2026-08-25 - Town Council Meeting

00:30They'll

00:45be there'll be number

17:32run into them. But that's the tough part

17:33about being around college campus on a

17:37day like this. Everybody is wandering

17:39around but nobody is paying attention.

17:42[clears throat]

17:54>> Yeah, I'll tell you something.

17:55>> Okay.

17:57>> Hi Darren.

18:01>> I kind of

18:06>> All right. Good evening everyone. Call

18:08the meeting to order for Apex regular

18:11town council meeting Tuesday, August

18:1325th, 2026. Welcome to those who joined

18:16us by live stream via YouTube. We'll

18:19transition right into the invocation. I

18:20have a diversity statement. The town of

18:22Apex values and celebrates diversity and

18:24inclusion. We see diversity as a

18:26strength that binds our community

18:27together. Inviting members from

18:29different faith communities to deliver

18:30the invocation at the beginning of our

18:32council meetings supports this unity.

18:35Recognizing that not everyone practices

18:37the same traditions, we welcome you to

18:39have a private moment of silence or

18:41reflection. We have this evening the

18:43invitation going to be provided by Hindu

18:47Sim Sebach Singh. That close enough.

18:51>> Okay. All right. Thank you for that

18:52correction. All right. We'll have you to

18:54come on up and provide a presentation

18:57for us. You have the mic.

19:01Uh honorable mayor sir, members of town

19:03council and apex residents, good evening

19:05and namaste everyone. Uh on behalf of

19:07Hindu Suam Sebak also known as HSS, we

19:10are honored to be here to celebrate and

19:12observe the festival of Raksha Bandhan

19:14with you all. Uh we also call it the

19:16bond of protection and universal oneness

19:19day. As part of this tradition, we will

19:21tie a bracelet also known as a raki on

19:23your right wrist as a symbol of

19:26goodwill, protection and mutual respect.

19:28and we also offer our best wishes for

19:30your well-being, happiness and continued

19:32success. We also want to say thank you

19:34for your leadership and service to the

19:35town of Apex in fostering a safe,

19:38vibrant and welcoming community for all

19:40residents. Uh thanks for having us here

19:42and happy to all. So I would request all

19:45our volunteers to please come and that's

19:47okay.

19:48>> Yes. Yeah.

19:55If any res

19:59Thank you.

20:56Can you please cut me?

20:59>> Thank you.

21:21Go. Go.

21:27[clears throat]

21:28>> Do you want to do the picture?

21:31>> Okay.

21:41Couple

21:56more people in the middle

22:10>> two rows. No, I think this if you guys

22:13could just slide in just a little bit

22:14more. Just feel like it's very like

22:16bunched up right here and a little bit

22:17less right there.

22:22[laughter]

22:28>> All right, here we go. Three, two, one.

22:37>> [applause]

22:43>> Thank you so much.

23:00All

23:09>> [snorts]

23:12>> right, we'll go ahead and move now into

23:13the pledge. I'm going to call up Aentia,

23:17Scouting America Troop 205, who's going

23:19to lead us in the pledge of of

23:20allegiance. If you would please stand.

23:27I pledge algiance to the flag of the

23:30United States of America and to the

23:32republic for it stands one nation under

23:35God indivisible with liberty and justice

23:38for all.

23:40>> Thank you so much.

23:46>> All right, we move now into

23:49announcements and petitions by governor

23:52body. We'll start with the mayor proam.

23:55>> Uh thank you, mayor. I two quick things

23:57I wanted to mention to the board. Um if

24:00you recall, I was appointed to the NCLM,

24:02the North Carolina League of

24:04Municipalities Policy Committee. We met

24:05for the first time today. We're going to

24:07have a process over the next couple

24:08months where we have meetings around the

24:10state collecting feedback from various

24:12municipalities uh to develop a

24:14legislative agenda for the league. And I

24:16don't quite have the the dates and times

24:18on me now, but there should be a meeting

24:19or at least a virtual option for uh you

24:21know any member of the town to

24:22participate in to help fill that agenda.

24:24And they're looking at adoption probably

24:26around December or January in time for

24:27the next session. Um so that's an in

24:31progress. And uh another small note, if

24:34you guys uh recall, I'm the um delegate

24:36on the board of delegates for Central

24:38Pines and I was also asked to serve on

24:41Triangle Bikeway Policy Forum as a

24:44Central Pines representative. So that'll

24:45be fun. Sorry it's not you, but I think

24:47I had to be a a board delegate. So

24:49>> I'll work through you.

24:50>> Yes, I will try to represent you. Well,

24:52so that's all. Thank you, mayor.

24:54>> All right. Thank you so much, Council

24:55Member Gray.

24:56>> I'll start off by saying thank you to

24:58Council to Mayor Proent MafI for taking

25:00yet another meeting off my shoulders.

25:02Appreciate that.

25:03>> Um I do want to say thank you and just

25:06one mo note I want to make. I want to

25:08say thank you to uh Apex Police

25:11Department. Um uh and particularly

25:14because um schools uh are now back fully

25:18in swing except for I think track four

25:20um which I think starts in a couple of

25:22about three more weeks. But uh schools

25:25are back in session. Kids are out

25:27walking. Kids are driving around. Kids

25:29are in the street. Kids are doing what

25:31kids do. Um and it's something that you

25:34know our speeds need to decrease um in

25:37order to maintain safety. And I I want

25:39to give a special uh thank you to those

25:41at Apex PD because we've seen the

25:43presence. It's been something that's um

25:46important to to do, especially at this

25:48time of the year. And I would ask all

25:50those who are residents who work and

25:51play here. Um just keep in mind that,

25:53you know, things are going to be a

25:55little crazy for the next month or so.

25:57We're going to have a lot of additional

25:58smaller,

26:00sometimes harder to see uh objects out

26:02there on the road. Let's let's give each

26:04other grace. Let's, you know, take the

26:06speeds down. remember we've got our

26:07future out there and make sure that

26:09we're taking care of them. So, thanks to

26:10APD for the additional focus and I'll

26:13ask for all my fellow residents to take

26:15that focus on as well. That's all I

26:18have.

26:18>> Thank you, Councilman. All right,

26:20Council Member Zerman.

26:22>> Um, nothing for tonight, Mr. Mayor.

26:25>> Okay. All right. Thank you, Council

26:26Member Moo.

26:28>> Um, I'd like to introduce this lovely

26:32young lady just next to me, uh, Adueta.

26:36She's from Green Level High and she's

26:39shadowing me. I'm always so happy to see

26:44our young generation uh interest in

26:47interested interested in public service

26:49and our town business. Thank you.

26:52Welcome. Thank you.

26:54>> All right. Thank you. [applause]

26:58>> All right. Thank you, Council Member

26:59Moo. Council member Reese.

27:01>> Yes. Thank you. Uh I was going to echo

27:02some of the comments from Council Member

27:04Gray. just uh welcome all the students

27:07on traditional calendar back um and as

27:10well as the teachers. Thank you for all

27:12you do. And the point I wanted to um

27:15make was that we have some new

27:17crosswalks

27:19um and some of them are near schools and

27:21so please um ensure that uh you're doing

27:25your best to be as patient as you can as

27:27students scurry around the campuses. Uh

27:29the second thing I wanted to say was

27:31just um

27:34we know utility uh costs are incredible.

27:38That is a national issue. Heat map news

27:41uh uh published a report that found that

27:44um nationally

27:46uh your average um residential

27:51uh electricity bill was um 71% higher in

27:54the month of July than it was in April.

27:5771% higher in July than it was in April.

28:00This is a national issue and so

28:02sometimes we feel like we're, you know,

28:04dealing with it locally and we

28:05absolutely are, but sometimes these are

28:07also happening on the macro. So, um,

28:10thank you again for your patience and

28:11ideally those bills will come down over

28:13the next couple months. Thank you,

28:14mayor.

28:14>> You got it. All right. I just have two

28:17quick items. Um, I just want to say, uh,

28:20start off with something just address

28:23the elephant in the room. Um, there's a

28:24lot of discussion going on around Apex

28:26Friendship High School, Apex High

28:28School, and potentially Felt Grove, and

28:33it is the talk about the cookies and

28:36cream milkshakes at Cookout. Everybody's

28:39excited about that. Actually, I want to

28:41transition to something really big. It's

28:43is huge. Um, the Apex Friendship High

28:46School men's or boys soccer team. I did

28:51see them at Cookout this weekend. They

28:54are ranked number one in the nation.

28:57>> Wow.

28:58>> Yes. So, we're going to root them on and

29:00support them and uh they promised me

29:03that they will win the state

29:04championship. So, we'll see what

29:05happens. So, just a shout out to Apex

29:07Friendship soccer team. All right. And I

29:10also want to recognize Officer Lamb for

29:12being here. Apex PD for proving security

29:14tonight. Thank you. [applause]

29:18All right. Moving on. We go to the

29:20adoption of the meeting agenda. Mr.

29:22Clerk, are there any recommended changes

29:23to the meeting agenda?

29:25>> Um, mayor, I have one recommended uh

29:28change. Uh, with regard to um C [snorts]

29:33town clerk's report um items number TC1

29:36through TC6, like to have those move. I

29:39beg for the indulgence of my fellow

29:41council members to do that so that I can

29:43get additional questions answered. So,

29:45I'd move to have those uh presented at

29:47the next available uh appropriate

29:49meeting.

29:51>> Okay.

29:51>> Second to clarify, the next available

29:54meeting will be September 15th, which is

29:55a work session.

29:56>> Okay.

29:56>> Is that good?

29:57>> That's fine.

29:59>> Okay.

30:01[clears throat]

30:02I move to adopt the agenda as modified.

30:06>> All right. Motion approach.

30:08>> I think uh council member Reese wanted

30:09to second. He was very eager at that

30:11earlier. So,

30:13>> sure. Yeah. Second. [laughter]

30:15>> Okay,

30:15>> let's go.

30:16>> Favor say I.

30:16>> I.

30:17>> All right, motion carries.

30:19>> Consent agenda.

30:21>> Yes.

30:21>> Recommended changes.

30:22>> Uh, yes, sir. Uh, consent item number

30:24six, attachment B has been updated.

30:27That's the Vidia SD plan amendment.

30:30Attachment B is the put text. So,

30:33>> right. Hearing that. Any other changes

30:37from council hearing? None. Is there a

30:39motion?

30:39>> I'll make a motion to approve the

30:40consent agenda.

30:41>> Motion. Ziggerman.

30:42>> Second.

30:42>> Second. Gray featur.

30:46>> All in favor say I.

30:47>> I

30:48>> oppose.

30:49>> All right. Motion carries. We'll move

30:50now to the town manager report. Matters.

