good to see you, Ms. Vicki. And it's so nice to see the kids here. I am just elated. Anytime I get to see positive rapport being created amongst our police officers and the children in our community, I had the opportunity to do a park walk and talk with Sergeant Matthews and a couple of our CSOs this past week through Jordan Park. And one of the things that I noticed was that we had a group of kids who were willing to speak to police officers, to approach the police officers without fear or intimidation. And then there was a group of kids who did not want to approach the officer because there were adults standing behind them saying, don't talk to them. Thank you, Ms. Lang. Thank you, Ms. Williams. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the educators and the different preschool directors who have opened their doors so that we can foster trust and we can work to prevent crime. Because I believe that when you have proactive measures like programs like POPs, these proactive measures help to combat crime. Because now you have children who trust our officers. They see our officers as resources in this community, as people who can be trusted mentors. And so I thank the men and women in blue who sacrifice their lives, who put their lives on the line every day. You're not just raising your children, but you're raising the village. And I thank you so much because it takes a village to raise a child. Thank you so much, Chair. Well, I, too, just want to quickly say thank you to Ms. Williams, Ms. Lang, all of our officers and St. Pete PD, representation from St. Pete PD. This was an awesome update. So happy to see the work that's being done. And I'm just going to stop there because everybody said it, so I'm not going to hit the repeat button. But just a massive big thank you and thanks for the continued work. And looking forward to seeing some more kids next year when we get another update. Thank you so much. Okay, we're going to move into D7, an update from Devon Miller, a local children's author. And I'm going to turn it over to Councilmember Fix-Sanders for this one, too. Thank you. I wanted to bring a lot of good news today, everybody. And so it also gives me honor to introduce this young man who has been quite busy. You know, we always think about our young men and what they don't do. But I just want to showcase and celebrate this young man for everything he has done. He wrote his first book at 11 years old. And he has a book series. He has different animals. And I'm going to let him talk about Mr. Tickety-Tock. But I want us to celebrate the successes and the positive energy and the positive experiences that our young men and our teens bring to us. Now, he's no longer a teen. Devon, how old are you? Currently, I'm 23. He's 23. So I've been knowing him for just that long. And I was introduced to him by Ms. Arthurine Williams, who actually helped showcase Devon because we had him come and read his book to some of our children. And he's going to tell you how many books he has and what he's been doing. And we were successful in getting him in the RAISE activity book. So he has really, really, really been visible. And I'm so proud of Devon. So I wanted to make sure that you all saw just why I was so proud of his accomplishments. Mr. Miller. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for allowing me to be here with you all today. It's a pleasure and an honor to speak in front of all the city council members. It truly warms my heart to see family, friends, and supporters of my work. I've known Ms. Deborah Figgs Sanders for quite a while now, since 2020. Around that time, I was starting a campaign to help other black authors while also assisting in providing books to children in the area. I'm truly thankful for her support as well as community support as I succeeded with that goal of mine. For those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Devon Miller. I was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. Ever since I was a young kid, I loved reading books. Before I was born, my mom would read to me while I was in her womb, which I attribute to my love of reading. Eventually, as a young child, when I was in preschool and elementary, I would start to write my own little books based on the stories and worlds that I would gravitate towards on television, books, and various other media. It eventually got to the point in my elementary school years that I was writing and drawing so much that I would start writing 100-page stories. I would always share them with my friends. They were always delighted by them. Because I was always seen with a notebook in my hand, someone suggested to my mother that I should think about having a book published. In elementary school, we had a substitute teacher named Ms. Linda Mobley, who turned out to also be an author. I was super excited to hear that, and I eventually told her that I liked to write as well. She eventually connected me with an author of hers named Vernon McKinney, and I presented him with the idea of Mr. Tickety-Tock Clock, which became a series about a red twin-belled clock who loves to read and tell time. As you can see, here he is right here. So, not too soon after, I met Brenda Spaulding, another children's author, who explained the publishing process and helped me to find a publisher. I published my first book, Mr. Tickety-Tock Clock, The Night, Mr. Clock, at the age of 11 in April of 2014. The original book would be followed up with four more books before I graduated high school. After the Mr. Tickety-Tock Clock series, I wanted to try something different, which eventually became my first standalone book, A Bus Can't Drive Empty, An Alpha-Balliteration Adventure. This book originates from sixth grade, where we had a lesson on figurative language, and the one that I gravitated towards was alliteration, as I felt that it was such a playful and fun language. So I decided to write an alliterative sentence for every letter of the alphabet, and eventually, that practice is what led me to writing a story of this bus driver, helping these three zeros that you see here journey back home. This was my first book to be published under my own publishing company, Picture Novels, and another fun fact, my editor for this book also edited for The Hunger Games. When I was an infant, I was diagnosed with severe asthma, which caused me to be in and out of the hospital constantly. Because the doctors and nurses were always there for me, I wanted to give back to the hospital, and whenever I did a book signing, part of the proceeds would always go to John Hopkins All Children's Hospital in benefit of asthma. Something that was important to me whenever I did a book signing was always giving back to the hospital. At the age of 17, I partnered up with Chili's for the Good Eats for the Good Cause initiative, where 20% of the proceeds would go to John Hopkins All Children's Hospital from those that dined in at the restaurant. And last year, I had the pleasure of continuing to invest in the lives of children at John Hopkins All Children's Hospital, as I was able to do a live read-aloud of my book that was broadcasted to patients in the hospital. And during that event, I donated money to the hospital as well. Continuing on with my impact, we have hashtag Imagine2020ChildrenStories, a campaign to help indie African-American authors during the rise of the hashtag Black Lives Matters movement. I raised over $2,020 and donated the book's purchase to local elementary schools within St. Petersburg, Florida. I received wonderful community support through this initiative, including from Ms. Deborah Fick Sanders, where we first got connected. In November of 2021 and 2022, I got to assist Magic Johnson and Marlo Hampton with their Thanksgiving events, as they helped to feed our local community in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2021, I partnered up with the Tampa Bay Rays and participated in their reading program, Reading with the Rays. During that year, I read my books aloud virtually, and it was shared on the Rays' website and on their socials. That same year, a few of my books were seen on display at Tropicana Field in the Reading with the Rays section. I was even highlighted in the Tampa Bay Times Newspapers and Education with the Tampa Bay Rays as a publication highlighted my first book. My work has also been published in the Tampa Bay Rays magazine, Inside Pitch. In 2022, the Rays assisted me in giving back to the Ronald McDonald House during the holiday season. Since 2023, I've been the opening reader for in-person Reading with the Rays events as I read alongside Tampa Bay Rays players. At one of the readings, my book was even translated in sign language so everyone could enjoy the story. In 2024 and 2025, I had the honor of being a judge for the regional spelling bee sponsored by the Tampa Bay Rays. A few other recognitions and accolades I've had during my career include the following. In April of 2020, myself and my book, Mr. Tickety-Tuck-Clock in the Magic Library, was highlighted in a promo for Hashtag Save With Stories, which was an initiative created by actresses Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams, in which celebrities would read books on social media to raise money for children that didn't have access to meals during COVID-19. I've also received