Harrisburg City Work Session - 2/17/2026

The time is 5:34 p.m. I would like to

call our work session to order.

>> Mr. Humphrey, could you please call the

role?

>> Miss Davis,

>> present.

>> Miss Green,

>> present.

>> Mr. Jones,

>> here.

>> Mr. Lawson

>> here.

>> Miss Rolls

>> right on time. Here.

>> Mr. Rodriguez,

>> present.

>> Miss Hill,

>> present.

Thank you. We have one agenda item this

evening.

It is relative to the public safety

committee. So, I will defer to our

public safety committee chair,

Councilwoman Green, to lead discussion.

>> Thank you very much, President Hill. Uh,

Mr. Humphre, if you could reread bill

one of 2026 for the public.

Bill 1 of 2026, an ordinance amending

part three of the administrative code

under chapter 2-301

adding there to chapter 2-301.16

providing for a framework to restrict

and otherwise limit city intervention in

matters regarding immigration status.

>> Thank you very much. Um I think that

most people that are here tonight are

here regarding this piece of legislation

as it's the only thing on the agenda

tonight. Um, I think we just wanted to

make sure that the public was aware that

we we heard you, we heard what was going

on. Uh, and we wanted to put something

in writing to make sure that not just

even though it's coming through the

public safety department, um, not just

police, firing codes within every

department in the city, um, was not

taking people's immigration status into

account when it wasn't necessary. Also,

not holding that information, uh, not

sharing it with the federal government.

So although it's coming through the

public safety department, it is for all

departments in the city and that's very

clear in this legislation.

Yes.

[laughter]

Um so I'm going to start it off with um

just open it up to my colleagues for

some questions so we can start some

discussion. Uh this was a piece of

legislation brought down by council. So

there's no one really here from the

administration to speak on it unless the

legal department wants to speak on it.

Um, I know we had some comments over the

last couple of weeks about maybe wanting

a more robust legislation. So, that's

why we're here tonight to have that

conversation, see what the public might

be interested in adding in, uh, and see

what we might be able to to get in here

to make sure it's as strong as possible,

uh, protecting the city, protecting the

residents. So, I'm going to start with

opening up with questions for my

colleagues. I'll start to my immediate

right because I know uh, Councilman

Lawson was part of the process of

crafting this uh, along with Councilman

Jones. So, we'll start from this side

and work our way this way. And thank

you, Chair Green. And I want to first

give my appreciation to to those who

have have come out to um to become a

part of this conversation. Um you know,

when you see marches, people will say,

"This is what democracy looks like."

This actually is what democracy looks

like, guys. As as you're coming out here

and you're you're making sure that uh an

ordinance is crafted in the way that

best suits um your needs. So, I want to

thank those residents who have made it

out tonight and and those who are

outside as well. Um,

we we we've we've put something together

so far that that is a little imperfect.

So, what we want to do is make sure that

we have a robust discussion that we um

can find amendments that may be

necessary um see where um our amendments

maybe are covered in in some of the the

the language of of what's already um

existing. Um, so I I guess I would have

questions mostly for the solicitor. Um,

and

so right now if a f a federal

immigration authority were to appear at

a city facility um with without a

judicial warrant, what is our protocol

today?

>> So you really would have to ask that of

law enforcement. That's when they appear

that I know of. Um, it's

when they appear in the city under the

current makeup of the federal

government, it doesn't seem to be with

much notice that they get here. Um,

but just like everyone in this room,

they can walk through the front door of

this public building because anyone can

walk through the front door of a public

building. You get down to where uh it's

private offices and things like that uh

that become the question. Um, and they

would have to have a purpose to be here.

I think it would in part depend who they

came with and why. Um, that is if they

came with a uh officers from, let's say,

investigators from the office of

attorney general or the Dolphin County

District Attorney's Office for some

purpose. You know, they would be here

for a purpose related to usually a

specific matter that those they have the

other those other offices have

jurisdiction over. I'm unaware of them

just showing up in our buildings, in our

parks. I can't tell you it doesn't

happen, but I've seen no reports of them

just showing up.

>> Right. And and

with this being

using this facility or or or any other

public um facility that the city um

would would control. Is there something

that we could write that would be

enforceable to prevent such operations

in in a public um location?

>> Is there something we could write to

enforce

>> basically something we can address to

say okay you cannot stage um uh I don't

know uh like a traffic stop uh on

Riverfront Park per se. No,

>> never. Even if even if it's not within

their jurisdiction and power, and this

gets down to the nuance of it, right? We

can't tell federal agents sent to the

city that they can't be in the city. We

just people need to be realistic about

that. Um the we do not take a group of

armed officers and send them against

another group of armed officers to

decide who's the last person standing in

that discussion. That's a that that's a

a warlike act, right? That doesn't mean

our officers cannot confront them. It's

just how it's done. We have had officers

here confront a member of another law

enforcement agency that was operating in

this city and that officer was

eventually tried and convicted for his

conduct with a citizen on the streets of

Harrisburg. So, it's not that our

officers can't do it, right? It's just

it's it's very fact specific to the

circumstance what they can do. that

person was plainly, you know, willfully

beating on somebody

>> and he got stopped. He got arrested and

he was convicted.

>> Um, so, uh, so but you get to the

question, do you have a valid warrant is

what frankly the person being stopped

can ask. It's also what another officer

can ask. And then you get down to this

difference of a judicial warrant, an

administrative warrant. That's all a lot

of interaction to get to that answer,

>> right? And that's that's helpful

information for um for many people that

are are asking for um some clarity. And

and then if a uh

city employee were to uh violate the

ordinance that we have under discussion

today, um is there an enforcement

mechanism?

It

>> it would it would be an employment

related issue. you know, they're

starting with their supervisor and going

all the way up to the mayor about what

enforcement, you know, and why it came

about. Um, you know, there are

complaints that a city employee violates

an ordinance or a different provision of

law. They trigger usually come from a

complaint and then they trigger an

investigation by appropriate office at

the time.

>> Okay. All right. Thank you. That those

are the questions that I have.

>> Thank you very much, Councilman Lawson.

Uh before I move on to Vice President

Jones, um I'll just go over some

information that's inside of this bill.

Uh just in case some people might not

have had the chance to read all of it.

Uh the intent and purpose the intent and

purpose of this chapter is to establish

a city-wide administrative policy

governing the conduct of city officials

and employees and the use of the city

resources with respect to civil, excuse

me, federal civil immigration

enforcement.

Um let's see.

A federal immigration authority is any

federal agency or agent engaged in

enforcement of federal s civil

immigration law including but not

limited to US immigration and customs

enforcement. Uh employees would be any

elected official appointed official,

employee or agent of the city of

Harrisburg. Uh we defined what a

judicial warrant is which is a warrant

issued by a federal or state court of

competent jurisdiction and signed by a

judge or magistrate.

Um it in this uh bill it does limit the

use of city resources. It says that no

city official or employee shall use city

funds, personnel, equipment, data,

technology, property or facilities to

assist in the investigation, detention

or arrest of any person solely related

to a violation of federal immigration

law.

Um so it also limits access to city

facilities. to no city official or

employee shall grant a federal

immigration authority or agent thereof.

Access to non-public city facilities to

an individual in city custody without a

valid judicial warrant. Um so those are

some of the basics that it goes over. I

just wanted to make sure that was clear

before uh we continue to have this

conversation.

I'm now going to continue with my

questions. I'm going to move to

President Hill and then come back to

Vice President Jones.

Thank you. Um I don't have any questions

at this time.

>> Thank you very much. And Vice President

Jones.

>> Thank you, Councilwoman Green. Um thank

I want to thank everyone else for uh

coming out as well. I think this is an

important issue. It's a hot topic um not

just in our city, just across America

right now. And um like uh Councilwoman

Green said, we do hear you. Um but I

also want to make sure that we're clear

on process. You know, that's one of the

things that um I think, you know, I'm

very big on when it comes to um Oh, I

locked the door.

I apologize. Oh, he unlocked it. Um so,

um just the process like last week we

heard that was the first reading. Today

is a work session. Um, next week will be

our legisl legislative session where we

will um, you know, cast our votes in

regards to whatever we come to uh,

agreement on. Now, in the midst of that,

I also want to thank all of the

residents um, that are sending emails to

us um, on what to look at and and and

how to go about um, crafting this piece

of of legislation, right? Um, but

there's also several different groups of

individuals that want different things

in it. So, I think that's the task that

we have as council to come to an

agreement. So, with after today, I think

um you guys continue sending your emails

and try to find a way to actually sit

with us so um we can flush out what we

need in this thing to to protect

everyone. you know, this is not just to

me. It's it's not something that it's

just about um undocumented individuals.

