part of the great tradition of the relationship between Taiwan and Atlanta. Very honored to have you. Look forward to working together. With that, I would ask madam clerk to please call the opening role. >> Good morning, Mr. President and members of council. We have council president Doug Shipman present. >> Council member Michael Julian Bond, post one at large. Council member Matt West Morland, post two at large. >> Here. >> Council member Eay Collins, post three at large. Present. Council member Jason H. Winston, District 1. >> Here. >> Council member Amir Ferro, District 2. >> Council member Byron D. Amos, District 3. >> Present. >> Council member Jason Dozer, District 4. >> Here. >> Council member Lana Bactiari, District 5. >> Here. >> Council member Alex Juan, District 6. >> Present. >> Council member Howard Shook, District 7. >> Hi. Council member Norwood, District 8. >> Council member Destin Hills, District 9. >> Present. >> Council member Andrea Elon, District 10. >> Present. >> Council member Marcy Coler, Over Street, District 11. >> Council member Antonio Lewis, District 12. >> Mr. President, we do have a quorum of members present. >> Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next, we'll move to the adoption of the agenda. I would like to note that there was one item from the public safety and legal administration committee that was left off the agenda. That is 25R3741. 25R 3741. So without objection, I would add that to the PSLA portion of the agenda. Um any other without any other edits or additions to the agenda, I would entertain a motion to adopt. >> So moved by council member Bakiari. Is there a second? Seconded by council member Hillis. Any discussion on the motion to adopt the agenda? We do this unanimous consent. Any objection to the motion to adopt? Madam clerk, please sound the count on the motion to adopt the agenda. >> 12 yay, zero nays. >> 12 ya, zero nays. The motion to adopt the agenda carries. Next, we'll move to the invocation. We're very honored to have with us today Reverend Shannon J. Kersner. She's a senior pastor of Central Presbyterian Church to provide our invocation today. >> Thank you. Good afternoon. And it is good to be with all of you. We are neighbors right down the street where we've been since 1858. And Central Presbyterian Church has a particular mission to this city and to our neighbors, particularly those who are most vulnerable. Some of our core values are justice, love, and a wide inclusion reflecting God's image in every person. So with that in mind, allow me to usher us into a time of prayer. Holy one, we're thankful for this part of your world called Atlanta. And I'm thankful for these public servants who have said yes to discerning together what it means to create a community of flourishing for all and not just some. So I pray that they might act today with wisdom and kindness. May they have the courage to say no to the forces of greed and division. And may they have the courage to say yes to your forces of love and neighborliness. May we all recommmit ourselves to doing whatever we can to work for your dream of beloved community and true justice for all people. And help us to see your face in the faces of all people we encounter this day. We pray in the name of all that is holy. Amen. >> Thank you. As we stand in a moment of reflection, I would ask if there are any remembrances that colleagues would have. I will take a moment of personal privilege. As some know, my father passed away um just a few days ago. And uh I just wanted to say thank you to all of my colleagues, council staff, others who sent their condolences and well wishes to me and my family. Um they were very wellreceived also from many people from Atlanta who reached out. Um I would ask that you keep my mom in your prayers. My mom and dad were together 72 years. That is a testament and it is also very tough time for her and the family. I would also just share a brief story. When I joined this council, my father, who lived in rural Arkansas, took to watching every council meeting and every committee meeting every week and we would talk about legislation. We talk about the process of the city. We would talk about each of you. He was curious about your backgrounds, your districts, the things you were interested in. And in reflecting after his passing, I realized that at 88 when I joined this council, he was still curious. He was still interested. He still wanted to have something to talk about. And so every time we talked, he would quiz me on why is such and such such a big deal? Why is so and so bringing up that question? Why did you rule that way? Why did you do this? And it was great fun to be able to share this experience with him even though he has never set foot in this chamber. He has not visited Atlanta in many years. And so I would simply say that today there is one less person watching online. There is one more person watching in heaven. And I know that he will continue to get a kick out of all of us. You have all lost a fan and a virtual friend. Are there any other remembrances today? With this and those unnamed, would you please join me in a moment of silence? Thank you. Would you please join me in the pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> We will now move on to proclamations. commendations and other special awards. First, I would like to invite Council Member Boone forward and all of those who are here to honor the retiree Victor Kedar to join us up on the podium. Please entire AOT family. Please come forward. Led by Commissioner Solomon Cavanus, Deputy Commissioner Alan Smith. Will you all please come forward to honor employee extraordinire super employee Mr. Victor Carter. 56 years. 56 years he has given his life to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. 56 years. Mr. Victor Carter. >> We're going to move on to our next proclamation. We're going to move on to We're going to If you all would have a seat. We're going to move on to our next proclamation. He's on the way here now. We're going to move on to our next proclamation. [Music] Oh, [Music] Next on our agenda, we are honoring Miss Georgia Teen 2025, Miss Reagan Moore. Please come forward. Will all those that are here with her please come with her? Will all of her guests please come forward? 2025 Miss Georgia team. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Come stay right here. Congratulations. She can stay right here. [Music] We are here to honor a wonderful young lady, Miss Reagan Moore, the rainy Miss Georgia teen 2025. Whereas Miss Georgia Teen 2025, Reagan Moore is the reigning Miss Georgia Teens 2025 is an exceptional resident of Powder Springs, Georgia, a devoted youth volunteer for the city of Atlanta, and an honor student at Hill Grove High School, who exemplifies academic achievement, leadership, and an unwavering dedication to uplifting her community. And whereas Miss Reagan's community service initiative, Dance, Fit Uplift, champions physical and emotional well-being through the transformative power of dance and movement. And whereas her platform is rooted in personal experience as she courageously shares her journey of overcoming fear and anxiety related tendencies that once hindered her potential. Through perseverance, passion, and her mastery of tap dance, she discovered inner strength, confidence, and purpose, and now inspires others to achieve health, resilience, and positive mental well-being through the joy of movement. As a triathlete in cheer, dance, and flag football, she further demonstrates the vital role of sports, teamwork, and community in fostering both physical and emotional wellness. And whereas Miss Reagan has touched the lives of more than 500 youth and seniors, partnering with local ed elementary school counselors to promote movement and emotional health during their specialized counseling classroom instruction and leading dance and stretch sessions at senior centers. She has been instrumental in the success of Shamo Shares Inc. dance and cheer camps, sharing her mission and leading routines that have energized and inspired over 300 young participants across the city of Atlanta and the metro Atlanta area. Whereas with aspirations to pursue an advanced degree in broadcast news and sports journalism, Miss Reagan remains committed to championing physical and mental well-being for all ages, embodying the values of service, perseverance, and passion. Now therefore be it proclaimed that we the members of the Atlanta City Council on behalf of the residents of the city of Atlanta do congratulate you on this 18th day of August 2025 in the city of Atlanta in recognition of this extraordinary young leader whose talent, heart, and dedication reflect the very best in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Congratulations. [Applause] >> Good afternoon, everyone. Um, I want to start off by thanking Councilwoman Boon and Councilman Bond for um, this proclamation and being able to present me this award. Um I'm very humbled and grateful for this honor and I have enjoyed my volunteer work in Atlanta with the senior mayor ball uh Shamia shares and also being able to do the fire Atlanta um turkey giveaway. So I'm very grateful for the opportunity to work in the Atlanta community. Um during my pre-teens around 10 years old or 12 years old I struggled with anxiety and it hindered me a lot especially because I am a competitive dancer. So being able to step on the stage was something that I was very scared of and now uh through my community service initiative I have been able to overcome that. I am now speaking to you guys um and I'm able to talk to large crowds and you know 2 years ago I wouldn't even be able to say my name in front of you know a classroom of people. So I'm glad that I have the opportunity to say my name and to say how I've overcome my anxiety and the mental illnesses. Um Dancefitit uplifts is my community service initiative. So through dance and movement, I promote mental and physical well-being. Um so I visit senior centers and I teach them line dances. I stretch with them, keep them active because being able to keep up with our seniors is very important. Um things like dementia and Alzheimer's is very big nowadays and dance and movement can um can help with that and benefit that as well. But I also work in elementary schools with young students. We play freeze tag and we do fun things to keep their heart rate going to show them the importance of keeping a a me a positive mental and physical well-being because it starts at a young age just like mine did. So, I just want to thank you all for presenting me this um proclamation and I'm very honored as I represent the great state of Georgia um and Miss America's team in two weeks. >> Congratulations. Congratulations and we are so very proud of you. And now we will have an official photo everybody. Balance it out. >> I'm coming over here with you. Hold on. Hold on. [Music] I think actually smells good. Congratulations. >> Are you ready for your >> Thank you. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> All right. Is Mr. Victor Carter here? And now for our employee extraordinary 56 years given to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Will our entire Will our entire A do team come up? Led by Commissioner Solomon Cavanus, Deputy Commissioner Alan Smith, Mr. Victor Carter, native son of Atlanta, a graduate of David T. Howard High School. Let's give him another hand, everybody. Are there any other members of our A DOT team in the audience? I see some of his colleagues in the back. If you all would come on up with him. Can you all come on up? Come on up. Yay. Come on up. Right there. It's good. These are our frontline workers. These are the folks that make the city of Atlanta the great city that it is today. Y'all come on up. Let's honor this hero today. 56 years. Atlanta. This is what it's all about. Honoring our hero, our frontline worker, Mr. Victor Carter. And now, a short video. My name is Victor Carter. I'm uh 74 years old now. I came here on the Wednesday in 1968 at 18 years old. And when I started, I was at Hill Street plant. My mama got me a job cuz it was a man. He was working at Hill Street and she asked him where he work. He said I went with the city over at Hill Street. So I got my signed up. I got my papers and everything. Police department, fingerprints, health center. But that uh wait there. So I walked up his house and he gets a used to get a ride to work over Hill Street. So I rode with him over there and he introduced me to his foreman which was uh Mr. Red Duckers and uh he he he he got me on the edge crew and I started working. had an old man working with me named Li Gila and uh he taught me everything you know how to run a jackhammer and all of that and he he took care of me in them days too. I just put load rocks and dirty stuff on the truck. I thought I could uh wake out here without eating. I couldn't do that though. It was hot out there and I was loading rocks and stuff and and I just started working and coming to work regular. I made my 6 months. When I got made a year, I had 2 weeks vacation and I took that. But I wouldn't intend to wait, you know, I real intend to be here this long, but you know, just came naturally and started doing it. I enjoyed the city since I've been here, you know, coming being around people and stuff and I I I like that that that's the best part of being here. And there something to do, too. Come to work. [Music] >> So, we just want you to talk about your experience working with Mr. Carter. >> Oh. Uh, he come to work all the time. Even when, um, you got days off, he want to come to work. So he been coming for what about 56 years >> and I only know him for about seven and he always works and picking up trash around the uh parking lot everything. He got a little room in there where we put him down there. So you know all you got to do is come to work and he beat some of us in. He ride the buses. So you know he's a good guy. >> Appreciate that. [Applause] In honor of Victor Carter, native son, city of Atlanta, 56 years of service. Whereas the Atlanta City Council is pleased to recognize and honor Victor Carter for his outstanding 56-year career with the city of Atlanta. Whereas Victor Carter was born in the great city of Atlanta and is a proud product of Atlanta public school system having graduated from the historic David T. Howard High School. Whereas he is the beloved son of the late William A. Carter, a dedicated retiree from the city of Atlanta, whose enduring legacy of public service continues through her son's exemplary career. And whereas Victor Carter began his extraordinary journey with the city of Atlanta government October 23rd, 1968, serving in the department of transportation street maintenance division as a construction maintenance worker in the asphalt unit. And whereas over an unprecedented 56 years of continuous and faithful service, Mr. Carter has ex exemplified dedication, professionalism, and commitment, consistently arriving early, maintaining an impeccable attendance record. And whereas his manager, Mr. Hall, along with his colleagues, recognized Mr. Carter for his unmatched work, ethics, integrity, and his role as a pillar of reliability and excellence within the department. And whereas Victor Carter's legacy of service is further enriched by the love and support of his wife Lois B. Carter and his devoted children Ralph Leon Brown, Julia Zachary, Shalita Swilling, who take immense pride in his contributions and character. Now therefore, be it resolved that we, the members of the Atlanta City Council, on behalf of the citizens of Atlanta, do hereby proclaim today, August 18th, as Victor Carter Day in the city of Atlanta Georgia. And now, Commissioner Solomon Cavanus, Mr. Carter, 56 years, y'all. If there's any question of what commitment and what the city of Atlanta represents is this man sitting right here. 1968. Chucks, you got me before I was born about uh years. But it's just a pleasure to have the family of ATL DOT up here to join Mr. Mr. Carter and his family and our the opportunity for us to show you what ATL DOT is made of, but also to show you the commitment that a native son of this city has for his city and the love. I don't know if y'all saw in that video they said sometimes he wants to come in on his day off. That kind of commitment is is unique and isn't something that you find every day nowadays. And Mr. Carter hung around and was an example for all those he worked around, worked with. He was a teacher. He still is an example, but he is legacy. And that's what ATL DOT stands for. And we just want to thank you, Mr. Carter for your commitment and thank your family for your sacrifice allowing him and sharing him with us. So, we want to give you your flowers while you're here. You're looking good. I just want to say on behalf of the Atlanta Department of Transportation and all those behind you and in front of you, we just want to say we love you and we thank you. [Applause] Deputy Commissioner Alan Smith. >> Greetings everyone. Thank you again, Council. Uh, thank you again, colleagues and friends. Um, wow. 56 years, Mr. Vic. Um, I've had the pleasure of working with Mr. Vic for about 10 of those 56 years. And I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, uh, when you talk about consistency, um, and showing up for others, consistency and showing up for himself and just serving, um, he is the embodiment of that. I want to let you all know that you always have a family here in DOT. We love you. We're here for you and, uh, we wish you well on your next chapter. Thank you. [Applause] any of his other workers, his employees, y'all want to speak. Thank y'all so much for being here today as well. Anyone on this side, would you like to say something? Okay. All right. The Honorable Michael Julian Bond. It will be all right. >> Well, first, thank you, Councilwoman Boon, for bringing uh Mr. Carter before us. Let's give him another round of applause for his dedication to the city of Atlanta. Ladies and gentlemen, if you didn't know, this is what a public servant looks like. This is what someone who is dedicated to their uh not just to their craft, but to their home, to their community, to the people of this city. And so, Mr. Carter, we're humbled that you are here. We appreciate your example for all city employees that want to make Atlanta a career and not just a job. But you've made Atlanta a way of life. So, God bless you and thank you. And from my mother, former graduate of David T. Howard. She also she would also say that the David T. Howard Rams can do anything. Is that correct? >> Yeah, I guess it is correct. Well, God bless you, sir, and thank you. [Applause] Any more colleagues? >> The Honorable Antonio Lewis. >> And Mr. Card, I want to say I truly truly truly appreciate your service to the city. As a person who grew up here and 87 was when I was born, so you already had 19 years of service by the time I was born. And a few things I've done since I've been on council are thinking about people like you. a gentleman in my family by the name of Melvin Aldridge. I always say the most successful black man in my family until I graduated college was a city employee. In 2023, he retired. He was the only black man who owned a house, owned a car, and a truck. And so, since I've been down here, I've been trying to make sure we level the city jobs to make sure people can get them. And then I joined the pension board because we want to make sure people can retire like you. So, I'm super proud to see you show this shining example of what it looks like when a city uplifts when someone uplifts the city and the city is able to pour back into him. So, I hope you got your watch. I don't know. Did he get his Rolex I mean his city of Atlanta watch yet? So, I hope you got that oneofa-kind watch that you only get if you work for the city of Atlanta 30 years. I hope that you got the strongest pension that pensions can write. And I hope that your best days are ahead of you, brother. God bless you. >> Victor Carter Day in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, 56 years. [Applause] Mr. >> Speaker, >> we are going to now allow him to give remarks at this time. Mr. Carter, 56 years. I really appreciate this from the city of Atlanta from the bottom of my heart and thank you very much. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. be here without y'all. Sure. Congratulations. Let's [Music] go. There's [Applause] Thank you so much. >> You're welcome. >> Great job. Great work. Great work. >> Thank you. [Music] >> You got a thumb for Cedar Town? I do. I although you [Music] >> Thank you all. Next, I'd like to ask council member Michael Julian Bond to come forward and all of those who are here to honor the South Asian business community alliance to please join us up on the dis. Everybody [Music] That was too late. As we gather on the das, I want to acknowledge some of the elected officials that are here. Where is uh sheriff? Our sheriff Melody in the camp county. Is our sheriff? She's still here. >> Come on up, sheriff. And we have uh yeah, come on up, Sheriff. >> Council member, we have Zenovia. >> Willis, is she here still? Where's the council? >> Come on up. I see you got on the badge. Come on up. >> No, we you can stay in whatever you want to Sheriff. >> Yeah, >> you can stay wherever you like. Have I missed anyone? got judge who >> Oh, J. Hey, Judge Kirk. >> How are you doing? Who else we got? >> Oh, yeah. We got our uh our our future senator, Mr. Bod, >> Mayor Clark, Mayor Clarkson. Where's the mayor? >> Oh, hey. Hey, Beverly. How you do? Come on up, Madam Mayor. These elected officials started that robbery to be here to honor individuals who've not only contributed to the greater Atlanta society uh but have made an indelible mark on the communities and the people of metropolitan Atlanta. I am really pleased and privileged today to want to to acknowledge the South Asian Business Community Alliance on behalf of all Atlanta. And you can see from the the turnout that we have that they have had a multiaceted effect upon our community and our lives. And so, uh, we've had a great reception out here. This is the first time I didn't cook. This is authentic South Asian uh food out there uh outside of the chamber and there's still a lot left. If if people are and so inclined to have something to eat, it's still there for you. But I will get to the uh proclamation at hand and we are here to acknowledge. We are officially today we are celebrating the South Asian business community alliance. Whereas the city of Atlanta takes great pride in the varied uh religious and cultural traditions of its residents and seeks to afford all of its people in Atlanta, Georgia the opportunity to better understand, recognize, and appreciate the rich histories cultures significant contributions, and shared principles of the South Asian Business Community Alliance. Whereas the South Asian Business Community Alliance can contribute significantly to the charitable organizations of that help people of all faiths in the United States and around the world in feeding the hungry, supporting recovery efforts, allowing cultural uh alleviating cultural disasters, and providing essential services such as medical care, family support, educational supplies, and before and after school programs. Whereas the South Asian Business Community Alliance has made a meaningful contribution to every sector of Georgia's American economy and identity, including advancements in architecture business diplomacy education government law medicine military service, national security, religion, and sports. And whereas the South Asian business uh South Asian business community alliance from Georgia has played an important roles in the development of vaccines and in the global fight against disease and polio, malaria influenza hepatitis cancer and whereas the uh there remains a critical need for culturally competent uh public education awareness, dialogue and policym to fairly and securely describe the experiences and contributions of the South Asian business community alliance. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that we, the members of United Council, on behalf of the citizens of the city of Atlanta, hereby proclaim this day as South Asian Business Community Alliance Day in our fair city and witness thereof, I've set my hand and have caused the seal of the city of Atlanta to be here into a fixed. Congratulations, South Asian Business Community Alliance. [Applause] Now, I know that uh our our good friend say Hussein is here >> who is uh my long-term friend and once fed my lottery addiction um through his many businesses. >> I make him rich. >> He makes me rich. But I'm going to ask you to introduce the members of the uh the principal founders and then uh we'll make uh some more remarks if you can introduce them. >> Good afternoon. >> Good afternoon. >> Yes sir. I'm uh honored to privilege to have this award from the city of Atlanta and uh my colleagues is Mr. Rashid Barani. He's a business owner and uh all over metro Atlanta and uh he has a lot of gas station and other retail businesses and number second is Mr. Don right here >> Mr. Dan Mammud >> he's a entrepreneur and I think so we're running for the medical school uh schools something >> medical education >> medical education school and also have a wife and Muslim director director of the area >> yep >> and uh other one is Mr. What was that? >> What was that other one? >> Uh Aziz Anani. He wasn't able to be here. Uh he's being represented by his son. >> And then uh Dr. Joffrey is representing Raheem Sha Akunale who wasn't also >> but they are out of country you so they taking behalf of them. >> All right. Well, thank you for that. Was there any any remarks you'd like to give on behalf of the assoc the alliance? >> Um, thank you very much uh Mr. Bond uh to receive this you know so I'm really appreciate and at least we we build the bridges between our community and the city of Atlanta any opportunity coming up. So I bring forward to let let them know. So thank you to recognize us. >> All right. Well, thank you [Applause] Would you like to make a >> Yeah, please go ahead. >> Good afternoon. >> Afternoon. >> Thank you very much for this prestigious recognition. I am honored to be recognized as a good businessman. