 Um, and actually I'm going to take a little prerogative of my own here, um, just to start off by saying, um, something that I said at the end of the last, uh, council meeting, which is, um, so really a couple of things, one is that we've been prerogative of getting a lot of, um, we acknowledge that our police forces are doing a great job of working hard and we acknowledge that we're grateful for their work and just want to recognize that they're doing a great job as well. And having said that, um, all our, all systems, uh, can be better and, um, it's, it's okay to, to be, uh, reflective, um, about how we're doing and how we can be better. Um, so I want to, want to thank, thank them and also thank the public for, um, their thoughtful, um, feedback and also acknowledge that change is going to take some time. Um, change worth doing is, um, well thought out. So, um, having said all of that, um, we're going to dive into, uh, our, our meeting, um, so we are recording, um, the, we did not advertise, um, a general business and appearances, um, so, uh, we, um, we will be taking comments certainly on, um, all the pieces of this. I will, we'll just take that as, as it comes. Um, there's three items on our agenda and we're just going to go straight through them. So any objection to, um, to that? Yeah. Okay. Great. Okay. So, um, so the first thing is, uh, a second reading of the proposed, uh, temporary parklet ordinance. Um, so I'm going to open a public hearing, um, on, uh, on that. Um, I think this is mostly, um, a formality just for good measure, but any, um, adjustments or comments on, um, the proposed parklet, uh, amendments or, you know, changes to the ordinance. Any comments from the public on that? And Cameron, are we seeing any comments from folks on that? Um, no, if anyone would like to raise their hands either visually or, um, maybe one of the reaction emojis, I will make sure we call on you. But at this point we have a little amount of folks on the call that feel free to just unmute yourself and say something. Okay. Um, go ahead, Dan. Oh, just, uh, I'll make a motion that we approve the, uh, temporary parklet ordinance, um, with its second reading, which I understand would effectively, um, ratify the park, parklet ordinance to go forward. Okay. Any further discussion? Okay. Forward vote. I'm going to close the public hearing and, um, okay, um, all in favor please say aye. Aye. Aye. And opposed. Okay. So that passes and, uh, we're going to move on to, uh, the painting of the phrase Black Lives Matter on State Street. Um, I'm going to turn this over to Connor. Sure. So, um, it's a continuation of our discussion from, uh, Wednesday night, um, as everybody knows, we want to warn this properly, do it right. So that's part of the reason we're having this meeting today. Um, again, a community led effort that I think sparked from the, um, honor their names rally over the weekend. It's, it's been very heartening to see everybody come together to pitch in to get this done. Um, I think we all know that we've got some very difficult, uh, conversations we're going to be having in the future. Um, but, um, as a community, as a state, it might be nice to start off those conversations with the statement of values. Um, and I certainly agree with, uh, Noel, some of the organizers, everybody in the community, uh, that this is what we believe in. So certainly, uh, it's a quick turn around here, but, um, with any organizing campaign, you've got to feed off the momentum. Um, I think a lot of people have come together, uh, offering different things. And I might have Ward, um, Ward Joyce speak in a second just to the rendering he put together. Hopefully everybody got that in the inbox. Uh, but the plan would be, um, close down the street. We're looking at about seven to two o'clock on Saturday. Um, the painting would be the, about the length of the state house lawn there. Uh, the paint has already been purchased by Peter Sterling, I understand. Um, there have been volunteer captains who have been appointed, uh, who could make sure that social distancing is enforced, uh, and make sure everybody gets a chance to paint the different letters. Uh, water is provided if it's possible. We do have a speaker ready, um, and a microphone for some of the organizers to say a few words before we would do this. We've been working with the state and, um, you know, uh, certainly Bill rightfully so has been, um, explicit that we want written, um, permission from the agency of transportation on this. Uh, we've been in a flurry of emails just now. So Jason Gibbs, the chief of staff of the governor has directed the, uh, AOT secretary, Joe Flynn, uh, to make sure that, uh, that permission is, uh, granted and writing there. So he said to, uh, uh, just make sure it happened. Uh, I do appreciate the governor's office who has facilitated a lot of this. Um, again, it's a quick turn around there and they've been very supportive. So I think we're on track. Um, I don't know if it makes sense for Cameron, if you have the screen share or anything available to share some of those, uh, renderings I gave you. And maybe we could turn it over to Ward as that appears on the screen. Just to go over that a little bit. Does that make sense, folks? Let me just a second to pull those up, please. Okay. Well, maybe a board will have to start. Well, I think you've all gotten the email that I