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Women’s golf to open season at Redbird Invitational

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Aces play Sunday and Monday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Sunday, the University of Evansville women’s golf team opens the 2024-25 campaign with a trip to the Redbird Invitational in Normal, Ill.

Action begins with 36 holes on Sunday with the final 18 set for Monday morning.  Play opens with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. both days.  Participating teams include Bradley, Butler, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Illinois Wesleyan, Indiana State, IU Indianapolis, Little Rock, Loyola (Chicago), Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, and Valparaiso.

After redshirting last season, Mallory Russell makes her return to the squad.  She was part of the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Championship team and is opening her senior season with the Purple Aces.

Two-time MVC Individual Champion Kate Petrova opens her junior campaign.  Last season, she finished with a 74.69 stroke average in 29 rounds of action.  On the strength of her MVC win, Petrova became the program’s first student-athlete to compete in an NCAA Regional as an individual.  She was among the leaders following the opening round in East Lansing, posting a 2-under 70 to open the event.

Men’s golf heads to Colonel Shootout to open season

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Aces play Saturday and Sunday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Action gets under way for the University of Evansville men’s golf team who opens the 2024-25 season this weekend at the Colonel Shootout in Richmond, Ky.

The University Club at Arlington will host the tournament, which is set for 36 holes on Saturday with the final 18 taking place on Sunday.  Par is 71 and the yardage is 6,700.  Schools participating include Canisius, Tennessee State, West Georgia, Chicago State, Kentucky State, Alabama A&M, Evansville, Detroit Mercy, NC Central, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris, and Eastern Kentucky.  Cincinnati and Vanderbilt will have individuals on hand.

Leading Evansville’s returners are Daniil Romashkin and Andres Rodriguez.  Romashkin, who opens his junior season with the Purple Aces, recorded a 73.91 stroke average last year.  He began the season with a tie for third place at the Valpo Fall Invitational before scoring his low round of the season in the second 18 holes of the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate.  His 6-under 66 helped him earn a tie for 9th.

Rodriguez had three top 20 finishes in the 2023-24 season.  His top outing was an 11th at the Valpo Fall Invitational.  Rodriguez’ low round came at the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate where he carded a 4-under 68 in the second round.  He completed the season with a tie for 18th at the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate where he posted a 2-under 69 in the second round.

Eagles battle Buckeyes to a narrow four-set loss

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GAINESVILLE, Fla.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball battled Big Ten opponent Ohio State University to four sets, falling 3-1 (12-25, 25-23, 17-25, 24-26). USI earned their first power four conference set win in the second frame along with being inches away from forcing a fifth set.
 
The Screaming Eagles stumbled out of the gate struggling to defend the Buckeyes high-powered attack trailing 21-5. USI started to find themselves with the help of two explosive kills from senior Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) and a service ace from freshman Kerigan Fehr (Fairbury, Illinois). However, the Buckeyes prevailed after firing home .393 percent of their attacks opposed to the Eagles .033.
 
USI bounced back in set two to shock the Buckeyes, 25-23. The two new Eagles, senior Jasmine Green (Rockwall, Texas) and sophomore Ashby Willis (Mount Carmel, Illinois) helped the Eagles build a 12-10 lead with seven total kills. The Buckeyes countered with a 5-0 run, taking a late 23-20 lead. USI refused to back down, converting the final five points of the match. Willis dominated with three straight kills, finishing the set with six. Fehr delivered another clutch service ace in an impressive performance by the freshman. USI minimized their mistakes with only two errors and a .387 hitting percentage.
 
The Buckeyes regained the lead after 18 kills on a match-high .389 hitting percentage as the Eagles fell, 17-25. Green totaled three early kills on perfectly placed assists from junior Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) and senior Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) to give USI the 12-11 lead. The Buckeyes ended the set on a 14-5 run to take a 2-1 set lead.
 
