[1:09] City Council regular meeting of Tuesday, September 8th, 2026. And I want to thank

[1:15] everybody that has come here in person. It is always wonderful to see a full

[1:20] house of uh constituents and also everybody that is watching us on the

[1:26] live stream. So, thank you all for attending. I want to start by

[1:31] introducing everybody that is sitting up here. On my far right is our city

[1:36] attorney M. Mckeler. Next to Mac is Councilman Lauren Wise.

[1:42] Next to Lauren is Councilwoman Pamela Holder.

[1:46] Next to Pamela is Councilman and Mayor Prom Aaron Baker. I'm Mayor Moren

[1:52] Copelof. On my immediate left is our city clerk Denise Hodston. Next to

[1:58] Denise is Councilman Gary Daniel. Next to Gary is Councilman Dean Lidle. And at

[2:05] my far left is our city manager, Wilson Hooper.

[2:10] And I don't think I see Reverend Rob Field

[2:17] anywhere in the audience. Okay,

[2:23] just checking the door. No, I'm not seeing him walking in. That's that

[2:27] that's another pastor walking in. [laughter] But I tell you, I got a whole

[2:31] lot of backups here today. >> Wow.

[2:35] Yeah. [laughter]

[2:40] » Well, >> you got drafted.

[2:43] [laughter] >> I I normally would be asking Reverend

[2:47] Rob Field to stand up and give the invocation, but Rob is not here. But um

[2:56] » [laughter]

[2:58] » There it is. >> Look at this. I'm filling. [laughter]

[3:03] » Okay. >> I know.

[3:08] [laughter]

[3:12] » Sean, would you be willing to give the invitation?

[3:15] » Certainly. I'd be happy to. >> She just happened to walk right in.

[3:20] » Absolutely. All right.

[3:26] our source. We're grateful for this day, for this space, for the opportunity to

[3:31] shuffle our feet in here, for all that happens, for the conversations that we

[3:36] have, for the business that is held, for your presence that is with us. Bless us

[3:41] with the opportunity to be at our best, for this community we all call home, and

[3:47] we will be grateful. Amen. >> Amen.

[3:52] And while you are standing there,

[3:57] I believe you are the pastor at Brevard College. Can you tell us a little bit

[4:02] about that? >> Absolutely. So, I'm the dean for

[4:04] spiritual and religious life at Brevard College. Uh I've been there for a

[4:09] growing amount of years and it's uh my honor and pleasure to work with our

[4:14] younger, most times younger and uh bright individuals who are shuffling

[4:19] into this world. So that's what I get to do.

[4:22] » Well, we are so glad that you do that and we are so glad to have the college

[4:27] and the young folks as part of our community and I want to thank you for

[4:32] your great flexibility as you [laughter] come into the room tonight.

[4:36] » Absolutely. >> Thank you.

[4:37] » Thank you. [laughter]

[4:40] » All right. Would everybody please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance?

[4:48] Attention, honor. I pledge algiance to the flag of the

[4:53] United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation

[5:00] under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[5:09] [clears throat]

[5:11] » All right, Madame Clerk, do we have a quorum?

[5:14] » Yes, Madame Mayor, you have a quorum. All members are present. All right,

[5:18] council, you have the draft agenda in front of you. Are there any proposed

[5:24] modifications to the agenda? >> Yeah, I'd like to propose that we

[5:30] combine items L2 and M1. Uh, I think our discussion is probably

[5:36] going to be referencing one or the other. So, I think it's just best if we

[5:39] tackle those, >> put it both under

[5:42] » combine them both under M as M1. >> Right.

[5:45] » Okay. Very good. Mr. Manager, did you have a

[5:50] » Yes, ma'am. Chief Winsel and I would like to propose a modification to item

[5:54] M3, automated license plate readers, and I'd like to ask her to come to the

[5:58] podium and explain.

[6:04] » Mayor and council, good evening. Over the last several months, the Bvard

[6:07] Police Department has spent a significant amount of time researching

[6:11] automat automatic license plate reader technology, developing policy

[6:15] safeguards, reviewing the legal issues, and presenting the proposal several

[6:20] times to the public safety committee and to our community members. Through all of

[6:24] the research and discussion, my professional view of the technology

[6:28] remains the same. I believe ALPR cameras are incredibly valuable as investigative

[6:33] tools because I've seen firsthand the difference they can make. I have seen

[6:37] these cameras help locate missing and endangered people and bring loved ones

[6:41] home. I've been able to assist in recovering stolen vehicles, identifying

[6:45] vehicles connected to serious crimes, and I've seen where it has given

[6:49] investigators information that help bring justice to victims of violent

[6:53] crime. Those benefits are real, and my belief in the value of the technology

[6:57] has not changed. But what has changed is my belief in that this is the right time

[7:03] for Bvard to move forward with it. We held the public information session

[7:07] because we wanted people to come hear what we were proposing, ask questions

[7:12] and tell us how they felt. And the citizens showed up and they did exactly

[7:16] that. We heard concerns about privacy, surveillance, the potential for the

[7:22] technology to expand beyond its original purpose, whether this type of technology

[7:26] belongs in a community such as ours and our size, and whether the benefit was

[7:31] worth the concern that it caused within the community. People also questioned

[7:36] whether the meeting was truly an opportunity to be heard and whether

[7:39] showing up and speaking could actually make a difference. Of all the concerns

[7:43] voiced, the one that I heard most clearly was about trust. Trust between

[7:48] the community and the Bvard Police Department. After the public information

[7:52] session, we regrouped and we worked hard to address the concerns that were heard.

[7:57] We further tightened the proposed policy. We shortened retention periods,

[8:01] restricted access and sharing, added monthly auditing, and established

[8:05] meaningful consequences for misuse. Without a doubt, I believe the police

[8:09] department could effectively and responsibly operate this program. But

[8:13] just because we can responsibly implement a tool does not necessarily

[8:16] mean we should implement it right now. Building trust within the community is

[8:20] more important to me than winning the approval of technology.

[8:24] The APL cameras proposed as part of a larger axon package which also included

[8:28] new tasers and bodywn cameras for our officers. We will continue moving

[8:32] forward with the tasers and the bodywn cameras, but not the ALR ALPR portion

[8:38] proposed in the budget. I was recently asked what would prevent Bvard Police

[8:43] Department from simply bringing back ALPR cameras at a later date without the

[8:47] same level of public discussion. The answer is simple, our desire to be

[8:51] transparent. If Bvard Police Department was ever to consider ALPR technology

[8:56] again, it would require significant budget requests that would come before

[8:59] council. any future consideration would be handled openly with the same

[9:04] commitment to public information and transparency we have maintained

[9:07] throughout our entire process. Again, this is not a statement that we feel

[9:11] ALPR technology is bad, ineffective or without value. It is simply an

[9:15] acknowledgement that our community has expressed significant concern and at

[9:19] that point listening carries greater value than moving forward with

[9:23] technology. [clears throat]

[9:25] Right now, I believe it is the best decision for the Bvard Police Department

[9:28] to listen. We asked for the community's voice and they gave it to us and it

[9:33] mattered. Therefore, I'm respectfully withdrawing the Bvard Police

[9:36] Department's request to implement a proposed ALPR program and ask that the

[9:40] council take no further action at this time. Thank you. [applause]

[9:48] All right. [applause] All right, guys.

[9:52] Come on. All right. So, Mr. Manager, you are you

[9:57] are asking to withdraw item >> M3. [clears throat]

[10:01] » M3 off of the agenda. All right. Council, any further modifications to

[10:06] the agenda? >> I don't know if this is the time to say

[10:10] it or not, but I would like to see the agenda that Aaron proposed that we leave

[10:14] it as it is. L2 and was the other one? M >> he was combined. He combined L2. see

[10:25] remain separate.

[10:29] » Okay. Well, we'll have to vote on >> way to go.

[10:34] » All right. Right now, what we have is a proposal to

[10:41] have a modified agenda with M3, the automated license plate readers, removed

[10:49] [clears throat] and M1 and L2 combined. Do I have a motion to approve that

[10:56] modified agenda? >> So moved.

[10:59] » Do I have a second? >> Second.

[11:02] [clears throat] >> Okay.

[11:07] All in favor? >> I

[11:09] » opposed. >> Opposed.

[11:11] » Opposed. >> So, two nos and three yeses.

[11:17] So, the modified agenda passes. All right.

[11:23] So, we've got an agenda.

[11:28] Council, you've got the June 5th, 2026 specially

[11:33] called budget workshop minutes. Are there any corrections or modifications

[11:37] to those minutes? Do I have a motion to approve those

[11:42] minutes? >> So moved.

[11:44] » Do I have a second? >> Second.

[11:48] » All in favor? >> I

[11:50] » opposed. Minutes are approved. You also have the

[11:55] minutes of the August 17, 2026 regular meeting. Do I have a motion? Are there

[12:01] any uh modifications or corrections to those minutes?

[12:06] Do I have a motion to approve those minutes?

[12:09] » So moved. >> Do I have a second?

[12:11] » Second. >> All in favor?

[12:14] » I >> opposed. Those minutes are approved. All

[12:18] right. We are going to go forward into certificates, awards, and recognition.

[12:23] And we have two wonderful proclamations tonight.

[12:41] All right. Our first proclamation is for the 30th anniversary of Rise and Shine.

[12:46] And I would like to ask Maurice Jones, the executive director of Rise and

[12:51] Shine, and anyone else Maurice that you wanted to join you up here. I don't know

[12:57] if you brought anyone else from the organization.

[13:00] » There are a lot of supporters and partners.

[13:03] » I can see that. Okay. It's been such a great

[13:13] pleasure to

[13:16] proclamation number 2026 21 the 30th anniversary of rise in

[13:23] shine. Whereas in response to public

[13:28] clan rallies held in Bvard in 1988 and again in 1992

[13:35] An interracial group gathered by social activist FA Walker began to meet monthly

[13:42] for dialogue around dismantling racism, racial justice and reconciliation.

[13:49] Whereas after this coalition called friends hosted a series of talks

[13:54] entitled racism everybody's problem at Bethl A

[14:00] Baptist Church. it Frederick Gordon suggested steps to be taken to help

[14:07] underserved children and families beginning with the youngest.

[14:12] Whereas Pastor Gordon and FA Walker worked together diligently in

[14:17] collaboration with parents and community members to design an afterchool program

[14:23] built around individual attention and the encouragement of children and their

[14:28] families with its signature to be daily one tutoring.

[14:34] Whereas the founders recruited teams of volunteer tutors and mentors from local

[14:40] churches and community based organizations

[14:44] and inaugurated the rise and shine after school program in October of 1996

[14:52] with a handful of students called scholars in attendance.

[14:57] Whereas in the following 30 years the program has been nurtured by countless

[15:03] devoted community volunteers and institutions and supported by local

[15:09] businesses and individuals to serve a capacity of 50 scholars each year.

[15:15] Whereas the legacy of enriching children, empowering parents,

[15:21] encouraging community, and building the beloved community of racial justice and

[15:27] reconciliation has become the hallmark of rise and

[15:31] shine. Now therefore, I, Moren Kopalof, mayor of the city of Bvard, hereby honor

[15:38] the 30th anniversary of Rise and Shine and ask our citizens to extend their

[15:44] appreciation for the exemplary work Rise and Shine continues to do in our

[15:50] community. >> [applause]

[15:57] [applause]

[16:01] » Tell us a little bit. I think you're having a big birthday celebration,

[16:05] right? Tell us about that. >> Um, Roger will be celebrating it 30th

[16:10] anniversary with a gall that's held at the Parker Concert Hall. Tickets are

[16:17] still available. We would love for all of you to come join us. We want to

[16:20] celebrate this great organization and great thing about it is people like you,

[16:26] everyone in this citizen in this room that helps organizations like we have so

[16:32] many nonprofits over 400

[16:38] and it's amazing how we support our own how we come in

[16:44] uh help we help fund we do all things keep

[16:49] what you guys have done for rise and shine.

[16:53] Rise and shine.

[16:57] Please come to this event and enjoy and celebrate with us.

[17:01] » October 3rd. >> October 3rd. 6 p.m.

[17:06] » And as always, a fun event. It's one of my favorite gayas of the year.

[17:11] » You'll be there, right? >> I absolutely am going to be there. I'm

[17:14] one of your sponsors.

[17:18] Anyways, Rise and Shine is an incredible organization. I've been involved with it

[17:23] a lot longer than I've been involved in politics here. It goes way back and they

[17:29] do such an incredible job with the scholars, you know, just teaching them

[17:34] not just academic subjects and I think they have like 100% graduation ready for

[17:41] high school. Yes. And you're gonna keep that up, right?

[17:45] Okay. >> But they also teach them really

[17:49] self-confidence and selfresect and just things that are so important for success

[17:55] in today's world. So it is a wonderful program that supports our children and I

[18:00] couldn't be happier than to recognize his 30th uh anniversary and I look

[18:05] forward to seeing everybody at their gaya. So thank you Maurice.