30:53>> All right. Thank you, mayor. Good

30:54evening, council. We're flying through

30:56the agenda, so I don't want to stop that

30:58process. I'll have a brief update this

31:00evening. U first two items, you'll

31:02notice a theme. We are attempting to be

31:05even more information forward. Um I'll

31:07say and so we've got two things we want

31:09to announce tonight that are in the

31:10works. Uh we're going to launch uh the

31:13goal right now is for October 1st. Uh

31:15and it will be I don't have the exact

31:18terminology, but it'll be our PECard

31:19statements as staff. We'll we'll have

31:21those put on our website. Uh so there'll

31:24be a page where you can read through

31:25those. It'll have looks like about eight

31:27different fields. Uh so you can review

31:29those. And so that will be going forward

31:31where we will put the PECARD statements

31:33uh for full viewing uh on the public

31:36website. The next item uh we are

31:38launching this week and uh be patient

31:41with us. We're we're building it and

31:43adding information to it. It'll be

31:44called Apex Answers and it will be on

31:47the town website. Uh we will do outreach

31:50through all the other sources including

31:52social media to um direct people to this

31:55page. uh be known as Apex Answers and

31:57it's intended to be a dynamic web page

31:59that kind of looks at some of the

32:02discussions that are happening in the

32:03community uh and where those uh

32:06intersect with town issues, town hot

32:08topics. We will put those on the page.

32:11Right now, we're building out about

32:12eight items. Uh but expect that to

32:14change. It could be something different

32:16going forward. Like I said, it's meant

32:18to be dynamic. The hot topics now it

32:20gives people a trusted source of

32:22information that you can come to. You

32:23can read about it. The format is it'll

32:25have the the topic. It'll have a short

32:27answer if you want to be quick. Get get

32:29a quick snippet and go somewhere else,

32:31but then there'll be a long answer

32:32section underneath that'll have other

32:34resources, links to videos, links to

32:36other web pages. If there's something

32:38already on the town uh web page that

32:40we've developed, it'll take you to that

32:41as well. So, you can spend a lot of time

32:43or you can spend a little bit of time,

32:45but you'll know that it's coming from

32:46the town and we're going to try and be

32:48responsive to those issues that we uh

32:50hear about swirling in the community.

32:51So, we're excited to launch that. Again,

32:53it won't have all eight of those right

32:55away, but as we build it, we'll have a

32:57couple of items this week and then we'll

32:59keep adding to that as the weeks go by.

33:01>> Allow me to say thank you for doing

33:03that. That's a that's I think that's a

33:05real necessary thing. Um, it's a web

33:08page. I know we talk about we talk

33:10through social media. Um, is there going

33:12to be a component where this will be

33:14outreached through social media? And and

33:16a follow-up to that is is that something

33:18that we can use for our social media

33:20because I think it's important for that

33:24that unity of voice to to to really kind

33:26of pop out from one from from that

33:28source. So anything we can do to help

33:29amplify that I think would you know I I

33:31think my colleagues would agree would be

33:33a great thing to help answer a lot of

33:34these questions.

33:35>> Thank you so much. We uh intend we'll

33:37probably have a our comm's team will put

33:39together a nice graphic. We'll share it

33:40on socials. Everybody will be able to

33:42share it. the the concept of pointing

33:44back to this page um is a lot of times

33:46on social media you get information here

33:48and then someone else posts something

33:50different and this will take you to one

33:52source you can read it and you can

33:54always go back to socials and comment on

33:55not if you want or make your own post

33:57but we will try and direct people here

33:59they can read the information and then

34:00do what they want with that but we'll

34:01definitely make it sharable and link it

34:04to the socials as well.

34:07>> Okay, next item. This is an exciting

34:10one. And we have our staff in the back

34:12row uh in against the wall here. I'm

34:15gonna invite the chief up. I don't want

34:16to steal your thunder. So, Chief Herman,

34:18if you would come on up first and if you

34:20could make our um

34:23[applause and cheering]

34:28>> I will I will set it up. This is a big

34:30deal for Apex and we can talk a little

34:33bit about that after the chief goes, but

34:34>> Yep. Yep. Good evening, Mayor Council. I

34:37come bearing great news.

34:39>> So I I two weeks ago I stood here and

34:41knocked on wood to hope I didn't jinx

34:42myself and we didn't. So let me go

34:44through this process here. Uh the Apex

34:47Fire Department is extremely proud to

34:49announce that we are awarded

34:52international accreditation status

34:54through the center of public safety

34:55excellence for the very first time.

34:58[cheering]

34:59[applause]

35:00>> Congratulations

35:06>> [applause]

35:12>> I appreciate that. While this may be

35:15newly awarded, the accreditation model

35:17itself is not new to us. For many, many

35:20years, we have intentionally

35:21incorporated the principles of

35:23accreditation into the way we operate.

35:25We have worked to make continuous

35:27improvement part of our culture. We have

35:30strategically woven this model into our

35:32organization and we've made it our own.

35:34It has challenged us to examine who we

35:37are, how we operate, and most

35:39importantly, how can we become better.

35:42There are roughly 350 accredited fire

35:45departments in the world. Of those, only

35:49130 are also ISO class one. North

35:52Carolina has 26 accredited fire

35:55departments. And in Wake County, there's

35:57only four. We just made the fourth and

35:59I'd like to report that three of the

36:01four are part of CAM Kerry Apex and

36:03Morrisville. So, we finished that loop.

36:05[laughter]

36:06Uh I want to take this moment and

36:08recognize the 124 men and women, many in

36:12the room behind me uh of the Apex Fire

36:15Department for embracing this

36:17philosophy. Accreditation is not

36:20something that belongs to me as the fire

36:22chief. It does not belong to one

36:24division. It does not belong to our

36:26accredititation manager. It belongs to

36:29our entire organization. It requires a

36:31shared commitment and accountability,

36:34consistency, evaluation, and

36:35improvement. We believe this model

36:38provides a foundation necessary to

36:40operate an allhazard emergency services

36:43organization in today's increasingly

36:46complex environment. A strong foundation

36:49allows an organization to move beyond

36:51simply managing issues of today and

36:53preparing for challenges of tomorrow. We

36:56also understand that excellence is not

36:58defined by perfection. It is defined by

37:01our willingness to identify

37:03opportunities, accept constructive

37:05feedback, take action, and continue

37:07moving forward in all that we do. So

37:10what is accreditation? I get this

37:12question all the time. It is an A toz

37:16peer-reviewed evaluation of all we do

37:19rooted in strategic planning, risk

37:21assessment, program appraisals, and our

37:24standards that we follow. It covers from

37:27finance to HR, from hiring to promotions

37:30to training, from facilities to firet

37:32trucks, external relationships to

37:34communications, and of course, our

37:36emergency response plans, and much more.

37:39It's like a physical fitness program for

37:41our entire fire department.

37:44It took all of us and this is only I I I

37:46get the fortune to stand up here as your

37:48fire chief and make this speech. This is

37:51a small glimpse of behind me, but it

37:53takes a village. It took all of us uh to

37:56include you. All right. So, town

37:58leadership, both this council and this

38:00administrative administration has

38:03supported us from the beginning on this

38:05and we are so grateful. But I'm going to

38:08call two people out. You got to be

38:09careful when you start naming folks. But

38:10I feel confident to call these two

38:13people out and they're going, "Is it who

38:14is it?"

38:15>> But if it were not for these two key

38:17people within our department, we would

38:18not be here tonight. Number one,

38:21assistant fire chief of professional

38:23standards and our accredititation

38:24manager, Michael Frickman.

38:27[applause]

38:34And second, our accredititation and data

38:36specialist, SAMANTHA GOSSARD.

38:38>> [applause]

38:44>> THESE TWO INDIVIDUALS, THEY TOOK the

38:45reigns by the horn here and worked

38:48tirelessly

38:50and got us through this process. So, at

38:53this time, I would like to not only call

38:54them two up, but every fireperson in the

38:57room to come forward. If y'all don't

38:59mind, we've got the awarded plaque here,

39:02and I'd love for y'all to come down and

39:03we get a couple pictures.

39:04>> Yes, sir.

39:06>> Come on.

39:08>> [applause]

39:18>> Oh yeah,

39:21>> Randy.

39:27>> Demetria.

40:00Oh, we got some over here.

40:14And let's let's the middle move forward

40:16just a little bit and then everybody on

40:18the side squeeze in as much as you can.

40:23[laughter]

40:24>> All right, everybody. Everybody go in

40:26this way. Everybody move one step

40:27forward. And now let's have a couple.

40:30Let's Yeah, let's do a couple like two

40:32rows.

40:33>> Come in as much as you can.

40:34>> Yeah. Yeah.

40:35>> Go this way.

40:36>> Yeah. Yeah. There you go.

40:37>> There we go.

40:41>> All right. There we go.

40:43>> Got something new.

40:46>> That's a flip.

40:57John.

41:08>> Smile.

41:15[cheering]

41:15[applause]

41:29I hope you're finally getting a good

41:30chance.

41:37[laughter]

41:53Right. Well done.

41:54>> Doesn't get any better than that. So,

41:55I'll end my report now. [laughter]

41:57>> Good. I love that. All right. Fantastic.

42:00>> All right. Great news. We'll move on now

42:02to

42:04proclamation special presentation.

42:08>> What's that?

42:10>> Turns out to be gym class.

42:11>> I know exactly what Mr. Clark was just

42:13going to report on two things.

42:14>> Oh,

42:16>> yes. Go for it. That's all of my item.

42:18[laughter] But

42:20um just to announce to the public that

42:22uh we are going live with Just Foyer,

42:23which is our public record software that

42:25council graciously funded this past year

42:27uh or this current fiscal year, November

42:291st. So, we're super excited about that.

42:31If you are not currently subscribed to

42:33the council connector, certainly feel

42:35free to do that. There are some

42:36advertisements uh rolling through on the

42:38slideshow uh below. And then we've

42:40gotten a couple of requests about the

42:42council policies that were discussed

42:43earlier this year, and they will be

42:45coming back at the October work session.

42:47So, just wanted to put that on record.

42:48>> Okay. All right.

42:49>> Thank you.

42:49>> Thank you so much. Sorry about that. I

42:51thought you just had the appointments

42:52tonight. So, all right. Cool.

42:54>> All right. So, we're moving now to

42:55proclamation special presentations. We

42:56have two proclamations tonight.

42:58Emergency preparedness month, September

42:592026, and National Suicide Prevention

43:02Week 2026. So, y'all would join me up

43:05front for the first proclamation.

43:35And it is a pleasure to be able to kick

43:36off our proclamation for emergency

43:39preparedness month 2026.

43:42Whereas emergencies and disaster can

43:44occur without warning and may threaten

43:46the safety, security and well-being of

43:48our residents, businesses, visitors,

43:51community. hand.

43:56Whereas emergency preparedness month

44:01provides an opportunity to encourage

44:04residents and businesses to prepare for

44:08emergencies by making a plan, building

44:12an emergency supply kit, staying

44:15informed, and knowing how to receive

44:18emergency alerts and information and

44:26Whereas preparedness is a shared

44:28responsibility requiring individuals,

44:31families, businesses, community

44:33organizations, and local government to

44:36understand hazards, make plans, stay

44:39informed, and take actions that reduce

44:42risk. hand.

