Stated Meeting, February 16, 2023

STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 1 2/16/2023 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, February 16, 2023 10:40 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILMAN MICHAEL DRISCOLL COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILWOMAN QUETCY LOZADA COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILMAN ANTHONY PHILLIPS COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA COUNCILMAN ISAIAH THOMAS COUNCILWOMAN SHARON VAUGHN MICHAEL A. DECKER, CHIEF CLERK STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 2 2/16/2023

Good morning. Folks, before we get started, just a little bit of housekeeping. As you know, based on the current situation as it relates to COVID, COVID-related activities, there is a capacity in Council. We have gotten lax on that. Individuals are coming in way beyond the capacity. Just for the future, that will be enforced more aggressively at the door. So for our colleagues that have a number of people that want to come in for resolutions or other particular legislative issues, just be aware that the people may have to be in a holdover room until we get to a point when that particular subject matter comes up. We are actually supposed to have separations of seats. I don't see much of that going on anymore. So at some point, we got to get back to the rules that were established based on our current healthcare situation. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 3 2/16/2023 thank everybody for their anticipated cooperation. So with that being said, we're going to get started. We have established our quorum. So if all the members will take their seats. Everybody has retired behind the rail. I'd like to give our invocation this morning, and the Chair recognizes a good friend of mine and a former schoolmate with my brother, the Reverend Hubert Barnes, the Pastor of Star Hope Baptist Church. He is here today as the guest of Councilman Driscoll. I would ask all members and guests to please rise. (Councilmembers and guests rise.)

Shall we bow our heads in prayer. Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for this day and this legislative session. Thank you, Lord, STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 4 2/16/2023 the women of this august body, their love, their dedication and service for and to this great City of Philadelphia. Lord, we ask that you would bless them greatly and endow them with the wisdom, understanding, and patience and much more to address the many pressing issues before them as they have assembled here today. Assure, we pray, them that they have your great love and that they are appreciated greatly by us, the constituents, for their many sacrifices as they continue to work tirelessly on behalf of our communities. Lord, we thank you for each of them, the members of their staffs and their families, and we pray that they will be encouraged and assured of your blessings upon each and every one of them. Please, we pray, greatly bless and protect them all, and we pray in the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 5 2/16/2023 Jesus. Amen. (Amen.)

Thank you so much, Pastor. Counsel will be at ease. (Council at ease.)

The Chair thanks the Reverend for your spiritual guidance today. We really need it. We appreciate you so much for being here. And our next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, February 9, 2023, and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Bass.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, February 9th, 2023 be approved. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you. It's been moved and properly STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 6 2/16/2023 of the meeting of Thursday, February 9, 2023 stand approved. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and our Journal is approved. And our next order of business is requests for leave of absence, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the members of Council, there is a request for leave of absence from Member Harrity.

Thank you, Councilman. Leave shall be granted for Councilman Harrity. And the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 7 2/16/2023 legislative matters that may arise during the course of the Council session that were not listed on the Calendar or circulated prior to today's session. Councilman Squilla.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that any of the following matters, if considered today, may be added to the agenda for this session of Council and, as required by law, subsequently published on an amended agenda after the consideration of those matters: resolutions authorizing hearings, amendments to bills on first reading, the reconsideration of a bill vetoed by or re-called from the Mayor, amendments to bills re-called from the Mayor, resolutions taking substantive action to be voted on in this session, a motion to withdraw a bill or resolution that is not on the Calendar, and a motion placing a bill or resolution on or returning a bill or resolution from the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 8 2/16/2023 that is not listed on today's Calendar. The purpose of this motion is to provide the public with notice concerning possible actions by Council that arose too late to be included in the Calendar that was published prior to today's session. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded that the legislative matters stated by Councilman Squilla may be added to the agenda for today, should those matters arise during the course of the Council session. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The motion carries. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 9 2/16/2023 of business is communications, and the Clerk will please read the messages from the Mayor and any other communications that he may have in his possession.

From the Mayor to the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, I am pleased to advise you that on February 15, 2023, I signed the following bill, which was passed by Council at its session on February 2, 2023, Bill No. 220918-AA. And I am transmitting for the consideration of your honorable body an ordinance approving the amendment of the Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Budget providing for expenditures for the capital purposes of the Philadelphia Gas Works, including the supplying of funds in connection therewith; and An ordinance authorizing the extension of the program authorized by Bill No. 181043 under which advance approval is given to the Philadelphia STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 10 2/16/2023 enter into certain contracts and transactions arising thereunder for the purchase, storage, distribution, transportation and/or transmission of natural gas or other gas supply on behalf of the Philadelphia Gas Works; and An ordinance adopting an Amendment to Section V of the Articles of Incorporation of the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development by increasing the Authority's term of existence to a date fifty years from the date of approval of Articles of Amendment by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, all under certain terms and conditions.

Thank you, Mr. Decker. That concludes our communications, and our next order of business is the introduction of bills and resolutions by our members. I would ask Mr. Decker to please read the titles of the legislation STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 11 2/16/2023 that's being offered today by our members.

Councilman Phillips offers one bill and one resolution, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 11-700 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Right-of-Way Management,' by authorizing the Department of Streets to install traffic calming measures in the vicinity of School District schools, Charter schools, and private schools."

This week's Calendar.

That was an ordinance, Mr. President.

Next week's.

And a privileged resolution honoring Eric Brice, Corrie Brown, Michelle Belser, and the Board of Directors of the Oak Lane Youth Association as Heroes of the 9th Council District for their laudable service to STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 12 2/16/2023 the community.

This week's Calendar.

Council President?

The Chair recognizes Councilman Phillips. Sorry, Councilman.

Yes. Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues and viewing members of the public. Thank you for allowing me to speak on today's bill that I introduced, which is I've entitled the Student Pedestrian Safety Bill today. For the past several weeks, I've been visiting schools in the 9th District, and whether or not I'm in Olney, West Oak Lane, Logan, Northeast, I've received some of the same issues from our neighbors. One neighbor in West Oak Lane in particular, a parent, came up to me and said to me, I hear that you're the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 13 2/16/2023 new Councilman in the area. And I said, yes. Well, I want to let you know that I have a serious complaint. Our children are not safe here at St. Athanasius. And the principal stood there and said, Anthony -- said, well, ma'am, he's new. He just started on City Council. And she says, I don't care. And I said, you know what? She shouldn't care, because the reality of the matter is that our job and responsibility as Councilmembers every day is to make sure that we're taking a whatever-it-takes approach to get things done for our residents. So with that being said, she mentioned the idea that speed cushions and speed deterrents were really important in her community for the safety of the children where her students resided, and that was St. Athanasius School. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 14 2/16/2023 And then I got a report just weeks later from Olney stating that at ASPIRA there was a child that was almost struck by a car. And then when I was at Fels High School in Northeast, the same report came. And then Hill-Freedman, every day I'm watching Mr. Matt Duncan on a daily basis work to make sure our children are safe from reckless drivers. So as a result of my walks in the district, I decided that I wanted to work collaboratively with Council today to introduce a bill supporting the Streets Department in swiftly installing traffic-calming measures near public schools, charter schools, and private schools. As nearly all Philadelphians have experienced, people in the City have a tendency to drive recklessly, threatening the lives of pedestrians, including school students. This is unacceptable. Schools are institutions of learning, growth, and development. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 15 2/16/2023 While traveling to these vital institutions in pursuit of their education, students' lives should not be threatened by reckless drivers. I believe we must prioritize bolstering student pedestrian safety, which is why my bill brings this issue into focus. In addressing this issue, I'm proud to have secured the support of Streets Department Commissioner Carlton Williams, and with the help of the Administration and my Council colleagues, I believe we can work to enable and encourage the Streets Department to make our roadways safer for student pedestrians. Finally, I'd like to thank my co-sponsors, Councilmembers Thomas, who first selected to be part of this bill, Councilmember Squilla, Councilmember Driscoll, Councilmember O'Neill, Councilmember Harrity, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Gilmore Richardson, Councilmember Gauthier, Councilmember STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 16 2/16/2023 Lozada, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Brooks, and Councilmember Johnson, pretty much the entire City Council, for supporting this legislation, this bill, because at the end of the day, it is affecting all of us. I look forward to working with all of you in making this happen. Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Councilman. (Applause.)

Councilman Thomas offers four resolutions, a privileged resolution honoring and congratulating Champions of the Week, Cayla Waddington, Ava Jackson, Kevin Leonard, Khyree Cousins, and Antoinette Ellis, for their incredibly hard work writing and performing original speeches for the sixth annual Thomas and Woods Foundation Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 17 2/16/2023 Contest.

This week's Calendar.

Mr. President, Councilman Thomas would like to be recognized.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Thomas.

Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. I want to just first take a moment to recognize my co-founder of the Thomas and Woods Foundation, Chris Woods, who I know is here in Council somewhere, but every -- he's somewhere. I don't know. But every year we do a MLK Day contest on Martin Luther King Day, and honestly the thought process is Dr. King was somebody who used his voice to advocate for change, and what better way to honor him on his birthday than giving young people an opportunity to use their voice to advocate for change. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 18 2/16/2023 So today in Council we have the winners of this year's MLK Day Oratorical Contest, and this being Black History Month, what better group of people to acknowledge and celebrate than young people who are using their voice to make a difference. So with that being said, I'm going to ask the following young people and their parents just to please stand up so we can give them a round of applause. Second runner-up, Mr. Kevin Leonard. Kevin. (Applause.)

Kevin's parents are here, and this is Kevin's second time participating in the Oratorical Contest, and every year Kevin comes in and he does an amazing job and he blows us away with his ability to speak and essentially move the crowd. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 19 2/16/2023 The first place runner-up is Khyree Cousins. Is Khyree here? (Applause.)

This was Khyree's first time participating in the contest, and we hope that Khyree continues to be involved and to stay in the midst of the work that we're doing with Thomas and Woods Foundation. Our third place contest recipient was Ava Jackson. Can Ava please stand up. (Applause.)

Ava gave an amazing speech that I feel like can really speak to a lot of self-esteem issues that young people, especially young women of color, are dealing with, and I challenge every woman of color to STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 20 2/16/2023 listen to her speech and recognize what she talked about, because it's a speech that I won't forget. Antoinette Ellis couldn't be here, but that's our second place winner. And our first place award winner who walked away with the highest cash prize is Ms. Cayla Waddington. Cayla, can you stand up with your family. (Applause.)

Now, Cayla may look familiar, because Cayla actually testified in City Council in our Enough is Enough hearing when young people had an opportunity to talk about the crime in the City of Philadelphia, and if any of my colleagues remember, she was the young sister from Math, Civic and Science whose testimony essentially blew everybody away. We give every young person who STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 21 2/16/2023 participates in the Oratorical Contest a scholarship, money towards higher academia, and our goal is to help them get through the next phase of their life. So whatever their dream is and however they desire to change the world, we can be a small piece of that path. So can all the young people just please stand up and we give them one more round of applause. (Applause.)

Thank you, Council President. Thank you, colleagues. And, again, what better way to celebrate Black History Month than celebrating our children who are changing our city. Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Councilman. Thank you. And congratulations again to STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 22 2/16/2023 you all. (Applause.)

Awesome, awesome stuff. Mr. Decker.

Councilman Thomas offers a privileged resolution authorizing the Committee on Licenses and Inspections to hold hearings examining the impact of new regulations on the short term rental market in Philadelphia.

Today's Calendar.

And a privileged resolution honoring and congratulating Nicodemus Madehdou, for the success and incredible work of his gaming business JumpButton Studio and JumpButton Animation, which seek to increase person-of-color representation in the gaming and media industries.

STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 23 2/16/2023 Today's Calendar.

And a privileged resolution authorizing the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Education to hold hearings to examine the impacts of the recent court decision declaring the formula for funding primary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth unconstitutional as the current formula creates have and have nots among students.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Thomas.

Thank you, Council President. A lot of my colleagues spoke about this last week, so I don't want to belabor the point, but it's imperative that we have this conversation and we have this hearing. If you don't know, we discussed the court ruling, but a big part of that ruling is that the judge's statement was over 500 pages. So we need to examine STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 24 2/16/2023 that statement. We need to analyze the fiscal impact not just on our schools moving forward but also retroactively looking at the impact it's had in the past. So I look forward to the conversation and I'm excited for the Education Committee to hold that hearing. Thank you, Council President, and thank you to all my colleagues who co-sponsored that resolution.

Thank you. And thank you, Councilman. Today's Calendar.

Councilman Jones offers four bills and two resolutions. On behalf of Council President Clarke, an ordinance approving the amendment to the Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Budget providing for expenditures for the capital purposes of the Philadelphia Gas Works, including the supplying of funds in connection therewith.

STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 25 2/16/2023 Referred to committee.

Also on behalf of Council President Clarke, an ordinance authorizing the extension of the program authorized by Bill 181043 under which advance approval is given to the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation to enter into certain contracts and transactions arising thereunder for the purchase, storage, distribution, transportation and/or transmission of natural or other gas supply on behalf of the Philadelphia Gas Works.

Referred to committee.

And an ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of the proposal set forth in a Resolution approved by City Council amending The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter by establishing the Office of the Chief Public Safety Director to be STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 26 2/16/2023 responsible for ensuring public safety by coordinating the resources (personnel and employment, property, plant and equipment) within the departments of Police, Prisons, Recreation, and all other relevant City agencies.

Referred to committee. Councilman Jones.

Yes, Mr. President. Thank you. It's hard for you to be up there and not be able to say the things that need to be said about particular legislation you authored, but I will try my best to say it for you.

Thank you, sir.

On your behalf, we have been on a journey. We've been to Camden, we've been to New York, we've been to Chester, we've been to Trenton to look and see, as it was said in the Wizard of Oz, what those folks got that we ain't got. And I use that broken STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 27 2/16/2023 language. Forgive me, Chair of Education. But the point is, what we discovered is, we have in excess much of what they have. What we need, though, is the straw that stirs the drink to make it come together, and I think this legislation addresses that. It addresses the fact that we got an equity driving bill passed that needs to be enforced, that we have on behalf of Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson a bill that says that conflict resolution should be taught in schools. We have a no chokehold bill that this body passed, and my colleague is about to introduce a resolution called Free Kensington, right, because we realize that until Kensington is safe, no neighborhood is safe. But if no one -- we're about to elect the 100th Mayor. They need that on their tool belt to be able to coordinate all of these activities, including summer jobs and recreation activities. All of STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 28 2/16/2023 this comes together in a meaningful way if we coordinate, break down silos. And what we discovered in our travels was that in those other cities, they simply got along. They simply coordinated. They simply used resources in a cohesive way to attack a problem. And I'm not saying that we don't do that, because we have task force meetings every week. It is true. But the next Mayor has to elevate that on the priority of things to do so that it is impactful and that we bring it up to code. Recreation centers need to be safe. SEPTA when we ride on it, our kids going back and forth to school or a lady coming from shopping late at night on a shift change, needs to be safe, and what we have to do is coordinate that. My colleague Cindy Bass, and she's going to kill me for always quoting her, but we have to have difficult conversations, what we do when the shooter lives with you, and you have to STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 29 2/16/2023 take that step to make sure that your household is safe but the community is safe. What I think you've done today, Mr. President, with this Charter change so that irrespective of politics there's a department for public safety, I applaud you. I thank you for that introduction, and we need 12 to make it real, and we're losing members every day. Don't y'all go nowhere. But I thank you, Mr. President, for your swift action.

Thank you, Councilman. I couldn't have said it better myself. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier.

Thank you, Council President. I wanted to thank you as well for introducing this legislation. This is in the spirit of what I've been trying to say since 2020 when I asked for the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 30 2/16/2023 Mayor to declare a citywide emergency. What I meant by that was that we should be treating gun violence in our neighborhoods in the way that we're treating COVID, in the sense that we are mobilizing all of the resources we have, every single department, to look at -- to send resources towards the people and the neighborhoods that are in crisis right now. And so I am grateful that this new position will bring forward that type of collaboration. I think -- you know, I think if we're only thinking about gun violence as a police enforcement issue, we are losing the ability to bring so many more resources to the issue, right? We should be looking at how we can light up these neighborhoods. We should be looking at how L&I can help us to shut down problem properties that are becoming a locus for crime. We should be looking at recreational opportunities for as many hours of the day as possible, STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 31 2/16/2023 specifically on blocks and in neighborhoods that have been dealing with gun violence, particularly involving youth. And so I think we have to get smarter about this. Gun violence feels like it's happening everywhere in this city, but it's not. It's happening in very discrete areas over and over and over again, and it's involving a set of folks who are caught in a cycle of violence, and we have to think about that as a police plus issue, right? We have the police resources and we have to join them with every other tool at our disposal to really change what's going on in these neighborhoods. And so I applaud you, and I look forward to being a part of a more collaborative and more urgent effort to really alleviate gun violence in the City.

Thank you, Councilwoman. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 32 2/16/2023 I know I'm not supposed to speak up here.

Do you want to sit here?

No. Real quick, this is a collection of ideas from every member in this Council and every trip we took, every public hearing, every conversation that we've had with people out in the neighborhoods, and hopefully we'll be in a position to like have somebody kind of like in charge, because calling around the departments even for us as elected can be a challenge. So imagine what it is for the everyday citizen that has to call around to different departments to figure out, you know, how can we deal with these issues, be it recreation, be it jobs, or be it law enforcement, you know. So I just want to say this is all about the work that everybody has put in. Councilwoman, did you want -- STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 33 2/16/2023 Councilwoman Lozada.

