What was said · Salt Lake City
Council Formal Meeting
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 — the full transcript. Click any sentence to hear it.
Okay, okay. We are starting today, the formal meeting. Welcome to a subject city council, formal meeting. We're happy to have you here, whether you are person or online. We hope you continue to participate in whichever manner you feel the most comfortable. Thank you, and we're going to move on to item A2, which is the Pledge of Allegiance.
Please join me. Okay, moving on to item three, which is the welcome and the public meeting rules. Thank you, everyone, who is joining us tonight. Before we move through the agenda, I want to quickly go through the registration information and our rules and standards for the public meeting. We welcome everyone, and the council's goal is to make the meeting a place where people feel safe and comfortable participating in their government.
We invite everyone to help make this a welcoming space, a respectful and safe environment allows us to conduct the meeting in an orderly and efficient way. Our most basic rule is that any action that causes disruption to our ability to conduct the meeting or any safety concern involving threats or unprotected speech are not allowed.
These actions or comments may result in removal from the meeting. As a reminder of our public comment registration process, individuals may register to comment on schedule public hearing items until the hearing is closed. For the general comment section, we'll accept sign-ups until 7.30 pm. The general comment section is limited to a maximum of one hour, and we only include commenters who register before 7.30.
If you are here to give general comment, please sign-up and remember that it is possible that not everyone who signed-up may be able to speak. Now we're going to go to item number 4, which is the approval for the meeting minutes for May 13, 2025, and the formal meetings for November 25, 2025. Is there a motion? Mr. Chair, I move for approval of the meeting minutes.
Second. My motion by Councillor MURg Mr. Chair, I would like to introduce the public hearing section of our agenda. These are specific proposals before the Council that require a public hearing. Your comments should pertain to the hearing item, and if you go off topic, we will ask you to stop your comment. Our meeting rules also apply to hearing comments as well.
Please avoid disruptions or threats, and we'll ask staff members to assist you out of the meeting. A reminder comments that include providing personal attacks and intimidation or discriminatory language are no persuasive or compelling to this Council, and they're no helpful in creating a respectful and safe environment.
To sign up on any of the hearing items, please register online or turn in a comment card to end staff, in-person staff. We have signed-ups until the hearing is closed, and we will start calling the names in the order of sign-up. If you're in Zoom, when your name is called, please unmute your microphone. Each person will have two minutes.
When we reach the two-minute mark, we will turn off the microphone and call time. If you need assistance in the room, please raise your hand and someone will be there with you. If you're having technical issues in Zoom, or you need any other technical assistant, please message staff support in Zoom, and the staff can assist you.
If you're unable to finish your comment in the two minutes for these public hearings, you can send the rest of your comment through via email, mail, or calling our office. Contact information for our office is under slc.gov. Now we're going to move to items in the public hearing. The one is a public hearing for the creation of the silo park public infrastructure district.
Kate Wert, our Council policy analyst, will give us a short introduction of the item. Mr. Chair, I will fill in if you're okay with that. This is a public hearing to begin the process to create a public infrastructure district for the silo development, which is in the granary district. It is just the beginning of the process.
The Council will consider governing documents once the attorney's office has negotiated them with the developer. Great. Thank you. Taylor, you can begin with our first comment on this item. Thank you, Mr. Chair. We do not have anyone registered to speak to this item. I need a motion. Mr. Chair, I move that the Council close the public hearing in a defer action to a future meeting.
Second. I have a motion by Councillor Duggan and a second by Councillor Pietrangelo. Any questions on this item? All of those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? This motion carries unanimously. This item is deferred. Now item C is potential action items. C1 is an ordinance for the consolidated fee schedule corrections for public utilities.
I need a motion. Mr. Chair, I move that the Council adopt the ordinance amending fees and fee information in the Salt Lake City consolidated fee schedule related to certain fire line fees and implement the full FY26 fire line fee structure upon adoption as presented in the updated rate table. The Council also supports the Department of Public Utilities creating or crediting customers for the per-inch multiplier portion of fire line fees paid from July 1st 2025 through the adoption of this ordinance.
Second. I have a motion by Council Member Wharton and a second by Council Member Pietrangelo. Any comments on this motion? Okay. All of those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. This motion carries unanimously. That was a lot of work to get to this moment. That was a lot of back and forth from me trying to understand that issue.
So I'm glad that is pretty much over. We're moving on now to the comment section of the agenda. Are there any questions to the mayor from the City Council? I have a question. Yes. In our last meeting, we heard a lot of, well, not a lot. We heard some comments from residents asking about what programs are available to immigrants or maybe I should say what programs do we have available that don't.
That are either for the immigrant community or don't take into account any immigration status in order to qualify. Thanks for that question. Council Member Wharton. So in the administration, we have just today updated our webpage on information and resources for new Americans and advocates. And on that webpage, we have specific sections on knowing your rights, emergency preparedness, free help for citizenship applications, questions from the community, including a lot of the questions that came up last week.
Salt Lake City specific resources and community partner resources. And there you can also find information on our future Citizens Path program. That's the program which offers free legal help for the naturalization process, assistance with application fees, citizenship classes, and interview and test preparation practice.
It's also pretty complete on information on our Know Your Neighbor program, which also has resources for people to not only become connected with resources but to volunteer in the community to assist people who are here who may need to be connected to resources, find their way through, you know, what's a new environment and often filled with a lot of bureaucracy.
Also some information on the language access services that we offer in the city to try to ensure that, you know, all of our government resources are available to people who speak all languages, not just English. So I'm not sure if that completely answered your question, but wanted to make sure that I called attention to those resources, which you can navigate to through the mayor's webpage or through our page on access and belonging through the city, SLC.gov.
Thank you. And I wanted to ask that just because I know some commenters had questions about that at the last meeting, but this comes before that, so I didn't want to go back. But thank you for providing that information and that people can find out more details online. So thank you. Thank you for any other Rachel, Mayor Chief of Staff. Thank you for being here today.
And Jill also, Jill Love. So now we are moving to the comments to the City Council. This is the one hour portion of the agenda. This is to comment about the issues that the community wants to raise that are not scheduled for public hearing. And we're going to accept commenters that are registered until 7.30 PM. And our meeting rules apply to those coming here to speak for general comment.
