[5:23] Everybody down.
[5:46] Good evening and welcome to Garner to
[5:48] the town council regular meeting of
[5:51] September 1st, 2026.
[5:53] And as I call the meeting to order, I
[5:55] just have to say again what a beautiful
[5:57] day it's been in Garner. Not just
[5:58] weatherwise. was a little warm, but it
[6:00] started out great for me. I was able to
[6:03] attend a local business here where one
[6:06] employee had saved the life of another
[6:08] through his diligence and attention and
[6:10] care. And it just and they came from all
[6:12] over the country to recognize this
[6:14] [clears throat] guy. And it just really
[6:15] started my day off thinking about love
[6:17] and helping our neighbor and what a
[6:19] great place Garner is and how lucky we
[6:21] are to have the great team working with
[6:23] us here. It started my day on the right
[6:25] foot. I even went home and put my little
[6:27] heart up here. It's just a lovely, day to certify. So, thank you.
[6:32] And that being said, I'm going to ask
[6:33] the town clerk to please call the role.
[6:36] >> Mayor Gupton
[6:36] >> here.
[6:37] >> Mayor Pro Tim Dinger
[6:39] >> here.
[6:39] >> Council member Matthews
[6:40] >> here.
[6:41] >> Council member Singleton
[6:42] >> here.
[6:43] >> Council member Stallings
[6:44] >> here.
[6:44] >> And council member Vance
[6:45] >> here.
[6:46] >> Yes. I'm going to ask Mayor Pro Tim
[6:48] Dinger to lead the pledge of allegiance
[6:50] and inspiration. Uh, please stand if you
[6:52] are able.
[6:57] Pledge to the flag of the United States
[7:00] of America and to the republic for which
[7:03] it stands. One nation under God,
[7:06] indivisible, with liberty and justice
[7:09] for all.
[7:12] [clears throat and cough]
[7:20] » Invocation.
[7:21] >> Yes,
[7:22] >> you.
[7:22] >> I know. I thought you were going to
[7:24] recognize me. Uh Jo please join me if
[7:26] you want.
[7:29] Thank you Lord for this day to live, be
[7:32] and serve in this town we call home.
[7:34] Grant us the wisdom and grace to lead
[7:37] but also to follow, speak, to listen and
[7:41] to be heard and to hear and be with
[7:43] those in need of your comfort. In your
[7:45] name we pray. Amen.
[7:47] >> Amen.
[7:48] Thank you, sir. Uh [clears throat]
[7:50] item B on our agenda is adoption of of
[7:53] the agenda. Uh, council members, I think
[7:55] you had a chance to look this over. Is
[7:57] there a motion to adopt the agenda?
[7:59] >> So, move.
[8:00] >> Second.
[8:00] >> There's a motion by Mr. Stalin, second
[8:03] by Mr. Vance. If no discussion, we'll
[8:05] have a voice vote. All in favor of
[8:08] adopting the agenda, please signify by
[8:10] saying I.
[8:11] >> Any opposed by nay hearing? None. That
[8:13] passes unanimously. Thank you. Item C,
[8:17] presentations. I don't think we have any
[8:19] presentations uh this evening. takes us
[8:22] along to item D, which is petitions and
[8:25] comments. Alco attorney or town clerk,
[8:28] any folks signed up to speak tonight?
[8:30] >> No, sir.
[8:31] >> Golly, that's simple, isn't it? Moving
[8:33] right along to item E, and this is the
[8:36] consent agenda. Uh, this is a relatively
[8:39] small number of more administrative uh
[8:42] kind of factors. Our town council had a
[8:44] chance has had a chance to look at these
[8:47] and to see if we can pass these in mass
[8:50] as one motion or if we need to pull one
[8:52] out for more attention. Uh council
[8:54] members, are there any that need to be
[8:56] pulled out discussed individually? Uh if
[9:00] not, I will accept a motion to approve
[9:03] the consent agenda.
[9:05] >> So second
[9:08] >> boy, there's an echo in this room. I
[9:10] think it Mr. Dinger made the motion. Mr.
[9:12] Advance seconded. Close enough. Okay.
[9:15] All in favor of adopting the consent
[9:18] agenda, please signify by saying I.
[9:22] >> Any opposed by nay.
[9:25] Any that are opposed, please signify by
[9:27] saying nay. And there are none. And that
[9:30] passes unanimously. The consent agenda
[9:32] is adopted. And moving right along to
[9:36] item F, public hearings. And we do have
[9:40] several of these. And some of these are
[9:41] interesting as usual this evening.
[9:43] They're all interesting indeed. Uh the
[9:46] first one tonight is a public hearing uh
[9:49] concerning the voluntary contiguous
[9:51] annexation of Timber Thompson
[9:54] Commercial. Our presenter is our
[9:57] planning director, Mr. Jeff Trezenberg.
[10:00] If you'll uh please give us a little
[10:01] overview of the situation uh and what
[10:04] we're working on this evening.
[10:11] Good evening, Mayor Council.
[10:14] Yes. Uh, tonight we have just one brief
[10:16] annexation request for you. Um, the
[10:19] public hearing was set for today with
[10:21] the proper advertisements.
[10:23] It is a contiguous annexation at the
[10:25] corner of Timber and Thompson uh road.
[10:30] Scroll down here. You can see uh the
[10:33] site in question directly across from
[10:35] Timber Drive Elementary School and the
[10:37] EMS station. Uh the property is zoned
[10:40] NMX. It in the property itself is 3.68
[10:45] acres and the intervening ride ofway
[10:48] shaded in red that we'll be bringing in
[10:50] with it is 1.87.
[10:53] Uh the project itself, again, this was a
[10:56] site plan uh that was reviewed by staff.
[10:59] [clears throat] About 19,000 square feet
[11:01] of office retail and about a 10,000 plus
[11:05] uh square foot daycare divided into
[11:08] three buildings
[11:15] and that is basically uh the general
[11:19] information associated with it. Um, we
[11:23] do have the ordinance 20265398
[11:27] prepared for you should you decide to um
[11:30] adopt the annexation. Mr. Daniel Gunter
[11:32] is here tonight in case you do have any
[11:34] questions of the petitioner. Um, but
[11:38] otherwise
[11:39] uh that's all I have for you this
[11:41] evening.
