e e e e e e e for e good morning Tuesday May 7th and we will before we begin we will hear U the invocation from Pastor Justin Avery at Draper Park Christian Church followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the Oklahoma pledge by Piper langerman from Girl Scout Troop 3309 if you'll please stand as you're able let us pray father we are thankful for the day thankful for the breath in our lungs for the Sun that rises again uh to do your will to live in your creation and I just pray father uh for the leaders here of this great city that you would fill them with all wisdom and devotion as they go about uh the business of um seeing to uh the citizens um in this great land in which we live and father we we do pray for those um affected by last night's storms uh not only in in in our city but but across our state father um and uh as you did in your life in your death and Resurrection Lord Jesus uh teach it what teach us what it means uh to be good neighbors I pray all of this in your name amen please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge of 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 I salute the flag of the state of Oklahoma it SS of Peace nights all people okay we'll call to order the city council meeting for May 7th 2024 from the office of the mayor before I come down front um item A's resolution for Major Robert Coleman it's a Oklahoma City of Oklahoma City Safety star of the quarter we need to to uh receive a motion to strike that we are going to bring it back uh major Coleman is a experience to death in the family he's unable to join us this morning so we'll please keep his family and friends um in our thoughts and our prayers but we would we want to recognize him but we will bring it back at a future meeting when he is available so if I could get a motion on the floor just motion to defer we're going to strike for now thank you passes unanimously now I will uh grab the microphone and move down front for Item B Miss Sherry if you'll join us up here the Item B is recognizing Miss Sherry du and I will ask the city clerk to read the proclamation the resolution whereas Sherry du has been named teacher of the month for May 2024 by the Oklahoma City Public Schools foundation and Rotary Club of Oklahoma City and whereas Sherry serves as a social studies teacher at Southeast High School who exemplifies leading with empathy and develops meaningful relationships with her students and whereas Sherry provides a safe welcoming and motivational classroom environment where her students can be creative and Thrive and whereas Sherry Embraces innovative ways for students to express themselves and gives them the education and opportunities they need to prepare for the future and whereas Sherry upholds high standards for herself as a professional and supports fellow teachers on their path to success and whereas Sherry leads by example by taking the initiative to organize service projects and strengthen the relationships between schools and the community and whereas Sher believes in the potential of all students and values the lessons she learns from them now therefore be it resolved by the mayor and Council of the City of Oklahoma City that they do hereby recognize and commend Sherry du on her selection as May 2024 teacher of the month by the Oklahoma City Public Schools foundation and Rotary Club of Oklahoma City so this is a resolution so we we do need to pass this I vote I I can't see passes unanimously Miss Sherry would you like to say a few words about your experience in Oklahoma City Public Schools and this recognition sure I want to thank the city council for this honor it's a great thing to be recognized for being a teacher especially these days I love teaching I love my students have been doing it for almost 20 years and there's nothing else I would rather do um even with maybe sometimes the climate that we have but um I enjoy it as much as today as I ever have thank you very much we give Miss Sherry a round of applause please all right next up uh item four items from Council there are no items from Council today item five uh city manager reports Mr city manager yes thank you we have several reports that are on today the first report is our interim financial report just an update it's really a budgetary report but an update on how we're doing our focus it covers all of our different cash funds that we have but our focus is the general fund which is our primary operating fund and you'll see there that we're about four uh about $4.5 million below on our revenues but our expenditures are about $16 million below um their projection so still overall we're doing well um a lot of our expenditure being below expenditure is vacancies that we've had but we've also been a little bit uh behind on our expenditures in our services area so um overall the financial picture is good even though our revenues are down a little bit the largest area that we're down on the revenues is with franchise fees we'll continue monitoring that but we should be doing well through the end of the fiscal year um next we have the hotel tax and with the hotel tax it's about 6.6% Above This is through the third quarter through March 6.6% above last year so still doing well with our hotel tax and then we have the sales and use tax report you know sales taxes our largest source of revenue for operations and we had 3.2% growth in the month of April for sales tax the month before we were about 4 and a half% down so it's something we've got to monitor closely we do have preliminary report on May and the sales tax in May is down back down again about 3% or about 2 and a half% and so um going to the end of the year we saw in context with our interim financial report it's still doing well because expenditures are below um uh the targets right now but overall with sales and use tax I mean sales tax is about 1.8% growth and through April we're about $835,000 above Target on sales tax so with that I'd be glad to take any question questions or we get any information and followup if you need that and that's all that I have see no questions we'll move on to item six Journal Council proceedings we can take both items as uh one motion and the item passes excuse me item number seven request for uncontested uncontested continuances um item number 11f has already been uh requested to be deferred until uh June 4th 24 Mr city manager you have other items we have a couple of other items starting on page 17 item 11 ab1 um both of these items will be stricken from the agenda item a is 601 West Hill Street the owner has secured Item B 912 West i240 Service Road the owner has secured and then continuing on page 17 item 11 ac1 abandoned buildings both of these are stricken from the agenda for the same reason it's the same items item a 601 West Street and Item B 912 West i240 Service Road that's all the items that I have thank you moving on to item eight uh revocable permits and events item a a revocable permit with the American Heart Association for the Oklahoma City heartwalk May 31st through June 1st in Bicentennial Park w six word six is not here today so she did ask me to move her zoning cases so i' be more more than happy to move her other cases or uh involvements as well perfect we did have somebody sign up to speak um Kimberly Stevenson love the red dress good job good morning this is the 100th year of the American Heart Association and we're celebrating that by advocating for more heart health education and Stroke Awareness and we are um doing our annual walk on June 1st this year and what time is the walk we we'll be setting up the day before on Friday the 31st and we should be opening up our tents at 8:00 a.m and our walk will actually begin at 9:15 a.m.

All right uh with that I know this is an important uh event for all of us as we support health so I will move for approval thank you passes unanimously Item B is a revocable permit with the bodies race company for the hometown half June 8th River Trail wheeler Park councilwoman nice I wanted to hear more about that but unfortunately we won't but um I will move for approval passes unanimously item c a revocable per no yeah okay look I thought I was reading the wrong one with the bodies race company for the summer Sayler July 27th this is why I wanted to hear more about it because it's continued on the in July so I will move we have someone yes I can maybe answer some questions you have I've been working with them for that permit um so bodies race company has been doing smaller events with us throughout the years uh they've been with us about two years now and they've finally grown to the point where they're a revocable permit um so they're getting more and more people and every month they do a run so sometimes it's out at Lake Draper sometimes it's on the River Trail sometimes it's out at Lake Hefner but uh I believe they're expecting about 700 people for both of these events this summer do you have any specific questions on them so it's physically bodies racing yes excellent all right well this sounds exciting so I will move for approval thank you and that passes unanimously item D revocable permit with red coyote running and fitness for the Red Coyote half marathon November 10th um we do have one person signed up to speak councilwoman nice would you like me that Mr osland uh yeah oand oand good morning uh Madame vice mayor and members of council uh this is the fourth year for the Red Coyote half marathon uh the second year we will be hosting it from scissor tail Park uh it is um culmination of our fall half marathon training programs and uh benefits a course for change program which uh helps Mentor um disadvantaged youth uh through the half marathon process and helps them uh achieve a um lifelong relationship with uh with running we're very excited to be involved in it again and I invite all of you guys to join us thank you well it sounds like we're we're going to have a lot of people in these streets running uh the rest of the year so that should be exciting get your shoes ready uh I will move for approval passes unanimously and Mr osland is here for item e also the revocable permit for red coyote running and fitness for the Red Coyote love Run 5K and 10K for June 22nd Mr R thank you guys so much um once again uh this is our June 5K 10K uh culmination training program uh this will be the sixth year I think for the event and about the fourth year that we have had it from the social capital side of uh the cisel park we run down Walker down to the river trail uh this also uh benefits sisu Youth Services here in Oklahoma City area and uh has been a great event for us uh as we get more and more people into the running Community um once again it's uh it's been a lot of fun uh each year we've had it in cooperation with social capital and we look forward to seeing you guys again this year all right with this one I will move for approval as well thank you guys very much have a wonderful day thank you passes unanimously item F uh vocable RightWay use permit with the Poo Arts artists Association to build the Poo Arts Festival to hold the Poo Arts Festival May 25th through the 27th um Amanda Bleckley is signed up this week yes good morning good morning happy to be here I'm Amanda Bleckley I'm the executive director of the Poo Arts Association and I'm uh our my address is 3024 poo I am really excited to be here today to present our revocable permit to you all for the 47th Annual poo art festival which is May 25th 26th and 27th Colin Rose Brook is here to tell you a little bit about the festival well this year we'll be hosting about 90 or 90 plus artists National jurry Arters from all over the country we'll have uh some 50 musical acts on two stages we have food trucks and it's all free to the public and one important thing is we'll have a free shuttle free parking at 36 and Walker at the parking lot there and a free shuttle that goes back and forth from the festival free for the public and we're excited to have it started also um just a reminder we have a street uh ribbon cutting this Friday at 11 o'clock you all are all invited and we're really excited to celebrate the near completion of the streetcape that you all approved uh through uh better streets and other initiatives uh so please join us we we're going to have uh uh some cake and snacks and and some bubbly and a lot of people out to um celebrate what's been a over year a yearlong um process so anyway thank you awesome thank you ward too yes uh first just thank you all uh this is a public thinking from this horseshoe to everyone involved on your board to the merchant to the artist for your patience during this last year and your coordination with um all of the city staff involved in that streetcape that was uh really impressive work uh that you I mean it was patience is a virtue and that's what I really came to understand this last uh last year so uh and I'm glad you were able to invite everyone and again that's 11:00 a.m.

