2026-10-27 - Mayor's Town Hall Meeting

00:04Okay, I guess we'll go ahead and get

00:06started

00:08and a lot of folks may straggle on the

00:11end around 7:00.

00:13A lot of times I say 6:30 or I'll say

00:167:00, so I don't know which one I was

00:18promoting the most.

00:20But either way,

00:21um

00:22these

00:24I just want to say again this is very

00:25informal. There's no agenda set, but um

00:30I'll take some questions if anyone wants

00:33to ask and I'll try to answer them if I

00:36can't answer them, I'll come back to you

00:37at a later date.

00:39But

00:43a couple things I wanted to get taken

00:46care of and I'll go ahead and do that

00:47off the start before I open it up for

00:50other things is um we had um

00:54um a mayoral

00:57forum the other night and there was a

00:59couple questions that was asked that I

01:01said I would follow up with an answer at

01:04the mayor's town hall meeting.

01:07And one of them was on the budget.

01:10And

01:11my

01:12um

01:13answer was that I didn't have the budget

01:15in front of me and I would not talk

01:18numbers without being able to have a

01:20reference to go by. During uh the last

01:23few days, I've researched it a little

01:26bit and I'm going to answer that

01:28question and I'm going to go ahead and

01:30do it in detail so that you'll have a

01:33detailed answer

01:35of the question that was asked.

01:37And the question that I was asked

01:40was since the beginning of of my term,

01:43the last budget under Flincham, Mayor

01:45Flincham, was a $4.3 million budget and

01:49the most recent budget is just shy of

01:52$5.7

01:54million.

01:55And please explain the this increase.

01:58And that was the question that was

02:00presented to me.

02:01And I think part of my answer was

02:03there's a lot of expenses going up and

02:06all that, but I'm going to give

02:08I'm going to read this

02:09out because the research that came up

02:11with um

02:13the exact answer and the answer I'm

02:16giving is in our budgets. Everyone

02:19uh

02:20is um

02:21uh can view the budget. It is public uh

02:25for public uh viewing.

02:27And

02:28if you wanted to go back and look at uh

02:30budgets that have been presented ever

02:33since I've been mayor is available. But

02:36the short answer answer is the council

02:38has increased spending on public safety

02:42the last 3 years of budget and have

02:46included capital project transfers for

02:48the fire department project and park

02:50project that are reflected in the bottom

02:53line.

02:54But do not represent an increase in the

02:57operating budget.

02:59The town's annual budget has indeed

03:01increased from approximately 4.3 million

03:04to 5.7

03:06since the adoption of the fiscal year

03:092024 budget

03:11in June of '23.

03:14And I think it's more uh important to

03:17explain what accounts for that

03:19difference. And I think that was the

03:21question that was presented to me. It

03:23looks like a huge increase in a small

03:25amount of years.

03:28First, a significant portion of the

03:30increase includes public safety. The

03:32town has expended the expanded the

03:35community servicing uh

03:38community policing services including

03:41the addition of two sheriff's deputies

03:43and a supervisor

03:45which explains $383,310

03:50or 27.7%

03:53of the increase in our budget since June

03:55of '23.

03:57The town also

03:59uh its investment in the fire

04:00protection, mainly in staffing and

04:03equipment, which was 550,000

04:07275

04:09uh over that period, accounting for

04:1239.8%

04:15of that growth.

04:16Those services are among our largest

04:19ongoing responsibilities, and they count

04:22account for substantial share of the

04:24budget.

04:27Second, the current budget increase

04:30uh

04:31the current budget also includes

04:33$771,000

04:36for the town's local match towards

04:39improvements at Covington Park

04:42through the Parks and Recreation Trust

04:44Fund program.

04:46That is a capital investment, not an

04:48annual operating expense that will

04:50automatically repeat in future budgets.

04:55It accounts for more than half of the

04:57approximately 1.4 million difference

05:01referenced in the question.

05:04In fact, removing [clears throat] the

05:06sing single appropriation brings the

05:08current budget to approximately 4.9

05:12million.

05:14That doesn't uh eliminate uh eliminate

05:17the increase, but it provides a more

05:19accurate picture of the distinction

05:21between ongoing municipal operations and

05:25major capital improvements.

