foreign public comment meeting before mayor Parker calls the meeting to order we ask that you please turn off all the electronic devices for those of you who have requested to speak there are two podiums in the chamber the podium in the back is for individuals with Mobility concerns we ask all other speakers to step forward to the front podium each Podium has a countdown clock located to the speaker's right that will indicate how much time is remaining when you have 30 seconds left a bell will sound when your time has ended please wrap up your comments before you begin your comments please state your name thank you thank you good evening and welcome to the Forest City Council public comment I will call us to order tonight's invocation will be by Pastor Stephen blandino from Seven City Church please rise for the invocation and remain standing for the pledges of Allegiance shall we pray Lord we come to you with hearts full of gratitude because of your mercy hope and loving kindness this evening we pray for mayor Parker our Council men and women our city manager and their staff we ask that you would give each of them your strength and Grace and courage we ask that you would guide them by your word and your spirit and that you would bless their families and cover them with your favor and goodness as our city leaders meet this evening direct their thoughts their discussions and their decisions help them lead with integrity and serve with humility and make decisions in a spirit of generosity as I work for the good of our city and as they lead Fort Worth into the future we ask that you would fill them with the wisdom and knowledge of your perfect will be honored in each of their lives this evening we ask in Jesus name amen the first item of business will be approval of the minutes from the August 8th August 10th and August 15th Council meetings waterproof got a motion in a second Council any other discussion please vote motion carries mayor that concludes all of the business items thank you our first speaker is Adrian Smith followed by Dan Hayes we are still trying to reach Mr Smith okay we'll try again in a moment Dan Hayes followed by Bob Willoughby good evening my name is Dan Hayes and I live in District 11. tonight I'm finishing my progress reports on East Lancaster Avenue focusing on transit to recap a consultant is working with the city to determine a final roadway redesign in a Transit recommendation but there is disagreement between NCT Cog and Trinity Metro on the transit mode Trinity Metro is recommending bus rapid transit in a dedicated Lane next to the median Route 89 which serves the Lancaster Corridor has the highest ridership in the city a logical solution to increase ridership and improve a historically disadvantaged Corridor is through a Transit mode that substantially changes the way people perceive Transit and will attract Redevelopment brt does that one major concern expressed by some is losing a traffic lane that would be dedicated to brt but brt or no brt the number of travel Lanes on Lancaster needs to be reduced we are killing and maiming pedestrians at the rate of one every seven or eight weeks the roadway has never been sized for the traffic it carries and its width and visual cues to drivers are likely contributing factors East Lancaster is at a Crossroads the right Transit can be a catalyst for economic develop Redevelopment these headlines reflect an understanding of that fact or do they the value is seen in the near South Side neighborhood they can't wait to get text rail what about East Fort Worth in 2019 East Lancaster Avenue Property Owners took the courageous step of obligating themselves to pay more property taxes with the establishment of a public Improvement District now Trinity Metro is recommending an equally bold step by advocating for a robust Transit solution that can better serve the current ridership and also attract developers who are overlooking a commercial Corridor ripe for redevelopment there's ample proof of the value of transit in attracting Redevelopment in Cleveland's case the 54th largest U.S city that was nine and a half billion dollars billion dollars over the first 10 years of their brt other cities have similar stories to tell Transit is a symbiotic relationship between the people the built environment and the transit mode itself Transit can create a sense of place two things I told my kids kids when they were growing up is you always have money for the things that are important and aim low boring aim high soaring thank you thank you Dan our next speaker is Bob Willoughby followed by Irby Foster and we are still trying to get a hold of Mr Willoughby Irby Foster will be followed by George Childs Mr Foster here George trials George Charles will be followed by Deitra Hicks George Jordan Charles I live in District 11. I maintain the consideration of what the first three letters is the phrase a warrior culture spell w-a-r is significant to show that what that phrase represents does not belong in the neighborhoods of Fort Worth I recently saw a video of a program aired on August 18 2020. we're in a guest recounter describing police going on duty as entering the battlefield Battlefield are considered highly significant that this was said 10 months after Miss Jefferson was killed by taxpayer supplied ammunition I'm here because the person who committed that crime was hired after he made it plain he regarded that as an alternative to entering the military because it offered action and adventure I believe that police departments exist