WEBVTT 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:19.820 Good evening, everybody. It's 6.05, and we're going to start this meeting. My name is Barbara Burns, and I'm the town clerk for Freeport Township, and to my left is our attorney, Michael J. Phillips, and would you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? 00:00:19.820 --> 00:00:34.289 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 00:00:34.289 --> 00:00:45.719 First thing we have on the agenda is we have to establish the salary for the moderator and I need a motion and a second as to how much. 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:50.719 So anybody want to give me an idea of how much we want to pay this person? 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:53.719 Last year we paid $100. That helps. 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:58.899 Second. 00:00:58.899 --> 00:01:07.019 Who seconded it, Patrick? Thank you. 00:01:07.019 --> 00:01:12.939 okay is there any other motions any other all in favor of a hundred dollars to 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:19.299 pay the moderator say aye all opposed say no okay the moderator will be get a 00:01:19.299 --> 00:01:24.819 hundred dollars for playing with us today okay now we need to have the 00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:29.700 election of the moderator I need a nomination from the floor to nominate a 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:44.280 and a moderator. Yes sir. Second. Motion made by Stephen, seconded by Harv, Burns. That's 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:52.250 why he's here. Are there any other nominations from the floor? Hearing none, I will entertain 00:01:52.250 --> 00:02:05.170 a motion to close nominations. Second. Kathy Wilkins and seconded by Harv. Okay, nominations 00:02:05.170 --> 00:02:06.329 have been closed. 00:02:06.329 --> 00:02:11.050 So now we need to vote on the moderator for Shane Orlow. 00:02:11.050 --> 00:02:13.409 Do I have a motion and a second? 00:02:13.409 --> 00:02:14.530 No, we already have that. 00:02:14.530 --> 00:02:17.129 So all in favor of Shane Orlow? 00:02:17.129 --> 00:02:18.729 All opposed? 00:02:18.729 --> 00:02:24.330 Mr. Orler, would you come up to accept the oath of office? 00:02:24.330 --> 00:02:26.370 Raise your right hand. 00:02:26.370 --> 00:02:28.729 Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will faithfully 00:02:28.729 --> 00:02:31.870 and impartially discharge the duties of the moderator 00:02:31.870 --> 00:02:34.409 at this town hall meeting to the best of your ability? 00:02:34.409 --> 00:02:35.250 I do. 00:02:35.250 --> 00:02:43.120 Please sign here. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:45.520 Okay, have a seat over there. 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:46.360 Where am I going? 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:47.599 Right there in that other chair. 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:51.370 Okay. 00:02:51.370 --> 00:02:53.050 Nope, yeah, there you are. 00:02:53.050 --> 00:02:59.169 That way we can, okay, next order of business. 00:03:00.210 --> 00:03:01.409 Yep. 00:03:01.409 --> 00:03:03.210 Presentation and review of annual 00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:07.370 Township Meeting Minutes for 2025. 00:03:07.370 --> 00:03:08.849 We need a motion. 00:03:08.849 --> 00:03:09.689 And a second. 00:03:09.689 --> 00:03:12.500 And a second. 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:14.259 I did, he did take the oath. 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:15.699 It's all here. 00:03:15.699 --> 00:03:16.539 Wake up. 00:03:16.539 --> 00:03:20.020 Motion to second, anybody? 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:21.419 Motion to second, please. 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:25.840 Second. 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:26.800 All in favor. 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:28.039 All in favor. 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:29.120 Aye. 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:32.569 Okay, motion passed. 00:03:32.569 --> 00:03:33.409 Next. 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:35.330 Okay, we have number six, 00:03:35.330 --> 00:03:37.490 reading of the annual financial statement 00:03:37.490 --> 00:03:39.210 from the town clerk. 00:03:39.210 --> 00:03:40.650 You all have this statement. 00:03:40.650 --> 00:03:41.969 I don't have to read it anymore, 00:03:41.969 --> 00:03:45.370 but it's on the back table if you all wanna look at it. 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:47.370 Then, okay, then that's done. 00:03:47.370 --> 00:03:50.129 Okay, annual report of the officers 00:03:50.129 --> 00:03:53.169 of the Town Board. 00:03:53.169 --> 00:04:06.039 We have the Assessor's Report. 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:07.919 Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:13.439 My name is Philip Byrd, and I am Chief Deputy Assessor for Freeport Township. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:17.959 Meta Ridgway, our Township Assessor, sends her apologies. 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:21.240 She will not be able to make it tonight, unfortunately. 