[11:43] >> Okay, that was pretty direct there. Are
[11:46] there any individuals who have signed up
[11:48] to speak on this item this evening?
[11:50] >> No, sir.
[11:51] >> And Mr. Freezenberg. Uh, does your
[11:53] applicant wish to make a presentation?
[11:57] Okay. Uh, and so let me uh let me ask
[12:01] council members who wish to make
[12:02] comments or ask questions. Let's start
[12:04] with Mr. Vance related to this project,
[12:07] the Timber Thompson commercial
[12:09] questions. Comments?
[12:10] >> No questions.
[12:12] >> Mr. Dinger?
[12:12] >> No questions.
[12:13] >> Mr. T.
[12:14] >> No questions.
[12:15] >> Mr. Singleton?
[12:16] >> No question.
[12:16] >> Okay. Well, thank you. This is one that
[12:18] you've done your homework on. I'm
[12:20] thinking we've really looked at this and
[12:23] there no individuals assigned up. So, we
[12:25] will close the public meeting now and we
[12:29] will ask if there's a motion and a
[12:31] second to approve ordinance 20265398.
[12:36] » Some moved.
[12:37] >> Second.
[12:38] >> Uh motion by Mr. Singleton and a second
[12:41] by Mr. Stalins. Uh is there any other
[12:44] discussion regarding this particular
[12:46] project? Hearing none, we'll call for a
[12:49] voice vote on this one. All in favor of
[12:53] passing uh this annexation, please
[12:56] signify by saying I. I.
[12:58] >> Any opposed? By nay. Hearing none. This
[13:02] passes unanimously. Thank you very much.
[13:04] Thank you, Mr. Trezenberg, and all the
[13:06] folks that have helped put this
[13:07] together. Our item under public
[13:10] hearings, item 1.2 is fire protection
[13:13] ordinance amendments. has been given a
[13:15] lot of study by the legal staff and I
[13:18] believe we're going to have Miss Diamond
[13:19] Spain that give us an overview of what
[13:22] we're looking at here.
[13:41] Good evening everyone. I am Diamond
[13:44] Spain, the assistant town attorney. We
[13:46] are going to go over the chapter 4
[13:50] proposed amendments. Uh so we previously
[13:53] discussed the addition of the North
[13:56] Carolina fire prevention code being
[13:57] adopted. We also addressed the change in
[14:01] the structure essentially since the
[14:03] merger uh that which lays out the duties
[14:06] of Garner fire rescue and the fire chief
[14:10] [clears throat] use requirements for
[14:12] recreational fires, outdoor fireplaces
[14:15] and fire pits and bonfires which falls
[14:17] under our open burnings uh ordinance.
[14:21] We also remove references to negotiation
[14:25] between council and the volunteer fire
[14:27] department again because of the merger.
[14:30] Uh a larger portion that we added was
[14:34] the central station monitoring service.
[14:37] This is again applicable to commercial
[14:41] properties
[14:42] uh which will require essentially a
[14:45] system that u makes for more efficient
[14:48] responses.
[14:50] Uh there will not be a retroactive
[14:52] application. There's a grace period of
[14:53] one year to allow enforcement of this
[14:56] and maybe have some people have the
[14:58] opportunity to adjust. Uh residential
[15:01] enforcement options are more lenient.
[15:03] They are not required to have this
[15:05] particular uh central station monitoring
[15:09] service that is specific to commercial.
[15:11] But we did go ahead and address the the
[15:13] false alarms there as specific to the
[15:16] fire department response.
[15:18] uh the intent is of course to focus more
[15:23] on education than punishment for these
[15:26] failures to comply. And so in the
[15:29] proposed ordinance, we um kind of have a
[15:32] tier tiered implementation of
[15:35] enforcement as far as giving them an
[15:38] opportunity to participate in a class
[15:40] first after the first instance of a
[15:43] after the first few instances of a false
[15:47] alarm. it eventually going up to a
[15:50] subsequent $100 civil penalty specific
[15:53] to commercial properties in the event
[15:56] that they are acting in good faith and
[15:59] they are attempting to bring themselves
[16:01] into compliance after triggering the
[16:03] requirement to update their systems if
[16:05] it's not a new one that that at that
[16:08] point any civil penalties we are willing
[16:10] to wave them so long as they are
[16:12] actually continuously making good good
[16:15] faith efforts to comply with this
[16:17] requirement. department.
[16:22] So, we did not receive any public
[16:24] comments specific to this particular
[16:27] chapter. Uh, but that link is still
[16:30] available for the public if they would
[16:31] like to do so and we do encourage that.
[16:34] [snorts]
[16:37] Uh, any questions from council?
[16:43] » Any any questions at this point for Miss
[16:46] Diamond?
[16:48] No.
[16:49] >> Similar to what we saw previously with
[16:52] chapter 18 and 11, uh council will have
[16:56] to vote twice because in this chapter we
[17:00] are uh including additional criminal
[17:04] penalties.
[17:06] So
[17:08] these will be specific to these sections
[17:10] listed here where we included provisions
[17:13] for interfering with um vehicles that
[17:17] are interfering with or people who are
[17:18] congregating where uh Garner fire rescue
[17:21] is assembled for the purpose of of
[17:23] course carrying out their duties. uh
[17:25] interference with the firefighter or the
[17:27] apparatus or in [clears throat] regard
[17:30] to our prohibition of certain open
[17:32] burnings because we added those sections
[17:34] that specifically indicate recreational
[17:37] fires, fireplaces, fire pits, and
[17:38] bonfires. Those also could bring about
[17:42] additional
[17:43] um criminal penalties. And so we would
[17:46] need that second vote. And as far as
[17:50] chapter 4, that is all of the changes
[17:54] that we are proposing at this time.
[18:00] » Okay. Uh have any individuals signed up
[18:03] to speak on this item?
[18:05] >> No, sir.
[18:06] >> No. Okay. Uh so let's run by council
[18:09] members again and ask if there's any
[18:11] questions or comments related to the
[18:13] fire protection ordinance amendment. Mr.
[18:15] Vance,
[18:16] >> no questions.