05:27We've also experienced increase in

05:29personnel costs, employee benefits,

05:31equipment, and the cost of providing

05:33services.

05:34Our license plate agency budget has

05:37grown as well, although that operate

05:39that operation generates revenues that

05:42help offset the expenses.

05:45Also, a budget is not the same as actual

05:48spending. For example,

05:50our general fund expenditures increased

05:53by only about 1.1%

05:56for the fiscal years '23 through '24 and

06:01'24 through '25 according to the town's

06:04audited financial statements.

06:07Our goal is to maintain essential

06:09services, address infrastructure needs,

06:12and more appropriate

06:14uh appropriated investments in the

06:16community while remaining mindful of

06:19their cost to taxpayers.

06:21The budget has grown and the public

06:23deserves to understand why.

06:25Much of that growth can be traced to

06:27identifiable

06:29changes in public safety services and

06:32specific uh capital projects rather than

06:36simply an across-the-board increase in

06:39the cost of operating town management.

06:45To um

06:48some of the supporting figures, and I'm

06:50going to go ahead since I've got time,

06:52I'm a

06:53and I'm sure I'm um

06:56some of that asked this question are

06:59probably watching online and I want to

07:01make sure you have what you asked for.

07:05Um

07:07for the fiscal year 2023 through '24

07:11cited in question, that was a four

07:134,314,884.

07:18Um your fiscal 2026

07:22through '27 adopted general fund was um

07:275,697,000

07:31$610.

07:33Approximate increase

07:351.382

07:38776.

07:41Your part of grant match.

07:44That's the match that we received the

07:46half a million dollar grant and we're

07:48matching that with $771,000.

07:54The remaining increase after excluding

07:57the part of grant was $611,726.

08:02Our current budget excluding excluding

08:06the part of grant

08:08is $5 million

08:10or five

08:12million 85 884 to be exact in numbers.

08:18The community

08:20policing budget in 2020 23 24 was

08:24$329,950.

08:29Our 26 through 27

08:32community policing budget is $713,260.

08:38Our 23 24 fire department budget was $1

08:42million

08:44290 975.

08:4726 through 27 is 1841

08:51250.

08:53Part-time salaries increased by $122,000

08:56since fiscal year 24. Other personnel

08:59expenses have increased in combined 200

09:03$80,950

09:05over the period. Salaries, insurance,

09:08retirement, and overtime.

09:11I know it's a little detailed, but I

09:14think the question was asked me

09:18wanting details and everything that I

09:21just gave you was what was approved in

09:23the budget and I think the reason I

09:26wasn't ready for it when asked the other

09:28night was because our budgets were

09:31passed back in

09:33May

09:35uh, June right around the June, uh, the

09:37first meeting in June.

09:39And with our workshops and everything,

09:43no one questioned anything on the

09:45budget. So, I just want to um

09:49again

09:51make that statement because

09:54we're getting ready to start working on

09:56next year's budget

09:58and we're

10:00just beginning to get questions about

10:01this year.

10:05Okay.

10:07Now, I need a drink. Is anybody want to

10:10make any comments or anything?

10:15We can switch it to what would you like

10:17to see

10:19uh, in the town, any

10:22any new stuff or

10:25something you might like to come before

10:27the council.

10:46Um, the question was, uh, is there any

10:49new events planned? I think was, uh, is

10:52that pretty much anything coming up?

10:56Yeah.

10:57I think right now, uh,

10:59the only thing, uh, you know, is the

11:02normal events for the Christmas parade,

11:04uh,

11:05Christmas tree lighting, the luminary

11:08project. Um,

11:11I'm not sure the date. I'll look over

11:14here, the date for the, um,

11:17Roll Fest next year. I don't think it's

11:19set uh, in stone just yet, but we will

11:22have Roll Fest next year, also. Probably

11:26with cruise-ins and that. I I don't

11:29think the council has set any exact

11:32dates on

11:34future things.

11:51Question is have we talked about any

11:54a variety adding some other events and

11:57all and answer that question right now,

12:00no.

12:01It hasn't been discussed yet.

12:03Um as you probably know, we're right in

12:06the middle

12:07or way past the middle of election

12:11Um

12:12I think we'll know a lot of things after

12:14next week or at the next council

12:17meeting, they will start talking about a

12:19few things.

