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[12:20] good evening I want to call to order
this meeting of the wendale Town Board
[12:24] of Commissioners and welcome you all
here tonight we have a nice crowd thank
[12:27] you all for being here we're going to be
led in the Pledge of Allegiance tonight
[12:31] by Lake Meer Elementary School student
Jane
[12:39] ma Jane is a dedicated third grade
leader at Lake Myra Elementary School
[12:44] her teachers have described her as
hardworking and and as a hardworking and
[12:49] humble student who consistently strives
to do her very best Jane's positive
[12:54] attitude and kindness shine brightly
creating an atmosphere of encouragement
[12:58] and warmth around her she leads by
example demonstrating unwavering
[13:03] determination and setting a remarkable
standard for others to
[13:07] follow this past fall Jane participated
in the girls on the run after school
[13:12] program at Lake Myra Elementary where
she embodied the program's core values
[13:17] Girls on the Run is designed to inspire
girls of all abilities to recognize
[13:21] their inner strength and build
meaningful connections with others and
[13:24] Jane truly exemplified these principles
we are so proud to celebr celebrate Jane
[13:29] as a shining example of leadership
strength and compassion and it is an
[13:33] honor to recognize such an exceptional
young leader my goodness what a bright
[13:38] lovely young lady you
are all
[13:46] right flag got moved all right good the
pleasure of allegiance to the flag of
[13:54] the United States of America and to the
Republic for stand One
[14:00] [Music]
[14:09] Nation thank you Jane we're very proud
of
[14:13] you our invocation tonight we're going
to hear from Reverend Wallace Johnson of
[14:17] Wendell United Methodist Church good
evening big act to follow evening I know
[14:22] right there's no following that I
apologize for my dress I'm in the middle
[14:26] of practice over on Doug Proctor so I'm
going to pray and then get back to
[14:30] practice um thank you Commissioners for
being here and leading us the town
[14:36] appreciates you a whole lot I know you
may not hear that a whole lot but as a
[14:41] faith community we appreciate you all um
let's
[14:45] pray oh God you who are good always you
who are present with us in the spring
[14:55] and the rain and the flowers to come we
give you thanks uh for all the newness
[15:00] that's springing up and the community we
give you thanks uh thank you for each of
[15:04] these Commissioners who put in so so
much work more than any of us can really
[15:11] understand into making sure that our
community is safe and thriving and a
[15:17] beautiful wonderful place to live guide
them this evening as they are about the
[15:22] work of the community I thank you for
them uh this evening we pray for uh
[15:28] commissioners
and Honeycut and eatman and deluts and
[15:35] Joiner for mayor gray and for all of our
town leaders we give you thanks for that
[15:40] God we are grateful it's in your name we
pray
[15:45] amen thank
you are there any adjustments to the
[15:53] agenda the motion to approve so moved
all in favor I um
[16:00] um we have no one signed up for public
comment uh tonight but as a reminder I
[16:05] like to remind everybody that you can
sign up if you're interested in
[16:08] participating in public comment you can
sign up the night of the meeting at the
[16:12] door um and you will have three minutes
to speak or you can submit written em uh
[16:17] comments by email to the town clerk on
Friday before Monday's meeting and they
[16:21] will be read into the record for the
length of three minutes if they're
[16:24] received in on time um see do we have a
motion to approve the the consent agenda
[16:30] so moved all in favor
[16:36] I uh section four recognitions reports
and presentations we're going item 4 a
[16:41] is the recognition of Lake Meer
Elementary School teacher Miss Mary
[16:44] Katherine
[16:53] Gilbert Mary Katherine Gilbert and I
think she goes by MC is that right is an
[16:58] outstanding educator whose unwavering
commitment to the success of every child
[17:03] shines through shines through in all
that she does Miss Gilbert brought with
[17:07] her 11 years of invaluable experience as
a classroom teacher having taught grades
[17:12] 1 three and five before joining the late
Myra School Community this marks her
[17:18] first as our exceptional math coach and
instructional facilitator where she has
[17:23] already made a profound impact on both
students and
[17:26] teachers Miss Gilbert's enthusiasm for
math Ma matics and her unwavering
[17:30] dedication to enhancing instructional
practices are
[17:34] contagious teachers from grades K
through 5 consistently praise her for
[17:38] her deep knowledge Innovative approach
and the invaluable support she provides
[17:42] her work is directly elevating the
quality of student learning and
[17:45] fostering an environment of growth and
Excellence her influence extends far
[17:50] beyond the classroom Miss Gilbert's
dedication to the school's mission and
[17:54] vision is evident in her tireless
efforts to support and empower the
[17:58] entire School Community her colleagues