[18:09] » Thank you very much. [applause]

[18:15] » [applause]

[18:18] » All right. And our next proclamation is for Constitution. And we have several

[18:24] members of our local Still Avery chapter of coming up. We've

[18:30] got Sharon Powell and we've got uh Nina Brown and Nina is actually Nina. Oh,

[18:37] Nina. Sorry. Yes. Oh, okay. Get that one. Um But uh Nina is actually the

[18:44] district or you're >> the second

[18:48] » person agent. Okay. Well, so we've got the big

[18:52] big guys here, [laughter] >> but we appreciate um you know, I was

[18:58] just saying that, you know, I see them at so many events and you know, one of

[19:03] the things that's so important today is to teach people about and about the

[19:09] constitution, about is important in our country and the D really steps up and

[19:15] does that in so many different forums throughout the world. So with this

[19:20] proclamation number 2026 22 constitution whereas the constitution of the United

[19:29] States of America the guardian of our liberties embodies the principles of

[19:35] limited government in a republic dedicated to rule by law

[19:40] where September 17th, 2026 marks the 239th

[19:47] anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of

[19:51] America by the Constitutional Convention. Whereas it is fitting and

[19:56] proper to official recognition to this magnificent document and its memorable

[20:02] anniversary and to the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate the

[20:07] occasion. Whereas public 915 guarantees the issuing of a proclamation each year

[20:15] by the president of the United States of America designating September 17 through

[20:21] 2030 as Constitution Week. Now therefore I Moren Kop by virtue of the authority

[20:28] vested in me as mayor of the city of Bvard do hereby proclaim the week of

[20:34] September 17 through 23 as constitution week in the city of Bard and ask our

[20:40] citizens to reaffirm the ideals the framers of the constitution had in 1787

[20:48] by vigilantly protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian

[20:53] of our liberty. remembering that lost rights may never

[20:58] be. Thank you very much, ladies.

[21:09] [laughter]

[21:12] » [applause]

[21:19] » chapter of the D continues to work with school children and adults, people who

[21:26] have what

[21:30] and so we just try to instill that and bring that back to life.

[21:37] » Well, I just might add that we give

[21:48] Most years graders specifically

[22:04] have my pocket constitution.

[22:09] my desk in my office. >> Good for you.

[22:13] » Thank you.

[22:30] » All right, we are moving into public comment.

[22:37] The public is invited to speak during public comment at this time on any topic

[22:42] unless it is a public hearing item on the agenda. Anyone who wants to speak

[22:48] must register with the city clerk, which is the signup sheet. When it is your

[22:53] turn, step to the podium in front of city council. State your name and

[22:58] address clearly. Limit comments to three minutes or less and avoid repetition.

[23:04] And I will give you a warning when you have 30 seconds left. Direct comments to

[23:09] the full council, not to an individual council member or to staff. Now I will

[23:14] call people up in the order that you signed. Our first speaker is Ashley

[23:19] Hart.

[23:26] Hello, mayor, city council, and staff. Hello, everybody. I hope you're having a

[23:31] great day. I wanted to thank the police chief for what she said. The people

[23:37] appreciate the fact that you ended that. Thank you so much for standing up for

[23:42] the people and what the people wanted because it's the people you have to make

[23:46] happy. Thank you guys all for participating in

[23:51] that properly. The people of Bvard do not want to be under surveillance and I

[23:56] don't want them to be under surveillance either. I had a big speech I I was going

[24:00] to give you guys, but you guys switched it up. So, I'm gonna switch [laughter]

[24:03] it up. Um, so it's Constitution Week, September 17th through September 23rd.

[24:09] The signing of the Constitution was September 17th, 1787.

[24:15] The United States Constitution brings with um begins with the most important

[24:20] three words, we the people. Those words remind us that the Constitution belongs

[24:25] to the people. Our government deres its authority from the consent of the

[24:30] governed. [snorts] Preserving liberty is not

[24:34] solely the responsibility of elected officials. It's it also is required from

[24:39] the people to be engaged and to understand the constitution.

[24:45] We have a responsibility to pass these principles of liberty and

[24:49] self-government to future generations.

[24:57] I was going to ask you guys to vote no on it. [laughter]

[25:00] I was I was going to ask you guys to please vote no on it and you guys did

[25:04] that without me having to ask you. So again, I praise you guys for holding a

[25:09] public forum for the people to speak. I live in Transennsylvania County. They

[25:13] did not provide us with that and um it really mattered. So I wanted to thank

[25:19] you guys. It really opened my eyes up and um I'm proud of you guys for making

[25:25] the right choice for the people that you represent.

[25:28] And I'm going to end with the same line I

[25:32] was going to end my speech with. We the people are where it begins and we're

[25:36] also where it ends. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Hart. [applause]

[25:48] Okay. Our next speaker is >> Robert.

[25:51] » Robert. >> I'll help you. [laughter]

[25:53] » All right. All right. Robert, what's your last name? I can't

[25:57] » J A Z O W S K I. >> Okay.

[26:00] » So, not only is it hard to say, >> I have a hard time. [laughter]

[26:07] » So, [clears throat] uh, good evening. Thank you for having

[26:12] me here. So, I wrote this God's Hour yesterday

[26:18] and probably haven't slept a heck of a lot since then, but I did go through

[26:22] this and I wanted to hit all my bullet points. Fortunately,

[26:27] our sheriff heard us and I truly appreciate that. There's nothing like

[26:32] being heard of being, you know, a citizen being heard and having the

[26:36] engagement and having the action the action of actually following people.

[26:41] » So, thank you very much. I truly appreciate that.

[26:44] » Um, I'm no fan of the I'm I'm no fan of the cameras. I'm no fan of the system

[26:50] behind it. Um, and I'm just going to kind of leave it at that, but uh I don't

[26:56] want want to keep this moving along. So, thank you very much and have a wonderful

[27:00] evening. >> Thank you.

[27:03] Our next speaker is Rodney Locks.

[27:12] Good evening, council. My name is Rodney Locks. I live at 187 South Rice Street.

[27:18] I'm here to say vote no. [laughter]

[27:23] And using the Rosenwall funds [clears throat] for the extension of the

[27:28] sore lines.

[27:32] And it baffles me to realize that that's your only option.

[27:39] There's got to be some other funding source to fund the sewer line.

[27:46] But the city has not given you another option.

[27:52] And I know in most cases you have more than one option. And you have rejected

[27:57] those options before. and I ask you to reject this option and find another

[28:04] option for extending the short sewer line. When you get to M3, my top

[28:09] priority is using the money as seed money for the shelter and the bathrooms.

[28:16] There are lots of projects on there that are nice. One of the projects that's not

[28:21] on there is storm water. Our other big issue is

[28:26] storm water. and I'd appreciate it if you think about that and figure out

[28:32] address the storm water issue in Rosemont. Thank you.

[28:36] » Thank you. [applause]

[28:42] » Our next speaker is Frankie Gordon. [cough and clears throat]

[28:57] Good afternoon to the mayor and city council board. I'm River Frankie El

[29:03] Gordon and my address is Silverstein Drive here in Bard.

[29:07] My home is located in Mickey Park and my concern is the removal of the tannery

[29:14] and I would like to know I will ask the question, have the city put in place a

[29:19] plan to remove any creature that is located in that stacker at the moment?

[29:26] um before it is torn down. So I just I just asked that question. Have the city

[29:33] put something in place to eliminate them before the stacker come down? Thank you.

[29:39] » Thank you, Miss Gordon.

[29:43] Our next speaker is Heath Carter. Did I get there? Okay.

[29:54] » Write my down on there, but it's 135 Milbourne Ridge in Pisca Forest, North

[29:59] Carolina. [laughter] >> 135 Milbour

[30:02] » Milbour. >> Pisca Forest.

[30:05] » And how do you spell your last name? >> C A R T E.

[30:10] » Thank you. >> Um, and I'd come to speak on the ALPRS,

[30:14] but looks like that's done. So, thank you. I I'm impressed. When I was in, I

[30:21] wish I could have got a chance to work for someone like you. That's impressive.

[30:24] Thank you. And anybody that voted along with what she said, thank you as

[30:30] well. That's all. >> Thank you.

[30:32] » Oh, and you're supporting the roadless rule. Thank you very, very much. That

[30:36] helps what I currently do. >> Thank you.

[30:41] » All right. Our next speaker is Abraham Stratton.

[30:49] » Good evening. My name is Abraham Stratton and I live with my family at 21

[30:54] Barbberry Heights Drive off of Island Ford Road. Our family moved here about

[30:59] three years ago and I serve as one of the pastors at Bethany Baptist Church um

[31:04] right off of Queenville Highway past the elementary school and before you get to

[31:08] Wilson Road. Um I serve alongside of Paul Wit who Coach Wit coached Bvard

[31:14] High School basketball team for several years. Some of you [clears throat] may

[31:17] know him. Uh, two things. I just wanted first to thank council for your work on

[31:23] the July 4th America 250 celebration. Um, our family really enjoyed that and I

[31:30] am grateful especially for the public reading of the Declaration of

[31:33] Independence. As we heard earlier regarding the Constitution, I think uh

[31:38] having our citizenry more familiar with our founding documents is always a good

[31:44] thing. And so I'm grateful to each of you for your participation in that. and

[31:48] I would be an advocate for reading the Declaration of Independence every July

[31:52] 4th. But thank you for your work to do that. And the second thing is I wanted

[31:56] to let you all know that I pray for you on a regular basis and our church prays

[32:00] for you. Uh this past Sunday, we actually prayed for you in our morning

[32:04] service on Sunday. So in the Bible, God tells his children to pray for their

[32:09] leaders. So I pray for you, Mayor Marine Kopalof. I pray for our city council

[32:13] members. I pray for our sheriff and our other leaders. So, I wanted you all to

[32:18] know that we're grateful for your work and uh I know you sit in hard seats and

[32:23] make hard decisions and so I pray for you to make decisions which are for the

[32:28] flourishing of our community and not for personal agendas but for the good of our

[32:32] our citizens. So, thank you for the work that you do.

[32:36] » Thank you. [applause]

[32:40] » Our next speaker is Sheila Mooney. [clears throat]

[32:50] Mayor, council members, I'm Sheila Mooney. I live right down the street at

[32:54] 34 Mills Avenue. Thank you, Mayor and Council members.

[33:01] I'd like to thank the young lady that reminded us of the statement in the

[33:05] Constitution, we the people. Like to thank the chief for her statement about

[33:10] the importance of listening to said people.

[33:16] So, thank you for your service to the city of Bvard and thank you to the whole

[33:22] city of Bvard. Thank you for acknowledging our beautiful Rosenwall

[33:27] community. Thank you for understanding the value of our rich history.

[33:36] And because we trusted you, we voted for you and we expect you to treat Rosenal

[33:44] with the same fairness, compassion, consideration, and the trust

[33:49] that we put into you. Rosenwall is very important to us. As you heard about the

[33:56] rise and shine program, it's more than that. I was here in 1988.

[34:03] I was here in 1998. I was here in 1963. And that means something to us. So,

[34:12] please consider we the people of Rosen Mall. Thank you.

[34:17] » Thank you, Miss Money.

[34:21] [applause] >> Our next speaker is Harvey Seni.

[34:38] My name is Harvey Sanki. I live 51 uh trail uh lakehouse trail in Bard.

[34:46] Good evening, Madame Mayor and city council members.

[34:50] I attended all of the safety committee meetings at [cough and clears throat]

[34:53] the public meeting on September 1st that discussed the placing of three acts on

[34:59] cameras where crime data would be appropriate.

[35:03] The safety committee asked many questions which were answered by the

[35:08] chief of police, the city attorney and the city manager. I have attended many

[35:16] committee meetings over the past three years and this request was among the

[35:21] most thoroughly researched by any commission. [clears throat]

[35:26] I want to thank that committee for the work they did on the research. And I

[35:31] want to thank everybody who participated in this uh in the in the committee and

[35:39] also Chief for the work that she did, the city attorney for the work that he

[35:46] did, and also Wilson Hooper for the work that he did. I am a little disappointed

[35:52] at the outcome, but I appreciate what you've done and how you've handled it,

[35:59] and I hope we can continue on with a very good relationship with the police

[36:06] department in the future. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Seni.

[36:12] Our next speaker is Doug Powell. [cough and clears throat]

[36:17] » [snorts]

[36:21] » Good evening, Madame Mayor, council members, and staff. I trust everyone had

[36:25] a very restful Labor Day weekend. I would like to commend the city council

[36:29] on a couple of things this evening. First, taking your oath of office

[36:33] seriously and specifically a commitment to the first amendment. As you know, any

[36:38] legitimate government derives its just powers from the consent of the govern.

