[0:01] All right. Good evening and welcome to
the September 1st, 2026 meeting of the
[0:05] Hickory City Council. At this time, I
would like to ask the Reverend Melissa
[0:10] Sparks to the podium from Unitaria
Universalist Church of Kataba Valley uh
[0:15] for our invocation. I would ask that if
you're able to please stand for the
[0:20] invocation and remain standing after the
invocation for the pledge of allegiance.
[0:27] Spirit of life and love, God of many
names, we give thanks today for each of
[0:32] the servant leaders gathered here who
have each answered yes in their own way
[0:37] to serving our community.
We remember today all of those in our
[0:42] shared city who are struggling to meet
their basic needs. Those who are hungry,
[0:47] those who will weather extreme heat this
week without adequate shelter. May those
[0:52] who are suffering be remembered as
decisions are being made today.
[0:56] We remember too that while there are
many ways we think differently in this
[1:01] room, we share a desire to live in a
safe community, a kind community, and a
[1:08] community where people can thrive and be
happy. May those who serve here have the
[1:13] courage to listen deeply, especially to
voices that are easy to overlook. May
[1:19] they have the wisdom to consider not
only what is possible, but what is just.
[1:24] May they have patience when solutions
are complicated and humility when
[1:29] answers are not clear.
And may all of us who call this city
[1:33] home remember that our community is
something we create together in the
[1:38] decisions made in this room, in the ways
we care for our neighbors, and in the
[1:43] small acts of kindness that make a place
feel like home.
[1:47] May the work of this council be guided
by compassion, wisdom, courage, and a
[1:51] deep commitment to the flourishing of
all who live here. In the name of the
[1:57] sacred love that holds and guides us
all. Amen.
[2:00] » Amen.
>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[2:04] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
[2:10] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. [clears throat]
[2:20] Okay. Uh, we don't have any special
presentations this evening. So, I'll
[2:25] skip down to item number five on the
agenda and ask if there is anyone
[2:29] present this evening that would like to
address the council.
[2:35] As always, we allow a time at the
beginning of our meeting for anyone that
[2:39] would like to address the council the
opportunity to be able to do so. And uh
[2:44] you don't have to wait until a council
meeting. Our council members are make
[2:48] themselves available uh practically any
time. Uh if you just let them know if
[2:53] you need to speak to one of us, we make
ourselves available. But if you would
[2:55] like to speak in front of the entire
council at each meeting during this
[2:59] time, we allow you that opportunity. So
there doesn't appear to be anyone that
[3:03] would like to address the council this
evening. The next item on our agenda is
[3:08] approval of our regular meeting of
August the 18th, 2026. and I'll
[3:12] entertain a motion.
>> So moved.
[3:14] » Second.
>> All right, we have a motion and a
[3:16] second. Is there any further discussion?
All those in favor, please say I.
[3:21] » I.
>> Any opposed like sign? That carries
[3:25] unanimously. The next item on our agenda
is the reaffirmation ratification on
[3:29] second readings. And once again, I'll
entertain a motion.
[3:32] » So move second.
>> We have a motion and a second. Is there
[3:35] any further discussion?
>> All those in favor, please say I. I.
[3:40] » Any opposed? like sign that also carries
unanimously. Item number eight is our
[3:46] consent agenda. I'll ask if there's any
member of council or staff that would
[3:50] like to have any item removed from the
consent agenda.
[3:54] » Yes, sir.
>> Approval.
[3:55] » I've got one. I'm sorry. Uh item E. Um
I'd like to remove that. Uh it's for
[4:01] navigation easements at the airport and
have you consider that during the
[4:05] departmental report uh with Chad
Hunucker. He's going to go into a little
[4:09] bit more u detail on that.
>> Okay. All right. [clears throat] With
[4:12] the exception of item E, did I hear a
motion?
[4:15] » So moved. Second.
>> All right. We have a motion and a
[4:18] second. Any further discussion?
>> All those in favor, please say I.
[4:23] » I.
>> Any opposed? Like sign.
[4:26] » All right. That carries unanimously with
the exception of item E. Uh, next on the
[4:32] agenda is our uh, public hearing our for
and we have one public hearing this
[4:38] evening. Uh, so to introduce our public
hearing, I'll turn it over to our city
[4:42] manager, Mr. Warren Woo.