this uh this Friday um and so with that I would move for approval pass this unanimously and we have um related item G revocable RightWay use permit it's not us oh it's not you guys I apologize thank you so item G is the revocable rule rideway use permit with the Poo Market Festival to hold poo Market Festival May 25th through the 7 yes good morning city council and vice mayor Peg I am Robert Lee Clark CPA of Sulfur Oklahoma and I've been hosting the uh poo Market Festival since 2018 we the other festival that takes place uh this Memorial Day weekend we would be the Garland Festival to their Dallas festival for example so we also have around 80 vendors and food trucks and so forth and we're asking for your approval for our permit we're going to close 28th Street and uh uh have food vendors in the street and so forth so uh we believe our Festival accounts for approximately half a million in sales uh and the related sales tax so I'm here today just to ask for your approval for our revocable permit thank you w two yes um how long y'all been doing this one this Festival I've been hosting it since uh 2018 since 2018 okay uh yeah I'm going to look a little bit more into that history uh over the next year because I'm trying to figure out uh I want to make sure um yeah I just want to make sure that these two festivals are happening uh in a way that in a way that really works for that area I'll just leave it at that for now so I'll just move for approval pass this unanimously thank you thank you and uh councilman if I can answer any questions for you please feel free to contact me great thank you all right thank you all right we'll recess the council meeting and convene as the Oklahoma City Municipal facilities Authority item a um hold on okay sorry about that executive session has not been requested by staff on G2 um we can take a motion to uh I would actually request that the only reason I do request that is because the nature of in the history of this particular case I think it is important to understand what what is happening and what has happened um in comparison to this gentleman that was acquitted and now um seeking um seeking some type of of support um and we could have had this before but I've never seen this so I would like to go into executive session to understand that all right so we'll take a vote on item G2 uh to move into executive session the item fails four to three and I'd like to vote separately okay now we'll vote now then on item G1 passes five to two we'll now move on to um take the remaining items uh under one motion and that passes and we'll adjourn no CMFA and convene as the Oklahoma City public property Authority where we can take items A and B with one motion and that pass passes we'll adjourn ocpa and Rec convenience the council meeting where we start back with item nine on the consent docket and if there are any items that council members wish to discuss um or call out for a vote on uh you please let me know at this time and go slute I'm new here I do have a question um item b d uh just a some information about The Selective demolition I hadn't been aware of that any other items just to kind of clarify on that because it did come up in the maps for board never mind sorry I was running a little late there David Todd maps program manager so item BD is is what we call Selective demolition it's for interior demolition nonstructural walls it's it's to clear out things in the building so that the the architect can make sure what the structural uh system is and it also gives us a a bit of a jump on construction so we don't have to wait for a general contractor to come in there and do that demolition we know it's going to happen so it like I said it gives us a little head start start on that okay thank you okay that was the only item we had so we can um move the consent do out forward with a motion and that pass unanimously item 10 the concurrent stocket where we can move it items a through in yeah a through n with one motion that passes unanimously item 11 items requiring separate votes item 11a is an ordinance on Final hearing requesting emergency recommended for approval on PC 10915 resoning 7601 North Central Avenue w 7 yes the purpose of this application is to allow uh light Industrial Development um unfortunately I'm unable to ask questions because I don't see anyone that's okay please come forward hello Jessica bloy with Johnson and Associates representing the applicant one e Sheridan Avenue uh I am happy to answer any questions this rezone application before you is to permit a straight i1 rezone it was unanimously recommended for approval at Planning Commission uh it will be in line with the other commercial and Industrial rezones that are developed in the area and I'm happy to answer any questions okay thank you for that um I will go ahead and move for approval of this application thank you that passes unanimous item 11 B is ordinance on Final hearing requesting emergency recommended for approval PC 10922 resoning 1512 South buyers Avenue w s thank you um this purpose of this request is to bring an existing non-conforming duplex into zoning conformance so I'm assuming that uh we need to get this correct on the books so I will move for approval of this application passes unanimously item 11 C ordinance on Final hearing PC 10923 rezoning 1401 Northeast 44th Street Bo yes is the applicant here anyone representing the applicant for this application okay um I don't have a problem I I do want to actually defer it just a couple weeks because I'm looking at this and I see R1 in comparison to the R2 that we are requesting so I just want to um look at that and and come back in in a couple of weeks please all right so the motion on the floor is to defer to May 21st thank you passes unanimously item 11d coordinates on Final hearing PC 10924 resoning 1025 Southeast 15th Street w 7 as you can see it's the W seven show today it it's the ward seven show so the purpose of this request is to allow commercial development um um and the existing area is considered to be R1 and surrounding area is i1 and I2 so it in my opinion looks compatible uh with the area so I will move for approval passes unanimously item 11 e ordinance on Final hearing PC 10925 resoning 9500 West Memorial Road board 1 thank you vice mayor as the applicant here good morning Steve Rollins Arc engineering Consultants 135 Deer Creek Road and Edmond representing the applicant just a little curious as to y R2 in this area there were several other R2 developments that have been approved in the area so we felt like it was a good fit it also just brings an additional uh affordable housing to the area a little a little more uh different product for affordable housing can you show me or tell me where the other R2 I'm not seeing any R2 uh to the north and to the West uh around oh what is the next uh the next mile over don't 1742 which is R1 which is up in that northwest corner and you're saying further west yes sir is yes okay if you don't mind I'd like to talk with you a little bit more about I'm going to move for a deferral for just two weeks so that you and I can have a time to sit down and kind of talk and go over it okay okay motion on the floor is to defer to May 21st yes please passes unanimously item 11f was previously requested deferral to June 4th four item 11g is ordinance on Final hearing Spud 1588 resoning 3208 North Indiana Avenue ward two yes thanks vice mayor is anyone representing the applicant here no I didn't think so so actually vice mayor uh item G and H the same applicant has anyone signed up to speak with H or anyone representing H I don't think so don't think so no one has signed up to speak I'd like to defer each of these G and H um just to make sure because especially on H there's uh there were some protests and I just want to make sure everything was good so we'll start with item G just two weeks two weeks please all right so motion on the floor for item G is uh deferral to May 21st yes thank you that passes unanimously and then item H you'd like to do the same correct defr to May 21st thank you passes unanimously moving on to item 11 I ordinance on Final hearing Spud 1604 resoning 5421 South May Avenue from R1 to the Spud uh it's award six case councilwoman nice yes um it was requested by councilwoman Hammond to move all of her cases forward and this is to allow residential in a barber shop Salon in an existing residential structure so I will move for approval passes unanimously item 11 J ordinance on Final hearing for s605 resoning 3305 Northwest 192nd Street W thank you vice mayor uh this came be for Planning Commission on March 14th and was approved there are no protests uh the purposes for veterinary services animal grooming food and beverage retail sales at this time I'd move for the approval ask this unanimously item 11k ordinance on Final hearing recommended for approval Spud 1606 resoning 1625 North Maran Avenue from R1 single family residential councilwoman nice yes ma'am has anyone signed up to speak no ma'am all right thank you uh the purpose of this application is to allow multiple residential dwellings and some live work units with limited commercial uses um and I will move for approval that passes unanimous me 11 L ordinance on Final hearing Spud recommended for approval Spud 1608 resoning 2769 Northwest 21st Street six for Council nice yes um and again no one has signed up to speak for this okay the purpose of this application is to allow multiple residential dwellings and I will move for approval and that item pass passes unanimously item m is an ordinance on Final hearing recommended for approval a special permit to operate use unit 8250 the truck driving school at 701 North Sarah Road this this is my word it is customary for the mice May to not Move Motion forward so I've asked council member Carter to move my item anyone sign up to speak then I move for approval thank you that item passes unanimously all right item n there'll be a separate vote ordinance on Final hearing uh item one related to utilities amending chapter 55 of the Oklahoma City Municipal [Music] Code Mr city manager is somebody gonna talk to us about on so we had a presentation on this one previously right and and this one actually has the ordinance but we also have receiving the private uh development Water and Wastewater design requirements so we don't have any further presentation on this one but we do have um both items that need to be approved today separately though yes okay so we'll take item N1 first I remember I submitted all my gr yesterday I'm all done my apartment got a book to finish revising passes unanimously now we'll take item into get a motion to receive the item passes unanimously moving on to item o ordinance number 27610 Mr city manager yes there's an item this this item this morning Zach Craig is here with us executive director from the commission of visitors bureau and Christy Gillan water the president is the the Chamber of the GRE Ro City Chamber and I appreciate their partnership in this this item is to call for an election for it's an introduction of the ordinance that will ultimately call for an election for an increase in the hotel motel tax we haven't had an increase in the hotel tax in about 20 years and actually the largest portion of this increase Zach will talk about it and give you a little bit of an update but the largest portion of this increase is really focused towards marketing and promotion of convention and tourism and then also for our sponsorship funds there's two additional areas that working with stakeholders they've agreed to add into this and then we've got a portion that helps to support the convention center as well and so I'll let Zach give us a quick presentation on this and just talk through uh what's proposed with this today you will note that the it's introduced today will have a public hearing on May May the 14th and the adoption is planned for May 17th we call I mean May 21st we call for an election on uh August 27th Z great well good morning Council good morning city manager good morning vice mayor Peck as well good to see everyone this morning um so city manager just alluded I'm here to share with you proposal to increase the hotel occupancy tax by 3.75% you know this is something that we've been discussing for years uh certainly internally even predates the groundbreaking of our beautiful Convention Center so we can go back to 2017 and 2018 and really see the need for this I think something that's really important that I want to underscore is I've spoken with a lot of our key Hotel stakeholders they certainly saw the importance then they continue to see the importance now and and I would say just a vast majority of them are fully supportive of this initiative the other thing that I want to share and I know that you're privy to this but just for the public want to just make sure it's crystal clear this is not an increase in sales tax this is an increase in the hotel occupancy tax um that predominantly visitors pay when they come and experience Oklahoma City and all that it's worth and so with that said I've got a brief presentation and Jane if you go ahead and click into it right now I wanted to start with this community Vitality will that you see up on the screen here because it really Paints the picture of the power of Tourism and in my opinion the trajectory that we're on in Oklahoma City and all the benefits that we'll reap from that so you see um at the top that it starts with a visit that's the old adage I'd slightly disagree with that I'd say it starts with a positive impression that leads to a positive V uh visitor experience in our local community you know from that so many good things happen and come to fruition number one a boatload of state and local taxes are delivered specifically let me quantify boatload 343 million of both state and local taxes were delivered in 20202 because of the power of Tourism uh right here in Oklahoma City in the state of Oklahoma you know fr from that our policy makers City Hall that are stewards of certainly this sales tax we receive it you all receive it and we make great decisions with that money those monies go to maximize initiatives like Maps Security Public Services just to name a few the beautiful thing about this will is it continues you know that same visitor that came they go back home to wherever home is they share with their neighbors all the great things that's going on here in Oklahoma City and hopefully influence their neighbors to come and experience it for themselves you know from there uh the work here continues as you all create quality of life for your constituents the residents of Oklahoma City those visitors continue to come in and then by chance that same visitor that started this just thinks by chance maybe I should relocate there maybe I should start a business there maybe I should send my kids to college in that region of Oklahoma City because it's so great and so