44:46>> Whereas effective preparation involves

44:48strengthening community resilience

44:50through comprehensive emergency

44:52management, coordinated planning,

44:54training, public education, and

44:56partnerships with local, county, and

44:58regional organizations. And

45:03>> whereas the town of Apex is grateful to

45:06all of its staff involved in the

45:07preparation of emergency response to

45:09ensure our residents, employees, and

45:11facilities remain safe.

45:16>> May therefore, I, Jacqu K. Gilbert,

45:18mayor of Apex, North Carolina, do hereby

45:20proclaim the month of September 2026

45:23emergency preparedness month in the town

45:25of Apex and encourage residents to make

45:27or review emergency plans with their

45:30families and communities. And I would

45:32like to call up Taylor Sanchez,

45:34emergency management coordinator, to

45:36receive the proclamation, and any other

45:37public safety officials here. Thank you.

45:39[applause]

45:50Thank you.

45:53>> Thank you so much.

45:55>> Thank you.

46:10>> [laughter]

46:18>> Mile 321.

46:25[applause]

46:29>> All right. Next proclamation is National

46:31Suicide Prevention Week and Council

46:34Member Moo will kick off this

46:36proclamation.

46:41Whereas suicide remains a public health

46:45crisis impacting people across every

46:49age, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic

46:53status with approximately 1,600

46:57individuals aged 10 and older dying

47:01annually by suicide in North Carolina.

47:05And

47:08Whereas nationally nearly 50,000 people

47:11die of suicide each year, making it the

47:1310th leading cause of death. And

47:19>> whereas suicide, suicide attempts, and

47:22suicidal behaviors create wide-ranging

47:25impacts beyond the individuals affected,

47:28including friends, family, co-workers,

47:31and caregivers who all bear a tremendous

47:34burden in these awful situations. And

47:42whereas it is critical to understand

47:44that it's okay to not be okay. And

47:47reaching out for help when you're

47:48feeling sadness, anger, frustration, or

47:51any other strong emotion is a sign of

47:54bravery and strength and not weakness.

47:57And

48:03whereas the town of Apex supports

48:06policies and initiatives that improve

48:09mental health and offer resources to

48:11those in need of support, such as the

48:14National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,

48:17which can be reached at any time by

48:20calling or texting 988.

48:26Now therefore, I, Jacqu K. Gilbert,

48:28mayor of Apex, North Carolina, do hereby

48:31proclaim the week of September 6 through

48:3412th, 2026, National Suicide Prevention

48:37Week in the town of Apex and encourage

48:40all residents to talk to those close to

48:42them about their emotions and reach out

48:45to those who may need a little help. And

48:48I would like to call up Rebecca Johnson

48:51and Rita Larson with the American

48:53Foundation for Suicide Prevention to

48:55receive the proclamation. Thank you FOR

48:57[applause]

49:13I think we're getting

49:53Okay. Uh, Mayor Gilbert, Town Council,

49:56I'm grateful and honored to accept this

49:59proclamation recognizing National

50:01Suicide Prevention Week in the town of

50:03Apex, the town where we have raised our

50:05family. I do so as a suicide loss

50:08survivor and as an advocate with the

50:10American Foundation for Suicide

50:12Prevention. As the fall approaches, our

50:15family marks 15 years since the loss of

50:17my brother-in-law, Red Hawk. Standing

50:20with me is my dear friend, Rita Larson,

50:22who lost her husband to suicide in 2016.

50:25We met while attending a grief support

50:27group for those that have lost loved

50:29ones to suicide. Our friendship deepened

50:32as we realized we were neighbors and

50:34decided to carpull to the beautiful

50:36sanctuary where this group has met

50:37weekly for over 30 years. One gift in

50:41such a group is the sharing not only of

50:43our grief but also of the precious

50:45memories of our loved ones so that we

50:47may remember them for more than the

50:49manner of their death. To honor Hawk, I

50:52became trained as a crisis counselor on

50:54our local hotline and later the 988

50:58Lifeline. Through that experience and

51:00the tender and brave sharing of callers,

51:02I learned something I will always

51:03remember. That many among those callers

51:06knew that they were loved, but they did

51:08not wish to be a burden. I've carried

51:11that knowledge with me as my personal

51:13call to action, one that I believe we

51:16may embrace as a town. It coincides with

51:18the theme for this year's World Suicide

51:21Prevention Day, changing the narrative

51:23on suicide. Changing the narrative

51:26begins with recognition such as this

51:28one, but mostly in the small ways we can

51:31all embrace in our families, our

51:33neighborhoods, and our community. We can

51:36each look for what is really behind

51:37someone's smile and have the courage to

51:40talk about it. Thank you again, Mayor

51:43Gilbert and town council. I received

51:45this proclamation as an advocate, as a

51:48lost survivor, representing the families

51:50of more than 1600 of our own in this

51:52state that are lost to suicide each

51:55year. And to honor my mentor and friend,

51:58Dennis Tacket, he taught me that gentle

52:01conversation is the way we connect with

52:03each other. May this be just one step

52:06forward in bringing the mental

52:08well-being of our town out of the

52:10darkness and into the light. Thank you.

52:14HERE [applause]

52:23you go.

52:44All right. Thank you colleagues for

52:47joining in on the proclamation reading.

52:50We'll move now into public forum.

52:54I will have um Mr. Clerk, can you read

52:59the process again?

53:01>> Okay.

53:01>> Yes, sir.

53:02>> Yes.

53:08So the current public participation

53:10policy states individual comments are

53:12limited to three minutes. The public

53:14forum public comment period shall not

53:17exceed 36 minutes or 12 individual

53:19speakers, whichever comes first. If the

53:21signup list exceeds 12 individual

53:24speakers or 36 minutes per the adopted

53:27policy, the town clerk will prioritize

53:29the list of speakers by those who have

53:31not spoken in the last 30 days. After

53:34those individuals have spoken, the list

53:37will continue in the order an individual

53:39signed up until the 12th individual

53:41speakers or 36 minutes is reached.

53:44Individuals who wish to speak will still

53:46be given an opportunity to do so at the

53:48conclusion of the business portion of

53:50the media meeting immediately before

53:53close session. Speakers will see a

53:55series of light and the timer in front

53:57of them. At the 45se secondond mark, the

53:59light will change colors to yellow. When

54:01your time is up, you will hear a buzzer

54:03and see the red light flash.

54:05This evening, we have 10 speakers.

54:08>> Miss Cody, thank you so much for that.

54:1010 speakers. We'll go ahead and get it

54:12started. First speaker tonight, please

54:13come up. Andrew Gluck.

54:23>> Hi, thank you. First, I'd like to say my

54:25grandson is a soccer team member at

54:27Friendship High School. He's been on

54:29there for three years.

54:30>> Awesome.

54:31>> And uh senior there now. Uh couple

54:34things. One, flock cameras. Like to

54:36address like Raleigh PD recently made an

54:39arrest with the help of the flock

54:41cameras of a murder that just happened.

54:42Over the last over a six-month period,

54:44they've made 49 arrests including stolen

54:47vehicles, uh murder, other serious

54:50felony crimes around the country.

54:53Approximately 10,000 missing people have

54:56been discovered using the flock cameras.

55:00People want to say invasion of privacy.

55:01Flock cameras are in the public domain.

55:04They're out in the public. Supreme Court

55:06has already ruled no expectation of

55:08privacy when you're out in the public

55:10and anybody could take your picture.

55:11Anybody could take a picture of a

55:13license plate or anything like that. and

55:15they've been a very useful tool by

55:19uh police and all and everybody and any

55:22by law enforcement. There has been some

55:24misuse and that has been directed.

55:26Everybody who's misused it has lost

55:28their jobs. Not here. It hasn't been

55:31misused here but uh other places around

55:33the country out of like 850,000 police

55:36officers I think there's 40 cases which

55:38is like 0.002%.

55:41And that's about it. and everybody knows

55:43and the new updated things have been

55:46addressed and I'm 100% for them. And

55:49some things that I heard last time were

55:50a lot of misrepresentation of the flock

55:53cameras and our privacy and everything

55:55else. The other thing I'd like to

55:57address is uh last the tax increase that

56:00was done. We had a a proposal offered by

56:04our mayor which actually gave us more

56:06police officers and a zero tax increase.

56:09But meanwhile, the council ignored that

56:11and went ahead with a town tax increase

56:14with less police officers being uh put

56:17on the force. To me, that's a travesty.

56:20It's just shows somebody wanted a some

56:24special agenda done or something like

56:26that. And I think this council really

56:28needs to look at their spending and

56:29everything else that we're having so

56:31many people coming in here, not the

56:32infrastructure is not handling it.

56:34Everything is. Meanwhile, we have a tax

56:36increase and we're having less services

56:39being offered to us now. More money,

56:42less services. That does not make sense.

56:45We had a proposal that was a good

56:46proposal and totally ignored by the

56:48council. I think you all need to look at

56:51yourselves and see why that was rejected

56:53and why the extra police officers were

56:55not offered to the residents of this

56:56town without a tax increase. Thank you.

56:59>> Thank you for speaking. Next, Lorraine

57:01Mi.

57:10Mayor and council, I want to thank you

57:13for our town's observation of Patriot

57:15Day next month when we gather as a

57:18community to honor those who died on 911

57:21and remember the sacrifice made by first

57:23responders and private citizens that day

57:27who ran into buildings that were burning

57:30while others were running out. Each year

57:33I speak to you about 911. You remember I

57:36survived the World Trade Center attack.

57:38I witnessed those first responders rush

57:41inside that first tower, never

57:43hesitating.

57:45I witnessed the wounded covered in blood

57:48and burned by jet fuel. And I witnessed

57:51people jumping out of windows. People

57:54who would rather jump to their certain

57:55death than be burned alive.

57:5917 days from today, we will observe the

58:0225th anniversary of this attack when

58:05terrorists who hate our values and

58:07freedoms decided we did not have a right

58:10to live. It's also the 250th anniversary

58:14of our nation when we decided those

58:17values would guide us. Yet, the tragedy

58:20of 911, 25 years later, continues. Over

58:247,000 people have died from 911 related

58:28illnesses, far outnumbering the people

58:30killed that day. I know my husband was

58:34one of them. He was a federal law

58:37enforcement officer and worked the

58:39recovery effort at ground zero. He later

58:42developed six respiratory diseases

58:45caused by exposure to the toxins at the

58:48site. Those illnesses and over 69

58:52cancers are A result of those fires

58:56burning burning steadily for 93 days,

58:59spewing out deadly poisons which settled

59:02on the skin, settled in the hair,

59:06settled in the mouth, and were breathed

59:08in by those heroes who were determined

59:11to recover our dead.

59:1425 years later, the flurry of news

59:17stories have stopped, as have social

59:20media postings, promising thoughts and

59:22prayers.

