2026-10-05 - City Council Work Session

03:08I.

03:09I.

03:38I.

04:27I.

04:30I.

05:05I.

05:15Board. Um, with that, I think I

05:19will turn it over to. There he

05:23is. Matthew Jones with, uh,

05:26Hazen and Sawyer to give you

05:27some of the details about what

05:29they've been doing for the past

05:30year. Thank you.

05:33Great. Thank you, Jim, and

05:34thank you, Council. We

05:35appreciate your, uh, your time

05:37and interest on this topic here

05:38today. Um, so just briefly,

05:40what we're going to be touching

05:41on a little bit about the

05:42project background, uh,

05:45evaluation of concepts to

05:46improve, uh, a little cross

05:48Creek through the downtown

05:49corridor. Uh, specifics about

05:51the recommended, uh,

05:52improvements, some information

05:54about the the risks of

05:55implementation and

05:56considerations that would be

05:58associated with, uh,

05:59constructing the projects were

06:01presenting a little bit on the

06:04co-benefits of these projects.

06:06And then the recommended path

06:08forward. So, as Jim was, was

06:11saying, and some of you may

06:12recall, um, about a year ago,

06:14in August of 2025, um, we had

06:18presented, um, this scope that

06:20we've, you know, largely

06:21completed here to develop a 15%

06:24preliminary design for the

06:26Cross Creek channel

06:27improvements. So this

06:28originated with the Cross Creek

06:29Watershed Master plan, where we

06:31evaluated flooding along Cross

06:34Creek and high level evaluation

06:36of potential options. And then

06:38the what you're seeing here

06:39today originate from that

06:41master plan, but has been

06:43advanced to complete the 50%,

06:4515% design. Specifically, we're

06:48going to be focusing on a brief

06:49project background, some key

06:51findings, and then the

06:51recommended path forward. So

06:54the location of this project is

06:58focusing on Cross Creek. The

07:00project itself. We're looking

07:02at um, along from MLK freeway

07:05on the upstream extent down to

07:07about Green Street. The nature

07:09of the project provides a flood

07:12reduction, benefits that extend

07:13further upstream of MLK, but

07:16that's the general corridor

07:17that we're looking at. And as

07:19many of you know, it's a

07:20corridor that is subject to

07:21frequent flooding concerns. Uh,

07:23this is not a new challenge. So

07:26one of the things that was

07:27interesting as we were

07:27advancing, this was what you

07:30see here in 1970, report

07:32completed by the Corps of

07:34Engineers at that time,

07:35proposed a changing the channel

07:38geometry of Cross Creek through

07:39the downtown area to help

07:41reduce flooding. Um, what we're

07:44proposing looks a little

07:45different from this. Like very

07:47neat trapezoidal channel that

07:50was very characteristic of how

07:51you would do these type of

07:52things back 50 years ago. But

07:54we've got some new ideas. Um,

07:56an important to note that this

07:57has been an ongoing issue. Um,

07:58but there have not been major

08:01projects undertaken to address

08:02the flooding concerns. And

08:03that's what brings us here

08:05today to present some potential

08:06solutions to those flooding

08:08concerns. And, you know, one of

08:12the key, uh, considerations

08:14here is that along this

08:16corridor, um, those flooding

08:17concerns are significant, of

08:19course, with Hurricane Florence

08:21and Hurricane Matthew. Uh, we

08:23saw, you know, widespread area

08:25flooding, but, you know,

08:26Tropical Storm Debbie, uh, a

08:28couple of years ago, uh, was

08:30not a huge storm event, but one

08:33that overtopped Ray Avenue

08:34caused disruption to

08:36businesses. Um, and those are

08:38the types of things that, you

08:39know, we're really trying to

08:40address with this project. So

08:41you don't have those negative

08:43impacts from flooding along

08:44this corridor. And we've done a

08:48lot of modeling, analysis, both

08:50as part of this effort, the

08:51watershed master plan that

08:53preceded this. But

08:54independently, you know, our

08:56analysis coincides with things

08:57that FEMA has found that you

08:59can see here, the ten year and

09:00the 100 year flood boundaries.

09:03And again, significant flooding

09:04footprint through this downtown

09:06corridor before implementing

09:08any of the improvements that

09:09we're going to be presenting

09:10here today. So how do we do

09:13this? So we looked as part of

09:15this particular scope that

09:16we're summarizing today, looked

09:18at a variety of different

09:20alternatives. Uh, 14 total

09:23improvement concepts. These

09:25included bridge and culvert

09:27replacements, realigning the

09:29channel, changing the channel

09:30geometry to help reduce that

09:32flooding. Uh, that coalesced

09:34into 11 improvement concepts

09:37that we evaluated, really

09:38focusing on maximizing the

09:40flood reduction benefits of

09:42those projects while also

09:44providing co-benefits, which

09:45you hear about today, and then

09:47selecting the top performing

09:49concepts to further for further

09:51analysis and design. And with

09:52that, I'm going to turn it over

09:53to Tom gray to talk about the

09:54details of those concepts.

10:03All right. Well, thank you,

10:04Matthew. As Matthew mentioned,

10:06we had performed the evaluation

10:08for these concepts to try to

10:09find first the concepts that

10:11would maximize flood reduction

10:13along Cross Creek. And then we

10:14knew once we were to find

10:15those, we would determine

10:16whether they were economically

10:18feasible or responsible

10:20selections. And so when we

10:22first started with our two

10:23concepts that we that we found

10:24to show the maximum benefit

10:27concept seven as you'll see,

10:29includes improvements from

10:30Green Street all the way

10:32through Festival Park. And

10:34these improvements include

10:35replacement of the bridge at

10:37Green Street, replacement of

10:39the bridge at Ray Avenue, and

10:41also channel capacity

10:42improvements along this reach

10:44of the stream, which included

10:45widening the stream as well as

10:47lowering the channel bottom so

10:49that there would be more

10:49capacity in the stream to move

10:52flood flows downstream and out

10:54and away from the downtown area.

10:57And what you see here is, if

10:59you were to slice the stream

11:01down the middle, this would be

11:02a section of the stream. And if

11:03you were looking at it from the

11:05side perspective, you would see

11:07Green Street on your left and

11:08then move upstream to the

11:10railroad that's located next to

11:12the Festival Park. And the

11:14Brown line at the bottom

11:15represents the very bottom of

11:16the stream channel, and the

11:18orange dashed line represents

11:20the proposed channel bottom

11:21that we would be proposing as a

11:23part of concept seven, to

11:24provide that additional

11:25capacity that I mentioned

11:27earlier. You'll notice how that

11:28drop is more significant at Ray

11:31Avenue, and that is just to try

11:32to allow some of those flows

11:33that currently overtop Ray

11:34Avenue to have a way to get

11:36underneath that bridge

11:37structure there. Now, above the

11:39brown line, you'll see the

11:40shaded blue that is the depth

11:43of the hundred year flood

11:44within that channel. And the

11:46dashed blue line is the depth

11:48of flooding during uh, under

11:50this concept seven scenario

11:51where we've reduced the flood

11:53depths along this reach of

11:54stream, which what you'll

11:56notice is that we have almost a

11:57consistent five foot drop in

12:00depth and flooding depth in the

12:01100 year along this reach of

12:03stream, as a result of concept

12:05seven being in place. The other

12:12concept that we developed that

12:14we noticed had the most flood

12:15reduction benefit, and these

12:17benefits were for flood

12:18reduction upstream of the

12:19railroads that are located

12:21between Festival Park and

12:23Veterans Park is a concept ten.

12:26Concept ten involves the

12:27replacement of these railroad

12:30crossings at the CSX branch

12:32line. There is a culvert

12:34crossing there and then along

12:35the main line there's an

12:36existing bridge and as Matthew

12:39mentioned in the studies that

12:40were performed by our Army

12:41Corps, they had pointed out

12:43that these were major issues

12:44even back in the 70s, of

12:46creating a real bottleneck in

12:47the stream and the movement of

12:48flows and then creating a lot

12:50of flooding problems from this

12:51point, and then all the way up

12:53to Murchison Road. And so this

12:55concept simply is replacing

12:58those crossings to provide more

13:00capacity at those locations.

13:06Okay. Sure.

13:13And this is a stream profile

13:15view of concept ten. What you

13:18see here is that we have in the

13:21hundred year existing

13:22conditions, we show a reduction

13:24of nine foot of flooding depth

13:26as a result of the replacement

13:28of those structures over the

13:29railroad. We show five foot

13:32reduction in flooding debt at

13:33Bragg Boulevard. And then we're

13:36seeing a three foot reduction,

13:38uh, at Blue Street. So

13:39significant reductions along

13:41this reach just by the

13:42replacement of those structures.

13:49In addition to evaluating and

13:51focusing on what provided the

13:53maximum flood reduction

13:55benefit, we focused on whether

13:57or not these would be

13:59economically responsible

14:01projects or at least show at

14:03least that the benefits were

14:04equal to or greater than the

14:06cost of the project. And for

14:08these two concepts, what we as

14:10we showed, they demonstrated

14:11significant flood reduction

14:13benefit, but the benefits did

14:15not outweigh the cost. And we

14:16saw benefit cost ratios of 0.59

14:20for concept seven and 0.62 for

14:23concept ten. And when we saw

14:25this, what we recognized is,

14:27well, we may not be able to get

14:28as much flood reduction benefit

14:30as we would like, but what

14:31could we do to these concepts

14:33to maybe modify them? Try to

14:34get as close to as much benefit

14:36as we could, but at a lower

14:38cost. And so we work with city

14:40staff to develop modified

14:42versions of these improvement

14:44concepts. Concept seven became

14:49concept seven A, and the main

14:51difference in this concept,

14:53seven A and concept seven is

14:56the removal of the replacement

14:58of the Ray Avenue Bridge, and

14:59any benefits upstream of Ray

15:01Avenue. And the reason we

15:03focused on removing that

15:04portion of the improvements is

15:06because there are not really

15:07any structural benefits there

15:10that we saw. There aren't a lot

15:11of structures located upstream

15:12of Ray Avenue. Ray Avenue also

15:14has alternative routes for

15:16traffic and isn't the highest

15:18of volume per day traffic, uh,

15:20roadway in the city. And so

15:21those benefits that we're

15:23trying to capture through this

15:24BCR, we weren't seeing those

15:26compared to the cost of

15:27replacing the Ray Avenue

15:29bridge. And so what we thought

15:31was if we could modify concept

15:33seven to focus on where the

15:34main benefits were occurring,

15:36at least economically, with

15:37with building, uh, damage

15:39reductions, then we could get a

15:41little closer to the benefit

15:42cost ratio of one. And so this

15:45again is just this almost the

15:46same, uh, improvement concept,

15:48just without the, the

15:49improvements upstream of Ray

15:51Avenue. This is a quick

15:54snapshot of our preliminary

15:56design plan set that was

15:58prepared for this concept. Uh,

16:01it just shows more detailed

16:02grading as well as in grade

16:04stream control or, um, grade

16:06control structures within the

16:07stream. And this provides a

16:13perspective of the capacity

16:15that we're looking to put in

16:17place at the Green Street, uh,

16:19crossing. Currently there are

16:21215 by 15 foot box culverts

16:24there. And those are shown here

16:25in dark gray. And we're looking

16:27to replace that with a 100 foot

16:29bridge to really provide

16:31capacity to move the flood

16:32waters out of the downtown

16:33area. And that that proposed

16:34bridge is shown there in green,

16:36just for a perspective view.

16:42And this is, uh, the benefits

16:44that we're seeing from concept

16:45seven, a very similar to what

16:46we saw for concept seven

16:48between Green Street and Ray

16:51Avenue. You'll notice that the

16:52channel improvements stop right

16:54downstream of Ray Avenue, where

16:55we're proposing a cascade, a

16:57drop structure to, uh, to move

17:00the flows downstream there. And

17:02then you'll notice upstream of

17:04Ray Avenue, we're not seeing

17:05that five foot, uh, flood depth

17:08reduction, but we still see

17:09some reduction at two feet as a

17:12result of the downstream

17:13improvements. And the way that

17:15this concept is, uh, is has

17:18been put together. We've

17:19maintained the downstream,

17:20downstream improvements that we

17:21had proposed for concept seven.

17:23And this concept seven A would

17:25just be allow a placeholder for

17:27being able to continue the

17:29concept seven improvements

17:30upstream of Ray Avenue, if that

17:32is something that's selected to

17:34be, uh, done in the future.

17:43Now, this shows the plan view

17:45or the flood extents view of

17:46these improvements. The black

17:49shaded area is the existing 100

17:51year flood plain, and the blue

17:53shaded area shows the proposed

17:55100 year floodplain with

17:57concept seven A put in place.

17:59So significant benefit to a lot

18:01of the buildings and properties

18:03in this downtown reach of the

18:05stream. Now we talked about

18:13concept ten earlier as

18:14providing the maximum amount of

18:16benefit. This is a modified

18:18version of concept ten. This is

18:20concept nine A, and this would

18:22include only one replacement of

18:25the one one a replacement of

18:27one of the crossings at the

18:28railroad. This would propose

18:30replacement of the culvert at

18:32the CSX branch line and then

18:34leaving in place the CSX main

18:36line bridge. The reason why we

18:39focused on the branch line is

18:41because that culvert is the

18:42most restrictive structure

18:44along the creek, and it creates

18:47the most flooding upstream. And

18:49so in order to reduce costs, we

18:51focus on that replacement for

18:52this concept. And then again

18:54leaving the the main line

18:55bridge in place. And I'll show

18:57you next what these

18:58improvements look like. Uh,

19:00this is just a snapshot from

19:01our design plans. Not much

19:03different. Uh, information to

19:06see here than you saw on the

19:07last screen. This is a

19:11perspective view of the

19:13increase in capacity we're

19:14proposing here. Currently,

19:16those culverts are 413 by six

19:19foot box culverts. Those are

19:21what are causing the major

19:22constriction along the creek.

19:24And we're proposing a 115 foot

19:26bridge here shown in green, to

19:28provide more capacity for flow

19:30to move downstream from these

19:33railroad crossings. And this is

19:38a profile of those benefits.

19:41This profile looks exactly the

19:43same as concept ten, except for

19:45right upstream of the the

19:47railroad crossings. We're

19:48showing seven foot of flood

19:50reduction as opposed to the

19:52nine foot that you saw earlier.

19:54And that reduction would really

19:55occur within Veterans Park. So

19:57by not replacing the upstream

20:00bridge and only focusing on

20:01replacement of the culvert,

20:02we're able to get this project

20:04to show a better benefit cost

20:05ratio. And we're only losing

20:07out on two foot of flood

20:09reduction. And mainly that

20:10would be a benefit of Veterans

20:13Park. So not anything to to,

20:16uh, sweep under the rug. But

20:18still, if we're just trying to

20:19get the projects funded as they

20:21are and know that as we

20:23understand, CSX had already

20:25talked about replacing that the

20:27main line bridge, then maybe

20:28that's something that they'll

20:29still be on board with

20:30replacing themselves, and maybe

20:32we could replace the branch

20:33line or be a part of replacing

20:34that and maybe eventually

20:36achieve that nine foot of

20:37reduction there within within

20:39Veterans Park. But still the

20:40same benefits at Bragg

20:41Boulevard, same benefits at

20:43Blue Street. With this concept.

20:45Uh, nine a. And this is the

20:53floodplain mapping, uh,

20:55comparison 100 year event.

20:57Black shaded area is for the

20:59existing 100 year event. The

21:01blue shaded area is the

21:02proposed 100 year, uh,

21:05floodplain extents. We see

21:07significant reduction around

21:09Veterans Park. Uh, in this map.

21:12Maybe not as much as you might

21:13think. When we talk about 9ft

21:15or 7 foot of reduction, you

21:17would think maybe you would see

21:18more significant benefit on the

21:20ground. That's just because of

21:21the topography. But it's good

21:23to just be mindful of that,

21:24that, uh, seven foot of

21:25reduction is creating these

21:27these benefits, uh, upstream of

21:29the railroad. And then also as

21:32you'll notice, the the yellow

21:34boundary, the choice

21:35neighborhood initiatives,

21:36boundary areas, there's

21:38significant benefit for

21:39properties. And that area. And

21:41I'll provide a more zoomed in

21:43view of those areas here. This

21:48would be right near Blue Street

21:50around Mount Sinai. Homes. On

21:52the left. We have the 100 year

21:54event comparison, which you

21:55just saw. And then we've also

21:57added the 25 year comparison

21:59just to demonstrate that even

22:00in lesser events, there's still

22:03meaningful and significant

22:04benefit within these areas

22:07around this area. As we saw in

22:09the profile, there's about a

22:11two foot of flood reduction

22:12here in the 100 year. And that

22:14as you're seeing here, the

22:15differences on the ground of

22:18buildings being removed from

22:19the floodplain and properties

22:21also being removed from the

22:22floodplain. We also have a

22:28zoomed in view of Veterans

22:29Park, just to get more of a

22:30perspective again of of those

22:33benefits. The reduction in the

22:35flood extents in this area. And

22:37then also we've shown the 25

22:39year just to demonstrate that

22:40it's not just the 100 year that

22:42we're able to see these

22:43benefits, uh, from also, in

22:45lesser events like the 25 year,

22:47very similar benefits in plan

22:49view in terms of flood extent

22:51reduction. Now, as a part of

23:00evaluating these concepts, we

23:02also looked at the risk of

23:03these projects not being

23:05implementable. And the primary

23:07risk that we noticed were that

23:09they're all related to property

23:11acquisition, stakeholder

23:13coordination and and funding

23:15availability, more so than any

23:17technical or engineering, uh,

23:19feasibility. And for seven A

23:22there will be private property

23:24that's required to be obtained

23:26for some of that. The channel

23:27expansion. And for nine A we

23:29definitely need to coordinate

23:30with CSX and Fort Bragg on any

23:33of these improvements. We noted

23:36the property acquisition and

23:37these agreements as primary

23:39risk, because if others aren't

23:42on board, it's likely these

23:43projects would not be able to

23:44move forward. So we just wanted

23:46to highlight those primary risk

23:48and the manageable risk as far

23:49as engineering concerns are for

23:51us, we're seen as no different

23:53than any other of our

23:54engineering projects and are

23:56manageable from our

23:58perspective. Also, I do want to

24:00note for seven A that is, the

24:01more expensive, uh, concept.

24:04And so funding availability is

24:06critical for for that concept

24:08as well. And that's why in

24:10these next, uh, sections of our

24:11presentation, we'll talk a

24:13little bit about the focus on

24:14the BCR, because the objective

24:16would be to try to make these

24:18projects competitive for grant

24:20funding. And when we prepared

24:26the detailed benefit cost

24:28analysis for these concepts,

24:31what you'll see for concept

24:32seven A, it comes in around

24:34over $46 million, but we are

24:38able to, uh, demonstrate almost

24:41an equal of dollar value in

24:43benefits. And we're able to

24:44achieve a benefit cost ratio

24:46for this project of 0.95, which

24:49is what we put forward in a

24:50grant application for for this

24:52project. Um, for concept nine,

24:55a the benefits far outweigh the

24:58cost of this project. And this

25:00benefit cost ratio comes in at

25:02just over five. And if it were

25:05the case that these project, we

25:06wanted to package these

25:07projects together so that we

25:08could make concept seven a, uh,

25:11be a little closer to a

25:13combined BCR of one or greater

25:16if you were to combine these

25:17projects together, we show a

25:19combined benefit cost ratio of

25:221.34. Now, the benefit cost

25:32analysis only captures avoided

25:34flood damages to structures and

25:37infrastructure. There are other

25:38benefits that we're calling

25:40co-benefits to these projects

25:41that may not always be easy to

25:43put a dollar value to, but we

25:46do want to focus on them here.

25:48Uh, just provide the

25:49information to you about things

25:50that we did observe that could

25:52be co-benefits for these

25:53projects. Uh, one two of these

25:56are improvements to public

25:58spaces and trail and the trails

26:00and also economic development.

26:03Uh, currently with concept

26:05seven, we would likely need to

26:06be replacing most of those

26:08bridges, the pedestrian trail

26:10bridges, because we would be

26:11excavating the channel along

26:13that reach and then segments of

26:15some of some of the trails

26:16would need to also be removed

26:17as a part of that project. And

26:18so we see the benefit of

26:21opportunity here to recreate

26:23the trail. Connections, provide

26:25better accessibility to the

26:27trail segments, also improved

26:30visibility and safety. And it

26:32also create additional

26:34multi-purpose public spaces

26:36along the trails. Just places

26:38for people to go and enjoy.

26:39Once the the creek improvements

26:41are put in place. With these

26:44improvements, in addition to

26:46reduce flood risk and the

26:48properties, we see the

26:50opportunity for economic

26:51development, more, uh,

26:53motivation for development in

26:54the downtown area, higher

26:56property values because of the

26:57lower flood risk and just

26:59increased opportunities for for

27:01downtown activity and

27:03investment. This is what we

27:11would consider calling our

27:12opportunities framework. And I

27:14know there's a lot on this map,

27:15and I just want to focus on a

27:16few key pieces in this, in this

27:19image. But this image is meant

27:21to show opportunities for trail

27:25reconnection, for the addition

27:26of other public spaces for use,

27:28and the enjoyment of the creek

27:30improvements that we're talking

27:31about. I'll start on the left

27:33side of this map, where we call

27:35it the Railroad Gateway. I want

27:36to focus here because what we

27:38see is a real opportunity with

27:40the replacement of the railroad

27:42bridge next to Festival Park

27:44and hopefully potentially

27:45replacement of the bridge on

27:47the main line. If CSX were to

27:49follow through with some other

27:50pass plans to do that, then

27:53there is an opportunity to

27:54connect the trails between

27:56Festival Park and the future

27:58Veterans Park, where the

27:59connector trail will be

28:00located. And we see that as a

28:02real, uh, benefit to the

28:04community, providing access

28:06directly to Festival Park. Now,

28:07the railroads are quite a bit

28:09of a barrier to that. And so

28:11this opportunity would connect,

28:13uh, provide a connection for,

28:15uh, people from Murchison,

28:17Fayetteville State, further up

28:19murchison Avenue to make their

28:20way to the downtown area. And

28:22in an easier way. And that

28:24brings me to Festival Park

28:26area, getting more traffic to

28:28Festival Park, making it more

28:30accessible could then make it

28:32more and more an opportunity

28:33for a festival lawn or a

28:36concert venue to improve what

28:38what is there currently? So

28:39we've placed that on the map

28:42here. As you move downstream

28:45into section D, that is an area

28:49across from the library where

28:50we would propose what we call a

28:52library amphitheater, and that

28:54would serve two purposes. One,

28:56it would be a nice gathering

28:57space and it would complement

28:59the library well. But from an

29:01engineering perspective, we

29:02consider it a bit of a a

29:03spillway, a step down right

29:05now. Uh, Ray Avenue, as you

29:07know, over tops frequently. And

29:09if that bridge were not

29:10replaced ever or for a long

29:11time, what this amphitheater

29:14would allow for would be for

29:15those flows that overtop Ray

29:17and now head down toward the

29:18Masonic Lodge or down Mason

29:20Street. They would then kind of

29:21be directed down this

29:23amphitheater during extreme

29:25storm events, and then into the

29:26stream channel. And so that's a

29:28real engineering feature for

29:30us. But also we feel like it

29:31could be an amenity that we

29:32could add to the park, and it

29:34could, um, supplement the

29:35library programming adjacent to

29:38the library and area B, we've

29:41placed just a theoretical play

29:44playground, which would be

29:45another, uh, public space that

29:47we feel like would be well used

29:49adjacent to the library. And

29:50just provide another, uh,

29:53activity along the trail within

29:55the downtown area. And then

29:58across the bridge there at C.

30:00Currently, that's a parking

30:01lot, a lot of parking there.

30:03And some of that space we're

30:04already proposing to need in

30:06order to add capacity to the

30:08channel. And so there's a real

30:10opportunity, should some of

30:11that property be purchased for

30:13the channel expansion, to

30:14expand that a little further

30:16and convert that into a

30:18flexible parking space for the

30:19downtown area? Now some of this

30:23is a little harder to imagine

30:24in your mind just from a map

30:26like this. So we've created a

30:27few renderings to maybe help

30:28put put you in the scene.

30:30Doesn't mean that any of this

30:31has been engineered or

30:32designed, but these are just

30:34ideas of what this could look

30:36like from a perspective of

30:37someone being in some of these

30:38spaces. And first, I'll start

30:40with the railroad gateway that

30:42I mentioned. First, you'll see

30:44the trail connection underneath

30:45the railroad, and then in the

30:47distance you'd be looking

30:48towards. The potential, um,

30:51amphitheater, uh, improvement

30:53within Festival Park. And then

30:55we placed what we consider a

30:56signature feature bridge

30:58connection over the creek would

31:00be maybe like an entry point

31:02into the concert venue. And we

31:05just see this as kind of a way

31:06to envision what this could be,

31:08could be, look totally

31:09different in your minds than

31:10what's here. But just wanted to

31:11kind of inspire everyone here

31:13for for what some of this could

31:15look like. The next rendering

31:21we have, rendering we have here

31:23is of the library amphitheater

31:25I spoke to, I spoke about that

31:27would help guide some overflows

31:29during extreme events down to

31:31the Creek Channel, but also it

31:33provides a space for gathering.

31:35There's a connecting bridge

31:36over to the library. It's

31:38higher visibility. It gives a

31:41sense of more safety, people

31:42being seen where they are on

31:44the trail. You also see the

31:45playground in the background

31:47next to the library, which is a

31:48nice compliment to library

31:50goers. And then through this

31:52figure, also able to see a

31:53perspective of some of the

31:54retaining walls. We're talking

31:55about. Retaining walls can

31:57often sound like that would not

31:58be attractive or look very

31:59nice, but they often blend in

32:01well and are they are very

32:03useful. Uh, from the

32:05perspective of providing that

32:07capacity that we need in the

32:08channel, in this, in this reach

32:10of the channel. And the last

32:15rendering we have here is of

32:17the open park space that I

32:19showed you in area C, which is

32:20currently a parking lot behind

32:22the dogwood building. It just

32:23provides a place for folks

32:25downtown, maybe people working

32:27downtown to have lunch, enjoy

32:29the space, enjoy the creek.

32:31There would be a bridge

32:32connection across and then

32:33connect into that existing

32:34trail that already exists. Uh,

32:36and then you're able here to

32:37see what some of those

32:39retaining walls might look

32:40like, how that could look with

32:41the stream restoration project,

32:43we talked about. And now I've

32:50reviewed all the flood

32:51reduction benefits as well as

32:53the benefit cost ratios that we

32:55talked about for these

32:56projects, as well as some of

32:58these co-benefits. And with all

33:00of the evaluation that we

33:01prepared, our recommendation

33:03would be to advance concepts

33:05seven A and nine A to what we

33:07call a coordination and funding

33:09phase. The immediate actions of

33:11this phase would be to initiate

33:13property owner coordination for

33:15concept seven, a initiate CSX

33:18and Fort Bragg coordination for

33:20concept nine, A, and two for

33:22sure a pursuit grant funding

33:25opportunities Council has

33:26elected for us to do this

33:28study, and we have a lot of

33:29good information in this study.

33:30We have all the numbers we need

33:31to prepare a competitive grant

33:33application. And so that that

33:35for sure is something that we

33:36would recommend, uh, moving

33:37forward with in the next phase

33:39of this project. Um, I have

33:42placed an implement

33:43implementation strategy note

33:45here, I just want to make

33:46council aware that because of

33:48the existing bridges at the

33:50railroad or the structures at

33:51the railroad, crossings are so

33:53prohibitive and they they

33:54restrict flow that if we were

33:56to do the project first, we

33:57were to replace the culverts at

33:59the railroad crossing. It's

34:01likely that you would see

34:02increased flooding downstream

34:03without placing the downstream

34:05channel. Improvements in place.

34:07And so just want to make that

34:09that recommendation here. And

34:11with that, thank you for your

34:12time. And I'll pass it over to

34:14Jim to review our options and

34:16the recommended action.

34:21Thank you Tom. Thank you

34:22Matthew. Before we. Before we

34:29move into questions, wanted to

34:31formalize the options in front

34:33of you today. First we wanted

34:35to the first option is to

34:37authorize that we progress this

34:39project from the current 15%

34:41design level that you had

34:42previously authorized, to a 30%

34:45design level to add the things

34:47that Tom just mentioned,

34:48communication with CSX further

34:50developed those cost ratios.

34:52Uh, look at funding options and

34:54look at the development of the,

34:56uh, the co-benefits. Um, we are

34:59very aware this is nowhere near

35:01yet been confirmed as a viable

35:03project that way. We're

35:04proposing to do this in small

35:06steps so we don't take a giant

35:07step and have to ever, ever go

35:09back. So we're currently at a

35:1115% level. We're asking only to

35:14progress to the 30% level. And

35:17we do already have funding in

35:19the budget to progress the 30%

35:21level. So it would not require

35:23any additional budget.

35:28Modifications. And of course,

35:30the other option is to not

35:31authorize that and to provide

35:33further direction to us on on

35:35how to proceed or not to

35:36proceed. And we staff recommend

35:38that you authorize that we

35:39progress the analysis of the

35:41Cross Creek channel from the

35:43current 15% level to the 30%

35:45level. And with that, we'll be

35:48willing to answer any questions

35:49you have or do our best to do

35:51so.

35:51Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you.

35:52Mr. Jim did have a couple of

35:54questions. Have, uh, Council

35:55Member Green, uh, I had a

35:58question in Mayor Pro Tem and

35:59Jones. That order.

36:01Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, do we

36:04have any. Have we had or do we

36:07have any relationship with CSX?

36:09They're not really known for

36:10their willingness to be a team

36:12player in most anything that

36:14gets done. I spent 32 years

36:16being their first 22ft of

36:20property that they own

36:21downtown, and it's not a

36:23pleasant experience most of the

36:24time. So I'm just wondering if

36:26you guys have any experience or

36:29how we because that's your

36:31first big hurdle. As I see it.

36:33Yes, I have had the same

36:35experience in my career of

36:37dealing with CSX and any

36:39railroad, essentially at least

36:41any of the big ones. Right now

36:42we are working on the Russell

36:44Person Bridge replacement

36:46project, which involves a CSX

36:48railroad bridge down the middle

36:49of Russell Street. And I am

36:51shocked to report that our

36:53relations with them have been

36:55very, very good. I'm I'm a

36:58little amazed myself, but they

37:00are being very responsive.

37:03They're being fairly

37:04reasonable. Uh, there's still

37:05the railroad, but it has gone,

37:08in my humble opinion, way

37:09better than any project I've

37:11ever dealt with a railroad in

37:13my career to date.

37:14They watched the meetings to

37:15now.

37:17Well, let's hope they keep up

37:18that good. I am not known for

37:21that.

37:21They are not and not. But I am

37:23optimistic that we have created

37:25some good relationships that we

37:26could hopefully use to expand

37:28and continue that on this

37:30particular project.

37:32Okay. Thank you.

37:34CSX, you're doing a great job.

37:35So we just need to say that.

37:36All right. Mayor Pro Tem thank

37:38you. Mayor.

37:38Um, I'm no engineer, but I do

37:41have a I believe in my mind, a

37:43logical question for a flood

37:46mitigation. Isn't it better to

37:48increase the size of the

37:49culvert so the water can move a

37:51lot faster? You mentioned that

37:52you have a 13 by 15. Two of

37:54them over the Green Street

37:56Bridge. Before you do this

37:59stream excavation to enhance, I

38:03guess, the depth that you want

38:04to do from five feet, from 3ft

38:06to 5ft, from 5ft to 9ft,

38:09wouldn't it be beneficial for

38:10us to work on the street, the

38:12Green Street Bridge first? So

38:14when a 100 year storm does

38:15come, we're not continuously

38:16having that flooding?

38:17Absolutely. Let me go back and

38:20show you what. So this slide is

38:25showing the two smaller

38:27rectangles. Show the conveyance

38:30area currently today under the

38:32Green Street Bridge. So all the

38:33all the water would need to run

38:35through those two smaller

38:37rectangles. The proposal is the

38:39much larger, grayer area. Below

38:42the green you can see a much

38:44larger cross-sectional area.

38:46Ability to convey water. And

38:48yes, that is very significant.

38:51Uh, in the success of this

38:53project.

38:54Yes. And my follow up question

38:55is, out of the two projects,

38:57seven and nine, I see why you

38:59combine them both and ask for

39:01both and all the funding. But

39:02you are going to do these in

39:03stages where you're going to do

39:04seven before you do nine, or

39:06vice versa.

39:06I do not know that we have made

39:08that decision yet. It would

39:10certainly depend on what

39:12funding opportunities we had.

39:14You can see we have a much

39:15better BCA for concept nine.

39:19But as Tom mentioned, there are

39:21potential hydraulic

39:23implications of doing that one

39:24first. And in that regard, it

39:26makes more sense to do concept

39:28seven a first. So we are not to

39:31that stage yet. That's why

39:32we're asking to progress to the

39:3430% stage, because we have not

39:36we really don't have enough

39:37information to make that

39:38decision yet.

39:40Did you want to add Miss Sheila

39:42Thomas?

39:43Um, Tom mentioned at the end

39:45that you want to do the

39:47downstream project first before

39:48you do the upstream project,

39:49because you do the no. You want

39:51to do. Yes. Correct. You want

39:52to do that before the upstream,

39:53because what you don't want is

39:55to open the flood waters

39:56downstream without having a

39:58capacity to absorb it in the,

39:59in the downstream side. Gotcha.

40:01So you want to do the projects

40:03together and and definitely the

40:05downstream would be my

40:06recommendation that the

40:07downstream is done before the

40:08upstream.

40:09I gotcha. One final question,

40:10Mr. Mayor. You got me upside

40:12here. When I seen the view of

40:13what it could look like. Uh,

40:15but you mentioned a retaining

40:17wall. Why? It's retaining wall

40:18just on one side and not on

40:19both sides. Because if you go

40:20to New Orleans, where they had

40:22major flooding, they got

40:23retaining walls all the way

40:25down both sides. So is that

40:27something that's feasible or.

40:30The levee is.

40:31Sure from that, uh, rendering

40:34that you saw at least where the

40:36amphitheater was, that wouldn't

40:37be a retaining wall, because

40:39we're looking to step that flow

40:40back into the stream channel.

40:42But if you were to be able to

40:43see further down, you would see

40:45the retaining wall pick back

40:46up. And so the intent would be

40:48to have those on both sides.

40:49Yeah.

40:49Thank you sir.

40:50Thank you mayor. Uh-Uh.

40:52All right. Mr. Jim, question

40:54for you. So, uh, Miss Sheila,

40:56since you've been here, right,

40:58our stormwater needs have gone

41:01from, you know, this is Dino's

41:03favorite quote. What was it?

41:04Dino is 500 million to 1

41:07billion. It's billion.

41:08For.

41:08Right? 1.4. All right. So we've

41:10seen that. And we we know that

41:12as a as a inflationary cost of

41:15large projects of 20, 30% a

41:17year. So we're looking at this.

41:19If the if the policy decision

41:21is made that says, hey, we want

41:23to do it, we know you can't do

41:25one before or without doing the

41:27other. As you just said. Why

41:29wouldn't you ask us for

41:32permission to proceed so that

41:34we're not back here after 30%?

41:36So in other words, you go from

41:3715 to 30 and that may take 12

41:39to 18 months. Then then you'll

41:41be back to ask for 30 to 50.

41:44And then by that time, at 25 to

41:4730% of inflation. Isn't the

41:49cost of this project gone from

41:5050 million to 60 5 or 70?

41:55We, uh, our main goal here is

41:57to put in for grant funding.

41:58It's about a $60 million

42:00project. And so with the 30%

42:02design, we feel like the

42:03process for us as as we work

42:04through 30% design, which is

42:06discussions with the property

42:07owners, as well as fine tuning

42:09that BCR analysis, we'll be

42:12comfortable in putting for

42:13grant funding. Uh, certainly as

42:15we get to that 30% stage, at

42:17that point, we would have more

42:19information regarding property

42:20owner participation as well as

42:23what our opportunities look

42:24like for grant funding. And at

42:25that point, we need to come

42:26back to council and say,

42:28listen, we have en have not

42:29been successful in this grant

42:31opportunity. Is it Council's

42:32preference to move forward with

42:33this project regardless? But

42:35we.

42:35Say yes, ma'am, and I

42:37understand that. I'm not saying

42:38necessarily that, um, you have

42:40to execute at the pace that

42:41that we do. Our part is the

42:43policy and budget. So if the

42:44policy decision is made to say,

42:45hey, we're going to receive

42:47relief flooding and we want to

42:48bring some additional, um,

42:51gathering spaces. Uh, at the

42:53same time, beautification

42:54downtown, then as you work

42:57through those things, because

42:58oftentimes if you go through 1

43:00or 2 years of grant cycles,

43:01even if you got a grant by the

43:02time you have to match, has

43:04inflation may reduced the

43:07benefit of that. You know, that

43:08that you're holding in a pause

43:10pattern. Um, to apply for

43:12grants that you may get this

43:13year or you may be a couple of

43:14rounds before you get it. So

43:16I'm just trying to to say, is

43:18there an opportunity to do

43:19maybe a design build that said

43:22that we get you to another

43:24state from a policy perspective

43:25and you executed at the pace

43:27you need to? We understand that

43:28you need to acquire property.

43:30We understand you need to to do

43:31certain things. But from our

43:33ask, is it necessary that we

43:35make decisions incrementally at

43:3715% stages?

43:38No, you can certainly make us.

43:40You can provide us the

43:41council's recommendations on

43:43how you want to move forward in

43:44this project period, and we'll

43:45take it from there.

43:46Gotcha. All right. So the

43:47question.

43:47A guarded approach because of

43:49the high dollar.

43:50I just saw, NCDOT does a lot of

43:52building. And in design build

43:54and all in one motion. And so

43:56so basically they'll they'll

43:57they'll authorize something and

43:59then then uh, it'll get to a

44:01point of design and then it'll

44:02get to a point of building.

44:03Yeah. And I think the design

44:04build is a really good option

44:06for us. Once we get past 30%,

44:08we really want to engage in

44:09those property owner

44:10discussions because as you can

44:11see, these are downtown

44:12footprint properties. And they

44:14they may be extended dialogues

44:16there. They may be um,

44:17condemnation and so on and so

44:19forth. So we want to make sure

44:19that we engage in those

44:21conversations and come back to

44:22you with a more, a wider answer

44:24before we, you know, sort of

44:25move forward in the in the

44:26design build option. But I

44:27think design build could be a

44:29real good option once we get

44:30past 30%. Okay.

44:32All right. Thank you. All

44:33right. Councilmember Jones

44:34McMillan.

44:35Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I

44:36miss Sheila answered my

44:38question, so I'll see. Thank

44:39you.

44:40Councilmember McMillan.

44:41I want to start with thanks.

44:43Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, thank

44:44you for the gift of synthesis.

44:46Thank you for breaking down the

44:47highly technical, uh, offering

44:50into something that was

44:51palatable, understandable. Uh,

44:53thank you, Sheila, for

44:54addressing the question. The

44:55main question I had, which was

44:56about impact to the the

44:58property owners and what what

45:00the process going forward would

45:02look like for them. Uh, want to

45:03note that it would be great for

45:05the council to hear from them

45:06early and often, uh, as we move

45:09forward. I had a question about

45:11time overall. Uh, and if these

45:13concepts were approved, what

45:15are we looking like looking at

45:16in terms of completion dates?

45:18And then also I had a question

45:20about connection to some of

45:22those beautiful renderings. The

45:24idea of what this looks like in

45:25the end, see some opportunities

45:27for collaboration, especially

45:28with the county, have seen what

45:30other, uh, other cities have

45:32done with the library systems.

45:34Uh, and understanding those are

45:36become a place where the public

45:38identifies as safe as, as

45:40wonderful and see potential

45:42here as well. And, and was

45:44wondering if there's, if

45:45there's been any initial

45:46conversations with Cumberland

45:48County about, uh, this building

45:50up of the space around the

45:52libraries.

45:55Well, I'll go we we have

45:57already discussed internally a

45:59little bit about timing and

46:00what kind of scheduling we

46:01could do if we had the money

46:04today and authorization to

46:07pursue, pursue 100% of this

46:10right now, the best we could

46:11possibly do would be five

46:13years. Um, and that's probably

46:15even a little optimistic. And

46:17since we, we don't really have

46:19that kind of assurances, we're

46:21probably more like in the ten

46:22year range, uh, to make this a

46:25reality. But, um, there are so

46:27many factors in there that it's

46:29hard to, to put a number on

46:30that at this point in the

46:31process. But the best you could

46:33ever hope for would be five

46:35years. The other question

46:36regarding Cumberland County,

46:38uh, they're on our list of

46:40people to talk to. That's why

46:41we're we're asking to go

46:43forward this next step to

46:45excuse me, why the the circle

46:47of people involved in this

46:49process and get their input and

46:51their buy in and their

46:52perspectives on what they might

46:54want to see, how this might

46:55want to be tweaked.

46:58Mister Jim, what would this

46:59project cost in ten years?

47:03Based on, you know, projected

47:06rates based on how things are

47:07now?

47:08You know, right now we're,

47:09what, about 50 million, maybe

47:12above 50 million. You know, if

47:14I was that kind of economic

47:16expert, I'd be working on Wall

47:17Street. I, I do not know the

47:20answer to that question, sir.

47:23Uh.

47:23Do you want to add some, uh,

47:25some responses, particularly as

47:27you talk about design, build

47:2930% design and where we can be

47:31in terms of design and

47:32construction.

47:33Sure. Um, yeah, just a couple

47:35of things. And these are all

47:36really great questions. Um,

47:38one, I did want to note.

47:40Councilmember McMillan. Uh, we

47:41did one of the early stages of

47:42this was looking at other

47:44communities and where they have

47:45similar types of, you know,

47:46access to streams and using

47:48that to get some inspiration

47:50for what this area might look

47:52like and that sort of thing.

47:52And really, to your question

47:54about schedule as well as the

47:55overall funding, you know, a

47:57big part of this effort is to

47:59take this incremental look so

48:01we can identify those potential

48:04pitfalls very early. This is

48:06the type of project that

48:06requires a lot of coordination.

48:08And so we're trying to identify

48:09those things early on. So we're

48:10not, you know, underway with

48:12the project. And then hit a

48:14year or a multi year delay

48:15because you have a stakeholder

48:16that's not on board or some

48:18some new thing. So I think that

48:19is I as Jim mentioned, like

48:22these projects take time, but

48:24we're trying to be as

48:25expeditious as possible and

48:27identify those potential

48:28roadblocks as early as possible

48:30so that it can go smoothly from

48:31there. And that leads into, as

48:33Sheila was saying, um, you

48:35know, design build is is an

48:37option to consider. Now to get

48:39into a design build package,

48:41you have to have some of that

48:42preliminary work done so that

48:44you can get a design builder on

48:46board that understands what

48:47they're what they're working

48:48with. And that's really, you

48:49know, the way we're taking this

48:51approach, um, could fit very

48:53well into that. And design

48:55build in particular is becoming

48:56increasingly common for stream

48:58restoration projects such as

49:01this one. You know, as we do a

49:02lot of the a lot of engineering

49:05upfront, but there's

49:07undoubtedly going to be some

49:08unknown, um, you know,

49:10geotechnical conditions, other

49:12things that you may come across

49:13and that design, build,

49:14delivery model can help in that

49:16instance with the overall

49:17schedule of implementation and

49:19kind of streamline some of that

49:20process. So that's something

49:21we'd be happy to share moving

49:23forward. You know, a bit more

49:23about what that would look like

49:24for this particular project.

49:26All right. So, Councilman

49:27Davis, did you take your light

49:28off? Yes, sir, I was ready.

49:31Uh, if there's no questions, I

49:32want to follow up. Okay.

49:33All right. Mayor Pro Tem, and

49:34I'll come back to you.

49:35Thank you. Mayor, uh,

49:38gentlemen, let me just say that

49:41our mayor has us forward

49:43thinking. We're thinking about

49:44what we want our city to look

49:46like ten, 15, 20 years from

49:48now, when most of us won't be

49:51on council. I think you guys

49:53have portrayed that well with

49:54our stormwater mitigation and

49:56what we can see, what our

49:57downtown would look like. I

49:59think it's a great schematic. I

50:01think it's a great plan. I

50:02think we as legislators of

50:05council need to start thinking

50:06about that and how we fund

50:07that. So Future Councils has a

50:09foundation of where we want

50:11them to go. Thank you guys for

50:12a great presentation. Thank you

50:13mayor.

50:14Thank you. And I'll go to

50:15Councilman Davis. As you look

50:16to the communities, Greenville,

50:17South Carolina kind of looks

50:18real similar to that. Did you

50:19all analyze that?

50:22Yes we did. Yeah, that was

50:24certainly one of the examples.

50:25And as folks that have been

50:26there know like that that area

50:28has been a revitalization and

50:30that's, you know, uh, was an

50:32inspiration for, first of all,

50:33what we looked at here for

50:34sure.

50:35All right. Councilman Davis.

50:36Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, thank

50:38you all for the presentation.

50:40I'm just glad to see that this

50:41will help. Catalyst like one. I

50:43think we just. Council just

50:44made a motion on Monday. Um,

50:46for housing. But, uh, I look

50:48forward to this project being

50:49completed. So at this time, Mr.