Yes, Council President. I also want to say thank you to you for taking this step. You know, I agree with my colleagues. Gun violence is a citywide issue, and in communities like mine, we experience that and more. And so I think that as a government, we do all work really hard. I think as public servants we're committed to making Philadelphia a better place to live for our citizens, but often times we do work in silos and we don't know what each other are doing and what resources are in place. So I think that with this legislation and the one that I want to present later on today in this hearing, I think it will bring us together to really focus on what is happening in our city, what services are out there, and it will provide us an opportunity to hold each other accountable and create benchmarks STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 34 2/16/2023 and allow us some flexibility to adjust what we're doing if those benchmarks are not being met. So I thank all of my Council colleagues in advance, and I appreciate you. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman. That will be referred to committee.

Councilman Jones offers on his own behalf an ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by 63rd Street, Callowhill Street, Felton Street and Vine Street.

Referred to committee.

And on behalf of Council President Clarke, a non-privileged resolution proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to establish the Office of the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 35 2/16/2023 Chief Public Safety Director of the City of Philadelphia; providing for the method of appointment of the Chief Public Safety Director and defining their powers, duties, and areas of responsibility.

Referred to committee.

And on behalf of Councilmember Harrity, a privileged resolution Celebrating and Honoring the Life and Legacy of Tommie W. St. Hill, Sr. for his activism, civic engagement and service to the City of Philadelphia.

Today's Calendar. Councilman Thomas, did you need to be recognized?

I was going to let Councilman Jones go.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you so much, Mr. President. If you've been here in the last STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 36 2/16/2023 three decades, Tommie St. Hill was many things to many people. If you were his friend, he gave you the truth. He said, what were you thinking about, Councilman, when you introduced that bill? He would tell you. If he were an advocate for a cause, entity, there was no stronger advocate that could be found. If you ever watched those wildlife movies where the bison are going through the tall bush and the lion jumps out, snatches him and takes him away, that was Tommie St. Hill if he was on the other side. But the number one title that I relish is friend. If he was your friend, you knew it. If he was your friend, he would use colorful language, right? Him and Maurice Floyd right outside of Blackwell's office could be heard in debates about nothing and about everything, about sports, policy, and politics. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 37 2/16/2023 He will be missed. He will be remembered. And he, if I were to put a definition beside Webster's dictionary, Philadelphian. That's him all day, proud veteran, proud reporter. He wrote my grandfather's obituary. He was many things to many people, a renaissance man, and he will be missed. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. (Applause.)

The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson. Councilman Thomas, did you want to speak? Go ahead, Councilman Thomas.

Age before beauty.

Age before beauty. I just want to put that on the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 38 2/16/2023 record. That's what Councilman Johnson said. I have a unique lens as it relates to Mr. Tommie, which is what I always called him. I met Mr. Tommie a long time ago, but I actually developed a relationship with the St. Hill family because of Tommie St. Hill, Jr. Tommie St. Hill, Jr. is like a little brother to me, and we developed a great relationship during my time working in the Controller's Office. And for me as a parent now, you know, it's a true testament of your legacy and your life based on what your family says and does about you when you're not around, and the one thing I knew about Mr. Tommie based on my relationship with his family is that they loved him. I had the opportunity to attend Mr. Tommie's funeral, and his funeral was at The Met, and that says something, not just the access to get that space, which is amazing, but, man, that thing was STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 39 2/16/2023 packed, and people were of course sad, but celebrating his legacy and his life. And when I think about this work in politics and what we do, we all will be honored to have a legacy like what Mr. Tommie had when folks sent him off. So my heart and my prayers and my condolences still goes out to his family, especially his son, Tommie, Jr., and I just want to thank him, his wife, and everybody in the family that's here today that's giving us an opportunity to honor Mr. Tommie, because they've shared him with us so much that I just appreciate them sharing him with us just another time. So to Councilmember Harrity, who couldn't be here, we hope you feel better, but thank you for your leadership on this issue and thank you to the St. Hill family for being here. Council President, can we ask the family and everybody that's here to celebrate Mr. Tommie just to take a STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 40 2/16/2023 moment to stand up so we can recognize them.

Absolutely. Please stand up. (Applause.)

Thank you so much, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson.

Thank you, Council President. I want to also echo the sentiments of my colleagues in honor and memory of the late, great Mr. Tommie St. Hill. And I remember when I was serving in the State House, I had no plans to come to City Council, and he said, you're going to be the next Councilperson, right? I'm like, I'm not coming to City Council. I'm comfortable doing the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 41 2/16/2023 work that I'm doing in Harrisburg. And I wound up getting elected, succeeding the late, great Councilwoman Anne Verna. He said, see, I told you, Councilman, I know what I'm talking about. But that was just the type of guy who Mr. St. Hill was in terms of just encouraging me as a young man. I had a chance to meet Tommie St. Hill, Jr. through his dad, which I know he loved tremendously, right, and that's why I always upheld him in high esteem in making sure you're cool within this body of politics, but it also showed that Mr. St. Hill just had a big heart. He would always pull me aside and talk about the issue around economic development, particularly for Black and brown people here in the City of Philadelphia and how do we close that gap and making sure that we're holding people's feet to the fire when it comes to making sure we have a seat at the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 42 2/16/2023 table. That was Mr. Tommie St. Hill. He was a strong veteran, which some of you may or may not know, and when the Council President created that Veterans Parade and we would give out the awards on Veterans Day, that was a program that he was very, very proud of because of the service that he had committed to our country being a former serviceman. So to the family, we just want to thank all of you for allowing Mr. St. Hill to be in our lives. To Ms. St. Hill, we thank you for allowing him to be in our lives. I think the last time I talked to him, y'all were going on vacation. He said, I'm going away with my wife, because I wanted him to come to one of my events and so forth. But nevertheless, we just thank him. We appreciate him. But one thing that Councilman Jones didn't mention, if you was his STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 43 2/16/2023 friend, he let you know you was his friend, but also if you was on the other side, you was one of his opps, he'll let you know as well, like we ain't on the same page and I don't deal with that person. Let's just keep it real. That's the type of guy that he was. If he was with you, he was with you. If he didn't deal with you, he said, look, stay away from me. I'm going to continue to keep doing the great work of moving the City of Philadelphia forward. And that's what I liked about Mr. St. Hill, because at the end of the day, in this body of politics, to be quite frank with you, it's very few people that their yes's are their yes's and their no's are their no's. Once you have a conversation with him, you ain't got to look back and be like, well, wait a minute, what's going on. I never dealt with that in my time of dealing with Tommie St. Hill. He was just always just STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 44 2/16/2023 straight up. This is where I'm at. He was a man's man at the end of the day. So thank you. We appreciate you, and God bless. Long live Tommie St. Hill. (Applause.)

Thank you, Councilman. So true. Mr. Decker.

Councilman Johnson offers one bill and one resolution. On behalf of Council President, an ordinance authorizing the Procurement Commissioner, on behalf of the City, to enter into a concession agreement with Slice Wireless Solutions, Incorporated for the operation, maintenance and expansion of a neutral-host radio, cellular and WiFi system and other wireless services.

Referred to committee. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 45 2/16/2023

And a privileged resolution honoring Paul R. Levy upon the occasion of his retirement, and recognizing him for his hard work and dedication to the City of Philadelphia as the president and CEO of Center City District for 33 years.

Today's Calendar.

Councilwoman Lozada offers four resolutions, a privileged resolution recognizing and honoring the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) for their eight years of dedicated service to Philadelphia.

I'm sorry. Today's Calendar. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Lozada.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit consideration of this resolution at STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 46 2/16/2023 today's Council session. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor of the motion? (Aye.)

Well, we've already started down that path. All right. It's been motioned and approved. That will be on today's Final Passage Calendar.

And a resolution recognizing and honoring Impact Services for 49 years of dedicated service to Philadelphia, privileged resolution.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Lozada.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit consideration of this resolution at today's Council session. (Duly seconded.) STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 47 2/16/2023

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and that will be on today's Final Passage Calendar.

And a privileged resolution authorizing the City Council Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings to examine the open-air drug market and other barriers to clean, safe, crime-free streets in Kensington.

Today's Calendar.