This is for anyone. I I I want to make

sure that we're protecting anyone in our

city. Um rather your gender, your

ethnicity,

um your your social class. Uh all of

those things are important to us and and

um I I I can speak for the body that we

are definitely in the mode to making

sure that we craft things that put

protections around the people that we

are serving. So we do hear you. Um just

be patient with us and know that there

is a process. Um again, one of the

biggest things I think after tonight is

to make sure that um we can compile all

of the information that we've gathered

thus far. One of the things that we did,

we looked at Lancaster from the

beginning is how we got this far, but

then um I know the ACLU, I know CASA, I

know uh Midtown, uh everyone has

something that they want to add to this,

right? And um it's warranted, but we

also have to make sure that we're being

careful as Solicitor Grover has said. U

we have to make sure that we don't open

ourselves up, meaning the city, for

lawsuits. Um some of these things are

layered. Um, everyone comes to council,

which is understandable because we are

the the front-facing uh body of of of of

this municipality. So, you can come see

us every Tuesday, right? Uh, which is a

good thing. So, we have that

interaction. Um, however, um, you know,

some things can't we we can write it,

but we'll open ourselves up if it's not

supported on the on the state

legislative first and then even the

federal government as another uh layer

to that. U we're the like the last ones,

the last line of defense, so to speak.

So, we do have to be careful and um we

are cognizant of that, but we need you

guys to be cognizant cognizant of that

as well. And so, I'll get to my question

and it's just going to be one. I just

wanted to give that statement to

everyone that we are listening and we do

care. Um my question for you solicitor

Grover is can to your understanding

um what are the powers already that DHS

has so we are clear on what they are

already allowed to do and what not to do

and before you respond the reason why

I'm asking this question is because

again there's a lot of things that

people want

um from my understanding DHS doesn't

really have jurisdiction I mean well a

say the right to come and do certain

things. So, can you can you expound on

that? Uh what you know so far?

>> Only slightly. I I don't pretend to be

an expert on DHS's jurisdiction and

powers. What I can say it is plainly an

effort right now to expand them far

beyond anything everyone ever understood

them to be allowed to do. Um I actually

have reviewed some of the documents and

some of the federal filings challenging

their work. There was a memo that was

internal saying they no longer needed

warrants for a whole series of things. I

believe a judge had said that's not

going to fly. Right. But

>> say repeat that again.

>> There was a there was a memo attached to

one of the filings in one of the federal

cases where people were appealing the

actions of of ICE in particular where it

was a memo directing staff. There was a

whole series of things now they did not

need a warrant for. Um which again

that's not the way this country works.

>> Right.

>> Right. And so, but I'm saying DHS's

version of what they can do is very

different than what it ever was in the

past. So, I I'm so they do have power

and when you're being that power put

upon you, you can resist that power,

particularly when it's unlawfully being

put upon you. But it's a tough fight and

it's a a city by city, town by town,

person by person fight. But I'm telling

you they from my professional view of

almost 40 years of doing this they are

so far past the norms of this country um

it's unrecognizable

>> and so and so while while looking at um

again what we compile and craft uh and

agree upon um just to make sure that um

we are in good standing um as a city so

we don't open ourselves up. I mean, I

think that's very important here. Um,

because again, when when to ask us to

tell our police officers to

get in the way of of of what they do and

they may have a federal warrant, I mean,

that's that's like you're going to war

with I mean, that's that's going to be

something wild to see.

>> So, so I I I don't think that will

happen, but it's hard it's it's not hard

to imagine that somewhere in this

country a governor

>> will say something like that. Yeah. a

state trooper leadership is going to

give a directive, you know, when

something has gone to a point that they

can't abide by it anymore. Uh the

district attorney in Philadelphia is

trying to set up a national network of

people to pursue what they consider

violations, but that's a long road. That

doesn't do much for anyone standing in

the middle of the street in

intersection. Um, so we have limits of

what we can do, but collectively you

can, I think, present the message that

you absolutely stand up and that it's

not what's going on is not acceptable to

the people in Harrisburg.

>> Um, the uh uh, you know, and hopefully

that backbone pops up all over, right?

But that's what you need to have is is

people need to stand up for what they

have the right to do, how they have the

right to live. Um, but legislatively,

that's not legislation, right? that is

actions and and and very careful choices

that people have to make. Um and uh so

this legislation basically limits city

involvement in city noncriminal matters,

demands a judicial warrant be presented

to an agency that's saying they don't

even need a warrant,

>> right?

>> So I it it's it's easy to imagine it'll

get

>> right. So again, I just think again for

the public, I think this again is just

the beginning stage of it. We don't know

how far this is going to go. Um and um

just so you are aware that whatever we

do um land on in the beginning, it's not

the end all beall. It's always amendable

as as we go along and make sure that we

are sticking to the law. Again,

protecting the city and your tax dollars

and also making sure overall that our

residents are safe. Um that's all I

have. Um I'll kick it back to

Councilwoman Green.

>> Thank you very much. I'm going to move

back to President Hill.

>> Thank you. I didn't have a question

because I wanted to reserve enough time

for all of the many residents who are

present who I'm sure would like to offer

public comment. So, I wanted to reserve

time for everyone present to speak. Um,

but I just wanted to applaud council on

taking the necessary steps to have

something to even discuss tonight around

this issue. So, I just wanted to commend

my colleagues who've been vocal and very

very diligent um in their research to

have something uh for discussion this

evening. So, thank you.

>> Thank you very much, Councilwoman Ross.

Any questions?

>> Uh thank you, [clears throat] uh

Councilwoman Green. Um I don't really

have any questions. Uh this is something

I'm very passionate about, something I

think, um like all my colleagues have

said are are very important to us. Um,

and I really want to hear what the

residents have to say because at the end

of the day, this is your bill. Um, we

brought it up to the floor, but it's

amendable. And just seeing what things

we can put in it, what we can change,

what we can amend um to make it feel uh

right for our residents and make them

feel safer within our city. Um, so I

really I don't have any questions at

this moment. I really want to see what

the residents have to say and and see

what we can um place in the bill and

amend to make it right for them. So, I

don't have any questions.

>> Thank you, Councilman Rodriguez. Any

questions or comments?

>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, thank you

all for being here this evening. No

question, just more of a statement. Um,

but let's be clear, ICE is a department

of the federal government under DHS,

whose sole purpose is to enforce illegal

immigration in the US. Similar to our

very own police department sole purpose

is to enforce and uphold the law. The

issue occurs when people are treated

less than humans and more like property.

To me, in today's society, ICE operates

more like WW2 Nazi Germany in opposition

to modern society policing. Without

checks and balances, absolute power

corrupts absolutely. And it was

imperative that we at least began the

process of protecting our residents on a

legislative level. Now, granted, the

legislation may not have the stopping

teeth we would like it to have, but it's

first step. And in order to see any

staircase, you have to take that first

step. I'm amazed at how many uh

right-wing figures came out out of the

shadows and sent me derogatory inboxes

and voicemail messages to my personal

phone. But when things like that occur,

you know you're doing something right.

So, I'd like to thank my colleagues on

council for this monumental work and all

of the residents that came out here this

evening to ensure that their legislative

body is acting in their best interest.

So, thank you all and thank you to my

colleagues on council. That's it.

>> Thank you very much, Councilwoman Davis.

Any questions? Thank you. Thank you,

Councilwoman Green. I have a statement

and then I have a question for Solicitor

Grover. I think it's important to

acknowledge uh the victims and everyone.

Many individuals and families across the

United States have experienced deep

fear, instability, and trauma related to

immigration enforcement actions. For

some, encounters with enforcement have

resulted in lasting emotional harm,

family separation, and tragic outcomes

such as death. Those experiences are

real, and the pain they have caused is

in communities should not be dismissed.