50:50Mayor, I'm ready to prepare a

50:51motion. Uh, give me one second.

50:55Where are you all laughing? My

50:56colleagues are laughing because

50:57I was very going to hold on

50:58Monday, but. All right, mayor,

51:00I would like to authorize the

51:01progression of the analysis of

51:03the Cross Creek channel

51:04improvement from the current

51:0615% level to 30% level,

51:08including additional of

51:10communication with CSX,

51:12refinement of a cost benefit

51:13ratios, investigation of

51:15funding options, and advanced

51:16development of co-benefits.

51:18And also to now, if just as a

51:21part of the consideration I

51:22think he's. You got a second

51:24ready uh, also to if there's

51:26any kind of downtown urban plan

51:28that includes this footprint to

51:29make sure that there's some

51:31communication between between

51:33all of that. So that sort of

51:34when the planners over here,

51:36they they have the full

51:37visibility of it. But, um,

51:39Councilman Hondros second. All

51:41right. Discussion. At council.

51:44Look to you for your votes on

51:45that. All right, Madam Clerk.

51:51Unanimous by those voting.

51:53Thank you all good. Good job

51:55guys. All right. 6.03 Miss

52:00Sheila. That's your team again.

52:02A lot of stormwater today on it.

52:06Hello.

52:07Hi. Thank you. Good afternoon.

52:25Mayor. Mayor Pro tem, members

52:26of city council. I am Doctor

52:28Haven Caswell. I'm a senior

52:30project manager here in the

52:31Department of Public Services.

52:33And I am now managing the

52:35watershed Master plan program.

52:37So I'm here today along with

52:40Sam Ellis from Kimberly Horn to

52:41present to you the. Just an

52:43update about the Watershed

52:44Master Plan program, as well as

52:45the top proposed solutions from

52:46the Cape Fear One Watershed. So

52:50just, what this presentation

52:52will outline. I'm going to

52:53discuss just an overview about

52:55the studies, as well as a

52:56summary of the proposed

52:57solutions to date. And then I

52:59will pass the presentation

53:01along over to Sam. And then

53:02finally, um, provide options

53:04and recommendations. So how did

53:11this all begin? Well, I'm sure

53:13you all are aware, um, the city

53:15has faced some significant

53:16flood mitigation challenges

53:18during extreme events like

53:19hurricanes, as well as smaller,

53:22more intense rainfall events.

53:24And so after a series of large

53:26hurricanes and some devastating

53:27impacts, city leaders directed

53:29staff to accelerate the

53:30stormwater um, Capital

53:32Improvement Program through

53:33comprehensive watershed

53:35studies. So in 2018, um, the

53:39Watershed Master Plan program

53:40was launched to study and

53:42address flooding across the

53:43city. So determine where we

53:48would study throughout the

53:50city. Um, the city worked with

53:52Freeze and Nichols to complete

53:53a high level rain on mesh study

53:55and identify areas which are

53:57shown in yellow on the map that

53:59would move forward. For more

54:00detailed analysis, these areas

54:02were identified based on four

54:04different factors those being

54:06flooded roads, emergency

54:08facilities, disconnected

54:09structures, and impacts to

54:11structures. These areas

54:13resulting from the model as

54:15high priority, were vetted

54:17against flood. The Flood

54:19Complaint Database, in

54:21conjunction with conversations

54:22with city staff and so roughly

54:24the areas in yellow are high

54:26priority subbasins, and those

54:28are about 25% of the city's

54:31area. Within the city

54:33boundaries. Um, we evaluated

54:35those areas for severity of

54:36flooding, scored those concern

54:38areas, and further refined the

54:39areas to develop proposed

54:41solutions. And so today, here

54:46is some data on the proposed

54:47solutions developed thus far.

54:49This also includes information

54:51from the Cape Fear one

54:52watershed. Just to orient you

54:54to the Cape Fear one watershed.

54:55It is the easternmost watershed

54:58on the city's boundary. As you

54:59can see it highlighted on the

55:01far right hand side in this

55:02map. Um, on the green polygon,

55:04um, it's a rather larger

55:05watershed. However, um, it is

55:08smaller within the city limit

55:11boundaries. And so with the

55:13proposed solutions developed

55:14thus far, 282 priority one

55:17subbasins have been studied.

55:19Out of those subbasins, 451

55:23concern areas have been

55:24selected, and then 432 proposed

55:28solutions have been developed.

55:29Now, these proposed solutions

55:31help to mitigate impacted lane

55:32length on the number of

55:33traverse road crossings. The

55:35number of disconnected

55:36structures, as well as the

55:38number of impacted structures

55:40and the current estimated total

55:42cost of all 432 proposed

55:46solutions is about $1.4

55:49billion. And so, just as an

55:52update of the watershed program

55:54as a whole, um, 11 of the 15

55:56watershed studies have been

55:57sealed. The remaining four

55:59watershed studies are all in

56:01progress and all nearing

56:02completion. One watershed study

56:04will be sealed next month. One

56:07will present the proposed

56:08solutions today. So that's the

56:09Cape Fear one watershed. And

56:11then the final two will present

56:13a proposed solutions update in

56:16early 2027. So once again, just

56:19as a recap, we have over 430

56:21proposed solutions developed

56:22thus far, with an estimated

56:24cost of 1.4 billion. And within

56:26this program, we have 16

56:28projects that are in design and

56:29construction. From the studies

56:31to date. And so with that, I'm

56:33going to hand it over to Sam to

56:34talk in more detail about the

56:36Cape Fear one watershed.

56:41All right. Thank you. So as

56:44Haven mentioned, um, for Cape

56:46Fear, we have this very large

56:49area, but we really just

56:50focused on within the city

56:52limits. And so within that

56:54area, we evaluated and

56:57determined that there were 33

56:59concern areas, focused on 27 of

57:01them to move forward, and

57:03proposed 13 solutions. As

57:05several of those solutions had

57:07multiple benefits of the

57:08concern areas. And so I'm just

57:10going to give some statistics

57:12here on the basin. And then

57:13we'll go through just a few of

57:14the top proposed solutions and

57:16finish it out. So pretty quick

57:18overall. Um, so here we have,

57:20we identified about five and a

57:22half miles of impacted lane

57:24length. Uh, we resolved about a

57:26mile of that. And the reason

57:27that that's not higher is just

57:29due to the fact that anything

57:31that's above zero inches,

57:33whether that's decimals, uh, is

57:35still unresolved, even though

57:37we did resolve, in some cases,

57:39a few feet of flooding on the

57:40roads, it just wasn't

57:41completely clear in these storm

57:43events. Um, but we resolved the

57:45number of traverse road

57:46crossings and any impacted

57:48structures that were impacted

57:49in a smaller storm. Events like

57:51the ten year and most of them

57:53in the 25 and 50, uh, and so

57:55the current cost, where we are

57:57with our proposed solution set

57:58is about 50.7 million. And so

58:02I'll start with our first

58:03proposed solution here. This is

58:05our biggest one. And one of the

58:07the main concerns. So just to

58:11orient you we've got MLK Junior

58:13Parkway and Ramsay Street. Um,

58:16and then the area of more

58:18concern is this Wiley Street

58:20and Orange Street area. Um, and

58:23so just again, for your

58:25understanding, um, there's

58:27about two feet of flooding and

58:29even a ten year event, uh,

58:30there's several structures that

58:31are impacted. And our proposed

58:33solution here is up sizing a

58:35lot of the pipes. And, uh,

58:37adding inlets, expanding

58:38channel capacity, all to just

58:40be able to get more water into

58:42the system. And so we have

58:43concern area scores here.

58:45They're not as high as maybe

58:46some others, but that is mainly

58:48due to the fact that this area

58:50is just a bowl. Uh, and so

58:52water just tends to sit there.

58:53Um, whereas a lot of the

58:55concern area scores are

58:57weighted high when there's a

58:58lot of velocity. And in this

59:00case it's not really a lot of

59:01water movement. It's more just

59:03the water sits there, impacts

59:05the homes and really has

59:06nowhere to go. So in that case,

59:08that's why you see a slightly

59:10lower concern area scores. But

59:12we are resolving all of the

59:13impacted structures. A lot of

59:16the lane length and the

59:17estimated cost here is about

59:1916.6 million. And again, that's

59:22due to the fact of the amount

59:23of improvements that are

59:24needed. A lot of larger pipes

59:26through here with long lengths.

59:29Um, and so just for y'all's

59:31benefit, uh, we are aware of

59:33complaints in this area and

59:35these are some pictures from

59:372020 of just larger rainfall

59:39events. And you can see here

59:41again, there's just water just

59:42sitting there with nowhere to

59:43go up against folks houses. And

59:46uh, and on the streets to. And

59:51so then the next solution here

59:53is on Copenhagen Drive. And

59:55just for again orientation,

59:58we've got the Cape Fear River

1:00:00trail is right below this. Or,

1:00:02you know, East Page South, I

1:00:04guess I should say. And then we

1:00:05also have a railroad that you

1:00:07don't see here. And as the last

1:00:09presentation pointed out, we

1:00:11did try and minimize any

1:00:12improvements that had to do

1:00:13with the railroad. But

1:00:15sometimes you just can't, can't

1:00:17help it. And so in this case,

1:00:19we are proposing some

1:00:20improvements. Uh, the culvert

1:00:22under the railroad, because

1:00:23what we

1:00:24Saw is that this this railroad

1:00:26is holding back a lot of water

1:00:27impacting the houses upstream

1:00:29and actually the way that we

1:00:32needed to upsize pipes. You can

1:00:34kind of see it in this picture.

1:00:36Um, there are two. The pipe

1:00:38today goes between two of the

1:00:40houses very close together.

1:00:42There's really no room. Any

1:00:43other improvements. So we've

1:00:46actually recommended acquiring

1:00:48the property, demoing the house

1:00:49and putting in a larger pipe

1:00:51that is actually more cost

1:00:52effective than any of the other

1:00:54solutions that we looked at in

1:00:55the area. And so in this case,

1:00:57again, we're looking at about

1:00:59$5.5 million for this. Uh, it

1:01:01it resolves some flooding for

1:01:03habitable structures as well as

1:01:05impacted lane length. And then

1:01:08these final two proposed

1:01:09solutions, these are a phased

1:01:12project. So we have a lot of

1:01:13water that's going downstream

1:01:16into more of a wetland area.

1:01:18And so we're focused first on

1:01:20this concern area 18 on

1:01:22Randolph Avenue. Um so today

1:01:24the pipes are undersized. We

1:01:26recommend up sizing them. And

1:01:28we're able to add an outfall

1:01:30without taking out a property.

1:01:31So that's that's good. Um, in

1:01:33this case we're able to add one

1:01:35more to the west where there's

1:01:38room and not have to touch the

1:01:40pipe that's going through. And

1:01:42in between two structures

1:01:43today. Um, and so with that, we

1:01:46have about $2 million worth of

1:01:48estimated cost. It resolves

1:01:50flooding for, for habitable

1:01:52structures. Um, and again, it's

1:01:54phase one of two. And so you

1:01:56can see that the picture did

1:01:57not change at all because now

1:01:58we're just focused on the top

1:02:00part. Um, along Woodcliff

1:02:02Drive. And in that case, we're

1:02:04just up sizing some pipes to

1:02:06help with some flooding. Um,

1:02:08we're removing a lot of the

1:02:09flooding that's occurring on

1:02:10the road. Um, as well as two

1:02:12impacted habitable structures.

1:02:14And so that cost is also about

1:02:172.5 million. Um, and this is,

1:02:19again, the phase two of two.

1:02:21And so that's all I have. And I

1:02:24will give it back to Haven.

1:02:29So here are our options in um,

1:02:31recommendation for you all. Um,

1:02:33so the first being that you all

1:02:35provide consensus to approve

1:02:36the 13 proposed solutions from

1:02:38the Cape Fear one watershed

1:02:39study to enable staff to

1:02:41program them into the annual

1:02:42CIP prioritization process and

1:02:45pursue grants, as applicable.

1:02:47Um, the second being that you

1:02:48do not provide consensus and um

1:02:51remains back to staff with

1:02:52additional guidance. Um, but we

1:02:54recommend to provide consensus

1:02:56to approve the 13 proposed

1:02:57solutions into the CIP

1:02:59prioritization process and

1:03:00pursue the grants. And that

1:03:02completes our presentation for

1:03:03you all today.

1:03:04Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem.

1:03:06Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you

1:03:08for the presentation. Uh,

1:03:09ma'am, I didn't get your name,

1:03:10but the young lady was given a

1:03:13presentation and I annotated

1:03:14that. She mentioned five times.

1:03:17Pipes that are undersized. How

1:03:19do we determine what size pipes

1:03:22go? Where and when do we decide

1:03:24that they need to be changed?

1:03:26And how come it takes a study

1:03:27to let us know that they need

1:03:29to be changed?

1:03:32So, I mean, we can tell in

1:03:34general if a pipe is

1:03:36undersized, if there's a lot of

1:03:37flooding, we may be able to

1:03:38determine that. But the best

1:03:39way to do it is through

1:03:40modeling, which is what this

1:03:42whole watershed project is

1:03:43about, is putting all of this

1:03:46through a model and being able

1:03:47to understand, okay, based on

1:03:49the storm event, is there

1:03:51enough capacity in this pipe,

1:03:53uh, in order to flow, uh, with

1:03:56with the amount of water in the

1:03:57storm? And so, um, what we're

1:04:00able to determine is

1:04:03essentially all of these

1:04:04slides, if you go back here

1:04:06with their green, red, yellow,

1:04:09all of those indicate that they

1:04:10are meeting a level of service.

1:04:12And so in this case, we're

1:04:14trying to meet larger levels of

1:04:16service, meaning that we can

1:04:17pass larger storm events in the

1:04:19pipes. And so with the the red

1:04:22pipes are indicating we can't

1:04:23even pass a five year event. So

1:04:25a very frequent storm.

1:04:27So help me understand one

1:04:28thing. If you put a larger pipe

1:04:30in, say you put a 15 foot, 15

1:04:33foot culvert in, but you still

1:04:35doesn't have mitigation

1:04:36downstream, isn't it still

1:04:37going to back up no matter what

1:04:39size you put in there to cause

1:04:40flooding?

1:04:41It? It depends. Um, I the it

1:04:45really depends on the if what

1:04:47is happening downstream. So in

1:04:49a lot of cases here, there's a

1:04:51larger area that we're again

1:04:53modeling to see if there's any

1:04:55downstream impacts. Um, but a

1:04:57lot of times these undersized

1:04:58pipes, the problem is that

1:04:59they're backing up water

1:05:01upstream. And so then when you

1:05:03make the larger pipe, it does

1:05:04allow water to flow down. And

1:05:06that doesn't necessarily mean

1:05:07all the time that we're

1:05:08flooding downstream. But

1:05:09through any of these projects,

1:05:11we make sure, um, as part of

1:05:12our proposed solutions that we

1:05:14are not impacting anything

1:05:17more. So there's no increase in

1:05:19flood levels downstream as part

1:05:20of these solutions.

1:05:22Thank you ma'am. Thank you.

1:05:23Mayor.

1:05:24Council. Hondros. Oh I'm sorry,

1:05:26I think Jones and Hondros.

1:05:28Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh,

1:05:30first, thanks for the

1:05:31presentation. Uh, I just wanted

1:05:32to make a comment. I, I

1:05:34sincerely appreciate the way

1:05:36that you are showing the public

1:05:38the solutions included. Uh, I

1:05:40had an area in my district, the

1:05:42Sunbury Needham Drive area, and

1:05:44a lot of culvert work. I think

1:05:45it was like, $7 million worth.

1:05:48Uh, so I understand that, but I

1:05:49love the I appreciate you

1:05:51sharing the number of

1:05:52solutions, because many times

1:05:54I'll get well, why does the

1:05:55city do so many studies? And,

1:05:58uh, especially as it relates to

1:05:59infrastructure? Well, you just

1:06:01gave us not only potentially a

1:06:04problem, but you gave us

1:06:05solutions to that. So, uh, for

1:06:07the public, one of the reasons

1:06:09we have to do studies, we we

1:06:10don't want to throw money at an

1:06:12issue and be ineffective. We

1:06:14want to know what the problem

1:06:16is. If other underlying

1:06:17problems exist, what's the best

1:06:19course of action and what

1:06:22actual solution or solutions

1:06:24would actually give us the best

1:06:25benefit. So I just wanted to

1:06:27appreciate the fact that you're

1:06:29showing that I know it's a, a,

1:06:30a Nat routine. Part of your

1:06:32study, of your presentations,

1:06:34but it really means a lot to

1:06:35help the public understand

1:06:37sometimes study we have to do

1:06:39the studies. I know that look

1:06:41at costs and look at this and

1:06:42that, and I understand that

1:06:43aspect. But it has a great, a

1:06:45great, great benefit to that.

1:06:47Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you

1:06:48all for the presentation.

1:06:50Councilman Hondros.

1:06:51Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just

1:06:52wanted to add the, you know,

1:06:54the 1.4 billion we've talked

1:06:56about that's kind of continues

1:06:58to balloon. And there's a lot

1:06:59of factors for that. But

1:07:00mainly, uh, obviously inflation

1:07:02has a big role to do with that.

1:07:03But the other part is

1:07:04identifying the projects. And

1:07:06you can it's one thing to

1:07:07identify them. But then

1:07:08actually confirming, uh, you

1:07:10know, through the modeling, um,

1:07:12that this is a problem area and

1:07:14the best way to fix it, right,

1:07:16with the best efficacy. But,

1:07:17um, there was a few, uh, staff

1:07:19members on the radio today with

1:07:21me, and we're talking about,

1:07:23um, just when I started with

1:07:25Stormwater Advisory Board back

1:07:26in 2018, in those eight years

1:07:30or so, um, you know, stormwater

1:07:32is in its infancy. Stormwater

1:07:34is a thing. Countrywide was

1:07:36only started around 1985, in in

1:07:39the course of government, it's

1:07:41still a baby. Right. So but in

1:07:432018 we were a state

1:07:45recognized, um, stormwater

1:07:47department. And today we are a

1:07:49nationally recognized

1:07:50stormwater utility. So kudos to

1:07:52the team and our partners for

1:07:53that. Um, and the way we. So

1:07:56the next thing is global

1:07:57recognition, right? We're going

1:07:58to be worldwide leaders in

1:07:59stormwater. Um, but the way to

1:08:01do that is to keep pressing

1:08:02with these projects. So, um,

1:08:04with that, I'm prepared to make

1:08:05a motion if there's no more

1:08:06questions.

1:08:07Uh, Councilman Davis had

1:08:08something..

1:08:09I was going to make the motion,

1:08:11but I'll second it, sir.

1:08:12All right. It's a motion by

1:08:13councilmember.

1:08:14Second round, Mr. Mayor, if I

1:08:15can.

1:08:15Oh. All right, so let me let me

1:08:17get this motion disposed of.

1:08:19Motion by Councilmember Honjo,

1:08:20seconded by Davis. Discussion.

1:08:21Mayor pro tem.

1:08:22Thank you. Mayor. Um, Mister

1:08:25manager or Miss Sheila, where

1:08:27do we get the money to fund

1:08:28these projects? I know that the

1:08:30stormwater fund is not enough.

1:08:32I know Miss Sheila can't write

1:08:34enough grants in her lifetime

1:08:36to fund all this. How do we

1:08:38prepare for these remedies?

1:08:41Well, I think that our our

1:08:43first course of action after we

1:08:46began doing these studies is,

1:08:48uh, the council wanted us to

1:08:50see work being done. And so we

1:08:51proceeded with a few

1:08:53construction projects. And so

1:08:54we came to council and

1:08:56requested stormwater funds to

1:08:58move forward with sort of the

1:08:58high priority projects from the

1:09:00first round of studies that

1:09:01came out. Having said that, our

1:09:03first target has been recently

1:09:04and in the probably in the next

1:09:06couple of years, is to find the

1:09:07projects that have the highest

1:09:09BCR and to go for those,

1:09:10because that's low hanging

1:09:12fruit that we want to make sure

1:09:13that we put into the pipeline.

1:09:14In terms of requesting the

1:09:15grants and getting those

1:09:17funded. Not all these projects,

1:09:18the 1.4 billion will meet that

1:09:23criteria of a speaker greater

1:09:25than one. In fact, I don't

1:09:26think I think a very small

1:09:28percentage will meet that BCR

1:09:29criteria. So our first goal is

1:09:31to try to make sure that we've

1:09:32put in for all of the grant

1:09:33funding that's available for

1:09:35the projects that that are out

1:09:37there. Uh, and then after that,

1:09:38we're currently staff are

1:09:39working on a, on a master plan.

1:09:41Unfortunately, I won't be able

1:09:42to see you all through that.

1:09:44Uh, it's going to be an

1:09:45exciting project where we're

1:09:46going to be taking the results

1:09:47of all of these studies now

1:09:48that we're 90% done and working

1:09:51with council to come back with

1:09:52the strategic plan, a more what

1:09:54a master plan, uh, built over

1:09:56the next ten, 15, 20 years on

1:09:58how to go ahead and craft away

1:10:00money, look at rate increases,

1:10:01so on and so forth. Look at

1:10:03priorities, look at areas

1:10:04within the city in terms of how

1:10:06we're going to whittle away at

1:10:07these projects. Um, and then of

1:10:09course, there are the key, uh,

1:10:11key projects, the pivotal

1:10:12projects. One is the Russell

1:10:13Pearson Street that we got the

1:10:14grant funding for that. Uh, the

1:10:16presentation you heard today

1:10:17for, uh, the Cross Creek

1:10:19Channel. We're going to be

1:10:20looking for grants there. But

1:10:21some of the key pivotal

1:10:22projects, we're going to be

1:10:23really looking at grant funding

1:10:24opportunities. But outside of

1:10:26that, uh, really looking at

1:10:28this master plan that, uh, our

1:10:30staff will work with council in

1:10:31the next year to build and talk

1:10:33about the next 15, 20 years in

1:10:36whittling away at the projects.

1:10:37Now, in your presentation, you

1:10:38also said you had 16 projects

1:10:40underway already.

1:10:42I'm not sure. Did I say 16? I

1:10:43didn't mean to say.

1:10:44That was in.

1:10:44The slot. Yeah. We have a

1:10:45number of projects and I think

1:10:48actually she has a slide. Yeah.

1:10:50You have a project?

1:10:5316.

1:10:53Yeah, there's 16.

1:10:55Of them.

1:10:55Okay, good. Yeah. Thank you

1:10:58mayor. Thank you.

1:10:59All right. Uh. Not huge. You

1:11:01had something?

1:11:02Oh.

1:11:02No, I think Sheila was covering

1:11:03it, between, um. I think she

1:11:05said revenue bonds, enterprise

1:11:07funds and other things like

1:11:09that is how you would tackle

1:11:10the $1.4 billion in growing.

1:11:15Yeah. And so, uh, that was my

1:11:18question on the revenue bonds.

1:11:19Can can that address, um, you

1:11:21know, as you build this

1:11:22watershed study because we've

1:11:24been working on this for a

1:11:25while, they used to previously

1:11:27there was a desire to do one or

1:11:292 or 1 and a half studies, you

1:11:31know, per section. But you did

1:11:33a master plan study and you've

1:11:34been working on that. What how

1:11:35long would you say? Six years.

1:11:36Eight years. As long as I've

1:11:37been here. So, yeah.

1:11:39It feels like it would be.

1:11:40To, you, I think around six and

1:11:42a half years. I think I

1:11:43formally started about six and

1:11:44a half years, seven years.

1:11:46And so a lot of these areas,

1:11:47when they were built, um, you

1:11:50know, were built with

1:11:51undersized, uh, infrastructure

1:11:53up under the ground and some of

1:11:54these older communities and

1:11:55neighborhoods. So cities across

1:11:57across the country are really

1:11:58dealing with this. As you

1:11:59retrofit a lot of that. But,

1:12:01um, again, it points back to

1:12:03not wanting to I think we apply

1:12:05for everything, but I don't

1:12:07want us to ever stop waiting on

1:12:09a grant approval. And then

1:12:11inflation eats up the cost

1:12:13benefit of that. So I just want

1:12:15to make sure that as you build

1:12:16this out, you'll have a certain

1:12:18phase that we can get to either

1:12:19by revenue bond or some other

1:12:20option. Is that right?

1:12:21Absolutely. And I think that

1:12:23the key to that is, as the

1:12:24council, the city manager

1:12:26noted, revenue bonds, grants,

1:12:28uh, private public private

1:12:30partnerships, for example, the

1:12:31downtown footprint that we're

1:12:32looking at. Um, and then

1:12:34there's also the challenge of

1:12:35staff capacity. We could want

1:12:36to build as much as we can, but

1:12:38we need to be able to build our

1:12:39staff. We need to be able to

1:12:40build the department, to be

1:12:41able to absorb all that work

1:12:43and have some level of checks

1:12:44and balances on how these

1:12:45projects are built. So is that

1:12:47key as well? Uh, to consider,

1:12:50uh, as we look to the future.

1:12:51All right. All right. So there

1:12:53was a motion on the floor by

1:12:54Hondros, who was seconded by

1:12:57Davis. Uh, we've had discussion

1:12:59Council look to you for your

1:13:00action on this. All right.

1:13:08Motion carries unanimous. Thank

1:13:09you. Ladies. Good job. Thank

1:13:11you, Miss Sheila. All right.

1:13:13Uh, 6.04. How are you, sir? Mr.

1:13:18Bryant.

1:13:19Good afternoon. It is a public

1:13:20services power hour.

1:13:24Who we.

1:13:26Are?

1:13:28Council. My name is Brian

1:13:29McGill. I'm the assistant

1:13:30public services director of

1:13:31traffic services. I'm also the

1:13:33parking operations manager. And

1:13:35today, I'm coming to you with

1:13:36the parking management services

1:13:37update. Um, I do want to start

1:13:39this off by saying this

1:13:40presentation might be a little

1:13:41bit long. So I thank you for

1:13:42holding your questions until

1:13:43the end. Um, there's a quite a

1:13:46few topics, and I'll try and go

1:13:47over this as quickly as

1:13:48possible to, because I know

1:13:50that the agenda is a little bit

1:13:51packed. So on here, you guys

1:13:55can see that I'm going to be

1:13:56going over 19 topics. Uh,

1:13:58hopefully some of these I'll be

1:13:59able to kind of hit them quick,

1:14:01but uh, this presentation is

1:14:05being prepared in response to a

1:14:06lot of the questions that were

1:14:07asked of staff in the past two

1:14:10work sessions. And a large

1:14:12majority of these are going to

1:14:13be tied to the contract. And so

1:14:15the very first question I want

1:14:16to get out of the way is, you

1:14:17know, what is the what is the

1:14:18outcome that the city expect

1:14:19from the contract itself? And

1:14:21that is essentially to support

1:14:22the downtown area? Um, it's

1:14:24just supporting an efficient

1:14:26and appropriate manner, um,

1:14:28while being able to help

1:14:30basically support their

1:14:32operations. And then the second

1:14:36sort of pivotal question that

1:14:37kind of came out of the last

1:14:39work session was, why was the

1:14:41contract not addressing revenue

1:14:43neutrality? The short of it is

1:14:45the contract was drafted in

1:14:46November of last calendar year.

1:14:48Uh council came to staff with a

1:14:50very public statement during

1:14:52the budget discussions this

1:14:54calendar year, saying we want a

1:14:55revenue neutral program. We

1:14:57want you to boost revenue,

1:14:58decrease cost. That was five,

1:15:00six, seven months after the

1:15:00contract was already drafted.

1:15:02We're at the tail end of this

1:15:04contract process, and we're

1:15:05working to kind of put that in

1:15:07there saying, hey, contractor,

1:15:09do this. Once the contract is

1:15:11awarded, however, the base

1:15:13language, the 91 page RFP that

1:15:15was from last calendar year,

1:15:17specifically a brief timeline

1:15:19that you see here. I'm not

1:15:21going to go over all of these

1:15:21items, but whenever parking was

1:15:24studied back in 2018, it's been

1:15:26through multiple different

1:15:27changes between contractor and

1:15:29operations. In terms of time of

1:15:31enforcement and staff that are

1:15:33here, that are knowledgeable to

1:15:34be able to speak on a lot of

1:15:35these items, but then also, uh,

1:15:39you know, we get into the RFP

1:15:41drafting August of last year,

1:15:42we released it in November, and

1:15:44then council comes in May of

1:15:46this year saying, hey, boost

1:15:47revenue, decreased cost. And so

1:15:49that's how we got to where we

1:15:50are today. That's the that's

1:15:52the sequence of events that led

1:15:53us to this. One of the main

1:15:56questions. And I'm going to

1:15:58pause on this slide for a

1:15:59second. One of the main

1:16:00questions that kind of threw me

1:16:02through a loop, because it

1:16:03escaped my mind the moment it

1:16:04happened, but I'm very glad it

1:16:07did, because this is one of the

1:16:08caveats I'd like to highlight

1:16:10the reason that there is a

1:16:11giant, quote unquote, giant

1:16:12jump in cost between year two

1:16:14and year three is because

1:16:16should the contract be renewed,

1:16:18we're going to require the

1:16:19contractor to assume a

1:16:21maintenance contract that the

1:16:22city maintains right now,

1:16:24ourselves. So let me back up

1:16:28for a second. I'm the parking

1:16:30operations manager. I'm also

1:16:31the traffic services assistant

1:16:33director. Um, I have a lot of

1:16:35things on my plate that have to

1:16:36be responsible for. And so if I

1:16:38can try and streamline things

1:16:39and make things more efficient

1:16:41on one program, I'm going to

1:16:43try and do that. And that's

1:16:44sort of what's happening here

1:16:45in this parking program. We

1:16:47have a contract for

1:16:48maintenance. We have a contract

1:16:49for services. We have a

1:16:50contract for this contract for

1:16:51that. If I can try and bundle

1:16:52those together into one, I'll

1:16:53do my best to do so. If you

1:16:55were to back out that

1:16:57maintenance contract and you

1:16:59were to back out the startup

1:17:00cost, which is $27,000, then

1:17:03year one would be 651, year

1:17:052672, year 3693. It's a 3.3%

1:17:09escalator, which is, I don't

1:17:11want to say industry standard,

1:17:12but it is something that would

1:17:13be expected from a contractor.

1:17:16The other thing I want to pause

1:17:18on this is you guys can see

1:17:19yellow text on here. Uh, I have

1:17:22a copy of an abbreviated

1:17:24version of the contract. I took

1:17:25out a lot of the boilerplate

1:17:26language, but if you have

1:17:27specific items for specific

1:17:28questions about the contract, I

1:17:30have it here. The specific

1:17:31point in the contract that

1:17:33discusses these responses.

1:17:35There in yellow. So in this

1:17:37case, section 4.2.25.3, the

1:17:43third bullet talks about the

1:17:44discounted maintenance contract

1:17:45being required of the

1:17:47contractor. And as I go through

1:17:48these, as you see the yellow

1:17:50text, that's how it's tied into

1:17:51the contract. And again, the

1:17:53contract November of last

1:17:54calendar year. So what does the

1:17:56contract say regarding

1:17:57cleanliness for 225 talks about

1:17:59the daily, weekly, monthly and

1:18:01annual requirements? This

1:18:02contract does have teeth for

1:18:05non-performance in terms of

1:18:07financial penalties. It is

1:18:09under appendix H. What about

1:18:11graffiti specifically for two

1:18:142510 two talks about the

1:18:16specific requirements of

1:18:18graffiti. And we also talk

1:18:20about and we have it down in

1:18:22black and white about what is

1:18:23being contained inside of that,

1:18:25including ten square feet, or

1:18:27if it requires hazardous

1:18:29licenses to be able to deal

1:18:30with it, or if it requires

1:18:31special equipment like a crane

1:18:33or something. What does

1:18:36contract say regarding security?

1:18:40For the for the most part, it

1:18:42basically says the contractor

1:18:44is going to maintain credit

1:18:46card security for the

1:18:46equipment. They are not going

1:18:48to be there to provide security

1:18:50services or prevent criminal

1:18:51activity. They're not going to

1:18:52stop somebody from a crowbar

1:18:53opening up a door. That's not

1:18:55their job. Their job is there

1:18:56to basically enforce the

1:18:58parking ordinances that the

1:19:00city has to go down that road

1:19:02of providing contract to

1:19:04security, uh, internally and

1:19:06internal discussions. I've been

1:19:08told that it could be up to

1:19:11$250,000 for some, some of the

1:19:13services that we would be

1:19:14looking at. What does parking

1:19:16enforcement look like? The

1:19:18contract goes into very

1:19:19specific detail about the

1:19:21number of people required, what

1:19:22their responsibilities are, the

1:19:23hours of operations, special

1:19:25events, permits. It's all in

1:19:27the contract. One of the

1:19:31questions, one of the very

1:19:33specific questions was, why

1:19:34does each employee that handles

1:19:35cash have to be bonded? Uh, the

1:19:37contractor has come back and

1:19:38said, hey, instead of going

1:19:40through that approach, we would

1:19:41like to instead have our own

1:19:43theft policy be approved inside

1:19:44of the contract to replace

1:19:46that. Me personally, as an

1:19:48operations person, I'm all in

1:19:49support of making things

1:19:50simpler. Uh, this is still

1:19:52going under review with our

1:19:52city attorney's office, and I

1:19:54don't have a definitive answer

1:19:56one way or the other. And then

1:19:58what is the contractor

1:19:59responsibility for public and

1:20:01stakeholder engagement? We have

1:20:03requirements whenever it comes

1:20:04to the customer complaints, uh,

1:20:06requiring their staff to be

1:20:08available for meetings as

1:20:09requested. And those meetings

1:20:10can be with the downtown

1:20:11community. It can be with

1:20:12council. It can be with myself.

1:20:14And then they are also

1:20:15structured requirements

1:20:16regarding what's required of

1:20:18them to be able to market the

1:20:19parking operations and the

1:20:21parking program of downtown.

1:20:23And I want to get a little bit

1:20:25off the contract language for a

1:20:26second and talk about that

1:20:27stakeholder engagement. Uh,

1:20:29staff, we've been in talks in

1:20:32one way or another with

1:20:33multiple different stakeholders

1:20:35of the downtown community. The

1:20:37Downtown Alliance has held

1:20:39meetings more than these, but

1:20:41staff have met with them. In

1:20:43February of 25, April 26th and

1:20:45July of 26. And they've talked

1:20:47about different things here and

1:20:48there. Um, but some of their

1:20:51concerns, they are going to be

1:20:52addressed or some of their

1:20:54requests are going to be talked

1:20:55about in this presentation.

1:20:57I've also spoken individually

1:20:59with various business owners or

1:21:02customers that frequent the

1:21:04area, and things that I'm

1:21:06hearing anecdotally, this is

1:21:08not an official position of any

1:21:11person that I'm going to put

1:21:12down on paper. But many things

1:21:13I'm hearing anecdotally is

1:21:15earlier parking enforcement is

1:21:16not supported. Uh, a dollar 25.

1:21:19Our rates are not supported.

1:21:22Weakened enforcement is not

1:21:23supported. And 100% free

1:21:25parking. Going back to the days

1:21:26of the wild, wild West that's

1:21:28not supported either. Things

1:21:29that they have expressed

1:21:30interest and concerns about,

1:21:31things that staff are working

1:21:33to address. But we need our

1:21:35parking contractor to be there

1:21:36with us to help address that as

1:21:37well. Or things like wayfinding

1:21:39and signage, street lighting.

1:21:41And one of the things more

1:21:43recently is about time limited

1:21:45free parking on, hey, that is

1:21:46something that I can talk

1:21:48about. Um, in a slide or two.

1:21:51Then there was a question about

1:21:53what was the presentation

1:21:55planned for the prior DTA

1:21:56meeting, and why did it not

1:21:57occur before the contract

1:21:59award? There's two different

1:22:00ways that we could interpret

1:22:01this. Whether this means why is

1:22:03the revenue neutrality not

1:22:04being brought up at this point

1:22:05prior to awarding the contract

1:22:07or why? Why was the discussion

1:22:11regarding those three

1:22:12recommendations that staff

1:22:13brought previously? Why was

1:22:15that not brought to DTA

1:22:17previously? The short answer is

1:22:18it was requested that we go to

1:22:19you guys at council first. Um,

1:22:22but then also whenever the

1:22:24going back to the beginning of

1:22:25the presentation, revenue

1:22:27neutrality wasn't something

1:22:28that was in discussion whenever

1:22:29the parking contract was being

1:22:31drafted inside of the RFP. Now

1:22:35the community, this is the part

1:22:37going back to the stakeholder

1:22:38engagement about meeting with

1:22:39the downtown Alliance, meeting

1:22:40with residents, meeting with

1:22:41customers, meeting with

1:22:42business owners. Uh, some of

1:22:44the things that they've

1:22:45requested that we look into is

1:22:47something like the business

1:22:48parking validation, bulk

1:22:50parking passes for employees,

1:22:51employees or dedicated parking

1:22:53spaces in the parking decks.

1:22:56This is required in the

1:22:57contract. We specify how to

1:23:00basically improve the parking

1:23:01permit program from what it is

1:23:02now to what it can be. We've

1:23:06been asked about the time

1:23:07limited free parking, basically

1:23:09saying instead of having a

1:23:11right now a dollar per hour on

1:23:12a street in person street, why

1:23:14not look at two free hours of

1:23:16parking and then a parking

1:23:19citation? Um, I have concern

1:23:22with that, mainly because I'm

1:23:23hearing bring revenue

1:23:24neutrality to the parking

1:23:25program. However, the Raleigh

1:23:27trial, because Raleigh just

1:23:29implemented this and I don't

1:23:31have exact specific numbers.

1:23:33But according to the newspaper,

1:23:35it increased business activity

1:23:36for them. And so whenever I

1:23:38hear revenue neutrality, but

1:23:40also trying to support business

1:23:41activity, it's sort of a

1:23:43balancing act that I'm

1:23:44returning back here, uh, saying

1:23:47a parking program, operations,

1:23:49um, they need a contractor. We

1:23:51need the contractor to come

1:23:52back and provide that expertise

1:23:54and provide that engagement

1:23:55with the downtown community

1:23:56instead of staff trying to

1:23:57figure this out on our end.

1:24:01Then we're improving some of

1:24:04the non-standard parking spaces

1:24:07that's also addressed inside of

1:24:08the contract. Uh, there has

1:24:10been some concern back in the

1:24:12day about accuracy of online

1:24:13parking information. We're

1:24:16currently working on a better

1:24:17interactive map, but more

1:24:19importantly, in December 25th,

1:24:21we updated all of our

1:24:22information online and we are

1:24:23more, for lack of a better

1:24:24word, on top of it, where we're

1:24:26paying more attention to it,

1:24:27we're paying more attention to

1:24:28essentially what's being

1:24:29communicated out through our

1:24:31website, through the

1:24:31contractor's website, and then

1:24:33also we specify in the contract

1:24:35that it is going to be required

1:24:37of them to maintain that type

1:24:38of information. What is the

1:24:41soap? What does the scope say

1:24:43regarding signage? Uh, and in a

1:24:47nutshell, it is clean.

1:24:48Maintain, repair, recommend,

1:24:50update. Basically do everything

1:24:52that you can possibly think of

1:24:53regarding signage. And I'll

1:24:58also talk about this part to

1:24:59the community. They expressed

1:25:02concern about signage and

1:25:04wayfinding and street lighting.

1:25:05We are working on that. We are

1:25:07looking into that. We are

1:25:08taking steps to address it, but

1:25:09it is something that is a work

1:25:10in progress because we don't

1:25:12want to have to make 47 changes

1:25:15week after week after week

1:25:16after week. It's we'd rather

1:25:17make it all at one time where

1:25:20the item where the audit items

1:25:22included in the scope. The

1:25:24short answer is yes. This is in

1:25:25response to all of the audit

1:25:27items that are included in the

1:25:29audit response in the

1:25:30committee. Um, you can see here

1:25:32all the yellow text, but all of

1:25:34them were addressed. And what

1:25:38is the transition period look

1:25:39like in this contract that

1:25:40we're going to be we're trying

1:25:42to go into it's going to

1:25:44require two things. The first

1:25:45one is at the end of their

1:25:46contract time period, whether

1:25:47it's the original time period

1:25:49or the expansion, uh, we're

1:25:51going to require them to help

1:25:52us transition into the next

1:25:54one. And there are, again,

1:25:56penalties if they do not

1:25:57perform well. And that's the

1:25:58financial penalties are

1:26:00identified in appendix H.

1:26:02Appendix H also says from the

1:26:04first day that they have boots

1:26:05on the ground within 30 days or

1:26:0760 days for some of these

1:26:08items, if they're more

1:26:10difficult or more detailed,

1:26:12that they're required to

1:26:13provide things like the MSDS

1:26:15sheets, staffing plans, uh,

1:26:17defined procedures for

1:26:18grievance resolution, for

1:26:20parking, citation and pills,

1:26:21marketing plan. It's we've

1:26:23gotten very, very, very

1:26:24specific in the contract

1:26:26because of the things we've

1:26:27been hearing from the

1:26:28community, because of the

1:26:29things we've heard from council

1:26:30and because we things we've

1:26:32seen from other municipalities

1:26:34and agencies. So much so that I

1:26:38don't want to say I'm in a

1:26:38flood, you with KPIs, but you

1:26:41guys are going to be hearing

1:26:42more parking KPIs coming from

1:26:43me. And that's because on a

1:26:45daily, weekly, quarterly and

1:26:46annual process, there's going

1:26:48to be a report, uh, reporting

1:26:50numbers, reporting metrics. And

1:26:52I'm not going to go through all

1:26:53of these here because everybody

1:26:54can read the slides. Um, but a

1:26:57large one of them is just going

1:26:59to be the customer interaction.

1:27:00Whenever you guys hear a

1:27:02complaint about a customer

1:27:03saying the parking parking gate

1:27:05did not open correctly, then

1:27:08we'll see that on our reporting

1:27:10here as well. So much so that

1:27:14monthly reporting is going to

1:27:15be it's own entire slide. And

1:27:18this is going to be talking

1:27:19about things that we see a

1:27:20little bit of already talking

1:27:22about compensation that we

1:27:24receive from the parking decks,

1:27:26from the surface laws, from on

1:27:27street parking. How much of the

1:27:29revenue we received from the

1:27:30citation, how many citations

1:27:32aged so that we can then report

1:27:33it into that set off how many

1:27:36monthly parking permit holders

1:27:37there are? Is is a long list

1:27:41and then equipment. What does

1:27:44contract say about equipment

1:27:45reliability and customer

1:27:46experience? The short of it is

1:27:49the parking contractor will

1:27:50maintain the equipment. That's

1:27:52what our current contract says.

1:27:53That's what the next one says.

1:27:54The next one says in a lot more

1:27:56detail, and it attaches teeth

1:27:58to it. And that's one of the

1:27:59main things that I want to

1:28:00emphasize is that appendix H

1:28:02talks about penalties for

1:28:04non-performance. Basically, if

1:28:05they don't repair something in

1:28:06a specific amount of time, if

1:28:07they don't keep something

1:28:08operational for a long enough

1:28:10amount of time, then there is a

1:28:11penalty. They don't see as much

1:28:12compensation coming back to

1:28:13them, or they might actually,

1:28:16um, if we have to end up doing

1:28:17it ourselves, then we might be

1:28:19taking that cost off of what we

1:28:21would pay them. There was a

1:28:25question about where the

1:28:27previous equipment included in

1:28:28the contract. The short answer

1:28:29is yes. Um, those numbers are

1:28:32from 2019. I use Google to turn

1:28:34it into 2026 numbers. I'm not

1:28:36the budget department. Take

1:28:37those with a grain of salt,

1:28:38please. Um, but the short

1:28:40answer is yes, it was. And the

1:28:42next parking contract we will

1:28:44have the option to amortize the

1:28:47next parking equipment with

1:28:49that contractor. How many of

1:28:51the 34 kiosks can take cash

1:28:53right now? 13 of them are

1:28:55operating as intended. 21 are

1:28:58malfunctioning, and the details

1:29:03regarding that one applicant,

1:29:04including equipment in their

1:29:06cost, that is, our current

1:29:07contractor, Republic. They came

1:29:09back with the piece of

1:29:11equipment that you see on the

1:29:12slide that essentially amounted

1:29:15to 160 hundred $70,000 for the

1:29:18first two years, and then

1:29:19$20,000, give or take, every

1:29:22year after. And we have heard

1:29:24from others not to proceed with

1:29:26that equipment. But let's talk

1:29:32about that equipment and why we

1:29:34would replace and use as many

1:29:36as we currently are trying to,

1:29:38um, for lack of a, for just

1:29:40trying to keep this concise,

1:29:4295% of all of our transactions

1:29:44are contactless. That is mobile

1:29:46or credit card, 5% are being

1:29:48done in cash, and that 5% being

1:29:52done in cash are due when

1:29:55contactless, whenever they had

1:29:571% being done in cash. Other

1:30:00municipalities. The industry

1:30:02standard. The industry average

1:30:03is about 60% contactless, 40%

1:30:06might be cash. And so we are

1:30:10already head and shoulders

1:30:11above the industry whenever it

1:30:12comes to the adoption of mobile

1:30:14payment. Uh, also, whenever we

1:30:17start looking at what other

1:30:18municipalities and what our

1:30:19other agencies are doing,

1:30:20Greensboro has stated that

1:30:22they're phasing parking meters

1:30:23out. Soccer stadium right down

1:30:24the street is a cashless or

1:30:26contactless payment

1:30:27environment. However, we have

1:30:29heard from businesses that a

1:30:30lot of the customers, they

1:30:32still prefer cash. So it is a

1:30:33balancing act. Right now, the

1:30:36current contractor has

1:30:37recommended that we replace all

1:30:39meters with that equipment that

1:30:40I just showed you. They also

1:30:41saying you don't necessarily

1:30:43need a one for one replacement.