wanted to share those details with you as we move to the next slide you know this is something that really keeps me up at night as the leader of visit Oklahoma City and it's a good thing but it's all the new infrastructure that we see around us right now but certainly all the infrastructure that's in the queue for Oklahoma City for the future that ranges from private development when you look at the the oak when you look at The Horizon's District that also ranges to public development such as all the maps for initiatives that take place and those that impact the visitation economy in addition most recently it's this Arena this past December as taxpayers uh supported that Arena vote when it opens it's going to be the finest arena in the land and so getting back to the pain points that keeps me up at night is how do we m maximize this infrastructure as a community as we move forward certainly as the primary tenants are not in place what is our plan and what's our financial incentives to maximize those things there's so many things that we could do on the riseing with this infrastructure in my opinion this this infrastructure is first tier City infrastructure so when you think about SEC championships Big 12 championships certainly niia events and champ ionships that could come here you think about festivals and events and so many things that we could do with this infrastructure all of those things take Financial incentives unfortunately that fund right now is maximized and so there's not ample opportunity as it rest right now to go ahead and deliver those results so that's a huge opportunity and one of the core reasons um for this proposal the other one as we move to the next slide is our image and perception and just candidly I'll tell you when visitors come here and they experience Oklahoma City they fall in love with it just like we have they go back and they tell their neighbors great things about Oklahoma City the challenge is what happens is the positive connotation of Oklahoma City is really within a drive Market radius once we get outside of that certainly Coast to Coast we really fall into this neutral connotation people don't know our story that's a huge opportunity not only for the visitation economy but it's a huge opportunity for small businesses for private businesses across the metro to help them and to help the benefits of visitors as they come in give you an update as we move to the next slide on the history of the visitor tax or specifically for the ordinance the hotel tax you know it was the Inception of it was 1972 as you can see on the screen just a couple things I want to point out here is as the city manager alluded to um the promotional or tourism promotion of this this 2% component has not changed in 52 years let me say that another way promoting tourism or the financial mechanism behind that has not changed since 1972 the other thing I want to mention in 2004 we went back and amended this ordinance vast majority of those Monies were delivered rightfully so for improvements at the Oklahoma City Fairground so that's that 3% component in 90% of the voters approved it and supported that initiative so on the screen right now you really see this this new competitive set that my team competes with on a day in and day out basis you know we have stepped on a larger stage as Oklahoma City but with that in my opinion comes responsibility what you'll see here is you'll see total taxes and assessments upon checkout that a guest would receive on a hotel folio um in our surrounding hotels in Oklahoma City versus these competitive peers when you remove the city of witch the median up here I'll do the math for you is 17.94% that's a key number to remember here in a few slides so this is how those tax dollars translate into operating budgets and financial incentives for these respective cvbs or destination marketing organizations one more uh slide and then the proposal breakdown of The Proposal is these are really a capture of our regional cities I think it's important for you all to see this as well like for example Norman versus US is at 16.75% total taxes and assessments they increased their hotel occupancy tax last year by 3% with 70% voter approval and so here's the breakdown The Proposal as the city manager alluded to um proposing increase the hotel occupancy tax by 3.75% of which 75% would be dedicated to tours and promotion again something that we haven't done in 52 years 1 15% would be dedicated to that invent sponsorship fund that's that Financial incentive fund to really Drive these Marquee events this way approximately 70% would be delivered for improvements non-operational for the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds and approximately 5% will be delivered for improvements non-operational for the Oklahoma City Convention Center as it ages we want to ensure that it remains pristine and really just a beautiful Center for years to come and so with that I'll pause and certainly any answer any questions that you might have thank you Zach I just have a couple um thank you for the presentation as we look at and I know we we've had um a briefing on what these fees could look like will you go back to that last slide for me please um looking at this is the first part of my question looking at this 3.75% increase I'm curious to understand where we are with uh funding as far as the the fairgrounds and Capital Improvements for that are concerned as well as the convention center if we already have established ways that we are working on Capital Improvements for both because I know especially with maps 4 uh and maps 3 when it pertain into the fairgrounds there has been some some different funding sources that have been created in order for us to maintain that um as and looking at the convention center I believe and and I could be mistaken as well but we have possibly some some ways of ensuring that we're able to take care of that facility as well so I'm just curious where we are in comparison to asking for additional funding for both of those facilities sure I I'll take that so the convention center just answering that one first we don't have another dedicated source of funding that goes to the ition Center we'll use various fund funding sources we are working with them on the potential for a naming rights that would provide we would want a dedicate a portion that kind of like what we did with softball in the announcement yesterday and have a portion of that to go to this this would add we were we were targeting about $500,000 a year that would be set aside to help us with funding the improvements on capital or providing Capital Improvements at the convention center uh this does a little bit north of that I think it is but um this would just help us to have a source that's there and actually actually it's you know it's dedicated to Capital Improvements it would only be used for that Source this likely would not be the only source of funding that would go to that but it would help us to keep up with some of the capital Improvement needs that are there for convention center on the fairgrounds the issue with the fairgrounds is really that we've gotten to a point that we have they had to maximize so many revenues from the fairgrounds right now that's the hotel tax that's there towards the Coliseum to get it done right because we had that Gap in the budget so they had to uh commit so much there that the additional funding that we've had in the past from the hotel tax that wasn't paying towards bonds with any of the improvements we made whether with the barns or with the um uh Coliseum that money was used to to fund Capital Improvements on the fairgrounds and really all of that is basically committed at this point this would now allow us to have some additional funding to do additional Capital Improvements just as those facilities are aging to take care of them okay I guess that brings me to the part two of that particular question um because I see we we found a creative way to um create additional waste of Capital Improvements for those particular public facilities but we still have quite a few other public facilities that still stand in the Gap so um I'm I guess my concern um is because we're we're picking out two particular places or or public facilities and I understand yes these are um places of Attraction but I I think about the ways right now we're trying to bring a couple of our maps for projects one in particular the clar Looper civil rights Center we're trying to bring that online um and we're unable to find extra funding for it but here we are finding extra Capital Improvements I think about as we go to riversport we've been trying to figure out some other ways to ensure that we have Capital Improvements for that um I'm thinking about our adventure District ways we have Capital Improvements for that so these particular uh places that we chose to find additional funding for um I believe we could use other ways to support this particular way to support that as well and I I think it would be important to understand when people visit and and use that hotel use our facilities as far as our hotel where they are going where they're visiting where are they are they actually frequenting the fairgrounds more so than the um when it the Okana area comes fully online than that area the fam area are they going to Adventure District um in comparison to the convention center per se so I I I think it's it's unfortunate that we're just picking two places to place Capital Improvements on instead of fully looking at our inventory of public facilities to say well these particular things are places where people find even poo or um our our other communities you know as as far as our city is concerned different districts are concerned because we have people staying all over the city and because you may not have an inventory of hotels in that particular District we just may assume if they're by the Fairgrounds they're going to the fairgrounds that may be all some of these folks know as far as where to stay um in order for them to go all the way across town to visit the USA softball complex now the Devon Park you know so those are the things I'm thinking about in this process of of how we truly um work through this this proposed rate because we're always going to have you know and I I know that's just how it is we're always going to have those those people in places that fall in the gap but how can we be very intentional about this uh particular increase to ensure that it's taking care of at least not just these bigger projects but trickle down to those smaller places that we know are going to need some support because quite frankly you know one of the things that I advocate for and now going to understand yesterday for us promoting Devon Park this is huge this is really huge for our city and we don't have enough hotels in that area that support this and this should be a reason to bring and support Capital Improvements to bring on other hotels and Facilities such as this for these particular places so I I I know that was a loaded um loaded conversation from me or or statement but these are the things that I consider uh when looking at this and and I know when we had our other convers uh briefing I talked about that Norman when you go back a couple slides and we were looking at the Norman tax that is in comparison to ours and and one of the things I want to publicly say in this meeting because we had it in our briefing was the fact that we have smaller conferences or cultural conferences that because they are unable to make those numbers work here they go to Norman and as you see the the total room tax is higher in Norman than it is here and unfortunately they are people those smaller groups or conventions or conferences are unable to make their numbers work because of of even just this the room rate in comparison to the convention um fees and and taxes and other things that folks can't afford so there's still some some things that that have to be worked out through this process and I'm hoping um that we'll publicly be able to talk through and transparently talk through these things before we get to that that vote in August if I could councilwoman all all good things that you brought up today and you brought up uh recently let me say a few things and I don't want to overp speak for for the city or the city manager but as we look at improvements non-operational for these really vital assets for us at the end of the day it takes pressure off the general fund takes pressure off CIP here to do all the things that you alluded to whether it's um the Civil Rights Center other maps for initiatives um it it it really it really helps everything out I know on paper it looks like it's dedicated because it is um to these very vital uh robust demand generators for us but at the end of the day that that was my context as I was going through the process with you all and with the city manager the other thing I wanted to share is it's tremendous you know we get a lot of data that really shares the visitor to resident raac show throughout the wards and I'll I'll I'll talk to you I've got I've got a data numbers up here but it's incredible when we do an event at the fairgrounds or at the convention center where those visitors go you know you know they go to the adventure District they go to Chism Creek they go to the passo the the U the the the the arts district um they go to uh the Asian District they go all over the city they support small businesses um you know whether it's in um any of these districts and that's the incredible thing about it and we watch this Trail I've shared with you before in a recent city council meeting about that and that's that's the really cool thing about this with support of this it really supports the whole ecosystem across Oklahoma City would you go back to thank you uh none of the other council members have something to say because I I I do have some requests here and I