[2:42] It being 6:00 p.m., I will call this
meeting to order as the mayor pro tem
[2:46] for the town of Clayton. I ask that you
stand as you are able for the pledge of
[2:50] allegiance and remain standing for the
invocation.
[2:56] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[3:01] republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[3:07] justice for all.
[3:13] » Let us pray.
Lord, we thank you for this day and for
[3:18] another opportunity to continue the work
at hand.
[3:21] We thank you for the town of Clayton and
for all who live here.
[3:25] Yes, we pray for our town, our mayor,
each council member, town manager, and
[3:31] every staff member who serve our
community.
[3:34] Continue to give us wisdom to make fair
choices
[3:37] that would be the best for our town and
each resident. Help us to work together
[3:41] with peace and unity
as we seek common goals.
[3:45] Bless this meeting tonight
that we will be pleasing unto you and
[3:49] bring you glory. For it is in Jesus name
we pray. Amen.
[4:00] » Do we have any adjustments to the
agenda?
[4:02] » Uh yes, we'd like to add a closed
session pursuant to General Statute
[4:06] 143-318.11.A.3
for a legal matter and five for a real
[4:11] estate matter.
[4:16] » Any other adjustments?
[4:20] I have those
adjustments noted and I can entertain a
[4:25] motion to adopt the agenda.
>> Motion.
[4:28] » Second.
>> We have a motion and a second. Any
[4:30] further discussion?
Hearing none, all in favor say I.
[4:34] » I.
>> Opposed like signed. Motion carries.
[4:38] Up next is your consent agenda.
[4:43] » Motion to approve.
>> Second.
[4:46] » We have a motion and a second. Is there
any further discussion?
[4:50] Hearing none, all in favor say I.
Opposed like signed.
[4:55] Motion carries.
Up next we have Mr. Shelton presenting
[4:59] our most recent episode of Clayton for
you.
[5:09] » Mayor Pro Tem, Town Council.
Tonight we bring another episode of
[5:13] Clayton for you. Um
tonight's episode is about 811 call
[5:18] before you dig. Uh coming up is August
11th, which is National Call Before You
[5:23] Dig Day. And our star of the video is in
the audience. She probably doesn't want
[5:27] any attention, but she's back there, Ms.
Lynette. So uh
[5:31] we'll get this keyed up.
[5:38] » Today on Clayton for you, we're talking
about something small that makes a big
[5:42] difference. [music] Calling 811 before
you dig. Whether you're planting a tree,
[5:47] installing [music] a fence, or starting
a home project, there's one step you
[5:50] should never skip. August 11th is
National 811 Day, and it's a great
[5:55] reminder to keep your project [music]
safe and on track.
[5:58] » Calling 811 is a free and easy way to
protect yourself, your property, and
[6:03] your [music] community. When you contact
811 at least 3 days before digging,
[6:08] [music] local crews come out to mark
underground lines like water, sewer,
[6:12] » [music]
>> electric, communications, and gas.
[6:15] Those markings show you where it's safe
to dig and where it's not.
[6:19] Hitting a utility line can cause serious
injuries, [music] costly repairs, and
[6:24] even service outages for your
neighborhood. In fact, across the
[6:28] country, a utility line [music] is
damaged every few minutes because
[6:32] someone did not call before digging.
Once your property is [music] marked,
[6:37] you can move forward with your project.
Just be sure to dig carefully and avoid
[6:42] those marked areas.
>> It's a simple step that helps keep
[6:46] everyone [music] safe. So, before you
break ground, remember to call 811 or
[6:50] submit a request online. Learn more
about safe digging at nc811.org.
[7:00] » Thank you, guys.
>> Great message.
[7:03] » And in case you're wondering, those
hydrants had to be flushed anyway, so
[7:06] that water needed to be poured out.
>> I want to see you digging with the
[7:10] shovel next time.
[7:14] Good job on that. Thank you. Good
message.
[7:18] From there, we jump all the way to item
number 10, public comment. So, at this
[7:23] time, I will open the floor for public
comment.