1:30:45You can get by with maybe 20,

1:30:46maybe 15. That type of

1:30:49information is something that I

1:30:50need a parking contractor to

1:30:51tell me. Otherwise it's going

1:30:52to be very expensive for us to

1:30:54roll out stuff that might not

1:30:56be in the best place. So,

1:31:00Brian, we hear a lot of

1:31:01responses about what's in the

1:31:03contract. We have some

1:31:04questions already about that

1:31:06equipment. What has been done?

1:31:09Well, this is just what's seen

1:31:11by the public. There's a lot of

1:31:13improvements that have happened

1:31:14internally on the back end, on

1:31:15the staff side, and I'm not

1:31:16going to go through all of

1:31:17those, but one of the 2 or 3

1:31:19main things are, first and

1:31:20foremost, the Franklin deck

1:31:22gates. They have been

1:31:23addressed. They were addressed

1:31:24in February of last year.

1:31:26That's not saying that

1:31:27everything is perfect. There

1:31:29might be a time whenever a gate

1:31:30might be broken. However, that

1:31:33is because of unauthorized

1:31:35lifting. Trespassers, vandals,

1:31:38people who basically destroy

1:31:40the equipment. Uh, we have seen

1:31:43an uptick in enforcement

1:31:45activity from security from the

1:31:47police department. We have been

1:31:48working in conjunction with

1:31:49them, and we have actually seen

1:31:50those events occurring on

1:31:52Franklin Deck and the deck

1:31:53actually decrease over time.

1:31:55And then we've also added some

1:31:57equipment in the downtown area,

1:31:59mainly on Hay Street parking

1:32:01deck. We have a mirror that

1:32:02helps you see around the

1:32:03corner, see pedestrians

1:32:04walking. But we also have the

1:32:06RFB by the courthouse to be

1:32:08able to assist. Uh, downtown

1:32:11patrons being able to cross the

1:32:13street safely between parking

1:32:15locations. Which one street

1:32:16parking is located out there?

1:32:19And some improvements that

1:32:21we're working on right this

1:32:22second, but we still need the

1:32:23parking contractor there to

1:32:24assist us with this signage

1:32:28quantity, placement and

1:32:29condition. And that's something

1:32:30that the downtown community,

1:32:31the downtown stakeholders have

1:32:33expressed to us, saying there

1:32:34needs to be better signage to

1:32:36guide us, guide us to the

1:32:37parking decks, guide us to the

1:32:38parking lots, and also help

1:32:41people go from the parking

1:32:42spaces to my business. We're

1:32:45also and nobody has asked me to

1:32:47do this. I'm taking this upon

1:32:47myself, looking at pavement

1:32:49market conditions or the street

1:32:51lighting efficacy. There are a

1:32:53handful of street lights that

1:32:54are down in or out in the

1:32:56downtown area, and that's

1:32:57something that I'm working with

1:32:58staff to be able to address.

1:33:00And then as you can see,

1:33:02everything else here, we're

1:33:03just we're trying to address

1:33:04all of the concerns that have

1:33:05been brought to our attention

1:33:06as we work and we shift focus

1:33:09from, uh, the things that have

1:33:11been pointed out from over

1:33:13time, analysis and to

1:33:14responding to more of a day to

1:33:15day activity. Now. And so

1:33:20programmatic programming

1:33:21recommendation from the August

1:33:223rd work session, we came to

1:33:24you and we provided three

1:33:26readily actionable

1:33:27opportunities. We don't

1:33:30necessarily have the workload

1:33:31capacity to come back and say,

1:33:33these are the new hours. These

1:33:34are the new parking rates.

1:33:36These are the days of

1:33:37enforcement. We need the

1:33:38parking operator to tell us

1:33:41that pivot parking, it was here

1:33:44with us today, and I'll invite

1:33:45them up here very shortly. At

1:33:46the end of the presentation.

1:33:48We're almost at the end.

1:33:49They're better equipped to

1:33:50analyze this data. They have

1:33:52the expertise. They know what

1:33:54is going on in other

1:33:55communities and other

1:33:56municipalities and other

1:33:57agencies that come in with

1:33:58those recommendations and tell

1:34:00us, hey, this is what is

1:34:01working in this location. While

1:34:05we have a contractor right now

1:34:08who can provide this analysis

1:34:09and recommendations. Uh,

1:34:11Republic parking, if council

1:34:13approves this contract, they

1:34:15will not be with us a year from

1:34:17now. So the recommendations

1:34:19that we might receive from our

1:34:20public parking, it might not be

1:34:22of of the highest merit just

1:34:23because they know they're not

1:34:25going to be around to see the

1:34:26rewards. So why would they put

1:34:27in that much effort? And so the

1:34:32next step, it basically is a

1:34:34balancing act. And staff, I'm

1:34:37already balancing it myself.

1:34:38It's you know, I'm hearing free

1:34:41two hour parking, but I'm

1:34:42hearing revenue neutral

1:34:43program. How do I balance that?

1:34:46Uh, right now we have the

1:34:47contract still under review

1:34:48with the city attorney's

1:34:49office, and I'm looking to

1:34:52council to approve our contract

1:34:55so that we can move forward so

1:34:56that we can then return back at

1:34:58the end of 30 days from

1:35:00whenever they have boots on the

1:35:01ground with the program

1:35:03recommendations to be able to

1:35:05improve the program and come

1:35:06back with the things that

1:35:07council has requested. And so

1:35:12I'm going to present two

1:35:13options here for you. Um, so

1:35:15option one, where yeah, we're

1:35:18requesting that council provide

1:35:20consensus to select P two of NC

1:35:22with a pivot parking as the

1:35:24next provider of parking

1:35:25management services, with

1:35:27services to begin no later than

1:35:28January 1st of 2027 and pending

1:35:31approval and execution of the

1:35:32contract by all parties, and

1:35:33for staff to bring the contract

1:35:35to a future council. Regular

1:35:36session for consent. Option two

1:35:38Council not provide consensus

1:35:40and return this item to us for

1:35:41further discussion, and we are

1:35:43recommending and requesting

1:35:45that you all proceed with the

1:35:46selection of P two of NC doing

1:35:48business as pivot parking. And

1:35:51with that, before I open it up

1:35:53for questions, um, we have a

1:35:56public parking here in the

1:35:57audience with us today.

1:35:57Republic and Republic pivot

1:35:59parking. Sorry.

1:36:00About a.

1:36:01Tongue tied up here. Tongue

1:36:02tied. Uh, pivot parking. If you

1:36:04could raise your hands. Just a

1:36:06thank you.

1:36:07Welcome. Yeah.

1:36:08Thank you. And then, uh, Sheila

1:36:11and I will be able to answer

1:36:13and pivot. Parking is available

1:36:15for questions as well. If you

1:36:16have questions of the proposed

1:36:17and recommended contractor will

1:36:19be able to answer questions

1:36:20that you might have.

1:36:21I do, um, and maybe some other

1:36:24council members too. Um, so you

1:36:27said a lot, um, and you know,

1:36:30of course, spent a lot of time

1:36:32downtown. Um, and so a couple

1:36:36of questions. One, um, I was

1:36:39looking for the page that had

1:36:40what the stakeholders told you

1:36:42were important to them. Right.

1:36:44And so I know signage was one,

1:36:47uh. All right. Okay. So signage

1:36:55and communication, lighting,

1:36:58um, the inconsistencies, the

1:37:01equipment working properly. Um,

1:37:03so, you know, people are kind

1:37:04of value conscious, right? That

1:37:07you said you got to balance

1:37:08between making money or helping

1:37:12your businesses get more foot

1:37:13traffic. So is there a way, you

1:37:16know, this is probably be a

1:37:17pivot question that you can

1:37:19address both. One, that when

1:37:22you have equipment that's easy

1:37:23for people to use and

1:37:24experience is pleasurable, it's

1:37:26clean as well lit. They feel

1:37:27safe. Are there times that they

1:37:29will look to pay a little bit

1:37:31more for certain things? You

1:37:32know, special events, uh,

1:37:34things that they choose to come

1:37:35downtown for and welcome. And,

1:37:37and then the other question is

1:37:39how much revenue are we

1:37:40talking? So if you look at

1:37:42Raleigh or some of those other

1:37:43areas that that did a free for

1:37:45a certain two hour period, what

1:37:47does that equate to in dollars,

1:37:48and how does that throw off?

1:37:50You know, that way we can talk

1:37:52about the options as to how to

1:37:53make that revenue up. So I know

1:37:56I asked a lot. So I guess I

1:37:58guess part A is if you did two

1:38:02hours, how much does that

1:38:03equate to or percentage roughly

1:38:05of the cost or how much revenue

1:38:08we lose? And two, is there a

1:38:09way to make it up by adding

1:38:11more pleasurable experiences?

1:38:15Thank you for having me. I'm

1:38:16Tina Reid, I am co-founder

1:38:18co-owner of Pivot Parking and

1:38:20executive vice president. Um,

1:38:22honored to be here. So I think

1:38:24your first question was, how do

1:38:26you make it? Where where

1:38:28customers know how to park and

1:38:29what to do. And that

1:38:31environment is making sure,

1:38:32again, that it's we want to

1:38:34make it. Um, I had a statement

1:38:36here that our objective is to

1:38:37make Fayetteville parking

1:38:38program easier to use, easier

1:38:41to understand, more

1:38:42accountable, and more

1:38:44financially sustainable. Um,

1:38:46revenue improvement will come

1:38:47through better utilization of

1:38:49your existing assets, which we

1:38:50need to assess in full, um,

1:38:52better utilization, improved

1:38:55collection practices,

1:38:56appropriate pricing technology,

1:38:59consistent compliance, and a

1:39:00stronger financial controls not

1:39:02simply through higher rates or

1:39:04increased citation issuance. So

1:39:06it's an evaluation of looking

1:39:08what makes sense for our

1:39:09customer. We look at it from a

1:39:10customer's eyes and we look at

1:39:11it from your eyes and looking

1:39:13as to how can we make

1:39:15improvements to your program?

1:39:17How do we make it to where

1:39:18customers say, okay, I need to

1:39:20come downtown? What are the

1:39:21rules? What are the

1:39:22regulations? If I pull into a

1:39:24space and I don't see a sun,

1:39:26what am I supposed to do? So

1:39:28that communication piece is

1:39:30through. Signage in itself.

1:39:32Need to make it as easy as

1:39:34possible if there's a piece of

1:39:35equipment not working, making

1:39:36sure that there's notification

1:39:37on that equipment that it may

1:39:39not be working. But what is

1:39:40your next option and how you

1:39:41can pay? Is it as easy as

1:39:43scanning a QR code and and

1:39:45doing that process? Is it is it

1:39:47moving away from an app based

1:39:49payment process that requires

1:39:50people to stand there and

1:39:51download an app? Or is it

1:39:53easier to go to just a quick QR

1:39:54code to your information and be

1:39:56done? The quicker the parking

1:39:58session can begin, the quicker

1:40:00someone can get to a business.

1:40:02Explore and do what we want

1:40:04them to do in downtown. So

1:40:06that's one of the key

1:40:06components that we would want

1:40:08to bring in is being able to do

1:40:09that. Second part of your

1:40:12question, the evaluation is if

1:40:14you go to a free environment,

1:40:16what does that do to the

1:40:18revenue? It's a little bit more

1:40:19complicated than just saying,

1:40:21hey, it's two hours free and

1:40:23you lose a little bit of

1:40:24revenue, but what is the value

1:40:25of that? That brings into the

1:40:26downtown businesses? And and

1:40:29I'm from the South, if you can

1:40:31tell by the by the by the tone,

1:40:33we as a community like to park

1:40:35at the front door. That's how

1:40:36we feel like we can get

1:40:37somewhere as we have to park at

1:40:39the front door. Uh, I'm a

1:40:40victim of that. Um, and when we

1:40:43park at the front door, what

1:40:44sometimes happen is we we

1:40:46inhibit the ability for other

1:40:49customers to be able to explore

1:40:51and come to businesses. So not

1:40:53always is the evaluation of do

1:40:55you make it free? That'll bring

1:40:57people down. That's not always

1:40:59the best case. Sometimes it is

1:41:01an environment that you do have

1:41:02to limit it, but you do have to

1:41:04have control. So in in giving

1:41:06you an evaluation of how much

1:41:08does that take away from

1:41:09revenue, even though you would

1:41:11say it's free parking, it's not

1:41:12free because there's a cost of

1:41:14it from the expense side. So

1:41:16I'm not prepared to give you

1:41:17that exact number today. But

1:41:18just knowing that, giving away

1:41:21some of that parking is giving

1:41:22away a little bit of the

1:41:24control and giving away a

1:41:26little bit of what can be, what

1:41:27can be done for the future. So

1:41:29I would say that we can explore

1:41:31that and that would be part of

1:41:32our analysis. When we come back

1:41:34to you before council.

1:41:35Well, I appreciate that.

1:41:36Nothing's free. Somebody's

1:41:37always paying for.

1:41:38Something is always as we have

1:41:40a say in parking. How hard can

1:41:41it be? You have no idea.

1:41:44All right. And the last thing

1:41:45you know, one of the other

1:41:46things that we always are

1:41:49sensitive to are people not

1:41:52losing their jobs. Right. And

1:41:53so as the city may go in a

1:41:55different direction with a

1:41:56different contractor, um, how

1:41:59sensitive are you to, to to

1:42:00that sort of we're just, you

1:42:02know, you all are not here. So

1:42:03a lot of times sometimes

1:42:04contractors may come in from

1:42:05somewhere and they bring people

1:42:06in. And now you've got folks

1:42:08displaced. How do you handle

1:42:10transition? Uh, with that.

1:42:12Trade transition for us is we

1:42:14have already hired a manager

1:42:16for this program. Michael

1:42:17Berger is with us today. He's

1:42:19he's somewhat local here. He

1:42:20lives about 45 minutes away.

1:42:22Um, so we've already

1:42:23established that we have a base

1:42:24of that. The current team

1:42:25that's here with the current

1:42:27operator, we will have the

1:42:28evaluation that if if any of

1:42:30those want to apply with us

1:42:32and, and come to our standards

1:42:33and what our requirements are,

1:42:35we're more than happy to have

1:42:36that that discussion and talk

1:42:38with them. And then, um, we

1:42:41give an exact example of, you

1:42:43know, training. It's going to

1:42:44be modeling. We're going to

1:42:45have a team here at the

1:42:46transition for a good week or

1:42:48more in order to be able to

1:42:50say, this is how we expect you

1:42:51to operate. This is what the

1:42:53expectation is from the

1:42:54contract. And these are the

1:42:56examples that we will do and

1:42:58how we do our scope of

1:42:59services. And there's no

1:43:00exceptions to that. So it's you

1:43:02rise up to how we expect you to

1:43:04be. If not, then you'll have to

1:43:05make a choice and make a

1:43:06decision.

1:43:07Gotcha. Thank you,

1:43:08Councilmember McMillan.

1:43:10Yeah, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh,

1:43:12appreciate you, Brian. Mr.

1:43:14McGill, you're holding a lot on

1:43:16behalf of the city. Thank you

1:43:17for for drilling in, uh, data

1:43:20wise, all the points that came

1:43:21out in the last discussion. Um,

1:43:24I want to go to something that

1:43:25was just said because it's

1:43:27fresh. Uh, in terms of, um, the

1:43:29team that we have now, and

1:43:31their services, I do think that

1:43:33it is to our benefit to look at

1:43:36some of the experiences they've

1:43:37had over the last several

1:43:39years, and that would be a part

1:43:40of how we move forward. Uh,

1:43:41valued members of the city's

1:43:44team. Uh, and do appreciate

1:43:46that the doors open also to

1:43:47incorporate their experiences

1:43:48and their talent into into

1:43:51their future operations. Uh,

1:43:53I'm wondering, Brian, if you

1:43:55could just so we have a

1:43:57consolidated on the record in

1:43:58one conversation, talk about

1:44:00some of the things that that

1:44:01were looked at in terms of

1:44:03evaluating the RFP. Applicants

1:44:06and why we went with pivot, and

1:44:09then also wanted to, um, ask

1:44:12about, uh, the input not only

1:44:14of the business owners, but of

1:44:16the public, uh, of the

1:44:18residents who will have to come

1:44:19down downtown and park, uh,

1:44:22culturally, I'm still not

1:44:24someone who likes to pay for

1:44:25parking at all. Uh, I'm used to

1:44:28living in rural to suburban

1:44:30areas. And, uh, in terms of the

1:44:33changes that we're talking

1:44:33about, there are going to be

1:44:34some things that residents

1:44:36would need to expect, and we

1:44:37want their their input on the

1:44:39front end rather than the back

1:44:41end as we're making drastic,

1:44:42drastic changes. Uh, so one day

1:44:45I'll also ask about

1:44:46opportunities for people beyond

1:44:49the downtown Alliance and the

1:44:51business owners to to have

1:44:52input on this process.

1:44:59All right. So the I'm trying to

1:45:02kind of sort it in my head

1:45:04here. Um, so you asked two

1:45:07questions. The first one was

1:45:08essentially how was the RFP

1:45:10looked at in terms of things

1:45:11that were reviewed and things

1:45:13that were weighed against one,

1:45:15uh, one metric or the other,

1:45:17and how that played into the

1:45:19actual, um, the actual decision.

1:45:24Whenever we release the RFP,

1:45:25there were five proposals that

1:45:27came back to us. Those five

1:45:30were pivot Labs, PCI, Republic,

1:45:35and Secure P, and that is the

1:45:37order that the review committee

1:45:39had ranked them, uh, the first

1:45:42part of the proposal review

1:45:43process was the actual written

1:45:46standard part. We reviewed

1:45:48every single page. I lost a lot

1:45:50of nights and weekends

1:45:50reviewing those things. It was

1:45:51a wonderful time. Um, and, uh,

1:45:55whenever we came back, we

1:45:56identified, hey, these are the

1:45:57people we want to bring forward

1:45:58into an interview. At the

1:45:59interview part, we started

1:46:01asking them questions.

1:46:02Questions that we like to try

1:46:04and think that we might

1:46:05anticipate from council, but we

1:46:06also hear from the residents as

1:46:08well. Uh, and, uh, whenever.

1:46:14Without having it in front of

1:46:15me to be able to tell you, you

1:46:17know, this item, that item,

1:46:18this item, that, that item, I

1:46:19won't be able to come back and

1:46:20say definitively, I can send

1:46:23that back to you in an email,

1:46:25or I can send it back to you

1:46:26through, um, the, uh, Jennifer.

1:46:29Um, but, uh, I would be kind of

1:46:33remiss if I were trying to make

1:46:35guesses.

1:46:36Mr. mayor. Mr. mayor, um, what

1:46:39we can do, um, what we're

1:46:40asking you for today, I think,

1:46:42is to, um, authorize us to

1:46:45advance the pivot, um, contract

1:46:49for your next meeting. And as

1:46:51appropriate, we can put in our

1:46:53tabulation actually shows the

1:46:55ranking and the scores, along

1:46:57with the full copy of the RFP

1:46:59that highlights some of the

1:47:00issues that had here. So in

1:47:01part, um, now downside is to be

1:47:04up for agenda, I mean, for

1:47:05adoption at night on Monday,

1:47:07but we'll be able to provide

1:47:08that and provide it for the

1:47:09record as well, not only for

1:47:10you but for the public as well.

1:47:12That's absolutely I appreciate

1:47:14that. Uh, doctor, you also

1:47:16wanted want to say I apologize.

1:47:18I did not mean to put you on

1:47:19the spot with that. And there

1:47:20were some details that were in

1:47:22our in your last conversation

1:47:24with us, uh, in terms of how we

1:47:26how we got to this point. But I

1:47:28think it would be helpful to

1:47:29see some of the tabulation.

1:47:31What went into the decision?

1:47:32Yes. When it comes back, yes.

1:47:34The September work session did

1:47:35have those percentages. And how

1:47:37what the every individual

1:47:38contractor had scored that was

1:47:40presented in that. But what

1:47:41goes into those numbers? That's

1:47:43something that I'll have a

1:47:45whenever it comes back to you,

1:47:46but also turning to Sheila.

1:47:48Yeah, I mean, I just want to

1:47:50assure the group that we went

1:47:51through an RFP process. We had

1:47:53a criteria listed out in the

1:47:55RFP on how we're going to rank,

1:47:57uh, the various, uh,

1:47:59contractors to put in. And we

1:48:01had a two step process where we

1:48:03were able to, um, look at the

1:48:06RFP that were submitted and

1:48:07then actually have an interview

1:48:09with them. And we went through

1:48:10a ranking system. But most

1:48:12importantly, we had I think we

1:48:14noted this in the previous

1:48:15presentation. We had members of

1:48:17our audit team. We had members

1:48:19of our finance team. We had

1:48:21members from our parks and

1:48:22recreation team. If I'm

1:48:24missing, I think those are

1:48:25three for sure. And our

1:48:26internal public service is all

1:48:28evaluating, evaluating the RFP

1:48:30for making sure that it's

1:48:31comprehensively evaluated in

1:48:33terms of the vendors putting in

1:48:34and then the ranking system

1:48:36subsequently. So.

1:48:39And then going and then going

1:48:41to your second question, how do

1:48:43we engage the public that is

1:48:45outside the downtown community

1:48:46and the business holders? We

1:48:48have not held a hey, here's

1:48:50City Hall, everybody come on

1:48:52down and just kind of, for lack

1:48:54of a better word, come yell at

1:48:55us. That's not we haven't done

1:48:58that. Um, well, I have done,

1:49:00um, is I frequent the downtown

1:49:03area quite often. I do the

1:49:05thing that business owners told

1:49:06me not to do. I read the

1:49:07comments online about a lot of

1:49:09the concerns, but also at the

1:49:10same time, I do rely on the

1:49:12business owners to tell me what

1:49:13their customers, what their

1:49:15feedback is. And so I go into

1:49:17the coffee shop and I talk with

1:49:18the owners. My barber is down

1:49:20here, I talk with her and I

1:49:22talk with the nonprofit

1:49:24organizations, um, like, uh,

1:49:27Dogwood Festival. I talk with

1:49:28him for the things that I hear

1:49:30kind of through those roads.

1:49:32But in terms of a public

1:49:34session of here's parking, come

1:49:36down here and talk with us

1:49:37about parking. Uh, have not

1:49:38done that yet.

1:49:39And no problem. There's a I'm

1:49:42sorry.

1:49:42Go ahead.

1:49:42I think I want to also add that

1:49:44we didn't want to pre-empt

1:49:45council's decision here by

1:49:48engaging at an extended way

1:49:49with the downtown community.

1:49:50And so we want to make sure

1:49:51that council is comfortable in

1:49:52the direction that we are

1:49:53recommending. And once we do

1:49:55that, we'll be able to

1:49:56holistically go to the downtown

1:49:58community. And certainly with

1:49:59the recommendations that pivot

1:50:01is offering and bring them

1:50:02along so that we can have a

1:50:04more wholesome, uh, two way

1:50:05conversation about what

1:50:07enhancements council wishes and

1:50:09the community wishes.

1:50:11Thank you. Just want to end

1:50:12with appreciation. There's

1:50:14opportunities also for us to

1:50:16engage on this. Uh, but

1:50:17appreciation, especially on,

1:50:18uh, digging into the data, some

1:50:20of the things that are going to

1:50:21help us in the future. But

1:50:22thank you.

1:50:23All right, Councilman Davis,

1:50:25thank you. And, uh, Jones and.

1:50:27Oh, I'm sorry. Hondros. Jones.

1:50:29Davis.

1:50:31Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, I

1:50:33just wanted to touch base or

1:50:35speak on two things. One, you

1:50:37mentioned revenue neutrality. I

1:50:39don't recall. You know, that

1:50:40may have been mentioned as a

1:50:41comment, but I don't recall

1:50:42unless I missed the council as

1:50:43a whole. Um, given that

1:50:46direction, um, conversely, you

1:50:48know, these are some of the

1:50:48questions or conversations I

1:50:50have with residents, uh, and my

1:50:52colleagues and I have have been

1:50:54to some of the meetings and

1:50:55talked with a lot of the

1:50:56business owners, property

1:50:57owners and residents that

1:50:59frequent downtown. But the

1:51:01overall, um, complaint I hear

1:51:05is the equipment, right? That's

1:51:06that's the number one. So in

1:51:07order to have a program, we got

1:51:08to have something that that

1:51:09works like it should. But, um,

1:51:11as it was mentioned already

1:51:13today, um, there's no such

1:51:14thing as free. So it's just a

1:51:15matter of who's paying for the

1:51:16cost. So even if parking was,

1:51:20um, value added to the

1:51:22taxpayer, right where they

1:51:22didn't have to pay to park in

1:51:24actual spot, um, we wouldn't

1:51:27have necessarily a need for a

1:51:28contractor. So that expense

1:51:29goes away. But debt on, uh,

1:51:32parking decks, um, maintaining

1:51:34the parking, cleaning up the

1:51:36parking, all that, all those

1:51:37expenses stay. So while in the

1:51:39last 3 or 4 years we may be

1:51:42subsidizing the paid parking

1:51:44program, $500 or 600,000 a year

1:51:47if the paid parking program

1:51:48goes away, it's more like 750

1:51:50to 1 million a year to service

1:51:53the debt and and maintain the

1:51:55parking and police the the

1:51:57litter and the trash. I just

1:51:58want that to be aware, because

1:51:59I think that's often

1:52:00overlooked. Um, but the, um, I

1:52:03think if we, uh, first get

1:52:05equipment that works, that'll

1:52:06go a long way to solving a lot

1:52:08of the reservations, concerns,

1:52:10complaints that I hear. Thank

1:52:11you..

1:52:13All right. Thank you,

1:52:14Councilmember Jones.

1:52:16Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just very

1:52:17quickly. First, um, thank you

1:52:19all, Miss Sheila, for the for

1:52:20the word. I just wanted to kind

1:52:21of reiterate something that you

1:52:23shared. Uh, I sit on an audit

1:52:24committee as well, and I know

1:52:25you all have extensive work

1:52:28with the audit committee. One

1:52:30of the things I, the public

1:52:32should know, and I and I've

1:52:33done it and some of my cohorts,

1:52:35I know they've done it. We

1:52:36spent a tremendous a lot of

1:52:39time dissecting that contract,

1:52:42what we wanted in it, what

1:52:43shouldn't be in it, looking at

1:52:44the data. I mean, an extensive

1:52:47amount of time. Number two,

1:52:49you're in your staff, save the

1:52:51city a tremendous amount of

1:52:53money. I mean, I know you're a

1:52:55very humble person, but you all

1:52:56did when you when you wrote the

1:52:58RFP and just the contract work

1:53:00that that could have been sent

1:53:02out. But you all took the time

1:53:03to do that. So, uh, digging in,

1:53:06I know you all digging. I I'm

1:53:08not I don't have time to even

1:53:10go, uh, explain the depth to

1:53:13which you all went to to make

1:53:14sure that what we were

1:53:16presented, what the public was

1:53:17presented, was extremely,

1:53:19extremely thorough. Uh, so I

1:53:20just wanted to, to make a

1:53:22mention of that, because I

1:53:23didn't want us to miss that

1:53:24because we spent in. I mean,

1:53:25when I say we spent an

1:53:26extensive amount of time, we

1:53:28did that. So I appreciate that.

1:53:30So whatever you bring back, uh,

1:53:32just I want you all to know the

1:53:33public to know as well. It was

1:53:36extremely vetted. I mean, it

1:53:38just did not happen overnight.

1:53:39We spent an extensive amount of

1:53:41time on that because we also

1:53:42have an excellent audit team as

1:53:44well. So thank you. Thank you,

1:53:46Mr. Mayor.

1:53:47All right. Councilman Davis,

1:53:48I'm sorry, Tom Davis, you had

1:53:50your letter?

1:53:51Yes. Thank you. I think that,

1:53:52um, uh, Councilmember, um,

1:53:56McMillan mentioned, you know,

1:53:57doing more engagement, which

1:53:59could be great. Um, but

1:54:01basically everything that's in

1:54:02this slide is the same things

1:54:03that I've heard from DTA, you

1:54:06know, Springs and others, these

1:54:08are the exact same things. I

1:54:10met with them recently. In the

1:54:11last two weeks, both the

1:54:12organizations and I think more

1:54:14so they all agreed to just be

1:54:15more creative with downtown

1:54:18parking so that it can best

1:54:19work for merchants and

1:54:22residents and everybody

1:54:23downtown. So I think maybe just

1:54:25be more creative. But these

1:54:27these are the exact same

1:54:28things. And, you know, we have

1:54:29cool springs here. They can

1:54:31maybe tell us that there was

1:54:32something else that they heard

1:54:32that's not on this lot. Um,

1:54:34that can help us make the best

1:54:36decision. That's all. Thank

1:54:37you. Sir.

1:54:40All right. Mayor Pro Tem.

1:54:41Uh. Really? Nothing. Mr. mayor,

1:54:44I think my colleague from Audit

1:54:46Council Member Jones hit it

1:54:47dead on the head. How we got

1:54:49here? Uh, there was a company

1:54:50that, uh, was not doing the

1:54:53service that was provided. It

1:54:54was a company that was not

1:54:55collecting fees as they were

1:54:57supposed to. Uh, we went

1:54:59through it with a fine tooth

1:55:01comb to come up with the RFP on

1:55:02what we wanted to expect and

1:55:03what we need to improve our

1:55:06downtown revenue. Uh, the

1:55:08equipment was one of them that,

1:55:09uh, my other colleague talked

1:55:10about. So everything was

1:55:11already said. So I don't need

1:55:12to say anything else. Mr.

1:55:13Mayor, just let me add that,

1:55:15uh, Brian, I'm glad that you

1:55:18took the questions from our

1:55:19previous work session. And that

1:55:21was one of the first things you

1:55:22highlighted in your slides. So

1:55:24if anybody has any ambiguity,

1:55:26those questions he got from us.

1:55:28So that's how he got to the,

1:55:31uh, I guess the pamphlet that

1:55:32he's going to share with

1:55:33everybody, with the numbers on

1:55:35it and how you can look it up

1:55:36to answer your own questions

1:55:38for future reference. So thank

1:55:39you for that information and

1:55:40great job.

1:55:42Councilmember McMillan.

1:55:43Yeah, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh,

1:55:45this is something to deal with.

1:55:47The engagement piece, uh, some

1:55:49education for residents to even

1:55:51though I hate I hate paying for

1:55:53parking. Um, learn a lot from,

1:55:55uh, organizations like Strong

1:55:57Towns. Uh, understanding the

1:55:59benefits of density. Uh, I

1:56:01appreciate even the comment

1:56:02about wanting to want to be

1:56:04part one of the park right next

1:56:05to the front door, and, uh,

1:56:07what that does in terms of our

1:56:09resources and limited our

1:56:11resources. So in the two way

1:56:13exchange that is engagement,

1:56:14there's an opportunity for

1:56:17education around why we have to

1:56:18make changes in the future if

1:56:20we're going to have a viable,

1:56:22viable path forward. So thank

1:56:24you.

1:56:25All right.

1:56:26Thank you. Mayor. Uh, I'm ready

1:56:28to make a motion if there's no

1:56:29other questions, man.

1:56:31Yeah, we got several other

1:56:32items, so.

1:56:33Thank you, mayor. So I move

1:56:34that council provide consensus

1:56:36to select, uh, pivot parking as

1:56:38the next provider of parking

1:56:39management services, with

1:56:40services to begin no later than

1:56:42January 2027, pending approval

1:56:45and execution of the contract

1:56:46by all parties for staff to

1:56:47bring the contract to a future

1:56:49council. Regular session for

1:56:50consent.

1:56:51All right. Motion by Mayor Pro

1:56:52Tem, seconded by Councilmember

1:56:54McNair. Discussion. All right,

1:56:56Council, I look to you for your

1:56:57votes. All right, Madam Clerk.

1:57:04Motion carries nine zero. All

1:57:06right. Thank you all. Look, uh,

1:57:07look forward to hearing.

1:57:09Hearing more. All right. Um,

1:57:176.05. Update from Cool Springs.

1:57:29Evening. Uh, afternoon, mayor

1:57:31and council. Let's see here.

1:57:43What's that? There we go. All

1:58:01right, there we go. So there's

1:58:03a lot going on downtown this

1:58:05afternoon. Uh, between the

1:58:07stormwater work and the parking

1:58:09work, um, uh, Barry Dunn also

1:58:12has a, uh, study working on

1:58:14downtown, and, uh, our plan for

1:58:17the next several years. Uh, I

1:58:18just wanted to really quickly,

1:58:20before I introduce Ashanti, uh,

1:58:22that there's a survey out with

1:58:24the Barry Dunn downtown study

1:58:25that's on our website. Uh, it's

1:58:27on the main page, and it's

1:58:28being pushed out on social

1:58:29media for anybody in the

1:58:30community to give us feedback

1:58:32on that. Um, just personally,

1:58:36through this work, talking with

1:58:38those folks and meeting with a

1:58:39bunch of different departments,

1:58:40I've learned a lot about how

1:58:41passionate staff is about

1:58:43downtown. And obviously you are

1:58:45passionate about downtown, but

1:58:47we can't do it without

1:58:48partners. And so, uh, we get a

1:58:50quarterly update from one of

1:58:52our main partners, Cool Spring

1:58:53Downtown District. And so with

1:58:54that, I'll turn it over to the

1:58:56president CEO, Ashanti Bennett.

1:58:59Good evening. Afternoon.

1:59:01Hello. It's. What time is it?

1:59:04Um, thank you, Chris, for that.

1:59:05Hi, Council. Um, I'm going to

1:59:08I'm going to try to just get

1:59:10through this without coughing

1:59:11all over y'all. Um, I love

1:59:13fall. It's my season. But with

1:59:14it comes this. Um, but we're

1:59:17going to just go through some

1:59:18of the highlights from the

1:59:21quarter. Excuse me, Q4, which

1:59:24is April through June of this

1:59:26year. Excuse me. Well, we're

1:59:30going to we're going to try.

1:59:32I'm at the tail. I'm at the

1:59:34tail end. Oh no, it's y'all.

1:59:35Y'all spray me down. After I

1:59:37stay back there. Uh, um, just a

1:59:40quick slide here. Um, just

1:59:43shows the alignment between

1:59:45the, um, city's goals and cold

1:59:49springs, uh, pillars of work,

1:59:51how we break that up and sort

1:59:52of, you know, merge those two

1:59:53interests there. Um, and that

1:59:56is really how we shape the work

1:59:57that we do for downtown. Um,

2:00:00everything that we take on, we

2:00:02run it through these filters,

2:00:04run it through these goals to

2:00:05make sure that we are meeting

2:00:07the mission of Cold Spring and

2:00:09and that we are also, um,

2:00:11achieving what the city would

2:00:12like to see with the downtown

2:00:14district. So couple of

2:00:17highlights here. Um, our

2:00:19economic vitality, our grow

2:00:22pillar internally there. Um,

2:00:24just talking a bit about some

2:00:25of the movement with some of

2:00:27the businesses in downtown. Um,

2:00:29excuse me. Um, we had some

2:00:32businesses open and move into

2:00:34the space. We've had a couple

2:00:36businesses actually move and

2:00:38stay inside the downtown

2:00:39district, which we always like

2:00:41to hear. If they're expanding,

2:00:43they just need a new space. But

2:00:44They do choose to still stay in

2:00:46the downtown district. Um,

2:00:47y'all are very lucky, actually.

2:00:49Now in City Hall, you've got

2:00:50Block Roasters closer to you

2:00:52than it is to me now. Um, so

2:00:54they've got excellent coffee

2:00:55and I've seen that they've got

2:00:56their outdoor seating area

2:00:58there. So that's really nice

2:00:59for these long city council

2:01:00meetings. I'm sure. Um, and so

2:01:03we've had a couple of

2:01:04businesses closed. Um, and then

2:01:07we've had actually a couple

2:01:09more open since this, um, last

2:01:11report here. Um, but the one

2:01:13that was set for opening soon,

2:01:15Thirsty Gamers, has in fact

2:01:17opened. Um, if you haven't had

2:01:18a chance to visit that space,

2:01:20it is the old space where Block

2:01:22Roasters was right next to

2:01:23Sweet Palate. It's a, um, it's

2:01:25a it's a game space. And I was

2:01:28actually really, really

2:01:29impressed and surprised. They

2:01:31just have a a wall of every

2:01:34board game games you've never

2:01:36heard of. I've never heard of.

2:01:37Um, and that's a really nice

2:01:39space for people to be able to

2:01:40connect, especially as this

2:01:42weather turns. I don't know

2:01:43about you, but I love a good

2:01:44game night. Um, we actually

2:01:46held a resident social there in

2:01:49this recent quarter. Um, and it

2:01:51was a really nice way to

2:01:52activate that space. Um, some

2:01:54of the other activities that

2:01:57we've done, um, and I'll kind

2:01:58of come back to it a little bit

2:02:00more. A couple slides from now.

2:02:01Um, but Juneteenth was the big

2:02:03event for, uh, Q4, our

2:02:06Juneteenth jubilee. Um, so we

2:02:08had a blitz of media for that.

2:02:11And anytime I have that

2:02:13opportunity to, you know, do

2:02:14radio, go on television, we're

2:02:16always talking about the

2:02:17particular event that we're

2:02:19there for, but we're always

2:02:20talking about all the other

2:02:21things that are happening in

2:02:22downtown and just letting folks

2:02:24know that downtown is the place

2:02:26to be. Um, we have some new

2:02:29investment and some activities

2:02:32that are happening in the

2:02:34downtown, one of which has just

2:02:36recently completed. And the

2:02:38last week or so, which was, um,

2:02:41this body's support of the

2:02:43Fayetteville Commission's 910

2:02:45festival. Future festival. Um,

2:02:48that, uh, actually, it happened

2:02:49during that particular time in

2:02:51that quarter when they were

2:02:53looking for their funding to

2:02:54bring that event to our

2:02:56downtown. Um, we'll have more

2:02:58updates and things and get some

2:02:59numbers for them and be able to

2:03:00share that with you the next

2:03:01time that we come to this

2:03:03podium for you. Excuse me. Uh,

2:03:11we also did some regular

2:03:13programming that we have for

2:03:15our spring, including our, um,

2:03:17hopping around downtown with

2:03:19our Easter bunny. Um, and we

2:03:22were able to actually, this

2:03:23year through some donations,

2:03:24add some more, uh, golden eggs

2:03:27and some more filled eggs

2:03:28around downtown. Um, because,

2:03:30believe it or not, they're

2:03:32parents and children that are,

2:03:34like, waiting for us to hide

2:03:36eggs. And they they snatch them

2:03:37up. And last year, uh, just

2:03:40about everything was gone

2:03:41within the first hour. So we

2:03:42tried to be a little sneakier

2:03:43this year, a little bit more

2:03:44clever, um, and have folks out

2:03:46a little bit longer on that

2:03:48day. Um, but in addition to

2:03:50that, we also hosted the

2:03:52regular fourth Fridays for

2:03:53April, May and June. Um,

2:03:56unfortunately for us, both May

2:03:58and June saw some heavy, uh,

2:04:01inclement weather. Uh, we were

2:04:03able to get a little bit

2:04:04further along in the June

2:04:06programming before we

2:04:07eventually had to just just

2:04:09sort of call it because it was

2:04:11a lot of a lot of rain. But we

2:04:13still managed to have, um,

2:04:15excuse me, about 15,500

2:04:20attendees for these events in

2:04:22the last quarter. Again, that's

2:04:23not including Juneteenth.

2:04:24That's coming up in just a

2:04:26moment. Um, in addition to

2:04:28that, we also joined some of

2:04:29our other partners and

2:04:31organizations. We work very

2:04:33closely with all the other

2:04:34nonprofits and the businesses

2:04:36that are in downtown, including

2:04:38the Arts Council, Dogwood

2:04:39Festival.

2:04:40Um.

2:04:41Excuse me. And we were very

2:04:43excited to be able to join them

2:04:45as a part of the Cumberland

2:04:47County um, delegation to Arts

2:04:49Day this year. Um, up in

2:04:51Raleigh, which is an

2:04:53opportunity to not only connect

2:04:56with other arts advocacy groups

2:04:59and other organizations that do

2:05:01similar work in downtowns as we

2:05:03do, but it is a really

2:05:05dedicated time when our

2:05:07legislature is expecting us to

2:05:09come and be able to meet with

2:05:11our delegation there and speak

2:05:12with some other folks, see

2:05:13what's happening, uh, policy

2:05:15wise, as far as arts and

2:05:18entertainment, through

2:05:19districts like the one that we

2:05:20manage here in downtown

2:05:21Fayetteville. Um, and we were

2:05:24consistently one of the largest

2:05:25groups to show up because, you

2:05:27know, I think there was even a

2:05:28van that was rented to take a

2:05:29bunch of us up there. So that's

2:05:31always a good opportunity to be

2:05:32able to get in front of our

2:05:34state delegation and let them

2:05:36know what's going on in

2:05:37Fayetteville as well. Um, to

2:05:39that end, we also attend the

2:05:41North Carolina Center for

2:05:43nonprofits. Excuse me. Policy.

2:05:46Conversation. And that's just

2:05:49keeping, um, keeping us abreast

2:05:51of things that are going on on

2:05:52that state level that might

2:05:53trickle down and affect some of

2:05:55the things that we want to

2:05:56implement and execute here in

2:05:58the downtown. Um, and it's just

2:06:00good to stay up to date on

2:06:02that. Um, I'm not always a

2:06:04policy paper person, but I do

2:06:06think that the North Carolina

2:06:07Center for nonprofits does a

2:06:09very excellent job of sort of

2:06:10taking very, very big concepts

2:06:12and breaking them down. Um,

2:06:14especially as things are

2:06:16related to, um, charitable

2:06:17giving or any sort of grants

2:06:20criteria that may be happening

2:06:22on the state level, it's always

2:06:24helpful for us to be aware of

2:06:25that, not just for cold springs

2:06:27sake, but for any of our

2:06:28partners that need to be aware

2:06:30of that. And then lastly, um,

2:06:33in that quarter is also able to

2:06:35attend, um, cold Spring remains

2:06:38members.

2:06:44Excuse me.

2:06:47Um, we remain members of the

2:06:50North Carolina Downtown

2:06:51Development Association, which

2:06:54is a consortium of

2:06:55organizations, much like Cold

2:06:57Spring from across the state of

2:06:58North Carolina. Um, often

2:07:00adding guests from South

2:07:02Carolina and Virginia, just,

2:07:03you know, are some of our

2:07:04regional partners as well. Um,

2:07:06to very specifically talk

2:07:08about, um, not just the arts

2:07:10and entertainment piece, but

2:07:12just how you manage a downtown

2:07:15district. Um, and as you can

2:07:17imagine, with those cities from

2:07:18across the state, that that can

2:07:20vary. But it's nice to get in a

2:07:22room with your peers, and you

2:07:23realize that some of the things

2:07:25that we can begin to think are

2:07:27uniquely Fayetteville problems,

2:07:29they are not their downtown

2:07:31problems and challenges and

2:07:34wins as well. So it's always

2:07:36about being able to learn from

2:07:38peers and see what works best,

2:07:40what didn't work best, where

2:07:41they may be stuck, where we're

2:07:42stuck, and really just being

2:07:43able to exchange that knowledge

2:07:45and information with each

2:07:46other. It's always very

2:07:48beneficial. Um, we are actually

2:07:50working with them right now to

2:07:52hopefully bring them to do a

2:07:53session in Fayetteville. Um, I

2:07:56think we're sort of setting it

2:07:57up right now that they would

2:07:58come to one of the cool spring

2:07:59board meetings, but should we

2:08:01make that sort of a larger,

2:08:03more public, opportunity? We'll

2:08:05certainly make sure that all of

2:08:06the council members know, um,

2:08:08including Council Member

2:08:09Ferguson, who's actually our

2:08:11representative, um, on the

2:08:13board. Um, and I will also make

2:08:14sure, sir, that you have all of

2:08:16those updated, uh, board

2:08:17meetings. If you don't have I

2:08:18know you're you're new and

2:08:19being able to make it to one,

2:08:20but we're going to make sure

2:08:21that you are able to come to

2:08:23all of them. Excuse me. I know

2:08:28that's very exciting to add one

2:08:30more meeting to your calendar.

2:08:32That was two. That's right. Um,

2:08:35and so in that quarter of last,

2:08:39uh, excuse me, fourth quarter,

2:08:40we did welcome about 520,000.

2:08:46Little less than that. Unique

2:08:47visitors to the downtown. Um,

2:08:49it's 2 million visits overall.