[18:17] >> Comments. Mr. Ballinger,
[18:18] >> no questions.
[18:19] >> Mr. Challen,
[18:20] >> no question.
[18:20] >> Mr. Singleton,
[18:21] >> no question.
[18:22] >> Okay, everybody's done their homework.
[18:23] Uh, and that I believe we will close the
[18:26] public meeting now and we'll move along
[18:29] uh to asking council members, is there a
[18:31] motion to adopt ordinance number
[18:33] 20265396
[18:36] amending chapter 4 subject to the
[18:39] enactment of general statute 16A-175.
[18:44] » So moved. So
[18:46] >> motion by Mr. Mr. Vance,
[18:49] >> second by Mr. Stalins. If [cough]
[18:51] there's no further [clears throat]
[18:52] discussion, I'll call for voice vote on
[18:55] adopting this amend this motion, this
[18:57] ordinance. All those in favor, please
[19:00] signify by saying I.
[19:02] >> I.
[19:03] >> Any opposed by nay? Hearing none, uh, it
[19:06] passes unanimously. Thank you very much
[19:08] for your good work. Uh the the legal
[19:11] staff spent a lot of time getting all
[19:13] this stuff in in order with state law
[19:16] and all the things we have to go by. And for the next one, uh item 1.3, we
[19:22] have a similar situation, traffic
[19:24] control ordinance amendments. And our
[19:27] presenter here is our town attorney,
[19:29] Miss Terry Jones.
[19:30] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um as you know,
[19:33] this project is near and dear to my
[19:35] heart. Um it's been a long time as we're
[19:38] working our way through our code of
[19:40] public uh our code of ordinances for the
[19:43] town of Garner.
[19:45] Again, we the legal department's been
[19:47] working on several of these. I'm
[19:49] particularly pleased that we can do
[19:52] changes to chapter 10. Um this will
[19:55] reduce the number of pages in our code
[19:57] of ordinance by a great deal by the
[20:00] adoption of an official traffic control
[20:02] map.
[20:04] Um so as you can see it's a brief
[20:07] summary of the changes uh to chapter 10
[20:10] are codifying various traffic control
[20:13] measures on an official map which is
[20:15] authorized by state law. Um some new
[20:18] additions are um creating a penalty for
[20:22] grass or weeds that are obstructing
[20:25] drains, gutters, streets and sidewalks.
[20:28] Um, also prohibiting the obstruction of
[20:31] access to mailboxes and mail zones. Uh,
[20:35] many new subdivisions are required by
[20:37] the US Postal Service to have a
[20:39] designated mail area rather than
[20:42] individual mailboxes at the residences.
[20:44] And then um what um assistant town
[20:47] attorney Spain talked about um in some
[20:50] detail at the work session was uh
[20:52] regulating ebikes or electric assisted
[20:56] um bikes defining them and regulating
[20:58] them and that creates an entire new
[21:00] article to chapter 10.
[21:04] So again, with the implementation of an
[21:07] interactive mapping tool, u several of
[21:10] these u sections you'll see will now
[21:14] instead of being listed within the code
[21:16] of ordinances,
[21:18] uh they will now be shown on the map. as
[21:21] new subdivisions come online, you'll
[21:23] still need to adopt an ordinance uh
[21:25] adopting stop signs, but what we'll do
[21:28] is they'll automatically go on the map
[21:31] instead of being sent to our codifier
[21:34] munic uh to put into the code. So, these
[21:37] are um seven of the provisions that we
[21:41] can add to the to the map at this time.
[21:44] Uh we can also add additional ones as as
[21:47] they become uh
[21:50] as they become adopted in the future. Um
[21:52] some of our older ordinances we will
[21:54] have to do a few corrections too because
[21:57] um the ordinance didn't come with
[21:59] dimensions that could be mapped you know
[22:02] like for a no parking zone um you know
[22:05] from a specific point to another
[22:08] specific point. So, we'll be uh bringing
[22:10] those back to you as as those are
[22:13] uncovered. Um, at this point, I'm going
[22:16] to ask uh Mr. Bone to come up and
[22:18] demonstrate u what we have on the map um
[22:22] to date.
[22:33] » Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of
[22:35] council. Um I don't think anyone is a
[22:37] stranger to this. I been shown off at a
[22:39] few other meetings. U like Miss Jones
[22:43] said, this is codifying uh a map that
[22:46] will hold all of our stop and yield
[22:48] conditions, our school zones, speed
[22:50] limits, um several different parking
[22:53] restrictions, um as well as through
[22:56] traffic.
[22:58] And not only does these do these put
[23:00] like a location on these, but they also
[23:02] retain the same textual elements as they
[23:04] were when they were on the code of
[23:06] ordinances.
[23:26] parking restrictions include our no
[23:29] parking zones, our residential parking
[23:31] permits, our 1-hour parking, and our
[23:33] loading zones. Uh the latter two are
[23:35] just one section off of uh in historic
[23:38] downtown.
[23:41] » Are there any questions about any
[23:43] specific
[23:44] sections or the map in general?
[23:48] >> Any questions?
[23:52] » The will will this be open to the
[23:55] public?
[23:55] >> Yes, absolutely.
[23:56] >> Okay. Good. Will be will we be able to
[23:59] find out where it's pretty easy access
[24:02] for the public to go to this map and and
[24:04] find it?
[24:04] >> Yes,
[24:07] >> Mr. Dinger.
[24:08] >> I just want to I think I've mentioned
[24:10] this before. I appreciate all the hard
[24:11] work and change taking all that code and
[24:14] putting it into the map the keystroke
[24:16] behind every single one of those and and
[24:18] I commend you all for putting in the
[24:20] time. It'll save a lot more time in the
[24:22] future. So, good job.
[24:25] >> No questions,
[24:26] >> Mr. a single thing.
[24:28] >> No questions.
[24:29] >> Matthew. Well, I'll just add to what's
[24:31] been said. A whole lot of work went into
[24:33] this. We take for granted having stop
[24:35] signs and no parking signs at the right
[24:37] place, but it doesn't happen by
[24:39] accident. Happens by hard work. And what
[24:41] you put together here again, we can find
[24:43] it and get the answer. Uh the police
[24:45] officers can look at this and find the
[24:46] evidence that they need, find out what's
[24:48] going on. Thank you very much for all
[24:50] that you've done there. And I'll ask our
[24:53] town clerk, have any individuals signed
[24:56] up to speak on this item?
