1 1 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING 2 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, 3 HELD THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013 4 5 6 The Honorable Council of the City of Huntsville, Alabama, 7 met in regular session on Thursday, April 25, 2013, at 6 p.m., 8 in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, there being 9 present: 10 President: Russell 11 12 Councilpersons: Olshefski, Kling, Showers 13 14 Councilperson Absent: Culver 15 16 Mayor: Battle 17 18 City Administrator: Reynolds 19 20 City Attorney: Joffrion 21 22 City Clerk-Treasurer: Hagood 23 24 25 President Russell called the meeting to order. 26 Pastor Ken Pounders led the invocation; Councilman Showers 27 led the pledge of allegiance. 28 President Russell stated that there had been a mistake 29 made concerning the invocation and recognized Pastor Dennis R. 30 Fakes, Sr., of St. Mark's Lutheran Church. He asked 31 Pastor Fakes if he would like to say a few words at this time. 32 Pastor Fakes stated that he had thought perhaps he had not 33 checked in properly. He stated that the prayer was fine and he 34 would not repeat anything. He stated that he did want to say 35 that this was a propitious day, noting that he was from 36 St. Mark's Lutheran Church and that this was St. Mark's Day. 37 He continued that it was also World Malaria Day, noting that 2 1 many of the churches were involved in this. He asked God's 2 blessings upon everyone. 3 President Russell thanked Pastor Fakes for being present. 4 The minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Council on 5 April 11, 2013, were approved as submitted. 6 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 7 was Resolutions and Special Recognitions. 8 President Russell recognized Mayor Battle. 9 Mayor Battle asked that Mr. Greg Patterson, Director of 10 Parks and Recreation, come forward, noting that there were some 11 young people to be recognized at this time. 12 Mr. Patterson stated that they had three different 13 recognitions at this time and that the first one would be the 14 Madison Academy Boys Basketball Team. He asked Coach Andy 15 Blackston to come forward. He stated that this was Madison 16 Academy's fourth State championship in the prior eight years, 17 with three of them being under Coach Blackston. He stated that 18 this was another great year for this very well-rounded program 19 at Madison Academy. He asked Coach Blackston to introduce the 20 team members. 21 Coach Blackston stated that they were very honored to be 22 appearing at this time and were very honored to represent the 23 city and the county, as well as North Alabama. He stated that 24 he was really proud of this team, noting that they had gotten a 25 late start in the year and had had to overcome a lot of 26 obstacles, noting that football season significantly overlapped 3 1 the basketball season and that eight of his twelve players had 2 played on the State championship football team. He stated that 3 with this obstacle and many others, they had been 14-12 a week 4 prior to the playoffs. He stated that the team had then won 5 their final nine games in a row, that he was very proud of them 6 for their outstanding performance. He stated that they had 7 been down 17 points in the third quarter of the State 8 championship game and that the team had found a way to win. 9 Coach Blackston introduced the members of the team and 10 they were congratulated by the Council members. Certificates 11 were presented to the team members. 12 Mr. Patterson asked Krystle Johnson, Class 6A Girls State 13 Basketball Coach of the Year, to come forward. He stated that 14 Ms. Johnson had come to Huntsville the prior year from Hoover 15 High School and that she was the Girls basketball coach at 16 Huntsville High School. He continued that she had had an 17 outstanding season, that Huntsville High had made it to the 18 Final Four in the Girls State Tournament for the first time in 19 school history. He stated that Coach Johnson had done a great 20 job during her first year at Huntsville High School and asked 21 her to tell the Council and the audience a little about her 22 team. 23 Coach Johnson expressed appreciation for the recognition. 24 She stated that she had gotten the job late at Huntsville High 25 School and had not even met the girls until July. She stated 26 that they had started the season and were 5-0 and everyone was 4 1 excited about this and then they had lost a game. She stated 2 that they started trying to fall apart but had stuck together 3 throughout the playoffs and had won their area on a coin toss. 4 She continued that they had made it to the regionals for the 5 first time in school history and had upset the No. 2 team in 6 the state and made it to the Final Four. She continued that 7 they had finished with a record of 30-7, which she noted was 8 the best record in school history. She stated that seven out 9 of ten players would be returning and that they were definitely 10 looking forward to the next year and hopefully winning State. 11 Mr. Patterson made a presentation to Coach Johnson, 12 expressing appreciation for her outstanding achievements. 13 Mayor Battle asked Mr. Rex Reynolds, City Administrator, 14 to come forward for the next presentation, noting that 15 Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Patterson were very involved with the 16 Boys & Girls Club. He asked Mr. Patterson to comment on the 17 next presentation. 18 Mr. Patterson asked Mr. Pat Wynn to come forward. 19 Mr. Patterson stated that Mr. Wynn was Director of the 20 Boys & Girls Club of North Alabama. He stated that Mr. Wynn 21 had played high school football for him and was one of the best 22 players he had ever coached, that he was an All-State running 23 back his senior year and had played football for the University 24 of Southern Mississippi. He stated that he was very proud of 25 him and proud of what he had done for the Boys & Girls Club. 26 He stated that recently Mr. Wynn had been named the 5 1 Southeastern Region Boys & Girls Club Director of the Year. 2 Mr. Patterson made a presentation to Mr. Wynn, stating 3 that they would like to honor him at this time. 4 Mr. Wynn expressed appreciation for the recognition, 5 noting that it was his honor and privilege to serve the 6 community and inspire young people to understand they could be 7 anything they wanted to be with education. He stated that he 8 was really enjoying his work at the Boys & Girls Club and 9 certainly appreciated the recognition from the City. He stated 10 that they certainly appreciated the support. 11 Mayor Battle stated that one of the things that Mr. Wynn 12 was doing at the Boys & Girls Club was trying to bring everyone 13 up to reading grade level, that they were working very hard on 14 tutoring, mentoring, and literacy. He thanked him for what he 15 did, noting that he was making the city a better place. 16 Councilman Showers read and introduced a resolution 17 congratulating Mr. Michael Lundy, Executive Director, 18 Huntsville Housing Authority, as follows: 19 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-288) 20 Councilman Showers moved for approval of the foregoing 21 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by President Russell 22 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 23 Councilman Showers read from the resolution, noting 24 Mr. Lundy's history with the Huntsville Housing Authority, as 25 well as with other housing agencies. He stated that Mr. Lundy 26 oversaw the daily operation of 1700 public housing apartments, 6 1 1600 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, and the ongoing real 2 estate development effort of the agency in the city. He stated 3 that currently these programs combined to provide affordable 4 housing for approximately 8,000 persons in the city, and that 5 many more were on the waiting list. 6 Councilman Showers stated that Mr. Lundy believed that 7 having large clusters of public housing would only broaden the 8 socioeconomic disparity within society. He stated that based 9 upon sustained evidence, he believed that mixed-income 10 affordable housing opportunities located throughout the 11 community would create a more healthy and diverse society. He 12 stated that so far this had proven to work very well at 13 Gateway Place, a senior residential facility that had opened 14 the prior year. 15 Councilman Showers stated that in addition to his duties 16 in the city, Mr. Lundy was active on a local, state, national, 17 and international level in relation to affordable housing 18 issues. 19 Councilman Showers stated that Mr. Lundy had sought to 20 ensure that the goal of home ownership would become a reality 21 for many of the families that participated in the Authority's 22 public and assisted housing programs. He stated that his 23 commitment to facilitating the dreams of home ownership among 24 the HHA families had been tremendously successful. 25 Councilman Showers stated that during Mr. Lundy's tenure 26 as Executive Director, more than 200 public housing and 7 1 low-income residents in the Huntsville area had received 2 employment and job training opportunities through the 3 Huntsville Housing Authority. He stated that many other 4 services were provided through the Huntsville Housing 5 Authority. 6 Councilman Showers stated that in compliance with the 7 Department of Housing and Urban Development's mandate to 8 deconcentrate public housing, that through Mr. Lundy's 9 leadership the Huntsville Housing Authority continued to make a 10 concerted effort to move families to economic independence 11 through various affordable housing products and programs. He 12 stated that Huntsville Housing Authority's housing products and 13 programs were deeply rooted in United States Congressional 14 legislation which promoted homes in safe and healthy 15 environments that were affordable to low-income families. He 16 stated that Congress had cited two major ways to accomplish 17 this purpose: Facilitating mixed-income communities and 18 decreasing concentration of poverty in public housing; and 19 creating incentives and economic opportunities for residents of 20 dwelling units, assisted by public housing agents, to work, to 21 become self-sufficient, and transition out of public housing 22 and federally assisted dwelling units. 23 Councilman Showers stated that for the seventh straight 24 year, the Huntsville Housing Authority had been awarded the 25 High Performance designation by the United States Department of 26 Housing and Urban Development. He stated that this designation 8 1 was the highest honor HUD could give to a public housing 2 authority and that of the approximately 3,300 housing agents in 3 the United States, the Huntsville Housing Authority was among a 4 select number of housing agencies to achieve and maintain this 5 prominent distinction. 6 Councilman Showers stated that at this time the 7 City Council and the Mayor of the city, on behalf of the 8 citizens of Huntsville and Madison County, Alabama, and the 9 State of Alabama, wanted to express their appreciation to 10 Mr. Michael Lundy for his outstanding leadership and exemplary 11 performance of his duties as the Executive Director/CEO of the 12 Huntsville Housing Authority and his dedicated and selfless 13 efforts to provide housing opportunities for citizens who were 14 less fortunate. 15 Councilman Showers presented a copy of the resolution to 16 Mr. Lundy, expressing appreciation for his outstanding service 17 to the city, on behalf of the Council, the Mayor, and 180,000 18 loving, caring citizens who resided in the city. He stated 19 that by all the good work Mr. Lundy had done in the city, he 20 had brought honor to the city, the state, and the nation. 21 Mr. Lundy stated that he was deeply humbled by this 22 recognition. He thanked the Council and the Mayor for their 23 support of the Huntsville Housing Authority, noting that he was 24 aware that it had not been easy at times. He stated that he 25 particularly appreciated the financial support from the City 26 that had assisted them in the construction of what he believed 9 1 was the best affordable housing for seniors in the region, or 2 perhaps in the state, being Gateway Place. 3 Mr. Lundy stated that he would also like to thank 4 Brenda Martin for her support of the Huntsville Housing 5 Authority throughout the years. He also thanked his Board for 6 their guidance and support. He stated that he would also like 7 to thank the residents the Huntsville Housing Authority served, 8 and also his staff, noting that without a good staff, 9 leadership could not be good. He stated that his staff members 10 supported him and were very diligent in their work to advance 11 his leadership. 12 Mr. Lundy again expressed appreciation for the 13 recognition. 14 Councilman Kling read and introduced a resolution 15 recognizing Mr. James J. Marek for his numerous years of past 16 and all future public service devoted to the Merrimack Mill 17 Village neighborhood and for having a park in the Merrimack 18 Mill Village named in his honor, as follows: 19 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-289) 20 Councilman Kling moved for approval of the foregoing 21 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 22 Councilman Showers and was unanimously adopted by the Council 23 members present. 24 Councilman Kling stated that Jim and Charlotte Marek were 25 not able to be present at this time. 26 Councilman Kling stated that two lots would be put 10 1 together to recreate the site where a historic park had been in 2 the Merrimack neighborhood several decades prior and that this 3 park would be named after Jim Marek. 4 Councilman Kling read from the above resolution, stating 5 that this park in Merrimack Mill Village would be named in 6 honor of James J. Marek, Jr., for his numerous years of great 7 public service devoted to the Merrimack Mill Village 8 neighborhood, as well as to the city. He stated that Mr. Marek 9 served as Vice Chairman of the Preservation Commission, was a 10 member of the Beautification Board, the Community Development 11 Citizens Advisory Board, Chairman of the Huntsville Historic 12 Foundation, and was a member of the Huntsville Housing 13 Authority's Affordable Housing Advisory Council. He stated 14 that he had also assisted in the development of the Huntsville 15 Council of Neighborhood Associations, having served two years 16 as president. 17 Councilman Kling stated that in November of 2006, 18 Mr. Marek had founded the Merrimack Mill Village organization, 19 consisting of property owners in the Merrimack Mill Village, 20 with the objective being to preserve an integral part of 21 Huntsville's heritage. He stated that this was one of the very 22 few remaining historic mill villages in the state of Alabama. 23 He stated that Mr. Marek had acted as the voice for the 24 interests of all property owners in the Village, helping to 25 achieve higher quality of life for those residing in the 26 Village and to foster and maintain the beautification of 11 1 individual property and the safety and security of homeowners. 2 He stated that he had established a Community Watch program for 3 the Merrimack Mill Village neighborhood and had formed a 4 Village beautification committee that had organized periodic 5 clean-up drives with community volunteers. He stated that he 6 had also initiated a street light upgrade with the City. He 7 continued that Mr. Marek had also been successful in having the 8 Village rezoned from R-2, single-family dwellings and duplexes, 9 to R-1B, single-family dwellings. He stated that he had worked 10 with the Huntsville Historic Foundation to have Merrimack Mill 11 Village listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, and 12 that he had designed and implemented a home historic marker 13 program, in recognition of this distinction, and had assisted 14 the City of Huntsville Traffic Engineering Department to 15 provide Historic District street signs in the Village. He 16 stated that he had also worked on various other projects in the 17 area. 18 Councilman Kling stated that they were recognizing and 19 acknowledging Mr. Marek for his many years of public service 20 devoted to the Merrimack Mill Village neighborhood, as well as 21 to the city. He stated that they were looking forward to great 22 achievements and involvement from him in the future. 23 Councilman Kling stated that it had been a great honor for 24 him to work with the neighborhoods to make them a little 25 better. He stated that they had had some challenges in some of 26 the West Huntsville neighborhoods but they had also had some 12 1 great progress that had taken place. He stated that Merrimack 2 Mill Village, as well as Lowe Mill, had been placed on the 3 National Register of Historic Places. He stated that it had 4 been a personal privilege for him to work with Jim Marek. 5 Councilman Kling stated that he would be presenting the 6 resolution to Mr. Marek. 7 Councilman Showers read and introduced a resolution 8 congratulating Mr. Robert B. Culver, Executive Director, Top of 9 Alabama Regional Council of Governments (TARCOG), upon his 10 retirement, as follows: 11 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-290) 12 Councilman Showers moved for approval of the foregoing 13 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 14 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 15 Councilman Kling stated that he and Councilman Showers 16 would be presenting the resolution to Bob Culver, noting that 17 he would be retiring from TARCOG after serving 19 years. He 18 stated that there was a retirement reception that was taking 19 place on this date at the TARCOG office. 