59:24Survivors and family are left to live

59:27with their memories and their grief,

59:29still alive in a world that has largely

59:32moved on.

59:34So, I want to thank you all this evening

59:36for your observance and your respect and

59:39for reminding us here in a Apex that the

59:42events of that day still do matter.

59:44Thank you.

59:45>> Thank you. And our love and support to

59:46you always. Thank you.

59:52Nick Bick

59:55B.

1:00:01>> Hi. Uh, thank you, mayor. Um, thank you,

1:00:04town council. I'm going to speak on my

1:00:06husband's behalf as he's a little

1:00:07nervous. Um, thank you to everyone who's

1:00:10here showing up and speaking out. Keep

1:00:13it up. We've lived in Bellacasa since

1:00:162017. My husband is a principal cyber

1:00:19security engineer in US defense and

1:00:21aerospace, securing classified and

1:00:24unclassified systems. Before that, he

1:00:27swore an oath as an active duty infantry

1:00:30marine.

1:00:32You swore one oath to this community,

1:00:35but you fail yours every day that

1:00:37warrantless flock surveillance cameras

1:00:40run. These are some of the least secure

1:00:43devices my husband has ever seen

1:00:45deployed, never at this scale, and

1:00:48handed to people unproven proven

1:00:50unqualified to protect the data. over 50

1:00:54documented security flaws, 22 severe

1:00:57enough to be flagged by the federal

1:00:59government. They run unpatched, end of

1:01:02life software, and store images

1:01:04unencrypted.

1:01:06Over 60 were found streaming live to the

1:01:08open internet with no password. 30 days

1:01:12of footage anyone could watch or delete.

1:01:15One researcher has called it Netflix for

1:01:18stalkers.

1:01:19Flock doesn't require multiffactor

1:01:22authentication and stolen login for sale

1:01:25are for sale on Russian cyber crime

1:01:28forums and the dark web. None of that is

1:01:31in Apex PD's presentation though. 33

1:01:34slides, not one on security.

1:01:37Town records show 60,000 plate reads

1:01:40every day, over two million searches in

1:01:4210 weeks, and the data is shared with

1:01:45over a thousand other agencies, most out

1:01:48of state. They also share with private

1:01:51companies, including Lowe's Home

1:01:53Improvement and a country club.

1:01:57Apex PD will point to its audits, but

1:01:59audits mean nothing if the data isn't

1:02:02secure and a thousand a outside agencies

1:02:05have access. agencies you can't audit.

1:02:08Nothing about this is secure. Each of

1:02:11these is an attack surface. You approved

1:02:14them without discussion on the no debate

1:02:16list before any policy was written, then

1:02:19wired them to a database where town

1:02:21records show 57% of searches have no

1:02:25case number. This is how negligence

1:02:27becomes abuse. The contract you sign

1:02:30shows flocked isn't liable for corrupt

1:02:32data, data loss, or acts of hackers. So

1:02:35when someone is misidentified, stalked,

1:02:38hurt or worse, and the lawsuits follow,

1:02:40Apex will pay the bill. Some current

1:02:43lawsuits are over a million dollars.

1:02:47My husband's professional assessment is

1:02:49these systems aren't worth what we lose.

1:02:51And what we lose is our constitutional

1:02:53right to privacy. We're not targets or

1:02:55suspects. We're the people you answer

1:02:57to. To earn back our trust, kill this

1:03:00contact contract. Remove cameras. Cut

1:03:03off the data sharing with all agencies

1:03:05and don't just flop swap flock for Axon.

1:03:09>> Thanks for speaking tonight. Thank you.

1:03:11[applause]

1:03:15>> Osman.

1:03:21>> Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Good evening,

1:03:22council members. Uh, town manager

1:03:25Vossberg. Um, I'm here today to talk

1:03:28about pecards. And so I'm very pleased

1:03:29that you mentioned that starting this

1:03:31fall you'll be publishing uh the PECARD

1:03:33statements for the town. Um and and one

1:03:36thing that I did want to talk about um

1:03:38you know it's not the PECARD use itself

1:03:40that's concerning to me. It's the use in

1:03:44addition to not following the town's own

1:03:46policies and procedures. The town has a

1:03:49very published clear policy. the town of

1:03:51Apex purchasing policy and procurement

1:03:53and vendor card policy dictates how

1:03:56those PE cards are supposed to be used

1:03:58and and unfortunately for the last

1:03:59couple of years that policy has not been

1:04:02followed diligently enough. I know in my

1:04:04work in corporate America as I if I get

1:04:07a corporate card there's a policy I need

1:04:08to follow. I know other members here on

1:04:10the council know that very well.

1:04:12Internal controls are are required to

1:04:15ensure that bad things don't happen.

1:04:18That's not saying bad things happen. I'm

1:04:20not questioning any of the transactions.

1:04:22I'm sure staff and everybody did a great

1:04:24job and it's all it's all above board.

1:04:27But the reasons that you have policies

1:04:28and procedures is to ensure compliance

1:04:31controls and oversight. And this

1:04:33council, this leadership has failed that

1:04:36oversight and count and and and and um

1:04:39and review through the through 2025, the

1:04:43last year of full data. Onethird of all

1:04:47transactions

1:04:48were not approved per the policy by a

1:04:51manager or the department head. Over

1:04:54$1.8 million were auto approved. So the

1:04:59card was used and nobody ever not a

1:05:01second person looked at it. That is a

1:05:03failure of governance. Secondly, the

1:05:06town's own policy says any purchase over

1:05:09$2,500 needs a purchase order. That

1:05:12policy is also not being followed.

1:05:15That's a problem. So, there's a couple

1:05:17transactions. They're probably totally

1:05:19fine. I just picked them out of the

1:05:20data. We had um last year we paid to LMV

1:05:26Pavement Marketing over $100,000 on the

1:05:30PECARD. Two transactions above $50,000

1:05:32each per policy that wasn't reviewed, so

1:05:36was paid on the PECard. No other review.

1:05:38And second policy that was violated, the

1:05:41town's own policy says any purchase over

1:05:43$2,500 needs a purchase order. So I

1:05:46don't I'm assuming those those those

1:05:48transactions are fine, but why have

1:05:49policies and procedures if we're not

1:05:51going to follow them?

1:05:53Second, there [clears throat] are

1:05:55multiple PECARD purchases are being

1:05:57split. So same vendor,

1:06:00multiple amounts on the same day. Again,

1:06:03not saying those are in inappropriate

1:06:06purchases, but there's a very clear

1:06:08policy that says you are not to do that,

1:06:10that you need a purchase order. So, I

1:06:12urge this council to look at the policy.

1:06:14If the policy needs to be changed,

1:06:16change it. If the rebate is that

1:06:18important to the town, fantastic. Get

1:06:20the rebate, but change the policy. Thank

1:06:22you very much.

1:06:23>> Thanks for speaking,

1:06:25Reverend Dr. Latana Agore.

1:06:33Good evening.

1:06:35Uh, I'm here tonight to talk a little

1:06:38bit about um, community response to our

1:06:41housing crisis here in North Carolina

1:06:44and particularly here in Wake County.

1:06:47Uh, I serve as the pastor of

1:06:49Transformation Fellowship Christian

1:06:51Church. Uh, we are located here in Apex,

1:06:54but I also serve as the executive

1:06:55director of the North Carolina Coalition

1:06:58to End Homelessness.

1:07:00I want to begin by asking a simple

1:07:02question. It's not just to the council

1:07:04but to everybody here. Uh how many of

1:07:07you uh have either experienced housing

1:07:10instability,

1:07:12know someone who has experienced housing

1:07:15instability or someone who is currently

1:07:18or has experienced homelessness? I'm

1:07:20going to raise my hand.

1:07:24I asked that question because I want to

1:07:26show that this affects all of us. The

1:07:30ripple effect of housing instability and

1:07:33homelessness costs our communities. It

1:07:37doesn't just cost us in dollars and

1:07:39cents. It costs us in a sense of

1:07:41connectedness. It cost us in the sense

1:07:43of our moral and integrity. uh our me

1:07:46our feelings of ethics related to who is

1:07:49important, who is not, who receives

1:07:52their basic human needs, and who we deem

1:07:55to be unworthy of receiving those

1:07:57services.

1:07:59I have here um if the town clerk would

1:08:01like, I have uh copies of this for the

1:08:04council.

1:08:12So my presentation tonight is going to

1:08:13take a few phases. The first phase I

1:08:15want to talk about are the drivers of

1:08:18housing instability. Like what's what's

1:08:21causing this? And this is at a very high

1:08:23level. And I recognize that. But one of

1:08:26those drivers is simply the rising cost

1:08:29of living. Uh that shouldn't surprise

1:08:31any of us. Um, I was shocked and

1:08:34appalled the first time I filled up my

1:08:36vehicle and the pump didn't stop until

1:08:40it topped $70.

1:08:43I had told myself at 50 bucks I'm going

1:08:46to stop. But that would not have been

1:08:48enough gas to get me to my location. So,

1:08:51I had to keep going.

1:08:54Here in North Carolina, we are all

1:08:57experiencing the same pressures. The

1:09:00rising cost of living is something that

1:09:03affects all of us. And the chart you see

1:09:05on the first graphic I've provided for

1:09:08you is a chart prepared by Gabriel

1:09:11Cortez from CNBC. The source of this

1:09:15information is from the US Bureau of

1:09:17Labor Statistics. It's based on the

1:09:20Consumer Price Index. Since 2020,

1:09:25our cost of living in the US has gone up

1:09:2923.9%.

1:09:32I would I would venture to say most of

1:09:35us have not experienced the same

1:09:37increase in our salaries and wages. This

1:09:40means that the money we receive for the

1:09:43hard work we're doing as a community

1:09:45just isn't enough to keep up with the

1:09:48cost of living.

1:09:50The Wake Housing data report shows us

1:09:53that this matters because when housing

1:09:55costs outpace wages, families are forced

1:09:59to make tradeoffs. They either forego

1:10:02savings, medical care, stable child

1:10:04care, or they're at greater risk of

1:10:07eviction, or displacement. This means

1:10:10they'll end up living in substandard

1:10:12conditions and homelessness. These

1:10:14different pressures impact renters and

1:10:17homeowners. And the targeted strategies

1:10:20that we need to find together are why

1:10:22I'm here tonight.

1:10:24I don't know about you, but I I live in

1:10:27a place that I'm I'm very proud of. I I

1:10:29love my home. But if I were to lose my

1:10:32job, and if something were to happen to

1:10:34my husband, in a few months, we would be

1:10:36in this same space. We would be

1:10:38wondering what's going to happen to us.

1:10:41Housing instability can happen to

1:10:43anyone. It's not necessarily because

1:10:45someone is lazy or they don't want to

1:10:47work or they don't have the right

1:10:49skills. One tragedy, one sickness, one

1:10:53illness, the loss of one job, someone's

1:10:56car breaking down because their wages

1:10:59are not enough could put them into a

1:11:03place where they're not sure if they

1:11:04will be able to maintain their housing.