I wanted to read a little thing that I wrote today about the reasons for the council, the quorum rules. And I wanted to take a moment to explain why we have them. I want to begin by saying that this clearly, those rules are not meant to take away from anyone's passion, urgency or lived experience. The concerns people bring into this room, who's been used for over 100 years for this purpose, about housing, about safety, belonging, equity and opportunity are real, and they matter deeply to the city.
So the city values civic participation, we value transparency, fairness and access to government. The quorum is one of the ways we protect those values in practice. These meetings are shared civic space. People come here from every part of the city with different backgrounds, different levels of comfort speaking publicly, and different relationships to power.
The quorum helps ensure that everyone, not just those who are most confident or most forceful, have equal opportunity to be heard. It protects spaces for voices that are often quieter, marginalized, or speaking publicly for the first time. The city also values public access and open government. These meetings are broadcast, live and residents across the city can observe, understand and participate in the work that the local government is doing.
Clear the quorum helps make sure that the public can hear what is being said, follow the discussion and fully understand the concerns being raised. When meetings become difficult to follow, it is not just the room that loses clarity as the entire community watching. The quorum also helps ensure the integrity of the public record.
What is said here becomes part of the select city official record, an informed policy decision, legal obligations and future conversations. When people are able to speak clearly and meetings remain orderly, concerns are documented accurately and respectfully. That record matters, not just today, but longer after this meeting ends.
Importantly, the quorum does not require people to be unemotional or agreeable. The executive recognizes the main issues discussed here, especially these days, involved harm, displacement, fear and deeply deep frustration. Strong emotions belong in this space. The quorum simply asks that those emotions be expressed in a way that allows them to be heard, preserved and taken seriously.
The goal of the quorum is not to control or punishment. It is inclusion. It is about maintaining a meeting environment where disagreement can happen without intimidation, where passion can be led to progress and where the public can witness a government that is open, accountable and respectful. Even when the conversations are difficult.
By upholding the quorum, we are honoring select cities, commitment to fairness, transparency and meaningful public participation. We are ensuring that this chamber remains a place where everyone's voice has space and where the work of democracy can continue in a way that serves the whole city. I want to right now begin the public comment section.
We are going to start calling in the names of those that are signed up. Taylor, who is helping us today? Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. We have about 21 people registered to speak. First will be MJ Powell followed by Michael Valentine and then Kylie Keena. MJ is here in person. Good evening Council members, Mayor, City Attorney and constituents.
I'm here tonight to address recent reports about ICE potentially opening a large-scale detention facility in Salt Lake City and the community strong opposition to it. Residents recently mobilized after learning about a warehouse owned by the Ritchie group may be under consideration. Mayor Menenhall's administration had emphasized zoning restrictions, building code requirements, infrastructure limitations.
While those details matter, what's missing is a clear opposition on whether this city opposes the detention of undocumented people, permanent residents or even citizens in a way that violate their constitutional due process. And I mean traffic stops, where it counts, where Black Lives Matter started. The administration has said the city will not cooperate with ICE except in cases involving violent criminals, yet there's been no clear definition what constitutes violent, nor clarity on what cooperation is legally required.
At the same time, protesters shared what they claim is a leaked ICE document identifying this site as a potential Makers Center with up to 7,500 beds. A copy and paste framework for our on-house residents. Who's proposing this? The state? Where are you? Is it governor? Or is it mayor? I'd like to know. I really would. And I'd like to be on the record in public.
Our constituents are overwhelmingly opposed to cooperation with ICE given the undocumented abuse of power nationwide. I understand the fear of federal retaliation and state retaliation, but this is a moment for moral leadership. Residents deserve safety, clarity and representation. The next generation is watching, and now we're participating.
Last 10 seconds, I would just like to give and silence to those that are being overwhelmingly abused and detained by ICE. And next will be Michael Valentine followed by Kylie Aquina and then Rose. Michael is here in person. All right, I'm going to start with a quote. If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, that's not progress.
If you pull it out all the way, that's not progress. A progress comes from healing the wound that the blow made. They haven't even begun to pull the knife out. They won't even admit the knife is there. That's a quote from our brother Malcolm X. We are a long way from justice in this city. I missed last week. I'm here in solidarity with all these beautiful people behind us.
I don't have much hope in this council or this tyrannical mayor who's not even here. I was disgusted last week to watch the recording and hear Alejandro and Ava's comments. Alejandro, you set up there saying you're not the enemy of the people. Angry mobs don't show up to tell you to do your job as you're silencing free speech, as you're being authoritarian.
This is City So Corrupt, my own councilwoman, is defaming me openly online for talking about her record last year, voting for the police. She's saying I'm harassing her. I'm bullying her. I hate her because she's a Mexican, which is completely defamation. Which is ironic because increasing the police budget, Ava, actually disproportionately hurts people like your grandma that you keep talking about.
This city is a fascist city Alejandro. It's not a progressive city. It's a performative city. You guys sit up there. You don't hold a rogue mayor accountable who's not even here right now. This is a city that has invested in the police. The budget has increased 64% since 2020. It's a city that gave a billion dollars to the jazz. An article just came out that we found that says the Richie group who's involved with this ICE detention center is actually part of that as well.
You guys destroyed a historic theater, lost us to Sundance. You're a city that brought Zionism into this meeting and to this body. And again, you're silencing free speech. This is a capital city of 200,000 people. You know, I ran for mayor 2023. I'm going to be running again next year. I got 10 seconds here. I just want to say if I was the mayor right now, I'd say fuck ICE. I'd say abolish ICE. I'd say abolish homeland security.
I'd say black lives matter to fund the police and free Palestine. Save the people. I want to remind everyone that you know, have the rules of the quorum. I think that we can still support each other without breaking the rules of the quorum as established, which is include clapping and screaming. We can still do that. We have limited amount of times. There's a lot of people sign up. Let's allow them all to speak because we might be losing time by doing that.
So next speakers. Next will be Kylie Aquina followed by Rose and then Marina Price. Kylie is here in person. My name is Kylie Aquina. I am a district five resident. I do want to note to rest in peace to Jamie Garcia, Keith Porter, Renee Goode and the 30 additional people murdered by ICE is past year. That number is rising every day.