It is important that we continue

acknowledging the human impact those

situations have caused and that the the

situation has caused to our children,

neighbors, and entire neighborhoods as

we continue to discuss and review bill

three. I encourage residents to stay

informed, ask questions, and participate

in the public process. Transparency and

open dialogue are essential as we review

and discuss Bill three. Our goal is to

provide clarity about what the city's

role is and is not when it comes to

federal immigration enforcement. And as

councilwoman Green has already uh

acknowledged the key elements of bill

three, this ordinance would deny use of

city resources, funds, property, or data

to assist in immigration enforcement.

However, the bill does not prevent law

enforcement from investigating and

prosecuting crimes. It does not prevent

the override of federal authority,

nor does it stop cooperation when

required by law or when a valid judicial

warrant exists.

I also want to

make people aware that there are

organizations within our city and

surrounding areas that could help with

immigration questions or concerns such

as the International Service Center, the

Pennsylvania Immigration Resource

Center, the Pennsylvania Bar

Association, which could could help

answer immigration legal questions.

Uh there's also midpen legal services

that may have free free legal assistance

that intersect with immigration rights

and protections.

And then there's the Pennsylvania

Immigrant and Refugee Women's Network.

My question for you, Solicitor Grover,

is there any way we can post a know your

rights sheet, uh, a document, a cheat

sheet of information on the website in

case someone does get approached by ICE,

they can know ahead of time what to do,

what their legal rights are.

>> Sure, that's possible. Well, you just

have to actually make sure it's accurate

and uh well, it's somebody's job. The uh

and it depends uh you probably want to

do it in multiple languages. So, there's

some interaction to get that done

correctly, you know. Um and uh

>> um but yeah, it's it is something that's

doable. I assume it's actually out there

with other agencies right now, other

organizations.

I think that would be helpful from the

city's perspective to have something uh

on the site so folks can know their

rights and again as you mentioned in

various languages. So um I want to thank

everyone for coming out this evening and

I'll turn it back over to you president

or Councilwoman Green. Thank you very

much Councilwoman Davis. Uh before I

open it up to the floor for public

comments um I just have another question

for Solic Grover. Um, sorry, they're all

for you. Um, but, uh, currently, I know

we don't have any 278G agreements or any

agreements with ICE. Um, but if the

police department would want to or cold

or anyone would want to sign an

agreement, is there a requirement for a

public notification, public hearing, or

does it have to come before council? And

if not, can we include that to make sure

that it would be publicly known if that

was, you know, something that that tried

to be happen?

>> Yeah, I I actually don't know the answer

to that question. I don't know if

there's a a federal regulation that goes

to the check boxes of how that is

adopted. So, we would have to look at

that question to see whether there's a

public meeting requirement, whether

there's a confidentiality requirement,

if if it's for a specific issue as

opposed to a general issue. Um there

could be matters that are covered by um

confidentiality in the course of an

investigation, a criminal investigation.

Um so, we would have to look at that

language pretty carefully.

>> Okay. But is this is this something you

can look into? Um and then if it's a

way, can we get it put into this

legislation to require some sort of

public notification and public hearing

or for it to come before council so that

it's not something that can happen

without us knowing and without the

public knowing? Because I know a lot of

I know in other municipalities there

have been agreements that have been

signed and the public know nothing about

it. Council knows nothing about it. And

I don't want us to go putting something

into effect and then there's still

loopholes that we don't even know exist.

I I can do my best. We can only close as

many loopholes as we can close. Right.

Right. As long as we think of them

beforehand.

>> The uh um but uh we will we will take a

look at it and see if there's language

that goes with that. Um if it's a true

agreement

>> and and when I say that in terms of

purely the legal sense under under state

law for this city,

>> it's signed by probably at least four

separate entities to be a legitimate and

forcible agreement. Um that would be our

office. It would be the office of the

mayor. It would the office of the

controller and it would be law

enforcement. Now there are some laws

that allow

law enforcement to sign on just their

own behalf as an agency under certain

provisions and we would have to see if

this fit into that.

>> Okay. All right. That's something we'll

follow up on. I won't hold a meeting up

on that. But um I believe Councilman

Rodriguez had another question.

>> Yes. I just wanted to add and thank you

for that, Madam Chair. to all the

residents here, everyone watching TV,

just keep in mind, even if council nails

it out the park and gets you everything

on a local level, we need on a county

level, it still can be overridden. And

the sheriff has already stated, he will

continue the work he's doing um on the

county level. So, please don't stop at

the local level. Lobby the county, lobby

the state. If you need us as your reps

to be there, I'm pretty sure we will. Um

but please don't let it stop here at the

local level. continue all the way

through because even if we nail it out

the park, there's a good chance that on

a county level through the sheriff's

department that could be overrated

regardless just depending on the action

taken. So just please please please keep

that in mind. Thank you.

>> Thank you very much. Uh if no one else

has any questions or comments from the

deis, I'm going to open it up to the

public. Um we ask you to limit your

comments to four minutes. Uh state your

name, the area in the city where you

reside or do business. Uh, and we're

going to start to the right. So, if you

have any questions, comments, please

make your way to the p to the

microphone. So, we're going to start.

Anyone to the right, please make your

way.

Am I okay to start? Okay. Sorry.

[clears throat]

Um, hello. My name is Akira Louisa

Solomon Nelson. I'm a student at Cassa

in Strawberry Square and I run Students

Against Injustice. I'm here to speak on

behalf of students to plead that the

city pass the proper legislation that

would be a start in keeping our students

and children safe. That would be a start

in keeping our community safe, a start

in keeping our businesses safe, uh,

keeping art flourishing in Harrisburg,

and just overall enjoyment in Harrisburg

flourishing.

This same bill would be the one that

would block ICE agents and city police

from collaborating. I'm aware that most

of you guys are in agreement and um have

worked on the bill 1-2026

um and want to push it forward. And to

those starting efforts, I show my

appreciation. Um

but it is just a start and we as the

community agree that we want ICE out

completely, not just minimal compliance

while they're here. And until there is

proper legislation, us as students and

community members will not silence

ourselves and we will be here every week

until we pass um the legislation that

Harrisburg needs uh to get ice out. I

hope you listen to our words um even as

students. Uh children are still not

going to school around America and

around Harrisburg. Um many businesses

are being shut down or put on hold

because um the workers and the owners

cannot uh continue going to work because

they're scared of ICE. Um and we are

already seeing all these effects in

Harrisburg and surrounding cities.

Although there is a fear that if we

fight back it will end badly and get

worse, I believe that if we don't do

anything, it will get even worse than

that.

I ask the city council to understand our

perspectives, listen to what we have to

say, and stand with students against

injustice in the fight against ICE and

towards a strengthened community. I

cannot stress how unethical ICE is, as

well as hypocritical, but also just

shameful. And we cannot let or make the

local police be influenced or forced

into these ways. I have students in

Harrisburg text me and talk to me every

day about their very real and very valid

fears. We need to be doing what's

whatever possible to make them feel safe

again. I hope us as students can trust

the council to make the right decision.

Thank you for your time.

>> Thank you very much.

>> Hello. Uh my name is Matthew Casic. Uh I

reside at uh Logan and Harris, 167 Logan

Street, Harrisburg. Um, I came to

comment today just because um, I would

like to voice support for the council's

decision to sign a bill reducing

collaboration with city resources with

the federal immigration customs officers

because uh, I believe the more that uh,

local authorities collaborate with uh,

federal immigration justice, it's going

to undermine the project of uh, local

public safety, uh, people are going to

residents who may have uh, up in the air

immigration status or even really people

who are afraid of being racially

profiled by immigrations and customs

will be afraid to contact local law

enforcement, city resources, any sort of

public services for fear that their

information and their status may get

tethered up in the system and then

they'll become, you know, within the eye

of federal immigration services. So

essentially, we're undermining community

trust in local law enforcement and in

basically city city governance. Um, I

also would encourage you all to uh sign

the bill because

uh immigration and customs doesn't seem

to really respect the rule of law and

they're regularly violating people's

civil li civil liberties and that's

going to open up the city and our local

law enforcement if they are working with

them to civil suits which we as the

taxpayers will end up having to pay. The

city will end up having to pay and we

already have a heavily burdened you know

city. We only have so much revenue. Uh,

and also just because their actions

lately have been morally repugnant and I

think our city can hold ourselves to a

higher standard. Um, yep. My name is

Matthew Casik. I'm a union carpenter and

I live in Harrisburg. So, thank you.

>> Thank you very much. Anyone else from

the right?

