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2020.

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» [music]

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[music]

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» Here

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[music]

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[music]

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we go.

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[music]

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» [music]

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[music]

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[music]

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[clears throat]
>> Good afternoon and welcome to the town

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of Surf City Town Council meeting. I
want to call this meeting to order and

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ask Mr. Nathan Schwarz if he would come
up. He is the pastor at Chapel by the

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Bay. And then when he is done, Mr. Abel
Mart

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will come up and lead us with a pledge.
And he is from the um scout troop 234.

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Everyone please stand.
Let's pray together. Jesus, we're

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thankful that we have survived
snowageddon and we are grateful for the

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strength to shovel our driveways with
man-made tools. And we pray Lord a

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prayer of thanks for all those that are
out there working the roads and helping

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us keep safe. We pray for this meeting
Lord that your will will be done. Pray

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that we might be able to represent for
you uh that which is the very best of

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humanity. And thank you Lord for the
opportunity to live in such a great

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place, be part of such a great town. We
love you Lord. Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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Amen.

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To the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for it

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stands one nation under God indivisible
with liberty and justice for all.

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» Thank you Abel.

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Next on our before we start our agenda,
the beautifification enhancement

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committee gives out awards every month
to a business and home of the month and

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John Kowski is going to present those
folks. No one from the committee is here

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tonight. So,
>> do we have anybody from Margaritas here?

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» Okay.
>> But hey, you it is a great place. I was

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here yesterday and [laughter] usually a
couple days out of the week. So

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» uh so this is uh in recognition
Margaritas beautifification business of

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the month
that to them and then do we have anybody

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from 57 537 Montgomery Loop here
tonight?

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» Okay. So this is for them and this is
the home of the month beautifification.

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» Is that over in Salt Water? Yeah,
>> just saltwater familiar with it.

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» Saltwater landing.
>> Yeah,

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» saltwater landing.
>> How's that?

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» Depending depending on the weather
tomorrow, we will be at those locations

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taking photos. Um, and if it happens to
get cancelled, we will reschedule and

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take another photo.
Um, so at this time we have the agenda.

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Um, do I have a motion to amend the
agenda to remove item number one under

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new business?
Um, which is the Pender County tax

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reevaluation presentation. They had to
cancel tonight and they will Pinter

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County will be calling us to reschedu.
>> I'll make that motion. Mayor,

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» I'll second. I have a motion and a
second. All in favor say I.

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» I.
>> All oppose, same sign. Motion carries.

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So now do I have a motion to adopt the
agenda as amended?

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» I make a motion to adopt the agenda as
amended.

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» Second.
>> I have a motion and a second. All in

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favor say I.
>> All oppose. Same sign.

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» Motion carries.
Next item is the approval of the consent

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agenda. Do I have a motion to approve
the consent agenda?

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» Yes. I'll make a motion to approve the
consent agenda.

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» I'll second.
>> Thank you, Trudy.

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» Motion and a second. All in favor say I.
I

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» all oppose same sign. Motion carries. At
this time is public comments. Citizens

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have the opportunity to address the
council and Carla will

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call out the names on the list. We have
Jill Miranda.

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» Hi guys. Long time no see, huh?
Um,

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as I said on my email that I sent to
you, I've been a little disappointed

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that there's not been any discussion
about the budget because, you know, it's

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coming up to be that time. And with all
the drama last year, I think it would be

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a really good idea if you guys held town
halls. And I know there's been

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discussion about whether that's feasible
or not. But I think with everything

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coming down the pike with the rivals and
the tax hike and trying to get that

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taken away and uh getting things back
into more normal money situation. That

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would be a good idea to be able to talk
to you, not just sit here and talk for

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three minutes and then go sit down and
hopefully make an impression. It would

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be nice to get some answers and it would
be nice to hear where you stand and why.

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And that's it. Um, and I think in the
meantime, I would like to challenge all

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of you members to look at the budget and
pick an item that you would like to trim

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or cut out. Not anything essential, but
things like the gentleman came last

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month and talked about the trash can
pulling in and out or for health care

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possibly moving over to the state's
program for the state employees. Uh what

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about changing insurance to the
parametric system which the um NCJUA

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kind of likes actually. Um also
um what was the other one I thought of?