1:11:07What's another driver? The other driver

1:11:09is simply the lack of affordable

1:11:11housing.

1:11:13The median rent in Wake County has

1:11:17increased 34%

1:11:19since 2018.

1:11:22That's a lot. [clears throat] While

1:11:24renter income has not matched that pace

1:11:27and it stands at just 61,600

1:11:30or $376.

1:11:33But a household must earn more than

1:11:36$69,000

1:11:38to afford the median rent without

1:11:40becoming what is called costbururdened.

1:11:43Cost burdened means that you struggle to

1:11:47make your rent or your mortgage payment

1:11:49each month. You you maybe you can do it,

1:11:51but it's a burden. You're paying over

1:11:5330% of your wages in housing.

1:11:58here on the on the on the form you have,

1:12:00you'll see that Apex is sort of right in

1:12:02the middle of those renter households.

1:12:05And what I want you to see is if you

1:12:07look at those bands, the orange band uh

1:12:10for Apex indicates that um almost 50%,

1:12:16it's actually 46%

1:12:18and this is in 2023,

1:12:2046% of renters in Apex right here are

1:12:25costburdened.

1:12:28There's another 17% that are severely

1:12:31costburdened. This means they're paying

1:12:33much more than that 30%, probably

1:12:35somewhere near 45 or 50%. That's half of

1:12:38your pay or more going simply to your

1:12:42rent. That does not include other things

1:12:44that you need in order to survive.

1:12:47The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce

1:12:49through the Chamber of Commerce

1:12:51Foundation

1:12:52found that Wake County will have a

1:12:55projected shortfall of approximately

1:12:57110,000

1:12:59homes between 2024 and 2029.

1:13:04So this is something that again will

1:13:06affect all of us.

1:13:09Not only do we need to consider, you

1:13:11know, what is the community response to

1:13:13this, but I want us to think about this

1:13:16in terms of what it really is, and

1:13:18that's a humanitarian crisis here in our

1:13:21midst. We normally hear that term when

1:13:24we're thinking about other countries, a

1:13:26humanitarian crisis of of famine or of

1:13:30hunger in other places. But right here

1:13:33at home, we are experiencing a

1:13:35humanitarian crisis

1:13:37because housing is a basic need. It's

1:13:41something we all need. We We need it. We

1:13:44need it to feel safe. We need it to

1:13:46develop in a way that is secure. We need

1:13:48it in order to establish a place where

1:13:50we can launch and take care of ourselves

1:13:53and our families. It's a basic need. And

1:13:56I don't know anyone who wakes up one

1:13:58morning and says, "You know what I think

1:13:59I want to do for the rest of my life?

1:14:02I want to live under an overpass.

1:14:06I I've not met one person who's ever

1:14:10said that when I grow up, what I want to

1:14:13be is unhoused.

1:14:17So, we're at a crisis level. I provided

1:14:20for you some information from a report

1:14:23called the annual homelessness report to

1:14:26Congress. The source of this is 2024

1:14:29because Congress has not um published

1:14:32the numbers for 2025.

1:14:35So we have the numbers from 2024.

1:14:38This is on the back of that first page.

1:14:41And these numbers are taken from

1:14:43something called the pit count. I don't

1:14:44know if any of you have heard of the pit

1:14:46count. Any of you heard of the pit

1:14:47count, the point in time count? I see a

1:14:49few few heads nodding. Every year, HUD

1:14:53requires that communities do something

1:14:57called perform a PIT, PIT, point in time

1:15:01count. This happens in January. Every

1:15:04January, volunteers and folks who work

1:15:07in nonprofits,

1:15:09people who are running various housing

1:15:11uh communities, they go out and try to

1:15:15count the number of people who are

1:15:18living unhoused in our community. This

1:15:20happens all over the United States and

1:15:23it happens on one night every year.

1:15:26Every community chooses its own night

1:15:29and Wake County last year chose I think

1:15:34it was let's see it was uh I think

1:15:36January 22nd.

1:15:39That's my first three minutes. Or is

1:15:40that nine?

1:15:41>> That was nine.

1:15:42>> That was nine.

1:15:43>> Nine minutes. You have the report.

1:15:46Please do read it and I'm willing to

1:15:48follow up in any way. um to share more

1:15:51information with you. Okay.

1:15:53>> Thank you for speaking tonight. That's

1:15:54what we do. [applause]

1:15:59>> Sarah Gray.

1:16:08>> Hello. Good evening and thanks for the

1:16:09opportunity to speak with you all. Um

1:16:11I'm here tonight because I have been

1:16:13increasingly disturbed by the use of

1:16:14block cameras in the town of Apex. I

1:16:16think my neighbor described all of the

1:16:18concerns really well and I share all of

1:16:20those. I've been really alarmed by the

1:16:23increasing use of automatic license

1:16:25plate readers in Apex and throughout the

1:16:27country and I would like to ask um that

1:16:30Apex end the contract with flocks. I

1:16:32would like these cameras removed and I

1:16:34think that there should be a full ban on

1:16:36ALPR going forward and that there should

1:16:38not be other um companies or

1:16:40corporations that can use similar

1:16:42technology to be employed in the town of

1:16:43Apex. I also think that the current

1:16:46surveillance data that is on hand should

1:16:48be fully destroyed and for this

1:16:50destruction to be irreversible so that

1:16:52those records are are gone. And I think

1:16:55um I probably don't need the full three

1:16:57minutes here because I think my neighbor

1:16:58did go into um great detail on all of

1:17:01the risks and concerns with flock

1:17:02cameras, but I'll add from a personal

1:17:04level that I just think it's really

1:17:06creepy. And I think that um to be

1:17:09honest, it makes me less likely and less

1:17:11interested in in driving my car

1:17:13downtown. And it makes me think a lot

1:17:15about

1:17:17the state of the world, the surveillance

1:17:18that we're under, and also I think I

1:17:21guess living in a small town and I

1:17:23didn't like appreciate that this sort of

1:17:26surveillance would take place um

1:17:30and that it would be pushed through um

1:17:33by the town council in a way that seemed

1:17:35kind of shady and underhanded to be

1:17:37honest. And as I've looked at the um

1:17:40communication by the town about flock

1:17:42record flock cameras and the employment

1:17:44of them, I've just been really

1:17:45disappointed in kind of the lack of

1:17:47clarity and the lack of communication on

1:17:49that and what I feel is skirting around

1:17:51those issues to just continue to have

1:17:53these cameras in place. So that is a

1:17:56little more um touchyfey and emotional

1:17:59than I intended to be when I came up

1:18:00here. But thanks so much for your

1:18:01attention and I appreciate your time.

1:18:04>> THANK YOU.

1:18:07>> [applause]

1:18:11>> THOMAS SCOTT.

1:18:13Thomas Scott,

1:18:24mayor, city council.

1:18:28I think I've been here before. I think

1:18:30you've been here before.

1:18:33um in regards to friendship and the uh

1:18:38parking issue which the town has sued

1:18:41Mrs. Scott

1:18:43uh under article 11.

1:18:45I've also brought to the city council's

1:18:48attention before under article 11 in

1:18:51regards to fines which of course the

1:18:54town is finding her and also seeking a

1:18:57permanent injunction. Uh well, I had

1:19:00problems with my house on a remodel and

1:19:02the town has full authority to fine and

1:19:06sue in court and they have refused.

1:19:10So, you either follow what you have in

1:19:12the UDO uniformally or you don't. It's

1:19:16one way or the other.

1:19:19I would like to u notify you of uh North

1:19:23Carolina North Carolina state statutes

1:19:2614230

1:19:27willfully failing to discharge duties.

1:19:31If any clerk of any court of record,

1:19:35sheriff, magistrate, school board

1:19:37member, county commissioner, county

1:19:40surveyor, coroner, treasurer, or

1:19:43official of any state institution, or of

1:19:46any county, city, or town shall

1:19:49willfully admit, neglect, or refuse to

1:19:52discharge any of the duties of his

1:19:55office for default whereof it is

1:19:58elsewhere provided that he shall be

1:20:01indicted, he shall be guilty of a class

1:20:03one misdemeanor. If it shall be proved

1:20:06that such officer after his uh

1:20:08qualification willfully and corruptly

1:20:12admitted, neglected or refused to

1:20:14discharge any of his duties of his

1:20:16office, or willfully and corruptly

1:20:19violated his oath of office according to

1:20:22the true intent and meaning thereof.

1:20:26Such officer shall be guilty of

1:20:28misdemeanor in office and shall be

1:20:30punished by removal thereof under the

1:20:33sentence of the court as a part of the

1:20:36punishment of the offense.

1:20:40I have sent this to you and of course

1:20:43you know I mean I've had quite a lot of

1:20:46email correspondence with the uh city

1:20:48council mayor uh Sandy Burke uh

1:20:54city manager Vosberg

1:20:57and it's like

1:20:59I'm talking around mount Rushmore

1:21:02I'm getting no response

1:21:05absolutely no response

1:21:08So,

1:21:10it's very disconcerting what's what's

1:21:12transpired here. And the only time that

1:21:14the town will step up

1:21:16is when uh legal actions are taken.

1:21:22That's about all I have to say.

1:21:26Thank you.

1:21:26>> Thanks for speaking. [applause]

1:21:29Vivic Math

1:21:31Vivic Math. I'm sorry if I'm pronouncing

1:21:32this.

1:21:47>> [clears throat]

1:21:50>> Uh good evening everyone. Uh my name is

1:21:52Vivic and this is

1:21:55>> um we're residents of Kerry but we

1:21:57frequently travel to Apex and um feel

1:21:59very passionate about Apex again because

1:22:01of its proximity to our homes. Um, we've

1:22:04been working on a project regarding

1:22:06smart growth for a couple of months and

1:22:08we wanted to talk about some specifics

1:22:10about it today. So, Apex has been

1:22:12rapidly growing from around 55,000

1:22:15people to nearly 80,000 residents since

1:22:17the policy of advanced Apex was adopted.

1:22:20Um, but we want to we believe in

1:22:22managing that growth appropriately. So,

1:22:24we want to talk about using the NC55

1:22:27corridor to advance development in other

1:22:29areas of Apex. Um, we want to talk about

1:22:31using the South Salem concept. So,

1:22:34increasing residential density, taking

1:22:36an average of around 11 dwelling units

1:22:38per acre across the district. Um, uh,

1:22:42using pulling up buildings closer to the

1:22:44sidewalk. Uh, adding in, you know, more

1:22:47parking, adding in, excuse me, fewer

1:22:49parking spaces. um lowering the parking

1:22:51minimums in many buildings and lots and

1:22:54also adding in opportunities for

1:22:56transits um such as bus plans and expand

1:22:59those across the city. Um an overlaying

1:23:02zoning district for transit oriented

1:23:04centers is already being planned again

1:23:05for the NC55 corridor, but um they're

1:23:08not specific to one area. So we hope to

1:23:10extend that to NC the NC55 area by

1:23:13applying that mixed use overlay

1:23:15district.

