Yeah, >> they're like best friends >> having lunch and all that with all the >> Linda. I call her Linda >> vice chairman of Atlanta. I call her and I could just pick up the phone
or give me >> and I just >> Well, she is uh she was one of the preeminent Oh, she went to the world in that land and she was
>> Yeah, we were you know, right? >> She brought us. But yeah, she didn't >> we did more six years. >> So much money. >> It's like can I get another warehouse,
right? It's funny how you get them as you get um we would have like >> they're like >> no one quite knew what it was we were doing for that client other than the fact that they own like 10,000 acres and they always needed something from us
random and >> yeah and I was like the lead on it like the last >> three years because part of the work that they were trying to do is so >> No, it's so I No, it's six o'
>> now. It's six o'clock, y'all. I'm gonna wait a few more minutes because we need to have a quorum here >> before we begin. >> That's great. That's great. out of South. members of the charter review committee. I'm
glad you're here. We had to have 11 of us or we couldn't do business and we had no idea what to do then. So, we're in good shape. Thank you. Uh so tonight's agenda is pretty much uh one item. We're going to first have a consent agenda which just
includes uh approving the minutes of the last meeting and then we'll begin our public hearing on this item alone. And before that uh Nikki is going to do an introduce introduce the item and where we are at this point on that. We'll open it up to public comments. I have a few
if other people have um comments to make. I need a a comment card. filled out. Uh and then after we've heard from any members of the public who want to speak on this uh then we will have discussion and u decide where we want to go before we go into public hearing
number two. Um so without um anything else to go for I guess do I hear >> I'd move approval of the minutes. >> Second >> motion. Okay. Zapz. Okay. Motion's been made and seconded to move consent item
and meeting minutes of the last meeting. All in favor say I. >> I. >> And oppose. No. Thank you very much. Right. Nikki, would you like to go forward with introducing the item and um and then we'll move right into public comments. Right. >> Public hearing.
>> Good evening. Uh committee members. Thank you all for being here, taking the time um for your first of three public hearings. Um at your special meeting last month, the committee approved ballot title and language um which is reflected up on the screen for the
proposed charter amendment addressing adverse community conditions related to historic public policies and government practices. Based on that direction, your materials today include a draft charter amendment for your review and consideration, which is included as
attachment one in your materials um and also summarized up on the screen. As you'll see, the draft charter amendment reflects the key elements approved by the committee, including establishing periodic community impact assessments to
evaluate adverse community conditions related to historic county laws, policies, and practices, requiring the findings of each assessment to be made publicly available, and requiring the board of county commissioners to publicly review and respond to each
assessment during a board meeting. To support the implementation of these requirements, the proposed amendment also directs the board to adopt an implementing ordinance no later than April 1st of next year. That ordinance would establish the operational details
needed to carry out the charter provisions such as defining key terms and establishing neutral geographically based criteria and procedures for conducting the assessments. This implementation approach is consistent with existing charter provisions, including all previous amendments
advanced through the citizen charter review committee processes in the past. Most importantly, this approach will allow adequate time to ensure these critical provisions are legally compliant while preserving the county's ability to be responsive to community needs and evolving legal restrictions
without requiring additional charter amendments in the future. At the same time, the charter itself will establish the core policy direction by requiring that the assessment be conducted, publicly reported, and formally considered by the board. As noted in your materials, the proposed amendment
serves as a starting point and the committee may provide additional direction or make changes to the proposed amendment during any of it during any uh during any of its public hearings. With that in mind, this evening does mark the first of three public hearings for the committee's consideration of
this proposed amendment, whether or not to advance it to the board for final approval in August. So, with that, I'll hand it back over to the chair to get you started, but we're available for any questions that you may have along the way. >> All right. Thank you very much, Nikki. And also uh when people come up to
speak, we have uh four or five right now. We will just hear from them and then wait uh for any questions or comments when we get to our part of the discussion. Um all right, and uh have all the people in the audience, anybody
wish to speak if I got a card. Okay. Uh, first person up is uh, Melanie, excuse me, Melanie Andrade and uh, in support of agenda item one. You have three minutes and you'll give us