[36:42] And the first amendment is an American citizens mechanism to voice their

[36:45] concern, displeasure, or agreement with a policy, ordinance, or law that is

[36:50] being contemplated by you, our representatives. By you and your staff

[36:54] organizing the town hall meeting last week to present information to us, the

[36:58] citizens of Bvard and Transsylvania County, regarding the Axon surveillance

[37:03] cameras, uh our go our five god-given freedoms of the First Amendment were on

[37:07] full display. One, our freedom of religion in vo voicing our rights of

[37:12] conscience as sovereign individuals. Two, our freedom of speech and openly

[37:16] expressing our views on the subject. Three, our freedom of the press with

[37:20] those of the media who were present plus those who express their views on social

[37:24] media. Our freedom of four, our freedom of assembly as we came together as a

[37:28] citizens citizenry in the same place. And five, perhaps our least remembered

[37:34] right to petition our government for redress of grievances. This is our right

[37:38] to freely express any complaints to those we have trusted to lead us. I

[37:42] would like to express thanks to Chief Wel for the thorough assessment of the

[37:47] Axon surveillance cameras from her department's point of view and the

[37:51] respectful listening to our uh concerns and the decision tonight and also an

[37:57] appreciation of how city staff made sure that everyone who felt compelled to

[38:02] speak was given that opportunity including questions and answers as the

[38:06] mayor. so eloquently reminded us a few moments ago uh in the in the council's

[38:11] constitution week proclamation, lost rights may never be regained. That is

[38:17] why we need to guard our liberties with vigor and ferveny, whether that be the

[38:21] first amendment, the fourth amendment, or any other any of our other

[38:25] constitutional rights. What I gleaned from the town hall was overwhelming

[38:29] support of law enforcement while still holding a legitimate distrust of

[38:33] third-party data collection companies and the possibility of other government

[38:37] agencies to access that data too. One thing that wasn't said in the meeting

[38:42] was Axon entered into a commercial partnership with Flock Safety on April

[38:47] 2, 2020, indicating their desire for those two companies to be fully

[38:51] integrated and throwing around terms like vehicle fingerprint technology. It

[38:56] is not a giant leap to conclude that if our data is collected and stored, even

[39:00] if it is intended to be used only by local law enforcement, it is not a

[39:03] matter of if, but when another state >> or federal agency will come knocking.

[39:08] And lastly, how many government agencies and private corporations have been

[39:11] hacked, compromised, or their data been breached? Our data being safe in the

[39:15] cloud is impossible to guarantee. So, thank you again for protecting our

[39:19] God-given rights under the Constitution this past week, and may you continue to

[39:23] hone your understanding of its original intent and meaning, as this is your

[39:27] constitutional duty as representatives of our dear city of Brevard. Happy

[39:32] Constitution Week. >> Thank you, Mr. Powell.

[39:38] Okay, our next speaker, I'm trying to read your name.

[39:45] Lane Hurlinger. >> Did I get that sort of close? Okay.

[39:52] [clears throat]

[39:57] » My name is Lane Hurlinger. I live at 1131 Sutton Creek Road. Um, yeah, I also

[40:03] had a whole spiel of things to write off and read. Um, but I'll spare y'all. Um,

[40:08] also I apologize for my appearance. Um, I came straight from work. I had planned

[40:12] to, you know, go home, take a shower, and look a little bit more presentable,

[40:15] but, uh, you know, today's day kind of took a turn. Um, and

[40:21] so, I'll switch it up from what I wrote and tell you that, um, you know, Chief

[40:26] Wel, I really appreciate you. I wanted to be there last Tuesday to be at that

[40:30] meeting. Um, you know, life took a turn as well, but

[40:34] um, I fully support your decision and and listening to the people, man, that

[40:38] means so much to me. Um, first time I saw one of those cameras, it like, man,

[40:43] it felt like I had a girlfriend who cheated on me. I was I was so

[40:46] disappointed, dude, my heart sunk. I was like, "No way. What is happening?" Um,

[40:51] so I really appreciate you listening to us. It really um, you know, makes me

[40:56] want to stand behind you, all of our elected officials. um and you know

[41:02] support y'all because y'all listened and uh you know we appreciate that. That

[41:05] means more to us than you realize. So thanks for listening and and I think

[41:11] doing ultimately doing the right thing. Um we really appreciate it and I hope

[41:15] everybody has a killer week. >> Thank you.

[41:19] All right, that is everybody that signed up for public comment.

[41:25] All right, we will move on to the public hearing.

[41:29] And we have one public hearing. It is a proposed amendment to the city of Bvard

[41:35] traffic schedule to add a stop sign on Thomas Street at the intersection with

[41:40] West Main Street. And I believe our city manager is going to walk us through

[41:46] this. >> Shnie, would you mind coming up and

[41:48] pulling the picture up from the agenda? Uh, yes, ma'am. Mayor, so there's an

[41:53] appendix to our code of ordinance called the traffic schedule. And the traffic

[41:57] schedule lists every four-way stop, every three-way stop, every stop

[42:01] [clears throat] light, every two-hour parking zone. Anything that has anything

[42:05] to do with roads and streets in the town is listed in the traffic schedule. Um,

[42:12] and to update it requires council approval. Now, what it doesn't require

[42:17] is a public hearing. And so in the months to come, I'm going to ask the

[42:21] public safety committee if maybe we can streamline this process by having these

[42:26] on consent rather than subject to a public hearing because traffic

[42:31] engineering is a science and I think that it ought to be guided by the

[42:34] science rather than uh by public comments. But uh in this case, the uh

[42:42] intersection in question is Thomas Street and West Main Street. This is the

[42:45] residential part of West Main Street. Um, as you can see from the map there,

[42:50] Jordan approaches it at an oblique angle, which makes the sight lines

[42:55] difficult. And what you can't see on this map is that both of those sides of

[42:59] West Main Street are coming downhill. So, this is kind of in a bathtub, so to

[43:04] speak. And there's the potential for folks coming at excessive speeds from

[43:09] both sides. We're still trying to tackle that problem and figure out some traffic

[43:13] calming solutions that might work, but in the meantime, we want to make this

[43:17] interse intersection safer in uh ways that we know will work. And one of those

[43:22] is changing this yield sign. Shaunie, if you'll go down to the next picture

[43:28] to a stop sign so that uh cars coming down Thomas Street will be required to

[43:33] stop and look both ways. We find that now with a yield sign there, uh they

[43:39] might not and they might pull out in front of a car that's uh coming down the

[43:44] hill on either side. Uh the other thing that we're going to do, and we might

[43:48] have already done this, uh but if not, we're going to do it soon, is go out and

[43:52] trim back some uh foliage that's growing into the ride ofway on both sides of

[43:58] this picture and obstructing the sight line. And so we think that between

[44:02] changing this to a stop and trimming back those um sight line obstructions,

[44:09] we will make this intersection a little bit safer. Um but we're not done with it

[44:14] yet. And so for tonight, I'm asking you to hold a public hearing on this

[44:18] proposal. And if you're willing, go ahead and pass this proposal so that we

[44:23] can go ahead and uh install that stop stop sign and and repaint that stop bar

[44:28] there which you can see is kind of faded in the picture. And if you are willing

[44:32] to take action tonight, the um required ordinance is in front of you. We

[44:39] accidentally omitted that from the agenda package and so it's here on the

[44:43] sheet in front of you if you're ready to take action.

[44:47] » Right. Thank you, Mr. Manager. Council, this is a public hearing. Do I have a

[44:51] motion to officially open the public hearing?

[44:54] » So moved. >> Second.

[44:56] » All in favor? >> I.

[44:58] » The public hearing is officially open. However, no one signed up to comment at

[45:06] the public hearing. So

[45:10] I will go ahead and close. >> Oh, wait. Is there somebody wants to

[45:15] comment? I will I will allow that. Mr. Jones, you

[45:21] may comment on the public hearing. Let me give you the rules.

[45:26] » Although I'm sure [laughter] I think I think after however

[45:30] » I think you know it have been a while. So

[45:34] » you have five minutes or less. Okay. I'll leave it at that.

[45:38] » Okay. Well, I I just want to thank you for allowing me to uh speak a little bit

[45:43] about this. Um hopefully your meeting won't go too long

[45:49] tonight because I know how that usually tends to happen.

[45:52] » But um I live right across the street so I see that

[45:58] from my porch every day all day when I'm at home.

[46:04] I don't believe that I've seen any issues there. But I will tell you when

[46:09] you're coming down Thomas Street, it is difficult to see towards your left

[46:15] um and right. So a stop sign there could help, but in most cases, most cars have

[46:22] to stop just so they can see if a car is coming because you have to kind of roll

[46:27] out into the street to look that way. But if you're going to do some uh

[46:32] cleanup, cutting back some of that brush, um I believe that will definitely

[46:38] be something that will help with the line of sight coming through there. But

[46:44] um as as of now, I haven't seen much of an issue. But there is if you're driving

[46:49] through there sometimes difficulty to see traffic coming. So having a stop

[46:55] sign there, will it make a big difference? I'm not sure. Time will

[46:59] tell, but uh it's a it's a good thing that you're taking the time going around

[47:07] the city of Bvard looking at issues like this and I understand how long that

[47:11] takes. Um, so I just want to say kudos and I think that could make a big

[47:17] difference for those individuals traveling down Thomas and for those

[47:22] traveling up and down West Maine because it could it could be an issue there, but

[47:27] I haven't seen one over the past couple of years. Thank you.

[47:31] » Thank you, Mr. Jones. All right. Nobody else has signed up for the public

[47:37] hearing. Okay. Council, do I have a motion to close the

[47:43] public hearing? >> So, move.

[47:45] » Second. >> All in favor?

[47:46] » I. >> Public hearing is now officially closed.

[47:50] I will open it up now for questions and comments from council members. And we'll

[47:56] start with Mr. Lidle. >> No, no comment. I think it um I I I will

[48:01] like to see things like this go to the the safety committee. Um

[48:06] it's I'll have to understand why it's already not. I I'll uh I'll get that

[48:10] information from you at some other time. But yep, makes sense to me.

[48:15] » Mr. Daniel, >> um I agree with uh Mr. Jones. I walked

[48:20] it quite often down this road and I'm I've not observed any issues there. I

[48:28] was kind of wondering why it was an issue, but at the same time

[48:34] I can seems like a a low impact decision financially and logistically as well. So

[48:45] I don't see any problem with it. I'm just wondering why it was why it came

[48:49] up. I guess >> Mr. Baker,

[48:54] » I have no questions or comments. >> Miss Holder. No comments or questions.

[48:58] Thank you, >> Mr. Weise.

[48:59] » No comments or questions. >> Council, are you prepared to act on this

[49:05] tonight? If so, do I have a motion to approve the ordinance amending the city

[49:11] of Bvard traffic schedule? >> So moved.

[49:13] » Do I have a second? >> Second.

[49:16] » All in favor? >> I

[49:18] » opposed. Motion passes.

[49:22] » All right. Moving on to the consent and information.

[49:27] The following items are on the consent agenda. One, resolution in support of

[49:32] the roadless area area conservation rule. Two, capital project amendment

[49:38] Hillview Mills Avenue Culvert Repair $350,000.

[49:44] Three, Proclamation number 2026, TAC23, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

[49:52] Four, Rosenwald Community Advisory Board meeting minutes, May 21st, 2026.

[49:59] Five, Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee meeting minutes, July 15,

[50:04] 2026. Six, Rosenwald Community Advisory Board

[50:09] meeting session notes, July 16, 2026. Seven, Finance and Human Resources

[50:15] Committee meeting July 27th, 2026. and eight, public safety committee meeting

[50:21] minutes July 27th of 2026. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

[50:28] » So moved. >> Do I have a second?

[50:30] » Second. >> All in favor?

[50:31] » I proposed consent agenda is approved. Moving on to unfinished business.

[50:40] The first item is the proposed amendment to the city of Bvard Unified Development

[50:45] Ordinance Chapter 17 and the code of ordinances chapter 70 fats, oils, and

[50:52] grease regulations. And I believe our assistant city

[50:57] manager, David Todd, is going to talk to us about the fog.

[51:03] » Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Good evening, mayor, council. So last council meeting

[51:08] we uh brought a proposal before you for an amendment to the UDO unified

[51:12] development ordinance and the code of ordinances related to implementing an

[51:17] enforcable program on our fats, oil, and grease. As a reminder, um this was kind

[51:24] of uh brought forward from a compliance finding we had from the Department of

[51:30] Environmental Quality reminding us that our uh wastewater collection system

[51:36] permit requires us to have an enforceable fats, oil, and grease

[51:39] program. And the compliance finding letter uh asked us to be sure that we

[51:44] instated a program. So we do have a fat oil and grease program now but it is not

[51:50] currently enforceable. So had the presentation last council meeting and

[51:55] this evening we would like to ask if you would approve the or the I guess it's an

[52:02] ordinance resolution in front of you to uh approve those text amendments.

[52:08] » Okay. Thank you Mr. Todd Council. I will go ahead and open it up for comments and

[52:14] questions and we will start with Mr. Weise.

[52:18] » Uh I feel like I'm pretty familiar with this one because we've looked at it in

[52:22] committee and we've talked about a number of times. I think this could be a

[52:25] great program for Bvard and I really don't have any additional comments of

[52:29] what we've talked about before. Miss Holder,

[52:35] » trying to find again how it affects the taxes

[52:41] in your presentation.