[7:26] Anyone wishing to speak may come to the
podium. Please state your name and
[7:30] address for the record. Per the
instructions published in the agenda,
[7:34] each speaker has 3 minutes to offer
comment. Thank you.
[7:40] » Hey, good evening, my mayors.
My name is Mike Edwards Twining. I live
[7:45] at 40 Red Crabapple Court here in
Clayton.
[7:48] And I appreciate the opportunity to
speak to you tonight.
[7:51] I'd like to address what I believe is a
significant transportation issue that
[7:56] deserves attention now before it becomes
a much larger and more expensive
[8:01] problem.
With the retail expansion along Business
[8:04] Highway 70 or Clayton Boulevard,
specifically the construction of a new
[8:09] Target department store and a Costco
warehouse adjacent to the existing
[8:14] Walmart,
it is clear that traffic volumes will
[8:17] increase substantially in this corridor.
This is not a concern about future
[8:22] traffic alone.
The congestion already exists today. And
[8:27] these new developments will only
compound an issue that many Clayton
[8:31] residents deal with every weekday.
Anyone who travels that stretch of road,
[8:36] especially between 3:00 and 6:30 on a
weekday afternoon,
[8:40] knows what I'm talking about. It's
already congested. And it's a daily
[8:44] reality.
The addition of two major destination
[8:48] retailers will only intensify those
delays, creating longer travel times,
[8:55] more difficult access for local
businesses,
[8:58] and increased safety concerns.
Rather than waiting until this corridor
[9:03] becomes gridlocked, I urge you to please
take a proactive approach. Since the DOT
[9:11] has full maintenance responsibility for
Clayton Boulevard, I respectfully ask
[9:16] the Town Council to formally petition
North Carolina DOT to evaluate and
[9:23] prioritize a roadway widening project.
Specifically,
[9:27] I recommend adding one additional travel
lane in each direction from
[9:32] approximately 900 ft west of Town Center
Boulevard to approximately 700 ft west
[9:39] of the Culvers restaurant.
If appropriate,
[9:43] I also encourage the town to explore an
encroachment agreement with the DOT if
[9:48] that provides a more timely path toward
improving this corridor.
[9:53] Good planning means anticipating growth,
not simply reacting to it after
[9:59] residents are already experiencing
unacceptable congestion.
[10:03] The rapid pace of development should be
matched by equally thoughtful
[10:08] transportation planning. Roads,
intersections, and traffic capacity
[10:13] should keep pace with the growth.
Waiting until this corridor becomes a
[10:17] traffic bottleneck is not in the public
interest. Taking action now will help
[10:23] preserve mobility, improve public
safety, support our local businesses,
[10:29] and demonstrate that Clayton is
committed to responsible, coordinated
[10:34] growth.
Will you, our town council, commit to
[10:38] formally requesting and advocating that
the DOT widen this highway before
[10:44] today's congestion becomes tomorrow's
gridlock?
[10:49] Thank you for your time, your service to
our community, and your consideration.
[10:53] Have a good evening.
[10:56] » Thank you very much, sir.
[11:06] » Hey, Micah Patterson, 215 Vincent Ridge
Lane. I've been up here multiple times
[11:11] at this point. You guys probably know me
a little bit by now that I've been
[11:15] talking multiple times about the flood
camera issue. Here with a couple of
[11:19] friends of mine today that will be able
to talk a little bit more than I can
[11:22] because they haven't done it before.
Um,
[11:25] it's a good thing to be able to do this,
obviously, but um,
[11:29] what more can I can on some of these
issues, you know, there's so many
[11:33] citizens, there's the pros and cons of
these cameras. Of course, they can be
[11:37] used to help stopping crimes and
catching criminals.