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Oh, the parking. We could maybe get a
different parking company. Maybe they're

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when their contracts up, get a parking
company that would actually not take

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half the money and that would actually
enforce the fines. Those are just some

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things you could brainstorm, talk about
at the work sessions. You don't have to

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have consistent consensus on any of it.
But what I'm thinking is if you start

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brainstorming these things and you get
yourselves ready to start cutting, then

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people will take very seriously that
you're doing the best for this town that

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you can do. And that's all I have to
say. I appreciate it. Thank you.

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» Thank you, Jill Miranda. Um Kyle, don't
you have some dates on the budget that

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we have? How many meetings scheduled for
the budget?

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» We have several coming up. Our big one
uh is coming up March 13th. So uh

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department heads have until the end of
February to have their budget items um

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put in.
>> 19th,

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» excuse me.
>> Sorry, I think it's the 19th.

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» March 19th. Yeah. So that department
heads will have the till the end of

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February to um compile their budgets and
then that's when council will start

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reviewing the actual numbers. And again,
we don't have the

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um reassessment values from either
Pender nor Enso at this point. Um value

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of personal property, etc. Those are all
the inputs in regards to the revenues um

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tied to the budget. So absolutely, once
we get that, then we will start getting

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do our homework on it. Get
>> to work.

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Carla
Jeremy Sugars.

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Uh my name is Jeremy Sugarerts. I live
at 150 Cornell Lane in well Hstead. It's

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a surf city address. Um um I um was on
council for eight years mayor prompt. So

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I know where all the bodies are buried.
So any anything but the true answers I

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for sure will not know they were. So a
couple things. First of all, I implore

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you uh to not make any cuts on the
budget. I implore you to continue to do

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what you're doing because you guys are
doing the best you can do and I I know

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that. So, Madame Mayor, Mayor Prom,
Council, you guys are doing a great job

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with that and you guys do the best. You
pick through it. So, I want to tell you

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that uh uh somebody that's entrenched in
the community and around a lot of

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people, we want you to continue doing
what you're doing. I have three quick

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things. Number one is um I'd like to um
first of all say everybody here is doing

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a great job. I do want to ask uh a very
quick question if you don't mind uh from

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uh I probably have triple digits of
people in the community that have asked

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me about uh something that was uh Mr.
Plow ran on a tax repeal and um it was

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on his signs on his Facebook. It was on
his website and in fact the repeal says

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to repeal means to repeal law means
officially cancel, revoke or abolish it.

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And that was on the tax. That's what you
ran on as a as a that was your platform.

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I'd like to know where my check is and
so would the couple hundred other people

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that have talked to me. So we'd like to
have an answer on that. Uh people that

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are listening on uh YouTube here would
like to know that. So, it's important to

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me to find out where that is because you
can't say something that's not true

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without being held accountable for it.
That's first thing. Uh, second thing is

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I would like this council to consider uh
during public comment time for you to

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recognize the difference between uh
people that live in Surf City and do not

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live in Surf City. So, let me explain
that real quick. If I go down to the

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Wilmington City Council uh meeting and I
say, "I'm Jeremy Sugarle 150 Cornell in

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Hamstead and I don't like something
you're doing in the town of Wilmington."

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They probably will do not care. will
listen not listen to me. Um so I think

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it's important that you have this public
comment time do as you're doing but

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people that do live in the Hamstead
Holly Ridge ETJ they live that are not

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taxpayers they are identified as not
residents because you guys want to hear

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the taxpayers. That's what you that's
what you base your decisions on what

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your taxpayers tell you. That's why it's
it's concerning for you to make sure you

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make those right decisions. Uh and the
last thing is too I want to thank uh

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Kyle and the mayor, the council. Uh
we've uh had we had Surf City Live here

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for 5 years. It was fantastic. And um I
know you guys tried to get us to have it

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back again. Uh you kept that date for
us, but we've decided we've moved it to