[52:45] » Just how it how it affects taxes. >> Yes. Um there's no impact uh directly to

[52:51] taxes, but the fee schedule in the budget was revised in last year's budget

[52:58] to include um the different tier levels of uh fines or fees that could be

[53:05] assessed if folks uh failed to follow the guidance from the fog program.

[53:10] » That's what I was looking at. Okay,

[53:16] » I don't have any questions. Sorry. Okay, Mr. Baker.

[53:19] » Yeah. Um, just [clears throat] want to thank everybody for their work on this.

[53:22] I know it's a it's a kind of a dense document, so I know a lot of work went

[53:27] into it. And I'll just uh repeat what I said last time. I think just encourage

[53:32] staff to really have some proactive outreach to the restaurants and the food

[53:37] service providers we have in town, including, you know, the college and

[53:40] other places like that. And um I know you've already done a little bit of

[53:47] that, but I think just that communication is going to go a long way

[53:50] to uh not only getting compliance, but also getting it and keeping our

[53:56] restaurants happy with us and not not upset. So um

[54:02] keep up the good work. Daniel.

[54:06] » Um, I would just like to remind folks again that this is something that we're

[54:12] mandated to do. So,

[54:16] and I think it's pretty clear and u I think there has been some outreach with

[54:21] the local restaurants and merchants as to what we're doing and why. So, I

[54:27] appreciate that. Thank you, >> Mr. Widle.

[54:30] » Thanks for the work on this. Um the one thing that uh I would request is 12

[54:35] month report penalties, inspections we've done and any business impact that

[54:40] it's had. Um just so we can we can stay on top of that. And then obviously you

[54:46] know an education first um posture here before any penalties are

[54:53] are assessed. >> Yes sir. Thank you. Council, do I have a

[54:58] motion to approve the unified development ordinance in the code of

[55:01] ordinances amendments as presented? >> So moved.

[55:04] » Do I have a second? >> Second.

[55:06] » All in favor? >> I

[55:08] » opposed. It's approved. All right, we are moving on to new business.

[55:14] And that is the menu of options for surplus fund 82, the Rosenwald fund

[55:19] dollars. And I believe city manager is going to walk us through this.

[55:24] » Yes, ma'am. So, I'm going to ask council and everyone in the room to sort of take

[55:29] a mental picture of the table that's on the screen here because this is the

[55:34] funding proposal for the Cashers Valley Road sewer extension that I made a few

[55:39] weeks ago and that you all tabled. It does include a $25,000 contribution from

[55:44] the Rosenwald fund, but as you can see, the majority of it comes from other

[55:48] sources. Um, I'll call your attention to the far right column. That is the

[55:54] remaining balance in each of those sources after the contribution has been

[55:58] made. And so you can see that there is still money left in each of those

[56:03] accounts. Uh Shaunie, if you would please move on to the next table. Now,

[56:08] um we sent you a version of this table in your agenda last Thursday, but on

[56:14] Friday we got some new information and so there is a revised version of this

[56:19] table on the screen in front of you. Uh Shaunie, I wonder if you can make it so

[56:24] that we can see all all of it at the same time.

[56:30] A little Okay. All right. Almost. Um but here's the

[56:35] menu of options that we've put together for the fund 82 dollars themselves. As

[56:42] you can see at the top, well, no, as you can't see at the top, but I'll share

[56:46] with you that the balance is about $89,000.

[56:49] Um, before I get into the rest of my remarks, I want to say that uh uh

[56:58] $89,000 isn't really enough to do any significant infrastructure improvements

[57:03] on its own. And so even though back in the spring when you all instructed us to

[57:10] do this as part of the budget discussions, I think there was an

[57:14] expectation that it would be applied to infrastructure type projects. Um, I just

[57:19] want to say that I don't think it's realistic to be able to fund an entire

[57:23] infrastructure project with this alone. And so this is a mix of uh

[57:29] non-infrastructure projects and the early phases of potential infrastructure

[57:34] projects. The one exception to that would be the

[57:38] Cashers Valley Road um sewer extension, which we could fund entirely with these

[57:44] dollars if you so choose. And I think that's just luck. Just the circumstances

[57:48] of that, the fact that we'd be doing it all inhouse uh means that we could do

[57:53] that entire project for 88,000, but that's the exception.

[58:00] Referring to what you see on the screen here, one through four I think are

[58:06] pretty self-explanatory. I do want to draw attention to the first three lines

[58:11] there. what I'm dubbing uh option one, option one A, and option one B.

[58:16] [clears throat and cough] Those are permutations of the traffic calming uh

[58:21] project on Carolina Avenue. When we talked about this in the spring, that

[58:26] was a $14,000 project. Uh when we refined our number numbers, we

[58:31] discovered that it will actually be a little cheaper than that because the

[58:34] road is not as wide as Probart Street and so we only need two humps rather

[58:39] than three. And so we can cut that um cost down by a third. We can cut it down

[58:46] even farther if you decide to install two speed bumps instead of four. The

[58:53] original proposal was for four. Uh if we do two, it'll be slightly less

[58:59] effective, but we think still calm traffic on that street. Uh and we can

[59:03] cut that cost down in half. Again, that's option 1 A. Option 1B is to

[59:09] install two speed bumps on Carolina Avenue and then one a piece on McMmin

[59:15] to deter folks who might try to skirt around the Carolina Avenue traffic

[59:20] calming measures by taking those other streets. But one way or the other, um

[59:25] the most we'll spend on traffic calming in that area is $8,300. And in the

[59:30] spring, you did instruct us to move forward with that. And so, um, I I I am

[59:36] expecting the usable balance to be about $80,000 if we deduct $8,300 from the

[59:43] overall balance. Option two is the tax rebate program and

[59:48] and mayor, I think you have some information on that that might inform

[59:52] the conversation. >> Yes. [clears throat]

[59:53] Um, the tax rebate program is something that we have been trying to put in place

[59:58] for the last two years. Uh, we were not able to fund it last year. However, this

[1:00:04] year there was a grant opportunity with Dogwood uh health uh foundation uh for a

[1:00:12] collaborative grant and the city uh joined with the Haven, the Cove Sharing

[1:00:18] House and uh Pisca Legal and has put in a grant application for $500,000.

[1:00:27] uh it would be dispersed across those different organizations,

[1:00:30] but the city's portion of that grant is $60,000 specifically for the tax rebate

[1:00:38] program, $30,000 a year for the next two years. Today, this afternoon, I attended

[1:00:45] a meeting with Dogwood. They got 198 grant applications

[1:00:52] against the funding that they have. 40 of those grants went forward for a

[1:00:58] in-depth conversation. The collaborative grant that the city is

[1:01:03] part of was one of the 40 and we had that in-depth conversation with dogwood

[1:01:08] this afternoon. So that is very promising. I mean there is no guarantee.

[1:01:14] Uh but what they said was that they are planning to fund approximately 30 of the

[1:01:19] 40 uh that they have identified and are actually we spent an hour answering

[1:01:26] questions with Dogwood um and that they would be announcing the awardees around

[1:01:33] the middle of October. So because we have this grant out there and because it

[1:01:39] is looking so promising, I would ask council to hold any tax uh you know

[1:01:45] dollar funding of this in obeyance uh you know [clears throat] until we hear

[1:01:50] whether or not we actually get that grant uh because if we do then there

[1:01:54] would be no need to fund it out of this fund or any other fund. So that's the

[1:01:59] latest as of three hours ago. >> Thank you mayor and council. By the way,

[1:02:05] the HRNF committee approved a revised set of guidelines for that program. We

[1:02:10] haven't brought those to you for approval yet, but if it looks like this

[1:02:13] is going to be funded somehow, we'll bring those guidelines to you for full

[1:02:17] approval before we implement the program.

[1:02:22] Number four, of course, is the sewer extension I just described.

[1:02:26] And then five and six are the ones that need a little bit of explanation. Six

[1:02:31] being the one that is different from the table we sent to you last week.

[1:02:43] [snorts]

[1:02:47] Five Carver Street supplementary paving. At the moment, only portions of Carver

[1:02:54] Street are scheduled to be paved here in the next

[1:02:59] year or so. And even those are far enough down our

[1:03:04] paving list that we need to get our quotes back first before we know how far

[1:03:10] our dollar is going to stretch and whether those are going to be delayed

[1:03:13] even further. But if the pricing comes back as we expect,

[1:03:19] segments of Carver Street should be paved in the year to come. But it would

[1:03:24] be a patchwork. It would only be the sections that are damaged the most. And

[1:03:29] so number five would add some money from this account to our POW bill funds,

[1:03:34] supplementing them so that we can fund the entire stretch of Carver Street from

[1:03:39] Oaklan to um the city parking lot there. And then number six is the one that

[1:03:48] requires the most explanation, and I might need David to step up to the

[1:03:52] podium and help me out, but six is a proposal to use some of the fund 82

[1:03:59] balance to to fund the design and engineering of a larger

[1:04:04] capital improvement project to Carver Street and its intersection with

[1:04:10] Oakdale. Am I getting the roads mixed up? the street that runs by the church

[1:04:15] there. And this project would see the Carver Street sidewalk widened, made

[1:04:22] more ADA accessible, and the intersection of Cashers Valley

[1:04:29] Road and Oakdale near the church improved to enhance pedestrian safety.

[1:04:35] However, the cost of that project, the construction cost of that project would

[1:04:39] be probably $600 to $750,000. And so, we would need to find a new

[1:04:46] funding source in the future to actually pay for the construction. But this money

[1:04:51] would pay for the design and engineering so that we could have bid ready

[1:04:54] documents to release on that project. That project would be Powell Bill

[1:04:59] eligible. So POW bill could fund the whole thing or we could supplement other

[1:05:04] sources with POW bill. But if you chose to spend POW bill on the construction of

[1:05:09] that project, it would be about three years worth. And so it would delay

[1:05:13] paving of other needed streets across town for three years in order to

[1:05:18] construct that project. Um but David, if you can go into a little bit more detail

[1:05:22] about what that project would include. >> Yes, sir. I think you did a a good job

[1:05:27] of explaining it. the sidewalk portion that we are speaking of specifically.

[1:05:35] I [snorts] have to look as well because I I will say I'm backwards every time.

[1:05:38] From Oaklan down to Oakdale is where the sidewalk would be put in place and it

[1:05:44] would uh narrow the road about a foot um to allow the sidewalk to be made wider

[1:05:52] into in the street direction by about a foot. then it would at places right now

[1:05:57] there are utility poles in the middle of the sidewalk or on one edge of the

[1:06:01] sidewalk that restrict the width of the sidewalk. Adding that foot does not

[1:06:06] resolve that uh the width of the sidewalk that's needed for an

[1:06:10] accessibility issue. So, we would obtain uh encroachment easements on the few

[1:06:16] properties that have utility poles in front of them to allow the sidewalk to

[1:06:20] come around the utility pole in those places so that we would have a fully

[1:06:25] accessible width sidewalk in addition to a wider sidewalk. Um, another kind of

[1:06:31] complicating factor is that that sidewalk crosses many driveways as it

[1:06:35] comes down Carver. So there would have to be improvements made and ramp

[1:06:40] adjustments made everywhere the sidewalk crosses those driveways. So that would

[1:06:46] also require us to get uh a permanent encroachment agreement to um basically

[1:06:52] tear out and rebuild part of the sidewalk as well or excuse me the

[1:06:55] driveway as well as a temporary construction easement because that would

[1:07:00] go a little further up into the driveway to get the slopes set correctly right.

[1:07:05] So, you know, we may be working in three foot of their driveway, but we may have

[1:07:08] to reour six foot of the driveway to fix that. And then down at the bottom of the

[1:07:13] road right now, um, where Carver, it's not the bottom. Carver actually

[1:07:18] continues over to the Culver. It's a little confusing. It ends at Casher's

[1:07:22] Valley Road, but where Carver intersects Oakdale Dale there, the sidewalk there

[1:07:30] to Mary C. Jenkins is non-ontinuous. were missing about a 100 foot section of

[1:07:36] sidewalk and that has to do with our current inability to get an easement

[1:07:40] from that intersection to the Mary C. Jenkins Center. So, this project would

[1:07:45] take advantage of the width of the road to narrow the road a little bit, move

[1:07:49] the sidewalk into the the road and make a connection so that we would create a

[1:07:55] little landscape buffer and have that full connection from basically the

[1:07:59] church all the way to the Mary C. Jenkins Community Center. and then it

[1:08:02] would take that intersection and add proper crosswalks and accessibility

[1:08:07] ramps to all of that. So, it's a a very full uh it's a very full project. One

[1:08:14] thing, if if the work were done, the paving work is done first and then

[1:08:21] we do the sidewalk. We're going to end up tearing up some of the new paving

[1:08:25] work to do the sidewalk work. So it really proper construction sequence

[1:08:30] would really be to do the sidewalk work first and then the paving work. Now

[1:08:35] that's not to say it can't be done the other way, but it will wind up in new

[1:08:40] asphalt that in turn has patches on it. Mr. Hooper, anything else you want me to

[1:08:46] add to that? The one other um piece of information council that I think you

[1:08:51] need for your discussion tonight is that none of these are timesensitive except

[1:08:57] five. If you think you're leaning towards going for number five, we need

[1:09:02] to know that soon because we want to um let that contract as soon as we can.