[24:57] >> No, sir.
[24:58] >> That was signed up to speak. That being
[25:00] said, we I will close the public hearing
[25:04] and we'll move along to a motion to
[25:06] adopt ordinance number 2026 5397
[25:11] amending chapter 10 motor vehicles and
[25:13] traffic. Is there a motion?
[25:16] >> Just a clarification. I think the motion
[25:18] is to hold a public hearing. Is that
[25:20] correct, Miss Jones? You are holding the
[25:22] public hearing tonight
[25:24] and I believe he said no one had signed
[25:26] up.
[25:28] >> I was just looking at the agenda. It
[25:29] says opposed to action hold public
[25:31] hearing.
[25:32] >> Okay.
[25:34] >> Yeah. Let's make sure we're doing the
[25:35] right thing.
[25:36] >> You are holding the public hearing
[25:37] tonight and then with the potential of
[25:39] adopting
[25:40] >> okay
[25:40] >> the ordinance for the first time.
[25:42] >> All right. Thank you.
[25:43] >> Yes. Thank you. Yeah. We we've we've
[25:45] closed the public hearing. Mr. Stalin is
[25:48] an observation. Um
[25:49] >> yes. I I have a question. Um,
[25:52] so I see in here in in section 10134,
[25:57] um, the regulations around ebikes, and I
[25:59] know we had conversations before around
[26:03] enforcement by the police department.
[26:05] Did we fix any of those issues? Because
[26:07] I still see that we're classifying class
[26:09] ones as 20, class 2s as 20, and class
[26:12] threes as 28. And if I'm not mistaken, um you can't really
[26:18] delineate a class three from a class two
[26:22] if the police were riding down the
[26:24] street looking at somebody driving a
[26:26] ebike. Um did we work through that
[26:30] problem at all?
[26:33] >> Going to have to defer to uh
[26:36] or the police department on that issue.
[26:40] So from what I recall, we were
[26:44] discussing that and the issue came down
[26:46] to the fact that
[26:50] speed can be determined. They can't
[26:51] necessarily determine the the class of
[26:56] bike from their visual perspective, but
[26:59] they can determine what the speed is.
[27:01] And they do have the ability to
[27:02] determine what the bike is if they find
[27:04] that the person is not acting consistent
[27:06] with the behaviors that we have listed
[27:08] in the um in the ordinance because there
[27:12] was also a question about certain
[27:14] conduct in terms of in their proximity
[27:17] to other pedestrians on these areas. And
[27:21] so that is in there to address the
[27:23] behavior. there is no surefire way to
[27:27] make sure that they can determine it,
[27:28] but th that is in alignment with the
[27:30] state. That is how the state defines
[27:32] them. And so we can't really tweak that
[27:36] per se further than that. And so the way
[27:39] that we've addressed that is including
[27:41] those behaviors. We also discussed the
[27:43] speed limit posting. And so I did go in
[27:45] and add a a speed limit of 10 miles per
[27:48] hour on any pedestrian rideways,
[27:51] greenways, or anything where pedestrians
[27:53] are generally going to be. And so
[27:55] regardless of whether or not the police
[27:58] would be able to, you know, look and
[28:00] determine immediately, they can assess
[28:02] that someone has violated our ordinance
[28:04] via that speed limit. And then per
[28:06] further information gathering during
[28:08] their in investigation, they would have
[28:10] the ability to determine that. So, if
[28:12] I'm understanding correctly, if you're
[28:15] on a pedestrian greenway, it will be a
[28:18] 10 mile per hour speed limit regardless.
[28:21] >> Yes, sir. That's great.
[28:22] >> Thank you.
[28:23] >> Yeah, good, good questions. Important
[28:25] questions. Just because your uh ebike
[28:27] might go 28 10 miles an hour on a
[28:30] greenway, please. Right. Thank you.
[28:32] Thank other questions, Mr. Singleton.
[28:35] >> Yes, sir. Matthew.
[28:36] >> Yeah, a lot of work has gone into this,
[28:38] too. Uh so I think we have closed the
[28:40] public hearing. Uh and we're looking for
[28:43] a a motion to adopt ordinance 20265397
[28:46] [laughter]
[28:48] amended chapter 10. And then we can have
[28:50] some more discussion if we have a a
[28:53] motion and a second.
[28:54] >> So moved.
[28:56] >> Second.
[28:56] >> Motion by Mr. Vance, second by Mr.
[28:59] Stalins. Uh is there any other
[29:00] discussion we want to have about this
[29:02] particular item? Any other questions,
[29:04] comments?
[29:06] It is it is complicated. Thank you and
[29:08] your team for working on this. Thanks to
[29:10] the police department who gave us an
[29:12] orientation in this recently as well.
[29:14] And while we may not be able to identify
[29:17] class one versus class 2 ebike at a
[29:20] distance, if we're forced to pull over
[29:22] and look and look at some particular
[29:23] behavior, it gives us a lens to look
[29:26] through to see what the state statutes
[29:28] are. And we will we will learn more and
[29:31] more about enforcing this as we go
[29:32] along. And as these vehicles proliferate
[29:35] around, I have one and I love it, but
[29:37] I'm only a class two. I'm going to stay
[29:39] off the greenways, go slow. Thank you.
[29:42] Uh any other observations or or
[29:44] questions here? Uh that being said, I'll uh we got the motion and the second
[29:49] on that already. All in favor of passing
[29:53] this ordinance, please signify by saying
[29:55] I.
[29:56] >> Any opposed by nay? Hearing none, the
[29:59] motion carries unanimously. Thank you.