We stated last week that we must raise the bar and we cannot accept anything short of protecting vulnerable people. And as a person who has worked in the elementary and secondary education systems and as a community health, previous community health worker, I can confidently say that waiting to establish clear policy against any partnership or adjacent collaboration with ICE creates lifelong debilitating traumas, permanent disabilities and poverty for people of all ages.
Knowing our rights isn't a super helpful resource right now if our rights won't be protected by the people signing the laws and policy. Dragging out clear decisions leaving any room for fascist agendas helps no one. If my life is being violently threatened or violently mishandled, I ask you, am I still obligated to uphold peaceful decorum?
People are afraid now. People have been suffering the nightmares the rest of us have the privilege of viewing in 15 second clips for a very long time. If other lawmaking entities are comfortable with ICE terrorizing communities anywhere, they will have no problem doing it to any of us in this room. So our demands are as stated, add a public comment, add public hearing on restoration of unlimited public comment and on the city's interactions with ICE.
Judicial warrants before access to non-public city resources or detention, passing a resolution, calling for the abolition of ICE, mandating public reporting on interactions with federal agencies and ensuring salt Lakers can verify city statements, providing educational resources and partner with immigration rights organizations.
Free or contingency legal services for salt Lakers who have constitutional rights have been violated, funding community advisory bodies that monitor human rights and ensuring no city staff or facilities are used for civil immigration enforcement beyond what federal law strictly requires. Next will be rose followed by Marina Price and then Ty Young, Rose is here in person.
One of the first things I was told when I first started getting into politics is that there's no such thing as a non-racist. There are only racists and anti-racists. There's no such thing as not complying with an organization like Immigration and Custom Enforcement. There is only a refusal to cooperate is not the same thing as obstructing their ability to kidnap our friends and neighbors.
When people are getting taken off of the streets, when our friends are being sent to prison camps in El Salvador, calling for decorum is performativeness. That's what that is. The people behind me right now, everyone in this city is disgusted by what's happening here in this entire country. We can't breathe the air outside and you're sitting behind this desk telling us that we need to be civil.
I don't know why, I don't know what's wrong with you. Why do you think that that's okay? In 30, 50 years when we're all living in the apocalyptic wreckage of climate change and your grandkids are asking you what you did during the days when they were roving gangs of slave catchers, wandering the streets and taking them to prison camps, what are you going to tell them?
What are you going to tell them? When they look you in the eyes and ask you what you were doing, when you had power, institutional power to do something, we want you to not just not cooperate with ICE, we want you to oppose them, stand in their way, do everything that you can to obstruct their ability. If I was sitting in your seat right now, I would not sleep.
It would be the only thing I could think about. You have power to stop this. So use it. Thank you. It will be Marina Price followed by Ty Young and then Samantha Shrives, Marina's here in person. Hi, that's a tough one to follow. I live in Glendale and I was here not too long ago when this whole ICE thing started, and I was just heartbroken and I still am.
And so I'm here kind of lost in asking you to do everything you can. I was just thinking about, I should write this stuff down. I was just thinking about how I had to take a pledge to defend my country against all enemies for an end domestic. And because it was for a water quality group, I imagine that you guys had to take that same oath to do that.
And what I see is an attack on America happening in communities all across America. And I would like for you guys to take that oath as seriously as I did. I really took it so seriously, even though it was just for a water quality group. And I've thought about it ever since and I continue to carry that with me. Some of the things that I keep thinking, maybe you could do this, maybe you could do that.
I know that there's something about a reader of license plates and maybe the city thinks, oh, that'll be okay. I don't think so. I think with ICE and all of these horrible things happening that you can't see this as anything but an attack on America. And we start with the Pledge of Allegiance and there's this whole pledge with liberty and justice for all.
It's not like for all white people, it's for all. For all the people who live here, all of our friends and family, and maybe they're not documented. So what? Is that who we are? So please, every little thing you can think of that you can resist this. Please do. And I'm next will be Ty Young followed by Samantha Shives and then Hayley Monfridi.
Ty is here in person. Hello again. I'm TJ, a resident of Salt Lake City. When we spoke last Tuesday, I shared information about how ICE is regularly violating the human and constitutional rights of our immigrant family, friends, and neighbors right here in Salt Lake City. Then a whistleblower released a spreadsheet showing the Department of Homeland Security is in the planning stages of opening both processing and detention centers in existing warehouses across the country, including a proposed mega detention center in Salt Lake City that would confine 7,500 of our immigrant community members, the vast majority who have no criminal record, they just live here, they work here in the city they love.
Today we learned a local real estate developer, the Richie Group, maybe in the final stages of signing over their million square foot warehouse space to another party who would then sell it to DHS for use as a mega detention center. Secret and quiet decisions like this, sure look like an attempt to protect their reputation from the fallout of cooperating with fascists to profit off of what is essentially a concentration camp.
I know you have a thousand priorities to think about right now, but this is an issue our immigrant communities cannot stop thinking about, not even for a moment. The fear and isolation they experience when the country they love threatens to tear them apart every day is overwhelming. I implore you to not just passively decline to cooperate with ICE, but to actively obstruct the support unnecessary detention camp before it goes any further.
Your legacy and immigrant lives depend on it. Lastly, I am here to help and you know how to reach me. Thank you for your time. Next is Samantha Shribes followed by Haley Montpriti and then Daniel Schelling Samantha's here in person. Good evening, Council. Happy first year in Trump's second term. We're doing wonderful.
One third of all people deported have no criminal record and ICE is actively deporting, killing and kidnapping US citizens. We're focusing on the wrong criminals. Now, if the government actually cared about the safety of the American people, they wouldn't be going after immigrants, citizens, non-citizens, criminals, non-criminals.
They would be going after the real violent criminals. Our commander-in-chief, the president of the most powerful country in the world, who is not just nationally hated and disapproved of, but internationally hated and disapproved of. And that, my friends, is Donald J. Trump, a 34-count felon, a known rapist who has just broken international law and is now threatening to invade Greenland.
He's also plastered all over the Epstein-Files. Let's not forget about those. The government should also be going after Secretary Kristi Noem. Her crimes include obstruction of Congress, violation of trust and self-dealing. She is also actively hiring criminals as her agents because DHS doesn't do background checks. They both have violated their oath of office and are also violating our constitutional rights.