And a non-privileged resolution calling for the establishment of a "Marshall Stabilization and Recovery Plan" to combat the issues facing Kensington and STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 48 2/16/2023 the surrounding areas in Philadelphia. Mr. President, Councilwoman Lozada would like to be recognized for a motion on this resolution.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Lozada.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to say thank you to Councilman Jones. I asked for a meeting with him when I first arrived here and I asked him to make something that was important to me important to him, and he responded immediately. My concern for the community of Kensington has been one that I've had for many years, and during my time as Chief of Staff here under Councilwoman Sanchez's leadership, I had the opportunity to work with community residents on different plans that were presented out of this legislative body out of different community-based organizations that have worked for many STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 49 2/16/2023 years in that community, and I think that part of what was missing in all of those plans was a community voice, community participation, but there was also a lack of communication on behalf of government. As I mentioned earlier, there are many levels of government working in the Kensington footprint. There are thousands of dollars and thousands of resources going into that particular community, but no one really knows who they are and what they are, because they tend to work alone. And when you meet with them, everyone points a finger a different way, and we can't ever get clear answers regarding the why, if there are so many resources going into that community, why can't we see the difference. Meeting with Councilman Curtis Jones, he was able to get his team, who I have to say Josh was amazing working with with my Legislative Director, Liz, to come up with a Marshall Stabilization STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 50 2/16/2023 Plan that will allow us to bring all levels of government, not just local government but our counterparts at the federal and the state levels to really look at what those services are and figure out what is really happening, how do we create different buckets of services and start to peel back on them slowly. What has happened in Kensington has occurred over many years, and it's not going to be something that we're going to be able to resolve quickly or overnight, but we have to start and we have to show the residents of that community that we have heard them, that we have listened. And while not all the time have we made them a priority in our plans to try to bring resolution, we have heard them and we want to work towards helping bring them some relief. And so I'm grateful for all of you who have co-sponsored. I am grateful for Councilman Curtis Jones' leadership STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 51 2/16/2023 and his guidance on this plan, and I look forward to working alongside the Administration and community residents to figure out how we create benchmarks and how do we adjust them, as I mentioned earlier, when things are not working to bring that community some relief. (Applause.)

Councilwoman, the motion for suspension.

I move for the rules of Council be suspended to permit consideration of this resolution at today's Council session. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 52 2/16/2023 (No response.)

The ayes have it. The motion carries. That will be on today's Final Passage Calendar.

Councilwoman Brooks offers a privileged resolution honoring and recognizing Mama Maisha, a creative and loving teacher, community leader, and cultural educator, who has nurtured social justice movements in Philadelphia, built and transformed institutions, and shared her wisdom with so many Philadelphians.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brooks.

Thank you, Council President. I wanted to note that I co-introduced this with Councilmember Thomas, so I'm not sure if he has words after I do. So today as I continue my series of resolutions honoring powerful Black women leaders in Philadelphia, by STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 53 2/16/2023 recognizing Mama Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza or Mama Maisha -(Applause.)

-- who is from South Philly, today -- you know, she became politically active as a young adult in the '60s, becoming involved in the Black Panthers and Black Freedom Movements, attending and organizing marches and conferences, and fighting for Black students in the Philadelphia School District. She was instrumental in founding the Black Independent Schools, which later become the Summer Freedom Schools in Philadelphia and was the first paid director of the Pan-African Studies Community Education program at Temple and founded the Madeira Family Center, a groundbreaking model for community-based family centers that provided wraparound services to North Philadelphia families. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 54 2/16/2023 Mama Maisha made her mark wherever she went. She improved the way students were trained to interact with families at the Penn Graduate School and was a founding member and coordinator of the Pan-African Sisterhood Health initiative, which empowered families and transformed countless lives. While Mama Maisha is many things - a relentless community advocate, an educator, an organizer, a radio host, a workshop facilitator, multiple media artist and so, so much more - many of you know her best for her leading role in educating people about supporting the celebration of Kwanzaa. She has spearheaded Kwanzaa celebrations in teaching for over 50 years, and it is an important aspect of organizing, learning, and community building and re-Africanization. Mama Maisha has accomplished more in a single lifetime's worth of good. I can sit here and talk about STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 55 2/16/2023 all the inspiring work she has led all day, but I will close with this: While Mama Maisha's work has taken many forms, her approach has remained the same. When faced with injustice, she modeled what true community-based approach could look like, one grounded in love and commitment to bringing others along with her. So I thank her today for her years of work and for being part of Philadelphia's living Black history. Thank you so much, and thank you to her and her community and friends and family. Can you stand up. (Applause.)

Thank you, Councilwoman. That will be on today's Calendar. Before we proceed, I'd like to recognize a State Representative, Danilo. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 56 2/16/2023 There you go, sir. Congratulations and a little bit of condolences, because you got a lot of work ahead of you, a lot of challenges, but it's all good. You're going to handle it in awesome order. And our former Council colleague, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. (Applause.)

Thank you, Councilwoman, for always stopping through and checking on us, making sure -- I assure you we are doing what we're supposed to do. Thank you. Mr. Decker, does that conclude the introductions?

Council President?

I'm sorry. The Chair recognizes Councilman Thomas.

Sorry, STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 57 2/16/2023 Council President. I know I'm talkative today, but I do want to take a moment to just say congratulations and, more importantly, thank you to Mama Maisha. I don't have her extensive bio here today, so I'm glad my colleague was able to read that, but I don't know if folks know, Mama Maisha has known me since I was 14 years old. Mama Maisha is a part of the village -- and I see Mama Newton here as well too and other elders in this community -- that really helped raise me and helped create my perspective of servant leadership. There are hundreds of young people who come out of the Say Yes to Education program whose lives are forever changed because of the work that she's done. These young people are going to college for free. These young people were essentially adopted into the program when they were in elementary school and they carried them all the way through until they got their degree. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 58 2/16/2023 Mama Maisha and her daughter, Milele, are a gift to the City of Philadelphia. It's not -(Applause.)

Yeah, absolutely. Milele and I come up in this work together. That's my contemporary. But Mama Maisha is a living legend. And for those who don't know, when we talk about some of the advocacy that we've seen for individual Black-led charter schools, when we talk about African-centered education, of course when we talk about Kwanzaa, but when we just talk about this idea of wrapping your arms around young people and creating a village that assures that they transition from childhood to adulthood into some area of success, Mama Maisha is the epitome of that. So when me colleague told me STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 59 2/16/2023 last year that this is something that she wanted to do, I was 100 percent on board with it, and I think we need to do this more. I know that folks aren't always big fans of the resolutions that we do in Council, but at the end of the day, these are the narratives that we need told across the City of Philadelphia. I accidentally parked this morning at the same time that Councilmember Jones was here, and Councilmember Jones and I as we were walking in, one of the things that he said is that this work that we do, we're responsible for telling our own story, and sometimes when we bring folks down here, this is an opportunity for us to tell our story but, more importantly, for them to tell their story. And when you talk about the work of Mama Maisha, it's legendary, it's historic. Mama, I love you. I appreciate you. And to everybody that came down STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 60 2/16/2023 here to celebrate her, thank you for being here. Thank you, Council President. Thank you, colleagues. (Applause.)

Thank you, Councilman.

Councilman Squilla offers, on behalf of Council President Clarke, an ordinance adopting an Amendment to Section V of the Articles of Incorporation of the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development by increasing the Authority's term of existence to a date fifty years from the date of approval of the Articles of Amendment by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Referred to committee.

There are no other bills or resolutions being offered STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 61 2/16/2023 members, Mr. President.

Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. That concludes our introduction of bills and resolutions. And our next order of business is reports from committee, and the Chair now recognizes Councilwoman Lozada for a report from the Committee on Public Property and Public Works.

Thank you, Council President. The Committee of Public Property and Public Works reports two bills with a favorable recommendation.

Thank you. Mr. Decker, please read the report.

To the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, the Committee on Public Property and Public Works, to which was referred Bill No. 220419, entitled "An STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 62 2/16/2023 of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to acquire fee simple title or a lesser real estate interest from Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID) to all or a portion of a parcel or parcels of land located in and about the area bounded by 56th Street, Lindbergh Boulevard, 61st Street, Passyunk Avenue, and the Schuylkill River"; and Bill No. 220845, entitled "An ordinance renaming and designating the area of land bounded by 54th Street, Wynnefield Avenue and Woodbine Avenue as 'The Wynnefield Veterans Memorial,'" respectfully reports it has considered the same and returns the attached bills to Council with a favorable recommendation.

Thank you. The Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Lozada. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 63 2/16/2023

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading this day of Bills No. 220419 and 220845. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading this day of Bills No. 220419, 220845. All those in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and these bills will be placed on our First Reading Calendar for today's session. That concludes our reports from committee, and our next order of business STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 64 2/16/2023 2ND READING is consideration of the Calendar. I note that the bills just reported from committee with a suspension of the rules have been deemed to have had their first reading, and they will be on our Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar at our next session of Council. There are no additional bills on the First Reading Calendar, so the Chair recognizes Councilman Jones for the purpose of calling up bills and resolutions on our Final Passage Calendar today.

Thank you, Mr. President. The following resolutions and bills are being brought up from Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars today: Nos. 230086, 230087, 230092, 230097, 230098, 220743, 220872, 22 -- excuse me; correction, 230016, 220733, 220864, and 230004. All other bills and resolutions are being held.