The Eagles came inches away from forcing a fifth set but fell 26-24 to conclude the match. USI made an early 5-0 run to lead 11-9. Sophomore Leah Coleman (Hoover, Alabama) contributed four early kills to fire up the Eagles. Ohio State countered with their own 5-0 run behind three-straight powerful service aces from preseason All-Big Ten nominee Emily Londot. The Buckeyes owned a 24-21 lead, before USI snatched three straight points to tie it. However, Ohio State earned the final two points to clinch the game.
 
Green led the Eagles in kills for the third time with 16. Sobieralski shinned passing out a team-leading 33 assists along with a recording a double-double at 12 digs. Defensively, Sobieralski led with 12 digs along with Moore and Willis also recording double-digit digs. Junior Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois), Sobieralski, and Downing all recorded three blocks each, while Fehr smashed a team-leading two service aces.
 
As a team, USI finished with 45 kills, 42 assists, 49 digs, 12 blocks, four service aces, and a .218 attacking percentage. Ohio State tallied 62 kills, 52 assists, 49 digs, ten blocks, 10 service aces, and a .282 hitting percentage. Tonight’s narrow loss brings many positives and confidence built as USI looks forward to competing again tomorrow night against a nationally ranked squad. 

Next Up
The Eagles are back tomorrow night against nationally ranked #10 University of Florida at 3 p.m. CT. No broadcast again, but the Gators are offering a radio link that can be found on the USI Volleyball Schedule.

Aces men’s soccer winning streak snapped at Lindenwood

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The Purple Aces surrendered two own-goals in the match
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team suffered their first season loss on Friday night in a 3-2 heartbreaker to Lindenwood.
A penalty kick goal and two own goals would sink the Purple Aces on the road against the Lindenwood Lions despite a fast start. UE scored the first two goals of the match but couldn’t find the back of Lindenwood’s net in the final 69 minutes.
Evansville scored early on Friday with senior midfielder Jose Vivas (Teruel, Spain) scoring his first goal of the season in the ninth minute following a team-leading performance against Eastern Illinois. Vivas worked his way through the middle of the field to take a shot from the top of the penalty box that sailed into the bottom left corner of the net.
The Aces scored again only 13 minutes later as junior defender Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruna, Spain) put a laser of a shot into the top right corner of the net from beyond the 18. Fifth-year forward Kai Phillip (Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago) picked up the assist on the goal with a cross from the back of the penalty box out to Diaz-Caneja.
UE’s offense slowed down after the two goals, not recording another shot in the first half. Evansville would find the back of the net in the 31st minute, only it was their own net as opposed to a third goal. The Aces took a 2-1 lead into the half break hoping to get their offense recharged and ready to go.
But UE’s offensive struggles continued in the second half as their first shot came in the 69th minute. Senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan (Almeria, Spain) had a close chance from the 18 that sailed over the top of the net. Freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove HS) kept Evansville in the second half, making five saves in the first 20 minutes.
It became a tie match in the 83rd minute as on a Lions corner kick the ball careened off an Aces player past Mroz into the net. Less than a minute later junior defender Nalu Wagner (Leipzig, Germany) recorded UE’s final shot of the night from behind the 18 that was saved by Lindenwood goalkeeper Enzo Gil. The dagger for Evansville came in the 89th minute as a player foul in the penalty box awarded the Lions a penalty kick. Lindenwood forward Ethan Blake buried the PK into the right side of the net, handing the Aces their first loss of 2024.
Diaz Barragan led the team on offense with three shots and one on goal. Diaz-Caneja was the only other UE player with multiple shots recording two including his goal in the 21st minute. Mroz tied a career-high six saves in the loss while facing seven shots on goal.
Evansville remains on the road with a match at Butler on Tuesday, September 10th. It will be the Aces’ first visit to the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl since 2019. Kick-off for Tuesday’s game is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on FloSports.

Aces wrap up first two home matches

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UE drops contests to Chicago State and Samford

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Friday’s opening day of the Dunn Hospitality Tournament saw the University of Evansville volleyball team drop a pair of 4-set matches to Chicago State and Samford.