12:23Um

12:44Yeah.

12:47Okay.

12:49Lin Linette, can I have another mic?

12:53Oh, you got the mic back there. I'm

12:56going to ask you

12:57pass the mic.

13:00>> [clears throat]

13:01>> Cuz at home they may not be able to hear

13:03the question, but the question was about

13:05a barbecue festival.

13:07Um

13:10that is a big event that they have in

13:12Lexington.

13:14Don't see any reason why we couldn't

13:16talk about that.

13:18>> On a smaller scale.

13:19>> Yes.

13:24Another I'm going to move into another

13:26question now I've caught my breath

13:28again.

13:29Uh that was asked and uh I said

13:32well, I tried to give the answer, but uh

13:35I don't think it was

13:37ever taken the way

13:40a question was asked about the fire

13:42department.

13:44Um

13:45a 4 and 1/2 million dollars versus

13:497 million.

13:51And the mayor

13:53who at the time was um the finance

13:56officer

13:57did not pre-audit

14:00the copy that uh that this person had.

14:04And I agreed

14:06the copy probably didn't have the

14:08pre-audit. But we do have the

14:10pre-audited

14:12uh

14:13piece.

14:14But once researching this a little bit

14:18um as I like to research things and

14:21found out and I'm not going to get into

14:23all the details because I'm sure someone

14:26will request a public record for this

14:29information that I'm about to give is

14:33that contract that uh that was

14:36discussed, the 4 and 1/2 million dollars

14:39did not even have to have a pre-audit

14:41because that was no funds that uh audit

14:46or that budget part of the item

14:49was not an actual amount to be spent.

14:52So, by uh uh approving that contract,

14:57there was actually nothing approved to

14:59spend any money. And that's my short

15:03answer of that. Um

15:06if you

15:08and I'm sure there will be some that

15:09want to know

15:11uh why did that not have to be

15:13pre-audited? But I have the definition

15:16of that. But we also have a copy that it

15:20was pre-audited. We We did um

15:24pre-audit that even

15:26though it was not required.

15:29Now,

15:30we get up into

15:33how did it go from 4 and 1/2 million to

15:367 million dollars?

15:40The actual contract

15:43that was approved by council

15:47was for 6 million 188,467

15:53dollars. That was the actual

15:56um contract that was signed for Bobbitt

15:59for the amount of money to be spent on

16:01this fire station.

16:03Now,

16:05that still leaves open for the um

16:09uh additional amounts of money.

16:12And in this contract, it gave all the

16:16list of everything

16:19that was part of the contract.

16:23I'm not going to go into all the detail

16:25because the ones here I'm sure are not

16:28interested in listening to every detail,

16:31but

16:32as I've said, once it got started, there

16:35were numerous items that came back up.

16:38Everything from

16:40um adding the um outdoor uh patio area

16:44was done larger, the flooring was done

16:47in epoxy.

16:48Um

16:49I could go through the list of items of

16:51all the additions that were added to the

16:54fire department, and that's where the

16:57total amount came. It's just like in a

16:59house, when you build a house, you agree

17:03on a price, and they call them change

17:05orders. Every time you walk through and

17:08there's something

17:10that uh wasn't thought of

17:13or it was decided that it would be

17:16needed. You've got to remember this fire

17:18department was built with intentions of

17:2150 years minimum. So,

17:25it was built with that in mind, not what

17:27we needed today necessarily.

17:32I hope that answers

17:34part of the question or would explain

17:37the difference in that. I'm sure

17:40that

17:42there'll be questions on the pre-audit

17:44part. And also the contract that I have,

17:47which is the official contract for the

17:50amount that

17:51of $6,188,467

17:56was pre-audited on June 28, 2024.

18:02So, that was for the actual amount that

18:05the council approved for spending on the

18:08fire department before any work orders

18:11and all the other additions were through

18:14uh budget amendments throughout the

18:17procedure.

18:22Any questions on that?

18:28Okay.

18:34I've covered my budget. I've covered the

18:38uh fire department. And I can't Lynette,

18:42was there any other questions that I

18:44said I would follow up with?

18:56Okay.