The backbone of the country they call themselves patriots for. That doesn't seem very patriotic to me. The real patriots are the ones in this room. We're the ones fighting for this lethal circus to end because our representatives aren't fighting for us, so we have to stand up and do the government's job for them. So, counsel, don't just listen to what we're saying, absorb what we're saying, go home tonight and think about what the people who you work for are asking of you.
Make a plan, get ICE off our streets, vote accordingly and vote for the people. Thank you. Next is Haley Monfreety followed by Daniel Schelling and then Hillary Jacobs. Haley is here in person. We the people demand an abolishment to ICE. We need you, our council members and mayor, to do everything in your power to make sure ICE cannot operate in Salt Lake City.
We need you to ensure there's not a single dollar going to DHS and to ensure the safety of all people in Salt Lake. While we're focusing on ICE today, I am also asking that you deepen the SLCPD and reinvest those funds in our communities. As we see the rise of the tear of ICE, we are reminded of the violence caused by police across our nation.
In 2020, we watched a police officer kneel on the neck of George Floyd. Floyd repeated, I can't breathe for nine minutes until he died of asphyxiation. He was not resisting arrest and was murdered while several officers watched. Twelve weeks ago, a 16-year-old US citizen was put in a chokehold while he was on his way to school.
He was okay, but he suffered injuries due to the unnecessary chokehold. Heralda Lunez-Compost, a Cuban detainee, died at an ICE detention facility in El Paso. A fellow detainee said that he saw five guards with compost and heard compost yell, no puedo respear, which is Spanish for I Can't Breathe. In Minneapolis, a black family of eight, including six children under 12 years old, were trying to leave a protest.
ICE agents threw a tear gas can in their car, and their six-month-old baby stopped breathing for several minutes. ICE should be abolished, and the police who have been attacking, murdering, harassing, and falsely arresting black and brown people since they've existed should be defunded and steps taken to have them abolished.
Hi. This will be Daniel Schelling followed by Hillary Jacobs and then Lilliana White, Daniel is here in person. Good evening. I'm going to have to shift gears for a moment because I'm going to speak about something else. My name is Daniel Schelling. I'd like to begin by thanking each of you for taking the time to meet with Save Our Foot Hills to discuss our recently completed stewardship vision and framework for the Salt Lake City foothills.
And for sharing your interests and concerns regarding this precious natural resource that has such a profound impact on the quality of life for all Salt Lake residents. As part of our stewardship vision, Save Our Foot Hills prepared a land use and recreation management map for the Salt Lake City foothills, which we shared with each of you in which we feel provides a much needed framework for managing equitable recreation at the same time, protecting the environmental integrity of the foothills.
This evening you have each received a hard copy, I hope, of our most recent foothills stewardship document, which includes our land use and recreation management map, and we have sent the same documents to you as a PDF via email. One question that came up several times during our discussion was, what is it that the Salt Lake City Council can do to further this or a similar stewardship vision for the Salt Lake City foothills?
First, we would like the City Council to encourage public lands and the administration to take a close look at Save Our Foot Hills land use and recreation management map, and to consider adopting this or a similar plan prior to making any further commitments regarding recreation infrastructure in the foothills. Note that Save Our Foot Hills is not alone encouraging the development of a comprehensive foothill management plan.
As you may recall, one of the key recommendations from the SE Group to Public Lands was to prepare, quote, a comprehensive land use and resource management plan, unquote, prior to moving forward on additional trail construction. Second, we would like to encourage you to share the Save Our Foot Hills stewardship framework and maps with your constituents, which we will soon be putting on the Save Our Foot Hills website.
Again, thanks for your time and your interest in protecting the Salt Lake City foothills.
Next will be Hillary Jacobs followed by Liliana White and then Kylie Hanson, Hillary's hearing person. Hello, Council members. My name is Hillary Jacobs, and I came tonight to thank each of you, Angela Yazons, for meeting with Save Our Foot Hills over the last few months so that we could share with you our stewardship vision for the Salt Lake City foothills.
We appreciate your genuine interests, your comments, your insightful questions, and your individual yet collective recognition that protection of the Salt Lake City foothills has not only existential implications for the region, but has profound impacts on the health and well-being of your own constituents and vibrant communities.
This comprehensive management framework illustrates that it is possible to achieve equal opportunity access to the natural lands while providing essential protections for the foothills' ecosystems. And by recognizing that the foothills are a single continuous entity rather than separate zones, the stewardship model provides an essential buffer as management priorities transition from the bustling city interface to the most remote places.
Additionally, as Councilman Dugan observed, this vision allows stakeholders to start at a place of agreement rather than a place of disagreement. It also is a framework upon which additional essential voices can be heard and management layers can be aligned. As we have presented the stewardship vision to the public, we have met with nearly universal enthusiastic support.
We are told this vision is sensible and fair. These petitions and postcards for the mayor illustrate that support and are yet another indicator that our community prioritizes protection of the complex foothills' ecosystems. Foothills' ecosystems. We believe this vision provides an excellent starting point, a model, and a tangible framework supporting needed management goals.
We look forward to continuing this conversation with you. We believe Saver Foothills' stewardship vision can help address and facilitate the management of the Salt Lake City's valuable foothills' natural lands. Thank you for your interest in your time. And just so you know, this is just some of the petitions of people who support this as are these cards and then we'll deliver them to the mayor.
Or afterwards I can give it to you. Thanks.
We'll be Lilyana White followed by Kylie Hansen and then Azayo Rodriguez. Lilyana is here in person. Before we saw the clock, I wanted to highlight that our staff mentioned multiple names in a row. And the reason for that is so we are speedy so more people can speak, you know, one back next to the other. If you want to start lining up, if you know your next or so, line up so then the next speaker can come in very quickly and take over.
Thank you. Hello, my name is Lilyana White. I work at Carlucci's Bakery and I am a genuine example of Salt Lake Arts in Culture. I am a true Salt Lake fan. It is one of my biggest parts of my personality. I know that this may have to be reserved for an RDA meeting. However, I would like to enlist the city council support and correctly revitalizing the neighborhood from a neighborhood expert.
I grew up from across the way from the Fleet Block District on 911 South Gale Street since 2013. Me and my Latin American family, a fourth generation immigrant family into Utah. I have offered genuine examples of sunshine and art for the Greenery District. And I understand that there is a mural project spearheaded for the Fleet Block upcoming project.
