 Madam clerk Yeah, I recommend Could you call the roll, please? Yes, sir. Mr. Brown here. It's Herbert Dr. Bustle here, Mr. Brennan present mr. McDowell mr. Duvall American in here. Thank you. Do you stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag United States of America and to the republic for which it stands One nation under God Liberty and justice for all Brella McDowell, would you like to say a word? Yes, sir. That was by a hedge creator and loving god For your tender mercies Has already embraced us this day For grace and for mercy For all of the things you've done for us today Bless us as we gather in this place Allow us to hear and to be sensitive to what we're hearing So that you so that the movement of the spirit Might dwell within this place. We ask it in your name amen. Amen Before we adopt the agenda, thanks for Coming back to visit us I'm so happy to have you here. I missed you guys I know you I know you've been bored and but we're glad that you have a speedy recovery Do you miss this Miley crew? But I did I missed you guys and I appreciate your patience and understanding and You know, I got to give a shout out to the staff. Mr. Mayer. They are amazing and Jeff Thank you sir very much for always Sitting in my stead so I think Jeff was the most excited person to see you I won't tell y'all about the somersaults down city halls Hallway of the second floor. I'm just kidding. He Handled it all well great. Well, we're glad everything was successful. You had time to heal And we're glad to have you back and you're right. The staff did an incredible job But we knew they would yes So we're excited that you're back and ready to roll. Yeah, I really I am All good and here for it. Good. Is there a motion to adopt the agenda? So move Got a motion and a second second any changes comments Seeing none here none. Madam clerk. Could you read the roll? Mr. Brown? Mr. Herbert and dr. Bustles mr. Brennan mr. McDowell mr. Duvall may I recommend I Mr. Mary are you taking public input related to the agenda items as outlined? Do we have anybody signed up for agenda items? No, sir. Okay Hey Approval of minutes item one council is asked to approve the august 15 2023 council meeting minutes Is there a motion to move mr. Second Now motion a second any changes comments or amendments Hearing none seeing them. Madam clerk. Could you read the roll mr. Brown? Mr. Herbert dr. Bustles mr. Brennan mr. McDowell mr. Duvall Mayor recommend I Moving into a period of presentations item two sickle cell disease awareness month proclamation the honorable daniel j recommend mayor I'd like to call mr. Bryerson and the rest of the folks here for the sickle cell proclamation up to the front if they wouldn't mind at the Potion and mr. Mayor the richland county cat team is here representing the sheriff who couldn't be with us today So they well, I'll tell you it's a much better-looking crew than the sheriff. So we're glad to have you here So I want to thank all of y'all for being here as you know Sickle cell disease is something that everybody's been working our community And investing in the world Health organization estimates at more than 250,000 babies worldwide are born with sickle cell disease sickle cell is one of the 11th 11 severe chronic diseases affecting children in south carolina Approximately one out of every 400 african-american newborns in south carolina has sickle cell disease And one in 13 african-americans carry the sickle cell trade gene Though currently no universal cure for sickle cell disease exists quality treatment disease disease management can prevent needless deaths and suffering Whereas the provision for genetic testing counseling services can serve greatly to impact the prevalence of Sickle cell disease throughout family planning and other preventative services Whereas the james r. Clark memorial sickle cell foundation medical and Psychological services network provides an effective approach to treatment management prevention services, which serves Suffering and enhancing the lives with sickle cell disease and those who are at risk throughout the midlands Therefore, I daniel recommend the mayor of columbia south carolina do buy a proclaim along with my fellow council members that september 23 As sickle cell disease awareness month and throughout the city of columbia midlands area south carolina And encourage all its citizens to work together to ways raise public awareness of the treatment options prevention services available to our citizens Who suffer or at risk at suffering from sickle cell? And I encourage all of our citizens to continue to work and support groups volunteers Agencies and those folks who are willing to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to take advantage of the services that are available to them Every day that we work together the fight we can stop Or help try to prevent and our goal is to stop it But for now we're going to try to prevent sickle cell with that i'm going to turn the floor over who's going first As deputy director of the james r. Clark memorial sickle cell foundation Our applaud our honorable mayor ripperman is staff and members of city council for recognizing september as national sickle cell disease awareness month Our theme for this month's awareness campaign is choices not chances Know your sickle cell trait status It is estimated annually that three million individuals in the united states are affected by sickle cell trait Which includes one in 10 to 13 african americans One in 1600 hispanics and one in 2600 caucasians Living with sickle cell disease includes the risk of increased morbidity And a lifelong prognosis of periodically painful and prolonged episodes known as pain crises Represented here this evening are two parents who lost who know the loss of this chronic illness. Ms. Harriet hayward Lost her son dr. Carlton hayward a nationally renowned professor in the division of hematology at john hopson school of medicine Ms. Laura grant lost her daughter rena grant who served as director of legislation Ways and means committee for the south carolina house of representatives also We have with us tonight a sickle cell warrior mr. Mario jinkins a warrior Living daily with sickle cell disease volunteer and hospital services manager at the american red cross Each september the annual dr. James r. Clark sickle cell walk is held to honor children families and adults who live daily with sickle cell disease And to honor those we have lost The 17th annual walk will be held on saturday september 30th at martin luther king park On site registration begins at 7 30 a.m. Open in ceremony eight o'clock a.m Participants can register as strictly running calm or download a registration packet at james r. Clark sickle cell dot or The annual walk was envisioned by Peggy ron in honor of her daughter carlivia Proceeds from the walk benefit our scholarship fund of which 38 scholarships have been awarded since the walk inception in 2005 The foundation has had the support of numerous community advocates to serve as walk ambassadors Including the honorable former mayor steve benjamin the honorable former counsel woman Tamika is a divine and our temp year walk ambassador Sheriff lia lot who could not be here this evening, but is represented by his officers We are honored this year to have another community champion mr. Don fireson the host of the iconic Noonday radio broadcast Come on up here don That we all know as the urgency with wgcv radio Mr. Farrison through his broadcast has advocated and supported the mission of the james r. Clark foundation And assisted us in educating the public in regards to sickle cell disease We also collaborate and partner closely with grassroots sickle cell organizations such as the be strong group Dray 365 faith elevated And institutions that help with the treatment of sickle cell like the american red cross and apprisma health infusion center Our foundation serves the state additionally through three satellite offices in sumter floris and lancaster county And with the valuable assistance of our community health workers who are also present here this evening We ask the public to come out and join us on saturday september 30th 7 38 y.m As we take steps to break the sickle cell cycle one step at a time I just want to say it's an honor to be selected to be this year's walk ambassador And it's an honor to appear before you many of you have been on my program doctor bustles councilman mcdowell may recommend It's her but and maybe I can get the rest of you before you But again, it's an honor to be here and I look forward to the walk And I know it's going to be a big success on behalf of those who have sickle cell anemia. Thank you. Thank you Okay, item three My sisters of junior league are here the junior league of colombia 100 acts of service week proclamation the honorable daniel j recommend mayor Junior league of colombia's hundred acts of service proclamation week the junior league of colombia established In 1924 by miss kathryn heath manning Was committed to advancing women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action Collaboration and training collaboration a key word that we're having to continue to work on together as a community to improve ourselves The junior league of colombia promotes volunteerism and improves communities by providing a variety of avenues For our members to become involved and make a positive impact throughout the midlands community and its schools The junior league of colombia began with a group of 10 women and has grown to a membership of almost 1500 The junior league of colombia's membership gives countless hours back to the community through volunteerism While also giving members nearly 500 hours of leadership training on an annual basis The junior league of colombia has been involved with numerous projects and programs supporting children and women as well as helping to establish new Community organizations that have had a lasting impact and work to improve the well-being of children and families in the midlands The junior league of colombia welcomes all women who value our mission We are committed to the inclusion of environments of individuals organizations and communities The junior league of colombia celebrates its centennial league year beginning september 23rd Through may 24th honoring the rich history of lasting leadership In honor of its celebratory year The junior league of colombia will execute 100 acts of service from october 2nd Through october 12th 2023 completing 100 various community projects that focus on women children Alongside of some of the league's historic partners The league will host a milestone lunch in march 6 2024 that will serve to