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the entire team of the city of Atlanta for their exceptional support. Your dedication and collaboration have been instrumental in our success. I would also like to thank my team, my family and friends for their unwavering support. This award motivates me to continue striving for excellence and making a positive impact in the business community. Thank you again and I look forward to continued success and partnership with the city of Portland. Thank you so much. >> All right. Uh good afternoon everyone. Uh I'll start off with assalamikum which means uh peace be upon you for those that may not know. Um a couple of things I did want to address. One I am very very grateful uh for this recognition. Thank you uh by for kind of coordinating everything. Um you know running a business or starting a business one of the most difficult things to do >> and um it's a very lonely place when you're struggling to get to the top. Um, I think this uh organization that's been established will help alleviate a lot of those uh hurdles that other entrepreneurs or, you know, business owners starting out would uh be facing. So, I think this is something that's definitely needed. I'm glad to be a part of it and I'm glad we were able to get that recognition to make things move forward. We appreciate it. Thank you. >> Thank you. But as they say on uh late night television, but wait there's more. Because of our longstanding uh recognition of not only uh that diversity is an American tradition, equity is as American as apple pie. And inclusion is the lifeblood of a diverse democracy. And so we are here to recognize all facets of the greater Atlanta community and of our country. Amen. [Applause] >> I'm sorry, Miss uh Councilman Baktiar to say something. >> Sorry, I just wanted to say something very quickly. Uh somebody that comes from a family of immigrants and refugees. Um and being from a family Iranian family and knowing very well the tradition that uh immigrant families bring in terms of diversity. Council member Bond is correct. Thank you to all of you. I mean what you see up here in terms of first, second, third generation is family legacy. People as you said coming over here and being alone. My father came to this country not being able to speak English but heck he as he constantly reminds me he finished second in his class. Um I did not. So he uh but I just wanted to say thank you because in a time when we're seeing um immigrant and refugee populations under tre tremendous attack despite the fact that our communities have so much buying power and despite the fact that our communities actually build a bench and actually ensure that local businesses survive and build a bridge to next generations. um what you're going to be what you're doing now and being in Gwynette which by the way thank you for the diversity there because when I grew up there was none and I just standing up here and knowing what you all do and knowing the the the journey my father had and what each and every single one of you have had um on behalf of your children, I say thank you because I say the same to my dad every single day. So I appreciate y'all being here and I appreciate what you've built and I know that the years right now are harder than they've ever been. Not just because of bureaucracy. I'm so sorry, but also because of the state of our world. So, I'm really grateful to you all. Um, standing with you all feels like standing with my own family. So, thank you, Councilman Bond, for this. And thank you all to you for being here for today. Um, and everything you do to support our communities. Thank you. >> Amen. >> Thank you, council member. But without further ado, this I want to present a special award for my office to Mr. say uh not just because of Fantasy 5 nothing to do with it but it has to do with his contributions over many decades to the Atlanta community. So from time to time uh my office presents uh what we have deemed the Prometheus award and it reads in part uh the city of Atlanta Prometheus award presented this day August the 18th uh 2025 to say Hussein for meritorious service given to the greater Atlanta community presented by council member Michael. >> Thank you very much sir. Thank you >> and I appreciate all my friend and the busy time you know working day they they showed up here and to support us you know so I thank you all of them. >> Thank you. >> All right so without uh further ado before we adjourn to the seal uh we will step up and take a photograph. So, let's go in front of the podium. >> Going around. You come up to You can't see the camera. All [Music] right. Thanks, You all council. beautiful. >> Let me get it for you. >> Give me one second. We got everybody in the shot. >> Everybody Hold up. right here. [Music] >> All right. Thank you all very much. Next, we will move to remarks from the public. I would like to remind everybody that you have up to two minutes unless you've been yielded time from someone else on the list. You can't yield time from the microphone. I would also just like to say that I've been advised by the law department that um since uh one of the papers that is before zoning regarding short-term rentals has gone before the ZRB, you cannot comment in public comment regarding that specific paper. You can speak to uh short-term rentals in general, but to the specifics of the paper because it went through ZRB, we do not take public comment on zoning specific matters at council meetings. So with that, we will begin today with brother Muhammad. Due to yielded time, you'll have up to 10 minutes today. I am brother Anthony Muhammed. I was in my matri hotel. Assalam alalaykum. I said I say I come here today to make it very clear that the city of Atlanta you remember me council. We are not being fair with our representation in the 21st century for the benefit of the people that are the majority people of this city. Majority of people is suffering. You have a kind Atlanta commission on women. The number one problem we have with women's today and NASA they're needing some support. We have seniors, women with children. Almost 80% of our sisters and brothers have children with no support. We have a lot of other men. State of Georgia is the fourth largest prison institution in the United States. The largest number of men in jail look like me, 80%. You have most of these cities under leadership of dark, anti- matter, people that look like myself. And you got cities that have always allowed their peoples in the community to suffer due to gain due to all kind of wrong teaching among the gang. Get brothers to go and do things to get money get access to opportunities when the city want any aid them. But I would make some observation today as I made over the years. You have people that come in this country call it DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is good to have people have assets. But when I grow up in this city, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Sharp, when I grow up in this city, Thomasson, Georgia, Mr. Westmore, it was segregation. I'm not that old of a person. It was segregation was no support for brothers that wanted to have access to resource and change their lives. If you didn't get a job in economy, you didn't have opportunity. But we did have the technical school. Detective school gave opportunity for some brothers. We went to school and learned how to have trade. Y'all don't even do that in the school system no more. Don't allow people to have access to that. right here in Atlanta. I go to the school board Atlanta public school the board member. We talked about it in the 80s about teaching the truth about our contribution to the economic empowerment, our contribution to the ideas of American industry. a lot of things we create, but we don't really talk to let the children know that they got it in their DNA to bring out the best of themselves. But you got these churches, you got these sorities, these fraternities in the 21st century. You can continue to allow people to have access without going to help the people that live here in America. And let's come back to AA. Miss Boom. I've been going to AA for the last 15 years. I remember when I didn't even have nobody to come and talk about it at all. Didn't say anything about it. But it started in 1994. Atlanta Commission on Women. Why has we not been able to use that committee like Miss Adrian said? One of your colleagues, Mr. No one miss less than 10 years ago. Why don't we have AA come up with a report and let us know what their intention are every quarter? Let us know what they really want to suggest. They can come together in collaboration for the benefit so we can be able to help them, help the seniors, help the children that don't have access to opportunities. But if we admit submit to that now listen 10 years ago I've been asking ever since we have had this committee Miss Boom when you was the chairman Bakar she worked as I said last time came with the idea to help them have access to open that committee back up but now I found out the last legislation miss you come up with $50,000 for what these people don't even give a report I was told, "Brother Muhammad, didn't go to the committee. I want a member of the committee." But I found out that you had some of the members of the committee were arguing among themselves. One lady was deleted before you come up with this $50,000. She resigned from the post. I'm hearing this. But how is it that we can have you all in the 21st century not want to find ways to use the resources of my tax money? My tax money with Fton County went up 300%. And I don't think it's fair for you to continue in these dark matter cities and groove without the consideration how can we help the poor. You go out outside of this street, you see people on both sides of the street living on side on the ground. Mr. Amos, ain't nobody trying to help that. Ain't nobody trying to stop you. But why do I bring up Ma? Why do I bring up the we have these what I talk about a lot the sorority fraternity churches we don't even want to teach the people who are the bridge of the peoples of the earth if we teach the people how we are more responsible as our ancestors taught culture civilization we taught that dark mother people we shared it gave it to you but in the 21st century seem like everybody want to walk away from their own contribution walk away without knowing that you're supposed to be able to work for the benefit to help ones have access, help them have an opportunity. But like I say, I grew up in a city that you only could just live on a dirt road. All the people that live in big houses live downtown. So when I came to Atlanta, I decided that I was going to be able to go to Georgia State. came out of the Navy did all that. Worked the Citizen Southern Bank Club did all that. But I seen how the peoples out there in the park after Mr. Manny Jackson was here. We used to have a very good collective of people coming together fellowship. You could come downtown. You didn't see all the killing and things like it's going on today. You didn't see all the people homeless. We had those projects. You know, we got them after the Caucasian left, but we had access to housing. You had members of those communities to be able to build. They had presidents of those communities to talk with the mayor candidates to talk about how can we improve things. Then y'all close all of it down. They have no houses available for the people. We lost over half about 500,000 people since the 80s to the now. But now I ask you, why is it that we can't get you to collectively come together and find a way in this city alone? You got Mu King. You got his daughters and all that members of those organizations that they represent. You got Mr. L those organization that they represent. But it seems that child not want to be like Jose where the voice said for the people. Now you got you miss B. As I say, you going to come out with $50,000 for organization and we ain't seeing nothing of a report, no quarter report, but you can come up with money, yet you walk down the street and see the people. How long we got to keep getting these things done for people that has resource? I have a problem with that. I'm end with this. You got the president, y'all, as I said before, Mr. Trump he going into Washington DC with National Guard. He said he going to go in some of the other city. But I would think the mothers that look like me would be happy to have somebody to come in and stop their children from being able to be forced in gangs, be forced and going to rob some so they can get chance to put some food on the table because some guy say this is my game. You do this for me, I'm going to look out for you. But teach them how to have assets. We're not doing that. Y'all not taking your energy collectively and working together to try to find ways to train them folk. They're not doing that in the major cities. You got Chicago. I was up there on Stony Island 79 with Mr. Far. I came up under that. But I left cuz I don't want to continue to go along with that that don't want to use their influence to help the little people, the people that don't have asset. We come down here and beg with y'all. But you got where today that you can do for everyone that come in this country. Find ways to aid them, Mr. Warren. Find ways to help them have access to resources. Find ways to help them have opportunism and nearness to you. But not for the people that built this city. Build every city in America on their backs. But we living on the street. But now we're going to see money going to be building all those places overseas. But I think if Mr. Trump keep like he going, he may find reason to help money to put in the community to help lift us up. cuz I'm tired of you all not speaking on behalf of us. I greet you as I did not. I aalamlaykum mayor of Metro Hotel. >> Thank you. Next will be Henry Jordan. You'll have up to two minutes. [Music] >> Got it. not just pray to God everyone is here. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him also deny before my father which is in heaven. Matthew 10 chapter 33rd verse. The warning so whosoever should deny me is a comprehensive historical or is tense referring not to one moment of denial such as Peter but to an entire resistance to Christ. Jesus has given me many business plans that created billions of dollars for about 12 years and you denied it. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is of me say the Lord. Isaiah 54 chapter 17 verse. He is the redeemer of all men yet and yet the same one who is the holy one of Israel. We need God and he don't need us. God's righteousness worked in me is made to give him praise and you gave the praise to James Swift and yourselves. He that workketh deceit shall not dwell within my house. He that taketh lies shall not tear in my sight. Psalms 1017th verse. The idea king sing to the Lord. Keep his personal life pure and a minister's social justice. You lied about what Christ did in me and sold the enormous amount of income the work of God created through me. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. St. Matthew 5th chapter 16 verse. His light should clearly shine forth in the darkness of human depravity. The Lord told me, "If I work your job, when the problems come, I'm too tired to help you." Jesus did the work in me for us to glorify him and seek obedience to him for our deliverance. We can deliver oursel like Jesus can. He can stop a bomb better than man can. >> Thank you. Next will be Devon Bington Ward. Due to yield time, you have up to four minutes. >> It should be listed as eight. >> I only saw one yield. I checked it twice. >> Uh if you'll check with the folks out front. I verified >> I only have four. I'm sorry. I only see one yield. I was actually out there when the additional people yielded to me. It's really imperative that I have my full time. >> I'm sorry, but I only got the list I've got. We'll keep checking while you're talking. >> Okay, great. >> Good afternoon, council president and members of the city council. My name is Deon Bington Ward. I'm with the National Police Accountability Project and I'm here today because Atlanta, we have a an accountability crisis along with the jail crisis and they are connected. And if this body chooses courage, we can change both. First, I'd like to start with Devon Anderson. Recently, the National Police Accountability Project along with the Center for Southern Center for Human Rights filed a Freedom of Information Act request. And the reason we did that is because we believe that Devon Anderson should be alive today. He was killed by offduty APD officer Melvin Potter, a man who long before that night had DUI, reckless driving history, probation issues, allegations of domestic violence against a female APD colleague, and after Devon was killed by him, he refused a breathalyzer test, and obstructed justice in the investigation. And any other city employee with this type of record would have been removed long ago. and in Atlanta, he still gets to keep his badge and his gun. I want to thank uh APD for responding to a portion of our public records request. Um we requested those records for one reason and it's to make it unmistakably clear to every APD officer under the sound of my voice and that will hear this eventually that whether you are on duty or off duty, you are not above the law. Public transparency is not a favor. It's a legal obligation and start and a starting point for rebuilding trust. We will keep pressing until the public has a full account of prior complaints, disciplinary timelines, and decision paths that allowed officer Potter and Officer Garrett Roth and others to remain on the force. And let me also be clear about Officer Roth, the officer who killed Rashad Brooks in 2020 and was later reinstated. Roth is now under investigation again for engaging in an assault against a bartender in Midtown. When officers with deadly force histories return to duty and then reappear in new incidents of offduty violence, it's not a fluke. It's a policy failure. Our position is simple. Officer Melvin Potter should be fired. Officer Garrett Roth should be fired. And where conduct meets criminal law, murder, assault, and obstruction, prosecution should follow. Accountability cannot stop at HR. It has to reach the courthouse or it isn't accountability at all. The culture here is problematic and it's important that we expose it. A lot of times people like to say these are isolated incidents. They are not. They are predictable outcomes of weak early warning systems, slow internal affairs investigation, and a pattern of giving the benefit of the doubt to the person with the badge rather than the people who live with their consequences of their deadly actions. That culture doesn't just harm families, it exposes the city to liability, civil rights claims for excessive force, and failure to train or supervise wrongful death and negligence claims. and the downstream costs of indemnifying the conduct when the public we won't defend that. Now, I'd like to talk about the Atlanta City Detention Center in our staged withdrawal. When the city approved the lease allowing Fulton County to house people at AC/DC, it was sold as a humanitarian response to a crisis at the Rice Street Jail. The mayor said, "We are saving lives." But since then, people have continued to die under the county's custody, including in our city detention center. That tells us that this crisis is structural, not architectural. Continuing this lease is not only morally wrong, but it is legally reckless for this body to do. One, there's a constitutional exposure. The eth and 14th amendment prohibit deliberate indefense indifference to serious medical needs and unsafe conditions. And when patterns of medical neglect and violence or suicide persist, Atlanta is not insulated simply because Fulton County books people at the city property. It's the city's facility. Our staff is there and our policies contribute to the harm. The plaintiffs rightfully will name the city of Atlanta when unconstitutional conditions stem from policy choices like continuing to rely on a facility and leadership with known failures and refusing to implement adequate medical and mental health protocols, the city's policies and exposure becomes more evident. In addition, the more time and money we invest in a temporary arrangement, the more we normalize a permanent jail expansion by another name. That increases the odds we will keep paying for emergency band-aids and lawsuit settlements instead of solutions. Added to this is the ongoing US Department of Justice investigation into the Fulton County jail system. The federal scrutiny does not stop at Rice Street. Any continuing reliance on the city detention center as a pressure vow ties Atlanta's name and its legal risk to a system that the DOJ has already flagged for constitutional concerns. And let me be clear again about the political moment we find ourselves in in this country. A hostile Department of Justice under Donald Trump absolutely could weaponize those things, those findings to deflect blame or to force the terms on the city or to justify more fixes that we don't control. Why keep the city lashed to someone else's constitutional crisis when you have a lawful, sensible off-ramp already in the lease that was approved by this body? That offramp is our stage withdrawal and it's not a talking point. It's a promise that was made to the public by this administration here in Atlanta. It is a plan to end the dependency on a failing system and transition the city detention center into a full diversion center and center for care. Diversion is not softness. Diversion is risk management. Fewer people in unsafe custody, fewer medical crisises and cells, fewer civil rights claims, fewer lawsuits, lower recidivism, and better public safety outcomes. So, what this council must do now is first continue. I will continue to ask for this council to pass a resolution urging for the administration and the department, the police department to fire Melvin Potter and Garrett Roth and also support the pre the pursuit of criminal accountability where warranted. Second, we need APD to fix this offduty policy and enforce it. Third, we need the initiated stage withdrawal from the Atlanta City Detention Center from Fulton County. Pass the legislation to withdraw, publish a month-by-month timeline, identify those who are responsible, and appoint an independent monitor to report progress publicly. Don't let what was supposed to be temporary become a permanent policy failure. Build transparency that actually builds trust with the public. the choices in front of you today. Atlanta claims to be this cradle of the civil rights movement and I actually believe that. But I would believe that more if my council passed legislation that was actually grounded in others civil rights and that means that we have to end this madness with Fulton County and we also have to hold our police officers accountable. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, I just want to say that I got a updated print out. That's why you got your eight minutes. And uh, I've also updated the rest of the list. Next will be Devin Franklin. You'll have up to eight minutes today due to yield to time. [Music] Good afternoon, U city council. For those who are not aware, my name is Devin Franklin. I am senior movement policy counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights here in Atlanta, Georgia. Um, for those who also do not remember, I'm a former public defender here in Fton County for 12 years. I've worked in these courts. Um, I've been in that jail not through personal escorts or anything like that because I um met with clients and am personally familiar with the conditions in that facility. I am here today as part of the communities over cages coalition um particularly to speak towards the stage withdrawal resolution legislation that we believe will be taken up later on today. Last Friday, August 15th, 2025, marked the three-year anniversary of when this body voted on um ordinance 220632. That was the legislation that authorized city mayor Andre Dickens to enter into an intergovernmental lease with the Fulton County Sheriff and Fulton County government to lease 700 beds to um those persons for addressing what was said to be humanitarian crisis for the many men that were sleeping on the floor at that point in time. The clock on those four years began in December of 2022. That's when the first persons were transferred from uh Fton County to the Atlanta City detention center. Um and so as we stand here today um the question may be why are we talking about the stage withdrawal now we are just over a year um from the point in time when Fulton is supposed to be out of that building. And there are some who may feel that this the timing of this request is premature. Some may wonder why we even addressing it at all given that, you know, the the actual intergovernmental agreement itself, the contract that the city signed with Fulton County says that there should be a stage withdrawal, that there should be conversations had, that the actual ordinance itself states that um updates are to be given to the public safety and legal administration committee beginning at the 270day mark. You may ask why are we um here asking for support um for what should not be in question. Um I will tell you why. I will tell you because the urgency is apparent. I will tell you that we have read the tea leaves from both the state legislature and Fton County's legislature. Um and we see the efforts to essentially finesse the Atlanta City Detention Center from your possession. In the spring of this year, Senate Bill 7 was introduced before the state legislature. And essentially what that legislation offered was that the Fulton County Sheriff at any point in time could take AC/DC and use it for housing purposes without any consent or or or input from um you all. Um just this morning a press conference was held by Fulton County Chairman um Rob Pittz. Um and primarily it was speaking to the need for them to figure out um how they're going to renovate Rice Street um and particularly building additional facilities. But what's important when you look at the agenda around that is their expressed need for continued occupation of the Atlanta City Detention Center. Right? They they are arguing that they need to continue to have utilization of your space um beyond the terms of the agreement um so that they can affectuate um the building of new facilities over the next 10 years at the cost of a billion dollars um some to that extent. The time for this vote is now because we saw that the last time that you all voted on this the legislation was a failure. The legislation was a failure. We told you before that the first person to be transferred into Atlanta City Detention Center would be the women who were housed at the South Fton Regional Jail that they would not first address the individuals who were sleeping on floors at the Fton County Jail at Right Street. And we saw that that happened that the first 300 individuals that were brought over there were not the men who were sleeping on the floor, but it was the women who were already housed in a different facility. We told you that the issues within Fton County, like yes, the building is in horrible condition, but we told you all that there was a bigger issue with the culture of uh abuse and neglect and that that has been proven right as well. I know it's been proven right because I was part of the organization that reached out to the United States Department of Justice and asked for the investigation. The results of that investigation showed you all that there were incidences such as um pipe fittings being left in the common spaces, things that could be used to create weapons, right? And we told you all this was going to happen. Okay? And that that continuing to relieve Fton County of this necessary accountability will continue to put individuals in danger. Then now is the time for you all to vote on this stage of legislation, the stage withdrawal legislation because it is the perfect opportunity to make sure that we are holding government officials accountable. From this very podium um the week before the vote for the legislation, Mayor Andre Dickens came and spoke to you all. He stated, quote, that it was his personal constitution, his personal constitution that he would not um want to have Atlanta in the jailing business. that it was not his desire to have it land in the jailing business. And more importantly, what he also spoke to, and if you all want to hear the quotes, I can gladly send it to you in your emails, he spoke to the fact that at the time that the first person was to be transferred to the Atlanta City Detention Center, that there should also be a request for inquiry put out by the uh city of Atlanta regarding the use of the facility afterwards, particularly its conversion um to a center for equity and wellness for those individuals in need. And so as we sit here pondering what is best used for that facility in the future, what we must keep in mind is that in order to control the population at Fulton County, in order to make sure that people who are in custody, who do not need to be in custody, have the resources that they need in order to make Atlanta safer, to make themselves safer, to make them their community safer, then they need to have a place to access those resources. And I don't say that empty-handedly. I say that as a public defender who when I had a client who was without housing and on a Saturday morning at 1:00 we found out that he had housing that would only be available for the next day that I got up and put him in my car and drove him to Hollywood Road at night, right? And I know a lot of you folks ain't going to Hollywood road at that time of day. Okay? I don't say this as an individual who doesn't have skin in the game. um a person who hasn't paid for hotel rooms for people who need it um in order to make sure that they aren't in violation of their sentences. And so essentially what we're asking you all to do should not be seen as controversial. It should not be seen as bullying. It should not be seen as um trying to create a problem. We are only asking that you all keep your word. Those of you all who voted in favor of the legislation for the lease, the language inside the lease called for the stage the stage withdrawal. We're asking that you keep that word. Um and we're asking that Councilman Lewis um call for a vote on that legislation today. Thank you. >> Next will be Deacon Casey Cameron. You have up to two minutes. [Music] Good afternoon, councelor. I am Deacon Casey Cameron, chairman, deacon of Live Life Tabernacle Praise in Atlanta, Georgia under Apostle Tracy Lenswell. Now, even though I just went through a secondderee burn on my left foot, but when my pastor called me and told me that somebody from the city of Atlanta have ran into the wall when they working on the street of James P. Broly and Pawn, I cannot believe it whether my foot was hurting or not. I jumped in my car and headed to the church. And on August the 8th is when she was telling me about it earlier this morning and when this happened for her to have the city to take responsibility, but nobody signed to fish the wall. This is in district three, the same district when the late Ivory Young put a speed bump on his street and supposedly been putting it on James P. broadly where you actually have parks where kids is running out and you got cars speeding down. Then you got streets that is croing just like over there on Hollywood road off of Jane Jackson Parkway as you go down that that curl on your left hand side where it's sinking in where you constantly had to call the city. I wish you councilman, I wish the president would get in the city van and all you councilmen ride through the district because when you run for office, you say you're going to f up the community, which that is truly not happening. So, if you don't stand for something, you would truly fall for anything. Remember, you all have to be reelected cuz we voted you in and we can vote you out. Have a wonderful day. >> Thank you. >> And to God be the glory. >> Next will be Walter Reeves. You'll have up to two minutes. >> Walter Reeves, workers representative. Uh the Jackson Hole Economic Forum begins later this week. And uh I would like to thank all of you all for uh tolerating my uh lectures on the Bretonwoods monetary crisis. Uh the city of Atlanta is perhaps the uh the largest um metropolitan area that is familiar with this uh uh issue and really deserves an award and uh I would like to uh recommend a book Grand Bargain by uh Gerald E. Roseen. He was the uh one of the many uh federal judges that uh handled the uh bankruptcy of Detroit. and we really need uh federal judges to start paying attention to this issue. And I thank you very much and um I will uh be stepping back and uh taking some time off to uh hopefully get some awards for my work for the uh New Orleans truck attack. Uh now also for the Reeves Britain Woods 4 and also an award for the uh the very sorted event at the US embassy in Brussels. uh regarding that that does not uh reflect the general uh culture of Atlanta. I've been very impressed by the uh uh urbane wholesomeness of city workers here. You really should be very proud of them. I've been very proud of uh Asha Collins and her urbane wholesomeness and she she represents them very well. and um and God bless y'all. I'll stay in touch. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next will be LA Pink. >> Due to yield to time today, you have up to eight minutes. >> Good evening, political gangbangers. And so I say to you every time I come, if you guys could spend as much time getting jobs done as you do proclamations given out, you may have some legislation and laws passed around here. You guys got more proclamations going out than you do laws being passed for people's rights that's being violated. We speak out all the time about the jail. We come here. We speak about the homeless. If you guys could even take out the time to go to these places that Mayor is staging out to the community. Have y'all been to some of these places that y'all placing the homeless in? Have y'all taken out the time? Cuz y'all have housed them and we've given them furniture, but they roofs falling in. Ovens don't work. Roach infested. We could come down here time and time and time again. And I know y'all think we performing. We warning y'all for the Rico that's coming. And pray that your name ain't on it. Cuz for the names that I have mentioned, trust me, it's on there cuz I've tied you all together for the work that is not being done and the money that's being taken. See, I am tired and I know the community is tired of Mayor campaigning on taxpayer dollars. We tired. We tired of them uh uh teaming up from what the streets say with Boon and and and and and Shirley Franklin and all of these other people they say helping Mayor campaign retired and we're coming here to warn you. I know y'all be taking it like, "Oh, y'all just being funny." You know, I give y'all nicknames cuz I don't I don't respect you. That's why I give you a nickname. It ain't because I'm coming up here trying to be funny. It's the lack of respect that I have for your name that you've ruined in the community. Now, your proclamations to people may seem different cuz some people get off on that kind of stuff. But from what I watch, you waiting till somebody about dead or about to die, and that's when you recognize them. There's people been here 58, 60 years. You think that's cute for you to all of a sudden bring him a proclamation like you did uh uh uh what's her name? I'll think of a name in a minute. But people been here for years don't be recognized and then all of a sudden you want to recognize them but they houses is going undone. They can't get their roof fixed. Other people from other areas got to come in, but they've been working for the city of Atlanta or been doing things for years for the city of Atlanta and can't even get their house done. But y'all want to give them a proclamation? That's an insult. But as they continue to talk about the jail, y'all wait, watch, and wonder about what's about to happen on Wednesday. Cuz like I said, some names that been mentioned in the Rico is coming. And on Wednesday, all hell about to break loose. So trust me, like I said, you got y'all running. Are you running for president? I don't know. I I ain't heard nothing too much about what work you've done for you to be president. But hey, to each his own. But what we are tired of is the staging, the performance, the sitting, the watching, the being friends. I don't want to say nothing cuz I don't want them on my back. Well, I want them on mines cuz trust me, what weight I got on mines, I could carry it. That's why I come for you. I show my face. See, I ain't got people on social media on a fake page. When you come to my page, you can see exactly who I'm talking to and about. Cuz I want your job. And I come to tell you that. I ain't come running no laws. That's their job. They got that. Because when I come down, just know I got facts. And when I come down, trust me, I done been to your neighborhood, your doorsteps, to where you supposed to be serving. And your job ain't being done. See, your father's names, grandpa's names is in uncle's names is on stuff. Like I just said, y'all put Shirley Franklin's name on a street where hundreds, hundreds of homeless lays. Ain't no way you going to do that to me. You couldn't put my name on no street where you got homeless still laying there. That's an insult. She should be ashamed of herself. You could tell what type of mayor she was when she was in office. And whoever is being bought by her and paid, trust me, tell them to come see me. You better check my resume. They say, "Why you won't run from them seats?" I can't. Cuz I'm too busy going to get y'all up out of them. For those that ain't doing their job. And if the shoe fit, wear it. And if it don't, don't force your feet into it. You know who you are. You know what you do. You know what you done. And trust me, nor would you could be sleep if you want to, boo. Cuz we'll come for you, too. Don't ever get it twisted, brother. Her room helped you remember and my husband. Oh, yeah. When you was trying to run for mayor. Don't get it twisted. But you ain't too far either, baby. You think cuz you sitting buckhead, we can't come come knock on some doors and remove you. Trust me, it will be done and can be done. Don't ever get it twisted. And I could show you better than I could tell you. Trust me, I I ain't applied as much pressure as I could. I know y'all be feeling like I be coming down here by myself, but trust me, I ain't by myself. It's just if we come and bring a whole bunch of people, then y'all call us a gang. You know how funny Willis do everything she want to look at as a Rico. But she the Rico. She the Rico. But the Rico queen going to have to come for some of y'all. And then we coming for her. Doure, I most definitely want to say um we watched the video of your daughter and you and we most definitely sent our love because a lot of people and I said I didn't even understand how that ain't even being spoke about. That should be that that should have went all over to every news station because that was something deep. You fight for your community. >> Yeah. >> You stand up for your people. And I just want you to know we here for you. We watched that and they took my heart because that could have been you and your baby's life and they they would have been giving you flowers and a proclamation and all of that then when they should have had recognized that that should have had stopped everything. Everything in here should stop. We should have been still hearing about that because it was a tragedy accident. But God had his hands all over you cuz he know you got work to do and you going to do it. I watched you. Proud of you. [Applause] >> Thank you. Next will be Rashanda Russell. >> You'll have up to two minutes. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Well, don't know how I can come by Sister Pink. So, but um I am Rashanda Russell and I am new to everyone here at the board, but I'm coming up here today because of the DOJ. You know, my son has been in Douglas County over well in the prisons for 10 years. So, it took me 10 years to do a chain of command to come in front of you guys um from the regions and all of that stuff where things are not being done correctly as you all know. And my biggest thing is, I know I have two minutes, but my biggest thing is that got me was everybody stood up for the pledge of allegiance to the flag for justice. And my son is sitting in a cell with mode for three months with health issues. And my biggest other thing is it's it's the rights, you know, the inmates rights of saying they already being punished. why they got to continue to be punished is a problem for me. And I'm an advocate not just as for my son, but for everyone that doesn't have a voice or scared to even speak up. But my problem is, my other problem is is that my son speaks up on the policies and the procedures and he's being punished as well. moving from city to jail to jail, prison to prison, as I would say, under wardens to wardens, secretly moving him because he's bringing light to the policies and the procedures that they supposed to follow, getting little hits on him that that's not supposed to be, you know, that's coming to him that it shouldn't be because he's speaking on the things that the wardens are doing. Again, these are seats that everybody signed up for. And if you guys are not helping to assist to put the correct people in the seats, then it's a problem with you guys also because my son is my only child and I refuse to be a parent up here like other parents. God forbid that. Okay. Well, God forbid, but thank you for my time. I'll be back. Thank you. [Applause] >> Next will be Charles Rambo. Charles Rambo. Duty yielded time. You'll have up to eight minutes today. Thank you. And good morning. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Good afternoon to the mayor as well as the city council members. My name is Charles Rambo. I'm a retired uh commander from the Fulton County Sheriff's Office with over 30 years of public safety service to include law enforcement intelligence analysts uh corrections, which also led to me helping lead the Fulton County Jail uh into 95% compliance ratings with its most recent consent decree order. uh today. I understand the weight of what you're trying to deal with with the city jail, but it cannot ignore the overcrowding of the jail with residents that come from your districts. This is the peril of county. This also is to the peril of countywide taxpaying citizens. As cited by the United States Department of Justice, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, as well as your former corrections chief, now Fulton County Sheriff, the Fulton County Jail is in a state of crisis. I urge you today to consider uh reconsider ending the city's contract for housing Fulton County inmates that again come from the various districts that you represent. My reasons are not based upon political policy, but legitimate law and order for the people, not just in Atlanta, but countywide citizens whose public safety are also at stake. Number one, the majority of pre-trial defendants housed in the Fulton County Jail charged with state felony and misdemeanor, again, they come from your districts. Uh if diversion is your goal, then please let's make it real in a joint pilot project prioritizing uh those Atlanta based inmates with inmate excuse me uh mental health and addiction struggles towards restorative justice. But abandoning detention altogether really will violate the essential duty and contradict the essential service of policing. It will only push the crisis back into unforeseeable consequences back into your districts. Number two, while I respect and defend the First Amendment rights of signs that declare incarceration is inhumane, with all respect to activists here today, that was the similar chant that was held when protesters stood in front of the Fulton County Government Center 5 years ago in opposition to building a medical wing at the Fulton County Jail. What resulted, as the great former city council member and county commissioner Lee Moore said, of that vote that failed, it will come back to haunt you years later. Imagine Lean Thompson's death could have been prevented in a uh in a state of a art medical unit in the space that had been constructed if it had not been voted down. Next, if jails don't solve problems is the free speech that will influence your p uh position on today, your vote on today's resolution, then please instruct the Atlanta Police Department to stop bringing inmates to the Fulton County Jail. It again will violate as well as contradict your uh legitimate interest in trying to provide law and order services that need correctional facilities to house people towards incarceration as well as adjudication. That's why rehabilitation cannot exist without humane eth amendment conditions where people languish in jails returning to your districts a better criminal than a productive citizen. But most critical as it applies to every municip municipality and I'm a witness to this. Our jurisdictions's got to do a better case of bringing to the criminal justice system cases that can pass a constitutional muster of getting past sixth amendment uh uh demands by inmates to have their fair date and fair opportunity towards trials. And I respect the fact that you don't want your facility torn up as we hear in federal reports as well as the media of the Fulton County like the Fulton County Jail. While internal order and discipline is not the scope of county or city officials, that's the sole responsibility of the elected sheriff. But remember, three out of four voters rejected a $ 1.7 billion mega jail, which leaves you with an aligned mandate. hold the sheriff accountable in his constitutional duty in least spaces consistent with landmark cases like Perunia versus Martinez which give him not the courts or legislators constitutional discretion to manage conditions within internal order and discipline. This must happen now uh not only in the county jail but also in your lease spaces. My comment today is not about political grandstanding or power moves that have uh haunted the relationship between the county as well as the city as it pertains to the city jail. Trust me, I go back to the uh inflated cost that the city wanted to charge the county for the facility when we offered to try to purchase it uh when we were under another consent decree. Essentially just bringing this to a close at the end of the day I urge you all to be partners in constitutional reform more or less because and I'm going to say it because I don't hear any civil organizations. I don't hear any religious communities. I don't hear anybody coming up here to speak towards the plight of black youth that are housed there at that jail. We are not getting ready to give up on people who deserve a second chance and sending them down the road when they obviously might be exonerated for the crimes that they have been charged for. So at the end of the day, this is where I'll end. And I don't like quoting scripture in front of politics. But according to Daniel the 3rd chapter and the third verse, you as well as Fulton County are in the same condition almost the same as the Hebrew boys who stood there watching their community leaders on bended knee as opposed to standing up for what is legitimate towards their rehabilitation. Please do not let this type of Babylonian curse fall upon the city of Atlanta. the jewel of the south because we're obligating and failing to special interest that otherwise are not taking a consideration to those who need some type of rehabilitation. And it begins at the Fulton County Jail. Do not do not do not please take this lease away from the county. I say this as a person who has worked at the county jail and watched how you all have bound over cases over to us that crowded out the jail and left us having to manage it. Please act more responsible. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next will be Britney Burns. >> You have up to two minutes. >> No, I don't. >> I have one minute. He said Britney burns. Okay, we heard me. [Music] Next will be Dominique Grant. We have to two minutes. Good afternoon. I'm glad you woke up, Miss Norwood. My name is Dominique Grant and I serve as the campaign and operations manager at Women on Iraq. >> I have not been sleeping. >> Thank you so much. >> I have pictures with your eyes closed for longer than four minutes. >> Eyes closed. Council member, you can respond after. Go ahead. Go ahead, Mr. Grant. >> Thank you. When I joined this fight, Atlanta had already broken his promise. Mayor Dickens once stood with us clo to close AC/DC. But instead of following through, he signed a deal to keep it open and turn it over and turn us over. Almost three years to date, we didn't stay quiet. We organized. We sat in city hall and we brought solutions. We showed how the jail could be depopulated and how resources could be redirected to housing, mental health care, and harm reduction. Investments that actually make our community safe. Instead of listening, leadership double down on incarceration. Fulton Countyy's problems are not being solved because the county refuses to address its failing systems. More jail beds had never been the answer and y'all knew that. Today, simply put, we urge council to move forward with the legislation to make a clear plan to get Fulton County out of AC/DC and to finally repurpose it as a center for services and not incarceration. Please stop letting Fulton County and the mayor bully y'all when they couldn't care less if you're reelected or not. The path forward is clear and our communities can't wait any longer. Oh, she left. Okay, so nothing. >> Oh, okay. >> She does what she >> Yeah, she does what she >> Thank you. >> Next will be Next will be Robera Meyers. Duty time. You'll have up to four minutes. >> Good afternoon, council members and city of Atlanta residents. I'm Robera Meyers, vice president of state strategy and re-entry at the Legal Action Center. We're a national nonprofit law and policy organization committed to fighting discrimination, defending dignity, and fighting in supporting justice. We are members of the community over cages coalition, a group of local and national organizations fighting to end mass criminalization and to see the city of Atlanta and Fulton County reduce its carceral footprint by eliminating their reliance on incarceration and other forms of punishment as their public safety strategy. It's time. It's time to do something different. It's time for you to follow through on your word and your vote. In 2022, you went against the community when hundreds of us stood before you on multiple occasions to say it was a horrible idea to lease the Atlantic City Detention Center to Fulton County. We told you it was not going to help end overcrowding in the Fulton County jail system. We told you it would not end the inhumane treatment and lack of care of individuals that would lead to more deaths. It didn't prevent the death of Noni Batist Kasoko only six months after the lease agreement agreement went into effect that handed over AC/DC keys to Fulton County. We told you it would not be a financial benefit to the city, but instead a financial liability. I handed y'all a report to show that you didn't listen to us. You listened to the mayor to Mayor Dickens and one of the culprits that sustains the practices and policies that keep the jail system and the people in it in crisis and in danger. It didn't prevent the US Department of Justice's 2024 finding that conditions of confinement at the Fulton County Jail violated the 8th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It's time to enforce more accountability of the Atlanta Police Department. It's time to make sure the lease ends and plans for staged withdrawal is executed. It's time to revive the plan to develop a comprehensive health and wellness center that includes space for a career training center, a health clinic, short-term and transitional housing, mental health services, drug and alcohol treatment, and more. It's time to move forward with creating the John Lewis Center for Equity and Justice by repurposing the Atlanta City Detention Center. Today is time and I need you to please stand up and stand for what's right for the people and to follow through on the promises that have been made to us for years, for years. We need y'all to stand up and stand firm. Thank you. Thank you. Next will be Maggie McCullum. You have up to two minutes. >> Afternoon to everyone and thank you for allowing me to speak today. I want to bring some happy thoughts into this place right now. I went to the National Senior Games and on my travel there, this are the medals that I won. I won a gold in powerlifting. [Applause] I won a silver in mix coin holes. I won a silver in Tai Chi. [Applause] >> I won fourth place in doubles cornhole. I would just like to say thank you for allowing us seniors to live. It's time for us to live. get rid of all the smoke and let it settle and allow seniors to do things so that we can make it a long time. We have worked I have worked in my community worked hard to do things to make people feel comfortable in their neighborhoods. We would like for all of you to continue to allow people to be comfortable where they live. God bless each and every one of you. I know that the job is not easy, but just reach back for that burden and that yoke that he'll make it light. continue to work on, continue to be of service to the people, for the people, by the people, and all of us can be happy together. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next will be Mark Spencer. >> Duty of time, you'll have up to 10 minutes. Congratulations [Music] on all the medals and uh thank you for bringing some smiles to the room. >> Uh unfortunately my message is not as um uplifting. I think because I have a little extra time, um, you know, I just want to share a little bit about why we do this work, why over the past 5 years, you see us come in white coats to talk to you all um, about this work. And you know what comes to my mind is is a patient that I saw very recently. And this gentleman I saw in my clinic, which is a transition clinic, which means that we see people who are very recently released from the state prison system and the county jail system. And what really struck me when, you know, we finished our visit and he was leaving is is that he paused and he looked at me and, you know, with every ounce of his humility, he asked me if I had any money for food. And like anyone in this room would would do, it's not a story about me being some sort of saint. I gave him $10. And and what happened next has really stayed with me because he wept in a way that I haven't seen somebody cry that vulnerably in a really long time. And it it really reminded me of how vulnerable this man was and that he had nothing from the city, from the county. He had absolutely nothing and he would um do anything he could just to even find a meal. And that vulnerability is not something unfortunately unique to that one individual. This something we see every single day. It's something we see every single week. And that's what drives our work and why we're here talking about policy because I've lost track of this gentleman and he's missed his last four visits. I've seen him pop up in the emergency room four or five times. And I'm really worried the next time that I hear from him, he's going to be back in Rice Street or he's going to be dead. And this wouldn't be the first time that something like this has happened. There's not often happy endings to these stories. And I think why we get so frustrated is because yes, we need to repurpose ACDC. It's so logical. It's so evidence-based. We need this space. We need more resources. We need $30 million going to substance use, harm reduction, housing, etc., etc. But to be honest, it's a drop in the bucket of the need that we see every single day. And so when it feels like moving a mountain to do something that makes so much sense, it's really deflating. And um it it it really makes it really makes us profoundly question why are all of you in public service if not to serve the public in a way that's deep and meaningful. And I think that um every time I think about that individual, every time I think about my other patients in similar situations, um that's why we want to have these policy discussions. So, I have a few minutes of comments that um I want to follow with. And you know, for those who don't know, my name is Mark Spencer. I'm a physician here in Atlanta and objectctor of an organization called Stop Criminalization of Our Patients. And we center our work on the criminal legal system because every single health inequity that we see in Atlanta is intimately tied to the criminal legal system, whether it's housing, substance use, race, poverty, mental health, and a lot more. And it's really impossible to discuss, let alone address the fact that many of our black patients in Atlanta live 15 to 20 years less than other patients and die prematurely without talking about the criminal legal system. And as physicians, medical students, and public health professionals, we emphatically support the demand to close and repurpose ACDC. and we ask you to pass the phase withdrawal legislation so that we can move forward together and actually build something positive. And it's a rare opportunity this year amidst all the federal and state legislation that is inflicting so much violence on our patients to envision something life affirming coming at the local level. And Atlanta has the opportunity to remove 1,300 jail beds from America's sprawling carceral landscape. And I personally do think that is a beautiful thing and it holds the potential to impact so many lives. Atlanta once and for all needs to divorce itself from Fulton's cartial catastrophe. And again, it's hard to express how badly this is needed. Like I was sharing about my patient, when you work in a safety net, so-called safety net hospital system, you become very proximal to the ways in which individuals struggle to meet their basic needs. And as a clinician, rarely are we able to do anything about this policydriven scarcity and vulnerability. And too often prescribing medications can feel like giving someone a glass of water when their house is on fire. And the real power to affect change is through policy and is with you all on this council. in repurposing the building and redistributing the corrections budget. That change could look like so many things. It could look like tripling the annual budget of Atlanta's affordable house trust fund. It could look like funding 200 community health workers. It could look like paying the full rent of at least a thousand families a year. It could look like five times um the funding for PAD. It could look like 10 times the funding for the city's contribution to the diversion center. It could look like investments that maximize diversion's effectiveness by adding more supportive people and places and services on the back end. And Atlanta doesn't need to keep marrying Fulton's addiction to punishment. The Fulton sheriff and DA who keep looking to carceral solutions to carceral problems have a very myopic view of public safety. Whatever next iteration of the jail Fulton commissioners and the sheriff and the DA might push for, it's bound to fail if their goal is for everyone to thrive. Don't let the commissioners push you into being complicit in their own dysfunction. Fulton's approach to safety continues to stand antithetical to public health where prevention is priority and where it's understood that the way systems are created and organized and accessed can expand or constrain opportunity for safety and well-being. Atlanta can do much better than them. And the sentiment that opening AC/DC to Fulton was a humanitarian intervention was misguided. And we did tell you at the time, but it remains true that a jail is a jail where dehumanization and criminalization go hand in hand. And if the jail remains open, we are very worried that not only will it enable Fulton's dysfunction, it will open the door to ICE returning to the city and county. And we will look to repeat history with the mass criminalization of our patients before the World Cup. And when we talk about AC/DC, we really are talking about Atlanta's long history of criminalizing poverty. And in the end, we can't hide the impacts of poverty and inequality, no matter the number of jail cells. And with the World Cup approaching, we should be bothered by visible signs of poverty and despair. But not because they're unappealing to visitors, but because of the preventable human suffering. And as a city, we can choose hope instead of abandonment, care instead of cages. Atlanta has the opportunity to relieve so much suffering. It would truly be an inexcusable shame if we chose not to. Thank you. [Applause] >> Next will be Robin Hassan Simpson. You'll have up to two minutes. Good afternoon. My name is Rob Mahassan Simpson. I am the executive director of Women on the Rise. I am a formerly incarcerated woman and I'm a member of the community over cages. For years, Women on the Rise has been at the forefront of the close the jail campaign. We fought tirelessly alongside our communities and we won a hard-fought agreement to close the Atlanta City Detention Center. There was more than just a victory. It was a promise to our city and that we move away from punishment and towards real safety, housing, and care. I personally tore the jail with Mayor Andre Dickens. We stood inside those walls and agreed that there was not a place that should exist in a city that claims to believe in justice. And even after the lease with Fulton County was announced, we still tried to save the city from making a harmful decision. We brought solutions like the policing alternative and diversion center and the diversion center. Real proven ways to keep people out of jail and address the root causes of harm. We were told we could trust this administration, especially since the same mayor once carried the legislation to close the jail. But now, instead of following through, the city has turned its back on its own commitments. This building was already slated for closure. It's time to end the lease, close AC/DC permanently, and finally invest in solutions that our city deserves. Thank you. >> Next will be Reverend Ray Washington. You yield a time. You'll have up to six minutes. Thank you. Good afternoon, Attorney Amma Robinson. After being approved by the Homeland Security and FDL Lee opening up uh approved my application to open up a funeral home in the state of Florida and being invited by the Georgia Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones, photos with four different metropolitan sheriffs. I think it is far time that we let the civilians of Atlanta know the truth about Reverend Ray Washington. The reason why the Atlanta Police Department was doing slander, defamation, and liable of me had nothing to do with any court or having any jurisdiction over me by through a court order a manding order for the harassment. profoundly. It was a scare tactic telling them to harass me as I stand before this city council every time I came down here talking about the allegations of uh with which led to factf finding by the Atlanta Citizen Review Board who unanimously sustained my complaint for false imprisonment of David Hollowman, a police officer hired by the city of Atlanta who should be have been jailed. But APD tried everything to reverse the psychology. Oddly, Kesha