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:25.519 Thank you all for your interest in your Township government. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:33.079 Per Illinois state statutes, property is to be assessed at one-third of market value. 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:38.120 Over the past few years, the real estate market has drastically increased. 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:44.620 In 2025, due to the rise in residential market values, the residential property assessments 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:52.000 had to increase approximately 14 percent to maintain the required 33 and a third level 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:55.160 of assessments by the state of Illinois. 00:04:55.160 --> 00:05:00.500 Even with this increase, assessments are still low compared to sale prices. 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:07.079 For the 2026 year, our preliminary market analysis reflects overall assessments will 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:13.139 again need to be increased in an attempt to be more reflective of the real estate market 00:05:13.139 --> 00:05:16.680 here in Freeport Township. 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:22.279 Freeport Township Assessor's Office continues to strive not only valuing properties according 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:32.959 The Township Office encourages anyone with questions concerning the appeal complaint 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:36.839 process to please contact our office. 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:43.720 There are some brochures in the back of the table back there if you all have any questions 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:46.480 concerning the assessment process. 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:51.769 Thank you. 00:05:51.769 --> 00:05:59.439 Next, we have Super... Okay, I'm sorry. We need a motion and a second to approve the presentation. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:14.839 Kerry Eisenhower. Second. Yep. All in favor. All in favor. All opposed. Any opposed. Okay. 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:20.120 I'm learning on the job here. Yeah, okay. Motion passes. Thank you guys for being patient with me. 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:33.610 Next is Supervisor's Report. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. 00:06:33.610 --> 00:06:38.209 I am Patrick Sellers, Supervisor of your Freeport Township. 00:06:38.209 --> 00:06:43.209 And tonight, as I have done year after year, I stand before you to give an honest account 00:06:43.209 --> 00:06:49.610 of where we are, how we have served you, and where I believe we must go from here. 00:06:49.610 --> 00:06:53.050 That is not merely a tradition, that is a covenant. 00:06:53.050 --> 00:06:57.930 It is the fundamental promise that every elected official makes to the people who entrust them 00:06:57.930 --> 00:07:03.480 with power, a covenant that I take seriously. 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:08.160 And so I will not insult your intelligence tonight with half-truths, comfortable silence, 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:12.839 or carefully worded statements designed to protect political relationships at the expense 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:15.360 of your right to know. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:19.160 Let me begin with what's good. 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:24.899 In 2025, Freeport Township conducted all its state mandated services with excellence. 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:30.259 Every program ran, every eligible client was served, our staff showed up day after day 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:34.319 and did their jobs with professionalism and dedication. 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:37.639 Not a single dollar of your hard-earned tax money was wasted. 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:40.000 Our budgets remain firmly in the black. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:45.579 We have been good stewards of the public trust, and I am proud of that record. 00:07:45.579 --> 00:07:50.139 But pride in what we have done well does not give us permission to look away from what 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:52.379 remains broken. 00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:58.279 And tonight, I'm here to not to simply celebrate accomplishments, but I'm here to tell you 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:07.480 For as long as I have held this office, I have spoken openly and urgently about the 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:09.839 deterioration of our neighborhoods. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:12.199 I have not done so to be dramatic. 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:14.720 I have not done so to score political points. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:19.439 I have done so because I walk these streets, because I talk to residents, because I see 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:24.000 with my own eyes what is happening to the community I was elected to serve. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.180 I have raised questions about dilapidated and abandoned properties that scar our blocks 00:08:28.180 --> 00:08:33.000 and invite criminal activity. I have spoken about illegal dumping that disrespects our 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:38.159 neighborhoods and signals to residents that no one in power cares about the condition 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:44.720 of their streets. I have warned about creeping expansion of criminal enterprise, activity 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:51.559 that was long and largely confined to east of the red line of West Street, which now 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:57.080 now has crossed further west with each passing year, following the path of least resistance 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:03.639 because too few people in position of power have been willing to confront it head on. 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:09.539 I have made pleas, I have delivered proposals, I have put forward ideas, concerns, and concrete 00:09:09.539 --> 00:09:13.799 suggestions, and you know what I received in return? 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:16.679 Silence, dismissal. 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:22.740 My words treated as unsubstantiated jargon, as if the evidence was not visible to anyone 00:09:22.740 --> 00:09:25.460 willing to open their eyes and look. 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:30.600 The evidence is not hidden, it's in our streets, in our headlines, and in the grief of our 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:31.600 families. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:36.759 I have come to understand something about political culture. 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:41.279 It is far more comfortable to maintain the illusion of peace than to do the hard, unglamorous 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:43.440 work of confronting disorder. 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:48.759 It's easier to host ribbon cuttings than to shut down drug corners. 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:53.519 It is easier to attend award ceremonies than to demand accountability for conditions our 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:58.360 most vulnerable citizens endure every single day. 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:00.039 My voice has been Ananel. 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:04.559 and my voice has been an unwelcome one in certain circles, but I'd rather be unwelcome and honest 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:11.759 than welcome and complicit. Some of my colleagues have worked very hard to convince this community 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:16.320 and perhaps themselves that we do not have a serious problem. They operate on the belief 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:22.240 that what is not spoken loud does not exist. That out of sight truly means out of mind. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:23.240 and Buss. 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:29.500 I want to remind you that the optics of progress matter more than the realities of suffering. 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:33.740 I reject that belief entirely, and tonight I want to name plainly without apology the 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:41.059 realities that too many people in this city would prefer to whisper about than to confront. 00:10:41.059 --> 00:10:45.240 When youth are being shot and killed in our streets, there is a problem. 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:49.779 When illegal drugs are sold openly in our neighborhoods in plain sight without shame, 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:51.860 there is a problem. 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:57.700 When illegal firearms are discovered at an Airbnb in one of our more prominent neighborhoods, 00:10:57.700 --> 00:10:59.700 there's a problem. 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:05.379 When Homeland Security, the FBI, the IRS, and local law enforcement conduct coordinated 00:11:05.379 --> 00:11:10.059 raids in our communities and the residents are left to piece together the story from 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:18.930 rumor and speculation because no one in authority is willing to speak plainly, there is a problem. 00:11:18.930 --> 00:11:27.379 And when a 12-year-old child takes his own life and the public response is little more 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:34.019 More than a murmur, a moment of quiet, and then silence. 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:37.690 There is a problem. 00:11:37.690 --> 00:11:43.029 Each one of these realities represents a failure, not a failure of any single person, but a 00:11:43.029 --> 00:11:48.529 collective failure, a failure of systems, of priorities, of will. 00:11:48.529 --> 00:11:52.210 And they demand not silence, but sustained courageous action. 