[1:09:08] It's out on the street now. We're waiting for bids. We want to be able to

[1:09:11] act on those bids as soon as they come back in so we can reserve our spot and

[1:09:15] get that paving started as soon as possible in the spring. And so it would

[1:09:19] be helpful to know what the scope of that contract is going to be. And so if

[1:09:23] you're leaning towards five, we'd like to know that right away. If you're

[1:09:27] leaning towards any of the others, then it's less important and you can take

[1:09:31] another week or so to or another few weeks to decide um before you you give

[1:09:36] us our direction. One more piece on that too is it's two

[1:09:40] years worth of power bill spending. So it's roughly $500,000 worth of power

[1:09:45] bill spending on the paving that will occur. So it's a substantial amount of

[1:09:48] paving that I just don't want to miss our opportunity to get a slot to get on

[1:09:52] the contractor's schedule.

[1:09:57] » Thank you, Mr. Todd. Okay. Well, council, I'm going to open it up for

[1:10:03] comments and questions. And uh we'll start with Mr. Lidle.

[1:10:09] » You might want to stay up here. [laughter] It's I I just want to make

[1:10:13] sure I'm I'm following because um um got lost a little bit between five and six

[1:10:20] and all that. Yes, sir. >> So most of what you were discussing was

[1:10:24] six, correct? >> Yes, sir.

[1:10:25] » Okay. So, um >> all of all of what I was discussing is

[1:10:30] » is six. Okay. And so what I heard was is that if six were the option,

[1:10:36] um I I believe I heard that it would delay or it would it would uh redirect

[1:10:42] dollars from other projects. Is that is that right?

[1:10:46] » Did I hear correctly? >> If we chose to fund this with POW bill

[1:10:51] money, which it could be fully funded with POW bill money,

[1:10:53] » right? It's estimated to be somewhere in the $600 to $700,000 range, which is

[1:10:58] about three years of Powell Bill money, which is all the money we use to pave

[1:11:04] » the entire >> Yes, sir.

[1:11:05] » Yeah. >> So, it would move paving from other

[1:11:08] areas if if we used Powell Bill funding, >> right?

[1:11:13] » And otherwise otherwise we could try to find another another source. Um, and

[1:11:20] then if we were to choose five, um, would that be sort of lost dollars in

[1:11:28] work if later on we decided we really wanted to do six and find the funding

[1:11:33] for it? In other words, we pave um sections with with uh with what's

[1:11:40] already scheduled, the way we supplement that, right? pave, then we want to do

[1:11:45] the, you know, the intersections and the complete improvements, we would have to

[1:11:49] repave again. Is that correct? >> We wouldn't have to necessarily repave

[1:11:55] fully, but it will um >> for whatever reason, the the way the

[1:12:00] pavement condition assessment is done, it breaks Carver Street up into four

[1:12:04] sections, >> and those are prioritized differently.

[1:12:08] They're not kind of prioritized top to bottom. So, for example,

[1:12:13] um Cunningham to Jordan is in the highest

[1:12:18] priority category. Oakdale to Casters Valley Road is in the highest priority

[1:12:22] category. Oakdale to Cunningham is in the next year's priority. And then

[1:12:28] Jordan to Oakdale is in the next year's priority. So, you know, if we were to

[1:12:32] take this money and if we were to spend current POW bill funding to do Carver,

[1:12:38] you would have one little piece up here and one little piece down here. Then

[1:12:42] when the sidewalk is done, that work would be cut, especially if we move the

[1:12:47] the sidewalk into the road. So, we'll have to patch some of that back. So,

[1:12:51] it'll just your nice new asphalt section is going to now have a a patch on it,

[1:12:57] right?

[1:13:01] Um,

[1:13:04] so the um

[1:13:09] can I add another >> Sure.

[1:13:11] » Mr. Hooper, do we want to discuss the other option we had talked about with

[1:13:15] accessibility? >> Yes. So, one other possible option would

[1:13:21] be to just do sidewalk enhancements where the utility poles are in the

[1:13:28] sidewalk. And there's one place I think you're familiar with where there's a a

[1:13:33] wall and a and a utility pole both on the sidewalk. So, we could address just

[1:13:39] those portions of the sidewalk to help with the the width and the

[1:13:44] traversability of it. It doesn't make it accessible. It doesn't make it any

[1:13:48] wider. It doesn't fix any of the driveway crossings, but that would be

[1:13:52] another potential option to help the sidewalk. That's probably I'm I'm

[1:13:58] guessing it might be $20,000 to to correct those two items that then might

[1:14:05] get further adjustments when the whole sidewalk was done.

[1:14:09] » Okay. And

[1:14:13] 1B is two speed bumps on on two separate two separate streets.

[1:14:24] » Sorry. Can you can you explain >> four speed bumps?

[1:14:28] » Two on >> Oh, two on each.

[1:14:29] » Yeah. Two on Carolina, one on Washington, and one on

[1:14:33] » Got it. And that's to that's to prevent from,

[1:14:36] you know, redirect of of traffic trying to get around the speed bump.

[1:14:40] » Yes, sir. >> Well, um,

[1:14:43] you know, first of all, a full public disclosure, I live on Cover Street and

[1:14:47] but I I promise it's it's not because I I live on Cover Street, but it is um but

[1:14:53] it does lend itself to me knowing what the issues are. Um if you're getting to

[1:14:58] this nice new beautiful um community center from downtown and you want to

[1:15:04] encourage walking, Carver Street is where you're going. Um and today um

[1:15:09] there are um lots of falling hazards. There's footprints that folks can trip

[1:15:15] over. Um and like uh the manager said, there are um there are utility poles

[1:15:21] that have concrete blocks around them, which is also a hazard. And also I have

[1:15:26] a family member and I'm sure there's others. It's it's it's actually

[1:15:30] impossible um to get down uh Carver Street in a wheelchair. It's it's

[1:15:36] impossible. You have to actually will in the in the road. Um so for all those

[1:15:41] reasons I think it is important. Um and so for me um and another thing I would

[1:15:46] think um uh can you can you help me understand

[1:15:51] um since there is a there's a large um uh budget left in in

[1:16:01] sewer budget and this budget is so small.

[1:16:07] Why why not take Why are we proposing to take 25,000 from

[1:16:12] this from this budget into a suit and not use SER funds?

[1:16:20] going back up to the table before I answer.

[1:16:29] We've been deliberately trying to build up our reserves in the utility fund in

[1:16:35] preparation for the big expense that's on the horizon and that's the wastewater

[1:16:39] treatment plant um improvement. Also, the

[1:16:46] » [snorts] >> um Cashas Valley Road sewer extension is

[1:16:50] really a general fund project because it's in support of housing, which is a

[1:16:54] general fund u funded endeavor. And so I didn't think it was fair to tax the

[1:17:03] savings in the utility fund that we know we're going to need

[1:17:07] um for a voluntary project when we had a another source of general fund dollars

[1:17:14] available for voluntary projects.

[1:17:20] Well, um you know, when we discussed this and obviously there there was some

[1:17:25] opposition, but we ended up um deciding that um these funds would go to

[1:17:33] infrastructure projects um in the Rose Mall fund and and at that

[1:17:37] time um and I still, you know, believe the same the same way is that those

[1:17:43] should be visible projects and especially since we do have another fund

[1:17:47] and specifically earmarked for sewer. Um, I think those are the funds that we

[1:17:52] should use for this. And the the $25,000 in that fund represents a a pretty small

[1:17:59] percentage, whereas in this fund, it represent a really large percentage. And

[1:18:04] I uh appreciate the fact that there's a lot of projects that because it's not a

[1:18:09] lot, um, complete projects are few and far between, but there are some in here.

[1:18:15] Um and namely um Carolina Avenue. Um I think that's a

[1:18:20] visible project that goes straight to um you know you know [clears throat]

[1:18:26] u the neighborhood and it's and it's um something that that we know we need to

[1:18:31] do. Uh and then I would advocate for and I know we don't need to make this

[1:18:35] decision tonight but then again if it is number five we do. I would advocate for

[1:18:40] number five. Those are two complete projects that would be done with these

[1:18:44] funds and they're also visible. Um and they also would um

[1:18:50] would relieve dollars from the general fund in uh what would otherwise be used

[1:18:55] from the general fund. So that's that's my thoughts those two.

[1:18:59] » Thank you Mr. L. Mr. Daniel. Um, so the uh my first point would be that we did

[1:19:08] say that we were going to do the Carolina Avenue traffic coming in at our

[1:19:13] earlier meetings and I would say that I would personally

[1:19:17] prefer oneb uh simply because [snorts]

[1:19:21] as was pointed out to deter evaders u that we would hope to not create a

[1:19:29] problem somewhere else by calming the traffic on Carolina. So, that seems to

[1:19:34] me to be a given. Um, the tax rebate program, I'm not sure why it's on here

[1:19:41] because, as was pointed out, this was intended to be uh for infrastructure in

[1:19:48] the Rosenwall community and this is obviously not

[1:19:52] uh infrastructure and it's not I don't think would be limited to the Rosenwall

[1:19:58] community. Is that not correct? >> That's correct. would be citywide, which

[1:20:03] would be great. I think it's a great idea. I'm just not sure how it comes out

[1:20:09] of this fund after the discussions that we've had in the past. Um the U

[1:20:16] Silverstein Park money, this uh the seed money for the Silverstein Park shelter

[1:20:23] seems to be a workaround uh to some of our reluctance to fund this at this

[1:20:29] point. So, I'm not in favor of that. Um, the uh hack cashers valley sewer

[1:20:37] extension has to happen in my mind. That's a priority. Um,

[1:20:43] whether it comes from here or comes from the sewer fund, um, that's obviously

[1:20:50] something to be discussed, but if I were spending this money, I would be making

[1:20:55] sure that that happened. Um and then Carver Street, you know, if it's already

[1:21:01] in place, as I understand that that's going to happen regardless of the

[1:21:06] funding from this, uh fund. Is that correct?

[1:21:10] » Portions of it. >> Portions of it.

[1:21:12] » Yes, sir. >> So, um again, my priority is is going to

[1:21:19] be the housing period. That's all I have.

[1:21:24] » Mr. Baker. >> Yeah, I'll start with a basic question.

[1:21:28] So, why why is Duke Energy, a multi-billion dollar company with

[1:21:33] record profits, allowed to put telephone poles in the

[1:21:38] middle of sidewalks?

[1:21:42] You may not have an answer, but I I this this is a thing that happens all over

[1:21:47] the city and I know that we have happened

[1:21:52] to run into issues with Duke asking them to move polls previously and it's like

[1:21:58] takes an act of Congress to even get them to consider it. And then when

[1:22:03] they do consider it, they give you a price tag that's like astronomical.

[1:22:08] And I just think as a small city that's

[1:22:13] trying to do what's right for people to move around safely,

[1:22:18] especially people who are handicapped or in a wheelchair, it's just absurd that

[1:22:24] Duke Energy is not willing to help out with things like that and that we're the

[1:22:28] ones that have to go around their polls. And I've seen them

[1:22:33] replace a pole, put it right back where it was,

[1:22:38] which I don't even know how that's legal because if we replace something and we

[1:22:43] don't bring it up to ADA compliance, then we're in trouble. But Duke can just

[1:22:49] plop in a brand new pole, rering everything up, and good to go. I just I

[1:22:55] know that's a tangent from what we're actually talking about, but it just

[1:22:58] drives me nuts. And I would actually [clears throat] like us to talk to our

[1:23:02] representatives at Duke about helping us out about this because it's not just

[1:23:06] Carver Street. Carver Street is probably the worst

[1:23:10] um situation because it's on an incline and there's some other things going on

[1:23:14] there. But but we've got this all over the city and it it it drives me crazy.

[1:23:18] Um okay, so back to this the question on number six,

[1:23:25] the construction of that. I know you put you put a big pretty big price tag on

[1:23:30] that 650 to 700. Is there any part of that that can be phased can be done in

[1:23:36] phases or is that all all or nothing all at once?

[1:23:45] » I think it uh you could definitely uh phase it. You would probably spend a

[1:23:51] little more money in phasing it. I mean, you could choose to do the, you know,

[1:23:55] top third of the of Carver coming down the hill or the bottom third coming up,

[1:24:01] um, or half of the road. I mean, I'm sure we could do that, but we are

[1:24:05] because we're narrowing the road, you know, we'd have to,

[1:24:08] » right, >> or some kind of transition that you

[1:24:10] would then later remove. The paving is included in that number. The paving

[1:24:17] could be patched and delayed, but it's already in, you know, really rough

[1:24:21] shape. Um, we could leave out the crosswalk at the bottom, but I think

[1:24:27] that's a uh lower cost item than what's there. The number here is is design.

