Welcome to the City of St. Petersburg City Council Meeting. Your elected officials are Mayor Ken Welch, District 1, Hopley Gerdes, District 2, Brandy Gabbard, District 3, Mike Harding, District 4, and Council Chair, Lisseth Hanowitz, District 5, Deborah Fig Sanders, District 6, Gina Driscoll, District 7, Corey Gibbons Jr., and District 8 and Council Vice Chair, Ritchie Floyd. Welcome everyone to the September 10, 2026 City Council Meeting. Clerk, can I please have a roll call? Gerdes. Here. Gabbard. Here. Harding. Here. Hanowitz. Here. Nick Sanders. Here. Driscoll. Gibbons. Here. Floyd. Here. Thank you. Today we're going to have our invocation given by Pastor Anthony Langhorne of Stuart Isom Memorial CME Church, followed by a moment of silence and remembrance of 9-11, and then please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. If you can please stand. Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon. Let us pray. O God, we are so grateful to be in your midst. We thank you, O God, for this council, Lord. You brought them together according to your will, and right now, in the name of Jesus, we ask that you would place peace within their hearts as they make decisions, so that that peace may flow out throughout this city, and that we may find evidence of you everywhere that we go in St. Petersburg. We give you honor and glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Now, if you can please remain standing for a moment of silence and remembrance of 9-11. Thank you. 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. You may be seated. And thank you so much, Pastor, for the beautiful invocation. We have an agenda before us. I'll entertain a motion for approval. I'll approve. Second. We have a motion and a second. Clerk, if you can open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, Clerk, please tally announce the vote. Madam Chair, a motion to approve the agenda passes unanimously with Council Member Driscoll being absent. Clerk, do we have any cards for the consent agenda? Madam Chair, we don't. We have a consent agenda for approval. Move approval. Second. We have a motion and a second. Clerk, if you can open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, Clerk, please tally announce the vote. Madam Chair, a motion to approve the consent agenda passes unanimously with Council Member Driscoll being absent. Thank you. Clerk, are there any speakers for open forum? If you do, I'll... Thank you. 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. Only the individual wishing to speak may sign the open forum sheet. Only city residents, owners of property, business owners in the city, or their employees may speak. All issues discussed on the open forum must be limited to issues related to the City of St. Petersburg government. If you are 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. Applause is not permitted except in connection with awards and presentations. 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 ask to state your name and address. At the conclusion of your comments or when you reach 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 the quorum. If live public comment is disrupted by violations of the rules of the quorum, the chair is authorized to accept public comment by alternate means, including by email only. We have two speakers, Madam Chair, Beth Eschenfelder and Robert Koshia. Please go to either podium, state your name and address, or across the street, and you will have three minutes to address city council. You can go ahead, ma'am. Thank you very much. Hello, everyone. My name is Beth Eschenfelder. For the past 26 years— You can give us your address, please. I'm sorry. Your address. Name and address. I was just about to say it. Yes, for the past 26 years, I've lived at 532 6th Avenue North, which is two blocks directly north of the Mirror Lake Recreation Complex. And I was here this time last year to talk with you about something we share in common, which is coming down that I-375 off-ramp, and we all get that stopped light at 5th Street, and we all look to the right, and we see the lawn bowling courts there. And that's what I'm here to talk about, those empty lawn bowling courts. It's been a year since I've been here. I'm still stopping at that light, and I'm still looking to the right, and I'm still seeing vacant lawn bowling courts there. And I can say with a pretty good amount of certainty that nothing has changed in the past year, and that's why I'm back here today. And you all took the time to learn about lawn bowling last year, and thank you for doing that. You ultimately did vote to renew the license agreement for governing the operation of the club and the facilities and the courts. And at that time, then Chair Councilman Gerties did say council is paying attention now and that you hope to see things change. And he even has submitted a request for a one-year annual report, and thank you for doing that. And one year is up, so this is the time. I sent all of you an email yesterday asking you to please support that report, get that report to come forward, but don't take it just as a regular committee report, dive in, really ask questions, want to know what's happening, and look for opportunities to make some change. And there are three things that I strongly encourage you to ask about and investigate. Number one is access. How much are those courts actually being used? How many hours a week? Whether it's for structured play time or for open practice time, especially for athletes. Number two, membership and growth. Has the club grown? And how many of those members are actually St. Petersburg residents? And what has the club done to expand membership, to promote the sport, promote the courts and the facilities? Number three is stewardship of the facilities. What has the club done to improve or planning to improve accessibility, safety, maintenance, and preservation of that historic facility? You learn that lawn bowling is increasing in popularity both recreationally and competitively. We do have the opportunity to see something different when we're stopped at that light. You have the opportunity to make that happen, and when you get this report soon, please do what you can so we don't have another year of no change. It's time for some change. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Go ahead, sir. Robert Kasha, 532 6th Avenue North. You just heard my wife ask several straightforward questions about what has happened at the St. Pete Lawn Bowling Club since we appeared before you a year ago. I'd like to give you some answers, access and discrimination. A full year has passed and ADA accessibility deficiencies brought to the mayor's office remain unresolved. A city-owned facility that is supposed to serve the public is not accessible to everyone. Discrimination. I was personally told by a club board member that I would never be allowed to play there again and was referred to as a greasy Italian. This is occurring at a facility operating on city-owned property. Public access. A year ago, public access and a lockbox was discussed. A full year later, there is still no lockbox and no meaningful public access. Membership and utilization. This multimillion-dollar public property serves approximately 24 members, most of whom are seasonal or non-residents. The lease permits operation from 5 a.m. until 11.59 p.m. 365. The facility remains utilized only about 7% of the available time, generally three mornings a week from approximately 8.30 until noon. Could you use it at those times? I work. 50 feet away, the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Court has approximately 2,600 members, a lockbox system, and meaningful public access. Why can one city-owned recreational property serve thousands, while just a few feet away serve approximately two dozen? Costs. The lease brings the city a whopping $36 income for three years, while the city bears substantial expenses, including electric, water, major building repairs, and significant building electrical rewiring. Accountability. We spent the first year going through the mayor's office, parks and recreation, and proper channels. When that failed, we came before this council. That was a year ago. We were told these issues would be follow-up on, and the appropriate departments would become involved to fix and update the report that's supposed to be generated. A meeting with the mayor's office was scheduled and then canceled. Certified letters received by the city's attorney's office went unanswered. The director of code enforcement