letters from Barack and Michelle Obama while in middle school after they heard and learned about me as a young children's author. And finally, I became a Sunshine Ambassador for the City of St. Petersburg because of my work in the community. Thank you so much to my mom and dad for all their support in my author journey. Truly thankful to everyone who supported me over the years. I also thank you so much to God, and I'm incredibly grateful that I get to share stories with children and families. I'm incredibly touched and moved by this honor here today. Of course, happy National Book Month, everyone. Thank you. With all that said, we actually have a few gifts for all the city council members here. And, of course, we also have a very special gift for Ms. Deborah Fick Sanders as well. Good job wearing my shirt. Well, Devon, while we're getting those handed out, I just wanted to quickly just thank you. One, thank you for the update. And two, it's pretty incredible what you've achieved. At 11 years old, I'm not sure I had read a full book yet rather than written one. And so just what an accomplishment. And to see the growth and what you've done over that. I feel like it's Christmas up here. Thank you, Santa. And so just so proud of everything that you've achieved and you've done. And can't wait to see what's in store next, whether it's a new book or the next iteration of one of the books. But thank you so much for coming and sharing your story and all the successes. And we're wishing you the best of luck and can't wait to hear what comes next, man. Thank you so much. Okay, council members, we're going to move into new business for the day. We're going to go to G1. It's a referral to hers from Council Member Driscoll. Thank you, Chair. For this new business item, I am respectfully requesting a referral to the Health, Energy, Resilience, and Sustainability Committee for a discussion on a new citywide energy efficiency and clean energy initiative providing cost savings to and reducing energy consumption for St. Petersburg residents. To add to that, I just want to make it clear that this is something that I see us having a discussion on in parallel with the discussion about municipal electric. So it's not an or, it's an and. And so I just wanted to clarify that in case anyone was wondering if this is a suggestion of an alternative. It is not. But this is, I mean, we can have the committee discussion with more detail, but this is along the same lines of the rebates that we've done for low-flow toilets, things like that in the past. And then MAVEN is working on an insulation initiative that I think will be very interesting to add to that conversation. So with that, I'll move approval. Second. Council Member Gabbard. Thank you, Chair. So, Council Member Driscoll, I was curious. I had a one-on-one earlier this week with MAVEN. Well, a one-on-four, I guess it was, with MAVEN about the new Energy Roadmap grant. And so, you know, I'd seen your new business item, obviously, before that, and then I had this meeting. And so I was just kind of curious about the intersection between those two programs, how they might work together, if there could be a conversation, including maybe an update about how that's going at the time, just because there's a lot of different initiatives going. And I think that this one is going to move pretty quickly. No funding needed from the City of St. Pete, but a lot of engagement with the City of St. Pete, specifically our residents and our business communities. So we're very excited about that. And I just want to make sure that we are not duplicating efforts if there was some synergies between that. Chair, if I may? Absolutely. Thank you. Well, I do have perhaps the same kind of meeting scheduled for next week to learn more about that. But in some initial communication, it was agreed and identified as something that can all come together. So rather than having a million different programs out there, I want to see how my ideas can synergize with what they're working on. So this would all, and if we have an ideal situation, we'll talk about all of that in the same meeting. Okay. All right. So you would be planning, obviously recognizing you haven't had that meeting yet, you would be planning on having it as a comprehensive conversation. Okay. That is correct. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. We have a motion and a second on G1. Seeing as no other council members wishing to speak, Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing as all present council members have voted, Clerk, please tally and announce the vote. Chair, the motion to approve agenda item G1 passes unanimously. Okay. Thank you. G2, Vice Chair Hanowitz. Thank you, Chair. My item, I think most of you know the Public Records Act covers virtually all state and local governments. And basically the goal is to have transparency in government. So recently I had a public records request and I thought it would be good to have a conversation on how we handle public records requests in general and understand the processes involved. So with that being said, I respectfully request a referral to the Public Services and Infrastructure Committee or other relevant committee for a comprehensive report on the city's procedures for complying with public records requests from initiation to fulfillment. And with that, I so move. Second. We have a motion and a second on G2. Seeing as no other council members wishing to speak, Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting? Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing as all present council members have voted, Clerk, please tally and announce the vote. Chair, the motion to approve agenda item G2 passes unanimously. Okay. We're going to go to G3. We're going to go back to Council Member Driscoll. Thank you. So with this one, we have a resolution that is attached, and so I am actually introducing that resolution tonight or today. This one is a little story behind it. You know, earlier this year, I was inspired by the city council of Salt Lake City who passed an ordinance to adopt additional official city flags. And to be flown at various times of the year. And I thought that that was just an incredibly bold move that they made because it was done hours before their state legislature passed a ban on specific flags. And so having that in the back of my mind, and then in June, our wonderful Johnny in the marketing department created a very special flag for Pride Month that just flew off the shelves. I mean, I think we could have ordered twice as many and we still wouldn't have had enough. It was so popular, so well received, and seeing the smiles on people's faces with that flag was really quite touching. Then, a couple of months ago, of course, we had the erasure of our street murals. And of course, everyone was talking about things that we should do. And I went to the administration with an idea because I said, now is the time to act on this. And so I brought the idea of having two additional city flags or variations on the city flag to be brought forward. And I knew that we needed to work quickly and quietly because there are levels of the government where they have a tendency to squash certain things in the dead of night and squash things as a work in progress. But the administration wanted to take a different approach and was not able to move quickly. So I knew that I was going to be on my own with this without any city resources. But fortunately, I have a lot of great people out there in the community who were interested in this. And working with my wonderful legislative aide, Brian, on this idea, working with my friend and just a jewel of our community, the artist Andrea Paulus. I was working with Terry Lipsy Scott at the Woodson Museum and others who gave their input and worked with me to come up with ideas for the flags. There are two images of the flags that are included in the backup material. The Harmony flag is, of course, the flag that we used in June this year, replaced in the middle with our official city seal. So that's the main difference between the two. And the lines were adjusted just a little bit so that they would match the history flag, which we wanted to have a consistent design. And once Terry saw the idea and we worked on it together and she said it was good, I knew that we had a winner with that one for the history flag. And again, you'll see that the official city seal is in that. Now, I do understand that the administration is working to get additional pride flags along with a new Black History Matters flag that would be given out to residents. Rob, I think that's been communicated as part of a list of ideas that the administration was considering. Yeah, I would have to check on that. Yeah. So those are like the ones that we give out. The flags that I am bringing forward for your consideration today are the ones that would actually be flown at city facilities at certain times of the year. Now, there are some who think that this might be a small thing, but the flag of a city is a representation of its values. It really speaks to our identity. It is seen as something that brings us together and gives everyone a sense of belonging. Seeing the response that I got, having to work both quickly and quietly on this, and now sitting here and telling you that the city council has