described her as passionate committed
[18:03] and truly a gift for our of to our
school one whose positive impact will
[18:08] resonate for years to
come that's so very nice that was sent
[18:13] by the your principle at your
school so we're very impressed and we
[18:18] wanted to have you here tonight and just
thank you for what you do for all of our
[18:21] kids in Wendell and thank you for
that well thank you guys it is um such a
[18:27] privilege uh speak speaking in front of
you tonight and being recognized I
[18:31] really appreciate all the Commissioners
that are here um being my first year at
[18:36] Lake Mya um the community that I feel in
this city and for the students that
[18:42] we're serving um is just incredibly
strong um I kind of Wake County is a
[18:49] very big County but it's really nice to
just have that small town Touch of
[18:53] lendell um and so I really appreciate
all the support you've given all of our
[18:57] local schools um and I hope we have
continued support um especially as you
[19:03] know our our students are are in high
need right now um our students and our
[19:09] teachers um and so your continued
support is extremely valuable and I
[19:14] thank you for your time tonight you're
very welcome thank you for all that you
[19:17] do
[Applause]
[19:25] thank all right item 4B is a
proclamation recognizing April 2025 as
[19:31] Autism Awareness Month in the town of
[19:36] Wendell whereas autism is a lifelong
disability resulting in significant
[19:41] impairment of an individual's ability to
communicate understand social
[19:45] interactions and develop interactive
behaviors and whereas autism affects not
[19:50] only the diagnosed individual but the
entire family and the community at large
[19:55] and whereas there is currently no
identified cause or c for autism Al some
[20:01] work autism Works celebrates
neurodiversity and works to support
[20:05] individuals on the autism spectrum and
whereas alome is it aome works I
[20:11] apologize uh is hosting its second
annual sensory walk at Lake Meer
[20:16] Elementary School on April 5th 2025 at
10:00 a.m. and whereas the event will
[20:21] feature a variety of engaging stations
where families can explore different
[20:25] sensory experiences together from
tactile activities to calming spaces
[20:30] there will be something for everyone to
enjoy and whereas in addition to the
[20:34] sensory stations there will also be a
bounce house for children to play and
[20:37] burn off energy whereas information
tables will also be available where you
[20:42] can learn about autism
diagnosis uh support resources and
[20:46] advocacy efforts and no event is
complete without delicious food and
[20:50] entertaining performances now therefore
on behalf of the Wendell Town Board of
[20:54] Commissioners I Virginia Gray mayor of
the town of Wendell to hereby Proclaim
[20:59] April 2025 as Autism Awareness uh day
for the town of window I invite everyone
[21:05] to attend the second annual sensory walk
duly proclaimed this the 24th day of
[21:10] March 2025 and it's signed by me
so is there someone here that would like
[21:18] to receive the
[21:26] proclamation come to you okay
[22:03] all right item 4 C is the February 2025
organizational update for financial
[22:08] operations and strategic uh project
measures and I'm available if the board
[22:13] has any questions on the materials
provided okay any questions from the
[22:17] board right
now all right moving
[22:22] on Section Five is our our public
hearings item 5A is a public hearing to
[22:27] Annex and reone approximately 44. 626
Acres from rural agricultural to plan
[22:33] unit at development to create uh Dean
Farms development Mr coat yep good
[22:39] evening mayor and board members so items
5A and 5B are public hearings related to
[22:44] this project the applicant is here and
has requested the items not be heard
[22:48] once a new date is determined the public
hearings uh for both items will be re
[22:52] advertised so we need a motion to table
them both or just how do we need to that
[22:59] Mr
collie are are they being continued or
[23:05] taken off taken off we do not have a
date yet for them to come
[23:10] back okay you don't really need any
action there all right so just skip them
[23:16] and move on they'll be Ren noticed is
what they will be Ren noticed yep all
[23:20] right nothing for Action okay moving on
thank you you're welcome uh section six
[23:27] our administrative items is 6a is the
contract award to the Fred Smith fredith
[23:31] Company for the construction of
improvements at the intersection of
[23:34] windowell Boulevard and windowell Falls
Parkway uh contingent upon uh North
[23:38] Carolina do concurrence Mr codes yep
good evening mayor and board members as
[23:43] as mentioned this is a contract award to
the Fred Smith Company for the
[23:46] construction of the intersection
improvements at Wendell Boulevard and
[23:49] Wendell Falls Parkway otherwise
referenced as lap U
[23:53] 6244 uh it is contingent upon ncdot
concurrence masking to adopt a
[23:59] resolution uh for that uh just to give
some background during the fiscal year
[24:04] 2021 round of lap funding the town uh
was granted funding for the project um