Thank you, Councilman. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 65 2/16/2023 Before we consider our public comment session for the bills and resolutions, I'll just make a couple of comments. Your public comment must concern matters on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar for possible action at today's session. All speakers must sign up in order to testify. If you have not already done so, you can now sign up outside of Council Chamber doors at the Sergeant-at-Arms. If you want to do that, you can do that now. Once you have signed up, you will called in the order in which your name appears on the sign-up sheet. Today we are kind of on the border on the number of individuals, so I'd ask if you can kind of keep it as close to two minutes as possible. If you have to go over a little bit, because we do have a number of -- two pages of individuals. We want to make sure everybody gets a STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 66 2/16/2023 chance to testify. But once your time is up, you will be notified. There is a device on the podium. When the light on that device turns green, it will be your time to speak. When the light turns yellow, you will have 30 seconds to conclude your remarks. And when the light turns red, we'd ask that as best as possible please conclude your remarks. I want to thank you very much for your anticipated cooperation with the guidelines established in Council in this public comment and, more importantly, I want to thank you for showing interest in your city and the government that is functioned in this particular Chambers. So thank you very much. Mr. Decker, you want to call the first name on the list.

Vincent Feldman, commenting on 200533. (Witness approached podium.)

Good STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 67 2/16/2023 morning.

Good morning. My name is Vince Feldman. I'm the chapter President of Children's Health Defense for Pennsylvania. I do support Councilmember Bass's bill about Wells Fargo and changing the name. I agree with that, but I wanted to take this opportunity to remind City Council that the City is about to face its third anniversary of living under an emergency declaration. These declarations are meant as temporary suspensions of the democratic process to act swiftly within the immediate aftermath of a large crisis. There is no pandemic exception in our Constitution that allows for this declaration to continue to stand. Is this Council comfortable with setting a precedent where the Mayor can initiate a kind of medical martial law where public debate, hearing, and democratic oversight of public health is suspended for not STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 68 2/16/2023 just a few weeks or a few months but for a few years? This city continues to mandate a first-of-its-kind novel drug intervention to hundreds of thousands that has a health department that also has spent millions in illegal pharmaceutical marketing that fails to mention any associated risks. It is also known that these novel drugs have no public health benefit since they cannot prevent infection or transmission of a virus. The Department of Public Health has made false and illegal claims that the COVID-19 jabs are, quote, extremely safe and effective without any citation. Prior to 2021, no vaccine has ever been released that hasn't had at least seven years of safety analysis. A recent poll by Rasmussen found that 28 percent of Americans personally know someone whose death they believe was caused by the side-effects STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 69 2/16/2023 from the COVID vaccines. You can't attend a dinner party these days without hearing about the odd medical stories that come out of the blue. Analysis of Pfizer's own data show a 1 in 800 serious adverse reaction profile, making this drug not just the most profitable in history but also the most harmful. You must make efforts to stop the City's COVID vaccine mandates now. Put an end to a gross violation of human rights and restore constitutional governance and protections. History will not forget your record on this, and who else am I to ask to make sure such failures of this magnitude never happen again. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Mr. Decker, please call the next name.

The next speaker is Jasmin Velez. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 70 2/16/2023 (Witness approached podium.)

Good morning, everyone. Good morning to you, City Council. I am a Kensington and Harrowgate resident in support of Councilmember Lozada's resolutions for the Marshall Stabilization and Recovery Plan and for authorizing the City Council Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings, also known as Free Kensington. As an almost lifelong resident of Kensington, I think it's important that we openly work together with various organizations and departments but, more importantly, have a say in how our community will be stabilized. Our community is traumatized by years of neglect and open drug use, which affects our everyday lives and that of our children. This type of behavior would not be allowed freely in any other neighborhood, so why is it okay in ours? There is no reason that our children need to be observing open drug STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 71 2/16/2023 use every day or have to step over paraphernalia on their way to school. There is no reason our neighborhood needs to be held hostage by a drug crisis that is not just a Kensington and Harrowgate problem but rather a citywide issue that requires cross collaboration. I support these resolutions because they will bring us one step closer to improving the conditions in our community. We can only free Kensington together. Thank you.

Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you for your testimony. Mr. Decker.

Alfred Klosterman. (Witness approached podium.)

My name is STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 72 2/16/2023 Alfred Klosterman. I'm a member of Harrowgate Civic Association. For too many years, any policy from this city, whether it affected us for good or bad, has been dealt from above, never considering the wishes and needs of the public themselves. We've had many strong local groups. We have civic associations. We have other community service groups that struggle daily that keep our communities surviving, and we ask that with the resolutions of the Councilmember, that our Councilmember have a seat at the table, our local groups have a seat at the table, and the public themselves. For too long we've been neglected and abandoned, and we want to be heard. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.) STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 73 2/16/2023

The next speaker, Madam Chair, is Milele Sullivan. Milele Sullivan.

I think they're coming now. (Witness approached podium.)

Milele Sullivan. Good morning, everyone. And at this time, I'm speaking on behalf of Mama Maisha-Ongoza, but in particular, she is a Philadelphian through and through, and there's some Philadelphians who cannot be here right now. They are upset that our Eagles did not win. They were hoping that we were going to have this session next week, because that would have meant that the parade would have been today. So what I mean by that too is, there is some law students. One in particular is very near and dear to her heart. Her name is Martine Augustin. She is someone who Mama Maisha met when she was in elementary school, as some of STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 74 2/16/2023 you heard. She is that kind of person. She doesn't just hold onto you and work with you for, say, two years, three years. No. She's like, you're mine for decades. We're going to see you through to that finish line. And so Martine Augustin, she's a law student right now at Emory. She graduated prior to that Hampton University. Before that she graduated from Imhotep. Before that, she went to Bryant School in West Philadelphia. So she was not technically a part of the Say Yes to Education program that Mama Maisha directed that she retired from. However, she was what we called a friendly. She was someone in the neighborhood who needed additional support. She needed that extra out-of-school-time activity, which we called combatting some of the learning loss, which is where Freedom Schools come to play. And Martine Augustin also at one time needed a place to live. She STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 75 2/16/2023 needed additional family supports. She needed to know even when she was in high school how it is that I potentially could set up and start my own LLC. Martine wanted to know, how can I start a non-profit. Who she came to was Mama Maisha, and she said, Sister Milele -that's how I'm affectionately known -she said, please have my words be heard in this Council Chamber space even though I'm not here or my professors are going to be mad at me. And so I have to say to her in the next time that I have with Mainy (ph), which is we all well know -- and this is in quotes from Martine Augustin -- the African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child. However, it takes a special person to create that village. She is Mama Maisha-Ongoza. I am that village child, and she continues to wrap her arms around us in an intergenerational way, not just for young people like me but for the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 76 2/16/2023 elders who are in this room today. (Applause.)

Her success and her well-being looks out for us from birth until the ancestry realm, and she doesn't want for our Philadelphia citizens to continue to leave this earth in a place of hurt and pain. That is what Mama Maisha fights against.

Thank you.

She is also the one who will attach herself to your hip and take care of you even internationally, and right now there's a group of people here who are helping to do things for people who are suffering even with things where they have menstrual cycle needs, where they can't afford them. We are teaching people right now through the leadership of Mama Maisha how to sell trades, things that were taken out schools. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 77 2/16/2023 And out of respect for my time, I just want to say to you, please know with a humble heart, Mama Maisha, that we love you, we admire you, and we thank you for your leadership and your dedication.

Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you. Mr. Decker.

The next speaker is Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza. (Applause.)

I'm Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza, and I want to thank you for the resolution today. It's a great honor. They always say to smell the flowers while you're still here, but the greatest way you can honor me is to continue to find ways to work together in the City and ways that are real. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 78 2/16/2023 We have lost so many things, so many things that will be considered best practices that I hope that you will look into. We used to have a system of family centers here that supported families around the City. We had 24 Freedom Schools every summer where children all around the City could go. We had so many different programs that were comprehensive, best practice. Look into the past at some of those practices when you're doing this work you're doing now and make sure that everything -- it's a difference of programs being in the community and of the community. It's a qualitative difference. People can be in it but not of it. So make sure you always work with the people that are of the community, because the ones who are in it are normally tourists. They're there for a short time. So the best way to honor me is to find ways to pull these silos STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 79 2/16/2023 together, because all my work has been how I can get other people to help me do the work. I've never done anything by myself. I've always brought more people in. So in supporting me and honoring me, you're honoring all the other people, all my friends that are here, my family. But I'm just asking you to look in these best -- we have some great best practice models in the City that need to be resurrected and refunded. The Scott program that funded just drill teams. This funding -- the mamas on the street who gave the children the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They the ones are with the children 24/7. They need the support. They're the ones dealing -when these agencies close at 6 and 7 o'clock, it's the drill team captain who knows where the kids are at. They need to be funded. You need to strengthen them. They are our best STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 80 2/16/2023 practice models. When those programs was funded, we didn't have these kind of problems we have now. We had more eyes on the children, right? And so I'm just asking you, make sure you do this work from people of the community. Help them to do the work, because everybody wants the City to be better, and we got people -- one person on the block now keeping the whole street clean, just one mama or papa still sweeping the streets. You know, support that person. Make sure they have brooms. Make sure they have trash bags. There's ways you can help the people who want to do the work. That's all I'm asking. Don't forget about the people on the ground that are really of the community. Thank you.