personally told me that code enforcement would not investigate violations on city properties. So I have one simple question. Who holds a city-owned facility accountable when the city will not hold itself accountable? We're asking you to make this public asset serve the public. After two years, we shouldn't still be having the need to be asking this. Thank you. Any more speakers? Any more speakers, Madam Chair? We close open forum. And now we move to reports. F1. We have Chief Watts and Deputy Chief Siskowski here. Good afternoon, Chief. Good afternoon, Chair and Council. So our strategic 2026-2031 strategic plan was developed through rigorous risk mitigation, financial stewardship, and objective data from the Matrix Consulting Group that did the study. We also included internal stakeholders from some of our new people all the way up to myself. Uh, and, uh, we also included some of our external community partners. So our strategic plan, excuse me, is a roadmap for the next five years. It, uh, optimizes our emergency response, enhances community risk reduction, and secures long-term public safety resilience. Years one and two focus mostly on, uh, the urgency for our baseline readiness, officer development, and immediate, uh, operational efficiency gains. Years three through five, uh, focus on some of the capital, uh, more capital heavy or non-emergent, uh, objectives into some of the later windows of the, of the plan. Uh, making them contingent upon alternative funding mechanism, grants, or a phased, uh, more fiscal phased approach. Um, I'll bring up Deputy Chief Siskowski. He can give you more details about the, uh, about the plan and, uh, provide you with, uh, any questions you may have. Thank you, Chief. Good afternoon, and thank you, Council and Administrators, for having us here today. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today as we look to adopt the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue 2026 to 2031 Strategic Plan. The plan represents months of collaborative work with our community stakeholders, as the Chief said. We had 20 external stakeholders throughout the community participate and 40 internal stakeholders, including members from St. Petersburg Police and the Human Resources Department. It provides a clear roadmap for how St. Pete Fire will meet the evolving demands of our rapidly growing city while sustaining our national reputation for excellence. And as we work through the plan and the initiatives and goals, uh, just so you know, we've already started implementation of some of these processes. So, so this plan was built from the ground up using the community-driven strategic planning model. And we engaged residents, business owners, service providers, and internal staff to identify expectations, concerns, strengths, and priorities. Community expectations were very clear. They want a rapid professional emergency response. They want competent, well-trained personnel, a strong community partnership and visibility, kindness, professionalism, and equitable service delivery across all neighborhoods. Some of their concerns were also highlighted, and those are downtown high-rise growth and fire safety. The need to enhance fire prevention for seniors and the vulnerable populations, mental wellness support for our firefighters, and resource needs to keep pace with citywide development. So, during this planning process, we updated our mission, vision, and value statements. So, our updated mission statement, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue is committed to protecting the lives and property of our community through preparation, courage, and exceptional service. Our values were updated. They include wellness, integrity, service, and accountability. And our vision statement was also updated. And I'll read this because I think it basically gives us that roadmap of what we're looking for. St. Petersburg Fire Rescue will be internationally recognized leaders in all hazards response through innovation, advanced training, and operational excellence. As a premier agency with a mission-driven culture, we'll be trusted by our community, respected by our peers, and desired by professionals seeking excellence. Strategically implementing an organizational structure will accurately meet the needs of our growing city while prioritizing the health, safety, and wellness of our workforce. Our organization will provide high-quality services through engagement, compassion, and professionalism. We will maintain strong partnerships and strive to enhance the welfare and safety of all through education and community risk reduction efforts. So, in the strategic planning process, we identified six goals that we're going to work towards for the next five years. Those goals include improve community engagement. And I think from our efforts, they can be seen that we've really engaged with the community, and we're going to seek to improve that. Strengthen health and wellness programs for personnel. Enhance workforce development and succession planning. Improve internal communication and transparency. Align and enhance resources to support city growth and the evolving risks. And advance training, education, and certifications to elevate service delivery. And as I said earlier, we have begun towards working and implementing these goals already. So, key upcoming needs to meet these goals. Construction of a new headquarters and master fire station on the historic gas plant redevelopment site. And in that, we've had planning meetings with city leaders to be involved early in that. Modernizing stations, training grounds, logistic areas, and apparatus life cycle replacement plans. And supporting our specialty teams, including technical rescue, hazmat, and marine rescue, to meet increasing call complexity. In that redevelopment, we don't just focus on the downtown area. We focused on District 2, where the chief and I have been involved in early planning meetings for additional fire stations in that area. And then rebuild and reconstruction of existing facilities. So, it's not just new growth, but it's maintaining those buildings that we already have. These investments can ensure the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue maintains our ISO Class 1 rating and our international accreditation while meeting these rising service demands. So, we clearly heard from our personnel that continued investment in our workforce culture, wellness, and leadership development is essential. So, in our plan, we include expanded mental wellness and resiliency programs, enhanced fitness standards and nutrition support, a clear pathway for leadership development and succession planning, and improved internal communications across all ranks and divisions. Just an example of some of the things that we're working on here, we've instituted a daily communications call across staff and shift leadership to communicate daily initiatives. We've got a fitness initiative that we are currently in the planning stages of, with a rollout expected of January of next year. And then the fire chief has instituted a quarterly update. We call it on-scene, which tackles different initiatives throughout the fire department, including fire department personnel in that development. So, those are just a few examples of that communication expansion that we're working on. St. Petersburg Fire Rescue will continue expanding programs that have a direct impact on community safety. Our youth engagement and cadet programs will continue and expand. We're going to look at senior fall prevention and fire prevention initiatives for those underserved and populations in need. We'll look to community paramedicine partnerships and then outreach in those underserved communities. These programs will reduce risk, strengthen trust, and improve long-term community resilience. In closing, this strategic plan is not just a document. It's a living roadmap that aligns St. Petersburg Fire Rescue with the expectations of our community and the future of our growing city. With your continued support, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue will remain a premier, nationally recognized, all-hazards emergency service agency, one that delivers exceptional service, protects our residents, and advances safety and the well-being of citizens throughout St. Petersburg. Thank you, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Councilmember Cappard. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I just very quickly wanted to push my button and say thank you so much. Reading through this, I could really see what I think is a reflection of the work that you and the entire team have been doing over the course of the last few years, all the way from the management evaluation and how you took that and you have started to implement things that came forward in that into this strategic plan so that it lives past just that management evaluation but into the next generation of St. Pete Fire and Rescue. I just, I cannot say enough good things. Working with you over the last few years has just been such a joy. And I want to thank you specifically, and you pointed it out, about your, I guess, proactive way and the vision that you look at for how we grow as a city and how I've never really seen before your leadership, either one of you, that being taken into consideration the way that it is now. This morning, in our HOUT committee, we had the ULI Tampa Bay update for the historic gas plant study. And I just want to make sure, I failed to mention it in that meeting, but we talked about the stakeholders who have been around the table and who will continue to be around the table. I want you to all know that the chiefs have both been there. And that really shows that it's not just about how we as the city determine our growth, but it is about how you all engage with the community as a part of that growth and really setting the tone and setting the vision for where the future will be. And then you mentioned District 2, so selfishly, I will mention that as well, because from day one on the master planning sessions, both of the chiefs were there. And I just think that that shows just your commitment to making sure that every corner of our city is touched as it continues to grow and that the needs continue to be addressed. So from the bottom of my heart, it has been a pleasure to work with both of you and see how all of this has come together. And on behalf of District 2, I just want to thank you for your service. Thank you. Thank you to the entire team who put this together. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. And just to reinforce that, so we did fall back on the management study for a lot of this, but the collaboration that we have with council and all city departments, it really is working towards us achieving these goals, being present not just for the new initiatives, but making the workforce stronger, pushing the department to the cutting edge. So we appreciate all the support. Well, Madam Chair, if I could, I do just want to make a special mention of that as well. As I was reading through this, the constant mentions of the health and well-being of our men and women who do the job every single day, that really stood out to me as well. And I want to commend you for that, because without them, without them feeling the morale, without them feeling the support, they couldn't get up and do the incredibly difficult job that they do every single day. So that did not escape me. So thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Council Member Gibbons. Thank you, Chair. And thank you so much to each of you, Chief Watch, Chief Siskowski. You keep us in the loop with everything that's happening in our community, within our districts, and we appreciate that ongoing communication and the engagement. I think any good strategic plan focuses on, you know, updating our operations, making sure that it's modernized, making sure that we have inclusive recruitment pipelines so that we are getting the cream of the crop, but also getting folks from within our own community. I want to speak for a moment to just that, our recruitment and our training and our education. Can you speak to that for just a moment, specifically leadership? Because I think to my colleague's point, you know, we have seen management evaluations. You've also heard from us as council members as far as what we want to see from the department, even when it comes to diversity and equity. So can we speak a little bit to the links that you all have taken and the measures that you've made to ensure that leadership is reflective of the community that you all are serving? So can I just say one thing? This starts at the top, and Chief Watts will speak to this, but without his leadership and his initiatives, we wouldn't have the direction. So I'll let him touch on it, but he's not going to tell us what a great job he's been doing, but he really has. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Gibbons. So for me, I was very fortunate throughout my career to have mentors and people who saw something in me, even when I didn't see it in myself, to encourage me to get to the next level. So we do that on a consistent basis. We have invested in our people. We send them to different types of classes all throughout the state and even throughout the country, which is something that we scarcely did in the past. So it has been a priority of mine to, again, invest in the people so that we have, I'm going to use a sports analogy, so that we have a deep bench, so that when we leave, because we're not going to be here forever, we have a plan in place to bring the next group of leaders up into the organization so that they can, in fact, lead the organization into the next multiple years. So we have not changed our standards or our criteria for promotion, and I've been here for going on nine years. That has remained the same. There was a time, like for me, for example, I used to go to the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, to get classes. We have now started bringing those classes to right in our headquarters so that our people can meet those standards and those requirements for promotional opportunities. Again, the educational requirements have not changed. We have a leadership development guide that was, I think we put that out either this year or last year, that walks people step by step. I mean, it gives them a very basic layout of the steps that they need to take in order to promote through the ranks in the department. We did a one-day, I'm sorry, we did three-day internal job fair at the Local 747 where we just, again, walk people through all of the steps that they need in order to progress through the ranks. And it will take time. Cultural changes take time. I wish I could wave a magic wand and all of a sudden have, you know, new recruits and diversity at all levels. But those initiatives and those goals take time. But we are working hard behind the scenes to make sure that everybody has an equal opportunity, that everybody takes advantage of it. And I find myself and some of my staff at times at some of the stations, when we see those people that have those potentials, we pull them to the side and say, hey, you want to be part of the change, here's your opportunity to do so. And so we've been very proactive with that. It hasn't been where we were just sitting around, you know, waiting on the next fire or EMS call to come. We've been very proactive and engaged in the community. We have a recruitment team that goes out to multiple events. Each and every week they're out there stomping for us and making sure that we have a diverse group of recruiters out there. And we ourselves are actually our best recruiters because they see us and they want to be a part of this organization. Well, Chief, I think you said it best, change takes time. But you are shifting the narrative. You're changing the culture. It's no longer the good old boy system. You have put the tools and the resources there for the men and women who serve and fire and emergency personnel to be able to make those advancements, if they so choose. But as you said, it's up to them to want to get there. So I appreciate you being a willing partner because, again, you are a testament that anybody can accomplish their dreams if they're willing to put in the work. So I just want to commend you and your whole team, each and every one of you, for the hard work that you put in. Every chance that I get, I try to support fire and police. I have an opportunity to go back to school and welcome some back-to-school friends. So I definitely appreciate that. I appreciated the job fair that you all hosted. I had an opportunity to stop by that. So, again, I see the work. You are being proactive. So I wanted to say it publicly. Thank you. And I definitely see the effort that is being made to change the culture and to shift the narrative. I think our future looks really bright because you all are being proactive in trying to recruit the best and the brightest. I've had an opportunity to attend some of those recruitment events at some of