[30:01] for all your hard work. Thank
[30:03] you, Mr. Mayor. If I could just take
[30:04] another moment of council's time. So,
[30:07] both chapter 4 and chapter 10 will come
[30:10] back on your consent agenda, similar to
[30:12] how um chapter 11 and chapter 18 were on
[30:16] tonight's consent agenda. Um, I do want
[30:18] to give uh tremendous thanks to Alex
[30:21] Bone who um not only mapped all of this,
[30:24] but checked each and every um stop sign
[30:28] and ordinance in um that were in our
[30:31] code of of ordinances and found some
[30:34] places where we may have stop signs that
[30:37] uh we can't locate the ordinance. Uh,
[30:39] and as you saw from the map, um, once
[30:42] you click onto a different traffic
[30:43] control device, it will give you
[30:45] information about the ordinance. Uh, and
[30:47] then we hope with the clerk's office at
[30:49] some point that will actually have all
[30:51] the ordinances on the web page as well,
[30:53] so people um can find that, you know,
[30:57] backup documentation as to when council
[30:59] actually adopted um, these. So, um,
[31:04] again, like I appreciate all the work
[31:06] that was done and also with, um,
[31:09] engineering as well as the planning
[31:10] department and the police department and
[31:12] looking at this chapter 10 motor
[31:14] vehicles and traffic and especially the
[31:17] work um, assistant town attorney Diamond
[31:19] Spain did on researching all kinds of
[31:22] ebike ordinances to find the the best
[31:25] fit for the town of Garner. Thank you.
[31:28] >> Thank you very much. And don't go far,
[31:30] by the way, le you need to go get your
[31:31] other paper because you're up next, I
[31:33] think. Uh, and that takes us to item G,
[31:37] you and old business. The item number
[31:39] one is delegation of authority. And
[31:41] again, this is one that our town
[31:43] attorney and her staff have been working
[31:44] on uh for some time, several months.
[31:47] It's been through several adjustments.
[31:49] We've had some good input just trying to
[31:51] get consolidated like a lot of the
[31:53] things we've seen earlier today, getting
[31:55] in line with state statutes, clarifying
[31:58] things. Uh there will be other
[32:00] adjustments to meet be made on all of
[32:02] these things as time goes on, but it
[32:04] gives us a good starting point. Uh with
[32:07] that, Miss Jones, I will turn it over to
[32:09] you to give us a little overview about
[32:11] delegation of authority.
[32:13] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. U so I've been
[32:16] before you several times on this um
[32:19] issue. This is basically a best practice
[32:22] for um any municipality to clearly know
[32:27] what staff is authorized, what actions
[32:29] they're authorized to do um on behalf of the town. Um normally the town can
[32:35] only operate through the governing body,
[32:38] which is the town council. Um so it's
[32:40] not only actions that can be taken, but
[32:42] different documents that can be signed.
[32:45] Um you'll see before you there's three
[32:47] um
[32:49] resolutions. One would authorize the
[32:52] town attorney, a separate one to
[32:54] authorize the manager and then um other
[32:58] staff uh of town and then a third um to
[33:03] authorize the mayor. And we do have an
[33:06] alternative proposed by Councilman
[33:08] Stallings and then an alternative uh
[33:12] proposed by Mayor Gupton on on on
[33:15] particularly the the delegation of
[33:17] authority to the mayor.
[33:21] >> So I'm happy to answer any questions
[33:22] about any of the specific provisions.
[33:26] >> Well, thank you. I might want to just
[33:27] add that after seeing Mr. Stalin's
[33:29] amendment, I withdrew mine. His does all
[33:32] the things I wanted to do. So at this
[33:34] point there's only one amendment
[33:36] [laughter] in in the batch of three
[33:37] here. Be glad to have more discussion on
[33:40] all of these together. We probably for
[33:42] the sake of clarity come back and
[33:44] approve one resolution about the town
[33:46] attorney then the resolution about
[33:48] authorizing town manager and then uh the
[33:51] authorized delegation of authority to
[33:53] the mayor. We'll probably take them one,
[33:54] two, three to vote on, but we can
[33:56] discuss all of these at the same time
[33:58] while we're here if that's okay. If
[34:01] that's okay with you. Uh and and given
[34:03] that and the number of times that we've
[34:06] looked at this and studied this uh we'll
[34:08] still go along and start with Mr.
[34:10] Matthews if there's any questions or
[34:12] comments you want to make on the
[34:14] delegation of authority update.
[34:17] >> Uh no questions. I think it's it's time
[34:19] to do this. We've got so much going on
[34:21] and uh and all of these are qualified
[34:24] positions and uh we've got strong
[34:27] accountability and uh and I'm ready to
[34:30] move forward with it.
[34:31] >> Okay. Mr. Singleton.
[34:34] >> Yes. A few comments. I've talked to
[34:35] Attorney General James more than once
[34:37] about some of my concerns and we
[34:39] continued this from December, but since
[34:41] then we've had some of our sister towns
[34:44] and cities in North Carolina who had
[34:46] some serious issues and some of those
[34:49] issues can be related directly to
[34:50] delegating authority particularly in
[34:52] Kerry when the manager could do anything
[34:55] was not uh not the way to to manage
[34:58] things. Um so that that's
[35:02] some concern I had and I'm glad we
[35:05] fleshed through all this. Also, the
[35:07] number of procurement cars that are
[35:09] issued in different towns is pretty
[35:11] amazing to read. Um, but I understand we
[35:14] have a policy
[35:16] on that and uh we do have a specific
[35:19] policy related to that which is good. Uh
[35:22] so it's taken some time taking some
[35:25] concern reading information what has
[35:27] happened in other towns and um I
[35:31] appreciate the time and we continued and continued it but we kept
[35:34] learning of some of the uh issues with
[35:37] some other towns who have uh made many
[35:41] both all I think all of them have made
[35:43] specific author authority changes to
[35:45] delegating authority now and so uh I
[35:47] appreciate that that uh we've gone
[35:49] through the process. Thank you, Mr.
[35:52] Stalin. Comments, questions?
[35:54] >> Uh, no, no questions. Been a long time
[35:56] coming. Glad we're here.
[35:57] >> Thank you, Mr. Dinger.
[35:59] >> Yeah, just say this is a a good
[36:01] continuation of the work by the legal
[36:02] department, town manager to go through a
[36:05] lot of these processes and um whether
[36:07] it's contracts and program partners uh
[36:10] to codify a lot of practices and clar
[36:12] make clarifications where there is
[36:13] ambiguity. Um like Mr. Singleton said,
[36:16] it's it's timely with other things that
[36:18] are going on around us. um to kind of
[36:22] lead the way in how to put this stuff in
[36:23] writing. Um so glad we're here and it's
[36:26] been worth the time we've taken to
[36:28] invest in in this these documents. So
[36:31] >> thank you Mr. Vance.