name and address. >> Thank you. Uh, good evening committee. My name is Melanie Andrad. I live in district 3 on Argonaut Drive and I'm here to ask that this committee support advancing the historic harms amendment to be considered by the board of county
commissioners. Public policy decisions have long-term effects. When those effects persist across generations, governance should respond in a long-term way. Historic infrastructure placement, transportation decisions, and development patterns affected access to economic opportunity in different parts
of Lyon County. Evaluating those long-term impacts is a reasonable governance function. Any future ordinance or implementation process under this framework would still be required to comply with all applicable state and federal law. Charter language
helps preserve accountability responsibilities across administrations and political cycles. Advancing this amendment today allows proper evaluation by the board and the public. I respectfully ask that you move this forward. Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Um, Delilah Pierce. >> Hi, my name is Delila Pierre. Um, and I am the I'm a member of the newly founded Tallahassee Alliance Against Racism Political Repression. And I just want to say I'm here to support the Historic Harms Initiative. Uh, I've lived in Tallahassee, I think, for like 8 years
now. I graduated from Florida State University in 2017 and I've walked along a lot of Tallahassee because for a long time I didn't have a car. Uh, and walking around Tallahassee, you can really see the disparity in how communities in Tallahassee are treated. Uh you can see how some communities in
Tallahassee have sidewalks um on both sides of the road, have new infrastructure, new public schools, new funding, new money, and you can see how some communities are left out. How some communities have neighborhoods where people have been walking to school, having to have their children be walked
to school um on places that don't have sidewalks. Um have had places that have dealt with economic and financial problems for years. have dealt with having less access to housing, having higher prices, going to the Dollar Generals and other stores by them um that make it difficult for them to live
and survive. I've lived in Tallahassee and I've seen how some people have access to great buses, great services, um while other communities are left in the dark where they're looking for the trash in their community to be picked up. They're looking for support and help. They're looking for dealing with
the homicide and gun violence commu conditions in their communities. They're looking for support from our city. And unfortunately, I don't believe that support from our city is being given to them in a real way. And I think this historic harms initiative does give them
that support in a real way. Um, I really like what this is doing because in Tallahassee I hear a lot of proclamations of support for marginalized people in our community, for communities that have been suffering from racism, from communities that have
been suffering from financial disparities, but I don't see the action. I don't see people stepping up to do something about it. I don't see people fighting to do something about it. And I want to commend this entire charter review committee for seriously considering this and for stepping up to
do something about the problems that are existing and happening in Tallahassee. When we are dealing with these issues that are happening and existing in our communities, we cannot view them in isolation. We cannot ignore decades and
decades of history and structures that have existed and affected people. We cannot just banish the past. we have to go ahead and address the past. And I think that th that is what the historic harms initiative is doing. I think that's what we're doing by analyzing and looking at past policy and getting a
real sense um of what's happening in our community because Tallahassee has a proud and beautiful history within the civil rights movement, a proud and beautiful history within our communities. We've built a lot here and done a lot here. Um so I am 100% 10 toes down for the historic harms initiative.
I think it's incredible. Clearly, it is within the framework of the law. That's inarguable. It was rewritten to make sure that happened. So, I urge everyone here to go ahead and support it because in my opinion, by doing so, we're supporting the people in Tallahassee in a real material way instead of just
proclaiming we support them. Oh, no. She's not. That's not true. This >> is this one working? Yeah, this one is. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Uh Thomas Spears is up next. Thank you. Your name and address for the
record, please. That's right. Okay, cool. Uh Thomas Spears, 123 Lock Street, uh 32303. Uh I'm also a member of the Tallahassee Alliance and I'm here to support the amendment as well. Um for a lot of what Dilo's already said, it's a concrete
movement towards addressing these harms that we all know have been there for decades upon decades. It is it's refreshing that there's actually some debate about this. Um I don't have too
much to add. I really just want to say you should absolutely vote option one to push this forward and to have the next public hearing on July 16th. Um yeah, that's all. Thank you. >> Thank you for coming out. We appreciate
it. Uh Stephanie McMillan. Good evening everyone. I am Stephanie McMillan and I reside in the 32301 zip code. This committee is reviewing what responsibilities belong in the charter.