20 Councilman Kling read from the resolution, noting 21 Mr. Culver's education and outstanding service as TARCOG 22 Director, as well as other services in the community. 23 Councilman Kling stated that TARCOG was an association of 24 local governments in a five-county area and that it worked with 25 municipal governments in the counties, including the City of 26 Huntsville. He stated that everyone had enjoyed working with 13 1 Mr. Culver and that he had done some great things in Huntsville 2 and Madison County, as well as in other counties of North 3 Alabama. 4 (Councilman Kling leaves the Council Chambers.) 5 Councilman Showers read and introduced a resolution 6 congratulating Dr. Harriett S. Littlepage, Deputy Director, 7 Business Manager Directorate, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile 8 Command Logistics Center, upon her Retirement Celebration, with 9 more than 39 years of outstanding experience with the 10 Department of the Army, to be held on May 2, 2013, at The 11 Summit, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, as follows: 12 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-291 13 Councilman Showers moved for approval of the foregoing 14 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 15 President Russell. 16 Councilman Showers stated that he would be presenting this 17 resolution on May 2, 2013, at the event honoring 18 Dr. Littlepage, noting that he would read the resolution at 19 that time. 20 President Russell called for the vote on the above 21 resolution, and the following vote resulted: 22 AYES: Olshefski, Showers, Russell 23 NAYS: None 24 ABSENT: Culver, Kling 25 President Russell stated that the resolution had 26 passed. 14 1 President Russell stated that item 4.b.2.b had been 2 deleted from the agenda. 3 Councilman Showers read and introduced a resolution 4 welcoming Mr. Kevin Bond, Multi-Grammy Award Winner, and 5 congratulating Pastors Anthony and Sa'Brina Wheeler, Founders 6 and Senior Pastor of the Beacon Hill Worship Center located in 7 Madison, Alabama, on the occasion of their 8th Church 8 Anniversary, May 3, 2013, as follows: 9 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-292) 10 Councilman Showers moved for approval of the foregoing 11 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 12 President Russell. 13 Councilman Showers stated that on May 3 he would present a 14 copy of the resolution at the event to be held at that time. 15 President Russell called for the vote on the above 16 resolution, and the following vote resulted: 17 AYES: Olshefski, Showers, Russell 18 NAYS: None 19 ABSENT: Culver, Kling 20 President Russell stated that the resolution had passed. 21 President Russell stated that item 15.o had also been 22 deleted from the agenda. 23 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 24 was Public Hearings to be Held. 25 President Russell stated that it was the time and place in 26 the meeting for a public hearing on Ordinance No. 13-182, 15 1 zoning newly annexed property lying on the south side of 2 Caldwell Lane and east of U.S. Highway 431 South as 3 Residence 1-A District and Residence 1-B District, which 4 hearing was set at the March 14, 2013, Regular Council Meeting. 5 President Russell asked Ms. Lisa Leddo of the Planning 6 Division for an explanation of the above ordinance. 7 Ms. Leddo stated that this was 120.45 acres of newly 8 annexed property, located on the south side of Caldwell Lane 9 and east of U.S. Highway 431 South. She stated that the 10 proposed zoning was 59.47 acres as Residence 1-B District, 11 noting the area on the displayed map, and 60.98 acres as 12 Residence 1-A District, noting the area on the displayed map. 13 She stated that these were both single-family, detached 14 dwelling districts and that the Planning Commission had 15 recommended approval. 16 President Russell asked if there was anyone in the 17 audience who wished to address the Council on this particular 18 matter. 19 There was no response. 20 President Russell stated that the public hearing was 21 closed. 22 President Russell moved for approval of Ordinance 23 No. 13-182, zoning newly annexed property lying on the south 24 side of Caldwell Lane and east of U.S. Highway 431 South as 25 Residence 1-A District and Residence 1-B District, which 26 ordinance was introduced at the March 14, 2013, Regular Council 16 1 Meeting, as follows: 2 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-182) 3 Said motion was duly seconded by Councilman Showers. 4 President Russell called for the vote on the above 5 ordinance, and the following vote resulted: 6 AYES: Olshefski, Showers, Russell 7 NAYS: None 8 ABSENT: Culver, Kling 9 President Russell stated that the above ordinance had 10 passed. 11 (Councilman Kling is now present in the Council Chambers.) 12 President Russell stated that it was the time and place in 13 the meeting for a public hearing on a resolution authorizing 14 the City Clerk-Treasurer to assess the cost of the boarding and 15 securing against certain properties. 16 President Russell asked Mr. Ken Benion, Director of 17 Community Development, for an explanation of the above matter. 18 Mr. Benion stated that the properties identified in the 19 resolution had been declared unsafe by Community Development 20 and the owners had been given 30 days, in accordance with the 21 unsafe building ordinance, to obtain permits and commence work 22 on correcting the noted violations. He stated that since the 23 owners had failed to respond to the notices and the properties 24 were standing open and accessible, Community Development staff 25 had boarded and secured the properties. He stated that 26 Attachment A identified the owners and the dates that 17 1 Community Development had taken action and the cost for 2 boarding and securing the properties, noting that the total 3 cost was $525.64, with an average cost of $262.82. 4 Mr. Benion stated that the owners had received written 5 requests for payment and had failed to respond, so that he was 6 requesting that assessments be placed on these properties to 7 collect the City's costs. He stated that the owners had been 8 notified of the proposed action at this time. 9 President Russell asked if there was anyone from the 10 public who wished to address the Council on this particular 11 matter. 12 There was no response. 13 President Russell stated that the public hearing was 14 closed. 15 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 16 authorizing the City Clerk-Treasurer to assess the cost of the 17 boarding and securing against certain properties, as follows: 18 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-293) 19 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 20 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 21 Councilman Showers. 22 Councilman Kling asked if a property owner were actively 23 working on fixing up their property and contacted Mr. Benion, 24 it would be normal that they would be granted an extension if 25 they needed one. 26 Mr. Benion replied in the affirmative, stating that the 18 1 matter would go before their Housing Board and they would make 2 a determination as to whether an extension should be granted, 3 based upon the circumstances of the owner. 4 Councilman Kling stated that a gentleman had contacted him 5 concerning this and he had advised him that he believed that 6 was the way the process worked. He stated that he believed 7 this person would contact Mr. Benion's office. 8 President Russell called for the vote on the above 9 resolution, and it was unanimously adopted by the Council 10 members present. 11 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 12 was Communications from the Public. 13 Mr. James Kaelin, 127 Manningham Drive, Madison, appeared 14 before the Council, stating that he was with the Knights of 15 Columbus, a member of Council 764 at Holy Spirit Parish. He 16 thanked the City for the excellent support they had given his 17 group during the Pro-Life Prayer Vigil on February 23, noting 18 that there had been more than 250 persons participating in this 19 event. He especially thanked the Huntsville Police Department 20 for the support they had provided to them. He stated that he 21 wanted to give the City a heads-up that they would be asking to 22 do a similar activity at each 40 Days For Life, which he noted 23 was twice a year. He stated that the Knights were doing this 24 across the state in each major city that had an abortion 25 facility. 26 Mr. Kaelin stated that the Knights in each of those cities 19 1 would be organizing telephone, e-mail, and prayer vigils 2 related to the proper enforcement of the Women's Health and 3 Safety Act, noting that they had been very involved in 4 supporting this legislation. He stated that because of the 5 publicity and the horrible situations exposed by the Gosnell 6 trial in Philadelphia and in several other major cities across 7 the United States involving botched abortions, his group felt 8 this was very relevant and would be taking on the project to 9 contact State and local officials requesting that current laws 10 be enforced regarding abortion facilities and, also, when 11 Women's Health and Safety officially went into effect, for the 12 proper enforcement of it. 13 Ms. Cindy Adams, 2517 Pentolope Drive, appeared before the 14 Council, stating that she was a post-abortive woman who had 15 lived in Huntsville since 1983. She stated that she wished 16 the loving persons who were present when abortions were being 17 performed at the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive 18 Alternatives had been at the abortion clinic when she had 19 walked in 28 years prior. She stated that they were there at 20 this time because of the current permit. She stated that 21 besides peacefully praying, her group attempted to offer women 22 fetal development information, support, and options that would 23 not result in the killing of their child. 24 Ms. Adams stated that if her group were not there to 25 provide such information, then the only source of such 26 information might be websites such as Planned Parenthood, which 20 1 stated that most women felt relief after an abortion and that 2 either a hand-held suction device or a suction machine would be 3 used. She stated that the first statement was deceiving 4 because it did not address that many women feel regret a year 5 or more after their abortion. She stated that the second 6 statement was deceiving because it was not a gentle procedure 7 and that it avoided saying what was being emptied from one's 8 uterus, which was their child. 9 Ms. Adams stated that she once believed the lies that 10 abortion did not kill a human, that it just removed a blob of 11 cells that was a potential human. She stated that she did 12 finally learn the truth concerning this but it was 25 years too 13 late to allow her to make an informed choice. She stated that 14 this was why she was out in front of the abortion clinic, and 15 why most of the others were out there, so that these women 16 could know the truth, so that they did not learn it 25 years 17 too late. 18 Ms. Adams stated that prior to the escorts' presence at 19 the facility, she could talk to the women who were considering 20 abortion and give them her card. She stated that the card had 21 an e-mail address on it so that persons could contact her. She 22 stated that the card read as follows: "I want to help you in a 23 way that I wish someone had helped me so many years ago. I was 24 alone and did not realize that I was putting an end to my son's 25 life. I saw my son in a dream on the day he would have been 26 born. I have grieved over my choice since 1985. Please take 21 1 the time to think and look at your options before you make the 2 same mistake that I did. I am here to listen without judging. 3 If you need to talk, regardless of whether you are considering 4 abortion or have already had one, I am here." 5 Ms. Adams stated that she had heard that there had been 6 claims that her group harassed and called the women entering 7 the clinic murderers. She continued that she could personally 8 say that this had never happened. She stated that she would 9 not stand by quietly and allow this to happen because she was 10 one of the women who had walked in the clinic. 11 Ms. Adams stated that her group was doing a service in 12 attempting to let women know the truth and that there were 13 options, so that they did not end up going down the same path 14 she had. 15 Rev. James Henderson, 181 Henderson Road, Priceville, 16 appeared before the Council, stating that he was a minister of 17 the gospel. He thanked the Council for the opportunity to 18 appear before them at this time. He stated that they had 19 already heard some persons speak more eloquently than he ever 20 could about their need to practice their Constitutional rights 21 at Huntsville's remaining abortion clinic. He stated that they 22 had to be there any time abortions were done, for the reasons 23 that had been cited. He stated that his group had to stand 24 firm for their right to be there. He stated that from a 25 spiritual and religious point of view and from a moral point of 26 view, they had to be there every time a baby was aborted, that 22 1 it did not matter what day, what time, that they had to be 2 there to offer help and to pray. He stated that they had to be 3 adjacent to the sidewalk. 4 Rev. Henderson stated that he had spoken to each of the 5 Council members at some length about the need to amend the 6 Special Events ordinance. He stated that his group had 7 introduced an ordinance for the Council to consider. He stated 8 that he believed the majority of the persons present at this 9 meeting stood in unity with his group on this need. He stated 10 that they had obtained counsel, Mr. Joshua Pendergrass, 11 Executive Director and Chief Counsel for The Foundation for 12 Moral Law in Montgomery, to help facilitate negotiations, to 13 work with the City Attorney and to work with all concerned, so 14 that they could finally bring this matter to a conclusion that 15 would be satisfactory to everyone. He stated that they looked 16 forward to concluding these negotiations and removing this dark 17 cloud that continued to hang over the city, a cloud that had 18 gained notoriety nationwide. 19 Rev. Henderson stated that Mr. Pendergrass was present at 20 this time and that they were blessed to have him. He stated 21 that he would be available for any remarks later in the 22 meeting. He stated that others would also be speaking at this 23 time. He stated that the bottom line was that they were 24 requesting that the vote scheduled for this meeting be 25 postponed indefinitely, until the amendment his group had 26 offered could receive proper review and public input. He 23 1 stated that it was his group's goal to resolve this matter in 2 as positive and friendly way as they could but that they would 3 not compromise on the need for his group to be on the public 4 sidewalk every time a baby was aborted, day or night, whatever 5 day of the week. He stated that they had to be there. 6 Dr. Lee Trott, 578 Bluff Road, Section, appeared before 7 the Council, stating that she was a Pro-Life counselor on the 8 sidewalk of 612 Madison Street, which she noted was the same 9 location where she had had an abortion many years prior. She 10 stated that as a woman who had suffered unimaginable grief from 11 her experience, she did not condone the harassment or bullying 12 of women who felt so desperate and trapped that they had 13 resorted to paying an abortionist to kill their baby. 14 Dr. Trott stated that she knew first-hand that the 15 uneasiness a woman might feel when she encountered well-meaning 16 Pro-Life counselors was in no way comparable to the unbearable 17 emotional agony she would most likely endure for the rest of 18 her life if she followed through with her plan to have an 19 abortion. She stated that women who suffered from depression 20 because of abortions did not reflect upon their interactions 21 with the people outside the abortion clinic who tried to help 22 them, that they agonized over the horror they survived while 23 inside the facility enduring the abortion procedure performed 24 by a doctor they had never met before. She continued that they 25 would grieve forever the loss of their babies who were never 26 honored with a decent burial but instead were disposed of along 24 1 with bio-hazardous waste. 2 Dr. Trott stated that it was impossible to prepare even 3 the most educated woman for the negative emotional effects 4 caused by an abortion experience. She stated that over the 5 years, she had witnessed women crying as they came or went from 6 the abortion clinic. She stated that she herself was not one 7 of those women, that the emotional impact of her child's death 8 had not manifested until years afterward. She stated that 9 since that time, she had spoken on behalf of the mothers who 10 were once told that their lives would be better if they 11 postponed motherhood and that their unborn babies were not 12 considered real persons. She stated that dozens of women had 13 quietly approached her in an effort to escape from the shame 14 and loneliness they had suffered for years, sometimes even 15 decades. 