don't want to take up okay so first let me say I I do see the need to move move to a higher rate when I see the comparables to other cities that makes sense to me Oklahoma City 20th largest city now six fastest going that part Nob brainer my ask slash concern uh Fairgrounds are clearly a big deal I was honored uh a year ago this time when former Jefferson Middle School students came to me and asked me to give their commencement speech which is weird to have been teaching 12 and 13 and 14 year olds and then to not see them for a while and then to get an email at the ward 2 office saying we're graduating uh time flies right and now I'm old and so but it was really cool to go to that convention Cent or Sor sorry that Coliseum and the parents who weren't just here but their extended families who are coming from all over not just Oklahoma but arguably you know the country and taking up shop that night at the Coliseum so I understand uh that is a a big deal right I understand to the convention center is clearly a big deal and a public investment a significant public investment voters made poo 39th Street LGBT District which is also Route 66 the Asian District Uptown 23rd Britain District Windor District Stockyards Capitol Hill uh are not afterthoughts they are in fact from as you all know as you might recall um they are in fact from research the places that tourists tell us they go when they come here and moreover it they are the the destinations the places our own residents take visitors upon their arrival to this city MH and yet we don't have funding for instance for street cleaning in those districts like for like right now in downtown the the bid uh their bid allows for them to and I just saw it the other day allows for them to have like for their bike Lanes like a cleaning up you know the bike Lanes to make sure they're good for both the visitors and the tour uh and the residents to get through them but I'm not just talking about bike Lanes I'm talking about when I go to other cities and I see street cleaning right like on the street like cleaning the street you talk about First Impressions right first impression is when I see a city investing in keeping the ongoing conditions of places that matter to them and so we I have long heard from City leadership the general fund just doesn't have the funding to do for instance street cleaning the number of these placemaking projects from better Street safer City or from Maps which frequently I hear from staff about the limitations of the voter approved funding for those projects saying well ultimately we can't do do this sort of capital improvement with this project we'll have to wait for the bond for instance but there's so many other needs so for me what's missing here is some sort of and I and maybe before this gets to a final vote um I think that there has to be more consideration for um Capital Improvements for places like Stockyards and Britain and these historic main streets it can't always be sadness in Oklahoma sulfur's Main Street destroyed destroyed destroyed and that made the news right uh but sulfur is literally hand to God one of my favorite places outside of War I and it Main Street is what gu has long guided me thinking about the main streets of Oklahoma City and I think right now this current proposal is missing uh two vital things one some sort of consideration for Capital Improvements in these places where we're already making Investments we're already making public Investments but the maintenance of those Investments is what I'm asking for consideration here so that's number one and that could and and that could be again Capital but then that could also be operations like literally something like street cleaning payo will have its ribbon cutting on Friday we're about to go blast water onto the streets to make it nice and pretty for everybody but the recommendation I heard from the crew a couple weeks ago is that that should probably happen at least once a quarter I'm GNA come to city manager Freeman and I can promise you he's not a bad guy but when I say to him hey can we find funds for once a quarter for street cleaning the poo this awardwinning nationally recognized neighborhood on the national uh historic registry and Craig will say to me nope we don't have the funding [Music] James what like we don't have the funding for something that is nationally recognized something that I have seen W dat's council person bring guest to War I we this this if we're going to promote tourism then we have to make sure the first impression of those places if not pristine is nice and right now it ain't and I don't see that sort of crazy ity to council woman man's comment going into that so I'd like some sort of amendment to the capital Improvement and moreover some sort of and we've spoken about this in private so this is nothing I have not said to you all in private that I'm just now saying in public you know the other component here is the literal promotion of poo of 39th Street uh these are crowned Jews I've had people from Boston I've had queer people from Boston and Spain and Mexico when they visited here for the Congress for new urbanism a couple years ago they were blown away when they visited 39th Street which was still under construction wasn't even done and they're like what you all have gay bars and clubs all within Pro walking distance proximity to one another this isn't incredible we don't have that in Boston and I said you sure don't you know that's how much pride I have in 39th Street and I don't understand where that you like that but I don't know why where is that promotion where is that promotion of Uptown nationally um you talk about in that would you go back a couple slides the critiques of us keep going thank you thank you thank you keep going there there lack of brand awareness Ness you know our brand is poo our brand is the 240 Corridor our brand is Stockyards our brand are these historic main streets that we have brought back to life that everyday people have taken a chance on small businesses in those areas and I just want us to rethink I'm not saying like start all over here but if you go back to the addition the funding part so this is not just rhetoric for me can can we not just go back and have some little bullet points under what we mean by additional 75% for tourism promotion why then secondly does it have to be you know these two perents for the fairgrounds in the convention center where where is this adventure District where is the you know I just it's you're close I'm not mad I'm just saying that I think this is kind of missing the last nearly 25 years where the Renaissance has been and the Renaissance has been in the neighborhoods in addition to it is in the neighborhoods it's in these districts so I I would just say that the promotion side of this I mean there's many different ways that we fund various things and you're right there's I mean we could even add something into this we're going to be limited we're not going to be able to do everything that you want to do I mean the funding won't be there to do everything we want to do but the promotion side of this I believe does the intent really is to promote the entire city it's not just rep promoting one particular District think Zach was saying it before like the idea is we want to make sure that we're promoting these other districts as well one of the things we've heard frequently is that people will come and visit and they say Oklahoma City is one of the best kept secrets because they didn't realize what we had to offer here well we don't want that to happen any longer and I think having this funding dedicated to the promotion side and the sponsorships helps us with help you know assisting events to get here but also in promoting the entire city and so I think looking at all of it as a whole I I think this is a source that's dedicated and really trying to focus towards those primary areas that bring the greatest number of visitors in is why we focus Fairgrounds and Convention Center Capital Improvements but the intent is to be promoting and providing sponsorships that affects the entire city so on that note and I'm I mean I'm happy to hear that but I think the proof is in the pudding it's one thing to say intent it's another thing to have little like bullet point like literally bullet points right under where it says like additional 75% for tourism to promot promotion to have Chism Creek to have Adventure like voters need to know what our game plan is and what what we're hoping to accomplish here and I think spelling that out for them as we go into an election and as we go into a public Hearing in a final vote I just think that level of clarity will make the districts feel better right because a lot of them are like oh my gosh what again like what why don't we have this and we keep being told no on that but you know the city finds money for this that and the other so I think actually spelling out for them here that you know just literally under little items like this I think is actually important um yes that I think that's very important is spelling that out I also would like some sort of conversation again about could we use some of these dollars um gener erated here for the operations of I mean literally the maintenance the actual cleaning of streets Andor Landscaping needs of these areas because right now those are just limitations and again people are coming there from outside of your City to these areas and I care about them and I would like to see some sort of commitment spelled out um and rethought uh here I feel like I am forgetting something but those are those are those are big deals like I just too long didn't read just to say again people come to these places they come to poo they come to the districts that's where we're taking them they matter they're staying in these hotels and going to these places councilman thank you so much for your feedback just a few brief points to underscore what the city manager said um but maybe to open the door to some conversations over the next several days and I'll be reaching back out to you to have conversations um but I think all your points are warranted number one I want to mention we've got such a great relationship with our district managers you know these hidden gyms and the challenge is they're hidden right now these hidden gym districts the Paso you alluded to two or three times shouldn't be hidden there shouldn't be too much of a surprise to visitors when they come we've got to break through that clutter so that people know that when they come to Oklahoma City for example they're going going to have to go to the Pao District I'll share with you but I think more important to maybe have some of the district managers share with you really the current value even monetary value that we provide to these districts right now that exists right now whether it's for their annual festivals whether it's to support other initiatives from a marketing perspective that all goes in that tourism promotion bucket in addition to that other festivals you know I know we have a pride Fest next month uh we just deemed them a HomeTown hero and we support that uh we support that with dollars and resources and we want to continue to support that and amplify these events that really show the diverse landscape of Oklahoma City I think as it relates just my final Point as it relates to streetscaping Etc I see the dire need as well because these districts I'm extremely fond of too what I'll share with you with these C studies and even currently where we're at I'm going to go back to that 343 million let's talk about local taxes the breakdown of those local taxes it's approximately a hundred million currently that comes to the City of Oklahoma City to do good work and some of those works from a public service standpoint you elude the case studies we look at is the trajectory for that pot of Mony in the visitation economy is True North we're seeing just four and five and sixfold dividends through the visitation economy that not only helps the hotel occupancy tax but helps local sales tax that's what I'm committed to grow that's where I feel like there's going to be ample resources in the future where we can do all these good things that you suggest but I do hear you I want to have some further conversations with you around this and um point taken and we'll go back and we'll kind of re-evaluate what we're doing internally but I appreciate your time I really think these discussions are healthy and good and and we need to do more of these um a couple of observations uh when you look at the uh Oklahoma Convention Center Craig um I I Oklahoma City Convention Center when when I think back about the Myriad and when we developed that I've been living here all my life and how we didn't have adequate funds to maintain that and and and make the necessary Capital Improvements for that in my opinion and uh kind of fell into a state of disrepair and so uh the convention center is really important to me it was a big investment the second thing um can you tell me a little bit as far as the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds is concerned all the events out there including all the horse events what kind of revenues does that generate for us is this probably our biggest tourist attraction it certainly is tens of millions of dollars that are generated each and every year year because of the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds um it's tremendous it's still really our cash cow as it relates to the power of visitation and why people come here the length of stays that that that economic engine produces is just incredible and then although there's there's other assets coming online the mix has certainly changed over the last 20 years since we did this last um but it still is a predominant Force for us councilman thank you Craig one more thing um just to reiterate this vote here is not us imposing this tax we are