Statements by Fred A. Neil
1,535 statements from meeting recordings, newest meeting first.
Machine transcript. Statements are matched to this official by machine and can be wrong. Check the recording.
Mar 9, 2026, Regular Council Meeting
Arndt, please make a motion.
Play from 2:34:33Mar 9, 2026, Regular Council Meeting
Second?
Play from 2:35:03Mar 9, 2026, Regular Council Meeting
It's been seconded. All in favor?
Play from 2:35:05Mar 9, 2026, Regular Council Meeting
Any opposed? It's passed. This meeting is adjourned.
Play from 2:35:08Mar 9, 2026, Regular Council Meeting
Oh, wait. Wait, wait, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Play from 2:35:13Mar 9, 2026, Regular Council Meeting
Okay. Now we have council member's announcements. Yes, Councilman Boggerty.
Play from 2:36:18Mar 9, 2026, Regular Council Meeting
Any other announcements? Hearing no other announcements, now the meeting is adjourned.
Play from 2:37:07Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Normally we would have a one-minute warning, but this is the warning and it's immediate.
Play from 00:00Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
I now call the to order the Council Committee of the Whole meeting of Thursday, February 26th, 2026. I would like to remind the public that the public comments are welcome on any item and will be permitted at the appropriate time. You have the to have before you this evening's agenda, and I'll entertain a motion for its adoption.
Play from 00:09Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
And seconded. Any discussion? No discussion. All in favor?
Play from 00:37Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Any opposed? None opposed. The motion is approved unanimously. First on the agenda, we have Council Reports.
Play from 00:44Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
No, we do not have Council Reports this time. [laughter] Presentations: Future Trends in Zoning and Economic Development from uh Mrs. Parkowski, Executive Director Linda Parkowski, Kent Economic Partnership. And welcome.
Play from 00:56Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Councilman Boggerty, followed by Councilwoman Arndt. Councilman Boggerty.
Play from 15:32Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Councilman Boggerty.
Play from 17:30Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
I think that's a staffing issue.
Play from 18:00Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Yes, uh Councilman Anderson.
Play from 20:08Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Thank you. Any other questions?
Play from 24:58Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
None? Linda, I have them.
Play from 25:00Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
And I'm into housing. And I have been into housing. I'm into housing for low-income and fixed-income individuals. And it really isn't Kent Economic Development. This is a state legislative issue. We can't keep apartments. The city has on its books 740 apartment dwellings. 358 out in the Scarborough area, 216 on Leipsic Road called The Edge. Tonight we're looking at the old Berry Van properties which has uh 240 proposed, this doesn't isn't on the books quite yet, plus a whole slew of of townhouses that they want to build there. The problem with the rentals is that the the people who are rent
Play from 25:02Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Continually, uh what happens is that you bring in, whether it's through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or any other source, for seniors, IHOP programs, for low-income, in order to have those properties. The tenants pay off that loan. Then equity, private equity comes in, or it's sold someplace else, and guess what? The tenants pay off the next loan at a higher rate. And then it's sold again. And it's same thing goes on and on.
Play from 26:14Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
We need rent justification, and we need it particularly for those low-income and uh fixed-income people. The low-income people are part of the workforce. And we need this desperately. And we need to get the legislature to suddenly wake up, you can't do that. Now, I've been I went after uh to find out uh Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which is hard to get through,
Play from 26:41Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
uh to find out what they're doing and what they require. And basically they require that anybody who's taking these income these loans that is designed for housing, must obey what the state says they have to do. Now, rent justification is really the answer. Rent justification is exactly what we do with utility rates. They deserve a profit, absolutely, no question about it.
Play from 27:03Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
But it basically has to be based on what they're actually spending. And anytime you add another $250 or $300 uh to the the rent, all of a sudden, these people can't afford it anymore. So, there's a lot of affordable housing if you've got a lot of money in it. So what do we do to get the state legislature to suddenly wake up and put apartments and others that are meant for the low-income and the fixed-income people to be able to keep that rent down where they really can afford it? What can we do?