Match 1 – Chicago State 3, UE 1

Giulia Cardona tied for the match-high with 18 kills, but Patrycja Lagida and Zahara Quraishi recorded 18 apiece to lead Chicago State to a 3-1 win.  Cardona led the Purple Aces with 14 digs while Melanie Feliciano had 13 digs and eight kills.

Game 1 – CSU 25, UE 22

Chicago State stormed out to a 6-1 lead to open the match.  Giulia Cardona picked up an ace to cut the UE deficit to 7-4 before the Cougars matched their largest advantage at 11-6.  Evansville Continued to fight back as a Melanie Feliciano ace got her squad within one at 13-12.

CSU rebounded to go back up by a 19-14 score and held strong at 24-19.  Three in a row by the Aces gave them a late shot before the Cougars fended off the challenge to take the set by a 25-22 final.

Game 2 – CSU 25, UE 19

Two kills and an ace from Cardona set the Aces up with an 8-3 lead out of the gate.  The momentum did not last, however, as the Cougars quickly rallied to take their first lead at 10-9 before extending it to 16-13.

Four in a row by the Aces put them back in front as Maddie Hawkins recorded her first ace of the contest.  With the score knotted at 18-18, Chicago State reeled off four in a row before clinching the set with a 25-19 decision.

Game 3 – UE 26, CSU 24

It was the Cougars who had the upper hand in the early moments, taking a 9-5 edge.  Feliciano picked up a kill and block assist in a rally that tied the score at 11-11.  Chicago State would slowly retake control, pushing the lead to 20-14.  Their 6-point lead held strong at 23-17 as the Aces were on the verge of falling in straight sets.

Madisyn Steele picked up a solo block that marked the first of five tallies in a row that made it a 23-22 game.  Zahara Quraishi registered a kill that gave CSU match point, but Evansville continued to rally.  After a pair of Cougar errors tied the set at 24-24, Lexi Owen and Chloe Cline combined on a block to put the momentum back in the Aces hands.  On the ensuing rally, Owen had the clinching kill to send the match to a fourth set.

Game 4 – CSU 25, UE 19

Once again, the Cougars had the early lead.  They posted the opening four points and would lead by as many as five points at 10-5.  Evansville rallied once again as a pair of Cardona kills helped the Aces tie it up at 13-13 before a CSU error gave UE the lead.

With the score tied at 15-15, Chicago State scored three in a row before pulling away to clinch the match on the strength of a 25-19 win.

Match 2

Giulia Cardona and Melanie Feliciano finished with 17 and 11 kills, respectively, but a 19-kill performance by Gracie Lynn Butler helped Samford finish with a 3-1 win.

Game 1 – Samford 25, UE 16

Behind a .414 hitting performance, Samford opened the night with a 25-16 win.  Cardona chipped in an early service ace and kill to put Evansville on top by a 5-3 margin.  Feliciano later added a kill that gave the Aces a 9-7 edge.

Five in a row by Samford changed the complexion of the set as they wrestled away a 15-10 lead.  Another kill from Cardona capped a 3-0 spurt by the Aces, but the Bulldogs retook momentum and pulled away for the win.

Game 2 – UE 25, Samford 21

Madisyn Steele posted a kill that saw the Aces score four of the first five points to take an early lead.  Evansville continued to hold the advantage as another Steele kill extended the lead to 15-9.  Feliciano notched her fifth kill of the match to solidify a 20-15 lead.

Samford scored the next three and appeared to make it four, but a play was challenged and reversed with UE holding strong, up 21-18.  Two more by Samford made things interesting as they got within one, but a Feliciano ace coupled with two more Cardona kills tied the match as UE took a 25-21 win.