[36:33] >> No questions.
[36:34] >> Okay. Uh good good discussion there. An
[36:36] important topic uh has been given a lot
[36:38] of scrutiny. We appreciate all the
[36:40] council members, all of your staff
[36:42] working through this. Uh, if there's no
[36:44] further questions there, I'm going to
[36:47] ask for a a motion one by one of the
[36:49] three different parts of this. And I'd
[36:52] like to start with resolution 2026 2708
[36:56] authorizing the town attorney, the
[36:58] delegation of authority there, the one
[37:00] that we've looked at. Is there a motion
[37:02] to adopt that one?
[37:04] >> So moved.
[37:04] >> Second.
[37:06] >> Motion by Mr. Stalins and second by Mr.
[37:08] Vance. Any other discussion on this
[37:11] particular piece of the resolution?
[37:14] Hearing none, I'll call for a voice vote
[37:16] on this. All in favor of adopting that
[37:19] resolution, please signify by saying I.
[37:22] >> Any opposed by nay? Hearing none, that
[37:24] passes unanimously. That brings us to
[37:27] item number two, resolution 2026
[37:30] 2707,
[37:32] which is authorizing the town manager
[37:34] and others under the delegation of
[37:36] authority documents that we've just
[37:38] reviewed and been presented by Miss
[37:40] Jones. Uh, is there a motion and a
[37:43] second to adopt that resolution?
[37:45] >> So moved. Second.
[37:46] >> Motion by Mr. Matthews and second by Mr.
[37:49] Stalins. If there's no other questions
[37:51] or comments on that one, uh I will ask
[37:54] for a voice vote. All those in favor of
[37:57] adopting this resolution about the town
[37:59] manager delegation of authority, please
[38:02] signify by saying I. I.
[38:04] >> Any opposed by nay? Hearing none passes
[38:07] unanimously. The third one of course is
[38:09] my favor. It has to do with the
[38:11] delegation of authority authorizing the
[38:13] mayor to do certain things and to not do
[38:15] certain things. Uh and that is item 2026
[38:19] 2706
[38:21] uh regarding the mayor's delegation of
[38:22] authority. As I mentioned, there had
[38:24] been uh one one amendment suggested by
[38:28] Mr. Stalins. I think a number of us have
[38:30] reviewed it and found that to be
[38:32] appropriate and moving in the right
[38:34] direction to clarify things that uh this
[38:38] mayor or the next mayor or the mayor 10
[38:40] years from now can and cannot do. And
[38:42] I'm in full agreement with the amended
[38:44] version that's there. Are there other
[38:46] comments or questions? We'll start with
[38:48] Mr. Vance.
[38:49] >> No comments or questions.
[38:50] >> Mr. Dinger?
[38:51] >> No, sir.
[38:52] >> Mr. Stallinger.
[38:52] >> No comments.
[38:53] >> Mr. Singleton?
[38:54] >> No, sir.
[38:55] >> Okay. Well, and can we get a motion in a
[38:59] second on that?
[39:00] >> Uh, so moved.
[39:01] >> Can we just
[39:02] >> Sorry to clarify that. Um,
[39:05] the resolution 2026 2706 delegating
[39:09] authority to the town mayor is the
[39:11] version as on page 148 in your packet.
[39:14] So, so I move that we approve um on page
[39:18] 148 resolution um 2706.
[39:23] >> Yes, it is amended. Thank you for that
[39:25] clarifi clarification. That is exactly
[39:27] the one we're trying to adopt here. So,
[39:31] the motion that I think was made by Mr.
[39:33] Stalins was seconded by Mr. Dinger.
[39:36] Okay. So, motion made and seconded. Is
[39:38] there any other discussion or
[39:40] clarification on this particular
[39:42] resolution? Uh, hearing none, I'll ask
[39:45] for a voice vote. All those in favor of
[39:47] adopting the resolution, please signify
[39:49] by saying I. I.
[39:51] >> Any opposed by nay. Hearing none. It
[39:54] passes unanimously. Good work all
[39:56] around. A lot of thought went into this.
[39:58] A lot of review.
[40:00] I think we're on the right track. As Mr.
[40:02] Singleton pointed out, you can't be
[40:04] careful enough with clarifying these
[40:06] things these days. We don't have to look
[40:08] far at other towns who failed to do
[40:10] this. and I just got deeper and deeper
[40:12] uh in in the hole. So, we're we're glad
[40:15] for all the work that's been done. Thank
[40:17] you very much.
[40:18] >> And going forward, um similar to how we
[40:20] started at your organizational meeting
[40:22] in December, um anytime there's a change
[40:25] in council, we would review the
[40:27] delegation of authority, your meeting
[40:29] rules of procedure, and your code of
[40:31] conduct and ethics so that it reflects
[40:34] the body, the governing body that's in
[40:36] that's been elected at that time.
[40:39] >> Thank you. Thank you very much. And that
[40:41] brings us to item number two,
[40:43] nominations committee recommendations.
[40:46] And our sponsors, Miss uh Rebecca
[40:49] Murray, our deputy town clerk. Are you
[40:51] going to make a little presentation or
[40:53] you want to
[40:54] >> She's not going to make a presentation
[40:55] to this evening. The committee will do
[40:58] it. uh to council and to the uh to the
[41:01] public. I'd like to say that we have
[41:02] been meeting over extended period of
[41:05] time to interview a group a great group
[41:09] of individuals. Uh we've now coming
[41:11] before you with recommendations for
[41:13] consideration of approval for the
[41:15] following individuals for the housing
[41:17] advisory committee. Uh with the first
[41:19] term being from September, 1226 through
[41:24] 63027,
[41:26] Mr. to Jeff Swain and Miss Katie
[41:29] Cardinis. Um for next for the term of
[41:34] September 1, 2026 to June 30th, 2028,
[41:39] Anita Powell and Brandy Bel Meltchshire
[41:43] from the term of September 1, 2026 to
[41:46] June 30th, 2029.