>> Good evening everybody. Jonathan Luff at

23rd and Green Street. I am coming to

encourage you guys to educate yourselves

on the process. Um, city council, we are

counting on you guys to make the change.

And realistically,

everybody is talking about the language.

This is more or less about your fourth

amendment rights, right? This

conversation on immigration is not new.

The target is just changing, right? It

used to be black and brown. It was us,

right? And now it's just illegal

immigrants. It's still the Fourth

Amendment. you still have the right to

remain silent. So like the reality is if

you run across ICE, if you run across

Harrisburg police, I sat here and have

listened to each of you voice these same

concerns about your own local police

officers. How is it that we can trust

that like we can we can't even enforce

our own police to follow our rules? How

we going to get them not to cooperate

with ICE,

right? How are we going to have

confidence in you guys to hire your own

lawyer? How long are we going to listen

to you guys ask the same questions, get

the same answers, do the same things,

and then expect some kind of different

result?

You guys clearly need a lawyer. The city

clearly needs representation. The city

is black and brown and yet there is no

black and brown representation. That's

what you guys said when I was here. You

guys told me what the problem is when I

started here. I got fired for it. And

yet I am still here asking you guys,

encouraging you guys to use your power.

You create the rules. Think it up, make

it happen, and then enforce. Make the

mayor follow suit.

We need to have confidence in each and

every one of you. We elected you.

Please, please

make some decisions.

>> Thank you very much.

>> I'm Julia Tilly, Old Uptown. Um, first I

want to thank council for um taking on

this very, very large project um very

convoluted legally. Um, we as the

residents, thank you for that um, in

your efforts to try to keep us safe. Um,

but I'm here today to speak on behalf of

the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center,

which I will be referring to as HMAC.

Um, would all my HMAC friends stand up?

We didn't have much time to get

together, but here we are. And I'm sure

that there will be many more of us out

next week and you'll be hearing from

lots of us within the next few days. Um

you guys can sit down. You don't have to

stand the whole time. Okay. So I know I

know that there is an outstanding

amusement tax that's owed by HMAC. Um

and also by the way I really would like

city council at another time to take a

look at um the percentage that is being

charged. It's 10%. That's a lot. Okay.

Philly charges 5% amusement tax. We

charge a higher rate than New York City

does. They come in at about 8.8%. So I

would encourage you if you want to draw

more businesses to the city, you need to

look at this tax.

All right, but back to the issue at

hand. HMAC has approached the mayor and

the city solicitor with a concrete plan

to pay the taxes owed. Despite HMAC's

attorney reaching out, neither the mayor

nor the city solicitor have responded. I

believe for two weeks. I could be wrong.

The only comment that was made that was

shared with me was that the

administration really doesn't care if

HMAC closes. Now, I can't believe

anybody would have said that. But if

they did, if it is true, I think it's a

pretty terrible position for a city that

is hemorrhaging restaurants and other

businesses. At 34,000 square feet, HMAC

is the largest concert venue within the

city limits, seating about 1,000 people

in two concert venues, the Capitol Room

and the Stage on Her. It also offers

free events almost every night of the

week. Comedy night, trivia night, poetry

readings, small music events in the main

room, book swaps, clothing swaps,

political events. Refusing to meet with

HMAC and hash out a payment plan is the

equivalent of the city shooting itself

financially in the foot. With HMAC

closed, it will no longer be on the tax

rolls, will not be selling tickets to

raise revenue for the city, will not be

able to make good on the back taxes that

it does owe. And that building, it will

revert once again to being a trashed,

littered, filled, abandoned, boarded up

property hosting only squatters and

vandals. I remember those days. I

remember the days before HMAC. I

remember when they got their grants,

when they began the renovation, they

received a $1 million grant from the

state to renovate that property. I would

hate to see that money wasted.

The post about HMAC closing went live

today at about 2:00 and we have had an

outpouring. People are saying, "I'm so

sad. I had wedding pictures taken there.

I had my first date with my husband

there." Um, I saw my first concert

there. My band played its first concert

there. I had my first drink there. I

celebrated my retirement, my birthday,

my anniversary, my dog's birthday.

It's a community. It is an amazing,

amazing jewel that we have here in our

city. And I am ashamed

that it's being treated this way. This

seems to be a no-brainer. We are coming

to you for help. We need your help, city

council. We need you to broker some sort

of meeting between HMAC's attorney and

the mayor and the city solicitor so that

we can get this done. It doesn't sound

too hard for me. Okay. There's a plan.

We want to talk about the plan. Thank

you.

>> Thank you very much. Anyone else from

the left? Excuse me, the right.

Hello. Um, I'm Danielle Watkins, or I

call myself Danny Watkins. Um, I've been

a resident of Harrisburg for 25 years

now. Um, I'm up here in response to ICE

issues. Uh, and really want you guys to

um uphold the safety of Harrisburg

citizens. I have worked in many

different fields in my 25 years. I've

worked in retail at the library and now

I'm currently working as a pharmacy

technician. Um, at the library, I helped

multiple people translate things over to

Spanish and English. I also help people

print out citizenship papers. And

allowing ICE into our city will put the

safety of everyone at risk. um, black

people, brown people, um, Mexicans, ICE

will go after people of a certain look

regardless of their citizenship status.

Um,

and you know, our city is like based on

immigrants. Immigrants have built this

city. There's Mexican shops, there's uh,

Japanese shops, there's the Broad Street

Market with all of its different

cultures coming together.

And with ICE being allowed to run

rampant on the streets, and I know the

bill will like prohibit some of that

behavior, um allowing ICE to run rampant

on the streets will only encourage

different like right-wing groups and

other harmful groups to come into the

city and harm minorities. Thank you.

>> Can you please state your address or

vicinity in which you live? That's okay.

>> 2510 Greenwood Street.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you very much. Anyone else to the

right?

>> Hi. Uh, my name is Amy Trout. I live in

Midtown Harrisburg and I just wanted to

um continue on a little bit of Julia

said. I am here to ask you guys to

please help figure out the HMAC

situation. Uh, Chris Wernern is over

here. He's the owner of HMAC. He's an

amazing human being that has brought art

to our city. I co-founded and host a

weekly poetry reading that has been

going on in the city for 30 years. We've

been at HMAC for 5 years. It is the only

venue in this city that has ever made us

feel welcome and want it and appreciate

it. And I think it is so important to

support the arts and to keep art

institutions open and for the public to

enjoy. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Anyone else from

the right?

Hello, my name is Khloe Oystridge. I'm a

resident of Harrisburg uh city. I'm in

22 Chestnut Street. Specifically, I live

in Allison Hill, which has been a target

of ICE attacks over the past few months.

I've heard of neighbors being taken and

disappeared. I know of even more that

are too afraid to leave their homes to

even buy groceries or go to work. Uh

just this past Sunday, a person was

detained a few blocks from me and the

incident happened before anyone could

arrive on the scene to help to try and

get their um identifying lo uh

information to notify their family. ICE

doesn't want their crimes to be

witnessed or documented, so they're able

to carry out their shameful acts in

silence. My community is suffering. I'm

personally scared of the threat of ICE,

but even more so, I'm frustrated that

there seems to be very little we can do

to protect ourselves. So, last week, I

was really encouraged to hear that city

council here has proposed legislation to

address that crisis. Uh, however, I am

worried the measures proposed could

still leave us vulnerable to ISIS

terror. I'm grateful that members here

recognize the threat that ICE poses to

all who live, learn, and do business in

Harrisburg. And I'm heartened to know

that council, you've all listened to

your constituents concerns to take

action. But I worry some of these

measures won't effectively shield

residents from ICE and ICE will still

have the power to steal, assault, and

terrorize members of our community with

impunity.

So, I learned of a proposal for

legislation last week that draws on

ordinances that welcoming committees

from other cities have drafted and

passed successfully. I read through that

proposal uh found multiple points that

seem to take the proactive concrete

action steps that residents of our city

need. Uh some notable policies include

refusing to enter into any contractual

agreement to provide access to databases

or equipment to be used in immigration

enforcement operations, declining any

contractual agreement to house detainees

in our county jails, and continually

working to maintain at least a

three-star rating under the Welcoming

America's certified welcoming standard

among variety of other things listed

there. Those are just some examples of

uh highlighting things like really

proactive actions. It's not just enough

to not hand people over to ICE agents.

The tools and resources needed for them

to operate also need to be withheld.