>> Thank you, Mayor G, members, city
[4:45] council, Mr. Swanson. The one public
hearing tonight is consideration of the
[4:49] fiscal year 2526 consolidated annual
performance and evaluation report, also
[4:54] known as the caper, for submission as
required by the US Department of Housing
[4:58] and Urban Development. It'll be
presented by business development
[5:01] director Dave Leonetti.
[5:06] » Thank you, Mr. Wood, mayor guest,
members of council, Mr. Swanson. Uh
[5:11] tonight I'm here to present the uh as uh
as Warren said, the consolidated annual
[5:17] performance evaluation report. A couple
months ago, um AnnaBth was up here in
[5:23] front of y'all um with our annual action
plan and that's the plan for the coming
[5:29] year, the current 2026 2027 fiscal year
that we're in. Then 90 days after our
[5:35] current program year or our previous
program year is finished, we submit a
[5:39] performance evaluation report to HUD.
This is fairly dry reading. Um it's
[5:46] basically all the information about what
we spent our money on, what we uh and
[5:51] what we accomplished during the past
year. Um as an entitlement community,
[5:56] the city of Hickory is an entitlement
community for community development
[5:59] block grant funds because we are one of
the three principal cities of the
[6:03] Hickory Lenor Morganton metropolitan
statistical area. That means we get
[6:07] funding directly from HUD every year
instead of smaller municipalities that
[6:12] have to u apply for grants through the
North Carolina Department of Commerce
[6:17] through their small cities program. Um
and again the the year under
[6:21] consideration is July 1st 2025 to June
30th 2026.
[6:27] Overall, the the majority of our
spending from last year was the
[6:32] improvements to Hickory Optimus Park.
That included fencing, paving,
[6:36] construction of the new dog park, some
picnic tables, um, and a lot of, uh,
[6:41] some trail connections to the existing
trails within that park. We've got a
[6:46] couple of that opened right at um, July
4th uh, weekend, I believe, um, was when
[6:52] that that opened. And there's some
photographs of the finished product out
[6:56] there. It was conversion of a former
baseball field into um [clears throat]
[7:01] grass area for for dogs and then some
other places for folks to just walk and
[7:05] enjoy the park.
Um other spending included our housing
[7:11] rehabilitation program that was
$110,000. That was two homes. Um that
[7:16] number does include our uh some a final
payment on a home that was finished in
[7:22] the previous fiscal year along with the
funds to administer the program. um fair
[7:29] housing. Uh we um every April we declare
fair housing month and help citizens uh
[7:36] be aware of their rights under the Fair
Housing Act. And we also purchased some
[7:41] advertising in local newspapers um to in
and social media to inform people of
[7:48] their fair housing rights. And then um
$36,000 was for program administration
[7:53] during the last year. Um that's for
staff time to administer the program. Um
[7:58] then there's $51,500
of public service activities. The US
[8:05] Department of Housing and Urban
Development, they allow us to spend up
[8:08] to 15% of our project grant and previous
year program income on public service
[8:14] activities. Um and this past year, um it
we were able to work with seven
[8:19] different local nonprofits that assist
low and moderate income individuals. Um,
[8:25] Alpha, they work with uh um HIV and AIDS
patients to help keep them. They do
[8:30] medical case management to keep them in
care. Exodus Homes helps their residents
[8:34] find employment and transportation.
Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, that
[8:39] is their summer camp and their
afterchool program. The Soup Kitchen is
[8:44] the the meals that they serve and the
food bank that they operate. Kataba
[8:48] Science Center. They operate a portal to
science program they call it that
[8:53] provides um lowcost memberships for low
and moderate income households and
[8:59] scholarships to take advantage of their
summer camps. The Women's Resource
[9:04] Center, they provide case management um
supplies and different support to women
[9:10] in crisis um especially homeless women.
Um and then Greater Hickory Greater
[9:16] Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry
um received $7,500. Um and that is for
[9:22] their homeless ministry that where they
help um the homeless find housing
[9:27] showers. They help them set up mailboxes
um and other social work activities.