I don't know if you would be in charge of that or not. However, I have been defending the neighborhood since I was 13 years old. I've been sitting at city council meetings also since that time in trying to defend that. I know you guys may not be the people that I could talk to. However, I used to work with Mendenhall when she was district 5 on 9th South and 3rd West.
And so I would like to connect with you guys to see if I can offer some cultural incentives and also just genuine Salt Lake smiles for that Fleet Block District if you guys can reconnect with me, especially Mendenhall. I do know her on a personal level, so if you could reach out to me, that would be wonderful. So thank you.
Next will be Kylie Hanson, followed by Isaiah Rodriguez, and then Olivia Peterson, Jacoby. Kylie is here in Gerson. Thank you. My name is Kylie. I live in District 4. Rest in peace. Jamie Garcia, Keith Porter, Renee Goode, and the 30 additional people murdered by ICE in the past year. Earlier this week, we paid tribute to the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
His work and legacy paved the way for some of the most pivotal legislation that has changed the foundation of our country and has allowed for progress that was not only long overdue but has required a lot of additional building upon since that time. His words have been echoing in my mind this week. He said a social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt.
A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution. I've had his words in my mind. As you can see, there's already been a lot of revolt. People are moved to defend their neighbors across the country. People are ready for change. They have been for a long time, and I think that what's still missing is a decision from the city council about whether they'll be part of a revolution that follows.
This revolution is something that is inevitable. It's coming. Whether or not each of you will take part in that or not is still up to you to decide, but there are already institutions across the country who are taking a stand, who are working to abolish ICE, who are working to protect our neighbors and communities from their fascist rule.
Here are a couple ideas of ways that you can also join in that revolution. You can require judicial warrants before access to non-public city resources or detention. You can pass a resolution calling for the abolition of ICE. You can mandate public reporting on interactions with federal agencies and ensure salt-lakers can verify city statements.
You can fund community advisory bodies that monitor human rights and then investigate human rights. Next will be Isaiah Rodriguez, followed by Olivia Peterson, Jacoby, and then Stephen Otter-Sham. Isaiah is here in person. Hello. My name is Isaiah Rodriguez. I live in Glendale. I want to say rest in peace. Jamie Garcia, Keith Porter, Renee Goode, and the additional 30 people murdered by ICE this past year.
The council and the mayor have the power and duty to enact the following. Add a public hearing restoration on limited time public comment on the city's interactions with ICE. I think if we respect people's time and want to hear from everyone, like we say we do, this is something that needs to happen. Judicial warrants before access to non-public city resources to detention or detention, sorry, passing a resolution calling for the abolition of ICE.
Mandating public reporting on interactions with federal agencies and ensuring salt-lakers can verify city statements. Providing educational resources and partner with immigration rights organizations. Free or contingency legal services for salt-lakers whose constitutional rights have been violated. Funding community advisory boards that monitor human rights, ensuring no city staff or facilities are used for civil immigration enforcement beyond what federal law strictly requires.
I'd like to say that I know we pride ourselves on a lot of things in Salt Lake, but Kansas City is literally blocking detention facilities. And yet Salt Lake City would like to call itself progressive. I think that's a joke. ICE is operating in Glendale in all hundreds district. I've seen them, my own eyes. And I just want to point out, I'm older than DHS.
It was founded in 2002. I want everyone to know that these are calls to abolish ICE and even DHS. I'm not a radical. This is a very short lived thing in our country and we have to get rid of it. Thank you.
Next will be Olivia Peterson Jacoby followed by Steven Otterstrom and then N Canada. Olivia is here in person. My name is Olive Peterson Jacoby and I live in the Maven District. And I am an educator. I encourage my students to ask questions and tonight I am here to do the same. Firstly, in the event that ICE descends on Salt Lake as it has in Minneapolis, have you made plans to preserve our access to food, housing and medical care?
If you haven't, is that because you think they won't come for you too? What do links to resources do for someone who doesn't have internet access? And for those who do, what exactly do statements posted to Instagram Reels accomplish? What does it say to your undocumented constituents when the mayor shuts down a detention facility on the grounds of zoning laws and access to restrooms and not our shared humanity?
How much can you value our input if you only allow us to speak for an hour and then chastise us for expressing agreement or dissent or frustration? And finally, how can I go to work tomorrow and look my students in the eyes knowing that this city isn't doing absolutely everything it can to protect them? To protect everyone in this room, their families, their friends and their educators.
Next will be Stephen Otter-Shrampo by N Canada and then Oak-Robbin, Stephen S. Harrimpers. I'll try and talk quickly because I know we're running out of time, but I just want to really quickly point out that the fact that we're running out of time is completely abstract. This was something that this council decided to do in shortening the time for what had been two hours to one hour.
I also wanted to say it's absolutely absurd that I'm talking to this body. I would rather be talking to someone on the federal level. I think we all would. We'd rather be talking to our congressional representatives, but that line has failed. It does not exist for us. They are not here for us. I send a letter to them every week and it's just a matter of ways of venting.
It doesn't do anything. It won't do anything. We're here because you are the last line of defense. There's nowhere else for us to go. We don't even have a public forum that we could talk like this in. Every time that one of our congressional representatives has some sort of public thing, they hide. They're gone. They don't tell us about it.
This is our only line of defense. There are things you can do. You may be the last line of defense, but you're not powerless. Some things you can do would be first redefine the tension as a confinement use. This will make it so zoning will be much more difficult and perhaps hold this off long enough that sounder minds can elect new people and we can get the orange man out of power.
Requiring discretionary approvals by this body so that you have the ability to stop these types of facilities coming into place. Enforcing strict building items. We also need to be clear in our messaging because it's not enough just to say we don't have the toilet facilities for a warehouse of people. We need to also make sure that our neighbors know that you have their backs.
Silence is not an option anymore. You are our last and only line of defense at this point. Yes, we'll be in Canada followed by O'Caroban and then Ryland and you may now unmute. I'm not sure if you're in Canada. Just for two. We stand again in front of City Council demanding to be listened to. We call on Alejandro and Erica to add two public hearings, one for unlimited public comment and the other for community demands related to ICE.