Long-term assessment, transparency, and accountability are exactly the kinds of structural governance functions charters are designed to support. Transparent assessment and recurring review processes strengthen public trust in
government. This framework creates a lawful structure for informed decision-making. Urban renewal projects displaced communities such as Smoky Hollow without equivalent long-term reinvestment. The economic and social effects of that
distribution of that disruption, excuse me, remains visible in present- day community conditions. Any further ordinance or implementation processes under the framework would still be required to comply with all
applicable state and federal laws. Symbolic lang language alone does not create accountability. A recurring assessment process creates transparency and public visibility. This is about long-term responsibility
and stability in governments. I respectfully urge you to recommend this amendment for inclusion in the charter. Thank you all so much. G see if is this working now. Okay, back to this. Thank you very much.
Um, the last speaker we have right now is Julie Meadows Keith. Uh, >> oh, good evening friends. Can you hear me? >> Yes. >> Great. Um, my name is Julie Meadows Keep. I live in the 32311
area code. I'm a lawyer and I've lived in Leyon County for over 30 years and I want to speak in favor of this amendment. Um I want to first say that um what the amendment is not it's not a
program. It doesn't require any real spending. It does not grant any preferential treatment to any particular group and cannot really authorize anything that conflicts with state or federal law. What it does is simple. It
simply asks Leyon County to look honestly at the places where past public decisions have left lasting public harm to various populations and to bring those findings to light in a transparent manner so that they can be discussed.
and understood for the community. It it's not about ideology. It is simply about accountability. It's the same process that we use to look at a lot of government processes, budgets, infrastructure, bridges, and
elevators. We do not simply assume that things are sound and equitable. We take a look at them and measure them. We report on them. We show evidence about um what we've seen. The county already
does remarkable work in our underserved communities. A lot of attention is paid to these communities and we're to be commended for doing that. But um I've seen firsthand as prior speakers have said and as has been discussed um we
have some of the poorest area codes um in the state here in the Leyon County area. So um we want to make sure that light continues to be cast on these populations no matter who is sitting in
the chairs of elected office. uh make transparency a permanent habit, not just a temporary favor. So we see um throughout the community that um different things have happened over
history to um put at a disadvantage um disadvantaged individuals. A community confident enough to address these issues and study them is worth advancement. So, um, I'd recommend that you vote
positively on this amendment. Thank you. >> That was me. >> You hear me now? >> Sorry. Technical difficulties. Oh, here we are again. Okay. Well, ladies and gentlemen, um
unless we have other speakers coming forward, now it's our time to discuss uh what we've heard this evening. Anything that we would like to dis any questions or comments that you all have. Uh we had a really good discussion at our last meeting when we shifted around several
things and made emphasis in some areas. As I recall, uh we included the historic public policies piece that we discussed quite a bit and uh the word affirmation which was uh Dr. Lewis's proposal. So,
we've had some really good discussions throughout. We have two more public hearings. We can today um make changes or suggestions or proposals or things that we want the county commission board to consider later on. So, do I hear any
discussion comments at this time? >> Excuse me. >> I in in the absence of anything else, I liked it and voted for it at the last stop. I continue to like it. Um seems like there's a consensus to move forward and so I look forward to um voting in favor.
>> So, at this point, if I hear a motion to move forward, we could we could do that at this point or >> moved. Seconded. >> Motion's been made and seconded to move forward to the next public hearing. Um, all those in favor of precisely that
moving forward at the next public hearing. Uh, all please say I. >> And those opposed, no. >> All right. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I think uh I think we've done it. Wow. Okay. >> Quick meeting. Thank you to everybody in
the public who came to speak to us. We have the notes will be in the record. Oh, >> right. Pardon me. The next public hearing at 6:00 on July 16 and the 30th, same place, same location.