sent that carefully described what we have as a process. Um, Peter Sterling asked me to coordinate the design and layout and the execution of the letters on the street on Saturday morning, which is, I think, going to be pretty straightforward. We've gone to the site, pasted out and the image that I sent is, I think what it's going to look like in scale and also what the ideal photograph is probably going to look like shot from Jay's drone. So I think, um, if we started seven 30 in the morning, we can be painting by 10 and get it complete by noon. I'm pretty comfortable with the, uh, the number of people we have there. And, you know, Robert Gowens was there this morning and Donna Barlow case and everybody seems really thrilled to participate. And I'm sure Tony and the new police chief and the fire department. And then I think it's going to be an exciting and enthusiastic project that we do together. So I'm, I'm thrilled to be helping with it. Are y'all able to see them? Yes. Um, part of the stipulation from the state was that we don't cover any crosswalk. So really appreciate Ward, uh, adjusting his original design to make sure that's, that's the case there. Yep. And then we'll use only the driving lanes. The parking lanes will not be covered. And it's not clear in this image, but we will not paint the letters over the double stripe of the center line. So each letter will have to be kind of bifurcated in the middle, but I think they'll read they're 25 feet tall. So cutting out a foot in the middle is not going to impact their legibility. Ward, what are you planning to use yellow? Yes. Just like Washington, D.C. It's what Sherwood Williams had available in this quantity too. But I think, I think it was the best choice of color. Yeah, we were, well, we were actually asked not to use colors that are typical to street markings. So I was hoping we could use something other than yellow, but if you've already purchased it. Yeah. Unfortunately, Bill, I think these come in a pre made colors. So you've got yellow, blue, red, black. I mean, we could conceivably get back to Sherwood Williams and see if they also have 40 gallons of black and we could do a swap today. Or red or something. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, you can check. That was just one of the requests we got from the state. We've not used colors that are, you know, typically traffic colors. Yeah, but clearly, clearly Washington, D.C. Violated that word. Can you say the color choices again? Well, I can call Sherwood Williams and verify, but the the asphalt parking lot paints, you know, come in a in a range of three mixed colors. So I think they have. I think they have. I mean, I've bought before from them for Langdon Street, red, black, yellow, white, and I'm guessing that's about it. They're primary and blue. Right. So, so I'm sorry, no, no, go ahead, Cameron, I'm just concerned about the long, like the type of paint that's being used. Is it like road marking paint? Because that can be reflective and dangerous to some. There's some safety concerns there with that type of paint in that large of quantity for some like motorcycles. It gets very slippery. So I'm just concerned that it's not actual, just paint paint. No, it's it's paint designed for parking lots. So it's it's actually striping paint. Right. I don't know if that's the best choice for this is what I'm saying because it can be dangerous in large quantities for those driving things like motorcycles or on that surface is what we've been told. So this is just the hazards of running this type of thing quickly through this process. Yeah, well, I could get back to Sherwood-Williams and ask them about possibly mixing in a I think it's a volcanic additive that adds grit and see whether that's something that could be mixed into the five gallon jugs this afternoon. I could see about that. Ward, this is Donna. You should know I spoke with Sherwood-Williams just a few minutes ago to see if the purchase had been made. They told me it had, but they have only provided 25 gallons. So if you're talking with them again and you you believe, as you mentioned this morning and just now again that we need that what's needed is more than that you may want to broach that subject as well. OK. Peter just confirmed with me that he had 40 gallons in his vehicle. So. Oh, all right. Then there may be. Yeah, I can check on that. Yeah, OK. OK, Cameron, are you still sharing your screen? Oh, I was trying to take notes. Sorry. Thank you. Yeah, all right. Bye-bye. So you're potentially open to changing the color to a non-typical road marking color sounds like which I think would be appreciated if we can also add some kind of grit to the paint. So there's some motorcycle safety that would be useful, but it would also be good to know that adding that grit actually does improve the hazards to motorcycles. Do we have any confirmation that that would that that's the case? I could provide that. OK. I don't know how to do it on your folding time frame. Is Tony on the line? He's a motorcyclist. Yes. You know, the good thing here is it's a straightaway. It's 25 mile an hour zone. You know, where I was getting concerned, we had some conversations that if we did anything in other intersections like that, certainly could be problematic. But again, it's also, you know, it's just if it's wet, raining, it's just like that motorcycle list that