[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.

Town Council Meeting for 9/1/2026

Transcript