Lansbottom, the former mayor of this city, kept this individual on her payroll. As I digress today, my heart is saddened. Brother Barnes, how some preachers can do well on camera, taking pictures with many politicians but will not come down the city council and address certain factors in terms of our uh local community having a place. Dumbar Street, Dumbar Rec Center. It's a travesty that all of these uh music and the polit uh individuals in the music the music theater can do all the movies in Centennial Olympic Park but will not do anything about Dumbar Street. I think it is an an embarrassment uh brother Bonds uh madam Mr. president uh uh shook that we should have a more open understanding. Why in the world that Dumbar Park would have a closed pool? Why in the world would Dumbar Park not have a lifeguard there? There need to be a lifeguard there at that place. If you're doing spending money at Centennial Olympic Park, why you're not doing it at Dumbar Park? I think it is an embarrassment on our community that you can spend all the money at Satin Olympic Park. And yet, yet, let me let me not hold my city council members hostage. Let me not hold them accountable. We looking also for our preachers that if you're preaching on pull pits on Sunday morning, but you won't come down here to city council and address certain factors that need to be addressed in terms of civil rights of our community. I think it is an embarrassing shame today that we have these issues. Another issue that I want to address uh city council members is that it is an embarrassment that the black community is not holding these city councils hostage. Yet we talk about jails. Yet we talk about people being arrested by the police. But how in God's name are you not emailing them? While you're not sending emails and coming down here sending letters, you got to do more than just send letters, you got to be able to be seen and be on the cruff. And let me tell you the truth, Reverend Ray Washington and Reverend White in the middle of CO. We went down and fought for Armad Aberry. We walked these streets when it was unpopular in the middle of CO to be able to let no let it be known that we did not want Rad Brooks his legacy to go down. In the middle of CO we we talked about George Floyd. We did more than just talking. We walked these streets and we marsh these streets. The truth be told, my brothers and sisters, we need to do more to call on Christopher Harris. If Christopher Harris can take a picture by the name of TI, if he can take a picture with the mayor and talk about a housing, he need to do more about Dumbar Street, Windsor Park. I'm talking today cuz I'm asking you to please take a picture. Please, as my brother said earlier, get in your cars, ride down Dumbar Street. Those people need life there at that park. I heard a police officer say, "Reverend Washington, I appreciate you addressing this issue about Dumbar Park. It needs to be more seen. Even if they do all of Even if the music community or the movie community do a free concert of such something to let these people know that they matter. Thank you very much and God bless. >> Thank you. Next will be Dennis Tidwell. >> You have up to four minutes due to yield to time. >> Thank you. That's a a tough act to follow. I'm glad Miss Pink's not still here cuz I got some good things to say about you council members. First off, credit where credit is due, you guys have really outdone yourself with these zoning bands. Like Staff Sergeant Lincoln Oerius said in the movie Tropic Thunder, playing a guy who isn't smart but thinks he is. That's real tricky. It's like working with Mercury. It's dangerous. It's high science, man. It's an art form. And you all have mastered it. You managed to make a bad idea look like a bold move. And that takes talent. Hats off to you guys for going there. These idiots never expected that you would consider destroying vested property rights of thousands of your constituents without them even being present. Many have no idea what you're doing. And they shouldn't, right? I don't want them here. Yeah, screw those taxpayers. They demanded that at least you have some data to back up this aggressive act of authoritarianism. No sir, we don't need that. You have more than a handful of letters from these Kairens in the neighborhood. What else do you need? One of them even had a notary stamped on it for God's sakes. This Amster lady in the hall hit me with a stat earlier. She said, "You know that only 0.06% 06% of all reservations are reported as an illegal party. First of all, Amster lady, no, I did not know that. Second of all, did she just admit that there was a party? Boom. We got her. To be honest, we don't really know how many short-term rentals there are in these districts. Who really cares? There should be zero. Am I right? You feel me, Mr. Shook? Hell yeah. Grandfather writes, "Damn, that's that's tricky. You guys forgot about You forgot to consider that. Screw it. Grandfathers can go to the hotel like everyone else. Boom. Burn those guys. Beat it, old man. Notice. Who the hell thought that these property owners should be given written notice? These damn people actually expected a letter in the mail before you change their property use affecting their home values and possibly their livelihood. I say, "Damn those people. It's not 1776. Nobody uses the post office anymore. They will notice when we drop an ordinance on their head. Hell yeah. That's the notice you get. You greedy land owners. This guy in the hall was crying today. He was all upset that the constitutional regulations for short-term rentals haven't even passed yet. And here we are ba passing bans first. Wow. We're sick of those whiny babies, right, Byron? I agree with you guys. Let's violate the constitutional rights first, then get sued, then learn what's legal. That's what these city attorneys are paid for anyway. Am I right? We got so much money in this budget. We will be able to pay millions to make sure that these guys never have a sleepover without our permission again. I don't even think these short-term rental people vote. In all seriousness, I think you should take Robert Downey Jr.'s character's advice. Never, never go full Protect property rights. Protect grandfather rights. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next will be Rob Meyers. Due to yield to time, you'll have up to four minutes. I'd like to thank the council members and their staffs for uh listening to us today and and the other times that we reach out to you. Uh I wanted to point out that Airbnb is a $74 billion company. That's a B with a billion. Their business model, their secret sauce, if you will, their innovation has been to create a marketplace that facilitates running commercial businesses and residential areas. This is a 74 billion big business. It is the opposite of mom and pop. A Georgia State University professor reports that in just the last 15 years, large companies have come in and bought up over 70,000 properties across metro Atlanta alone, accounting for over 30% of the region's single family rental properties, or roughly 10 times the national rate. Airbnb is part of this problem. Airbnb activity pushes out residents in favor of transients. When you live in a small lot like I do, what's going on next door can have a big impact. And so I was disappointed to hear about another Airbnb shooting that occurred uh July 28th in District 3. A neighbor was quoted on the news saying, "It's a non-stop every weekend, the whole summer. Whether it's fighting or shooting, something always going on in this house. So whoever owns that Airbnb, they need to shut it down before somebody get killed. She now says she no longer feels safe in her home and is calling for stricter regulation of short-term rentals and increased police patrols in the area. This mirrors my own experience from years ago. On my block, they found three 45mm casings, nine 357 Magnum casings, and a blood trail leading from the Airbnb. And I did not feel safe in my home. I did not feel safe in my home. Thank you. Thank you. Next will be Dan Bringman. You have up to two minutes. >> Good afternoon, council members. Dan Bringman, resident of Home Park since 2004. Um, according to the 2020 US Census data, 48% of Atlanta units, residential units, are owner occupied. Based on available tax data in Home Park, only 25% of our single family residencies are owner occupied based on homestead exemptions. However, in a 2022 study, Georgia Tech School of City and Regional Planning found home parks livable non- hotel units were only 12% owner occupied. This means we're four times below the city of Atlanta average in owner occupancy rates, ranking us as one of the worst in the city. This is not sustainable and this is not a sign of a healthy community. Because of our proximity to Georgia Tech, the majority of our remaining properties are rented by tech students, which means we are already filled with a large majority transient population. And today, STRs are only removing the housing stock for our badly needed long-term residents and replacing it with additional transient visitors. So, while Home Park and its residents understands that each Atlanta neighborhood is able and expected to accommodate a small transient population, Home Park passed our tipping point. We had passed that acceptable threshold with our tech rentals a long time ago. So, we need more residents to tend and care for home park daily, not more STR properties used just a few days a week. So, I ask that Atlanta City Council pass laws and promote policies that increase owner occupancies and bring long-term renters to our neighborhood. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next will be Mrs. Sue. You'll have up to two minutes. Hello, council members. My name is Mrs. Sue and I'm here as a property owner and taxpayer to say I do not approve or authorize my taxpayer dollars being wasted on proposals to ban short-term rentals anywhere in the city of Atlanta. as the city would be violating federal law and ignoring protected property owner rights and potentially putting the city in a position it has no right to be in. Spending millions defending lawsuits that will raise the already high sky-high property taxes for all residents and businesses. It would also put Atlanta at risk of losing the ability to host blockb blockbuster events like the Super Bowl and World Cup that will bring millions of visitors and billions in revenue which will benefit all stakeholders. Because a key selection criteria that these host selection committees use is the number of available rooms the city has. Banning STRs will drastically reduce that number. I want to leave you with this list of 30 short-term rental benefits, which highlights the value they bring to Atlanta and why the city should view them as an integral part of its success instead of trying to find ways to make it harder to do business. Thank you for your time and may I leave this with you. >> Next up will be Shelley Dean. You'll have up to two minutes. My Airbnb revenue is my planned retirement income. My guests are 75% business people and the rest tourist. I have never had a problem like what I have heard here in the years I have been doing this. The neighbors have never complained. The community has never complained. I am an owner manager. As an owner manager, I can't afford to upset my neighbors or have any property damage. I go above and beyond to screen applicants because I can't afford for things to go wrong. As an example, I require my guests to have a good rating and I require them to read and agree to a list of conditions of what they can and can't do while staying there before I accept them. By following this procedure, I have never had complaints filed against me, by neighbors, or anyone else. By following this procedure, I do not see I do see people walk away once they see what they have to agree to. As a host over the years, I have provided an enjoyable experience in Atlanta for visiting professionals, educators, artists, families, and even exhibitors at the Piedmont Arts Festivals. Many of them return and rebook with me. Many of them become my friends who keep in touch with me. And all of them provide my income for my retirement. It seems that the problem that plagues the city is not the presence and proper operation of the Airbnb, but rather creating an accurate enforcement mechanism to be applied against the very small number of operators who are causing problems. These buildings that have problems are not doing their job and they should have to shut down and not affect the host who work hard at this and depend on this. I also disagree with the building limits. This is a building problem and not one that should change my ability to house the many people that I service visiting Atlanta. My products are all bought locally. I employ cleaners, handymen, and trades people. The focus should not be on barring Airbnbs that the city needs, but rather on developing a mechanism to punish and close the small number of bad operators that are causing problems. Thank you. Next, next will be Valerie Anderson. Duty yielded time. You have four minutes. >> Good afternoon. Um I would like to say um Mr. Amos um introduce himself to me today. so pleased to meet you. And um I'm still upset. I'm still very upset because Monday, last Monday, I went to safety >> and I was the one that had to let the members know that Melvin Potter went back to work. >> I don't feel that's my job. that I had to be the one to let the members know that he went back to work and I found out from channel 11 when I was doing an interview with channel 11. Like I stated before, I'm here to get justice for my son. That's it. But I found out that the s he's going through some type of silver um something. So that's why he's not being fired yet. So with that said, why was I the one that have to um find out that he went back to work? Why? I'm seeking justice for my son. So where is the disconnect between the mayor's office, your office, and me? Where is the disconnect? I mean, again, it has to be some kind of accountability where you all on the same page. Why are you all not on the same page? This person don't know this. This person know that. I mean, that's not for me to to to to be coming here telling you all what you all what I think you are supposed to know. Mr. West Men, um, we we spoke. Did you find out anything about what we spoke about? >> I don't want to eat into your time, but I have not received a response yet. >> Okay. Um Oh, and before I forget, Mr. um Barn, I would like to also thank you for um setting up that meeting for me. You and Amber Madison, greatly appreciate it. Like I said, I had a good meeting with her. So, the meeting was very good. So I didn't I don't think but yeah my son is my son and my son was murdered. Okay. My son was murdered by a lawless drunk police officer who was on probation when he murdered my son. So how much time [Music] I am frustrated. This man should not even be back at work after being off for one year. He don't even deserve a job as a janitor in the precinct. That's too good for him. >> Take a >> Okay. Well, you not even to be a janitor in a police department. He don't even deserve to be a damn garbage truck pick driver with all that he has done. And again, like I said, if it was my son, my son would have been in prison by now a year. I'm coming down here for a whole year. If it was my son, he would have been in prison. My son would have been in prison. But I'mma leave you all again with everything I've been saying from the beginning. I am his mother. Proud to be his mother and I'm not going anywhere as there's a God above because this lady told me God see my tears and I believe that. I believe it really do see my tears. So that's why when I made that promise to my son that I am going to get justice for him, no matter how long it takes, if I got to drop down dead hair in front of you to get justice for my son, that's what's going to happen. >> Time is expired. >> That's what's going to happen. And please believe me when I say I'm not going anywhere until I get justice for my son. So thank you. >> Thank you. Next will be Christy >> Amador. >> Christy Amador. >> It's going to happen. It's going to happen. >> Do you time you have up to four minutes? >> Thank you. Um, as a new uh residents of Atlanta, I just wanted to thank you, the council and the president and u uh Representative Winston, I believe you're my new representative. So, thank you for letting um me speak. Um, wow. These are I'm I'm from the Atlanta area. I've lived in Decar most of my life. And uh I chose to come to Atlanta for several reasons, but one of the big reasons was um because uh there was an opportunity for me to live in Atlanta and have a a building behind my home and renovate it and make it into a cottage and have people rent that. Um I Decar had very very high taxes and I'm getting older and I got uh laid off last year and believe it or not a lot of people don't want to hire a 60-year-old for a job. I don't know what that is but um but because of that this has really become an important part of my husband and my um uh retirement plan. It's become really important to right now to our short-term uh you know financial security. Um, so I just wanted to, you know, have people understand, I know there are situations, uh, where short-term rentals probably don't work out. There are a few situations that are very high-profile where people have kind of went wild and what have you. Um, but I will tell you, my situation is we've never done this before and we've only been doing it for a very short time and we've had a wonderful experience. We've had people I I there was a a man that we helped connect with his daughter. he she didn't live with him and so she it was her birthday and so we made it kind of exciting for her and he was so appreciative. We were the first place that a a young lady stayed for her honeymoon um you know because you know we're not very expensive and and we really made it nice for her. So I look at it as a way for me to connect with my neighbors and connect with people from maybe out of town. a lot of them also from the Atlanta area. But I don't um think that, you know, having uh full-on bands of short-term rentals is the answer. And honestly, one of, as I said, one of the big reasons I even moved to Atlanta, which I'm so glad I I have. I really love it. Um and your council meetings are a lot more exciting than the ones in Decar, let me tell you that. Um, but I really do appreciate uh y'all listening to me and hopefully um you'll be able to look, you know, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Take a look at what people are doing. Take a look at situations. And I would guess and I I think I know that the main uh the the lion share of the people that do Airbnbs, you know, do do this with the right ideas in mind and they do it for their financial aass person like me. This is part of my retirement. So, uh, I just wanted to make you see that side of things and I appreciate you listening. Thank you. [Applause] Next. Next will be Lama Cuchenski. You'll have up to two minutes. Good afternoon, council members. Uh this is my first time doing public speaking and probably in last 10 years. So my name is Lana Kjinski and I am a proud um air BNB superhost and a midtown resident. About two years ago I purchased um a 1933 historic boarding house. Um and from from the start my plan was uh to live there myself as my family and rent um the other two apartments as Airbnbs. I have applied for short-term rental license and I have received it. Um, and never realizing that there was a ban in the works uh to ban Airbnbs in Atlanta. Um, my house is not just an investment, it's my home. Um, I live there with my family. I've poured time, money, and energy into making it bringing it back to life. and hosting has been a lifechanging for me. Very quickly, I earned um a superhost status. Uh my properties consistently receive five-star reviews and um they're in top 1% of Atlanta's homes for reliability and safety. And I also it helps me um and it's not just for my family as a mom and of course it's a great part of that because I'm a mom of two kids and it helps me balance work and life. Um however it helps me to connect to community as well. I host a wide variety of guests from um a lot of different guests and I feel like there should be a distinction between a living um host like me and just corporate um absentee landlords. Um I also um want to mention that I schedule about 20 cleanings per week. Um and I think about I'm sorry per month. And I also employ um local repair people um and tradesmen. And if I lose my ability to host, they will lose that work too. Thank you for your time and giving it a thought. [Music] [Applause] >> Next is Jeffrey Webb. >> Jeffrey Webb. Margie Mloud. [Music] Good afternoon. Um, Councilman Over Street. I'm in your district. I'm supporting the black business and you know 1380 that you came on the radio and say what you said, but we want to know cuz it was not on agenda about the proposal. They need revenue. She need revenue. Okay. I was That's why I came down here to make sure you kept your word. But we need revenue. Okay. That's why I am here. And West Morland, I don't know how you did it, but we should be able to do the same thing what you did for Midtown. And thank you for supporting your district. and over street. You got to do the same thing because if he could do it, you could do it also. Power to the people. >> Ryan Tooff allocated time. You have six minutes. >> Mr. Shipman, can I hand something out or I'm sorry, >> Mr. Hill? Someone will come down and get it. >> Yeah. enough here forever. try to get started here. Why I'm handing out a little flyer. I think it's nice to have a visual. My name is Ryan Toth. Um I'm here to talk about short-term rentals. Again, um I want to be clear upfront that I am in complete support of reasonable regulation. Um but the current framework and proposed bans are overly restricted, uninforceable, and harmful to Atlanta. Um specifically, the grandfathering or lack thereof is problematic. Um another example is I've been operating since before 2020 when the first uh regulation was proposed. So that's problematic for me in particular. Um STRs are not just properties. They support families, jobs, small businesses, my cleaners, my maintenance staff. I have some of them with me today. My contractors that rely on SDR income. I personally rely on this income to pay my mortgage to support my family. Candidly, removing that lifeline would be devastating for me and the team of people that have supported me. Devastating. I cannot reiterate that enough, Mr. Amos. Um, I I I have I have reiterated time and time again kind of the human message here regarding short-term rentals or the team, the people, and candidly, I just feel like it's falling on deaf ears and we're on this hamster wheel. I really want to get off of it. I really want to get off the short-term rental hamster wheel. Um, so I struggled to try to find a message that kind of kind of hits with everyone. Um, but I'll I'll try to touch on some topics that I think are relevant. Um, I mean, the tax revenue that short-term rentals generate is significant. I think the city, last I checked, I think the city likes tax revenue. Um, I'd like to also note my experience with the permitting system. It is broken. I applied last week, you guys. It is chaos. I had to up upload 14 pieces of documentation. The at one point I had to go down. It took me two straight days to just get a clear answer on anything and it's still unresolved. I went down to the office, had four people in front of me trying to figure out a glitch in the system where you add your address and the wrong partial number appears or you add your parcel number and the wrong address appears or you add your name and the wrong name appears. Four people were in front of me. No one can figure it out. I got this all on video. Still this day, I have no answer on what's going on there. I'm a professional and I understand the dynamics here. So, I wonder how many other people have applied for this license and given up because it was just so constraining and difficult. Um, I think that needs to be looked into. Uh, the World Cup is looming. Uh, I mean, hotels can't meet the meet the lodging demand for the World Cup and I think it's it's a big time event for Atlanta and we want to represent. I think professional hosts will represent Atlanta well. Um, I'd like to note that there are other hosting cities, specifically Kansas City, that that passed very restrictive short-term bans and now they're in a housing crisis and they're calling owners of property say, "Hey, please please put your put your rental property as a short-term because they have they have more demand than they can fulfill." Um, I'd like to specifically reference the home park ban. I have a home in Home Park. It's my primary residence. I know Home Park well. It's close to my heart. It's where I had my firstborn daughter. I now have an 8-week old son that this short-term rental supports him and, you know, everything that's involved with that, which I'm just learning right now. My wife is here today. Um there in Home Park, there's a vocal minority that opposes short-term rentals that has three primary um complaints. One of them is the whole neighborhood is being taken over by short-term rentals. The other one that there's no parking, there's trash thrown all over the neighborhoods. Yes. As I mentioned up here, >> as I mentioned earlier, you can't speak specifically to the legislation. So, you can talk about policy generally, but not specifically to the legislation itself per the law department. >> Okay. I I just want to can I speak about my experience? I want to I want to reference that the the narrative that 25% that has been set out there about home park um 25% of the neighbors being taken over by short-term rentals. It's not it's just factually false. There's nothing true about this council. I I personally ran through AirDNA. I went to every single short-term rental in Home Park. There is a total of approximately, it's hard to tell because a lot of them change, some coming on, some going off, but there's approximately 20 full-time single family residents that are in Home Park. Um, that accounts for 2% of the neighborhood, not 25%. Uh, my property in particular has nearly 40 reviews. They're all fivestar. Worked hard to achieve this. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, tons of hours of time to achieve that success. Um, I will I will agree with the gentleman who spoke before me about the neighborhood being transient, which is true. I mean, it's weird to put candidly weird to put short-term rental ordinance in a neighborhood that is by nature extremely transient. Um, to me, they go hand in hand. It makes sense. The college kids are only in school for 10 months, nine, 10 months out of the year. So, what do you want those properties to do the other three months? To me, it's a natural environment. Say, "Hey, we'll transition." What that does is so so the homeowner can now, including myself, doesn't have to charge them rates that would absorb that three months of vacancy. Um, and what you see in the pamphlet is photos. I I have every single short-term residence that that is a single family dwelling in Home Park. I also have examples of non-shortterm residences. I think it's pretty obvious that the short-term rentals are well-kept, well organized. There's not trash over the streets. There's not parties and parking going on. they are new builds and they are well-maintained while other properties I I think are contrary to that. So the narrative that the short-term rentals are ruining the community is just factually false. Um I have problem with multifamily restrictions. I wish I had some more time. Let me just add this about the multif family if >> you restrict to landmark. I know the landmark is a pain in the butt. I know it. I know it well. If you put a restriction on these buildings, they are being supported by short-term rentals. It would it would be a bomb that goes off in >> it would be like Ghostbusters when you shut off shut off the ghost containment system. >> Thank you. >> Cats and dogs living together. Mass hysteria. Next will be Benjamin Gross. [Applause] >> Benjamin Gross. Stop here. >> Next will be Laura Clemens. >> You have up to two minutes. I'm Laura Clemens, the owner of it Atlanta, which is one of 150 franchises across the United States specializing in the management of short-term rentals. I take great pride in the robust STR community that we have built in Atlanta. It's arguably one of the best in the country. Despite the absence of an enforcable ordinance, our STR community in collaboration with the Amstra alliance has effectively maintained a strong network of responsible host. We have successfully supported those who may have struggled in ma managing their STRs, ensuring that our community remains one of the strongest in the nation through self-management practices. We have actively offered our assistance to all city council members dealing with any problematic operators in their districts. The Amstra Alliance is committed to supporting Metro Atlanta and promoting responsible ownership and hosting within the STR sector. Our community is proud to have welcomed millions of guests to our beautiful city, contributing millions in tax dollar revenue to support Atlanta's growth. Any ordinance that would hinder the operation of successful host would be detrimental to both the STR community and the city itself. As we prepare for the upcoming summer with the World Cup coming, the STR community is focused on ensuring that Atlanta remains one of the premier destinations for global visitors. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next will be Kathy Mccclure. You have up to two minutes. >> Good afternoon. My name is Kathy Mccclure. I'm an attorney and I am the vice president of the Atlanta Metro Short-Term Rental Alliance. There is legislation before this body today that would directly impact the legal rights of short-term rental owners. None of this legislation protects the grandfather rights of current owners to continue operating as legal non-conforming uses rights affirmed by the Supreme Court of Georgia in Morgan versus May. The law department has advised council that only owners that owners who obtained a license under the 2021 ordinance may be will be protected. Let's be honest, and you know this well. In the four years plus since the passage of the ordinance, the administration has never enforced it. Never. This law that's been on the book for four years has never been enforced. And the administration has publicly admitted that the ordinance is quote legally indefensible. The the Atlanta ordinance is what lawyers love uh call a zombie ordinance. Legally dead, uninforcable, but still on the books. The city cannot rely on a zombie ordinance to strip away our lawful property rights. The bottom line is current short-term rentals are operating legally. Any new ordinance must respect our grandfather rights. If you pass legislation that does not which violates it, we will have no choice but to file suit and we are prepared to do so. Let me be clear. Amstra supports reasonable regulation. We want the bad actors out. Uh, we want a fair, enforcable ordinance that actually works. >> Time is expired. >> One more sentence. Step back from the brink. Please >> reconsider. Recognize our grandfather rights today or face guaranteed litigation tomorrow. Thank you, sir. >> Thank you. >> Next. Next will be Kito Johnson. Next will be Nikki Bugs. >> Do you time you have up to six minutes? >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon. I'm here and have been compounding campaigning for the uh for your assistance for the past four years. August 1st of 2025 will be my fourth year fighting this campaign regarding STRs and homeowners losing their homes because of it. I come to you as a law-abiding citizen, a taxpayer, a homeowner within the state of Georgia, the compounds of the city of Atlanta and the jurisdiction of Fulton County. I stand before you today on the behalf of some homeowners of the Landmark Condominium located on 215 Pedmont Avenue. We understand that SDRs are not going anywhere. We get it. We've been kicking this can down the road for the past four years and in two years prior to that with homeowner Judy Clemens who also asked for assistance. So, this is where we are. I'm here today again to better understand why with your ability for oversight, regulatory, and legislative powers to address the profoundly serious safety, compliance, and governance issues affecting the Landmark residents. The landmark is currently experiencing severe governance and safety problems under the control of an investor HOA board, short-term rental, who operates it, and she's also the president of said board. The person never resided on campus, operates, owns, and manages over 50 units. But yet and still, we continue kicking that can down the road regarding getting assistance. As we said, SDR apparently is not going anywhere because you guys are not doing anything about it. But we're losing our homes. So, it's profit over our lives and over our property. the extensive STR traffic undermining residential security near fatal fire January 17th of which the homeowners will be liable for millions of dollars because of this STR investor and where the fire took place. Confiscated and conversion of common areas and storage space units strictly for their private use. suppression of homeowner participation in meetings in the building as homeowners, as humans, as people. Alleged financial misconduct, including double billing of water, frivolous fines, and unauthorized assessments. These are not merely private disputes about, you know, the paint on the wall or we're unhappy about the carpet. It's not that. These people are working to take our homes. the defamation the the um defamation suit that I was served at here, the xenophobic packet we sent you guys that now all of a sudden you're trying to say that that somehow we did that. They sent that. We sent that to you guys immediately to let you know what was happening to push us out of the building. The defamation suit, same thing. But guess what? It's being flipped on us. We request that the city council, in light of the conditions, request that the Atlanta City Council hold public hearings on SDR abuses, unlisted property management, and public safety hazards at the landmark. At the landmark. This is not a joke. This is not anything where somebody's trying to take money out of your pockets. It's not that. It's the fact that we're losing our homes. Direct code enforcement and fire marshall request for the department of planning to review STR licensing compliance for all units operating within the landmark. Consider legislative measures. Strengthen restrictions for STRs and residential com um um community buildings. Require and enforce licensing on certain property managers handling multi-buildings. engage city attorney's office to explore potential injunctive relief for ongoing violations. So, we're made to suffer through all of this because of inaction and because profit money in your pocket, but you're not thinking about how that affects the rest of us. No one's thinking about that. And this is where we are. The landmark's not a pain. Be clear about that. We are a historical building. We are homeowners just like you. Some of you say you are homeowners. Think about it both sides. We're we're we're not a pain. We just ask for your assistance. If this is set wisely and they're operating the way that they should, they should not have ever been able to take over the building. That is the truth of it. That is the truth of it. My condolences regarding your loss. I recently lost my parent and in the meantime, I'm still fighting this and dealing with that at the same time. and being accused of things that we didn't do. This is where we are. People are getting foreclosed on >> and all we're doing is kicking the can down the road. People have leans on their property and all we're doing is kicking the can down the road. And then yet instead we sit here and say, "Well, we don't we're losing money and and we're losing money. We're losing our homes. We're losing our lives." Does that matter? I can't answer that for you. It appears that you don't. And I hope that's that isn't the truth, but as long as we've been not passing ordinances and not communicating and we have no idea what's going on, that's unfortunate. Thank you very much. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next will be Tone Lane. You have up to two minutes. Thank you. >> Hello everyone. Thank you very much for giving this opportunity to talk to you. I'm here for a very different reason uh than most everybody who has spoken. Um as you know, hi Matt, how you doing? Uh also good to see you and my condolences to you and your family. Uh I'm a property owner. Uh I am uh in district 12 and I am uh here today because I'm quite upset with our Councilman Lewis. It It's beyond me that a council person could be so disrespectful to our police department. Also, I can't even imagine I have a council person who is been cited for marijuana use while out driving. Also, his registration on his car expired and he is verbally abusing some officers in our police department. I stand by the blue. I love my community. I love my district. I'm not sure if there is a process by the council, but I'm calling for his resignation, and I'm calling for him to step down. I don't want a councilman who uses drugs and can't put his life together like the rest of us do. Thank you. Next will be Heidi Reese. >> Correct me if I did not get that correct. You're okay. >> Got it right. >> Two minutes. >> Um, hi, I'm Heidi Reece. Um, I'm a property owner, an STR owner, and a STR manager in um the Grant Park area. Um, I'm here because I'm invested in this. Um, I am truly sorry about what has happened to some people. Um, I don't think that that happens to everybody. I think there are people that really try to do the right thing, that really try to have the right people. Um, and I think that the STR business is really good for the city. I think that you know we provide housing for tourists, for families, for remote workers, medical medical patients, traveling nurses, traveling professionals. We operate responsibly using best practices to prevent disturbances and follow all the laws. Contribute millions in tax revenue to Atlanta, support local jobs for the cleaners landscapers contractors and more. We help Atlanta attract major events like the 2026 World Cup, which brings millions to our economy. We're all just trying to do the right thing. Um, I think that there's just bad people out there that don't. And unfortunately, like everything else, they make the good people look bad. So, I think that there really needs to be perhaps a department. I'm willing to head it, Liliana. Um, and you know, maybe something that from the city that helps manage this process a little better with a little more control. >> Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Next would be Caleb Edwards. >> Caleb Edwards. Next will be Kiana Jones Moore. Due to yield of time, you'll have up to four minutes today. Well, it's been a while since I've been here, but I see that there's not a lot that changes. But first, I have to start off by saying, go kick rocks, mister. If you want Councilman Lewis out, you're going to have to just do whatever you are legally able to do. If that means a recall, a petition, or whatever, you're going to have to do that. But this council is not going to kick him out because he has an opinion. So today I'm here not only in support of ending the lease with Fulton County for AC/DC, not only standing behind the mother of Devon Anderson because Melvin Potter should not be working anywhere. Also Garrett Roth should not be working anywhere. And neither should any of the officers who had a hand in the murder of Jamarian Robinson nine years ago. On August 5th, 2016, Jamarian Robinson, a student athlete who was awaiting his return to Tuskegee University, was murdered by 17 rogue officers, some of them being city of Atlanta officers. An indictment was handed down finally in 2021 after so many years of fighting. But I want you to know that those officers who murdered Jamari and 17 of them shot at him 110 times with 76 bullet holes piercing his body. Flashbang grenades were thrown onto his person and an officer even stood over him. and fired shots directly into his handcuffed, lifeless body. I had an opportunity last year to sit in the Richard B. Russell building and hear testimony from officers who had to admit that they had falsified testimony, that they had falsified statements regarding Jamarian's murder. And again, this is a young man who had no prior history, no prior history with law enforcement, was not a person who had been convicted of any felony. It was alleged that Jamarian had pointed a weapon at an officer in a fast food drive-thru a week prior. But a week later, 17 officers, including some city of Atlanta officers murdered Jamarian. This family is calling for this city council to step up and do the right thing. Offer some compensation to this family for what your officers have done. Because what we are seeing is that officers in the city of Atlanta seem to skirt accountability when they murder residents. when they murder innocent people. You know, it takes me to the murder of Deacon Johnny Hollow, 62 years old, murdered by Kairen Kimbro for simply refusing to sign a traffic ticket. Murdered senselessly and mercilessly. And Kairen Kimbro still walks free. The officers who murdered Jamar and Robinson still walk free. You received a letter from the family. I urge you to please work with them and support them. >> Thank you. Next is Richard Monroe. Have up to two minutes. >> Thank you, Council Member Shipman. My name is Richard Monroe. I am the president of the Atlanta Metro Short-Term Mental Alliance and I'm here to talk about reasonable regulations. You know, we are here as an association. We work with all of our members uh to make sure that we have best practices and that we uh adhere to not disrupting neighbors. Uh we work with other uh situations with what's going on with uh the Landmark building and some of the other neighborhoods uh to help resolve those issues. Uh there's ways to do this successfully and I'll give you some specific examples. Hall County, Cobb County, the city of Fairburn. These are all jurisdictions that have regulations in place for short-term rentals that would prevent what's going on in these neighborhoods that that that you're seeing problems in and in these buildings. It's a very simple process. The short-term rental owner or operator applies for a license. They get an inspection on the property before they get approved. They notify the neighbors of who the the manager or the owner is of that short-term rental. Let them know that it will be a short-term rental. If there's any issues, they can reach out to them specifically. And the uh protocol is if there are up to three complaints for that short-term rental, then that short-term rental should be delisted and no longer allowed to operate as a short-term rental. It's a very straightforward process. I know that the current ordinance does have some uh things in place like other council members have uh mentioned that you know to solve for one building that's having a problem is not the way to go about this. This has to be solved with an overall ordinance that would solve this for everybody uh in terms of getting rid of the bad actors. We also don't want to have bad actors exist. It doesn't help us. It doesn't help you. It doesn't help our neighbors. And so Amster is here to support uh redoing the ordinance so that we can clearly define what those regulations are for short-term rental owners and operators. Thank you. Thank you. Next will be uh Minister Breezel. Due to yielded time, you'll have up to four minutes today. Praise God. You have my sympathy of your loved one. I feel in this room there's a lot of pain and suffering and scared. But people, I have a word for you. You don't have to be scared. The Lord gave me a word this morning and it's coming out of Proverbs 4. The Lord said, "Hear my children, the instruction of a father and give attention to know and understanding, for I give you good doctrine. Do not forsake my law." When I was my father's son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, he also taught me and to say to me, "Let your heart retain my word. Keep my command and live. Give wisdom and give understanding. Do not forget not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her and she will preserve you. Love her and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principle of things. Therefore get wisdom and all you're getting get understanding. Now people of God that this word is for all of us. We got to love one another. No matter how we fight against each other, how laws are being presented to us and we don't like them, some we love, but we are here together as a people. We are the people of the United States of America. And by me born on the 4th of July, it tells me a lot. working as a private detective, police officer, all of that, ministering, going in jails. I have seen the worst of the worst because me too people, I have been arrested here in this big city of Atlanta because I was a wealthy woman. I helped so many thousands of people, fed them, took them off the street. Many here today, I helped got in office. Mabel Thomas, Michael Barnes, all John Amos, all of them. And I was arrested for being who I was to help God's people in a poverty neighborhood called English Avenue Community. I lost everything that I had. I left my children for four years. I almost died. But you see me now. I'm here. Don't be sad. Was for you. You shall receive it. And I'm still believing God that this counselor going to give me justice because God said, "Give this widow woman justice." In Luke 18, it tells us that I'm not giving up the race. I'm fighting because my prayers work. If you ever know the man upstairs named God, the Almighty, the creator, you never give up on yourself. So, I'm asking you all counsel. Do what's right. Do your best if you have to stand by yourselves. It's never a day or moment that you shall not pray cuz we all are in this together. It don't matter about color cuz I have white family members, Hispanic, African-American Indians and all. I love them all. And God bless you all. I love you. I'm not going to stop because I'm so glad that you over street and boom, y'all working together to get Cascade done because we are not going to give up Cascade cuz I'm a property owner. God bless you. >> Thank you. Next will be Nadia Gordana Gardani. Sorry. >> You have up to two minutes. >> Thank you. Hello, council. I'm very happy to be here today. Um, I've spoken several times about my support of short-term rentals. I am a single mom. I live in Cabbage Town. I bought my house 25 years ago. Um, being a short-term I've been a superhost with Airbnb for eight years. Being a host has allowed me to stay in my home, has allowed me to afford my taxes. I've put my daughter through college with no college debt and she will be graduating in December with her master's degree in policy. I am here before you to just talk to you about a different side of being a host with Airbnb. Not only am I a host, but I'm also a community leader with Airbnb. So therefore, I help support the host here in the Atlanta area. I'm also what's called an ambassador with Airbnb. So I help onboard new host and while onboarding new host it is important for us as ambassadors to teach them the best of hosting and to have them understand what it's what is important to hosting. So, I'm saying that to let you know that Airbnb doesn't just this big corporation that doesn't care about its community or who we are or what we do with as host. They are we come here to represent ourselves as host. And with that, I just want you to know that it is very I served also on the board at Airbnb for three years as a um host advisory board member. It is very what I see of the company. They're very supportive of common sense, good legal hosting and is very support. We have a we have a law in place. I'm a little nervous as you can tell. We have a law in place that we support and we would love to see it supported by the city. Thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it. >> Next will be Helen Williams. Next will be Alejandro Gutierrez. You have up to two minutes. Good afternoon everyone. I'm Alejandra Gutierrez and I am an owner at P uh Petri Towers. So Lyanna, thank you for representing us. Um no one wants a nuisance rental in their city. However, um I know that this proposed cap would uh reduce the owner's impree towers uh more than 2/3 and at the at the the other the other building with the issue is the landmark is going to be uh over a fifth or over four fifths of the of the building would be lost with the short-term rentals. Um, we bought it, we bought this unit because it allowed short-term rentals. Um, we understand that you want to have some regulations in place. We are a proud holder of our short-term rental license. Since you guys started this proposal, we have never had an issue with our units. Um, and I believe that Petri Towers could be a good example of a building ran correctly. I know we're not perfect, but we want to be able to maintain our level of uh care when it comes to the tourists and families that we host in the downtown area. We allow for a niche market of people that don't need to have cars to enjoy Atlanta. I am a proud u promoter and uh user of the martya and I think that um we do have that niche market in the downtown area. So Atlanta's always been a city of innovation and hospitality. Let's regulate short-term rentals in a smart way. One that protects our neighbors and lets the building and buildings like mine continue to welcome visitors responsibly. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Chair. Point of clarity really quickly. Sorry, just because I've noticed a couple people. So, Peach Tree Towers is actually in district 2, just across the street from district 5. It's not in my district. It's also about to be in district 4 with redistricting. So, just so you know, >> I have I have nothing over Peach Tree Towers. Thank you. >> Next will be David Landren. You have up to two minutes. Hello, good afternoon. So, my name is David Landram. I've run a short-term rental property management company Atlanta since 2016. I'm speaking out in opposition of taking a specific neighborhood and banning short-term rentals. You're throwing out the good with the bad. I believe it sets a bad precedent to peace meal legislation. I'm also speaking out against the idea of a 10% cap on short-term rentals in multif family buildings. About half of my portfolio is made up of rental units in multif family buildings. Uh I think this was used before, but I feel like we're throwing the baby out with the bath water. Um and I will side note, uh I've got about 45 properties in the whole portfolio. We've been operating for about eight years. Never one of my properties has not been super host. Um we have about uh 20 there's about 20 residences at the landmark condoing that are driving this. Seems to me this is an internal HOA issue, not an issue with the city that or that the city should be involved in. I have about 30 units of multif family buildings. I've been in most of these units for 7 to eight years. We're model tenants. We we always are on our best behavior. We try to blend in as much as possible. I don't even allow my cleaners to wear anything with my company name. We want to keep a very light footprint. I believe the only noise complaint I've ever received was a TV that was a little too loud and that was resolved in less than 5 minutes. I know every other short-term rental operator knows when operating in a multif family building, we need to be on our best behavior or risk not having our lease renewed or be in trouble with the HOA. This is a property rights issue and an HOA issue. It's not an issue the city should be involved in. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Next will be Anna Stone. Anna Stone. Next will be Kassum Busnet. Next will be Martha Sheets. Next will be Ruby Lad. Welcome to two minutes. Good afternoon. My name is Ruby Lad. I'm here to advocate for ending the lease of Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County Jail. I'm a medical student here in Atlanta, a future psychiatrist, and I was also born here in 1997, um around the same time that AC/DC was first open to hide our homeless population, our city's most vulnerable, from the international spotlight during the Olympics. And I think that history is important to keep in mind. During my medical education, I've learned a lot about how social determinants of health uh play an enormous part in dictating my patients outcomes. And the one that I've focused on the most personally has been incarceration. How it impacts not only the individuals affected directly by policing and incarceration, but how those effects ripple over families and communities for lifetimes. The clearest message that I have taken away from my education is that we desperately need more funding for resources and interventions that uplift our community rather than fixating on punishment. The ACDC right now is a missed opportunity. Not only is it an investment in the wrong values for our city, it's not addressing the problem of overcrowding in Fulton County Jail. As we've heard today, conditions remain inhumane and Fulton County still has no plans to pull out of AC/DC even as new facilities are built. Other solutions do exist. For example, our diversion center, which stands today and is currently being massively underutilized. It's past time to close and repurpose AC/DC as we had agreed to do three years ago. When I think of how these resources could be better used, I think of a patient that I worked with earlier this year who is legally blind. He has PTSD and he lives on the street because there are no options for him. I personally spent hours trying to find resources for this man and there were none. Completely blind, he relies on the kindness of strangers to get sips of water every day to take his medications. Let's consider where our priorities and our funding should lie when we think about the future that is best for ourselves and our neighbors here in Atlanta. Thank you. >> Thank you. That concludes our public comment for today. I want to thank everybody who signed up and came forward to speak to council. We will now move to the report of the journal. Madam clerk, >> good afternoon, Mr. President and members of council. I, Karina Lindo, municipal clerk of the city of Atlanta, do hereby certify that the minutes of the regular meeting held on Monday, August 4th, and the special call meeting held on August 6, 2025 are true and correct. If there are no additions or edits to the minutes, I would entertain a motion to adopt. Moved by Who moved it? You're all yelling at me. Council member Doer, seconded by Council Member Juan. Is there any discussion on the motion to adopt the journal? Hearing none, we do this for unanimous consent. Madam clerk, please sign the count consent. On the motion to adopt the journal, >> nine yay, zero nays. >> Nine yay, zero nays. The motion uh is adopted. Next, we'll move to communications. Madam clerk, >> thank you, Mr. Present. Item number one is 25 C 0101. This is communication from Leona Bar Davenport, president and CEO of the Atlanta Business League submitting the appointment of Mr. Todd Great. Serve as a member of the governing board of the Office of Inspector General. This appointment is for a term of three years. Staff recommendation to refer to committee on counsel. >> Let the item follow that course. >> Mr. President, if I may take items two and three as a block. >> Without objection, please proceed. Item number two is 25 C0102. This is communication from Mayor Andre Dickens reappointing Miss Amber A. Robinson to serve as a member of the municipal market company board of directors. Disappointments for a term of two years. Item number three is 25 C0103. This a communication for Mayor Andre Dickens. Reappointed Miss Lwanda Barnes MBA to serve as a member of the Municipal Market Company board of directors. This appointment is for a term of two years. Both items staff recommendation to refer to community development human services committee and committee on council. >> That both items follow that course. >> That concludes our communication items. Mr. President, >> thank you. Is there any vetoed legislation for consideration? >> There are none. >> Is there any unfinished business? >> There's none. >> Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next, we will move to the consent agenda section one. These are items that begin on page four of the materials. They are for second reading. Therefore, the appropriate motion will be to adopt. First, let me ask, are there any items to be removed from the consent agenda section one today by my colleagues? Hearing none, I would entertain a motion to adopt the consent agenda section one. Moved by council one, seconded by council shook. Any discussion on the motion to adopt the consent agenda section one? Hearing none, we'll move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to adopt. >> The vote is open. Will everyone please vote? >> The vote's closed. 10 yay, zero nays. >> 10 yay, zero nays. The motion to adopt the consent agenda section one carries. We will now move to the consent agenda section two. These are items that begin on page 24. They are all for first reading. Therefore, the appropriate motion will motion will be to refer. But first, let me ask, are there any items to be removed from the consent agenda section two? Hearing none, I would entertain a motion to refer. >> So moved. >> Moved by council West Morland, seconded by council. Uh any discussion on the motion to refer the consent agenda section two hearing? None. Move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to refer. >> The vote is open. >> Will everyone please vote? >> The votes close. 11 yay, zero nays. >> 11 yay, zays. A motion to refer carries. We will now move to the report of standing committees. First up today will be transportation committee chair Amos. >> Mr. President, committee doing its part. We have no report today. >> Thank you council chair Amos. Next we will move to the finance exec committee. Chair shook. >> All right. Thank you. First up is 251400. This comes forward favorable on condition of receiving a substitute. So I will move to bring the substitute before us. >> There's a motion by council member Shook. Seconded by council number one to bring forth the substitute. Is there any discussion on the motion to bring forth the substitute hearing? None. We'll move to a vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote and motion to bring forth the substitute. >> The vote is open. Pis says I. Will everyone please vote? >> The post closed. 11 yay, zero nays. >> 11 yay, zero nays. The motion to bring forth substitute carries. >> All right. This 251400, an ordinance by Miss Collins, substituted by utilities, and substituted by the Atlanta Folk Council, uh, authorizing the mayor or his designate on behalf of the city to execute a non-exclusive franchise agreement between the city and Google Fiber Georgia LLC for a term of 10 years with two successive 2-year renewal options to encroach on and occupy the public right away for the purpose of constructing installing repairing maintaining, operating, and if necessary, removing the fiber to the premise uh network and related network facilities to offer broadband services and voice over internet protocol services to residents and businesses within the city of Atlanta to require a franchise fee in the amount of 2% and for other purposes. The condition was that we receive a substitute which is uh currently before you now uh which emphasizes and strengthens the language around uh Google's requirements in terms of not notice and maintaining the appropriate quality of their work. So I'll move approval on substitute >> motion by since we substitute there's a motion by council member shook to adopt a substituted. Is there a second? Second by council one. Is there any discussion on the motion to adopt or substitute this item hearing? None. We'll move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to adopt a substitute. >> The vote is open. >> Will everyone please vote? Council Wong is here. Okay. Okay. >> The vote closes. 