Game 3 – Samford 25, UE 20

It was the Bulldogs who had the early momentum, turning a 4-4 tie into an 8-4 lead.  After Samford took a 12-7 lead, UE made its move.  A 6-4 run, highlighted by two Chloe Cline kills, made it a 15-14 game.  The Bulldogs overcame the run, countering with four in a row before a Feliciano kill made it 19-15.

From there, Samford was able to fend off a late UE rally to retake a 2-1 match lead.

Game 4 – Samford 25, UE 13

Looking to earn their second win of the day, Samford quickly opened a 5-1 lead.  After they pushed their edge to 11-5, Evansville cut the deficit in half with Feliciano picking up a kill in the 3-0 rally.  The Bulldogs regrouped once again and pulled away to clinch the match.

Saturday’s tournament finale will see the Aces face Miami Ohio at 2:30 p.m. inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

VUVB splits pair of hard fought matches to open 2024 Blazer Classic

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VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team opened the 2024 Blazer Classic Friday afternoon in the Physical Education Complex.

The Blazers opened the two day tournament with a split of their first two matches, winning over Pratt Community College from Kansas 23-25, 25-8, 25-15, 25-20 and later falling to Mineral Area College from Missouri 24-26, 33-35, 14-25.

Vincennes got the weekend tournament started Friday afternoon against the Beavers of Pratt Community College from Pratt, Kan.

VU got the upper hand on the Beavers in set one, building a 16-11 advantage before Pratt answered back with a 6-0 scoring run to take a 21-19 lead late.

The Blazers would continue to battle and even the set at 23-23 before Pratt closed it out with the final two points to take set one 25-23.

Vincennes looked to bounce back in set two and even the match and did so in a big way with the help of a pair of big scoring runs.

VU used a 6-0 scoring run and later an 11-0 scoring run to take set two over Pratt C.C. 25-8 and even the match at 1-1.

Set three began as another back-and-forth affair with VU able to grab a narrow 12-9 lead midway through the set before using a late 8-1 scoring run to pull away and take the set 25-15 to gain the 2-1 match lead.

Pratt came back in the fourth, looking to force a fifth set and had the match even at 17-17 before the Blazers closed out strong by finishing out the match on an 8-3 scoring run to take set four 25-20 and pick up the match victory over the Beavers.

The Trailblazers were led by an all-around performance by sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) who filled up the box score with 13 kills, four digs, three blocks and two aces.

Sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) came away with her first double-double of the season, ending the game with 12 kills and 11 digs.

Freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) ended the first match with nine kills and a pair of digs, while sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) added four kills.

Freshman Karen Kodi (West Carrollton, Ohio) stepped up with three kills, one block and one digs, while freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland ended with one kill, one dig and one set assist.

The VU offense was controlled by sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) who finished with her third double-double of the season, filling up the stats sheet with 34 set assists, 10 digs, five kills, four aces and one block.

Sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) and freshman Brooklyn Summers (Loogootee, Ind.) helped control the VU back row defense with Flexter ending with a team-high 14 digs, two set assists and one ace, while Summers finished with 11 digs and one set assist.

Sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) and freshman Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) each recorded five digs in the match, with DeCoursey adding a pair of set assists and one ace.

“Last week and this week we went into both weekend tournaments without having a game during the week,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “It’s been six days since we played and I think everybody we played last weekend and today played during the week. We are not going to have that happen after this week, but I do think that’s a disadvantage and can explain our slow start today against Pratt.”

“In the next two sets, sets two and three, we really found our next gear and really executed in just about all areas from then on,” Sien added.

Vincennes then returned to the P.E. Complex floor for the final game of day one of the 2024 Blazer Classic which saw the Blazers square off against the Cardinals of Mineral Area College from Park Hills, Mo.

This was another very even contest with the lead trading hands several times in set one.

VU rallied to even the score at 24-24 before Mineral Area closed out the set with the final two points to take set one in overtime 26-24.

Set two was another back-and-forth battle with VU grabbing the early lead before the Cardinals came storming back with a 7-0 scoring run to take a 16-13 advantage.