So many have attended and you are not allowing them to speak in front of this body. ICE continues to violate the Constitution around the nation while terrifyingly undocumented citizens. René Goode is an example of how whiteness works and in this moment the functioning of whiteness is finally being revealed to European Americans maybe for the millionth time.
White power only cares about you if you uphold it. Be European American and someone who resists white power and end up like René Goode. Whoever the old Utah of white supremacy and white supremacist Christianity is dying, a birth is imminent. Reality is you need not look to Russian Gestapo or Nazi Germany to see American fascism clearly.
Black and indigenous people bear the scars, slave patrols, the KKK, corrupt police departments, Jim Crow, the Trail of Tears and on and on and on. ICE is just the most recent manifestation of white supremacist violence and out knocks on my door, the old Utah. So I ask you to build a new Utah, one where we all have freedom and justice, the woman, the disabled, the queer, the transgender, the undocumented, the immigrant.
I often wonder why it is so hard to listen to the people. Why us demanding better is so terrifying. But I think gaining power comes with gaining fear. Fear of the people who might come and snatch it from your hands. It is time to give us that power or let our voices ring.
Next will be Oak Robin followed by Ryland and then Isabella Akuna. Oak, you may not unmute. Hello, my name is Oak Robin and I am a resident of Murray. We have given you very clear requests and now is not the time to be patting yourselves on the back and saying you're doing enough. You should be excited for opportunity to resist against the horrors that are happening when we're trying to help you do better.
There is opposition and there is compliance. There is no in between. Especially not right now when ICE wants to build a concentration camp in our backyard. You're either on the side of the oppressors or you're fighting against them. We know there are limits to this council's capabilities and so we're telling you to add a public hearing on restoration of unlimited public common.
That's the least you could do as a show of good faith. And add a public hearing on the city's interactions with ICE. Stop raising the SLCPD's budget as we're watching police departments across the nation assist with ICE. Required judicial warrants before allowing access to non-public city resources. Pass a resolution calling for the abolishment of ICE.
Mandate public reporting on interactions with federal agents and ensure that salt wakers can verify city statements. Provide educational resources and partner with immigration rights organizations. Offer free legal services for salt wakers. Fund community advisory bodies that monitor human rights. And ensure that no city staff or facilities are used for immigration enforcement beyond what federal law specifically requires.
Jan, you ask yourself what of these you are doing already. You can consider the list seriously. They're all possible. You are not doing enough. Next will be Ryland followed by Isabelle Acuna and then Don Nicole. Ryland is here in person. Hello. I did not get to speak last week because of limited public comment. I live in South Salt Lake.
I have witnessed firsthand the kind of violence that the city is willing to enact on vulnerable people. Do something. Anything. The list of demands is there before you. You are in power. Do something. Cool B. Isabelle Acuna followed by Don Nicole and then up Dierza Kibrahim. Isabelle is here in person. Hello. My name is Isabelle Acuna.
I live in District 3. Rest in peace. Jamie Garcia. Keith Porter. Rene Gud. And the 30 additional people murdered by ICE this past year. We want you guys to do better and stand with us, the people. ICE has been raining terror on our country. And this is not new. I've seen people compare this to Nazi Germany. But this country is rooted in racism.
Do you want to stand with the people or do you want to stand with the fascists that are leading this government? And continuing to target the people that reside here. You may think you are safe, but you are not. They target you based on the color of your skin. They do not care if you are a citizen. They are violating our constitutional rights and they will not stop unless you do something about it.
Do you want them in our backyard? Do you want them harassing people, abusing people? You don't want that. And if you do, well, fuck you then. I'm sick and I know so many people behind me are sick of this. I just want to say you have the power to do something. I'm just telling you how we feel, but you ultimately have the power to do something.
And if you don't do anything, what will you tell your kids? What will you tell your grandkids? Thank you. Next will be Don Nicole followed by up to your Zek Ibrahim and then Lily Block. Don Nicole is here in person. Since we have more fewer commenters than they are allowed. So just for the sake of finding the next one, let's call on the name, the next name.
Next is up to your Zek Ibrahim followed by Lily Block and then Kroger Green. Dear Zek is here in person. At the end, can we call those names that didn't show up and see if they are online or happen to be here? Good evening. My name is Adresah Ibrahim. I do live on the west side of Salt Lake Street, especially in England since 1998.
I came as a refugee. I live on the west side. I work on the west side. Mainly the reason why I just came here since I'm living on the grander, for example, we really look like 10,000 trees on the west side. And also we don't have high school on the west side, especially on the grander. And then also we don't have a hospital on the west side.
If somebody is sick, we drive them all the way down to the moore on the east side. So it's coming very tough sometimes. I'm having a challenge. And then meantime also I just hear about our people who are sitting here talking about ICE. I really, with them, the way they're just signing, if you guys have a funding to build it like facility, you should build it like housing, school and grander, or a hospital in grander.
That would be the best way to do that. We don't want to realize because we just, it's kind of like everyone, I made them on the west side. They're kind of scared. They're scared. Challenge. Even I myself, I'm just carrying my own passport every day in my car. So I never do that in my life. So it's kind of like we're just kind of weird, you know.
I don't know why, you know. It happened in this way. It's kind of like, I was just feeling, I feel like that very sad, you know. I feel disappointed in what's happening in our history. That's what I want to say, but I do feel it. I really support them. What they're saying, I'm with them. I really care what they really think about, you know, our own people, you know.
So we don't want to need, we don't want to totally our backyard, our ice. So if they want to do that, so which, if you guys have the money, you should build like, grander, hospital or, or the high school. That's what we need there. We don't want to know other things. Thank you. Next will be Lily back followed by Kroger Green.
Lily is here in person. Hi, my name is Lily. I live next to Liberty Park. I just can't help but see how deep the ties are between what's going on now and the roots of the state and many other things. I am currently disabled. I am disabled and currently I'm trying to get Social Security. And there's such scrutiny over whether I am deserving of my basic survival needs to be met.
And yet there is zero scrutiny about giving more and more money to these police budgets. Also, the origin of this state is, is Zionist. It is the Mormon Church building a theocracy and being deeply, deeply tied to the Israeli state. When we were at the University of Utah protesting the Zionist, what's the genocide in Palestine, they used camping violations as justification to send the riot squad on to us.