received emails of support from Equality Florida, St. Pete Pride, the Woodson Museum, Tigliff, the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber, and many, many individuals who have expressed strong support for adding these flags as symbols of who we are at St. Petersburg. I'm really proud of the work that was done by the community. For me, it was just an idea. I threw it out there, and people ran with it. And just the way that this came together really showed me what a flag really means. And I hope that my colleagues will agree with me, and that you will join me in voting to pass this resolution, which reads, Whereas the official flag of the city of St. Petersburg was adopted in 1927 and then redesigned in 1951 and 1984. And whereas the city should fly variations on the official flag to represent a shared sense of local identity, fostering a spirit of unity and belonging. And whereas, specifically, the city should fly the variation attached to this resolution as Exhibit A to signify harmony among all in St. Petersburg. And whereas, that variation should be known as the harmony flag and flown at city facilities at appropriate times of the year. And whereas, specifically, the city should also fly the variation attached to this resolution as Exhibit B to signify the importance of history. And whereas, that variation should be known as the history flag and flown at city facilities at appropriate times of the year. And now, therefore, be it resolved that the City Council of the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, hereby request that the mayor fly variations on the official flag as described in the foregoing recitals. If this is passed today, the images will then be transferred to the marketing department to create these flags that would be flown over city facilities. The other flags that will be given out to everyone will still be in progress. So, it doesn't change anything about that. I think that's all I have to say. Again, I just thank everyone who was a part of bringing this together to bring it forward. And to all of those who have shown their support for this work. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Council Member Gabbard, I don't want to put you on the spot. But I know you have to leave earlier and want to give you a chance. I'll linger for public comment. Okay. All right. We'll go into public comment. Let's call two at a time, please. And Avila and Nick. By the podium, state your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address Council. So, Mr. Avila had to leave. Go ahead, Nathan. Good afternoon, members. Thank you. I rise to speak in favor of the resolution offered as G3 on today's agenda. And I speak today as a human and as a citizen who's grateful for the people of our city and for you all. Thank you, Council Member Driscoll, for your leadership in bringing this resolution forward. And today reminds me again of my why we are St. Pete as we celebrated so many amazing humans and efforts and witnessed so much joy here in the chambers today. Thank you all for that. Symbols in cities and communities are crucial because they embody shared values, define collective identity, and foster belonging as acting as powerful and communicative representations of who, as a community, we are and what we stand for. These symbols transform abstract ideas into meaningful images and help create shared understandings of the community's history, present, and future. I appreciate especially today's resolution that brings forward history and harmony together. I recognize our city, like many others have not always recognized nor had both. Today's resolution is a moment, however, of our city's acknowledgement of our collective work together and of our aspirations of our city's tomorrow. A future rooted in our history, celebrating our shared identity as a city that fosters unity and belonging and that does so in harmony. And that is something truly unique and special to St. Petersburg. I urge all city council members to vote in favor of the resolution. Thank you. Thank you. Next two students. The next is Andrea Paulis and Trevor Mallory. Please go to either podium, state your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address council. Hi, I'm Andrea Paulis. I live in Greater Pinellas Point and I have for 23 years. I'm a self-employed artist and art preparator, handling art for most of the local museums, like the Dali, the James, MFA, and more. I design the flags. Thanks, Gina. I'm in favor of approving them. I designed and led the team to paint the intersection at Central and 25th five years ago. It was important to me to design these flags when the intersection was censored and erased. Our city is changing as our country changes. And if we truly want to be called the city of the arts, we need to support artists. We need to provide foundation for individual artists, not censorship. Art has power. Artists are documentarians. Art is a great communicator of culture and value. Artists in St. Pete made this the city of the arts. We have created the vibe and we were here before the Dali expansion, before the James, before the Chihuly. In fact, Dale Chihuly, when he was in town in 2003 to get ready to have his first show at the MFA, he told me the art scene here was so great, he ended up bringing us a museum. These two flags are uncomplicated. They're colors. The history flag has red for bloodshed, black for heritage, and green for abundance and hope for the future. That's what those colors mean. The harmony flag has red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for serenity, and violet for spirit. The other colors represent people of color and genders. There's nothing nefarious about any of these colors or the way that they're arranged on the flag. As the current mayor wrote, the five murals painted over were collaborative, loving, and transformed the spaces that they were in. You can just ask Liz Cooper and Jorge Vidal from the museum. They lost their pattern on their intersection. Didn't have anything to do with politics. They represented all of us and they will continue to represent us in new ways, new and resilient ways. That's exactly what he said. These flags are that new and resilient way. So personally and professionally, I will appreciate your support on this. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon. Trevor Mallory here. And I'm here in support of this line item. I just think this is a prime example of practice what you preach, right? We always say that we want St. Pete to be a seamless city. Mr. Mallory, can you state your address? You didn't state it for the record. I'm sorry? Your address. Oh, 4501-6th Street South, 33705, St. Peter's River, Florida. So when we always say St. Pete is a seamless city, this is the prime example of what that looks like. These two flags represent so much history that's under attack at this time. So, Councilwoman Driscoll, I appreciate you for your boldness and your strategic way of making this a seamless action item. These flags represent not only African Americans, but it represents a tremendous amount of citizens that need to see someone stand up and support them in this manner. And I definitely feel comfortable about the black history flag when you mentioned you work with this with Terry Lipsy Scott, who is our curator of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum. So for me to know that you took the time to collaborate with someone that we call a pillar in our African American community to come up with this design, it shows your courage to me and to the community as well. Now, I've always heard in the community, because I'm in the community, and I want to say it, that Councilmember Driscoll doesn't care about the black community. I'm not. When this hit the news, I got some phone calls that were in reverse now, because you didn't have to do this. And for you to take the time to, you said Salt Lake, so that means you did your research, and you found a way to make this acceptable. And I appreciate you for that. And not only do I appreciate you for that, but I appreciate all of you on this dais, because we say we are St. Pete, we are a seamless city. This will prove this to the community and the constituents that you all represent. So thank you. Thank you. The last two speakers is Kendrick Darling and Holly Noah. Please state your name and address for the record. You'll have three minutes to address Council. 