voting to put it on the ballot for the citizens to vote right yes and two we've discussed with a lot of our hotel vendors everybody and they're on board with this in fact they're actually helping push for this they they're encouraging it correct yes you just saw I don't know if you saw it publicly but Jeff pen with the greater uh uh Oklahoma City metro hotel association fully supports it okay just a point of clarification council member Carter what we're voting for today is to introduce the ordinance set the public hearing and then the final vote here date correct but and on the final vote date is when we will send it to the voters correct but we don't get to impose that we are sending it to the public to do yes gotcha I just wanted to make sure for record that everyone understands that got thank you very much but I think it's important to also note that as as we make this decision to send it to the voters that uh we are responsible POs to ensure that we're vetting the same language to make sure when those voters get it that they understand what they're voting specifically and effectively for um and as we talk about even again I want to go back and I think it's it's important we continue to say what these things are as far as cash cows are concerned but when we look at at also other places um one we look at how how well built that whole uh strategy and and sport has been built for the fairgrounds we have hotels that have been specifically built for the fairgrounds when we look at comparison for adventure District this is a world renowned area boat house district a world renowned area so these places have just as much credibility and I would I would quite frankly say when we look at uh the adventure District more because we have world renown visibility in these places however we can't particularly say what um by visitor rate other than how many visitors say they're from a different place when it comes to hotels and stays we can't quantify that so I I think it's it's very in my opinion it's skewed to say all of these things when we haven't looked at the full aspect of what we're looking at in comparison in my opinion to Adventure District they don't have that support system they don't have the things that they need to leverage and say this could be the cash cow they don't have that support so that's why I I think it's very important um and I know we're saying we're we're not categorizing and pref and putting preferential treatment for a couple of places but it's in black and white we are we clearly are so I think that's that's something and and I hope um as a public hears this when we come to that public hearing process that they are are expressing how they feel about the places that should be supported and how we look at even this event sponsorship fund so that was my my last my last comment that I'm going to make about this today um is as we look at the event sponsorship is a dedication of that sponsorship and and quite frankly for the tourism promotion for our smaller conferences and conventions because we go always go after that bigger fish but we have some small fish that would love to be a part of what Oklahoma City brings and we don't give them the opportunity to say yes we were able to have bragging rights and and the carpet rolled out for us as a small convention in comparison to these bigger um more prominent type of conventions that you see uh that would that have the funds to be here and we still throw money at those so I I I would like to see how we would uh create a dedication for smaller conferences and conventions in in both of those aspects in those areas as well just I don't want to elongate this too much but it's all all good dialogue and I think it's really important to underscore a few of the councilwoman's points you I'm grateful probably a month ago that that we started discussing the DST central region program that's coming in July it's an incredible program we're going to welcome back to our city they haven't been here for decades and as part of this touris and promotion bucket is supporting them and providing them resources as we welcome them to our great City and so really excited about that opportunity I think the other thing we haven't talked about it a lot together but I think the other thing is you know I'm an ex- hotelier 22 years in the hotel space know it very well and one of the things I do is I interface with a lot of potential Hotel developers around feasibility I'm really grateful for Boomtown and what that might do for the adventure District I've talked to those developers quite a bit I'm working with potential Hotel partners for that District it's such a vital need for this what I'll share with you in case studies is that when we go back and we look at some of these pet cities after they've increased the hotel occupancy tax what follows is actually a boost in Revenue per available room a boost in occupancy and really an appetite for a developer to start doing enhanced feasibility and build more Supply and I do see that where we have voids I do see more Supply coming in that'll fill some of these avoids specifically with the adventure District so I'm excited about that the the final thing I want to mention and this is really important you know we're the stewards of these buies but these monies uh are oversaw by our convention and visitors commission this event sponsorship fund has an event sponsorship committee you know those are nominated um based on city code and uh put in place right here at the Horseshoe and so those people that are part of that are really instrumental in the success of this this event sponsorship fund um we solely only manage it they tell us where those sponsorship dollars should go go based on current ordinance that was founded back in 2004 and we simply put them in place and so those people that are involved on that commission as all commissions are really vitally important to this process thanks s appreciate the introduction appreciate the partnership and your leadership in this to really bring us forward so that we can put us on another level in the way that we're bringing in visitors into our community so thank you thank you all Craig I just want to add one thing and I can't help myself I appreciate councilman Cooper calling out i240 as a as a destination district and we would love to have street sweepers and bike lanes and beautification but let's get some sidewalks there before we do any of that thank you all thank you Zach thank you and I just want to acknowledge visit OKC's efforts um you know I travel through Will Rogers World Airport and we've recently had installations out there that actually depict a lot of different areas of okl City so I don't know if you've seen those yet you know over the last several decades a lot of times when you see Oklahoma City advertisements you see our Skyline which is amazing and I love it but what I'm seeing at the airport now are beginning to bring in these other areas and the other activities that go on in Oklahoma City including the boat house excuse me the boat house district and um some um Illusions towards the Arts districts and those types of things so I'm excited to see that continue to evolve and I'm hoping that this will contribute to that the other thing I'd like to say is you know I travel quite a bit for my my day job um and I have an opportunity to see other cities advertisements outside of their hometowns and I don't get to see ours very much out there so I'm looking forward to this opening up that opportunity so as I travel I get to see our great City in these other places because we have a lot to offer so thank you for the presentation thank you to the greater Oklahoma City Chamber for all their efforts and coordination and coll collaboration on this effort and to the Oklahoma City hotel years Association for their support thank you vice mayor thank you again so we're at a point now where uh we need to take a motion uh to introduce the ordinance set the hearing for May 14th and the final public hearing for May 14th and the final hearing for May 21st before we do uh city manager so before that final vote I'm guessing there would be some sort of conversations taking place about the discussions we just had here yes we we can have discussions about the desires that there again we got to be thinking about the whole Council where we are um Kenny and I were talking that I don't think like amending the ordinance itself is really advisable to to the degree that we're talking about but I think we certainly have discussions about what the desires are when you say amending so again what I'm asking for is some drilling down under for instance that 7 5% number to to say yeah explanations saying this is this is a m this is how we imagine this funding we'll we'll absolutely get that in included and have some discussions about that and how we're handling that and then I would like a little if if you're not going to be able to which would be disappointing but if we're not going to be able to figure out how to do similar Capital Improvement um investments in the districts the way we're doing with the other two entities I would hope that between now and that final vote we're at least having conversations about um what those costs are and that we are first I'd like to understand as we head in that final vote why uh we can't use some of this money um to do what we are asking for and then if not here where because those needs aren't going away like they're I'm not trying to be like a stick in the mud they're just not going away um and then um finally um making sure that we are uh emphasizing it sounds like some sort of pedestrian infrastructure for our good friends along i240 so um but no these are just these are just the actual I think nuts and bolts conversations that we need to be having um so I'd like between now and the end of that vote thank you we have a motion in a second on the floor mine isn't either Council mstone I'm an Council mstone cyer yes and I'm an i v canoun coun c his vote he C his vot so he voted when he was present we weren't done right he cast his vote so all right so it passes unanimously yeah according to Robert's Rules of Order I think we need to uh that needs to be confirmed what was the vote well I was talking about the charter requirement that if they're not going to vote they leave but I guess he left after he voted so I wanted to clarify he cast his vote the way we're doing it electronically he cast his vote while he was still present in the chambers okay just wanted I just wanted to clarify what was the vote he voted I it was 80 so even if you don't count him it's 70 right so I just want to clarify you can get you can cast the vote and then get up and leave yes okay okay thank you because I will be researching that all right can you help me with my screen hang on hey Amy okay good now okay okay having ay yes you guys will just bear with us for just a moment technolog is great when it works but it kind of slows it down a little bit no we're getting ready to be just yeah sorry oh okay got okay so that was item item o has been settled it it had passed eight to zero so sorry councilwoman nice all right so we will move on now to um item 11 P it's a public hearing regarding ordinance related to parks recreation culture Affairs and amending chapter 38 of the Oklahoma City Municipal Code I believe we had a presentation on this in the past um no one has signed up to speak correct correct okay so we will close that public hearing and we will move to item 11 Q public hearing regarding ordinance uh related to parks recreation and culture Affairs um no one has signed no one has signed up to speak okay so we will close that public hearing and we will move to item 11R the public hearing uh regarding ordinance is related to Water Resources amending chapter 57 the Oklahoma City Municipal Code Madam city clerk has anyone signed up this speak no they haven't all right we will close that public hearing and move on to item 11s uh public hearing guard and ordinance related to General schedule of fees emitting chapter 60 of the Oklahoma City Municipal Code Madam city clerk is anyone signed up to speak they have not so we will close that public hearing and we will move on to item 11t the public hearing regarding ordinance related to General schedule of fees amending chapter 60 of the Oklahoma City Municipal Code has anyone signed up to speak no they haven't we will close that public hearing and we will move to item 11 U public hearing regarding ordinance related to the general schedules of fees amending chapter 60 the Oklahoma City Municipal Code Title 18 um has anyone signed up to speak no they have not we'll close that public hearing and move on to item 11 v a public hearing regarding ordinance related to the general schedule of fees this is uh for chapter 60 title 35 has anyone signed up to speak they have not so we will close that public hearing and we will move on to item 11 W the public hearing regarding the ordinance related to General schedule of fees amending chapter 60 title three the Oklahoma City Municipal Code has anyone signed up to speak they have not so we'll close that public hearing and I'm G to make sure I get the right next item um all right so item 11x a public hearing regarding the ordinance related to General Schedule fees am meting chapter 60 title 30 3 Mr city manager is this the one yes that we're going to get an overview on yes okay we had some questions at the last meeting uh regarding the uh municipal court fees and so gayen Keaton the assistant director for municipal courts is here to give us an update on the information that was provided previously War vice mayor and council at your request I'm going to provide um some additional context regarding the assessment of you move that a little closer you thank you I'll provide some additional context regarding the assessment of court costs and fees I want to note a few things first court costs are