reminder the league of city's commitment to service and leadership It will also consist of a panel of league members Who have had an impact in the community moderated by the association of league junior leagues international president The celebratory year will conclude with a black tie gala on april 13th 2024 hosted by at the colombia museum of art an institution that the league has been heavily involved with since its conception The event will highlight the achievements of the last hundred years The celebratory year and the look forward to the next hundred years So i daniel j rickhamon mayor of colombia along with my fellow council members here to bribe reclaim City honors and recognizes october 2nd through 12th the junior league of colombia's hundred acts of service week In the city of colombia y'all give them a hand for what they're doing Which one of you We have so many speakers here We just wanted to say thank you mayor rickhamon and thank you city council members I'm emily beatenbaugh and it's my privilege to serve as the junior league of colombia president for our 2023 2024 Centennial celebration year And we have some of our illustrious members with us here today But i'll say thank you for all those promotions. You just promoted all of our events so nicely I hope that you'll all consider joining us for a year of celebration and service and Just as you said we began a hundred years ago with one very instrumental woman kathryn heath manning Who helped start all of this work and set it into motion and now A hundred years later with 1500 members were just so delighted to continue making an impact because While we keep changing what's at our core service and leadership, and we thank you so much Well anybody who wants to learn more about what they're doing check their website out Or you can go to my podcast and hear the former madam president and our current president talk about all the Activities and and hours and what they've done in our school in our community. It's pretty amazing What you have done a group and how you've grown i mean topping it out I think that's the biggest Enrollment you've ever had if i remember correctly actually having to think about looking for new space So isn't that a great thing for y'all but with that i'd love to present this proclamation to you all I am okay At this time we would ask for council to consider the consent agenda items 4 through 19 Mr. Mayor second got a motion a second any changes comments questions Mr. Mayor Yes, I just wanted to say how excited i am for item number 10 As we are moving forward with funding our gateway signage For the public something that we've talked about for some time now is how we'd like to have welcome to columbia signs and our major gateways It was something that I asked very early on when coming into office as to what we can do to boost pride and To see that come to life is very exciting and looking forward to the designs and getting those up around our city Yes I can hear you I mean, I can hear you. I don't I don't know that it's working that button press some council woman It is I know i'll say it was there. Yeah Don't laugh robert But I wasn't y'all didn't realize the clerk she's a mechanical engineer She knows what Okay, thank you, miss madame clerk So we have motion in a second. Yes, madame park. Did you read the role? Yes, sir. Mr. Brown. Mr. Herbert Dr. Bustle. Hi, mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Mr. Duvall. All right, mayor rickamon. Hi Item 20 is a zoning planning matter for second reading An annexation future land use map amendment and zoning map amendment for 9.1 acre portion and uh 15.4 acre portion and a one acre portion of 300 climson road as well as a 3.9 acre portion of 200 climson road in Richland county Is there a motion? So moved Is there a second? Second Got a motion in a second any comments or questions? Hearing none seeing none madame clerk Mr. Brown. Ms. Herbert. Dr. Bustle. Hi, mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall Mayor rickamon. No Item 21 a zoning map amendment confirmation for 800 dutch square boulevard I Move approval Motion in a second Any comments questions? I know that we were getting some more information. Ms. Hampton was all of that clarified from dr. Cotton Numerous conversations with him. I'm I can't Confirm whether he's supportive, but we have clarified the information for him Mr. Hampton, excuse me. Is that item 21 and 22? Correct. Yes. One is to confirm the zoning and the other is the land use. All right Any other questions? Hearing none seeing them madame clerk. Did you read the roll mr. Brown? Ms. Herbert. Dr. Bustle's mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall Mayor rickamon For clarification mayor was the vote for 21 and just 21. Thank you Item 22 the related matter the future land use map amendment confirmation for 800 dutch square boulevard I move approval second got a motion in a second any questions comments? Hearing none seeing none madame clerk. Could you read the roll mr. Brown mr. Herbert I Dr. Bustle's no Mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall. Mayor rickamon Ordinance is first reading item 23 ordinance number 2023 102 granting an encroachment to five points association for the use of the right of way areas of the 700 block of Hardin street And the 700 block of soluta avenue for the installation and maintenance of a steel statue adjacent to 727 harden There's a motion in a second any questions comments concerns I think we've all heard about this so with that madame clerk. Did you read the roll? Mr. Brown. Ms. Herbert. Dr. Bustle's Hi, mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Mr. Duvall Mayor rickamon Item 24 ordinance number 2023 103 granting an encroachment to jays bar and grill for the use of the right of way area Of the 900 block of gerbet street for the installation and maintenance Of an accessory building for the adjoining business adjacent to 902 gerbet street suite app Is there a motion? I move we deny the request there a second second a motion and a second any comments questions or concerns Hearing none seeing none madame clerk There's not a comment period at this point the comment period was in the beginning for any item on the agenda You can speak after Yes, sir, no worse Do we have a motion in a second? Yes, sir Mr. Brown. Ms. Herbert I Dr. Bustle's Yes to denial Mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall. Mayor rickamon. Thank you Item 25 ordinance number 2023 109 a 16th supplemental ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of city of columbia south carolina waterworks and sewer system revenue bonds In one or more series in the aggregate principal amount of not exceeding $155 million in order to refinance certain outstanding indebtedness second Madam City manager, could you go ahead and finish reading? I think it's important when we're discussing the type of money that people understand Uh, it's the refinancing and other ports if you go ahead and finish and then we'll take a vote Certainly again to refinance certain outstanding indebtedness and to finance various capital projects and improvements to the system Any necessary debt service reserves capitalized interest and issuance costs Authorizing the mayor the city manager and the assistant city manager for finance and economic services Or any two of them acting together to determine certain matters with respect to the bonds Prescribing the form and details of such bonds and other matters relating thereto The attorney's estimated cost of issuance is listed Listed out co bond councils being and tax council burke foreman Along with the co bond council johnson told the teeth and the co underwriters councils Both park repose and starts the law So move mr. Mayor again We have a motion and a second any Comments questions. I know this is uh, so we continue to bite off our Our commitments to the capital program ensuring we have Our water and wastewater taken care of and we continue to do the projects under an epi epa direction Um, I want to thank everybody for their work and getting this completed so we can move forward And with that madame clerk, could you read the roll? Mr. Brown Miss herbert dr. Bussell's eyes to burn it. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall American item 26 ordinance number 2023 1 1 1 amending the 1998 code of ordinances of the city of columbia south Carolina chapter 5 Buildings and buildings regulations article 9 short-term rentals section 5402 short-term rental regulations section 5404 And short-term rental permit application and fees and section 5 4 10 enforcement and penalties I move approval second Not a motion and a second any comments or questions I know that this is continuing to evolve as we continue to get things Straightened out and moving forward that madame clerk. Did you read the roll? Mr. Brown? Miss herbert dr. Bussell's eyes mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall. May I recommend? Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir as a matter of interest I ask david how many have been registered so far and we're right at the 200 mark Wednesday cut off today, I think Okay So that that means that the majority of these are hunt owner occupied Correct Well, it means we probably have another 300 that aren't registered These would include both home Owner-occupied and not owner-occupied I didn't think yeah all right Moving into a public hearing and ordinance first reading item 27 ordinance number 2023 097 amending the 1998 code of ordinances of the city of columbia south, terlina Chapter 24 vehicles for hire article 4 wrecker and towing services section 24 215 towing and storage charges Is there anybody here to speak? for or against Or have any comment on the towing and storage charges? Mr. Mayor will we have an opportunity to hear from uh, mr. Anderson? Yes, sir. Okay Thank you mayor and council. I'll make this fairly brief. Uh, we have not had a rate increase in the last 12 years So when we looked around at our cpi and the cost of fuel we actually came up with some numbers We don't come up these Easily we actually call around to casey west columbia laxington and the highway patrol The highway patrol is a little over 300 dollars. We actually never go to their rates and the two or three times we've raised them that Since i've been in charge We always stay under their rates because the record companies have to travel farther and go to a different area So what we're actually proposing is the accident rate was 160 We're proposing 225 for an accident Parking was 125 we're proposing 175 for parking toes A parking drop which everybody under was a little confused about Is when you pull up and there's a parking