2:08:51But a lot of that is people

2:08:52that are, you know, they work

2:08:53here, they live here. They come

2:08:54every day. Those of us that

2:08:56spend, you know, eight, ten, 12

2:08:57hours a day. Um, you're not

2:08:59picked up. But these are people

2:09:00that specifically came to the

2:09:01downtown and then exit it. Um,

2:09:03which is a bit of an increase,

2:09:05about a little less than a 2%

2:09:07increase of this time. Fourth

2:09:09quarter last year. Um, we

2:09:11tracked that data through a,

2:09:13um, through a subscription that

2:09:15we have with placer AI, uh,

2:09:17which utilizes cell phone data

2:09:19to track a lot of this. Um, and

2:09:22since that time when we've

2:09:23renewed that contract, we

2:09:25actually have a new, um,

2:09:27dedicated representative that

2:09:28we're working with at placer

2:09:30AI. Um, I don't know if any of

2:09:31you have had an opportunity to

2:09:33sort of see what this platform

2:09:34looks like, and I'm happy to

2:09:36sort of, you know, incorporate

2:09:38a little bit of that in my next

2:09:39presentation for you. But, um,

2:09:41we sort of have been using it

2:09:43in one particular way, and

2:09:45largely that is to sort of

2:09:46track that, that foot traffic,

2:09:47that data. Um, by and large,

2:09:50for the events and sort of the

2:09:51overall for the quarter. But

2:09:53there is infinite amounts of

2:09:56possibility of things that we

2:09:57can do at that placer AI data.

2:09:59Um, one of which now we're

2:10:01engaged in working with them so

2:10:02that we can get a void analysis

2:10:04for the downtown, which

2:10:06essentially just allows us to

2:10:08understand, um, some of our

2:10:11vacant buildings that we have,

2:10:13you know, comparing them not

2:10:15just to other buildings that

2:10:16are in the district, but

2:10:17similar size, scope. Um, all,

2:10:20all sorts of and, I mean, we

2:10:22can put whatever criteria we

2:10:23want in there really, but it

2:10:25also tracks, you know, people

2:10:26that come downtown. Where are

2:10:28they going to next? Where have

2:10:30they come from? It basically

2:10:32just gives us a very

2:10:33interesting roadmap that allows

2:10:35us to help our partners here at

2:10:38the Economic Development

2:10:40Department, here with the city

2:10:42and some of the other folks

2:10:43that are working on this,

2:10:44really target who we're

2:10:46bringing to the downtown to be

2:10:48able to open up those

2:10:49businesses that we want to see.

2:10:51So there is a lot to learn

2:10:53there. Um, it's it's can be

2:10:55overwhelming when you go in,

2:10:56but I think that we're, we're

2:10:58we're getting good at it. So

2:10:59stay tuned on some more fun

2:11:01from that. Um, so Juneteenth,

2:11:05uh, that was the highlight of

2:11:07Q4. Um, it is the thing that I

2:11:09end up living, breathing, um,

2:11:11dreaming about, quite frankly,

2:11:13even long after the event is

2:11:15over. But well worth it. Uh, we

2:11:17held that event on the 19th of

2:11:21June in Festival Park. Uh, we

2:11:23welcomed about 17,000 attendees

2:11:26throughout the day. We had 89

2:11:28artists, performers and

2:11:29community members that were a

2:11:31part of that event. Um,

2:11:33including our keynote speakers.

2:11:35Very pleased to have had, um,

2:11:37Miss Sheila Coffey, who is one

2:11:39of our commissioner alikes with

2:11:41the county, and Miss April

2:11:42Mata, who's the creative

2:11:43director for the Arts Council,

2:11:45sort of opened up that event

2:11:47for us. Um, very excited. We

2:11:49were also able, with our

2:11:50partners through ABC 11, have

2:11:53Miss Sheila Davis on our stage.

2:11:56And she is always a pleasure to

2:11:57work with. Um, as well as our

2:12:01emcee extraordinaire, many of

2:12:03you know her, Miss Dominique

2:12:04Womack. Um, and I'd love to

2:12:06take the moment just to say

2:12:08we're really excited that, uh,

2:12:10is it two months now? A little

2:12:13over two months. Um, that

2:12:15Dominique has joined the team

2:12:16here at Cold Spring Downtown

2:12:18District as our director of

2:12:19strategic storytelling and

2:12:21events. Um, so we are really

2:12:23happy to have her. After many

2:12:24years of her, um, you know,

2:12:26taking our stages for us. She's

2:12:28going to help us, um, tell tell

2:12:29her story a little bit more,

2:12:31um, uniquely. Excuse me. Um,

2:12:43some of the other highlights

2:12:44from that event. Um, you can

2:12:46see there in that sort of

2:12:47bottom, right. Uh, we did have

2:12:49Chef Judy of local fame that

2:12:51was out at our VIP area. Um, we

2:12:55brought back a very popular

2:12:56attraction that we'd had

2:12:57several years ago, which was

2:12:59the outdoor skating rink. Um, I

2:13:01can't tell you the joy I saw on

2:13:04people's faces. Um, being able

2:13:06to do that was what's worth

2:13:08every every moment of that.

2:13:10Loading. Um, we also welcomed,

2:13:13uh, two incredible artists to

2:13:16that stage. Misha. Fair, um,

2:13:19who's an incredibly great soul

2:13:21tree, sort of, uh, neo soul.

2:13:25Um, little bit of country in

2:13:27there, too. Um, artists that we

2:13:30found from the Confluence

2:13:31Conference, which is, uh, North

2:13:34Carolina's music conference.

2:13:37Um, they do artist showcase for

2:13:39about three days up there, as

2:13:41well as different industry. Um,

2:13:44sessions, including sessions on

2:13:46events and festivals and what's

2:13:48going on not just in North

2:13:49Carolina, but sort of that

2:13:50southeast region. And we've

2:13:51been really lucky to secure

2:13:53three different artists out of

2:13:54that particular conference. So

2:13:57it always is really helpful for

2:13:58us to attend that as well. Um,

2:14:00and she was amazing. Um, and

2:14:03then our headliner, Kirby, who

2:14:05I will go out on a limb and

2:14:07say, I think at this point,

2:14:09we've now done, uh, on behalf

2:14:11of you all for the city of

2:14:13Fayetteville. Um, six New Years

2:14:16and six Juneteenth. And I will

2:14:19have to say that Miss Kirby was

2:14:20probably one of the most

2:14:21delightful artists that we ever

2:14:23had to work with. She was

2:14:25absolutely fantastic. Um, when

2:14:27she left, she was like, y'all

2:14:28ever want me to come back to

2:14:29Fayetteville again? Just let me

2:14:30know. Um, so that is always

2:14:32great. We love those kind of

2:14:33ambassadors that go out. Um, I

2:14:35to look at comments sometimes.

2:14:37I saw something that came out

2:14:38earlier, somebody that was not

2:14:39very happy with us, but know

2:14:41that we have a Kirby out there

2:14:43that's saying amazing things

2:14:44about Fayetteville and wants to

2:14:46come back. So, um, but I also

2:14:48want to just take a moment and

2:14:50thank the city for and all of

2:14:52you for your support of these

2:14:54types of events. Um, this year

2:14:57we were able to partner a

2:14:59little bit with some of our

2:15:01counterparts and some of the

2:15:02other municipalities, including

2:15:03Spring Lake and Hope Mills, to

2:15:05really sort of begin to create

2:15:08a Cumberland County week long

2:15:11Juneteenth event. Um, and as a

2:15:14matter of fact, I just spoke

2:15:15with my counterpart, um, in

2:15:17Hope Mills earlier today. We're

2:15:19going to be meeting again soon

2:15:21so that we can talk about 2027.

2:15:24But the more that we can sort

2:15:25of strengthen that, um, that

2:15:27does increase that tourism for

2:15:29us, that gets people a week of

2:15:31events to come to. It also

2:15:33works for us to try to schedule

2:15:34in such a way so that people

2:15:36don't have to excuse me, pick

2:15:38and choose. They can sort of

2:15:39seamlessly plan their week of

2:15:41activities with their families.

2:15:43It always falls on Father's Day

2:15:45weekend as well, so it's just a

2:15:46good opportunity for us to work

2:15:48with them, work with our

2:15:50hoteliers and just make sure

2:15:52that we're bringing all of

2:15:53that. Um, consolidated tourism

2:15:57to the county for as long as we

2:15:59can keep them here. Um, other

2:16:01events that we did, um,

2:16:03throughout the year, mentioned

2:16:05the hopping around downtown

2:16:06that we did, we did a Cinco de

2:16:08Mayo residence social. Um,

2:16:11excuse me. And as well as the

2:16:13fourth Fridays. Um, one of the

2:16:16other things that we have done

2:16:18as an organization is we've

2:16:19joined a group called BNI,

2:16:21which is business Network

2:16:22International. And through

2:16:24that, been able to connect with

2:16:26some of the wider businesses

2:16:28that are in our, our Cumberland

2:16:30County and Fayetteville area.

2:16:32Um, but particularly for them,

2:16:34we were able to activate and

2:16:36bring their networking event to

2:16:39one of our local businesses,

2:16:41Gaston Brewing. So that was

2:16:43able to bring folks, a couple

2:16:44people actually, that had not

2:16:45ever been downtown. One was a

2:16:47native, and I thought that was

2:16:50interesting. Um, but they came

2:16:52downtown and they were able to

2:16:53have a really great day and

2:16:54then go out into their

2:16:55networking extended networks.

2:16:58Um, and talk about all the

2:16:59great things that downtown is

2:17:00doing. And so we are hoping to

2:17:03continue to nurture those

2:17:04relationships and get those

2:17:05folks involved with us as well.

2:17:07I'm trying y'all. I don't have

2:17:09any more laws. And just so I'm

2:17:10going to go till my voice gives

2:17:12out. Um, this is just a quick

2:17:15slide. I won't go over this.

2:17:16Um, it's a lot of small data

2:17:18points, but essentially, um, it

2:17:21is the social media that we

2:17:22manage. We manage pages for

2:17:24Cool Spring, we manage pages

2:17:26for, um, downtown Fayetteville.

2:17:28Um, you may or may not recall a

2:17:31couple years back we had about

2:17:33eight pages that we were

2:17:35working to consolidate, and we

2:17:37have been able to do that. So

2:17:38we haven't seen that. We have,

2:17:40in fact, seen that increase of

2:17:42um, followers, likes and shares

2:17:45that are happening by sort of

2:17:46doing that, um, consolidation.

2:17:48We are currently working on

2:17:51increasing some of our TikTok

2:17:53followers, and I know that my

2:17:55director of strategic

2:17:56storytelling has lots of plans

2:17:58for what we're going to do with

2:17:59some of our reels and short

2:18:01form videos moving forward as

2:18:02well. Um, one of the big things

2:18:04that I had spoken to you about

2:18:06when I came here in May is we

2:18:07were in the middle of a

2:18:09redesign of our website. We

2:18:11have, in fact, launched that,

2:18:13um, there are, you know, with

2:18:15anything of that nature, there

2:18:16were some kinks to work out

2:18:18over the summer, but by and

2:18:19large, I think we have all the

2:18:21functionality that we expected

2:18:23and paid for. Um, one of the

2:18:25things that is really great

2:18:26about that and you'll start

2:18:27seeing some more, uh, marketing

2:18:29for that is, um, upgrades to

2:18:32our business directory and

2:18:34making sure that we're able to

2:18:35capture even more of all the

2:18:37businesses that are downtown.

2:18:38Should they move? Do they have

2:18:39an opening? Do they have

2:18:40something going on as well as

2:18:43the event calendar? Um, right

2:18:45now that's sort of, you know,

2:18:47that's a it's more of a

2:18:48grassroots effort to make sure

2:18:49that we capture everything that

2:18:50happens downtown. But this

2:18:52better allows folks to actually

2:18:53submit their event to us. And

2:18:56that way we can go ahead and

2:18:57put it on one consolidated

2:18:59calendar. When people go to

2:19:00visit downtown fayetteville.com

2:19:03and be able to just stay

2:19:05abreast of those things as

2:19:06well. Um, we manage an

2:19:08e-newsletter that has about

2:19:106000, 7000, um, folks that we

2:19:13send that information out to,

2:19:15um, as well as Google listings

2:19:17and, um, television, radio. Um,

2:19:21we currently advertise in

2:19:22several publications with

2:19:24monthly ads. We host a week's

2:19:27worth of ads every month

2:19:29through Beasley Radio. Um, and

2:19:31those are very specifically,

2:19:34um, driving traffic to downtown

2:19:36to support local shop, local

2:19:38play local. Um, so if you have

2:19:41not heard those ads, we will

2:19:42make sure that we get you a

2:19:44copy because they're actually

2:19:45getting really they're getting

2:19:46really fun. Um, the other piece

2:19:50of what we are managed. Excuse

2:19:53me, on behalf of the downtown,

2:19:55is our safety and Engagement

2:19:57ambassador program and the

2:19:59Clean Streets program. Um, you

2:20:01guys all know Adam. Everybody

2:20:03knows Adam in the orange shirt

2:20:05there. And Malcolm that we have

2:20:07on that team as well. Um, and

2:20:08these two guys, I kind of

2:20:11wondered once how many steps

2:20:12they take in a day. It's

2:20:14probably, well, more than the

2:20:16recommended 10,000, but they

2:20:18are always out there. Um, we

2:20:20pick the orange shirts so that

2:20:22they're very visible. I'm not

2:20:23going to read through all of

2:20:24these things either, but you

2:20:26can see this is sort of what is

2:20:28the bulk of the work that our

2:20:30guys do. Um, they are

2:20:32maintaining cleanliness. They

2:20:34are maintaining beautification.

2:20:37Um, I actually think one of

2:20:38our, um, highest, uh, followed

2:20:42and liked posts was, uh, that

2:20:45sort of second photo down that

2:20:46you can see. Um, I don't know

2:20:48if Adam just got fed up one day

2:20:50or if he just had the time, but

2:20:52he, um, polished up those, uh,

2:20:54hurley pods. I don't think

2:20:56they'd look that good since

2:20:58they had first been installed.

2:21:00Um, to the point where you

2:21:01could actually see the

2:21:02original, like, inscription on

2:21:04the iron. It was. It was really

2:21:06a beautiful thing to behold.

2:21:08And so to date, he's done seven

2:21:09of those. He's going to

2:21:10continue to work through them.

2:21:12Um, it's small details like

2:21:14that that you don't really

2:21:15think about until you just sort

2:21:18of see it. It can be a part of

2:21:19the background, but it really

2:21:20does stand out and got a lot of

2:21:22a lot of attention on that. Um,

2:21:25but addition to that, it's not

2:21:27just, you know, making

2:21:28everything look pretty. Um, we

2:21:29want to make everybody feel

2:21:31safe as well. Um, our

2:21:34ambassadors will respond to

2:21:36calls from our neighbors. Um,

2:21:38here in the downtown. Um, the

2:21:40businesses there, if they have

2:21:42any sort of safety concerns.

2:21:44Um, often do a lot of, you

2:21:46know, safety escorts to cars

2:21:48for some of our folks that work

2:21:49here late at night. Um, we

2:21:52manage the dumpster pods that

2:21:54are on Otis Jones, Franklin and

2:21:57behind the Arts Council here on

2:21:59Hayes Street. Um, and about two

2:22:03quarters ago, we implemented a

2:22:05bulk trash pickup. Because one

2:22:07of the things we noticed is

2:22:08that folks were throwing

2:22:09anything away from mattresses

2:22:11or dressers into that dumpster

2:22:14area. Um, that was causing some

2:22:16issues. And so now, once a

2:22:18month, we let folks know if you

2:22:19have that sort of large scale

2:22:21trash furniture, things that

2:22:22you need to get away. Yeah.

2:22:24And yes, ma'am, I did, because

2:22:25we've got a couple more items

2:22:27and we've got the public

2:22:28hearing and we've got the I

2:22:29will brief you got some

2:22:30exciting stuff. So you got some

2:22:31questions coming up. Okay.

2:22:32I will breeze through this and

2:22:33take your questions. No

2:22:34problems. Um, I think, you

2:22:38know, by and large, we try to

2:22:41show up to every meeting that

2:22:42has anything to do with

2:22:44downtown. Um, if that's an

2:22:46advocacy issue, we want to be

2:22:47able to be there. Um, if it is

2:22:50programming, we want to be able

2:22:51to be there, but we also try to

2:22:53make sure that we are engaging

2:22:54with our partners that are

2:22:55close to us. Um, we went to

2:22:58the, um, hard hat tour of CFT

2:23:01up the hill. They are partners

2:23:03in our artistic ecosystem, and

2:23:05so we are always looking to do

2:23:07that and also share all of that

2:23:08information with the downtown

2:23:09community as well. Um, this was

2:23:12just a quick little slide, but

2:23:14we can just breeze past that a

2:23:15little bit and talk about it a

2:23:17little later. But some of the

2:23:18things that we're going to be

2:23:19working on moving forward. Um,

2:23:21and in fact, completed

2:23:23contracting today is bringing

2:23:25back another one of those large

2:23:27scale public art installations

2:23:29that, um, our downtown loves

2:23:31so. Well. Uh, like prismatic

2:23:33Mikasa. You may remember the

2:23:34small houses, the C sauce that

2:23:36we had, um, year before. So we

2:23:38are working on bringing optic.

2:23:40Um, that will be installed in

2:23:42mid December. Along with all of

2:23:44that holiday decor. So we're

2:23:46really looking to sort of light

2:23:47up the district for the

2:23:48holidays. Um, there is more

2:23:52here, but you will be hearing

2:23:53more from me about it. Optic is

2:23:56really just sort of the the

2:23:57kickoff to what we're hoping is

2:24:00going to be a very, um, a very

2:24:02long reaching, um, light based

2:24:05public art program. And if you

2:24:07have any questions about that,

2:24:08I am happy to. Um. Excuse me.

2:24:11Talk you through that a little

2:24:12bit further. And I think that

2:24:14is my last slide. Yes. So

2:24:16perfect.

2:24:16All right, I appreciate it. Um.

2:24:19Councilmember McMillan.

2:24:21Thank you, Mister Mayor. I just

2:24:22want to give thanks and

2:24:23appreciation. Thank you for

2:24:24holding space for culture. Uh,

2:24:26and also wanted to echo your

2:24:28sentiments in terms of how how

2:24:29will the Juneteenth, uh, event,

2:24:32when I was able to get out in

2:24:33the park, I saw your favorite

2:24:36MCs. Favorite MC? Uh, Dominique

2:24:39in action. And appreciate your

2:24:40talent. Uh, also, uh, agree

2:24:43with your assessment of Kirby.

2:24:45I thought, uh, she left it all

2:24:46on the stage. Her and her

2:24:49entire crew. Uh, and that was

2:24:51the perfect artist for for

2:24:53these times. And I really

2:24:54appreciate what you said about

2:24:56her. I had a question about,

2:24:59uh, the Dogwood Fall Festival,

2:25:02and if there's any cross

2:25:04collaboration with the city on

2:25:06on that, uh, if there's

2:25:08anything that we could we

2:25:09should be aware of or, um, how

2:25:12how the relationship between

2:25:14the city and all of the

2:25:16peripheral events around the

2:25:18Dogwood Festival are moving.

2:25:21Well, I, I don't know that I

2:25:22could speak to the Dogwood Fall

2:25:24Festival, per se. Um, there are

2:25:27upstairs neighbors and great

2:25:29collaborators, but they they do

2:25:30sort of do their own

2:25:31programming. Um, where we can

2:25:33figure out ways to collaborate

2:25:35with each other. We often do.

2:25:37Um, Caitlin Suarez and I, you

2:25:38know, at least weekly, are

2:25:40having some sort of side

2:25:41conversation about how do we

2:25:43sort of make all of that work.

2:25:45Um, for us. Um, I think part of

2:25:48it is a lot of, um, adjacent

2:25:51programming. So I'll sort of

2:25:53we'll talk through what Cold

2:25:54Spring may be doing and what

2:25:55dogwood is doing. And

2:25:56oftentimes you'll see our

2:25:58programming is one day to the

2:25:59next with each other. Um, we

2:26:01are trying to work out ways in

2:26:04which we can consolidate those

2:26:06events and partner a little bit

2:26:08more closely. Um, didn't quite

2:26:10work out this year, but we have

2:26:11had some discussions about 2027

2:26:14programming. Um, by and large,

2:26:16I think, um, you know, if you

2:26:19talk to dogwood, you talk to

2:26:20us, you talk to other

2:26:21nonprofits. We're all sort of

2:26:23in this space of figuring out

2:26:25how do we do more with less?

2:26:27Um, and not less in that

2:26:29anything has been taken away,

2:26:30but less than that. Um, you

2:26:32talked about stormwater and all

2:26:33your projects there and how

2:26:35inflation is sort of affecting

2:26:37those things. And so that's not

2:26:39any different in the arts and

2:26:40culture and eventing world. Um,

2:26:43you know what a New Year's cost

2:26:44five years ago is very much not

2:26:46what it costs today. And so

2:26:48when, when she and I sit down

2:26:50and our partners over at the

2:26:51Arts Council and we talk about

2:26:52some of those things. Um, first

2:26:54is, you know, all of us having

2:26:55little siloed things, we're all

2:26:57sort of scrambling. How do we

2:26:58sort of combine and create more

2:27:01consolidated events, shared

2:27:03overhead and resources and

2:27:04things like that? So those

2:27:05conversations are happening,

2:27:07and I do hope to be able to

2:27:08come to you with some more

2:27:09exciting news. Um, next time

2:27:11that I see you.

2:27:13All right. Councilman Davis.

2:27:15Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just want

2:27:16to thank you all for what you

2:27:17guys are doing. Um, I do like

2:27:19the, uh, lighting downtown,

2:27:21because anytime you go do it to

2:27:23a downtown, there's a bunch of

2:27:24lighting. So I look forward to

2:27:25that being a major piece to our

2:27:26downtown. But maybe if there's

2:27:28no more questions, I'll go

2:27:29ahead and receive the report.

2:27:30Uh.

2:27:31Got a question?

2:27:31In the interest of time. So. So

2:27:33you go ahead and make a motion

2:27:34and say that. I'll say I'll ask

2:27:35my little question.

2:27:36Just move the received report.

2:27:37All right. Motion by

2:27:38Councilmember David, second by

2:27:39Hondros to receive the report.

2:27:41Uh, discussion phase. I just

2:27:42had a couple of questions. Miss

2:27:43Bennett, I know you, um, this

2:27:46is some exciting stuff, and

2:27:47we're excited about a lot of

2:27:48it. Of course, you and I have

2:27:50had some limited correspondence

2:27:52on things like, um, zombie

2:27:54walk. Um, and Cold Springs

2:27:57position to get out of, uh,

2:27:59some entertainment things. I

2:28:01see that you, you listed, uh,

2:28:04the areas that the city

2:28:05specifically has you do for

2:28:08Juneteenth. Um, New year

2:28:10celebration. What's the what's

2:28:12the position of Cool Springs

2:28:13now with its responsibility of

2:28:15bringing the entertainment part

2:28:17to the arts of what you do?

2:28:19It's the arts and entertainment

2:28:20district. You're you're the

2:28:21facilitator of that. So how do

2:28:23you how do you plan to do that

2:28:25or what's your position on

2:28:26that? Because I if I didn't we

2:28:28didn't get a chance to speak

2:28:29directly. All I had was the

2:28:30comments. And I know how I know

2:28:31how quotes can be, you know,

2:28:34first hand. But I just want to

2:28:36hear from you. And have you all

2:28:37taken a different position on

2:28:38what your responsibility is to

2:28:39to bring and participate? And

2:28:42how is your collaboration? When

2:28:43people are bringing things?

2:28:45Because I know you're counting

2:28:45their numbers. Uh, are you

2:28:47actually working with these

2:28:48organizations when they choose

2:28:50to have something down here,

2:28:50whether it's Federal Next or

2:28:52Arts Council or whomever?

2:28:53Yeah.

2:28:54Um, absolutely. So I.

2:28:56Think, um. the kind of

2:28:58conversation we were able to

2:29:00have and I hate, we didn't get

2:29:01to, you know, get face to face

2:29:02with each other, um,

2:29:04specifically zombie Walk sort

2:29:05of its own thing there. That's

2:29:07sort of a one off. Um, I think

2:29:09that we are very mindful and

2:29:12very intentional about making

2:29:13sure that we have entertainment

2:29:15aspects and all of the things

2:29:16that we program, um, as well as

2:29:19our partners. We always have

2:29:21multiple activations at an

2:29:23event. Um, it's never just sort

2:29:25of one static thing. Um, and

2:29:27then partnering with, um,

2:29:29Fayetteville Commission, we

2:29:30did, in fact do some extensive

2:29:32marketing, um, with them. And

2:29:34that's by and large, where, um,

2:29:36if they if it's not a

2:29:38programming need for our

2:29:39assistance, we will always do

2:29:41the marketing pieces of that.

2:29:43And so if that is doing some

2:29:46interviews, if that is doing

2:29:48blog posts and social media

2:29:49posts, all of those things,

2:29:50because our goal is to make

2:29:51sure that all of these events

2:29:54are getting out to its wider

2:29:55audience, as we possibly can.

2:29:57Um, and so I as far as our

2:29:59position on the entertainment

2:30:00part of arts and entertainment,

2:30:02I think they go together. It's

2:30:03it's kind of hard to separate

2:30:05them. Um, specifically, I know

2:30:07that there are, um, some folks

2:30:09that think the arts part is

2:30:11just the things that hang on

2:30:12the wall. Um, but for us, it

2:30:14is, um, that public art piece

2:30:16that's in that public realm,

2:30:18things that people can interact

2:30:19with, with each other and come

2:30:21together. It is the concerts

2:30:24and the music. It's the rides

2:30:27and the games and the bounce

2:30:28houses. It's, um, it's simple.

2:30:30Sometimes it's chalk on the

2:30:32sidewalk. It is activating our

2:30:35art alley. I don't know if

2:30:36you've had a chance to stroll

2:30:37down there, any of you, but

2:30:38we've just recently made some

2:30:40upgrades to that space. Um, and

2:30:42we'll continue to do so. Um,

2:30:45and so there is a lot of

2:30:47opportunity with which we work

2:30:49with everyone that we can

2:30:50downtown to make sure that

2:30:51we're offering as many things

2:30:53for people to, um, do as

2:30:56individuals do as a group work

2:30:58together. Um, and there is even

2:31:01right now, I don't know if

2:31:03you've seen that activity

2:31:04that's happening right next to

2:31:05the Arts Council, what we all

2:31:06lovingly call Chess Park. Um,

2:31:09that has been, quite frankly, a

2:31:11little bit of a passion project

2:31:12for me. Uh, since I worked at

2:31:14the Arts Council a thousand

2:31:16years ago. Always wanted that

2:31:17little pocket park to be

2:31:18something. But we are restoring

2:31:20those chess tables and in talks

2:31:22with the Fayetteville Chess

2:31:23Club, trying to bring more

2:31:25activations in just more third

2:31:27spaces where people can come

2:31:29and be engaged in the downtown

2:31:30and spend time not sort of just

2:31:32come transactional, but

2:31:33actually treat this as a space

2:31:35where they want to be.

2:31:37So so I understand that part,

2:31:39and I think that all of that is

2:31:40good because you can definitely

2:31:41see it, just like the public

2:31:42art. But I guess I guess one of

2:31:44the things that, uh, I'm trying

2:31:47to understand the approach to

2:31:49is what are you doing to

2:31:50attract them? So if you take a

2:31:52situation, a highly popular

2:31:56event, you know, this

2:31:57international folk festival is

2:31:58Dogwood Festival. You're

2:32:00bringing people downtown to be

2:32:01able to have an appreciation

2:32:03for some of that, to say, hey,

2:32:04I didn't realize it was this

2:32:05nice down here. Um, but the

2:32:07event is what what what draws

2:32:10them? So what is Cool Springs

2:32:12plan to do more of that or to

2:32:14replace that. So if this was

2:32:15something that you said we no

2:32:17longer want to be a part of

2:32:18that, um, or or it's not ours.

2:32:21You know, it kind of just

2:32:22morphed its way into your

2:32:23world, and you're and you're

2:32:25trying to focus now on, I

2:32:27think, the comments where you,

2:32:28you were refocusing on what it

2:32:30is you do. What do you plan to

2:32:32replace that with to bring more

2:32:34foot traffic down? Because

2:32:35that's what our businesses are

2:32:36saying, right? Right. They're

2:32:37asking us what things are you

2:32:39bringing to bring people? We

2:32:40talked about parking tonight.

2:32:41They don't want to deter

2:32:42people. So if you're the arts

2:32:44and entertainment lead, what

2:32:47are the things you're doing to

2:32:48do that?

2:32:48Mhm. Um, so we continue.

2:32:50To do those four Friday events.

2:32:53Um we continue to do the large

2:32:55scale events. Um, we are

2:32:57responsive and can pop up, um,

2:33:00events, work with partners, the

2:33:02cameo Art House theater, for

2:33:04instance. Um, if there is

2:33:06something kind of culturally

2:33:08like Geist happening, but, um,

2:33:10as far as sort of spinning up

2:33:13new events, we can absolutely

2:33:16propose a lot of those. And we

2:33:17do. In fact, you know, we don't

2:33:19always just come right to this

2:33:20dais and ask for funding. Um,

2:33:22we do submit many competitive

2:33:24grants to support bringing down

2:33:26more events as we go through

2:33:28those years. But all of those

2:33:29things do require funding. And

2:33:31so for the events that we

2:33:33already currently have, um,

2:33:36we're making sure that we are

2:33:37maximizing them as much as we

2:33:39possibly can. And then being

2:33:40supportive of the other

2:33:42organizers that are in this

2:33:43town. Um, I, I, I'm hoping I'm

2:33:46answering your question because

2:33:47I think it's somewhere along

2:33:48the lines of, are we bringing

2:33:50more.

2:33:50Of if you're going to take

2:33:51something away that brings a

2:33:52lot of people, what are you

2:33:53replacing it with?

2:33:53So it.

2:33:54Is the fall. We're still doing

2:33:55that for. It was a Fourth

2:33:57Friday event. We're still doing

2:33:58a Fourth Friday event. It's a

2:34:00fall festival that we're

2:34:01hosting. Um, we also expanded

2:34:04the following week, and

2:34:05normally we just do a regular

2:34:07trick or treat event, usually

2:34:08about two hours. That's

2:34:10downtown. We've expanded that

2:34:12into both the youth and adult

2:34:14costume contest to allow people

2:34:16to come. But the fall festival

2:34:17is going to take over the

2:34:19streets of downtown green.

2:34:21Gillespie. Hey, Maiden Lane,

2:34:23um, not Gillespie. There will

2:34:25be some, uh. Pardon? There'll

2:34:27be some construction going

2:34:28there. Person Street. Um, we

2:34:29will have a band that is

2:34:31downtown in a stage that's

2:34:33going to be on Bow Street. Um,

2:34:34we've also incorporated, um,

2:34:38some of the local, actually,

2:34:40all of our local breweries in

2:34:41the Cumberland County will be

2:34:43holding a mini, um, Oktoberfest

2:34:45inside of that fall festival.

2:34:46We've also contracted to have

2:34:49pulp. Uh, excuse me, paper hand

2:34:51puppet theater out of Raleigh

2:34:53that are coming. They're doing

2:34:55their debut. If you've not seen

2:34:56it, I wish I had a video. I

2:34:58would say, please Google it and

2:34:59take a look. Um, but they are

2:35:01going to be coming and bringing

2:35:02that cultural experience as

2:35:04well as doing an art talk with

2:35:06our youth and open to the

2:35:07public at the library while

2:35:09they're here, sort of an artist

2:35:10residency as well. Um, we will

2:35:12have hayrides that are

2:35:14happening. We will have photo

2:35:15activated sessions. So

2:35:17essentially we're having very

2:35:19much the same event that we

2:35:21would have planned. It just may

2:35:23have less zombies.

2:35:25Gotcha. Now, understand let me.

2:35:27Come comment on that too. My

2:35:28name is Michael Pinnock. I'm

2:35:29the chair, uh, chairman of the

2:35:31board of Cool Springs. I do my

2:35:34best to support our staff. I'm

2:35:35thankful to be here for you

2:35:36all. And thank you for your

2:35:37time. Um, I just want to

2:35:43encourage you all to be mindful

2:35:45of the capacity of our staff.

2:35:47It's a very small staff. We've

2:35:50got 50%. We've got 60% of it

2:35:53sitting here in front of you

2:35:54right now. Um, I think that

2:35:56there's a we feel pressure to

2:35:58say yes to everything. Um, but

2:36:02we, we do have a limited

2:36:04capacity. And so, you know, we

2:36:06take responsibility for two

2:36:07very large events, the New

2:36:09Year's and the Juneteenth.

2:36:11Those are very involved

2:36:13planning processes. They're

2:36:15very involved execution

2:36:17processes. Um, I'm always

2:36:19amazed. Every every year I try

2:36:20to be at those events and

2:36:21volunteer on the load out,

2:36:22because that's when everybody

2:36:23is drained. Um, they're very

2:36:25hard to pull off with five

2:36:27people. I mean, you imagine

2:36:3050,000 people coming to an

2:36:32event being managed by, you

2:36:34know, five people, um, you

2:36:37know, it's amazing. And those

2:36:40are our two large events. Then

2:36:42we get brought in on medium

2:36:44sized events. There's events

2:36:46that we're totally responsible

2:36:47for. Then there's events that

2:36:49we're sort of tangent tangent

2:36:51to, um, that we're expected to

2:36:53get involved in. And then

2:36:54there's fourth Friday, um, this

2:36:57may be an unpopular opinion,

2:36:59but we do our absolute best to

2:37:01make fourth Friday great. I

2:37:03know it's expected of us to

2:37:05hold fourth Friday and be

2:37:07responsible for that. We really

2:37:08do our best. We always feel

2:37:10like we're on the, uh, we're

2:37:13always reacting to the feedback

2:37:15that we get, and the feedback

2:37:16we get is tremendous. If we do

2:37:18it on this corner, these guys

2:37:20are mad. If we do it on that

2:37:21corner, these guys have issues.

2:37:23If we put certain programming

2:37:25on this street, then another

2:37:26street's really mad. So we I've

2:37:29watched Ashanti, I've watched

2:37:31her predecessor, Bianca

2:37:33constantly deal with nothing.

2:37:36But really, I know when I'm out

2:37:37in the street, it's a beautiful

2:37:39event, especially when the

2:37:40weather's nice. But the

2:37:42feedback of interested parties

2:37:44is a different story. So the

2:37:46people on the street, they love

2:37:47it. It's great they go home,

2:37:48but the feedback that we get

2:37:50from the the stakeholders is

2:37:53very negative. Um, it's it's a

2:37:55lot of pressure. It's a lot of,

2:37:57hey, you didn't consider my

2:37:58needs here or you need to move

2:38:00it to this way. And we're we're

2:38:01always reacting to those. So I

2:38:04guess what I'm saying here is

2:38:05really to defend my staff and

2:38:07say they're working. I can

2:38:09assure you they are working

2:38:11their absolute best on events.

2:38:13Every time. And, um, you know,

2:38:16to add to add more events to

2:38:17their schedule, I think please

2:38:20be mindful of their capacity to

2:38:22do that because they're,

2:38:23they're really they're working

2:38:24to the bone on these events

2:38:26over time, nights and weekends

2:38:28all the way through. And then

2:38:29they're expected to also, do

2:38:32you know, the other four goals

2:38:33that are involved? Um, so I

2:38:36just wanted to say that just to

2:38:38support Ashanti in that regard,

2:38:39just on the event question. So

2:38:40thank you for hearing me on

2:38:41that.

2:38:41Yes, sir. All right. Council.

2:38:45So, uh, yeah. All right,

2:38:48Council look to you for your

2:38:49votes.

2:38:49On it. Oh.

2:38:51I just wanna ask him. I'm a

2:38:52part of Ward two. Um. I'm

2:38:53sorry. Um, I apologize, I'm

2:38:55sorry. No, I apologize. I'll be

2:38:57real quick. Um, Leanne. Bones,

2:38:58I'm vice chair of Cool Springs

2:39:00downtown district, and I know,

2:39:02um, Miss Ashanti Bennett is

2:39:03sick, but she just asked the

2:39:05interesting question as far as

2:39:06what it deals with zombie walk.

2:39:07You said, like, without it

2:39:08being here, what's kind of

2:39:10replacing that? So yes, she

2:39:12does have the wonderful

2:39:13festival going on, but outside

2:39:15of me being on the board of

2:39:16Cool Springs, she came to me

2:39:18directly because I don't know

2:39:19if anybody knows about it. But

2:39:20if anybody is familiar with the

2:39:22Fayetteville Comic Con that was

2:39:23going on here in the county,

2:39:25it's no longer happening. But I

2:39:26now control the Fayetteville

2:39:28Comic-Con. So what we're doing

2:39:29is Fan Quest. They will

2:39:30actually be down here on

2:39:32Halloween from 10 a.m. to 5

2:39:34p.m., and we've already been

2:39:36marketing that since May, and

2:39:37there's over like 1.5 thousand

2:39:41people that are already

2:39:42interested in it. People coming

2:39:43from out the country, not to

2:39:44country, but out of town to

2:39:45come, especially with

2:39:46celebrities coming here. And

2:39:48she brought this to my

2:39:49attention along with other

2:39:50folks, about wanting to do

2:39:51something and the likelihood of

2:39:53what can we do to bring events

2:39:55downtown. And the Comic-Con has

2:39:57been one of those things where

2:39:58we always done it. At The

2:39:59Crown. I was looking to do it

2:40:00at The Crown, but I said, no, I

2:40:02want to bring it to downtown

2:40:03Fayetteville because I want to

2:40:04see if we can make it work. And

2:40:06when we brought this, we had

2:40:07this conversation. We already

2:40:09got four places activated. So

2:40:11if you want to see what can

2:40:12possibly be the potential of

2:40:13what's going to end up

2:40:14replacing Zombie Walk, then I

2:40:17encourage y'all to come out on

2:40:18that day anytime between 10

2:40:21a.m. to 5 p.m., to see how

2:40:22we're going to activate

2:40:23downtown, to get more people to

2:40:25come downtown, to be a part of

2:40:26something during the month of

2:40:27October.

2:40:28Thank you sir. That problem.

2:40:29Yeah. All right. All right.

2:40:31Council look to you for your

2:40:32votes. Uh, this is just to

2:40:34receive. All right. Who are we

2:40:41missing? Okay. All right. Thank

2:40:43you. Thank you, Miss Bennett.

2:40:44Thank you. Feel better.

2:40:45Appreciate it. All right.

2:40:47All right. Council 6.06.

2:40:54Director Jones.

2:40:56I know y'all are so excited to

2:40:58see me.

2:40:58We love to see you. I want you

2:41:00to. I want you to summarize it

2:41:02for us too. Now. So. We know.

2:41:05You know, you're very thorough.

2:41:07Yeah, absolutely.

2:41:09Absolutely right.

2:41:11It's gonna.

2:41:11Do summarization.

2:41:13Yes. No, absolutely. Uh, good

2:41:15afternoon, mayor and mayor pro

2:41:16tem, city council, city

2:41:18manager, city attorney and city

2:41:19clerk. And the community behind

2:41:21me. Uh, as you know, my name is

2:41:22John Jones. I serve as the

2:41:23director here for the Office of

2:41:25Community Safety for the city

2:41:26of Fayetteville, North

2:41:27Carolina. And unfortunately,

2:41:29you won't be hearing my voice

2:41:30much today. Uh, because behind

2:41:33me, I, um, had we were able to

2:41:35bring in, uh, Doctor David

2:41:37Tillman, the chair of Campbell

2:41:39University's School of Public

2:41:40Health. Uh, for context,

2:41:43today's presentation is to give

2:41:46you all, uh, quantifiable and

2:41:48quantitative and qualitative

2:41:51data regarding the behavioral

2:41:53health crisis response. Uh,

2:41:55what you're going to be

2:41:56reviewing are the numbers of

2:41:58behavioral health related calls

2:42:00that the city of Fayetteville

2:42:01received. And the FPD responded

2:42:02to and some other pieces of, I

2:42:04don't want to steal Doctor

2:42:05Tillman's, uh, thunder here. So

2:42:07with that in mind, Doctor

2:42:08Tillman, I'm going to get this

2:42:09ready and we'll have time for

2:42:11questions after that.

2:42:13Good evening sir. Afternoon,

2:42:15evening. Almost.

2:42:17I just want to start.

2:42:18By commending your the

2:42:20perseverance of your attention

2:42:22and and intellect on these

2:42:23matters. I had no idea.

2:42:27You assessing our behavioral

2:42:29health.

2:42:31Board. Oh. Oh, I see the

2:42:32keyboard. Sorry about that. I'm

2:42:34sorry I missed that.

2:42:35I said you're assessing our

2:42:37behavioral health. Why are you

2:42:38sitting on.

2:42:39No, I'm a professor. I was

2:42:41impressed by your attention. I

2:42:42want to sign you off for class.

2:42:44Um, let me just say that I'm

2:42:46grateful for this opportunity

2:42:47in multiple ways, not just to

2:42:49address you. And thank you for

2:42:50letting me address you, but

2:42:51also for the partnership. I've

2:42:53been at Campbell University

2:42:54leading this program since

2:42:552012. To my knowledge, it's the

2:42:56first time we've done something

2:42:57like this with the city of

2:42:58Fayetteville. We've done it

2:42:59with other folks before. So

2:43:00it's it's a real privilege.

2:43:02It's a little messier using

2:43:03students to do work than in a

2:43:06professionalized consulting

2:43:07group, but it gives the next

2:43:09generation really good learning

2:43:11experiences and brings great

2:43:12value to the city. So I hope

2:43:14you I hope you see that

2:43:16including one of the students

2:43:17who worked on this as a

2:43:18Fayetteville resident, um,

2:43:19active duty service member who

2:43:21completed this project as a

2:43:23part of his capstone, graduated

2:43:24from the program as a part of

2:43:26the Green to Gold program. And

2:43:27so it was great to have him

2:43:29working on this. What we're

2:43:30going to do is just share with

2:43:31you in about ten minutes a very

2:43:33technical report. So we're

2:43:34going to just hit the highest

2:43:35points of the high points. Um,

2:43:37what we're going to do to is

2:43:39overview. What is both

2:43:40qualitative data that was

2:43:42gathered as well as

2:43:43quantitative data as Mr. Jones

2:43:46began by describing, as you can

2:43:49imagine, there's a lot that we

2:43:50won't get to in this little

2:43:51overview, but I want to start

2:43:53by saying that law enforcement

2:43:55is, across the country, the

2:43:57most likely and primary

2:43:58respondents response to a

2:44:00behavioral health crisis. And

2:44:02more and more cities are

2:44:03thinking about other options

2:44:04and embracing that with with

2:44:07other resources. And so what we

2:44:09did is we took a look at 1.24

2:44:13million calls for service over

2:44:16the years 2021 to 2025 from the

2:44:19Fayetteville Police Department.

2:44:20They provided this calls to us,

2:44:23and we were able to to work

2:44:24through the dispatch codes to

2:44:28there's over 700 dispatch codes

2:44:30to to identify the behavioral

2:44:31health relevant ones and then

2:44:33link them to acuity. So what

2:44:34you see here is roughly about

2:44:361000 with the narrowest

2:44:38definition of what might be

2:44:39responded to in an alternate

2:44:41way. So civilian based 901

2:44:43dispatch. And then 7000 a year,

2:44:477 to 8000 a year being that

2:44:49number that's a little bit

2:44:51broader, that places like

2:44:52Denver, Denver, Star program,

2:44:54Durham's Heart program, uh,

2:44:55have expanded to include

2:44:58overtime. Uh, the larger number

2:45:00there includes, uh, behavioral

2:45:02health calls that are likely

2:45:03not ever going to be a part of

2:45:05an exclusive civilian response.

2:45:07Uh, civilian response can

2:45:09include both, um, exclusive

2:45:11civilian response as well as co

2:45:13response. When is this

2:45:16happening? I wanted to bring

2:45:17this out in very clear ways,

2:45:20because I think sometimes it is

2:45:22counter to people's intuition

2:45:24about when these services would

2:45:25need to be provided. About 64%,

2:45:28or about two thirds of the

2:45:30calls happened between eight in

2:45:31the morning and eight at night.

2:45:33The greatest single time is 459

2:45:36calls per year. In the hour of

2:45:375 p.m.. That's why that 5:00

2:45:39clock is right there. So just

2:45:41after the workday and about 73%

2:45:46of these calls happen, uh,

2:45:47during the weekdays. And so

2:45:50that's a little bit higher than

2:45:51what you would expect, just

2:45:52based on random chance with a

2:45:54divisor of seven. So this gives

2:45:56you some sense of when these

2:45:58things are happening. So a day

2:45:59based civilian response program

2:46:01would actually respond to quite

2:46:03a few of the overall calls. The

2:46:05next thing that you see as a

2:46:07bar chart I don't want this to

2:46:08be confused. What this is, is a

2:46:10sense of how much time we're

2:46:13talking about in terms of

2:46:14patrol time, and what you're

2:46:15looking at is the fact that

2:46:17these behavioral health calls

2:46:19are sort of outsized in their

2:46:21burden to the police department

2:46:22in terms of report writing,

2:46:23they generate the need to close

2:46:25out these calls with reports at

2:46:27a higher, uh, proportion than

2:46:32do non behavioral health calls.