assessed to cover the cost of prosecution and they remain in Municipal Court currently what we collect in court costs does not cover the cost of prosecution the last time court fees and court fees and costs were adjusted was in 2004 as of March we've collected about 3.8 million in court costs for fiscal year 24 for that same time period the cost of prosecution expenses are just over $9 million so we're currently recovering about 42% of our expenses which means 58% of the cost of prosecution is being subsidized by the general fund the court cost increases in the proposed ordinance will help us recover some of these costs I'm happy to answer any questions thanks for that can at the on the final vote uh when that happens can we just make sure there was a um I think there was like a a a graphic a chart that actually had what the fee request had been versus what we're going to do and I I think that would probably be an important thing just to have visible for the public that day um just so they can see like this was what we're and that was in the presentation that Chris provided yes yes yes okay yes well I don't know if it was in Council cyer was I know it was in the presentation to us I feel like it was in that one was it okay and the other thing is that I'd like us to show that we haven't had a fee increase since 2004 and currently uh we're recovering about 42% of our cost on prosecution fees yeah at one time on the court costs actually the fees covered full cost at one time it just didn't over time with it changes in the in the there's a lot of things that have changed but over time it's gotten to where we're significantly below what we're collecting now I mean the costs are above what we're collecting now yeah and yeah I think to councilman ston ciper point I so I'm sorry you were talking though specifically about providing the information to court about courts just all all the any of these fees right here in terms of the courts like and the just any of those Municipal Court related fees and to councilman ston Cipher's Point what we just heard about it's not been since ' 04 I think that needs to be there but I think the most the most important thing for for me that day is for residents to see again that there there's literal labor right that goes into the whole court process and that right now the cost for that labor and that uh and the work the workforce is doing is it's not able to do what it needs to do and that this is where the increase in fees would go so in other words just not just going to like just you know PR ution as a concept but literally here here's the work and I think people will maybe feel a little bit better about that if they see it spelled out for everybody that's what I'm asking got it thank you thank you thank you okay so um the item is a public hearing we've heard from Council Members um no one signed up to speak no one has signed up to speak okay so we will close that public hearing and we will move on to item 11 y public hearing regarding ordinance related to the general schedule of fees meeting chapter 60 the Oklahoma City Municipal Code 2020 title 59 um city clerk has anyone signed up to speak they have not all right so we will close that public hearing and we will move on to item 11 z a public hearing regarding the ordinance related to General schedule of fees for the fire prevention code to Title 20 I'm going to struggle now so that no one has signed up okay thank you so we will close that public hearing and we will move to item 11aa public hearing regarding the ordinance related to the general schedule of fees amending chapter 60 the Oklahoma City Municipal Code title 43 has anyone signed up to speak they have not we will close that public hearing and move to item 11 AB regarding unsecured structures um Madam clerk has any anyone signed up to speak no they haven't okay item A and B previously struck uh we will move to item two uh resolution declaring structures are unsecured can I get a motion W one made a motion okay hold on let me W two second um we'll take a Voice vote yeah I think I can are you ready oh there it goes disappeared okay we're GNA finish that by roll call okay W one Yes W two Yes W four W five seven W eight vice mayor yes that passes unanimously we will move on to item 11 AC the public hearing on abandoned buildings the single item remaining has anyone signed up to speak they have not right close that public hearing and we'll move to item two resolution declaring buildings as abandoned can I get a motion in a second and the item passes okay item 11 a the public hearing regarding the amendment to the fiscal year 2024 budget um we had we had a presentation at the last meeting right has anyone signed up to speak they have not all right so we will close the public hearing and move on to item number two the resolution adopting that Amendment so we can get a motion is it frozen is it frozen I move maybe okay and the item passes we will move to the next uh item 11 AE the resolution adopting an update to bike walk OKC we are going to have a quick update from Jeff Butler yes this was deferred from the last meeting and Jeff Butler just so ask him to give just a little quick update on some of the uh a little bit about bike walk and then a change that we're looking at yes thank you Jeff Butler uh planning director good morning um uh we uh just a brief update uh in uh it was requested by councilman ston Cipher uh he had a few questions as he went through the plan um and so we've we've uh in response to that put together this slide um in Ward 8 there are a few connections that uh he was wanting more information about and so this is a bit of detail up here there are some Trails uh on Hefner Road um and going from um the Cooper Trail which surrounds um Lake Hefner and then um there is connection also over to John Marshall High School CB Carman Park connection up to um the Martin Nature Park um and also further north eventually uh to Lan o Park and that that last extension north of um uh of the turnpike is uh what we've gone ahead and added to the plan something that was discussed previously but didn't make it in uh so we're happy to do that um so that that is the the really the only change but we just did want to show the kind of that drill into this area a little bit and show the council what's going on in that area and all those connections to the different Parks uh and amenities that are that are either existing or or going to be constructed uh in the near future so making those connections is important uh that's what trails do that's what they're for is to connect people to different facilities provide a recreational amenity in and of themselves and uh provide transportation as well as well um so with that just as a recap of the of the uh of the plan itself it's the first uh Amendment to the plan was adopted in 2018 um the goal is to uh provide a longterm plan a capital Improvement plan that lists projects prioritized uh so that we could fund them through Maps the general obligation Bond and and other funding sources uh it's a it's a it's a long game that we're playing uh we want to make sure that we're developing uh a good Network a trail network but also in appropriate areas uh a bicycle Network that um right now is concentrated in the core where there's a lot of demand for cycling uh both bike Network in itself um but also getting people from their homes via a bike path or a bike U bike lane to Trails uh sidewalks uh also are covered by the plan as well uh focused on pedestrian priority areas where sidewalks were not historically existent weren't built uh and focusing on also Transit areas uh Transit corridors putting sidewalks in those areas and also surrounding schools and parks to help people get to those facilities uh easily and safely um so with that i' happy to answer any questions that you might have the the one thing I'd say is um when I first came on the council we were operating under a comprehensive plan from 1977 and um in 2015 2016 we came up with plan OKC 2018 we came up with uh the the bike walk OKC plan and as we continue to move forward I think this is a great thing I spent the weekend going through this quite thoroughly um I'm impressed with the work that's been done uh your staff spent a tremendous amount of time and I know you did too and I want to thank you for all those efforts but um I think this is what sets our city apart I think this is what makes our city different is that we stay on top of things and we continue to move forward in a positive direction I'll just have a couple comments I guess um my comments from two weeks ago May weren't able to make it into this presentation or or questions asked but I wanted to ask again as we look at this particular plan um the conversation pertaining to implementation of of educating our our residents about these proposed changes to their particular communities as well as um where within this plan it talks about us um talking to other departments uh in particular I I talk I would say um our utilities department and and those other departments that will be impacted as far as our neighborhoods are concerned uh specifically to L Avenue because now the question arises how will the trash be picked up how will all of these things occur because we have not been able to have those conversations or I haven't read them in this particular um information part of the bike walk OKC um so I'm I'm curious again and I'll ask continuously as far as that educational component of how we connect better with our neighbors and our residents especially those that have been impacted by uh collisions pedestrian collisions most importantly U and and also again changing the whole trajectory and street view of what particular areas will look like for for this for this particular plan uh thank you so the as far as education goes um we're developing uh a new website that will help with educating both um uh drivers cyclist how to use the facilities um we've learned as we as we continue to implement new facilities such as the Lotti uh bike lane which is a parking protective facility something we haven't done before uh that was a pilot project um things like that so you mentioned uh uh uh where to put where to put garbage cans um that wasn't immediately clear to Residents um and the answer is to put them in the um in the parking Lane um but what we'll do going forward is make sure that we have that information more readily available uh so that people can see uh any kind of frequently asked questions will be in our web page and also uh in mailers that we send out so that they know kind of the basics you know what for example where you put trash can uh whether or not you can use uh bike lane as a right turn lane the answer is no um several other things that we kind of get asked about and and that people are curious about um you know one of these what are these particular markings mean um so uh we will have a web page that page that we're developing now we also have information about the routes uh how they connect to each other that's uh on the website so that you can see uh how to get you know to a trail you know what bike Lanes exist and so on um so that's that's something that we're constantly working on um and as we as we continue to improve our our design and our safety um we will roll those out as well uh the other thing that we're doing is trying to make uh the facilities themselves as intuitive as possible so we're continuously um improving our design and the signage and so on so even the lot lot uh itself for example will be posting signs that uh indicate that you know the bike Lane's here and this is where you park uh and any improvements like that we carry forward into future projects is there a reason why there still isn't any temporary signage on this street um I'm not sure what Public Works uh timeline is on that but I know that they're working on getting those installed well I think that's that's that's the issue as we're looking at how we have lacked in continuing to educate our community because we're looking at over a month that we visited this area and we still have no signage we still have people parking on the curb in in an area that has clearly been striped to to not Park um and we also have a police department unfortunately that is telling people they can't park in these areas that are deemed where you are supposed to park so again I'm I'm I'm asking how do we ensure that this language is is in bike walk OKC of how we are communicating with these different departments to ensure sure the safety and um the lack of interactions if we can limit those uh pertaining to different departments if again we're now questioning in in in some aspects some people feel criminalized because they're being stopped for doing something they were supposed to be doing in the first place so I I I hope you understand my confusion and frustration with this because this is the frustration of my community right now with what we are looking at without signage it's bumper cars on lot and that's very unfortunate right now and the fact that it's been over two weeks we had a a a town hall two weeks ago last Tuesday we had a whole sign of an example of what the sign is going to look like and we still haven't had it placed on L so those are concerns and it it speaks to are we really worried about more pedestrian crashes on this particular thoroughfare or are we just going to let people do what they want to do so I'm very concerned about this and I'm I'm very concerned about the roll out of this and I'm concerned about uh the language not being included or amended to say how we will be very intentional about that because a website yeah okay I can send you to a website but we're we're liveaction with people experiencing and the lack of knowledge right now of where and how they're supposed to operate on this street so I I'm I'm hoping within this week we can get some type of resolve temporarily for for the residents and folks who have