Thank you. (Applause.) STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 81 2/16/2023

Thank you for your service. Mr. Decker.

Wendy Burton. (Witness approached podium.)

Is it afternoon yet? No, not yet. So good morning. I am Wendy Elder Burton, and I just want to congratulate Mama Maisha. I met her some years ago, and I always admired everything that she's done in the community, in our cultural community as well. And so I'm just here because I just want to congratulate her and show her love that's in my heart. I've always just admired her. Right now I'm in a group with her, two groups, Poshi (ph) group and the Sad (ph) group, which is one is the autistic group and the other one is a group -- it's a volunteer group that we work in every week, and I'm so pleased to be a part of that. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 82 2/16/2023 So thank you and congratulations again, Mama Maisha.

Thank you. (Applause.)

And the next speaker, Mr. Decker.

Mary Anderson. (Witness approached podium.)

Good morning. My name is -

Good morning.

-- Mary Anderson and I became a Philadelphian 60 years ago, and I'm retired from the City. I'm a retired City employee. Several years ago I was in a third-world country, didn't know anyone, and I had my two grand-kids with me, and they were sending messages back to the schools that they attended. I became very ill, and in that STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 83 2/16/2023 country I didn't know anyone, and when I became ill, I asked my grandson and pointed to a woman and asked him to tell her that I was ill and to come and help me. This woman came and helped me so I could return back to the states and take care of my grandchildren. Several years ago when I retired, I started looking for something to do in the community, and someone directed me to the program that I'm in now with Maisha. I didn't know her name until I walked in that door to do volunteer work. She looked at me and said, I know you, and I said, I know you too. You saved me in the third-world country. I didn't know her name then, but then I found out her name last year when I went to volunteer for the community, and I am so grateful to be in her presence at this time in my life. My grandson has now graduated STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 84 2/16/2023 and I asked him to come here, but his schedule was too busy, but he sent his love to her and he was grateful that she took care of his grandmother. Thank you.

Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you for your testimony. Thank you for your testimony. Mr. Decker.

Darlene Burton. (Witness approached podium.)

Good morning. My name is Darlene Burton. I'm here in support of the Jones/Lozada resolution. I have been a resident of Kensington for 27 years. I moved to Kensington for a better life for me and my children, coming from 12th and Cambria, also known as the badlands. I'm here to tell you the STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 85 2/16/2023 badlands was a cake walk as compared to Kensington's current condition. I am very upset that the City has turned a blind eye to the residents of Kensington and the trials and tribulations that we endure on the daily basis. Not only do we have to dodge bullets from drug dealers, we also myself currently is going HIV testing, because I got stuck with a needle simply sweeping outside of my house. No one should live the way we do in Kensington. It is deplorable. I see women going to work with their children walking through addicts nodding out. I've seen people do things that no one should see. We should not suffer the fate that we suffer because the City has failed to act. So I stand here in support of the resolutions, because no one deserves to live in the conditions that we live in every day. We work, we love, we play, and the conditions we have to do it all STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 86 2/16/2023 in should be unacceptable to everybody in power to make change. So I ask you to please consider this resolution, because the residents need help desperately. Thank you.

Thank you. (Applause.)

Mr. Decker.

Martine Augustin.

I spoke for her. Thank you.

The next speaker is Ryan Richardson. (Witness approached podium.)

Good morning. My name is Ryan Richardson. I'm an 8th grader for Mathematics, Civics, Science Charter School. I was a part of Mr. St. Hill's mentoring group, so are my friends here. Can y'all stand up for me. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 87 2/16/2023 (Applause.)

What Mr. St. Hill was to me, he was like a grandfather. He taught me right from wrong, and he really showed me how to be a man for my future life, and I respect him for that. Rest in peace, Mr. St. Hill. And, you know, I really did like the guy. Even though I met him just -- you know, I met him just this year. Mr. Tommie St. Hill had a special place in my heart. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you for being here. Mr. Decker.

The next speaker is Menki Graves. (Witness approached podium.)

My name is Makai STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 88 2/16/2023 Graves. I'm a student at Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School. Mr. St. Hill, he was like a mentor to me. He taught me -- like he taught me a lot of important life lessons, and even though I just met him this year, he really helped me a lot, because he guided me. He guided me in times where nobody else could. And he was just an all-around good person, and he was like a ball of energy. He like -every time we had him, he would make everybody laugh. Everybody had fun in his class, and he was like a great teacher. That's it. (Applause.)

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Mr. Decker.

The next speaker is former Councilmember Jannie Blackwell. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 89 2/16/2023 (Applause.)

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

As always, let me first thank God for the privilege of being here. You know, having been here, thank you, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, a Blackwell sat in that seat from 1976 until 2020. So I'm at home. It is a pleasure to be here to honor Tommie St. Hill. Lu loved him like a son. I want to thank your Councilman, who is out sick today, especially for this privilege to speak for Tommie St. Hill. I want to ask all his family members to come next to me. I'd like them to introduce themselves and all the friends and family of Tommie to please STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 90 2/16/2023 stand. If his sons are still here, Jetta, I'd like you all to say hello and who you are so the people can see you and know when they hear your name all the time who you are. Come forward. Thank you. (Witnesses approached podium.)

Hello, everybody. I'm Tommie St. Hill, Jr., and I just want to thank you guys for honoring my father today. I actually wrote a little something. Tommie St. Hill, Sr. was a man of service, honor, and great humor. I want to thank Philadelphia's legislative body, especially Councilman Curtis Jones, Councilman Isaiah Thomas, and Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, for honoring the life of my father. He treated everyone with love and respect. Tommie St. Hill, Sr. could go from the streets of North Philadelphia to the corridors of City Hall energetically shaking hands, spreading STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 91 2/16/2023 laughter, and bestowing his unique wisdom. I am grateful to celebrate my father's impact and contributions that he made on the City of Philadelphia. May he rest in eternal peace and happiness.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Jetta St. Hill, and I'd like to thank each and every one of you for coming out to honor my husband and thank you for this beautiful resolution.

Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you very much. I don't know if there's -- we'll try to -- yes. DEBORAH: Good morning, everyone. I just want to thank you so much for all the love that you have showed the family. I am his sister, Deborah. I'm a year older than he was. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 92 2/16/2023 We were very, very, very close, and I miss him so much, but just thanking you all for the love.

Thank you.

Hi. My name is Akenya Jones and this is?

Tanya Back.

We are also Tommie St. Hill's kids, and we just want to say thank you. Thank you so much. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I'd like to thank Council for honoring somebody who is so important and such a wonderful person. He was certainly my best and closest friend for several years, and he will be sorely missed. It was just a blessing to have him as such a friend and confidant.

My name is Wayne Johns. Councilman Jones and Councilman Johnson summed it up. That was Tommie St. Hill. And, yes, if he was your friend, he was your friend to the end. He had your back. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 93 2/16/2023 Rest in peace.

Thank you all. Thank you, all members of City Council, for this honor. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Thank you, City Council, Council President Clarke, Council Majority Leader Jones, and the rest of the Councilmembers, Councilman Harrity for introducing this resolution on behalf of Tommie's longstanding work in this chamber here and throughout the City of Philadelphia. We welcome all opportunity to have his legacy remembered, so for this moment here to beginning of that process. So thank you very, very much. Have a blessed day.

Thank you. (Applause.)

The next speaker is Lynn Landes, commenting on 210913. (Witness approached podium.) STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 94 2/16/2023

Good morning.

Good afternoon. I'm Lynn Landes, founder of HealthAlertPhilly.org. I support Resolution 210913, but today I'm also here to talk about the ongoing COVID nightmare. Dr. Fauci, the federal government's leading proponent of COVID vaccines, has recently co-authored a paper that admits that the COVID vaccines have been a failure. What he didn't admit is that these vaccines are still mandated for some and are experimental, extremely unsafe, and deadly. Shockingly, days after Fauci's paper was published, the CDC put these very same COVID vaccines on the childhood vaccine schedule for children as young as six months. As if that wasn't horrific enough, the CDC also recommended even more vaccines to the childhood schedule, which brings the total up to 72 vaccines STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 95 2/16/2023 by the age of 18. None of these vaccines, including COVID vaccines, have been tested for their potential to cause cancer, damage DNA, or impair fertility, as stated in Section 13 of the FDA required vaccine package insert. Yet, the CDC continues to claim that all vaccines are safe and effective. Meanwhile, adults and children alike are still using toxic hand sanitizers and wearing unhealthy face masks. The masks that City Council is currently handing out are made of polypropylene, a petrochemical that can adversely affect the lungs, puberty, reproductive health, and body development. Nonetheless, here we are submitting to these insane and sickly policies brought to us by our federal public health agencies. The COVID nightmare is clearly the result of greed, corruption, and incompetence, but also by an almost STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 96 2/16/2023 religious belief in federal public health authorities, and the branding of anyone who disagrees with the federal government, a conspiracy theorist. We all need to wake up from this medical nightmare, use our common sense, and reclaim our medical freedom. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

The next speaker is Ogbonna Hagins, commenting on 200533. (Witness approached podium.)