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Holly Ridge uh for bigger numbers. So
we're uh that's going to be in November

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7th. We're have 5,000 at that event, and
it's going to be an all day event. So,

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but we want to thank you for allowing us
to be here the last 5 years. Uh the

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participation, we had almost 3,000
people to see the Beach Boys, almost

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3,000 people to see Craig Morgan and
Josh Turner. It was fantastic. That's

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great community support. Uh the
community loved it. Uh we sold out of

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sponsors every year. People were are in
line for that and uh we hate to leave to

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go there, but we've got a you know it it
enables us to be able to grow a little

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bit outside the box. So we just want to
say thank you for that opportunity. But

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thank you very much.
>> Thank you.

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» Thank you.

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» That's all.

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» Okay. Um no more public comments at this
time. Um there

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is no public hearings and under old
business is segment segment number seven

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of the multi-use path budget ordinance
amendment fund 55 and Cal Brewer will

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present.
>> Good evening madame mayor and fellow

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council and members of the public in the
audience and watching. Uh this is a

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followup to our work session item and
was inadvertently um left off uh was the

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last portion of the money transfer
process when when we budget for a

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specific project. So specifically this
is to cover uh the multi-use path

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segment that is uh going to be completed
in concert with the utility uh larger

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utility project uh for the sub aacquous
uh water line underneath the inner

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coastal and u what we'll do is then
replace the water line along Northshore

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Drive. utility contractors will complete
that work and leave the site um graded

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out for the multi-use path. Uh separate
from the utility funding um is uh how we

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will fund this um working through some
creative strategies. We did identify

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that um our accommodations tax fund can
fund this project. Um so that's monies

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that are generated through short-term
rentals. Um so at a price of um

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$664,216,
which is about half of what the original

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estimate was, uh we're asking to move
those funds from fund 21 accommodations

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tax over to our uh multi-use path
perpetual fund 55. So that is the u

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final action that would need to be uh
taken with this project. I can answer

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any questions if there are any.
Does any council members have any

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questions?
>> No, I do not.

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» Just want to applaud the council for
making that decision. Uh, in effect,

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we've saved the town 1.2 2 million out
of our taxes by one piggybacking

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uh the multi-use pass segment seven with
the um the sewer pro or the the

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waterline project, the water resilience
project and then using accommodations

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taxes to uh support the additional re uh
funding that we need to finish out that.

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So, and it's an important segment. It
runs along the beach. So, I'm really

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proud the council was able to get
creative. Kyle, thanks for your help on

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that. And again, I think that's a step
in the right direction. It shows that

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fiscal responsibility is at the
forefront of what this council is uh is

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doing and intends to do going forward.

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» Thank you for your comments.
If there are any no other comments, um

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it is requested that the town council
consider approval of the budget

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ordinance amendment as presented. If so,
do I have a motion to do so?

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» I'm going to make that motion. Mayor,
>> and I'll second it.

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» A motion and a second. All in favor say
I.

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» I.
>> All oppose. Same sign. Motion carries.

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This time we will move into the
manager's report.

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» All right. Thank you again, Madame
Mayor. Got several um updates for you.

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Um we'll start off with the obvious uh
winter storm recap. Um, so as you know,

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the area saw a rare winter storm um
bringing approximately 10 inches of

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snowfall that probably could be
contested by by folks out there, but

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that was generally on average of what we
saw. Uh, coupled with extreme low

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temperatures uh created some issues for
the town, mainly traffic disruptions and

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utility services. The team remained
engaged throughout the event through

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daily coordination and forward public
messaging. I'd like to thank all those

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that contributed to keeping safe surf
city safe and to our residents for

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heeding the me heeding the messaging to
stay home and stay safe. We will move

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into an afteraction process uh to learn
based on the event like we do every uh

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emergency event.
Solid waste services a byproduct uh

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disruption from the storm. Um GFL will
resume operations tomorrow uh Wednesday,

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February 4th. Uh please be advised that
crews will be operating at a reduced

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speed based on impacts to secondary
roads. GFL will provide trash collection

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only uh for the remainder of this week.
They will begin with Monday's schedule

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routes and continue catching up
throughout the week. Um they've got uh

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several municipal cl uh clients in which
they are trying to um address uh with

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the delay here. So trash only uh right
now. So, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

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customers, um, so that's our entire
island and mainland. Um, please place

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your trash cart out, uh, and leave it
until it has been serviced. Don't bring

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it in if they have not gotten to you.
They are working, uh, that those routes.