the high schools. So I just want to say keep up the good work and thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Vice Chair Floyd. Thank you. Thanks for the presentation. I liked the, I guess, reporter strategic plan. It was straight to the point. Gave me the information I hope to see. I'm grateful for it. I'm really excited to hear the considerations around the redevelopment of the historic gas plant and a new HQ. I think, I feel like this is the most explicit I've heard, like this is what we want to see there. So that's great for me. Although I know I've sort of heard it for a while now. Really just have one quick question about EMS specifically, just to see what you all have to say about your relationship with our outside provider for transports and how you're feeling that's going. And, you know, hopefully what you'd like to see in the future. Thank you. So our relationship is stronger than it's ever been with our EMS partners in the county and in with Sunstar. So we collaborate on a lot of things, you know, rules and regs. We have so many committees and groups, you know, that we look at data and dissect things and how we can be more efficient and more effective. And obviously, as we look towards, you know, the future, we're going to have to collaborate even more on realizing where we can find system efficiencies. How can we be more effective and, you know, possibly do more with less? So I think at this place and time, our relationship with the county and with the EMS provider is stronger than it's ever been. So we do look to collaborate while we look to make sure that St. Petersburg is well-spoken for and our citizens are protected at the highest level. I appreciate that. And I'll just say that, you know, any support that I can provide to make life easier on you all in that respect than any other, just let me know. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Harding. Thank you, Chair. Chiefs, I couldn't be any more impressed. I simply will follow along on the bandwagon that Council Member Gabbard started for us in waving the flag. Pardon the pun. It's the only one I got. But organizations start with, at the very basic level, just fighting fires. And every day we get up and we just try to get through the day. We just try to get through the day. And as you get to watch bigger organizations, eventually they get to the point where they can get to a second day or they can plan a week, and they can start thinking about equipment, and they can start thinking about, and the very end of this, the pinnacle of this leadership to me, is when the senior leadership team starts to think about just the one person. And that's what struck me in your plan, is that you have elevated this program to where what is of concern, what we talk about today, is holistically, what can we do for that one firefighter, just that one firefighter. And you can clearly see in this plan that you are concerned with the well-being of that one firefighter, with the training of that one firefighter, with the leadership of that one firefighter, with the concept of how do we advance this person or how do we not advance this person or how do we let this person know that this is where you fit in the organization and let's make this the best for your career. I couldn't be any more impressed with how you all have thought, passed through that one day if we're going to get up, we're just going to try and keep this organization going by fighting the fires of today, too. We're past five years now. Now we're really thinking about how do we improve the lives of the people who are here so that the culture becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And even in the short year and a half I've been here, it's interesting to watch your department in particular. So you have my admiration and I greatly appreciate both of you and the leadership team that you've built. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. So first of all, thank you for the presentation and this report. I want to note this is a 2026 through 2031 strategic plan that's community-driven. We have a referendum on the ballot, Amendment 3, that is going to reduce property taxes, which funds public safety. So this plan and all the things that our community wants is dependent on how they are paid for. And I say this because I think it's important to understand the basis of this plan. It was community-driven. I want to thank the community members from all our districts because you all reach out to us to find out people in our district that could participate in this plan. So it was citywide. There was internal stakeholders, too. But I want to mention some things. I know they were mentioned. But given that framework of where we are and what's going to be on the ballot come in November, community expectations include expediency, responding quickly and professionally, having knowledge, being well-trained, having the equipment that they need to keep them and us safe, meaning you all and the community, firefighters having every resource they need to fulfill that call. They want to make sure there's disaster response, especially during hurricane season. They have areas of concern, including does the fire department have the proper equipment? Are our firefighters receiving compensation? Could keep them housed during the increase of development in the city? They want to make sure that our first responders have the support for their mental health and their families. They want to make sure there's funding. We want the firefighters to have all the equipment needed. This is from the report. This is from literally our community stakeholders. They want to have ample resources in support to support areas of need, being up-to-date on technology and resources. And one of the comments that really struck me was, and positive community comments was, in the wake of the fire at the College of Marine Sciences, I am in awe of the fire department and what they do. This is the same community that is going to be voting in November on this ballot measure. And I want everyone to understand, these are the expectations of our fire department. This is what we want for our community. And we pay for these services through the property taxes that we collect, period, end of story. And if we can't fund in that way, they're going to have to be funded somewhere else. Because at the end of the day, our community not only wants, needs, and expects these services, and if anyone has any questions as to what those expectations are, they can read this 2026 through 2031 strategic plan and see exactly what is expected and wanted from our fire department. So I wanted to put that out there because, you know, these plans are extremely important in planning. But you know what's also important? The funding for them. Because a plan without funding is nothing. So with that being said, and I thank you all for all your work that you do. And there's nothing better that I can do than actually advocate for the funding for the work that you do. So with that being said, I have a council member, and then I'll entertain a motion also for the approval of this plan. Council member Gabbard. Thank you. Quick question for administration. So in our last, I think it was our last budget committee of the whole, where we had the conversation about supplemental funding. And we talked about the fire fee. We talked about the extensive process by which that would need to go through. We did receive the memo from outside council. And so I wanted to see if administration could give us an update or maybe provide an update in email if you're not prepared to do it today as to where you all are with those initial steps to even have that conversation. Because, I mean, the polling is still looking very positive for Amendment 3, regardless of, you know, who continues to try to speak facts to the matter. However, I'm feeling as though we need to get ready. And, you know, worst case scenario, it's all for naught, and we don't have to do anything. But there was a process, and so I would like to know where administration is in exploring moving those steps forward. Absolutely. And I may have to supplement with an email. Yeah, that's okay. There are certain dates that I may get incorrect. But we have on the street an RFP to select the assessment methodology provider who would do kind of the math and coming up with the assessment methodology that would pass muster under state statute, et cetera. So that's kind of the next step in the process that we need to do internally. As council is well aware, you