[9:33] um in this current fiscal year um that
you'll be reading about or in next
[9:39] year's report, we're working um we're we
should be hopefully going under contract
[9:43] soon to do some uh HVAC improvements at
the Ridge View Recreation Center. Um
[9:49] you'll notice we didn't have any small
business or microenterprise loans last
[9:54] year, but we've council has already
approved one in this fiscal year. you
[9:59] will have two more at your next u next
city council meeting on September 15th
[10:04] and we've got one other one in the
pipeline. So, the word is getting out
[10:08] about about that program and we've got
um a lot of good good ways that we can
[10:13] help our low and moderate income
business owners buy equipment and get
[10:17] receive marketing and support for their
small businesses. Um and then we'll
[10:22] continue the housing rehab program. One
thing I'll also mention, it's not
[10:25] included in those numbers, but we
receive funding from the North Carolina
[10:29] Housing Finance Agency for our urgent
repair program. That's a fully
[10:33] forgivable loan that we have for low and
moderate income homeowners with special
[10:38] needs.
They we were able to assist 13
[10:42] homeowners last fiscal year with that.
So, 15 total homeowners were supported
[10:47] through our rehab efforts. Um, and then
we have, uh, funding in the budget for,
[10:52] um, additional grants to nonprofit
public service agencies next year.
[10:58] With that, um, I'd be happy to answer
any questions you may have.
[11:01] » How often do you get other nonprofits
that come and want to apply?
[11:06] » Um, we receive a good amount of, uh, we
we receive requests for more than we're
[11:13] able to fund um, every year. We have to
be careful to um our citizens advisory
[11:17] committee reviews those requests um and
and staff also reviews them. We have to
[11:22] be careful not to duplicate services and
ensure that all the nonprofits have the
[11:26] capacity to to deal with all the federal
uh red tape and requirements and all
[11:31] that.
>> I have a question and thanks for what
[11:34] you do Dave. Um and you mentioned that
it was 13 homes for the low moderate
[11:39] income rehabilitation. So is that um
usually around about the number of homes
[11:44] that we usually help or what can we
compare it to last year?
[11:49] » So the 13 homes is um right around what
we normally do with our urgent repair.
[11:54] And then last year we had two for our
housing rehab, the more traditional um
[11:58] deferred loan program that we offer. But
um this year we currently have three in
[12:04] the pipeline and a couple more. So we
this year I think it a lot of it's just
[12:08] timing. Um, we've got a few that were
approved in kind of that May June time
[12:12] frame that are getting started now. So,
I would anticipate probably four to five
[12:17] um with that plus another 13 or so from
the urgent repair program.
[12:25] » All right, I have two questions. Um, of
the seven not for profofits that were on
[12:29] the list, are any of those first-time
recipients of this month of of these
[12:33] grants?
>> Not first time. Um I think women's
[12:36] resource center was this may have been
their second second time.
[12:41] » Okay. And secondly, are there geographic
parameters on how we can use money that
[12:46] we use directly? Say for instance, the
Hickory Optimus Park, are there
[12:50] parameters in terms of geography where
that money can be used?
[12:53] » Yes sir. Um our funding through the US
Department of Housing Urban Development,
[12:58] they want to ensure that our funding
benefits low and moderate income
[13:01] individuals. Um, and those
infrastructure and facility improvement
[13:05] projects, they qualify under what's
known as the area benefit category. And
[13:10] we can spend that funding in areas where
the service area of the facility or the
[13:15] improvement, 51% of those people um are
in of the population of the service area
[13:21] low and moderate income.
>> Okay. And the grants that we make to the
[13:25] not for profofits, they're not under
those same obligations. Correct. that is
[13:29] they are funded through the low and
moderate income clientele. Um so
[13:35] basically at least 51% of the clientele
that benefit from the program have to be
[13:40] low and moderate income. So depending
they either have to assign a
[13:43] self-certification that speaks to their
household income or they are certain
[13:48] categories are presumed low and moderate
income such as homeless um and um
[13:54] persons living with HIV and AIDS and and
some other categories
[13:58] » and HUD is responsible for I'm going to
use the word audit. I'm going to use
[14:01] that loosely um for tracking that making
sure that those those um those things
[14:07] are being met. Yes, we the city is
responsible as the as the recipient of
[14:12] the funds for making sure that we
monitor all of our subreients. Our staff
[14:17] goes out every year.