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Recycling services will not be provided
this week and will will resume on your

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next regularly scheduled date. Any
overflow recycling may be placed in a

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00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:41,120
cardboard box or paper bag next to your
cart for collection at that time. This

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is outside of our normal uh ordinance uh
allowances, but we do understand that

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you've got two weeks of recycling as
opposed to one. Um so I I did talk to

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our code enforcement and uh you know, we
took that note, but if you do have extra

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recycling, you can place it
appropriately next to your recycling bin

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and they will pick that up. Um and then
lastly, just thanking um our residents

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for their patience and understandings uh
as we work to resume our full service

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schedule.
The Roland Avenue stormwater project um

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is underway with significant progress
since our last meeting. Uh the

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contractor has excavated the area and
has formed and poured the concrete apron

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that will frame the pvious pavers and
infrastructure. While work is underway

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uh and the Roland Avenue parking lot is
closed, crews are working on some

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00:21:28,799 --> 00:21:35,120
maintenance and upgrade projects at uh
access number 18, giving that a

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00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:39,200
facelift.
Moving into our waterline resilience

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project that we had touched on with the
multi-use path project.

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Uh town staff will be hosting a series
of meetings next week beginning with our

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Roland Avenue businesses on February
10th looking over here. Uh and

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Northshore residents on February 11th to
provide as much information as possible

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as we prepare for this major
infrastructure project. The selected

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contractor will be on hand to answer
questions about means and methods and

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staff will attempt to mitigate effects
as much as possible by pro providing

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up-to-date information on the progress
of the project. As a reminder, this is

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adding a water line underneath the inter
coastal waterway uh over to the island

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uh which will um greatly increase our
resilience. Um that original water line

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was placed in 1968. So, um, it's an
important project that that we get

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completed. We understand that there's
going to be impacts and we just want to

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make sure that we open those lines of
communication and and do everything that

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we can to mitigate those impacts.

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Um, let's see. Old Sellers Beach, uh,
storm water community meeting on March

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7th. Um, staff, it is a Saturday. staff
will host residents of Old Settellers

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Beach or the canals uh to present
recommendations from the town's engineer

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on potential mitigation uh projects for
storm water management. The meeting will

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be held here at the municipal complex.
Staff are seeking input and buyin from

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the residents before programming any
potential improvements. Um it's

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important for us to provide uh a visual
of what that potentially would look like

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uh for storm water mitigation in that
area. the annual planning meeting. Uh so

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town council held their annual planning
meeting last week on Wednesday,

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Thursday, and Friday. I'd like to thank
the board for their participation and

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engagement. I'd also like to thank town
staff and committees for their

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presentations and input. The information
gathering and priority setting will help

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guide town staff in preparations for the
upcoming budget cycle, as well as

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thoughtful adjustments to the town
strategic plan.

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Um Friday we got a a little update on
our uh federal project uh beach project.

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So um the assistant secretary of the
army's office has completed their review

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00:23:50,799 --> 00:23:57,840
of the chief's report which was
officially logged in their office in mid

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December. Uh there was some back and
forth between headquarters and the

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district on the report. This triggers
the delivery of the package to the

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Office of Management and Budget or OM uh
who has a 120day review period which

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would extend until midappril. Uh once OM
has approved, a clearance letter will be

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generated that confirms the project's
consistencies with the policies of the

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current administration. Um, as a
reminder, the funding for this project

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uh was uh derived out of the uh disaster
recovery assistance um in 2019 in which

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our current administration was in
office. Um so we would uh assume that um

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current administration will have
concurrence with uh the project. So um

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that is a little bit of good news. As
everybody knows, we've been kind of

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stuck in a lull with the assistant
secretary's office and and OM, but um

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Congressman Rouseer's office has been
working really hard on this. Um former

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00:24:53,120 --> 00:25:01,120
Congressman McIntyre and his team have
been working hard on this, pushing every

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00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:05,520
button we can push in in Washington DC.
um even though it seems like a a

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00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:10,559
bureaucratic black hole sometimes, but
um a little bit of positive news and

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moving forward um that we can actually
hold on to. So with that, Madame Mayor,

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that is my report.
>> Thank you.