know, we have adopted an ordinance, just never enacted or levied a fire readiness fee. So that's kind of where we are. And I'll follow up with the dates. I'm feeling like the responses are due later this month. Okay. And then we would do an evaluation of the submittals, select that provider. So that's kind of one piece of it. The other piece of it, and legal may want to chime in on this, is if we are going to take action, council, we would have to bring an action to alert the tax collector that we wanted to utilize the uniform method of collection. So that's kind of the other piece that is in play. What Mr. Green said is accurate. That has to happen. Right. And so that is why I'm urging us to continue to move forward, recognizing that, you know, again, we don't really know what's going to happen, but let's say it does pass on November 3rd. We have a very short time period to make that notification. And so I would like to see us moving that forward. I don't want to take a wait-or-see approach, but it doesn't sound like that's what the administration is doing. So thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to get a quick update on that. Thank you. Thank you. Move approval. Second. We have a motion and a second. Clerk, if you can open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, clerk, please tally and ask the vote. Madam Chair, motion to approve a adjourn of F1 passes unanimously with Council Member Driscoll being absent. Thank you. And thank you for the report. Thank you all for being here. Thank you. Okay. Next up, we have F2. This is a St. Petersburg College update. I am going to turn this over to Council Member Fick Sanders, who asked for this. Thank you. Yes, I did. Good afternoon, everyone. As you see, we do have our president of St. Petersburg College, Dr. Tonja Williams. But also joining her today is Ms. Rebecca Brown, her chief of staff. Jesse Turtle, who is the VP of Institutional Advancement and director of the foundation. Dr. Karan. And did I say that right? Karen? Karan. I'm Jean Baptiste, who is the provost of downtown and midtown, and Dr. Deanna Stenifert, who is the acting provost at the St. Petersburg and Gibbs campus. I did see Dr. Williams because St. Pete College means so much to the city of St. Petersburg. It is the one institution other than St. Pete High School that bears our name, St. Petersburg College. St. Petersburg Junior College gave me my first degree. They actually walked me through that process. But every time I see Dr. Williams, it's always what's going on. And even when I don't see her, there is always something very positive and very progressive going on with St. Petersburg College. So she thought it not robbery to want to come and give us an update as to all the wonderful things that have happened over the last 99 years as they prepare for their 100th year. No, you don't look 99 at all, but you have the pleasure of sharing a lot of those accolades that you all have earned over the years. So it gives me great pleasure to introduce Dr. Tonja Williams. Thank you, Councilwoman Feeke Sanders. I am just so proud to be here. Thank you, Chair Hanowitz, for having me and members of City Council. You know, on behalf of St. Petersburg College's Board of Trustees, Chair Katie Cole and Vice Chair Thomas Kidwell, I am so proud to be here with you today. I'm here to brag. I'm here to talk. I'm here to have fun. So bear with me. How much time I got, Rebecca? Okay. All right. So I want to say, as we prepare for our 99th year anniversary, I really want to share some information with you about St. Petersburg College, Economic Mobility, and our partnership with the city of St. Petersburg. You know, as we prepare, I think about St. Pete College back in 1927 when it first opened its doors at, I believe, St. Petersburg High School. And about 30 years later, Gibbs Junior College, which was the African-American Junior College, opened its doors for African-American students. But then in 1965, the two institutions came together and became St. Petersburg College. And so when we really look at this, we are creating a legacy of access and opportunity with Gibbs Junior College and St. Petersburg Junior College. And I do my best to make sure we don't lose that fact because it is SPJC, affectionately known as JC, and GJC, which is Gibbs Junior College, that came together to make us a great institution today. Did you guys know St. Petersburg College serves almost 35,000 students? Did you know that we are the fifth largest of the great 28 in Florida? Okay. Y'all don't know nothing about your college. You know, our students are not a one-size-fits-all. The average age of a St. Petersburg College student is 26, meaning that we have a lot of students who are working, who are parents, who are second-careers, who are coming back to level up. And so our average age is 26. Did you know that we prepare students for transfer, for workforce? We also prepare students to actually stay at SPJC and get their baccalaureate degrees? We are that institution that serves the community, especially the city of St. Pete. So I want to tell you a little bit about your students who reside in the city of St. Pete. Y'all ready? All right. So I'm going to read these so I don't mess up. Today, 22% of the students enrolled at St. Petersburg College reside in the city of St. Petersburg. Nearly one-quarter of those students who live in St. Pete are 18 or younger. You guys have the youngest population. 33% of our students from St. Pete are under the age of 18, meaning those collegiate high schools and those dual-enrolled students in the city of St. Pete who attend your four high schools in the city of St. Pete are earning their credentials earlier. Does that mean anything to you guys as city council? You have been a part of that. This matters for every college course completed in high schools. It saves families a lot of money and a lot of time. Amen, right? I heard you. I heard you. But that is about who we serve. 57% of our students who live in the city of St. Pete reside in the poverty zone zip codes. Let me read that again. 57% of the SPC students who live in the city of St. Petersburg reside in zip codes identified as poverty areas as compared to the overall poverty area enrolled students for St. Pete College is 28%. So the city of St. Petersburg has a higher population of students who are trying to level up, who are trying to change their trajectory. And a lot of that has to do with this city council who has been focusing on making sure that all boats rise, right? That everyone has an opportunity to learn, earn, and return. And that's what you've been doing. Together, we've been working to create pathways out of poverty. So I tell my team at SPC, we don't teach students into poverty and we don't carry weak programs. We want students to earn money. That's why they go to school. No student goes to college to be broke. At least no student that I am aware of. And that work is especially important when we consider that among our St. Petersburg residents who fill out the FAFSA, that's your application, application, your application form, 78% of the city of St. Pete individuals are eligible for Pell Grant. What does that mean for city council? 29% who reside in St. Petersburg are first-generation students going to college. At this day and age, we still have students who are the first in their family to ever go to college. 