[24:10] with a local match that provides
pedestrian improvements installation of
[24:13] a turn lane and traffic signal at that
intersection uh the construction will
[24:17] provide for those those improvements um
the uh contract was advertised on
[24:24] October 7th the construction had to be
rebid as we only had two responses
[24:28] um the second round we still had the
same two responses so we moved forward
[24:32] with the lowest bid which was the Fred
Smith uh bid at 2271
[24:39] 282 um construction for the improvements
is expected to start in the spring I do
[24:44] have a map here showing those
improvements and just to go over for the
[24:47] the public that's listening at home this
project does include a traffic signal
[24:51] installation a turn lane from Wendell
bouevard onto Wendell Falls Parkway
[24:55] pedestrian improvements which will be
signalized and there in front of the
[24:59] school Wall Street will be closed at the
intersection taking an unsafe
[25:04] intersection and improving that updating
the sidewalks and then also storm water
[25:08] improvements on Wendel Falls Parkway
down to the Cook Street
[25:11] intersection overall project uh we are
uh we did get additional funding from
[25:17] Campo um which was higher than our
original estimates from
[25:21] 2021 um the town's contribution will be
just over a million dollar total project
[25:27] uh for the budget is is $2.9 million for
those improvements which also includes
[25:32] inspections ncdot fees in a contingency
as well I can feel any questions you
[25:37] have right any questions from the
[25:45] board Madame mayor move uh we adopt the
resolution awarding the contract uh for
[25:50] the lap project to Fred Smith
[25:56] Company we we have a motion to adopt the
resolution awarding the contract to Fred
[26:00] Smith Company uh is there any discussion
on the
[26:03] motion all in favor I any want to
oppose okay thank you item 6B is the
[26:12] interlocal cooperation agreement between
central Pines Regional Council and the
[26:15] town of Wendell regarding the Little
River Watershed storm water
[26:18] infrastructure mapping and training
project and we're going to hear from
[26:22] Sarah
lentin good evening evening Madame mayor
[26:27] and board members
um so I'm here to ask for your approval
[26:32] um for this agreement and authorize the
town manager to sign um so the central
[26:38] Pines Regional
Council um they received a 205j grant
[26:43] from the North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality on behalf of the
[26:47] town for the Little River Watershed
storm water mapping
[26:52] project
um and my slides kind of touch on these
[26:59] other items so um the mapping of the
storm water infrastructure is part of
[27:05] Wendell's stormwater management plan um
when we map we identify location
[27:12] material size age and condition of the
infrastructure which helps us um manage
[27:18] everything um our rapidly growing town
has made it uh very difficult to keep up
[27:25] with the updating of this map um right
now developers submit design files um to
[27:33] us and then um you know that's once the
development is completed and accepted
[27:39] and then that information has to be
translated from the design software to
[27:44] the gis software and um weeded out
unnecessary
[27:50] information so it's a lengthy process
for us the grant um like I said it was
[27:58] funded by the 205j water quality
planning Grant that's from the EPA and
[28:04] um submitted through the NCD
DEQ um it supports the town's ongoing
[28:10] efforts to complete the mapping of storm
water
[28:14] infrastructure and allows $25,000 for
the hiring of a qualified firm to help
[28:19] provide mapping and trading services to
the
[28:23] town
um Central Pines Regional Council um
[28:28] will be awarded the funds and they will
provide the administrative services for
[28:33] that contract um the town of Windell uh
is committing to an in kind match of
[28:41] $10,000 um to be spent on that uh
project um all of that money will be
[28:48] fulfilled by a staff time working on the
project um and the match does include
[28:53] work that we have already completed this
year and um um the upcoming workload so
[29:00] this does not have any impact to our
current staff
[29:07] workloads you guys have any
questions anything from the
[29:16] board need a
[29:20] motion can we go back a
slide
[29:24] sure um this one here
[29:31] mad mayor I move we approve the
agreement to authorize the town manager
[29:34] to sign same we have a motion to approve
the agreement and authorize the town
[29:38] manager to sign is there any discussion
on the motion all in
[29:43] favor anyone opposed okay thank you
thank
[29:48] you uh moving into our other business I
think we have one uh from Campo
[29:53] commissioner eeman thank you mayor we
did have a Campo meeting last week uh I
[29:57] think think the most important thing for
the town that was considered was the
[30:00] additional funding for the lap project
at the windowell Boulevard windowell
[30:03] Falls Parkway intersection that we just
covered in the previous item uh so that
[30:07] was passed also had presentations about
the the updated strategic Transportation