873 Newton, New South. As stated, my name is Keondra Darling. Today, I speak as a fourth generation daughter of St. Petersburg, a proud descendant of the historic gas plant district, and a mother raising a now nine-year-old son in this city. First, I want to say thank you to Council Member Gina Driscoll, my Council Member, for presenting this thoughtful resolution, and for your leadership in ensuring that St. Petersburg continues to stand for unity, inclusion, and love. Recently, our city washed as our beloved street murals, symbols of belonging and pride were sloppily spray-painted over in a gross misuse of power by order of the governor. Those murals were not just art. They were reflections of our values, a message that everyone who lives, works, and plays in St. Petersburg is seen, valued, and welcomed here. To say that their removal was about safety was not just disingenuous. Since it was insulting, it was insulting. Every day, residents here drive over potholes, cracked roads, and fading crosswalks. Yet, somehow, colorful murals celebrating unity were labeled as dangerous. Let's call it what it is. A distraction from the real issues. A political stunt aimed at erasing what our city stands for. But today, on this bright day in St. Petersburg, this resolution reminds us that while paint can be stripped away, our spirit cannot. The Harmony Flag and the History Flag are more than designs. They represent who we are. The Harmony Flag celebrates our diversity and reminds us that our differences make us stronger. The History Flag grounds us in the struggles and triumphs that shape this city and ensure that we never forget how far we've come. I thank this council for standing up for what's right, and I urge both the council and the mayor to keep finding bold and creative ways to resist hate and division in this city. Let us continue to show that St. Petersburg is a city where unity is our language, where inclusion is our practice, and where progress is our promise. And no executive order can change that. Thank you all. Thank you. Hi there. My name is Holly Noah, 811 Placido Way Northeast, St. Petersburg. Fabulous. 33704. I appreciate the opportunity to be here today. And I just, unity and inclusion, Council Member Givens said or asked a wonderful question of those three bright students that got to travel to Japan. And it was a really smart question. What did you have in common with those kids in Japan or with the cultural components of your experience, et cetera? And I thought, really, it's a brilliant question, and it's really, really true. And so, I stand up here before you today just as an ordinary St. Petersburg citizen. I have lived here since the early 2000s. In fact, I think we bought our house in 1999. So, 25 years. I love this town. I love being here. But I think there's something really, really important. We use words like unity and inclusion, but we're not actually demonstrating unity and inclusion because not everybody's included. And so, I just want to suggest that in this world today, in our country, in our cities, all across the country, we see division and the stoking of and the flaming of that division. And I would just ask that we consider the actual meaning of unity and the actual reason that we all live here in our wonderful town and the things that we actually have in common. We're all citizens here. You know, we enjoy beautiful sunsets and the freedom to, you know, walk along the water's edge and all of the wonderful restaurants. And there's so much in this town, in this city. And I just feel like the, you know, terms, harmony and history are not inclusive, actually, of everybody. And, in fact, I love our flag with just the St. Petersburg seal that was, I guess, most recently adopted or edited in 1984. So, I would just put that out there to you, that let's look at actual terminology and consider really whether or not it is inclusive, unifying, et cetera. I love my neighbors, and I want to see us all, you know, link arms. And we don't need to be called out for, you know, what we are in one way, shape, or form. Why don't we just all say, we live here in St. Pete, and we're neighbors, and that's, I think, enough. Thank you. Thank you. Do more speakers. We have one Zoom speaker, Mr. Chair. All right. Paul Fontaine, once you enter into the meeting space, please state your name and address for the record, and you will have three minutes to address city council. Paul. Yes, hello. Can you hear me? Yes. State your name and address for the record. My name is Paul Fontaine, 3622 Haynes Road in Magnolia Heights. I'm a gay man in St. Petersburg. I was one of the coordinators of the sidewalk chalking event the day that the mural at 25th and Central was erased. The emotion that we had that day was a mix of joy and being able to bring colors back to the city, but also lots of frustration and angst as we saw a very visible symbol of acceptance and love in St. Pete disappear. And I just want to say that I'm in favor of this resolution. Thank you, Councilwoman Driscoll. As a side note, during that day, I purchased 10 gay flags that I was planning on bringing to businesses in Central Avenue to put up. I didn't get to it because the event was so busy, so I decided to post on Facebook to give away 10 gay flags. And I gave away all the flags to all strangers. There was no one that I knew. And to my surprise, almost half of the requests, I mean, I know it's a small sample of 10, but almost half, four out of the 10 flags were requested by straight families. And I was very happy about that. And it surprised me. So flags that represent certain communities are important, but also know that the LGBT flag doesn't just represent people that are LGBTQ. It also represents those allies, which I like to think are quite a large number in the city. I moved to St. Petersburg four years ago because of the visible symbols of acceptance in the gay world. A lot of my friends in Philadelphia said, I can't believe you're moving to Florida. And I said, but look, you know, there's a mural on the street with a rainbow flag. The city hall raises the pride flag in June. They're visible evidence of acceptance. And that was part of the reason that brought me here. And as a real estate agent, I bring a lot of LGBTQ people into the city to relocate. And part of my marketing is to show those visible signs, and I would love to have them back. I appreciate you listening to me today. Thank you. Thank you. No more speakers, Mr. Chair. Okay. We'll go to Council Member Hardy. Thank you, Chair. I greatly appreciate the passion that Council Member Driscoll brings. And I appreciate the folks who came and talked today and the literally hundreds of citizens who reached out over the past week. I will not be able to support this item. And the reason very simply is we open this meeting every week with the Pledge of Allegiance. And the last two words are for all. And that flag, like this body and the mayor's office, represent the 280,000 people who are citizens of St. Petersburg. And we're a diverse group. We're as diverse as the rest of the country. And in this city, you'll find all religions. You'll find all races. You'll find veterans. You'll find wounded veterans. You'll find folks in wheelchairs. And we represent them all equally. It doesn't mean that we don't support parts of our community more than others when necessary. And I appreciate Candor Darling's words about fighting boldly. And we do that as a city. But the identity of the city belongs to the 280,000 people who make up the city. And that flag is a representation of that. And so the idea that we're going to address current events and what happened with the murals in the streets, absolutely we are. And we're going to find the right thing to do. And we're going to find the right statement to make. But the flag of St. Petersburg is the identity of the body that is the government of St. Petersburg. And it needs to, in my opinion, be representative of all 280,000 of us. So those are my thoughts, Chair. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Vice Chair Hanowitz. Thank you. And I would like to also thank everyone who's reached out, who's here, and Council Member Driscoll for bringing this item. A couple of weeks ago, I am the council member that sits on the Arts Advisory Committee. We had a joint meeting with the Public Arts Commission to actually discuss ideas of how to respond to the state that the state could not come back, turn around, and take away from us. And at that meeting, just for those who may not know what the Arts Advisory Committee is or the Public Arts Commission, there are lots of community members who are artists, who know the space, who had fantastic creative ideas. Frankly, I went there as the city council member that's there for the Arts Advisory Committee. But I wanted to listen to them because they had a ton of ideas. And at the end, there was a whole board of different things of how we could respond as a city. And it was a collaborative process in terms of that meeting. And from that meeting, they were going to continue getting ideas and then talk about those ideas again at another committee so we could get all the input from these committees. I know that Council Member Floyd is the council member who's assigned for the Public Arts Commission. He wasn't there, and I told him you had, unfortunately, had another year traveling and couldn't be there because he would have definitely enjoyed being part of that meeting. But having said that, going back to having a response that the state cannot turn around and do what they did with the murals, and I will say I didn't like it. I don't think anyone here liked it, to be clear. And I think we also got a lot of criticism for whether the mayor got criticism for the response. We got legal advice from our attorneys and in terms of what can be done in response to FDOT. I will tell you that the advice was there's not going to be much you can do. And I will tell you Delray Beach, who stood very firm, has now gone back and said they're not going to fight it because they don't see a legal path. So the legal issues are important, and I bring that up because emotion and believing in things is great, but then we have to deal with legal issues and how this goes forward. So I want