29% of those enrollees who attend SPC reside in the city of St. Petersburg. And 68% of the students who attend St. Petersburg College who reside in St. Petersburg are also part-time. And what does that mean? They're working. They are trying to earn a living while they're trying to educate themselves. And so this really falls in line with why access matters. But access alone is not enough. Students have to finish and earn a credential. And you'll hear me say over and over, you hear people say college is not for everyone. I do not cosign on that. College is for everyone. A degree might not be. That is why St. Petersburg College over the last five years has increased a lot of short-term credentials where students are doing linemen work and making $60,000. Or they're doing semiconductor. Or they're doing all different types of short-term programs to make good money. So over the past two years, nearly one out of every five SPC graduate is a resident of the city of St. Petersburg. Your folks are finishing. They're starting and they're finishing. Approximately 32% of those graduates who actually finished, not the ones who started, were first generation. So with the city of St. Pete, you are changing the trajectory of generations. Folks are changing because of the work that you're doing. And we're just proud to be a part of it. That's what economic mobility looks like. That's why we're so proud to be a partner with EDGE, the program that is helping individuals who are not prepared get prepared, who are not thinking of education get educated to move forward. And so the way that the city of St. Pete is spending its money is definitely helping its residents grow and get out of poverty. So I'm very, very, very proud of that. What's interesting about this partnership is that we share the same people. St. Pete College and the city of St. Petersburg, we're sharing the same people. We share the same neighborhoods. And many of us share the same employers. And that's why we have to work together. And we're very, very proud of that. Their success strengthens the city of St. Petersburg. And at St. Petersburg College, our promise is simple. We are there to provide programs that help students get better jobs. Better jobs bring on what? Better lives. And better lives do what? Build better communities. Is that not what this city council is all about? That's what I've seen over the years. So now we need to celebrate. These 99 years, St. Petersburg College has been in existence because of the partnerships that we have had with many of you. The concerns that you have expressed about our residents being able to live good lives, to be self-sufficient, to move forward, and help their families get a better trajectory. So for 99 years, we've stood in the gap for folks to learn. For 99 years, we've been innovative, creative, and willing to step out and do something that no one else has done. For 99 years, we continue to expand free education, support for our younger students, letting them get their credentials earlier. Opening up three collegiate high schools, being the champion for aerospace programs and aviation, bringing on short-term programs, partnering with Jable Circuit, doing everything we can to make sure that we leave no earner behind, that everyone has an opportunity to grow and move forward. That's why I've been there 39 years. I just love it. I think that what we are doing is changing lives, and because of that, my life has changed. Because someone stood in the gap for me, I want to make sure I do the same. So this Saturday, we will be at our Midtown Center. We will shut down the streets. Jesse, did we get the permission to do that? Okay. So we're going to be at the Midtown campus on the deuces, and we're going to have, actually, a party. We're going to celebrate those 99 years. We're very excited. We're going to have Councilman Corey Givens is going to give us some words of encouragement. Maybe some more money will come with that. It will be good to have you there. But next year is the 100. We're the oldest state college out of the great 28. 100 years. And we want to raise the flag. We believe St. Pete College deserves a flag being raised for 100 years of serving the community. So we'll bring you the flag. We're going to bring all the city councils the flag. Because it is a big deal to be 100 years and still be relevant, still be impactful, and making sure that people have the opportunity to grow. And at St. Pete College, if you have a high school diploma, and for our workforce programs, you don't even have to have that, or a GED and warm blood in your veins, you're accepted. Because we work on potential. We're not looking for you to have a 4.0. We're grinders. We're here to work. And we want to make sure students can learn. So next year, together, we're going to ensure that every zip code in the city of St. Pete leads to opportunity. We're going to make sure that every resident can rise and shine through education. And we are your college. You have a lot of data. I hope it surprised you about what SBC has done, our economic impact. And when my team tells me that we are bringing billions of dollars to the Tampa Bay community, and we are building the workforce, then we have met our goal. We have reached what we had aimed to reach. So we're looking forward to continue to partner with you. If you really want to get deep down and dirty, when you talk about data, we live it every day. We review it every week. We just heard, you know, our chiefs talk about data. We're in a data world. And so we'd love to entertain you guys. Anytime you have a couple of hours and you want to sit down and really dig deep, I'm happy to do that, so that you can see the impact that the city of St. Pete, St. Pete College, in this community has made over the last 99 years. So I hope I didn't take too much time. I tried to go really fast. You did good. Thank you. Vice Chair Floyd. Thank you. Any questions? I don't have any questions. I just push my button to say thank you and that your energy is infectious. I went to State College and started school at Northwest Florida State College. And I'm proud to support the State College system. And the data that you brought and the energy that you brought was wonderful. And thank you, Council Member Figgs-Sanders, for making this happen. That's all I had. Thanks. Council Member Figgs-Sanders. Okay. So now I'm speaking as a council member once again. And, first of all, I failed to say, Dr. Williams, I know you haven't been there for 99 years, but the progress you've made as provost, I mean, just as president, you, you, I just cannot thank you enough. When I look around on campus, and it does help that my husband works at SVC, so we're an SVC family. But every time I look around, and you introduce a new family member, because you all are like a family. Every time I see you, you're like a family. So I want those that came with you to please stand up, because we know that Dr. Williams, yes, we're giving her kudos. But you all need to be acknowledged as well, because she has really circled herself with a phenomenal, a phenomenal faculty. And you all are always out there doing some phenomenal things. So, Dr. Williams, again, I heard you when you say you want us to raise a flag. I heard that. A flag. I did hear that. What else can we do for you? You are just, you know, thank you. Okay, so here's what's happening. In January, we will be opening a new manufacturing training center on the Deuces. We took the Jordan Park gym, and we gutted that and rebuilt that. So we'll have things like megatronics, semiconductor, clean room technology, things of that nature to help the community get closer to short-term training that leads to high-wage paying jobs. And we're partnering with a lot of groups of individuals who are bringing us equipment and things of that nature, helping us encourage the community to come out. You can't get that kind of training anywhere, but we're right here in St. Pete, and so we're going to need some support in making sure individuals take advantage of that. I think that's going to be very, very helpful to us. I am very excited about it. We are going to have one of the first dual enrollment manufacturing trainings for dual-enrolled students in clean room technology, which has not been done. And so we're still the first. We like to be, if you know me, I like to win. But I do think that having your support as we continue to move throughout the city of St. Petersburg and continue to grow things, coming together would be very helpful for us. And you've done that. I would like to see the city look into a collegiate middle school. I kid you not. I have a lot of ideas. So if you've got time, I'll be happy to share that. But I think being able to celebrate with us, to be visible with us, is going to be important for us next year. We're named after the city of St. Petersburg. We're St. Petersburg College. I hate to have our sneaker ball on September 12th of next year, and none of you are there. So being active and involved would be very helpful to us. And if you have some more money, we can spend that. We're going to stay prayerful for that. All right. We're going to stay prayerful. But, again, thank you so much for the wonderful presentation and all that you continue to do. Because, as I said, I got my first degree from St. Pete Junior College. So, you know, the opportunity that you provide the local students, and especially those, as you say, first-generation college students, because that is me and my family. So I do appreciate all that you've done. And thank you for coming. And, again, thank you, faculty, family. Thank you, Chair. The other thing, you guys have USF Day here? We do. St. Pete College. Okay. So you want an SBC Day? Okay. I hear you loud and clear, Dr. Williams. SBC Day. Okay. Write that down. Mr. Green is writing it right now. SBC Day. We did have an SBC Day, 20? 