18:58Any questions back there? Give me a

19:00break.

19:13Um

19:15Homer, you're here. Um I didn't even ask

19:17you.

19:18Um Would you address

19:21uh over the weekend

19:22um I'm going to

19:24um

19:25I'm going to let Homer

19:27uh

19:28address this because he's been more

19:30involved in that. Um

19:32I will say that uh you know, it's been

19:35pretty busy over the weekend. We've had

19:38uh the 5K um a couple of us had a meet

19:41and greet Saturday and then we had the

19:43trunk-or-treat on Saturday evening and I

19:46spent uh all afternoon

19:49um

19:50uh

19:50uh on Sunday at the Forsyth Humane

19:53Society along with uh the pet mayor of

19:57Rural Hall or the Forsyth Humane Society

20:00uh at their 85th anniversary.

20:03And over the weekend uh I think it was

20:06Saturday there was some issues with

20:09noise in the town. Um

20:13I did not really hear about it until

20:15later in the day.

20:17Um but I'm going to let um

20:20town manager Dearman address that.

20:24>> Thank you, Mayor.

20:26Um

20:27this weekend uh following this weekend

20:29and over the weekend we received several

20:31complaints from citizens

20:33um

20:34regarding noise uh

20:36excessive bass

20:38uh from an event that was taking place

20:40at 8628 Broad Street.

20:43Um that is the um Slappers Car Audio

20:47Club grand opening

20:49uh ceremony and also um competitive car

20:53audio demonstrations and sound pressure

20:55competition.

20:56Um

20:58they had a flyer for the event and based

21:00on the event advertisement their

21:01activities began at about 9:00

21:04and were scheduled to continue

21:05throughout the day although they wrapped

21:07up shortly after 3:00 Saturday

21:09afternoon.

21:11Um several residents in the surrounding

21:12area, including some folks near Circle

21:14Drive and North Broad Street, reported

21:16disturbances

21:18from the low-frequency bass associated

21:20with the event. Um those concerns

21:23generated a lot of discussion on social

21:25media

21:26and also received some uh visits at town

21:28hall yesterday and some correspondence

21:30from residents

21:32expressing frustration with the event

21:33and questioning what measures the town

21:35could take or should have taken or would

21:37take

21:38uh to prevent similar disturbances in

21:40the future.

21:42Yesterday, Corporal Collins visited the

21:44uh business and spoke with them a little

21:46bit about the

21:48uh the nature of the event.

21:50Um

21:51and basically through that conversation

21:53and through a subsequent meeting that I

21:54had with them today, I actually went by

21:56and

21:57spoke with the event organizers as well,

21:59but the bulk of the complaints resulted

22:01from what is called a stunt wall

22:03that an event participant uh exercised

22:06during the event. Um they realized that

22:08it was very loud and it was limited to a

22:10couple of minutes once per hour

22:13uh throughout the event. Corey Kahn is

22:16one of the event organizers and he's the

22:17one I spoke with today.

22:19Um he explained that this was a charity

22:21event uh for

22:23uh cancer research related to cancer

22:25research and it's not a recurring

22:27weekend or weekly event.

22:29Um they would like to have an annual

22:31event of similar nature and will

22:34coordinate future events and efforts to

22:36be less intrusive and

22:38uh less problematic for the community.

22:41They did not intend to disturb anyone

22:43and cooperated with uh law enforcement

22:45uh every time they were

22:47uh visited and certainly made an effort

22:48beforehand to uh coordinate as well with

22:51not only

22:52the town and with law enforcement, but

22:53with several of the neighbors as well.

22:55I will point out that a lot of the

22:57online discussion has unfortunately

22:59included a lot of speculation

23:02um, connecting that event to previous

23:04disagreements surrounding the data

23:05center controversy

23:07um, and insinuating that the event was

23:09somehow orchestrated as retaliation

23:12against those who opposed the proposal,

23:14which is absolutely not true and

23:17um, pretty ridiculous on its face,

23:19honestly.

23:21Um,

23:22to tell you a little bit about the noise

23:23ordinance, the noise ordinance is on the

23:25town's website. Uh, the town adopted

23:27that ordinance in May of 1995, so it's

23:30been in place for a little over 30

23:32years.