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» All right, we'll move on to our town
attorney, Brett Dims.

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» I have nothing to report, but happy to
answer any questions you may have.

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» All right, who wants to go first?

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And as always, I want to thank everybody
for coming out. This is a little bit

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different weeks. Real cold, still some
snow and ice. I hope everybody fared

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well. Uh it's not often we get this kind
of a [snorts]

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event. Uh
our I do agree with um our town manager.

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Our annual planning meeting I thought
went very well this week and I was

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excited to uh
reflect on what we've talked about this

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00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:01,640
week. And I just want to thank everybody
for coming out. Thank you again.

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00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:08,320
» Yeah, sure. Everybody looked at me.
Okay. [laughter]

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00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:12,159
» Um I I've had a lot of of we've had
several days to think about the planning

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00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:15,279
uh retreat that or we called it a
retreat. It wasn't we were in here and

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00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:19,760
there were three rows of chairs over
here for anyone to come and sit and

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00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:24,480
watch and participate. We did greatly
appreciate the people who participated.

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00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:29,039
I was grateful um the agenda supplied um
public comment time at the end of the

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00:26:26,799 --> 00:26:36,080
day and and um and even the lunch hour
on Friday and um um I I think anybody

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who did show up um learned a whole lot.
I think that's really what it comes down

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00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:45,679
to. Um I think any of us would say the
same thing about the job before we came

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00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:49,120
into it. Um there's just so much to
learn. So, I'm thankful that we're

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00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:52,320
providing more and more opportunities
for that to happen, for anybody to show

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00:26:50,559 --> 00:26:56,799
up just as just as tonight. So, thank
you for being here and listening. Please

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00:26:54,640 --> 00:27:01,760
always consult the minutes and the
website. Carla does a great job of

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00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:06,559
documenting all that. Um, and it's all
there for you to um to read at your

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00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:10,960
leisure. And uh I I think the meeting
went really well. I this was our first

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00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:14,320
opportunity for the five of us who just
recently elected Andy and all that to be

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00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:17,520
in the same room and really have a lot
of hard discussions and get everybody's

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00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:21,600
thoughts and feelings on different
projects and things and what we are all

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00:27:19,919 --> 00:27:24,559
passionate about. We're all passionate
about the city, but we can't do

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00:27:23,279 --> 00:27:27,279
everything with the with the budget
dollars we have. So, we have to make

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00:27:25,919 --> 00:27:32,159
some tough decisions. But, I thought the
conversations went really well.

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00:27:31,039 --> 00:27:37,200
» Move to this side.
>> I'm good. Um,

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00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:40,320
thank you all for coming tonight. Um, we
had our, as we've been saying, we've had

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00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:44,799
our little retreat meeting for three
days. I was a little disappointed that

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00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:47,440
the fact that three people showed up for
the total of three days. And I'd say the

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00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:52,320
a
>> four, excuse me, four people showed up

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00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:55,840
for the three days. And uh, I'd say that
average was about an hour for each

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00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:59,520
person, maybe an hour and a half. But I
was expecting more people to show up

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because we had it here, which was one of
the things that

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00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:06,880
uh, the citizens wanted. so uh they
could come close to coming to the

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00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:10,880
meeting instead of having to drive all
the way to Wilmington. We had good

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00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:16,320
representation from our town uh
directors and uh everything went very

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00:28:13,279 --> 00:28:20,559
well. I think we uh scored pretty high
on the things that we were trying to do

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00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:26,320
and uh thank you all for coming this
evening and I wish it was more than

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00:28:22,399 --> 00:28:32,240
eight of you. But anyway,
>> Andy.