[41:49] Following individuals, Miss Barbara
[41:51] Barrett, Miss Jasmine Johnson, and Miss
[41:54] Gwen Buren. Those are the
[41:57] recommendations to fulfill the positions
[41:59] on the advisory committee going forward.
[42:03] >> Good work. Thank you for that report. Uh
[42:05] we have the co-chair of the nominating
[42:07] committee here as well. Mr. Dillinger,
[42:08] any observations, comments?
[42:10] >> Uh just want to thank uh clerk's office
[42:13] for helping us with the process
[42:15] throughout um with the interviews and at selection part of the process. O
[42:20] to thank Mari How and Lewis Herd who
[42:23] participated as sort of observers in the
[42:25] process too since they'll be the primary
[42:28] interface for that committee. So I want
[42:29] to thank them and also thank uh all of
[42:32] our applicants. We had a lot of really
[42:33] good applicants. It was a very uh
[42:35] difficult decision uh in different ways
[42:38] trying to get the right balance of of
[42:40] skill sets but we appreciate everyone
[42:42] who applied and hope they will stay in
[42:44] contact with us and and participate in
[42:46] this journey. So and thank you to Mr.
[42:48] advance for being my partner in all this
[42:51] for
[42:52] >> Yes, sir.
[42:53] >> A seven years now.
[42:55] >> A while. [laughter]
[42:56] >> Yes, that's all.
[42:58] >> Well, there there was a lot of work and
[43:00] as I looked over the resumes and the
[43:02] background of the people that you
[43:03] selected. Wow. What an impressive bunch.
[43:06] We really have a great great citizenry
[43:10] here willing to step up and had relevant
[43:12] background and you guys picked the best
[43:14] of the best. I'm very satisfied with the
[43:16] work you've done. Other obser
[43:18] observations or questions?
[43:20] >> No comment.
[43:22] >> Sorry. Yeah. And just one more comment
[43:24] on the uh the staggering of the terms
[43:27] and our rationale for that. So is it a
[43:29] new committee? We wanted to make sure
[43:31] that we were rotating folks on and off.
[43:33] The folks will be eligible to be
[43:35] reappointed. Um Jeff Swain and Katie
[43:38] Cardennis, they ended up getting sort of
[43:40] a short straw on the front end um
[43:42] because they've been a part of our
[43:43] previous task force. Jeff was a part of
[43:45] two of our housing task force and Katie
[43:47] as one. So we thought those folks with
[43:50] the experience would kind of be the
[43:52] first first cut um in the I say short
[43:56] straw of the short term. So the rest of
[43:58] them were assigned randomly by the
[44:00] clerk's office. So just want to give
[44:02] people insight into the process on the
[44:04] term uh setup that we came up with.
[44:06] >> Are they eligible for reappoint at the
[44:09] end of their term?
[44:09] >> Yes, sir.
[44:10] >> Good. So they'll make it up at the long
[44:12] run, right? Good. Good. Thank you. Uh,
[44:15] other observations, questions, Mr.
[44:17] Singleton.
[44:18] >> Yes, sir.
[44:19] >> Well, I also give a shout out to our
[44:20] deputy town clerk, Rebecca Murray, uh,
[44:23] who who helped us figure out the math on
[44:25] this. There was a lot of math involved
[44:26] in making sure that this was done
[44:28] regularly and not everybody leaving at
[44:30] once. So, a lot of teamwork went into
[44:32] this. So, you you've heard the proposed
[44:35] action is to recommend members to the
[44:38] housing advisory committee. Uh, and I'll
[44:41] ask council members for a motion uh to
[44:43] do so. Is there a motion?
[44:47] >> So move.
[44:48] >> Second.
[44:50] >> Motion by Mr. Dinger. Second by Mr.
[44:52] Vance. Uh, is there any further
[44:54] discussion or comments from councel?
[44:57] >> Just thanks for for the work y'all put
[44:58] in.
[45:02] » Okay. Uh, those that that being said,
[45:04] I'll ask for a voice vote on this one.
[45:07] All those in favor of ex of passing of
[45:10] these recommendations, please signify by
[45:12] saying I.
[45:14] >> I.
[45:14] >> Any opposed by nay? Hearing none. The
[45:17] unanimous decision accept these people
[45:21] and glad to have them. Glad to have them
[45:23] working on our citizens advisory
[45:25] council. Great work. Great work. The two
[45:27] co-chairs as well. Uh brings us to item
[45:30] H, updates to council. Uh we have
[45:33] committee reports and we'll recognize uh
[45:37] council members to make a report about
[45:39] any committee they might be on. And
[45:41] we'll start with Mr. Matthews down here.
[45:43] >> Nothing at this time.
[45:45] >> Mr. Singleton,
[45:46] >> no committee meetings.
[45:47] >> Mr. Stalin,
[45:48] >> no report.
[45:49] >> Mr. Mr. Dinger,
[45:51] >> no report.
[45:52] >> Mr. Vance,
[45:53] >> no report.
[45:54] >> Well, I'll add I have no report from the
[45:55] art committee either then. Stuff's been
[45:58] going on, but we'll talk about it next
[45:59] time. And that brings us to manager
[46:01] reports. So, I bet she has some news for
[46:03] us.
[46:04] >> Uh, no reports this evening.
[46:06] >> Oh, you're kidding me. Come on. Come on.
[46:08] God. Uh, attorney reports. Um just to
[46:13] report out council met in a special
[46:16] meeting earlier uh this afternoon at 4
[46:18] pm and immediately went into a close
[46:20] session um for under 143-318
[46:26] sorry 311
[46:28] 318-11
[46:30] A1 and A3 um no uh votes were taken no
[46:34] official action were take was taken
[46:36] during that meeting today.
[46:38] >> Thank you. We may come back to talk
[46:39] about that again in just a moment in
[46:41] another regard. Uh but that takes us to
[46:43] council reports on things other than
[46:46] committee report. I'll start with Mr.