23:33Um, and it establishes regulations

23:35governing excessive and disturbing noise

23:37in the town.

23:39Um,

23:40generally uh, prohibited noise includes

23:43unreasonably loud, unpleasant,

23:44unnecessary, harmful, or disturbing

23:46noise detrimental to the peace, health,

23:48safety, and welfare of the town and its

23:50residents.

23:51Uh, there are specific provisions

23:53addressing amplified music and sound

23:55reproduction devices on public

23:57rights-of-way and in public spaces and

24:00parking lots, and this event was

24:01entirely

24:03uh, on private property

24:05um, during daytime hours on the weekend.

24:08Um, however, the ordinance's general

24:10prohibition is not expressly limited to

24:13uh, nighttime hours.

24:16There was another complaint about some

24:17noise um, over the weekend following the

24:21uh,

24:21sound or the audio event. Uh, some

24:24jackhammering kind of noises and

24:26drilling noises, and those have been

24:27traced back to

24:29um, another local business that was

24:31cleaning concrete trucks, and

24:33uh, that's what that jackhammering was,

24:35was getting rid of dried concrete uh,

24:38Saturday afternoon. So,

24:40a good chunk of yesterday was spent by

24:41our staff trying to figure out what

24:43various noises in town were over the

24:45weekend, and that's the

24:47the best uh, summation that I can

24:49provide. I'm glad to answer any

24:50questions, and

24:52uh, I think Corporal Collins is there

24:53behind me as well if he can provide any

24:55clarification on

24:57anything that I've mentioned, but um

24:59hopefully that

25:01clear and accurate. All right.

25:03Okay.

25:05Very good. I figured

25:07you could put that together better

25:08because you

25:10are the ones uh you're the ones been in

25:12touch with all these folks. Um

25:14Um I'm about the biggest uh

25:18as far as my involvement has been mostly

25:21the um

25:23uh screenshots has been sent to me. Um

25:27and I'll just stay away from some of

25:29that because um

25:32um

25:33there was a lot of conspiracy theories,

25:35I think, that

25:37that uh I have that kind of power to um

25:41uh create a lot of noise in that

25:44section, but um

25:46I honestly had nothing uh or no

25:49knowledge of even what was going on

25:51there until I it was reported to me.

25:54Um

25:56there was uh one other thing that I did

25:58say I would research a little bit.

26:01And I have researched it, and I'm

26:04continuing to research it because I

26:06don't have an answer, and I'm not going

26:08to get really into details. I think

26:10probably more so in the next week or two

26:14um I'll be able to have more answers on

26:17that. But it keeps coming up about the

26:20community center, and I've had numerous

26:23uh

26:25uh not I'm not going to say numerous. Uh

26:27there's three people that's actually

26:29questioned me since our last meeting

26:31as the on the community center

26:35uh we've had um

26:37uh former councilperson say that we had

26:40an account. And there was money that was

26:43donated to the town, and I said I would

26:48that and it still bothers me because

26:51we're still trying to find

26:53where any of that could be and

26:58as of right now

27:00there's no one that seems to know

27:02anything about it and without getting

27:05into a lot of details I think I'll just

27:07wait until we have an opportunity to um

27:12sit down and

27:14and discuss this uh how we can move

27:17forward to figure out if there was ever

27:20any fund or any donations made to the

27:23community center.

27:25Um as of right now there seems to be no

27:28indication that there's ever been any

27:31community center account. Matter of fact

27:33there

27:34it wasn't even talked about a community

27:36center years ago. So with that I'll

27:39leave it at that. I do want to address

27:42one thing

27:43and and this wasn't I'm addressing it

27:46because it was on social media it was

27:48because letter was sent to me. And I

27:50know it was

27:52um spread it out spread out a lot over

27:55social media that right when I put and

27:58we do know this is an election time.

28:01I encourage everyone to get out and vote

28:04if you hadn't voted yet. I haven't voted

28:07yet. I'm one of those that votes on

28:09election day. So

28:12I will probably hold off

28:14just what I do I vote on election day.