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00:28:28,159 --> 00:28:38,960
» Oh well, nice to see folks coming. Um, I
want to reflect too on on uh our 3-day

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00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:44,880
uh I guess I call it the budget kickoff
meeting in that it's the it's the

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00:28:41,919 --> 00:28:50,480
cornerstone of where we are going and
what the vision is and and updating the

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00:28:47,679 --> 00:28:55,679
u the strategic plan. It isn't a talk
about line items in the budget just yet.

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00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:59,039
That comes in March. Um so I hope that
everyone's here. One of the things we

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00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:03,679
did talk about, and I think we're going
to need a lot of community uh

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00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:08,399
involvement and support, is what we want
to do with the downtown area in terms of

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00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:15,360
the uh the new business district, the
ITC. Um without input from the town, uh

330
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:20,399
it becomes very difficult for for us
here to to try to figure out what's

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00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:24,480
what's what is it that people want. So,
I'm looking forward to the

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00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:30,240
participation. The other thing is uh we
do have the uh system development fee

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00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:34,720
discussion coming up in March. Uh that
is the uh cost associated with

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00:29:32,559 --> 00:29:41,039
developing new infrastructure for sewer
and water. Uh and the question is how

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00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:45,360
much burden uh should the town have with
regard to the costs for new development.

336
00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:54,000
So that that's an important discussion.
We need the folks uh to provide their

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00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:57,440
input on that. Um, overall I I think uh
it would have been nice to have had more

338
00:29:55,760 --> 00:30:00,880
people at that meeting and I know it was
during the day and people work and

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00:29:59,279 --> 00:30:06,720
things like that. Unfortunately, it
wasn't uh video videoed. Uh we will have

340
00:30:04,159 --> 00:30:11,360
minutes coming out probably within the
next week or two. I think

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00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:18,399
» maybe it approved at the March meeting.
>> Okay. So, you'll get a good rundown on

342
00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:22,080
on what we did, what we discussed. Um
and uh the one thing that did come out

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00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:26,880
of that meeting that I thought was very
important is the recognition that

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00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:31,120
engagement and uh and providing
information to the community and getting

345
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:40,960
information from the community are key
to our success. Um we are here to

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00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:45,679
listen. Uh and if if people can't you
know come and and and let us know they

347
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:51,120
can contact any one of us through the
the the town website. Um I know most of

348
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:57,520
us have our phone numbers personal phone
numbers posted uh emails.

349
00:30:54,880 --> 00:31:04,000
If you have an idea, uh you have a
concern, you have a question, reach out

350
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:11,360
there. It's it's tough. The crystal ball
is no longer operable. So, uh we need we

351
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:18,880
need people to to let us know. And uh
with that, I'll turn it over, I guess,

352
00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:23,679
Alicia. Um, we had I feel like we had a
great meeting for some of us being new

353
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:28,240
like Andy and and some of us who I still
feel like I'm new because I haven't been

354
00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:33,600
here. This is my third planning meeting
in that regard. But, um, we cover a lot

355
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:37,919
of information and it really is our one
opportunity out of the year to hear from

356
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:42,960
all of our staff and all of our
committees and get like a good overall

357
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:47,279
just update on what's going on in the
health of the community. And then it

358
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:52,960
gives us the opportunity to figure out
what we see for the future of Surf City.

359
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:57,120
And a lot of that is us reflecting back
on what we get get from the community,

360
00:31:55,039 --> 00:31:59,919
the information that you give us. So,
you know, keep in mind that the

361
00:31:58,399 --> 00:32:03,840
conversations that you have with us when
you see us, whether it's at church or at

362
00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:07,600
a restaurant or whatever, we do take
those thoughts and ideas back and that's

363
00:32:05,679 --> 00:32:12,720
the time that we actually discuss those
things and um give staff overall an idea

364
00:32:11,039 --> 00:32:16,480
of what we think is important. And
hopefully if we can afford to do