16 Dr. Trott stated that the very first time she had 17 returned, in tears, to 612 Madison Street, she had been 18 embraced by the Pro-Life counselors, who had cried with her and 19 had done their very best to comfort her. She stated that for 20 years these persons had ministered to her and that they were 21 her very best friends. 22 Dr. Trott stated that it was imperative that every mother 23 who entered any abortion clinic had the opportunity to hear the 24 truth about the humanity of her unborn child and about what the 25 abortion procedure would actually do to his body, and to hear 26 the offer for help that a woman might need to overcome the 25 1 challenge of her unplanned pregnancy and to know that there 2 were persons who genuinely loved and cared about her and her 3 baby, regardless of what she had done. 4 Ms. Analda Angun, 120 Cherry Road, Madison, appeared 5 before the Council, stating that she was a Pro-Life volunteer 6 and that like many others present at this time, she wanted to 7 urge the Council to postpone the vote on the organized events 8 ordinance. She stated that it should be postponed in order to 9 allow more time for legal review and input from the community 10 and the persons it would affect. She stated that she would not 11 want to see the City waste its time and resources passing 12 something that had not been fully reviewed and fully 13 considered. 14 Ms. Angun stated that as the proposed ordinance was 15 written, many events would receive space on a first-come, 16 first-served basis out on the sidewalk, which she noted was not 17 the best option. She stated that as written the ordinance 18 would waste City time and resources and would create an 19 unnecessary burden in permitting, enforcement, and police 20 support. She reiterated that they did not want to waste City 21 resources and asked the Council to postpone this vote and think 22 the matter through. 23 Ms. Angun asked that the Council assist the Pro-Life 24 ministry to consider peaceful, supportive, positive, and 25 prayerful demonstrations involving people throughout 26 North Alabama and Southern Tennessee. She asked them to please 26 1 help her group continue exercising their right to free speech 2 as they worked to help expectant parents who were scared and 3 did not know where to turn. 4 Rev. Jimmy Jackson, 743 Bluewood Drive, appeared before 5 the Council, stating that he was 100 percent sure that there 6 was a God in heaven and he had a Son named Jesus Christ and He 7 was in favor of life, that He was the giver of life, according 8 to the Bible. He continued that the Bible says that God gives 9 and God takes away. 10 Rev. Jackson stated that he was a pastor and that he could 11 tell the Council that it was a shame that in the city of 12 Huntsville, or anywhere in the United States of America, where 13 there had been in the past freedom of religion and freedom of 14 speech without question, that they should even be dealing with 15 an issue such as this. He stated that they were Pro-Life, that 16 they were not pro-abortion, because pro-abortion was pro-death. 17 He stated that he believed that everyone understood if someone 18 had interrupted the pregnancy of their mother, intentionally or 19 unintentionally, they would not be present at this time, 20 whether they were Pro-Choice or Pro-Life. 21 Rev. Jackson stated that he would like to thank God that 22 He had spared the lives of the persons who were present at this 23 time and stated that he would plead with the Council that they 24 would give freedom for persons to at least stand in a peaceful 25 way and encourage the women who came to the clinic, who at many 26 times were so confused. He stated that he was also a 27 1 counselor, that he had a degree in psychology and therapy, and 2 that he had counseled many women who, just as the ladies who 3 had previously spoken, lived with nightmares of loss as to what 4 had happened to the little babies that had been aborted at this 5 clinic years prior. 6 Rev. Jackson stated that persons in Huntsville were not in 7 Washington, D.C., and were not talking about a liberal 8 president, that they were talking about people in Alabama who 9 wanted to have the right to speak and the right to life. 10 Mr. John Phillip, 163 Firestone Drive, Madison, appeared 11 before the Council, stating that he was speaking against the 12 events ordinance as it was being proposed. He stated that he 13 was especially concerned about how the proposed ordinance 14 applied to the rights of the Pro-Life advocates who went to 15 assemble and protest the activities at the abortion clinic at 16 612 Madison Street. He stated that as he tried to understand 17 the rather complex writing that applied to Minor Events and how 18 it would apply to the Pro-Life advocates, he could see that 19 they normally would qualify as a Minor Event. He stated that 20 if they chose to assemble there, somehow the Pro-Life advocates 21 and the Escort employees at the abortion clinic were to 22 confront each other on some first-come, first-served basis and 23 then figure out who would get to occupy which territory around 24 the abortion clinic. He stated that particularly in the case 25 of his group, they would be on the sidewalk, or would hope to 26 be on the sidewalk somewhere. He stated that at any rate, no 28 1 parties were to be less than 15 feet apart, noting that this 2 would add another complication. 3 Mr. Phillip stated that legal counsel had informed the 4 Council the prior month that the events ordinance relative to 5 the assembly elements brought the ordinance more in line with 6 the Constitution. He stated that he disagreed with this. He 7 continued that he felt that the proposed ordinance placed a 8 rather subjective veil that stifled the rights of the Pro-Life 9 advocates as they wished to assemble at the Huntsville abortion 10 clinic and protest the brutal activities inside. 11 Mr. Phillip asked that the Council defer consideration of 12 this ordinance until his group's position was worked out. 13 Mr. Lyle Voyles, 7704 Teal Drive, appeared before the 14 Council, stating that on behalf the Chaffee community, he would 15 like to extend their condolences to Col. Moon and his family on 16 the loss of Sandra. He stated that many of their residents 17 remembered when she had actually knocked on their doors and 18 told them what she would do if elected as their City Council 19 representative. He stated that he could attest that she had 20 accomplished many of those goals, and more, and not just for 21 her district but for the city of Huntsville. He stated that 22 she would certainly be missed. 23 Mr. Voyles stated that the community would like to 24 congratulate Huntsville Police Officer Bob Cornelison upon his 25 retirement and wished to thank him for his years of service, 26 not only to the City of Huntsville but to their community, 29 1 where he had been their Community Resource Officer and had 2 frequently been seen in their Civic Association meetings. He 3 stated that they were fortunate to enjoy a safe neighborhood 4 due to his efforts. 5 Mr. Voyles stated that Brenda Martin had frequently been 6 in attendance at the monthly Chaffee Civic Association meetings 7 and stated that they would also like to congratulate her on her 8 years of service to the city and to wish her well as she 9 transitioned into retirement and other activities. 10 Mr. Voyles stated that in the interest of maintaining and 11 reclaiming the older, established Huntsville communities, he 12 would like to submit an extract from the Madison, Alabama, Code 13 of Ordinances, which addressed front yard parking restrictions 14 in residential areas. He stated that he was confident that all 15 of the Council members were concerned with maintaining the 16 appearance of the communities and the property values. He 17 stated that a growing trend throughout the city, and 18 particularly within the older communities that were reliant on 19 well-written and enforceable city ordinances, was using the 20 front lawn as a parking lot. He stated that it was encouraging 21 to see that Huntsville's immediate neighbor, Madison, had the 22 foresight to address this problem and preclude having this 23 blight occur within their communities. He stated that he would 24 like to leave a copy of the extract for Mayor Battle, the City 25 Council members, and the Legal Department for their review and 26 favorable consideration for including it in the Huntsville 30 1 ordinances. 2 (Submission by Mr. Voyles.) 3 Ms. Rosalind McDermott, 2602 Bonita Circle, appeared 4 before the Council, stating that she had noticed there had been 5 a couple of missing links on the agenda that had been put out. 6 She asked that if items were not going to be linked, printed 7 copies be provided prior to the meeting. She stated that these 8 were items 15.l and 15.z on the agenda. 9 Ms. McDermott stated that she would like to speak about 10 conflicts of interest, stating that acting in the best interest 11 of corporations had proven to be in the worst interest of the 12 people time and time again, ever since the Citizens United 13 decision, and perhaps even prior to that, in the Supreme Court. 14 She stated that this was true whether it took the form of 15 corporations profiting from governmental activities, as 16 Ms. Reed was always pointing out might be the case; or special 17 interest groups having special access and influence, especially 18 those which were Constitutionally prohibited from having 19 influence in the government; or abdicating their 20 responsibilities in favor of a corporate interest. 21 President Russell stated to Ms. McDermott that all the 22 items were hyperlinked on his agenda. He stated to her that if 23 this happened again, she should call the City Council office 24 and ask for him and he would fix it. He stated that it 25 appeared they were having some kind of disconnect, that it was 26 working when he looked at it but was not working when 31 1 Ms. McDermott looked at it. 2 Ms. McDermott stated that it showed on the print-out that 3 it was not linked, that there were not underlines on the agenda 4 that had been passed out. 5 Ms. Jackie Reed, 305 Jack Coleman Drive, appeared before 6 the Council, stating that she wanted to thank God, her boss, 7 for standing with her on her mission over the years. She 8 stated that she also wanted to say that when she died, she did 9 not want anyone judging her but God. 10 Ms. Reed stated that she had run into Mayor Battle, 11 Mr. Reynolds, and President Russell at a recent School Board 12 meeting, which she noted had been a good thing. She stated 13 that this was concerning the fire station. She asked if they 14 were going to put up the fire station on Drake as they had done 15 on Clinton Avenue. She continued that they still owed an 16 $84 million bond on the fire station on Clinton Avenue. She 17 stated that she had learned this in another meeting and that it 18 had really shocked her. 19 Ms. Reed stated that the Council could answer this concern 20 later. 21 Ms. Reed stated that she had attended a Planning 22 Commission meeting recently and stated that they needed to look 23 into the Planning Department, noting that they were going to 24 put a First Dollar store adjacent to Beauregard's on Jordan 25 Lane, right at an intersection. She stated that she lived 26 within 500 feet of this and that she had not received a notice 32 1 and no one had done a traffic study. She stated that 2 Julian Butler was the lawyer that came in with First Dollar, 3 noting that when they saw these big lawyers in the Planning 4 Department meeting, that it was "Yes, Yes, Yes." She stated 5 that no questions were asked about this. She stated that she 6 wanted a traffic count done on Jordan Lane there, as to how 7 many wrecks had been at that location, and stated that she 8 would like to bring it before the Council before First Dollar 9 would be put at that intersection. 10 Ms. Reed stated that Panoply was coming up the following 11 weekend and stated that she understood they were going to have 12 alcohol, beer, et cetera. She questioned why this would be at 13 Panoply, noting that it was a kids' program. She stated that 14 she certainly hoped this was not going to be allowed. 15 President Russell stated to Ms. Reed that the Drake Fire 16 Station was on the agenda and that the Council would discuss 17 that item so that she could get her answers. He continued that 18 the other fire station had not cost $84 million and that they 19 would get Ms. Reed the exact figure for that. 20 Mr. Jerry Burnet, 2405 Greenhill Drive, appeared before 21 the Council, stating that he had a quote for them: "Give me my 22 flowers while I yet live so that I can see the beauty they 23 bring." He stated that too often they waited until it was much 24 too late before giving credit where credit was due or saying to 25 someone that they were sorry when they knew they were wrong. 26 Mr. Burnet stated that the prior Friday he had attended 33 1 the celebration of Governor Bentley signing a bill to exonerate 2 the Scottsboro Boys, who had been wrongly convicted of an 3 80-year-old crime that everyone had known was false. He stated 4 that it certainly would have been great had those nine young 5 men been given a fair trial while they were alive. 6 Mr. Burnet stated that the prior day Congress had passed a 7 bill to honor the four girls who were killed in September 1963 8 at the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, 9 Alabama. 10 Mr. Burnet stated that he was thankful to have had the 11 opportunity on this date to witness the Council give 12 recognition to the Huntsville Housing Authority for doing such 13 an outstanding job at what they did while so many persons were 14 still alive. He stated that Mr. Lundy and his staff had been 15 recognized by HUD for some seven or eight years in a row for 16 being one of the top agencies in the nation but that locally 17 the only comments that had ever been heard in the community 18 were either criticisms or complaints of the Huntsville Housing 19 Authority. He thanked the Council for giving credit where 20 credit was due while persons were still alive. 21 President Russell advised Ms. Reed that the Public Safety 22 Complex was built in 2007, that it was for the Police and the 23 Fire Department, and that the cost was $5.7 million. 24 Mr. William Watson, 111 Walker Avenue, appeared before the 25 Council, stating that he was a retired Special Forces officer 26 and a retired police officer. He stated that he wanted to talk 34 1 to the persons who were protesting abortions about one 2 incident, just one. He stated that he at this time drove a 3 taxicab, noting that it kept him out of trouble. He stated 4 that one day approximately eight or nine years prior, he had 5 pulled into the Blount House parking lot to pick up a lady to 6 take her to Crestwood Hospital, where her son was in a coma. 7 Mr. Watson stated that when he had pulled into the 8 driveway, there were eight to ten protesters in the Blount 9 House parking lot and two women were going into the back door 10 of the abortion clinic. He stated that the protesters were on 11 Blount House property, screaming and yelling, calling them, 12 "Murderer," "Savage" "Heathen." 13 Mr. Watson stated that one particular man was in an Army 14 colonel uniform, noting that, as Councilman Olshefski would be 15 aware, this was against the UCMJ. He stated that this person 16 was standing there and when he had advised him he was 17 trespassing, that he had to leave, he had turned around and hit 18 him on the chest with his elbow. He stated that he had 19 promptly grabbed the man and thrown him out in the middle of 20 Madison Street. 21 Mr. Watson stated that the lady he was supposed to pick up 22 was going to see her son, noting that the son had died later in 23 the day. He stated that as he tried to get the lady out of the 24 Blount House, several women had come up to him and pushed him 25 and called him "Heathen" and "Savage." 26 Mr. Watson stated that he and his wife had raised three 35 1 beautiful daughters and that the thought of abortion had never 2 come up. He stated that all he was saying was what kind of 3 people were they turning into when they did not respect other 4 persons' rights. He stated that he was against abortion but 5 that persons had the right to believe what they wanted to 6 believe. He stated that when they acted like savages, they 7 were no better than the Westboro Baptist Church. He stated 8 that they had to do this in a calm, dignified manner, that 9 persons could protest all they wanted and he was with them 10 100 percent but they could not do it the wrong way. 11 Ms. Lynn Thompson, 638 County Road 362, Trinity, appeared 12 before the Council, stating that she had been going to the 13 sidewalk with her family for the last several years. She 14 displayed a picture which she stated was her four children. 15 She stated that they appreciated the privilege of being there 16 to minister to hopeless women and that they did it in a kind 17 and loving way, that they offered them hope, help, financial 18 support, medical assistance, whatever they needed to choose 19 life. She stated that she would pray for the Council and that 20 she hoped they would extend her the privilege of being out 21 there safely with her children. 