The vote was greeted by applause from the public.

The City Council on June 6, 2023, voted unanimously to fund a new middle school. The new school will replace the Peck School, which has been the source of frustration for administrators, teachers and parents for years because its design is poor. The city will incur a $40 million bill for the school, to be paid over 30 years. The balance of $84 million will be paid by taxpayers across the state.

Also at the meeting, Councilor Kocayne Givner read a proclamation signed the previous week by Mayor Joshua García on the ravages of gun violence, where every day 100 are killed and another 200 are wounded nationwide. She asked for a moment of silence for the victims of this societal scourge.

Councilors also decided which projects and organizations will receive funding. You can see who gets what here.

The June 5, 2023, Development and Government Relations Committee received recommendations from Alicia M. Zoeller, Administrator, Office of Community Development, on how the $19 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) should be distributed among city organizations and projects. The administrator met with a volunteer committee of residents to determine the recommendations.

The documents that detail the requests from organizations can be reviewed here.

The documents councilors reviewed at the meeting can be seen here.

A joint meeting of the Finance and Ordinance Committees on June 8, 2023, reviewed the sewer rate study for the city. A PointPower Presentation helped illustrate the issues with the service and its costs to residents. This was Item 4 on the agenda, which read: “… financial review of the sewer enterprise fund for 2023 and anticipated financials for 2024, with a projected impact on the sewer fee, to a joint meeting of the Ordinance and Finance committees.”