365
00:32:14,559 --> 00:32:21,840
something then that's something that we
try to make happen and sometimes we

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00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:26,720
can't. So um otherwise thank you to
emergency services here Pender County,

367
00:32:24,559 --> 00:32:32,080
the
power companies, [laughter] the DOT,

368
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:36,159
everybody that um came out and helped us
get through the snowstorm because it

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00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:39,919
takes a lot and there's a lot of people
that were here working instead of being

370
00:32:38,399 --> 00:32:44,880
home with their family making sure that
they were okay. So, just thank you guys

371
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:50,960
for for keeping us safe. That's it.
>> Okay. Thank you.

372
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:54,000
» So, to those who um came out tonight, um
thank you for coming. Thank you for

373
00:32:52,159 --> 00:32:59,519
sharing your comments. All your comments
are are very much appreciated. Um this I

374
00:32:57,679 --> 00:33:02,880
want to call up James. James doesn't he
doesn't like for me to [laughter] do

375
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:08,159
this. I gave him a warning and he he was
he's shaking his head at me, but you

376
00:33:05,039 --> 00:33:12,080
know, James James doesn't get much rec
recognition. This is James Horn. Give

377
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,559
him a hand. Give James hand.
>> This is James [applause] Horn.

378
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:17,679
» From advisory to warning.
>> Put more pressure on him. Put more

379
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:23,279
pressure on him.
>> And he is our emergency operations

380
00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:29,519
command center director.
>> Like it. Um, so when when something goes

381
00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:37,919
sideways, James gets um
>> all all all the blame and all the calls

382
00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:42,880
and um but he he he organizes um what
what is getting ready to happen. He he

383
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:47,279
keeps us all prepared. He wants you to
stay prepared. I mean, we're not used to

384
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,840
um snow canes.
>> Um and I was just asking him what the

385
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:55,120
name of the storm was, and I don't want
to pronounce it wrong. unofficially it's

386
00:33:51,919 --> 00:33:58,320
Giana but that's only from uh the
weather channel. There's no official

387
00:33:56,559 --> 00:34:01,519
name from the you know weather service
but

388
00:33:59,279 --> 00:34:05,919
» I mean surf city surf city can call it.
>> We can call it Giana if you would like.

389
00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:09,599
» Um but do you want to tell you want to
just say what what you've done over the

390
00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:11,919
last couple days? [laughter]
>> How have you spent your time?

391
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:15,413
» What have you done over the last
>> Yeah. How have you spent your time?

392
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:18,800
» I have worried worried sick myself
[laughter] over the past four days for

393
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:23,760
our police officers, our firefighters
and our utility staff. Um, although I'm

394
00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:28,399
not directly responsible for them, uh, I
treat them kind of like my children. So,

395
00:34:25,919 --> 00:34:31,599
I have been pinging all the supervisors,
making sure everyone's made at home or,

396
00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:34,960
you know, whatever the case may be,
trying to help as much as possible. So,

397
00:34:33,599 --> 00:34:38,720
aside from that, I've been bothering
these folks with insistent emails,

398
00:34:37,359 --> 00:34:43,359
constantly coming in with all the
updates. I'm sure they they love that.

399
00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:47,119
Um, and just keeping keeping tabs with
our staff and making sure we've been,

400
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:51,119
you know, meeting any unmet needs and
addressing what we needed to address.

401
00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:54,399
lots of public messaging. Um, our PIO
was was busy all weekend pushing out

402
00:34:52,879 --> 00:34:58,480
messaging, trying to get the the
information out to the people that we

403
00:34:56,079 --> 00:35:00,720
felt was relevant and timely. So,
>> you got it.

404
00:34:59,359 --> 00:35:03,359
» Did you? All of it. All of [laughter]
it.

405
00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:05,599
» So, yep. That's what I've been doing,
Madam Mayor.