Those are, that is the same language as being used to kick the homeless people out of Jordan River spending countless money under that pretext. I used to ride my bike every day on that trail and I don't anymore. It is a big, big detriment to my health because I don't feel safe with those police around. They are not welcome here and stop spending all the money on that.
If you want to see how ICE is going to treat us just look at what the police do to our homeless people here.
Yeah, this, I see the city council and this government is completely illegitimate. That's it. And next is Kroger Green who is here in person. I'm here in person. Hello. Thank you to everybody. I'm going to speak to the people who are listening. Thank you to everybody who's coming up and spoken. You need to speak by the microphone because if not the record cannot.
So maybe move it. Yes. Thank you guys for coming and speaking here. People of color, I appreciate you. I'm sorry that I am white, but here I am. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We are strong together. We will get through this one way or another. Revolution may not happen now. May not happen in our lifetime, but we know what is right and we are pushing for it.
We are here to speak out. We are here for each other. I hear none of you are down to abolish the police. So for shame. And I thought I don't really know any of you besides shame. Aaron Mendenhall. Decorum. Decorum. Come on. Decorum, guys. I know Aaron Mendenhall, but I don't know Victoria Petro. Alejandro Puig. Chris Wharton.
Ava Lopez Chavez. Erica Carlson. Dan Dugan. Sarah Young. Or Yall Smug City Attorney City Council staff. I'm named folk over there. But apparently none of you are down to abolish the police. So just let us remember your names. For when hopefully the police are abolished. Police are abolished. I've heard it said that if they come for us tonight, they will come for you in the morning.
And that was the final registered commenter. Okay. There was one name that I believe it wasn't here. Do you remember what that name was? That is Don Nicole. Okay. We didn't reach the whole hour of public comment, but we are finished now. Mr. Chair. Yes. I just want to take a moment of personal privilege to think that people who came and spoke today, I appreciate the comments.
And I definitely understand and feel a lot of the frustration, share the frustration. I've been on that side in the audience a lot longer before I was elected and I am going to come back to be in the audience at some point when this term is over. I've also in my day job as an attorney represented protesters who have been arrested for protesting at the legislature.
And I think you'll find that the openness for public comment there is very different than the openness for public comment here. The reason that I want to point that out is that I heard what MJ said at our last meeting and I think that it's true that we need to show respect for each other on both sides. If we expect respect from you, then you should respect that from us.
I'm trying to show you respect by asking questions in public about to answer some of the questions that you've posed to us. And I'm doing that intentionally in public in hopes that a variety of people, a wide variety of people will hear and that it will get shared because I do want that information to get out whether it's on the website or from other means.
I heard what Rose said and saying, you know, how can we be dispassionate about this? And I don't think any of us feel neutral about anything that's happening right now. But in this forum, in this public comment period, because we're the government and we're setting up the rules, we have to apply them uniformly to everybody.
And part of what I think is so frustrating is to watch what's happening. It's not normal. It's not okay. But as multiple people rightly pointed out, we take an oath to the Constitution. That includes the First Amendment. And in this forum, when it's your time to speak to us, we have to treat everybody equally and we have to treat everybody's comments equally.
And we have to defend the right that some people might be here to talk about something else. And then they might be dissuaded from bringing that to us because they might think, oh, but you know, I better not bring that up today because we were talking about this important issue and I only have to talk about that. That's part of the reason why we have decorum.
It's not just to be formalistic. It's not just to be and believe me, I mean, attorneys love, we love a decorum. But it's not just for that reason. It has symbolism to try to provide equal respect and to show efficiency. But to go back to Rose's point, like it's, I think it was Rose that said this, it's not that any of us feel dispassionate.
And there are forums where we can sit down and you can ask us questions and we will answer those questions. It's just not in this piece of the meeting. I also would really encourage those of you. We had a really good work session today, which work session happens, starts at two. A lot of people can't make it because they're still at work.
But you can go back and watch that. We talked about a lot of the issues that you brought up today and some of the programs that you've talked about today. And we actually are moving those things forward. And I bring that up to you not to say you should have watched the meeting. I get that. But I want you to know that we are responding to things that you're saying, even if we can't have that dialogue right here in the general comment portion of our formal meeting.
And you have to be willing to look and hear about those other things that we're doing and meet up with us outside of this setting so we can continue to have those conversations. I know I've got two of those meetings scheduled for this week. I'm willing to have more of those meetings so that we can have a dialogue. And you can ask me some of these questions, Pointe, Blake, and I can answer you.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to also share quickly that during the work session, we struggle additional funding to support a program that the administration was supported for several years now, which is legal support for those in the community. And we struggle doubling up that budget today. We're going to make that final decision when we close that budget session.
But ultimately, for me, I would like to highlight that, you know, and I will speak for myself. I cannot speak for the body. But what you and the frustrations you feel are not only sure by you what is happening in our country is not normal and it shouldn't be like this. We also have constraints on the limited authority that we have over the federal government, you know, and the concern, you know, is real, right, that they can just walk all over us and do it worse sometimes.
And ultimately, we have a duty to protect our neighbors, people like us, people that might not speak the language or understand the process or understand the rights. And I appreciate the comments. And I would like to highlight that today was the first day of the legislative session at the state level. And many of the laws, not all of them, but many, some are being harmful, are literally harmful bills for many of our communities.
And I would like all of us to be very aware of what's happening there. And sometimes they allow three comments in favor and three comments against any given topic. And they believe many times that that is enough for public comment at the state level. And I want to highlight that your voices at the Hill here in our state is very important right now, well, these 45 days of the session.
And even at the last possible minute, they're able to pass bills that are very harmful to our communities. And we need to be very aware of what's happening. And it doesn't mean that we don't have room for improvement in our city and that we can do better. We are certainly looking into those things, actively looking into those things and to policies and protections for our communities.
But I appreciate the administration's update about what we are doing, what we are not doing in our city to highlight what this city is doing, the most liberal city in the state. I also ask what is other cities in our valley are doing? And I think that those are questions that we should also push them to do to make sure that not only Salt Lake City is the one doing the right thing or moving in the right direction.