to ask legal because I know there was an article that said that legal vetted this. Yes, and Brett, if you can just, what was exactly legal's role in this? Thank you, council member, chair, members of council. Our office assisted in the preparation of this resolution in the same way we would any other that we've been requested to prepare, whether it's administration, council as a body, or an individual council member. The role of our office is to provide legal advice, not policy direction. We work to ensure that the form of the item accurately reflects the substance coming from the requester in a legally permissible manner. So, for example, when our office is requested to prepare a resolution supporting state legislation, the recitals and the statement of support represent the direction that we receive, and we package that and communicate it and write it in a manner that we believe requests the will of the body. So the preparation of this item was quite ordinary. It was a collaborative effort involving multiple attorneys, not something that I did specifically or individually, and our role was the usual one to prepare a resolution that conveyed the substance that we received from council member Driscoll in this case. Okay, so in terms of the legality of what can happen with it, you know, I think conversations typically happen based on what is there, but I want people to understand what is the power of the state in the areas that we are discussing, both on the flags and on the seal. So municipalities are created by the state and can be abolished by the state. Municipalities do not have First Amendment rights of their own. So the state can require the city from stating certain things or prohibit it from stating certain things. State law currently allows local governments to adopt a seal and control the use of that seal. The city adopted its seal in 1921. We're also empowered to, there's not a specific state law about the flag, but just sort of general home rule powers. We adopted the first flag in 1927, revised it in 1951, and then again in 1984. There's been legislation in the past three legislative sessions that would restrict the flying of municipal flags. Bills are starting to be filed. There is not a bill yet, but it was the same bill filed two sessions in a row. If that bill was adopted, it likely would preempt and prohibit the city from flying the two flags that are proposed here. In terms of the official seal, because there is a Florida statute that allows us to use an official seal, they can also change that statute and limit the use of the seal, correct? That's correct. Okay. So the other question I have in terms of the flag, can you have more than one official flag? That's not a question presented here because these are variations. So in the same way, if the city to celebrate, to commemorate its founding were to fly the 1927 flag or the 1951 flag, that would not replace the 1984 flag that we currently enjoy just because we used an alternate. Who has the authority over the flag? That's not something that was presented by this because it's a request from council to the mayor, and that's not a question that we've determined at this time. Okay. So those are, at this point, not determined? That's correct. I just have some real concerns in terms of doing something that the state's going to turn around and completely preempt, and not only preempt, go further, whereas the conversations that were being had at the Arts Advisory and the Public Arts Commission was to find paths that we could do things that wouldn't destroy something again. And to me, that is a concern. I would love to hear from other council members if they have any thoughts, but that's a real concern I have because I want to see a path that we can do things where it's not as easy as going to the legislature. Right now they've tried to do it three times. Now you're going to give them one more thing where it may take it over, and they're going to say, okay, now it's it, and now we're going to preempt it. And once they preempt it, you're not getting it back. Right now we can fly flags. We do fly the pride flag, and we do fly the Carter G. Woodson flag. That's allowed, and we're doing it. So that, to me, is a real concern. Thank you. Councilmember Gabbard. Thank you, Chair. So this whole conversation is about unity. This whole conversation is about history. So let's kind of dig into that as it comes to these flags a little bit. All right. So Councilmember Hanowitz or Vice Chair Hanowitz, I'm glad you brought up the joint meeting. I wanted to be a fly on the wall at that meeting, was unable to, but my aide did sit through it and gave me some pretty detailed notes. There was a lot that was brought forward, and every conversation that I have had within the community, including a meeting that I went to, very well attended last week, Pride in Real Estate, where I took several of the flags that we redesigned this summer and gave them out. Everyone was very excited, everyone was very happy, and then we had a very robust conversation about the street art, the erasure, what is happening in the state of Florida, how it is affecting, really the trauma that our residents feel around this issue. But the real kind of, I guess, common denominator in all of that conversation was that they wanted to see our city leadership come together and have cohesive conversations as all of us that represent them about how we move things forward. I brought forward a new business effort for us to take a committee meeting to HLUT to have a cohesive, unified conversation. There was left little time for that conversation, and the day before we were going to have that committee meeting, the administration went ahead and rolled out an entire plan without consulting city council, without having a conversation. I heard you say, Council Member Driscoll, that you did this alone, that you felt like you had to do this alone, like, for whatever reason. You didn't have to do this alone. You left that committee meeting before we had this conversation. I sat there and asked my colleagues, share, talk with us. Like, have you been having conversations, trying to get a unified front on this? Yet here we are, being asked to look at something that was done in a silo, and if we don't vote for it, then it's going to be pitted as though we don't support our community, and that is unfair. Every single person up here supports every single part of our community. We are all about unity. We are all about recognizing our history. We have shown that time and time again. But this working in silos is starting to appear as though it is pitting council against administration, against council members who may not vote yes today, and I am not going to stand for it any longer. We have all got to get on the same page. So if this passes today, can you share with me, Rob, what the mayor's response is going to be? Because this is a request of him, and he obviously is running in his own direction on this issue. So what's going to happen if this passes today? Yeah, I don't think I can answer that directly, council member. I think the mayor will have to think about that. What I will say is that, you know, I think our intentions together are all in the same place. I think that we all want to show our values through art or symbols to the community. And what the mayor has said is that he wanted to do some public outreach to look into that. So we've had the word with Welch. We've done the online survey, which ended yesterday. We had the arts advisory and the public arts commission meeting. So we're gathering that input. Celeste Davis is working on this. We're going to look at immediate and short-term things we can do and then longer-range things we can do. And then, you know, we plan to partner with council and come back to council with the information that we gather and go from there. That's how we're trying to approach it. So with the online survey, I'm glad that you mentioned that that ends today. So when I was at this meeting last week, it happened to be the day that the survey was ending. And no one knew about it. Everyone said, oh, there's a survey. You want my input? I didn't know you wanted my input. So that evening, I sent an email to administration. And thank you for honoring that request to extend that. So it was extended to today. And I was going to ask tomorrow, because it's on my calendar, for those results. Because we need to see all of that information. We need to let the joint committees do their work. We need to, quote, in the news, vet all of these suggestions. And we need to do that in a collaborative way. If this is about honoring history, and this is about identity, and this is about unity, then we all need to be on the same page. And I don't want to sit here any longer and continue to feel like we're pitting one council member against administration, pitting the administration against all of council, and pitting our community against each other. Because I think we're very close to teetering on erasure starting to cause divide between all of us. And I'm not going to stand for it. So I was supposed to leave about 30 minutes ago for an appointment that I need to get to, that is a personal appointment. So I am going to go ahead and I'm going to excuse myself from the rest of this meeting. And I want all of you to know this has nothing