to frequent this street to understand what they can and can't do so yeah I'll check on that where's Debbie now hi councilwoman nice um the signs have all been manufactured and the contractor will start installing them later this week um we had that one sign um constructed especially for your meeting so that we'd be able to show but the others were being in production so it's taking a little bit but they should start installation later this week okay well I know that's that's one piece of the puzzle so now we're still looking at the Amendments that we need to make on the street in order for us to have a comfort comfort more comfort for those drivers and and more safety for the one the neighbors who Park uh within the same area of where their homes are located so I I'm I'm hoping you know all of these things can work synonymously and collectively together but it it doesn't seem as if they are I mean you know I'm sure they are and maybe I just don't know what's happening U but I would rather my my residents know what's happening if I don't know what's happening and right now people are still calling me asking me what's going on so that's that's that's difficult to answer because I don't know um so I'm I'm hoping again as we continue to look at these the ways and um furthermore um we have a new area with this Route 66 um bike lane that has been added to to uh our inventory of of bike infrastructure if you will is that listed within this plan or uh I I see Justin shaking his head yes so being able to also explain um the difference between some of our our local projects and maybe some of those projects that aren't necessarily they seem local but they aren't necessarily a local project a defined local project uh for our communities and residents to understand as well because again after I explained that uh to our residents after it was explained during the town hall people were like oh okay even myself it was like okay here we are you know this is not something that we voted on locally but this is something that was implemented on a state um and federal level that we are now implementing so it's it's those kind of things that also we have to look at how we inform our residents about the ways we are connecting our community I don't have a a issue with the bike Lanes but I'm hoping that we don't have the same type of issues when we bring others online such as this and in different communities that need them but we're unable to really give them the knowledge and understanding of why it's important for them to know these will be effective for them so um I I'll leave it at that thanks Jeff appreciate your work okay so we can take a motion to adopt the resolution well first we need to amend it sorry yeah yeah I'm sorry can you put that screen back up for a second sir sorry I want to amend at this time item 11 AE which is the resolution adopting an update to the bike wo KC that Amendment will include the exhibit that's now on your screen um it's been titled by staff the Meridian Avenue Trail extension um and so I would ask that this this uh picture this exhibit be made a part of the ordinance as an exhibit that's my motion okay so the amendment was adopted and now we can move the item 11 a as amended as amended yes please vice mayor ask a question I think it's for M director Butler I was just looking at the the bike walk Amendment and councilman Hinkle's earlier uh note about it40 is still on my head uh In My Head on My Head H interesting preposition in my head on page 121 And this is in my mind also so I was talking to a Jefferson Middle School teacher yesterday kind of checking in on them my former teaching ground and I never want to feel like I forgotten who brought me to the dance here with you all and it was those kids and the staff at Jefferson and they're right around the corner from 240 and I had a lot of families who live in apartments and neighborhoods around 240 could you just briefly and maybe it's something for later to go in more detail about I if I'm looking at this right two 40 is scheduled for phase one PPA sidewalks I see that here and I think ACOG is picking up a large part of it I'm sorry would ACOG is picking up a large part of finishing out the sidewalks on 240 Justin the specific projects I don't know Justin if they're so you're asking about the projects under construction or soon to be better understand exactly it says Phase 1 PPA sidewalks and red here on i240 and then there's from Pennsylvania from 59th Street down to 81st it looks like some sidewalks I just for my own clarification and want to get a better some of those are in the works of being done already okay right sure uh Justin Henry uh planning department um you're correct uh the i240 Service Roads kind of between I35 and i44 are all now in the uh the phase one PPA so you know High priority sidewalk uh councilman hle also correct that AOG we successfully wrote a couple of grand applications recently for some of those Service Roads and ACOG will be helping us fund and build those and then is maps for taking care of the rest or what funds what maps not all maps for sidewalk projects have been decided but we are actively like drafting lists for those committees to consider and then just from the drive that councilman hle and I did when we went to W five and we were along 240 the sidewalks I think are one thing but I'm still thinking about just The Pedestrian safety of someone walking along you know a service road which in a lot of drivers mind a service road might as well be you know an interstate all over again so are there going to be any sort of like protective barriers like trees or something that makes that just a little bit more of a um pedestrian friendly like what what are you all up to because before you answer I'm sorry under streetscapes in this document 240 is something you all are talking about so I'm just very interested in I know it's councilman Hinkle and I'm not trying to step on any toes here I'm just this is an area that really means a lot to me and the the students I've taught um so are you asking for that specific area or just in general for what are you all thinking about for i240 um for for i240 uh right now it's just we we want to get you know sidewalks and and typically what we try to do for sidewalks because of the safety issue is get them as far from the curb as possible um and so where we have funds certainly we prefer to add Street trees because they can provide a barrier as you as you mentioned um but trying to get them off the sidewalk as or off the curb as as far as possible is is always the goal um oftentimes there are constraints but that's it's always the goal sometimes the RightWay is too narrow and that can be problematic um but in that case and in all cases that's always the goal and and i240 is 100% developed there's nothing left available on i240 so it was the when we changed the code to where you had to put sidewalks in 20 years ago 15 years ago whatever that was there's just a lot of missing teeth I mean every you get 200 foot of sidewalk and then 30 foot of gravel parking lot to a muddy lot that is never ever ever was going to get sidewalked unless we do it because it's at an apartment complex or or or so I'm not so worried about trees and I'm just worried about people in wheelchairs getting to bus stops thanks and actually um I'd like to look at I know we're in the motion to it to receive but I I would like to actually um make a motion to add to this language to this uh resolution I'm looking at the public engagement page on page 15 and there is no information about future public engagement it's just the engagement that has already occurred so I would like for us to uh look at amending to ensure that we have in language written about future and continue engagement with bike walk OKC because I think it's very important as we come online with these projects I know um by language it says Advisory Group and public feedback and and project engagement but uh to continue having resident feedback and engagement is something that I believe will need to take place um especially again for those areas that I for mentioned previously and uh what we're looking at coming online in the future for these particular communities yeah yeah we can do that that makes sense so kind of specific to the things that we've talked about today we can we can amend some we can provide some language okay I I want to I just want to ensure that that will be provided within this bike walk OKC plan yes we can we can certainly add that um I'm not sure I think we can do that typically we have the language I think we have to put together the language and then uh when we come back together next time we can add it to the resolution well everybody needs to see the language that's fine then should be that we defer the item to be able to write the you know provide the language I think that would be great um I think it's important right now just to ensure that we have that transparency piece okay that looks like for because I think for the just it's difficult to without having specific language we would put in to know you know to have that in there so I think if we defer the item then we can incorporate the language and then bring it back at the next meeting I appreciate that thank you so we'll bring back the amendment that was already voted on plus the additional yeah it would come back with the amendment that was already approved okay okay as long as it has my exhibit with the Meridian please put his Meridian Avenue in there okay so I'm gonna need a motion to defer item 11 AE as amended to May 21st the deferral passes unanimously so we will now move to item 11 AF no executive session has been requested by staff we can make a motion to move uh af1 legal requested executive session is that what you're were saying no no okay did not and the item passes item 11 ag1 joint resolution with OC MFA staff has not requested executive session we can take a motion on A1 I would actually like to request executive session as I I said previously um we're already going into EX ex cutive session I would just like to get just some clarification and understanding because of the the nature and publicity of this particular case Okay so there's a motion on the floor for item 11 ag2 Adam fails four to three so item 11 A8 Oh no I got to go back item 11 ag1 now I need to because that failed so we got to go back yeah okay I think I'm right um so item 11 ag1 on the joint resolution I need a motion and the item passes 5 to two item 11 ah is a request to enter executive session on the advice of Municipal counselor I need a motion the item passes 7 to two we will handle that executive session after citizens to be heard item 11 AI claims recommended for approval no executive session was requested by staff we can take a motion word seven is yes word eight the item passes moving on to item 11 comments from Council W one not today thank you ward two yes thank you vice mayor uh wanted to say congratulations to the uh well any college graduate right now um but in particular the stars at Oklahoma City University uh submitted my final semester grades yesterday I'm sure some of them loved me some some of them probably a little less so but that's okay I just want to thank all of my students this year for um truly some engaging conversations in my world literature courses but also in a class I had never taught before which was a God in film and literature class and it was just so impressive the conversations that students from so many diverse backgrounds brought to uh texts like corat McCarthy's Blood Meridian uh ppis which is about a young girl growing up in um during the Iranian Revolution of the late 70s it's a graphic novel and they just really appreciated texts like that um so it was just it was just it was really a fascinating class uh we watched the film adaptation of Noah from a few years ago and they just had a lot of insight uh into the representation of religion on screen so I just wanted to say thank you to those students congratulation to congratulations to The Graduate um very much looking forward to having a little bit of a St this summer and taking a break from teaching but not necessarily from research and writing and preparing for the the fall but um very much G to take some time off there um and just again invite everybody on Friday to our Paco ribbon cutting at 11 o'clock at Northwest 30th in poo so thank you so much thank you ward five four sorry Todd thank you five I just want to say thank you to the local firefighters Union 157 for the invite last weekend up to the smok and guns and smoke smoking guns deal up in Tulsa it's a charity event where um three of our okcpd Isaac seder Seth Maxwell and Ryan finon represented us rather well in a uh it's an MMA boxing match kind of thing but the Charities are great and the event was very well done and just thanks for the invite and thanks to councilman stone for the beverages board seven well it's a good thing you had First Responders there for MMA fight for sure um I just want to want to say uh congratulations to the latest cohort of progress OKC they um have a accelerator program for founders of of different businesses and they had 18 presenters um this past week and and all of them have some wonderful businesses that need funding so uh congratulations to them for being able to go through this program and they have been able to graduate I believe eight cohorts thus far I could be mistaken but I feel like it's eight because they seem this accelerator is fairly quick um so again congratulations to them and I know uh this week we have another with the O uh omfa and I apologize I cannot remember what the AC acronym stands for but we also have uh presentations from those Founders happening this week so uh excited to see and and hear how they can be supported as well um also wanted to give a shout out to um OnPoint dance studio it's a a local dance studio within our community they had their