to keep action and adventure out of people's lives not to provide it for their members in polar contrast the primary purpose of any military forces to kill people and break things if articles in law and policy journals are any indication the warrior culture manifests at all levels of law enforcement the owner of a tactical firearms training company when asked about the FBI hostage Rescue Team replied quote SRT has to remember their Law Enforcement Officers they're not Commandos and that's the big thing you get a lot of officers who want to be Commandos in the military they go to the FBI they've got to remember that's their mission unquote this is not to say this person would disfavor the water culture when he thought it appropriate among other examples he was a Delta Force task of Delta Force member of the Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu on October 3rd and 4th 1993 when the warrior culture was definitely appropriate I suggest that when the warrior culture is not appropriate it would be good to remember that because war is based on an us and then mentality on killing total strangers it follows that war is the ultimate othering this city like all of this nation this face was providing redress for centuries of disparity made possible by othering the Eternal devoted enemy of equality under the law killing strangers is much easier when not only the lies being taken or trivialized but the act of taking is trivialized as well on at least one local radio talk show it is standard to refer to any fatal shooting by police as a pop and drop perhaps it would be informative for city council to inquire as to what extent if any pop and drop is a part of the of the informal lexicon of the Fort Worth Police Department Detra Hicks and Deitra will be followed by Malik Austin I am the pastor of True Praise Spiritual Church Charlie that's over District Four I had communication with him after I left here and uh he informed me that he was going to do what he could do right so he did and I see trash cans all the way up and down Lancaster but nothing's on Kentucky and Presidio and so that's where the problem is I invited him to uh while we were down there to give ice water and drinks and food because uh you couldn't dictate to me what we can and can't do if y'all are the ones who created the ordinances in the first place then you ought to have that same rule applied to the shelters the cleanliness of the shelters the food they should get three nutritious meals a day they should have proper shelter uh the disabled area uh where the people stay I know for a fact that it is uh bed bug festive I know that for a fact been doing this since I was 26 years old now I'm 61. and so I know what I'm talking about so we got the nice uh grade A on all of the places that I complained about and I understand that everything works hand in hand this place received this city received two billion dollars that's that's the manager city manager two billion dollars you got a hundred and eighty five million dollar project taking place on Lancaster but we cannot give the poor some ice water when it's hot we cannot give the poor some nutritional nutritionist meals we cannot give them clothing or shelter I know this for a fact here's the problem Toby Owens is the CEO so I looked at all of the people who were lined up for the financial part uh uh he makes almost 200 000 and so I know that this is federally funded three minutes is not going to get it for me to tell you everything that I know so if you're going to have that type of money invested on Lancaster it's more than just Lancaster invest that in the poor invest that in the folk who are disenfranchised invest that people voted for you guys to be where you are so you can't tell me that you can't do nothing about it because you created these ordinances you created the signs that says don't feed the animals because that's basically what it's saying to me and it's offensive to me it's offensive to me and so this is why I'm here and and it can go on deaf ears but I'm gonna come keep coming back until somebody hears me about the poor because if anybody has God in their heart you ought to care about your brother your sister you ought to care about anybody thank you Miss Hicks have you been in touch with Tara Perez by chance uh information for a health card and uh to uh I forgot what the oh I I don't know what the other is but okay I don't need a health card uh you need more information I totally understand I just want to make sure we'll be following up thank you very much Pastor Hicks for coming our next speaker is Malik Austin followed by Liz Badgley the counseling um the state of the city last time I was here I addressed the state of the city of what our young folks not having no place to go with nothing to do we had budgeting at this point we have a city of a million people you can't have big ideas in small minds it ain't gonna work we have a crisis of illiteracy illiterate children become violent children and we have to not only 19 of our children are reading on third grade level 21 account for people who look like me so that comes down to 3.99 that kids are reading on grade level that is a problem in this city we have to bring in amunities to the city mayor you got to have create entertainment districts art districts our kids got to have something to do you cannot leave this city with nothing to do in the children with no place to go it has to be 360 Degrees Fort Worth is 3503 Miles Square along so we have to think like that I'm not going to address that's