to do with the fact that I support you. I support every single one of you and where you stand in your place in history and in unity. And I will always support you. But these flags today are not it. These flags today get us no closer to that. And if the mayor turns around and says he's not going to fly him, then where are we at? We're just that much more divided. So I want this process to play out. I want these survey results. I want you all to continue to do your work. Mayor, hello. Welcome. Mayor, welcome. Mr. Chairman, I know you have to leave, but since you made some accusations, I just want to set the record. Please. We responded to the issue that was happening in our community to get input from the community. We had a work with Welch already scheduled, and we had folks from throughout the community, including Equality Florida, at that meeting. There is no plan that I move forward with. The plan in the September 10th memo that you received showed what was happening in the community, including the arts advisory and the public arts meeting that was scheduled. We were showing you that folks were moving in different parts of the community. This is what happened. And our plan is to let the process move forward and hear all the ideas that are out there. There was no plan that I was running forward with other than getting the input from the entire community on how we move forward in a sustainable way, a way that can't be preempted by the state. And county or city council input is certainly a part of that process. We want to hear what city council's ideas are. So I'm going to push back when you say I'm running with a plan. And the only plan was to listen to the community, listen to the ideas, listen to council when that meeting happened, and find the most sustainable way forward. So what you said was not true. We're listening, and we look forward to building a sustainable response to what we've all gone through. And I appreciate that, Mayor. Perception is reality. And my reality looked very differently at that committee meeting. So we're going to leave it there. What committee meeting? The committee meeting that we had, the HLUT meeting, where the memo was released the day before that meeting. And there was no real conversation at that meeting. And I don't want to argue with you here today, sir. But you put something out there, and now you don't want to talk about it. Well, sure. Okay. Go ahead. We already had work with Welch scheduled. We had 20 folks in the room from around the community, and they put out ideas about what we could do. One of them was a flag. But there were many other ideas that we all are accumulating. We thought we'd set up the job form to get community-wide response, and that's what we're doing. So we're not running for it with a plan. We're trying to get all the ideas and move forward. And, again, you've got my phone number. We've talked many times. If you want to talk about this, give me a call, and we'll do that. But the theatrics up here, I'm not going to deal with it, okay? You're setting up division. We're trying to move forward and make our city sustainable and respond to this strategically. So if you're going to call out the administration when something is false, I'm going to counter that. Fair enough. So if this passes today, what is your intention with this resolution? I'm going to let council discuss this because this is not adhered to a process. So council can discuss that, and then I'll talk to you. The administration knows my position on the city flag, the official flag, versus the pride and Woodson flag that I've raised above city hall every year, and we'll continue to do that. But we'll have that conversation after council has your discussion. All right. Very good. Thank you, sir. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Thank you. I'm done. Thank you. We're going to go to Councilmember Floyd first, Councilmember Driscoll, before we come back around. Thank you. Oh, okay. Sorry. It's fine. Okay. This morning the mayor left. I did request a one-on-one to discuss this and did not get information back from administration, so I realize it's an ongoing issue. Would love to have that one-on-one is what I would say. And then I have some stuff here. Obviously, I still want to hear from everyone else, but my perspective has been a little bit different different than what's been presented. First, I want to thank Councilmember Driscoll for bringing forward a creative idea. I understand people's concerns when they're like, you know, it would be great if we could all get together, but you brought this straight here. So I'm analyzing what I was brought. And I'll just say, you know, it's a creative idea that continues to push forward representation for the LGBTQ and African-American communities in the city. And we're in a dark place in our country and state right now, specifically when marginalized communities are under attack constantly. I could go into detail as to how. I saw some really horrific things from the federal government today on LGBTQ rights, actually. But we all watch the news, so spare us the pain, really. And because of this situation, I'm ready to support almost anything anyone in city government puts in front of me that makes marginalized communities feel more welcome in the city. Almost anything, as long as it's reasonable. And, you know, it can come from the mayor. It can come from city. Literally anything. Yes, it would be ideal if we all got together and decided how we move forward best. But what you put in front of me and what I put forward, I hope, will get a hearing. What you put in front of me will get a hearing. I don't care where it comes from. I don't care how it gets in front of me. There's horrifically evil things going on in this state and this country right now, and I'm ready to push back any way that I can. So the last thing I'll say, though, is to a couple of the comments that have made council member speakers, I just, my perspective is I don't think that the existence of these flags minimalizes anyone else's identity. When we put forward that a marginalized community has been attacked, that has been attacked, is important to us, we're not singling them out because they're more important to us. We're singling them out because they've been attacked. So that's the perspective that I bring to this. You know, obviously we've heard from our colleagues, and it's been frustrating for everyone involved. I think our frustration is not necessarily with each other. Our frustration is with a state that doesn't almost slipped out of character and let the state know what I really thought about it. A state that doesn't seem to care about people as much as it cares about continuing to lord over us and make sure that, you know, their corporate bosses can continue to profit off of our existence and they can rule with hate and division. And that's really what our frustration is. And so I hope that, you know, having said that, we can all come to conclusions that work together. But I'm generally supportive of you, Council Member Driscoll. But, you know, based off the conversation we've had today, I think people want to see this happen in a different way. You know, that's, I understand where they're coming from, but I appreciate you bringing this forward. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Driscoll, I'm going to go to Council Member Gibbons. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Chair. I think this is a prime example of an isolated process becoming siloed conversations. I certainly appreciate the passion. I understand. This is what passion gets you. And I certainly feel like this is deja vu because I certainly understand why one would want to step up to lend their voice to making sure that everyone has a voice, to making sure that communities aren't erased and communities aren't silenced. I want to be clear, I don't support FDOT's erasure of our murals. And I also want to be clear that I support us finding a solution to that. However, I know I also have been having conversations with artists and with the same members of the community that my colleague has had conversations with. And I just want to know, you know, if we were to move forward with this conversation today, what happens with the submissions from the community that will be received or that have been received? Would this, would we be able to tie the two together? Would ideas from other council members be able to be incorporated? Is this an either-or type situation or we can do all of the above? I mean, our position is that we're going to continue reviewing the feedback that we got. We're going to look at it and see what we think is feasible. And we're going to approach city council with some ideas and concepts that we think can show our values through artistic work or symbols that can last in a legal manner and be there. So that's what we plan to do moving forward. I appreciate that, Administrator Gerdes. And I was just thinking, you know, next week we have the Shine Mural Festival. And much of that runs through District 7 throughout the Warehouse Arts District. And that could be an opportunity for us to get feedback and maybe even talk to private property owners who may be willing to provide their property as an opportunity for us to express our values through Canvas. So I just want to, you know, make