05-14-29 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING May 14, 2018 community has to say first. It shouldn't be whether a person is Catholic or pro-life or whatever, people need to know how to live next to each other. We have a good Police Department. You can have an LGBT and a person who is not, and black or white or Catholic and a non-Catholic person, a person who loves God and a person who hates God, oh no. They may argue,they may fight, and they may not let their dogs play with each other, ok?Protest is a part of life. That is what we have. That is what this whole bow-tie is about. It is a protest. I marched with the Women's Group so they can protest. I marched with a Latino group so they can protest. I've marched with all others. Unions, I was out there at Honeywell so we could protest. I'm glad for protests. And so,what they are doing for the retirement thing over there is ridiculous,I won't go over that because we are here for the zoning. And so those are the things that we have to stay focused on. Councilmember Oliver Davis went on, It is easy to get caught up in this side versus that side or this thing and people say I understand you and that is your district. When it came down to the bars everybody didn't vote for me because I was slighted from the bars just because of that but we have to look bigger than just who is represented. We have to look at those laws. That fairness law, I think that we should override this veto. The Mayor, himself, said that this was over his pay grade so we should not listen to that. It was said, by himself, that it was not based in the law. He said all these other kinds of things. These are his actual words and actual things so why should we follow his advice on something like this? Finally, down south in Indianapolis, the Women's Care Group of Texas is getting a rough time because the conservatives are giving them a rough time. That is wrong that they are getting a rough time trying to establish their issue. So should we flip it around and give the other side a hard time here? They are wrong down south for doing that and we would be wrong if we don't allow this to move forward. Thank God for our legal system. Councilmember John Voorde stated, Let me start by saying in the nearly forty(40)years of public life and service that I have put in, I have never been more convinced I am doing the right thing by voting to allow the Women's Care Center to operate where they have chosen to file a petition to do so. In my interpretation of the Mayor's remarks, he said that this would cause disharmony in the neighborhood. It is not Women's Care Center that is causing the disharmony or the fact that Women's Care Center is maybe next to an abortion clinic. The disharmony, if there is to be such, is by the element that is so pro-life that they will picket and do other things,which I find regrettable, for something that, regardless of my personal stance, is the Law of the Land. I don't think that should happen. It happens because of the potential abortion clinic and not because of Women's Care. I think Women's Care actually,by their chosen location next to the proposed abortion clinic, will have a tendency to suppress opposition with all the concessions and investment they have made and they are ready to provide a service alternative to abortion. I think their presence where they want to be provides a better alternative than if they were a block or ten (10)miles away. Councilmember John Voorde continued, The potential for protest is going to be there regardless of Women's Care, so I think we ought to think in terms of what Women's Care provides,how they go about it and who benefits from it. I think who benefits from it are the people who most need it. Women who find themselves in this circumstance have ample opportunities to decide what is best for their unborn child without intervention from picketers and Women's Care. I don't know that is exactly true. I know I'm a guy and I won't be in the that circumstance and I won't ever have to make that kind of decision but I would sure want to know all of the facts. As I represent citizens all over the City, I would hope that the services, the information, the care and support that Women's Care allows people and families will help them make a decision they can live with for the rest of their lives. Councilmember John Voorde went on, I was going to bring my own circumstance into this discussion but I won't. Except to say that I have a daughter for whom abortion was suggested because she has a disability and thank God we didn't choose that option because she is the most wonderful gal any one could want. I don't want that to cloud the issue, let's just look at the five (5)criteria. I'm sorry but if you look at the five(5)criteria,the way I interpret these criteria,I think that this is a no brainer. This should be allowed and I stand on my original intent to support this petition. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic stated, Looking at this issue for me has always been about the fifth criteria which is about responsible development. I always had a fear that this property, regardless of who owned the property, could be used for protests, harassment and creating an environment 3