[1:24:36] Having that design done would allow us to, you know, more fully and carefully

[1:24:41] budget. we could uh put it on the street and see what it what it actually cost.

[1:24:47] We might make a decision we couldn't afford it once we actually had a you

[1:24:51] know real bid number. Um but there are there's a significant amount of design

[1:24:57] work that has to happen with the easements being acquired. That's part of

[1:25:01] this is assuming we can get the easements right because every every

[1:25:05] driveway, every yard that has a utility pole, one of the houses has a little

[1:25:10] like garden wall that'll have to be moved and redone. Um it potentially has

[1:25:15] some impact on the church. There's a set of stairs that exit the church on the

[1:25:21] one end nearest the sidewalk. I I don't think it's impacted, but it might. we

[1:25:26] would want to look at that and make sure that we, you know, didn't do anything

[1:25:29] that impeded or changed that if we did anything on that end. Um, but I I think

[1:25:34] there's some opportunity, but it would it would ultimately cost more money,

[1:25:38] » right? >> Um,

[1:25:43] well, I I really I guess I I feel like that sidewalk

[1:25:48] enhancement is is it's a high priority for me. I mean, I I travel that way a

[1:25:55] lot and walking or u driving or on a bike and it's it's pretty clear that the

[1:26:03] the sidewalk infrastructure there is just I mean it's probably the worst

[1:26:08] we've got in the city. Um and we're going to have to address it at some

[1:26:12] point. I understand that's not visible. Um, and it's tough to

[1:26:17] to assign dollars to something like that that's that's not going to be, you know,

[1:26:24] it's not going to be a completed project, but but we do need to plan for

[1:26:28] it. Um, and and we don't have the money to plan for it right now.

[1:26:33] Um the

[1:26:37] on the on the house the housing front and and the hack project. I just want to

[1:26:44] remind everyone that this is kind of it it's connected to a grant that we're

[1:26:49] that we've applied for that. I can't remember the total amount of the grant.

[1:26:56] Do you remember >> six million? Is Emily over there? I

[1:26:59] can't see her. Oh, she is. Okay. Um, and if we get that grant, not only would

[1:27:06] it build 26 homes in Rosenwald that would be um, affordable for and home

[1:27:14] ownership, not rental homes, uh, home ownership, but the grant also included a

[1:27:19] million dollars for home repair for existing homes. Um, and those are

[1:27:25] restricted to or not restricted, but we would focus those efforts in Rosenwald

[1:27:30] as well. So, homes that need a new roof or um a ramp

[1:27:38] for someone to enter them, uh that's a million dollars uh that would go towards

[1:27:44] existing homes to uh to update them. Um, so in my mind, I mean, that's that's a a

[1:27:53] great return on investment of, you know, building the the sewer project so that

[1:27:58] that grant can be can move forward. Um, and, you know, being able to build not

[1:28:06] only build home affordable homes for folks, but also repair existing homes in

[1:28:11] in the neighborhood. Um, and then finally, since Dean got us

[1:28:16] started talking about where we live, I live on Mcmmin. Um, and the I appreciate

[1:28:24] the the idea behind putting speed bumps not just on

[1:28:30] Carolina, but also on the surrounding roads so that people don't cut through.

[1:28:34] I will say that Washington, if you if you live over there or travel

[1:28:39] those streets, you the exit of Washington onto Silverstein is is crazy.

[1:28:46] There's like a like a what is that like a five foot drop, six foot drop.

[1:28:51] Yeah. And I I find it hard to believe that people would want to navigate that.

[1:28:56] It's kind of its own traffic calming. Um so I'm not sure a speed hump is

[1:29:01] necessary on Washington. Um, and I would think about maybe allocating that

[1:29:07] somewhere else. Maybe we get an extra uh hump on Carolina. But, uh, but I I do

[1:29:12] agree with um, Gary. we did in the budget. You know, I think there was

[1:29:18] consensus that we would move forward with those traffic calming projects and

[1:29:23] we've heard we've continued to hear from folks on Carolina and other people in

[1:29:28] the neighborhood um that that speeding is an issue over

[1:29:32] there. Um, so I my personal preference on this,

[1:29:40] um, and this would be a bit of a compromise here would be we move forward

[1:29:45] with one of the traffic calming measures at $8,300.

[1:29:50] um we move forward with the Carver Street sidewalk um enhancements

[1:29:57] and then the remainder which I have as 20,000

[1:30:02] $669. So that's you know four 4,000 and change less than

[1:30:10] the original $25,000 request from for the hack sewer. Um that

[1:30:18] we do that as well. So that would be three different

[1:30:23] projects.

[1:30:29] » I believe the design cost was the update on item number.

[1:30:35] » Right. So, I've got 60,000 for the sidewalk,

[1:30:40] 8,300 [clears throat] for um the traffic calming, and then the

[1:30:46] difference of the total that

[1:30:50] » what's left in the fund I had at 20,000 >> about 20,000

[1:30:53] » 600. So, we would use that for the >> the sewer extension,

[1:31:00] » Miss Holder.

[1:31:03] Okay. I have lots of comments and questions. Um the first thing that comes

[1:31:10] to mind is first of all I would like to hear from the public hear from residents

[1:31:14] about what they want. Um we see the six options. I can give you my opinion and

[1:31:21] my option but is that what our constituents want? Um so I'd like to

[1:31:28] hear from the public. I'd also like to hear options about what we can do about

[1:31:34] the sewer extension. If this money were not here from Rosen Wall, how would you

[1:31:38] address that problem? Perhaps we could go to the developer or find ways other

[1:31:43] ways to do it as has been done when other homes were built. So that would be

[1:31:48] my next question is to give us options as one of our citizens has already asked

[1:31:53] us. I want to highlight that and say even more so I'd like to see options um

[1:31:59] for the sewer extension for cashiers. This is not the only option

[1:32:05] and it can't be because Rosen Wall's money has not always been there and we

[1:32:10] have other sewer projects that are complete. So I'd like to see other

[1:32:13] options. Um Silverstein Park was promised a restroom

[1:32:19] and a shelter years ago. I've been hearing it ever since I got here that

[1:32:23] they were promised that years ago. Still don't have a restroom. Still don't have

[1:32:28] a shelter. And as was pointed out um before this conversation began, if there

[1:32:34] is seed money there, it may be easier to find more money and people to invest so

[1:32:39] that Silverstein Park can have a restroom and a shelter. Um

[1:32:45] how are the roads and the sidewalks paid for now? And how did this, to your

[1:32:50] point, um the sidewalk in Rosenwald get to be the worst in the city before it

[1:32:57] was addressed even now? So that's that's another concern. We have already given

[1:33:03] 11,000 or 14,000 to the soccer field from this fund. And so we're chipping at

[1:33:09] it bit by bit and there still won't be a shelter and there still won't be a

[1:33:13] restroom. So I would like to see what the other options are. It's a small

[1:33:17] budget. Uh to uh Lidle's point, it's a small budget. It's not that much money.

[1:33:23] $89,000 is not that much money. And so I feel like that there can be other

[1:33:28] options to address these other problems and get back to maybe the promise that

[1:33:32] was made years ago and address that. Um when um other another community came and

[1:33:41] needed speed bumps, it seems like it happened expeditiously. And so why are

[1:33:46] we having to go into this fund to get speed bumps? And so those are my

[1:33:51] questions. Those are my comments. Those are my concerns. And I would like to

[1:33:55] before we move forward in this and not make a decision tonight to get comments

[1:34:01] from our constituents, find out what everybody wants and let's be in

[1:34:05] agreement with this. >> Mr. Wise.

[1:34:10] » Yeah. One question first about the um HAC housing.

[1:34:14] » [clears throat] >> We were talking about time-sensitive

[1:34:16] projects. Is that not a little time-sensitive to get that funded,

[1:34:22] whatever way we choose to do it? >> I mean, there's got to be a a finite

[1:34:27] timeline on this. >> Well, we've made the commitment.

[1:34:29] » Yeah. >> And so,

[1:34:30] » well, that's what I'm worried about. >> That's right. And so, we've sort of

[1:34:34] reset the shot clock a little bit by making the commitment. Um,

[1:34:39] but we don't need to know uh where the money is coming from until the invoice

[1:34:44] comes to and we don't expect that to be till when do we learn about the when do

[1:34:49] we learn about whether we receive the grant or not?

[1:34:51] » We are hoping to find out about the grant in November. um we then would need

[1:34:56] to move pretty quickly on the actual excuse me on the actual construction of

[1:35:02] that because um not only would it be contingent on that federal dollars but

[1:35:07] um hack would then be able to move forward with their project and and slot

[1:35:13] in some other funding sources. Um, but I I will just as a reminder, the

[1:35:19] uh sewer extension is part of our agreement in giving hack that property

[1:35:26] for affordable housing. So, it it's part of a larger agreement for for that site

[1:35:30] to be able to be feasible for housing in the first place. So, um though the

[1:35:35] actual construction on it is is going to be on a quicker timeline if we're able

[1:35:39] to get this grant, um it is something that was still part of the the

[1:35:43] contemplation of the site in the first place. [clears throat]

[1:35:45] » Okay. Thank you. Um, so we we made a very clear promise I

[1:35:52] feel like during our budget negotiations about what this um, you know, remember

[1:35:58] this money was moved into fund 82 from our general fund and we made a promise

[1:36:04] to keep it there for infrastructure dedicated to Rosenwald as a commitment

[1:36:09] to um to that community and to the needs of infrastructure which may or may not

[1:36:15] have and have been neglected over time. And so we're trying to do what we can to

[1:36:20] improve that infrastructure improvement. Um I will also say the number top two

[1:36:26] things that I hear about and I think most of city council hears about are is

[1:36:30] affordable housing and sidewalks and streets. Those are certainly the top two

[1:36:36] that I hear about and and people are there is no housing uh in our community

[1:36:42] and all over the city. Now, Carver may be one of the worst. It's it's not the

[1:36:48] only worst one. We have issues. And Rosenwald is is is lucky because it's

[1:36:54] the only neighborhood that has a discrete fund right now that we made a

[1:36:59] promise to use for these exact projects. So, I want to honor that promise and use

[1:37:08] this for those kind of infrastructure projects. And as Mr. Baker said the the

[1:37:14] housing hack housing to me is critical because one it's the number one thing we

[1:37:19] hear about. It is home ownership and it could provide a million dollars for home

[1:37:26] repair targeted in Rosenwald which is an opportunity I think we cannot pass up.

[1:37:33] And then Carver Street. My mom was in a wheelchair for a long time and I've

[1:37:39] actually seen people on Carver trying to negotiate that street and I just don't

[1:37:45] see how if we have the option to move forward and and fix it that we don't.

[1:37:50] Um, you know, I think it is one of the worst sidewalks in the community and I I

[1:37:56] can't justify why that is the case, but we have a chance now to to fix that and

[1:38:01] I feel like that's that's really critical for us. And finally, during our

[1:38:06] budget retreat, we did make a promise to deal with Carolina Avenue. I mean, we we

[1:38:11] made that clearly. We we talked about it. So for me, I love all the things in

[1:38:17] this list and I think this is why making these decisions

[1:38:22] um can be really challenging because yes, I would love to fund all of them,

[1:38:26] but we can't we can't do that. Um so we have to prioritize

[1:38:31] and when I hear what the public tells me about what their priorities are, I think

[1:38:35] this list sort of begins to to sort itself. Um, and so that's why I would be

[1:38:42] in favor of of the Carver sidewalks. I'm very apprehensive about paving Carver

[1:38:48] and then having to go back and tear it back up. Um, to me the the housing is

[1:38:53] critical. I don't I don't see that's so important. And then we made we did make

[1:38:58] a promise to Carolina Avenue. And that's all I have.

[1:39:04] » Miss Holder, did you have another comment?

[1:39:05] » I do. um for Emily. She's still here. She's there.

[1:39:09] » Yes, she's here. >> Um when the promise was made to provide

[1:39:15] the sewer extension, where were you all thinking the funding was coming from at

[1:39:18] that time? Because this funding was not brought up.

[1:39:24] it was >> well um the the first part of that I

[1:39:28] guess is that the total project cost and it's eluding me right now what the

[1:39:33] original project cost was but um the project costs went up significantly with

[1:39:38] um the Culver improvements and and um expansion that needed to be done. So

[1:39:43] that made it uh much more expensive than originally anticipated because of the

[1:39:47] route it needed to take. Um I cannot speak towards the the remainder of that.

[1:39:53] Do you know how much more? >> I can get it in one second.

[1:40:00] » Um, [snorts]

[1:40:03] and it's not that you all know how I feel about housing. I feel very strongly

[1:40:07] about it. I don't disagree, but I feel like this project was already

[1:40:12] discussed and decided upon to build the housing project and provide sewer before

[1:40:18] the Roser Raw money came up. And so I'm trying to understand why we're trying to

[1:40:22] put it in there. Um in in other words, look at other options.