22 Mr. Michael Thompson, 638 County Road 362, Trinity, 23 appeared before the Council, expressing appreciation to the 24 Administration and Council for permitting his group to speak at 25 this time and also expressing appreciation to the Huntsville 26 Police Department for watching over them and helping everyone 36 1 to be safe as they had been protesting over the years. He 2 stated that his family had been out there with their children 3 for 10 years or more. 4 Mr. Thompson stated that he would like to apologize to an 5 earlier speaker, stating that he had not been present at that 6 time and that was not the manner in which Christians should be 7 behaving and that he was sorry it had happened. 8 Mr. Thompson stated that his group had been present many 9 days when children had been saved. He stated that the children 10 they were trying to save that the parents were trying to abort 11 had different genes and DNA from the mothers and fathers, which 12 he stated made them an individual who had no one to speak for 13 them. He stated that they were being executed, murdered, 14 without any due process of law, without any condemnation of 15 anything they had done wrong but to be created in their 16 mother's womb. He stated that his group was trying to save 17 these babies because these babies might be the next good mayor 18 of Huntsville, the next City Councilperson, or the next 19 governor, or the next president of the United States. He 20 stated that if they died, they did not get a chance to do 21 anything but go down the drain. He stated that they were all 22 there as Christians who loved the Lord and loved one another 23 and that they were there to help these ladies choose something 24 other than death. 25 Ms. Carol Henderson, 181 Henderson Road, Priceville, 26 appeared before the Council, stating that her group had come 37 1 before the Council and had met with several of the Council 2 members, and that some of the replies that they had been 3 hearing was "We just want to be fair." She stated that, 4 therefore, she was bringing up the word "fair." 5 Ms. Henderson stated that according to the proposed 6 ordinance, minor events would be first come, first served. She 7 stated that the pro-abortion or pro-choice people who worked at 8 the abortion clinic provided services for the abortion clinic. 9 She stated that they also had prior notice, through the 10 abortion clinic, as to when the abortions would be done; 11 whereas, the pro-life advocates did not know when the abortions 12 were scheduled or were to be done. 13 Ms. Henderson stated that the pro-abortion people would 14 have the advantage of getting their foot on the sidewalk first 15 under first-come, first-served. She asked what would be fair 16 about that. She asked if it would not be a conflict of 17 interest. She continued that there was a group of people that 18 were over there on the private property, walking up and down 19 the driveway, up and down the sidewalk, doing what their 20 service to the abortion clinic was supposed to do: escorting 21 the women that came in for the health care/abortions. 22 Ms. Henderson stated that these persons were doing 23 everything to enable the abortion clinic to continue, that 24 nothing was being stopped. She stated that her group was not 25 out there stopping persons from walking into the clinic, that 26 they were not out there stopping them from doing the abortions. 27 38 1 She continued that they just wanted to be out there having an 2 opportunity to stand by the driveway and on the front sidewalk 3 to counsel the women, because, as many persons had said, they 4 were in a crisis, a lot of them were confused, and that a lot 5 of them were grieving their abortion after it happened, that 6 they knew that their baby in their womb had been murdered, had 7 been killed, and that this was a very hard thing for them to 8 deal with after the fact. 9 Ms. Henderson stated that at the moment the women were 10 confused, and that her group had to be out there when the 11 abortions were being done. She stated that they did not know 12 when the abortion clinic was going to do them, that they had to 13 go by and see if there was any action going on over there but 14 that the pro-abortion group knew ahead of time. She asked what 15 was fair about this. She stated that if these persons were 16 working for the abortion facility, why, when they had the 17 private property, the sidewalk going up and down and the 18 driveway, they should have the sidewalk also, other than to 19 push the pro-life people off and take away their opportunity 20 and their counseling and their attempts to try to help the 21 women and save the babies. She stated that they carried them 22 through, helping them in all their needs. 23 Mr. Dean Johnson, 1503 Speegle Drive, appeared before the 24 Council, expressing appreciation for the opportunity to come 25 before the Council at this time. He stated that on July 4, 26 1776, the Declaration of Independence stated, in part, "We have 39 1 been endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, 2 and among these are life..." He stated that if one went 3 forward approximately 200 years, to 1973, five unelected 4 justices of the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a woman had the 5 right to kill her baby in the womb, Roe v. Wade. He stated 6 that this was a bloody decision by five unelected justices. 7 Mr. Johnson stated that at this time his group was before 8 the City Council of Huntsville asking them to consider the 9 right guaranteed by the Constitution for free speech, to allow 10 the pro-life side of the issue to be heard. He stated that 11 other speakers had requested that the ordinance be considered 12 and urged that they do that, that they allow both sides to be 13 heard and to do what was fair, what was equitable. He stated 14 that, obviously, the issue of pro-life, pro-death was not going 15 to go away any time soon, that it was an issue that would have 16 to be dealt with, and that it should be fair and equitable. 17 Mr. Johnson stated that if they wanted to look at the 18 worst of abortions, they would have to look no further than the 19 Kermit Gosnell case in Philadelphia, where babies born alive 20 had had their throats slit after the abortions. He stated that 21 that hopefully did not happen in the city but stated that there 22 was still a life in the womb and that they needed to protect 23 life. He asked the Council to consider the pro-life side on 24 this matter and delay the vote until all sides could be heard. 25 Ms. Pamela Watters, 918 Sommerset Road, appeared before 26 the Council, stating that she had a handout for the Council 40 1 members. 2 Ms. Watters stated that she was the organizer of the 3 Alabama Women's Clinic Support Group and that she would be 4 speaking for this group at this time, in the interest of time. 5 She stated that this group had more than 150 members and that 6 it was made up solely of volunteers, that they were not 7 affiliated with any other organization, and they were not paid 8 employees of the clinic. 9 Ms. Watters stated that regardless of what had been 10 previously stated, they were not radical occupiers, that they 11 were citizens of Huntsville and neighboring communities that 12 believed a woman should have the right to see her physician, 13 for whatever reason, without being shamed and harassed. 14 Ms. Watters stated that she was not going to get into an 15 abortion discussion, that that was not what this was about. 16 She continued that abortion was a legal medical procedure in 17 this country. 18 Ms. Watters stated that her group's volunteers escorted 19 patients and staff into the clinic and that they also offered 20 to park their vehicles off site. She stated that this allowed 21 these persons to avoid the gauntlet of anti-abortion 22 protesters. 23 Ms. Watters stated that her group was in support of the 24 new ordinance and found it to be fair and equitable, whether it 25 was first-come, first-served or permitted on a rotating basis. 26 She stated that there were two sides to the driveway. She 41 1 continued that they were not trying to take away anyone's free 2 speech. 3 Ms. Watters stated that she did want to make it clear that 4 by Alabama law patients were counseled and also given all kinds 5 of information and booklets by the clinic. 6 Ms. Watters stated that she understood that James 7 Henderson had made a request for a no-cross zone and stated 8 that this would not work for her group, that it would not allow 9 them to escort patients safely into the clinic. She stated 10 that, as citizens, it was their legal right to walk on a public 11 sidewalk and escort the patients in. 12 Ms. Watters stated that on Wednesdays the average number 13 of anti-abortion protesters was six to eight and that on 14 Saturdays they had close to 50, although they had not had 50, 15 noting that her group had counted them for the past month or 16 so. She continued that this group stayed for an hour, and then 17 a small group stayed longer. 18 Ms. Watters stated that the pro-choice clinic volunteers 19 had no agreement, now or ever, with the anti-abortion 20 protesters, and that they did not agree with nor were they 21 happy with the current arrangement. 22 Ms. Watters stated that not once had the Huntsville Police 23 Department had to reprimand the clinic volunteers nor remind 24 them of the rules. She stated that they abided by them and 25 would abide by the Council's decision. She stated that she 26 found it outrageous that the anti-abortion protesters had 42 1 threatened to file a lawsuit if the new ordinance was passed, 2 an ordinance which simply allowed for equitable and fair use of 3 City property by all. 4 Ms. Watters thanked the Council for their time. 5 (Submission by Ms. Watters.) 6 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 7 was Huntsville Utilities Items. 8 President Russell moved for approval of Ordinance 9 No. 13-249, revising Ordinance No. 95-305, Section 26-632, to 10 allow water billing adjustments for undetected leaks to be 11 based upon the customer's average monthly usage, with usage 12 above the monthly average being billed at the lowest 13 residential water rate, which ordinance was introduced at the 14 April 11, 2013, Regular Council Meeting, as follows: 15 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-249) 16 Said motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling. 17 President Russell asked Mr. Bill Yell of Huntsville 18 Utilities for an explanation of the above ordinance. 19 Mr. Yell stated that this was a revision to the language 20 of an ordinance from 1995 that allowed for billing adjustments 21 for undetected water leaks. He stated that this would be where 22 a customer had a break in a water line that was not detected by 23 the water running but rather by getting a high bill. He stated 24 that this would allow Huntsville Utilities to charge this water 25 loss at the lowest rate they had, noting that what they would 26 do would be to look at the customer's past three-month average, 43 1 prior to the leak appearing, and they would get a regular bill 2 for that amount and everything over that would be charged at 3 the lowest rate they had. He stated that this was a 61-cent 4 reduction from the previous ordinance, so that it would lower 5 the amount that the customer would have to pay for the lost 6 water. 7 President Russell asked, hypothetically, if he were to 8 receive a water bill for $1,000, what he would do. 9 Mr. Yell stated that he should contact Huntsville 10 Utilities. He stated that if it was an obvious situation, 11 where one did not see a broken pipe in their yard, that 12 generally what a customer would need to do would be to get a 13 plumber to check and see where the leak might be, noting that 14 it could be in the line coming from the meter to the house, 15 under the house, or something such as that. He continued that 16 once it was repaired, the customer should send Huntsville 17 Utilities the invoice that it was done and then they would make 18 adjustments on the water bill. 19 President Russell asked if, also, the City would make 20 adjustments on the sewer charge. 21 Mr. Yell stated that the City would most likely make 22 adjustments to the sewer charge. 23 President Russell asked Mr. Joffrion whom a person would 24 contact concerning their sewer bill being correspondingly high 25 with the water bill. 26 Mr. Joffrion stated that they would contact City Water 44 1 Pollution Control. 2 President Russell asked Mr. Yell if one would walk out and 3 one's front yard was soaking wet, what one would do. 4 Mr. Yell stated that one would need to go ahead and get a 5 plumber and get that repaired. He stated that, in reality, one 6 would not under that circumstance have that much water gone. 7 He stated that the undetected ones were the ones that really 8 ran up the water usage because persons were not aware of a 9 leak. He stated that if one went out and one's front yard was 10 under water, it most likely had recently happened and one could 11 shut the water off and get that repaired quickly. 12 Councilman Kling asked Mr. Yell how what was being 13 proposed at this time compared to what was in place concerning 14 this matter. 15 Mr. Yell stated that it was really just cleaning up some 16 language after the rate changes that had been done the prior 17 year. He stated that under the old ordinance, persons were 18 billed at $1.89, he believed, and that under the new ordinance 19 it would be $1.28, so that they were dropping it sixty-some-odd 20 cents. 21 Councilman Showers asked if it was discovered that the 22 leak was not from the inlet to the homeowner's home, then who 23 would be responsible. 24 Mr. Yell stated that if it were on the Utilities' side 25 that, of course, Huntsville Utilities would repair that. He 26 stated that this was water that would have had to have gone 45 1 through the meter and up to the house. He stated that anything 2 before the meter, on the street side, would not be registered 3 and the customer would not get a bill for that because it would 4 not have been metered. 5 President Russell called for the vote on the above 6 ordinance, and the following vote resulted: 7 AYES: Kling, Showers, Russell 8 NAYS: None 9 ABSTAIN: Olshefski 10 ABSENT: Culver 11 President Russell stated that the ordinance had passed. 12 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 13 was Board Appointments to be Voted On. 14 Councilman Kling read and introduced a resolution to 15 appoint Billy Lennox to the Community Development Citizens 16 Advisory Council, for a term to expire April 28, 2016, as 17 follows: 18 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-294) 19 Councilman Kling moved for approval of the foregoing 20 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 21 Councilman Showers and was unanimously adopted by the Council 22 members present. 23 Councilman Showers read and introduced a resolution to 24 reappoint Charles Grainger to the Industrial Development Board 25 of the City of Huntsville, for a term to expire May 27, 2019, 26 as follows: 46 1 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-295) 2 Councilman Showers moved for approval of the foregoing 3 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 4 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 5 Councilman Kling read and introduced a resolution to 6 reappoint Barbara Buice to the Industrial Development Board of 7 the City of Huntsville, for a term to expire May 27, 2019, as 8 follows: 9 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-296) 10 Councilman Kling moved for approval of the foregoing 11 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 12 Councilman Showers and was unanimously adopted by the Council 13 members present. 14 Councilman Showers read and introduced a resolution to 15 reappoint W.F. Sanders to the Industrial Development Board of 16 the City of Huntsville, for a term to expire May 27, 2019, as 17 follows: 18 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-297) 19 Councilman Showers moved for approval of the foregoing 20 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 21 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 22 Councilman Showers read and introduced a resolution to 23 appoint Clarene Johnson to the Human Relations Commission of 24 the City of Huntsville, Alabama, as follows: 25 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-298) 26 Councilman Showers moved for approval of the foregoing 47 1 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 2 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 3 Councilman Showers asked what the procedure was when these 4 persons were appointed to the various boards, how these persons 5 were advised that they had been appointed and what would be 6 sent to them so that they would know the time of the meetings, 7 the location, et cetera. 8 President Russell stated that these persons would get a 9 letter from him, most likely within the next two or three days, 10 with all such information. 11 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 12 was Board Appointment Nominations. 13 President Russell nominated Robert L. Stagg for 14 reappointment to the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & 15 Visitors Bureau Board of Directors, for a term to expire 16 April 11, 2017. 17 President Russell nominated Ernest A. Young for 18 reappointment to the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & 19 Visitors Bureau Board of Directors, for a term to expire 20 April 11, 2016. 21 President Russell asked if there were any other 22 nominations. 23 There was no response. 24 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 25 was Approval of Expenditures. 