even bicycles for that matter may need to pay attention to. So Tony, to the question, does adding some sort of grit or whatever this does that help? Is that a real thing? That would absolutely help. I just, yeah, I'm out of my expertise in terms of like how that is adequately mixed. You know, gallon per gallon. I don't know if that's something that I know when some of the, you know, it's a powder form, some of the reflective material that goes in when our public works does some crosswalk work. So I don't know. I don't understand the process fully, but it might just be something that they can roll it in while it's wet. It's sprinkled on. I'm not sure. And maybe Ward, you might know as well. Yeah, I'm on the phone with Sherwood Williams right now. Let's see if I can get an answer. Thank you. OK. Dan. I had an additional question. The way it looks, and this may be a minor point, but the crosswalk, the way it's designed, it almost looks like there's an extra I in lives. Has there been any consideration to try and not put the crosswalk in the middle of a word or for that, for that effect, it almost looks like lilies. And I wonder if a crosswalk was on the other side of the S, if that wouldn't work better. Ward's on the phone there, Dan. Sorry, I might not get an answer. Pull these off. Yeah. Excuse me. I can jump in a little bit here because I was actually out there with Ward this morning, and when Donna was there and Bob as well. And the idea of that design, and I see what you're saying, when you see it from this perspective, Dan, excuse me, the idea of that design was to have symmetry in front of the state house. You've got 16 letters, and so putting eight on either side of the crosswalk was the thinking, just to sort of create a level of symmetry and balance with the words relative to the state house. So I can certainly let Ward speak to that more, but that was the initial thinking there. Right. No, I see the symmetry there, but I just think that this image, if it's going to be shown once it's painted, it's going to be shown from the air, and at least this is more opinion than policy, is it just disrupts that word and creates that unintentional sort of reading of it that I don't think is intended, and that's just feedback from my point. And I'll let Ward, Ward, while you're on the phone, I just suggested that the way at least I'm looking at this picture is that with the crosswalk in the middle of the lives, it almost looks like an extra I in lives. And my suggestion is wouldn't it be better to move that to the other side? I understand there's a symmetry that is driving that, but... So that's an interesting point, Dan. I would suggest that we condense the V and the E a bit more around the crosswalk so that it tightens it, and the crosswalk is a little bit faded, a little bit inconsistent. So I think it will disappear. I think because of the symmetry, if we were to shift lives either right or left, it would throw the whole thing way off-center. So I think condensing that gap will help, but I would argue hard against becoming so asymmetrical to put lives either side. And I'll echo Ward looking at it this morning is the crosswalk. I mean, this is just a rendering, and the crosswalk is relative to this picture significantly faded and hasn't been painted over in a while. And practically speaking, as a person who would be taking the picture, I don't think that you would see the crosswalk nearly as much in an actual photo once it's painted. I think that once the contrast of the yellow to the asphalt and the faded crosswalk rather will make the crosswalk sort of a, it won't be a distracting piece. It won't look like an eye when it's sort of finally implemented. Sure. Okay. And just to cover the other topics we talked about, Sherwood Williams said they can sell us an additive that we could mix into the gallons. And if we stir continuously, we can get it to stay fluid. And it is a grit based product. It's a pretty thick paint. So we said, I think it's going to work fine. And that's what it's designed for. So I would make a commitment to getting enough of that tonight and integrating it. So I think we had a more friction based paint. I think Tony's comment was a good one that this is a slow speed straightaway. And so the turning risk is minimal. So I think that slightly ameliorates this concern. They only have yellow in this quantity. But he said they do have white. He didn't specify that they had 20 or 30 gallons, but he said that's the only thing they have in bulk. Well, white is also a street marking color. And when certainly created conflict with the crosswalk, I mean, some might be painting the crosswalk once we get all our crew back. And it will not be faded. So I think white would probably be worse than yellow. I mean, the only other thing I could think of was that we could buy an additional color and sort of take it off yellow. But that gets kind of complicated on site. You know, if we were to add black to yellow, could we create a mustardy yellow? Could we add blue to it? Then it starts to go to green. Add red to it. It starts to go orange. We could theoretically put a gallon of red into or a half a gallon of red into every four and a half gallons of yellow and come up with a slightly different color. This is the painter in me talking here. I don't I don't know that. I appreciate your creativity there with problem solving. You