VU would battle back and take the lead at 22-21before serving set point at 24-23.

This began a long string of side outs by both teams to extend well into overtime.

Mineral Area would flip the momentum and begin serving set point at 30-29 before trading even more side outs and ultimately taking set two 35-33, giving the Cardinals the 2-0 match lead.

The Blazers came out of the gates a little slow in set three with Mineral Area quickly building a 14-4 lead and later growing their lead to 18-6 before the Blazers battled back with four unanswered.

This would be as close as VU would get however as Mineral Area closed out set three 25-14 to take the match in three sets.

Vincennes was led by another big double-double by Laura Tavares, who finished with 14 kill, 10 digs, a pair of aces and one set assist.

Elisa Dalla Pozza continued to be a force at the net with 11 kills and five blocks to go along with a .416 hitting percentage.

Karen Kodi ended her night with three kills, four digs and one block, while Martyna Sadowska finished with two kills, one block and one dig.

Allison Czyzewski rounded out the VU offensive numbers with one kill and one dig.

Libby Mehringer again continued to share the ball well, finishing with 25 set assists, seven digs, five blocks, five kills and a pair of aces.

Grace Flexter again led the Trailblazers defense with 12 digs to go along with four set assists and one ace.

Brooklyn Summers ended with eight digs and three set assists, while Dylan DeCoursey came away with seven digs and Ashley Earp finished with one dig.

“I thought we would be able to get everybody back for this weekend but we didn’t,” Sien said. “That’s, of course, been very frustrating for us. We played hard last weekend and tonight against Mineral Area. We are just disappointed that we played that hard and ended up being down 2-0. All you can do is just go out there and play hard. I hope after this weekend we can get back to being at full strength again. We just have to take it to heart that we played the best that we could and there’s no shame in this at all. When we get back to full strength, it’s all going to come together.”

“Individually, Elisa had probably two of the better matches by a middle here in quite a while,” Sien added. “She hit, combined today close to .380 with only two errors in 57 attempts. She just knows where to put the ball and there were times when she wasn’t able to get a swing on it but she was able to keep the ball in play. Very nice two matches today from her. Her blocking was right there, her serving and defense.”

UE men’s soccer goes for fifth straight win at Lindenwood The Purple Aces return to the road for two games

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UE men’s soccer goes for fifth straight win at Lindenwood
The Purple Aces return to the road for two games
 
ST. CHARLES, Mo. — The University of Evansville men’s soccer team will look to match its best start since 2008 on Friday night.
Evansville at Lindenwood | Friday September 6 | 7 PM CT
Site | Location
Hunter Stadium | St. Charles, Mo.
Links
7 PM CTLive Stats | TV: ESPN+ 
Follow the Aces 

The Purple Aces continued their perfect start to the season on Wednesday night with a 1-0 win over Eastern Illinois. UE took 29 shots throughout the match but only found the back of the net once, as EIU’s goalkeeper kept the Panthers in the game. But Evansville kept the ball far away from its own goal for its fourth straight victory. The 29 shots that the Aces took on Wednesday night against Eastern Illinois was the most by a UE men’s soccer team since the 2017 season. In 2017 Evansville set a program record for shots against Anderson with 46 in 90 minutes.Lindenwood comes into Friday’s match still searching for its first win of the season. The Lions return home after having their first road loss to Wright State. Lindenwood surrendered four unanswered goals after scoring the first goal of the match in the 4-1 loss. The Lions are led by two different players, senior midfielder Josh Francombe and freshman defender Anel Kafedzic with a goal apiece.

UE now becomes one of only 17 teams across Division I with a 100% win-loss-tied percentage. Evansville is also alone atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings as the only team with four wins on the year. The Aces also lead the MVC in save percentage (85.7%), shots per game (16), shots on goal per game (7.5), and team goals against average (0.5). UE is now Top 10 in the nation in goal differential coming in at number 10.