26 Councilman Kling read and introduced a resolution 48 1 authorizing expenditures for payment, as follows: 2 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-299) 3 Councilman Kling moved for approval of the foregoing 4 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 5 Councilman Showers and was unanimously adopted by the Council 6 members present. 7 President Russell asked Councilman Kling if there was a 8 Finance Committee Report. 9 Councilman Kling replied in the negative. 10 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 11 was Communications from the Mayor. 12 Mayor Battle asked Mr. Randy Taylor, City Finance 13 Director, for an update concerning the mid-year review. 14 Mr. Taylor stated that the Council had discussed this at 15 the prior meeting of the Council and that he believed the 16 decision had been, at the preference of the Finance Committee, 17 to have this presentation at a Regular Council Meeting. He 18 stated that they were asking the Council to accept this 19 presentation at the May 23, 2013, Council meeting. 20 President Russell stated that that would be fine with the 21 Council. 22 Councilman Kling stated that his thinking concerning this 23 matter had been that if this presentation were done at a 24 Regular Council Meeting, it would provide an opportunity for 25 more of the public, through television, to have an update on 26 where the City was on finances. He stated that he felt this 49 1 would be more open, versus a work session of the Council. 2 Mayor Battle stated that the annual Mayor's Bike Ride 3 would take place on May 4 at 10 a.m., commencing in front of 4 the Municipal Building. He invited persons to attend. 5 Mayor Battle noted that he had on a button that said 6 "No Place to Hate," noting that this was a campaign started by 7 the Huntsville City Schools and supported by the Human 8 Relations Commission of the City of Huntsville, talking about 9 bullying, about being in school and learning how to get along. 10 He stated that there were 27 City of Huntsville schools that 11 had taken pledges as to "No Place to Hate" and 27 groups that 12 were formed. He continued that this just said to be nice to 13 each other, noting that this was a great campaign that was 14 going on. He stated that the kickoff of this had been earlier 15 in the day and that they had planted a tree in front of the 16 Annie Mertz Center in response to this. He stated that there 17 were approximately 200 young people in attendance, with all of 18 them having T-shirts on saying "No Place to Hate." He stated 19 that this was a very good start to this program. 20 Mayor Battle stated that on the prior Saturday they had 21 said goodbye to Councilwoman Sandra Moon, noting that it was a 22 very moving celebration of her life. He stated that this was 23 one of those times when persons had had to say goodbye to 24 someone who was very special to them and very special to the 25 city, someone who had made a big difference in the city. He 26 stated that everyone was keeping the entire family in their 50 1 thoughts and prayers. 2 Mayor Battle announced the following appointments: 3 Dr. Leslie Pollard to the Human Relations Commission to 4 fill an unexpired term to expire on September 22, 2016. 5 Ms. Brenda King to the Historic Preservation Commission, 6 for a term to expire May 3, 2019. He stated that they had 7 asked each of the downtown historic areas to give them three 8 names to appoint from and that they had given them three 9 wonderful people who would work very well on this Commission. 10 He stated that Ms. King had been head of Historic Preservation 11 in Scottsboro and was a very good choice for this position. 12 Mr. Randy Schrimsher to the Von Braun Center Board of 13 Control, to fill an unexpired term to expire August 27, 2015. 14 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 15 was Communications from Council Members. 16 Councilman Olshefski stated that he often thought to 17 himself concerning how many persons "really got it" about the 18 country. He stated that he believed, however, that everyone 19 who had appeared before the Council at this meeting actually 20 got it because what the country was all about was the ability 21 to have opposing views and discuss them in a forum and have to 22 listen. He stated that the Council members might view the 23 matter one way or the other but the bottom line was that they 24 were supposed to listen with an open mind and go through all 25 the details. 26 Councilman Olshefski urged persons who had not seen the 51 1 YouTube of the Boston Bruins first game after what had happened 2 in Boston to watch it, noting that they would see a rendition 3 of the national anthem which was so inspiring because the 4 audience had all joined in, making a person want to be an 5 American. He stated that it was sad that there had to be an 6 event such as this to make persons want to be an American 7 again. He continued that he wanted to be an American every day 8 when he got up. 9 Councilman Olshefski stated that he also spent a lot of 10 time wondering about America's youth but noted that he had 11 recently been on a board concerning the recommendation of an 12 Eagle Scout for Troop 440 and that he had been very pleased to 13 see that they still had it. 14 Councilman Olshefski stated that persons had agreed or 15 disagreed with Mr. Lundy concerning various matters but stated 16 that he had had the privilege of seeing Gateway Place and was 17 very impressed with it. He stated that the reason he had 18 gotten to go to Gateway Place was because the mother-in-law of 19 her friend Hilary Gould lived there. He stated that he liked 20 that they were taking care of older persons, noting that money 21 was not going as far as it used to and that these persons had 22 to be helped. 23 Councilman Olshefski stated to Mr. Jerry Burnet that he 24 appreciated the comments he had made, noting that they had not 25 gone unnoticed, as well as it had not gone unnoticed that 26 something had gone wrong with America's young. He stated that 52 1 it had not been fixed earlier and that he was sorry about this 2 and that he appreciated Mr. Burnet recognizing it. 3 Councilman Kling stated that he would pass along 4 compliments to Chief Morris of the Police Department, noting 5 that the residents of the Lowe Mill neighborhood had told him 6 there had been some increased police patrols in that area and 7 that this was very much appreciated, that there had been a lot 8 of good things that had taken place as a result of the 9 visibility of the Police Department in the area. 10 Councilman Showers stated that there would be the second 11 Black Rodeo in the city on the following weekend, April 26 and 12 April 27, at Alabama A&M on Moores Mill Road. He stated that 13 there had been a sell-out of this event the prior year on both 14 nights and that there would be various activities and 15 encouraged everyone to attend. 16 Councilman Showers stated that there was a movie series 17 that was being shown across the country and that he had had the 18 opportunity to see Jackie Robinson's 42, with his two 19 grandsons. He stated that this was certainly a moving 20 experience, stating that it had reminded him of coming from 21 Baldwin County to Madison County, and urged everyone to attend. 22 Councilman Showers stated that there had been an event at 23 Alabama A&M University, that Mrs. Hugine, the wife of the 24 president, Dr. Andrew Hugine, had held the observance and 25 ribbon-cutting honoring the women who were the wives of the 26 past presidents of the University. He stated that this event 53 1 was well attended and he had been pleased to be able to be 2 present to honor the past wives of the past presidents, as well 3 as the current president's wife, Mrs. Hugine. 4 President Russell stated that Panoply would be held on the 5 upcoming weekend and urged persons to attend, noting that it 6 was a great event in the Downtown Huntsville/Big Spring Park 7 area. 8 President Russell stated that on the following Thursday, 9 May 2, there would be a work session of the Council, for 10 discussion of a proposed liquor and lodging tax increase and 11 the high air fare tickets at Huntsville International Airport. 12 He stated that if there were any other items any Council member 13 would like to have added to this session, to please notify him 14 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. 15 Councilman Showers stated that under 13, Unfinished 16 Business Items for Action, item b, there was an ordinance 17 having to do with longevity pay. He stated that he would ask 18 that this not be considered at this meeting, stating that he 19 would like to give the Finance Committee, along with the 20 Finance Director, and the Administration an opportunity to 21 analyze the numbers. He continued that hopefully on the night 22 of the work session, they would be able to give the Council a 23 report on the impact of this proposal. 24 President Russell stated that they would take that matter 25 up later in the agenda. 26 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 54 1 was Unfinished Business Items for Action. 2 President Russell moved for approval of Ordinance 3 No. 13-252, concerning the repeal of Ordinance No. 09-231, 4 adopted April 23, 2009, which amended the Zoning Ordinance of 5 the City of Huntsville, which ordinance No. 13-252 was 6 introduced April 11, 2013, Regular Council Meeting, as follows: 7 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-252) 8 Said motion was duly seconded by Councilman Showers. 9 President Russell asked Ms. Marie Bostick, Manager of 10 Planning Administration, for an explanation of the above 11 ordinance. 12 Ms. Bostick stated that this was the repeal of a zoning 13 action that had been taken in 2009 on a subdivision located in 14 the northwest part of the county, off Old Railroad Bed Road. 15 She stated that during this process, the zoning was to go from 16 Residence 1-B to Residence 2 and that the developer had offered 17 restrictions to the Planning Commission that would have limited 18 the density on the development, based on the road network in 19 the area, to the Residence 1-B density requirements. She 20 stated that, unfortunately, the subdivision had not moved 21 forward and the developer no longer had an interest in the 22 property, and that the plat restrictions were never offered to 23 the Planning Commission and approved and recorded. She stated 24 that, therefore, the rezoning repeal was being requested so 25 that the property would go back to the Residence 1-B status so 26 that the density could not be increased to the Residence 2 55 1 status, which she noted would, in essence, triple the proposed 2 density on the site. 3 President Russell called for the vote on the above 4 ordinance, and it was unanimously adopted by the Council 5 members present. 6 Councilman Showers moved for approval of Ordinance 7 No. 13-254, amending Subsection 8.19 of the City of Huntsville 8 Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual, adopted by Ordinance 9 No. 04-315, regarding Longevity Pay benefits, which ordinance 10 No. 13-254 was introduced at the April 11, 2013, Regular 11 Council Meeting. 12 Said motion was duly seconded by President Russell. 13 Councilman Showers stated that he would like to have a 14 discussion of the above ordinance added to the work session 15 agenda on May 2, so that the Administration, the Finance 16 Director, and the Finance Committee could give them an analysis 17 of what the impact of this would be to the City's current 18 stability. 19 President Russell stated that the item would be added to 20 the work session on May 2. 21 President Russell moved to table consideration of 22 Ordinance No. 13-254, amending Subsection 8.19 of the City Of 23 Huntsville Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual, adopted by 24 Ordinance No. 04-315, regarding Longevity Pay Benefits. 25 Said motion was duly seconded by Councilman Showers. 26 President Russell called for the vote on the above motion, 56 1 and it was unanimously approved by the Council members present. 2 Mayor Battle stated that Mr. Taylor would not be present 3 for the work session on May 2 and also would not be present at 4 the May 9 Regular meeting of the Council, so that it would be 5 the May 22 Regular Meeting of the Council before this matter 6 could be discussed. 7 President Russell moved for approval of Ordinance 8 No. 13-189, Substitute A, amending Chapter 23, Article VI, of 9 the Code of Ordinances, concerning organized events, which 10 ordinance was introduced at the March 14, 2013, Regular Council 11 Meeting and postponed at the March 28, 2013, Regular Council 12 Meeting until this meeting. 13 Said motion was duly seconded by Councilman Showers. 14 Councilman Kling stated that he would not be making a 15 motion concerning this at this time because he believed there 16 were questions and discussion of the above matter but stated 17 that since Councilman Culver was not present at the meeting and 18 this was a large, encompassing ordinance, that after Council 19 had had discussion of this matter, he would like to have the 20 item postponed until the next regular Council meeting where all 21 five Council members would be present. He stated that he would 22 make that motion at the appropriate time. 23 Councilman Kling stated that there had been much 24 discussion concerning one aspect of the above ordinance, from 25 two competing sides. He stated to Mr. Joffrion that there was 26 a situation where they had two competing organizations, 57 1 basically being very outspoken about one area of real estate. 2 He asked if this was the only such situation they had that 3 Mr. Joffrion was aware of that would come under this ordinance 4 or if there had been any other similar, competing 5 demonstrations that had come up in the past. 6 Mr. Joffrion stated that this was the only one he was 7 aware of that they had currently. He stated that this was 8 addressed by a very small part of the proposed ordinance 9 changes. 10 Mr. Joffrion stated that since Substitute A had been 11 offered and there had been changes that had been incorporated 12 into the Substitute A version, based upon comments that had 13 been received from the public, from persons representing both 14 of the two groups who protested in front of the Women's Clinic 15 and from Council members, if they would like to hear brief 16 comments concerning what changes had been made. 17 President Russell replied in the affirmative. 18 Mr. Joffrion asked Ms. Claudia Anderson of the Legal 19 Department if she would address these changes. 20 Ms. Anderson appeared before the Council, noting that some 21 of the changes had been discussed at the meeting about this 22 topic and that she would not go over those issues. 23 Ms. Anderson stated that there were some general 24 formatting changes that were inconsequential and there were 25 also some clarifying changes that did not change the substance, 26 that it was just for clarification, and that she would not go 58 1 over those. 2 Ms. Anderson stated that Substitute A clarified that when 3 "Capacity Limit" was defined, they were talking about 4 assemblies and not processions. 5 Ms. Anderson stated that they had already talked about the 6 extended events, noting that that was a change to accommodate 7 rather lengthy events that would take up time. She stated that 8 they had specifically carved out an area for that and that she 9 would get into a few of the changes concerning that which she 10 believed would help the situations that had been presented 11 earlier in the meeting. 12 Ms. Anderson stated that concerning General Conditions, 13 Section 23-203, Subsection 15, there had been comments about 14 gas masks by two citizens and stated that a clarification had 15 been made for their benefit: "... gas masks or use other 16 devices that are designed, used, or intended to be used..." 17 She stated that there was just a clarification there. She 18 continued that there had been a question about cell phones but 19 that it was either gas masks or items or devices intended to 20 interfere. 21 Ms. Anderson stated that she had talked about the sidewalk 22 events at the prior meeting and that they had set a separation 23 of 10 feet, where it had originally been 15 feet. She stated 24 that since they had discussed this, they had added the concept 25 of "Generally," noting that they were not attempting to do a 26 rigid, inflexible distance separation but just a general idea, 59 1 for flexibility. She stated that just generally, sidewalk 2 events would remain 10 feet apart. She stated that she 3 believed this was about the span of a driveway. She stated 4 that this was simply to let each of the events be out there in 5 an orderly fashion. 6 Ms. Anderson stated that the cancellation policy was one 7 of the most significant changes that had been made. She stated 8 that they had had an advance notice of a cancellation or delay 9 for a minor event that was permitted. She stated that for a 10 minor event, persons could either go out without a permit and 11 that it would be first-come, first-served or they could apply, 12 if they did not want confrontation on the street, noting that 13 this was a concern that had been raised. She stated that 14 persons could apply for a permit ahead of time. She continued 15 that the persons would have two hours to show up and if they 16 did not show up in that two-hour period, the permit would be 17 cancelled for that day. She stated that these persons could 18 come out later that day as a minor event, that they would just 19 lose their priority of use status that the permit had afforded. 