2:46:33And just to put that on a

2:46:35scale, even if you use the

2:46:36narrowest account that I showed

2:46:37on the previous slide of just

2:46:381000 calls per year, that's

2:46:41you're talking about with 25

2:46:42minutes per of paperwork per

2:46:44call. That's roughly 400

2:46:45officer hours. And just to get

2:46:48a sense of that, that would be

2:46:48an officer doing these reports

2:46:50from now to the holidays. Y'all

2:46:51are just talking about. What's

2:46:54interesting is that you see

2:46:55here, uh, the three districts

2:46:58that the police department

2:46:59divides, um, the city up into,

2:47:01as well as the nine sectors.

2:47:05What you see is that the, the

2:47:06share of sector volume is kind

2:47:08of the same. So it's a citywide

2:47:09problem. But the the volume is

2:47:12different. And so if a pilot

2:47:15program was decided to be

2:47:16launched in this direction,

2:47:17there would be geographic, uh,

2:47:19focal points that could be

2:47:20rolled out as a part of that

2:47:22strategy. I think pretty easily

2:47:24what you see next is a

2:47:25different set of data. So I

2:47:27want you to shift your minds a

2:47:28little bit. This is EMS data.

2:47:29And what we're looking at here

2:47:31is whether the call volume

2:47:34matched up with something that

2:47:35the CDC calls the Social

2:47:37Vulnerability Index. And what

2:47:39we were looking at was, does

2:47:41the Social Vulnerability Index

2:47:43match the call volume? In other

2:47:45words, what you would

2:47:46hypothesize is higher social

2:47:48vulnerabilities, higher call

2:47:51volumes. And that is true in

2:47:52many parts of the city. But

2:47:53what we see here is places

2:47:54where in the blue there were

2:47:56higher call volumes relative to

2:47:58what you would predict, and in

2:47:59the red lower call volumes

2:48:01relative to the

2:48:02vulnerabilities. We kicked that

2:48:04up to, not just over the

2:48:05medium, but in the quartile.

2:48:06And just to, to identify this,

2:48:09that blue section right there

2:48:11is the highest quartile. Uh,

2:48:14call volume, but the lowest

2:48:16quartile in social

2:48:18vulnerability. So this is

2:48:19actually a very surprising

2:48:20little triangular region there.

2:48:22Now, I don't want you to over

2:48:23read that, but it's a

2:48:25possibility for doing some real

2:48:27geographic work in this, uh,

2:48:29geographic focus in this work.

2:48:31But I do want to show you a

2:48:33heat map. It is not as if you

2:48:35don't hear me saying that. It's

2:48:36the overwhelming majority of

2:48:37the calls. It's just a

2:48:38surprising relationship between

2:48:40social vulnerability and calls.

2:48:43Hopefully that makes sense.

2:48:44So where is it? What is that

2:48:45triangle? And is that north

2:48:47Fayetteville.

2:48:47So this it is north. You see

2:48:49401 is creating one of the

2:48:50boundaries there.

2:48:52You it's the.

2:48:52One I.

2:48:53Just drove. Got the highest

2:48:55okay.

2:48:57Just to be clear, it's not the

2:48:59highest. But I think uh

2:49:02Methodist is is right in there.

2:49:05Um, Walmart. Yeah. I don't know

2:49:10if I just created some

2:49:12controversy. John.

2:49:15The inside joke.

2:49:17We, uh, we we combined this

2:49:20quality quantitative assessment

2:49:22with some qualitative, um,

2:49:24analysis as well. Um, the

2:49:26Office of Community Safety held

2:49:28listening sessions with about

2:49:3070 residents, uh, 50 adults and

2:49:3317 uh, youth were involved. Um,

2:49:37I don't think you'll be

2:49:38surprised. The themes included

2:49:39the fact that behavioral health

2:49:40services in the city of

2:49:41Fayetteville, like the state

2:49:43and much of the nation, are

2:49:44difficult to access fragments

2:49:45and and not always adjusted

2:49:47according to the people. What

2:49:49is being encouraged here are to

2:49:51work alongside established

2:49:53pathways of trust. One

2:49:54respondent said. Talk with me,

2:49:56not to me. Reach out to me,

2:49:58proactively understand my

2:50:00position, secure our safety

2:50:01constantly and treat me with

2:50:03respect. I will only say that

2:50:05these, uh, community listening

2:50:07sessions were not specifically

2:50:09about the idea of civilian

2:50:11responders, but it sounds like

2:50:13somebody describing what would

2:50:14be a civilian responder, uh,

2:50:17strategy. Then we held

2:50:18stakeholder interviews, which

2:50:19were different. These were one

2:50:20on one interviews with folks

2:50:21inside the system. So you see

2:50:22it from the other angle. These

2:50:24are E.R. physicians, school

2:50:26administrators, etc. them

2:50:28saying also that trust in our

2:50:30services is uneven, that the

2:50:32sunk our systems work, but

2:50:34they're being stretched beyond

2:50:35their scope and their design.

2:50:37We had a physician say the

2:50:38emergency departments have

2:50:39become a safety net, but

2:50:41they're not designed to be what

2:50:43they've become. So I think that

2:50:45that's again, not surprising.

2:50:47But again, another piece of

2:50:49validation in this direction.

2:50:51And the very last thing that we

2:50:53did was an environmental scan

2:50:55to identify what, based on the

2:50:57public record, where gaps,

2:50:59service gaps that might also be

2:51:01related here and in the

2:51:03listening sessions. Our

2:51:04participant said aftercare is

2:51:06crucial, asking are you okay?

2:51:08And connecting people to mental

2:51:09health care, the continuum of

2:51:11care to move people to healing

2:51:13after an incident and what you

2:51:16see in the gaps that that are

2:51:18in this report are that those

2:51:21middle pieces, after an

2:51:22incident are oftentimes the

2:51:24places where the fragmentation

2:51:27and lack of services emerge.

2:51:29I'm not going to spend much

2:51:30time on this. There's more

2:51:32details in the report. Happy to

2:51:33answer your questions about it.

2:51:34These are just three different

2:51:35directions that look like what

2:51:37many other municipalities have

2:51:39done in trying to roll these

2:51:40things out. Uh, in terms of the

2:51:42level of investment and what

2:51:43you can get for that

2:51:45investment, you have had quite

2:51:47a long afternoon. I've

2:51:48presented a lot to you. Happy

2:51:50to answer questions about this

2:51:51report.

2:51:53Well, I think I think you you

2:51:56did a great job and you hit it

2:51:57very precisely. Did have a

2:52:00couple of questions. So. Sure.

2:52:01Um, you've you've rendered this

2:52:03service to other, uh,

2:52:05jurisdictions, other

2:52:06municipalities. I heard you say

2:52:07reference that.

2:52:08So, uh, not specifically on

2:52:11this topic necessarily, but

2:52:12we've done quite a lot of work

2:52:14on community health

2:52:15assessments. Um, all kinds of

2:52:17other analysis.

2:52:18So, as you know, in, in would

2:52:20that being said, you know,

2:52:21counties typically received the

2:52:23resources they have to contract

2:52:24with the LME, you know, and and

2:52:26so we try to do our part, but

2:52:30they have the infrastructure

2:52:31for it. They have the social

2:52:32department of social Service.

2:52:33They have, you know, what was

2:52:34formerly mental health. So as

2:52:36you analyze this, how does our

2:52:38ecosystem look all together?

2:52:40Because really you can't look

2:52:42at it in a vacuum because you

2:52:44can tell us how many calls

2:52:45came. But part of what you

2:52:47looked at, it was the resources

2:52:48that they were referred to,

2:52:49plugged into. Did you get an

2:52:51opportunity to look at

2:52:51Cumberland County's ecosystem

2:52:53for mental health?

2:52:54So we did focus this primarily

2:52:56on this city. And what we were

2:52:58trying to do is not just

2:52:59characterize the numbers, but

2:53:00the quality of the numbers. So

2:53:01if you were trying to design a

2:53:03plan, we were trying to give

2:53:04you back some useful

2:53:05information about what that

2:53:07service might be best invested

2:53:09in early on. Like where could

2:53:10you see an ROI now with that,

2:53:13the second, uh, pieces, both

2:53:16the interviews and the

2:53:18listening sessions, as well as

2:53:19in that third part, the

2:53:20environmental scan, they both

2:53:22looked at broader. So we had a

2:53:24chance to talk to the LMA. Uh,

2:53:26specific to these issues. Um,

2:53:28and so, uh, the environment

2:53:31around the city of Fayetteville

2:53:33was included in some aspects of

2:53:35the analysis, but the

2:53:36quantitative analysis was very

2:53:38specific to the city.

2:53:40Gotcha.

2:53:40Okay.

2:53:42Uh, Councilmember McMillan.

2:53:44Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I

2:53:46appreciate this. Uh, really

2:53:47appreciate the information. I

2:53:48appreciate your work as well.

2:53:50That was very excited by the,

2:53:51uh, the geospatial analysis.

2:53:53Okay. Uh, of a sense that if we

2:53:55understand what's going on in

2:53:56our block or our districts and

2:53:58our able to impact that on a

2:53:59focused way, uh, we'll be able

2:54:01to move the city, uh, city

2:54:03forward. Uh, also appreciate

2:54:06the the introduction of

2:54:07academic organizations that are

2:54:09really focused on analysis. Uh,

2:54:11one of the things we, uh, we

2:54:12looked at or should be looking

2:54:14at is relationships between

2:54:17major cities, uh, and academic

2:54:19institutions. I'm thinking

2:54:20about Baltimore and Chicago as

2:54:23they're heralding all this

2:54:24success in bringing down crime

2:54:25rates. It wasn't without an

2:54:27analysis. It wasn't without,

2:54:29uh, continued analysis by some

2:54:32pretty powerful, uh, labs and

2:54:35academic organizations as

2:54:37they're finding their way

2:54:38forward. And I'm wondering if

2:54:40this is, uh, continued

2:54:42relationship between us and

2:54:44your office, us and Campbell.

2:54:46Uh, we also talked the last

2:54:48meeting about, uh, quantitative

2:54:50and qualitative analysis moving

2:54:52forward. Had an excellent

2:54:54report from from John Oakes,

2:54:56director, about where we stand

2:54:58now, but also we need to

2:55:00continue to look at these

2:55:01metrics in terms in terms of

2:55:03how we're impacting

2:55:04Fayetteville. So the question

2:55:06is, is this a continuing

2:55:07relationship? Will we see you

2:55:08again? Is this something that's

2:55:10going to extend into our

2:55:12metrics of the program?

2:55:13Yeah. So let me speak. Um, in

2:55:17broad terms, but I let me just

2:55:19first to say that it's been a

2:55:20real pleasure. It's been a real

2:55:22pleasure working with John and

2:55:23the team. They've been easy to

2:55:25work with. And it's been

2:55:25exciting work to be involved

2:55:27in. It's been incredible

2:55:28learning opportunities. And

2:55:29we're not far away from you.

2:55:31Um, I will say in addition to

2:55:33that, that our program has been

2:55:35very involved in Harnett

2:55:37County, where, uh, where we're

2:55:39located in things that are sort

2:55:41of drifting up from

2:55:42Fayetteville, from Cumberland

2:55:43County, things like the lead

2:55:45program. So many of the folks

2:55:46who work alongside you to do

2:55:48similar things and work

2:55:49alongside John and the team are

2:55:51people we know well. And so I

2:55:53would love to see this kind of

2:55:54thing happen in the future, not

2:55:55just analysis, but in terms of

2:55:57also thinking about strategy

2:55:59and programming and these kind

2:56:00of things, how we might be

2:56:01supportive..

2:56:02Right on. Really appreciate

2:56:03that and look forward to seeing

2:56:05you again, working with you in

2:56:06the future. Also, I wanted to

2:56:09mention this in terms of us

2:56:10going into strategic planning.

2:56:12Uh, when we're talking about,

2:56:13uh, societal impacts of the

2:56:15things that we're strategizing

2:56:17around social determinants of

2:56:19health and cities that are

2:56:21really changing their their

2:56:22strategic approach by bringing

2:56:24that in that, that level of

2:56:25analysis and something that we

2:56:27could look at and even talk

2:56:28about. I think in November, we

2:56:30get together for a strategic,

2:56:32uh, outlook meetings. Okay.

2:56:34Thank you.

2:56:35Thank you.

2:56:36Mayor Pro Tem.

2:56:37Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Let me

2:56:39just ask. You said you have

2:56:40stood up some of these programs

2:56:41before. How many are involved

2:56:43with county funds and not just

2:56:44city funds? Because I don't

2:56:45know if you answered that

2:56:46question.

2:56:46So. So let me back up. Yeah.

2:56:48Please do. So I have our

2:56:50department has been involved in

2:56:52supporting, uh, local

2:56:54governments and doing reports

2:56:57before. Just to be clear,

2:56:58something like this is not

2:57:01specifically what I was

2:57:02referring to. So can you health

2:57:03assessments, uh, health

2:57:05department strategies around

2:57:06community health improvement,

2:57:07these types of things? Um, this

2:57:09is an extension of that is what

2:57:11I was trying to express. Now, I

2:57:13can't explain to you that I've

2:57:17specifically helped support any

2:57:19of this directly before. Does

2:57:22that help?

2:57:22That does it, Mr. Jones?

2:57:24Um, yes. So, uh, to kind of

2:57:26backtrack, one of the reasons

2:57:27why we wanted a school public

2:57:29health to play a significant

2:57:30role in the data analysis is

2:57:32because obviously, it's like

2:57:34ours are typically, um, a claim

2:57:36to have a public health

2:57:37approach. So with that in mind,

2:57:39is very important to work with

2:57:40Campbell University on this. To

2:57:42your point, regarding the

2:57:44question you had, I know our

2:57:45technical assistance partners,

2:57:47Harvard Government Performance

2:57:48Lab, they are going to be

2:57:50working with us to break down

2:57:51what other models look like. So

2:57:53when we have these community

2:57:54engagement opportunities to

2:57:55inform community on the work

2:57:56that we look to do, and also

2:57:58the opportunities that go in

2:57:59front of you all as council, we

2:58:00can give you a broad, um,

2:58:03perspective of what other

2:58:05cities do and some do

2:58:07partnering with counties, some

2:58:08do not. But that's a

2:58:09conversation to be continued.

2:58:10But yes, Doctor Tillman is our

2:58:12analysis partner on this. And

2:58:13Kim Campbell University,

2:58:15because we wanted to give you

2:58:16all as council the numbers so

2:58:18that you can see on paper the

2:58:21need. And then we move forward

2:58:22with what that looks like and

2:58:23implementation.

2:58:24Thank you, Mr. Jones, for that

2:58:25clarification. No other

2:58:27question, Mr. Mayor. I'd like

2:58:28to move that. We received the

2:58:28report.

2:58:29All right. Councilmember Jones,

2:58:31just a second. Okay. All right.

2:58:33Well, I saw you in a Joseph

2:58:35quick, fast in a hurry. All

2:58:37right. So, uh.

2:58:38Question, Mister Mayor.

2:58:39All right. So let me let me

2:58:41close that out. So we received,

2:58:42uh, seconded by Councilmember

2:58:44Jones. Yes, sir. Councilman

2:58:45Hodges.

2:58:46The second to the last slide

2:58:48that had the three paths on

2:58:50that path. B, isn't that what

2:58:53we talked about and approved

2:58:55during budget?

2:58:56So I can answer that. So we,

2:59:00uh, when Campbell was working

2:59:02on this, we have already begun

2:59:03progress on some of these paths

2:59:05already, including the, um,

2:59:07standing up the nine one

2:59:08dispatch study, which we just

2:59:09received. Uh, when it comes to

2:59:11path B, it includes the four

2:59:13crisis response specialists

2:59:14that we just closed

2:59:16applications on. Um, and look

2:59:18forward to hiring, uh, the

2:59:19next, uh, coming weeks. So to

2:59:21this point, from his

2:59:23perspective and coming

2:59:24university's perspective and

2:59:25the Office of Community Safety,

2:59:26we kind of combine some of

2:59:27these paths again, to to bring

2:59:29back to you as council when the

2:59:30time comes for implementation

2:59:32and those opportunities to meet

2:59:33behind the scenes to ensure you

2:59:34are properly informed. What the

2:59:36this, uh, model looks like.

2:59:38So is that a yes or no?

2:59:40I'm sorry, what was the exact

2:59:41question? Just for my own

2:59:43clarity, yes.

2:59:43We have already moved forward

2:59:45with posting for crisis

2:59:47response specialists and those

2:59:50we just closed applications on.

2:59:52And I think he's just providing

2:59:53us a roadmap as. to the

2:59:55progress.

2:59:55I think just making sure that

2:59:57this is kind of.

2:59:57He's not asking for more money,

2:59:59I don't think.

2:59:59No, no, no not that. Just this

3:00:01is kind of consistent with what

3:00:03we had a consensus on

3:00:05previously. I was just making

3:00:06sure we're here in line. Thank

3:00:07you.

3:00:08Yes, sir.

3:00:09This is this is good to kind of

3:00:10see the direction that you that

3:00:11you already headed. Okay. All

3:00:13right. Counselor? No other. Uh,

3:00:15this is to receive the report.

3:00:20Now, again, receiving the

3:00:21report is not funding this. I

3:00:23know that coming up. Sometimes

3:00:24they'll say you received a

3:00:25report back in such and such,

3:00:27but this is to receive the

3:00:28report. But thank you. Uh,

3:00:29great job to.

3:00:30Appreciate it. Yes, sir. It's

3:00:31good.

3:00:31To be.

3:00:32All right. Uh, 6.07 Council

3:00:35will try to try to leave us a

3:00:37little room to be able to take

3:00:39a breather, bathroom stretch

3:00:41and what have you before. Our

3:00:426:00 was a six, 15, 15. All

3:00:45right, so we're tracking pretty

3:00:46good. All right, well, make it

3:00:50light on yourself. So, six. Uh,

3:00:53thank you for not wearing that

3:00:54Pittsburgh stuff up here. Oh,

3:00:56Jesus. Should have waited till

3:01:01after your presentation. How

3:01:03you doing, mister? I'm doing

3:01:04good, sir. Yourself? Yeah.

3:01:07Uh, man. All right. Where are

3:01:12we at? Good afternoon. Um,

3:01:16before I start, I need to know

3:01:17what's going on in that

3:01:18triangle. I live up in that

3:01:19area, so I think all those

3:01:23calls. We gotta figure that

3:01:24out, sir. That's my district.

3:01:26All right. Today. Um. Good

3:01:28afternoon again. Once again.

3:01:30Um, I'm here to discuss, um,

3:01:33the Pratt notification to the

3:01:35city. Um, that they are, uh,

3:01:37terminating services for us for

3:01:39recycling. Um, that

3:01:41notification came in on

3:01:44September 14th. We had just a

3:01:46council had just approved, um,

3:01:48issuing, uh, a year extension,

3:01:52and I believe in June 8th, um,

3:01:54where we extended their

3:01:55contract for a year, which was

3:01:56part of their, um, first that

3:01:58was their first extension on

3:01:59their contract, on their three

3:02:01year contract. Um, this

3:02:03contract ended because of they

3:02:05couldn't renew their lease. Um,

3:02:07so now that puts us kind of in

3:02:09a bad situation. And it's not

3:02:12just us, it's the whole region.

3:02:15Um, Fayetteville, the there are

3:02:19no other mayors in this city or

3:02:22in this region. It spans

3:02:24probably around seven or so

3:02:26counties. Anything that's kind

3:02:28of touching us, touching us and

3:02:30going all the way down into

3:02:32South Carolina, all the way

3:02:33down to Florence, South

3:02:34Carolina. Um, they they were

3:02:36bringing their recycling up

3:02:37here to, um, the Murph. That

3:02:40was, um, that was Pratt. So

3:02:43this kind of puts us in a bad

3:02:44situation. It's it's not just

3:02:46us. It is not just us. It is a

3:02:49it's a situation that we

3:02:50definitely need to look at. Um,

3:02:53the three functions that we

3:02:54need to replace, the first one

3:02:56is trans loading. And I'm going

3:02:58to say, um, and I'm going to go

3:02:59back and explain them. The

3:03:00first one is trans loading

3:03:01hauling and then processing. So

3:03:03trans loading is you can look

3:03:06at a recycled truck the, the

3:03:08ASL. And you can direct dump it

3:03:11into an 18 Wheeler. Or you can

3:03:13dump it on a pad and it can be

3:03:15scooped up with a pay loader

3:03:16and put inside an 18 Wheeler.

3:03:18And that 18 Wheeler will haul

3:03:20it, um, to wherever the Murph

3:03:22is. That would be trans

3:03:24loading. Um, the hauling, you

3:03:26know, is pretty simple. It's

3:03:27just the 18 Wheeler, um,

3:03:29walking floor that they can

3:03:30push the material out on the

3:03:32floor without the dump body.

3:03:34And the processing is the

3:03:36normal, Murph, where they bring

3:03:37everything they source

3:03:38separated. Um, and then they

3:03:40sell the combined sell it by

3:03:42commodity. So those those three

3:03:44functions we need, we already

3:03:47we already have somebody that's

3:03:49collecting it, which is waste

3:03:50management there on contract.

3:03:52Um, but we don't have anywhere

3:03:54to unload it. We don't have

3:03:55hauling. And come January we

3:03:57will not have a Murph. The

3:03:59additional, um, things that can

3:04:01come up or additional costs

3:04:02that could come up is

3:04:04personnel, um, fuel, um,

3:04:08scaling, you know, is somebody

3:04:10going to have to buy another

3:04:11scale to do, uh, to weigh the

3:04:13way this material there's

3:04:16etcetera all kinds of different

3:04:17things can come up. So we want

3:04:22to give you the next four

3:04:24slides or are I what we would

3:04:27our options that we want to

3:04:29give you that we're kind of

3:04:30working on simultaneously. Um,

3:04:33and then we're going to give

3:04:34you a fifth option that we

3:04:35really don't want to do.

3:04:36Alright. So the first option is

3:04:38to have an emergency interim

3:04:40contract with joint partners.

3:04:43Um, we're kind of already

3:04:44looking at other agencies.

3:04:46We're working. Um, we've had

3:04:48discussions with Sunoco, we've

3:04:49had discussions with Waste

3:04:51Management. Um, we're

3:04:52discussing with the county, um,

3:04:55um, all these different areas

3:04:57that we're discussing with

3:04:58because everybody's having the

3:04:59same problem. Um, Hope Mills,

3:05:02um, Spring Lake, they're all

3:05:05having they all have the same

3:05:06problems. So it's going to make

3:05:07sense for us to figure out how

3:05:09to work together to get this

3:05:11solved as soon as possible. And

3:05:13that is, once again, the

3:05:14receiving, the trans loading,

3:05:16the hauling and the processing.

3:05:18So regional partnerships also,

3:05:21um, that we're looking at,

3:05:22which is is there any buildings

3:05:24that we can come into together

3:05:27and share? Uh, share the load,

3:05:30um, volume, because it's a lot

3:05:32of volume that's coming up. We

3:05:33are doing between seven, 7009

3:05:36thousand tons a year, and we

3:05:38are the by far the biggest

3:05:40market in this area when it

3:05:42comes to recycling. Um, all the

3:05:45agencies or all the companies

3:05:46will tell you that we are the

3:05:47biggest market here. But the

3:05:49other markets do count. Um, the

3:05:52transporting and the processing,

3:05:55regional partnerships. We've

3:05:58also talked to Miss Keisha,

3:06:00which is on our real estate

3:06:01team, and we also talked to,

3:06:03um, Mr. Roberts, um, Van Jones

3:06:06from the FC EDC. And he's also

3:06:09looking for a place that we can

3:06:11potentially use if we need it.

3:06:14We're also in the process of

3:06:17putting together a competitive

3:06:19RFP for a Murph, for hauling

3:06:22and receiving and processing.

3:06:24About 90 to 95% complete. Um,

3:06:27that can go out probably this

3:06:29week if we choose to do so. Um,

3:06:32but we're working on all of

3:06:33these things, like I said,

3:06:34simultaneously. And we're also

3:06:37looking at down the road the

3:06:39things that we've talked about

3:06:40so far. We're kind of short

3:06:41term items that we were that

3:06:43we're looking at. But down the

3:06:45road we need to be able to

3:06:46protect ourselves, to never be

3:06:48in this situation again, just

3:06:50in case it happens. So one of

3:06:51the things that we're doing is

3:06:53evaluating our very own

3:06:55transfer station to see if that

3:06:57we can create a trans loading

3:06:59location there that's already

3:07:01on the property that we own,

3:07:03that's already permitted. We

3:07:04just have to do the work and

3:07:06see if it's feasible to do it.

3:07:09Um, which would also still

3:07:12include hauling in where we're

3:07:15going to bring the material and

3:07:16the cost of all that, and that

3:07:18will give us that long term

3:07:19stability that, that we're

3:07:21looking for now, for the option

3:07:24that none of us want is service

3:07:27interruptions. Um, we do we do

3:07:29not want to stop recycling.

3:07:32Recycling is hard as it is. A

3:07:34lot of residents, uh, are

3:07:36misinformed and feel like our

3:07:38recycling goes into the trash,

3:07:40which it doesn't contaminate.

3:07:42The recycling goes into the

3:07:43trash, but the but the real

3:07:45recyclable recyclers like

3:07:47myself, not like some other

3:07:49folks we're not going to

3:07:50mention in this room. Um, yeah,

3:07:56their material might go into

3:07:57the trash, but the real recycle

3:08:00the way it's supposed to be is

3:08:01not brought. It is used to, uh,

3:08:04a source separated, and it's,

3:08:06um, used to create other

3:08:07materials, other items, other,

3:08:10you know, that we buy and, you

3:08:12know, it's it's a great thing

3:08:13to do to, um, so we do not want

3:08:15to stop this service. If we

3:08:18stop this service, it is going

3:08:20to be very difficult to get it

3:08:23back up to running to where it

3:08:24is right now. So we really want

3:08:26to do everything that we can,

3:08:28um, to not stop service. So the

3:08:33budget impact right now from

3:08:37January to June, it'll be about

3:08:41almost $4,000. That we'll have

3:08:43left, that we will, that we

3:08:45can.

3:08:46Borrow 400, $400,000.

3:08:47Sorry, $400,000 that we have

3:08:51left to, um, that will be on

3:08:53the books that was budgeted for

3:08:55Pratt. Um, their total budget

3:08:57was about $900,000. So council

3:09:04options continue to develop.

3:09:06The, uh, continue to develop

3:09:10the RFP, the interim, the

3:09:13interim contracts, the

3:09:14partnerships, and look down the

3:09:16line for T1. That is, um,

3:09:19option number one. Option

3:09:20number two is if council

3:09:22doesn't like those options to

3:09:23provide a different, um,

3:09:25alternative for us so that and

3:09:27we can we can research it and

3:09:29search it out and bring it back

3:09:30to you. Staff is recommending

3:09:32to accept the four options that

3:09:35we gave the emergency interim

3:09:36recycling contract. Um, the

3:09:39continue to partner with

3:09:40different companies and the

3:09:42county um hauling um do an RFP

3:09:46for hauling and the long term

3:09:48trans loading feasibility um

3:09:51evaluation. And I'll answer any

3:09:53questions that anyone has.

3:09:54They did have a question for

3:09:55you. Yes, sir. Mr. Evans, so

3:09:57let me make sure I'm. I'm

3:09:58tracking. It's the blue

3:10:01recycling container that we use

3:10:03is waste management. Is that

3:10:05who you're calling Pratt? Is

3:10:06that the local.

3:10:07Waste management is a

3:10:08contractor that we use to

3:10:09collect those right where we.

3:10:10This is where you take it to

3:10:11it? Yes. Okay. Okay. Because I

3:10:12was going to say they're like

3:10:13$3 a can. So so they don't have

3:10:15options for that. Is that what

3:10:17you were.

3:10:17Talking about. They're in the

3:10:18same situation that we're in.

3:10:20They have different contracts.

3:10:22They pick up spring milk

3:10:23spring, spring lakes where I

3:10:25guess spring mills, different

3:10:26city. They pick they pick up

3:10:28spring um, Lake, they pick up,

3:10:30uh, Hope Mills and they have

3:10:31other contracts in the city. I

3:10:33believe they pick up recycling

3:10:34for Fort Bragg. Um, and then

3:10:36GFL has recycling contracts,

3:10:38Republic and all. There's a lot

3:10:40of companies out there that

3:10:41have recycling contracts.

3:10:42And what are they doing to

3:10:43address?

3:10:43We're all in the same. Well,

3:10:44everybody's looking for the

3:10:45same thing because there's no

3:10:47place to bring it.

3:10:48And and then you said it was a

3:10:49regional problem. So you got

3:10:51other jurisdictions and

3:10:52municipalities and local

3:10:53governments.

3:10:54The county, the county is, is

3:10:57100% having the same situation,

3:11:00um, that we're having.

3:11:01So when they brought it to

3:11:02these, to these folks, what did

3:11:04they then do with it?

3:11:05Wait, who.

3:11:05Brought it up? So when it came

3:11:07to Pratt, you know, when

3:11:08everybody brought their

3:11:10recyclables to Pratt, then they

3:11:11separated and then they shipped

3:11:12it off.

3:11:13Or they.

3:11:13They sold it off.

3:11:14Yeah. The Pratt was was a

3:11:16bigger, uh, paper mill, but

3:11:17they did take single stream

3:11:19recycling. So they took the

3:11:21paper. That's where they made.

3:11:22That's where they bread and

3:11:23butter was. But they were also

3:11:24able to sell other commodities.

3:11:27Um, that came out of the single

3:11:28stream recycling.

3:11:29So them losing their location

3:11:31lease did that. Are they out of

3:11:33business or are they just shut

3:11:34this particular.

3:11:35This is just this location.

3:11:37They couldn't find another

3:11:38building to bring their

3:11:39material, bring their equipment

3:11:41to. That was big enough so that

3:11:43they can do what they're doing

3:11:44right now.

3:11:45Okay.

3:11:46All right. Uh, Mayor Pro tem.

3:11:48Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr.

3:11:49Edwards, how big of a location

3:11:51that we're looking for? And

3:11:52what is the zoning required for

3:11:55that location?

3:11:56All right, so to trans load, we

3:11:59do not need a permit to trans

3:12:01load. We just have to make sure

3:12:03that we follow the stormwater.

3:12:06It's not stormwater is it

3:12:07stormwater permit. What is it

3:12:09for the leachate and the

3:12:11liquid. We just got to follow

3:12:13those. Make sure that those are

3:12:14going into the sanitary system.

3:12:16And we just have to make sure

3:12:17that we police the areas. If

3:12:19there's a lot of, uh, materials

3:12:21that may fly around that has to

3:12:23be cleaned up, that's the trans

3:12:25loaded to to do a Murph, to do

3:12:29a whole. Murph, do you ask me

3:12:31how big it was? Right. All

3:12:32right, so.

3:12:32Four bigs.

3:12:33Needed for trans trans loading.

3:12:35We can probably do 5000 or so

3:12:39square feet for Murph. It might

3:12:41be over ten.

3:12:41So if you found the location

3:12:43then you was just subcontracted

3:12:44out and didn't get all the

3:12:45contracts from the surrounding

3:12:46areas for them to drop off

3:12:47their stuff to that location.

3:12:49That that can be an option.

3:12:50Is there another option to

3:12:51transport it to Raleigh?

3:12:53That's one of the options we

3:12:55can. We're looking at

3:12:56transporting transporting it to

3:12:58Wilmington. There's a place we

3:13:00can transport it to in

3:13:01Greenville, and there's two

3:13:02locations we can bring it to.

3:13:04That's Raleigh and Durham.

3:13:05They're right there together.

3:13:06Okay.

3:13:07But the hauling it's going to

3:13:10cost. It's going to be a it's

3:13:11going to be a cost that we've

3:13:12never seen before. Right. Um,

3:13:14so we want to make sure that

3:13:15everyone is prepared to hear

3:13:18that when it comes.

3:13:19If there was a cost. Well, we

3:13:20get a percentage of what they

3:13:21are selling once we drop it

3:13:22off.

3:13:23Yeah, that's something that we

3:13:24can look at when we do the

3:13:26contract for the Murph. But

3:13:29just recycling is not as

3:13:32lucrative as it used to be.

3:13:34Plus, for gas prices, it's

3:13:35going to be hard to make that.

3:13:36Trip. Exactly.

3:13:38Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr.

3:13:39Mayor.

3:13:39Yeah. Councilman McMillan.

3:13:41Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

3:13:42Thank you for this report.

3:13:43Thanks for informing us a lot

3:13:45of variables. It sounds like.

3:13:46A.

3:13:46Lot of.

3:13:47A lot of, uh, potential

3:13:49outcomes just for requests. If

3:13:50we could hear back sometime

3:13:52within the next month on where

3:13:53this is heading.

3:13:54We'll keep you up. Thank you.

3:13:55Yes.

3:13:59All right. Uh. Thank you. Well,

3:14:02um, so, what do you need from

3:14:04us? What's your ask of council?

3:14:05Because we can't have service

3:14:07interruption. I think you have

3:14:08citizens.

3:14:09We just pretty much informing

3:14:10you what we're doing and wanted

3:14:12to recommend it to you. Get

3:14:14your blessing on the steps that

3:14:15we're taking right now.

3:14:16All right? Right. Uh, doctor

3:14:17here. What? You had. Uh.

3:14:20Yes, sir. Um, that Mr. Edwards

3:14:22said. And I think Sheila will

3:14:24reaffirm, um, given the

3:14:26importance of recycling in the

3:14:27community. Um, we did not want

3:14:29to have a situation where, um,

3:14:31you heard about it first

3:14:32through the media. Um, uh, but

3:14:35but please, no, in this and you

3:14:37can tell from Daniel and

3:14:39efforts, uh, we've been fully

3:14:41engaged since we received the

3:14:42letter. Yes. Um, we, um, you

3:14:45may not recall, but during the

3:14:47budget session, we were also

3:14:49very feverish in trying to get

3:14:50all of our contracts lined up

3:14:52so that we actually have a wind

3:14:54down provision in our

3:14:55contracts. Unlike most of the

3:14:57contracts out there, many

3:14:59communities actually will be

3:15:01ending service.

3:15:03October 31st.

3:15:04Right. And so we are guaranteed

3:15:06at least service.

3:15:07Through January 12th.

3:15:08Which is not long ago.

3:15:09It's not. And um, but so really

3:15:11making you aware tonight and we

3:15:12may be coming back to you with

3:15:14a series of, um, emergency

3:15:16actions. Um, or as Mayor pro

3:15:17tem said, accelerated calls for

3:15:19us to try to get the stuff to

3:15:21Raleigh while we come up with a

3:15:23solution, um, a longer term

3:15:24solution.

3:15:25So. So Mayor Pro Tem hat is

3:15:26later.

3:15:26Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, now I

3:15:29have two questions, Mr.

3:15:30Edwards. One is, which option

3:15:32do you recommend? Option one.

3:15:34Well, all of them. All of them.

3:15:36Option one is something that we

3:15:38have to do. Like immediately

3:15:40we're doing an RFP immediately.

3:15:42And we're continually looking

3:15:44at partners. And then the trans

3:15:46loading is a long, long term

3:15:47plan. I mean the T one plan is

3:15:49long term. So we're doing all

3:15:51of them at the same time.

3:15:53My second question is the

3:15:55company that lost their lease,

3:15:56what are they doing with the

3:15:58property. And is that in the

3:15:59city or the county?

3:16:00It's not their property or not.

3:16:01It's not the it belongs to

3:16:03another company. And they

3:16:05wanted to take ownership of the

3:16:06second part of the building.

3:16:08Gotcha. So there's no way we

3:16:10could buy that building.

3:16:11You can take it. You can take

3:16:13it.

3:16:14I'm sorry. So I know.

3:16:18That's part of the RFP process.

3:16:20I think that there are some

3:16:21players. So we are looking at,

3:16:23uh, we've had conversations

3:16:24with Sunoco, which is a move of

3:16:27in some capacity here locally,

3:16:29and we've had some long

3:16:30conversations with them about

3:16:32how they can convert their

3:16:33facility to be facility, to be

3:16:35able to, um, accept a material

3:16:38and then transport it to

3:16:39Raleigh. Now, both Sunoco and

3:16:42Waste Management have talked to

3:16:43us extensively, and both of

3:16:46them, the advantage for them to

3:16:48take this material would be

3:16:49ultimately to get it to

3:16:50Raleigh. So unlike Pratt, which

3:16:52was serving as a Murphy and

3:16:54distributing from here, uh, the

3:16:56two partners that we know

3:16:57currently, which is Sunoco and

3:17:00Waste Management, are

3:17:01interested in getting the

3:17:02material to Raleigh, which is

3:17:04where they have their move. And

3:17:06so we've been having also

3:17:07extended conversations with the

3:17:09county. And as you know,

3:17:11they're opening a transfer

3:17:12station there and there may be

3:17:14an opportunity for them to do

3:17:15the trans loading for us and

3:17:17then for another partner such

3:17:19as Sunoco or Waste Management,

3:17:21to take that material to to

3:17:23Raleigh. So there are some

3:17:24options. This is a moving it's

3:17:25a very fluid situation. Uh, I

3:17:28think the the critical path

3:17:30item here truly is that trans

3:17:32loading concept. So where how

3:17:35are you going to get the

3:17:36material, into haul a hauling

3:17:38truck and get it to Raleigh?

3:17:40That's the challenging part

3:17:41because the county is not ready

3:17:43as yet. And if we use Sunoco,

3:17:46they're going to have to outfit

3:17:47their facility. And or finally,

3:17:49we the city may be able to find

3:17:50a warehouse where we can do

3:17:52this. But while there may not

3:17:53be any permitting, there are

3:17:55still some larger implications.

3:17:56The state will always come back

3:17:57to you and say, well, you have

3:17:58a stormwater issue, you have a

3:18:00leachate issue, you have flying

3:18:01paper issues. So we've got to

3:18:02be careful about all of that.

3:18:03So just kind of want to pause

3:18:05and say there are multiple

3:18:06options. But we have we all

3:18:08having some healthy

3:18:09conversations.

3:18:10Um, I'm ready to make a motion,

3:18:12Mr. Mayor, but we will get

3:18:14hopefully a monthly updates

3:18:15before the deadline of January

3:18:1727th come around. The best to

3:18:19know where we are.

3:18:20Most definitely..

3:18:21We're mayor and council. I move

3:18:22that we, uh, authorize the city

3:18:24manager to pursue the interim

3:18:25services and partnerships and

3:18:26RFP and T1 feasibility and

3:18:28return with implementation

3:18:29details.

3:18:30All right. Motion by Mayor pro

3:18:31tem, second by Davis. Uh, only

3:18:33discussion I had if we do this

3:18:35transfer option to Raleigh.

3:18:37Wilmington, one of the biggest

3:18:39contributors to me calling

3:18:40Michael are these trucks

3:18:42hauling stuff. And this paper

3:18:43is just flying. So I think we

3:18:45need to be be mindful of an

3:18:47unintended small thing, but a

3:18:49big thing, because if you

3:18:50you're going to increase the

3:18:51amount of traffic going from

3:18:53here to one of these

3:18:55destinations on a process that

3:18:56was currently here, is that

3:18:57right? So you'll have multiple

3:18:58trucks going going up and down.

3:19:00So you know, whatever our Tarp

3:19:03ordinances are and those kind

3:19:04of things, uh, because I was

3:19:05behind a waste blank truck. Uh,

3:19:08and it, it puts a lot out

3:19:09there. So I didn't want to say

3:19:10which one of the waste it was,

3:19:12but.

3:19:12All right, guys, one final

3:19:14comment. Mayor, uh, city

3:19:15manager, since this is an

3:19:17emergency, these additional

3:19:18funds will have to come out of

3:19:19general fund. Correct? So we

3:19:21don't stop the service.

3:19:21We got a solid waste.

3:19:22Well, we actually, um, uh,

3:19:24have, uh. We'll bring that back

3:19:26if we need any additional

3:19:27funding, but, um, the recycling

3:19:30is, has its own fund. Um, but,

3:19:33um. the hope is that we have an

3:19:35additional cost and we don't

3:19:36stop service, so. But we've got

3:19:38a lot of.

3:19:38Work to do. I don't think they

3:19:39had it. Okay.

3:19:39We always had to make it stable

3:19:42anyway. All right. So, Council,

3:19:44I look to you for action on

3:19:46that.

3:19:50All right.

3:19:50Second on that motion, sir.

3:19:52Uh, second was Davis. Thank

3:19:53you. All right. So motion is

3:19:55unanimous. So council on this

3:19:586.08. Um, Mr. Manager, when do

3:20:00you need what do you need these

3:20:02this calendar adopted. Because

3:20:03I know oftentimes it comes to

3:20:04our meetings. We adopted we

3:20:06have dates in it or we didn't

3:20:07anticipate, you know, NLC

3:20:09elections. You know, we got a

3:20:11work session tonight before the

3:20:12election. I know it's

3:20:13traditional stuff that that

3:20:14comes with adopting us. What do

3:20:15y'all need? Need to adopt it.

3:20:17This is the the clerk's items.

3:20:19I'll let her speak to that.

3:20:21And, mayor, um, today's

3:20:23presentation was going to

3:20:24actually be part of your

3:20:26questions just now on getting

3:20:28council direction on what you

3:20:29would like to do for those two

3:20:31work sessions before the

3:20:32primary and before the general

3:20:34election. Um, additionally, the

3:20:37September work session would be

3:20:39moving to Tuesday because of

3:20:40Labor Day. Um, and then based

3:20:43on council's direction recently

3:20:45of moving towards a fall

3:20:46strategic plan, there are dates

3:20:48for October, I believe 19th and

3:20:5020th off the top of my head,

3:20:52um, that we have put in for the

3:20:54strategic plan, but that's

3:20:55always movable if you so

3:20:56choose. We need the answers.

3:20:59Really no later then. Um,

3:21:02beginning of December to

3:21:04approve the meeting, uh,

3:21:06calendar, because that has to

3:21:07be done by resolution. And so

3:21:10the only meeting that you will

3:21:11be having in December is

3:21:12December 7th, since you guys

3:21:13cancelled the regular meeting

3:21:15and the work session, um, back

3:21:17in June. And you call the

3:21:19special meeting for December.

3:21:20Okay.

3:21:21All right. So council, y'all

3:21:22okay with, uh. I mean, y'all

3:21:25want to handle it? All right,

3:21:27let's go. Let's do it. Don't be

3:21:29complaining when you say who

3:21:30put this meeting on this date.

3:21:32All right?

3:21:33Are we.

3:21:34We don't want to change the

3:21:35council meeting times.

3:21:36No. We're ready.

3:22:00All right, so as I discussed

3:22:04just a moment ago, this is the

3:22:072027 proposed council meeting

3:22:10agenda dates. Um, this is the

3:22:12traditional calendar that you

3:22:14see every year. We do have in

3:22:16March, the NLC Congressional

3:22:19Cities Conference, which is in

3:22:20Washington, DC, as it is every

3:22:22year, we have the May in City

3:22:25Vision, which is in

3:22:26Winston-Salem this year, and we

3:22:28have the, um, November NLC City

3:22:32Summit, which will be in

3:22:33Houston this year. Um, the ones

3:22:36items that I would like to

3:22:38bring to your attention, like I

3:22:40said momentarily or earlier, is

3:22:42the work sessions for November

3:22:44and October last year or in

3:22:472025. You chose to cancel the

3:22:51November work session and move

3:22:53that to right before the

3:22:54regular meeting. Um, we can.

3:22:57But then there was discussion

3:22:59after that to cancel both the

3:23:01October and the November

3:23:02meetings moving forward due to

3:23:04the primaries and the general

3:23:07elections that happen the day

3:23:08after. So we can either cancel

3:23:11those or we can leave them as

3:23:13is, which is what the calendar

3:23:14shows currently. Or we can move

3:23:16them to a date of council's

3:23:18decision. And then also is that

3:23:24strategic planning dates that

3:23:25we offer of the 19th and 20th,

3:23:28um, spa and I have been working

3:23:30together to identify some

3:23:32opportunities that the

3:23:33consultant would be available

3:23:35that would also work for

3:23:36council. That's not an a

3:23:38council meeting week. And then

3:23:42pending any questions or

3:23:44recommendations, we will um the

3:23:49resolution is prepared. We just

3:23:51need to update the calendar as

3:23:53you all see fit.

3:24:00Well Davis and Hondros.

3:24:02Hondros.

3:24:03Hondros.

3:24:05I was just going to offer the

3:24:07two dates October and November,

3:24:09moving those two work sessions

3:24:10until possibly the Thursday. So

3:24:13I think that'd be the seventh

3:24:14and the fourth, October 7th and

3:24:18November 4th. Just for

3:24:20consideration. If we don't want

3:24:21to do them that Monday before,

3:24:23we could do it a couple days

3:24:24after, all.

3:24:24Right. Mayor pro tem and then

3:24:26Davis.

3:24:26That was going to be my

3:24:27recommendation. I would second

3:24:28that. That was in a motion.

3:24:29All right. Councilman Davis,

3:24:30you had something, huh?

3:24:35Move, move to October 4th work

3:24:38session to October 7th and move

3:24:40the November 1st, work session

3:24:41to November 4th.

3:24:43To move it to the Thursday from

3:24:44Monday to Thursday of each.

3:24:46That frees up the day before

3:24:48and after Election Day.

3:24:50All right. Uh, any any other

3:24:53changes.

3:24:55Without that, Mr. Mayor, I,

3:24:58move that we approve the

3:24:59calendar with those two changes

3:25:01in October and November, work

3:25:03session.