ticket and the person actually takes care of those parking tickets on the spot It used to be $50 now It's going to be $100 and the storage charges will be 25 from $25 a day to $35 a day I I know that we We haven't had a rate increase in 12 years. Is there a way to stagger that up a little bit? I mean, that's a pretty hefty jump at one time On the maximum, can you do it over a two-year period to just Ease it in for folks and then the other thing I would ask is part of the Ordinance, I don't know if this can be done before second reading Miss Knox but one of the the the issues that I have and it's a constant issue is is that We're helping the tow. We've created an opportunity where we have a rotating tow system We still are getting a lot of debris left on the roadsides and I'm not talking about You know little pieces of glass. I'm talking about front end of cars and things being left in the medians and somewhere else What what can we do to work with the tow operators to make sure that that Material is being picked up like it's supposed to be part of their contract and having the franchise here So I have sent a letter out to those companies What we'll do is we'll work with Chief Holbrook and Columbia police department and making sure that their officers are aware that if the car is towed from the site The record companies are required to clean 100 of it up It's just mr. Mayor. Yes, sir in our industry. What we do is we we document everything with photos So I would recommend that the towing service for a fee of 225 dollars could document that They have they are compliant. They're compliant and haven't left half the car on the side of the road Yeah, it ends up we end up having to send public works and other folks to go pick up those things that are left in the medians and on the side of the road and I've noticed a collection starting over there on laurel street by the railroad tracks right behind Um The dental clinic there Robin, I do want to miss anison. I do want to say this That has not been an increase for towing service in a number of years This moves us in a way that would at least equal fire I mean gives us give the towing companies Some idea and some leveraging. So thank you for bringing this before us Bob, go ahead. Are we are we talking about mr. Mayor? Perhaps we're looking at 225 or you are you asking that we do this Over a period of time Yes, I'd like to do it over a two-year period do 50 percent increase and then the next 50 percent I think that's fair for the public I think it's a big jump and it's not their fault that we haven't increased over a period of time But I do think it's a pretty significant for somebody to jump from 160 to 225 So if we do 50 of the 225 What are we looking at robert? It'd be 50 percent of 65 dollars. So we probably split that somehow and 61 year and something else the next year Mayor and yes just for consideration. I was just speaking with legal To see if there's some specific language that could be added Going back specifically to the cleanup requirement and reiterating it and I did have a question if the amount is changed Um Do we need to post defer this get it cleaned up and bring it back With those numbers with the exact numbers for the public hearing we can have the public hearing tonight right Since we've had the hearing we're talking about what the the numbers are and then just have the readings afterwards I think like the final numbers have to be yeah, but this is the maximum So if you're going below that number you don't have to repost that if you're doing it over a period of time correct So so we can have finished the public hearing tonight Redo the documents do our first vote at our next meeting that shows it over the two year period And that will keep us in compliance And I just want to make sure that staff looks at adding the additional language that addresses the making sure that the records Understand the the responsibility of cleaning up Well, the length if we're including that type language is the intention To have something punitive punitive attached to not cleaning it up I don't know enough about what the What what that statute comes from that says that they are responsible So that's what I want it. I believe we have to bring that up My question was and it really has to be brought up with the franchise agreement Which may need to be updated because I don't believe it calls for a penalty But there's when it's not picked up It's an added cost for us to go have to pick it up And take somebody off a route or somewhere to go get that So can we look at that with the franchise and bring that back in a separate just to keep this very clean? Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. Mr. Mayor prior to the covid break We were looking at a remodeling of the towing ordinance of the city of columbia And chief holbrook and I have had some come preliminary conversation about A review of our towing ordinance. We were waiting on the city manager to return to duty But now that she's returned to duty, we might be able to have that conversation Would you like to have public hearing tonight and refer it to public safety to to work on? Well, since this is just a fee ordinance, I'd say we would have the public hearing We moved this forward On to the other but we bring the franchise and bring it to the committee Okay, to work through make those changes updated and then bring that back so it keeps it clear Now that's all inclusive of these cleanup That's all right the cleanup document is currently In the ordinance in the franchise. It's it's in the ordinance really not a franchise. It's actually in ordinance It's in city ordinance. So it's in section 24 So it's actually in there that if the towing company tows the car away They're required to clean up a hundred percent of the debris to include sweeping up glass, etc out of the street If the car is not towed away Then, you know, that's where some of the issues are but it doesn't address Penalties right it does not address penalties. So I think I think we take that ordinance Franchise order however you want to state it Send that to the public safety commission today committee today And then allow them to to work with staff to clean that up and we'll move forward on this And the emotion would be that I would move that we adopt this and Take the increased fee and split it over a two-year cycle And that would be my motion And to clarify just to make sure that we're clarified that's the towing maximum that's the All the fees but the storage the storage should stay at 35 The storage should say 35. Yes Let's just make sure that when it gets to public safety, we are clear about that two-year variance Whether it's 225 over two years. This isn't going to the committee. That's not going to the committee. No, sir This is moving forward. We'll have this on our next agenda to vote on All right The ordinance that the roberts referring to that sets up the trend Basically, it works like a franchise and we alternate with the towing companies That will allow us then to update that document, which is I think it been talked about a couple years ago And just with everything going on. We haven't done it. So we'd like to go ahead and do that So public safety then does not have anything reasonably to do Reference in this. No, sir. Well, there will be there'll be a penalty fee probably involved in that. Yes, sir, but we look okay Thank you, sir. Thank you. Is there anyone to speak on this? I don't see or see anybody so with that madame clerk um, I had a motion on the floor that we adopt ordinance 2023 097 with the following amendment to it that the towing maximum charge the maximum charge for parking violation abandonment um the vehicle release um for uh vehicle being towed if he pays their fees and the maximum charge per hour She'll she'll be increased to its maximum of 225 175 100 175 over a two-year period Is there a second second? Any other questions concerns Hearing none seeing none madame clerk could you read the roll? Mr. Brown. All right. Ms. Herbert and dr. Bussell. Hi, mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Mr. Duvall Mayor recommend. Hi. Thank you Mr. Mayor will you make that referral during that period during during our time? Yes, ma'am. Thank you Resolutions item 28 resolution number r 2023 062 authorizing the city manager to execute a memorandum of understanding between the city of colombia and city of west colombia the new pedestrian bridge over the saluta river and a new 30 inch sewer force main for the saluta river force main extension project Is there a motion to move there's a second Any discussion? Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. Mr. Duvall I'm I'm gonna vote no on this particular ordinance because I think this is a scenic part of the saluta river I have had good conversation with Mr. Shealy would call me water and I'm hoping that we can come up with a A better Location for this bridge, but in order to show My interest in that making sure it is a better location. I'm going to vote no on this particular And mr. Mayor, I I just wanted to reiterate that With this that conversations would continue to identify the appropriate location that Council is comfortable with but that simply this is just authorizing an agreement with west columbia. Is that correct? Okay Any other All right, um, is there a motion second Second I have a motion and a second madam clerk. Could you read the roll? Mr. Brown. All right, mr. Herbert. Dr. Bussell's I mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell mr. Duvall Mayor recommend by Item 29 resolution number r 2023 065 authorizing change of signatures on financial accounts Their motion My understanding is that we never We've obviously moved forward. We have a new finance director Reverend McDowell and so just it's just a formality where we needed to come back and officially change Christine Gattara as the new finance director. Thank you, ma'am So We had a motion. Was there a second second? We have a second madam clerk. Could you read the roll? You didn't get it. I thought we had an original motion. Was there no motion? You got a motion. Is there a second second motion in a second? Madam clerk, could you read the roll? Thank you, sir. Mr. Brown Mr. Herbert. Dr. Bussell. I mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall Mayor recommend I thank you Item 30 resolution number r 2020 3 0 7 4 Authorizing the city manager to execute an agreement between the city of colombia and the midlands housing alliance motion to approve So we have a motion second in a second Any further discussion? I just wanted to note that I appreciate all of our partners And their hard work and their presentations at the health social and environmental affairs committee so the next series of resolutions we're seeing are Coming out of that in terms of furthering our work around rapid shelter colombia and The uncheltered population ready. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Brown Miss harbert. Hi, dr. Bussell. Hi, mr. Brennan. Mr. McDowell. Mr. Duvall. May I recommend I thank you Item 31 resolution number r 2020 3 0 7 5 Authorizing the city manager to execute a contract for professional services between the city of colombia and lexington richland alcohol and drug abuse council A motion is there a second second Any discussion Seeing none hearing none. Madam clerk. Could you read the roll? Mr. Brown. All right, mr. Herbert Dr. Bussell. Hi, mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Mr. Duvall. I may recommend I Item 32 resolution number 2023 076 authorizing the city manager to execute a contract for professional services between the city of colombia and the salvation army motion to approve Second got a motion in a second any further discussion or questions Seeing none hearing none. Madam clerk Read the roll. Mr. Brown. Hi, mr. Herbert. Hi, dr. Bussell. Hi, mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall. I may recommend I Item 33 resolution number r 2020 3 0 7 7 Ratifying and authorizing the city manager to execute a contract for professional services between the city of colombia and the midlands Housing alliance ink for rapid shelter colombia We have a motion in a second any further discussion Seeing none hearing none. Madam clerk. Could you read the roll? Mr. Brown. All right, mr. Herbert. Dr. Bussells Mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall. I may recommend I Item 34 resolution number r 2020 3 0 7 8 authorizing the city manager to execute a contract for professional services between the city of colombia and rainy day motion to approve second Madam city manager You began that and said rainy day. I just want to be clear that this for the housing first program, correct? Um No, sir, it's the rainy day. It's a it's another organization called the rainy day fund It's a new partnership this year to help provides additional wraparound sure I heard it correctly It's not for our rate. It's the organization is called rainy day fund. Yeah, I knew that I just um I wanted to make sure that I had that correct Thank you, mr. Mayor for clarification dr. Bussells for the clarification. Is there a motion Have a motion got a second. Yes, sir. Then any further discussion Madam clerk Mr. Brown. All right, mr. Herbert. Hi dr. Bussells. Hi mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell Mr. Duvall. All right, may I recommend I? an item 35 resolution number r 2023 0 8 0 authorizing the city manager to execute professional services agreement for the housing first program between the city of colombia and the university of south carolina for fiscal year 2023 2024 Is there a motion motion? There a second second any further discussion? Seeing none hearing none. Madam clerk. Could you read the roll mr. Brown? Mr. Herbert. Hi dr. Bussell. Hi mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Mr. Duvall. All right, may I recommend I? Event resolutions item 36 resolution number r 2023 0 6 6 authorizing consumption of beer and wine only at the opening season party in the 1,000 block of sumter street between senate street and pendleton street on friday september the 8th 2023 Is there a motion? I'll move approval. Second. We have motion and second any further discussion Uh, that is this weekend for those who are planning to attend Without madam clerk. Could you read the roll? Mr. Brown. Ms. Herbert. Dr. Bussell. Hi mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Mr. Duvall Hi, may I recommend I? Item 37 resolution number r 2023 0 7 1 authorizing consumption of beer and wine only within boy plaza adjacent to the colombia museum of art for arts and draws on friday november 10 2023 Is there a motion? Move approval. Is there a second? Second motion and second any further discussion? Seeing none hearing none. Madam clerk. Could you read the roll? Mr. Brown. All right. Ms. Herbert. Hi. Dr. Bussell. Hi mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Mr. Duvall. All right, may I recommend I? Moving into a period of city council committee referrals reports and new business item 38 council is asked to refer proposed revisions to chapter 14 Article 4 section 14 108 discharge of fireworks to the public safety committee as requested by the honorable William Brennan Motion to approve second Any further discussion? Yes, mr. Mayor This came up from several neighborhood meetings Looking to line up the times between the county and the city. We have very very similar Firework ordinances that came online this year As you know, there's a lot of donut holes not only in district three, but all the districts So taking a look to see if we can't time up the the The hours to to set off fireworks and I know dr. Bussell has also had something to add to that as well Yeah, so lexington county is also looking at mirroring richland county's ordinance with the exception of including an additional holiday Of the volley and so the governor will be doing something in the city limits for the volley Which is the indian festival of lights where there will be fireworks and so i'm requesting public safety to consider Adding that as an exception to mirror lexington county's as well When when madame clark for the public when would that needing be The meeting will be on september 26 at 1 p.m Okay All right with that madame clark. Could you read the roll? Yes, sir. Mr. Brown Mr. Herbert dr. Bussell mr. Brennan. Yes mr. McDowell mr. Duvall may recommend I I also would like to refer to the public safety commission committee excuse me The towing ordinance and there it's requirements and bringing it up to today's standards to include the cleanup as well and possible penalties for repeat offenders On that, um, I know it's been quite a while since we've had that And so if public safety along with the police department and public works could work together on that I would appreciate that And that's my motion. Is there a second second a motion a second any further discussion? Seeing none hearing none madame clark. Could you read the roll mr. Brown? Mr. Herbert dr. Bussell I mr. Brennan. Yes mr. McDowell mr. Duvall may recommend Yes, sir, mr. Mayor You're never too learned Never too old to learn new things and I learned something new in the last few days. We have a group of trees in the city of columbia call boundary trees And I never had to use that term before boundary trees But there are trees in columbia that are right on the right-of-way line Some of it might be in a person's yard. Some of it might be on the city's right-of-way And the policy of the city right now is that If the tree limb is over the Right-of-way we take care of if the tree limb is over the personal property. It's up to the landowner I want to send this to the environmental committee to look at that policy To see if we can't make an exception to say that if the tree is half owned By the city it ought to be considered a city tree And so we would take care of boundary trees that have become a problem About whose responsibility certain things are Howard let me ask you this are those trees you could almost say in the right-of-way Well, they're partially in the right-of-way if you do that there are roots Of course that runs both ways, of course Well, we'll take care of the roots too as we take care of the limbs, but I think we need to have a policy on Personally, I would like to see the the city say that if it is a boundary tree It is a city tree rather than saying Well that limb that fell on your car is your your limb not our limb It it just needs to be studied by the environmental committee. So I'd like to talk about both sides and then Both sides So that's a committee. Yes, send that to the environmental committee. We're all on that committee. So we can continue that Motion is there a second? second Motion a second madam clerk. Could you read the roll? Mr. Brown? Mr. Herbert. Hi dr. Bustle. Hi mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall May I recommend and also when will that meeting be for the public's also on september 26th at 11 a.m It's 11 a.m. I'd like to refer any subsequent updates and public information around the gateway project to the economic development and infrastructure committee And I'll make that motion. All right Motion is there a second? The motion is second Any further discussion? Hearing none seen up Matt Clark, could you read the roll? Dr. Bustle. Hi, mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell. Yes, mr. Duvall. All right, may I recommend? All right, and that meeting will be september 26th at what time? At 11 a.m. Oh public. Um, I'm sorry ediana Next week. All right. It's next week Okay, so the 12th September 12th at 1 p.m We were on the 26th there for a minute. So I want to keep up with it. All right, great. Thank you any other referrals any other business Madam city manager I think the are the breast cancer t-shirts ever they I've got hit with a lot of stuff today when I came back here So are the breasts this today the last day for the t-shirts? Just the don't y'all make a plug Yes, t-shirts are on sale as the mayor advertised you buy three You get a breakfast ticket for free Sales actually ended on friday, but if you can see me buy tomorrow With 20 dollars for a short sleeve shirt and 25 dollars for a long sleeve shirt. I will accept your order Why don't we just extend it to this friday? Well, we we're talking about thursday But if you put that out there then people won't get you their money until next week That's all that's important. We're not selling t-shirts on thursday and getting paid on tuesday. All right Let's let's make sure we get it. All I know is I bought six shirts and no one brought up the free breakfast ticket All girls at home five five long sleeve shirts and one short sleeve for me Thank you. Thank you miss wilson and thank you all for your support. You did. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am Thank you for the reminder With that madame clark. We're at that time for public input Absolutely, sir. We have several individuals that have signed up to speak regarding Concerns with homeless services We will remind speakers that as they are called that they have three minutes up to three minutes to appear before the council Thank you. Have this time sir. We would like to call Before we get to those individuals we have saved our kids mr. Lee carol Mr. Carol I talked to him. He is giving me the information. He's looking for and he's he's so you can cross him off Well, thank you. Yes, ma'am. All right. So next. Yes Next we have mr. Chase oliver Thank you for allowing me to speak here today I'm speaking on behalf of erica brown and her organization be kind be great Who does lots of work helping with direct action to feed the homeless and unhoused here in columbia, south carolina The reason why I want to speak out is because I've been hearing that there is You know ordinances and things that get in the way of people being able to feed in the homeless And I think that you as elected official should be charged with removing those ordinances People to serve those in need in columbia And it's not just an issue here in columbia, but this is an issue for city councils all over the country I'm a person of faith and so I'd like to read a little bit from proverbs proverbs 1431 Says whoever oppresses a poor man insults his maker But he who is generous to the needy honors him and that's what erica brown does every single week in the city of columbia She feeds hundreds of people. She's done this She served thousands of meals to people who otherwise would go hungry without And so it's a testament to the work that she is doing in the testament to what direct action can do in communities Just like columbia, south carolina change begins the grassroots and that involves activists who get out there and do the work that we Ignore too often people walk past those who are unhoused And ignore their plight ignore their need Erica brown does not do that and so the city of columbia should be doing everything they can to support her Organizations support the work. She does and not get in the way of it Reading from proverbs again proverbs 28 27 says whoever gives the poor will not want but he who eyes his eyes will get many a curse That should be a warning to each and every one of you who hold positions of power and are able to make a difference Is that if you do not help these people that's a curse upon you That's not a curse upon the word that she does I want each and every one of you to think really hard about how you can help Direct action your own community here in columbia south carolina and again This is not just an issue in this city. This is an issue in cities all over the country But we need to be helping those who need help and we need to get out of the way of those who are doing good to Do good in their community that is exactly what the purpose of city government is to do is to help task those community members Wanting to do good in their community. It is your job to help them do that And to engage in ways that do that productively Erica leaves the city the scene better off and cleaner than was when she left And when she does that with having hundreds of people having full bellies for the first time in a few days That's something that we should really be thinking about Why can't the cities across the country help people help people Direct action is the best way for us as citizens to have a direct result and to be members of our community Being a member of a community is all about helping those in need Reaching out to those who need it and being somebody who's going to be a light to their community Erica brown does exactly that and we need to support her work and the work of other people in the community who do that kind of thing I would remind you we just said we're celebrating sickle cell anemium sickle cell disease month Those who suffer from sickle cell disease are actually made worse and their outcomes are made worse through malnourishment So there are people on the street who may be suffering from sickle cell disease Who are made worse when people like erica aren't allowed to do the work they want to do Lastly, I would say peace love and liberty each and every person and make sure we remember to help our fellow man Thank you. Mr. Oliver, where are you from? I am from Atlanta, Georgia I just just for your etiquette for your process is that we don't have an ordinance that prevents miss brown from serving The homeless and we've offered up a spot that has bathrooms and everything else to help help folks We also just voted on over a million dollars worth of services to help done sheltered and we propped up A rapid shelter we've done a lot and so I would encourage you to look to see what we've done And not just come on an issue that you got an email about that's not that's not telling you the 100% of the truth And I just encourage you to do that We're not perfect and we always want to learn and we always want to have things Their thing but to come and tell us in our community that we're doing something that we're not doing is that that's not truthful And i'm sorry that you made that three three hour drive to come here It's not the first time I've made the drive out here. I've actually helped serve people out here The area where she serves is the area where people are the area where you're offering is not where people are It's not the best place to serve people. We're also not preventing her from doing that. Yeah She has not received a citation or anything Mr. Mayor She has not I just wanted to add for the record and I guess because we do have some guests here and sometimes it is hard to Understand our agendas, but we just approved a ton of money For homeless services tonight and just for those who may not have recognized it if you all want to look at it Look at item number 30 item number 31 item number 32 item number 33 Item number 34 and item number 35 and if you all want the dollar amounts We can give you those but the contracts are in the agenda But that's the money that we just approved tonight while y'all are sitting here for homeless services. Thanks Thank you next mayor. We have mr. Jason lion. Mr. Mayor. Could we just have everybody As they come up tell us where they're from where they live. Thank you Hi, my name is Jason lion. I live in greenville, but I come down here monthly. I've been down here monthly for What five years So about for about five years. I've been down here. We do business meetings a lot down here I've been down here with erico would be kind be great. I've been down here with plenty of organizations Now last time we were here I know we said that we were going to share this out with millions of people and some of you may have snickered and that's fine Some of you call this ignorant. You guys call this carpet baggers Basically saying that because we're from the out of the area We don't care and I like that that was brought up really quickly in this But i'm gonna i'm gonna be the bigger person and not really worry about those things I want to actually talk to you about what we've been doing in the last couple weeks Because in the last couple weeks. I've been walking down into cotton town. I've been walking down I've been talking to businesses. I've been talking to the residents I've been talking to people who work and live in cotton town right there right next to 24 one main street at christ central And talking with them. They all had the same a lot of them had the same concerns They had concerns that they felt like they were being neglected by city council They felt like they were being neglected by the mayor They felt like anytime that they would bring up concerns. They weren't bringing in the metrics that would garner them the protections or the Whatever services that they were looking from you guys But then to hear that when they requested yellow jackets or police forces and security To hear that you guys were trying to create a program that you declared on on the last meeting That you would bring more people to this area now Last federal data had about a thousand people almost a thousand people in the city of columbia that were couch surfing Living in motels or homeless So with a thousand people if you're looking to bring more people to that I know that you guys have addressed a little bit of the funding issues And i'm i'm glad you guys are proud of yourselves on the back for spending more money but there's the issue of Something that you guys have been addressing in some of the Probably hundreds of emails you guys have been receiving And that is that you guys are saying this is not required for people to go and serve at christ central Except for two weeks ago the group They call themselves the jamaicans were ran off by police. They were harassed by police and told You know, you've got to go over to christ central 24 01 main street go on over there. That's where you can serve And so there's another group that has been talked to by the police and told you're not really welcome to do this out here Also on top of that the mayor had in news articles where he had quote We're going to look at an ordinance that prohibits people except in permitted spots because the reality is we can't keep doing this So mr. Mayor, I would like to ask you which mayor do we have today? Do we have the mayor that says that we We are going to have a permit or we're going to have a process for people to have to go there Or are we going to allow people to do good things and to help one another and I believe the word was look right? So we've been looking at ordinances and we're looking at options But we're not moving forward. We listen to a lot of people who spoke up here on the situation and I will tell you, you know I We're doing a lot in this community for the unsheltered and you know, I find it very interesting that everybody comes up here and tells us and The videos that were shared from the council meeting last time showed little blips It was convenience for the message that was being sent But actually didn't tell the whole truth since we told before the meeting Started that we weren't charging anybody that we were trying to provide a place that had bathrooms Which most of the feeding areas don't we a dining room a kitchen And also the cleanup is not just at the spot It's what the trash that's left and other people's parking lots and their businesses and the defecation and all that So trying to work together to come up with common solutions So far everybody's telling us what we're not doing, but they're not giving us any solutions to do it I will tell you Since we've been here this council has worked harder and harder to provide compassionate help for the homeless And the residents are reaching out to us and the businesses are reaching out to us Because of the concerns with people just having pop-up feedings So I will tell you there is no you can play the words and we can share videos and we can do all that But the reality is is that we all are trying to come to the table to make sure that people are getting Compassionate care not everybody agrees with the same path But what we've been doing for the last several years isn't working. So