There is a lot of movement and your passion is very appreciated. So thank you. Oh, Chris, do you want something? Yeah, just reminded me of what you said at the end that I wanted to say too. We had a couple people who said that they were from different cities. And of course, you're always welcome to come here. I'm not dissuading you at all.
I really hope that you will also go comment at your city's public comment period. I think most cities in Utah have them. And so please comment at those as well because this isn't just a Salt Lake City issue. That's why I'm at Lopez. Thank you, Chair. I want to answer something that was stated, which is looking at other cities.
And I had a conversation with Council Member this morning from Ogden, Kevin Londall. And he said, we looked to the capital city for leadership. And as the capital city in Utah, oftentimes, we have the opportunity to lead out. And so as I've thought of this and I've thought about the collective action we can take, I look towards Roxbury, New Jersey.
They took action. It's a Republican-led town council. They passed a formal resolution opposing a proposed warehouse to detention conversion. Jorant, Oklahoma, January 13, 2026. The city council also Republican-led unanimously passed an emergency ordinance requiring a conditional use permit for any detention facility. Leavenworth, Kansas.
The city commission passed a resolution and a subsequent lawsuit that followed requiring special use permits for federal detention centers. Chester, New York of Orange County, also Republican conservative-led in January 2026, is a bipartisan group that was led by the town supervisor and county executive. Launch petitions and formal notices to DHS.
McFarland, California, followed that this was in 2025, a surge of detainees in the Golden State Annex community utilized lawsuits and environmental review challenges to tie up the private contractor. Kansas City, Missouri, which was mentioned here, passed a five-year moratorium. Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, of course, we've seen in the news Portland, Oregon and many more cities to come.
Now, I'm not saying this to say we can act immediately. And I know this, I'm not an immigrant myself, but you know I'm the daughter of immigrants. And I have more family that falls each day as their visas or as their documentation expires. And so it's really personal. And I know that many of you are here as allies to protect people like my family was also set today.
So it's extremely vulnerable to being the situation. It's vulnerable for some of my colleagues here that also have to consider their own legality and their own status. And I look to each of you, I look to TJ who's a great leader and commentator. I want to see us work collectively. I think you're hearing from all of us that we want to work collectively.
There's not currently a blueprint of how to work in this apparatus. And we know we have a federal government that doesn't actually need permission. They're willing to push back no matter what. So I want you to know we're trying to come up with solutions as quickly as possible. We are looking at this. And I'm pretty disheartened that I had to hear from community members in social media before I learned of it from our council positions.
And that shows us that very clearly these agencies know what they're doing. They know how to hide information from the collective bodies, which is all of us. So I'm not asking for permission or asking you to even wait for this. I'm saying let's go. Please, there's a time right now and this is not. This is not the time.
I will. Please. But the genocide has not been hidden from any. Please. So Council Member, I'm going to finish it. Thank you. Thank you. And I think it's okay. We see the frustration link. For me, I say this genuinely as somebody that I may hold a title and we're trying to come up with these solutions. So we're going to be here at the end of this meeting.
If some of you stick around, I'd love to meet you. I'd also like to talk through what's going on in the state of Utah. How do we prep for this legislative session and how can we deter this ICE detention facility? Council Member, thank you for your. Last week you mentioned you addressed us as the Council and I still haven't heard one of suggestions for us to act.
I just heard some ideas. I would love to discuss those ideas and follow the process so we can actually figure out the legalities, understand what those are. I'm focused on getting things done, not just talking about those things in the public meeting here just because there is people showing up. So I'm willing to discuss these things.
I know your heart is in the right way and the right place, but right now, there is the moment for action and this Council is moving into it. The way to get action is for us to start sitting down beyond this meeting right now and to talk about what we can do. So hopefully this week we can find some time. Some of us actually try to get some of that stuff done.
Council Member? I mean that brings us to the point. We've asked and I've asked staff. I've asked for a task force. I'm not here to get into a suffering Olympics with anyone about who cares more about who or who's done more for whom. I sleep knowing what I do. I sleep knowing what my commitment is and I'm not ashamed of it.
If you have questions, you're always free to ask me. I will post up at any coffee house you want to meet me at and I will deal with you in truth. But that has been my request is for a task force. We have been deeply committed to this since before this administration seeing this coming and the contention has been that we need to respond as urgently to the substantive threats as we do to the symbolic threats when they take our flags.
So I am really thankful that you've been open to that. That staff has been open to it. But there is a policy review thing. Look, I am willing to get shot in the face. Chris will be writing up my will to make sure my children are taken care of. That's not the problem here. But when I get shot in the face, it's going to be because I left everything else on this field and I used every ounce of political, social and other capital that I have carefully accumulated.
And you can post about it on social media. You can call me whatever names you want. I'm at peace with what I'm doing, how I'm leveraging what I've worked hard to do. Thank you. We're not asking for your comment. Yeah, thank you. We need you again. I am a public servant. I am not publicly enslaved. I am not publicly enslaved.
That's a member. So we're going to continue on the agenda. I appreciate the feedback. The consent agenda, I need a motion for the consent agenda. Would you be open to an amendment? To the consent agenda. Please. There is, we barely have a meeting. It's almost over. We have, we are approving board members. We are approving board members of the community that want to participate in our government.
Some of those board members, by the way, serve on the Human Rights Commission. One of the requests from this body. There is the Commission of Racial Equity and Policing. Also, there is multiple commissions that are accepting input from the city. The consent agenda is how we get them approved to become part of the city and support us from the community feedback.
So I need a motion for the consent agenda. Move for approval. Second. I ask for an amendment. Mr. T for the consent agenda. Yes. Correct. Item G1, if we could extend the public hearing and not set the date. Which one is G1? That was the Silverado project located at 265 East 100 South. It gives the petitioner the ability to come back.
So functionally speaking, it would be not setting a public hearing yet. So we are not really speaking. The council could consider setting a different date for a hearing. Right. Yeah, we are not voting on it. We are just voting to calendar it. And we are not even picking the date. And we are not also picking the closing.
We are not closing the public hearing on the date either. No problem. So we have a motion to withdraw the amendment. So I move to. So we have a motion already. Sorry. You got no? I have the question again. I made the motion. Just be the second. Okay. Okay. So all of those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. That motion carries unanimously.
Now that adjourns the meeting for today. Thank you. Thank you. You guys want to work?
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