1:23:17And [clears throat] from our

1:23:18understanding, uh, part of the NC55

1:23:21widening project seemed to be only

1:23:23partially completed. And given that the

1:23:25design is still in a relatively early

1:23:27phase, we ask that the town formally

1:23:29request bus or HOV accommodations as

1:23:32well as similar main street

1:23:34crosssections that are already in the

1:23:36small area plan. But we also want you

1:23:38guys to consider uh these kinds of

1:23:41transit oriented uh infrastructure for

1:23:44not just the NC55 area but for the wider

1:23:46apex um town so we can have more

1:23:51transportation uh like options for the

1:23:54city residents. Um we're glad to follow

1:23:57up in writing on any of this if that's

1:23:59more useful than covering it all

1:24:00tonight. Uh thank you for your time and

1:24:03for listening to our concerns.

1:24:04>> Thanks guys. Appreciate you. Appreciate

1:24:06you [applause] speaking.

1:24:11Daro.

1:24:18>> Okay. My name is Vincent De Carroll. I'm

1:24:21a 32y year in December resident of Apex.

1:24:25I live in Old Buckingham and I'm here to

1:24:28address a couple of things.

1:24:30First of all, I'm happy to have been

1:24:32able to speak with Randy over the

1:24:34weekend to find out the Apex Answers is

1:24:37coming to light because I'd like to see

1:24:38a publication from the town that

1:24:41represents what the town council does. I

1:24:45recently subscribed to various avenues

1:24:47of communication and I was recently

1:24:49unhappy to read the way what happened in

1:24:52the town council was portrayed. I got

1:24:55it. You're all politicians. I understand

1:24:57all that. But I love living in Apex. I

1:25:02don't just like living here.

1:25:04I've had many interactions with the town

1:25:08over the course of years. And I would

1:25:10like to see the rest of the population

1:25:13of Apex move from liking living here to

1:25:16loving living here. And that starts with

1:25:19you. The public has to see you out and

1:25:23about. The public has to see you

1:25:25cooperating with each other. They have

1:25:28to read in your minutes that you're

1:25:30cooperating with other others and trying

1:25:32to find solutions that is for the whole

1:25:35town. I suggest you have a kumbaya

1:25:39somewhere. Get together just all of you

1:25:42and try to get to the root of why you

1:25:44why you disagree and how you can root

1:25:46things out. I also suggest that you

1:25:49gather the religious institutions inside

1:25:52the town of Apex and understand what

1:25:55those pe who those people are and what

1:25:57their needs are. This demographic of

1:26:00this town has changed a lot in 32 years.

1:26:04And you only have to walk around to to

1:26:06see the difference. And that's where

1:26:08that sense of community begins.

1:26:11Another subject.

1:26:13If you can't grind to a halt the issue

1:26:16of grass clippings, you can't run a

1:26:19lowcost housing institution.

1:26:22I suggest you look for the best solution

1:26:26possible for that piece of property and

1:26:28find the right institution that's not

1:26:30the town to do that.

1:26:34I would like to echo the with respects

1:26:36to audits and I'm sure the town is

1:26:38stepping up after the state auditor

1:26:41found out about the Ray-B band

1:26:42situation. Just quickly on the town on

1:26:45the town's firehouse downtown.

1:26:48My son was born in an ambulance in my

1:26:50driveway right over in Brookfield.

1:26:54I've had emergency personnel show up to

1:26:58my house for various things. If you have

1:27:00never experienced a town of Apex

1:27:04emergency personnel helping you, then

1:27:08you you should ask someone who has. The

1:27:12value of that open door downtown and a

1:27:16and a soldier of our emergency services

1:27:18sitting there just talking to people has

1:27:21enormous value. If you can't figure out

1:27:23how to how to design that building, I'll

1:27:26help you. Thank you very much.

1:27:28>> Thanks for speaking.

1:27:29>> [applause]

1:27:34>> Derek O'Neal,

1:27:37you have four people here with you.

1:27:39>> No.

1:27:40>> No. Okay. See, nine minutes, so it's

1:27:43three.

1:27:44>> No, no, it should only be three.

1:27:45>> Okay.

1:27:46>> Just an individual.

1:27:48[clears throat]

1:27:48>> Okay, go for it.

1:27:50>> Thank you. Uh, so my name is Derek

1:27:51O'Neal. We've spoken before about the

1:27:53data center and the flock. Um, earlier

1:27:55this week, uh, DFlock Apex was given

1:27:58access to APD's flock audit. And I'm sad

1:28:03to say that things were worse than I

1:28:05expected. Um, some of these things I can

1:28:08come up with reasonable explanations

1:28:09for, some of them I can't. So, we'll

1:28:11start with the obvious one. Uh, we were

1:28:13told that we would not share data with

1:28:15any federal agencies. We knew that there

1:28:18was a SNAFU and two of them were able to

1:28:21gain access to it. that resulted in,

1:28:23according to the the data we have, 9,683

1:28:28searches against Apex cameras from

1:28:30federal institutions.

1:28:329,683.

1:28:34It's a huge number. To be fair, they add

1:28:36up very quick. Uh when Chief was talking

1:28:39to you all and saying that we didn't

1:28:41share on June 9th with any federal

1:28:43agencies, there were 166 federal queries

1:28:46run against our system that day. So,

1:28:49they add up quick. And in fact, in the

1:28:5229 days leading up to that meeting,

1:28:54there were, let me check here, 2,604

1:28:59before he told you there were none.

1:29:02the transparency portal that he pointed

1:29:04you to to be able to track and see what

1:29:06our sharing organization sort of network

1:29:09was with other institutions. Uh he said

1:29:12there were about a thousand every single

1:29:15month during the period we have data to

1:29:17there was a minimum of 3,000

1:29:19institutions with access to our data.

1:29:23Um, and another issue with the

1:29:26transparency portal, uh, in the 30 days

1:29:29leading up to April 17th, the

1:29:32transparency portal showed a total of

1:29:34144 queries. The audit shows 868.

1:29:39So, there are discrepancies there that

1:29:40we have to account for.

1:29:42um 3,300 requests that were run against

1:29:45our system by federal agencies were on

1:29:48the subject of immigration, which is a

1:29:50hot point for the people of this

1:29:52community. And it's one of the main

1:29:53reasons that we had such a vocal outcry

1:29:55against federal agencies getting access

1:29:57to our data. Um, and last time I was up

1:30:00here, I warned you that it's not just

1:30:02enough to stop federal agencies from

1:30:05having direct access to our flock

1:30:07systems when state agencies and police

1:30:09departments can just launder requests

1:30:12for federal agencies. So, it'll look

1:30:14like it's coming from them, but it's

1:30:15actually at the behest of the federal

1:30:16government. Well, it turns out we did

1:30:18that, too.

1:30:20There are at least four queries in the

1:30:22Apex Police Department's audit logs that

1:30:24are given either federal agencies as

1:30:27where the data what the data is for or

1:30:30they mention uh federal warrants. So

1:30:34there are some instances where it looks

1:30:36like Apex itself is issuing queries for

1:30:40federal purposes. So we need to look

1:30:42into those.

1:30:44Not once did I say flock.

1:30:48This is a data collection problem. Has

1:30:50nothing to do with flock.

1:30:52>> Thanks for speaking, Mr. Neil.

1:30:54>> Thank you. [applause]

1:30:58>> All right. The last speaker. Thank you

1:31:00to everyone who came out to speak

1:31:01tonight. We'll move now to public

1:31:04hearing.

1:31:07Start with public hearing one.

1:31:08Annexation number 821, Ashurn

1:31:10Development.

1:31:12Mount Zion Church Road.

1:31:30Yeah, go for it. Yeah. Okay. Good

1:31:31evening. So, our first annexation is

1:31:34number 821. This is for the Ashurn

1:31:36development on Mount Zion Church Road.

1:31:38Uh it is located in kind of the

1:31:40Midwestern area of our jurisdiction. Um,

1:31:44this is a previously approved

1:31:46subdivision and so they are needing

1:31:48annexation in order to get their

1:31:50construction plans approved to get town

1:31:52uh services. Staff recommends approval.

1:31:55>> All right, questions. Miss Ken hearing

1:31:57none. I'll go ahead and open up public

1:31:59hearing for comment. No one signed to

1:32:01speak. It's back to council for a

1:32:02motion. Mr.

1:32:03>> Cru second

1:32:06discussion. All in favor say I.

1:32:09>> Oppos. Motion carries.

1:32:12>> Two. Our next annexation is uh 832 Town

1:32:16of Apex on Perry Road and Hughes Street.

1:32:18Uh this is 7.995

1:32:21acres. You see the location here on the

1:32:23map. Um this property is uh the one that

1:32:27we will be looking at for affordable

1:32:29housing um potentially mixed use and so

1:32:33uh does need to be annexed in order to

1:32:35get um town services, water and sewer.

1:32:38Staff recommends approval.

1:32:39>> All right. Thank you. Questions?

1:32:42Hearing? None. Open up the public

1:32:44hearing for comment. No one signed up to

1:32:45speak. Public hearing is closed.

1:32:47>> Move.

1:32:47>> Motion. Mathy.

1:32:49>> Second.

1:32:49>> Second. Ziggman. [laughter]

1:32:52>> All in favor say I.

1:32:53>> I.

1:32:54>> Opposed. Motion carries.

1:32:56Next. Public hand.

1:32:58>> Yeah. Our next annexation is 834. It's

1:33:00at 2809 Evans Road. It's out in the kind

1:33:03of the Midwestern area. Again, uh this

1:33:06is a property um uh that's known as the

1:33:09Morrison property. There was a sewer

1:33:11line that uh they granted an easement.

1:33:13So now they have access uh to town sewer

1:33:15if they annex. So uh they are requesting

1:33:17that we are recommending approval.

1:33:19>> Right. Questions

1:33:22hearing? None. Open up public hearing

1:33:24for comment. No one signed up to speak.

1:33:26The public hearing is closed. Anybody

1:33:28else want to get on action?

1:33:32Yep.

1:33:33>> Council member move.

1:33:34>> All right.

1:33:34>> Motion to approve.

1:33:35>> Motion. Council member move.

1:33:38>> Second. [laughter]

1:33:41>> Finish.

1:33:42>> Second.

1:33:42>> Reese.

1:33:43>> I do want to make one comment before we

1:33:44move forward. Just that these last three

1:33:47annexations are I like to find I like to

1:33:49say are textbook donut holes.

1:33:52>> We have these little exclaves all around

1:33:54town. And the funniest thing is many

1:33:56people are like why are we annexing

1:33:58something that's already within the

1:33:59town? It's like well it may not really

1:34:01be in the town. So a lot of these things

1:34:04where we're that seem relatively routine

1:34:07for water and sewer it's a requirement

1:34:10at least legally that those things those

1:34:12sort of actions take place here. It

1:34:14gives us the opportunity to do things

1:34:16for the town. So um just wanted to point

1:34:19that out because somebody asked that

1:34:20question last time like why do you do

1:34:22these? They're already in the town. I'm

1:34:24like nah they're not.