With his second clean sheet of the season, freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove HS) now leads the Missouri Valley Conference in shutouts. Mroz also leads the conference in goalkeeper minutes played with 360 minutes so far. Along with leading two categories, Mroz is second in the conference in several statistical categories including goals against average (0.500) and save percentage (85.7%).

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

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redline

GAVEL GAMUT

By Jim Redwine

www.jamesmredwine.com

(Week of 09 September 2024)

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

How does a new religion get started? Islam fourteen hundred years ago? Christianity two thousand years ago? Judaism twenty-four hundred years ago? The Romans and Jupiter twenty-five hundred years ago? The Greeks and Zeus three thousand years ago? The Egyptians and thousands of gods four thousand years ago? Gentle Reader, these are just my guesses; you are, of course, free to make your own estimates or consult Google as you see fit.

However, my actual concern is the religion of presidential politics as practiced currently on cable TV in America. And I know when these new beliefs began. With FOX News, the new Defender of the Conservative Faith arrived when Donald Trump came down that golden escalator in 2015. As for CNN and MSNBC, their faith in a Liberal Deliverance was restored only a couple of months ago when Kamala Harris arose like the mythical Phoenix from the ashes of Old Joe.

As best I can tell, the liturgy of these conflicted beliefs relies heavily on denigrating whichever candidate a particular TV network does not like. Portentous warnings from talking heads claim that the election of the “wrong” candidate will cause crops to fail and Taylor Swift to become the new Pied Piper of American youth.

These dire warnings from CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and even occasionally, PBS, have become as ubiquitous as commercials and as vociferous as a Pentecostal sermon. CNN convenes numerous panels of “Never Trumpers” who have heard directly from on high that a Trump election will immediately boot America from our Promised Land. And FOX asserts that a Harris win will reign fire and brimstone all over our democratic Garden of Eden, or at least, everywhere but New York and California.

But, just as one religion after another from the dawn of recorded history has appeared and disappeared, we can all pray that this election will end before Armageddon begins. I foresee hope for salvation from this endless cacophony of vapidity, FOOTBALL! As we Americans have done since the first football game was aired on TV, we clutch at the hope our team will rise above the fray. We can seize onto the faith in our champions on the gridiron and set aside the ennui brought on by the gaggle of gloom bearers on TV. Unfortunately, football season only lasts through the Super Bowl in February of 2025. Of course, the networks are doing their best to force us to buy every game and the new Transfer Portal and Name, Image and Likeness rules are sorely testing our faith.

And, of course, whoever wins the election will be subject to four years of damnation from some of the disappointed anchors. Those sore losers will likely begin endless recriminations for venal sins they assert just over half of the electorate will have committed by worshipping a false idol. As for us in the captive viewership, maybe the INSP network will have enough Gunsmoke reruns to sustain us until the next two graven images are nominated four years from now.

For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com

City Council Meeting SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

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City Council Meeting
SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

5:30 P.M.

AGENDA

I. INTRODUCTION

 

09-09-2024 Agenda Attachment:
II. APPROVAL OF MEETING MEMORANDUM

 

08-26-2024 Memo Attachment:
III. REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS

 

IV. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY

 

V. CONSENT AGENDA:  FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

 

A. ORDINANCE F-2024-11 An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Evansville Authorizing Transfers of Appropriations, Additional Appropriations and Repeal and Re-Appropriation of Funds for Various City Funds Sponsor(s): Burton Discussion Led By:  Finance Chair Burton Discussion Date: 9/23/2024 Notify: Robert Gunter, Controller
F-2024-11 Attachment:
VI. COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

VII. REGULAR AGENDA:  SECOND READING OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

 

VIII. RESOLUTION DOCKET

 

IX. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS

 

A. THE NEXT MEETING of the Common Council will be Monday, September 23, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.
B. DISCUSSION OF ISSUANCE OF BONDS; Robert Gunter, City Controller
C. ADDITIONAL MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
X. COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

XI. ADJOURNMENT