It's not enough to just not collaborate

with ICE. The space needed for them to

move about and terrorize community also

needs to be blocked. And we know that um

people can be banned from public spaces.

It needs to be made patently clear that

they are not welcome here and will not

be given the opportunity to carry out

their operations in our neighborhoods.

I'm proud to live in Harrisburg and I'd

be prouder still if it can be claimed to

be a certified welcoming city. Uh,

everyone deserves to live in a place

that is inclusive of people of all

immigrant statuses.

I've heard of other proposed policies

mentioned to city council last week that

they can include in their legislation to

truly make Harrisburg an inclusive

space. Banning ICE from public property

for disturbing the peace or malicious

loitering or tangible measures that can

be taken to ensure that they don't have

the opportunity to continue kidnapping

our neighbors. I'm sure there are many

other avenues that city council can take

that demonstrate a creative approach to

addressing this threat and I'm calling

and asking all members here to do

exactly that. We're looking to you for

the leadership in the face of this

crisis. I hope you rise to that

responsibility and do all you can that

to keep Harrisburg safe. Thank you so

much.

>> Thank you very much.

Hello, my name is Kevin Knox. I'm from

Midtown Harrisburg. First of all, I want

to thank the council for taking the

initiative of getting ice out of

Harrisburg. That is very important. But

I am here to talk about about HMAC.

It's a place. It's more than just a

restaurant, a bar, a music venue. It's a

community. And if it goes away, not only

will 25 plus people lose their jobs,

their livelihoods, their incomes, but

all the people that look at that as a

home, like Juliet said, there are poetry

readings, trivia, movie nights, there

are book swaps, clothing swaps, there

are art shows, there are all these

things, anniversaries are celebrated

there, we have weddings there, all that

stuff. And we even in the summer we have

a thing called yappy hour which we have

dogs out in the courtyard with everyone.

And you know it's just a place the

community comes together and if

Ms. Williams and Mr. Grover cannot come

to an agreement which they need to do

the community will lose all of that. And

I hope you can help them come to an

agreement with the HMAC and HMAC

lawyers. Thank you.

>> Thank you very much.

How you doing? Uh my name is uh Mark

Perry. Um I'm a u local promoter and

[clears throat] I uh do all my uh

parties and concerts at um HMAC. Um, I

know I don't got a lot of time, but like

a little backstory with me, like you

know, um, I grew up the south side of

Harrisburg, you know, and if you know,

it's it's hard to get out of that, you

know, it's hard to, um, be successful,

especially a successful entrepreneur,

you know. Um, about like seven years

ago, I didn't know what to do with my

life, you know. I was fresh out of

college, you know, a dad. Um, I didn't

like I just didn't know what to do with

my life. So, I didn't know the turn of

the streets, go get a 9 to5, you know,

and um you know, I um turned to Chris,

you know, and um he didn't know me from

a can of paint. And he gave me an

opportunity, you know, and you know, and

ever since then, like we became close,

you know, we bumped his a few times and

stuff, but you know, like you know,

that's that just happens with life, you

know. But um he changed my life, you

know, and if you know me, you know, like

you know, like uh I come from a you

know, a low low income, you know, and um

like I said, like I just you know, I

just hope that you know, something just,

you know, it's an answer to the HMAC,

you know, because if there isn't and the

HMAC closes down, then, you know, it's

like I have to figure something out, you

know. Um, and you know, like that's all

I have to say, you know, like I just

hope that, you know, it's some type of

answer, you know, because it's a lot of

people that enjoys coming to the HMAC.

And I'm talking like minority, you know,

uh got a lot of supporters, you know,

and I mean like I started from the

bottom there, you know, um you know,

it's it's, you know, stuff happens, you

know, it's fights, cat fights, you know,

all types of stuff, but you know, like

they provide the proper security. They

deescalate situations, you know, and um

I built it from the bottom to the top,

you know, and I feel like I'm there. I

feel like me and Chris's relationship is

like tight, you we spend hours on the

phone talking about the future, you

know. So, I just hope that, you know,

there's some type of resolution, you

know, to that that, you know, we can

figure out because this isn't this is

the city that, you know, the city and I

love my city. I don't want to turn my

back on my city, you know, and I have a

lot of people who

supports me. So, I appreciate you guys.

Can you state your address or the

vicinity in which you live just for the

meeting record? Oh,

>> I'm sorry. Um, I live in the um I live

in Allison Hill, you know, off of Dunl

Street.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank

>> Thank you. Anyone else from my right?

>> Hello. Uh, [clears throat] my name is

Gabriel Gavara. I live in Midtown. Um, I

I appreciate that most members of the

council share sentiments of protecting

the community against ICE, but we need

to see substantial measures taken when

lives of both undocumented folks and

citizens are on the line. Um,

[clears throat] while I agree with

Council Member Jones, we have to protect

ourselves from a suit or any legal

trouble uh with the federal government,

but the safety and livelihood of our

residents has to be the top priority.

Lawsuits can be fought in court. uh

lives can't be brought back from the

dead. Uh our own city solicitor Grover

just confirmed that DHS is rising well

beyond their limits, more so than ever

in this country's history. Um so that

begs the question, does that not call

for stronger protections put in place,

some that might not be typical in the

past, but are strong enough to meet the

moment where it's at? Um, posting a know

your rights memo online as suggested

before is a great resource and that is

definitely needed, but local

organizations are already sharing that

information. Local organizations are

leading protections of the community

against ICE. So, how can the city do

more to help us in that fight? Uh we'd

love to see the points from the proposed

alternative legislation which you all

were sent be added into this

legislation. Uh for example, the

welcoming cities initiatives which is

already passed I believe in Pittsburgh

and uh Philadelphia. Uh also uh the

seven prohibited action items for

officials. Uh there's there's a lot to

look at in that legislation. If you have

the time, please read it. Uh we

understand that this is just the

beginning as was said, but time is of

the essence when lives are on the line.

So we look forward to seeing what we can

come up with together. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Anyone else? Excuse

me. Anyone else to my right?

Seeing none, anyone from the middle?

One more from the right and then we'll

move to the middle.

>> Hello. Well, I just want to say um or

thank my name is Elena. I didn't exactly

plan anything uh to say, but uh thank

you for all of your everyone for being

here and supporting our local

government. Um both you and you know our

city residents. Uh I live in Midtown

Harrisburg right up on Minn Street. Um

and I'm here supporting uh HMAC. I just

wanted to say that Ajac gave me a

purpose six years ago when I was

employed

um sitting at the bar having nothing

else to do. It kept me working in the

city and I know one speaking of one of

the 25 um employees that we want to stay

working in the city. We want to stay

living in the city and a lot of us it is

a very real possibility that we will

have to leave the city. Um both as

residents and workers and people who

pour our money into our local bars, into

our local establishments, into the

market. Um we want to stay and we love

our city very very much. So thank you

for your time. Also, thank you for I

know we hosted a lot of your uh

specifically we hosted some of your um

pools and some of your uh fundraising to

even get you on the city council and I

just don't want you to forget that that

we are here to support you. I got your

lawn signed from HMAC and supported your

event. [laughter]

Um so we're just we don't want to leave.

We love our city and we love it just as

much as you do representing it. Thank

you very much. Again, my name's Elena

Madame Chair, uh, Madam Chair, Madame

President, VP Jones, I would never, uh,

interject and disrespect the public

comment section of a meeting. So, I do

apologize for being out of order with

that, but I wanted to take the

opportunity while Chris is in the room,

and we do have either the deputy

solicitor or Mrs. Solicitor. We have a

room full of adults. Maybe they may want

to go in the hallway for a second to see

if there's a possibility of a future

meeting or if that's appropriate. I

don't know. Madam President, uh, Madame

Mayor, no offense.

>> I think it's appropriate at this time in

the room. Well, perhaps they can speak

following the meeting.

>> I just trying to encourage the because

what I don't want to see happen is we

just do a lot of talking and then the

months go by and then we lose HMAC while

we have time to strike. Perhaps we can

advocate for a conversation to happen.

Now, that's just my hopes. My apologize

for interjecting.

>> I didn't want to get too far in the

deep. I want to respect public comment.

>> There we go.

>> Yep. Thank you. We would like to resume

public comment at this time.

>> Thank you. We're going to move to anyone

in the middle section that has any

public comment.

>> Hi,

my name is Melissa.