22. It's been that long? 22. It's been a bad decision. Oh, my bad. Okay. Well, I told you we would, and we did. And so I'm sorry. It's been that long. It's been that long. My bad. Yeah. Okay. It's on my list. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Green. Well, next year is the 100th year. Perfect time. Perfect time. Perfect time. Thank you, Chair, and thank you so much, Dr. Williams and the entire team that came today. St. Pete College's story is a lot like America's story. You know, we really converged at an interesting time in 1927 when we decided to create such an institution. We really see this school was really created by visionaries, people who were able to see a brighter tomorrow. And so between Gibbs Junior College, which my grandmother is a proud alumni of, and St. Petersburg Junior College, we have this great institution that we know today as St. Petersburg College. And I really think that a lot of what we are is because of the leadership. And that's a credit to you, Dr. Williams. I can attest to, I can remember when you came down to the St. Petersburg College downtown campus, and we all greeted you, we welcomed you as a community to this new role, and you took it on, and you took it on full throttle. You have not slowed down. You have not let up on that gas. And I'm so glad that it's been all gas, no brakes, because all of this, because of you and that team behind you. And I'm just so excited to see what the future has. I'm going to keep my comments brief and save it for Saturday, because I'm excited to be at the block party. I was at Palmetto Park last night, and I invited the entire neighborhood to come out and to celebrate with us, because it's going to be a party. We've got a lot to celebrate. After 99 years, you know, I think about people like the great Johnny Ruth Clark, you know, those trailblazers whose shoulders we stand on today. If they could see where we are now, I think they'd be very proud. So kudos to you all, and I've been working with Dr. Jean Baptiste on trying to bring that old Jordan Park gym back to life, and I'm really so excited to see what the future holds for us, because what St. Pete College does is you're not just training our future workforce. You're not just preparing them by giving them education and certifications, but you are leading them to industry-demanding jobs, jobs where they're not just getting a paycheck, but they're making a living wage, and you're pulling people out of poverty. And it's the folks in the South St. Pete CRA who we should be benefiting the most, and that's what St. Pete Works Edge is doing. So kudos to you and your team. Thank you so much, Dr. Louis. Thank you. And, you know, on that Jordan Park gym, we did take the center gym floor, and we put it on the wall. It's embedded in the wall of that building to commemorate the gym. That is beautiful. You'll like it. I love it. My dad used to work there. That was his first job out of high school, and I told him about that, and he said, thank you for saving that, because, again, history matters. And as we are on the precipice of 100 years, a century of education in this community, I think it's important that we preserve that history for future generations to come. And to your point, the school board just had a meeting the other day, and unfortunately, we're looking at maybe about seven schools possibly consolidating or closing. So you may get your wish when it comes to that collegiate middle school. Talk to Mr. Hendricks. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Council Member Gerdes. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you so much, Dr. Williams, for the presentation. It was great to see you. The Rays had SBC Day last week, so we're behind. But it was great to see everybody there. We talked about, just quickly, we talked about, because, you know, selfishly, I've got Gibbs campus in my district. And so we talked about some of the things happening on the deuces. There's some construction going on right now on the Gibbs campus. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, we are bringing our line worker program to the Gibbs campus. And so they are getting everything ready to have the poles and the trucks and everything there, because we're disposing of the Allstate Center. So we're starting to build there. And we are probably a year away from adding some more programs at the Gibbs campus, restructuring some of the facilities to prepare for those programs. Awesome. Thank you so much for the update. It's been fun to watch. You know, I feel like there was this kind of tidal moment with St. Pete College where it's, and a lot of it was COVID, right, where a lot of kids were not going to class, not physically going to class. And so traffic ebbed and flowed in the west side. Now I'm going down Fifth Avenue to take my kids to school. And, you know, we've got students walking across Fifth Avenue from the multifamilies across the street, lots of cars pulling in. And it's just great to see it activated and how I remember it growing up. It's just amazing. And then just to see the work going on, I'm very excited about the utility program. And so thank you so much to everybody for what you do and very excited for the future and to celebrate 100 with you. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Councilmember Gafford. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you. I'll pour on the thanks and the congratulations for all of the success that you're showing. 99 years is nothing to laugh about. And so congratulations on that and just everything that you have moving forward. You know, I've got a teenager that hopefully will be in that dual enrollment program next year. I'm pushing for it. And so just what you do for our community and, you know, kind of looking into the future, she's not here with us today, unfortunately, but Dr. Belintha Berry, her work in the workforce development portion, I just want to give a special shout out to her and thank her. She has been an incredible partner in the dream of bringing a resilient mitigation workforce to St. Petersburg. We're going to have a presentation on that at our HERS committee next week with the National Flood Mitigation Industry Association, who will be here. And that partnership has just been incredible. And so I want to thank her for her leadership and look forward to continuing to work with all of you on that and making that a realization. Climate mitigation. Absolutely. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have known. Thank you. Well, I mean, we are ground zero for, you know, climate vulnerability. And there's a real economic opportunity that exists in these spaces with these blue-green jobs that can be created. And these, while this is construction industry, this is high, like almost six-figure construction jobs. These aren't the construction jobs of old, right? And so just thank you for being willing to kind of step out on that and especially Dr. Berry and her vision for where we can take that program. It's very exciting. So we'll have more conversation about that next week. But I did want to miss the opportunity to say thank you. I want to make sure I pass it along to her. Yes, yes. Thank you so much. Absolutely. Thank you. And thank you all. Thank you. Council Member Fick Sanders. Thank you. Dr. Williams, quick question. I couldn't find the date that we did, SBC Day in 22. Are the majority of your events for the 100th going to be in September? Right, because on September 12th is our actual birthday. Okay. So we try to have most of the events on the 12th. I do believe the 100th, is there a ball on the 11th? The 10th? The 10th. The ball will be on the 10th. The sneaker ball. Blue and gold. I love that. I love that. I love that. That's right. He's already got his outfit. See? See? Oh, yeah. Council Member Goetis is ready. Okay. I just wanted to, so I'll follow back up with you on that. Okay. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. Well, I have to agree with Vice Chair on his infectious energy that you have. I mean, it's been a joy hearing you and how much you care, not just about the college, your students, and our community. And I have to say, y'all look really good in your blue and black. I mean, it's like you've got to take a picture today. You've got to take a picture. Y'all dress so nice. I thought, wow, Maria should be here to take a picture of them. I get that. Oh, you can take a picture. But when you started going through your student profile and the percentages of students, you know, first ever go to college and part-time and all that. Look, I did not go to St. Pete College. I went to Miami-Dade Community School. Same thing. Same thing. And I fit pretty much all those boxes. And that was the first in my family. I worked full-time, which is the reason why I went to community college. And the other reason is because it's affordable. You said no student goes to college broke. I will say that's probably not true. There are students that end up going to college and end up broke depending on the college they go to. And the program. Because it's very expensive. That they choose, too. And it's true. There are degrees in places that they go and they get, and you end up racking hundreds of thousands of dollars. And, you know, and I will tell you, that's not in community college. Yeah. I mean, it is truly an affordable way to get a career. And we've not been able to raise tuition since 2012. So what you paid per credit in 2012. That's unbelievable. Is what you paid today. Are you serious? Very. Since 2012. 2012. Mm-hmm. Wow. And it's going well. Wow. We're hanging. Well, kudos to you and your team for making it happen and still giving the quality education to the students. Thank you. Given those constraints. Because that's not easy. But, and, you know, and everything else that's going on in the educational field. You know, it's, it's, there are challenging times that, and, and you all do it with such grace. So it's very much appreciated. And I think we've gotten the message. We can't forget St. Pete College Day. Don't forget the Titans. Especially the 100th. Yes. Yeah. So. Okay. They'll be working on that. I'll be back. Okay. And, and, and, and next year, I figure the outfits are even going to be better. Exactly. Well, thank you so much for the report. Thank you all for being here. Yeah, you want to take your picture? Go ahead. Yeah. Y'all want to take this picture? Take a picture. Okay. You look very nice. Y'all want to come stand up here in front of us, and we can be behind your chin. You'll take this for us? I'll take a picture. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, all of us. We just stand right here. That'd be great. We didn't do, we didn't do St. Pete College Day, but you're going to get a picture. I mean, it's something. Consolation. It's a consolation prize. It's a consolation prize. I guess we need to come down this for the evening. Oh, yeah. We're good. We haven't done. No, me. That's it. Oh, wow. I love that jacket. I said, yes, and you're a beast. Oh, yeah. Tom, you're not going to get in it? No. I thought it would be like, silly face, silly face. Get in here. Are we lined up, Mr. Srinivasan? We're going to have to do a Maria. He's just going to get what you get at this point. Can I say, ha, ha, ha? You know how Maria does. Ha, ha, ha. Hee, hee, hee. Ha, ha, ha. I'm going to say, hee, hee, hee. Hee, hee, hee. Come on, Richie. Ha, ha, ha. Hee, hee, hee. That makes you smile. Yeah, yes. Sorry. Thank you all. Good to see you all so much. Everybody. Yes. Thank you, sir. I appreciate you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Bye, Jessica. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Oh, that was a good call. Council member, please hear your name. Thank you, Chair. Thank you. It really is. Thank you. Okay. Next up, we have F3, a resolution acknowledging the results of the primary election. And, Chan, this is you. Yes, it is. First of all, Madam Chair, thank you all. Is it okay if I do this here? You can do it from there. I want to just thank all those who are willing to put their name in the hat to run for office. It's not easy to do. But I just want to commend all those who did do that. And you are what makes the city of St. Petersburg what it is. So thank you all who decided to run for office. We have before you a resolution acknowledging the results of the primary election that was held on August 18, 2026, declaring the nominees for the general election to be held on November 3rd and taking the related procedural actions to place the names of the applicable candidates for mayor and for council members for districts 2 and 6 on the ballot and confirming that no primary election was held or general election will be held for districts 4 and 8. So I request your approval of this resolution and acknowledge those results. We have a motion and a second. Clerk, if you can open the machine for voting. Council members, please enter your votes. Seeing that all present council members have voted, Clerk, please tally announce the vote. I'm chair. I motion to approve. Agenda F3 passes unanimously with Council Member Driscoll being absent. Okay. On to November 3rd. And I see one of the candidates is here. Doug, thank you for throwing your hat in the ring. Next up, we have open forum. We have no speakers in the chamber. No speakers. No speakers in Zoom. No speakers in Zoom. We close open forum and we go to announcements. Council Member Gibbons. Thank you, Chair. Just wanted to invite the community out this weekend to Child's Park Rec Center at 10 a.m. this morning. Excuse me, 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, we will be having a community health event, and that's going to be sponsored by iCare. So if you know Kumali and her team, they do really good work, and they'll be having free screenings there. So that'll be a great opportunity. We've also been reminded about SPC Day, so that's going to be another opportunity for us to come out all at 10 a.m. And then one more event at 10 a.m., the Enoch Davis Center 45th Anniversary. So I just wanted to make sure we all are aware that there's going to be a lot of community events happening at 10 a.m. this Saturday. So hopefully we can spread out and try to support each of them. So thank you so much, Chair. Well, thank you for giving us all that information. Council Member Curtis. Thank you, Madam Chair. There's a couple of things going on. Not as cool as some of the things Council Member Gibbons just said, but we do have Vanilla Ice and Two Life Crew in town at Bergs tomorrow night. Listen, my wife would have been upset with me if I hadn't brought it up. And so I just think it's kind of cool. The 1980s baby in me just, it's awesome. Also, on a more serious note, Madam Chair, thank you for putting a moment of silence on the agenda this afternoon for the 25th anniversary of September 11th. Tomorrow, just like our first responders have, I think over the last 10 or 15 years, our fire departments will be out in front of their departments at the same time as when the first towers were hit for a moment of silence. I would invite anybody who wants to stand with our first responders at their respective departments. I'll be there at Station 2. And so just thank you to all of our first responders. And again, Madam Chair, thank you for the moment of silence earlier. Certainly, I think we all remember where we were 25 years ago. I was actually in my social studies first college class with a former CIA operative as my teacher, and we didn't have them for the next, like, 19 weeks. And so it's a time we all remember. So, like I said, any residents that want to come and join us at our departments tomorrow, we'd welcome that invitation. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Thank you. And when you mentioned for the Two Life Crew and Vanilla Ice, all I can think about is Two Life Crew is First Amendment case. People may have thought I was going somewhere else with that, but I was thinking of the First Amendment landmark case is what I was thinking of. And the attorneys are, of course, like, yes, of course, that's what you think about. Very natural. Okay, counsel. Natural for resolution. The rest of us were not. It was landmark. Anyhow, Tom Green. Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't know if I can follow the two. I just wanted to close the loop. I know the information I was providing relative to the RFP for the assessment methodology consultant. That will close on the 22nd of September, so that's a Tuesday, and then sometime after that, you know, we'll have an evaluation process. But I just wanted to share that information because I didn't have it handy when I spoke earlier. That's very much appreciated. Well, thank you for letting us know. Okay, I don't see any other requests to speak. It was a great meeting and smooth. So with that, meeting is adjourned. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.