1:34:26>> But we're happy to have them now.

1:34:29All right. Thank you, Council Member

1:34:30Gray. Any other discussion? All in favor

1:34:33say I.

1:34:34>> Oppos? Motion carries.

1:34:36>> Hearing four.

1:34:38>> Our next annexation is on Pine Plaza

1:34:41Drive. It is uh a project that's known

1:34:43as Glenn Square. It's where the

1:34:44Indifresh supermarket is proposed. Um

1:34:47and they do have um need annexation in

1:34:50order to get construction plan approval

1:34:52uh to get town services. And staff does

1:34:54recommend approval. Oh, we'll show you.

1:34:56There's a Donnut hole right there for

1:34:57you. [laughter]

1:34:59>> All right, questions hearing none.

1:35:02Public hearing is open for comment.

1:35:05>> Public hearing is closed. Is there a

1:35:07motion?

1:35:07>> Motion to approve.

1:35:08>> Motion second. Council

1:35:10>> Look at that on the phone.

1:35:12>> No discussion.

1:35:13>> All in favor say I.

1:35:14>> I. Opposed. Motion carries.

1:35:17>> All right. Next one.

1:35:18>> All right. Well, this one we're going to

1:35:20have Mara Smith present u because it's

1:35:23actually associated with resoning case.

1:35:25Thank you.

1:35:30>> All right. Good evening, mayor and

1:35:32council members. Uh this is annexation

1:35:34number 830 associated with the reszone

1:35:37case 26 CZ05.

1:35:41Uh the project site is located in the

1:35:43western area of the town south of US 64

1:35:46and about a half mile from the border of

1:35:48Chattam County.

1:35:51The address of the annexation is 3305

1:35:53Olive Chapel Road and it is a 3.62 acre

1:35:58property. The existing zoning district

1:36:00is Wake County residential 88W

1:36:04and it is outside the corporate limits

1:36:06and the applicant is requesting town

1:36:08services. Now moving on to the reszone.

1:36:12Uh the property is located along the

1:36:14south side of Olive Chapel Road and the

1:36:173.62 62 acre site includes an existing

1:36:20single family house and driveway uh

1:36:22shown here off of Olive Chapel and both

1:36:25the house and the uh access will be

1:36:27retained. As previously mentioned, the

1:36:30current zoning is Wake County

1:36:31residential ADW and the uses surrounding

1:36:34the property include the Willow Hills

1:36:36Pud to the west. uh the recently

1:36:39approved uh Lawrence uh propud to the

1:36:42east and or excuse me, yeah, to the east

1:36:44and then to the south is Army Corps uh

1:36:47open space. The proposed zoning district

1:36:51is rural residential conditional zoning

1:36:54and the 2045 land use classification is

1:36:58rural density residential and if

1:37:00reszoned as proposed it would change to

1:37:03rural transition residential.

1:37:06Neighborhood meetings were held on April

1:37:0829th and July 15th of this year and due

1:37:11to the relatively small area the project

1:37:13is exempt or was exempt from meeting

1:37:15with the environmental advisory board.

1:37:18During the process, the applicant agreed

1:37:20to additional conditions and these

1:37:22conditions include adding a 70 foot wide

1:37:25minimum undisturbed buffer along the US

1:37:27Army Corps Engineer property to the

1:37:29southeast, completing a sidewalk gap

1:37:32between the two abuing developments

1:37:34along Olive Chapel Road with a 5- foot

1:37:36wide sidewalk and record a 30- foot wide

1:37:40town of Apex public sewer easement along

1:37:42the southern boundary line uh in order

1:37:44to provide future public sewer

1:37:46connection with the undeveloped parcels.

1:37:48east of Lawrence Propud.

1:37:52The proposed reszoning is reasonable and

1:37:54in the public interest in that the

1:37:55reszone will allow for an existing

1:37:57single family home to remain. It will

1:37:59create a maximum of three lots which are

1:38:02generally consistent with the parcels to

1:38:04the west. The proposed reszoning will

1:38:06provide roadway frontage widening with a

1:38:08sidewalk along all of Chapel Road. And

1:38:11furthermore, the proposed resoning

1:38:12includes stricter architectural

1:38:14conditions than what the UDO currently

1:38:16requires. The planning board held a

1:38:18public hearing on August 11th and voted

1:38:20unanimously to approve the reszone and

1:38:23planning staff recommends approval of 26

1:38:26CZ05 as proposed by the applicant. And

1:38:30this concludes staff's presentation.

1:38:31>> All right. Thank you so much. Any

1:38:33questions?

1:38:34>> I do have a question. Um, can you

1:38:37quickly go over the differences in the

1:38:40zoning for the 2045 land use map and the

1:38:43proposed zoning especially when it comes

1:38:45to the housing density allowed uh given

1:38:48the zoning?

1:38:50>> May I defer?

1:38:51>> Yeah, I'll assist with that. So, the

1:38:53current 2045 lane use map designation is

1:38:56rural density residential which supports

1:38:58a density of one unit per five acres. Um

1:39:01if the resoning is um approved as

1:39:04proposed, the lane use map designation

1:39:06would change to rural transition

1:39:08residential, which is one unit per one

1:39:10acre. This density is consistent with um

1:39:13that of the Willow Hills subdivision

1:39:15immediately to the the west.

1:39:18>> And so the property to the east is still

1:39:21meant to be the rural residential one

1:39:24unit per five acre.

1:39:25>> If you can if we'll show that map again.

1:39:28um as part of the Lawrence PUD resoning,

1:39:31that southern parcel was also changed to

1:39:33rural transition residential. Um and so

1:39:36while the Willow Hill subdivision shows

1:39:37as the rural density land use

1:39:39classification, that um subdivision was

1:39:43approved about the same time as APE

1:39:45advanced apex was adopted and before we

1:39:47added the rural transition land use

1:39:49classification. So staff could initiate

1:39:52a map that says it needs to be rural

1:39:53transition to match the development

1:39:56pattern as it was built. Um, so the

1:39:59proposed zoning density is consistent

1:40:01with that to the east and the west.

1:40:03>> Thank you.

1:40:06>> All right, any other questions?

1:40:08>> What's going to happen with the

1:40:09substrate?

1:40:11>> Uh, yes, that will continue um well, it

1:40:15will end in the subdivision um

1:40:20approximately right here and it will

1:40:21connect the lot which is proposed to the

1:40:24south and then one here. Uh lot one will

1:40:27will continue to take access off of

1:40:28olive chapel.

1:40:30>> Yeah,

1:40:31>> there is a um there is a barrier right

1:40:34here. There's a stream

1:40:36>> that would prevent them from going any

1:40:37further into that.

1:40:38>> Gotcha.

1:40:39>> Yeah. And they uh will provide sidewalk.

1:40:43>> That is correct. That's correct. They're

1:40:44going to connect it to um to close the

1:40:47gap between the sidewalk [clears throat]

1:40:48and the one that is uh proposed over

1:40:50here.

1:40:50>> Yeah, that's correct.

1:40:51>> To me,

1:40:54>> I mean, you can't be thrilled about the

1:40:55access. I mean, it's existing access,

1:40:58right? We can't have them remove it, but

1:40:59you can't be thrilled about it being so

1:41:01close to the neighborhood access, right?

1:41:02Right.

1:41:02>> That's correct. It was discussed. Um,

1:41:05but if the applicant were, you're

1:41:07talking about taking the stub street to

1:41:08go to all three lots as opposed

1:41:10>> to to remove the access on all chapel.

1:41:12So, the two aren't so close to each

1:41:13other.

1:41:14>> That's correct. It was discussed um due

1:41:15to the large constraints along the um

1:41:19within the lot, the applicant would not

1:41:22be able to achieve three lots if they

1:41:24were to do that. It would it would

1:41:25narrow it down to two, which then would

1:41:27not be co it would be cost prohibitive

1:41:29to do all the um the improvements as

1:41:32proposed.

1:41:33>> What is that access road that seems to

1:41:35be running right alongside of the

1:41:37western boundary?

1:41:37>> This it goes to a punt station down

1:41:39here.

1:41:40>> So that's ours.

1:41:41>> That's correct.

1:41:44>> Could we at least

1:41:46was it discussed at least moving the

1:41:48driveway more to the east so it's

1:41:50farther away from the um the

1:41:52neighborhood access there? you know, I I

1:41:54don't know if that moving it was

1:41:56discussed and unfortunately uh our

1:41:58transportation um expert is not here

1:42:00available, but uh he did sign off on

1:42:03that.

1:42:04>> I think has a comment on that. Yeah.

1:42:06>> Oh, thank you. [clears throat]

1:42:08>> Um you know, sorry.

1:42:11>> I can go ahead.

1:42:12>> Sure.

1:42:13>> I'll start a little more formally there.

1:42:26Make it smaller.

1:42:30Zoom out a little bit here.

1:42:34>> All right. Good evening everyone. My

1:42:36name is Patrick Kieran. Jones and Kelson

1:42:38Engineering 221 North Salem Street. Um,

1:42:42thank you Marica for your presentation.

1:42:44Um, I put this exhibit together just as

1:42:47sort of a colored, you know,

1:42:48presentation to show really how

1:42:51restricted the site is once you factor

1:42:52in all the perimeter buffers, um,

1:42:54perennial perennial stream buffer to our

1:42:56east, uh, rightway dedications, treecape

1:42:59buffer, etc. Um,

1:43:03to dive right into your question, we

1:43:06talked about whether or not to abandon

1:43:08the driveway altogether since it already

1:43:11exists. Um, my client's preference was

1:43:14certainly to keep it. You can kind of

1:43:16see we get pinched right here because so

1:43:19there's actually a 20 foot private

1:43:21access easement along our western uh

1:43:23border as well um that we are going to

1:43:26have to put our perimeter landscape

1:43:28buffer on the outside of. So with all

1:43:30that said, it just it just gets really

1:43:31tight. So squeezing another driveway in

1:43:34beside that was just getting awkward and

1:43:37the garage is in the front. Um, so it

1:43:39kind of became just a functional issue.

1:43:41To move it, I could certainly see being

1:43:43the case. I mean, I I don't have any

1:43:44issue moving it. It was not discussed.

1:43:47So, I don't have necessarily a zoning

1:43:48condition to

1:43:50>> offer. I'm not I'm not asking for it.

1:43:52I'm just

1:43:52>> Yeah. No,

1:43:53>> brainstorming here because I mean, you

1:43:54you see

1:43:55>> it is close

1:43:56>> the the access point.

1:43:57>> Yeah. Traffic guy, you know how it is,

1:43:59right?