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>> Thank you very much. Anyone else from

the middle?

>> Good evening, Caler. Counselors, sorry.

Uh Kia Fowler from North Fifth Street.

Um I've stood before you the last few

weeks kind of trying to bring light to

some of the horrors that ICE perpetuates

on uh peaceful citizens and

non-citizens, just individuals residing

here in the United States. I have three

more examples for you tonight. These are

three examples times ICE has lied about

encounters with individuals. Number one,

Julio Cesar Sosa Salis was shot in the

leg on January 14th, 2026 in

Minneapolis. DHS claimed he fled from

agents, crashed into a parked car, and

tried to flee on foot before violently

resisting arrest. Video footage later

showed this was a lie and charges were

dropped. We all know Alex Prey, and we

all know that situation. Number three.

This morning, early this evening,

Aaliyah Raman was ripped from her car

while on her way to a doctor's

appointment in Minneapolis. After

telling agent she was disabled and

suffered from a brain injury and that

she was on her way to a doctor's

appointment, she was then con confronted

with a combat knife by an ICE agent. Her

arms and legs were cuffed and she was

carried face down by her arms and legs.

Uh she claimed she now has permanent

damage to her arms as a result of this

encounter. Agents claim she was impeding

their jobs. Video evidence show that

this was a lie. Um, moving on to some

kind of questions regarding bill 1 2026.

Um, I would like to see that we follow

in the footsteps of the state of

California and require all require all

law enforcement officers to display

visible identification in an agency

affiliation. I know I spoke with a

couple of council members over the last

few weeks and that a mask ban may not be

feasible. Um, this may be the opposite

of at least requiring identification.

Um, I know that the California law was

upheld by US District Judge Christina

Snyder and um, the Pennsylvania State

uh, Senate and House have introduced

similar bills. Councilwoman Davis asked

Silister Grover about the legality of

posting know your rights information.

I'd like to go a step further and have

council work with reputable local groups

to promote know your rights campaigns

and information sessions, especially in

multiple languages. Um I am one of the

remarks in uh bill one says no city

official or employee shall detain any

person based solely on a civil

immigration non-judicial retainer or

administrative request. I'm concerned

that this language is not robust enough.

Can a city official, for example, simply

claim they have other reasons? Or must

they have proof similar to the police

requirement for reasonable articulable

suspicion when it comes to detaining

someone when immigration could be a

factor?

I'm basically concerned that someone's

going to be able to just say immigration

is not a factor when really it is. We've

seen this with ICE multiple times,

detaining people simply based on their

race and claiming that it's because they

were in a high immigrant neighborhood.

Uh I'd like to know how council will

prevent city property from being used as

a trap. I know they've stated that um

they're going to try and limit city

resources, but for example, if someone's

walking in the park in public property,

um will they prevent ICE from using that

as a staging area for um official

immigration actions when they don't need

to? Um

can council create a temporary ban on

DHS using public spaces for enforcement

or other official job actions given

proven dangers of ICE to the peaceful

public? I.e. can we preemptively

trespass ICE and DHS on a temporary

measure? as I know permanent might be a

little difficult. Lastly, can the city

require ICE to publish their upcoming

enforcement actions when not covered by

confidentiality rules? If so, will

council publicly publish these notices?

Thank you very much. Have a good

evening.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone

else from the middle section?

Good evening, council. Celerade Silton

been up here the past couple weeks,

missed a week because of other things

going on, but I'd just like to piggyback

a bit off of what my peers in the

community have been saying about

enforcing legislation. I'd also like to

go ahead and add on the importance of

access to hospitals, medical facilities,

local places like even the library,

right? Things that are while technically

for the public, we've seen in Minnesota,

we've seen in New York, we have seen in

several other states ICE grabbing people

while they're going to the court for

their immigration hearings. Like, do

y'all see the problem with that?

Pe ICE coming into hospitals waiting,

you know, surrounding people's rooms

waiting for them to be detained.

We've seen ICE, well, they haven't come

into a library yet, as far as I know,

but that's still public government

property. Like, that's still a place

where vulnerable people are. We've seen

them lurking outside schools. We've seen

them literally arrest kids. We've seen

them hold kids outside as attempting to

bait people to come out worried for

their kids. We have seen time and time

again that they are willing to set all

kinds of traps, violate all kinds of

constitutional rights and protections in

the name of their

I don't even know what to call it

anymore. It's certainly not enforcement.

Um,

and I'd also,

before I lose my train of thought here,

like to bring up

that uh we just saw uh I believe it was

yesterday or earlier today that an ICE

agent was posing recently as someone

stranded with car trouble. A man came

out of his house [snorts] out to where

this ICE agent was posing as a civilian

with car troubles. He came out of the

house to see if he can lend a hand, only

to be immediately swarmed by ICE agents

and surrounded by vehicles, quickly

detained by eight to nine ICE agents

tackling him to the ground and carrying

him off.

What is to say that them being here,

we've seen them like was said earlier

today, they were spotted, I believe, uh

up on Dair Street, uh the YNZ Market, is

it? Uh I'm not very familiar with the

names up there, but uh around Dair

Street,

you know, they detained someone and took

them away before anyone could show up.

No civilians, no police, nothing.

So

where is the guarantee that we as

citizens of this city,

whether

you know, white like myself or anyone of

any kind of darker skin tone especially,

they have proven nobody here is safe.

That they will detain you, that they

will tackle you to the ground, that they

will disarm you and execute you in broad

daylight and lie about what you can see

with your own eyes.

And so council, I am here

just to try and reinforce the importance

of

in adding protections

that

while may not seem feasible,

desperate times call for desperate

measures. And if this isn't a desperate

time, then I have no idea what is. Thank

you for your time.

Thank you very much.

Is there anyone else from the middle

section?

I'll do it, too. [laughter]

No, I uh I do want to thank city council

for taking on this bill. I think it's

very important. As uh Councilman Lawson

said, this is what democracy looks like

and we're taking steps in the right

action. Um and also to Lamont us

understanding what are the we are the

last line of defense. You guys are and

really hoping that everybody in this

room that is standing up is prepared to

take on the amendments that can be

passed in city council and then we work

our way up the line. We look at our

Dolphin County representatives. We look

at everybody involved um including our

police force, including our mayor and we

hold them accountable.

[clears throat] As people mentioned, uh,

a lot of the welcoming city proposals,

it is about accountability. So, uh,

there are tools to go out there, review

both of those items, and set those

pieces into amendment, which set our

groundwork. If you take a look at the

sections of the welcoming city, um, they

sound pretty familiar to a lot of other

plans that we have that we can

potentially execute. um safe

communities, education, connecting

communities, civic engagement, economic

development, government and community

leadership. So when people say star

ratings, all that is is action plans,

metrics, and things that we can hold

city council to, but then we can hold

the other parts of our government

accountable to. So, I'm really enjoying

this conversation and I hope that we do

our due diligence, identify those action

items, put them in places where we can

hold everyone accountable, including you

guys, and then, you know, keep pushing

back and working with the citizens in

order to get that accountability

executed. So, this is a great time and I

really love this line of defense that

we're setting and we can model this for

the rest of the people that we need to

hold accountable down the line. So,

thank you everyone.

>> Thank you. Did you say your You didn't

say your We know who you are, but

Vincent Shy 315 South Front Street.

Apologize.

>> Thank you very much. Anyone else from

the middle section?

Seeing none, anyone from the left

section?

Good evening, council.

Um, I'm glad I didn't drink the water.

Everybody here is wreaking a fear.

Um, I want to say happy new year's

because today is a lunar new year for

the lunar calendar. Um,

what does that mean? That means that a

lot of our diverse community including

the Asians today's their new year. It

means that they are celebrating the end

of harvest agriculturally

and they are gathering together as a

family. They're wearing red

to wear off the evil demons.

So when you go get your nails done and

stuff, you know, whether they're

Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese,

Koreans,

you know, wish them happy new years cuz

they play a vital role in our community,

too.

The Luna New Year usually falls in

February.

It's like the beginning of a spring and

it just happened to fall in the same

month as our acknowledged Black History

Month. Isn't that something that the

Asian community and the melanated

community have something so good in

common? And by the way, Black History

Month is the only month that um

acknowledge

four weeks in a month, seven days in a

week, thus 28 days in February.

Um

what else can I say? It is great to see

that the people of Harrisburg is out.