know, I mean, if it's, you know, you know more about this stuff than I do. You know, if that's not too difficult to do, that actually just might be enough to just create some differentiation between a normal, like a yellow center line or a marking that people, you know, they could just see it's something different. Okay. That was what we were asked. So Tony, I'm understanding that we can get. I mean, this is, you know, really a very unique circumstance. Is there anything that AOT can do to kind of give us a variance? Just so this is not an issue given the totality of the circumstances, you know, the paint by the DC use the same color that is that. I think they can the governor's office asked us, you know, in pushing this through and trying to make it work. Their request was try not to use colors that are normal street markings. And I mean, so I think that's the least we can do to respect that. And I think I think we can do it. I think just integrating some red in it. We have just read off the bat, acknowledged what they've said and taken it into a warmer color. I think that's I think that is doing it. It's my opinion. And well, I like that. It also means you don't necessarily have to return all that yellow. Well, we can return it. And Peter did buy 20 or so gallons, but they're open tomorrow and they have more paint that we can buy if need be in answer to Donna's concern. Okay. So I'm happy to go today and buy some grit and to buy a couple gallons of red to integrate into the yellow. I mean, I assume well, you're the painter. You know how much red needs to be incorporated to make it. No, I don't actually. We'll figure it out. I mean, the key is to push it away from yellow. And I think we can pull that off. That's not complicated. Okay. And so counsel, just to remind you, you are really just approving a street closure and the general design. I think so if you're going to do that, I just recommend it with the condition that it not be a street, you know, not be a color that matches traffic markings. I did just get a message from AOT saying they would provide us with the written sign off. So that's good. Okay. I'm feeling pretty comfortable with this, having talked through different safety aspects of it. Any further, any question? Okay. Yeah, Jack, go ahead. And we'll also take comments from the public. Thank you. Yes, we've been talking about the details. I think just to say a little bit about the overall message and the importance of it. I think that it's very important for our community to go on record with this very important message. And I had a correspondence this morning that I think all the members of the council had with someone who was opposed to doing this. And the person made an observation in a subsequent email that I got from her that she believes this just keeps the racial issue that I feel is non-existent, especially here in Vermont. And I just want to say that I do not believe that is at all correct. I do not believe that this is an issue that is non-existent, that the tremendous turnout we had on Sunday and the experience that we've heard from all the speakers on Sunday indicated very clearly that this is a live issue in Vermont as it is in the rest of the country. And so I think it's important for us to do this. And I hope and believe that we will have a unanimous vote in favor of this measure. Great. Thank you. Anyone else? Dan. Thanks. I'll echo Jack's statement as well that I think this is important both on a local and national level. You know, the idea that we are somehow immune in Vermont or in Montpelier, I think, is a false premise. And not only that, but even if we were somehow, this is an issue of national concern. And I think this is a small token symbol and contribution to that. At the same time, I guess I want to address some of the statements that you, Mayor Watson, said at the beginning and echo those, which is that I think we are extremely fortunate to live in Montpelier where, you know, we can have these conversations at somewhat of a comfortable distance. We're not a city that's facing some of the same challenges that other cities are. And that's really a testament to our city department, to our police force, to Chief Fakos, and to the work that we've done so far. And I think that this is consistent with that. This is an important step and it's an important symbol. But it stands upon the shoulders of what's already come. And I think that's important to acknowledge that, you know, we have the ability to have some of these conversations and have them with a level of comfort because of what has had, because of where we stand. And I think that's important to recognize because, you know, if we have success in any of these conversations, it's because we pull together. And not because we are valuing something above another or giving, you know, as has been alleged in other, you know, forums, preferential treatment. This is about us acknowledging, you know, that there are these issues and working on them together. And so I think that's really important. And I think the comfort level that we have with that is a function of the hard work that a lot of the members of the city have done. And I just want to make that clear on the record. Thank you. Other comments? Lauren. I agree with all of that. And I just wanted to add in my appreciation. I mean, the amount of community effort that has come in really quickly