3:25:04Seconded by Mayor Pro Tem, uh,

3:25:07any discussion, if not council,

3:25:09look to you for your votes on

3:25:10calendar adoption. Oh, we got

3:25:19Jen at the podium, so she can't.

3:25:21All right, all right. Thank

3:25:25you, Madam Clerk.

3:25:26Thank you..

3:25:28All right, so Council, we have

3:25:30one, 23456. Uh, yeah. Six of

3:25:36those ten minutes apiece.

3:25:38That's an hour. What are you

3:25:39saying?

3:25:39I'm sorry.

3:25:39Huh?

3:25:41Okay. All right, all right.

3:25:44Jennifer has some documentation

3:25:46for me somewhere, right?

3:25:48I can take.

3:25:49Ten minutes..

3:25:50Somebody should.

3:25:51Take 2 or.

3:25:523 minutes. Let me stop.

3:26:08Is legal in my documents. It's

3:26:13public.

3:26:20How about I pass it around? So

3:26:21we keep going?

3:26:22I don't know if she's got a

3:26:24release him.

3:26:26Huh?

3:26:27Okay.

3:26:34That one's done.

3:26:35So.

3:26:35Know where you take me?

3:26:36It.

3:26:37You gotta keep it moving, man.

3:26:39You don't need one. You print

3:26:40that.

3:26:40Why you let.

3:26:41Yeah, well, I'm all right.

3:26:42It's 45 minutes.

3:26:43Before the 615.

3:26:46615. You got.

3:26:47Stuck with me.

3:26:53All right. So. So, Council, as

3:26:55we, uh, as we look at what's

3:26:57passed out, you know, all this

3:26:59is familiar. This is just for

3:27:00your consideration tonight. Um,

3:27:03as you know, those who've

3:27:04who've been here a while and

3:27:07those who have not, um, are.

3:27:10Parking deck was completed

3:27:11roughly around 2020. Um, the

3:27:14elevator was, uh, held and

3:27:18anticipation of a developer

3:27:20doing, um, the remaining

3:27:22portion of the development

3:27:23above, uh, the elevator. And so

3:27:26fast forward to 2026, uh,

3:27:30enclosed in what was passed out

3:27:31were a number of articles. One

3:27:33was in 2022 by Bill Kirby, uh,

3:27:37for City View, which uh, on

3:27:40March 8th of 2022 said elevator

3:27:42for downtown parking garage on

3:27:44the way. The other one was

3:27:45from, uh, Paul Wolverton on

3:27:47August 14th, 2023, says

3:27:50Fayetteville five story Hay

3:27:51Street deck has no elevators.

3:27:53Um, and he talks about that. So

3:27:56as you look at over the six

3:27:57years, you know, regardless of

3:27:59what, uh, development occurs or

3:28:00doesn't occur, um, we heard

3:28:02tonight from public services

3:28:06who talked about, um, inflation

3:28:09and the cost of construction

3:28:11for major projects over time is

3:28:13running somewhere between 25

3:28:17and 30%, uh, for the cost of

3:28:20the care and cost of

3:28:21construction. So the consumer

3:28:22is eating this. If you just

3:28:23look at the last of the

3:28:24citizens of the taxpayers for

3:28:26the last six years, while we're

3:28:27waiting on whatever development

3:28:29takes place, uh, the last thing

3:28:31on the top of it is basically,

3:28:35uh, just recaps the timeline

3:28:36between PCH and LMG. Um, this

3:28:39conversation started May of

3:28:422024. So so now you have a

3:28:44timeline that that even shows

3:28:46possible new development or

3:28:48whatever. But I just think it

3:28:49is, uh, it is up to us to

3:28:52complete the citizens, um,

3:28:54parking deck that was completed

3:28:56in 2020. Um, and to install the

3:28:59elevator and then if any

3:29:00development comes forth, uh,

3:29:02the developer will incorporate

3:29:04that in his plans instead of us

3:29:06incorporating an anticipated

3:29:08development into the citizens

3:29:10plans of having this deck. So,

3:29:12uh, the consideration is, is

3:29:14that, um, we can do that in

3:29:16order to to not allow inflation

3:29:18to continue to, to escalate

3:29:20this cost. So that's the ask

3:29:22before you today. Um, and I

3:29:24would like an updated, uh, or

3:29:26if, if there's consent from

3:29:28council, get an updated

3:29:29estimate on what that will be.

3:29:31Um, and then um, shortly

3:29:33thereafter to make a, a

3:29:34decision for council to move

3:29:35forward with instructing the

3:29:37elevator to be complete. And

3:29:39then whatever comes after that.

3:29:40So I'll open up for any

3:29:41questions.

3:29:44Oh.

3:29:44He has a question.

3:29:47Councilmember here.

3:29:49Uh, thank you, mayor. And you

3:29:51all, please forgive me for

3:29:53getting on late. I've been

3:29:55trying to get on as soon as I

3:29:56could, uh, as you all know,

3:29:59we're here with our mother, so

3:30:00we're kind of surrounding her

3:30:02tonight. Um, my question would

3:30:06be the same. Mayor is, um, uh,

3:30:11you know, about the financing

3:30:13and where it would come from.

3:30:14So that would be my my concern.

3:30:16So if if you're ask includes

3:30:20that that I, I can support

3:30:22that.

3:30:23Well, one is, um I don't I

3:30:27didn't talk about identifying

3:30:28funds, but, um, I know that

3:30:30there was some hold back or

3:30:32consideration given, uh, for

3:30:34this, but I would like for us

3:30:36to get an updated cost estimate

3:30:38and then staff maybe present

3:30:40that. So the first ask is, um,

3:30:42at the end of it, we have to we

3:30:44we owe the taxpayers a

3:30:45completed parking deck that

3:30:46includes the elevator. So, um,

3:30:49but I did not have a source of

3:30:51funds or or the amount that was

3:30:53the ask tonight. All right. Uh,

3:30:58Councilmember McMillan.

3:30:59Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh,

3:31:01I'm not sure how how to proceed

3:31:03in this, uh, this question

3:31:05might need some guidance from

3:31:06the city attorney, but the

3:31:08majority of our discussions,

3:31:11uh, around this issue recently

3:31:13have been in closed session.

3:31:15Uh, and I'm wondering if now,

3:31:17uh, Mr. Mayor, as this has

3:31:19brought forward, if it's an

3:31:20appropriate time or even if

3:31:22it's permissible to talk about

3:31:25who the contractor is and how

3:31:28we came into agreement with the

3:31:30contractor moving that that we

3:31:32plan on moving forward with.

3:31:33Because I think that's that's

3:31:35part of, uh, part of allowing

3:31:38the public to understand how we

3:31:40got here.

3:31:42But so what do you mean when

3:31:44you say contract? I don't I'm

3:31:45not suggesting a contractor the

3:31:47the the ask I have before

3:31:48counsel is to move forward with

3:31:50the construction of it. So

3:31:51whatever their normal bid or

3:31:52selection process would be, um,

3:31:55would be a separate transaction

3:31:58as far as I'm concerned.

3:31:59Okay. So is it going to be an

3:32:01open, uh, RFP, uh, open process

3:32:04for.

3:32:04Yeah, we're bound to do that.

3:32:05Whatever the normal procedures

3:32:07are for that. Um, staff would

3:32:09do it. The ask tonight is just

3:32:11to see if there's a policy

3:32:14decision point to move forward

3:32:16with installation of it.

3:32:18Okay.

3:32:19All right. Councilmember Jones.

3:32:23Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just I

3:32:24think you mentioned this

3:32:25earlier. Um, just going back to

3:32:27the, uh, I'm in agreement. We

3:32:29do need to try to finish, uh,

3:32:32this this deck. Um, in regards

3:32:35to. And I may have heard it

3:32:37incorrectly. Um, once it's

3:32:40done, uh, if if someone comes

3:32:42back to, I say, continue our

3:32:45project. Did you mention

3:32:47something along those lines? I

3:32:49couldn't remember if that would

3:32:50be added to it. Like, whatever

3:32:52we we would pay for that. Would

3:32:54that be kind of added into or

3:32:56or part of the project or and I

3:32:58may have misunderstood.

3:32:59That's fine.

3:33:00Yeah. So I think, I think what

3:33:01you're saying. So basically the

3:33:04delay has been to allow

3:33:07development to take place above

3:33:09it. And so it was it was always

3:33:12or was presented to us and

3:33:14recommended that it be

3:33:16incorporated into whatever

3:33:17happens above it. But we don't

3:33:19have, you know, it's been a

3:33:20long history of, of delay, you

3:33:23know, for one reason or

3:33:24another. And so six years has

3:33:26gone by and the cost has gone

3:33:27up. So what I'm saying is that

3:33:29whatever happens above it,

3:33:30whenever it happens, this needs

3:33:32to be separated from that.

3:33:34That's it. Gotcha.

3:33:36Thank you for the clarity.

3:33:36Thank you. Councilmember.

3:33:38Councilmember green.

3:33:39Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, I'm

3:33:42prepared to make a motion

3:33:45because at this point, we have

3:33:48a deck that most residents

3:33:50refuse to park in because they

3:33:52don't want to walk this. They

3:33:54don't want to walk down the

3:33:55steps. I prefer not to walk

3:33:56down steps. I don't have any

3:33:57problem walking up them.

3:33:58Walking down them kills my

3:34:00knees. So if you have a deck

3:34:02that you're not going to

3:34:03utilize and your citizens are

3:34:04upset about it, we've done our

3:34:07due diligence for certain and

3:34:09then some over trying to solve

3:34:11the problem of something going

3:34:12on top of it, because we know

3:34:15that at this point there's

3:34:16water intrusion because there's

3:34:17no roof on the building. So it

3:34:19seems that at this point we

3:34:21have to move forward, whatever

3:34:23it takes to move us forward to

3:34:24get the elevator installed. So

3:34:26the deck is fully usable. And

3:34:29so when the new contracting

3:34:32parking contract comes back, we

3:34:34know what we're looking at. Um,

3:34:36I'm prepared to make a motion

3:34:37that we move forward and have

3:34:39an RFP issued for the in the

3:34:41appropriate manner.

3:34:42All right. Thank you. Thank

3:34:43you. Councilmember Green.

3:34:45Councilman Davis, you had

3:34:46something.

3:34:47That's a second, sir.

3:34:48Oh, okay. All right, so

3:34:50council, any further questions?

3:34:52I'll look to you for that vote.

3:34:57Oh, uh, Councilman here.

3:34:59Great. Green, sir.

3:35:01All right.

3:35:01All right. Madam clerk is

3:35:02unanimous. Thank you. Council

3:35:04and Mr. Manager, I guess you'll

3:35:05get back with us and let us

3:35:07know. You know, whatever the

3:35:09next steps are.

3:35:10Yes, sir. Mr. floats is coming

3:35:13to council at your last meeting

3:35:15this month. We'll share with

3:35:16him the actions that you have

3:35:18directed us to do. And I think

3:35:20appropriately, we will be

3:35:21running both of those at the

3:35:23same time. The RFP, of course,

3:35:25will get the staff's attention

3:35:26immediately, and we will try to

3:35:28get updated numbers and get

3:35:30that back to council as soon as

3:35:31possible with funding source as

3:35:32well.

3:35:32All right. Uh, Councilmember

3:35:34Jones.

3:35:34All right. Thank you, Mr.

3:35:35Mayor. Um, make this fairly

3:35:37quick. Uh, my request, uh, just

3:35:38before you, uh, is in regards

3:35:41to the, uh, Seabrook, Ryedale

3:35:43area, the historic designation,

3:35:45uh, that was currently

3:35:46received. I had the pleasure

3:35:47of, um, working with former ACM.

3:35:51Mr. Otley. Uh, uh, Kelly Kelly

3:35:55Whitfield, uh, on this, uh, in

3:35:572022, uh, a lot of people have

3:35:59had their hands, uh, in this,

3:36:01uh, that designation did come

3:36:03through. One of the aspects,

3:36:05uh, that we were presented with

3:36:07earlier in the month, I mean,

3:36:08earlier in the year by Doctor

3:36:10Brothers was that there would

3:36:11not be money, uh, in the grant

3:36:14or in that designation for the

3:36:17signage, appropriate signage

3:36:19that needs to go up throughout

3:36:20the neighborhood. Um, so my

3:36:22fund my request is for, uh, to

3:36:25get consensus from council as

3:36:26far as funding for those signs

3:36:30of the, the costs aren't known

3:36:32at this time, but per Doctor

3:36:34brothers, it would not be too

3:36:36extensive. She's actually still

3:36:37in the process of, uh, getting

3:36:39the text for that. So the

3:36:41things are in process. So I

3:36:43just did not want us to get

3:36:44this federal designation, uh,

3:36:47for this well deserving area

3:36:49and not have signage up. So

3:36:52that is my request tonight, and

3:36:53I'll stop there, entertain any

3:36:55questions.

3:36:55All right. Do you have a

3:36:56couple? Council member Green

3:36:58Thompson and Green Thompson.

3:37:01Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, I

3:37:04first glanced at this and

3:37:06thought, if we approve this, it

3:37:08would be a neighborhood sign.

3:37:10And then I got to read, and I

3:37:11realized it was historic, so.

3:37:13And I, I don't know how I

3:37:14missed that piece to begin

3:37:15with. But anyway, I think it's

3:37:18extremely important and

3:37:20appropriate, um, for there to

3:37:22be the signage that falls in

3:37:25line with whatever other signs

3:37:26and historical areas we've done

3:37:28in the in our community and in

3:37:29our city. And I think it needs

3:37:31to be start to be more of a

3:37:33uniform look so that we look

3:37:35cohesive. I noticed when we

3:37:37visited, um, Winston-Salem last

3:37:39week that their signage is very

3:37:42cohesive all throughout their

3:37:44downtown area and in their core

3:37:46center area. So, um, I would be

3:37:49in favor of that, and I'll be

3:37:50happy to second that motion if

3:37:51you'd like to make that.

3:37:54All right. Uh, mayor Pro tem.

3:37:56Uh, thank you, Mister mayor. My

3:37:57question is, is this funding?

3:38:00Will it is it a budgetary item

3:38:02or would it funding come from

3:38:03ECD?

3:38:05Um, uh, I think that the amount

3:38:07of money we're talking about is

3:38:09probably negligible. Um, let's

3:38:12see. And, um, uh, it is

3:38:15consistent as well with the

3:38:16direction we receive from

3:38:17council, um, to apply and help

3:38:20them support it. Um, I think

3:38:22that this is though symbolic.

3:38:23This is something that the

3:38:24community wanted, and

3:38:25acknowledging it, um, I

3:38:28actually had at the beginning

3:38:29of the meeting, um, a remark

3:38:32about it that I will let, uh, I

3:38:34think this is Doctor Jones

3:38:35item. Um, but it was actually

3:38:37highlighting the fact that, um,

3:38:39the grant had been received,

3:38:40but it's the negligible amount

3:38:41of money that we'll be able to

3:38:42accomplish, probably within

3:38:44existing resources. Chris.

3:38:45Chris colleagues, Nikki says.

3:38:47Yes.

3:38:47Sounds good. Thank you. Mr.

3:38:48Mayor.

3:38:48All right. Councilman Harris

3:38:49has his hand up.

3:38:52Oh, yes, sir. I was just trying

3:38:54to get a piece of of that on

3:38:55the second. But regardless of

3:38:57that, my vote would be green.

3:38:59Okay.

3:39:00All right. So, Council, I look

3:39:02to you for your votes. That was

3:39:06Jones in green okay Jones

3:39:08green. All right. All right.

3:39:13Councilman Harris Green. It's

3:39:15unanimous.

3:39:16All right.

3:39:16Thank you sir. All right.

3:39:18Council moving to 6.011.

3:39:25All right. Uh, Mr. Mayor, I am,

3:39:27um, I'm going to actually pull

3:39:29this. I had some conversation,

3:39:31uh, with staff, uh, in regards

3:39:33to some things I can do. And

3:39:34the intent of this was to bring

3:39:36some attention to the northern

3:39:37end of Murchison Road for some

3:39:39developmental aspects. So I've.

3:39:41I've been able to speak with,

3:39:43uh, robo on some things that

3:39:44he's been working on to bring

3:39:45some attention to that. And so

3:39:46with that, I'm totally content

3:39:49with the direction we're going

3:39:50and some, uh, personal planning

3:39:52that I'm doing. So I will

3:39:53remove that one.

3:39:54Thank you.

3:39:54All right. Uh, 6.012. Back to

3:39:58you, sir.

3:39:59All right.

3:40:00Thank you.

3:40:00So much. Thank you so much, Mr.

3:40:02Mayor. Uh, and this particular

3:40:04item, uh, again, as you can

3:40:06read, is for council to

3:40:08consider some form of financial

3:40:10support for East Smith High

3:40:12School, who will be

3:40:12representing the city, county

3:40:14and the state at the Macy's

3:40:17Thanksgiving Day, uh, parade.

3:40:19And for me, this is, um, more

3:40:21than about a a a band. This is

3:40:23about youth programming. Uh,

3:40:26it's going to assist in

3:40:27Positive City branding on the

3:40:28national and international

3:40:31televised, uh, stage. One

3:40:33aspect I do want to address was

3:40:35the potential for. I think it

3:40:37was for if there was a

3:40:39precedent being set. Uh, I'm

3:40:40not really too concerned about

3:40:42that with this particular item,

3:40:43simply because it's extremely

3:40:45rare that we will have a a non

3:40:50it's not even a nonprofit.

3:40:51That's part two. But it's I

3:40:53think it's going to be

3:40:54extremely rare where we have,

3:40:55uh, an organization that,

3:40:57again, will bring national and

3:40:59international attention to the

3:41:01city, uh, such as this

3:41:03invitation. And I think if, if

3:41:05we were met with it again, I

3:41:07can't speak for this council or

3:41:08future councils, but I think it

3:41:10would be of consideration. Uh,

3:41:12and so, uh, that is my ask for

3:41:15tonight. Uh, I know there's an

3:41:17opportunity, uh, we can't force

3:41:21anyone, but we can ask, uh, you

3:41:23know, there's an opportunity.

3:41:24Hey, if the county would, you

3:41:26know, match. I mean, that was

3:41:28something we could ask, but I.

3:41:29I do not want whatever. If we

3:41:32decide to do something, uh,

3:41:34contingent upon that, if if

3:41:36they decide to to match or

3:41:38something of that nature, um, I

3:41:41would be okay with that. Uh,

3:41:42secondly. Secondly, uh, in

3:41:45regards to this particular

3:41:47request, uh, I believe it will

3:41:49we we've invested in a lot of

3:41:51things over, uh, even over this

3:41:53year. And I again, I just

3:41:55believe this is a not only a

3:41:57worthwhile endeavor, but it

3:41:59will provide, uh, again, just

3:42:01marketing. We've talked about

3:42:02city marketing. And how can we

3:42:04put the city in a positive

3:42:06light? I mean, this is

3:42:07extremely rare. And and you all

3:42:09may know, uh, way more better.

3:42:11Better than I do. Uh, but I

3:42:13hadn't I don't remember

3:42:16another, uh, school, uh, being.

3:42:18The school, is it?

3:42:19And.

3:42:21There's a lot.

3:42:22Of shopping action. So so

3:42:23again, my that's my asking if,

3:42:25if we need a, a, a financial

3:42:27amount I, I was around the

3:42:29range of 50,000. If, if that's

3:42:32not, uh, for staff, I mean I

3:42:35would be commendable to I mean

3:42:37amendable to whatever amount.

3:42:39But I do believe this provides

3:42:41an a unique opportunity. I

3:42:42don't believe it will set a, a

3:42:45a precedent, but I would be

3:42:47open to any amount. To me. I

3:42:48just feel like, um, we need to

3:42:51support this simply because it

3:42:52is bringing when they walk

3:42:54across that, that, that, uh,

3:42:56down that road, they're going

3:42:57to flash each smith underneath

3:42:59that is going to say

3:43:00Fayetteville, North Carolina.

3:43:02Uh, I'll pause there for any

3:43:04questions.

3:43:05All right. Thank you.

3:43:05Councillor Jones, Councilmember

3:43:06green.

3:43:07Thank you, Mister Mayor. Um,

3:43:09first of all, I just want to

3:43:11make one slight notation. It's

3:43:14not the Macy's Day Parade

3:43:15that's in New York City.

3:43:17Yeah, it's.

3:43:17It's in Chicago. I think it's

3:43:18Chicago. Thanksgiving Day

3:43:20parade. I don't know what it

3:43:21has the name of it is, but I

3:43:22didn't want to go. I didn't

3:43:23want to go in the motion as

3:43:24Macy's day when that really

3:43:25wasn't what it is. Um.

3:43:28I had a debate with my wife

3:43:29last.

3:43:30Night, but it is me.

3:43:34If, um, Doctor Hewitt, if you

3:43:36would, um, I'm not sure. I was

3:43:40expecting a $50,000 ask, so.

3:43:42No. Can you talk through budget

3:43:45and give us some idea of if

3:43:48that's even feasible or how?

3:43:54When council ask us to find

3:43:56money, we will find money. Um,

3:43:58but there is um, this was not

3:44:01something that was, um, was of

3:44:03course, no one knew the

3:44:04invitation was coming. Um, and

3:44:06so it is not in the budget, I

3:44:07would say as well, um, that,

3:44:11um, the thing that in some of

3:44:13the conversations that the

3:44:14council had about what process

3:44:16you would go through to fund

3:44:17which items like this type of

3:44:19recognition, which is once in a

3:44:21lifetime for these young

3:44:21people, possibly. Um, and it

3:44:24may be something that, um, for

3:44:25future consideration Policy

3:44:27Committee and others would look

3:44:28at how you might fund things

3:44:29like this. But right now, the

3:44:30matter in front of you, if

3:44:32y'all were to tell us to, um,

3:44:34find funding options, we could

3:44:37do that. Um, but again, there

3:44:38would probably be something

3:44:39that we would have to trade

3:44:40offs and everything that would

3:44:41do.

3:44:44All right. Uh, Councilmember

3:44:49Hondros.

3:44:50Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As I said

3:44:51previously, we had discussion

3:44:53on this as an alum of, uh, the

3:44:55rival, uh, Terry Sanford

3:44:57Bulldogs. There's only one

3:44:59magnificent, uh, marching

3:45:00machine. You're right. They're

3:45:01the best band. Best band in the

3:45:03county. Probably second best is

3:45:05Fayetteville State University.

3:45:06So no disrespect to them. It's

3:45:08just given the flowers to E

3:45:09Smith that's due. So I would

3:45:11definitely support this. And I

3:45:12think we have precedent with,

3:45:14um, like our sister city, those

3:45:17clubs where we, uh, the city

3:45:19funds, uh, some travel, uh,

3:45:22stuff. So I don't know if

3:45:2350,000 is needed, but there's,

3:45:25uh, there's certainly, you

3:45:26know, for travel and, and, uh,

3:45:28stay also our, uh, Fayetteville

3:45:30Youth Council, they travel, uh,

3:45:32to conferences and stuff. So I

3:45:34think a similar travel budget,

3:45:36um, I would definitely be

3:45:37supportive. I like asking

3:45:38Cumberland County schools and

3:45:39or Cumberland County to, to

3:45:41participate, but whether

3:45:42they're inclined to do so or

3:45:43not, I think, uh, as the

3:45:45manager I think stated, this is

3:45:47a once in a lifetime

3:45:48opportunity for these young

3:45:49kids. And, uh, I know I think

3:45:51we all know they'll represent

3:45:53us well. So whether it's, uh,

3:45:55Chicago Parade, Macy's Day

3:45:57Parade or whatever National

3:45:58Thanksgiving Parade, wherever

3:46:00they were invited to go, I know

3:46:01they're going to represent us

3:46:02well, so I definitely support

3:46:04it.

3:46:04Thank you.

3:46:04All right. Thank you,

3:46:05Councilmember McNair.

3:46:07Um. Yes, sir. Mr. mayor, I

3:46:08guess I.

3:46:09Uh.

3:46:10Want more understanding on a

3:46:13particular item as, um, plan

3:46:18for the fund. Is that just for

3:46:20a parade within itself?

3:46:22Uh.

3:46:22What's the attendance? The

3:46:24travel? I think. it's based on

3:46:27$1,000 a child or a student.

3:46:29Rather.

3:46:30Their total budget is 100,000.

3:46:32100,000. Yeah. And so they've

3:46:33raised some..

3:46:34They raised some.

3:46:34Already.

3:46:35And, uh.

3:46:37They've raised 45,000 up to

3:46:42date.

3:46:43And I'm going to contribute to

3:46:44them personally.

3:46:44Yeah. And and again, um, if, if

3:46:47it's not that amount that's

3:46:48arbitrary. I am for me, it's, I

3:46:50believe we should do something.

3:46:53We should do something. So I'm,

3:46:54I'm amendable to whatever

3:46:56amount. And and just to add a

3:46:57caveat, uh, to that, they have

3:47:00to October the 9th is the

3:47:04dates. Is the date that, uh,

3:47:07the fundings, uh, need to be

3:47:09there. They are looking to

3:47:10extend it. They are looking to

3:47:12extend that. So, uh, again, if

3:47:15if it was, uh, in council's.

3:47:20Uh.

3:47:20If it was council's desire to

3:47:22do anything, uh, that's why I'm

3:47:25bringing it for. Because they,

3:47:26they did bring forth a good.

3:47:27Forth effort.

3:47:28Oh, yes, ma'am.

3:47:29Thank you. You also mentioned,

3:47:31um, asking the county and, um,

3:47:35what other entity that you.

3:47:37Want as it potentially, you

3:47:39know, you could we can't force

3:47:40anyone to do anything but just

3:47:42to, you know, we can put it out

3:47:43there. Hey, would you be

3:47:44willing to, to match something?

3:47:46You know, if we did whatever,

3:47:48if council agreed to any

3:47:50amount, uh, we could definitely

3:47:52ask that. And then that would

3:47:53of course reduce that amount

3:47:55that I.

3:47:56Provide you leaving that up to

3:47:57staff to take care of that.

3:47:59What are you doing?

3:48:00Yeah, that would just be again,

3:48:01we couldn't couldn't bind them

3:48:03to anything. Just a friendly

3:48:05ask. Yes challenge. Yeah.

3:48:08Because there it is. And it's

3:48:10in that each of of course is in

3:48:11the city, but it's also in the,

3:48:13in the county.

3:48:13So I just wanted to know how

3:48:16you plan to achieve that.

3:48:19All right. Uh, Councilmember

3:48:20McMillan.

3:48:21Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah.

3:48:23Want to thank you for bringing

3:48:24this forward. I'm generally

3:48:25supportive, but I need to to

3:48:27say some other things in terms

3:48:29of our process. Uh, and then

3:48:32also, uh, ask what we plan to

3:48:34do in the future in tracking

3:48:37these, um, forecasted

3:48:40expenditures. Uh, I feel like

3:48:42every single work session

3:48:44since, uh, the budget was

3:48:46passed, we've had opportunities

3:48:49to put resources towards things

3:48:51that we believe in, to build

3:48:52consensus around how we how we

3:48:55support the efforts we believe

3:48:56in. Um, at this point, just a

3:48:59few months in, I'm concerned

3:49:01that if we continue to put

3:49:04these types of things on the

3:49:05table, every single work

3:49:07session, uh, that, uh, it's

3:49:09going to eat into our, our

3:49:10credibility when we start

3:49:12talking about resources and

3:49:14prioritization. Uh, during

3:49:16budget season. Um, so I'm going

3:49:18to ask a question, if I could,

3:49:19to the city manager, Doctor

3:49:21Hewitt, I appreciate your your

3:49:24your expression. If the council

3:49:26wants something, you're going

3:49:27to find the money. But I want

3:49:30to see if there is if there has

3:49:32in the past, uh, if there can

3:49:35be some way of us tracking

3:49:37these on forecasted, uh,

3:49:40expenditures. Uh, so, so at

3:49:42least we're making informed.

3:49:44Uh, knowledgeable decisions

3:49:46about how we, uh, spend

3:49:48resources that we have in

3:49:49allocated.

3:49:51Yeah, we can definitely do

3:49:53that. Um, the majority of the.

3:49:55Work.

3:49:57Yeah. Uh, the majority of the

3:49:59work, um, really stems from how

3:50:01you set up your parties with

3:50:03the, um.

3:50:03Can I have a point of order,

3:50:04Mr. Mayor? Yeah. Can we extend

3:50:07this item for additional five

3:50:08minutes? This seems to be more

3:50:10questions around this item. And

3:50:12you still have two individuals

3:50:13that haven't spoke.

3:50:14Uh, two.

3:50:15Minutes.

3:50:15Two minutes. But all I see them

3:50:17requests are important to

3:50:18somebody. Whoever submits them.

3:50:19Yes, sir. All right, so, uh,

3:50:23mayor pro Tem and Councilmember

3:50:25Ferguson.

3:50:26Doctor Hewitt, have you

3:50:27finished?

3:50:27I was just going to say that it

3:50:28really starts with with the

3:50:30community. Um, what's your

3:50:32strategic plan? And, um, like

3:50:35in most police departments, we

3:50:37have a grant match fund.

3:50:39Council could set up a

3:50:42discretionary component for

3:50:44things that come up last minute

3:50:46so that we aren't, it's not

3:50:4810,000 years. Whatever. It's

3:50:5050. It's 100. And that turns

3:50:52into real money. But again, we

3:50:53will find it. Um, the staff is

3:50:55also planning to bring you

3:50:56during the retreat. If if

3:50:58memory serves something about

3:51:00making sure that we look at

3:51:02our, um, fund balance and how

3:51:04we are pulling from that

3:51:06related but separate. Um, but

3:51:08that will more than that when

3:51:09we get to the retreat. But, um,

3:51:11that would be what I'd offer

3:51:11now.

3:51:12Thank you, Doctor Hewitt. And,

3:51:13Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to

3:51:14add, you know, we talk about a

3:51:16lot of things, and we talk

3:51:18about the core of our

3:51:19community, and that is our

3:51:20youth. Our youth are our

3:51:23future. Uh, I had a

3:51:25conversation with my wife about

3:51:27how she was in the band. Small

3:51:28young lady, £99, four foot

3:51:31nine, played the clarinet.

3:51:33Country city from Salisbury,

3:51:34Maryland. Went to New York to

3:51:36play in the band 190 something

3:51:40of them. It changed their

3:51:41lives. We don't know how this

3:51:44opportunity is going to affect

3:51:46those young individuals.

3:51:48Councilmember Jones, I support

3:51:49your item, but I would request

3:51:51that you ask for $25,000 and

3:51:54ask for the county to match the

3:51:56entire the other $25,000 to get

3:51:58them to the $100,000 that they

3:51:59need. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

3:52:00All right. Councilmember

3:52:02Ferguson.

3:52:03Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And, um,

3:52:05and I concur with you, a mayor

3:52:07pro tem on on that that was

3:52:08going to be my, uh, my pitch to

3:52:10offer that with the because you

3:52:11mentioned that in your email.

3:52:13Um, I do want to say something

3:52:14real quick as it relates to,

3:52:17um, national attention from our

3:52:18schools. We have some great

3:52:19schools here in Cumberland

3:52:21County. And, um, there are many

3:52:24schools who do great things on

3:52:26a national level. It just

3:52:28happens not to be banned. But

3:52:30there are some. So I just want

3:52:31to give them some love because

3:52:33they do a lot of, a lot of

3:52:34great things. Thank you Mary.

3:52:36Thanks. Councilmember green.

3:52:37Second.

3:52:38Can we consider changing that

3:52:39wording to up to $25,000 so

3:52:44that we capture, if they have

3:52:45raised more money because we

3:52:47just indicated two of us just

3:52:49said we were personally had not

3:52:50written our.

3:52:51Checks are two minutes is up.

3:52:52So it sounds like we got

3:52:54something. So the ask is up to

3:52:5825,000 to.

3:52:59Challenge. That was 2025.

3:53:01Actually was my contingency.

3:53:03Just where I come from? You ask

3:53:04and you told no? Then you have

3:53:06a contingency 25 so I would

3:53:07like to move forward to make a

3:53:09motion that we provide up to

3:53:14$25,000 to the E Smith High

3:53:17School for their Thanksgiving

3:53:19Day parade.

3:53:20For and challenge the county..

3:53:21It's expensive and challenge.

3:53:24That was going to be the last

3:53:24part.

3:53:25I always challenge.

3:53:25The cities.

3:53:26In the county, so.

3:53:26Not forget that part and

3:53:29challenge the county to match

3:53:31up to 25,000 and Cumberland

3:53:34County schools if applicable.

3:53:37All right, all right. So so

3:53:38motion by Councilmember Jones I

3:53:39think was seconded by green

3:53:40already. Um, all right,

3:53:42counselor, look to you for your

3:53:43votes on that. And we are

3:53:45starting to get our green

3:53:47citizens in, so we'll keep

3:53:48moving. Thank you, Councilman

3:53:49Harris. Unanimous. Good luck.

3:53:51Proud of, uh, thank you, Smith,

3:53:53and all of our young people.

3:53:556.0. Huh. 61013 Councilmember

3:53:58Hondros.

3:54:04I thought we were going to

3:54:06break, um, so this request is

3:54:10really for, uh, research to

3:54:12have our city attorney and or

3:54:14city manager's office. Um, PD,

3:54:17if needed, to look into best

3:54:20practices, uh, specifically

3:54:22contacting the School of

3:54:23government and any other, um,

3:54:26sources they deem appropriate

3:54:28to try to create a framework,

3:54:30uh, or see if we need any

3:54:32additional, uh, local ordinance

3:54:34or policy around our

3:54:35technology. Um, usage, uh,

3:54:38could include, um, an inventory

3:54:41of current technologies. Um,

3:54:44what data is, um, what data is

3:54:47captured, how it's stored, who

3:54:50has access? Um, auditing of

3:54:52those systems and develop, um,

3:54:55KPIs and metrics, uh, to see if

3:54:57those technologies, what

3:54:59efficacy they have, if their,

3:55:01um, gauge their efficacy to see

3:55:03if, if the investment is worth

3:55:06the, uh, the safety, uh, it's

3:55:10providing and, um, work with

3:55:14our, um, Pio department or

3:55:18Marche com to create, uh,

3:55:20public relations campaign

3:55:22informing the residents of the

3:55:23technologies currently in use

3:55:25in any, um, that are under

3:55:27consideration for future use.

3:55:29Um, and there's already federal

3:55:32and state guidelines on most of

3:55:34this stuff. So part of the, um,

3:55:37assessment could simply be, um,

3:55:40creating a short local policy

3:55:43that references those, uh,

3:55:45federal laws and state

3:55:47statutes. Um, or it could be an

3:55:50assessment that says, you know,

3:55:51none is needed at all. But I

3:55:53think, um, last week we talked

3:55:55about or we renewed an axon

3:55:57contract for 5 or 6 years, six

3:55:59year contract, I think renewal,

3:56:01uh, for body cams, I think that

3:56:03had, um, body cams. The vehicle

3:56:06cams drone as first responders

3:56:09and, uh, the tasers as well as

3:56:11other things. Um, we are

3:56:15looking to re-engage the red

3:56:17light cameras. So all of this

3:56:19technology, I think residents

3:56:21have, um, questions and

3:56:22reservations on a on a national

3:56:25level, a state level. And that

3:56:27translates locally here. Uh,

3:56:29again, on what data? What what

3:56:32of their data is being, um,

3:56:34being captured, how it's being

3:56:36captured, how it's being used,

3:56:38how it's being stored and who

3:56:39has access to it. So this would

3:56:41help, um, help the CEO and the

3:56:45CMO determine what the best

3:56:48practices is and whether we

3:56:50need to incorporate something

3:56:52in the way of revisions to our

3:56:53credit ordinance or not. Um,

3:56:56and these these provisions

3:56:58would just provide transparency

3:56:59for our residents and help

3:57:01foster the trust between our

3:57:03residents and their local

3:57:04government. And with that, I'll

3:57:06pause and answer any questions.

3:57:07If there are any.

3:57:09Uh, clear to that person. Uh,

3:57:13Davis. Well, here. And then

3:57:15Davis and then McMillan. Well,

3:57:16yes, sir.

3:57:17If it was made in the motion, I

3:57:18was.

3:57:18Thank you.

3:57:19Oh.

3:57:21So.

3:57:22Uh, thank you, mayor. Um, I

3:57:25think it was the last meeting

3:57:26we spoke on. Some of this came

3:57:29up. I think it was during that

3:57:30drone period discussion or

3:57:33something related to that. And,

3:57:35and I've talked I've spoke to

3:57:38one of my colleagues as well.

3:57:39Yeah. I guess one of my

3:57:41colleagues over in Durham,

3:57:43about the same question did not

3:57:47our chief and police. And I

3:57:49guess this is probably more

3:57:50clarification for me, but did

3:57:53not it it was stated at our

3:57:55that meeting or a couple of

3:57:58meetings ago on, uh, if, if, if

3:58:05things are stored, how long

3:58:06they're stored, uh, who gets a

3:58:09chance to, to use it. Uh

3:58:12questions along that line. It's

3:58:14not already a form of policy

3:58:18that governs, uh, those

3:58:19questions. I, I read this, um,

3:58:22I read this, uh, item that

3:58:25Councilmember Hondros put out,

3:58:26uh, thoroughly. And I read all

3:58:28of those different items they

3:58:29put in there, and, and I, I

3:58:31support that, but isn't it

3:58:34something already in place for

3:58:36that?

3:58:36That's what.

3:58:37We would justification.

3:58:38That's what we'd be asking the

3:58:39attorney's office and the

3:58:40manager's office to assess for

3:58:41us.

3:58:41Huh?

3:58:45Thank you.

3:58:46All right. Councilmember Davis.

3:58:48As if that was an emotion I was

3:58:50going to second his motion. I'm

3:58:51sorry.

3:58:52All right. Uh, and

3:58:55Councilmember McMillan.

3:58:57Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I

3:58:58just want to thank you,

3:58:59Councilmember Hondros, for

3:59:00putting this on the table. Uh,

3:59:02show strong support for us

3:59:04developing an overarching

3:59:06framework. And I think this

3:59:08answers a lot of questions that

3:59:10I'm getting from our residents.

3:59:12Even even got an earful on

3:59:13Saturday morning. Early on

3:59:15Saturday morning about the

3:59:17Alpers, about how they're going

3:59:18to be implemented. I think this

3:59:20moves us forward and and making

3:59:22sure that our implementation of

3:59:26these technologies don't

3:59:27outpace our ability to to have

3:59:29regulation and be responsible

3:59:31in their use. So thank you.

3:59:32All right. And so, uh, just

3:59:35have one question on this

3:59:37council, Councilmember Hondros.

3:59:38I'm all for the best practices.

3:59:39And if the UNC School of

3:59:41Government can give us guidance

3:59:42or, um, municipal local

3:59:46governance guidance, because

3:59:47you'll always be able to find,

3:59:49um, you know, organizations

3:59:51that will do it. But you've got

3:59:52to here USC School of

3:59:53Government. And the only

3:59:54question I have is part of this

3:59:56conflicts with the action that

3:59:58council took, which is review

4:00:00the contracts. So we just took

4:00:03an item to, let's say bundle.

4:00:05That was official vote last

4:00:07week. So you can't undo a vote

4:00:10with a request. So can you

4:00:12speak to what you're talking

4:00:14about to review the contracts

4:00:16component?

4:00:17That's more for the, um, the

4:00:20inventory of what technologies

4:00:22we're using, how we use them,

4:00:23what data is collected, how

4:00:25it's how it's stored, what it's

4:00:27used for. Um, and then really

4:00:30just reviewing contracts going

4:00:31forward.

4:00:33Right. But as it relates to

4:00:35that, are you saying it

4:00:36excludes what council action

4:00:37was.

4:00:37Taking the other? That's just

4:00:38this is just research for the

4:00:40attorney's office and the the

4:00:42manager's office to look at

4:00:44best practices. Uh, whether.

4:00:46I'm tracking the best

4:00:47practices. I'm in there. I'm

4:00:48just looking at the specific

4:00:49word about the contract.

4:00:50This would certainly not undo,

4:00:52uh, the action council took.

4:00:54You know, we're doing a

4:00:55consensus motion tonight,

4:00:57right? That was a council

4:00:59meeting. That was an action.

4:01:01Right? Okay. We took action. So

4:01:02this would not supersede that

4:01:04at all.

4:01:04All right. Mayor Pro tem.

4:01:06Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, it's

4:01:08Chief Bryant here. Chief.

4:01:09Joyce. Chief. Brian, can you

4:01:11come up real quick? I don't

4:01:15know how this item got to be. A

4:01:17council members request. When

4:01:19we had eight of these items,

4:01:21that's already been. Madam

4:01:27attorney.

4:01:27Point of order. Oh, um, we

4:01:29generally don't hear from

4:01:30staff.

4:01:31I know staff got you. Have a

4:01:33seat in chief, but let me just

4:01:34let me just let me just ask a

4:01:35general question, then, uh, I

4:01:38think there's nine technology

4:01:40items that we have under the

4:01:41same contract, and it only got

4:01:43a lot of attention when we

4:01:44added the last item, which was

4:01:45drones. As first responders.

4:01:47Uh, I guess city manager or

4:01:49city attorney do other

4:01:53municipalities put guardrails

4:01:55around contracts? That was, uh,

4:01:57awarded through the

4:01:59municipality? And if so, are we

4:02:01doing anything different that

4:02:04other municipalities are doing?

4:02:05That's what they're going to

4:02:06research, sir.

4:02:09So I think that's the access

4:02:12to.

4:02:12I'm waiting for a response, Mr.

4:02:14mayor, if I may.

4:02:15It's my same point of order,

4:02:17sir. Um, that we generally

4:02:19don't have staff comment on the

4:02:21council member request, so we

4:02:23don't get in the way of what

4:02:25the council.

4:02:25Want to clarify.

4:02:26Yeah, we got a question to

4:02:27clarify what you're doing. I

4:02:28guess this question is more so,

4:02:30you know.

4:02:30I can't answer the question. I

4:02:32don't know what other cities

4:02:33are doing on this, but as

4:02:35council.

4:02:35Members, what this is for,

4:02:36right?

4:02:36Right. As he said, that would

4:02:38be a part of our work. Um, if

4:02:41this passes.

4:02:43All right, all right. So

4:02:48council is a consensus motion,

4:02:51of course, by Hondros, seconded

4:02:52by Davis. Uh, and Councilmember

4:02:56Harris, say something. Okay,

4:02:59great. Well, okay. Go ahead and

4:03:01voted yet. But we got you. All

4:03:03right. So we look to you for

4:03:04your vote. And this is to bring

4:03:05back more information on these

4:03:06on these items. All right. So I

4:03:22look forward to that. And then

4:03:23finally um, 6.01 for uh,

4:03:28Councilmember Davis.

4:03:29Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um,

4:03:31Council, I've reached out to

4:03:32most of you on council already

4:03:33reference to this, um, few

4:03:35years past. Council has already

4:03:37supported the Reclaiming

4:03:38Futures mentorship program. Um,

4:03:41if you're looking at cam,

4:03:42there's some, um, events that

4:03:44they've held, things that

4:03:45they've done in the past, and

4:03:47there was a little bit of

4:03:48confusion before the budget

4:03:49season, and they were not able

4:03:50to talk to anyone, staff to

4:03:52renew their contract for, um,

4:03:54they're asking for the $50,000

4:03:56for, uh, over the next two

4:03:58years, $50,000 each year for

4:04:00the next two years. So that's

4:04:01$100,000 total. Um, to continue

4:04:03to support with the children

4:04:05that go through the mentorship

4:04:06program with community care. So

4:04:09I'm open to any questions at

4:04:10this time.

4:04:10Sir.

4:04:11All right. Councilman Hondros.

4:04:13I've always advocated for the

4:04:16youth and more youth

4:04:17programming. This is a program

4:04:19that has proven results. I'm

4:04:21supportive of it. And I'll

4:04:22second the motion whenever.

4:04:24It's time.

4:04:25All right. Uh, Councilmember

4:04:27Farkas.

4:04:27Thank you. Mayor. Let me, um,

4:04:29attest to that as well. Um, I

4:04:31have a work with, um,

4:04:33Judge King and others, and the

4:04:36great things that they're

4:04:37doing. One of them is in my

4:04:38district in Pine Forest, and

4:04:40they're doing some excellent

4:04:41things. So I, I, I support.

4:04:43This throw that.

4:04:43In.

4:04:44All right. Councilman Jones.

4:04:47Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor.

4:04:48And just, um, uh, Councilman

4:04:51Davis, uh, in the past, the

4:04:52city has supported this

4:04:56particular program, if I'm not

4:04:57mistaken. Right. And this this

4:04:59year, something occurred. I

4:05:01don't know what.

4:05:02Yeah.

4:05:04Okay.

4:05:05Thank you.

4:05:05Yeah. This was, uh, brought

4:05:08Judge King several years ago,

4:05:09and we had always supported. I

4:05:10was a little surprised it was

4:05:12not in there, so. But, um, I

4:05:13guess your ask is because this

4:05:17is not a budget meeting.

4:05:18Yes, sir.

4:05:18So you're asking us to to find,

4:05:21uh, if there's support for it

4:05:23for to come back with the

4:05:24options as to how it gets back

4:05:26inserted in.

4:05:27Into the budget. But within the

4:05:28next 30 days, because they've

4:05:30already got things that they

4:05:32need to do for this year

4:05:33because they were expecting to

4:05:34get funding this year.