28:17But

28:19the only reason I'm going to bring this

28:20up is because this is how a lot of the

28:23rumors and stuff get started out there

28:25and being that I'm not on the social

28:28media page but if I receive an email on

28:31it then um

28:33uh that's how I got it. But as soon as I

28:36started putting out political signs

28:40uh along with myself and one of

28:43Councilman Lane

28:44uh Uh, the next day we got um

28:47all of us got a letter that said that we

28:50illegally placed our political signs.

28:53Um, I know that for a fact that we were

28:57turned in to the Board of Elections,

28:59which that's not where it happens. It

29:01has to go through the

29:04Winston-Salem,

29:05um,

29:06zoning,

29:07um,

29:08committee.

29:09And I know there was two complaints

29:11filed there. Uh, to bring this issue to

29:14an end, our signs were not put up

29:17illegally. Uh, I don't think it's ever

29:19been stated, uh,

29:21and corrected that they were not. But I

29:24just want to say that because, um,

29:27uh, that's how a lot of rumors get

29:29started and how, uh, things just don't

29:32get corrected. Um,

29:33um,

29:34once that was, um,

29:38known that there wasn't any issues with

29:41that, I would have

29:43thought that someone would have at least

29:45retracted that instead of letting it fly

29:47around like it was a issue.

29:50And that's all I'm going to say on that.

29:52Um,

29:55okay, you got a

29:57>> Well, I just want to thank you for

29:59commenting to that because I did

30:02question the person who made that

30:05original statement that I saw on

30:07Facebook and I asked them cuz I believe

30:11it was stated during one of the things

30:14that there was a response.

30:16And so I asked them for follow-up on

30:19that response and you are correct. There

30:21was I did not get any response back from

30:25that person asking them for any

30:27clarification.

30:28So I did my own research, uh, like you,

30:32and found that there was no validity to

30:34those comments. So, but I do appreciate

30:37you being transparent with us.

30:40>> Okay, thank you.

30:42Um,

30:43And like I said, I want I'm not going to

30:45get into all the stuff that I hear

30:48because I've gotten slammed if I'm not

30:51going to be on the

30:52page, I shouldn't even talk about it,

30:54but I've also stated that it I feel like

30:57it's my job to know what's going on in

30:59town whether I'm on it or just receive

31:02it. Um and some of that stuff I'll tell

31:06you I think it you know, when it's not

31:09true, it should be retracted. Um

31:12but it's not my page.

31:15Anyway, is there any other?

31:17>> Did they complain about any of the other

31:19people's signs that were put out

31:21throughout Ro Hall cuz there's

31:23plenty of different people running for

31:25election.

31:26>> I can't answer that question. Uh I

31:29haven't heard or seen anything, but then

31:32again, I don't monitor other people's

31:35stuff.

31:36All I know is where we put ours if ours

31:41was wrong, there's all

31:43probably everybody in Forsyth County is

31:45running for something is in trouble.

31:48>> And on the noise for the heavy

31:50industrial over there on Anderson

31:52Street, there's nothing that the town

31:53can do about those people conducting

31:55their business, correct?

31:56>> Um

31:58actually

32:00I'm going to let um

32:02uh

32:02town manager answer that question

32:04because we do have a a noise ordinance.

32:07Yes. And

32:11>> You know, from the jackhammering that

32:13was going on on Anderson Street, there's

32:15really nothing that can stop those guys

32:17from doing what they need to do for

32:19their business, correct?

32:20>> Not not really. That ordinance is very

32:23tough to enforce. If somebody had called

32:25and complained um our deputy on duty

32:30would have probably gotten the complaint

32:31and gone and made them aware that

32:34the the was excessive and they would

32:37more than likely have shut it down, but

32:39um as far as I know, I don't think

32:41anything any complaints were

32:44received um other than on social media,

32:47but if there's a noise complaint like

32:49that, whether it's a business or a

32:51residence, citizens are encouraged to

32:53call the non-emergency number for the

32:54Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.

32:56That's who would enforce any of those

32:58noise concerns.

32:59And nine times out of 10, we find that

33:02if a deputy goes out and says, "Hey,

33:03there's been some complain or some

33:05concern."

33:06Most folks are courteous and will will

33:07make an effort to

33:09curb it without having to go to future

33:11enforcement effort.

33:13>> And if we're doing any type of farming

33:15on our farm over there, there's no noise

33:16ordinance for us on what we need to do

33:18farming wise?