1:43:59>> Right. Yeah. And I don't think NCD would

1:44:01have any qualms with moving it. You're

1:44:03not doing anything but improving sight

1:44:05distance and that sort of thing. So, I

1:44:07think that's that's a reasonable thing

1:44:08to um

1:44:10offer. Um not that it will be a

1:44:12condition, I guess, of record, but we

1:44:14can we can certainly talk about it once

1:44:15we get into

1:44:16>> master. Just consider it just to give

1:44:18your your client and the the

1:44:19neighborhood.

1:44:20>> Yeah.

1:44:21>> Little more distance between them if

1:44:22someone's leaving the neighborhood while

1:44:23>> Sure. Have we uh have we considered or

1:44:25have you spoken to the town about

1:44:27potentially using that access easement

1:44:30uh as a another out to connect to the

1:44:32road there

1:44:35>> for these new lots being able to come

1:44:37basically use that

1:44:38>> specifically for for the no normost lot

1:44:43>> it's it's not a bad idea it's a it's a

1:44:46private access easement I know we looked

1:44:48into the wording and it was in

1:44:50perpetuity

1:44:52uh the beneficiary was the federal

1:44:54gameland to the south. Um

1:44:58>> I see that more as a legal just kind of

1:45:01difficulty. Um

1:45:02>> I thought it was our east, not not

1:45:04federal.

1:45:05>> Yeah, y'all y'all's drive is just kind

1:45:07of parallel to that just to the west um

1:45:10the west of our property line. It's

1:45:11within the Willow Hills HOA.

1:45:17It's about as infill as it gets here.

1:45:21All

1:45:24right.

1:45:26Any other questions for applicant?

1:45:30Thank you. Thank you all. Right.

1:45:34>> All right. We'll go ahead and open up

1:45:35public hearing for comment.

1:45:38No one is signed up to speak. Public

1:45:41hearing for

1:45:42>> annexation and reszone are both.

1:45:45So it's [clears throat] closed.

1:45:47Back to council for discussion. Possible

1:45:49motion. Yeah, I'll just say I mean uh

1:45:53concerned about the access. Um but you

1:45:56know I'm satisfied that there's really

1:45:57no good options here that they ask the

1:45:59applicant to do. The site is half of it

1:46:01is a buffer you know so in practice what

1:46:04we have is a guy has a house and he's

1:46:05building two houses in his backyard. Um

1:46:08which is uh you know something that that

1:46:11they can do. Um, and yeah, like I see

1:46:14the point that even if we could try to

1:46:17to get connected to that stub road, like

1:46:19the house would be backwards, right? So,

1:46:21you'd have to go around. It'd be kind of

1:46:23weird. Pretty big burden on the on the

1:46:25homeowner. So, um, yeah, I'm uh suppose

1:46:29I'm in favor of the resing it.

1:46:31[clears throat]

1:46:31>> Actually, I do have another question for

1:46:33the applicant. Is the intent to keep the

1:46:35existing structure or will that be

1:46:37rebuilt?

1:46:37>> Yeah, his intent is to keep keep that

1:46:39asset on the property.

1:46:40>> Thank you.

1:46:41>> Sure.

1:46:43All right. Still in discussion. Any more

1:46:45comments?

1:46:47>> Yeah. I mean, you could imagine a

1:46:49condition, not asking for one, but like

1:46:52if the structure were ever demolished,

1:46:54then you could produce [clears throat] a

1:46:55shared driveway with the house oriented

1:46:57properly and in 30 years might do it,

1:46:59but I don't want to polish it too much.

1:47:02>> Just one clarification. I think we did

1:47:04have a condition

1:47:06sort of to that effect. doesn't address

1:47:07that whatsoever. But we I think there

1:47:09was a condition about if it is um

1:47:13reconstructed that it would basically be

1:47:15grandfathered in because right now it

1:47:17would not even be in compliance with

1:47:19where the um current stream buffer is.

1:47:22Right now there's no building setback

1:47:23issue because it's just one big 3.6 acre

1:47:26lot. But we're defining a smaller lot.

1:47:28So the house is actually not going to be

1:47:30compliant with that building setback

1:47:32based on the current buffer rules. So we

1:47:34would ask that if you know demolition

1:47:37were ever done that it could be

1:47:38grandfathered into the same. So I won't

1:47:40say that it could never be torn down or

1:47:42rebuilt but that's not his intent right

1:47:44now.

1:47:48>> All right.

1:47:48>> Thank you.

1:47:50>> Is there a motion? Motion approved.

1:47:52Motion mappy

1:47:53>> second.

1:47:54>> Second. Gray

1:47:55>> approving the

1:47:56>> annexation and the resoning.

1:47:57>> Yeah.

1:47:58>> Seconding the annexation and the res.

1:48:00>> All right. We got a motion to second.

1:48:01Annexation and reszone. All in favor say

1:48:02I.

1:48:02>> I. Motion carries.

1:48:05>> All right. Moving to

1:48:07public hearing seven. That's being

1:48:10rescheduled. No action required.

1:48:11>> That's correct.

1:48:12>> Okay. All right. Public hearing eight.

1:48:14UDO amendments.

1:48:17Mr. Bruce. Good to see you, sir.

1:48:19>> Good to see you, Mr. V. Just a couple

1:48:22quick UDO amendments to bring to your

1:48:23attention today.

1:48:28Okay.

1:48:31So the first one is to uh is the

1:48:33sections 2x4 to address the uh accessory

1:48:36apartment dwellings. Essentially what

1:48:37we're doing is we're changing the

1:48:38terminology from accessory apartment in

1:48:40the UDO to be consistent with new state

1:48:42law that was just passed that refers to

1:48:44all of them as accessory dwelling units.

1:48:46There'll be future amendments regarding

1:48:48standards for accessory dwelling units

1:48:49coming before you in the next couple

1:48:50months, but today we're just going

1:48:52forward and making sure that we're

1:48:53amending this specific item um to make

1:48:56sure the terminology is correct. But

1:48:57we'll have more UD amendments to bring

1:48:59for you in the future. So these are just

1:49:01real quick. You can see that anywhere

1:49:02where accessory apartment was used, it

1:49:04is now accessory dwelling unit.

1:49:07It has been removed from the use table

1:49:09and redirected towards the uh the

1:49:12accessory use section specifically. So

1:49:14it's no longer here in the use table,

1:49:16but is still allowed and still permitted

1:49:17in all the zoning districts that it's

1:49:19was permitted before.

1:49:21And then in since it's no longer in the

1:49:23use table, it has been removed out of

1:49:25the use classifications and put back

1:49:27into the accessory use section as well.

1:49:29You'll see this change here to make this

1:49:31consistent with what was in the original

1:49:34principal U section as well. So now that

1:49:36section is in 4.5.6

1:49:40again just changing the terminology from

1:49:42accessory apartment to accessory

1:49:43dwelling and E sections.

1:49:46Same here.

1:49:49And then lastly um this table here

1:49:51speaks. So there were no conditions here

1:49:53for accessory apartments but since it's

1:49:54being handled elsewhere now as well this

1:49:56section has just been removed from this

1:49:57table in 5.2. 2 point 2. B4

1:50:03and here as well just the terminology

1:50:04has been changed from accessory

1:50:05department to accessory dwelling units.

1:50:09Same as here.

1:50:11That's the first amendment before you.

1:50:12Again, we're just changing the

1:50:13terminology. Any questions on that?

1:50:16>> So, is it fair to characterize that as

1:50:17as simply changing the terminology but

1:50:19not having a significant impact on the

1:50:21uh right to build or not build?

1:50:23>> Correct. Yes, sir. There will be future

1:50:24amendments to to kind of speak to what

1:50:26the state has decided are going to be

1:50:28the limits on size and location and

1:50:29things like that, but we'll be

1:50:30addressing that in the future with you.

1:50:32>> Thank you. Yes, sir.

1:50:34>> Um so this one is just to to address the

1:50:36uh distance of a sandwich boards are can

1:50:38be away from um unrestricted pedestrian

1:50:40movement. Um the original standards were

1:50:423 feet. Um there's a request to change

1:50:44that to four feet now to be in alignment

1:50:46with the public right ofway

1:50:47accessibility guidelines or PROWAG which

1:50:49you may be familiar with. So, this is

1:50:51just a quick amendment that changes the

1:50:52sign section to to add that extra foot

1:50:54of sidewalk width for unrestricted

1:50:56movement. And that's real

1:50:58straightforward amendment there. Any any

1:51:01questions on that one?

1:51:02>> Just going to just wanted to say for the

1:51:04record that I'm just hoping that we'll

1:51:06be informally enforcing that downtown

1:51:08sometime in January or February.

1:51:11>> January, February. [laughter]

1:51:13>> And not until then.

1:51:16>> All right. And so the third the third

1:51:18amendment um is for the review of

1:51:20procedures application submission

1:51:22determination of compliance. So this one

1:51:24um is a little interesting. So this just

1:51:26speaks to how how soon you have to be

1:51:28able to submit or resubmit an

1:51:30application and how long that's good

1:51:31for. Um the practice has been that you

1:51:34have within one year to resubmit or

1:51:36submit your submit your application once

1:51:38it's been submitted. The language in

1:51:39here read a little different and was

1:51:41provided some confusion. So, originally

1:51:43it said that the resubmission would have

1:51:45to occur no less than one year. Um,

1:51:48which is obviously not what we want for

1:51:50productive development in our town. So,

1:51:52we've rewarded it to make sure that it's

1:51:54clear that it's aligned with what our

1:51:56practice has been since you guys have

1:51:57been serving as council members and that

1:51:59they have within one year to resubmit

1:52:01their application before it is removed

1:52:02from the process. So, that's the last

1:52:04amendment before you. Again, told you it

1:52:06was just a couple. Um, we'll have some

1:52:07more fun ones coming before you in the

1:52:09months ahead, but for right now, that's

1:52:10it.

1:52:11>> All right. Thank you. Any questions?

1:52:18All right, we'll open up

1:52:20public hearing for comment. No one

1:52:22signed to speak. Public hearing is

1:52:24closed.

1:52:27>> Motion to approve.

1:52:29>> Motion defer.

1:52:30>> All right. Council member move, you have

1:52:31a motion.

1:52:32>> Yeah. To approve.

1:52:33>> Okay. Motion to approve.

1:52:35>> Second.

1:52:36>> All right. Second. Ziggerman.

1:52:38Discussion.

1:52:40All right. All in favor say I.

1:52:42>> I.

1:52:42>> Opposed? Motion carries unanimously.

1:52:45>> And appears to be that was the last

1:52:48item. All right. So, thank you all.

1:52:51We'll move into Is there a motion to go

1:52:53into close session for the three close

1:52:54session items?

1:52:55>> So, move it. Zerman.

1:52:57>> Second.

1:52:58>> Second. Great. All in favor say I.

1:53:00>> I. Motion carries. Moving it to close

1:53:03session.

1:53:06It's so there's nothing.

3:20:40Yes, sir.

3:20:48>> This here