why we have issues like Como I was out there my team put their life on the line save lives put ourselves in a way a Horn's way but that was not a good picture and the city shouldn't look like that ever again so we need to while we got 130 million out at the table we need to invest in skating rinks bowling alleys whatever it takes to offset the violence but this literacy problem is a problem that we're gonna have to deal with so I asked you to partner up with 405 SD and Tackle this problem if you do not the city will continue to be violent it's going to be violent high school dropout rate will be high infant mortality will be high and then continue to be high until we dig in and not be so self-serving but Serve the People as you were Bound by oath to do that's the only thing I ask I'm not here to chastise anybody because we got a crisis I'm here for Solutions a young brother in District Six next year put two towers up on them blocks and put officers in them corridors if we're going to continue to have block parties income out invite them to use the center for the block party listen to the people who've been here I know this city I know the atmosphere of this city I don't want to see the city roll back into the 90s and that's what we're flirting with I asked you take a little time talk to the people who were out there and I thank you thank you Mr Austin our next speaker is Liz Badgley and I apologize Liz if you'd rather be called Lizzy okay and Lizzy will be followed by Bishop Kirkland my name is Lizzy be you and I present my free thoughts on the proceedings of the Fort Worth City Council as we all know reading is fundamental And in regards to the concerning precedence of fellow tax paying Fort worthians being banned from this very chamber please allow me to quote the wise words of Silence do good otherwise known as America's oldest Founding Father the one and only OG for American independence Benjamin Franklin Franklin stated in an essay published in 1722 titled freedom of speech that without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public Liberty without freedom of speech which is the right of every man Franklin went on to argue that the American freedom of speech is the sacred privilege essential to free governments and that the security of property and the freedom of speech always go together and in those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own he can scarcely call anything else his own whoever would overthrow a liberty of a Nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech a thing terrible to public Traders I urge this Council to reverse their decision and unban Adrian Smith Bob Willoughby Manuel Mata and Donnell Ballard from these Chambers thank you Council our next speaker is Bishop Kirkland followed by Jim DeLong I want to start by especially my friend who's coming after me because it sounds like we live in two different Americas in the words of Mark Twain there are two Americas one that set the captive free and one the captives is free and the sad part is gentlemen those of you who are not my persuasion you probably wouldn't last three or four weeks in my skin if you had to be stopped in these city streets by our beloved Police Department I came to you my last visit was right after you turned down the notion of what the people of the city want you guys are not an independent Force you're here to speak for your constituency every report that you have says what we need every report that you've read you pay big money for all of those reports yet you ignore them the last time we was here I got marred in my Village because I said I was proud of Miss Bivins I was proud to call you my mayor and I said and gave other people some some accolades but the problem that we're having right now to them I look like a traitor because it looks like nothing is happening and you know what we want we're not asking you we're not pleading with you and for those of you who say and I hear other Sly remarks well I'm not vested in Fort Worth the people who you call when there are problems are not the people with their boots on the ground you don't call us because you know that we know the real truth I've been on this battlefield for over 26 years I believe Mr Terrell was mayor Mr Bob bowling Mr Terrell with city manager and Bob bowling was mayor I've been here a long time I'm not going anywhere I desire to go somewhere we're not asking we're demanding and I understand I'm not real popular in these Chambers but that's okay because Plato once wrote no one is more hated than those who speak the truth if you cannot handle the truth of the crisis of of our city I suggest that you find something else to do we're not asking we're demanding that you come and sit down with the real leaders of our city those who are on the ground those who are protesting Chris those who are feeding those who are making action and I don't know how the hell I can't get a phone call for your meetings if you don't invite me to your meetings and you keep calling these peons to your meetings who want to motivate you and inspire you making you think you're doing something when you ain't doing the damn thing for our people we're sick and tired of being tired I've sat down too long I've been quiet too long Mr Williams I'm begging you I'm begging you Christmas bibbons I'm begging you let's sit down at the table and do what's right for all of our citizens and we're tired of dying Six Bullets in a man's back and you could justify that [Applause] our next speaker is Jim Delong followed by Gerald