Okay. >> Can I Well, so ma may I ask um because we haven't gled out, right? >> Not yet. um what considerations have been given from the county commission um if any um around uh bringing the public more into
the process of feedback. Um we know that there's been some issues when decisions have left this body and gone over to the county, right? And I want to make sure that that doesn't happen again. And I think part of that is making sure that we have as many people as possible and as many viewpoints as possible that are
here. And so I guess I'm just asking um while I definitely appreciate the four people who showed up today, I I want to make sure that we >> frankly, you know, I want to make sure that uh the county commission feels like we've we've talked this out enough, right? They sent it back to us and and um I
guess I'm just asking what was the plan uh to to notify the public or invite them to this more. Was there any discussion about that? >> And I might refer to staff on that. You want to answer that? >> Yeah. Um so these are public hearings.
So we have extensively noticed this um through our standard platforms but in addition we utilize our social media outlets um to notify and broadcast these meetings um and there's been plenty of engagement throughout the process um through social media but like I said
it's a public hearing so there's been it's been dy noticed. >> Okay. Um, and had at any point um, we the county talked about doing uh, kind of a formal presentation of what is actually on that? I I recognize that they can't do any kind of direct advocacy, right? But the county can
certainly put a a kind of nonpolicy document together that that explains what the what it is, right? >> Um, we will prepare an agenda item detailing the essentially the evolution of this item in the proposal to our
board. Um and at that time um that will explain the details and the ins and outs similar to the agenda materials before you today. >> Yes. Yeah. Um in August Mr. Jones, did you have a comment on that? >> Yes. So
there will then be a cumulative because the earlier uh proposals have already been accepted by the commission. Correct. >> There will be a full final report prepared. >> Okay. >> And it will capture every action taken by the commission.
>> Every action taken by the committee and it'll be >> extensive detail. >> An extensive detail that provides the cumulative responses that will ultimately populate the ballot. >> Yes. Okay. >> Is that >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Well, well, kind of for clarification, I
mean, the board of county commissioners already accepted what we had done up to that point, but then made their own recommendation to send it back to us. So, we're I mean, I think that we're sort of >> continuing to work on this topic. And
>> thank thank you for your indulgence, Madam Chair. um this opportunity has has um made me uh uh get get to my point better, which is that um what do we all think about uh doing some kind of town hall in Frenchtown about this or doing some kind
of town hall on the southside about this >> as individuals? I I don't know if that's uh >> from Leyon County. I don't I don't have any I don't know if that's something that the board of county commissioners wants to proceed with that they wanted us to go forward
with this one piece of all this issues we discussed. I I didn't hear I mean unless the county commission is saying it's that I I'm not sure that we have the authority to go ahead with a town hall on >> and actually what if we moved the second or third public hearing to Frenchtown or
the southside >> or to a different location? Well, to be fair, this is a committee of 21 members. Um, hence why we're here. Otherwise, we would have been in the county commission chambers. So, there's a lot of considerations in terms of um public participation if not in person
broadcasting, making sure that we're able to um broadcast it on all of our channels as well. So, it's a lot of logistics. So, it's not as easy as just picking it up and moving locations. >> Madam Chair. >> Yes, sir. If I might offer this
observation, once these items populate or will be populated on the ballot, there is a natural evolution where community-based organizations will convene for the discussion of these ballot implications, right? Uh there are
community based organizations to include the NAACP. I can imagine the organization that Mr. Strobo has Neba, all of them will take all of the ballots considerations uh to include the ones that will also be coming from the school board which will
provide the the community opportunity to hear from persons who who with whom these ballot amendments are made possible. I would suggest I mean for those who are interested as these things
are announced you know I there's nothing that forbids us from being present at those meetings as citizens correct uh because they are now on the ballot and so if there's any additional context any of us would want to provide it provides us with that opportunity uh I mean there
are different there's differences for electeds because you know in terms of our participation but for the rank for for citizens our advocacy and ambassadorship and being embudzman for what we have been what we have participated in. I would hope that we would want to continue
beyond this room to make certain that the the intent and the nobility of what has been our discussions is translated to the public but there will be community-based efforts to make certain that that occurs >> right >> has been what I have observed as a voter
in this community now for years >> right now. Yeah, excellent points. I mean, right now we're shaping up the process. We're shaping up the the concept and the language that we want to take to the county commission and at that point they will they could also
massage change uh and go forward. They can't change anything. They can either go up or down on it. >> Okay. Up or down. Okay. So, at that point then we're good. No further discussion from the county on that. >> I'm sorry. >> Okay. So, so then Mr. Jones is quite
right then. and then it gets kind of really more into the public forum in a way when it's a ballot issue. >> Um, and just just to clarify, you said the the the absolute last moment to change a drop of ink about it is this the last public hearing of this body. >> Yeah. Okay. >> 30 on the 30th.