20 Ms. Anderson stated that Enhanced Events and Basic Events 21 would have to give advance notice, and that the change was that 22 if persons did not show up within two hours of the start time 23 for the event, the permit would be cancelled, but that it could 24 be reinstated if they called them within 20 hours prior to the 25 next scheduled day for the event if it was a multiple-day 26 event. She stated that they would not have to cancel the 60 1 entire event if they just called and let them know that it was 2 not cancelled. She stated that she believed this was an 3 important change that had been made. 4 Ms. Anderson stated that they had talked about the 5 Extended Event, noting that an Extended Event was if persons 6 had a six-month period and had more than 20 days, interrupted 7 or not, during that six-month period when they wanted to have 8 an event and use public space. She continued that they would 9 have six months ahead of time to apply, not the typical year. 10 She stated that this was a little later start date than others 11 would have. 12 Ms. Anderson stated that, also, when it was an Extended 13 Event, if there was another event that wanted to use that 14 preferred location, then the event administrator could 15 apportion it, either by time or by space, whatever would be 16 appropriate, among the events that wanted to use that space. 17 Ms. Anderson stated that they had taken away from the 18 Extended Event the blanket application prohibition, where one 19 could not sign a blanket application. She stated that they had 20 just taken that out. 21 Ms. Anderson stated that these were pretty much the 22 changes to be noted for Substitute A. 23 Councilman Kling stated that the Council had heard a lot 24 of adversarial comments from one group to another. He stated 25 that like Councilman Olshefski had said, this was a country 26 that they were proud of and one where they could agree to 61 1 disagree and that they were supposed to be adults about these 2 things. He stated that he had met with different individuals 3 and had heard stories about harassments that had taken place. 4 He continued that he was aware that he was dealing with this 5 specific situation but noted that it should apply to the entire 6 ordinance. He stated that these were things like incense, 7 smoke being blown on persons, water, or whatever, being sprayed 8 on other people. He stated that he was not talking about 9 taking one side, that he was just talking about some sort of a 10 fairness, where no one on one side should be allowed to harass 11 or yell at or interrupt others when they were doing their 12 thing. He stated that it was a crazy world and that when 13 someone was throwing something on someone, that person would 14 not know what it was. He stated that he would like to see 15 something put in the ordinance that specified that one side 16 could not harass the other side, that everyone had their 17 rights, and that if they were doing counseling, they would be 18 allowed to counsel, and no yelling or screaming at them while 19 they were doing that. 20 Councilman Kling stated that he believed the Council had 21 heard situations where people on both sides had claimed that 22 there had been harassment from the other side. He stated that 23 he would just like to see if they could do something to lay it 24 out that this would not be tolerated, that this was Huntsville, 25 Alabama, that they supported free speech, they supported 26 independent opinions on issues. He continued that they just 62 1 needed a separation. He stated that he believed this should be 2 spelled out very strongly in whatever ordinance or whatever 3 action the Council came up with concerning this matter. 4 Councilman Olshefski stated that pro-choice, pro-life he 5 was leaving that alone at this time. He stated that he was 6 about pro public safety. He stated that he had walked the 7 subject block earlier in the day, that he had stood on the 8 site, that he had seen how big the sidewalks were, that he had 9 seen how much room there was on the private property and how 10 much room was on the road. He continued that he had seen a 11 tree that blocked the traffic as it would be coming down, that 12 he had seen how hard it was to drive into the subject location 13 and back out of there, with safety issues all across the map. 14 He stated that he had learned that half of the sidewalk at the 15 subject location was for people to walk through and the other 16 half of the sidewalk could be for those that were doing the 17 protesting, or prayer, or whatever. 18 Councilman Olshefski stated that until he had walked this 19 area, he had not felt it but had only heard the people who had 20 spoken. He stated that he was not there on a Wednesday or a 21 Saturday, that that would be next for him. 22 Councilman Olshefski stated that what he had seen at the 23 location was a nightmare. He stated that he was at the 24 location with the Police Chief and the Lieutenant and with 25 Mayor Battle and Rex Reynolds. He stated that all he had asked 26 was that someone go to the location with him to show him what 63 1 the real deal was, what was really happening. He stated that 2 when he had been at the location, he had seen all of it, that 3 he had seen the lines on the sidewalk, where one could not go 4 over. He stated that he had also learned a lot about 5 easements. 6 Councilman Olshefski stated that the point he was making 7 concerning this was that to him this was about pro public 8 safety on that corner. He stated that he knew Rev. Henderson, 9 that he had known him for eight years, and that he could just 10 not believe in his heart that he was going to hurt anyone, 11 physically hurt anyone. He stated that, however, there were 12 other persons out there, noting that he was not saying that 13 this was anyone who was present in the chambers at this time, 14 but that there were other bad people out there who liked to 15 hurt people. He stated that these persons could come from 16 anywhere, noting that everyone had seen the stuff in the press 17 that was crazy. 18 Councilman Olshefski reiterated that to him this was about 19 public safety. He stated that the entire ordinance under 20 discussion was helping them a lot with public safety. He 21 stated that he was speaking about a runner who could not run on 22 the sidewalk, who had to run in the road. He stated that that 23 was just one example. 24 Councilman Olshefski stated that he had heard "Major 25 Event," "Minor Event," "Extended Event," and at this time 26 "Enhanced Event" and that he was confused about this. He 64 1 stated that every time he read this ordinance or tried to 2 understand it, he felt that something was different. He 3 continued that he understood they were making changes. He 4 asked if "Enhanced Event" was a new one at this time. 5 Ms. Anderson replied in the negative, stating that 6 Enhanced Events were basically the events that were more 7 complicated, that more logistical resources would be brought to 8 bear, that they had enhancements such as stages. 9 Councilman Olshefski asked if Panoply would be an Enhanced 10 Event. 11 Ms. Anderson replied in the affirmative. She continued 12 that Big Spring Jam was an Enhanced Event. 13 Councilman Olshefski asked for the definition of an 14 "Extended Event." 15 Ms. Anderson stated that this was an event that would 16 happen on more than 20 days, with or without interruption, over 17 a six-month period. 18 Councilman Olshefski asked if the ordinance were passed as 19 it was at this time and they had persons that wanted a 20 particular piece of the sidewalk for six months, if that would 21 be an Extended Event. 22 Ms. Anderson replied in the affirmative. 23 Councilman Olshefski stated that Ms. Anderson was saying 24 "more than 20 days" but noted that six months was 180 days. 25 Ms. Anderson stated that it was more than 20 days within 26 that given six-month period. 65 1 Councilman Olshefski asked if Rev. Henderson's group were 2 to turn in a requirement for six months, that would be 3 considered an Extended Event. 4 Ms. Anderson replied in the affirmative. 5 Councilman Olshefski asked for the explanation of a "Minor 6 Event." 7 Ms. Anderson stated that if it was in a park, it would be 8 300 participants, but if there was a lower capacity limit, it 9 would be the lower capacity limit. She continued that if it 10 was on the sidewalk and was an assembly, it would be 50 11 participants; and if it was on the sidewalk and was a 12 procession, it would be 100 participants. She stated that if 13 it was on a street, it would be 25 vehicles. She continued 14 that all of these had to be consistent with the dedicated use, 15 so that if persons were on the road, they would have to follow 16 the rules of the road, and if they were on the sidewalk, they 17 would have to follow the rules of the road with the sidewalk as 18 it related to pedestrians. 19 Councilman Olshefski asked for the definition of a "Major 20 Event." 21 Ms. Anderson stated that there was no Major Event. 22 Councilman Olshefski asked Chief Morris to come to the 23 microphone. 24 Councilman Olshefski stated that he was interested in 25 Chief Morris's opinion of this ordinance and how it would help 26 with public safety, with the re-write as it was at this time 66 1 versus the original ordinance. 2 Chief Morris stated that the new ordinance allowed his 3 department to have a little more input and a little more 4 control over events. He stated that the way the ordinance was 5 at this time, once the event permit was issued, it was issued, 6 and if someone wanted to do something on that space, it would 7 already be taken, and the permit would have to be denied. He 8 stated that with the new ordinance, even if the permit was 9 issued, if someone else applied for a permit, wanting to do an 10 event in the same space, he would have the opportunity to 11 modify the original permit and accommodate both requests. He 12 continued that he would also have the authority to terminate a 13 permit. 14 Chief Morris stated that this gave the event administrator 15 more control over the events, so that once the permit was 16 signed, they would not be locked in, that it would be happening 17 no matter what, but that he could take into account other 18 considerations to modify a permit or end it. He stated that if 19 there were two persons that wanted the same space, this would 20 give him the opportunity to examine it and come to what he 21 believed would be the best solution for everyone. He stated 22 that everyone would not get what they wanted, but that at least 23 both parties would get something. 24 Mayor Battle stated that he would like to address this 25 matter to the Council and to the audience. He stated that they 26 had commenced working on this ordinance four years prior, that 67 1 they had sat down at the table and started talking about the 2 ordinance and what it would do. He stated that they had done 3 this because they had a number of applications and the demand 4 on City resources had increased. 5 Mayor Battle stated that their primary objective out of 6 this was to ensure public safety for the hundreds of community 7 events that took place each year. He stated that public safety 8 was important to them, that that was their job, that it was 9 Chief Morris's job as police chief. 10 Mayor Battle stated that at this time this had come down 11 to a conflict between Pro-Choice and Pro-Life. He stated that 12 they had seen this at the Council meeting two weeks prior and 13 they had seen it at this meeting, and that it was into a 14 conflict position. He stated that the police force was stuck 15 in the middle of this conflict, and that they had been given 16 the charge to make sure that there was safety at events. 17 Mayor Battle stated that this portion of the ordinance had 18 not been proposed by the Legal Department nor by the City 19 Council but by the Huntsville Police Department, which he noted 20 had the charge to provide safety. He stated that if they were 21 given the responsibility of providing safety, they had to give 22 them the authority to provide such safety. He stated that he 23 was not worried about what either group would do in this matter 24 but that he was worried about someone coming into the city and 25 there being an incident that would actually be something bad, 26 that something would happen when the emotions went to that 68 1 degree. He stated that the police force had been stuck in the 2 middle of this and they had been attempting to work to the best 3 of their ability, to the point of even putting resources at the 4 location to make sure that things were done in the right way. 5 Mayor Battle stated that Ms. Thompson had talked about her 6 children and her husband coming to this location and stated 7 that they wanted to make sure that they did this safely. He 8 continued that that was what they were trying to do. He stated 9 that Chief Morris was the Event Administrator, that the Police 10 Chief was the Event Administrator, and that he had to work 11 between both sides, to make sure that everyone was equally 12 represented and that they kept both sides separated because it 13 would not be a good event when people got together and there 14 were highly charged emotions. 15 Mayor Battle stated that the Police Department had 16 recommended the changes in this ordinance so that they could 17 have the highest level of public safety for every organized 18 event, whether it would be a Christmas parade or a sidewalk 19 protest. He stated that it was their job, as the City of 20 Huntsville, to provide the citizens and police officers with a 21 framework that would allow for public assembly without posing a 22 hazard to public safety. He stated that he certainly hoped 23 that persons realized this. He continued that they were not 24 attempting to limit anyone's rights, that they were not trying 25 to stop anyone's rights, but that his job was to make sure that 26 there was public safety. 69 1 Mayor Battle stated that when his police force said they 2 were having a hard time managing this on a day-to-day basis, 3 then they had to listen to them. He stated that, 4 unfortunately, the Police Chief and the Lieutenant were the 5 ones who had been stuck in the middle of this situation, in 6 trying to make sure they could have public safety at these 7 events and that they did not have anything that would be out of 8 hand, that would put a blight on the city of Huntsville. 9 Mayor Battle stated that he appreciated everyone, with 10 their strong beliefs, and that he hoped that everyone would 11 keep their strong beliefs, but stated that they had to make 12 sure they had an ordinance that provided for public safety and 13 provided that Ms. Thompson's children were safe and everyone 14 else was safe during this process. He stated that he certainly 15 hoped that everyone understood where they were coming from on 16 this matter. 17 President Russell asked Ms. Anderson why gas masks 18 continued to be brought up, noting that he had never seen 19 anyone wear a gas mask. He asked if it was illegal to wear a 20 gas mask in public or why this kept being brought up in the 21 ordinance. 22 Ms. Anderson stated that it was a public safety item, in 23 case they ever had an event that would involve the need to 24 control a crowd. She stated that she believed this had 25 happened in other jurisdictions and that other jurisdictions 26 had included this in their ordinances. 70 1 President Russell asked if it was just that one could not 2 wear a gas mask when one was protesting. He stated that 3 perhaps Chief Morris could answer this. 4 Chief Morris stated that a gas mask was an example of an 5 item that would be used. He stated that there were many other 6 items that people might use in order to defeat the measures of 7 the police to control the crowd or disburse the event if they 8 needed to. 9 President Russell asked if it were to keep persons from 10 wearing gas masks in case the police needed to use tear gas to 11 control an event. 12 Chief Morris stated that that would be in reference to the 13 gas masks. 14 President Russell stated to Ms. Anderson that 15 Rev. Henderson had sent the Council a proposed amendment to the 16 ordinance several days prior and that it had been forwarded to 17 the Legal Department. He asked if Ms. Anderson would briefly 18 go over this and advise the Council as to what she saw, good 19 and bad, in the proposal. 20 Ms. Anderson stated that the proposed changes 21 Rev. Henderson had suggested was something to create a 22 protest/counter-protest event, which she noted would be another 23 type of event, an Extended Event, a Counter-Protest Event, and 24 that it was based on differences. She stated that there would 25 be a content issue, that with that type event, they would have 26 to examine each side. She stated that it would be based on 71 1 differences in religious, moral, or political convictions. She 2 stated that they would be creating, in her opinion, a content 3 distinction, which she noted required a heightened 4 Constitutional standard and would be extremely problematic from 5 that standpoint. 