128 zero nays. >> 12 va z. Motion to adopt the substitute carries. >> Thank you. 251431 also requires a substitute. I move to bring it before us. >> A motion by council member Schul, seconded by council one to bring forth substitute. Any discussion on the motion to bring forth substitute? Hearing none. Move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote. Motion to bring forth substitute. The vote is open. The vote is open. >> The vote's closed. 12 y z. >> 12 ya z. Motion for substitute carries. >> All right. And this is an ordinance by Mr. West Morland, Mr. Juan, Miss Bactiari, Miss Over Street, Mr. Shook, Mr. Amos, Mr. Hillis, Mr. Winston, Mr. Doer, Miss Boon, Mr. Farro, and Miss Norwood is amended by the Finance Executive Committee as substituted by the Atlanta City Council. This also comes forward to us favorably on the condition of receiving a substitute. This is a donation paper and so this finalizes the number of sponsors uh as well as the amounts. Move approval on substitute. Second motion by council member Schul to adopt a substitute 25431. Seconded by council Juan discussion on the motion to adopt this item as substituted. Hearing now move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on motion to adopt a substitute. >> The vote is open. >> Will everyone please vote? The vote is closed. 128 z. >> 120 n. Motion to adopt substitute carries. >> That is all. >> Thank you. Next up is the Committee on Council, Chair Collins. Give us just a moment. Mr. Seth. Come here. Thank you all so much for your patience. Mr. uh thank you Mr. Council President. We have three items on the the report and I would um we would like to take the items um items one two three as a block. >> Objection. Please proceed. >> Right. Communication 25- C-000093. A communication from Mayor Andre Dickens appointing Dr. Tina Dunley to serve as a member of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission in the artist category. This appointment is for a term of three years. Item number 25- C-000095. A communication from Mayor Andre Dickens appointed Mr. Calvin Blackburn III to serve as commissioner of the human of human resources for the city of Atlanta. and communication number 25- C-000096, a communication from Mayor Andre Dickens, appointing Miss Shandra Houston to serve as our new chief procurement officer for the city of Atlanta. The items come to come to us from the committee on council and their committees are perview favorable and it is our recommendation to adopt. >> There's a motion coming out of committee to adopt these three items. It does not need a second. Is there any discussion on the motion to adopt these three items? Uh >> given the nature of these, even though they're communications, I'm going to go ahead and open the vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to accept these three items. >> The vote is open. >> Will everyone please vote? [Music] The vote's closed. 14 yay, zero nays. >> 14, zero nays. The motion carries. >> Thank you. And before we move forward, we do have want to congratulate Mr. Calvin Blackburn and his family that is with us today. Mr. Commissioner of Human Resources. Um, please if you would like to say a few things words for Mr. president who wanted to your first >> without objection we can um we can allow Mr. Blackburn speak briefly. Objection if you'd like. >> You don't you don't have to. [Applause] >> Right. Right. Well, well, I I know everyone's been here a long time. So, to President Shipman, other members of the council, I want to thank you for the confidence you placed in me. um and my team. I am honored to um approach this opportunity to serve as the full commissioner. And but since I've been given opportunity to speak, I have to I would be remiss if I first didn't thank a lot of folks who are responsible for me having this opportunity. I want to start initially with my recognize my parents that are here today, my father Calvin Blackburn Jr., my mother Leela Blackburn. They're also my brother Jonathan, my sister-in-law Yadita, and the most important family member, my niece who's one and change going on 10. Also, also want to really thank too, I started my tenure here, as I mentioned at FBC in the city of Atlanta's law department, and it's only through the graciousness of the city attorney, Miss Patrice Perkins Hooker, and others that I was given the opportunity to pursue this along with my other co- nominee, Miss Shandra Houston. So, I want to thank members of the law department as well as many of my good friends there and I think that some of them are here. Brian Paxton, Shamia Richardson, others um Tory Richardson, particularly Sharon Hamilton, Sharon Hamilton Brooch as well and many others who were responsible. And I just want to I know we're short on time, but I just want to thank all of you. I look forward to um representing the city well. I also want to thank my leadership, particularly COO Bergs and DCO Ingram. Thank you all. Look forward to working with you. Thank you. Shandra Shandra Houston. Is Shandra Houston with us? >> I don't think so. >> Well, we'll send her our congratulations and thank you all so much again to now Commissioner Kelvin Blackburn and our new chief procurement officer, Miss Shandra Houston. With that being said, Mr. President, um that is our report. >> Thank you, Chair Collins. >> Thank you. >> Next up, JBzzoning Committee Chair Wes Morland. Thank you, Mr. President. The zoning committee has one item that is 25 1249 Z2543. It is a text amendment. The ordinance is to create regulations for short-term rentals in the home park neighborhood. The recommendation of the committee is to approve as substituted three days, one nay, one abstension. There is a a recommendation coming out of committee to adopt 251249. It does not need a second. Is there any discussion on the motion to adopt this item? >> Council member Bakar. >> Yeah. Um I just wanted to take a moment because I am truly on the fence with this. Um I'm not a believer in in overall bands. I'm not a believer in peacemealing things. But what I will say is that uh there has come a point of desperation I think for many of us due to a lack of direction direction honestly from leadership across the hall but also uh also Airbnb I really don't know what y'all are doing to be very honest I as someone who has stayed in Airbnbs and thinks that STRs are incredibly important especially towards supplementing people in my district we heard a lot of really responsible owners come up to this mic I'll call. >> But when I had my meeting >> recently, I have to say I really adore the people on the ground here. I really do have to give you >> like major kudos. But I don't know how you're going to be able to implement without support from your leadership. Without support from your leadership, you are a multi-billion dollar a year agency. And a comment like safety issues or housing issues where you tell us that maybe we should invest in more officers or something else. Let me tell you this. I will never ever advocate for civilian for our taxpayer dollars going to security for a multi-billion dollar business. It's just not going to happen. And I've dealt with serious issues and the my my frustration is is that the lack of action and the lack of direction from leadership here and from leadership with Airbnb has left us with an impossible choice because what you are seeing here is a sign of desperation. And while I do appreciate the comments, let me also say to some of the speakers, I just think it's appropriate to call out slurs. We're not using the R word anymore for people who are handicapped. We're just not. And let me also say quoting a white man in blackface as your reason why STR regulation should you can laugh. It's not funny. You can laugh. You as a white person should not be utilizing that. That being said, you have put us in an impossible situation. When I ask Airbnb, "How are you investing?" And the response is, "We've helped individuals get into housing." That's great. We don't need one-offs. We need actual sustainable change and something happening. And it is not the part of this body to tell you how we would like to see that. You have heard constituents. You have heard the issues. You have heard the displacements. We have had actually owners actually try to advocate for section 8 rental something. But the opportunity and the lack, we cannot just sit here and not act anymore. And honestly, I don't think y'all understand that. And I can't understand why you're not more worried about the position that you have put us in. And I'm really disheartened to see that members of Airbnb leadership have already walked out of the room. Yeah. The person I had a meeting with on Monday, last week, has left the room. >> So, I don't really know what to say. Um, I'm still on the fence about this. I do think it's great policy, but at the same time, I don't know how to better protect my constituents without voting for something like this, quite frankly, because the complete inaction on leadership uh has left us in an impossible choice of having to choose between allowing our our very responsible owners. My concern is not protecting multi- people who own 10 of these. My my concern is protecting my constituents who have used this to supplement their income. But what we cannot continue to allow is a complete monopolization of housing in the city without any regulations. And I will leave it there. Thank you, >> Councelor Bond. [Music] >> Thank you, Mr. President. I have some questions for the law department. I'm not on the zoning committee. So, I've heard, you know, from the public a lot of different, I guess, fractured pieces of what this legislation might do. I know that it on its face it suggests a ban on short-term rentals within the uh home park uh neighborhood that I used to represent, you know, in my youth, but can you specifically tell us when you say ban u the use is that a future ban going forward or is that a ban on uh short-term rentals that exist there today. Can you g give us some detail on that law department? >> Good afternoon, Amber A. Robinson, City of Atlanta Department of Law. So, this would be an amendment to the zoning text for the SPI. I mean, yeah, S, excuse me, the um home park SPI. And in doing so, it sets forth that the short-term rental use shall be uh hereby prohibited as with any zoning amendment that would prohibit or and otherwise limit a use. Um persons engaged in that use um lawfully engaged in that use or who have applications and completed applications submitted to engage in that use. would um be quote unquote grandfathered and their vested rights to continue the use would be respected under the law. So, it would only apply to those persons who are not currently um licensed to operate short-term rentals and whom do not have uh completed applications for short-term rental licenses submitted um with the Department of City Planning >> as of today, right? or the enaction of the ordinance >> a as of the date of the approval of the ordinance which if it is adopted today could be um any time between now and 8 days from now. So, just to be clear, so no matter how many short-term rentals are in the pipeline as of the passage and approval of this paper, going forward within this particular zoning area, there can be no more. >> That would be correct. There would be following the approval of this ordinance, no further um uh short-term rental licenses would issue. that there could be no further operation of the short-term rental use um thereafter. >> So, this doesn't relate to any of the issues surrounding the regulation or enforcement, just the use within the zoning district. >> That's right. This is not an amendment to the licensing ordinance. This is an amendment to the land use of this particular area and so therefore only prohibits the use only affects the use itself. it does not it's not a regulatory license in I mean a regulatory ordinance and that the license regulations would be affected >> and so I guess following the logic of passing this in this part within this particular zoning uh code or zoning designation for this community other I guess like position communities through the zoning ordinance could avail themselves of this same remedy. Is that correct? >> Yes, they but of course this being a zoning ordinance um each area would have to go through their own um processes concerning the zoning procedures law which would include um notice to the MPU and a hearing before the zoning re uh review board for any future um areas that may wish to avail themselves of similar remedy. Right. So just to further clarify that question because we've heard I guess from both sides of the fence on how beneficial, useful and contributing uh that STRs are or are not by the testimony of some in the public today that if there are neighborhoods whether that's Tuxedo Park or Collier Heights or some other neighborhood in Atlanta if they chose to say you know what we have we feel like we've got enough STRs they can follow the same process to limit them within their particular zoning area category >> that's correct >> okay thank you I withdraw >> thank you um councelor Ber I just wanted to correct something >> sorry council I just really want to correct something. Um, I made a mistake. Airbnb is in the room. The person that left was the president of Amstra, so forgive me for that mistake, but um, I apologize. Everything else I said, I do stand by, but correct on that measure. >> Council member Lewis. >> Council member Lewis. >> And I want to say thank you to Council Member Baktiari for her comments today. Also want to say thank you to Council Member Hillis and Council Member Amos for leading the way on this. What we've seen in our area, seen in some of our cities is seeing more people turning houses into they call short-term rentals, but sometimes people think short-term rentals are leasing out a house. We actually have people that think that a short-term rental means you can stay there for a year and they think that you're leasing every single year. This fight is against the organizations that have basically turn not a fight. It's we we're trying to make sure that we take care of people who have lived in spaces. Me, myself, I rented for about 2 years. The house that I rented actually gave us a letter before we moved out about 6 months and said they were about to sell it. I go back through that community is now Airbnb. And so that shows you that what happens. That's a home that you can pay about $1,400 for a threebedroom home, two-b home in the city of Atlanta. In district 12, that's the going rate for a lot of our properties. But we've seen a lot of them switch over to short-term rentals where people are staying for one week. And we've been trying to look in District 12 for legislation to help us strengthen our policy. So, I want to say thank you again to Council Member Hillis and Council Member Amos for laying this out. want to thank you for Councilman Baktiari for the research she's done on this so that we can move stronger on this. Thank you again. >> Thank you, Councilman Collins. >> I have a um couple questions. I think most of them was answered um in terms of the grant. So, I struggle with the fact that I know that everyone this was brought to us and Councilman um Amos, I don't know if you have any additional details on it, but I know it was brought to us because there is a high number of short-term rentals currently in the area. And so by passing this, all of those short-term rentals would be grandfathered in and anyone that decides to come down, you know, have their home registered as a short-term rental just in case will be grandfathered in before this passes. So I struggle with what does this actually achieve for Home Park? would this actually address the concerns that the that the the leaders of the association has brought forward? Um I do the second piece I'm always struggling with and trying to understand how we you know it's one thing to pass policy with good intent. The second is to make sure that it actually does what we said on paper and that we're actually enforcing it. And a lot of the conversations and comments that uh and calls and emails that I've read and responded to was a lot about the enforcement of the of like our short-term, you know, short our ordinances and things to that nature. So if if a homeowner is renting out their property as a short-term rental and there is a party and the what is the response for our city services to respond to that and site that you know um that that property and move forward the enforcement process. So that's the second piece. The third my third concern with this is the precedent that it has set um as we have had this overarching comprehensive conversation of what short-term rental regulation and enforcement looks like for the entire city. And so I'm just, you know, the my third reservation, my third concern is in regards to understanding where we are with that conversation and not being in this com, you know, peacemealing the policies and the the the guidance, the policies and the planning that need to be take place as we are as it seems like every district member is experiencing something something with short-term rentals that need um that needs to be addressed. So I'm extremely concerned about the precedent that this was set as we are still trying to figure out what is a holistic comprehensive solution for the city and our oblig and our obligation to be held accountable to enforce to enforcing that. So my overarching concern is does this actually solve the issue that Homewood Park has brought before us knowing that all of these short-term rentals is about to be grandfathered in whether you know if this pass if if this if this passes or not. And then I have to say, you know, the fourth point I want to make, I struggle with the fact that we as a council should not be making the decisions of how individuals earn their livelihood in this city, particularly if it's legal. And so if you have a homeowner that wants to rent their room out to a college student at Georgia Tech, that that rental actually saves that student hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars where they can afford to attend to go to Georgia Tech or if it's the AU what we're seeing on the west side or if it, you know, at Atlanta Tech. I mean, we whatever the circumstances are, I do think is that we have to be very mindful of how we legislate and build policies to support all of our citizens and not us determining who gets to use their personal property and who doesn't and what and and for what reason and for you know we've heard comments of this is retirement you know this is so retirement income for POP but these are in this income for individuals that have lost their jobs. You know, you just we just don't know what that is. And so I want to, you know, I struggle with that as well. I don't we we it's not our I I don't think it's proper for us to also determine how people decide to use their private property that they pay property tax into this city to determine how they also um earn their you know earn their livelihood knowing what we're current what the current economic climate is now and before you know past or present. So if I can know just answers with those three questions. Um and then the the last piece I did have. So for the legal department just to be clear this ordinance if we were to lock in a citywide short-term rental policy or a regulation or procedure that how would that marry with this potential with this potential piece of legislation? Good afternoon. Amber A. Robinson, City of Atlanta Department of Law. Currently, the city does have a citywide short-term rental policy. It is a licensing ordinance. It requires that um persons secure licenses to operate short-term rentals in the city of Atlanta. um this as a land use regulation would actually supersede um any uh changes to the licensing um ordinance or that particular chapter of code. So if there are any changes to that licensing ordinance and this had passed the prohibition contained on uh to the land to the land use um would remain Thank Thank you. Any thoughts on the other pieces like would this would this legislation truly solves solve home park issues that they brought forward? um what are we doing or what have we learned or any additional context on enforcing even enforcing the current short-term rental ordinance that we have in place and what impact that that has had in helping Homewood Park Home Park I say Homewood home park solve the issues that even gave breath to this just curious >> so um those would not be legal questions and I would defer any questions concerning enforcement to the enforcement entities and concerning the policy to the sponsor. >> Sponsors ready to speak. Council Collins, if you're willing to yield. >> Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. >> Council Amos. >> Sorry about that, >> sir. I I try to answer um Thank you, Mr. President. I try to answer some of your questions. Um you know, policy comes down to several things. Policy, people, and paper. I don't want the people to get lost in the conversation around policy. This has been an ongoing issue I know since I have been elected and it hasn't been a war or uh um confrontation with the um um um Airbnb or any company, but just the peripheration of short-term rentals specifically in Home Park. This paper will only speak to Home Park itself. that is actually covered by the SPI um zoning and it's not a thousand of them as some people have lied to you and said that it is um policy also comes down to paper. Yes, there may be um some people whose income isffect uh affected by this. The biggest person whose income will be affected by this is the person that's that has built over 99% of these short-term rentals in Home Park. um that comes to us every day with a different lie, a different untruth, a different mistaken um spoken word that he wants to share with you. Policy is not perfect. What Home Part would like to do is to do away with all short-term rentals in the neighborhood, but they can't do that. So, over the years of working with council, working with um everchanging national laws, this is where we are here. Um, enforcement is an issue and I don't know if that's the next mud hole I step in, but enforcement is an issue. Um, once this paper is passed, cuz I'm I'm I'm really hoping that the president we set now by supporting this paper is one that uh when others will not act, we as a council will. So, I am going to close out my comments by asking all of my colleagues to support the homeowners, the um Home Park neighborhood association, not the home park developers association, not the home park business owners association, but the home park neighborhood association and vote yes for this paper. I car president do all kinds of things. Is there any other discussion? Councilman Baktiar, >> the what last thing I want to say is our STRs have a great team here on the ground and my comments are going to be directed towards leadership that actually needs to give you the support because right now this war is falling on us rather than the people who actually have the ability to affect true policy and that does go for the state as well. And so to be very clear, I appreciate you all but um if something doesn't this is a reflection of things not changing and the buck being passed too far. So, I appreciate you guys. >> Council Collins. >> Yeah, I um I I know I see Mr. Pace has come come up to the podium. So, I'll defer to there. I also just wanted to, you know, also recognize that of course, you know, to council councilman Bartari's point that this a larger p a larger issue as well. And I think often times we single out the conglomerates in here, but we also I mean I mean I'm not going to lie, the stay at the stay at ATL present, you know, with the the pictures of the short-term rental and some of the smaller ones, whether it's Verbbo or some of the other entities as well. Just want to also acknowledge those you pieces as well because I do think what happened what has happened homeowners whether you're a developer or an investor in this regards there are just certain rights that I do think we just got to be mindful mindful of and it's our accountability to enforce whatever we put into place but Byron thank you so much for this I do think it brings a lot of clarity for me just coming you know just kind of hearing the calls and having emails and and being attuned to the conversation um as well. So, I do want to acknowledge my colleague, but thank you. Yeah, thank you for this. And I defer. >> Council Lewis, would you do you want to go ahead or do you want to see if we >> So, we need to we need to since we're pending debate, we just have to allow uh formally Mr. Pace to speak. Is there any objection to allowing Mr. Pace to speak? We'll count that as unanimous consent. Madam, >> we can take a twothirds. He's a representative of the mayor. or we can go in committee the whole if you like. It's up to you. >> Mr. There is legislation >> because there's legislation pending. The administration can speak to it or we can go to committee of the whole >> order. There is a proper motion >> and a second >> and a second. >> Sorry, who's got the motion? to move in committee the whole >> motion by council member Bond, seconded by councelor Collins to move in committee of the whole. Is there any discussion on the motion move in committee of the whole? >> I think I do it properly. >> We do this van's consent. Any objection? >> Okay, we'll move to a vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to move to committee of the whole. >> Okay. >> Okay. Will everyone please vote? Okay. Say yes. >> Yeah. >> The both closed. Eight yays, five nays. >> Eight yays, five nays. We're moved into committee of the whole. We're now in committee of the whole. Um, so Mr. Pace Sorry, Mr. Pace. Begin again. Your mic was off. >> No problem. Thank you. Uh Theo Pace, deputy chief operating officer. I will be brief because I know the hour is late, but I do want to remind this body that there is a citywide comprehensive short-term rental ordinance currently held in the community development and human services committee that the council can pull up today and adopt. It provides distance requirements in residential uh neighborhoods. goods. It also provides a 10% cap as um council member Bond has broken off for our multif family units. There's nothing stopping the council from pulling this up and adopted it today. I know council member Biari, you mentioned earlier about uh leadership in the administration. We've been trying to move this paper which was introduced in December of 2024 and for various reasons is not moved forward. So, I do want to remind the body that a comprehensive citywide ordinance would probably prevent a lot of these district specific regulations being introduced. That's all I had to say. >> May I? >> Thank you. We're we're still in committee of the whole. We can move out to continue to debate or we can stay in committee of the whole. >> I just have a question. >> Council von. >> Well, just a question. So, it is the official position of the administration that you're ready to move on that paper. >> Has been. I believe we had >> work sessions on this earlier in the spring, uh, which kind of got blocked out by the tree protection ordinance. There were some other legislative items that the council prioritized over the short-term rental, but we have been ready to move this forward for some time now. And if the council wishes to pull it up today, you can. Council Bakti, uh, Councelor Bond, you done? Councelor Bakti, are you? >> Uh, no. Thank you for coming and speaking. Um, I will say that I'm looking over at the body and I think this is the first time I know that this was in there, but I think we also did not realize that the admin wanted to move this forward and I know there have been times we've been asked to wait. So, and I still don't know if we I'd be fine pulling it up today and doing it. My question is are is there an ability to actually affectuate this? Because what I don't want I don't think and this council, let me just say, has worked very very very very hard. But I don't I don't want us to pass something else that is not able to be enforced and then leave the council holding the bag again for a headline that is uninforceable because I don't think that is fair. So I want to ensure that we do have something that sounds really great on the books. If that were to move forward, do we have the power to enforce it today? because I want to make sure the city planning is set up to succeed. That's my only concern. >> Council member Lewis, you can speak now or you I don't know if you were want to speak now or >> I I think I appreciate I can make my comments now. I think that the we've seen some of our urban bees turn our communities into de facto hotel districts. And to hear some of the arguments from some of the owners of air or short-term rentals today and talking about bottom line lets me know that everything you read about Airbnbs turning black communities and communities on the south side of a lot of major cities into hotel districts. It sounds like it. But I just want to make that comment to the council. Thank you again. >> Council withdraw council member Collins. >> So quick question just to be clear. So the paper that is pending as we speak that's in zoning correct. >> No I'm sorry >> it's held in in community development human services committee. >> Okay. So sorry it's in CDHS. So is there is there a space that pend based on where as we as we land on and I it doesn't and not to say it has to be today but as we land on a land on a compre a balance of the comprehensive short-term rental ordinance citywide that there is some provision or some amendment that will allow that citywide ordinance to be what to supersede need the to supersede any community based um short-term rental cuz I'm quite sure cuz I know in that paper there was a lot of things that I think some coun that council pushed against which was the distance of the short-term run the 10% that you stayed and just some other things is there a space with law is there a space to again I think goes to my initial question a space to marry the two since they're aligned Um, no. Because the the zoning paper is an amendment to the land use regulations, whereas the citywide licensing ordinance is an amendment to the licensing requirements. Land use restrictions contained in the zoning code shall always supersede um licensing ordinances that provide certain operational regulations concerning any activity. >> Okay. Okay, got it. I understand. Um those um I I'm still Yeah. All my questions. >> Councelor West Morwood. >> Oh, councelor Ron. >> Well, just a question for clarity. So, the current iteration of the short-term rental legislation as it stands today without amendment or change, the administration is fully behind it. >> Has been. and the uh the lift I did from that ordinance which is a part of that original paper. The administration would support that. >> We would like to see a citywide comprehensive ordinance. To the council member's point, enforcing various regulations in different parts of town would be difficult. Um but this is a policy that we do like to see move forward at some point. We've had work sessions about it. It was drafted in response to the current ordinance that is in our code of ordinances which has been deemed I would allow law to kind of expound on that from various court cases uninforceable. So we drafted a new ordinance. It's gone to the NPUs. I believe we've also had a work session earlier this spring and it's been held since December of 2024 in CDHS. So, you know, >> so the the part of the government that's responsible for the administration and enforcement of this issue is on board with the iterations that are held in committee. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Council West Morland, >> make a motion to exit committee bowl. >> It's a motion by council member West Morland, seconded by council member uh Bakiari to move out of committee the whole. Is there any discussion on the motion move out committee of the whole? We do this for unanimous consent. Any objection? Madam clerk, please sound the count of unanimous consent. On the motion move out committee the whole 13 yay z motion to move out committee whole carries. We're now back in regular session. We're back. We're still on debate of the motion to adopt this item. Is there other uh comments that want to be made? Council member Norwood. >> Call the question. >> Motion. Motion by council member Norwood to call the question. Is there a second? Seconded by councelor Bakiari. We'll move directly to a vote. Takes twothirds I to call the question which means we would end debate. Move directly to a vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to call the previous question. >> The vote is open. >> Will everyone please vote? More. Yes. >> Lewis is a yes. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yeah. >> The vote is closed. 13 yay, zero nays. >> 13, zero nays. The motion to call the previous question carries. We'll move directly to a vote on the motion to adopt 251249. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to adopt this item. >> The vote is open. Mr. West. Oh. Oh, she's here. It's been so long. Will everyone please vote? Will everyone please vote? Council member Collins, how do you vote? Will everyone please vote? >> She has to. She has to vote. She has to. >> The vote's closed. 11 yays, two nays. 11 yays, two nays. The motion to adopt this item carries. >> Thank you, >> Mr. President. Council Amos. >> I motion to send this forward to the mayor's office. Post haste. >> There's a motion by Council Amos, second by Council Member Bond to send this forward post haste. Is there any discussion? We do this for unanimous consent. Any objection? Madame Clerk, please sound the count on unanimous consent on the motion to move post haste. [Music] 13 a z. The motion move post carries. We'll next move to the public safety legal administration committee. Chair Boone. Thank you, Mr. President. Following your notification at the beginning of today's meeting, we have two items on the report. First resolution 25-R3771, a resolution by Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee authorizing the settlement of all claims against defendant city of Atlanta in the case of Desana Hammond and Rodri Hammond versus City of Atlanta civil action file number 23E007374 pending in the state Court of Fulton County in the amount of $50,000. The settlement amount authorizing the settlement amount to be charged to and paid from 101. General fund center number 20001 non-EP departmental account 52120005 litigation expenses and functional activity number 1512000. accounting and for other purposes. This item comes out of committee with a favorable recommendation. Accordingly, the motion is to adopt. >> There's a motion to adopt 25-3771 coming out of committee. It does not need a second. Is there discussion on the motion to adopt this item? Hearing none. Move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to adopt. The vote is open. >> The vote is open. Will everyone please vote? >> Will everyone please vote? I'll just close it. >> The votes closed. 11 yay, zero nays. >> 11 yay, zero nays. The motion to adopt carries. >> Next item 25R3741. Colleagues, we have received a substitute for this item in our inbox. So, I will now make a motion to bring forth the substitute. The substitute updates the funding information. >> There's there's a motion by council boon, second by council one to bring forth substitute for 25 R3741. Is there any discussion on the motion to bring forth the substitute? Hearing none. Move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to bring forth the substitute. >> The vote is open. Will everyone please vote? >> Will everyone please vote? Call it. Councilman West Morland, what is your vote? >> No, this is the >> Okay, that's 12 yay, zero nays. >> 12 yay, zero nays. Motion bring forth substitute carries. >> A resolution by council member Michael Julian Bond is substituted by the Atlanta City Council. A resolution authorizing the mayor or his designate to exercise the second renewal option for special procurement agreement SPS 0220291230092 center for diversion and services operator with Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation on behalf of the city of Atlanta for a two term years effective from January 1st 2026 through December 31st 2027. 7 and an amount not to exceed $10 million to update the funding for the first renewal period. All contracted work will be charged to and paid from the fund department organization and account number listed here and and for other purposes. The item comes out of committee with a favorable recommendation on the condition of the funding information updated. The condition has been met. Accordingly, the recommendation is to adopt as substituted. >> Motion command committee to adopt as substitute 25R3741. Uh is we don't need a second. Is there discussion on the motion to adopt this item? >> Council member Baktiari, do you want to discuss this item? All right. Uh any discussion hearing? None. Move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to adopt a substituted. >> The vote is open. Will everyone please vote? >> The close. You said >> the both closed 13 yays, one nay. It was just a mistake. >> Yeah, it's just a mistake. So 14 yay, zero nays. >> 14 yay, zero naysay. The motion to adopt a substitute carries. Um just before we continue on public safety, one item in the previous vote coming out of the zoning committee, Council West Morland was a mover, therefore he was assumed to be an I. But correct, Council West Morley was an eye on that legislation. >> I made the motion coming out of committee. >> Yes. So he was an I, but the screen did not reflect that. So the actual count should have been 12 eyes, two nays, just for the record. Thank you. Um, public, we're still in public safety legal administration. Council member Lewis. >> Thank you, President. As a sponsor of legislation and since the legislation been held in public safety committee for more than two cycles, I would like to call 25 R3289 to the floor and move the council to adopt. >> So under code, it's author of a legislation that's been held more than two cycles can call that forward to the floor for consideration. That's what Council Member Lewis has done on 25R 3289 and he has uh made a motion to adopt. Is there a second? >> Mr. President, we need discussion on this item. >> Oh, just one one moment. Let me get that my second. Council Doer, your second. All right, there's a second. Therefore, uh, Council Boon with this item is on your committee. >> Thank you, Mr. President. This item was not brought before the public safety and legal administration committee on last week. Um, I don't know if members of this body even have copies of it at this time. Have copies been passed out? Copies have not been passed out. I think that this topic and issue is so very important. I have learned that the chairman of Fulton County had a press conference today. We need to ask questions. We need to hear from members of the administration on this very important item. I am definitely interested in knowing how people are treated in these facilities, not just warehousing people. So, I am asking that we refer this piece of legislation back to committee so that it can be handled properly. >> Motion to refer >> Mr. President, we already have >> to committee. There's a motion to refer back to committee >> by sec by council member Boone seconded by council member Juan. So now we have a motion to refer which takes president over the motion to adopt but there's a discussion now on the motion to refer. So is there a discussion any discussion on the motion to refer this item back to committee? Council member >> let me just got let me just go in order. >> She had council >> West Morland Thank you, Mr. President. >> Councilman, >> I'll get you com I'll get you in just a second. >> Go ahead. >> Chair Boon, um could you talk a little bit more about when >> we will >> that conversation can take place potentially as early as next >> in the next seven days. We we just had public safety committee to this body. This piece of legislation was not presented nor discussed in that meeting and that is the correct procedure. I have spoken with members this morning and they do understand that we could have brought it up in public safety whether it failed or not. It could have been brought up. So there has been no discussion on this paper. The right thing to do would be to refer it back to committee. So, we are prepared to move on something in the next seven days. >> Further discussion on the motion refer. Council Lewis >> and I I appreciate you and I know we put this legislation in a couple of months ago and we made sure there was a lot of discussion around it. It every I know the the chairman talked about it today. He talked about it a couple of months ago. They all came down and I've been able to speak to our sheriff and I know that the sheriff actually sued the chairman. I want to make sure I read it and may recall refresh some memories for we were in public safety and I made sure I read these comments out specifically for what in what's in the lawsuit and I made sure to reach out because a lot of people don't know what's in the lawsuit and if you read what the sheriff has said about the county about the people that are supposed to help him you would know that we this is that we need to do this. uh Elder Dancy who was the chief of the city of Atlanta a AC/DC we made sure I asked him questions about this as well to get his thoughts on this as well and that was in an open public safety committee meeting so we can all refresh that as well but the sheriff said Sheriff P Lebot Pat Labot he filed a lawsuit against Fullton County government he alleged this is in his lawsuit written alleging unlawful interference with his constitutional duties and mismanagement of jail funding. The next statement in his lawsuit, the suit claims that the county manager, that's the chairman who made the the statement today, it claims that the county manager and the board of commissioners have undermined the sheriff's ability to address critical issues at the Rice Street Jail by obstructing hiring, delaying maintenance and security updates upgrades, and imposing, he said, on them, they're imposing restrictive budgetary controls on him. This is in his lawsuit, right? Sheriff Labat then argued that the county's actions have worsened inhumane conditions that have contributed to a string of inmate deaths and federal investigations that have led the jail to be placed under judicial oversight. Again, in his lawsuit, he said again, not the first time. He accuses the sheriff, not me, the sheriff, the sheriff accuses the county of retaliating against his office for advocating for a new jail. He said they retaliated against him just cuz he advocated. He then said that the county has consistently county officials state this is what they said cuz they're not talking. They stated that they have consistently supported the sheriff's office through budget increases and jail related investments. And the sheriff said it's not what he's seeing. So I made sure I talked to our sheriff. I made sure I looked up his lawsuit in which he filed on the county. And I know our city, we've done everything we can to make sure that we take care of AC/DC and treat it the right way. It's probably we I'm I'm I feel confident in saying this. If you have a jail in the state of Georgia, it's the most upgraded and updated one. And we as a council have always gave the elder dancy and the chief whatever funding he's need to make sure that people are safe. our county chairman, our sheriff is saying that the county is not giving him the things he need to make the jail safe. And if we're in a partnership with him, he's suing them. And so I think that we need to start this conversation to and it's a resolution. We need to start the conversation for what we said we were going to do three years ago because the situation right now is different. Three years ago, the sheriff and the county manager came down here together. They sat together. They had the same argument. right now they're fighting so much so that he he he wants this loud. That's why the lawsuit is public. That's why you can easily Google it. I know a lot of people haven't looked into it, but we as a city have a right. We have a fiscal we have to listen to him. If these are our business partners and they're fighting the way they're fighting on TV and he's saying they're not giving him the funding to run a good jail. That's what he said. I think that the city has to step in and particularly in ours. So, I I call this paper to move forward and I think that anybody should have seen it. I've been loud about it. The paper has been all over. There's been press conferences since last week. There's been press conferences since May, as early as May about this. And I held it in that in that committee. I made sure we let it sit more than two cycles. It said about four to five cycles, went through recess. And so, I would hope that most of my colleagues and I would hope that people have actually seen this legislation. And we actually gave out a one pager today. So, some folks might not got the legisl because I assumed that folks had already seen it. But today, we made sure we gave a fact sheet out that talks about some of the things, but I also wanted to include that our sheriff is suing the chairman. So, anything the chairman says today is contradictory to what the sheriff is saying in this lawsuit. Thank you, >> Council Collins. We're still in the question to refer. >> Shut your mouth. Yeah, shut your mouth. >> Yeah, I'll just make it quick. I mean, I think that what we're we haven't had the opport I I want to make sure that we do this right. And when we're talking about a full stage withdrawal plan, I do think there's important it's important to have all key people at the table so we can have a solid plan as a city. And while I understand there's a ongoing litigation and ongoing back and forth with our with our sheriff and our county, I do think we we there's an onus on us to get this right. And I want to make sure that we do just that. And so sitting on the committee, I want to make sure whether it is a a you know work session, whatever it looks like that we get this that that we firmly get this right on our end to this point that we're being, you know, as we're being held accountable on the city side that we have a full-blown, you know, a full-blown plan because our those are detainees, they're still people period. Um, if we were to shut down today, no one can be able to answer for me where will those individuals that are at Atlanta Detention Center, what will they go? Will they go back into Rice Street in the conditions that we know and there's no answer for it? And then again, it's falling on us. So, I don't want to be in a political posturing piece of this, but these are human lives that we want to make sure that we continue to get that we do this right on behalf of the city and our residents. No, I'll defer that. So, I think hope referring it to committee is appropriate cuz we haven't had no conversation on it and I really want to want to be a part of those details. >> Lewis and and I I truly appreciate you, Council Member Collins, for that. And this would not be a fast shutdown of the jail. This would actually be what we said in the original contract. So, what this is doing is actually starting that up. So, this would mean that the mayor's office and the sheriff and the county chairman would actually do exactly what we're saying. They're starting the conversations. And what we did was copy what was already in the original legislation to actually say it's time to do it. And this is a resolution about that. So I would hope that folks could look at what we passed three years ago. Same exact thing that's in here now. We just want to start the conversation so that the mayor office can decide how they want to move forward with this. But right now it it's not working in the manner that it is. And if it was working in the manner that it was, the sheriff would not be suing the county chairman for more resources. And I also want to state that our Elder Dancy, Elder Dancy who runs our City of Atlanta jails when I was asking him these questions in his last public safety chairman meeting because I was asking specific questions to this and that's why I read this out to make sure that people knew about the sheriff suing the county. That doesn't really happen. I'm also looking at Senate Bill 7. So I see that the state is actually trying to take jails from folks. And also if you look at the fund I want to ask uh is comm I want to ask our CFO because I know we talked a lot about money. So I want to ask this question to our CFO. Are we turning cuz this was a business deal as well. Are we winning what are the financials like with this deal in particular? Like is the city of Atlanta making >> man we in the wrong business. I hate to even say how this supposed to go. I want money. >> Mr. President, these are this is exactly why colleagues, we need to be deliberate and go into committee. >> We need we we need answers. Mr. President, >> we're discussing we're discussing we're debating the motion to refer. >> There's been a question asking the CFO. >> I want to can you talk to us about the financials of this, please? >> Sure. Uh so currently there is a daily um per head um lease that is uh paid from Fulton County to the city of Atlanta. I believe it is uh based on a $50 per inmate um that is stationed at the Atlanta um correctional facility paid to Fulton County on a monthly basis to the city of Atlanta. it es and flows based on the utilization of Fulton County uh to the city of Atlanta. >> I appreciate you for giving me a 30,000 square foot view of it. Uh two one questions on that. So you say we have a daily per head lease. How much money do we spend per year? Now if you can I'll wait until the end of this meeting for these answers right here. How much money do we spend to run per year to run the building? And does this at least pay for that? Well, uh, no, the budgeted allocation for the year is $24 million. That is inclusive of both of the um cost associated with the city of Atlanta inmates as well as Fulton County inmates. So we don't have the parse down of which is allocation is per which utilization but we do know that roughly the uh $50 ahead generates a little bit less than a million dollar per month. So I'll have to get exact details but it's probably around $600 to $700,000 monthly. And >> cuz I want to make sure I'm speaking fiscally conservative Mr. President, this is exactly colleagues, this is exactly why we need to refer this to the committee. >> Thank you, >> M. Mr. President. I'm making sure I speak to the fiscally cons the the folks who watching the money on this to make sure. So, we had 1 million per month, but we spend 24 million per year. So, it's a 12-minute deficit. One last thing I thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me this space. One last thing. So, we're 12 minutes short. 12 million short there. Was this were we anticipating have turning a pro? I mean, were we anticipating having a way to at least pay for our jail with this? >> Council Lewis, I've given you a wide birth. We're on the question to refer. We're not on debating of the actual paper itself. >> So, let's keep the comments to the motion to refer. >> Thank you, Mr. President. >> Thank you, Council Lewis. Council Doer. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um just want to just to echo something council said in response to council member Collins. Um just to reiterate this resolution calls for an initiation of planning for stage withdrawal. So this isn't the plan. This isn't uh us making a decision that's going to uh require specific actions from uh um operational staff. this is asking the city to and the county to start moving forward with that stage for withdrawal planning process. So I just want to reiterate that. Uh the one comment I wanted to make is that um you know we often have discussions and debate in this in this forum uh for items that u maybe didn't get its just due at the committee level. Uh we went to committee hall just earlier today to talk about something that had already gone through committee. We didn't send it back to have those additional conversations. And so, um, I just want to say I support my colleague, Councilman Lewis, on this legislation. This, uh, property is in my district. Uh, I've been very vocal about the need to, uh, close AC/DC and move forward with a plan that is holistic, that will build community and not focus on incarceration. Stick with that that vision. Um, but I do want to reiterate that we we are all here today. We can all have this discussion in this bait in this forum. If there are any questions uh or that beyond the scope of what we're able to to discuss, we can always go into committed whole if that's an option for this body. But I just want to say that I'm totally fine with voting on this today. So, Mr. Chair, you >> Mr. Chair, um this council >> did not follow the committee process. Again, it is about human lives. This is not about a parcel. >> Let me let Council Member Bond in, Council Bond, and we'll come back to you. >> Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, uh, Madame Chair, and thank you, Council Member Lewis. Uh, I respect his right to call his paper up because that's our procedure, the rights of the author of a piece of legislation. If it's been held twice, they have the right to call it up. Uh however is I think is what has been played out here in this discussion is that this matter does need more discussion and it need and to me it goes beyond the legislation itself. It goes to whether what type of relationship we have in managing our governmental responsibilities to our our joint citizens of Atlanta. And in this specific instance, Fulton County, the city of Atlanta is 2/3, no, I'm sorry, 3-fifths of Fulton County. 90% of Atlanta rest in Fulton County. Uh the problems of of Fulton County, 90% of them are the problems of the city of Atlanta. on any given day because of our police department and our policing. Anywhere from 65 to potentially 95 of the persons that are held in Fulton County's custody are there result of the work of the Atlanta Police Department. There was a time less than 30 years ago where Mayor Mayor Jackson, Fulton County Chairman Michael Lomax had worked in agreement on our criminal justice system and and on our jails that worked for decades. But it was the crisis, the housing crisis that caused the city of Atlanta to break that agreement. the sit. If we wanted to help the sheriff immediately, we could have our correction officers watch the inmates that are in our jail that are in Fulton County custody, and that would give him 45 deputies immediately to help to make Fulton County safe. So that's just one part of this convoluted arrangement that we have with Fulton County. And it does bear more discussion. It does bear more scrutiny. And I think that we ought to do it because it it is people's lives hanging in the balance. And nobody likes to talk about jails. No, Fulton County certainly doesn't want to talk about their jail. that they they would build a new one because they need to build a new one. But we need to have those type of conversations again with our counterparts at Fulton County to do things and I don't want to sound cliche but the Atlanta way. Uh because prior to the early 2000s we had a good arrangement with them on our facilities, on our courts, and on our policing. And also want to point out, you know, you don't have a jail for the police. You actually have the jail is a outgrowth of the court system. So, there's also a larger discussion that needs to be had with the court system between Atlanta and Fulton County because technically most people don't realize this, but our municipal court is actually a special court of dispensation, meaning it is the only municipal court that has state court powers. They used to handle first appearance hearings on behalf of Fulton County which kept people out of jail which kept people from being filtered into right street. So there is a big conversation that needs to be had and the jail is just uh the jail in this contract is just one piece of it. >> Councelor Boon has been waiting. Councelor Boon >> Mr. President I'd like to call the previous question. There's there's a motion by councelor Boon to call the previous question on the motion to refer, seconded by council member um Hillis. We'll move directly to a vote. There's no discussion. Again, it takes two/3s to call the previous question and I is to call the previous question and close debate on the motion refer. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to call the previous question. >> The vote is open. >> We'll confirm. >> Motion is to call the previous question. on the motion to refer >> affirmative street. >> Will everyone please vote? >> Miss Booth, you got Miss Booth. >> Okay. The votes closed. 12 yays, one nay. >> 12 yays, one nay. The motion to call the previous question carries. We'll move directly to a vote now on the motion to refer. Madame clerk, please open the vote on the motion to refer 25R 3289 to public safety. >> The vote is open. The votes close. Nine yays, four nays. >> Nine yays, four naysays. The motion to refer carries. >> Councilor Lewis, you want to explain your vote? >> Yeah, I think that we should have handled this here. I think we could have went into full committee, committee of whole here. I hope that uh full good faith. I hope that we able to take this to public safety committee. I hope that on Wednesday, on Monday next week, I hope that we're able to move this forward because our sheriff has asked for help. Uh when I was able to speak to our sheriff, he was he wished more people had known about his lawsuit. I said, "Do you want this public?" "Yes, that's why I did it." And so, our sheriff has asked the county and the county chairman for help and they don't have the help and we're talking about lives. So, I hope that we're able to work on this over the next seven days, and I hope we're able to give the mayor and give the county and the county chairman the the appetite to actually handle this something that we wrote in our first legislation. Thank you again. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, as chair of the public safety and legal administration committee, it would have been nice and respectful to at least receive a call. I heard about this from members of the public on the outside and those that know me know that I take human lives serious. I am committed to meeting about this on the next seven days. I don't know how this just fell out of the the sky because when people want to reach me for other things, they are able to do it. And I think we need to one respect the committee process. Respect the committee process and respect that the fact that this could have been brought up at the public safety committee on last week. Thank you. >> Council Collins. >> No. Um I defer >> Yeah. I just look forward to working on that public safety and legal administration. And for those that come to us ask, you know, have come to us month after month, I I asked the question, if we were to shut AC/DC down now, where would the detainees that we have in there now go? And I cannot get an answer. I cannot send them back. I can I can't. You say, so Cobb County, Union. Yeah. You say Cobb County, Union City, all of those counties. So you're now asking now you're asking families that now can see their client that now can see their families less than 5 minutes away to be able to find transportation. >> Council member Collins, this is Council Member Collins. No, >> Mr. Please. >> We're not going to go back and forth. >> Okay. >> No problem. Look forward to work working on it in the committee. >> Thank you. >> Council Lewis, you still explaining your vote. >> I want to say Yeah. want to say make sure Thank Thank you again. This legislation once again is just to tell the folks who enter into the agreement to actually do that again. And I want to say also that I had to do it in here, which we've seen a lot of people do different legislation in here if it held in committee. I want to say I appreciate the folks for reaching out to me and I appreciate council member Doer for a second and sometimes this going to happen like this. Thank you again. >> Thank you. That concludes public safety legal administration committee. We'll now move to city utilities committee chair Lewis. >> Mr. President, we have no report. >> Thank you. Finally, today CDHS Chair Winston. >> Thank you, Council President. We have one item 25-01456 an ordinance by community development human services committee to amend um part three land development code part 6 budget and planning chapter 4 boards and commissions article D historic preservation program of the city code to amend the section number listed to remove the executive director of the urban design commission's power to set fees to add a new section listed so as to codify a new fee structure for applications reviewed by the Atlanta Urban Design Commission and the Urban Design Commission's executive director and for other purposes. Uh there was a motion to file this in committee. That passed unanimously. So I'd like to make a motion to file. >> There's a motion coming out of committee to file 251456. It does not need a second. Is there any discussion on the motion to file this item? Hearing now move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to file. >> The vote is open. I want to make an announcement about it. Will everyone please vote? >> Um, Collins. >> Will everyone please vote? Will everyone please vote? Council [Music] member Boon, what is your vote? >> Council Boon's an I. Council member Collins. Council member Collins. >> Council Collins is an I. Step away. Okay, just call it. Yeah. >> Mhm. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Councilor Baktiari, how do you vote? >> Councilor Biari is an IE. >> The vote is closed. 13. Yay. Zero. Nay. 13A z. The motion to file carries. We're still in the CDHS committee. Council member Bond. >> Yes. I'd like to call up item 25-143. Been held twice >> per code. The author of a bill, the author of a paper can call it forward out of committee for consideration. 251403. Councelor Bond is doing so. Councelor Bond, what would you like to do with the paper? >> Thank you. This is uh my paper on the regulations concerning uh the short-term rentals uh for apartments and condominiums. I peeled this with the assistance of the law department directly out of the master paper. I'll refer to it. Uh so it's identical pretty much in every way. Why I called it up today is that I wanted to make an announcement about it. I have spoken with some of the residents of the landmark today. I've spoken with some of the representatives uh from the short-term rental community. They expressed we had a discussion after the last CDHS meeting. And so at the next CDHS meeting, I've asked the law department to assist me with an amendment that will address the short-term rental uh industries concern and help to satisfy the concerns of the residents. And so I'm going to refer this back for that meeting uh because the amendment will not be, you know, it's too it's too involved to be ready today. But I wanted to make that announcement that we are working to try to get a good compromise for the residents and uh for those who have an interest in this industry. So make a motion to refer. >> Council bonds making a motion to refer 25501403 back to committee. Council member Bakiari seconded. Is there any discussion on the motion to refer this item? >> It is. >> We do this v unanimous consent without objection. Any objection the motion to refer. Madam clerk, please sound on the counter unanimous consent on the motion to refer. that we're just confused. >> He's he brought it to me, but he brought it back. >> So, what's the >> one moment? Oh, >> it's 13 yay, zero nays. >> 13 yay, zero. Motion prefer carries. Any other business? >> Thank you, Council President. That does conclude my report. >> Thank you, Chair Winston. We will now move to personal papers. We have two items for immediate consideration. The first is from Council Baktiari. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, Elms ID number 38603, resolution by Council Member Liliana Bactiari to appoint members to serve on the Edel Corridor public safety task force and for other purposes. Whereas on July 8th, 2025, a mass shooting occurred on the Edgewood Avenue corridor in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, resulting in the death of one person and serious injuries to 10 others. And whereas the Atlanta City Council immediately adopted resolution 25-R3738 to establish the Edgewood Corridor Public Safety Task Force, wherein nine entities were charged with designating members to the task force. Now therefore be resolved by the Atlanta City Council of the that the following design are hereby appointed to the Edgewood Corridor Public Safety Task Force. Representing the Chief Operating Officer, Miss Landre Burks representing Chief of APD. Major Andrea Webster representing District 1. Brad Schwear representing District 2, Tom Bole representing District 5, Johnny Martinez representing Old Forth Ward Business Association. Jason Parker representing the Old Fors Ward, I'm sorry, representing Old Forth Ward Neighborhood Association, Jason Parker representing Old Forth Ward Business Association. and Sarah O'Kim representing the MPU public safety. Dorothy Hurst representing the Auburn Church Collective, Bishop Robert Graham. May it finally resolve that all resolutions and parts of resolutions in conflict here with are hereby wave to the to the extent of the conflict. >> So I motion to approve. >> There's a motion by councelor Bakari to adopt Elms 38603, seconded by councelor Juan. Is there any discussion on the motion to adopt this item? Hearing none. Move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to adopt. The vote is open. Will everyone please vote? >> Will everyone please vote? Mr. McForland, how do you vote? Hi. >> The closed 11 yay, zero nays. >> Thank you. >> 11 yay, zero nays. Motion to adopt carries. >> And a motion to uh move to the mayor's desk post. >> There's a motion by councelor Bakiari, seconded by council member >> Juan Orer, whoever >> one to move the mo mayor's office post. Is there any discussion on the motion move post? We do this via names consent. Any objection? Madam clerk, please sign on the count of names consent on the motion move post taste. >> 12 11 yay zero nays. >> Thank you. >> Say 11 or 12 >> 11 >> 11 >> 11 yay zero nays. Motion to move post carries. >> Thank you. Uh, we also have a paper. We have a uh Elms 38617. Council West Morland. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Resolution by West Morland, Doer, Bakari, Winston, Collins, Over Street, Ferroi, Juan, Lewis Bond Hillis and Amos and maybe Boon for a second time. requesting that the Department of City Planning expedite any solar powered project that qualifies for the residential clean energy credit in light of direction from the federal government that will that that tax credit will sunset at the end of year 2025 and for other purposes. Whereas solar energy can benefit the citizens in a number of ways from reducing climate pollution to helping homeowners save on their energy bills. And whereas the residential clean energy credit allows homeowners to save on residential solar projects. And whereas similarly a federal incentive entitled the energy efficient home improvement credit allows homeowners to receive a tax break on the cost of high efficiency home appliances such as heat pumps and water heaters. Whereas the federal government with the passage of HR1 has signaled both tax credits will cease to exist on December 31st, 2025. Whereas these sorts of cost-saving energy efficient home improvements are an opportunity to install the kind of appliances and energy systems that will benefit benefits from the users years to come. Whereas there is still uncertainty as to whether projects began but not completed before December 31st, 2025 will qualify under the tax credit not there be resolved by the council of the city of Atlanta to request the department expedite projects that fall into these expiring tax credits so that Atlanta will continue to benefit from these opportunities to develop energy efficient homes before the credits expire. Motion to approve. >> There's a motion by council Morland, second by council Juan to adopt 38617. Is there any discussion on the motion to adopt this item? Hearing none move to vote. Madam clerk, please open the vote on the motion to adopt. [Music] >> The vote is open. >> Will everyone please vote? Carrie, did you vote? >> Thank you. Will everyone please vote? Mr. Council member Shook, what is your vote? [Music] >> Council Hillis, how do you vote? Council >> Hillis and Boon are both eyes. Okay, >> the vote's closed. 13 yay, zero nays. >> 13 yay zs. Motion to adopt carries. I believe that is all for immediate consideration. So we'll now move to papers for referral. Council member Amos. >> So we have two. >> Thanks, sir. AMS >> 38597, a resolution by council member Byron D. game was authorizing the city of Atlanta to donate a total amount not to exceed $500,000 to the Grow Park Foundation pursuant to section 6-306 of the city of Atlanta charter to support neighborhood partner partnership organization capacity building services on behalf of the West Hollow Foundation authorizing the mayor or his design to enter into a donation agreement which shall detail the actions of the Grove Park Foundation to provide neighborhood partnership capacity building services and to authorize the chief financial officer or his design to make all payments from the accounts listed herein and for other purposes. >> Also be referred to the CDHS committee ID 38569 a resolution by council member Byron D. name was supplementing a task order fund in the amount of $24,400,000 for FC-7744 program management support services at Hartsville Jackson Atlanta International Airport with Atlanta Aviation Associates a joint venture to provide program management support services on behalf of the department of aviation on a tax order basis. All services will be charged to and paid from account numbers listed herein and for other purposes. Homes ID 38569 will be referred to the transportation committee. >> AMS ID 38595, ordinance by council member Byron D. Amos to amend chapter 154 utilities article 3 water provision section 154-92 connections for fire services and water meters to require that all fire department connections be clearly labeled with the floor or area of the building they are connected to and for other purposes. ALMS ID 38595 will be jointly referred to PSLA and CDHS committees. >> AMS ID 38594, an ordinance by council member Byron De Amos to prohibit the construction of structures using sound permeable materials within the city of Atlanta and for other purposes. >> Homes ID 38594 be referred to CDHS committee. >> Thank you, Mr. President. >> Thank you, Council Bond. Thank you, Mr. President. You have M's ID number 38607, an ordinance by council member Michael Julian Bond authorizing the donation in a total amount not to exceed $1,000 from the postund at large carry forward account to the athletes youth success institute to support their efforts in raising funds to send a group of promising student athletes to the US Open tennis tournament in New York and for other purposes. Elms ID 38607 will be referred to the finance exact committee >> and Elms ID number 38612 an ordinance by council member Michael Julian Bond to amend ordinance 25-1163 adopted by the Atlanta City Council on July 7th 2025 and approved by the mayor July 8th 2025 to update the funding allocations and account information and for other purposes. Homestead ID 38612 will be referred to the CDHS committee. >> Thank you. That's >> Thank you, Council Boon. Thank you, Mr. President. Elms ID number 38575, an ordinance by Council Member Andrea Boon authorizing the chief financial officer to pay outstanding invoices in an amount not to exceed $120,350 to Magnet Forensics LLC on behalf of the Atlanta Police Department. All contracted work will be charged to and paid from the fund department organization and account numbers listed here in and for other purposes. Elms ID 38575 will be referred, excuse me, referred to the public safety legal administration committee. >> Council member Doer just [Laughter] >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, one item is ELMS number 38619, a resolution by council member Jason Doer authorizing the mayor his designate on behalf of the city of Atlanta to designate the city of Atlanta as a B trapfree zone and to support inner city urban agriculture in all his programs and authorizing the mayor on behalf of the city of Atlanta to enter into any required agreements for the participation and implementation of such designation and for other purposes. >> 838619 we refer to the CDHS committee. >> That's all I have. You have to abstain from commercial >> council. Talk to law. >> What was that? >> You need to talk to law about it. Elms ID 38620 resolution by council member Mary Norwood and Dustin Hillis to amend infrastructure sustainability task force established by resolution 24R 4311 to modify its membership and for other purposes ID 38620 will be referred to city utilities committee >> an ordinance by council members Dustin Hillis Andrea Boon Collins Matt West Morland Michael Julian Bond Antonio Lewis Marcia Street, Andrea El Boon, I think I already said her name, Howard Shook, Alex Juan, Jason Doer, and Byron Amos to amend Chapter 114 Personnel Article 6 Labor Relations Division 1 generally section 114-505 meet and confer sessions of the city of Atlanta code of ordinances to enhance labor relations and employee well-being through union leadership engagement and administrative leave provisions and for other purposes. Elms ID 38610 will be referred to the finance exec committee. >> Elms ID 38615 in order by council members Dustin Hillis and Matt West Morland, Esha Collins and Michael Julian Bond authorizing the acquisition of rightaway permanent and/or temporary easements on over, under, and through certain real property necessary for construction of an approximately 2.8 mile portion of the Beltline Northwest Trail segments 2, three, and four for the completion of the Northwest Atlanta Beltline Trail project. Authorizing Atlanta Beltline, Inc. to negotiate with affected property owners and execute all documents necessary to acquire such property interests. Authorizing the mayor and the city attorney in the event negotiations are unsuccessful to institute condemnation proceedings pursuant to the declaration of taking method authorized by OCGA listed. Authorizing the city attorney to engage the services of outside counsel where necessary to handle condemnation proceedings, waving certain provisions of article 10 of the real estate and procurement code of the city of Atlanta code of ordinances and for other purposes. >> ID 38615, we refer to the CDHS committee. >> These my items. Thank you. >> Thank you. Council Lewis. >> Thank you, Council President. Extremely happy about today's resolution. This is a good day for the people on the south side. And so, ELMS number 38601, a resolution by council member Antonio Lewis, council member Michael Julian Bond, and council member Isa Collins requesting the department of transportation prioritize and allocate funding for the repaving of Brownsville Road and for other purposes. Whereas Brownsville Road serves as a critical transportation corridor in just a second district 12 connecting residential residents, schools, churches and local businesses in the southeast Atlanta. So thank you for that. President D 38601 refer to the transportation committee. >> Elms another paper that is helping folks on the south side. Elms 38599, a resolution by council member Antonio Lewis, council member Michael Julian Bond, and council member Isa Collins requesting that the Atlanta Department of Transportation prioritize and allocate funding for the design and construction of new sidewalk infrastructure along Jonesboro Road and to improve safety, pedestrian access, and mobility for residents of District 12 and for other purposes. >> Elms ID 38599 will be referred to the transportation committee. Elms ID 386000, a resolution by Council Member Antonio Lewis requesting that the Atlanta Department of Transportation conduct a traffic calming study on Kerry Drive Southeast to determine the need for any safety improvements such as additional signing and for other purposes. >> Alms 3860, we refer to the transportation committee. M38604, a resolution by Council Member Antonio Lewis requesting the Atlanta Department of Transportation conduct a traffic calming study on Burrows Avenue Southeast to determine the need for any safety improvements such as additional signage and further purposes. >> Elms ID 38604 be referred to the transportation committee. Elms ID 38605, a resolution by Council Member Antonio Lewis requesting that the Atlanta Department of Transportation conduct a traffic calming study on Grand Avenue to determine the need for any safety improvements such as additional signage and for other purposes. >> ID 38605 be referred to the transportation committee. Elms ID 38606, a resolution by council member Antonio Lewis requesting that the Atlanta Department of Transportation conduct the traffic calming study on Holly Drive to determine the need for any safety improvements such as additional signage and further purposes. >> Elms ID 38606 will be referred to the transportation committee. Elms 38608, a resolution by Council Member Antonio Lewis requesting that the Atlanta Department of Transportation conduct a traffic calming study on Harper Road Southeast to determine the need for any safety improvements such as additional signage and for other purposes. >> ID 38608 will be for the transportation committee. Elms 38614, a resolution by Council Member Antonio Lewis requesting that the Atlanta Department of Transportation conduct a traffic calming study to determine the feasibility and appropriateness of installing speed humps on both sides of Baywood Drive Southeast to determine the need for any safety improvements such as additional signage and for other purposes and for Y. >> Elms ID 38614 refer to the transportation committee. Elms ID 38616 a council member by a resolution by council member Antonio Lewis requesting that the Atlanta Department of Transportation conduct a traffic calming study on Jernigan Drive Southeast to determine the need for any safety improvements such as additional signage and further purposes. >> ID 38616 would be referred to the transportation committee. And lastly, huge huge piece of paper for fire office 38613, a ordinance by council member Antonio Lewis, naming the Atlanta city council committee room 2, the Oliv the Olivia ranking parks committee room and for other purposes 38613 will be jointly referred to FEC and COC committees. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Council Member Over Street. That took a long Okay, Mr. President, Elm's ID number 38598, an ordinance by council member Marcy. Call your Over Street, Matt West Morland, Andrea Boon, and Eay Collins. An ordinance authorizing the Atlanta Development Authority doing business as Invest Atlanta to utilize the funds remaining in the Atlanta Recovery Fund established for Invest Atlanta in an in ordinance 24-1301 for the public purpose of supporting small business along Cascade Road which have been adversely impacted by the ongoing construction of various water and sewer enhancements and maintenance projects to extend the deadline by which any funds remaining in the Atlanta recovery fund must be transferred back to the city of Atlanta water and sewer revenue fund to December 31st, 2025 to authorize the mayor, his designate on behalf of the city of Atlanta to execute all documents necessary to effectuate the purpose of this ordinance, including but not limited to any amendment to the intergovernmental agreement for economic development services dated October 21st, 2020 or any such successor IGA A if needed and for other purposes >> ID 38598 will be jointly referred to CDHS and FEC committees. >> Thank you. M's ID number 38623, a resolution by council members Marcy call your over street and Byron de Amos requesting the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, MARTA, to appear before the transportation committee to provide a comprehensive update on safety protocols and infrastructure accountability and for other purposes. >> Elms ID 38623 will be referred to the transportation committee. Oh, I think I did. Cam's ID number 38611, an ordinance by council member Marcy Collier over street authorizing the mayor or his designate to exercise a renewal for FC 8640 construction management support services at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport with ATL construction management partners a joint venture to provide construction management support services on behalf of the department of aviation on a task order basis for a term of five years and for other purposes. That was ID 38611 will be referred to the transportation committee. >> Thank you. >> Customer shook >> Elms 38554 resolution by Shook authorizing the CFO to refund customers for overp payments to water and sewer accounts in the amount of blank all funds to be charged to etc. >> Elms ID 38554 refer to the FEC. Helms 385555 is a resolution by Shook authorizing the commissioner of DWM to adjust water sewer service charges on certain customer accounts in accordance with the code section cited in the amount of blank and further purposes. >> E 3855 will be referred to the FEC. >> ELMS 38562 uh ordinance by Shook to amend the cited sections of the city code. uh council member expense accounts uh council district appropriations funding to remove restrictions on transferring funds between certain accounts and for other purposes. >> Elms ID 38562 be jointly referred to FEC and committee on council. Uh, Elms 38571, ordinance by Shook authorizing the CFO to amend the FY26 budget by adding to anticipations and appropriations bond proceeds in the aggregate principal amount not to exceed blank for the series 2025 general airport revenue bonds to amend the funding of the contracts listed in exhibit A and for other purposes. >> ID 38571 refer to the FEC. Elms 38570 ordinance by Shook supplementing that certain 37th supplemental bond ordinance number cited uh adopted on the date listed and approved by the mayor on the date listed to among other things set forth the terms of the city of Atlanta one airport general revenue bond series 2025 A and B and any additional subseries designation is here and permitted providing funds for the purpose of among other things financing and refinancing in whole or in part the cost of planning, engineering, design, acquisition, equipping, and construction of certain improvements to the airport. Providing for a reasonably required debt service reserve. Providing for the payment of cost of issuance, including bond insurance, if any, providing for the forms of and authorizing the execution of said series uh bonds. providing for the rights of the holders of said bonds. Authorizing and approving the preparation, use and distribution of a preliminary official statement and a final official statement in connection with the offer and sale of the bonds. Granting the uh chief officer, the city finance officer or airport general manager the authority to deem final the preliminary official statement for purposes of securities and exchange commission rule indicated and the authority to approve and execute a final official statement. authorizing the execution of a continuing disclosure agreement, a bond purchase agreement and certain other agreements in connection uh with the sale of said bonds and providing for incidental related actions providing an effective date and for other purposes 38570 refer to the FEC. Lastly, ELMS 38596 resol resolution by Shook and Juan authorizing the mayor to issue a task order for the RFP listed job order contracting services large with Manhattan RFB, a joint venture for the construction of Fire Station 29 EM on behalf of Enterprise Essence Management in amount not to exceed 14.5 million, all work to be charged to and paid from, etc. 38596 will be referred to the FBC. >> That is all Kasan. Elms 38609, a resolution by council member Alex Juan to remove all parking meters in the Atkins Park commercial zone of Virginia Highland that were established by administrative action under chapter 150 traffic and vehicles article 4 stopping standing and parking division 3 parking meters of the city of Atlanta code of ordinances and for other purposes. >> ID 38609 will be referred to the transportation committee. >> Thank you. >> Council member West Morland. Thank you. 80. Nope, that's a three. 38618. Ordinance by West Morland, Over Street, Lewis, and Collins donating an amount not to exceed $3,750 to a dare park today for the Porches and Pies festival pursuant to 6306 of the charter and for other purposes. ID 3868 refer to the FEC. Resolution uh 38622 Wasmulan Bakiari Winston and Doge authorizing a donation to the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation to support the AVLF's access to legal council program that provides eviction defense services to eligible city of Atlanta residents and for other purposes. >> ID 38622 be referred to the CDHS. >> Thank you, >> Councelor Winston. >> Thank you. I have one paper today. Elms 38573, an ordinance by council member Jason H. uence waving the requirements of the section number listed of the seat of Atlanta code to retroactively authorize and ratify the seed of Atlanta submission of a grant application for the passenger rail alternatives analysis analysis study grant from the Atlanta regional commission in an amount not to exceed $625,000 for the purpose of identifying one or more recommended passenger rail locations that can be served by existing and future inner city passenger rail service in metro Atlanta to authorize the city to commit local matching funds in amount not to exceed $125,000 from the accounts listed herein to authorize the mayor or his designate to execute a memorandum of understanding to effectuate the acceptance of this award and for other purposes ID 38573 will be referred to the CDHS committee believe that is all papers for referral today so we will move to general remarks let me begin just by reminding everyone who's watching that This is qualifying week. Democracy is renewed. Tuesday, tomorrow through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, those who are wishing to run for offices at city or at the board of education, please come and see the clerk and her team to file your candidacy declaration, which you must do in order to appear on the ballot this November. That is also a reminder for all members on this body who want to return, please don't forget to file your paperwork. It would be noted that council member West Morland is booing democracy. Any other items in general remarks? Council member Bond. Thank you, Mr. President. I I apologize. I did not u mention this at the beginning of the meeting, but legendary Atlanta coach uh Tweet Williams passed away. And uh this body is on record for recommending him amongst his other uh decades of accomplishment and service uh as a as a coach and mentor administrator in the school system. Uh but to the Georgia coaches hall of fame a few years ago and I'd like if we could just quickly do a moment of silence on his behalf. >> Please join us in a moment of silence. >> Thank you. Thank you. Any other general remarks? Council member Lewis. And >> same thing I want to send is I apologize for not bringing this up a little early, but last night my community actually lost a a stalworth of the community and a entertainment entertainer. So I make sure I say the name Lee. I want to send every every condolence we can to the family. Jonesboro South, Jonesboro Road, Jonesboro North to the family of Lee South Atlanta Long. Thank you again. >> Thank you. Other general remarks. Council member Booth. >> Yes. I would like to offer prayers for Bridget Brown, our own Bridget Brown lost her brother and we extend our condolences to that entire family on the loss of her older brother. We will be providing support and prayers for her and her mother and her other siblings. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other general remarks? Hearing none, we'll have the closing call. Closing uh role. Madame clerk. >> Yes, we have council president Doug Shimman >> here. Council member Michael Julian large. Council member Matt West Morland post two at large. Council member Esha Collins, Post three at large. Council member Jason H. Winston, District 1. >> Council member Myron D. Amos, District 3. >> Council member Jason Doza, District 4. >> Council member Liliana Bakara, District 5. Council member Alex, District 6. >> Council member Howard Shook, District 7. Council member Mary Norwood, District 8. Council member Dustin Hills, District 9. >> Council member Andrea Boon, District 10. >> Present. >> Council member Marcy Culler, Over Street, District 11. >> Council member Antonia Lewis, District 12. >> Thank you. Without objection, we stand a journ. >> 621. >> Okay.