to make this happen from purchasing the paint, getting the volunteers, getting the design, and having all of this volunteer effort and the city staff working with the state to get the necessary approvals. So just appreciate everyone pulling together to really pull off, you know, the kind of thing that could take like a month to plan and other times, seeing how quickly people are just making it happen. Because it is symbolic, but it's a message that I'm really glad that our city wants to send and that our state government is also kind of expediting so we can, you know, be part of this national conversation as we continue to look at our own city. And, you know, again, echo the appreciation for the support we've seen from everywhere from Chief Fakas and the police department to help, you know, support and beyond. So thanks, everyone. Other comments? I guess my, or Connor, did you want to say something? Yeah, he's got to make a motion if nobody else wants to. Well, I guess I would just add one other thing, which is that, and I would have the same comment about raising Black Lives Matter flag, which is coming up next. But I think it's important that this message, painting Black Lives Matter on State Street, as well as raising Black Lives Matter flag, is not sort of a one-off, unconnected statement. And that this is a part of a really a larger effort that I think we as a council have been and having parts of this conversation over time, and we're going to continue to have these conversations moving forward. You know, we talk about how we incorporated a social worker into the police department and we funded a street outreach person to work with our unsheltered population. That those are all elements of thinking about how we can be supporting underserved populations in our community and how we can be treating people fairly and with respect. And we're going to continue to be reflective and find how we can be making responsible adjustments and changes in coming months. So I just wanted to make sure I say that as a part of this effort. Donna. Yeah, I just wanted to add on that. And thank you for looking broadly, not only on the past steps of ourselves and the police department, but also when we uplift any group that has been marginalized, we uplift all of us. So I want to make a point that we're all trying to be more inclusive in everything, but it's a learning process. And this is one of those public steps that hopefully will lead to more substantial action. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Connor. Okay. Well, and I'll say again, I, you know, actually just everybody's words are pretty moving today. You know, it's more than just paint on pavement. And as Jack and Dan said, all you got to look at the Facebook comments on the article about Montpelio Dillonness, the 400, 500 Facebook comments and seeing the venom in them. And you know that racism is very much alive and needs to be addressed. So again, this is a statement of values that we hope every elected official will see and keep in mind when they drive down the street, whether they go to the state house or city hall, and the work they do should be influenced by this statement. So it's the beginning of a difficult, but very necessary conversation. So thanks so much to city staff for the quick turnaround on this. I know this. Yeah, put a lot on people's plates at the last minute. Thanks so much to the community who spearheaded this and to all of you. So with that, I would make the motion that we approve the design submitted by Ward Joyce with the edits that we've had today. And close State Street tomorrow, Saturday, for the length of the State House lawn from the hours of seven o'clock in the morning to two o'clock in the afternoon. That sounds good. Connor, I'm sure what I heard you say was you were going to close it from Taylor Street to Bailey from seven to noon. That sounds good, though. Seven to two, I'm sorry. Thank you. I didn't hear you correct. I just wanted to make sure I heard you correct. No, that's a dead point. Okay, so we've had a motion and a second for the discussion. And I do want to open it up to the public. Anyone want to make a comment or a question or have a seat? And Cameron, are you seeing anyone? Oh, man. Okay. Not hearing anybody. So great. Any further discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. And opposed. Okay. So that passes. And thanks to everyone for your hard work to pull this together. All right. So we're going to move on to the next item, which is Resolution of the City to Fly Black Lives Matter flag at City Hall. Jack, do you want to talk about this? Sure. I think this could be quick, although I think it's important. I think most of us in Montpelier were very proud when our high school became the first school in the state to fly the Black Lives Matter flag. And I think that the time has come for us to do the same at City Hall to, again, place the City Council and the City Government firmly behind this message that we are here for all of the residents of Montpelier and that we support the proposition that Black Lives Matter. We live in a country where for many years, for centuries, the official or unofficial practice of many segments of this country has been to act as though Black Lives do not matter. We firmly reject that proposition. We believe and want to proclaim that Black Lives do matter and this is a public