[30:13] Improvement program the 10year state
transportation funding program uh
[30:17] unfortunately and this is something I'm
kind of concerned about the improvements
[30:21] of the Smithfield Road interchange on 87
and the widening of 87 past uh windowell
[30:26] Boulevard to the 264 split at zebulun
both were pretty significantly delayed
[30:31] in the updated draft uh Statewide
Transportation plan um most of that's
[30:36] related to funding availability and just
the reality of how much a project costs
[30:40] you can only afford as many projects as
you have money to pay for um but I think
[30:46] that's always ongoing concern and
something that I think ought to happen
[30:49] sooner than later both of those projects
uh and then there was also
[30:53] uh included in that increased service
for the zwx the zebulun Wendell express
[30:59] bus route that goes from zebulun through
Wendell downtown Raleigh uh that's going
[31:03] to be heading toward increased hourly
service with some additional stops that
[31:08] is going to be a good good Improvement
but certainly not the only
[31:10] Transportation investment we need in
Wendell right this minute that's all
[31:15] thank you uh commissioner's reports
we'll start with commissioner
[31:19] Joiner thank you madam mayor we didn't
make any comments during the meeting um
[31:24] but seeing that lab project be assigned
uh to a contractor to be built out um is
[31:30] exciting um I told the manager this week
when I met with him to talk about budget
[31:35] uh one of the things that is exciting
for me right now is that we're starting
[31:38] to see things come out of the ground um
and actually U for a long time we were
[31:43] making plans to do things and designing
and getting ready to build things uh and
[31:47] you're starting to see a lot of uh
improvements come out of the ground and
[31:51] uh certainly uh want to in that vein
compliment our public works department
[31:57] and uh all their contractors for u a a
big outlay of uh our Paving plan and
[32:04] getting that wrapped up this week um
certainly a lot smoother towns in a lot
[32:08] of different places or a lot smoother
roads in a lot of different places in
[32:11] town thank you Madame mayor commissioner
luds commissioner eatman else
[32:18] tonight um I certainly want to Echo
commissioner J statements a lot of times
[32:23] he hits the nail right on the head and
he did again tonight and I appreciate
[32:25] his comments I'll add one more thing I
thought Town staff did an excellent job
[32:29] on the Food Truck Rodeo I always like to
come downtown and see the businesses
[32:33] packed they seemed happy and excited and
the people were excited so it's always
[32:37] good that we do things that promote the
downtown Corridor so thank you for all
[32:40] your hard work appreciate it
commissioner Delo thank you Madame mayor
[32:45] I just want to mention one thing uh
senior health fair uh that was uh
[32:50] previously scheduled we were I think
snowed out Iced Out uh cold out Etc uh
[32:57] actually rescheduled for this coming
Friday March the 28th from 10:00 a.m.
[33:02] until 2: p.m. so just wanted to remind
everybody of that community center
[33:08] community center so thank you madam
mayor I have a couple things uh real
[33:13] quickly I recently filmed the 2024 we do
it at into the next year uh state of the
[33:20] Town um it should be available to viw on
social media and I assume on the town
[33:25] website in the next few days I've seen a
copy of it it turned out great it's not
[33:29] too long so please take a look at it I
think it'll make you feel really proud
[33:33] of all the things we've accomplished
it's a really quick um not everything
[33:37] but it hits some of the high spots of
things that we have H had happen in the
[33:41] last um year or so Town staff's been
working very hard on your behalf you'll
[33:46] see that if you watch that um Community
Arbor Day celebration was this past
[33:52] Saturday and I went out and planted a
pecan tree and that was a lot of fun
[33:56] right over there in the pecan Orchard
they had Philip Smith always does a
[33:59] really good job with that he has a bunch
of real tiny shovels and little kids can
[34:03] help and there were some little kids
there and it was just the cutest fun
[34:05] thing so if you've never been I highly
recommend it you should go next year
[34:09] because it's really cute and fun and um
it's nice that we're maintaining the
[34:14] pecan Orchard out there so that it will
be available for the future and I think
[34:18] that's important too and that very same
day the Food Truck Rodeo went down there
[34:23] for a little while and it was great
everyone was packed and everyone was
[34:26] happy and a lot of people beautiful
weather so thank you to town staff for
[34:30] all three of these things because they
don't happen without y'all so I really
[34:33] appreciate all your efforts and the town
manager we really thank you for that all
[34:38] right uh do we I think we have a closed
session we have a motion to go and close
[34:41] session M mayor move the board going to
close session pers North Carolina
[34:44] General statute 143 318
1185 all
[34:54] right I guess I should