>> That answers my question. Okay, great.
[14:20] Well, thank you. Thank you for the
answers and thank you for what you do.
[14:23] You're welcome. Thank you.
>> I have one more question. the uh 329,000
[14:28] plus that
>> um went into certainly the Hickory
[14:31] Optimus um park
>> now um I guess in the grant that
[14:38] we get that amount that's allocated for
infrastructure correct
[14:42] » we get we can spend the money on the the
city has the ability as an entitlement
[14:48] community to spend funding on anything
that meets a national objective um and
[14:53] then that was over the LA we did not, if
you'll like going back to the previous
[14:59] year, we basically stacked two years of
public infrastructure funding together
[15:03] to um to get the money to do the uh the
more recent one. Our entitlement grant
[15:09] this year is right around $363,000
and we receive it. It varies between 100
[15:16] and $175,000
in program income
[15:21] from repayment of loans and other
activities. So that's kind of the money
[15:24] that we're working with
>> and and I know our our objective goal is
[15:29] certainly to hit all four corners of
Hickory and so um each year uh what is
[15:36] the process as it relates to which
particular neighborhood or area um is
[15:42] going to benefit from the 300 now
$60,000.
[15:46] » Yeah. So um as Mr. Wood um alluded to
with his question, we have um that we
[15:51] qualify these facility improvements
under the area benefit category. So
[15:55] there's certain census tracks that have
that are you know potentially eligible
[15:59] for those those improvements. Then we um
as staff we have public meetings to um
[16:07] the if you'll remember the um in Optimus
Park about 12 13 years ago um the
[16:13] community building that was built there
was requested by the Green Park
[16:17] neighborhood association in one of those
public public meetings. So our internal
[16:22] staff and in conjunction with the input
we get from the public look through
[16:26] which parks may be eligible for the
funding and then we kind of try to go
[16:31] through all of those different areas. We
spent money in Cliff Teague Park. We've
[16:35] spent a great deal in Taff Broom Park
and obviously this year at the Ridgeview
[16:39] Recreation Center. So um West Hickory uh
Senior Center and West Hickory Park have
[16:45] had improvements in in recent years as
well.
[16:48] » Thank you. Sure.
Any further questions for Mr. Leonetti?
[16:54] Thank you, sir.
>> Thank you.
[16:57] » All right.
This is a public hearing. In just a
[17:01] minute, I'll declare the public hearing
open. But before I do so, I'd like to uh
[17:05] give out some rules pertaining to our
public hearing. Uh we allow those that
[17:10] would like to speak in opposition uh the
opportunity to do that at first and we
[17:16] allow up to 15 minutes for uh those that
would like to speak if there's anyone in
[17:20] opposition and also 15 minutes if
there's anyone that would like to speak
[17:24] in favor. Uh we will also allow up to
five minutes for rebuttal and sir
[17:30] rebuttal if necessary. We ask those
folks that may want to speak to approach
[17:34] the podium and to state their name and
address and to limit their conversation
[17:40] to in in the entirety uh to that 15
minutes. So, at this time, I'll declare
[17:45] the public hearing open and ask if
there's anyone present that would like
[17:50] to speak in opposition.
[17:57] There doesn't appear to be anyone that
would like to speak in opposition. I'll
[18:01] ask if there's anyone present that would
like to speak in favor of this caper
[18:07] report that you've just heard from uh
Dave Leonetti.
[18:15] There doesn't appear to be anyone that
would like to speak in favor. So, at
[18:19] this time, I'll declare the public
hearing closed and entertain a motion
[18:23] from council.
>> Move approval of the paper report.
[18:27] » Second.
>> All right. We have a motion. We have a
[18:30] second. Is there any further discussion?
All those in favor, please say I.
[18:36] » I.
>> Any opposed? Like sign. That carries
[18:40] unanimously.
>> All right. Next item on our agenda.
[18:44] Oops, I'm sorry. Is our departmental
report. I'll turn it over to our city
[18:48] manager, Mr. Warren Wood, for that
introduction.