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, everyone. Ogbonna Hagins, H-A-G-I-N-S. I'm speaking on 20053 [sic], resolution calling for Comcast Spectacor to reconsider its naming rights agreements with Wells Fargo. I think that many, if not all of you Councilmembers, should reconsider your choice of jobs based on the fact STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 97 2/16/2023 that you are presiding over one of the worst cities in the nation, and to be honest with you, you and your advisors seem to be happy with this fact. I come in these Chambers week after week hoping that I would see some new, innovative legislation on decreasing gun violence, decreasing the economic wealth gap, creating jobs, improving education, cleaning the streets, and all I see are these wimpy bills and resolutions that sound good but are just as flimsy as the paper that they're printed on. Last week there was time and energy spent on celebrating our Philadelphia Eagles, but it seems that your celebrations brought them bad luck, as well as the Phillies last year. From a spiritual level, maybe, just maybe, the Gods don't want Philadelphia to have sports champions based on this not being a championship city in relationship to education, safety STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 98 2/16/2023 standards of living, cleanliness, and the wealth gap with Afro Americans. This is the election season, and based on the failure of this body, maybe many of you should reconsider reelection. Maybe, just maybe, you should consider going back to being a regular civilian, to regular civilian life to see what it's like not to be protected by your titles as Councilmembers, because based on the hundreds of people who I've spoken with over the past few days, this body is doing a bad job at making people feel love in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. Unethical banking practices of Wells Fargo? Yeah, I agree with not giving them the naming rights, but what about the unethical practices of doing nothing about making Philadelphia citizens -- by not making Philadelphia citizens feel that all politicians want to do is get paid, wear nice clothes, and STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 99 2/16/2023 that's it. But --

Thank you.

-- I'm saying to you, reconsider your ethics as it relates to the City of Philadelphia and doing your job as City Councilmembers.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hagins. Thank you for your testimony. We have been accused of not getting potholes filled and been accused of not getting abandoned buildings taken down, but it's the first time I've ever gotten accused of a sports team losing a championship game. But it's all good. It's a part of the job. So we will be silent during the 76ers run. Thank you, Mr. Hagins. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hagins. Okay. That concludes our public comment for today -- oh, you have three more. I'm sorry. Mr. Decker, call the next name. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 100 2/16/2023

The next speaker is Neyda Rios. (Witness approached podium.)

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. My name is Neyda Rios. Good morning -sorry. I wrote stuff down, but I'm not the type of person to write things down. I just always talk from the heart. I thank you for giving us this opportunity to come before you this morning. Good morning to everyone here. Thank you for this time and this space. I was supposed to go be in surgery this morning, but my heart weighed so heavy about my community and about the bill -- the resolution that I am here to support, Free Kensington resolution. I'm a long-term resident of Kensington. I bought my house way back in 1995 before everything started changing, so I've been on the streets for STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 101 2/16/2023 a very long time in the neighborhood Kensington, Harrowgate. I've been out there picking up needles. I've been out there cleaning the playground, McPherson, what people call Needle Park. That is not Needle Park. It is McPherson Playground, where our kids -- Stacy, raise up the board, please. I don't know if you can see the pictures clearly, but anyone who wants to see them, they're here so you can see them. Where the kids find a safe place to be. They want to be able to play in the playground. They want to be able to walk to school without having to watch where they step, where they step on feces, where they step on needles. They are tired of having to look out. They want to be children. We are traumatizing our children on a daily basis. For what? For what? So that people can go sell drugs on the street? So that they can be out there getting high? STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 102 2/16/2023 We have to walk over. We have to like be careful, everything that we do. The people who are in our community do not belong there. They are not residents. They are not from Philadelphia. They're from the suburbs. They're from different areas. I've been doing service in Salvation Army, which is no longer open. It was closed down because of funding. I've been doing services. I'm community connected with Impact Services, also at CHW training. I just finished in August with NKCDC. There are resources out there. There are things out there, and we have to be educated, but the first step that needs to be taken is to get the drug dealers off of our streets. There are so many of them. They do not live in Kensington, these drug dealers. You see them of the train in the morning, getting on their train STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 103 2/16/2023 with their lunches and their cell phones and their guns hiding underneath their jackets coming into Kensington from West Philadelphia, from other places. I'm constantly on my street corner having to stand on my street corner and be out there fighting for my corner. There's a corner garden that I started, a lot, an old lot. There's something else to belong to, gentlemen.

If you can wrap it up, please.

Okay. I'm sorry.

That's okay.

I apologize. But the most important thing is that you hear us, hear our cries, the people who cannot come out, who have not been able to come out here because single moms that have to go to work, children that have to go to school. Hear our cries as a resident, as neighbors. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 104 2/16/2023

Thank you.

We are here together, and thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. (Applause.)

We hear you. We hear you.

The next speaker is Daisie Cardona. (Witness approached podium.)

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. My name is Daisie Cardona. I'm a 20-year-old Afro indigenous Latina queer woman. I am here to support Councilmember Lozada and the Kensington resolution bill. I was born in Kensington and have lived and worked here my whole STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 105 2/16/2023 entire life. When I was three years old, two things happened. My dad left and my mom took my brother and I to eat at the now closed Salvation Army Pioneer Corps building. That one meal changed our lives forever. One thing led to another, and soon my mom, brother, and I were not only volunteering but helping run nearly every program in that building. That upbringing not only taught me some very important lessons but shielded us from the violence happening outside. Some of the people of the kids that we grew up with are dead. Some sell drugs, others teeter-tottering between what is around us and living. Most do it with a blunt in their hands. Some have been doing it since they were very young. One of our neighborhood kids, he just turned 15, has been smoking weed since he was eight years old. He now sells drugs and is on the run because he pissed off the wrong person. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 106 2/16/2023 It isn't just them. My best friend's baby brother has been able to spot needles and guide the other children around them since he was five years old. And I'm sure most of you know McPherson Square. You look it up on your computer, on YouTube, and there's tons of videos of the addicted camping on the park. What most outsiders don't know is that rotting old building on top is a library and probably -- honestly, probably the only reason most kids and teens around aren't dead. Kids as young as two spend every moment there, the library giving kids extra lunches to take home to siblings and even parents who would starve without the extra food. This has to stop. This cannot be allowed to continue. The open-air drug market in Kensington is not only killing the users, it is killing innocent kids, teens, adults, elderly. Why has this been STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 107 2/16/2023 allowed to continue? I can tell you why. Because we are a predominantly low-income colored community. The truth is, what's happening in Kensington is an act of racism, of segregation. Most people who live in Kensington never leave. They die thinking Kensington is the whole world. To put a stop to this, first we must make them see us, see that we are not just numbers, statistics, cannon fodder. The people here, the kids, teens, young adults, the adults, and elderly, are some of the kindest, most bravest, brilliant people I have ever met, and if I had a choice, I'd roll up here all over again. City Council, I stand here pleading for the lives of my people, my family. I could have come here, straightened my hair, in a suit, conformed to look like you and paint a picture that simply isn't true, paint a STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 108 2/16/2023 government that like most but of this very Council hasn't turned their backs on my people, my neighborhood.

If you can summarize, please.

We do not want your condos. We do not want your storage facilities. We want answers, solutions, real solutions and answers. I stand before you, again, representing my people, for the children whose whole lives have been nothing but a war zone, who deserve more, for the 200 victims of shootings in 2023 alone, for the 159 who have been fatal, but 41 deaths we've had, the seven-year-old girl who was shot four days into 2023.

Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. We hear you. (Applause.)

The final speaker STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 109 2/16/2023 is Anthony Erace. (Witness approached podium.)

Good afternoon.

Hi. My name is Anthony Erace. It's okay. Nobody ever gets it right. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of Resolution 230016. I will be brief and hopefully persuasive. This resolution would exempt employees of the Citizens Police Oversight Commission from civil service. This is an important step for independence, impartiality, and agency legitimacy. Virtually all of CPOC's work can impact the policies and practice of policing and day-to-day work with police officers in Philadelphia. Independence from civil service is crucial to maintain impartiality and legitimacy. The public should be able to STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 110 2/16/2023 rely on CPOC's ability to pursue issues, facts, and reforms wherever they lead, without common or shared interests between the employees of either agency. In sum, we expect the public to trust us to act independently, and for that, the agency must actually be independent. Additionally, the passage of this bill allows us to cast a wide net in the community to hire effectively, to be fluid and flexible outside of the Byzantine bureaucracy. It allows us to seek and find the best qualified candidates, even if those qualifications are non-traditional. Our goal is to reduce barriers and become an apprentice agency and provide a path to development and success for the people that are of and by our community. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 111 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING And that now concludes our public comment session, and we will now consider the bills and resolutions on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar. I would ask the Clerk to please read the title of Resolution No. 230086.