6 Ms. Anderson stated that the comment she would have 7 concerning this was that what they were attempting to do in 8 creating this type of event was to say that if they had this 9 type of event, where there would be opposing sides, to allot 10 space. She stated that that was what they were doing in the 11 ordinance by Extended Events. She continued that it did not 12 matter what type of event it was, whether it was a protest or a 13 demonstration or two garden clubs that wanted to come out, with 14 one wanting to inhabit a particular space for an extended time 15 and another one wanted to come out also. She stated that they 16 were just saying that if someone locked down a space for a 17 significant period of time, they wanted to be able to allocate 18 that space among those that wanted to have the location. She 19 stated that it was really not a protest versus counter-protest 20 distinction. 21 Ms. Anderson stated that, also, what Rev. Henderson had 22 done was to say in order to assure public safety, if there was 23 a counter-protest event, there had to be a permit. She stated 24 that they were imposing a requirement on themselves that they 25 would not ordinarily have. She stated that if it was a 26 Minor Event, which she was noted was based on size, one could 72 1 go out there or one could apply for a permit. She continued 2 that this was well accommodated within what they already had in 3 the ordinance. 4 Ms. Anderson stated that she had already talked about the 5 space being assigned. She continued that Rev. Henderson's 6 proposal talked about potential confrontation, getting on the 7 site and having immediate confrontation. She stated that one 8 did not have to do that for a Minor Event, that one could apply 9 ahead. She stated that one could have a first-come, 10 first-served ahead of time, and then if it was an Extended 11 Event, it was an allocation of the space. 12 Ms. Anderson stated that Rev. Henderson also wanted to 13 base the assignment of space on past participation. She stated 14 that she did not know that this would be relevant, past 15 participation and the ability to have a certain space. 16 Ms. Anderson stated that the last item she would note was 17 that Rev. Henderson wanted to apply on a monthly basis. She 18 stated that they had added another class, or sub-class, of 19 events that would have to apply on a monthly basis. She stated 20 that for a Minor Event, if one wanted to apply for a permit, it 21 was 10 days ahead, or up to six months ahead if it was an 22 Extended Event. She continued that if it was a Basic Event, 23 20 days ahead, and an Enhanced Event, 30 days ahead. She 24 stated that this was based on the perceived impact, not the 25 nature of the event. 26 President Russell asked Chief Morris if, hypothetically, 73 1 Group A wanted a corner and Group B wanted the same corner, 2 what he would do. 3 Chief Morris stated that there had to be at least two 4 corners. 5 President Russell asked if in this situation, they had two 6 corners and each group wanted both corners, what 7 Chief Morris would do. He asked if he could split them up, he 8 would split them up. 9 Chief Morris stated that he would split them up, and then 10 he would switch them around. He stated that if it went on six 11 months, that for six months one would get one corner and the 12 other side would get a corner, and that in six months, it would 13 be switched. 14 President Russell stated that to go six months and then 15 switch them up appeared to be pretty fair to him. 16 Chief Morris stated that they would just be as fair as 17 they could, that that was all they could do. 18 Chief Morris stated that with the other things that were 19 in the ordinance, if it became necessary to further address the 20 conduct at the location, it would give his department an avenue 21 to do that also. 22 President Russell stated that he and Councilman Olshefski 23 had attended the Police Citizens Advisory Council meeting and 24 they had talked about this ordinance and this group had studied 25 it and had their own special meeting and that they had come 26 back to them that they were wholeheartedly in favor of the 74 1 ordinance. He stated that this was a group of citizens that 2 had been appointed from all over the city and that they worked 3 with the Police Department. He stated that he felt the Council 4 should consider this when they voted on this matter, that 5 citizens had looked at this and were going to support the 6 Police Department on this. 7 President Russell asked if there was any further 8 discussion of this matter prior to it being postponed. 9 There was no response. 10 Councilman Kling moved to postpone consideration of 11 Ordinance No. 13-189, Substitute A, to the next regular Council 12 meeting when all five members of the Council would be present. 13 Mr. Joffrion stated that any motion to postpone a matter 14 had to be to a date certain. 15 Councilman Kling moved to table consideration of Ordinance 16 No. 13-189, Substitute A, amending Chapter 23, Article VI, of 17 the Code of Ordinances, concerning organized events, which 18 Ordinance No. 13-189 was introduced at the March 14, 2013, 19 Regular Council Meeting, and postponed at the March 28, 2013, 20 Regular Council Meeting until this meeting. 21 Said motion was duly seconded by Councilman Showers. 22 President Russell called for the vote on the above motion, 23 and it was unanimously approved by the Council members present. 24 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 25 was New Business Items for Introduction. 26 President Russell read and introduced Ordinance 75 1 No. 13-300, annexing land lying west of U.S. Highway 431 South 2 and on the north side of Deaton Road. 3 President Russell stated that there would be a five-minute 4 recess. 5 (President Russell reconvened the meeting.) 6 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 7 was New Business Items for Consideration or Action. 8 President Russell moved for approval of a request for 9 authorization to fill Safety Dispatcher vacancies, which motion 10 was duly seconded by Councilman Kling, and was unanimously 11 approved by the Council members present. 12 President Russell read and introduced an ordinance 13 declaring property as surplus, authorizing the donation of said 14 property to Calhoun Community College, as follows: 15 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-301) 16 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 17 ordinance, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 18 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 19 President Russell read and introduced an ordinance 20 declaring property as surplus, authorizing the donation of said 21 property to the City of New Hope, Alabama, as follows: 22 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-302) 23 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 24 ordinance, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 25 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 26 President Russell read and introduced an ordinance 76 1 declaring property as surplus, authorizing the donation of said 2 property to the City of Anderson, Alabama, as follows: 3 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-303) 4 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 5 ordinance, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 6 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 7 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 8 authorizing the City Attorney to settle the worker's 9 compensation claim of Larry Douglas, Civil Case Number 10 CV-2011-729, as follows: 11 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-304) 12 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 13 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 14 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 15 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 16 authorizing the City Attorney to settle the claim of 17 Tyler Bright (Claim FY11-110), as follows: 18 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-305) 19 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 20 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 21 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 22 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 23 authorizing the City Attorney to seek a forfeiture of the 24 surety bond issued by Western Surety Company, as follows: 25 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-306) 26 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 77 1 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 2 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 3 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 4 authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Ground Lessor's Estoppel 5 Agreement between the City of Huntsville and Propst Broadway, 6 LLC, as follows: 7 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-307) 8 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 9 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 10 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 11 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 12 authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Lessor's Estoppel 13 Agreement between the City of Huntsville and Propst Broadway, 14 LLC, as follows: 15 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-308) 16 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 17 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 18 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 19 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 20 authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Ratification Agreement 21 between the City of Huntsville and 305 Church St. SW Holdings, 22 LLC, as follows: 23 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-309) 24 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 25 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 26 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 78 1 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 2 authorizing the Clerk-Treasurer to invoke Southpoint Bank 3 Letter of Credit No. 95002507 for Nature's Landing at the 4 Reserve Phase 3 Subdivision, as follows: 5 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-310) 6 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 7 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 8 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 9 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 10 authorizing the Clerk-Treasurer to invoke Cadence Bank Letter 11 of Credit No. 2022 for The Cottages at Indian Lake Subdivision, 12 as follows: 13 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-311) 14 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 15 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 16 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 17 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 18 authorizing the Mayor to enter an agreement between the City of 19 Huntsville and Hodnett Hurst Engineers, Inc., for Engineering 20 Services, as follows: 21 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-312) 22 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 23 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 24 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 25 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 26 authorizing the Mayor to execute a Subordination Agreement 79 1 between the City of Huntsville and Amerigroup Mortgage 2 Corporation in connection with HOME DAP Funds provided for the 3 purchase of 2902 Battle Drive, Huntsville, AL 35816, as 4 follows: 5 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-313) 6 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 7 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 8 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 9 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 10 authorizing the Mayor to amend the contract with APAC 11 Mid-South, Inc., for Christopher Drive Left-Turn Lane from U.S. 12 Highway 72, Project No. 65-12-TI03, by Change Order No. 1, as 13 follows: 14 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-314) 15 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 16 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 17 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 18 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 19 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with the low 20 bidder, Reed Contracting Services, Inc., for Rodgers Drive 21 Drainage Improvements, Project No. 65-13-DM17, as follows: 22 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-315) 23 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 24 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 25 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 26 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 80 1 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Arcadis 2 U.S., Inc., for Engineering Design Services for Dallas 3 Branch/Pinhook Creek, Phase I, Project No. 65-13-DR03, as 4 follows: 5 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-316) 6 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 7 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 8 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 9 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 10 authorizing the Mayor to modify the agreement with Johnson & 11 Associates Consulting Engineers, L.L.C., for Engineering Design 12 and Construction Administration Services for Carmichael Park, 13 Project No. 65-12-DM25, by Modification No. 1, as follows: 14 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-317) 15 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 16 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 17 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 18 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 19 authorizing an Agreement for Preliminary Engineering, 20 Right-of-Way Acquisition, and Construction between the State of 21 Alabama and the City of Huntsville regarding Project 22 IAR-045-000-009, Improvements to SR-255 (Bob Wade Lane) that 23 include a new truck entrance and additional lanes to benefit 24 Toyota Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc., in the City of Huntsville, 25 as follows: 26 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-318) 81 1 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 2 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 3 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 4 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 5 authorizing the Mayor to execute a Development Agreement 6 between the City of Huntsville and Wright Homes, LLC, in 7 connection with The Meadows at Hampton Cove, as follows: 8 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-319) 9 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 10 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 11 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 12 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 13 authorizing the City of Huntsville to enter into an Agreement 14 with Middle Tennessee Boxer Rescue, as follows: 15 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-320) 16 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 17 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 18 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 19 President Russell read and introduced an ordinance to 20 amend Budget Ordinance No. 12-768 by changing appropriated 21 funding for various departments and funds, as follows: 22 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-321) 23 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 24 ordinance, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 25 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 26 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 82 1 authorizing the acceptance of donations, as follows: 2 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-322) 3 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 4 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 5 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 6 President Russell moved for approval of a request for 7 authorization to advertise and fill five (5) temporary 8 part-time Recreation Aide positions and one (1) regular 9 full-time General Clerk III, which motion was duly seconded by 10 Councilman Kling, and was unanimously approved by the Council 11 members present. 12 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 13 authorizing an Agreement with the Arts Council for Concerts in 14 the Park, as follows: 15 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-323) 16 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 17 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 18 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 19 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 20 authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Lease Agreement between 21 the City of Huntsville and Brimstone Productions, Inc., as 22 follows: 23 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-324) 24 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 25 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 26 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 83 1 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 2 authorizing the Mayor to periodically enter into a Regional 3 Training Center Agreement between The City of Huntsville and 4 the Alabama Fire College and Personnel Standards Commission, as 5 follows: 6 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-325) 7 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 8 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 9 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 10 President Russell moved for approval of a request for 11 authorization to advertise and fill the budgeted vacant 12 position of Drug Lab Technician, Grade 10, at higher than 13 minimum if necessary, which motion was duly seconded by 14 Councilman Kling and was unanimously approved by the Council 15 members present. 