[1:40:27] Um >> Shnie, while she's looking, would you

[1:40:30] bring the other table back up on the screen, please?

[1:40:34] » And then the other issue with the uh million dollars that's been mentioned a

[1:40:38] couple times. I think that we need to do something to provide trust in the

[1:40:44] community. I've been hurt told that historically there was money that was

[1:40:49] given to the Rosen Wild community, a grant corre correct me if I'm wrong, but

[1:40:55] they didn't see what was promised and anybody can correct me if I'm wrong. So,

[1:41:02] I think that we need to build up the trust in the community that if if this

[1:41:05] million dollars comes, who is it going to serve and in what way

[1:41:11] rather than just getting a little trash can or something. So, I'm y'all

[1:41:18] know I'm transparent and um I'm just trying to get to the answers and get to

[1:41:22] the bottom of it and be fair. Uh when it comes to the infrastructure with the

[1:41:26] seat with the streets, uh Carver is um in need of repair and so is Mills

[1:41:32] Avenue. is is poor and uh I've been driving that route

[1:41:38] since um the detours there and it's it's in poor condition and both roads lead to

[1:41:45] the uh center.

[1:41:50] » Thank you, >> council member. This is the funding

[1:41:53] strategy that I proposed for the sewer extension a few weeks ago. And note that

[1:41:58] it did include 25,000 from fund 82. >> Okay, I understand that. But I'm going

[1:42:02] back before three weeks ago, even to last year when we talked about housing,

[1:42:09] building the housing in uh on cashiers. The

[1:42:14] » we weren't talking about Rosenwall money at that time.

[1:42:18] » I I can't speak to to that, but the original cost estimate was about 40,000

[1:42:23] for design and materials with city staff labor. And then um because of the added

[1:42:28] complexities of the area uh the proposal was at 88,400.

[1:42:36] » So where was that coming from when the promise was made to provide the sewer?

[1:42:43] » It was unfunded because there wasn't as there wasn't a time crunch. Um

[1:42:49] that was when we set the budget. We didn't know that we were going to apply

[1:42:53] for this grant that was going to accelerate the schedule as much as it

[1:42:57] did. >> So, can we get other options?

[1:43:03] » Well, so as you can see in the right hand column there, those are the

[1:43:06] » those are the options you're providing. >> Yes, ma'am.

[1:43:12] » I would like to see Rosen Wall taken out of those options.

[1:43:31] I don't

[1:43:35] » sewer fund. >> Yeah, that's

[1:43:39] » Yeah, I'd like to see other options. >> The sewer fund is there.

[1:43:45] » Okay. Thank you. We have additional comments, Mr.

[1:43:48] » L. Yeah, I just, you know, I want to re try to reiterate in case folks didn't

[1:43:54] didn't hear my first comments. Um, $25,000 on an $88,000 budget is a pretty

[1:44:02] large percentage. I'm terrible at math. I'm sure somebody knows what that is.

[1:44:06] $25,000 on a $2.4 million budget. Um, I'm not sure why we're even

[1:44:14] discussing it, to be honest. take it out of the the fund that water sewer is

[1:44:19] meant for water and sewer. And if all you need is 25,000,

[1:44:25] um I'm not sure why it needs to come out of

[1:44:29] anywhere other than the water and sewer budget.

[1:44:32] It's not a it's it's not like there's $500,000

[1:44:37] uh shortfall where we need to find other other areas. $25,000 taken out of out of

[1:44:44] that um out of the fund balance. At the end of

[1:44:49] the day, I'm not sure I'm not sure why we need to redirect any of those dollars

[1:44:55] to take $25,000 out of an $88,000 budget. And also I just wanted to say um

[1:45:02] affordable housing obviously, but remember anyone

[1:45:08] um including folks that don't live in Transsylvania County can can

[1:45:14] um take advantage of of the housing uh that's going up in Rosenwald. they can

[1:45:20] obviously uh we're doing our best to communicate that to the folks in in the

[1:45:25] community and the folks Bvard folks in Transsylvania County, but um the most

[1:45:31] recent communication that I've heard is that very few very few um so far are uh

[1:45:39] you know currently live in the community.

[1:45:42] And that's no one no one's fault. That's just the reality. So, um the the housing

[1:45:51] can happen, but this isn't um it will happen whether or not $25,000 is taken

[1:45:58] out of this fund. So, let's again I say, you know, let's let's let's put it in

[1:46:04] infrastructure projects that are that are visible. Um

[1:46:10] $60,000 for engineer drawings. I know they're necessary. Um,

[1:46:19] but I I I I think that we get a finished product if we if we um

[1:46:28] supplement the the power bill, the work that's already being done. We get a

[1:46:31] finished product and it's it's safe right away. Um, and I would say that

[1:46:37] that street is is likely used. Um it's likely a very main thoroughfare to get

[1:46:46] from downtown um to the community center and back. Not

[1:46:52] to say that folks don't come from other other streets. Um so again I' I'd

[1:46:57] reiterate I'm not sure if it's a debate that we should be having to be honest.

[1:47:02] $25,000 take it from the fund that it's earmarked for water and sewer and uh

[1:47:07] Carolina Avenue. I think we're all in agreement of that. Um and then um again

[1:47:12] I would advocate just to get the project uh complete and safe and folks can walk

[1:47:17] up and down the street. >> I'd like to make a comment.

[1:47:22] » Yes, Mr. D. >> So I was against establishing this fund

[1:47:27] when we discussed it in our budget organization. I felt like it was

[1:47:34] creating a fund just for one community at the expense of the other communities

[1:47:39] in our city. And so now we sit here uh we created

[1:47:43] this fund for infrastructure in Rosenwall and now we're sitting here

[1:47:48] having a debate about not spending it for infrastructure in Rosenwall

[1:47:55] because the hack community is in Rosenwall. We are talking about sewer

[1:48:02] infrastructure and the people who will be living in

[1:48:05] those houses are going to be citizens of the

[1:48:09] Rosenwall community by the fact that they live there. Um, so I I don't

[1:48:16] understand why this is a problem, why anyone would say that we shouldn't spend

[1:48:22] this money on this sewer system. I mean, if there is money elsewhere, that's

[1:48:28] fine. But I think the point's been made that that money is needed elsewhere as

[1:48:34] well. So this is money that's unallocated.

[1:48:39] We're what we're trying to do here is allocate the money and this is a small

[1:48:45] amount that's coming out of a fund that was

[1:48:49] created for this purpose. So I don't get it. uh

[1:48:57] is $25,000 of infrastructure in Rosenwall which is

[1:49:02] what this fund was created for. So say that

[1:49:08] » you madame mayor. May I make sorry I know round robin.

[1:49:12] » Yes. Go ahead M. I just I do want to say that in terms of this 2.5 million water

[1:49:18] sewer, I want to remind people that we are on the cusp of a 80 million

[1:49:24] wastewater treatment plant. So I don't know what the percentage of 80 million

[1:49:28] and 2.5 million is. But not to mention that we also would love to we're looking

[1:49:34] at a new water intake because we only have one water intake plant. So, not to

[1:49:41] mention the David, I don't know how many miles of

[1:49:45] underground infrastructure we have to maintain in terms of sewer and water

[1:49:49] right now that we just finished mapping um and have found multiple issues with.

[1:49:56] So, um I think it's a bit disingenuous to look at this 2.5 million is just

[1:50:01] money sitting around with no use. It's actually so overallocated at this point

[1:50:07] um with all the other infrastructures that would improve the entire city

[1:50:11] include including everyone who lives in Rosenwald. Um that I would just be

[1:50:17] careful about thinking of that as just money where whereas we do have a

[1:50:21] discrete fund specifically for infrastructure improvement in this

[1:50:27] neighborhood which is what we're talking about that here. So just be cautious

[1:50:32] when you when you talk when you see a number and try to figure out what that's

[1:50:37] really being used for. That's all. Sorry.

[1:50:41] All right. Well, we've had quite a good discussion on all of the options that

[1:50:47] the manager has put forward. As uh [clears throat]

[1:50:52] the staff report said, there was no action requested tonight. This was for

[1:50:57] information and discussion and to give the manager an idea of where people's

[1:51:04] position was. So, you're not looking for any actual motion or vote this evening.

[1:51:11] Is that correct? >> That's correct, manager.

[1:51:13] » It sounds like I've got a few follow-up items uh that I'll bring back um in the

[1:51:18] weeks to come. >> Okay. Very good. All right. We will

[1:51:24] quickly move on to our last item of new business

[1:51:28] which is the appointment of at large member to the acousta trail advisory

[1:51:33] board and I believe Mr. Lidle is going to present this.

[1:51:37] » Sure. The uh uh acousta trail board uh met uh we have um uh vacancies on the

[1:51:46] board. Uh we had applications from great uh great uh two great candidates that

[1:51:51] submitted um and we decided that uh given where we are um in the process for

[1:51:58] the acoustic trail board that Mr. Joseph Moore um was uh uh the strong uh the

[1:52:06] strong candidate that we'd like to put forward. So we're asking for that uh

[1:52:10] that appointment uh for Mr. uh Joseph Joseph Moore uh to fill that fill that

[1:52:17] seat. >> Okay. Council, do I have a motion to

[1:52:20] appoint Joseph Moore to the Acousta Trail Advisory Board?

[1:52:24] » So move. >> Do I have a second?

[1:52:26] » Second. >> Open it up for any other discussion.

[1:52:29] Miss Holder. >> No comments. Mr. Wise,

[1:52:32] » you know, the name is strangely familiar, so [laughter]

[1:52:36] I feel confident in this. >> Mr. Baker,

[1:52:39] » I have no comments. >> Mr. Daniel,

[1:52:41] » no comment. >> Mr. Lidle.

[1:52:42] » No cover. >> All in favor?

[1:52:44] » I. >> Motion passes. All right, that is the

[1:52:48] end of new business. We will quickly go through final remarks.

[1:52:52] » Oh, I don't know about that. >> Oh, yes. [laughter]

[1:52:57] All right. And uh we will go ahead and we will start with Mr. Weise.

[1:53:03] » I have no comments. >> Oh, boy.

[1:53:05] » Oh, excellent. [laughter] >> I'm basking in the love and I just

[1:53:12] Miss Holder. >> Okay, I'll I'll I'll take his time.

[1:53:17] [laughter] >> That wasn't That wasn't the implication.

[1:53:22] » I don't have many, but I I do want to say

[1:53:27] thank you, Chief. Thank you. Um I know that took a lot

[1:53:34] because when a leader makes a decision to do something and we have to go back

[1:53:38] on it uh is not without clear thought. Um the process of um letting go but also

[1:53:48] the process of realizing um what the people want and you did

[1:53:54] both. Thank you. Um

[1:53:59] to the

[1:54:03] the $2.5 million to Lawrence Point, the $25,000 in Rosenwald. I hate to keep

[1:54:11] beating this horse is only it's not it's about 1% of that 2.5. Am I right? I'm

[1:54:18] not a good mathematician, but it's not that much money um for money to Midle's

[1:54:24] point that was already set aside for sewer. So, I will always hold to that.

[1:54:30] Um I just had a realization here that is is bothering me. I heard someone say

[1:54:38] that um you know the citizens of Bvard I mean the citizens of Rosenwall and we

[1:54:44] should feel lucky that we have this money in Rosenwall. I think we if we can

[1:54:50] wrap our heads around myself included that we're not just citizens of

[1:54:55] Rosenwall we are citizens of Bvard. And if we look at each other like that we

[1:55:00] won't even have to have these conversations. All of the roads will be

[1:55:04] equally well taken care of. we wouldn't have to have conversations

[1:55:08] about where money is coming from from sewer because it's in Rosenwall.

[1:55:12] I think if we look at each other as citizens of Brevard

[1:55:16] and not you live here, I live there, but we all live together. We work together.

[1:55:22] We eat at restaurants together. I don't go to a restaurant and say I'm a citizen

[1:55:25] of Rosen Wall. I live in Bvard. That's what's on my license, driver's license.

[1:55:31] I live in Bvard. We live in Bvard. Amen.

[1:55:36] » Amen. >> That's all I got,

[1:55:40] » Mr. Baker. >> I I'll I will say amen to that. Um, but

[1:55:44] I also am going to uh speak on that a little bit further

[1:55:51] and

[1:55:54] say that

[1:55:58] the the existing of the existence of this

[1:56:04] Rosenald fund and what we did tonight was essentially like a budget exercise.

[1:56:11] And I think everybody up here is aware that like the most painful [laughter]

[1:56:16] things we do all year are budget exercises.