sure that we're cognizant of that. That's happening next week. And that could be an opportunity, again, for us to get more feedback from the community. And then I do have a question for legal. Say we do move forward with this. Would there be anything, aside from preemption, is there anything that the state could do? I'm thinking about Doge, right? If we were to allocate city resources for these flags, could Doge come back and slap us on the hand for doing so? Council Member Givens. So, I mean, as I understand, the Doge effort is to call out what it considers wasteful spending. It doesn't actually have any regulatory authority. So they could certainly identify this and say, yes, this is another example of wasteful spending. But they could do that with anything at this point. And I appreciate that clarification that they can do this with anything. So I share vice chair's concerns with repercussions. But it's as you said, Attorney Pettigrew, they can do it with just about anything. This is big brother micromanaging little brother. So it's either we flex our muscles and we use our voices and we wait until they tell us no, or we'll sit here and, you know, wallow in our pity and wish that we did something. I do want to ask the question to administration. Is there anything that prevents us from raising the Carter G. Woodson flag or the pride flag year round, aside from just those designated months? I deferred to the city attorney's office on that. I can't give you any legal interpretation on that. I'm not aware. I appreciate it. I mean, right now there's no restriction in state law on raising that. And if there was to be one in the future, it would depend on what form it took. So at present, no. I appreciate that. And, again, I'm just looking for a solution should this not move forward today. Again, I'm supporting it simply because I support making sure that minority voices aren't silenced or oppressed. But at the same time, I want to make sure that we have a logical idea that won't be preempted. So thank you, Chair. I appreciate it. Thank you. Councilmember Fix-Anders. Thank you. I think, Rob, you actually answered my question. In theory and in concept, I don't have a problem with it. But my question was what was just asked. We can still fly those flags now. We can still fly the Carter G. Woodson. We can still fly our pride flag. So I guess my question is what's the rush? If we can still do these things now in concept, we can still fly these flags now, why would we change the city's flag to represent a certain holiday or time that's designated? I guess I'm trying to understand if we can still do it right now, what is the hurry? Because I really do. I didn't know about the survey ending today. I would really love to see what our constituents have to say before we change the official flag. And I do know the mayor can say he's not going to do this. I do understand that. And that would be, you know, his approval to do so. I guess I'm just trying to figure out if we can still fly both flags now. So what's the issue? As far as hearing everyone's voice, again, I have to agree with Councilmember Gabbitt on that. You know, we want to make sure that our constituents know that we support them. And I don't think by us not approving a new flag design indicates that we don't. I have seen so many of us make so many bold and brave moves for our African-American community, for our LGBT community. Are we being attacked? Absolutely. I'm a black woman standing here that can feel it each and every day. But I guess I'm just trying to find the relevance as to why we are in such a hurry without getting constituents back. I need their feedback as to what they want to see. Because once we start setting a precedence, and you all know I'm big on setting precedences, once we start setting a precedence, how will we move forward from here on out? So I don't know if, Councilmember Driscoll, you have to have this today, or would you be willing to find out what the constituents are saying instead of it just showing up in our packet? Because I had not had any conversation in regards to completely switching out the city flag. I just wanted to make sure that we're not being prohibited from flying any flag that indicates those. So that's where my confusion and my unreadiness lies, because we are in full support of St. Pete being the welcoming city by all means. I'm just trying to understand if we can continue to still fly those other flags, why would we want to change the city's flag? That's just my question. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Driscoll and Councilmember Givens. I'm sorry, but I just want to jump in before we go into round two. So I appreciate your grace, both of you. So I guess my first question, Councilmember Driscoll, I'll just go to you. I'll just go right to it. It is because, listen, I think we've all heard it, right? I think we all want to move forward somehow and be loud and make our stand. I'll put it this way. I want to throw a haymaker. I don't want to throw a jab. So I'm wondering if you would be open, and I can't make the motion, to if we put this at Cal on the 23rd. So we're not waiting. I'm just asking. I want feedback. That way, and in administration, this is for you too, do you think in two weeks you would be prepared to give us results and possibly have some conversations about what those results are and be able to discuss on what you think are options that could go forward that have weight? I think we can certainly put the results together. We could put together some potential options for city council to consider in the next couple weeks. Okay, so I want to hear your feedback. I think I know where you're at, but I think it's important because, listen, here's where I'm at. I'll go right back to what I just said. I want to throw a haymaker, which seems like all at once, like let's come out with multiple different ways that we stand up to what has happened. These certainly could be a part of that, but I said it this morning. I've said it before. I want to have all the information in front of me. I have some questions that I hesitate to even come up here on the dais because I just believe it's a committee-level conversation about procurement and things like that. And so I know that's secondary to what we're trying to do, but still, in my opinion, an important question. So I want to give you the opportunity to respond. Council Member Driscoll. Thank you. And thanks to all who have weighed in on this. It is you always take a chance when you bring something straight to council, right? And you always take a chance when you're going to do something bold, and that's what this is. These flags are different from the pride flag that's raised in June, the Woodson flag that's raised for Black History Month in February. I wanted these to be evergreen and all-encompassing, showing that, I mean, this isn't even actually a pride flag. It was created originally by Johnny and Marketing to give out to everyone as a variation on that. And I think every single person can see themselves in this flag. That's what art does to you. So it's not about replacing our official city flag. It's about having variations on that flag in an official way. Because, look, we also have a Grand Prix flag. And, well, we had a raised flag. I don't know what's going to happen with that now. And we have pride and we have Black History Month. This makes them special. This takes it to the next level where it's not just about one group of people. These flags have been created to be about everybody, to be about everyone in our city. And so that is why I would like to have these used instead at certain times of the year at city facilities. Now, we can rotate, whatever. But the city seal means something. And it means something to the folks who have seen this. It really just takes it a step further. It's a bolder step. And that's what this moment calls for. We're at a critical time right now. I'm sorry. I understand that we want to gather information and have committee meetings and bureaucracy and focus groups and surveys. But the people I've been talking to, ever since this mural thing started happening, they want something now. Something right now. And we're not giving them anything. So when I go to an administrator and say, hey, I've got this idea. This is what we can do. I saw it happen in May. I thought about it when Johnny made the flags in June. And it was like, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. There's a process. So rather than having this get caught in the Bermuda Triangle of bureaucracy, I decided to put an idea together on my own. And no one can tell me that no other council member has sat there and come up with something on their own before to do this. That's not working in a silo. It's being an independent thinker, and it's being a representative for our city. It's our job. Or you can choose to be a city council member who sits back and gets fed things and then makes decisions on them. But none of us does that. Not here. Some other city can do that. We do things here. We come up with ideas. This is one. I couldn't take the chance on having it sent to committee. I couldn't even take the chance on putting it on the agenda originally. I purposely waited to get it on ads and deletes so that it would only be out there for a week. Because guess what happened