And no, we do not all agree,

but this is a democratic country,

Republic of America,

and we understand why the Boston Tea

Party was formed. We also know why

there's 13 stripes and 50 flags.

You know, I enjoyed being an American. I

am so proud that I made the choice to

serve this country

and I am

ecstatic that ISIS is in Harrisburg

protecting our constitutional right. By

the way, you can't go nowhere else in

nobody else's country and claim

constitutional right.

Well, why you want to do it here? Why

you want to do it in America?

The people outside chanting. I took a

look just now. None of them have an

American flag. They're all waving

Palestinian flag right in front of the

building. None of them. Last week, I had

the pleasure of looking at you guys on

YouTube. They sat right there and they

didn't even get up for the pledge of

allegiance. Now, these are the people

that come in this room with a list of

demands.

I'm so glad I did not drink that water.

Happy New Year's, Harrisburg.

>> Can you please say your name and your

address for the meeting record, please?

>> You get me every time.

Ley Profit. I live in Harrison Hills. My

family say, "Oh, you shouldn't tell us.

Tell them where you live."

[clears throat] I did not eat the fear

mongering tactic that is being served. I

can only lead the horse to the water. I

can't make y'all drink

y'all. Good luck.

>> Thank you. Anyone else to the left side?

>> Good evening, Council Pam Parson,

Allison Hill. Um,

truth is resistance. That's the words

that I heard from uh historian Jamar

Tisby yesterday. So, I'm going to resist

by telling the truth. In 1850, we passed

the Fugitive Slave Act. And where we are

right now, with all due respect to our

solicitor who talked about Nazi Germany,

we've actually been here before. It's

all in our history. And the fugitive

slave act required

northern free slaves, northern free

states to basically enforce slavery.

They grabbed free black people off the

streets, kidnapped them. Boy, doesn't

that sound familiar? And sent them back

to the south. and people, particularly

white people, who intervened were fined

$1,000

and six months in jail. And Pennsylvania

was very notable for that be and

Harrisburg because states were required

to have a slave commissioner because

they didn't actually believe that the

states would do what was required by the

law. And this was an extrajudicial

um

force in a sense. So in Pennsylvania,

our slave commissioner was a Mr.

McAllister, Richard McAllister. And if

that name sounds familiar, that's

because it's the Mcgallisters of Fort

Hunter. And he was the most aggressive

and notorious slave commissioner in the

state.

And within the first month,

he kidnapped a variety of people off the

street, women, black women off the

street in Harrisburg, and he took them

down to his office on Walnut Street. And

he would hold hearings

just himself. And sometimes people would

have attorneys there and he wouldn't

even provide a table for them to sit

down or an opportunity for the attorneys

to talk to their clients.

And one such woman that he kidnapped,

her name was Ellen. And Ellen had a

small child at home. Sound familiar?

But what happened was Ellen's neighbors

went to his office and demanded that she

that she be released because she had a

child at home. And the protest got so

loud and so rockous that he released

Ellen. So there is a blueprint for us to

follow here.

Um,

and it was neighbors protests that kept

people safe here because he was known to

have pre-dawn hearings. He would grab

people overnight and have hearings

before the sun rose. He dispensed with

all fairness.

I mean, we had the fourth amendment

then, too. It wasn't followed.

And he and he completely set aside any

sense of fairness. He would allow the

slave holders or anybody who thought

they might want to have a slave and he

would bring them in. But it was the

neighbors. It was the people here. There

was a summer of resistance in 18 in

1851.

And it was the neighbors. It was the

people of Harrisburg who kept their

black and brown neighbors safe. Thank

you.

[applause]

Thank you very much. Is there anyone

else to the left that would like to make

public comment?

Um, Ed Jerro, 1521 North Second Street.

Uh, two comments. Number one on ICE.

Obviously, I think there's a lot of

great ideas to amend this bill. My

concern is more about the process. I'm

hoping maybe we can find a way to have

like a formal legislative hearing. You

know, people come up here and comment,

but secretary is no way right now in

every single word, every single

amendment. Maybe we could have a hearing

and tell people only come here with

written or if you're ready to speak so

we could get these amendments into the

record so we can start to manage what

all these comments are. Um, maybe

there's a better way. Solicitor might

know a better way, but it seems like

there's a lot of good ideas or maybe get

an email to all you guys. And I don't

know how we can process this unless we

get them all into some kind of big

chart, right? Might be substitute bills,

might be little amendments that say

change this shall to must, or you know

what I'm saying? But I think we got to

get all these amendments on the record

somehow so that then they can be voted

on as amendments or however you're going

to do it. Um, excuse me, lost my little

thoughts here. And uh yeah, so that's my

comment just about the process. We make

sure everyone is listened to. Uh next on

HMAC, obviously I I go to HMAC quite

frequently and I love the place. Sorry

to hear that we're in this situation.

Uh, Vice President Jones, I know last

week or two weeks ago you got additional

funding, a little bit extra funding for

your own uh, council and I'm just

wondering if maybe you guys could

allocate an hour of time your outside

council could maybe get involved and

find out is there some legislative fix

to this because I'm sure there's no

formal process to uh, pay overdue taxes

over time. Do you know what I mean? Like

if I don't pay my real estate taxes,

what I'm heading to sheriff sale, you

know what I mean? And I think this a

little different because it's amusement

tax and there's probably different

circumstances. I don't know all the

details except what I've seen on

Facebook. But I do think that it's going

to require legislative fix, right? I'm

not sure if if the mayor or whatever can

just decree and say here's the new deal.

You know, I think it's going to take

some real work. And I just hate to see

obviously loss of jobs and all that, but

HMAC has really been around a long time.

they host uh you know the the big

debates at debate time and I think

they're offered their place to uh the

whole city. So I'm hoping you can get a

fix and I think it would be just a small

little bit of you know one or two hours

of your lawyer at least find out what

the facts are so we can hear. So all

right thank you.

[applause]

>> Thank you very much. Um just speaking to

the part of the process um this will

likely be moved to next week's

legislative agenda and um at the

legislative meetings there are um notes

taken there. There are uh that will be

the time when we will make amendments.

It would all be on the record. So where

the work session is more of a

discussion. The legislative session does

have written u meeting minutes. Uh it

also will allow for public comment in

the beginning again which will be put on

the meeting records as well. So, there

is another meeting that'll be coming up

where the discussion can continue and it

will be putting in put in put excuse me

I'm still kind of sick put into writing

um and legislative meeting minutes.

Are there any other public comments

from the left, right, middle? Anyone?

Any other public comments?

Sing none. Sing one.

[snorts]

Um, I'm Ava Swift Warner from Midtown

Harrisburg. I'm here to talk on behalf

of HMAC. I'm the daughter of Chris

Wernern. HMAC has been my dad's dream

since as long as I can remember. Before

HMAC was lights and music and crowds, it

was a vision. My dad believed that our

community deserve more culture, more

creativity, and more opportunity.

A place where people can be who they

want and express themselves in ways

nowhere else would accept. A place where

anyone from anywhere can come together.

He has invested his entire life into the

business. And HMAC truly has his entire

heart, but also mine. Growing up and

watching his dream unfold has taken over

my past, present, and future. Seeing the

way HMAC has helped so many people, it

has become my dream. HMAC has always

been my safe place and where I felt the

most protective protected. It's where I

see my future. It's where I learned

everything. While most kids grow up

trying to figure out their future I've

always known. Graduating this year, I

intend on going to business school and

making his dream my own. Taking the next

step to continue his dream forever. But

regardless of my family, HMAC protects

our culture, opens opportunities for

hundreds of people, and all it takes to

continue this path is your help.

Did you state your address? I know you

said your name. Do you mind sharing your

address or the vicinity? Okay. Thank

you.

>> Thank you very much.

>> Are there any other public comments?

>> Hi. Uh my name is Jordan Trevino. Um I

want to speak on behalf of HMAC. Um,

I've bartended there for the last uh

over six years.

Uh, people keep coming up and talking

about how much it means to the

community. Um, and I kind of just uh I

don't know how real that is unless

you're actually see it and working there

for as long as I have. I've I've

bartended for over 15 years. Um, and

when I have family members or people,

friends from out of the city ask me what

it's like, it's really hard to describe

because every night is different. And

and I really mean that. It's it's wild.