way of conveying that message. So I move that we obtain a Black Lives Matter flag and fly it from City Hall. Go ahead, Dan. Well, if that's a motion, I'll second it. And the only question I would have is for how long are we envisioning the flying of the flag? Would it become a permanent display or would it become would it be flown for a period of time to be determined later or would it be for a fixed time now? I was not envisioning an end time that hadn't occurred to me. So that's the way I'm phrasing it. I don't know if you have a suggestion. Yeah. You know, I think I would understand it to be for a time until determined by the City Council at a future date. Just as we would fly any other flag other than the United States flag for a particular purpose that may need to either change or rotate out. And I guess I'll just further add, I support this for the reasons that you have articulated, Jack, and because we have a long history everywhere in the United States, whether it's the South, the Midwest, the West, or the Northeast, that we have to address of how people of color or how certain groups have been treated that have marginalized them, whether it be outward racism, subtle implicit bias policies such as redlining that have made economic marginalization a reality, I find all of that to be represented by this flag and this movement to change. And that by doing so, we improve everybody's lot. And we make, by making the least, the least, the worst treated or the least of us, just like the Beatitudes in the Bible, you know, that is our duty and our obligation. And so I stand firmly behind that as well. So just to clarify, Jack, were you making a motion? Yes. That was a motion? That was a motion. I think Dan seconded. Okay, so we had a motion and Dan seconded. Further discussion. Bill? Yeah, so obviously your decision to do this and personally I support it. I'd advise, I mean, you don't need to do it today, maybe for our next meeting that we should have, we actually should have a policy for flying symbolic flags and they maybe should have finite periods of time because at some point someone's got to make a decision that says what we, racism is set and now we're taking the flag down. Or there may be, for example, a pride flag that we want to fly and do we take the Black Lives Matter down and put up, you know, that it becomes a value judgment of who's more important, who's more oppressed. There could be any number of things. And, you know, there may be a desire to fly flags that not everybody would like to see up there by some groups. So I think we should maybe think about what the criteria is or it's solely at the discretion of the city council. You know, we flew the Olympic flag last year during the Olympics when Amanda Pelkey was competing and we actually gave her that flag after it was over. So just, I think we ought to be thoughtful about this because I could imagine the decision to take it down could actually be far more controversial than the decision to put it up. And so we might want to say we're going to fly flags like this for 90 days or 60 days. And this is the criteria and the council decides. So yeah, you don't have to do that now. We can talk about it next week. But we want to be thinking about this because I think that's important. That totally makes sense to me. And we're going to need to be thoughtful about that, about how and when, what's the appropriate conditions around taking down a flag and yeah, giving us ourselves the opportunity to recognize other issues. Okay, so maybe that's let's flag that for some, sorry, terrible pun for a future council meeting. Either for discussion or I'm sure you all are incredibly busy. So I don't know if it would be, you know, reasonable to say, hey, come up with, you know, your suggestions, but maybe that maybe it's a topic that we can discuss and policy can come out of that. Dan, is that what you were thinking? Go ahead, Dan. I was just going to say I'm happy to do some research on this. Only there are flag codes established and, you know, we're not making this up out of whole cloth and I'd be happy to work with Bill because that's exactly where I was going. And I appreciate Bill. You articulated it much better than I was saying, which is, you know, I think there has to be you know, because we are going to be asked to fly other flags at other times. And we should have a policy so that it's clear what the expectations are. So I'm happy to help. Great. Thank you. Okay. Further discussion? Okay. Anyone from the public? Feel free to unmute yourself if you have something to say. Okay. All right. So with that, we had our motion in a second. And any further last minute things to say? Okay. All right. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. And opposed. Okay. So that carries. And so we'll be flying Black Lives Matter flag and also revisiting a flag policy future time. Okay. That is all of our regular business. Thanks everybody for your thoughtfulness and hard work on this. And I assume no one else has anything else they want to bring up. I guess I'll, with that, without objection, we will adjourn this special meeting in 1215. Thanks everybody. Thanks folks. Thanks everyone. Enjoy your graduation guys. It was yesterday. Yeah. What was it? I thought they were supposed to pull it off. They pulled it off. Not lightning. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.