A resolution expressing Philadelphia City Council's support for graduate student workers at Temple University and urging Temple University to return to the table and bargain a fair and equitable contract with its graduate student workers.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Thomas.

Thank you, Council President. We're still not seeing the progress that we would like to see to support our students at Temple, so I energetically move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 112 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. Mr. Decker, 230087.

A resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Land Bank to dispose of 1736 North 22nd Street located in the 5th Councilmanic District.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move for its adoption. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.) STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 113 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted. Mr. Decker, 230092.

A resolution honoring and recognizing Chris DeShields, a SEPTA bus operator, for his heroism and the bravery he exhibited while stopping a carjacking and protecting his fellow citizens.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson.

Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.) STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 114 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it and the motion carries. The resolution is adopted. Mr. Decker, 230097.

A resolution authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority deeds conveying fee simple title to 4993 West Girard Avenue in the Third Councilmanic District.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier.

Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 115 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. Mr. Decker, 230098.

A resolution initiating action to continue a neighborhood improvement district, known as the Northern Liberties Business Improvement District, in an area that generally includes both sides of North 2nd Street from the north side of Callowhill Street to the south side of Girard Avenue, both sides of North 3rd Street from Spring Garden Street to the south side of Wildey Street, Spring Garden Street from North 2nd Street to the eastern side of North 5th Street, and certain blocks of streets that intersect portions of these streets; for which the Northern Liberties Business Improvement District, Incorporated, which has STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 116 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING organized itself as a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation, serves as the Neighborhood Improvement District Management Association for the District.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Resolution No. 220743.

A resolution STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 117 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter changing the requirement for contributions and minimum balance of the Budget Stabilization Reserve and making other technical changes; and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)

Those opposed? (No response.)

Oh, STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 118 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING two-thirds -- yeah. Let the record reflect because this is a Charter change amendment, it shall require a two-thirds vote. Mr. Decker, call the roll.

Councilwoman Bass.

Aye.

Councilwoman Brooks.

Aye.

Councilman Driscoll.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gauthier.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson.

Aye.

Councilman Harrity. (No response.)

Councilman STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 119 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING Johnson.

Aye.

Councilman Jones.

Aye.

Councilwoman Lozada.

Aye.

Councilman O'Neill.

Aye.

Councilman Phillips.

Aye.

Councilman Squilla.

Aye.

Councilman Thomas.

Aye.

Councilwoman Vaughn.

Aye.

Council President Clarke. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 120 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING

Aye. The ayes are 15; the nays are zero. Two-thirds of all members of Council voting in the affirmative, Resolution No. 220743 has been adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Resolution No. 220872.

A resolution proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to create the Division of Workforce Solutions within the Department of Commerce, to promote workforce development activity serving Philadelphians seeking jobs and training opportunities in the public or private sectors; and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.

Thank you. The Chair again recognizes Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson.

Thank you, Mr. President. On your behalf, I STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 121 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you. It's been moved and seconded that the resolution be adopted. Because Resolution No. 220872 is an amendment to the Home Rule Charter, it requires two-thirds vote. Therefore, the question shall be, shall the resolution be adopted. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.

Councilwoman Bass.

Aye.

Councilwoman Brooks.

Aye.

Councilman Driscoll.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gauthier.

Aye. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 122 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING

Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson.

Aye.

Councilman Johnson.

Aye.

Councilman Jones.

Aye.

Councilwoman Lozada.

Aye.

Councilman O'Neill.

Aye.

Councilman Phillips.

Aye.

Councilman Squilla.

Aye.

Councilman Thomas.

Aye.

Councilwoman STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 123 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING Vaughn.

Aye.

Council President Clarke.

Aye. The ayes are 15; the nays are zero. A majority of members present, two-thirds, Resolution No. 220872 has been adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Resolution No. 230016.

A resolution proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to provide for exemption from civil service for staff of the Citizens Police Oversight Commission; and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.

The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. Right now Bill Greenlee would be flipping desks STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 124 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING over for all the Charter amendments we've introduced today. He was an opponent of messing with a document that he thought was pretty solid, but I think in today's climate, in today's world environment and nationally, we have to redo things and think differently. Tyre Nichols was murdered. He was beaten to death, and it has become a national issue. It's not even a debate, but it's become a national issue. And I am not a perfect servant. I am a public servant, and I pray every day to learn from my mistakes. But this is not a mistake. If that happened here in Philadelphia, we would not be ready to deal with all that comes with that, because our Commission has been hamstrung from hiring the best and brightest of a talent pool to be ready for not -- I pray every day that it never happens here, that we get a pass, but we have to be prepared for when it happens here. Why? STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 125 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING Because it has rippling effects throughout our city. There's not a neighborhood that was not affected by the uprising, from Chestnut Hill to South Philadelphia. We have to be prepared so that people, citizens, know that you're not always going to get every decision you want, but those decisions are considered fairly. So right now the vote before us, if we were not to do it, would only slow the process down. And I think sometimes that analysis paralysis is a tactic. As long as they can keep it from being totally functional, they can keep it from being relevant to public policy in the City of Philadelphia. So I need you to think about what would have happened had that traffic stop, Isaiah Thomas, for equitable laws for trafficking, what would have happened in Philadelphia? Would we have been ready to review, to analyze what happened? I would tell you no. But I STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 126 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING tell you by a vote affirmative today, we're getting closer to being able to say and look people in the eye from the community and say that we put the best possible fair plan forward. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Councilman. Councilman, can I get a motion on the resolution.

I move for the adoption. I got into it. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)

Thank you, Councilman. It's been moved and seconded that the resolution be adopted. Because Resolution No. 230016 is an amendment to the Home Rule Charter, it requires two-thirds vote. Therefore, the question shall be, shall the resolution be adopted. Mr. Decker, please call that STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 127 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING roll.

Councilwoman Bass.

Aye.

Councilwoman Brooks.

Aye.

Councilman Driscoll.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gauthier.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson.

Aye.

Councilman Johnson.

Aye.

Councilman Jones.

Aye.

Councilwoman Lozada.

Aye. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 128 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING

Councilman O'Neill.

No.

Councilman Phillips.

Aye.

Councilman Squilla.

Aye.

Councilman Thomas.

Aye.

Councilwoman Vaughn.

Aye.

Council President Clarke.

Aye. The ayes are 13; the nays are one. Two-thirds of all members of Council voting in the affirmative, Resolution No. 230016 has been adopted. Let the record reflect, as was said earlier, Councilman, we have people STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 129 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING seemingly leaving every week, so I want to change the vote on Resolution No. 220872 and 220743. Those votes are 14; zero and not 15; zero. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 220733.

An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to change the requirements for contributions and minimum balance of the Budget Stabilization Reserve and make other technical changes; fixing the date of a special election for such purpose; prescribing the form of ballot question to be voted on; and, authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 130 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING election.

Thank you. This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.

Councilwoman Bass.

Aye.

Councilwoman Brooks.

Aye.

Councilman Driscoll.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gauthier.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson.

Aye.

Councilman Johnson. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 131 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING

Aye.

Councilman Jones.

Aye.

Councilwoman Lozada.

Aye.

Councilman O'Neill.

Aye.

Councilman Phillips.

Aye.

Councilman Squilla.

Aye.

Councilman Thomas.

Aye.

Councilwoman Vaughn.

Aye.

Council President Clarke.

Aye. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 132 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING The ayes are 14; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 220864.

An ordinance providing for the submission of the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of the proposal set forth in a Resolution approved by Council an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter relating to the creation of the Division of Workforce Solutions within the Department of Commerce, to promote workforce development activities serving Philadelphians seeking jobs and training opportunities in the public or private sectors; and, authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.

The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson. STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 133 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING

Thank you, Council President. I just wanted to pause to say thank you for your work on this legislation and for the work that we've done together in reaching this legislation to this point in the process and all the work that we've done over the summer just to look at every facet and every line of this bill. I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity and thank Jenaye on your team as well, who did a lot of diligent work on this legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman, and thank you for your awesome input and work on this issue, and I want to thank the Administration and Commerce Department for their contributions also. This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Chief Clerk will please call STATED MEETING 02-16-2023 134 2/16/2023 2/16/23 - STATED - 2ND READING the roll.

Councilwoman Bass.

Aye.

Councilwoman Brooks.

Aye.

Councilman Driscoll.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gauthier.

Aye.

Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson.

Aye.