[18:50] » Thank you, Mayor. Guest, we had a number
of items on the agenda tonight related
[18:54] to the airport, and we've talked about
all these uh projects at previous
[18:58] meetings. Um, but I'd like to have Chad
Hunucker come up and tie a lot of this
[19:03] together and uh you'll have the
navigations easement uh to consider at
[19:08] the end of his presentation.
>> That was item E that was on the
[19:12] » correct. Okay, [clears throat]
>> mayor uh members of council, Mr. Wood,
[19:16] Mr. Swanson. So, we do have one. You
guys have a screen up there.
[19:20] » Thanks for the opportunity to be before
you tonight to give you an update on
[19:23] airport projects as I put this brief
together. Actually, this is not
[19:27] everything we have going on. This is
just a snidbit of it. So, there's other
[19:31] projects starting later this month like
lighting and then in October the tower
[19:35] rehab is starting. So, this is just the
tip of the iceberg as they say. Uh the
[19:40] retaining wall, you can clearly see it
if you come up Clement Boulevard here
[19:45] lately. Uh that picture was actually
taken on Friday and it's already super
[19:49] old because this evening they should
complete the upper portion of the wall.
[19:55] So, all that's going to be left is uh a
little bit of grading and some storm
[19:59] water work and then that project should
be wrapped up by the end of next week.
[20:04] So, that's pretty exciting. They've only
they've gotten lucky. Only been shut
[20:08] down maybe two nights because of
weather. Uh so, it's pretty neat. The
[20:13] view on the top left, that's the
extension of what will be the new safety
[20:16] area when it's done. Uh that will be
adjacent to the EMOS. I had briefed you
[20:23] in uh May I believe it was on the EMOS
project. So what will happen next after
[20:27] the retaining wall is complete in about
three weeks JT Russell will come in and
[20:33] they will start grading work. Uh they're
going to start some paving and they will
[20:37] prepare the EMOS bed. Uh which I just
remind you was 2,771
[20:43] blocks make up the EMOS system here at
Hickory. And so that project's going to
[20:49] start. We were able to accelerate the
timeline for that and we're extremely
[20:53] hopeful that that project should be
wrapped up by Christmas.
[20:58] Wrapped wrapped up.
>> Wrapped up by Christmas
[21:01] » literally.
Couple other items that you saw on the
[21:05] agenda this evening is the north ramp
expansion. The north ramp is our FBO
[21:10] ramp. That's where we traditionally
service probably 90% of our customers,
[21:14] both base and transit customers. and
quite honestly it's too small. Um we had
[21:20] a record August with the amount of
transient traffic and amount of fuel
[21:24] sales that we had and there were many
days where we literally ran out of
[21:28] parking spaces. So we have to get
creative. So that left image there looks
[21:33] a little confusing, but what it
essentially will be is there's a grassy
[21:36] area between our exist existing ramp and
the old runway that will completely be
[21:42] paved and it will expand that entire
area really tripling the size of our
[21:47] current ramp. On the right, another
thing you saw on the agenda tonight is
[21:51] the uh south and west ramps
rehabilitation.
[21:56] The key things to take away here is they
conducted a pavement uh condition index
[22:01] study in 2023. So the data you're seeing
here is three years old. The red area is
[22:08] the rest west ramp of the airport which
we have six corporate hangers over
[22:11] there. The pink area on the bottom right
is the south ramp or we have three
[22:17] corporate hangers over there. In 23
the west ramp pavement was already in
[22:23] very poor condition. So you can imagine
where it's at now. So tonight on the
[22:28] agenda that was to approve us to begin
the design process for that
[22:33] rehabilitation.
[22:36] Navigation easements. U most people are
familiar with property easements which
[22:42] you would think of putting a driveway
through someone else's property
[22:45] something like that. A navigation
easement is actually attaining airspace
[22:49] rights above a property owner's
property. Uh the reason we would need to
[22:54] do that at airport is grant assurance 20
requires us that if we see receive
[22:59] federal funds which our airport has and
still will in the future we're required
[23:04] to keep all of the departure approach
and transitional services clear of
[23:09] obstructions most notably trees.
They conducted an approach analysis.
[23:15] That's what you see on the left side of
the screen. In 23 and 116 properties at
[23:22] the approach end of runway 6 have known
obstructions that need to be removed.