>> Okay. >> Right. That's good questions. I mean, because we, you know, we want uh we want the public to be as many people in the member in the community to know about this and understand it and think it over. uh the virtues, the possible
concerns they have and so forth. So yeah, uh it's hard to I mean understand we need more publicity on this is what I hear you hearing and you know that's the world we live in. It's u sort of a spotty world out there to get people to know what's going on when and where and what what time there is to speak up. But
I think when you get ballot issues, I mean every everyone gets pretty focused at that point, too. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, certainly. One quick clarification. So you kind of mentioned that after we go through the third public hearing at that point, whatever's
going to happen with the county is going to happen. We had then there's nothing else that will come back before us. Correct. So will you clarify at that point to us what our responsibility is due to uh speaking about it with each other and the public etc. what changes
and and and how that affects anything that we do in in a situation like they're talking. >> Yeah. Um and Chelsea might help me out here um with the different you know different differentiation of when something becomes um an actual amendment on the ballot because that triggers
different legal requirements. But once you are finished with your third and final public hearing at that point the committee will be in a position to dissolve. So you will no longer be a committee member. So your certain restrictions then are lifted. So sunshine law requirements etc. Um
however um which this wouldn't apply to you as a committee member once something is placed onto the ballot the county is then uh faces new restrictions related to what we can communicate how we communicate it. Um yes um so that's a
little bit different but >> right >> it shifts to you and and off of us basically. >> Okay. >> All right. So, we're free agents at that point to discuss it as much as we want to with who whomever and with each other
at that point. Other comments, Barry, just checking. All right. I'm glad we talked about this because I think we're all a little bit um wondering, you know, how how things are going to go forward. Mr. Jones, did you have something more? If I just might
add again, um, this has been a, first of all, it's been a great, first of all, I I know we'll meet again, but great job from everybody who's been involved, Miss Hatch, uh, the our attorney, our chair, vice chair, and all the members of the
committee. And I'm hoping that we would have a sense of ownership as members of the committee uh as is as these amendments are discussed in the larger public particularly I can imagine with health concerns right wherever there is
opportunity I think that I can imagine Dr. Robinson being present in the room to discuss with community- based organizations the implications and why we and and how this is a manifestation of what we see as our community values. I think I've been rather
um consistent in that conversation because of the nobility of our efforts because these are community values right and because they are community values as persons who've all and most of us have been present at almost every meeting
so I would hope that we would pay attention to what we see in the paper and in social media and subsequently make those appearances so that we can talk about this is what happened in room and these were the discussions Matter of fact, the question that you bring up was discussed and reason we came to these conclusions. And so that type of
expertise as community members who are representative of the electors who appointed us who are then once this becomes a ballot issue I believe are not permitted to discuss it publicly. Right? There are certain restrictions for them. So here now we are an extension still as
citizens of the persons who appointed us because here now we can speak most liberally about how we came to these conclusions and I would hope people would join in those types of conversations. >> However, you have to bear in mind we may not have a unanimous vote on this and
everybody's still able to speak as they wish. >> We don't know. I mean we might >> the invitation to our budget >> and you said it you good. Yeah. Thank you. Other comments
do hear a motion to adjourn. >> Second motion's been made and seconded to adjourn. Thank you very much for coming. We'll see you on the 16th. Thank you. soft.