4:05:35But I'd be interested to hear

4:05:37how it got missed up in there.

4:05:38But I'm not sure.

4:05:39All right. Don't know a whole

4:05:40nother. Okay. I just wanted to

4:05:42clarify. You ask. All right.

4:05:43Yes, sir. So so as I guess

4:05:45you're making a motion for your

4:05:46own ask.

4:05:47Yes.

4:05:47I'm assuming. All right.

4:05:48There's a motion by

4:05:49Councilmember Davis. Second,

4:05:50seconded by.

4:05:51Thank you.

4:05:51Uh, answers. Okay. All right.

4:05:55Councilor, look to you for your

4:05:56vote.

4:05:59Great.

4:05:59All right. Okay.

4:06:03All right.

4:06:04Good job. Council. And, uh, so

4:06:07we'll we'll recess and we'll

4:06:08pick back up in five minutes.

4:17:24To call.

4:17:26Our official, um, meeting. Back

4:17:29to order. Um, we have, uh, at

4:17:33this time, as now, when we will

4:17:35have our announcements and

4:17:37recognitions. So we have a

4:17:38number of, uh, recognitions

4:17:40tonight, uh, that we would like

4:17:42to acknowledge. Uh, members of

4:17:44the staff, uh, some

4:17:46significant, uh, contributors

4:17:48to our community and some

4:17:49proclamations to present. So

4:17:51with that, we will move forward

4:17:52with our certificate of

4:17:54excellence, with excellent

4:17:55Mister Jerry clip, human

4:17:57resource director for the City

4:17:58of Fayetteville Show, a brief

4:18:00video presentation about the

4:18:02excellence in Action program.

4:18:06Thank you. Good evening. Mayor,

4:18:09mayor Pro tem and city council.

4:18:11It's my honor.

4:18:11To introduce.

4:18:12You to our latest winners of

4:18:15the Excellence in Action, uh,

4:18:17program that we have here. As

4:18:18you may know, it's a fairly

4:18:19recent, uh, and new program

4:18:21that we have. So this is the

4:18:22second cohort, and we recognize

4:18:25our employees that go above and

4:18:27beyond and demonstrating our

4:18:29core values. So our partners

4:18:31over in, uh, Markham have put

4:18:34together a video. It's about a

4:18:35six minute video. And so we'll

4:18:37show that.

4:18:47Congratulations to Derek

4:18:49MacArthur, a recent winner of

4:18:50the Excellence in Action Award

4:18:52from the city of Fayetteville

4:18:53as economic development

4:18:54manager. Derek MacArthur

4:18:56supports small businesses and

4:18:58develops programs that help

4:18:59Fayetteville grow his

4:19:01commitment to making each

4:19:02interaction more than a

4:19:03transaction and helping

4:19:04businesses succeed caught the

4:19:06attention of Economic and

4:19:07Community Development Director

4:19:09Chris Corley, who nominated him

4:19:11for the award.

4:19:12For Me Helping small business

4:19:13and, you know, developing these

4:19:15new economic development

4:19:16program. It's about helping the

4:19:17city grow. Um, and when I came

4:19:19into this role, one of the

4:19:21biggest things I wanted to do

4:19:22was to make sure that, you

4:19:24know, from my economic

4:19:25development standpoint, I left

4:19:26the city better than what I

4:19:27found it..

4:19:28The recognition was unexpected,

4:19:30but it reminded him that good

4:19:32work does not go unnoticed.

4:19:34He showed that, you know, uh,

4:19:37whenever you think nobody's

4:19:39looking, somebody watching, uh.

4:19:41Um, but for me, it it it was

4:19:43nothing but just me doing my

4:19:45day to day, um, duties.

4:19:51Congratulations to Daniella

4:19:53Risotto, a recent winner of the

4:19:55Excellence in Action award from

4:19:57the city of Fayetteville.

4:19:58Earlier this summer, a fire at

4:20:00a hotel near Sycamore Dairy

4:20:01Road forced guests from their

4:20:03rooms and brought multiple

4:20:05agencies together to respond.

4:20:07Working the night shift,

4:20:08Daniella Rosado was given an

4:20:10important assignment help

4:20:12account for every person who

4:20:13had been staying at the hotel,

4:20:14and coordinate support for

4:20:16those who had been displaced.

4:20:18With that, I had to call every

4:20:19single person on that list and

4:20:21it was chaotic because we had

4:20:23the other hotels where there

4:20:25was just separated everywhere.

4:20:27So I had to send, um, multiple

4:20:29officers to different locations

4:20:31and do checks and get names,

4:20:33date of birth, who was there,

4:20:35who was in the room.

4:20:36As rain moved in and conditions

4:20:38became more difficult, the

4:20:40response grew beyond

4:20:41accountability checks. Officers

4:20:43helped transport residents,

4:20:45connect them with family and

4:20:46medical care, coordinate

4:20:48temporary accommodations, and

4:20:50even make sure displaced pets

4:20:52had food and water. Her

4:20:53leadership, during a

4:20:54challenging response, caught

4:20:55the attention of Lieutenant

4:20:56Lyons, who nominated her for

4:20:58the Excellence in Action Award.

4:21:00It was very humbling to see

4:21:03that from a lieutenant who

4:21:05could have looked the

4:21:06recognition on her side because

4:21:08it was her squad, but I felt

4:21:09very honored, if I'm honest

4:21:11with you, my supervisors have

4:21:13always like again, who've

4:21:14always pushed me and even

4:21:16Captain Bernardi was there like

4:21:17a dad in the audience taking a

4:21:20photo. And he was very happy.

4:21:22So I felt loved from the

4:21:24department. And just the little

4:21:26things that you don't realize

4:21:27that they're pushing you to do

4:21:28better and they're they're

4:21:29wanting you to succeed and

4:21:31wanting you to get that

4:21:32recognition. Thank you,

4:21:33Lieutenant Lyons, for

4:21:35nominating me for this award. I

4:21:36really appreciate it. And for

4:21:37the city of Fayetteville for

4:21:39allowing supervisors to push

4:21:40their officers to be better. So

4:21:42thank you so much.

4:21:49Congratulations to Nicole

4:21:51Keyes, a recent winner of the

4:21:53Excellence in Action Award from

4:21:54the City of Fayetteville. After

4:21:56joining the city of

4:21:57Fayetteville, Nicole Keyes was

4:21:59promoted to payroll manager

4:22:00within just six months. During

4:22:02her tenure, she and her team

4:22:04have taken on the challenging

4:22:05work of implementing hub, the

4:22:07city's new payroll system.

4:22:09Despite the challenges that

4:22:11came with the implementation

4:22:12process. The team continued

4:22:14working through them to move

4:22:16the new system forward. Her

4:22:17dedication and perseverance

4:22:19throughout that work led

4:22:21payroll technician Reid to

4:22:22nominate her for the Excellence

4:22:24in Action Award.

4:22:25In that process, has presented

4:22:27a multitude of challenges

4:22:29throughout that entire process.

4:22:31My team and I persevered

4:22:33through a lot to get it

4:22:35implemented, and that was the

4:22:36basis of my nomination.

4:22:38Payroll is essential work that

4:22:39often happens behind the

4:22:41scenes. For Nicole, receiving

4:22:43the award was a meaningful

4:22:44reminder that those efforts are

4:22:46noticed.

4:22:47And receiving the award made me

4:22:49feel seen. Um, this job in

4:22:52payroll is is very important,

4:22:54but it's often thankless. Um,

4:22:57and just having someone

4:23:00nominate me and the senior

4:23:01leadership awarding me the

4:23:03award allowed me to feel seen.

4:23:05And I'm very grateful to not

4:23:07only taste, but also the senior

4:23:09leadership of the city of

4:23:10Fayetteville for giving me the

4:23:11award.

4:23:17Congratulations to Jessie Horn,

4:23:19a recent winner of the

4:23:20Excellence in Action Award from

4:23:21the City of Fayetteville. While

4:23:23working his route, Jessie Horn

4:23:25discovered a wallet containing

4:23:27$200. After finding the owner's

4:23:29information inside, he knew he

4:23:31wanted to make sure the wallet

4:23:33and money made it back to the

4:23:34right person.

4:23:35Then I looked and I seen his

4:23:36info. So once I found his info,

4:23:39it pricked my heart and was

4:23:40like. And the way the money was

4:23:42tucked, I wasn't sure was that

4:23:44his last, his last. So I

4:23:47contacted him on Facebook. We

4:23:49met up. I gave the money back

4:23:51to him and he was like, hey

4:23:53man, I appreciate that.

4:23:54But the story did not end

4:23:55there. The wallet's owner

4:23:57offered him $100 as a thank

4:23:58you. Dessie horn decided to use

4:24:00the money to help a homeless

4:24:02man. He regularly saw along his

4:24:04route. After hearing what he

4:24:06planned to do, the owner gave

4:24:07him the remaining $100 to help

4:24:09as well. The wallet's owner

4:24:11later contacted the city to

4:24:13share what happened, leading to

4:24:14Dessie Horn being recognized

4:24:16for an act of honesty that

4:24:17became an even greater act of

4:24:19kindness.

4:24:19So they told me, go to this

4:24:21meet. And I was like, okay.

4:24:22Then when they call his name, I

4:24:23was like, ah, man, I was I was

4:24:26shocked, man, I appreciate they

4:24:27gave me award. So it's the gift

4:24:29that keeps on giving. Just

4:24:30being generous, giving back.

4:24:31And it's still they still I'm

4:24:34still getting paid for it for

4:24:35now.

4:24:46Let's give another round of

4:24:47applause for these outstanding.

4:24:51So with that.

4:24:52If.

4:24:53All of the honorees can come

4:24:55forth and receive your

4:24:57certificate or your recognition.

4:25:05So first we have Mr. Derek

4:25:07MacArthur, Economic and

4:25:10Community Development. Mr.

4:25:11MacArthur.. I guess I guess

4:25:15we'll, um.

4:25:16Yeah, if y'all.

4:25:17Can stay here and.

4:25:17Then we'll we'll.

4:25:18Call.

4:25:18Your name and come over. Okay.

4:25:25Thank you, Mr. MacArthur.

4:25:30Miss Nicole keys.

4:25:35Thank you.

4:25:46Miss Daniella Rosado. And Mr.

4:26:01Dessie horn. Thank you, sir.

4:26:03Thank you. Great job. Oh. Oh.

4:26:16You're okay? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

4:26:19Hey, Jose.

4:26:37Yeah. Open them up.

4:26:39All right. All right.

4:26:41Three. We're good. Three. Two.

4:26:43One.

4:27:03Mayor. Next, we will have

4:27:04customer service of the week.

4:27:07This is a proclamation which

4:27:09reads. Whereas customer service

4:27:11week is an annual celebration

4:27:13recognizing the importance of

4:27:14customer service professionals

4:27:16and the essential role they

4:27:17play in servicing customers,

4:27:19residents, businesses and

4:27:21communities. And whereas

4:27:23exceptional customer service is

4:27:24built on professionalism,

4:27:26courtesy, responsiveness,

4:27:28empathy and a commitment to

4:27:29meeting the needs of those we

4:27:31serve. And Whereas customer

4:27:32service professionals serve as

4:27:34ambassadors for their

4:27:35organizations, creating

4:27:36positive experiences, building

4:27:38trust, resolving concerns, and

4:27:40strengthening relationships

4:27:41through every interaction. And

4:27:43Whereas, the City of

4:27:44Fayetteville employees and

4:27:45service professionals across

4:27:46departments and organizations

4:27:48work each day to provide

4:27:49timely, respectful, and

4:27:51effective assistance to

4:27:52residents, visitors,

4:27:54businesses, and members of our

4:27:56community. And Whereas,

4:27:57Customer Service Week provides

4:27:58an opportunity to recognize and

4:28:00celebrate the dedication of

4:28:02those who constantly go above

4:28:03and beyond to serve others,

4:28:05demonstrating that every

4:28:06interaction is an opportunity

4:28:07to make a meaningful

4:28:08difference. And whereas the

4:28:09City of Fayetteville encourages

4:28:11our community to recognize the

4:28:12value of outstanding customer

4:28:14service and to express

4:28:15appreciation to the individuals

4:28:17whose professionalism,

4:28:18patience, and dedication helped

4:28:20make Fayetteville a welcoming

4:28:22and responsive community. Now,

4:28:24therefore, our mayor Mitch

4:28:25Colvin, and the City of

4:28:27Fayetteville of North Carolina.

4:28:28On behalf of the City Council

4:28:30and over 210,000 residents, do

4:28:33hereby proclaim October 5th

4:28:36through the ninth, 2026 as

4:28:38Customer Service Week. I

4:28:40witnessed whereof I hear unto

4:28:42set my hand, and cause this

4:28:43great seal of the city of

4:28:44Fayetteville to be a fix. This

4:28:46day, 30th September in the year

4:28:48of 2026. Sign your mayor, Mitch

4:28:51Colvin. Congratulations.

4:28:53Thank you. You you.

4:28:57Congratulations. Thank you. Did

4:29:09y'all want any words? Oh, no.

4:29:12No. Thank you.

4:29:14Ain't nobody gonna say nothing.

4:29:15Man.

4:29:16I guess they don't want.

4:29:17To speak.

4:29:20Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Next is

4:29:22our Indigenous People day. This

4:29:24is a proclamation that reads.

4:29:25Whereas indigenous people

4:29:27inhabited this country long

4:29:29before colonization of Americas

4:29:31began. And whereas North

4:29:32Carolina is home to more than

4:29:34122,000 American Indians.

4:29:36Hold on. Mayor Pro Tem, let me

4:29:37get the chief baker. Uh,

4:29:40speaker. Speaker Baker and.

4:29:42Jones. Oh.

4:29:42There they are. Yeah. Come on.

4:29:45Alex. Doctor Jones.

4:29:47Thank you.

4:29:48And Major Hunt.

4:29:50All right.

4:29:51David. Come on. Stand up with

4:29:53us.

4:29:53David. Come on, babe.

4:29:55Do we have any other indigenous

4:29:57people in the audience?

4:30:03Hey!

4:30:06Awesome. Indigenous people

4:30:08inhabited this country long

4:30:10before the colonization of

4:30:11Americans began. And whereas

4:30:13North Carolina is home to more

4:30:14than 122 American Indians and

4:30:17has eight historic tribes.

4:30:19Lumbee, Cherokee, Eastern Band

4:30:21of Cherokee, Halawa, Saipan,

4:30:25Marine. Band of the Saipan,

4:30:31Saipan, and Wichita. And

4:30:33Whereas the indigenous people

4:30:34have built vibrant and diverse

4:30:36cultures, safeguarding land,

4:30:37language, spirit, knowledge,

4:30:39and traditions across this

4:30:41generation. And Whereas the

4:30:42city of Fayetteville, North

4:30:44Carolina, honors and respects

4:30:45the heritage and the culture of

4:30:47our American Indian tribes and

4:30:49people. And whereas we value

4:30:51the many contributions made to

4:30:52the technology, medicine,

4:30:54science, philosophy and arts

4:30:56and our society and community

4:30:58through the indigenous peoples

4:30:59history, culture, knowledge and

4:31:01labor. And whereas the city of

4:31:03Fayetteville recognizes the

4:31:04strength and resilience of the

4:31:06indigenous people and honor the

4:31:08tribal nations that continue to

4:31:09thrive today. Now, therefore,

4:31:12I, Mayor Mitch Colvin, City of

4:31:14Fayetteville, North Carolina,

4:31:15on behalf of the City Council,

4:31:16more than 210,000 residents do

4:31:19hereby honorary proclaim

4:31:21October 12th, 2026 to be in

4:31:23honor of Indigenous People Day

4:31:25and witness whereof I have

4:31:27hereto set my hand and cause

4:31:29this great seal of the City of

4:31:30Fayetteville to be affixed, to

4:31:31be affixed. This fifth day of

4:31:34October, 2026, signed your

4:31:37mayor, Mitch Colvin.

4:31:49Yeah, yeah.

4:31:52Mayor.

4:31:54Mayor.

4:31:55Can we get him back here? We

4:31:55gotta get a pitcher of the hat

4:31:56with.

4:31:57Alex said.

4:31:58There they go again. Let's go

4:31:59back.

4:31:59Here, y'all. Polk County. Let's

4:32:12make sure you do. Not.

4:32:19Come on, Jody, you know how to

4:32:20do it, y'all.

4:32:21You know how to do it. Oh,

4:32:22Jacob never giving.

4:32:23Me a camera again. I can

4:32:24promise.

4:32:24You.

4:32:31I want a.

4:32:32Great job. You got a great job.

4:32:33I didn't know..

4:32:40I think Councilman Hondros, was

4:32:42this your item?

4:32:43He got one more. Mayor

4:32:45Ferguson.

4:32:45Oh, yeah.

4:32:46Should know about that.

4:32:47I was waiting, yes.

4:32:48Thank you, mayor. And thank

4:32:50you, mayor, for yesterday

4:32:51making this presentation. It's

4:32:53already been presented, uh, to

4:32:55New Life Bible Church for their

4:32:5644th anniversary. And thank

4:32:58you, Councilman McMillan, for

4:32:59your present support as

4:33:01councilman of that district

4:33:03eight. Um, and it reads,

4:33:06whereas in 1982, while serving

4:33:08as assistant pastor of New

4:33:10Bethel AME Zion Church, Pastor

4:33:12Alan S McLaughlin received a

4:33:14vision from God to establish a

4:33:15new ministry in Fayetteville.

4:33:17And Whereas on October 2nd,

4:33:191982, pastor McLaughlin and his

4:33:21wife, Norma McLaughlin held

4:33:23their first fellowship building

4:33:25upon Bible classes previously

4:33:27held in their home, and the

4:33:29ministry was named New Life.

4:33:31Whereas construction of a new

4:33:32church began in October 1988

4:33:37with the first worship service

4:33:39held at its permanent

4:33:40Fayetteville location on May

4:33:417th, 1989. Whereas the church

4:33:44expanded its mission through

4:33:45New Life Christian Academy,

4:33:47established in 1997 to provide

4:33:50biblically based K-12

4:33:51education, producing hundreds

4:33:53of graduates who have become

4:33:54educators, entrepreneurs,

4:33:56military personnel, and

4:33:58productive members of society.

4:33:59And Whereas New Life Bible

4:34:01Church has remained a loving,

4:34:02Christ centered, welcoming

4:34:04congregation committed to

4:34:05sharing the gospel,

4:34:06strengthening families,

4:34:07promoting spiritual growth, and

4:34:09serving the greater

4:34:10Fayetteville community. Now,

4:34:11therefore, I'm Mitch Koven,

4:34:13mayor of the City of

4:34:14Fayetteville, North Carolina,

4:34:15on behalf of the City Council

4:34:17and over 210,000 residents do

4:34:19hereby congratulate New Life

4:34:21Bible Church, 44th anniversary

4:34:23and Witness. Wherefore I have

4:34:26hereunto set my hand and caused

4:34:28the Great Seal of the City of

4:34:29Fayetteville to be affixed the

4:34:31fourth day of October, 2020

4:34:33sixth. Sign Mitch Colvin,

4:34:35mayor. Thank you.

4:34:39Mr. mayor, Mr. mayor, point of

4:34:42order. Mr. Mayor, we did not

4:34:43get a photo with our customer

4:34:46service representative. Can we

4:34:47get a photo with them before

4:34:48you start, Mr. mayor, if that's

4:34:49okay.

4:34:49Get one with me.

4:34:50Okay.

4:34:52Come on. I'm sorry, Mr. Miller.

4:35:03I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm

4:35:04sorry.

4:35:05I want these ladies to know we.

4:35:06Appreciate it. That's right,

4:35:08that's right. We got two of

4:35:10y'all. What's up? Y'all? Y'all

4:35:13make that power. Y'all smile.

4:35:20On this side right.

4:35:21Here, please.

4:35:23Yeah.

4:35:24Um.

4:35:34Good balance. Three.

4:35:36Two. One. Thank you. Ladies.

4:35:43Thank you. Got you.

4:35:53And last but certainly not

4:35:55least, I'll defer to council

4:35:56member Dino Hondros.

4:36:00Please, I would like to welcome

4:36:01doctor and doctor. Uh, Gupta,

4:36:04up to the to the podium,

4:36:06please. So, um, I know you all

4:36:09both very humble. All your work

4:36:11with, um, Womack K for Valley

4:36:14Methodist University. You've

4:36:16given so much to this

4:36:16community. Uh, I just want to

4:36:18read just a brief snapshot of a

4:36:20couple of the accomplishments.

4:36:22So recently, half $1 million

4:36:25donation in 100,000 media

4:36:27available for scholarship

4:36:28students. Um, the remaining

4:36:32400,000 is is enriched. Uh, is

4:36:34an endowment enrichment

4:36:35scholarships, uh, will be

4:36:37awarded to the qualifying

4:36:38students at the end of their

4:36:39first medical school. First

4:36:41year the medical school, the

4:36:43newly, uh, the partnership with

4:36:44Methodist University and K for

4:36:45Valley uh, doctor Rakesh,

4:36:47retired gastroenterologist uh

4:36:50serve as a trustee for

4:36:51Methodist University and on K

4:36:53for Valley Health. Um chief

4:36:55medicine at K for Valley Health

4:36:56from 1996 to 98. Um doctor

4:37:01Vinita, Army veteran, retired

4:37:03pediatrician, spent more than

4:37:05two decades with Womack Medical

4:37:06Center. Uh, when it comes to

4:37:07Fayetteville in Cumberland

4:37:08County, you'll find Doctor

4:37:10Rakesh, Doctor Vida, uh, at the

4:37:12head of the line with their

4:37:13generous giving to everything

4:37:15from Cumberland Community

4:37:16Foundation, uh, Better Health,

4:37:17Cumberland County, uh, Care

4:37:19Clinic, K for a technical

4:37:20garden, K for regional theater.

4:37:21And they help the founding of

4:37:23the Hindu Robin Temple, uh, in

4:37:26East Fayetteville, where they

4:37:27have volunteered and served as

4:37:29leaders. So just a little

4:37:30snapshot of some of the great

4:37:31accomplishments and

4:37:32contribution to our community.

4:37:34And we're indebted. And I

4:37:35think, Mr. Mayor, I'll turn it

4:37:37over to you.

4:37:40For Doctor Gupta, doctor Gupta,

4:37:43um, certainly it is with honor

4:37:46and privilege that we present

4:37:47to you the highest award. Uh,

4:37:49the city of Fayetteville has.

4:37:50And grateful recognition of

4:37:51your devoted interest and

4:37:53unwavering commitment to this

4:37:55community as presented to you

4:37:56this day in 2026. So thank.

4:37:59You.

4:38:23Thank you so much. I'm sorry.

4:38:26Okay.

4:38:27Is it you? I'd like to have

4:38:28some words.

4:38:28Yes. Quick word. Yes, sir. Yes,

4:38:31sir. We need. Yes, yes.

4:38:36Uh, thank you very much. Uh,

4:38:38city council, uh, city of

4:38:40Fayetteville. Uh, Vinita and I,

4:38:43uh, in 2026 became, uh, this is

4:38:46this is more than one half of

4:38:48our life we've spent in city of

4:38:50Fayetteville. These are 36

4:38:51years since we've been here.

4:38:53Uh, we are honored and humbled.

4:38:57Uh, we are incredibly grateful,

4:38:59you know. Thank you. Um, we

4:39:01want to say, go, Fayetteville.

4:39:04Go. And we will continue to do

4:39:08what we have done for 36 years.

4:39:09And we could not be more

4:39:11grateful. And we will cherish

4:39:12this for many years to come.

4:39:14Thank you.

4:39:23Well, thank you to, uh, thank

4:39:25you again to the Guptas. Thank

4:39:27you to all the members of the

4:39:28city staff and other members of

4:39:30the community who are

4:39:31recognized, uh, this evening

4:39:33to, uh, members of the

4:39:35indigenous, uh, family. Uh,

4:39:37we're a huge melting pot here

4:39:39in the city. And, uh, we

4:39:40appreciate your contributions

4:39:42that you have made and continue

4:39:43to make each and every day in

4:39:44our community. So thank you

4:39:45all. Um, so at this time, we

4:39:47will move now to our public

4:39:49forum, uh, per city Council

4:39:52policy. One 20.9 the public

4:39:56forum is a time that residents

4:39:57may have input and a voice in

4:39:58what goes on in this city. The

4:40:00public forum will last no

4:40:01longer than an hour. Each

4:40:03speaker is limited to three

4:40:04minutes each. To address the

4:40:05City Council and issues related

4:40:07to the City of Fayetteville, no

4:40:08time will be yielded or given

4:40:09to another speaker by by any

4:40:11speaker, any remaining speakers

4:40:13on the public forum list that

4:40:14did not have an opportunity to

4:40:15address. The Council will have

4:40:17the option to have their name

4:40:18placed at the beginning of the

4:40:19next scheduled public forum.

4:40:20List of speakers. All

4:40:22non-residents are placed at the

4:40:23end of the list of speakers.

4:40:25Individuals unable to attend in

4:40:27person may. May mail written

4:40:30comments or email public

4:40:31comments at Fayetteville, NC,

4:40:33gov. Written comments will be

4:40:34summarized by the City clerk,

4:40:36uh, during the meeting. So with

4:40:38that, Madam Clerk.

4:40:39Mayor, we have 26 speakers. Our

4:40:42first speaker is Mr. Rashad

4:40:45Rahman.

4:40:49Good evening sir.

4:40:50Good evening.

4:40:52Good evening. Uh, so I'm asking

4:40:55the council to reject the Udo

4:40:56and instead adopt a meaningful

4:40:58one year moratorium for data

4:41:00centers. Um, so the problem

4:41:03with this, Udo, is not that it

4:41:04does nothing. The problem is

4:41:05that it does just enough to

4:41:07make data centers easier to

4:41:09approve, without actually doing

4:41:10enough to protect the people.

4:41:12You know, us who have to live

4:41:13around them. Um, so under this

4:41:15proposal, data centers would

4:41:17be, uh, that are permitted in

4:41:19three categories. Uh, so that

4:41:21means that any corporation

4:41:22could just come in and set up

4:41:23shop in those districts without

4:41:24the public weighing in and

4:41:26without the council being able

4:41:27to actually vote, um, on, on

4:41:29those decisions. So, you know,

4:41:30this gives away one of the most

4:41:32important tools that the

4:41:33council has to protect

4:41:34residents. And so, you know, it

4:41:36makes me wonder, like, why

4:41:36would you give that power away,

4:41:38especially when this ordinance

4:41:40leaves two major questions

4:41:41unanswered. And so, um, you

4:41:43know, in this ordinance,

4:41:45developers, they must tell the

4:41:46city how much water and

4:41:47electricity they plan to use.

4:41:49They must disclose wastewater

4:41:50flows, generators, food stores,

4:41:52things like that. But there

4:41:54aren't really like real

4:41:55concrete limits. Uh, there is

4:41:57no numerical cap on water use,

4:41:59no numerical cap and

4:42:00electricity use, no ongoing

4:42:02public reporting requirements

4:42:04showing how much these

4:42:05facilities actually consume.

4:42:06And I don't see any language

4:42:08guaranteeing that existing

4:42:09ratepayers, you know, us, will

4:42:10be will not be left paying for

4:42:12infrastructure upgrades. And so

4:42:13I don't think that's

4:42:14protection. Um, and the same

4:42:17issues appear with backup

4:42:18generators, the Udo says that

4:42:20they're not intended for

4:42:21routine or or continuous use,

4:42:23but, you know, where is the cap

4:42:24on the number of generation

4:42:25generators per campus? And

4:42:27where's an annual limit on

4:42:29testing hours for each

4:42:30generator? And then coming to

4:42:32air pollution? The ordinance

4:42:34only mentions following state

4:42:35and federal rules. Yet the city

4:42:37found, you know, very specific

4:42:39language to protect, uh, the

4:42:41airport from smoke, steam and

4:42:43other particulates. So, you

4:42:44know, it raises the question,

4:42:46um, if, you know, airplanes

4:42:47deserve explicit protections

4:42:49from particulates, why don't we

4:42:51as residents, why don't our

4:42:52neighbors deserve the same

4:42:54regulations as well? Um, and

4:42:56then, you know, noise rules,

4:42:58you have similar concerns where

4:42:59the city chose commercial or

4:43:01business noise standards, you

4:43:02know, even in districts that

4:43:03are bordering residential

4:43:05areas, um, generators, which,

4:43:07you know, produce constant

4:43:07noise, uh, can be placed as

4:43:09close as 150ft from a

4:43:11residential line. Um, and so,

4:43:12you know, why not require

4:43:13ongoing compliance? Uh, and

4:43:16testing, uh, and clear

4:43:17consequences when those rules

4:43:18are violated. And, you know,

4:43:21now, you know, we keep hearing

4:43:23that we must accept data

4:43:24centers around our homes

4:43:25because we use AI, but we also

4:43:27use gasoline. That doesn't mean

4:43:28that we need to have an oil

4:43:30refinery next to our homes. And

4:43:32so I think the question

4:43:33becomes, you know, whether

4:43:34technology is not whether

4:43:35technology is useful, but the

4:43:36question is who will bear the

4:43:37cost and who will receive the

4:43:39benefits. And, you know,

4:43:41finally, we keep hearing that

4:43:42data centers will move faithful

4:43:44beyond tier one status. But I

4:43:45think faithful is much more

4:43:46than just a label on a map. You

4:43:48know, this is faithful. Like

4:43:49the people filling this room,

4:43:50you know, reading these

4:43:51ordinances line by line,

4:43:52showing up again and again and

4:43:54asking for rules that are fair

4:43:55and transparent.

4:43:55Thank you.

4:43:56Mr. Robin. And that's what I

4:43:57think we want.

4:44:02Thank you, Madam.

4:44:04Mayor. Our next speaker is Mr.

4:44:06Abraham Jefferson.

4:44:11Good evening, sir.

4:44:13How's it going, y'all? First

4:44:15off, we wanted to address the

4:44:16council here and everyone here

4:44:19that's apparent. Wanted to let

4:44:20them know that a federal judge

4:44:22in Wisconsin, seventh Circuit

4:44:24federal judge, ruled that AI

4:44:25generated child sexual abuse

4:44:27material is constitutionally

4:44:28protected in the United States

4:44:29of America. And also, another

4:44:31federal ruling ruled that we

4:44:33have no constitutional right to

4:44:34drinking water. That is BS.

4:44:37That is not what we have as a

4:44:38country here, and that is not

4:44:39what we have as America. Some

4:44:42of you notice the outfit that I

4:44:43came in here with, and that is

4:44:44intentional. Uh, but also that

4:44:48brings me to Fayetteville here.

4:44:49I came here because I oppose

4:44:50automated license plate

4:44:51readers. Going to work is not

4:44:53suspicious. Going to church is

4:44:55not suspicious. Going to a

4:44:56political meeting, a doctor, a

4:44:58friend's home, or taking your

4:44:59family to dinner is not

4:45:01suspicious. Those are ordinary

4:45:03movements of ordinary people

4:45:05every single day. There's a

4:45:07fundamental difference between

4:45:09investigating someone because

4:45:10there's evidence of wrongdoing

4:45:11and collecting information

4:45:12about everyone. So government

4:45:14can decide later what movements

4:45:15deserve examination. Earlier

4:45:17this year, Councilmember

4:45:19McMillan, you raised concerns

4:45:21about Fayetteville use of

4:45:22surveillance technologies in

4:45:23the lack of an overarching

4:45:24governance framework. My

4:45:26question goes further should

4:45:27some of these systems exist at

4:45:29all? Should they?

4:45:31Administrations change,

4:45:32councils change, police

4:45:34leadership changes? We cannot

4:45:36judge government power only by

4:45:38whether we trust the people

4:45:38holding it. Today, we must ask

4:45:40whether we would hand that same

4:45:42power to people that we do not

4:45:43trust. Tomorrow. Meanwhile,

4:45:45families outside this chamber

4:45:47are counting single dollars

4:45:49food, housing, insurance,

4:45:51utilities, families are

4:45:53counting dollars. Government

4:45:54here should count dollars. And

4:45:56when technology gives

4:45:57government another power over

4:45:58its citizens, the question

4:46:00cannot simply be can we afford

4:46:01it? That's not how we do

4:46:02things. It also should be

4:46:04should government possess it.

4:46:06So I ask this council to act

4:46:08publicly, identify surveillance

4:46:09systems. Fayetteville uses what

4:46:11they cost, what they collect,

4:46:13who can access that and how

4:46:15long it is retained. Put

4:46:16continued funding and use of

4:46:18automated license plate readers

4:46:19before this council for a

4:46:20public vote. Not behind the

4:46:22scenes votes. I work in

4:46:23government. I know how this

4:46:24goes. I see the back end money

4:46:26every single day. I've been

4:46:27doing this for a decade. It's

4:46:29BS vote to end the routine

4:46:32collection of all of our

4:46:34movements. We demand safe

4:46:35streets, but also value our

4:46:37privacy. We can respect law

4:46:39enforcement and still limit

4:46:40government power. What kind of

4:46:42relationship should exist

4:46:43between a government and people

4:46:44that it serves? Do you serve

4:46:46us? Apparently not. But you

4:46:50should be transparent in us for

4:46:51us to examine, limited enough

4:46:53to respect us, and responsible

4:46:55enough to understand the

4:46:56burdens that families face and

4:46:58the the people of Fayetteville

4:46:59deserve safe streets,

4:47:00responsible government, and

4:47:01above all, their liberty. Thank

4:47:03you for your attention to this

4:47:04matter and have a good day.

4:47:06Yeah.

4:47:11Madam clerk.

4:47:11Mayor, our next speaker is Miss

4:47:13Melissa Williams.

4:47:20Good evening, Miss.

4:47:21Williams.

4:47:22Good evening. Good evening

4:47:24everybody. Um, so I'm back. Um,

4:47:27first, I just want to make sure

4:47:29that I thank, um, Captain

4:47:31Benassi. If I don't know if

4:47:33he's here or not. But thank you

4:47:35for, um, speaking with me the

4:47:38last time I was here. So I'm

4:47:40back because, um, I still have

4:47:44my quality of life problem. And

4:47:46it's not just I. It's not me.

4:47:47It's the whole neighborhood.

4:47:50Uh, and I'm still looking for

4:47:52somebody to address it, so I

4:47:55have in good faith, followed,

4:47:59you know, the procedures that

4:48:00were available to me. And what

4:48:03I mentioned last time. It's

4:48:05still true. The city of

4:48:06Fayetteville currently does not

4:48:08have a mechanism with which

4:48:11residents can address quality

4:48:13of life programs. I've been

4:48:15sent to traffic. I've been sent

4:48:17here, know this is not us. This

4:48:18is the police. The issue that

4:48:22we're having in the

4:48:24neighborhood that I live in is

4:48:27intersectional. There is

4:48:29different layers of problems,

4:48:32so I need somebody that can

4:48:35address all of those problems

4:48:37at the same time. Because I

4:48:40think we I, we've been patient.

4:48:43I've been impatient, I've been

4:48:45mad, I've been respectful, I've

4:48:47been disrespectful. And

4:48:49likewise, I just want my

4:48:50problem solved. I need my

4:48:53problem solved. And the time

4:48:56that this has taken, where I'm

4:48:58virtually in the same spot that

4:49:00I was two and a half years ago,

4:49:02is not neutral. You say that

4:49:04quality of life is, you know,

4:49:06one of the values and you liken

4:49:09it to economic development, and

4:49:12it is economic development. I

4:49:14think part of the reason why

4:49:15this growth in City of

4:49:17Fayetteville has pretty much

4:49:18been stagnant since about what,

4:49:21for the last 6 or 7 years. Um,

4:49:24city manager. So that's

4:49:26probably one of the reasons why

4:49:28you can attract people. You

4:49:29cannot retain them and you

4:49:31cannot retain them until you

4:49:34operationalize what quality of

4:49:36life is in this city. And part

4:49:38of that is having somebody that

4:49:40owns it because nobody owns it

4:49:42right now. That's why I've been

4:49:43running in circles for the last

4:49:45two and a half years. It's it's

4:49:48absurd. It really is. So I

4:49:50again, I'm asking and I'm

4:49:52actually looking at you, city

4:49:53manager. I need you to help me.

4:49:59So can I get your help?

4:50:10Yeah. Miss Williams, so, you

4:50:12know, um, we.

4:50:14Will we.

4:50:14Will let him respond to that.

4:50:16He can't respond in this

4:50:17setting. So that's part of our

4:50:19rules as well. We don't say

4:50:20anything back.

4:50:20Well, I figured I might get

4:50:22something from him or his

4:50:24office since I was here the

4:50:25last time. All right, but I've

4:50:26got crickets.

4:50:27I got gotcha.

4:50:28Mr.. So.

4:50:29Mr. Solomon, what is the next

4:50:31step then? Because I need

4:50:32somebody to tell me something

4:50:33before I leave. Yes, ma'am.

4:50:34Something is Williamson. So

4:50:35your your time's up on this

4:50:36item. But, Mr. Hewitt, if you

4:50:37can have somebody see exactly

4:50:39what specifically she, she's

4:50:41talking about so that we can

4:50:43see if we can run that down.

4:50:44All right. Thank you. Thank

4:50:47you, Mrs. Williams. Madam

4:50:48clerk.

4:50:49Mayor, our next speaker is miss

4:50:51Sandy Pickard. Miss Sandy

4:50:54Pickard, not present. Our next

4:50:57speaker is Mr. Kangkong. Come

4:50:59on, Mr. Chong. Come on. Not

4:51:05present. Our next speaker is

4:51:08Finn von Saba. Finn von Saba.

4:51:15Not present. Our next speaker

4:51:17is Fern Davis.

4:51:24Good evening.

4:51:26All right. Once again, I want

4:51:27to begin my statement with the

4:51:28insistence of this counsel OHS,

4:51:30miss Carol Olinger and the

4:51:31other residents kicked out of

4:51:33the August public forum a

4:51:34formal and public apology, as

4:51:36well as an apology to miss Don

4:51:37Atkins Hurley for talking over

4:51:38her, muting her and taking more

4:51:40than 30s of her time to speak

4:51:42away during last month's forum.

4:51:43So explain why that's

4:51:44unacceptable. Unacceptable. I

4:51:46will read from this council's

4:51:47own policy document on public

4:51:48forums, which the mayor quoted

4:51:49earlier from policy 120 .09,

4:51:51section two speakers will be

4:51:53courteous in their language and

4:51:54presentation and should refrain

4:51:55from personal attacks. The

4:51:56mayor or other designated

4:51:57Presiding officer reserves the

4:51:59right at all times to maintain

4:52:00order and decorum during the

4:52:01public forum. Now I am no

4:52:03attorney and what constitutes a

4:52:04personal attack is somewhat up

4:52:05for debate as to my knowledge,

4:52:06the Council does not have a

4:52:07published definition or

4:52:08standard. They go by for this,

4:52:10but I would argue vigorously

4:52:11that quoting or summarizing a

4:52:12member of the City Council's

4:52:13words does not constitute a

4:52:15personal attack. Norwood,

4:52:16describing their actions,

4:52:17deeds, or behaviors, especially

4:52:19whilst representing the city,

4:52:21is an important point because

4:52:22section seven of that very same

4:52:23policy document states, no

4:52:25dialogue shall occur between

4:52:26the Speaker and Council, and

4:52:27the conclusion of the public

4:52:28forum. The mayor, city manager

4:52:30or city attorney may provide

4:52:31rebuttal to any statements made

4:52:33during the public forum. These

4:52:34policies set what should

4:52:35rightly be a very high bar to

4:52:37interrupt a speaker during a

4:52:38public forum. Now, why did

4:52:39everything with everything

4:52:41going on in the city? Did I

4:52:41show up here? When you all know

4:52:42I don't want to be here, uh, to

4:52:44read your own policies back to

4:52:45you? It's a good question with

4:52:46a simple answer. These policies

4:52:48are not being followed.

4:52:49Instead, they're being used as

4:52:50a cudgel to stifle speech that

4:52:51certain members of this council

4:52:52would rather not be recorded at

4:52:53a public meeting. This is our

4:52:55time to speak. It is not for

4:52:56y'all on the dais. If you wish

4:52:58to correct the record, you may

4:52:59do so after the public forum as

4:53:00per your own policy, or if

4:53:02that's good enough for you. You

4:53:03could even go on a radio show

4:53:04and call folks paid protesters.

4:53:06Or you could imply that some

4:53:07members of this community are

4:53:08race traders because they

4:53:09disagree with you on data

4:53:10centers, which this mayor

4:53:11recently did. And yes, I know,

4:53:13I know, you don't like it when

4:53:14we call you call names, but Mr.

4:53:15Mayor is not your name, it's

4:53:16your title. And believe you me,

4:53:18I would prefer it not to be.

4:53:20But not only do you violate

4:53:21your own policies when it suits

4:53:22you, you've even threatened to

4:53:23sue people for defamation on

4:53:24multiple occasions, myself

4:53:25included. How very Trumpian of

4:53:27you. Again, I'm not an

4:53:28attorney, but if you want to

4:53:29Streisand effect the very ideas

4:53:31you seem so scared of making it

4:53:32to the paper. Go ahead, do it.

4:53:34Bullies make idle threats, but

4:53:36you should know that the burden

4:53:37of proof for defamation against

4:53:38a public official is quite

4:53:38high. You would have to prove

4:53:40not only that our claims are

4:53:40fake, but that we knew that

4:53:42they were and said them anyway.

4:53:43The fact remains, the City

4:53:44Council under your leadership,

4:53:45Mr. Mayor, has a crisis of

4:53:47cowardice. You are afraid to

4:53:48let the people speak truth. You

4:53:50are afraid to be held

4:53:50accountable. You hide behind

4:53:52decorum. That is not

4:53:53leadership. That is political

4:53:54bullying. You, sir, are no

4:53:56petty king, just petty. And

4:53:57this city deserves better.

4:54:00Thank. Mayor.

4:54:06Our next speaker is Mr. Naveed.

4:54:10Italian. Mr. Naveed, Italian.

4:54:15Not present. Our next speaker

4:54:18is Miss Tammy Del.

4:54:27Hey, how are you.

4:54:27Doing, Miss Coughlin? I'm doing

4:54:29good.

4:54:30Hi. Good evening everyone. My

4:54:32name is Tammy Caudill. I have

4:54:35spent more than 25 years in the

4:54:38early childhood professional

4:54:39field. After graduating in

4:54:43early childhood, I spent two

4:54:45years teaching and over 25

4:54:47years directing. So I can tell

4:54:50you some of the things that I

4:54:52have seen doing my job of

4:54:54directing. And it really

4:54:56frustrates me with the high

4:54:59demand for quality child care

4:55:01and the low investment in the

4:55:04people who are actually doing

4:55:06the work. The average starting

4:55:09pay $11 and associate degree,

4:55:13maybe between 12 or 16,

4:55:16bachelor's degree maybe 16 and

4:55:1920. And this is the only job I

4:55:22know that you have to pay money

4:55:25to work there. You have to pay

4:55:27for a criminal background

4:55:29check, a physical TB test, CPR,

4:55:35birthday and ongoing training

4:55:38on the job out of our pocket.

4:55:42We might as well work at a fast

4:55:43food drive. That way we don't

4:55:46have to pay anything. But now,

4:55:48who do you have caring for your

4:55:49children? I received a

4:55:53proclamation from City Hall

4:55:55thanking me for child care.

4:55:58Thank you. But it don't pay my

4:56:01bills. I appreciate the

4:56:05thought, but I'm 63 years old

4:56:08and honestly, I don't know if I

4:56:10could retire to this field.

4:56:12It's hard to invest when you

4:56:15don't have the money to invest.

4:56:17Most people are barely making

4:56:19it in this field, but we

4:56:22continue to show up every day

4:56:25to care for these children and

4:56:27the family we love. But who

4:56:29cares for us when they are

4:56:32special needs children in child

4:56:34care? The ratio remains that

4:56:38makes it difficult to teach all

4:56:42the children when there is 1 or

4:56:452, maybe more, that needs so

4:56:47much more attention. And we

4:56:49really want everybody to have

4:56:51the same quality education. But

4:56:54it's hard. Teachers are getting

4:56:57burnt out because they're not

4:56:59receiving the resources and the

4:57:01tools they need to be

4:57:03successful in teaching these

4:57:05children. The work is

4:57:08demanding. The pay is love.

4:57:10Centers are closing, quality

4:57:14staff nearly impossible. No one

4:57:17wants to work for that small

4:57:19amount of money. People are

4:57:21leaving this field because it's

4:57:23hard. It's skilled. It is

4:57:27professional work, but it does

4:57:30not pay like it.

4:57:32Okay. Thank you. Mr. McConnell.

4:57:35Thank you. Thank you, Miss

4:57:36Cotton.

4:57:36Okay.

4:57:37Thank you in advance. In South.

4:57:39Korea.

4:57:46Our next speaker is Mr. Jose

4:57:48Cardona.

4:57:50Oh. My hair. I didn't nobody.

4:57:52Don't miss Cardona. Good

4:57:53evening.

4:57:53Good evening, Mr. Mayor.