when, I believe it was Council Member Floyd a few years ago, who brought a resolution forward, lots of feedback from the community, lots of support for it. And just before we had the meeting to vote on it, we received a not-so-nice letter from the state level with the threat of losing funding if we passed that particular resolution that day. When that happens, you don't forget it. When you work on something like this, you have that in mind, and you have to be very strategic about it. And so I do apologize that I was not able to give a two-week notice to ask for something to be put on committee and put on a referral list and maybe one day get a discussion on it. I knew what I wanted to do. I put it together. I used my own money to pay the artist to create these images for you all to look at and hopefully to support and approve. I have a feeling if the mayor came through that door right now, I think he might say that he likes these. And I'm willing to take that chance because, first of all, whoever thought this would come from a straight white girl, you know? Like, this is, for me, the only, like, sense of pride that I get from this is from expressing myself as an ally. But even greater than that, I'm expressing myself as a resident and a leader of St. Petersburg because that's what this is about. As I said, these flags are for everyone. That's why they have the names that they have. It reflects who we are. The people told me that they've been, one person in particular said that people have been so hungry for something. And this answers that. I know that it doesn't fix everything. Certainly not. But I have a feeling that no matter what else we come up with, no matter what else the administration comes up with and how we work together, these will fit in just fine. I'm pretty sure. I want these to be a part of our city. I'm willing to answer any questions anyone has if you'll just tell me what it will take to get you into this car today. And I will move approval. Council Member Gibbons. Thank you, Chair. I just want to raise a question or more so make a statement based on comments that have been made. If we open Pandora's box on this, where's the line drawn? Where do we stop requests for flags? I mean, if a Christian group came to me and said, hey, we want to put the Christian flag on the St. Pete seal, could we do that? If neo-Nazis asked for that, if MAGAs wanted to come in here and do that, where do we draw the line? So, again, this is a great concept, but I just want to be clear that we could be opening Pandora's box. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Council Member Fitzsanders. Thank you. And I'm in the same agreement with that. Council Member Driscoll said whatever we come up with, the flags will fit in. So that's where I am. Let us find out where that is and let them fit in. What I don't want to happen is for this not to pass today, and then there's no further conversation because I do want to see additional conversation. I do want to see us make that strong, bold move, but I do want to know what our constituents have to say. So I agree with Chair Gertes' request, and I'll make that motion if it needs to be. I'll make it if that needs to happen, but I just don't want to see it not pass. Okay. So thank you, Chair. Thank you. Council Member Driscoll. Oh, thank you. So first, if someone out there had some type of flag that they would... So there's a lot of whataboutism that happens when you bring forward something like this. Any person could contact a city council member. It's the same process. Any person could ask a city council member, get them on board, and have the city council member propose it. That can happen. It doesn't stop me from putting forward what I believe in and what I would like to have. But there is no... There's no rule against someone asking a city council member to sponsor a different kind of flag and having everyone vote on it. It's all the same, no matter what the flag looks like. Council Member Figg-Sanders' question about or request about waiting. The reason that I have, as I mentioned before, two reasons. Number one, every hour that this is in public, there is the opportunity... And, you know, even if we did pass it, I mean, since this became public, it has been at risk. And so that could... It could... Something could happen at any time. This is one where, even if we only had it for, you know, a week, a year, whatever, until it comes... The bill gets filed again in Tallahassee, we will have had it. But I think it was Council Member Figg-Sanders who said not too long ago in a city council meeting, I will not walk in fear or I will not live in fear. It was something like that. And I think... I think of the video that was made by James Comey when he was just recently indicted and stood strong. Talked about how his family was going to stay strong. And he said, we will not live on our knees. And that really hit me. And I thought about what Council Member Figg-Sanders had said before. And so I wanted to continue with this and be strong. I can't control what this state does. I can't, you know, control what happens, what happens next with this. Someone could decide that I'll be removed from office tomorrow just for bringing this forward. And here I am. I'm not afraid of this because I believe in it. And I'm going to stick with it. I would love to talk about this in committee along with all of these other things. But it does mean that there's a chance that it too is going to be erased sooner than later. And that would be a damn shame. Thank you. By Chair Hanowitz. Thank you. Well, it's great to hear from all my colleagues and all very thoughtful conversation. A lot of issues brought up. I do want to say in terms of having a committee meeting as was offered in a couple of weeks, I don't think changes anything because the reality is, I mean, Spectrum Bay News and I contacted the governor's office. To be clear. So, they had a quote in one of the articles. It's not like this is not already getting to the people who would be maybe motivated to erase it. So, I understand those concerns. But at this point, it's there already and having a committee meeting to have a thoughtful conversation about what the options are I think doesn't change that fact. I thought that was a good compromise. That's all I want to say. Thank you. Council Member Driscoll. Okay. I mean, it is a risk either way. And it sounds like that there are some who would find a greater level of comfort in having a couple of weeks to speak with the community as Council Member Fig Sanders said and maybe give everyone more time to digest this. I think we can get to a good place on it. And so, I will withdraw my motion and I will move to have this item referred to a committee of the whole to take place on October 23rd, 2025. And I've already spoken to Janie, so thankful for your willingness to do that and it'll be on the agenda on 23rd. I've already made sure. Second. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Council Member Driscoll, I just want to thank you one more time for your willingness to have the conversation. This is exactly what I have. I have made this comment multiple times, so thank you. And I want to thank my colleagues for their comments. Okay. We have G3, refer to a cow. Seeing as no other Council Members wishing to speak, Clerk, could you please open the machine for voting? Council Members, please enter your votes. Seeing as all present Council Members have voted, Clerk, please tally and announce the vote. Sorry, I hit the wrong button. Re-enter your vote. You didn't like us, huh? Oh, man. Please re-enter your votes, Council Members. I'm sitting in the wrong chair. Seeing as all present Council Members have voted, Clerk, please tally and announce the vote. Mr. Chair, the motion to approve agenda item G3 passes 6-2-1 with Council Member Harding voting no and Council Member Gabbard being absent. Driscoll, Sanders, Floyd, Gerdes, Givens Jr. and Hanowitz voting yes. Okay. Thank you. All right. We'll go to open forum. Any speakers on open forum? We do not, Abby. Okay. Council Members, announcements. You were thinking about it, Vice Chair. No, I have none. I have none. Any nonverbal communication I made? What, with your hands? I don't think I made a nonverbal communication. I was real sensitive to nonverbal communication after our student ambassadors this afternoon. No, no, no nonverbal communication from me. Thank you. Or verbal at this point. Thank you very much. Well, listen, just quickly, just wanted to thank all of you for the presentations and the proclamations this morning or this afternoon. And then, again, just wanted to just reiterate my thankfulness for my colleagues and administration both for your willingness to make some compromise, some good compromise, I think, today. And then, personally, Council Member Fig Sanders, go ahead. That was nonverbal, Council Member. And don't forget, you all put your shirts on and take a picture and send the selfies so we can share those. Okay, we can do a selfie. We can do selfies. Okay, all right. And then, just quickly, again, just wanted to thank you for all the support with the Gerdes and Valenti family. Just one last time being today what it is. So, if there's nothing else for the good of the order, City Council is adjourned. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.