33:20>> Not to my knowledge. There is a uh

33:23provision in the noise ordinance, and if

33:25you give me a moment, I can pull it up.

33:26It's why I brought my

33:28laptop in to be able to address any

33:30questions that might come up, but

33:33there is a provision about construction

33:36um that can only take place construction

33:38general construction activities can only

33:39take place during

33:41uh

33:42the hours Monday through Friday 7:00

33:44a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except in the case of

33:46emergencies.

33:47Um and then only with an applicable

33:50construction permit. Uh there are no

33:53provisions related to farms

33:56in the town's noise ordinance. And

33:58as it stands right now, the your farm is

34:01not in the the town limits, so it really

34:02wouldn't apply

34:04anyway.

34:05>> Yeah, I just want to

34:07get ahead of any type of complaints that

34:08our family might receive cuz we've been

34:10pretty disparaged throughout this town

34:12in recent events.

34:14>> I understand.

34:18Okay.

34:20Anything else?

34:24Lynette?

34:28You have a question from someone online.

34:30I'm sure we're being watched, and I if

34:33it's if you can

34:37Okay.

34:49We're checking something.

35:00Nothing.

35:04No questions.

35:06Okay. I was just checking to see if

35:08there was any questions that

35:10first someone might be watching that

35:13um

35:15got all my notes here. I might could

35:17follow up with them real quick.

35:21All right.

35:25Well,

35:27don't have any

35:28thing going um

35:30You look like you were going to ask

35:32question.

35:40>> Does this work? Okay.

35:43I haven't followed as closely as I

35:46probably should have, but to the park,

35:49what is the next phase?

35:52Uh what does it entail? Y'all are

35:54getting ready to move into the next

35:56phase. Is that correct?

35:58So, what what's going to happen? What

36:00are the plans the

36:03for you know, what what's happening in

36:05the next phase? I guess.

36:06>> Okay. I'm going to let you pass the mic

36:08right there. I'm going to I'm going to

36:09put Homer on the hot seat since he's

36:13he's the one that's getting the emails

36:15and setting up the appointments, and I

36:16know there's a scheduled one coming up

36:19here pretty soon.

36:20>> Sure. So, great question. At the last

36:22council meeting, we asked the council

36:24and

36:25uh got approval for a revision to the

36:28grant contract,

36:30uh, removing the splash pad component

36:32and officially incorporating a challenge

36:34course,

36:35uh, or really

36:37multi-age exercise,

36:40um,

36:41facility in lieu of a splash pad. The

36:43splash pad was

36:45really cost-prohibitive in terms of the

36:46utilities extension

36:48that would have been required and, uh,

36:51we felt like a challenge course would be

36:53more widely used by people of all ages.

36:56Um,

36:57so that had to officially take place. We

36:59had to get approval from the,

37:02uh,

37:02the state to make that change and, um,

37:06with the council's approval at the

37:07October meeting, that was done.

37:09Our engineers, Withers Ravenel, are

37:11working on

37:13playground equipment. Uh, the first

37:16design that they brought back,

37:18um,

37:19we gave them some feedback. We wanted to

37:20see some more,

37:22uh, playground equipment components,

37:24maybe using some towers or something

37:26that makes, uh, the most of that space.

37:29Since we don't have a lot of space to go

37:31wide,

37:32we want to go up a little bit as much as

37:34we safely can.

37:35And, um,

37:37we gave them that direction. They got

37:39another proposal. Uh, they got back with

37:41us and they said, "We didn't like this

37:42proposal. We told the vendor to go back

37:44to the drawing board."

37:45Uh, so we have a meeting set up with the

37:47engineers with Withers on Monday.

37:50Uh, Jason Hill and I will be meeting

37:51with them out at the park,

37:53um, to take a look at their latest

37:55proposals on playground equipment, give

37:58them our feedback, and if if we're good

38:01with that, we'll bring that back to

38:03council for council to take a look at,

38:06and, uh, hopefully be ready to go into

38:08construction mode very soon once we get

38:11those final

38:13components approved. So, just trying to

38:15make sure that we're bringing council a

38:17proposal that we think that they will

38:18like and certainly open to the

38:21idea that there may be feedback that

38:23they want to see incorporated. So, it's

38:25really right now just making sure we get

38:27the design part

38:28like we want it before they hit the

38:30ground running with construction.