4:57:54Members of the city council,

4:57:57ladies and gentlemen of the

4:57:58public. People still don't

4:58:00understand what we're in the

4:58:01choir quasi meeting like this

4:58:04one. You're not supposed to be

4:58:05answering back. I could scream

4:58:06you all day, but you guys later

4:58:09on could definitely call

4:58:10somebody. Talk to somebody that

4:58:12might be in need. My name is

4:58:14Jose Cardona. I live in 233

4:58:16Allison Street in Fayetteville,

4:58:17North Carolina. Today I want to

4:58:19talk to you about a cane that's

4:58:20still being kicked down the

4:58:21road for many years. Cumberland

4:58:23County schools do not want to

4:58:25do nothing about it. And that's

4:58:26your school buses, your school

4:58:29buses, ladies and gentlemen, do

4:58:31not have seatbelts for your

4:58:32children. They don't come with

4:58:34seatbelts because they say that

4:58:36the boxing in protects the

4:58:38children. But guess what? The

4:58:41children, the driver and the

4:58:42bus has to have seatbelts on.

4:58:44Mandatory. Each one of us. When

4:58:46we get in the car, we have to

4:58:48have seatbelts. I take you back

4:58:49to Leland, North Carolina, June

4:58:528th of this year. The bus

4:58:53flipped over for people hurt.

4:58:56Two children, two adults.

4:58:58Nobody told them that the top

4:59:00of the bus was not padded.

4:59:02Nobody told them that the sides

4:59:03of the bus were not padded

4:59:04either. So guess what? They

4:59:06crashed and burned. We need to

4:59:09do something about this. We

4:59:10could do better. We could take

4:59:12over what Cumberland County

4:59:14cannot do. The school, the

4:59:16Cumberland County School is

4:59:18working in very minimal amount

4:59:20of money. They got millions in

4:59:22the bank. Mr. Jones, you will

4:59:25get those $25,000. Cumberland

4:59:29County will give it to you. The

4:59:30gentleman you got right there,

4:59:31Mr. Hewitt, a person that's

4:59:33been here 18 years. I have not

4:59:36seen anybody pat you in the

4:59:37back. I will, but I know he

4:59:39could get you the money. And if

4:59:41you don't, there's a naval

4:59:42museum down the street. I owe

4:59:44some money on us for the

4:59:46property that they're renting.

4:59:47That property belongs to us. In

4:59:49case you didn't know, $17

4:59:52million was boarded here last

4:59:55week. Thank you to the

4:59:56interviews that boarded? No, I

4:59:58went to the accent company.

5:00:00That makes this drones.

5:00:02Gentlemen, the. According to

5:00:03the police officer, he needs

5:00:05five drones. The maximum drone

5:00:08with all detachments and

5:00:09everything else to include

5:00:10machine guns on the side.

5:00:13$250,000 each. He needs five of

5:00:17them, plus goggles and all the

5:00:19other. Hey, we need policemen

5:00:22like this guy right there that

5:00:23when he said Darlington goes

5:00:25off like mines, man, we want to

5:00:27kick down doors and beat up

5:00:28people. That's what we need. We

5:00:30don't need none of this stuff.

5:00:33Also, OCR is your officer,

5:00:36candidate, uh, community

5:00:38safety. Why didn't bring this

5:00:40June of the bus flipping over?

5:00:44They they show for, uh,

5:00:47companies that they're giving

5:00:48money to or for, organization

5:00:52one is gay, beautiful, gay,

5:00:54beautiful is taking care of all

5:00:56your people that have been

5:00:58trafficking. All your children

5:00:59that are being sold.

5:01:00Mister Cardona. people start.

5:01:02On these men. Yes, sir.

5:01:03Individual. Thank you very much

5:01:04for having me.

5:01:05Thank you. Thank you.

5:01:10Mayor. Our next speaker is Miss

5:01:12Gwendolyn Fuller. Miss

5:01:15Gwendolyn Fuller, not present.

5:01:19Our next speaker is Mr. Joseph

5:01:21Wheeler. Mr. Joseph Wheeler,

5:01:27not present. Our next speaker

5:01:30is Mr. Austin Wiley.

5:01:36Good evening, sir.

5:01:39Austin Wiley, district six.

5:01:41Last Monday, we witnessed a

5:01:42severely lacking presentation

5:01:45by Chief Bryant of the newly

5:01:46passed $17 million contract

5:01:48with axon that beat around the

5:01:49bush, ignored the elephant in

5:01:51the room, and instead focused

5:01:53on non-controversial items in

5:01:54the contract, deflecting to

5:01:56typical drones as first

5:01:57responder and virtual reality

5:01:59training aids. This devolved

5:02:00into a back and forth

5:02:01pontificating that came off to

5:02:03us as a self-serving narrative,

5:02:05to mansplaining to the silent

5:02:06public why we should just

5:02:08accept this, because some crime

5:02:09statistics have improved.

5:02:11Correlation does not equal

5:02:12causation. Yes, we realize that

5:02:15a large chunk of this axon

5:02:16contract is a renewal of

5:02:17existing capabilities and

5:02:18equipment. Yes, we realize that

5:02:20body cameras, vehicle cameras,

5:02:22non-lethal tasers, and

5:02:23traditional drones have been

5:02:24used by the department for

5:02:25years. I don't speak for

5:02:27everyone, but I believe many of

5:02:28us are actually in favor of

5:02:29body cameras and other

5:02:30technologies that ensure

5:02:31accountability, transparency,

5:02:33and those that which assist law

5:02:34enforcement in getting help

5:02:36where it's needed as soon as

5:02:37possible. That's not what the

5:02:40public outcry is about. We are

5:02:42creeped out and downright

5:02:43offended that you can't even go

5:02:45a mile down the road without

5:02:46seeing a flock camera operating

5:02:4824 over seven, which scans and

5:02:50uploads vehicle data of every

5:02:51passing vehicle to include

5:02:53specific visual characteristics

5:02:55of individual vehicles, and

5:02:56compiles that into a burgeoning

5:02:57database in which a person is

5:02:59tracked and logged everywhere

5:03:00they go. This is an

5:03:02unconstitutional dragnet, and

5:03:04in many places, the data is

5:03:05being shared with US Department

5:03:07of Homeland Security. This

5:03:08technology, namely flock data,

5:03:10has also been abused by

5:03:11multiple times by law

5:03:12enforcement officers using this

5:03:14data to stalk their exes.

5:03:16Misidentification of vehicles

5:03:17resulting in people being

5:03:18detained at gunpoint

5:03:20erroneously excuse me, and

5:03:22others exploiting

5:03:23vulnerabilities in the system

5:03:24to show inherent flaws in the

5:03:25data security. The backlash in

5:03:27communities is profound, with

5:03:29many cities choosing to cancel

5:03:30contracts and take down cameras

5:03:32outright. And I'm not cherry

5:03:33picking one off examples. Just

5:03:35go search it for yourself and

5:03:36see. Now we have essentially

5:03:38the same devices in patrol

5:03:39vehicles, which just increase

5:03:41the spiderweb of Orwellian

5:03:42surveillance. And additionally,

5:03:44you, not us, have decided that

5:03:46to add autonomous AI drones to

5:03:48the menu. And let's not mince

5:03:50words here. Axon so-called

5:03:51drones are specifically

5:03:53designed to fly autonomously,

5:03:55that is, without human

5:03:56intervention. Using AI to shoot

5:03:58other drones out of the sky.

5:03:59That is their purpose. All in

5:04:01the name of, of course, safety

5:04:02and security we hear about now.

5:04:04For now, that drones are

5:04:06required to be flown by a human

5:04:07operator. But this sounds like

5:04:09unproven technology in the

5:04:10hands of those who aren't sure

5:04:11about what to do with it. It's

5:04:12an expensive solution. Looking

5:04:14for a problem to Chief Brian

5:04:16and his department, several of

5:04:17us in our organization have a

5:04:19favorable view of the

5:04:20department. For the most part,

5:04:21your officers are well trained,

5:04:22very professional, but part of

5:04:24the onus on this is is on you,

5:04:26sir, and I hope you take these

5:04:28words into consideration

5:04:29thoughtfully. Thank you. We do

5:04:30not consent to this and our tax

5:04:32dollars being used this way.

5:04:33You are watching us, but Big

5:04:34Brother is watching all of us.

5:04:36Thanks.

5:04:44Madam mayor, our next speaker

5:04:47is Miss Lorena Murray.

5:04:54Good evening, Mr. Murray.

5:04:57Good evening, I'm Lorena

5:04:59Murray. I'm in district five.

5:05:01Dear City Council members and

5:05:03city staff and residents. Thank

5:05:07you for coming out tonight. The

5:05:10fact that you're here means

5:05:11that you care because you're

5:05:13not getting paid to be here. So

5:05:14thank you. Um, I have several

5:05:16thank yous that I'd like to

5:05:18offer this evening. Thank you

5:05:21for providing listening

5:05:22sessions so that residents

5:05:24could share their thoughts on

5:05:25proposed changes to the US for

5:05:27data centers. Staff listened to

5:05:30respectfully and took notes. I

5:05:34sincerely hope that those notes

5:05:35are going to be used to direct

5:05:37staff to continue to research

5:05:41legal regulations that will

5:05:42protect our community, because

5:05:45we do need protection from data

5:05:47centers. I wish the listening

5:05:50sessions had been offered

5:05:51sooner. As we asked about six

5:05:53months ago, and I wish there

5:05:55had been more than one week of

5:05:56lead time, but the one that I

5:05:59attended seemed to be decently

5:06:01well attended. Most of the

5:06:03people I talked to there had a

5:06:06lot of concerns about the US.

5:06:08Today. I thank you for doing

5:06:09the right thing by offering the

5:06:11listening sessions. I would

5:06:14also like to thank those

5:06:15members of the City Council who

5:06:17voted for a data center

5:06:18moratorium, a moratorium as as

5:06:22you know, is the only way to

5:06:24prevent data centers from

5:06:25spending money and beginning

5:06:26development here under our old

5:06:29regulations, we stand here

5:06:32today still not protected. On

5:06:36last, I would like to thank all

5:06:37the staff of the Office of

5:06:39Community Safety. Uh, I could

5:06:41find these names John Jones,

5:06:43Whitney Lee, Nichelle Gains,

5:06:44and the jury fix. And, uh,

5:06:47apologies for missing any staff

5:06:49members. Um, you guys have been

5:06:51doing amazing work. Uh, I heard

5:06:54the annual report last week,

5:06:55and I was stunned by all the

5:06:56projects you've initiated and

5:06:58supported this year, and by all

5:07:00the people that you have

5:07:01touched. Good for you and good

5:07:03for us. And I'm also very

5:07:06excited that you're getting the

5:07:07community response model up and

5:07:09running. I believe this will be

5:07:10such an asset to our police

5:07:12department and to our

5:07:13community. Thank you for all

5:07:15who have supported the Office

5:07:17of Community Safety from the

5:07:18beginning. Thank you for your

5:07:20encouraging words. Uh, when

5:07:22this presentation was made. And

5:07:23let's continue to encourage,

5:07:25because this is this is our

5:07:26office and I go online and I

5:07:28tell people, this is our Office

5:07:30of Community Safety. Thank you.

5:07:37Madam clerk.

5:07:38Mayor, our next speaker is Mr.

5:07:41Isaac Alfaro.

5:07:51Good evening sir.

5:07:52Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Good

5:07:54morning.

5:07:55Council.

5:07:57Um.

5:07:58My name is Isaac Alfaro. Today

5:08:00is my last day in active duty

5:08:02military. So tomorrow will be a

5:08:04veteran.

5:08:04Um.

5:08:05Thank you. Thank you.

5:08:08Um, I'm also a resident and

5:08:10homeowner here in. Fayetteville

5:08:12and a business owner and a

5:08:14Property owner in downtown. Um,

5:08:17I am also on the executive

5:08:18board of the Downtown Alliance.

5:08:21Um, now, John Malzahn would

5:08:23have loved to get more

5:08:25microphone time and and give

5:08:27this a talk. Um, he's had, uh,

5:08:30Senator Applewhite, uh,

5:08:32function right now. Uh, but so

5:08:35the DTA, the downtown Alliance

5:08:37is a non-profit business

5:08:40league, a, uh, all the

5:08:43businesses down here in

5:08:45downtown who pay into the MSD

5:08:47tax. Um, not all of them are

5:08:50members, but the DTA is the

5:08:53voice for the businesses

5:08:54downtown. Uh, now, today, uh,

5:08:59putting it out front. My ask,

5:09:01our ask is for increased

5:09:04transparency on the metrics for

5:09:06police response time. Equal

5:09:09enforcement of laws, especially

5:09:11where it's trespassing laws on

5:09:14city property and better

5:09:17training for officers of

5:09:19downtown. Specific ordinances.

5:09:23Now this comes, um, after a

5:09:27busy last seven days, which

5:09:31culminated in a viral video

5:09:33that received over a thousand

5:09:35comments just on Facebook. Uh,

5:09:37where there was an individual

5:09:40who was beaten and the

5:09:45authorities were called, and

5:09:47there was such a weight that

5:09:50everything moved on. Um, now

5:09:53there's more context to that

5:09:55because that individual I had

5:09:58actually called the police on

5:10:00as well. Um, I did wait, and I

5:10:03waited 36 minutes until the

5:10:06police arrived. They did arrive

5:10:08and they said there was really

5:10:11nothing that they could do

5:10:12about it. I had video, I had

5:10:15video of this individual making

5:10:18direct threats, verbal and with

5:10:20hand gestures, that he was

5:10:21going to kill me and my

5:10:22daughter and other people who

5:10:24were passing by. I, I

5:10:28immediately got out of there.

5:10:30He was yelling other things,

5:10:32but along there that he was on

5:10:34meth at the time. It was very

5:10:36clear that this individual was

5:10:38a threat to himself and others.

5:10:40When police did show up, they

5:10:42sent him on his way. Um, this

5:10:47was the second time that I had

5:10:48a lengthy wait. A few days

5:10:51prior, I waited 40 minutes for

5:10:54a similar issue where an

5:10:56unhoused person.

5:10:57Right. Thank you sir.

5:10:58Thank you.

5:11:05Madam clerk.

5:11:06Mayor, our next speaker is Miss

5:11:08Suzanne Pennock.

5:11:14Good evening, miss Penny.

5:11:16Hello.

5:11:16Good evening to the mayor and

5:11:18city council. Um, I I'm sure

5:11:21that you all are sick to death

5:11:23of hearing about the things I

5:11:24want to say something about,

5:11:25but I'm a resident of the

5:11:28downtown. I have lived here

5:11:29almost 19 years, thanks to my

5:11:32husband insisting. And, um, you

5:11:35know, when you were talking

5:11:36about the customer service, you

5:11:37said you want this place to be

5:11:39welcoming. Well, I do too. I'm

5:11:41in the real estate business and

5:11:43I make a lot of tours for some

5:11:44of these doctors that are

5:11:45coming to town, and we want to

5:11:47have a place to bring them,

5:11:48which is downtown. And I just

5:11:52two things. This parking

5:11:54situation said in the paper. We

5:11:56have over 2000 parking spaces.

5:11:58I'm not sure exactly where they

5:12:00are, but, um, maybe some of

5:12:01them are in the parking decks

5:12:03and that's fine. But really and

5:12:05truly our goal. My husband and

5:12:07I both, we've we've worked on

5:12:09this. We've worked on it 20

5:12:10years. He passed away this

5:12:12year. He kept on saying it. Why

5:12:14are you trying to charge people

5:12:15to park down here? And you got

5:12:16those little kiosk things, and

5:12:17people walk up to him and I see

5:12:19it. They walk up there, they

5:12:20don't know what to do. They

5:12:21stand there. I've seen people

5:12:22get back in their car and

5:12:24leave. So I also noticed that

5:12:27it's costing five, $600,000 a

5:12:30year to maintain this parking

5:12:32surveillance and give people

5:12:34tickets. So I'm pretty sure

5:12:37that, um, these people could

5:12:39get a better job than standing

5:12:40around giving people tickets.

5:12:42And I think that if you had 5

5:12:45or $600,000, you could hire a

5:12:47few more policemen and that

5:12:48would be more productive. I

5:12:50know that people expect to pay

5:12:52in a parking deck, but to to

5:12:54try to maintain this thing and

5:12:56go on and on, it's just

5:12:58ridiculous. And I don't know

5:13:00that maybe there's some

5:13:01backstory that I don't know.

5:13:02But in my business, if I was

5:13:04losing money on it and

5:13:05everybody else trying to serve

5:13:06hates it, then why would I keep

5:13:08on doing.

5:13:08It?

5:13:10So I'm begging you, get rid of

5:13:12the kiosks, let people park. If

5:13:14they stay there 2 or 3 days and

5:13:16you see a vacant car or

5:13:17something, do something about

5:13:18it. Let them pay to get in the

5:13:19parking deck. But please, we

5:13:22we're trying our best to get

5:13:23people to live down here. We're

5:13:24trying to get people to want to

5:13:26come to our shops and our

5:13:27stores. I'm doing videos with

5:13:29all the owners, and all they

5:13:30say is like, we just need

5:13:32people. And we all know that.

5:13:34The surveys all say that you

5:13:35want people to live down there.

5:13:37Well, my husband and I have

5:13:40picnic properties and that is

5:13:4136 different rentals. It's

5:13:43housing, it's commercial. And

5:13:46no, none of those people are

5:13:48there, you know, having a

5:13:49terrible time with it. So

5:13:51anyway, the other thing is I'm

5:13:53begging you to please think

5:13:56about the noise ordinance. We

5:13:58we're having a very bad time.

5:14:00My little room where I like to

5:14:02watch TV and I live a block

5:14:03away from where this noise is

5:14:04coming from. It's so loud that

5:14:06it vibrates my windows and I

5:14:09cannot sit in my own home and

5:14:11watch TV on Thursday, Friday,

5:14:12Saturday and sometime Sunday

5:14:14night after they leave. They're

5:14:16from the partying. They go out

5:14:18to the parking lot of the Arts

5:14:19Council and they continue to

5:14:21holler and yell and have a

5:14:22great time. I need you guys to

5:14:24help us with that. Thank you.

5:14:25Because we want people to want

5:14:27to be down here.

5:14:27Thank you, miss Penny.

5:14:29Thank you.

5:14:35Madam clerk.

5:14:36Mayor, our next speaker is Miss

5:14:38Janet Beaudry. Miss Janet

5:14:42Beaudry, not present. Our next

5:14:46speaker is Miss Ambre Edge.

5:14:57Good evening, Miss.

5:15:02Good evening. My name is Amber

5:15:03edge.

5:15:04I am a downtown business owner

5:15:05resident and someone who loves

5:15:06the city. Before I begin, I

5:15:08want to say that I'm not here

5:15:09to point fingers at anyone in

5:15:11this room. I know everybody

5:15:12here wants the same thing. For

5:15:13Fayetteville to feel safe, and

5:15:15for people to believe that they

5:15:16can feel safe in the city. A

5:15:18few nights ago, I was driving

5:15:19home and I saw a man beaten by

5:15:20four different people. I

5:15:21watched, I watched them stomp

5:15:23on his head. I honked my horn

5:15:25until he scattered, called 911

5:15:27and then stayed with him. He

5:15:28was injured and likely

5:15:29concussed. Uh, and clearly

5:15:31distressed. He needed medical

5:15:33care and probably mental health

5:15:35evaluation. We waited so long

5:15:37that he finally walked away,

5:15:38hurt and alone. And when I

5:15:41called back to ask for officers

5:15:42were they said they were busy

5:15:43all around the city. This is

5:15:45minutes from downtown's

5:15:46headquarters. And then last

5:15:48night I walked into a downtown

5:15:49store and I was greeted by an

5:15:51employee who had just minutes

5:15:52prior stopped a shoplifter. I

5:15:54asked her if she had called the

5:15:55police. She said that she

5:15:56doesn't call anymore because it

5:15:57takes hours for them to get

5:15:58there. She told me that her and

5:16:00her coworker had asked if

5:16:02somebody could be there at

5:16:03nighttime when they go out of

5:16:05the building, and the police

5:16:07still to this day, have not

5:16:08showed up to escort these women

5:16:10out, I shared my story online

5:16:13and thousands of people

5:16:14responded. And out of every

5:16:15single comment I read, not a

5:16:17single one of them had

5:16:18something good to say about

5:16:18Fayetteville PD. Um, I know the

5:16:22internet can be an echo chamber

5:16:24of negativity, but it is deeply

5:16:25disheartening when thousands of

5:16:26people speak up and not a

5:16:28single person can share a

5:16:29moment when the people sworn to

5:16:31protect them actually do that.

5:16:34I know the over and over people

5:16:36told me the same thing just by

5:16:38a gun, but I don't get paid to

5:16:39hold a gun. And no one in the

5:16:41city outside of a police

5:16:42department that I know of does

5:16:45so. When the people feel so

5:16:48unsafe that their only answer

5:16:50is to arm themselves, something

5:16:52is broken. Violence is not the

5:16:54only way to solve this problem,

5:16:55and it shouldn't fall on

5:16:57everyday citizens to try. We

5:16:59need well-trained, supportive

5:17:01police officers that our

5:17:02community trust to be able to

5:17:04show up so no one feels like

5:17:06they have to take matters into

5:17:07their own hands. Tonight I'm

5:17:09asking for four things. I'm

5:17:11asking to publish 911 response

5:17:13times and show us whether the

5:17:14laws are so they can be fixed.

5:17:16Um, I'm asking for a nighttime

5:17:17patrol officer, someone to go

5:17:19on the ground after dark. I'm

5:17:22asking for a trained mental for

5:17:25trained mental health

5:17:26professionals to be paired with

5:17:27officers during crisis calls.

5:17:29The man I stayed with and many

5:17:30others I've seen downtown need

5:17:32exactly that thing. And to give

5:17:34downtown businesses a direct

5:17:36contact. So the concerns like

5:17:38closing time safeties, are

5:17:39handled by one person that they

5:17:41know the name and number of.

5:17:42None of these requests are out

5:17:43of reach. I think it takes

5:17:45funding, scheduling and the

5:17:46will to make them a priority.

5:17:47And I'm asking for the council

5:17:48to make them a priority. I'm

5:17:50waiting for an answer. And so

5:17:51are thousands of others. Thank

5:17:53you.

5:18:01Mayor, our next speaker is Miss

5:18:04Caprice Frazier. Miss

5:18:09capricious, capricious Frazier.

5:18:13Okay. Not present. Our next

5:18:15speaker is Mr. Rick Guliyev.

5:18:28Good evening. Good evening.

5:18:31Mayor, council members. and my

5:18:33fellow. Fayetteville residents.

5:18:34My name is.

5:18:35Rick Williams. I live at.

5:18:373324 Harbor.

5:18:39Pointe Place.

5:18:40I spent 20.

5:18:41Years as IT director of Union

5:18:44Corrugated.

5:18:45Company, supporting operations

5:18:47nationwide. I want.

5:18:48To speak about data centers

5:18:50tonight.

5:18:51My position is simple. I don't.

5:18:54Want data centers in.

5:18:55Fayetteville for months.

5:18:58Much of the discussion has.

5:19:00focused on how to regulate

5:19:02them, but we miss the most

5:19:04important question.

5:19:06Why do we.

5:19:07Need them here at all? We were

5:19:09told that data centers are.

5:19:11coming whether we want it or.

5:19:14Not.

5:19:14But creating a pathway for them

5:19:17is a policy choice. We don't

5:19:19need data centers in

5:19:21Fayetteville to use AI. The

5:19:23internet, or expand our Stem

5:19:26programs and their downsides

5:19:30are substantial. Few permanent

5:19:32jobs, huge power demands, water

5:19:35use, noise, environmental and

5:19:38health concerns. So why are you

5:19:40still considering a pathway for

5:19:42data centers? Is it investment

5:19:45and tax? Tax revenues? If so,

5:19:48what evidence shows those

5:19:51benefits outweigh the costs and

5:19:53risks? If that? Fayetteville

5:19:56specific analysis exists, show

5:19:58it to us. We've been here

5:20:02before. Last year, Waste Energy

5:20:06Corp announced plans for a

5:20:08Fayetteville facility promoting

5:20:11clean energy, AI and

5:20:14innovation, and our economic

5:20:17development organization

5:20:19publicly welcomed, welcomed it

5:20:21as a cutting edge technology.

5:20:24Then residents found

5:20:25information in public records

5:20:27that raised serious concerns

5:20:30about the company's financial

5:20:31history, finding an even

5:20:34technology claims that research

5:20:37is documented at Stop Waste

5:20:40Energy dot org. Why did

5:20:43residents have to do that after

5:20:46the company was already

5:20:48publicly welcomed? What do

5:20:51diligence standards are in

5:20:53place today that are questions

5:20:57we need to answer before we

5:20:59welcome anybody else? Any other

5:21:01industry getting back to that,

5:21:03getting back to data centers,

5:21:06why the rush data centers

5:21:08demand is expected to remain

5:21:11strong for years. While

5:21:14protections and technology

5:21:16continue to to improve.

5:21:18Fayetteville can learn from

5:21:20others experience. Instead of

5:21:23volunteering to be a guinea

5:21:24pig, please keep data centers

5:21:27out of Fayetteville. And to my

5:21:30fellow neighbors, call and

5:21:33email to to the council. Thank

5:21:35you sir. I demand

5:21:36comprehensive.

5:21:37Mister Mister.

5:21:38Caleb.

5:21:39Thank you sir.

5:21:40Analysis.

5:21:41Thank you, thank.

5:21:42You.

5:21:48Madam clerk.

5:21:49Mayor. Our next speaker is Miss

5:21:51Jacob Herrera.

5:22:02I'm not going to pretend to be

5:22:03an expert on any of this. My

5:22:05name is Jacob Pereira. I've

5:22:07worked with special needs

5:22:08people for the past four years.

5:22:09I've worked at the Salvation

5:22:11Army shelter as a shelter

5:22:13monitor during the white flag

5:22:14operation. I think I just want

5:22:17to urge people to take, uh, be

5:22:19wary.

5:22:22Uh.

5:22:22For these facilities.

5:22:25Okay.

5:22:25There you go. Okay. Um. Yeah.

5:22:29Um, anything. Most of the

5:22:30things I say are from Business

5:22:32Insider and Exposé done on data

5:22:34centers. So it's it's not

5:22:35really my information. It's,

5:22:38uh, there's, uh, just to let

5:22:39you know, the scale of data

5:22:40centers, um, there's about

5:22:43maybe 450 and 500 in China,

5:22:48data centers in America,

5:22:50there's about approximately

5:22:525000, maybe 6000. Uh, they're

5:22:56known to take, uh, sorry. Hold

5:22:59on. It's my first council

5:23:01meeting. I'm sorry. Um, as a

5:23:05shelter monitor, I mean, that

5:23:06it was just me and, um, maybe,

5:23:09like, 50 people coming through

5:23:10the white flag. Uh, some people

5:23:13even more if they're brought in

5:23:15through, uh, they don't feel

5:23:16safe. So the police bring them

5:23:18in, and, uh, it was just a it

5:23:20was very frightening, like, to

5:23:22be alone with maybe 60 people

5:23:24in those kind of circumstances.

5:23:26And I'm just saying that maybe

5:23:28look into more Salvation Army

5:23:30shelters, operations and, and

5:23:33their ongoing as far as data

5:23:35centers, I'd say, uh, just to

5:23:38give you like be very wary

5:23:40about certain things that I

5:23:41don't know if any of you are

5:23:42already involved with them as

5:23:44NDAs or, uh, certain things

5:23:46that they have, like trade

5:23:48secret exemptions where they

5:23:50redact, uh, how open they are

5:23:52about what you can see in their

5:23:54facilities. Uh, they're they've

5:23:56already refused tours and many

5:23:58other states. They've gone

5:24:00through legal battles suing

5:24:03whether or not you guys pass

5:24:04this, they could sue you guys

5:24:05and still get the data. Up. The

5:24:07center operational. Uh, and

5:24:11even if the people disagree,

5:24:12you know, and I think for the

5:24:13most part they do, I think AR

5:24:15is very unregulated. I think

5:24:17it's, uh, I think it's very

5:24:19deceptive. I think a lot can

5:24:21say about what states have

5:24:23done. I think there's 37 states

5:24:26that agree to data centers, and

5:24:28more than 50% of those have,

5:24:31uh, have water shortages

5:24:34already. And, uh, just off of

5:24:36the Business Insider, it's, uh,

5:24:38some have used 160 million

5:24:41gallons of quote unquote,

5:24:42drinking water and even 1.1

5:24:44million gallons of water for

5:24:46landscaping alone. And the bait

5:24:49and switch for that is very

5:24:51disheartening, I think. And

5:24:53it's it's crazy that these are

5:24:54the most wealthy companies in

5:24:56that they're offered tax

5:24:57exemptions to be into the

5:24:59state, to be brought here. Um,

5:25:02I think 37 states, I think.

5:25:05Thank thank you, sir.

5:25:06Oh, dang. Okay. Sorry.

5:25:08I appreciate it.

5:25:13Madam clerk.

5:25:14Mayor, our next speaker is Mr.

5:25:16Joseph Schwab.

5:25:31Good evening.

5:25:32Good evening.

5:25:35Um, you all swore.

5:25:37An oath to the Constitution.

5:25:38which includes.

5:25:39The First Amendment. Um, you're

5:25:43being passed around. Article.

5:25:44That's about a settlement, um,

5:25:47from a lawsuit that happened in

5:25:50Michigan. So the mayor in this

5:25:53lawsuit, he had stopped

5:25:55speeches and, quote, speakers

5:25:59had to alter remarks to omit

5:26:01criticism. Criticism of the

5:26:03mayor and to criticize the

5:26:05council or the body. Instead,

5:26:08this lawsuit resulted in over

5:26:13$70,000 of a settlement, plus,

5:26:16the council had to pass a

5:26:18resolution to let it know that,

5:26:20you know, they respect the

5:26:21people's First Amendment. Just

5:26:23it was in a public forum just

5:26:24like this. That sounds familiar.

5:26:27That happened last month.

5:26:31Speaker was up here speaking,

5:26:34petitioning their government

5:26:36officials by name. They were

5:26:40stopped. Their mic was muted.

5:26:43The First Amendment was

5:26:45violated. Refusing to let

5:26:51someone name you, whether it be

5:26:53a criticism or something nice,

5:26:57just have tougher skin. Y'all.

5:26:59Y'all have done well tonight.

5:27:01I've been paying attention. I

5:27:03have recordings of of when it

5:27:05happens, advise people of to

5:27:08get a lawyer so people are

5:27:12watching you all respect their

5:27:15first amendment. Thank you.

5:27:23Madam mayor, our next speaker

5:27:25is Mr. Joshua Reed.

5:27:42Well, usually I'm here to talk

5:27:44about data centers. Today I

5:27:46want to talk about free speech

5:27:48and how it is under attack in

5:27:50this city. Like we just heard

5:27:51from Mr. Joseph. Before I go

5:27:54any further, I want to say that

5:27:55this City council owes Carol

5:27:58Olinger a public apology for

5:28:00the way that y'all treated her.

5:28:02And in August. And I would like

5:28:04to extend I would like for you

5:28:07to extend that apology to every

5:28:08single person whose mic has

5:28:10been muted and time has been

5:28:11stolen from them in the past

5:28:14several months. Free speech is

5:28:18under attack in this city, in

5:28:20this room, the law of the land

5:28:22has been keeping decorum. That

5:28:26phrase has been weaponized to

5:28:27serve the interests of this

5:28:28city council, which translates

5:28:31to the interests of big tech

5:28:33companies like Fork and Axon,

5:28:35as well as data center

5:28:37developers. And any attempt to

5:28:39hold this city council

5:28:41accountable for their actions

5:28:43has been met with hostility and

5:28:45even threats of being sued or

5:28:47arrested. Last week, I watched

5:28:49a veteran get arrested for

5:28:50peacefully protesting the war

5:28:52in Iran. She is now being

5:28:54criminally charged with second

5:28:56degree trespassing because

5:28:58someone didn't like what she

5:29:01was saying. Only two days

5:29:03later, I watched this city

5:29:05council vote 6 to 4 for over 17

5:29:09million taxpayer dollars to be

5:29:12invested into the police

5:29:13department for technology from

5:29:15axon, the same company giving

5:29:18weapons to Israel and their

5:29:19genocide of the Palestinians.

5:29:21Mind you to include AI drones

5:29:23capable of shooting down other

5:29:25drones, among other things. It

5:29:28is bad enough that the new

5:29:30assistant chief of police has

5:29:31over 45 allegations of

5:29:34misconduct, aggressive

5:29:35behavior, illegal strip

5:29:36searches and holding a child at

5:29:39gunpoint. Now this a. Don't get

5:29:43me started on the data centers.

5:29:45How every single time people

5:29:47show up to speak against them.

5:29:49This council has tried to shut

5:29:51us up. This is undemocratic and

5:29:56unconstitutional. Every chance

5:29:58I get, I am going to call this

5:29:59city council what it is

5:30:01corrupt. But what do I know?

5:30:04Because technically I'm not a

5:30:06resident of Fayetteville. My

5:30:08address says Hope Mills, even

5:30:10though I am less than a mile

5:30:11outside of the city limits. And

5:30:14as Mayor Colvin said on June

5:30:161st, the things we do in

5:30:17Fayetteville don't pertain and

5:30:18will not carry over to Hope

5:30:20Mills. You know, minus all of

5:30:21the environmental damage that

5:30:23the data center would bring and

5:30:24the fact that I spend the

5:30:25majority of my time in

5:30:26Fayetteville and I am

5:30:28surveilled, just like all of

5:30:29the other residents here. But

5:30:30again, what do I know? It's not

5:30:31as though the actual residents

5:30:32have given any of their

5:30:34precious time to say these

5:30:36things to you. Believe me, I am

5:30:38bored coming here and I know

5:30:39y'all are bored of hearing me.

5:30:40I see it on your face right

5:30:41now.

5:30:42Thank you.

5:30:43You have the day you deserve.

5:30:50Mayor, our next speaker is Mr.

5:30:53Dale Dees.

5:30:58Good evening sir.

5:30:59Hello everyone.

5:31:01My name is Dale Dees. Um, I.

5:31:03Live on Custer.

5:31:04Avenue.

5:31:04Not too far.

5:31:05From the.

5:31:06Proposed data center.

5:31:08And what I'm getting ready to

5:31:09say to everyone. I really mean

5:31:11this from the bottom of.

5:31:12My heart.

5:31:13I hope your homes are quiet,

5:31:16peaceful, and restful. And I

5:31:18don't know if you can honestly

5:31:21say that in return to me and

5:31:23some of the other people that

5:31:24are out in that area, in any

5:31:25place where there's going to be

5:31:27a data center, put, um, I'm

5:31:30thrown off a little bit about

5:31:31what I was going to say,

5:31:32because we've got a little bit

5:31:32of good news today. I think

5:31:34it's good news if it's true.

5:31:36Uh, the proposed data center

5:31:38out there, the person that was

5:31:39going to sell it to the site or

5:31:42to the company, uh, we got word

5:31:44that they have retracted their

5:31:45offer. Um, I hope that's true.

5:31:48Um, at first, I was really

5:31:50excited. Uh, I thought, well,

5:31:52you know, we won one, but I

5:31:53really don't think it makes a

5:31:54whole lot of difference because

5:31:55they'll just move to another

5:31:56site or there'll be another

5:31:57area, you know, uh,

5:32:00unfortunately, deep down

5:32:01inside, I think that's, uh,

5:32:03Fayetteville is going to get

5:32:04them, you know, 1 or 2 or

5:32:05whatever. Um, the question is

5:32:08where they're going to be put.

5:32:10And I really hope you guys will

5:32:13consider what will happen to

5:32:15people's, uh, their homes,

5:32:17their neighborhoods. Uh, we

5:32:20live in the county between

5:32:22Eastover and Fayetteville, and,

5:32:25um, we always kind of seem to

5:32:27get the short end of the stick.

5:32:29Um, the one day last week, my

5:32:31wife took her car into town,

5:32:33into federal. Had to get some

5:32:35work done on it. It was a

5:32:36little over $200. Uh, she came

5:32:39home. I was off that day. We

5:32:40came back in the town, bought

5:32:42groceries. That was another

5:32:43over $200 in the span of a few

5:32:46hours, we spent over right at

5:32:49$500 here. So I sat down and

5:32:51started figuring out, you know,

5:32:52roughly, you know, didn't try

5:32:53to get down to the dollar or

5:32:55anything, but probably 10 to

5:32:58$15,000 a year we spent in

5:32:59Fayetteville, probably more

5:33:00than that. But that's just kind

5:33:01of a rough estimate. So you

5:33:03guys are getting a lot from us

5:33:05and from the people who live

5:33:06out there. There are people

5:33:06that have a higher lifestyle

5:33:08than us, and I'm sure they're

5:33:09spending quite a bit more money

5:33:11in the city than we are. And I

5:33:14know we can't vote in the city.

5:33:15That's just, you know, that's

5:33:16the way it is. Um, and I think

5:33:18maybe our some of you are

5:33:20listening to us and taking what

5:33:24we had to say into

5:33:25consideration. Um, but I want

5:33:29to believe that. And, and I

5:33:32hope, I hope I can, you know,

5:33:33kind of stand on that. Um, I'm

5:33:36not getting to all the things

5:33:37about data center sometimes

5:33:38about us, but we all know, uh,

5:33:40some examples of what they can

5:33:41do, how detrimental they can be

5:33:43to people's livelihoods, their

5:33:45homes, their peace of mind.

5:33:47And, uh, just think hard about

5:33:50where you put these things,

5:33:52please. Because I know no one

5:33:54here is wanting to go to their

5:33:56home and have to put up with

5:33:57one of these things, 500ft,

5:34:00750ft from their house because

5:34:02of just that.

5:34:03Thank you, Mister De.

5:34:03Thank you very.

5:34:04Much.

5:34:10Mayor, our next speaker is Miss

5:34:12Barbara Thrasher.

5:34:19I apologize, that's all right.

5:34:22Good evening.

5:34:23Good evening.

5:34:23Mayor Colvin and council

5:34:25members. My name is Barbara

5:34:26Thrasher. I'm a resident of

5:34:27Cumberland County who works in

5:34:29Fayetteville City, and I have a

5:34:32strong connection to this

5:34:33community, even though I've

5:34:34only lived here a short while.

5:34:35I'm speaking up tonight because

5:34:36many of us, myself included,

5:34:38are feeling a real sense of

5:34:39disappointment and

5:34:40disconnection from this

5:34:42council. To be blunt, the big

5:34:44decisions that are being made

5:34:45don't seem to have be getting

5:34:47the careful thought, attention,

5:34:49discussion or research that

5:34:51they deserve. Local government

5:34:53is supposed to be the one place

5:34:54where regular working people

5:34:56actually get heard. The choices

5:34:58you make in this room impact

5:34:59our neighborhoods, our

5:35:01resources, our wallets, our

5:35:02freedoms. And what about of our

5:35:04daily lives? Watching these

5:35:06meetings over the past year, it

5:35:08doesn't look at all like

5:35:10proactive leadership. It looks

5:35:11like many of you are

5:35:12distracted, indifferent, have

5:35:14already made up your minds, and

5:35:16even that some of you are more

5:35:17concerned with your own egos or

5:35:18self-interest than the future

5:35:20of Fayetteville. I want to

5:35:21thank council members McMillan,

5:35:23Greene, and Jones for asking

5:35:24thoughtful questions at last

5:35:26week's council meeting, and

5:35:27Councilman Hondros for being

5:35:29willing to vote and respond

5:35:30based on new information. But

5:35:33too often, what we actually see

5:35:34is the majority that just

5:35:36follows the leader hiding

5:35:38behind condescending remarks

5:35:39and defensive deflections. Look

5:35:42at last week's incredibly

5:35:43important vote concerning a $17

5:35:47million contract with Jackson

5:35:49mayor Colvin, you chose to

5:35:51scold other council members,

5:35:53shut down suggestions before

5:35:54they were articulated, and

5:35:56disturbingly insinuated that

5:35:58members who came with research

5:35:59or questions were somehow

5:36:01acting against public safety.

5:36:03You used your own testimony to

5:36:05steer the vote, encouraging the

5:36:07council to not consider taking

5:36:09even a few extra days to make a

5:36:10more thoughtful decision. I

5:36:12realize some decisions are made

5:36:14tonight. Thank you for that.

5:36:15We've seen the same thing with

5:36:16the data center ordinances

5:36:18moving ahead. When there's

5:36:19clear public pushback makes our

5:36:21input feel like an obstacle

5:36:22you're trying to dodge, rather

5:36:24than the whole point of your

5:36:26job. I attended last week,

5:36:28Judeo community sessions. Thank

5:36:30you to the city employees who

5:36:31worked hard at that. Um, shout

5:36:33out to Angela and the rest of

5:36:34Fayetteville. Freedom for all

5:36:35for hosting a much more

5:36:37thorough event back in July

5:36:39when the city would not listen.

5:36:41I hope that's considered as

5:36:43well. At the city session, the

5:36:45public was met with generic

5:36:46answers. Again, no fault to the

5:36:48city employees, deflections and

5:36:50graphic posters emphasizing the

5:36:52most of our major concerns,

5:36:54like our water, are simply not

5:36:56in control of the city. Let me

5:36:58be clear. The people want a

5:36:59moratorium. I'm going to skip

5:37:00the rest of that. Fayetteville

5:37:02deserves a council that

5:37:03actually works for its people.

5:37:05I'm asking you to please stop

5:37:07deflecting questioning a

5:37:08multi-million dollar axon

5:37:10contract is an anti safety and

5:37:12questioning data centers isn't

5:37:14anti progress labeling are

5:37:16valid concerns and skepticism

5:37:18is. Ignorance doesn't cover up

5:37:19the fact that you're failing to

5:37:21do your due diligence. I'm

5:37:23telling each of you personally

5:37:24to step up and be the leaders

5:37:25of the city actually.

5:37:27Thank you thank you ma'am.

5:37:28Thank you.

5:37:35Madam clerk.

5:37:36Mayor, our next speaker is Mr.

5:37:38Brian Reed.

5:37:51Good evening, sir.

5:37:53Evening.

5:38:05I'm not much of a public

5:38:06speaker.

5:38:08Um.

5:38:10You guys have. seen a couple of

5:38:12my family members. Probably

5:38:14speak here before. Um. I had

5:38:19some things written down, uh,

5:38:21in regard to the data center.

5:38:26But I think you've heard it

5:38:27all. I think you've heard

5:38:29everything. Um, I know you guys

5:38:31have probably heard more than

5:38:33what you've wanted to hear,

5:38:34because a lot of times while

5:38:36people are talking, you're

5:38:38doing other things, which is

5:38:39fine. I'm sure you have a lot

5:38:41of things on your plate as a

5:38:44small business owner, I. I've

5:38:49been in Fayetteville 26 years.

5:38:51I came here, I graduated from

5:38:53Methodist when it was still

5:38:54college before it went big. I

5:39:00married, we started a family 13

5:39:03years. I stayed inside

5:39:04Fayetteville. The other 13

5:39:07years. I could literally cross

5:39:10the street out of my

5:39:11neighborhood and be back in

5:39:12Fayetteville. So that's how

5:39:13close I am. I'm in that weird

5:39:15spot where I don't get to vote

5:39:17for anybody unless it's on a

5:39:19federal level, which, excuse my

5:39:22language kind of sucks. Um, so

5:39:25I don't get to vote for any of

5:39:26you guys, but I'm hoping that

5:39:30you hear me because I have a

5:39:32son sitting in the audience

5:39:33that I think you're all pretty

5:39:35fond of. Um. And I'm so proud

5:39:39of him. And here's why. Because

5:39:43I'm a dad. I'm a designer by

5:39:47trade. I make websites and

5:39:49pretty pictures that you put on

5:39:51your posters and on your

5:39:52campaign things and your

5:39:55billboards. Other businesses. I

5:39:59can't call you by name, but

5:40:00I've seen you on billboards.

5:40:01Um, I make all that stuff. I'm

5:40:05in the tech industry. I've been

5:40:08doing it for like 30 some

5:40:12years. Back when you had to use

5:40:14a pencil and a piece of paper.

5:40:15And I've watched the tech

5:40:17industry grow and grow and grow

5:40:20to the point that now, 45

5:40:22seconds left, now people can

5:40:24push a button and make a

5:40:26website. One click, you get a

5:40:27website. What does that do for

5:40:30me? A father of five, I have

5:40:33three biological kids. I have

5:40:34two adoptees that we got from

5:40:36foster care. They came into our

5:40:38home. We've served this

5:40:40community here in Fayetteville.

5:40:43If you don't listen to anything

5:40:46else, any other environmental

5:40:48or any other fact, any other

5:40:49thing, listen to a dad who lays

5:40:54awake at night when I leave

5:40:55from here, I'm not going home

5:40:56to go to bed. I'm going home to

5:40:58go back to work because I have

5:41:00to provide for seven people in

5:41:02my house. And that data center,

5:41:05an AI is ruining it.

5:41:08Thank you sir.

5:41:16Mayor, we have no further

5:41:19in-person speakers. We do have

5:41:20one set of written comments

5:41:22from Miss Ariel Carlin. Um, who

5:41:25states that she has a concern

5:41:28regarding the lack of

5:41:29transparency and requests that

5:41:32counsel do not have more

5:41:34surveillance or data centers,

5:41:36and to vote no vote for the

5:41:37people.

5:41:38Okay.

5:41:39All right. Thank you, Madam

5:41:40Clerk. And thank you all those

5:41:42who have spoken tonight. So

5:41:43council with that will end our

5:41:44public public hearing meeting

5:41:46to adjourn.

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