00:11:52.210 --> 00:12:00.430 God's a 12-year-old child, 12 years old. 00:12:00.430 --> 00:12:06.629 If that does not move us, all of us, to ask harder questions and demand better answers 00:12:06.629 --> 00:12:12.960 and to insist on real change, then I am not sure what will. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:19.759 The absence of public outcry in the wake of that tragedy is itself a symptom of numbness 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:25.120 that sets in when a community has been failed for far too long. 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:29.680 When a community stops crying out, it is not because the pain is gone. 00:12:29.680 --> 00:12:36.230 is because hope has been deferred one too many times. 00:12:36.230 --> 00:12:38.669 We cannot allow hope to die in this city. 00:12:38.669 --> 00:12:44.629 I won't allow it, not under my watch and not while I hold this office. 00:12:44.629 --> 00:12:50.269 I am fully aware of what my comments and my candor will cost me. 00:12:50.269 --> 00:12:57.830 I know that these remarks will be characterized by some as pessimistic, as divisive, as unhelpful. 00:12:57.830 --> 00:12:59.909 I know that I will be called an agitator. 00:12:59.909 --> 00:13:04.309 I know that certain invitations will not be extended to me, that certain conversations 00:13:04.309 --> 00:13:09.669 will go quiet when I enter the room, and that my political standing among the comfortable 00:13:09.669 --> 00:13:11.110 class will suffer for it. 00:13:11.110 --> 00:13:18.000 But let me be clear, I do not care about that. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:21.240 I am at peace with those consequences. 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:24.080 I did not run for this office to be popular. 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:25.440 I did not run to be comfortable. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:30.319 I did not run so that I could be included in the right social circus to protect my political 00:13:30.319 --> 00:13:46.319 I ran because I believe, and I still believe, that this community deserves representation by people who will tell the truth, advocate relentlessly on people's behalf, and refuse to be domesticated by expectations of political conformity. 00:13:46.319 --> 00:13:58.319 There is a concept in politics called the status quo. The idea that things are as they are and maintaining that stability is itself a form of governance. 00:13:58.319 --> 00:14:03.720 I have no quarrel with stability, when stability means safety and flourishing, but when the 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:09.519 status quo means that children are dying, drugs are flowing freely, and that families 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:14.680 live in fear, and that an entire generation grows up believing that no one in power sees 00:14:14.680 --> 00:14:19.319 them or cares, then the status quo is not neutral. 00:14:19.319 --> 00:14:23.799 The status quo is a choice, and it is the wrong choice. 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:29.079 I will never silence my voice to preserve a seat at a table. 00:14:29.079 --> 00:14:32.019 Not when silence could mean the difference between life and death for the people I would 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:35.680 duly elect to serve, not now or not ever. 00:14:35.680 --> 00:14:40.799 Ladies and gentlemen, I would not stand before you year after year raising alarms, absorbing 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:45.879 criticism, pressing on if I did not believe in my bones that things can be different and 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:52.879 that this community has the capacity for something far better than what we have settled for. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:57.279 They say the darkest hours just before dawn. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:14:59.860 I believe that. 00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:03.899 We are in a dark hour, let us not pretend otherwise. 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:10.440 But darkness is not permanent, it is not destiny, it is a condition that yields eventually to 00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:16.309 those who refuse to stop fighting for the light. 00:15:16.309 --> 00:15:23.009 The power to change Freeport is not in Springfield, it's not in Washington D.C., it is not in 00:15:23.009 --> 00:15:53.009 and more. 00:16:24.930 --> 00:16:33.029 Let us use it together. May God bless you all. 00:16:33.029 --> 00:16:35.190 We need a motion and a second to approve his. 00:16:35.829 --> 00:16:39.190 Okay, we need a motion and a second to approve the report. 00:16:40.629 --> 00:16:41.509 Second. 00:16:41.509 --> 00:16:44.399 All in favor. 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:45.120 All in favor. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:46.899 Okay. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:50.079 Next we have the board report. 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:55.279 Any board of trustees want to say anything? 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:55.779 Nope. 