Banks senior good evening my topic tonight is decorum last city council meeting was pretty wild it reminded me of the Wild West a bit and I spent some time looking at um what's it called here rules of procedure City Council of the city of Fort Worth and there's rules of conduct you know we can at least be civil with one another we might not agree but we can be civil with one another and part of the rules of conduct are there as guidelines when we speak in front of you and I'm going to make a suggestion I don't know if it's valid or not because I don't know how everything works on your side but I would encourage you Leanne when people get out of hand and they are not following the rules of conduct maybe that's more for you to engage with them than May or you because what happened last week we became people against people and there are some people that want to have that on film that want to show it to other people to rile other people and maybe we go hey time out let's take a look at the rules of conduct and everyone on the diocese should follow them everyone in this room should follow them I sat here a while back and I consider myself a nice guy maybe you don't but I consider myself a nice guy I was called a white supremacist from the diocese because I didn't agree with somebody what you guys are leaders you guys should be above that and we as as people should be above that when we talk to you I can share concerns but I should be able to do it civilly and if we can't be civil again we have the rules of conduct and I think instead of making it council member mayor against person we have a City attorney that says this is the law these are the rules of conduct we can't do what we're doing here we're going to have to stop it this might help it from being becoming personal between you thank you our next speaker is Gerald Banks senior followed by Carolina Rodriguez evening Gerald Banks senior District Five out of control forward is not safe at all because we have young folks and old folks dying from shootings back to back and if that's not from citizens killing each other it's the police killings killing citizens your stats count the ones that you want people to know about but what about the ones that don't make the news there is something you can do about it you just don't where are the real leaders of this city and why don't they speak up or or do something about it paid to be quiet is not a solution I've said all of this before 6 6 23 on my last speech how long before it comes a reality and not just a threat about a mass shooting in Fort Worth once again because of the BS that's going on seven three twenty three came about several dead don't continue to piss on our heads and tell us it's raining have more respect of these Chambers being that it belongs to the citizens as well the weight thugs cops treat people has to stop and we as a people has to treat people as we would like to be treated with respect dignity and most of all honor the real honor is lost in Fort Worth even though you act and that's just it what it is an act when it comes to caring about people just as long as you get what you want act like you curl it works silence can be dangerous Hitler the clan and other Silence people first by threats Bands then death why would the truth be silenced unless it's true the community deserves better and need to know the truth about Fort Worth good or bad this is a democracy not a dictatorship and should be treated as such I appreciate you listening but I'm gonna tell you just like this right here out here is not working back there the Citizens need to be in their workshop back there that y'all got going on and that they'll let their voices be heard back there because when you come out here on this right here y'all not listening y'all don't even see it [Applause] will be followed by James Smith so I'll start with a quote there is no greater Journey than which is perpetrated Under The Shield of the law and in the name of Justice which means like you can Stomp all over people's rights because if you know you're just doing it for the better good but I was just wondering aren't you I think I think mayor Parker is a lawyer I think we have a City lawyer too I'm guessing that here of Houston versus Hill which is case law that says that those guys that got thrown out it was okay for them that wasn't okay for them to be thrown out it's Houston versus hill case law so not only did you violate you violated the law too Houston versus Hill look it up Houston versus hill case law says that you know that you can't be kicking people out just because of their views but I wanted to talk to you guys a little bit too about um some of the the gang violence that's here in Fort Worth I don't think there's very many the definition of gang is a group of organized criminals right the only group of organized criminals I see is the Fort Worth Police Department with their with their Clubhouse over on Felix Street go out a lot and we filmed the police and we've seen a lot of um of violations rights violations and they do it on film when we have our cameras up what are they doing we don't have our cameras up let's just take a few of their body cams and just look them over all right um I was up at I was I'm at all times of the night I'm around here's one that I saw the other day was a was um they had a traffic stop and it was a fresh one meaning that I caught it right when I turned the lights on come to find out the reason for the traffic stop was because the guy in the back seat was seen with a known gang