[23:28] Before we get to the obstruction removal
process though, we have to obtain those
[23:32] navigation easement rights. So it's a
process that we're going to work through
[23:36] a work authorization for with our
consultant Talbert Bright and Ellington.
[23:41] our staff attorney will get involved at
some point of the process as far as
[23:44] title searches go. Um so we go out make
appraisals eventually make an offer to
[23:51] the property owner. Once we have
obtained that navigation easement it is
[23:56] um it lasts forever no matter who owns
the property. So it would allow us to go
[24:02] on there and remove an obstruction at
any time. The the goal for us is to go
[24:08] in and do it one time. Uh so go
completely take the known obstructions
[24:12] down and we'll be done with it. Why this
is important? One, the area you see in
[24:18] the purple kind of triangle, that is the
first 3,000 ft off the approach end of
[24:22] runway 6. That is for our existing
threshold. Now there are known
[24:27] obstruction. How it affects us is our
approach weather minimums that a pilot
[24:32] uses to safely know whether they can uh
make a landing to that runway in adverse
[24:38] weather are raised significantly for
runway six because of the non trees. So
[24:44] for example runway 24 that has no
obstructions the weather minimas are 200
[24:50] ft ceiling and a half mile visibility.
For runway 6 it's 500 ft 1 and a/4
[24:56] miles.
So with by removing that first 3,000 ft
[25:01] area of obstructions, we'll be able to
reduce those weather minimums.
[25:05] Additionally, you'll see on the right,
as you know, we're trying to pursue an
[25:09] eventual 400 ft runway extension on that
end of the runway. The areas outside of
[25:15] the 3,000 ft, those obstructions will
become an issue if you extend the
[25:20] runway. So, it's important we address
those. Now, this is a step one in an
[25:25] eventual runway extension. Chad Chad,
other than trees, what are the is there
[25:29] any structures, buildings or anything
like that?
[25:32] » No structures. It is simply is all
trees.
[25:35] » It's all trees.
>> Yeah. I was reading today one of the
[25:37] highest trees is 68 ft.
>> And what's the what does it need to be?
[25:41] What's the minimum?
>> Um, it's a 20 to It's an engineer thing.
[25:47] It's a 20 to one slope off the end of
the runway. I don't know what that comes
[25:51] to as far as the height of the tree,
>> but you can't Okay.
[25:56] So some of the things that's in the
scope of work with Talbert and Brighton
[25:59] the work authorization is they'll
negotiate and establish a budget. Uh
[26:02] they'll obviously be overall in charge
of the project management portion. Uh
[26:07] they've already performed some of the
navigation easement analysis. That's
[26:10] where I was showing you guys how many
properties were involved and how many
[26:14] obstruction had been identified. And
then they will also work through a
[26:18] subcontractor where they will do the
appraisals and negotiations with the
[26:23] property owner. Uh, this is going to be
funded with a previously accepted state
[26:27] aid grant that we received. And tonight,
we're looking for approval for you to
[26:33] allow the city manager, Mr. Wood, to be
able to execute the work authorization
[26:38] with TBE and an amount not to exceed
$1.6 million.
[26:43] And with that, I'd be happy to answer
any questions.
[26:46] » How many properties did you say were
affected?
[26:48] » 116.
Are most of them occupied or some of
[26:53] them vacant or a mixture?
>> I would say from what I've seen most of
[26:57] them are occupied.
[27:01] » So obviously one of the things is
timeline. This is a multi-year project.
[27:08] » Yes, ma'am.
>> Um what are the funding sources to pay
[27:13] for this? We received a uh grant from
the state for $3 million that is going
[27:19] to be able to fund the 3,000 ft of the
existing threshold and we'll be able to
[27:24] use AIG federal funding for the other
properties.
[27:30] » Yes, sir.
>> I have a few a couple questions. Is
[27:33] imminent domain in the toolbox as a last
resort? It is for this type of work.
[27:37] » It is.
>> Okay. And the tree removal. Um I'm
[27:42] hoping that it's removal and not
topping. I hope topping of trees is not
[27:46] in is not an option. Are we going to Can
we insist that it be removed?