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:57.299 Yes. 00:16:58.079 --> 00:16:59.120 Kevin McIlwain. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:00.160 Kelvin McIlwain. 00:17:00.160 --> 00:17:10.680 McIlwain, Kelvin McIlwain, Freeport Township Trustee. 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:14.680 Just want to say the past year, our trustee board 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:16.400 has done an awesome job and has been 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:20.000 proud to work with our assessor and our supervisor 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:23.119 to always be fiscally responsible, 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:25.639 have a balanced budget, but even more importantly, 00:17:25.639 --> 00:17:30.160 provide our staff and assessor's office with the technology 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:32.119 and tools they need to get proper assessments 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:39.740 and our properties, and also be in a position to work with our township supervisor to provide 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:42.799 programs that meet needs of the community. 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:49.639 Some specific examples that were done this past fiscal year was an emergency donation 00:17:49.639 --> 00:17:56.819 to our local food banks when it looked like there was uncertainty in funding for government 00:17:56.819 --> 00:18:03.259 Assistant Programs, and also programs that have helped young people in our community 00:18:03.259 --> 00:18:08.299 make themselves available, more ready for jobs, and even find employment. 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:13.860 So we were happy to do those type of activities and we look forward to continuing with that 00:18:13.860 --> 00:18:14.860 in next fiscal year. 00:18:14.860 --> 00:18:24.150 We don't have to do a motion on this. 00:18:24.150 --> 00:18:29.389 Item number eight, voting on maintaining $1 million for the general assistance levy. 00:18:29.389 --> 00:18:32.630 We need a motion and a second. 00:18:32.630 --> 00:18:33.630 Or do we vote on it first? 00:18:33.630 --> 00:18:34.630 I'm sorry. 00:18:34.630 --> 00:18:35.630 No, that's all right. 00:18:35.630 --> 00:18:36.630 It's one mil. 00:18:36.630 --> 00:18:37.630 One mil. 00:18:37.630 --> 00:18:38.630 It's not a mil. 00:18:38.630 --> 00:18:39.630 One mil. 00:18:39.630 --> 00:18:40.630 I'm sorry. 00:18:40.630 --> 00:18:41.630 That's okay. 00:18:41.630 --> 00:18:42.630 Most people do the same thing. 00:18:42.630 --> 00:18:43.630 We still need a motion and a second. 00:18:43.630 --> 00:18:44.630 Motion and a second. 00:18:44.630 --> 00:18:45.630 One mil. 00:18:45.630 --> 00:18:46.630 I'll correct myself. 00:18:46.630 --> 00:18:47.630 Sorry for that. 00:18:47.630 --> 00:18:50.070 One mil for the general assistance levy. 00:18:50.070 --> 00:18:51.549 We need a motion and a second. 00:18:51.549 --> 00:18:54.340 Second. 00:18:54.340 --> 00:18:55.340 Okay. 00:18:55.340 --> 00:18:59.220 All in favor. 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:03.429 All in favor. 00:19:03.429 --> 00:19:04.429 Item number nine. 00:19:04.429 --> 00:19:09.429 The vote on disposal of surplus slash obsolete equipment. 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:14.110 And the list is provided. 00:19:14.110 --> 00:19:18.130 It is two computers without hard drives. 00:19:19.289 --> 00:19:21.549 Two computers without hard drives. 00:19:21.549 --> 00:19:23.150 So we need a motion in this. 00:19:23.150 --> 00:19:25.070 We need a motion in a second. 00:19:28.529 --> 00:19:29.570 Who said the Gary? 00:19:29.570 --> 00:19:30.409 Thank you. 00:19:30.409 --> 00:19:34.039 All in favor? 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:34.860 Okay. 00:19:34.860 --> 00:19:46.670 Number 10, any other business coming before the town or electors? 00:19:46.670 --> 00:19:48.670 This is where any public wants to talk. 00:19:48.670 --> 00:19:50.670 If anybody from the public would like to speak? 00:19:50.670 --> 00:19:55.670 No, that's right. We have another place for public comments, so go ahead. 00:19:55.670 --> 00:19:57.670 Okay, I'm sorry. 00:19:57.670 --> 00:20:21.440 Over the past five years or so, at our annual town meeting, I and Patrick Sellers, supervisor 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:25.799 of Freeport Township, have been blessed with the distinct honor of presenting the Nicolette 00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:31.319 Niki Bender Award for Outstanding Public Service. This year's presentation is both a joyous and an 00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:37.960 aggrieved occasion. Joyous because this year's recipient, like all previous recipients, 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:45.720 so deserving of this award and aggrieved because 2026 represents the first time this 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:49.160 award will be presented without Niki's physical presence on this earth. 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:55.000 On July 28, 2025, our beloved Niki was called home to be with our Lord, leaving behind a legacy 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.799 of all inspiring public service shoes that are not easily filled and even more difficult to walk in. 