16 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 17 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an Agreement with the 18 Morgan County Alabama Commission for the transfer of grant 19 funds, as follows: 20 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-326) 21 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 22 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 23 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 24 President Russell read and introduced an ordinance 25 declaring certain equipment as surplus and to be sold at 26 auction, as follows: 84 1 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-327) 2 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 3 ordinance, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling 4 and was unanimously adopted by the Council members present. 5 President Russell read and introduced an ordinance 6 authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Lease Agreement between 7 the City of Huntsville and Twickenham Square Ventures, LLC, for 8 Pelham Avenue Air Space and Rights, as follows: 9 (ORDINANCE NO. 13-328) 10 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 11 ordinance, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling. 12 President Russell asked Mr. Joffrion for an explanation of 13 the above ordinance. 14 Mr. Joffrion stated that this was in connection with the 15 Twickenham Development at the old Councill Court properties. 16 He stated that this was for the purpose of a canopy between the 17 Publix grocery store and the City parking garage so that 18 persons would not have to travel unprotected in inclement 19 weather. 20 President Russell inquired as to how the $99 price had 21 been arrived at. 22 Mr. Joffrion stated that part of the overall consideration 23 was the prior global transaction, whereby the developer had 24 agreed to put in a Publix grocery store, and there were 25 apartment units and office buildings. He stated that all of 26 that was a part of the overall transaction. He stated that 85 1 consideration had to be included and denominated as some amount 2 and that that was the most nominal, noting that $1 per year was 3 generally the most nominal consideration. 4 President Russell asked if the City would get the air 5 rights back if the parties left. 6 Mr. Joffrion replied in the affirmative. 7 President Russell called for the vote on the above 8 ordinance, and it was unanimously adopted by the Council 9 members present. 10 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 11 authorizing the Mayor to enter into a Sale and Assignment 12 Agreement between the City of Huntsville and Lowe Mill 13 Development, LLC, as follows: 14 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-329) 15 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 16 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling. 17 President Russell asked Mr. Joffrion for an explanation of 18 the above resolution. 19 Mr. Joffrion stated that this would be the sale of all the 20 City-held notes related to the Mirabeau Apartment complex 21 property. He stated that the Council members might recall that 22 the City had had to purchase a note from Cadence Bank 23 approximately a year prior, in the amount of $1,350,000, 24 because it had guaranteed payment of that note and the person 25 to whom the money had been lent had defaulted on the note and 26 the City, as guarantor, had to purchase the note. 86 1 Mr. Joffrion stated that at this time the City was selling 2 these notes to David Greenberg, whom he noted owned 3 Lowe Mill Development, LLC. He stated that Mr. Greenberg would 4 make arrangements with the current owner for transition of the 5 title interest, after which he would pay back the note the City 6 had paid to Cadence Bank, that he would pay back the $1,350,000 7 to the City of Huntsville. He stated that this would not be 8 immediate, that it would be either within one year or within 9 120 days after the City settled its pending issues with the 10 Department of Housing and Urban Development related to the 11 property. He stated that the City would get repaid after these 12 matters were resolved. 13 Mr. Joffrion stated that this did include some monies to 14 be placed in escrow to be used to pay expenses that the City 15 would ordinarily have incurred had it held onto the property 16 and gone through a foreclosure process to obtain title. He 17 stated that these expenses would have to be invoiced by 18 Mr. Greenberg as he expended the money and would be applied 19 against the escrow fund. 20 Mr. Joffrion stated that, in his opinion, this was a very 21 good deal for the City of Huntsville, that it provided some 22 stability and stabilization not only for the subject property 23 but also for the neighborhood and allowed Mr. Greenberg to 24 commence the process of revamping the property and getting more 25 units back on line. 26 President Russell asked if Mr. Michael Brown was present 87 1 at the meeting representing the City or the other party. 2 Mr. Joffrion stated that Mr. Brown was representing the 3 City of Huntsville and had done a phenomenal job in helping to 4 work through this matter. 5 President Russell asked Mr. Brown to come to the 6 microphone. He welcomed him and asked him to tell the Council 7 what his role was in this process. 8 Mr. Brown stated that they had put together a sale of the 9 notes so that the City would not have to undergo the process of 10 foreclosing on the property. He continued that the City had 11 had to pay off the Cadence loan. He stated that at that point 12 the City would have had the right to foreclose on the property. 13 He stated that there were a lot of issues and costs involved, 14 both known costs of finances and also unknown costs of risk 15 associated with this sort of foreclosure. He stated that by 16 moving this over to the buyer of the note and allowing him to 17 proceed, the City should save the risks associated with 18 foreclosure and some costs associated therewith. 19 Mr. Brown stated that they had put together the note sale 20 agreement and that the purchaser would undertake a due 21 diligence period to review the note and to review the property 22 and things associated therewith. He continued that if that 23 fell through, the note would come back to the City, and the 24 City would move forward under the foreclosure process they had 25 previously discussed. 26 Councilman Kling stated that Mr. Greenberg had a pretty 88 1 good track record in the city, with the Russel Erskine project, 2 which he noted was a credit to downtown, having been very well 3 preserved. He continued that he thought Mr. Greenberg would be 4 a very positive shot in the arm to that neighborhood. He 5 stated that based upon what he had seen, he felt this was a 6 great project. He stated that he appreciated what the 7 attorneys had done and what Mayor Battle had done on this 8 matter, noting that it could certainly be something to help 9 stabilize the neighborhood. 10 President Russell called for the vote on 11 Resolution No. 13-329, and it was unanimously adopted by the 12 Council members present. 13 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 14 authorizing eminent domain proceedings for fee simple title to 15 certain rights-of-way and temporary construction easements on, 16 over, and upon certain parcels of land for Downtown Gateway 17 Project, as follows: 18 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-330) 19 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 20 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by Councilman Kling. 21 President Russell asked Mr. Joffrion for an explanation of 22 the above resolution. 23 Mr. Joffrion stated that this was the Harvard Road 24 Extension that would connect from Governors Drive to Lowe 25 Avenue. He continued that this was acquisition of tracts of 26 property along this extension. He stated that this was also in 89 1 connection with the Twickenham Development. 2 President Russell called for the vote on the above 3 resolution, and it was unanimously adopted by the Council 4 members present. 5 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 6 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an Agreement between the 7 City of Huntsville and SKT Architects, P.C., for Architectural 8 Services for the New Fire Station No.6, located on Drake 9 Avenue, as follows: 10 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-331) 11 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 12 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 13 Councilman Olshefski. 14 President Russell asked Mr. Chris O'Neil, Facilities 15 Project Manager, for an explanation of the above resolution. 16 Mr. O'Neil stated that this was a standard architectural 17 services agreement, in the amount of $93,000, for the design of 18 a new three-bay fire station, consisting of captain's offices, 19 living quarters, and restrooms. 20 President Russell inquired as to the budget for this fire 21 station. 22 Mr. O'Neil stated that the total project budget was 23 $1.9 million. 24 Councilman Kling asked why, since most of the new fire 25 stations had the same design, there should be another 26 architectural fee involved. 90 1 Mr. O'Neil stated that this firm had designed their last 2 fire station and that the design would be similar to Fire 3 Station No. 18 but they were having to reconfigure the building 4 onto the new site on Drake Avenue. 5 President Russell called for the vote on the above 6 resolution, and it was unanimously adopted by the Council 7 members present. 8 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 9 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Volkert, 10 Inc., for Engineering Services for Evaluation of Downtown 11 Street Network for Revitalization, Project No. 65-13-TI03, as 12 follows: 13 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-332) 14 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 15 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 16 Councilman Olshefski. 17 President Russell asked Ms. Kathy Martin, Director of 18 Engineering, for an explanation of the above resolution. 19 Ms. Martin stated that this was a contract with Volkert 20 and that it was to determine the pros and cons of creating 21 two-way streets in the downtown business districts. She stated 22 that this study would involve 12 intersections, four along 23 Holmes Avenue, between Lincoln and Jefferson; four along 24 Clinton Avenue, between Spragins and Greene; and Greene Street, 25 between Monroe and Williams. She continued that the total 26 contract amount was $25,000. 91 1 President Russell asked if it was correct that the company 2 would be looking into whether they could get rid of the one-way 3 streets. 4 Ms. Martin stated that they would look into whether there 5 were pros and cons associated with that, in trying to 6 revitalize the downtown area. 7 President Russell stated that there were a lot of pros 8 involved, because most everyone hated them but that he was sure 9 there was some reason for them. He stated that he was 10 certainly looking forward to seeing the results of this study. 11 President Russell called for the vote on the above 12 resolution, and it was unanimously adopted by the Council 13 members present. 14 President Russell read and introduced a resolution 15 authorizing the Mayor to enter into Agreements with the low 16 bidders meeting specifications as outlined in the attached 17 Summary of Bids for Acceptance, as follows: 18 (RESOLUTION NO. 13-333) 19 President Russell moved for approval of the foregoing 20 resolution, which motion was duly seconded by 21 Councilman Olshefski. 22 President Russell asked Mr. Randy Taylor, City Finance 23 Director, for an explanation of the above resolution, noting 24 that he was mainly interested in the large vehicle purchases. 25 Mr. Taylor stated that President Russell was referring to 26 one of the awards that was included in the above resolution, 92 1 which he noted was a bid for heavy equipment for the Water 2 Pollution Control Department. He stated that they had issued a 3 request for bids for three items of heavy equipment, excavators 4 and a bulldozer. He stated that the City had entertained bids 5 for each individual item of equipment and that they had had 6 vendors who had bid one or all of these items. 7 Mr. Taylor stated that the recommendation in the award 8 that was before the Council was to award one of the items of 9 equipment to each of three individual vendors. He stated that 10 one of the vendors, who would receive an award for one item, if 11 approved, had actually bid the lowest price for all three items 12 in question, but that State law and City ordinance allowed what 13 was referred to as a "local preference," meaning that as long 14 as a bidder who had a location within the Huntsville 15 jurisdiction bid within three percent of the low bid, the City 16 had the option to award that bid to that vendor. He continued 17 that the intent of this, although it was not stated, was, of 18 course, to reflect the jurisdiction's desire to recognize the 19 value of the presence within the city. 20 Mr. Taylor stated that this did not come up very often 21 because it was rare that an item of equipment or anything else 22 the City might purchase would both meet their specifications 23 and be within the three percent of the low bidder. He stated 24 that any time this had presented itself as an opportunity, the 25 City had a long-standing history of recognizing it and awarding 26 it in that manner. 93 1 Mr. Taylor stated that the consequence of this would be 2 that if all the items of equipment were awarded to the lowest 3 bidder, it would cost a total of $482,947. He continued that 4 by awarding two of these items, one each, to two local vendors, 5 the total cost increase would be $7,780. He stated that, 6 therefore, by making the recommended award, the Council would 7 agree to pay more for the equipment, consistent with what State 8 law allowed and the City's long-standing policy. He stated 9 that the Council did not have to do this but that that was the 10 recommendation of the award and what he had notified the 11 Council concerning beforehand. 12 President Russell asked if Mr. Taylor could define what 13 constituted a "local vendor." He asked if this would be having 14 a sales office in the city, a facility, or what that would 15 mean. 16 Mr. Taylor stated that it would mean that the entity had a 17 business location in Huntsville. He stated that it would be up 18 to the Council to decide if that truly was a local presence. 19 He stated that in this case, it would simply be that the 20 business was located and active in Huntsville, had a Huntsville 21 business license, presumably, for such location. 22 Councilman Olshefski asked if it was correct that the bids 23 were made by sealed envelopes, et cetera, and that it was just 24 by chance the bids were within three percent. 25 Mr. Taylor replied in the affirmative, stating that all 26 bids were sealed and revealed in a public bid opening. 94 1 Councilman Olshefski asked if it was correct that when all 2 was said and done, it would be approximately $7,000 more using 3 a local vendor. 4 Mr. Taylor that it was $7,700. 5 President Russell called for the vote on the above 6 resolution, and it was unanimously adopted by the Council 7 members present. 8 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 9 was Legal Department Items/Transactions. 10 Mr. Joffrion submitted the following deed for approval: 11 (DEED) 12 Whereupon, President Russell moved for approval of the 13 foregoing deed, which motion was duly seconded by 14 Councilman Kling, and was unanimously approved by the Council 15 members present. 16 President Russell stated that the next item on the agenda 17 was Non-Roster Communications from the Public. 18 Ms. Jackie Reed appeared before the Council, stating that 19 she would like to correct a mistake she had made concerning the 20 $84 million bond from the Public Building Authority. She 21 stated that she had been told that the $84 million bond was for 22 the jail and the other things over on Wheeler Avenue. She 23 stated that she wanted to know more about the jail, asking if 24 the City had ever won a lawsuit, if they had ever gotten any of 25 this settled. She stated that someday they could answer this 26 question for her. 95 1 Ms. Rosalind McDermott again appeared before the Council, 2 stating that she had been very favorably impressed with what 3 she had heard about the City's handling of the Special Events 4 Ordinance. She continued that she wanted to especially thank 5 them for addressing the intent issue on the gas mask provision, 6 stating that this made a lot of persons much less nervous about 7 this matter. She stated that everything she had heard said by 8 the Legal Department during the meeting had been very 9 reasonable and that they had renewed her faith in government in 10 Huntsville, although they still had Alabama to work on. 11 President Russell asked if there was anyone else who would 12 like to address the Council at this time. 13 There was no response. 14 Upon motion, duly seconded, it was voted to adjourn. 15 16 _______________________________ 17 PRESIDENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL 18 19 ATTEST: 20 21 22 23 _________________________ 24 CITY CLERK-TREASURER 25 26 27 28 29