[11:41] Um, but for a lot of people, it's
pretty much tracking without a warrant
[11:46] constantly every single vehicle that
passes by. The Supreme Court recently
[11:50] ruled almost a couple years ago in the
case of Chatrie versus the United States
[11:56] that collecting geofence data pretty
much from your GPS on your phone of
[12:02] every single person in a small area was
deemed unconstitutional under the Fourth
[12:07] Amendment. I'm hoping here soon, of
course, that the Supreme Court would be
[12:10] able to do something like that for these
technologies that there can at least be
[12:14] guardrails in place like requiring a
warrant for obtaining data on these
[12:19] plates. Because it's more of the mosaic
issue where
[12:25] you can sit on a public road and kind of
write down whatever plates that you see
[12:30] on the vehicle passes by, and that's
just one person. It's in a public view
[12:33] where it makes sense, but for a
connected system to be all around the
[12:38] entire country, it's not just in our
little town. It shares that data with
[12:43] this company that goes across the globe
essentially.
[12:46] By compiling all that information over
hundreds of miles in different areas,
[12:51] you could effectively find and track the
movements of every single person that's
[12:55] going on, and that data can be kept for
a permanent, you know, a long amount of
[13:00] time.
So,
[13:02] again, just airing concerns about this.
You know, I've advocated before, at
[13:06] least previously, that we can at least
just get an audit at first to see what
[13:11] is going on with these cameras so that
that way they are being used responsibly
[13:14] and that we are not having issues like
other places have been having in the
[13:17] country. Thank you, guys.
>> Thank you, sir.
[13:29] » Hello, my name is Nicholas Picorello. I
live at 308 Waterford Drive.
[13:33] My issues today come up with the flock
cameras also
[13:36] with a concern of safety for the
community with data collection.
[13:40] As person before me
noted,
[13:44] it's owned by people that are not even
part of the United States.
[13:47] Owned by very rich powerful people,
which can
[13:52] uh
of course be used on a federal level
[13:55] eventually.
Could be used for things in the future
[13:58] we're not sure about. We need to
understand this more before it's
[14:01] introduced to our community.
And also they're located in locations
[14:04] which I think are very concerning, such
as two are next to the hospital on
[14:10] on Veteran Parkway, and then there's
another one near the
[14:14] what's it called? The Neuse River Trail
on I believe it's Covered Bridge Road.
[14:21] Which can be concerning to me cuz you
can even go on a walk with your family
[14:23] with your family or with friends, have a
good time, and
[14:27] without having your
data being collected,
[14:31] license plate. And the entire idea,
which I understand, is being proactive
[14:35] about crime.
But the entire problem I personally have
[14:39] with this is we're giving up freedoms in
exchange for safety,
[14:42] which yes, of course safety's nice, but
freedom is more beautiful than that.
[14:48] There's been multiple cases in the past
outside of
[14:51] Clayton, but I don't it could extend
over here one day of police using it
[14:57] to track
exes, personal family members, and I
[15:01] want these people to feel safe without a
concern
[15:06] that they'll have someone just watching
over their daily life.
[15:10] So, I just want I just want to uh
I just want to bring attention to y'all
[15:14] this matter that people do people do
feel unsafe with this. But I appreciate
[15:18] everything y'all do. I believe y'all are
very nice people, but it's just my
[15:22] personal opinion that I believe that
there needs to be more looked into this.
[15:25] Thank you.
>> Thank you, sir.
[15:34] Anyone else wishing to speak this
evening?
[15:38] Okay.
[15:42] I will go ahead then and close public
comments and move on to staff reports
[15:45] starting with the town manager.
>> No report this evening.
[15:51] » Town attorney?
Town clerk?
[15:54] » No report.
>> Other staff?
[15:58] Okay. Thank you all.
Uh the next item on the agenda then is a
[16:02] closed session and that is to discuss a
legal matter and a real estate matter
[16:07] and at this time I will ask for the room
to be cleared. Thank you.
[16:12] Oh, my apologies. Motion. We need a
motion to go into closed session for
[16:16] both of those.
I didn't have it in my notes originally
[16:19] cuz I wasn't in the uh agenda.
I will entertain a motion.
[16:25] » I make a motion we go into closed
session.
[16:27] » We have a motion and a second. Any
further discussion?
[16:31] Hearing none, all in favor say I.
Opposed like sign. Motion carries and
[16:36] now we can clear the room. Thank you
all.
[18:37] » Mhm.