406
00:35:04,079 --> 00:35:09,839
» Thank you so much, James.
>> But no, all of the credit lies with our

407
00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:12,800
with our frontline staff for sure. 100%.
Uh, you know, police, fire, and

408
00:35:11,359 --> 00:35:16,400
utilities. They worked throughout
throughout the event. No questions

409
00:35:15,119 --> 00:35:18,720
asked. So,
>> appreciate you. The applause goes to

410
00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,760
them for sure.
>> Thank you.

411
00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:26,400
» You're welcome.
>> So when we Yes, sir.

412
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:29,680
» I didn't sign up to talk. I just want to
say

413
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:33,240
» come on up. [laughter]
>> Can't let Jeremy

414
00:35:33,359 --> 00:35:38,160
[laughter]
>> No, I just wanted to say I know last

415
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:44,160
time we had the snow some people
complained and uh but I tell you what, I

416
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:48,800
know that Surf City does not own any
snow plows. if we owned them, they would

417
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:53,760
rust out between the time we met, we
used them. But anyway, I think y'all did

418
00:35:51,040 --> 00:36:00,480
a great job getting the state, DOT, or
ever who got in here. The roads got

419
00:35:56,240 --> 00:36:04,079
cleaned in great time and so I think
y'all did a good job on that. I just

420
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:06,640
wanted to let you know how I felt about
that.

421
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:09,119
» Thank you very much. We don't get a lot
of thank you.

422
00:36:07,359 --> 00:36:14,000
» I know. Really appreciate that.
>> Appreciate it.

423
00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:21,280
» Yeah. So going into um our annual
meeting last week um one of the our main

424
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:26,800
top topics was communication. So we were
all about education and communication.

425
00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:33,920
That was the two words that kept coming
up in every every segment that we hit

426
00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:38,240
was those two words. And so I hope that
you felt that you were well communicated

427
00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:43,119
with throughout the storm. Um and that
is going to be our goal to continue to

428
00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:52,400
to listen and to educate and
communicate. Um also during the the time

429
00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:58,400
of our three days um here we as a group
I think um learned the value of our

430
00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:02,800
employees
after each director got up and spoke. I

431
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:08,240
was like can you tell me your years of
experience? And I think uh there was

432
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:14,400
some that were um I mean what was
amazing to learn that I mean you got 15

433
00:37:11,359 --> 00:37:19,920
years 20 years 25 years over and over
from so many department heads and it's

434
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:25,280
amazing to know that Surf City is
allowed

435
00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:29,280
to have such qualified employees. And
when I say it aloud, it's just amazing

436
00:37:27,359 --> 00:37:34,400
that they when they they come here, they
want to stay here and we want to keep

437
00:37:30,720 --> 00:37:40,400
them here. Um to to to make sure that we
run efficiently, we have to have valued

438
00:37:37,599 --> 00:37:44,880
employees that um that want to stay here
and work here. So, thank you all for

439
00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:51,839
everything that you do. Thank you for
for Carla and Kyle for and Amy um and

440
00:37:49,839 --> 00:37:55,599
Lydian that came from the school of
government that put together such a

441
00:37:53,440 --> 00:38:01,359
wellplanned retreat. I appreciate it
very much. Um and with that being said,

442
00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:05,280
I think that's all all that we have to
do. I did get a call from George Howard

443
00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:11,871
yesterday, but he hung up before I
answered it. He always calls me um

444
00:38:09,359 --> 00:38:15,839
because his sister's name is Teresa,
[laughter]

445
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:20,960
but he immediately
realizes that he Oh my god, I've called

446
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:24,079
Teresa, the mayor Teresa. I'm going to
hang up before she answers because he

447
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:27,599
always does cuz I'll call him back. And
now I've learned not to call him back.

448
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:32,880
If if it's a second call, I know to
answer. But um again, we appreciate you

449
00:38:30,560 --> 00:38:35,680
all being here tonight. And do I have a
motion to adjurnn?

450
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:38,079
» I'll make that motion to adjurnn. Mayor,
>> I'll second.

451
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:43,480
» All in favor say I. I.
>> All oppose. Same sign.

452
00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:43,480
» We are adjourned.

453
00:38:47,241 --> 00:38:49,261
[music]

454
00:38:57,722 --> 00:38:59,742
[music]