trying something new is not a crime It's a good idea I agree with it. It's a good idea to try new ideas I I disagree with the idea that we're going to have to funnel people into that whether that is Stated now or if you're going to work in that process, but I have if it's gonna work But we're gonna try it so at least in the people who have gone and done it so far have had a good result They've had people that have been had who were in air conditioning Area when it's hot they had a bathroom to use they were able to use a kitchen to make sure that they provide The meal that's healthy and safe to serve. So I don't think it's a bad idea I think it's so far. We haven't passed anything. We haven't put anything on our agenda So let's let's not tell the world that we're doing something that we're not doing because that's what y'all've done so far And I don't think that's I don't I don't believe sir. I don't believe your intention But that's what y'all are doing No, I think that we're using your guys's terms because the terms have been used That's an attractive nuisance in order to bring homeless people to one centralized location It's an attractive nuisance. That's what the label was So when you do that for the people of cotton town now, these are 30 signatures right now just from a short I think it was probably about four hours of walking to different businesses All within a stone's throw from christ central They don't think that they should be the the attractive nuisance Did you go to all the places around where you where you've been helping feed and asking those businesses what they thought I will do that. I will do that for you. Thank you, mr. Helian. Next we have mr. Thomas Hill Good to see you again. Thomas hill from north carolina. I ask you one thing just Let me finish and I'll you can say what you'd like I would not like to be interrupted. Thank you And just in good fun. I have to mention a certain football game the other night I was expecting a sandstorm to hit charlotte And I was expecting the real carolina to have to fight in the shade But anyway, they ended up kicking sand, but uh, y'all in good fun Um, Spencer radler. He's a he's he's a uh He's a hard fighter and I give south carolina credit But I gotta pick, you know in all good fun because we're all neighbors here But I want to deal in some facts Um Speaking of sand Oathbreakers can pay on sand. I mean that seriously And this is something that has happened that has not really been addressed If you'll bear with me The officers who harassed erica brown and that was back in may In that moment were not police officers. They were oath breakers That's always the point that seems to be missed whether it's here to gas sonia north carolina wherever I advocate for the unhoused and the addicted The city council has always pivoted away from oath breaking and want to concentrate on all the good that y'all are doing That's not the reason why we're here We showed up because a good person's civil rights were violated on that day back in may Now I was raised to be a southern gentleman The officers who ticketed eric and kept her from feeding hungry mouths Were they practicing southern hospitality? Hospitality would have been served better by asking erica ma'am How can I help you? think about it Because there was a failure that day in may and that has not been acknowledged So my knowledge has not been an apology made to her and speaking of apologies mr. Deval At the last meeting when you suggested to erica that she changed the focus of her ministry Sir, I sincerely do not believe you Realize how tasteless and tackless that was Anyone more especially a government official who puts themselves between a sovereign child of god and their creator Well, the nicest thing I can do is suggest is you to apologize to her right now. Will you will you do that? You're speaking. Okay. Thank you If yes, I say thank you for doing the right thing but sadly if no Kindly go pound saying Despite my constitutional criticisms. I still choose to believe that you are Truly good and fine people the political game very rarely incentivizes Adhering to principles and good people can sometimes fall into bad habits My friends and I are here to encourage you to do away with these bad habits without developing new ones peace out Pastor moses colbert Good afternoon council mayor. Good evening. My pleasure. I'm so happy to be here today. I was here a few weeks ago and um, and I um have a passion for those that are in need and my Position on this is I would like to create some kind of coalition with some of the pastors local pastors and some of the other Necessities that we may be able to address this homeless issue I'm some of us some of the people feed one day a week some feed Five days a week, but I believe the homeless are hungry every day. So In gastonia, we feed every day, you know, and we've had we've faced a lot of opposition for doing that But I believe that you guys on the right side of this I believe you have the right heart for it and I just was hoping if is it it all possible That we could create some kind of alliance some kind of partnership To where we can address this issue to where it's going to better serve our homeless people and And not violate the businesses that that I hear about the defecation and I hear about the trash and With homeless people you have a lot of that going on But I have a couple of Of solutions. I believe that we may be able to address that may that may help us in that endeavor you know, and uh, you know with the with the um With the mental health and substance abuse that they're dealing with and with the depression that they're dealing with We need to create some wraparound services to where we can help them address these needs and I think a lot of this would somehow go away if we can just Get somebody to listen To them, you know, we're so quick to want to talk to them They need somebody to listen And if we had some listeners some ears to listen to them They would they wouldn't be so rebellious and so rambunctious to the point where They don't care about anything other than they don't they've lost self-respect for themselves in a lot of cases So I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm praying that this don't fall on deaf ears that well We can create some kind of alliance The way we can be a be a better help to each other I really appreciate y'all because I've stood in front of several council meetings But you seem to be the most compassionate and I really appreciate that Seem to be the most God-fearing and I appreciate that And I believe that God allowed us to be here for a reason And the reason is that we can work together so we can Fix this problem and that is totally eradicate homelessness Thank you for listening And I will leave my number and hopefully we can we can make something that happens. Thanks for being here pastor I will tell you, you know And it a lot of people would take time to really learn about what we've been working on but part of our strategic plan Is really to build A place that has all the wraparound services Because one of the things that we've learned for those of us who've been spending time learning more about the unsheltered in our community And I can tell you I talked to several and I hear about some of the things that are going on So the untrust is on both sides. So I'm sure I will tell you But what's interesting is is the wraparound service piece which a lot of the services aren't providing and Trying to get folks into that and you nailed it on on the mental health and addiction Which is the majority of the folks that we've run into but having a collaborative effort Where things like DMV are there So that folks can get their IDs and their license, which they lose Guess what they need those as you know to get the benefits to make sure that we can get all those wraparound services Have an urgent care on a site having physical therapy Which is a piece that's missing having the ability to have clinicians and other folks in that space to help So we want to continue to do those type of things And have it in a center where folks can come and they're not having to be carted all over the community to get that And they don't get lost in between because one of the biggest things I heard from the unsheltered Was having to be moved around to all the places that they end up not going and they end up finding A place that's probably not the best place for them to lay their head and stay and clean So yes, I agree and sometimes you're going to hear frustration in my voice here because it's frustrating because We're doing a lot of things but people aren't looking at things. They just see their way and only their way Well collectively we have to come to the table And work and everybody's a piece of the puzzle just because one person has An idea and it may work for one group. It doesn't apply to all groups So we'll continue to listen if you'll leave your number. I'd appreciate it and I thank you so much I see it differently than what you think you're projecting. I see it as you as your passion You have to be compassionate about this in order to be able to do an effective job and I believe that you guys Are doing a job that really a lot of people won't even take on I wish we could say we're there ever and but we're not It's close to getting it all done if we could just get together come together I think that we can form a mighty fist that way we could knock this thing out Thank you. Thank you, sir. May I Mr. Mayor just one comment I think it's it. I think it is incredible after almost one year of services with rapid shelter. I think that's right, isn't it? One year Putting together a staff putting together social workers We have aligned ourselves to quote unquote graduate Over 18 persons into permanent housing. Isn't that right? Is that is that my right? over 18 persons And of course, I need to say to you guys unequivocally the first Residents who slept in rapid shelter were three members of council. Oh, really? Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir Yes Why did we do that? You need to know how I felt to be homeless exactly right exactly. I'm with you now When we say compassion. Yes, we're talking about two guys the male myself Yeah, and councilwoman her but amen. We stayed in we stayed in the shelter Why did we do this brother moses? Yes I wanted to sense and feel yes how my brothers and sisters Would interact and how we might interact with each other. Yes C1 C2 and v2. Right. That's what we stayed that cold night, right now are we compassionate enough To move into a place where things are happening and compassion is taking place And I'm not saying just one night, right, but it gave me a real sense I'm sure of knowing That if I am in a position and I am homeless Because each one of us stands one day from being homeless. We never know. It doesn't matter. No I think it's it's our resolve To make things work and the way we see things working, of course is to experience What our brothers and sisters are experiencing? Yes Thank you, brother moses. We need to be in touch. Thank you so much I believe that the strong must bat in firmness of the weekend. We are the strong and let's let's make it work. Thank you Madam clerk Jacqueline sabato it I just want to say sleeping in a rapid shelter for a night is in no way equal to being homeless and out on the street It didn't and does not give you any kind of insight. That's a publicity stunt right there That's all that if it was a publicity stuff. I wouldn't excuse me reclaiming my time No, no, you you got time you got time for right What i'm saying this was not a publicity stuff, man Well, that's your that's your that is my opinion go right ahead and say what you need to say Yeah, so my name is Jacqueline today. I'm here representing colombia people's program I'm a group that we're we are a group that provides food And clothing to the on-house population in lieu of help from this body In lieu of help from these people I'm just going to talk about some things that we've experienced and seen firsthand Mr. Mayor When we've been down there at finley park providing food We've had police come tell us to leave because we don't have a permit By the way finley park used to have bathrooms before the city closed them and locked them I digress they've told us to go to the sidewalk because we don't have a permit We go to the sidewalk and they tell us that they're going to get us with a blocking pedestrian traffic charge So we have threats from all around there's nowhere to serve us to serve people We've also seen police come through and raid homeless people's tents imagine that like having nothing having absolutely nothing but a tent a few possessions And a police officer following a cruel order Comes through and destroys your stuff Throws it away and you have literally nothing it's It's an awful awful thing that this that ultimately the city council council has to answer for Also, I want to talk about the homelessness task force that was set up Because I've been to a few meetings They are typically the people there are business leaders corporate leaders so-called experts from government agencies What I don't see there is unhoused people Offering their experiences their insights Their opinions You know people who actually are affected by the issue are not there to talk about it. And so what we get are business concerns business solutions to this issue, which is really a humanity issue like You know the fact that this body and other government agencies allow for people to live out on the street sleeping in a tent Having to look for their next meal and not knowing if they'll get it I mean this this body really should be ashamed of itself and That that's your fellow citizen like mine. That's your neighbor your brother your sister It's wrong and what was done in the agenda today is good, but it's not enough and One last thing about you know the new thing at christ central the new center As was said earlier, that's not where people are People are all around the city, but they're not not all in that one location We serve people who are amputees who have different disabilities Can't get there and they're going to go hungry if that's the only place people can serve I know that's not right now, but like I said, we have been told to leave places for feeding It's just just out of curiosity, you know, one of the things that keeps coming up is is serving Folks who are handicapped and need services Why would we not want to try to bring them to a place where we could help get them into wraparound services and try to get them Housing get their IDs instead of serving them at an encampment on the river somewhere else How is the I I guess I'm struggling because my idea is I like to solve problems Why wouldn't we want to try to get those people where we could get all the help because there is a Growing population of folks who haven't accepted our help and we've got a lot of folks on the street and outreach So it's not just one sided. You're telling one side of the story There's there's a there's a well-rounded story here and everybody has a piece of the puzzle and a part of it But you know the one other thing I don't understand is I've heard repeatedly from folks Well, we have to go there. How do we get those folks then instead of Enabling them to stay there. Let's get them into housing get them the medical services They need the physical therapy the things that are out there and those services are available But you can't get it when you're living in a tent on the riverfront and somebody's enabling you just to stay there How do we change that and I'm just if you have an answer? I'd love it if you ought to give it to me day But somehow we've got to bridge that gap because that's not working for anybody Well, the shelters some of them have draconian rules about who can stay in them and Who can be in them's families are separated? I mean there's rules about when you can come in when you can leave some shelters don't provide a midday meal There's all kinds of reasons people might not think a shelter is the best for them But they still deserve to have food and and shelter that they they have, you know Um Maybe you don't don't know about it. You don't understand it yet and heard it and you know those Individual shelters for example, and we when we did that 50 of them. That's not gonna solve the whole problem Right, but it's 50 people one at a time working with wraparound services for those individuals who may not want to be In that uh congregate shelter environment where it has begun to work Little by little by little for those individuals and with the meal sharing since that I guess is the real issue on the table Right now That was another example of us trying to come up with something new something different that might also work The friendly part thing, you know that keeps coming up. I'll take credit for that one or about the could have construction in that part Okay, and so that is a security matter a safety issue as well It's not meant to not be compassionate. It's not meant to not try to find alternatives for people Who has their home destroyed, you know, I'm sorry it just understood But we also have outreach folks at the same time where we're saying hey Can we get you to the overflow for the night? Let us help you try to figure this out So I just I would encourage You know, and I hadn't been here for a few weeks So indulge me when I know that you all have been coming and have a genuine passionate concern but addressing it week after week after week without us really sitting down having real discussions where we can work through solutions I'm not sure that that's the most productive thing either I used to be a teacher and people and I still remember this some of the basic most human things you learn You learn kindergarten, right? Would you agree with that? And I mean, it's just about being kind is about being Compassionate talking to people the right way sitting down having fellowship and understanding that as a council And as a city manager Just because sometimes a group of people are coming week after week and they might be the loudest and I'll plunge off of that The dedication and termination is right there But there are also some folks that these individuals hear about and I do too every day Who may not be choosing to come but they're stepping out of their doors some mornings to feces They're walking to work amongst feces or food and trash than litter And as a government you have to understand our jobs to have to strike that balance to try to figure out a way to help everybody and make everybody feel secure in our city But also help them help the people who are amongst the least of us But also balance people who want to have a genuine quality of life I mean you nor I have gone out with our public work staff And maybe we all need to roll our hands up and do that and see what that feels like literally To go every time when we've had feedings and meals sharing across the city and that type Thing is left behind. That's not right either That's not I mean come on, you know, that's not right even bathrooms, but what we're saying What we're saying is that in order to strike that balance Let's figure out something together and try something where everyone is still allowed to meal share in a Orderly way And we are taking the services to the people who need it I mean, they've done it already a couple times and the and I understand about folks that may be handicapped And that's really to get an extra effort on that but In general terms many of the people that you all are trying to serve and that we try to serve They've come to the location And they want to be there out of the heat Soon to be cold They want to have a bathroom. They don't want to use the bathroom You know on the street. I don't believe that of course. I don't believe that So if we can create an environment Where we can work together on this And not Beat each other down in the process It's hard when you know police come and tell us to get out of the park for feeding people a lot of times the police are also Being told, you know by management like me We've got a secure location because there's something else genuinely going on there as well I don't know all the circumstances of every Incident right and you don't either and we hadn't both been there my experience. I understand and I respect it But I also would hope there is some level of respect for Efforts that have been made and it's not about It isn't about I know it might sound or feel like that sometimes that elected officials or Um appointed officials are just trying to get a pat on the back I mean to be honest with you If we didn't have if we would have if this I think councilman brown said it recently if this problem could have been fixed Long ago, it would have been fixed long ago. Everybody's just trying their best I don't necessarily believe that with this group. I think you're trying your best or you wouldn't be here I just don't think we have the same perspective or no all the context Well, we're gonna keep doing what we're doing Thank you We have david kenney david kenney, um reggie solis I'm sure you're all glad to see me again Um, let's see. Where do I start? Yeah, I got a correspondence that apparently from Daniel rickham and mayor to a friend of mine that stated although we are not Although we hope many groups