member two hours earlier what that's not a reason for a traffic stop that's a violation right there they try to get them to get out to search their vehicle they couldn't certain the one lady in there was smart enough to say I don't consent so they brought the drug dogs that was a violation of Rodriguez versus USA because they were supposed to be doing that for um with the drug dog it was a free sniff in other words like um a free sniff is when they they sniff the car out during the traffic stop but it was an unlawful traffic stop so that was another violation so we got two violations right there on that one the other one I saw is that another fresh stop was over off 28th Street a man in a wheelchair no shirt no shoes kind of wheeling up and down the sidewalk they just took them for a criminal trespass because the man in the store called and asked for them to check on his welfare but instead of checking on the welfare and bringing them over to the Virgin Center they took him to jail and on criminal trespassing and with criminal trespassing you're supposed to be asked to leave first we have about 10 criminal trespass arrests a night a day at the at the Fort Worth County Jail 10 and they're usually homeless people that lose all their stuff after they get arrested so if they're doing all this stuff in front of us what are they doing behind our backs right do I have 30 more seconds or am I done Oh yay okay okay let's see 30 more seconds um let me just do here what else was I thinking to talk about I got more of it I can't remember but that's it enough thank you for next Smith who will be followed by Adrian Smith I think we had a wrong phone number input we figured that out good afternoon Council whether I'm sitting in the back I'm sitting in the front there's a memory that continues to hunt then you factor in and append an appeal and a shift in the narrative begins to be real being knowledgeable at the early age of six I was aware that the Kennedy assassination was a calculated hit then his brother and then Reverend Martin Luther King educated me on what a narrative really means now back to the nearly four years at a time of Celebration remembrance we're back to fears is the glass half full or is it half empty it's our safe BET our emotions are planted I hate to go into many thoughts thinking of what certain people's dollars have bought we're not sure what the outcome of or indeed's appeal will be it's a Dawning task to even fathom but you take your mind and you half full it that's a conviction will stay or they appeal would be granted that brings us to the city of Fort Worth it's been nearly four years and you've yet to honor Tatiana Jefferson as you assured me that you would not the community center not the street topper not the mural something from the city because this young lady lost her life in the city of Fort Worth and if you watch the trial that I watched be on a shadow of a doubt your officer was wrong despite the narrative that's been portrayed for the last four years policy and procedure caused a touchdown in her life and I'm hoping that the policies and the procedures that cause this have been corrected have been modified that this won't happen again I live with this every day be annoyed by me maybe once twice a month but for 365 days a year and for the rest of my life this is my reality so I want you guys to take this incident seriously because personally for the last four years I don't think you have accountability for a top 10 Jefferson thank you our next speaker is Adrian Smith yes Adrian Smith I thought I thought you all were going to try to play some type of game tonight but I want you all to know that I'm her present at City Hall outside in protests as it relates to my trespass order and Mr Bob Willoughby to the mayor into the city council know that I'm truly fighting for the betterment of all Fort Worth I feel we are heading to a point of no return with our current elected officials which is you as it relates to how you make decisions on behalf of our city the only thing that stands in opposition to the point of no return I speak of is our constitutional right for redress without fear of punishment or reprisals as a former mayor or candidate city council candidate in Native for Fort Worth as well as Bob Willoughby been a former city council candidate our constitutional right for redress has come under personal Tech by you mayor Parker in the Fort Worth City Council let's declare on one thing regardless of the position we currently find ourselves we are not stopping so I want you all to know that you just Miss Bivens you said reading was fundamental he tried to belittle me on last week but it's all good Miss Bivens since reading is fundamental uh as it relates to your procedure rules of governance or your Council procedures 5.4.3 and I quote the public has the right to criticize policies procedure programs or Services of the city or of actions or mission of the city council or city staff so I just want you to know Miss vivens reading this fundamentals and I want you all you all also to know it's not personal nah he hasn't gotten personal since y'all since you all like to keep everything busy we don't keep the business right now we're going to keep it business right now lawsuits are coming are you worried about the money I lost some succumbing and uh I heard my time is uh timing out mayor Parker the welcoming party will be waiting on you when you come out good night everyone Council that's the conclusion of our speakers this evening thank you for attending foreign