[1:56:21] And now we're talking about a budget exercise for a

[1:56:26] single a a neighborhood and a neighborhood with a history of

[1:56:32] um being underfunded by the city and all of you know I mean that that's

[1:56:41] putting it very lightly but it makes these conversations extremely

[1:56:48] difficult and hard and tense. And it creates a division

[1:56:54] amongst the folks up here that I just

[1:57:00] I don't enjoy it

[1:57:08] » because I'm sorry we have to think about and I

[1:57:12] live on Mcmmin, you know, Mickey Park. My neighbors are they're looking at me

[1:57:19] and And when we're having these discussions

[1:57:24] about the Rosenald Fund, you know what goes unset is that there

[1:57:29] are two black council members up here and there are three white council

[1:57:32] members up here. And no one I don't like thinking about

[1:57:36] that. I hate it. I hate it. [snorts]

[1:57:43] I don't want to do that anymore because as Councilwoman

[1:57:49] Holder said, we are all citizens of Bvard and

[1:57:55] that is why I I happens with the Rosenwald fund and

[1:58:02] we're going to make those decisions later. We we need to we need to close

[1:58:07] this chapter out. We need to do what's right.

[1:58:11] And I don't I'm not sure what that is right now, but we'll figure it out. And

[1:58:14] then we need to we need to get back to doing the business of the

[1:58:19] city as the whole city. And

[1:58:25] um I believe we can do that. Um I hope we can do that.

[1:58:31] And I'm going to move on to another tense

[1:58:36] topic, which is the the cameras. [laughter]

[1:58:39] Um, and we didn't get a chance to talk about him earlier, so I'm going to take

[1:58:43] a just a second now to talk about. And I do want to thank the chief um, uh,

[1:58:49] Councilman Lidle and I serve on the public safety committee, so we were, you

[1:58:53] know, we heard about this a lot, multiple meetings there. Um, and we

[1:58:58] hadn't served together very long, so, you know, you're always kind of feeling

[1:59:02] people out when you're on a committee with with them. And I it was great

[1:59:06] because I just like pushed my seat back and just let Dean go crazy with his

[1:59:12] questions and he asked so many good questions. Um and we learned a lot

[1:59:17] through that process. Um but here we are at the end. I I think uh again the chief

[1:59:24] did such a great job about uh informing us about the issue but

[1:59:32] beyond that she had policies written and ready to go um that I

[1:59:38] am comfortable saying would would keep um keep the citizens of Bvard safe and

[1:59:45] that our officers would um would handle that in a in a in a good way. Um, but

[1:59:54] as I learned more about this, I mean, these are not just cameras um connected

[1:59:59] to, you know, a server or a server that's located within the

[2:00:06] police department. You know, you think of them hooked up, they're going they're

[2:00:11] feeding into a tape machine somewhere like it's 1995.

[2:00:15] um the these photograph all this data is housed somewhere else Atlanta who knows

[2:00:22] where and you know we sign a contract that says well we own that data you know

[2:00:28] but and I'm not naive I know that the modern

[2:00:32] world um you know you own movies or you own music that you never actually hold

[2:00:38] in your hands but when we're talking about sensitive information from the

[2:00:42] public it's hard to trust a thirdparty multi-billion dollar security company um

[2:00:50] that this sensitive data is going to be safe

[2:00:55] and and that is why I I am not a fan of these and and moving forward with this

[2:01:02] right now. Um and I also think and I didn't get a chance to to say this at

[2:01:08] the committee level and I probably should have but I do think that there's

[2:01:12] a larger

[2:01:15] theme here which is the vision that we have for the police department and we've

[2:01:20] been through a lot with the department over the last few years. We had a

[2:01:23] complete uh turnover in the leadership over there. But throughout that, we were

[2:01:28] pretty clear we wanted a community-based uh police department that were out and

[2:01:33] about that we they were vis visible. And I know that this technology does not

[2:01:39] mean that they would be sitting behind a screen doing all their police work

[2:01:42] there. Um, but it does make you think about what putting cameras up symbolizes

[2:01:51] in terms of where our department is going. And uh and so I'm glad we didn't

[2:01:57] we didn't make that decision tonight. Uh I'm also glad that the public was able

[2:02:02] to weigh in and I'm really proud of the transparent process that we we undertook

[2:02:08] and um I hope we can continue doing that in the future.

[2:02:14] Um, [snorts] one question for Wilson. Have we heard a response from the county

[2:02:20] about with our letter on the courthouse? >> No, sir.

[2:02:23] » I discussed it today with their vice chair.

[2:02:27] » Okay. Just want to say that publicly. Um, still waiting on a response on that.

[2:02:33] Um, and that is all that is all I have. >> Mr. Daniel,

[2:02:40] » I'd like to thank Mr. Baker for his words about the Rosenwall

[2:02:45] account because I felt like those comments were directed at me personally.

[2:02:50] Uh as I am the one who used the term Rosenwall community, but uh this is a

[2:02:59] an a account that was set up that has the name Rosenwall on it. So, it is just

[2:03:06] the Rosenwall community's money and we've heard that said by members of the

[2:03:11] Rosen Wall community that it's our money,

[2:03:15] not that it's the city's money, it's their money. So, um but I won't pursue

[2:03:22] that any further. I do want to kind of bring back up u I'd kind of like to see

[2:03:27] us get refocused on the acousta trail some. I feel like we've as a council.

[2:03:35] We don't talk about it much and we're not really uh I still don't feel like

[2:03:40] we're ready for what's coming our way. Um, I read an article that, uh, David

[2:03:47] Bradley wrote about the acoustic trail and he mentions a fellow by the name of

[2:03:53] Steve Bert of the Institute of Transportation

[2:03:57] Research and Education at North Carolina State who I believe is has written a

[2:04:04] study on how this trail will affect the city of Bvard in particular. And I would

[2:04:10] ask that our staff follow up on that. If that actually exists, I'd be interested

[2:04:17] to see the results of that. But I would like to encourage us and remind us that

[2:04:23] the there's a title wave coming our way. It's called the Acousta Trail. It's

[2:04:29] going to be a huge economic driver and we need to be ready and I'm not sure

[2:04:34] that we are right now. So that's all I had to say.

[2:04:39] » Mr. Lidle. Um yeah, I I I I see uh tonight as a positive. Um we're elected

[2:04:47] to um to challenge each other. We're not elected for group think.

[2:04:55] And when we when we challenge each other, it allows us to get to decisions

[2:05:00] that uh that are best, right? So I see tonight as a complete positive and

[2:05:06] there's no one uh right after this meeting is over. If we can go quick

[2:05:10] enough I will have coffee with everyone. >> Also I grew up in Rosenwald.

[2:05:17] » I rode my bike every weekend. Uh Mo uh we rode together all the time to to

[2:05:24] Franklin Park. We played football by the library. This whole town is is all of

[2:05:31] ours. And I see myself um as a citizen of Bvard and my thoughts about tonight

[2:05:39] would have been the same. It doesn't matter where I lived in the city. My

[2:05:44] thoughts were based on logic, my own logic and what I thought was best. Not

[2:05:50] because I live in Rosenwald. I've prepared a statement tonight

[2:05:55] because I think it's worth it uh given uh what's transpired the the last few

[2:06:00] days and what tonight. So I I I I did that so that the the chief understands

[2:06:06] uh understands how important I think uh this is and I I just want to say a few

[2:06:12] words about the license plate discussion and the public session we held. Uh first

[2:06:17] I want to thank everyone who came to that and participated regardless of

[2:06:21] where everyone stood on the technology itself. I learned something important at

[2:06:25] that meeting. What I heard was a deep level of concern

[2:06:29] about privacy and especially about how much trust people currently have uh in

[2:06:35] the federal government and in large uh corporations when it comes to the

[2:06:39] personal information. It occurred to me that most citizens don't have many

[2:06:44] meaningful ways to push back on those larger institutions.

[2:06:48] They can't walk into a boardroom of a major tech company. And most people have

[2:06:53] very little direct influence over public over federal policy.

[2:06:58] But they can come here. They can stand in front of their city council and tell

[2:07:03] us what concerns them. In some ways, the discussion was about more than just

[2:07:08] three cameras in Bard.

[2:07:12] Uh this was one place where people felt uh they can make their voices heard

[2:07:19] uh about much larger concern over privacy and surveillance.

[2:07:23] I think it's important that we listened. I also want to recognize Chief Wel.

[2:07:29] She and her department put a tremendous amount of work into researching this

[2:07:33] technology, developing safeguards, answering our questions, and engaging

[2:07:37] with the community. Her decision to withdraw the request should not be

[2:07:42] viewed as a failure of proposal. I view it as a demonstration of

[2:07:47] leadership.

[2:07:51] She has only been chief for a relatively short time, but I've been very impressed

[2:07:56] with what I've seen. She's shown that public trust matters to

[2:08:00] her and that she's willing to listen even when that means considering

[2:08:05] something she believes could not be could help her department.

[2:08:09] There's a difference between having authority and having trust of the

[2:08:13] community you serve. The best public safety leaders understand you need both.

[2:08:20] I believe the chief demonstrated that here and I appreciate her leadership.

[2:08:26] This also doesn't mean that Bvard can never discuss emerging public safety

[2:08:30] technology again. It means that when we do, the community deserves to be a part

[2:08:35] of that conversation and public trust has to be a part of the decision.

[2:08:42] » Thank you, >> Mr. Attorney.

[2:08:47] » I have nothing to add. Just a reminder that we have a little bit of business to

[2:08:50] do after >> we have a close session. Yes, madame

[2:08:54] clerk. >> Nothing for me. Thank you,

[2:08:56] » Mr. Manager. Um, following up on um, Council Member Daniel's remarks, uh, a

[2:09:03] reminder to the board that at our next EAB meeting at the end of this month,

[2:09:07] there will be a presentation on the estimated cost of the trail. And we were

[2:09:11] holding off on doing a lot of additional work regarding the trail until we found

[2:09:16] out whether or not we were going to be able to afford it. And I can report that

[2:09:21] the estimated cost is within the realm of the of possibility. It's not $50

[2:09:26] million. It's not something gody that we could never afford. It's in the

[2:09:31] neighborhood of what we expected. There's still some work to do to close a

[2:09:34] small funding gap. Uh but I do think that the trail will move forward. We

[2:09:37] will be able to build it. And so we're going to pick up some of those issues

[2:09:41] that have been tabled uh for a little while, Gary. Uh and redouble our efforts

[2:09:46] to make sure we're prepared for the arrival of the trail here.

[2:09:51] » All right. Well, I too want to thank Chief Wel and I want to thank the public

[2:09:57] because one of our priorities as your elected leaders and our staff is to hear

[2:10:04] what people have to say. And we go out of our way to give opportunity to the

[2:10:09] public to come to us in different forums and express your opinion. And we do

[2:10:16] listen. That is so important. And yes, it is we the people and That was

[2:10:22] demonstrated, I think, very clearly with the public input session that we had

[2:10:28] such wonderful turnout at, as well as people coming here tonight prepared

[2:10:33] again to speak. Um, but your elected leaders listened to you. We heard your

[2:10:38] concerns and we reacted and took action on those. And that's what it's all

[2:10:44] really about. One of the other things we're going to start doing because we

[2:10:50] really do believe in transparency and we really believe in communication

[2:10:55] and that is we're going to start holding quarterly town hall meetings around the

[2:11:01] city in different portions of the city. We held one in Rosenwald a couple months

[2:11:07] ago. We're going to be holding our next one in the Pisca Forest section of

[2:11:12] Brevard. uh and uh it's going to be of course open to everybody, but it's going

[2:11:18] to focus on things that are happening in that section of town. And I just want to

[2:11:22] mention to people that that is going to be September 29th. So mark your

[2:11:28] calendars uh from 6:00 to 8 and we're going to hold it in the recreation

[2:11:33] center there and staff will be there to give updates on things like the acousta

[2:11:38] trail like uh what's happening at the rec center at the parking lot, what's

[2:11:43] happening with the proposed housing uh that looks like it might be moving

[2:11:48] forward on Morris Road. Uh, so, oh, and we're going to also have NC DOT

[2:11:54] come to talk about what's happening with the big NC DOT projects, including the

[2:12:00] Wilson Road uh, project. So, all of this is going to be at our next

[2:12:06] [clears throat] completely open, transparent town hall

[2:12:09] meeting. And so I encourage people to take advantage of the fact that we

[2:12:14] really are trying to put information out and then give you a chance to give us

[2:12:19] feedback afterwards. And so of course there'll be time for feedback there. So

[2:12:24] that is coming up. Um also on September 24th is my next meet the mayor meeting.

[2:12:31] I hold one every month. I've now held over 50 of them. Uh, and I encourage

[2:12:37] people, this is just another very good way informal setting to come and express

[2:12:43] any of your concerns or your suggestions. And it's 11:30 to 1 at the

[2:12:48] Mary C. Jenkins Center on September 24th. So, your city government really is

[2:12:55] here to represent you and to listen to you and we do want to hear from you. So,

[2:13:01] thank you. And with that, I need a motion to go into close session for

[2:13:06] economic development. >> So moved.

[2:13:08] » Do I have a second? >> Second.

[2:13:10] » All in favor? >> I.

[2:13:12] » We are in close session. Please stop.

Brevard City Council Meeting September 8, 2026

Transcript