serving outdoors in public spaces Will take advantage of this space through the city. We are not requiring it and yet Saturday last saturday I talked to the jamaicans a group that serves on saturdays That was went to hope plaza this last saturday because the weekend before they were given a citation for serving in front of the library And also you keep on talking about compassion But what was the Reggie and all thing. I I don't know what the citation was for were they Doing something they shouldn't be doing. I mean you are there people. Were you there? I was there. No, I was there. I talked to the lady that was in charge of the group I talked to her and she told me that's why they went to hope plaza find out what that is But I it had they aren't just giving a citation because they were feeding Okay, if you think so I don't know and either do you because neither one of us have the citation and neither one of us was there I think I only have a few minutes. Let me speak. I will add more Um, do you talk about compassion all the time? The thing is just lacking is empathy the ability to understand and share the feelings of others Finley park was closed because of covet initially And then because of renovations being done in the park that used to be the only place that you could get a permit to feed We knew that this was happening. Why wasn't an alternate spot chosen before this all this happened That's where most of the people were feeding until we ran into this problem And also, why don't you designate certain areas where people can sleep and sleep safely instead of arrest trying to arrest them And citation them and let them get a good night's sleep somewhere Other cities do that around the country. They have certain streets that they are allowed to camp on at night And also I visited the group that did get that citation last saturday They did serve at hope plaza because they were afraid that there were going to be more legalities against them And I only saw about a handful of people that would normally be at the serving at library where they normally served But I saw a lot of people for in transitions and again These people are not set up to serve all those people coming from from transitions as well as their own place their own folks One thing that you guys don't understand you keep on talking about they're already going to the soup kitchen So it's okay to make them walk farther to get services And you talk about having wraparound services in one location How are the elderly and home and the handicapped going to get there? Are you going to provide that transportation? Are you going to ride around town taking these people up and taking those services? I don't think so And the other thing is have any of you ever experienced 30 seconds, please Which you spoke through in my time. I just want to finish one thing Is I'm going to challenge every single one of you not just one or two of you But all of you to walk from the river to Hope plaza on a hot sunny day two o'clock And see how that feels and then try to make a decision about what you're doing. Thank you The idea is not to have people living at the river, but actually getting them services so they can get housing Reggie can't do it at the river Well, if you don't know I know some urban housing housing supportive housing for 24 beds open this past winter 24 beds in this community are open this winter and We're open and never were used by folks. There is opportunities here and we're going to continue to make more And getting services is helping people there I May recommend the last speaker that we have signed up. Yeah is miss erica brown miss brown. Thank you Hello everyone, I'm here again in peace as I've always come Mayor I want you guys to understand we wouldn't be here today when you originally came into office I emailed and called your office repeatedly Repeatedly I got correspondence one time you was supposed to show you didn't show your assistant was supposed to show She didn't show and I got receipts. I can go back from years ago. Please share and um Initially when I contacted you all it was more so. Hey, we're here with los mama pop organization We see the issue. We want to work with you all Dr. Bussells when you were running for your seat you contacted me directly about serving five minutes before the event You cancelled then you turned around and said well I'll send a donation through the mail We never got that either. So in that it's like, okay Well, why does she contact me to not show up and then you had you talked to me that time during that time frame I would have expressed to you the concerns. I'm not about just coming up here bickering problem problem problem without solution I wasn't raised like that because if I took that to my parents or my grandparents They sent me back till I come back with a solution My thing is how can you get a solution from me when I've been coming to these meetings for months? Nobody has followed up or followed through even the last time I was here a month ago You said you would sidebarred me. I hadn't heard anything the last time I came a young lady gave me her card I called her talked to her. She never called me back even with camicia Never followed back up. So we're here today We're here today because individuals from your end wouldn't follow up to say where Erica We hear you let's work it out Nobody followed up or gave me anything to work with and just left me here standing is if my goal my passion And what I feel for this city matters I've never really elaborated on the service that we do. I've served on skid row in california five times I've served in las vegas in the tunnel. We go to chalston and serve three to ten times a year I personally go to atlanta georgia and serve on the streets in atlanta And I do that because I want to look at other areas and compare it to columbia south carolina By no means do we tap into anything and what these other cities and states are facing But if we don't get a grasp on it soon, we're letting we're we're heading down that road I've gone to the pods in california and volunteered. I volunteered in las vegas again I'm doing these things in comparison to what we have here again. I'm not I'm not here to be problematic I never have been I'm not about the arguing fussing and fighting. I want solution I wouldn't have come here if I didn't want solution when I walked up here initially. I told you guys I'm not with the politics. I'm not I don't like it. It's not my feel I didn't want to dabble into it But I was pushed into it because people from your end wouldn't listen or follow up with me So you left me no choice but to stand on my two feet to say hey, I'm here This is my goal. This is my passion. What can we do to work together? But we can't work together if no one from your end is contacting me and one last thing We always talk about numbers. It's success is put in numbers Success is not put in numbers to me because you can give me a thousand people if I touch the soul of three That's that success to me So we can count numbers all day long about funding and how many people graduated through the program and my seven years of serving We've placed 35 individuals with no grant funding. This is solely the public We've paid over a hundred light bills water bills. We've adopted families Christmas gifts. We just this little small organization. I run from my home No building no government assistance No support from you all solely the public a hundred and ten percent. They see my passion They understand my story because I didn't come from a good place But my thing is if I can say hey, I can relate to some of these individuals on the street when it comes to drugs Alcoholism because I've gone through some of these things If I'm dependent on you to get back with me and holding your word and you don't how these individuals are going to do that The trust is broken. Thank you. I don't know who or what on that But your last meeting which was two weeks ago when you were here You brought forth to us three issues and we've been and every time you've been here for the last five meetings You brought up issues around the feeding the costs all that and we've been addressing those So I want to be clear that we have been listening to you and addressing it I don't know why we haven't connected, but we'll we'll we'll fix that everybody's getting a response But me so we'll figure that out But we have been addressing because last time you talked to us and we've been trying to figure out the lbtq piece Which was the one piece that really stuck out in the last trying to figure out. How do we Make people feel comfortable if this is the location because of all the amenities that are there Before it was permits fees all those things insurance. We've addressed all those so we have been doing some of it, but I am going to apologize to you and I know you guys have other things and I'm just a little you know Diamond in the rough of it. I would call it. I meet with everybody in the city I don't know what happened, but I'm going to take responsibility because the buck stops with me I don't push it off on anybody else. So I want I want to apologize to you for for not getting this But we will have a meeting because dialogue is good because we learned because but I do think it's fair You have to admit we've been trying to address the issues that have been fought forth And and we're going to continue to do that. Well, like I said, I'm here to help Initially, I don't want to go against the grain. I told you guys that from the beginning But it's hard to do work when people won't even return a phone call or an email And you're being spent in circles for months for years Actually, if you go back to the original time I contacted you go you guys and the correspondence I was getting from your office all I want to do is serve the community in which I grew up in And give back because again, I feel that's my godly duty to do. Thank you. Thank you Madam Clark Someone else has signed up to speak. All right Mr. Mayor, I move to go into executive session for receipt of legal advice related to matters Covered by alternative client privilege pursuant to sc code 30-4 to 78 to Keep us discussion of conversation of an employee pursuant to 30-4 to 78 one city council Now motion is there a second second Madam clerk Mr. Brown Mr. Herbert I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you madam clerk because of the Dr. Bussells, yes Thank you The building quietly we are sealed in council meeting. Thank you all so much So if you need to leave would you please do that now quietly? I miss um Erica. Thank you. Thank you Dr. Bussells I mr. Brennan. Yes, mr. McDowell Yes, yes, mr. Duval may recommend. Thank you