Providence Committee on URRP-Monday, July 28, 2025-5:30 PM

Oh, you got the I just really need to. I wanna welcome you to the committee of the urban redevelopment and renewal planning.

Madam, could you please call the roll? Sherwin, Mary Faye Nervous? Present. Vice Chair, who's absent. Councilman John himself is absent.

Councilwoman at the address? Present. Councilwoman Anna Vargas? Present. You have three present, two absent.

You are informed.

Thank you. Let the let the record show that we have council president joining us today. Mhmm. We have have Gerald Young from our policy department. We have Sarah Pearson from our law department and, of course, our lovely quirks.

Yeah. Thank you for being great. So Okay. Right now, I'm gonna ask the quirk to read item number one.

Item number one, resolution will start to a ceremony on designation of that street in Providence, Mass Barbara. You.

Mika, you listen to the list of people who can speak. But right now, I'm gonna call the doctor on the person's visit, doctor Gina Fernandez.

Julio. Hello.

Hi. Hello.

City council. It's Canadian with US.

That works with. Please state your name for the record. I'll let

you Doctor. Henry Fernandez junior.

Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you for the comment.

Thank you.

This is a great occasion for all of us, so we invited you in to help the committee really, really embrace who Ms. Barbara Thurman is. So, you make it.

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone.

Yeah.

First, I want to thank constable Mary Kay Harris for the invitation this week today. Her leadership and unwavering dedication to uplifting our community gives us a space to have conversations that should be bad. Conversations about equity, dignity, and. I'm honored to speak in support of the ceremonial name, missus Barbara Thurman Way, Montage Street, Providence. This isn't just about adding a name.

It's about honoring a legacy. Missus Thurman has been a pillar of care and strength and providence for decades. She's the kind of leader who shows up not with fanfare but with compassion. Her impact in leadership is the kind that transforms neighborhoods not through wealth or prestige, but through service, healing, and persistent care. By naming the street, I'm her.

We're making a public statement. That community matters, that service matters, and that quiet heroes among us deserve to be seen and celebrated. This street dating is about more than tribute. It's about truth, about recognizing someone who built a legacy on service and passion. She walked beside the most vulnerable, listened when it was uncomfortable, and fought when few dared to raise their voices.

Missus Barbara Thurman Way would serve as a living monument to values that should define our city. Compassion, service, resilience, and justice. That would tell every child, every neighbor, every class of buyer in Wigan Village and Missus Thurman Way that we we honor those who dedicate their lives to others, not just with thanks, but with permanence. Every time someone walks down or drives down Missus Thurman Way, they'll be reminded of what true leadership looks like. Thank you for considering this edition.

Let's move forward together in a way that uplifts the people who have uplifted us. Thank you.

So you referred to Barbara Thurman as miss Barbara. Should we put that when you sign this Barbara?

Sure. Yeah.

I mean, I I look I look for it to the family.

It's gonna be like that. Y'all pass everybody because if I said Barbara and Barbara, you know what I would get. So, no, thank you. Thank you, miss Barbara. Thank you

for your testimony.

Thank you. Thank you. You,

Alright. Who's next? I don't have a list of names, so I'm gonna ask Wayne who's here.

Good evening, everyone. Good evening.

I think about Barbara Thurman. Think about leadership. I think think, about. Well, she's the best. I'm trying to see if I tell her she's the best.

And go way back with Barbara. This is done in this year, and she started living in a village. But from the beginning, she lived in she's been taking care of people all the way to go. Gentleman just walked in the door. This family came over from Cuba.

Then if you go and take a look at Wheaton Village, you'll see that we have immersive space, beautiful, of

the running with scholarships education programs.

And she's a great person. When people come to this area, the West End, they come. They need missus Thurman because they get so much involved. She speaks fluent Spanish, so everybody comes to to them. People that want clothing.

She has put in the house to give it to If not, we could call to find out which one they call and help him. Food, same thing. Don't get the numbers of different distributors, get them foodie.

So what we have here is someone that's very, very special.

Not just special to me, but all of us who long lived. You know, anything better than 06:30. And she's one of the best cooks around. Yes. She thinks very, very well.

I can't thank you even more highly to love her. What it is is that when we had our board meetings, I had citizens concerns. No longer board member would be on board. I had citizens concerns. Some of these citizens, residents, need their concerns, whether good or bad.

And I let

her say what she had to say.

I said, you're gonna enjoy it.

Only thing can say is she's

the best, and she's deserving of this honor. That'll look very nice. This is Barbara. Very, very nice. I'm glad you're She needs more than anything.

Crystal, we got a note. She's sick on. She need me on the note. There's no way she's there for everybody. Everybody.

Everybody around the stone room saying that, you know, you. Thank you so much, Darlene. Thank you for being here.

Okay. I'm excited too. Madam

Clerk, will

you please read the resolution before we go any further?