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:05.319 Her love and compassion for the community in which she lived was only matched by her love and devotion 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:10.279 to our local veterans. Those of us whom have had the pleasure of Nikki's company can probably hear 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:16.359 her saying right now oh Jesus Sellers get on with it we ain't got all night so I'm going to get on 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:23.960 with it. I met tonight's recipient back in 2013 under well stressful conditions and I must admit 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:36.039 and I have personally observed and learned and yes even mimicked his meticulous approach 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:39.420 when it comes to conducting business for his organization. 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:45.440 His focus and his drive are testaments to his fortitude to do things decently and in 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:49.900 order and to him I say thank you for those lessons. 00:21:49.900 --> 00:21:56.859 How does one describe an individual like tonight's recipient, words like greatness, sacrifice, 00:21:56.859 --> 00:22:02.900 unwavering courage, commitment, compassion, unyielding dedication, honesty, and integrity 00:22:02.900 --> 00:22:06.980 just can't seem to capture the essence of who he truly is and what he means to this 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:09.450 community. 00:22:09.450 --> 00:22:13.329 There are favorite individuals amongst us, people that were placed on this earth for 00:22:13.329 --> 00:22:20.369 a specific purpose whose impact on humanity cannot be measured, quantified, or even explained. 00:22:20.369 --> 00:22:25.849 can only be felt. Nikki Bender was one of those people and she is accompanied by 00:22:25.849 --> 00:22:31.569 tonight's recipient. He is a man that I am honored to call my friend and blessed 00:22:31.569 --> 00:22:36.369 to be called his. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the 2026 Nicolette Nikki Bender 00:22:36.369 --> 00:22:40.889 Award to none other than Mr. Gary Osnall, receiving it. 00:22:40.889 --> 00:23:02.360 Now I'm going to get out of your way and I'm going to let you have your moment, my friend. 00:23:02.360 --> 00:23:03.360 Thank you Patrick. 00:23:03.360 --> 00:23:06.470 You're very welcome. 00:23:06.470 --> 00:23:07.470 Oh, hold on. 00:23:07.470 --> 00:23:08.470 Let me get my... 00:23:08.470 --> 00:23:14.759 Send this in to Toyo. 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:18.759 I need a telephone book to stand on. 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:29.579 Tell somebody who cares. 00:23:29.579 --> 00:23:32.579 Wow. 00:23:32.579 --> 00:24:16.400 It's like when I was chairing national conventions for Vietnam National for a lot of years I'd get behind a podium like this and there'd be a kids chair here or there'd be a carton stacked up there so and then they always say well okay Eisenhower stand up be counted you know so again thank you Patrick I'm humbly honored to accept the Nicky Bender award of public service let me get myself collected here 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:27.799 I have known and worked with Nikki on various community projects for about 25 plus years and 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:36.960 she was an influencer. Everybody knows she was an influencer and she impacted a lot of 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:45.200 people with her leadership and she made a big impact on our community 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:53.079 and Nicky with their leadership capabilities. She is definitely a role model for public 00:24:53.079 --> 00:25:03.960 service. And this community award in Nicky's honor is a legacy that exemplifies her leadership 00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:12.349 as a public servant. And I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to this board for this 00:25:12.349 --> 00:25:42.440 and the many other considerations. So God bless everybody. And in the interim while I'm up here, I just want to thank the trustees and Patrick especially for the many grants that we've received in the last three years for the BAC, which has made a big impact on our ability to take care of our veterans. Thank you. 00:25:42.440 --> 00:26:04.389 Next item is public comments. 00:26:04.389 --> 00:26:11.799 Any public comments? None. 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:18.799 Next is moderator's declaration of the conclusion of business for the annual town meeting. 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:21.799 It's April... 00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:25.799 Alright, so then we go on to vote to adjourn. 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:32.799 We are going to vote to adjourn until April 13th, 2027 at 6.05 p.m. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:46.119 Motion in a second. Motion. All in favor? All done. Thank you all for coming. I appreciate it. Thank you everyone.