Play from 27:21Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Well, you know I do.
Play from 28:05Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
I've done it on a continual basis. And one of the things that's very difficult is when you have um the uh the people who are running the apartments and are dealing in the real estate industry are are putting a lot of money into those campaign coffers. And basically, you're trying to get through and say, wait a minute, you can't do this if you can't make what is supposed to be quote affordable housing and keep it down to where people who don't have that income coming in, or are basically on the low level, to be able to help them. As long as it gets sold to the next person, that next person puts that loan on top of the loan that was first one, and no one... it continues on and on. So...
Play from 28:06Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
I've been on it.
Play from 28:42Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
I've been on it.
Play from 28:45Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Yeah. We talk about housing all the time, but this never really gets part of the conversation. So I'm introducing it here and I'll let you go because you're doing a great job. Love you, love what economic development has done. It has been a tremendous multiplier of force, and thank you very much.
Play from 28:48Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Okay, next. Proposed audio and visual upgrades for the City Council meetings. Joe Simmons, Information Technology Director, and AJ Rowan uh from Assurance Media, please come forward.
Play from 29:05Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Thank you folks.
Play from 29:16Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
A.J., welcome.
Play from 34:10Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Councilman Lewis followed by Councilman Dr. Sudler.
Play from 35:31Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Councilman Sudler followed by Councilman Rocha.
Play from 40:17Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Yes, go ahead.
Play from 42:18Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Dr. Sudler.
Play from 43:38Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Councilman Rocha.
Play from 50:40Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Councilman uh Boggerty.
Play from 51:33Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Any other questions? Gentlemen, uh just a comment. I'm from the area era of cat's whisker radios, $0.05 in a in a in a mill a a telephone box to call home, to the point where I can now do this. Honey, I'm at work. How's the picture? A little fuzzy. Well, this changes very rapidly. Uh things that you never thought would happen have happened. It has become essential for us because the dissemination of the information or what we have have gone from four uh uh networks to podcast that anybody can do. And in order to get this out and in order to to do exactly what you have presented to us, Joe, is extremely important because that's the way we we have to communicate. A lot of our people just don't even hear us, don't understand. They can go online and see when their their trash is going to be picked up during the snow, couldn't miss it, but they don't do it. So anything that we can to get the word out to help us to do this, we it's something that it becomes essential for us to be a first class uh capital city. And so we look forward to having what you have, but and presenting it, so we don't have to do anything tonight. We look forward to see what comes up with the budget and what you're recommending. And thank you very much for coming.
Play from 52:34Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Now, I recognize Chairman Andre Boggerty to conduct the business of the Safety Advisory and Transportation Committee. The floor is yours, sir.
Play from 54:27Feb 26, 2026, Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Yes, I think a better to uh maybe a better description. Remember where where Tom Horton's, the Canadian outfit, just opened a place? There's a bank there, used to be Pizza Hut. You're right across the street from the complex for the speedway. That's Leipsic Road. This is where you're going to have, down the line, it's not a part of this of what we're talking about, two uh apartment house for 250 apartment units, and I don't know uh I don't remember how many townhouses are in another section of this lot. It used to be Berry Van Lines. If you were here, you may remember Berry Van Lines. That's there. My only concern about it, and again we need desperately need housing, is the fact that the MPO has turned down, this is a favorite subject of yours, Dr. Sudler, um a study for uh uh of other other roadway, Leipsic Road, which has all the traffic that deals with the speedway, with um Woodlands, 216 apartments already there being constructed, another 250 That was 216, 250 apartments and the townhouses are going to be there. The MPO has turned down a study, and they really have to study this because now you're going to have a tremendous influx on Leipsic to get in and get out with all the other traffic that's there. Should it be built? Yeah, we need we need the housing. We need the tax base that's coming up from there. All the things are positive, but you have to take a look at what that traffic is going to look like at this time. So, I I'm going to be voting in for for to to move this on, simply because it has to be done, but with that note on, traffic has to be studied, and they better study it now than later. I yield.
Play from 1:12:47