[27:52] » Once we obtain the navigation e
easement, it is our prerogative on which
[27:56] means to utilize. We will recommend full
removal. And here's why. Uh some species
[28:03] of trees when they're trimmed, it
actually encourages growth. So the
[28:09] federal government is only going to fund
us one time to do this. So if we come
[28:13] back in 10 years and say, "I'm sorry,
but the tree grew back, we're going to
[28:17] pay for it,
>> right?"
[28:19] » Um the other fear with trimming is if
you prune incorrectly, you could kill
[28:25] the tree.
>> Then we have a deadfall situation
[28:28] » and a liability issue if that tree were
to fall on the property owner's
[28:32] property.
>> I noticed that you said recommend. Um
[28:36] what what prevents us from insisting
that the tree be removed?
[28:39] » Nothing.
>> Okay. Okay. Very good. And let's say
[28:43] that um we go out and we remove the
trees and the property owner are they
[28:47] prohibited from replanting? Um is there
any any type of prohibition against
[28:53] replanting in this area?
>> It does not prohibit them from
[28:56] replanting, but it does specify that it
cannot become a future hazard. So you
[29:03] you wouldn't want to plant an oak tree,
right? You would be you'd specify what
[29:07] type of tree it would be.
>> Would that be at their cost if they did?
[29:10] » It would be.
>> Okay. Very good. Thank you.
[29:12] » Yes, sir.
>> Is that is that the same case even if
[29:15] something just grows there that they
didn't plant that they're responsible
[29:18] for it?
>> Yes.
[29:19] » Okay.
>> So if they replanted something, they
[29:22] would be responsible for taking it out
if if it grew
[29:26] » 50 years from now, right? Thank you.
>> All right. Any other questions?
[29:32] I guess we need a motion on this. Is
that correct?
[29:36] » Yes. Yes, sir.
>> I'll [clears throat] make a I'll make a
[29:38] motion uh that we approve uh this as
laid out by uh Mr. Hunter.
[29:45] » Second.
>> All right. We have a motion. We have a
[29:47] second. Is there any further discussion?
All those in favor, please say I.
[29:52] » I.
>> Any opposed? Like sign. All right. That
[29:55] carries unanimously.
All right.
[29:59] » [clears throat]
>> And that took care of item E. Yes, sir.
[30:03] As well. Okay. So, we don't
[clears throat]
[30:05] » uh appointments to boards or
commissions. I have uh just one uh the
[30:11] youth council, Miss Nahala Holmes as the
Hickory High School representative on
[30:16] the youth council. I would like to make
that uh nomination.
[30:20] » And I have one for an Brock for the
community appearance, the atlarge
[30:25] position.
>> Okay. I have one uh Mr. John Andrews for
[30:30] the Hickory Regional Planning
Commission.
[30:33] » All right.
>> I have one for the uh recycling board
[30:38] advisory board. Um Janna
>> Flood Flood.
[30:44] » Flood. Yes.
>> Okay.
[30:46] » Thank you.
>> Yes, sir. Are there any others?
[30:51] All right. We have those motions. We
have a second.
[30:55] » Second.
>> We have a second. Any further
[30:57] discussion?
All in favor, please say I. I.
[31:01] » Any opposed like sign. All right. Those
are carried unanimously as well. Uh any
[31:08] matters not on the agenda this evening,
sir?
[31:10] » No, sir.
>> All right. Uh on behalf of the entire
[31:15] council, uh I would like to send our
sincere condolences uh to Mr. Wood. Uh
[31:23] he lost his mother this week, Amy Turner
Wood. And uh I
[31:29] » I appreciate that.
>> Our sincere sincere condolences support
[31:32] city council. Your kind words to to a
person. So since I got y'all here, I
[31:37] want to thank you all collectively. So
thank you and staff as well. Thanks.
[31:41] » Anything you need, you
>> I appreciate it, sir.
[31:43] » And your family as well.
>> Any other uh comments from the council?
[31:48] Anybody?
>> All right. I'll make a motion that we
[31:52] adjourn.
>> Second.
[31:54] » We have a motion. We have a second. Any
further discussion? All in favor, please
[31:57] say I. I.
>> Any oppose? Linstein. All right, we
[32:00] stand adjourned. Thank you for being
here this evening.