And if you've been there, you definitely

know what I mean. Every night is

different. And every night has their own

communities. And it's it's

all ages. It's all walks of life. It's

amazing. Um,

I don't know if it was brought up yet

either, just the amount of people that

come to Harrisburg for events at HMAC. I

have so many fun conversations every

night I work there pretty much. Uh,

people who've never been to the city

that love it ask where they should go

next. Um,

that's really all I wanted to

contribute. Thank you so much for your

time.

>> Thank you,

>> Jordan Trevino. Uh, I live on uh 274

Minute Street in town.

>> Thank you. Are there any other public

comments?

>> Seeing none, I'm going to open it back

up to my council members to see if

anyone else has any other comments or

questions before turning it back to

President Hill.

>> Madam Chair, thank you. Um, just for the

resident's edification and everyone

watching, um, because I don't want

anyone to think that this is going to be

a long going on process. This will be on

the legislative session next week for a

vote. Correct.

>> That's correct.

>> I will recommend this and they will get

one more opportunity to make public

comment beforehand on that legislative

session.

>> Yes. So my plan is to recommend this go

to our next legislative agenda which

will be next week. Um before we would

have a vote for amendments or anything,

there will be a chance for public

comment. If council uh makes amendments,

feels good with where we're at, then we

can vote on it next week. So, the plan

will be to vote on this legislation next

week, unless council for some reason

would not be ready to.

>> Thank you for that. I just wanted to

make it clear for the residents or

everyone watching, everyone in

attendance. You still have another

session to come. Voice your opinions.

Voice how you would like it to be.

Hopefully, you can make some change on

the change that we're trying to bring

here to the city. So, thank you all for

your time and being here this evening.

It means a lot. So, please I I would

hope to see everyone back in the room

next Tuesday at the legislative session.

Thank you.

>> Yes.

Republic.

So

here in a while that's why it's set up

so that people concern about

Thank you very much, Solicitor Grover.

Um that is noted and uh after if there

are amendments um afterwards we will

open it up for public comment so we can

continue the conversation before we will

move on for final passage.

I believe Vice President Jones had

something.

>> Yes. Thank you, uh, Councilwoman Green.

Um, yeah, just to the point again, um,

as I stated before, this is not the end.

Um, again, we will be able to make

adjustments, amendments to this, but to,

um, Ed, you know, um, and to the public

as a whole, um, I know you guys don't

see a lot of the stuff that council is

doing or working on. Um, we're working

very hard right now to change that, to

be more visible for you guys. Um, and

uh, just so you know, not just what's

what HMAC is going through, one of my

big sticklers is for what I ran on is to

ensure that our businesses have um, an

opportunity to thrive in our city. So,

we are working on things um to because

we do have a lot of archaic codes and

ordinances that that needs to be

addressed. We're in 2026 right now, so

we are working and then just just bear

with us. We just had a great retreat

where we're all on the same page and we

do have some things that we do believe

that this community would love as us

working together as a body and an

administration. So just bear with us. We

are coming, we're listening, and we are

working. So that's all I had.

>> Thank you very much, Councilman Lawson.

As I'm looking around the room, just

based on what we're hearing right now is

I think everyone was given their

assignment and we expect to see you here

next week and we expect to to hear from

you. And and I I say that jokingly, but

I mean it seriously. Um if you want to

see change, we need to see you. So we

expect to see everyone here next week so

that we can uh go through this again.

Thank you.

>> Thank you. Um, just as as before I turn

it over to President Hill, uh, I just

want to say thank you to everybody for

coming out, uh, for making your voices

heard, for sharing information with us,

for being a part of the process. Uh, it

always makes everything better. Uh, we

can start with a framework, but you guys

are what customizes it to Harrisburg,

um, and really speaks the voice into it.

So, thank you for being here. Um, also,

everyone here for the HMAC, thank you

for coming out and being here tonight as

well. um we hear things. We try to work

behind the scenes uh and facilitate

things, but sometimes we don't hear

about stuff until it comes to us, right?

Um some things that are happening on the

administrative level are not being

shared with council, and sometimes

that's just how government works. So,

you bringing it to us and letting us

know what's going on allows us to help

facilitate things and hopefully get

things moving. So, um I know that all

the businesses in Harrisburg have my

support. I believe they have all of our

council, all of the council members

support. So, we'll work uh to see what

we can do uh to help come up with an

agreement or a plan or something, not

just for the HMAC, but for every

business in the city of Harrisburg that

needs some sort of help or some sort of

support. Obviously, we can't solve

everything. Um, and just speaking from

the standpoint that I don't know

everything that's led to this point, but

I think it's important for us to support

our businesses in the best way possible,

support our residents in the best way

possible. So, I thank you all for coming

out tonight, and I look forward to

continuing to work. So, thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> I believe Councilman Davis has something

now. Yes. Thank you, Councilwoman Green.

I would just like to uh remind our

residents um that before you reach out

to other organizations for assistance of

any sort, you may want to call or visit

their website

um

just to so you can know about their

eligibility process, the hours, the

documentation just to prepare ahead of

time. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

>> Thank you. And I believe that concludes

the committee business for the public

safety committee.

>> Thank you.

Um

>> my desire is to move this to the next

legislative agenda. I think I've said it

a few times.

>> You said it about three times. I noted

it.

>> But since I was just reminded to say it,

I'll say it again. I recommend this is

moved to the next legislative agenda

next week to continue the conversation

and hopefully have a vote.

>> Thank you.

Uh, I would just like to thank everyone

for their presence this evening, for

your comments. Um, as it's been said a

few times next Tuesday,

um, February the 24th.

Uh, we will hold a legislative session

that will begin at 6:00.

Um, that is where we want to hear from

you. Again, as it was noted, um, your

comments are included on the meeting

record. So, you always, if you have to

choose between attending a work session

or a legislative session, I always

recommend a legislative session to

ensure that your comments are included

with the record of the meeting.

Um,

I think we are assisting

businesses that are operating or those

that have an interest in operating in

the city of Harrisburg with the action

that we took last week. Um, with the

recommendation of hiring a community and

economic development director. So, I

think that's maybe the first step in

this process. So know that we are we are

working to um ensure that our city

is productive and

fruitful for all who live, work, and

play here. Um I believe Councilwoman

Ross has an announcement before we

adjourn.

>> Thank you, uh President Hill. Um and

good evening everybody. Uh before I make

my announcement, I just want to thank

everybody for coming out and voicing

their thoughts and concerns and some

amendments that they had um to Bill One.

I wrote a few down um uh because I like

I said before, it's it's your bill and

um what we want to see is as much as we

can get in there um that the community

needs to keep everyone safe. um with

HMAC. I

I don't want to see another Harrisburg

business close. That's just it. I um I

really hope that we can all work

together. We're all adults in this room

and find a solution because I just

cannot I don't think any of us can

afford for another Hazburg business to

close and especially not HMAC. Um it is

a it truly is a staple in our community

and I'm not afraid to say that out loud.

I've been there numerous times for

numerous numerous events. Um they've

hosted things that have really uplifted

our community. So I just um I really

hope that we can um find some type of um

way to solve this issue and also um get

more Hburg businesses here, keep them

here. And um I'm just I I am very proud

of city council and and us um making

sure there is a position within our

government that focuses on economic and

community development. Um so I want to

see Harrisburg flourish, not continue to

die. So um with that said, there is a

town hall meeting that we are holding in

conjunction with the um Harrisburg

school board, which is another very

important entity in our community. This

is our third meeting. So, if you haven't

been to one of these town halls, please

come because that's more time for you to

voice your concerns and and your

thoughts. Um, sometimes you don't get

enough time at a schoolboard meeting or

a council meeting. So, the town hall is

made for um more public comment. It's

your stage. Um uh so I hope you can come

out. This is going to be on this

Thursday, February 19th at Fouse

Elementary, which is at 1301 Sycamore

Street. Um and some topics on the agenda

are uh Evolve Youth Trade will be there,

which is an academy that um gets our

youth more involved in trade, which is

something that a lot of residents have

been asking for and what our community

needs. Um so they'll be there giving

some information and then it's going to

be open dialogue. So I hope I can see

everybody out there. It starts at 5:30

at Fouse Elementary, our third town

hall, and there will be more to follow.

So, thank you very much. Um, President

Hill,

>> thank you. Um, you're welcome. So, the

time is 7:07 p.m. I will entertain a

motion to adjurnn.

>> So, moved. Is there a second?