presentation or our dance recital if you will um and the the theme was the whz so I know we have some some whz folks in here um that have seen the original Wiz if you haven't you probably want to have you seen it the original W I know you had um but being able to see that's okay but being able to see it portrayed by by our young people again helps to to tell a Timeless story of of dance and also the the opportunity to experience the whz again um I also wanted to say congratulations to the class of 2024 and um I know for a lot of folks that were in my cohort coming into the Masters for regional and City Planning quite a few of them are obtaining their degrees this semester I'm taking five so I will be done till December but I know they have worked extremely hard and I do my final presentation from Mark zel's class tomorrow y'all so I'll report in two weeks what that grade was I'll let y'all know um but also Langston University had their graduation this past Saturday so the weather held out as much as it could for our graduates on Saturday so it ended up being a better day than we had had before um and I I also want to say congratulations to uh representative Jason low he's now a member of the divine nine and we're excited that to have him as a part of of the organization and I want to extend my my thank you to um the city of Mogi I traveled there on Friday one of their council members asked me to come to be a particip actually to um be a moderator of a one-onone conversation with Dr Bernice King who is the daughter of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and uh to tell you I was extremely excited to be a part of that conversation is an understatement so to to actually see um a king Legacy was uh an a beautiful experience and very grateful for the city of Mogi able to meet the mayor there and a couple of their council members as well and they have a beautiful U Martin Luther King Jr Community Center and that's where this conversation was held so um if you ever get a chance to see it it is a beautiful facility I am a little jealous because it it is it's such a a beautiful facility and and they have outgrown it so they will be adding to that and looking forward to to seeing how they're able to expand um lastly I just wanted to to say a thank you again to Devon energy for their investment in USA softball and women's sports with their their generous uh donation and the naming rights so now it is officially called Devon Park and it's official because you can see it outside of the building um and I know a lot of us are are extremely excited to again support what women's sports has been able to produce for not just Oklahoma but a global stage for women's sport as well and I told the story uh just a brief story yesterday and I'll say it again when I was a Bist at a local coffee shop this coffee shop is on Northwest Expressway there was a nearby hotel and uh I knew where the USA softball stadium was I hadn't been there at the time um but when it clicked how Global this was it was when some of those young ladies came in and they were from International areas one one group from Korea I know particular that were dressed and ready to play so being able to to experience again that's how I can say personally I understand the impacts of of what these places can do and and how we talk about bringing and and promoting tourism for our communities as well so I I know um that this will be a great gift and they've already branded it very well and we look forward to the Big 12 Championship that's going to be played within this this week next week um in in Boomer Sooner thank you vice mayor um I always say this that my favorite budget meeting is when Russell Evans our Economist comes and gives us his presentation he takes complex materials and really puts it um in a presentation that's very understandable and helpful uh Russell has a new report out it's called the 2024 greater Oklahoma City economic Outlook and um there's I'm not going to read large portions of it to you but there are three important things in this report number one uh job growth in 2024 Russell's estimating will add nearly 14,000 new jobs uh primarily in the health services and trade sector number two income and salaries are on the rise in Oklahoma City number three this is this is probably the most important one to me is that we have a high concentration of young people in the in the metro area that should provide a labor pool support system for years to come when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s uh a lot of my friends moved to other cities to find work and I think this is a significant moment in the history of Oklahoma City when we have a large labor youth population that will provide uh workers for our Workforce and so I'd encourage you to read it you can get it on the Oklahoma City chamber's uh website it's a great report the one thing he does say um he always uh has a a caveat and and he says the local economy remains V vulnerable uh due to National and Global uncertainties that may disrupt economic conditions but on the whole the city's doing great uh I enjoyed the report and I'd encourage you to read it thank you thank you I just have a couple of closing comments I just want to recognize our youth Council They concluded their uh 23 2024 um experience with our offices and our departments within the city and we're just grateful for their interest in participating and getting involved with Civic leaders and hopefully they will go off to college and come back to Oklahoma City and be the next leaders in the Next Generation so we had a great group of young adults and the interviews are go going on right now for the next class of those next leaders and so we're excited for that um had an opportunity to uh visit the Mike Monon U FAA Aeronautical Center yesterday with the city manager we had a great meeting um with staff out there and a nice little tour um for I think everybody on the council's familiar with the facility but it it was a great experience and it's it's very interesting to me to learn all of the different government agencies that now um holdup shop there and to participate in collaborative efforts that benefit the the greater good and benefit Oklahoma City with the classes that they teach and um the folks that they bring in Nationwide to educate our air traffic controllers among many other positions technicians and maintenance crew uh to keep our airplanes in the air and our family and friends safe everywhere they go so I just want to shout out to them and thank you for the opportunity um and for the tour and then the last thing go thunder thunder up game one round two tonight uh we're very proud of our team we're very excited for round two and uh let's let's rock it let's go team so that'll close the comments from Council next up will be citizens to be heard so I will call your name um if you'll come up to the podium state your name and your address and you'll have three minutes for comment so uh first up I have Vivian is it Jaber M Vivian if you'll make sure I get your name right I appreciate it yeah that's right it's Vivian Jaber okay great so hi my name is Vivian Jaber Velasquez I live in ward1 at 6400 Northwest Expressway 73132 I am a Palestinian American and a mother to two little girls that I'm raising in Oklahoma yesterday was a really heavy night for your Palestinian Arab and Muslim constituents because we watched Israel commence the final stage of their genocide against Palestinians and Lea yesterday Israel dropped leaflets on 1.6 million Palestinians who are in rafah telling them to evacuate to Nowhere there is nowhere left for them to evacuate to we watched Palestinians celebrate the news that a ceasefire agreement had been accepted by Hamas only to be slashed their hope slashed shortly after as Israel rejected that agreement and began bombing a city of tents where there are 600,000 children we watched Israeli tanks cut off the Rafa Crossing that is the only route out of GZA and the only route where food Aid was coming into GZA 600,000 children are in Rafa right now and every single one of those children is starved uh facing disability homeless living in tents this us funded regime has put um over a million Palestinians into a situation where survival is not possible and we all have a moral obligation to stop this genocide that is unfolding in front of our eyes there is no God whether that's the musl you know the God we believe under Islam whether Jesus whether there's no religion that where God thinks it is Justified to murder to mass murder children there is no God that would think that that is an acceptable solution to any problem in this world we all have an obligation to leverage whatever power we have to ending this whether that's using your voice at city council whether that's showing up and protesting or whether that's you in your seats passing a ceasefire resolution and saying that enough is enough history will remember who valued humanity and peace and it will remember who Justified and dismissed and scoffed at the Holocaust that is taking place in GZA the students resoundingly condemn this genocide 30 seconds remaining they will be your next voters and they will remember where you stood we will remember and we will never let you forget thank you next up uh Jacqueline Shelton Miss Shelton um state your name again and address in three minutes please thank you yeah hi I'm Jacqueline Shelton 2617 Southwest 63rd Place W five um it was a long night full of tornadoes and bombing and it was horrible to wake up this morning to see uh the faces of people smooshed between buildings um by bombs that were made here I'd like to start by acknowledging they we're Gathering here on Stolen indigenous land today at least 39 tribal Nations reside in the state of Oklahoma as a result of settler and Colonial practices that were designed to assimilate Native American people we give honor and respect to the tribal Nations that were stewards of this land before our occupation of it the irony that our state has given $64 million uh to a foreign government and Military while you all sit here and openly state that the budget doesn't allow for this this and this and I greatly appreciate all of you caring so much about the sidewalks on the southide um so can we not agree that keeping our $64 million in our tax dollars would be pretty nice I know at least one of you has already expressed that you don't care about the lives of brown children um but you should know that there are 1.6 innocent 1.6 million innocent civilians in 64 square kilometers of Mount of space in Rafa currently when I converted that it's 24 square miles just for reference okoklahoma city is 641 square miles and the population is 694,000 these are innocent civilians stacked on top of each other starving because the Israeli government hasn't allowed adequate amounts of food into the area for many years and even more so now these innocent civilians have nowhere to go as they've been pushed South to a safe Zone by a government that has completely leveled every home Farm City hospital and ancient religious building including some of the oldest Christian churches because let's not forget that Jesus was born in Palestine 610,000 innocent children are being bombed in Rafa with ammunition made in the USA provided by the USA our American dollars make up so much of Israel's GDP that they cannot exist without our funding we as Oklahoma City taxpayers are culpable it's the most unamerican situation that I can imagine to hold a foreign country before your own it's not only the Israeli government that is responsible for these murderous war crimes but the United States of America as well anyone who could support such egregious military efforts should be completely ashamed of themselves 30 seconds how dare anyone I uh okay I just urge that please consider uh adding your name to a growing list of cities who have passed the ceasefire resolution when the opportunity comes across your desk thank you thank you next up Ronnie Kirk my name is Ronnie Kirk my address at 2328 North Missouri you know it's really strange you know we can't change history but we can make it better about 130 miles from here to Oklahoma here in Oklahoma City people had a different mindset back in 1990 they were still burning crosses in your yard dragging black people down the street burning their houses down and burning all the businesses down 199 I was right here in this building here filing for the city permits to have Jun y'all got a copy of that we've been doing juneth every year since then the two pictures that you see them that you have want those pictures I mean Bri one of those signs been laying down five years face down other have been laying down two years men some members of our organization the w w s Justice Seekers and the men Association Foundation of Oklahoma City we picked those signs up took them repair them and paint them hung them back up last two weeks ago we were trying to get clar loopa Bridge painted before the annivers of juneth I started juneth in Oklahoma so we want to get clar loopa Bridge paint it within the next four weeks if the city is not going to paint it members of our organization is really waiting and waiting to do it we all like for the community of the whole city to see the city workers get out there and do it if they're not going to do it we surely going to do it for June 10th we all going to have Jun anniversary and moon part Moon part for two days so if the city can go inad and prank that bridge before the anniv of juneth I want to say thank y'all I love Oklahoma City it's a beautiful place thank you thank you Mr Kirk we're concluded with citizens to be heard we will now recess into executive session and return back after that to adjourn e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e and we will reconvene from our executive session and we are adjourned thank you e e e e e e e e e

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