tom valtin is not here today because he had a long-planned family vacation at spring break for he and his family. i know tom takes this very seriously, does great work and i know he will continue to do a good job for district 9 and for the two other candidates, mr. nick belloni, i know you have done a lot of good work and have a good reputation in terms of your commitment and les hilger i have had the opportunity to work with, great to see you and have the opportunity to be involved and i know the city is better off because of that involvement. glad to see this going forward. >> no objection, the motion is passed. keep our space open. okay, madam clerk. >> items no. 7 through 14 are settlement of lawsuits. >> before we entertain a motion to convene in closed session, is there any member of the public who wishes to speak on items no. 7 through 14? seeing none, public comment is closed. colleagues, is there a motion to convene in closed session? >> so moved. >> no objection, motion passed. (closed session). during the meeting the committee voted unanimously to forward items 7 through 14