[46:48] Vance. Any any other reports or
[46:51] items you want to bring up? I just want
[46:53] to say that the barber shop rap session
[46:55] that was held on this past Saturday at
[46:57] Heavily Cuts was a well attended and it
[47:00] was a good event for just to mingle and
[47:02] talk with the citizens there and and
[47:05] just to hear them and just to let them
[47:07] know that we're in the community and we
[47:09] want to know about them and let them
[47:10] know that we're here to uh to assist
[47:12] them and that we work for them.
[47:15] >> Mr. Dinger,
[47:17] >> uh going to hold my report to next
[47:19] meeting, but no report tonight. give us
[47:21] something to look forward to. Mr.
[47:23] Talent, no report. Mr. Singleton,
[47:26] >> report. I do have a question for staff.
[47:28] Uh I've turned in the la the last week a
[47:31] couple of the uh Goali stops where the
[47:33] trash cans are overflowing and and
[47:35] public works does a good job of cleaning
[47:37] it up.
[47:38] Is there a way to get a bigger can or
[47:42] another can specifically the one on
[47:45] Vandor in front of the bank and then the
[47:47] one beside the uh entrance to the
[47:50] G-pack? The one the G-pack. I know we
[47:52] own the property behind it. So, I
[47:54] thought that might be simple to put an extra can there if possible. But I'm
[47:59] just, you know, I go by that one gets a
[48:01] lot of traffic from the store, people
[48:02] walking and they use that trash can. Um
[48:05] the one up here they're coming from the
[48:08] shopping center and they use that and
[48:09] the trash can is overflowing. So I'm
[48:12] just wondering is there a way to get
[48:13] another can bigger can again public
[48:15] works responds well but u I'm just
[48:18] curious that's two I know they get full
[48:20] on a regular basis because of where
[48:22] they're located and whether they're bus
[48:24] people who ride the bus or not people
[48:25] are using the trash can.
[48:26] >> Yes sir. So we'll follow up on that. I
[48:28] know there were plans uh to enhance the
[48:30] bus stop on Bora and typically when
[48:33] those enhancements happen it comes with
[48:34] a larger can. Um so we'll check on the
[48:37] status of doing that and then also we'll
[48:39] talk internally about whether or not
[48:41] there's any option for adding our own
[48:42] can since we own the property near the
[48:45] other stop um in addition to the one
[48:47] that's with the bus stop.
[48:48] >> Okay. And the one in Vandor there
[48:50] talking about the enhancement with the
[48:51] enclosed assment. You're not talking
[48:53] about that. That would be a shelter and
[48:55] with the shelter comes the larger can
[48:56] because there's a place to mount it to.
[48:58] >> So, so they're working on that.
[48:59] >> Yes, sir. And I'll get a status update
[49:01] for that.
[49:01] >> All right. All right. Thank you.
[49:02] >> That's all.
[49:03] >> And thank you, Mr. Singleton, for
[49:05] bringing it up. It just points out
[49:06] again, it takes many sets of eyes to see
[49:09] the things that we need to do, things
[49:11] that many of us drive by every single
[49:13] day, but we're looking another
[49:14] direction, thinking about something
[49:16] else. Uh, thank all of you, particularly
[49:18] Mr. Singleton, who continue to do this.
[49:20] Every citizen who points out a way we
[49:22] can improve is helping us to improve.
[49:24] And let me put in that plug for the
[49:26] Garner Info app. Again, if you see an
[49:29] issue like this or grass growing or junk
[49:31] cars or or dead animals in the roadway,
[49:34] Garner Info gets good response. Unless
[49:37] you're on the council, then you just
[49:38] blurt it out and have take care of. But
[49:40] either way, it's good. So, we it takes
[49:42] everybody. It takes everybody to do
[49:44] this. Thanks for your efforts. That
[49:47] concludes the council reports I think.
[49:50] I'm sorry. Would you
[49:51] >> Matthew?
[49:52] >> I don't have anything.
[49:52] >> I thought I saw him give me to sign, but
[49:55] I just always rather double check than
[49:57] to miss somebody. Thank you. Every every
[50:00] eye counts. Every year counts. Okay. So,
[50:03] that that concludes the items on our
[50:05] agenda so far this evening. I think
[50:08] based on our closed session earlier
[50:10] today, we may need to have another close
[50:13] session uh this evening to talk about
[50:15] some of the things we saw there. Was
[50:17] that kind of what we had in mind having
[50:18] another close session this evening? Uh
[50:21] and I'll ask our town attorney to give
[50:23] us the proper citation to make a motion
[50:25] to move to a close session. That would
[50:28] be pursuant to North Carolina General
[50:30] Statutes section 143-318.11A3
[50:35] to consult with the town attorney
[50:36] regarding litigation or settlement of a
[50:38] claim.
[50:40] >> So moved.
[50:41] >> Second.
[50:41] >> There's a motion from Mr. Singleton and
[50:43] a second for Mr. Stalins. Uh if there's
[50:46] no other further discussion, I'll ask
[50:48] for a voice vote to move to a close
[50:50] session. All in favor, please signify by
[50:53] saying I.
[50:54] >> Any opposed by nay? Hearing none, we'll
[50:57] move to a close session. See you soon.
[51:00] Stick around. Take a break. Thank you.
[1:52:15] And we return to an open session here
[1:52:18] from our close session. I'm going to ask
[1:52:20] our town attorney, Miss Jones, to give
[1:52:22] us a recap of what we did.
[1:52:26] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. uh council gave
[1:52:28] direction to the town attorney and town
[1:52:30] staff on terms to a settlement
[1:52:32] agreement. Um
[1:52:35] and we will come back if a settlement
[1:52:38] agreement is entered into to report that
[1:52:41] out in open session.
[1:52:42] >> Okay. Thank you. Uh are there any other
[1:52:45] business items we need to address or
[1:52:47] anything else on the agenda? Uh hearing
[1:52:50] none, I will accept a motion to adjurnn.
[1:52:53] >> So moved.
[1:52:54] >> Second.
[1:52:54] >> Motion by Mr. Matthew, second by Mr.
[1:52:57] Stalins to adjourn. All in favor, please
[1:53:00] signify by saying I.
[1:53:01] >> I.
[1:53:02] >> Any opposed by nay? Hearing none.
[1:53:04] Meeting adjourned.
[1:53:24] Everybody.