38:32But, the construction will be completed

38:35by this time next year. The grant um

38:39goes through October of 2027.

38:41If we need an extension, we could get

38:43it, but uh we met with the

38:45um liaison uh from Part of earlier this

38:48week and

38:50based on

38:51our timeline that we've gotten from the

38:53engineer and our discussions with them,

38:54we don't think we're going to need an

38:55extension. We should be

38:57good with phase done with phase one by

38:59this time next year and looking at

39:00trying to find funding

39:02for phase two, which is um looking at

39:05the

39:06walkway around the pond and um

39:09boardwalk around the pond and other

39:11parts of the original proposal that we

39:13looked at back in 2024 with the park

39:15master plan.

39:18>> Okay. Does that answer?

39:21Pretty much in detail.

39:23Okay.

39:24Um I just want to mention um just saw

39:27this today that um looks like the next

39:30JC meeting will be on the 12th of

39:33November.

39:35Uh just uh want to pass that along. Uh

39:38there will be other information that

39:39will come out as they get closer to

39:42their meeting date and where it's going

39:44to be held at.

39:46Um

39:47with nothing else, I don't see any other

39:50questions. I

39:51uh appreciate the comments and the

39:53questions.

39:55Um again, uh

39:57early voting's going on. I encourage

40:00everybody to get out and vote. Um

40:03I would like to do a little reminder. Uh

40:07this actually was sent to me uh because

40:10evidently

40:11um

40:12it's a reminder. Uh I'm sitting here

40:15reading. It says, "Reminder,

40:16photographing a ballot is against the

40:18law."

40:19Um

40:20the State Board of Elections is

40:22reminding voters that North Carolina law

40:24prohibits

40:25taking photographs or video taping

40:28ballot box uh

40:30uh voted ballots. So,

40:33um

40:35just want to remind people

40:38um

40:39be careful of that if it's out there

40:42being done.

40:44With that being said, I just you know,

40:46I've always said I I spent a lot of time

40:48in um going to management training,

40:51sitting with other home uh or business

40:54owners and

40:55and stuff in a owners group and stuff

40:57and we'd always finish with

41:00some of the comments that come in um

41:02because out being out in the business

41:04world, you know, we all

41:06uh

41:07we're not always not liked by everyone,

41:10whether it's customers or whether I'm

41:12sitting here as mayor or or you're just

41:15a person in the community, everybody is

41:17not going to always agree with you, but

41:19that doesn't mean whether everybody uh

41:22that just doesn't agree with you is

41:24wrong. It Everybody can have a different

41:27opinion. It's just how that opinion is

41:29used and the attitude that's taken when

41:32it's used. But uh a couple little things

41:35and we'd always get these little sheets

41:37and I found some of them. It was pretty

41:40um

41:41pretty neat. Um

41:42I'm just going to throw out a couple of

41:44them. Um if nobody sees you as an enemy,

41:48you're not important.

41:50If nobody tries to take advantage of

41:52you, it means you have value.

41:55Hate only comes from below, never from

41:57above.

41:59If they doubt If they doubt you, it

42:02means you're doing something.

42:04Uh those are just some of the things

42:06that uh

42:07uh

42:08at some of our owners group uh because

42:11even though back in those honors group,

42:14we were dealing mainly with customers

42:17out in the in the our communities and

42:19stuff, but as we deal with all our

42:22citizens, we've got to remember

42:24the residents of our town, everybody's

42:27opinion counts.

42:29Uh just not one side, and that's what I

42:31always try to do is listen

42:34to

42:35everyone's comments and then go from

42:38there.

42:38With that, I'm going to go ahead and

42:42Lynette, wait a minute.

42:45Okay,

42:47I was just handed another note. The

42:49Forsyth County area planning meeting is

42:52next week, November the 5th at 5:30 here

42:55at town hall. So, this will be the

42:57second meeting, correct?

42:59Okay. Is there any other announcements

43:02or

43:04anything? Okay. All right, we'll finish

43:07up within an hour. Thank you.

```*